In Which I Get A Bookish Gift

Birthdays in our family tend the stretch out for a few weeks. Especially for Twin and I, since there's two of us. Sometimes gifts get spread out, but sometimes not.

This year we got some gifts right away and some gifts a little later.

The last gift I got, though, was one of the coolest. And my mom made it.



Upon first glance it appears to just be a thesaurus



 



But what's this latch on the side??

 

 

 

It's a book box!

 

It could have been a book clutch, if I wanted. She would have added a handle for me. But I kind of liked it as is, as a booky box.

 

And with that, my birthday was officially over. It was a pretty great time.





In Which It's My Birthday

Woo!

Tomorrow's my birthday, pals, which means no blogging (or working) today. I'm off to have some fun and I hope you have a good weekend.

I need quite a few more candles than that

 

See you on Monday!

 

In Which Things Slow Down (A Bit)

HerpaDerp!!

I've been meaning to include this link for the last few weeks and I keep forgetting.

But here's the link for my Success Story Interview on QueryTracker.

I always love reading QT Success Stories, because they're a lot like "how I got my agent" blog posts, which we all know are awesome

Last week was the first week I've had in a long time where things slowed down and went a little easier. And it was awesome. I doubt it will last (seriously doubt it, in fact) so I was able to enjoy it even more, since I knew it was probably just a temporary state of being.

I got a bunch of beta and CP reading done and I managed to get in 12 new pages on the WIP.

They were kind of crappy 12 pages, but 12 pages are better than 0 and I will happily take them. I'm just hoping I can keep up the pace over the next few weeks. My next MFA packet is due in early April.

I also went out to meet with some local writer peeps for drinks one night and had lunch on another day with some of my local MFA classmates. Both were a lot of fun! I love hanging out with fellow writers.

Also, going out gave me a reason to wear the new earrings Twin got my for our B-day:

I lurrrrve them

How about you? Have things been crazy busy for you, or are you living at a more sedate pace?

In Which I Had A Birthday

Yes my birthday was a few weeks ago, but as a family it's been stretched out for the whole month. Technically it's still going on, since we have one more dinner and a few more presents.

Sometimes twin and I get each other presents and sometimes we don't. It all just depends on how we're feeling each year. And the money sitch, of course.

This year money is tight. But we still decided to get each other presents. But we're way behind on them. But I've gotten presents from everyone else in the fam which is awesome.

Two of my favorite presents this year is this awesome Le Creuset French oven from my parents

And this awesome immersion blender from my Bro. I gots a lot of cooking to do to break these babies in.

But aren't they peeerty?

I love getting cooking stuff for presents. Because I like food and I like to cook so it's like more than one present, because you get the thing, and it comes with an opportunity to do some fun cooking and an opportunity to hopefully eat something nummo.

What about you? Do you like to cook?

In Which I Celebrated My Birth

So a few weeks ago I celebrated a b-day and got some fun writerly and readerly things from the fam.

The first was a Kindle! Yay! I've been wanting an e-reader for a while now.

Kindle Touch 3G

Youngest sister, who's living in Chicago while she goes to college at Columbia, sent me an amazon gift card to use on Kindle accessories. I don't know about anyone else, but I love to buy accessories for things. I mean, getting something that lets you do more shopping? That's just awesome!

So I bought a kindle skin, to make it look pretty.

And then I bought a lighted leather cover.

the kindle powers the light. No batteries needed

Bro got me the last 3 of the rangers apprentice series, which is awesome because I love this series and am both excited to finish it, and sad it will be done.

Parents also sneakily got me an awesome necklace.

Sneakily because they had to get it at renfest. And the only time they were at renfest was with the rest of us. Twin explained that once last summer our mom had disappeared to get some cider. But when she came back she didn't have any. I must've been preoccupied about something because I didn't even question it, and normally that would've been something that got my suspicions up. Because I am a suspicious person by nature.

It's a talisman for poets and writers. The info says:

These symbols are said to create a powerful magic to help one find the right word at the most opportune moment.

On the backside of this talisman (top picture) is the "Seal of Eloquence" or the "Seal of Mercury". It contains the names of powerful angels, magical words, and Latin phrases, all of which help to greatly increase the power of the Talisman.

Concentrating on the endless knot work of the six-pointed star will intensify "natural inspiration" and assist in all of your writing endeavors... poems, plays and books, even your personal journal!

So there you have it! I got a few other present with Twin, but they aren't related to writing or reading.

So do you have an e-reader? Did you buy fun accessories for it?

Friday Fun

Hiya Ape-Friends -

Today is a special edition of Friday Fun, presented by me, the lovely Yvie.
Why is it a special Edition, you ask?

Because IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!!

 Yep! I'm 5 years old! And just as adorable as I was at 10 weeks. That's right, I'm like a fine wine, improving with age.


I'll be getting presents and canned food today for a birthday celebration. Normally Mom would've posted pics, but with working in the office this week, she just hasn't had time.

Anyway, onto the fun!!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Friday Fun

Hi Ape-friends! Yvie's back after a short break!

Mom forgot one big thing on her list of accomplishments on Wednesday. And that is - we celebrated Tula's 2nd birthday!

at the airport, on the way home

Yeah, frequently sometimes she stinks. She's whiny and barky and bugs me out in the yard when I just want to sniff sniffs. But also she plays with me while Mom and Anne workout in the morning, and sometimes we wrestle during the day, or play tug, which is my favorite.




So, all in all, she's pretty cool.


Happy birthday Tula!



Now, Onto the fun!

if you only watch one video today, make sure it's this one

would you join the dark side?

In Which I Turn A Year Older

Well today at 4:32 PM I will turn a year older. At 4:34 PM Twin will turn a year older.

Yep, we've reached 30.

Good times!

We had the last few days off from work and played a lot of racquetball, ate at delicious restaurants (probably too much) and played a lot of Halo: Reach.

We also got new tattoos!

We decided to get nerdy twin ones, cuz we're nerds like that.

Here's Twin's:




Here's mine:





And by our tattoos combined, we make a heart!







We got most of our birthday presents from the fam, though a few are still on their way. Check out all these awesome books I've gotten so far!





It was actually really hard to pick which one to read next. I can't wait to get through them all.

What about you, do you do anything fun on your birthday?

Friday Fun Words

George here today, since last week it was Yvie's birthday and this week it's MY BIRTHDAY! wOOt!

I'm 5 years old. It's quite a distinguished age (it matches the distinguished gray on my cheeks)

For presents we got a few more stuffed toys (which have already been destroyed) and some new antler to chew on. WIN!

Unfortunately Mom forgot to take pictures before the toys were destroyed, so you will have to imagine the giant pink pig for me and the smaller green elephant for Yvie. Also, Tula got a giant tennis ball.

Onto the words!

Trita - a trite Rita

I don't know what this has to do with a trite rita, but it was the first pic that popped up

Fooked - get your minds out of the gutter. This one really means when you've hooked a fool

Concents - when concerts have accents.





Debrate - when you berate a debate. It mostly just ends up in shouting




Cryinfi - when a baby just will not...stop...crying...




That's it! Yvie will be back next week, as usual. George out!

Friday Fun Words

They say it's my birthday! LALALALALALALALA! I'm gonna have a good time! LALALALALALA!

That's right ape-friends! Yesterday was my birthday and I turned the illustrious age of 4 years old! That's pretty awesome!

I had a great day too! I got to go on a long walk, and got lots of love. I even got some canned food for breakfast!

Oh, also, I got PRESENTS!

We do things a bit differently in the house because George and My birthdays' are so close together that I get half my presents on my birthday and the other half on George's. BUT! This is what we got yesterday!

TOYS!

Some sad news on my birthday as well, though.

My sister guinea pig, Lady Godiva, passed away during the night. I spent many an hour over the last few years, trying to get in the cage with her.

She would have celebrated her 6th birthday on Halloween.

You'll be missed, grandma pig. The pig cage isn't the same without you.





Now, since I've had a pretty good birthday, I shall celebrate by letting you expand your vocabulary with new words!

Here we go!



Bearnsa - Mensa for bears



Acimex - acid to help clean your clothes after you eat Mexican. Similar to Chipotlaway



Juggin - chugging from a jug



Snowvana - snow nirvana





Parche - a parched arch



And that is all for this week, pals! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!