Camp Nano: Final Update

Title: Finding Control
Total Words: 62,532
Total Chapters: 24

This book has been amazing to write! I'm so sad to see it end. But it was one of those things that it does need to have an ending. And by participating in Camp NaNo this year, I was able to figure that out. That was my main goal, not so much the word count. And once I figured that out and then realized how close I was to it actually being done, the goal became to finish the story. And I'm pleased to say that it is finished.

It has been such an amazing experience jumping out of my comfort zone in so many ways. Working on this erotic novel that pushed the boundaries of what I normally write. Not only was it a second-gen MC, but that MC's evolution throughout this book too. And the OCs in it as well were just amazing!

That being said, I won Camp NaNo this year. Now, granted it wasn't as big a task as NaNoWriMo was this year, but I really feel that this Camp experience was all-encompassing. I increased my goal with a week left and STILL managed to meet my new goal. I managed to find direction for this story AND I was able to finish it!

Wanna read it: find it here!

Camp NaNo: Update 4

Title: Finding Control
Words Added: 19,526
Chapters Uploaded: 1

So, I upped my goal to 20,000 words. Why? Well, as I said in the beginning, this Camp NaNo wasn't about the word count. It's always been about finding a direction for this story. With that direction now found, the new "goal" is to finish this story. It's so close! And when I finished the previous chapter at 14k words added, I knew I had more than 1k in words till this story finished. So I decided to up my goal, figuring 6k would be good. And in doing that, yeah, it makes sense. After the last chapter, I was at 17k, so 3k away from my 20k goal. The last chapter can easily be 3k in words!

In fact, as I write this, I am less than 500 words from reaching my goal of 20k! I KNOW this story isn't going to finish in 500 words or less, so I'm happy to keep writing on it after I reach the goal, likely sometime today. I'm hoping to actually be DONE with this story by Friday.

In saying that I'm almost done with this story is actually kinda sad. I have really enjoyed writing this one. It is SO different from anything I've ever written. And it's done SO WELL on AO3 too!

Quarantined: Baylee's Boxes

Ok, couple things about this song, "Boxes." One, I LOVE IT!!!!! Two, there are TWO versions of it. Three, there are two videos for it, one for each version. And four, well, there is no four. It's just a dang cute song and so perfect for Baylee.

Moving on. When they released the "615" version, (yes, Baylee will teach you your area codes: 770 = Atlanta, 615 = Nashville), they released a video with it. It's a bunch of stuff from the tour and is just super cute.

So, when the family released the video, they sent it to CMT. CMT picked it up and put it into the rotation. They've been stalking CMT waiting for it to air. (If I had CMT, I'd be doing it too!) So while they were prepping for their ET interview (See this post.), it aired! Brian, being the good dad who KNOWS how important THIS moment is, recorded it for us! (See it here.)

And being it's now in rotation AND getting airtime, that means he qualifies for the weekly fan-favorite countdown: CMT 12 Pack. And guess what? HE MADE IT ON IT last Friday at NUMBER 6! (Again, Dad's got us on this one, but the whole fam put on Instagram too! See it here.) And what's even better, YOU CAN GO VOTE FOR HIM!!!!! The best thing, you can vote multiple times!!!! So, what are you still doing reading this? Go VOTE!

Quarantined: Cooking with the Littrells, Part 2

I guess when you're famous, if you do an Instagram video, you're newsworthy. OK, so it was Entertainment tonight. But still.

So Brian dropped on his Facebook Page the time-lapse of them preparing for this interview. The interview itself was like two and a half minutes. I missed it live, (are you noticing a pattern here with this family and their news appearances?) but it went up almost instantly. It was very cute. They were making Swedish meatballs (yet something else I won't eat), but it was still cute! And, hey, at least Brian put on a shirt!

And speaking of food I won't eat... Remember when Baylee made an omelette and I said I might want one? Well, this happened:

Yes, I made myself an omelette. It was my first time and it actually came out! Now, here's the problem: I can't stand eggs! (It was a bad experience with them while I was pregnant with my daughter.) Anyway, that's saying something if this boy got me to make myself an omelette! Ok, no more though. Because afterward, it just didn't sit well with me!

One of my favorite parts of his making an omelette is he is so like the rest of us. Did you catch him accidentally turning on the wrong burner??? OMG, how many times have I done that! But yeah, no more eggs for me. I'll make all the scrambled eggs for my kids, but no more for me, even if Baylee comes back with the BEST egg dish ever!

FanGirl Friday: Digital Repop

As you may know, I lost everything, including my BSB CD collection. (See this post for a refresher.) When I bought my car a year ago, it HAD to have a CD player. The only CDs that survived the fire were whatever was in my car, which happened to be Unbreakable, This is Us, and NKOTBSB. I have been slowly replacing all my CDs. And with the help of my friends, I have finally accomplished it! I've had some pretty awesome things happen over the course of getting this collection replaced.

Like being able to get Brian's Welcome Home CD because Brian went all comment lock-down on an Instagram post. (I talked about it here.) Yeah, that was kinda cool. I got to chatting with a fan on his FB page about it and how I had two copies of it. I can even picture the one I had sitting on my nightstand the morning of the fire that was unopened. And we got to talking and she said she had a copy and would send it to me!

I also had my BSB Tribe send me the rest of the CDs to complete my collection. That was pretty awesome! It was a complete surprise that they did that for me!

The coolest thing with that is I finally listened to In a World Like This. Yes, I'll admit, I hadn't listened to that album AT ALL! See, I got it back in 2013 when it came out. But I left my ex shortly afterward. I don't know what happened to that album. But I have now finally listened to it!

Probably the strangest thing that transpired over the course of this journey happened when I tried to replace the original Backstreet Boys album from 1994/95 era. (i.e. The Red Album.) I got with a couple of ideas in mind. One, hearing Nick sing all high pitched pre-pubescent on "Let's Have a Party." And two, hearing Brian sing BOTH verses on "Quit Playin' Games."

So I got the album from the post office and popped it in my car. The first indication that something was wrong should have been that my car "read" the album. It was literally telling me the songs on the display. But then when I got to "Quit Playin' Games," that's when I noticed something wrong. Nick sang the second verse! Yep! I got a digital repop of this album! *sigh* Oh well, I guess I'll take it. My chances of finding an original like I had are extremely slim!

Camp NaNo: Update 3

Title: Finding Control
Words Added: 13,148
Chapters Uploaded: 1

So the biggest thing this week is yes, I added words. Yes, I am like 2k away from my 15k goal, but this story is gonna go beyond that 15k goal, which I knew from the get-go. It was never about the word count. Instead, it was about the story. And the best thing is, I know now that this story is about 3 chapters away from being done! YAY!

What a journey this story has been. It started with a photo and well, I never thought it would take the turn that it did or that it would turn out as good as it has. I can really say that I love this story and I will be sad when it's over.

Quarantined: Baylee Live at Risky Jam

Thursday night Baylee participated in a live show on Instagram. He's done this "venue" before. It's called Whiskey Jam. It's primarily for up and comers in Nashville. Except, since all in-person performances are pretty much canceled right now (except for the Backstreet Boys because they have yet to cancel the remainder of their DNA World Tour), most artists are going to doing live performances on the Internet.

Baylee previously did one and it was amazing! Yeah, partly because his daddy is like Mister Prepared. And partly because his Mama had this idea before anyone else started doing live shows on social media. But also because Baylee is amazing!

Anyway, his daddy had him overprepared, which was great! He wound up doing 3 songs, telling his stories and having like 300+ viewers! He had viewers from all over the world! It was great! The suckiest thing is that on Instagram, you can't turn the comments off so sadly, they were going all over Alex! Yes, Alex is apparently, Baylee's go-to right now. But we'll throw some love his way as well! He knows all of Bay's songs!

The kinda cool thing is that they TOTALLY prepared for this. Lighting was all darkish and all just like you'd get in a show. Momma was recording. And it totally wasn't just Bay sitting with earbuds in. (Yeah, Daddy got the goods out to may Bay look good!) I snagged a couple of screenshots and am wondering if one of those parental units was recording, because, I someone had to have recorded it! I just haven't found it yet.

So what did he sing? A couple we haven't heard in a live yet, so that was nice. And our absolute favorite!

Easily

Dirt & Gold

Boxes

And then Bay went and dropped this photo on Instagram. It is such a good photo of him! It makes him look so grown up!

27 Years!

I cannot believe I am writing this post! How is it that these guys have been doing this for 27 years? It just amazes me!

A little history lesson here. Let's get it from THE Boy's mouth that it happened to!

Brian was the last member to join. And he's my favorite. He has been since 1999. Yes, I have been a fan since 1999. The Millennium era. *sigh*

But, I have known about them for longer. See, back in 1992, I seem to remember a blurb on my Top 40 station. The DJ said that he had found an ad that said a guy in Orlando, Florida was looking for singers to form a New Kids on the Block type group. Why is this relevant to BSB history? Because when you ask Nick how old he was when he met the guys, he always says "12." Nick and I are the same age. So if Brian didn't join until 1993, he would've been 13.

Anyway, here's Brian and Nick talking about the day they first met. (This is from the Singapore concert. Brian actually drops the date.)

These guys hold a special place in my heart. Why? I'm not entirely sure. They are real, down to earth guys. They're all dads. They're amazing at what they do.

I mean, who would've thought that we would have "eras" of the Boys! The "Millennium Era," the "Vegas Era," the "Era without Kevin," the "NKOTBSB Era," etc! It's just incredible! And now we are in a NEW "era": DNA! How blessed we are to be living in a world like this. (No pun intended.)

The only thig I know is that I will always be a fan.

FanGirl Friday: Baylee Makes an Omelette

So, a couple of weeks ago, Brian and Leighanne posted a video of them cooking. Nothing insane, just them making scrambled eggs. They mentioned in that video that Baylee had done a video of him making an omelette. Well, that was posted Tuesday!

His stories are amazing! But come on Bay! When you say you are gonna use "lots and lots of cheese" use CHEESE honey! And please, get away from that processed American stuff! Use some cheddar! Use some Colby! Use some Mozzarella! Use ANYTHING but American!

I now think I could make an omelette. I might want one, sans the onions! (Gosh, he takes after his mother!) Oh, wait! I forgot! I don't like eggs! That's sayin' something if this boy gets me to want to make myself an omelette!

And let's go back to Monday here real quick. Brian posted at like early morning for me (so like mid-morning for him) that they were gonna be on the local news channel. I had it streamed on my computer! And of course, RIGHT WHEN I CLICK OFF OF IT, they are on! Gah! My luck just sucked that day! But, thankfully, it was posted online! Click here!

God, I love this family so much!

Quarantined: Birthday Edition!

Yesterday was my birthday! For anyone wondering, I'm the same age as Nick!

I woke up to so much fangirl love it was incredible!

The first was a drawing by my friend, Kimm!

Then it was a graphic from my friend, Jill!

And Heather wrote me a story! Read it here!

I got a ton of love from work! Including a personalized graphic from my work birthday twin!

And we can't forget the Boys! They started the month by sending me this:

And then I got a text message today too!

And then to just put the icing on my cake, there was a post by Brian where Baylee was singing. *sigh* Find it on his Facebook Page.

And of course, he drops an AWESOME pic last night. Okay, not shirtless, because apparently when he gets the good weather (last week), my weather sucks and then we trade right now! 😂

Think I just found my next cross-stitch! Sigh. Love the fangirl birthday love I got!

Camp NaNo: Update No. 2!

Title: Finding Control
Words Added: 10,170
Chapters Uploaded: 2

This week has been awesome in the way of word count! And on top of that, this story HAS a direction AND an idea of an ending! I'm hoping to actually finish this story this month! If that happens, I might find something else to work on. But OMG, this seems like it is becoming my new favorite story I've written! I so love how involved ALL the characters are in it. The two main OCs are dynamic and work SO well within the story.

I'm hoping next week will be as fruitful. Like I said, I'm not so worried about the word count in this one. So if it winds up being more than 15k until his story is finished, I'm fine with that. And I honestly think I can finish this one! I'm hoping to finish it this month!

Quarantined: Easter Pics Overload!

So, in yesterday's post, I talked about how Brian is posting like every day right now! I am totally loving that. The rest of his family is posting intermittently. Except for Easter Sunday. They went ALL OUT! Now there is something I love about this family: they are a bunch of goofballs! And I'm not just talking about Brian. His son is JUST LIKE him! And Leighanne, well, she puts up with her boys being goofy boys and then sometimes, joins in!

Anyway, on Easter Sunday, I wasn't expecting a post. Then, I get this:

Yeah, they are being goofy! I LOVE it!

Baylee posted the silliest video! (Go to Brian's Facebook page to see it!)

Then Baylee posted the following:

Then Leighanne got in on it, and her photos were by far, THE BEST!

 This one could literally be a card!

 The look on her face is just classic!

 Brian got the bunny filter! How come he makes a cute bunny?

And this one is my absolute fav! It's like she said "Silly Shot!" and both her boys went "We'll show her!" And just smiled all cute.

And then what does Brian do? Drop food pics! He ALWAYS does this RIGHT after I eat. The other day it was chocolate pie right after I got home from the grocery store.

I love this family so much! They are just adorable. They make me smile all the time!

Oh, and the proper response to a #HeIsRisen hashtag is #HeIsRisenIndeed. (Sorry, that's the Methodist in me coming out!)

Quarantined: Loving the Late Night Posts

Normally, I can't stand night owls. I'm an early bird myself. I'm up by 6ish every day, some days earlier. I've always been that way. It came in handy working the morning shift at camp last summer. Most nights, I'm in bed by ten.

The problem is, I'm surrounded by night owls. My favorite family (the Littrells) are night owls, like major night owls! I can't tell you how many times I have woken up to random Instagram posts by them. Now the only good thing about it is that they are East Coasters. So they are three hours ahead of me. So midnight, one in the morning is about the time I'm going to bed.

How is this affecting my quarantine? Well, most of the Boys have been active on social media during this time and Brian has probably been the most active. He's always been one to want to interact with his fans. So what has he been doing during this time? Posting like crazy!!!! Seriously. Every night we get a new post lately. Well, part of that is because he set himself up with a challenge. He's got to "do something" active every day (but Sunday). And then he's just been posting randomly as well.

We've had some pretty awesome posts: his "Cooking with the Littrells," Baylee's Live. And then's he's dropped us a couple of shirtless ones as well!

Ok, we'll forgive him for the blurry, dark one he dropped. We can tell he's shirtless and he probably doesn't want to kill the fanbase!

Yes, these come in usually RIGHT before I go to bed most nights, even if he's snapped them earlier in the day. I don't mind though. They definitely give me something to look forward to all day and good dreams at night! 😉

By far, I would say that Brian has been the most active on social media. And for this Brian Fan Girl, I'm definitely loving the late-night posts!

FanGirl Friday: Online Cross-Stitch

One of the things I do to relax is an online cross-stitch game on Facebook called Cross-Stitch World. I've been doing them for a while. They can take several days to complete, even though the clock on the game is just for time actually played. Even before this quarantine, I was doing these. In January, when my work life kinda exploded, I used some of my game cash to create a cross-stitch of a photo of Brian.

It took me about four hours of game time to complete. I've done several more, having to actually do other patterns within the game to earn enough game cash to do one from a photo. (It costs about $750 game cash to do one.) These elaborate Brian ones seem to be the most relaxing because they take me the longest to do.

Here are some of the other ones I've done: