Lara Zielin

STATUS: Loving the long weekend, which has given me enough time to go running. I’d better get moving (literally) since the Dexter-Ann Arbor run is in a week, and I’m signed up to do it. *Gulp.*

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: Erin McKean, a hip, smart, and young lexicographer (someone who basically writes the dictionary) created an engaging site dedicated to her love of words. But it was her semicolon shirt that had me at hello. The front is simply a picture of a semicolon; the back is what you see here. If you’re wondering what to get me for my birthday, Arbor Day, Passover, or the like, you can’t go wrong with this shirt. I’d like the white, long-sleeved tee. Thanks.

So, Rob and I put an offer in on that house I blogged about a few posts ago. To make a long story short, the owners didn’t really seem to want to negotiate with us. I haven’t given up 100 percent on the little house yet, but what Rob and I have tried to do is re-focus. I have still more edits to complete for Donut Days (more on that in a different post, maybe), and Rob is hard at work on a movie this summer. We both have lots on our brains — and on our schedules — which would make a move really difficult. At least right this second.

The thing is, though, when I’m in the midst of edits, I find that that doing anything other than the edits themselves is really appealing. Starting research on a new story, moving, cleaning, traveling, blogging … I’ll go to great lengths to distract myself. Once, I almost bought a dog. I’m not even kidding. It was a tiny little thing and I was going to name him Puddin. Except Rob says the number of animals in the house can’t be larger than the number of people, so Puddin stayed at the store.

Anyway, my point in typing all this is to say I’m one of those people who finds it easy to get distracted when difficult projects loom. Truly, I’m an ace at it. Yet I know right now I need to buckle down a little bit. I haven’t given up on that little house, or another pet, or a spontaneous road trip to Canada. But right this second isn’t the greatest timing for any of it. Which kind of sucks. But the payoff will be even better than all those things combined.

Or at least that’s what I tell myself every time I see pictures of that house.

STATUS: I ate my sandwich for breakfast. Sometimes that happens.

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: I love author Dennis Cass and I haven’t read a single one of his books. So why the adoration? He created this video about a book launch that made my day. Much like the Office, you’re uncomfortable because you know it smacks so much of reality, but still you laugh. And laugh. Props once again to Susanna for forwarding it.

So, speaking of authors I love, I gotta give it up to John Green for writing one smackdown of a story in An Abundance of Katherines. I just finished it last night and, while I loved the main character (who does anagrams and enough math to figure out a formula for getting dumped), what I adored most about the book was its emphasis on the importance of story telling.

Green makes this gorgeous point about how time erases so much from existence. That if you look back 2,500 years, you could be hard-pressed to name ten people who lived, and that’s pretty scary since so very many people existed within that timeframe. But stories — well, those endure for much longer than specific names or specific accomplishments.

Not long ago, I blogged about the power of the six-word memoir, and I did that in part to illustrate the point that you can create killer stories, and they don’t have to be long or involved or 100,000 words. Stories are a way to leave something behind; to make an impact; to give back. Green really drove that point home in his awesomely fabulous book, and I loved every page of it.

STATUS: We have a new bike, which is the vehicle of choice now for exercising the dog. He gallops alongside of it, and he gets twice the workout in half the time. Everybody wins.

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: I’m not a Lost fan, but I am a Battlestar Galactica fan, so this video, titled “Battlestar Lostica” tickled me toaster. Props to Susanna for sending it along.

The housing market bubble-burst has made life hard for me. Why? Because now I see insanely adorable houses at rock-bottom prices and I think, “I must have.” Adding to that is the fact that Rob and I don’t have an office, nor do we have a washer and dryer (the latter is a country water issue — it’s not that we’re too cheap to get one).

Anyway, there is a ridiculously adorable house up for sale in a cute area of Ypsilanti and I’m totally drooling over it. Here’s a picture of it so you can get house envy with me. Five bedrooms (puppy and kitty would have their own!), two bathrooms (no more bumping butts in the morning!), and award-winning gardens as far as the eye can see.

Uh, realtor? Where do I sign?

STATUS: Thinking I need more Starbucks. Yawn city, baby.

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: Got this one from a friend who is also a mom, who was elated to discover her daughter wouldn’t have to experience needles, blood, and pain in order to get a back tattoo. Because now, they’re at Toys R Us.

The title of this post is random, as I was simply thinking about a cheap little restaurant in Surfside, South Carolina, that is renowned for it’s averageness. Or, if you’re not a fan of the way the steam from the buffet coats the windows with a milky film, you might rate it below average. But this review rates the restaurant straight down the middle. For what it’s worth.

Moving on, I’m replenishing my creative juices by reading, and I’ve got lots of good books thanks to Swaptree.com. I devoured One for the Money by Janet Evanovich, and can’t wait to get the next book in the series. I love the main character, Stephanie Plum, and it was such a fun, engaging read. After finishing OFTM at around 8:00 last night, I moved straight on to the Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and, I must say, I was literally shaking with emotion (fear and suspense, mostly) by the second page. What took me so long to read this book? I am hooked and want to run home and finish it tonight. I love how an amazing book does that.

I have a few more reads coming through Swaptree.com. One is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a classic that I just never had time for, and the other is Thou Shall not Dump the Skater Dude by Rosemary Graham. I’ve heard great things about this YA read, and I can’t wait to get into it.

So yeah. If I’m not writing or editing, I’m reading.

It’s a good life.