I love you for a lot of reasons, My Blog and BlogWorld.
1. I just found out that my auntie (my husband’s aunt) from Pittsburgh, Pa., and some of the women at her office read my blog! Hi Ladies (and Gents?) of Allegheny County! Leave me a comment. You can make up names (I did!), I don’t care. I am comment lover. (Me, as a child: “I’m dancing! Look at me! I’m siiiiiiiiiiinging, la la la…”) I am glad you’re here. (more…)
“I met, not long ago, a young man who aspired to become a novelist. Knowing that I was in the profession, he asked me to tell him how he should set to work to realize his ambition. I did my best to explain. ‘The first thing,’ I said, ‘is to buy quite a lot of paper, a bottle of ink, and a pen. After that you merely have to write.'”
— Aldous Huxley, novelist (1894-1963)
Starting this weekend, I’ll be a weekly contributor over at Grasshopper New Media.
Yow!
So if you haven’t roamed around the site, take a look at their contributors and what they’ve got going.
Happy Thursday, y’all.
WM
Ash in Wonderland had her baby girl! She is so little and perfect and… sigh. And she doesn’t know how to curse yet! (Wacky Boy, earlier today: “Shit! My favorite word is shit!” Me, thought bubble: “Oh, #@!$&!”)
Babies are so appealing, for this and many other reasons. Sweet babies, I love you so. Go say hi and congrats. Also, last month, even though she was eight months pregnant and busy and all, she took it upon herself to name me a Rockin’ Girl Blogger. Awww! I am just now getting around to bestowing the title upon five other chicks (who are supposed to name five additional chicks — sharing the love). I say…
Busy Mom and…
Planet Nomad!!! Who is coming back to Portland!!! (This pretty much ensures we will find work in Iowa and move away, probably two days after she and her family arrive. More on Iowa later — I know I haven’t been keeping everyone updated on that. But I will. Oh, I will… because I know how intrigued you all are by my yearning for a Midwestern lifestyle.)
Welcome to the club!
Jack Bog has an interesting discussion going on about some shake-ups at the Oregonian, our daily newspaper here in town. Check it out.
What are the newspapers like in your cities? Boring as ours? More boring? Do you read them, or just hand them to your kid so she can read the funnies? That’s what happens at our house. I do love the TV listings. And Chelsea Cain. She talks about her dead mother even more often than I talk about my dead father.
It’s kismet, really.
Speaking of death — (more…)
(This is a mad attempt to get the Rona Jaffe Foundation to find me. They do not except unsolicited applications or nominations. Pick me! Please. Bitte. Por favor.)
(Although I notice there are no 2006 award recipients on the site. Hmm.)
Here, dear readers — My day in real time.
Sort of.
5, 6, 7 & 8 a.m.: Sleeping. Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Large Wacky Cat 2, the stripedy one, pins me in on one side; muscular husband pins me in on the other. Why does the Cat want to sleep with us? It’s so flippin’ hot. Unable to move. Sex? No. Have to sleep. Can’t open eyes. Consider a new lifestyle that involves not staying up so late at night. Hmmm. What time did we go to bed? Vaguely remember 11 o’clock news. Keep eyes closed. Sleep. (more…)
This is so simple, it’s perfect.
From Jen:
this is who we are
we create. we struggle. we falter. we pick ourselves back up. we are outrageously witty. we are strong. we are soft. we juggle. we drive too fast. we bend. we stand up straight. we know what we want. we compromise. we explore. we laugh. we are hard on ourselves. we ache. We swing on the monkey bars. we are forgetful. we are merciless. we are merciful. we rush around. we remember. we learn. we eat bad food. we forge ahead. we scale back. we are sensual. we travel. we are colorful. we share. we are earthy. we swim in the ocean. we are nurturers. we are rockstars. we commune. we feel alone. we jump in puddles. we fail. we try again. we try our best. we show up. we protect our children. we are afraid. we are fearless. we create life. we watch life end. we get sick. we commiserate. we envy. we ruminate. we heal. we are curious. we are stubborn. we change our minds. we reason. we weep. we commit. we over commit. we fight. we make up. we do laundry. we challenge. we allow ourselves to be challenged. we love our planet. we never forget. we ask for help. we lust. we wake up early. we oversleep. we compare. we hold our babies. we discover unbearable joy. we need more rest. we swear. we know undeniable sorrow. we shout yes to the moon. we wait. we choose. we teach. we retreat. we come back. we groove. we hope. we hold on. we tilt our faces to the sun.
we write.
this is who we are.
“Words are things; and a small drop of ink / Falling like dew upon a thought, produces / That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.”
— Lord Byron, poet (1788-1824)
me, this afternoon: “I’m going to write for a while.”
Wacky Girl: “You always write! That’s all you do!”
me: “You should be glad you have a mother who’s an artist. You could have some boring old mother.”
Wacky Girl, leaving the room and calling out over her shoulder: “Writing. Is. Not. ART!”
I’ve started writing up my Grandma’s life story. She’s 87 next month. She’s a pistol. That’s what everyone says when they meet her: “Your Grandma is a pistol!” I’m like, damn straight.
You know her a little from what I’ve written here, here and here. She of the Coconut Cooky fame. She can tell a damn story. I wish I could share it with you, but I can’t. But once we get it published on Cafe Press you can order a copy. Pictures, recipes and all.
So, Internet, is writing art? Or not?
WM
“Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing.”
— Margaret Chittenden, writer
Dear Internet,
Are you out there, or what? Why no comments? WTF? I mean, really — WTFF? (My mom’s favorite expression: “What the fucking fuck?” Yes, she says this in front of my children. “Ouch, my freakin’ ears!” — “The Simpsons.”)
I’m e-mailing agents. Rather, I’m compiling a list of all the agents who have previously rejected me, so I don’t bother them again.
It’s a fairly long list. I need to change my strategy. You know what I’m thinking I need to do? When I talk on the phone with my granny, I need to write down every freakin’ thing she says, and get that published. (more…)
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