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We interrupt our regularly promised next post to say, Listen to this TED talk:


Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability




Amazing. Freakin' amazing. We know these things to be true, but when you hear it, you can use it in a new way. Especially if it ties into your book. But your book comes from your life, too. So we really have to know what we're doing. embrace not knowing what we're doing?

Something like that.
In order to do it.

:)
r

Kind of like what M.T. Anderson once said at a past SCBWI Summer Conference: "The experiment is the piece of literature, not the preparation for the piece of literature."

So with life!

P.P.S. With thanks to Irvin Lin at Eat the Love for leading me to this talk, after an amazing weekend of Irvin and AJ hosting me in SF. Love you guys so much.

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Hey, Everyone! Here are a few photos from the Kid Lit(erati) Holiday Party this past Saturday.



To see the full set (I wish I'd taken more of everyone!!),
click here for Facebook, where you can tag or untag yourselves,
click here for Flickr, where you can download the images in sizes of your choosing, and/or
click here for Zenfolio, where you can download the whole batch and order prints, if that's your thing.

Thanks, everyone, for the drinks, delicious treats, and fun conversation--and THANKS for bringing all those gorgeous children's books to donate! The schools they're going to are really going to appreciate them!



Lee Wind and Sara Wilson Etienne pose with all the beautiful, gleaming children's books to be donated. I seriously wanted to borrow half of them to take home and read first, but that wouldn't have been in the spirit.

As mentioned in my previous post, the

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Yo yo, what's up y'all . . .

Just wanted to remind everyone that the LA Kid Lit Holiday Party is this Saturday, Dec. 3rd, from 5 to 9 PM (and after!) at the Wellesbourne. Our last Kid Lit event was Halloween-themed. This one is all about the holidays!

   
Photos from LA Kid Lit parties past. Don't miss the upcoming LA Kid Lit Holiday Party, this Saturday, Dec. 3rd at The Wellesbourne!

In the spirit of holiday giving--and celebrating--we're suggesting everyone bring new or gently used, unwrapped books to donate. Lee Wind has found some fantastic schools to donate them to, who will appreciate the books greatly.

* * *
Saturday, Dec. 3rd, from 5 to 9 PM

Join other writers, illustrators, agents, editors, bloggers, librarians, educators, and people who just love children's and teen literature at a Kid Lit Community Holiday Party!

Cash Bar, pay as you order.

Cookies, bring and share.

Books for needy kids, donate unwrapped books, picture-books through YA, and feel all holiday-festive!

Your Picture Books through Middle Grade Novels will be donated to Knox Elementary School in South Central Los Angeles. They're a new school, and even though they don't have a librarian, their Principal, Ms. Ward, is a huge advocate of reading and has teachers take their students to the library to check out the books. They're incredible excited at the prospect of more and new books for their kids! New and gently used books are fine, ARCs are fine, and donating more than one book is better than fine!

@ The Wellesbourne
10929 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064
(Across the street from the Landmark Theater and the Westside Pavilion Mall)

This is not an official SCBWI-L.A. event, but it's open to all our members as well and everyone in the kid lit community!
* * *

For the YA books that people bring, Lee has also made arrangements at Central High School/Tri-C. Says Lee:

I got confirmation from Janet Seary, the principal of Central High School/Tri-C, that they would love to accept our YA book donations. They are a continuation school serving at risk youth, and they have 29 classrooms all across the LA school district. There is no main library for these 600-800 students, but each classroom tries to have some books for their teens. The teachers will choose which ones they want for their classrooms from the donations brought.

I'm very excited that we now have two very worthy schools to acce

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Some of my favorite reads (and examples of Voice!) this year: Agnes Parker . . . Girl In Progress, by Kathleen O'Dell; The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, by Rodman Philbrick; I Am A Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want To Be Your Class President, by Josh Lieb; Hold Still, by Nina LaCour; Gorgeous, by Rachel Vail; The Monstrumologist, by Rick Yancey. (All images from GoodReads.)


All right. So here's the promise Lee and I made to the world in our latest e-blast about the SCBWI Westside Schmooze.

Subject: The SCBWI Westside Schmooze -- Wednesday, October 13th at 7 PM

Does October mean thrills, chills, and suspense to you? Well, it should if you attend the next meeting of the SCBWI Westside Schmooze! Because on October 13th, at 7 PM, we will meet to unmask . . .

VOICE: The End-All Definition

That's right. Editors and Agents often say that while they can fix everything else in a manuscript, Voice is that one special quality a manuscript must have from the start, for them to fall in love. Yet when it comes to defining what Voice IS, even the greats flounder, with many falling back on the axiom "You know it when you see it."

What is THAT about? Are we in the business of describing things or aren't we?? At the next Westside Schmooze we aim to settle this mystery once and for all--AND come up with an End-All Definition--by showing great examples of Voice, analyzing WHAT IT IS, and sharing exercises that will help each of us find and perfect our own. For Picture Book through Young Adult, fiction and non-fiction. Let's do this. It's time.

Now, I'll admit I've been frustrated in my life lately, and I wrote this email with a mad gleam in my eye when the weather had taken a turn for the worse.

But.

I think it's hilarious to set out to do "impossible" things--especially because (in my experience) 60-65% of the time, it totally works. Most of the time, the only

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Seasons Greetings, Everyone! Our paperless, "animated" Holiday Greeting Card is up!

Click on the image above to view Rita and Damon's Holiday Bright Idea


There's music on the page. Give it a few seconds to start.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Wishing you all a wonderful 2009,

Love,
R&D

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Just saw the musical Wicked tonight. After the emotional highs and lows of this week, the release of immersing myself in 3+ hours of feel-great fantasy (both the show and its afterglow) seemed immeasurable. My dear friend Irvin knows how I can get at musicals, with all those people singing their hearts out—their hopes and dreams—onstage. (The last one I saw was Sweeney Todd with him in 2001! And it made me spontaneously ask him to be in my wedding! During intermission!) It really clears out the soul's pores. It's like detoxing for the heart.

Back to reality tonight. But Wicked is fantastic.

P.S.
And they know how to use it, too. At the end, while we were still applauding, they announced their twice-annual, Broadway charity-donation drive, for children with AIDS and women with cancer. We just opened our wallets and gave.

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If you roll over these images, you should see the snowflakes' titles and artists' names pop up (though I've noticed this feature doesn't work in Firefox).

Once again, just "a few" of my favorites:

Bid bid bid bid bid bid bid.

I lifted these images (fronts and backs) off the Auction 3 page of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Robert's Snow Web site. Too many wonderful snowflakes to post here! Go to Auction 3 and get tempted by them all!

Love,
R.

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Note: I wrote the following post two months ago. Post was seriously delayed because 1) I took film pictures, and 2) life keeps happening. :)

Ty Beanie Babies from Lift Up America's awesome Hollywood Movie Premiere event

Lift Up America
September 25, 2007

HOLLYWOOD, CA— So I did this volunteer activity with Tony W recently, wherein the full-on celebrity treatment was given to a gajillion less fortunate children who got to walk the red carpet on the Hollywood Walk of Fame like the superstars they are (inside) and have their pictures and autographs taken, before attending a real Hollywood premiere. Our role—that of Tony and me and an extraordinary number of other volunteers in yellow t-shirts—was to offer support to the glamorously dressed, actual celebrities who played the front line of paparazzi and fans, by way of handing them Ty Beanie Babies and designer bracelets to heap upon the kids. We also got to play the madding crowd ourselves, clamoring for autographs and taking photos, too. (That's what Tony and I really did: played paparazzi.)

This is the kind of thing that sounds awesome at first blush, but that immediately gave me pause. I was like, Wait a sec. I don't have dreams of walking the red carpet and doing this whole thing. Why is this the experience we're giving these kids? How "less fortunate" are they? Less fortunate enough that they might appreciate the resources being used toward something a little more . . . practical??

I know, I know; I could not believe I was thinking this, either. That's so not the way I think, normally. But for some reason, before this event started, I even went so far in my cynicism as to say, out loud, "Doesn’t this sound like such the Hollywood idea of a charity event? You know: 'Let them walk the red carpet!'"

I normally disapprove of cynics and haters, especially when it comes to other people’s good deeds. I think . . . I've just lived too close to "the Industry" these past few years, plus haven't watched TV in forever, so my associations with Hollywood have gotten especially specific and disconnected. It’s also been a while since I've given real time to a volunteer activity (as opposed to money), so part of me was surprised and questioning all around.

But, so. This event was the real deal: Full-on red carpet; all the big lights and huge-screen TVs; traffic blocked-off all around Hollywood & Highland. There were velvet ropes and security guards everywhere. Spots were labeled where photographers from major journals and newspapers would stand. Pedestrians craned their necks in huge crowds across the street, trying to figure out what was going on.

It was like we were at the Oscars.

“Can I get your autograph, please??”

The second I said anything to Tony about my doubts, he busted up. It hadn't occurred to him to ask what, exactly, we were "teaching" these kids—like if we were sending a message of materialism (his words)—or feeding them the US Weekly dream (mine). He did inform me, however, that he had looked into the organization a little more after he'd first emailed me. He'd first heard about this event through an entertainment listserv, which hadn't provided many details, but he had since found out, for example, that all the children who needed hearing aids or glasses had been given those things. So when those children went into Mann’s Chinese to watch the movie, they would be able to enjoy the experience fully—in addition to getting free drinks and popcorn.

So, that was cool.

Others were indeed being given food, and, as the night went on, we could see for ourselves that all kinds of other cool organizations had also come together under the aegis of this larger, umbrella event to let disadvantaged people of all types join in the fun.

[EDIT from 12/4/07—
I have since learned that a potential value of six million dollars of scholarship money was also distributed—in $5,000 coupons to every child at the event—by a participating college.]


I was looking forward to the red-carpet aspect of this night from the beginning, just from a photography standpoint. I’d never been to a red-carpet anything before, and this seemed like an cool way to see what that was like. I also realized, during the final seconds of that countdown, that I was made for this role. To act like paparazzi and get all enthusiastic, treating every next kid like a star?? That's what I live for!

Look! On-the-spot interviews conducted from the red carpet, rolling real tape!
"So how would you describe how you're feeling right now? Is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?"

Of course, the whole evening was awesome. The kids loved it, the celebs loved it; everyone had an amazing time. We got more inventive in our role as fans as the night went on. In the beginning, we shouted all the obvious stuff: "Can I get your autograph?" —"Me, too! Me, too!!" –“Wait!! One more, PLEASE??!” One of the guys walking along as a chaperone started joking around, acting like a manager for one of the kids, saying, “No more autographs, please! What? One more? All right, one more, but then we have to get going. What? One more?? Alll right, but that's it!” until the girl (who had Down Syndrome) had to shout quite forcefully, without looking over her shoulder, “I! Don’t mind!!” That made us all laugh.

But there was one guy—
  actually, a couple guys—
    actually, several guys—
who really took it to the next level and inspired all the rest of us. One of them drank a Red Bull right before the start, and he never stopped yelling, "There she is!! It’s her! Get ready!!" and "Here he comes!! That's him! I can't believe it!" at every next kid that came down the line. That, for me, was the heart of the matter, and that guy nailed it. I started copying him, and everyone started shouting each other's best lines over and over—each time with gusto, like it was for the first time—cracking each other up. An event is what you make it, and these people made it awesome.

We also got better at the whole art of straining over and under and through each other (as shown to us by another of the actors) to create a tangle of arms and notepads in the kids' faces. With the bright lights and popping flashes, we made a good scene.

This guy on the right was not the Red Bull guy, but he was also super awesome, really leaning in and acting super excited to meet every kid—asking questions and soaking in and appreciating every moment of attention they gave him. I was moved.

All the celebs were awesome. They gave this night flair.

Afterward, as each kid walked away, my Red Bull friend would still be all, "YEAHHH!! She hooked us up with that autograph!! I got her autograph!! YEAH!!"

My autograph card (actually the front and back of my volunteer namecard, since I didn't get one of the little autograph notepads they handed out) got filled up pretty quickly. It wasn’t until that happened that I realized I had something even better to contribute than getting autographs. I was carrying a huge camera, hello! What was I thinking?

I had actually been shooting film (for my black and white darkroom class) and my one roll had gotten used up in the first five minutes. But that meant I could pop the flash everywhere now, without consequences.

I was shooting blanks.

I wished I was shooting real images. Tony was getting awesome shots the whole night on his digital. Eventually I broke down and bought another roll of film (color) from a tourist shop—which lasted another five minutes.

"Smile for the camera, please! This way, this way!"

"Over here! Quick photo! Smile!"

Other people chimed in around me, directing the kids' attention my way (even though there were plenty of cameras going off). People paused mid-autograph to look up and pose. This thing we already knew, was more evident than ever: if you treat people like stars, they shine.

How can you argue with that? He's in a wheelchair! And he's radiant!

The most affecting thing was the parents and chaperones that walked alongside their kids. Some laughed and were taken aback by our crazed behavior, but a few of them cried and touched their hearts and mouthed Thank you at us from behind their kids, as the kids signed and shook hands and worked their way down the line. That got me. I wasn't prepared.

My hard, hard heart was melting.

It was obvious that the celebrity contingent, at least, had no doubts whatsoever that this was the most amazing night ever. They kept saying, "This is a great event for the kids. This is incredible. This is awesome." (And that same little voice inside me kept replying, Well of course you think that!) There were also a few schmoopy people affiliated with the organization who had clearly put a lot of hard work into this night, who were shedding tears left and right.

I did recognize one of the celebs: the guy who played the deaf football player in The Replacements. (Woo hoo for The Replacements!) Before I saw him, Tony and I had speculated whether any of the actors would be recognizable, whether their agents had told them to come, whether they were being paid, etc. (Not that any of that would be bad, and not that I believed for one second they weren’t genuinely into it.) I Googled this event just now, and apparently some of the actors were from The Office and Heroes. The Hulk (Lou Ferrigno) was there, too.

There was one moment when a celeb answered his cell phone and I totally heard him reply, "I'm at Mann's Chinese right now, signing autographs." He was all, "Yeah, I'm signing! You hear that? You hear that??" And he held up his phone to the whole whooping, cheering crowd and was all, "That's all for me!"

I hope that was his friend on the line whose leg he was pulling, whom he planned to tell the truth later. 'Cause that'd be hilarious, but otherwise, yikes.


About an hour into this thing, I began to understand what about this gig qualified as volunteer work. The kids were getting dropped off at the start of the red carpet via an endless parade of limousines, and there was no sign we were even halfway through.

"This celebrity-stalking thing is exhausting!" someone joked, just as I was feeling it. "I have a whole new respect for these people!"

But all the fans around me were brilliant, and we kept getting more inventive, and every next kid hadn't heard our bits yet. By the end, I wished we could go back and do it all over again for the kids who had walked in the beginning.

As a kid, I totally pretended to be in this situation now and then. Of course I did. ("Thank you, thank you! No more autographs, please! I'd like to thank all the little people—") And if you think about it in a metaphorical way, then I'm still pursuing this dream now. It was just the literal realization, the physical signs and signifiers of opulence, that took me aback in the beginning. But, as my good friend Sara says, “Anything that makes people feel special is good.”

True that, my friend.

True.

That.

R.


P.S.
Read more about this event and other Lift Up America events coming to cities near you! (The second link has photos of the actors.)
http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Oct07/Art_Oct07_01.html
http://www.liftupamerica.org/Spotlight/Hollywood2a.html
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Tv-Guide-News/Heroes-Stars-Ventimiglia/800023036
http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/film/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003647014

There's a more complete list of links here:
http://liftupamerica.org/pastevents.html#hollywood

And don't forget Tony W's Web site, with all the great photos he took!!

I even spotted a couple pictures of Tony and me on the other sites—just from knowing where in the crowd to look. :)

It's funny, because when we were first told to hand Beanie Babies to the "celebrities," Tony and I couldn't tell if they meant actual actors were coming, or if they were referring directly to the kids. I didn't think they meant the latter, but the idea grew on me and was very pleasing. (Just the idea this organization had decreed the kids would always be called "celebrities.") I was a little disappointed when a train of glamorously dressed grownups showed up at the last moment. But only for that reason. The presence of the celebs definitely amped up the production value of the night and made it awesome. :)

P.P.P.P.P.P.S.
I mentioned this post was initially delayed because I took pictures with film. Actually, only the color roll caused delay. The black and white roll I took to my class and within hours held 8x10 glossy enlargements in my hands—that I had processed and printed myself! That was incredibly gratifying.

Here, however, was a photo I was unhappy with:

Somehow I managed to take a picture that conveyed the exact opposite of the spirit of this event! This was while we were waiting for everything to start. In fact, this is the moment the kids first realized they could see themselves on the huge-screen TV. They got all excited and started goofing off—and we cracked up and took pictures. But I could feel mine was wrong the moment I took it.

It looks like the ribbon-cutting-ceremony tape is keeping them out!

This is my fault as a photographer, and it gives me lots to think about. We are all storytellers, always . . . (Well, I think of it as storytelling. If you were in sales, for example, then you would say, Everyone is selling something.) The point is, we need to stay in control of the messages we're sending out.

:) :)

r

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Auction 2 of Robert's Snow is going on right now.

I could not possibly show you all the awesome snowflakes I want that are part of this round. You have to check them out yourself.

Here are just a few . . .




*Drool*

Imagine how beautiful your tree will look decorated in one, two, three, or half a dozen of these! Imagine a child looking at your tree (or window, or holiday vacuum cleaner) and dreaming of the stories implied.

I lifted these images (fronts and backs) off the Auction 2 page of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Robert's Snow Web site.

Go bid!

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Goodness.

Here is the most important thing I've needed to tell you:

The Bidding For Auction 1 of Robert's Snow is going on right now, and it ends today.

Bid now! Bid today! Bid before 5 PM (Eastern Standard Time)!!!
(Click this link and go!!)

Remember, this is the awesome opportunity I told you about a little while back—to own your very own original piece of artwork by a children's book artist of astounding renown and fight cancer at the same time? Where all these incredible children's book illustrators and authors have come together to contribute unique snowflake holiday ornaments, and the art pieces are available online, right now??

Robert's Snow happens in three rounds of online bidding, with a different third of the snowflakes being auctioned off each week. Next week is Auction 2. The week after is Auction 3.

The first third of the snowflakes is going fast, right now!!

Click here to go to Auction 1!!

Click here to go to Auction 2!!

Click here to go to Auction 3!!

(Actually, here is one master link that will take you to all three auctions! They happen Nov. 19–23, Nov. 26–30, and Dec. 3–7, respectively. Check out all the snowflakes! It's incredible!!)

Equally incredible is that each of these artists—and the snowflake each has contributed—has been further individually profiled by dedicated bloggers. So here is a list of all the relevant links where you can read up even more on the snowflakes you love and want!!

Amazing collectibles. Stunning gifts. The joy of owning/giving/bidding on these will warm your hearts for always.

Let it snow, let it snow,
now go, let's go!!

Love,
rita!

P.S.  A few sample Auction 1 snowflakes:



I lifted these few images (fronts and backs) off the Auction 1 page of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Robert's Snow Web site. The Robert's Snow poster above I lifted from 7-Imp, the good people who have done an incredible job of organizing Blogging For A Cure. Ooh, you want to bid!

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Here are the books I've loved lately, that have graduated from my To-Read list to my To-Buy (or Just-Bought!) list. 

First, the Middle Grades and YAs:

Getting Near To Baby, by Audrey Couloumbis (MG). 2000 Newberry Honor Book. In addition to drawing me into a cast of characters, every one of whom I rooted for, each chapter's end gave me that fine feeling of having read a poetic short story.

The Year of the Dog, by Grace Lin (MG). Absolutely charming and magical, in the tradition of those Carolyn Haywood books we all loved growing up (the Betsy and Eddie books!), but starring Chinese Americans! Got one in paperback for my little cousin, one in hardback for me.

Ironside, by Holly Black (YA fantasy). Awesome. I heard Holly Black speak recently at San Diego Comic Con in a panel on YA villains, and she talked about her interest in creating cultures clearly alien to our own. Everyone who'd read any of her three modern faerie tales bobbed their heads enthusiastically to hear her say it.

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, by Barry Lyga (YA). Deftly handled, with all the subtle (yet extreme) tensions and characters clearly delineated. And funny(!), though I feel odd saying so. Recommended in particular for Calvin, because the voice reminded me of his.

(I also got the two books mentioned in my last book roundup: and . And for the record, I loved , but we can never talk about it [online].)


I should probably mention that, while my apartment is always overflowing with library books, I only bring up books here I've loved enough to put down funds and buy. That requires extreme love. (It also means there are lags between book posts, as I can't buy the books I love all that fast.)

Regarding picture books, I try (sadly, unsuccessfully) to limit the number in my personal collection. But I'm always excited to buy them for friends. It's one of the key reasons I get excited when friends have babies! ;D (Sounds like a Discovery Channel show: When Friends Have Babies.)

And on that note, here are the latest picture books to have stolen my heart: 

Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis. Um. Everyone needs this book. This is a picture book in its purest, most joyful form. Kids will relate and want this again and again. (I've already "handsold" a couple in bookstores to friends, haha.) "It's not a box!"

Bee-bim Bop!, by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Ho Baek Lee. Genius! (again!) The fun of the words, the fun of the dish, the worlds of the grocery store and kitchen prep and dinner table evoked by the illustrations. See that cover? This book speaks to you and will make you bop.

The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats. 1963 Caldecott Medal winner. Everyone also needs this book. A classic for every good reason. I don't know how I could have not known about it sooner. Utterly engaging and engrossing to the senses.

I'd Really Like To Eat A Child, by Sylviane Donnio, illustrated by Dorothee De Monfried. Translated from the French original, Je mangerais bien un enfant.
Actually, I'm not sure everyone needs this book. I need this book—for the sheer audacity of the premise and the fun way the cocky main character is drawn, which paid off every time I read this. My current strategy is to show this off to everyone in person and see whether they need their own, too. J'adore. (Je l'adore?? Vicki! Lynn! Help!)


And now, Robert's Snow:

In (partial) reference to my last post, it turns out there is something a blogger can do—in a bloggerly fashion—to express sympathy and show support to a blogging friend. At least, there is in the case of Grace Lin, whose husband Robert Mercer passed away on August 27.

Robert's Snow is the amazing fundraiser the couple created in 2004, which to date has raised over $200,000 for cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. So, first of all, you can buy the original Robert's Snow picture book; you can buy Robert's Snowflakes, the book which commemorates pieces from the first Robert's Snow snowflake auction in 2004; you can give money in the name of "Robert's Snow"; or you can bid in this year's Robert's Snow snowflake auction to get your own unique piece of artwork—a wooden ornament decorated by a children's book artist—all for this tremendous cause. Over 200 incredible children's book authors and illustrators are contributing snowflakes this year. (You can view the 2005 snowflakes here and 2004 snowflakes here. They are stunning. There are even sculptures!)

Have your favorite author/illustrators created snowflakes? I bet they have. Look them up! You can sort the 2004 and 2005 contributors alphabetically!

EDIT to the original post: You can now go here to view the 2007 snowflakes, as well as years' past! Go, go, go!

It is amazing. You want a snowflake.

Second, if you've got a blog, you can promote Robert's Snow and the snowflake auction. In fact, thanks to the good people at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, bloggers can now sign up to feature from one to five of this year's Robert's Snowflakes artists, on their blogs. 7-Imp is organizing the list, and it'll be a cross-posting extravaganza, with everyone clicking to learn more about artists and snowflakes, and all traffic driven to the auction itself. Click here to read more and sign up!

I first heard about this on Jo Whittemore's blog, followed immediately by the next several blogs I read. Spread the word, everyone!

I know several people whose lives have been touched by cancer recently, quite profoundly. I am often at a loss about what I can do. Well, here is one thing.

Love,
r

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Today I spent all afternoon packing up the winter clothes and bringing out the summer clothes for my two girls. Hours I spent on this simple sounding task. There are three reasons it took so long.

1. My girls have a lot of clothes.


2. I get very obsessive/compulsive about this chore, making sure everything fits, looks good, is folded nicely, put away in the right place, and is in good condition.


3. My girls have a frickin' lot of clothes.

It was unbelievable how many clothes there were. Now, we do get clothes for my ten-year-old from an older neighbor, plus we buy some, plus she is reluctant to give up clothes unless they really, really don’t fit, so that will fill three drawers and a closet. My eight-year-old old gets all the hand-me-downs from her older sister, plus all the cute things I can’t resist at Target or Kohl’s, plus she is reluctant to give up clothes unless they really, really don’t fit, so that fills up her two drawers and a closet. Oh, and did I mention how one grandma likes to find them quality stuff at thrift stores? So many clothes.

I can only say in my defense that I don’t buy expensive stuff, and we hand down all of the eight-year-old’s clothes to the six-year-old neighbor. Actually, there is usually so much by that time, that I give about half to the neighbor, a quarter to a younger niece, and a quarter right to Goodwill. After the six-year-old neighbor is done with them, that family gives them to a friend.

I will say, with all these clothes, I only have to do laundry half as often as normal people. I mean, there’s always something to wear. But, man, so many clothes.

I am having a similar problem with books. There are books everywhere. Books for the tween. Books for the kid. Books for me. Books to review. And I can’t get rid of any of them. I keep bringing more in, but nothing is going out.

Like the clothes, the girls are reluctant to give up books unless they really, really don’t fit them anymore. For clothes, I can draw the line at shirts that show their belly buttons or shorts that they can’t button. But can I convince them — should I convince them — that these picture books don’t fit them anymore and can be given to someone else? I don’t know. It’s hard for me too, because I remember reading these books to them, snuggled together on the couch.

Does anyone have a solution for prying old books/clothes/toys out of their children’s shelves/drawers/closets and hands?

On a completely unrelated note, have I mentioned how much I enjoy 7 Imp’s 7 Kicks? On Sunday, the blog Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast asks us bloggers to list seven kick-ass things that happened to us that week. You don’t have to list seven specifically, but I like making sure I come up with seven each week — even if I have to stretch it to include free pens from Staples or an extra hour of sleep. This week was an easy one, as I announced the 48 Hour Book Challenge, got a lot of participants (and taking more...), and some cool prizes (including one “stoked” from Roger Sutton). I also am gearing up for the 48 Hour Film Project, during which teams write, film, edit, and score an eight-minute (or less) film over one weekend. We’ve signed as our writer the wonderful author and blogger Robin Brande! I also had a great dinner with a friend, a toy that was sadly lost was found again, and my girls got great haircuts.

So many good things were happening, in fact, that I was beginning to get a bit worried. That’s not usually how things go for me. Imagine my relief when I found that I could have made an easy hundred bucks in a two-hour marketing research appointment, but it was the same time as my daughter’s drama club play. Turning down a hundred-dollar assignment to watch an elementary school play. Now that’s more like it. Equilibrium safely restored.

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