Am I a serious writer?

That was the question posed to me last night by a friend. What does that mean? Am I published? Well, no. Not yet. But I plan to be. Hopefully sooner, rather than later. I'm serious about my writing. Is that the same thing? I feel like I'm miles behind on everything. I took a week and a half off of everything while we went home for Christmas this year. My house is a disaster. I need to pay the bills and do the laundry. And of course, like any writer worth her salt, instead I'm checking my email and working on scheduling blog posts to keep my writer's blog new and entertaining. Does that make me a serious writer? So here is my (perhaps somewhat snarky) idea of a serious writer:

*Avoids any kind of "actual" work in favor of writing

*Avoids any kind of "actual" writing in favor of email, facebook, and blogging

*Manages to politely deflect questions like "Are you published yet?" or as Laura put it for those of you who can delightfully answer yes to the first, "Are you famous?"
*Uses any excuse she can, like "Mommy, I'm hungry," or "Mommy, I don't have any clean underwear," to get away from writing.
*Uses any excuse she can, like "Yes! Writing is work!" to avoid cooking food and doing laundry.

Are you confused yet?

So, of course, my answer was, "Yes. I'm a serious writer." Because I meet all the above criteria. And because I really am.