And I'm Off ... Almost

I've been slightly stressed about the idea of flying off to this conference tomorrow, for several reasons.

1. All the scary, really smart, new people! ... Will they like me, or will they think I'm weird? (This is why I write YA, people. I can relate to teen-aged insecurities ... This is where I start my mantra: "Focus on others, focus on others, FOCUS ON OTHERS!")
2. Will I remember everything I'm supposed to take? (I'm going to try to squeeze everything into a carry-on and hope my clothes don't get too wrinkled.)
3. Will the family be okay while I'm gone? Did I stock enough food in the freezer? Will the Dashingly Handsome Sidekick get ANY sleep?
4. Why did I leave all the house cleaning for TODAY, the last day, when I also need to pack, and do all the last-minute shopping, and make sure my children feel loved and provided for? (ugh)
5. Do I have time to write my Story A Week today? (Sure, I do! There's always time for writing! HA!)

So, how do I handle stress?

Well, today I'm handling it by posting pictures of cute animals and children on my blog. Here are a few of my grandcat, Midnight, and my almost-two-year-old, Sophie. Midnight is Sophie-sized, which is great, except for the times she tries to haul him around by the hind leg. Midnight is the perfect addition to our family because he's a luxury cat ... and enjoys a good book when he gets a chance to fall asleep on one.

I'm going to miss my babies while I'm gone.  *Sob*

Obviously, I'll be MIA for a while. But please keep your google-reader-eyes peeled for my return. I'm hoping to bring a few books to share back from the conference ... maybe even SIGNED books. I never had a 100 follower give-away, so I need to make up for that. (YAY!)

And hopefully I'll have some useful nuggets of writing wisdom to share, too, if I'm not so star struck with all the smart, important conference attendees that I lose my brain entirely.

Take care, everyone. I'll *see* you when I get back.

Amy