A Cat and a Dog

When I grow up these are the two pets I want. The cat is a Russian Blue. (Badelaar was this breed of cat and he was so sweet. Also, very beautiful.)
The dog is a Vizsla. They're medium sized, about like a lab. Not a biting type of dog, and also very sweet.
I do want some pets. If any of you hear about someone who has Russian Blue Kittens, or Vizsla Puppies, please let me know. I'll even set aside some money in my budget for them.

My YA novel's ending...what do you think?

I stood there, hair still slowly growing back in from my tussle with the clippers. The locker door was open and in the mirror I could see Neil walking up behind me. I tried not to hope because hope hurts like hell. I suddenly realized that he called my name.

When I turned around he was standing there with a bouquet of purple and yellow irises--my favorite flower (he must have done some asking around to figure that out, boys usually just bring the old stand by: roses). "I can't believe I never saw you before," he started, "I must have been blind." He handed me the flowers and I smiled. It was the beginning of a new life for me.

At least it would have been if Disney were in charge of writing my life. Disney hasn't written any of my life. Edward Gorey, maybe. A chapter or two by Tim Burton. But never, ever Disney. The real story went exactly like this:

I stood there, hair still slowly growing back in from my tussle with the clippers. Bits of it stuck out randomly in protest to having been shaved off in the first place. As I applied the newest layer of Dr. Pepper flavored LipSmackers lip gloss, in the mirror I could see Neil walking up behind me.

Then he walked on by as he had always done in the past. I smiled to myself. The thing is we all have types. Sometimes girls are willing to go "outside the box" and date someone a little different from her type, but I have yet to find a successful way to get a guy to do that. And if you're not his type in the first place he won't see you. No matter how many "and they lived happily ever afters" get shoved down our throats, if you're not his type he won't see you in the second place either.

So, Neil walked past me and I closed my locker door. I put a little bit of lip gloss on my fingers and ran it over the gnarliest cowlick on my head just to make sure it would stick up a little more fiercely. Then, I smiled to myself. I didn't win his heart. I may never win any guy's heart. But right now I had lip gloss in my hair and I was happy.

Girls, this is IMPORTANT

Just How Much Money Does Poppa Have?

It was Monday night and I couldn't sleep. I decided to stay up and work on some stuff--and then when I did go to bed I was hitting the "goofy" side of staying up.

I was lying in bed singing to myself the song that starts: Hush little baby don't say a word, Poppa's gonna buy you a mocking bird. After singing about the bird, the diamond ring, and the silver mine, I realized I had absolutely NO IDEA what came next. So I made it into a game with one rule. No matter what I came up with, I had to rhyme it.

Here is my favorite verse:

...Poppa's gonna buy you a corner of Iraq. If Iraq gets conquered by insurgents, Poppa's gonna buy some Surf Laundry Detergent. If that detergent don't get you clean, Poppa's gonna buy a nuclear submarine.

At this point I started laughing right out loud. It was late, I was goofy and making myself laugh. I wondered who could possibly understand the joy I found in that. I'm posting it here to see if any of the rest of you find it as funny as I did.

Find What You Need--Discover Who You Are

Television is not always the most reliable source for epiphanies, but I'll take them where ever they come. I won't reveal the show, but a therapist on it said that when we take a look at what we really need in our lives we discover who we really are. This was very intriguing. So I thought about it.

What do I really need?

• I need a hug.
• I need my Mom.
• I need my Dad.
• I need my family.
• I need you, my friend.
• I need to feel important to you because you are SO important to me.
• I need to feel loved by you because I love you SO much.

So that's what I thought of. Then I tried to figure out who I am through those needs. I figure what I really am is a five year old little girl in the backyard trying to get everyone's attention by shouting: Look what I can do! Which is basically a cry for "need me, love me." I am--and always will be--that little girl who wants to stand out from the crowd, who overflows with love for you and wants nothing more than for you to overflow with love for me.

Who are you?