ALA and BABY

So I've been away from the blog (nothing new, I realize), but this time my reason is legit! I had a baby! His name is Dean! He was a few weeks early, and he's doing great. Romy is a fantastic big sister, and I am trying to be everything to everyone, as a mom does, and feeling like I'm failing miserably half of the time.

We made a day out for ALA on Saturday, since it was in Chicago. Matt had a signing and a million meetings, and I, well, I walked around and ate stuff and got books. It's weird to step back and think about how ALA used to be for me: When I was a librarian I went to Annual for the first time as a recipient of the Baker and Taylor Award (one school and one public librarian win the award that takes them to the conference). After that I won another ALA award (Excellence in Library Services to Young Adults, I think it was called. Man, I'm foggy.), and after that I went on to be a member of the Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults committee for two years. That was back when I knew Librarian was my calling. Toward the end of my committee work my first novel was published, so ALA turned into a combination librarian/author thing. That's when the confusion began: which hat do I wear, and what does that hat look like (a jaunty one for the author, I'm thinking, and a very comfortable and practical one for the librarian, naturally)? The confidence and comfort I felt as a librarian melded into the awkwardness of being an "author" (and believe you me, there is awkwardness in a job that mostly involves me being in a room by myself). And then I had a kid. ALA turned into Finding Authors to Autograph Books for My Child time (while still being a librarian AND an author). Soon after, I left my middle school librarian job to be home with my daughter, so ALA turned into Mommy/Author time. Equally awkward and more and more complicated to maneuver. I felt like a fraud of a librarian (not having a job and all), mostly a mom with just a sprinkle of author tossed in when I had a dinner or signing to attend.

That brings us to this year. With a two week old baby on my chest and a four and a half year-old in a stroller, I roamed the floor, gathering books and trying to keep my energy up. The ARCs for my next novel, The F-It List (out November of this year) were available at the Macmillan Kids booth, and the book's cover appeared on the booth banner. Yet, that was pretty much the extent of my authorly-ness. No signings, no meetings, no meals. Not knowing when the baby would be born, I couldn't schedule in any author things to do. And having him born early, my brain couldn't have handled much anyway.

So what does this mean for ALAs in the future? Will I ever be an actual librarian again? Will I ever feel like a real author? Will I ever attend without my kids again? Only time will tell. I noticed next year's annual is in Las Vegas. That could be interesting. As I recall, there's a massive M&M store. And, you know, some shows and gambling and stuff. I wonder if the kids will be down with that.

And now for some pictures! I handed Romy the camera at the Mac Kids booth, and here's what she came up with:

Me! Can't you tell?

Gordy! Romy's teddy bear.

I have to say, Romy is a great photographer. I asked her to get me (and my chins) and the book cover on the banner, and there we are!

Romy wanted me to include this picture of books.

Distraction

Last week I saw one of my midwives, and I asked her if there were any things I should bring with me to the hospital when it's time to give birth. I'm alternating between being overly tired and panic mode; having my first child so early has made where I am now (35.5 weeks) stressful. I like to deal with things head-on, so it's weird to just have to wait. When will the baby come? Who knows? So weird. But that's not what this post is about. Last time around, I was over-prepared with a giant packed bag of DVDs when I left for the hospital. I assumed I would pass the time during labor by watching episode after episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, the DVD player in the birthing room was broken (so they told me), and who can focus on a TV when they're contracting? This time around, my midwife suggested I bring relaxing music. But, really, what's relaxing music? Kenny G? Sarah McLachlan? Holistic food store flute music? Who wants to listen to that shit while their body is squeezing out a person? And who wants that to be the first sound their baby hears when he comes out? Not me. My iPod is mainly filled with music to distract me while running, and I somehow don't think Ke$ha or Slayer will be the right choice for birth music. I'll probably tote some Buffy DVDs, maybe a little Northern Exposure, some Supernatural. It's about happiness and distraction, right? And I'll be keeping my eyes on the prize: that big-ass piece of cake I'm going to devour after my gestational diabetes goes away. And, you know, that cute, little, Ke$ha/Buffy/Slayer-loving baby boy.

Summer Read Me

My plan was to blog about what kinds of things I intend to bring to the hospital with me to entertain myself as I give birth (hahahahahah! As though I'll be doing anything but screaming and telling nurses to take their needles and shove them), but it's late in the day and we just moved Romy's bedroom and I'm pooped. So I will leave you with this short post. I found this online, a summer reading list for a military school that includes my novel Have a Nice Day! I thought it was incredibly cool and open-minded of them. I like the letter they sent home to parents about their summer reading program, too. Perhaps it is such a cool military school because it resides in Sarasota, the winter home of P.T. Barnum. I'm just speculating. About circus folk. As I oft do. Have a good weekend!

Favoritism

As I was reading an article about Stephen King in the weekend paper, I thought about when people asked me for "favorites" in interviews (his wasn't a list of favorites, but book recommendations, but still). I even have a whole favorites page on my website (which has not been updated in years, and takes a lot of effort because there is only one computer in the house with the random, old software that Matt and I use to update our websites and I know I need to add things but I have too many things I'm already going crazy about since the baby will be here within a month). But the whole idea of favorites, while I love it, doesn't quite work for me anymore. I mean, not that I don't believe favorites exist, but how long should something remain a "favorite?" For instance, on my list of favorite bands, Guided by Voices is always named. However, it's not as though I sit around and listen to them anymore. In fact, I don't know if I have for years. Some things just don't seem to fit into my life the way they used to when I wasn't a parent. Like the millions of horror movies I used to watch. Matt isn't so into them, but occasionally I can throw one on if they're the more intellectual type. But back in the day, horror movies were my thing. (You can feel my love for horror movies in The F-It List, now with a picture on Amazon!) Back to the interview thing. If someone were to ask me, say, my favorite writers, I don't know how I'd answer. All I do is read picture books to Romy and finish an adult non-fiction book every four months. So do I hearken back to my all-time favorites? List the people I used to name as favorites but haven't read for years?

I'm going to go through my Favorites page on my website and see how true it still is.
Cereals - Can't complain. I still enjoy a bowl of Life Cereal and Cookie Crisp.
Candies - You realize I can't eat ANY of this shit right now because of the gestational diabetes. Fug. I would take off the Kinder Bueno. I think those were a passing phase. I would add Jaffas (orange and chocolate from Australia) and Brach's Jube Jel hearts.
Chips - Doritos don't wow me as they used to, unless I'm on a road trip and eating PB&J. I don't think I have a favorite chip anymore. Is that sad?
Foods - What a weird list. Again, with the diabetes and pregnancy in general, my diet is so fudged it's hard to really know what my favorite foods are. A good egg bagel should be on that list, though.
TV Shows - Battlestar Galactica needs to be added, fo sho. And Treme (with an accent that I can't provide).
Games - Hmmm. So many games to choose from! I do love games. Should I have put Dungeons and Dragons on there? But is that really a game or a way of life?
Books - Actually, that's a really good list. It's an "Of All Time" list, which I can dig. Phew!
Movies - Great list, Julie! Thanks, Julie. I'm so glad I included the "Before" movies. Man, I am going to blog soon about how I can't wait to see the third one.

I am actually rather pleased with myself for my Favorites page. I guess I was smart in not including music on the list and not including any passing phases (except for that candy). You will probably see the above-mentioned changes sometime in the year 2017.

What I'm Watching: Spring Fever

Does anyone else dislike this twelve episode television season trend that seems to be everywhere? It's not enough if you really like a show, and by the time the shows come back on the air I don't remember anything that has happened. My favorite of the twelve episode shows right now is Bates Motel. Of course I'm a fan of "Psycho," but I think the show has some great expanded characters and surprising plots. And it's got that  lovely dash of weird to it.

Here's a list of what else is on my DVR these days:

Dukes of Melrose - I have a tendency to watch shows about fashion which is semi-ironic considering how I dress (or maybe I just feel that way now, while I rotate the same three pairs of pants throughout my pregnancy). This one is fun due to the history of the vintage clothing, the massive amounts of money people will spend on clothes, and the great owners of the store. The season ended recently, and I hope Bravo renews it.

Game of Thrones - I blogged a little about this before, how I am just so easily confused. Last night cracked me up when three new dudes showed up and introduced themselves, and their names were so ridiculously complicated. I wish everyone on the show had names like "Fred" and "Mike" so I could keep track better. It drives me crazy when I feel like I'm almost getting into the show, and then they show the "Only two episodes left!" preview for the following week. I guess that means True Blood should be on soon.

XOXO Betsy Johnson - Again with the fashion. I have only owned a few Betsy baubles, but I think she's fabulous and interesting. It's so strange to watch her daughter try to start "her own" fashion line (I put that in quotes, since her daughter does not use a) any of her own money or b) even her own drawings). How does someone with such a creative mom seem so uncreative?

Supernatural - I've been watching this throughout my pregnancy whenever I'm on the treadmill. I'm almost finished with seven seasons! And there's one more on tap from this past year. Plus, it's been renewed! I like the show a lot. The brothers are sweet, and I'm a sucker for a paranormal road trip (or any road trip, for that matter).

Fashion Police - More fashion! Joan Rivers is amazing, so I watch more for her than anything.

I'm sure there are other shows on the DVR, but I can't be bothered to go up the stairs to look. I'm 33 and a half weeks pregnant, the same number of weeks that my daughter was born 4 and a half years ago! So this is pretty much as pregnant as I've ever been. Stairs are not my friends. Neither are ankles. TV, however, suits me just fine. Any suggestions for shows I should be watching?

F-It List ARC Winner and a Nap

I know I said the contest would end on Friday, but I wasn't sure if people read blogs on weekends. The winner of The F-It List ARC is... Vivien! Thank you to all who entered. I may have another contest next month. I mean, sheesh, the book won't be out for another six months! Hopefully my blogging will become more regular, and I'll gain some readers back. Although, I am having a baby in a month or two, so who knows how that will affect my blogging. Maybe the baby will be a natural born blogger.

So onto naps. I am now having the problem of falling asleep every time Game of Thrones is on. I don't know if it's that the show is boring, but it must be relaxing enough to put me out. Or maybe it's just so overly saturated with characters that my brain can't handle it and shuts down. No, I haven't read the books, but I imagine my brain exploding from all of the characters and locations. It's starting to remind me of Deadwood in that I feel compelled to watch, but I have no idea what's going on. I'm a simple gal. Well, occasionally, anyway. I was pleased with having my favorite Aussie actor, Noah Taylor, onscreen, even though his character was all gross and hand-cutty. Is he gone forever? Is his character anything but icky? And was anyone else annoyed that the skanky chicks who were all over that guy with the jacked-up teeth (um, seriously, that's how well my brain remembers anything from that show) had overly groomed pubes? They couldn't find an actress to seem more of the time? If there were a time with dragons and whatnot. You know what I mean.

I better go. I still haven't sent my acknowledgements page to my editor. I don't know why it's driving me into madness. Nobody read them when The F-It List comes out, just in case they sound like I'm signing your eighth grade yearbook.

Final Day to Enter F-It List ARC Contest!

It's a rainy, blucky Friday. Ever since my beloved Tobin died on a Friday (five weeks ago? Sheesh), I kind of hate the day. And the night before. So let's brighten up today by entering my contest to win an ARC of my forthcoming novel, The F-It List. Enter here for a chance to win.

I've started about twenty blog posts about Tobin, and I still can't seem to get it right. But here's a couple pictures of the guy to add a little snuggle and smoosh to our day.