Five Foot Giants (Erin & Cailin)

LA Number Two

2007-08-06T23:26:00.000-04:00

This may be a completely incomprehensible blog post because I am sitting in the tiny airport that is Long Beach, Ca (and by tiny, I mean scary tiny - but also cool because everyone seems to travel with their dogs) after a five day (I can't calculate how many hours that is at this time and in my current condition) writing conference that is absolutely the most exciting and fun place to be if you are an aspiring writer. Or as they say at this conference - 'prepublished.' Everyday started by 8:30 am and went non-stop to lunch. Speaker after glorious speaker offered up their inspirations and insights. Lunch was a massive rush to either the fancy food court across the street in the fancy outside mall for a broccoli and cheese baked potato and a side chopped salad, or to the lunch of prepared sandwiches outside the famous LA ballroom where all the keynote speaker did their thing. Here are the average prices of this prepared sandwich lunch outside the ballroom (note this location was actually IN the hotel).
1. Sandwich, no cheese or condiments: $7.50.
2. Bottle of water or soda: $4.25
3. Piece of whole fruit: $3.00
We realized on day three that if you took the escalator up two levels to the lobby, you could find the same piece of fruit for $1 and a bottle of water for something more like $2.

After lunch, we returned refreshed and ready for an afternoon of more workshops and inspiration. It was fantastic. I didn't skip an entire one. And then, usually around 5:30 the day was over and we retired to our rooms for about a half hour to get ready for whatever festivities were planned that night - eg. cocktail parties, art portfolio displays, Mongolian throat singers (really), By the Light of the Silvery Moon parties, or just hanging out in the bar area with a group of friends and watching all the famous people come and go. Besides ALL the famous authors/illustrator/agents/editors, we also saw a Baldwin brother. I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that we are already making plans on how we can return again next year.

LA number three!

Fashion in the work place.

2007-07-03T19:22:00.000-04:00

This is what work looks like for me lately:

Step 1.
Enter super vacuum sealed room #1, put hair in ponytail (after just drying it of course to look professional and put together at the work place), pull fluorescent blue shirt over my regular shirt and then pat down because they say it's a 'Medium' when really all the shirts are one size fits all - sized gigundo. Pat hair down because gigundo fluorescent shirt is always zapped full of static. Now, with hair plastered to my head and looking blueberry fantastic, I pull on matching blue fluorescent pants. Dust off fashionable lab goggles and put on face (or at this point, realize I forgot my goggles - undress, and start over after retrieving them.) Don hair net. Feel thankful I don't have facial hair and can skip face mask step. Move to yellow line in the middle of the room. Balancing very carefully, extend one foot in the air, pull on shoe cover and step over the line without falling. Repeat for foot number 2. Apply latex gloves. Spray self with alcohol while holding breath. Move into hallway.
Step 2.
Enter vacuum sealed room #2. Move directly to line in the middle of the room, repeat balancing/extending foot/applying shoe cover feat again. This time with white shoe covers. We are now moving out of the blueberry stage.
Step 3.
Enter vacuum sealed room #3. (At this point we are deep in the gully of what we call the 'clean suite'. There is no noise except for rushing air. No birds even.) Shake out full body marshmallow suite - that is also 'one sized fits all' medium. Put on without letting a single piece of fabric touch the floor (this is an impossibility for the record. Especially since each vacuum sealed room gets considerably smaller) Move to yellow line in the middle of the room and step into knee-high booties one at a time. Pull them up and tie them around ankle. Enter clean suite looking quite like a marshmallow and very professional. Voila!

Hmmm...

2007-06-26T12:34:00.000-04:00

Summer is always so busy. I could totally be a stay at home mom right now without any kids there is so much to be done. Namely:
1. Put together a filing cabinet, large bookcase (already put the small bookcase together - yay!), and front entrance thingy/bookcase/table.
2. Laundry. Like a lot of it.
3. Get an entirely new wardobe or at least stop wearing around the pants that need to be hemmed but I keep wearing them anyway.
4. Feed the dog. On time. And maybe take him for a walk here and there.
5. Clean out my car that somehow is all of a sudden ransacked again. How did that happen??
6. Go grocery shopping for real. None of this - buy an orange here and there and pick up milk at the local gas station. I have eaten a hot pocket twice for dinner this week. It's a desperate situation.
7. Pick up my bridesmaid dress that was ready two weeks ago. The wedding is in a week. I still have time. Unless it doesn't fit....Hmmm....
8. Which reminds me, BUY WEDDING GIFTS. Dangit.
9. Wrap Father's Day gift for this weekend. Yes, I know it was two weeks ago.
10. Vaccuum the upstairs hallway because it's possible it hasn't been vacuumed since we moved in. Note: This requires hauling the 300 pound vaccuum up the stairs.
11. Buy a new, lighter vaccuum cleaner.
12. Remember to call my best friend on her bday tomorrow.
13. Return my very overdue library books so other people in this world can enjoy Uglies, Pretties, Life as We Knew It, and Katie Kazoo Switcheroo.
14. Empty the garbage.
15. Get my oil changed.

And that is mostly what I have to do.

Writing advice.

2007-06-07T08:48:00.000-04:00

Guy at work: How long did it take you to get to work today?
Me: One and a half hours. (note: This was 55 minutes longer than my typical commute and minus a good audio book. You can only imagine how lovely it will be to work with me today.)
Guy at work: I don't want to offend you but did you know traffic causes premature aging?
Me: Uh - (makes a mental note to inspect for spontaneous appearance of grey hair and/or wrinkles in bathroom)
Guy at work: It's the stress. Maybe you should invent an in-car work out machine. So you can work out while in traffic.
Me: That is a fantastic idea.
Guy at work: Perhaps it would be more profitable than writing your novel.
Me: (drinks my too-hot mug of tea, thinking he is so right.)

meeting the family...the WHOLE family

2007-05-30T18:15:00.000-04:00

So this weekend mike and I went up to his mountain house. we went up on thursday and met his grand parents up there, and on friday night the rest of the family came up. i met all his aunts and uncle and cousins. at first it was super awkward because they put mike to work for most of saturday and i has to put myself out there and try to talk to people while me alone. it was really difficult at first because they all had that cousin bond and stuff. they are a really close family. the girls wet into town and i tried to talk to them but it was too hard! so i just kept to myself. but as the weekend went on it got alot better. i starting talking to everyone and now im not shy around them at all! overall the weekend was nothing short of AMAZING! i had so much fun. and the best part is that i got to spend every moment with mike and i could spend even more time with him.

however there were a few really awkward relatives who thinks that they are funny. there were only 2. one was Stosh (spelling??) he would say things like "where's Michael? you guys should be together making out or something" just weird comments like that. and then the one fam friend told me that i had really nice teeth and then he called me a devil...like "oh you devil you" it was weird.

Cailin

Post-retreat-depression

2007-05-21T21:54:00.001-04:00

Back to the real world...(BIG sigh.) A world in which voice, characters, and conflict mean entirely different things than they do in a comfy little cabin in the middle of the Shenandoah valley with fifteen other writers. It was fantastic. The best year yet (which I say every year...and mean it). I wonder what next year will bring?

SCHOOL IS ALMOST OVER!

2007-05-21T15:42:00.000-04:00

HMMM WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME I BLOGGED? oops sorry about the caps but im too lazy to go back and retype the whole thing.

thank the dear lord that school is almost over, these past couple weeks have been horrible. lets go period by period

english: i had a term paper sue that we were working on in class for like 3 weeks... the day before the due date, I went to work on it in class only to find that it has been completely deleted. i was so frustrated and pissed off that i couldn't even start it again in class. so i went to the library for the first time and did my entire term paper in about 6 hours. it was nott fun!

religion: we had to take this survey thing that was like "1-strongly agree 2-agree 3-don't know 4-disagree 5-strongly disagree" and then we had a bunch of questions and she picked one person who put a 1 and another person who out a 5, then they had to go up and duke it out in front of the class and argue. of course i was picked. mine was "homosexuals should have the right to marry" i put 1-strongly agree and i had to argue with this other guy who put a 5. lets just say can't even look at him anymore. he is such a jerk, everytime i see him i want to wrap my hands around his close minded little head and squeeze....and i sit behind him in my 3rd period. ugh

math: i sit behind the close minded/cocky/jerk kid i argued with...enough said. oh, and im failing math withagood old 70, blah...

latin: i DESPISE this class...well the teacher. i can;t even express the words to explain this man. basically he thinks he is Gods greatest gift to the world. by the time this year is over...im walking out of this class. i will let you know how it goes. i only have 11 days left to do it.

chem: this class is a complete joke...yet in still failing

LUNCH: UGH this period is paradise. i get to see mike! :)

history: boring boring BORING class. thats all i have to say

shakespeare: ahahahahaha this class is the worst. i got yelled at for looking at the clock...mr.velten loves me...NOT!

and thats my day. but these are just the bad things that have happened in these classes since my prom.

omg i went to mike prom and it by far surpasses my prom. it was SO much fun. i went to this kid buddy's house after....hahahah o god good times. and the best thing was that i didnt really know anyone but they made me feel completely comfortable.

im leaving for the mountains with mike's family this weekend. im so nervous! but im so excited. i can not wait until summer!!!!

only 11 school days and 22 regular days until summer!!!

Venting

2007-05-15T11:00:00.000-04:00

Hm. So this new guy over here at work insists at calling me 'Hon' or 'Dear.' The first time it happened I didn't answer him because I had no idea he was talking to me. I mean, who calls a basically complete stranger that you just started working with a few days before - hon? No matter that I'm actually a year older than him and a level above him at work. Grr.

It's almost as innapropriate as when I signed my email 'love you' to my boss at my last job. But that was a complete and mortifying accident that the entire company knew about five seconds after it happened because my boss kept saying, 'I didn't know you loved me' whenever possible. But, this guy means it. And I've heard him say it to another girl - who didn't answer him either, thinking he was talking to his wife on his cell phone. Also, I have witnessed him call our very serious boss who does not like joking at all unless it is work related and scientific in nature - a nickname.

He is looking for trouble I tell you.

We've moved.

2007-04-30T08:01:00.000-04:00

Number of trips taken in rental truck. 3.

Number of times we said, 'This is the last time we're eating fast food!' 6.

Number of times Buxton puked because he insisted on eating the grass. 5.

Number of spider crickets found. 1 alive, 1 dead. Darnitall!

Number of times Dominion Power was called in irritation. 5. Number of times Dominion Power was called in a mild panic. 10. Number of times Dominion Power was called in a complete and utter frenzy. 7. Number of times Dominion Power answered the phone. 1. Number of times Dominion Power said they would help us. 0. Sigh...

Number of days spent in the dark. 4 and counting.

Number of nights without water because you need electriticy to pump said water. 4 and counting.

Number of times Buxton ran out of the house without a human escort before the humans realized he needed to be tied up. 567.

Number of neighbors we've met so far. 7.

Number of neighbors we would have met if it weren't for Buxton continually running out of an open door. Maybe 0.

Minutes waited for cable guy. 0. Yay!!

Number of times we asked the cable guy if he could turn our electricity on. Just once.

Trips to Target. 3. Number of somewhat unnecesary things purchased. 10 out of 12. Number of necessary things we forgot. 3.

Total number of rooms furnished in the new house. 1.

Total number of kitchen cabinets left completely empty even after unpacking all kitchen boxes. 2. Yay!

Number of hours spent admiring our empty rooms and feeling happy with our new house when we should have been unpacking. 12 out of 48.

Happy in a Sad kind of way.

2007-04-27T11:56:00.000-04:00

We're moving. Three months ago hubby and I were like, 'let's move out of this tiny place and get us a house.' And I was like, 'Yes!' And all the time while we were looking for our new house it was so exciting and fun and even frustrating because I wanted to move right away and we weren't finding The One. But, eventually we did and then I realized - we had to move out of our tiny place. We got engaged there. We got our little baby Buxton there. It was our very first tiny place of our own.

The best part about our tiny place is the neighborhood. So what you can hear Home Depot partying it up into the wee hours of the night? Who cares that people like to let their dogs do-their-business immediately behind our back gate? There is a cluster of us. Five tiny places in a row. We're all the same age. We hang out and drink beers on Friday afternoons. We badger the other neighbors to come out and meet us. We go out for dinner and sometimes breakfasts on Sunday. We have them over for fondue and for guinness on St. Patty's Day. I'm going to miss them.

Last week we were all hanging outside. One of the cluster was our real estate agent, and the time had come for the final walk-through of our new house. I was thinking, 'don't make me go! I like it here. I'll keep this tiny place.' But then the most wonderful thing happened, everyone stood up and said, 'Let's all go!' And so we did. The old neighborhood poured into their cars and we all drove the 4.1 miles over to the new place and did our final walk through together. And the cool thing was, the new neighborhood was all outside too. The old neighborhood got to meet the neighborhood, before we even moved in, which somehow makes it all seem a little bit easier.

bentley is cuter than buxton

2007-04-23T16:02:00.000-04:00

ok now times Buxton's cutness by 10 and you have my bentley butt!!

im reading the astonishing life of octavian nothing, its really good but its taking me forever to read. ughhh i have to go feed dogs but i will be back to add more when i get back!

Buxton Brown is THREE years old!

2007-04-10T19:09:00.000-04:00

It seemed like just yesterday he was a-little-baby-guy...

and he had his own little buddha belly.

and we had to teach him how to swim by persuading (or placing him) into the water...

and we had to tell all the other dogs at the dog park to stop making fun of our Buxton and remind them that some dogs take a little longer to grow into their paws...

and also their legs and ears and everything else.

He loved his first Halloween, so much in fact that he won't let us dress him up ever again just to keep it special.

We were all so proud when he passed his drivers test on the first try.

And now, 90 pounds later, he is still our big-little-baby-guy

prom pics!

2007-04-05T23:37:00.000-04:00

laura matt me and mike

me and mike

the smac girls!! stacye margie amanda me and julia

my two best friends

at the prom

What I've been reading...

2007-04-02T09:34:00.000-04:00

1. Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck

I think only Richard Peck could make me feel like I want to read more about the evolution of the automobile.

2. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale

This is the second book of Bayern (the first being Goose Girl which I absolutely loved) and all my favorite characters returned for a completely different story. This one was a bit heavier on the war aspect of Bayern - which may be the only reason I enjoyed Goose Girl a little bit more. Either way I am looking forward to reading River Secrets (which I believe is already out).

3. The Teacher's Funeral by Richard Peck

I went to a conference a few years ago where Richard Peck read the first page of this book (which was newly published at that point) and I loved the first line: 'If your teacher has to die, August isn't a bad time of year for it.' He writes old-time Indiana so well. I love the characters and the storyline and all of the details from that time - from going to school in a one room schoolhouse to living in a small town at the turn of the century. Almost as good as A Year Down Yonder...

4. Saint Iggy by KL Going

This is such a different kind of book than what I usually read. It reminds me of King Dork in the way that the reader is completely in the mind of the main character - we hear every single thought and it makes him so real. It also reminds me a bit of Fat Kid Rules the World, because I feel like I know the main character (Iggy) so well - like he's a close friend or a cousin - except that he lives in such a different world than I've ever known.

5. Notes on a Near Life Experience by Olivia Birdsall

Someone in my writer's group was nice enough to share this ARC with me and I was pleasantly surprised. Mia's parents are getting divorced, and her family is falling apart before her eyes. This is a popular theme in kidlit, but it's done really well here. The chapters are short snippets of Mia's life and you realize all of a sudden at the end that they meld together to form a very good story.

6. My Big Sister is so bossy she says you can't read this book by Mary Hershey

This could be my favorite title of all time. I heard she has a new book coming out 'My Best Friend is so bossy...' Very cute.

Hm.

2007-03-28T12:28:00.000-04:00

Two can play at that game Miss Cailin Christine!

And that officially ends the game of posting pictures of people in their finest. And apologies to mom for making her an innocent bystander in both incidents.

And also congratulations on the win!! Yay!

FIRST PLACE BABY!

2007-03-27T17:38:00.000-04:00

LAST COMPETITION AND WE GOT FIRST...O YEAHHHH!
and i thought everyone would appreciate this picture...this is erin at her finest.

Spring Cleaning

2007-03-26T07:53:00.000-04:00

We're moving which means there needs to be A LOT of organizing/cleaning before the big pack-up. This weekend we spent all of Saturday cleaning out our pockets of clutter and collecting things for goodwill. Here are some things we found:

1. One million and five unopened bank statements that had to be shredded by hand as our electric shredder was too tired.
2. A beach bag full of shells.
3. A key to a Jeep which is quite a mystery since Hubby and I have never owned a Jeep.
4. Hubby 'found' a bunch of shirts that I bought him that had the tags still on. Very bad. And busted.
5. A lot of single flip-flops.
6. A bundle of envelopes that said: 'Open immediately. Very important information regarding your 401K' and such. Oops.
7. A casserole dish circa 1965 that was left from the previous owner. I think casserole is my least favorite word - along with supper. I will never make a casserole for supper. I will make a one-dish meal for dinner.
8. A hat that said 'Evacuation Warden'
9. A bronze medal from the Sugarbush Ski School race in 2nd grade. I think there were three of us in the race. I was never good at competition. Why not enjoy the ride down?
10. My library card. Yay!

Meg Cabot's "how to be popular"

2007-03-24T18:35:00.000-04:00

i finished looking for alaska and i was soooo good. so no im on to meg cabot's "how to be popular"

i love meg cbot, she is an awesome writer, but i dont know about this book. its a good ook but i just dont agree with it. this book tells you about a girl who wants tobe popular and how she sees the popular people. but i dont think meg did her research on this one. she says that popular people have this in common:\

"they always have a ready smile for everyone"...true,sorta. they may have a smile but the dirty look and sneers come out just as easily

"remember a person name...popular people call others by their names..." true

"are good listeners who encourage others to talk about themselves" hahahahhaa not true

"make a person they are speaking to feel important-and do it sincerely. they always make the conversation about YOU, not about themselves!" yeah right, popular people are conceited, obnoxious, and annoying

how do i know this you may ask? well i defintily was "a popular" in middle school and i thought if i talked to someone who was "uncool" that they felt honored to be talking to me. thats the way we all were. in high school i dont really know. there is a definite loud group that you could consider to be the popular people but it is not nearly as bad as middle school. it sucks trying to be popular. i skipped lunch everyday in 6th grade because it wasn't cool to eat infront of boys. i would get lunch money from my mom and just pocket the money. i think it was after that, that i decided that this was stupid.

all in all populr people are people-pleasers and will do ANYTHING for people to like them

cailin

Happy (now belated) St. Patty's Day!

2007-03-18T12:34:00.000-04:00

We had our first annual St. Patty's Day party last night. It was a different kind of party because we decided to have it about three hours before the actual event. This caused for some creative planning and/or menu planning. As it was St. Patty's Day - and my name is Erin which is an exact result of my Irish heritage (Erin go Braugh does not in fact mean Erin-go-get-a-bra, it actually means 'Ireland Forever') - our menu centered around corned beef. To me, and probably to Cailly too, corned beef growing up meant Grandma T in the kitchen in a stinky corned-beef-cooking-all-day house with boiled cabbage (the worst kind), cheese potatoes, and all of us kids wearing matching outfits for some holiday and eating our corned beef sandwiches with Vernors ginger ale on rickety tray tables on the corduroy couch.

I never in all my life thought I'd make corned beef.

But, there are all sorts of ways to make corned beef and I think I found my preferred version. It was actually good! I liked it! And, in fact, everyone at the party Irish or not (some having never had corned beef before in their lives) liked it too. And there was no boiled cabbage in sight, replaced with sauerkraut and garlic mashed potatoes. I feel very Irish-y and domestic.

Our menu ended up being quite alcoholic:
Guinness braised corned beef brisket
Mint Irish Cream fudge brownies
Coffee with Bailey's
We offered a few non-alcoholic things as well such as mashed potatoes, salad, hummus, and olive tapenade.

Anyway, Cailin I am sorry to hear about your prom!! And, I knew you would like Looking for Alaska! I'm so happy. I'll have to buy you An Abundance of Katherines also by John Green because you'll love it even more.

I hope everyone had a nice St. Patty's Day!

prom...canceled

2007-03-16T11:20:00.000-04:00

well two days ago it was about 75-80 degrees, no lie. but the dsy of my prom we have a snow storm...awesome. so now its canceled. this sucks for many reasons:

1.we have to buy double the flowers and boutiniers (spelling??)
2.i have i keep tanning
3. i have to get my nails done again
4.i had to cancel my hair appointment
5. the rescheduled date, mike has a lax game.
6. I WAS SO EXCITED!

anyway, w.e

i started reading "looking for alaska" the book is seperated into 2 sctions. before and after. and i could figure out what the before and after were. they were playing a prank so i was like "o maybe its before and after the big prank. maybe they get caught or something." but o no, thats not it. i dont want to ruin it but its a much bigger before and after. this book is so good, but not a good book to read in public. not for me anyway. everyone in a while i read someting funny and i just have to laugh out loud. i probably look like an idiot but i dont care. i started reading it on my way to philly and only got a couple pages in but then i just couldnt put it down. its really good. and i highly recomend it.

Cailin

Jackson Hole!

2007-03-14T18:59:00.000-04:00

We're back from vacation! Here are some highlights:

This is what it looked like:

We saw real dog mushers!

Favorite restaurant: Million Dollar Cowboy had actual saddles for bar stools. It was quite the local place and we felt pretty East Coast coming in with our poofy coats and goggle tans, so we took ourselves downstairs for a cowboy dinner and skipped the bar. And they had a breathalyzer by the bathrooms which of course hubby and my friend's hubby had to try. We declared it broken after the four of us couldn't figure out how to use it after an hour or so.

Most romantic moment: Three years ago Hubby and I got engaged on a ski trip in Banff, Canada. We were traveling with a bunch of his smelly ski guy friends and he took me on a date night (which has since become a tradition on all of our trips) to a nice dinner. When we came out of the restaurant, there was a cab waiting at the door for us. I didn't know what was going on, and hubby was super excited - we piled into the cab and hubby kept saying how much I was going to love this - when we pulled up to some horse stables. Everything was dark. They were closed. There wasn't enough snow, and they never called my hubby to tell him they had to cancel his sleigh ride reservation. The sleigh ride he intended to propose to me. He ended up recovering from the dissapointment and proposing to me regardless that night and it was perfect. Fast forward three years and I finally got my surprise date night sleigh ride!

Best ski experience: The entire thing! But especially when hubby kept bothering us all to hike to ski and we finally gave in on our last day under the condition he carried all of our equipment. And he was like, 'ok.' (We didn't actually mean it, and I'm embarrassed to admit he was still the first to the top....)

And the best part was we had snow! And you couldn't even ice skate on it.

At one point (on the way to the airport to catch the last flight out of Idaho Falls by the way) we had too much snow. But lucky for us the locals are pretty nice and helped us out... The first thing hubby said when guy in big red truck pulled up was 'Don't even ask how we got here.' And, we even made our flight!

i finally got back on the blog!

2007-03-13T15:17:00.000-04:00

sorry i havent written in about 523095705 years. i couldnt get on the blogger because everytime i tried to get on, it would tell me turn off my cookie function. i dont even know what a cookie is! let alone turn the function off. but thanks to my friends dj and eric, they helped me out. i might even let them read this...i totally just lied to you. i would never hear the end of it haha. well i dont even know when was the last time i blogged; but nothing huge has gone on in my life.

im a little stressed out because prom is on friday and i got my dress back yesterday from being altered....its too short now. im freaking out a little, but i cant do anything about it so i must just suck it up and accept it.

we had course selections this week and (with albsolutly NO help from my counselor whom i havent even seen this year yet) i decided on my classes for next year. i have no idea what i want to do with my life so i decided to take a course in just about everything...except science. sorry erin but i hate science, it could just be my teachers but regardless, i hate science.
this is what im taking next year:

religion (required)
english(required)
personal finance
sociology/pshycology
calculus
journalism

and i think thats it, just about a taste of everything. but im thinking that i might really regret journalism, but we will see. i can always drop it if i have to.

so, i have been exrtemo busy so i havent been able to pick up a book, but im doing some reading in school. in shakespeare i am actually enjoying the twelfth night, its kinda funny. and we just finished the quiet man in english, not too bad either. but a couple of weeks ago i was in baltimore for cheerleading and we went into a HUGE barnes and noble. i almost died. but i didnt buy anything becuase i have like 10 good books on my waiting list to read. but i really want this one book called assassinating shakespeare. its about this guy who travels around africa performing shakespeare monologes. its really funny actually. i only got to read a couple pages of it though.

well i must go but since i can get on the blog now hopefully i will write more often!!

cailin

Ahhh vacation....

2007-03-02T07:48:00.000-05:00

We leave for vacation tomorrow. Our annual ski trip. Usually we go skiing with hubby's friends. This would be a typical day:

8am: Meet ski guide because skiing 'in bounds' is apparently boring.
Me: *Hoping for a nice leisure day of skiing: good views, soft snow, time with friends, ahhhh heaven*
Them: Dude, we're looking for an EPIC day of skiing. Got any helicopters to jump out of?
Guide: Yes. But first, put on these avalanche beacons, strap into these harnesses in case you fall into a crevass, and put on these backpacks that predict avalanches and puff out like airbags if you are in danger.
Me: We're going to stop for lunch right?
Them: We love crevasses!
Guide: Me too!
**They all look at me, but I actually don't like crevasses. Hubby pulls my harness tighter and we're off.**

But this year we're going with MY friends! Yay!! No helicopters! No ski guides! No cliffs and/or crevasses! We might even ski on the trails! It is totally exciting.

New Toys

2007-02-23T08:22:00.000-05:00

Buxton got a new toy. This is his new toy position. He can stay in this position for hours, I think. In his little doggie mind, he has figured out that he looks pretty cute like this, and most likely one of us will play with him. The poor guy has been especially ignored lately because his owners are lazy and cold and would rather bribe him with large bacon flavored cookies and new toys than weather the ice and cold to take him for a walk after work.

Last week he positively did not understand why we were not taking him out to go romp in the snow. We let him outside and his legs immediately betrayed him and landed him belly first on our walkway. But, dogs have the memories of fleas, and ten seconds later he cried to go out and frolic, to the same end. He steadied himself long enough to attempt to snuffle the snow, which is what he would normally do, and banged his nose onto what was actually five inches of concrete slab disguised as snow. It's like when the neighbor's demon cat mews sweetly every single time Buxton passes her. She flips over, paws the air, and flicks her tail at him. Buxton can't resist her invitation to play, and as soon as he gets close enough, she tranforms into demon cat and smacks him in the face.

The Loud Silence of Francine Green

2007-02-15T18:15:00.000-05:00

This book is set in the 1950s during the time when families were building bomb shelters in their backyards and accusing friends and neighbors of being Russian spies. Francine is the narrator, a 13 year old girl attending Catholic school, and scared of getting in trouble more than almost anything. She doesn't know what to think of everything: communists, the bomb, suspicions raised against seemingly innocent people, her father's mantra to not get involved. Even though this book is set more than fifty years ago, it's eery how if Karen Cushman exchanged just a few key words, this could have been a post 9/11 book. Kids today will be able to relate to so many things in this book. You can't travel around the beltway without being reminded to report suspicious activity. People aren't building bomb shelters in their back yards, but I'm sure most families have a plan in case of a terrorist attack, or maybe even a stash of duct tape and plastic bags to protect against bioterrorism. I think kids will find comfort in this book because they'll see this isn't the first time in history that people have lived with a little bit of fear. Overall the book is hopeful, funny, and honest.

I have learned a few phrases that I may or may not introduce into my everyday language.

1. Blue blazes - The same as the present day 'For goodness sake!'
2. Drooly - My husband is sooo drooly.
3. Drip - I've heard this before but I just think it is so hilarious when you take a moment to consider it. Calling someone a drip. Ha!
4. Dishrag - Can be used like: "Ye Gods Cailin stop being such a dishrag."
5. Ye Gods - Which I might add, Laurie Halse Anderson recently used this very phrase on her blog.

"Publishing Time"

2007-02-06T09:06:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I'm sitting in the office I share with four other people at my new job, at which I am still a closet writer, and I was just absolutely giggling to myself about this.

Writers group - you have to read it. It's just so true.

Small Steps by Louis Sachar

2007-01-26T12:59:00.000-05:00

This is a roller coaster of a story. I am completely exhausted after reading it. And for the record, if I lived in Austin, Texas:
1. I would not cross the road if I encountered Armpit on the sidewalk.
2. I would not ready my phone to dial 911 because Armpit was walking with a little girl and I thought she was kidnapped.
3. If I found him sitting in my seats at a concert, I would not alert security and have him wrestled to the ground and arrested if it took him more than a millisecond to find his tickets.
4. I would call him Theodore because he is starting a new life and would prefer to leave 'Armpit' behind.

Most of the story I just felt so bad for the guy. Nobody but the person reading his story (the reader), and Jenny the 10 year old girl with cerebral palsy respected him or gave him the chance of day. It was maddening! But I suppose if you've spent a year at a camp for juvenile delinquents, you'd have a bit of a reputation to shake.

Anyway - Cailin - I have some questions for you.
The Rules:
No googling or consulting with parentals and/or older and wiser siblings.

1. Who is Janis Joplin?
2. Is she dead or alive?
3. If you've heard of her, name one thing you know about her.
4. Who are the Beatles?
Bonus Question:
1. Who sang 'Blame it on the Rain?' (Ok. This has nothing to do with Small Steps, just something that came up at work recently.)

Inexcusable by Chris Lynch

2007-01-20T18:58:00.000-05:00

Wow. Eerie. A great example of an unreliable narrator. For a few pages, I believed him. He's a good guy. A football player. When he tackled that guy and crippled him, he was just doing his job. Right? And then the case against him started building. I wanted to believe him, that the demolished statue was the doing of another group of hoodlums that arrived after his friends did a little vandalism for fun. He was a lovable, good guy. People liked him.

The book opens with the rape scene. And at first, the reader doesn't really know what happened. Gigi is saying she was raped, and Keir is telling her she is wrong. He seems to really believe that a rape did not occur. They're good friends, he loves her. And I wondered why, after she was raped, she was still in a room alone with her rapist, discussing whether or not the encounter was consensual. As the story continues, and you learn more about Keir and just how deluded he is, you begin to understand. It is truly frightening. And it makes me worry about my sisters.

And, I'm pretty upset because my dog decided to break into our closet, seek this book out and read it himself. So, I'm sorry Cailly - we'll have to buy you your own. But, it is worth it. It's a fast read, mostly because you find yourself burning through the backstory pages to figure out what exactly happened to Gigi. But, the brilliance in writing is all in the backstory. Little by little you start to see who Keir is, and what his family is truly like, and by the end you are feeling very scared for Gigi, and by the last scene - everything makes sense.

SPAWL

2007-01-08T05:21:00.000-05:00

Hubby and I made our first-family-spawl this Christmas and it was quite the event. The original recipe involves 18 pounds of meat, preferably as many different kinds as you can possibly find. Roadkill is of course frowned upon in present times, although from stories I've heard, it may not have always been. Lots of onions and potatoes and dough and a mixture of secret spices that can only be divulged under one condition - those of interest must participate in the making of spawl by cutting up the number of onions required without breaks (which is a terrible task bordering on impossible). It was hubby's job this year. Some would say all of his crying was due to the onions, but I would argue he cried tears of joy for making his first spawl.

After all the cutting, layers of dough and meat and spice are added to a large pot (our spawl was half the size of an ordinary family spawl).

It's kind of like a large fruit parfait, except you substitute the fruit for an array of meat, the granola for raw dough, and the yogurt for potatoes and mystery spices.

The morning after: Spawl bakes in itself for 12 hours. It goes in the oven at night, and must be checked to make sure it's doing okay at least once at 3am. When you wake up, groggy from all the spawl preparations the night before, you smell cinnamon and other things that can only be described as Spawl. If you are hubby, you leap out of bed for your first taste of the masterpiece. In order to partake, you have to punch a hole in the thick crust (the top and bottom crusts are not to be eaten), and spoon out a hefty helping for breakfast.

The finished product. Do not let the gray hue of the masterpiece discourage you from digging in. At this point, the pot of spawl may be taken out of the oven. Do not worry about reheating, spawl is an exothermic reaction and remains at temperature for 24 hours at least, if not the entire month.

I do not eat spawl. But, I do like the smell of it. I have to say it smells a bit like Christmas, cinammony and nutmegy. In fact the smell is so potent, if you go visiting after making spawl, some will say 'Hm. You smell like spawl. Have you made spawl recently?' And then you can feel good about yourself because you smell like Christmas.

Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World

2007-01-04T07:59:00.000-05:00

This was the cutest funniest book I have read in a long time. I was so sad when it ended, I just might have to read it again. It's the best example of a middle grade novel that I have found since I read Polly Horvath's Everything on a Waffle, or at least the kind of middle grade books I like to read. The humor was so well written (natural, not jokey) and Ida B was such a unique character.

Ida B's life is perfect in her mind until her mother is diagnosed with cancer and they are forced to sell off a portion of their land. Ida B has to go to public school after being homeschooled her entire life. She is deeply betrayed and the book takes a swift turn from light and funny to dark and angry, although much of the humor still remains.

I should stop reading reviews of books, because I'm pretty upset to find a lot of people (mostly adults) felt the book was contrived and a cheap knock-off of Because of Winn-Dixie. I agree that I would categorize Ida B and Winn Dixie together, but I never would have considered one a knock off of the other. Another person was annoyed that nobody has noticed Ida B, Walk Two Moons, Winn-Dixie, and Everything on a Waffle are all the same story. I agree they have similarities: they target the same age group, involve the death/abandonment or possible death of a parent, and are written in the voice of a middle grade girl, but they each take up their own space on the book shelves. I think each of the narrating girls are as different as four 10-12 year old girls you'd stumble upon in real life. They each have their own story, and tell it in a different way.

Vegan, Virgin, Valentine

2007-01-03T09:58:00.000-05:00

I know this book has been out for quite awhile, but I just re-stumbled upon it and decided to take it along on my 10 hr drive up north for the holidays. I limited myself to three books only (The Lightning Thief and Schwa was Here) because my bag of books have begun to outweigh my bag of clothes, and I never do as much reading as I'd like while visiting family. Anyway - I finished it on the drive. Usually I'm out like a light by Baltimore, but I was fully conscience all the way to Boston, Massachusetts this time. I've read her two previous books, but for some reason this book really gripped me. Not to mention the first few pages completely and totally shocked me to the point I had to read them aloud to my hubby. I think he now has a new respect for YA authors...

The characters were so realistic - V, the crazy over the top wild one, and Mara, the repressed over achiever. Mara's life is thrown upside down when V (Mara's niece, although she is only one year younger) comes to live with her family. Her first week there, V hooks up with Mara's ex-boyfriend - at school - with witnesses, thoroughly infuriating Mara (who is far from over the break-up). The girls clash through the rest of the book. Although V was the bad guy in the beginning, she becomes more three dimensional as the story continues, and I found myself feeling as attached to V as I was to Mara.

While I was reading about this book, I found an interesting thread from a vegan weboard about how terrible this book is, and how poorly veganism is portrayed. Vegan may be in the title, but this book is certainly not about veganism. It is about the delicate balance of self-control and indulgence - repression and letting go. Mara chooses to become vegan because she needs something to obsess about other than her ex-boyfriend. She needed something else to control in her already too-controlled life. It made complete sense to me.

Anyway - Cailin I think you'll love this book too. (I forgot to leave it at home for you...I'll send it to you after you finish Octavian Nothing...)

Yay for new books.

2007-01-02T10:29:00.000-05:00

I received two glorious gift cards to Barnes and Noble. Usually, I have a very hard time choosing which books to buy - it is a big decision. There are far too many books I want to read. My husband doesn't understand it. I could spend three hours in a bookstore and not buy a single book. It's a disease I tell you. If someone gave me a bookstore shopping spree I think I would be paralyzed with the pressure. Therefore, as I clearly have a problem, I have vowed in this new year to get-over-it.

Yesterday I left the bookstore with THREE gleaming new books.
1. Inexcusable by Chris Lynch
2. Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet by Lola Douglas
3. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale

Erin

Celebrity Sighting!!

2006-12-29T09:33:00.000-05:00

Last night we had quite a close and personal encounter with a famous person IN THE BATHROOM. And we're not even kidding! It was kind of strange to start off - a co-ed bathroom - that looked suspiciously like a woman's room - in a fancy italian restaurant.

The encounter:
There was a short line in the bathroom (just Cailin because she is a nice little sister and let Erin go first) when DOOGIE HOWSER (aka Neil Patrick Harris) decided to use the facilities. Apparently he thought he walked into the ladies room (which was understandable...), but Cailin quickly and confidently assured him that he was in fact in the 'co-ed' ladies room without mentioning 'Doogie Howser' once. When Erin stepped out of the bathroom stall, she was startled to find Mr. Doogie waiting. At first Erin was like, 'Doogie Howser is in the women's bathroom!' And then he smiled, and let us tell you Mr. Howser is quite an attractive person in real life. Also extraordinarily tall. Erin almost blurted out something totally uncool like - I loved you in Doogie Howser! Or, I love your new show! But then she was afraid he'd be like, oh yeah, if you're such a big fan then what's the name of my new show? Which, she didn't know. So instead, they did an awkward shuffle to exchange places in the bathroom (it was quite small), and then Erin took a REALLY long time washing her hands to wait for Cailin. And then Cailin took a really long time washing her hands until Mr. Harris came out of our shared stall and we all had to do a weird awkward shuffle so Cailin and Erin could pour out the door and he could wash his hands (which he did).

And then our other sister was so jealous we went to the bathroom with Doogie Howser that she made the entire family stalk him for a few blocks to see which show he was going to - which was the Martin Short one. Only then did she allow us to go see our Phantom of the Opera (which was very good!).

An Abundance of Katherines

2006-12-21T08:26:00.000-05:00

John Green is my new favorite author. I loved Looking for Alaska (Cailin, you said you won't read it because it might be 'sad', I think I'm going to make you...). But now, I think I enjoyed Katherines even more. I didn't think that was possible.

Just the premise of the book itself was interesting - a prodigy graduates from high school and worries that he'll never develop into a genius. I've never thought about that before - that a child prodigy is just that - a 'child' prodigy. What happens in adulthood? It makes me wonder what happened to the eight grader I had in my AP Physics class. Hmmm... But on the other hand, a kid who seemed totally normal growing up, could become a genius and discover something that could change the world. So, Colin (after getting dumped by his 18th Katherine) and his best friend (who I have to say was my favorite character) set off on a road trip. Colin tries to get over his break up and discover something that will leave his mark on the world, and confirm he is more than just a 'child' prodigy.

School library journal gave it a good review - except for this line: 'The narrative is self-consciously dorky, peppered with anagrams, trivia, and foreign-language bons mots and interrupted by footnotes that explain, translate, and expound upon the text in the form of asides. It is this type of mannered nerdiness that has the potential to both win over and alienate readers.' But, honestly, how could the narrative been written any other way? The book is in the perspective of a prodigy. There were so many other characters (especially Hassan who could halt Colin in his nerdiness by saying, 'Not interesting.') to balance the 'mannered nerdiness.' I thought it felt real, and I loved Colin's character because it was so consistent.

Anyway, I'm hoping to see another John Green book out on the shelves soon...

Erin

blue is for nightmare

2006-12-18T16:57:00.000-05:00

i just finished blue is for nightmare. it was a little weird, but it was good. im such a wuss when it comes to scary things, so when it got just the tiniest bit scary so started to get paranoid that someone was watching me. and when i read it before i go to bed, thats the only time i have to read, i would tell myself "ok ill only read until 11:30. and then the next time i look at the clock, it reads 1:15. CRAP! i hate when i do that. then im all tired the next morning.

anyway...
its about this girl who attends a boarding school. she is rooming with her best friend who starts getting these mysterious calls. drea, the best friend/room mate, wont give the details about this guy, which is weird cuz girls always love to tell friends about new guys. well he starts to get weird, and i dont want to give too much away... but stacey, the main character, is having bad dreams, and even wetting the bed at age 16.

its a really good book. i definitely recommend it.

Cailin

Girl's Weekend, A Photojournal

2006-12-14T18:26:00.000-05:00

Girl's Weekend 2006, NYC! Once we figured out how to maneuver the subway turnstyles...

We went shopping!

Tiffany's for Kara

Container Store for Mom

Barnes and Noble for Cailin and Erin...no pictures...too busy shopping. I bought FEED for Cailin and searched for Absolutely Positively Not by David LaRochelle which someone I CAN NOT FIND ANYWHERE. They didn't have it...

Then we took a much needed break.

Read some books...

Went to see the rockettes...

...in 3D!

And then collapsed in complete and utter exhaustion.

Golden

2006-11-30T13:43:00.000-05:00

Cailly and Rooney's aura strings have been tied together...awww...

If you don't know what I'm talking about, then obviously you haven't read Golden by Jennifer Lynne Barnes. It's about sophomore Lissy who moves to a Oklahoma when her mother, who has psychic abilities, solves a little boy's murder, relaying the scene with such accuracy that the family must move to escape suspicion. Lissy has the ability to see auras, and it's not until she moves to her new high school that she realizes the true potential of her gift.

I must have read this book in a single afternoon. The opening scene was hilarious, and the characters were intriguing. I loved the little sister, who is 'blind' and yet to discover her psychic gift. I liked the grandmother too, mostly because I could totally picture her. She's the controlling type that can not enter a room without going unnoticed. She somehow reminded me of the grandmother in Princess Diaries, and she played a similar role: teaching/mentoring Lissy to utilize and cultivate her gift.

I've read a few reviews of this book, and was surprised to find so many people compared it to Twighlight by Stephenie Meyer. Both books are written in the perspective of teenage girls with an element of fantasy. But, when I think of Twighlight, I think fantasy, romance, and vampires. It's a true fantasy - if you take out the vampire, Bella's story would be entirely different. When I think of Golden I think more about high school politics. One reviewer said she was overshelmed with all the aura references. Although obviously a big part of the plot, I barely noticed the fantasy element at all. I guess I would compare it more to Avalon High by Meg Cabot. Either way, I thought it was fantastic and I'm excited to see her next book comes out in January.

Erin

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-28T13:56:00.000-05:00

Why is it?

2006-11-21T09:54:00.000-05:00

How come I'm ALWAYS waiting for a phone call? I mean seriously is it some kind of cruel test of my character? And now I'm all messed up again with the clashing of the worlds. If you get an email from an editor or agent that does not require a response - you ABSOLUTELY do not respond. I think they have a certain number of superfluous emails they allow - like, one - before you are automatically banned from their inbox and sent directly to the spam box. Last week I got an email from a potential employer with my interview schedule. I had just spoken to the person on the phone and he had said - 'I'm going to send you your interview schedule.' So, when it arrived as planned, I read it several times, debated whether or not to respond, and then the obsessive writer in me took over and I thought, 'I do not want to annoy him with a superfluous email.' A day later I got a phone call: 'Did you get my email? Why didn't you respond? Are you still interested in interviewing?' So, now I realize the division between the writing world and the real world. Kind of.

Anyway my point is - why am I always waiting for phone calls? He clearly said 'I will call you on Monday.' And it is clearly TUESDAY is it not?

29 hours and 3 minutes until I leave for Thanksgiving. Yay.

Saturday:

2006-11-19T08:16:00.000-05:00

This is what Saturday will be like:

Scene: In the warmly lit kitchen of Mom and Dad fivefootgiant. Dogs wrestling each other - crashing into tables and chairs. Boy looking nervously at Cailly.
ME(to nervous boy): So. Did you know you are most likely related to my sister, the same person you are dating?
BOY: (awkward silence)
CAILIN: This is so awkward. Isn't this awkward?
ME: Just something to think about if you two ever want to have kids. Not like you are. Because you know, teenagers shouldn't have sex. Especially with my little sister who is only just a baby.
BOY: (wants to run from this place and never come back)
JAY: teehee.
ME: Um, anyway. (thinking) Ok, ready? If Cailin is stranded on an island and could only bring on thing, what would it be?
BOY: Um. Dunno.
ME: That is so typical. What's her favorite coffee? 711, Starbucks, or Wawa? Huh?
BOY: Uh -
Me: You don't know do you?
JAY: (laughs) Dude. You've got to know her favorite coffee.
ME: What are your views on spider removal?
BOY: I believe all animals are created equal and have the same right to life. I would leave it alone and buy tiny flies to feed it.
ME: Wrong answer.
JAY: You should have said spiders are creators of evil and need to be disposed of immediately.
BOY: That' s what I meant.
ME: When Cailin grows up does she want to: a. cure world hunger b. facilitate world peace or c. save the sea turtles
BOY: Cure world hunger?
ME: That was a trick question. It's d. be a travel writer. Duh.
Boy: (blinks)
ME: Come on Cailly. We're leaving.
JAY: teehee. World hunger...
BOY: Slinks back to his car never to be seen again.

There you go Cailin. Just so you can prepare him. You better make sure he knows these things.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing

2006-11-18T08:27:00.000-05:00

I love anything MT (which I recently learned stands for Matthew Tobin) Anderson writes. Cailly - have you read FEED? Because if you haven't, you have to. It's sooo good. And scary. And I think about it everytime I log onto Amazon.com and they have a list of recommended books for me. Or when I email from gmail and all the advertisements switch to honeymoon adventures and bridal shower gifts if the topic of our discussion happens to be bridesmaid dresses. Anyway.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing is so different from the rest of his books (Actually ALL of his books are different from the rest of his books), it's amazing. If I had to compare it to any of his other books I'd pick Feed I guess - only because the story is dark and frightening. In Feed though, the world he creates is in the future, a scary prediction of what our consumer society could come to. Octavian Nothing is based in the past, during the very beginnings of the Revolutionary War, and derived from true events. MT Anderson says in his author's note that Octavian Nothing was inspired by true experiments performed during the late 18th century on 'non-Europeans' to guage whether or not they had the same capacity to learn as Europeans. And, as you could imagine, a lot of people were only satisfied if the results proved they did not. It is a chilling account, and much of the book is written in the perspective of Octavian as he learns that he is nothing more than a research subject.

The book is written in challenging, realistic 18th-century language. It is hard to read, and I'm not sure how many teenagers are going to willingly pick this book up themselves. Cailin - I have to honestly say I'm not sure if you'd like this book now, but in a few years, maybe. It's dark and heavy and hard to read. There are tons of terms that I didn't recognize, and when I chose a few to look up, I wasn't surprised to find they were from 'Old French' and specific to the time period. This isn't to say that I don't think this book should be read by every teenager out there. It belongs on the teen shelf. And I am actually really irritated with all of the reviews I'm reading that say 'Despite it being a children's book,' or 'This is clearly an adult book,' or this.

But anyway. Buxton clearly enjoyed this book as well, especially the cover and first fifty pages which he ate entirely. I have to go slink over to the library now...and buy them a new book...

Kara Appreciation Day

2006-11-16T13:42:00.000-05:00

1. She introduced me to Pumpkin Spice coffee creamer.
2. She mostly almost always tolerates my dog even when he licks her toes whenever she comes to visit.
3. She is fiercely loyal to her friends and family and will kick some a** if anyone thinks of messing with them. Unless there is a spider involved, then you're on your own.
4. She is totally fun.
5. She used to say 'poola' when she was little is she wanted to go in the pool. Or if she was hungry, she was 'hungering.' And one time we convinced her that their was a salamander on her sock. But, anyway.
6. She never walks home at night by herself because she knows how unsafe it is and would rather call her older sister from four states away to call her a cab.
7. She used to pick her nose at the table but she has mostly grown out of that.
8. she lets her little sister throw parties...only one, only cuz we got caught though.
9. she doesnt get mad when people ID her when ordering alcohol
10. she doesnt get mad when people say "omg! i thought u were 12!" that takes real patience after the 50th time.
11. she lets her little sister sleep in her bed she was "scared" at night, even though it was just becuase she wanted to be with her. and im pretty sure she knew that.
12. she doesnt own comfy clothes so she has to steal her sisters who is 6 years younger than her, and they are still huge on her.
13. she is extremely high maintenance, but she can pull it off without looking bitchy.

we love kara
end of story
HAPPY BIG 2-3!
Love,
Us

Lizzy Bright and the Buckminster Boy

2006-11-16T08:17:00.000-05:00

I'm obsessed with Malaga Island now officially. It's an island off of Phippsburg Maine which was inhabited by a community of 50 or more very poor people for generations. There is a lot of legend surrounding the first people of Malaga - I read some accounts that say sea captains would 'take a lady' with them for journeys and then drop them off on Malaga before returning home to their families - or that Malaga was founded by runaway slaves. Either way, it ended up being the home to an interracial population of people for over 50 years. In the 1910s, Phippsburg saw their shipping port failing and decided their next industry was going to be tourism. In order to attract the rich tourists from Boston, they had to get rid of Malaga as it was - which was a collection of ramshackle shacks that were visible from Phippsburg's coast. Their only solution - obviously - was to evict all of Malaga's people, forcing one family to actually put their house in the river and float it down to Boston - and to throw the rest of them in an asylum where they all eventually died, and not of old age. They burned their houses down, and waited for their beloved tourists to arrive. I don't think they ever did. It's an unbelievable story. The fact that they got the entire town in on it - to evict an entire island community that had been getting by for generations (without much help, mind you) - is amazing to me. It's almost as bad as what happened on Kalaupapa on Molakai Island in Hawaii, except people were exiled TO Kalaupapa (babies and all) when diagnosed with leprosy in the late 1800s, not from. Still.

Lizzy Bright was a Malaga resident, and the 'Buckminster Boy' was the minister's son in Phippsburg. Lizzy and Buckminster formed a friendship, and the reader gets to see both sides of the Malaga/Phippsburg story - from the side of the Phippsburgians, and the side of the mistreated Malaga Islanders.

Here's a picture of Malaga:

interesting day...

2006-11-15T16:04:00.000-05:00

well my school day was fine...it was after school that sucked.

ok, first i got caught coming out of the BOYS bathroom with my friend tyler, by no one other than...FATHER ANDRES. tyler took my sweatshirt and kept going into the boys bathroom so i finally just followed him in, and when i came out father andres just happened to be coming in. i tried to explain it to him, but he just seemed skeeved out so he just walked away without asking questions.

then, i got out to my car and there is mud, popped balloons, and leaves all over the hood of it and on my doorhandles. yesterday i filled my friends car with balloons; that was funny. this was just gross. there is this marsh infront of my parking spot cuz its been raining alot lately, so i picked stacey up becuase i knew she did it, and pretended to throw her in. well my friend DJ though it would be funny to push me in so we both went tumbling into this discusting littered, leafy, muddy water. it was so smelly.

then, like evryday, people took my car keys and wouldnt give them back. so my car ended up (about and hour later...literally) in the next parking lot.

the only reason i stayed was becuase i said i would take this girl who lives near me home. she has an 8th period and i dont so i waited for her becuase im nice like that. yeah, her mom picked her up right after school. so i waited for nothing.

i never got really mad, it takes alot to get me truely mad. but i was annoyed. o yeah and our water is shut, of so if i wanna wash my car i have to pay for it.

AWESOME!

well i just got out of the shower and im all clean so im happy! and no school tomorrow or friday!! but im going into school tomorrow for 8th grade visitation day, it will be fun though cuz ill be with my cheer girls.

Cailin

Worlds Collide

2006-11-13T05:45:00.000-05:00

So, last night in my dream I was at a writer's conference that accidentally morphed into a biotechnology convention. I was watching a demonstration of something where these two guys in labcoats were doing an experiment right in the middle of the writer's conference. I was watching through some glass and this guy in a suit comes up and is like - wouldn't it be cool if you could do something like that - all condescending. And he proceeded to go on and on about how smart these lab guys were until I finally burst and said - I CAN DO THAT TOO. And then an editor came up to me and handed me an apple. And when she walked away I saw that she had written on it: I'd like to publish your book. And then hubby woke me up because he had an itch on his foot.

i will get that crossing guard fired...mark my words

2006-11-08T15:40:00.000-05:00

i had 2 run ins with extremely rude adults on two days....

run in number 1:
this happened yesterday. my friend jen got 2 detentions for our lunch table being dirty. she doesnt get detentions. so she went into the students services office (SSO) to get it taken away. i waited outside because mr.mangin (the head detention guy) hates me and knows me by name, so i didnt think it would be good for him to know me and jen are friends haha. well she came back out after like 1 second so i asked if she talked to him. she said no, so i poked my head in the doorway to see if mr.mangin was in there. the stupid secretary says "EXCUSE ME! EXCUSE ME MISS. GET BACK HERE." so i walked back in and she started yelling at me how this is a "private office" (which its NOT)and i cant be snooping around. i got blamed for waiting outside the office! ahhh o hate her.

run in number 2:
this one just happened. im still upset about it. it took all my might for me not to start crying right there, i had to wait until i got home. i was pulling out of the wood driveway, i looked left and saw a car stopped, COMPLETELY STOPPED. so i started to go cuz i thought he was letting me in. all of a sudden the crossing guard(who was suppossed to be gone by that time anyway) cames screaming towards me. i looked at her and i have never seen someone so livid. she was so pissed. she starts yelling, literally YELLING at me about how im not allowed to go around kids in the parking lot and that i was being an irresponsible driver. i had no idea what she was talking about. i think she was mad first of all becuase i didnt see her, she could have been telling me to stop but the other car was stopped and so i thought i was allowed to go. if i saw a crossing guard say stop i wouldne just be like...o i think im going to go anyway, i wouldnt do that. i was like "kids? what are you talking about. i dont understand" she was like "ARE YOU DENSE??" i couldnt believe she just called me dense! i apologized atleast 3 times even though i didnt do anything wrong. she still wouldnt let me go. she just kept being rude, extremely rude. then my friend maura decided to get into it cuz she thought since i wasnt sticking up for myself she was going to. everything maura said to her was right though. she was saying that you cant treat people the way she was treating me no matter who they are and then the crossing guard called maura dense! if it takes me all year and a couple of arguments, i will get this crossing guard fired. ill just keep pissing her off until she hits me or something.

this started to happen to me more and more this year, i decided to stick up for myslef in the beginging of the year. wanna know how it turned out? i ended up failing conduct becuase of my "defiance". i was close to going to summer school. well now i just let it go. but the crossing guard just wouldnt let me go. i apologized mulitple times. i still cannot believe how rude she was. no one should be treated that way. its not eve like im a bad kid! wtf...i hate this.

council rock district got off!!

2006-11-08T15:39:00.000-05:00

council rock school district had ONE bomb threat and they got off for 2 days!!!!

bomb threats: the new fad

2006-11-06T15:09:00.000-05:00

wow, i ahve blogged in a while. i have been very busy lets start with last week.

the firday before halloween we had a bomb threat in the school. do u think we got off? no. do u think they did ANYTHING?? no. all they did was post something on the school website saying there was a threat. not what kind of threat, or what did they about it(which was nothing).

halloween, i went to rooney's. it was fun, i met his friends, they are halarious. me and maura went looking for a costume the day before for.....4 hours! we couldnt find anything. we ended up going to like 5 defferent places, it was ridiculous. i was a cowboy and maura was a bunny, kinda of a slutty one if u ask me haha. we sprayed the bottom layer of her hair pink and it dyed it. hahahah its looks so funny cuz its just fading out.

the day after halloween i went back to rooney's house. it was embarrassing cuz his mom caught us kissing. it was horrible. o so now we have gotten caught not only by his mom, but by mine too. like 2 weeks ago my mom walked in on us. we werent doing anything horrible but it was still really embarrassing. we are really bad at being sneaky and stuff. so we can tell you now that we wont be doing anything for a long time cuz we keep getting caught. not that we have done anything anyway. wayy too early.

well the next day at school we had another bomb threat. they still didnt really do anything. o yeah, on friday we werent allowed to walk outside between classes and before school started they checked everyones back pack.

and friday there was one last threat. but this was a gun threat.

in summary here are the threats:

THREAT 1: found on the boys bathroom wall. it had a map of where the bombs were going to be placed. also said something like "have a good time being blown up on costume day." thats halloween, only seniors are allowed to dress up in thier costumes. one wrong person was expelled for it and another person was suspened because he knew who did it but didnt tell on him.

THREAT 2: rumor is it was on the boys bathroom wall again, but other people said it was on a piece of paper found on the floor. this one said "happy SAT'S" or someting like that, we were supossed to have the sat's on saturday but they were rescheduled for next weekend cuz of the threat.

THREAT 3: this one was different becuase it was a gun threat, it was a girl, and it was directed to a specific teacher. my freinds were the ones who found it. it was on the girls bathroom wall.

i dont take any of these seriously. its a fad. everyone just wants a day off. i know of atleast 2 other school in the past week who have had threats. its actually quite annoying. becuase of this everyone had to clean out thier entire locker and bring everything home. i had literally about 10 pounds of books. and andrew thought it would be funny to knock the books i had in my hands on the ground....they landed in vomit. it was discusting. it smelled. i had to wash my books when i got home.
there will be more. i will let you know when it happens.

i took the sat's on saturday at a different school becuase i just wanted to get them over with. i actually liked the essay part. the whole test was alot better then what i thought it would be like. i get my scores back in aout a month. i really wanna see what i got on my essay, i think it was pretty good.

well thats the big stuff that happened latly, ill probably think of more and fill you in later. bye!!

Cailin

Plastic suits and eggrolls.

2006-11-03T11:36:00.000-05:00

This place is just wierd. I'm six years out of college, and feel really comfortable in the lab now. If someone says to me, 'can you rerun that with a step elution instead of a bump?', then I'm like: Sure! Or if someone asks me about my pool, I have learned over the years that they are actually not talking about my neighborhood pool, but something entirely different. Fast forward to today when I have entered the completely foreign world that is otherwise known as the new lab I'll be working in. I show up all geared up with my lab coat and such, which they told me to remove and handed me a package. What I unwrapped was a fancy trash bag with more holes for appendages than I feel are required. Also, the thing about plastic is that it doesn't breathe and it takes a maximum of five seconds to get sticky and unbearably hot in there. I put on my fancy plastic bag that is flourscent blue, proceeding to staticize myself to the point I am audibly crackling. They only have large, and the belt (yes, there is a belt) naturally hit me around the knee area. I bunched it all up and tied it around my waist in a big bow. I ignore the fact the bag has suctioned to my body with all the static and I now look like I'm wearing flourescent blue chaps over my pants. I sit down and get to work. Except that I have never done this kind of work before, so I feel like a complete moron because every other word out of my trainer's mouth is foreign. I stop asking for clarification about ten minutes into her talking, and was so flustered that when she asked me to add 100 + 250 + 350 in my head, I couldn't figure it out. And then she asked me if I wanted an eggroll and I didn't know if eggroll was some kind of acronym like E.G.G.R.O.L.L, or some crazy science term I should know, until she said: 'Jen down in chemistry made them.' Hmmm... I'm just so happy it's Friday.

Happy Halloween!!!!

2006-10-31T19:18:00.000-05:00

Satisfaction.

2006-10-30T07:55:00.000-05:00

Ah. Conference is over. I miss it.

In retrospect, the best part of the conference for me was sitting next to Katherine Paterson. I'm pretty sure someone needs to remind her that she is KATHERINE PATERSON, two-time Newbery winner and writing genius. While I sat next to her, I was kind of worried about standing up and speaking to the 250 conference attendees about various things that needed to be said about the conference, timing, and all of the other million details that needed to be thought of. It was like I was sitting next to someone I've known for years. She'd ask me to repeat something that was said by a speaker - I'd show her my notes - she'd tell me the small details I was worried about didn't matter and people were enjoying the conference. I think. I wish I had a recorder so I could remember every little thing she said to me. But, she was just so normal and warm - that I think I even forgot she was KATHERINE PATERSON.

And, I think a lot of other people forgot too. I enjoyed watching people stumble up to her, and ask her a question about the conference, thinking she was a volunteer or something. One person sat next to her with a big sigh of relief and was like 'I have my critique in a few minutes, are you waiting for one too?' And then the look on that person's face when they realized she was wearing a name tag that said, Katerine Paterson writing genuis and two-time Newbery winner (ok, it didn't say that, but it should have). Or when she moved into the audience to watch a panel for a better view. She just plopped herself down and watched, while the entire row of people straightened and probably missed the whole panel, staring at her out of the corner of their eyes, wondering if they were worthy of talking to her. And I knew they were thinking, "OMG Katherine Paterson is sitting next to me. I could die a happy death right now."

Otherwise people are saying this was the best conference we've had in years. I think so too, and (besides our 55 volunteers) I think it's because of our speakers. They were wonderful. The editors were so approachable and fun. They were good at talking to a group of people. They answered questions and gave wonderful critiques. I ate lunch with two of them, and dinner with one, and was wishing we could bring them back next year. I also ate dinner with a librarian that served on the Newbery Committee. That was really cool. We talked about books and she asked me about my writing. It came up that I went to Rutgers this year and when she heard I had tried twice, finally being accepted on my third try, she was so proud of me! I was like, "You decide who wins the Newbery Medal and your congratulating me on getting into a conference!" Goodness. Anyway she was not at all what I expected a Newbery committee member to be like. She had cool hair, wore a dress suit type outfit, and had a hip hot pink scarf/feather boa around her neck.

So I'm kind of feeling sad today because it's all over. It was fun. Every minute of it. And I'm wondering when we can start planning the next one. Although, I'm sure as soon as my conference high wears off, I'll be a little relieved to have a few months to recharge. Back to the real world. Time to get that revision finished, and sent off. And hopefully next year I'll have a little more than an acceptance into Rutgers to share. If not, that's okay too.

i need a book

2006-10-24T21:52:00.000-04:00

im having a really stressful week and its only tuesday, im so tired but im always sleeping! i need a vacation a.k.a, a book, ASAP. i need a book that will make me laugh out loud, a meg cabot book.

Hubby Appreciation Week

2006-10-24T13:54:00.000-04:00

In honor of Hubby's bday, it is Hubby Appreciation Week!
These are just a few of the things that I appreciate - not in any order:

1. He doesn't get mad when I wake him up with my super-high-pitched-could-wake-the-neighbors alarm clock every morning at 4:45 to write. In fact, for the first few years of our being together, he always turned over and said 'you're amazing.' And now, he just sleeps through it and if I HAVE to wake him up because my computer is surrounded by spider crickets, he doesn't get mad.
2. He never gets in one of those moods where he's just really pissy. You know those kinds? I've witnessed it many times with other couples like so: girl: 'How was your day? Were you able to deposit that check?' boy: 'No' (with a snarl) girl: 'I thought you said you were going to do that.' boy: 'Get off my back.' girl: 'Fine.' boy: 'Oh. Ok. I see how it is.' (night is ruined...well atleast for 10 minutes or so). Anyway hubby never does that. He has food fits, but they are easily quelled with anything containing calories, or Cherry Garcia ice cream.
3. He always takes out the trash.
4. He is not afraid of dog vomit.
5. He surprises me with itty-bitty-book-lights.
6. He is as close to his family as I am to mine.
7. All you have to do is tell him the dog smells, or say you found a hair on his back, and you have his attention. This can be used for both good and evil. I am not an evil person, luck for him. I can not say the same thing for his big sister, who says 'Um, your dog stinks,' everytime we show up on her doorstep. It is quite enjoyable.
8. He likes the clothes my mom buys him.
9. He knows what an edgy YA is.
10. He is the only person I have ever known that will leave ANY party (I'm talking, bridal shower, company BBQ, wedding in Germany, random engagement parties where we know nobody but ourselves) with a new friend and phone number. AND they hang out. It's not just one of those 'I'll call you' things. It's the real deal. He left my best friend from high school's wedding with the phone number of some guy that I went to high school with, that didn't even ask for MY number.
11. And this just about sums it up: After racing against this one team for 24hrs straight, Hubby's team finally won. It was a fight the entire night though - stress - pressure - constantly looking over your shoulder - kind of fight. And when it was all finished, Hubby was like, 'That was fun, I'm going to ask them if they want to camp together next year.'

Feel free to add little sister.
Erin

Long drive

2006-10-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

I'm going to a conference today. Yay.

Driving entertainment by way of audio books:

1. Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (almost finished this already, darn)
2. Lizzy Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt
3. Whales on Stilts by M.T. Anderson (who I love)

On another note, they just announced flu shots are being administered in our library. Hmmm. I think I will opt out because I'd prefer to avoid a needle. But then again maybe I should get it because I have never worked in a hospital before during flu season. Hmmm. And then there was that incident on the way to the Poconos Mountain SCBWI retreat last year where I spontaneously pulled the car over and leapt out to vomit, much to the surprise of my passenger, and myself. When I told my horrors at work on Monday they were like, that's what happens when you work in a hospital. What? Shouldn't they tell you about that on your interview or something? Like 'we offer wonderful benefits including ten days of vacation and four sick days for the spontaneous vomiting that you will experience from working here. Any questions?'

double whammy!!!

2006-10-19T15:38:00.000-04:00

so it was after 7th peiod today (i dont have an 8th period so i was jut chilling) and i was talking to mike( :) ) and a couple of other people. our school president (pat) was there too. i was so excited cuz i love him, hes so cute, and hes so nice. i have never talked to him but he turned to me and said:

pat(school president):whats your name
(note: he doesnt ask anyone else)
me: uhhhhhh cailin?
pat:whats ur last name?
(im not gunna put my last name on here but i told him)
pat: o! your cailin, i have heard alot about you...alot.
me:(nervously) o hahah yeah.

ok mike talks about me!! and to pat!!! and senoirs know me know!! im so excited.
and there were some more references to me but i cant really remember them.

and this one girl rosie came to me the other day and said she heard his flag football team talking about me...ahhhhh, it was good though.

mike asked me to the red hot chilipeppers concert but im stil grounded...blah! o well. hes coming over on saturay, hes the only one who visits me during my house arrest.

im in a good mood.

CAILIN

Irony

2006-10-18T14:24:00.000-04:00

This is irony:

You start a new job in a department with three hundred people. You think, I am going to make so many friends and it's going to be so fun at my new job. You arrive on your first day to find that you are the only person in the three hundred with your degree and your background. You speak a different work language than your three hundred coworkers. You have an office at the end of a dark hallway, through a doorway that is only accessed through another secret room. You are the only person reporting to your boss. You may work in a department with three hundred people, but you soon realize you have no coworkers. Nobody welcomes you on your first day of work because nobody knows you are there. Except for your boss, but she is very scatterbrained. Fast forward three months - your boss announces her retirement and your days of having a job at all are limited. In the shock of your life, people acquire a map to your office, visit and share their sympathies for such an injustice. You receive advice from people you have never met, and people you have only seen in passing, deliver job postings for your consideration. You are invited to join the retirement celebration committee to help plan your boss' retirement. You accept and are granted the important job of seeking out your boss' favorite color and making a scrapbook of her career that you were a part of for three months. People know your name. Someone fixes the light in your hallway. You have coworkers.

Scaredy Dog

2006-10-18T11:15:00.000-04:00

Ever since we brought the poor guy home from his vacation (besides the night he spent, ahem, IN THE GARAGE LIKE A WILD ANIMAL, CAILIN) with his cousin, Bentley, Buxton has become a scaredy-dog. He's always been a sensitive soul, but there has been a definite shift in his cautious nature to completely-flat-out-scared of everything.

For example, when jogging: usually when I see a dog coming in our direction, I have to prepare myself by reeling him in and wrapping the leash tightly around my arm, causing temporary loss of circulation, and then balance myself so that when he pulls my arm off, I am not flung in the general direction of said approaching dog. Now, when we see a dog coming, Buxton slows down, and I'm practically pulling him down the road looking like a very bad dog-mom who cares more about running than the pathetic shaking thing at the end of the leash. When we actually pass the dog, he nearly knocks me over trying to get closer to me and further away from the three pound puffball that is passing. The owner of puffball always looks at me and says: my dog isn't mean. And I'm always like: I (*gasp* because I'm running) know. And then I have to yank him every five seconds until the dog is out of eyesight because Buxton watches puffball over his shoulder like it's a serial killer.

And before he was a scaredy dog, he used to happily jump up on our bed, invited or not because he thinks he's a human. And then when it was time for the humans to go to bed, I'd say 'off!' and Buxton would come off the bed and curl up in his dog-chair after a very dirty look. Now - not only does he ask permission, he doesn't believe me when I tell him it's okay. I'll be brushing my teeth/washing my face/whatever and then I'll feel like someone is staring at me. I'll turn around. No hubby. And then I'll see the dog, staring at me sideways, his chin solidly adhered to the foot of the bed. I tell him it's okay, 'up!' I say. But, he just looks at me sort of forlornly like 'If you loved me you'd let me on the bed.' So I say 'up!' again. He doesn't move. I raise my voice, add hand motions, even give him a pat. But, it's not until I start lifting his big butt myself that he believes me and happily jumps onto the bed.

He is also officially scared of spider crickets, cats, fake geese, vacuum cleaners, bagpipes, and power drills.

high school

2006-10-16T22:01:00.000-04:00

im sitting here staring at the computer, bored, leaving comments on myspace. o but great news! this kid Crothamel who is the coolest guy ever. hes gay. hes hilarious. and he brutal. he is so mean but its so funny. i just hope he doesnt talk about me behind my back. he calls this one girl, heather, hilary. right to her face! and everytime she like "thats not my name" but he still insists on calling her hilary. he was talking to my friend Amanda and he said, and i quote, "hmm so i think we should just form an anti cailin group since she gets all the good guys" he has a crush on my ex boyfriend and i think he has a little thing for my one now hahaha, gotta love it. anyway, he wants to be best friends and im excited.

ummm so u really cant tell mom this but i had the most stressful week ever. my friend (whose name i will withhold cuz i dont think its nessesary to reveal it) had a pregnancy scare. shes 15. i had to call all of these places and everything. she took a pregnancy test ad it came out positive, so she tried to get the morning after pill but they wouldnt sell it to her. so we call planned parenthood. we just kept talking about it. i called our nearest one and asked all these questions. shes only 15, there is no way she could have a baby. her life would basically be over, she would have to stop school, have the baby, but then she would never be able to get a job because she didnt even finish sophmore year of high school! but on sunday we went to the grocery store and she made me buy more pregnancy tests. it was so embarrassing!! they thought it was for me but i felt so bad for her that i agreed to buy it. i didnt really care, as long as i know its not for me. haha. well we went into mcdonalds and she took another one, negitive thank god.

ok, so one was positive and the other was negitive. i think the only reason we trust the negitive test more is because thats the result we want. im making her take another one. even if i have to buy it again. so i guess my stress isnt over yet but it has subsided.

o and im failing conduct. mom and dad are thrilled...let me tell you. o gosh.

so thats been my weekend, isnt high school awesome??? ugh, i just cant wait till i know the real result and am not going to summer school to paint lockers, cuz thats were i am right now.

CAILIN

2006-10-13T15:45:00.000-04:00

ok to answer your questions...

1~yes, but the one time i remember getting yelled the most is by mrs.wiley. i did something at lunch when i was in like 3rd grade and she yelled at me. i remember becuase she made me cry and i was really embarrassed.

2~in 8th grade i was suspended for a day or two. me and my friend doug started the most awesome food fight in the history of new hope. it was just like the movies, food flying everywhere! the principle knew we were going to do it and knew it was me and doug so she went on the loud speaker and said anyone who was invloved on this come stand up. i knew i would get cought so i stood up and stood next to doug, but the only thig is when i stood up i slipped on applesuace but caught myself right before i hit the floor.

3~hmmmm oh! omg i remember this really wierd kid brought in dried fish heads, im not even lying! is was so gross. they were little but still discusting.

4~my favorite game on the playground was either 4 square or gymnastics. we would just do handstands and stuff like that. and we used to play house on the big rocks, prentending like they were our houses or something.

5~i think my favorite part of the day was english because all of my english teachers were insane and crazy. haha they were awesome.

6~when i was in like 5th grade it was super cool to be sitting in the last seat of the bus, becuase thats where the seniors sat. we would get on the bus first and sit there. the seniors picked us up (literally) and carried us to the front. we loved to annoy them haha. and me and my friend sara made this really annoying kid cry on the bus once, thats my favorite memory :) haha

7~ugh, this one boy, if you touched his desk he would slap your hand. he was really wierd. i think he had friends though, all the wierdos were friends. that just how it was. another kid was (name) the nose picker picked his nose all the time and ate it, ew!!

8~shes not

hahahaha jkkkkkk :)
8(for real)~ because our whole family is cool and i would have to disown you if you were a loser...thank god i was here to teach u how to be cool

9~hmmm pinecone birdfeeders....way too many to even begin to count.

i wish things were easier like they were when i was in elementry school. i shouldnt have to deal with the problems i have right now. teens in general shouldnt have to deal with this. and u would be suprised how many teens deal with things that only adults should ahve to worry about.

Questions for Cailin

2006-10-11T13:30:00.000-04:00

Since you are way closer to elementary school days than I am, I have a few questions for you.

1. Did you ever get yelled at? (I know this answer is YES since you were such a bad kid.) By who? And for what?
2. If you (or 'someone else') got in big trouble - what did the teacher do? Send you out in the hall? Did anyone have to go to the principal's office? Did anyone cry or yell back at the teacher?
3. What was the grossest thing someone brought in their lunch box?
4. What was your favorite game to play on the playground?
5. What was your favorite part of the day (besides recess...)?
6. Do you have any fond memories from riding the bus (if you don't, just make one up)?
7. Who was the wierdest person in your class (without naming any names...)?
8. Why was your oldest sister so freaking cool?
9. And, how many pinecone bird feeders do you think you made? A million? Five million?

Don't worry I won't use any of this, unless putting it in my revised manuscript means using it. And I won't use your name. I'll use something...like...Caitlin. :)

Weddings and more waiting.

2006-10-06T09:37:00.000-04:00

If anyone is interested - I'm still waiting. But it's ok. Really. I don't mind. I could be in the Olympics for waiting.

In other news, we're going to ANOTHER wedding today. I think work might think I'm starting to make it up. Like, honestly, how many weddings can one person have in a year? 10? 20? And today, as usual, it's totally stressful because we live five hours (sans traffic) from said wedding and can't leave work earlier than 3:00 without being fired for all of my absenses. So, we'll be lucky to make it. But, I think we will because I'm an optimist. I may have to do some creative engineering to get into my dress while driving and not flashing others, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

And then tomorrow morning - visiting with Cailin - who better not be a poopy pants because she's under house arrest and can't attend Homecoming with someone who may very well be a direct relative. I'm just saying.

cirque du soleil

2006-10-05T13:40:00.000-04:00

im watching cirque du soleil on tv and its disgusting...but i must admit...i want to be them. if i could sing or act i would totally be on broadway when im older. but i cant. and if i had a disgusting talent i would be on cirque du soleil. but u need to understand something when i say "disgusting" (besides i dont really say it anymore cuz erin and, well mostly jay, make fun of me cuz i say it differently, like disGUSTing!!) when a teenager says a word it could mean alot of different things. normally disgusting means gross, but the way im using it, it means crazy or insane. this one girl is a contortionist, and then the tumbling they do! omggggg i want to beee themmmmmm. so jealous.

being grounded sucks...but im getting through it. i just wish i could go to homecoming with mike:(

Waiting

2006-10-05T10:30:00.000-04:00

This is me waiting for a phone call:

me: (sitting at a picnic table with my phone)
concerned coworker: (walking by) What are you doing?
me: Waiting for a phone call.
concerned coworker: You're just going to sit there?
me: Um. Yeah.
concerned coworker: Well when are they supposed to call?
me: They were supposed to call two days ago.
concerned coworker: You've been sitting here for two days?
me: Yeah.
concerned coworker: Wow.

So, this didn't really happen, but it easily could have. But unfortunately I can't sit at a picnic table all day staring at my phone as much as I'd like to. I'll just have to check my messages like every five seconds. ...Sigh...

Home Sweet Home

2006-10-03T10:53:00.000-04:00

Yay, we're home.

Books I read while in Germany:
1. Avalon High - Meg Cabot
2. So Be It - Sarah Weeks
3. Shug - Jenny Han
4. Size Twelve Isn't Fat - Meg Cabot

Words I have added to my vocabulary from Germany:
1. Moin (means hello, people often say 'Moin, Moin' but my friend said that is dorky)
2. Currywurst (it's a special kind of bratwurst from hamburg that hubby and I decided to integrate into everyday language - to mean anything from 'darnitall,' 'do you have to go to the bathroom?,' 'I'll take another beer, thank you,' and however else we felt like using it at the moment)
* Note: The advanced usage of currywurst it to interchange 'curry' with another word to make a kind of secret language. Such as 'creepywurst,' which we used. Quite a lot.
3. Jever (our favorite beer and by the way Germans look at you like you are a psycho killer when you ask for a hefeweizen, it's just a 'weizen' there)
4. Ganow (it means exactly and is the single most often word spoken over there. I swear. Ganow.)

Erin

Deutschland

2006-10-01T10:30:00.000-04:00

Moin!
We are sitting in a hotel in Bremen at the moment, recovering from a VERY fun wedding on a VERY remote island off the coast of Germany watching Hackers in German because we barely have any brain cells left from hard-core traveling for 10 days straight. Here are some highlights - so far.

Aww yeah...Jever.

Ahhh. This is in the center of a city. For real.

Sitting in the beach baskets on Langeoog.

Be back tomorrow!

the house all the myself...kinda

2006-09-29T18:16:00.000-04:00

parents away
awesome sister (not as awesome as erin though) taking care of me
friends sleeping over
should be an amazing weekend.
but what happens here, stays here. haha!

my date!

2006-09-24T10:17:00.001-04:00

first about your kindness blog. my favorite commercial on tv is the one where one person sees someone do something nice, even as simple as picking up a baby toy and giving it to the mother. the person who witnessed this act of kindness then does something nice for someone else. im going to do it, you should too.

now for my date....since i cant call and tell you erin, im going to give details.

so he picked me up and met mom and dad. it wasnt too bad. dad had to tell him that mikes last name is my dads middle name. oh! mikes middle name is chris and mine is christine! ahah i just that was kinda cool. anyway.... he picked me up and we went to the movies. the car ride wasnt awkward. hes really talkative which makes me talkative. so that was good.

we got to the movies and he had this look on his face. i was like "whats that face for?" HE FORGOT HIS MONEY! HAHAHAH i found it halarious but he was sooooo embarrassed. i felt bad for him. so i had to pay for the tickets. we went and saw invincible. it was good. but it was really crowded for some reason. and things that were worth a chuckle, people were like ROFLing. so i was laughing more at the people then at the movie.

at the end of the movie it was kinda wierd. he had his arm around me the whole time but he took my hand at the end, and when i turned and looked at him he was really close. i turned away. i dont know if he was going to kiss me or not but i turned away just in case. but we went back to the car and he asked me to be his girlfriend...i said no. i had to. it was out first date! way too soon. but then he asked me to homecoming, i said yes. even though i hate dates....ill skip the next part :) hahaha. we went back to my house becuse there was nothing else to do. he met the woods' haha. of course they had to be here. we just watched tv and talked and stuff. he had a 12 30 cerfew so he left around 12. i said goodbye and then called him later to make sure he got home ok, he lives like a half hour away.

so basically this kid is the cutest thing ever! o goshhhhh cant wait to see him monday!

Kindness

2006-09-22T07:50:00.000-04:00

Today I came to work an hour earlier than normal and there are these poor guards that have to stand outside all the security gates ALL day and ALL night. So, they were there as normal - wearing their matching poofy coats since it was dark and cold at 6am today. They say hello and have a nice day to everyone in the constant stream of traffic going into campus. They always smile - even during torrential hurricane-like downpours and they have to stand in the elements with plastic shower caps on their hats.

So, today - I was going through security - and a car pulled up to the security gate next to mine, and instead of handing the guard her i.d. - she handed him a bag of dunkin donuts AND two dunkin donuts coffees! And then (after showing her id of course) she proceeded through the security check and my security guard did a mini happy dance and gave her a thumbs up. She wasn't a fellow security guard. She didn't seem to know them at all. It was just a random act of kindess.

Maybe I'll bring a coffee for one of the airport security people later. Or not. Because then I'll probably be arrested.

awkward moments and school...

2006-09-21T15:48:00.000-04:00

so rooney asked me on a date saturday, we are going to the movies to see little miss sunshine...i think

well we have been talking a little bit trying to figure out what movie and what time and everything. yesterday, we decided on little miss sunshine but then later i found out this a chick flick. i tried to tell him today but we just had an awkward moment instead. i was talking with two of my friends and they were like
"LOOK ITS ROONEY! BEHIND YOU" but i didnt want to turn around. but they kept saying it so i thought he was standing right behind me. i turned around to talk to him cuz i just thought he had stopped to talk to me. but when i turned around he was just walking by with a friend, it was sooooo obvious that we were talking about him. i waved, he waved...and walked into someone. hahaha. i wanted to tell him that we picked a chick flick so i was just like "oh mike(his real, first name) i need to talk to you." but it was really confusing cuz he was with friends and so was i and they kept talking to us. this doesnt sound awkward, but even people around us were like "cailin that was really awkward...what happened?" omggg i dont know.

i have a gift, i can make any situation awkward without meaning to. yay for me.

yesterday i had an SAT class. it was pretty good. we had to write an essay and it wasnt too bad. it definitely wasnt great writing but for not preparing for it i think i did pretty well.

today in shakespeare, my teacher mr.velten said that to be a good writer you have to be able to write a sonnet. i strongly disagree with this. if your a writer, that doesnt mean your a poet. right? he isnt making us write a sonnet or anything but i just think thats its not right to say your not a good writer if you can't write a sonnet. its really hard!
for those who dont know what a sonnet is, its a 14 line poem that has iambic pantameter. 10 stressed and unstressed syllables. but, it also has to have a rhyme scheme. a b a b c d c d e f e f gg...for example...(i will just give you the words that rhyme in each line)

A~ hat
B~ know
A~ cat
B~ so
C~ why
D~ hope
C~ sky
D~ soap
E~ say
F~ couch
E~ pay
F~ slouch
G~ dog
G~ log

not so easy. haha.

im very upset because since school started i cant read anymore. wayyyy too much going on to stop and read. the only thickens im reading right now are texts books.

so yeah, i think thats all i have to share for now. bye!

cailin

To do list:

2006-09-20T10:57:00.000-04:00

Day One
4:45 am Write (YAY!)
6:30 am (give or take 30 mins) Go to work
7:30 am Start experiment.
7:35 am Sit at work with nothing to do but worry about all the things I have to get done.
3:30 pm Drive 30 miles south, pick up dog, in rush hour.
4:30 pm Throw dog, dog crate, dog food and whatever else I can get in one trip, into car.
5:30 pm (give or take 4-5 hours) Pick up hubby 30 miles north, drive 115 miles more north, in rush hour
7:30 pm (give or take 4-5 hours) Meet parents for dinner (YAY!)
8:30 pm - 11:00 pm Breathe sigh of relief. Drive 115 miles south.

Day Two
4:45 am Write (YAY!)
6:30 am (give or take 30 mins) Go to work
7:30 am Start experiment.
7:35 am Sit at work with nothing to do but worry about all the things I have to get done.
3:30 pm Drive home like total and complete maniac, safely.
4:30 pm (give or take 2 hours) Laundry. Iron. Pack like total and complete maniac, safely.
7:30 pm Writers group (YAY!)
10:30 pm Go to bed. Or pack. Most likely pack.

Day Three
4:45 am Go to work (BOOOO)
6:00 am Start experiment
6:05 am Write (*shhhh!*)
8:00 am Sit at work with nothing to do but worry if I finished everything that had to get done.
2:30 pm Drive home. Relaxed.
4:00 pm Put myself and hubby in taxi with a neatly and calmly packed bag(s).
5:00 pm GO TO GERMANY! (YAY!)

F.L.A.M.E

2006-09-16T09:24:00.000-04:00

In Criss-Cross, which I'm still reading despite the Polish/Pole-ish ordeal, Debbie (one of the narrators) uses the FLAME game on her crush. When I was growing up (ok and a little bit after I grew up too...) we played MASH. Which was so fun especially when your best friend ended up in a shack, married to a guy that still picks his nose in public, riding her huffy bike to work at a hot dog stand - and you married the captain of the football team, lived in a mansion, was a brain surgeon, with a convertible BMW. Anyway Debbie introduced me to FLAME yesterday on my drive home and here are some of my results: (if you are very careful you can also play this while driving...)

Here's how you play - or maybe you already know...
F: friends
L: lovers
A: affectionate
M: married
E: enemies
You count how many letters each of your names adds up to - eliminating those letters that are shared. Starting with F in flame you count through Flame until you see where you land. For example:

Cailin and Rooney (tee hee): 10 letters (eliminating the shared 'n') - 10 would end you on the E for enemies. Good thing we did this Caily or you would have wasted another Shakespeare class giggling about this guy. You can thank me later.

Me and hubby: 7 letters - L - Lovers.

Mom and Dad: 7 letters again - Loooovers.

K & S (getting married in 2 weeks): 11 letters. F for friends. I'll accept that since they are best friends and everyone knows you're supposed to marry your best friend. Aww.

Erin

Audio books

2006-09-15T14:01:00.000-04:00

I listen to a lot of audio books due to my VERY LONG commute, and right now I'm listening to Criss-Cross. She has a lot of interesting/creative descriptions and one of them stopped me dead today. She described one of her characters as having a Polish head. I rewound and listened again. And there it was! This guy had a Polish head. For a long time I tried to think of what exactly a Polish head looked like, and thought about my Mom's head since she's partly Polish, and then that point in the morning must have arrived where I had a sufficient level of caffeine in me because it dawned on me - it was a pole-ish head NOT Polish head. Seriously. I'm glad noone was there to witness my realization. Still, I have been thinking about what a pole-ish head looks like all morning. And now I think I'm going to have to bribe hubby with some highly espressoed drink at B&N so I can find that sentence in a real live Criss-Cross book and put the mystery to rest. At least it's Friday. It's amazing I survived the week.

Erin

shakespeare

2006-09-13T20:23:00.000-04:00

I had my first day of shakespeare today. It was a little on the boring side but all of my friends are in it so i just kept giggling the whole time. I am a little excited but more confused on why I CHOSE to take this class.

im slighty distracted in school though.

i love boys :)

epecially Rooney

i will def write later but i have to do homework right now.

Cailin

Garbology

2006-09-13T09:26:00.000-04:00

In Ally Carter's book, I'd Tell You I Love You but Then I'd Have to Kill You, the Gallagher Academy girls have to study the hard science of garbology (it's a school for spies by the way, and that's not all they study). At first, the school felt very Harry Potter-ish to me - but as soon as the story got started, I was hooked by the voice of the characters. They are super-intelligent girls that attend spy school, but still worry about what to wear (though it's to a stake-out instead of a dance more than likely) - boys - and studying for tests (except they're on biochemical warfare or something instead of algebra). The academy is all girls and when a boy from another school shows interest in Cammie, everyone becomes suspicious, wondering if he is truly a love interest or trying to infiltrate the school. So, they go through his trash which I believe to be an effective way in getting to know someone.

For example in my hubby's trash you would find:
1. an advertising insert from Performance Bikes with pages ripped out for future reference
2. an empty tube of dog toothpaste (I'm not lying)
3. a spider cricket

Cailin's trash would have:
1. a love letter from an ex-boyfriend (she's a man-eater, we've all tried to talk to her about this), ripped up, and sligthly charred
2. a mega bottle of cheerleading strength hair spray
3. a vocabulary workbook.

My non biohazard trashcan at work has:
1. a peppermint teabag (I don't particularly love tea, but it's an ice box in here I tell you)
2. an empty package of banana bread oatmeal
3. gum

Hmmm. I'd say my trash is a bit misleading as I sound like a ninety year old granny.
Erin

9/11~ through the eyes of a 6th grader

2006-09-12T14:30:00.000-04:00

it was the first few days of 6th grade and i was so excited to be back. i saw all of my friends and we chatted about what we did with our summer. it was a day just like any other, but then we had an assembly. i didnt think this was unusual, and i dont remember walking there or fumbling with seating trying to sit next to my best friends like i always did. i dont remember how they broke the news to us but i do remember sitting there being really confused.

how do you explain to a 6th grader that someone has just purposely flew into 2 buildings trying to kill as many as they can?

i didnt know that the world trade centers and the twin towers were the same thing, so i thought 2 buildings were hit, which ended up to be the truth. but then we heard about the pentagon. i just couldnt fathom why anyone would want to do this. i hadnt really heard of terrorists before, so i was trying to absorb everything, not understanding the whole concept of it. now if you ask a 4th grader what a terrorist is they would know right away, which is actually really sad. i remember just sitting there in total shock. i looked to my right and saw a girl stumbling up the aisle bawling. i just assumed, as i do to this day, that she knew someone who works in new york or dc. we resumed classes but every tv was on in the school. in our classes we just watched the buildings burn and fall, over and over again.
i dont think i will ever forget the shock on everyones faces, no matter how young i was

Cailin

The classics

2006-09-12T10:01:00.000-04:00

Cailin you have to read Shannon Hale's (Princess Academy) post from yesterday. I think you will agree with her. What books do you have to read this year?

Sad day.

2006-09-11T10:47:00.000-04:00

Today kind of snuck up on me. I can't believe it's been five years since 9/11. It feels like no time at all to me - even though since that day I've changed jobs twice, moved twice, met my husband, and celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. I wonder it if feels like just yesterday for the poor families touched the closest by this tragedy.

I was living in Bethesda MD, just a few miles from Washington DC. I was standing in the lab at work with a few other people, talking quietly as we did in the morning, setting up our respective experiments for the day. Another guy came in - walking briskly to his office as he was later than normal - and mentioned that he had just heard on the radio that a small engine plane had hit the WTC. And our morning talk about what we ate for dinner the night before, changed to a discussion on how a person could fly themselves into a large building. We thought - new pilot - bad luck - heart attack - or simple stupidity. Our experiments set up, we got our coffees and returned to our desks to check email and read the news like every morning. But we couldn't get on the internet. I told one of my officemates about the guy that flew his personal airplane into a building in NY, and after trying forever to get onto CNN, she turned on her radio. And this is when we realized it was not a personal jet, but a large commercial plane. My officemates and I took our coffees into the room next door which was the largest office room - and found everyone congregated around one person's desk. Somehow he had managed to get the internet up long enough to log onto CNN finance live video, where they were of course no longer talking about finance. We watched the video in horror as the anchorman reported on suspicions that the hit may not have been an accident. That the airplane had been hijacked.

I called my mom. The first tower fell while I was on the phone with her, and through the receiver I heard the report on her television, the emotion and the chaos. My cell phone had no service. I couldn't get in touch with my roommate. I couldn't check my email. All worked stopped. Experiments were forgotten. We watched the CNN video, all of us, crowding around the computer monitor. Silent. When the plane hit the Pentagon, we couldn't believe it. The news said the Washington mall had been hit and showed the fire. We saw it right there on the video feed. We saw the Pentagon on fire and they said there was a fire in the White House. That the White House had been hit - by what - they did not know. Later that night we learned that many of the reports were false but, standing in that office, we thought Washington DC was being attacked. Our company closed - but we just stayed there watching the small pop-up window on CNN waiting for updates. And then we made a pact to all leave at the same time.

When I left, I was the only car on the entire highway. Washington DC, the city with the second worst traffic in the country, was absolutely deserted. Helicopters flew over me, not the news kind of helicopters, but the military kind. I finally got in touch with my roommate and she was ten minutes from home. I paced the few minutes I was home alone, and then we sat on the couch for like five days straight and watched the news.

Erin

living with the parentals

2006-09-10T19:30:00.000-04:00

i must admit, im not home often since i got my license. its great. but it also sucks because mom and dad have an extra tight grasp around my throat. they are making up all these ridiculous rules, and when i tell them how ridiculous they are being they just yell at me or completly ignore me. because you know...parents are always right...thats bull. but i dont care, im not home alot anymore so its awesome, when i do come home im instantly in a bad mood. they are constantly asking me why im in a pissy mood which makes me even more mad. so i just go on the computer and either write in here or myspace, which i am addicted to haha.

i know this is random but i have one question, how did the people who created keyboards deicide which letter goes where? they are defintly not in order.

Cailin

Cailin Appreciation Day

2006-09-09T12:02:00.000-04:00

Cailin is definitely my sister. This was at the SCBWI LA conference - she came with me along with fivefootgiant mom and other sister. I'm so lucky. They shopped (notice the jumble of bags...), went to the pool, and stalked my famous agent conference critiquer who I accidentally pointed out, while I went to the conference sessions.

I could go on, but my neighbor just broke into my house for me because I locked myself out and hubby is riding his bike an hour away. Anyway if you ever questioned the value of putting a bar on your sliding door (or sawed off ski pole) - stop it. It took him like five seconds - and one philips head screwdriver - to get my door opened. I was like - 'freaky' and he was like - 'get a bar'.

Erin

Not a good sign.

2006-09-08T08:46:00.000-04:00

"Are you interested in a position in technical editing with opportunity for advancement, good benefits, and with excellent training? If the answer is yes, and if you can find the error in the preceding sentence, you may be qualified for a Copy Editor Trainee position with the American Society for Microbiology, a leading publisher of scientific research journals."

Ok so I guess I'll keep my lab job and let the pros handle the copy editing. I'm stumped.

the freshman walk

2006-09-07T22:38:00.000-04:00

i started school today i so i have a fresh memory of this unfortunate....posture. lets pretend im the freshman...more fun that way.

its my first day of high school and i am scared out of my mind. although i am petrified, im prepared. i have every book from my locker in my extra large, expandable backpack....NO! in my ROLLIE BACKPACK. hahaha. since im small and i have every book in my locker on my back i need to slighty lean forward. to make it seems just a little bit cooler i tuck my thumbs into the arms straps near my arm pit....good leverage. its a strain on my neck to try and look up so i just let my head hang. this is actually good for numerous reasons such as:

i do not have to look at the upper-classmen who shove me into lockers and say "move you stupid freshman!"

steps are more visible...less likely to trip up the stairs

your face tends to get greasy on 90 degree days when your in a school with about 1,000 other teens with no air conditioning. so most people cant see your shining features.

they walk FAST. most of the time. they act like they dont care when the bell rings and they still have about a 5 minute walk, but u know inside thier head they are freaking out.

god i love freshman...and how, my you be asking, do i know all of this? simple...this was me.

Cailin

Matchmakers

2006-09-07T15:42:00.000-04:00

Last night hubby and I got to play matchmaker and it was so incredibly fun, I can't tell you. For one it was like being a fly on the wall for a first date and secondly because they seem to be a very good match (if I do say so myself - although hubby technically did the matchmaking).

The weird thing about it was how fast the boys in the picture reverted to 7th grade. An example:

Scene: At the restaurant - me, hubby, and boy - waiting for girl (girl was 10 or 15 minutes late which we all agreed was not an immediate deal breaker).

Hubby: You look all fancy pants. (snickering and pointing)

Boy: (looks at his outfit slightly horrified, and then composes himself) I didn't have time to change after work

Hubby: (knows he's lying) Whatever. How many outfits did you try on before choosing this ensemble? Like four hundred?

Boy: Shut up, dude.

Hubby: (Laughing like this is the most hilarious thing he's ever seen. )

Me: (Feeling kind of bad for boy that he has to endure hubby until girl gets there.)

Hubby: She might take awhile to park by the way.

Boy: Why? (immediately suspicious for good reason)

Hubby: she drives a yellow porche.

Boy: (jumping out of his seat.) Nah dude! You set me up with a porche chik! (Looking like he could kiss hubby on the lips).

Me: sigh.

Hubby: Tee hee! Just kidding. She drives a camry.

Boy: Dude.

Hubby: You have something against camrys?

Boy: Silence. (probably regretting ever agreeing to this)

Hubby: (Looking over his shoulder at the door). There she is!

Boy: (goes pale) Really?

Hubby: Just kidding!

When girl finally got there all boys morphed back into semi-adults and we had a quite enjoyable dinner. And it was so fun because whenever boy or girl went to the bathroom, as soon as they were out of ear shot, frantic whispering about boy or girl ensued. And, we were pleased to see they liked each other. Yay.

Erin

The Panic Walk.

2006-09-05T17:48:00.000-04:00

Let's play the 'watching people walk' game. I'll go first.

*Disclaimer*
These people are - um - fictional characters. And this is only a writing exercise.

The panic walker:

You're sitting at your desk minding your own business, getting tons of work done because you have enjoyed at least thirty minutes straight of uninterrupted focus, when all of a sudden everything around you begins to vibrate. You start to wonder if you are experiencing your first earthquake when you see Fred walk by. Fred is a panic walker, a half-walk/half-runner that will never require a locating device, because his clodhopping style of walking alerts everyone of his location within a one mile radius. Shoulders first, no swing to his arms, mouth open. Those of us new to Fred may jump from their seats afraid they are missing a meeting, or were not informed of the deadly meteorite careening toward their office. But, soon you will realize, he is only a panic walker, and he is merely mosying over to get a refill on his coffee.

Okay Cailin - GO.

attention all yellow xterra owners!!

2006-09-04T17:14:00.000-04:00

a conversation between me and amanda.

amanda: have you heard about the "jeep wave?"
me: no! what is it?
amanda: everyone who has jeep wranglers just waves when they pass
me: no way! they just all know to do it?
amanda: pretty much
me: im starting a yellow xterra wave

so that is what i am doing. i started it yesterday. im waving to my bortheren, my fellow yellow xterra...ees. you should do the same if you own this car. people are very nice, they wave back. im figuring in about 2 years it will have completly caught on, and i started it:)

cailin

jobs and books

2006-09-01T20:25:00.000-04:00

This is inspired by Meg Cabot's blog post on pervs:

working in Peddlers is a pretty good job, dare I say even fun at times. And although you get creepy old horny guys that are shopping with their wife just to pay for things, sometimes they are so cute and old they are fun to talk to. You can usually pick these guys out right when they walk in the door. here are the clues:

clue #1: they are carrying if not one, many bags.

clue #2: if they do not open the door for their wife, she doesnt hold it for them either, it usually shuts halfway before the husband gets there. this is most likely followed by an awkward im-trying-to-open-the-door-but-i-have-too-many-bags-so-i-have-to-use-my-foot maneuver.

clue #3: wife goes right or left and he makes a bee-line to the register to "ask a question"

clue #4(biggest give away): the "question" starts with something like "well aren't you a pretty young lady"

once I was dusting some shelves and an old man said...and I quote! "you can come over a dust my house ANYTIME!" ugh gross! how do u respond to that? I just smile and walk away.

and it really sucks when people try to bargain with you. there are price stickers on items for a reason. they think its like a suggested price or something.

well today i went over to this nice, expensive restaurant. I asked for an application. im going to be a buss girl! haha. i will get LOTS of money:) lets just hope i get the job now.

this year is going to be very busy. I have cheerleading mondays and thurdays i offered to work at the restaurant tuesdays wednesdays and fridays and if i dont have a game on saturday or sunday im working at the shop (also in peddlers, its a little nic nac shop, also the location where horny old men congregate.)

plus i promised madre and daddio that i would get better grades, SAT tutors and classes when i get the time, how am i going to keep my sanity??? i will tell you how...BOOKS. when i read a book i feel like i am the character. when the character gets embarrassed i blush, if they hear a good joke i laugh, when something horrible happens im devastated. if you interrupt me in a book and the chraracter is in a bad mood from some bad event, watch out! im going to be in a pissy mood. its like i enter another world, i love it. i hope i am not the only one to vocalize this quirk i have. if im not let me know please? teenagers need assurance :)

please and thank you

cailin

avalon high

2006-09-01T18:11:00.000-04:00

I read Avalon High in 2 days... it was so good. It started pretty normal, but then it took this huge twist. It went from normal to kinda fantasy. Not exactly fantasy, but I dont think it could happen in real life. I can't believe Meg Cabot is writing two more. but whats manga? im really excited for them to come out!

cailin

AVALON HIGH

2006-09-01T08:42:00.000-04:00

I haven't read this yet, but I know you have Cailly. I just read on Meg Cabot's blog that she is writing two sequels to Avalon High in MANGA. Wierd, but kind of cool. AND it's going to be a made-for-tv movie. An action movie? Did the book have a lot of action in it? I was going to read Ally Carter's book, then the new book by Avi, then Meg Cabot's Size 12 book, and THEN Avalon High. I will have to rearrange my order because I'm intrigued. Darnit. Well anyway it's a long weekend - a potentially very rainy/hurricaney weekend - so perhaps I will have a lot of time to read.

Erin

Spider Cricket update

2006-09-01T08:20:00.000-04:00

Hubby (to mother-in-law and father-in-law who are now visiting and happily trotting off to bed...in the guest room/spider cricket country): Um. If you see any spider crickets, which you probably won't, don't be scared.
Me (thinking): they should have borrowed the Exterminator
MIL: Spider crickets?
Hubby: Oh, it's kind of funny, every once in awhile we get these things.
Me (thinking): more like massive infestation.
Hubby (looks at me to say something)
Me: Oh yeah. They're like little pussycats - they're harmless. Really. (then I freak out because something - which could have been the giant king-of-all-spider-crickets - brushes up against my arm. It's the dog. I relax and then smile really big.)
MIL: Um. Ok. (glances at her husband with obvious concern)
Hubby: Don't worry I got them all. (clears his throat, knowing he killed about three of them two minutes ago happily bajoinging themselves all over the 'guest-room')
Me: Okay. Well have a good night sleep. See you in the morning.
Hubby and I bolt up the stairs.

Erin

bad couple of days

2006-08-31T13:58:00.000-04:00

sorry I havent written in a while, im quite stressed right now actually.
lets start with...

MONDAY NIGHT
I had a couple girls over my house. It was me my two best friends (stacey and amanda) and maura, a girl I carpool to school with. we were having fun but then I just couldn't stand Stacey anymore. She has been annoying me lately but I was seriously about to kill her. When she annoys me like this I can get mean. Fourth of July for instance, she looked super cute in her jean skirt and flipflops but couldnt decide what shirt to wear. So, she asked everyone which shirt, the pink or the grey. Everyone said grey...except me. I made up this bullshit excuse why she should wear the pink, so she did. And it made her look fat. Sometimes she deserves to look fat, haha. Im just jealous but I cant help myself. Anyway! back to the real story...

MONDAY/TUESDAY
I wasnt in the greatest mood when we fell asleep at 5 30 in the morning, but i didnt let anyone know that. When we woke up it was disgusting out and we were suppossed to go tubing on the Delaware! I was pretty dissappointed. but we went out to the Diner instead for breakfast. Stacey kept throwing sugar packets, spoons, creamers and such in my brand new messenger bag. I was just like "whatever" and took them out until I found sugar all over my bag then i was mad. I just let it go though. When we went to go pay the check i was like the freaking mom rounding all the kids together, figuring out the money and the tip situation. Stacey just couldnt wait to call shottie so she asked for the keys. Stupidly i gave them to her. I come out to see a pepper shaker on my dashboard. I run to go take it back and I put it on the steps to the diner. When I came back some how the door closed, im not exactly sure how it happened. but regardless.....MY KEYS ARE LOCKED IN THE CAR. I call everyone I can think of, mom is yelling at me telling me to figure this out on my own because she is at work and can't help. I get my friend aimee to skip going to tennis to come get me so I can get my spare key. In the end it all worked out but Stacey never acknowledged it was her fault. oh! and I almost forgot, the whole diner (half of which go to my old school and are in the grade above me) comes out to "see if they can help" which of course they cant.

TUESDAY NIGHT
I go to my friend danas house and its crappy out, raining and everything. Everyone wants to go swimming but I dont feel like it. so me and these two kids from another school are with me, but I have never met them before. Im too scared to talk to them, so I dont. I was talking to my friends about our labels, like:
amanda~the funny one
stacey~the one all they guys like/the obnoxious one
julia~the dramatic one
dana~the giggler
tori~the emo one
margie~the perfect one
so where does that leave me? they decided im the shy one! how the hell did i get that?! thats bad. but whatever.

im only suppossed to have one other person in the car and I was already taking someone home but another girl needed a ride so I said I would take her home. I have to be off the road at 11 by law. I left danas house with plenty of time to get home, that is until I got lost. It was really scary. dark roads, 3 girls, and loud music is not a good combination. long story short, I missed curfew too. but I got off the hook with the parentals so that was good.

WEDNESDAY
I had to work...that starts the day off bad. when I got home I pulled in the driveway and turned off the car. but there was one problem, I couldnt get the keys out of my car for the life of me. Panic mode has set in by this time. I start running around the neighborhood like a a killer is after me. After going to 3 different house and calling 2 people i go the Mack's house. I make Mr.Mack drive all the way over and he discovers I dont have it in park. I feel so stupid. In the house I start hysterically crying. I cant even calm myself down. im blubbering like an idiot and call mom. she calms me down a little bit. I dont know why I got so upset its not even that big of a deal. maybe it was everything combined.

there are more little deatails that contributed to it but - just trust me, it was a bad week

cailin

The Spider Cricket

2006-08-31T08:04:00.000-04:00

They are a strange blend of genetically enhanced cricket with a steroid crazed spider. That's the only way to describe them other than they look like an alien life form. Perhaps they are. Because until we moved into our house, neither hubby nor I had ever seen such a frightening creature. The most horrific part is actually that it is a SPIDER that HOPS LIKE A CRICKET.

A few weeks ago we had hubby's unsuspecting sister and husband for a night. We made up our basement guest bedroom quite nicely - clean sheets and towels and all. Everything was at peace - good chinese food for dinner - a few glasses of wine. And then we all went to bed. Sister, husband, and their dog (we'll call him the Exterminator) tramped down the stairs and then we heard: "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Followed by gasps and inquisitive murmurs. I didn't even have to look. I said, "That is an alien form we like to call the spider cricket. Beware. It hops, and it is neither spider nor cricket." And then Exterminator took an interest in the creature by way of lunging at it and chomping it down. His parents were quite beside themselves, and I was quite the happy hostess as I did not have to worry about spider cricket hunting (they are fast suckers) so I could sleep that night (and be sure I would not wake up with said spider cricket on my face and such).

Anyway apparently since Exterminator is no longer at our house, and our dog, upon seeing a spider cricket, leaps away from it, ears plastered back on his head, like the thing is going to eat him alive - which they may - at this point we do not know their limitations - have basically taken over the basement. They like it down there. They have their little parties. They don't bother us and we don't bother them. Unless of course they emerge to the first floor - where all bets are off and it's a full out fight to the death. The only problem is when I have to retrieve something out of the laundry room - which is in prime spider cricket territory. It's like their little game. Upon seeing me, they like to bajoing out of their hiding places at me. So, I've taken to doing VERY LITTLE laundry. I'm a hostage in my own home. I think this is grounds for moving, don't you?

JUST LISTEN

2006-08-28T08:45:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to read this book since it came out in April. I FINALLY found it in the library (yay!). I have read a few of Sarah Dessen's books, and they've all been good reads - kind of beach-y, fun, slice of life type books. But this one was SO good. It's amazing how she developed her characters. At first I was like - oh no - this is reading a lot like SPEAK, which is practically my favorite book of all time. And there are similarities, but JUST LISTEN takes off in a completely different direction. Annabelle is the youngest of three girls (Cailly - can you relate? Except we have a fivefootgiant boy wedged in there too...) and totally caught up in family drama. Not just the usual curfew/sibling rivalry/I-hate-you-because-you-stole-my-hairdryer drama that can arise in a house with three girls - real issues. The oldest sister is completely over the top (but SO realistic - we have all known a Kirsten in our lives) - loud, in your face, sentimental, and way too energetic. The middle girl is Whitney - the stormy, moody, silent type. And then there's Annabelle who wants to keep her mom happy and her house in some kind of semblance of peace - but mostly is trying to figure out who she is.

I did not expect this book to be about eating disorders. I thought it was going to be about rape/assault and its horrific aftermath. But a lot of the book is about this family dealing with Whitney's anorexia/bulimia. Books and movies RARELY make me cry but there is one scene that is so powerful and frightening and sad (I don't think I have to tell you that it was the bathroom scene...Cailin when you read this - beware.), that I did. There is another QUITE disturbing scene which made me very angry - scared for all women - and want to tell my sisters to NEVER EVER let your guard down. Never. Not even at your catholic school Miss Cailly.

The way the characters were developed in the book was so well done. Without Kirsten's dramatics - it would be hard for the reader to know just how sick Whitney was - and without the Mom's past depression - it would be hard to rationalize why Annabelle couldn't just be honest with her mom and tell her she wanted to quit modeling, etc. But the way each character was written into the book - just made everything make sense. I never thought to myself - please, Annabelle would never be that honest with Owen. But I knew she would just the way Owen was introduced to her and because from the beginning we knew how much honesty meant to Owen and why. Very cool.

The other thing about the book that I thought was so realistic was the friendship between Sophie and Annabelle. Sophie is Miss Popularity. She rules by fear, and you just feel so sad for Annabelle that she is so taken by her and wants to be her friend. She is in a perpetual bad mood and icy to everyone - but without her Annabelle knows she would never have been as popular as she is - and for that she sticks by her. I've seen this same kind of friendship before. Where people put up with all sorts of abuse just because they know if they didn't, they'd find themselves on the bad side of the wrong person. We had a girl like that in our high school - thank goodness - the year ahead of me. But her wrath filtered to our grade too - and we found ourselves doing jaw exercises because she said we'd get jowels if we didn't - and learning not to react when she said things like - 'OMG I just love picking my nose in public, don't you?'

Erin

school books....why do they pick the bad ones?

2006-08-24T21:58:00.000-04:00

im reading "A Man for All Seasons" by Robert Bolt. dont read it. its confusing and i dont get how the characters are related.

they will say something but then in the same sentence will conradict it...i dont get it!!

but its really short, so thank god for that

cailin

Book Wish-List

2006-08-23T10:50:00.000-04:00

These are the books I have to read that may not even be out yet:

1. An Abundance of Katherines by John Greene (I am definitely BUYING this book when it comes out. Yay.)
2. Just in Case by Meg Rosoff (though I'm a little scared...How I Live Now was so good - funny - honest - but crazy disturbing and sad - it took me a few days and a Bartimaeous book to get it out of my head.)
3. Girl, Going on 17: Pants on Fire by Sue Limb (I love these. They're so funny.)
4. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (seriously. I haven't read this yet - because the library NEVER has it. Cailly if you loved me, you'd buy this for me just because I'm your favorite sister.)

I'm actually reading a book to review right now. And it's painful. Here's why:
1. Overusage of exclamation points!! It's like reading an email in all caps. It's stressful.
2. From paragraph one we are told 'this girl is special.' And every one she meets turns around and whispers to the reader - 'yep, this girl is special for some vague reason we can't describe.' Annoying.
3. The point of view keeps switching characters - and it feels like this is happening only to inform the reader of something.
4. The 'bad-guy' is a really rich popular girl.
Anyway the story is okay so all is not lost, and I haven't published a book - so what do I know?

Erin

Bridal Shower-in-a-box

2006-08-23T09:22:00.000-04:00

If you ever send a bridal shower-in-a-box over to Germany, make sure you leave out the following:

Country Conditions for Mailing - Germany
Prohibitions:

Absinthe.
Arms and weapons.
Articles bearing political or religious notations on the address side.
Human remains.
Live plants and animals.
Melatonin.
Perishable infectious biological substances.
Playing cards, except in complete decks properly wrapped.
Pulverized coca beans.
Radioactive materials.

Phew - my infectious biological substance are non-perishable. For a second there I thought I wouldn't be able to send it.

Erin

GOSSIP GIRLS

2006-08-22T21:16:00.000-04:00

im not quite sure exactly what it is about gossip girls that makes me want to keep reading. it just seems so different from all the other teen novels. instead of drinking cheap beer they are drinking scotch on the rocks, instead of running out to the nearest cvs to get new lipgloss becuase they just got 5 dollars from thier mom, they are getting extremely expensive or free designer clothing.

maybe its becuause i (in a way) want to be like them? not becuase their dilemmas are more to the "omg, -i just-had-sex-with-my-interviewer-from-yale" side, rather than "omg, -im-going-to-be-grounded-and-never-going-to-be-let-out-of-the-house-again-becuase-they-caught-me-kissing-a-boy." they are wayyyyyy past that.

serena, one of the main characters, is perfect. she is gorgeous, perfect skin, hair, body, everything.you can get anything you want from a frappachino to acceptance to a school you probably dont deserve. and to read about guys just ogling over her and waiting on her hand and foot, listening to everything she has to say. to know your perfect.

another main character, blair, is basically destroying herself to keep up with this goddess. shes always pinching at her body even though it, while not as perfect as serenas, is pretty darn close. she has the greatest boyfriend and alot of friends but still makes herself throw up after every meal no caring who knows about it.

i dont know... its all so dramatic and on such a huge scale that it makes my life seem easier somehow. if they can deal with everything like that, i think i will live when i hit a bump in the road every once in a while.

ummm thats about it.

cailin

PROPHET OF YONWOOD

2006-08-21T20:27:00.000-04:00

In honor of my poor boy's second trip to the kennel in his life - I want to talk about one horrific scene in Prophet of Yonwood. This is the third book in the Ember trilogy after The City of Ember, and People of Sparks. It's actually a prequel - an eery insight into what happened before City of Ember. I rarely put books down - and I have to say I almost abandoned this book when the prophet (who claimed to have seen then end of the world and makes foggy statements that are misunderstood as directives from God) says - NO DOGS. Yes. She said no dogs. So the entire town obeyed and put their dogs on school buses that drove them up a snowy mountain and released them to the wild. Into the wild! I won't go into the gory details. I read to the end ONLY to find out if the dogs were returned. And - THANK GOODNESS - they were. All of them at once. And, I don't care if it's believable or not - Yonwood got their dogs back.

If that had been me - I would have packed up all my belongings - kissed my house goodbye - and taken my doggie and hubby and gotten the heck out of there. Why didn't anyone do that? Wierd.

Otherwise I enjoyed Prophet of Yonwood. I have to say I liked the other two books better, if only because they took me into a completely different world - one that the author made so real. The idea of living under ground is just so frightening and interesting at the same time. And then her second book was equally as chilling, People of Sparks. Living after the 'end-of-the-world' basically where they have to live without all the technology the world took so long to create. Like cars. And electricity. And medicine. The chilling part of the book was how just one event quickly changed Sparks, a peaceful community that had never seen war, into a community that was quick to fight to the death to keep the 'peace.' It made me feel pretty hopeless - that people, no matter how peaceful, gravitate naturally to war and violence when desperate. But at the same time, it really made me think, and I love those kind of books.

Erin

Turnpike Debacle

2006-08-19T09:42:00.000-04:00

haha i have a story.....
ok so after work yesterday, i went to my friend amandas house because we were going to the mall and then i would take her to my other friends house becuase she was have a gettogether. we had to map quest her house and i didnt really look at the directions before we left. so me and amanda went to the mall and we were on our way to the party. amanda was reading the directions....left here....right there...blah blah blah.....get on the turn pike...WHAT?!....pay the toll.....WHAT?!. we have to get on the turn pike?! but it was ok we got to the house safely and everything. but amandas mom and dad wouldnt pick her up so i had to take her home(which is WAY out of the way) so called mom from the turnpike saying i was on my way home and she freaked out. she called my other sister, my dad, one of my best friends mom, amandas mom, anyone she could think of to see which way i was getting home. me and amanda knew exactly where we were but i couldnt even get words in with madre. when i got home she made me pay her 5$ for the tolls and the "gas i wasted taking amanda home" whatever....it was a whole huge deal when it wasnt even that bad. she overeacted, ALOT. she tends to do that. especially with me.

well atleast it wasnt a boring night :)

cailin

career choosing SUCKS!

2006-08-17T20:03:00.000-04:00

ill tell you about my driving test in sec, but im all upset right now because i dont know what to do with my life... god i hate this... since i am "growing up" everyone is asking me what college r u going to? what r u majoring in? why havent you decided yet? r u prepareing for the SAT's?....i dont know, i dont know, I DONT KNOW! i feel like im running out of time but then when i go stop and think, IM ONLY A JUNOIR. i dont have to decide right now do i? and then just when i think i have it all figured out something happens that completly changes my mind. all my friends have it together, WHY DONT I!?
my parents are on my back about grades constantly and when report cards come out its always "this is good...but you can do better." ok yes, i could try a little harder but its not like i just blow off school. i never miss a homework but becuase my parents dont see me actually doing it at home they dont think i do it at all. tests are another story though. that i will admit i dont try hard enough.
whatever, im just taking it one step at a time.

so i got my license today, the test was really easy. but dont get me wrong it was still nerve wracking. no tragedies. I LOVE DRIVING!

cailin

A pause to reflect on e-submissions

2006-08-17T07:38:00.000-04:00

Can I just say how much I love e-submissions? For some reason the act of going to the post office with your dear manuscript in hand - passing it over to the mail lady - and watching it disappear into the clutter that is the back-room of the post office is just unnerving.

Take for example my last snail mail submission - which was LAST October (and I still have not gotten an official decision yet...but that's another story all-together):

I'm at work and today is the day that I'm going to send my manuscript to big-time NY editor. At exactly 11am I will leave work and (running) calmy take my already printed out manuscript (Office Depot the night before - never a good experience I tell you) to the Mail Boxes Etc place a block away. This lady knows me. She is very sweet in a gruff chain smoking kind of way. I have sent manuscripts through her before and they have arrived safely at their destinations. But, she insists on putting the postage on my outside envelope, inserting the SASE after printing up its own postage, and closing the envelope - HERSELF. But I'm an easy going person and I let her do it (or maybe it's because she ultimately determines if my manuscript will be sent to big time NY editor or a remote Ethopian village). I mention at least fifty times during my ten minutes in her store that the SASE must go INSIDE the big envelope containing my hopes and dreams. She gets it the first time, but lets me repeat myself regardless. She prints out my postage and puts a hand out, expecting me to put my package in it. It looks clean enough, but wait. I must check to make sure something wierd didn't happen and mess the order of - cover letter - synopsis - manuscript - in my envelope. I take everything back out and mail lady sighs and waits patiently. It's in the right order. Phew. I put everything back in the envelope. But wait. What if Office Depot did not print all the pages of my manuscript? How bad would that look if famous NY editor opens my submission - reads to page 186 and finds the last page - 187 - missing? Insta-rejection. That's what happens. Remove my manuscript again - check for last page - it's there. Ahhh. Put everything back in. Mail lady is relieved with me. She knows my ritual is over. But then - disaster. I get a MASSIVE paper cut. Blood everywhere. Mail lady is horrified. I play it cool. I'm fine, really. Nothing to see here. Except there is blood on my outside ENVELOPE! Panic. Mail lady asks me if everything is ok. Do I need a bandage? No, I'm fine I say, blood spurting everywhere. She ignores me and brings me a clump of paper towels and a band-aid. I clean myself up, thankful there is no one else in the store but me and mail lady. She gets me a new envelope - I check my manuscript - every page. Miraculously there is no blood. Mail lady extends her hand again, I give her my submission and she takes it from there. I return to work 15 years older than when I left.

Erin

pity kisses

2006-08-16T20:00:00.000-04:00

ah hahaha i have one word for him....SUCKAAAA. ha ha jk, yeah i have heard of people doing that and yes at first it might seem funny but it is really mean. i dont think i have known anyone who has actually done this...but i do know people who have given pity kisses, which in my mind is just as bad, but only if the other person finds out. its basically the same thing. if you know a guy really likes you and you feel bad and just kiss him, your just backing yourself into a coner. cuz then he thinks you like him but then you avoid him and you end up looking like a bitch, not only to his friends but to people who dont know you that well.
wow ok that sounded really complicated and teenagerly but ask any teen girl to read this and they will translate.
but anyway, either one....im totally against them.