24 Hours to Chicago Marathon!!

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Just a quick post to say I'm in Chicago with family, having a great time, relaxing before the race. My 6-year-old nephew offered to have me move in with them on a permanent basis. I said he may want to check with his Dad about paying my living expenses but he seems to think this will be no obstacle, so that's good.

We've just plotted out the marathon course and where I'll meet everyone on the course. It's going to be a cold day, but I'll take that over humidity. Getting excited.

Thanks to EVERYONE for all the well wishes. I will carry them with me.

Next post: THE RESULTS.

LOST: One Writer's Notebook

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My plans for this last blog entry before I leave for Chicago was to write a funny yet touching summary/run-down of where I stand in physical and mental preparation for the race. Instead, I'm having heart palpitations for entirely different reasons. I have misplaced and or LOST my writer's notebook. That would be the notebook in which I've outlined every aspect of my YA novel - character descriptions, plot lines, motivations, partially written scenes... I can barely write about the possibility of having lost those pages without wanting to throw up.

Here's the deal:  I had a critique group meeting today and instead of carrying in my laptop bag, I pulled out the orange folder and spiral bound notebook containing my work and carried only those in. I thought I remembered carrying them back out to my car, but I hope I'm making that up. The reason being, if I took them out to my car, chances are strong I left them on top of my car as I drove away. Which means they're scattered to the winds and God knows where. 

What I'm praying happened instead is that I left the notebooks inside our meeting room. I stopped to admire a friend's new I-Phone on the way out, and I set the folders down on a coffee table. I've spent the last hour making "I'll never curse again and dedicate my life to helping the poor" deals with God if they'll still be there. 

I have a friend going back to the meeting room tonight and he's going to call and let me know at 6 if they're there or not. 

Enough time for me to toss a few more "Hail-Mary" passes God's way.

Surround Yourself With Positive People

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I have amazing friends. Sadly, I think I take their presence in my life for granted far too often. I forget that not everyone is surrounded by people who are supportive and encouraging. Just read interviews with famous actors, authors, or entrepreneurs. They all seem to talk about how no one thought they would make it and how they were (kindly and well-meant) told how they were just chasing a dream and ought to give it up and go live in the real word.

People, I write about cat poo for a living. If anyone should be told, "Sweetheart, it just ain't gonna happen," it's probably me. And yet I find myself in the middle of people who encourage me, are excited for me, believe in me... their presence in my life is just an incredible daily gift. I'm lucky in that on the days when I can't believe in myself, I've got 50 people waiting in line to say, "That's okay. I believe in you for you."

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If It hasn't been worn in 2 years...

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I did a major closet purge this week. Went through and pulled anything I hadn't worn in 2 years. There was a lot. The purging process gave me two insights into how I deal with clothes and, perhaps, life.  

  1. I hold on to things that I used to love wearing, even if they're now old, worn, or out of style. Seeing the items reminds me how happy I was when I used to wear it and I convince myself I'll find another use for it again.
  2. If I paid a decent amount of money for something, I'll hold on to it no matter how ugly or unbecoming in the hopes that someday it will transform into exactly the piece I need and justify my decision to have spent money on it in the first place. 
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