Ashley

Oh, I just don't even know what to say about the latest GMA developments. It's, like, a bad news-good news situation. The latest is that Chris Cuomo will leave for 20/20 or (sob!) another network and George Stephanopoulos will replace Diane. That's the BAD news. The good? Supposedly, Juju Chang will then become the news reader. And you KNOW how much I love Juju:

She's the whole reason I got to visit the set last year! She introduced me to Diane and Robin and Sam AND Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens. I mean, come on. I kind of owe her my life for that. Plus, she's a totally sweet person and a GREAT reporter. So I'm happy, happy, happy for her. But in a perfect world---and I know this isn't one, none is, but we can dream---they would have moved Chris up to co-anchor, brought Juju in as news reader and TA-DA: dream team. Sigh. Oh, well. I'll shut up now.

In other news, all the power stuff went well on Monday, and my office now has LIGHT! Check it out:

Cabinets come later this week, then carpet next. It's actually starting to seem REAL, finally. On the downside, the power outage apparently caused a fatal error (don't you hate that term? It's so scary!) on the DVR in our playroom. The other one, that has all my Friday Night Lights and Hoarders and everything else, was fine. Which is great. But the one that died had ALL of Sasha's shows: a ton of Olivias, Gabba Gabbas, and Sesame Streets. POOF! They're all gone, leaving me to try to explain why we can't watch Slimy get a pet bug or Olivia in the old west anymore. Yikes. A new receiver is on the way but we're basically relying only on DVDs until it gets here and we can start taping again. I don't let Sasha watch much TV---and I know some of you are shocked to hear that, but it's true---but we do let her have a little while she eats breakfast, and I'm not sure how long we can keep watching these same DVDs over and over before there's some kind of toddler riot. I am trying to stay calm, at any rate.

So I've written here before about how much I love Rosie O'Donnell. I used to watch her talk show RELIGIOUSLY. I even timed my trips to the gym so I could be on the treadmill when it was on. Then I watched her on the View, until that kind of imploded, and she disappeared. But then, flipping around my Sirius XM radio the other day in traffic, who do I hear but Ro? She's got her own morning show, every weekday morning. Hooray! If you've got Sirius XM, find out more here. I am such a nerd that I am just waiting for the chance to try and call in. I would DIE to talk to her, even for just a second. No joke.

Finally---God, sorry this entry turned out to be so long---I got a request from someone on the comments asking for book recommendations for holiday gifts. Personally, I loved the new Jennifer Weiner, Best Friends Forever, and I'm eagerly awaiting Anne Tyler's latest, which is coming out in the new year. Also I LOVED Olive Kitteridge, which is not the newest book but was new to me and reminded me what great writing is all about. What a book. If you have other recommendations for this reader (and for me!) feel free to leave them. Especially if they are picture books. We have all the Olivias and all the Corduroys, and have read them a million times, so I'm ready for a change, Big time!

Have a great day, everyone!

I know it's actually Sunday night, and I normally don't post until Monday, but tomorrow, I will have no power. I don't mean in the figurative sense---although I often do feel powerless, in oh so many ways---but literally. We're at the point with our garage construction that the new power lines have been run, and tomorrow there are all these people coming over to inspect and connect and do a new transformer. Which means at some point---probably just as I am writing a blog entry---the power will go out, I'll have no internet, and that will be that. So here I am.

In other exciting news, this weekend I FINALLY got around to watching Twilight. We had some friends over and I had the DVD from Netflix, and the boys agreed to put it on with one codicil: they would be allowed to mock it as much as they wanted. I said sure. I have to say, again, that vampires are not my thing. I am not into sci fi or fantasy or really any stories that couldn't happen here in this world, right now. But I TOTALLY get the appeal of this movie. A lot of it, for me, had to do with Robert Pattinson, who I have been reading about in US Weekly for ages, but never seen on screen. He is not hard on the eyes, I will give you that. When I wrote this on my Twitter, though, I was surprised how many people got SO mad at me for liking him. Apparently, you are either Team Twilight or not, and there's no in between. Can I just say, though, in my defense, that I don't think it's really about vampires? It's the hair.

Exhibit one? Luke Perry, circa 1990 something:


And here's Robert Pattinson:


And don't even get me started on Johnny Depp in his 21 Jump Street Days:


Yeah, I know. It's kind of creepy. I never really THOUGHT of myself as a person who liked the long, moussed-up hair thing. Especially since I married someone who had a shaved head when I met him. But apparently, this is a trend with me. Although I have to say, Robert Pattinson's is kind of above and beyond. It looks like birds could be living in there. But still: cute.

The movie as a whole, well, it wasn't really my cup of tea. I didn't really expect it to be, though, for all the same reasons the book wasn't. I'm just way too literal and I like stories about real people. If they have big hair that looks like it could harbor wildlife, clearly, all the better.

Okay, I'm off to catch up on Top Chef and Hoarders. Got to get my TV on before I'm powerless. So to speak.

Have a great night, everyone!

1. The latest news is that ABC has offered the GMA host job to George Stephanopoulos. Now, don't get me wrong. I like George just fine. Remember when Monica and Rachel were obsessing about watching him take off his shirt on Friends? (Yes, I know he has many other great accomplishments other than being mentioned on Friends. But this is the Friday Five, after all.) But George already has a show, on Sunday mornings. And, honestly, I'm just not sure he can move so easily between interviewing world leaders AND doing cooking segments like Diane did. But you know who CAN?

That's right. Also, I'd like to point out that if George comes, and then Chris LEAVES (which is the rumor, that he'll move on if he doesn't get moved up) then we, the loyal viewers, are down HALF the team. And I don't like change. Especially in the morning when I have not yet had my coffee. It's going to be hard enough to go without Diane. But Chris, too? Oh, GMA. Don't make me quit you.

2. In other news, I've been getting a lot of requests lately for some info on the book I'm working on. I want to tell you that I am very flattered that people are so excited about the prospect of another novel (my tenth!). But to be honest, I just don't like to talk about my books when I'm writing them. I'm getting kind of nervous even writing this entry, actually. It just seems like a jinx. Plus, I learned way back in college, when I was in brutal writing workshops trying to write my first novel (now in a dusty box in my attic, where it belongs) that input AS I write does not help me. I like to have my book and characters all to myself until it's done. Then, I pack it up and send it off to my agent, the One True Voice, for a yay or nay. Until she sees it, though, nobody does. My husband doesn't even know what I'm writing about. So I'm not ignoring your requests, just honoring my neurotic yet necessary process. I'm sure you understand.

3. Speaking of my crazy ways, can I tell you how much I hate to make big decisions? This was why I was TERRIBLE at wedding planning, which I was in the thick of ten years ago right now. All these little choices that are so important (or seemed like they were, then): cupcakes or big cake? champagne toast or no? buffet or sit-down? Oh, I'd just get totally paralyzed and end up freaking out. Now, I'm having to make all these decisions for my office, like picking carpet. I know, I know. It's carpet, you walk on it, big deal. But do I get beige? Or a lighter beige? Do I get berber or loop pile or something sort of shag-esque, which the carpet people insist is not retro but really cool? Oh, dear God I have no idea. I actually tried to send my husband to just pick it out himself, as I trust his taste, but he refused. I am honestly at the point of just closing my eyes and pointing at the samples, that random. Leave it up to fate. It can't go THAT wrong, can it?

4. Speaking of my wedding, I can't believe it was ten years ago this June. Also crazy? I will be 40 in the same month. FORTY. Holy crap, how did that happen? I had this totally crazy realization, while watching Cougartown, that I might actually be a cougar at forty. Or maybe I've BEEN a cougar, and didn't even realize it? How can this be, when mentally I still feel like I'm about eighteen? I can't even think about it. When I turned thirty, I was so distracted by my wedding, which was four days later, that I couldn't really think about it. But forty is big, wild jungle cats aside. Luckily I have six months to brace myself.

5. Finally, I'm heading out today to do some Christmas shopping and it's got me thinking. I'm really trying to do less in terms of gift buying and give more to the NC Food Bank, because they really do so much good and a lot of folks out there can really use help right now. It's a little tricky with the gift thing, though, since this is the first Christmas that my daughter is actually aware of what's going on. She's been reading Olivia Helps with Christmas for weeks now, and has already informed me she wants toys for her gifts. Yikes. So far I have only bought her a couple of picture books, and I know she wants some playdoh, which she was introduced to at a playdate this week. I really am trying to avoid bringing any more huge, plastic THINGS into this house. (Especially huge plastic things that made noise when buttons are pushed.) Simple, simple, simple. I'm thinking puzzles, crayons, no batteries required. It's a noble aspiration, right? We'll see if I can actually pull it off.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Now that it's officially the Holiday Season, I know it's more important than ever to follow my mother's mantra and Keep It Simple. The "it" can be just about anything: life, childcare, your To Do list, your exercise routine. With this in mind, I decided to order my holiday cards early, over Thanksgiving weekend, so I could be done with it. Simple, right? Well, yes. Until they came and I hated them.

Let me just backtrack and say that I have a wee bit of a perfectionist issue. When I was pregnant, I remember I was obsessing over the edits for Lock and Key, and my agent called me to do a little talking off of the ledge. (This is a regular part of my work process, needing this talk, and everyone---my parents, my husband, agent, editor----are used to having to do it. It takes a village to deal with my neurosis, clearly.) Anyway, so she was telling me to just calm down, and I said, "I just want it to be perfect!" And she sighed and said, "Now, you want things to be perfect. Once you have that baby, though, you'll be happy just to keep your head above water." And she was right. I have lowered the bar, big time. My bar is so low some days that I could limbo under it. Or NOT limbo under it. That's low.

Which brings me back to my cards. They are HOLIDAY CARDS. Who cares if they are, okay, not great, with the pictures too small and the type kind of weird and not that visually appealing? I ordered them, they are here, I should just send them out. But as much as I have TRIED to keep things simple, I am complicating this issue. Because I don't like them, and I want to order new ones, but now I'm in this crazy cycle of thinking about it and now, sharing my craziness with all of you. In fact, I should probably delete all this and just write something else about, say, whether it's a bad thing to do all gift cards for the holidays or how I can't wait for the next Friday Night Lights, which looks like it might rock my world completely. But that's complicating things. So I will leave this, and own my craziness. It is mine, if nothing else.

I'd also like to point out that it is only December 2nd. We still have a lot of the month to go. Maybe it's time to up my coffee intake.

In other news, an update from my last entry. I have heard from several readers letting me know that Chris Brown is not appearing on my beloved GMA after all. Clearer heads have prevailed, apparently, and I am so relieved because I hate it when GMA and I are all, you know, not good. On a related note, I read last night that Charlie Gibson's last day on World News is December 18th. Does this mean that we'll be hearing who will replace Diane as main anchor on GMA by then? I wonder. Just in case, I will repeat who I think should get the job:


Just my two cents. I love me some Cuomo.

Okay, I'm hitting that coffee now. Plain, black, hot. Simple. Mom would approve.

Have a great day, everyone!

I don't know about you, but I am still recovering from Thanksgiving dinner. Or maybe just Thanksgiving week. What a whirlwind! I had family in town, and tons of social engagements, meals to cook, folks to catch up with. It was so much fun but by last night, when I finally collapsed onto the couch, I was wiped out. Thank goodness therapy was available in the form of Xanadu, probably the cheesiest movie ever made about roller skating, disco and Greek mythology. (Although I imagine this is a pretty small genre. Just a hunch.) I remember going to see this movie in the theatre, when I was obsessed with Olivia Newton John---that's how old I am---but watching it now is like an exercise in nostalgia and hilarity. Oh, and Gene Kelly! With music by ELO! If you haven't ever seen it and need a good laugh, or just something to marvel at, I highly recommend it.

On a more bothersome note, I've been following with interest the news reports that Chris Brown will be appearing on GMA in the next couple of weeks. Now, I'm a little hesitant to wade into this issue, as I don't know for sure that he's going to be on---although it is confirmed he'll be on 20/20, doing an interview with Robin Roberts---but I have to say, I'm a little bothered. Mostly because the interview that Diane did with Rhianna, which GMA featured a LOT, was so moving and upsetting. But, okay. Maybe GMA has their reasons for wanting to give both sides of the story. I get that. However, this announcement of Brown's possible appearance came just after GMA cancelled Adam Lambert's concert because his performance on the AMAs was so sexual. (If you are reading this and saying WHO are these people? I understand. We will return to our regular pop culture and food content shortly, hang in there.) Now, I actually saw some of Adam Lambert on the AMAs, thanks to NCTE, which kept me up late enough that I was coming home just as the broadcast was going off the air. And it WAS provocative, don't get me wrong. But I find is hard to believe he would do the same thing at 8am that he did at 11pm. But see, that's not even the point. The point is that it seems hypocritical to me that Adam Lambert is too controversial to have on, but it's okay to have someone who beats women. GMA, I love you, you know that. But why not skip them both, if you want to be sure not to offend? Maybe I am coming at this all wrong. If so, I am sure someone here will enlighten me. But it just seems....wrong. And GMA doesn't do wrong. At least, I don't want to believe they do.

Finally, today is the last day of November. I will refrain from marveling at how fast this month went by, as I know I have done that pretty much every month for the last year or so. But I WILL say that it is also the last day of Nanowrimo, and for those of you who will hit that 50,000 word mark, congrats. For everyone else who might have tried but not totally succeeded, or tried and got really discouraged, or tried and ended up curled into the fetal position under their desk, I say: welcome. You're part of a big group now and you have a lot of good company. And just because the month is over doesn't mean your efforts need to be. You've tried the marathon. Now, maybe attempt the long, leisurely walk. Or even a lope. Write a little bit every day. Slow and steady. You will probably still have rotten days when you totally lose faith. But you'll also have those days when it's all clicking and good and just WORKING, and those will keep you going. At least, that's been my experience. Then again, I am not really sure I should be giving writing advice to anyone, as I don't know what the heck I am doing half the time. I guess that's part of the fun?

Have a great day, everyone!