Writing to the sounds of a ticking clock

There was a metronome like sound that has followed me everywhere for the last month.  It was the sound of the clock, ticking away the moments of 2011. The time I had to finish my manuscript.

I am proud to say that I am done. You heard me. I have officially written a book. Sure, my family might be the only people to ever read it. Point is I set out to do something and did it. How many people can say they've written a book? Well after this experience I will never mock another book again. No matter how bad.

Because this was alot of work. Blood sweat tear... insomnia. All that. 6  hours a day. For a week. Thank goodness my husband could watch the kids. It was a daunting task to be sure, trying to meet this deadline. I had to use all the tools in my toolbox from the lessons learned last year. Most importantly I guess I had to decide if I really wanted to finish it this year. When the answer was yes, then I had to make a plan to make sure I succeeded. But I had to tamp down the dreams of becoming a bestselling author.That's not my goal... just to finish.

 Writing is a labor or love. Obviously I hope someone else wants to read it too, but that really doesn't matter nearly as much as the accomplishment itself.

Now I am going to email to Caleb and sleep for a week. Happy New Year. I am sure I will sleep through it

Disney and the price of Magic

Ugh. Sinus infections suck. Can't. Form. Complete. Sentences.

How am I supposed to do a chapter a day when my brain is foggier than my glasses on a cold day?

Do want to take a minute to say something about the cost of magic. Disney costs a freakin arm and a leg. I literally have to close my eyes when I sign the credit card receipts. But what Disney has is a level of customer service that is unparalleled.

My daughter Lily is.. special. She has anxiety problems as well as sensory modulation disorder. It means she tends to go from 0 to 60 in the emotional spectrum. Sounds are often too loud for her, and she constantly needs touch and compression. We got the special pass from guest services that let us use her stroller like a wheelchair so in long lines she had her own little bubble kind of.

Everything went really well until on the very last ride of the trip she left her special souvenir on the tram -- her stuffed dog Lady. She flipped out. I haven't seen her that upset for months. I ran to Disneyland train station on Main street and tried to beat the train we had just departed in Tommorowland. The train had just pulled in.

I probably looked like a mad woman- running up and down the platform screaming "Has anyone seen a little dog? Is there a dog on the train?" When it wasn't there I started bawling too. What was I going to do? The Train conductor pulled me back off the platform and got the scoop. He went to the office and wrote me a little coupon thing. It said "No strings attached"  It was a coupon that I could take to the store and get Lily a new Lady.

Of course that made me cry harder. It had been a trying four days managing two little ones among the Christmas crowds. Then add the extra considerations we take to help Lily and it was too much. I was also crying because I was touched. Disney is a company, they make money. That's what they do. They didn't have to do anything other than shrug their shoulders at me. But they personally wanted to make sure my daughter took the magic home with her.
 "Why?" I asked the conductor.
"Because Disneyland is the happiest place on earth."

I would have gladly paid the 29.99 for the dog a hundred times over just to make my daughter smile. But there is no price I could have put on that little piece of magic when the clerk brought out "Lady" and Lily scolded the dog for getting lost.

So, alittle bit off topic, but something I had to share.

Disneyland with a laptop surgically attached

We are off to Disneyland for Christmas vacation. I have half of my manuscript done, but if I take the next 8 days off then there is no way I will be done in time.  I know it wouldn't be the end of the world if I don't finish this year, but I really want to.. How awesome would that be to cap off a stupendous year. Losing weight, running a marathon, climbing a mountain, front page article, and finishing a book.

So what to do on the 12 hour drive to Disney? Well write of course. Hopefully the kids can keep it down in the backseat while the watch Dora. The plan is to write as much as I can on the drive and then write a few hours every night. I definitely want to be productive, but not at the cost of the family fun. So wish me luck and say a little prayer to Tinkerbell that you believe in this fairy.