The voices in my head

At this Wednesday’s fabulous Westside Schmooze we talked all about character: how your characters behave, what they want, their histories, their tics.  Character drives plot and plot shapes character, so it’s super important to make both strong.  The meeting got me really fired up, and I’m excited because the madness of the week is over and I can get back to some writing.  I’m usually working on a few projects, meaning that I have a lot of characters talking to me.  Since I’ve been so busy this week, all my characters are yelling at me, telling me to help them fix their problems.  This is especially annoying during test taking and customer phone calls.  The only way to quiet the voices in my head is to write about them, so cross your fingers that I’ll be able to sit down and get them out this weekend.

Oh Internet, I love you so

Ever since I’ve started blogging on a regular basis I’ve had a fun time following my blog stats. I’ve got a nifty little program that tells me when people visit my site, who has a “crush” on me, and what people search for to find my site. It’s always nice to see that people are reading my posts, so if you like what you’re reading, please pass it on! In honor of the strange and wacky things people search for, I’d like to leave you with a list of things one of my professors has searched for (spotted when he opened his web browser to show my class an internet article).

1. Crunk Cup

2. UCLA happy hour

3. fetish groups

Apparently they let anyone be a teacher these days.

Exploring furniturescapes: a cautionary tale

Just a warning to all you out there with pets: it’s best to avoid looking under your couch, especially with a flashlight. Last night I found dust elephants with big hairy teeth. Nightmare-inducing dust elephants, who set up residence with multicolor shag rugs. I had to sleep with the lights on and with a vacuum under my pillow.

My Dog’s Strange Sleeping Habits…

Ian and I bought a web cam a little while ago, to keep in touch with family and friends across the country.  Recently we found an application that allows us to use the web cam to take time-lapse videos.  This led to hours of enjoyment and spying on our pets.  This is what Riley and Sam do at night:

Now I know why my pets sleep all day – they don’t get any sleep all night.

Yum: Good food, Good cookbooks

Well Friday’s dinner at Ocean and Vine at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel was awesome.  It was so much fun for Ian and I to get out and go to a nice cozy restaurant with a great atmosphere to enjoy some good food and each other’s company.  We got the LA Restaurant Week special, which was three delicious and huge courses (about two too many for weight-watching, but who’s counting?)  The restaurant has a very cool fire pit in the middle, giving it a nice loungy feel.  The hotel sits across from the Santa Monica pier, so we got to watch its light display as we ate.  Sadly, it was raining so we didn’t get a chance to walk around the beach, but it was a great night nonetheless.

The dinner got me very excited, so on Saturday Ian and I headed to Barnes and Noble to spend a holiday gift card.  We’ve been in something of a food rut lately, so we decided to get some cook books.  My criteria: at least 10 recipes that Ian and I will both like, that I can tell will be good just from looking at them; Ian’s criteria: a book with pictures, preferably lots of them.  We ended up choosing The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: The Essential Recipe Collection for Today’s Home Cook.  Not only did it have tons of great-looking recipes, it had a photograph for every recipe.  Plus, it had the word “essential” in the title.  Sold.

I got my grocery shopping done early on Sunday, so I decided to try out some of the recipes.  I cooked up a very tasty Spring Pea Soup, and then I got adventurous and decided to go for homemade Gnocchi with Pesto.  Four hours and a sink full of dirty dishes later, I got to try the gnocchi, followed by a homemade whipped cream and berries.  Soooo good.  Though it was a real pain in the butt to make the gnocchi (mashing potatoes by hand, mixing dough, rolling dough, cutting gnocchi, etc.) the end results were delicious.  Luckily, the portion was huge so I have some gnocchi left over for my freezer.  So the recipe book is a winner.  If only I had the time and motivation to cook a three course meal every night…

Food!

My husband is pretty bad at surprises so he let me in on a little secret… tonight he’s taking me out to a fancy dinner for LA’s restaurant week.  Yay!  Lately I’ve been addicted to Top Chef on Bravo, so I’ve been in a culinarily-lustful mood (those are totally real words.)  My cooking prowess extends mainly to soups and vegetables, so I’m super excited to try something new.  Plus, it’s always fun to get all fancy, and have a date that doesn’t involve a camera and someone else’s wedding (not that I don’t love our photo business…)  So tonight I’ll be relaxing and this weekend I’ll be photo-ing.  I’ll report back on the experience.

I crave language

Today I’m off to an early morning doctor’s appointment and a day of paper writing.  The paper writing should be interesting, but it makes me think of all the time I could be spending reading for fun.  So I’ve decided that post papers/exam I will reward myself with some new reading material.  I’m in the mood for poetry, or something brilliant that plays with language (a la Tom Robbins).  Any suggestions for something good?

25 Things About Me

Yes, I did copy this from Facebook.  Hope you enjoy anyway.

1. I believe firmly in the power of love letters. And chocolate cake.
2. I cracked my femur in high school and had two surgeries to (not) fix it.
3. The surgeries made me wear a leg brace
4. Because I am also bow-legged
5. So I made it into a clever pick up line
6. And told it to some guy who then became my husband. So I guess it worked.
7. I live by the ocean and hope to always be by the water
8. But I don’t take advantage of it as much as I should.
9. When I was in fourth grade my teacher asked us what we would like to be when we grew up
10. And I said, “a writer and a vet.”
11. So I kept writing
12. But I can’t stand the sight of blood, so I didn’t become a vet.
13. Instead I have a whole household of pets.
14. An example of my sense of humor: when I got my puppy, my husband and I decided to teach him commands for “pee” and “poop.” Only I decided “fire hydrant” and “bombs away” would be way cooler. And I laugh whenever my friends dog-sit, because they now have to stand on the curb like crazies, muttering weird things.
15. I just lost my train of thought, which is less like a train and more like a four car pileup.
16. I love books for children
17. And I read and write them whenever possible
18. I worry, sometimes, that if I have a son he won’t read my novel collection, because they are mostly targeted towards girls
19. And I know this is silly. But I love my books that much.
20. I hope I am a good parent, but I am nowhere near ready.
21. I am highly skeptical, because I know Facebook will keep everything I ever write or search for. Indefinitely.
22. This is one of the pieces of knowledge that I paid a lot for.
23. I am bitter about still being in school, but I know it will be worth it.
24. The inner copy editor in me wants to re-write this so I have a better flow.
25. This is stuck in my head: “Pies are done, people are finished.” It’s from a play. Look it up.

Baby Shower = Book Love

Tomorrow my office is throwing a baby shower for my coworker and I had the totally awesome chance to spend huge sums of money buying baby books for her.  Since she had over 100 people at her family baby shower, she had enough clothes and diapers to last a year.  My office, spearheaded by my efforts, decided to put some money towards getting her books: often overlooked as gifts but childhood staples nonetheless.

Whenever I have kids I’m going to ask for people to contribute to my baby’s library.  Obviously books are super important to me, and some of my favorite memories are of reading with my parents.

So last Friday Ian and I went to the bookstore and spent hours reading each other picture books.  I walked out with an armful of the classics:

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury

A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni

The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Nobel, pictures by Steven Kellogg

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka, pictures by Lane Smith

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keates

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

Opposites by Sandra Boynton

What picture books would you put in your children’s library?

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Yay!  I just finished reading The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, which has been on must-read lists all over the internet.  It seems I am on an E. Lockhart kick lately, but she really has a knack for writing stories about strong, quirky characters.  This book follows Frankie, who is tired of always being her parents “Bunny.”  When she learns her boyfriend is a member of a secret society, she is determined to show what she’s worth.  Frankie’s adventure masterminding a series of pranks is genius and exhilarating.  I highly recommend this book.