I have officially hit the Panic Threshold for finishing my novel tomorrow.

To hold you over (since Shiloh has been banned from posting until I’m done) I’d like to take you back to the 80s for a few minutes.

Now, I have to admit that because we didn’t have cable when I was growing up, this is the first time I’ve ever seen the music video for this – how is it that Mr. Big managed to make this look like a sing-along? I mean. . . really? Four guys hanging out clapping along while they try to make their song of seduction sound kid-friendly? Four rocker hair band guys? Really?

And does the super-blonde bass player kind of freak anybody else out? I’m just sayin’.

Sleep now.
Novel tomorrow.
Love, luck, and lollipops.

Betsy says it’s supposed to be a nice day today, which means she might open the door to the porch this afternoon. Then I’ll get to go out and eat all the bugs and watch the birds flying around and it will be lovely.

Here’s hoping!

She’s still working on her novel, but she seems happy with the way things are coming along. She still seems to think she’ll get most of it done by Saturday night.

Sometimes Matt picks me up and carries me around.

It was easier for him when I was smaller, but they still do it because they say I need to know how to get carried around. Apparently one time their other dog got hurt on a hike, and she hated being carried, so she fought them all the way back to the car. It wasn’t pretty. I don’t really like it, but I put up with it because usually afterward I get a belly rub, and you know how I feel about those.

I hope you get all the belly rubs you need today.

Some dogs like to sleep in the sun. Some can always be found within a few feet of their humans. Some are chewers, some are chasers, some are barkers.

I’m an upside-down dog.

I always have been. When I was a puppy I would sleep upside down in my crate, but now I’m too big for that.

I still sleep on my back pretty often, especially when I roll off my bed.

But it’s really fun to play upside down.

I like to have a good selection of toys available at all times. You never know if you’re going to want a Kong or a real bone or one of those nylabones. It pays to be prepared.

It’s time to find some more things to do upside down. I’ll be back tomorrow!

Public Service Announcement:

I’m going dark this week in an effort to facilitate the finishing of my manuscript. I won’t be chatting at all… I’m actually thinking of taking that icon off my dock for the week so I’m not even tempted during my breaks.

I’ll probably keep up with my LJ friends list and the blogs I usually frequent, and I’ll check email a few times a day, but not all that often. If there’s something urgent I’m sure you’ll find a way to let me know about it.

Shiloh will probably find a way to post something almost every day for your entertainment in the meanwhile.

But while I’m writing, the airport will be disabled. And there will be a lot of writing this week.

You’ve been warned.

Hi guys. Shiloh here again. I know I didn’t put anything up over the weekend, but Matt and I were helping our friends move into their new house and I was a little bit busy playing in their big back yard and exploring under their deck. You know how it is.

A few months ago, Betsy put up a video of me chasing my tail. Although I can appreciate my youthful enthusiasm there, I’d like everyone to know that I have since refined my tail-chasing technique:

Okay, so maybe I haven’t progressed as much as I might like. That pesky back leg keeps getting in my way.

Here comes Betsy, ready for a day of writing, so that means it’s time for another nap!

Hey, humans, this is Shiloh. Don’t tell Betsy, but I’m taking over her blog this week. She should be working on her novel, so I’m pitching in to help her concentrate on her work.

I hope I get extra treats for this!

If we’re going to spend the week together, you should know a little more about me. My favorite pastimes are eating bugs and chasing my tail and, when I get to go out to the field, I’m pretty darn good at playing fetch. Also, I will do just about anything if you will rub my belly. I’m a sucker for a good belly rub. Even a bad belly rub. If it involves my belly getting rubbed, I’m there.

That’s really all you need to know about me.

Whew, I’m tired. It must be time for a nap!

(Look! Almost all the hair has grown back from my spay surgery!)

Every marriage has points of frustration. It’s part and parcel of two entirely disparate people living together and I’m convinced, to some extent, with the knowledge that THIS WILL NEVER END. There’s no finding another roommate when this lease runs out. And even though people get divorced for all sorts of reasons, listing “Matt leaves five pairs of shoes immediately inside the front door and I almost die when I step into the house” as a formal grievance in court just doesn’t seem to hold much water.

I doubt I’d get custody of the dog if that were my strongest argument against our marriage, is what I’m saying.

But there are those Things that always generate rolled eyes and, depending on the prevailing hormones, something on the scale from loving exasperation to “I will wing this offending object at you with great force if I see you again within the next five minutes.”

The aforementioned shoe phenomenon is one such Thing in our house. I’m fairly certain that my tendency to leave dishes on the counter instead of just putting them in the dishwasher is another (correct me if I’m wrong, Matt), as is the fact that sometimes it’s a week between when a load of damp laundry moves from the washer to the dryer. I also tend to subsist on PopTarts (TM), microwave popcorn, and chicken ramen when other options seem like too much work.

Just last week Matt and I had a conversation about one of the other Things – the toilet paper roll. Now, there are several possible points of contention here (how many plys? quilted or no? under or over?) but we manage to live in remarkable toilet-paper harmony for the most part (two, yes quilted, and over, of course).

No, the bone of contention in our house is the replacement of the roll when one runs out. We have a handy roll-holder right there, and it seems to me that the logical thing to do is just change it and throw the empty cardboard roll away, which takes all of 3 seconds, but apparently this logic escapes my husband. Instead, he carefully balances the new roll on top of the empty one.

When I brought up this discrepancy in our standard operating procedures, Matt said, “It’s an endearing quirk. You like it.”

Okay, he might not have said those exact words. I don’t think he would ever say ‘endearing quirk’, but that’s what he meant, and I’m a writer, which means I’m allowed to embellish the truth for my own purposes!

But that’s not the point. The point is that today I was graced with another full roll of Quilted Northern balanced on top of an empty tube, and I smiled and shook my head and realized that, darn it, he’s right. I really don’t mind, and it’s sort of cute.

If that’s not love, I don’t know what is. :)

Day Two of the Crazy 4:30 Plan is going well so far. It’s still crazy, rather than just absurdly normal for me but not anyone else, but I’m getting work done, so I’m happy.

The quote of the day from Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist seems amazingly appropriate for me this week:

Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.
- PABLO PICASSO

Also, John Scalzi has a very valid point about Obama’s amazing popularity. For what it’s worth, coming from someone who’s nearly as uninterested in politics as a person can get, I think he’s right in his assessment of how things are going/will go down.

Having sent pages to Gary at long last, I’m allowing myself to indulge in reading INK EXCHANGE (Melissa Marr). It’s everything I wanted it to be.

Back to the writing!

I’m trying a new tactic for the next six weeks, at least. Not only will it smooth the transition to Eastern Standard Time and back twice (yeah, I’m back on my traveling every 4 or 5 weeks), it should give me more workable time in the day, and that can only be good.

The plan is to get myself on an earlier sleep pattern because, you know, I don’t watch TV in the evenings anyway, so why stay up? Also, the last time I was on an 8:30p-4:30a sleep schedule, I felt like my days were really quite productive. There’s something about waking up while the rest of the world is still sleeping and getting work done in secret. Also, it will mean that when I out in EST, I won’t have to mess up my normal schedule much, it’ll just shift to 10:30-6:30 local time. See? Ingenious!

I was supposed to start with this fabulous plan yesterday, but I couldn’t get to sleep and then I slept in (all the way ’till 7!) and then, inexplicably, I fell into almost 3 hours of napping in the afternoon. I was pretty mad at myself, ignoring my “stop napping!” timer like that, but in the end I decided it meant that I had already stocked up on sleep so I could wake up early today. As you can see from the timestamp, I was generally successful.

And all things considered, I’m feeling pretty good this first morning. Of course, that could be because my body is so darn confused about when it’s supposed to be sleeping and when it’s not that it’s decided not to care right now. The dog certainly has no idea what’s going on, poor girl.

Now, I’ve got at least two hours before I have to get ready for church, so let the writing begin!