I don't think my lack-of-motivation streak is at an end.  In fact, I think it's dug in hard and doesn't wan to leave, but I'm tired of my apartment looking a bit cluttered and messy.  I don't think my friends really mind, I mean they come over willingly enough, but it's bothering me.  I didn't get any of the desired cleaning done yesterday because I got frusterated with my other website and started hand updating files.  It took two hours and it didn't fix the problem I was having.  I think I'm at the point where I'm just going to pay someone to fix it.

But!  But I have been successful about getting some things done.  I've written a lot recently, in fact more consistently and with more gusto than I have since I finished Abs.  That is encouraging!

So, I'm going to look for small steps this week.  I want to tidy up the apartment and go to bellydancing on Saturday morning.  I've been putting off going back to classes for, well, I don't know why, but I have and I will be going Saturday because I just will!  I think I'm going to only go once a month until I'm back into a routine and then kick it up to twice a week again.

I'm going to try to keep my dishes under control, and be a bit more tidy with my laundry.  Those are my goals for the forseeable future.  Start small, right?  Well this is small enough.  Little steps create habits, and making them good habits is kind of the focus I need right now, so there you go.

Tonight I really need to take out the trash and clean the Chinchilla cage and go grocery shopping.  I'm going out to lunch because I didn't have anything else to bring with me to work to eat - even for breakfast.  If I can squeeze in putting away my laundry I'll be thrilled and try to tackle the clutter in the livingroom tomorrow.

I'm hoping to start using the WiiFit again as I watch back seasons of Dr Who since it's on the Netflix Watch Instantly.

All in all, it's a start!

So I really wish I had thought about this blog post last night, because I would have taken a smattering of new pictures of Polly and Molly. As it is, I'll just talk about my Chinchillas.

I grew up with animals - all over the place.  Horses. Cows. Dogs. Cats. Snakes. Birds. Hermit crabs. Turtles. Chickens.  Goats. Sheep. Buffalo.  I feel like at some point in time, we've had every animal known to man.  And you know what?  They all need to be taken care of.  I'll never forget moving out and thinking - FREEDOM! Finally! I don't have to take care of the friggen animals anymore!

A year living alone and that 'freedom' turned into loneliness.  Now pet rent where I was living at the time was astronomically high and I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much to have an animal.  But - caged animals are pet-rent-free.  So I did a little research - looking for an animal that was fine being on it's own, yet social.  Somehow I arrived at a chinchilla.  I did some more research and found the Sharp Chinchilla Farm.  Farm I think is really an incorrect term; they do not breed chinchillas for their coats or anything of that nature.

Well, after a very short time I decided I would adopt the adult pair of Polly and Molly, mother and daughter.  Polly is an older chinchilla and suffers from separation anxiety.  Which is why Molly had to come with her.  Polly is a sweet heart and I lurv lurv lurv her!  Molly is a little snot, but I still lurv her too.

A year later, lots of learning experiences and warm cuddly moments learning about the joys of having a miniature chinchilla herd, and we're still a happy family.

Okay, so ~ I am alive. I am getting better.  There have been no more instances involving the cops and my mother.  That is a good thing.

I know I recapped the DFW Writer's Convention via my writing blog, but I thought I'd talk about the non-professional aspects over here too, since I haven't posted and well, I feel like it.  I meant to get all ready on Friday but wound up piddling around with Linda, shopping and getting lunch and stuff until mid-afternoon when there was a whole trip back and forth to Ross to return a laptop bag and dig around for another.  See, I found this perfect blue and black laptop purse, but it's made for a 15"ish laptop.  Lappy is a 17is" laptop.  Two inches.  Two friggen inches kept me from having the coolest laptop bag.  I'm upset.  I also had to just accept that most stuff is made for 15" laptops apparently!  Insert a very unhappy Cidly  :(  I did get two really nice shell-shirts to wear under sweaters for work and stuff, so that was a win!

Saturday Linda came to my place and we took Jeepie to the convention where we met up with Suzan and Criss - yea!!!  Haven't seen Criss recently since she got prego on us.  I miss her face!  I was really surprised by the lack of technology.  I assumed more of the people there would have laptops and all, but apparently our group was in the minority.  In most of the classes we were the only people clustering around outlets and taking notes on laptops.  And I'm the one in our group that brings a power-strip.  NaNoWrimo taught me well.

There was much fun to be had at my expense because I went to the romance/sex writing workshops.  This included twittering about me being in these with the con's hash-tag.  I also saw people sitting in front of me pulling up my twitter profile as SOMEONE twittered yet another silly thing at me.  Oh well.  Good thing I like to laugh at myself, right?

My amazing friend Linda got a partial request from an agent, so uber congrats and well wishes her way.  (I have yet to hear back on the short story I sent in, but I shouldn't hear back until end of next month)

Saturday night was the cocktail party in which I played dress-up with Suzan and *gasp* MADE HER WEAR A DRESS!  This included a really funny Marylin Monroe moment while Suzan took a smoke break.  We also met a really cool recent transplant to Texas who will be joining our online critiquing.  Super jazzed about this.

Sunday.... Linda and I - without talking about it - both automatically assumed that the conference would also be starting at 8am.  She showed up at my place same time as the day before - without us deciding that's what we were doing, we both just assumed the same thing!  And we arrived at the convention center... and realized our mistake!  LoL!!  I had about an hour long conversation with an author who is trying to understand twitter and so we sat on some benches and I pulled up my TweetDeck and we discussed twittering, retweeting, hash-tags, and the benefits and uses of twitter.  We also got the guy leading the twitter workshop to come over and join us and then there were four of us talking about twitter.  It was really fun.

During a session with one author, the author stopped speaking for a few moments and then asked the full room if anyone had any Claritin - allergies are really bad this year.  Well, when I'm sick and I need to be in public sans-medicine-head, I take Claritin.  Yes, it's expensive but it leaves me clear headed and functioning.  I pop'd up with the medicine and this author said she'd read my first ten pages of a manuscript and critique it.  I needed to have gotten it out last night in all honesty but I got blocked with web hosting issues on godaddy.com

So I'm excited about that!

I also hate godaddy.com  If anyone is better with internetz than I, I would love helps.  Otherwise I'm going to corner Suzan and beg her to help me, though it might not take begging, it could just take some Dr Pepper....

There were also some really nifty writerly threads available.  Sometime this week two shirts I bought will be here and I'm sure there will be pictures. I can't figure out if they have a website so I'll just have to tell you that both shirts are funny and one is semi-sexually funny, but writerly, both are girly.... yeah.

Ho-hum...  I'm rather certain I don't like staying at home.  I don't think I ever realized how little time I spend in my apartment some times until I had someone living with me.  I'm sorry world, I make a terrible roommate.

The Epic Closet Cull is .... still underway in the way that I mean there's a huge freaking pile of STUFF at the foot of my bed.

My apartment is a wreck.  Tonight will officially be Cid-cleans-stuff night; bathroom, bedroom, chin cage, dishes, trash - you're all going down!!!!!!

And my garden is officially beyond resuscitation and is dead.  Dead.  Dead.  Dead.  I'm sad.  I also don't know if I have the willpower to start over again.

I think this covers it.... yes, it should, if not, well, I'll say it next time!

Okay, so yesterday I was uber, uber, uber productive - and I got pictures of the Chinnies!

You have NO idea how hard it was to get these pictures!  They dart around and try to investigate the camera and are just generally uncooperative when cameras appear.  That's always the exact moment they MUST bounce around the cage.

Speaking of the cage, the chins spent a good deal of time sitting on the patio last night while I scrubbed at their drop tray and cleaned it uber good and sprayed it with cleaners and scrubbed it again.  Hopefully that faint, strange odor I smell will leave.  No one else smells it, they just smell their hay, but I can smell some other dirty-cage smell and it drives me nuts!

The plants, which I meant to take pictures of, are shooting up and up and up.  The beans are the worst ones - as far as shooting UP goes.  I'm thinking I might plant some this weekend, the others will probably be kept in the little green house a while longer.  If the beans weren't so much farther along I would still have the cover on the greenhouse but the beans were getting tall enough they were growing sideways by several inches.

Righteo, headed to critique group tonight and I'm taking my new, shiny "short" story.  :D

The roaches are back.  Well, a single roach was seen last night and promptly attacked with all the viciousness it deserved for invading my domain.   At least I've progressed from screaming and running away, but these aren't the hissers, these are just the creepy big waterbug ones that fly.  My skin crawls just thinking about that.  I have yet to see another one, but now that I've seen one, I'm watching for the others.  I'm not stupid, I know they're out there - waiting for me to let my guard down just a bit.  That's when they'll really attack; but I'm ready.

This week is going better than last week.  It would be hard to be worse than last week, and thankfully this one is not trying to run that contest.  I'm still struggling with the previously mentioned knitting pattern, but I didn't get to mess with it today because I read Boneshaker by Cherie Priest.  I have also written this week - where I didn't read at all last week.

The plants are shooting upwards.  I'm going to have to pull the top off soon - I think.  I'm a little unsure of what constitutes as leaves.  I'm really surprised because the Bluebonnets are blooming; Bluebonnets usually take a year to plant and bloom.  I'm hoping to get a few viable seedlings; that would be fantastic.  I should have taken pictures....

I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I'm not going to my mom's race this weekend; I'll be staying home, waiting for twitter updates on my mom's progress.  Instead I will probably do some much over-due cleaning, writing and knitting.  I'm poking people to let them know it's an open invite to come over and hang out because I don't have a plan to go out. 

And, tomorrow night is the 10th anniversary of Boondock Saints.  If you're a fan, go look at the Fathom Events for locations and tickets.  Boondock Saints II came out Tuesday but I haven't had the chance to go get it -- yet.  Okay, I'm tired and the Chinchillas are begging, for something.  As always, I'm not sure what.

Okay, so as relaxed as my weekend was - this was not so in the rest of the world.  I'll touch on that in the end.  :)

Friday - hockey game - we won!!! Spent this with my friend Amanda.

Saturday was like... make up for all of the time I haven't made the edits my critique group suggested.  I spent the day at Barnes and Noble critiquing and rewriting stuff.  I wrote about 4K, added some really nifty stuff and am still very excited about my writing process. Oh - and I bought books.  Yes, I know I said I shouldn't - but I did!  I bought Becky Levin's book The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide (this time I smartly copied and pasted that, because even though I try, I keep getting the title wrong!  I'm sorry!!!!)  I also got Sunshine and I think Rose Daughter... Crud. I can't remember!!!!!!  Oh well, both Robin McKinley books!  Other than that, I didn't do anything really useful Saturday; just reading and writing - but I loved it!

Sunday was mostly a useless day. I took out the trash! And did dishes! Watched 500 Days of Summer and went to a hockey game - again - only we lost this one  :(

Today I need to be very useful.  I need to do laundry, change the Chinchilla cage, clean, clean and clean, and hopefully revise and pretty much rewrite the next scene because I had some great ideas for it.

I have also decided I dislike my planner. I want a small monthly view calendar and I want to be done with this almost useless one I have now.  I think I saw one at BnN that fits what I want that if I get everything done as I need to this week, I just may treat myself to.  Ug - and have I mentioned that buying into the BnN membership thing has made me want to go and use it more? Because I really do need to make sure I get my money's worth!!!!

This week should be the normal type of busy.  Tonight being domestic, with some knitting time thrown in, tomorrow Critique Group, Wednesday church Thursday the Book Club - where I give my unfavorable review of the book everyone else loved and I - ah - didn't, and Friday I hope to hang out with people, go to movies and clean like crazy for Friday - because Saturday is Write Your @ss Off Day!!!!!

And on to the DrAmA!!!!!!!

I think I've become a real-life-drama-nut.  Like, I really like reading about crazy stuff that really happens, except this news isn't really the giddy type, it makes me sit back and grimace and think.  The thing this weekend is the whole Amazon vs Macmillan debacle, which can reasonably be said to happen as a result of Apple debuting the iPad.  Everyone has an opinion, everyone thinks this way or that; I'm erring on the side that neither are really right, but I agree far more with Macmillan than Amazon.  Now, you can read the full release from Macmillan here on the free edition of Publishers Lunch.  And then there was Amazon's rebuttal and subsequent removal of all Macmillan titles.  Nathan Bransford posted a blog this morning explaining the whole mess; he always has a lot of really good stuff to say and plays connect the dots with stuff.  I thought Scott Westerfeld posted a really interesting and insightful blog about the whole mess, and I think I agree with him on most points.  However, over at Fiction Matters, they posted an article that is more favorable to Amazon.  I'm sorry, but I just have a hard time with the seller dictating the price of what the publisher can sell their product for.  All in all, I'm reading everything and it's fascinating! If it also makes me sad.

Anyways, lunch is over!  Still plugging away at Girl w the Dragon Tattoo!

So if I dared to think that yesterday was a crazy mess of stuff - today was worse.  Because it's work stuff I'm not really going to explain it except that by noon I was considering how nice and isolated the space under my desk looked, but by 3pm I could see a promising light!

I even picked Practical Demonkeeping up again during lunch for some mindlessness and discovered - the second chapter and third were much better than the first! I'm starting to have the feeling that's how Fluke has to be - because I've heard such good things about it! ....but the first chapter...I can't finish it! I may just have to jump to the second.  I don't anticipate finishing it today as I have a nice little laundry list of things I would like to do.  Like dye my hair, put the frelling Christmas tree away, clean the bathroom and the sink area (maybe scrub the tub!), actually put laundry away (what a novel thought!), cook a freaking meal for the first time in a while, change out light-bulbs so I can see in my bedroom and do something about the pile of jewelry on my dresser and the shoes at the foot of the bed.

And something has to be done about the rabbit.  I swear all she does is DRINK and PEE, which makes things SMELL.  And now she is at my place indefinitely.  Oh my.  Well, something will have to happen because I need to de-smell my place for the Crafty Day on Sunday.  She might have to hang out on the patio on Sunday.  I swear I change her cage twice as much as I do my Chinchillas and it still smells.

--

The next day.....

This is sort of like two blogs in one since I - ah - forgot to finish this yesterday! I went home and promptly began a systematic method of being lazy and having bursts of energy and doing something.  My hair is dyed, the bedroom has light in it again, I cooked, the Christmas tree is disassembled and ready to be put in a box .... Now I just need some serious deodorizer for my place and to maybe, finally figure out what's wrong with the vacuum cleaner! I think it needs to be taken completely apart... I'm thinking I may need to take it to a vacuum repair place. Do they have those in the city?  I can't find anything on yelp.com and I've taken apart all the pieces I know how to take apart and it's still not working.  Ug!

At least today seems to be looking better than the rest of the week - as far as work goes.  Everyone is happy, things are going well and I'm so happy about that!  Tonight I'll go see either Legion or Book of Eli at the movies and bake cake for more cake-pops.  Saturday is National Pancake Day so I'm thinking about setting up shop at an IHOP and eating pancakes and doing some much needed revision.  Well, I say much needed because besides Monday I haven't had any time to work on it at all! So sad.  :(  And I'm at a funny part too!  I decided on some motivation for the FMC which will be better than her just doing stuff just because.

Oh, and sometime over the last week I wrote my 100th blog... And I didn't even realize it! I should have had a blog party or something, or made a nice little speech. Oh well!

Ug - I have a headache and it's lunchtime and I'm not eating.... what's wrong with me?

I think it's pure stubbornness I'm wearing my dress today.  I bought it before Christmas but it was just too cold and pointless for me to wear anything other than jeans to work.  It's a brown dress, which is even more pure novelty considering I don't particularily like brown or wearing it - but this one has a design of blue colored teardrop and semi-nike-swish things that go absurdly well with my blue cashmere sweater that - well - I kinda felt super compelled to buy it.  And thankfully the weather is copaerating and it's warm enough to wear it so today is a good day.  I'm also feeling much better!  I think that tomorrow I will push myself to get up and exercise.  I put it off on the weekend and yesterday for not feeling well at all, but I think tomorrow morning I will be pretty well off.

Last night I lay awake in bed and contemplated a new prologue for Suspicion and I penned out a few paragraphs I think I will have the critique group read.  I'm rather thrilled with the idea as well as expanding the novel to include various bits from other characters perspective other than the female main characters.  I think it will help the reader fully understand the complex plot that was just lost on the first draft.  Lots of nothing happened and then in a few thousand words everything happened and left even my head spinning for how in hades it all came to a point besides the fact that green is a very suitable color.

I was reading Brandon Sanderson's blog, oh my, yes - blogs, and the whole thing about his books being made into movies intreigued me.  I've sort of been forcing myself to ignore that he writes anything other than Wheel of Time but I do believe I will have to read his books, and at the current rate I am devouring printed pages of stuff I should easily be able to do that - later this year.  Heck, I started Robin McKinley's book The Hero and the Crown last night; I probably haven't read it since Jr High.  I can't believe I haven't read it between then and now - it's such a crime!  I will probably also finish it tonight or today or something impossible like that because I just could not sleep despite how exhausted I was so why not read?  (and of course between the time I wrote that line this morning and now after work, I finished the book.)

Perhapse I need to be interested in thicker books.  Then I would spend more than three days reading it.  It's a little exciting to move on from a book so quickly, but it's also a bit of a let down.  I wish they lasted me longer, but I am glad to have read them.  I'm going to force myself to hold off reading The Blue Sword until tomorrow.  I believe my current plan is very much to not go to church tomorrow because my fever has yet to leave me and the headache is still permanently wrapped around my head so that even after ingesting drugs to dull it - it's still just there outside of sight and hearing like.

So I leave work very soon and I'm going to go on to the Borders where we have critique group at instead and probably eat some soup at McAllisters and piddle around on the next scene of Suspicion and force myself to be yet more productive today.  Ug, and I must also get food for that little varmet the rabbit - and it needs fresh bedding.  I ached and hurt so bad last night I almost didn't clean the Chin cage, but I did.  I don't have the right bedding for the rabbit.  The rabbit gets expensive, absorbant stuff.  That's what happens when the animal actually sits in their bedding; they get the better stuff.  My Chins, who have a tray that slides out of the bottom of their cage, can have cheapy crushed corn stuff that absorbs and whatnot and so long as I am mindful of changing it every few days works rather well.  However, I'm starting to feel that their cage isn't getting really clean and I'd like nothing more than a chance to hose it down and scrub it - but where do I put the Chins while I do this?  I'm pondering over this question and browsing CraigsList.  People are bound to have cages they don't need anymore, what with small children learning the responsibility of an animal isn't all that glamerous.