It's 2008!

Down to Business

It's time to get down to business...in several ways. Eating, exercising, and writing - in those order. And as I see it, each one will complement the other quite nicely.

I have the next three days off, and I plan to use them wisely. I'm sure things will come up, but what's important is that I find the motivation to start working on all three of my areas. I think I'll throw out any bad-for-me snacks (gasp! Yes, I think I have to actually toss the chocolate-covered shortbread I served for my holiday tea!), take my dog for a walk if it's not too cold, (or get on the treadmill) and finish finalizing my main plot points in the novel.

And then, it's time to start writing.

I have to admit, I'm a little scared of the blank computer screen. I'm reading a new book right now, By Cunning and Craft by Peter Selgin, and one thing he stresses about writing the first draft is to have fun. I need to get that firmly entrenched in my brain before I even type Chapter One. Already I'm freezing up, worried that what I write won't live up to anyone's standards, let alone my own.

In a sense, I feel like I'm dipping my toe into the writing waters again. With the burn-out I experienced earlier, the fall-out from my husband's summer hospital stint, and the job change, I had a lot to deal with the past few months. But now I'm ready (I think!) to get back into it.

Friday Fun

Ahh...nothing like a bit of Calvin and Hobbes to put a smile on your face. It snowed this morning on the way to work and it would have been the perfect day to stay home and take a nap on the couch or indulge in a good book. But there's that whole day job...

But, I have a nice five day weekend coming up. My kids don't start school until January 3, so I'll be taking a few days off to spend at home with them. I'm hoping to get in a lot of writing during this break. Well, not actual writing, but I plan to finish up the plotting and do a lot of research. I visited the library yesterday over my lunch hour - lucky me, the library is only a block away from where I work! - and got some great books.

I also am planning to attend the Pikes Peak Writers Conference this year in Colorado Springs - not too far from where I grew up - and I joined the Pikes Peak Writers group yesterday. I haven't belonged to a writing group for quite awhile, and I'm excited to be part of a community again - especially such a great one! Granted, I doubt I'll make any of the meetings since they're in Colorado, but there are other ways to stay in touch during this global age. :-)

Happy Friday!

Christmas Unwrapped

I do believe I had the most relaxing Christmas ever yesterday. It was just my husband, me, and my daughter. Hubby made a nice dinner of turkey (which he slow-cooked and the meat literally fell off the bone!), mashed potatoes, stuffing, and apple pie for dessert. We opened presents and of course, I got some terrific gifts - lots of Snoopy stuff, Ian McEwan's Atonement, a scent diffuser, a special picture of my grandmother and I taken when I was little, and other assorted goodies. Since my brother just returned from his vacation yesterday, we're having Christmas tonight at my mom's house - so there will be a few more gifts to open.

For the rest of the day, we watched movies - I think four in all. I sat on the couch pretty much all day. And normally this would drive me nuts - I can't sit still that long - but yesterday, it was just fine. I missed my family back home, but at the same time, it was nice not to have to pile the kids into the car and drive for five hours. If I only had access to a private jet plane...

The cats didn't disturb the tree on Christmas Eve, bless their little hearts, but they must have figured the time had come to make a mess of it again last night. I woke up to ornaments on the floor, branches skewed, and ribbon falling off. They looked pretty pleased with themselves. I just sighed and ignored the mess for when I come home from work.

And how was your Christmas?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Is Near!

With only one more day until Christmas, it's a relief to have everything done. Last-minute shopping is finished, tree is repaired from the kitties' latest escapade, gifts wrapped, and a plate of sugar cookies sits on the table.

This afternoon, my daughter and I spent some time together wrapping gifts and putting together puzzles. (Oh yes, and eating sugar cookies.) We didn't get any snow or a storm of any kind over the weekend, but we'll still have a white Christmas as there is plenty of snow left on the ground.

And here's another cause for celebration - my grandmother has internet! I am so excited that she'll be able to read my blog and email me whenever she wants to. Hi, Grandma Lucy!!!

We'll be having butterball soup tomorrow night for Christmas Eve dinner, a family tradition ever since I can remember. And we'll open a few presents, but we'll save some for Christmas morning. After all, we still have a little one in the house who is waiting for Santa!

Four Days!

Is Christmas really only four days away? Wow. I honestly wonder where 2007 went.

I finished up some shopping last night, but I have just a few more items to get tonight with hubby, then we'll be done. I'm also buying groceries tonight since we have a nice winter storm warning for the weekend. No need to be stranded in my house without Diet Pepsi or chocolate!

I have a four-day weekend ahead of me and I plan to make the most of it. This will include:

1) Rearranging the Christmas tree that the kitties have mercilessly destroyed

2) Making homemade cherry cheesecake for Christmas dinner

3) Curling up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and watching an old movie or reading a book

4) Researching the novel and writing down ideas

6) Wrapping presents!

7) Keeping my daughter from finding the presents before I wrap them!

8) Relaxing and enjoying the Christmas spirit!

To Make You Giggle

A few laughs from my seven-year-old daughter:

She and I were in my Jeep a few weeks ago waiting for it to warm up and she said, "Mom, I can see my breath."

"Yeah, it's pretty cold," I replied.

She saw the exhaust coming from the Jeep and said, "And I can see the car's breath, too!"

And the second one...

The other night, my husband and I and the two kids were sitting around the living room just talking. No t.v., no music, just conversation.

My daughter asked, "Mom, why are we just sitting around doing nothing?"

I replied, "It's family bonding time."

Without skipping a beat, she said, "It's family BORING time."

Ah....kids!

And isn't the little "movie" I made for yesterday's post just awesome? :-)

Walking Down Memory Lane...

'Tis the Season to Be Unproductive

Urgh.

I am either not motivated due to my lack of exercise (entirely my own fault), or my motivation to write has been overtaken by the Christmas season.

At any rate, I don't feel like doing much of anything when I get off work. I've watched several movies over the last few days, including this one (which I highly recommend), and had zero interest in doing any sort of freelance work.

I have, however, done character work on my novel. But that's about it.

Last year at this time, I was busy editing my last novel and when I look back at my blog archives, it appears I was quite busy. Not so this year. I've had a hard time getting myself to move, both figuratively and literally, on a lot of stuff since hubby's summer medical experience, and we continue to feel the aftershocks of it - i.e. bills, job woes, etc.

I'm also fighting off a cold or some other sinus problem. I wake up feeling ok, but by about 2 p.m., I start to feel icky again. Last night I went home and went straight to bed. I watched two more movies which is a feat in itself. I never watch t.v. during the week.

I guess I'm accepting the fact that I'm going to be unproductive in lots of areas of my life right now - exercise, diet (I'm trying to watch what I eat, but it's so darn hard right now!), freelancing, and well, writing. I admit it - I'm being lazy. I have a day job that is sucking all my energy out of me right now.

If you're a writer, are you writing during this busy time?

Christmas Check List

Christmas List of Things to Do:

Baked Christmas sugar cookies - check

Decorated house - check

Sent Christmas cards - check

Hosted holiday tea - postponed due to freak snowstorm

Attended Christmas play - check

Shopping - uh...half-check. I'm almost done. Hubby and I are going shopping tonight to finish up.

Consumed more Christmas goodies than allowed by current diet plan - CHECK.

What do you have left to do for the holidays?