Just get back from a yearbook conference at a lovely resort (Kingston Plantation) in Myrtle Beach. You know, any conference that's held at a beach resort is worth begging your boss to attend. Especially when there's built-in "beach time". Yes, please.
You may remember that I'm starting a new job at a brand-new school next year (Go Redhawks!) and that job includes advising (and organizing and creating and all that jazz) for our yearbook. It's been a looooong while since I worked on a "real" yearbook (the middle school yearbook that I ran really was just a photo album...very few captions and no copy) so I really needed a refresher course. My brain, she is full of knowledge now. So. Much. To. Do. But a very productive conference.
Plus, I did get in a little beach time. And pool time. And porch/reading time. I finally read OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon after so many people telling me how awesome it is. I really enjoyed it--though (and don't crucify me) I don't think I'll be joining the super-fan ranks.
I also read PUSHING THE LIMITS by Katie McGarry--a young adult romance that comes out in August. YOU MUST READ THIS!! It's absolutely fantastic.
Now that I'm back, the heat has HIT! It's 108 degrees in Columbia--that's hotter than hot tubs are allowed to be (The sign by the hot tub I was in yesterday said 104 is the hottest a public tub is supposed to be). Can anyone say sauna? Stay frosty, my friends (heh).
It's summer! Heh. As if you haven't realized, what with the crazy-hot weather and tropical storms swirling around. Oh, and all those nutty, buzzy June bugs (love 'em). My favorite way to spend a hot summer day? Lazing around in the lake on a noodle with a frosty adult beverage in hand, dogs on their boogie boards, and friends floating nearby. Heaven.
In honor of summer, Too Hot Tuesday's men are all wet...
Daniel Craig as Bond...ooh, that suit!
You know, white is see-through when it gets wet...
I saw this topic on a blog recently and it got me to thinking: when IS it just another revision and when do you call what you're doing a rewrite? Here's my take on it:
Revision--a couple major changes; things can be cut and added but no more than half of your overall story or concept changed; and/or characters may come or go.
Rewrite--you're cutting more than half your story; your characters look nothing like when they started; your plot is practically unrecognizable from the first draft; and/or you're adding a boatload of new words, doubling the length of your story.
I think I've done a little of both with this story because what I'm revising now looks nothing like what I started with, besides a few main elements. I thought it might have series potential but now it's a standalone. I started with a male MC and now he's a girl (without the sex-change operation!). I started over in Paris but moved back to the states. I started in first person but now it's third. Yeah, I think there's been at least one major rewrite with this WIP.
At the moment, I'm doing a bit of revising, playing with what's already written, changing some things, deleting some characters. But the story's genre morphed from a YA action/adventure with a touch of kissing into more of a YA romantic comedy. Once I thought of it as a rom-com, things just fell into place. Of course, that means that I need to add the male MC's POV in to balance out the romantic part. His point of view will also help answer some sticky "why" questions, I think. So, I consider that part of it to be rewriting.
Can you do both at once? I *think* so...I'll have to let you know how it goes. (All things considered, with the addition of another person's POV, this is technically more of a rewrite.)
What do you all think? When is it a rewrite and when is it just revision?
I'm frustrated. The scale hasn't moved AT ALL. Not up. Not down. Not even a half-pound. Seriously, y'all. I'm so frustrated I could cry.
Let me tell you what I've done, so you can feel my pain. And maybe give some suggestions!
DIET:
Dropped the Diet Coke COMPLETELY *sigh* I know it's bad but it's so, so good
Upped my water intake--most days, it's over two liters (thank you, Crystal Lite)
Greatly reduced my sugar intake--my dessert is usually an apple with a tablespoon of Nutella, a piece of dark chocolate or a piece of Extra Mint Chocolate Chip gum
Cut the carbs by about half
Upped my veggie intake (not hard, as I wasn't eating many to begin with!)
On average, I'm eating between 1400-1800 calories a day with three main meals and no snacks
EXERCISE:
Run/walk 40-50 minutes (3-4 miles) four times a week (I'm working to bring this up to five or six but I'm not there quite yet fitness-wise)
5 flights of stairs on the run/walk days (it's an old YMCA in a six-story building)
15-minute walk with the dogs daily (they make certain of this)
OTHER
With no school, my cortisol *has* to have gone down from the super-high levels it was all second semester (Well, probably all year. It was a really crappy year). However, I just had a stress dream about my high school journalism class (haven't developed the curriculum yet, don't really know what I'm teaching), so maybe it hasn't gone down as much as it should. I'm also breaking out which, for me, indicates stress.
I'm getting 8-9 hours of sleep a night (yay for summer)
My house is clean(-ish) and organized
It seems my metabolism just doesn't want to kick it up, and my body is very happy to hold on to the extra fifty (or so) pounds of nasty fat that I desperately want to get rid of. I'm telling you, I'm so frustrated, I'm really about to cry. But not give up. Never that. I don't want to be an obese old person who can barely walk or who has a ton of health problems. And, if I don't want to be that, I need to get my weight under control and get healthy.
Damn you, body! *shakes fist* Drop this weight and be healthy! Grr.
Any suggestions? Any books I should read? Ideas? Help me out here, people.
Mary sings (horribly off-key), "It's gettin' hot in here! So take off all your clothes..." Guys respond: "I am gettin' so hot, I'm gonna take my clothes off!" (From "Hot in Here" by Nelly)
Ah, the power of suggestion. It worked on these boys!
Come on, let's get you out of those wet clothes...
Wet Men by François Rousseau...Mmmmm
Theo Theodoridis...shower time. Yes, please.
This one of RDJ always makes me giggle...If I were the maid, I don't think I'd run away.
*sigh* Lovely, lovely men. Thanks for being hot. You made my Tuesday.
Provocative enough title for you? Watch this fabulous video of Sendak talking about his work. My favorite part:
Question: Why isn't there a Wild Things 2? Maurice Sendak: Go to hell! Go to hell. I'm not a whore.
Awesome. I think I love this man even more now. And I'm lucky. My local library, the main branch of the Richland County Public Library, has an incredible Where the Wild Things Are mural that greets patrons as they enter the children's room.
Guarding the Children's Room
"RCPL and Mr. Sendak enjoyed a long friendship, which began when he was approached some 20 years ago about the idea of creating a mural when the new library was in the planning stages. The mural, which was unveiled when the library opened in 1993, was the first time Sendak allowed his work to be used as public art.
Outside the Children's Room
The 46-foot-mural enhances the garden area and two freestanding scenes greet children of all ages as they enter the Children’s Room of the Main Library in downtown Columbia. Michael Hagen, an internationally recognized scenic painter, produced the artwork." --From the Richland County Public Library blog
Not the best pic but this is the rest of the mural opposite those big ole guards and the entrance.
I'm seriously lucky to have a library as awesome as RCPL. Keep up the great work, my library peeps!
I don't know if you're into True Blood at all but the new season started on Sunday. Many nekkid man parts were flashed. Many abs and booties and arms. It was lovely.
But one of my favorite characters, Alcide the Werewolf, didn't flash much of anything. To make up for that rather disappointing turn of events, I decided I'd share some of my favorite Alcide...er, Joe Manganiello (these are actually promo for his new movie, Magic Mike. I'm so going to see that. Mom, you coming?).
From Men's Health UK photo shoot
More from Men's Health UK photo shoot (work it, baybee!)
Of course, the other boys of True Blood deserve some love, too...
I pinned this lovely boy--Ryan Kwanten--and there's no link. If you know where this pic is from, please let me know.
If you need more Eric--Alexander Skarsgård--go HERE
BookExpo America was awesome. An amazing experience that, due to my school district's schedule, one I don't think I'll repeat anytime soon. *sniffle*
If you're a book lover and you have an opportunity to go to BEA, do it. It's overwhelming, fast-paced, and crazy, and it's over so quickly it takes a while to process everything that happened. I went solo--not knowing anyone in real life, though I did know a bunch of bloggers and even some authors via online interactions. Let me tell you, even though I'm usually crippled socially in big crowds (a combination of shyness and introversion), I had a blast and talked to a ton of fabulous people and added a ton of awesome books to my TBR pile.
I was even star-struck a couple of times (Jen Lancaster, Ina Garten, Michael Connelly, Tim Gunn, Jennifer Weiner, Michael Bolton, R.L. Stein, the girl who wrote Cakepops...). One of my major star-struck moments was when I met John Green.
If you don't know who this man is, I don't think I can be friends with you. Kidding. Sort of. But, really, you're missing out. He's a fantastically brilliant author (Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars...Sigh. I can't even say how much I love his books.) who also runs a vlog with his brother Hank--The Vlogbrothers and has a bunch of minions he calls "NerdFighters". They're both hilarious and amazing.
(John Green rocks. Even though he's afraid of a dangling rope.)
Anyway, I was wandering around with some fellow bloggers (hi, ladies of Wastepaper Prose!) and we got to the Penguin booth and...OMG...John Green! Who was just hanging out with his ever-present posse surrounding him, killing some time before his next speech or signing or whatever so we went up and talked to him. Well, I smiled and said hi and then my tongue went numb or something because I couldn't contribute anything else besides the ridiculously wide grin that graced my face for the rest of the conversation. My knees were weak. My heart was pounding. I was completely useless. Of course, he was completely charming, taller than I expected (he's taller than me--probably about 5'11"), and so flippin' cute. I've decided we need to clone him so there are more John Greens to go around, since this one is already taken.
At least I waited until I was around the corner to lose it whereupon I squeed like a little fangirl (in my head, of course). The grin lasted for a good half-day.
(I included a video with both John and Hank because they're so cute together)
And then I went home and collapsed in a big heap of post-BEA exhaustion.
Tomorrow, I hop on a plane and jet into New York City where I'll join thousands of other book lovers in what my friends deem "Book Geek Paradise", otherwise known as the BookExpo America or BEA.
I'm not going as a writer (Oh no--that's what writing conferences are for! I can only imagine the cringing that would ensue.), I'm going as a book blogger (for my other blog, The Book Swarm), an English teacher and, yes, a book geek. For me, it'll be three days of talking books, reading books, chatting with authors and publishers about books, and totally geeking out with fellow bloggers and book lovers. *sigh* Doesn't that sound amazing?
I've spent the last few days trying to slip in time to plan out my schedule (you don't even know how time-consuming this is!), get my house in order, pack, run around and get things I'm missing/need, and trying not to lose my marbles in the process--all while finishing out the school year. I need a nap. (Nope! Not until Saturday! Until then, I'll be going full throttle.)
It's probably the only year I'll be able to attend unless my school district decides to end school before Memorial Day so I had to take advantage while the calendar is in my favor. Maybe one day, I'll attend as an author and people will be talking about my ARC (advance reader's copy) and lining up for me to sign a book for them. Dare to dream, right? :)
