Sunday Catch-Up

Ok--so that last post was a cheat, sorry about that. So much for my blogging every day in November idea...you know the intent was there, right?

Aside from starting a new job last week--which includes a daily round-trip commute to/from Tysons--here's what I've been up to, in case you're wondering:

• My last living grandmother died last Wednesday. Sad but also a relief--she was 97 and was on the decline for years now, then had a stroke a few weeks ago from which she never would have recovered. The good part of it was that it meant my sister, Cassie, came home for the weekend, so we got to spend Friday evening together--a rare treat.


• Speaking of Cassie and Friday, we went to see Precious. Mimi insisted on coming too, which, if you know Mimi, was totally out of character--she's usually not the most social kid on the planet. So I continued my WPE legacy and let her go to see Precious, which was, um, thematically mature, to say the least. For all the hype the movie got I have to say I wasn't that impressed--I gave it about a 6.5. Mo'nique was AWESOME, however.


• I just finished Augusten's new book, You Better Not Cry. It was like an early Christmas gift in its perfection; it's been a while since he's had a book of short stories out and these stories do not disappoint. I'm sad, though, because according to Augusten on Twitter, he and Dennis have broken up. Knowing this, I admit the last story in the book depressed me. But here's hoping for a Christmas miracle that they get back together.


• The main benefit (aside from time to actually have a phone conversation) of a long commute is being able to listen to audiobooks. The multi-tasker in me loves that I'm able to "read" two books at once--one actual book and one audiobook. I just finished Elizabeth Berg's We Are All Welcome Here and highly recommend it. If you need a happy ending to help you get through the holidays (not THAT kind! Nasty.) this is a great choice. Actually, if you want the most relaxing Christmas book EVER, it's Miss Read's Christmas at Thrush Green.


• Speaking of relaxing, my sister introduced me to this website and it's very relaxing in a hypnotic kind of way. If I had any free time, I'd be wasting it playing with that sand.


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I'm BAAACK!!

Did you miss me? I am so impressed with myself for (almost) going without internet for a full week. I did check email (ok--and Twitter) from my phone and I did have to go to Bethany Bytes once--but only to print and send my CherryPal Brand Angel agreement back so they can send me my free computer.

Yes, that's right, folks--granted, it's not a book deal but I have managed to secure not one but two products of actual monetary value as a result of blogging. The first was a book--Groundswell by Forrester Research--they invited bloggers to email them and the first however many would get a free copy of the book to read and blog about. Which I did.

Remember the "gigs" section of Craigslist? Ok--not those gigs--I'm talking about the writing gigs section now. Anyway, a month or so ago I answered an ad looking for bloggers who wanted to serve as "brand angels" for this new "green" computer. Get to try a cool new computer before anyone else gets it? For free? And blog about it? Hells yeah.

So I applied and got selected. Hopefully in a few days I'll have my "cloud computer" in my hands and will be able to tell all you eager readers about it.

So what did I do for 7 days without internet? Read. A lot:

A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel--I loved this book and think she's awesome...if you like Lynda Barry you'll love her. In fact, I wonder if she's not actually Lynda Barry. Oh, and she's friends with Augusten...lucky dog.

The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve (didn't she used to be called Anita Richards Shreve?)--I loved this book--finished it in one day, so I guess that qualifies it as a page-turner.

The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted by Elizabeth Berg. Augusten recommended this book and I loved it as much as he did. At first I was like "huh?" but the stories are incredible--especially Ove the Hill and into the Woods. Very Raymond Carver/John Cheever.

Shock by Robin Cook--Ok--this was an audiobook that we all listened to throughout the week. Fun and interesting but lots of stupid/ridiculous stuff...as there always is in Robin Cook's books. The kids liked it, or at least Matthew did.

Then topped off the week with two movies--The Dark Knight and, finally, Sex and the City. I can't even begin to tell you how incredible Heath Ledger was in The Dark Knight--I'm not kidding. He was as good as Jack Nicholson in The Shining or Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs. Sad. I would be shocked if he doesn't at least get nominated for an Oscar, and not at all shocked if he wins.

Sex and the City was good but sort of "eh?" The best girl in the movie was Carrie's assistant, Louise from St. Louis. Every time Carrie was on screen she looked thinner and thinner--I swear, if she turned sideways all you could see was her hair. Ok, and her nose...but that's not nice of me to say. Especially considering that many more than one person has told me I look like her. Maybe the "long" face (as Patrick so lovingly put it) but hopefully not the nose--and sadly not the hair or the arms or the abs. Actually, I can't even covet anything about her body--she just looked scrawny. As much as I hate to admit it, maybe Maxim Magazine was on to something when they named her the unsexiest woman in the world. Angelina can barely carry being that skinny while remaining sexy; SJP just looks gaunt.

Tick Tock--and Augusten

I haven't been writing in here much because I'm distracted waiting to hear about something that I can't write about yet. And no, I'm not pregnant so don't go thinking it's that.

Oh, and sadly, it's not a 6-figure (or any figure) book deal either.

In an attempt to distract myself I checked Augusten's website to see when he's coming to DC and THANK GOD it's changed from May 19 to May 20. May 19 is Mimi's birthday and I don't think 12 year old girls react too well to their moms having to take a pass on birthday dinner to go to meet Augusten. Maybe I could have convinced her that she, too, wanted to go meet him; Matthew was listening to Magical Thinking with me in the car and was riveted to the story about Augusten being in a Tang commercial when he was a kid. It's a given that she'll be her snarky self anyway, so no matter what we do it will be met with attitude anyway. Remember Wednesday Adams? That stone faced look and constant world-weary attitude? Yeah, that's Mimi.

Anyway, it looks like he's coming May 20th instead so all is right in the world. Here is an article about him and his new book in the New York Times.

In the meantime, I just ordered 4 books he recommends highly in his blog:

A Girl Named Zippy and She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel.

Split: A Memoir of Divorce by Suzanne Finnamore

The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation by Elizabeth Berg