Mac time

So, a sad update today.

I lost the last 500 words I had saved on my story that I wrote at work yesterday because I carelessly pressed the DISK picture meaning "Save" on the old version with my USB in the computer, when I meant to hit the OPEN folder. I HATE those shortcuts. That is not the first time that has happened to me :(

I don't remember what they were. But hey, it could've been worse.

I'm back up to 2701 words. I need a Mac and one of those things that automatically backs up your files as you go! (A time machine, I think?)

Good news is, we're getting a mac soon!!! I think just a Macbook. Any suggestions on Scrivner vs. Microsoft Word??

Novel in a Month

Soooo....here it goes. I, Olivia Ryan, am writing a full-on 50,000 word novel in a month.

Maybe when I become a published author I will have a full inbox and actual comments on my blog ;o) Sometimes you feel loserish and sad when it seems like no one reads your blog. But hey, we can't start out famous and popular. It would make getting there way less fun.

I started yesterday and have 2,300 words so far. I'll be posting some updates...and I will need encouragement. It's so much fun to have free time to fill with things OTHER THAN Homework and classes.

I will be writing at lunch break, before work some mornings, and in the evenings after work. It's going to be quite an adventure!! I bought a sweet kit from B&N that will help me through and challenge me. Then, when I'm finished I can wear this sweet pin that says "Novelist!"

The book is called "The Ultimate Hotel" and it's a young adult fiction book.

A sneak peek of the main characters but very much subject to change, being that this is day 2:

Jackie Johnson- second out of eight children. She's the narrator. Cheeky girl. Dad is a lawyer; mom is a secretary at his firm in Colorado. They hire a nanny to take care of the kids during the day. Fifteen years old. Red curly hair. She is creative and funny, and everyone likes her. However, she resents her parents a lot for having so many kids because she never gets enough attention. She likes to be in the spotlight, so she resorts to being kind of rebellious because she wants to be noticed. Sometimes she can’t keep her mouth shut. Very creative but not very ‘book’ smart like most of her siblings.

Javen Lawrence-son of a very successful movie star mom, Cheryl Lynn. He is fourteen and lives a life of luxury. Lots of traveling. Dad is a producer. Parents got divorced when he was five, so he doesn’t really remember them together. He spends a month with his dad and his new wife in the summer. Otherwise he just sees his dad on holidays and one weekend a month. His mom has a jet that takes him wherever he needs/wants to be. Lives with his mom in California. Loves sports but has a private tutor so he can’t play on a school team regularly enough to get great. He has met every professional basketball and soccer/football star he wanted, thanks to his famous parents. He tries to stay out of the spotlight. Parents did a good job shielding him, but he definitely didn’t have a normal childhood.

Ava Marie Scott-is a shy girl. She has a couple close friends at school, and a tag along little sister. She’s brilliant. She skipped a grade, so she is in ninth grade but is only thirteen years old. She is awesome at science and math, but also receives the highest marks in her grade for reading and language arts. Her parents are extremely successful lawyers. They’re in Chicago for the law conference.

If you have any extra coffee, tea, donughts, or ideas you want to donate please feel free!

Wish me luck...

More Goals!

We're learning over and over that having goals and constantly revising/taking steps toward them is the key to achieving great things!!
So here we go...

1 Year:

-Loving my recruiting job, bringing in LOTS of great reps and making new standards for Northwestern Mutual.

-Working on my writings/books every day at least 1 hour. (6-7 am)

-Getting my first book (The Ultimate Hotel) published around spring/summer 2010

-First Triathalong (sprint distance) ...(because I will be getting a SWEET road bike for my birthday next year, right honey?!)

-Fixing up our cute little house (that has not yet been purchased!)

-Constistently improving our marraige by going to the annual marraige retreat and having a weekly date night, in addition to Saturday morning breakfasts before yoga.

-Consistently improving our bodies by doing crossfit, yoga, running, and eating a little healthier.

-Kev has some awesome work goals planned but they probably wouldn't make relevant sense to people reading my blog.

-KYC and the ROCK is exploding with people hungry for God. We are raising up more leaders every month, and God is blowing our minds. Our family and friends love to visit with us.

3 Years (June 2012)

I just got home from the park with our one year old baby who fills my days with so much excitement. The baby loves laughing and being with people so we're careful to plan at least two afternoons each week to play at the park. I also get to socialize with our other mommy-friends and their babies! This baby is super healthy and happy, and life at home is good.

I happily drive a Honda accord that we bought at a reasonable price, with CASH. It's been about a year since I started staying home but I earned enough at my job to pay off our student debt completelty and saved a substantial amount for our new cars and the future.

Over the past three years, I've spent each morning from 6-7am writing novels. Two have been completed-one already published and the other on its way. Two more books are already in the works. And since I don't work, I have time to go for a run each morning while Kev watched the baby and gets ready for work. I spend the remainder of the morning reading (about an hour in the Bible/devos/praying) and writing (3-4 hours). My mind is constantly flooded iwth fresh ideas for stories. My publisher is awesome, we have a great relationship, and has also been encouraging me to write children's books!

I spend the afternoon cleaning and cooking a delicious gourmet dinner for Kev. We're so in love with God and my writings just flow out of the love and abundant blessings he has given me. The yearly marraige conference, writing seminar, and NMFN meetings keep us excited and ready for anything!

Our marriage is stronger than ever, and we're so thankful to have a sweet baby to personify the beauty, energy and love in our relationship.

We took a trip to Europe to sightsee last summer and it was an amazing bonding time for us just as a couple. We saw the Eiffel (sp?) Tower, shopped in Paris, ...maybe went to Italy?? I have a geographic deficiency in my mind. But we spent a 2 week vacatoin going to as many cool places as we could in that amount of time!

We have friends over for dinner/games at least 1 night a week, and family over more often than that. My parents either come to see us or we drive down to Springfield at least once a month (especially to see Mark perform on varsity teams and Madrigals and plays, etc!) . All of our grandparents know and adore our baby.

We don't dread our monthly budget/encouragement/constructive criticism meetings as we are consistantly revising and following our Dave Ramsey plan. We live within our means and life is comfortable as we prepare for future growing pains...

When people from youth ask for support for mission trips, we are quick to give and very generous. We're always looking and listening for God's voice as he pushes us forward in our faith and stretches us. We are his vessils more than we ever have been before. It's so exciting to see how God has multiplied in our faithfulness...

And the best is yet to come!

5 year and 10 year goals to come!!

Four point OH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, so I am not writing this blog to brag. BUT, I can say that I've never been this proud of myself for grades in college. Hah! Maybe now I can be as cool as Emma Watson, who also gets straight A's.

I've had *some* focus issues in college (long distance relationship, getting married, moving, amazing friends, etc) that led to me getting lots of B's. In high school, I was a pretty solid A student, but I had my few B's. Rarely did I Have a clear report card. Especially in college, when A- was lower on your GPA than a 'real A'. SO, not that it was the goal of this semester, but I worked my butt off and actually enjoyed what I was studying (-->GOD) and whoA, just got my grades back. 6 FATTIE A's. lol. I am so overjoyed I can hardly explain it, and I don't even love school very much!

I went out with a bang, and that's all there is to it. The glory definitely goes to God.

Last night Kevin and I went to Applebees after watching/playing softball in the rain for 2 hours and shared our 1,3, and 5 year goals with each other. It was so exciting and exhilerating and I can't wait to post them on here...maybe later today...when I get home from work!

PS. Speaking of work, I love my new job. I work with wonderful people and it is seriously a HUGE blessing. I took the rest of our graduation cake into the office yesterday and hopefully now everyone likes me ;o)

College Memories!

So here I am, a college graduate. Sophomore and junior years, I thought for sure I would never make it! I repeatedly wanted to take a semester off, but somehow I kept pushing through and MAN am I thankful!

I want to take a few moments to reflect back on each year of college. I'll try to sum each year up in a few words.

Year #1 Freshman at Wheaton College.
Missed high school and family. Loved college! Modeling= Insecurity. Dorm life (floor: 3East the Beast)! Kevin Ryan+phone+long distance=first true love. Swing dancing. HIGH ROAD! (14 day hardcore camping trip. three days of fasting= closest I've ever been to God or others). Set goals. Loved life. Naive. Babysitting. Phonathon (<--sp?) A's. Sociology Major.

Year #2 Sophomore at Wheaton College.
Tea parties. Aubrey was my roomie! Back on 3E. Phonathon. Steel Magnolia's (I was Anelle). Kevin Ryan+more in love. Lots of trips to QC. Difficult British Lit. Amazing Bible classes. Questioning what to do with my life. Parents struggling. Swing dancing. Tennis! Running! my own car! Walks with Rainey. Rejected to be RA...summer in the QC. Costa Rica missions. Nanny. God is faithful! ElementaryEducation/English major.

Year #3 Junior at Wheaton College/St. Ambrose University:
Ice skating+downtown Chicago+Kevin Ryan=Engaged! Parties! Terrace Apartment+Kristen+Amanda+Aubrey! Excitement. Love. Confusion. Transfer. Move to QC. Senior trip to Destin! Pictures on the beach (haha). First half marathon in St. Louis! Craziness at home. Planning wedding. Living with Ethel from church (lol). Sweet tea entered my life. Got my own apartment. Lived alone for 1st time ever! Parents divorced. Became an English major. Missed my friends. Best summer ever. Nanny. Got married and LOVED IT! Honeymoon to Domincan Republic. KYC: Led a very successful small group and loved it!

Year #4 Senior at St. Ambrose University:
Won Vacation with Kev to Wisconsin. Worked full time at Channel 6 as Account Executive! Became a theology Major. Fell more in love with God and Kevin. Jack Canfield inspired me to dream big. First Christmas tree! Worked as Kevin's assistant. Overwhelming school. Led small group for girls seeking their Identity in Christ. Ran second half marathon. Completed thesis paper on "Christian Marriage." Started Crossfit! Misses living close to her family and friends. Loves kevin more than ever, has more direction and faith than ever before. Aspiring author. Graduated from Ambrose!

SO here I am on my last day off work before I start grown up life! Tomorrow I will become a College Intern Recruiter for Northwestern Mutual in Davenport, IA. I'm pretty excited to see how I can help my husband's Agency get even stronger reps. It's going to be a great adventure. God really provided this job for me, and we are so excited to see what he is going to do in our family and in our lives...

I see my mornings/nights filled with writing and brainstorming. Tennis and running. Passion and perseverence. I see my days filled with dress pants and meetings...hard work and successful progress! My 20s will be filled with living life to the fullest, if nothing else...

Thanks to everyone who supported and encouraged me to get through a long crazy 4 years of college...and the 13 years of school before that! If you are feeling overwhelmed with school, please be encouraged! It goes faster than you think it will and when you look back, you have some amazing memories with friends and family that you would have missed out on if you didn't go through it! Success doesn't come without hard work, and it definitely took me a long time to realize that I'm capable of achieving a lot. I just have to make it happen!

Woods: On our very first day at Harvard, a very wise Professor quoted Aristotle: "The law is reason free from passion." Well, no offense to Aristotle, but in my three years at Harvard I have come to find that passion is a key ingredient to the study and practice of law -- and of life. It is with passion, courage of conviction, and strong sense of self that we take our next steps into the world, remembering that first impressions are not always correct. You must always have faith in people. And most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself.

	So in the words of Elle Woods, Congratulations class of 2009 -- we did it!

Audio mp3 delivered by Reese Witherspoon

Crossfit...here I come!

So, I jumped on the Crossfit bandwagon as of yesterday, April 30 2009...and boy am I feeling it!!

Apparently, you get rediculous fit in a short amount of time! My back and arm muscles feel like they're about to bulge out right now! I did 21-15-9 clean+squats yesterday with the bar, and then 63-45-27 dips on a block. My triceps are crying out for mercy lol.

My lower body was already pretty in shape from running, so the 8 sets of 20 second squats weren't bad at all today...but the pullups, pushups, and for some reason situps were KILLER.

This is what I read on another Crossfit blog:

"Who says Crossfit girls aren't sexy?
The great objection to women exercising-namely, the fear of becoming muscular-is quite without foundation. It cannot be too often repeated that woman is not simply a weaker man: she is physically an entirely different being ... In women the muscles simply become firm, close-knit, and well-rounded, and show under the layer of fatty tissue intervening between muscle and skin only in soft, hardly discernible masses, just sufficiently to give a delicate moulding to the form."

*I'm not gonna lie, I don't really buy into this. Some of the girls on the website have BULGING masses in their arms, and I'm not really into that... so we'll see how it affects me.*

I kinda want to see what I look like with some serious muscle though , rather than just being fit from running. It'll be really fun. I'm always up for a challenge! And hey, what better way to end my COLLEGE CAREER (in 7 days AAAHHHHH) than SORE AS HECK ?!!

Oh what we humans will do for a hot bod! lol

Yoga tomorrow anyone?! we'll be stretching like crazy people. (that is if I can move...)