As you might be able to tell by the title of this post, I didn’t do so great at my #Row80 goals these past couple of days.
I could chalk it up to “it’s the first week — just gotta get into the swing of things — didn’t have time…,” but honestly, I had time and every intention… I simply continued to get sidetracked as the days went on.
So, a review of my goals this week:
1. To finish the pre-planning of DISCONTINUITY this week.
2. Once that basic pre-planning is finished: to write 500 words a day, at least, of fiction towards completing either DISCONTINUITY or WHEN EVIL KNOCKS.
Why it hasn’t happened yet:
I’ve been SIDETRACKED! 
It seems that every time I start trying to do something towards my pre-planning, something HAPPENS.
Sundays tend to be my husband and I laying about the house. Naps and sheer laziness are in abundance on Sundays. I did do a little bit of work. But not enough to count for anything.
However, I did write — I wrote up last Friday’s observations and sent them to Mendy. I’ve kinda got a mentor who’s teaching me about equine psychology and training. I love horses and have never had the opportunity to do anything with them. Last Friday, I watched as she worked with a two-year-old stud colt towards catching and haltering him and a yearling filly who was absolutely warm and fuzzy and adorable!
Yes, my love of horses and my current obsession with learning everything I possibly can — especially in situations where I can have hands-on experience — has sidetracked me
Image via Wikipedia
Oh! My husband and I finished up Season 5 of Doctor Who on Netflix — so that was two episodes that night.
Monday: I think I did the same thing I always do. Read and answer email, cry about the election and the news, took Natasha to school and back. We hitched a ride back from school with a neighbor because her aide mentioned that she was acting sick. Sunday night, she went to bed early, without us knowing, and I took her to school, thinking that if she was running a fever or anything they would call.
I did start working on a contest entry though… James Chartrand of Men With Pens is holding a writing contest for her writing course, Damn Fine Words. It’s a 10-week course on business writing, subjects like copywriting and sales pages and website copy and great articles — and these are all things we (as self-published authors) want and need to know to grow our blog networks and increase our sales…
Of course, never mind that I don’t have a book out yet, so there’s nothing really to sell.
I also sent an email to Kat from a GoodReads group that I’m becoming more involved with: Psychological Thriller Readers and Writers (All Mystery Genres Welcomed). She asked for members to volunteer to interview authors (1 interview a month) and I thought that if I wanted to really be able to get something from this, interviewing people myself (as I’ve done in the past) would probably be a great opportunity to ask the questions that I want to know more about
Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Image via Wikipedia
And a glorious hour and a half of the newest Sherlock from the BBC. Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes makes me all giggly and girly inside.
Tuesday: Yesterday, I kept Natasha home because she was running a fever Monday night and, yup, you guessed it — again Tuesday morning. So we played Connect Four and I did some Facebook stuff. I gave her a whole bunch of popsicles and had a morning nap attack (what? You thought they were only for orange and black striped cats?).
I added books to my “to-read” shelf on GoodReads and added a few widgets to my blog.
3. Do my list of core-strengthening exercises to work on, yep, strengthening my core.
4. Walk around my neighborhood for 30 minutes a day, not including taking my daughter to school and back.
Yeah. What happened here, you ask?
I just plain out didn’t do the work. It’s as simple as that. And probably a lot more due to the inertia I mention in the title of this post than anything else.
Here’s a hint: I don’t really wanna do these two things.
But, there are things I DO want to do that would probably be a great deal easier if I did them. Such as horseback riding. Currently, I’m way more out of shape than I’ve ever been — and, I have to admit, I’ve been that way for almost five years now. Maybe that sentence has become an excuse in a sense… but it’s true. Not that I was ever “in shape” to begin with, but I was never THIS heavy.
Image via Wikipedia
Anyway, horseback riding (English or Western, doesn’t really matter) makes use of your core and your posture to do it properly. There’s nothing really to hold on to — sure, if you ride Western, you’ve got a saddlehorn, but still! Your core muscles keep you balanced correctly on the horse so you don’t fall off. The last time I rode, when the horse trotted, I nearly tipped over — and that was from just a second or two!
I need to work on strengthening my core so when I am able to take riding lessons, I’ll be a better rider.
My posture is good — I just can’t maintain it under a trot. And that’s okay because I can work on that.
Tom and I are purchasing an elliptical machine for our front room in the next couple of weeks (hopefully — that’s the current plan, anyway). Once we have, I’ll not be able to use the excuse that I don’t want to leave my house because I’m reclusive like that. 
This next part… don’t think badly of me for saying this. And, most of all, don’t LAUGH at me. ;)
Another reason to exercise? Well… I like the feeling you get from prescription painkillers. And I’m not entirely stupid enough to try to get them illegally or even legally unless they’re needed. I really don’t need an addiction to opiates — now or ever — and it’s entirely far more frightening to me than being addicted to caffeine or nicotine.
When you exercise, it releases some of the same chemicals naturally that painkillers act upon. It’s that sense of calm that I’m looking for — the ability to focus on what you need to focus on, when you need to focus on it. And not be panicked because you’ve got a thousand other things you want to do at the same time. And indecisive and unable to prioritize and MAINTAIN that prioritization. Which is me in a nutshell.
Exercise helps — and I know that. But it takes work. And work sucks. (Which is why people get addicted to opiates in general because they don’t have to work to have those endorphins released. And those endorphins feel good. Also, explains why some people feel “addicted” to exercise )
So, now. I’ve got til Sunday to do what I’ve laid out here that I’m going to do. And the idea is to complete those goals I’ve said I would do in the week I say that I’ll do them. For me, that’s important right now. If anyone has any ideas as to how to sneak exercise into a daily routine so that it doesn’t really feel like “exercise,” I’m all ears.
More #Row80 Check-ins…
{ 1 comment }
I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets sidetracked! But it does look like you actually got a lot done, even if it wasn’t writing. I have no advice for the exercise part, but I like the horse riding part. I wish I could do that! On Monday driving to work, I saw two women riding horses on their property…I was sooo jealous!
And if you feel like you’ve dropped the ball this week on your goals, just remember there are folks like me that are right there with ya!!