april is the wild card.

As you may have noticed, I am not participating in the A-Z blogging challenge. Sweet relief! There's no way I was gonna pull that off.

And since I've developed a false sense of no-one-can-see-me, I've switched to a font that does this blog absolutely no favors. The words are difficult to read, but they also LOOK WHIMSICAL, and let's not forget our priorities, here.

Also, no guarantee on the background. I am in IDENTITY CRISIS MODE.

MORE NEWS:

I'm in Martha's Vineyard. This morning I woke up in Boston. Yesterday we went to Maine. This weekend we'll be in Manhattan.

And I've forgotten what day of the week it is (Wednesday. It's Wednesday).

random cat picture says,
"how productive can you really be on this thing?"

Perhaps I will post something that makes more sense tomorrow (now that we have internet again).

Until then, here's some unadulterated nonsense, for all you phone-puter gaming fans:

Ah, Whale Trail.

cat picture + jennifer :: true things.

Hey there, strangers.

Lots of stuff, lots of stuff. Lots of good stuff. Midnight blogging, too. Hello, friends on the other side of the world who are enjoying this lovely March morning. My cat just fell asleep on my arm after attacking my hands. He does stuff like that. It merits a picture.

Oh, Oliver. If you'd stop being cute, I'd stop taking pictures of you.

Anywho, my friends, in 24 hours I'll be watching

The Hunger Games {!}, 

and probably dying a little bit inside. The question is whether or not it will be the good kind of dying {because there are two kinds, you know}.

It gets me to thinking, do any of you remember this? I had so few readers a year ago when the casting craze began, I'm not sure who knows. I've felt funny about saying anything since then, but it's true.

I grew up going to church with Jennifer Lawrence and her family. Yes, that Jennifer Lawrence. I know. I know. It is amazing. I am so happy for her, and proud beyond words. It is also incredibly weird because, well. You know. I knew her as a little kid, and not as freaking Katniss. The bragging rights pretty much end there, but now you know. In case you didn't before. I just... had to tell you again. I don't even know why. But it's a true thing, and I like for people to know true things about me.

We love you, Jennifer. Louisville girls represent.

thoughts from the kitchen sink. or: the best way for me to do dishes?

BLOG ABOUT UNRELATED THINGS AT THE SAME TIME.

So, for your edification and entertainment, here's what's going on in my head as I slog though hot, soapy water and partially deconstructed food chunks {yay!}:

1. Preparing coffee in a clear glas = way too much fun.

But I am easily entertained.

2. I cannot get enough of:

Seriously, my husband is likely rolling his eyes for all the times he's heard this video, emanating from somewhere in the house in the past week.

He could also be wondering, "I thought she was going to do the dishes?"

Lucky for me, he is, in fact, asleep.

Still... *sigh*

*HOUSEWORK BREAK*
{not to be confused with its infinitely more awesome cousin,
*dance break*}

half-a-sink later:

*SHE EMERGES!*

Major news, you guys:

3. I met John and Hank Green in Phoenix last night!!

gasp!

eeeeeek!

giddy
fangirl
squee-fest!

...

Vicariously, that is.

Thank you, Jess. Friends in high places, seriously.

MORE ON THIS TO COME.

{It gets even better.}

{Special shout out to Jeigh, as well.}

4. I've been reading The Plot Whisperer like a fiend, lately. A little, uh... new age-y, in some places, but  I can still {very much} dig it. 

new iphone case {via etsy}! whee!

In fact, I'm heading to The Necessary Evil* right now to get supplies for my shiny-new PLOT PLANNER! {I don't know if I need much I don't already have, but the ritual of "going to the store to get stuff" is immensely helpful to me. So here I go.}

*also known as Walmart.

That's all for now, friends.
Here's to a lovely and relaxing Thursday evening!

winning!

A of all, thank you and a hug to Kris for this award:

I do love tea, and all cups involved! To whom will I pass it on, you ask? Scroll down to find out! {or, you know, read the rest of the post first.}

Speaking of winning, remember when we had that contest-y blogfest thing? And remember how I said there would be winners? I was not, in fact, lying! Incredible.

So, without further ado, even though there were several honorable mentions {like Jeigh's first, uh, query experience, Lee's play about veggies in a fridge {Mr. Cabbage was type-cast! Bahaha!}, Jillian's dino/shake picture and Tristyn's "Chubby Dinos in Love", Jess's impressive pop-up book, Tara's potentially disastrous but so, so clever Sign in Please... heck, I could give them all honorable mentions, really}, I hereby award first prize {i.e. first pick of prizes) to... Gracie! Because, oh my gosh, that story about the recycling bin was brilliant. Heck, they all were. Go read, if you haven't already. The last line of the story about Bear and Girl made me L to the O L.

So, Gracie, please email me at julie {dot} maughon {at} gmail {dot} com with your mailing address and prize choice {a copy of Daughter, discount-book-store goody bag, or first chapter critique}, and we'll get this thing started!

Drawing winners!
In second place, as per the random generator {also known as my husband announcing a number after I "drumroll"}, is Kathy McKendry! Yay!!!
And in third, Rhianne!

Congrats, ladies! If you could email me as well, 'twould be fantastic. I'll email you back as your turn to pick comes along. Huzzah!*

*I went to an 18th century fair last weekend. It was awesome. Unfortunately {or perhaps quite fortunately?}, I'm having trouble ceasing with the lingo. Hhhhhuzzah.

And now, as a special treat, I'd like to pass this One Lovely Blogger Award on to all Thirteen Lovely Bloggers who entered the 'fest. In case you forgot yourselves:

C. Lee McKenzie
Gracie
J
Jeigh Meredith
Jenna Cooper
Jess McKendry
Jillian
Kathy McKendry
Redbootpearl
Rhianne
Ruth Josse
tara tyler
Tristyn E.

Love{ly} to you all! {And seriously, every entry was amazing.}

*turns off internet* *goes back to NaNo* *eats ice cream*

{45,546 to go!}

who does amazon think i am?

Hello, Amazon. You're good for lots of things, you know? I can buy books from you, maybe music... okay, mostly books. No one here is complaining. Not counting the whole "taking business away from independent booksellers" thing, of course.

Anywho, Amazon, I'm beginning to wonder if somewhere in your stratosphere, you got your wires crossed about me. You used to send me emails about things I've actually bought. Now, you keep sending me this:

Seriously, it's come twice, now. I blame this post by K. Marie Criddle, and myself for following the link at the end. Now Amazon thinks I lurrve baby unicorns. Well... I guess that's not too far from the truth. I do prefer narwhals.

Arctic mint!

In other news, the very same K. Marie Criddle is moving to Japan, and giving away books about origami and (of course) unicorns in honor of it. You know you want to be a part of that (also, her blog is super fun, if you're not already aware).

But, word to the wise? Be careful about what links to Amazon you follow. Pretty soon, they'll be sending you emails from their "Preschool department," as well. Ha.

signing autographs.

Last night, my husband and I sifted through and signed 24 pieces of paper, which means... we have a mortgage. Oh yeah. One of those things. So grown-up.

Our future house! Complete with mortgage, kitchen and basement!

Three really great things about this:
  One, obviously:  we are homeowners (buhh?).
  Two: I would be lying if I said I didn't pretend that I was autpgraphing books and/or playbills the entire time. It satisfied my daydream-impulse and made me unreasonably happy.
  Three: the word "mortgage" still makes me think of Senor Cardgage. There are certain things I will never outgrow. Homestar = love.

Of course, the most fun/least productive thing about moving is the inevitable furniture daydream. And, even though we won't really have room for one, behold:  the courting chair.

ODE TO A COURTING CHAIR.

Oh, gorgeous, glamorous courting chair.

How do I love (love!) thee?

Certainly not how I love human beings, but look! This one seats three!

(Disclaimer: the poem really goes downhill from here.)

I love thee in public in South America.
I love thee wrought from iron.

I love how your purpose stays the same, through all the different style-ron(s).

(*groan*)

(No more rhyming.)

Oh, to talk with you, love.

To hold your hand, here where the S bends.

To hold your hand and tell you-- in the parlor,

or the backyard...

I'll act like I'm not staring straight into your ocean blues, or pearly grays

(I'm not picky).

(I am, however, drooling.)

You, darling, belong on my back deck.

Even the Elves are doing it.

Okay, that got a little creepy in the end. Note to self: no more love poems about chairs.

Pardon me while I collect myself. 

Anyway, it's true. Courting chairs make me want to write about love. This is huge, people. Huge. (They might even kiss.)

*puddle*

whatever you do...

Whatever you do, friends, when you're this close to finishing a project you've been working on for nearly a year, don't start playing Plants vs. Zombies. Just don't. You'll thank me later.

My Zombatar. Ain't he handsome?

However, if you're NOT this close to finishing a project you've been working on for nearly a year, by all means. Have some fun! Who doesn't love obliterating undead keister? Especially with cartoon vegetation. 

[Who thinks of this stuff?]

Anyway, since I'm this close to finishing a project I've been working on for nearly a year, I might do a little vanishing act. Things you can expect, though, are as follows:

A special post on May 28 (featuring classic cartoons), and Bess Weatherby's Second Summer in the City Blogfest on June 6. Other than that, it's up in the air, but I'm hoping beyond hope that I'll have something to celebrate with y'all* very, very soon.

*I may not be Southern enough to drink sweet tea, but I sure am Southern enough to say "y'all."

a quick appearance, and a broom.

Just popping in to say, "Where did that week go?"

It's all sorts of spring madness in these parts, including both beautiful and deadly weather, a cat that has figured out how to push through the window screen, a trip to Virginia to listen to music (more on that later), and a new obsession with making Hogwarts versions of myself, my friends, and my characters. Are you ready for this?

Here I am, unusually tan, rocking it out for Gryffindor Quidditch:

*Not a working quidditch uniform.
Who knows what that collar might do?
And yes, I would so play it in sandals.
www.dolldivine.com

Good luck getting anything done for the next several days. Cackle cackle.

greetings from new england.

Once, in the sleepy island town of Nantucket, Massachusetts, there lived (temporarily) a girl of 25 who did not entirely know what to do with her life. Retail was getting her down, and vacation was making her antsy. She had spent nearly a month weary with both. Uh, she thought, I probably shouldn't complain. Luckily for her (but not so luckily for her pocketbook), she had discovered a lovely, independent bookstore, only two blocks from her room at the lodge.

The girl's husband was less fond of this proximity. "Aren't you ready to leave, yet?" he'd had to ask, multiple times, on both visits. The answer had been no, of course. But, he'd let her roam for so long already, and done so well (2:45:58) in the race that brought them to New England in the first place, that it seemed unfair for her to dig her heels into the floor, tempting as it was. Graciously, he did let her buy the handful of things that had stolen her heart. To rephrase: she was going to buy those things regardless. Her husband was gracious about it. "But next time," he added, "we're setting a souvenir budget."

That evening, while her husband slept off his prime rib and beer (men), the girl redid the look of her blog, and then wrote about herself in the third person. It wasn't quite as delightful as buying new books, or fantasizing about quitting her day job (and forgoing all future day jobs) to be a successful novelist and actress, but it would suffice until then. She hoped.

The girl found this photo on the internet. It is, surprisingly,
the exact view she'd had while eating lunch the day before.

this one's going to be a rambler, featuring sponge art and snow.

Since I last posted, I've changed states. And timezones. Not permanently, of course, just for a few days. We cannot let a winter pass without skiing in Colorado, it would seem. And by we, I mean my husband. It's okay, he has an excuse: he actually enjoys it and has copious amounts of skill. I, on the other hand, am only so-so, and cannot ski with a clear conscience unless the slope is labeled green or (maaaaybe) blue, and there are NO other people around. It will still make my knees hurt. It will still make me want to throw up when I start going too fast. I am not the best at skiing, even though I've been doing it for half my life.

The view. Blustery, no?

Don't get me wrong, when all those requirements are met, or I am somehow able to trick myself into believing they are met, I do have a good time. I'm not skiing today, so Joshua can go do all his double black diamonds and junk, but I am determined to ski tomorrow. Determined! We didn't drive halfway across the continent for me to sit and read and blog and write the whole time. Then again, these are my only days off before another caffeine-slinging round of eight-days-in-a-row at work, followed by ANOTHER long trip, so I'm allowing myself a little free time. Is that so bad?

I digress. The best part about coming out here is the road trip. I am a sucker for a road trip, but maybe that's just because I'm so lazy. I love the excuse to read and listen to music, write a little, nap, maybe burn through an audiobook. Fun fun fun. As long as I'm not driving. Then, it's just driving.Yesterday, between Kansas City and Denver, we listened to all of Girl, 15, Charming But Insane, by Sue Limb, and it was delightful. "Pretty girly," as Joshua pointed out, "but also really good." His words, almost exactly (Aha! Success!). Funny, sweet, and very British. Good times. Speaking of funny, sweet, and very British, I also finished Howl's Moving Castle. More on that later. Because, first I want to tell you about some other things.



Before I go on and on, check out the t-shirt I wore the other day:

I like how my necklace gives Perry forehead bling.

I got complimented at the gas station. Oh yeah.

So, I'm no stranger to the City Museum in St. Louis, but, as one might expect, I see something new there, every time I go. It helps to have to get all the way to St. Louis first. I'm sure if I worked there, or lived in the same town, it would get old hat, just like anything else. [Weirdest thing, while Joshua and I were poking around, I heard my name and thought, Surely that's not for me. Of course I turned, since it's physically impossible not to, and a girl I went to high school with was there. Buhhh? She had gone to college in St. Louis, stayed, and now works at the City Museum. I don't know if I should be happy for her or not. The place gets insane.]

We went late at night, a first for me, and it made for a very different atmosphere. Actually, scratch that. It wasn't that different. During the day, there are large groups of small children making a ruckus. Late at night, it's just high-schoolers and college kids, doing the exact same thing. There was even a prom going on. A prom. Who has prom on the first of April? It was practically still March, and all the girls were wearing short party dresses instead of gowns. Is that how it is now? Maybe my school was just weird. [Insert embarrassing picture from senior prom (that I do not currently have) where my date and I meant to go as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (Youth Performing Arts School, what?), but ended up looking like a bride and groom. Sigh.]

Anyway, I did see some pretty cool things, and I'm about to go all travelogue on you, so buckle up.

I look like I'm drooling, or perhaps like I'm wearing vampire teeth. In reality, I was earning a
righteous bruise on my knee while climbing through a petrified tree-tunnel.

In the "caves."

The only visible picture I could get of the ten-story spiral slide.
Which is much more popular with the night crowd. We waited in line for 20 minutes.

This guy was right outside the room that contained the particularly boisterous prom. Hilarious. 

And old, working, carnival game. I won't deny it, this sort of gave me the creeps.
It was moving, doing its thing, and all the parts were creaking, but no one was there. *shudder*

And here is where we went into the giant building blocks room.
Or should I say, building sponges?

This was a definite highlight: the sponge room. Little dirty, but it was great. You can see that dad in there, supervising his son's masterpiece. I overheard the little boy say some pretty spectacular things, but I think I'm going to save it for the next post so I can put my free day to good use and get some writing done. More to come!

so, you know my favorite book?

... and my favorite opening to any book, ever?
Give me one good reason why I shouldn't order this bag right. now.

I Capture the Castle Canvas Shopper

Didn't think so.  :)

While we're at it, I'll take all of these mugs, as well:

Someone likes being left alone, it would seem.

My poor husband.

let's get nostalgic.

Flash back time!

One of my favorite things EVER, from 1993 to 1999 was...

wait for it...

.....
....
...
..
.

American Girl Magazine.  I'm not even going to pretend like it wasn't.  I had a subscription until I was, like 14.  No lie.  Why, you ask?

Those.  Paper.  Dolls.

Ohmygoooooosssssh, I looooove paper dolls.  Muhumbuuaahh.  [That's the sound I make when I'm melting from excessive happiness, not to be confused with an evil cackle.]
Paper dolls and doll houses.  Little things.  Make me all... twitterpated.

I wanted to be an AG paper doll SO bad.  I was too embarrassed to do the research, though, and too shy to submit, if I ever had.  I thought they were so cool.  You should check out that link up there, if you haven't yet.  Some of those pictures were like stepping right back in time, especially these:

Chrissy.  She was in the first copy I got.
So weird.  I even remembered her name.

Laura.  She looked a ton like Veronica,
my best friend in first grade.

Ashley.  Seriously, like going
back in time.

Sarah.  Wow.  Love the hair.

Monica.
She had German heritage, like me.

Kara.  I'd know her face anywhere.
Shouldn't that be a little creepy?

And, like, all the rest of them.  I can't really even pick the ones I remember the most about.  I wish I could see all the outfits, too.

Pretty!

I wonder if I still have those magazines, somewhere...

Does anyone else remember these?