Wow. Do you all hate me for never blogging anymore? It's just, now I am back at work, where I can't really blog. And then when I'm home, I want to snuggle with Romy and feel guilty being on the computer. You know what I'm doing right now? Sitting with a keyboard AND baby on my lap. She was sleeping, but she's awake again. Nevermind. Back asleep. I seem to have that effect on her. She eats, then falls asleep. My mom and Matt have all of these stories about her laughing, and I seem to miss that. She would rather be sleeping with me around.
I am waiting to hear more about the book cover for Into the Wild Nerd Yonder. I have three amazing cover choices, which can and will probably be tweaked a bit, but I don't know when the final decision gets made. I am going to ask the designer if I'm allowed to share the options. I'm guessing not, but if so, I'll post them.
Now to blog about my favorite jeans store, Buckle. I tried blogging about them about a year ago, but apparently that was during my Harry Potter intense phase (remember that? Was I insane?) and I didn't have time. So here's the story. For those who don't know, Buckle is a mall store that sells trendy, higher end jeans. They have a seamstress that they pay outside of the store to shorten jeans-- for free! An amazing service for those of us on the short side. I already have two pairs of great jeans from them, and they actually do fit since I had Romy (I was lucky to lose most of my baby weight. I'm just a little more muffin-toppy than I once was and am hoping to fix that when I have more time this summer. Yeah, right.), but I wanted some new jeans for going back to work. I bought two pairs of Big Star jeans, which is a brand that I remember from college. Some friend of mine had a pair that we used to share, just like the Sisterhood! [speaking of- did you see the second movie? I LOVED it!] Being too long, I had to get both pairs shortened. Once I got them home after shortening, I instantly took off the tags, washed them, and even wore one pair to work. But when I put them on (the one pair that I wore to work), they were short. Like, even with flats, still a little short. Slightly wearable, but not great. So I tried on the second pair, and they were SUPER SHORT. Floods! I was so pissed and freaked out that I just spent $200 on jeans and then I couldn't wear them. So I went to Buckle after work yesterday, and the manager was really frustrated because I was the 2nd person that day to bring jeans back because of the crappy seamstress! They let me return them (I am totally scared now that I didn't wash them after I wore them. What if they stink?), and helped me buy two new pairs. They were sooooo nice to me, again! Always! I think that is the best store I have ever been to in my life. Because, even me being a 34 year-old librarian (albeit a super cute and styley one), they never act like I'm too old or dorky to be buying their jeans. Huzzah to Buckle! Just don't tell them I said Huzzah. Cause then maybe they will think I'm too dorky.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Going Back
Well, it is almost here. I go back to work in less than a week. It's crazy to think that three months have passed. I am semi OK with it because I have a nasty case of cabin fever. I wish we could take Romy out, but we're being REALLY careful because she was a preemie and preemies don't have developed immune systems. This is also why I am so hellbent on breastfeeding her. It helps build up all sorts of immunities. But, lo and behold, Romy is allergic to something in my breast milk. So if I want to keep breastfeeding, I have to cut out all dairy and soy. Which maybe wouldn't be a problem for some people, but considering I am mainly a vegetarian and eat TONS of soy and ice cream and cheese, this is REALLY HARD. I have only been doing it for a few days, but I am struggling to find good stuff to eat. I now have breakfast covered with rice milk (my day is nothing without a good bowl of cereal), but the rest of the day is a lot harder. Hopefully I only have to do it for three months. The doctor said at six months she may already be fine with things. We shall see...
IN cool, bookish news, here is an article about librarians who are also authors featured in the new issue of VOYA magazine. I wonder if I had sent a bigger picture of myself if I would have ended up in those little blocks of people pictures. Hee hee. Anyway, it's a great article, and I think I sound funny. The only poop is that it lists my old book title for my new book (because I didn't know the actual title at the time of the interview). So it's not Roll for Initiative anymore. It's Into the Wild Nerd Yonder! Oh yeah! I am still patiently awaiting pictures of the cover from the most awesome designer, Rich Deas. He designed the cover for Get Well Soon, and also many other very greatly-covered books. I can't wait to see it!
IN cool, bookish news, here is an article about librarians who are also authors featured in the new issue of VOYA magazine. I wonder if I had sent a bigger picture of myself if I would have ended up in those little blocks of people pictures. Hee hee. Anyway, it's a great article, and I think I sound funny. The only poop is that it lists my old book title for my new book (because I didn't know the actual title at the time of the interview). So it's not Roll for Initiative anymore. It's Into the Wild Nerd Yonder! Oh yeah! I am still patiently awaiting pictures of the cover from the most awesome designer, Rich Deas. He designed the cover for Get Well Soon, and also many other very greatly-covered books. I can't wait to see it!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Happy Belated New Year
Yes, I am the lamest blogger on Earth. In fact, I'm not even typing this. My husband is typing as I am nursing Romy. This is how it's gotta be. So, here's the latest...
INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER is pretty much ready to go. My editor sent it to me for a final run through before they print up the galleys. I, of course, put that off til the very last minute. And once I started, I realized that there were things on many pages that I wanted to change. Not huge things. A word here, a sentence there, an occasional paragraph or two. But I think I definitely improved the quality. I took out adjectives that I saw I repeated, and I think I added more humor. Time will tell, I suppose. You'll have to be the judge. The book comes out this fall. I will keep you posted.
Ever since I started going to conferences, I have an addiction to fancy hotels. It's because you get such good deals on expensive deals when you go to conferences. American Library Association is coming to Chicago this summer. Which is so awesome because, since I'm not on the Selected Audiobooks Committee anymore, I haven't been to an ALA in what seems like a while (though it may just have been a year). This ALA is triply exciting because: 1) I have Romy to cart around which will be fun. We can get all the children's book illustrators to sign for her. 2) I'll get to see all of my librarian friends that I've missed so much. 3) Not only will the paperback of GET WELL SOON be coming out, but so will INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER as well at Matt's first author/illustrator picture book TROUBLE GUM!
Oh, I forgot I was talking about hotels...
Originally, I booked us a room at the Peninsula. This is, like, tre fancy. Normally, a $500 a night hotel. However, after some consideration, in seeing that it's so far north and we'd rather stay closer to Millenium Park, we switched hotels to someplace less than five-star.
James Preller, author of the upcoming MIGHTY CASEY (illustrated by my wonderful husband, Matthew Cordell), and prolific blogger, gave me a nice shout-out on his blog. You may know James from his popular series JIGSAW JONES, or his recent YA novel, SIX INNINGS. He gave me some delightful praise, with the Butterfly Award.
Which I now, shall pass on to my favorite blog in the world, MATTHEWCORDELLBLOGS. This is an illustrator to keep an eye on! Three books coming out this year alone. Boy's on fire. In addition to MIGHTY CASEY and TROUBLE GUM, look for the adorable TOOT TOOT ZOOM! by Phyllis Root in April.
I return to work in a little over three weeks (sigh). I think it will be ok, but I'll miss Romy terribly. And I'm a bit scared about the lack of sleep. I'm sure there'll be some tears. But there will be six weeks until spring break. And after that, the home stretch til summer. I like to think of summer on these days when it's -12 degrees outside. But summer wouldn't be what it is without these -12 days, so I don't mind so much.
Thank you to Matt for typing. See you in a few...
INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER is pretty much ready to go. My editor sent it to me for a final run through before they print up the galleys. I, of course, put that off til the very last minute. And once I started, I realized that there were things on many pages that I wanted to change. Not huge things. A word here, a sentence there, an occasional paragraph or two. But I think I definitely improved the quality. I took out adjectives that I saw I repeated, and I think I added more humor. Time will tell, I suppose. You'll have to be the judge. The book comes out this fall. I will keep you posted.
Ever since I started going to conferences, I have an addiction to fancy hotels. It's because you get such good deals on expensive deals when you go to conferences. American Library Association is coming to Chicago this summer. Which is so awesome because, since I'm not on the Selected Audiobooks Committee anymore, I haven't been to an ALA in what seems like a while (though it may just have been a year). This ALA is triply exciting because: 1) I have Romy to cart around which will be fun. We can get all the children's book illustrators to sign for her. 2) I'll get to see all of my librarian friends that I've missed so much. 3) Not only will the paperback of GET WELL SOON be coming out, but so will INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER as well at Matt's first author/illustrator picture book TROUBLE GUM!
Oh, I forgot I was talking about hotels...
Originally, I booked us a room at the Peninsula. This is, like, tre fancy. Normally, a $500 a night hotel. However, after some consideration, in seeing that it's so far north and we'd rather stay closer to Millenium Park, we switched hotels to someplace less than five-star.
James Preller, author of the upcoming MIGHTY CASEY (illustrated by my wonderful husband, Matthew Cordell), and prolific blogger, gave me a nice shout-out on his blog. You may know James from his popular series JIGSAW JONES, or his recent YA novel, SIX INNINGS. He gave me some delightful praise, with the Butterfly Award.
Which I now, shall pass on to my favorite blog in the world, MATTHEWCORDELLBLOGS. This is an illustrator to keep an eye on! Three books coming out this year alone. Boy's on fire. In addition to MIGHTY CASEY and TROUBLE GUM, look for the adorable TOOT TOOT ZOOM! by Phyllis Root in April.
I return to work in a little over three weeks (sigh). I think it will be ok, but I'll miss Romy terribly. And I'm a bit scared about the lack of sleep. I'm sure there'll be some tears. But there will be six weeks until spring break. And after that, the home stretch til summer. I like to think of summer on these days when it's -12 degrees outside. But summer wouldn't be what it is without these -12 days, so I don't mind so much.
Thank you to Matt for typing. See you in a few...
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Happy Holidays!
Happy holidays! I have been meaning to blog for a while now. I keep writing blogs in my head in the middle of the night while feeding Romy, but I’m too tired to actually type it up. Then I forget everything I wanted to write about the next day. I remember thinking one was particularly funny about daytime TV, since I am watching so much of it while I’m home on maternity leave. I wanted to write about how bland and annoying Drew Carey is on Price is Right. There was this clip on TMZ about how a man recently guessed EXACTLY the price of the item that got him up on stage. And then he guessed EXACTLY the right price for his showcase. It was amazing! And all Drew did was blandly stare at the camera. What’s up with him? And he’s oddly obsessed with the military people who come on the show. I don’t like him. I would have screamed my head off if that win happened! I love that kind of stuff. I have a DVD version of the game that I brought to work last year, and I played it with my students. They totally found my excitement contagious. And that’s Drew’s problem. He’s bringing the whole show down.
In other news, I have more cavities. You may remember that I had two while I was pregnant. This actually has something to do with pregnancy, like with the hormones and the calcium and stuff. I hadn’t had a cavity since I was little, so it was quite shocking. Those cavities were discovered at a routine dental appointment, but now I have one that HURTS. And I’m all scared that I’m going to have a root canal. We’ll see. Of course it’s Christmas, so I can’t get into a dentist at least today or tomorrow. Maybe longer. And I’m eating Jelly Bellies to help seal the deal. But like I said, it’s because of the baby. Not my fault.
In book news, I’m on the final leg of my new novel, officially titles, “Into the Wild Nerd Yonder.” I have to write the acknowledgments and dedication, read through it and see if I want to change anything else. I kind of hate that option. Cause really, I could probably change A LOT, since what I wrote originally was done a long time ago. But you can only go changing things for so long. I’m super stoked to see what Rich Deas, the awesome designer, will come up with for the cover. And I am working on a tagline that goes something like this, “A book about friendship, betrayal, and going over to the dorkside.” Or something like that. What would the correct phrase be, instead of “going over?” Maybe I’ll have some more candy to fire up my brain.
In other news, I have more cavities. You may remember that I had two while I was pregnant. This actually has something to do with pregnancy, like with the hormones and the calcium and stuff. I hadn’t had a cavity since I was little, so it was quite shocking. Those cavities were discovered at a routine dental appointment, but now I have one that HURTS. And I’m all scared that I’m going to have a root canal. We’ll see. Of course it’s Christmas, so I can’t get into a dentist at least today or tomorrow. Maybe longer. And I’m eating Jelly Bellies to help seal the deal. But like I said, it’s because of the baby. Not my fault.
In book news, I’m on the final leg of my new novel, officially titles, “Into the Wild Nerd Yonder.” I have to write the acknowledgments and dedication, read through it and see if I want to change anything else. I kind of hate that option. Cause really, I could probably change A LOT, since what I wrote originally was done a long time ago. But you can only go changing things for so long. I’m super stoked to see what Rich Deas, the awesome designer, will come up with for the cover. And I am working on a tagline that goes something like this, “A book about friendship, betrayal, and going over to the dorkside.” Or something like that. What would the correct phrase be, instead of “going over?” Maybe I’ll have some more candy to fire up my brain.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Friends
You have to say this blog title like the mom in "Better Off Dead" says it to the French exchange student. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, nevermind.
So being home with the baby is great, but sometimes I get a little obsessive about checking my Facebook. I randomly decided I wanted to set up a seventeen year high school reunion, because we didn't have a fifteen and I was, ahem, the head of my ten year reunion committee. This would strike anyone strange who ever knew me because I was sort of a nobody in high school. I had my small group of close friends, some outer circle artsy friends, got along nicely with the smart kids in my classes, and remained pretty much anonymous with anyone else. But for some reason I like seeing what everyone is up to. And Facebook has been really fun for that. The funny thing is, as I typed up a database of everyone in my class (yes, I AM a librarian), names kept popping up where I was like, "Oh, that person. I forgot about them. Ug." My class had over 400 people in it, so there are plenty of people to like. But it's funny how, until I saw their names, I forgot about all of those people I didn't like. Oh well. It's not like they'll even remember who I am.
In other friends news, I have this great Facebook friendship with a girl I went to high school with named Joyce, who I wasn't even friends with in high school. We weren't enemies; we just weren't really on each other's radars at all. We write to each other every day, though, and she is helping me plan the reunion. I will plug her awesome ETSY site again here.
And she pointed out the hilarity of this picture of Romy and Tobin and how it looks like a piece from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. See if you can figure it out.
So being home with the baby is great, but sometimes I get a little obsessive about checking my Facebook. I randomly decided I wanted to set up a seventeen year high school reunion, because we didn't have a fifteen and I was, ahem, the head of my ten year reunion committee. This would strike anyone strange who ever knew me because I was sort of a nobody in high school. I had my small group of close friends, some outer circle artsy friends, got along nicely with the smart kids in my classes, and remained pretty much anonymous with anyone else. But for some reason I like seeing what everyone is up to. And Facebook has been really fun for that. The funny thing is, as I typed up a database of everyone in my class (yes, I AM a librarian), names kept popping up where I was like, "Oh, that person. I forgot about them. Ug." My class had over 400 people in it, so there are plenty of people to like. But it's funny how, until I saw their names, I forgot about all of those people I didn't like. Oh well. It's not like they'll even remember who I am.
In other friends news, I have this great Facebook friendship with a girl I went to high school with named Joyce, who I wasn't even friends with in high school. We weren't enemies; we just weren't really on each other's radars at all. We write to each other every day, though, and she is helping me plan the reunion. I will plug her awesome ETSY site again here.
And she pointed out the hilarity of this picture of Romy and Tobin and how it looks like a piece from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. See if you can figure it out.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Blugskjsadkfjha
Holy pooballs I'm tired. So tired, I don't know what to say really. Romy is home (has been for almost a week) and it's tough. It's tough timing everything-- waking, feeding, pumping, sleeping, eating. Today we took her to the doctor for what I thought was just a weight check (she is doing awesome, btw, in every respect) and we ended up being there for almost two hours, having to have her stomach x-rayed *just in case* (nothing there but gas!). I was not happy. Must make sure to eat more. Time to go pump. TMZ is on. I don't think there's a baby out there who watches as much TMZ as Romy.
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