Come on, Irene

We weathered the storm and came out the other side fairly well. The only real issue we have is that our basement got some water in it and our carpet is super wet. We were thinking of cutting it out anyway, so now we have a real reason to do so. The only thing ON the carpet were my CD towers (which I almost never use any more anyway) so we didn't really have anything ruined either. The front window in our living room had a tiny drip we need to look into, but it wasn't really all that bad. We got lucky - the video and pics from around us are incredible. Streets nearby that we've been down every day are flooded with several FEET of water. Apparently we can't leave the town for the next couple of days -- my parents' friends who had come to stay with them for shelter tried leaving this morning and were unable to go.

I hope everyone else is safe and staying home for today and possibly tomorrow.

Finished another book!

This evening I finished the rough draft of my fifth book. It's crazy to me that five years ago I wouldn't have thought I could write a book at all, let alone five (well, five plus 1/2 of one that just kind of fizzed). I really like this one - it's dystopian/sci-fi and I think maybe my most EXCITING book to date.

I do love the feeling of accomplishment, even knowing I still have revisions ahead of me.

Now to figure out what my next book will be...

Crazy, Stupid, Love

We're in Ohio for a week visiting Caitie's parents. It's always a good time for me there - good food, lots of relaxing, and lots of time to read and write.

We went to see "Crazy, Stupid Love" yesterday, and I was pretty surprised by it to be honest. It wasn't my first choice, but hey, Steve Carrell is usually pretty funny, Julianne Moore is always good, and Emma Stone is cute. It turned out to be a much better movie than I expected.

I don't want to give much away in terms of plot because I kind of feel like the less you know going in, the better off you'll be. All you really need to know is Steve Carrell's character Cal is blindsided when his wife, Emily (Moore), tells him she wants a divorce. He goes into something of a downward spiral until he meets Jacob (Ryan Gosling), a lady's man who agrees to teach Cal how to be "cool." There are subplots involving a woman Jacob attempts to pick up at the local bar (Stone), and Cal's son's crush on his babysitter.

The cast is uniformly strong. Gosling, Carrell, Moore, and Stone are all perfectly cast. Kevin Bacon has a somewhat dull cameo -- they could have given him more to do. Marissa Tomei however has a very funny smaller role that's pretty much worth the price of admission alone.

Overall, I was surprised and impressed with this movie. I laughed out loud several times, and I guess the romantic in me related to the message that love isn't easy, but it's worth it.