next up by the marvelous Megan McCafferty...

I can't wait to read this novel, an upcoming release by

Megan McCafferty, bestselling author of the Jessica Darling series. Check out the jacket copy below. Compelling, don't you think? :-) Megan is choosing two fans to receive advanced copies of the novel. My fingers are crossed. I won a signed copy of SLOPPY FIRSTS last year for my wining Marcus-Flutie-themed haiku... maybe I can win a copy of BUMPED, too.

“When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents are forced to pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and had never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Until now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in religious Goodside, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to bring Melody back to Goodside and convince her that “pregging” for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.”

Bumped will be hitting the shelves April 26, 2011!

***and maybe my mailbox soon if I win the ARC drawing ***

My subconscious affection for Jerry O'Connell

I never realized how much I like Jerry O'Connell until I saw this milk ad featuring his wife and kids. That little one on the left is a carbon copy of Jerry, who I apparently have a surprising hidden affection for. Every time I see this ad in a magazine, all I can think is "awwwwwwwwww..."

WEIRD! I never even knew I liked Jerry O'Connell!

Summer Vacation in the Outer Banks

Here's a subject I could talk about all day: vacations! I've been going to the same resort property in the Outer Banks since 1996 and thought that I'd share my expertise with anyone online who happens to find me via google searches or whatever. The property we go to is called BARRIER ISLAND STATION - DUCK in Duck, NC. There is also a "sister property" called BARRIER ISLAND STATION - KITTY HAWK in, yep, Kitty Hawk, NC. Both are timeshare properties but many rental opportunities are available from private owners and broker/realty companies. We first started vacationing there with friends of ours whose parents owned the timeshare we used. After several years of that, we ended up buying into a timeshare at the Kitty Hawk property. This got us membership into RCI, the timeshare vacation network. The timeshare we bought was for ODD YEARS only for the last week of August. As RCI members, we were able to "bank" the points that our unit at Kitty Hawk was valued at, and we were able to reserve a week's vacation at the Duck property during various mid-summer weeks. My favorite time is mid-or late-July. We've stayed in various kinds of units at BARRIER ISLAND STATION - DUCK... 2 bedroom units, 2 bedroom lockout units, 3 bedroom units, 1 bedroom side A unit and one unfortunate time in a side B unit. (Side B units are 1 bedroom units with a mini kitchen: no stove, just a 2-burner electric hotplate, and only a small dorm refrigerator) We also stayed at BARRIER ISLAND STATION - KITTY HAWK once, in a 3 bedroom unit. The property is not beachfront, but accommodations are nice and there's a private parking lot that's beside the beach, a few miles from the property. It's very woodsy, not beachy. We liked it but prefer the Duck property. This is the first of several Outer Banks posts. Here is the resort map. The best locations are poolside but we've stayed in the 500s, 300s, 700s and 800s. The accommodations at BARRIER ISLAND STATION - DUCK are not great, but the beachside location and nice outdoor pool make up for the dated and worn, uh, everything else...

idiocy

What do you call it when a person will do 101 tasks to avoid doing what's at the top of her to-do list? I used to think that I had a weird kind of creative ADD, bouncing back and forth between creative paths, but now I'm thinking it's more of a general D -- just an overall DEFICIT of logic and commonsense.

My time is too limited to do everything I'm interested in, therefore, I do 5 minutes of each thing and accomplish nothing! The only thing I really make time for is reading. (God bless the inventor of the book light!!)

I need a complete scheduling/lifestyle overhaul. I really do want to fit creative writing back into my life. I spent the weekend at a writers conference, trying to figure out how to do that. I'll fill you in if/when I think of how.

Must go. Crying baby in the background has been ignored long enough... (sorry, Elena!)

time for fairweather cloth diapering!

I will admit it. I'm a fairweather cloth diaperer. For me to put forth the effort, I need to have a few things in place. First, I need to have diapers that I like. For me, that means easy, all-in-ones or all-in-twos. [To date, the only diapers I've used have been Bum Genius (AIO in small and medium) and BG 3.0 one size. I've recently expanded my stash to include Gro Baby diapers and the Bum Genius Flip system. They're prepping in the washer right now.]

The following descriptions were found on the company press releases or websites:

Flip is designed for the on-the-go consumer. This one-size cloth diapering system offers three different inserts, along with the comfy, butterfly closure system unique to diapers produced by Cotton Babies, Inc. The revolutionary side of the Flip system is the One-Size Disposable Insert. This insert eases the transition into using cloth diapers, makes vacations simple and helps families through times when life just demands something disposable. This system is fully supported with 100% reusable inserts as well. The One-Size Stay-Dry Insert is perfect for overnights or to keep little bums dry anytime. The One-Size Organic Insert is perfect for families who prefer the more natural things in life. The Flip diapering system is completely customizable for work, home and play.

What is the Gro Baby Diapering System?

Gro Baby is a modern, one-size diapering system. Its unique, waterproof shell and organic cotton soaker pad minimizes waste and cost. When the soaker pad is wet, simply replace with a fresh, dry one.

How does Gro Baby work?

Gro Baby is designed so that the outer shells may be used for multiple diaper changes. If the soaker pad is wet, simply snap in a fresh one and you are ready to go. If the shell is wet, allow it to air dry and use for the next diaper change. When your Gro Baby Shell is soiled or very saturated, start fresh with a new Gro Baby Shell. Most Gro Baby System users will find that using 2-4 Gro Baby Shells are enough per day, although newborn babies may need more.

Another thing that I need to make cloth work for me is literally FAIR WEATHER. I like hanging my diapers on a clothesline, and now that the snow has finally melted, I can actually walk through my yard to reach the clothesline.

The final element that I need for me to do cloth diapering is a good attitude. I need to commit to doing diaper laundry every 2-3 days. (The biggest surprise I've had with using cloth diapers is that the actual cloth diapering isn't the biggest hassle. It's laundering the diapers. And not because they're messy, but because it needs to happen so frequently!)

I think I have everything in place to give cloth diapering another run. I bought some new products that I'm eager to try out. I'll report back in a week or so to tell you how it's going.

cloth diapering

[The following is a blog entry I wrote for my friend's environmental-themed blog last fall. I thought I'd repost it here. I needed something serious to balance my ridiculous post about nail polish! I've gotten away from cloth diapering over the winter but I'm jumping back into it this week.]

I am by no means an expert on cloth diapering, but I can share with you what I use and what I do.

When I decided to try cloth diapering, I sought out all kinds of advice online (and from my ONE friend who uses cloth, your friend and mine, the Green Grandma). I quickly decided that if I was going to give cloth diapering a go, it needed to be with an all-in-one diaper.

What is an All-In-One (AIO) Diaper?
All-in-one diapers have an inner absorbent layer attached to an outer waterproof layer with adjustable closures (either Velcro® or snaps). All-in-one diapers are just like disposable diapers except you wash them!

Pros:
* Most convenient
* Easiest to use
* Most like disposables diapers (trimmest fit on baby's butt)

Cons:
* One of the most expensive cloth diapering options
* Takes a long time to dry

Many online consumers recommended the brand bumGenius™, so that’s what I started with. Because I wasn’t sure if I could commit to cloth, I bought 10 used bumGenius™, diapers from a seller I found on my local craigslist (go to craigslist.com, choose the city nearest you). I paid $10 per diaper. New, they cost $16. Ten diapers allowed me to get nearly two days of usage between washings. (It is recommended that you wash cloth diapers every other day. The longer between washing, the more time for bacteria to multiply, and they’re smellier and harder to clean. I don’t let mine sit for more than two days before washing.)

Before starting to use cloth, I installed a diaper sprayer. Similar to the sprayer on your kitchen sink, this sprayer hooks up to your toilet plumbing and allows you to spray the poop into the toilet. No swishing it in the bowl. I’ve never swished. The diaper sprayer I use is manufactured by bumGenius™ and is available both online (http://www.bumgenius.com/, http://www.cottonbabies.com/, http://www.amazon.com/)
and in select retail stores across the country. The bumGenius™ diaper sprayer runs about $45 and I installed this myself without any trouble.

Some words of caution: spray carefully! The spray’s force is adjustable, and a very strong spray can ricochet off of the diaper. You don’t want a bathroom covered with poop-infused water spray. Seriously though, this is a great product that I would NOT be cloth diapering without.

So, I started with 10 used size small AIO BumGenius diapers, a diaper sprayer, a $10 diaper pail from WalMart, biokleen™ Bac-Out Stain & Odor Eliminator (http://www.bi-o-kleen.com/) and Allens Naturally liquid laundry detergent (www.allensnaturally.com). Allen’s is a bit expensive but is very concentrated. Truly, just 1 ounce per wash. I use a dry pail and spray Bac-Out on my diapers, then also put some Bac-Out in the washing machine.

Another note of caution: using too much detergent makes diapers smelly! You must use the right amount of detergent (will take some trial and error) and do an extra rinse. AIOs need to be rinsed completely of detergent, or they will have a very pungent odor. Every once in a while, I strip them with Dawn dishwashing liquid and once in a blue moon, I do a strip with some bleach. Then I wash those diapers again like normally, so there isn’t any bleach residue in the diapers. Usually, I line-dry the diapers. AIOs take a very long time to dry and are often not completely dry even after a full day in the sun. It seems like I always have to tumble dry for a while, too. But for me, the convenience of AIOs makes this negative trait tolerable.

Since I liked BumGenius, I bought a dozen size medium AIOs, new from the cottonbabies.com website. I got a mixed lot of colors and they’re actually very cute! Later, I ended up buying 6 “one-size” AIOs (again, from craigslist). I think that I actually like the one-size diapers better. You stuff the absorbent layer in the middle of these diapers, and it seems that since you take out the insert, it washes and dries easier. They are big, though. Snaps allow for size versatility, but I wouldn’t recommend one-size AIOs for babies smaller than 13 lbs. Teeny babies look so puffy in the one-size ones. I typically reserve the one-size AIOs for nighttime wear.

I got a lot of my info about how to launder cloth diapers from the following site: http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/.

bumGenius™ diapers can be purchased via the Internet or in some retail stores. Visit http://www.bumgenius.com/ and click on the ‘locations’ tab.

Craig's list (http://www.craigslist.com/ -- select your state and then nearest town/city) is a great place for used goods. I don’t recommend buying secondhand cloth diapers sight-unseen as you could end up with a stained or very worn product. With craigslist (or other face-to-face/in person exchanges) you can see what you’re buying, before you buy.

I estimate that I have about $450 invested in cloth diapers and products. When my daughter is potty trained, I should be able to resell some of my stuff and recoup a couple hundred dollars. So, if I stick with cloth, I will be able to pay less than $300 on diapering over the course of 2.5 to 3 years. Essentially, cloth diapering for 2.5 years the “expensive” way with all-in-one diapers should end up costing me about $2.30 PER WEEK. Disposable diapers cost, say, $0.25 per diaper. Multiply that by 7 diapers per day, and it ends up being about $12.25 per week for disposables. However, for me it’s not about the money (although the savings is a nice byproduct); it’s about producing less garbage and keeping our earth, and my daughter, healthier.

All around, the pros of using cloth really do outweigh the gross-out factor. It’s worth it.

Alright. I'm going to apologize now about posting something girly and dumb, especially since I rarely share my 2-cents online here on this blog... but, I just found the perfect nail polish shade. I don't usually wear nail polish, because I don't really take care of my nails. No time. Plus, the polish is either too sheer, too bright, too shiny, too "glittery" (I hate this trend)--but as I was browsing the clearance bins at Target, I tried out a color that seemed perfect. The brand is Rimmel, Lycra wear 10, in #286 Oyster Pink. (Target $2.44) With one coat, it's sheer but with a matte finish, not overpowering. Not goopy. Not glittery. It's very understated. I may actually paint my nails occasionally now!

putting my money where my mouth is

Perhaps if I spend some money on my pursuit of writing and eventual publishing, I will actually do some work. To test this theory, I've decided to join a writing group (there's an annual membership fee to join the organization). The group also holds a writing conference, which I'll be attending. Membership and the conference total about $400 worth of motivation... maybe...?

Dear Self, please get to work on writing something, anything, that you can show at an agents and editors critique session...

There are two writing groups within an hour of where I live. If I start participating in both groups, that means I'd be meeting two Saturday afternoons per month. I really want to do this and hope I can find the determination to follow through!

fast forward several months

Good grief... I can't even complete routine BLOG entries... is it any wonder that I have made no progress on any other creative writing projects!? I would really like it if this were the year that I finally pull it all together. Aside from having a loving family and healthy children, my top two lifelong ambitions--the goals I want for myself above all other personal goals--are to a) be a writer and b) be thin. It is sad and ironic that I am neither.

I mean, YET!