Dash in and out

Wow, it's really been that long since I blogged, huh? Day-am.

I have been VERY BUSY. On the list of craziness:

• Child did get a part in the play! A small part, but add rehearsals to our schedule. :) (still, very excited!!)
  
• Started edits for SALVAGED. For some reason this is going very slowly, probably because of the rest of Life right now, but I have notes and know where to start.
• Am in my new office, but still dealing with other people moving + cleanup of old space + organizing
  
• Covering a co-worker's impending maternity leave, so am handling a large bit of the campus alumni magazine work. Must have it ready to go to the printer before I go to...
• NEW YORK! I'm leaving for SCBWI a week from tomorrow!! Eeek! I am insanely bouncy about this, but also have a whole mess of planning/packing/rounding up loose ends to do before then...

Back to work! Maybe sometime today I'll actually get lunch. Maybe. :)

Worry Balls and Yay

Hi y'all!

Yesterday Child went on the first school ski trip of the year, so I transformed instantly into Ball of Worry.

This is normal for me on any field trip, but worse with skiing just because I *don't* ski. I've been a couple times, but I pretty much suck at it, and Child is already far, far better than me. So I don't go along and get in the way--I let her go with her teachers and ski instructors and get my exercise worrying my ass off all day.

So I picked her up with great relief yesterday--except that the answer to "How was skiing?" was "Good. Except when I fell and twisted my knee." *limp limp limp*

ARGH.

I don't think it's bad--it's not swollen or discolored or anything--but it's her first injury like that, so we're watching it. Hopefully it's just a strain or a pulled muscle. We'll call the doc if it's not better soon.

But she got up again after falling and skiied down the hill. And then went up the lift and skiied down again before going home. So it can't be that bad, right?

But there was GOOD news yesterday too. We'd found out on Monday that last night there were auditions at the kid's theatre for JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH. In spite of her crammed dance schedule, Child really really wanted to go and try. I figured with her restricted schedule and the 50+ kids who tried out, we wouldn't hear back again.

But nope, this morning we checked the list. She got called back! On her first audition ever!

And so it begins... :)

Callbacks tonight, and we shall see!

Some Girls Are Tiara Day!!

Happy 2010, everybody!!

Today is a Very Special Tiara Day, in celebration of the release of my good friend Courtney Summers' AMAZING new book, Some Girls Are.

I was lucky enough to have the chance to read an ARC of this book a month or so ago. I went into it knowing it was dark and edgy, that it might hurt a little. I'd gulped up CRACKED UP TO BE (which was just named a Cybils Finalist!), and it had shaken me in the best possible way...and I knew this was darker. What I didn't know was how REAL it was.

Courtney's writing is amazing in that it absolutely does not hold back. At All. You feel as though you're right there, experiencing the hell of high school and being 16 or 17, and the ridiculous ways girls treat each other. Bullying didn't just touch me...it was a significant part of my school experience for many, many years, and it shaped me like so many others. What's fascinating about this book is that Regina, the main character, is firmly on BOTH sides of bullying. You see how she fell into it, and you see how you could yourself in that situation. Then you see, with Regina, how horrible those cutting remarks can be on the other side.

Courtney's writing is never sappy, never condescending, never a bit anything but a true sucker-punch. I don't always like to read the really tough stuff, but I loved this book. More, I'm blown away by the skill of the writer.

You don't want to miss the boat on this one. Check it out now, and keep an eye out for her next!

Happy SGA book birthday, Courtney!