Lucy_Cat Now On Twitter!

Do you Twitter? Do you want to?

Twitter, for those not in the know, is the new crack cocaine of the IM world. In an nutshell, Twitter asks the question, "What are you doing?" People answer in 140 words or less and their responses are sent to anyone who is following them (i.e., anyone who has signed up to receive their posts). 

 Against my better judgement, I have allowed Lucy to open an account on Twitter. (She thinks it's some sort of "Send me the bird of the month" club.) I invite all blog readers to sign up on Twitter to follow Lucy_Cat's posts. Here's a sampling of her recent answers to the question, "What are you doing?"

• "Stalking the stupid kitten..."
• "Shredding what used to be known as the living room curtains."
• "Hiding under the bed. Shhh...."
• "Mentally willing my owners to bring me tuna. BRING ME TUNA."

Go to Twitter.com to sign up and then search for Lucy_Cat. Or, the link is http://twitter.com/Lucy_Cat. You do have to register but there is no spam--promise. 

I figure no one cares what I'm up to, but EVERYONE surely wants to know what my cat is doing. Duh--no brainer. 

So c'mon... help me make my cat famous. Twitter today!

P.S. Very cool Twitter graphic from uber-cool web designer Melody Watson.

Side Desk Mess

There is a corner of my desk that holds all my, "I'll deal with that later," paperwork, news items, and projects. The paper tower is threatening to tumble and potentially smother one of the cats, so I'm devoting a couple hours this morning to clearing it out. Ever wonder what's in a writer's "deal with later" pile? Here's a glimpse:

• Published articles that need to be entered on my website and in my tracking database
• Scribbles of ideas for new cat stories. Need to enter them in a Word document before Blair throws away the napkin they're scribbled on, thinking it's trash.
• Articles on how to be a better writer. I'm at a loss on what to do with these. They've got great information but if I file them away I'll never remember to refer to them. But sitting out isn't working either. Perhaps best to read and pray for a 10% retention rate.

• Publicity postcards for "Cup of Comfort for Cat Lovers." I have 2 stories in the book which is released in July. Need to decide if I'm going to try to wring any promo from it.

• Confirmation sheet for 20th high school reunion. Still debating...

The list goes on, but you get the idea. The goal is to be able to see desk by noon today. Cheers!

New Year's in July

My running group fires up this week with our first "getting to know you" run on Tuesday, July 1st. That means it's time to get serious about marathon training which involves a whole series of "goals and resolutions" that musn't, under any circumstances, be broken, the exception being if I am really, really, craving chocolate. =)

I'm running the Richmond, VA marathon in November. My goal is to run under a 4-hour marathon. I don't care if my time is 3:59:59, I just want a "3" to kick off the number. To obtain that goal, I've rejoined my running group which means group runs on Tues/Thurs/Sundays. I'll also throw in a trail run with friends on Wednesdays and--if I have the stamina for it--another run on Saturday.

I'm determined to follow Hal Higdon's Intermediate II Marathon Training Program (http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/inter2.html) which requires a Saturday Tempo run that's half the distance of my Sunday long run. The Tempo run is to help me increase my speed, which is sadly lacking. I'm a little concerned about the time commitment involved here. Running aside, that's a lot of drive time and I'm pretty much spent after most Sunday long runs. But I'm going to hold that "3" in my mind...

Another resolution is to eat healthier. I don't do a bad job now but I'm going to work on my snacking. Right now I'm prone to pick up some form of bread, cracker, cereal for a snack, and I want to replace that with reaching for fruits and vegetables instead.

I also want to lose 10-15 lbs. Five pounds is a no-brainer, 10 lbs is do-able, and 15 is a bit of a fantasy but it's early enough in the process that I dare to dream. Make no mistake--I don't think I can lose 15 lbs and keep it off. But I think the rule is you run 1 minute faster per marathon for every pound shed. Losing that excess weight is a huge help for a race.

I've also started ab work. Bleah!!! I'd rather run a mile than do a sit-up. But my lower back aches every step after 15 miles and that's due to lack of core strength.

And then of course, I want to keep up with my yoga for flexibility. Realistically, I'll only be able to go 2x/week. But that and stretching ought to keep me limber enough.

Whew! It sounds like a lot and it is, but I'm excited. I so want to nail that marathon time this year. And that will require training at a faster pace than I did last year, with more discipline on diet and core training.

But this weekend I'm doing what every dieter shouldn't. I'm throwing myself a "To hell with it, I'm eating whatever I want" weekend. And I have a package of chocolate-chip cookie dough in my cupboard to prove it.

Cheers!

Short Attention Span

I think I'm beginning to understand why I don't get any work done. Let's look at a brief snippet of Dena's workday.

YESTERDAY, 2 PM:
I'm upstairs working on the computer. I need to get a quote from someone for an article I'm working on, so I head downstairs to get my cellphone, which I left in the living room. I grab the phone but notice Lucy sunbathing and stop to give her a little backrub. Kitty love complete, I walk into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I notice the dishwasher has run its cycle, so I quickly empty it. Then wipe off the counters.

Since I'm straightening anyway, I dip into the breakfast nook and put the placemats away, return the open magazines to the magazine rack, and wipe off the table. Which is then I notice our plant, Bobo, looking a little peaked. Back into the kitchen for water for Bobo, which makes me realize I haven't watered any of our plants lately and I might as well take care of that while I'm thinking of it.

Lucy has wandered into the kitchen by this time and is meowing at me, so we play a quick game of "chase the kibble" where I throw her food down the hall and she races after it. Since we're in the hall (where the washer/dryer is located), it occurs to me I haven't folded the towels I put in the dryer last night. That will only take 2 minutes.

Enough. I need to get some work done. I go upstairs and sit in front of my computer. And realize I need my cellphone--left downstairs--to make that call.

Here we go again...