classy gobblers.

Listening To: The sound of silence. The actual sound ... not the song. (But the song is awesome too.) (Maybe I'll listen to the song ...)

Drinking: Diet Dr. Pepper. Because it is a sweet and fizzy form of happiness. 

(image from weheartit.com)

Happy Thanksgiving Beauties & Beastlies! If you haven't been to your local grocery store today, you really should go. Because I just dropped by my local Publix and it was insanity. My grocery store? Was totally dystopian. Hundreds of people racing around and lunging for pre-made pie crusts and talking on their bluetooths (which is awesome because it made it seem like they were talking to themselves). (Is the plural of "bluetooth" ... blueteeth?) It reminded me of a gameshow I watched back in Middle School called Supermarket Sweep. (Press Your Luck was my other favorite gameshow.) (Very, very often, when I'm trying to make something work, I holler: "No wammies! No wammies! No wammies! STOP!) In Supermarket Sweet, contestants raced around a grocery store trying to fill their carts up with the most expensive haul.

It was riveting, obviously.

(Also, most likely, it was an extreme couponer's worst nightmare.)

In my eleven year old mind, I had a foolproof plan for winning Supermarket Sweep. The turkeys and hams were the most expensive things, so I figured I'd fill the first bu-cart with those first and then run back and get a new cart. After my meat expedition, I'd go for the fancy cheeses, the inflatable bonus things and a bag of coffee. The coffee was time consuming; lots of people wasted time there at the beginning. But it made a big difference. Is it pathetic that I remember this? I also remember key details from episodes of Saved by the Bell and The Mickey Mouse Club. ( Television was formative to my adolescence. (Don't even get me started on Dawson's Creek.)

Anyway! Publix was Supermarket Sweep on steroids. I stood in line behind bu-carts overflowing with Butterballs, booze and hams.


I was purchasing sushi, cake mix and Vanity Fair. Party.

I was also thinking about you savvy types, of course, and how I couldn't wait to get home and give a book away.

So after consulting the random number generator (ie: calling a friend and saying, "Pick a number between 1 and 21), the winner is ....


Allyson! And this is the sweet comment Allyson left: 

Almost a year ago my grandpa was in the hospital, and it wasn't looking good. In fact, it wasn't looking like he had very long at all. We really realized this on Dec. 16. Dec. 17 was my birthday, and I had a great day with friends planned. The evening of the 16th my prayer was simple, but selfish. "Please don't let grandpa die on my birthday." Dec. 17th came and went, and it was on my favorite birthdays. That night, Dec. 18th my Grandpa passed away in the wee morning hours. God and my Grandpa waited for me. Even if it was a selfish prayer.


I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I got seriously teary (in a good way) reading all these comments. Thanks for sharing such sweet (and such personal) memories on that post. I loved what you had to say so much that I re-read them all with my mom.  She loved them too (of course) and she said she'd throw in another copy of the book. (!!) (My guess is that it will be a copy she purchases but if you get the book I signed to Mom and Dad then you can just rip the first page out ... ; ) So I consulted the Random Number Generator again and the winner is: 


Kendall! This was Kendall's comment: 


As for grandparents: One of my grandmas passed away this past winter. It was one of the first deaths I've had to deal with, and it was hard. Thanksgiving this year is going to be strange without her... She always made the best chocolate cookies and always decorated the house for every holiday. It will be hard, but I'm glad I have the rest of my family. I'm thankful for the memories, and for my other set of grandparents who are still around. They send me newspaper cutouts and postcards and books in the mail and I love getting those little things that let me know they're thinking of me. :) Grandparents are great.


If both of you could email me at nat.lloyd (at) yahoo.com and let me know your mailing addresses, that would be super! I hope you love the book :) (And, though this is probably obvious, I'll be on the farm for a few days. But I'll mail your books as soon as I'm back in the mountains.) 


Thank you all so much for entering. I'll giveaway another copy next month for Christmas. I might even let The Rogue Accountant add something to the giveaway pile (he tried to do this once before and it was a cheeseburger magnet so I .... conveniently left it out). 


Also. After I posted the giveaway last week, I received a few emails from folks who are reading Paperdoll with some friends or as part of a study, asking if I might consider sending them some bookmarks and buttons.

And my answer was: Uh, YEAH!

I have no idea why I never considered mentioning that on here. Once again, you people have proven that you are a zillion times smarter than me.


So, if you're reading the book with a group, and you want some bookmarks and buttons to solidify the pink, then email me and I'll mail you some swag (no cost to you). And if you're just reading it on your own, but you want a bookmark (and/or a button), then you are certainly welcome to email as well.

Every year around Christmas, I get at least a few emails from sweet moms or friends who are asking if they can buy personalized copies of the book to give as gifts. Once I verify that this is, in fact, not my mother emailing just to make me feel better, I always get back to them pronto. I don't sell my books right now; because that takes lots of set up and I'm not smart enough to figure out how to do it. But! The best solution I've found so far is to send a bookplate that they can stick inside their copy of the book. If that interests you, holler. (Amazon usually sells "like new" copies of the book for crazy cheap.)

And finally: 


-  Jenny B. Jones wrote about her author-friend, Sandi. From Jen's post, you can click through to an auction that will help Sandi as she battles cancer. All the money raised will be donated to her treatment. There are lots of writer-specific packages there (free critiques from authors, books, conferences, etc).


- In a completely unserious note, here's my GoogleTurkey. He's a fancy gobbler.

- If you're following me on tumblr, you'll note I keep accidentally posting to the wrong site. It's a learning process ...


- Finally, here's a link to my favorite song for this particular holiday. Actually, that's one of my favorite songs for everyday.

I am so very grateful for you. Thanks for encouraging me and making me laugh and making this blog such a sweet place to hang out. I'm so blessed to be part of this community. You're the coolest.

I hope your tomorrow is a lot like this:

What are your Thanksgiving plans? Do you cook or bake? Football or the parade (or both)? (For the record: I do not like to cook or bake but I like to eat.) Any special traditions you have? Regardless of how you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!