I believe that translates roughly to, I’m going on a cruise next week, see ya, suckahs!

:P

See, when we did Disney World two years ago, Andy realized that vacations in the Gulf/Caribbean are cheaper in September. I like to call these our “hurricane specials.” Sure, you risk getting rained on every day (at best) or dying in a tempest of epic proportions (at worst). But hey, you save $300!

(Also: no kids, ’cause they’re back in school. That might be worth more than the money.)

As promised, this blog will still be rocking the suburbs while I’m gone. The lineup has expanded, so there will actually be a post every single day next week! None of my M/W/F junk. (Weird. I’m a better blogger when I’m not even here…)

So anyway, stay tuned, and please show my fabulous friends some comment-love, okay?

And hey, maybe if you’re really, really good, I’ll send you a treat. Something like… most thoughtful comment of the week wins a book? What do you think?

For any writer who needs a pick-me-up, check out how difficult the road to publication was for Jane Austen. I had no idea!

# # #

Sweet Sy is giving away cute jewelry at her blog. Head on over to her post about aspirations and enter for your chance to win!

# # #

Last night I found out I was accepted to the week-long Writer’s Workshop run by the Kenyon Review. There are a lot of reasons I want to go (learning, networking, “vacationing,” etc.) and only one thing holding me back: the cost. It’s not prohibitive, but it sure makes you do a double-take. Like, is this really worth it?

But I think the only way I can answer that is by going and finding out for myself.

I did resort to a shameless sidebar plug in the hopes that a philanthropic literature-loving sugar daddy will stumble across my blog and decide to donate. More realistically, I’ll just hope that the Google ads get more interesting to folks. Even more realistically, I’ll start saving.

(Also: if anyone has attended this workshop, or one similar, and has any thoughts, I’d love to hear!)

Update: Hey, folks, anyone can enter! You don’t have to be a regular reader. I was looking forward to all the random answers from all the random people. Consider it a birthday present!

Entries will close sometime tomorrow afternoon so keep those comments coming!

Alright, folks, today is the day! In honor of my birthday and inspired by the generosity of Twenty Four at Heart and Pseudonymous High School Teacher, I am giving away a $20 Visa gift card and a book of Mad Libs.

(Unless Albert wins, in which case he wants Snuffles. Even though he already has two…)

What do you have to do to win? Just leave a comment to this entry, filling out the word list below. One comment will be selected at random and announced tomorrow as the winner. One entry per person, please.

If you have any questions, email me (khoffman at gmail.com). Otherwise, GO!

1. noun
2. plural noun
3. adjective
4. plural noun
5. noun
6. verb
7. noun
8. unit of time
9. type of building/place
10. familial relation (e.g. wife, cousin, uncle-in-law)
11. profession
12. award (real or made-up)
13. religious figure or deity
14. job-related task
15. noun
16. adjective
17. plural noun
18. noun
19. verb
20. adverb

Thanks for playing!

Recently two of my favorite bloggers, Twenty Four At Heart and Pseudonymous High School Teacher, held giveaways on their birthdays. TFAH actually did a whole week of contests, one of which I won! So, in the spirit of spreading the love, I’ll be holding my own contest/giveaway this Thursday, with the winner announced on Friday, aka Nov 21st, aka my birthday.

Now, I can’t afford to give much, because my part-time salary qualifies me for food stamps — seriously, I just checked — but the value of the prize will be somewhere between 10¢ and $10,000. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which end of the spectrum it’s closer to.

I don’t get many comments [sad face] so I highly encourage everyone to participate. (That means you, lurkers!) Because let’s face it, the odds of winning are pretty decent.

Also, if this turns out to be something we all enjoy, I may try to do it more often. That’s part of the reason there are now advertisements on this site: a girl’s gotta get funding from somewhere! And so far it’s not coming from the writing…

Anyway, tune in on Thursday! And, you know, every day before and after.