Aahhhh

Winter Break. I still have not decompressed yet. All of my dreams last night had my students in them. They are always on my brain. Hopefully, I will be able to shed work soon and just zone out.

I saw the best thing yesterday. It was a car driving down the highway with a giant, glowing menorah strapped to the top of it. Being the seventh night of Hanukkah, it had seven candles lit. I wanted to honk happy honks, but it was too far off. Way to show off the Jewish pride.

Speaking of, what is wrong with Target? I know there was that whole thing last year where they couldn’t say "Merry Christmas," but why did they have to go completely around and have their TV ads say "Merry Christmas." It's one thing in the stores, but to say only ""Merry Christmas," as opposed to "Happy Holidays," feels really anti-Jew. Does anyone else feel this way?

Happy Hanukkah one and all!

Shoppin' from A to Z

Well, hooray for Black Friday. I don't really have any traditions involving the mega shopping day. I just go with my gut. A few years ago, my dad and I woke up at 6 and went to Kohl's and the mall. I was too tired, and it was insanely overwhelming. I almost threw up. This year, I studied the sales papers. There were things Matt and I needed, and good gift ideas, so the plan was to wake up at 7:00 and leave at 8:00. The first stop was a door buster at Office Max, and they were already sold out! Bogus. We went next door to Best Buy, which was freakishly frightening. I don't like buying from them anyway because they restock things that people have returned. I had a problem with that once. I will not go on with a full description of my shopping day, but I will list the rest of the day here (with comments where needed):

3. Target. Matt and I bought the Atari Flashback 2, filled with thirty games. We played for about ten minutes. Not so good. Although I do love Centipede, as it is the game I am best at in THE WORLD. Every time I play the game at a public place – to this day- I get my name on the high score screen.

Mall #1

4. Macy’s

5. Body Shop

6. The Gap

7. Sterling Works

8. Hallmark

9. Carleton Cards

Out of mall

10. Office Depot

Mall #2

11. Johnny Rockets

It was here that we noticed the awesome Flushed Away toys from McDonald’s. We went to four more McDonald’s over the next twenty-four hours to purchase a complete collection.

12. Macy’s

13. Oilily

14. Lord and Taylor

Out of mall

15. Staples

Home for nap.

16. Sam’s Club

17. Michael’s

The day ended with a McDonald’s run, where the very nice manager rustled through the Happy Meal toy bin for ten minutes to find us toys. What a day! There’s more to the weekend, but Girlfriends is coming on. Gotta go!

Disappointments...

Yesterday, while not a bad day, was filled with minor disappointments.

1. I saw Flushed Away, and I enjoyed it very much, except for the fact that THEY DID NOT HAVE THE SLUGS SING Everybody Dance Now. That was totally the reason I wanted to see it! That looked so funny! It turns out that was only for the promos. You can see it online. Here is the link, for anyone as interested as I. And who knows why I am so interested? Damn that's funny.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7099070886331888562&q=flushed+away

2. There should have been a new episode of Degrassi on last night, so I went to my parents' house to watch (because they have the good cable), and The N (the channel it's on) didn't work!!! All night!!!

3. So instead, we all watched four hours of VH1's top songs of the 80s. I'm a sucker for VH1's countdown shows. If I had VH1 I would never leave the house. And after four hours, what song was number 1? Hmmmm? Freakin' Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer. As if! Total letdown. Check out the VH1 page if you want to see some of the interviews and videos from the show. I know I will. I'm an 80s fool. Never mind about the damn clip. I can't find it on the site. How unuseful.

Happy Thanksgiving (if I don't write before then).

Halloweens

Today is the day when kids trick-or-treat in my town. We have it during the day on the Sunday before Halloween. I can't decide if that sucks or not. I used to love trick-or-treating in the dark, but I wouldn't make it home in time from work these days to greet the treaters. One of the best things about owning a house is greeting trick-or-treaters. Matt and I deliberate over what candies will be the most popular. Sponge Bob Crabby Patties are big every year. 100 Grand are not so popular, except with me. I have had several already today. That is why we can only buy our Halloween candy on the weekend of Halloween. Because I will eat it all. Excpet for the Crabby Patties. Gross. Boogery burgers. Happy Halloween!

Glassy Assy

Yesterday I went to a Young Adult Literature Conference (as a librarian, not as an author). It was in Naperville, which, with no traffic, is an hour away from my house. About 3/4 of the way there, nearing a toll area, a rock flew from the back of a truck into my sunroof (which was closed). I looked up, and the sunroof was completely shattered. I closed the cover and crossed about 80 lanes to get to an oasis that was approaching (For those who don't know, an oasis is a roadside place with fast food, bathroom, gas station, etc. Very handy). I pulled in and looked at my sunroof, way frazzled. I was hoping someone would come over and ask if everything was OK, but no one did. There were some guys filling their truck with gas, so I went over and asked if they could look at the sunroof. I wanted to know if they thought it was still OK to drive. I don't know where they were from- they spoke to each other in another language, possibly Russian or French (I know, they sound nothing alike)- and one of the guys came over and said I would have to smash all of the glass in or else it would fall on my head. He wanted me to do this myself. When I made a face like I was afraid, he said he'd help me. So there we were, in my car smashing the sunroof out, shards of glass falling all over. When we finished the guy left, and he didn't even want any money. SOOOOO nice. I spent the next half hour vacuuming my car out. Then I cried. I was happy to have so much luck (for not getting hurt) and help, and it was really scary to think about all of the things that could have happened. So I went to the conference. But I wasn't in the mood. So I didn't really talk to anyone authorly people who I could have kibitzed with because my editor has worked with them, plus Matt just finished illustrating a book for one of the authors. When the reader's theater started, I decided I wasn't in the mood to hear a story and I drove home. And then it rained. All of the way home. Into my broken sunroof. It didn't get in the car, but it soaked the fabric. What a day.
Did you know there is caffeine in Jelly Bellys? I don't know if it's every bean or just the cappuccino. Crap. I better stop eating them in the evening.
Tomorrow is Yom Kippur, and I will spend the day revising the ending to my novel. I thought the process was over, but, alas, it goes on. I hope I do an OK job. I also hope I finish. I suppose it's a form of atoning?

Rainy Doodles

It's Labor Day. I have been a slack blog writer. Ah well. I have a very small audience who I don't think will mind the absence.

It's raining, and I have am now set up in our "dining room," in quotes because we have only dined in here once, and we had to move a table in to do it. Now I am at a card table in the middle of the room, my trusty Tobin at my side, trying to finish my second revision of my novel. It's not going to be so bad, but why is it so hard to sit down and do it? I'm already at page 121 out of 158, so that's nothing really. I do have an extra page/section thing I have to do, also. It's a character description list that I have to fit into the story so readers are less confused. At this point, I am working on the novel at such large intervals that even I am confused about who's who. That's because I changed most of the characters' names after the first round of revisions, as too many were the same or similar to the real-life people they were based on. So that's going to be a little work.

Speaking of work, I'm back (although the kids don't come back until Wednesday). That means the sleep problems are also back. Sigh. I can't wait to see the kids, though.

I would like to wish my Tobin a happy tenth birthday. I have had him for almost ten years!!! I love him so much. One blog I will tell the wacky story of how we got together. Yes, I am talking about my cat.