Wednesday, January 2, 2008

First blog post of 2008

In between making merry with my friends and family over the past two days, I took down the Christmas decorations, cleaned house, and got busy on The Art of Deception. I also made a few notes on Falling Short which resulted in a minor change that will have a big impact. It's funny how a small change in one character can effect so much. Like looking through binoculars and shifting the view just slightly - a little closer, a little farther away - and suddenly so much more comes into focus. I am excited to be having some "yes!" moments in my writing.

Those of you who are near and dear to me know that I need fistfuls of Starbucks and loads of patience in order to partake in the Great American Pastime known as shopping. I loathe shopping. For myself (when and only when I must do so) I go in with a purpose, grab what I need, and get out. Unless we're talking about a bookstore; then, I can spend hours perusing and it takes superhero-willpower to keep from spending my mortgage payment on the latest releases. My daughter, by some fluke in the gene pool, is a true shopper: she needs to explore every possibility before making a decision. My idea of hell. So yesterday, I had a plan: daughter had a gift card to spend at a store within walking distance of my house. Solution: send her with teenage girl next door, follow along a few minutes later to check on them, and spend the time browsing the aisles of Barnes & Noble! I thanked said teenage girl for having the patience to wait while daughter tried on every article of clothing at Old Navy. It was a win-win situation, especially since I had B&N gift cards to spend.

She spent her gift card, snagging bargains and coming away with a cool sweater, two hip new shirts, and a cozy pair of slippers. I bought only one book: The 2007 Best American Short Stories, edited by Stephen King. And a venti-decaf-nonfat-one pump chocolate-mocha :)

1 comment:

elysabeth said...

Cool idea - let the girls go shopping and it's even better that you are within walking distance of the mall. And look you got something for yourself and it wasn't time spent in a store you didn't like. So kudos for that. Hailie's not that bad a shopper but she does like to buy shoes and clothing - and it drives me crazy because every time I turn around, she's like wanting to buy this or that - and she never has the money for it.

I too detest shopping - buy what I need and that's it. Anyway - glad it was a good day for all - E :)