Frozen's Olaf... and Joy

I bought the three foot high Olaf stuffed character which is now sitting in my office, and I have to say I smile every time I look up and see him.

Disney's gives us great side characters with which to love. Gus, the mouse, from Cinderella. Mushu, the tiny dragon, from Mulan. Archimedes, the owl, in Sword in the Stone. Timon and Pumbaa, the meercat and warthog, from The Lion King. Stitch, the alien, from Lilo and Sitch. Dory, the fish, from Finding Nemo. Runt and Abby, the pig and mallard, from Chciken Little. Mater, the tow-truck, from Cars. Baymax, the inflatable robot, from Big Hero 6.

And then there are the other brilliant makers of feature animated movies who gave us the Minions from Despicable Me. And Donkey from Shrek. Scrat, the long nosed acorn seeking wee-beastie, in Ice Age. Elliot, the deer, from Open Season.

These are just a few that I love, and I do love them all. They all make me smile. A lot. But I'm putting it out there... I really love Olaf, the snowman, from Frozen.  He is just freakin adorable on every level, and I never get tired of looking up and seeing his silly grin and big eyes looking back at me. Makes me smile every time. Every. Single. Time!

He's like a Viennese polka by Johann Strauss II. Doesn't matter what mood I'm in, these are sure cures to bring me joy and paste a stupid grin on my face.

What does it for ya'll?
 

Knee surgery

So, I'm still pretty UP from getting a book out.... finally. And I appreciate so much everyone who wished me well and/or bought a copy. THANKS

Remember how I had the knee surgery in early December to fix my torn meniscus? I'm still gimpy and in pain all the time, so we're taking the next step. Knee surgery for a partial knee replacement (unless they find something really freaky when they go in and have to do a full replacement). I'll be happy if it fixes the problem though.

So, I have surgery in a few brief weeks - three days in the hospital and then laid up for a month for sure. After that we'll see how gimpy or active I am. So my goal is, once I'm not doped up on pain meds, to be uber productive with my writing. Send the mojo, ya'll!!

Also, should have the next short out about the same time. I'll try to keep up the blog too though there may be a week of nothing - we'll see.

Anywho - that's today's update.
Have a great day and week :)

Petra Cor's first book is now available on Amazon

YAY!!!!!

It took me forever to get here, but it's official. A Mate for the Minotaur by Petra Cor (my pen name for this genre) is finally available on Amazon. It's a short beast-erotic-romance and only 99 cents.

For everyone who was encouraging and had faith in me - THANKS!

Fingers crossed now for some sales :)

Can Cleaning Give You a Cold?

All my forward progress on my office has come to a grinding halt this week as I've spent the last five days sleeping and laying around movie-binging while I felt like death with a cold. I feel human today but still tired. My nose looks like I should be leading Santa's sleigh.

I'm really close on the office and made another dent in the remaining bookshelf in the living room. The tidying project is improving things around here. I'm more motivated to work and feeling good about life - until the cold, I mean. Actually maybe my body is purging toxins as I purge the toxins weighing me down around the house. Body and home getting all simpatico. It's a theory...

So, more when I feel all the way human again. Hope everyone else is doing well in the meantime.

Me, My Office and the Tidying Up book

This story starts with my writing partner and bff, D, who recommended I read this book by Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. I read it and have to say even though there are a few things that may not apply or work with an American lifestyle (because it was written by and for those living in Japan), the underlying premise is absolutely life-changing.

So, I've been decluttering and organizing according to that premise - Only keep what brings you joy (and/or use regularly for the practical minded). If you set that as your baseline, it's actually easier and liberating to rid your home of stuff that is just taking up space. I cleared out probably 40% of the clothes in my closet and drawers, 70% of the shoes taking up space, and 30-40% of the books on one massive bookshelf (I still have another bookshelf to go), but wow!  I feel like the weights are lifting off my back and when I look at what I did keep, it's all stuff I love and that brings me joy.

As I'm progressing through the process, I started working the same life-changing magic in my office where I'm supposed to be working/writing. But my brain was as cluttered and messy as my office which was in utter chaos. My office felt like a visual representation of my brain. It's no wonder I wasn't getting anything done.

This week has been all about cleaning up and clearing out my office - making it a joyous place for me to work and be productive surrounded by the things that enhance my productivity. Having now cleared out my filing cabinet and boxes and bags of stuff (we're talking SO much paper for recycling or shredding), there is now room for me to just put stuff away immediately so I keep it clutter free. What a concept! It shouldn't be such a concept, but for me it really was - sometimes, I'm just so bad parting with stuff. Not quite hoarder, but not a foreign concept either. Now, everything has to pass the joy/love measuring stick or it doesn't even come in the house. That's that. And I LOVE IT. :)

Now that you know all of that, you have some idea why I've been a slacker with my blog. But, we'll get this train back on the tracks. Have a great weekend!!