Monday's, Eggs and a Sing-along...

It's Monday! *edit: The post should read Mondays, Eggs and a Sing-along OR Monday's Eggs and a Sing-along OR Not Enough Coffee First Thing in the Morning - thank you*

Oh, you think there should be more than just that? OK, it's Monday and I didn't sleep well all weekend!

But, like the weather that just keeps giving us stormy weekends even though I've reminded it that I'm training for a marathon and my long runs just don't happen on the treadmill, Monday comes! Whether or not I've slept well. Whether or not I've accomplished anything on my weekend list of things to do. Whether or not I want it to! You wake up and, bam, it's Monday!

And it doesn't help that it is still grey overhead - and damp! Some sunshine on a Monday would go a long way to having people actually like Mondays! Mondays can be rather clueless, can't they?

And for those who've asked: Yes, I'm still waiting for that e-mail! I think I've broken the re-fresh button on my keyboard! And the saying "Don't put your eggs in one basket" keeps going through my head like a horrific children's round:

Don't put your eggs
All in one basket,
If it's bad news,
You'll blow a gasket!
Your heart will stop
And you'll need a casket!
So, don't put your eggs
All in one basket!

(Yes, I just made that up) Come on - sing it with me :)

Ah, Mondays - what you do to me!!!

I Falter, Then Dot Dot Dot!

Drawing a blank today - wandered around the web looking for something interesting to write about, but...nothing! I'm sure you're all sick of hearing about my running woes (I have a run planned for today and am actually looking forward to it, so that's progress), so I won't go there. Nothing new on the writing front...rejections from the "Embrace Failure" Project are still trickling in - I kind of forgot that the 49 days would extend to months and months since agents don't usually reply on the day I send out the query! And I have nothing to report on the reading front - am surrounded by running books, of all things, and haven't yet started anything fiction-wise!

Back in the day, I envisioned this blog to be subtitled: Running, Writing and Reading on Canada's East Coast - a great way to give the blog some focus. Since I have nothing on any of those subjects, it's a good thing I didn't go with subtitle route! Of course, back in the day I had set up this blog I wasn't working The Day Job and thought I'd have all the time in the world to run, write and read! I whine about there not being enough hours in the day...when really there are just not enough FREE hours in the day!

Have you noticed lately I've been overusing the Ellipsis (...) in my writing? Not sure where I picked that up from, but a quick Google search tells me that if used correctly, the Ellipsis can show an omitted section or used when the writer wants to expand on something already mentioned in the sentence. Also, Grammar Girl has this quoted from The Chicago Manual of Style: Ellipsis points suggest faltering or fragmented speech accompanied by confusion, insecurity, distress, or uncertainty. Umm, doesn't that say a lot! I also learned from that quick lesson that it can become annoying - fast - so I'll try to curtail my use of Ellipsis!

The scene from Mamma Mia when the girls are discussing Donna's sex life (dot, dot, dot) is now playing over and over in my head!

What grammar punctuation do you tend to overuse? Besides the Ellipsis (and I just love to say and type that word), I love exclamation points! Lots of them!! Anything new and exciting out there that I should know about - because this post ended up being a grammar lesson instead of anything newsy and interesting? Hmm, perhaps I should look up the Dash (-), I tend to overuse that, too!

Mondays - The SDW Edition...

It's overcast, foggy and damp - not the best weather for a Monday considering that's how this Monday feels mentally! My coffee deprived brain isn't very happy. And everything idea that emerges for this blog post borders on the suffering/depressed/whiny side! Here, I'll show you:

Running - yeah, but I'm not having very many good runs lately and I'm not happy with my progress, so that'll just end up sounding whiny.

Writing - you're not writing anything but the blog, even lost Weekend Words two weeks in a row, so what are you going to blog about...how your art is suffering? Um, you need to have some art before it can suffer.

TV - you can always fall back on talking about TV, Dancing With the Stars is on tonight? OK, how depressing is that when my only topic of conversation is TV? Seriously, Janet, get real!!

Work - yep, can cover all three bases (suffering/depressed/whiny) with that topic.

Cleaning House - yes, that seems to get a lot of air time on the blog, but I don't like cleaning house. Ooh, I could share my exciting news about the new clothesline we bought this weekend! This will be the first time I ever I'll hang my clothes out to dry (I'm a child of the 70's - long live the dryer). Of course, it's to rain all this week, so I won't get to hang my clothes out to dry - so excitement to suffering in less than 20 seconds!

Cabin in the Woods - another very popular page on the blog. Oh, how great would it be to have a cabin in the woods right now. A rainy day...I'd be hunkered down with a good book and a blanket, perhaps a fire burning steadily in the wood stove to chase away the dampness. The only agenda - getting up to make some tea and toast for breakfast (because if I lived in a cabin in the woods, I would not be overly concerned with nutrition) or napping! Ah, that would be the perfect Monday!

Gardening - yes, I gardened this weekend. Planted a new bush and transplanted two plants that were in places they wouldn't survive. I'm very happy with the results - and it's a start considering I've been debating where to start. If I debate where to start something, that usually means inactivity - I really think I think too much...overthink!

Look, a blog post! Whew! Too bad you have to suffer through my Monday blahs - if it makes you feel better, share your Monday blahs in the comment section and we'll all commiserate together. Or tell us what you did this weekend? Or, better yet, share what your perfect Monday would look like...I'm going back to my Cabin in the Woods fantasy!

Some Cheese with that Wine?

I have nothing to say. Five days into the "Embrace the Failure" project and my brain is mush - it takes every ounce of strength to hit the send button on these query letters. Yesterday afternoon, I felt sick to my stomach.

I'm also suffering from some very sore legs - ran outside on Saturday for the first time since the beginning of December and I can definitely tell you that treadmill running and outside running use very different muscles. Don't get me wrong, I had a wonderful run, but I may have been going too fast - my fancy watched beeped at 5 minutes and then went blank. I shook my wrist, played with the buttons - nothing. So I kept running. I have no idea how far or how fast I ran. Funny how one can become addicted to technology!

The time change is killing me! I keep looking at the clock and subtracting an hour. We laughed on Sunday night when someone said, "Is that the new time or the old time?" after asking what time it was! "They" say it takes 5 days for the body to adjust to the time change! Five days! Isn't that, in itself, a clue that time change is not good for anyone? And who exactly are 'they'...experts on everything, I'm afraid!

Well, I have another query letter to get ready to go - still doing the final polishing on my 2 page synopsis - and at some point I need to get a run in (must not fall off wagon for more than 2 days in a row). Then there's the Day Job! It's only Tuesday - I am not sure how I will make it to Friday...

Yes, please, I will have some cheese with this w(h)ine!

Go ahead - what beyotchiness do you have to get off your chest today, People of Blogland? Writing? Exercising? Time Change? The Day Job? I need more coffee!

Movies, Links, Books, Writing - In Other Words: Hodgepodge...

Was yesterday Monday? Did I miss posting? Um, yes! As Silver put it over on her blog, Penumbra, I had the Monday Mehs!

What is it with Mondays? Would we have the Monday Mehs if the first day of the work week fell on a Thursday? Or would Thursday end up being Monday, full of Mehs, and Blahs, and Yuks?

On a totally different topic, I updated my blogger with a new 'editor' and I can't find the "Preview" button - so I have no idea how this blog post will look when I publish it.

And, did you know that they're making a movie of Janet Evanovich's first book - One for the Money? I just saw a trailer for it last night - Katherine Heigle plays Stephanie Plum! OK, I also see that the 'editor' has an option for my linkage - if you click Janet Evanovich, you will be taken to a new window so you don't have to navigate back here. That's kind of cool. Anyway - I love the Stephanie Plum Series, although I haven't read them all. That kind of writing inspired my foray into Mickey Spencer, AC (go here to read the first instament, if you want). I may have to spend my hard earned money and hit the theatres when it comes out (rather than wait for it to come on DVD like I usually do).

Speaking of writing - I checked out some magazines publications and short story contests the other day. And I just finished reading this article from Writer's Digest (thanks to Silver's blogpost this morning for the link). It talks about creativity, inspiration, flow, originality, and 21 other writerly things including Voice. Janet Evanovich has 'voice' - she's one of those authors you can pick up (her books, not her) and instantly know it's her. As many of you know, I am fascinated by Voice - and when explaining it to people always reference it to music - musicians with Voice, like Adele or Lady Gaga or Carrie Underwood, or Michael Buble. If hear any song sung by them, I instantly recognize their Voice. 

How's your week going, People of Blogland? Did you have the Monday Mehs yesterday? Are you a Janet Evanovich fan? Who's your favorite singer and would you recognize his/her Voice anywhere? What about authors - any with outstanding Voices you'd like to contribute?

*OK, just realized (6 hours later) that I forgot to link back to the opening of Mickey Spencer, AC. Duh, here it is: http://jscorcoran.blogspot.com/2010/02/friday-fiction-opening-to-mickey.html

Take Me Away...

I blew off my run yesterday! This is not good - I know from past experience that one lost run day could very well lead to two, then three and so on and so on (hey, anyone out there remember the Faberge Shampoo commercial?).

Oh, crap - got so caught up watching the old commercial I forgot where I was going...

Right - I need a coach. Better yet - I need The Ranch. You know, The Biggest Loser Ranch where all I have to do is exercise with a professional and prepare my food. Down time, besides sitting in ice baths to heal my sore muscles and sleeping due to long workouts, could be spent reading or writing. No work! No housework! No grocery lists or finding the energy to go grocery shopping! And somebody, besides myself, to push me out the door for my daily run.

This is not far off my younger self's wish to be fitted into a padded cell (perhaps this is more about me than you wanted to know ;) Not because I felt I was insane (although some days), but because I could envision myself just laying around all day reading all the books my friends and family would bring to me.

Am I lazy? Hell, yes! Does Real Life sometimes get me down? Uh, yeah! Did I ever succumb to the TV Advertising and use Faberge Organics Shampoo? Guilty!

What would you need right now, People of Blogland - a padded cell? The Ranch? How many weeks (or days) would it take for you to demand Real Life again? What have you blown off recently? Did you ever use Faberge Organics Shampoo?

OMG - look what I found when I went hunting for an image (padded cell) for the blog this morning! A padded cell chair. The Paddy Chair by Nick Melville.

I want one!

Nothing to See Here...

...except udderly poor cow humor!

El Lamo Bloggo - hey, the Cinco de Mayo celebrations have leaked into today's blog post - and considering I don't know any Spanish except for "Dos cervezas, por favor?"!

I considered talking about the weather (universal subject and all), but yesterday the rain poured all day making the house dark and dreary. They're forcasting some sun for this afternoon and then into the weekend, so fingers crossed. How's the weather in your neck of the woods, People of Blogland?

Then there's always books. I'm reading Elizabeth Chadwick's A Wild Hunt - a medieval romance that I'm enjoying greatly. I have Suzanne Brockmann's latest, Breaking the Rules, waiting for me at the library (picking it up today, so I don't expect to get much done once I get my nose in that book - love, love, love Suzanne Brockmann). What's on your reading agenda for the weekend, People of Blogland?

Busy week with the Royal Wedding, the Canadian Election, and the news of Osama bin Laden's death! This is not a politcal forum, nor do I want to start a discussion that could get heated, so I'll ask you if you watched Dancing with the Stars, The Biggest Loser or American Idol this week. And really, is there anything more important than those reality shows? There's big buzz about The Voice, but I refuse to start watching another TV show!

Have a great weekend - hopefully I'll generate some decent blogging topics over the weekend!

Multiple Choice...

Sorry about yesterday, I was:

A. At the beach
B. Sick and in bed
C. On a full day shopping binge
D. Working the Day Job

Yes, if you chose D, you got it right. But I always write my blog posts the night before, so that means that excuse was:

A. Didn't have a sniff for a blog topic
B. Had spent too long playing Spider Solitaire
C. Spent the entire night glued to the television
D. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge

Get your thoughts out of the gutters, People of Blogland, the answer to that was A. I was at a total loss for a topic, so I took the easy way out and posted the "Do Not Disturb" sign. I did spend too much time watching television - American Idol. I really need to find a 12 step program for Reality Shows!

Thank goodness it's the weekend! No reality shows in sight. But I do plan to:
A. Do a long run (up to 2 hours - about 9.5 miles)
B. Read
C. Laundry
D. All of the above.

Yes, D again. And doesn't the weekend look exciting? Sigh! What's on your agenda for the weekend, People of Blogland? Any great books you'd like to share with us? Anyone else out there wondering where all the laundry comes from every week - it seems to never end? I'm thankful I never took up the sport of ironing (my mom is World Champ)!

*And if Blogger doesn't start cooperating...Hope this formats correctly :)

I'll Be Back...

...tomorrow!

I Got Nothing...But I'll Fill a Page Anyway!

K - I've been sitting here for a half an hour trying to think of something to write. I left 'make it witty' about 10 minutes ago and thought 'anything will do'. Still nothing. Absolutely nothing.

That's not entirely true. I did think about a quote I read this weekend, but I want to save it for tomorrow. I read it on Saturday and it's been playing over and over in my head since - very profound and something that's really got me thinking. You'll have to come back tomorrow to check it out.

Oh, yeah, the other thing that's running around in my head keeping my brain from coming up with something for the blog is the darn Christmas Letter. Every year it gets harder and harder because I absolutely must come up with something different. Last year's was an alien's report to his superior's on a year in the life of humanoids, well, us. I've done a crossword puzzle, a top ten, multiple choice questionairre, parody of Twas the Night Before Christmas, our last dog (MC) wrote the letter one year, oh and a 12 stanza limerick poem. I'm stumped and there's nothing new out there in Google Land for me to tweak to my own creation. Stoopid Christmas Letter!

Today's the last day of November and NaNo - hope all you NaNo writers got 'er done! And even if you didn't 'win', you got words on paper and you should be proud of yourself. I could write about how the month went by so fast, but been there, done that. Talked about food yesterday - Connie, I'll post The Husband's cauliflower recipe next week. See, nothing!

But I squeeked out a couple of paragraphs - much better than a blank post (which is what the Christmas Letter may end up looking like if I don't think of something)! I'll put it in your hands, People of Blogland: What topics do you like to see discussed on a blog? Any ideas for Christmas Letters? Are you on pins and needles, anxiously awaiting tomorrow's most profound quote for Inspiration Wednesday? And while we're at it - if you did participate in NaNo, tell us how you did.

I'm off to read - the words are already written, all I have to do is sit back and enjoy!

The Nothing Blog...

Remember Seinfeld, the TV show? Remember the episode where George decides he's going to be a sitcom writer and goes in to pitch the show about 'nothing'? Love it! The best part is the executives buy it - think it's brilliant! I believe at one point George says "It's just like life..."

I'm blogging about nothing today - because there's nothing new. What's the saying 'Same old, same old'? Yep, in a nutshell. Let's make a list:

• Still working on Lady Bells - I've rewritten the first chapter about a dozen times over and above the dozen times I've already rewritten it. Same old...
• The Day Job trudges along - spreadsheets are actually invading my dreams. I had a total of 10 spreadsheets open today, clicking from one to the other to check data - then clickin on the remote connection to the office in Saskatchewan to update the data on the system. Same old...
• Housework - really, how can housework be so continuous? Every day there's housework to do - especially when you have a dog who likes to leave clumps of hair behind to remind you of her existance. Like I wouldn't forget a 70 pound dog trying to get up onto my lap while I'm clicking through spreadsheets? Same old...
• Laundry - I know, this should be under housework, but I have to list it. There's always laundry - and laundry is the most uninteresting thing on the planet! Whites, colors, towels, sheets, whites, colors, towels, sheets, whites - well, you get the picture. Yesterday I went a little crazy and did colors, sheets, towels, whites. I know, I'm such a rebel. Same old...
• Cooking - this is much like laundry. Not that I hate it, but it's always there - needing to be done. And the fridge can be very much like the computer screen! Nothing jumping out at me - nothing coming to me. Oh, there's food in there, just like there are words to be written, but no creative 'aha' at all. Thank goodness the fridge doesn't have a blinking cursor. Same old...

Now the scuttlebutt on the different websites I checked out for Seinfeld says that the episode about the pitch to the executives was a tongue-in-cheek laugh at the fact that Seinfeld is a show about nothing. I beg to differ - I never see them doing laundry, housework, or trying to decide what to cook (although they do look in the fridge). None of them have day jobs, that they keep for very long that is. And you never, ever see Jerry trying to come up with his stand-up comedy routine. If that's their life of nothing - well, bring it on!

Any Seinfeld fans out there, People of Blogland? How's your life going - same old or exciting, OMG, living on the edge? Is there anyone out there willing to join me for a whine and cheese party - we could watch Seinfeld?

One of Those Days...

You know the ones - where you have a specific plan as to how the day's going to go and five minutes in you should just rip up your agenda and sit back and enjoy the ride.

But NOOOOOOOO!! You have to fight it every step of the way - buck the current, force the square peg in the round hole even though you know intellectually that it's not going to fit, believe somewhere in your heart that you can regain the day and salvage the remaining hours! Right up to the bitter end when you sit at your desk, darkness blanketing both windows of your office, eyes barely open, brain begging just to go to bed and start fresh the next morning. Not today, friend, not today.

I had every intention of getting a good 8 hours of the Day Job crossed off the weekly hourly total. I had every intention of getting all the laundry done and the house vaccuumed. The supper was a simple casserole with all ingredients with the exception of a carrot ready to be chucked in together and thown in the oven. Everything in bullet points on the Day Planner right down to the exercise time and a shower!

Um, talk about over scheduling, but I've already shared with you my obsessive compulsive and analytical organizational irrationalities abilities. That's who I am - and I always strive to celebrate my talents.

First up - the exercise was a bust. Oh, I exercised, but I felt as if I'd been out all night. Of course, I slept poorly - so that may have something to do with it. And my back hurt - but really, when you've been doing something for almost 2 weeks and then are sucking air so badly you have to stop! Frustrating.

Next - a bevy of phone calls from family. Victoria Day and it's time to catch up. And I will always stop what I'm doing to chat with family - but all of them? On the same day? Yikes, didn't see that coming! (*waves to family and reminds them that I love them all*)

Supper invitation and a request for a veggie dish. That means the casserole is out and I have to figure out what to do, and what I have to do it with!

Lack of sleep caught up around 3 and I sat on the couch for a quick break only to nod off! Hello? Not on my list. *sigh*

Dog decides not to eat anything all day and then throws up - while I'm napping - waking me up with awful gagging, "I'm going to throw-up" sounds. Nothing brings you out of a sound sleep like the dog getting ready to heave on your living room area rug.

Are you getting the picture. Yep, one of those days. Good thing is that today is a brand new one - and, no, I haven't scheduled my time down to the last millisecond. Some lessons don't need to be repeated more than once (or twice or...)

How was your day, People of Blogland? Am I the only one out there that schedules her day using hourly increments (please, please, please tell me I'm not)? Did you know how to do a strike out in blogger? I didn't until this post - so excited about that!!

Taz Moments...

Taz - Trouble from A to Z - has The Best Life ever. This was her the other day, lounging about on her couch. Of course, she had just finished chasing her rope around the coffee table (video to be posted as soon as I figure out how to get it from my camera onto this blog).

This is another picture of her 'resting' while we spent a grueling day packing up the U-Haul to move across Canada. It was imperative that we did not pack her chair until the very last moment.

I would like to know where to sign up to come back as a pampered pooch. Someone to prepare all my meals, make sure I have plenty of water, dry my feet when I've been out in the rain, give me stuffed toys just because I like them, and allow me to lounge around all day if that's what I wish to do.

No Day Job.

No bills to pay.

No worries about having a bad hair day; the jeans getting too tight; that mark on my forehead that looks an awful lot like a zit, which can't really be because I turned 40 something, not teen something!

I think I'm going to try to find some time today to take a Taz Moment. Come on, People of Blogland, join me in a Taz Moment sometime today. Find a comfy couch or chair, put your feet up, and relax. Don't think about the bills, or the aging taking your body from "Woo, I feel great" to "I missed the memo telling me everything was going south, including my boobs". Enjoy doing exactly nothing. Then, when you're done, enjoy the next activity with the enthusiasm of Taz playing in the sprinkler ~

Don't forget, for a the 'big picture' just click the image :)

Monday Morning Blues...

Woke up grouchy - well, there's not much new there since most days I wake up grouchy, I am not a morning person. I would be very content to switch my day around - sleeping until 10 or 11 in the morning, and staying up late at night. Why don't I, you ask, knowing full well that I work from home and can make my own hours? Well, my 'office' is in our bedroom - I don't thing The Husband would like me tapping away at the keyboard until all hours of the night. And both The Husband and The Dog are morning people - I'd never get any sleep, they'd have me up at the usual 7:30 alarm of their circadian clocks.

Anyway, back to the other reason I woke up this morning groucy. I went to bed with a question. Have you ever done this? If you want an answer to a burning question, an question your sub-conscious has the answer to, you ask yourself it over and over again as your falling asleep. The theory is that you will dream the answer, your sub-conscious will supply you with everything you need in order to move forward. If you're interested, here's a great article on Focused Dreaming. My result was a nightmare.

Images came and went all night - my writing, my job intertwined to become chaotic and frustrating; I had to go to a wedding of a person I didn't know and I had nothing to wear; I got lost and then my car was vandalized; at one point I passed a school in the middle of Frosh and I remember telling someone in the car about my experience as a junior; I believe there was also a pizza delivery; oh, and the people I was staying with refused to lock their doors. Needless to say, I was very tired when I woke up.

Then I realized I had to do 'real work' today - the kind that pays the bills. So I couldn't roll over and go back to sleep. Which made me grouchy!

This is one of those posts that I'll look at in the future and question why I even wrote it - but, this is supposed to be a journal and journaling I am. I hope your sleep was more peaceful and you woke up on the right side of the bed. Question for today, do you remember your dreams?

Blah!

This is what I feel like doing today! I would love to crawl back into bed and sleep for another couple of hours. Then get up and plump the pillows, pull on a fuzzy sweatshirt, slide back under the covers, and read a book. Perhaps after a few chapters, snuggle back down for another nap. Then have a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich, a thick slab of chocolate cake, and tea, lots and lots of tea. The day could end with more snuggling, this time under a blanket on the couch while I watched a feel good movie, like The Princess Bride or Mamma Mia.
Yep, that's what I feel like doing.
What I have to do is work - a good 6 hour day on organizing a massive data base, drafting a letter, cross referencing units from my list with the manufacturer's list, decide on a system to make the data base going forward much easier to manipulate, and start creating survey questions.
Then, I should do some writing since I've just totally ignored that for longer than I care to admit. I have all these ideas and story starters, yet I just sit and stare at the computer. I could self-analyze the reasons why, but that could lead to places I do not want to go.
I should also exercise...
Yep, I would rather crawl back under those covers - Taz would snuggle in - and go back to sleep.
People of Blogland - what would you rather do when you don't want to do what you have to do?