You might think that in order to be a writer, you need a few basic supplies:  a computer, a typewriter (some people like the old-fashioned punch of the keys and the ding when you reach the end of the line), or even more old-fashioned pen and ink. 

I’m personally a big fan of Bic Round Sticks and a pretty journal (college-ruled paper only, please).  Especially for writing romantic and/or intimate scenes.  In my opinion, there’s something fundamentally wrong about typing a love scene.  The smoothness of the paper beneath your palm and fingers, the soft scrape of the pen tip across it, the gush of ink onto the page, the smudges of ink when you swipe your fingers across…it’s a sensual experience.  Typing is sterile. 

Also, I often find sitting in my office, even as great as my office is, a bit stifling to the creativity.  Some days I just want to sit in the chair-and-a-half and prop my feet up on the ottoman (as pictured below).  Or, especially in the fall and spring, spread a blanket out under the cherry tree in the garden.  Or, which may become a weekly occurrence for me, at Starbuck’s with a venti Green Tea Frappuccino.  All of which require me to leave my desktop computer behind. 

Alas, despite there being many reasons for me to write the old-fashioned way, publishers do not accept hand-written drafts.  Which is understandable.  Even I can’t read my own writing.  Let me tell you how difficult that makes typing up my drafts.  It’s terribly inefficient, even if it is sensual. 

So, in order to at least confront the problem of location, I have acquired a laptop, as a very early 27th birthday present from Mr. Burt. 

A beautiful, 17.5" HP. 

(Yes.  I, a life-long Mac user, have gone PC.  Can you blame me when it’s $700 for a computer, router, printer, and carrying bag vs. $1800 for a Macbook.  Okay, so you hardcore Mac users probably can.  You’re a hard lot to please.) 

The laptop’s equipped with Vista and Office 2007, and I can wirelessly access all my writing files from my Mac Mini from anywhere in the house.  Even from the toilet!  (Though I shall endeavor not to write while pooping.  The only sort of scene that could possibly inspire is a crappy one.)  Mr. Burt has set it all up for me in a way that is rather Mac-like to help me make the adjustment. 

And that is why the most important tool of the trade is a supportive spouse.  Thank you, baby!

Erm, for the record, I was not calling my husband a tool…

This could turn out to be one of those memorable weekends.  Take lots of photos and preserve the memories.

Considering that I spent Saturday in a state of insatiable hunger and today throwing up everything I attempted to eat, this weekend’s memories are not ones I want to preserve.  Especially not in photographs.  Therefore, my horoscope is wrong.

Or, since I’m immortalizing it on the interwebs, does that mean it’s right?

Also, wouldn’t this have been a better horoscope for the start of a weekend than the finish?  What if my Friday night or Saturday had been awesome, but I found myself without a camera because I hadn’t yet been told by a clairvoyant to bring one?  Horoscope fail!

Boy, do I feel pregnant!

I guess I did for a lot of last week, too — I was nauseous after nearly every meal, getting really warm at night and having trouble sleeping. Part of me wonders if my symptoms this week aren’t a bit psychosomatic, worse because I now know I’m pregnant (oh, by the way, in case you didn’t know, I’m pregnant) and am therefore attributing everything odd with my body to that.  But I am at five weeks, so I should be feeling some of the effects now. I’m having a bit of nausea and occasionally throwing up (mostly first thing in the morning and in the evenings).

The main thing is the tiredness, which seems to be getting worse every day. The only time in my life I’ve felt this absolutely drained was when I was on a particular birth control five years ago. Thankfully the sleeping problems haven’t persisted this week (though I am having to get up to use the bathroom a lot), but even though I’m getting 8-9 hours of sleep a night, I still wake up feeling run down and need a nap (or two). This morning I’ve had absolutely no energy and when I did finally drag myself to my desk to do a bit of work, I dozed off several times in the middle of typing. I’d shake myself and read what I was typing and realize I was typing the completely wrong sentence. Lunch perked me up a bit, so I’m going to try and answer a few emails after I make this post, but then I foresee a very long nap…

It is amazing and mystifying how an embryo the size of a poppy seed can leech every ounce of your energy. (I am, in all affection, calling the baby The Parasite.) But I can’t really begrudge him/her; it’s a lot of work developing your brain and vital organs.

I knew that having children would change me, but I wasn’t quite prepared for pregnancy — especially this early — to change me. Not in any huge ways, but I am finding it quite a challenge to my routine. I’m a creature of habit by nature, but I think especially because I work from home, a schedule is hugely important to me to get anything done. Before I got pregnant, the routine that worked best for me was to get up at 6 AM to exercise, wake Mr. Burt up a little before 7, hop in the shower, be ready to get to write by 8 AM, and do that for a good four hours, take a lunch break, and have another 3-4 hours of work.

Already this week, that’s all gone out the window. When you wake up exhausted and/or nauseous, you just can’t get up at 6 AM, and you really don’t want to eat or exercise first thing. (At least, I don’t. That trick of eating Saltines before you get out of bed is not working for me.) I’m learning already to listen to my body, to sleep when it wants me to, to eat when it wants me to, and to work everything I need to do around my body. (Not that there aren’t some things I need to be disciplined about — like not necessarily eating what my body wants to eat if it’s not healthy, and making sure I do exercise at some point, even if I’m feeling a bit tired.) Somehow I’m managing to get just as much done as ever, just not in my usual spurts. I can live with that. Especially if it gets the first draft of my  novel finished by the end of the summer, which is my goal…

I suppose this will be a helpful habit once the baby’s born, when everything will revolve not around my body, but around the Baby Burt and his or her demands. Flexibility is essential to parenting, isn’t it, or else you’ll lose your mind? (I can see why they say yoga’s a great thing to do during pregnancy — on many levels!)