Keep Calm and Carry On

Calm
#FMSPhotoADay
A thunderstorm moving across distant Sydney
View from Mumndad's spare room

On Friday night I hit send on the final, final, final set of edits for Drive Me To Distraction. The ARCs are being sent out (advance review copies), people I don't know are reading it, and soon they will be telling me, and the rest of the internet their opinion.

And anxiety attack in 3... 2... 1....

Oh this book writing business, no one tells you how agonising it can be!

Panic attacks aside, I was thinking I had things under control. I managed to get The Bunker submitted last week, and though I've still got a few guest blog posts to write, they aren't due for a couple of weeks.  My Next Release doesn't even have a release date yet. Lately I've been attacking the thicket garden and deciding which project to get on with next... a revise and resubmit on one story, or finish the next, half written, novel.

Then I had an email.  My Next Release does have a release date. Um... December.  And would I be okay to get it edited in the next couple of weeks?

Pffffft. I said. I am poised at my lappie, sleeves rolled up awaiting the editorial report. Bring It On.

Eeep.

The edits should arrive in four days, so I've got time to get organised.  And I know if I'm organised then I can focus better and deal nicely with house, kids, daily life whilst under a boatload of pressure.  I can Keep Calm and Carry On.

For the house the main breaking point is food.  So I've meal planned and just got back from Coles (geez, it was like a plague of locusts had been through there, empty shelves as far as the eye could see). I went for convenience food, ie, bagged salad, apple puree pots, cheese sticks, muesli bars, things I can just grab and serve. Usually I avoid the more processed end of the food spectrum.

Next is clothes.  Kids uniforms are organised and ready to go.  I'm just getting my stuff sorted and getting loads of washing on, so I won't have to deal with any sock crisis's (believe me, when I'm stressed, spending twenty minutes trying to find a matching pair of socks sends me straight over the edge and into shrieks-ville)

Filth-wise the house is teetering somewhere between not bad and starting to bug me.  It can stay there.

As for me. The mantra is going to be Sleep, Water, Walk.  If I get enough of each of these every day regardless of what needs to be done, I'll stay sane.

Sleep, Water, Walk.

Wish me luck!