Monday To Do's

I have a lot to do this week, so this week isn't that much different than any other week, but it feels more oppressive.

Some of my To Do's include:

1. Laundry (this is a permanent fixture on my to do list.)
2. Getting my hair done (if roots were a crime, I'd be calling you for bail.)
3. Copy edits
4. Putting the final touches on my Worldbuilding Workshop (I'll be giving this twice in the next two weeks, so it better be good. I hope.)
5. Getting my Etsy jewelry shop stocked and reopened for business. (My itch to make jewelry is strong and I have some FABULOUS raw materials to work with, so this is more like a reward than a to do.)

What's on your list this week?

Monday Randomness

I have a truck-load of stuff to do today including going to the bank and post office, two things I hate to do only because it means leaving the house. I'm not agoraphobic or anything, but leaving the house means getting myself together and when I'm in the thick of writing a book, that's just time I don't have. Chances are good "getting myself together" today will mean a ball cap and sunglasses. Ah yes, the fashion friends of a writer on a deadline.

Besides those errands I have to work out, vacuum and write. All things I wish someone else could do for me. Don't get me wrong, I like my writer job. But I don't love the fresh writing. I like revising an already written page, not creating a fresh one. Some of you are nodding. Some of you are raising an eyebrow. Hey, it's a process. At least I already got the kitchen floor mopped. I thought it best to do that before I was really awake and could argue myself out of doing it.

Other things:

There's a new group blog in the neighborhood: Girlfriends Book Club. Check it out if you like women's fiction.

Have a great Monday! I'm still accepting applications for an unpaid intern. Just saying.

The best laid plans

I had every intention of up early (done) and hitting the sidewalk first thing to get my powerwalk out of the way (not done yet) because of the massive To Do list I have today. Instead, I'm just now about to head out because the thunder, lightning, rain and gale force winds have finally let up.

So much for planning.

What are you up to today?

A Very Focused Monday

I have three goals today:

1. Meet with landscapers to discuss refurbishing this whole mess of a yard.
2. Workout until I want to cry.
3. Write a massive amount of pages.

Simple. To the point. Perfect for Monday.

What are you up to this fine day?

Wow. It's Monday.

The cookies have been eaten, the fun and games are over, Christmas is behind us and it's a new year, full of new obligations (and some old ones). Time to get back to work. I have tons on my To Do list today, including emails to be sent, errands to be run, some sort of workout to be done, pages to be edited, and goals to be written. Goals are SUPER important to me. Having no real plan for the year could be disastrous.

What's on your list today? Have you already started back to work or are you still on vacation?

Yep. It's Monday.

Actually, I have to acknowledge today because I have a lot of work to be done. Like printing out all 103,150 words of my draft, reading through them and marking them up with whatever necessary changes they need. Granted, I won't read through the whole thing today, but I hope to get through at least 150 pages.

First, I have to go buy paper. Hard to print something when you're out of that little item.

What are you working on this *fine* Monday?

Monday. Do. Not. Want.

I can't believe it's Monday already. I have so much to do! I need today to be twice as long. Or I need to work twice as fast (not so sure that's going to happen.)

There's a hair appt to get to that never happened on Friday as scheduled, a final Thanksgiving grocery store run, many many pages to be written, galleys to be dealt with, etc. etc.

Must get to work! What's on your schedule today?

Yep. It's Monday.

The Monday's just don't stop coming, do they? Guess we'll just have to suck it up and accept it.

My week is busy, mostly because it's the last week I'll have this month to myself so I really need to write a serious amount of pages. I don't want to feel guilty about taking time away from the writing when my parents are visiting for Thanksgiving.

I also need to get my hair done. If you saw my roots, you'd agree. Buy a new set of sheets for one of the guest rooms. Make sure the house is clean. And lastly, I need to start a separate bank account for all my writing related stuff. Truth is, I kinda hate leaving the house. I'm not agoraphobic or anything, I just get into a rhythm and disrupting it makes me cranky. So does being hungry, but that's another story for another time.

What's your week look like?

You NaNo People Frighten Me

As I've started before, in my mind NaNo and binge drinking both seem like they're a sure fire way to kill of some brain cells. I don't participate, nor do I have any earthly desire to do so. But for those of you who are, enjoy the stress!

In other news, I wrote 2000 words yesterday. That's a monster writing day for me and I'm hoping I can repeat it a few more times. Like today.

What's on your To Do list today?

Yay! It's Monday!

I just read some article about how we should learn to greet Monday with a sense of joy because it's a new beginning, a chance to start fresh, blah, blah, blah.

I'll greet Monday with a sense of joy when it does the same for me. Until then? Monday can bite me.

I have to get some groceries today, but then it's all about the writing. I need to do what I've begun to call "head down" writing. You know, that kind of writing where you block out everything else and just power through? I had hoped to do that this weekend a bit, but I had a chapter meeting then Hotrod found out he had a sinus infection, so I didn't get much done.

Oh well. Tomorrow's a new day and all that jazz. What are you up to?

Workin' It To The Bone Thursday

Today is a busy, busy day.

1. I must write.
2. I must do laundry. Yes. Ick.
3. I must meet with the photographer and look at my headshots!
4. I must come home and write some more.
5. I must go out to dinner with friends. Woot!
6. I must watch the season premiere of Project Runway! Yay! I need my weekly dose of Tim Gunn, y'all.

What are you up to today?

Thursday To Do

*News Flash - Today is Friday. Ignore the title of this post. I was sleepy when I wrote it.*

Today is both a fun day and a work day. It's going to start out with a little necessary shopping (I have things to buy for people), then lunch with a friend where many writerly things will be discussed, then home again for the work half of the day. That includes:

1. Calling RWA to renew my dues. I really wish I were spending that money on clothes.
2. Finishing the edits from the pages returned to me by my beta readers.
3. Working on a series synopsis for my urban fantasy.

I have a feeling that will take most of the day. At some point, I want to get into the pool and float. It really helps me think and I've got two more books to "plot" out in this series. And when I say plot I mean make them sound interesting enough that someone actually wants to buy them.

And aren't those dishes cute? They totally made me think girl's day out. What are you doing today?

Monday Quickie

This is a quickie, because starting Thursday afternoon, Hotrod's family descends upon us for at least four nights, which means all the guest rooms have to be cleaned (not that they're dirty, but you know, dusted, vacuumed, cat toys removed...), food for their stay has to be planned, all that stuff. My writing time basically disappears on Thursday as well, because I'll probably save the cleaning until that morning. Any sooner and the cats try to erase my efforts.

Also, this is a quick post because I'm about to get on the elliptical. I'm down about 17 pounds from the end of Dec and finally getting back into working out in a dedicated way. Today I'm trying to get it out of the way early so I can spend the rest of the day writing.

What are you doing today?

Morning. DO. NOT. WANT.

Thanks to Hotrod's inability to let go of his long-passed youth (he's 9 years older than me, have I mentioned that?), he played basketball with the guys after church last night - and by guys, I mean those male humans who probably just started shaving a few years ago and think retirement planning is something only their parents should be doing.

He seemed fine when he came home, although fine is relative because at any given moment he can start gimping around due to his 130 year old knees. Anyway, about 2 AM I was awoken to the sounds of...well, let's just put it out there: whimpering. Seems his back decided the knees were getting too much attention.

Long story short, I refused to take him to the emergency room (aren't I a sympathetic wife?), doped him up with some pain meds left over from something or other and stayed with him until 4 AM when he finally fell asleep on the couch. He's still sleeping. Meds, I love you!

Anywho, I have a crap load to do today, including getting my hair some much needed attention, but all I really want to do is nap. Cranky, thy name is Kristen.

How did you sleep last night?

Can I get a woohoo?

I did it! I read 50 books in a year and have actually started on book #1 for 2009 because I plan to do it again. It's pretty awesome to accomplish a goal like that. Too bad it wasn't lose 50 pounds in a year. *sigh* But I digress.

Other than a run to the post office and Lowe's, today begins my new writing regime. I'm going to try to write for 3 uninterrupted hours. That means no email, no checking blogs, no games, etc. If I start to twitch I intend to seek medical help. But seriously, I need to get more disciplined and this seems to be a good way to move toward that goal. How do you police your writing time? What time of day do you write best? I haven't totally figured that out yet.

I also started the Master Cleanse today. I did this last year and lost 17 pounds in 10 days. Granted, that's mostly water weight (okay, and poo), but it's a great way to kick start a diet. And I'm hoping to lose about 10 in 7 days this time to really get me pumped up to get back to working out and eating right.

What's your Monday look like?

Happy Monday!

It's December and that both thrills and frightens me. I love Christmas, but the amount of "stuff" that remains to be done before the year is over boggles my mind.

Mostly, I need to finish the book I'm writing, get it polished and turned into my agent. Hotrod is out of town for a few days, so I'm hoping I can really get some pages done to make up for my pitiful lack of writing while we were up at my folks this last week.

We're also traveling again this month - a mission trip to Costa Rica. Then there will be some Christmas prep when we get back, parties to attend, ballet recitals to see, etc. This is just a busy, busy month. (Not to mention I have 7 more books to read to hit my goal of 50!)

Today, before I can write, I've got to run errands (we have no food in the house since we've been gone a week). Then I'm gluing myself to the laptop and getting intimate with the keyboard. What are your plans for today?

Monday To Do's

Don't be jealous, but one of the things on my list today is to finish my Christmas shopping. Yep, one trip to Target and I'll be done. The feeling of being done is beyond awesome. It's like Ed McMahon just showed up on my doorstep to tell me I've won the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes and I hadn't even entered. (Of course, I haven't wrapped anything yet. And with 3 cats, wrapping presents is a ginormous undertaking of skill and patience.)

I also have to run to the post office. Then I'm done with outside errands and I can dedicate myself to inside stuff. Which means writing (hoping for 8 - 10 pages, but would be happy with 5) and working on the Writing Basics Workshop I've giving to my chapter this Saturday. I'm not sure why I agreed to do that. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. Or I wanted to see just how far I could push myself before I went postal. I'm close. And I don't need to remind you that I now own a gun.

What's on your Monday To Do list?

Edited to add: A friend's daughter needs votes on her drawing to win a scholarship. Check it out in the link below and vote!

Artist's Choice - Round 1 Brickfish

Rainy Day Friday

While the above picture is a fair description of what I really prefer to do on grey, rainy days like today, instead I'll be writing and judging contest entries. I may also clean house a little since Hotrod can't eat chocolate cake without leaving a crumb trail that would make Hansel and Gretel jealous. It's been a busy week and shows no signs of slowing down with a chapter meeting tomorrow and a chapter contest meeting on Sunday. We're almost ready to announce our finalists, so once we get to that point, it's almost over.

What's on your agenda? What's the weather like where you are?

Goals, Motivation, Conflict

Interesting Tidbit: Researchers say those who start their diet on a Monday only have a 30% chance of succeeding. Start your diet on a Thursday instead and you have a much greater chance of making it stick.

Today's Goals:
1. Write 10 pages.
2. Post some new pieces to my Etsy shop.
3. Workout.

Today's Motivation:
1. I really want to get my WIP finished.
2. New pieces help generate traffic, traffic means more possibility for sales.
3. Losing a few pounds before my HS reunion would be awesome.

Today's Conflict:
1. I have shows on the DVR to catch up on.
2. Downloading pics and writing up the descriptions takes time.
3. I'm inherently lazy.

I'll let you know how it goes. What's on your plate today?

Wow, it's Monday already?

Where is this month going? Seriously, it's just disappearing before our eyes. Well, mine anyway.

So what's on the schedule for this week? More writing, as always. I've been such a slacker in the writing department, not writing nearly the amount of pages per day I want to. Also, I'm aiming to get my Etsy jewelry store up this week. I need a good sunny day so I can go out and take pics of the jewelry. Oh yeah, and I still need to be working out. Three things. That's not too much. I should be able to get it done.

Lastly, I have a goal of NOT doing something this week. As in, I do not want to watch as much TV as I have been. It's a time suck. I need to cut back. So far, I'm cutting out at least two shows: Private Practice and The Rachel Zoe Project. I'm not even sure why I watch that show, because I hate it. Next time there's nothing on, I need to find something else to do as opposed to watching just to watch. Seriously.

What's on your schedule this week? Or not, as the case may be?