1. Okay, bear with me, because I know I say this every month but: how is it almost JUNE? Where did the spring go? One minute it’s March and then WHOOSH it’s almost summer. Maybe this is a sign of getting older. Or being busy? Who knows. It just makes me think that I need to step out of the chaos of my daily life a bit more and be present, as the Buddhists say. Of course, the Buddhists also say to meditate, but whenever I try to do that and “clear my mind” I end up running over my To Do lists in my head and thinking about lunch. I am not cut out for quiet contemplation, apparently. Or, um, quiet anything.

2. Earlier this week, I pulled my iPad out of my purse only to find….the screen shattered. Cue Munch-like screaming face: NOOOOO! It was in a case and in my purse when it happened, so at least I didn’t drive off with it on the roof of my car or something. I made an appointment with a Genius at the Apple Store (they have so many there: it’s like M.I.T.!) and went in, where they told me I could swap it out for a replacement one for considerably less than buying a whole new model. Yay! I signed some paperwork, they told me they’d call when it was in, and I left happy. The next day, I was back at the mall for another reason so I figured I’d check in and see if it was in yet, save myself a trip if it was. The guy at the door asked me what I needed, I told him, and he pointed at another guy at the back of the store. “He can help you,” he said. I went up to said guy and told him the guy at the door said he could help me. He just looked at me, face irritated. “He was mistaken,” he said. O-kay. Then he sighed. “What do you need?” I showed him my receipt, explained, and he turned away, looking annoyed. “She needs….” he sighed, before giving it to someone else to deal with. It just so…not nice, you know? Eventually another woman came back, said it wasn’t in yet. I thanked her and went to leave. But before I got to the door, I was like…you know, I’m not down for this. So I turned back, went up to the same woman, and canceled the order. She asked why and I told her how the guy was just really rude and I didn’t feel like spending my money there. “You know,” she said, “you won’t be able to get the same replacement deal somewhere else.” Maybe not. And it’s not like Apple even cares or will miss my couple hundred bucks. But as my mom would say, “It’s the principle of the thing.” So I will just keep rocking my busted iPad and call it Modernist, even as I occasionally have to pick glass shards out of my fingertips. Next week I’ll be in New York, where there are a LOT of Apple Stores. Maybe someone will be nicer there? (Edit: after I wrote this earlier today, it occurred to me to just check and see if I’d bought my iPad at Best Buy. I had! Better yet: I bought the protection plan. So that rude guy at Apple actually saved me money! I love how stuff like that works out. Went to Best Buy, they switched my busted one out for a brand new one. VERY nicely, even. Hooray!)

3. Right now, it is 6:52 and my kid is nagging me incessantly to go outside and play Frisbee with her. I’m like: “NO FRISBEE BEFORE SEVEN AM!” like this is an actual steadfast worldwide rule. I never in my life, back when I was all pregnant and rubbing my belly and dreamily thinking of chubby baby cheeks, thought I’d be doing this. That’s the crazy thing about being a parent. You can’t ever know what you’re going to get. Some folks have kids that sleep until 9am: mine wakes at 5:30, 6 if I am super lucky. And she is ready to GO. And play Frisbee. It’s a good thing I’m a morning person, although, left to my own devices (and back in the belly-rubbing days) I’ll sleep until seven. But really, what did I do THEN with my mornings? Drink coffee, watch a little TV, do my makeup slowly and with great care. In the grand scheme of things, Frisbee is more interesting. But only after seven, because THAT IS THE RULE.

4. As I mentioned above, I’m heading to New York next week, part for fun, part for work. The fun part is my best friend from high school had her first baby a few weeks ago, so I’ll TOTALLY get to pinch some chubby baby cheeks, and hold a baby, which I am so freaking looking forward to I can’t even tell you. I’m also dropping in to visit my publisher and sign some stuff for upcoming giveaways, as well as talk about SUPER COOL STUFF that’s going to be happening in the next couple of weeks. I know I haven’t been blogging much except on Fridays, but I’m going to be posting some fun stuff here, so check in if you can. I promise I will be REALLY nice and polite to you. Here at sarahdessen.com/blog, we LOVE our customers. Or readers. Or whatever.

5. Finally, this week was also big because I got to go back and visit my high school for Tigerfest, the annual day of speakers and activities. It’s not the first time I’ve been asked to come back—I was there last year, warming up for my book tour—but it’s always a bit of a nostalgia bomb. This year, it was especially so, as they directed me to park in the lower lot, where I always parked back in the day. And I will be honest here: I spent a lot of time in the parking lot. I was not a great student and definitely not in a great place in my life. I’m not proud but there it is. So I’m pulling in, days before my 42nd (!) birthday, to this scene of so many crimes. I park, take a deep breath, and remind myself that I am not that girl anymore, even if it feels like it in that moment. As always, it was super fun to talk to the students, take questions about writing and my books, and basically walk around without having that much of a panic attack. Because a lot HAS changed, thank God. But some stuff stays the same. Like the breezeway between the main building and the cafeteria, and the benches there that I spent so much time sitting on:

Whew! There’s that nostalgia bomb/panic attack again. Good thing it’s past seven and I have to go play Frisbee.

Have a great holiday weekend, everyone!

1. My husband is going away this weekend, and you know what that means: I’m going to be on Chicken Duty. This is always stressful enough, as I worry endlessly about something happening to them on my watch, but now we have this smaller chickens to deal with as well. There are electric fences to get over (I get shocked EVERY SINGLE TIME I SWEAR TO YOU) feed to distribute, eggs to collect. Not to mention keeping an eye out for roving, loose dogs. Oh, and I also have to take care of my kid. And my husband has already ordered MORE chicks to come next week, and he is still talking about getting a goat. I am no Half Pint, people. I can only take so much of this! Anyway, wish me luck…

2. This week, I was introduced to a relatively new phenomenon (to me, anyway): the spray tan. I think I’ve written here about how I have already had to have one skin cancer removed, and although I LOVE the beach, I always wear a hat AND SPF 100 or so, reapplying constantly. (My dad has also had a lot of skin cancer: I learned early not to mess with the UVB rays.) I’ve done self tanner lotion, after checking with my dermatologist that it was okay, but the spray tan always made me a bit wary. I kept thinking of that episode of Friends where Ross got so dark he was scaring people. (Am I the only one who has a Friends reference for, like, EVERYTHING? I doubt it.) Anyway, the other day one of my sitters showed up having JUST gotten a spray tan. At first, she was barely brown. But as the hours passed, she got darker and darker, and by the time she left four hours later, she looked like she’d been in the sun—SAFELY—for a few days. I have to admit, I’m intrigued. Enough to do it…well, we’ll see. I mean, I can’t even be confident about my chickens. Not sure I can rock a look like Dancing with the Stars.

3. On the book front, I am about to finish seriously one of the best books I’ve read this year or ever: THE ART OF FIELDING by Chad Harbach. It’s sort of about baseball, but in the way that Friday Night Lights was about football, i.e. you don’t have to like the game to LOVE this story and the characters. I bought it less than a week ago at the beach and do not want it to end. SO GOOD. I love when I can really recommend something. On the audio book front, I listened to Ricki Lake’s NEVER SAY NEVER on the way down and back from the beach, which was loads of fun, especially the dishy stuff about her Hollywood experience and working with John Waters. Now I’m onto MOST TALKATIVE by Bravo’s Andy Cohen, which is seriously hilarious. He is so self deprecating and over the top and I LOVE him even more than I already did (which I wasn’t even sure was possible: I mean, have you SEEN him referee those Housewives reunions?) Impressive all around.

4. My daughter’s preschool had their end of year celebration last night and I’ll admit it: I got a little choked up. There’s just something about seeing your kid with her class, all of them squirming and distracted and ready to bolt as the teachers try to make end of year comments. Wasn’t she JUST a baby? It really feels like it. (And I know I say that a lot, sorry.) Because she has a late birthday for the kindergarten cutoff, we get one more year at this great school before she moves up to the big leagues. Then, I know I will a total sobbing mess. Maybe a spray tan will help.

5. Finally, Donna Summer died this week. Everyone remembers her as the “disco queen,” best known for “Last Dance” and other songs, but for me, a child of the 80′s and early MTV videos, she will always be about “She Works Hard for the Money.” I mean, remember that poor woman waitress who wanted only to be a dancer? Man. If you don’t recall, or were too young, feel free to time trip back with me via this link . It will probably give you a serious earworm for the rest of the day, but we’ll just call that paying our due respects. Be at peace, Donna.

Have a good weekend, everyone!