Sarah Dessen's Blog, page 38

The Five!

1. After a week of transitions, I feel like we are finally---sort of--getting settled into a routine. Preschool's going well (maybe next week, I'll stop holding my breath) I finished copyediting, the leaves are falling. Everything's right on schedule for September, which is always a month of new beginnings. I keep finding myself wanting to organize my closets, clean out junk drawers, give things away. I'm thinking about buying a new crockpot, finding a different turkey chili recipe. That kind...

writergrl @ 2010-09-07T15:45:00

Today is Tuesday, but it feels like the biggest Monday EVER. I could sense it at 6:00 am this morning when I first got up: the world was getting back to school today. And by back to school, I mean back to reality. To work, to a schedule, to everything. I know the schools have been back here for awhile already, but traditionally, the school year begins with the passing of Labor Day. Monday night, my husband kept saying he felt so blah and didn't know why. I did. You never outgrow that back-to-...

writergrl @ 2010-09-05T16:37:00

I'm writing this is the calm after the storm that was my daughter's third birthday party. One word: WHEW. We had grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles and good friends, as well as four other kids under six here for cake, ice cream, and sandwiches from Neal's Deli (the best, best, BEST place in Carrboro, oh my goodness). My daughter woke up promptly at 5:30 on Saturday morning, asking if it was time for her party yet. Well, no. She asked again and again, all day, was so excited an...

The Five!

1. As I write this, Hurricane Earl is bearing down on the NC coast. It's not supposed to come totally ashore, but brush the Outer Banks enough to cause damage. The Crystal Coast, which is south of there and where I spent a lot of this summer, has also been evacuated. I am nervous and worried, keeping fingers crossed that it stays far, far, away. I have to say, despite the meteorologists saying otherwise, I look at the radar and just think about Hurricane Fran, which also hit in September but ...

writergrl @ 2010-08-31T16:31:00

*cough*
*sniffle*
*hack*

Yes, I've got a cold. All summer with nary a stuffed nose, and the minute the weather changes---humidity reduced, cool nights---I wake up with a sore throat. Did it help that we attended two kid-full events this weekend, which are basically like wading into a petri dish? Nope. First the toddler came down with this, although she also had a high fever, which always freaks me out. Twenty four hours later, she's fine, and I'm hacking away. Honestly. Being sick is just alw...

writergrl @ 2010-08-29T15:29:00

Today, I took down my Topsy-Turvy tomato planter, which, if I'm honest, probably needed to come down about a week ago. There were no more tomatoes, just a sad and withered little representation of what once was a thriving plant. Ah, summer. You went and took my turvy with you. On the plus side, I know the deer will appreciate finally getting to eat the leaves, even if it is past its prime.

I have the weirdest relationship with the deer in my neighborhood. (Also weird: that I just wrote that se...

The Five!

1. Some people thrive on drama. My husband, I think, thrives on remodeling and the attendant chaos. Not even a full week after The Great Disruption, he's got people in here tearing up our laundry room and removing the water heaters. I came home yesterday with toddler, groceries, etc, and he informs me, cheerfully, "No water for a few hours!" Oh, good. Meanwhile, our painter is inside, doing the baseboards, so the furniture we just put back is all pushed into the center of the rooms. Dogs bark...

writergrl @ 2010-08-24T18:38:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about my Internet Presence (capitals necessary) and how much it really matters. I think, like a lot of YA authors, I realize that my readers are active on Twitter and Facebook and everywhere else online, and so I need to be as well. Also, let's face it: I LIKE updating all those sites. I like this blog, too, although sometimes I feel like a dinosaur for sticking to my three-times-a-week schedule. I went over to Tumblr and tried that out, but came back here beca...

beginnings

Last night, I went to really nice wedding. There was a time, when I was in my twenties, that I was going to a LOT of weddings. I was also in a lot of them, as friends got married all around us. One fall, I remember looking at the calendar and having one every couple of weeks, and all I could think was that I could NOT afford all that dry cleaning. Fast forward ten years or so, and we just don't have that many people going down the aisle. If anything, we're doing baby showers, but even those h...

The Five!

1. Okay, so this will be a quick five, as I'm in the midst of packing up to move back home. Hooray! It's been really more fun than I expected staying in town, mostly because of the food. I think I've gained about five pounds, but it's been worth every pizza slice. (Pepper's Pizza, the best in Chapel Hill, delivered to the door? Are you KIDDING me?) Also dangerous: being so close to so many retail outlets. It is good for my checkbook that I normally live a long way from Best Buy and Bed, Bath ...