Morning sky over the Sunset

This is the view from my roof in the morning

A thing I like

I am a big fan of the radio show This American Life, and doing a story for them is one of my go-to fantasies.  My dear friends Chris Markus and Steve McFeely, who are big-wig Hollywood screenwriters, are now working with host Ira Glass on screenplays based on stories from the radio show.  That's just one degree of separation, people.

But enough about me.  What I really want to tell you about is this particular story by the always-hilarious and consistently brilliant Starlee Kine about trying to write a breakup song.  There is just so much to love here I don't know where to start.  Listen for yourself.

Santa's real identity

This is last Christmas

MY DAD:What do you call grandma? (his very ex-wife)

OLIVER & MAGGIE:  Old grandma!

ME: But what's grandma's real name?

OLIVER & MAGGIE: Caroline!

MY DAD: And what's my name?

MAGGIE: Cowboy!

OLIVER: Santa!

Note: It's actually Wayne, but the kids call him Yeh Yeh.  And Cowboy.  And Santa.

A thing I like

This recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara is really so delicious and it's by my friend Molly Watson of The Dinner Files and other things.  I add kale and use whole wheat pasta.  Try it, you'll like it. Be generous with the parm.

What did happen in 2008

Oh, and I painted!

Well, I've been thinking about this all day, about what I would write and what I might list as the positive events or accomplishments of my own personal 2008.  And let me tell you, this will be an exercise in counting my blessings because all-in-all 2008 has not been one of my better years.  

Here goes, ten things that DID happen this year:

1. It got easier, just like everyone said it would.

2. Maggie stopped wearing diapers just in time for the economic crisis (that's about $100 a month).

3.  We raised $10,000 for Barack Obama and then he won.

4. The Mister and I had our very first weekend away without the kiddies (we went to Santa Barbara).

5. I rearranged my living room and it looks much better. See?

6.  I published a short story about about an earthquake. 

7. I joined Facebook, started blogging, discovered Etsy, had my first IM conversation , and figured out how to do a video chat with my in-laws. I am Samantha 2.0.

8. I bought my first pair of truly expensive jeans and came to understand why they were worth it.

9. I traveled to Mexico, Delaware, Oklahoma, Petaluma, Calistoga, Yountville, Santa Barbara, and Carmel.

10. I kept my offspring alive and mostly happy and seem to have imparted to them the importance of getting funky, real funky, on the dance floor. 

So that's it–it's not a Nobel Prize or even a book contract.  But in my defense I am coming off a couple of real stellar years.  And at least it's not a van down by the river.

New daily feature alert:

A thing I like

This amazingly funny, deadpan, smart novel about fictional Grouse County, Iowa in the '80s by a guy I've never heard of.  Read it.  It's great.  The End of Vandalism by Tom Drury.

What didn't happen in 2008

The end of the year is coming and so my mind turns to lists and accomplishments and—alas, it is hard being me—failures.  

Ten things that didn't happen this year:

1. My anthology proposal failed to "inspire the proper enthusiasm" with my new agent.

2. I did not get a job blogging.

3. I did not win the Narrative Magazine First-Person contest.

4. I did not get tickets to Obama's inauguration.

5. The New York Times' Modern Love section did not publish my essay about hating my dog.

6. I did not plant a veggie garden.

7. I did not finish papering my hallway doors.

8. I did not discover my god-given talent for performance story telling.

9. I did not achieve the proper "body after baby" according to People Magazine

10. I did not always remember my pledge to reach out with kindness to everyone I know.

But stay tuned, because tomorrow's list is Ten Things That Did Happen This Year.  

Plus, there's still time: 22 days to be exact.  That's 31,680 minutes of potential.