I’ve taken the plunge and signed up for 70 Days of Sweat. Eeek! I’m committed to making some serious tracks on Cam’s story, although I’m a bit worried about writing to meet page goals when I’m not exactly sure where the story is going. I’ve got a vague outline and a couple of turning points mapped out, but usually I take much more time to stew over each scene and where it is going. I don’t want to end up writing 70 days of garbage that has to be deleted as that will defeat the purpose of working my tail off in the first place.

For those of you who have participated in this type of thing before, how do you keep yourself on track plot-wise?

And, you know, one of my favorite things is gathering tunes to use as a soundtrack for my ms. I’ve compiled a great playlist in my mp3 player; songs that have called out to me for either my hero or my heroine. One of my favorites so far is Feel by Chicago, because one verse fits my hero, one verse fits the heroine and the chorus fits them both:

Verse 1 [hero's outlook]:

So everybody’s pulling you in all directions
You don’t know how much longer to take it
So you’ve learned how to fake it

That smile on the outside’s fading fast
Like the things that you thought for sure would last
But they didn’t
You know something’s missing
Is it your life you’re not living?

Verse 2 [heroine's outlook]:

You can’t tell if you’re happy or sad
Can’t tell the good from bad
It’s senseless
To waste your senses
Maybe stop thinking with your head
Start using your heart instead
Just try it
You just might like it
Aren’t you dying to start livin’?

And the Chorus:

Your heart is cold, your soul is numb
You don’t like who you’ve become
You played the game and paid the cost for long enough
So grab the reins, yeah, take the wheel
Lose what’s not and keep what’s real
It’s not too late,
Just close your eyes and feel, feel

This month has been such a tough one! Dealing with personal crud along with bad weather and a dose of sickness (yes, it is so much fun to constantly pass the same sickness back and forth between family members!) has turned February into the never-ending month for me. There’s only one thing that has gotten me through:

I’m serious. This is my favorite part of our house! It’s a whirlpool tub/steam shower with a rainfall shower head, a radio, a hookup for a CD player (and you can even hook it up to a phone line and talk on the phone! Personally, I wouldn’t want to talk on the phone while I’m in the shower, but the fact that the option is there is very cool.)

This shower is one of the things we splurged on for the master bath, and I’m so glad we did because I’d spend my life in here. I already stay in it until I drain all the hot water from the water heater (much to my hubby’s dismay). Seriously, nothing makes me feel better than closing myself in the shower, turning on the radio and just letting the water run over me. It’s so peaceful.

And even my boys have a blast in it:

What’s your favorite part about your house?

In an effort to keep myself from wallowing today, I’m going to blog about something positive. Except….I can’t think of anything positive to blog about.

So….well….if I can’t find it in my heart to be positive, at least I can pass on some other positive quotes so that you, too, can know the power of positive thinking….or not.

1. The difference between can and cannot is only three letters. Three letters that determine your life’s direction.

2. The power of positive thinking is like a car with a powerful engine that can take you to the summit of a mountain.

3. Positive and negative are directions. Which direction do you choose?

4. When you say, “I can’t” and expect the worst, you become weak and unhappy. When you say “I can”, and expect success, you fill yourself with confidence and happiness.

5. A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright, quoted in Reader’s Digest, June 1995

6. Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. ~Voltaire

7. Oh, my friend, it’s not what they take away from you that counts. It’s what you do with what you have left. ~Hubert Humphrey

8. If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit

9. So often time it happens, we all live our life in chains, and we never even know we have the key. ~The Eagles, “Already Gone”

10. Defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it. ~Joe Clark

There. Are you feeling the love yet?