Happy Halloween! (also, don't call me for a month)

Boo!

Scared you, didn't I? Tee hee.

OK, so it's Halloween, the night where I dress up like Frida Kahlo, ditch Hot Pants (who is sick) and go to a party. At midnight, instead of turning into a pumpkin, I will transform into a literary genius with my first attempt at NaNoWriMo. (Now, that's scary.)

So, if I don't pick up the phone for the next 30 days, don't hate. Just know that I will let you share in my millions when my clever, pithy novel becomes the top-selling book of all time.

NaNoWriHuh?

I have just committed myself to writing a 50,000-word novel between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30. It's National Novel Writing Month! Yeee haw!

What do I get at the end of it, aside from self-respect and a bloated ego for being so clever? A T-shirt, I think. Or I may have to pay for that. I don't know. The point is, I'm doing this and it's going to fucking rock. The novel won't fucking rock, mind you. Because I will have to write 1,600 words daily to get it done in time, and that kind of crunch rarely produces awesome results. But the process, people. The process will rock. It's a like a giant creative catharsis. A writing-gasm, if you will. Ew.

Just 11 days until the fun begins! Watch out, Dave Eggers!

Music, music, music!

Wooo! New music!

* Firstly, there's Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, which put out this fabulous single on their debut album. Here's their recent appearance on Letterman. Ignore the stupid talk bubbles the poster inserted into the video.

* The Avett Brothers put out a new record with producer/music magnate/facial hair enthusiast Rick Rubin. It's a lot more polished than their previous albums, which has been a tough adjustment for me. I liked how imperfect their voices sounded and their lo-fi studio chat before and after songs. But I find myself listening to the album over and over again, mesmerized by the songs. Maybe ol' Rick knew what he was doing after all.

* Wild child Karen O has released the "Where the Wild Things Are" soundtrack and you can stream online for free. Check it out. I can't wait to see what Spike Jonze has done with my favorite children's book! If Maurice Sendak approves, it's got to be more than OK.

A proper thank you

I got married last weekend!

Chances are you, you already know this. Because you were probably there.

But just in case you didn't, I'm now someone's wife. It's kind of weird.

I only have one regret from the whole thing. During the reception, we had a time where we thanked everyone for their love and support, etc. I did not take time to prepare myself for this activity, which is why I panicked later realizing that I hadn't thanked everyone I needed to. I made 1 million lists for my wedding but managed not to make a list for that. *Head desk*

So, here's what I should have said:

We would like to thank each and every one of you for your role in our
lives. You have made us who we are today, both as individuals and as a couple. But there are some people here who went above and beyond the call of duty and deserve to be named individually. In no particular order...

Sara Jackson designed the awesome programs that so many of you have asked about. She is a truly amazing and talented person, and I am fortunate to have worked with her. Plus, she's got a really cute kid. Hi, Owen!

The Rev. Lindsay Riddell officiated the wedding, and what a marvelous job she did! She made it look easy to stand up in front of 100 people and formalize a marriage. Lindsay will always be one of my favorite people on the planet, and I am so happy she could be such an important part of our wedding.

Ashley Heher, please stand up. This girl kept me single-handedly calm and collected this week. She helped me walk it off when I wanted to yell at people (sorry, Mom!) and was invaluable in getting stuff done. She made to-do lists, sent me calendar entries and reminded me to breathe. I could not have made it without her. Thank you, Noodles.

A whole group of our friends showed up early this morning to put up the beautiful decorations you see all around you. In fact, Lindsay had to scale the entrance gate because it was locked this morning. So, thanks to all of you who took time out of what could have been a lazy morning to make my wedding gorgeous.

I love all of you so much and am so grateful for your help. You have made today unforgettable.

What's in your file?

My mom recently gave me the big file she kept on me throughout my life...report cards, standardized test scores, finger prints, my birth announcement, etc. It's as if the comments from my teachers were written yesterday, not 20 years ago.

My kindergarten teacher told my parents I needed to work on neatness in writing and coloring and should focus on "being a better listener." This would serve as a theme throughout my report cards, as if all my teachers had gotten together and told each other that I talk too much. This teacher also wrote that I had "trouble with small and large motor coordination." Yes, indeed, I was a klutz even then.

My first-grade teacher wrote that I needed to work on "neatness and excessive talking." In P.E., she wrote that I had "a difficult time picking up new concepts or skills." I'm guessing my personal trainer could attest to that if you called him right now.

My second-grade teacher wrote that I needed to "continue to work nightly on her math facts, as this is slightly a weak area for her." If she had only known what a weak area it would be! Math is the bane of my existence. For each one of my standardized tests, I blew the roof off the verbal, vocabulary, spelling and reading sections. The math sections had me down in the 60th percentile or lower. It's the reason why the 28 I got on the ACT was mind-blowingly awesome considering I bombed the math portion.

Fast forward to eighth grade when I scrawled "yuck" on my report card because I got a B and a B+ mixed in with my As. I was a perfectionist even then, aiming for all As on every report card. Freaking myself out when I didn't quite meet my own, irrationally high expectations.

Inspiration

Hello, friends.

Thought I had forgotten you, eh? Well, I had. But then some inspiration hit, and I couldn't get you out of my mind.

Firstly, my friend Noodles has started a new blog about training for a 5k after, um, not training for, like, her whole life. She and her coworker, Shawn, lost their minds and decided to do a couch-to-5K by Nov. 1. I give them both crazy mad props, not only because that's quite a feat, but also because the blog is hilarious.

Secondly, I saw "Julie and Julia." Yeah, it was too long and the parts with Amy Adams weren't nearly as good as the parts with Meryl Streep. But what I came away with was how much blogging _ and in turn, the cooking challenge she set for herself _ helped her dig out of a deep, dark sadness hole. I've been down a few of those holes in my life and can appreciate the strategery.

Lastly, I miss writing for me. Meeeeeeeeeeee. I spend all day at work writing for other people the way other people want me to write, and I started this blog so I could flee that misery. This is supposed to be my saving grace, and instead, I made it a chore. Well, fuck that. I'm done with that.

Now, I order you to listen to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. It will make your Friday worthwhile.

Welcome to SNAFUville

We are 49 days from the wedding, and things are starting to get really interesting. And by interesting, I mean WHAT THE FUCK, PEOPLE, ARE YOU TRYING TO SEND ME TO AN EARLY GRAVE?!!??!!?!

Ahem.

The lovely dress I ordered in March has yet to arrive here in Atlanta. The latest information from the dress shop is that it is en route from "the Orient" to the distributor. Once it gets there, they will mail it to the shop, where I will retrieve it and beg a seamstress to alter it for me. Now, the seamstresses I talked to say they need six to eight weeks to do the alterations, particularly because I've lost a bunch of weight since I ordered the dress. But we are already seven weeks from the wedding and the dress probably won't be in my possession for at least another week and a half. Great.

And speaking of getting married, don't try to do it in Tennessee without a properly ordained minister or justice of the peace. The Volunteer State is one of just four states that don't recognize online ordination, which is how my wonderful friend Mooch got her certification to do my ceremony. Turns out we have to get married at the courthouse to make it legit. Add that to my ever growing to-do list. Awesome.

That to-do list includes such small items as choosing the menu, making the music playlist for the reception iPod and decorating the grounds of the place we're having the reception and ceremony. No big deal.