Christa's Great News

I want to give huge congrats to my uber-talented critique partner, Christa Desir, on the sale of her second book to SimonPulse!! The title is BLEED LIKE ME, and I've read an early draft of it. It's a heart-wrenching, agonizing (in a good way) read.

The details are here. So, don't stick around on my blog. Sprint over to Christa's and tell her congratulations!

Wordless Wednesday: What Happens When You Cram College Friends in a Photobooth

I Recommend: Cowboy and Octopus

I haven't done an I Recommend post in a long time (in which I recommend a picture book my family has enjoyed). As you know, I'm the mother of many small children, so I read more than my fair share of picture books. With joy and pleasure, I might add. I love this genre!

And I adore this zany collection of tales by Jon Scieszka. If you like Scieszka's humor (who wouldn't?) you will love Cowboy and Octopus. It's totally weird and hilarious. We borrowed it from the library and kept it out as long as we could. My son would carry it around the house reciting bits and pieces from it.

And we'd all laugh. The entire family. Over and over again.

We now own a copy, so we can live in the Land of Mirth. Permanently.

Have you read any Jon Scieszka books? Which is your favorite?

Insecure

From a writer's perspective there are three types of great books in the world.

Ego Booster: "Great book. And, you know, I think I can write just as well as this author. This book gives me hope that eventually I will get published if I keep working hard and don't give up."

Inspirational:  "I love this book! I want to write and write and write until I can write as well as this author and create a masterpiece like this one!"

Dream Dasher: "This book is so amazing. It is so amazing that I will never, ever be able to write so magnificently or come up with an idea so awesome. I might as well just quit."

I admit, I'm reading a dream dasher right now. It is so amazing and so clever. I've been reading it aloud to anyone who will listen. And it makes me want to throw my own middle grade verse novel in the garbage.

I'm sure this was not Katherine Applegate's intent when she wrote Home of the Brave, but unfortunately it can be a side-effect of a terrific novel.

Do amazing books ever make you feel insecure?

Wordless Wednesday: If Mom Spends Too Much Time On Twitter...

Black Tie (Optional)

I'll admit it. I've never been to a very formal, dressy party before.
But next weekend, the dashingly handsome sidekick and I are escaping to a college friend's wedding and we just found out yesterday that it is "black tie optional."

So, now I need help from all my friends with a clue. I've Googled this term, but am getting mixed results. Some people say, despite the "optional" tag, the bride and groom expect my husband to show up in a tux. Others say that he should just wear his darkest suit. The consensus, however, seems to be that a sport coat and tie will not cut it (which is what he was planning to wear).

And very little is said about what women should wear. Does this mean I have to run out and buy a new, sparkly evening dress and shoes to go with it? (I'm not sure if I want the answer to be yes or no. My bank account has a personality and is freaking out at this prospect.)

What's your verdict? Have you been to a black-tie-optional event before? What did you wear?

Photo credit: jdurham from morguefile.com

My Reading Pile

I'm notorious for reading too many books at once. It would probably make more sense to read one at a time, but for some reason I always have a few I'm bouncing around between.

Here's what I've been reading lately: 

A novel for adults. I know! When was the last time I read a novel for adults?! But it's beautiful and I love it so far.

This is a YA. I started reading it because I thought it might be a good comp book for the YA contemporary I've been revising. Great voice.

Middle grade verse novel! By Katherine Applegate! Need I say more?

What's in your reading pile? Do read more than one book at a time?

Wordless Wednesday: Guess Who's Turning Two Tomorrow

All the Joy

I've been in a blogging holding pattern lately, just posting pictures on Wednesday instead of anything substantial. Is this the new normal? I hope not! But, like I said before, my daughter's gymnastics schedule is kicking my blogging butt.

Probably the answer is to get more organized, and hopefully I'll get there at some point, but right now I'm focusing on SURVIVAL (and finishing this draft of one of my WiPs).

However, I did have a fantastic Christmas. It was so amazing because...

1) My sister came to visit from Hong Kong. She's the same one who has taken the pictures I've been posting the last couple weeks. I hope she had a good time -- I certainly did. It's really hard that she lives so far away, especially because I have to rely on her to visit us most of the time (because transporting a family of seven to Hong Kong is just not in the budget). She's a world traveler and just an amazing person, and my kids had a blast seeing their auntie. At the end of the week, it was really hard to say goodbye, especially when we don't know when we'll see each other again. The happy-sadness of life.

Aunt Michelle making sugar cookies with the kiddos

2) My hubby is a high school teacher, so he had two weeks off! ... and since it's winter, there was no backyard work to be done. (Woot!) Though he did put in some time grading, he was home the ENTIRE time. Which was amazing. We haven't really had a stay-at-home-all-together time in a long while. He taught summer school last summer, and then worked on his big backyard project every spare moment, so this vacation was just ... bliss. Sometimes I'd sneak away to my bedroom and shut the door and write, write, write and he took care of everything perfectly. Did my introverted soul good. *happy sigh*

3) We had a white Christmas! Snow. Lots of it! Pouring from the sky. And it just melted a few days ago, so we had it for a good, long time, which is unusual for our area. The kids were actually getting sick of it by the end. Also unusual.

I have a lot to be thankful for! Did you get a holiday break? What was the highlight?

Wordless Wednesday: Window

Photo credit: my talented sister, Michelle Pardini

Wordless Wednesday: A Walk to the Corner Store

Photo credit: My amazingly talented sister, Michelle Pardini