Ruby Rush

So it’s kind of obvious, based on my revisions post last week, that I’m in kind of a funk. Regular readers of this blog know that when I’m annoyed or stressed the first thing I reach for is a pair of scissors.

And then I start chopping.

This actually comes from when I was a struggling grad student with no money. If I wanted a trim, I had to do it myself. Well, I’ve become braver over the years. I mean, it’s just hair, right? It grows.

So what did I do Tuesday night? Found myself irritated and frustrated and angry at the world in general. Grabbed a pair of scissors. Lopped off quite a few inches. And now, thanks to Feria R68 Ruby Rush I am (once again) a red-head. Auburn head? Whatever. I blind in the sunlight, and that’s all that matters.

Pictures to prove that I am not ashamed of anything I have done:






Do I feel better now? *Absolutely*

Currently listening to: “Dream” by The Cranberries.

Have a great weekend!

Love,
~Leigh~

Friday Five: Playlist Edition

I know. I know. I’m MIA again. For good reason, though. I’m stuck in RevisionLand. I’d like to say that everything is deep fried here, and there are clowns and elephants and bearded ladies, but this is not that kind of land.
It feels like it, though.

Because I’m up and I’m down and I hate it and I love it and I feel like I’m going to puke. . . .

Yes. That’s what it’s like when revisions aren’t going well: eating a Fried Snickers and bouncing back and forth from the Tilt-a-Whirl to the Gravitron until you’ve collapsed in your puke, unconscious. Unless they’re going great, and then it’s like being at the top of greatest hill on the biggest roller coaster, and all that’s left is the thrill and the wind in your face until you reach the end. Needless to say, I’ve been lying (laying?) in my puke more than anything this time around, and I’m not bearded yet, but it probably wouldn’t hurt if I took a pair of tweezers to my eyebrows. Eyebrow.

But that’s not what I’m going to blog about. Unless you need to commiserate, then feel free comment below, because it would be nice to know that I’m not the only one getting my butt kicked. I’m just saying.

Instead, I’m listing the top five songs on my playlist right now: the songs that are helping me coast to the end, or acting as the soundtrack as I lie unconscious in the grass, empty candy wrappers stuck to my cheek.
In no particular order:

1. “Graceful Dancing” by Blue October. I’ve only recently discovered this song, but it’s got a great hook. And you know . . . you’re a superstar on your own.

2. “Fix You” by Coldplay. This song is on every book playlist of mine. If I could do a music video of the climax of every ms I’ve written, this song would be the background. But I’m just dramatic like that.

3. “They’ll Never Know” by Ross Copperman. Sweet song. Touching and emotional, and it gets me through any scene where someone is crying. Because my characters cry. Sometimes.

4. “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse. I swear, half of my playlist is Muse. Did you know I saw them live last year? No? I did. SBH is a great song, but really, it’s all encompassing . . . because any Muse song could go here.

5. “Gone Away” by Lucy Schwartz. Because the space between the universe? That’s where RevisionLand lies (lays?). She has a sweet voice, though. It’s kind of soothing. *Exactly* what I need.

All of these songs have some kind of meaning as they relate to my current WIP. Also: The Fray, The Script, The Cranberries . . . These are the dudes who keep me going.

Bet you thought I was going to stick Michael Buble in there, didn’t you? Fooled you! (whispers: “Lost.” No. Really. I am not alone . . . he is here with me . . . and we’ll get lost together. . . .). I’d like to be lost . . . but not in RevisionLand.

(sigh)

Pulling myself out of the grass and the dirt and the trash and heading in for another round. I mean, at some point I have to let go and press “send,” right?
Have a great weekend!

Love,

~Leigh~

Friday Five Midnight Edition

My Very Late Friday Five should be a list of reasons why I haven’t blogged lately. But it’s not. Just a bunch of randomness and what I’ve been up to these last few weeks:

1. So . . . my July came and went (July was my one vacation month). The classes are slowly beginning to kick into gear, but August is manageable. I took that time off and went on a personal NaNoWriMo writing binge and knocked out 50,000 words in 30 days.

Wouldn’t you know it: I hate every last word. Seriously.

The good news is I am not a writer. I am a re-writer. And I will rewrite this thing until I get it right. Whatever that means.

2. I haven’t taken my Michael Buble CD out of the car all month. I *am* obsessed.

3. On Sunday I’m going to see Norah Jones. We’re dropping the baby girl off at the grandparents for the night. She’s excited. I don’t think the grandparents have recovered from the last time she slept over, though. I tried to tell them: you can’t let her talk you into a movie at 9pm. She *won’t* fall asleep while she’s watching it. Even in the dark. And popcorn? That’s just a bad idea, period.

4. The MiMi (my mom) and Me took the baby girl to see Annie (The Musical) last week. It was very cool because we got to see Andrea McArdle (the original Broadway Annie) play Miss Hannigan. Daddy Warbucks was played by Robert Newman, better known as Josh from Guiding Light. When I asked for his autograph I totally tried to play off my excitement as “my mom loved you and watched Guiding Light all the time when I was younger,” but I totally remember when I was in high school and Reva drove off that bridge. And Robert? He is *way* handsome and endearing, and I’m kind of infatuated even though he’s totally old enough to be my dad.



When I saw him, his head was shaved and he was donning a fedora.
He wrote my name. In Sharpie. (sigh)

5. And finally, a special thank you and shout out to all my writer friends, especially those of you who talk me off the ledge. You know who you are.

Have a great weekend!
Love,
~Leigh~