oh happy day - my goals for the week

i woke up this morning to eight inches of soft powder. more is falling quickly - the world outside my window is a range of grays from almost white to nearly black, with a touch of pale green on the birch trees. the puppies are already back to sleeping soundly, bellies full of warm breakfast. buddy's ears cover his eyes, and he's twitching as i write this. i bet he's chasing bunnies in his dreams.

i'm glad for the week's slower start. i noticed this is my 650th post.

all this week, i'm going to be partipating in the march madness memes sponsored by Sited And Blogged and monday is Goals For the Week.

i love goals. our writers' circle at the purple rose this past saturday discussed goals and intentions for the upcoming month. this week i only have two ... to create a loving sancutary of warmth and comfort for all my loved ones, and to write.

so to those ends, some of my goals for this week include cutting out my new shower curtain, sink skirt and window ruffle from the curtains i got on clearance at tarzhay. the shower curtain will be the easiest to make, the sink skirt the most difficult because i think i should probably line it to give it more body. i think i'll start with the easiest project first. today i'm planning to take all the curtains out of their packages, iron them, and measure and cut out the shower curtain. i finished painting the woodwork, the walls and the counter this weekend and i'm really happy with how it's turning out. Beloved has approved a new faucet and new curtain rod so i hope to get back to tar-zhay sometime later this week. i'll post photos when im done :).

i need to get up to the attic today - not just for the lining material that's up there, but also for a few copies of my books i need to send out.

i've begun to mentally plan my next space for spring clearing and cleaning. this one involves sorting through all my clothes for another round of tossing and sorting now that we've reached the end of another season.

today i focus on zone two, according to the flylady system. that's my kitchen, for those of you who don't know and love flylady yet. she has wisdom for everyone. i love flylady. on the laundry schedule is towels, rugs and sheets. the whole house could use a good vaccuming and today i have libby (my born-organized, germophobic, slightly obsessive-compulsive neatfreak) home to help. hooray!

dinner will most likely involve turkey tenderloins. i made the mistake of watching peta's video on mcdonald's chicken slaughtering practices and i may never be able to eat meat again once i get through all the stuff in my freezer. i know im never eating another nugget.

this evening im planning to go to my how-to-write-a-book-in-90-days seminar. this afternoon, since im fairly sure baby jake's not coming, i'm planning to devote to the first four chapters of my WIP. i've been thinking about how to weave the thread my friend suggested into it, and i have some ideas how to do it.

i think i'm finally coming to the place where i've realized that in as much as i wish there were some linear prescription for how to do this work, there is an element of chaos that simply has to be accomodated and accepted as part of the process. at times i find this endless going forward three steps then going backwards what feels like four frustrating.

this tends to have a paralyzing effect - if i don't feel like i'm "getting anywhere" in the story, i start to feel blocked and bored. the only antidote i have found to this in practical terms is to simply go back to the beginning and do the work. in five minute increments if that's all i can stand, but five minutes is more than no minutes.

the antidote in creative terms is to go toward the source of the character's pain, to allow myself to wallow in a bubbling cauldron of real and imaginary wounds. a calm snowy morning like this one affords the perfect opportunity.

sometimes when im thinking about all i'd like to accomplish, whether in a day or a week or an hour, it helps to believe i have a choice. but then i hear the whispers of the characters in my head, and i know i really don't.

so that's what i intend to do today, in furtherance of my weekly goals... how about you, gentle reader? what're your goals for this coming week? and how do you intend to accomplish them?

and furthermore, the war will end. blessed be.