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Deadline Thanks

I'm in buckle-down deadline mode for ENSLAVED, the fifth book in my Eternal Guardians series, so instead of a rambling post about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday (which I can't even think about yet) I'm going to share my I'm So Freakin' Thankful For These Things During Deadline Days list with you:

1. My husband. During deadline crunch time he turns into Mr. Mom on crack. He does all the cooking, all the cleaning, all the laundry (doesn't even shrink my clothes) all the kid-duty AND he kicks me out of the house to get away and write. Of course he's number-obsessed..."How many words did you get done today?"...and doesn't quite understand that a book isn't necessarily done at 100K words, but I'm willing to cut him some slack. (So long as he keeps making me breakfast.)

2. Wine. Lots of it. Nothing knocks me out and makes me sleep better after a full day of writing than a bottle, er...GLASS of wine. (Yeah, glass. That's what I said.)

3. My CP. Who interrupts me in the middle of writing a love scene to IM random things like:
This is why I can't fill out a simple questionnaire at work: Under "length of experience" I want to write: 'At least nine inches.' And under "hobbies": 'Is this an R or X rated audience?'

4. Bacon lube! Okay, seriously, I have ZERO experience with this, but someone tweeted it last night after I got done writing and I'm now seriously obsessed. I must know more about this product. Very thankful for things like this that take my mind off what the heck is happening next in the manuscript. And come on, you can't look at those flashing images and NOT laugh your butt off.

5. Twitter. Because in addition to the above amazing things you can learn on Twitter, you can also discover bits of wisdom like this:
@TheFakeCNN: SEX NEWS: There are 3 sizes of condoms: Small, Medium, and Damn Liar.
and...
Eating equal amounts of dark chocolate & white chocolate is a balanced diet; they counteract each other to equal 0 calories. #chocolate

6. Wine. Did I mention wine already? I particularly like reds. Pinot noir is especially nice.

7. School. Gets the gremlins out of my hair. I just wish the school day lasted longer. Like until 9 PM or so would be perfect.

8. Quick grab-on-the-go meals. Like cottage cheese, Hershey kisses and diet coke. Of course you have to chase that combo with a bottle of Pepto, but, hey, Pepto helps with the stress.

9. The Alcohol Fairy. Think she's a myth? I'm here to tell you she's not! She left vodka and whiskey on my porch the other morning. (Oh yes, I'm very thankful...someone knows me well.)

And finally, the last thing I'm faithful for during this particular deadline:

10. Breaking Benjamin. Particularly:


Which I have listened to a gazillion times to get into my hero's head. So thankful for awesome music.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled program while I slink back into my deadline cave...

Comments

  1. Great blog! You had me cracking up (and nodding!) through the whole thing. :)

    Good luck with your deadline!!

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  2. Hi Elizabeth,

    i would like to give you a spirit so that you can finish your buckle-down deadline, sometime deadline can make us so stressing, so pls always prepare a chocolate, chocolate is good for stressing ;)

    i think my deadline now is reading all my book especially the book i won it from some author, feeling guitly i can't read it soonest but no much time *sigh

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  3. Giggling because I understand every bit of your blog. I can't go back to the regular scheduled program because I'm on deadline so back to my cave...

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  4. There are always blessings, even in the deadline cave, maybe especially in the deadline cave. Thank you for reminding me of this--any particular glass of wine doing it for you these days?

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  5. LOVED this post, and I hear ya about the school thingy...but I think that boarding school would be the route I take.
    And I am a HUGE fan of TUMS--but it has to be the mint green ones. I keep a full bottle by my laptop.
    Good luck w/ your deadline.

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  6. Very entertaining! Good luck with the deadline! But doesn't sound like you will need it.
    Amelia

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  7. Very entertaining! Good luck with the deadline! But doesn't sound like you will need it.
    Amelia

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  8. Very entertaining! Good luck with the deadline! But doesn't sound like you will need it.
    Amelia

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  9. It's a mystery to me why non-school days are so long and school days are so short!

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  10. Love your sense of humor (and I love wine too lol).

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  11. Great post. It reminds me of the line in 1408: "Do you drink, Mr. Enslin?" "Of course! I just said I'm a writer!"

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  12. Thanks, Catherine. Glad I'm not alone on this one!

    Eli - Thanks so much! :) And I agree...chocolate is a MUST during a stressful situation. Especially a deadline. :)

    Carolyn - good luck on your deadline, too! Remember, wine is our friend.

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  13. Grace - I've got a great Oregon Pinot I'm enjoying. :) We're known for great Pinot Noirs here in Oregon. Red wine's healthy, right?

    C.S. - Oh, boarding school. I can dream! Wonder if I could hook the semester up on my deadline schedule...

    Thanks, Amelia! I can always use the good luck.

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  14. Shana - good question! I see things totally different now that I'm on the other side of the school issue. When I was a teacher we never had enough days without kids. Now as a working parent, there aren't enough days when the kids are IN school!

    catslady - Thanks. :) Gotta keep that sense of humor, right?

    Brooklyn - I LOVE that line! That was John Cusack, right? *grin* I love him.

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  15. I adored this list. SO great. I've been MIA on this blog due to deadlines as well. Looking forward to the next book in your series. I'm posting this on my FB reader page. Go get 'em..and pass the wine ;)

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  16. I always suspected white and dark chocolate cancelled each other out. Nice to know for sure! Thanks for the laugh this morning! Off to check out bacon lube...

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  17. Great blog, and good luck with your deadline. Love the Video, great band, and I could totally relate to everything on your list--especially the alcohol fairy. Still not sure about Bacon Lube, but it does give me something to ponder....

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  18. Great post! I think we must have married twins - your husband sounds just like mine and your right, we're lucky to have them even if they are obsessed with numbers!

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