1. Yesterday was Teen Lit Day, which is one of my FAVORITE days because it is also Rock the Drop. For those who haven’t heard about it, it’s something that Readergirlz came up with a few years ago. The idea is that you take YA books and leave them around your town for people to find and enjoy. So I picked a few of my own paperbacks, printed out the Rock The Drop bookplates, and headed out into Chapel Hill. First stop was a bus shelter where I always see a TON of UNC students:
Then I headed to my satellite office (also known as Whole Foods) and dropped one in the cafe:
After that, it was off to Carrburritos, home of the BEST burrito in the world (in my humble opinion), where I dropped a book by the brownie display (and ordered a regular chicken with pinto beans for myself)
Then, it was time for the last and most SUPER STEALTH drop. I drove over to my high school, parked out front, and then RAN up and dropped a book in the very place where I used to wait for rides after school:
Then I drove away VERY fast, feeling like I’d gotten away with something. Yeah, I’m all about the risk taking. It’s how I roll.
2. Today I literally looked at my daughter’s hair and thought, “I’m out. I can’t do anything!” People: it was so wild. Like a big, curly halo over her head, with these messy, tangled corkscrews in the back. If you brush it, it gets huge, like Albert Einstein. If you DON’T brush it, it looks like a weird, crazy mullet: straight and in her eyes in the front, wild and Shirley Temple-esque in the back. Add in the fact that she will NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES even entertain the thought of a barrette, headband or ponytail, and I’m at the end of my rope. I know, I know, I shouldn’t care. Just like I shouldn’t have cared earlier this week when my husband dressed her in three different striped things, all different colors, and I bribed her with Pez (bad! Mama!) to put on a solid pair of pants. She’s a kid, she’s supposed to be wild and herself. But. But. My saving grace today, however, was the preschool calendar. I glanced at it as she was leaving (with her wild hair going in all directions) and…it’s CRAZY HAIR DAY! Done and done. Sigh.
3. On the reading front, I’m currently doing three books at once, as is my way. (Multitasking: that’s me, in all levels of my life. Is it a good thing? Jury is still out. But it is what it is.) First up is MR. FOX by Helen Oyeyemi, which is a book I was given by my Canadian publicist when I was in Toronto in the fall. This book should SO not be my cup of tea. It’s really surreal and I don’t exactly know what’s going on, plus I think I MAY just not be smart enough to understand it. But I cannot stop reading. Which I think, actually, is the highest compliment you can pay any book. If I figure it out before I finish, I’ll be so proud. Over on the iPad, I’m reading my second selection from the unofficial Jennifer Weiner book club (which is to say, books she has recommended over on Twitter) HEFT by Liz Moore, which I just started but already love. On audio, I finished Kristen Johnston’s GUTS (which was great) and have now moved onto Jeannette Winterson’s WHY BE HAPPY WHEN YOU COULD BE NORMAL? (A question I ask myself daily. But I digress.) I know there’s been a lot of news about e-books lately, and I do love being able to carry a book in my purse without the bulk. But as I have said before, I love the feel of a REAL book, folding back the cover (yes, I do that) folding down pages (ditto), and seeing them on my shelf. I’m a multi-tasking multi-platform reader, I guess. Say that five times fast!
4. Another parenting lesson I have YET to really learn: only telling my kid about upcoming events on a Need To Know basis. Which is to say, about an hour before they are happening. I have NOT done this lately, which is leading to all kinds of relentless questioning and a lack of sleep all around. Take Easter. I waited until the day before, then let her know it was coming up. She was so pumped she slept NOT AT ALL the night before, didn’t nap that day and had a Peep and Pez fueled meltdown by 5pm. Fun! Did I learn, though? No, I did not. In fact, yesterday, I mentioned we were going to the beach in “a few weeks.” IDIOT! Now she’s already pulling out her suitcase and asking how long, how long, how long, as well as planning out what she’s going to do the day we leave. Which will most likely be insisting on getting in the car at 6am and then asking me repeatedly when we are going. Oh, man. Give me strength. Or sense. Or both.
5. Finally, over in the coop, our hen Pretty Chicken (named by my daughter, not that you couldn’t guess) has been sitting on her eggs for almost 21 days. Which means that soon, we’ll find out if we have chicks or not. I think I’ve written here before about how impressed I am with what she’s gone through to do this. First, she sat on the eggs in the communal coop, where the other chickens (for whatever reason) bullied her, nipped at her AND pooped on her head. And you thought pregnancy was tough! (Or, I did.) Finally my husband moved her over to her own little coop in the shed, where she has literally sat on the eggs CONSTANTLY ever since, getting up only a couple of times to eat and drink. Whenever we go peek in at her, she’s huddled down, and shoots me a suspicious BACK OFF LADY look before I retreat. Mama is serious. And I am just hoping, HOPING it’s all for something. We’ve been careful not to talk about it too much with my kid, because of the whole Circle of Life thing, and even if we DO get chicks some might not survive. But with all the talk in the news today about the Mommy Wars—and I hate that we war with each other at all, it’s hard enough being a parent—it’s kind of nice to see it all boiled down to the hard work, dedication and patience that is really what it’s all about. Need a life lesson, look to the coop, I guess. And stay tuned….
Have a good weekend, everyone!
I feel the same way about books. I’ve tried other people’s kindles or nooks, but i just don’t like them as much as real books.
I’m going to steal your stealth book drop thing (a good idea I’ve never heard of before), although I’ll wait until the massive thunderstorms have decided they’re through with us around here.
My mom keeps asking me if I want a Kindle/Nook for my birthday and I can’t give a straight answer. I’m all for keeping the rainforest but I love the feeling of having paper in my hands and a room FULL of books (three big book cases and counting).
I’ll have to write down your recommendations about books.
And, I hope your Pretty Chicken becomes a mother soon!
I have wildly curly hair as well- and my mom (whose hair is pin straight) NEVER knew what to do with it when I was younger. I had pretty much every hairstyle you could imagine, but it turned out that letting it grow long was the only way to semi-tame it. Anyway- you mentioned brushing your daughter’s hair. I just thought I would share my mom’s hard learned wisdom…. She learned that combing (only comb, no brush) my hair while it was wet is the only way to keep it somewhat orderly. Brushes just make it afro-like… And insanely frizzy! Maybe that would work for your daughters hair too!
Me too! I have extreamly curly hair. Scary curly in fact and my mom had no idea what to do with it. Learned the hard, long, and extreamly painful way that the comb works best, especially when its wet and has just been conditions. Brushes only make things worse!
http://www.amazon.com/Curly-Girl-Handbook-Lorraine-Massey/dp/076115678X/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
The Curly Girl Handbook by Lorraine Massey changed my life. My mom has pin straight hair and never new what to do with my curls. Her continued attempts to “tame” mine really only led to a lot of shame about my hair and a lot of money wasted in trying to turn me into something I’m not. It took me a really long time to learn to work with my hair instead of against it and this book was what did that for me.
I feel the exact same way about having books. My mother asked me if i want a kindle for my birthday, and it seems like a good idea. But, i also love the feeling of actually owning, holding, and seeing a REAL book.
Brush = NO NO NO!! As someone said–combing when wet. Leave in conditioner will also work wonders for the defrizzing, and although my hair is more on the kinky side, you’ll want to use some sort of product maybe to keep the curls in check. You’ll have to experiment to find the right one, though.
Fortunately, curls are all the range now and you can find LOADS of resources on the net.
Good luck!
1. I second the Curly Girl Handbook by Lorraine Massey! Definitely helped my hair tons. There’s also a website– http://www.naturallycurly.com/ — that is great. They have a kids section I believe as well. And yeah, invest in some wide-tooth combs IMMEDIATELY. Brushes==SO bad for curly hair. Make sure to comb when it’s wet tho as combing dry hair will also give the Einstein look haha.
2. I have a Kindle but rarely use it. I read a book recently on it and kept reaching to turn the pages! lol. I just love the feel of books too much and could never completely switch to an e-reader. I want to SEE all the books I own, be able to touch, smell, flip pages, ect of them ALL.
1. I second the Curly Girl Handbook by Lorraine Massey! Definitely helped my hair tons. There’s also a website– http://www.naturallycurly.com/ — that is great. They have a kids section I believe as well. And yeah, invest in some wide-tooth combs IMMEDIATELY. Brushes==SO bad for curly hair. Make sure to comb when it’s wet tho as combing dry hair will also give the Einstein look haha.
2. I have a Kindle but rarely use it. I read a book recently on it and kept reaching to turn the pages! lol. I just love the feel of books too much and could never completely switch to an e-reader. I want to SEE all the books I own, be able to touch, smell, flip pages, ect of them ALL.
naturallycurly.com also suggest curl friendly hair salons!
Sarah Have you ever thought about coming to CA?
I hope Pretty Chicken becomes a proud mama soon! she clearly deserves it.
And about your daughter’s hair: I agree with other people here. I have curly hair, though not so curly like your daughter’s. But an advice with curly hairs: DON’T comb it when it’s dry. That’s major disaster. Only when it’s wet. And, well… if she doesn’t like headbands and stuff, you’ll just have to let it free.
When she growns up she’ll learn to manage it by herself.
Little kids like to be wild and different, to them, that’s being fun! So many things we have to learn from them.
You should learn from your daughter and let her be wild and free while she still is able to do so while being considerate adorable.
She’s a great kid Sarah!
I WISH I lived in NC so I could at least get one of those books! It’s not fair.
And about the Kindle and stuff- I KNOW! Nothing will ever compare to the feeling of the book in your hands, of the book in your bookshelf making space, being there.
But, oh boy, is it comfortable when you have to, say, travel and instead of taking ten physical books, you can take a Kindle and enjoy them all without the weight. I know, I know, I’m guilty. But, after all, that’s what technology searches every day.
Take care!
Sorry for my grammar, I’m Venezuelan and English isn’t my first language.
PS: When you said Paul’s grandmother, in This Lullaby, I was SO happy just by my country being mentioned. Like, SUPER happy.
I’d love if you could follow me on twitter: @valeriaprosperi
Pretty, pretty please!
So cool to see where you dropped your books; one day I definitely need to drive out to Chapel Hill to grab one of my own.
I’m SO excited for you that you might have chicks! We currently have twelve chicks in total, and they are so sweet and cute!
Thanks again for such an entertaining, awesome post!
I also have curly hair, although when I was a child, it was very long and so not as curly. I couldn’t stand it if it wasn’t in the tightest possible pony tail that was then braided. I even slept with it that way. My best friend has a 5 year old daughter with hair just like your daughter’s. She uses Frizz-ez–I think it’s a spray, to help keep it under control. I think you can even spray it in when it’s dry and work it through. It is widely available at places like Target.
Best wishes and good luck with the hair and the chicks!!
I love this post. LOVE IT! I love that you surreptitiously left copies of your (wonderful, in my opinion) books in places where they could be found. I did not know about this practice, but believe me, I’m taking it on.
I also have a daughter who thinks that if the skirt has stripes, the leggings can be stripes that somehow match because there is one color among them that is the same. She’s 8 as of last week, and just let her wear whatever, figuring that clothing is better than no clothing. Thankfully she has straight hair, but there is still the battle of the brush!
Short ending to the story … love your blog, love your books, they all inspire and motivate me and I’m so grateful you chose writing as a profession.
I have 6 baby chicks right now… We got them a week ago. They are so cute and sweet. I also have guineas (And yes theey are birds for those of you who dont know.) and the one guinea hen is laying on a nest of 30-40 eggs. I hope they all hatch cuz shes been laying on them for awhile. Anyways good luck with you daughters hair.
- Alex
P.S love your books and keepmup the good writing
Keep writing…… loved the Book Drop idea!!!!
The Book Drop sounds so cool and it made me want to laugh!
I love your books! The stories are always really good and once I start reading one I find it hard to stop! I can’t wait for your next book!
-Mary
xxx
I just thought of something.
Sarah, are you going to come to visit your fans in New Zealand because we love your books!
-Mary
Well, everybody already mentioned this (I thought I was the only one!) but you can just brush your daughters hair when it’s wet and it WILL make a difference… I think. But, I hope for the best with you, your family and, of course, your chickens!
Can’t wait till the Best Ever After!!! EEEEKK!
i love Sarah Dessen books now, the first one i read was called Dreamland, i must say it was a great book! i got it from my library at school, Colbert County High School in Leighton, Alabama… i’m in the process of reading Just Listen! so far a good book!
I love the whole leaving the books around thing !I wish they did that here in CT!
ya im thinking about getting a kindle but it def. wont be the same! i love books just the way they are(: the Rock the Drop thing sounds cool…i should try it sometime
Wow! Rock the Drop sounds like an awesome idea! Haha, I’d love to stumble upon one of your books, Sarah >.<