Aahhhh

Winter Break. I still have not decompressed yet. All of my dreams last night had my students in them. They are always on my brain. Hopefully, I will be able to shed work soon and just zone out.

I saw the best thing yesterday. It was a car driving down the highway with a giant, glowing menorah strapped to the top of it. Being the seventh night of Hanukkah, it had seven candles lit. I wanted to honk happy honks, but it was too far off. Way to show off the Jewish pride.

Speaking of, what is wrong with Target? I know there was that whole thing last year where they couldn’t say "Merry Christmas," but why did they have to go completely around and have their TV ads say "Merry Christmas." It's one thing in the stores, but to say only ""Merry Christmas," as opposed to "Happy Holidays," feels really anti-Jew. Does anyone else feel this way?

Happy Hanukkah one and all!

Snow Day!!!!!!

I knew it was going to snow today, and I knew it was going to snow during the morning commute. Therefore, I did not sleep last night except for a few fitful dreams about snow. You see, my commute is between 45 minutes and an hour without snow. With snow, it would be at least two hours, not to mention the awful anxiety and stomach pains the drive would cause. The snow reports said the snow would start at midnight and snow through noon. High winds and accumulation were guaranteed. I could not drive in this. It would not be worth my health and safety.

I was up at 4:30 am waiting for the TV news to begin. For over an hour, I watched the school closing reports run along the bottom of the screen. At first, all of the schools listed were the Catholic schools. I checked my district's website and kept the phone close to my head, in case they made the fateful snow day call. Matt was sweet and watched the news with me. Thankfully, he had today off. he takes every other Friday off to do illustration work (and works longer hours on his other work days). Finally, at 5:50 am the phone rang. I was already screaming with joy at the sound, and then came the funny recorded message from our superintendent. It is one of the best feelings in the world. You don't have to be a kid to enjoy a snow day :)

Degrassi is My Family

As many of you know, I have been a fan of Degrassi since they showed us the original first Degrassi Junior High episode back in 1987 at Cooper Junior High. I watch the new eps, and love them all. The-N.com (the cable channel that shows the new Degrassi) has a quiz to find out which family on their shows is most like your family. I took the quiz, and check it out:


Of course my family would be from Degrassi! And not just any Degrassi family- the one with the parents from my old skool Degrassi! Snake and Spike!

OK- this probably means nothing to anyone reading this, but I'm psyched.

Shoppin' from A to Z

Well, hooray for Black Friday. I don't really have any traditions involving the mega shopping day. I just go with my gut. A few years ago, my dad and I woke up at 6 and went to Kohl's and the mall. I was too tired, and it was insanely overwhelming. I almost threw up. This year, I studied the sales papers. There were things Matt and I needed, and good gift ideas, so the plan was to wake up at 7:00 and leave at 8:00. The first stop was a door buster at Office Max, and they were already sold out! Bogus. We went next door to Best Buy, which was freakishly frightening. I don't like buying from them anyway because they restock things that people have returned. I had a problem with that once. I will not go on with a full description of my shopping day, but I will list the rest of the day here (with comments where needed):

3. Target. Matt and I bought the Atari Flashback 2, filled with thirty games. We played for about ten minutes. Not so good. Although I do love Centipede, as it is the game I am best at in THE WORLD. Every time I play the game at a public place – to this day- I get my name on the high score screen.

Mall #1

4. Macy’s

5. Body Shop

6. The Gap

7. Sterling Works

8. Hallmark

9. Carleton Cards

Out of mall

10. Office Depot

Mall #2

11. Johnny Rockets

It was here that we noticed the awesome Flushed Away toys from McDonald’s. We went to four more McDonald’s over the next twenty-four hours to purchase a complete collection.

12. Macy’s

13. Oilily

14. Lord and Taylor

Out of mall

15. Staples

Home for nap.

16. Sam’s Club

17. Michael’s

The day ended with a McDonald’s run, where the very nice manager rustled through the Happy Meal toy bin for ten minutes to find us toys. What a day! There’s more to the weekend, but Girlfriends is coming on. Gotta go!

Disappointments...

Yesterday, while not a bad day, was filled with minor disappointments.

1. I saw Flushed Away, and I enjoyed it very much, except for the fact that THEY DID NOT HAVE THE SLUGS SING Everybody Dance Now. That was totally the reason I wanted to see it! That looked so funny! It turns out that was only for the promos. You can see it online. Here is the link, for anyone as interested as I. And who knows why I am so interested? Damn that's funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8a9yj7IOOo

2. There should have been a new episode of Degrassi on last night, so I went to my parents' house to watch (because they have the good cable), and The N (the channel it's on) didn't work!!! All night!!!

3. So instead, we all watched four hours of VH1's top songs of the 80s. I'm a sucker for VH1's countdown shows. If I had VH1 I would never leave the house. And after four hours, what song was number 1? Hmmmm? Freakin' Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer. As if! Total letdown. Check out the VH1 page if you want to see some of the interviews and videos from the show. I know I will. I'm an 80s fool. Never mind about the damn clip. I can't find it on the site. How unuseful.

Happy Thanksgiving (if I don't write before then).

Flushy Weekend

So who watched "The Office" last night? I do really like that show- like the way it makes me cringe. I think Stanley is my favorite character. But last night, the whole Jim, Pam, and the new girl thing was not fun. Matt's theory was that Jim still likes Pam, but wants to like the other girl because she likes him so much. And he wants to hurt Pam. Guys.

This weekend we're going to go see "Flushed Away." Every time I see the little slugs in the preview sing "Everybody Dance Now" I laugh.

My novel is almost in its complete form. Sort of. I mean, I still can go through it and decide to change something, but it's getting ready for its final form. Matt is almost done with the cover illustration, although they have to tell him what colors and lettering they'd like him to use. I'm voting for the brighter colors, but I always am.

I went to Oilily yesterday because they were having a sale. It's my favorite store. I was a little disappointed. I bought a couple things (OK, I will admit that my mom bought them for me. Thanks, Mom!), but I wanted to buy more. They are using too many itchy fabrics. I can pretty much only wear cotton, because other things make me itchy and rashy. Speaking of, I have these three red dots on my upper arm. Sexy.

It's 6:50 in the morning, and I should get to work.

Pie Me

Are there any other Baker's Square fans out there? Matt and I go there almost once a week. I'm not kidding. My favorite dish is the slow-roasted turkey focaccia, dressing on the side. Sometimes I get coleslaw, sometimes fries. Mmmmmm. Matt gets the patty melt, substitute a Boca patty. And always fries. And a Coke. I don't know why it's so good, but it is. The food is fresh, and the service is almost always super-pleasant. And then there's the pie. I never eat pie (except at Christmas-time when we visit Matt's family and it is one of the only non meat-based items. Yeah, I know I eat turkey, but I'm really picky otherwise. I won't eat cows. Or chickens cause they're all veiny. Back to the pie-), except at Baker's Square. Remember when it was called the Poppin Fresh Pie House? My family still calls it that. The best pie they sell is a rare pie called , um, crap, I forgot. But it's really good. I never get fruit pies, unless pumpkin is a fruit. I like me some pumpkin pie. And French silk. And caramel something supreme. And the peanut butter chocolate one.

You know, when I was writing this in my head last night it was a lot funnier. Oh well. At least I got to talk about pie.

Halloweens

Today is the day when kids trick-or-treat in my town. We have it during the day on the Sunday before Halloween. I can't decide if that sucks or not. I used to love trick-or-treating in the dark, but I wouldn't make it home in time from work these days to greet the treaters. One of the best things about owning a house is greeting trick-or-treaters. Matt and I deliberate over what candies will be the most popular. Sponge Bob Crabby Patties are big every year. 100 Grand are not so popular, except with me. I have had several already today. That is why we can only buy our Halloween candy on the weekend of Halloween. Because I will eat it all. Except for the Crabby Patties. Gross. Boogery burgers. Happy Halloween!

Gay Office

The gay episode of The Office is on now. It's a painful one. The kiss scene. Ugh. This seems to be a re-runny week for TV shows. Degrassi is also a rerun.

This week I received my manuscript back with copyeditor marks all over it. What a crazy job. It made me feel like a moron to see all of the mistakes I made. It was also funny to see how many words I made up that we she to figure out how to spell. Perhaps I should make the Julie dictionary.
Matt is sitting next to me clapping with laughter as Oscar and Michael kiss. The best part of watching The Office is watching Matt watch it.

TV Stinkbombs

Hello. I am disillusioned by the poo on TV these days. I still miss Buffy. I'm trying to watch the Gilmore Girls, but I don't love Lorelei. Why is she still so immature? How can she lose Luke and fall in love with her (very gay-ish) ex so soon? And what is up with Degrassi? Does anyone out there watch the new episodes (Beth?)? Darcy is a skank Christian Ho. She was all righteous, and now she's taking off her clothes for internet pervs? I watched an online mini doc about filming that episode, and there were all of these old dudes filming this teenage girl stripping. How do they sleep at night knowing they're making, essentially, kiddie porn? They probably sleep quite nicely, actually.

Project Runway- blah. Jeffrey is a butt. None of them were all that interesting, although I liked Uli's clothes. They better make next season a nice season or I'm walking away. No more Runway for me. But what then? Oh! And for some reason, the Milwaukee episodes of Antiques Roadshow (which I will hopefully be on)are not going to air until FALL 2007!!! That makes no sense! Milwaukee was not the last stop on the tour, so why is it pushed back until the next season? Click here for the weird details:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/roadshow/series/tvschedule.html#season11

Matt and I are off to a pumpkin farm today in Wisconsin. I love that we live so close to another state. It feels like we're on vacation. Too bad it's so crud out. Oh well.

Runnnnnnnn

You know, I have had a million things to write about and just have not written. I am lazy, I suppose, although if I were lazy would I do another extracurricular thing like write a blog? Perhaps not.

Tonight is #1 of the Runway finale. I'm happy to watch, but not happy because of the extreme negative action of this season. That will continue tonight with the Jeffrey sewing conspiracy. How much do I care? Not much. Do other people?

Chow Cow

Of course I didn't go to the gym. I am so out of the gym loop. I suck. I hate myself for it. So I eat. I'm eating pretzels now. Butts. My fave instructor at the gym has changed her Monday class to something I think I'll like, so maybe I'll go next Monday. We shall see.

Someone asked where the pic of me with the Pop-tart box is from. Matt and I went to the Kellogg's place in Battle Creek, MI this summer. It was a rip off. You had to pay to get in, and for every other thing, and the tour was a fake. Nothing was even made there. And all they gave us when we left was a mini box of Frosted Flakes. The Spam museum was ay better- and free. How I do love life on the road...

Glassy Assy

Yesterday I went to a Young Adult Literature Conference (as a librarian, not as an author). It was in Naperville, which, with no traffic, is an hour away from my house. About 3/4 of the way there, nearing a toll area, a rock flew from the back of a truck into my sunroof (which was closed). I looked up, and the sunroof was completely shattered. I closed the cover and crossed about 80 lanes to get to an oasis that was approaching (For those who don't know, an oasis is a roadside place with fast food, bathroom, gas station, etc. Very handy). I pulled in and looked at my sunroof, way frazzled. I was hoping someone would come over and ask if everything was OK, but no one did. There were some guys filling their truck with gas, so I went over and asked if they could look at the sunroof. I wanted to know if they thought it was still OK to drive. I don't know where they were from- they spoke to each other in another language, possibly Russian or French (I know, they sound nothing alike)- and one of the guys came over and said I would have to smash all of the glass in or else it would fall on my head. He wanted me to do this myself. When I made a face like I was afraid, he said he'd help me. So there we were, in my car smashing the sunroof out, shards of glass falling all over. When we finished the guy left, and he didn't even want any money. SOOOOO nice. I spent the next half hour vacuuming my car out. Then I cried. I was happy to have so much luck (for not getting hurt) and help, and it was really scary to think about all of the things that could have happened. So I went to the conference. But I wasn't in the mood. So I didn't really talk to anyone authorly people who I could have kibitzed with because my editor has worked with them, plus Matt just finished illustrating a book for one of the authors. When the reader's theater started, I decided I wasn't in the mood to hear a story and I drove home. And then it rained. All of the way home. Into my broken sunroof. It didn't get in the car, but it soaked the fabric. What a day.
Did you know there is caffeine in Jelly Bellys? I don't know if it's every bean or just the cappuccino. Crap. I better stop eating them in the evening.
Tomorrow is Yom Kippur, and I will spend the day revising the ending to my novel. I thought the process was over, but, alas, it goes on. I hope I do an OK job. I also hope I finish. I suppose it's a form of atoning?

Eyes on the Prize

I had to see an eye doctor today. Turns out I have cysts on my eye. They could go away by themselves, or I can voluntarily have them taken off. Yeah. That will happen. I wish I weren’t so afraid of doctors. It seems to get worse as I get older. I think it's because I like to know what's going on. I like to be prepared. But doctors never have time to explain things, and even when they do, it's not like I could then do it to myself. Does that make sense? Probably not.

What the hell is wrong with Maria Shriver? She looks like an absolute freak. I heard some guys on the radio call her Skeletor. And she's on The Insider right now talking about trying to maintain her weight. She is repulsively skinny. I hope she's OK. Ugh.

Project Runway. It’s off the air for one week, and I’ve already forgotten. I have to find a new show to be in love with. I’m leaning towards Gilmore Girls, even though I don’t agree with Lorelei’s boozing ways. Still, it’s no Buffy. I hate living in a world without a new Buffy episode every week. It’s just not right. I should be happy that a new season of Degrassi starts this weekend, but I still have a little bit of creepiness about enjoying a show about teenagers so much.

Enough of the rambly ramblings. There’s a story coming up on The Insider about M’onique that I can’t miss. I love her. Of course, The Parkers is off the air…

Sims and Runways

Wow. I am beat. With school going full time now, I am always tired. I hate that. Plus, my carpal tunnel is bothering me and scaring me that I will probably have to have surgery some day. How will I write another book? More importantly, how will I play The Sims? That is what I want to do on this lazy Sunday, but I'm scared that I'm making the carpal tunnel worse. But what is life without The Sims? I am actually on a live chat now with a Norton Antivirus help person named Ramil (at least I think it's a real person- the answers they are giving are very robotic) to help me shut off all of my antivirus junk so my Sims will run smoothly. Pathetic, eh? I have been playing The Sims for 7 years. A fifth grade student of mine told me about the game when it first came out, and I have bought every incarnation and expansion pack since. Why do I love it so much? I think it's because it's a blend of playing Barbie's and playing a role playing game. You get to dress them, get them jobs, have babies, make them go to work and school. It's funny and fun and I love it. Why is Ramil taking so damned long?

Project Runway is making me very unhappy this season. I don't like the mean crap. Jeffrey is a jerk. I will never understand why someone can be so hateful. It's one thing to be angry, but he STILL goes on about Angela. Maybe he loves her, like an eight-year-old boy with a crush. Hmmm... And why did they have to bring Angela and Vincent back? That was mean. I just don't like meanness. I liked this reality show because it was all about the talent and creativity, but now, it's playing unfairly. We shall see what evil they bring next season, and I may have to stop watching. I think I'd like Michael Knight to win, as he is very talented and has a good nature. I also like Uli. She says funny things, and her clothes look very wearable (although not by me. By someone skinny who doesn't need to wear bras). I like her "crazy colors." Did you know you can see the final four's fashion shows online. click here:
http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/designers/bios/projectrunwaydesigners/

What do y'all think?

Rainy Doodles

It's Labor Day. I have been a slack blog writer. Ah well. I have a very small audience who I don't think will mind the absence.

It's raining, and I have am now set up in our "dining room," in quotes because we have only dined in here once, and we had to move a table in to do it. Now I am at a card table in the middle of the room, my trusty Tobin at my side, trying to finish my second revision of my novel. It's not going to be so bad, but why is it so hard to sit down and do it? I'm already at page 121 out of 158, so that's nothing really. I do have an extra page/section thing I have to do, also. It's a character description list that I have to fit into the story so readers are less confused. At this point, I am working on the novel at such large intervals that even I am confused about who's who. That's because I changed most of the characters' names after the first round of revisions, as too many were the same or similar to the real-life people they were based on. So that's going to be a little work.

Speaking of work, I'm back (although the kids don't come back until Wednesday). That means the sleep problems are also back. Sigh. I can't wait to see the kids, though.

I would like to wish my Tobin a happy tenth birthday. I have had him for almost ten years!!! I love him so much. One blog I will tell the wacky story of how we got together. Yes, I am talking about my cat.

TV!TV!TV!

I am trying really hard (ie. not very hard) to work on my novel revision, but Roseanne is on. I just love this show. It's realistic and funny and sad. John Goodman is truly my favorite actor. This is my last day of freedom (my work contract starts tomorrow), so I might as well get rid of my guilt. If that were only possible.

Sooooo- Project Runway. Last night's show was very upsetting. I think it was a bad idea for the producers to bring family members on the show, and even worse for them to make others design for them. People were mean, and no one's family members need to see their children being insulted by obnoxious design people. It took away a lot of the show's fun. They better make up for it next week.

Tobin is on my lap, purring while I type this. I will definitely miss this when I go back to work. He is so mellow and sweet in the morning. At night, he gets the crazy attack bites. Today will also be my last day of official vacation hang-out time with my mom. We have had such a wonderful time together this summer. We even went to the Jelly Belly Factory in Wisconsin! It was tasty and fun. I bought Matt roasted garlic flavored jelly beans (which I later regretted because they made his breath smell like a garlic tire. I forced him to brush, floss, and use Listerine that night).

I am now going to turn off the TV for a half hour so I can work on my book. Can I do it???

Traveling Blues

I miss Toronto. I think I just miss the freedom of the road. That sounds so cheesy, doesn't it? I look at cars with out of state license plates, and I feel jealous. I do have to admit though that I am getting excited about going back to work. I have some redesigning of the library to do. And I can't wait to see my kids again. Woo woo!

So I've been looking up plane fares. First: Toronto. Cheap! About $200. Perhaps a long weekend in October? Second: Greenville, SC where Matt and I go to visit his family every year. Over $350!!! Whatever! How can that be? And if we want to go from O'Hare to G-ville to my parents' house in Florida, then home again- over $700 a ticket!!! I could go to Europe for that. What is going on? Is it the gas? Supply and demand? Oy.

Today was a mega eating day. I had a taffy apple, which was OK. I couldn't concentrate on it since I was watching TV. I should have savored it. Speaking of TV- how amazing is Roseanne? Definitely my favorite sitcom of all time. I will miss the morning double feature when I have to go back to work.

Degrassi Dreams

I seriously cannot stop thinking about moving to Degrassi Street. Am I psycho? Is it because I am in the weird window between the end of summer and school starting and I need something to fixate on? But I'm already fixated on revising my novel and redecorating the library and... Wait. Maybe I'm not at all fixated on those things, or at least I'm trying hard not to fixate on them, and so I'm fixating on a wonderful fantasy, a la Degrassi Street?

Toronto was so wonderful. Matt and I are already talking about going back. Every restaurant is vegetarian friendly, the transportation is so easy (albeit not cheap), and the cable TV is funny. What more could one ask for in a city?

So who has seen Snakes on a Plane? I would like to see it in the theaters, as I think it will be a nice item to talk about with my students. We'll see if I can convince Matt.

There's No Oprah on Degrassi Street

I’m watching Oprah (which has to do more damage than good), and there are these kids on who hate themselves and the way they look. Some of them are three years old! The whole theory that Oprah’s therapy lady believes is that you automatically pass all of your bullshit through the womb as you have a baby, so the only way not to pass stuff on (like self-hatred, weight issues, etc.) is to get rid of it before you have a baby. Whatever! Who the hell can do that?

In more realistic news, I plan to someday move to Degrassi Street in Toronto. It was so perfect and beautiful and magical. Matt and I already looked up house prices, and we feel that someday we may be able to afford it. Canada, here we come! Maybe.

I have a lot to say about my recent road trip to Toronto, but I have to work on the revisions of my novel before I go back to work (next week!!!). More later!

Oh- and if you’re posting comments (thank you!!!) will you please either sign in with a funny code name so I know who’s posting or just put your name? I feel weird with the “anonymous” thing.

Thanks!

Vase photos!

Here are some pics of the Roadshow (see below story) vase. They are pretty bad pics, as the light was behind the vase. But I don't want to unwrap it again, so this is it.

Fashion Face-Off LOSER

I have been watching Project Runway sine its first season (aren't I so cutting edge?), although I only got into the Bravo website about half way through last season. They have a very fun little game called "Fashion Face-Off" where you get to drag the outline of one of the designers onto a "winner" and "loser" stand, to guess who is going to win and who will be "out" next week. I have not gotten a single guess correct! Why am I so bad at this? It's like instant lottery tickets-- I always buy them, and I (almost) always lose. Why? I should totally win sometimes. It would be fun to win. Ah well. Burn to the Runway bastard Keith, ay? He was so greasy and cocky. I loved that he was kicked off. I don't like when they have evil on the show. I don't have a favorite yet, but I like the Barbie guy, Robert Best, and Kayne (I was so proud to see his dress at the Miss Universe Pageant). Michael Knight seems very cool, and I'm glad they finally showed him talking this week. He has barely said a word in previous episodes.

Something just clanked in one of my kitchen cabinets while I was nowhere near. Why does that happen? Scary. I am now going to go outside and tan for an hour. I will do it, of course, wearing 30 spf sunblock, but I feel like I have to have a small tan at least when I go back to work. Cheesy, I know.

Roadshow Rules!

Today Matt and I went to a taping of Antiques Roadshow in Milwaukee. I have been a huge fan of the show for years and when I found out it was coming somewhere close, I had to get tickets. The ticket-getting process was not easy, as it was only on entry per household and tickets were given by lottery. I entered my sister, my mom and myself. Only my sister actually got tickets, and thankfully she gave them to me.

Strangely, I didn't actually have anything I wanted to bring to Roadshow. I was really more interested in seeing all of my favorite appraisers (none of whom I know the names of, but all of whom I have nicknames for, such as "Provenance Lady," and "Gun Guy," and "Sparky"). My Aunt Gloria helped me out by giving me a vase that once belonged to my late Uncle Norm. It is tall and green and swirly and has three strange gem-like protrusions on the top. We knew nothing about it except that my uncle bought it in the sixties at an estate sale.

Roadshow was so fun! We arrived at our ticketed time of 9:30 am, and got into a long, snaky line. The line took an hour an a half to get through, but it went quickly as everyone talked about their items in line. People were very friendly. The next step was to show our items in order to get tickets for the appropriate lines, i.e. glassware, toys, etc. Next, we went into the appraisal area. It was strangely small and crowded compared to how it looks on TV. Perhaps it is because of the lighting issues; I don't know why they would use such a small space. The appraisers were at tables around the perimeter, and the filming set-ups were in the middle. Matt and I brought some of my grandpa's cufflinks, and first went to the jewelry area. They weren't worth anything. Next we waited for a while in the glass line for the vase. It was fun to watch other people's appraisals; we saw some interesting instrument appraisals as we waited in line. When we got to one of the glass guys and took out the vase, he looked at it and asked where I got it. The three glass people got into a huddle. They said they needed to talk to a producer, and would we mind going out to a waiting table. Out at the table, I got really nervous. I was happy enough being at the Roadshow, but I didn't want to go on air and look stupid. I don't know why I was so afraid of that. There were a father and son at the table with us, and they had a set of Tiffany desk items. They said they had been waiting for two hours (!!!) for a producer to say if they would be on the show or not. Soon, a producer apologized for their wait and said that they would not be featured on the show. Then an appraiser came out and appraised their items. We learned that if an item is to go on air, it will not be appraised until the cameras roll. For the natural surprise of it all, I suppose. We waited. A young couple joined us at our table with a piece of glassware. They were nice, but a tad cocky about their item. I still had my doubts that the producer would put us on TV. The producer came to our table (under a half hour later, thank you), and looked at out vase and the couple’s glass thingy. He asked us about the items, and then walked away. I was freaking out with nervousness. He soon came back and said that he could only put one of the items on the air, and he chose mine!!! Matt and I were sent to wait (and wait and wait) in the "green room." There I would have make-up applied (Matt was not going on camera), and I would wait until the appraiser and cameras were ready. During the wait, we met some nice people, got some free food (which I didn't eat because I was so nervous), and watched live feed of what went on on the Roadshow floor. It was all fascinating. THREE HOURS LATER... I went on air! People were so nice as I sat and waited for the appraiser. "That is beautiful!" "Is it Polish?" "What did they tell you about it?" My appraiser finally came over, a woman who I had seen on TV usually appraising Tiffany glass. They had to stick a wire mic up my shirt, and I had to take off my cute necklace. I hope I looked OK. I couldn't really hear her appraisal, and I was so scared and in awe that I hope I didn't look like one of those duds on the show when she told me the vase was worth quite a bit of money! In truth, I didn’t really care too much what the vase was worth. I was just happy to be on the show and amazed at my luck to go on tape. I don't know if the segment will air because it's not guaranteed, although they filmed only one day and it will air for three shows. Plus, I don't feel right keeping the vase now that we know what it's worth. Where would I even put it? Amongst our King of the Hill collectibles?

The show won’t air until at least January 2007 (how will I wait???), so stay tuned for a reminder. What a crazy, PBS kind of day! Mega thanks to Uncle Norm and Aunt Gloria and to Uncle Al for his enthusiasm when I called :)

Exploding Tobin

My cat is starving. We have one of those automatic feeders, which feeds him at 6:15 in the morning and 4:45 in the afternoon. This works fine when we’re at work, and he sleeps all day. But while I’m home during the summer and he’s awake, he’s always begging for food. I feel terrible, since I’m snacking most of the time. It’s totally not fair to him, right? But he only has a little cat body, and I don’t want him to blow up.

In truly exciting news, Matt and I are getting a new couch. I ordered it today, and it should arrive in 6-8 weeks. We are also going to move the treadmill from the basement up to the bedroom. I am afraid of basements. I seriously think it’s because there was this skit on Zoom when I was little where there was a monster in a basement. Why would they do that to children? Anyway, we will be moving around the dressers, which will also allow us to get the bigger TV we have wanted out of my parents’ basement (oooh- the basement again). Life may not be too sexy-exciting right now, but it’s not too bad either.

Summer Crazies

I'm having the summer crazies. I know everyone envies the fact that teachers have summers off (as do school librarians), but I always get a little weird and anxious in the middle of the summer. Since I finished the first part of GWS editing, now I'm just waiting around. Not that I couldn't be doing other things, but I don't have anything I have to be doing. Now my scrapbooking stuff is all over the floor (but I just can't seem to get started), and I have some stuff on eBay. You know, I really have nothing to say.

Project Runway Commentary:
Does anyone else do that Fashion Face-Off on the Bravo website? You have to guess who's going to win and who will be out the next week. I suck at it. I feel back that Malan was out. He seemed so sincere and sad and weird. The drama of reality TV.

You know, I am boring myself with this crappy blog entry. Sorry to all one person who reads this.

Get Well Soon Editing

I just finished the first major round of editing of Get Well Soon. Actually, I still have one part left. I edit this way: Liz Szabla, my editor, sent me my manuscript filled with suggestions and grammatical fixes. She also included two pages of things to focus on while editing. I went through the whole manuscript and rewrote a ton of it, either directly onto the manuscript or into a notebook if I had a lot to write. The next step was typing in all of the changes, which is my least favorite part. After that, I printed up the manuscript. The part I just finished was reading the entire mansucipt again, fixing things and circling parts I questioned. I have a lot of grammatical insecurities, and I want to make sure Liz knows that she can't rely on me to punctuate correctly. Finally, I will type in the last of my corrections, and then I will send them off to Liz!

I have obviously read my novel before, but tonight I really cried when it ended. Not because it was so incredibly moving (although I can hope; it's hard to know how it will make others feel), but because it brought back so many strong memories. I don't want to give away the ending of the novel, but it's insane how I remember everything and every feeling I had when I was hospitalized in high school. I really hope this book connects to other teens feeling wrong about life. A little over a year (Fall 2007!) and I'll know.

All Grown Up

Matt and I are now getting estimates to cover of fascia and soffet with siding, as they are now wood. How exciting, you say? Damn straight. Being an adult is weird. I called one place to get an estimate, and the woman who answered was so surly and condescending. I don't know what fascia and soffet (sp?)are, and why should I? This is my first house. I am afraid when the actual estimates come in. How much is this going to cost? I had the idea that we should also get new sliding doors because ours are crappy and let in air and bugs. The guy who came out today said each door could run a few thousand dollars. Whatever! I feel like any money we save will either go toward the house or toward a vacation, and I would much rather spend on a vacation. The siding project is important and necessary if we don't want to paint every few years, but the doors... Ugh. Is this THE most boring blog entry ever?

Switcheroo

For those of you who may be confused (which would mean that you went to my blog recently and are actually visiting again), I switched blogs. The Yahoo one looked good, but it made everyone log-in in order to post, and it did this weird thing where you couldn't post if you went to my website first. I'm hoping this one works for everyone. We shall see.

Last night I did not sleep AT ALL. I have a feeling it is because of the damn Stephen King book. I am half-way through, and it's not as scary as it was. However, my sleep is being affected, and I think I'm going to stop. If my sleep is crap again tonight, I'll know it's not from the book and I'll go back to finishing it. For now, I will move on.

Anyone out there watch the season premiere of Project Runway? Is anyone out there?

CELL

This summer, I am trying to be a good librarian and am reading my ass off. I just finished SABRIEL by Garth Nix, which I liked a lot. I think fans of the Tamora Pierce books would like it. I am being a bad girl, though, and, instead of reading the YA books that I have to read in order to book talk them in the fall, I am reading the newest Stephen King novel, CELL. I love his books. His characters are likable and fully developed, and something about his writing hits just the right creep spots with me. CELL is about (so far) a bizarre infiltration of cell phones that causes their users to go crazy and violent. The way they’re behaving reminds me of the zombies in 28 DAYS LATER, which scared the shit out of me. So as I’m reading this last night, I start to think about how I should really have an emergency stash of food and water in the basement. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. For zombies? For terrorists? I don’t know. Would it even matter? I did not sleep well, and I think it’s because I had the heebie-jeebies from the book. That’s good writing.

As many of you know, I have terrible problems sleeping. Because of this, Matt and I put Tobin (our cat) in the basement sometimes overnight. The basement is finished, complete with couches, carpet, and his litter box, and we put his food and water down, too. All the comforts of home, right? Tobin is not a naïve kitten, but this morning when I opened the door to get him, a plastic Dominick’s bag was wrapped around his middle! He had somehow snuffled through the handle and stretched his way through until he was stuck. Thank God (and I really do thank him) that Tobe did not get it stuck around his neck. I love this little guy so much, and don’t know what I would have done. But why did he stick his head in there in the first place? He’s a smart guy- almost ten years-old! Such a guilt trip he’s giving me. So what do I do now? Not put him in the basement? Drift into insanity due to lack of sleep? Needless to say, he’ll be sleeping on my bed tonight. Will I?

What do I say for my first blog entry? First of all, that picture is of my super-cute birthday cake from last year. Damn, I loved that cake!

For those who don't know me (why are you looking at my blog?), I am the author of a young adult novel called Get Well Soon, to be released Fall 2007 by Feiwel and Friends. I also have a picture book called Toby and the Snowflakes, illustrated by my adorable husband, Matthew Cordell. This blog won't really matter for at least another year (after GWS is released), and then I'll probably have to wait even longer than that for someone to actually read the book, find my blog, etc. But it seemed like a fun thing to do right now, so here is The Official First Entry to My Blog. Thank you for sharing. I hope to hear from you sometime next year. Or after that even. I'll wait.

Julie