Everyone Loves a Boston Girl

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The enemy. It creeps up on you. It wants to take you into its arms and bring you far, far away. But you fight it. With everything you have. You hate it with a passion stronger than a pack of monkeys. But you need it more than anything. So you succumb, sighing lightly as you go. You really have no other choice. But there goes 8 more hours that you can’t contribute to your writing. That evil beast.

I’m talking sleep here, people. It sucks. I hate it. And every night I feel depressed when I realize it’s midnight and I really should be getting to bed. But going to sleep means time away from writing and getting my thoughts down on paper (slash computer screen). Unfortunately, if I don’t succumb to the evil beast, I end up spending the whole next day staring blankly at my computer screens, words jumbled up in my head. Ah no, I just cannot win.

Today’s #Reverb10 question asked “What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing– and can you eliminate it?” And the more I thought, the more I realized everything I do contributes to my writing. Yes, even Facebook stalking and hanging out on Twitter like it’s the old high school hangout. There’s honestly nothing I do that doesn’t contribute to my writing in some way.

And while I know sleep does contribute to my writing in some crazy, messed up way, I still wish I didn’t have to do it. If I had 8 extra hours a day, just think of how much more I could get done. But each and every day I sleep. And though it takes away from my writing, I do it anyway. And no, I cannot eliminate it.

But what I can do? I can do this:

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And oh yes, I do.

You know it’s bad when you can relate to Maxine.

How I know I’m getting old:

• I actually enjoy getting up in the morning and greeting the day with a smile on my face. And I feel totally guilty when I sleep in. How I know I’m not old yet? I end up feeling guilty a lot. A lot a lot.

• Every single piece of clothing I’ve bought lately states “hand wash only.” This makes me happy I own nice things, while also making me want to kill myself. How I know I’m not old yet? I don’t wash my clothes nearly enough anymore.

• I love working and don’t even mind 12 hour days. Working and hunting for new contract work is my favorite hobby. How I know I’m not old yet? Most of what I write about is celebrity and fashion related. And I’m OK with this. For now.

• I prefer sitting on the couch watching Dateline on Friday nights to going out and getting drunk. Wait, does that make me old or just lame? How I know I’m not old yet? I often do this while eating Freeze Pops. You remember Freeze Pops? Also known as Fla-Vor-Ice? Also known as God’s gift to kids? And adults?

• There’s nothing I enjoy more than reading cookbooks or food magazines. Unless it’s actually being in the kitchen. How I know I’m not old yet? I also read Last Night at Chateau Marmont in 3 days and want to call it my favorite book ever. OK, not really. But I thoroughly enjoyed it.

• I cook almost every meal from scratch. How I know I’m not old yet? I constantly snack on string cheese. And I actually pull it apart.

• I pay my grad school loans back on time every month. How I know I’m not old yet? I cry like a little baby every time. Ugh. Learning is expensive.

Amen, sister.

And just in case I do decide to participate in #reverb10 (Can I commit? I don’t know. Can I? Just say yes, Susie. You’re an adult, you can make a commitment. Especially a writing one. OK, OK, I’ll freaking do it. But I hate failure. Le sigh.), my word for 2010 would have to be: EMBELLISH (which took me 2 tries to spell). I feel like I entered 2010 in a good place and spent the year embellishing and making myself and my life even better. In fact, I hope every year for the rest of my life can be labeled Embellish. Because once you’re happy, all you really want to do is embellish upon that.

Also, I’m an embellishment kinda girl. Give me a shirt covered in sequins and I’m happy. Embellishments are the sparkle of life. And what’s life worth if not some sparkle?

OK, now I totally just signed a contract on the #reverb10 website. COMMITTING myself to this.

Courtesy of Hugh MacLeod of GapingVoid.com

This weekend I discovered cotton candy vodka. Now, I generally consider myself a classy girl when it comes to alcohol. I tend to stick to red wine or Grey Goose and soda or dirty martinis when I’m out on the town. But I’m also a sucker for fun alcohol. I can’t resist a candy-flavored drink. And cotton candy vodka just spoke to me. In so many ways. Does this bottle not speak to you, too?

And yes, it was absolutely incredible with a splash of soda. It tasted like childhood, minus the sugar high and crash. Well, plus a little vodka buzz. Being an adult is so much better than being a kid anyway.Thank you, Pinnacle Vodka for making my life just that much better.

And then I realized there are all kinds of alcohol I haven’t yet had the honor to try. That I really need to get themselves in my liquor cabinet ASAP. My liquor cabinet is pretty much always stocked with fun stuff like Absolut Boston, Absolut Vanilla, and Skyy Ginger, but now I’m realizing it’s not nearly stocked enough.

Adult Chocolate Milk. Come on. Are you even serious right now? Chocolate milk is my drink of choice when I’m feeling crabby and just want to escape back to my childhood. But add a little alcohol (please, is there some reason I can’t even tell what KIND of alcohol is in this milk?? Not that it really matters) and my crabby mood just picked right up.

You might also be excited to learn this company will soon be coming out with “adult” orange cream, fruit punch, and limeade. I am. I’ll take one (or 10) of each, please.

I’ve already had the honor of trying this one, but I’m pretty sure it needs a spot in my liquor cabinet. Three Olives bubblegum vodka.

OK, yes, it was ridiculously sweet. And no, I couldn’t drink more than one in an evening, but it’s probably the most fun alcohol I’ve ever had in life. It tastes EXACTLY like bubblegum and will not let you down. In fact, you’ll probably try to chew it.

And speaking of Three Olives, I would just like you to file this under things I would like to try ASAP. There’s not much I love more than a good bloody mary and I’m pretty sure this tomato vodka would make it complete. I’d probably sip on a tomato vodka and soda from time to time too. If that’s wrong, I am not interested in being right.

OK, so say I happened to buy that tomato vodka. And say I wanted to make a bloody mary with it. Well, what exactly do you think would happen if I added in a splash of this?

Would the world implode on itself? Probably. This is Bakon vodka. And while I’ve always dreamed of making my own bacon vodka, I didn’t realize it could be bought already in the bottle. It’s worth a taste, right? Shut up- you know you wouldn’t turn it down. I don’t even care that “bakon” is spelled so horribly wrong. And that’s not like me at all.

I mean. I mean. How did I not know this existed?

I’m completely disappointed in myself for haven’t yet discovered this. Don’t get me wrong, I recently learned how to make a mean pumpkin spice martini without this. BUT I wouldn’t mind sipping on this pumpkin pie spice vodka over some ice. Allegedly this distillery also makes a celery peppercorn vodka and a freaking black truffle vodka. BLACK TRUFFLE. Please, Modern Spirits, hire me as your vodka taste tester. No offense, but you guys have a pretty horrible PR team considering I haven’t heard about you and your heavenly vodkas (and cannot for the life of my find your website). I can help. But I’ll need to try them all first.

Belvedere obviously makes a super delightful vodka. But how about adding pink grapefruit into it? Well, don’t mind if I do.

I already eat pink grapefruit by the bushel, so why not drink it instead? I guess all the health benefits won’t be there, but I won’t complain.

Other vodkas I really need to get my hands on? Absolut Brooklyn is made with apple and ginger and Vincent Van Gogh’s vodkas are all awesome-sounding (dutch-caramel? Yes!).

Wow, I can’t quite say where my head is that I’ve got so much vodka on the mind. It sounds like I need a vacation. These liquors are all good beach drinks, yes?

Now, if I really want to bring out the kid in me, I’ll have to mix all these “fun” alcohols together… And call them SUICIDE!

Probably a bad idea. Huh.

I’ve always been a reader. I know, everyone says that. But I was the type who would get grounded for reading (truth be told, I’ve actually only been grounded once and it was for riding my bike out of my driveway without looking both ways. On my street that has 3 other houses on it. Baaad was my middle name). How on Earth did I get in trouble for reading? I’d stay up way past my bed time with a flashlight under my covers. I had flashlights hidden all over my room.

I often got reprimanded for trying to take more than 20 books out of the library at once. And my parents constantly had to tell me to put down the book and talk to our company. Ugh. I even tried bringing books when we went out to eat. Clearly I had a few social issues there, too. Thankfully my parents nipped them in the bud. Though I still consider how much more entertaining some social events would be if I had a good book in my hand.

My love for books never dissipated, but, of course, time has dissipated over the years. But I’ve always read and cannot imagine a life without books and reading. How can you get a deeper understanding of history without books? And an understanding of people who aren’t like you? People who are so, so different than anything you can imagine? I just do not get people who say “I don’t read.” You’re missing out on a heck of a lot, man. World you don’t even know exist*.

Also, when I was 10, I never could have imagine social media for books. Every summer, I wrote down every single book I read so I could turn it into my library and win an ice cream party. These days? I put it all into a social reading site. My bookshelf is literally exploding on the internet. Except I can truly hide all those really embarrassing books like Dr. Phil’s Love Smart. Have I mentioned I love life?

Over the past year, I’ve been using Shelfari to track my reading. I started the year with a goal to read 50 books, but I knew that wouldn’t likely happen. After all, there are only 52 weeks in a year (duh) and I didn’t want to limit myself to short books just to reach my goal.

I’m currently at 31 with 2 months to go.

I love that Shelfari monitors my books like this. I can see what I’ve read and what I want to read. I can also review the books and recommend books to others. But I hate the most popular books feature in Shelfari’s database. I’d generally use a feature like this to get recommendations on what to read next. But for some reason, on Shelfari, they’re all kid-type books. And while I enjoy the good young adult novel now and then (see below. and, ok, maybe Twilight a tiny bit), I am a grown woman and want some quality reading geared toward me. It kind of makes me feel like it’s all kids using Shelfari. Perhaps I’m using the wrong social reading website? There are many of them out there, so maybe I should “shelf” around.

Here’s a sampling of what I’ve been reading this year:

I’ve often thought about starting a book review blog, but I’m really not that good at reviewing books. I can tell you if I like it or not and I can get all incredibly excited about it, but then I’ll mostly just blabber. And re-tell the entire story to you. So, I think that’s why I’m kind of in love with social book sites. I can share what I’m reading and offer my thoughts and ratings without any greater pressure.

Now, where will I be documenting my book reading in the next 30 years?

*Speaking of worlds you don’t know exist, has anyone else read The Hunger Games? I read it because I always feel left out if I don’t get into the current books of hype. And OMG it was blow my mind good. Talk about worlds you didn’t know exist. Sheesh. I’m currently starting the third one, but am waiting for a stretch of time where I can stay up until 3 a.m. without causing any major damage to my schedule or self. These books are the definition of page-turner. Ignore the fact that they are “young adult” and Go. Read. Now.

I like to think I’m a super positive person. I mean, while I don’t write in this blog nearly as much as I used to, when I do, I tend to keep it light-hearted and happy. I talk about the things I love, the fabulous life I’m leading, and how hopeful I am for the future. I try my best to look on the positive side of things at all times. And when I’m feeling down, I can usually at least laugh about it (OK, maybe sometimes it takes 24 hours). Nobody loves being around negative people, so why would I want to be negative?

In fact, in the past, I’ve spent a lot of time writing on this blog about how I choose to be happy. I believe that to a major extent happiness is a choice. Of course, we all need some help sometimes and there are plenty of obstacles in life that try to keep us from happiness. But if we try to remind ourselves that life is pretty pointless without happiness, obtaining happiness becomes a lot easier. Being sad and down is overrated.

Anyway, my point is: I’ve entered to win the gig as the next Good Mood Blogger for Sam-e. I think I’d be absolutely fabulous at this job… I mean, I’m already pretty darn good at blogging about things that make me happy, my favorite things, etc. And I think that as Good Mood blogger, I could also help to make you and other people happier, too

The thing is, I do need your votes… And while I HATE asking people for votes, this is actually super easy. You don’t have to give your email address or any personal info. All you have to do is click “vote” once per day. And tell all your friends to, also

If I win, I promise I’ll do my absolute best to bring happiness to everyone! And if all else fails, I’ll just send everyone cupcakes!

Please vote here! Thank you!!