My Next Life

What Do You REALLY Do All Day?

2012-03-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

Last Friday my husband started a new job. Normally he'd leave in the morning to drop our daughter off at school and return home just in time for dinner at six. NOW, on the days when he's not traveling to Detroit or Seattle, he'll be working from home.

Yes, part of me is very excited to have him at my beck and call. In my mind I'm imagining trips to lunch and walks with the dog (never mind that he'll have actual work to do). But the other part of me is a little worried.

No, I'm not worried that he's invading my turf. I'm worried that he's going to see what I actually DO all day (which I'm embarrassed to say, often doesn't seem like a whole lot). Remember all that laundry that I avoid and all those books that I read? Well, I realize he's aware of all that, but somehow him seeing it unfold in real time, has me feeling a little ashamed.

We all know that I'm not going to mend my ways completely. I'm not going to stop reading, and writing and start cleaning baseboards all day. But I am hoping that maybe I'll start using my time a little better.

I listened to a show on Fresh Air yesterday about habits. The guest said that the best time to change old habits is while you're on vacation because you aren't surrounded by the normal routines that you've become accustomed to. This made me realized that this new transition in my life will be a perfect time to start training myself to make a little better use of my time. Maybe I'll fit in writing, reading, painting and even have a little bit of time to spare for baseboards. Look out dust! Here I come!

A Sucker for Books on Writing

2012-03-03T15:52:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm a sucker when it comes to buying books on writing. But in my defense, I'm a sucker when it comes to buying books in general, so it should come as no surprise that when you put the words book and writing together I would get a little loopy.

I'm not one hundred percent sure what the lure is with books on writing, but my guess is that most writers fall prey to their siren song. I know part of it is the dream that there's going to be some magic information inside that strikes a chord and suddenly makes me a better writer. And while I do often bring some new knowledge away from these books to hopefully add to my craft, I'd say for the most part what I glean is inspiration. If I can crack one of these books open and renew my excitement for writing; if I can attack my project in a new way, with a new set of tools, then it was worth reading.

I'm excited to read Sandra Scofield's THE SCENE BOOK. Have you read any great books on writing lately? Why do you like reading books on writing?

Winner: Fantastic February Giveaway

2012-03-01T12:32:00.000-08:00

The winner of the Fantastic February Giveaway is:

Barbara

Congrats! If you send me your address to kebirch (at) hotmail (dot) com, I'll get your new painting in the mail.

Take the Quiz: The Books You Read

2012-02-24T20:28:00.001-08:00

I'm curious about the books YOU read and I'm willing to bribe you for some answers. Click on the link below and answer a few short questions and you could win a $10 Amazon gift card.

Click here to take survey

After answering the quiz, leave me a comment below and I'll enter you in the drawing.
I'll post the winner of the Amazon gift card on March 7th.

Flawed

2012-02-21T08:36:00.001-08:00

Can't we all agree that none of us really like perfect people? I mean, how can you be friends with someone who always has their hair perfectly coiffed first thing in the morning, who keeps their house immaculate and never suffers from an occasional nervous breakdown? It may be that people like that don't actually exist in reality, which is a good thing in my opinion. Our flaws are the things that make us human. They make us quirky and relatable and let others off the hook for their own imperfections.

My list of flaws might be a bit longer than some of yours, but I like to imagine that they're part of what make me so funny and lovable (my husband might disagree that my panic attacks at two in the morning are anything but charming).

And when thinking about the characters in books and movies that we truly relate to, aren't they always flawed? The characters that stay with me the longest are ones that I relate to, not in their perfection, but in the bits of their personalities that make them struggle.

So what are some flaws that you struggle with?

Here's a few of mine in no particular order:

1. fear and anxiety- Ha, you say. No particular order? Yeah, okay, I get where you're coming from. This is something that can rule my life if I don't keep it in check, but it's a great source for writing.

2. procrastination- Yep, here's another one that I struggle against constantly. It seems so much easier to put things off until tomorrow, even though in the end it never pays off.

3. loyalty- I'd like to think of myself as a loyal person, but I fear that deep down I might be one of those people that is quite selfish and thinks of self preservation above others.

4. selfishness- While we're on the subject... I often put my own needs and desires above others. I care about my little family, but often don't think outside of our own little circle. I'm also very selfish with my time.

5. quick temper- It's true that this mostly plays out in terms of politics and my opinions of what I think is fair.

6. judgemental attitude- I'm not usually judgemental when it comes to people's lifestyles, but don't get me started on aesthetics.

7. gluttony- Yeah, I don't have willpower when it comes to the yummy snacks in this world. And maybe while we're on the subject of willpower I should mention that I don't really have it in any form.

8. envy- The green eyed monster visits me often. I haven't figured out how to keep him at bay.

I could go on and on. What faults do you find the most interesting in a character?

Fantastic February Giveaway

2012-02-17T09:05:00.000-08:00

Spring is just around the corner, and in my opinion, it can't get here fast enough. So in honor of the hope of warmer days ahead, I'm giving away this framed original painting to bring a little springtime into your home.

I'm trying out rafflecopter* (see below). So you'll have many opportunities to win. Entries are open through February 29th and the winner will be announce on March 1st.

*If the rafflecopter form does not show in your browser window, just leave me a comment saying that you'd like to be entered and I'll make sure you are.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Writing Prompts

2012-02-15T15:27:00.000-08:00

Whether you're stuck in a writing rut or just want to spice things up a bit, writing prompts can be a great way to get your brain moving in uncharted directions. So for a little treat (for myself and for those of you who'd like to participate) I've put together a list of some fun prompts. Feel free to sort through them. Toss out the ones that don't inspire you and tuck the good ones away in your pocket to use later.

Now put the timer on for ten minutes and see what you can come up with.

1. "Hold the girl's face in your hands"

2. Open the nearest book. Turn to page 57. Count down 14 lines. Use this sentence as your prompt.

3. The moth

4. Metalic

5. "You noticed a man with a hat in the crowd"

6. Snow Angels

7. "Just before they drifted"

8. Split

9. Use these three words: Cast, Posture, Jingling

10. Last names

11. "A kind of smile"

12. Devoted

13. Turn on the radio. What are the first four words you hear?

14. Find a piece of music (classical, pop, rock, I don't care) now write.

15. Glass eye

Have fun with the prompts. And if you run out and need more, you can always visit me at Kate's Free Write.

First Kiss

2012-02-13T19:00:00.000-08:00

In honor of Valentine's Day I decided to post my favorite love poem, First Kiss by Kim Addonizio. If you fall in love with her words like I did be sure to buy her book WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE. It will not disappoint.

First Kiss

Afterwards you had that drunk, drugged look

my daughter used to get, when she had let go

of my nipple, her mouth gone slack and her eyes

turned vague and filmy, as though behind them

the milk was rising up to fill her

whole head, that would loll on the small

white stalk of her neck so I would have to hold her

closer, amazed at the sheer power

of satiety, which was nothing like the needing

to be fed, the wild flailing and crying until she fastened

herself to me and made the seal tight

between us, and sucked, drawing the liquid down

and out of my body; no, this was the crowning

moment, this giving of herself, knowing

she could show me how helpless

she was—that’s what I saw, that night when you

pulled your mouth from mine and

leaned back against a chain-link fence,

in front of a burned-out church: a man

who was going to be that vulnerable,

that easy and impossible to hurt.

Is it the Caffeine?

2012-02-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

Normally I do most of my writing on my laptop, cozied up on the couch in my family room or in my favorite chair in the sun. You'd think that this would be an ideal place for writing, after all, it's oh so comfy and I have every convenience I'd ever need at the tip of my fingers.

But conveniences can . be dangerous.

As anyone who has ever tried to write or work from home knows, your life can be a BIG distraction. No one would ever believe that it would be possible to avoid doing such a large amount of work by doing NO work at all, but I can vouch for it. Laundry, dishes, email, dogs, the mail man... the refrigerator, how do they manage to distract me so completely?

So this week I tried a new experiment. I realize that it's the oldest trick in the book for writers, but I've never tried it myself, so I thought I'd give my neighborhood coffee shop a chance to work some magic on my writing.

Of course I have to admit that it might be the caffeine, but I was almost blown away by how easily the writing came to me while I was sipping my mocha and listening to the soft ambient noise of the espresso machine. For a half and hour I happily scribbled and scratched in my notebook, filling up page after page.

Yes, I might have a new addiction, but for now I'm not complaining.

Free Writing: Better than a Spinach Smoothie

2012-02-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

Sometimes my writing expectations feel like they're hardening in my veins like the plaque that causes heart disease. I can almost see them there, thick and yellow and ready to send me clutching my chest in a cold sweat.

But don't worry, free writing is just the magic pill to ease my symptoms. I don't know whether a good free write is like one of those kale and spinach smoothies that my mom drinks for breakfast or if it's just a placebo, but I sure am thankful for the boost of energy that they've have given me this week.

I've been struggling getting back into the writing groove with my new project and even though I'm excited about it, I just can't seem to crank out the words like I want to. So this week I've revived my free writing blog (please give it a gander at Kate's Free Write).

I've tried to focus my free writing with my new project in mind. The prompts won't necessarily fit into the finished project, but I'm hoping they'll inform it and at least loosen me up. Who knows, I might go places that I never would have dreamed of or I might just spew out a few hundred words of drivel, but either way I'm finding it useful.

Remember how I said it was the first ten minutes that were the hardest? Well guess how long I'm timing my free writes?

Let's Take a Vote

2012-02-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

I was getting a little sick of my old header for this blog, so I decided to make a new one. But I just can't decide which one I like more and I thought instead of fretting about it I'd put it up to a vote. So tell me, which one do you like better (or could you care less?)

In case you forgot what the old header looked like.

Dialogue Do-Over

2012-02-02T09:17:00.000-08:00

Do you do this? You just get home from a party (it might have been with your in-laws) and you can't seem to settle down. Your mind is swirling with all the things you WISH you'd said. Sure, it's mostly about politics, so you wouldn't have been changing anybody's mind, but still you wish that these really salient points that are practically dripping out of your nostrils would have decided to make an appearance an hour ago.

I can't help it, but I'm a terrible dialogue re-doer. It doesn't even have to be a particularly interesting conversation, but I still find myself replaying pieces of it in my mind. And in my mind I'm always rewording the things I said in real life.

I'm this way when it comes to conversations that I haven't even HAD yet. I'm particularly notorious for rehearsing phone calls. My husband is always laughing at me because I do the same things with calls that he has to make. I always want to do a little role play before the actual event, to warm up, stretch out those vocal muscles. But he thinks it's completely neurotic.

So maybe it's an annoying character trait, but if you're a writer it can come in handy. Right? Being able to hear dialogue in your head can be extremely helpful (as long as the voices aren't telling you to jump off tall buildings or get too cozy with sharp objects).

So what about you? Do you suffer from dialogue do-over?

Home is Where...

2012-01-31T15:44:00.000-08:00

I love this girl. She isn't practical, after all, it's quite a burden to carry your home, your possessions and all the people whom you love around on your head (or like some of us do, IN your head). But this is the curse of the worrier and the curse of the creative.

By Its Cover

2012-01-30T08:55:00.000-08:00

I hate to admit it, but I'm definitely a snob when it comes to book covers. Maybe it's the artist in me (or possibly a very well trained consumer), but a book's image can definitely convince me to want to read it. And believe me, this isn't always a good thing. It really irks me when I am drawn to an amazing cover only to be disappointed by the writing. Likewise, I always think it's such a shame when a great book has a mediocre cover (which is quite often the case).

I thought it would be fun to highlight some of the books I'm looking forward to reading, purely based on their covers. And after I read them I'll have to report back to say whether or not they live up to their design.

What about you? Are there any book covers that have you salivating?

Too Shy: Commenting on Blogs

2012-01-27T15:40:00.000-08:00

It's nothing new. I've always been shy. As a little girl I was mortified by the idea of A. eating in front of strangers B. using a public restroom C. raising my hand to answer a question... and the list could go on and on.

For the most part I've grown out of my shyness, although the thought of going to a party where I know only one or two people still makes me break out in hives. And for some reason I have a peculiar shyness when it comes to commenting on people's blogs.

I absolutely LOVE it when people I don't know comment on my blog. In fact, I think I like it even more than when people I know and adore comment (don't worry guys I promise I do love you). But for some reason I freeze up when it comes to commenting on other people's blogs. Even if I have something I really want to say, I suddenly become timid. What if they think I'm dumb for commenting? I ask myself. What if they think it's weird that I'm saying something when I don't even know them? Are they going to think I'm one of those lame kids that hangs around the periphery of a group and jumps in to answer a question that wasn't even directed to me?

I'm afraid of all those things, but if the other bloggers are anything like me, I'm sure they're thrilled to have comments, no matter who they're coming from.

What about you? Are you sometimes too shy to comment.

Wasting Words

2012-01-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

As a child, I don't ever remember a grown up telling me to finish everything on my plate because there was a poor starving child in Ethiopia who would be more than happy to eat it for me. I've never felt guilty about leaving a pile of uneaten meatloaf on my plate or throwing a half full glass of warm milk down the drain. I mean, what are we going to do, wrap it up and mail it to the less fortunate? Because for starters, it'll be spoiled by the time it gets there, and secondly, I hate to say it... but maybe it wasn't that tasty in the first place.

So if I don't feel ashamed about wasting a good casserole, why do I feel so sad about throwing words away? Yesterday I spent a half an hour writing while I waited to pick the kids up from school. It was a good half an hour, where the pen happily jogged along the paper and by the time the kids piled into the car, I'd filled a couple of pages.

The trouble came later that night when I went to type my work into the computer and realized that while there were some good ideas, there really wasn't much worth keeping. WHAT? YOU WANT TO THROW THESE PERFECTLY GOOD WORDS AWAY! I wanted to scream at myself. But I worked hard for those words.

I stuck to my guns and told myself that they just weren't good enough, and lo and behold, something magical happened. Once I let go of those words that I was so afraid of wasting I ended up coming up with some new words that I liked even better. The writing from earlier in the day wasn't a waste of time. It simply lay the groundwork for what I really wanted to say.

What I Read in 2011

2012-01-25T09:20:00.000-08:00

The list of books down the side of my blog was just getting too long, but I still wanted to keep a record of all the books that I read in 2011. Some of them amazed me and some of them disappointed. If you need a recommendation about one of the books on my list don't hesitate to ask. I'm always more than happy to give my opinion (as my husband would be the first to let you know).

The End of Everything
The Boys of My Youth
The Adults
The Future of Us
In Zanesville
Looking for Alaska
An Abundance of Katherines
Paper Towns
Twenty Boy Summer
Lola and the Boy Next Door
Gerald's Game
Insomnia
Shatter Me
Will Grayson, Will Grayson
State of Wonder
Chime
Sean Griswold's Head
Anna and the French Kiss
Betti on the High Wire
Moonglass
This Lullaby
Someone Like You
Possession
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Beauty Queens
Where She Went
I am David
The Truth About Forever
Story of a Girl
A Great and Terrible Beauty
Mockingjay
Catching Fire
If I Stay
Please Ignore Vera Dietz
Divergent
Save the Cat
Across the Universe
Alabama Moon
Wither
The View From Saturday
The Evolution of Culpurnia Tate
Delirium
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Marcelo in the Real World
The Fates Will Find Their Way
Trapped
Before I Fall
Blindness
Children of Men
The Sky is Everywhere
Princess of Glass
Princess of the Midnight Ball
Making Toast
Wench
Green Angel
Matched
Anthem

Why Writing is Like Sculpting

2012-01-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

This week I'm madly sculpting away, trying to get a few more of these funky art dolls ready for a show next week. Of course, if I'd just hunkered down and made one every day or two I wouldn't have this problem. But we all know that instead of sticking to a schedule, I wasted time lounging in the sun reading and flopping around the internet. So now the deadline is almost upon me and I don't have much to show for it.

So, how is sculpting even remotely similar to writing, you ask? Well, if you read my post from a few days ago you'd know that it all comes down to starting. I don't think it matters how many sculptures I sculpt, paintings I paint, or books I write, it's always a little intimidating to start. Looking at a chunk of clay can be thrilling, but it can also be daunting. It seems like so much work. (You mean I have to get my hands dirty?) But once I get the armature built and start flinging the clay around I'm always excited about what starts to emerge.

The same goes for writing. It's too easy to sit on your hands, afraid that writing your story is just too much work, but once you start flinging those words around it's sure exciting to see something start to emerge.

The First Ten Minutes

2012-01-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I'm really quite skilled at procrastinating. I have long lists of things I want to accomplish, projects I want to make, skills I'd like to learn. Yet it's so easy to let the days pass where I don't do anything to get closer to those goals and I'm beginning to realize that it all boils down to the first ten minutes. That's to say, it's all about sitting down and beginning.

I don't know why it's so hard for me to start a task. My guess is that there's a theory of physics which explains it all, something to do with force and momentum and mass. I'm sure Isaac Newton could explain it all in an elegant formula with many Xs and Ys. But I understand it best when I think of it in terms of minutes.

When I sit down with any project, whether it be a sculpture, a painting or something that I'm writing, the first ten minutes are always the most difficult. It feels like I'm pushing something very heavy up a hill, poor Sysiphus shouldering his boulder. But luckily for me, once I can push past those first few difficult minutes the work usually becomes a joy.

The trick is knowing that each and every day I have to struggle with those first ten minutes. It doesn't ever get easier, but at least I know what to expect.

How about you? Are the first ten minutes always the hardest?

Light and Shade

2012-01-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

I love getting catalogues in the mail and finding my paintings inside. This happens to be one of my favorited pieces, currently for sale in Ballard Design.

Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

2012-01-19T08:12:00.000-08:00

Author: John Green

Hardcover, 313 pages

Published January 10th 2012

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

ISBN: 0525478817

Summary: Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind

My thoughts: If you could judge a book by the ache in your chest while reading it, this book would get ten stars. I read A LOT of books, and usually don't have too difficult a time giving them a rating between one and five, but The Fault in Our Stars was an exception. Five stars was not nearly enough. I could come up with a silly pun here about the fault in my stars, but I'll spare you.

This is definitely a book that I'll have to read a few more times to really appreciate. I'm a huge fan of John Green's witty dialogue and unique characters, but this book felt like it had a depth that went beyond his other books.

While I'm sure some readers will take issue with how this book portrays cancer (because the ugliness of this disease can never really be condensed inside a few hundred pages) I thought Green did an excellent job of addressing the stereotypes that people with cancer face. I chose to look at this book for what it is: a book. And like any good book I felt like A Fault in Our Stars distilled real life into something painful and beautiful and haunting.

I don't know if I'd change one word.

Writing WHILE Reading

2012-01-17T07:48:00.000-08:00

Do you have specific places where Madame Muse tends to visit on a fairly consistent basis? My muse has really good hygiene so she frequently visits me in the shower. She also likes to sit with me while I fall asleep and while I'm picking the kids up from school. But there's nothing she likes more than snuggling up with a good book.

I have yet to figure out how to put a notebook in my shower, but I do have one next to my bed and I never sit down to read without having a pen and paper within reach. There's nothing worse than curling up with my book only to have a great idea send me scuttling for my notebook.

There's no end to the inspiration I get while reading, specifically if I'm reading with my current project in mind. That's not to say that l'm looking to steal good ideas from other books. I've never found a good idea to be that straight forward and even if it was, I'd toss it back and send it to the principle for cheating.

Often I'll read a single word that moves me enough to form a whole passage in my own project. Reading an evocative image might trigger a completely new idea once I think of it in relation to my characters and my story. While I read I jot down the nuggets of ideas as they come to me so that when I sit down to write I have a whole list of topics, words and images to jump start me. It might not be the cure all for writer's block, but it certainly helps.

So, I'm curious. Do you read and write at the same time?Where does your muse visit you?

The Clean Page: Starting a New WIP

2012-01-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

As you might know by now, I'm a glutton for new notebooks- all that promise in those empty pages. It's almost the same feeling that I get when I start a new project. Mmmmmm....A new project.... The thought makes me salivate.

This past week I finally finished a complete draft of the YA novel that I've been working on and I'm very happy with how it turned out. There are still a few chapters that need some tweeking, but those are small beans. I've sent it off to some of my favorite folks to be read and, for now, it's resting comfortably in its bed before the inevitable surgery that is sure to come.

So with my last book tucked away, you can imagine that I'm itching to begin a new WIP (work in progress). Last month I started outlining an idea for a new book. I was dying to start. It took everything in my power not to click on Microsoft Office, open a new document in Word, and type the words CHAPTER ONE. But in a move that was very uncharacteristic of my extremely impatient personality I actually WAITED to start writing it until I'd finished writing my other book.

I was a little nervous that the charm would wear off of my shiny new idea, but I'm happy to say that I'm still infatuated. I still dream about staring into my new WIP's eyes, stroking it's hand and telling it how much I love it. Yep, I'm happy to announce that this new project and I might be in love. If there was a place on my facebook page for "in a relationship with WIP", I'd probably be ready to click the box.

You Are The Last

2012-01-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

My baby turned 10 yesterday and although this seems like an event that should have left me panicked and sleepless, fretting about the passing of time and other such fears that are completely out of my control, I actually coped with it all quite well.

In keeping with the tradition (that isn't really a tradition yet, although I would like it to be), I wrote a poem for my little girl for her birthday. Here it is:

You Are The Last

I don’t know when it happened-

The minute you turned from the little girl

I thought would be the death of me:

The one who ran away and hid at the house down the street,

Who painted nail polish across the duvet cover

And scribbled on books and freshly painted walls,

Into the girl you are now:

The one who fetches me cold glasses of water,

Who makes her bed without me asking

And begs to do the laundry.

I see you filling up with kindness,

Someone clear and sparkling.

I love everything about you, sweet ten-year-old girl.

The way you hug me in the morning,

Coming up behind me like a secret I hadn’t guessed yet

And wrapping your arms around my waist,

Your body still warm from sleep.

I love your sweet little nose

And your golden hair

And the way you giggle,

Enthusiasm bubbling out of every pore.

You are the baby, the little one,

Tiny rose petal lips and shining cheeks.

You are the last

And so I need to remind myself to savor you.

To keep you here on my tongue

Something sweet and warm

That I wish could last forever.

New Year's Resolutions 2012

2012-01-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

Ahhh... my favorite time of the year, when goals and hopes and "what ifs" culminate in the ultimate list. I can hardly contain my glee when I start dreaming of all the things I want to accomplish during the coming year. Sure, it's true that year after year I make huge lists and usually only accomplish a handful of items, but I'm always proud of those few successes.

It's amazing what can happen in one year. As I looked over last year's list I could hardly believe where a few of my goals took me. Number one on my list was to finish writing my play with my mom and in the space of that year not only did we finish it, but saw it produced by an amazing theatre.

So this year I'm breaking up my list into "writing goals" and "everything else". I guess you can see what excites me by what made it on my list. And in contrast you can see where I already feel satisfied in my life. I don't have anything on my list about my family, but it's not because I don't adore them, it's simply that I feel completely content and happy when it comes to them.

So without further ado... my list:

"Writing Goals"
1. Write every day.
2. Revise YA novel "My Boyfriend the Dog" and submit.
3. Write new YA novel "The New Generation"
4. Write a screenplay during "Script Frenzy" in April
5. Blog once per week
6. Participate in NaNoWriMo again
7. Write in a sketchbook journal at least once a week
8. Read 75 books (I know this might not seem like a writing goal, but I think writing and reading go hand in hand)

"Everything Else"
1. Don't bite my nails (yes, I realize that I have this goal EVERY year)
2. Fix healthy dinners
3. Paint a series of figurative paintings
4. Write thank you notes
5. Clean 30 minutes a day
6. Be a vegetarian
7. Floss every day (yep, I admit that I don't floss every day)
8. Only have sugar in moderation

So what are your resolutions? Do you make a list every year?

Winner!!! Starting the Year Off Right

2012-01-01T10:25:00.000-08:00

It's time to announce the winner of "Lone Chickadee". What a fun way to start off the new year.

The winner is:
Christine

Please email me your address at kebirch (at) hotmail (dot) com and your new little painting will soon be flying your way.

Thank you to everyone who entered. Stay tuned... with the new year will come many more chances to win.

Can You Keep a Secret???

2011-12-23T08:10:00.000-08:00

I'm really terrible at keeping a secret. Ask my 16 year old daughter. On multiple occasions she's made the mistake of telling me the boy she has a crush on and usually within the hour I've spilled the beans to everyone I've come in contact with.

So you can imagine how difficult it is for me to keep THIS a secret. If you were going to be giving your husband a puppy this cute for Christmas would you be able to keep it to yourself? I didn't think so!

Luckily, he doesn't read my blog so I can safely blab my news all I want, trusting YOU to keep it a secret.

The kids and I wrapped up a new collar and leash with a picture for him to unwrap on Christmas morning and later that day we'll pick up the puppy.

We came up with a secret hand signal (scratching next to our lip) when we want to tell each other that we're thinking about the puppy. So far my husband hasn't suspected anything's up, although he might think we've got an outbreak of eczema in the family.

Do you think I'll make it two more days without telling? I hope so.

Merry Whatever: It's Time for a Contest

2011-12-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

It doesn't matter what you're celebrating this time of year, one thing we can all get excited about is a contest... and it's been a while since I've had one. So with just enough time to squeeze one more fantastic give away in before the new year rolls around I'm going to be giving away a piece of original artwork.

I hope you want to win it for yourself, but even if you don't, just imagine the regifting possibilities. Up for grabs is "Lone Chickadee", an original painting on vintage paper from the late 1800s (shown above).

To Enter: all you have to do is to leave me a comment below telling me what present you would buy if you had unlimited funds and who you'd give it to. (Today I was wishing I could buy a new car for my favorite checkout girl at Fresh Market.)

All of you new followers, don't forget to mention that you're new to my blog and I'll throw in an extra entry for you.

As always, I'll give extra entries for spreading the word. So if you blog about my contest, post it on facebook or tweet about it, I'll throw in an extra entry for you too. Just don't forget to tell me that you did it so that I can give you credit.

The contest will end on the stroke of midnight December 31st. And I'll be posting the winner on New Year's Day.

Christmas Cheer and a Few Swear Words

2011-12-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I almost turned into one of those parents whose children grow up to lament them. For a moment the future flashed before my eyes (if such a thing can really happen, although I assure you I saw it vividly) as I imagined my children telling the story about the time their mother ruined Christmas by taking a chainsaw to the tree.

I didn't intend to spoil things. We were all happily gathering in the living room to decorate the tree. My oldest daughter was in the kitchen fixing hot chocolate and my husband was picking out Christmas music on the stereo (well, really ipod, but that sounds less romantic).

And everything was going fine. I'd been put in charge of stringing the lights on the tree, which I suppose we all should have had the foresight to know might not end well, but... there I was anyway, untangling lights and checking to make sure that they worked before I put them up.

It seemed like everything was going well. I'd asked my husband to find an extension cord so that I could plug all the lights together and turn them on while I put them on the tree so that it would be easier to see where I was placing them, but for some reason (maybe the music selection was distracting him), he didn't get me one.

Well, by the time I got to the bottom of the tree I'd royally messed things up. Somewhere along the line I'd plugged in the wrong end of a strand so when I got to the bottom we were left with the socket end instead of the prong end. Of course my initial reaction was to roll my eyes and blame the person who was supposed to have gotten me an extension cord. Said person then became angry at being blamed and stormed out of the room for a "time out".

After much cursing underneath my breath (and maybe over top my breath too), I finally stormed out too and went to lay on my bed to contemplate divorce during the holidays. Luckily, when I came back my twelve year old son had fixed all the lights and the happy evening that we'd been imagining commenced along with some cups of hot chocolate and a heaping helping of apologies from me.

The moral of the story is: don't attempt to put up the lights. Some things are better left to more competent people.

My Top Ten Favorite YA Books of 2011

2011-12-01T18:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I know that the year isn't over yet and I could probably still fit in anther few books before 2012 rolls around, but I thought I'd post a list of some of the best YA books I've read this year.

I always love finding lists of other people's favorite books, especially if I see that they share my same tastes. And we all know how much I love me a good, tasty list.

I must preface my list by saying that although many of the books I read this year were also published in 2011, the books from my list are compiled from books that I read this year, regardless of the year they were published. Man, there were a LOT of good ones, but here are my top ten (in no particular order).

So many amazing books to choose from. I hope you love some of these as much as I did. And if you read something great that I just HAVE to read. Please let me know. I'll add it to my list of what I must read next year (or if I can sneak it in, maybe this one).

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

2011-11-27T13:55:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true. After almost a full month of crazy non-stop writing I have finally accomplished my 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). And while it's true that I did complete the YA novel I set out to write, I still have a lot of work to do.

Reading through my novel feels a bit like looking in the mirror after getting dressed in the dark. My story might be wearing some clashing colors as well as an embarrassing mix of stripes and plaids. It might have accidentally put on the size 6 pants when really the size 12 would have fit a whole lot better and I don't want to make it blush, but it appears that maybe my story forgot to put on its underwear.

So, it's true, my story is written, but I'm hoping that December will bring not only some well deserved long underwear for my dear manuscript, but also plenty of time for rewrites.

Grateful

2011-11-21T19:20:00.000-08:00

The world is richer when you stop for a moment to think of all the things you have to be grateful for. Almost anyone living in our country has an immense amount to be thankful for: clean water, shelter, food…all those things that we take for granted every day.

I could list all those things, but so could you. We know what they are already, don't we? I thought instead I’d focus on the smaller things, the things that are unique to me. Maybe you’ll recognize some of the items on my list as things that you’re grateful for too, or maybe you'll just be thankful that you have better things on your list this Thanksgiving.

· Closing my eyes at night and not opening them again until morning

· Apples that shock me with their crispness

· Cold milk

· Laughing so hard with my kids that I cry

· Making things with my hands

· New ideas that make me itch to start them

· Finishing when it isn’t easy

· Creating

· People who write beautiful words that make me jealous and excited all at once

· A husband who does the small things, like turning on my bed warmer so that my toes will be snugglywhen I climb into bed

· Hot showers

· Music that makes me want to sing at the top of my lungs

· Paper

· Clean laundry when it’s folded and all put away

· Sitting around the dinner table with my family

· Rain against the windows

· Warm socks

· The freedom to have my own opinion

· Coconut ice cream

· Sunlight shining through leaves

· Good morning hugs

· The minutes when the words come easily

· My fuzzy down blanket

· A clean kitchen floor

· Red stoplights at dusk

· Major and minor chords

· The smell of soap and freshly washed hair

· The promise of someday soon

On Your Mark...

2011-11-15T18:59:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true, I'm totally a sucker for anything with a built in timer. That is why today, when I discovered the Write or Die app, I fell in love at first click.

I'm in the thick of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and even though I've done a pretty adequate job keeping up with the daily word count, today I realized that with a little nudge (and fifteen minutes on the clock) my writing goals went right through the roof.

The key is getting the fingers moving and getting rid of the internal editor. And believe me, Write or Die won't let you lollygag. If your fingers start hovering over the keypad for too long without typing, the screen starts changing color to let you know that you've slumped into one of those writing comas. And if you need a real kick in the pants you can set it to alarm you with annoying sounds if you start slacking off.

Now I just need to find an app that can do this same sort of thing for folding laundry and my life will really be looking bright.

The Creative Insomniac

2011-11-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

You probably fell asleep just fine, but now your eyes have popped open and you've tossed and turned for the last fifteen minutes, glancing at the clock again and again to see the red numbers mocking you. What? You didn't fall back asleep for another hour. The clock still says 1:42. It just said 1:42 an eternity ago. It might be that you're stuck in some strange time warp where the minutes really do click by like millenia, or maybe you're an insomniac.

Don't fret. All is not lost. Sure you may feel like the only thing that's keeping you from the sweet taste of sleep is your own sick mind which keeps alerting you to the fact that your mouth seems too dry and your eyeballs actually hurt. But don't focus on the BAD stuff. Just think of all the terrific things you can do with your new found time. Weren't you just saying the other day that you wish you had more hours in the day? Well here you go.

With your insomnia you could...

1. Search the internet for all the diseases you may or may not have based on your particular symptoms for the day.

2. Flip through all the catalogues that have been sent to you in the past week and decide that not one piece of clothing would look good on you until you go on a diet.

3. Research all the different diets on the internet. Imagine how good you'll look after you finish: Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, e diets, Nutrisystem...

4. Find the bag of trailmix you left on the coffee table and pick out all the pieces of chocolate and anything that might be a cashew.

5. Facebook stalk all the people who are probably peacefully sleeping at the moment and flip through all their pictures. Decide that maybe they could stand to research e diets too.

6. Listen to the ticking of the clock and bemoan the fact that you're wide awake.

7. Scroll through pinterest. Laugh at all the lame quotes and pin all the pictures of country kitchens that you can find.

8. Consider working on the project you left sitting out on the kitchen table but then realize that it would require turning on the light, which you are very opposed to at this hour. No matter what.

9. Sit in the dark and concentrate on being sleepy.

10. Check your email, even though the only ones you'll be getting at this time of night are from Groupon or your kind friend in Belarus who would like to bequeath a large sum of money to you.

11. Learn a language. Just think, if you keep this insomnia thing up you could be ordering croissants in Paris at two in the morning.

12. Invent some tremendously brilliant and useful gadget that will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. Never mind that when you wake up in the morning your so-called "brilliant gadget" will seem either mundane or idiotic by light of day.

13. Work on your novel. After all, doesn't it seem like all your good ideas come to you in dreams. Well this is happening at the same time that you should be having those dreams so your ideas will probably be fantastic.

Oh, what the heck, maybe after all this you'll just try lying back in bed again and see what happens. Maybe you'll even surprise yourself.

Creative is a Verb

2011-11-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

This past week my sister-in-law came into town from Portland to see our new play and she brought this amazing book with her. I could tell right away how excited she was to share it with me. We stood in my mom's living room and she flipped through the pages telling me a little bit about the author who had illustrated the book entirely with artwork that had been submitted by readers of her very popular blog "37 days".

So I took the book home expecting to flip through some pages and maybe take in a few insights before I gave it back to her the next day. But it ended up not really being one of those books that I could just flip through. I got sucked in by the clear, but beautiful writing right from the introduction and I could see how this writer gained so many blog followers, and later, so many readers of her books. She seemed geniune and honest and so very excited by the prospect that creativity is for EVERYONE, not just those of us who proclaim ourselves to be "artists".

I only had time to read about half of the book before my sister-in-law had to return home, but I'm planning on going out today to buy my own copy so that I can finish reading it. It seems like a book that I'll be able to turn back to time and again for inspiration. And, let's face it, who doesn't need a good shot of inspiration every so often.

NaNoWriMo

2011-11-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

NaNo what???

That's NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month and I just might be crazy enough to attempt it. Yes, this is an obsurdly busy month to begin with. I've got my play opening tomorrow and I'm supposed to be madly making my new art dolls for an upcoming show next month, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't also be writing.

If you've ever wanted to try writing a novel, November is the month for you to throw yourself full force into the crazy whirlwind of it all. Pop on over to the NaNoWriMo website and enter yourself in all the insanity. In 30 days you could be 50,000 words closer to your dream.

A New Obsession

2011-09-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

No time to write. No time to do laundry. No time to take a shower or write a post for the blog. I'm busy with my new obsession... Making these crazy sculptures.

Winner

2011-09-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

The winner in the "Back to School Giveaway" is...

Amber Clites

Amber, will you please send me your email address to kebirch (at) hotmail.com and I'll send your gift card right over.

Back to School Giveaway

2011-08-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

School has started and I'm feeling productive. Today when the kids marched off to school I mowed my lawn (and the neighbor's too for good measure), made revisions to our play (a man enters), finished reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson and cleaned out my closet, which resulted in six bulging garbage bags full of clothes in the back of my van.

You'd think I'd be exhausted, but there's one last thing to do today. It's time for another giveaway. So in celebration of back to school, which was always my favorite time of year as a kid (second only to the first day of summer), I decided that it's time to give you lovely readers a chance to win something to enrich your minds: a $15 Amazon gift certificate. Because what good is it to have the kids back in school if you don't have anything good to read, right?

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment telling me what your favorite subject was in school. Of course I love new followers, so if you're new don't forget to mention it in your comment and I'll throw in an extra entry for you.

The giveaway ends August 31st and I'll announce the winner on September 1st.

Kate's Free Write

2011-08-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

So last night I was up until nearly two designing the banner for my new blog. Okay, so maybe I don't really have time for another blog, but in my defense, this isn't so much a blog as a different form of creative writing journal.

The idea is this: each day (yes, I realize that it probably won't happen every day, but this is the "idea" not reality) I'll pick a new prompt with which to base a fifteen minute free writing exercise. The prompt might get drawn out of my bag of random words or it might be a line from a poem I love. It might be one of the many amazing images that I've found on the internet and have been hording on my hard drive for this very reason.

The prompt could be anything and most likely won't be related to anything that I'm currently writing, but the point isn't to create work that will get used. It's just to get those yummy juices flowing. Mmmm, I can already taste the words now.

And if you want to join along in my daily word romp, please, feel free to share my prompt or come up with your own. I'd love to read what you come up with.

Click here if you'd like to visit Kate's Free Write.

No Bake Poetry

2011-08-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

I'm back from vacation and even though I didn't write much (my aspirations for writing 1000 words a day flew right out the window and got lost in the tumbleweed somewhere in the Nevada desert), I did do a really interesting writing exercise while visiting my brother in Portland.

Here's the general gist: It's a collaborative effort, so you'll need at least a couple other writing folks to make it work.

1. First, the group of you will do a 15 minute free write based off of a prompt. My sister in law came up with our prompt, "With the rocks whirling in the flat lands, the daffodils..."

2. Next we passed our notebooks clockwise and read through our neighbor's free write, underlining words and phrases that really jumped out at us.

3. Finally we passed the notebooks one final time and, using the the underlined words and passages, rearranged them into a poem.

Here's the poem that my brother created from my free write:

Abandoned behind the peach
the sun makes past loves or even current
into warm squash, the core that held the food.
Someone they once knew
made excuses but then forgot,
lolled about, snapped,
dressed a table beside meshy bulbs
and thin crystal with thin green necks,
as if to strip themselves,
snipped by silver,
wrought by a sweating palm.

It was astounding not only how varied each of our poems turned out, but how each of us approached the free write from such vastly different perspectives. If you're curious to read the other poems, visit Fauxy's Lucky Scramble, my sister-in-law's new writing blog.

Banishing Aunt Edna: How to Stop Self Editing

2011-07-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

Normally I stay on track pretty well when I'm writing. I know well enough not to go back over what I've written except to familiarize myself with a scene when I begin each morning. Yes, I KNOW better. I know I should just keep typing. Let the words come out uninhibited because once you start looking at them too carefully they'll get scared and start hiding in dark places where they can't be seen.

But lately I've forgotten that a story can be a bit like a shy child and if you start questioning it, start scrutinizing it too closely it'll go hide under the couch or crawl underneath the back patio. And there's no coaxing a story out once it's hidden under the patio.

The problem is that darn self editor. She's like the big scary great aunt with the hairy mole and the bad breath. We'll call her Aunt Edna. Once she starts pinching your poor little story's cheeks she'll scare the bejeezus out of her. And there's no way your story is going to come out again with Aunt Edna standing there staring at her.

This is why I've decided to ban Aunt Edna from my writing. She's kind of difficult to get to leave once she's made herself comfortable in your life, but I have my tricks. For instance, I happen to know that Aunt Edna really likes to look over my shoulder when I'm working on my computer. It's so easy for her to push the backspace key. She loves making me scroll back up and read over my work over and over and again, until it's lost all the magic and all the momentum. She LOVES to start tweeking words. tweek. tweek. tweek.

But for some reason Aunt Edna HATES it when I write long hand. She gets a little perturbed and skulks away pouting about how hard it is to butt in. She knows that I'm much less likely to go back to change things when I'm writing things out on paper. I'll just keep charging ahead, pencil down, until the words are all out of me.

So this week I'm going to try giving Aunt Edna a little break; see if I can't get her to pack her bags and move back home. Then maybe I'll get back on the computer and find that she's not staring over my shoulder any more.

Lights, Camera, Action: Watching What You Write.

2011-07-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

So we all have our own writing styles. Some people sit down and the words just start pouring out of them, happy little spigots of inspiration that were just waiting to be turned on the moment fingers hit the keyboard, while other people painstakingly plot out every step, every breath, every turn of the head that their characters make, which will lead them from page one to "the end".

I've tried almost every conceivable way to write and even though I've found that my technique falls somewhere in the middle of completely pantsing it, to having it all plotted out, I have found that one technique works for me every time.

Visualization.

Some people say it's impossible for them to picture what's going to happen to their characters in their head, but for me it's second nature. Maybe it's because I'm such a visual person anyway, or maybe it's because I'm somewhat obsessed with movies, but whatever the reason, it's very, very helpful for me to imagine my scenes before I write them.

I don't know everything that's going to be said, or every movement that will be made, but sitting back and watching my scenes unfold in my imagination makes it so much less intimidating to actually sit down and write.

Usually, after playing a scene out in my mind, I jot down the major events that I want to have unfold in my writing. This sort of an outline relaxes me because I'm not stressing out about what needs to happen and I can focus instead on how things happen.

What works for you?

My First Blog Award

2011-07-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

I was just chugging along minding my business as a quiet little blogger when LisaAnn over at Kicked, Cornered, Bitten and Chased decided to be awesome and give me my first blogger award: The Versatile Blogger Award (I hope when it says Versatile it really means slow and lazy because it's taken me two weeks to get to it, but heck, if that's what they're giving awards out for, then I'm happy to oblige).

Here are the rules for accepting this award:

1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
2. Pass the award on to five newfound blogging buddies.
3. Share seven random facts about yourself.
4. Contact the winners to congratulate them.

So here are the bloggers that I chose to receive my Versatile Blogger Awards (All chosen because their blogs are both informative and end up putting a smile on my face). Click on their names and check out their awesome blogs:

Becky Taylor
Krystal Wade
Chantele Sedgwick at My Writing Bug
Cheryl Reif at Cheryl's Musings
Barbara Watson at Novel and Nouveau

Now on to seven totally random (yet highly endearing) facts about myself:

The year I turned twelve (I think) I asked for a window for my birthday. Yeah, kind of weird, but we lived in a house that was right next to a creek and the only window I had in my room didn't face the river. So my sweet mom indulged and $500 dollars later (holy cow we didn't expect it to cost that much) I had a tiny little window that overlooked the creek. It was perfect on nights when I could lie right next to the window and listen to the rush of the water.
My Grandma Eydythe used to play the most wonderful game with me as a little girl. It was called Little Neigh Neigh. I was, in fact, Little Neigh Neigh and my grandma was Big Neigh Neigh. I bet you'd never guess what the game involved. Yes, we were horses (my childhood obsession) and would graze on a floral quilt and romp around on all fours. What a kind grandma, huh?
I LOVE all things sour. I have a sweet tooth too, but when you combine it with something sour BAM! My mom used to pack sliced up lemons in my lunch. No apples for me.
My husband and I tried opening a flower shop when we were first married and still very stupid. It was called Morgan's Gardens (named after our daughter) and we mananged to lose lots and lots of money. Once I accidentally locked (I thought) myself in the walk in fridge in the pitch black. I finally realized that I only had to push on the door a little harder, but for a moment there I imagined someone finding my chilled carcass clutching the daisies. That'd be a weird alternative to the saying (pushing up daisies).
I'm probably the biggest scaredy cat in the world. I am afraid of: spiders, bees, ants (let's just narrow it down to anything that crawls), snakes, big dogs that aren't by their owners, heights, the dark, small spaces, big open spaces, being alone (at night), being in the middle of the ocean... I could probably go on and on, but you get the point.
I love to spend money. Sometimes I think that if the government wanted to really get the economy going again they should just give me a bunch of spending money, set me free, and stand back. I would love to be the sort of person who can save, but I'm pretty sure they made up the saying "burning a hole in my pocket" about me.
I love to imagine what sort of animals people would be if they were one. My husband is definitely a golden eagle, my son is a turtle and my youngest daughter is a cocker spaniel puppy. I also like to categorize people by what fruit they'd be (my mom would be a raspberry) or what flower they would be (my oldest daughter would be a peony). But I'm not sure what I'd be.

Finding a Critique Partner: Your Manuscript's First Date

2011-07-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

Oh, my baby's growing up and wants to start dating. No, not my daughter! My manuscript. Yes, she's still young. In fact, she's only a couple of chapters old, but she keeps telling me that she wants to get to know other people, see the wide world, expand her horizons. She's been all plotted out, she tells me, doesn't that mean she's old enough?

Well, maybe my sweet little baby has a point. Usually when I write, I hold my baby to my chest and don't let her out to see other people until I'm sure that she's mature. But I've been craving the input of other writers. It's a lonely business, this writing, and I've been thinking for a while now that I'd really like to find a critique partner. I get so jealous when I hear other writer's talk about theirs that it brings back all those feelings from junior high when the boy I liked had a crush on some other girl.

I was really lucky a couple of months ago to find a reader who offered to beta read my middle grade novel for me. She was WONDERFUL. She pointed out problems that I'd never noticed because I was too close to the project and she had really great ideas for fixing things. This taste of a critique partner made me crave this sort of feedback all the time. The only problem was that my reader wasn't a writer and I couldn't return the favor. I really wanted to find another writer that would need me as much as I need her.

So last night, during my sleepless 2 a.m. jaunt, I decided to put an ad out for a critique partner on WriteOnCon. I've been married since I was very young, so I've never done the whole internet dating thing, but it sure felt like I was putting myself out there in the same sort of way. What if no one liked me and my manuscript? What if they thought we weren't pretty enough, or smart enough, or funny enough?

Well, I've got my fingers crossed that my manuscript and I are going to find just the right match, and hopefully it will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship (cue schmaltzy music and sunset).

Better Than a Trip Around the World

2011-07-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

You've probably all heard of the story "Around the World in 80 Days", but have you ever heard of A Round of Words in 80 Days? Maybe if you're a writer you have.

A Round of Words in 80 days is a writing challenge designed for writers just like me, ie. writers who need to have a list of goals to get any work done lest they spend the whole day playing around on the internet or staring at their belly button (Okay, so I'm not a belly button starer, but I do know how to waste time).

So you all know how much I love lists and goals, and I love mixing the two together whenever I get the chance. Here's my list of goals for the ROW80 challenge:

Write 1000 words a day. (I've tried not to make this goal too huge or else I'll get discouraged and I'll quit after three days. I know myself too well)
Finish revising my YA novel.
Complete the first draft of my new WIP. (I'm excited about this one because I'm still at the point where I'm actually LOVING my story).

That's it. Just three goals and I'll be able to pat myself on the back in 80 days, knowing that what I've accomplished is just as awesome as a trip around the world. (Well, just as awesome to me).

Click here if you want to find out more about a Round of Words in 80 days.

The Parable of the White Pants

2011-07-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

The parable of the white pants is one I've discussed with some of my closest friends and I want to share it with you now, because it will probably change your life, like all good parables can. I'm not yet sure that I've learned how to harness its full power (Maybe you can help enlighten me).

For those of you who do not yet know of the parable of the white pants, let me now relate it to you.

A few summers ago, when Transformers 2 came out in theatres, my family and I went down to the Gateway Mall and plunked down our seventy five dollars a ticket (or whatever it was they cost back then) and sat down with our ice cold sodas and buckets full of popcorn to watch the movie.

I don't expect too much from my rootin' tootin' knock 'em up blockbusters. I come to be entertained. I'm fine with a straight forward plot and a cheesy love story. These are the things I expect. But there are some things that I just can't stand for. And that's where our white pants come into the story.

Three quarters of the way through the film I knew something was off. Megan Fox's character (who made the poor fashion choice to begin with of wearing white pants on a day when aliens would try to take over the planet) was still sporting clean jeans after countless near death experiences.

At this point I stopped following the story all together and became consumed with those pants. Those glaring white pants. I was obsessed. How was it that Megan Fox could be blown up and chased by transforming aliens and still keep her pants pristine when I couldn't even run to pick up the kids from school without getting a huge chocolate stain on my butt?

Finally in the last scenes of the movie the directors must have noticed the perfect spotlessness of Megan's pants because they grubbied them up, smearing them with dirt so that they looked close (but not quite as bad) to the way I would have looked by dinnertime on a school day.

But by this point in the movie it was too late. I couldn't look past it. The movie was ruined for me.

So what's the moral of the parable of the white pants? Is it to wear dark colors when earth is being invaded? Is it to stay away from big summer blockbusters? or is it something more subtle?

Can you still find value in things even if there's a big glaring mistake staring at you? I hope that the answer is yes. I hope that I can learn not to dismiss everything just because I see some faults. Politics, religion, relationships, couldn't we use the parable of the white pants to learn to understand all these things better? And more importantly, next time I plunk down three hundred dollars to see a movie, maybe I'll learn to let those silly mistakes go and actually watch the film.

What do you think? (And don't tell me not to wear white after labor day. That doesn't count.)

Change

2011-06-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

I get stressed out easily. No, really. I'm kind of like one of those little teacup poodles that could die from an aneurysm if I get too anxious. So, it probably will come as no surprise that change usually doesn't go over too well with me.

As a little girl I used to love to rearrange my room. That is, until night came, when I was then faced with the consequences of my daytime jaunts and I'd get so sad longing for the way things USED to be (which is kind of silly because I could always put things back to how they were the day before just by moving around some furniture). Yes, at ten I was already a nostalgic.

I can still get overly nostalgic today, although I've learned how to cope with a healthy (or maybe not) dose of denial. That is to say, I like to ignore change as much as I can. If I start thinking about the fact that my kids no longer want me to read picture books to them, don't fit in my lap any longer, and will some day move out of my house, I go into full on panic attack mode (including but not limited to: chest pain, blurred vision, dizziness, and the feeling that I'm being sucked down a very dark and endless tunnel). It's so much easier just to turn my brain off and not think about it.

I get this way when I think about my childhood home, which was torn down a couple of years ago. It's so scary to me to think that I can't go back. I'll never be able to go there again and see things the way they used to be. Although most of you would probably tell me that you can never really go back, even if the house still stands. But still I'd like a chance to walk through the yard, stand by the creek, look out the window of my old bedroom.

Maybe I'm so scared of losing the past because I have such a terrible memory. If things could live on in my brain, maybe I wouldn't be so scared of losing them in real life. But until science finds a way to tap into my mind's lost reservoirs I'll have to learn to deal with it. You'd think I'd write in a journal, but I guess my laziness outweighs even my fears.

So I was so proud of myself recently when the neighbors tore down the garage that separated their yard from mine and I didn't have a panic attack. I didn't mourn the pealing paint or the way our yard USED to look. I'm plowing head long into the aesthetically pleasing future, enjoying the way I can now see the light dance through the leaves of their walnut tree in the morning. It's all about the outlook, isn't it?

If only all change could always look so good.

Ten Signs You're Out On Submission

2011-06-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

It’s official! My little, baby manuscript has left the nest and is out on submission. In honor of my first experience of being out on sub, I decided to (you guessed it) write a list of ten signs that you just went out on submission.

1- You open your email every ten minutes or so (okay, maybe it’s every three minutes) to see if your agent has contacted to tell you that there’s already a bidding war for your manuscript. Who cares that the editors haven’t even had time to read the submission’s cover letter yet. (It’s already been like an hour, why hasn’t anyone responded?)

2- You buy lots of chocolate to get you through this stressful time. Upon snarfing down the first Costco sized bag of m&ms you realize that you really shouldn’t be packing away all this chocolate. What you should be doing is going on that new no-cal-no-carbs-no-fat-eat-only-green-things diet so that you can look stunning when you meet your publishers to sign your book deal.

3- You give away all that chocolate, which is sad, but at least all the neighbors love you now.

4- You take a quick peek at your email, just to be sure that nothing new has shown up.

5- You cyber stalk all the editors and publishing houses that your agent submitted to and make a secret top ten list of the houses you really, really want to buy your book.

6- You decide you should start writing a new project. You already have like a bazillion really awesome ideas that you’ve been dying to tackle and now’s the time. What better way to distract yourself than to create a new world? This next book is going to be EVEN better than the last one. It’ll be brilliant.

7- You stare at the blank screen.

8- You decide that maybe you should just check in on twitter and see what’s happening in the blogosphere and THEN you’ll start writing.

9- You marvel over all those writers who actually sold their books. Maybe a little of their luck will rub off on you. You look up EVERY blog post that was ever posted about authors who went on submission and finally sold their books. You compare every detail of their story to yours. Now you’ll be prepared when it happens to you, right? Right?

10- You check your email. What it’s only been two hours?!? Oh well. Maybe it’s time to go out and buy some more chocolate.

Summer Writing Journal

2011-06-09T17:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, in preparation for the first day of summer vacation, my eldest daughter and I went to the bookstore and bought new notebooks for all of us. Of course I'll use any excuse to buy a new notebook (I've got a notebook fetish that could outshine a lot of shoe fetishes). But I also wanted my kids to keep using pens and paper this summer, lest they forget the importance of the written word.

So today we set out to fill the first page of our notebooks with our "Summer Goal List". The kids have some pretty lofty goals, like: have a lemonade stand once a week and draw 12 coloring books (why fill their lists with things that they don't want to do, right?). I however, conjoled them into adding a few things like: chores, and daily family walks.

Here's my Summer Goal list:

Write a new book (or 2) 1500 words a day.
Daily walks with the kids.
Daily chore chart (I'm not too big a meanie. Each kid only has to do two little chores a day.)
TV tickets (The kids only get to watch one hour of TV a day, which for them is torture.)
Write in my writing notebook every day, including one new idea for a book each day. (Even if it's a stupid idea.)
Write one paragraph in my journal every day.
Do a chalkboard animation (I'm excited about this one. I want to do an artsy book trailer.)
Limit my internet time. (Yep, this one's going to be hard. This addict's going to go through some withdrawals.)
Read 10 books (or more. I can always read more.)
Finish revising the play with my mom. (Now's a good time to mention that SLAC decided to use our play to open their season!!!!!)
Start a new series of paintings.
Learn new vocabulary words (Isn't dinner a good time to learn new words? It's automatic dinner conversation.)
Only drink soda one time per week.

My list could go on and on, and knowing me I'll only do a few of the things on my list for the whole summer. Let's face it, most of the things on my list will only last a week, but I do love to dream.

What's on your Summer List???

$20 Amazon Card Winner

2011-06-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone's summer reading has kicked off with a big bang. I'm happily reading BEAUTY QUEENS and I'm loving it. If your looking for a book that will make you snort, guffaw, giggle, titter and hold your breath in awe of amazing writing, this one's for you!

I'm excited to announce the winner of my Summer Reading Contest. The lucky recipient of a $20 gift card to Amazon is...

Barb@getupandplay

Barb, send me your email address and I'll shoot that gift card over your way.

The Winner of the Knock-Your-Socks-Off Contest...

2011-06-06T08:03:00.000-07:00

Not only is it an amazingly beautiful summer day here in Salt Lake (one of the first we've had all year I might add), but it's my birthday too. And to celebrate I'm excited to announce that the winner of an original painting is....

Gennifer Albin

Thank you Gennifer for entering. I have a number of paintings for you to choose from. If you send me your email address (and home address) I'll send images for you to choose from and soon you'll have a new painting hanging on your wall.

Thank you to everyone for entering. I'll be having another contest for artwork again really soon.

Summer Reading Contest (Win a $20 Amazon Gift Card)

2011-05-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I have TONS of books on my To Be Read list and I'm just itching to jump right in. I've already had a little taste of reading by the pool, although the weather here in Utah has been a bit confused (Mother Nature seems to think that we live in the Northwest instead of the desert, but there's no changing her mind). Even though we're a bit soggy now, I'm predicting warm days soon and I can't wait until the kids are out of school so that we can spend every day poolside.

In honor of a summer full of reading I thought I'd have a little contest to get you all on your way. How does a $20 Gift Certificate to Amazon sound?

To win all you have to do is leave a comment below telling me what book you can't wait to read this summer. I'd love to have you follow my blog, but you don't have to be a follower to enter (although if you follow you'll also be entered to win one of my original paintings. Yipee!)

In case you're wondering what I can't wait to read this summer, here's just a few of the titles on my TBR list.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Hereafter by Tara Hudson
Possesion by Elana Johnson
The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
Stay by Deb Caletti

I could go on and on, but I can't wait to hear what your recommendations are.

Happy Reading!!!

And in honor of summer vacation this contest will end on
June 8th (a.k.a. the last day of school)

Ode to Boy

2011-05-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

It's my son's 12th birthday tomorrow. Last year I started a tradition to write him a poem for his birthday as a way to celebrate the person he is during this moment in time.

Here's this year's poem:

I have almost forgotten that little boy

who I used to hold in my lap.

He’s grown.

Feet and hands as big as mine.

Soon those few inches between us will close

and it will be your eyes

that are looking down into mine.

Promise me that you’ll still hold my hand

the way you do now,

grabbing it without a thought

as we stroll down the sidewalk together.

Promise me that you’ll still ask for goodnight kisses,

that you’ll still hold on to me,

not ready to let me go

when we turn off the light.

Promise me that I’ll be the one

you want to tell your stories to,

that I’ll be the one you complain to,

about friends who smell funny,

or girls who talk too much,

or teachers who just don’t listen.

Promise me that you’ll never be too grown up

to hug me in public

and tell me that you love me.

I won’t mind

If you simply want to whisper it

Into my ear

Just so long as I can hear you say it out loud.

Promise me that you’ll always want

to snuggle next to me as you read,

just to feel the closeness between us.

I don’t want to forget

your teeth, the way they are right now,

still big in your mouth,

untouched by braces.

I don’t want to forget

the way you shoot your basketball,

tossing it gleefully behind your head,

or the way you bowl,

balancing between pure show off

and downtrodden Eeyore.

I don’t want to forget

the way you look right after you’ve told a joke

that has made everyone laugh.

The way a pleased smile forms on your lips

And you look at me

to make sure that I’ve noticed.

Don’t let me forget these things.

Imprint them on my skin.

Engrave them in my bones

So that I always remember

what it feels like

to be the center of your universe.

Tick Tock: My Best Friend Sally

2011-05-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce you to one of my best friends. Some people think she’s annoying because she nags… a lot (and in a very loud, screeching voice I might add), but without her I’m basically a lazy blob stuck unmoving under a warm blanket on the couch.

Maybe I just don’t know how to motivate myself or use my time wisely, but without my handy dandy oven timer (we’ll just call her Sally) I’m pretty lost.

I wish that I was a person who could face the day with sword wielded, armor flashing and tackle every task on my “to do” list, but I’m not. In fact, big lists overwhelm me, which is ironic because of my almost obscene love for lists. And I do love them. I love writing them, and crossing the items off in really dark pen.

But the key to tackling a list (for me) is Sally. Maybe I’m a bit like a Kindergartener, but I just accomplish things better when they’re broken down into nice little manageable chunks of time. You’d be amazed what can get done in 15 minutes.

Here’s how Sally serves me best. On those days when I really just want to sit in my big cozy chair in my front room under my down comforter and read the next book on my list, Sally is there to make sure that three o’clock doesn’t roll around with me still sporting my pajamas. Sally can be set for a half an hour, during which time I get to read and read and read. Then when she beeps I know it’s time to get something done, for instance getting dressed.

I’m still not totally fair with my time. The things I like to do: reading, writing, painting, get big chunks of time to work with, while things like housework usually get relegated to 15 minute bursts (and how I love to hear that beeping that sets me free from cleaning.)

I heard Sally’s cousin Ally lives at your house. Aren’t you lucky?

The Super-Gigantic-Knock-Your-Socks-Off Contest...Again

2011-05-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks, lets try this again. Blogger had some sort of huge failure yesterday and wiped out the past posts for a few days so I'm relisting my contest. Please comment again so I don't forget you.

Incase you didn't see the posting for the last contest, here are the details again:

You can win a full sized original painting like the one pictured above (valued at $800). If you're not crazy about that one I have a half dozen others for you to choose from in many colors and sizes.

It's easy to ENTER. All you have to do is make sure you're a follower and then blog, tweet, facebook or email about my contest, anything to spread the word. Then just write me a message letting me know how you did it.

I'm adding an extra way to get entries this time around. If some one comments that they were referred to my site from you, you'll get an extra entry. So be sure to tell your friends to say you sent them.

All new followers will automatically be entered twice (Please let me know in the comment section that you are new so that I can keep track of you). And like always, the more ways you spread the word, the more times you'll be entered.**
The contest will end on my birthday, June 6th.

** Don't forget to leave a message to enter. Otherwise I won't know to put you in the drawing. You can leave a message here or send me an email.

Cruising (Some Random Thoughts on Driving)

2011-05-10T18:47:00.000-07:00

· Sometimes if I’m listening to music while riding in a car I wonder whether, if I got in an accident and died, someone would figure out what song had been playing the moment I was killed.

· I never want to annoy other drivers. I’m always worried about going too slow or not paying attention at stop signs. I don’t know why I care what these people think, but I do. I DO.

· When I’m singing to a really good song in the car, especially if I’m alone, I get embarrassed thinking that someone in another car might have seen me and thinks I’m dumb.

· I failed parallel parking on my driver’s test and to this day I’ve never successfully parallel parked.

· My best friend, Jenny, taught me how to drive a stick shift in a church parking lot when I was sixteen.

· Sometimes I think that I was a dog in a past life because I love driving around in cars (although I can do without sticking my head out of the window).

· When Bryan and I were first married we liked to go for drives around different neighborhoods. I liked envisioning what it would be like to live in all of those different homes. (I still love to do this)

· I love driving around at night and staring into people’s lighted homes. It feels a little like spying and a little like peeking inside a doll house.

· My first car was a white Subaru hatchback which I was far too ungrateful to own.

· If I could own any car it would be a cherry red 1965 porsche spyder convertible.

· This isn’t really car related as much as transportation related, but when I was in elementary school I wished, wished, wished, that I had a horse that I could ride to school. I imagined that I would just tie it up out front while I was inside.

· Once when I was 16 I was going 35 in a 25 mph area and a cop saw me and waved for me to slow down. I was so stupid that I thought he was just waving hello and it took me a while to realize that he was pulling me over for speeding. Needless to say, I haven’t been pulled over for speeding since.

· I hate driving in the snow more than just about anything else. I’d rather do the laundry AND the dishes, that’s how much I hate it.

New Paintings

2011-05-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

I've been busy painting some new work for my publishers. Here's a kind of funky little number that I'm digging at the moment. It might go along with the other painting that I posted a few weeks ago.

So, I'm thinking of having a gigantic-humongous-knock-your-socks-off-amazingly-fantastic-once-in-a-lifetime contest coming up in the next few weeks. How would you like to win a full sized original painting valued at $700???

I'll keep you posted.

The Next Winner

2011-05-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who entered. Don't worry, if you didn't win this time there will be another contest soon.

And the winner of the "It's Time For Another Giveaway" contest is:

Erica (aka Michele)

Congratulations!

Michele, if you'll email me at kebirch@hotmail.com letting me know which prints you'd like I'll get them to you ASAP.

And Stephen Colbert Can Serve Dessert

2011-05-04T17:52:00.000-07:00

Do you have a list of people that you’re really good friends with… in your imaginary world? I know I do. Stephen Colbert doesn’t know it, but we hang out ALL the time: dinner dates, trips to the movies, gallery hopping. I’m pretty sure that he even has a little crush on me, which could be kind of embarrassing if my husband ever found out.

Oh, and I guess I should mention Will.i.am. After all, I decided last week that he and I would make great BFFs. He's so funny and smart and I'm hoping I can even get him to humor me and write a theme song for my life. I really want a theme song.

So today I’m planning a guest list for my imaginary dinner party. Who do I want to come? Of course Stephen and Will are invited. I think the rest of my guest list might go something like this:

· I know we already have a Stephen at the party and Mr. Colbert might be a little miffed, but I’d really like Mr. King to come too.

· Since I’m definitely inviting my mom to my dinner party I will invite her idol (and dog’s namesake) Ms. Aretha Franklin. And if she feels better I hope she’ll sing for us.

· Chuck Close seems like he might be a little bit shy, but I hope he’ll come anyway. I know he won’t have time to paint any of us, but maybe some of his genius will rub off on me.

· Maybe it’s just because Sliding Doors and Duets are two of my favorite movies, but I think Gwyneth Paltrow would be a good addition to my party. She seems like the kind of person who would make sure everyone feels welcome (plus I really like the way her voice sounds).

· After I read EAT, PRAY, LOVE, I already felt like Elizabeth Gilbert was one of my close friends, so she should certainly come. And I bet she could recommend some good Italian food.

· If Katy Perry doesn’t mind, I’d really like Russell Brand to come to my party. I know he’s probably going to offend someone, but he’ll be sure to entertain.

· I’ve always wanted to write a screenplay and even though Judd Apatow probably gets sick of talking about work, I bet he’d be happy to share a few tips with me while we’re eating our crème brulee.

· Of course I don’t want Jon Stewart to get jealous. I hope he knows that I’ll always love him and he’s welcome at my house even if there isn’t a party going on.

So…who’s invited to your dinner party?

It's Time For Another Giveaway

2011-04-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, you heard me right. It's time for another giveaway. The weather here in Salt Lake has been a bit confused lately: snow, rain, hail, and just a bit of sun. And even though I think it's time for spring, mother nature can't quite make up her mind. So instead of warm weather, maybe some cheerful little bird prints will be just what it takes to usher in spring.

You could win three bird prints of your choice from my etsy shop. Any three. You choose.

It's easy to ENTER. All you have to do is make sure you're a follower and then blog, tweet, facebook or email about my contest, anything to spread the word. Then just write me a message letting me know how you did it. All new followers will automatically be entered twice. And like always, the more ways you spread the word, the more times you'll be entered.**

The contest will end Thursday, May 5th.

** Don't forget to leave a message to enter. Otherwise I won't know to put you in the drawing. You can leave a message here or send me an email.

(a man enters)

2011-04-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

Last night my mom and I got to see a staged reading of our play (a man enters) at SLAC. (By the way, this is a working title. If you have a flash of inspiration and come up with a better one please, please let me know.)

It was AMAZING. The actors were perfect and we were lucky to have a full house and many, many brilliant audience members who stayed after for our talk back.

My funny and neurotic mom (hmmm, that's not hereditary, is it?) was so nervous that she could hardly enjoy the play, but I had a GREAT time. Maybe it's because I let her do all the worrying and I was just there for the ride.

As we were waiting for the play to start I mentioned to my mom how excited and unworried I was and she decided it was because I have fifteen thousand other careers to fall back on if this one doesn't pan out. (Well, maybe she didn't say fifteen thousand, but you get my drift.) This might be the first time my "career attention deficit disorder" has actually paid off.

I Should Be Doing [blank] Right Now

2011-04-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

1- Laundry—it’s always there. Always. Maybe we need to start walking around naked. It doesn’t have to be every day (maybe just every other).

2- Revising—Yes, I did it all day long, but that doesn’t mean I’m done.

3- Baking—Just think of all those yummy things that I could make if only I could follow the recipe.

4- Going to the Post Office—I’ve got packages just waiting to be sent, but I guess if they’ve waited this long they can wait one more day.

5- Cleaning out the kids’ drawers—How can there be so many clothes crammed in one drawer yet nothing to wear? Do everyone’s kids grow this fast?

6- Writing—not this sort of writing. What about that new middle grade novel?

7- The dishes—you mean you have to put them IN the dishwasher too? And start it??

8- Painting—I told myself I’d paint three little birds a day. How many have I done today? You guessed it: zero.

9- Mopping the kitchen floor—If I wait long enough maybe we can just call all that stuff leftovers and I won’t have to fix dinner.

10- Laundry—Did I mention that it’s never ending?

11- Reading—What about that list of books I want to read? Aren’t I the one always complaining that there’s never enough time to read them all.

12- Rubbing my husband’s back—Actually he doesn’t even like his back rubbed, but I was just hoping that he’d reciprocate.

13- Going to the grocery store—A family can’t live off of cereal alone. You know it’s bad when all that’s left in the refrigerator are condiments, and the containers of leftovers whose origins have long since been forgotten.

14- Exercising—Ha! That was funny that I even wrote that down.

15- Reading the newspaper—Don’t all the really smart people you know read the paper?

16- Weeding—I’m happy that the snow has melted and my flowers do seem to be thriving, but sadly so do the weeds.

17- Mowing the lawn—Yes, I guess I only do it once a year, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it more.

18- Practicing the Piano—Okay, so I don’t PLAY the piano, but maybe if I started practicing I would.

19- Writing thank you notes—Remember when I said that I wanted to start being considerate? What happened to that idea?

20- Giving the dogs a bath—How can such little creatures get sooooo stinky?

21- Vacuuming—Where do all those itty bitty bits of paper come from?

22- Cleaning under my bed—I’ve lived in my house for over ten years and I think the only time I’ve ever cleaned under my bed was when we moved the furniture in our room. I wonder what’s under there (????).

Following Instructions

2011-04-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me is aware that I'm not the best at following instructions. Maybe this is one of the reasons why it's so stressful to paint comissioned pieces. Even with specific colors, I'm always nervous that the painting I create will never match up to the image that the customer has in their mind.

Trying to understand what someone has envisioned in a custom piece is a little like trying to describe a dream. You know how sometimes a dream can seem to make sense in your mind, but the moment you try to explain it, it turns into something fuzzy and ethereal? That's a bit what visualizing commissions feels like to me.

I've been working on a piece for a "special" (code word for secret) client that wants an exclusive painting for their store. I'm not done with the painting yet, but you're getting a sneak peek at it. What do you think?

Let's Play

2011-04-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first read through of our play at Salt Lake Acting Company and although I’ve heard it inside my mind for months it was like I was experiencing it for the first time. These professional actors have already done more for our play than I could have ever imagined.

The woman playing the character of Rosie (me) was a far better “me” than I could ever be. It made me wish that I could carry an actor around with me at all times to say things the way I really mean to say them.

It’s peculiar to think that the truth can be acted far more convincingly than reality can ever do it. Maybe this is the reason we’re so drawn to movies and plays, because in them we get to see things condensed and distilled to a reality that adds up to more than our disparate lives.

A Ceremony

2011-04-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a ceremony is in order.

Of course when you've got a day filled with soccer practices, play dates, cookie baking, dinner making, and homework, sometimes even a ceremony can fall by the wayside.

My contract came in the mail today from Levine Greenberg and I resolved when I opened the package that I'd wait for my family to get home before I signed it. In my mind I had visions of brass bands and confetti; bouqets of colorful balloons floating into the sky.

Obviously that's not how things went.

So what if I didn't get around to doing my makeup or fixing my hair. It wouldn't have seemed right to have my family standing around me in three piece suits and evening gowns. Pajamas and clean, damp hair were fine with me.

As I opened my pen at the dining room table Noah pounded out a drum roll on his vocabulary book and Morgan snapped pictures as well as any paparazzi. As I finished my signature with a flourish, Becca leaned over and asked me if I'd spelled my name wrong?

Maybe we didn't paint our faces in tribal war paint like Morgan had hoped, or covered our bodies in our favorite words like I'd suggested, but it still felt like something special.

The Best Tsunami

2011-04-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

It feels like a tidal wave of saved up good Karma has washed over me all in the span of a few days and it has left me happily gasping for air.

My most exciting news is also the news that has taken the longest to get to. For fifteen years I’ve been working hard at nurturing my dream of some day being an author. I’ve written short stories and essays, slaved through 3 day novel writing competitions. I’ve attended conferences in short story writing, creative nonfiction and memoir. I’ve started countless novels and have even managed to finish a few of them. I’ve entered contests, and almost won a few and I’ve seen one essay go on to be published in a literary magazine. All that has brought me to the exciting place I am today: accepting representation from literary agent Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg. I couldn’t be happier!

Not only were my dreams of finding an amazing agent realized, but I also just found out that the play that my mom and I wrote together (tentatively entitled A Man Enters) is being considered by Salt Lake Acting Company for their 2011-2012 season. I can’t believe how lucky I am not only to be able to write a play with my best friend (and mom), but to possibly see that play produced. This play is extra special because it’s partially based off of my own life and my relationship with my estranged father. If anyone is interested in hearing our play while it’s still in development, SLAC (Salt Lake Acting Company) will be holding a reading of our play on April 25^th at 7:00.

Lest you think that the only good news lately has come to my writing life, let me assure you that I’ve also had plenty of good news about my art as well. Not only has my wonderful publisher, Laurie Downing at Poems Art Inc., informed me that she’s getting barraged with calls for new work from me, but she also arranged for a very cool exclusive painting for a big client. I also found out that the new movie 21 Jump Street has requested to use 10 of my prints on their set.

Wow! I’m exhausted with good news, but I won’t complain if the waves keep coming.

I Wish

2011-04-09T17:04:00.000-07:00

I admit it, I’m a superstitious soul. I think I could easily be one of those people who believe that book, “The Secret”, except that I can never follow someone else’s instructions (not sewing, not baking), not even for wish fulfillment.

But that doesn’t mean that I don’t like to make up my own rules for wishes. There’s the whole lucky number wish system i.e. when you look at the clock right when it reads 11:11 and you can make a wish before the time changes. Or the lucky day wish system, like this year when we had 1-1-11. Just imagine all the wish opportunities when you combine the two.

Of course there are all the tradition wish categories: birthday candles, shooting stars, wish bones.

But last summer while we were camping (Interesting fact: it was on this same camping trip that I came up for the idea of my YA novel), our family started a new little wish tradition. Here’s the gist of it.

1- On a strip of paper you write out your wish. It can be as simple or as detailed as you want.

2- Then you fold it up into a tight ball and repeat the wish in your mind.

The next step works best on a camping trip because you’ll already have a campfire, but it also works if you have a back yard fire pit or even in a fireplace or large candle.

3- After repeating your wish you toss your paper into the fire and watch as the wish catches fire. The best part is watching as your wish turns into smoke and drifts into the sky (off to come true).

The other day while we were at Jolly’s Market buying birthday gifts for my girls’ friends we came across these little wish tickets. I didn’t want to shell out the $8 for the pack, but after I got home I regretted not getting them. I’m sure there’s a new wish tradition just waiting to happen. Come Monday morning I’ll be heading back to buy them.

Alter Ego

2011-04-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to lunch with an amazing group of women and we got to talking about our alter egos. Who would we be if we could be anyone? Would we be ballerinas, singers, maybe the President of the United States?

After I got home, I really started thinking about who I would want to be if I could be anyone. When I was a teenager I used to look through magazines and imagine what I would like to look like if I could be someone else. I can vividly remember looking at a picture in a magazine of a girl in jeans and cowboy boots leaning up against a brick wall. She had beautiful, long, dark hair and a cute button nose, the Brooke Sheilds type, and for a long time I imagined what my life would be like if I could wake up in the morning looking like her.

But yesterday when I was thinking up my perfect self, looks didn’t pop into my mind at all. So when did I stop dreaming about changing what I looked like and begin dreaming about what I wanted to become instead? Who knows…maybe when I stopped looking at those magazines and started reading DISCOVER and THE SUN instead.

So I started thinking…who would I want to be? The first thing that popped into my head was a writer. But wait, I told myself, I’m already working on that one, so maybe I should pick something else and I’m not going to say an artist either. Wow, two down, that’s not too bad.

Of course, I can still think of a whole world of things for my alter ego to be good at. She’ll be a screenwriter and an actress, a singer songwriter, and a really good cook. She’ll probably own a farm and take lots of trips to the ocean. She’ll be warm and friendly. The kind of person that makes you feel welcome the moment you walk into a room. She’ll write thank you notes, and probably not waste time on the internet. She’ll be organized and generous and will definitely find time in her day to exercise.

The list could go on…and maybe it will. I’m sure there are plenty of things on that list just waiting for me to check off. Look out alter ego, pretty soon you’re going to be wishing that you were ME.

The Essence

2011-04-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

Okay all you brilliant readers, I'm asking for a bit of your help here. I'm in the process of revising a middle grade novel that I wrote a couple of years ago and I've given myself the project of rewriting the first couple of chapters. What I'm asking from you is to read my new first paragraph and tell my a couple of things.

1- Would you keep reading?
2- Does this paragraph get you questioning what is going to happen in the pages to come?
3- What would you imagine this book to be about if all you read was this first paragraph.

That's it dear readers. Just three little questions and please, be honest. I promise not to get my feelings hurt.

As the moving van pulled up alongside the tall, white house on Dover Street, an odd thought flitted in and out of Matisse’s mind. It wasn’t a fully formed idea, more the stirring of a feeling, the essence of something. A house, she thought, is kind of like a person. A body, a dwelling, both of them are vessels, and from the outside you might not even notice the emptiness within.

Revision:

Matisse looked out the window of the moving van as it pulled up alongside the house on Dover Street. As her eyes moved up the tall, white colonial an odd thought flitted in and out of her mind. It wasn’t a fully formed idea, more like the essence of one. “A person,” she thought, “is kind of like a house. A body... a dwelling... they can both fool you if you're looking at them from the outside. Unless you look closer you might not even notice the emptiness inside.”

Before I Die

2011-03-27T15:47:00.000-07:00

NO, I'm not planning on dying any time soon, but I am a lover of lists, so I thought I'd share my abbreviated bucket list. (I could fill pages, but I thought I might bore you).

· Learn another language

· Get an MFA in creative writing

· See my kids fall in love

· Adopt a child

· Get a book published

· Live on a farm

· See my kids find their passion

· Write a screenplay

· Grow a garden that actually stays weeded

· Take my mom on vacation

· Learn to knit

· Create a line of fabric

· Illustrate a children’s book

· Talk to my Dad one more time

· Live in a two story house

· Buy my husband a new car

· Take a trip across the country

· Learn to play an instrument (maybe the cello)

· Paint in the south of France

· Learn to cook (and like it)

· Write in a journal every day for a year

· Own a horse (and a goat, and chickens, and an alpaca, etc…)

· Paint a mural

· Take my kids to Disneyland

· Make a stained glass window

· Read all the Newbury Award winners

· Make a mosaic

· Invent a board game

· Wear a ball gown to a party

What's on your list?

Contest Winner

2011-03-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

The winner of the First Day of Spring Contest is....(drumroll please)

Jennifer Morales George

Please contact me at my email kebirch@hotmail.com with your address and the name of your favorite poster. You can check out my posters at Poems Art Inc.

First Day of Spring Contest

2011-03-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

In honor of spring and the promise of warm days, flowers and bare feet, one of you fair bloggers can win one of my prints published by Poems Art Inc.. Any print. You choose.

It's easy to ENTER. All you have to do is blog, tweet, facebook or tell a friend about my contest (heck, you can even scream it from the rooftops if you want), anything to spread the word. Then just write me a message letting me know how you did it. The more ways you spread the word, the more times you'll be entered.**

The contest will end Sunday, March 27th.

P.S. All you winners of past contests still need to contact me about your prizes. Please email me at kebirch@hotmail.com.

** Don't forget to leave a message to enter. Otherwise I won't know to put you in the drawing. You can leave a message here or send me an email.

Little Masterpiece

2011-03-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

My dachshund turns her head up and looks at me with her brown eyes rolled back as if in ecstasy. They are the eyes of a Rubens or a Carvaggio, the Baroque art movement alive in my lap, just begging for a tummy rub.

She’s not a normal dog. Sometimes I think she’s carries the residue of past lives. Before she came to live with me she may have been a showgirl in Vegas. I can imagine her in the feathered headdress, kicking her long human legs like a Rockette. Isn’t it ironic how stubby those legs are now?

When she was a woman she must have lived a hard life, falling in love left and right with men that she met in line at the DMV or at the bowling alley, always searching for someone to love her.

I like to think that she’s found us, the people to adore her. Maybe that’s why she stares at us so lovingly, so longingly.

Me, Myself and I

2011-03-17T12:53:00.001-07:00

Do you sometimes wonder if you’d be friends with yourself if there were two of you?

It’s true that I’m pretty shy when it comes to meeting new people and I’m pretty selfish with my time, but I kind of think I might like me if we met. For one thing, we’d definitely have the same interests and yes, maybe I’d annoy myself because I’m really good at starting projects and not as good at finishing them, but I think I could get over that.

Today as I was flipping through an old notebook I came across a small paragraph that I’d written a couple of years ago. I have no recollection of writing it. I have to admit that this does happen to me a lot. It’s almost like reading someone else’s words and it makes me laugh, and sometime makes me like myself a little more (YES, I am someone I’d like to be friends with, I say in those moments).

Here’s the funny little paragraph I stumbled across today:

A crack forms in the kitchen wall as we take out the kitchen counter. Through it we see a light, hear voices. Where did this other room come from? Who are these people living in it?

I’m totally going to have to turn that into some kind of story. But first I’ll have to ask myself if I’d like to be friends.

The Cemetery

2011-03-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

We drive past the markers and headstones entombed in silence. The deer don’t mind the quiet. It’s what draws them here. They hide behind granite angels and graze on grass the color of their thick hides.

We keep the windows rolled up, not because we’re afraid of the air, the way I was as a child, holding my breath. We don’t want the life inside our vehicle to spill out into the cemetery: the music, the singing, the shouts and giggles.

We drive through on Sundays, not an homage to the day or even to the dead. We just like to drive the winding road through river birch and pine. A few trees here and there are knotted and dead, but beautiful, like these other remnants, left behind.

We spot the deer like hidden pictures, the black globes of their eyes shining, revealing.

Bury me here, I tell my husband. I like the idea of the deer keeping me company. It’s not frightening, not now that we’ve practiced coming here together.

Notebooks

2011-03-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

I have an addiction.

No, I’m not talking about sugar, although I could go for a handful of sour patch kids right now. I’m talking about notebooks. Yes, notebooks.

I admit that I get all itchy and excited when I walk into an office supply store. Just think of all those unopened pens, all those blank pages waiting to be filled. It’s pretty difficult for me to pass up a cute notebook, although I am picky about the pages. It’s not as easy as you’d think to find ruled notebooks that don’t have way to much space between the lines. Sometimes I fall in love with a notebook only to find that the inside looks like it’s been ruled for my third grade daughter.

But every so often the fates align and I’ll find a notebook that’s just right, not too hot, not too cold. Oh, wait, that’s Goldilocks isn’t it? Well sometimes finding a good notebook feels like a fairytale.

I’m a bit embarrassed to say that I’ve never been known to fill up a whole book. Usually before I’m halfway through it I’ve found a new notebook to dote over. Or sometimes a new project just begs to have its own book. The result of my fickleness is a plethora of half filled notebooks stacked beneath my bedside table.

Just recently I was searching through one of my notebooks looking for some notes on a middle grade book that I’d started to outline a couple of years ago. I’m finally getting back to this book and I wanted to remind myself of the notes I’d already written while I was doing my plotting.

I didn’t realize all the little treasures inside my notebook. I couldn’t even remember writing half of the things inside those pages.

Here’s one of my favorite things that I found:

Linda settles the towel on her lap and takes my feet in her hands. She breathes in. Out. And smiles, a calm, reassuring balm. Already I can feel the energy in her hands as she starts in on the big toe. Moving her big thumb along the top by the toenail I can imagine my big toe to be the head that it represents. I can almost feel the pressure firm on my scalp.

Each pressure point presses distinctly. “What’s that?” I ask when the mark is tender.

Linda answers, “Your eyes, your ears, your stomach, big intestine, ovaries.” Her Danish accent making these everyday parts seems lovely and important.

And I try to relax, allow that energy to finger its way up inside. Healing.

“You hold your worries here,” she says, pushing a spot near the tender arch on my sole.

Yes. My stomach houses all my anxieties. At night it is tight, plagued by indigestion. Where else would I store all those worries if not at the very core?

“You don’t need to press too hard,” Linda says. She holds her thumb over the tender spot, hardly pushing at all. She just lets it rest there as if to acknowledge the problem, but not to try to chase it away.

She is gentle with me, probably gentle with herself too and I wonder if this is something that I could do. Could I find the sore spot and then just rest there? Or would I press too hard? Do I want to feel the pain?

My Favorite Book Contest #1

2011-03-09T17:23:00.000-08:00

It's almost impossible to pick ONE favorite book, but I do have a number of them that land high up there at the top of my list. I'm sure that you'd agree with me that when you find something you love, you usually want to share it with everyone; that's why I decided to start "my favorite book contest". Over the next few months I'm going to be giving away my favorite books to some of you lucky blog readers.

The first book I chose was "A Map of the World" by Jane Hamilton. This book was the first book (that I read as an adult) that really made me want to be a writer. As a little girl I knew that I wanted to write books, but over the years I stopped dreaming about writing... until I read this book.

"A Map of the World" is heartbreaking and haunting and it has stayed with me for years and years.

If you would like to win a copy simply leave me a message with the name of one of your favorite books and I'll enter you to win.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, March 16th.

Congratulations Jamie

Random Acts of Coffee

2011-03-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, for my mom’s birthday, she invited my son, Noah, and I to go see the play “The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” with her. It was showing at the local community college and we assumed that we could just show up to buy our tickets the night of the show.

Well, we were wrong about that one. When we got there it was sold out, and the lobby was overflowing with groups of people, like us, who’d not planned ahead. We decided to put our names down on the waiting list just in case someone who’d purchased tickets didn’t show up to use their seats.

After waiting around for a half an hour it was finally time for the show to begin and the women at the ticket booth started calling out names from the waiting list. When our name was called we went up to buy our tickets. It turned out that we wouldn’t be able to sit together, but Noah said he didn’t mind sitting next to strangers.

Just as I was writing out a check for the tickets a man came to pick up the tickets he’d purchased earlier. “Sorry,” the woman told him, “You have to be here before the show starts. As soon as it begins we start selling tickets to the people on the waiting list.” She was not in a charitable mood and reminded him curtly that it was “the policy”.

I think we can all agree that it’s a stupid policy.

So basically I was standing there with my wallet open writing a check for the tickets that this man had already purchased (and wouldn’t get a refund for might I add). Needless to say, we let the man take our tickets (really his tickets) and we left.

It seems like a sad ending to my mom’s birthday, but we’d forgotten about the new birthday tradition she’d started the year before. The tradition is this: give a gift to someone else on your birthday. My mom already has everything she could want or need, so for a birthday gift to herself she decided to buy a gift certificate to give away to a deserving person.

Of course there are a million places we could have gone. Once you start thinking about handing out gifts to strangers your mind goes a little wild thinking of all the possibilities. But we ended up choosing the grocery store. We both shop there and could think of a few very kind cashiers who would definitely deserve a gift.

Armed with a gift certificate from the Olive Garden we made our way through the line. My mom paid for the gift card and then handed it over to a very befuddled cashier who came out from behind the counter to give us all a hug.

Yesterday at the store I happened to choose this same cashier and I was surprised that she recognized me from that night. It turns out that it had been her lucky night that night. Not only had we given her the gift certificate, but another woman had come through her line and had gotten her a coffee from Starbucks.

Why don’t I do that? I asked myself. It doesn’t have to be something huge. A cup of coffee, I can do that, just a little something nice to brighten someone’s day. So starting today I’m going to try to find a random person each week to do something nice for.

Hmm, who am I going to pick first?

Buying the Farm

2011-03-04T05:52:00.000-08:00

The photograph on my computer’s desktop changes every few months. No, it’s not a cute picture of my kids standing next to each other on the sledding hill or our dog sitting on the couch with his ears perked up. It’s not even a picture from our trip to the Oregon Coast last summer. Nope. It’s a picture of my farm.

You have a farm? You might ask me. No silly, I don’t HAVE farm. I WANT a farm.

Yes, this is a little obsession of mine; dreaming about the farm that I’ll someday live on. Friends of mine who have actually lived on farms like to remind me that it is A LOT of hard work, to which I like to reply: “but I have my husband to do all that”. Poor Bryan, even in my imagination he gets stuck with all the grunt work.

It’s not really that I want a working farm. I don’t care so much about growing things. (This is a good thing coming from someone who ends up with a three zucchinis, one and a half tomatoes and a garden full of weeds by the end of the planting season.)

The thing that I dream of is the land. I want rolling hills and a stream that feeds into a little pond. I want to look out over pastures at a distant tree line. I want a long driveway lined with trees that I can walk down in the summer. And of course I want the animals: chickens and goats and horses and maybe even a pig.

Maybe my poor imagination has been filled with too many lovely images from James Taylor songs and books like “Gone with the Wind”, or maybe growing up down a little wooded lane by the river infused me with the desire to live surrounded by that kind of beauty.

I grew up playing in the stream by our house, dragging rocks through the cold water to build dams. I grew up clearing patches in the scrub oak that I turned into little rooms to live in. I dug holes and picked wild flowers and searched for treasure among the rocks.

The funny thing is, I really do love living in a neighborhood. Growing up I missed out on having friends next door, on sidewalks and being able to walk to school. I love that my kids have these things. But we also have a little gully at the end of the street where we like to take the kids sledding during the winter and whenever I go down there I get the itch for my farm. I want my own land, my own sledding hill, my own field of wild grass and milkweed.

So sometimes I waste hours looking at Land and Farm for the perfect place. I save properties in my favorites bar and go to visit them now and again.

Maybe someday I’ll buy the farm (ha ha won’t we all). But for now I’ll just keep dreaming.

I'd Like to Thank the Academy

2011-03-01T07:51:00.000-08:00

I love watching the Academy Awards!

Yes, a lot of it has to do with those amazing dresses, but mostly love the chance to daydream about what it would be like to work in the film industry. Did I mention yet that I’d like to be a: screenwriter… or an animator… or a costume designer… or a set designer…

I often come out of the movies certain that I’m going to switch careers. In the dark parking lot I can be found professing my love to this new passion. After seeing Tangled at Christmastime I was sure that I needed to be an animator. No really, this time I would do it. Sure, I’ve wanted to be an animator ever since we got Finding Nemo on DVD and I couldn’t stop watching the special features. But this time I was SERIOUS.

When I went to Alice in Wonderland I was so consumed with the costumes that I had trouble concentrating on the story. I mean, did you see that dress that Alice was wearing when she fell down the hole? What about the pale blue jacket she wore at the White Queen’s castle? Well certainly you noticed the pinking around the collar of the jacket that she wore in the last scene on the boat. (See what I mean?)

I’ve been begging friends and family for years to write a screenplay with me. If I have my way it will probably have something to do with time travel or alternate universes. But don’t get me wrong, I’m totally open to suggestion. Really! Call me and we’ll talk about it.

Sometimes over dinner I try to talk my kids into writing a movie with me. How fun would that be? I have it all envisioned, our family brainstorming ideas over lasagna, the brilliant plot twists that will pop into the kids’ minds as they brush their teeth before bed, the weekends spent around the kitchen table writing.

Well, it turns out that I’m really the only one that thinks this is a grand idea. Everyone else would rather go skiing or make houses out of popsicle stick or practice the guitar or cut their toenails (really anything is preferable to writing a movie it seems).

Oh well…

I guess I won’t be picking out my Oscar gown any time soon.

Chop, Chop, Chop

2011-02-21T17:51:00.000-08:00

No I’m not talking about cooking. I’m talking about writing.

I’m a lazy writer, just like I’m a lazy artist, a lazy mom, a lazy housekeeper (and the list could go on). I want to exert the very least amount of energy possible. That’s the reason you’ll find my kids pawing through the dryer on any given morning looking for a clean pair of pants. True, there’s usually a clean pair, but if I wasn’t so lazy those pants would have been folded and put away by now.

I’m the same way when it comes to writing. I like to hope that things are “good enough”, that my readers won’t mind doing a little rummaging through the dryer. Too bad that deep down I know “good enough” isn’t really good enough.

In many ways writing is like doing the laundry: it’s a dirty job that no one else is willing to do for you and the moment you think it’s done there always seems to be more. But unlike the laundry, writing is something that I’d ultimately like to share with the world. I can’t just keep shoving it in the wash. At some point it needs to stay clean.

For a few months I’ve thought my manuscript was done. Of course there are always things that jump out, asking to be fixed (I don’t know that I can ever be truly satisfied). But I thought it was good… Good enough.

Luckily, a new friend of mine pointed out to me that this manuscript had the potential of not just being good, but being great. And so I was left with two choices: leave it like it is, a good story, or face the fact that with some hard work the story could really take off.

Normally I’m satisfied with pretty good, but not when it comes to this. So today I sat down and plotted out a whole new middle, five chapters that need to be completely rewritten. But I’m not dreading it. In fact, I’m itching to get going.

Chop, chop, chop.

Books, Books, and More Books

2011-02-20T08:29:00.000-08:00

The bookshelves are overflowing.

There just isn’t any more room in our house for more books. And even though I have a bit of an obsession with owning hard copies of the ones I read (after all, isn’t it nice to be able to look at your shelves and remember all those stories), I’m pretty grateful for the Kindle I received this Christmas.

I didn’t think I’d ever be able to give up holding a real book in my hands, feeling the pages between my fingers, but I’m in love with my little electronic reader. Imagine, being able to have all those books with you at once.

You’d think I would have stopped buying hard copies after I got my Kindle, but I can’t get over my addiction. This month alone the stack by the side of my bed has grown by four. The stack has grown so high in fact, that I’ve had to start scouting the house for new surface on which to stack.

Who Wants to be FAMOUS?

2011-02-17T08:28:00.000-08:00

For years, one of the only bones of contention in my marriage has been ambition. Well, more accurately, my husband’s lack of it. As someone who has a constant desire to KNOW more, DO more, BE… MORE, it has always baffled me that my husband feels none of this drive. At 34 he still isn’t sure what he wants to be “when he grows up”.

A few years ago this lack of ambition really bothered me. I wanted to change him, make him more like me. Didn’t he want to be looked up to? Didn’t he want esteem and notoriety? Didn’t he want people to think highly of him? In essence, didn’t he want to be FAMOUS?

Nope. It’s as plain as that. He didn’t want any of those things and he wasn’t about to pretend that he did.

How can you NOT respect someone for being so free of ego? But I’m embarrassed to say that it took me almost fifteen years to really respect my husband’s lack of hubris. Maybe it took so long because I saw it as just that…a lack of something. What was he missing that made him not care about being more?

But he wasn’t (isn’t) missing anything. Where I have a desire for ambition, my husband has contentment. What a lucky man.

The funny thing is, that even though I realize that contentment is the place I want to end up, the continent I want to live on, the destination I want to come home to…I still can’t stop myself from craving fame.

I don’t doubt that there are more Americans that are like me than like my husband. A little peak at nighttime TV and it’s easy to see that there are throngs of people who believe that they’re special, talented, one of a kind. I’m starting to wonder if the truly special ones are the few who aren’t yelling for someone to pay attention to them.

I’m pretty sure my desire for fame started in my childhood, although sometimes I wonder if it’s just something you’re born wanting. Growing up, I was constantly reminded of my Dad’s minor fame. I was a kid right at the height of his celebrity. My dad’s artificial heart was first successfully transplanted in a Barney Clark when I was only five. Barney Clark survived for 112 days, but the lasting impression of my dad’s accomplishment has followed me ever since.

I got a tiny sip of what it would be like to have people recognize my name and I liked the way it tasted. And even though it’s painful to admit, I know that part of me wants to prove to him that I’m worth something too. It’s been over twenty years since I’ve talked to my dad, but sometimes I think, if I was only famous enough he’d want to have me back. He’d realize what he was missing out on.

15th Street Gallery

2011-02-15T08:26:00.000-08:00

My latest show was at the beautiful 15th Street Gallery. I have a special fondness for this gallery because my husband and I met while working in the bagel shop across the street from it while we were still in high school.

When we first met I actually thought that he was two different people: one named Bryan and one named Birch. Apparently I wasn't paying much attention to him or I would have figured out sooner that the boys with the shoulder length redish blond hair were actually one in the same, the singular Bryan Birch. But I had eyes for another boy that worked with us, the dark haired Tony (who luckily was not at all interested in me).

The Love List

2011-02-14T08:02:00.000-08:00

In honor of Valentine’s Day here is a list of things I love, not the normal things like my kids and my husband (of course I love them, that’s a given). These are some of the “other” things that make my life a little richer.

• Gigantic drops of rain.
• The way ice cream gets crystallized in a root beer float.
• Putting on dry clothes after a day at the pool.
• The smell of a clean pillow.
• Fresh lemonade.
• The whistle of a chickadee.
• A really sharp pencil.
• The reddish color of bare winter trees.
• The sound of a rushing river through an open window at night.
• New socks.
• Conversations with strangers in the grocery store.
• The color of a summer sky right before night falls.
• A huge sigh after finishing an amazing book.
• The smell of dirt and grass on a warm day.
• Sour candies.
• A really cold glass of water.
• Blank paper.
• Blue shadows on white buildings.
• Puppy breath.
• Driving with the top down on a warm night.
• Coming home.
• Rolling hills and fields of wild grass.
• A new plant that I haven’t forgotten to water.
• New: tubes of toothpaste, bottles of shampoo and bars of soap.
• Crossing items off a list.
• Lists
• The pale turquoise of really clear water.
• The slant of the sun in the morning.
• A perfectly cooked egg.
• Bolts of fabric
• Thinly ruled paper and a felt pen.

And the Winner is...

2011-02-14T06:24:00.000-08:00

This morning the winner of the "Come Follow Me Contest" was drawn at random from my new favorite app called "The Hat".

And now...drumroll please...

The winner is...

araceli

Congratulations! Please email me at kebirch (at) hotmail (dot) com. Leave me a note with your favorite kind of bird and your address and your new original painting will be yours soon.

Relishing Rejection

2011-02-08T10:06:00.000-08:00

Well maybe I don’t relish rejection, maybe I just like the word because it brings to mind condiments, which are such friendly and non-intimidating forms of food, and rejection can most definitely be INTIMIDATING. Over the years I’ve certainly gotten better at taking it, rejection that is (of course I love condiments too, my favorite being mustard).

If you’re an artist of any kind it can be difficult to put your work “out there”, whether it’s a painting, a poem, a photograph, a story. We open up and expose the tender parts of ourselves and it can hurt when those tender parts are handled roughly. The good news is that it gets easier. Maybe that soft underbelly starts to form a little callus. Maybe our self esteem learns not to rupture so easily.

This past week I got a rejection that was a little bit painful. I just started querying agents for the YA book that I finished writing at the end of last year and I was so excited when an agent that I really liked asked to see the first fifty pages of my manuscript. She seemed really excited about the book and told me that she’d get back to me in the next few weeks. Of course this meant that I immediately started checking my email every fifteen minutes to see if she’d responded and began dreaming of what it would feel like to have my book out in print (Yes, I realize that I was jumping the gun a bit. This is my forte).

Well, on Sunday night I received the agent’s reply saying that she was passing on the project. She had some very nice things to say about my writing and some good suggestions to make my book stronger. Although I was disappointed, I didn’t experience the hit to the gut that I’ve felt before with rejection. I was sad, yes, but encouraged nevertheless. I’ve only just begun the querying process. It was naïve to think that I’d snatch up an agent on my first try. So it’s back to the drawing board, maybe a little revision to my query letter, a closer look at my story and then I’m back out there again.

Bring on the relish.

Come Follow Me Contest

2011-02-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

This young blog is lonesome for friends and it's not beneath me to resort to bribery.

Thus I announce my first ever contest. Add yourself as one of my followers and you could win an original pen and ink painting on vintage paper from the late 1800s.

To Enter- Click the "follow me" button and then leave a comment letting me know that you want to be entered in the contest. The contest will be open for one week.

The Winner- Will be randomly chosen on February 14th. I'll post the winners name on this blog and arrange delivery of your brand new original painting.

Calling All Writers

2011-02-05T17:14:00.000-08:00

Check out this really cool contest on a new blog that I just started reading.

Pimp My Computer

2011-02-05T10:20:00.000-08:00

Recently I decided that it was time to pimp my laptop. It sounds like it could be the name of a game show, doesn’t it? Pimp my Laptop. But really I just wanted to show a little love to my favorite piece of modern technology. It’s just a simple, blue netbook, but I’ve grown very attached to it over the last year. We’ve spent countless hours together. It goes on vacation with me. It sits up with me in the middle of the night and distracts me from my neurosis. And even though I know it’s mine ( it has my fingerprints all over the top of it and my thoughts and stories saved on its hard drive), I thought it needed a little something more to dress it up.

So how do you dress up a computer? Sure I could buy a decal of an owl on a branch or some cherry blossoms, but my computer is special. It can’t have some stock decal that anyone can order. It needs to encapsulate who I am, what I believe in, the person I want to be.

Whoa, you say. Hold on. Stop right there. That’s a tall order for one tiny computer. Yes, maybe, but doesn’t it sound like an exciting task to figure out the essence of who you are, to distill it down into something that can fit onto the 8x10 inch back of little, blue netbook? I thought it was.

And I’m pretty happy with what I came up with. It’s just two little words and a bit of punctuation:

What if?

Yep, that’s it. But it’s pretty much the source of all my inspiration. In those two little words I see the promise for just about anything. I can bring to life any story, any image, any day dream.

So what’s the essence of who you are? How would you pimp your computer?

The Happy Entrepreneur

2011-02-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl I used to bundle up all my stuffed animals and drag them down the long, dirt lane that I lived on, out onto Holladay Boulevard. For some reason a lemonade stand didn’t sound appealing, maybe it was the stickiness, the pouring and filling of paper cups that would certainly spill, whatever the case, it made much more sense to me to sell my toys instead.

I only remember one man stopping by my roadside stand to buy my Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. But it was the perfect sale because the Raggedy Twins had always given me a bit of the creeps anyway, and I’d much rather have two bucks to burn than their rather frightening mugs staring at me in my bedroom.

Earning those two dollars (and I use the word earning rather lightly here), was a high that couldn’t be matched and I was excited to duplicate the success. With the help of a friend, I decided to sell flowers next. Walking along the stretch of Holladay Boulevard between my house and my elementary school we gathered armfuls of deep purple irises. The flowers grew in thick patches in the grassy fields along the side of the road. At the time, Holladay, Utah, where I grew up, was a less tamed place, with horse fields and open stretches of untended land.

I wish I could remember whether a grownup pointed out to us that those flowers still belonged to someone or whether it wasn’t until I was older that I realized I’d clipped those blossoms out of someone’s yard. At the time it seemed like it all belonged to me. All that beauty was free for the taking.

Today the internet has made it a little easier for the entrepreneur in me to get my kicks. And it’s funny, but I still get the same high when I see that someone has ordered a print or a painting from me on Etsy. I hope I always keep that small sense of wonder and pleasure in realizing that I have something that someone else finds valuable.

Enthusiasm

2011-02-03T01:16:00.000-08:00

It might be that I'm impatient, or indecisive, maybe a tad bit finicky, but I prefer to call my lack of focus, enthusiasm. My family likes to tease me for moving between projects like I'm moving down the line in a buffet, nibbling the stuffed olives, the mini skewered meatballs. And it's true that I want a taste of it all, but it’s also true that when I find something delicious I'll go back for a plateful.

Luckily, my tastes are mostly centered in the arts: painting, writing, sculpting. I guess the problem comes within those subsets. I’m a painter. It’s what I studied in school, what I get paid to do, and maybe this should be enough to satisfy the visually artistic side in me, but it’s not. My obsessions run wide. Sometimes I’m perfectly satisfied with my brush in hand. I’m lucky to have a fabulous publisher that’s always hungry for new work, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get bored. To assuage this need for something new I’ve tried mixing up the mediums. This past year I moved from painting solely on panel to painting on vintage book pages. I liked the idea of marrying my love for words with my love for painting.

And of course there was the project that I started (and have yet to complete) of the paper mache birds. For a few weeks all my passion was diverted into sculpting these papery feathered creatures. I researched paper mache recipes and wired intricate feet into their bodies so that they could stand. I've been dreaming about making these birds for quite some time; ever since I read a book in which one of the characters sculpted large birds that hung from the ceiling like mobiles. Someday soon I’ll finish my birds, but for now the muse has settled elsewhere.

For a short time last year I was obsessed with fashion design. It was right after seeing “Alice in Wonderland”. I sat through the movie too consumed with the costumes to pay attention to the plot. That week I went to the fabric store and bought a dress form and yards of brocade fabric and set about sewing a jacket. I can’t follow a pattern (or maybe I just choose not to), and not too surprisingly my jacket looked lovely on the mannequin, but not too sweet on me. The dress form has since moved down to my daughter’s room where she puts it to good use (also not following patterns) as she sews skirts and shirts and dresses late into the night.

Before the obsession with costume design I was convinced that I wanted to start my own line of fabric. I researched repeating patterns and fabric tradeshows. I found companies in China that could produce my designs. But I didn’t have tens of thousands of dollars to make it come to life. But the dream hasn't died. Some day I still might go back to school to study textile design.

The problem is I’d love to go back to school to study so many different things. My oldest daughter has started dreaming about going to Parsons The New School for Design in New York and I’ve started dreaming of accompanying her. The course catalogue gets me salivating: fine arts, furniture design, architecture, set design, fashion, photography, interior design, illustration (the list goes on). I want to study them ALL.
Okay, so obviously I can’t do it all and we haven’t even touched on my other obsession…writing. (Add an MFA in creative writing to that aforementioned list.) I think I wrote my first book in fourth grade. It was a middle grade novel about (believe it or not) a girl in the fourth grade. I’ve written a lot more since then and hopefully the writing gets progressively better. But just like the visual arts, I want to write it all: short stories, essays, novels, picture books, plays, screenplays. Right now I’m working on a play with my mom (who has newly become quite a good playwright). I’ve got plenty of short stories and essays in need of revising, a memoir that’s on the backburner, a middle grade novel in need of a rewrite, a YA book that I’m quite happy with and three more books that are just itching to get written.

So how can I find the time to do it all? I don’t know. I’m pretty sure that all that creativity doesn’t get spent. Instead it gets compounded, multiplied. Like gears or pistons, each of those outlets helps generate more fire for the next one. If I was only doing one thing I think I might burn out. So here’s to hoping I never do. And if I don’t find time for it all.

There’s always my next life…