Friday, January 30, 2009

More Adventures with Crazy Sleeptalker Guy

Last night as I'm just falling asleep...

me: "Bill, can you roll over onto your side? You're snoring."

Bill: "No I'm not."

me, completely irritated: "What do mean, no you're not? How do you know you're not?"

Bill, starting to get mad: "Because I'm looking right at you." His eyes are closed.

me, completely perplexed: "That doesn't make any sense!!"

Silence.

Bill: "Whatever." Rolls over.

Never a dull moment with this guy, even when he's sleeping.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Secret Revealed

So, remember that highly classified, top secret project I was talking about? Well, it was a job that I was trying for. My cousin works at Cedar Fort, a publishing company in Utah. When she caught wind of a possible job opening for someone not "in house" (i.e. some random stay at home mom with no credentials or writing experience whatsoever) she threw out my name to her boss! The job was for an ad copy/blurb cover editor. I know, come again? Ad copies are the little paragraphs in catalogs (like Seagull and Deseret News) that describe the books being advertised, and cover blurbs are the synopses on the backs of the actual books they publish. I died at just the prospect of having my words published on the backs of real books. Anyway, I knew it was a long shot but I was ecstatic to even have the opportunity to try for it. I wrote four cover blurbs for four actual manuscripts that were going to press in March (this is what I was referring to when I was saying this secret project was taking up so much of my time) and on Tuesday my cousin presented them to her boss. And then I waited to hear.

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You are now reading the blog of Cedar Fort, Inc.'s new ad copy/cover blurb editor!
I seriously am in shock. I cannot believe they hired me, sight unseen, no college education, no degree, no literary experience whatsoever, not even a resume! (Which is really good, since all it would say is "Mom.") My cousin, Jen, is my new hero. She totally took the biggest chance suggesting me, and I owe her....well, something pretty, that's for sure. She had faith in my writing abilities and I love her for that. This has been the biggest boost for me, to know that actual professionals in the writing industry have used words such as "impressed" and "talented" when referring to me. ME!

So the next time you're in a bookstore and flip over a book to read about it on the back, you just may be reading my words! (Oh, and three of the four cover blurbs I wrote as a test, to try to get the job, are going on the books to be published in March!)

Congratulations to me? I think so!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

THIS WEEK IN HOLLYWOOD

Hey, remember this?



Miley Cyrus and boyfriend


Boyfriend: "Check out my arm. When I wear this tighty whitey t-shirt
and hold it like this, I can pretend I have muscles."

Miley: "Oh my gosh, I was totally just thinking the same thing
about my padded push-up bra and this tank! I'm not feeling the
smurf hat, though."

Boyfriend: "What, and you think you look hot with your
farm girl braids? Oh, and Ashton Kutcher called. He wants his hat back."


Victoria Beckham


"Hello? No, I can't hear you, Mum, it's dreadful reception.
I'm just on my way to the lou. You...you can't find your what?
Your fox? No, I haven't seen it, mum, I have no idea where your
fox is. Gotta go, bye Mummy."


Kanye West


Kanye: "I am blowing the roof off this joint in my sneaker/jacket combo."

Guy next to Kanye: "Your shoes are extremely red."

Kanye: "Ain't nobody up in here lookin' as fly as I do, that's fo sho."

Guy: "But...your shoes are....red. You look like you should
be carrying a tiny dog around in a picnic basket."

Kanye: "Fah real, tho, dawg. My outfit's off the hook, right? You feel me?"

Guy:
"Dude, even the guy behind us with the ridiculously large glasses
looks better than you in those red shoes."


Two people from the new 90210 show whose names I don't care about


Girl: "Look at us holding hands and gazing longingly into each other's eyes."

Boy: "Yeah, it's like we're on the show, but we're not."

Girl: "Yeah, cause like, we're a couple in real life, and on the show."

Boy: "Yeah. Cool."

Girl: "Look how adorable you are with your jeans sagged down past your butt,
just like how guys wore them back when the first 90210 was on the air."

Guy: "Yeah, I never see anyone else wear jeans like this anymore, but if it was
cool back then, it has to be cool now, right?"

Girl: "Of course. Dylan and Brenda would be so proud of us right now."


Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo



Hey, Nick. Vanessa.
You gotta let us in on the joke.
What are you laughing about?

Oh, right.

My Mini Me

In her prayer tonight...

"Please bless that no one will get head lice. Please bless that no one will get pink eye. Please bless that no one will get sick at all. Please bless that our house won't catch on fire. Please bless that I won't hear any scary noises so I can't go to sleep. Please bless that I'll only have good dreams, not BAD dreams, only GOOD dreams..."

You think this is bad? You should have heard her prayer the night she first learned about tornadoes.

Monday, January 26, 2009

The Culprit

APPREHENDED:

1 (One)
Container of Black Beans



CITED FOR:
(Including but not Limited to)

-Violation of Private Property
(1 (one) refrigerator and or 1 (one) kitchen)

-Pollution of Natural Resources
(Releasing of foul odor)


TAKEN INTO CUSTODY
Monday, the 26th Day of January
Two Thousand and Nine


DETAINED

for questioning on aforementioned date


TRIAL

denied


EXECUTION

by garbage disposal

Friday, January 23, 2009

Something Is Rotten In The State Of Washington

And it's coming from my fridge. Or my freezer. I can't tell which. They both reek. My kitchen smells like the Bog of Eternal Stench. I have investigated and investigated and I give up. I extracted everything I thought it could possibly be, and I still gag every time I open the fridge door. Which, it turns out, is about 5,932 times a day. You never realize how often you go to your fridge until you almost pass out every time you have to do it. And it's not like the smell goes away once the door is closed. No, it lingers, for at least 3 minutes afterward. My whole kitchen is permeated with the smell of something resembling rotten broccoli. Awesome.

Even my freezer reeks, and it's all...frozen!! How can various clumps of ice smell like a decaying animal carcass? I don't know if the smell is leaking from the fridge to the freezer, or the freezer to the fridge, but either way, if it's spreading from one ridiculously cold enclosed box to the other, it's pretty bad.

This would be cause for anyone to go a little crazy. But for me, it's like my own personal hell. I loathe bad smells. I always have. I know that no one likes bad smells, but I really can't tolerate them. We took a field trip to the humane society my senior year of high school to rescue a dog, so, not only were we in the smelliest building in town, we were in the smelliest room in the smelliest building in town. I don't know which was more overpowering, the urine smell or the wet dog smell. Anywho, I don't remember anything about rescuing that dog. I was concentrating so hard on not throwing up in front of my classmates that I wasn't aware of anything else.

There's a picture of me as a kid at the Woodland Park Zoo, standing there crying. (I can't find said picture, probably because it's in slide form along with the rest of my childhood pictures.) Was I crying because it was time to go home? Was I crying because my mom said I couldn't get a stuffed zebra souvenir? No, I was crying because we were standing next to the horses and the smell of manure was overpowering. So I was bawling. Apparently my parents thought it was funny and saw a Kodak moment.

So you see, my malodorous kitchen is torturing every fiber of my being. My poor husband hears about it every time someone opens the fridge. "FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY WHAT THE FREAK IS IT??!!"

I will find you, mystery odor, I will. And when I do...you and your foul-smelling, offensive smell won't know what hit you.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

V is for Valentine...or Vampire?

Oh. My. Gosh. Look what my ridiculously talented sister-in-law created today. I'm trying to figure out how many people I can get away with sending one to, other than my husband. Want one? (Or ten?) Go here.


Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Today...

Today I got to spend a few hours with Macy, just she and me. This is something that doesn't happen very often. She stayed home from school with a bad cough. While Payson was at preschool, we played some Macy'sopoly (a gift from Aunt Amy)




did some laundry



and cleaned my bedroom. Okay, I cleaned my bedroom, she watched a movie.



(This might not seem like a huge deal to you, but you should have seen it before I cleaned it. Believe me. Amy can vouch for me. There is no "before" picture for a reason.)

Last night I prayed, yet again, to "be a little better and do a little better tomorrow." So this morning I woke up and played with Macy and cleaned my room. We talked and laughed and had quality mommy/daughter time. I felt better, emotionally, than I have in a long time.

As Macy helped me fold the socks, she asked me, "Is it fun to be a mom?"

And today, I didn't hesitate to say yes.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Ocho

I just saw that I was tagged for this a while back by my friend Andrea, so I thought I'd do it. Sorry Andrea, I promise it's only because your blog is private and not in my Google Reader.

8 Favorite Shows:

I don't think I have 8 favorite shows. This will be tough.

1. The Office
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Lost (although it's very close to becoming ix-nayed off my ist-lay, we'll see how the new season is.)
5. American Idol
6. Scrubs
7. Saturday Night Live
8. Survivor (although my stupid dish provider doesn't carry its network anymore, WTC?!)

Ah, look at that, I came up with 8. (I almost put Friends, but it's not on anymore. Still, it's the best.)

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Went to church by myself
2. Took a nap--I know, weird.
3. Went to my mom's for dinner...yum.
5. Watched Flight Plan with Bill (good flick)
6. Wrote a blog post early, early in the morning
7. Read blogs
8. Contemplated on how I can better keep the Sabbath Day Holy.

8 Things I Look Forward to:
1. Reaching my goal weight
2. Spring
3. End of cold/flu season
4. Weekends
5. GNO's
6. Bill being done with school
7. Getting published one day
8. Cuddles from my kids

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Red Robin
2. Olive Garden
3. Red Lobster
4. P.F. Changs
5. Famous Daves
6. Chicos Tacos
7. Taco Bell
8. Pretty much any restaurant

8 Things on My Wishlist:
1. To be healthy and feel like a normal 29 year old.
2. To be content with my life and find joy in the journey
3. To be the wife and mother my family deserves
4. To have a normal amount of fears and deal with them in the normal way
5. To get published
6. To be in a movie one day
7. To have a clean house...always. Who am I kidding, I'd settle for some of the time.
8. To be more secure with myself

8 People I Tag:
1. Whoever
2. Wants
3. To
4. Do
5. This
6. Feel
7. Free
8. To

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Diary of a Night Owl

It's 1:30 am. It's Sunday morning. I have to wake up in five and a half hours to get ready for church. And I am wide awake. Because I took a looooong nap this afternoon (*cough* evening). And my amazing husband let me, and bathed the kids and put them to bed. Now he is asleep and so are the kids and the house is quiet and I feel like this.


But this is when my mind goes crazy. This is when you get the most raw, most real me. So bear with the following ramblings. Everyone knows that coherency after midnight is non-existent.

I did it. I finally did it. I got caught up in my Google Reader. Who knew that when I pledged to read and comment on anyone's blog who commented on mine I would actually end up adding a million blogs to my Google Reader? The ironic part is, the LAST thing I need to be doing is spending MORE time on the computer, specifically, blogging. But I don't care. It is so worth it to be connected to everyone again. And by that I mean all the comments I have been getting.

I have been spending almost all my spare time on a highly classified, top-secret project that I am unbelievably excited about. I cannot tell you what it is, because then I would have to kill you. No, really, I just can't tell you because it is not official yet. I am "trying out" for something, if you will, and am waiting to see if I "get the part." And no, it has nothing to do with acting. Sorry to disappoint. Hopefully in the near future I will have an exciting announcement to make. And no, it has nothing to do with making or having babies. Sorry to disappoint.

So, between a plethora of blogs and top secret projects, there's just no time. No time to clean, no time to get caught up on boring, regular projects that desperately need attention, no time to do laundry (sorry family), no time to play with my new camera, no time to start digital scrapbooking, no time for anything. Even my novel has been on hiatus. :( When did the hours in the day get so short? And will someone PLEASE make me understand that there would be much more of them if I stopped sleeping through so many of them? And also that if I went to bed at a decent hour I might not feel the need to sleep through the day? It's not rocket science, and yet I just can't grasp it.

Anyway, I'd say I'm going to bed now, but it would be a lie, and I try very hard to be honest on my blog. If you see me tomorrow and I look like this


you'll know why.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Bride Wars


I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm not the world's biggest romantic comedy fan. It either has to be extremely romantic or extremely comical for me to really like it. Most try too hard to be both and fail miserably. Others are the fun kind of fluff that put a smile on your face. The kind that have everyone walking out saying "It was cute."

Bride Wars was that kind of movie. It was sweet and amusing and dare I say...heart-warming? I even laughed out loud a few times.

Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson play Emma and Liv, respectively, best friends since childhood. After attending a wedding at The Plaza in June together when they were young, they became obsessed with all things wedding, specifically, getting married at The Plaza in June.

Fast forward fifteenish years later and both are engaged. They promptly book their weddings at The Plaza in June, only to find out later that a mix-up put their weddings on the same day. Once they realize neither is willing to budge on the date or location, they start to sabotage each other in an effort to destroy the other's perfect day. Cue blue hair dye, bronze tanning spray, and pregnancy rumors.

The "big laughs" were not so much. I am never entertained by the parts that are supposed to make me laugh. Apparently one bride tackling another, white tulle flying everywhere, is supposed to have me rolling in the aisles. But the crazy antics they pulled on one another were just a little too unrealistic for me to find humorous. It was the subtle, quick one-liners that had me laughing. In fact, the most laughs came from Kristen Johnston (who, if I'm not mistaken, has lost a TON of weight) as Emma's Maid of Honor.

The light humor was not enough to carry this movie, though. What made me walk away saying, "That was good" was the relationship between the two lead characters. Now, I have to say here that it was definitely a "movie" relationship. How many ten year olds do you know who were exclusive best friends and remain so to this day, as adults? I don't know any. Maybe you do. That would be cool. But I doubt it. I always have a hard time with this. Give me something I can relate to. But, for what it was, it pulled at my heartstrings, and that's saying a lot. A lot. I just about lost it (and we all know that means my eyes were burning and I had a lump in my throat and that's where it came to a screeching halt) during one profound scene that I want to describe but don't want to give away. All I'll say is it involved a mirror and two brides and several sniffles behind me.

Anne Hathaway, who annoyed me to death in her early roles, has become an actress I really like. She was enjoyable to watch as Emma, and actually put some feeling into the role. Kate, on the other hand...something about her just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it's the way she talks. It always sounds like her throat is coated in something thick. Also, is it just me, or was she wearing a wig?

All in all, the few funny parts that made it about half of a funny movie and the few moving parts that made it about half of a tear-jerker, put together, made a up a whole movie that was pretty good. Oh, and it was only PG, which meant it was virtually sex and language-free.

Long Story But Worth The Read

I don't know why I've been so blessed to be the recipient of so many random acts of kindness lately, but it's extremely humbling and I feel like my cup runneth over. I always seek opportunities to serve others who truly need it, hoping that I will be that person that does that one thing that really made a difference for them, that eased their burden in some way. It doesn't happen often, even when the roles are reversed. We always appreciate service, but how often does it really, truly save us? For me, not often. But yesterday's act of service really struck me, because I really think it had to have been divine inspiration.

Yesterday morning I woke up with crazy stomach pains. (Sorry to those of you who have heard about all this, but none of you have heard how it ends.) I'd had them before (it's a little thing I call trapped gas. I'm only telling you this so I don't get a million comments saying I may have this or that and need to get to a doctor right away), but this was the worst. I was doubled over in pain, and after I got Macy out the door I gave Payson free reign of the Xbox (I knew we got that thing for a reason!) and went back to bed. The pain was making me nauseous as well and I knew I had to sleep or I'd be sick.

Some time later (actual amount of time will remain undisclosed) I woke up feeling much better. The pain had localized on my right side (yes, I know, alarm, alarm, appendicitis, but like I said, I've had it before and thought appendicitis and it went away. Plus, it wouldn't have gotten better after sleeping if it was appendicitis) and was totally bearable. I just didn't move much. A few hours later it started spreading across my abdomen again and making me sick to my stomach once again. Well, most of you know what happens when I feel sick to my stomach--cold sweats and hyperventilation ensues and I'm back in bed in the fetal position, willing myself to go to sleep so it will go away. Fortunately, I did, but when I woke up I wasn't sure I felt much of a difference. The nausea was gone but the pain was still there and now my head was pounding. Lovely. I was laying in bed, wanting to die, when I heard my doorbell ring. Uuuuuhhhhh, I thought. Who's ringing my doorbell? Well, I knew I wasn't going to move and I trained my kids a long time ago that when I'm sleeping and the doorbell rings, they not only do NOT run to answer it, but they don't start yelling that someone is at the door either because then it's quite clear to the person on the other side of the door that someone is in fact home. I heard them shushing each other (so cute, I trained them well) and then Macy ran into my room and said someone was at the door. I told her to go look out her front window (our only way to see who it could be, but a nice way because no one ever sees her) to see who it was. All she could tell me was it was a "big white car. Huge." I knew no one with a huge white car and wasn't expecting anyone, and I figured if it was any kind of a friend they'd understand later when I told them why I didn't answer the door...you know, because I was dying.

The doorbell rang a second time and I panicked, but told myself they'd have to go away eventually. Of course Macy ran in to tell me they rang the doorbell again. (Thanks, Mace, it is hard to hear the ding dong aaaallllllll the way over on this side of the house.) I told her to stay quiet, they would go away. (If you're wondering, yes, at this point I was starting to have guilt.)

A minute later she ran back in and said, "They left." I said, "Well did you see the person walking to the car?" She said, "No." Then she said, "Do you want me to see if they left anything?" (That part is kind of weird, because normally I wouldn't assume something was left and I don't know why Macy did.) I said, "Yes, but only if you're sure they're gone."

I listened as I heard my kids open the door then close it a few seconds later and tried to make out what they were saying in the family room. I heard, "wow" and "carrots" and "dinner." Huh? Who would have brought us dinner? I thought back to the people I had mentioned I was sick to. I could think of 4, and only one person knew in detail what was going on. None of them drove a "huge, white car." I was stumped. The kids came running in saying, "Someone left us dinner! There's a card!" I asked to see the card and the card in and of itself warmed my insides. It was beautiful (I hadn't even opened it yet), with our name in absolutely perfect print and a sprig of lavender tied to the envelope with twine. I didn't recognize the handwriting.

I opened it up, dying to know who had done such an amazing thing for us, and when I saw the name, I slowly shook my head in awe and gratitude. I know you're all dying to know who it was, and I swear I don't do this to be mean or torture you. I would never want to embarrass someone or make public something that they intended to be private. I don't know this person extremely well, but if there's one thing I can guess about her, it would be that she would not want a ton of recognition for her kind act.

And that's what touched me so much. It was from a sister in my ward (at church) that I have never really had the chance to get to know very well but have always truly liked and thought was the sweetest person. She and her husband are two of the most genuinely nice, happy people I know. It doesn't surprise me in the least that she would do something like this, but I had to wonder what I had done to deserve such a wonderful thing. Then I wondered...could she have somehow known I was in bed, unable to get up, reeling in pain? I couldn't think of a single way she could have known. Maybe she did, and that would explain it. But from the card she wrote our family, I didn't get that impression at all. I think it was just something she wanted to do, and had no idea how badly I needed it that night. I think she was truly inspired to bring us dinner last night, and probably has no idea.

It was such a testimony to me that the Lord does inspire people to help where it is needed. It made my desire to do so grow even more. I only hope one day I can do for someone what this sister did for me last night. So, to my friend, if you are reading this, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. (It was one of the best meals I've had in a long time!)

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Husband of the Year 2009

Christmas was three weeks ago. My birthday isn't for five months. So why did last night feel like both combined?

I had a presidency meeting at the church. Bill had told me before I left that he was going to take the kids to get walking shoes. (They hiked up Badger Mountain last Saturday and are now on a hiking kick.) He also told me he was going to "get me a little surprise." This was unexpected, but he does this sometimes when he wants to give me a pick-me-up or he's buttering me up because he secretly bought something (spendy) for himself or plans to do so. I told him I was looking forward to my pack of gum and People magazine. He looked offended and said it would be cooler than that. I was intrigued, but still didn't think much of it.

Fast forward to two hours later. I came home from my meeting and won't deny a little anticipation for my mystery prize. I sat and oohed and ahhed over the kids' shoes and the great deals he got on them (they really were great deals) and sat patiently for the goods. I knew he would be anxious to give it to me, because he's cute like that. As soon as he was done showing me the shoes, he said in a very cryptic tone, "You need to check your email." I thought, "Hmm. Random." I really didn't think it had anything to do with my prize. In fact, the look on his face sort of made me nervous. I thought maybe it was bad. Then, as I logged on, I had a new thought: "What the heck are you doing in my email?" (We have separate accounts and almost NEVER go into each other's emails.) He was getting impatient now, and said, "Just check your email."

So I clicked on my inbox and lo and behold, there was a welcome email from Jessica Sprague herself!!! Okay, not really, but it was the email confirming I was signed up for her first digital scrapbooking class! I was so excited. This was not at all what I was expecting. After gushing over it for the appropriate amount of time, I asked, "Is this what you had in mind the whole time?" He smiled sheepishly and said, "Yeah." I was very impressed and so excited to FINALLY delve into the world of digiscrapping.

So then, with my inbox all open and inviting, I start clicking on some other emails of people that wrote me and comments I got. He walks away, and I figure he's left me to my cyberworld. He left the room for a second, and then from behind me I heard him say, "Hey, if you're gonna..." I thought he was going to say "If you're gonna be on the computer I'm gonna go take a shower" like he usually does, but instead he said, "If you're gonna be taking lots of pictures to digital scrapbook, I figured you could probably use this."

I turned around, half paying attention, half thinking about the comments I wanted to be reading, and this was staring me in the face:



I just stared in shock. I still cannot believe he did it. All on his own, because he wanted me to have one. The whole Jessica Sprague thing was merely a decoy to set the trap for the real thing, although he knew I really did want the class.

Husband of the Year 2009? I think so.

It's Wednesday (subtitle: I can't think of a title for this post)

I have a few things I need to blog about, so I'm doing a little mishmash of sorts, putting them all together.

Firstly, I want to thank everyone for all their kind words on my "Make My Day" post. Last I checked I had over 40 comments and you have no idea how awesome that is for me. My Google Reader is overflowing and I spend way more time blogging (which I didn't think possible) with all the blogs to read now, but I am loving it. I am good on my word--I am now reading everyone's blog who commented on that post, except for Connie--it won't let me view your profile. Anyway, thank you so much for the much needed boost. I am confident that blogging is still going strong, for a while, anyway. Viva la blogging!

Secondly, it has been requested that a GNO be put into motion for tomorrow (Thursday) night to see Bride Wars.


It is playing at Fairchild at 9:20. If you want to go and want a ride, let me know. I am giving at least one day's notice so I wanna see more butts in the seats! It will be super fun, I can't wait. Anybody who's anybody will be there. ;)

Thirdly, my husband is a serious contender for Husband of the Year 2009. (And it's only two weeks in.) Check in later to find out why.

Monday, January 12, 2009

What the....??


Here's a bit of newsworthy info. (Thanks for the heads up, M-A!) Vanessa Hudgens has auditioned for the role of Leah Clearwater in New Moon!! I don't know why, but my reaction to this is pure nausea. Maybe it's because I have issues with Vanessa and her penchant for getting snap-happy in her birthday suit, or maybe it's because Leah Clearwater is very down-to-earth and real and all I can see is Vanessa looking doe-eyed at Sam Uley and singing in her high-pitched, nasally voice that "oh, you know it hurts so bad."

I don't know why this disgusts me, but I think it's safe to say that if Vanessa auditioned for Leah, Vanessa is now Leah. (I don't see them turning away an obvious money-maker like Vanessa Hudgens) And I was just starting to like Leah....*sigh*........Are we looking at New Moon: The Musical? At least Taylor Lautner is back as Jacob. We have that going for us.

What do you think?

The Post I Should Have Done Four Days Ago

She knew I had had a bad day.
She invited me out to lunch, but I couldn't go, due to a prior commitment.
So instead, she went shopping. For me.

She knew I would need this, for some fun, mindless entertainment
(and some good motivation)


She got me these


so I could do this, because she knows how much I love it


She got me these, for some warmth and comfort

and of course she knew I would need some of this, because,
how else would I relax?

She also knew I would need just a little bit of chocolate,
so she also got me my very favorite 100 calorie snack,
Mr. Salty chocolate-covered pretzels. I don't have a picture
of those. You can probably guess why.

She knows me.
She pays attention to details about me that not many people do.
She knew just what I needed for a pick-me-up.
She knew that when I came home and saw that red bag on my door,
that it would make my day.
And she was right.
Because that's how well she knows me.
She'll never know how lucky I feel
to call her friend.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Go Ahead, Make My Day

You know what I love?

I love getting personal emails. Nothing excites me more than opening my inbox and seeing someone has written me. It makes my day.

I love getting comments on my blog. (Don't we all?) I love hearing what people have to say about what I have to say.

I love it when my husband takes my kids somewhere so that I can regain my sanity. It is a cherished, cherished thing.

I love it when one of my kids randomly comes up and cuddles and says "I love you." It makes all the rest worth it.

I love to eat out. Not so much fun when I'm dieting, but still, I love it.

I love getting a good, uninterrupted nap. It's a very good thing for me.

I love it when someone offers to watch my kids. It doesn't happen often, but I can't tell you how much I love it. I despise having to ask people to watch my kids, even teenage girls who would get paid for it.

I love when people reference my blog on their blog, because I know they're thinking about me.

I love when I realize there's a new show on at night--not a rerun.

I love getting on the scale when I wake up in the morning and seeing it's gone down. Even though right now it's just getting back down to where it was before the holidays, it's still exciting.

These are just some of the things that get me through the day.
Things that make an otherwise routine, unspectacular day a little
more exciting. After an especially horrendous day, I thought I'd
reflect on the things that usually make my days happier.

One major thing that gets me through the day is blogging. It has
become a serious lifeline for me. Because I am not a phone talker,
and do not have time to be one, I rely on the world wide web for
almost all of my outside communication. I can be holed up in my
house and still feel like I'm "talking" to all my friends, or at least
know what's going on in their lives.

But I've had a nagging feeling lately that blogging is sort of fading out.
Maybe it's just a fear that it will, but it seems like readers and/or
commenters are dwindling. (And I'm not just referring to my own
blog.) This cannot happen. I will not allow it. But what can I do?

After giving it much thought, I decided that the only thing I can
do personally to help keep the blogosphere rolling, is to support
blogging more. I know I won't single-handedly keep blogging going
strong, but at least I will know I am doing my part.

So here's what I came up with: If you are reading this, leave a comment.
I will in turn add you to my Google Reader and not only read your blog,
but comment on a regular basis. It's the least I can do. And it's only fair.
(If you have a private blog, send me an invitation. If for some reason your name
will not link to your blog, leave your blog address for me .) If I already read
and comment on your blog, just say hello, because, well, I had a horrendous
day and I could really use the pick-me-up.

Also, I urge those of you who are reading blogs--any blogs--and not
commenting, to do so. Because we put ourselves out there for all to
read, and really, we all want some feedback. Anyone who says they
don't is lying.

Also, if you ever feel like it, drop me a line at
movie_queen15@msn.com
I will email you back, surprisingly fast.

So there. I have done my part. If blogging dies out, it will not be my
fault. (Although Blogger is lucky they are getting my support with
their heinous spacing.) However, if anyone actually got down to the
bottom of this ridiculously long post, it will be a miracle.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

A Novel Idea

So, like I said, I've been working furiously writing my novel. On any given evening, I can be found curled up in the corner of my couch, paper and pen in hand. (I prefer to write first, then type.) Often I am distracted and have to abandon my notebook for a few minutes while I attend to my motherly/wifely duties.

The other night I came back to my notebook after putting my kids to bed. I had last left off having just started a new page, and had written two words so far before being interrupted:
"It was". I came back to my notebook and saw this:



I started laughing and couldn't stop. Apparently Bill had seen my start of the sentence and decided he knew what was supposed to come next. He said he saw "it was" and the first thing that came to mind was that part from A Christmas Story where Ralphie is dreaming he is blind.
"It...it was....SOAP POISONING."

Bill is still trying to convince me to work it into the story somehow. I said I'll do my best.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Just A Small Rhyme For 2009

Every year I do a poem about my New Year's Resolutions. (See here and here.) I can't break tradition, so here it is.

This year I will finish my book
and people will give it a look
"It's genius!" they'll say
and they'll read it and lay
all curled up in their library nook.

It's sure to become a best seller
bigger than even Old Yeller
I'm destined to be
the next Stephenie
(she'll feel bad, so please, no one tell her)

Then Paramount's certain to call
They'll want a release date next fall
They'll want me to star
(I'm the best choice, by far)
Soon I'll sign autographs at the mall

The critics will give rave reviews
It will say it all over the news:
BEST FILM OF THE YEAR
This new actress we hear,
is soon to fill Kate Winslet's shoes


And then on that star-studded night
I will walk the red carpet with fright
Then they'll call out my name
and without any shame
I'll accept my award with delight

It looks like I'm gonna have a busy year. I'll send you a postcard. You know, from Hollywood.