Thursday-ness

Isn't there something about Thursdays that are kind of charming? You know you're one day away from the weekend, you're still in that whole work week mindset, but just slightly letting your guard down because you can almost smell the weekend one day away.

And if you're me...you are thinking:

A)I'm going to NY tomorrow!
B) I need to pack for NY tomorrow!
C) I need to decide WHAT to pack for NY tomorrow!
D) I need to figure out how I'm getting to NY tomorrow!
E) OMG, I can't believe I'm going to NY TOMORROW!
F) Do ALL the things to get ready for NY tomorrow.
G) Nature Hike!

Yep. Instead of doing all the things I should be doing (which isn't a lot, but my schedule today is VERY tight) I took a nature hike.

Here's some of what I saw.

Now stop playing hooky! You're going to the Teen Author Festival!

Updatey-ness

I've been trying to blog for days. But life keeps happening.

Anyway, in case you didn't know, I saw The Hunger Games. Twice! AND, I wrote a bunch of things about it over at the First Novels Club. So you should totally check it out!

The first time I saw it, I went to a midnight showing with my critique partner, Donna. So of course I had to be super dorky about it and take embarrassing pictures.

Like a picture of Donna holding ALL the tickets!

And the fact that ALL the screens were showing The Hunger Games

And a shot of me in front of the movie poster. Seriously, I needed to be stopped.

But in case you can't tell from the sheer dorkiness of this post, and you haven't read my love-fest over at the FNC I LOVED it. Also, I'd really like to have Lenny Kravitz's babies.

Anyway, in between obsessing over The Hunger Games, I had a belly dance performance.

This is either a "come hither" gesture, or I'm getting ready to pose in "thinking man" as I contemplate my next move. Your guess.

And last but not least, the very first meeting of the Philly Book Club came together. In case you missed, I have banded together with local YA author K.M. Walton (who is awesome and wrote CRACKED) to create a YA based book club. And for our first ever meeting, we went to the indie bookstore of awesome, Chester County Books and Music where we discussed John Green's THE FAULT IN OUR STARS.

Do not adjust your glasses. I am actually that tall! Me, Joanne Fritz, Amy Garvey (COLD KISS), Kelly Lyman, Katie, K.M. Walton (CRACKED), Ilene Wong, and Christine Danek.

We had such a good time and I'm already excited for next month. We're reading The Scorpio Races. If you want to keep up with events btw, you can always check out my handy EVENTS page. You can also let me know if you need to be added to the email list.

And while I'm just including all sorts of random updates...today is Tuesday (OMG...really?) I also have a new  PHOTO page.

Fun huh?

Ok you guys. Update me on what's happening with you. Who LOVED The Hunger Games? Who didn't know today was Tuesday? Who is shocked I didn't take more dorky photos? Who has no idea why they're reading this post? These are things I want to know.

Random Things on a Wednesday

Guys! It's officially spring! I'm so excited I don't know what to do with myself. Despite the fact that we had such a mild winter with almost (cries) no snow, I'm really happy to be moving into this flowery, bright, happy uplifting season of the year.

And one of my favorite parts is when all the magnolia trees bloom! They're so pretty and the flowers only last a few days so I always make sure to take pictures when it happens.

I tried to take interesting shots. I desperately want to take a photography class--placing that on a short term goals list. Hopefully some time will open up soon for that.

Speaking of learning new things...I just got obsessed with this youtube channel Let's Make It Up. This girl is amazing and can recreate any hairstyle ever. And she braids her hair like a beast. I never could do more than a regular braid before, but after a few "obsessive" hours of watching her tutorials, I can french braid, dutch braid, fishtail braid, four strand braid--sorry guy followers--I know you NEEDED to know that. But I am so proud of myself for learning this. Kind of like when I finally learned how to knit.

If any of you girls are interested (or guys!), here's one of her tutorials.

I'm going to try and rock a certain type of braid tomorrow night....

Because I'm seeing The Hunger Games at midnight! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I am so excited!

Is anyone else going to a midnight show? Can you believe it's finally here????

Last Friday Night

In case you were curious about the wild and crazy ways of a YA Writer let loose on a Friday night, I thought I'd share with you mine.

7:30PM Arrive at Children's Book World in Haverford, PA for Ally Carter signing

7:40PM Meet up with my CP Sara from the First Novels Club. Hang in a corner and skip the line that goes outside and winds around the corner.

7:45PM Talk, laugh, gossip, catch up, discuss books, discuss writing

8:30PM Finally get in line. Go see Ally Carter

8:35 PM Take a picture

9:00: Hang out in the back room with the staff, look at arcs, talk about books

10:00PM Actually get food! Very important as I was hungry and Sara's pregnant!

10:30 Go to Sara's. Eat. Play Hunger Games Board Game

10:31 No, really!

11:45 WIN the game! Head home! Crash!

As you can see I live a wild and crazy life. Someone has GOT to slow me down! Who knows what I'll do this weekend? See The Hunger Games movie at Midnight? Run a YA book club meeting? Go to bed after 11 o' clock? Oh man, somebody stop me!

How was everyone else's weekend.

Ally Carter and Rachel Hawkins Signing

Last night I got to meet up with my CP Donna from the First Novels Club as well as bloggers Jena and Bonnie to go see Ally Carter (Gallagher Girls, Heist Society) and Rachel Hawkins (Hex Hall) who are currently on tour.

Bonnie, Donna, Me and Jena 

Ally and Rachel

And it was SO much fun! Ally and Rachel were really cute telling us how they got off on the wrong train stop in Philly. They knew they were spending the day in Philadelphia, but were supposed to get off in Trenton--which everyone around here KNOWS is in New Jersey, but they didn't. Which I had to say--was hilarious and endearing. Really--if you've never been to Trenton...you're not missing much.

They answered a lot of questions from the audience, but here are a few fun tidbits.

Ally always writes about the only girl in a family that has an unusual family business (spies, thieves) and thinks it's because her family has a cattle ranching business.

Rachel started making up intense heavily plotted stories with her barbies, setting up highly intricate scenarios. And OMG this was ME! As faulty as barbie's look is--I used to set up whole WORLDS with my barbies and usually had some kind of soap opera I'd return to every day.

Rachel based the estate Sophie stays at in Demonglass on the same building used as Pemberley Place in the Kiera Knightly Pride and Prejudice. She ordered a guide book and grounds book and after writing Demonglass, she watched a video tour walking through the building and realized she knew it inside and out and felt like she was seeing the house she imagined living in for so long come to life.

After their talk and Q&A, I had Rachel sign my books (I'm going to another Ally Carter signing tomorrow, so I decided to wait on her). And Rachel was SUPER fun and cute in person. I've been following her/interacting with her online for awhile and she was just as sweet and funny in real life as you'd expect her to be.

Rachel and Me

All in all it was an awesome night! I kind of wanted to just hop on tour with them and hang out more--and also help them navigate Philadelphia and the rest of PA. If they're coming to your town or near your town, you should definitely check them out.

And now...I have books I must read!

Kony 2012 Thoughts

So yesterday I saw the video that I'm pretty sure the entire internet has been talking about, KONY 2012. Which is here if you want to watch it (for the first time or again).


And wow! I think I burst into tears about 10 times. I can't remember the last time I felt so moved. And so I've decided to get involved. I ordered the action kit. I'm planning to cover the night. Or...cover the day, or afternoon, you know, whatever I can do.

BUT...

I have also spent a good deal of time reading criticism of the movement, particularly behind the organization responsible, Invisible Children.

There has been A LOT of strong emotions and arguments occurring since this went viral. And I've read most of them. I encourage you to do the same. Blind faith in this day and age is tough, and hero worship, which I think is happening a lot with the founders of IC, can be even trickier and more dangerous.

Here's the thing though. I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. And yet, I still feel that the good outweighs the bad in this case. IC has been criticized for not having a Ugandan on their board (they should). They've been accused of dumbing down the issue (and they have, but...I believe it was done in good faith to make the most impact--we're living in a twitter world--messages have to be flashy and FAST), and there is also the issue of...if we succeed, now what? Is IC too naive?

I have no idea. I don't think IC has the answers, and I certainly don't. I don't even know what's going to happen in the next scene of the novel I'm currently writing. But the main goal behind Invisible Children does seem to be exposure. And they're doing an amazing job. They are creating a fire and a passion in everyone who sees this video. People are starting to know who Kony is, and they want to get involved.

An open dialogue is forming, one that matters.

Despite any aspect of the group that might be off focus or imperfect, no one can say that a day spent discussing the horrible crimes of Kony over what Kim Kardashian did last week is a bad one. They may not be the perfect organization or the best one for this mission, but they're onto something here, something amazing. And if it encouraged someone who never heard of Kony before to learn more, to do some research, to take a stand, I think it's good. So yes, I am in favor. No, I'm not following blindly. But, I will do my part.

However small that is.

What do you guys think?

Critical Links:


Eric's Wanderings

Washington Post

The Independent

Visible Children (this link has practically broken the internet, hopefully it will work for you)

March Tribal Expo Recap

My belly dance show was last night and...it was a success! SQUEE! Also...phew! I am very relieved it went well, relieved it is over...and kind of surprised it is only Wednesday. Seriously, this week already feels like it happened.

But since I've been talking about it so much, here's a recap of my night. With pictures!

6:30 Arrive early at the venue. Butterflies in my stomach. No lights on. No one is here! AUUUGH! It's freezing, go back to my car.

6:40 Someone is here. I can go inside! Also..BUTTERFLIES!

6:50 Decide on staging and seating arrangements, head back for costume change, hair and make up.

7:10 All dolled up and ready to go! Also BUTTERFLIES!

7:20 Final rehearsal of my dance with dance partner on dance stage. Decide on shoes...or no shoes. No shoes.

7:30 People starting to come in.

8:00 LOTS of people coming in....checking in dancers, collecting music, finalizing set lists and performance schedule, saying hi to friends who arrived for the show. And...my mom:-)

8:30 Getting antsy. Want to start dancing...but missing videographer.

8:45 Videographer is here! We DANCE!

8:46 Our cd skips. Stop dancing...wait for song to come back on

8:47 Waiting...

8:48 Waiting....

8:49 This isn't awkward at all

8:50 Oh who am I kidding? This is totally awkward!

8:51 We dance!

8:55-9:30 Announce the other dancers, watch the show, start to relax that it's going well.

9:30-11Take pictures, catch up with friends. Eat! Change into normal clothes. Sign dancers up for April's show. Relax!

11:00 Think about next show. Get butterflies.

And here are the pictures!

My dance duo opening the show after the long delay

Belly dance duet

Group shot of all the performers

Jenna from Philly Lit Night came!

Happy that the show went well (with a few hitches) at the end of the night.

Gorgeous and fun photo by my friend Sergio Hererra

Friday Five (Birthday Edition)

1. WHEEEE! It's my BIRTHDAY today!!!! So excited!

2. It's all Dr. Seuss' Birthday. And in his honor and the fact that it's Read Across America Day (I seriously have the BEST birthday ever) I'm throwing a Seuss party for my kids at the library!

3. So not a fan of facebook's new timeline. I woke up to over 50 birthday messages (EEEH YAY! I love you guys) but then spent about 50 minutes trying to figure out how to see those messages and say thank you.

4. As an early birthday present to myself last night, I bought special editions of my favorite books of ALL time! The Secret Garden and A Little Princess! (You can never own enough editions of your favorite books)

5. And I talk about both of these books in an interview I did today over at Farah Penn's Blog. Soooooo if you'd like to (because it's my birthday...check it out and show the interview some love).

6. This one's for good luck;)

Happy Friday!!!!