Tuesday Mash-up

I’ve had the most unproductive few weeks I’ve had in ages, which might make you wonder: Why the heck are you updating your blog? The answer is: Because if I can finish a blog entry, maybe I can go finish something else. A picture book. Making the bed. Something. Anything.

Some of my friends are great about filling in others on the writing process, every dip on the roller coaster ride. I tend to hold things closer, in part because I’m never quite sure what I’m allowed to divulge and what I’m not. (Can I tell you who the illustrator is? I don’t know! Can I tell you when my agent is sending out something new? Nah, I wouldn’t want to jinx anything. Can I tell you when a publisher is thinking about a story that I’ve worked on — on and off — for the last 10 years? See answer to previous question. Can I tell you how it feels to see the first sketches of your first picture book? I’m not sure I can, mostly because my usually trusty words are failing me. I will say that when I opened the PDF I felt like Frankenstein. “SHE’S ALIVE!” Not a monster. Julia. My saucy, bossy, Type-A protagonist. Alive, and well, and perfect. Just knowing she’s out there is making the wait for the book (we’re looking at summer 2012 now) a little easier.

***
I walked in to see my hair dresser last week and asked her to chop off 10 inches so I could donate my ponytail before my hair turns gray and no one will take it anymore. My friend Wendy told me to think about what I wanted before I went. “Just for five minutes,” she said. It doesn’t help that the place I get my hair cut is a walk-in place, which allows someone with a wild hair to go get that wild hair cut off the moment she decides to do it. It does help that the woman who usually cuts my hair is a very decisive person. She recognized me, despite the fact that I only go in there once a year at best. I should probably go more often, because she’s the sort of hairdresser that bestows wisdom while she’s cutting your hair, towit:
SNIP.
“If you are donating your hair, it will grow back faster.”
“Change is good.”
“Sexy is good.”
“Shorter is good.”
(Shorter, but not short. You’d never actually think she cut off as much as she did — 11 or 12 inches, when all was said and done.)
***
Mythbusters is the best show on television. Just saying.
***
We finally tried Honey Pig this week, inspired in part by my friends Mark and Joe, who are traveling through Asia and posting photos of every meal they eat. Turns out the hype was true, and we’ve spent the last few days hollering “HONEY PIG!” at random intervals throughout the day. Nothing like a little Korean BBQ to get you in the mood for Passover.
***
My husband looked at the front page of the paper last week. Then Metro. Then op-ed.
“I think you’d like Sweden,” he told me.

###