Blog Chain - Quirky Habits....I Got 'Em

Once again time for the blog chain! Our last chain was wrapped up very nicely by Heather, so head on that way if you missed any of the links. And the glorious link before me was the incredible Carolyn, so make sure you check her out...er, check her blog out :D

This chain was started by the always adorable Mary. Her question:

What kind of quirky habits or rituals do you have regarding your writing?

(or regarding anything else, if that is more fun.)

Well....I have more quirky habits (or irritating, depending on whom you are asking) then you can shake a stick at. In an effort to not scare y'all to death, I will refrain from mentioning ALL of my habits and just pick a few of the more tame ones.

I was very happy to see that I am not the only with OCD tendencies (ahem, Miss Kate) or a messy desk (umm, ahem Kate and Carolyn! Mary's neat desk kind of scares me...). Makes me feel better about my strange little habits to see that others have them as well.

So! Quirky Habit Number One: I alphabetize everything.......and I mean EVERYTHING. My spice cabinet. My medicine cabinet. My books are organized by author last name and if I have more than one book by that author, the titles are alphabetized. Unless they are in a series, then they are in the order in which they were published.

And unfortunately (for me) I've had to loosen up a bit on the movies, DVDs and CDs - because with two small children, there is just no way to keep them in their correct order of genre, big case/little case, and title. *sigh* some day, they will be organized again :)

Quirky Habit Number Two: my sheets and blankets must be straightened before I go to sleep...or I can't sleep. If the bed doesn't look like this:



then we've got problems. I will forgo the throw pillows at bedtime...but that is about it. This is where quirky crosses over into irritating for Mr. McLean. You can imagine how much he enjoys being woken up in the wee hours of the morning when I finally crawl into bed so I can straighten the covers. However, after seven years of marriage, we have gotten to the point that I can just sort of roll him over a few times while I do what I need to do, and he doesn't even wake up.

I don't think I have many quirky writing habits. When I get stuck, a load of dishes or a nice long shower usually gets my brain going again. I do have a hard time writing if my house is dirty. The clutter makes it hard for me to think. So I try to straighten the house beforehand. This does not, however, apply to my actual desk. Go figure. Occasionally (and I mean very occasionally) my desk is spotless. It doesn't last long. Generally, this is the version of clean that I live with:

Annnnd, it mostly looks like this:

Although you can actually see some desk space there.....just imagine a big pile of papers there and we're good :) And I would like to thank those who have gone before me, because I never would have had the strength to show the world my desk had it not been for them :D

Our chain will continue with the incomparable Sandra - I can't wait to see what quirks lurk behind her cool exterior!