All Winter in a Day (or Two) - Friday 12/19/2008

A touch of cabin fever may have helped to inspire me to drive down to Toluca Lake to work today. The road in front of my house was still a bit icy as I started off.

The holiday party was postponed because I wasn't there. Nice of them. I wanted to see my coworkers before the break.


Stopped at the post office to (at last!) get my packages in the mail. I was already behind before the snow storm.

I love the Acton Post Office. There were only a few people in line, but we were all swapping snow stories. The P.O. was closed yesterday!



Amazing. There's still snow all around my neighborhood, but just 10 miles away, on the 14 near Agua Dulce the only sign of snow is on the roof of that SUV up there.


Nice day at work. Finished up what I had on my plate and helped a couple of my coworkers with theirs. Was behind this person with multiple Trader Joe's bags on his arm. Um. I'm not sure you're getting home with those full, buddy.


Ahh! This is about 5 miles from home sweet home. I am still digging the snow. (But thank goodness, not literally anymore. Yesterday's bout with the 10-inch-deep driveway after the hike left me fairly sore.)

Everything is Beautiful - Monday 12/8/2008

In it's own way.

Come on, sing it!

I was feeling upbeat when I parked my car at Trader Joe's and went in to pick up supplies for tonight's writing group.

Had a nice conversation with a guy behind me in the cashier's line. He had a couple of boxes of frozen mini-tacos. I had a mushroom-filled version of spanikopita, some little Thai chicken egg rolls, chicken chili verde, Thai jasmine rice and a couple of cheeses.

He said the mini-tacos are great. He loves them, his partner loves them, and his 90-year-old father who is living with them now loves them. "If he likes them, anyone will!"

I told him that I'm auditioning appetizers for Christmas Day and that I have a captive audience tonight.

He asked what I do, and I told him I'm a researcher for television and movies. Then realized, he meant in the context of the captive audience.

"It's for my writing group. We're all novelists." I told him.

"Well, good luck," he said, when I wheeled my cart away.

I told Braveheart about the exchange later. I've been feeling a bit depressed about my prospects for publishing for a long time, and it was amazing to claim my writing persona again. Not just verbally. I really felt it.

Braveheart raised a glass to me in her kitchen, "You are a f***ing novelist."

"You're a f***ing novelist!" I said, clinking glasses.

"We're f***ing novelists!"

I'm back at work on a project that came so close that it broke my heart when it didn't sell. I always thought that if I just had a shot, I could make it happen. It didn't work the first time, but that's okay.

Braveheart gave me an assignment about six months ago, and she and Tomasina were so supportive of the work, that it helped get me back on my feet.

I'm going to let myself feel a little proud that through many months of feeling utterly hopeless about my ability to achieve anything with my writing, I kept at it. I wrote this blog, I wrote another novel, and a couple of things that were published, and pages and pages on the assignment Braveheart gave me.

It's all we can ask of ourselves and others: to keep going. It's probably the best medicine this side of laughter.

The Official Ice Cream of Any Given Sundry - Thursday 5/8/2008

Into every life a little bliss must fall.

Enter Trader Joe's French Vanilla Ice Cream : Super Premium, stage left.

Mmmm. This stuff just showed up in the freezer case and I suspect that it's made by Double Rainbow, which TJ's has stocked for the past year or so. The DR disappeared and this was found in its frosty imprint. (This is how TJ's often works!)

It's dense and creamy, and best of all it's satisfying in the recommended dosage of 1/2 cup.

Today I had some with fresh strawberries sliced on it. I'm looking forward to introducing it to my favorite fruit later this summer : blueberries.

Do you have a favorite fruit?

Cool Thing: The Daily Plate : Helping You Eat Smarter. Since I just encouraged you to indulge in ice cream, I'll also share a great site for tracking what you're eating and how much exercise you're getting. It's free, it's easy to use, and it gives you a nutritional breakdown of what you're eating.

What'd You Bring Me? - Sunday 3/3/2008

Are there any pistachios in here? Any grapes? Crackers? You know how I like those crackers with the sesame seeds on them!


Honestly, I don't know how he managed not to crumple the bag and fall into it. Granted, he only weighs about 9 ounces, but those Trader Joe's bags aren't all _that_ sturdy.



Or are they? Dodge seems pretty comfortable.