Confessions of a List Addict

My name is Nicole. And I must come clean with my fellow goddesses.

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womanwlist

I’m an addict.

Of list-making.

I can’t help it.

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I make lists for everything. They’re everywhere. They’re on my refrigerator. On my nightstand. They’re in my purse. And checklistin my suitcase. They’re on hot pink sticky notes and on lime green ones. They’re on legal-size sheets, and they’re on index cards. They greet me each morning when I look in the mirror and when I walk into my office to start work. I can’t leave the house without one; I can’t go to bed without making one. They comfort me; they frustrate me. I like to cross things off my lists; I like to add things to them.

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In addition to the usual (the grocery list, the honey-do list, the do-today list, the do-sometime list, the round-tuit list), I make lists for everything else:

  • clipboardQuirky traits I discover in real people that I might want to give characters on the page.
  • Creative terms for certain body parts that come to me when I turn out the lights at night (the terms come; not the body parts… at least on my lists) – words to use instead of throbbing member, glistening head, tingling bud.
  • Fabulous plot ideas for scenes in yet-to-be-written books so I won’t forget by the time I finally get around to writing them.
  • Arguments I want to make when I’m mad at someone and need ammunition to bolster my case (my dh, car service technician, TV cable company).
  • Things I need to take with me when I go out to the barn to ride my horse.
  • Things to think about while I’m away from the computer.
  • Things I need to bring back from the barn after I ride my horse.
  • Things that go in my suitcase when I fly to Atlanta for my critique group meeting.
  • Things to say to my editor when we talk.
  • Things not to stay to my editor when we talk. (Things like, “I’ve only just begun,” and “Why in blazes did the &#*$ marketing department do that?”)
  • A list of the lists I wanted to list when I wrote this blog.

I ask myself the source of the addiction, and here’s what I’ve come up with:

I’m in my own little world. I’m writing 24/7. While I’m watching a movie, eating dinner, chatting with friends. The story is on a continuous loop in my head. The characters are always speaking. In good moments, they’re making love. To survive (and enjoy the good stuff, like those love scenes), I’ve got to organize the rest of my life.scroll

With lists.

I need an intervention.

Do you have an addiction of your own, or do you share mine?

Are you a list-maker? Can you help me? Can you list the ways?

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53 Comments »

53 Responses to “Confessions of a List Addict”

  1. Claudia Dain on 19 Feb 2007 at 10:08 am #

    I’m not a list-maker. But maybe I should be. It sounds like your life is very organized and that you couldn’t possibly lose track of anything. I think, fellow goddess, that I’m envious!

  2. DebMarlowe on 19 Feb 2007 at 10:51 am #

    Nicole, I thought I was bad, but you definitely out-list me!

    I’m LOL on the list of arguements you want to use on your dh and your cable guy! Shades of Mr. Collins!

    I keep 2 separate lists going…life stuff and work stuff. I keep them next to the computer and my calendar. If I didn’t I’d be perpetually forgetting to take the kids to the dentist, take the library books back, call Sabrina and endlessly debate just how long would it take my hero and heroine to get to Dorsetshire….Oh, yeah, gotta go!

    Watch out Sabrina! :-)

    Deb Marlowe

  3. RachelG on 19 Feb 2007 at 10:59 am #

    Wow, I feel like a slacker. Sometimes I make grocery lists, but I forget them at home. If I do scribble things on sticky notes, I usually don’t scribble down enough info. Like one of my notes says: Feb. 28th-1:15 and has a local telephone number. It’s obviously important but I don’t know what’s supposed to happen on the 28th. I hope I remember. To keep myself semi-organized, I write most things on a big calendar. My memory is crap and I’d be lost without my calendar.

    When it comes to work, I make a timeline and keep a running list of what has to happen next in the book. I used to write stuff on sticky notes, but they kept falling off my monitor and sliding between the wall and my desk.

  4. JUDY on 19 Feb 2007 at 11:02 am #

    I AM DEFINITELY A LIST MAKER. IF I WERE NOT, I WOULD NEVER GET ANYTHING DONE. MY MEMORY IS SLIPPING AS I GET OLDER. I HAVE MY THINGS TO DO AS WELL AS HELPING WITH THE GRANDKIDS. GETTING THEM HERE AND THERE. YOU CAN ASK MY HUSBAND, THERE ARE NOTES AND LISTS EVERYWHERE YOU TURN.

  5. BookstoreDeb on 19 Feb 2007 at 11:14 am #

    I’m not a list maker but heaven knows there are days I need to be. I work two jobs, and between those, regular home stuff and just things I need to keep up with, I should have lists everywhere. Unfortunately, I don’t take the time out of all the other hectic stuff to make a list. When I do scribble something down, I am like Rachel in the fact that I usually only write the most basic of info and that isn’t always enough if I don’t take care of whatever is on the note immediately.

    Afraid for now I am just going to have to stay with a mental running list of things to do and if I forget, it will still be there waiting for me.

  6. KathyK on 19 Feb 2007 at 11:15 am #

    LoL… I think I’m somewhere in between the extremes. I do make lists Nicole, but lately they’re all about books. Which books do I have, which books do I want, which new author have I heard about, what books does said author have…well, you get the picture. I’m pretty sure that I’d not be too much help. *grin*

    I carry index cards around with me and anytime I’m anywhere there are books, out come the cards. Or maybe I’m online reading authors’ blogs and a book is recommended; out come the index cards to add another title / author.
    Lately I’ve been adding more than I’ve been acquiring, but there are stages to that as well as anything else.

    Other lists that I make deal with an auto-buy author and everything that I’m looking for; usually backlists. But I like to *know* everything about a favourite author and her / his works ~ the titles, the publishing dates, main characters, connecting characters…sometimes I’m a *little* worried about it, or at least perhaps I should be? Oh, well…it’s too late!

    I figure that I’m pretty set in my ways, and it usually works, so what the hey?
    If it works then I’m okay ~ I think.

  7. Julia London on 19 Feb 2007 at 11:15 am #

    This is great news, Nicole! I am relieved to know that someone is keeping a list of things the goddesses need to do or remember.

    I am like Rachel — I don’t make lists, and if I do, I can’t remember them.

    I once made up an elaborate spreadsheet listing due dates and pub dates, and then all the stuff I needed to do surrounding those dates. I found it months later and could not make heads or tails out of it. It was a useless exercise in list making.

    But here is the wierd thing — I am compelled to buy cute little list note pads everywhere I see them. I have tons of them stuffed into a drawer in the kitchen.

  8. talleybama on 19 Feb 2007 at 11:23 am #

    Nicole, I have even made lists of my lists (and where said lists are)! Sounds like you haven’t gotten that bad yet. When I worked outside the home, I really made lists for work, lists for home, lists for children’s activities, church stuff…you get the picture. Now that I’m home most of the time, I still maintain lists–which books need to be purchased when, grocery lists, Dr.’s appts, etc. I review for TRS and I have to keep lists of what I’ve requested to review. Thanks for reminding me that I’m not alone! And thanks, Ladies, for this site. I look forward to reading more every day. A couple of you goddesses are new to me, but the others are my mainstay. I READ all the time, since I’m unable to do much else. And, like Julie, I also purchase all kinds of fancy little notepads. Maybe you should design one and give them as contest prizes! BRENDA

  9. Sabrina Jeffries on 19 Feb 2007 at 11:37 am #

    I used to be like Rachel and Julia–I didn’t do lists because I forgot to look at them. But my increasingly hectic life has made them necessary, along with my Google calendar (I LOVE Google calendar). So now I keep an Action Item list for myself and my assistant and a grocery list. That’s about it. Oh, and files. I’m an obsessive filer.

  10. Linda McA on 19 Feb 2007 at 11:42 am #

    Other than grocery shopping the only list I have is my book list.
    I have a 10 page book list that includes the book name, the author name and when the book will be/has come out. As I purchase a book I highlite it so that I know it has been bought. I’m always adding titles to this list. I take this list everywhere, because I never know when I’m going to find a book for sale. I love my books. Oh, Nicole, I also watch “Men in Trees”. What a show. I love it.

  11. bevt10 on 19 Feb 2007 at 11:58 am #

    I’m a serious list maker too. I read somewhere that in today’s world us Goddesses have so much to retain that our brain’s are on overload, so how can we be expected to keep the information highway moving without a little help sometimes? I don’t know about you, but I feel better about my listing now after reading that article and I feel even better knowing you’re an even busier list maker that I am! Now I can aspire to even greater heights of list making. :)

  12. Noelani on 19 Feb 2007 at 12:23 pm #

    I make lists…but I never stick to them. And then I always manage to forget 2 or 3 items I actually had on my list, but I always have 4 or 5 items I didn’t need, but wanted :-)!!!

  13. riverlady on 19 Feb 2007 at 12:28 pm #

    I, too, am a list maker. What needs to be done in the garden, the house, with my children and the various “departments” in my life. I could never remember it all if I didn’t write them down. (Now, if I could only remember where I put them all…)
    In all seriousness, my main “list” is in my appointment book. Without it, I’d never know where I was supposed to be at any specific time or be able to keep up with the many commitments I’ve made. I keep that on the dining room table and another smaller one in my purse which I occasionally drag out and look at to be sure both of them have the same info on them. (Nothing quite as dumb as making two appointments for the same time frame that are miles apart!)
    But lately, I am coming to feel that making lists is both good and bad for me. I am encouraged and elated when I am able to cross something off a list as being accomplished, but depressed when I notice that the list of “undone” things is getting longer and longer! So, while I view keeping lists as something of a mixed blessing, I do have to acknowledge that if I didn’t make lists my life’d be in far worse shape than it is at present! (Now, if I could only remember where I put them all….)

  14. Jeanette on 19 Feb 2007 at 12:42 pm #

    I am a notorious list maker. Every morning I look at the list from the previous day and copy it to the list from today. After that I add things that should be on the list for today.
    Sometimes I can delete things from my list. My list is getting longer and longer but every now and then I just trow them away and I start a new list.
    A short one.

  15. TheNightPoet on 19 Feb 2007 at 12:49 pm #

    I make lists when I feel bogged down and realize that I have forgotten to read a chapter for one of my classes (college), or when I have appointments, work and a ton of other stuff do. When I make lists, it helps me feel in control over my life, which at times feels caotic. I also make lists to sort of “push” myself to stay on top of things. At times I get lazy on what I know needs to be done, so I make a list to force myself to do it and to stop procrastinating on it as well! (when it gets to the point where I have to force myself to do things, I always cringe my nose at the list I’ve made, but I still do it, because I know it needs to get done.)
    ~Andre

  16. Adrienne on 19 Feb 2007 at 12:54 pm #

    My husband is a list maker. I always find them on counters and tables, lists like all the songs he knows how to play or items he’d like to pick up the next time we go to IKEA. I don’t get it myself. The funny part is, his handwriting is so bad that after a week he can’t even make out what he wrote and all is forgotten anyway.

  17. TheNightPoet on 19 Feb 2007 at 12:56 pm #

    I make lists when I get bogged down and have realized I have forgotten to read a chapter for my classes (college), or have appointments, work and a ton of other stuff to do. Sometimes I let things go undone that I know need to get done. When that happens, I make a list to “push” myself to get it done. I always seem to cringe my nose at that kind of list, because I don’t want to do it. I end up sucking it up and forcing myself to do it and cross it off my list. lol I’m so bad at procrastinating and because of that, the lists come into play. Without them, I wouldn’t feel in control of my life, which at times feels caotic. They help me take control. :)
    ~Andrea

  18. Sabrina Jeffries on 19 Feb 2007 at 1:17 pm #

    I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, Andrea and bevt10. Life is so chaotic for us goddesses that even the unorganized are forced into organizing.

    Also, I’ve been reading this book called Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, and he stresses that if you put things onto lists, then you get them out of your head, which reduces your stress. I think he’s right . . . except that I get very stressed when I look at all the things on my list. :-)

    At least I’m not stressing over forgetting to do them.

  19. Suzanne Enoch on 19 Feb 2007 at 1:23 pm #

    I would have posted earlier, but it wasn’t on my list to do until now. *g*

    For me, when I have deadlines that are four or five months out, it gives me a sense of satisfaction to write something down on a list and then be able to cross it off. Otherwise I feel like I’m not really getting anything accomplished. Sometimes I’ll even write down to write 10 pages or something, but then at least I know I’m getting somewhere.

    Suzanne Enoch, off to take care of item #9 for the day — laundry

  20. RobynL on 19 Feb 2007 at 1:26 pm #

    I am a list maker to the nth degree. If I accomplish something noteworthy and it wasn’t on my list of ‘To Do’ items I will write it on the list and then cross it off because it has already been accomplished. I love seeing lists with items crossed off. It gives me a sense of accomplishment.

  21. Pat L. on 19 Feb 2007 at 2:15 pm #

    Hi, Glad to see I am not the only list maker here. LOL.

    I am obssessed with my books. Always looking for more and always looking for books for my friend.

  22. Lina on 19 Feb 2007 at 2:31 pm #

    OMG TOO FUNNY NICOLE!!! (btw - wavin’ madly at ya! your #1 Fan here!)

    I only make to-do lists when I’m particularly swumped with things that need my attention. However, since my life is one big appointment book, I wouldn’t know which foot to put forward or how much air to breathe without my day-planner. I work with appointments and I have many other committements on my time, so while a personal assistant would be nice (not in this lifetime LOL), I must rely heavily on my planner.

    As for addictions, my biggest one is exercise! No I’m not rail thin, but if I go more than 24 hrs without exercise, I feel gross in many ways!

    There are others of course, but I’m afraid they might be toeing the line of OCDs, rather than addictions… LOL Is there a big difference anyway? It’s things like: I must have all things clean and in order in the house, I can’t go to bed if there are dirty dishes in the sink, I can’t sleep with makeup on my face - even if it’s 5 am in Las Vegas, I have to scrub up before going to bed, etc, etc…

  23. Powersurge on 19 Feb 2007 at 2:51 pm #

    Hi, all. I too, am a list maker. I gave up on sticky notes a long time ago.
    The best way for me to keep track of everything is to enter it on a pad of legal paper and keep it with me. You become accustomed to carrying it just like a purse, but it’s lighter than a day planner. As you accomplish each task, cross it off and enter the date. As you fill a page, flip it over the back and use a rubberband or binder clip to keep it place (also helps with holding a pen). For those of you goddesses who are always second guessing yourself by trashing your notes after you did what you had to do, how will you recall if you threw it away or misplaced it? The master list takes care of that. You will always be able to go back to the early pages to make sure you accomplished that task. Once you are sure you no longer need an earlier page, rip it off! Toss it, file it; it’s up to you.

    I hope this helps all of you, but if it helps Nicole write faster, it’s a winning idea!

  24. FilmPhan on 19 Feb 2007 at 3:13 pm #

    I am a huge list maker. I make a list of things that need to be done this week, things I need to buy, book list, movie list, comic book list, and anything else I can think of to list. I use sticky notes like crazy. I love to be able to pull them down and throw them away when I’m all done. Nothing gives me greater satisfaction. Okay, I lied there now that I think about it. There are some other things that I can think of that give me greater satisfaction. But I do love crossing things off a list and then throwing the list away.

  25. Sandy M on 19 Feb 2007 at 3:29 pm #

    I also am a listmaker, and have been for many years. It started when I was a teenager and at age 52, I just have more and longer lists. There is something about marking things off the list that is so satisfying. My sons used to laugh about my lists when they were young, and now they are both listmakers too. I guess the listmaking addiction runs in the family.

  26. Sue A. on 19 Feb 2007 at 4:43 pm #

    I am not a list maker, but then my life isn’t as busy as most of yours. As a non-list maker I’m very impressed by the extent of all your lists.

  27. ashefrog on 19 Feb 2007 at 4:51 pm #

    I go back and forth with list making. I am very efficient when I am making lists and much gets accomplished. Then I begin to feel like a slave to my lists and stop for a while and all goes to hell in a handbasket and then vicious cycle starts all over again.

    BTW I am presently reading The Seduction for the 4th or 5th time. When I finish I will have to go to the next one in the Notorious series, and on and on till I am done.

  28. Julia London on 19 Feb 2007 at 5:03 pm #

    Oh yeah, exercise. You can’t tell it by looking at me, but I have to do something several times a week or I feel like a mushroom.

  29. Nicole Jordan on 19 Feb 2007 at 5:39 pm #

    ROFL! All you goddesses crack me up. I’m so glad I’m not the only neurotic one here.

    I, too, add to my lists things that I’ve already done just so I can have the satisfaction of crossing them off. Is that crazy, or what!

    I think my addiction stems from my inner control freak persona. It’s not so much that I have to be organized, I just have to be totally in control of my life at all times. So if I put things down on paper, then I at least have the illusion of having some control.

    .

    Also, if I don’t write it down, I’m sure to forget, and I hate knowing there was something I was supposed to remember but can’t. That bugs the dickens out of me.

    I keep note pads stationed strategically all over the house so I can jot down things I don’t want to forget, and then transfer them to whatever list they belong on.

    .

    IMO, calendars and day-planners and appointment books definitely count as lists.

    .

    And yes, listing stuff out is a GREAT stress buster! If I wake up in the middle of the night with problems running through my head, I have to jot them down just so I can forget them long enough to be able to fall asleep again.

    I also sometimes have trouble reading my own handwriting, LOL. Especially the stuff I scribble down in the dark using the alarm clock light so I don’t wake up my dh.

    .

    And of course, I keep a to-be-bought list of books I want. And a log in a spiral bound notebook that I can take to the bookstore with me that lists books I’ve read and whether or not I kept them, so I don’t buy a second copy without meaning to. I have my dh to thank for that. Many years ago when I used to complain buying books I’d already read, he suggested I start keeping track of them.

    And I have a watch-for list of authors I really like. But the idea of detailed index cards is a good one *G*.

    .

    The Designer Note Pads for a future contest is a really fun idea, too! Wonder what I should put on the header? Any ideas?

    .

    I have tons of reference lists, including the way to calculate how long it would take a carriage to get to Dorsetshire, but a lot of the time, I can’t remember where I put those lists.

    .

    And it is definitely depressing to have a long to-do list! To be honest, though, I don’t know how you slackers…. er, non-list-makers, get by in life, but I guess you’ve gotta do what works for you.

    .

    Thanks, ashefrog, for your praise. I’m thrilled you like THE SEDUCTION enough to read it that many times.

    .

    And thanks for making my day, all you guys. A special thanks to all the RBL and RT goddesses for stopping by to share our fun. Lina, dahling, you make me dizzy with everything you get accomplished so easily!

    That’s one problem with me and lists. I’m so busy making them that I don’t have much time for DOING them.

    .

    Please, please keep your replies coming! That’s what makes a great blog site — participation by a lot of folks in addition to having fun and interesting topics. I love to read the original blogs, but it’s even better to hear from many different goddesses.

    NicoleJ

  30. piapie on 19 Feb 2007 at 5:54 pm #

    I love writing things down. I don’t consider them lists because it’s not that organized. It’s like when I’m on the phone, I doodle and write, while watching tv, while doing a lot of stuff it’s like therapy to me to write. At the end of the month though, I end up with a ton of paper with numbers and other things. The thing is with the numbers is most of the time I forget to write whose phone numbers I have on those papers, so I just end up shredding everything. I’m getting better now since I write everything in my notebook - I have 7 notebooks.

  31. Vicki Lane on 19 Feb 2007 at 6:01 pm #

    I always make list. It can get in the way of my writing at times. I even have a book about list. I love them, can’t live without them. I use them most of the time, unless of course it’s the grocery list, that I tend to make and then leave in the car or at home. :)

  32. Anita M on 19 Feb 2007 at 6:01 pm #

    Nicole , i also have to make list of things to do if not i forget but you go all out , lol , i was cracking up laughing with your blog , i love your novels and i am happy that there is a new series coming out , will there be any more novels on the Guardian series ? that was my favorite series perfect 10 all of them , when is the new series coming out ?
    oh! and my biggest list is the book one , more like a binder , yep with authors , titles , series , stand alones , dates of what is coming out when , it’s a hoppy boderline obsession , LOL , but really there is nothing like a great novel , sofa , warm blanket , pillow and a cup green tea , that is Heaven for me !
    Sabrina , Karen , Rachel ,Suzanne , Julia and Nicole you are always on my read and to be read list-binder i am your biggest & faithful fan keep them comming , love you all .

  33. Sabrina Jeffries on 19 Feb 2007 at 6:13 pm #

    Thanks, Anita! We’re glad to have you here.

  34. tj on 19 Feb 2007 at 6:52 pm #

    I have a habit of making lists as well. my greatest achivement was my list of all the lists I made.

  35. Cathy Matuszak on 19 Feb 2007 at 7:45 pm #

    I am a list-maker too. I have lists for everything–my daily (weekly, monthly) to do lists, grocery lists, whose got what on sale lists (with a special little star for coupons for what’s on sale as well so I know if I can get something really cheap). I even have lists of things for my kids, husband and dogs to do. I am also the keeper of the family Christmas lists–for both my family and my husbands family. I can tell you who got what for whom last year and what each person wants this year as well as whether or not someone else has snagged an item off of the master list already. And usually I keep my lists in a Franklin Covey binder calendar thingy. No virtual lists for me cause I might leave home without it. I do modify (i.e. cross stuff off) my lists as I go and have a mini party when a list is completed. My favorite list title is the list of things I cannot find. :) Most of the time stuff gets crossed off this list when I buy antoher whatever that was missing. My organizational deal is a color coded calendar. Six people (3 kids, my hubby, me, and my 95 year old grandma) and two dogs live in my house. Each of us has a color for the calendar and appointments are in that persons (or doggies) color. I f anybody ever wanted to mess up my life, all they would have to do is take my wall calendar or my Franklin Covey binder. At that point, life would stop in my house cause nobody would know wher to go or what to do.

  36. MelisR on 19 Feb 2007 at 9:45 pm #

    Gosh there are a lot of us list-makers! I too am a list-maker. I make lists of a lot of things. My favorite books I want to buy. Ooo! Fabulous make-up I saw in a magazine. Great movies I want to rent. Plays and concerts coming up with my girlfriend that we planned on together. Doctors appointments, grocery lists, etc. Is there an end to all of this? Aarg!!!!!

    Well, needless to say, it keeps me on schedule. I rarely, if ever, forget to do something. I am able to sleep at night knowing that I wrote that task down that I need to do. Guess what? My husband is the same way!

  37. Manuelita on 19 Feb 2007 at 10:13 pm #

    I’m a list maker. I even make lists of songs I want to download from iTunes that I once had on vinyl or cassette (remember those?). One song I definitely wanted to add to my playlist was a song that I thought always described me, and apparently also Nicole Jordan - Girl of 100 Lists by The Go-Gos!

    “I am the girl of 100 lists
    From what shall I wear
    To who I have kissed
    Check items off
    Let nothing be missed
    Sing I to myself and my 100 lists”

    This is my first post here (although I have been lurking for a few days now), so I just wanted to add that I love your new blog. You all are truly author goddesses!

  38. dbrown3400 on 19 Feb 2007 at 10:54 pm #

    I still keep a few lists. I find the more birthdays I have (a polite way of saying you’re getting older) the fewer lists are necessary. I buy a lot of books but it’s easier to hit the 1-Click on Amazon when I want to buy a bunch of books than it is to make a list. Or I let Amazon keep my booklist for me in my Shopping Cart and I buy them when I’m ready. Online shopping is convenient and can be cost effective (if you’re not buying books) for those of us who don’t have a car.

    I work in the pharmacy of the grocery store where I shop, so food is a no-brainer. My daughter and I go together to pick out gifts on holidays and her birthday. My other daughter in Florida requests gift cards. I do maintain my books and authors in Excel so I don’t duplicate purchases, so maybe I don’t have many lists after all.

    It’s my first day here and I’m enjoying all the input.

  39. Karen Hawkins on 19 Feb 2007 at 11:42 pm #

    Oh great list makers of the world, hail to thee!

    I’d have posted sooner, but I wrote myself a sticky note reminding me to post (I’m addicted to Post-It Notes, btw) which I promptly lost, but then found three hours later, stuck to my shoe. By then I was on the other side of town and away from my computer. So I folded up the sticky note, which was no longer sticker, and put it in my pocket so I would remember to post when I got home.

    I got home and started playing an x-box game with my son (Did I mention I’m a mean shot on a virtual reality game? Oh yeah. Me and my virtual uzi. Move over Ah-nold!) when I realized it was late and I had to do laundry. So I jumped into my pajamas and threw my clothes into the wash, then went to do some writin’ as I hadn’t done any all day, when the washer buzzer went off and there, wet and soggy, was my sticky note, which had been washed blank.

    Fortunately, after thirty minutes of very PAINFUL mind searching, I remembered what used to be on it, so here I am!

    As you can see I’m a HUGE note taker and they always, ALWAYS work for me.

  40. Nicole Jordan on 20 Feb 2007 at 12:07 am #

    Anita M on 19 Feb 2007
    >>> i love your novels and i am happy that there is a new series coming out , will there be any more novels on the Guardian series ? that was my favorite series perfect 10 all of them , when is the new series coming out ?

    Anita, I’m so flattered and pleased you liked my Guardians stories! I originally planned next to write Hawk’s story, Paradise Book 5, to finish up the series. In fact I already started writing it — I just love emotionally wounded recluse heroes. But my publisher asked me to write a new Regency trilogy to be published in three consecutive months in Jan, Feb, and March of 2008. It’s called The Courtship Wars, and will be a little lighter than the last two series, although still Regency era. I’ve had great fun writing the first two books, there are so many sparks between the characters. As soon as I’m finished with that, I hope to be able to get back to Hawk’s story.

    I have titles for the first three CW books, but haven’t posted them yet, since publishers are notorious for changing titles. But as soon as they’re fairly set in stone, I’ll let you know!

    Thanks again!

    NicoleJ

  41. Nicole Jordan on 20 Feb 2007 at 12:15 am #

    Welcome to all the newcomers! ‘Course, I guess we’re all new here, lol. We’ve gathered here at the birth of THE GODDESS BLOGS, so we can “grow up” together.” Blogs like this are a great way to make new friends, and all of us Mt. Olly authors are looking forward to getting to know you all very well.

    BTW, is anyone here a wiz at Greek mythology? I’m not, but I seem to remember a bunch of the Greek gods and godesses springing from Zeus’s head full-blown. Did Hera give birth that way, too? What about goddesses like Athena an Aphrodite? If so we need to figure out who we TGB goddesses are decended from. I’d rather it be Athena (who’s smart) or Aphro (who’s gorgeous.) Any preferences?

    Wow, Cathy, your color coding organization even beats me,lol! That is too funny about your household falling apart if you lost your calendar and binder.

    And Manuelita, that is so cool about the “list” song. That’s really for real? I should adopt it as my theme song — and from all the comments, there are a lot of others here who could use it, too. Thanks for the contribution!

    NicoleJ

  42. ashefrog on 20 Feb 2007 at 8:34 am #

    Nicole:

    I work in a Classical Studies Dept at a university. Be happy to answer any questions I can or get the answers to ?s I don’t know.

    You can email them to me at ashefrog@yahoo.com if this isn’t the right place for them.

    As to the questions above:

    Hera, it is believed, gave birth naturally. She is aligned with fertility.

    Athena was born full-blown from Zeus’ head and,

    Aphrodite was born full-blown from the sea (long story there if you want more clarification).

  43. Nicole Jordan on 20 Feb 2007 at 9:50 am #

    ashefrog on 20 Feb 2007
    >>>>I work in a Classical Studies Dept at a university. Be happy to answer any questions I can or get the answers to ?s I don’t know.

    That’s great, ashefrog! We may need to take you up on your offer. Thanks!

    >>>>Hera, it is believed, gave birth naturally. She is aligned with fertility.
    Athena was born full-blown from Zeus’ head and,
    Aphrodite was born full-blown from the sea (long story there if you want more clarification).

    So theoretically, we can come from Athena’s head and still stay true to mythology? I vote for that. None of this natural birth stuff for us goddesses, lol. And I’m not a big water person, so the brainy angle is more appealing.

    I’m curious to know how you chose your posting name, ashefrog? Or is that too personal a question?

    NicoleJ

  44. ashefrog on 20 Feb 2007 at 2:16 pm #

    Most people think it is ashe frog but it is really a she frog.

    Something I came up with a few years ago because of Suzanne Brockmann’s Navy Seals books and a message board I became involved in.

    It just sort of stuck and now it is how I think of my screen name. Besides I get tried of trying to come up with new screen names and then remembering them. I would need another list of all of that stuff. LOL

  45. TheNightPoet on 20 Feb 2007 at 6:02 pm #

    So today I read my horoscope from the student newspaper at the university I attend….It pretty much told me I needed to stop saying that certain things needed to be done and I just needed to suck it up and get them done! So guess what? Out comes the list and the forcing myself to get things done. lol What do I need to get done?

    1. Reading for my Abnormal Pyschology class.
    2. Starting on a paper for another class that isn’t due until next month, but the last day to talk to my professor about it is Wednesday of next week.
    3. Studying for my First Amendment test that’s next week.
    4. Go over the first test of my Abnormal Pysch. class to see what mistakes I made.

    Man, I feel better for just typing that up there! lol Lists sure do help me out when I really need them to feel in control of my life. Already I feel a huge weight lifted off of my chest. The list is made, no more procrastinating, now start getting things done! haha

    ~Andrea

  46. Adrianne on 20 Feb 2007 at 11:22 pm #

    Absolutely can’t do a list. i’ve tried and then I’d forget about the list as soon as I right it and if by some off-chance that I do come across the list later I have a nature instinct to rebel AGAINST a list. I don’t like authority and I don’t like being told what to do–including myself tell me what to do.

    This also plays into why i can’t stick a diet. WHAT YOU MEAN I CAN’T HAVE CHOCOLATE! Which means I will have that chocolate and even eat a little extra to prove I can do whatever the heck I want.

    EXERCISE??? I’ll excerise when I feel like it….and it just goes on and on.

  47. Susan K on 21 Feb 2007 at 4:52 pm #

    I am a list maker. I have to be at my job to keep track of what I completed. That way if someone comes back to me asking if or when I completed something I can tell them.

    I am also very obsessive about my books. I don’t have a lot of space in my apartment but they are in a particular order. And if the books are in a series they are displayed in order of that series. I KNOW if they have been tampered with. My fiance knows better than to touch them.

  48. Helen G on 21 Feb 2007 at 6:50 pm #

    I’m not so hot on lists, but I couldn’t live without post-it notes - you know those small squares of paper that have one sticky edge. The wall above my computer is a full on mosaic of these, all with unbelievably important bits of information on them like the bright idea I had for a story line but can’t use right now and the address of the Goddess Blog etc.!

  49. TheNightPoet on 21 Feb 2007 at 11:55 pm #

    Susan, I’m like you in the sense that I KNOW when something of mine has been tampered with. Like my books or just how something is set up in my room. For some reason I have one of those memories where you are able to remember things like that. Who am I kidding, my friends say I’m like an elephant, because I can remember stuff from early on in my life and they can’t remember that far back! lol

    ~Andrea

  50. Nicole Jordan on 22 Feb 2007 at 9:59 am #

    Adrianne on 20 Feb 2007
    >>>Absolutely can’t do a list……I have a nature instinct to rebel AGAINST a list. I don’t like authority and I don’t like being told what to do–including myself tell me what to do.

    LOL! That is too funny, Arianne. You’re an anti-control freak, just the opposite of me. But it makes total sense.

    Andrea, I don’t envy you having to take all those classes! And I sure wish I had a memory like an elephant!

    SusanK, I with you, I sort mine by catetgory. And nobody better touch my books!

    And HelenG, glad you found the postit note with our URL, LOL.

    Welcome, all of you! So glad to “meet” you and read your contributuions.

    NicoleJ

  51. TheNightPoet on 22 Feb 2007 at 5:22 pm #

    Nicole, are you sure you don’t want to take the classes for me?? I bet it would be fun! hehe Just teasing you. I don’t envy me either. I’m ready to be done with taking classes, but oh well, I’m enjoying the college life right now as well. So I guess it’s something I have to deal with as long as I’m still in college, right?

    ~Andrea

  52. Muskoka on 24 Feb 2007 at 11:02 pm #

    I am glad to say there is no help in being a list maker. I started making list,notes to myself and others and journal everything I had to put them in file folders. I just enjoy making lists too. The one problem is that when I make a list to take with me out the door, I leave it behind. I have so many writing journals I put my thoughs in. I use sticky notes,scrapes of paper, enevlopes that come with the bills,for long list to put telephone numbers on, I use the card board in the nylon package. I like writing notes and putting them in my boys lunch boxes when they go to work. I also find people love getting notes in their mail boxes and notes pass around at work. I remeber I was on a date (many, Many years ago) There was this man who dated lots of girls so I wanted to be different then any one eles so after the date as we sat in the card he bend in to try to kiss me, I gave him a card and Thank him for a wounderful night. He called me for another date because he was intruge. He ask me if I had another card for him after that date. Yes,Ladies notes and list are the end all.

  53. Nicole Jordan on 25 Feb 2007 at 11:32 am #

    Muskoka on 24 Feb 2007
    >>> I remeber I was on a date (many, Many years ago) There was this man who dated lots of girls so I wanted to be different then any one eles so after the date as we sat in the card he bend in to try to kiss me, I gave him a card and Thank him for a wounderful night. He called me for another date because he was intruge. He ask me if I had another card for him after that date. Yes,Ladies notes and list are the end all.

    LOL! That’s a great story, Muskoka. Thanks for sharing. I sure can’t top that one!

    NicoleJ