10 MORE ways in which a casual observer might know I'm deep in drafting mode . . .

My FIRST post about the 10 ways in which a casual observer might know I'm deep in drafting mode, is HERE.

This list, however, is JUST as true . . . Unfortunately.

1. The longest verbal convo I've had in days is with my cats, during which I bounced new plot twists and directions off of them.

2. My text message and IM histories are full of random numbers. Which really come from word count updates sent back and forth with my writing friends. Texts to my husband on the other hand, frequently read: The number one rule for when you come home is to take a deep breath and not panic at the state of our house. It's all my stuff, all over the place. Don't worry. I'm going to clean it up . . . Soonish. Please don't divorce me. Love, Sara.

3. I've memorized pretty much every lyric ever written by Adele, Florence and the Machine, Taylor Swift, and 30 Seconds to Mars. Because of their relevance to my WIP. NOT from procrastinating. No way. *whistles innocently*

4. When asked, I STILL have to think about the last time I showered.

5. The Chinese place up the street greets me by name when I call to order delivery. Same with the Thai place. And the Mexican place. And Dominos.

6. Google search history now also comes up with "Will more than 5 red bulls in one day lead to a heart attack?" and "How much force does it take to break someone's nose?" and "Hawaiian curse words."

7. I get texts from my family just to make sure I'm still alive.

8. My legs get shaved exactly once a week. And only because I have an appointment with my personal trainer once a week. And only if I've run out of long workout pants. And THANKFULLY I usually have a pair or two of workout capris, so I only have to shave to my knees. (Yes, as a matter of fact, this IS my husband's fave part of my writing process.) (<--Sarcasm)

9. I begin to think I'd look good with dreads. Because given the condition and shape of my hair, I'm halfway there as it is. PROOF:

The hubs took a pic of me from his iPad . . .

The dreads are on their way.

10. I start to accidentally call my cats by the names of my characters, the same way some mothers mix up the names of their children. And I do this to my husband from time to time as well. But really, don't you think he should take it as a compliment because the main boy in my book is smokin' hot? I mean, except for the times I accidentally call him my MC's name. Because she's a girl.

~S

10+ ways in which a casual observer might know I'm deep in drafting mode . . .

1. My drink pile looks like this. By 10am.

2. I spend two minutes throwing away my empties before my husband gets home and am IMMENSELY proud of myself for getting so much cleaning done for the day.

3. I have to think about it when asked the last time I showered.

4. But am quite pleased with myself for having brushed my teeth within at least the past 20 hours. What? Cavities? Pshh. That's what I have a dentist for. And my breath? DUH. Gum.*

5. I can't tell you what happened on the last Vampire Diaries episode.

6. My Google search history reveals phrases including (but not limited to) "what does burning flesh smell like," and "how to avoid reporting a death," and "grocery delivery services."

7. On the EXTREMELY rare occasion I can be pried from my laptop, I have a pen and composition book pretty much glued to my hands. Even when I pee. Just in case. (Really, you never know.)

8. Instead of doing laundry only when I run out of clean undies (which, let's be honest, is the usual way I do laundry) I take the MUCH faster quarter mile of a ride to my mall and raid Victoria's Secret. Dude, 5 for $25. That's practically a whole 'nother week. They only look at me slightly strangely when I stop to furiously scribble down some random WIP-related thought in my notebook while leaning against their panty table.

9. Quite often, my husband can be found kissing me goodnight as he's heading out the door for work in the morning. And good morning when he gets home at night.

10. I, on the other hand, can frequently be found eating the WEIRDEST THINGS EVER for meals. Like hotdog buns with melted cheese, ketchup and mustard. (Don’t knock it til you try it.)

And, just for good measure, how about one more . . . 

11. My face is twisted into this sort of expression. At almost all times. (Completely unrelated to my writing eating habits.)

~S

*Okay, number 4 is kind of a stretch. But only because I promised my dentist to floss daily. And it's become kind of an addiction. 

Hola :)

So, I know, it's the truth: I have been seriously neglecting Babbling Flow. It's not on purpose. And it's definitely not YOU. It's me. I swear. It's just I have this . . . you know . . . life. And it kind of gets in the way sometimes.

Well, okay. It's not always life. Sometimes I have a few hours where I *could* blog, but I choose to catch up on tivo instead. (See, I'll always tell you the truth.) It's not a crime or anything. But it can feel like one. To me anyway. Because I miss you guys. And now. Here I am. Writing in these choppy sentences. For no reason.

*stops all the choppy*

I'm just trying to say I'm back--kind of, anyway. Insofar as I am going to make an effort to update this place more often. It's not like I've run out of things to say. (Although . . . another truth: Sometimes it feels like I don't talk about important enough things. But I have plenty of silly left to share. That counts, right?)

So. Here are some of the things that have been on my mind of late:

1. Are any of you watching Revenge? (One of the aforementioned tivoed shows.) Dude. It's awesome. I am so, so, so digging it. And I swore I wouldn't pick up any new shows this season, because I don't even have enough time to watch my usual favorites. I want to be writing with my free time, yanno? But the hubs watched the first episode and convinced me I would like it (even though he doesn't watch anymore) and I. am. hooked.

2. How the heck is it November already? Not that I'm complaining. October was crazy busy. But still. It's NOVEMBER. And on that note, did you know Karen Hooper's book, Tangled Tides, is coming out THIS MONTH. Or that you can pre-order it (here)? I may have already ordered one. Or five.

3. I'm going to ALA Midwinter with Cristin and Cambria. I'm sure I'll post about it again closer to the date, but in an early opportunity to make me even happier than I already am--are any of you guys coming too? (Ugh, of all places, it has to be Dallas. I mean, nothing against the city per se, but I'm a fairly hardcore Redskins fan, which means I hate the Cowboys. So it could get . . . awkward.)

4. That's it. I'm cutting myself off right here. I could grow this list longer than three items, but let's take baby steps, shall we? For now, I'm leaving the ball in YOUR hands. Tell me how you are and what you're up to! How's life these days?

xoxo

Everyday I'm Shufflin'

1. I spent the first two weeks of August with my family in the Outer Banks. The beach. One of my most favorite places in the world.

2. I've never been on a two-week vacay before.

3. It was freaking amazeballs.

4. When we got there, my parents took one look at all my suitcases and told me it looked like I was MOVING to the beach (I wish) and teased me about overpacking.

5. I told them I had exactly enough to wear and that they'd be the ones who wished they packed more.* And, seriously, what did they mean "excess?" Who doesn't bring three pairs of shades to the beach? (And pick up another pair while there?)

6. I spent half my time dancing around--because, how can you not dance around at the beach?

7. And half my time watching the water, thinking. About life. And my WIP. And, you know, deep things. (Pun totally unintended and only discovered after rereading this post . . . )

8. My husband did not spend half the time thinking about deep things.

9. I read a LOT of books. And yes, they're kind of an eclectic mix. But y'all. The Passage? I mean, I don't read a lot of non-YA lit (which you'd never know based on the picture, ha) but o.m.g. The Passage was AWESOME.

AND I read even more on my Kindle . . .

10. We ate TONS of fresh seafood. And never got sick of it. Fresh grilled tuna steaks, turned into tunafish salad the next day. Grilled swordfish. Mahi Mahi sandwiches. Shrimp and grits. I even tried steamers for the first time. OMG YUM. That's all I have to say about that.

11. The title of this post is literal, not just a reference to LMFAO. Seriously, we played cards for hours each day. Sevens, Oh Hell, Mi Mi . . . Ten points to anyone who's ever head of any of those games. They're superb. But so so so little known.

12. The title of this post IS also an LMFAO reference. Because I saw them in concert with Kesha last Sunday. Superb time. Blog post to come with pics!

So tell me: Have you been on vacay this summer? How have your Augusts been? Have you ever played any of the card games I mentioned?

xoxo


*I was wrong. They were right.

A Few Things...

1. I love twitter! But I took a break from it for the past month or so to work on a revision. And now that I'm back I kinda forget how to use it..

2. I mean, I know how to use it--but I feel so out of the loop with twitter convos! Plus it's like the "witty remarks" section of my brain freezes when I sign in. Ah, well... I'm sure I'll get the hang of it again soon!

3. At the end of September I had a molar extracted. It's my own fault really, I split the tooth like a year and a half ago, but am so scared of the dentist that it took me that long to make an appointment. And because I waited so long it came down to a very special root canal that would cost $2k after insurance, or an extraction for like $100 including laughing gas.

4. I love laughing gas.

5. But there is no sound in the world as creepy as the sound of your tooth forcibly being cracked out of your mouth. Seriously, my dentist took these plier looking things and broke the bone out.

6. In four different pieces.

7. That's four times the fun of listening to breaking bone.

8. IN MY MOUTH.

9. Did you just shudder? I do, every time I think about it.

10. I went back a week later to have a filling done, but they didn't do the filling because the wound in my mouth was still open.

11. Just kill me now.

12. I miss chips and carrot sticks* and other crunchy foods that I still can't eat.

13. In other news, I'm going to see the Washington National Opera perform Salome tonight! I can't wait. I've never been to an opera before. In my mind, I'll be all Julia Roberts from Pretty Woman tonight.

Something like this:

       Me: How do I look?

       Husband: Hm... There's something missing.

       Me: Well nothing else is gonna fit in this dress.

       Husband: Maybe something in this box.

I reach my hand out

Husband slaps the box closed

I laugh hysterically

       Husband: No, really. Can you hold my cell in your purse?
                         That thing's big enough to hold a freaking elephant.

       Me: Sigh.

And later:

       Me: So. You said this is in Italian German.
              So how am I gonna know what they're saying?

       Husband: Believe me, you'll understand. The music is very powerful
                         There's a translation running on the screen above the stage

And finally, at the end:

My eyes fill with tears at the beauty of the scene.

Husband looks at me and realizes how much he loves me

       Husband: What? You got allergies or something?

Yep.

14. Anyway, I'm super excited because we're hanging out with Cristin Terrill afterward!! She totally rocks and sometimes we get together at Starbucks to write to gossip to write :)

15. Have you seen this yet? Just in case you haven't, I'm posting it because it's freaking AWESOME. And it's in lieu of my Friday Funny this week! SO, enjoy!!

Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake 

rap through the history of hip-hop

From Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight all the way through 

Jay Z and Alicia Keys' Empire State of Mind

16. The winner of the SIGNED copy of Siren by Tricia Rayburn is...

drumroll

more drumroll

Karen Hooper!!!


Yay!!

*tosses sparkles and glitter*

17. In sad news, I lost two blog followers on Monday. This makes me sad. I love you guys! Don't leave me! I've been out of the blog loop recently, due to the aforementioned revision, but I'm slowly wading back in...


18. I'm announcing a pretty awesome contest next week! I hope you'll all stop by!

And, finally...


19. How have your weeks been so far? Anything fun and exciting? Or, you know, gross like my dental story?


*that is a BLATANT lie. I don't miss carrot sticks at all


Thanks for stopping by!!