ROW80 | Jennette Marie Powell

by Jennette, June 5, 2016

I had a good reason for being away from the blog last week: I was in Washington DC, in the Rolling Thunder ride.

Some of you may remember I ride myself, but not for this. No way. I sold my Harley a couple years ago because with writing and my health issues, I just did not have time to ride. My bike was not suitable for long trips anyway. For this, I rode on the back of my husband’s Harley, a super-comfy Ultra Limited touring bike, which is made for long trips.

Yes, we rode all the way from Ohio to DC on his bike, accompanied by a couple of rider friends. We were blessed with good weather the whole way there, and while we were there, and only encountered a bit of rain on the way home.

While there, we did some sightseeing, and I got to spend a night with a couple of my best friends from high school who live in the area. It was great seeing them and their little boy.

The parade, a.k.a. the Run to the Wall (referring to the Vietnam Memorial), was on Sunday. I met back up with my husband and our friends at the Pentagon, then did the ride through the city. Fun, but also really makes you think about the reason we have Memorial Day–to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.

This was the ninth year my husband has been to Rolling Thunder. He thought attendance was down from past years, but according to the official Facebook page, there were almost a million bikes there. Definitely a worthwhile and fun experience!

This Marine salutes for the entire duration of the parade – about six hours for all the bikes to go past. He never lowers his hand! This year, he had his bride with him.

Riding through downtown DC

What I read this week: I didn’t have time to write while away, but I did get some reading in. This week, I read Love and Oreos, by Elizabeth Bemis. This is a contemporary romance, which is not really my thing unless there’s suspense or a paranormal element. This had neither, but I had to check it out, as Elizabeth was one of my very first critique partners, many years ago when I just started writing. This was a cute, lighthearted story of a plus-size ad agency creative director and her hottie client who owned a fitness center. What was especially well-done about it was the heroine. She’s overweight, loves good food (like chocolate), and hates exercise. Wow, can I relate! But it was also nice to see how she learned to enjoy healthy food and some kinds of activity. What I really liked was that she had lost a little, realistic amount of weight over the course of the book, but wasn’t skinny by its end–and the hero loved her as she was. I had not read this book in any form before, but I will have read the next book in the series, Friendship and Fortune Cookies, as it’s one I critiqued. I’ll be interested to see how much it’s changed since then. If you enjoy contemporary romance, I definitely recommend these!

ROW80 Update: Time’s Dilemma came back from the copy editor right after we returned home on Monday, so I dug into that right away. Completed my edits, and now it’s in the publisher’s hands again, and should be out in ebook form within a week! I’ll post an update here on the blog when it’s out, but if you’re dying of curiosity now, you can check out the book page. For this week, I need to go back over the next book in the series, which is Book Three in the linked novels. It’s about half drafted, and I need to determine what’s there that’s good, and what needs to go.

What about you–did you do anything fun or exciting over the holiday weekend? Or for those not in the US, any weekend recently? Have you read any good books lately? How are you doing on your goals, whether writing-related or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

by Jennette, May 22, 2016

BD Party OLD. Yep, that’s why I skipped posting last week. Well, not really because of that, but because my husband threw me a big party last Saturday, and I was wiped out! Not from drinking, just tired.

My husband says I don’t look old, but sometimes I feel it!

The party was a lot of fun. I said “No gifts, please” unless they were gag gifts. He also did up our garage (party area) up right, with 50 black balloons, an “old lady” cane for me. And appropriately, a tiara. 🙂

Most people respected my request, though a few brought bottles of wine. I don’t mind those, 🙂 though I don’t drink much, so they will last me a good while. But probably the best (and most creative) gift was a copy of “my” college yearbook, from one of my best friends from high school…

My friend thinks I am really old LOL

…but there is my photo

I apparently knew some interesting people! – click to enlarge –

What I’ve been reading: I was pretty tired for several days after that, so I had time to read. I read the short stories from a Smith’s Monthly, then a book I’ve been looking forward to came out in the middle of the week: A Vampire Wedding, by Stacy McKitrick. This was a fun addition for those who’ve read any of her other vampire books, especially the one where the main characters in this book met. In this book, human Sarah does not want a big wedding, but agrees to go to Vegas with a few friends because it’s important to her vampire partner. There are a lot of humorous moments with secondary characters, and some real tension with her family, with a great come-uppance in the end (plus of course, a happily-ever-after–more than one!). I highly recommend this series if you like vampire romance, but read Bite Me, I’m Yours before this one.

ROW80 Update: I finished my latest edits of the novella, and it’s now off to the copy editor! This week, I need to do a print book layout for Mythical Press, and I have a lot going on later this week, so I don’t expect to get much writing done. I’ll be happy if I get the print book done, and manage to keep up with the Business in Writing workshop I’m currently taking. Most likely, I won’t be posting here next week, but be sure to stop by the week after!

What about you–do you have any advice or tips for me, now that I’m “old”? Or perhaps any funny stories to share? Have you read any good books lately? And how are you doing on whatever goals you may have, whether writing related or not? Please share–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, May 8, 2016

Along with my recent decluttering has come some rearranging. A few weeks ago, I decluttered our first floor bathroom, starting with getting rid of the storage cabinet that was in there. Not only was the cabinet a bit beat up with the laminate peeling, it wasn’t needed. Most of the stuff in it was either really old, or was stuff we didn’t use or need. What we did use, there was room for elsewhere.

Which left the table linens and place mats. Why were those in the bathroom, you might ask? When we bought this house in 1993, I didn’t have a china cabinet, just an old, hand-me-down dinette set. The kitchen cabinets were full, so the bathroom cabinet was the only place for the table linens.

I got a china cabinet a couple years later, but the linens stayed in the bathroom. Until I got rid of the bathroom cabinet, it never occurred to me to move them into the non-glass section at the bottom of the china cabinet. Now that they’re in the room where they’re used, I can’t help wondering why I didn’t think of that years ago?

Yesterday I decluttered the small file cabinet drawer on my desk. It too held mostly trash–albeit writing-related stuff: old rejection letters I used to keep in case the IRS came calling, notes from craft workshops I took years ago (and have never referred back to), old contest entries from even longer ago, project notes from freelance web design projects I did in the early 2000’s. The only thing I kept from there were contest win certificates, and those were easy enough to find a new home for.

I filled the now-empty drawer with paperwork from our rental properties, which had been in a huge, four-drawer file cabinet. That thing was useful when we owned a bar and had to keep all our daily and weekly paperwork, but we sold the bar over 7 years ago, and the file cabinet was empty, aside from the rental property stuff which only took up half a drawer. So now I can get rid of it! Better yet, with the paperwork now filed right in my desk, I no longer have an excuse to put off filing it–it’s right here at my fingertips. Why didn’t I think of that years ago?

What I’ve been reading: Still working on the novel in Smith’s Monthly #17, almost done.

ROW80 Update: I made my goal of reading over the outline of my next WIP and seeing what needs to be done with it (conclusion: what a mess!). I also started actually reading the book, to see what might be salvageable. So this week’s plan is to finish the read. I also got edits back from the content editors’ re-read of Time’s Dilemma, so I want to finish those and get that to the copy editor. There’s a lot going on here this week, so that may be a stretch, but I’m going to try.

What about you–ever have one of those “Why didn’t I do this years ago?” realizations? Do you have stuff that could be moved closer to where you need it? How are you doing with whatever goals you may have, whether writing related or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, May 1, 2016

There have been a few of those this week, mostly having to do with cooking day. Yesterday, I spent all day making 15 recipes of two meals each. This is the third big cooking day I’ve done. As always, it was very tiring, but much went better than before, mainly due to my having learned these lessons:

Clean up as you go as much as possible. My first big cooking day ended with me exhausted… and my kitchen trashed. This time, the cleanup was much easier, and I realized it was because I put away everything after each recipe, including dishes I knew I wouldn’t need again going into the dishwasher.

Related to the above, reuse mixing bowls, pans, measuring cups/spoons, etc. as much as possible. In some cases I had no choice, as I only have one large skillet, but cleaning off the other things and reusing them helped tons.

Double check the grocery order. Meijer shorted us an item, though it was on my order. I didn’t notice until I needed it for a recipe, so DH had to run out and get it. Last time, I sent a printout of the order with DH when he went to pick it up, but didn’t this time. So I will definitely arm him with a printout next time, and also check the supplies before I begin to prep or cook.

Buy produce and cheeses already chopped/minced/etc. if possible. This was a major time-saver for Friday night prep, and for the amounts of cheeses, ginger, and garlic I needed, wasn’t significantly more expensive than buying whole and chopping on my own.

Slap-chop is better for chopping onions. That’s what I normally do. I tried using the food processor this time, but while it was faster, it didn’t do as well, leaving lots of big chunks.

Sometimes, you really do get what you pay for. This is especially true of freezer bags, and this was the main lesson learned yesterday. It was a good thing the kitchen cleanup was relatively easy, because I also had to clean out the refrigerator… for the third time this week (one time which DH did). I kept having mystery water leaking all down the bottom few shelves, and I finally figured out what it was: leaking freezer bags from meals I was making last week from last time’s cooking day. So this time, I used brand name bags for anything liquid.

What I’ve been reading: I read the short stories from Smith’s Monthly #17, by Dean Wesley Smith, and started the novel. As always, really enjoying it!

ROW80 Update: Another lesson learned here: sometimes, something we think is going to be difficult really isn’t once we sit down and just do it. Yes, I finally got my book descriptions off and out to the publisher. Waiting to hear back from them on how they are, but I think they came out pretty good. Now it’s time to jump into the next project while Time’s Dilemma is with the editors, so I plan to go over what I have on the next Saturn Society novel (it’s about half written), and figure out how to finish it.

What about you–any lessons learned to share, whether about cooking, writing, or anything? Have you read any good books lately, or cooked anything interesting? How are you doing on whatever goals you may have, whether writing-related or not? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, April 24, 2016

I am a list-maker. If I don’t write down what I need to do, what I need to buy at the store, or things like birthdays and events, then nothing gets done, we don’t get what we need from the store, birthdays would be forgotten, and I would miss appointments and events.

I use an app called Cozi Family Planner for all of this. It syncs across my computer, my phone and tablet, and on any computer I can access the web (i.e., if I think of something while at work). It’s also intended to be shared with family, so I can schedule things for my husband, and we share the grocery list. It works so much better for me than slips of paper.

I had a pretty big to-do list for today. Mostly little things, but a bunch of them.

And Cozi is down today. I’ve been using it for at least four years, and this is a first. Once I figured out that, no, it’s not Google Chrome being wonky, I got a little twitchy. Then I wrote my to-do list on a sticky note. I think I remember everything that was on it for today, but I hope Cozi gets fixed soon, because there are things on it for later in the week that I’m afraid I don’t (or won’t) remember.

It kinda does highlight the dangers of relying on the cloud, and I think it’s time to have a paper backup–at least for the long-term stuff.

What I’ve Been Reading: The Children of Amargosa by TS Hottle. This is a science fiction novel in which the main characters are teens, but this could be enjoyed by readers of any age. It’s the follow-up to Gimme Shelter, which ended on a major cliffhanger, and takes up where that left off. Children follows the main character into a war with invading aliens. But the aliens aren’t the only enemies. A massive rebel militia has risen up among the humans, and they’re more than willing to kill other humans for supplies. This book is non-stop action that takes the reader on a relentless roller coaster ride, but where it really shines is in the character development. The teen characters and their main adult ally are such well-developed individuals, they are almost like real-life acquaintances. There aren’t a lot of space ships or techy stuff in here, though they’re present in the background. The real action of the book is in the transformation of the young fighters as they grapple with the deaths of parents, friends, and romances while struggling to survive–and triumph.

ROW80 Update: My goals for this week were to write a book description, and provide front- and back-matter of my novella to my publisher. I did get the description done, but that’s all. Luckily, the book is still in first round edits, so I have some time on the other stuff. So that’s what’s on for this week.

How about you–do you rely on online calendar and list tools, or do you use good old fashioned paper? Is there an app you can’t do without? Have you read any good books lately? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, April 17, 2016

Most of you reading this blog probably would agree with me what that is: BOOKS! Yes, that’s what I’ve been working on this week in my ongoing decluttering efforts. And like most writers, I have a lot of books.

I have an antique book case in my dining room that’s stuffed full, about three feet wide by five feet high. I haven’t touched that yet. What I’m working on now is the built-in bookcase in my study. That’s about nine feet long and three shelves deep. These were not only stuffed, but double-layered on about half the shelves that were full of mass-market paperbacks.

My bookshelf runneth over

About half of these are mass-market paperbacks I picked up at various RWA conferences and have never read. The last RWA con I attended was in 2011. They looked good at the time I picked them up, but I figure, if I haven’t read these books by now, I’m probably not going to, especially since I prefer ebooks now.

The other half are books I have read and enjoyed enough that I just couldn’t give them away before now. Yes, most of us have keepers, and while decluttering, I did indeed find plenty that I love enough to move, even though I seldom re-read fiction. But there were many that I loved, but don’t see myself re-reading… and definitely don’t want to move.

So rather than just give them to someone to sell, I decided I would rather give them away to friends. I have a dozen paranormal romances boxed up and ready to go. The giveaway will be offered to those subscribed to my Readers Group. If you would like a chance to win, but aren’t there yet, you can join here! The giveaway announcement will go out sometime this week, probably Tuesday. I have lots of books to give away besides paranormal romance. Future giveaways will include suspense, romantic suspense, contemporary romance, historical romance, and fantasy/sci-fi. Oh, and there are also a bunch of writing craft books that I liked and found useful, but know I won’t re-read.

The other interesting thing I did this week was attend a fashion show. This was at my daughter’s university, and I’ll admit, the only reason my family went was because my daughter was a model in it. I don’t have any pics, because all I had was my phone camera, which is no good in that sort of venue (dark with just the performers lit). No matter anyway, because my daughter had to be in the most unflattering outfit in the whole show! It was a short, pouffy white dress with a huge bustle in the front. It made her look about twice her weight. I described it as “marshmallow Tinkerbell,” but I think her description was better: a walking wedding cake. She said it was an interesting experience (as was watching it), but not one she’d care to repeat. I have to agree. Just not my thing.

I have to give the fashion design club major props on one thing: the models weren’t all tall and thin. They included several short girls (one was my daughter), and most were a good, healthy weight. They even had one model with Down’s Syndrome, who the audience loved. The show also went off well, as far as the audience could tell, though my daughter said several things went awry. So an interesting experience to do once!

What I’ve been reading: Still not done with the science fiction book, though I’m close!

ROW80 Update: I did not get done what I wanted this week. I finished the cover and sent that to Mythical Press, but did not get the book description done for them yet. So that’s up for this week. They are also asking for my front- and back- matter (Acknowledgements, Author’s Note, etc.) so completing those are my goals for this week.

What about you–do you have a lot of books? Do you find it hard to get rid of them? Have you ever attended a fashion show? Or have you had another new experience recently? How are you doing on whatever goals you might have? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, April 3, 2016

I’ve been absent from the blog for a couple of weeks, but I have a good reason: my family. While I like writing my blog and chatting with those of you who comment, my family is my priority.

Nothing bad happened–I just had opportunities to spend time with family I don’t see often, so that was more important. Two weeks ago, my daughter arrived home for Spring Break. She had a lot to talk about, so I wanted to spend that time with her, and the blog never got written. I thought about posting it on Monday, when she was off visiting friends, but got busy with typical Monday things. I could have pushed, but being kind to myself is best for my health, so I let it go.

Then last week was Easter, and I hosted the family gathering. My family is small, and Mom and I are old hands at planning ahead for these (we do the same thing every year, food-wise), so it’s not a big stressor. We had the added blessing of hosting my mom’s cousin, who lives on Vancouver Island and was here for the holiday. He’s extensively well-traveled and well-read, and is a fascinating and fun person to talk to, and it was also fun to catch up on what’s going on with his family. So, not a stressful day, but a busy one, between cooking, spending time with my family while they were here, and then cleanup. My mom and daughter help with that, but it’s still a big job. So I decided to let the blog go once again.

What I’ve been reading: I always make sure to take time to read, and I finished Holly Lisle’s World Gates Series, which I binge-read. Book Two is The Wreck of Heaven, and Book Three is Gods Old and Dark. (Book One is Memory of Fire, mentioned in my last post.) This was one of those series that’s so mind-blowingly awesome it could be depressing for a writer in an “I could never write something this good” sort of way. Luckily, I enjoyed it too much to think much about that. But wow, enormous stakes, heart-rending emotion, and one of the freakin’ best villains I have ever read. You know, one of those that’s horrendously evil, yet so well-developed we can still feel a twinge of sympathy and understanding of how he became that way. And an immensely satisfying ending that didn’t tie up everything neatly into a bow, but where we knew the characters were on their way, with plenty of hope. Flipping AWESOME. If you like epic and/or contemporary fantasy, this series is a MUST read!

ROW80 Update: ROW80 Round One ended last week, and I didn’t even realize it at first, LOL! I met some of my goals. I finished the first draft of Time’s Dilemma, and got it to my beta readers. However, I did not finish the revision, because the beta readers found a lot more work it needed than I expected. So I am still working on that. Still working on the cover for it, too. Round 2 of ROW80 starts tomorrow, so my goals for that are to finish Time’s Dilemma and get it to my publisher, hopefully in time for it to be released this quarter. I would like that to happen in time for me to get a start on the next long Saturn Society novel.

What about you–how are you doing on your goals so far this year? Do you sometimes have to shelve one thing you like to do for another priority? How has the weather been in your area, now that it’s officially Spring? (Ours has been all over the place!) Have you read anything awesome lately? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, April 10, 2016

I tend to stick with things for a long time. I’ve been in my current job for over eight years (a really long time for a software developer). A few weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary. We’ve lived in the same house for that long, too.

Those are all good things. But being in a good rut is still being in a rut, and both my husband and I have been feeling a need for a while to shake things up.

My family is a real blessing, so we don’t want to shake that up. And my job has been good–I’m blessed to work with and for nice people, in a relatively low-stress environment, and it pays decently. It’s not always challenging and interesting, but it is enough of the time that it’s good.

But neither of us has ever lived outside of southwest Ohio. My husband has never even lived in a different city. It’s been a good place to live, aside from some crappy winter weather and presidential campaign seasons. But we’re feeling a need for change, so we’re looking to move south. Not any time soon, but probably in 5 years or so. Just because we feel we need something different.

He’s actually been talking about this for a couple years. It took me a while to come around, but gradually, I did. Now that I have, it’s exciting to think about. This is one reason why I’ve been particularly inspired by Patricia’s story of leaving California and following her and her husband’s dream to Mississippi, where they bought a bed and breakfast (that I definitely hope to visit sometime!).

The main reason for our timeframe is that we want to get our daughter through college and pay off the remaining debt on our rental properties. The other reason is the massive amount of decluttering this house needs. It needs a lot of little nitpicky repairs too, but the clutter has to go first.

So I’ve gotten back into Flylady. I joined Flylady back in 2002 when I was laid off for a couple of years because there were no software jobs around here. I wanted to get my house in order, and learn how to keep it that way.

It took a while (I honestly don’t remember how long), but I did pretty well. The only thing I didn’t get to was completing the closets, and the basement. And when I went back to work, a lot of the Flylady habits fell by the wayside.

Some I’ve kept up. I do have a morning and evening routine, and I relegate my bill-paying and bookkeeping to Monday evenings. But I now have a lot more motivation to get back into decluttering.

I normally spend only 15 minutes a day on this, as Flylady suggests. And it’s already made a noticeable difference! For example, I have a huge built-in bookcase in my office/study that’s three feet high, by about twelve feet long. The top of it was completely full of clutter! I spent fifteen minutes putting stuff away and throwing trash out, and it was DONE (the top, not the contents. That will come later). We didn’t have anything suitable for the giveaway bag, though normally that’s a part of my decluttering, too. This bookcase top was just one of those things we think will take a long time, but if we just do it, it doesn’t. I did the same thing with an occasional table in the dining room that seemed to have a sole purpose as a home for junk. Fifteen minutes was all it took! I can’t believe I forgot this basic truth. Even things that took more than one fifteen minute session to declutter were easier than I thought.

Having the additional motivation is a big part of it, I’m sure. Now I not only think, “Do I use this? Do I love it?” I also think “Would I want to move this?” If the answer to all three is No, out it goes!

What I’ve been reading: In the midst of all the decluttering, of course I still have time to read! That’s even more so now that I’m trying to establish a habit of walking at least 15 minutes every day. If the weather’s nice, Isis gets another walk. If not, I walk on the treadmill–and read! Right now, I’m reading an advance reader copy of an exciting science fiction novel. I’m about halfway through it, so should finish by next week. I’ll discuss it then.

ROW80 Update: I finished the revisions based on my beta readers’ comments! Part of this is because I decided to stop dawdling over those from one reader, whose suggestions for changes were quite extensive. I initially agreed with her comments, but the more I dug into the book with them, the slower the revision went, and the more I balked at making the changes at all. I finally realized that this was because those changes weren’t right for the book–they either would have deviated from my vision for the story, or they would have made it different, but no better. I did work in her more overall suggestions, so it’s still a stronger story. Now I’m having them look it over again, along with a third reader, because I want to make sure the changes make sense. For this week, I really need to buckle down and get the book description to my publisher, plus a cover comp. I also need to complete another cover for a Mythical Press client.

What about you–have you ever felt the need to shake something up? What did you do? Has clutter taken over your home, or are you good at keeping it under control? Have you tried Flylady’s system? How are you doing on whatever goals you might have? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, March 13, 2016

I’m talking about reading–but of course!

It doesn’t make you gain weight. It isn’t mindless. It can even encourage physical activity–for example, I stay on the treadmill longer if my book is really good.

For the most part, this week’s been uneventful, and that’s fine with me. I had a chance to read a lot while waiting for a doctor’s appointment (a doctor I’m not planning to go back to, because of that). I didn’t get as much writing done as I wanted, though I can’t really blame the reading for that. My fatigue’s been acting up a bit, so I did more lying around watching TV than I’d have liked.

Critter Update: On the good news front, I have not had to go back to the vet’s office–so far, my gerbil Spaz has not resumed chewing his foot, and it’s finally starting to heal.

What I’ve Been Reading: Memory of Fire, by Holly Lisle. This is the book I happily devoured last week. It’s the first in her World Gates series, a blend of contemporary and epic fantasy. And it’s so awesome, I decided to do something I can’t remember ever doing before: I immediately bought the next book in the series. Usually, I read a few other books before going back to a series, but I know a lot of people binge-read, so I figured this was the series to try it out on. These books feature likeable, relateable main characters, and they’re massive in scope and stakes: not only one world’s fate hangs in the balance, but many. These are richly-developed worlds where everyone, including the bad guys, is fascinating and even they draw sympathy. I fully expect to pick up with the third as soon as I finish with the second, The Wreck of Heaven, which I’m reading now.

Something else interesting to note: I picked up Fire for $.99, on sale. It’s not an indie book, but was published by a Big 5 company: HarperCollins. The big publishers get a lot of criticism for overpricing ebooks, and while they do run sales like this, they tend to price other ebooks at $9.99 or more–higher than the paperback version. I fully expected to find that with Wreck, and figured I’d get it from the library, as I don’t like to pay that much to greedy publishers. I was pleasantly surprised: books 2 and 3 are $4.99 and $5.99, right in line with indie fantasy novel prices. So it’s good to see that someone at a Big 5 publisher has their head out of their posterior region, and I have no problem supporting that. 😀

ROW80 Update: I did finish the scene started last week, but instead of revising the next two, wrote another (short) new one. So… a semi-win, I suppose. For this week, a third (very short) one is next up, then finally I plan to get back to revising the existing material. I have my writers group meeting coming up next weekend, and some other stuff going on, so I’m going to shoot for just one edited scene.

What about you–do you binge-read? Or binge-watch TV series? (I’ve never done that, either). Have you read any good books lately? And how are you doing on whatever goals you may have, whether writing or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, March 6, 2016

One thing that’s taken some of my time lately has been our pets. Now, I love animals, especially mine, so this isn’t really a problem. I got a new tank for my goldfish a couple weeks ago, and while that took some time to set up, it’s so much easier to clean than the old one–and the goldfish loves it.

Birthday girl is worn out!

Isis had a birthday, too–she’s now officially a terrible two. Well, not really too terrible, as long as we’re throwing the ball to her. For her birthday, a trip to Pet Supplies Plus was in order, where she picked out not one, but three new toys. Now I’m waiting for her to chew the squeaker out of them. After that, we went to the ice cream shop, even though it wasn’t Dogs Nite Out, and got her a doggie cup (and treats for DH and me, too).

But what’s taken more time is one of my gerbils.

It all started back in November, when my dad stopped by after visiting a rental property that was infested with fleas. He didn’t come into the house, but Isis was in the yard, and she brought them in. A trip to Wash Your Dog took care of her, and we thought, the fleas too.

Then I saw fleas in my gerbils’ tanks. I immediately cleaned the tanks, then brought them (and the turtle) to the dining room, and bombed their room. One of the gerbils was fine. But the other one, Spaz continued to scratch like crazy, because hey, freak out and get stressed is what he does, hence his name. A few days later, he’d scratched himself bloody.

So I took him to the vet, who found Spaz had mites (carried by fleas) and mange (carried by mites). He also had an ear infection, and had chewed the toenails off of one foot. Some gerbils do that when they’re stressed, but the problem with Spaz is, even after the mites and mange were cured, he kept going.

This is one ticked-off gerbil

Now Spaz has no toes on one foot, though a month ago, it looked like he’d finally stopped.

Until I took him to the vet for a follow-up. Right after that, he started back into chewing, and this time, the vet went to what he said was the last resort, short of amputation: an Elizabethan collar.

As pitiful as Spaz was, the vet assistants and I couldn’t help laughing at his antics trying to dislodge the thing. It did its job in that he has not chewed his foot since then, even after he finally got the collar off about ten hours later (by doing somersaults!). Now to see if he continues to leave his foot alone.

What I’ve been reading: This vet is very good–he treats my turtle, too–but the wait times are way too long. Usually it’s an hour. Yesterday was two hours. I actually didn’t mind for once, because I had nowhere else I needed to be, and it was an excuse to read the really good book I’m working on right now. I’m not going to share about it just yet because I’m not finished, but I will next week. I know I’ll finish soon, because this is one of those I can’t wait to get back to–as in, it’s done a great job getting me to the treadmill, but it’s also one I have to fight the temptation to read, rather than do my own writing.

ROW80 Update: It took until yesterday, but I finally did get started on my revisions. Still not sure about the new scene I’m writing, but at least I’m having fun again. What I finally figured out: even though revision uses the critical part of the mind, I couldn’t get myself to focus on it at my Internet computer. Only when I went into the critter room and sat at my writing computer did the resistance fade. So I guess that computer is not just for new writing. I didn’t get as much done as I’d have liked, but I did get through one revised scene, plus part of a new one done. For this week, I’m going to shoot for finishing this new scene, and revising the next two.

What about you–what has kept you from reaching your goals lately (or what has tempted you)? Do you ever have to fight the urge to read, rather than write? Do you have pets? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!