Friday Obsessions: Nesting, Inspirational Quotes, and Matzah Crack

You guys. It has been one helluva week. Monday and Tuesday David was out of town for a last-minute business trip (which means I spent those days singlehandedly herding three insane rabid chipmunks our three adorable children in and out of clothes, cars, mealtimes, bathtubs, pajamas, and beds,) Wednesday we threw a Purim celebration at work (so so so much fun but holy hell, exhausting) yesterday was my scullery maid day, and tonight I run one of the most fun Friday nights of the quarter - the one where our stellar a'capella group performs - at work (again, extra fun, but totally exhausting.) And tomorrow I have to go buy a new car. (Because apparently rabid chipmunks require carseats - one for each of them - to keep them safe on the road, or something. And our current car only has space for three.)

So guess how much writing got done this week.
Yeeeeeah.

Anyhoo. Here we go.

Everything I was obsessed with this week.
Because I know you want to know.

1. Nesting. It's cheesy, but true. When you have three at home already, nesting is less "Holy crud I have to get All The Things clean and organized," and more "How am I going to plan for my home not to sink into a pit of condemn-able filth while I'm recovering and keeping a 7-pound helpless infant human alive?"

So. I've been buying lots of paper towels and Clorox wipes, paper plates and napkins (all items I'm normally morally opposed to buying,) microwavable and ready-to-eat food, and months worth of any other supplies we might need.

Also, I'm hiring a cleaning lady, because my hips literally quit on me in the middle of Scullery Maid Day yesterday.

Also, I'm making phonecalls and prepping paperwork so I can buy this car tomorrow. Which is a bit stressful.*

* understatement of the century


2. Reading inspirational quotes and crying. 
It's probably a combination of extra hormones (gross, yeah, but OMG REAL.) and not getting hardly anything done writing-wise, whether WiP or CP related (I'm so, so so SO sorry my CP loves, I swear I have notes and they just need to be transferred and attached to an email and...*weeps*)

 but I really, really, REALLY need some inspiration these days.

And then, you know, because I have so much free time, I make some of the quotes pretty in Photoshop. Because that's totally the same of doing PRODUCTIVE writing things.*
*I know it's not.


3. Matzah Crack. In the last hour of Purim every year, I go into Passover Obsession Mode. Since Passover starts almost exactly a month after Purim, it's part of the Jewish household manager psyche - we start planning cooking and cleaning, and thinking about matzah. Lots of matzah.

And, if you're me, you start thinking about toffee-and-chocolate covered matzah at that point. And then you can't stop thinking about it. And then you make it.

You will eat the batch in about 5 hours.
It will be the first batch of about a bajillion.

You need 4 pieces of matzah, 2 sticks of butter, 1 cup of brown sugar, and chocolate chips.
(Or you need to be my friend, and ask me for some.)
Here's the recipe. 
You. Are. Welcome.

Aaaand last but not least - The WiP. Because, hell, I at least wrote SOMETHING.

Here's a convo between Sarra and Mar. They are sister and brother, and they're Iver slaves. Mar runs the underground revolution. Sarra's just trying to keep little girls alive.

“What shine are you feeding them, Mar? What hope that we’ll ever get out of here?”

“It’s no shine, Sarra. You said it yourself. It’s the Current. We’ve built the ship, and the Current will break it through the Dome.”

“Assuming the Current even still exists - it's going to keep us alive? In that air? What are you even thinking?”

“The air out there isn’t what you think, Sarra. It’s not that bad. It will be harder, but we can live. Nothing can be as bad as this.”

Sarra whirled on Mar, glaring at him. “If you think nothing is as bad as this?” She flung her arms out to the great metal barrels tipping hot orange molten metal into molds, “Then talk to my girls. The little ones, who live in the walls. Who have never even breathed what little fresh air is in this underground. Who…who…” Something wet trickled down her cheek. Mar walked two steps toward her, his experession changing from one of argument to one of concern.

She stepped toward him and buried her face in his shirt. “Who have never known their mothers. Who never will.”

Mar smoothed his hand over her close-cropped hair, and whispered, “Shhhh.’ Over and over again. Like he had when she was a toddler, just a baby really, and Ama had gone into one of her episodes and hadn’t talked to either of them for days. 

Well, that's that! Thanks for reading!

What about you, sweet readers? What were YOU obsessed with this week? I'd love to know.

Friday Obsessions: Pinterest, Anita Diamant, and Hamantaschen

Happy Friday, everyone! Another week of non-awesome progress on the WiP, which I'm attributing to the 6-week homestretch of hosting this (non-alien, allegedly adorable) parasitic creature. I'm sleeping a lot of hours, but not sleeping very WELL, which is totally destroying my "wake-up-at-4:00-every-morning-and-write-like-a-motherf---er" strategy for getting anything done, you know, EVER. (And let's not even talk about what a cruddy CP I've been.)

It's worth it, I know. It's cool. *weeps*

In other news, I'm calling this week "not bad at all" in the query trenches, which, of course, falls somewhere between "could be worse" and "only slightly anxious."

Let's just continue to keep our fingers, toes, and possibly eyes crossed for good luck for ONE, hmmmm? Thanks.

Yeah, okay. Let's get on with the show.
This week's obsessions are a pretty even balance between super-girly and super-Jewy. You've been warned.

Everything I was obsessed with this week.
Because I know you want to know.

1. Pinterest. Yeah, yeah, it's tired, I know. And to be fair, it's only a minor obsession. I made a board for Chrome, and it always makes me sigh with the pretty. I'm gonna go ahead and recommend it as an amazing tool for all you writers out there who are visual like me.

For example: I found these trees on Pinterest, which are now alllllll over Chrome City:


2. Anita Diamant. Okay. So, Anita Diamant wrote a bestselling book called THE RED TENT about 13 years ago that was a retelling, or fleshing-out, of a Bible story, which is kind of what I'm trying to do with Chrome (TRT is incredible, by the way, I highly recommend it for those of you who like waaaay historical fiction.) So I'm looking for any interviews, etc, in which she discusses her process. In this video, she basically tells me to...um...not worry about it?

"If I had known, really, what I was getting into, I wouldn't have had the nerve to do it, because if you mess with the Bible, you're gonna get in trouble."

SO! I heard it from the boss herself. Even though I know a little bit what I'm getting into here -  because, hey, day job - I'm gonna quit overthinking the whole "who will I offend?" aspect of writing Chrome, and just focus on what's important - tell the story. Awesome.



3. Hamantaschen.  It's that time of year - Purim, when Jews dress up in costumes, get a little more sloshed than normal, and eat weird fruit-filled triangular cookies. And they are awesome. I've got a tried-and-true recipe that I couldn't resist making "just one batch" of on Sunday. Or, you know, two. Whatever.



Last but not least - the WiP!  Only a couple thousand words this week, but it's not for lack of inspiration.

Here's an early scene between Havah and Orev, after Havah has left Chrome City.

“Why is this dome that color? It’s so…bright.”

Orev laughed again. “You mean, blue?”

Havah had seen blue - neon strip lights when one of the courtiers’ children had chosen it for a party, or when someone walked by a holotree and it glowed the cold color. But this dome was not cold. The color flowed from rich to light, and something about its still calm brought peace to her heart.

Well, it was either the blue, or the feel of this boy’s skin against hers. 

She reached up a finger and let it brush lightly against one of his. He did not flinch or pull away.

She nodded slowly. “If this is your blue.” 

“Yes, this is blue,” he said, still studying her curiously. “But this is no dome. This is the sky.”

Havah turned her head sideways, letting herself smile a little. “Now you’re telling stories. No one has seen the sky for a thousand years.”

“Then we all live in a story here. Because we work and sleep under it every day.”

Havah gasped. “How? After the wars…”

“The wars were a thousand years ago,” he said, his expression still puzzled. “The sky was scorched…”

“And the air was toxic,” Havah continued. “And there were lighting storms. Yet I am breathing this air and sitting under this…sky…safely.”

“Yes,” Orev smiled. “Yes. It is an amazing planet. With patience, it can heal itself. Amazingly, we survived. The domes helped. But now…we no longer need them. We have to be careful, but we can live under the sky now.”

They sat quietly for an immeasurable moment.

“You are from the City, then," Orev finally said.

“Chrome City. Yes.”

“And you have never been outside the dome?”

Friday Obsessions: David/Mary Margaret, the Breaking Dawn Soundtrack, and Chanukah!

(Before we begin: a Special "Hiiiiii!" and hugs to my new followers! You are amazing. Yep! YOU.)


Everything I was obsessed with this week. 
Because I know you want to know.

1. David and Mary Margaret from "Once Upon a Time." Don't groan. If you follow this blog, you're gonna hear about these two in more than one Friday Obsessions post. Just go with it. Let the awesomeness sweep over you.

I've decided that in an alternate universe David/Prince Charming is my boyfriend and Mary Margaret/Snow White is my bestie. (Yes, I know it might get complicated. That's okay.) He's so gorgeous! (Watch his lips move. Juuuust watch 'em.) She's so adorably pretty! He's so heroic! She's the best friend a girl could ask for! What's not to love?

Watch this scene and just try to tell me, in all seriousness, that your heart doesn't break. JUST TRY.


2. The Breaking Dawn Soundtrack. Don't hate. (And CPs, prepare yourselves, you're all getting a burned copy for Christmas. I'm an evangelist. Love me or leave me.)

Oh! You want my favorite tracks? I thought you'd never ask.
Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years" (makes me think of my mains from THE TRAVELERS, tears my heart out every time.)
Cider Sky's "Northern Lights" (makes me think of the happy times for my MCs in ONE - noticing a pattern here?)
Iron & Wine's "Flightless Bird, American Mouth - Wedding Version" (Guh. Gorgeousness.)

3. Chanukah. 
I'm normally opposed to getting too psyched for Chanukah before, well, Chanukah.
Here's why. Not only is Chanukah eight nights long, but we do pretty much the exact same thing every night. (Light the candles, sing the songs, fumble to pry chocolate coins out of their foil wrappers before the children eat us instead.) So, my fear is that the kids will get all blase about Chanukah by, like, night five, and by the end of it, they'll just kind of lay on the carpet, stare at the menorah, and say, "Oh, that again?"  (Remember, my kids are only 4, 3, and 18 months, so I don't have decades of experience here.)

In past years, I haven't hauled The Chanukah Box out of storage until the day of candlelighting #1. But this Wednesday (T-13 days till Chanukah) my doula called looking for some dreidels for a Boy Scout thing, and I was set to facilitate a Chanukah prep program for area interfaith families that required I bring my own menorah, so I had to crack The Box open way early.

Of course the kids hover over any box to come out of storage, sweet little vultures that they are. Their chubby hands hauled out the glittered Jewish-star garland from preschool last year, dreidels in all shapes and sizes, our copy of "A Rugrats Chanukah," every Chanukah toy on the face of the planet, and all ten million of our Chanukah books, along with copious amount of wintertide cheer. As I watched my them spend hours (seriously! hours!) stuffing candles in  the plush menorah and flipping wooden latkes, and then poring over THE RUNAWAY DREIDEL and CHANUKAH BUGS, my heart grew three sizes and I let them keep all the stuff out for a few days.

And of course, now I'm kind of obsessed with Chanukah too. Two weeks too early. Oh well.

Here's a shot from last year at our house, in case you want to catch the Chanukah warm-fuzzies too.



Okay, my dears, it's your turn. What were you obsessed with this week?