Making New Friends

If there's one thing I've learned as a blogger, it's that certain phrases from your childhood are really more relevant in the blogosphere than in real life.

"You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours."

"Turn about is fair play."

"Tag, you're it."

It's true. And in the last few weeks, I've been attempting to play nicely with my fellow bloggers. But here's the thing--some of my FAVORITE bloggers are hanging up their hats to pursue other interests. And that's GREAT...except I miss them. And I don't have as many blogs to read. And that makes me sad.

So, in an attempt to make some NEW friends, I've started linking up with Erica at Yeah Write. It's a great system for bloggers looking for...well, just about anything. From new readers to inspiration and more, Yeah Write has brought some new blood to Abby Gabs, and for that I am already eternally grateful.

Then Erica ran up to me on the interwebs playground, poked me in the shoulder, and challenged me to a contest.

Don't worry. Not like dodgeball, or anything scary. She just challenged me to answer 11 questions about myself. And you people know I can never say no to a list blog. So, here is my response to her challenge.

11 Answers to 11 Questions

What's your favorite sandwich?

My husband makes this killer grilled cheese sandwich. The key is the perfect sourdough bread. Add crispy applewood smoked bacon, smoked gouda cheese, and thick slices of summer tomato, and it's game on. Mmm. So good.

Who is your favorite ethnic actor?

Ewan McGregor. What? He's Scottish. That's not American, therefore, it is ethnic.

Besides searching for porn new blogs, what's your favorite internet activity?

Oh, well, that's easy. Twitter-stalking Donnie Wahlberg isn't just a daily activity for me, it's a sport. It's all about the hunt, you see...

Fill in the blank: When I was 13, I got in big trouble when my parents caught me __________.

...on the phone past 8 o'clock. What? I was a goody two-shoes in my tweens. I got in more trouble when I pulled the fan out of the ceiling, or when I whacked my baby brother over the head with a deadly sweater. Just sayin'.

On a cross-country road trip, who are the three people you'd want with you, living,dead or fictional?

#1: My husband, because his sense of direction is way better than mine.

#2: Guy Fieri, because we'd ALWAYS know where to stop for grub.

#3: A good conversationalist. This could be Brian's aunt Tina, my Dad, or Anderson Cooper. I'm not picky, so long as the conversation is rolling.

What item do you keep buying at the store over and over thinking you're out, and when you get home, it turns out you had plenty?

That's easy. Pasta. I think the current count is 6 boxes of spaghetti, 2 boxes of elbow macaroni, 1 1/2 boxes of lasagna noodles, and at least 3 boxes of penne. And the funny thing: we really don't eat that much pasta.

What's the most expensive item you've ever let your children play with? If you don't have children, insert [irresponsible unemployed ingrate] here.

I don't have kids. And I don't know any unemployed ingrates. But the most expensive thing I play with on a regular basis is my camera.Without it, there wouldn't be blogs about the Monday blues, how I killed a spider with my brown loafers, or the most amazing dream I ever had.

Who wears the pants in your family? And do they make your butt look cute?

I would say that we both share in the pants responsibility equally. It's hard to judge a butt's cuteness when it's crammed into the same pants your husband is wearing simultaneously. But, next time he's home, I'll take a peek and let you know.

If it paid good money, which of your character flaws would make you a millionaire among millionaires?

Flaws? FLAWS? I have no flaws to speak of.

Ok, maybe my lack-of-humbleness. Or sarcasm. Man, if I could get paid for being sarcastic...

Leftover pizza: cold or reheated?

Depends on where it's from. If it's homemade pizza I'll probably reheat it. If it's from a pizza joint, I'll probably eat it cold. However, I always eat cold spaghetti. It's my favorite.

Tell us about your first love, fictional or inanimate, in exactly 140 characters.

Sky blue eyes & floppy blonde hair, he chased me on the playground and shared his last cookie with me on the school bus. We were 9 years old.

I'm hoping I sated Erica's curiosity about my eating habits, travel companions, and pants. And I'm hoping she'll still want to play with me when I break the rules of this game and intentionally skip the part where I'm supposed to challenge 11 bloggers to play along.

I just can't do it. I'm not good at confrontations.

There you go. A bonus fact about me that you probably didn't know, in exchange for breaking all the rules. I'm a rebel.

It's Just One of Those Days...

...You know. A Monday. The kind of day that when your alarm clock goes off, you have that inner argument over whether to get up or pull the covers back over your head instead. The kind of day when one cup of coffee...nay, TWO cups of coffee...just doesn't do it, and you consider jet fuel instead (except I don't think a dash of cream would make it quite as palatable.) The kind of day when you know, without a shadow of a doubt, you'd rather be anywhere but HERE.


Yeah. I'm having one of those days. I would be so much happier at the beach...

...or some fancy spa...

But then again, spending the day at either of those locations would make me cheery on any other day of the week. But today...well, today I'm feeling like I'd even be thrilled to have jury duty...

...or perhaps a driver's license that needed replacing at the DMV.

Believe me when I say that I know people who would rather suffer through Chinese water torture before they would willingly stand in line at the DMV. But readers, I'd be there today, if I could.

In FACT, I could go so far as to say I'd rather be at the dentist's office. Yep. Not just for a routine cleaning, but for a friggin' root canal. You've got laughing gas? Sign me up, Doc. I'm there.

Today, readers...today, I would even welcome a quick tour of Mordor. With the orcs and the trolls and the creepy little hobbits with their hairy toes. I'll even take the scary volcano thingy. Yep. I'd be right chipper at good ol' Mordor today. I might even ask for autographs, so long as it meant I was somewhere else.

But alas, readers...all the daydreaming in the world won't change my fate today. Because it's Monday. And I'm not in any of the exotic (and slightly terrifying) locations listed above. Nope. I'm at work instead.

Yay. Work.

I'm linking up! Because linking up is what all the cool kids are doing these days! Come check out all the awesome blogs linking up at yeah write! And stay tuned, readers---I may be asking for some votes soon!

Somebody Loves Me...

Just like the song says, the best things in life are free. Love, excitement, libraries, oxygen, fresh air, wild flowers, etc etc etc.


However, let the record show that the SECOND best things in life cost approximately $120 at your favorite local kitchen store. I.E: My brand new Keurig.

Imagine that there was a drum roll when I presented it to you, and teeny tiny little fireworks shooting off in the background. Because THAT'S how I felt when Brian offered to buy me one as an early Valentine.


You see, my favorite day dream involves my very own screened-in back porch, a beautiful spring day, and a hot cup of coffee fresh from my Keurig. While I don't have the porch, I've got the weather and the coffee. And if I sit next to my open window and close my eyes, I can almost pretend I've got all three.


So thank you, Brian, for the best Valentine's Day gift a girl could ask for. I plan on spending quite a lot of time getting to know my Keurig this weekend. And if you find me sitting by the window, sipping a cup of coffee, with a quiet smile on my face, know that the real parts of my daydream are all because of you.

I'm taking the weekend off, kids! Happy Super Bowl! (GO GIANTS!)(Sorry, Donnie Wahlberg. ♥) Also, because you'll be singing the song referenced above all day anyway, here's a video for complete impact. You're welcome.

Yet Another Weight Loss Blog

So, for those of you keeping tabs, you're well aware that I'm in the middle of a 3 month challenge to lose 10% of my body weight. I've been pretty diligent about updating you with my progress each and every weight in. 


This past Tuesday was our one month weigh-in. With each monthly weigh-in, we also measure (bust, waist, hips, arms and legs), and we participate in a fitness challenge (push-ups and crunches.) 


While I only managed to lose 1/2 a pound last week...

Sad face.

...I managed to post a HUGE number for inches lost in January!!!

Happy face!!!

I managed to lose 13.5 inches in 4 weeks!!!!!!!!!!





The fitness test went just as well. (Yet another reason to Woo Hoo with the best of them...) When we first started, way back on the 3rd of January, I could barely do 15 push-ups in a minute. And they were painful. And practically impossible. But yesterday, I not only DOUBLED my push-ups in a minute (30! Wo0!) I did the first 15 in under 30 seconds. HUGE improvement.  Combined with adding 10 more crunches to my total, the inches lost, and a combined weight loss of almost 6 pounds, I'm feeling AWESOME about how far I've come in a little under a month.


I am discovering so many advantages to working out and eating healthy. I'm feeling stronger, slimmer, and sexier every single day. I feel good about myself for the first time in decades awhile. I am sleeping better, and I have more energy. 


But the one perk I hadn't expected was how much better food would taste when I cut all the processed foods and refined sugars out of my diet. Once upon a time, I would have told you I was fat because I loved to eat, even though eating for me just meant shoveling as much food into my face as possible. But I'm enjoying food SO MUCH MORE now that I can actually TASTE it. Every nuance in a dish is appreciated, from flavor to texture to spice. 


For instance, I had a nectarine the other day that was flat out the most delicious thing I've ever had in my life. I had an affair with that nectarine. I licked the juice off of my arm and sucked it off my fingers. I made yummy noises that would have led some to believe there was some sexual activity happening in my kitchen. I enjoyed eating that nectarine so much that it was practically pornographic.


When I told Dana about my love affair with fruit, she laughed and said I should have recorded it for the blog. 


So I did.


Here's my short film entitled "For The Love of Fruit." Enjoy.






Because it's just not romance without a little Kenny G.


In short, I'm jazzed by my progress, and SO excited to see what's ahead on the weight loss path I've chosen. Dana has been so supportive, and together, I think we really can conquer the fat. 


Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a particularly fat and juicy apple waiting for me at the dining room table.


If you can't see the video, point your browser to: http://youtu.be/ioX6XobSFC4

Finding Inspiration Where You Least Expect It

As a writer, I'm often asked where my inspiration comes from. Where do I get my ideas? Do I have a favorite author that I strive to emulate? What is it that drives me to put pen to paper?

Source

Oftentimes, I don't have the answers to those questions. I just know that words, stories, anecdotes live inside of me, somewhere under my skin, itching to be released. I wake up in the middle of the night with a new idea for a blog, and lay awake, stars peeking through my curtains, and write it in my head. Dreams lead to book ideas. Illustrations lead to book ideas. A beautiful day at the beach leads to book ideas.

The problem, for me, isn't finding a way to tell a story, or jotting down a particularly clever turn of phrase. The problem is finding the motivation to do something with it. Share it with the world. Finding the courage to seek publication.

For years, I felt like a dog on a leash, desperate for escape. I had so many ideas tumbling around in my brain like so many puppies. A humor novel. A memoir. A children's series. Each time I would sit down at my computer, ready to take that first step into becoming a true writer, that choke collar would pull me to an abrupt halt. Questions, doubts, fear would creep in and take over, sending my creativity into a retreat.

Source

Would someone really pay me to publish this story?

Are my characters under-developed?

Are there too many holes in the plot?

What if it's not good enough? What if I'm not good enough?

One beautiful autumn day, not too long ago, I had a conversation with my brother, Adam, about this very subject. He'd asked me why I hadn't ever seriously tried to break into the publishing world. And I shared with him those fears, those doubts, that I just shared with you.

In Adam's crib, circa 1988.

And he said to me, in his less-than-poetic way, 

"You've got to tell that voice to shut the hell up and just get to it, sissy. Because you're better at this than anyone I've ever known."

I've received praise before--from glowing comments to awards and everything in between. My husband cheers me on every single day. I've had my Daddy pat me on the back, and my Mom tell me how much my words made her smile. I've had friends tell me they look forward to my blog everyday, and that they've passed it along to all their friends and relatives.

But those words coming from my little brother meant more to me in that moment than any praise I'd heard before in my life. Because finding out that your little brother actually admires you...well, that's just priceless in my book.

A rare moment of sibling concord, circa 1997.

A month later, when I had the opportunity to join NaNoWriMo, I didn't even hesitate. I jumped in with both feet and produced a manuscript that's tipping the scales now at approximately 53,000 words. And while it's a far cry from being a publishable work, it's the first time I've ever put that much work into a book that is my very own.

And all because, when that little voice started up inside my head, I told it to shut the hell up. And I just got to it.

I have Adam to thank for that.

♥ Thanks, Bubby. ♥