I am not good at relaxing and it stresses me out.

I turned in the manuscript for STAY on Wednesday. It was the second round of revisions. There may be more changes, but this is probably the last round of major changes. Everyone I've talked with since has encouraged me to relax, take some time off, and/or chill out.

The problem is that I can't. Firstly, while working on my manuscript, I left a lot of things undone. There's a small forest growing in gutters. The weed situation in my garden is completely and totally out of control. Bills must be paid. Laundry done. Dog hair vacuumed. That kind of stuff.

And then there's the exciting stuff. Starting a new book, or going back to one of the projects I'd been working on before we sold STAY. Author photos. A website. Some cool stuff that's going to happen with Allie's Answers next week. A burning desire to start playing guitar again. My new workout routine (hello, biceps!).

Plus, I want to get rid of all the stuff we're not using so it's easier to keep the house clean when I do get back to work. And I'm thinking about removing the drop ceiling in the basement because the tiles are old and dirty and buying new tiles seems wasteful. And can I actually redo a bathroom by myself? I don't know. Should I try?

When I think about spending a week or two "relaxing," I start getting tense. I start thinking about all the projects that need to be tackled and what will will be waiting for me when I'm done relaxing. But when I think about getting things done, moving forward, heading toward what's next, I am joyous, excited, and raring to go.

I will, however, take a little time to read a few chapters of The Embers, and enjoy the fancy root beer a dear friend left on my doorstep last night.