Random Tuesday

Tuesdays are my least favorite days of the week.  (Friday is my favorite, for obvious reasons.)  Surviving Monday is an accomplishment, but by Tuesday, you’re still only one day closer to Friday, and three more work days looks and feels like frickin’ forever.

Because my two favoritest blog writers (Jennifer Crusie and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee) occasionally post “random” blogs, I thought I might do it today.  That, and I need to get back into a regular habit of writing, anything, because one day out of 14 isn’t hacking it for me.   And okay, maybe I enjoyed that “ten things about me” thing a little too much.

That said, here’s my Random blog:

Nothing motivates me better than when I’m completely pissed off.  Triggered by an event, I hit that mark tonight, snarled, and turned around and started writing.  Considering I haven’t focused time and energy on writing in a really long time, it felt wonderful.  A whole lot better than the blahs I experienced earlier in the day.  (No, I’m not going to say what, or rather who, got me to that point.  It would only cause problems.)

I took the boys to the Variety Club Winter Wonderland party on Sunday.  (It’s the Christmas party postponed by the snowstorm we had the weekend before Christmas.)  We had a really good time, and Alex amazed me with his patience, standing in line for WAY too long to get his face painted.  I can’t fault the lady who was doing it because she did a terrific job, but someone needs to remind these people, a) these are autistic kids; they have the patience of a cat when it comes to standing in line, and b) these are autistic kids; they don’t need mini-Rembrandts painted on their cheeks when the artwork is only going to get wiped off when the kid falls asleep in the car on the ride home. 

I surprised myself with my resiliency.  John needed the GPS and the good camera for his trip, so I printed a Mapquest to get me into Center City even though I had no navigator (Ryan refused to do it) and I loaded the old, half-busted Kodak with batteries and prayed the chip would work in my laptop.  I did eventually get to the hotel, despite one effed-up turn (Mapquest thinks there’s an exit for 6th St off the Vine St. Expressway, but the only one I saw was 8th St; next stop, bridge to NJ), but we spent more time trying to find a parking spot.  Let me tell you, coffee + half an hour on the Schuylkill + half an hour driving around Center City on cobblestone streets = “Can you point me toward the restroom?”

 My friend Laura and I are on a resolution not to buy more yarn or patterns for the month of January.  (We made an exception for Ravelry patterns that benefited Haiti relief efforts.)  With just 6 more days to go in the month, temptation is everywhere.  We’ve been good, but it hasn’t been easy.  I suspect we’re both going to stay up on Sunday night and at the stroke of midnight, we’ll hit “send” on all the orders we’ve put on hold. 

For my next trick, I’m going to refuse to allow myself to start any more new projects until I finish half the ones I’ve started.  As a result, last night I was so restless that I worked on 3 different UFOs during the course of the day.  I don’t feel like any of them are that much closer to finished.  Damn.

I downloaded “That Thing You Do” because I heard it on the Muzak at a supermarket during lunch and it reminded me of happier times.  I haven’t listened to it yet.  I set it up to play as I was writing and realized, I can’t listen to this while I’m writing.  The characters will go into a diabetic coma. 

Okay, enough for now.  Back to writing while I’m still pissed off.

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The Lovely Blog Award

My friend, Ava Quinn, nominated me for the Lovely Blog Award this morning, and I’m thrilled, mainly because I’m surprised as hell anyone reads this.  🙂  I appreciate the honor and I promise to fulfill all my responsibilities as Miss America…oops, wrong award.  (And I’m not a Miss anymore, either.) 

I’m to pass along the Lovely Blog Award to another deserving recipient, so I hereby nominate two very good friends of mine who happen to be excellent writers: 

Adele DuBois – Adele is a VFRW member, an EPIC award finalist, and a smart, savvy lady with a keen eye for classic hunks.  Her talent jumps off the page and into your lap.  If you ask nicely, she will show you her heart because it’s not just in everything she writes, it’s in everything she does.

Judi Fennell – Judi is the best kind of fairytale princess; she stands up for herself but never fails to keep her dreams alive in her heart.  She could teach the prince a thing or two about rescuing!  She’s imaginative and strong, gorgeous and capable and funny.  She’s also the light that currently guides VFRW through anything and everything. 

 There are a host of other wonderful writers I could nominate for this award (Stephanie Julian and Robin Kaye, to name just two more off the top of my not-caffeinated-enough head) but I’ll get you ladies next time, okay?  🙂  Ladies, this one’s for you:

I’m told that the next part of the award is to tell ten things about yourself.  Ava said she’s not sure she has 10.  I started and had a hard time shutting up.  (As a matter of fact, I do answer every one of those email questionnaires and then pass it on to 8 friends.  Surprised?)

1.  Hi, I’m Carla, and I’m addicted to yarn, knitting, crochet, needles, and patterns.  I have more UFOs (unfinished objects) than should be legally permissible in a residential area.

2.  My iPod has over 1200 songs on it.  The iPod is possibly the best invention since scissors.  Even though 50% of my iPod songs are in the Country category, my favorite recently downloaded song is “Down” by Jay Sean, but if the Broadway version of “Defying Gravity” (Idina Mentzel and Kristin Chenoweth) happens to come on, you’ll know it’s me because I’ll be singing louder than the horn at a Flyers hockey game, but slightly less in tune.

3.  I love baseball.  Anyone who knows me, knows that.  My all-time favorite player is and will always be Paul O’Neill from the NY Yankees, because he played his heart out at every single game.  The day I saw him break a bat over his knee after he struck out, I fell madly in love.  I have his ’95 Upper Deck card on my desk at work to remind me  to always give it my all.

4.  I’m no longer a Yankee fan.  Born and raised in NY, I’ve bled Yankee pinstripe blue since I was 10, but I had to turn away from the Bronx Bombers after the 2009 World Series.  Sadly, it’s not even the Yankees’ fault.  (We won’t say whose fault it was, but his initials are Brad Lidge.  Love ya anyway, dude, but please do something about that control issue?!?)

5.  When given the chance, I talk too much.  The above 4 lines should’ve been a LOT shorter.

6.  I have the most gorgeous niece!  She’s 2 and she’s going to be president some day.  Or maybe an anthropologist.  Probably less stress in the latter choice.

7.  All the heroes I’ve ever written were based on someone I knew in real life.  Fortunately, I’ve been blessed with meeting a lot of very special, very interesting people. 

8.  I hate writing synopses.  I know, I shouldn’t; it’s just part of the job, but it’s hard to compile that much feeling into 2 or 3 pages and not feel like you left something out.

9.  I’m painfully shy.  It takes me a while to warm up to people, but once I do, we’re fast friends.  (Ava, does this sound familiar?  “Wow, what a cool purse!”  That was the beginning of the end, wasn’t it?  :-))

10.  I’m a morning person.  It’s disgusting, I know, but once I’ve had a shower and I’m dressed, I’m ready to roll even before the coffee perks.  The other day I noticed I’d started hubby and my breakfast, gathered the makings of our lunch, taken my vitamins, set up the boys’ breakfast/vitamins, and cleaned the kitchen sink before I had my first sip of coffee.  That guy in the commercial who says, “Don’t talk to me before I’ve had my coffee”?  That’s SO not me.  I’m sick, I know. 

Surprise; ten things!  Now that you’re all fast asleep, I’ll pass the award on to Judi and Adele, and they can take it from here!

Thanks, Ava!!