Saturday, May 05, 2007

Ahem... the updates you all have been craving

Yes, yes, thanks all for pointing out in the comments of my last post what a slacker I am since I didn't update after last weekend's post on goals. That would be because I... er... didn't really accomplish what I wanted.

Here's the deal: on Saturday I jumped out of bed bright and early and updated my blog and prepared to tackle revisions. Then The Boy* got up and we went to get bagels and then we started in on the garden/yard and then we sat on the freshly scrubbed porch and admired the yard and then it was nap time/writing time. As I was dragging my butt to delve into revisions, The Boy said, "you know, I've decided to pretend for this weekend that I only have one full time job and not two and so I'm not going to stress about writing."

And I thought about how nice that would be, just to have time to relax and breath. And I thought about how everyone's been advising me to step back from WIP and take a break. So that's what I did. We napped. We ordered in and sat on the back porch with a bottle of our favorite wine. On Sunday we cleaned the house, called in Roto Rooter for the 4th time in 6 weeks. And I didn't stress about WIP.

In a word, it was glorious.

Then this week at work kicked my behind. Our big multi-million dollar trial starts in two weeks. Lets just say that things aren't going well for our side right now. On the home front, we had to replace the roof this week and we're replacing the outside plumbing this weekend - ain't being a homeowner great?!

So, that's where we are. The house looks great, the yard looks great - we even have a cool new trench:


No tomato plants, but we did grocery shop and walk the dog - she's a special needs dog,** and she has a pack:


But enough about what's past. On to this weekend! Of course remembering that I had to cancel a trip to see my sisters and nephews because I have to work for my day job this weekend, I'd also like to get some revisions done. It's time to jump back in folks.

And I'm starting with getting back to my roots. This blog was meant as a procrastination tool and that's what I'll use it for. Hence, forthwith, I will update the list of books I've read this year. And I promise to post updates on my goals as the weekend progresses...

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* The Boy needs a new blog name. I came up with The Boy in a rush. It's boring. People think I mean my son and not my boyfriend (ew). So I'm taking suggestions...

** Yes, the people who say that no dog is untrainable and guarantees results just offered us our money back. It's only the third time they've had to do that (the first was when the dog died, the second dog was too old for training). Fortunately, we love our trainer, he's a cool guy, and so we told him to keep the money and keep coming out to the house every week to work with us.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can honestly say a break now and then will do wonders for the imagination. It also helps to clear away the emotional attachment to a WIP. I normally let mine rest for four to six weeks before tackling a revision.

It isn't so long I've lost my idea, but long enough that I don't feel indebted to hang on to everything.

About the house - as a homeowner twice over - don't ask.

Good luck with the puppy, reminds me of my own. The other one is a control freak - but what did I expect from an Aussie?

Take care,

T.J.

Patrick Alan said...

The Boy = 'The Mysterious J'

BTW - What's wrong with a first name?

Erica Ridley said...

Yup, I'm learning all the homeowner stuff isn't as fantabulous as I thought it could be. Our yard has... well... issues. We have not tackled them yet. In fact, we just purchased a lawn mower (what? is 6 months a long time to wait?) although we haven't yet put gas in it. (Baby steps, folks. Baby steps.) I'm with you and TJ on the break=good thing. I go through 3 phases after I finish a story:
Phase 1: I'm a Goddess
(this is when I refuse to cut a single line because it's all FABULOUS)
Phase 2: I'm a Moron
(this is when I cut whole chapters/characters/subplots because everything SUCKS)
Phase 3: I'm a Writer
(this is when I can see which stuff could be a bit better and which stuff wasn't as bad as I thought)
Wishing you the best of luck with revising!!! =)