de_scribes

First, in writing news, one of my favorite books is being passed around and up the chains in various places, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

And in dancing news (that's right--dancing news) you are not going to believe this one! Do you know who George Foster is? He was a part of the Cincinnati Reds' "Big Red Machine" during the 70's and was the National League's MVP in 1977. I've never met him, but my husband did at a party recently. They got to talking and George told my husband that he was getting an audition tape together for Dancing with the Stars. Somehow it came up that the only dance George's instructor didn't know how to do was the Jitter Bug (Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing--very similar). So my husband tells him that I WILL TEACH HIM how to do it! So guess who calls on Sunday? George! We talked and now I am meeting him for several Sundays starting Dec. 7th so I can teach the guy to SWING!

Only problem is that the style I know is not the same style they do on the show, so now I'm having to teach myself (and my guinea pig husband) how to do it so I can teach it to George.

My writing group buddies are sure there's a middle grade novel in here somewhere. I think they may be right!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Here's what I'll be doing over the weekend. Doesn't this look like fun? Wish me luck!









Oh, and look what I found today. Here's a petition to get George on the the show that will be sent to the ABC executives. If you'd like to help him get on, just click on the link to sign it. You can even sign anonymously if you like. Thanks!
Online petition - George Foster on

A couple times a week I teach the Cardio Kids class at my gym. This means that I get to listen to my favorite music while playing with my children at stations like the parachute (love the parachute!), hula hoop hopscotch, etc. And I get paid for it! Here's what my room looks like:

So usually I have my four kids plus 8-10 others in my class. But the other day, my little ones had somewhere to be. Can you guess how many other students happened to show up that day?

One! And what a character. Remember the bee girl from Blind Melon's No Rain video?

That was totally her. She looked and acted exactly the same. And she said things like, "Yeah, but can you do THIS?" as she danced around freestyle and did fancy cartwheels ending with a "YES!" and a stylish pose. Just like in this video!
www.youtube.com/watch <---No Rain video that refuses to imbed.

She was awesome! And I'm so putting her in a book someday. Have characters ever serendipitously walked into your life like that? Don't you just love when that happens?

BTW, I hadn't seen this video in a while, but if you watch it (I hope you do--it will make you happy!) you might see yourself in the bee girl. Outsiders don't understand her and then she finds a field of bees. It's exactly how I feel when I read LJ or go to a writing conference. And the precise emotion I felt when I attended the Highlights retreat this summer. I found you! I found my bees! It makes me want to dance like they do in the video.

(PS--Here's some writing news that makes me want to dance, too: My editor at Instructor asked me to write a feature. Yay!)

I really like her style, but I have a problem with whiners who can't take a critique. Don't you want to learn something and get better, Miss Kenley? It's the same for writing. You have to listen to learn. And what's with laughing at other conteztantz! when they're getting their critiques? That's just mean. I guess she could be a victim of editing, but I don't know. Seriously, anyone who can tick off Tim Gunn must be pretty bad.

Respect the Gunn, Kenley! I mean look at that mug. What a sweetheart.


Rant over.

Back to drafting! (and revising based on critiques!)

This is De's hair:






This is De's hair on 80's music:



Any questions?

(No seriously. That hair has a life of its own. I'm sure it can answer all life's mysteries. Fire away.)

When last I blogged, I was off to a beach vacation with the fam--a.k.a. The Crazy People Who Live In My House. :) It was 7 days of fun fun fun! But the packing for the beach, cooking, and doing laundry part was somewhat unpleasant, formidable, and dare I say hazardous. Upon our return, I had only 6 days to prepare for my departure to a working writers' retreat!

re*treat

NOUN:

1. The act or process of withdrawing, especially from something hazardous, formidable, or unpleasant.


Heh heh heh.

Here are the retreat peeps that could make it this year:


Baby Got Back Row: Cassandra Reigel Whetstone, Sara Lewis Holmes, Anne Marie Pace, Alma Fullerton, DeAnn Marie O'Toole, Loree Griffin Burns, Katy Duffield, Kristy Dempsey, Linda Urban, The Swingers: Kathy Erskine, Tanya Seale

( Lots more photos under here . . . )

a FOOL was born. My mom!
Exactly twenty-four years later, another FOOL was born. Me!
(And about that same time, still another FOOL came to be. kellyrfineman!)

That's a lot of foolishness, people.

I already got some great presents:

1. editorial notes (that I agree with!) on my favorite book (This is actually one of the best presents of every times! as my daughter would say.) I'm so excited to work on this manuscript I think I might 'splode.

2. a card from my son that reads: "I stole this card from Kinko's and now I'm in jail. The son you see now is just a virtual son. I love you, Mom. Happy Virtual Birthday!" Do you think "virtual" may have been a spelling word this week? And why Kinko's? That made me laugh.

3. My first article came out in Instructor magazine! It's five activities to do in your classroom on . . .guess what? April Fool's Day! I found a link to the article heading online, but only the picture that accompanies my article is there. But guess whose article is on that page? lisamullarkey's! So that's pretty cool too! And if you read her article, you'll see that she ain't no fool at all.

Happy birthday Mom and Kelly!

*My mom is not 87. It just sounded kinda cool and o-fficial-like.

It's Carrie Jones' online convention! So if you're a Mainer . . .Mariner? Mainliner? Mandible? What are you people? Mainers, methinks. Hee. Anyhoo, if you live in Maine, then Carrie Jones is your best bet for Maine Legislature.

If you don't believe me (or Grover, and how could you not believe Grover?), then check out her site. And be sure to read the Finding Heroes page. You'll clearly see why she deserves your vote.

Now, I live in Cincinnati. Do you what today is here? It's Opening Day! This is a national holiday for the O'Toole clan. Me and 50 of my closest relatives are heading down to our riverfront Great American Ballpark for the first pitch of the baseball season. Let the mayhem ensue! Woot!

my father-in-law, Jim O'Toole

My mom lives 90 seconds from my house, but when we see each other, the kids kind of take over and we don’t get much time to catch up. So we decided that every late Wednesday night we’d have coffee, chat, and watch an episode from the first season of LOST together. Last night was our first time and it was so fun! I think my mom is hooked, and I forgot how exciting the pilot was.

Speaking of lost, I’m feeling a bit off course in my latest novel. This used to scare the Charles Dickens out of me. But experience tells me this is part of the process. I always find myself here at some point, frightened there’s no way out. But I’ve learned that you have to continue pushing through the painful walls--keep opening the closed doors.
Trust is the key.
And wine.
No, no, just kidding!
Beer works just as well.

And hey, look what I snagged from saputnam’s blog. You know Sawyer who is always giving Kate new nicknames? Well, you can take this little quiz and it will tell you your Sawyer nickname. He calls Kate Freckles, Sassafras, Puddin’, Shortcake, stuff like that. Whiskersink got Ladybug. So, um, guess what name came up for me?

JUMBOTRON.

What the heck? Do they have a webcam on that thing or something? I know I’m big, but jeez!

::Ego clean-up in aisle seven::

I hope you’re finding your way in your WIP today!

Here are a few things I'm loving today in no particular order:

I love this stuff:That's right. I have one gray hair for every student I ever had. And ten for each of my children.
I don't know how they get it to match all those different shades, but it really works, people! It's awesome!

I love drop-what-they're-doing-and-help-you-this-instant crit partners.

I love my agents. I don't think I've said that publicly, but I totally do. Kendra and Minju rock the casbah.

I love this guy. My hubby. There's just something about a man with a Baby Bjorn Borg. Don't you think?

I love this guy, too.


He's Kyle Ensley, future President. I'm so sad he got kicked off the island.

I love the writing life, and being here with you! Awwww!

And finally . . .

I love that when my first grader was being a ham at the breakfast table, his second grade brother said, "He thinks he's a stand-up Canadian."

::spit take::

Happy Valentine's Day!

For the past few weeks, my three-year-old has put together some inventive holiday medleys.
I finally caught one on film last night. Can she turn a phrase or what?
This is especially for our sweet newport2newport and her holiday display.
I hope this music makes you smile!










Happy Holidays to all!

May your season be filled with song, love, and laughter.

Yesterday, I wrote two chapters of my ending and suddenly, an unexpected chapter popped up. It was the LAST LAST one, and I had to wait until this morning to write it. As I started, I kept thinking to myself, But my MC hasn't made a big decision yet. He needs to make a decision at the end, and there isn't one for him to make. This isn't going to work. I'm doing this wrong. But I kept typing. And do you know what happened? Before I knew it, his big decision was right there in front of my face. Actually, he made it before I even had time to think about the fact that it was happening. I was proud of him. And I cried until I got to the last word. Because really? I had made a decision, too. And I was just as proud of me.

Sorry to be a gush.

It is a happy day!

JoNoWriMo has inadvertently turned into DeNoBlog,Yo! What's my deal? It's like I can't be on LJ very much when I'm writing a first draft or something. Maybe it's because I get distracted easily. No, that's probably not hey! a chicken!

See?

Anyway. After much writing and rewriting, I finally got into a good groove with my WIP. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll finish by December 1st. If I stick to 1K a day, I should make it, but it's going to be close. I've been working my little turkey feathers off, so I will be truly excited when I finish this down draft. Wish me luck!

Oh, and here was another distraction. Guess what I contracted.  Fifth Disease! It's a little kid virus like chicken pox. What is up with that? Have you ever had it? And do you think it's a coincidence that I am currently writing about fifth graders? Hmm? Yeah, I didn't think so either.
Vedy interestingk.

And in the embarrassing department, I have this recent telephone conversation to share:

Librarian: Milford-Miami Public Library, this is (name withheld for privacy), may I help you?
          Me: Yes, I was wondering if the books I requested came in yet?
  Jennifer: Sure, I can check on that for you. What's the name?
          Me: O'Toole.
  Jennifer: One second.
::at least one second goes by, probably more like 10, but definitely less than 20, maybe like, you know, 12::
  Jennifer: Yes, they're here if you'd like to come pick them up.
          Me: Great! Thanks a lot.
  Jennifer: No problem.
          Me: Love you.
                  Wait. What did I just say? Huh? Who said that? Crap. That was me.
  Jennifer:
          Me: I mean ::clears throat:: goodbye!
  Jennifer: ::giggling in anticipation of retelling this story over the loud speaker at the library:: Um, bye. (you freak)

I am such a dolt. A dolt who loves librarians, yes. But a dolt just the same.



And last but not least, Happy Thanksgiving!  My prayers go out to everyone for a safe and happy holiday!

Although they're good readers now, when my sons were this age, they never chose reading on their own.
So imagine my glee to find my daughter frequently choosing The Dark Side all by herself. :D

Speaking of glee, I have the whole house to myself until 3:25 today! This NEVER happens.
I will not turn on the TV. I will not finish cleaning out the basement. I will not open the humongo bag of Halloween candy. (Yeah, right!)
I am going to write. And write. And then write some more. And after that, I might do a little writing.

Hooray for the rare writing day!

My mom sent me some old photos.
I've been telling everyone that my character "Pinky" is based on my daughter.
But maybe she's more autobiographical than I realized!

 
De at 3                                   De's daughter at 3

What mean mom would make her kids do book reports in the summertime?
Umm . . .me!
Because Showcase Cinemas gives free tickets to kids every Wednesday if they read a book and fill out the online report! (If'n you wanna, you can find the nearest participating theater and report form here.)
Aaaand they give away cool things like those Nick Jr. Ready-to-Read books (that are especially perfect for one of my little guys).
And they gave us all packets of Lemonheads! (Which, um, taste suspiciously like petrified balls of Lemon Pledge but, ya know, whatever. I still love them!)
And did I mention FREE? I'm all about free. I mean, how else could I afford to take all my kiddles to the movie theater? Huh?
Are you doing this already? Are there other cool summer reading things like this that you're participating in?
(BTW, I only just discovered this myself or I'd have posted sooner.)
I am savoring these last days of summer with my kids like kernels at the bottom of the red and white box.
So Thank You and Three Cheers to all the sponsors of this ingenious idea.
Isn't that cool? Okay, it's not I Got To Spend The Weekend In LA At The Conference kind of cool (hee). But still. Isn't that cool?

De-licious Tip #48 aka THE SUNSHINE GRAND SLAM SCRAMBLER

Need a new Breakfast on the Run recipe? Don't have time to cook before jumping into that WIP of yours?
Instead of that silly old regular creamer, just add Egg Beaters directly to your cup of coffee.
(I have! Twice now in the last month!)
Mmm . . .there’s nothing like coagulated egg product to start your day off right.
Caffeine + Protein = Breakfast of Idiots Champions



Yes, I was Half & Half asleep, but lookit! Could these containers BE more alike?

That is all.

After her fantastic post, walkwrite tagged me to do the Eight Interesting Things About Me meme. I’m not sure how interesting this is, but here goes. Ooh! And did you see crissachappell’s entry? Now that was interesting.

1. I wear a size 11 shoe. If you happen to need to rent a pair of matching canoes, I’m your girl.

2. I was one of the winners of Cheryl Klein’s photo caption contest! The prize is an Arthur A. Levine ARC—woot! I chose Shaun Tan’s The Arrival. Click on over to see this incredible-looking graphic novel. His work reminds me of Chris Van Allsburg’s, who’s been a favorite of mine for years. Isn’t his stuff amazing? I can’t wait to see this book up close. Thanks again for the fun contest, Cheryl.

3. I planted a garden outside my office window. I really enjoy looking at it while I write and think, especially in the wee hours before the world wakes up. Every morning, a bunny makes a breakfast buffet of my beautiful flowers. They are disappearing. I don’t care. I love that bunny.

4. In a few short weeks, dotificus, sbennettwealer, and I are having a writing retreat at The Granville Inn in Columbus, Ohio! Doesn’t this place look ideal? Dot found it. I can’t wait!

5. I am a big DCI (Drum Corps International) fan. This past week, I attended a competition and had a total blast listening to the awesome music and admiring the precision of the drill. (Once a marching band geek, always a marching band geek I guess!)

6. As I write picture books, I inadvertently see the illustrations completely formed, and always by well-known artists (ha!). It’s not something I consciously do, and I never know who it will be before I begin, but it always seems to happen. Unbeknown to him, Jared Lee is currently illustrating a rhyming picture book of mine! Hee.

7. I’m a wiggler. If I’m sitting with my legs crossed at the knee, that foot is go go going. And if I’m laying down, my foot is constantly rocking. I think it used to drive dh crazy, but now I’m pretty sure it rocks him to sleep. Which is good because . . .

8. Today is my 13th wedding anniversary! We have always had fun golfing together (even though I’m pretty terrible), so that’s how we’re celebrating today. And without the FORE! kids, too. Whee!

Do you know the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown? It's a classic from 1964 that is a springboard for the Flat Stanley Project. This is a project where kids make paper dolls of themselves and begin a pen pal journal. Then they mail their doll around the country\world and whoever receives it makes a journal entry and maybe sends a photo of themselves with the doll.

So guess who I, I mean, my son Jack was dying to send his paper doll to?

Mo Willems! (Have you ever seen his blog? It's really cool.)

Jack was a little nervous about composing a letter to Mo, so I helped him with the first draft and he went back and edited accordingly.
Here it is:

Dear Mr. Willems,

I am a middle-aged mom who thinks you’re da bomb diggity. I’m a third grader at Seton Elementary. Enclosed is my cell phone number and three picture book manuscripts. Enclosed is my Flat Stanley project and a comic. Is there any way I could be in your critique group? Is there any way you could make an entry in my journal? And I’d love to have your babies, if it’s not any trouble. And I’d love to have a photo, if it’s not any trouble.

I love you,
Your De

Thanks,
Lowercase J

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, all kidding aside, my son sent him a very normal letter. (And although it was hard, I didn't mention that I wrote or was trying to break in to Published Kiddie Land.)

Look what he sent!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack,

Here's a picture of me with your flat jack.

Hmmm... flapjacks....

Thanks for the note, keep drawing, and you'll get your jack back soon.

Your pal,

Mo


He even added that cartoon bubble! Can you read it? It says AAAK! IT'S JACK!

And he sent stickers, and a signed pigeon cartoon postcard, and he drew another pigeon and signed and dated it in Jack's journal!

How neat is that? I mean, I can't imagine the amount of mail he receives. So for him to respond so quickly and with such enthusiasm . . . well, I'm just really blown away by his generosity. We all know he's a great talent, and he's obviously a great guy, too.

Thank you, Mo!
 

Dude!
I can't believe I'm saying this but . . .I actually finished my book! 

It's a novel now. Me! The one who's always trying to keep the word count under 500. A novel!

I know lots of you have done this before. More than once even. And in just a couple of weeks, some of you.
::waves to robinellen and wonders how she does it::
But this is all new territory for me.

My little 8,000 word chapter book has morphed into a 23,500 word middle grade!
I doubted and doubted. But I wrote and wrote anyway. And then I doubted some more. But I did it!

So before I get the next round of revisions, or the email that says the entire second half is el sucko, I just thought I'd celebrate a little with the friends that have helped me so much along the way.

Yippee!

You know how sometimes those horrible tummy sicknesses run through each member of your family one by one? Well, that has been us for three weeks. I got my turn on Friday. I’m feeling better now, but ugh. Not pretty. That, plus this REVISION PURGATORY (think Newbery\Dingleberry Syndrome) I’m living in has kept me off the Internet. I’ve missed you guys!

So I know I’m switching gears here, but because I’ve been snuggling with sickies in front of the TV more than usual, I saw something and it’s totally bothering me. Have you caught that new Swiffer Duster commercial? The one where the lady hangs the duster in the closet and exclaims to it, “I’ll see YOU same time tomorrow!”

Tomorrow?
Tomorrow?

Am I supposed to be dusting EVERY DING-DONG DAY? I have so not been doing that. HAVE YOU BEEN DOING THAT? Are we under some sort of military dust mite regime I’ve not been made aware of? Is there a pledge I should know?
(Heh heh. Get it? Pledge? Just ignore me. Really.)

Or wait. Is this some sort of ploy? Like they’re thinking If we can get just 20% of the population to THINK that everyone else is dusting every day, then these babies will sell like gangbusters!

Well forget about it Swiffer Duster Lady People! You’re not going to make me feel badly about my housekeeping. I’ll be darned if I’ll dust my bunnies every day!

But hmm . . .I do write every day. Sometimes about bunnies even.
So what does this say about me? As a Mom? As a housekeeper?  As someone who never liked the name Warren?
No! I won’t give in to this commercialized peer pressure! Are you with me People?

So hey there, little iMac. Are you ready to work on our latest revision? I’ll see YOU tomorrow. I might even dust you off a little.

Naaaah.