rachelpink rides the bus

The 100

There's lots I want to work on personally and professionally this coming year. I started thinking about it and making lists and plans and--WHOA. Too much, too soon!

So in the spirit of success, I'm going to reduce my resolutions to two different and difficult but doable goals:

Read 100 books.

Lose 100 pounds.

Exciting! Meg inspired the first goal. I love it. I'm going to make a list of the books I'd like to read. I will include a few kid's books and a few long books and it will be just right.  Meg did it--and I will try my darndest to do it too.

The second goal? Tricky. But doable. I've come close before, and I can do it again. I want to be a gym rat with a sweatband. I have a year to do it. 365 days. Hard, but doable.

So, poof. There it is. Declaring the 100 is easy. Doing the 100 will be hard. But I have good friends and a happy spirit and that just might do the trick.

Love to all my friends near and far on this New Year's Eve. You all have made this year sweet and good and memorable. XOXO Rachel

Things in Florida

We're busy in Florida, but today a fever forced me to slow down.

The kids slept over last night. It took a long time for them to actually fall asleep. Delaney got teary around 9:30--she wanted her mama. Donovan persuaded her to stay with a great big hug. He's such a good big brother. We all (grandma included) smooshed together on the hotel bed and watched Shrek 3 on my laptop. Grandma left around 10:30. Delaney put her two doll babies to sleep (Baby Boy and Mia, I think) and then she cuddled up on Donovan's legs. She was out like a light. Donovan followed moments later.

I spent the night in an uneasy half-sleep. Delaney was close to the bottom of the bed, and Donovan was close to falling off the side. Every hour or so I'd wake up with a start and make sure both kids were secure.

Donovan woke me up at 7:00 and I knew that I was sick with a fever. I cuddled with the kids a bit, and then grandma came to take them to her room. I was back in bed by 9, and slept until 1. I couldn't really concentrate on much, not even The Subtle Knife (oh how did I go so long without reading His Dark Materials?). A day-long SVU marathon lulled me to rest all day long.

I have three more days with the munchkins. I still need to help Donovan work on some art designs (I'm going to help him open a cafepress shop). And I'm probably due for another make-over from Delaney and her giant box o' Disney makeup. There's a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, a movie date with Donovan and New Year's Eve before I leave.

Tracking Santa

On Christmas Eve, the kids and I tracked Santa on the NORAD site. We watched him visit Africa and Japan and Europe. We watched the NORAD footage on YouTube.

I noticed that you could call NORAD for updates. Donovan called first. After a recorded message, he got to talk to a live operator. How genius! He asked when Santa would reach Florida, and the operator said that he would be there around 1am. Delaney called next and asked, "When is Santa Claus coming to town?"

We composed an email to Santa and sent it along with a picture of the gingerbread house the kids made:

Santa, you're flying good. I hope you like our blueberry muffins. Reindeers: watch out for traffic!! You love me, Santa. And reindeers love to be with Santa Claus. And this came true because Santa is so beautiful.

Neice + Nephew = Fantastic

Be Merry

Like me and the munchkins :)

Merry Chistmas!

Here's a wish to all my friends: have a glorious holiday full of love and cookies (or bacon if you prefer savory things).

Going Going GONE!

Headed out tomorrow. I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE MY MUNCHKINS.

We Hit It!

One of our books hit the bestseller list! Woot woot woot. Yeah yeah yeah.

I hit the office gong with great force to celebrate.

When I worked for another-company-that-shall-not-be-named, they always had a bunch of books on the list every week. At first I thought it was cool. After a few weeks, it became unremarkeable.

I kind of love working at a company where it's a big deal to get on the list. It feels nice and small and kind of small town.

Box of Monsters

Jaimie took this on her camera phone. Just another day at work. Just another box of plastic finger-puppet monsters.

Bunk Beds

Donovan asked me if I'd like the top or bottom bunk. I voted for neither! I told him if I was on the top bunk, I would fall off and hurt him. He said I should take the bottom then. I told him I'd take the floor instead.

Delaney got on and she was laughing. "You're too big for the bunk bed!" So I asked if I could sleep her in room instead. Again, she laughed, "Huh huh NO!"

Two days until I see them all. My parents start their drive to Florida tomorrow. I have all my presents stacked in a corner of the bedroom. Since I'm working until Thursday, I plan on getting home from work tomorrow and tossing random clothes into my luggage. I'm going to bring my laptop so I can catch-up on my comedy class. There's a stack of paperbacks I'm dying to read. And some knitting.

I'm almost in the Christmas spirit. A few rounds of cookie baking with the munchkins and I should be highly spirited.

Knit-mas

I had 4 presents I wanted to knit this year for the holidays: a blanket for grandma, a blanket for Delaney, and neck warmers for Meg and Anna. I finished them all in plenty of time--this is a first. Made mom that sparkly hat. Started a hat for Andee. Made Kim a hat. Made Vince a simple neck warmer. And I'm starting another project now.

Donovan wants a new blanket, and I promised I'd start it in Florida. There are some babies I know that could use goofy winter hats. Knitting makes me so happy. The yarn, the sound, the colors, and the soothing back and forth. In the chaos of the morning subway ride, I can take out my knitting and relax.

Between the knitting and necklace making, it's been a creative fall. If I could find more time to read, I'd be delighted. Maybe I need to reconsider books on tape. Crafting while reading/listening--that kills a lot of birds with only a few stones.

Hey Mom!

I made you a sparkly Christmas hat.

At the v. least, it will amuse the kids.

The weather outside is frightful. . .

Dear God it's only 28 degrees outside.

Finished!

In the nick of time, I finished my grandma's blanket. She'll get it in plenty of time for Christmas, and I can finally check it off my list.

It was a really easy project, but once it stopped being portable, it was tricky to find the time to do it.

But I did, and now my grandma can snuggle under something pretty and cozy and soft.

Can You Here Me Now?

At long last I re-upped my cell contract and upgraded my phone. My Razr was a terrible phone. The camera died a few months ago, it often died mid-call, the screen leaked glue. Not good. Now I have a Samsung A737 in lime (the one on the right). The color is a bit obnoxious, but I like it. It's a pretty snappy little guy--I've named it Charlie.

Hot Poker

Christopher Marlowe's Edward the Second rocks! And it's playing in NYC.

TONY describes it thusly: Marc Vietor stars as the decadent English king Edward II in Christopher Marlowe’s protoqueer 1592 power play.

Any takers? It runs through Jan 13 2008.

Ambitious

Haven't made anything like this yet. Should I give it a whirl? A fine vacation project?

And what color? Red might be cool? Or grass green? Or something variegated??

Please Cross Your Fingers

Two of our books are being tracked by the New York Times. This is unprecedented for us--and awesome! I'll find out tonight around 6. In the meantime, if everyone could cross their fingers, I would appreciate it!

UPDATE: The Times sucks and we didn't make the list this week. Stupid stupid list.

Sleeeeepy

Hmm. It's 6:59 and I've been up since 6:29. Took a hot hot shower and now I'm trying to will myself to get into clothes.

Last night: office holiday party
This morning at 9: big important meeting

I'm not so much hungover as I am over tired. The party? Great fun. Hard cider on tap and good company. And I'm excited about the meeting--we'll hear about the kids books coming down the pike for 2008.

Still. I'm sleepy.

Really Random Observations

+ I spent 5 unpleasant hours today figuring out my corporate card statements. Oh I hate math.

+ I've seen X-Men 3 and Harry Potter IV too many times.

+ Cats think they want kielbasa, but they really don't.

+ Meg and Anna are two of my favorite people in the world.

+ Hot borscht gets on my clothes, and I don't care. Hot borscht is a safe food.

+ I'm going to see the rodeo with Jaimie in January. We'll be in the good ol' corporate box.

+ Today I sent out a slew of presents, and started sending out my holiday cards.

+ Tomorrow is the company Christmas party. I will drink moderately.

+ You might think Oreo Cakesters would taste good. They don't.

+ There are too many movies to see. Juno. The Mist. Sweeney Todd. Atonement.

+ Next year I will have a booth at a craft fair.

+ I'm starting to understand Facebook.

+ Seriously, Oreo Cakesters taste like petroleum, Crisco, and rat poison all baked into a squishy disc.

Pictures of the Kiddos

From l. to r.: Two munchkins, Donovan dressed up for his holiday pictures, Delaney is just awesome, and Donovan stands in front of the chaos that is the second-grade chorus. Two more weeks  until I see them and the time can't move faster. 

Adoptions

Two dogs got adopted at the shelter today while I was there. Two! Someone took Sasha, the puppy. And two ladies from Jersey were ready to adopt a cute little poodle as I left for home. Star, the kitten, must have gotten adopted during the week. And there were tons of volunteers. It was a hectic morning, but the anipals got lots of attention and super-clean cages.

Again I got to clean the kitties' eyes. They really like it, and it's the sweetest thing in the world to feel them purr and kneed into me.

I want to volunteer more. My happiest point all week is when I walk through the doors at the shelter.

Craftacular Countdown

December 8th.

9am.         
Left the apartment all bundled up and headed to Chelsea for the Bust Craftacular.

9:18am    
Got onto a bus and started knitting a Christmas project for someone-who-shall-not-be-named.

9:30am         
Arrived in Manhattan and proceeded to next bus.

9:34am      
M15 arrives and I get on. Kind-of-crazy man acts kind of abusive toward his companion in a wheelchair. Companion is laughing. Passengers look uncomfortable.

9:38am    
Kind-of-crazy man takes off his shoes and throws them at his companion. Throws them hard across the aisle. She throws him his boots in return. Bus starts to smell of feet, so I head toward the back.

9:45am      
Get off bus two and head over to bus three. I love buses.

10:05am
Arrive at the metropolitan pavilion. Notice the really really long line of crafty people and immediately realize that I will not be getting the free gift bag (only 300 available).

10:08am   
I wonder, why isn't the line moving? Fair starts at 10?? I'm thankful I brought some knitting.

10:15am   
I'm meeting Vince and Lisa for brunch at noon. Will I even get into this damn fair by then? I'm feeling down on crafts.

10:30am
Miracle of miracles. The line is moving!

10:37am   
I'm in! Almost immediately I spot Amy Sedaris signing books and selling crafts. I kind of want a pill case with a picture of Jerri Blank on the cover--but it's $10. Too rich for my blood.

11:00am   
Oh, this is a good craft fair. Lots of people I know from their Etsy stores or blogs. I feel the love.

11:05am   
One visit to a crafter I LOVE and my list is almost done. And she's so nice and we are mutually happy.

11:10am   
A vendor sees me cough and offers me a cough drop. People craft are good people. I buy a t-shirt from him for my brother.

11:12am
My old knitting teacher has a booth and I say hi. She's adorable and her book just came out.

11:30am
An old friend from Huntington is here manning her booth. I say hi. Maybe I should have bought something? But my list was done. . .

11:35am   
A woman is selling bird earrings from a suitcase display. She's from New Orleans and these are not metal birds, but little dollhouse feathered birds. They are under $20, and that was my allowance for Rachel-gifts.

11:38am
I buy Vince and Lisa each a cookie from the Lower East Side Girls Club. Charity combined with cookies. Perfect. And then I leave. . . but first I stop at the Etsy booth for a pin, an elf badge, and two mushroom ornaments that, unbeknownst to me at the time, look like two tampons capped with red mushroomy hats.

The Word of the Day: Yum

My day off has been delicious and relaxing.

There was a good bit of knitting, and I cooked up a storm.

This morning I peeled all my farmer's market apples for slow-cooker applesauce. It's been bubbling away since noon and the whole apartment smells like Fall.

For lunch, I made a vegetarian "chili" with sweet potatoes, pink beans, coconut milk and other good things. Oh it came out so good. The recipe came from my nutritionist, and she hit the mark. It reminded me of one of my favorite thai dishes--massaman curry--but without the bad-for-me bits.

Now I've got a pork loin roasting in the oven. I patted it down with a fresh herb salt (a tasty recipe from one our spring books--we gave out samples at the press event on Thursday and I took one for myself). There's a pan of brussels sprouts ready to roast. And I made a small batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

I'm quite the little cook when I have the time. It finally feels like some of my nutritionist's advice is sinking in. It's gratifying to make your own food, to use whole foods, and to know what you're putting in your mouth.

That's what she said.

Off

I have today off and I'm feeling giddy.

Today I will make applesauce in the slow cooker, spend 4 hours working on grandma's blanket, and write out some Christmas cards. I might go see "The Mist" because it's my favorite Stephen King short story, and I hear they changed the ending.

Today I will NOT spend too much time online, do work, or clean the apartment (well, maybe a little later in the day).

Some Fun

It's been a frantic few days of work. But in the midst of the rushing around, there are moments of pure fun.

Jaimie and I spent some time today decorating this little Christmas tree in the spirit of DNO. We also made 100 kits full of decorations for booksellers. It rocks, right? We used plastic monster finger puppets, sticky gummy hands, koosh balls, halloween finger puppets and mardi gras beads. Oriental Trading is a godsend.

We also had a smashing press lunch today for two of our authors. Smashing. It was a wine and beer tasting. Somehow I managed to drink a wee bit too much. I think it was all the mixing. Ouch. We tried 3 beers and 3 wines and by the third of each things started to feel carefree and delightful. My elation was furthered by my managerial pride. It rocked seeing one of my publicists have such a brilliant event. I felt like a (tipsy and) proud mama bear.

One more author event tomorrow, and then it's time to take a deep breath and coast out of 2007.

Candy Ache

My first corporate Christmas gift arrived today--a big old wooden box full of old-fashioned candy. I ate too much, too mindlessly.
Necco Wafers. A peppermint patty (little). A Bit O'Honey. Too much! Too much! The wax lips and the bubblegum cigarettes tempted me too. Just for kicks. But I resisted.

OH HAI. I HAS A BLANKITT.

Let Me Suggest. . .

Chuck and I saw "No Country For Old Men." Good good movie. Violent and scary--perfect for the holidays!

Yesterday while I crafted (it was a good weekend for crafting), I watched "Year of the Dog." Molly Shannon is brilliant--sad and funny and crazy. I didn't realize it was a Mike White film until the credits rolled. Or maybe I knew and then forgot? Anyhow, it's a lovely weird movie. It fed my dislike for Peter Sarsgaard (he creeps me out, I can't explain it).

Meow

This is one of the shelter's kitties. Her name is Star. Look how freaking cute she is in this picture on PetFinder. And she purrs a lot. All the time.

And this is one of two tuxedo cats that have been there for the past few weeks. I named one of them, but I can't remember the name. One of the cats is really messy, the other is really neat.

I am so tired from the shelter today, but it was a really good visit. After cleaning the cat cages, I wiped all the kittens' eyes and put ointment on the ones who needed it. It sounds like something a kitten would hate--but they loved it (except one really feisty little guy).

The shelter really needs supplies--one of the kitty litter pans is a cake pan. I just made a Christmas donation to the shelter through PayPal. If you're looking for a charity to support this season, consider the cats and dogs of Queens!  You can donate here. 

Weather Alert

It's SNOWING!!! This caught me by surprise, and I love it.

Now off to help with the kitties. The nice kitties, the ones who don't scratch me nearly as much as a certain cat named SAMANTHA who sleeps on my back.