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Apparently I have had a bit of a blogging break nowadays – not just this blog, but my book blog and writing blog as well. Perhaps it is not so strange – being that November is NaNoWriMo, I write insane amounts during my spare time (114 000 words so far in 16 days), and with the writing I have to do at work, too, my brain is just drained.

I don’t have a lot of good news either. I ate well for quite a while, but the last week has been… interesting. I’ve eaten plenty of sugar. I’ve eaten crisps. I’ve eaten plenty of carbs all around. I have not tracked anything for the past week. Aaaand surprisingly enough I feel the consequences. Not that I have put on weight (at least I don’t think so), but I am horribly bloated. My endo has acted up again, big time, and the same goes for the side-effects of my meds. The energy that I had so much of has largely gone out the window (but that might be simply exhaustion – these past few weeks have been hectic, to say the least). So today I am back on track, I hope.

Nowadays there are only two things on my mind: NaNoWriMo (short explanation: Write a novel of at least 50 000 words in November. Or you could be like me and write three…) and Mainland European Feis (Irish dance competition). NaNoWriMo is in full swing and I am finally on track, and the Feis… is five days away. It is actually this week. Oh, the nerves…

I have somewhat conflicted feelings about it. I know that I am well prepared this year – I have been practicing hard, and things went very well at the previous feis, in London in October. The transition to increased speeds has gone well – each region has their own rules regarding how fast the songs for each dance should be, and in the UK everything is danced to intermediate/open speeds, which are slower. I know that my technique is better, and my stamina is definitely better. On the other hand, I have missed three dance rehearsals the past three weeks, either because of work or because I have been ill. That is NOT very ideal right before a feis – not necessarily because it is crucial to your performance (not a lot you can fix or improve in such a short period) but because it wreaks havoc on your nerves. There is also the little fact that I am in one of the largest age groups at one of the largest levels, and the competition is far more fierce than in London. Of course, you can only do your best, and no amount of preparation can determine how well or badly the others do it.

Still, while I’ll be happy when it’s done, I’m really looking forward to it. It will be a fun trip, with great people, and I’m sure there’ll be at least some good results in the group. We will see!