It's A Miracle the Cats Are Still Speaking to Me...

And they are still speaking to me, although just barely.  Lucy came up to me this morning, tail standing straight up, bright-eyed, talking up a storm--all signals that say "I'm ready to play!"  I kept putting her off and putting her off..."No baby, Mommy's working."  Finally she gave up and curled into a sad little ball in front of my desk, her chin resting on her paws in the classic, "I'm so bored" pose as she heaved a deep sigh.

I couldn't take it.  Here I am writing about how to give cats the good life and I'm ignoring my own precious darlings!  So I got up and played with her for 10 minutes. She was so happy...well worth it.

I worry about Olivia though.  Lucy is vocal and if she wants your attention, trust me, you'll know it.  Olivia is very retiring and might walk around your feet once or twice but she's not an in your face cat.  So I try to watch that I make time for her as well.

Her new favorite game is to hide under our bed while I drag a cat toy that looks like a feather duster along the floor.  She reaches out and grabs it.  This game is more fun for her than for me as I don't even get to look at her while we play.  Maybe I glimpse the occasional paw here and there, but that's it.

Quietly Going Insane....

It occurs to me that after all my work to get this blog up and running and have people actually read it, that it's a bad, bad, bad idea to just let it sit for a month. So I'll try to pop in some updates here and there.

It's been an interesting week.  I spent the weekend clearing out my schedule.  I wrote almost-finished drafts of my two remaining articles that are due this month, cleared out the e-mails, balanced my checkbook and did laundry.  So I hit Monday toned, prepped, and smelling Downy-fresh.

To say working on this cat book (which btw is called "For the Love of Cats) is overwhelming is an understatement, at best.  Right now I'm experiencing a chicken and the egg problem.  I have to submit a detailed outline for the book, breaking down what information will be included in each chapter on almost a page by page basis.  The issue is that I need to do a load of research to determine what will be included in each chapter. But it's next to impossible to conduct research without knowing ahead of time what the chapter breakdowns look like.  There is SO MUCH cat information out there.  So I feel a bit like I'm moving in slow, unproductive circles.

I'm also trying to verify information I find.  I may find a really cool cat factoid on a sight and then spend X number of hours trying to verify the information through other sites. 

Thank God I'm researching cats, a subject I find endlessly fascinating.  If I was spending this amount of time on say, Golf, I'd shoot myself.  As it stands, I resonate by the hour between "I'm fine.  I can do this.  When have I ever not completed something?  I always do good work and the pieces will fall together.  It's all good," to "I will find my passport and leave the country and never have to speak to these people again."  Some days it's been a struggle not to throw-up, just thinking of all the work I'm facing.

But I remind myself how lucky I am. I get to work from home, on a project I love, doing what I love.  The Universe has been very, very kind to me. And Blair is a God-send.  My rock.  Here's how our conversations have gone this week:

Me: "I can't do it."

Blair: "You'll be fine."

Me: "No, it's over.  It's too hard.  I can't do it."

Blair: "You'll be fine."

Me: "I suck.  What was I thinking? I don't know how to lay out a book.  This is terrible.  Horrible! The worst!"

Blair: "You'll be fine."

Me: "Do you really think so?"

Blair: "Yes."

Me: (Deep breath) "Okay, maybe you're right." PAUSE.  "Now give me chocolate."

Which he does.  As I've said before, he's a good man.

Dena's Going Bye-Bye for the Month

You will not believe the last 48 hours of my life.  Amazing how things turn around.  Okay, here's the scoop.  Remember how I got turned down for that Cat Book assignment? It's back.  Apparently the writer they went with got sick or something.  The editor was so nice, saying I had been a really close 2nd choice, and they really liked my work, and would I consider taking the project?

"Careful now," I said.  "Don't let the author hear the panic in your voice."

"I know, I know!" she laughed.  (She's really cute.  I like her).

So I'm going to do it.  25,000 words in under a month.  Not to mention all the ideas, research, compiling, etc.  I told Blair I hope he's enjoyed our time together the past 2 weeks b/c I don't think I'll see him until September.

FYI, the book will be 320 pages, a browse read for cat lovers (meaning each page is a stand alone), 4-color and hardback.  I'm doing a work-for-hire (meaning they pay me to do my work but I don't make any money from the sale of the book) but they are putting my name on the title page, which is fun.

But the fun doesn't end there! Remember how once I was turned down for the cat book by this company a different editor there asked me to submit some sample toasts to possible work on a book of toasts?  I never heard back and assumed they'd moved on to someone else.

Not true!  My cat book editor on the phone today asked if I'd heard from the other editor, who was planning on offering me the toast book as well!  Unfortunately, both books are on the same deadline and I just don't think with my other regular assignment and my judging (I'm a judge in 3 categories for the Cat Writer's Association annual contest - I am going to have cats coming out of my you-know-where this month) that I'll have the time.

Although I have to admit I'm tempted.  It's why I took the cat book.  I don't like working under pressure and I'm not an especially nice person while doing so, but I work very well under pressure.  I get things done.  And I haven't been feeling I've been getting a lot done lately.  So I welcome the challenge.  Besides, worst case, it's a month of hell.  The project is over by the 1st of September so the pain will end.

But I don't know how much I'll be blogging this month so I thought I would explain upfront.  But who knows?  Maybe I'll manage to keep it up.  Either way, say a prayer for me!

Decorating Diaries - It's Beautiful!

The bedroom color is beautiful.  Deep sigh of relief.  As we painted the first coat my heart was in my throat.  The yellow was one of those bright, cheery, get-out-of-bed-and-greet-the-day-with-a-smile-because-everything's-gonna-be-great! yellows.  Spare me.

The second coat seemed to tone it down a notch and when we added in the oriental rug and furnishings, the walls took on a sunny but not overly bright persona.  Now the room looks like a rich yellow and our pewter headboard and crystal chandelier (fake, btw), stand out.  It broke my heart to put the ugly flowered green comforter back on the bed but the new bedcoverings won't be in for over a month.

Apparently we ticked one of the cats off by painting all weekend -- one of the two pee'd in the shower in the guest bathroom.  "At least it's a semi-considerate place to pee," we consoled ourselves.  So I'll have to spend some one-on-one time with both cats because neither has fessed up to being the culprit.  (Although my suspicions rest with Lucy.  We kept shooing her out of the room when she wanted to examine the painting process.  A cat ignored ranks right up there with a woman scorned).