Category ~ Eileen
click on blog title to view full entry
Not so good at good-bye
So run alongside the car with me for just a moment, will you? Back when I was a little girl, we used to spend our summers at my grandparents' farm in Kentucky. Yes. My grandfather was a Jewish tobacco farmer... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (15)
Unveiling reasons why I'm an idiot
I have no memory I used to have a fabulous memory. I could rattle off phone numbers, addresses, keep track of appointments and do it all in my head. I turned forty and it was like someone flicked a switch.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 9:53 PM | Comments (5)
Accidental Unveilings
When what you say says more than you meant to say So I was over at my friend's house, grilling her about the life of a psychologist to use for a book idea I've got. Her husband (who happens also... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (4)
Burn, baby, burn
I'm a disco inferno Last weekend, Thing Two had a soccer tournament. It was a beautiful weekend. Low 80s, blue sky, light breeze. Perfect for standing on the sidelines and cheering for my kid. Because it was perfect weather, I... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (14)
Tradition!
A fabulous DIY project for the whole family! It is time once again for the birthday gauntlet at my house. Four birthdays in sixteen days. I'm not even sure if Bruce Willis could survive it. Live Free or Eat Cake... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 1:29 PM | Comments (2)
The wedding that was almost too much fun
Or possibly a cautionary tale on getting Jews drunk before noon Y'all are clearly going to get tired of hearing about my cousin's wedding a few weeks ago in San Diego because I simply can't stop talking about it. It... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (5)
La Penultime
Almost time to say good-bye Last next was the next to last episode of Gilmore Girls. I have love love loved this series since it started which is now long enough ago that Treasured Niece (the one who's in South... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 10:14 AM | Comments (13)
Happy Saturday, Chicklets!
Ain't it sweet I slept in this morning and it was fabulous. I've been gone a lot in April and we've been busy and this has been the first morning in a long while that I've just slept until I... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 12:57 PM | Comments (12)
We got to go to the aquarium
But at such a cost! I figured I'd better update all of you. I'm sure you were all at the edges of your seats, worried about me having to drive for miles and miles to go see Queen Califia's garden.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (4)
Family family everywhere
And being driven to drink I'm leaving tonight (yes, on a jet plane) for my cousin's wedding in San Diego. Thing One is coming with me. Cowboy and Thing Two are heading to Nevada for a soccer tournament that was... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (8)
The Paradox of Perception
Or that's a nice pair you've got More than once in the past few weeks, the topic of self-perception has come up. At one point, a friend told me she wished I could see myself as others see me. Not... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (6)
iLeen’s iPod Update
Or How Technology Rocks Except When It Doesn’t. You may remember the untimely demise of my iPod Shuffle. Despite the fact that it was my own damn fault that I shorted the poor little thing out with sweat (everybody else... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (5)
Woo woo is not new new to me
It's an old friend . . . practically a sister As I've mentioned before, my family chats with the dead so it's no surprise that the world of woo-woo is something I'm quite comfortable with. I have a friend who... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 11:35 AM | Comments (10)
Amish Friendship Bread
Not! Someone gave me Amish Friendship Bread starter a few weeks ago. My guess is you're all familiar with this stuff. There's a little container of "starter" which looks like whitish goo and a set of instructions. You keep it... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (42)
It's nothing to be afraid of
I'm not really dark, just dark-ish I come from a family that believes in talking to the dead. I'm not talking about chatting to someone's grave. They believe that spirits appear to them and speak. For example, Sissy Two claims... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (11)
Whiskers on Kittens
Some of my Favorite Things I've been a little down lately. Nothing terrible, just a little blue. I didn't even realize it until a friend asked why I was so subdued and I realized I was falling into some old... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (14)
We're Back!!!!!!!
And I'm ready to tell you something that's underneath it all! First of all, let us all take a moment to worship at the altar of Lani. She has been working tirelessly to get the site back up. In fact,... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 12:49 PM | Comments (8)
Tis the season
No, it's not! Cowboy and Things One and Two watch a lot of sports. This means that I see a lot of beer commercials. Also viagra and hair replacement commercials, but those are not what I want to talk about... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (10)
People
Completely clueless or out to get me? Last week was one of those weeks where I really start to wonder if the entire world couldn't collectively come up with a quarter to buy a clue or if everyone is out... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (8)
It's all in the jeans
Is that my ass or two bulldogs fighting in a denim sack? I went jean shopping this week. I will pause here for a moment while many of you join me in a shudder of horror. Just a shudder... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (13)
Unwed . . .
But still makin' promises Before I get to our theme this week, I'd like to take a second for a big woo-hoo for Ms. Alesia Holliday! Alesia's novel, Nice Girls Finish First, finalled in the Aspen Gold contest! It's... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 1:30 AM | Comments (7)
Baby, It's Cold Outside!
But there's nobody here, but us chickens . . . The projected overnight low here tonight is twenty-one degrees. It may get down into the teens over the weekend. I'm pretty sure when I lived in Wisconsin, that would... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (11)
My iPod
My private shame. My public heartbreak. I love my iPod. Love it, love it, love it. The sissies and my mother gave it to me for my birthday last spring and it was one of the most fabulous presents... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 10:45 AM | Comments (9)
Foot in Mouth Disease
I'd eat those words if I could. Okay. It's all done. We've survived everything but New Year's Eve and my sister's birthday and honestly, those two are easy. Now all I have to do is live with the consequences... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 1:00 AM | Comments (17)
I am never eating again. Seriously.
Right after I finish that leftover pasta. I feel as if my skin is a sausage casing and I am the fatty meat stuffed inside it. No. No, that's not right. I feel like one of those turkeys that... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (5)
Spin, Little LC Dreidels, Spin!
Happy Hanukkah! A joyous Festival of Lights to you all! We're in the middle of the fabulous eight day extravaganza that commemorates the Jews taking back one of those early temples (the first? the second?) from either the Greeks... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (11)
Care and Feeding, Part II
Show me a sign! So here is it, time for me (Cowboy) to blog. And yes, that first sentence is an attempt to procrastinate. That’s something that I seem to be rather good at. Some of the writers that... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (19)
I got nothin’
Zilch. Nada. Zippo. Bupkis. A big giant goose egg. I’m wracking my brain – or what appears to be left of it – and I can’t come up with anything decent to blog about. I considered blogging about going... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (12)
Come Closer, Little Chicklets
Let's play a game It's the end of the month here at the L.C. To celebrate surviving November, I thought we could all play a little game together. I first learned this game from my friend, J, who I... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (15)
Joyous News, Oh Chicklets!
WD-40 Dissolves Silly Putty! Yes. It's true. WD-40 dissolves silly putty. I discovered this yesterday when I found the sweatshirt that one of my friends' kids left here and realized that it had silly putty mashed into the fabric... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 11:03 AM | Comments (6)
Could Be Worse
Could be raining Last weekend, Thing Two's first soccer game (at eight in the freaking morning, mind you) took place in the pouring rain. Standing shivering under an umbrella early on a Saturday is not my favorite thing to... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (9)
Confessions of a Grinch
Holiday Horrors Exposed I am the Holiday Horror in my house. The second the holiday decorations start hitting the store, which I think is August now, I start stomping around, complaining, snapping at people and generally making everyone's life... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (9)
Parent Teacher Conferences
The horror! The horror! Through the course of my academic career, I have had some truly fabulous teachers and some notorious stinkers. I have had the teachers that tried to squelch every creative impulse that they could sniff out... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (10)
Hooked and lovin' it!
Although everyone else is having second thoughts. I love to crochet. I adore it. I think it's more fun than a barrel full of monkeys. I find it relaxing, meditative, calming. I find it's something to do with my... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (19)
Be a Dentist, My Son
But leave me alone I had to go to the dentist this week. I hate going to the dentist. It is not my dentist's fault. She is a lovely woman, gentle as a lamb and sweetly supportive despite the... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (15)
Foot Fashion Faux Pas
Missteps I am so not a fashionista. It is perhaps why Amy's post earlier this week about the endless black sweaters struck such a chord with me. Oh, yeah, the black sweaters, the black shoes, the black dresses. I... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (8)
Mommy is always right.
But please don't tell her. I cannot begin to tell you how many conversations between my sisters and me have started with the phrase, "Don't tell Mommy, but . . ." I don't know why we bother. She has always... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (13)
Yo ho ho! It's a pirate's life for me!
Or not. Firstly, my proud chickadees, ye should know that today be Interational Talk Like A Pirate Day! So, avast me hearties! Let us all use the five As (Ahoy, Avast, Aye, Aye Aye, and the ever popular Arrrgghh!) of... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (8)
If you wore it the first time around . . .
You may want to think hard before you wear it the second time around Leggings are back. I can say this definitively since there were at least three adolescent girls sporting them at Thing Two's band gig this past Saturday... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (20)
View from a Bike
Changing vehicles changes more than my gas bill I've been riding my bike more lately. This happened for a number of reasons. The biggie is that my heel still hurts like crazy so I can't run on it. (Insert sighs... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 8:56 AM | Comments (8)
Sliding Down the Slippery Slope without Realizing It
Or Why am I Wearing Granny Panties? First, allow me to warn you. I am going to start out this blog entry by giving you too much information. I shall proceed by giving you even more information you do not... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 5:00 AM | Comments (20)
Between You and Me
Secrets, intrigues and intimacies Back in the stone age when I was graduating from high school, at one of the many ceremonies held by different groups, I was awarded a prize by a number of my peers for a prize... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (12)
Cleaning out the closets
And breaking my heart School will start here in just a couple weeks so I coerced Things One and Two into spending a day cleaning out closets, getting rid of clothes that don't fit and toys that no longer interest... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 11:19 AM | Comments (5)
No Licking!
Michelle said so First of all, I'd like to apologize for not posting anything from Nationals. I have the double hand-me-down laptop and I'm not sure how to make it do that stuff and having left Cowboy to the tender... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:00 AM | Comments (15)
Home Alone
Spank my fanny and call me Macauly I am home alone. I am home alone for the whole week. It's just me and the cats. I can't even tell you how it happened. The stars aligned. Thing Two got a... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 11:57 PM | Comments (8)
I am so not a morning person
So why am I getting up at five-freaking-thirty? Okay. This blog is going to be a total letdown after yesterday. The Hot Topic thing was too much fun. Let's all take a second to applaud Alesia for having such a... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 10:09 AM | Comments (11)
Breaking Up is Hard To Do
But some guys really really stink at it I have never been dumped. No guy has ever given me the "It's not you, it's me" speech. Nor has anyone ever dumped my clothes on the lawn or told me its... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 10:53 AM | Comments (7)
Dorkmeier Alert!
Incoming! Dive! Dive! Once again, I'm just going to get it out in the open. I am taking autoharp lessons. Yes. Autoharp. That instrument with the strings that your third grade music teacher hauled from classroom to classroom. I am... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:44 AM | Comments (8)
School's Out for Summer
School's Out Forever Okay, it's not out forever, but it's out until some time in late August and that's pretty darn good. I do realize that school has been out forever for me for quite a while, but it's still... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 11:05 AM | Comments (7)
A Cry for Help
Stop Me Before I Kill Again I am a plant killer. There. I've said it. It's out in the open now. It's no longer a dirty, nasty, little secret eating away at my very soul. It's embarrassing, maybe even shameful,... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 10:57 PM | Comments (14)
The Birthday Gauntlet
I have survived! At first, I was afraid. I was petrified. No. Not of 70s disco (although there are some scary moments there!) or even of ironic covers of 70s disco. I tremble with fear at having a streak of... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 10:52 AM | Comments (12)
Back to Life.
Back to Reality. I'm back from RT 2006. I am no longer an RT Virgin. (Hmmm. Maybe I should have used Madonna lyrics instead of En Vogue). This is no longer the view from my window. And yet, I'm still... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 11:04 AM | Comments (7)
Switched at birth . . .
. . . but with whom? I am packing to go to the fabulous Romantic Times Convention in Daytona Beach, Florida. Actually, by the time you read this, I'll have been there for a few days. Being somewhat computer impaired... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 8:00 AM | Comments (11)
Comebacks
Of the witty, snappy and sassy variety Ah, those bon mots! That snappy dialogue! Those witty remarks that leave your verbal opponent stunned by both your rapier wit and your oh-so-very-rightness. They all have one thing in common. I don't... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 10:36 AM | Comments (13)
Kickin' Butt and Takin' Names
But only in my dreams Despite recent newspaper reports, I am not Xena. Or Dark Angel. Or Witch Blade. Or Sydney Bristow. I just so wish I was. Yes, I wish I was an action heroine. I wish I was... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 10:54 AM | Comments (9)
Serving Peace, Truth and Justice
I've got jury duty. Yep. I got the letter in the mail about showing up for jury duty. When I tell most people this, they start to explain to me how to get out of it, but the truth is... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 10:50 AM | Comments (5)
I've Been Tagged!
Back to you, Misa! Misa Ramirez has tagged me. It looked like fun, so here goes: FOUR MOVIES YOU WOULD WATCH OVER AND OVER • Gone with the Wind (Just like you, Misa! The characters, the costumes, the scenery, Clark... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 11:09 AM | Comments (7)
Jenny Crusie Thinks I'm Cute.
Shallow and proud of it. I've been gone all week. I left Davis last Thursday to go to the fabulous NEC RWA Let Your Imagination Take Flight Conference. It was great. There were terrific people and interesting workshops. I learned... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 10:00 AM | Comments (8)
There's a Battle?
We don't need no stinkin' battle. I am the only girl in my house. Things One and Two are, as they say, all boy so there are almost always dirty soccer cleats, rockclimbing gear or footballs strewn around my living... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 10:43 AM | Comments (7)
Sometimes the lonelist number is two.
Life inside the wrong relationship can be way lonelier than being alone. I think the loneliest year of my life was the year I spent in Boston with Husband #1. (Yes. I am a multiply married Chick with two under... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 7:34 PM | Comments (10)
One More Wedding Entry
Because it was just so darn beautiful. I know LAST week was Bride Week here with the Chicks and that this Sunday should be the kick off of, um, well, Not Bride Week, but I have to make one last... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 1:38 PM | Comments (4)
Dum Dum Da-Dum
It's Bride Week! Yep. It's Bride Week here with the Literary Chicks. In honor of my new book, UN-BRIDALED, which is a runaway bride/secret baby/cowboy/reincarnation book, we will be talking about brides all week. Feel free to talk about secret... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 12:29 PM | Comments (3)
And now for something completely different!
Crimes and Felons Theme Week! It is finally here! Alesia's new series has started. The first December Vaughn Mystery -- BLONDES HAVE MORE FELONS -- is in a bookstore near you. I'm excited to read it because I like everything... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 1:00 PM | Comments (6)
Am I My Sister's Keeper?
Apparently not. My sisters and I are close. Very close. Really very completely close. How close you ask? So close that I carry a separate cell phone that I use only to talk to my sisters an my mother. We... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 12:18 PM | Comments (4)
Hello, My Name is Eileen.
And I'm an Olympaholic. I love the Olympics. From the goofy opening ceremonies to the weirdly cloying personal interviews to the fake fireplace behind Bob Costas. I completely groove on them. I particularly love all the weird sports that I... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 12:59 PM | Comments (11)
Debauchery.
It's just not for me anymore. Last night, the stars aligned and Things One and Two were both invited to spend the night elsewhere. As it happened, one of Cowboy's friends, Lynn Asher, and her good buddy, Allison Paige, were... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 12:06 PM | Comments (10)
Piecin' it together . . .
. . . one piece of discarded clothing at a time. I have taken up quilting. Yes. I know I needed another hobby like a hole in the head, but there it is. I'm not sure what put it in... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 11:34 AM | Comments (9)
BFF (Best Friends Forever)
But why? My best friend just left. She’s been visiting for the past week from Wisconsin. She is not my only best friend (I am not actually in junior high anymore, I’m just immature), but she has had tremendous staying... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 11:47 AM | Comments (10)
Being late . . .
. . . and early at the same time.! The first thing I think of when I think of being late is when I looked at my husband of approximately two months and said, “Honey, I’m late. I’m thinking that... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 12:11 PM | Comments (14)
It is soooo great to be here . . .
Sittin’ at the cool girls’ table at last! When Alesia, Lani and Michelle asked me to be part of the Literary Chicks, I pretty much thought I’d died and gone to heaven. It’s a little embarrassing, but I have kind... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Eileen at 11:00 AM | Comments (21)
Introducing... Eileen Rendahl!
Combining coffee, tattoos and Antonio Banderas to serve you better. Don't thank us now. It's our pleasure. As part of our launch week for the new and improved LiteraryChicks.com, we're doing a series of cross-interviewing so y'all will have a... $MTEntryExcerpt$>Posted by Lani at 6:00 AM | Comments (19)

