Time To Get Busy

My husband is a wonderful gift giver.

For example, I stuffed his stocking with pistachios, wader socks, Maker’s Mark whiskey, a fly fishing tool, (that looked strangely like some sort of needle threading device) and the new Alan Jackson bluegrass CD.  Those aren’t bad gifts, but he stuffed mine with… a Fujifilm Finepix S4430 digital camera.

I gave him a new fly fishing net, a couple of cook books he’d been wanting, and some Himalayan Salt blocks (you cook on these – very cool if I do say so myself) while in turn, he gave me a pair of very stylish Nike’s, a new running jacket in bright neon yellow and purple, and a Fitbit Force, the new latest fitness gadget I am so in love with.

So for me, it’s gadgets galore, which is right down my alley.  I love getting new technology – he knows me well.  The day after Christmas, I downloaded my new software and now I can get to the pictures I’ve taken and have them printed (over one hundred already – stop me before I drive everyone crazy).  I’ve plugged in my new Fitbit dongle, accessed the setup, and have started logging all my data on my laptop – foods I eat, steps I’ve taken, miles I’ve run, the quality of my sleep (it showed me I was awake one time and restless four times last night – !!) how many calories I can consume, (based on a goal I’ve set) the floors I’ve climbed in total, and calories I’ve burned.  And it does even more.  Don’t get me into the blood pressure, glucose, heart rate…I feel like I’ve got a mini doctor strapped to my wrist.

And, based on that southern tradition of getting the decorations down the day after, I’ve already accomplished that (my back and arms are letting me know) and I’ve set my eyes on New Year’s, where I will cook up a big pot of collards and one of black-eyed peas, another southern tradition intended to encourage a good year.

But most importantly, I am anxious to get back into my writing full swing, not the quick dabble here and there I’ve done over the past week.  I will be in a head down work mode from here on out, until I type THE END.  After, it will be intense revision and editing.  I am still swooning over the email sent by my agent, but now it’s time to pull my head out of the clouds, and get busy.  It’s time to get serious about living up to expectations for the rest of the book.  It will be hard, but I’m encouraged and eager to get the process underway, to find that sweet spot where the story flows, and the characters move along within the pages as if they’ve practiced while I was away.

I have no idea what the New Year will bring, if this story will sizzle or fizzle, but one thing I do know is this; I will be eating a LOT of collards and black-eye peas, because after all, it can’t hurt, right?