A friend of mine challenged me to an exercise duel. We haven’t established the stakes yet, but this will be good for me, since I fell off the exercise wagon treadmill a while ago. I have two new DVDs to try, but I’m planning to get back into things with the familiar ones first. Wish me luck.

I just wish I could figure out how to exercise and take a nap at the same time.

I’m back from Eden, and as with most vacations, returning has been kind of rough. I had a lovely and relaxing time, and I could have easily stayed another week and been happy. Instead, I’m back and besieged with laundry and other tasks. Well, the break was nice.

Now I need to get back to things. First up: finishing Sanctuary.

This week I realized I’ve hit a milestone—four months since I stopped drinking anything with caffeine. Yes, amazingly, after drinking two 20-ounce bottles a day, I decided to quit. I made the decision when I realized I had stomach issues when I drank it. I decided to see if things would improve if I stopped drinking caffeine completely.

As you might imagine, I had a rough week or two at the beginning. My coworkers noticed it as well, I’m sure. But I got through it. I didn’t weaken even on my birthday, because my stomach did feel better without the caffeine. Go figure.

Six months ago, I couldn’t imagine going more than a day without caffeine; now I’m off it. And I don’t miss it . . . much.

It’s been more than ten years since I first got online. Within a few months of getting on the internet, I was buying books and teaching myself how to create websites. No one who saw them would think they were professionally designed, but they were nice, they suited the purpose, and I felt a sense of accomplishment with them.

Today, I let a designer do my sites. (Have I mentioned how much I like her?) Anyway, I asked her to give me a bid on a couple of images. Instead of doing so, she pointed me to a free program that would do what I needed. I’m always a bit wary of new software until I get the hang of it. So I figured I would play around with the program for a while until I figured things out.

You can imagine how surprised I was when it took less than five minutes to do what I wanted with the picture.

Riding high on my success, I decided to look for software that would make screenshots from videos. That’s how I got this screenshot, which I posted last week.

So, I’ve got a couple of programs that will allow me to do a few things myself.

Now if I could just DIY with car repairs . . .

The day job has consumed my energy this week. And when I haven’t been at work, I’ve sought out mindless distraction in movies. My once- or twice-a-year movie marathon has turned into a daily one. We’ll see how long that lasts. I’m sure I’ll get back on a regular blogging schedule sometime.

In the meantime, I have a mini-vacation to look forward to next week. I hope I can make it that long . . .

There are times when coming home after a long workday makes me feel a bit like I’ve been wrestling wild beasts. This is one of those times. No matter how much planning I do, I seem to get hit at once with several projects. All of them due this week, of course. More are due next week, and the next. . . . I know, that’s the nature of jobs, but things have stepped up a few notches and will stay that way for a while. All I can do now is hunker down and get through it.

I’m heavy in the editing stage of Sanctuary. I hope to have that in the hands of a few test readers before too much longer. Then it’s off to submission, and I will enjoy a well-deserved break.

In the meantime, I may take a nap . . .

I’ve had an assembled bookcase in my living room for a while now.

As you can see, the spot in front of the closet door is not exactly the best place for it. So, as part of my goal to work slowly but surely on organizing my house, I’m going to find a better place. I’ve decided I’ll use this bookcase for my J.D. Robb and Nora Roberts collection.

This doesn’t come close to being my complete collection. These are only the books that aren’t already on bookshelves. Stay tuned–I’ll post again with a picture once I put it somewhere.

Today I have a day off from the day job. I treasure each one and celebrate by sleeping in. I’m a night owl. In fact, I’m probably sleeping even as this post goes live through the miracle of WordPress.

My plan is to sleep in, then get up and do some writing. Shay and Jeffrey await. Tonight, I’ll go to a friend’s to watch a movie and be mauled by her dog. Should be fun.

What do you do when you have a day off?

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope it’s fantastic for you. Don’t forget, it’s a great day to read a sexy love story, so I hope you’ll try one.

In the meantime, enjoy this video about one of my favorite TV couples: Michael and Nikita from La Femme Nikita.

Trying to get work and life in balance is the most difficult thing.
–Trevor Nunn

Have you figured out the balance thing? I’m still working on it. Here’s how my average day goes.

8:00: Wake up. Drag myself out of bed.
8:30: Head to work.
9:00-6:00: Spend the day writing and editing.
6:30: Come home and collapse for a bit.
8:00: Start writing, this time for fun.

There’s variation, of course. Sometimes I hang out with a friend after work. On those days, the writing starts around 10:00, if at all. Plus, I still need to figure out where exercise fits in.

Anyone who writes knows that making time for it is a delicate balance. Some days I don’t feel like writing, and I write anyway. Other days I take a break. I’m getting better at letting myself take those breaks without letting the guilt seep in.

Lately it’s been difficult to concentrate. Story ideas are swirling around in my head even though I have plenty to write already. One in particular is nudging me, and I’m writing down notes so I can have them when I’m ready to dig in.

Every day is a balancing act.