I’m BAAA-CK!!!!

Did ya miss me? Did ya miss me?  Huh? Huh? Huh?  Did ya?

 

Yes, I was gone.  ;o)

 

I missed a week in preparation for the ALBC conference, which with the help of some of my zoopeeps, I hosted and helped coordinate.  And, everything went quite well, in spite of a couple of minor glitches, which of course go hand in hand with anything called “an event”.

The coolest part?  My husband and I won the Bixby-Sponenberg award for conservation of rare breeds of livestock.  This award is the pinnacle of achievement in rare breed conservation in the country.  I always hoped to win it someday, I just figured I had about a decade to go before I reached the level of coolness required.

So yeah, it was one of about three times in my life I’ve been at a loss for words.  And of course, Eric makes me give the thanks speech.

ALBC also gave the zoo a special award for being a great conservation partner, and it was awesome to be able to share it with my zoopeeps Lish and Danny.   Who also made me give the thanks speech.  Hmmmm.  I’m starting to see a pattern…

Anyway, it was one of the best weeks of my life, and I figured I deserved a week off after to revive my fried synapses.

But, I’ve been missing you all, and anxious to catch up.  I’ve been missing my ROW sis, Barbara!  And I’m sure Natalie has come up with something that will make me spit my coffee all over my computer screen.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and give me a shout and let me know how it went!

Hugs!

Row 80 check in # 10

This will be my last check in for a week or so.  I’ve got a conference that I’m hosting at work, that has been in preparation for several months, and it all culminates this week.  Which normally wouldn’t be a problem, been there done that with this part, but naturally the Powers That Be have made it necessary to do a whole bunch of animal shipments right before it, so I’ll be crating up fruit bats this week for an Oh-My-God early trip to the airport and sending them to the Bronx Zoo.  (Hey Lady?  Why is that box screeching?)  And doing preship exams for some other things.  And then there is the water buffalo… and still keeping up with the farm… Sorry, I digress.

I keep trying to convince myself that I can keep all the plates spinning, but logically I know I can’t.  So for the next 10 days, if I get any writing time, it will just be the book.  I mean, that’s what the whole point is anyway, right?

I do take comfort from Stephen Pressfield’s War of Art, in the notion that if writing is the thing you are supposed to do, the Universe will contrive every possible thing to keep you from doing exactly that.  It’s our job to figure out how to overcome resistance and do what we are supposed to do.

For me, this week, that means drawing back a bit and stop putting so much mental pressure on myself to FREAKING DO IT ALL RIGHT NOW LIKE YESTERDAY OR I’M AN AWFUL FAILURE ‘CUZ I JUST SIT AND PARALYZE MYSELF MENTALLY AND NOTHING GETS DONE.

Seriously, we writers must keep so many therapists in business. Or liquor stores.  You pick.

So, I’ll see you all after the 15th, after a nap and a good stiff drink.  Probably in reverse order.  I don’t have a therapist, so it’s the liquor stores for me.  But I do have awesome friends, both real and online, so I’ll look forward to catching up with ya’ll soon!

Take care and keep up the word count, you NaNoites!

 

Row 80 check in 9

Never miss a check in:  8 for 9.  Oops.  I totally blew Sunday’s check in.  No excuse, other than I was having a self-sabotaging hormone-and-stress fueled mini melt down and I just plain didn’t wanna eat my vegetables.  Happens, but it sure isn’t what a professional would do.  So, now that’s out of the way and it’s time to get back to business.

Write 500 words per day: Wasn’t making the goal, so of course I decided to do NaNo.  Isn’t that logical?  I mean when you aren’t making one goal, it makes total sense to increase it threefold?  No?  Well, sh**.  But I did write almost 1200 words yesterday.

WWBC:  We’ve been divvied up into teams.  Think of them as small Tie-Fighter squadrons unleashed from the Death Star.

Non fiction:  Yeah.  Nothing to report here.

Blogging:  Dropped the ball on this one.  See the check in category.

Taking care of myself:  I’ve been under the gun at work for the last couple of weeks, and we are hosting a conference next weekend.  So, needless to say, the treadmill hasn’t gotten much use recently.  But there is always tomorrow. (Sing it with me, folks!)

Self Study: Finished reading Red by Kait Nolan.  Good book.  I wound up not being able to sleep most of Saturday night, so I read the whole thing.  It’s been a while since I’ve binged on a book like that.  Currently working my way through Phillip Athen’s Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction.  Game of Thrones is next in the pile, but as crazy as the next two weeks will be, I’m hesitant.  It seems a bit of a commitment.  Is there a Cliff Notes version?  Kidding.

So, how have you all been doing? What’s new with you, and are any of you doing NaNo this year?  Let me know what’s up!

Take care and see you all soon!