Sarah Dessen's Blog, page 32
February 7, 2011
writergrl @ 2011-02-07T16:47:00
Okay, so I MEANT to update yesterday, but I was too busy watching PBS and walking old ladies across the street. Fine, I was eating pigs in a blanket and watching the Superbowl. And by "watching," I mean "stuffing my face and talking about jeans with my girlfriends while a game went on, distantly, on a TV across the room." Hey, we all enjoy things in our own way, right?
Because the key IS enjoyment, especially here in winter. I'm choosing to focus on positives lately, and here's one: it's already February 7th! Which means Valentine's Day is a week from now, which means chocolate. You can't go wrong with that. Other great things? Well, there's....
1. The new Glee from last night, post-Superbowl, which I have NOT yet watched and so is waiting for me on my DVR like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yes!
2. Smoked almonds, which are, like, my snack KRYPTONITE, are on sale this week at my local grocery store for buy one, get one free. If you buy smoked almonds you know what a deal this is. I have bought so many cans I am like a squirrel hoarding for the winter. Yum!
3. I just started reading Jonathan Franzen's Freedom---courtesy of my friend Dana---and it's just SO good already. Don't you just love that feeling of only being a few pages into a great book and there's still, like, HUNDREDS more to go?
4. I found Gabe. And yes, I am still reveling in that accomplishment. Check back next week, I MIGHT be over it by then. Or, not.
5. I got a new paper shredder today. NERD ALERT! But seriously, I had a great one but it was too small. The basket/drawer filled up super fast, and when you opened it tiny pieces of paper flew everywhere. Fail! Now I have this big tall one right in our dining room, so I can carry mail DIRECTLY from the mailbox and shred the junk en route to the kitchen. Is it weird that I have a shredder in my dining room? And a printer? It is? Oh. But did I mention I can shred EN ROUTE TO MY KITCHEN?
6. The finale of Friday Night Lights airs on DirecTV this week. Okay, so this isn't exactly a positive. In fact, it's heartbreaking. But it's also so totally great because it's been an amazing show, and a great final season, and I just know that the folks at FNL will wrap things up exactly how they need to be. So I will be watching, with my tissues, and I will feel super grateful that such a show ever existed, even if I wasn't quite successful in my efforts to get the Entire World to watch it. But I tried.
7. I have already purchased gorgeous wedge shoes for my book tour. They are Dolce Vita and I LOVE THEM and yes, it's early to have book tour shoes, but again: you do what you have to do in February. Personally I am not above putting on flip flops if that's what it takes to remind me that this season will not last forever.
8. We got more Team Dessen Race Cars shirts printed up, on American Apparel T-shirts. They are fitted and cute and I am going to figure out how to do a giveaway to celebrate the beginning of the racing season. Free stuff: who doesn't love that?
9. Five words everyone loves to hear: Girl Scout Cookies are in!
10. This:
I STILL get blown away when I think about my books being translated into languages I can't even read. Whoa. Double whoa!
Okay, so that's just ten things. I could go on and on, but....I have to go watch PBS and help people across the street. No, really!
Have a good night, everyone!
Because the key IS enjoyment, especially here in winter. I'm choosing to focus on positives lately, and here's one: it's already February 7th! Which means Valentine's Day is a week from now, which means chocolate. You can't go wrong with that. Other great things? Well, there's....
1. The new Glee from last night, post-Superbowl, which I have NOT yet watched and so is waiting for me on my DVR like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yes!
2. Smoked almonds, which are, like, my snack KRYPTONITE, are on sale this week at my local grocery store for buy one, get one free. If you buy smoked almonds you know what a deal this is. I have bought so many cans I am like a squirrel hoarding for the winter. Yum!
3. I just started reading Jonathan Franzen's Freedom---courtesy of my friend Dana---and it's just SO good already. Don't you just love that feeling of only being a few pages into a great book and there's still, like, HUNDREDS more to go?
4. I found Gabe. And yes, I am still reveling in that accomplishment. Check back next week, I MIGHT be over it by then. Or, not.
5. I got a new paper shredder today. NERD ALERT! But seriously, I had a great one but it was too small. The basket/drawer filled up super fast, and when you opened it tiny pieces of paper flew everywhere. Fail! Now I have this big tall one right in our dining room, so I can carry mail DIRECTLY from the mailbox and shred the junk en route to the kitchen. Is it weird that I have a shredder in my dining room? And a printer? It is? Oh. But did I mention I can shred EN ROUTE TO MY KITCHEN?
6. The finale of Friday Night Lights airs on DirecTV this week. Okay, so this isn't exactly a positive. In fact, it's heartbreaking. But it's also so totally great because it's been an amazing show, and a great final season, and I just know that the folks at FNL will wrap things up exactly how they need to be. So I will be watching, with my tissues, and I will feel super grateful that such a show ever existed, even if I wasn't quite successful in my efforts to get the Entire World to watch it. But I tried.
7. I have already purchased gorgeous wedge shoes for my book tour. They are Dolce Vita and I LOVE THEM and yes, it's early to have book tour shoes, but again: you do what you have to do in February. Personally I am not above putting on flip flops if that's what it takes to remind me that this season will not last forever.
8. We got more Team Dessen Race Cars shirts printed up, on American Apparel T-shirts. They are fitted and cute and I am going to figure out how to do a giveaway to celebrate the beginning of the racing season. Free stuff: who doesn't love that?
9. Five words everyone loves to hear: Girl Scout Cookies are in!
10. This:
I STILL get blown away when I think about my books being translated into languages I can't even read. Whoa. Double whoa!
Okay, so that's just ten things. I could go on and on, but....I have to go watch PBS and help people across the street. No, really!
Have a good night, everyone!
February 5, 2011
important pre-weekend update....
Everyone can relax. Gabe has FINALLY been found and is back behind the wheel of his Jeep, where he belongs. Who found him? Well, it was ME. He was inside a plastic Easter Egg, which is at about a 10 on the level of difficulty finding challenge. I am so proud of myself, it is sort of embarrassing.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
February 3, 2011
The Five!
1. Thanks to everyone for the kind words about my Cosmogirl.com essay. (If you missed it, check it out
here
. ) I have to say, I really liked being able to write something about ALL my books (and boys) at once. I know as novels they stand apart, and that's the way I want it, except for a little co-mingling of cameo appearances and locations. But in my mind, my characters are all this big, rowdy group that sort of trails along behind me, inserting commentary as they see fit. I feel like once I create a character, they are always with me, whether they're big (like Dexter, who makes me giddy) or small (like Boo and Stewart in Dreamland, who I want to be just like when I Grow Up). Writing can be pretty solitary (except for Twitter and Facebook and this blog, of course) so I guess having imaginary friends is necessary. When you're in a room staring at a screen for several hours every day, alone, you need to talk to SOMEONE. I am lucky I have created such good listeners.
2. In other news, I'm looking for Gabe. Who is Gabe, you ask? Well. Gabe is the little man who drives my daughter's toy Jeep, and he is missing. Now, I have a reputation as the person in this house who can Find Anything. I've earned this title through feats that are so impressive they are practically miracles, eliciting awe from everyone around me. (Okay, that might just be how it felt for ME. But I digress.) I have located missing toys, and blankets. Scraps of paper with very important phone numbers. Bills and letters from years past, favorite pieces of clothing, you name it. But Gabe, for some reason, is eluding me. I have looked in every toy bin. Taken the couch apart. Busted out the flashlight to shine behind each corner, in every crevice. No Gabe. My daughter has faith in me, though, telling the sitters, "Mama will find him!" So the pressure is on. I am thinking about Gabe a lot, more than I should. This usually means there are other things in my life that I also can't control, and I think I have a better shot of tracking him down than, say, knowing how my new book will be reviewed. So I keep looking, opening drawers, moving dollhouse furniture around. Gabe? GABE! Sigh....
3. If my Real Housewives obsession was not out of hand enough (and believe me, it is) this I discovered I can follow some of the Housewives on Twitter. Oh, dear. This will NOT be good for my writing. I mean, how am I supposed to start another book when Lisa Vanderpump is Tweeting about her little dog? Or Kyle Richards about her favorite breakfast cereal? I thought the internet in general was a time suck, but Twitter clearly has the power to bring down entire civilizations. More and more I am thinking I need to disconnect entirely in order to get any work done. But then how will I know what cute thing Bethenney Frankel's daughter did today? Dilemma....
4. What's even worse about my Housewives obsession is that I can't talk to anyone about it, as barely any of my friends watch it (or will admit to it, anyway) and my husband, who is very tolerant of just about every other bit of nonsense I enjoy, will not allow it on in his presence. So I'm kind of all alone out there with my sick little addiction. You know what is hilarious, though? My brother, who does not have a TV, watches Bravo at the gym. (Yes, you read that right. MY BROTHER, close blood relation, does not have a television. I'll give you a moment to process that. Done? Okay.) Can you imagine, if you watch no other TV but Bravo reality shows, what you must think about TV in general? It's like those foreign countries that draw all they know about the US from Baywatch. Also: my brother has watched Kendra AND Basketball Wives. I don't even watch those shows! Maybe we're more alike than I thought. Honestly, I can't even picture him watching NeNe and Kim argue, although he says he does. After all, this is the same person who, on the Jurassic Park ride at Universal Studios, looked at me and said, "So this was a movie about dinosaurs, right?" Sigh. Of course, I know nothing about interpretive Jazz, about which he is an expert. So I guess we're even. Sort of.
5. Finally, this weekend is the Superbowl, and you know what that means: food. Oh, and football. Okay, I'll admit, football is not my sport. The Superbowl is really the only game I watch all year, and then just so I can justify eating everything I prepared for it. This year, I am thinking about making this Shrimp Ball recipe I saw on Worst Cooks In America. (I mean, it's not Worst Recipes in America, right?) My husband is arguing that you cannot do shrimp balls for a football game. We need chips and cheese and beer and brats and more beer and French onion dip. Oh, and wings. I am thinking I will make some pigs in a blanket just to placate him, then sneak my shrimp balls out when he's caught up in a bad call or something. Marriage: it's about compromise. And distractions....
Okay. Time to look for Gabe again. Have a good weekend, everyone!
2. In other news, I'm looking for Gabe. Who is Gabe, you ask? Well. Gabe is the little man who drives my daughter's toy Jeep, and he is missing. Now, I have a reputation as the person in this house who can Find Anything. I've earned this title through feats that are so impressive they are practically miracles, eliciting awe from everyone around me. (Okay, that might just be how it felt for ME. But I digress.) I have located missing toys, and blankets. Scraps of paper with very important phone numbers. Bills and letters from years past, favorite pieces of clothing, you name it. But Gabe, for some reason, is eluding me. I have looked in every toy bin. Taken the couch apart. Busted out the flashlight to shine behind each corner, in every crevice. No Gabe. My daughter has faith in me, though, telling the sitters, "Mama will find him!" So the pressure is on. I am thinking about Gabe a lot, more than I should. This usually means there are other things in my life that I also can't control, and I think I have a better shot of tracking him down than, say, knowing how my new book will be reviewed. So I keep looking, opening drawers, moving dollhouse furniture around. Gabe? GABE! Sigh....
3. If my Real Housewives obsession was not out of hand enough (and believe me, it is) this I discovered I can follow some of the Housewives on Twitter. Oh, dear. This will NOT be good for my writing. I mean, how am I supposed to start another book when Lisa Vanderpump is Tweeting about her little dog? Or Kyle Richards about her favorite breakfast cereal? I thought the internet in general was a time suck, but Twitter clearly has the power to bring down entire civilizations. More and more I am thinking I need to disconnect entirely in order to get any work done. But then how will I know what cute thing Bethenney Frankel's daughter did today? Dilemma....
4. What's even worse about my Housewives obsession is that I can't talk to anyone about it, as barely any of my friends watch it (or will admit to it, anyway) and my husband, who is very tolerant of just about every other bit of nonsense I enjoy, will not allow it on in his presence. So I'm kind of all alone out there with my sick little addiction. You know what is hilarious, though? My brother, who does not have a TV, watches Bravo at the gym. (Yes, you read that right. MY BROTHER, close blood relation, does not have a television. I'll give you a moment to process that. Done? Okay.) Can you imagine, if you watch no other TV but Bravo reality shows, what you must think about TV in general? It's like those foreign countries that draw all they know about the US from Baywatch. Also: my brother has watched Kendra AND Basketball Wives. I don't even watch those shows! Maybe we're more alike than I thought. Honestly, I can't even picture him watching NeNe and Kim argue, although he says he does. After all, this is the same person who, on the Jurassic Park ride at Universal Studios, looked at me and said, "So this was a movie about dinosaurs, right?" Sigh. Of course, I know nothing about interpretive Jazz, about which he is an expert. So I guess we're even. Sort of.
5. Finally, this weekend is the Superbowl, and you know what that means: food. Oh, and football. Okay, I'll admit, football is not my sport. The Superbowl is really the only game I watch all year, and then just so I can justify eating everything I prepared for it. This year, I am thinking about making this Shrimp Ball recipe I saw on Worst Cooks In America. (I mean, it's not Worst Recipes in America, right?) My husband is arguing that you cannot do shrimp balls for a football game. We need chips and cheese and beer and brats and more beer and French onion dip. Oh, and wings. I am thinking I will make some pigs in a blanket just to placate him, then sneak my shrimp balls out when he's caught up in a bad call or something. Marriage: it's about compromise. And distractions....
Okay. Time to look for Gabe again. Have a good weekend, everyone!
February 2, 2011
writergrl @ 2011-02-02T16:04:00
I know, I know, I just updated yesterday. But I have dating advice!
Okay. Scratch that. I can't pretend I can give anyone dating advice (or any advice, really) even if that IS what this piece I wrote for Cosmogirl.com sort of claims. My friend Bianca, back in her single days, used to just roll her eyes when I offered her ANY insight. "You haven't dated since the eighties!" she'd remind me, and this is true. I married a boy I met in high school, I can't deny it.
Really, though, this piece isn't about dating as much as boys. Specifically, it's about the boys I've loved and lost over the last ten books: Sumner, Macon, Norman, Rogerson, Dexter, Wes, Owen, Nate, Eli and Dave. When it comes to lots of real relationships, I'm no expert. But these boys? I know them well. Hope you like it!
Okay. Scratch that. I can't pretend I can give anyone dating advice (or any advice, really) even if that IS what this piece I wrote for Cosmogirl.com sort of claims. My friend Bianca, back in her single days, used to just roll her eyes when I offered her ANY insight. "You haven't dated since the eighties!" she'd remind me, and this is true. I married a boy I met in high school, I can't deny it.
Really, though, this piece isn't about dating as much as boys. Specifically, it's about the boys I've loved and lost over the last ten books: Sumner, Macon, Norman, Rogerson, Dexter, Wes, Owen, Nate, Eli and Dave. When it comes to lots of real relationships, I'm no expert. But these boys? I know them well. Hope you like it!
February 1, 2011
writergrl @ 2011-02-01T16:34:00
First off, if it's snowing/sleeting/raining frogs where you are right now, you have my sympathies. Winter is really just showing off at this point, don't you think? I can't imagine how you folks who have been buried in snow for WEEKS are coping. It's just cold and gray here and we're all still crabby. Personally, I think Bravo needs to start running Real Housewives reruns in marathon form until things thaw out. It's their national duty, practically.
In other news, one of the best things about living in my hometown is getting to give back to the local school system that I attended. Today I got to to go be a part of the Read-A-Thon at Franklin Porter Graham Elementary School, and it was just SO cool. I read to two classes, one third grade, one fourth, in the media center, which was decorated in an ocean theme. You KNOW I was loving that. There was even a wave noise machine! It was like being inside a conch shell. Anyway, I wasn't sure what I'd be reading, as I am only well acquainted with books for the toddler set, but luckily the librarian had selected a bunch of great stories to choose from. I read There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Trout, The Stinky Cheese Man, A Bad Case of Stripes and ONE book I brought from home, a personal favorite, Ice Cream Larry. (Say it with me: "I do not feel sick." That's a Larry joke, sorry.)
My favorite part, though, was the Q&A after I read. One third grade boy raised his hand and asked if, as a writer, I had any competition. I said, "Well, yes. I guess so." He thought for a second, then said, "Are any of them your enemies?" Um, no, I said. This seemed to disappoint him. I said, "You know, I don't really have any enemies, actually." He considered this, then said, "What about Darth Vader?" The rest of the class nodded: yes, what ABOUT Darth Vader? "Well, of course, Darth Vader," I agreed. And here I think that I've been asked everything under the sun. Wrong again!
There were also lots of questions about how books get made. Does it take a long time to write a book? (Yes, at least for me.) How do I put them together in the cover? (I don't, luckily someone who is very good at that handles that part of the job.) Why don't I write nonfiction? (I kind of blinked at this one. These kids were SHARP!) How do I send my books to New York? (In the mail or, more recently, via email.) I had been a little worried how I'd do with the kids, as I was being preceded by the mayor of Chapel Hill and followed by a reporter from the local news station. I mean, I don't have that kind of cred, people. But when I said that I had actually MET Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, who did the Stinky Cheese Man? That got me respect. Whew!
It was so great, in fact, that it actually made the first day of February fun. Which is saying something. I know, I know, I shouldn't hate on February. It's the month of Valentine's Day, which means chocolate. And it's mercifully short. But it's also the last month I fully associate with winter, which means it can't skedaddle out of here fast enough. Then again, once it's March, that makes the release of my new book THAT much closer, which is scary and so exciting all at once. If March is right around the corner, May is just down the block. EEEK! Well, at least it's not Darth Vader.
Have a good night, everyone!
In other news, one of the best things about living in my hometown is getting to give back to the local school system that I attended. Today I got to to go be a part of the Read-A-Thon at Franklin Porter Graham Elementary School, and it was just SO cool. I read to two classes, one third grade, one fourth, in the media center, which was decorated in an ocean theme. You KNOW I was loving that. There was even a wave noise machine! It was like being inside a conch shell. Anyway, I wasn't sure what I'd be reading, as I am only well acquainted with books for the toddler set, but luckily the librarian had selected a bunch of great stories to choose from. I read There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Trout, The Stinky Cheese Man, A Bad Case of Stripes and ONE book I brought from home, a personal favorite, Ice Cream Larry. (Say it with me: "I do not feel sick." That's a Larry joke, sorry.)
My favorite part, though, was the Q&A after I read. One third grade boy raised his hand and asked if, as a writer, I had any competition. I said, "Well, yes. I guess so." He thought for a second, then said, "Are any of them your enemies?" Um, no, I said. This seemed to disappoint him. I said, "You know, I don't really have any enemies, actually." He considered this, then said, "What about Darth Vader?" The rest of the class nodded: yes, what ABOUT Darth Vader? "Well, of course, Darth Vader," I agreed. And here I think that I've been asked everything under the sun. Wrong again!
There were also lots of questions about how books get made. Does it take a long time to write a book? (Yes, at least for me.) How do I put them together in the cover? (I don't, luckily someone who is very good at that handles that part of the job.) Why don't I write nonfiction? (I kind of blinked at this one. These kids were SHARP!) How do I send my books to New York? (In the mail or, more recently, via email.) I had been a little worried how I'd do with the kids, as I was being preceded by the mayor of Chapel Hill and followed by a reporter from the local news station. I mean, I don't have that kind of cred, people. But when I said that I had actually MET Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, who did the Stinky Cheese Man? That got me respect. Whew!
It was so great, in fact, that it actually made the first day of February fun. Which is saying something. I know, I know, I shouldn't hate on February. It's the month of Valentine's Day, which means chocolate. And it's mercifully short. But it's also the last month I fully associate with winter, which means it can't skedaddle out of here fast enough. Then again, once it's March, that makes the release of my new book THAT much closer, which is scary and so exciting all at once. If March is right around the corner, May is just down the block. EEEK! Well, at least it's not Darth Vader.
Have a good night, everyone!
January 30, 2011
writergrl @ 2011-01-30T17:56:00
So I am not an Extreme person. I go to bed at 10pm, eat dinner out at 5:30, have had basically the same haircut since high school. The closest I get to risk taking is eating turkey meat that's been open for awhile. You get the idea. So today, when I was sitting down to watch Friday Night Lights (with an appearance by Tim Riggins! But I digress) and I saw the Winter X Games were on, I instantly reached to change the channel and move on. But then I saw it was women's skiing, so I decided to just watch one race.
You know how sometimes, you have a stressful week---sick kid, work pressure, friends going through really hard stuff you can do nothing to fix---and you just feel like curling up in a ball and giving up? Like, the opposite of anything tough and strong. That's how I've been feeling, even though---thanks to your suggestions, mostly---my daughter's fever finally broke after four days, and Vick's Vapor Rub on her feet (I know!) made her cough stop. Still, it's hard sometimes to not feel like the rocks the waves are constantly crashing on: I can't do anything to stop all this stuff coming at me, but somehow, I keep trying. Why? I have no idea.
But anyway. So I'm watching this race, and these women. They are seriously hauling ass. This is not like Olympic skiiing, at least that I've seen. They are FLYING, going around these crazy banks and curves, so, so fast. My heart is in my mouth and all I can think is, how in the WORLD do you do that? Wouldn't you be scared out of your mind? And that's before I see the last, HUGE jump right before the finish. The three in front go up, up, up....and the first two crash. Like, BADLY. Total "agony of defeat moment," for those of you old enough to remember Wide World of Sports. I literally feel sick as I watch the woman that actually got Gold writhe in the snow, moaning. She is DOWN, and I can't stop watching, even though it's giving me chills. The medics run on, they show the silver medalist wiping blood from her mouth, but she's okay. Meanwhile, the winner---who I now know is Kelsey Serwa, from British Columbia---is still flat on her back. Plus, they keep replaying the footage, so we're seeing her crash again, and again, and again.
A commercial comes on. I go outside, suck in some air. I am too codependent for Extreme Sports. It's a gorgeous day, and I want to sit in the sun, but I have to know what happened to Kelsey, so I go back in. And you know what? A few minutes later, there she is, talking to a commentator. Her face is busted up and bleeding but she's laughing and saying she's "stoked," that she won. I am flabbergasted. I mean, this girl just bit it, big time. She crashed, went head over feet over head, knocked the wind and God knows what else out of herself. But somehow----SOMEHOW---she is up and talking and pushing on. She is okay. And if she can do that, well, then I can certainly pull up my big girl pants and get it together here in my non-Extreme world. So thank you, Kelsey Serwa. You are a rock star. I wish I was half as tough as you are.
If you want to see what I'm talking about, here's the link . Again: whoa. (Edited: looks like the link got taken down. But I'm sure it will turn up someplace.)
Okay, now I'm off to cook dinner, try to catch up on my sleep, and embrace February. It may bust me out on my back and pop open my lip, but no matter. I will get back up again!
Have a good night, everyone!
You know how sometimes, you have a stressful week---sick kid, work pressure, friends going through really hard stuff you can do nothing to fix---and you just feel like curling up in a ball and giving up? Like, the opposite of anything tough and strong. That's how I've been feeling, even though---thanks to your suggestions, mostly---my daughter's fever finally broke after four days, and Vick's Vapor Rub on her feet (I know!) made her cough stop. Still, it's hard sometimes to not feel like the rocks the waves are constantly crashing on: I can't do anything to stop all this stuff coming at me, but somehow, I keep trying. Why? I have no idea.
But anyway. So I'm watching this race, and these women. They are seriously hauling ass. This is not like Olympic skiiing, at least that I've seen. They are FLYING, going around these crazy banks and curves, so, so fast. My heart is in my mouth and all I can think is, how in the WORLD do you do that? Wouldn't you be scared out of your mind? And that's before I see the last, HUGE jump right before the finish. The three in front go up, up, up....and the first two crash. Like, BADLY. Total "agony of defeat moment," for those of you old enough to remember Wide World of Sports. I literally feel sick as I watch the woman that actually got Gold writhe in the snow, moaning. She is DOWN, and I can't stop watching, even though it's giving me chills. The medics run on, they show the silver medalist wiping blood from her mouth, but she's okay. Meanwhile, the winner---who I now know is Kelsey Serwa, from British Columbia---is still flat on her back. Plus, they keep replaying the footage, so we're seeing her crash again, and again, and again.
A commercial comes on. I go outside, suck in some air. I am too codependent for Extreme Sports. It's a gorgeous day, and I want to sit in the sun, but I have to know what happened to Kelsey, so I go back in. And you know what? A few minutes later, there she is, talking to a commentator. Her face is busted up and bleeding but she's laughing and saying she's "stoked," that she won. I am flabbergasted. I mean, this girl just bit it, big time. She crashed, went head over feet over head, knocked the wind and God knows what else out of herself. But somehow----SOMEHOW---she is up and talking and pushing on. She is okay. And if she can do that, well, then I can certainly pull up my big girl pants and get it together here in my non-Extreme world. So thank you, Kelsey Serwa. You are a rock star. I wish I was half as tough as you are.
If you want to see what I'm talking about, here's the link . Again: whoa. (Edited: looks like the link got taken down. But I'm sure it will turn up someplace.)
Okay, now I'm off to cook dinner, try to catch up on my sleep, and embrace February. It may bust me out on my back and pop open my lip, but no matter. I will get back up again!
Have a good night, everyone!
January 27, 2011
The Five!
1. Okay, so this is going to be an abbreviated five. And I didn't update Wednesday. The upshot is it's been a REALLY busy week, and while I love blogging and TV and celebrities, sometimes things happen that make you stop and realize how frivolous these things, and everything else you worry about that fills your head on a daily basis, really are. A dear friend lost a loved one this week, and I feel so, so helpless. I want to do something, ANYTHING, to help but of course you can't do anything except just be there. And bring food---at least, that's what we do down this way----and I have done that. In fact, I think I will be baking and cooking all weekend, even if they BEG me not to bombard them with anymore foil-topped pans. In short, hug the ones you love. We're all so lucky to have each other.
2. Also this week, my daughter came down with a fever for the approximately one MILLIONTH time since beginning preschool. (Or my friend Loring the Nanny calls it, "the germ swap." I understand why, now.) It's always stressful when someone you love is sick, but this one's been particularly bad, as the fever keeps spiking and Tylenol, which normally does the trick, doesn't bring it down much. Plus, there's this awful, hacking cough. We went to the doc yesterday, where she tested negative for flu, and they gave us some antibiotics, but the cough is still going. She can't sleep, which means I'm not sleeping, so we basically both emotional zombies. (On a side note, just as I wrote that, I thought, WOW, what a great band name. Emotional Zombies. You saw it here first!) I'm about to go steam up the bathroom and sit with her in it, as her vaporizer seems to help a BIT although not much. I know I can't do cough medicine but if anyone has any great, natural remedies I would very much love to hear them. Anything other than hearing coughing would be nice right now.
3. Earlier this week, we shot an author video for WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE at a local restaurant here in Chapel Hill. Some of you might remember the other videos my publisher has had done, for Lock and Key and Along for the Ride. I always work with this great filmmaker Wil, who I adore and we have the best time. I was supposed to answer a bunch of random questions, but I was seriously bombing on the "free association" section the marketing folks at Penguin at written up. Wil would shout something like, "Photo booth!" at me and I was supposed to say the first thing that popped into my head, which was usually something like..."What?" It was a disaster. In panic, I tried to think of something equally irreverent where I wouldn't look like a moron. Then it came to me: TWITTER! I sent out a plea for questions, serious or silly, and as usual, my readers came through. We got everything from "Where do you get your inspiration?" (Answer: anywhere and everywhere, honestly) to "What's the capital of Montana?" (That would be Helena. Thank you, Google Search!) Again, I am so grateful to everyone who reads this blog and follows me there. You guys have no idea how much you help me on a daily basis. No joke.
4. Sometimes you see something on the web that just puts you at a total loss for words. That's what happened to me when the superfab Sara Zarr tweeted a link to these photos of Luke Perry at Dragoncon. What is Dragoncon, you might ask? Or maybe not. But I did. It's a sci-fi, gaming and comics convention. And apparently, Luke Perry, who I am, well, pretty much obsessed with since his 90210 days, was there taking photos with fans. Which prompted two questions. If there was a chance to stand next to Luke Perry and get a picture 1) how did I not know about it and 2) could it BE more unfair that I wasn't there? I mean, look at this . People are actually cuddling with him!!! I can't stand it. I won't look again. Okay, maybe once....
5. I owe you a five, but the truth is, I need to go sit with my kid in a steamy bathroom while I put Vapor Rub on her feet and pray to the Gods of Sleep that this cough stops so she can get some rest. So if it's okay, just insert your own little piece about FNL or the App Store or a good book or something to eat right here. I'll wait. Got one? Oh, good. So now I can say...
Have a good weekend, everyone!
2. Also this week, my daughter came down with a fever for the approximately one MILLIONTH time since beginning preschool. (Or my friend Loring the Nanny calls it, "the germ swap." I understand why, now.) It's always stressful when someone you love is sick, but this one's been particularly bad, as the fever keeps spiking and Tylenol, which normally does the trick, doesn't bring it down much. Plus, there's this awful, hacking cough. We went to the doc yesterday, where she tested negative for flu, and they gave us some antibiotics, but the cough is still going. She can't sleep, which means I'm not sleeping, so we basically both emotional zombies. (On a side note, just as I wrote that, I thought, WOW, what a great band name. Emotional Zombies. You saw it here first!) I'm about to go steam up the bathroom and sit with her in it, as her vaporizer seems to help a BIT although not much. I know I can't do cough medicine but if anyone has any great, natural remedies I would very much love to hear them. Anything other than hearing coughing would be nice right now.
3. Earlier this week, we shot an author video for WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE at a local restaurant here in Chapel Hill. Some of you might remember the other videos my publisher has had done, for Lock and Key and Along for the Ride. I always work with this great filmmaker Wil, who I adore and we have the best time. I was supposed to answer a bunch of random questions, but I was seriously bombing on the "free association" section the marketing folks at Penguin at written up. Wil would shout something like, "Photo booth!" at me and I was supposed to say the first thing that popped into my head, which was usually something like..."What?" It was a disaster. In panic, I tried to think of something equally irreverent where I wouldn't look like a moron. Then it came to me: TWITTER! I sent out a plea for questions, serious or silly, and as usual, my readers came through. We got everything from "Where do you get your inspiration?" (Answer: anywhere and everywhere, honestly) to "What's the capital of Montana?" (That would be Helena. Thank you, Google Search!) Again, I am so grateful to everyone who reads this blog and follows me there. You guys have no idea how much you help me on a daily basis. No joke.
4. Sometimes you see something on the web that just puts you at a total loss for words. That's what happened to me when the superfab Sara Zarr tweeted a link to these photos of Luke Perry at Dragoncon. What is Dragoncon, you might ask? Or maybe not. But I did. It's a sci-fi, gaming and comics convention. And apparently, Luke Perry, who I am, well, pretty much obsessed with since his 90210 days, was there taking photos with fans. Which prompted two questions. If there was a chance to stand next to Luke Perry and get a picture 1) how did I not know about it and 2) could it BE more unfair that I wasn't there? I mean, look at this . People are actually cuddling with him!!! I can't stand it. I won't look again. Okay, maybe once....
5. I owe you a five, but the truth is, I need to go sit with my kid in a steamy bathroom while I put Vapor Rub on her feet and pray to the Gods of Sleep that this cough stops so she can get some rest. So if it's okay, just insert your own little piece about FNL or the App Store or a good book or something to eat right here. I'll wait. Got one? Oh, good. So now I can say...
Have a good weekend, everyone!
January 23, 2011
writergrl @ 2011-01-23T16:53:00
Okay, it's Sunday. I've got a crazy week ahead, with winter weather threatening. I'm shooting an author video for the new book and have NO idea what to wear, my Keurig coffeemaker (with which I honestly have a codependent relationship) is acting like it's about to break AND we also have my daughter's first preschool conference to "discuss her progress." What kind of progress are you expected to make in preschool? Advanced finger painting? Excelling at sliding and swinging?
I would drink more coffee, but I'm afraid my machine will die outright and then I'll have to just curl up in the fetal position until it fixes itself. And these kind of breakdowns are just not an option with a three year old in the house. Trust me: I know. "Mommy? Why are you on the floor?" (Okay, I'm kidding. But it's tempting at times.)
Times like this I think about my Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and how many of them have "household managers." Can I hire a "lifestyle manager?" Someone to, you know, handle everything so I can just drink coffee and watch Bravo and not be tempted by the fetal postition? No? Oh. Well, it was worth a shot.
The upshot of all this is that I can't inflict a true entry on you guys tonight, as I don't want you to catch this crazy. So instead, I figured I'd put up a little piece I wrote today for my website about the new book and how it came together. Or didn't come together, actually. In fact, right now, in the midst of all this Sunday chaos, I'd probably be well served to read it myself. Right after I have some coffee. Anyway, here it is:
The idea for WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE came from one thing: change. Change beyond your control and change within it , and how closely the two are related.
In high school, I was never happy with myself. I didn't like my hair or my clothes or my personality, and I was convinced that if I just managed to be different, somehow, everything else would be different as well. I can fully remember several Sunday nights thinking, "Tomorrow, when I go to school, I'm going to be a totally new person." Which was, um, sort of hard to do in a small town where you've known everyone since you were in kindergarten. Still, I was fascinated with the idea of totally reinventing myself. I think I still am, and it's why I'm a writer. I get to be someone new every couple of years, if only for three hundred pages.
Mclean, the narrator of WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE, has good reason to want to be someone else. Her parents' marriage has recently imploded in light of her mother's affair, making it feel like life she'd known before doesn't exist anymore. Her mom wants to her fold into her new family---complete with new house, siblings and everything else. Instead, she chooses instead to hit the road with her dad, a restaurant consultant, and begins a series of transformations. In every town and school she lands, she creates a new personality and a new name. Then, when it's time to go, she sheds whatever girl like she is like a skin, and moves on.
In Lakeview, where she has moved as the book begins, she's already got her name picked out. But then, through a series of events, it becomes clear that it won't be so easy, this time, to leave everything---including herself---behind.
WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE is my tenth book. Just writing that honestly blows my mind a little bit. Ten? How did that happen? You'd think, that by this point, writing would be easy. Or easier. But in truth, this one was one of the hardest yet. I'm not sure why this is, and I've long ago given up trying to figure out why some novels come so easily, and others are like crawling up a hill backwards in the dark, blindfolded. (So to speak.) All I know is that I got halfway through this book, then took a sharp left turn and got completely lost. The entire second part of it was initially totally different: different characters, different plotline, different ending. When I finished, I was relieved, but deep down I knew it just didn't feel right. When my agent agreed, I backtracked, ripped out the last two hundred pages or so, and began again. The girl I'd created, at least in the second part, wasn't real enough, and I like Mclean, had to return to square one and somehow find my way back to her. It wasn't until I figured this out that I was able to do just that.
Of course, as a reader, you shouldn't really know about any of this. Ideally the story exists neat and clean, without any of the mess and stress of its creation evident on the page. (At least, I hope it does.) But for this novel, which is all about what we are versus what we seem, it feels appropriate to fill you in. Good books, like our true selves, aren't instantly created or perfectly crafted. They are messy and frustrating and flawed, which are exactly the same things that make them real. Mclean figured this out eventually, and I did too. Did it make me a whole different person? No. But it did change a small part of me, which in turn altered the way I saw the world. And that, all these years later, is exactly the kind of change I've learned to love.
Have a good night, everyone!
I would drink more coffee, but I'm afraid my machine will die outright and then I'll have to just curl up in the fetal position until it fixes itself. And these kind of breakdowns are just not an option with a three year old in the house. Trust me: I know. "Mommy? Why are you on the floor?" (Okay, I'm kidding. But it's tempting at times.)
Times like this I think about my Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and how many of them have "household managers." Can I hire a "lifestyle manager?" Someone to, you know, handle everything so I can just drink coffee and watch Bravo and not be tempted by the fetal postition? No? Oh. Well, it was worth a shot.
The upshot of all this is that I can't inflict a true entry on you guys tonight, as I don't want you to catch this crazy. So instead, I figured I'd put up a little piece I wrote today for my website about the new book and how it came together. Or didn't come together, actually. In fact, right now, in the midst of all this Sunday chaos, I'd probably be well served to read it myself. Right after I have some coffee. Anyway, here it is:
The idea for WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE came from one thing: change. Change beyond your control and change within it , and how closely the two are related.
In high school, I was never happy with myself. I didn't like my hair or my clothes or my personality, and I was convinced that if I just managed to be different, somehow, everything else would be different as well. I can fully remember several Sunday nights thinking, "Tomorrow, when I go to school, I'm going to be a totally new person." Which was, um, sort of hard to do in a small town where you've known everyone since you were in kindergarten. Still, I was fascinated with the idea of totally reinventing myself. I think I still am, and it's why I'm a writer. I get to be someone new every couple of years, if only for three hundred pages.
Mclean, the narrator of WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE, has good reason to want to be someone else. Her parents' marriage has recently imploded in light of her mother's affair, making it feel like life she'd known before doesn't exist anymore. Her mom wants to her fold into her new family---complete with new house, siblings and everything else. Instead, she chooses instead to hit the road with her dad, a restaurant consultant, and begins a series of transformations. In every town and school she lands, she creates a new personality and a new name. Then, when it's time to go, she sheds whatever girl like she is like a skin, and moves on.
In Lakeview, where she has moved as the book begins, she's already got her name picked out. But then, through a series of events, it becomes clear that it won't be so easy, this time, to leave everything---including herself---behind.
WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE is my tenth book. Just writing that honestly blows my mind a little bit. Ten? How did that happen? You'd think, that by this point, writing would be easy. Or easier. But in truth, this one was one of the hardest yet. I'm not sure why this is, and I've long ago given up trying to figure out why some novels come so easily, and others are like crawling up a hill backwards in the dark, blindfolded. (So to speak.) All I know is that I got halfway through this book, then took a sharp left turn and got completely lost. The entire second part of it was initially totally different: different characters, different plotline, different ending. When I finished, I was relieved, but deep down I knew it just didn't feel right. When my agent agreed, I backtracked, ripped out the last two hundred pages or so, and began again. The girl I'd created, at least in the second part, wasn't real enough, and I like Mclean, had to return to square one and somehow find my way back to her. It wasn't until I figured this out that I was able to do just that.
Of course, as a reader, you shouldn't really know about any of this. Ideally the story exists neat and clean, without any of the mess and stress of its creation evident on the page. (At least, I hope it does.) But for this novel, which is all about what we are versus what we seem, it feels appropriate to fill you in. Good books, like our true selves, aren't instantly created or perfectly crafted. They are messy and frustrating and flawed, which are exactly the same things that make them real. Mclean figured this out eventually, and I did too. Did it make me a whole different person? No. But it did change a small part of me, which in turn altered the way I saw the world. And that, all these years later, is exactly the kind of change I've learned to love.
Have a good night, everyone!
January 20, 2011
The Five!
1. I just finished listening to Mary Karr's LIT on audio, and I have to say---to use a phrase from my high school days---it pretty much blew my doors off. Which is to say, it was great. She's such an amazing writer, and hearing her read her book just made it that much more compelling, hilarious and outright awesome. I think I will have to add her to my Dream Lunch Date list: you know, the five people you'd eat lunch with if you had your choice of anyone, living or dead. My list fluctuates daily, but usually includes Anne Tyler, John Irving and Oprah. Lately, Kyle Chandler and Kathy Griffin have been on there as well. Can you imagine the conversation Mary Karr would have with them? Like I said: awesome. Now, I have to move onto another audiobook, and after Portia de Rossi's memoir about her eating disorder and LIT, I need something lighter and happy. If possible. I would like more light and happy in my life in general, actually. Maybe they sell that at Audible.com along with books?
2. My daughter is going to be a flower girl in a cousin's wedding this summer, which is just the sweetest thing ever. First, I was a flower girl in my cousin Kate's wedding when I was six, and I still remember it as one of the most wonderful experiences ever. Whether Sasha feels this way, I can't say, but I have to admit I DID get totally choked up while she was trying on dresses the other day. I mean, it seems like yesterday she was this little mewling infant, and now she's this big girl in a poufy dress. SNIFFLE! I was so caught up in the emotion (and coaxing her to stop pouting for a picture: she is not a fancy dress girl, apparently) that I did not realize I had bought a white dress, not ivory as the bride requested. Second wrinkle: the shop does not accept returns. Everything is final sale. ARRRRAUGH. Several people have suggested I try to dye the dress myself but I can only forsee disaster if I try that. So I guess I'll be putting it up on Ebay or Craiglist and hoping for the best. Maybe someone bought ivory who needs white? Oh, man, I hope so.
3. It is SO HARD not to gush to you guys about the season of Friday Night Lights that is running on DirecTV right now. I mean, I practically have to tape my mouth shut to not spill all spoilers, but somehow I am managing. Seriously, though: there are so few episodes left and it is SO GOOD and when it comes on NBC later this year, then, THEN I will be able to gush weekly, right along with you. And to all the folks who have let me know that you started watching FNL because I basically bullied you into it, I am so, so glad you like it. I just wish we could convert the rest of the universe. Aim high, right?
4. Yet another sign that I am codependent: my jeans keep ripping or giving out after years of use, and I CANNOT GET RID OF THEM. The latest victim: a favorite pair of Citizens For All Humanity, ones I bought the same day I got my very first (and only) speeding ticket in Atlantic Beach, NC. (I think this is part of the codependency: the backstory. Just a hunch.) Anyway, they've had this little hole in the back, which I was calling "distressed," but then it got big enough to be reclassified as "obscene." It's not a place I can patch, either, because I've tried with other beloved jeans to no avail. I have no problem pitching ripped shirts or socks, but jeans are like friends to me. I'd rather have them stacked in the closet, torn, unworn and taking up space, then throw them in the trash. (My professional organizer friend Geralin is WINCING as she reads this, I know.) The only upside is I am taking all these jeans giving out as a sign from the universe itself that I need to buy another pair. Because of course that is how the universe communicates, right? No? Oh.
5. I've written here before about how my husband is a runner. He just did his second marathon and runs pretty much every other day, is obsessed with his training, and haunts the local running store like a friendly ghost. But the latest sign of his obsession is this:
I saw this and said, "Oh, my God. Hello, Carrie Bradshaw!" He looked at me quizzically. "What?" I pointed at the shoes. "What does that have to do with Terry Bradshaw?" he asked. "The quarterback?" I sighed. "CARRIE Bradshaw," I said. "From Sex and the City? She's a shoe addict?" Oh, right, he said. Reference totally lost on him, but that's what happens when you are in shopping denial. I should know, as I am already thinking about what jeans I MIGHT by as the universe has demanded. Even if I do make the trip to the mall, I'll still have fewer jeans than he has running shoes. I think.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
2. My daughter is going to be a flower girl in a cousin's wedding this summer, which is just the sweetest thing ever. First, I was a flower girl in my cousin Kate's wedding when I was six, and I still remember it as one of the most wonderful experiences ever. Whether Sasha feels this way, I can't say, but I have to admit I DID get totally choked up while she was trying on dresses the other day. I mean, it seems like yesterday she was this little mewling infant, and now she's this big girl in a poufy dress. SNIFFLE! I was so caught up in the emotion (and coaxing her to stop pouting for a picture: she is not a fancy dress girl, apparently) that I did not realize I had bought a white dress, not ivory as the bride requested. Second wrinkle: the shop does not accept returns. Everything is final sale. ARRRRAUGH. Several people have suggested I try to dye the dress myself but I can only forsee disaster if I try that. So I guess I'll be putting it up on Ebay or Craiglist and hoping for the best. Maybe someone bought ivory who needs white? Oh, man, I hope so.
3. It is SO HARD not to gush to you guys about the season of Friday Night Lights that is running on DirecTV right now. I mean, I practically have to tape my mouth shut to not spill all spoilers, but somehow I am managing. Seriously, though: there are so few episodes left and it is SO GOOD and when it comes on NBC later this year, then, THEN I will be able to gush weekly, right along with you. And to all the folks who have let me know that you started watching FNL because I basically bullied you into it, I am so, so glad you like it. I just wish we could convert the rest of the universe. Aim high, right?
4. Yet another sign that I am codependent: my jeans keep ripping or giving out after years of use, and I CANNOT GET RID OF THEM. The latest victim: a favorite pair of Citizens For All Humanity, ones I bought the same day I got my very first (and only) speeding ticket in Atlantic Beach, NC. (I think this is part of the codependency: the backstory. Just a hunch.) Anyway, they've had this little hole in the back, which I was calling "distressed," but then it got big enough to be reclassified as "obscene." It's not a place I can patch, either, because I've tried with other beloved jeans to no avail. I have no problem pitching ripped shirts or socks, but jeans are like friends to me. I'd rather have them stacked in the closet, torn, unworn and taking up space, then throw them in the trash. (My professional organizer friend Geralin is WINCING as she reads this, I know.) The only upside is I am taking all these jeans giving out as a sign from the universe itself that I need to buy another pair. Because of course that is how the universe communicates, right? No? Oh.
5. I've written here before about how my husband is a runner. He just did his second marathon and runs pretty much every other day, is obsessed with his training, and haunts the local running store like a friendly ghost. But the latest sign of his obsession is this:
I saw this and said, "Oh, my God. Hello, Carrie Bradshaw!" He looked at me quizzically. "What?" I pointed at the shoes. "What does that have to do with Terry Bradshaw?" he asked. "The quarterback?" I sighed. "CARRIE Bradshaw," I said. "From Sex and the City? She's a shoe addict?" Oh, right, he said. Reference totally lost on him, but that's what happens when you are in shopping denial. I should know, as I am already thinking about what jeans I MIGHT by as the universe has demanded. Even if I do make the trip to the mall, I'll still have fewer jeans than he has running shoes. I think.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
January 19, 2011
writergrl @ 2011-01-19T17:04:00
Whoa. 175 comments and counting on the excerpt from WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE. Yikes! And mostly all positive as well. To say I am grateful is to put it mildly. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the kind words. I will see what I can do about getting a bit more up in the coming weeks, although so many of you said you were trying NOT to read it in order for the whole thing to be fresh that I might reconsider. Chapter One is a taste, an appetizer: but two full chapters is like a small plate, or even part of an entree, you know? Less can sometimes be more. So we'll see. But again: thank you.
The big news for me right now is that as I write this, the sun is out. YESSSSSSS! I have such admiration for those of you who live in places like the Pacific Northwest, where it is overcast much of the time. We had a stretch of that weather and I honestly felt more sad than I have in ages. And I KNEW it was weather related because 1) I don't have any good reason to be sad and 2) just looking at pictures of the beach made me feel better. But nothing is a cure like real, live sunshine. I've spent the entire day craning my neck towards the window, like a dog hanging his head out of a car, soaking up every little bit I can. I wish I could bottle it like fireflies.
In other news, American Idol starts up tonight, and even though I am intrigued by the mix of J. Lo, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson, I am going to try and stay away. Idol is always a TOTAL time suck for me, and the audition process over the last few years just got so...I don't know, cruel. It was mean-hearted and there is enough of that in the world. I don't want to be depressed! I just got the sun back! But maybe this will be the beginning of a kinder, gentler Idol. If it is, tell me. Meanwhile I will be trying to convince my husband to watch The Bachelor, even though I get voted down every single time I try to sneak it on. Now, though, I have even MORE of a reason to try to watch, as my friend Dana says there is a girl on it that totally reminds her of me. It's Jackie Gordon and apparently she rocks her ponytail JUST like me. I will take that as a compliment! Normally people tell me that I look like someone they met once, or somebody's sister or cousin. I never get celebs or even quasi-celebs. Just ONCE I wish someone would tell me I looked like anyone from Friday Night Lights, though. Even Tim Riggins! That's my goal.
Okay, the sun is going down now and it's in the upper fifties. I am going outside to chase the rays over the horizon. Or, you know, just stand there for a few minutes.
Have a good night, everyone!
The big news for me right now is that as I write this, the sun is out. YESSSSSSS! I have such admiration for those of you who live in places like the Pacific Northwest, where it is overcast much of the time. We had a stretch of that weather and I honestly felt more sad than I have in ages. And I KNEW it was weather related because 1) I don't have any good reason to be sad and 2) just looking at pictures of the beach made me feel better. But nothing is a cure like real, live sunshine. I've spent the entire day craning my neck towards the window, like a dog hanging his head out of a car, soaking up every little bit I can. I wish I could bottle it like fireflies.
In other news, American Idol starts up tonight, and even though I am intrigued by the mix of J. Lo, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson, I am going to try and stay away. Idol is always a TOTAL time suck for me, and the audition process over the last few years just got so...I don't know, cruel. It was mean-hearted and there is enough of that in the world. I don't want to be depressed! I just got the sun back! But maybe this will be the beginning of a kinder, gentler Idol. If it is, tell me. Meanwhile I will be trying to convince my husband to watch The Bachelor, even though I get voted down every single time I try to sneak it on. Now, though, I have even MORE of a reason to try to watch, as my friend Dana says there is a girl on it that totally reminds her of me. It's Jackie Gordon and apparently she rocks her ponytail JUST like me. I will take that as a compliment! Normally people tell me that I look like someone they met once, or somebody's sister or cousin. I never get celebs or even quasi-celebs. Just ONCE I wish someone would tell me I looked like anyone from Friday Night Lights, though. Even Tim Riggins! That's my goal.
Okay, the sun is going down now and it's in the upper fifties. I am going outside to chase the rays over the horizon. Or, you know, just stand there for a few minutes.
Have a good night, everyone!
