Rita Arens's Blog, page 38

Sir Charles Buttonsworth Comes to Dine

Do you have any Sun Chips?

The Agony of the Two-Day Sore

A few weeks ago, I found a blog post about a woman who did 300 sit-ups a day for 30 days and her abs looked totally different. I have no intention of doing 300 sit-ups every day, but there was a time when I could, and my core could use a little, well, tightening. So I wrote down the sets and thought I'd try doing them a few times a week to see what happened.

Hubris was mine. I was born with strong abdominal muscles. Even when I was completely out of shape as a child, I could always do more th...

THE OBVIOUS GAME Cover Reveal & Excerpt!

I'm so excited to show you the cover for my young adult novel, THE OBVIOUS GAME, which will be published on February 7, 2013, two days after my thirty-ninth birthday.

Those of you who have been reading me for a while know what a labor of love this book was. While there was an awful lot of pain and sweat I didn't write about, I think you saw enough to know there were many days I didn't know if this would ever happen and many days when I really, really wanted to just throw down.

I'm glad I di...

The Need for Something Beautiful

As Newtown begins the horrible process of burying the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting, I feel the need for something beautiful.

Thanks, NobleRot, for sending this link to literally, something beautiful.

(Sponsored Post) For Those Days When You Still Need Toothpaste, and Other P&G Estore Deals Just for You

Editor's Note: Before I could focus on this sponsored post, I had to write my thoughts on Newtown, tragedy and parenting on BlogHer. It seems wrong to post those raw emotions right next to a sponsored post, so I'm letting them exist separately. I hope that's the right thing to do. I committed to this post well before Friday's tragedy, and with Beloved out of work I've decided to go ahead and honor that commitment.

It's the holiday season, but you still need to buy toothpaste, right? And you...

Come on, Already, Solstice!

I can't take the getting dark at 4:30 thing any more. I already spend all day in my house, working from home, which never bothers me during the spring, summer and fall but makes me insane during the winter. I totally realize I have it better than most because I have large windows and natural light during my workday, and quite frankly I could go outside any time I want to, but, you know, working.

But when it gets dark five minutes after the little angel gets home from school? That totally and...

Do You Use Reader's Guides?

It's just over a week until my cover reveal (those of you who signed up on the form to participate will get info soon! And if you still want to sign up, I'll put the form at the bottom of this post) on December 20th, and I've been thinking about my novel and trying to decide whether or not it's worth it to write a reader's guide for it. I myself always read them but from a writer's point of view -- what did that writer (or his or her editor or publicist or hired hack or whoever wrote the thin...

The Most Stressful Day Ever, and My New Cats

Last Thursday, Petunia passed away. I was planning to send the little angel to school and then pick her up and go to shelters to look for a new cat, but when she said goodbye to Petunia she was crying too hard to speak, and then so was I, and we agreed she would stay home so I could take her to shelters over lunch thanks to my extremely empathetic and understanding managers. Beloved, who had the job of taking Petunia to be put down, deferred this adventure in favor of jobhunting, because of c...

In Memory of Petunia Cookie Dough Arens

I can't believe it's happened again. It's been just three years since Bella the Monster-Eating Cat died of acute kidney failure, and now our sweet Toonsie is gone, too.

At the beginning of this week, we noticed she was having trouble making jumps she could normally hit with no problem. Beloved took her to the vet, where they drew blood, clipped her toenails and watched her freak out so bad she had to wear the muzzle party hat, which she's never had to do before at the new vet. I stared at her...

I Think They Were Cold

So I went in the living room to work out over lunch, and I found these guys.

They must've been really cold, because they were wearing her sweaters.