all4theduke

1. I was so glad to hear from so many other Chris Cuomo Crushers after I wrote my entry all about him on Wednesday. I knew I wasn't alone, but it's nice to have peeps. Anyway, I'd kind of forgotten about the whole thing until yesterday morning, when at 5:55 am my phone beeped to tell me I had a text. I immediately panicked, thinking someone was in the hospital or jail. And, because the only people who ever text me are my babysitters, I was convinced it was one of them. (Although they are sweet girls and would not get arrested. I don't think so, anyway.) I picked up my phone, looked at the text and...it was from Chris Cuomo. He was thanking me for my nice entry. OH MY GOD! Apparently my Twitter settings were such that if someone I follow sends me a direct message, I get a text. My husband, groggy with sleep, said, "Who's texting you?" and I just giggled and said, "Chris Cuomo." He TOTALLY did not believe me. I think he still doesn't. But seriously, it made my day.

2. In other news, a week from tomorrow I'll be heading off to my first conference in AGES, NCTE in Philadelphia. I always love NCTE, because the teachers and librarians are so cool, and there's the ALAN conference, and when you come home it's time for Thanksgiving. Anyway, here's my schedule while I'm there, so if you're attending, come say hello:
11/21, Saturday

1:15 Author Strand presentation
with Michelle Kwansey
Convention Center room 103A

3pm Signing at Penguin Booth, #318

11/22 Sunday
9:30 am Chester County Book & Music Company Author Breakfast
Chester County Books, West Chester PA (I don't know much about this event, so call the bookstore to get details)

1:00 "A Novel Idea" Teen Event for Philadelphia Free Library at Children's Book World
Children's Book World
Haverford, PA
(Ditto for this one, call the bookstore to find out more)

11/23 Monday

8:50 am ALAN panel with Deb Caletti, Todd Strasser and Adrian Fogelin

Then I come home and commence eating turkey and mashed potatoes for the next week. YUM!

3. I have been hesitant to write much about Friday Night Lights and the new season here, as I have so many friends without DirecTV who are angry they have to wait to see it. But can I just say that again and again, in these first three episodes, I've been SO inspired by some of the writing on this show. They might be talking about keeping at football, and trying hard on the field, and all that, but it can apply to just about anything you want to do, and do well. I am always up for more motivation, but especially when I'm writing. Thank you, Coach Taylor. I'm listening, I promise.

4. My daughter, as I write this, is trying to negotiate with me. It's time for her to go upstairs and read books and have some quiet time, and she's pulling out every stop to avoid it. She needs more cereal. She needs more time to play down here. She's eating her grapes. Her new favorite thing to say to me: "Just ONE more minute." It's like dealing with a used car salesman, but constantly, day in and day out. On the flip side, it is helping me with my assertiveness skills. She's good at her no, but I'm getting better at mine at the same time. Parenting is ALL about looking for the bright side, isn't it?

5. Finally, it's been raining her for two full days now, and I'm starting to go a bit nuts. We've had this storm just sitting over us, dumping rain and wind, and all I want to do is sleep and eat, and repeat. A few weeks back, my husband bought some microwave popcorn from a bunch of boy scouts outside of Lowe's. (He's that kind of person: he will ALWAYS buy what someone is peddling for charity, especially if it's kids. He's also the guy who always gets roped in by those people who work in the kiosks in the middle of the mall, approaching you aggressively with hair extensions or manicure sticks or facial creams. I can't tell you how many of those things I have gotten for gift giving occasions. But I guess it's better to be married to someone so nice than not, right?) Anyway, he bought this popcorn, for a good cause, and we started eating some in the evenings. A bad habit to get into, because it's REALLY hard to break. Luckily, the popcorn was not that good, so we could kind of control ourselves. But then, my friend Dana was over, and said, "Oh, you should buy some Pop Secret Homestyle. It's the best." I am totally suggestible, especially when it comes to grocery shopping. So I bought a box, and OH MY GOD. She was not kidding. This popcorn is like NIRVANA. I wish I had never tried it, because I can see it becoming a nightly habit. Or maybe just eating it for meals, instead of cooking. Perhaps if it stops raining and the sun comes out, I'll give up my popcorn habit. Until then, no promises. Mother Nature, it's your call.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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Regular readers of this blog know that I am a fan of Good Morning America. Okay, it's more like obsessed. I mean, look at my face in this picture:

So if you are a Today or Early show zealot, you might want to skip this entry. I will not be offended, promise.

Okay, so I LOVE Diane Sawyer. Which is why I am somewhat devastated (if you can be somewhat devastated) that she's leaving the show at the end of this year to take over World News Tonight. Don't get me wrong: I know this is a great thing for Diane. It's like the golden ring of broadcasting, and she totally deserves it. Not to mention that I watch World News every night, so it's not like I won't be seeing her.

But I've been watching the Morning Fab Four for years now. And I hate to think of them getting broken up.

(This is not the greatest picture, I know. But I am writing this while my daughter is temporarily distracted, so time is of the essence.)

I have to be honest. When they first put this group together, I was all about Diane and Robin. But I quickly developed a huge thing for Sam Champion as well. Chris Cuomo....well, at first I wasn't so sure. See, I look at GMA kind of like high school. (This is a pitfall of being a YA writer, I think. You see everything in terms of high school.) Anyway, if Diane is the all-around gorgeous achiever, Robin is the tomboy who is friends with everyone in every possible clique. Sam is the funny guy who sits behind you in art class and you never really want to date, necessarily, but have more fun with than just about anyone else. And Chris, initially to me, was the jock. You know the type. The guy who is kind of swaggering, and sits in the back of the bus picking on people and it's funny, as long as it's not you. I think I felt this way because I thought he teased Sam a lot in the early days, and it bugged me. Plus the cool-but-kind-of-mean jock was pretty much my LEAST favorite person in high school.

Then, though, something happened. I think it was around when they did this segment about facing fears. Diane walked on coals, Sam did something with bees, and I think Robin's had to do with flying, I'm not sure. Chris admitted to a serious fear of heights. Which, alone, was very non-jock on the back on the bus. Then, he did a bungee jump off the side of a huge building. And as I watched him, as he got ready to do it, I saw this total fear and vulnerability that made me like him. Okay, maybe love him.

And as I started to follow him on Twitter, and watch him more often, I saw that he was not at ALL what I'd originally thought. He's, like, a total sap. He tears up talking about his kids, he gets totally geared up doing segments about people being screwed by The Man (insurance companies, big business, etc) and he admits that his mom always says he eats too much during the cooking segments. He gardens and loves to fish. In short, he won me over. Big time.

Which is why, when I read in the paper yesterday that they're making a decision next month about who will replace Diane, all I could think was it had to be Chris. It HAS to be. What are they going to do, bring in someone new? If so, how weird will that be? They moved Robin up to co-anchor when Charlie left, now they should move Chris up and put someone else in the news reader position. Not that anyone's asking me, but I'd suggest Kate Snow, or JuJu Chang, or, ABC, if you're feeling kind of daring, what about Bianna Golodryga? She's insanely smart, will bring in the younger set, and pretty much drop dead gorgeous to boot. I mean, look:

Plus, when she walked by in the hallway, when I was in the makeup room at GMA with JuJu Chang, she smiled at me. And she TOTALLY didn't have to do that. Consider me convinced.

All right, so I just read this entry over again and I sound like a total psycho. Which is not really new, except I'm usually going on about Friday Night Lights or coffee. Oh, well. It's worth it if even ONE person who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone at ABC sees this and passes it on. One entirely too devoted fan's opinion. Give Chris the job. I mean, can Matt Lauer do this?


I didn't think so.

Have a good day, everyone!

As regular readers of this blog know, I watch a lot of Sesame Street since I had my daughter. Before that, not so much, at least, not since my own childhood. But I am part of the original Sesame Street generation: it turns 40 this year---this week is the beginning of the new season---and I turn 40 (gulp) this coming summer. I was pretty much raised on Big Bird and Snuffy and Oscar, learning letters and numbers with them, and I love that my own kid is doing the same, now. (Although right NOW she is watching Barney, which I hate. I know, I know, that's mean. But I can't help it.) Personally, I will be THRILLED for the new season to begin, if only because we have watched all the ones from last year multiple times. As much as I love Neil Patrick Harris as the Fairy Shoeperson, and Sandra Oh as the Cookie Fairy, I'm ready for some new material. Although I never really get tired of Prairie Dawn. I just love that girl.


In other news, how much did I love Taylor Swift on SNL this weekend? I thought she was beyond fab, especially her monologue. If you missed it, it's here:


There was also a great send-up of the Twilight movie, although I kind of missed a lot of the joke because I, um, haven't seen it. I know, I know. I really should, especially with the second one about to come out, for professional research reasons if nothing else. I mean, it's a great thing when a YA book does this well. But honestly, I'm kind of suffering from Twilight burnout even WITHOUT seeing the movie. I mean, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are everywhere these days, and I feel like every time I turn around there's another series about vampires on TV or in the new releases on the bookshelf. And I am just not a vampire/werewolf kind of person. It probably makes me seem wholly unimaginative, but I like stories about real people and real life. This is why I never got into Harry Potter, either (and why my husband maintains I am a Muggle. But whatever).

Finally, on a more serious note, I'm sitting here watching a segment on domestic violence on GMA, and it's breaking my heart. They're talking specifically about teenage girls, and what they are calling the "Rhianna effect," i.e. that since she came forward and talked about being beaten by Chris Brown on Friday night, calls to domestic violence lines---and specifically teen targeted ones---went up considerably. This is an issue close to my own heart, because I wrote a book about a girl in a similar relationship, and since then I have literally gotten hundreds of emails and letters from girls telling me about their own stories with abusive boyfriends. It's a terrible, terrible thing, that this happens, and I so respect Rhianna for coming forward and shedding some bright, needed light on the subject. I was never in an abusive relationship. But several of my close friends, in high school and since, were, and they were not weak women. They were strong and smart and just got overwhelmed. It happens. But it doesn't HAVE to. There are resources and help out there. So if you need it, speak up. Tell a friend, a parent, a clergyperson, a teacher. Tell SOMEONE. Please. The number for National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline is 1-866-331-9474. Their website is here.

I hope you all have a great day.

1. This was the first week of what I'm calling TOFFT: Time Off From Facebook and Twitter. I won't say I've been able to avoid them altogether. At least once a day, I check in and see what's going on, and maybe update. But I USED to be on multiple times a day, updating and checking, and since I've stopped I actually feel better. I think that for me, all that updating and stuff drains the same energy I need to write, and I really need that for writing these days. So if you've been trying to contact me via Facebook or Twitter, I apologize. I'll be back sometime. Maybe in the new year?

2. Someone left a comment the other day, worried about Coco and wanting an update. You ask, I give. (Unless it's on Facebook or Twitter.) So Coco is doing really well. She's basically back to normal, which means following my daughter around vigilantly, waiting for dropped bunny crackers, attacking Monkey for no good reason, and bringing me her chicken to throw whenever I sit down. (In fact, just as I wrote this, she instigated a wild play session with Monkey has them racing back and forth across the house. I wish you could see it.) Anyway, we go back to the vet next week to get another set of x-rays, and that's when we'll see if her spleen is still really enlarged. I am thinking good thoughts. If her outer behavior is any indication, though, she's fine.

3. I was at the mall the other day, on November 2nd, when it happened. The clerk wished me a Merry Christmas. I couldn't help it: like a reflex, I said, "It's too early!" I mean, honestly. In the clerk's defense, though, I WAS buying a Christmas book, Olivia Helps with Christmas, which, incidentally, I now know by heart a mere three days later. I'm sorry but November 2nd is just too early to be wishing anyone anything but Happy Thanksgiving. Am I wrong? Oh, probably. Yet more proof that I am a cranky old woman.

4. In other news, my daughter continues her obsession with her little plastic Jesus Christ action figure. I can't figure it out, as she has TONS of other toys, but she insists on taking J.C. (as we call him) everywhere with us. Now, I am not a religious person. I was not raised in the church, nor was my husband. But we do live in the Bible Belt, so I am very aware that faith is a thing people take seriously, and I do not want J.C. being dragged to Whole Foods or our playgroup to offend anyone. So I went out the other day looking for another action figure that maybe wouldn't be so, um, sacred. I found a Cleopatra, which I thought was great. But Sasha was less than impressed. I mean, she LIKES Cleo okay, but really just as a buddy for J.C. to hang with while we build him block houses. I guess I need to keep looking. Meanwhile, I'll just do my best to make sure J.C. is properly treated. The other day Sasha left him on a table at this clothing boutique, where he was surrounded by lingerie. Not good. I'll work on it.

5. Finally, I'm excited to report that my office is really starting to come together. The bathroom is almost painted, this really nice blue, and the main room is a kind of apricot, the ceilings a bright white. We've ordered cabinets so people don't have to see all my clutter the minute they walk in, and I've pruned down my book collection a bunch so I don't have to haul boxes and boxes of stuff over there and fill it up the second it's done. There are still a few things I need, though. Like I'm thinking I really want to buy a time clock, the kind we used to have at the restaurant, and put it up right by the door. Then I can fill out a time card with my name (and maybe a little heart next to it, like I used to at the Burrito) and clock in whenever I sit down to write, then clock out when I leave. I'm thinking this might help me feel more professional, which I have not been feeling at ALL lately. Mostly because I'm in this weird no-man's land (no woman's?) where i don't have a full time job, but am not a full time stay at home parent either. It's a great thing to be able to hang with my daughter so much, and I wouldn't change it for the world. But it's hard to do all this--writing, blogging, updating, answering emails, just keeping up in general---in only twenty hours a week. I mean, I CAN do it. But I get kind of crabby, and that's not good for everyone. Maybe if I'm clocking in and out, it'll feel more like a real job and I won't feel so guilty about everything I'm not getting done. We'll see.

Have a great day, everyone!

One thing that totally bums me out about fall and winter is the days being so short. When it starts getting dark at, like, 4:45, I just want to crawl back into bed and put my head under the covers. (That's sort of my default setting in fall and winter. I know, it's not healthy, but whatever.) Anyway, since I'm all about looking on the positive side these days---or trying to---here's a bonus to the time change: it's not QUITE so dark at 6am now. You can sort of see the sun coming up. A little light in the distance is always a nice thing.

In other news, I know the LAST thing I needed was another show to watch, but I've been totally sucked into The Big Bang Theory. We've been watching it on DVD from the beginning of the series, and it's just become another thing that makes these early dark nights that much better. I've been trying to figure out why, exactly, I like it so much, and I think it's that the premise is not like anything else on TV. The characters are unique, and so well drawn. I think in this time of reality TV (and believe me, I watch more than my share) you can forget how good a well-written, well-created show can be. I guess as viewers we've come to see people like Santino from Project Runway and the girls from The Hills as "characters," but they're not. A real character is someone like Sheldon on the Big Bang, so well drawn and distinct that there's no one else like them. Although, honestly, I kind of have a thing for Howard as well. I think it's those belts and mock turtlenecks. Who can resist?

Speaking of reality TV, last night I caught a bit of the Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion, and I just felt...I don't know. Discouraged? We learned this season that NeNe is writing a book, and Kim has a hit single with "Tardy for the Party." But if you watched the show, you saw that Kim didn't really SING that much on her song. And you saw that NeNe's book is actually being written by someone else. So can you be a singer without singing much, or a writer without writing much? Maybe I'm just bitter because I'm at that point in my own novel where I'm kind of tearing my hair out a bit, and I get bothered by people who don't have so much trouble. But that's MY issue, not theirs. In fact, I should just delete this whole paragraph so I don't seem like some cranky old woman. But instead, I'll just lighten the mood with a picture of my new crush:


Ah, that's better. Now I'm going to go drink some coffee and work on my attitude.

Have a great day, everyone!

Somehow, it is November. NOVEMBER! That means Thanksgiving is, like, three weeks away. And don't even start about Christmas. I can't even begin to go there. Whoa.

We had a good weekend around here, mostly because my little Coco dog came home on Saturday after three days at the emergency vet. Whatever obstruction she had (we suspect it was an acorn, but will never know for sure) has passed, but the vets are kind of concerned because her spleen is very swollen. This can mean many things, some of them very scary, but we are hoping it's a reaction to the obstruction and will return to normal. Fingers crossed on that front. Meanwhile, we are spoiling Coco rotten, letting her sleep on the couch, and basically smothering her with attention to the point that she is running from us. (Okay, me.) Oh, and I also bought her a new bed and am sneaking her food from my plate. So sue me.

In other news, NaNoWriMo started yesterday, and I've gotten a bunch of messages asking if I am participating. I am not, but mostly because I'm already working on a novel and therefore can't start something else. But I DO love NanoWriMo, if only because I know for sure that for the entire month of November I am not the only one plodding along trying to write every day, climbing up that hill, sometimes on all fours. Some people run marathons. Some of us write novels. They are both crazy exhausting, soul-testing life-changing activities. Of course, some people write novels AND run marathons. But I don't even want to know about those people. At least not right now.

Finally, I've been doing a lot of thinking these last couple of weeks about my web presence and how I can better manage it all. I've written here recently about how I have been having a bit of trouble juggling the novel and the blog and updating all these various sites. I thought about giving up this blog and going solely to Facebook and Twitter, as a lot of folks have done....but people really seem to like the blog, so I think I'll zag instead and cut back on the other stuff. So if I'm not on Twitter or Facebook as much, you'll know it's because I'm trying to save my brain for that marathon I'm running. So to speak.

Have a great day, everyone!

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