Things On My Desk: A Retrospective

Over the years I've kept fun objects on my desk to remind me to stay on track with my writing goals. When I first started submitting my work, these guys reminded me not to fear rejection:
Eventually, I learned not to feel "chicken" about submitting. As I got busier and took on the job of planning conferences and workshops for SCBWI, a friend wished me luck in keeping "all the monkeys off my back." So I couldn't resist:
I'm pretty good at staying organized now. Collecting rejection letters...