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Housekeeping

Yes, this is a lot of what I have been doing today (housekeeping), as I’ve neglected it for the better part of a week. I swear laundry increases exponentially when you ignore it for a day or five.

Not to break my stride, I’ll keep up with the housekeeping here.

First, I wanted to let you know that while I don’t normally blog on Saturday, I have joined in on Elle Strauss‘s First Page Blogfest. I couldn’t resist. The darn thing keeps changing, so I thought I’d appreciate hearing others’ reactions. (Especially from those of you who have read a previous version!). So I’d love it if you would weigh in . . . any comments to help me make it better would be greatly appreciated!

Second, I won a couple of awards a while ago, and I’ve been meaning to publicly thank them for a while now.

Heather at Buried in Books gave me the Versatile Blogger Award.

And Amy at The Green Bathtub gave me The Creative Blogger Award

While I don’t post pictures of awards I’ve received, I’m always so flattered when people think of me and my little blog when bestowing them. It brightens my day to know that I was being thought of in such a nice way. So THANK YOU!

I know the rules require tidbits about myself and bestowing it to others. Since I don’t have the particulars, I’ll just pretend that 5 is a good number on both counts. However, this is getting long, and I have a rule against long blogs, so you’ll have to wait until Monday. Cruel, I know. 😉

Have a great weekend!

Speak up:

6 comments

| TAGS:

Awards, Blog fest, Buried in Books, Elle Strauss, housekeeping, The Creative Blogger Award, The Green Bathtub, The Versatile Blogger Award

It came!

I’m sure you remember my book with the missing pages, right? Well, my new copy with ALL the pages arrived today! So it’s not that I don’t love you all, but I’ve got some reading to do.

What was the last book you read that you HAD to finish before you could become a functioning member of society again?

Speak up:

26 comments

| TAGS:

book, Missing pages

License Plate Deciphered

I know you’ve all been dying to find out what kind of car had the license plate SUSHIBX. I admit, having seen the car, I didn’t realize how hard this one would be. But all the more fun, right?

Okay, so we had a couple of great guesses:

Sandy Shin randomly guessed (her own admission) a dark-blue Toyota Highlander. She got two of the three features right. It is not a Highlander.

Lenny Lee deciphered the coded license plate with the skills of a true detective. Sushi for a Japanese car, and Box for a box car. I know you’ve seen them . . . Honda Element, Nissan Cube. Literally boxes on wheels. But it’s neither of those.

For the candy bar, Bob, the answer is a dark-blue Toyota Scion xB!

I have contacted both of the winners, and gleaned their favorite candy bar. Twix for Sandy, and Reeses PB cups (minis) for Lenny. However, in a twist, he has chosen the surprise option. Sorry, you’ll have to wait until he gets it. I can’t spoil the surprise.

Speak up:

12 comments

| TAGS:

Lenny Lee, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Sandy Shin, Toyota Scion, Twix

Doing the Impossible

I know I said I’d follow up on the guessing from Monday’s post, but I’ll do that Friday. Promise.

So, I have this yearly tradition. Just before Halloween, I break out the sewing machine and sew a costume for one of my kids. The others get store-bought, because one is all I can handle.

The thing is, I am no seamstress. Like at all. I avoided sewing like the plague. Even the bookmark I had to make in Home Ec didn’t look like a bookmark. Pitiful, I know.

Then three years ago, my friend was doing her annual frenzy of sewing FIVE costumes. Amazing! But dangitall, it looked fun. So with the promise of help (that I could call her with every little question, no matter how stupid), I took the leap. It took me a month to make it, but here are the fruits:

Yes, yes, I know, you’re all impressed. 😉

This tradition isn’t just about saving money on a costume (because it costs me more to sew one than to just buy it). It’s about reminding myself that I can do the seemingly impossible when I put my mind to it.

What impossible feats are you accomplishing?

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21 comments

| TAGS:

costumes, Halloween, Sewing

Guess that car!

It’s been months since I obsessed (publicly) about personalized license plates. But I certainly haven’t stopped finding fun ones. Yesterday I saw:

and

Seriously, they’re like the ultimate twitter. How much can you say about yourself in 7 letters?

But I digress. So here’s the game: Guess the car make, model and color.

Simple enough, right? Last time it was WAY too easy. And I foolishly gave a hint. *snort, cough* This time it will be harder. Maybe.

First person to get it right, I’ll mail their favorite candy bar. Or they can choose to be surprised. *big grin*

Ready. Set. Go!

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22 comments

| TAGS:

Contest, personalized licence plates, twitter

National Book Festival

One of the perks of living near DC is the National Book Festival held every year on the Mall. There are scads of authors who all do book signings and speak to the masses.

And PBS kids comes with Miss Rosa, and Steve Songs, and they give out all kinds of free stuff. I went last Saturday with my 3-year-old, and he was so excited to choose a free book compliments of Penguin Inc., receive a free book and book-making kit from Scholastic, and carry his free bag of goodies from PBS.

I so wanted to go hear Suzanne Collins speak, and get a signed copy I could give away, but alas my 3-year-old wouldn’t have it. However, I was standing 2 feet away from Margaret Peterson-Haddix (Among the Hidden series) before they rushed her off for her speaking gig. And I hear Michael Buckley (Sisters Grimm series) was excellent. One of these years I’ll actually get to hear the speakers. In the mean time, I basked in the glory of being there with my son who was just as excited about the books as I was.

Speak up:

14 comments

No Contest

Honestly, you guys. I really thought the results of the last poll would be a little closer! So here we are:

Total votes: 25

Cruise: 3 votes; 12%

Hawaii: 20 votes; 80%
Cruise TO Hawaii: 1 vote; 4%
Neither: 1 vote; 4%

Though I was leaning towards Hawaii (because it was my favorite vacation EVER), I felt so bad for the cruise that I had to add my vote there. I’m a sucker for underdogs.

And with  the smell of Autumn in the air, I couldn’t resist the next debate:

Fall

Spring

Speak up:

19 comments

| TAGS:

cruise, fall, hawaii, poll, spring

Gahh! . . . Missing Pages

I’ve been reading the sixth and final book in a series. The tension’s been building for five books now, things look terrible for the MCs, the end of the world’s in sight, then . . . GAH! I’m missing a chunk of book!

I stared for a minute, read and re-read what led up to it just in case it was simply numbered wrong, flipped through the rest of the book in case it the pages were merely out of order . . . No, that confirmed it, I got two of the same section of pages.

I ran to my computer, googled the publisher, found an e-mail address and sent my humble plea. (I was so polite. You all would be proud!) Within an hour I had my response.

A new book is on its way. Hooray!

Despite the kafufel, I give kudos to the publisher. Thank you for understanding the urgency! Now if I can only wait till it comes . . .

Has this ever happened to you? How did you respond? Or how would you?

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24 comments

| TAGS:

Missing pages, publisher

Compelling Characters

As part of The Great Blogging Experiment by Jen, Elana, and Alex , here is my contribution.

So with all the hype surrounding Diary of a Wimpy Kid, I placed my holds at the library and read the books. The whole series. I wanted to understand the craze. And I have to admit, I laughed . . . even harder when my six-year-old was rolling on the ground in hysterics.

But confession. The main character annoyed me to no end! I got to the end of the first book and wondered why I should feel bad for his situation. The last incident was an attempt to make him likable, but I wasn’t convinced. I kept reading the series, and found each book worse than the last in that regard. Don’t get me wrong. Yes, they were funny. But the character is a jerk! It made me wonder if I even want my kids reading it some day.

In contrast, take Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web. She’s a spider for goodness sake! I hate spiders. (Surely you remember this post on the subject). But I love Charlotte. I cry at the end every stinkin’ time. And why? Because this character reaches outside of her meager existence to make a difference in the world. She thinks less of herself and more of others.

And no, not all characters will be like that. Nor do they have to be to be compelling. There are a lot of ways to write a compelling character, and I won’t (nor even can I in this limited space) cover them here. But one way to make a character compelling is to give them something to love. Something outside of themselves. Something they are willing to fight for. Sacrifice everything for.

Those are the characters who have influenced me the most and compel me to keep reading. What makes a character compelling to you?

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40 comments

| TAGS:

Charlotte's Web, compelling characters, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, selfishness

Three-Month Mentorship

I know! Who wouldn’t want someone standing by you for three-months, helping you through this lonely and crazy writer’s world we navigate? This contest is open until Wednesday, September 29, so go check it out.

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14 comments

| TAGS:

3-month mentorship, Angela Ackerman, critiques, The Bookshelf Muse