Yes, I’m Back!

September 28, 2007

Hi Everyone! I’m back!

<–Yes, that’s me at the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency in Hollywood. No I wasn’t auditioning for her Reality TV show.Though I would’ve made a good (hand?) model.

Oof, what a long time it’s been– sorry about that. Had some things to take care of this summer.

So, what do you think of the new look? Ted helped me with it– ok, he set it all up, but I did design it (hey, all those episodes of Project Runway and Design Star paid off). The notebook paper is for obvious reasons (ok, if it’s not so obvious: i’m a writer). The Post-it notes (Ted actually scanned Post-it notes for that effect– he’s pretty crafty that Ted, huh?), ahem, the Post-it Notes are because if anyone knows me they know that I write myself notes ALL THE TIME. Day, night, morning, evening. I’ll jump out of bed in the middle of the night to jot things down– what i’m doing the next day, reminders, plot ideas, characterizations, details. You get it.

Anyway, there will still be some shifting and retooling and adding of links and categories but you get the gist of it, right? or is it jist?

If you’re dropping by for the first time, welcome!

Now, some explanation as to what this blog is going to be about/do now (my ideas for the blog have changed since I started blogging four years ago– four? wow). I’m going to obviously be blogging about my writing, and my reading– two things that are very important and vital to me. But i’m also going to be blogging about my other creative endeavors, including my ventures into art, my fascination with craft blogs/bloggers, and of course about popular culture and movies–both classic and contemporary. Oh, wait, and family and friends (bloggers and non-bloggers). Oh, and of course about my wonderful husband, Ted. Oh, and about our little adventures–camping, going to beer busts at bear bars even though we’re no longer of bear girth and mirth (thank you Weight-Watchers). So there you have it. That’s what this blog is now going to be about. Enjoy!

And, to get you caught up with my summer, here is the rundown:

This summer I:

1. Got sick, but got better

2. Got out of town– quick weekend trips to– NYC, Boston, Las Vegas(<–click for video of me dancing), and camping in the Laguna Mtns.

3. joined a postcard swap called .postdue.– which is really cool. we trade homemade postcards with strangers! through swapbot.it’s the funnest thing–making postcards and sending them out to the world–AND, especially, getting funky, funny, creative postcards from strangers. here are two of the postcards i made. the first was for our friends, Andrew and Tim and their housewarming, and the second I was just playing around with. **remember, i’m new to this whole art thing, so be kind in your comments on my postcards**

and

4. got more crafty– bought a bunch of collage and art supplies from Michael’s, including Royalcoat Hi Gloss Decoupage finish spray and Mod Podge–never thought i’d be putting THOSE WORDS in a blog.

5. found a bunch of craft blogs that i obsessively read every day like this one and this one and this one.

6. a. Did not write three thorough chapters of my new novel as I said I would– instead I wrote about 30 fragmented, frustrating, exciting, fun, grueling pages that for the life of me drove me crazy. How does one start a novel???

6. b. started taking a class called Starting Strong: The First Three Chapters, at a writer’s collective called The Ink Spot here in San Diego –which has completely opened my eyes about how to write, yes, the first three chapters of my book. the instructor is Drusilla Campbell, author of the thriller, Bone Lake, and she is a master at plotting– at helping me structure the opening of my book. A godsend I tell you. We’ve met three times so far but with her guidance I feel like I know what i’m doing and where i’m going. I’ll keep you posted.

7. read The Lovely Bones, stopped reading The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano. After 150 pages I just lost interest. There were some magical sentences but it just kept rambling on and on without any real direction. I’m sure he’s brilliant (or was– he died), but I just didn’t have the energy.

Now, on my reading list:

The Perfect Man by Naeem Murr (i’ve already started this; he has such an incredible vocabulary)

Maynard and Jennica by Rudolph Delson (just bought this–getting exceptional reviews)

8. put Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio on the night stand. I’ve read it twice. I’m reading through it again, slowly, little by little. Such a great story of a town– kind of what i’d love to do with my book.

9. reached LIFETIME status at Weight Watchers. I lost 25 pounds, and have kept the 25 pounds off for 6 weeks. That means my WW is free (well, not the online E-tools).

10. Went to my 20 year High School Reunion with my husband, Ted. and We looked HOT. (thanks Weight Watchers). Here is one of the pics. And another.

11. Reconnected with some high school friends–some I hadn’t seen in 20 years.

12. Welcomed a new niece– my sister, Andrea, has adopted a newborn girl, named Olivia Claire.Yay!! She’s so beautiful. Claire was my mother’s name. Note: because Olivia is a new adoption, we can’t show her face (not yet! sorry), but she is a-dor-a-ble! and Ted’s looking pretty cute there himself, no?

13.Had two stories rejected by two literary journals.

13.a. Had one story taken by this literary anthology (more news to come on that as it develops)–and, THEY PAY $200.

14. Got wait listed, again, for Djerassi Resident Artists Program, and another small–but not nearly enough–fellowship for the Vermont Studio Center Residency (which is too small for me to be able to attend. sigh).

15. Spent too much time buying little trinkets on Ebay and Etsy, such as this

and this

it’s an actual cookbook of the stars, circa 1941!! See what dish Humphrey Bogart loves! I couldn’t pass that up now could I?

16. Listened, for the first time, to friend, amazing writer Felicia Sullivan’s radio show:

(she mentioned my name on the show during her interview with Curtis Sittenfeld; she called me a writer!).

17. Taught summer school Creative Writing

18. Had about a week off before the new semester began. Sigh. Now i’m teaching two classes at the community college, two at UCSD.

But, I’m back. And i’m going to post much more regularly now–even if it’s just a picture of my latest postcard, a bit of wisdom gained from my writing class, a line from the book i’m currently reading, a quip about a recent (or classic movie) or a recipe from Weight Watchers.

Phew! i’m tired after typing that list. I think i’ll go sit on the daisy-comforter with Hermia.

By the way, yes, she’s still alive (16 yrs and still going strong!).