ECPA Happiness...and Moving

Big, big news in the life of this writer - Simply Sara hit #13 on the prestigious ECPA list. This was sometime last week, or possibly the week before. If I think about it long enough, I remember that it was November 1st, because that's when the list released...but the last couple weeks are a blur. So here's the pertinent information.

1. Simply Sara is #13.

2. You can see it here.

3. It is good. There was rejoicing.

4. We celebrated by packing.

I'd share a picture here, one of Danny lining up all of our DVD cases, except that I don't know where that particular camera is, and I don't know where the connection cord for it is, and I'm not at all motivated to go look.

Just know that it's funny, and it was a lot of DVDs.

Part one of our moving process is over. We've left our apartment for good, the one we moved into after being married for about two weeks. When all of our things were packed up and strewn on the sidewalk outside, I walked to our bedroom, leaned against the door frame and cried. Not that I have a deep affection for that apartment, with its Berber carpet that chewed up the bottoms of my feet, cobweb-prone entryway, and inability to stay heated, but it was our home, and life was changing, and it was changing quickly, and I hadn't quite settled myself out for how I felt about all of the life alterations that were coming at us so quickly.

We moved the bulk of our belongings (and I do mean bulk, and the wonderful people who helped us move would agree) into a storage unit in Portland. The rest of the things are with us, at my cousin's home in Northeast Portland, just a mile from where (conveniently) Danny's job is for the time being.

Things that I thought would fit into our car didn't. Spacial reasoning, I've discovered, is not my thing. We have more packing ahead of us. I'm living pleasantly in denial about it until then.

Memphis is in our future; at this point, it looks like we'll be in Tri-Cities by March-ish, though, which is nice because I wasn't looking forward to trying to pack for a shifty Tennessee springtime.

Until we leave for Memphis, I'm looking forward to exploring Portland for Gemma's sake and tracking down places she'd like. Cacao, Powell's (naturally), Saint Cupcake...all good things, though I'm waiting until tomorrow when I have more energy and don't have to fight the weather quite as much.

Feeling the need to bake something, though I'm not sure what. I've got the Rustic Fruit Desserts book, which has much deliciousness between its pages. The one trickiness is that my cousin's oven is a gas model that requires lighting before use. Now, I'm afraid of ovens as it is, so throw in matches and the manual lighting of gas and it's kind of the trifecta of terror.

That said, I've been lighting the stove successfully (though I tend to jump a foot back once the gas lights) for 24 hours (the lure of tea. You know how it goes) and have yet to die. So logic would hold that I'll be able to conquer the oven soon :-)

Let's see what else...if you're a Portland reader, know that there's a signed copy of Plain Jayne at the Lloyd Center Barnes & Noble.

I'm hoping to be back on track (or, really, on a track at all) for NaNoWriMo. Until then, here's my question for you - how do you pronounce NaNoWriMo?

Wool Weather and Kindle Reading

So. It's October. And it's crazy cold in the mornings. I like this post by Stephanie Pearl McPhee, The Yarn Harlot, about fall and the waiting game before turning on the heat, and the things you do before you get there.

I find, for cold mornings, that running laundry and the dishwasher will heat our little apartment just as effectively as turning on the heater, if not more so. Tea is also good. And socks (as much as I dislike them). And knitting (it's like a lap blanket that turns into a sweater). And wool.

There's something about my brain that, once the temp drops below, say, 45 degrees, all I want to wear is wool. Wool wool wool. Wool and mohair. And cashmere. My subconsciousness doesn't mess about with sweater weather; it's straight and to the point. Since I have several cute tops I've picked up over the summer months that I'd like to continue wearing, I took a little trip to Loft. Not only are there reasonably priced wool-blend cardigans that are a.) long but b.) femininely fitted (I don't do boxy), but they're on sale when you by two.

I was very good. I didn't buy a scarf. I might when they go on sale, though.

Moving on. Simply Sara is now available here on Kindle! You can read about Sara's adventures in technicolor, fashion, and confusing managers from your Kindle or smart phone.

In further news, we're in the market for a new car. A new to us car, at least. Our current car, Sally, bless her little 2-door heart is at a point where she needs new wheels, tires, brakes, paint, a proper alignment...it is not a short list.

Also, since the "incident of the mouse," our affection for her has waned somewhat. I apologize for not bringing up said incident earlier. It went like this:

1.) One sunny summer morning, I smell a smell. This is not a good smell. This is a "someone stuck cat food into our air vents" smell.

2.) I remember that there has been a thunking sound when we turn the A/C fan on.

3.) I also consider that we live in the middle of a wetland.

4.) I conclude that, in all likelihood, something small and rodenty has crawled into our car and died. Which, depending on how you look at it, could be a romantic way to perish.

For a mouse.

(That was for all the Anne fans out there. You know who you are)

5.) The nice man at the auto fix-it shop took out the mouse. I say nice man because really, he was very sweet, and that's a job I really, really wouldn't want. Ick.

6.) I filled the car with dryer sheets to cover the residual eau de dead mouse smell. The dryer sheets turned out to be almost worse.

All that to say...we're car shopping. And my husband, being an engineering genius (I'm the wife, I get to brag) is spending an increased amount of time looking at cars. He has been tasked to come up with a spreadsheet of the cars of interest, their makes, models, years, mileage, price, etc.

I feel this is very efficient. I also feel that this is a side-effect of being an engineer's wife.

The sweater knitting is going well. I've ripped out the sleeves and yoke a few times, and I need to finish the second sleeve start and begin again. But it's l-o-v-e-l-y, so it's worth it :-)

How about you? How long do you wait to turn on the heat? Any little heating tips in the meantime?

Simply Sara and Magic Red Pepper Sauce

Not sure where to start.

I'll start with the book. Simply Sara arrived via FedEx this morning. She's lovely. And Shiny.

There are some things you should know about this book.

1.) Simply Sara is a slimmer volume than Plain Jayne. Don't think that you're getting less book, though. Sara is actually about 5,000 words longer. She's just formatted for print in such a way that she uses less paper.

2.) Ergo, Sara is quite eco-friendly. Which will make Sonnet's parents happy. You'll find out why when you read the book.

3.) Do me a favor. Please. Pretty please. Do not flip to the back to read the ending. Please. Don't do it. You know who you are. I've done this myself - things get dicey and you want to know that the author is going to land this plane on the tarmac, not the middle of the Indian ocean.

You have to trust me. The plane lands. It's a surprise. It's a good surprise. This is not Hamlet. There are no bodies being dragged off the stage. I'm just as invested in the happiness of my characters as you are. Probably more. One night Danny came home to find me having an absolute meltdown because of what Sara (who technically is not a real person) was going through.

But you know what? A week later in the writing game, things turned around. Sara winds up very happy, and she does so in a manner that completely surprised me. I wish that same surprise for you. So keep your fingers from flipping back there. Nothing good can come of it. And the witty acknowledgements are in the front, so you really have no excuse.

4. You can download the first chapter here.

5. You can view the super cute book trailer here.

6. You can also mark your calender for the first official book signing at Barnes & Noble in Eugene, which is October 3rd at 4pm.

Moving on.

I'm now working on a book about Jayne and Sara's dear friend, Gemma. Ah, Gemma, who cooks like an angel and accessorizes in a way that Michael Kors would approve of. Gemma who has a job many would dream of. Gemma who cannot, it seems, get a decent date.

There's more to the story than that, and my agent and I are shaping and discoursing over it, but I think it's going to be amazing.

And not just because, well, it's Gemma, and we get to hang out in the kitchen with her. Though that is one very good reason.

In the chapter I'm working on, she makes herself dinner. I want to sit at her feet in the kitchen, sneaking bites whenever she gets distracted. The first item I included was a red pepper sauce.

The sauce is inspired by the Pioneer Woman's Red Pepper sauce. Now, I love her, and I loved the sauce, but I had a hunch it could go places. Yummy places.

So I experimented, and...wow.

You want this sauce. Trust me.

What you need:

Pasta of choice (I like campanelle and farfalle at the moment)

4 large red peppers

1/2 an onion

2-3 cloves of garlic

Creme Fraiche

Heavy Cream

Red pepper flakes

Some sugar

Some salt

Some milk

Grated Parmesan cheese (Pecorino Romano works too)

Note: This recipe is not particularly...precise. But we're not baking here. It's okay to make things the way you want them in a sauce like this.

1. Roast the peppers. This can take a bit, so bring a book, or your phone, or your child, or something. I stick mine on a baking sheet covered with foil and place them under the broiler, top rack of my oven. Once the tops get nice and blackened, pull out the sheet and turn them. Keep doing this until they're completely black and blistered. Stick them (using tongs), into a plastic ziplock bag and let them sweat for a while.

2. While they're sweating, chop the onion and garlic. Saute them in a medium saucepan in some olive oil, over medium-ish heat. Throw in some red pepper flakes. I just shook it a couple times - if you like things spicier, go for it. You're eating it. Cook until the onions are golden but not dry. Remove from heat.

3. Pull out your blender. Hopefully, your peppers are cool enough to handle by now. If not, you can work on the first one while you stick the others in the fridge to take the edge off. Remove the blackened skin and inside seeds, but don't worry about having little tiny bits of burn in there. It's okay. Stick your finished peppers in your blender. Add the onion mixture and puree.

4. When the pepper and onion mixture is quite smooth, transfer it back to the sauce pan. Add a couple dollops of creme fraiche (so good!). Oh, and if your blender is like mine and it's hard to get every last bit out, pour in a bit of milk. Like, 1/4 cup or so. Swish it around, pour it into your pot. Add some heavy cream. Stir. Reheat it.

5. Taste it. At this point, I added some salt and about 1/2 tsp or so of sugar to bring out the sweetness of the peppers. Maybe even a whole teaspoon. Not a lot, but enough.

6. Let it sit on the burner on low while you cook the pasta. Serve with grated cheese and snipped arugula over the top. You could also put some extra creme fraiche on the top, if you were feeling a bit underweight.

7. Now, if you're eating this with a man, I totally recommend a pork & portobello mushroom sausage that's at Costco. I'm sorry, I can't tell you want kind it is, specifically. There's also provolone in it too, I think. It's good. You can fry it up (don't need oil, it has plenty of its own fat) while the pasta is cooking, cut into half-rounds. Give it a good rinse when it's done, though. It's not low-fat, but rinsing it will take the edge off. Once you've drained and rinsed the pasta, throw in the sausage and pour the sauce over it.

Seriously. It's magical, and very very flavorful.

Getting sleepy. If you make the pasta, let me know, k?

It's my Birff-day

...Though I have a hard time believing it. Really. There's been so much crazy going on, on so many different levels. I haven't blogged much lately. Haven't used Twitter, either, but if you've been following the "news," you'll know that Twitter kills.

Anyway.

I got up this morning and checked my facebook page.

And realized that over the last year, my life has changed.

I discovered Greek yogurt. I got hooked on green tea. I found the perfect mascara. I learned to drive a car with cruise control. I got back on the sewing wagon. I figured out how to sift powdered sugar. I rediscovered the color yellow. I cut my hair short, as short (if not shorter) than it was in college. I watched my husband graduate with a masters degree. I made my first roux. I sang along with Glee.

I published a book. I can't tell you how many years I blew out my candles, wishing for a contract, wishing to publish a novel.

Plain Jayne came out in January. Sara will be out shortly. Over the last year, I've experienced my first release, first review in Publishers Weekly, first booksignings, first radio interview...

Because of the book, I've gotten to meet wonderful readers online, women who I'd never be able to connect with otherwise. It's crazy. It's humbling.

And I have no idea what next year will bring. But if there's something better than Greek yogurt out there, I'm ready.

Back from Hiatus

I know. I'm sorry. It's been a month.

But I have pictures!

Look at Danny, he's all cute and graduated! After a week of residency, presenting his project and hearing about others, they handed him a diploma, one with his name on it and everything.

After that, we drove through seven states to see this:

It's the National Cathedral, and it's breathtaking.

After a whirlwind trip through DC, we went to Roanoke, Va, before backtracking to Monticello, before driving to Pfafftown, NC, before driving to Spartanburg, SC to see this:

A BMW Airplane engine at the BMW museum, which is adjacent to where they keep the big giant robots.

I'm very sorry that I don't have big giant robot pictures to post. Truly. They took my camera(s). Just know that they were huge, they twirled pieces of BMW X5 undercarriage like a q-tip, and sparks flew when they welded the pieces together.

I came to two conclusions very quickly:

1. If there was a tornado, the BMW factory is not where you'd want to be.

2. If the robots suddenly developed independent wills, these are the ones that would take over the world.

In other news...

1. Simply Sara is 100% done, edits, galleys, acknowledgements, discussion questions, dedication, back cover copy, author bio and all.

2. Danny's hooding ceremony was the night of the Glee finale, but we got to watch it a week later when we had access to reliable internet again. Oh. My. Goodness. It ended just right, I loved "To Sir, With Love,"and I can't wait till next season. Congrats to their writing team for landing the plane! I just hope we see more of Idina Menzel...

3. I picked up Elizabeth Aston's Writing Jane Austen from the library today. It looks like fun.

4. I discovered this in North Carolina -

It's a chocolate-dipped waffle bowl. An innovative concept if I've ever seen one. While it is messy to eat, it does eliminate the drip-through-the-bottom problem.

Well, the bowl at the bottom does that. But it's the functionality of the bowl with the deliciousness (and carbs) of the cone. So everyone wins, if you're willing to get your fingers chocolately.

There are worse things.

5. It's funny being back. When we left, the kids were still in school and it was dark and drizzly. Now school's out and the skies are blue and sunny. I'm not complaining, just stating that it's weird. We were only gone two weeks, but it feels more like a month!

6. We have groceries again, though. My new favorite thing that I discovered at an airport Starbucks, and I don't remember which, is Greek Yogurt. It is thick, creamy, rich in taste while being the same calorie count as fat free Nancy's (if you don't have Nancy's yogurt in your neck of the woods, it's the local premium organic yogurt).

I think I need to go stretch my legs soon, so more later. I promise it won't be a month later! I've got a pizza I need, desperately, to recreate, so if there's success, there will be a recipe to follow...

Not Dead

Sorry. I know, it's been a while. Turning in the book sucked out my will to blog. Or write, really, much of anything.

To catch up:

1. Robin Hood. Thumbs-down, sadly. Honestly, you don't know how much that breaks my heart. I wanted to love this movie, but it wasn't meant to be. You really do have to have characters to make a story work. More on that later.

2. The Losers. Thumbs-up. Honestly, the trailer made it look like the poorer, potato-sack wearing cousin of this summer's The A-Team. Which I haven't seen yet. But The Losers does, it does well. The characters are drawn broadly with much love and affection. The action sequences are fun. The villain is pitch-perfect. If she could sound feasibly British, I'd nominate Zoe Saldana for the Tomb Raider reboot. I recommend much.

3. Letters to Juliet. Thumbs-up. It's swoony and unapologetically romantic in a take-no-prisoners sort of way. When I am old, I want to look like Vanessa Redgrave.

4. Crazy Heart. The scriptwriter really did go with the "less talk more rock" approach. Literally. And while I won't begrudge Jeff Bridges his Oscar in the slightest, I found the story itself to be lacking. My engineer husband (who spends a lot of time these days with a novelist) summed it up this way: "It's like it was an act and a half, rather than three acts. There was a lot of setup, the climax, some plot, and then it was over. I didn't like it.)

*Note* He'll come home from work and tell me I didn't quote him right. But it's pretty close and true to the intended message.

That's it for movies. We've been watching a lot of Top Gear lately. So much that the phrase "Some Say" followed by a pause will now cause a Pavlovian-type giggle reaction. (This is inconvenient for Ridley Scott, since it happened during Robin Hood while one of the actors was trying to be profound. I don't remember who. I was giggling at the time). But it's really delightful and is the only media-related item I've ever found that can make my frequently stoic husband weep with laughter. WEEP.

And honestly, I can't blame him.

One of the reasons I heart it much is that the three hosts - Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond, are all very good at being characters. And I'm all about characters.

So maybe Ridley Scott needed to watch a little more Top Gear, because the sense of character was missing from a film about one of the most famous literary characters.

Lessons We Can Glean From Robin Hood (2010)

1.) It's important to give the audience a reason to like the main character. If we like the character, we will care about his story. If we don't like him, we won't give a cockroach's tush. The late Blake Snyder wrote about this in his seminal screenwriting book, Save the Cat. Basically, give your protagonist an opportunity to save a cat, or something - anything - that makes us like him. It doesn't have to be much. It doesn't have to be a cat. Russell Crowe could have saved a horse, and it would have helped. This is true for anti-heroes as well. Even if they have issues, the likability has to be there.

2.) Characters have to be consistent. When characters are consistent, we believe they're real people. When they're not, we struggle with the suspension of disbelief. So if you give us a smart, gutsy woman like, say, Marian, and especially if you cast a smart, gutsy woman like Cate Blanchett to play her, do not have this character threaten to remove a man's manhood at knifepoint and then have her light a lamp so she can undress behind a thin curtain, giving the aforementioned man a lengthy opportunity to observe and admire the silhouette of her feminine form.

I mean, really.

3.) No plot development is going to be interesting enough to save your story if your characters are flimsy. In fact, if you don't have characters, it's not a story. It's not. It's a recitation of events. Character make story. Stories make character. You can't have one and not the other, if it's going to work. A lot of plot-driven writers struggle with this, particularly sci-fi/fantasy writers. I've seen it in both published and unpublished work. Political machinations don't mean a thing if we don't care about the characters. The reason why is that if we have nothing invested, the stakes will never be high enough to create the tension necessary for a moving plot. And you need high stakes. You need tension. As Lauri Deason once said, "The original Star Wars movies were about saving the universe. The new ones were about tax reform."

And we all know which ones were the most successful.

4.) Pick your tone. Own it. Films like The Losers, Clash of the Titans, and Letters to Juliet work because they know what they are and they're good with that. They're not trying too hard to be too much. Robin Hood swung around from battle epic to comedy to drama to romance in such an awkward way that it didn't work at any of those. (Note: kissing someone in the midst of battle while blood drips onto that person's face...gross. Not romantic. Not sexy. Gross and awkward. No one wants to kiss a bio-hazard.)

So there you go. I've been reading a lot of British Chick-lit lately. I can't wait for this book to arrive at the library (it's currently out). I have a thing for books in which a woman inherits or manages to land into a large, old, decrepit house and has to make it a home of some sort. I don't know why, but I've had this thing for a long time. It's a big plus if the house has a secret history, or if the heroine makes curtains for it. Books like this, this, and this, and obviously this. I just finished Harriet Evans' A Hopeless Romantic, and that was a lot of fun :-)

Speaking of books, need to get back to Simply Sara edits. More later...in less than two weeks :-)

P.S. The frog pic at the top is one of the ones I shot at the Oregon Garden during out getaway weekend. The rest are in the slideshow - go take a peek.

The Big Blue Yonder

I know I posted a couple days ago about Simply Sara being done and over and all the happiness that such a thing has brought me. But now I've sent it to my editor, and I'm realizing that, hey.

I did it.

I had doubts. This was not an easy manuscript. It's a good book - I honestly think so - but it wasn't easy to write. Sara's voice is very different from Jayne's, which meant being very careful with my writing voice.

There are so many things I've learned through this process. Such as:

1.) If you don't know where your book is going, there's a good chance you won't get anywhere anytime timely.

2.) A seriously good chance.

3.) If you're non-linear and hate written synopses like me, 3x5 cards are your BEST FRIENDS. Write out plot points as they come to you, and organize them according to when occur in the plot. Adjust as necessary. Add and subtract as necessary. Stack them together (not unlike Jayne and her quilt squares, let's be honest), and you've got the most fluid, painless road map ever. Stuck? Check the cards. Find a springboard. Get unstuck.

4.) There's a term in screenwriting circles called "spit-balling." I'm pretty sure I've written about it here before, but here's a refresher - it's sitting around with at least one other person and throwing around ideas (like spit-balls, but more sanitary). Good stuff comes out this way. I had several scenes and major plot points that needed this kind of work to get through. Even if the ideas that are flying around are not the direction you're intending to go, just thinking about why they're not quite right will often take you to what is right.

5.) Ignoring your book for periods of time will not, in fact, cause ideas to flow better. It just won't. Sorry. I tried. It doesn't work.

Well, I need to pack for my computer-work-free weekend (I almost said fiction-free, but I never travel without three paperbacks). Hopefully I'll have pictures to post next week!

Simply Sara at a (temporary) close

It's been a long road. It's been a tough road. But that road is coming to a close, because I finished writing Simply Sara on Saturday the 24th, sometime in the early evening, while sitting with Danny at Starbucks.

Granted...the work is not done. I've been working on some of the editing this week, before turning in the manuscript on Friday. And after that, my editors, bless them both, will come back with more edits. And after that, my publicist will give me things to do.

If you're looking for a sense of completion, do not go into publishing.

But I'm excited. SS goes into print in July, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the final product. I'm pretty proud of having published a book. But Jayne's lonely. She needs a friend on the shelf. And she'll have that friend come September.

What can I tell you about it? Not much, aside from the fact that I'm pleased with how it came out, and the ending TOTALLY took me by surprise. Sent me into a panic, actually. But it's good stuff.

In other news:

1.) My basil plant died. I honestly think it had a disease or something.

2.) Make sure you enter the Simply Sara contest! Details are here.

3.) Danny and I are going away this weekend! No computers, no book, no school, no work - I'm just a little crazy excited. I am, however, taking my camera, since we'll be going to the Oregon Garden, which is one of my favorite places in the state.

4.) Isn't this cute? I'm thinking 4th of July picnic with a basket of daisies or something.

5.) Watched The Young Victoria. Loved it! Thoughtful and lovely and observant. Totally recommend.

That's all for now - I made dinner last night, and should repeat the experience tonight (shocker!). But it's lunch time now, and for once, it's not ravioli.

End Times

...at least where Simply Sara is concerned. I met my base word count yesterday in a workday that saw the completion of a chapter in a single day (which is nothing for a lot of people, but I'm the world's slowest writer, and two days for a chapter is usually the best I can manage).

Anyway, things are wrapping up in Sara land. And that's okay with me, because I don't believe I've ever eaten so much ravioli. Ravioli, different kinds of ravioli, lunch and dinner. The idea of cooking sends me into a panicked state these days (we won't even talk about grocery shopping), so I am deeply grateful for stuffed pasta with sauce.

My deep hope is to have the book completed by this weekend - Monday at the latest - so I can tighten up the prose for a week before turning it in.

And after that, oh, what a celebration there will be...

In other news, Glee is back! Though I have to say, not a huge fan of the Madonna episode. This might have something to do with the fact that I'm not a huge Madonna fan. At this point, though, Glee has gone from the little musical show that could into this merchandising monster that keeps knocking you over the head with reminders that, yes, the songs are available on itunes. As much affection as I have for the show, I hope that Ryan Murphy stays focused on old-fashioned things like plot and character development and not become distracted by the glitz of being Hollywood's baby.

This is the man who was responsible (and I know this is hitting below the belt, but it's true) for Running With Scissors, one of the best-cast, worst movies of all time.

Now that I've said that, I'll end with the fact that my favorite line of Brittney's was "I pulled my hamstring once and had to go to a misogynist." I cannot type this without giggling.

What else...hoping to possibly see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo this weekend at the Bijou. Though Ebert gave The Losers a surprisingly good review, so maybe we'll hit that.

Oh! Radio show follow up. You can listen to the episode here. I did not forget my name. I did not make up any words (as far as I can tell), though i did stumble wildly over defining the term "Urban Amish," which is unfortunate considering that I coined the phrase. But it was a lot of fun, and Suzanne Woods Fisher was so much fun to chat with, I'd do it again.

You know. After practicing a better definition of "Urban Amish."

A Winter Adventure and Two Contests

If you are a Facebook Participant, pop by Bonnie Leon's new fan page. She's got a contest going - enter your favorite winter adventure story to win a complete set of her Sydney Cove Series.

Now, I already have the series, as Bonnie is a dear friend and mentor of mine. But, it got me to thinking...

It was the winter of 2005. I had been graduated from college for a few months, and was doing my internship in Portland at Northwest Palate Magazine.

My family and I had just attended to a private piano concert in Lake Oswego, OR with my aunt and uncle. The concert was lovely, but halfway through the snow starting coming down. Great for ambiance, bad for travel.

If you're not from 'round these parts, know that snow tends to freak out most Oregonians. Not all - snow is much more common on the Eastern side. But Oregonians on the Western side are to snow what Californians are to rain. What be this strange material falling from the sky? We don't get snow often enough to have well-trained responses, or cities prepared to deal with it.

Back to the story. Lake Oswego is pretty hilly, and we were at the top of one of those hills. The guests were invited to stay, but my uncle felt certain that he could get us safely down the hill and back to their home in Portland. All of us - including one of the pianists, for some reason (we were ostensibly driving him home, I think) - piled into the car.

At this point, my normally cautious and gentlemanly (think Cary Grant) uncle went into Mountain Man Mode. Come hell or high water, he was getting us off the hill. Off he started - cars were stuck in snow to the left and right, but he continued on, often missing them by mere fractions of an inch. Everyone else traveled at about 5 mph. I think we were going at least 25, if not 30. I also have memories of passing some of those cars...again, missing them by almost nothing.

My mom and I (and I think at least one, if not two) other people were in the middle bank of seats. Though I felt that, logically, we would likely collide at any moment, I rationalized that we were enough in the middle not to be mortally wounded. And since we were still deep in the neighborhoods of Lake Oswego, it was unlikely to present a Donner Party type situation.

The sequence of events is a little hazy in my memory. I know at one point my dad got out to Scout The Territory. I remember that he slipped, and that my uncle started driving off without him, not realizing that we were short a passenger.

My mom did not appreciate this much.

The part that is burned forever in my brain is when my uncle started driving on not only the curbs, but the - berms? Inclines? You know, when there's a sidewalk, then a steep hill of earth and shrubbery before it levels out to where the house is? Well, that. He was driving on that. Which meant the SUV was moving forward while tilting left at about a 40 degree angle. Now...this part concerned me. And after my uncle did this a few times, the pianist (having been quite silent throughout the trek) decided to try his own luck on foot, and departed.

Rather hastily, I might add.

Eventually, we made it down the hill with all of the family members in the car. We got onto the freeway, which wasn't in bad shape at all. We arrived at my aunt's home safely. The women were shaking their heads. The men were, I think, energized from the trip and ready to chop wood and hunt caribou.

So if anyone tells you that men and women aren't truly different, well...they're wrong.

Speaking of contests, there's a Simply Sara related contest on AmishReader.com. The site is down at the moment, but the contest is posted on their facebook fan page. Enter your favorite baked-good recipe - the winner, chosen by me, will not only receive a signed copy of Simpy Sara, but will find that the recipe has been featured in the book, having been baked by Sara. The author of the recipe will also be noted in the acknowledgements section of the book.

No recipe will go unnoticed, though - they'll all be posted with your permission on the AmishReader.com site.

When the site's back up I'll write another ditty about it, but I thought I'd give a preliminary head's up. Happy baking!

Random Observations

My head’s so deep in the book I’m having a hard time piecing thoughts together to create one cohesive blog on one topic. This is not to say I haven’t had random thoughts in my head, looking for an outlet.
So here goes.

1. I really hate the whole shorts with tights, boots/heals, and sweater/jacket look. I’m not sure how this evolved as a serious look, because to me, it says, “Hey mom, I dressed myself.” And not in a good way. What I love most is the fact that this look was thrown around back in December.

I don’t care if there are tights involved. Shorts are shorts are shorts. And December is cold. And shorts and tights look stupid. I don't care if it's one of "Jenna's Picks." Jenna needs to wise up.

I feel better having said this.

2. Starbucks has caught onto the “natural” trend by over hauling their baked goods. This means that my mom’s favorite cookie bar, the Toffee Almond Bar (her Starbucks Raison D’etre) is MIA.

The molasses cookie, a longtime favorite of mine, tastes…worse. If the molasses flavor is so week that you can contemplate what kind of flour was used (white vs. wheat), the molasses wasn’t strong enough. If an artificial ingredient (and the meaning of “artificial” is up for debate), I would kindly like it returned.

3. And the chocolate chunk cookie needs salt.


4. If you’re not from these parts, you may not know that while the rest of the country has been buried in thirty feet of snow, Oregon has experienced its lightest winter in recent memory. A lot of analysts told us, within the last few weeks, about how unlikely it would be for the rainfall to pick back up.

Well, time has passed. Rain has fallen. I don’t know what the analysts were smoking. This is Oregon. You can count on unpredictable warmth and the fact that it will always end in much water falling from the sky.

Like it’s falling right now. You’d think they’d learn. You’d think they’d have gotten the memo by now, taken the hint.

You know, gotten rained on.

Oh well. There’s always next year.

5. I bought a new basil plant!!! It's probably a little silly how much this has filled me with joy. But I've MISSED having fresh basil! Eating a lot of ravioli and tortellini these days (tortellini with roasted veggies, tossed w/ olive oil, a splash of pasta water, and Romano cheese is yummy! And easy when you're writing a book.) and it's nice to have basil to snip over the top to make it special. I will try to keep this one alive. I will not leave it in the car on a 102 degree day. I will take it to Gram's if it needs a spa weekend (the snippet she took from my last plant is still alive on her window ledge). I will not over-water. I will not under-water.

6. Simply Sara is nearing completion. At this stage, I kind of have to get out of the apartment to write otherwise almost nothing gets written. Starbucks and I are quite close these days. Hence the cookie observations. Anyway, as the last 20% gets written, I need to make up some new happy plot cards to get me through to the end. I want to be sure nothing gets left out!

That's it for now...on to the note cards!

The *Exciting* life of a writer

Really it's riveting. (type type type)

Nothing but excitement around here. (type-ety-type type)

For the last two weeks, I've been on schedule. Perfectly - so perfect, that I've not written at all on weekend. So perfect that by Friday night, I have the mental capacity of a...

...I can't come up with a good simile. Sorry. But basically, I sit around reading somebody else's book (this week it was Melanie Benjamin's Alice I Have Been) and trying not to self-destruct. Because before then, it's very possible that I only left the house two, maybe three times in the past week, and I've written two chapters. Some days, I don't do my hair or put on makeup. Instead, I spend most of the day staring at a computer screen that doesn't seem to change...

...and then out of nowhere it seems, it does. Seems all of the little nothing words add up to a lot of something, and when I read it back it's not that bad. Sure there's typo and continuity issues (the latter having bitten me in the behind quite often, lately), but it's coming. This puppy's going to end, and I might be alive to see it.

The good news, though, is that...hm. Went searching for an image (cute, no?), came back , and lost my train of thought. Train's gone. However, I can think of some other good things:

1. The Book Signing at Barnes & Noble's. Part book signing event, part "This is Your Life," seeing someone I see everyday (my husband), and someone I haven't seen in YEARS, a teacher from my old elementary school. There were a lot of people in between, enough that we sold out B&N's stock and dipped into the stash in the back of our car, selling enough that Plain Jayne was the store's top seller of the week.

When I found that out, I was like, "Hey, in this one market, I outsold Sarah Palin. Good times."

2. Hopefully, my laptop may be fixable with a $45 (ish) part, which would be nice because if I had to replace the whole thing (which is only three years old), I'd also have to buy a new operating system, update Microsoft Office, and update Photoshop. All of this means major dollar signs, and while I'm all for tax write-offs, I'd just rather not right now. I like my laptop, and the teensy fact that the screen doesn't work doesn't strike me as a good enough reason to part ways at this time. I am thankful for my handy husband, and this is just another example why.

3. We finally bought tickets for Danny's Vermont graduation, and are planning a jaunt to D.C. and farther south to visit the east coast family.

And the BMW museum. Everybody wins here.

Neither of us have been to D.C. for a while, but it's really less that we're going to D.C. and more that we're going to the Smithsonian Museums.

4. We returned the Big Book o' Bridge Codes to the University of Portland, further signifying Danny's completion with school. Sally (our car) started making sounds that one doesn't desire a car to make. Filled her with oil (the handy thing about being in Portland at a time, you can throw a rock in any direction and hit a Fred Meyer's), now she seems better...but definitely keeping an eye on that.

5. Ate the best red pepper I've ever eaten in my life last night. It was also the reddest red pepper - Dior lipstick red I've ever seen. Coincidence? Probably not. Just thought I'd share. It was a really good pepper, roasted(ish) in our toaster oven with olive oil and sea salt.

Well...diverting as the pepper news is, I should return to writing before I tell of my laundry successes (as in, laundry got done last week). It's Chapter 25, and so far, so good. Onward!

Mood Swings

Best of times...worst of times...who needs artificial hormones when you've got publishing?

The two weeks since my last post have been a wild, wild ride. The signing at Powell's? Good times. And honestly, my favorite part was getting to see people I hadn't seen in a long time. Did not sell many books, but I sold some, a couple to total strangers. But we got to hang out, chat, and catch up while in a bookstore.

I love bookstores.

Funny highlights: on shelves behind where I sat, there were stacks of books from a previous signing, and the title was something suggestive, like, "How to Be a Bad Girl." I really don't remember. My mom probably does, though, because it really, really bugged her. The experiencing of publishing has given me a certain capacity for zen, but my mom took matters into her own hands and covered each Dirty Girl book with a copy of Plain Jayne, thus preserving the photo op.

Also, my friend Janell came, bearing mini pies (one lemon meringue, one apricot raspeberry, ala Jayne). Mind you, we were at the Beaverton Powell's, so she had to walk though quite a lot of mall before reaching the bookstore, and got lots of terrific looks carrying miniature pies through the mall.

But that's what friends do for each other. They carry pies through malls.

Oh, and getting the pies home, Danny went into uber-engineer mode. I saw the look on his face and knew the situation was well in hand. True enough, he stuck one pie under the chocolate bowl, and other some other way...it was all very clever.

I regret I have no pictures of any of this for you. I charged up my camera battery and everything, only to leave the battery in the charger. Problem.

Anyway, signing over, we've been watching a lot of Olympics. More on that later.

Once the signing was done, I got to (briefly) focus on writing, then move on to final preparations for teaching a class at OCW about writing ensemble casts in fiction. The conference was tons of fun - loved seeing friends and meeting new people. Loved hearing from Robin Gunn (I've decided her voice reminds me of Shelley Long. I mean that in a good way. Shelley's very happy to listen to, and so is Robin.) Enjoyed teaching, though I really could have used a microphone - I wound up having to pretty much yell my material. Honestly came home hoarse. But it was fun, and I'd do it over again in a heartbeat.

With a microphone.

That was Saturday. Sunday, we taught 18 four-year-olds, attended service, and came home. At around 4pm, Danny turned in his graduate project. Like, the one that's taken over our lives. It looks like this.

And this:

For the second shot, I layered the bridge into a photo Danny took while doing the planning. Yes, that's me in the black coat.

Anyway, things stayed busy until Monday afternoon, at which point I found myself dead tired and frustrated with the amount of book left to write and an overall feeling of hopelessness...

...which is usually indicative of needing to do more synopsis work. Amazingly enough. I got on the phone with a friend to ask her about concussions, and at her suggestion we got a couple other of my process-readers together and had a planning party.

I don't know if anyone else does this in fiction - in the film and TV industry, it would be referred to as a spit-balling session. Basically, you sit around and throw around ideas. Great fun. In my head I'd decided to use 3x5 cards. Now, I've never used 3x5 cards, but I knew that I needed to get plot points out and then organize them. I came home with a stack dictating the next quarter, easily, of the book, with one random card waiting to find its place.

Wherever I do my writing (be it the couch, desk, or chair), the cards come to. And while, sure, I could write them out onto a computer file, I like the freedom of physical cards and the fact that if I wanted to write words in a circle, I could without some kind of word-processor gymnastics.

If you're stuck, try the note cards. They're great for sequencing. For big-picture stuff, I like sketchbooks without lines. I have a great sketchpad left over from art school with good, heavy paper that I probably shouldn't use for this sort of thing, but I love it. I can map out a plot structure or timeline, or write little snippets and connect them with squiggly arrows.

I love squiggly arrows.

And the great thing is that it's totally non-linear. I've tried to do that kind of work on a computer, but it just doesn't work for me. There's a lot of freedom to be found in a notebook. We took mine out to dinner, Danny and I, and worked at some of the big questions over Red Robin.

So between that and the planning session, things are looking good. I've moved from some very Anne-like depths of despair to complete elation over colored note cards.

A phrase that Robin said last week resonated with me - "fly, little heart." I think I start to feel trapped. I feel like I've lost all courage and hope. It's a scary place to be. But after investing the time away from writing and doing the planning work, I'm hopeful.

Looking forward to flight.

P.S. Hoping to post the cover of Simply Sara soon!

Crazycakes

...is the best word I have to describe the last 48 hours. Truly.

The contributing factors, I think, are:

1. The signing at Powell's (Cedar Hills) this Sunday (2pm).

2. The fact that Powell's is in Portland, and therefore requires travel.

3. Simply Sara's new release date and the ensuing start of production.

Add those together and you've got me on the phone with my agent while sitting in a dentist's chair. Seriously, I feel like one of those weirdo workaholic Manhattanites who close deals via Bluetooth at the deli counter. Except I don't have my Bluetooth, because it arrived today while we were out of town, and I have to tell you that it's very, very useful to be able to call your editor or agent back while driving. Or ironing. Or washing dishes.

Today the craziness continued while at a meeting planning for this summer's OCW Coaching Conference. The aftermath included me agreeing to be the assistant director, which I did not anticipate but am excited about. For the first time we're really working at getting high school and college-age conferees to come; that's my project to organize. I'm SUPER excited about it because that was me - 14 years-old, tall, scrawny, and ready to learn everything I could about writing.

While at this meeting, I got the cover for Simply Sara in my inbox (the joys of a Netbook). I love it! Honestly, I think it's fantastic. Warm tones, blue skies - there's even a Portland Cityscape at the top! I'm very pleased.

And speaking about the Netbook, I micro-blogged (I refuse to say "tweeted") about it but hadn't blog posted...the story on that is that my laptop monitor was wigging out on me, causing me to wig out because I knew we were heading to Portland and I couldn't go a weekend without working, and I couldn't borrow Danny's computer because he needs it, and we found ourselves with a half-hour window while waiting for Danny to get a haircut, during which we traveled five minutes to Staples and walked out with an Acer Aspire.

(Sorry. Longest non-Melville sentence ever? Possible.)

While I'm in love with its cuteness, smallness, and handiness, I have to say it's not a replacement for a proper laptop/desktop. Sometimes, it's useful to have a screen larger than 8 1/2 inches.

Oohh...headache. Pain. Wrapping this up... So, Powell's signing...anyway, picked up two boxes of books, so there will be lots this weekend and next. I'll pick up the chocolate for the signing tomorrow.

Until then...who knows?

I might try to relax.

Sara in the Fall

I'm tired. Not talking run of the mill lethargy, but honest to goodness near narcolepsy. But there's big news around here, so I'm going to push through.

If parts of this don't make sense, you've been warned.

I found out last night that the release date for Simply Sara has been shifted from Jan 1, 2011 to September of this year. Which is great, because it means that a few people might remember Plain Jayne when Simply Sara comes out. The trickiness lies in the fact that:

1. Writing Sara has been like typing through molasses. Thick, unsulfered molasses. That's been in the fridge, cold, for some unknown reason (I warned you, I'm tired). Mind you, it's a good book, and those who read and critique the early stuff (who are not the the sort to spare deserved criticism) have thus far agreed, but it has no intention of entering the world at anything resembling speed. So the fact that

2. I'll probably be eyeballing a cover for Sara sometime next week; dealing with early production and likely working on a synopsis so this puppy can go into a retailer catalog while figuring out how to market both books at the same time is

3. Just a bit overwhelming.

4. But everyone needs motivation. And this is the literary version of an extraordinarily sharp object poking in your back.

Did I mention that this release time is really great? Because it really is. One of the (many) reasons is that there's a fair amount of Christmas content in the first third - since SS picks up right after PJ, and that's mid-November, I think. Pretty sure. I'll check later. Anyway, as a reader, I think I'd enjoy reading about Christmas before Christmas, rather than after, when the tree is dried up and the lights need to come down. Before=magic. After=I don't know what. I just know that it was a lot to be writing Christmas scenes after Christmas, because I was really ready for all of the holidays to be over!

Oh. And a fall release means it's so totally available for holiday shoppers. Yay!!!

So, the lesson here is that writers who write for publication truly have at least two jobs. Not talking about what all they do to pay the bills or raise children or clean the house, but the actual process of writing for publication.

The secret is it's not just writing. It's assisting as much as possible with the production process, with marketing, and doing the editing so the book that winds up on shelves (or online retailer's warehouses) is the best possible book. There's a lot of non-writing that goes into this, but it's important. You don't get to sit in a hole and write, not if you want that lovely warehouse space.

In the end, it's a good thing. Because all of the production legwork means you get a lot more exercise.

And you know what exercise means?

That's right. You get to rationalize the cupcake.

P.S. I'm sure there are all sorts of typos in this blog. Don't worry. I'm sure my mom will catch them.

The Hoodie How-To

I blogged a long, long time ago about the hoodie that I made over, a project that I had Sara repeat in the book. I promised pictures and instructions...

And let's face it. Follow-through is not my spiritual gift, and anything that involves pictures takes longer because's a multi-step process (I don't snap and share; it's not in my nature. There's always editing, even if it's just fixing the levels).

No more excuses - here's the hoodie in better detail:

1. I picked up the hoodie itself at Ross after looking about everywhere. Somehow, finding one with long enough sleeves became hard. It's BCBG; I got it for $30. Maybe even $20 - I don't remember anymore. I wasn't wild about the color, but the price was right, the fit was good, and it had a two-way zipper.

2. Went to 27th street fabrics for black chiffon. We played around a lot to find the right kind of look. I had a general idea of what I wanted to do, from a cardigan I'd seen on J.Crew.com. I was able to look closely enough to figure out the way they'd stitched theirs.

3. Was having a hard time figuring out what to do, was being swayed by black velvet ribbon, when the gal at the store ripped off a strip of chiffon for us to play with. The torn edge was perfect! I bought 1/4 yard, which was more than plenty.

4. I went to Harlequin Beads to figure out what I wanted for the center of the bow. I knew I wanted something a bit glitzy without being overdone (the concept was "an evening hoodie"). I settled on some slightly smoky-looking Swarovski crystals, as well as three Swarovski pearls to keep it toned down.

5. The hoodie had bright silver-toned accents. I colored over them with a black sharpie. Also pulled out the string in the hood. Played around with threading a narrower chiffon strip (actually, a couple tied/glued together, but liked it best without.

6. So. The stitching. I started off with fabric glue - total no go. Moved to black thread. Tacked and tied off every one or two places, generally about every 1-2 inches. The giant cluster in the picture is where I sewed the center and the beads.

7. I should also note that there was a BCGG label on the front, with the same little silver stud-things as the hood. I picked them off with my thumbnail and placed the bow over it so you couldn't see the residue.

8. On top of the bow, around the beads I did little mini flowers. Not that you can much tell, but they added texture. Basically, I just cut a couple small squares off of the strips, pinched them into a blossom shape, stuck a couple stitches through the base and sewed three or four onto the center of the bow.

9. I continued the motif around the back, not that you see it much with the hood down, but I liked how it connected to the ribbons on the other side. I kinda twisted the ribbons at the ends, so that it was less obvious when I joined new ones.

10. I tried to take a picture of me with it on, but it didn't go so well. Danny's now home - could probably try again, but I'm feeling kind of wired and wondering if the coffee I drank earlier wasn't decaf (I drink so little caffeine that Danny can tell if I've had half-caf four hours after the fact. Now

I avoid it altogether).

So there it is! Sara makes and wears this hoodie for a big event in the book. She pairs it with a green wool skirt I'd hoped to make. Maybe the skirt will happen after the book is done - just don't expect a timely blog about it!

Confessions of a Name Freak

My name is Hillary Lodge. I'm a name-o-holic.

The indicators showed up early. As a child, I renamed myself frequently. My first grade teacher quickly learned that if the name on the top of the page did not belong to a child on her roster (and in fact was odd to the point where a set of hippie parents would shake their heads at it), it must be mine (blessings upon Mrs. Bauer).

I loved Anne of Green Gables. Her desire to be called Cordelia made complete sense to me.

I spent a lot of time naming my dolls and stuffed animals the right name. Because heaven help us if they had the wrong name.

One thing led to another. My condition worsened. I began to write fiction.

I collect names. I've sat in movie theaters watching the credits, looking for good names. I'm very interested in the etymology of names. I'm always looking out for good baby name books. I'll write down random names that I like. I'll make fun of ones I hate.

I didn't think much about this until recently, when the subject came up in a blog interview. The section I had the most to write about was how I chose characters' names.

Now I've got my protagonist, Sara, starting in a new atmosphere, and I need to meet the people she'll encounter.

First, writing a follow-up novel means you've got a cast of thousands. There's more than half of the characters from the first book, plus all of the new ones. I actually had to pull out a copy of the book to remember what Jayne's mom's name is.

To avoid name conflicts (because I worry about such things), I made a categorized list of everyone in the book so far.

And wow. I have an addiction to names from the middle of the alphabet. Grady, Gemma, Jayne, Joely, Kim, Kip, Levi, Nora - this is Simply Sara alone, and does not count Grace, Jenna, Joel, Livy, Lewis, Mark, or Nick from my first novel.

Sure, I've got Sara and William and Zach and Arin, and Beth and Spencer and Sol, but good heavens. And talk about a soft-G/J addiction; I want to write a book about someone named Ginger (no idea what, just love the name), and now I realize it would just feed the pattern.

I'm teaching a class at OCW next month about creating an ensemble cast, and let me tell you that this experience of trying to add three characters has completely changed the way the seminar will be presented.

After a couple days, I finally managed to name the three young women I'd been working on. I'd think I was settled, then made changes at least once per character. I love the women I ended up with! Sometimes I wish some of the characters I wrote were real, I'd love to hang out with them.

Since then, writing's been a bit easier. There's knitting in this book (finally! I get to write about knitting!), which is happy. And like I said - I have people to play with!

Plain Jayne, Civil War, and Good Vino

Danny and I are at our favorite getaway spot for the weekend, and at the moment we're both working on our respective laptops, eating grown-up lunchables (Pepperidge Farm wheat crisps, cheddar cheese, and summer sausage) with an inexpensive bottle of Pinot Noir that I'm quite pleased with.

In all likelihood I won't finish this post in one sitting, because I'm working on the Simply Sara FINALLY!!! Things have been so crazy, what with the holidays and projects and Civil War and that pesky writer's block that not a lot's been going on in that department, which is a problem because this book, like the last one, has a deadline.

Note to uncontracted authors: Savor your leisurely writing speed. It will disappear at some point, but savor it now.

So, where were we?

Books, that's where. I got my copy of Plain Jayne! It's lovely, it's happy, I wrote it, and now it's all bound and official looking. You'll be able to get yours soon! I'm really looking forward to it, so we can talk about it. Good times for all in the future.

It was kind of funny how I got it - I wasn't expecting it in the slightest, but I heard a UPS truck pull up (very distinctive sound), and a few minutes later a person coming up the steps and a thud at the door.

The package at the door was small and, well, book-shaped. And from my publisher...I did put two and two together. Thankfully, a friend was on facebook chat, so I had someone to celebrate with!

Then there's Civil War. In case you're not up to date with your sports news, last Thursday's Civil War (the game between the University of Oregon and Oregon State University) guaranteed for the winner not just bragging rights, but a ticket to the Rose Bowl. Now, there's a lot of animosity every year surrounding the Civil War, animosity that makes presidential election season look tame. That tension was ratcheted up just. A. Bit.

The Ducks won, and I was happy, being a third-generation U of O grad. I was placed in a duck onesie at a young age, so I never had much choice in my loyalties.

Danny on the other hand, his last completed degree (soon to be his second of three) was from OSU. While he is not a rabid football fan, this does get a bit...complicated, at times.

The great thing about the game, though, is that both teams played well. This is not to say that there were not sore losers, but at least they have nothing to be ashamed of. I was seriously impressed by OSU's passing game, and their defensive lineup was nothing to sneeze at. UO found their edge and momentum toward the end after putting Blount (!) in, who played well, with skill and graciousness.

In the end, the whole thing was a beautiful end to a season that started very, very badly. It speaks well of Chip Kelly (who apparently read the team Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day after the Idaho State game), and his coaching and leadership skills.

So. If you can't feel happy that a coach, in his first season, who recovered from an embarrassing loss and the resulting scandal, who read his team Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, is taking his team to the Rose Bowl, then it may be time to soak your head.

(The irony does not escape me that the Civil War is scheduled during a season in which we begin to sing yuletide songs of peace on earth.)

Okay. Danny's picking on me to get back to the book. We brainstormed all the way out to our getaway and came up with some HILARIOUS plot points! So more to come, including the hilarious thing we found out upon our arrival...

When I don't have the piggy flu, I'm going to...

1. Make a green wool pencil skirt. Finally.

2. Wear my gray slacks and cashmere hoodie in public.

3. Go out in public.

4. Watch Bright Star, though the showings at the Bijou are fairly inconvenient.

5. See if I can talk Danny into a recipe I found in November's Real Simple, which involves Brie, mushrooms, and arugula. Or maybe not.

6. Go to the library.

7. Pay my library fines.

8. Try a new recipe, one that Danny will be excited about (don't know which, yet, but thinking positively).

9. Watch Men Who Stare at Goats, which is releasing Friday.

10. Clean my house. Oh, heavens. It's like a cave of sickness and disease.

11. Properly grocery shop. *Cringe*.

12. Bake something. Because I can.

13. Get a proper influenza shot, because I'm not doing this again.

14. Catch up on writing.

15. Consider giving Sara piggy flu.

16. Have mercy, partially because keeping her home for seven days would make for dull prose.

17. HOPEFULLY get to shop with my sister for homecoming jewelry.

18. Ooh, open that bottle of Pinot Gris that's been in the fridge.

19. Wake up in the morning and do something other than cough and hack.

20. Christmas shop. I've never started this late.

21. Get to spend time with my sweet husband while neither of us are sick!