Another list of things

So, here's a bunch of random things:

• I am a writing machine right now.  I love it.  It's me in my element.  But it's also me at my most distracted.  Let's not talk about how on more than one occasion this week I've put laundry and detergent in the washing machine and walked away without starting it.  
• Let's also not talk about how I've done the same thing with the dishwasher, or how many people I owe e-mails & phone calls to at the moment.
• Remember those great summer reading programs from your childhood library days?  BookSparks PR is hosting a Summer Reading Challenge for grownups, and STAY is included in the line up!  Go check it out!  There are prizes.  So you get to read, and there's stuff to win.  
• Vitamin D + sun time + drinking milk = less sleepy & much happier me.
• New York Mag has a really great essay on profanity (via The Rumpus) - which, of course, contains profanity, so if you're sensitive to that, maybe that's not the link for you.  But it is a wonderful essay.
• Judy Blume has an essay about censorship up on her site (it's the forward to an anthology of stories by banned authors), and it made me teary, in the same vein that the #YAsaves hashtag on Twitter really moves me.  The books I read as a kid changed who I am for the better, and I am so thankful for the brave writers who put themselves out on a limb to write stories young adults can connect with.
• I finished Evan Dawson's book, Summer in a Glass, last week and now I totally want to go on a Finger Lakes wine tour.  Who's with me?
• My garden is a mess this year, but I think we're going to have tons and tons and tons of raspberries, so I'm not complaining.  

"Oh, I can gather all the news I need from the weather report..."

Well, I still haven't made it to Ithaca to see Marty. Stupid weather!


It snowed, then it rained, then it all iced up and snowed some more.  Since hearing about the drivers who got stuck in their cars outside of Buffalo for TWELVE HOURS, I've become a big huge wimp about traveling in this weather.


I'm done being intrepid. Wimpy is fine by me. Cold temps, no food, small bladder, and the lack of bathrooms aside, the idea of being stuck with myself in a car that's not moving for twelve hours is terrifying! I don't do sitting in the car well. I've loaded up the crapmobile with books and a sleeping bag, just in case I get stranded between here and Wegmans and have to spend 20 minutes stuck in my car.


It's early for this kind of weather here.  I'm crossing my fingers and toes that it means an early spring.


Here's some other stuff that's been going on:

• I was asked to join The Fiction Writers Co-op, which is a group of "53 authors of distinguished, award-winning, and best-selling fiction," and, I am completely and totally in awe of the other writers in the group.  We've put together a holiday gift guide for the bookish types on your list.  The full list is over at Judy Merrill Larsen's blog - Buy a Book! You Can't Give More Enchantment For Less.  
•  I'm addicted to Ally McBeal on Hulu.  How did I not watch this show when it was on?  Juicy, complicated love triangle involving a college love, neurotic main character with an overactive imagination and an awesome name (even though she spells it wrong) - so great!  I've been watching it while I walk on the treadmill, and as a result, have put in some serious mileage.  
• I pretty much just want to hug Peter MacNicol and confess all my weird habits to him.
• Actually, I know why I didn't watch Ally McBeal while it was on.  When I moved to Jersey, one of my roommates was all, "Oh, I don't watch television. I don't need cable." And then when I got cable on my own anyway, she hogged the TV to watch Ally McBeal and was all, "Oh, I don't watch television except for Ally McBeal."  So being the fabulously mature person I was at 21, I decided it had to be a perfectly awful show and complained every time she watched it.
• J got me a new sewing machine as an (early) Christmas present.  My old one wasn't really a sewing machine as much as vehicle of mental torment that never failed to make me swear and cry.  I'd spend three hours fiddling with it for two minutes of uninterrupted sewing.  Then something would snap and thread, obscenities, and tears, would explode everywhere.  I couldn't figure out why other people seemed to enjoy sewing.  The new machine actually allows me to, you know, sew, and I get it now.  Amazing.  
• Yesterday, I made a really cute skirt out of an old sweater (expect a Greenists post about it soon).  It took me all of twenty minutes, and I didn't cry once.  (I still cursed, because I jabbed myself with a pin, but that's not the machine's fault).
• Over the weekend, I made Argo & Stella a super huge dog bed they can both fit on, but Stella likes to spread out and hog it completely.  

• I'm reading an ARC of ATTACHMENTS by Rainbow Rowell, which will be out in April 2011.  It's hysterical and I want to be friends with all the main characters.   
• Yes, getting to read books before they hit shelves is one of the best parts of being a huge book nerd who writes books.

I like making lists better than cooking turkeys.

• I cook a turkey breast once or twice a month for sandwiches, etc.  At this point, roasted turkey doesn't feel all that special anymore, and you all know how me and holidays and tradition aren't things that naturally fit together neatly in a nice pretty little package.  So, instead of spending days slaving over a hot stove to make a traditional Thanksgiving meal, we're opting for a random mix of favorite foods we rarely get to eat.  Yes, there will be haddock (for me, at least).  And pumpkin pie. . . but not because it's Thanksgiving, just because I like it.

• While I'm not all "Yesss!!!! Holidaysssss!!!!!!" I'm very excited that I'll get to see some of my favorite people this weekend.

• I was going to record another reader question video yesterday, but it was WAY too dark in my office, even with all the lights on.  It's not a daylight savings time issue, it's a Rochester doesn't get enough sun in the winter issue.  I'll have to check the forecast and cross my fingers for some brighter days next week and try again.  Stay tuned, and send questions!

• I think I'm seriously going to order some sunlight lamps this year.

• Do you remember that episode of Northern Exposure when everyone got addicted to light therapy? 

• One of my book club friends told me about her Jazzercise class, and I'm actually going to go.  Be afraid.  Or at least prepared for tales of me publicly humiliating myself.  

• I am not pregnant.  On the Facebook page for STAY, I linked to a post mentioning STAY at Barnes & Noble Book Clubs by the lovely Lisa Steinke.  Lisa, is pregnant, and wrote about being in the last few weeks of her pregnancy in the beginning of the post.  You know how when you post a link on Facebook, the first paragraph of a post shows up?  Can you see where this is going?  I've gotten a few congrats e-mails and even a call from a friend who was a little confused as to why I'd announce something like that to Blogland before I gave her a call.  So, please send your warmest congratulations to Lisa, because she is both wonderful AND actually expecting. 

• I had a dental appointment yesterday, but drove to the dermatologist instead.  Thankfully, I realized my mistake before I walked into the dermatologist's office, sexy nighttime mouthguard in hand.

• My brain is very occupied by my next project.

• Stella learned how to drink out of my water glass when I'm not looking.  She taught Argo, too.

• Bones is my latest TV show fix, but because of the high ick factor and my low ick tolerance, I can't watch it while I'm eating, before I go to bed, or while I'm cooking, which is limiting.  Thank goodness for wireless headphones, so I can watch while I'm vacuuming.  Temperance Brennan is such a great character.  I love how she is somewhat detached and completely socially awkward, but still so likable.  

• Seriously, guys!  Jazzercise.  Me.  I was a liability in my preschool dance class, and it was all downhill from there.  

• Two words: Wii Wakeboarding.

What's on your list?

All sorts of things

• In the summer, it was fun to work from my lawn chair while the dogs frolicked in the yard. Now, when it's 52 degrees and breezy, it's not as much fun. Actually, it's kind of painful in the fingers. But my co-dependant canine friends will not play outside if I'm inside, so I'm still trying to sit outside with them a few times a day.
• I want to clear out the basement and install astroturf before winter. I'm only sort of joking.
• I am so excited about this week, I can barely sit still (or maybe that's the shivering).
• Tomorrow morning (Tuesday, 10/19) I'm going to be on 13-WHAM News This Morning on Rochester's CW during the 8:00 hour.
• Wednesday I'm visiting a fiction writing class at my alma mater, St. John Fisher College, to talk about writing.
• And Thursday at 7:30 PM, I'll be reading from STAY and the writing exercise that got me started, answering questions, and signing books at SJFC as part of the Father Cavanaugh Reading Series, which is such an honor.
• In a "how to" I read on TV appearances "wear your work clothes" was one of the tips. I won't be. Rochester does not need to see my winning yoga pants/writing sweater/hot pink fuzzy socks combo.
• One of my favorite couples got married recently, and they have the most adorable wedding video ever to prove it. I've seen it a bunch of times now. And yes, I did the sappy crying thing every single time.
• We didn't do our CSA this year, because I was barely home this summer. During zucchini season I didn't miss it much, but now that it's squash season, I am experiencing desperate longings for the smell of fresh picked acorn squash baking in the oven.
• I downloaded the first season of Life Unexpected on iTunes and I'm so impressed with how flawed and complex the characters are. Oh, the drama! I love it. Plus, Shiri Appleby is awesome.
• I love FREEFALL so much that I'm doing the thing where I read super slow because I don't want it to end.
• Yesterday, Stella and I went to Petsmart to buy cat food and then for a walk by the canal and she acted like a normal, happy dog. She was still aloof with strangers, but she sniffed things and was more curious than she was afraid. She didn't bark more than once or twice at other dogs, even when they yapped at her continuously. She wagged her tail and sat next to me to let bikers pass us on the path like a perfect little angel. She wasn't fearful or aggressive. And she actually had fun. It was one of my proudest moments.
• Oh, and don't forget to enter the STAY photo contest, okay?

The pants are the best part.

My head is swimming right now. New characters, and a fun side project with a friend, the last day of my virtual book tour, fall, laundry, bills, life, food (seriously, why can't we just eat one huge meal once a month instead of all this three times a day every day crap?), and all sorts of other stuff. I've fallen into the trap of having too many random little things to blog about, so I haven't been blogging at all. So here's another list post.

• Now that I've painted my office, the hallway is bugging me. And the basement. And the front step needs fixing, and the floor in the entry way needs tiling and maybe I can learn how to tile, and the laundry room could use new flooring and . . . There's an episode of Northern Exposure where Maggie goes a little nuts nesting for the long up coming winter. I feel like that. I love fall, but winter in Rochester looms at the end of it making big mean snarly faces, and I'm not sure I'm ready for it.
• Am I the kind of writer who can pull off a sentence like the last one? I think maybe not. Looms? That's a little pompous. I'm not pompous. Goofy, yes. Pompous, no. I don't have the energy for it.
• I've been posting all my review/interview links on the Facebook page, so I don't want to duplicate efforts here and have you be all, we know already for frack's sake! So if you're looking for links, that's where they are!
• I will add one duplicate link here though - I was on Reading With Robin last week, and in addition to my interview, she has a long list of author interview podcasts on her site. I'm in love with listening to them. Robin is so much fun to talk with and she asks great questions.
• My book group read THE THINGS THEY CARRIED and we discussed it last night. There are several people in the group who were Vietnam vets or had family members who had been drafted. It was fascinating and so moving to hear their perspectives on the book, and what it felt like to get a draft letter. I love that group so much! I'm a bummed out because they're reading THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU next month, but I won't be able to make the meeting. I love that book!
• I was asked to blurb a book and I am 1. so completely honored and 2. so engrossed in said book that it's been torture to put it down and get anything else done. It's just that good.
• I just finished watching Roswell. I sobbed so hard through the last two episodes (and also the one with future Max in it - OH MY GOODNESS!). It took me about five episodes to get into the show, but I tweeted about it, and Aly said she really enjoyed it, so I kept watching. So glad I did. I completely fell in love with the characters.
• I'm a little lost tv-series-wise now. I function better when I have a good, absorbing show I'm involved in. I bribe myself with a lunch hour episode and another one before I go to bed, and maybe even an afternoon break episode if I have a boring task that requires a good bribe. It pulls me through my day.
• I'm back on an I hate running but I love Netflix workout videos kick again. Ellen Barrett is awesome, and I like to rotate through her Pilates workouts.
• Which reminds me of a recent conversation I had with another writer last week.

Me: I didn't have a lot of patience with buying clothes for my book tour. I mean, I usually wear yoga pants all day.

Him: Do you do a lot of yoga?

Me: No. I just like the pants.

I am the epitome of class, huh? But I've realized in the past few months that I really don't enjoy doing yoga. I have so many friends who teach yoga and are very dedicated to their practice. I desperately want to love it, and I've spent years trying to convince myself that I do, but honestly, I'd rather listen to Wilford Brimley read the phone book with a fake British accident every day for ninety minutes (which you know would only be funny for the first minute or so) than do yoga. Pilates on the other hand. . . I am so all over that. I crave Pilates. I'm not sure what the distinction is. Do you know? How do you feel about yoga? Are the pants the best part for you, or do you think I'm missing something?

"And you'll always know your neighbor, you'll always know your pal..."

Lately, the days have been going by way too fast. I swear it should be last Wednesday instead of this Monday. And I've been meaning to write to you about oh so many things, so here's one of my big messy list posts.

• STAY sold in Poland! It's so amazingly cool to think that something I wrote will be published in four languages other than English. I'm not sure I can quite get my head around it. (Mrs. X can suck it!)
• I have a Facebook page for the book now, and have some event dates up!
• Shanna convinced me that when I do book events, I should actually, you know, wear decent clothes. AND she helped me pick out said decent clothes AND helped me talk through different options for wearing said decent clothes beyond the dressing room. So it's possible that if you come to one of my book events, you might see me wearing accessories in addition to clothes that aren't yoga pants. Shanna is brilliant (and not afraid to tell someone when the dress is wearing them). I actually enjoyed shopping, which is a monumental feat.
• Argo had two cysts biopsied last week, but they came back clear. They're just cysts. I tried to put it out of my head completely while we waited for the results. As soon as I knew he was okay, I realized how worried I'd been, and had that whole overwhelmed after the fact feeling. Goodness, I love that dog. And goodness, our vet is awesome! She rushed the results along and called me herself to let me know he was okay.
• Taking Argo and Stella to the vet at the same time is not for the faint of heart. Argo wants to say hi to everyone. Stella wants all dogs to stay away from Argo and her people, and is VERY verbal about it. Argo wants to jump on the exam table (even when it's not his turn) and Stella just wants to go home.
• He may look tough, but our boy Argo SCREAMS when the vet tech even gets near his toenails with a clipper. I thought she'd cut his toe off, but she'd barely even cut the nail. It's embarrassing.
• I question the wisdom of men who will comment loudly on the posterior of a woman walking a one-hundred and five pound German Shepherd (even if he's a baby about his toenails, because they don't know that). Don't you?
• We got our bikes tuned up and had an amazing time riding on the canal path this weekend.
• I get the Erie Canal song stuck in my head every time we ride on the canal path. Low bridge, everybody down . . . It's a growing up in New York State thing.
• J and I are on a Buffy kick. Well, more accurately, I'm on a Buffy kick, and J loves me enough to tolerate it. I'd seen an episode here and there, but never watched them all in order. Makes much more sense this way. You can see how Buffy was a step in the process to writing one of the best scifi shows ever (and you can see how I'm incapable of doing anything without thinking about how writing figures in).
• I read somewhere that the guy who plays Zander was supposed to play Malcom Reynolds. And Nathan Fillion had been considered for the role of Angel. It's interesting to think about how different those shows would have been.
• I was going to tell you about how J and I briefly considered making margaritas out of lime popsicles this weekend, but it is apparently past W-A-L-K time and someone isn't letting me forget it.