This morning on NPR

I heard about this fabulous new reality show that's huge in Canada right now.
Get this: they take professional hockey players and figure skaters and team them up to learn routines and compete on the ice.

It's called Battle of the Blades.
If you want, you can hear the segment for yourself here.
Hmmmm.



Sounds interesting.
Sounds entertaining.
Sounds familiar.


Also, did you notice what that says across the top?
Contemporary... classics.
Really, MGM?
Because if The Cutting Edge is considered a Classic, I'm thinking Miley Cyrus deserves a lifetime achievement award. Look into it.

Only my mother would understand

that giving me books, jam, and tap shoes for a rainy day makes perfect sense.

And to think, most people don't even like to be in the same rooms as their mothers.
Jeez, I'm lucky.

The back of the Reese's Puffs box inspired me to make a list.

I love lists, anyway, so it wasn't that much of a stretch for me.
The box has a list of "18 Things to Do Before You're 18."

The list, verbatim:
1. Ride the world's biggest rollercoaster.

2. Bungee jump.

3. Score the winning goal/basket. (Never happened for me, and never will. It's OK that I suck at sports.)

4. Win an award, trophy, or prize.

5. Learn an instrument. (eh... overrated)

6. Go backstage at a gig. (Just be sure to watch your drink the whole time.)

7. Meet your idol.

8. Play a part in your favorite TV show. (How exactly do they expect the young'uns to manage this one?)

9. Meet someone with your own name. (Lame.)

10. Make a discovery. (See note by #8.)

11. Get away with the perfect practical joke.

12. Own a pointless collection.

13. Invent a word that makes it into the dictionary. (Once again, see note by #8.)

14. Conquer your biggest fear.

15. Raise money for charity.

16. Pass your driving test the first time. (Sort of too late for me on this one.)

17. Complete a road trip coast to coast. (Uh. Really? See notes by #6 and #8.)

18. Reach 18 years of age -- yes!!!
(Under #18, it actually says-- a direct quote: "Embrace old age." WHAT?!)

Since I'm the ripe old age of 32, I decided to make my own list of 40 Things to Do Before I'm 40.
But as I was making the list, I realized, it was way too long.
Let's focus. Let's narrow.
So here are the 4 Things to Do Before I'm 40.

1. Get a literary agent.

2. Publish my novel.

3. Go on a book tour.

4. Get healthy/lower my body mass index.

All of those things are totally possible. Maybe even probable. I think first I'll work simultaneously on the health/BMI thing and the getting an agent thing.

I hope that soon I'll be able to say: Done, and done.

Karma is real.

It's true! How else can you explain what happened to me this past week?

About four (maybe five, it's been awhile so I'm not sure) years ago, I had a class of students that loved me. I mean, I've always have some students that love me, but these kids and I bonded like crazy and it was truly beautiful.

At the end of the school year, I was at Starbucks (I know--the shame!) one morning, and I saw this amazing make-your-own-travel-mug thing. Cool!
I bought it with one thing in mind: have my students sign it for me so I would remember this class forever.
It was amazing. It was perfect. It made me happy on sad mornings. It was one of the things that I would consider grabbing if my house was on fire and I had five minutes to grab the really important things.



When school ended, during the first 2 weeks of summer, I ran a
Reading Camp.

I took my cup to school one morning, and then I forgot it. I must have forgotten about it for several days, and when I remembered, camp was over, and I couldn't bring myself to go back up to school-- it was SUMMER vacation. I called the school secretary to let her know, and I figured I might find it around the house, or that if it was at school, anyone would read that it said "Mrs. Russell" about a hundred times on the side, and someone would put it in my teacher mailbox in the office. No one did.

School started, and I searched the conference room cupboards above the sink. I searched everywhere it might be. I had to accept that it was gone. I even tried to tell myself, "I remember the kids and they remember me, and that's enough."

On Thursday, I was cleaning/organizing the teachers' lounge, because it gets really junky. People leave the chairs pushed out, and stray papers on the tables, etc. It only takes a few minutes to make the whole room look much nicer and more inviting. As I was cleaning, I opened up a cabinet, and what should I find on the bottom of it, but my prodigal cup!

There it was!

And because the lid was MIA, and because who knows where that cup had been, the inside paper got extracted, scanned to protect against future loss, and then reinserted into a brand-new beautiful cup.

Ta da!



So, see? Karma must be real, because if I hadn't been cleaning and organizing the teachers' lounge out of the goodness of my heart, I wouldn't have found my beloved, missing cup.

Happy Day!

I just read about this cool project

called Where I Write that shows authors in their creative spaces.
The only way this could be better is if it wasn't exclusive to Fantasy/Science Fiction authors.

And, if it had a fab picture of me in MY creative space.

I'm thinking it would be smart to get Nathan to take a picture of me, sitting at my desk with my laptop, just in case they ever ask me for it. I'll work on that this week.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Update: OK. I just realized that Nathan totally already took a picture of me in my creative space, and here it is:

So I have approximately five recipes that I can make flawlessly.

1. Swiss Gruyere Fondue
2. Baked Oatmeal
3. Smoky Mac & Cheese
4. Blueberry Pudding
5. Roasted-red pepper Hummus

That's it. Anything else in the kitchen, and it might turn out great, or it might turn out really, really not great. Rest assured that if I can make these recipes flawlessly, so can you. I mean, to give you an idea, Rachael Ray's famous 30 minute meals regularly take me an hour to make.

So, I found this hummus recipe in a vegetarian cookbook at the Hastings in Brownwood about 12 years ago, back when we were veggies in college and I was so broke that I sat there and copied the recipe out of the book instead of buying it. Ouch. But the recipe is so good! And honestly, if I knew the name of the cookbook now, I would totally go back and buy it.
I added red peppers for the first time about 5 years ago, and I've never looked back. I'm fairly sure Nathan is responsible for adding the red-pepper part, so thank him.

You'll need:
2-3 red peppers. (At HEB they're on sale for .79 right now!)
3 tbl olive oil
juice of 2-3 lemons
2 med. garlic cloves
1/4 c. or a little more tahini (I warn you: do NOT substitute peanut butter here.)
1 or 2 cans garbanzo beans, drained

1. Preheat the broiler.
2. Line a cookie sheet or two with foil. Cut red peppers in half and take out all the innards. Spray or brush outside with olive oil.
Beautiful!


3. Broil the peppers for at least 15 minutes, until the skins are completely blackened. This might take more like 20 minutes, and that's fine.
These aren't quite there.


Wait for it...

Wait for it...

Done!

Measure 2-3 tbl. olive oil and juice of 1 lemon (this recipe is by no means an exact science, but please watch those lemon seeds-- they are NO good!) into food processor or blender.
Add garlic (the beauty of a food processor is that you don't even have to chop it up) and tahini and blitz until smooth. Drain garbanzos from one can and rinse. I always use a colander to do this.

Add beans and blitz until the mixture is creamy. I literally mix this stuff for like 2-3 minutes. Get it CREAMY! Add a little salt.
By this time, the peppers should be cool enough to handle. Peel off all the blackened skins from the peppers. Tear them into long strips as you add them to food processor. It should turn from a taupey color into a lovely pinky color as you blend it.
Voila!


If the mixture is too dry, add a little olive oil as you blend. When I made this most recent batch, there was quite a bit of moisture from the peppers, so the hummus got kinda too soupy. I just added another can of garbanzos, juice of 1/2 lemon, a bit more tahini, and a little more salt for good measure.
Perfect!

Yummy in a pita or wrap with any of the following:
spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, sprouts, corn, black beans, sauted onions, whatevs.

Delicioso!

In case you didn't know, I love dresses.

This doesn't sound like it should be a problem. But it is. Because most of the dresses I'm attracted to aren't that appropriate for work. Which kind of sucks. I mean, I always set out to find dresses that are both good for work and good for play, but it's not as easy as you might think. If I didn't work with preteens, it wouldn't be so hard. A middle school teacher who shows too much skin is as taboo as a nun who reads dirty paperbacks.

About a month and a half ago, I found this dress at macys.com, and I nearly went straight out to buy it. It had the perfect 1950s shape, with these bright brush-stroke colors.



Then I had second thoughts. I was trying to do better about spending money on clothes that would give me more mileage. Needless to say, I didn't get it.

But TODAY, when we went into Macy's, I was searching through the sales racks, and lo and behold, a light shone down from heaven, and there it was.
It was the only one.
It was just my size.
It was 50% off.
It was perfect.



(Well, I do need to get the straps tailored, because they're a little too big. Other than that, perfect. After tailoring, I'll post a picture of myself wearing it. Or who knows, maybe it'll be in one of Nathan's next photoshoots...)

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Macy's?

I might be addicted to fro-yo.

Tonight we met Kathryn and Rami for a cuppa fro-yo at Yogurt Planet, and honestly, I can't stop thinking it.... Aaarrrrggghhh. (Me impersonating a Homer Simpson drool here.) I have a serious problem. This stuff is so good and so guiltfree that I just can't get enough.



This picture is proof that Nathan hearts fro-yo.

This place is heaven.
(Not a great website, though. All you'll find here are their two locations.)

In my estimation, the best ways to beat the 2009 summer heatwave in Austin are:
1. Eat fro-yo from Yogurt Planet.
2. Hang out in the walk-in, refrigerated, beer cave at IGA, where you'll probably buy beer, which will be great until you see just how many calories are in it. Also, the beer cave is only so big, and doesn't have cell phone service.
3. Go swimming, which is quite fabulous... except when you have students whose family moved in next door and you're a little terrified of the awkwardness of them seeing you in your swimsuit.

SO, in the Celebrity Deathmatch of Best Way to Beat the Heat in Austin, fro-yo from Yogurt Planet wins by a landslide!

Would you like to say a few words to your constituents?

Those hookas and pimps are getting smarter.

I think they mean "get paid first."

Maybe it happened when I turned 30.

Not sure. But at some point along the way, I realized that I like organization. I like tidiness. (That word looks funny....)

Tonight I decided to clean/organize our closet. There was nothing good on TV, believe it or not, and if I didn't act soon, our closet was going to collapse into a black hole and kill someone.

Here was my motivation:


A Pandora radio station started with the Cars' "Just What I Needed" and a beautiful pina colada.

Abigail really wanted to help.

Either that, or she really wanted my colada.

This was BEFORE:

Scary, no?

And then, after much '80s dancing, colada drinking, kicking and screaming and gnashing of teeth, I give you AFTER:

Ta da!!! Maisy was confused, as you can see. Then again, she's confused most of the time.

And best of all, the shoes...

Aaaahhhh. A closet of beauty is a joy forever.


Cleaning the Closet Colada:
Equal parts cream of coconut, pineapple juice and spiced rum.
(1/4 cup is a good starting place, but don't be scared of the half cup, if your closet is extra big and very messy)
Blend with lots of ice until frothy.
Happy organizing!

Actual Conversation

Me: ...(blathering)...I mean, the '50s were amazing! Can you think of anything, other than the unfair treatment of women and minorities, that was bad about the '50s?

Nathan: Well, it was the beginning of consumerism in America.

Me: But that's what was so MAGICAL about it!

HOW did these people get these amazing jobs?

Stacy London and Clinton Kelley, hilarious and talented stylists on
What Not to Wear.


Wes, the guy who started Hey Cupcake!,
a stand that sells scrumptious cupcakes out of an Airstream trailer here in Austin.


I would have said Steve Jobs, the amazing badass Apple
guy, but I've heard that even though he's inspirational, he's a little crazy.


But since Steve Jobs ALSO co-founded Pixar,
the most fantastic animation company of all time, he makes the cut, I guess.



Honorable Mention:

Martha Stewart,
who became famous for being the most spectacular
homemaker in America and therefore
makes more money than most people in America.

Also because she went to jail and came back even more spectacular than before.

Anyone I left off the list?

One day I plan to outfit our dining room with Eames chairs.

You know, those iconic plastic chairs with the "Eiffel" base. Can you believe they're the same design today since the 1948 originals? Amazing!

Vote now for which color you think we should pick:

Blue



Yellow



White



Wire



(For the next few, you'll have to imagine them around a dining room table.)

Black



Orange/Red



Lime Green



You can also read more about Charles and Ray Eames at
Design Within Reach.

I'm so sorry that this post seems like a commercial-- I just have Eames chairs on the brain.

Cable vs. Apple TV

Recently, Nathan suggested that we do something a tad drastic. Wait for it... wait for it...
He suggested that we off our cable.
And then go live in the woods. With bears. Like that grizzly bear guy.




OK, not exactly. He thinks we should off our cable in favor of Apple TV. His cousin Jason and his fab wife Julie recently did this (Correction: although technically they got a Mac Mini), and it reminded him that we talked about this a long time ago, when Apple TV first came out. Why would we do such a thing? Because then we can watch all the good shows that we want without being sucked into all the crap shows that we watch... well... pretty much every single night.
I've enjoyed our couch potato-ness. It's nice. Comfy. But Nathan might have a point. Unfortunately.

Inspired by Kendi's recent post which included the list
Why Macs are Better than Babies.

Reasons we should get rid of cable and hook up Apple TV:

1. Stop watching crap like America's Next Top Model. Wait-- I can probably still see that on Hulu if I really want.... Nevermind.
2. Save money on our cable/internet bill.
3. The TV won't be on night after night, sucking our souls away. We might even be inspired to work on creative pursuits-- like writing, photography, music, etc.


Reasons we should keep cable in lieu of Apple TV:

1. Inspiration for my writing. I'm serious! I recently started a short story about women and fertility after watching The Real Housewives of New Jersey. You think I'm joking.
2. I've been on a Gilmore Girls/All Star Workouts routine for the last 2 1/2 weeks. Which is pretty good-- for me. I'm even recording the shows over to DVD, probably because in my heart I know that we'll soon have an Apple TV.



Hold everything! Does this mean we get a new HD flatscreen to go with our Apple TV? Because I would be so fine with that.

I've reached a terrible crossroads.

Possibly more terrible than the Britney Spears movie. (Which Nathan and I saw at the Alamo Drafthouse as a Mister Sinus Theater, I might add.)

The crossroads has presented me with the following two options:

Option 1 -- Lose weight.

Option 2 -- Buy new clothes.

While I was tempted to enter into option 2 just last night when I swore I heard the bargain-basement sirens of TJ Maxx calling my name, I soon came to realize that the better of the two is really Option 1.

I just don't relish all the hard work. Gilmore Girls workout continues tomorrow.

For me, accents are kind of like sausage.

I never met one I didn't like.

Meet my new personal trainer.

That's right, ladies and gentleman. I give you Lorelei Gilmore.

Every day Gilmore Girls comes on ABC Family at 4:00. Every day I DVR it, and watch it. One hour of my life. Every day. Because I love that show, OK?
Every day, at the same exact time, All Star Workouts comes on the Fit Network. And most of the time, the trainers are really annoying to listen to, because they're always barking orders at you, like, "Keep on moving! Push through the pain!" and that kind of thing.
I would also like to note that generally, if you're watching a show you like, it will distract you from all the hard work you're doing. I also recently read that if you really want to lose weight, you realistically have to workout an hour a day. None of this 30 minute nonsense.
So, my new plan (and I've already been successful, I might add) is to workout every day for an hour while I watch Gilmore Girls. I just put the workout on the tiny square on the TV so I don't have to listen to the trainers, and before I know it, my workout is over. Fantastic! I love the Gilmore Girls Workout.

Isn't it one of the WORST feelings ever when

you're bored and restless, but you're also incredibly lazy? At the same time.

Luckily, I found an absolutely hysterical website, which I highly recommend.
Go here. And enjoy the awkwardness.

Meanwhile, on the Russell Boob Tube:
1. It's official. We're fully hooked on Big Love. I mean, I knew polygamy was fascinating, but I never knew it could be so entertaining. Thank you, HBO. Thank you.

2. Just getting around to watching Top Chef Masters on the DVR. We already love Top Chef, so this is sure to be great. Even though Nathan has already pointed out that the girl is no Padma.

3. Tomorrow night, my absolute favorite show of the summer, So You Think You Can Dance continues, and THIS TIME I hope we don't have any thunderstorms with tornadoes that cause the local weather people to preempt the programming like last week. Seriously. Even if they are giving us "important safety information." Can it, chatty weathermen! Thirty-five minutes is too long to carry on showing us maps of threatening storm patterns. Give us the five minute alert, and then stick to the ticker. I'm only half-joking about this one.

Velveeta Shellac & Cheese

Last night I made 43 servings of Velveeta Shells & Cheese.



You're probably wondering, What would possess you to do such a thing? I guess the problem here is that I love kids, and would do just about anything for them. Let me explain.

One, I agreed to teach/organize a Reading and Writing Camp at school from 8-12 every day for two weeks. Read: Postpone glorious summer vacation which every other red-blooded American teacher is already basking in.
Oh yeah, I ended that sentence with a preposition. That's how confused I am at my own decision to teach and organize this camp. I must seriously like kids.
We're even calling it "Star Camp" because that sounds far more enticing than Reading and Writing Camp.

Two, the camp feeds the kids breakfast and lunch. Which is yet another sneaky way to entice them to participate. Food! This also works for adults, now that I think about it.

Three, for the first day of camp, we didn't know how many kids to expect.

Four, we're on a fairly tight budget and we're not allowed to order pizza. Damn legislation.

Five, I expected another teacher to be there helping me, but she won't be here until Wednesday. Which means I can't leave the kids to either make lunch, or go pick up lunch.

So last night, in my own kitchen, I made 43 servings of Velveeta Shells & Cheese. Sure, it took about an hour start to finish, but it was great. It was going to be great. Then I refrigerated two gigantic tubs of the stuff, and it was ready to go in the morning. Right? Wrong.

How long would you say it would take to microwave two gigantic tubs of Velveeta Shells & Cheese? Ten minutes? Twenty? The answer is none. It's not possible. I tried for 45 minutes to reheat the stuff (alternating heating one tub and ice-picking away at the other) and it finally came up to room temperature. In the end, I had to scoop out solidified bits onto paper plates and heat them two at a time. Then, a few students helped to deliver them to the cafeteria where I tend to think they were NOT well received. OK, I never got to see the reactions of the students, because by the time I was done, all but two or three students had already left.

In the end, we served all of ONE of the tubs. I would like to add that when I threw out the remaining Shells & Cheese, it made this terrible sucking sound as it came out of the bowl, and looked like a Velveeta Shells & Cheese jello mold in the trash. Make that Shellac & Cheese jello mold. Tasty.

Tomorrow, we're picking up two deli trays with sandwiches from HEB. They've already been ordered.

If that Shellac & Cheese keeps any kids from coming back tomorrow, I'm personally going to call them and tell them all about the HEB deli tray.

Way #32 that You Know You're Getting Old

Taking a "Sick" Day means you're actually sick.

I'm not exactly sure why

I left those last ten Golden Grahams in the box for my next cereal experience.

Why didn't I just finish them off the last time? Because that teeny little bowl of cereal was only a tease.

Vacation,

all I ever wanted.

This Thursday, we fly to Salt Lake to see Nathan's family and go camp and hike in the Slot Canyons in Utah. Normally, hiking and camping might not sound that appealing. But, Nathan's parents have this great, tricked-out camper, and we make food in the mini-kitchen that is equivalent to the Food Network in goodness. My kind of "roughing it."

I just saw a Facebook ad that said

"Netflix for books."
Netflix for...? For books?

Uh... I thought that was called the library.

At first I was worried when I heard they were making Where the Wild Things Are into a movie.

Because it could turn out to be another disaster like "Cat in the Hat." You know how it feels when Hollywood takes a classic picture book from your childhood and cranks it out as a real schlockter. Hurts the heart a little.

Then I heard that Spike Jonze was directing it. OK. I started to get hopeful again. This could be... potentially... great.

THEN, I saw this trailer, and along with the musical magic of the Arcade Fire, I got a little teary-eyed.



Are you as excited as I am?

THIS JUST IN: Dave Eggers co-wrote the screenplay, and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs collaborated on the soundtrack. Now I'm officially giddy with anticipation.

Don't you hate it when

you have an absolutely fabulous morning at work, followed by a real crap afternoon, and then, all you can remember about your whole day is the bad part?

That just happened to me, and I, of course, told Nathan all the gory details about the oogy part, and then like 2 HOURS LATER I remembered this amazing thing that happened in the morning that I forgot all about.

Seriously. It was such a big deal that I had to pause 24 just so I could say something about it.


In other news, we had pigs-in-a-blanket and potato skins with shandies for dinner. For the second night in a row.
I'm pretty sure we go back to P90X tomorrow, and something tells me shandies aren't in the diet. Since probably beer and lemonade BOTH count as carbs. In the meantime, I might need a refill.

Is it weird that I'm excited

about my new Ped Egg?

When I came home today for lunch,

I found that Abigail had broken into my brand-new stash of foam earplugs and eaten...uh...all 30 of them?

She's acting out. This comes at the end of a month-long string of eating various items around the apartment, including, but not limited to:
1. a complete bouquet of 14 tulips (not toxic, according to the internet)
2. a bag of almonds out of my purse
3. an ink pen
4. Nathan's "wacom" pen that he had to replace so as to continue his photography career
5. another ink pen that exploded in the middle of the living room carpet

The result is that she has been downgraded to a crate. And that her poop will be bedazzled with hot pink foam earplugs for the next day or so.

When you invent a hybrid word

please do NOT combine two words that mean exactly the same thing. Because then, the meaning of the new word isn't anything new at all. For example, the word "chillin" and the word "relaxin" mean the same thing. SO the word "chillaxin"? It doesn't mean anything new at all. And it makes everyone think of cold laxatives.

Also, picture someone really intelligent, like Marilyn Vos Savant, saying the word. Could you picture her saying "bromance"? I think not.

It also helps if your hybrid word relates to current events. I recently heard the word "staycation" which I guess is a vacation you take at home where you don't travel anywhere due to the failing economy.

But, my favorite all-time hybrid word is one that I've heard for years, and is still relevant. I'm talking about the word "cankles." Ladies, you know exactly what these are. And how we all say a little silent prayer at night that we won't develop them. Why, XX chromosomes? WHY?!

Last night before bed

I watched Amelie again. It's been a few months...years, even?
All I can say, is that it's magical--absolutely one of my favorite movies of all time.


If you haven't seen it, that's your own fault!

So an awesome Olympics announcer named Mary Carillo just said, and I quote,

"Nothing cutens up a country like panda bears."

Then she went on to add, "Almost 30 years ago, it was discovered that pandas were about to disappear forever from the steep bamboo-rich mountains of southwestern China. Ever since then, panda baby-making has been in full gear."

Can I just say that I love my job?

And I know you're not supposed to say that, especially out loud. But today, back at work, I wasn't lamenting the end of my summer vacation. I was thinking about how lucky I am to work where I work, with the people I work with, and that maybe just maybe, I have the best gig ever.

Oh, how we love Marfa.

Barbara Kingsolver says,

"Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer."

I needed to hear that. I also needed to clean and organize our spare room so that it's a space I want to write in. So that I'm surrounded by things that inspire me, but also so that the clutter is gone. Maybe fung shui is real. Who am I to argue with the Ming dynasty? The room feels better to be in--that's all I know.

I also posted all my rejection letters from agents on one wall. I could only find eleven of them, and I know I should have at least twenty, but it's a good start. And in my defense, a couple of them aren't rejection letters--they are requests for partials or my entire ms, even though in the end they were rejections. But I digress.

I walk into the room now and I want to do just what Barbara Kingsolver says. Close the door. Write...

The Kardashians have moved into our laundry room.

No, not THOSE Kardashians. I'm talking about my new family of red wigglers, the tiny worms that are hard at work in my new vermicomposting bin.


Now, we'll be able to recycle all of our fruit and veggie scraps, as well as tea and coffee grounds, eggshells, egg cartons, stale bread, old copies of the Chronicle, tons of stuff. The Kardashians will change it from trash into the best plant food that you can find anywhere.
I learned all about vermicomposting, and lots of other cool stuff at a training I went to this week through the
Sustainable Food Center of Austin. We spent time helping at a local farm, built and planted some additional raised beds at our school garden, and learned about local programs that educate teachers, students, and parents to make the planet a nicer place.
And right now, our home is a nicer place thanks to the Kardashians!

C'mon, the only other families I could think of were the Rockefellers, the Clown-Arounds, the Munsters and the Jacksons.

In case you haven't heard Nathan and me talking like little kids on Christmas lately, we finally got a Wii.

We've also gotten, shall I say, a tad carried away with creating Miis, which are the animated characters you can create, name and play with on all the games.
Then, last night we had the best time making our little Miis play baseball with each other.
Here is the breakout of teams:

Team Rosie:
Rosie (pitcher)
Amy
Tori
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Bjork
Kurt Cobain
Pootie (who is one fierce trollop)
John Goodman
Mia Michaels

Team Jesus:
Jesus (pitcher)
Nathan
Ellen
Mary Murphy
Nigel
Barbara
Joy
Whoopi
Elizabeth

It was hysterical watching Tori catch fly-balls from Ellen, Jesus pitch to John Goodman, and Whoopie hit foul balls into the crowd.
Just picture it for a minute. So, so awesomely great.

Also, as soon as we get another nunchuk, we'll be able to box with two people, and then we can have a celebrity deathmatch between Rosie and Elizabeth. Stay tuned...
I'm putting my money on Rosie.

Is there really anything to complain about when you lose weight?

Yes, actually.
I'm now too thin for my fat pants, but too big for my skinny pants.
What in the blazes did I wear when I was in the middle last time?

Summer is here again.

For most people who live in Texas, that's not such a great thing.
For teachers who live in Texas (or anywhere else for that matter), it's a glorious thing.

This year's annual summer playlist is already concocted and ready to be shared. Let me know if you'd like a copy. Making summer mixtapes is one of my rituals, and I sort of wish it was a ritual for everyone, because how great would that be? And you guys all know that when I say mixtape, I really mean mixCD, right? It's just so much cooler and nostalgic to say mixtape. I think I still have some of favorite old mixtapes in a dusty box in the top of my closet. The one from my best friend, Amber, in 7th grade that was full of Suzanne Vega, Morrisey, and was my first introduction to Tori. The one from one of my high school boyfriends, Zach, that showcased early Oasis, Pavement, the Jesus and Mary Chain, and the first song on both sides was our song, Hold My Hand, by Hootie and the Blowfish. Which one of the mixtapes would you say was cooler? To find the answer, stay tuned until the end of this post.

I also have lost a total of 5 pounds on our new Abs-Diet-workout-5-days-a-week-alternating-cardio-and-weights-Diet/Intervention Plan. I pulled out three of my favorite old skirts that I can no longer wear appropriately in public as motivation. My goal is to be able to wear them on our trip to Marfa for our anniversary.

In other news, we start our ballroom dancing class on Thursday. I absolutely can't wait. We may get there and find the only other people in the class are our friends who we convinced to sign up, but that would still be great.

The answer is A, the coolest mixtape was the one from my best friend in 7th grade, Amber. Because even though it did have Primus, it also had the live version of Somebody by Depeche Mode, and that makes it infinitely cooler.

I should probably blog.

It's been a while.
But all I'm doing at the moment is working six days a week,
trying to say "yes" to weight training and cardio and "no" to junk food,
going to bed before 10 on a regular basis because of allergies or exhaustion,
and trying to bring myself to face rewriting the end of my book.
Again.
So when you put all that together, it's not so much fun.
And not so much the stuff of great blogs.
I'm sure you understand.

Another rejection in the mail today. And I quote Albert Einstein,

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."

In other news, I only have six more days of school until vacation, and I plan to:
1. Sleep in until a ridiculously late, ungodly hour.
2. Work on my writing at the coffee shop.
3. Watch a marathon of the latest season of Gilmore Girls on DVD. Shut up! I dare you to watch ONE episode and not be totally hooked. They're like crack. With fewer side-effects.
4. Knit a gorgeous scarf.
5. Finish reading Cold Sassy Tree.

In that order.
Well, there's a good chance that I'll knit while watching Gilmore Girls. So combine those.
Oh yeah. I'm almost thirty. How did that happen?

I have a new Getting Published Theme Song.

After yet another rejection from yet another agent, I've decided to change my Getting Published Theme Song.

Previously, my theme song was "Take a Chance on Me" by ABBA.

(shown here in its original glory)


My new Getting Published Theme Song is.....drumrolllllllll......"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross and the Supremes!
Fitting, no?

(live performance here with Ms. Ross and Stevie Wonder as a youngin.)

I don't know if any other writers have had luck with theme songs per se, but I really think having one is helpful for me. That way I can play it in my car and sing it to myself when I feel discouraged. I mean, I had a Teacher Survival Theme Song about six years ago, which was "Surviver" by Destiny's Child and it basically kept me from quitting. So, I think theme songs are important. I'd recommend getting one, if you don't already have one.

If you happen to pick the song "When I See You Smile," I'd recommend this version.


Not this one.

Writing news

So, two things are going on in my writing life.

1. I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month which has been really good. I'm only up to 8000 right now, and the big goal is 50,000 words, but I'm writing Young Adult, which is usually shorter. Also, keep in mind that my last book took three and a half years to write. When you look at it that way, I'm doing really well! This is my author's profile page if you want to take a peek at an excerpt, my other writing friends, etc.

2. Since hearing "no thank you" from the last promising agent, I revised my query letter and sent out a batch of ten cold queries. This time I targeted agents who specialize in YA. (The last batch was mainly the agents I met at the writers' conference last summer.) So far, I've heard back from five. Three said, "Not for us." One wanted the first 30 pages. And one wanted the entire ms, which is super-flattering, although at this point, it doesn't guarantee anything. I revised the whole thing (yet again) and dropped it in the mail today.

So far, my total record for ms requests is 4 for 15. Not too shabby.

I've come to a crucial decision.

When I become a best-selling author, and Nathan and I buy the house of our dreams, it's going to have a self-cleaning kitchen.

If self-cleaning kitchens aren't available and/or invented at that time, I may have to personally contact the United States Patent Office. I mean, this is a great idea. And anyway, they had one on the Jetsons.


I think if you have a really good contractor, he/she should be able to modify a kitchen such as this one into a self-cleaning kitchen, no problem. Minus the wicker chairs, obviously.

Towanda! Righter of wrongs! Queen beyond compare!

Fried Green Tomatoes was on Lifetime tonight.
Still no lit agent.
And Nathan wants to drop cable and get a mac tv.
But here's the problem. If we did that, I wouldn't know what new shows to watch.

So it's been awhile since my last post.

Sorry about that, but I have some good excuses. Well, sort of.

1. I just got a new position for the fall. I'm going to be the Language Arts Instructional Specialist at my school. Most middle schools and high schools have instructional specialists for both English and Math. In some places, they're called instructional coaches, or curriculum specialists, or maybe something else I don't know about. What it really means is that I won't have regular classes, but I'll be supporting all the other language arts teachers with their lessons and planning and so on. I'm anticipating days full of meetings and observations, but I'm excited about the challenge. It's also considered a promotion, and the recognition feels really nice.

2. I'm still waiting to hear back from the literary agent in NY. By tomorrow, they should have had my MS for five weeks, so it's getting close to the point that I'll hear back. Every day I get a rush of adrenaline as I walk to the mailbox, and every day I feel disappointed as I open it to find crappy catalogs, bills and credit card offers. Sometimes I even check the mail twice a day, just in case. I'm not so good at waiting.

3. We took a break from marathons of Meerkat Manor and went to the Alamo on Friday night to see the new Die Hard movie. I had never seen any of them (although now I have!) and it was fantastically fun. I highly recommend it. Yippie-ki-yay!

4. I'm already back to school, even though it's not August yet. Last week I had meetings and planning sessions. Starting tomorrow I'm helping with a two-week transition camp for incoming 6th graders. The kids will probably be really little and cute. I sort of wish they could stay that way....

5. I've gotten my YouTube fix lately, and in the meantime, discovered that America loves two things: Star Wars



and Legos.


And...Star Wars and Legos together.

Tennis, anyone?

Sometimes Nathan and I get these crazy ideas. Like that time we decided to buy a toy $20 cotton-candy maker from Walgreens, and it sort of worked one time, before it burned out.

Our new thing is tennis. Yes, tennis. (This may have come from Nathan watching some Wimbledon while we were at my parents' house over the fourth, but I'm not sure.) Also, the pool at our apartments is closed for renovations, so we can't work out by swimming. Great timing, guys! But I digress.

So we talked about it, got all excited, bought racquets and balls at Target, and then went with Jenny and Stace to play doubles. Apparently there are tennis courts at this park right behind our apartment. Who knew?

I am happy to report that even though I'm currently one step above sucking, I really, really like tennis. I like a sport! With the exemption of skiing, I've never been very athletic, but I am super competitive, as many of you know. So that's working in my favor as I try to improve. Today Stacy and I went in the late morning to play, and she helped me correct the way I swing my racquet. The other great thing is that even if you have to chase a tennis ball around, you're STILL buring calories. Nice!

Right now someone in New York is reading my manuscript.

Okay, maybe not right at this very second.

But there's a good chance.

And all this excitment and nervousness is giving me acid reflux in the meantime.

Big News for Violet

I've been waiting patiently (okay, not so patiently) for a response from a New York literary agency. I won't say the name of the agency, because I don't want to jinx myself. If you're curious enough, you can look at previous posts and follow the clues. Which could be a really fun game if you don't have anything better to do. Anyway, they asked for the first twenty pages after I sent them a cold query a while back.

So....I just got their response, and as I pulled the envelope out of our mailbox, it was exactly like a movie, with that whole shaft of light shining down from heaven thing, along with the angelic voices raised together, just like in the Disney cartoon of the Sword and the Stone, or in Ghost, when Patrick Swayze decides to stay on Earth to be with Demi even though their chances for sexy pottery scenes are slim to none at that point. Him being a ghost and all.

Fast forward to the important bits: "If you have not already secured representation, we would be pleased to consider your entire manuscript. Please mail it to the address above and again, please mark the envelope 'Requested Materials.' We look forward to receiving your entire manuscript."

Yay! Double yay! I'm sending it by Monday at the latest, after I take another look at the whole thing. Keep your fingers crossed for Violet! And for me.

Memorial Day Movie Marathon

To celebrate the holiday and the new DVD player, we had a movie marathon today. We only had one criteria for film selections: Must be a movie that either Nathan or I, or both haven't already seen.

The movies we've seen so far today:
1. Shaun of the Dead (selection inspired by Hot Fuzz)
2. My Super Ex-Girlfriend (last minute selection inspired by rent-one, get-one-free night)
3. The Queen (we already had this little gem from netflix)
4. Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (Hello! I knew only a fraction of this story, and it's craaaaazzzzy.)
5. Curse of the Golden Flower (Chinese fighting movie, which inspired our Chinese food delivery)
6. Steel Magnolias (inspired by the fact that NO, I've never seen it. I HAVE seen the play at a dinner theater, and the whole thing takes place in a beauty shop, but unfortunately the one I saw didn't feature Dolly Parton and Darryl Hannah.)
Hopefully we will have time for:
7. Bobby
And to watch this week while Nathan is at work:
8. Gilmore Girls Season 3

Summer is here! Well, basically here.

I have five days of school left, and after reading Erika's list of all the stuff she's looking forward to this summer, I had to post my list too.

1. I'm excited about working on my second book, and hearing back from agents on my first.

2. I'm excited about sleeping in. Ahhhh.

3. I'm excited about working on sewing with Jenny. I've always wanted to learn to sew, and Jenny was kind enough to offer to help me.

4. I'm excited about using the gazelle to workout while watching marathons of my favorite shows.

5. I'm excited about meeting Stacy at Epoch or Thunderbird Cafe during the day, and playing this awesome word game called Syzygy. Yes, it's a word game, and if I explain it to you, it won't sound fun. Stacy already agreed to play it with me, and I predict she kicks my you-know-what.

6. I'm excited about going to visit my parents for the 4th of July and the two things on the agenda: laying in the hammock and playing bocce ball.

7. I'm excited about swimming at our apartment pool, and even better--breaking out our pool toys from last year.

I had a relapse.

That's right. Tonight, I fell off the wagon and watched the final four perform on American Idol.
I broke up with Idol months ago, but tonight I was weak. I felt myself giving in, and I couldn't say no.

That, and the only other things on are Dateline, George Lopez, U.S. Poker, Tori and Dean: Inn Love, Cops, and Flavor of Love. I know what you're thinking. Why am I not watching Tori and Dean? Because that's hard-hitting, quality reality television. I know, I know. But it's a rerun and I've already seen it.

What to do if you still haven't heard back about a job you really, really want.

1. Unwrap four Dove dark chocolate pieces. Put in a ramekin.

2. Add a couple of spoonfuls of your favorite peanut butter.

3. Heat in fifteen-second intervals at 50% power in microwave. Stir between each fifteen-second interval.

4. When thoroughly melted, drizzle over a gigantic single scoop of Dreyer's Slow Churned Vanilla ice cream.

5. Ahhhhh. Job? What job?

We'll see.

Because I'm not so sure I'm going to get the job at the new school that I reeeeaaaalllly want. The interview went pretty well. They were poker-faced for the most part, so it was hard to tell.

I should know for sure before May 1. I hope to find out before that, like in the next week or so. I know they're on a fast timeframe, and if I have to wait the full two weeks to find out, I might lose it. I know that I have so much to offer, but I also might not be the most "attractive candidate." For example, I don't have my masters, I've taught for under 10 years, I've only taught in two different districts, stuff like that. I hope they can see through all that to my strengths.

I also found out in the interview that over 100 teachers applied for a transfer within the district alone, not to mention anyone coming in from out of the district or out of the state. I looked up the available positions, and it looks like they need to hire between 20 and 25 people, with about three different positions that I could be offered. You do the math.

I feel a little discouraged, but I still think I have a chance. If I don't get in this year, I do plan to try next year. But for moment, I'm still trying to think positive. Because you never know.

Things are good.

Very, very good.

1. The dogs are better, and running around playing Growl Game like nothing ever happened.

2. I got another request for the first 20 pages of my manuscript, which I am sending out tomorrow. This request came from a long-established literary agency in New York, (which represented John Steinbeck!), and when I read the request letter, I started crying.

3. On Saturday, I have an interview for a teaching position at another school here in Austin, and if I land it, I will pretty much consider it my dream job. Other than writing full time. So I guess it would be my dream teaching job. I don't want to say anything else about where it is or anything, because I don't want to jinx myself. More on that later.

4. We bought a "Gazelle" on Craigslist about a week ago. You've seen the infomercials, I'm sure. It's that gliding workout machine with that crazy dude Tony Little, who says, "You can do iiiiiit!" We've used it every single day since we picked it up. I like it because it's fun. Nathan likes it because it doesn't strain his back. We both like it because we can workout inside. If you've ever spent a summer in Texas, you know that cardio outdoors is not for the weak of heart.

5. The infamous TAKS test is coming up not this week, but next, and I feel ready for it. Or rather, I feel my kids are ready for it.
After the test, it's a mad rush to summer, which is always a beautiful thing.

Another two responses from agents today in the mail.

One said, "I'm sorry. I must pass." Which was at least handwritten. I appreciate that.

One said, "If you have not already secured representation, we would be pleased to consider your manuscript for possible representation." I am SO happy right now. I am grinning. I'm even breaking my diet to have a celebratory pale ale. Nathan made delicioso meatballs and both my dogs are healthy and happy. Did I mention that I'M happy for that matter?

Still stuck.

That's me. Stuck. Trying to revise the end of my book as suggested by my hopefully-would-be agent.

It's not working.

I'm tired.
And also sick.
Not the normal "sick and tired" that you've probably heard a teacher or parent speak of, oh no. I mean tired and sick.
The tired is from not sleeping more than 2-3 hours at a time because of Maisy, our still-new puppy. She has taught me that even if you sleep as many as nine hours in a single night, you can still feel like a zombie.

On to the sick.
I have something. I don't know what it is. It feels like a mash-up of the flu with a sinus infection I had two years ago. Add in massive allergies, like those hazy people in the Claritin commercials. Only the really annoying thing is that I'm not that sick. I'm just sick enough to feel like crap if I go to work, but bored if I stay home. This pretty much sucks. I hope that whatever I have, it's the 24-hour stuff.

Thank you to Nathan for pointing out that I can use my bored sick day tomorrow to work on revisions.

Violet...the Lost Chapter

So, an update. I am not done with my first book. I thought I was. I am already hard at work on the second book. But that's beside the point.

The agent who asked to see my whole manuscript really likes it. She also really likes the idea of a series, BUT she still thinks the end of my book needs to be more fleshed out. I can see her point, but it's frustrating, to put it lightly. I keep telling myself, SHE is the expert. And maybe I'm too close to the material to really see the whole picture. And Nathan and I did agree that the end was like a mad dash. (I mean, you should have seen my first draft, it defined the expression "bare bones.") And while some things can be left up in the air, it still needs to feel resolved. It may be one part of a series, but it should still feel like a complete book. Duh.

Soooooo, all that to say, I am writing the lost chapter of Violet. Not a chapter that I intend to tack onto the end of the book, oh no. I'm strategically writing it as the next to last chapter, and keeping my final chapter pretty much as is. I hope that my first draft will be done by the end of this week, and then I can send a revised ending to the aforementioned agent.

This is quite a process. Have I already said that?

More good news for Violet.

Today I got an email from my potential agent who said that she loves my manuscript (yay!) but that it's not done (well, true!) and she asked me to think about writing 2-3 chapters to complete the book.
I sent her back an email that apologized for neglecting to mention (oops!) that I'm planning this as the first installment in a series.
I also told her that I'm working on my second book, which (thank goodness!) I've already begun.

I'll let you guys know what she says from there. She might not be interested, but I'm thinking good thoughts and listening to lots of Beyonce.

I'm partway through Steven King's On Writing,

which is one of the best, if not THE BEST, book I've read on the subject. Until this morning, when I came upon a terrifying suggestion from Mr. King. (It has nothing to do with the genre of horror, either.)

He strongly suggests that I stop watching TV if I want to get serious about being a writer. I repeat, STOP watching TV.

I have a list of reasons why I should continue to watch TV on a regular basis. I mean, doesn't TV give me material for my writing? Shouldn't I stay updated on current events, not to mention have exposure to teenage cultural icons, which I need if I'm going to keep writing young adult fiction???

Maybe.

But I have to admit, Mr. King makes a good point. If I devoted all the time I spend watching TV every week to reading and writing, I would probably be twice as productive.

But I also know me. And I know that I can't give TV up completely. So I made another list. This is a list of the TV shows I'm going to watch. The only ones I will watch from now on:
1. The Sarah Silverman Program (So funny, so politically incorrect, I love it.)
2. The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency (I know, I know... But I'm totally addicted.)
3. Whatever "Top" show happens to be on (Top Design, Top Chef, Project Runway, etc.)
4. The Simpsons (which will give me more than enough cultural fodder, plus come on, it's genius.)
5. Best Week Ever (which will also fill me in on the best moments from all the reality shows I'm not watching anymore!)

You don't see American Idol listed here, because it comes on three nights a week and sometimes runs for two hours at a time and is (in the words of Lelaina Pierce) a "Master at the Art of Time Suckage."
If I really want to know the status of my favorites, like Melinda Doolittle, I can check the website to see if they make it to the next round. So I'm quitting Idol. We had a good thing going--while it lasted. But it just wasn't meant to be.

I also want to say right here and now that I reserve the right to swap shows, like if one of my selected programs ends a season, or gets cancelled. But I WILL agree to replace it with another show of the same length, be it a 30-minute show or an hour-long show, or if we ever get HBO again, sometimes they have weird lengths, like 42 minutes or something.

I know I may stray from my commitment, but I feel good about it. One thing I probably should have done is wait until AFTER spring break to make this decision, but oh well. Think how far I'll get in my second book. I already have the first page, but not much else. More on that later.

In other news, the agent (who I've given an exclusive) will receive my full manuscript in the next few days. Then, she has two weeks to decide if she wants to represent me and shop me to a publisher. I'll let you know the news as soon as I find out. Keep your fingers crossed!

Awhile back, Erika "tagged" me.

She confessed six weird things about herself, and then asked six other people to confess weird things about themselves. This was a little like a chain letter, which I normally am against. But, it's Erika, who I love, and so I'm going to participate. Also, Nathan and Stacy already wrote their lists, and I don't want to be left out.

Six weird things about me:
(And I know there are way more than six, because I'm so neurotic, but here are six off the top of my head.)

1. I'm a loud chewer (according to Nathan) Don't misunderstand. I know my manners, and I chew with my mouth closed. But Nathan insists that I'm a loud chewer.

2. I either squeal or gasp in pleasure when I see SJP on TV. This reaction is totally involuntary, and it even happens when I see her in a commercial for crappy hair color.

3. Sometimes when I'm alone, I pretend that someone famous (like Oprah) is interviewing me about my book, and I answer her questions out loud.

4. My most comfortable way to sleep is flat on my back, with my arms at my sides, like a total Stepford wife or something.

5. I can spell most difficult words, but mess up on really easy ones, making the same mistakes I've made since elementary school. Some examples include: monthes, calander, and tons of words that end in "tion" because I mix it up with "sion," like extention. I spell check everything and use my dictionary widget on a daily basis.

6. I always save the very last message on my phone from Nathan, even if it's just a message about DVRing Battlestar Galactica, on the off chance that something tragic might happen to him. I'm really bad about doing this when he goes out of town. I'm typically not a morbid person. Well, except for this one thing.