I don’t watch Entourage, but he’s the reason I’ve seen The Devil Wears Prada about twenty times.  My god, those eyes.

1 What time did you get up this morning?
Around 8:45.

2 Beer or Wine?
Wine, when I drink.

3 What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Elegy

4 What is your favorite TV show?
I don’t watch much television, but I like Grey’s Anatomy, Two and a Half Men and reruns of Sex and the City.  I also started watching True Blood on HBO, but I’m not sure it’s a ‘favorite’ yet.

5 What do you usually have for breakfast?
Diet Pepsi and two chocolate chip cookies.  I don’t really do breakfast.

6 What is your middle name?
The very dull Lynn.

7 What food do you dislike?
Hmm. Eggs, shrimp, rare steak.

8 What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Bruce Springsteen’s Magic.

9 What kind of car do you drive?
Mazda Miata

10 Favorite sandwich?
Smoked Turkey Pita (from No Frill)

11 What characteristics do you despise?
Dishonesty, insecurity, ignorance, cruelty

12 Favorite item of clothing?
Well-worn jeans

13 If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
London, England… Italy, Ireland, Scotland, France, Greece… I could go on…

14 What you wearing now?
Jeans, brown cotton blouse, brown sandals

15 Favorite brand of clothing?
I buy what I like and don’t pay attention to brands.

16 Where would you retire to?
Writers don’t retire, but I wouldn’t mind having a flat in London and a little cottage near the ocean.

17 What was your most recent memorable birthday?
They’re all memorable!

18 Favorite sport to watch?
Baseball, gay porn.

19 Furthest place you are sending this?
The intertubes go everywhere!

20 Who do you least expect to send this back to you?
I don’t even know who will read it!

21 Person you expect to send it back first?
Jae will blog about it since he hasn’t blogged in forever.

22 Favorite Saying?
Everything happens for a reason.
--or--
Be happy.

23 When is your birthday?
May 7th

24 Are you a morning person or night person?
Night owl

25 What is your shoe size?
8

27 Any new and exciting news you’d like to share?
Sheri is coming for the weekend!  Jay will be home October 7th!  (Which is also our 18th anniversary!)

28 What did you want to be when you were little?
A writer or Tinkerbell.

29 How are you feeling today?
Hopeful

30 What is your favorite candy?
Mmm… chocolate. Good ol’ Hershey’s or Godiva, I don’t care!

31 What is your favorite flower?
Sunflowers, wildflowers, roses, lilies… I like all flowers.

32 What is your full name?
Kristina, She Who is Wise and Also Tough

33 What are your listening to right now?
Starbucks’ Soundtrack to Complement Your Too-Hot Latte (not the real title, of course)

34 What was the last thing you ate?
Um… those two chocolate chip cookies.

35 If you were a Crayon, what color would you be?
I’d be all those little nubs of leftover Crayons that you pour into a mold and then melt in the oven, so they all blend together in a rainbow of colors.

36 How is the weather right now?
Cloudy and way too hot for September.

37 Last person you spoke to
Wendy (my vet and new Starbucks buddy)

38 Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Yes, she’s my cousin.  I wish I knew her better, though!

39 Favorite Restaurant?
Baker’s Crust, No Frill Bar and Grill, Max and Erma’s

40 Hair Color?
Only my hair stylist knows for sure, but I call it red.

41 Siblings?
None that I claim.

42 Favorite day of the year?
Thanksgiving, followed by my birthday.

43 What was your favorite toy as a child?
Not toys-- books!

44 Summer or winter?
Either.  Fall is my favorite season.

45 Hugs or Kisses?
Hugs. I need some right now.

46 Chocolate or Vanilla?
There was a time when I would have said chocolate.  Now I think vanilla is pretty good, too.  Swirl, please!

47 Do you want your friends to email you back?
Nope.  Blog it!

48 When was the last time your cried?
Monday

49 What is under your bed?
Fur and the Insomnia Fairy who waits for me to go to bed and then starts talking.  Loudly.

50 Who is the friend you have had the longest?
Sheri-- 20 years in July.

51 What did you do last night?
Had coffee at Starbucks, read a little, talked to Wendy, Jae, Nick and Sheri, wrote e-mail.

52 Favorite smell?
A baking cake, a roasting turkey, fresh-cut grass, the Lush store.

53 What are you afraid of?
Nothing, really.  Fear of not being tough enough for everything life throws at me, maybe?

54 Plain, buttered or salted popcorn?
Buttered and salted!

55 How many keys are on your key ring?
6, but I don’t know what 2 of them are for!

56 How many years at your current job?
Writer: forever.  College adjunct: 1.5

57 Favorite day of the week?
No preference, really.  When I had a “real” job, it was Thursday because we went out after work.  Sundays, when Jay is home.  Otherwise, every day has potential!

58 How many towns/cities have you lived in?
7

59 Do you make friends easily?
I make acquaintances easily.  Making real friends take a long, long time.

60 What and where is your favorite view?
My backyard, after it has rained and everything looks lush and green.  A city street in London.  The ocean, with the sun glinting off the water and dolphins swimming by.

I’m not on track with the writing as I had planned (hoped) this week, but I’m trying to let it go.  It will come-- the writing always comes.  I have no doubt that when it does come, it will be like opening the floodgates.  Still, I know I can’t just wait for it to come, I need to help it along.  Sheri’s visit this weekend will help-- good conversation helps stimulate my creativity.  Reading a well-written book, seeing a poignant film, creating something-- whether a home cooked meal or order out of chaos-- gets my mind humming.  And right now, I need that familiar hum instead of the crackle of white noise I seem to be experiencing.

I know my imagination is there, waiting for me.  I know because my dreams lately are vivid and multi-layered, full of emotion and character… and plot.  The writer may not be writing, but the brain is still telling stories.  That’s how I know the writing will come.

Soon, I hope.

What do you do when the bad stuff seems to be raining down on you?  You focus on the good stuff.  Here’s my good stuff:

--School has started, which means the unofficial start of autumn, my most favorite season.

--Sheri is coming for a visit this weekend to drag me out of my doldrums-- and my pajamas.

--There is bowling in my near future with sort of not your average guys.

--Jay will be home in less than four weeks!

--Halloween! Candy! Pumpkins! Oh my!

--Thanksgiving-- and ten days of Sheri goodness-- is but weeks away!

--Mmm… Sunday brunch!

--Jay will be home through the holidays this year.

--Christmas! Yay Christmas shopping! I will enjoy it this year and I will send holiday cards!

--My first novella debuts in the Bedding Down anthology, due out December 1. (And no, I don’t know why the cover isn’t up on Amazon yet.  It’s a pretty cover, though.)

--I have stories due out in a bunch of anthologies… including one that made me squeal a little (but I can’t announce it officially yet).

--Lunch dates, movie dates, manicures, pedicures and massages… sigh…

--Trip planning!  Almost as much fun as the trips themselves.

--Writers’ conferences in 2009.  I’m making a list…

There’s more good stuff, but that’s a nice start. 

What’s your good stuff?