Apr27

Meeting Jenny Lawson

by Adminderella on April 27th, 2012 at 4:55 am
Posted In: Update

I don’t think I’ve ever had the opportunity in my life to meet a celebrity and I am pretty sure if you called Jenny “The Bloggess” Lawson a celebrity to her face, she’d think you were insane.  But she is actually more than a celebrity to me, she’s my heroine (not heroin… that’s a drug… but I do have to admit that Jenny IS pretty intoxicating in her own right).  And I am pretty sure if you ever told Jenny that she was your heroine, she’d probably laugh in your face. (Not because she’s mean but because I am pretty sure that she doesn’t think she’s anything special).  But, honestly, if you had asked me a couple of years ago if I had any personal heroes, I would have had to say no.  Since I started reading her blog I can say without a doubt that she absolutely IS my heroine… I find her to be inspirational, humorous, genuine and simply awesome.  I don’t think she has any idea how many people she touches with her writing, how many people who have read her blog on any given day that have found something in that blog post that gave them the push they needed to go on with and get through whatever rough thing was happening in their life.  I can attest to the fact that it has been the case for me on more than one occasion.

Jenny is on a book tour. Her book is #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. As it should be.  And she had a signing in Dallas. Trust me, it would have taken wild horses dragging me away for me to NOT attend tonight’s event.

I’ve wanted to meet Jenny for a couple of years now. The desire to meet her grew stronger when she started blogging about her red dress, which became The Traveling Red Dress project.  And then she wrote more about her struggles with anxiety. And about her issues with self-harm.  And her readers poured forth their own stories.  And even though some of what she was writing about wasn’t humor, people read those posts by the hundreds.  And when someone who is usually a humor writer can be real and raw and put things out there that are not cute, funny little stories and people still love them, it’s a beautiful thing.

I’ve been reading Jenny’s book. And I keep reading passages that are about something that I have experienced or felt.  You have absolutely no idea how overwhelmingly powerful it is to know that you are not alone.  That there is someone else in the world who absolutely would “get” some things about you and your life you’ve never told a soul.

I’m sure this whole book tour has been horrible for her with her anxiety and I am absolutely amazed at how kind and gracious she was in the face of people bringing taxidermied stuff and all kinds of other things (like, say, body parts) that they wanted signed.

I had worried for days that I was going to get my chance to talk to her and burst into (purely joyful) tears.  I was shaking pretty violently when I showed her the necklace I’d brought for her.  I was expecting her to say “Yeah, I was KIDDING” when I asked her to sign what she signed for me (if I can figure out how to upload the pic, I will include it below).

Aside from getting the meet Jenny, I got to meet Lisa, too. Which was pretty freakin’ awesome. Because I’ve been “talking” to Lisa on Twitter for months now.  And let me tell you, the people who sat around me before and during her talk? Completely awesomesauce.  A couple of ladies who had come from Arkansas, one from Tulsa… a couple and their daughter who met up with a friend. The daughter was about 15 and reminded me very much of my own daughter.  Everyone chatted and no one tried to steal your seat if you got up (even though there were some slightly miffed faces in the throngs of people who had to stand way, way in the back…) and people were chatting and laughing and the energy was amazing.

So, now I have to wind down and go to bed.  I cannot even begin to tell you what a fabulous opportunity it was to get to meet Jenny and to have my 10 seconds to talk to her.  And she absolutely deserves all the love and support that her readers are pouring out.  She had been afraid she’d be sitting alone at the venues on her book tour,  I don’t think she had anything to worry about. She’s a NYT Bestselling author, after all. (And I got to meet her!)

And she signed me!

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Apr15

Not That I’m Counting..

by Adminderella on April 15th, 2012 at 8:16 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized

The Bloggess is coming to Dallas as part of her book tour… That means that in 11 days, 4 hours and 30 seconds, I will probably be completely losing my mind as I catch sight of Jenny Lawson for the first time in person. I am an unabashed fangirl of Jenny’s and I don’t care who knows it.

Yes, I am taking an entire day off of work to be sure I am at the bookstore she will be at nice and early.  The funny thing is, Jenny seems to think that no one is going to be there for her book tour.  But if you read the comments on her blog you will see that there is someone who is flying into Dallas just for the opportunity to meet her. I am pretty sure that neither the bookstore or Jenny is fully prepared for the crowd.  The two signings I have been to at this bookstore have been exceedingly well attended (like, nowhere NEAR enough seating… people standing in line for over an hour to get books signed, etc.).  And that’s one of the things I love about Jenny, she just doesn’t seem to “get” that she has very (rabid) loyal fans.

So yes… in 11 days, 3 hours, 45 minutes and 32 seconds, I will finally get to have one of my dreams come true.  I’m SO excited. Plus, she mentioned that she’ll sign boobs!  I happen to own a pair and I’ll even bring my own Sharpie (ultra fine point, retractable).

Can’t wait!

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Apr08

Quick Update

by Adminderella on April 8th, 2012 at 5:06 am
Posted In: Update

I’m working on a couple of big projects right now.  I actually should be working much harder on them but it’s a fine line because both of them require me to have internet access to look up information needed to complete the projects which means that there is a plethora of things to lead me down the rabbit hole of time-wasting when I should be working.  And I have a clingy cat (who is temporarily distracted by having the opportunity to sleep on the laundry bag…. she is not aware, however, that the situation is temporary and I am sure that she will reclaim her space on me once I put the laundry away).  It’s hard to get much work done when you have a cat clinging to your shoulder and you have to do everything you need to do with one hand.

It’s been bothering me a great deal for the last week that I had gotten the apartment pretty much all cleaned up and then the last couple of weeks everything is chaos again and I REALLY need to vacuum and the kitchen floor needs cleaning and I am sure that the baseboards in the bathroom need professional help.  I did clean out the cat’s water fountain today, which I dislike because it gets slimey.  I don’t know what the cat does in that bowl but it just gets really nasty and it is NOT a joy to clean.  Also, I feel lately like all I am doing is scooping kitty boxes so I don’t know if they have some sort of weird rivalry going on or what, but I am not enjoying this.

Can you believe tomorrow is Easter already? Guess I am a little more behind than I thought because I went a whole month without writing an EdenFantasys post, which wasn’t at all on purpose, it’s just that March ended up getting the better of me and I was just so busy with everything that “sexy” just completely fell off the agenda.  Back on track this month, though, once I have done a little more research. (Yes, those posts actually require research and 98% of the time research is NOT a euphemism for anything).

How is it midnight already?  Guess I’d better get headed bedward.

 

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Apr01

No Foolin’

by Adminderella on April 1st, 2012 at 11:01 pm
Posted In: Review, Update

I got many things accomplished in the month of March.  Many things fell by the wayside due to the fact that there was just a great deal of chaos in March.

For my birthday, my mom and my daughter came to visit from Arizona (where they both live).  I think it’s the first time in about a decade that we’ve actually all been together but I could be wrong… I can say that it has been at least 8 years. It was a good time and I had a lovely birthday and… I even got a tiara!  (Ok, I bought it for myself, but it still counts!)

Many other bits of craziness happened in March, too.   Nothing bad, just things that threw the normal “routine” into chaos.  So now there is some adjusting to the new normal.

One of the bigger things that happened was that my cats, who have been separated by a “baby gate” for the past 7 months are now getting along well enough that the gate has been lifted and while they are certainly not best buddies, they aren’t fighting so that makes things nicer.  It also means I don’t have to spend half of my time sitting out in another room to make sure both cats get attention.  So theoretically, I can be more productive.

A couple of months ago, I was introduced to Central Market by a friend.  Central Market is a grocery store but they carry lots of specialty goodies.  The bulk foods section of the Central Market on Lover’s Lane is amazing.  The whole store is amazing but the bulk foods section is especially amazing. Plus, their bakery carries cupcakes that are not your ORDINARY cupcakes.  My favorite is the Nutella Cupcake… Chocolate Cake, Nutella Filling, Chocolate Frosting with Hazelnuts on top.  Simply divine.

I found a couple of things on sale for about a third of their normal price.  This is the sort of thing that makes me REALLY happy.  I checked out and thought that the total sounded a bit high, but they ARE an “upscale” grocery so, I expect to pay a bit more.  I was looking at my receipt as I walked out of the store and noticed that the sale items rang up at full price.  I was looking around for the customer service desk when a gentleman named Brandon asked if he could be of assistance. He doublechecked the price, APOLOGIZED FOR THE ERROR and refunded the overcharged amount and I was on my way. No fuss, no hassle AND a sincere apology taking ownership of the mistake.  Class Act, Central Market…you have a very happy customer!

I’ve found some real gems in their produce department, too. Chief among them Mandarin Blood Oranges.  They are DELICIOUS!  Their premade burger patties (I had the “Cowboy” variety… Bacon and cheese blended into my burger? Yes, please!) are very tasty. They carry Stewarts Key Lime Soda, which I adore.  I just stumbled upon their vitamin/supplement section where they carry a number of Naturopathic/Homeopathic remedies where I could probably spend a couple of hours (and a couple of paychecks!) and also, they carry something called “Love Dip” which is almost indescribably delicious.  I am not a big dip lover, but Love Dip is fantabulous!

I noticed on my last trip that they also carry Myer Lemons in the produce department and I am very tempted to get some and try my hand at making Limoncello.  But, I think that’s a project for when things calm down a bit.

Off now to feed the chinchilla. She gets a little surly when dinner is late! Have a stellar week everyone!

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Mar02

Time Well Spent

by Adminderella on March 2nd, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized

If you ask me if I am a good writer, my answer will depend on my mood at the time. Some days I think I am a great writer, most days I think I am a writer wanna-be.  It doesn’t help that the feedback I’ve gotten over the years has been very polarized… I am either lauded for my superior communication skills or berated for my absolutely appallingly bad communication skills.

I’m not sure if taking a copywriting class was more of an effort to validate that I know what I am doing or an effort to make up for a lack of skill. Maybe a bit of both. But I spent two days in a copywriting class this week  and I believe it was time well spent.  I didn’t learn anything really earth-shattering but sometimes reinforcement of ideas you had or concepts that you are familiar with being expanded upon can be very motivating.

I feel that I have a much better handle now on writing things like ad copy.  Learning to identify an audience, think about their motivation and write with focus is valuable to someone with a small business and to someone who assists small (and sometimes not so small) businesses with the written materials that they used to represent their business.

I’ll admit that there is a part of me that is seeking a mentor. Someone who will see my writing and believe that I have the talent to go from ‘sufficient’ to at least ‘proficient’ and perhaps onto ‘professional’.  I don’t suspect that writing will ever be what keeps a roof over my head but considered it a compliment when I was recently told that someone believes I would be a very good technical writer.

I still (perhaps mistakenly) believe that some day I will be able to write a novel that is worth reading.  I don’t think I can get there without a mentor.  Maybe I need to start reading more books to get an idea what it is that people think is worth reading.

I struggle with how to approach someone who I respect and who I think could help me to be a better writer, especially when there is really nothing I can offer that person in return (as far as financial compensation).  But I am coming to realize that the likelihood that someone will read what I have written and want to help me to get to the next level is pretty unfathomable.  And so I use an indirect approach and then burn a  few candles, say a few prayers and hope for the best.  It hasn’t worked yet and you know what they say about doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.  And yet, I still bank on insanity working in my favor at some point.

So, I consider the last two days time well spent, if only to have had the opportunity to learn technique from a REAL writer.  I hope to make the weekend time well spent, too.  I guess I can assess that on Monday morning.  Have a stellar weekend!

 

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