Ode to Joy (a video and a list)

Yes, another Muppet video made by a very close friend... if you have a minute, feel free to watch (and give it five stars, and all that jazz.)



Sometimes the best way to get happy is to remember what you have in your life to feel grateful for. Back when I used to hate my job (not the dog show, a previous job), if I had a really terrible day, on my drive home, I would force myself to find something to be grateful for. You know, like having a job to hate. Getting a paycheck. The whole "until I met a man with no feet" philosophy.

Let's give it a try, shall we? I present my own little Joy List.

(1) For the first time in a long time, I'm eating healthy and working out on a regular basis, and I'm actually getting my body back. When I say that, I partly mean "my respect for my body". There was nothing wrong with me (physically, ha ha) that couldn't be hidden with an empire-waist shirt and maybe a new pair of jeans. But that was a Band-Aid, and what I really needed was to work a little at getting to where I wanted to be. And now I'm working, and it's... working.

(2) Though the squirrels and I remain locked in an epic battle for control of the peaches, we actually do have peaches--and they're edible, too. They're sweet and juicy and absolutely the smallest peaches I've ever seen. If they weren't fuzzy, I'd think they were some other fruit. So even though every second peach has squirrel toothmarks in it, and there are nibbled-on peaches left all over the backyard (some cruel attempt at mockery on the squirrels' part), I'm still happy we have peaches.

(3) I have a wonderful family made up of dear people who are very smart and funny and artistically talented.

(4) I have an awesome little dog who loves me and makes me smile. Even if he's bored and kind of a pill this week, owing to the fact that the vet did an x-ray last week and discovered that there was a disc being compressed in his back, and ordered up a week of rest--which means, no jumping, even onto and off of the sofa, and no long walks or other exercise, and no going up or down stairs. Did I mention my house is on a hill? My house basically is a hill. We have lots of stairs. So Winston's actually contributing to my workouts by giving me a 20-pound weight to heft around. We go back to the vet tomorrow.

(5) Audiobooks. No, seriously. I am loving my audiobooks. I have a monthly subscription to Audible.com, where I pay something like $22 and get two downloads a month. Audiobooks are the perfect while-sewing entertainment. They're also good for the commute, although the ones with British accents tend to put me to sleep. ;-)

So that's my list. What's on your Joy List these days?

And this is why we wear bicycle helmets.

So I'm driving home this evening, talking to the husb via a handsfree device (of course), when I get a sense of a vague traffic disruption and see, you know, a bicycle fly up into the air in front of a car.

And this is why we wear bicycle helmets. Because the car that hit the guy actually has his helmet pinned to the ground between the front of the tire and the asphalt.

I say, "OhGodohGod, I just saw someone get hit by a car!" and pull over and hang up and crack the windows for Winston.

Before I stopped my car, I saw him lying on the ground, clearly moving, but head and helmet clearly stuck.

By the time I parked and got out, he was walking around with his bicycle helmet in his hands.

Let's all say this together:

This is why we wear bicycle helmets.

PS - I'm happy to say that in the friendly streets of Los Angeles, this incident attracted about 20 people willing to help. So I got back in the car and drove home, feeling a little less whiny in general about my life.

Hide your disappointment for my dog's sake.

Because today I present... the owl bag!

In a photo essay, narrated by Winston.


I can't believe she's making such a big deal out of this bag.


I mean, so it has an owl on it--who cares? It's not even comfortable to sit on!


Mother says I have to mention the three owls on the other side and the long strap for wearing shoulder-to-hip across the body.


For this you kept everyone in suspense for a week?


My mother is so embarrassing sometimes.

Oho, you clever Brits! (& garden adventures)

(Pre-P.S. - Did you see my big news?)

Intrigued by the title of this article ("Why Dying Is Forbidden in the Arctic") by Duncan Bartlett, I went ahead and read it. It's a cute little profile of a small town in Norway--discussing everything from the answer to the titular question to the ever-present threat of polar bears.

And even though it's a spoiler, I have to quote it, because it cracked me up:

If you are unarmed when you encounter a bear, toss your mittens on the snow in the hope of distracting it.

But if you see it snap its teeth with a smacking sound, it is readying for a kill.

At which point, I suppose, you could try reminding the bear that it is forbidden to die in Longyearbyen and hope it shows respect for local law.

Well, it is Day 4 in the Owl Bag Suspense Vigil, and still no sign of the search for the digital camera. The problem is, I think I remember where I left it, but it isn't there, and now I'm too lazy to keep looking. Am I being too honest? The owl bag isn't getting any dirtier or anything, so it should be all good.

The husb and I are trying to eat healthier, and as such, today I'm going to harvest some of my speckled butter lettuce and make little tuna wraps for lunch. This is assuming many things: (1) that the squirrels haven't eaten it, (2) that it tastes reasonably good, (3) that it hasn't withered and died in a heat wave. However, if all of those assumptions are true, it will be a true moment of triumph, since I grew the butter lettuce from seed and it actually seemed to be thriving, last time I checked.

I can be so lax because we ingeniously moved all the potted plants to the stairs, so the sprayover from the automatic sprinklers waters them, and I kind of stay out of it. The plants really do much better without me. It's kind of pitiful. For instance, the first thing I tried to grow was bell peppers, from seed. None of them really took. But my mint seemed to be thriving, which was nice. Until I noticed that the mint wasn't mint--it was a bell pepper seed that sprouted brilliantly behind my back and grew enormous. (Still no peppers, but I have hope.)

See, some of these things really demand photos. Guess I'd better look for the camera. Shoot. (No pun intended!)

Happy Monday!

[Edited update: the squirrels did get to the lettuce. But they didn't destroy it. They just nibbled a corner of every piece, to make sure none of it was poisoned. Which was very kind of them. So I'm going to eat it anyway, and just cut off the nibbled bits.]

A big news day!

In big news...

I'm excited to announce that I'm part of a great group blog for debuting authors--The Debutante Ball! I've been a fan of the debs since their very first book release in 2007, and I'm excited to be the first YA author on the roster.

Here's the link to the official announcement: Announcing the Debutante Ball Class of 2009

So starting in early September, I'll be posting there every Tuesday on a variety of topics. Please join me there. It's a fun group, very interactive. Even as a commenter, I was welcomed from the day I started posting, which was neat. And my fellow 2009 debutantes have some amazing books coming out. I'm honored that my little ghost story is part of the mix.

I also get to be the techie gal, which for some reason has me slightly geeked (that's a good thing).

Also in big news, you can now pre-order BAD GIRLS DON'T DIE on Amazon.com!

Buy it at Amazon.com

Buy it at Amazon.ca (for the Canucks)

I'll announce other outlets and add the link to the "purchase" page as it appears (Powell's, B&N, Borders, etc.).

Can I take this opportunity to remind you to check out the shopping page at GoodSearch? It's called GoodShop, and you select a charity from their list and then click the link to whatever site you wish to shop from. (Amazon and B&N are definitely included.) A great opportunity to give something back.

In small news:

* Winston is fine. Not 100% fine, but when does that ever happen? Yesterday at the beach, he was maniacally chasing his frisbee and he landed funny or pulled something and acted like his left leg was totally lame for about 10 seconds. I scooped him up and ran him back to my friend's house, and by the time we got there, he was fine. Apparently this sometimes happens to couch potato dogs who chase things maniacally. The only thing he was upset about was having to leave the beach. He did recover well enough to win the "tricks" contest at obedience class. Represent!

* Still no digital camera, and therefore no owl bag. I'm getting worried that this owl bag is waaay overhyped, LOL. I should probably embellish it or Bedazzle it. (I was going to add a link to a Bedazzler website, but the official site immediately starts playing a horribly loud video, and I can't do that to you.) For Mary Whitsell: a Bedazzler is a small contraption used by people who feel their clothing needs more rhinestones.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

k.

Owl bag and Superdog

This will be quick, since I'm late for work (as usual--just kidding, bosses, if you're reading this... uh... heh).

I told Adrienne I'd post pictures of my new owl tote that I made. This is a great tote. I used a couple of new techniques to sew it, and it's a very useful bag--assuming you can be vigilant about not tipping it over, because it's fairly shallow for how big it is.

Sadly, I can't find the digital camera, so the photos are going to have to wait.

In other news, Winston decided to play Superdog on the 4th of July. He took a flying leap off a 5 1/2 foot retaining wall and landed chin-first on a small cement curb around a planting bed. Needless to say, he was whisked off to the emergency vet, where he was determined to be fine. He still seems a little sore. He's on an anti-inflammatory. I haven't yet taken him back out to the yard to see if he's acquired a sensible fear of heights (or at least leaps). I guess I'll get to that before too long.

Other than that, I'm revising like a maniac (Project X) and enjoying So You Think You Can Dance. Now I can add "look for the digital camera" to the list.

Happy Thursday, all!

PS - Have you seen this video? It gave me the happies.

Hands off!

Happy Independence Day to my fellow USA'ers!



You may or may not have heard that California recently enacted a handsfree-only rule for cell phones in cars. I've never been much of a cell phone-in-car user, so this news wasn't particularly devastating to me. In fact, I found it pretty darn exciting. I think everyone in the world has had the experience by now of being nearly sideswiped, run off the road, or stranded in the middle of an intersection due to the thoughtless driving of someone with a cell phone glued to his/her ear.

Finally! A relief from the tyranny of the attention-impaired.

Tuesday morning started off auspiciously, as I passed several drivers who apparently hadn't heard the news, chatting happily away on their cell phones.

I also passed several drivers who, being forced to hang up and drive, had found other uses for their time--putting on makeup, eating breakfast, searching through their purses, reading the paper...

After a while, I began to wonder if I had been imagining how many drivers really did use cell phones in their cars, before the ban was enacted. Because it seemed so natural NOT to see everyone around me with phone pressed to ear. Could there really have been a time when every other car featured a Chatty Cathy? When my driving experience had been so impeded by my fellow drivers' carelessness?

Can anyone guess where I'm going with this?

Here's the thing--with the cell phone drivers gone, I discovered a new, possibly even more dangerous type of driver on the road:

Me.

The driver who wants to know who's still talking on the phone. Who's breaking the rules? You? That guy? That lady over there?

Yes, I craned my neck, sped up and slowed down, abused my rearview mirrors, and generally put everyone in as much danger as if I had been carrying two cell phones and talking on both of them at the same time.

I'm not proud of myself. And as the week went on, I forced myself to mind my own beeswax and keep my eyes on the road.

But I thought you should be warned: the nosey drivers are on a rampage!