Confession: I’m completely exhausted and only the thought of failing out only the second week of the Friday Confessional kept me doing it. Brianna has the flu and was up all night last night throwing up. After the second time (and second bedding change) I slept with her, nearly got barfed on the third time (and third bedding change) but after that she figured it out and managed to tell me with enough time I could get the bucket under her. I don’t either of us slept more than an hour straight at any given time. I’m just a little groggy. She had a spurt of energy for a few hours this morning but has since collapsed back to the couch and is now upstairs sound asleep. Poor thing.
I was going to post about how I think seeing other people vomit is the grossest thing ever (I’m a sympathetic puker). I worked as a nurse’s aid to put myself through college. I could deal with anything, any bodily function. Just not puke. I once discovered a body after the person had been dead for three days in the Arizona summer heat. No one but me was able to enter the apartment without a mask. I’ve dissected a number of cadavers. I can handle disgusting things. But vomit gets me. I was going to post all that and then realize there’s one thing that gets me more than vomit: maggots. I can’t handle them, not to think about, not to look at on TV, nothing. Ew ew ew ew. Now you know my weaknesses. Vomit and maggots.
Moving on!
Quick question. I’ve been using a new Firefox addon called Zemanta to help add links to my content. Some things you see (like Zemanta) are linked for me by them, just by clicking on something on my dashboard. The program will also add related content links of my choosing to the bottom of the post, have you noticed them? It does other things, but so far those are the two most useful. Oh, the “Reblog this” that you see at the bottom of the post also comes from that. What do you think? Useful or intrusive?
For Readers:
I’m sure everyone has seen this, but just in case:Harlequin is giving away 16 free books as part of their anniversary celebration. This is very cool. There’s something for everyone! You can also download them via Stanza (also very cool).
Leah (Madame Butterfly) has a rant about DRM and why one publisher has lost her business because of it. I’m not a fan of DRM from the publisher side, and Leah’s post illustrates why.
An interesting blogpost on the Kindle, what it is and how it might affect trends.
SciFiGuy lists the February 2009 paranormal, fantasy and urban fantasy releases.
Agent Nathan Bransford asked: will you ever buy mostly ebooks? Only 10% of the almost 1000 respondents said absolutely yes. I wish I knew the demographic breakdown of people voting. That would be interesting!
Twilight fans will enjoy this: Twilight done by bunnies (in 30 seconds) via Katiebabs
For Kindle owners. MakeUseOf.com tells you how to read feeds on your Kindle device for free.
In the Kitchen:
If you’ve ever had any questions about using your bread machine, you must read this post, Bread Machine Basics. I stumbled across it Googling for something and it’s an amazing source of answers for all your bread machine questions!
What do you get when you combine a pound of bacon and two pounds of sausage (besides a non-kosher heart attack?): the bacon explosion. This horrified and fascinated me so much I had to share it. via Tastespotting
How to make Skittles Vodka from tipnut.com You know you want to. Heck, I KNOW *I* want to.
For the Crafty:
Lisa begins a series of bag making for beginners. The first post is about sewing terms. Part two is choosing fabric and interfacing. I’m really excited about this series because when I sew, purses are one of my favorite things to make. I actually thought about making something and donating it to the Brenda Novak auction but that hasn’t solidified in my head.
How to make an old cupboard door into a serving tray. I love their finished product.
For Authors:
Epublishing and traditional publishing compared by an author published with both.
Agent Rachelle Gardner did some posts on the “elevator pitch”.
Agent Jessica Faust discusses the form rejection letter. It’s a fantastic post and she lists many of the reasons we use a form letter at Samhain.
Author Ilona Andrews is doing a series of one paragraph critiques. It’s interesting to see how she tears down and rebuilds each paragraph. The first one is here and she does a terrific job of relating POV to camera angle.
Anyone who’s seen my workshop on epublishing or read the articles I’ve written has heard me talk about Yog’s Law. Agent Jennifer Jackson takes this time to remind you: money flows toward the author.
For everyone:
Domino, Wondertime, Country Home and Realms of Fantasy magazines will all be shutting down or have shut down. Ouch.
Interested in politics or what President Obama has been up to? Follow the new White House blog. It’s been interesting for me, to get updates on what’s going on. I like it.
Agent Rachelle Gardner wrote a post about Twitter. She doesn’t want you to use Twitter to try and do business with her. I feel similarly. I wish I had written this post. I almost reposted the entire thing here. I might still. I like Twitter, but it’s not where I conduct business. Like Rachelle, I rarely discuss business related things there and anyone hoping for brilliance from me on Twitter is going to be sadly disappointed.
SuperBowl Sunday is this weekend (I can’t believe it’s going to be February already!) and whether you’re staying at home with just your family, having a big bash or attending one, you must check out these two posts full of delicious-looking dishes to make. The first is from Cathy at Noble Pig and oh man, did this post make me hungry! I think I’m going to try a few of those. The second is from Pioneer Woman *insert fangrrl squee* who also has a post full of dish ideas. Both posts have photos, and I dare you to go look and not drool.
Something fun: Karen Scott posts the best complaint letter ever. Ewww is all I have to say!
Picture of the week:
I’m going to give you a couple. This one, because I saw it last week and immediately marked it to use for today. The emotion of the moment is so beautiful. via Huffington Post
Then this one from Paperback Writer’s blog because, hello, who doesn’t love a picture of a cute puppy?
And from Brianna’s photos this week. This elephant is no bigger than a tennis ball but the perspective on this one makes it look much bigger. I love this picture.
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- Homemade bread (momblognetwork.com)
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I hope Brianna gets to feeling better soon. Being sick is the worst. ESPECIALLY when it involves vomiting.
I’d rather be unable to speak and move from a high fever and achy body than vomit. It’s one of the worst things to do/watch/feel/ you name it in the whole WORLD. Gross.
Hope Brianna feels better soon.
Saw the bacon explosion on Yahoo!’s main page yesterday or the day before — it was simultaneously fascinating and repulsive. Yum, bacon and sausage, but omg, how much fat was that? Also, the quote from one bbqer about the chemistry of microwaving vs. bbqing and the effect on flavor made me giggle. Practical science!
Seems like everybody I know has a sick kid or is getting over something themselves. I wonder if there are some new virus strains out there attacking everyone?
Thanks for all the great links. There are a couple of blog posts I’m off to read…
I hope Brianna feels better soon. The flu is the worst, especially for little ones.
Aww, poor Brianna and poor momma. Hope she’s better soon so you can both get some rest. I hate it when my kids puke. I can’t deal but it always happens when my dude is traveling or at work for some reason. blerg.
I hope Brianna gets well soon! I’ve been thru that with 4 kids before. ack! Pedialyte popsicles were a lifesaver at times.
Love the friday confessional linkage!
Hope Brianna gets to feeling better soon, poor thing.
I can handle all the vomit in the world but sputum and snot will send me running to the closest bathroom, just thinking about it makes the bile rise.
You should make and donate a backpack like the VB one you copied.
I hope Brianna gets better soon, so you can get some rest. Great list o links,and I loved the pictures. Have a great weekend.
Thanks for the link The Zemanta mention is interesting.
I hope Brianna starts feeling well soon. That kind of illness definitely drains everyone around as well.
I’m with you on not liking puke or maggots. I haven’t yet actually puked because someone else around me did, but I have definitely gagged quite a lot when dealing with that kind of situation.
I had to stop reading this post to go read the “Funniest Complaint Letter” and I’m still laughing. I hope the kiddo is feeling better by now!
Poor little thing, I hope Brianna feels better real soon.
My Mom was a nurse and everyone would always ask me when I was little if I wanted to be a nurse like my Mom when I grew up. My answer was always NO! She told me a lot of stuff she seen and did and it was not in the least appealing to me to ever do or think about if I had to. Thanks for all the info.