F is for A Fart in a Whirlwind

This is like my brain with a million thoughts going on all the time

Boy, my day is like this a lot of the time.  I have way too many things on my plate and too many projects going at one time in order to accomplish the completion of everything on my list at any given time.

It seems a “monkey wrench” gets thrown into the middle of things and soon I’m off on a different path fixing a different problem.  Perhaps I lack the focus I need, but I always have good intentions and am an eternal optimist.  I ALWAYS think I can accomplish everything on my list when in reality I know I never can, however I never throw in the towel and admit defeat until the end.  I’ll stay up until past midnight trying to finish a task.  I’m not sure why I’m this way over everything in my life.  Who do I get this from in my family?

I don’t know the answer to that, but everyday I wake up with the same optimism as the day before.  I’m not sure if that’s a bad thing, or a good thing.  I do accomplish things everyday, but not all I want to.  That rarely happens because I get sidetracked by unexpected things that arise that have to be dealt with NOW.  However, the list is still on my mind and I get back to it as soon as I can.  Staying up until the wee hours to accomplish something has never bothered me.  I’d much rather go to bed exhausted and know I finished the project than go to bed and think about it, letting it keep me awake.

So am I an odd duck, or do more of you think this way?  Yes, I realize there’s always tomorrow and another day to work on the task at hand, but it really bothers me to leave something unfinished that I think is important.  Maybe I need therapy.  Who knows?  All I know is once my mind is set on something there’s no stopping me, unless the situation is beyond my control.

I’ll tell you a story.

I really wanted to enter the very first ABNA (Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award) contest that Amazon held in 2008.  I had worked five years on my novel.  The deadline was coming to have the book finished so I could enter.  I was very determined.  That was the first time I stayed up three whole days without sleeping.  I’ve done it a few times since then, but always when hubby is out of town.  He’d have a cow because he sees nothing more important than “keeping a normal schedule” for everything.

I did get the contest entered, but I was delirious from lack of sleep.  I ran the coffeepot nonstop.  Paper adorned the floor of my office like it had been hit by a whirlwind.  I wore my sweats and didn’t bother to shower, or clean up the entire time.  I worked frantically on my novel to make sure it was formatted correctly and there weren’t any typo’s, etc. 

Of course, at the last minute there was a snafu, which is the story of my life.  First, I couldn’t find the CD I needed with all the entry instructions.  It was buried somewhere on my office floor under that paper stack.  Then my internet went down.  I rushed to my neighbors and luckily they hadn’t left for vacation yet.  He was nice enough to let me use his laptop to submit my entry.  I felt bad about holding them up, so I worked as quickly as I could to enter all the information they needed and to upload my manuscript.

Once I was back at home, I felt great—mission accomplished.  I collapsed on the couch for some much needed rest.

I only tell you this story because that’s how dedicated to the cause I become about everything I undertake.  Sometimes this attitude can really be a situation and cause all sorts of problems in my personal life.  But I am what I am and not likely to change after six decades.

May as well give it a shot

Raven in his "spring bonnet"

You’ll never guess what I saw in the newspaper a few days go.  It was an ad asking for pictures of your animals in “spring attire” for the upcoming spring issue. This is a quarterly local magazine.

Naturally, after seeing that, the wheels in my head started turning on what kind of "spring bonnet" I could make for Raven so I could enter him in this contest.  What do I have to lose after all?  I know there will be lots of dogs represented so why not a cat?

My head was all a buzz because he will indulge me and pose in the hats I make for him most of the time.  I went through all my crafts to see if anything would ring a bell.  Then it was off to the dollar store yesterday to find supplies.

On Sunday I had a great time putting this thing together.  The deadline for entry is Tuesday.  I didn’t want to miss that because I’ll be working and won’t have the spare time to mess with much of anything extra.

I think it turned out pretty darn cute!  I hope he gets in, but it isn’t the end of the world if he doesn’t.  Stay tuned and I’ll let you know how all this comes out later.  Maybe he’ll be a published star.  Wouldn’t that be awesome?

I'm Always Running a Race

Royalty Free Clipart


I have to ask myself “why is that?” I guess part of it is getting involved in too many projects at one time. I’m forever doing this even though I know better. I can be like a bee hopping from one flower to the next.


There are always things I have to do on a daily basis, such as cooking and cleaning, but then there are things I really want to do, which usually consist of some creative endeavor, usually writing, but not always. After all life is more than cleaning, cooking, and homey chores isn’t it. At least I don’t feel fulfilled unless I have some creativity in there somewhere.

I can be working on several writing projects at one time and then all of a sudden see something that sparks a new interest – a new writing contest, or something of that nature usually. Sometimes I’m googling around to find out how to do something, only to find something else I want to try in the process. This happens all the time and then of course there is never enough time for all this stuff.

I am the worst offender about emailing myself links to explore further when I get the time at some future date – whenever that is. Invariably life always gets in the way of all these artistic things. I know the rest of you will find this pretty silly, but not only can I email myself two dozen times a day, but also can stay up to the wee hours looking into something I want to know more about that I found earlier in the day. This of course leads to sleep deprivation, which is so normal in my life now that it is odd to sleep more than about four or five hours a night.

The problem is, if something is really on my mind I’ll lay wake thinking about it anyway, so may as well be up looking into it, or writing on my latest “masterpiece.” I’ve stayed up three full days with no sleep at all, but that is about my limit. Of course, I can’t do that if the husband is home. That only causes problems for my peace-loving nature.

The creative spirit is a curse at times. I’ll be the first to admit that. I get involved in many creative things, not just writing. My friends think I can make about anything and are always telling me “you should make those and sell them.” “Yeah, right,” I say. They have no idea how much time all this takes and the fact is you can never make enough money to make it a worthwhile endeavor.

I’ve been this way all of my life and don’t see that ever changing. I’m sure my husband cringes every time he thinks about how to get rid of all my “junk,” if I should meet my demise before him. He struggles enough with his dad’s garage full of “trinkets.”

Someday I’ll have to write about all the stuff I’ve been into in my life. It astounds even me when I think about everything on that list.