I'm going for a Cheetah approach

Kilimanjaro is a snow-covered mountain 19,710 feet high, and is said to be the highest mountain in Africa. Its western summit is called by the Masai "Ngàje Ngài," the House of God. Close to the western summit there is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude.

— Ernest Hemingway, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," first published in Esquire (August 1936)

I don't particularly care for that short story. Too bitter for my taste. Yes, yes I get the leopard and hyena symbolism - yes, he's a genius, but still TSK is not my favourite of his stories.

In the third installment of my apparent fascination with Hemingway, I will soon be off to another of "his" places: Mt Kilimanjaro. I won't be hunting big game, but I will be climbing the mountain while there are still a few small bits of glacier left, going on safari during Wildebeest migration season, and then off to Zanzibar where E and I are having trouble deciding exactly what we want to do - we've already overshot our budget, so Zanzibar is suffering. We'll definitely make an effort to go diving - the Indian Ocean! It's supposed to be gorgeous and shark-infested.

I have all of my shots and we're more or less ready to go. I'm all about training and shopping - like the cheetah I want to look good and look like I could outrun a predator if necessary, thus making it unnecessary and allowing me to spend my days lounging and sunning myself.

What? oh, riight.. that book I'm writing when I'm not working to pay for fancy vacations, training for fancy vacations or on a fancy vacation. Um, well, I've set a goal for myself to finish it using some magical time expansion method before leaving for Tanzania. I want to be able to start something new for NaNoWriMo 2008. Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro will seem easy in comparison...

E. is also training in part by winning the Laurentian Rogaine this past Saturday. Even after somehow incorrectly mixing his electrolyte-replacement drink, making it undrinkable and making him nauseous, dehydrated and suffering for the last 4 hours of the 8-hour race, he and Speedy still won. Freaking E.

Chick lit is alive and kicking

I'm happy to report that rumors of the death of chick lit have been highly exaggerated. Our group had a great time discussing Something Borrowed and trying to define the Chick Lit genre. My definition is 'modern, non-depressing women's fiction that's like reading a friend's diary' There was some heated debate about whether Jane Austen would be considered CL - in my opinion YES, but not to others. Even though she's not modern now, when she wrote it, she was contemporary.

We struggled with the fact that most chick lit ends up happily ever after - i.e. she gets the guy, but we all agreed that we do not like the message 'a woman needs a man.' We kept coming back to that problem, and we finally agreed that a CL heroine must first reach a place where she has discovered/accepted/reinvented herself and would be fine on her own - she is NOT in need of rescue. As a strong, independent woman she then finds her love interest and as equal partners they have a happy ever after ending. We tried to think of a CL book where she ends up alone in the end, but came up blank - is there one?

As for my contribution, I somehow managed to change the organizer's mind about "Something Borrowed" She loved the book before the meeting, but changed her mind about liking the heroine Rachel after I pointed out how spineless she was, and how much stronger her friend Hilary was. She pointed out some of the Darcy/Rachel friendship parts that I had missed, so I now have a better understanding of their relationship.

Bottom line - I had a great time and I'm looking forward to re-reading "Watermelon" by Marian Keyes for our next meeting. Apparently I've done such extensive reading in the genre I'm going to be doing a lot of re-reading : )

As a side note, I wore a snappy sundress to the meeting, and E told me, "Hey, you look really nice - you should wear that more often" I told him if he invited me to do something other than shovel gravel that I would gladly wear the snappy sundress. We'll see what happens.... and no this does not mean there is any trouble in K&E happily ever after land - I was just making a point.

In another side note, I am completely obsessed with Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooter series, or as I call them, "the Naked Navy SEALS books." I met Ms Brockmann at the writer's conference I went to in April, and everyone was raving about her books. I finally started reading them a few weeks ago and have not been able to stop - I haven't been this obsessed since I started reading Harry Potter, although her books are completely different. If you're looking for excellent summer reading, pick up the first in the series, "The Unsung Hero" by Suzanne Brockmann. You can thank me later.

Meeting a local Chick Lit Book Club tomorrow

I can't wait!! I'm meeting 7 other ladies (total strangers - I found this group online) tomorrow night to discuss Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin I hope HOPE HOPE it will be a good meeting, and worth the drive downtown. Wish me luck!

Power Surges

What's an appropriate gift for a woman's 50th birthday? I am absolutely, 100% against anything over-the-hill, black or depressing. Is a menopause joke card appropriate? I was really stuck while shopping, and not at all sure what to do. Since turning 40, I've had nothing but fun, and I intend to keep it that way as I approach 50 and beyond.

I saw a bumper sticker once that said, "They're not hot flashes, they're power surges"
I love that! I am not in power surge territory yet, but I think that talking openly about menopausal symptoms is healthy. Oprah deserves credit for bringing many women's issues into the open and eliminating a lot of fear and uncertainty. I don't have time to watch her show and her magazine makes me crazy, but a bunch of female colleagues were raving about a book O reviewed: How Not to Look Old by Charla Krupp. I ended up buying this book for the friend who is turning 50, but I feel compelled to add a disclaimer saying that I don't think she needs it. I really hope she doesn't take it the wrong way, and I still have no idea what others will be giving her - what is appropriate? I have no idea. Now I'm second guessing that book - maybe I'll keep it and give her something much cooler, like a gift certificate for surfing lessons.

And I though shoes on the side of the road were weird

Why do we often see stray shoes on the side of the highway? Okay, I was ONCE responsible for one of those, or was it my sister - the details are foggy, but one of us threw one of the other's shoe out the car window on one of those horrifying Griswald-esque family car trips. However, my dad turned the car around and we retrieved the shoe - we didn't just say "oh well" and leave it there. How can you not notice that a shoe went out the window?

What's weirder is feet washing ashore in B.C. If the feet were missing shoes, there might have been a direct link, but these feet still have shoes.

Still, I wouldn't discount the possibility of a connection.

Just finished reading Eat, Pray, Love

Eat Pray Love is a memoir (? - the cover doesn't specify, but it doesn't say novel, so I'm assuming that her first-person accounts are true) by Elizabeth Gilbert about her post-divorce healing journey through Italy, India and Indonesia. It sounds awful, and the title was enough to scare me off, but a friend insisted I read it and even put the book in my hands. I loved the first part about Italy. I aspire to write as well as EG!! She's funny and doesn't overwrite.

That being said, she lost me in India and didn't recapture me in Indonesia. The whole prayer thing was too long and too, "look, look - I'm healed, no really - I've found the Lord - see SEE how balanced I am now." Sheesh- I wish she would have hung out with the Italian guys sipping latte through the whole book, but still, I DO recommend it. The Italy part was so strong it carried me through the rest. I will definitely look for more of her books.

What's on your summer TBR list?

Surprise Me

While Barack Obama is my choice for U.S. President, I'm not sure he's the best choice as the Democratic candidate. The country is so divided, I think it would take a White Southern Male to give the Democrats a win. I'm scared that the U.S. is still so racist it will not allow Obama to be elected - even if he wins the popular vote, the results will be fixed the way they were for GWB.
I really hope I'm wrong, and I used to be much more optimistic and hopeful about the U.S., but the last 4 years have left me bitter and pessimistic.

Please, please prove me wrong.

If you have constructive ideas on what I can do to help Barack's cause, bring it on - I sent handwritten letters to women in Ohio begging them to vote against GWB in the last election, but Ohio still went the wrong way. Apparently the Republicans blocked 350,000 Ohio votes from being counted. Hopeless? Too corrupt to fight?

I know some (many) people are eagerly waiting the fall of the American Empire, almost salivating as the country implodes on itself. I don't want to see it. Can't the good guys win?

I wish I could think of a plausible way to create a Happily Ever After ending for this one, but I'm afraid it's going to be a horrific bloodbath that will leave us all with nightmares.

Preparing for my dream cycling trip

Cycling in Italy has been on my dream vacation/to do list for ages. Now that I've just returned from a 6-day cycling trip around Lake Champlain I feel a little bit closer. Some woman in Italy is probably blogging about how she just got back from a local trip, and how she hopes and dreams one day of being able to cycle in Vermont and New York.

My trip was beautiful - sunny weather, good food, quirky B&B's and excellent company.

highlights:

• day 2 in Vermont. Postcard-beautiful. Green like I've never seen green before. E was on 'truck' duty (3 of us cycled and one person drove our gear to the next destination - called a 'sag wagon' on tours) , and E had ice cream ready for us at one stop. : )

• dinner at Turtle Island restaurant: delicious soft-shell crab, a real cappuccino (ahhhh) and lemon bars. mmmm

• finishing 2 books! 1st: Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin - splurged on this one as a brand new hardcover right before the trip as a vacation treat. If you liked her other books, you'll like this one, but if you don't like her flawed heroines, this one won't appeal to you. I enjoyed the book - she had me wondering what would happen right up to the end. I also finished Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes about an Irish woman who is forced to leave her partying NY life to go to rehab in Ireland - but she thinks it's a spa. V funny and full of Irish slang like "eejit" and "Jayzus."

low lights:

• morning of day 1, struggling to figure out how my bike worked. Totally my fault - I had a new bike and had only ridden it once prior to the trip. It took me all morning to figure out how to shift properly. Hilly Vermont is not the best place to practice

• being chased by dogs - also not fun, particularly after you've just climbed a steep hill and could really use a rest. The last thing you want to hear is PEDAL! DOGS! BIG ONES! aargh. They never caught us.

We cycled about 30-35 miles per day and some of those days were tough - lots of hills! The scenery was unbelievable - Green Mountains on one side, Adirondacks on the other - for the whole trip. The B&B's each had their own character - some inspired me to toy with the idea of running a B&B until E would say, "Right - waking up to make breakfast for strangers is exactly what we want to do." We agreed we'd have to have a Bed & Brunch. And neither of us wants to chit chat with the guests, so that probably won't work. My favorite hosts were nice, but didn't hover. A couple of them hovered. After cycling for four hours you don't want anyone hovering.

Feels weird to be back, not moving and not dressed in lycra...

Awaiting Reader Feedback

I just sent 177 pages to a select group of volunteer first readers. I originally wanted to send the whole thing to them - my deadline was today, but I ended up revising the last 1/3 of the book, and right now it's only outlined, not written. Still, I feel good about being able to send 2/3 for critique. At this point I need feedback! I can't wait to hear their comments - good and bad.

It's difficult to give a good critique - you need to balance encouragement with useful suggestions for improvement.

I signed up for an online plotting course that starts June 2 - it was highly recommended, so I hope it's worthwhile. I am not a big fan of online classes, but I'm open to having my opinion changed.

Emily Giffen has a new book out: Love the One You're With. As soon as I can get a copy it will be next in my TBR pile.
Currently reading: Rachel's Holiday - an old one from Marian Keyes that I never got around to reading before.

Gone cycling as of tomorrow - I'm doing a 5-day trip around Lake Champlain. Hoping for minimal rain!
Not packed yet....
some things never change

I found the perfect museum exhibit of interest to both me and E!
We're seriously trying to find a way to go.

Recommended Reading

I just finished Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella and loved it! The description of the book sounds lame because it's an amnesia story - I know I know, I rolled my eyes at first, too thinking of bad soap opera story lines, but Kinsella makes it work.

There's an "E" character who has automated his house, but he has disco lights and the toilets are on the circuit (making me realize my E/lighting situation could be much much worse).

Even if you aren't a big fan of her Shopaholic books, I still recommend Remember Me?
Kinsella is getting better and better. Can't wait for her next book!

I'm a photojournalist

One of the diving photos I posted on Flickr got picked up by "now public" (with my permission)

See the article here.

nifty.

It might actually be E's photo so I might only know a photo journalist. I'm the one who uploaded it to Flickr... apparently I'm in charge of PR for our photojournalism efforts.

: )

Gone Fishing

Not me - E!

I've got a book to write. I can't be hanging around drinking porto in front of the campfire and eating E's famous jambalaya.

aargh - I really wanted to go, but if I have any hope of meeting my self-imposed deadline I need to start prioritizing.

The sacrifices I make for my art...

It's not all bad - I made arrangements with a fellow writer to carpool together to the writer's group in Ottawa on Sunday - remember I met some of those writers at the conference I went to in Boston? I actually followed up this time : )

So, no jambablya or porto for me - I'll be scrounging together whatever microwaveable food is in the freezer and keep work, work, working.

Staying Upstairs

E: Are you going to be busy upstairs for a while?
Me: Probably, why?

E: I'm going to do one of those things that freaks you out if you see it.
Me: Like what - crack your neck?

E: I'm just going to....
Me: I don't want to know any more.

E: No no - it's nothing.
I go upstairs and revisit the entire conversation searching for something that would explain the excessive racket coming from downstairs. What is he doing? I can hear waaaaayyyy too much power tool noise and the occasional *crack* for it to be "nothing". Freaking E.

Mota-mota-mota-mota motivation

Last Friday I went to a writer's conference in the Boston area. Before leaving I wanted to go for a run and buy a new outfit because everything I own became completely hideous when it was time to pack. I woke up in a cold sweat at 6am, but instead of tossing in bed worrying about getting everything done I got out of bed and went for a nice 45 minute run. yessss! big improvement over the old worrying Karen.

The conference was fantastic. My favourite networking tactic worked like a charm. Instead of barging in on someone else's conversation (a la Animal House - Hey guys! You playing cards?) I get a drink, sit at a table by myself and then see who sits with me. I met two published authors at my first conference this way, and this time I met a handful of writers from Ottawa.

Besides the chocolate and free books, I love conferences because writing makes me feel like a crazy person, and at the conferences I feel less crazy and better able to focus on the possibilities and opportunities. The free books and chocolate are also excellent. I won a 10-page critique in one of the workshops - that means I get to send 10 pages to the published author who gave the workshop and she will send me feedback. To a writer, this is a huge help. To date I've only had feedback from friends and family who tend to encourage everything I do. "No really, it's good."

I've set a goal for myself to get my SECOND draft in readable shape and in the hands of my readers by the time I leave for my bicycle trip May 24th. I will need to embrace my inner Stephen Covey to find/make the time.

I have no shortage of distractions - I've been training for a half-marathon and am actually in shape to run in, but choose not to because it costs $60, and it's not how I want to spend Sunday. I'm also training for my upcoming week-long bike trip, the summer triathlon season and potential other active upcoming trips.

One of these possible upcoming trips is either a huge distraction that I shouldn't even consider or the opportunity of a lifetime that will transform me into a stronger, richer person with a greater appreciation of life and give me excellent background material for a unique novel. I'm still not sure which one and E is confusing me because he can be extremely convincing. I know he means well, but there was that Mt. Washington incident of'07 that I do not want to re-live in epic proportions.

For a smart person, I can be really dumb sometimes

I've been worrying for no reason and wasting a lot of mental energy conjuring up worst-case, what-if scenarios. No more. Now 100% of my thoughts are on what I can and will accomplish, and I will steamroller over anyone or anything that tells me otherwise. What if I owe more on my freelance taxes than I have saved? Line of credit - it will be the bank's problem. Don't bother me with these things, I'm writing a book.

I've also been a complete MORON about my network. I joined a business networking group to promote my freelancing when I'm already overloaded with freelance work. Meanwhile, I meet writers who hand me their cards and e-mail me, but do I actively maintain these networks? No. Why not? Good question. No more. I am digging their cards out and retrieving the PHONE NUMBER a local author wrote in her book telling me to call her. I will create the network I actually want and need.

I am surrounded by intelligent, ambitious people, but instead of being motivated and energized by them I feel unequal and intimidated. Opportunities land in my lap and I brush them away. Why? Where does this pit of fear come from? I have no idea, but I am filling it with cement.

“The first and best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered by self is of all things most shameful and vile.” -Plato

Smart guy.

Smart girl.

The message is sinking in.

Don't believe me?

Watch.

: )

Progress

Since I burned through most of that freaking to -do list, I now have a sparkling clean office to work in. And by work, I mean write.

I sent E off to Mt Washington to enjoy the wind and slush, and I opted to stay here and work on my book. I think I chose the more difficult path.

1hr post-E departure: power goes out. Internet does not come back until 2 days later. Multimedia room still has no power: no DVDs, no satellite, no sound system in the basement.

Maybe E rigged it to make sure I was working on my book...

It's working, I've been toiling, eating nothing but popcorn and chocolate - he left me a HUGE dark chocolate almond bar as an Easter present. ok, bad plan - of COURSE I've been eating it non-stop since he left.

I'd like to thank my anonymous friend who answered my crazed 'constructing scene' questions even though she had tooth whitening strips on and hair color being timed. That's a true friend : )

back to it.

Fighting Inertia

It's that time of year. Everyone is crabby, everyone is sick of the cold, everyone is sick of wearing winter clothes and winter boots. Spring seems so far off and buried under so much snow there's no use even thinking about it yet.

must ... fight...urge.. to... do... nothing...

I have a looong list of To Do's for this weekend - things that I will not want to do or it will be too late to do once spring finally does arrive, so it's now or never.

I hold myself accountable to my loyal blog reader, Dodi - she'll notice if I don't get it all done : )

1- clean bathrooms - comprehensive cleaning - no quick swipes with a disinfecting wipe DONE!

2- sort scary piles of laundry in bedroom DONE!

3-do laundry resulting from #2 IN PROGRESS Only 1 load left DONE

4-bake chocolate chip banana bread for E (he is in charge of checking the cottage roof for snow damage so this is fair) DONE!

5-bake blueberry bran muffins for me DONE!

6-do something outside Sat that involves fresh air and exercise - xc ski? SUBSTITUTED: shovel back deck for 1 hr

7-do my long run Sun (90 min) DONE!

8-sort through bath products in bathroom and organize

9-clean office

10-purge office files

11-prepare tax documents for the accountant

12-plant the seeds I bought 3 weeks ago!!! IN PROGRESS

13-shovel a path from the back door to the composter IMPOSSIBLE - TOO ICY

14-dump the overflowing temporary compost container in the kitchen into the outdoor composter DONE - WALKED ON ICE

15-burn a new CD to listen to in the car

16-re-pot the plant that has been rooting in water for over a month DONE!

17-clean the grimy fish tank DONE!

18-research the cost of flights to Tanzania (might be able to get E to do this)

19-upload winter camping and other recent pictures to flickr

20-sign up for writing conference in April

ok, that's it. doable? I might have to forget I'm K and pretend to be E, although he wouldn't have a clue what to do with all the bath products.

I actually do believe it is possible to get all of that done. I'm not starting until whenever I wake up Saturday, and after I've had 2 lattes and read the paper.

Right.

update: 10 a.m. Sat.: I've had my 2 lattes, and I'm starting the list. go go go

update 2 p.m. Sat: 5 done, 15 to go

update 7 p.m. that's it for today. excellent progress!


Update 10 p.m. Sunday. Substituted finishing my list with finishing a book. Well, I'm definitely K, and happy with how much I did get done : )

Snow!

I haven't seen snowdrifts over my head since I was a kid. We had two big storms last week.
It's a pain when you need to drive somewhere, but on the weekend when you can take your time shoveling out, it's kind of fun, particularly when E volunteers to man the snowblower.
One of my birdfeeders in the back yard is so low over the piled up snow, the birds can stand on the snow and enjoy the buffet.

E is predicting that cycling season won't start until May. I'm predicting a massive meltdown by April 1.

Practicing What I Preach

I finally finished my wall of motivation:


It's a combination of quotes, images and goals.

Now I have everyone from Louisa May Alcott to Henry David Thoreau to Janet Evanovich and the US Marine Corps cheering me on.

I printed everything on my color printer using either quality bond paper or glossy postcard paper that comes pre-perforated so you can rip a normal-size sheet into 4.

No excuses for tattered post-its - I'm looking your way, D.

The only one I forgot was an old fortune: "A handful of patience is worth a bushel of brains."

I'm #7

Sorry for the quiet, but we've been freak-show busy. Here's proof:



Me classic xc skiing in a 5K race last Saturday. I placed #7 of 14 in my age group which sounds good, but in reality a lot of those women had kids with them and were skiing waaay in the back. But hey - too bad. I'm #7, I'm #7.

E did 29K and placed well for his age group. He is racing again next weekend, but I am taking a friggin' break.

We were winter camping the weekend before last and still haven't quite unpacked. I should be able to do a major flicr upload soon.

I hope you are enjoying all the snow (if you have snow wherever you are.)
snow=fun. seriously. cold= not so fun, winter rain = crap.

Either Hilary or Obama is fine with me - let's just get on with it!

Bush has to go NOW

I just read this on Publisher's Lunch

"President Bush's proposed budget calling for the elimination of Reading Is Fundamental's (RIF) Inexpensive Book Distribution program would be devastating to the 4.6 million children and their families who receive free books and reading encouragement from RIF programs at nearly 20,000 locations throughout the U.S."

I can understand why GW wants people to be illiterate. Now if the Dems can stop bickering over which of their AMAZING candidates is SLIGHTLY better than the other one and focus on combining their forces to get him or her elected maybe we can stop the insanity.

Can we please stop bickering over which grade of sand is best and focus on stopping the flooding?

Progress

1) Gilmore Girls Movie marathon-DONE. Remember that 10K fundraiser I ran in last year where I bet E that I could raise more funds than he could, and if I lost I had to do an orienteering race, and if he lost he had to watch the last season of Gilmore Girls with me? I won mainly because all of his friends gave money to me in order to make him suffer. We finally got through all of the DVDs and while it was a little fun to make him suffer, it kind of ruined it for me because I like GG. Lesson learned- I'm not good at torture.

2) Making an effort to go out with my female friends more- PROGRESS. Everyone is busy, but it really doesn't take much to pick up the phone and arrange a night to go to the movies. So I miss the occasional workout or get to bed later than normal - big deal. So far I've gone to 2 chick flicks: Atonement (YUK - I Highly recommend avoiding it)
27 dresses (CUTE! Meets expectations from the trailers. Not deep, but entertaining)

3) Book - PROGRESS. I'm working on it regularly instead of waiting for huge chunks of time to open up, and I've been reading other books strictly to learn how they were put together - I am close to finishing my first Nora Roberts book ever.

4) Relaxing - NOT SO GOOD. I signed up for yoga twice a week, and have missed as many sessions as I 've attended so far. grrr. I also have a lot of trouble falling asleep at night. Must work on this one.

It's Nice to Be Important, But it's Important to Be Nice

My high school calculus teacher (who I hated with a white-hot passion) had that saying posted on the wall of his classroom. It was written by hand on parchment-looking paper with leaves, bark, and other outdoor debris glued to it. I used to stare at it, imagining a dull rainy day at summer camp, being forced to participate in a lame indoor 'keep busy' project like braiding lanyards.

My friends and I used to repeat that saying to each other and it made us laugh every time. There's nothing wrong with the idea behind it; but I hated school, that teacher and calculus so much that the words and that freaking bark made me insane.

I used to make fun of people who have inspirational quotes on their walls, and I love the demotivation series that makes fun of corporate motivation posters. However.... as part of my ongoing battle with my "you can't write a book" demons, I have to reluctantly admit that a powerful way to defeat negative thoughts is to replace them with positive thoughts.

I tried an exercise involving writing down 5 positive things that happened each day before going to bed at night, and it was incredible how it changed my whole outlook during the day. Instead of focusing on everything that went wrong, I paid attention when something went well, keeping it in the front of my mind so I would have it ready to write down on my 5 things list.

Now I'm posting quotes on my wall from people I admire, and thoughts that I wish would stick in my brain. I'm not talking about Ned Flanders-like Polyanna sayings, or 'turn that frown upside down' crap, and there are no cuddly kittens, puppies or bark anywhere. I'm talking about straightforward words in modern fonts with clean lines. My favourite is this one that E put up in my office before it was officially my office:

"Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic."

If you're looking for quotes to conquer your "you're an idiot - stop trying new things and go sit down and complain about everything that's wrong" demons, try Compendium.

For the record, I still snicker at people who have hand-written 'turn that frown upside down'-type sayings on their walls, and I can't stand receiving crappy power point presentations filled with cliches, animal pictures and typos. Don't be put off by all of the Stuart Smalley type people who preach the power of positive thinking - you can still make fun of those losers. It's not that important to be nice.

Proof!

Finally, the surfing, diving and Chicago photos are online. Use the links below to see them. I split the photos in two sets so that you don't have to wade (!) through all the fish pictures.

The links will take you into my flickr account. View each set as a slideshow so the photos are as big as possible. To see my captions, in the lower right corner click Options and then select Always show title and description.

Florida, surfing, diving highlights, Chicago












More Diving

Small step in the right direction

I just spent one hour working on my book. No checking e-mail, IM turned off.
No distractions. I finally made my actions match my words. Is the book priority #1? If so, then it should take precedence over all else.
So far so good.
Now, on to priority #2 projects...

Karen needs improvement in all areas

Looking back at my 4 goals for 2007, which are posted in living color on the wall of my office, I did not complete any of them to my satisfaction:

1- Finish book
2 - Submit book to agents
3 - Earn enough $$ to go to a writer's conference, contribute to RRSPs and go on a dive vacation
4- Complete a 1/2 marathon and reduce my 10K time to sub-60 min.

I came close on #3 - I did go to a conference and take a snappy vacation. For #4 I almost had my 10k time under 60 min in March...

For the first time EVER I am receiving a 'needs improvement' performance review. The worst part is I am reviewing myself. Do I expect too much? I don't think so. All of these goals are achievable. Maybe one year wasn't enough time. Maybe I just need to re-word the goals to be more benefits-oriented in order to motivate myself.

2008 goals
1. Be able to say "YES" when someone asks if I finished my book yet
2. Wear out a copy of my guide to agents and editors
3. Enjoy a fabulous vacation while knowing I have plenty of $$ invested for my future
4. Show off my 15lb slimmer self in perfectly fitting non-mom jeans while wearing a snappy t-shirt from the 1/2 marathon that I finished.

So, Karen - are you sure you're up to the challenge? You could always work in an office job and watch television in sweatpants until your time is up.

No no no - I can do it!

Prove it.

Gone Surfing

Went surfing today - xcellent!

We had an ex-pro sufer instructor - Marcello from Brazil who lived up to the name of the EZRide Surf School. Compared to my last experience, this was so much easier!

Sunny skies, plenty of breaking waves for the locals and learners to share, and a gorgeous beach - the perfect day. We paddled out and started catching waves right away. I managed to stand up and actually surf a couple times : )

Of course E did better, but its my blog, so all of the photos Im posting are of me. Sorry for the lack of apostrophes, but this is a French keyboard. Tomorrow were off to the Keys for some diving. We managed to miss the big snowstorm that hit the Northeast Sunday - we got out just in time. No shoveling here, just sun.

Sorry - no photos yet - the connection here is too slow.

In Search Of

When I open my Yahoo! mail, sometimes I check the top searches to see how much or how little I have in common with the majority of Yahoo users. It's rare that I've ever searched for anything on the top search list. Usually I've at least heard of everything on the list, but today the #1 item threw me:

Top Searches
Elin Nordegren
Magna Carta
Eva Mendes
GPS Systems
Mormonism
Barry Bonds
Barbara Walters
Dolly Parton
Weather

Who is Elin Nordegren? I thought he must be some important political leader.. oh she's a Swedish model best known for being married to Tiger Woods. Right. Way more information than I needed.

My only search of the day? Spring roll recipe. yum.

I Just Pulled a Dodi

: )

I treated myself to a piece of original art sold on etsy.com

It's a 6x6 acrylic of a girl holding hands with a purple monster. Titled 'Friends Forever'
I love it, and can't wait to hang it on the wall of my office : )

It's by the creator of will write for chocolate and inkygirl

Karen's picks

To me, being asked for a book recommendation is an honour. Someone trusts ME to suggest a book worthy of her precious free time. I don't trust many people to recommend books - they have to REALLY sell a book to me before I'll take a chance on frittering away my precious free time on depressing "I am woman, hear me complain" stories or feeling like a moron because I can't keep the intricate plot developments of historical fiction straight.

So, when a friend e-mailed me with this request, I gave it some thought:
"I keep forgetting to ask you if you have any good books to lend me. I am looking for something light and fun to read. ... I think the last book I read was The
Kite Runner. Good but not as good as I had heard it would be...maybe too
much build up."

I'd hardly call the Kite Runner light and fun. I liked it, but light? not so much.

Here is what I'm lending her:


The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

Kinsella is best known for her Shopaholic books, but I prefer her stand-alone stories.



Lady Luck's Map of Vegas by Barbara Samuel

A little heavier, but quirky. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.




Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

This was over-hyped to me by the time I read it, but if I don't play it up too much, I think my friend will enjoy it.



A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
Another quirky pick. A series of vignettes about the author's life growing up in small-town Indiana. Easy, funny.


What would you recommend as light and fun?

I was amazed at the number of books on my shelf that I've read but don't consider good enough to recommend. Might be time for a serious purge.

No US Thanksgiving or Black Friday for me

I already did the turkey with family thing in October for Canadian Thanksgiving. I will be working Thursday - it's not a day off up here!

We have snow. Not enough to xc ski on yet... unfortunately I never did get around to raking the leaves...

People keep asking me if I am going to "black Friday" With the strong CDN dollar, its becoming a competitive event - going to New Hampshire with its low sales tax is hardcore. Managing to be over the border for 48 hours requires planning. People are stunned when I tell them you couldn't pay me to go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. To me it would be one of the circles of hell.

On a side note, would it be immoral to put expired Boost (one of those liquid energy drinks) in a food bag for the needy? We eat expired food all the time, but E is sick of Boost because he is forced to drink tons of it when on expeditions, and I don't really need any calorie 'boosting' thank you very much. So it will eventually end up in the garbage. Better to go to the needy? I tried some about a month ago and it's still good...

This made me cry

I am probably the last person to hear about this guy (I take that back, when I showed E, he didn't know so I was at least 2nd to last)



I thought it was fake, but when I checked around, apparently not!
more info/updates: http://www.paulpottsopera.org/index.html

my source: pub rants

Progress

Yes, I've been working on FiMyNoMo. I went with E to the cottage and I fired up the laptop each time he went into the woods. It's tougher to gauge progress editing than with straight word count, but here are the parameters I'm tracking:
hours: 11
new pages written: 25
pages edited: 74

Still a long way to go, but I did learn that even in one hour I can make a lot of progress.

New FiNyNoMo logo

E rocks!

I gave him the basic instructions for the participant and 'tracker' images, although I don't think I put "dull" as my starting point...

So far, so good. I am still not at what I would call a solid D1 -- all characters consistent (no unnamed, no multiple personalities), all transitions in place, all blanks filled in. Last weekend I managed to add 18 pages. Not a bad start.

Finish or perish!

NaNoWriMo-less

I'm sad not to be part of National Novel Writing Month this year. Instead I'm trying to motivate myself to FinishMyNovel this Month.

E is supposed to make me a FiMyNoMo logo and progress bars, but he's got a 5-mile long to-do list, and spent last Saturday repainting the hood of my car, so I will have to be patient. So far, I've logged 1 hour/20 pages of revision. I have no idea why I'm so hesitant/reluctant/scared to work on this book. I suppose it's a fear of failure thing, but I still need to do a lot more before I'd consider the effort a failure. At this point it would be pure giving up, and I'm not a quitter.

So, the butt glue has been applied. I'm logging my hours, and I've set goals. Apparently I fall into the group of people who are motivated by achievement (as opposed to power or people).

Wish me luck, and if you see me out doing something other than working on my book, send me home.

Side note: total Halloween candies consumed: 4. not bad. : )

Update:
Created Temporary logo - hideous. Cannot figure out how to manipulate text in Jasc Pro, let alone add images.

You've got the SHINE, boy!

For me, Halloween = the last day before NaNoWriMo, or in my case this year FiMyNoMo.

I hope Dodi has finished her nephew's 3-headed costume.

I am on the fence about buying candy to hand out. Will kids actually show up? We never actually see kids in the neighbourhood, but they might avoid our house out of fear of E year-round the way the cats do.

I'll probably buy a few bags, and force E to lock it in the gun locker as soon as we've decided that no kids are going to show. Otherwise I will eat it all and sink into a depressive funk on Nov.1 - bad start to the month.

In honour of Halloween, we watched The Shining last Friday (we yuppied it up with sushi and sake, but it was still scary). If anyone knows of a scarier movie, bring it on. Danny on the big wheel with the noise of carpet/no carpet freaks me out every time. Kubrick was a freaking genius. Nicholson was also amazing.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

The perfect kickoff to FiMyNoMo.

Feeling Like Forrest

Excellent Information R/evolution. video

found via Ed

How many people watching it have no idea what the card catalog is?
I barely used a computer in university - I typed my papers. My younger sister had a Commodore 64 when she arrived at university her Freshman year.

I worked in desktop publishing with the first version of Quark, and helped develop first generation web sites.

The technology revolution has been playing in the background while the rest of life's events have been taking place: moving, changing jobs, changing relationships, repeatedly gaining and losing 15 lbs.

I can appreciate the significance of the Internet, home computers, and computer technology in some respects. However, I think everyone who has been involved from the start is too close to see the big picture. What has started? Is this the beginning of something amazing or horrifying?

All I can hope is that I've helped make a positive contribution.

Now back to our regular discussion of moldy bread and gravel shoveling....

Waste Not, Want Not

alternate title: Dumpster Diving, Anyone?

In this weekend's Gazette somewhere in the middle of the inane blathering about what Gazette employees are watching on television (note to the editors: FIND SOME ACTUAL NEWS), I was introduced to 'Freegans' - people who are so against the waste in our society that they get their food by dumpster diving. They don't do it because they can't afford food - the person in the Gazette article (sorry - I tried to find a link in the Gazette online archives, but Freegan turned up 0 results...) had a tidy sum in the bank. Freegans dumpster dive to make a statement about how gross it is of us to waste so much food.

While I agree that it is gross of our society to be so wasteful, I don't think I could do the dumpster diving thing. Am I a pampered, spoiled Westerner? I will grab odd things people have put on the curb on trash day (wood, furniture, etc.) , but not food.

I make an effort to not order more than I can eat - I'll split a meal with someone or take the leftovers home. At home I really try to not throw food out, but with two people, stuff inevitably goes bad. I started composting this year so at least the rotting fruit and vegetables don't go to waste.

Am I missing something? Are the rest of you dumpster diving and I'm the only fool actually buying new bagels? They're probably all dropped on the floor and sneezed on before they're bagged and sold in the store anyway...

How's the Book Going?

The dreaded question.

YOU guess the answer.

This weekend, I

-Started reading Volume I of the Children of Violence series by Doris Lessing (I wanted to read the Golden Notebook, but it was already checked out of the library)

-Shoveled more gravel, this time mixed with clay-like dirt

-Made turkey soup with actual turkey carcass broth

-Did freelance writing (paying) work to support my growing online shopping habit

-Found the new must-have dishes I must have online

-went to the hardware store to color-correct the gallon of salmon-color workout room floor paint that E bought from a chip I selected (I swear the chip didn't look salmony)

Looking over this list, NONE of it should be more important than getting my book done. grrr.

Using My Powers for Good Instead of Evil

I have an active imagination.

It's incredibly useful when I'm trying to think of a snappy headline.

It's horribly limiting when I'm trying to reach a little higher on a rock climbing route or fall asleep in a relaxed state.

I have a well-honed ability to run "what-if?" scenarios through my head at lightning speed.
I can imagine all the spectacular ways I could fall - oh sure, there's a mat, but the corner of that mat is all worn down, what if I fall on the corner? What if I fall exactly where the 2 mats meet? I'll literally slip through the crack and crack myself in 2 - no thank you.

At night I worry incessantly about things that might happen. It's INSANE.
I have been trying to teach myself to imagine positive things. While no good can come from worrying, there is a whole creative visualization industry behind the idea that if you THINK it, it's practically real.

While I'm not sure about thinking money will fall from the sky and then waiting for it to happen, I do think it's better to be positive than negative. I'm trying.. trying...

But what if?

aaargh

Must picture myself as successful published author who is worry-free, relaxed, and a risk-taking rock climber

Hey - when I look at it that way, the author part seems much more achievable than the rest of the sentence!

: )

When E is away, Karen will pay

As you all know, it's duck hunting season. Right. If you're like me, you're envisioning classic Daffy Duck/Elmer Fudd Loony Tunes episodes. However, to some people, it's a lifestyle. E dressed all in camo, packed a giant bag full of boots and crap, grabbed a box of Heineken, and left this morning (I took photos, but they disappeared off my CF card --?)

Left unsupervised for less than an hour, I signed a lawn care contract because I've had it with our DogPatch lawn. E says no one cares about the lawn, and we'll just keep mowing down the weeds, but I care. This is the first time I've lived in a house with a private lawn since I was a kid and I don't want it to be a big weed patch. I am officially in charge of grounds, and at first I enjoyed the challenge of trying to get the grass to grow, but I quickly discovered that I much prefer perusing flower catalogues to pulling dandelions and inspecting brown patches for grubs.

The contract is 1/3 of the price I was expecting the guy to quote, and if they get the job done, it will be well worth it. I know E will be against paying for lawn care because to him, everyone is working on projects during all waking hours, so why not add lawn care to the list? To me, it's worth paying someone to deal with the lawn so I can freaking relax and spend a Saturday reading a book without having to avert my eyes and feel depressed and embarrassed every time I look at our lawn.

The company I chose appears to be on the 'up and up' despite their bizarre logo:



What IS that thing? It looks like those weird animated films made in the '60s. DUUUDE- got WEED? I'm hoping their insane Peter Pan butterfly man can get the grubs out, eliminate weeds and make our lawn presentable. I wonder if their workers dress like that...

P.S. There are laws in Quebec about what kind of pesticide you can use - there is no "Chem Lawn" available - methods have to be environmentally friendly. We have the strictest laws in North America. I am 100% for these laws, but I also want a nice lawn - stay tuned for the follow-up next year.

Finally, a Book List I Can Relate To

Or, Finally A Book List To Which I Can Relate

(proving that yes, I know the rule about not ending a sentence with a preposition, and choosing to break it because it makes clunky headlines)

Whenever I look at one of those Top 100 books for college graduates/intelligent people/ everyone who is anyone, not only have I not read most of the books on the list, I have no desire to. (again with the preposition ending! kids- don't try this in school)

I just found a book list that includes books I've read, loved and want to read!
The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000
link found via SBWLTB

In honor of banned books week, September 29-Oct 6, I invite you to scan the list and your TBR pile and read the first match you have, or better yet, go out and buy the most intriguing book off the list.



I've already read 5 of the top 10; 22 total. I have The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood kicking around in hardcover - to be rebellious, I'll read it next. Forget motorcycles and pool boys, give me a stack of banned books - try and pry them out of my hands, I dare you!

Seriously, though- who are the idiots complaining about these books? Oh, right, the same people who voted in the last election... sigh.

Let's be thankful we were not raised or educated by these morons and support banned books.

update: (after posting I did more research)
The above sources are for the US. Here is a link about censorship in Canada, with its own list of challenged books and magazines.
Freedom to Read week in Canada is Feb 24-March 1. Makes sense - that time of year is almost guaranteed to be crappy weather - perfect for staying in and reading : )
The differences between the Canadian and American lists are interesting. For example, the Bible is on the Canadian list for exposing homosexuals to hatred and ridicule.
I've only read 5 books on the Canadian list.

Summer isn't over

It's been gorgeous and sunny all week - I refuse to accept that it's past Labor Day. Here are a few snaps from our week of vacation:

Me working on my book - YES!




Spelunking

I've been Simpsonized!

Fun! Upload a picture and get Simpsonized : )
Luckily they let you tweak it a bit - my first attempt turned out like Patty and Selma - aaah!

Thanks for the link, Diana.

Apparently the moon revolves around me

I am not a morning person.

I require 2 mugs of coffee-like substance within hours of waking in order to get moving (preferably cappucino or latte, but I'll drink the watery crap that comes out of a machine at the gas station in desperate situations)

This morning I woke up at 4:30 and I was WIDE AWAKE

I hadn't gone to bed any earlier or started any new wellness regime - I have no explanation other than the lunar eclipse

must see eclipse....

All I really saw was a reddish glow, but apparently the celestial beings wanted me up and in attendance, so I was there.

I thought it was sorta cool and ok maybe a little creepy, but I think that E howling at me all day is a little over the top.

Motivated monkey

Saturday I sent E off to the cottage solo - I gave the vague excuse of having work, etc. but once he left I realized that I didn't actually need to work, and what I really wanted to do was go to Chapters for a book signing by local author Sheila Kindellan-Sheehan. I haven't read her books, but they sounded good and I love to meet authors in person. Particularly female authors, and even better - ones who live nearby.

She was sitting at a table with friends and family wearing t-shirts that had her latest book cover on them. I know it sounds incredibly dorky, but to me having your friends and family wearing t-shirts with your latest book cover on them is the pinnacle of success.

I grabbed a copy of each of her 4 books to be signed and felt my hands shake as I reached the front of the line. I am completely awestruck by published authors. She was exceptionally nice and even gracefully managed the etiquette breach by the moron behind me who was talking to her while I was at the table - DUDE - wait your freaking turn!!

I started reading the first book, The Sands Motel and so far so good - it's fun because it's about snowbirds (Quebecers who winter in Florida) and I actually 'get' the references: St Viateur bagels, Double Hook book shop, Trudeau airport, etc.

Later that afternoon, I dusted off my book, re-wrote the beginning and didn't realize what time it was until E. called at 10 p.m.
What? Who? It's what time? Wow.

E. says to send him away more often if that's what it takes for me to finish, but I think his being gone was just coincidental. I've often had time to myself that I didn't spend working on my book.

It was the t-shirts that motivated me.

Remember the monkey on the bicycle from the game "The Incredible Machine?"
He only starts pedaling when a screen is pulled to reveal a banana dangling in front of him.
I'm the monkey in front of my keyboard. I start typing furiously when I see a picture of my book cover on a t-shirt.

I've searched for an image of the monkey/bicycle/banana but can't find it - he seems to have been replaced by a baboon on a treadmill - now that's just silly. If anyone has the monkey please send it to me - I must have the motivated monkey : )

Sim Lessons

“My friends hate me, I can’t pay my bills, the place is a mess and I’m really tired…” No, I’m not having a breakdown, I’m talking about my “Sim” character. Go ahead– sigh, roll your eyes – that’s exactly how I felt about computer games since I “outgrew” them about 20 years ago. Then one day an XBox® appeared in the living room and I started playing The Sims™ Bustin’ Out. This “silly” game has driven the “balance your life” lesson home to me in a way that no book or article has ever done.

In the game, you need to keep your Sim in a good mood by keeping 8 motives in balance: Hunger, Hygiene, Energy, Social, Comfort, Bladder (when you gotta go, you gotta go), Fun, and Room. From the instruction guide: “Sims are happiest in clean, well-lit homes with nice furnishings… All work and no play is a sure way to grump out your Sim... Keep your Sim in the social swing by making friends and developing strong relationships with fellow Sims.”

While keeping all of these life aspects in balance, my Sim is also building a career. Going to work in a good mood helps him get ahead. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? I thought so too and started playing similarly to how I live my life: my Sim always made it to work, but tried cutting corners on housekeeping and didn’t make much of an effort to maintain relationships. He quickly became grumpy and I really had to work to figure out how to get the fun level to go from red to green. The night he peed on the floor twice and started a kitchen fire was a definite low, but now I’ve figured out that he needs to spend more time out of his house visiting friends to be happy.

Although I’ve only been playing the game a short while, I already find myself mentally checking my own motives: hmm, the house looks ok and my hair looks great, but I haven’t talked to S in a while, and E and I need a night out. A few phone calls later and my relationship level is out of the red and into the green. Thanks to my Sim, I’m finally “getting” it: mood is a function of balancing how you spend your time, and fun doesn’t just happen ¬- you have to make the effort and take the time for it. The game has much more to it including levels and options I haven’t started to explore yet, but it will have to wait. I’m going out with friends tonight.


How does the Real Me measure up against My Sim?
My Sim
Real Me

Will pee on the floor if bathroom needs aren’t met
Does NOT pee on the floor

Will refuse to do something "not fun" if the fun meter is too low to avoid being too grumpy.
Will force myself to do what I’m “supposed to do” regardless of fun, and then be extremely crabby.

Leaves important mail lying all over the house
Uhh, I do that too sometimes.

Tries to compensate for lack of sleep with coffee
I’m trying not to do that as often

full disclosure: I wrote this a while ago, but it still holds true...

On a clutter bender

I'm trying to check myself into organizational rehab but all I've managed to do so far is spread the mess out the door and down the hallway under the guise of 'filing' and allow myself to get thrown completely off-track by 4-ring binders and 3-hole punch inserts - what the?

I've thrown a tiny bit away and wasted waaay too much time trying to determine what is/isn't recyclable.

In other news, I told E I need a breakeroo tonight - he replied that he thought we took a breakeroo last night - we went to the Simpsons movie. Compared to re-wiring an engine, I suppose that going to a movie is a breakeroo, but compared to lying immobile on the porch reading a book, going out to a movie is big excitement.

If you've ever played The Sims, picture my character stamping her feet on the ground cursing SimSpeak until allowed to slack on the recliner chair. I'm at code red. E is more like the mad scientist character - only happy when on the verge of causing major destruction. As long as it doesn't disturb my slackitude I'm okay with that.

Do I need to keep Staples mail telling me I didn't qualify for any reward dollars? is it recyclable? does it require shredding? grrr. I'm ready to take a flame-thrower to this whole mess.

clean up update
found: one metallic green notebook with a matching metallic green pen that I forgot I had. yess! I knew I'd find something worthwhile eventually : )

Fish tank feng shui

Look at my snap-tacular super-clean fish tank featuring a new Flinstones-esque hut made of freshly-picked stones from the majestic shores of Lake Erie!

I can feel the positive feng shui flowing just looking at it.

What does a fish tank have to do with feng shui? I'm not sure - the feng shui information available on the Internet is sketchy at best, contradictory and blatantly product promoting at worst. I boiled down my ten minutes of research to this: a dirty fish tank is the root of any and all money trouble you might think was caused by underestimating the amount of tax you owe and needing to replace your car engine unexpectedly. Cleaning your fish tank will magically cure your money trouble with no additional work required on your part.

Ahh - I can sense the greenbacks heading my way.

So, yes - I need to be working overtime to earn more money but would prefer to let the fish tank do the work. Let's hope that a combination of both will do the trick.

p.s. I couldn't get the 'red eye' function to eliminate 'white eye' on the fish.
p.p.s. E actually helped me clean the fish tank even after listening to my inane feng shui reasoning. I think he just wanted to design the new stone hut.

Model of Efficiency, as usual

PILES of work to do now that I'm back from vaca. Priority #1?
Harry Potter personality quiz:


Find out your Harry Potter personality at LiquidGeneration!

DON'T TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS !

That's me shouting HP5-style - I just finished re-reading Order of the Phoenix. I burned through it really quickly the first time to get to the end, so it was nice to slow down and enjoy reading it the second time through. I just picked up HP 6 to read for the second time and have been negotiating time chunks to read. Why negotiating? Because E and I are completely booked up through mid-August. He's agreed to do all driving and not complain while I sit in the passenger seat and read. I've got to finish HP7 before meeting the family for vacation because I will either hear spoilers or be left out of any and all HP conversations. Plan A was to spend this weekend reading the whole thing, but friends from Vermont invited us to go on a 2-day bike tour, and it IS summer after all,... so I will be picking my copy of HP up on SUNDAY - very late, and then reading next week and en route to the family vacation.

I have no idea who lives or dies or if Snape is good or evil. I don't like to try to figure things out before because either way it would be disappointing. I want to be surprised. My only hope is that we see more of Fred and George Weasley and that there is an ending that makes sense. I heart the twins.

I am a little homesick about HP7 - for HP6 I was with ksl, Dodi and the boys and we had a great time at Barnes and Noble midnight madness - the best part was we waited in line for hours, then stopped at a grocery store on the way home only to find a table heaped with HP6 and no lineup.

This time I will just be running into Chapters to grab my copy 2 DAYS after it is released. Not so fun. Maybe E will dress up in a cape and HP glasses.

Edge=good

"If you don’t feel that you are possibly on the edge of humiliating yourself, of losing control of the whole thing, then probably what you are doing isn’t very vital. If you don’t feel like you are writing somewhat over your head, why do it? If you don’t have some doubt of your authority to tell this story, then you are not trying to tell enough."

-John Irving

found on Pick the Brain

The Big One

The most fun thing about E is that he pushes you past the edge - it's as if all most of us can see is a flat world and somehow he can see further. He's good at convincing other people that the world is actually round and then for those who are willing to go with him to see, he proves it over and over again.

One of his friends recently returned from a year in New Zealand and was pushing E to name the next "Big One" A big one is BIG - one of those 'things I want to achieve before I die'. The ones you can't do in an afternoon - they require commitment, training, focus and seeing past your flat world.

E's friend just put together these clips of their last Big One - summiting Mt. Aconcagua. While mountain climbing is not my big one, this video still inspires me because it all relates.

Preparation - instead of training, running, hiking, carrying packs, learning about the area, first aid, another language, mountain rescue, avalanche awareness, I need to write every day, learn the craft, revise, stay aware of the industry, stay focused. They managed to prepare while working full time jobs, keeping relationships, friendships and family ties strong and raising the funds to make the trip. Not easy.

Focusing on what you control and preparing but not worrying about what you can't. What if there's bad weather? What if the altitude gives me a cerebral edema? What if there's an avalanche? What if the market for the kind of book I'm writing bottoms out? What if I can't find an agent? What if no publisher will buy my book? Doesn't matter. Prepare the best you can and take your shot. It's the only way to get there.

My big one looms. I'm about to get much more ruthless with my time and attention. I can just see the curve beyond my flat world...

Dahling I love you, but give me Park Avenue

Cottage life sounds so idyllic - drive up in your Lexus and sip lattes on the veranda. The reality is scooping rotting organic matter out from the bottom of the lake to stop the proliferation of algae and rotting organic matter stink. I spent most of the weekend in chest waders (not to be confused with hip waders) - oh so glamorous.

We did manage to finish the concrete footing for a friend's dock - well, E did while I sat on a rock fishing and actually caught a small-mouth bass. No one could believe I actually caught something. Apparently my frog-drag technique wasn't so amateurish after all.

Our dock is now extended much further out into the lake so we'll have more sun and less bugs. Of course we won't have a chance to get back there to enjoy it until mid-August. grr.

When was the last time you spent a weekend in waders? I'm not sure how this will ever play in to novel fodder, but you never know.

Thanks to TomTom Ken, I'm never lost

If you asked me how the Internet has greatly improved my life I would say e-mail communication and MAPQUEST. Mapquest has saved me countless hours of frustration and humiliation getting lost and asking for the same directions over and over. However, Mapquest does have its drawbacks - I have to re-copy the instructions huge in Sharpie and tape them to the dashboard for quick reference while driving. AND if I have to stray from the directions for any reason - traffic, exit closed, whatever - I'm finished.

E has saved me from all of this. He HATED my 'paper taped to the dashboard' system and constantly re-explained how to navigate L'Acadie to get to MEC (I'm 2/3 successfully getting there on my own). He just bought me my own TomTom. It's a portable GPS that you can carry with you (downtown!) or place on the dashboard of your car. You enter your destination address, and TomTom uses GPS and North American maps to figure out where you are and how you should get to where you're going. The voice of your choice tells you when to start moving over for a turn, gives you advance warning of turns and tells you what the next turn will be. I selected Ken - English-Australia because he sounds so calm and he uses funny words like 'motorway.'

If you stray from the directions - miss an exit or decide you don't want to take a congested highway, the TomTom will pick up the directions from wherever you are and map out a new route. Since the voice keeps you informed, you don't have to look at it, but it is easy to see with a quick glance how far you are from the next turn. I can't tell you how stressful it used to be getting trapped in traffic, scared to stray from the directions, knowing I would get hopelessly lost. TomTom has eased all of that stress. I can now exit anywhere and I'm never lost. For anyone who doesn't naturally have one an 'internal direction beacon' I strongly recommend a TomTom - much cheaper than dealing with the harmful effects of that constant stress on your body.

I'm buying one for ksl! She's the one who showed me the mapquest/sharpie system - I think she's ready for an upgrade : )

Weekend plans: fishing, pouring concrete for a dock, then chain-sawing two trees 'up north' and planting cedars. I am part of the work crew doing these projects and I get the impression I will be the only female. I have no interest in pouring concrete, but apparently there is a job involving hip waders that might be mine. I'll let you know how all of this goes. Hip Waders! excellent.

Upcoming: Next week I will be hosting a Go Green party promoting Shaklee Get Clean products. No, this is not my new job - I'm doing it to help reduce waste and dumping toxins into the environment. Yes, I realize that industry is responsible for the majority of the problem, but if we start at home the effects will ripple out. Shaklee cleaners work - I've tried many and wasted a lot of money so I am saving others the same trouble. And the packaging has puppies and butterflies on it - always a bonus :)
Don't trust me? Here's Oprah raving about Shaklee

Mid-point 2007

Back from the race - feeling a little ragged. Race went well except for the start of the kayak leg - had some trouble getting into my kayak. Let's just leave it at that.

Have to work today - feeling sorry for myself. Bought Divisadero and stated reading it. Don't love it yet, but it's going fast and keeping me entertained. No quotation marks in the text, yet I can tell what's being said. how odd. Wish I could spend the day on the back porch reading...

Mid-year analysis: need to spend more time on the book, focus on stretching to avoid further pain/injury while working out. otherwise, it's all good : )

Triathlon training

Remember the duathlon I WON in my age division last year? That race is happening again this Sunday. I will be on a relay team doing the running and kayaking, and my teammate D will bike. E will be doing the complete triathlon for the first time: run, bike, kayak.

Here's how we've been training:

K: took kayak out of storage, rinsed off dirt, went paddling once while somewhat hungover after a party. Spent 2 hours shopping for a new paddle which E said was the same as my old paddle. E returned it and bought me a different paddle. Will be racing with an untested paddle.
Increased my runs from 0x/week to 2x/week, but my knee still blows out if I increase my pace from a shuffle.
Should be interesting.

E:
Also went paddling once while slightly hung over after a party. Decided his bike needed to be red, not grey. Disassembled the entire bike less than one week before the race. Ran out of a discontinued 'cherry red pearl' paint which required 3 Canadian Tire store inventories to replenish. Bike is now painted red and back together (after several late nights in the shed) and needs a final road testing.

As you can see, we're taking this very seriously. E is actually a little freaked out about competing in the triathlon - he doesn't do well when confronted with the possibility of being at the back of the pack. I'm sure the red bike will help.

Karen, Lorelai and Rory WIN!

Thank you everyone who contributed to the Take Down Eric fund.
He went through all the stages when I started pulling ahead:
disbelief - wait a minute - how did you raise over $200 in one day?
anger - hey, you scammed my e-mail list, and my friends and co-workers are sponsoring the Gilmore fest!
acceptance - ok, ok , it's for a good cause

I ended up raising $937 and E raised just over $700
The team raised over $10,000 and it looks like the event will reach its goal of $365,000.


As for my individual race time, well, let's just say I'll need to find another 10K to hit my target. Between not training due to quad/knee issues and general poison ivy misery, I wasn't in the best 10K shape. It was also stinking hot that morning. I'm looking for another race to do at the end of August.

GILMORE FANS UNITE!

I'm in the final push to win our bet: If I raise more funds, then Eric has to watch a Gilmore Girls marathon. If he wins, then I have to do an orienteering race this fall.

Let's go Gilmore!

Right now, I've raised $827, and he has $690, but there's still one more day and anything can happen. Let's make sure the Giilmore Girls win. I know Lorelai and Rory wouldn't be caught dead running, but I'm sure they'd prefer the idea of spending a day slacking on the couch over bumbling around lost in the woods!

This Saturday I will be participating in the 25th annual Step Up for
the Children with Standard Life 10 K run to benefit the Foundation for
Research into Children's Diseases. It's a wonderful cause which
supports four pediatric research centres: Centre hospitalier
universitaire Sainte-Justine, The Montreal Children's Hospital, Centre
hospitalier universitaire de Québec and Centre hospitalier universitaire
de Sherbrooke.


Please sponsor me by clicking here.
Secure online donations can be made with a credit card and an electronic
tax receipt will be sent via email within minutes.

In celebration of our community's children and their families, thank you
in advance for your generous support - together we can make a
difference, one step at a time.

Poison Ivy : (

GRRR.

Itchy oozing rashes on both of my wrists just below where my gardening gloves were. This is the first time I can remember having poison ivy or oak or whatever and it's not fun. I have to stay hepped up on Benadryl or else all I can think about is the itchiness. We must have PI somewhere in the yard - I did a lot of clearing around the edges of the fence and under trees. Thankfully I was wearing gardening gloves. I can't even imagine what this would be like if I was sans gloves.

High-functioning Manic Depressive?

In the immortal words of Jimi Hendrix,

"Manic depression is touching my soul
I know what I want but I just dont know
How to, go about gettin it"

Is there such a thing as being a high-functioning manic depressive? I either seem to have zero energy to the point where watering flowers requires all the focus I can muster to brimming with enthusiasm and feeling like I won't have enough time to accomplish everything I want to do.

E says it's just allergies, and being outside is putting me to sleep. Maybe it's the poppy I planted.

What have I been up to? Lots of freelance work - I increased my output for May to 150% to help pay my tax bill and car repair bill from April. I am almost back in the black - at least close enough that I can relax.

Reading: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. I love this book. I NEVER describe books as well-written - to me that is usually code for boring and overly descriptive, but this book is beautifully written. It weaves opera with kidnapping and explores a cast of non-cliche characters so well, I'm sure they all exist. I almost finished it last night, but decided to save the last bit for today.

Recently bookmarked: Pick the Brain. Thanks to Ed for this one. Interesting explorations on self-education, motivation and decision-making. Here's a sample of PTB philosophy on writing something worth reading:

"Absorb fresh ideas and sublime style by reading old books, written by masters of language. Then take these ideas and pretend you invented them. You’ll be hailed as a prophet."

The movie industry does that constantly.

Must take my manic self outside for a run before it hits 31 (C) today. Thats 88 (F) for those south of the border.

On my to-do list: upload photos to flicr. Watch this space for poppy blooms, my Dad on the climbing wall and more....

Maximum Distraction

My parents came to visit last weekend, so my Dad finally met the infamous E. They went to visit battlefield sites where the Americans TRIED to invade Canada while Mom and I focused on gardening shows and the Ottawa Tulip Festival. Very Mars/Venus. The visit was fun, but I'm beat now. I've only been running once in the last 10 days, and E is lording it over me that he is ahead in fund-raising. I still have a few sources to hit, so I'm hoping I can still out-manoeuvre him.

Help me beat E!

In June I will be participating in the 'Step Up for the Children' 10K run fund-raiser for the Foundation for Research into Children's Diseases. E is the team captain, so my participation is mandatory. As you know, E is not human, and will run the race in some ridiculously fast time which I have no chance of beating. He will also send one lame e-mail the day before the race and somehow magically manage to raise tons of money. Sometimes he can be really irritating.
Please help me out-fund-raise him!

If you're inclined to give donations to worthy causes, this is a good one and I am actively (so to speak) requesting donations. To sponsor me, click here. Tax receipts are provided via e-mail.

My reason for doing this isn't just to beat E. One of my three main goals for this year is to get into 10K shape which for me means being able to roll out of bed and run a 10K race in less than 60 minutes on a whim. That isn't a fast pace, but it does represent a good level of fitness for me.

I already did one 10K in March and finished in 1:04:31. I've increased my training and dropped a few lbs so I'm hoping I can break 1:00 in the next race in June. Last year I ran it in 1:06:26. It's a fun race for a good cause, and an opportunity to squish E like a bug. Help me!

Update: Thanks Dorse and Dodi! I'm well on my way to crushing E under my strappy sandals : )

I think if E loses he should have to spend a weekend slacking, watching a movie/tv series marathon of my choice.

If I lose, well, it will just be sad.

Can't complain, but...

I will anyway. It's all good, just insanely busy. I have enough freelance work either billed or 'in the pipeline' to pay for car repairs and the extra tax I wasn't counting on owing, so that's good, but it's been hours and hours of work for many clients.

AND it's finally gorgeous out!! So I want to be outside fighting dandelions and planting. Since I will be out of my financial hole as soon as payments catch up with my invoices, I will be able to do some planting this year. I had E draw a proper sketch with specs so I can plant at will.

The book, ah yes the book. Weeellll..... sadly it has taken a back burner. Since it doesn't pay the bills I can't write chapters instead of completing work that pays. I know the book needs to be prioritized... let me get my car back and I'll take it from there.

Being a writer interests me, being a starving artist does not.

Veg reward points

One of the fun things about visiting ksl & the gang is seeing how the kids are being taught life skills, a la "Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarden" - the types of things we often forget as adults.

Ksl's newest scheme in development was the 'points system' for everyone in the family - you earn points for things like doing homework, cleaning up, etc, then need to spend points for privileges like tv. Trash tv costs more points than pbs-type tv.

I like that system, and was talking to E about implementing it here - I'd like it because it would allow me to be guilt-free when I've officially 'earned' the right to veg and watch Gilmore Girls season 2 for the 4th time. Unfortunately E is 'Johnny Project', and for him, vegging is a punishment, so his points system will have to be more of a trucker's log - after he's racked up so many project points, he must take a mandatory veg break.

I still have to work out the details of the system, but I'm confident it will either work swimmingly or I'll be begging E to trade points with me so I can veg more.