The hot list: week of May 23-30

All right, I’m tired of big fancy magazines telling me what’s in and out when I could be proclaiming those things for myself.

IN:
* The American Idol finale. Especially Christina Aguilera! Way to show ‘em, Christie! I mean, seriously, she took over the stage.
* The So You Think You Can Dance premiere. YAYAYAYAYAY! Love that show so much.
* Sneaking over to Pinkberry when you go to the grocery store.
* The video game “Plants vs. Zombies.” Completely addictive.
* Reading, reading, reading–always reading!
* Running into friends at the fabric store.
* Finally finding a taker for my overstimulating baby quilts.

OUT:
* Little Sis running down a mountain hiking trail and ganking up her ankles.
* The rude lady in our neighborhood who still drives WAY too fast, even when everyone asks her not to.
* Books that have tons of weird, forced metaphors (“His voice was like a half-peeled banana”).
* Bullying parents fundraising for the local school by threatening to boycott local businesses.
* Alice Cooper and Paul Abdul on the Idol finale… just so wrong.
* Getting barked at incessantly.
* Being late for everything (including right now, when I am supposed to be getting ready to go).

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

May 29th, 2010

7 Quick Takes Friday

We’ve made it to Day 5 of 31 Days of Blogging at Least on the Weekdays or Else! Hurray, hurray! Thanks to everyone who’s dropping by to read and/or comment. Blogging is just another one of those things that feels impossible when you aren’t doing it–like exercise or sticking to your writing quotas.

Today, I’m going to borrow a meme from half the blogosphere and do seven quick takes.

— 1 —

So, you know how I’ve been whining all week about my stomach? Well, it turns out I’m not as plain-old-whiny as we all thought. I found out last night that my new salad dressing, which I’ve been using every day, is part of the FDA salmonella recall. My relief that I’m not just whiny is tempered by the sad fact that I’ve been flirting with food poisoning all week. Ironically, Little Sis actually dropped the jar yesterday, almost destroying it. (She’s such a hero.) But I foiled her efforts to save me by making her put it all in a plastic container.

— 2 —

Did you watch The Office last night? It was pretty funny. Not the best episode. Maybe because so much of it took place outside of the office itself, the pacing seemed a little off. But we were LOL’ing at the lactation consultant and the part with the other baby. And that’s all I’ll say, in case you haven’t seen it!

— 3 —

In my efforts to finish a quilt that I’m making for a baby who was born in November (time management issues? Me? Never!), I’m attempting to make my own bias tape using the continuous method. Alas, this only makes you the wide strip that you then have to iron into bias tape–almost twenty feet of it, for this project–but you get to use your own fabric, unlike buying premade stuff from the store. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Update: FAIL. Back to the drawing board (or the fabric store).

— 4 —

Last night, my cell phone rang with a blocked number. When I said hello, a guy said, all soft and romantic, “Hey, you.” And I was like, “Hello?” and he was like, “Hey, you.” And I was like, “I think you have the wrong number.” And he was like (in a normal voice), “Oh, sorry.” So then at 3 a.m., my phone rings again and I pick it up and say, “Hello?” and I hear, “Hey.” And I’m like, “No, it’s just me again.” And he’s like, “Oh, sorry.”

First of all, woe betide the young lady this guy is actually trying to reach. At 3 a.m.! There is only one reason to call someone all Hey-you-style at 3 a.m.–but I do applaud his consistency. Although I hope he doesn’t call me anymore.

— 5 —

A couple of months ago, I got this grand notion that I wanted to start seeing lots more movies. I totally planned to be educated on the Oscar nominees. But I’m not. I’ve only seen about two of them. So I’m not even sure I’m going to watch the show this year, although eating cheeseburgers and watching the Oscars is one of my most cherished (though admittedly least meaningful) traditions.

— 6 —

Happy birthday to my wonderful father! I’m sure he doesn’t read my blog, but I wanted to put it out there anyway.

— 7 —

And we’ll finish with…

The Daily Plah: Day 5
Currently reading: The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong, and Unclutter Your Life in One Week by Erin Rooney Doland, who is part of the mahvelous Unclutterer blog
Song of the day: All the Pretty Horses, sung by Laura Gibson… kind of haunting. Fits my writing mood.
Book 2 progress: Coming along. No impressive page numbers for you yet, but it’s progressing, I promise!
Other notable facts: No notable facts. Move along!

3 comments March 5th, 2010

And for my next trick, I will undisappear

Okay, I’m resolving RIGHT NOW that I am going to blog every day–at least every weekday–for the month of March.

(Cut to: March 18th post apologizing for not blogging. No, no! Mustn’t think that way!)

To be honest, I don’t expect the blogosphere to be hanging on my every word (although if you were, I would use a lot of delicious words like “mellifluous” to reward you), but I myself could use a little bit of public accountability as I tackle my revisions for book 2. So, here goes Day 1 of my official… 31 Days of Blogging at Least on the Weekdays or Else effort.

If you stick around, you will find that I am going to give away prizes, etc., and tell a lot of amusing stories about my dog. Which is TOTALLY worth it, right?

…Right?

Well, let’s see if we can have a good time, anyway.

Today’s post will be about one thing I am doing right this year: reading more. And I mean a LOT more. To paraphrase Stephen King, part of your job as a writer is to read a lot. Since in 2009, I read only a miserly 24 books, I decided that 2010 would be a 40-book year. Now it seems like it is shaping up to be a 60-70 book year, and I am pleased as punch. Not only because I love setting random goals and meeting them, but because I am reading some fabulous stuff and it has me very excited.

I urge you to befriend me on GoodReads and then you will be able to see what kind of reading I’m up to. My basic rule is not to read the same type of book twice in a row–no two YA books, no two memoirs, no two pop pscyhology books or women’s fiction or what-have-you. It keeps things varied and keeps me moving through the bookshelves.

So without further ado, here is the list of books I finished in 2010, as of yesterday:

1. Jane-Emily, by Patricia Clapp
2. The Shipping News, by E. Annie Proulx
3. The Lucky Guide to Mastering Any Style: Creating Iconic Looks and Making Them Your Own by Kim France
4. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: And Six More, by Roald Dahl
5. Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, by Michael Pollan
6. Child of My Heart, by Alice McDermott
7. Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers: An Intimate Journey among Hasidic Girls, by Stephanie Wellen Levine
8. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous (actually by editor Beatrice Sparks)
9. Lucia, Lucia, by Adriana Trigiani
10. Wasteland, by Francesca Lia Block
11. Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I’ve Learned, by Alan Alda
12. Silver Phoenix: Beyond The Kingdom of Xia, by Cindy Pon
13. Twenty Boy Summer, by Sarah Ockler
14. The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin
15. Unhooked, by Laura Sessions Stepp
16. Beautiful Creatures, by Kami Garcia and Margie Stohl

Look! Look at all them books! I am very proud of myself, not to mention enjoying my reading project immensely.

Now here is some information I’ll include every day. For lack of a better word springing to mind, I will call it “The Daily Plah”, as in, “You know, that word, plah, what word am I thinking of?”

The Daily Plah: Day 1
Currently reading: Wicked Lovely, by Melissa Marr
Book 2 starting point (as I cannot report progress as I have not yet started working today): page 34
Other notable facts: Household has reached critically low levels of clean clothing, clean dishes, and food. Will probably have to do something about this, especially as the husb has resorted to eating MY yogurt since he’s all out.

Happy Monday! See you tomorrow!

7 comments March 1st, 2010

2009: a year in review

Number of books read: 25; 4 audiobooks, 21 regular books (sad, sad, sad — must do better in 2010!)

Number of books published: 1

Number of dog shows produced: 3

Number of dogs snurgled during production of said dog shows: 40 bazillion

Number of trips to New York: 2 (heaven!)

Number of times I drove my car into my garage wall and very nearly into my kitchen: 1

Number of times somebody else drove their car into my car: 1

Number of inches away from my car some lady stopped, which would have made it three times to the body shop in 2 months: 6

Number of Chuck Norris one-liners conceived of in dream state: 1 (“Chuck Norris is so tough that when he turned 18, the Army joined him.”)

Number of new beds purchased in hopes of gaining some square footage for myself: 1

Amount of increase space, in square feet: 0

Amount of wasted space in the middle of the bed, as Winston edges me off the side, in square feet: 12

Ratio of sewing machine breakdowns to number of sewing machines owned: 3:2

New songs purchased this year: 216

Most-played new song (25 times, according to iTunes): Adam Lambert’s “Mad World”

Most-played song of all (81 times, according to iTunes): “Work” by Jars of Clay

Number of husbands who will lose their minds if I don’t go upstairs and start chopping lettuce: 1

Cheers, everyone! Happy New Year! And thanks for the good wishes.

k.

6 comments January 3rd, 2010

8 Short Statements About New York

I’m blogging over at The Debutante Ball today. Come tell us what makes you feel lucky!

Now, here is a short list of observations gleaned on this current trip upon which I am embarkenized.

1. Even though wearing athletic sneakers is said to be a really touristy thing to do, when you walk like 5 miles a day, you need good footwear. Plus, if a kid zooms by you on a scooter in Central Park and you have to run after him because his mom is pushing a stroller, you have to be able to move at a speed commensurate with that of a kid on a scooter.

2. It is surprising how you can be running after a child and yell, “Stop that kid!” to a bunch of people and they will just stare at you as he heads toward an intersection.

3. (The kid was fine.)

4. You get really good at jaywalking after a few days here. And I am not a jaywalker at home. Like, NOT not. Actually, that would be a double negative, so NOT NOT not.

5. This city is amazing, and there is always something or someone to look at. That makes walking here a complete pleasure.

6. If you have a good map, the subways are not hard to master. Just make sure you have a good map.

7. The dogs here are very cute and almost universally well behaved. I have said hi to probably nine Cavaliers, and by “said hi to,” I mean, knelt down and let them lick my chapstick off (hey, that stuff is delicious to dogs).

8. Since my own dear Winston is not with me, I cannot post a photo of him. But I can post a picture of the toy we bought for him. He’s like a little kid who knows his parents brought him something–he loves to get his present after we return from being out of town.

So shh–don’t tell him!

Happy Tuesday, everybody!

k.

PS – If you missed it yesterday and aren’t visiting the Debutante Ball today, please check out the BAD GIRLS DON’T DIE book trailer!

6 comments March 17th, 2009

The good (minus the bad and the ugly).

A while back, Amber mentioned Good Medicine, a crafty project headed up by a very nice woman named Shelly Tucker. The basic idea is that she wants to hand out little charm bags to kids at a camp for children with cancer and their siblings. Shelly is looking for more bags and more charms, so please check out that link for more info. If you visit her Flickr group, you can even see the bags I made.

Anyway, I’ve kept up with Shelly’s blog since then, and today I saw that she has a weekly theme post called Only the Good Friday, and she urged her readers to spread the love.

So I thought I would do so, just a little. It’s been a while since I made a Joy List, so let’s have a go.

(1) I have a new car. It’s a green Prius, and I dig it. My nightmarish LA commute is exactly the commute the makers of this car had in mind. I go about 10 miles per hour, stopping and starting. It’s a lot more fun to go 10 miles an hour when your little mileage readout says, “99.9 mpg” the whole time. Winston likes the new car, too. Except the beeping sound it makes when you reverse. But he’ll get over that.

(2) A while back, a good friend gave us a treadmill she got from another friend but never used. In a fit of “what were we thinking?”, we moved it outside in June. Then in July we started working out, and have been sort of regretting putting the poor treadmill outside. So we finally moved it back in and had it tuned up. Now I can work out without going to the grody, crowded gym! This is important, because I have to fit into my suit by the time our big show rolls around, December 13. I’m about 5 pounds away… but as we all know, 5 pounds might as well be 50 when you’re not wearing stretch fabrics.

(3) We have started putting Winston in his crate when we eat. It makes it much more relaxing to eat, because having a puppy sticking his head under your arm and trying to eat the food off your fork makes dinnertime a little more suspenseful than I care for. He has taken to it very well, and it is completely adorable how he knows what it means when I say, “Kennel up!”

(4) I don’t know if it’s the exercise/endorphins or what, but I am just a bouncing ball of happy today. Part of it might be that I’m back at work. I love my job.

And to wrap it all up, my favorite dance number from this past season of So You Think You Can Dance.

8 comments November 7th, 2008

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?

6 comments July 24th, 2008

It’s aliiiiive!

So I’ve basically worn an indentation in the office chair today, getting the new design all ready to go. I guess it comes with the obsessive personality–I can’t possibly just let something like a web redesign percolate for a few days.

Some pages are still inactive, and I’ve found a few spots where links need tweaking, etc. Please let me know if you find a bug. Right now, I know the Winston link isn’t working–sorry, Tom! I’ll fix it tomorrow.

So much focus and concentration leaves only enough room in my brain for a list:

SIX THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY:

* The show I Love Lucy. It’s a masterpiece. Half of the episodes leave me laughing so hard I’m in tears. The other night, we watched the one where the actors move in upstairs, and I was in hysterics at the end, much to the non-delight of the husb, who was trying to sleep.

* That Pat Wood was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, which is a veddy veddy prestigious British award, and the winner will be announced tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7:15-7:30 pm (ish) UK time, which for me is late morning, veddy convenient!

* That you don’t have to steam Trader Joe’s Chicken Gyoza–you can microwave them! And it only takes a wet paper towel and two minutes! How did I miss that for so many years?

* That my asparagus is in fine form, a hilariously skinny and tall first stalk that is now getting some detail.

* That I finally got a replacement sewing machine for my new one that arrived broken–probably dropped in shipment. Which is great, because my old one broke again. D’oh! (Yes, this means I now have two sewing machines. For a week or so, I have had two BROKEN sewing machines. I’m saving the second one for my friends who come over to hang out. I’m not sure I’ll be able to convince them, but having an extra machine is a big step.)

* That So You Think You Can Dance is back on. Ahh, summer!

This is my favorite routine EVER — from last season. It’s perfect!

(Oh, and am I the only person who thinks that movie about the Playboy Bunny who becomes a sorority’s house-mom looks hilarious? I swear, my brain chooses the weirdest movies to get excited about. But heaven help me, I think it looks funny.))

11 comments June 4th, 2008

Tagged by Tom…

Tom has tagged me with a meme to blog about blogs I enjoy reading. To begin with, why don’t you hop on over to see him? He posts very interesting things along with occasional links to quizzes that teach you strange things about yourself.

I’m going to change things up and spotlight one blog from each “category”. (Yes, I have my RSS feeds all divided up into categories.)

From the category “Crafty”…
Laura of Sew at Sea has been cracking me up lately. I’d say the blog is part sewing, part hilarious self-deprecating humor. And dear Hans puts up with all of it.

From the category “Blogpeeps”…
Maggie of Maggsbunny has a lot going on right now, from being involved in medical trials (with good results, so far!) to getting her (dun dun DUN) driver’s license. She lives in South Africa, so she may prefer the spelling “licence”, but I’m not sure. I do know 100% that people in South Africa have to wear gravity shoes to keep from falling off the planet, seeing as how they’re upside down and all. Maggie has yet to blog about her gravity shoes.

From the category “Pub”…
The Debutante Ball is a website for debut authors. That’s where I met many of the wonderful women on my blogroll–women like Eileen Cook.

From the category “Writers”…
Therese of Making it up
I think I met Therese because Miss Snark linked to her at some point…? Anyway, her blog is always fun and interesting and full of great info for writers. Unlike my advice, which mostly concerns which color of shoes to wear so as not to clash with your MacBook Air, Therese dispenses useful and interesting advice about words and story.

So, there you go. TAG! Actually, I can’t really tag a group blog like The Debutant Ball, but at least they’ll feel the love.

In other news… If you’re looking for spring (okay, late winter) reading material, might I suggest the debut novels of aforementioned authors Therese and Eileen… (These images conveniently link to Amazon.com for you.)

5 comments February 23rd, 2008

Katie Alender’s Practical Rules For Writers

Yeah, that’s right. I’m doling out writing advice. But none of that foo-foo writing advice that’s actually about the words. No, my friends, this is about the writing.

Advisement #1: Get a little notebook, and take it everywhere.
Everyone has done the thing where you’re going on with your daily life, and then it hits you: the perfect convergence of idea, character, setting, situation. The germ from which an influenza of literature will spring forth. “When you know, you know,” and you, my genius friend, know–this idea is the best. idea. ever.

Then later, when you get home, you don’t have the faintest idea what your idea was.

A small notebook will fix that for you. You can use your notebook for everything writing-related–and NOTHING not writing-related. No grocery lists, phone numbers, pulling pages out to dispose of your chewed-out Fruit Stripes gum. ONLY stuff about writing. Turn to this notebook every time you have anything to jot down about current and future progress, and you will eventually have a handy-dandy little nugget of fascinating notes and story ideas.

Advisement #2: Only write in this notebook with ink that will not bleed if it gets wet.
You think I’m kidding? I learned this the hard way, by taking a notebook that had four pages of snippety ideas from a mass brainstorming session and dunking it in the pool, only to find that of my four pages, all I had left was a faint blue wash and one lame bullet point I’d written with a ballpoint pen when I went to the kitchen.

Which leads us to our next point–

Advisement #3: Don’t write when you’ve been drinking.
If you are under 21, don’t drink at all. If you are over 21, don’t drink when you need to write. At best, it will be just fine. At middle, it will be a hilarious pageful of typos and bizarre phrasing. And at worst, you will come to see yourself as one of those special, romanticized self-destructive authors who can only work when they’ve downed a few pomatinis.

Note to crafters who are reading this: this advisement also applies to sewing. At best, you sew the sleeve on inside out and the neckline shut. At worst, you sew your pinky to the neckline.

Advisement #4: Get some reading glasses, preferably with a light tint (I like pink).
This profession is brutal on your eyeballs. Staring at a computer all day is the ocular equivalent of jogging barefoot on concrete. Eventually, something’s going to give out. Delay this by investing in a nice pair of reading glasses (and not the ones in the drugstore endcap). Your friendly neighborhood optometrist should have good quality ones with non-distorting lenses for about $20. A light tint (which most optometrists can do for you on the spot for like $10) will ease the burden even more.

And as a plus, when you are in your writing haze but need to get up and grab a glass of Kool-Aid, leaving your glasses on will keep the world slightly blurry and keep you from noticing things like the pile of laundry waiting to be folded, thereby allowing you to get the Kool-Aid, bypass the chores, and go right back to writing.

Advisement #5: Just do it.
Outlining and character development are all well and good, but you can really shoot yourself in the foot with all that stuff. When you’re feeling excited about a new project, it’s natural to make little lists of characters and outlines, but if you aren’t careful you can expend all of your enthusiasm making giant lists of foods your characters like and dislike.

There is such a thing as overplanning, and I would say the rule of thumb is this: when you know enough about your characters and story to write the next chapter, stop making notes and write the next chapter. It’s a lot easier to find a way to get from Chapter 23 to Chapter 24 than to have an entire notebook of scribblings and try to start Chapter 1.

All of that buildup puts tremendous pressure on you. The part of your brain that makes lists is not the same part that writes stories. They are friends, but they do not go to the same parties or like the same music. And if you stick with Mr. List too long, Mr. Writing is going to take one look at Mr. List’s year of planning and run screaming from the room. Because no matter what Mr. Writing does, Mr. List will be hovering over his shoulder saying, “You can’t do that! I know it’s what feels natural, but look at my brilliant outline! Caroline can’t possibly meet Jorge at the grocery store on page 16, because the whole book hinges on their meeting at the laundromat on page 24!” And he’s right, of course. So what does Mr. Writing do when faced with this dilemma? He gets up from the computer and watches Oprah while Mr. List gloats about being right.

Advisement #6: Chances are, you’re going to have to sacrifice something.
When I am busy with a book, I don’t exercise. This is because, due to my schedule, my morning exercise time and my morning writing time are an either-or partnership. I write OR I work out. So here’s where your priorities come in. Decide what you really want, and go for it. However, chances are you can find ways to compromise. For instance, since I can’t work out in the morning, I take the dog all the way around the block instead of just up and down the little grass strip when I take him out. And I try to eat a little better.

Advisement #7: Your first draft does not have to be publishable.
It’s not supposed to be. It’s a first draft. Yes, there is always a sense of “hurry hurry hurry” with writing, especially when you have an idea that you’re afraid may be bubbling up somewhere else in the market. But you’re not doing yourself any favors submitting a hastily underwritten manuscript.

That being said…

Advisement #8: Know when to say when.
This is two-tiered: yes, the first draft is supposed to be crap. BUT–it’s supposed to be crap you’re passionate about. If you find yourself forcing every. single. page, chances are that once you do produce your wonderfully crappy first draft, you are not going to have the slightest interest in revising it. Good writing doesn’t have to flow, but passion for the project should flow.

Second tier, know when to stop revising. Just like overplanning, you can overwork a manuscript. At some point you have to stop grooming your showdog and take it out to compete.

Because…

Advisement #9: Joyless writing shows.
If you aren’t enjoying yourself, or if you’re forcing something, or if you’re taking the manuscript in a direction that feels wrong just because you’re supposed to, readers will pick up on it. Trust me. Double trust me. I read a book once that had the strangest feeling to it, and then I realized that it was evident to me that the author had no fun writing it. None. Zero. And no, I’m not naming names.

Advisement #10: If you own more than five books about writing but have not yet written anything, spend less time at the bookstore and more time writing.
It’s easy to hope that the magical writing book is out there, waiting for you. That, having bought and read this book, you will suddenly be compelled to write your masterpiece, the Great American Novel (but of course you’d never call it that… you’ll wait for reviewers to call it that). You will suddenly be struck with inspiration and insight. Characters will spring from your head like tee-shirts from a cannon.

But here’s the deal. Most books about writing DO have good info, but they are often just repeating info from other books about writing. And one thing ALL books about writing have in common is that while you’re reading a book about writing, you are definitely NOT writing. Because you are reading.

My advice? Pick up Stephen King’s “On Writing” and Brenda Ueland’s “If You Want to Write.” Read them, then log off on Amazon.com and go write something.

******

Okay, now I’m off to actually write something. Happy Saturday!

17 comments February 16th, 2008