It's still Monday in Seattle!

This was supposed to go up on MONDAY NIGHT, but my internet was tied
up. SO, instead of Monday night, it shall be posted Tuesday morning at
12:45. Heh.

Vegetarian Update! I really feel good. If I can stay this way, I know
that I can make this a long-time thing. I started out last week with
the intention of going completely dairy-free, and that didn't quite
happen. I had a birthday, see, and my dad makes A-freakingMAZING
cheesecake- mocha cheesecake, in fact. So I didn't keep up with it
over my birthday, but from that point out, I was pretty much as
dairy-free as I could go. It's actually not hard with work (Hi Kayla!)
because we have soy milk. (Actually, a soy coffee frappuccino is
REALLY REALLY good. You can hardly tell a difference.) I've heard from
SEVERAL people to be supercareful with soy, making sure that I don't
go overboard, and make sure to add some variety, and I plan on it. I'm
going to try rice milk next, then almond.

It's amazing how much of a difference I can tell in my sinuses when
I'm not having dairy. I never thought I had any problems before, just
the normal stuffyness. But I woke up on Tuesday (after only ONE DAY of
soy, and have felt the same way when I go dairy-free since) with
completely clear sinuses. It's weird! I like it!

The next step for me is to go meat-free, which I'm already enjoying.
My parents are pretty healthy eaters themselves, and my dad is a chef,
so I've grown up with some unusual foods, many of them from my mom's
favorite cookbook, which is vegetarian meals with five ingredients or
less. I got a soy toffee-nut latte at work, vegetarian pad-thai (vegan
to my knowledge... I asked for no egg, but that doesn't guarantee no
honey, etc.) and my mom made pasta with a zucchini-tomato sauce (no
meat, parmesan optional.) I want to look into getting some vitamin
supplements just to make sure I'm getting everything that I need, but
like I said, if it was this easy ( know it's not going to be like this
forever, um HELLO I've been at it for a week) I'd be a vegetarian
(with vegan tendencies) forever.

No writing this week, just homework and workwork. I'm getting mail
(with applications. *gulp*) all the time, and I'm trying to figure out
scholarships and grants and SAT scores... Stressful, let me tell you.
I also (yay!) got my full license Thursday, so I can now legally drive
whenever. I have a more writing-centered post to go up later this
week, so for now I think I'm going to go to la-la land and end this.
But not without:

THIS WEEK!

I listened to: The podcast "Stuff Mom Never Told You." Two co-hosts
(one of which is named Molly!) talk about some of the most RANDOM and
awesome topics, answering those questions you always wondered about.
Like, "Is Miss America relevant?" "Do men go through menopause?" "Does
my colon need cleansing?" :)

I watched: Easy A! It watches like a good teen novel reads. There's
language, but there's language everywhere. Really funny, and
surprisingly content-free for a movie about a girl who supposedly
sleeps with [practically, or so the rumor goes] her entire senior
class. I'd see it again, AND buy it on DVD.

I read: Scrambled Eggs and Midnight (Actually, I'm readING it.) and,
Tales of a Female Nomad. Love them both.

I wrote: Thank you notes.

I wish: I had Hermione's Time Turner.

So what did you listen to, watch, read, write and wish this week?

Monday! Vegetarianism! SBS!

I'm going to be a vegetarian for awhile. Just because. This post will have next to nothing writing related, just letting you know now. :)

I love a challenge, I love an adventure. I love EXPERIENCING, and being to look back, having realized that I survived. Which is why I'm attempting to be a vegetarian! I'm not doing it for health reasons, (but, hello side benefit!) or moral (although, I don't like the thought of dead anything so why the HE!! am I eating flesh?!? WILLINGLY!) I just am. I'm also not doing this to judge myself (or- heavens, anyone else), or show off, it just seems interesting.

Starting today, Monday, I will be going off dairy for the week. I want to test the water cutting out one major protein source, to see how it goes. If (by the end of the week) I'm still feeling okay, I'll cut out red meats, then chicken and turkey (don't really eat much fish or pork) but with some dairy allowance. At that point I'll be a vegetarian with vegan tendencies. ;) I would go all the way with the veganism (no animal products whatsoever, including gelatin and honey) but I'm not willing to make that kind of commitment. My life is stressful enough.

In other news, I think I might have Second Book Syndrome. I'm scared that I'm writing the same material [as March], just with different characters and a leap across the country. Stephanie Perkins told me that strong coffee and dance music helps, though- so I am going to take her up on that. :) Have you ever experienced SBS? Have you ever tried something just for the heck of it, just because you want the challenge?

THIS WEEK!

I listened to: Coldplay's The Scientist over and over and over and over, AND a customer who came into Starbucks talk about her life living in Crete for 8 months, just because. Oh, and she also traveled in Ireland, and recommended this book. I WANT HER LIFE.

I watched: Runaway Bride.

I read: Hex Hall, by Rachel Hawkins. Really enjoying it so far!

I wrote: very little- oh, except for my name for my LEAKYCON registration!!! :D

I wish: That someday my prince will come, riding on a shooting second star to the right somewhere over the rainbow. <---- I want to see that movie. Oh, and that my inbox didn't scare me as much as it does.

So what did you listen to, watch, read, write and wish this week? (Oh yeah, I'm starting season 6 of friends!  8 hours of show over 9 days.... :D)

I'd like to thank the academy...

As a reader, I loved books for their stories, cover art and such. But now, as a writer, I love a different part. I love acknowledgments (thank you’s, the part of the book where the writer gushes about their amazing support systems, whatever you call it.)

 If you’re a writer yourself, you know how solitary writing can be. After all, your job is basically listening to the voices in your head, and writing them down... Not a whole lot of room for social activities. At least, in my experience, social writing is not very productive. The acknowledgments are so important to me, because I can only imagine how many personal sacrifices those people make because they love the writer.

There's a quote that says that women are like teabags- you don't know how strong they are until you put them in hot water. I think relationships are the same way. You can be fine, and have a GREAT relationship (or friendship) but when the going gets tough, or boring, or you lose time for each other, what happens? The test of any friendship is how they can relate to you when you're writing, and not being very interesting. It's NOT easy being friends with one of us, especially when we can't go out and do stuff because we need to get another couple of thousand words down. We don't make our part of the friendship easy- the voices in our head tend to dominate.

I want to throw this out there to anyone who cares, and anyone who knows me, and still speaks to me. Thank you. Writing is something so important to me, that I couldn't imagine living without it, and I owe you so much- for times when I had to cancel something fun, or wrote while we were on the phone, only managing to get out "Mhmm's" and "Oh, definitely. I get you." Without a great support system, we writers would take to the bottle before ten, and that would NOT be pretty. I’m not naming names, because anyone reading this blog, or anyone who has has some kind of interaction with me over the past year deserves this. So, thanks.

Who do you want to thank? Who supports you, despite the cost?

THIS WEEK:

I listened to: Dinah Washington, and ALL CAPS’s new album, lowercase.

I watched: Oliver! Live! With my lovely, lovely friend GloriaTangerine. “Who will buy this wonderful morning...?”

I read: Paranormalcy!

I wrote: “Everything alright?” Annie said from the kitchen.
“It should be. But next time, leave the parenting of MY daughter to me, okay?” She gathered up the bags, and ran back up the stairs. Jenny knocked again At Callie’s door, silently praying her daughter hadn’t changed her mind. The door handle twisted and the whitewashed door groaned as Callie opened it and let her mother in. She placed the colorful bags on the bed, and turned, ponytail whipping around behind her, to face Callie- one bag in her grasp, and an excited look on her face.

I wish: You joy and happiness, but above all this, I wish you love.

So what did you listen to, watch, read, write and wish this week?