Writing? I Don't Need To Do No Stinkin' Writing...

My mind's splurting in about ten different directions this morning and I can feel it's going to be one of those days when I'm challenged to get much done. Or rather, much writing stuff done. I've got a list of things I'll tick off my list, most of which have nothing to do with "work."  In no particular order I need to:

• Attend yoga class
• Jog an easy 3 miles (time to shake off the stiffness)
• Bake pumpkin muffins
• Stop by the local nursery and find flowers for our side cement flowerpots
• Update the checkbook
• Drive into GSO and: have lunch with a friend, get my allergy shot, buy new running shoes
• Finish a book I'm three-quarters of the way through and that's due Friday
• Stand in front of a mirror and mess with my hair (I don't need to do this but I will, so may as well include it)
• Call my mom
• Prepare for an evening phone interview
• Slog through some e-mails I've put on the back burner
• Acknowledge the cats existence and maybe even play a round or two of chase-the-feather

It's all itty-bitty tasks, but it's amazing how quickly they fill up a day. What do people who actually work do? ;)

Dena

Unable to Focus

For almost a week now, I've been unable to settle in and focus on any one task. Whether it's brushing my teeth or working on an article, I kind of float around the task at hand, diving in and out like a seagull dipping into the ocean to snag a fish and then flying away, only to return for a repeat attempt two minutes later.

I feel jittery. It can't be caffeine--I don't drink it. I'm not feeling stressed or nervous. I'm just off in la-la land and, frankly, it's annoying. I sit down to work on something and pop up to put clothes in the washer. Sit down, oops! Forgot to get coffee. Sit down, check e-mail, then up to pet the cats. Sit down, finally work on article. Phone rings. Ignore it, but get up to get more coffee, change laundry, and put on music. Sit down, thumb through a book and wonder if I'm on the right path to accomplishing my goals. Get up to check hair in mirror (I'm letting it grow out long and curly and it's taking up quite a bit of space these days.) And just on and on and on...

Getting ready for bed last night, I walked in and out of the bathroom no less then 7 times. That's ridiculous. I can't even settle in and read. Nothing holds my attention and I have... not quite a headache, but more what feels like could be the start of a headache.

I'm monitoring my TV time and trying (trying) to cut back on how often I check e-mail. I think so much of what I do in life, like TV and e-mail, is cut up into tiny little sections that the brain rebels when it's presented with a task that requires a long stretch of undivided attention. I'm retraining it to PAY ATTENTION.

And now that I've managed to sit still for the six minutes it took to write this blog, I'm freaking out. Calm on the exterior, doing the cha-cha inside. Let's hope an hour on the treadmill will take care of that.

Happy hump day.

"Kiss My Kitty Butt" Home Game Sweeps The Nation

My friend Ed has two daughters, ages I think 9 and 11. He called me last night about six and I heard the screams and laughter of about 5 pre-teen girls. "Dena's on the phone," said Ed, and all the girls shouted a chorus of "HI!"

"What's this about?" I asked.

"The girls are playing Denaball," Ed replied.

I have no memory of inventing a game called Denaball, so I took the bait. "And what, exactly, might that be?"

"That," said Ed, "means they've taken one of their stuffed cat dolls and lined up on either side of the dining room table. The object is to push the cat doll past the players on the other side, and have it fall all or partially off the table."

"Uh-huh," I said.

"Well then, if you succeed, you yell, 'Kiss My Kitty Butt! " As he said this, screams of laughter came from behind him.

How cool is that? There is no greater compliment in life than to have a group of pre-teen girls--the harshest critics on the planet--embrace your vision of a world filled with "Kiss My Kitty Butt!"  I begged Ed to send me a picture of the girls playing the game, to post on the blog. I also asked for the complete set of rules, so I can post those as well. Then all of you can enjoy the home version of "Kiss My Kitty Butt."

I didn't stop smiling all night.

If You Need Me, I'll Be Reading

Pluto must be aligned with Mars or some odd planet formation has taken place. How else to explain that in the last 2 days every single magazine we subscribe to has hit our mailbox? Seriously, the mailbox is spitting them out like pez. Sitting atop my kitchen table are the latest issues of:

• The New Yorker
• Newsweek
• Pink
• The Toastmaster
• Writer's Digest
• Poets & Writers
• Vegetarian Times
• Runner's World
• Travel & Leisure
• Working Mother

I could read from now until Tuesday non-stop and still not be done. Not that I won't try.  My type-A personality can't STAND to let them sit there unread. They must be read--and right now!

I'm not checking the mail tomorrow...