if you follow me

As many of you know I have been taking classes through Stanford's Online Writer's Studio for almost three years now. Wow. One of my favorite professors' book is being published today! Go forth young readers and buy Malena Watrous' book. That's right...get out there. Order it. Love it. I am sure it is wonderful. Mine is in the mail coming from Amazon I am sure...any day now.

It has gotten great reviews:
The Boston Globe

Ms. Magazine: "This tragicomic debut novel follows a spunky, feminist and perpetually wrongfooted college grad as she spends fourseasons in rural Japan escaping the memory of her father’s suicide."

And finally, it got a four star review in Romance Times Magazine.

Here's a link to her book at Amazon:
If You Follow Me

For the male readers: it will make a nice gift...and I can get everyone signed postcards if you want one to stick in the book.

this american life: my professor

So, Brent and I get into the car at 12:07 in DC today, and on "This American Life" is a woman talking about her book about her father's murder. Brent keeps chatting, and I shush him.

Brent asks, "What?"

"Brent I think that's my writing professor..."

Sure enough it was her. How fun! Well the topic is not fun, but that she was on one of my favorite shows is fun.

Here is a link to Rachel Howard on the radio:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/. You can hear her voice on the introduction.

She wrote a book, The Lost Night, about what happened to her father that is next to my bed, and I have started reading it, but got sidetracked by something else.(To see book at Amazon, click this sentence.) What I have read is gripping.

one more thing

The whiny post I put up on Friday about the woman in the New York Times: We would be friends with her, could be friends with her, like her for sure.

God does this to me, well maybe just the universe. Any person I immediately take a disliking to for purely superficial reasons, I end up being friends with. It is true.

She is the sister of the lead singer in our favorite band, the Decemberists: Collin Meloy. She is also from Montana. Montanans form an informal mafia so I bet when we move to Portland we will met her and like her. Maile Meloy if you read this post by chance, don't hate me please. I just ordered your book. I will post the review soon.

saving money

I think we can all use some tips on how to do this. This book, Everything You Ever Really Needed to Know About Personal Finance On Just One Page, looks like it is pretty great. And, it is free. If you read it, let me know what you think of it. I am printing my copy now.

(This comes to us by way of www.boingboing.net.)

ear wax

Me: Do you know why you have earwax?
Brent: No, why?
Me: To keep dirt out of your ears.
Brent: Oh, you meant why do people have earwax. I thought you meant me specifically. I must have played in the dirt too much as a kid so my body said, “We really have to ramp up the wax production people. This kid is trying to kill us.”

Read more about earwax in this book:
Answers to Your Weird Body Questions, by Dr. Beth Anne Ditkoff

You can take the weird body quiz by clicking this sentence. I got a 4 out of 10.

newest blurb book

My friend Amanda came over last night and we finished her Blurb book. Hers was the first wedding I shot completely, so all of the pictures in this book are mine! I am pretty excited. If you have a second, take a look! (Click this paragraph.)

my book blurb

We had to come up with our book blurb this week. Please post comments or shoot me an email letting me know what you think...would you buy it?

Take two parts humor, one part sadness, three parts love, and then mix together with friends, laughter, and travel: together these ingredients form the recipe for my life. Added to the mix are stories of the strong women in my family who have eloped with a motorcycle riding carnival worker, ridden a beverage cart down the center aisle of a 747 wearing Mickey Mouse Ears, and dug up the last $1000 hidden in the rose bushes in the garden to clothe her children. Zany and caring stories from a life well lived will keep you, and maybe your partner, up at night as you laugh, cry, and share in the entrée that is my life.