Q Sushi - San Jose

5/5 stars

If anybody can build a castle made out of sushi, it's Chef Billy and Jackie.

Q Sushi is a SUSHI POP-UP in downtown San Jose. Talk about hidden gem. I adore pop-up restaurants because it's all about crazy-delcious food by crazy-talented chefs who are super passionate and driven.

Q Sushi didn't disappoint! It was the BEST sushi I've had in the Bay Area. And I'm not saying that lightly. You know how many sushi restaurants there are in the Bay Area? I bow down in reverence.

I don't think I can pick the best part. It could be how incredibly fresh everything is. The only place I've had fresher sushi is at the fish market in Tokyo. The salmon on the Lion King is sooo rich and good... maybe that's the best part. Or... it could be the fact that the terriyaki steak is made with RIB-EYE. I also liked how the chicken karaage wasn't oily at all.

Honestly though, the best part of Q is how freakin' innovative the sushi chef is. You NEED to get the Red Eclipse... it's like a sushi art sculpture! Everything is too jaw-dropping to eat. Almost.

Come! Live in my sushi castle with me!

(2015)

Brilliant Earth - San Francisco

5/5 stars

Once Upon a Time ...

It was my birthday and we took the day off to visit 3 jewelry stores and to celebrate with a sumptuous meal at Gary Danko. It was a really great day!

I wanted the day to go back to my two favorite jewelry stores and narrow it down to "The One." I had excellent experiences at both Diamonds of Palo Alto and Brilliant Earth.

When I googled "conflict free engagement rings," Brilliant Earth was one of the first results that came up. I really liked their website - their mission, their conscience, and the variety of setting styles. And the reviews on Yelp were great! So I made an appointment and had such a wonderful - all-important - first impression. The second trip was just as good.

When you first walk through the door, you quickly realize that you're not in a regular jewelry store with glass cases and other couples browsing around. You get your very own Brilliant Earth specialist (ours was Danielle, but we also worked with Beth and Ryan) and you're in this nice, bright room with a whole selection of diamonds and settings for you to try on. When I had made the appointment (via email), I had requested to see 3 different styles. Not only did Danielle have the three settings I wanted to try on, she also had 20 similar settings she thought I'd like. That's how I found setting for me: the Heirloom! It had the "antique" look I wanted, but was not an estate piece. At the time, I was also interested in the square halo and the trio. It was soo no-pressure, and Danielle answered all the questions we tossed at her. You get a whole hour all to yourselves - to try and re-try on rings.

What blew me away was that the customizations weren't going to cost the bf an arm and a leg. That's when Danielle was REALLY helpful: coming up with ideas on how I could customize the engagement ring. We left happy campers.

After visiting Diamonds of Palo Alto and then making a quick stop at Dianne's, I had the feeling that even though those two jewelry stores were great, Brilliant Earth really made me happy and had more of what I was looking for. So we went back to look at diamonds. Of course, I couldn't help but try and re-try all the rings I had liked before ;-) and even sampling some new settings. After all that was said and done, the bf and I kept going back to the Heirloom. It was something I could see myself wearing everyday.

So we met with Beth, the gemologist, and she showed us a stunning selection of cushions and radiants. The bf actually picked out the rock - a diamond so frosty and clear, it looked like ice.

Over the next couple of months while we worked on creating my customized ring, Danielle and Beth were the definition of patient. They answered a hundred of my questions, made themselves available, met with us to go over the models (we received a computer-generated model and a wax model), and made sure we were involved during every step of the process.

The ring is hand-made and one-of-a-kind, the diamond is gorgeous and conflict-free, and the engagement was what fairy tales are made of. Our appointment with Danielle was only the beginning of our life together.

Thank you, Brilliant Earth!

Sept 14, 2010

Padfoot the pupster's 1st birthday + chili!

St. Paddy's Day 2012, this little monster/ love-bug joined our lives (after 3 months of searching)! He's got some labrador in him, as well as some rottweiler and Australian shepherd. He's the silliest (he likes to play with his toys on his back, holding them in between his front paws, like an otter) and sweetest puppy and we feel like he was made for us.

We don't know his exact birth-date, but we decided August 17th made sense. He was approx. 7 months when we brought him home. St. Paddy's Day was March 17th. The 17th lands in the middle-ish of the month. So, we gathered the in-laws and threw him a party.

I cooked him a plate of real bacon and cheese. And we gave him a bone as long as he is.

For the adults, we grilled some chicken drumsticks (marinated the drumsticks in beer for a couple hours, then sprinkled with a dry rub of garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper). The secret ingredient: basting the chicken with homemade BBQ sauce the last 10 mins or so. Everything's better homemade, yes?

BBQ Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 cups ketchup
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses or honey (or mix n' match ... honey will be sweeter of course) 
• 2T butter
• 1/2t garlic powder (I always add extra)
• 1/2t onion powder
• 1/4t chili powder
• 1t paprika
• 1/4t ground cinnamon
• 1/2t cayenne pepper (add more if you want it spicier, but taste it first and add slowly) 
• 1t salt
• 1t coarsely ground black pepper

Directions:

Simmer all ingredients for up to 20 minutes. For a thicker sauce, simmer longer, and for thinner, simmer less!

The winner of the day, though, was a homemade chili. We topped it on Nathan's hot dogs (better than Hebrew National, IMHO) or just ate it by itself.

I followed this recipe exactly - except cutting the quantities and adding half a bottle of Blue Moon's Summer Honey Wheat. Because IMHO, chili recipes are only improved by adding beer.

All-Beef Chili Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound bacon, cut into small pieces (I used scissors because uncooked bacon is hard to slice up! Chewy, slippery little suckers ...) 
• Half an onion, chopped
• 1 pound of ground beef (I used 90/10) 
• 4 garlic cloves 
• 8oz can of tomato sauce (I didn't have any on hand but did you know that tomato sauce is basically just one part tomato paste and one part water?) 
• 1/2 cup beef broth 
• 1/2T molasses
• 1/2T honey
• 1T paprika 
• 1/2T ground cumin 
• 1/2T chili powder 
• 1/2t cayenne 
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• Half a bottle of beer (whatever you have in the fridge is fine) 

Directions:

Fry the bacon over medium heat until it begins to get crispy, then add the chopped onions and fry over high heat, stirring often, until they begin to brown. Add in the ground beef and stir in well. Cook this, still over high heat and stirring occasionally, until the beef is browned. This will take a few minutes. When the beef is about halfway browned, toss in the chopped garlic and mix well.

the recipe doesn't call for red peppers, but I had some extra lying around ... 

Once the beef is well browned, add the tomato sauce, molasses, honey, beef broth, and beer. Add all the spices except the cayenne and stir well. Bring to a simmer and taste. Add salt or the cayenne if it needs it. You can of course add much more cayenne or chili powder if you like things really spicy, but it’s best to taste first and then add more. This is also when we added half a bottle of beer.

I've made this with both ground beef and turkey ... we prefer it with beef, but turkey is healthier

Let the chili cook on a gentle simmer for at least 30 minutes before serving. I served mine the next day so the flavors really had time to become friendly with each other and it was tasty!

blast to the past: Christmas

Today, I took my puppy to the beach for the first time:

Mitchell's Cove, Santa Cruz

It was a long, wonderful day that included a stop at my favorite fish market that makes the best cioppino in the universe:

Phil's Fish Market, Moss Landing

Now, he's asleep at my feet and I'm feeling lazy. So all I'm going to do is sit on this couch, with a glass of my favorite champagne (Domaine Carneros Vermeil Demi Sec) and catch this blog up. There has been a lot of epic eating since December 2011 and, well, not a lot of blogging.

Let's go back to Christmas!

Christmas morning, I woke up, baked a ham, and prepped the $103 prime rib (Whole Foods, highly recommend their meat). It was strange because it was the first time I didn't wake Christmas morning, ready to rouse my parents from sleep (they don't live with me anymore) and bound into the living room to see what Santa had brought. Instead, I was all woman-of-the-manor and stuff with a house full of in-laws to entertain.

Really, though. The whole day, I felt more like a general preparing for battle: cooking my first Christmas dinner ever. The hardest part? Trying to get everything out on the table at the same time AND piping hot.

Christmas Dinner menu (recipes linked when available):

* honey-baked ham (Costco!)

* garlic + rosemary rubbed bone-in prime rib with red wine + rosemary au jus (you can use thyme or rosemary)

Disclaimer: not the actual Christmas prime rib, but the same recipe

* mashed potatoes (pretty much just add a lot of butter and milk or cream and you can't screw this up ... though I may invest in a food mill ...)

* asparagus + bacon tossed in a champagne vinaigrette and topped with poached eggs (recipe: blanch the asparagus and cut into bite-size pieces, fry or microwave the bacon and crumble over the asparagus, 4 poached eggs [using this spiffy contraption], and dressed with champagne vinaigrette [I like Girard's champagne vinaigrette])

* salad with grilled pears and a homemade brown sugar balsamic dressing (recipe for dressing: 1 cup vegetable oil, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 4 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper, stir well with a whisk)

* creamed corn (cheated - this one came from a can)

* dinner rolls (cheated - store bought)

Dessert:

* homemade vanilla bean creme brulee (I will talk about this recipe in another post - it's a doozy)
* homemade pecan pie
* homemade pumpkin pie
* homemade chocolate crinkle cookies
* and so much peppermint bark that I had tins of it left on Valentine's Day ...

***tip of the day*** eat leftover prime rib with spaghetti (half red sauce, half alfredo - the jar stuff is fine) ... it's ... ah ... my mouth just filled with drool.

Only 4 more months till Christmas!!!

Excuse #100 for why I'm not writing

Because I'm getting married.

I know, I know. Excuses, excuses. I know I have to make time and after talking to a supermom who schedules her writing time around her 3-year-old - I know anything's possible.

But sometimes, planning a wedding feels impossible. Girls in serious relationships [mayhaps of a certain age] daydream about The Dress, The Colors, The Location, The Food, so on and so forth. Don't get me wrong - all that stuff is still really, really fun, but, well, there's also:

* The Budget

* The Picking-A-Venue

* The Who's-Gonna-Rent-And-Clean-The-Forks

* The What-Do-You-Mean-I-Have-To-Order-Water-Pitchers?

* The I-Have-To-Buy-A-Ton-Of-Ice

* The I-Wonder-If-I'm-Grown-Up-Enough-To-Handle-Dry-Ice [or any of this for that matter]

* The Cancelling-That-Venue-And-Picking-Another-More-Inclusive-One

* The Restaurant-I-Love-Increasing-Their-Price-To-20k

* The Going-Over-The-Budget, and

* The I-Have-To-Now-Get-A-New-Caterer

Stuff I never daydreamed about. Who knew wedding planning could be so ... not fun?

*breathes*

I am happy to say that after researching over 100 locations and one cancellation, we have a gorgeous venue that me, fiance, and parental units are over-the-moon happy with!! And I don't have to worry about forks and water pitchers anymore!!!! And, after all that was said and done, I got what I wanted all along: a wedding reception at a Sonoma winery.

Next on the list: trying to find a caterer who will make something other than dry chicken with dark brown mushroom sauce.

The fiance and I adore Mexican food, but the taco truck idea was a tad too informal for my mom. Problem is: I can't quite figure out how to make Mexican fancy enough for a sit-down plated menu. Italian is another option, with duck and mastutake ragu raviolis and wild mushroom risotto in small plate form. Then, there's paella.

Visually stunning, comfort-food-like, but also [with seafood] possibly fancy enough.

So this is what I'm doing instead of writing. Reading very many menus and funny words like:

* cambozola mousse

* toybox basil

* chiogga beets

2011 = New Stuff

What I'm eating: My boyfriend fiance (dude, before I'm used to the word, I'm going to be calling him husband) bought me fancy, New York, "it"-restaurant-of-the-moment cookies. They're the Compost cookies from Momofuku and they're really unique. They taste like chocolate, salty pretzels, and coffee grounds. They also have potato chips, oats, and butterscotch in them. Unique may be an understatement.

What I'm doing: Not writing. I'm thinking about writing, though. I guess as writers, we never stop. I spent the last 3 months of 2010 revising my middle-grade science fantasy for Authoress' genius Baker's Dozen Auction. The work paid off and I received 3 full requests from it. When Christmas break came around, I worked on FRIENDS WITH DEATH a little - re-writing certain parts and switching 3rd person to first (yes, again). I'm hankering to write something new, though. I have a couple ideas tickling my brain, but nothing's grabbed me yet. I keep waiting ... and hoping.

So that's the goal this year: a new YA.

And planning a wedding ...

Talk about new experiences.

I'm going dress shopping for the first time tomorrow! I'm really excited and a little nervous (not sure why). After boy proposed in August, I couldn't wait to try on dresses, but my mom was out of the country and I didn't want to go without her, so I waited. When my mom returned from her vacation, she had to jump right back into work (the holidays are the busiest time of year for her line of work) (and no, she's not an elf), so I had to wait some more.

You would think that during this period of waiting I would have collected examples of dresses I want to try on, huh? Yeah. Probably should've done that.

Which is why I'm sitting here, not writing, eating a cookie, and ripping out photographs of dresses from a stack of wedding magazines.

Blowing Off the Blog Dust

Yup, still alive! I hate to say it, but work has gotten in the way of writing. C'est la vie!

So yesterday, at 1AM, instead of going to bed like a good employee, I decided to give myself a challege: 20K in 7 days. SOUNDS CRAZY FUN, doesn't it? My WIP is about 55% complete and edited. Now, it's a race to the finish line!

In other, non-writely news, the Significant Other and I are trying to buy a house. I wish it was as easy as:

me: "Bank, I have this much. I would like to buy a house for this much. Please loan me the difference."

bank: *checks important things* "OK, I trust you. Here you go!" *poof loan*

me: "I like your house, Owner."

owner: "It costs $525,000."

me: "I'll give you $500,000 for it."

owner: "I won't go a penny below $515,000."

me: *ponders* *loves house* "It's a deal!" *gives Owner money*

me: la la la

Catching Up

Yikes! Been almost a month since I've posted.

So ... I live in California, but the S.O. wants to live in Colorado someday so over the 4th of July holiday, we traversed to the Rocky Mountains to do some 'sploring to determine if it'll be a good fit. We went to Boulder (not what I pictured) and Denver (cool, clean city), the Red Rocks (this is a place where stories are born), and Table Mountain (I want to live near here). The best part of the trip was a surprise visit to the little town of Granby where we relaxed in a cabin (and played Apples to Apples in over-the-top Asian accents) and went boating with two of our best friends (who are part of the reason for the "wanting to move to Colorado" idea).

Anywho, I am way behind in life.

* I've been reading a lot more than usual - research to better my Young Adult writing skillz. So far, I've devoured the following books: I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have To Kill You, Evermore, Wings, Wicked Lovely, and Fairy Tale

* I'm in the middle of Silver Phoenix, Fragile Eternity, and Don't Judge a Spy by Her Cover

* I just bought Blue Moon and The Graveyard Book

* I want to do reviews for everything I read (need to get off my butt and actually do them)!

* I won a 5-page critique with Kelly Sonnack (Andrea Brown Agency) through Cynthea Liu's auction

* I did a test run with the Online Writing Workshop for SF/Fantasy writers - in less than a month, I received 3 thorough critiques! When I have the time, I'm going to sign up for a permanent membership and return the favor to those who critiqued my work, but I'm super busy/behind right now ... I suggest you try it, though, if you're looking for solid feedback!

* I'm holding on to my promise of finish FRIENDS WITH DEATH before fiddling with THE UNICORN TAMER

* I currently have 1 full and 1 partial out

I'm Back!

Home sweet home!

Paris was awesome. I could live off of Paris' pastries (macaroons, chocolate croissants, napoleons ... *drool*), Champagne's bubbly (did you know that France's champagne is special because the grapes are grown in CHALK SOIL??), and Versailles' gardens (Marie Antoinette was way ahead of her time). Magical bites, buildings, and ... beer! If you're a fantasy writer and need help on your world-building, I think a trip to Europe will do the trick. We just don't have the history - or the architecture for that matter - that cities like Paris or Brussels have. Actually, I found my leprechauns' City of Gold in Brussels! I can't say enough good things about Belgium - my 2-day trip there was way-too-short and way-too-delightful. Framboise beer + frites heaven! And with every other store being a chocolate shop, I kept thinking that this is where Willy Wonka would vacation.

I'll post pictures once I get over this jetlag - this going to bed by 9PM and waking at 5AM is very strange.

I haven't been in the right mind to write, but I'm doing my Brenda Novak Auction research! I've been struggling with this: How much am I willing to pay to possibly (but probably highly unlikely) help jumpstart my writing career? Winning any of the agent critiques does not guarantee representation, but it does guarantee this: a read of the first 3 chapters (i.e. skipping the query process). So ... how much is that read by a good agent worth? $200? $500? $1000? Cons: In this economy, I feel bad spending money I should be saving. Pros: The money is going toward a great cause (diabetes research) AND I may get an agent out of it. Oh! Shiny, elusive may!

Before I go attack my pile of non-writing-related work, my query is up for critique in a couple places! Check it out and leave your thoughts (pretty please!): Call My Agent and Editor Unleashed (you need to register for this one ... I highly recommend registering though because Maria Schneider has guest agents visit all the time)

* Even though I'm jet-lagged, I wish I was in NY attending BEA right now ...

Writing YA?

Then go here. Call it "teen reasearch." Call it "wonderful."

You're probably tired of hearing me say, "I'm editing THE UNICORN TAMER again," so I'm going to talk about something personal and *exciting*: I am going to Paris in May!! My mom and I were supposed to go the summer after my college graduation, but then real life (i.e. job) got in the way. 5 years later, we're FINALLY doing it and I am *dancing* with joy+other fuzzy feelings.

We'll be in Europe for 10 days, staying mostly in Paris and taking mini-trips to Versailles (I love the word "Versailles" ... it just sounds SO romantic to me), Champagne (official bubbly!), Brussels and Bruges (chocolate! mussels! beer! lace! chocolate! chocolate!).

Foodie, Lush, Writer

The only excuse I have for not writing or blogging about writing is this: it's because all I've been doing is eating gorgeous, delicious foods and learning a lot about the foreign object that is wine.

January was a busy month:

* I turned 27 (!)
* the bf and I turned 4-dating-years-old
* we saw one musical (The Phantom of the Opera) and stayed at one spa (MacArthur's Place)
* we visited two museums (the Academy of Sciences and the De Young) and the Conservatory of Flowers - all in one day
* we dined at one of Thomas Keller's restaurants (Ad Hoc) and one of San Francisco's best (Gary Danko)
* we visited 10 Sonoma wineries (2 consecutive Saturdays) and tasted over 40 wines
* we ate real (non-Americanized) Italian and French food

Since January was an extreme foodie and lush month, February will be more writing intensive. It's already begun:

* I got my first full request!! And it's from Firebrand!! Maybe birthday wishes do come true?
* ABNA
* As promised, blurbs for my work and my work-in-progress: THE UNICORN TAMER and FRIENDS WITH DEATH!!!!

Coming up:

* Reaching the 15,000 mark for FRIENDS WITH DEATH
* Miss Snark's First Victim's February Secret Agent contest

Happy February Writing, friends!

Counting the Days till Christmas

Only three writing related things to post:

1. TW answers responses to rejection letters, thus, she is awesome and no... I didn't write to bother her, I wrote to thank her for her time

2. I have a shiny new query letter and 5 hand-picked agents who will be receiving said query letter tomorrow!

3. I entered two different versions of THE UNICORN TAMER's first two sentences here... let the critiquing begin!

And now, some fun end of the year stuff as we count down the days till Christmas vacation!

100 Things I've Done (red is in the past year, blue is in my life):

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (I played alto sax in high school... and over the summer, I got up and played a kazoo in a band that came by work...)
4. Visited Hawaii (one of my favorite places!)
5. Watched a meteor shower (I think I saw one this year, but I don't remember...)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (twice this year!)
8. Climbed a mountain (the Harding Ice Field in Alaska... now THAT was a mountain)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (been to, but I don't think I walked to the top)
18. Grown your own vegetables (one year, Bryce and I tried to grow tomatoes...)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (but not with my new laser eyes)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (another one I can't remember if I've done this year...)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke (Rock Band style)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (Hawaii!)
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain (it did not rain enough this year)
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (Alaska!)
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (I think I do this every year)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (I'm fairly certain...)
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (Very soon, I hope!!!!)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (I will never forget... my World Cultures professor said that even if you're not Catholic or religious, you should read the Bible, because it's one of the best stories ever written...)
86. Visited the White House (yes, I think)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Sir Ian Mckellen! Does Eric Schmidt and Larry Page count, too?)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!)

Fat and Happy

That's what Bryce always says when I ask him how Grace-icles (his and Mike's obsessive compulsive, crazy, non-graceful cat) and that's how I feel right now. I am very, very thankful for my life.

Beware: personal post coming right at'cha! Just wanted to catalog Thanksgiving 2008.

It started with me going to bed at 5:30AM. I was completely and utterly doing absolutely nothing productive and then all of a sudden, it was 5:30AM. In case you're keeping count, there were three "ly" words in the previous sentence. Instead of sleeping in till 2PM, my parents woke me up at 11AM for some breakfast. We tried the new restaurant Pho (translation: Vietnamese beef noodle soup) Minh right down the street. It was clean and decent. I'm going to leave my restaurant reviews for yelp (also known as: my daily writing exercises). It was a lovely, cool day in Cupertino. Thank goodness it finally feels like Fall here. The rain the other day helped a lot.

There were four highlights of my day:

1. This is going to sound totally un-exciting to you, but, I finally know where all my shoes are! I still live with my mom and sister and it all adds up to a heck of a lot of shoes. So my mom and I got down n' dirty and opened every box, placed every shoe in its correct home, and stacked them in the correct gal's corner. I usually wear flip flops, sneakers, or Uggs, but now, when I have to step outside my normal shoe wearing routine, it won't take me an hour to find the fancy stuff.

2. The creative juices were totally flowing today and it was very exciting. I jotted down five new story ideas. Once I flesh 'em out a bit, I'll put the summaries up here. I am trying to decide how many work-in-progresses I want to have, but I can't decide which I want to start on. I want to work on them all! I want to finish them all in 2 months, too. Hah. My crazy self amuses my self.

3. I helped my mom cook Thanksgiving dinner for the first time today. It was wonderful. My family's not big on turkey (gasp!), so we opted for Cornish game hens instead. She taught me how to soak the hens in cognac and brush them with honey. I made stuffing (easy because it was Stove Top), green bean casserole, red-skinned mashed potatoes, and garlic croissants. I had such a good time in the kitchen with my mom today!

4. I am quite addicted to this fps (translation: first person shooter) online PC game called Team Fortress 2. I call playing the game "pew pew'ing." Anywho, I'm quite addicted as in... I play a minimum of 2 hours a night. Since I'm on holiday, of course I want to do a few of my favorite things (i.e. write, sleep, eat, and pew). I was kind of concerned that most of my e-friends would be too busy with Thanksgiving-y things to come online to play with me. Turns out, I was bummed for no reason at all! Right after dinner, an e-friend and I got one of our community's servers going and it filled up quickly. Soon, we were having awesome 12 v. 12 games. All-talk and party mode was on (translation: when you blow somebody up, instead of blood, presents and balloons come out of the dead body) and I was a super duper happy camper. I was able to game for hours after all and I didn't have to suffer on a public server with weird sound effects (i.e. rap music when I dominate someone? *shudder*).

So as you can see, not really a literary-focused blog entry, but I'm just gonna count every little bit of writing as practice.

Happy Thanksgiving, folks!

Kenlyn is my Grammar Fairy

Everybody, I'd like you to meet my official, un-official editor, Kenlyn McGrew (yes, Bryce's sister). She was born with a gift - the grammatical kind - and has kindly, kindly agreed to help me with my book. Already she's done the first 3 chapters and is working on two versions of my query letter as we speak!

Which means, yes! I've actually written two query letters! How confident am I about them? Not so much! Woo! Seriously, folks, query-letter-writing is painful in the tooth-pulling kind of way. It's so hard trying to convey tone, plot, and characters in less than 350 words. I've never tried to sell my book before so it's all just trial and error. At least I have Kenlyn to make sure my spelling and grammar errors are non-existent.

If she gets back to me tonight, I'll be sending off my very first query letter... tonight! I just want to get my first batch out! Because if I keep staring at my query letters, they (A) won't write themselves and (B) will never get sent out because I'll keep agonizing and re-writing them. At least if I send them out and get rejections (eek!), I'll know that something's not working and can try something else. I'm just sort of... blind at the moment. I'll let you know what happens - good or sad.