30 Crazy Days

Happy November, folks! Halloween has come and gone, and do you know what that means? It's National Novel Writing Month again! (Or NaNoWriMo, for those of you who've heard of this before!)

What is National Novel Writing Month? Well. It's this crazy thing some of us who like to write do. It takes up the whole month of November—all 30 days. And in 30 days, we aim to write 50,000 words. A novel!

It's a lot of fun. It may sound impossible to write so much in a mere 30 days, but I'm here to tell you it IS possible! I'm a NaNo veteran and I've made it to the finish line on more than one occasion!

The idea of National Novel Writing Month is to just write your novel—don't edit, don't think too hard about it. Just let the words come. And come. And come. There's plenty of time to rewrite and change and add and take away in December. Look at it this way—you can't edit anything if you don't write anything to begin with!

Are any of you guys taking on NaNoWriMo this year? I am!

Considered it, but decided against it because you don't have a plan or plot outlined? Reconsider! I don't have a plan or plot outlined, either. And if you'd like a Writing Buddy, feel free to add me over at NaNoWriMo.org!

It's free to sign up, and there is absolutely no penalty if you don't reach 50k. There's no way to LOSE at NaNoWriMo. And even if you only write 5,000 words, that's 5,000 you didn't have before!

Interested? Head over to NaNoWriMo's website and learn more! You can also check them out on Twitter and Facebook! And be sure to stockpile lots of coffee and snacks—there will likely be late nights of writing furiously involved.

NaNoWriMo starts today, but don't worry—there's still plenty of time to get started!

So, who's joining in this year? If you are—do you have a plan? Or are you winging it like me?

The Hunger Games Music Project

Guys, I have some links to share with you. I know I've mentioned the highly talented Matt Bukaty to you all before—he blogs, he composes, he's excellent. And now? He's collaborated with another composer, Edward Underhill, and created an unofficial score to the upcoming Lionsgate film, "The Hunger Games".

And it's really good. I mean, really good. These guys have some serious talent.

I give you, The Hunger Games Music Project!

Personally, I've read The Hunger Games—the whole trilogy, in fact—and the music these two musicians have composed fits perfectly with the way I envisioned the scenes. But it doesn't matter if you haven't read the book. The music is still fantastic!

There are a few different places for you to check out The Hunger Games Music Project. Never fear! I am linking to them all.

First, their website. Here you can listen to all the tracks. If you've read the book, the titles will make sense. If not, it's still great music. You should really check it out. You can also read about the composers and learn more about how this project came about!

The Hunger Games Music Project Official Website

Second, their Facebook page. This is a great place to interact with other fans—we're ready for you to join us! It's also a place where you can share your feedback. Don't forget to take a second to 'Like' their page!

The Hunger Games Music Project on Facebook

Lastly, you can check out their YouTube page. Here you'll find music and promo videos.

The Hunger Games Music Project Official YouTube Page

These two guys are truly talented. I think you'll enjoy what they have to offer. :)

Bathiti

I have a blog to share with you guys. I thought you might find it interesting! It came about in my Senior Seminar class—we were all split up into groups to work on a final project of sorts, and this blog is one particular group's project.

I give you, "Bathiti".

Bathroom Graffiti, if you will.

"I'm writing on the wall. TAKE THAT SOCIETY!"

The purpose of Bathiti is to expose those aspects of Texas A&M's campus culture that are rarely addressed in the open.

Since I'm suggesting you guys take a look at it, I feel it's only fair to give a disclaimer. There is definitely some 'inappropriate' material. So if you're easily offended...well, view at your own risk. But I promise, not everything is wildly inappropriate. Yes, a lot of the pictures are admittedly a bit shocking—especially if you know anything about Texas A&M—but there are some straight up funny pictures, too.

Like this, for example.

"To Mordor"

It would be awesome if you guys could check out their blog, and of course any feedback is welcome! These photos are pretty darn interesting, if I do say so myself. And I do.

It's kind of wild what people say when they have the freedom to remain anonymous.

So go on! Run over and check out Bathiti! And you Facebookers, you can even 'like' their Facebook page!

What are you waiting for? :)

I Know That You Like My Style

It has been brought to my attention that I am a stylish blogger. I was flattered and honored to receive the Stylish Blogger Award from not one but two equally fabulous bloggers.

Genuine thanks to both noobventures of pen, paper and a mouse as well as smilelikewoe of Smile Like Woe.

As I understand it, there are four little things I must do along with accepting this award. They are as follows:

• Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
• Share 7 things about yourself.
• Award 15 or so recently discovered great bloggers.
• Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

I can already check #1 off of the list. On to the second.

7 Things About Myself

1. Despite serious anxiety about visiting the dentist, I'm so paranoid about my teeth that I visit the dentist at least twice a year typically.
2. I have never eaten a PB&J sandwich. Ever.
3. I'm so emotional that a mere thirty second television ad can make me cry. I mean, if it's sad, of course. Those SPCA commercials get me every time.
4. I think I could probably live off of pizza forever. Pizza and chocolate. Pizza and chocolate and Starbucks. And bread.
5. I've never owned any other kind of computer besides a Mac. And I never want to.
6. When I was a kid, I desperately wanted my parents to buy me a boa constrictor. But they weren't having it. So I wrote and illustrated a small novella (okay, several sheets of notebook paper stapled together and colored with marker) explaining precisely why they should indeed get me one.
7. I never did get a boa constrictor.

I'm passing the Stylish Blogger Award on to these bloggers, listed in no particular order, of course! Check them out!


Fabulous 35mm — Audree is the queen of movie reviews and red carpet features. But that's not all. She also shares her opinion on books, music, you name it.

Ariel Writes — Ariel is a delightful young woman and aspiring author of young adult fiction. She blogs about her experiences with writing, among other things.

Mary Malcolm's Awesomely Ordinary Blog — Though I am a contributor on this blog, Mary is the real brains behind Awesomely Ordinary. Mary is a writer, and her blog is indeed awesomely ordinary.

Mus(eum)ings — I love the name of Samantha's blog. The posts are good, too! She's an intern and a museum. How cool is that? It's like a sneak peek behind the scenes.

Starbucks Melody — Melody is a true Starbucks enthusiast and brand ambassador. Her blog is chock full of coffee and coffee related posts. She has tons of great pictures, on top of it all, and is all around a friendly and fun person. Her blog reflects that a hundred times over.

Miss Woodhouse's Musings — Miss Woodhouse is an absolute doll! She's a Starbucks enthusiast and fellow English major. Not to mention an avid reader.

A Dog In My Car — As a dog lover, I particularly appreciate the purpose of this blog. Christine started this blog to help support dog rescue. She shares posts about dogs who need homes or need to be fostered, or both, as well as other related information. It's a great blog.

June's Corner — June is a fabulous woman and her blog is a lot of fun. A fellow book lover, she'd love for you to come hang out in her corner for a chat.

Maggie The Artist — Maggie's blog is full of fun and creative tips and photos. She also blogs about art, being an artist, and life in general. Her blog is a ton of fun.

The Misadventures of a TaschaBear — This delightful blog is maintained by the mythical Reading Bear. It's loaded with book reviews and recommendations. Useful and fun to boot!


All of the above bloggers are definitely fabulous, and totally deserving of the Stylish Blogger Award. I hope you give them all a visit!

Random Thoughts

You know those forwards that always pile up in your inbox? The ones that have titles that make you think, "This might be interesting," but since it isn't actually important, you just leave it there, thinking one of these days you'll get around to reading it?

I get a lot of those. Sometimes I even forget that they're there. And then I re-discover them, as it were, several weeks—or months—or years—later.

And then there are times that I actually think a forward is worth saving. You know, for a later laugh. And rediscovering them makes me realize that yes, there was indeed a good reason that I saved them.

I just found one of those. And I thought it was worth sharing.

It's called "Random Thoughts of the Day." Maybe you, too, have received this forward. I actually think I got it over a year ago. They aren't literally my random thoughts. As in—disclaimer—I didn't write them. I believe they actually originated from thoughts listed at Ruminations.com, so I definitely want to give credit where credit is due. I'm posting the ones that I completely relate to or that make me literally laugh out loud. Or both.

So enjoy.

Random Thoughts of the Day

• I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

• More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story, which is not only better, but also more directly involves me.

• Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

• Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning 180º and walking back in the direction you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy for randomly switching directions on the sidewalk?

• I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

• There is great need for a sarcasm font.

• Sometimes I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize that I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

• I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little big harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

• How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

• I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than make 2 trips to bring in my groceries.

• I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

• The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

• "LOL" has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud," to, "I have nothing else to say."

• I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

• It really irritates me when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

• Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron is absolutely petrifying.

• Whenever someone says, "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart," all I hear is, "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart."

• How many times is it appropriate to say, "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

• I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a jerk from cutting in line at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

• While driving yesterday, I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

• MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

• Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

• I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

• Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

• I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

• Bad decisions make good stories.

• Whenever I am Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

• If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

• Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? I know my name, I know where I'm from; this shouldn't be a problem...

• You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

• Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

• There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

• I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

• I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

• "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

• I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. "I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?"

• I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run?

• I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle. Then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

• As a driver, I hate pedestrians. As a pedestrian, I hate drivers. But no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

• Sometimes I'll look down at my watch three consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

• I keep some people's numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

• Even if I knew your social security number, I still wouldn't know what to do with it.

• I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

• I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night, more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

• The other night, I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, I saw they had given me four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel fat before dinner.

And if you want more, definitely check out Ruminations.com. It's excellent for a good chuckle. And also, the included pictures are from NatalieDee.com. If you have never visited, you are missing out and you should check it out right after you read this post. But be careful—it's easy to spend several hours going through her archives and laughing your head off.

NaNoWriMo Website Relaunch!

It's October 1st! Which means only one more month until NaNoWriMo officially begins this year! I'm super excited. November is totally one of my favorite months of the year, just because of NaNoWriMo.

In case you haven't heard and are wondering what the heck this crazy person is talking about, allow me to explain.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Which is the month of November. What's the purpose? To write a novel in 30 days! Crazy? Yes. Super fun? Double yes!

The object is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. If you're like me, you'll fall behind and spend several nights burning the midnight oil, sucking down coffee like it's your lifeblood, cursing your main characters for being difficult, and lamenting the lack of zing in your plot.

But the basic challenge is to get your idea out there, down on paper or typed up—editing comes later.

It's completely free to join, there are no penalties if you don't reach the goal of 50,000 words. Even if you only write a thousand words, that's still a thousand more than you had before you started!

Today is the day that NaNoWriMo.org officially relaunched, prepped and ready for 2010! I've already visited the store and found several nifty things I want to buy.

Here's my official participant badge!

And incidentally, if any of you guys are WriMos, too, and would like to add me as a Writing Buddy, feel free to do so!

I've already got some ideas floating around for my novel this year, and I'm pretty excited for November to roll in so I can get started on it! It'll be a challenge to fit in 50,000 words in 30 days while still keeping up with my classes, homework, and the like. But it's so worth it, and it's a great chance to work on my writing. And really, it's just a cool personal challenge. Sometimes it really is hard to keep from writing and rewriting and rewriting instead of just getting the whole thing out there. I'm still working on training myself to do that. If you don't get the idea down in the first place, there's nothing to edit at all–that's for sure!

So, think you want to participate this year? Go check out the website! Sign up!

Curious about what exactly is new and/or improved on the site? Check this link for a look at a list of new features!

Here's a few of the things I already want to buy! But please, go, check out all of the goodies in the store for yourself!

NaNoWriMo Tote Bag. It will be mine.

Official Noveling Pen.
I have a million pens.
I will have this one as well.

This is on a shirt. It makes me want some orange juice. 

I love hoodies. I love NaNoWriMo.
Therefore, I love this.

GetGlue Bookies Down

Hey guys! I've got exciting news today from GetGlue! Straight from the horse's mouth.

First of all, I'll start with explaining what exactly GetGlue is and why I love it. Straight from GetGlue's website—

GetGlue is a service that helps you find your next favorite movie, book, music album or other every day thing. GetGlue shows you things that you'll like based on your personal tastes, what your friends like, and what's most popular on GetGlue.

And why do I love it? Many reasons. But first, I should warn you—GetGlue is highly addictive. Think of it as foursquare or Gowalla, but for books, movies, music, television, celebs, topics, even wines! Check in, comment, review. Earn stickers—I have! Being a True Blood addict earned me some awesome stickers: Fangbanger, Maker, Hookah, Truebie... Plus you can meet people who share similar tastes, make friends, even earn the title of Guru. But make sure that you don't let it give you a big head. Which it might. Because, seriously, who wouldn't like to be titled, "Guru"?

(I'M the Guru of Frappuccino, by the way. I mean, I'm just sayin'...)

So what's new? Books! GetGlue has had books before, but now they're teaming up with some big name publishers—Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, Random House, Penguin; any of those ring a bell? And these awesome publishers are bringing in exclusive stickers which can be proudly displayed on your profile and even shown off in real life!

You'll be able to start earning these exclusive stickers on October 5th. Mark your calendars! And if you haven't signed up for GetGlue yet, give it a try! You can do it on your computer, or download apps for iPad, iPhone, and Android.

Fellow Bookworms, get excited!

Matt Bukaty. This is what's up.

Happy Birthday, Matt!

photography by © Sarah Elizabeth Thomas

Yes, that's right. It's one of my best friend's birthdays today! And since he's such a good friend, and also a fellow blogger, I thought it only fair to give him a shout out and suggest you guys all check his blog out and consider giving him a follow!

I've known Matt for years now, since 5th grade. He's one of my closest friends. I've also had the pleasure of doing head shots for him. Those can be found on his website!

Matt is an aspiring composer currently attending New York University. (That's right. He lives in Manhattan. I, for one, am totally jealous.) He'll be getting his Master of Music in film scoring in 2011. Follow him now and say you were a fan before he got famous. Because it's going to happen. Trust me. This man has serious talent.

Check out his website for audio clips of his stuff, not to mention film clips—which are all great, by the way, and I'm not just saying that!

Become a fan on Facebook.

Follow him on Twitter.

Follow his BLOG.

Fabulous 35mm

Fabulous 35mm's Audree!

I'm taking a minute to offer some shout-out love to friend and fellow Blogger, Audree. She writes a blog called Fabulous 35mm-"Does this make my film look fat?" You guys all need to go check her out!

As you can guess, she writes about film, which she really has a passion for. Raves, reviews, criticisms, she does it all—even some posts on TV shows! *coughTRUEBLOODcough* <3

You'll also get some non-film related posts, like "Be sure to wear some flowers in you hair..." about her recent trip to San Francisco (If you get the reference, you WIN), or her trip to Harry Potter World, as well as fashion tips and opinions that are equally fun to read!

If movies, TV shows, and fashion aren't enough for you, there are also a few book reviews up over at Fabulous 35mm... Just sayin'. There's a little something for everybody!

In other words, I am strongly suggesting that you mosey on over to Fabulous 35mm, like, right now. Then click "Follow." :-)

You can also follow Audree on Twitter!

iPhone 4: Extended Review

I recently purchased Apple's newest product, the iPhone 4, which I unboxed and reviewed a few posts back. But that review was more or less a list of first impressions, as I hadn't had much time to actually use the phone. Now I've got a few more things to add, although unlike the negative hype a lot of blogs and consumers are spouting, my revised list isn't nearly so dismal.

There are a lot of differences between the 3GS and the iPhone 4, and I'm not talking just aesthetically. I'll start with the good things, the things I love. Some of them are concerning the software update, iOS 4.0, and some are about the updated look of the phone itself.

iPhone—Newly Redesigned

First, I love the new design. As I said in my previous mini-review, iPhone 4 feels sturdier to me than my old 3GS, and I like the new glass back as opposed to the plastic backed 3G and 3GS. I don't know about any of you, but I bought the white 3GS, and it didn't take long before it started to develop small stress cracks around the headphone jack, side buttons, and USB connector. They didn't effect the usefulness of the phone, but it was frustrating to try so hard to keep my phone looking brand spankin' new only to have little cracks appear despite cases and screen protectors, etc. The new glass back is a very sharp, sleek design. And instead of the rounded off 3G and 3GS, iPhone now boasts a modern, squared off body. Very hot.

Second—two words. Retina Display.  The screen on the iPhone 4 is sharp, crisp; and in a word, beautiful. Viewing web pages is a dream. The text is super smooth, very clear, and even more pleasant to read than the earlier iPhone models (although they, too, had impressive displays if you ask me.) Pictures are also very nice to view. In short, all of the bragging that Apple has done about the retina display is totally legit. Again, if you ask me.

Apple has finally upgraded iPhone's camera from 3 to 5 megapixels. AND they've added an LED flash, which I'm thrilled about. I take pictures with my phone all of the time. No, really. ALL of the time. I think I have somewhere over 2,000 pictures in my photo library on my phone. A lot of them are of my dog. And a lot of them would have been better if not for the low light. So the added flash is particularly handy to me.

And in addition to more megapixels, Apple has also added a front-facing camera and introduced FaceTime. FaceTime is a feature I have  yet to use. The only problem with it is that in order to use it, whoever you're calling must also have an iPhone 4—since none of the other models have the front facing camera. (At least that's my understanding.) But Apple does have a number you can call that'll connect you to an Apple employee who will FaceTime chat with you and explain all of the features. I may just have to give that a try!

A small added detail are the two volume buttons. Instead of one, now there are two. Each labeled with + or -, respectively. Not a big change, but I'm a fan.

iOS 4.0—The New Software

My favorite of the software related updates is Folders. Now you can group apps together in a folder, for example; I have a folder I call "Social." It includes my apps for Facebook, Twitter, AIM, Yelp, Urbanspoon, Gowalla, etc. So instead of having three or four extra pages to flip through, I now have two. My home screen, and a second screen with some extra apps and several Folders. VERY handy. 

I also love the unified mailbox. Now I can get all of my emails from each of my accounts in one folder. I love this. I check my email constantly. Maybe to the point of obsession. And now I don't have to move between all of them, I can just check them all at once. If you use the email feature as much as I do, you'll definitely love this!

Another feature that I love is iBooks. But I reviewed this already, back when I updated my 3GS to iOS 4.0. So I won't beat a dead horse again. ;-)

I also really like being able to have a background on my home screen now! And it can even be different than what you have set as your lock-screen background. Pretty cool.

Now, on to the things I don't love. Or, more specifically, the things iPhone 4 lacks that I think it shouldn't.

Dislikes

First of all, where are the customizable text tones? I'm tired of the one I have, but frankly I find it to be the only tolerable one amongst the tones Apple has given us. Sure, I can change my ringtone, but I'm picky. That's not enough for me. Every time someone's iPhone bleeps at them, I think it's mine. It'd be nice if we all had the ability to add or create our own. I can't imagine this being a really hard thing to incorporate, so I'm disappointed that it isn't among the things included with the new software update.

Another thing I'd love to see—some sort of messaging light. When I had my BlackBerry, I really liked that I could put my phone on silent but still be alerted when I got a text by that flashing red light up top. I'd heard rumors a light like this would appear on the new iPhone, but alas, it was merely a rumor.

It would also be nice to see wireless syncing, although I don't really find plugging my phone in as cumbersome as some people seem to. That said, it would be pretty handy.

The last thing that I really have a complaint about is that, as with the 3G and 3GS, Apple didn't include the iPhone dock. I think that's pretty lame, really. The first iPhone came with the dock, and now Apple is selling them separate for thirty bucks. Let's be honest, I'm already paying a pretty penny for the phone. Why not make me feel like I'm getting a little extra for my money and toss in the dock? I mean, c'mon, Apple. Seriously. Thirty bucks?

As for the whole antenna debacle, I can't say I've had any problems with dropped signal. I have been using a case with my phone, which can supposedly prevent the iPhone 4 Death-Grip from causing a loss of signal. I did take my phone out of the case and try to hold it in the way that's supposed to cause the antenna issue, but I didn't see any bars lost. There are a lot of reports of people having this problem, though, so I can't say it isn't there. I can just say I haven't experienced it yet—which is good, I assume.

Overall Impression

All in all, I think iPhone 4 is a great phone! It's fast, it's gorgeous, it seems sturdy to me. Love the new design, the display, the camera. Of course, I still think the 3GS is a great phone. And really, even the original iPhone is still a good phone. But if you're wanting to upgrade, or if you're looking to get an iPhone for the first time, I think you'll enjoy using Apple's latest iPhone; iPhone 4. Hopefully this review was helpful, informative, and/or at least not boring!


EDIT: I was reminded of one other MAJOR dislike. I can't believe I forgot it. iPhone 4 STILL doesn't support Flash. I don't know why. This has been irritating ever since Apple first introduced the iPhone. So many sites require flash, and I'm really annoyed that Apple hasn't addressed this issue by providing Flash support. Get with the program, please, guys! Please??

Awesomely Ordinary

I'm so excited to let you guys know about this new blog that I've been invited to contribute to! It's called Mary Malcolm's Awesomely Ordinary Blog, and it definitely is awesome. I just posted my first entry, so you should all go check it out. And comment. And enjoy the awesomeness that is this awesomely ordinary blog.

One of the things that I love about this blog is the title. Awesomely Ordinary. I've been thinking and I've decided that awesomely ordinary really is a great thing to be. Because being ordinary doesn't mean you can't be just as awesome as anyone else. It's all about personality. And I promise you'll find plenty of personality from the contributors at Mary's blog.

That being said, I'll wrap this post up. Keep it short and sweet, so you have no excuse not to meander over to Mary Malcolm's Awesomely Ordinary Blog and browse the entries.

Enjoy! And here's to being awesomely ordinary!

50,000 words in 30 days. Spit in the face of writer's block.

Yep, it's that time of year again. November will be a hectic, glorious symphony of clacking keys, sips from coffee cups, taps of fingertips, and cries of frustration (or joy, depending...).

This will be my second year as a NaNoWriMo participant, and I'm already counting down. In fact, as of today, there are just ten more days left until NaNo '08 kicks off!

If you aren't signed up and want to join in the noveling fun, there's still time! And because I encourage everyone to sign up, yes even those of you who have never written much before but enjoy it, I'm going to include the "What is NaNoWriMo?" blurb right here! So you can check it out without having to take the time to click on link after link to find out. So here you are:

What is NaNoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

In 2007, we had over 100,000 participants. More than 15,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

So, to recap:

What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time.

Who: You! We can't do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let's write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.

Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era's most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.

When: You can sign up anytime to add your name to the roster and browse the forums. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

Still confused? Just visit the How NaNoWriMo Works page!

So there you have it! Join! Write! Revisit your coffee and/or Red Bull addiction! Pull out some hair! And walk away with something written that wasn't there before! Whether or not you manage the full 50,000 matters not! Trying is half the fun, and take it from someone who's been there before, it's a great way to get those creative writing juices flowing!

If you sign up and want to befriend me (as if anyone wouldn't!) my username is "get_skittled". Add me. I will add you. We can mutually discuss how good or bad our novels are coming. It'll be a grand old time!

New Updates, Past Entries

That whole backdated entry thing can be handy, but then...if I update the posts, or...finish actually writing them...then they show up behind my newer posts (date-wise), and thusly are skipped over by the lovelies that are keeping up with this blog!

Here's a quick fix. :) These are the two technically-newest past-entry posts. And for the sake of convenience, I'll give a brief little...description of sorts. For both entries. That way you'll know if you want to check them out (or not).

First up in the farthest back newest entry, Do What You Feel.

This is a short little post + a funny little video! The best of both worlds, right?

 *nudge nudge*

The 'short post' part is a prelude to the video, which is a clip of my favorite show, The Simpsons. Coincidentally, it's also the show that taught me a number of valuable life lessons. And I can think of a Simpsons quote to reference just about anything you could say to me. But that's neither here nor there. Anyway, as it is a pretty short post, the title actually does sum it up pretty well. The clip is from an episode where Bart basically starts a movement, causing the town to "Do what you feel." The clip is of a newscast about the new so-called WayOfLife. Plus a little exchange at the end that always makes me laugh... :)

Second, a more...serious post, I am Pro-Life. You Have Been Warned.

This is a not-so-short post, probably falling under the category of "on the soapbox", so now you know in case you don't feel like reading it. 

It spawned from a different blog entry I read about Veep Candidate Palin, but it's not so much about her so much as what this other blogger called her; Anti-Choice. As opposed to Pro-Life. It is a stance post, and if you don't want to read it then don't. But in whole it's about how supposedly "un-biased" information can be so blatantly biased anyway. Example; it would be unbiased to state political figures' literal platforms. But by choosing "Anti-Choice" instead of Pro-Life, the bias sneaks in anyway. If you're going to be biased, you might as well admit it. Like I am now. My post is biased because I am Pro-Life, and I take offense to being called "Anti-Choice" by affiliation, because I would be jumped all over if I started calling Pro-Choice people "Anti-Life".

Anyway, as I was on the defense when I was writing it, it's hard to sum up the whole thing because it's a little more... erratic than it would have been if it wasn't an emotional topic for me.

So there, that's that. Those two posts have fallen under the radar because I started them but did not finish them before updating again. Read them if you want, I just wanted to make them stand out more.

You know, like they would if I had published them earlier. ;)

In OTHER news, Tucker has still been running me ragged. :)

He gets tired at a decent hour, but every now and then...just a little bit before he actually tuckers himself out, he'll get remarkably wound up.


He'll run circles around the living-room, and he's learned how to jump up on chairs. So he'll jump up on the sofa, run across it, jump down, run to one of our recliners, jump in that, wait, jump down, haul butt around in circles again... It's pretty fun to watch. It's crazy how much noise he makes, but I love listening to his little feet as he tears across the floor.

I recently bought myself a new digital camera. Time for an upgrade and all that. And it just so happened that the night I bought it was one of Tucker's get-hyper-get-happy nights. So I captured a lot of that on film.

Yep. You guessed it! That means *drumroll* a photo frenzy! See below! ;-)

"Is my yummy treet."

"Mah TREET! I dropt it!"

"Howd it git ovar ther??"

"Whatchoo lookin at?"

And now we're finished!

Now to go do my British Literature homework. So that I don't have to tomorrow. Peace, ya'll.

HTM(hel)L

Well, I thought I was learning some HTML...

HA!

HAHAHAHAhahahahahuhuhuhah...*wipes brow* Whew!

Boy, I don't know who I thought I was kidding!

That there HTML stuff is a bit more complicated than I'm used to, apparently. So much so that I've grown fond of calling it HTM(hel)L. See, I've been trying-trying-trying to learn how to make a table of pictures. Thumbnails to be precise. So that I can post a bunch of pictures, but not all full sized. Instead, they'd show up in this nice and neat little row, and if you so chose to see a bigger version, all you'd do is click the thumbnail!

...Yeah...It's not quite as easy as it looks. I managed once. ONCE! Woo-hoo! But then I didn't dry my eyes out by staring at that cursed internet script for a couple of days, and so today when I sat down to try my luck again, I unfortunately discovered that all of my table-o-thumbnails knowledge had somehow completely escaped me.

Alas, it would seem I'll need at least another free 48-72 hours to figure that out. 

Yes, because I can spend hours and hours working on an HTML code, and if I walk away to get a drink of water before I finish it, when I get back I am absolutely and completely LOST. It's just like visiting a land you've never been to before, and driving along is alright, but then you look down to change the radio station and suddenly you may as well be on the moon. Because when you look up again, nothing is familiar.

Only in HTM(hel)L, not only are you lost, but your eyes also burn from trying to discern anything out of strings and strings of letters and backslashes and these little things < >!

So, forget that. I'll post my pictures later. Maybe next year. By then, surely I'll have it down.

[Don't quote me on that. Thanks.]

In other news, I'm in the creative process of reworking the look of this blog! Well, okay, I'm in the creative process of thinking about figuring out how I'd redo this blog if I knew what I was doing. (Which, coincidentally, is one of the reasons I'm trying to get a handle on HTML.) But that's just a bit of "I'm excited about it, so let me share!" news. Not for sure when that would happen or what all it would entail. Probably not much. So maybe a new banner, different colors. You know. BIG differences.

So anyway, if that comes out...I'm sure I'll post more. Maybe a countdown. That could be fun.

Also, since this post has no rhyme or reason thusfar anyway, I'll offer something else. In the interest of playing around with layouts and such -- you know, so I don't screw up mine before knowing what to do with it! -- and because I wanted to, I started another blog. If you know me, you'll know that I admit to loving Paris Hilton. That said, I've started a blog of random Paris news, updates, whatever. As if I'm the first person who's done that! In case you happen to want to check it out, it's just as easy as clicking this link. If you don't, then by all means...don't!

And - a question I wanted to ask. Does this happen to ANYONE else?

So I decide I sort of kind of maybe want to buy a new digital camera. So I have in mind this one that I'm looking at. And I've checked it out at a few different places. Then I get paid and realize if I want to buy it I actually can, so I get out again thinking that I'll look again, and perhaps be more interested in buying it than I was.

Only THEN I can't find it ANYWHERE.

Okay, I found it at once place. But I actually had a couple of cameras I was scoping out, and I only found one of them and I didn't really want to buy one without looking at the other one again. But still.

Is this just me? Am I the only person fortunate enough to suffer such a...condition?

I hope not.

Okay. I'm ending this post now. While I'm ahead. Or before I get too far behind. At this point, I cannot pretend that I'm not just babbling. Oh dear.

In closing, here's a picture of my dog Kelsi. :) Ain't she purdy?

Bubbles Wear Hats, Practice Makes Perfect, and The B-Party. - Day Two of the Four Day Wedding Roadtrip

I wrote the title for this before I started writing the actual post, and I planned to just dive right in to the continuing festivities, but I feel that it's worth a chuckle to mention the fact that as I clicked on 'edit post' and re-read my title, I had absolutely no idea what I was thinking. Or talking about. Well really just the first bit, "Bubbles Wear Hats." Fortunately, after I (with eyebrow raised) asked myself what the heck I could have meant enough times, it finally came to me! So now I shall tell you. :)

Bubbles Wear Hats

Our second day in P-town, Maranda came to our room and woke us up, with the exception of Emma who was already dressed and ready when she went to answer the door. As for Jackie, Michelle, and myself, we remained wrapped up in our sheets slumbering peacefully, as we were anticipating another hour of sleep before the alarm went off. Oh well! There she was, so up we got. After making our rounds in the bathroom we headed for Maranda's house, making a quick pit stop at Sonic for some lunch. We chowed down at Maranda's, and when her mom got there we were all put to work. 

Instead of rice or confetti or whatever other "They're married, let's throw stuff!" stuff, our bride wanted bubbles. Ingredients? Small bottles of bubbles, tulle* cut in circles, mini cowboy hats (black AND white), and ribbon (red, white, and blue).

I'd like to take this moment to add that until this trip I had no idea what tulle (pronounced 'tool') was. Not only did I learn what it is, but I also learned that it is CLINGY. After the initial wrap-your-bubble-bottles-in-tulle-and-secure-at-top-with-ribbon, the leftover circles were appropriately trimmed, snipped, cut, and snowflaked. We found tulle remnants in the car, on our clothes-- not to mention somehow in our luggage-- even after we made it back to Midlo!

So dutifully we wrapped, tied, and curled the bubbles. I seemed to have a hard time holding the tulle up around the top while at the same time tying a rather even knot with the ribbon. But doing it numerous times helped to cure that inability, and soon I got the hang of it. We had a makeshift assembly line, some of us applying the mini-hats, some of us wrapping and tying, some of us curling the ribbon. We hatted, tulled, and ribboned all of the bottles and loaded them into a box to be taken to the church later.

Then was when we realized there was still quite a bit of tulle left over. Jackie grabbed some scissors and started to snip, making a number of happy little tulle-flakes. :) Good times were had by all. 

I think it's worth mentioning that Jackie jumped into action when it was necessary to save a

 tulle-flake that leapt right from Michelle's hands! We thought all was lost, watching with shock and despair as it drifted skyward. Piling back into the car, we mourned. But then Jackie spotted the flake! It was floating back towards the Earth, and in a daring and gutsy move, she stopped

 the car, pulled up the parking brake, and snatched the wayward tulle-flake right out of someones yard! Our hero! :)

Practice Makes Perfect

After the bubble wrapping extravaganza, Jackie, Michelle, Emma, and myself all headed back to our room. Some of us needed to change for the rehearsal. We had a couple of hours to kill and we were all beat from the amount of sleep-- or lack thereof-- that 

we had gotten the night prior. So we flipped on the TV, put off changing until it was absolutely necessary, and facilitated our subsequent sleepiness by stuffing ourselves together on one of the beds (a full, and we had two in our room) to girl-talk and rest.

I very  nearly fell asleep, and I most certainly wanted to, but as I was an edger, I was nervous that I'd slip and fall. Jackie and Michelle, the middle of our proverbial sandwich, were quick to doze off. Emma and I (both carefully poised on the edge of either side of the bed) eventually got up. Not wanting to disturb either of our nappers, we did our best to not make noise. Or, you know, gracelessly plunge off of the edge and onto the floor. Jackie and Michelle were, I believe, already dressed for the rehearsal anyhow, so Emma and I took the time we needed to get ready and didn't wake them up until we had to. Again we made our rounds in the bathroom, touched up our hair and makeup, grabbed our purses, and headed out.

Now I realize I said that the boys deserved their own post, but there is something that I simply must include right here and now. Upon arriving at the church (after a brief stint at Maranda's, waiting for all to arrive so that we could follow them) we realized that Best Man Bobby had left his truck [Maxine] running. I don't remember exactly who pointed it out, thinking he'd be appreciative as gas is ridiculously high, especially for a diesel baby like Maxine, but that's not the point. What was absolutely incredible was the words that came from Best Man Bobby's mouth. The whole conversation, short as it was, went a little something like this:

us: "Hey Bobby, you left Maxine on."

Bobby: *glances back at truck* "Oh, I'm leavin' her on."

us: *eyebrows raise* "What? For the whole rehearsal? Why?"

Bobby: *looks at us like we're nuts* "Otherwise the beer'll get hot!"

us: ...*blink*

It was both entirely unexpected and completely fantastic all at once. We followed everyone inside and bee-lined for a room. I'm not sure what it was called. Probably a fellowship hall, or at least that's the closest thing I can think of in terms of what my church would call it. There we had finger foods, little snacky things, drinks, and conversation. We also met some of the other girls that were going to be bridesmaids with us. Shortly after the food, we trekked to what I'd call the sanctuary, and the rehearsal commenced.

All went really well, actually. We had some questions, myself included, just to keep things clear for the actual wedding. They put strips of tape on the stairs with our names on them so we would know where to stop and stand after the initial walk down the aisle. The groomsmen pretty much stayed put. We, however, came out, stood in place, took three-ish steps back when the bride was handed over to the groom, took a few more steps back when they lit the unity candle, and returned to our second 'three-ish steps back' spot after the candle was lit. But we did get it down. Really the only 'hang up' was the order. Maranda put us in order of when she met us. However, when our groomsmen matched up to that order, let's just say it went something like "shortTALLTALLshortTALLshortshortTALL". Well, you get the idea. So the boys were rearranged to be more...aesthetically pleasing, and then we matched the order they were in. Which, ironically, moved us to 1) Jackie 2) Michelle 3) Emma 4) Me, and so on. 

I wasn't about to complain. :) 

Especially because I knew that after the rehearsal would be our little 

make-shift bachelorette party...

The B-Party

Before we went to Maranda's to throw her a 'bachelorette party', we stopped by the nearest grocery store we could find (and the one that we were told involved english-speaking people), United. There we searched for a cake to bring, but when we couldn't find anything we settled for the makings of sundaes. Chocolate and vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, waffle-cone bowls, the whole nine. We resisted getting her an "I'm Sorry" balloon, although I'm sure she would have found it amusing.

Once we got to Maranda's, we ate our self-made sundaes and then settled in on a round of I Never. It was a bit...awkward at times, but for the most part really fun. And it was yet another experience wherein I learned more about some people than I ever would have cared to know. And I mean I learned some things I REALLY didn't care to know. 

But I did offer up my little I Never. 

Are you ready for this?

Here it comes.

I have never (NEVER) eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I know, I know. I'm a freak. A freak of nature. Don't worry-- all of my friends have already made sure that I know this. :)

Anyway, even though Jackie, Michelle, and myself remained 'dry' as it were--instead of beer, we took a drink of our water whenever we needed to-- we had quite a bit of fun. And watching the not-so-sober people was...highly entertaining. But then again, we already knew it would be thanks to our first encounter with the boys. :)

We ended up leaving Maranda's sometime around midnight, I think. I don't quite remember, but I remember being really tired. And knowing that we needed to wake up at 8 the next morning to start our RunRunWeddingDay. 

Leaving the bachelorette party essentially wrapped up Day Two of our trip, and I can only speak for myself, but I know I slept really good that night. And I also know that sleep didn't happen for near as long as I wanted it to. :)

To Be Continued...

*tulle –noun [tool; Fr. tyl]
a thin, fine, machine-made net of acetate, nylon, rayon, or silk.
[Origin: 1810–20; [F, after Tulle, France, where first made]

Elephant Painting

Guys, I was literally amazed when I saw this. It's absolutely incredible. I didn't even know what to think. I watched the whole thing with a huge smile on my face.

Okay, so - this business all happened in Thailand. Apparently these elephants also hold two Guinness world records.

I'll be honest. I actually don't have anything else to say besides "WOW."

Check out more of my favorite videos at my YouTube channel!

No, I want no part in your death-wish!

There are certain things that are acceptable when one is operating a motor vehicle. For example, when driving, if you should find yourself in a spot of trouble then please, by all means, pull your vehicle onto the shoulder and proceed as the situation dictates.

However, once on the shoulder, you must account for the severe difference in speed between your parked (and therefore zero mph) car and the ones occupying the road - 60-80mph, and I'm being generous.

Now, if you're an intelligent person, you'll wait for a break in traffic and/or gradually pick up speed in the shoulder. Unless you have a death wish.

I ran into one such person,  the kind with a death wish - not the kind with a brain, yesterday.

I'm driving on I-20 (the same fateful road where I was brutally attacked by a pigeon - the kind with a deathwish, not the kind with a brain), following my dear friend Heather to Cedar Hill so we can catch Shutter. I've got my window down and I'm rockin' out to Pretty Baby and all is well. That is, until someone who's in the shoulder decides that by-golly now is the time to merge! Merge, I tell you! I believe that someone in front of us tapped their brakes and intended to let the guy in, probably not knowing that this certain someone couldn't exactly find the gas pedal like normal people, but instead of not letting people drive for him, he decides heck yes, now is the only chance! 

I was slightly distracted by another...ahem...driver, who was busy speeding past me on the left and darting in front of an 18 wheeler (which, let me tell you - if you didn't already know - is not the vehicle you want to get into an 'argument' with). When I glance back in front of me I see shoulder-man cut back into my lane, subsequently causing ALL of us to literally stand on our brakes. I'm actually surprised there wasn't some sort of pile-up, but there wasn't - just barely. I swerved into the shoulder to avoid rear-ending Heather, and I'm glad I did because when my car finally stopped, in the shoulder I was a little past her bumper. And my initial swerving may also have prevented the car behind me from ramming into me.

Yeah.

It was an awesome experience.

If anyone is driving on i20 any time soon, please let me know if you see my heart and/or my stomach. Both, I believe, fell out and are as of yet unaccounted for.

On the positive side...Shutter was good. Creepy. Yep, good and creepy.

Fifteen Minutes of Shame

I won't call this post a shameless plug - I swear it's not like that, guys. But I have an interesting story. Well, at least I think it's interesting. I suppose to each his own and all that jazz, but anyway, I'll get it all out and you can decide for yourself. Isn't freedom of speech just awesome? :)

Seriously though. So here's the deal. I Facebook a lot. I mean a lot a lot. Probably more than I should, arguably more than is healthy. Earlier in my Fbook life I created a number of groups. At this point, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there is probably ALREADY a FB group for oh, I don't know, EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN. However, some of the groups I made actually 'took off'. The group that I am currently referring to is called simply 'Book Lovers' (Alright, I suppose this could be considered a shameless plug, but that's neither here nor there).

Moving on - occasionally I will get emails from people concerning the group. You know, like "Would you post a link to my group here?", "I made this application concerning favorite books and stuff, can you tell your group about it?", et cetera. You get the idea. And I'm totally fine with that. Not quite sure why they won't just join the group...but really, ain't none o' my business. In a manner of speaking.

Well not too long ago, actually February 11 to be exact, I get an email from a woman who introduces herself as Ashley, and she's emailing me in regards to an author named Lisa Daily. Up until this point I've been receiving emails from people concerning themselves, so it stuck out to me a little that she said she spoke for, or with, the author. Anyway, to continue - she told me about Lisa's new novel (Fifteen Minutes of Shame, in stores March 25th! And yes, I'm promoting. Guilty as charged!) and asked if I would be willing to post a photo of the book cover in my group on the day of the books release. I say I'd be happy to. Of course. I mean, no skin off my back. Cool's cool, so I double check that she wants it up the day of the release, not earlier, and since I'm an incredibly generous person *snort*, I let her know that I've gone ahead and posted a link to Lisa's website in the group as well. 

Real quick I want to take the opportunity to make it known that my 'snort' wasn't meant to say 'I totally lied', so much as to say that my self appreciating 'I'm so generous' comment was deserving of a contradicting self DEpreciating *snort*. 

Once again, moving right along...So, I got an email back saying that Ashley thought posting the picture a couple of days early might help build momentum. Hey, no big. Happy to help. So I'm gonna post a picture to the group a few days early, and everyone's happy. End of story. Right?

Hah! Got you! Trick question! Of course it's not the end of the story. Then it would be completely mundane.

After that I get another email from Ashley. She says that she spoke to Lisa and is passing on a "Thanks so much for helping!" message, and that she wants to send me a copy to review. I'm thinking...sweet! You wanna send me the book before it releases just because I'm putting up a picture in my FB group? I'm there!

I'm admittedly a little skeptical because while the email address seems really legit, you never know. But I decide to go for it because it all seemed really professional so far. No reason to believe it won't continue to be. So I respond with a hearty (and honest) thanks! And, of course, my mailing address.

And then I sort of forget about it. For a couple of days I'm checking my porch every day, but my life has been rather hectic lately and my mail-yet-to-come dutifully retreated to the back burner to make room for whatever else I need to be focused on at the moment. Well, lo and behold, I for some reason think it necessary to check my porch today and what do I see?? This little (well, not too little) white envelope just staring up at me, not a care in the world. (Alright, that part I made up. I guess it could care about something - I'm just not sure what exactly that would be). Not really too exciting, just your standard package...envelope...thing - that is, except for the two stickers in the top lefthand corner. Yeah, that's just a little something I added after I got it...Anyway, I check the return address and it's from...what's that? A publishing company? Ooh-lala! Yes indeedy, Ashley came through! I received a copy of Fifteen Minutes of Shame a little over a week before it actually hits the shelves!

And not just the book, either. I got the whole nine yards! The book, a letter about it, and a little publicity book. Fancy fancy! Here's where I admit to feeling a little ego boost - "Yeah, there's this book I read, it's really good. What? You don't have it? Oh, that's right. It aint' out yet!" 

And just to let you know, I've already started reading the book and I love it. It's fun, not a difficult read but it's not meant to be. And it's a genre that I genuinely appreciate so already I recommend reading it. I'll get back to you if it's got an incredibly frustrating ending or something. ;)

And yes, I'm aware that I linked to her website like...seventy million times in this post - but hey, what the heck? Send me a free book and I'll promote your brains out! How'dya like them apples?!

For my final book promo, I give you 'the blurb'!

What happens when America's favorite TV dating expert finds out on national television that her husband is cheating? Darby Vaughn's fifteen minutes of fame quickly spin into fifteen minutes of shame: Not only is the most humiliating moment of her life splashed across every supermarket tabloid and celebrity gossip show, but also her reputation as America's love guru is shot.

Her fans are turning on her, her book sales have tanked, and her love life is fodder for light-night television. If Darby breaks her own zero-tolerance policy for cheaters and takes her philandering husband back, her career will be over. But if she sticks to her own rules, she'll lose the only man she's ever loved.

So, in closing - 

• Networking. It pays. Or at least sends free gifts.
  
• Check out Lisa's website
• I hereby swear I will not promote anything I don't actually like. Scouts honor.