Send Help, I'm Nesting

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I think I would write better with authentic Turkish spa towels in the house, don't you?Ahem.

I have become obsessed with buying new bath towels, making sure all the crumbs are cleaned out from the silverware drawer, and finding a painting for the blank wall in the hall. Life holds little meaning or value unless and until each of these things gets done RIGHT NOW.

A friend asked the other day over coffee, "What distracts Dena?"

Uh, nesting. Whenever I'm feeling less than self-confident in my work, I battle the strong, strong urge to organize each and every aspect of my life. Somehow, I seem to believe that a tidy bathroom and freshly purged CD collection will bring about the clarity needed for me to get back to my writing. 

The unfortunate thing for those around me (read: Blair) is that I'm a, well... less-than-nice person when I nest. It's frustration. I can't get the dialogue in my scene to sound the way I want it so I channel that anxiety into a migraine over the fact that (sob!) the damn cat hair keeps piling up and the tupperware keeps falling over inside the pantry. 

The obvious answer--and the only answer--is to sit my butt in the chair and write. Write bad scenes, crappy dialogue, cliched plots, doesn't matter so long as it's writing. Writing is the only thing that will calm my racing heart when I see a water glass left out that hasn't been put in the dishwasher or fingerprint smudges on the glass door. 

Naturally, writing is the last thing I feel like doing. It feels more pressing--and useful--to scour overstock.com for deals on Egyptian cotton bath towels. Surely I would write better scenes if only I weren't forced to use threadbare towels each day and instead started the morning with a nice, fluffy cotton wrap. 

Okay, I see your point. Just one more swoop through overstock.com and then I'm going back to writing. 

I really want those towels. 

Cheers,

Dena

ShedMonster: Product Review

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I was asked to review the ShedMonster "Professional De-Shedding Tool" for cats and dogs. Other than receiving a free ShedMonster, I'm not being paid, compensated, or held at gunpoint or ransom to write this review. 

First off, the name. ShedMonster. And the little monster graphic. Freaking adorable. I know neither has any bearing on how the product works but saying "ShedMonster" just makes me happy. (Maybe not so the cats, as I've taken to calling them "my little shed monsters.") 

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Is It Possible to Have Cat Overload?

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C'mon. Could they BE any cuter???I think I'm experiencing working mother guilt. Cat sitting for a friend this week, I am constantly questioning whether anything I do is enough. I try to hang out at my friend's house at least a couple of hours each day, just so the cats have human company. The boys are all over me, purring, inspecting the computer in my lap, batting at jingle balls, and disappearing under the back deck (bad kitty!) when I let them outside. 

My cats must sense my attention is divided because they've both suddenly become all "We love you and need you and can't live without you," this week. Even our neighbor's cat, who never lets me do more than a quick pat on his head, has taken to flopping down on his back whenever he sees me, begging me to spend time rubbing his belly. 

I'd rejoice, but wow, this is a lot of time with cats. Everyone wants 30-minute combings and massages. No one seems impressed when I tell them I have e-mails to answer or that I haven't eaten yet today. Hurt feelings abound when I come home smelling of other cats. It's all very stressful. 

And yet, of course, I'm loving it. Cats everywhere! Little kitty paws and faces! I get nose licks from my friend's cat and everyone is purring. Everything and everyone is cute and round and furry. How can people not like cats? The very idea is simply beyond me. 

I was up before 5 today, over at the friends house to spend time with the cats before I head into Greensboro. Then I came home and combed my two girls. When I return around 10 tonight, I'll repeat the routine. 

Life is good.