1. This is Tinks the Terror and Spastic Kitten's first Christmas with us.
2. As of now, the score is Kitten Power - 3, Glass Ornaments - 0.
3. Also, we can't put wrapped presents out because Spastic Kitten has some sort of holly-jolly paper deficiency in her diet.
4. She is soooo on Santa's Naughty List.
5. My birthday is two weeks to the day after Christmas.
6. Starshine's birthday is five days after mine.
7. He's finished his monologues on what he'd like to get for Christmas and has moved on to birthday.
8. Today the discussion went like this:
Starshine: Hey Dad! Know what I want for my birthday?
Clint: What?
Starshine: Barbie dolls!
Clint: WHAT? Really? Well...if that's what you want.
Starshine: Yup! It is. Oh, and also? I'll need some M80s.
9. He won't be getting either.
10. No matter how much fun his father thinks that would be.
11. With my luck, I'd end up with Barbie parts clogging a toilet or spontaneously combusting beauty queens setting my broiler on fire.
12. If they could do both of the above to me with nothing more than Hot Wheels and Legos, doll parts and firecrackers would probably be enough to level the entire house.
13. I'm in the middle of December's query workshop--the part where I start reading through and personally critiquing queries.
14. This part of the course always makes me wish I were a literary agent because I always see so many really cool projects I'd love to request.
15. CASTING STONES is coming along nicely.
16. I'm having so much fun writing it and I really think the dark layers and complexity play nicely with the slapstick-on-a-page humor. It's like I Love Lucy meets Buffy The Vampire Slayer. With some barnyard animals thrown in for good measure.
17. I've had the flu for almost a week now. It just won't go away. I'm not flat on my back anymore, thank God, but I can't seem to kick it completely.
18. Which is highly inconvenient because my life isn't built for taking a break.
19. And yes, Tricia, if I'm still sick I'll go to the doctor.
20. I can fit that in on Friday.
21. You can hit me when you see me on Sunday.
22. It's nice to have friends who nag you because they love you, isn't it?
23. I want to send my agent a Christmas gift but don't want to send something she'd hate.
24. I make pumpkin bread for all my neighbors and thought, wouldn't it be nice to send her some too?
25. Now I have to figure out if I can afford to ship pumpkin bread to NYC and have it arrive fresh and in one piece.
26. I'll let you know how that goes.