ENGLAND OR BUST!

Boy, would I love to be in England about now. Can't get there soon enough. I think I should have bought a house there instead of here in Arizona. Too bad. There's got to be a way. 

I wonder how troublesome it would be to take three cats to England? Of course I'd be most worried about the trip's effect on my babies.

One thing about being a writer and a publisher, I can do it from anywhere in the world. As long as there are computer connections and the internet ... that's all I need.

Just looked it up on the Internet … the rules changed a few years ago and animals entering the UK no longer have to go into quarantine. Instead, you prove the animal doesn't have rabies by vaccinating them, having a blood sample sent to a lab to show that the animal was vaccinated, waiting six months, and then taking the animal to the UK. You are doing the "quarantine" yourself that way. So I'd have to do that six months before going.

Also have to get the pets micro-chipped.

THEN … 48 - 24 hours before the pet leaves for the UK, he must be treated by a vet for ticks and tapeworms. The vet fills out the corresponding section on the pet's veterinary certificate.

The USDA - APHIS recommends you have the vet do a general check on the pet and issue an international health certificate because you may need to show this to the airline before they will accept your pet.

British Airways Unaccompanied Pets service is a cargo terminal to cargo terminal product. Pets must be checked in at the cargo facility by you, and collected from the cargo facility by you or a nominated person. Pets are carried in the cargo hold, which is located underneath the passenger cabin. This hold is temperature controlled and provides a comfortable environment during flight. The hold is not lit, because experience shows that pets quickly settle down and travel better in the dark.

Okay, that answers it pretty much for me. I'm glad to hear that the cargo hold is temperature controlled. I was worried about that. Great! Okay. I can do it. No more worry about it. So they aren't going to hold me back anymore. I don’t have to sit here for the rest of my life, which is damn depressing. Now all I have to do is plan it and do it. I'm an expert at that, for sure. We all know that.

Oh yes, I can go on the same plane as the cats, by the way. Perfect!

Now all I have to do is figure out how I can do financially.  I'd close up this house, but would have to leave the water for garden on and electric for A/C on - at a reasonable temperature since it gets up to 117 in the summer.   Everything else can be turned off temporarily to save money.  Would have to have someone take care of the front and back garden, maybe once a month.  Okay, just thinking out loud here. 

Then ... I'll have to figure where I'd stay in the UK.   I've sent an email to a friend that might have room ... we'll see.  If not I'll shift gears.  Working on it!

I WANT TO BE AMANDA!

I've figured it all out. I want to be Amanda, the latest co-protagonist in the third novel of my "Midnight" series - Midnight in Brussels. I really do like Amanda. She has such determination and goes all out without ever looking back! She knows what she wants. I've been living in her head now for several months, and now she's in mine. I want to be her. I like her better than me.

This realization hit me last night as I was lying in bed dropping off to sleep. If ever there was a case of immersing one's self into a character, this is it. I don't mean she's all about me, it's just the opposite. Maybe that's the cause of my mood lately. I would rather be her. She's young, she's slim and tall with long blond hair, she's motivated and industrious, she's wise enough to know she must make herself happy before anybody else enters the equasion, and so on ....    She comes from a meager existence and downtrodden personna and becomes a blossoming young lady with enough drive to capture the world.  (Oh to be young again!) 

One of the stories in the newly released 2009 WOW Anthology - one written by Mike Dennis called Block - is of a writer's (the writer is one of the characters) fictional character becoming real and becoming a dangerous threat to the writer in the story. Very tantalizing writing and imagination on Mike's part.

But this feeling I'm having is that I'm morphing into the Amanda character myself. I want to go off to Belgium and live her life, not mine. How she pulled herself up by the bootstraps and created a world that most would die for is amazing. I know, her life is non-existent, is fictional. But darn it all, I'm finding myself living in her skin, having her feelings, visualizing the quaint shops and cafes, jumping over the hurdles, falling in love, etc.

Oh well!

I guess I'll just have to live it in my novels, so why not come join me?  Start with Midnight at Trafalgar Square, then on to Midnight at the Eiffel and very soon you'll be able to read Midnight in Brussels.

You know, I have to admit, my characters do steal from me. They use my thoughts and experiences and imagination, so there, Amanda! We're even-steven!

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I'M IN A PIT!

Yep, I'm in a pit. A deep dark pit! Well, maybe not so dark, maybe just slightly dark. But nevertheless, I'm in one and can't seem to get out. Today was the worst. Slept most of the day. Actually couldn't keep my eyes open. Honestly. And when I was awake, I was lethargic.

So what is wrong with me? Am I just tired and sleepy? I don't think so, although I didn't get to bed till around 3 a.m. last night, and then got up at 8 a.m. Probably needed a couple more nods.

Am I sick? Nah ... no more than usual, that is. lol lol You know, the overweightness and high blood pressure issues are forever constant. Although, I've some wrong-eating issues these days. Yes, that could be a culprit. Have been gorging on sweets and starch. Those can put one to sleep, for sure, if consumed at great length. Okay, so it's time to shift that gear. Out go the sweets and starch (bread). Need more veggies and greens. More water.

But lately I'm just not interested in greens and veggies. And I don't know why that is. I've always been a salad and veggie person. My whole life. But right now they gag me to look at them, so I steer away from them. Chicken is gagging me, too. Can't bear to put a bite of chicken in my mouth, can't even stand the smell of it.

Fruit and juice is still appealing, thank god! So I had apples and OJ today. In fact orange juice sounds good right now. I'm going to pour myself a big glass right this minute ...

Yum yum, tastes good.

So. I need to hide the halloween candy from me. Need to put it somewhere so that I'll forget about it. Right now it's in the candy dish. I keep a candy dish filled on my dining room table for when my son comes over. He likes that. And it reminds me of when I was a young girl ... family would have those crystal candy dishes with lids sitting on their dining room tables. I loved that. Well, I'm doing it now. But lately I'm the one dipping into the candy dish more than anyone else.

Tomorrow I'm going to get back out into the garden and maybe that'll give me some energy. All this editing and writing and publishing and attempting to do Internet marketing is wearing me out. Maybe I'm on burn-out. Brain burn-out. Could be.

I was thinking today how it was when I first dropped out of corporate America several years ago. How I was so happy to have escaped projects and deadlines, and how I was looking forward to just writing and traveling and enjoying life, just being creative. Well! That was great for awhile until I jumped right back into the mix again. Only this time a mix I created. Now I'm wondering what the hell I've done to myself! lol lol

I need help! Help in the office, I mean.


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