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I haven't blogged much lately. If you're a past reader of In Search of Giants, you know I don't like long posts, so let's break this down:
Top Ten Reasons
Aerin Hasn't Blogged Since August
10. Clarity of Night July '09 contest
Writing for it and reading its entries scorched my brain.
9. Reading
Kisses to Trish and Ello for lending me me ARCs of FIRE and of CATCHING FIRE. Yes, Ell, I still have yours. See what else I've read at Goodreads.com.
8. Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize
I am forced to use armored cars and bulletproof vests when out in public, since I think this is a splendid idea and people around here....don't.
7. Travels - Nashville and New York City Both with children, neither with a spa. Enjoyable but requiring quite a bit of recuperation time.
6. Spouse
Forgets other people are part of the house, focuses on a zillion music projects plus a huge project at work. I turn into Housewife Zombie.
5. Daydreaming about meeting Stuart Neville
Was even better than I'd expected - the accent, the sense of humor, the milk in his tea, plus he gives great hugs - I'm sorry, but the man is yummy:
Betsy's pretty hot, too.
4. Season Premieres
Fringe, Glee, Bones, Criminal Minds, House, How I Met Your Mother. This is important sh*t, yo.
3. Stephen Parrish emailed me
He & unknown co-conspirator encouraged my writing, which is not my first love (reading is) but is definitely my first calling (before reading). No one's ever done that before; I'm taking it as a sign.
2. Family Stuff My sibs and I are pretty tight-knit; my lil sis and I are practically the same person. So when life's tough for her, it's tough for me. And it's been really, really tough for her lately.
1. My son, who is autistic, started kindergarten.
I go with him to class, because as friendly as the teachers & staff are, they're clueless when it comes to the needs of a child with autism. Our IEP involved a lot of "settling for" on our part - not an ideal situation for my precious child. I've spent more time and energy in the past three months than I ever did when he was at his special Autism school. Of course, his special Autism school drained our life savings and my in-laws' bank account, too. Add to this managing my daughter's feelings, making sure she's not feeling shortchanged, and I don't even have time for martinis in the evenings. Agh!
I'm not going to turn my blog into a platform for autism, but you're going to encounter it. The new stats are 1 in 98 children. Learn more at Autism Speaks.
As if all that weren't enough, NaNo starts in just three days (see #3, above).
In other words, I will continue to be a sporadic, MIA even, blogger. But do stay tuned - exciting announcements from the Co-Dictators of the Universe, my first CD review, and more - sometime in the near future (ie, prior to 2011.)
12 Comments on New Directions, last added: 11/2/2009
So that's why you haven't really been around! After I came back from my blogging break I was wondering what happened to you.You have so much on your plate right now. I hope everything goes well.
Thanks for Crossed Wires. I can't wait to read it.
Keep advocating for your child. But also make sure you take time for yourself, whatever form that takes. If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUKO_Y6RqEk
See you there at NaNoWriMo! As soon as I enrolled I imagined myself writing Watermelon 50,000 times for not being able to complete the task but hey, we still have 29 days. And I buy all your reasons so you do what you have to do to get by.
Yup - that plate of yours is very fullup!!! Feel free to email me any time you want to unload. I'll just bin it and you'll feel better. (;o) ) Alternatively I'm still working on the lottery win plan so we can just go on vacation together, drink cocktails and get totally bladdered. I've been in a neurotic tail-spin myself recently. On the verge of bonkers I'd say. But I epiphed a momentous epiphany and blow me down if I'm not a happy bunny again.
I love epiphanies. I'm going to January 6th my favourite feast day.
Well, in case you missed the news last week, I was punished by McKoala (long story) and forced to write 5000 words by Sunday evening. As you'll see from the post date, tonight is Sunday evening.
Here are my wordcounts for the past week:
MONDAY - ZERO
TUESDAY - ZERO
WEDNESDAY - ZERO
THURSDAY - ZERO
FRIDAY - ZERO
SATURDAY - 1449
Leaving one day in which to write 3551 words. As you can see, I wrote nothing over a five day period. Could I possibly write 3551 words in one day? Actually, one afternoon, since Sunday is a work day for me? Is Rosey up against the McKoala Claws of Doom? Did I misjudge and fatally procrastinate?
NO! I ACTUALLY MADE THE 3551 (okay, 3713) words this afternoon! And none of them were "watermelon"!
5000 WORDS IN A WEEK!
Now, were they good words? Not necessarily. But I've never written a book in my life, and I figured the birthing process this first time would be slow and painful. I write sermons pretty quickly, now, ten years after seminary, so I think it will get easier. In the meantime, I have a story unfolding that I didn't quite expect, and I'm pleased with that, at least.
I hope the process has amused you, especially Mr. Betty Nagel who pointed out I was spending an awful lot of time commenting on blogs. That was the first time I realized maybe I should get myself in gear. Thanks, B.
I am fawningly indebted to McKoala for being mean. I truly felt the pressure to live up to her expectations (and avoid JJdeGoblin's toenail peelers) and think this whole group-accountability thing is an excellent idea.
Stay tuned this week - I have fifteen (yep, 15) reviews to write by the end of the month.
10 Comments on AMUSING MONDAYS: In Advance, last added: 7/3/2009
Way to go, Queenie!! I had a feeling you could pull it out. As I've said elsewhere, sometimes you have to throw it all up on the page and scrape the worst away later. (Have fun w/ that image.)
If you're new to In Search of Giants, you might not know that the one feature I manage weekly is "Amusing Monday" - attempts at light-hearted week-beginning-ness. Alas, you will need to wait another week to revel in a brand-new Amusing Monday post. There will be no amusement today.
For, you see, I have been punished. By the Queen of Punishment herself, McKoala. I seriously am going to try not to enjoy it too much. You know me and whips. Wait, you don't? Um....moving on.
Here is the first part of my punishment:
Dear All
I have failed the Mighty Koala. I said I would write 5000 words in a day. I didn't. Now she has generously offered me the opportunity to redeem myself by meeting that total in a week. She is all kindness and loving. I will post my start date here so that you can all follow my progress. And she says there had better be progress, or else...
Aerin
(The red is meant to represent the blood I will shed over the next seven days.)
So, my faithful and encouraging followers, I begin today, June 22, and march diligently toward Sunday June 28, at which time I will have completed an additional 5000 words. And in case you think the Koala is being too easy on me, keep in mind that prior to last weekend, my daily wordcount averaged 112.
Also, be on the lookout for JJdeGoblin. She's pulling people's toenails and I don't think she's going to care whose feet she gets.
12 Comments on NO AMUSEMENT TODAY, last added: 6/25/2009
Sometimes all it takes is a little *cough*torture*cough* encouragement to get the wheels turning. In no time at all, Nathan Bransford will be blogging about this amazing new MS he just acquired that riffs on the Tower of Babel.
I found the site wrongcards.com when I was looking for an inappropriately flirtatious card for....well, you know who you are. (And if you aren't Janey...uh, sure, I'm flirting with you, too.) The tagline for this site is e-cards that are wrong for every occasion.
Here are some of my favorites:
For Father's Day
In the event of Zombies
Innappropriately Flirtatious for Janey
For a New Baby
In the Workplace
8 Comments on Amusing Mondays: wrongcards.com, last added: 6/16/2009
Thanks so much for visiting my blog and for your lovely comment on my sister's birthday post. But more importantly, a very Happy Belated Birthday to you, Aerin. Happy days, always.
As if you needed another reason to love Amy Poehler, she's headed up this very wonderful web series called Smart Girls at the Party. A very wise, very wonderful woman pointed them out to me, and I had to share. Thanks, narocroc tnega!!
3 Comments on Amusing Mondays: Smart Girls at the Party, last added: 6/9/2009
I've always been a fan but it was clinched at a show I saw in Chicago a couple years ago. It was a huge ensemble thing at the Chicago theater with TONS of famous comedians but the microphones didn't work and they were trying to do improv with two mics among ten people. Amy was the only one who really made an effort for everyone to hear her.
We left after half and hour and were SO disappointed. But she ROCKED.
In my family, we have the tradition of saying "Rabbit rabbit rabbit" to each other on the first day of the month. Our belief was that if you do so, you won't fight with each other during the month. Here's what wikipedia has to say:
“Rabbit rabbit white rabbit” is a common superstition, held particularly among children. The most common modern version states that a person should say “rabbit, rabbit, white rabbit” upon waking on the first day of each new month, and on doing so will receive good luck for the remainder of that month.
The exact origin of the superstition is unknown, though it has appeared in print at least as early as 1954in Bromley, Kent, where it is most commonly said to have originated, though some reports place its origins even earlier, into the 1800s. Today it has spread to most of the English-speaking countries of the world, although like all folklore, determining its exact area of distribution is difficult. This superstition is related to the broader belief in the rabbit or hare being a “lucky” animal, as exhibited in the practice of carrying a rabbit's foot for luck. Some have also believed it is representing a jumping into the future and moving ahead with life and happiness.
I'm thinking, then that the "not fighting" bit was invented by my parents to keep us four kidlings from arguing, wrestling, hitting, and in all other ways hurting each other. Some months it worked. Some months - and years - it didn't. Rabbit or no, the four of us as adults are very close:
Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, everyone!
9 Comments on Amusing Mondays: Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit, last added: 6/2/2009
I've never understood the whole lucky rabbit's foot thing. Maybe it's just me, but wouldn't the rabbit that caught and had it's foot chopped off so some schmo could carry it around in his pocket all day, wouldn't that be the unlucky one?
I almost fell over when I started reading this post! My family has been saying "rabbit rabbit" (no white in there!) since I first read about it as a kid. I have no idea where I saw it or how it originated, and everyone I've ever exposed "rabbit rabbit" to has thought I was crazy! :) Finally -- VALIDATION! Though I apparently got the exact wording of the superstition wrong as a kid... I've never thought to Google it.
And I did remember "rabbit rabbit" yesterday :) Thanks for making my day! Off to email all the friends and family members who have doubted my sanity all these years!
Don't forget to come back tomorrow for Author Spotlight week!
Hurrah, it's a holiday Monday here in the states! If you goof off on Facebook at least an hour a day, you have seen the quiz going around "How Well Do You Know Me?" (If you don't goof off on Facebook at least an hour a day, why the heck not?) I thought I'd share the quiz I made with you. Answers to be posted later today. (Why don't you make a similar quiz and put it up on your blog? Leave a comment with the permalink so we can spread the word!)
1) What country would I like to live in? a) the United States b) Australia c) Belize d) New Zealand e) Ireland
2) Who would I most like to meet? a) Tamora Pierce b) Stuart Neville c) Brendan Fraser d) Pete Dudley e) Little Miss Zarin
3) I secretly would like to be ________ for a day? a) a movie director b) a professor c) single d) a librarian e) multi-lingual
4) What is my favorite store to shop at? a) Hallmark b) Target c) Papyrus d) Old Navy e) Nordstrom
5) If I was running out of my burning house, what item would I grab? a) my signed copy of Robin McKinley's BEAUTY b) my baby book c) my cell phone d) my laptop e) the box in which I keep my children's artwork
6) What do I like most about myself? a) my sense of humor b) my intelligence c) my faith d) my hair e) my parenting style
7) What is my middle name? a) Rose b) Michelle c) Ditzler d) a, b & c e) a & c
8) What would be the perfect present for me? a) a Barnes and Noble gift card b) jewelry from Sundance Catalog c) an ARC of Kristin Cashore's FIRE d) time away to write e) an iMac
9) Which of the following is not one of my nicknames? a) Sunny b) RoseyPosey c) Charlie d) Queen Aerin e) Addy
10) What would I dress as for Halloween? a) trick question - I don't like Halloween b) Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty c) Wendy from Peter Pan d) Belle from Beauty and the Beast e) Elphaba from Wicked
11) What is the number of schools I attended from Kindergarten thru Sr. Year? a) 3 b) 4 c) 5 d) 6 e) 7
12) What is my favorite movie? a) Willow b) Batman Begins c) Aeon Flux d) Sliding Doors e) Mulan
13) What did I want to be when I was little? a) a lawyer b) a microbiologist c) an actress d) all of the above e) none of the above
14) Which of these people have I not had a crush on? a) Enrique Murciano b) Cindy Pon c) Brendan Fraser d) Neil Gaiman e) Craig Parker
15) What's my current favorite show on TV? a) Bones b) Fringe c) Legend of the Seeker d) House e) Criminal Minds
16) Who is my favorite Disney character? a) Mickey b) Lilo c) Mulan d) Belle e) Gurgi
17) What am I most scared of? a) aging b) snakes c) spiders d) yellow jackets e) small spaces
18) What city was I born in? a) Champaign, IL b) Urbana, IL c) Savoy, IL d) Smyrna, TN e) Murfreesboro, TN
19) What is my favorite wild animal? a) chinchilla b) giraffe c) elephant d) leopard e) spider monkey
20) My favorite specialty drink is ________. a) Pepsi b) a chocolate martini c) water d) Starbucks sweet iced tea lemonade e) Riesling
6 Comments on Amusing Mondays: How Well Do You Know Me?, last added: 5/27/2009
1. a (Though you wish you could be in Ireland to visit Jane right? Right?)
2. c (This was easy :D)
3. d (Okay, now am guessing :P)
4. Ummmm... c??
5. It better be "e" :D
6. We can easily strike off b. :D So I'll go with "a"
7. a (I was looking for 'bender' lol)
8. Tough choice between a & e. I'll go with "a"
9. Umm. a. ??
10. e. (Though you'll make one good Wendy)
11. Come on!!! Only Pete is gonna win this one. Okay, I know from 6th to 12th grade you attended 5 diff. schools. so am going with "e"
12. Has to be "e". What do we want? A girl worth fighting for!
13. d.
14. d Well he is a gai-man. :P
15. Trick question. You like 'em all. Though I watch 'em all too apart from legend of the seeker. And if I had to choose I'll go with House. Fringe has had a great first season. but dunno if it'll be able to retain my interest. Criminal minds is great too. Its sad that dollhouse is scrapped. Okay, so if I must choose then "d". I owe it to House.
16. c (Fa Mulan!)
17. a??
18. a. (Would definitely suit you :))
19. e
20. d
Well, there are plenty of guesses but you can't blame me for not trying. :)
1) What country would I like to live in? e) Ireland (At least, that's what I'd like to do. I hear there's hot men there. And whiskey. Which means, if the mean aren't hot, at least with enough whiskey, they will be)
2) Who would I most like to meet? a) Tamora Pierce (Oooo and get a signed book for me, too!)
3) I secretly would like to be ________ for a day? d) a librarian e) multi-lingual (One of these--because as a librarian, you could take a break but still be with books, but as a multi-ling, you could have some cool adventures!)
4) What is my favorite store to shop at? d) Old Navy Hmmm...dunno why, but you strike me as an ON kind of girl...
5) If I was running out of my burning house, what item would I grab? a) my signed copy of Robin McKinley's BEAUTY d) my laptop e) the box in which I keep my children's artwork Oh dear...one of these. I don't have kids myself, so I imagine kid artwork is special. But my book is on my laptop, so if I didn't have that backed up somewhere safe, I'd grab it first. But, if it were me and I didn't have kid stuff and I didn't have a laptop, I'd so grab RM's signature!!!
6) What do I like most about myself? a) my sense of humor This one takes care of all the rest.
7) What is my middle name? c) Ditzler If it was this one, you'd be THE COOLEST PERSON EVER.
8) What would be the perfect present for me? e) an iMac I WANT THAT I WANT THAT I WANT THAT SO MUCH
9) Which of the following is not one of my nicknames? Er...no idea
10) What would I dress as for Halloween? d) Belle from Beauty and the Beast She has lots o' books....?
11) What is the number of schools I attended from Kindergarten thru Sr. Year? No clue
12) What is my favorite movie? d) Sliding Doors e) Mulan These are two of MY favorites, so I'll just pick them ;)
13) What did I want to be when I was little? f) an astronaut (judging from your blog layout)
14) Which of these people have I not had a crush on? errr...??
15) What's my current favorite show on TV? b) Fringe (guessing)
16) Who is my favorite Disney character? c) Mulan d) Belle These are my two favs....
17) What am I most scared of? NINJAS!
18) What city was I born in? ???
19) What is my favorite wild animal? e) spider monkey That just looks cool
20) My favorite specialty drink is ________. e) Riesling If it's not Riesling, it should be!
...OK, for some of these I just went with my taste, not yours...oh, well!
Hey can I do this like I used to take multiple choice questions at school? Pick b all the way! Of course I would have to insert some non b answers like Tamora Pierce, Rose, laptop, smyrna, oh forget it! That b thing doesn't work!
Erm. That's a lot of questions. Are you trying to find out who has been cyber-stalking you?
I'll give it a rip: 1. To Live - E. Ireland 2. To Meet - A. Tamora Pierce 3. Secret Desire - D. A librarian [Technically, you have to have a master's in library science to be a librarian. Otherwise, you're just a library worker. :( ] 4. Fav Shop - C. Papyrus since I've never heard of it. 5. What to Save - E. Box w/ artwork, b/c obviously A and D are also in the box 6. Fav. Attribute - B. Intelligence, since A, C, and E depend on it. D. is just luck. 7. Middle name - D. A,B & C. I had a great-great-aunt with 5 names. 8. Present - A. BN gift card 9. Non-nickname - A. Sunny 10. Halloween - E. Elphaba 11. No. of Schools - E. 7 12. Fav. Movie - A. Willow 13. Childhood Aspirations - D. All of the above 14. Non-crushed - E. Craig Parker 15. Fav. TV - . . . I would say D. House, but you still haven't watched the finale, so I'll go with E. Criminal Minds 16. Disney - C. Mulan 17. fear - C. spiders 18. birth city - D. Smyrna 19. fav. animal - A. chinchilla 20. drink - B. Chocolate martini. Final Answer.
So that's why you haven't really been around! After I came back from my blogging break I was wondering what happened to you.You have so much on your plate right now. I hope everything goes well.
Thanks for Crossed Wires. I can't wait to read it.
Missed you! *huggles Aerin*
Aerin's back! I was asking B. literally yesterday if he knew where you'd got to.
You are missed but we can deal because, frankly, all your reasons come first! :)
Hugs to you for being a super woman. Don't forget to smile.
I suppose it's okay coming in at number three, since only family are ahead of me. At least I beat that mischievous womanizer Neville.
I've missed you!
My friend has a spectrum child and they are very lucky to have a state sponsored special school to send her to.
That's a terrific photo.
NaNo = mostly dark blog, got it.
Autistic child = lots of work, got it.
Keep advocating for your child. But also make sure you take time for yourself, whatever form that takes. If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUKO_Y6RqEk
Thanks for the update. I've missed you around these parts.
I've received an encouraging email from Mr. Parrish as well, and they aren't to be taken lightly.
See you there at NaNoWriMo! As soon as I enrolled I imagined myself writing Watermelon 50,000 times for not being able to complete the task but hey, we still have 29 days. And I buy all your reasons so you do what you have to do to get by.
Go Aerin!
Two people in God's Country are pulling for you. You're one of our favorites.
I've always wanted to be yummy. :)
Yup - that plate of yours is very fullup!!! Feel free to email me any time you want to unload. I'll just bin it and you'll feel better. (;o) ) Alternatively I'm still working on the lottery win plan so we can just go on vacation together, drink cocktails and get totally bladdered. I've been in a neurotic tail-spin myself recently. On the verge of bonkers I'd say. But I epiphed a momentous epiphany and blow me down if I'm not a happy bunny again.
I love epiphanies. I'm going to January 6th my favourite feast day.