Dear Brain

August 18, 2010 6 Comments

Dear Brain,

I’m very appreciative of the fact that you took time out of your busy schedule to plot out the last three scenes of Quartz for me. I thank you for all of the cool new insights into the magic system and the nifty little plot details you put in. I’m also really grateful that you mapped out that Rapunzel short story I’ve been stuck on for months.

For future reference, though: Could you please not do this in one massive planning session at midnight when I’m *trying* to fall asleep? I do have school the next day, you know. Feel free to ignore this request on Friday and Saturday nights.

Again, thanks for all your help!  You rock!

Love,

Me

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Filed Under: quartz, random, writing process

bits of research

August 5, 2010 2 Comments

While working on my brand-new scenes, I’ve had to hit Google for some quick information on:

Why yes, things go BOOM! a whole lot in this book. How did you know?

Have you found yourself venturing into unexpected and unknown territory while doing research for your story lately?

(I find that a quick blog post works as a good transition from my intense get-this-scene-DONE writing session to Real Life, so you’ll be seeing me around more in your feed reader/email *grin*).

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Filed Under: quartz, random

further adventures of Snow White & Cinderella

June 3, 2010 5 Comments

So, Miss M. comes into the kitchen while I’m making dinner.

Miss M.: How ’bout you be Cinderella and I be Snow White? Cinderella is cooking.

(By now you can probably tell why I always get to be Cinderella.)

Me: Yep. Working hard.

Miss M: And Cinderella’s prince is mowing the lawn.

(This is true. My prince was, indeed, out mowing the lawn.)

Me: Yes, he works very hard to keep up the palace lawns.

Miss M: *casually* Snow White’s prince died before her birthday.

Me: Oh. That’s very sad. What happened to him?

(I know, I know. I really shouldn’t go there, but… morbid curiosity, so…)

Miss M: Oh, he didn’t get enough water.

Me: So Snow White’s prince is a plant got dehydrated? That’s too bad.

(I really, really shouldn’t pursue these Cinderella/Snow White conversations, but I can’t help wondering what’s going to come out of her mouth next!).

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she may be a princess, but she does have brothers

May 24, 2010 4 Comments

Recently, Miss M. wanted to play princesses with me.

Miss M: You be Cinderella and I’ll be Snow White. Let’s have a tea party!

Me: *eying my laundry* Oh, I’d love to, Snow White, but my stepmother and stepsisters have left me all this laundry to fold. They work me so hard. Help me, Snow White!

Miss M: All right. I’ll go kill them.

Me: o.O *jaw drop* *recovering* How about you just put them in jail?

Miss M.: Okay! I’ll chase them to jail. *scampers off*

File that one under “Did My Sweet Child Really Say What My Ears Insist She Said?”

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it’s a bee-you-ti-ful day

April 3, 2010 2 Comments

We had such a lovely day today! 8o degrees, sunny, with gentle breezes. We spent the morning lazing around the house, doing some chores, getting seeds and soil and compost for the yard. In the afternoon, I tidied my beds (flower and vegetable, not the kind needed for sleep); picked up brush (the willow drops a lot of branches) and last year’s leaves (oops! we didn’t clean up last fall!); raked compost into the garden, planted radishes, peas, carrots and lettuce; watered. The kids had an Easter egg hunt outside, which is always a lot of fun. David hid the eggs this year. The pair balanced on the bird feeder was pretty cute.

Then we went for a walk into town and picked up dinner (for everyone except me, since I’m still on mushy food). Post-dinner was also pleasant–we were all mellow from being outside, working hard and soaking in sunshine.

Some days are the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad kind. And others are just the opposite. Today was one of those days. I feel like liquid sunshine is running in my veins, and there’s a song fluttering behind my lips.

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sunday non-linkfest, and <3 day

February 14, 2010 2 Comments

I’m trying to make it through lesson 3 of HTRYN, so I’m afraid you’ll have to do without the smorgasbord of Internet delights that I offer up every Sunday. However, in honor of Valentine’s Day, name some of your favorite couples (fictional or otherwise).

Mine, in no particular order:

Gen (sorry, Eugenides) and Irene (sorry, Attolia) from The Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner

Sylvester and Phoebe from Georgette Heyer’s Sylvester. Also Mary Challoner and the Marquis of Vidal in Devil’s Cub by the same writer

August Falcon and Gwen Rossiter from Patricia Veryan’s The Jewelled Men series

And since D. and I are eagerly following Farscape these days, Crichton and Aeryn (though the whole “one step forward and three steps back” nature of their relationship is starting to pall a wee bit)

Who are your favorite TV/book/movie/real life couples?

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note to self:

January 12, 2010 2 Comments

If I am bored writing it, then most likely people will be bored reading it.

Don’t torture yourself.

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ignore this

October 21, 2009 Leave a Comment

testing….

leaves on playhouse

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wordle image

September 26, 2009 2 Comments

I say this on the DGLM blog and couldn’t resist wordling my blog (click the image to see it bigger):

Wordle: wombat stew

I’m pleased to note the prominence of story and writing. Not sure about the wombat, though (wombat stew, wombat stew! crunchy munchy wombat stew!).

Who else wants to play? :)

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a day in the life

September 6, 2009 2 Comments

What? I need a reason?

At the outlet mall yesterday:

Me: And after the kitchen store, we can hit the bookstore!

D: *eyes suspiciously* Do you NEED anything from the bookstore?

Me: Noooooo

D: Then why go in?

Me: Because it’s there, of course! (Silly!)

D: Not buying that. Get thee to a clothing store and buy yourself some jeans.

So, like a good little girl, I trotted off to the clothing stores. It only took me ten or so tries to find a pair of jeans that were neither too loose nor too long.

D.  thinks I should shop in the Juniors section. I told him that, as an almost-thirty-year-old woman with three kids, I have a moral opposition to doing that.

However, the next day…

I went to Borders with a 40% off coupon, and went on a book-buying binge. Ha!

Developmental Milestones, the Trampoline Version

The Baron: *butt-scoots over to the trampoline* *pulls up on it*

Me: Awww, good going, baby!

Baron: *clambers on to the trampoline” *sits there, bouncing gently*

Me: Erm… Not quite what I expected you to do.

Baron: *scoots across the trampoline to the window* *pulls up on sill* *stands there, peering over the sill, bouncing gently* I’m King of the World!

Me: All right, Your Majesty. Your moment of living dangerously ends now.

The Little Dictator

D: *does something Baron doesn’t like*

Baron: *FUSS fussfussFUSS*

D: *stops doing whatever it was that Baron doesn’t like*

Sir I: Baron rules Daddy with an iron fist.

No, really. The almost-five-year-old actually said that. And no, I don’t know where he came up with it.

The Difference Between Boys and Girls

When Sir I. was a preschooler, he would build towers and knock them down, have his dinosaur do things like, “Stomp, stomp! Eat people!”, and send his lego planes zooming and crashing all over the place.

When Miss M. builds lego planes, she builds a Daddy Plane, a Mommy Plane and a Baby Plane. Baby Plane gets a ride on Mommy Plane because “he can’t not know how to fly yet”.

and, bad practice techniques

I, um, did something to my right arm by playing too much piano. It had limited movement all day yesterday, but the twinges are almost gone now. Lesson learned. Check for proper posture and position *before* playing for a long time.

How’s your weekend?

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Filed Under: kids at play, personal, piano, random
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