What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme, started by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk, geared to help readers and writers touch base and let them know what's up. If you want join in, you can find the link widget on Jaime's and Erin's blogs!

{Peonies from my front yard!}

What I'm Reading

So much reading to do! Since I'm heading to San Francisco next weekend, I've been scouting out books to read on the long flight. So far, my list includes:

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (this recently won the Newbery)
Chantress by Amy Butler Greenfield (at the suggestion of my friend Jessica Spotswood)
And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Let's Explore Diabates with Owls by David Sedaris
Inferno by Dan Brown

I figure those last two will be good airplane reading: fast-paced and entertaining. Win!

What I'm Writing

Chugging along on my YA space western! A few days ago, I sent out the first two chapters to a few trusted readers so my fingers are crossed that they like it. Here's to hoping anyway! Haha. 

What's Inspiring Me Right Now

I teared up at this Atlantic piece about the Oklahoma teachers who used their own bodies to shield their students from the recent tornado. That's real heroism right there. 

What Else I've Been Up To

Trying new recipes! Last week, I made mussels for the first time, using an Ina Garten recipe 'cause the Barefoot Contessa has never steered me wrong. I also tried out this scallion + creamed corn dish, which was divine. I actually made it last night too because it was so tasty—the tarragon added such a nice flavor and the diced anchovies (don't judge!) added an incredible depth. Plus, fresh corn is cheap and plentiful right now. Go forth and cook, I say!

So what have you been up to lately?

A Weekend of Cake, Blogs, and Game of Thrones!

Brr, it was a chilly weekend here in DC! At least I had a cake to comfort me. *Hugs cake*

Speaking of cake, I decided to undertake my very first Julia Child recipe for Mother's Day! I've been eying Julia's Queen of Sheba cake for a few months now, and so I figured it was time to take the plunge. I was pretty nervous since I'm not a very good baker (oh, pizza crust, how I have failed you!), but both my dad and grandma gave me two thumbs up for this endeavor. So yay!

In other fun news—okay, maybe just fun for me!—I finally tried the manual setting on my camera. For nearly a year I've been using the aperture setting (It's so easy, I told myself!) but I want to get better at photography so learning manual is a must. Anyway, this is a definite work in progress. Manual mode, I shall conquer you! And you too, Pizza Crust!

Finally, while I was watching Game of Thrones last night, I fiddled around with a new blog design. I wanted to create something soft and spring-y and romantic. I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet—maybe I'll customize it for a friend or (gulp!) even sell it? Here's a teaser:

Enough about me already! How was your weekend? Are you as obsessed with Game of Thrones as I am? I can't believe that there's only three episodes left this season. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!  *Wails* *Cries* *Gnashes teeth* I'm super stoked for the final episode because I've been reading the books and have a hunch of what's coming... Mwahahaha!

Friday Five

One
Just for fun, I've been taking my DSLR with me whenever I head out of the house. I figure the only way for me to get better at photography is to practice, practice, practice! Thus, I took the above self portrait while I waited for my brother at CVS. It's a little embarrassing how long it took me to get a focused shot... Haha. Taking pictures of yourself is hard!

Two
I've been listening to a fascinating NPR series called "Teenage Diaries Revisited." Back in 1996, NPR gave tape recorders to teens around the country—i.e., a boy with Tourette's, a young teen mom—to create audio diaries of their lives. Now those teens are in their early 30s, and NPR asked them to record stories on what they've been up to these last seventeen years. Really interesting stuff!

Three
On the reading front, I've been re-reading Ender's Game ever since I watched the awesome movie trailer that debuted this week. Funnily enough, Justin decided to re-read the novel too (he's in California on a business trip and so we didn't plan this at all!); and it has been fun chatting about the characters and plot with him. One thing I never realized is that Ender's Game is told through a blend of third-person and first-person. Not easy to pull off!

Four
This week, I also finished the re-design of Tracey Neithercott's blog! The re-design has been in the works for a few months, and Tracey was an absolute dream to work with. I miss you, Tracey! Come back to DC!

Five
So what are you up to this weekend? Tomorrow, we're having a big family lunch to celebrate my nephew and my brother's visit from Taiwan. Basically, it'll be a lot of Chinese people eating lots of Chinese food! Fun!

What's Up Wednesday!

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme, started by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk, geared to help readers and writers touch base and let them know what's up. If you want join in, you can find the link widget on Jaime's and Erin's blogs!

What I'm Reading

I finished Rick Yancey's The Five Wave last night! It's one of those books that I couldn't put down, even when I was eating or watching The Voice or playing with Otto. My nose = Stuck in my Kindle. Overall, I really enjoyed it. Fast paced, clean writing, strong characters, and an interesting take on aliens. It doesn't quite live up to its comparison to The Hunger Games—I had a much stronger emotional connection to THG—but I'd definitely recommend The Fifth Wave!

What I'm Writing

Still working on my YA space western! I've been toying with changing the voice from first present to third past, but I think the former might win out. Maybe. I don't know! Ask me again tomorrow.

What's Inspiring Me Right Now

My little nephew Sean! One of my new favorite things is watching Sean play with my father. My dad, who is a quiet and stoic sort of guy, simply lights up whenever this baby is around!

What Else I've Been Up To

With my brother's family visiting from Taiwan, I've been delving back into photography again. I love snapping pictures of my little nephew and trying to get better behind the lens. One day, I'd love to upgrade to a full frame camera—maybe a Canon Mark II or a Nikon D3—but these babies are so pricey. One day maybe!

Lately

I downloaded a few photos from my camera today, and I realized...

Wow, there are some old pictures on here!

Ok, they're only a few weeks old—so not the ancient Egyptian sort of old—but I'm usually a lot better about downloading stuff from my DSLR. I suppose getting a puppy has been more time-consuming than I had realized?

When in doubt, BLAME THE DOG! :)

So here we are, pictures!

{Tiny white flowers at the Tudor Place gardens in Georgetown.}

{Here is the pup! He has doubled his weight since we took him home two months ago!}

{My dear friend Andrea got hitched in April! Isn't she gorgeous?}

{And here is my nephew Sean! This picture was taken this morning. Love him.}

And now back to the writing cave! 

Blergh. Please save me from the writing cave? Anyone? 

A Little Reminder...

Oof, I've been a terrible blogger, haven't I? *Slaps wrist*

To make up for that, I thought I'd pass along that everything at J. Crew is 25% off this weekend! Go Mother's Day sale!

Above, I've compiled a few things that I've been eying. Most of the items are  out of my price range even with the discount (hello $300 purse!) or simply too impractical for my wardrobe (where will I wear you, glitter shoes?!) but they're sure pretty to look at. 

On a random note, wouldn't that blue purse be great for a writers conference? It could fit a laptop for taking notes, a couple books for signing, and all of your conference-y knick knacks like business cards and bookmarks and snacks. All writers need snacks! And ice cream!

Anyway, long time no see! How are you doing? What have you been up to lately? This weekend, Justin and I are heading down to a wedding in the Shenandoah Valley, and then we'll spend some time with my brother and his family who are flying in from Taiwan. I finally get to meet my first nephew!

Happy weekend!

Catching Up

Whew, apologies for the unexpected blog hiatus! 

The past two weeks have been filled with Cracker Jacks, zoo visits, TV appearances, and hospital stays . A whirlwind pretty much! My mother-in-law and niece stayed with us for a week (see picture above), immediately followed by Justin's hernia surgery (he's doing great!). 

As for the TV appearance thing, Justin gave live interviews for both CCTV and BBC World News! Since he's a Korea expert at the Truman National Security Project, a few news sources wanted to speak to him about the aggressive dialogue coming out of North Korea. I'm trying to upload the BBC clip to YouTube, but here is the CCTV interview if you're interested! 

On my end of things, I'm juggling two different WIPs—a space western and a high fantasy. Right now, the space western is occupying most of my brain but maybe the high fantasy is plotting a takeover? I don't know! I need a writing clone! 

How are you doing? What have you been up to lately? And what have you been reading? I'm working on some beta reading and hoping to tackle GULP next. I love Mary Roach!

Friday Five

One

I snapped the above picture during a quick stroll through DC on Wednesday. Isn't this building a beauty? I love the soft pink color—it totally pops amongst the gray government buildings beside it—and I adore those turrets. Wouldn't it be marvelous to have a little reading room turret? 

Two

Wednesday was a rather lovely day! I took a break from writing and freelancing to explore the Pre-Raphaelite exhibit at the National Gallery. I fell in love with the Pre-Raphaelite movement during my semester in London—I didn't even know that it had existed before that!—and so I was completely ecstatic when I first heard about this exhibit, which is a joint venture between the National Gallery and the Tate Britain. The exhibit itself was wonderful! Breathtaking! My favorites were Lady Lilith and The Lady of Shallott (my new favorite painting!). 

Three

In puppy news, Otto turns three-months-old this weekend! It's crazy to think that we got him only four weeks ago. *Sniff* How time flies! Now for a bit of humble-bragging.... Otto has learned how to sit, stay, and touch (touching his nose to our hands); and we're working on "come" and "lay down." Our Puppy Kindergarten instructor said that he's doing super well with training, which made me beam with pride. HE IS THE BEST DOG IN THE WORLD! Haha. Dog owner mania, perhaps? 

Four

On the reading front, I finished Eleanor & Park a couple weeks ago and can't stop thinking about it. It was so bloody good! The characters. The prose. The plot. It was all amazing. Le sigh. This is one of the books that deserves all of the hype! 

Five

Oh! My niece is coming to visit us this week! Yay! I'm so excited to see Rowan (who's nearly five!), and to do a lot of fun kiddo things with her. We're thinking about taking her to the Cherry Blossom Festival, the Natural History Museum, and the Ringling Brother's Circus. ZOMG, the circus! I might be more excited about that than she is! 

How about you? What are you up to this weekend?