Category: Daily Life

So you might notice I changed WP themes. I feel like this one’s easier to read and more pleasing to the eye. And it looks like a notebook!!! What is it about website themes that look like notebooks being so appealing? If I handed you a real notebook and was like, “Here, this is my journal, you want to read it?” you’d probably go O__o and run the other way. But anyhow, I’ve been so frustrated by WordPress lately, but I think I’ve got everything updated now and maybe stuff will actually work, like automatically posting to twitter when there’s a new blog post. And maybe accepting it when I try and install new themes.

I’m taking a break from rereading the Percy Jackson books to reread the Pretty Little Liars series, since the new book is coming out, like, on TUESDAY. OMG. I am so excited for these new books, you don’t even know. And yeah, I know the books could have ended after the 8th one and been done, but I can’t get enough of Sara Shepard’s writing, and I am so addicted to these books. If you haven’t read them, the description that got my interest was that it’s like Desperate Housewives for teens. And it is.

Today I went for a walk and found a giant middle school that was actually half middle school, half high school. Facing one way, it’s a middle school, and facing the other way, it’s a high school. They both have different names and seem to be separate entities that meet in the middle, like CatDog. And speaking of things that are half one thing and half another, I also saw a cat whose front half was short haired and whose back half was long haired. We stared for a while, each of us perplexed by the other, no doubt.

• by Chelsea Campbell
• Posted on July 3, 2011
• Leave a comment on New Theme

It’s Valentine’s Day! And one of the cats chewed on our Valentines roses we got and now it looks like we have slugs… in the house. O__O

The last week has been bad for my right leg. First, I jammed my big toe and now the joint aches a lot, especially when it’s raining, which is all the time. Then I slipped in the rain while putting groceries in the car and banged my shin really hard on the car door and there was this lump that swelled up and is super tender. And THEN because I was being careful getting into the car a few days later, I was too slow getting my leg into the car and the door tried to fall closed and smashed into my ankle. Gah. Nothing serious or anything, but still.

As you might guess, it’s gray here in Seattle. Gray all the time, except when it’s night out and then it’s pitch black. It’s so gray these days, you can’t tell what time of day it is, only that it’s not night time. And I have a vitamin D deficiency, which I take supplements for, but it never feels like enough. So I asked for an early birthday present and got this amazing sun lamp!

The picture doesn’t do it justice as far as how bright it is. It’s REALLY bright–I have to have it angled away from me so I don’t end up looking directly at it. The cats love lounging under it, and the roses sitting in a vase on my table seem to think it’s the real thing and have been blooming for it. I got it on Wednesday and set it up and my mood was INSTANTLY kicked up a notch or two. (Or three or… ten.) I didn’t realize how big a difference sunlight makes. I feel way happier with it, I don’t get down about the grayness outside, or about my horrible sleeping schedule which is currently so off-kilter I don’t even want to tell you what time I eat dinner. I’m much more productive at night and feel more awake, but the time when I end up pretty much only being awake at night, like some kind of vampire, can be really depressing. But now, with my sun lamp, it doesn’t bother me! And I have a lot more energy and actually *want* to be awake all day. And get work done (even chores). I feel fuller longer and don’t feel like I need to overeat. I feel like it’s summer, only without the heat. And I no longer spend hours every day desperately longing to be somewhere sunnier.

I’ve been distracted a lot lately with grad school stuff. I’ve been trying to find scholarships, but it seems like there’s a technicality on all of them that disqualifies me. >:/ So far I’ve gotten into Syracuse University and Rutger’s distance programs for library and information science (in case you missed my OMG, GRAD SCHOOL! tweets), and while I’m still waiting to hear from the UW, I’m falling in love with Syracuse SO HARD. I’ve already been invited to join a group for new students, and when I asked questions about a scholarship and was totally expecting to get a snippy response, the response I got was actually really encouraging and informative. I love the classes they offer and they’re big on entrepreneurship and supporting student projects, and their students have done some really amazing things. I kind of wish I’d gone there for undergrad, but that’s a different topic altogether. As is, I’m itching to send them my intent to enroll card, but I have to wait and see what financial aid packages I get, because while they’re at the top of my list, they’re also the most expensive.

Book wise, I’ve got two projects going. I made a wild claim on twitter that I was going to finish a draft of the new book by my birthday, which is in 16 days, and… Yeah, no. Not going to happen. But I’ve ended up getting stuff done on the not-so-new MG book I’ve been picking away at, so that one’s up to 15k and maybe almost half done. I LOVE what I have of it so far and I can’t wait for it to be done so other people can (hopefully) share the love.

My intention is to blog about writing on Wednesday, and hopefully make it a regular thing, so if you have any writing/publishing/author questions for me, comment here or email me: Chelsea@ChelseaMCampbell.com and I’ll post my answers.

• by Chelsea Campbell
• Posted on February 14, 2011
• 1 Comment on Miscellaneous Monday – Valentine’s Day, Sun Lamp, and Grad Schools

I’m taking a break from working on my statement of purpose letter for grad school apps and thinking about making fudge. I have these peppermint bark chips that I’m going to put in it and maybe sprinkle on the top (I have a dream of this coming out super beautiful and Christmasy, but it might instead be more of a blobby mass in a pan with peppermint chunks sticking out of it). Part of me wants to savor the idea of making the fudge, and part of me just wants to make it. After all, I’ve been savoring this idea since I got the stuff to make it last weekend, and after a while savoring loses its appeal if you feel like you’ll never actually do the thing. Or at least it does to me.

But anyway. One time I was in line at the store, and I was probably buying fudge supplies, and the cashier started telling me about her family’s tradition where they can’t make fudge until after the first snowfall. !!!! And I thought, “Wow, what a wonderful, magical tradition!” Can you imagine all the joy of wanting to make fudge but having to wait until it snowed? And then it snows and you’re stuck inside making warm nummy fudge and you feel SUPER festive because you didn’t make the fudge until it was for sure winter outside and because having to wait like that is kind of like waiting for Christmas to open your presents, and I imagine it makes the fudge that much more fun to make and it probably tastes better, too, since it’s full of anticipation.

But I can’t actually imagine having to wait until it snowed, because sometimes it doesn’t snow here until after Christmas, and sometimes it doesn’t snow at all. I don’t know if I have that kind of patience, especially without it being a tradition I was brought up with that I’d share with other people. But it doesn’t really matter because now every year when it starts to get cold and when I want to make fudge, I think of that lady and her family’s tradition and how awesome it must feel every year when it finally snows and they can make fudge. And that is enough magical fun time for me. (Imagining other people having to wait for treats is my idea of a good time, oh yeah.) (Also, you might think from this post that I’m obsessed with making fudge or something, but I’m really not. I like thinking about making it more than I actually like cooking it, and eating it gets old, especially if it turns out no one else wants any and you’re stuck with a giant pan full of rich candy that you can’t possibly eat before it gets all dry and gross, even though you cover it meticulously.)

So anyway, that is my story of winter noms as I sit here not working on my SOP. And of course now I’m thinking about how super magical it would be if it was snowing outside and I could see the snowflakes coming down on my balcony and the fireplace was lit and I was cooking up noms, and I think cooking up noms right now doesn’t compare. But on the other hand, working on all the things I need to get done might require chocolate. Mixed with marshmallow creme and heated on the stove and then covered in peppermint bark.

• by Chelsea Campbell
• Posted on November 11, 2010November 11, 2010
• 1 Comment on winter noms

So, oddly enough, even though I posted every day last week–which I never remember to do–I wasn’t even here! I was in the faraway land of New York City, and it was AWESOME. To be honest, I hated it the first day. It was outrageously hot and muggy and gross and not obviously sparkly and magical like I thought it would be. But I hate every new place the first day, so it doesn’t mean anything. I thought all the famous streets like Broadway or Fifth Ave would look *special,* but they looked like any other street, at least during the day. Broadway at night DOES sparkle–everything is lit up and beautiful and it’s always full of people and very amazing. The following picture doesn’t really do it justice, but it was the best I could get with my limited camera skillz.

From BEA 2010

I thought I would get lost in NYC, since I always get lost at home, but I was wrong! The streets of Manhattan are on a grid and I felt so independent because I could find anything and get anywhere under my own power. I was also the one in the group who was like, “Come on, guys, it’s only twenty or thirty blocks, LET’S JUST WALK.” I got a lot of walking done. It was this great primal, hunter/gatherer life of setting out each morning with miles and miles to walk throughout the day in search of food and socialization. And despite the heat and mugginess, I felt better and healthier than I have in a long time (and the humidity fixed most of my dry skin). It made me realize how dry it is where I live, despite the constant rain, and how I wish we had a little thing called sunlight.

From BEA 2010

Meeting up with people I’ve so far only known on the internet and finding out they’re even more fun to hang with in person was the best part of the trip. I met my agent, my editor, lots of other authors (mostly Tenners!) and bloggers. This pic is a bunch of us at the ill-fated Tenner lunch meet-up, where we walked several avenues in sweltering heat (and bad shoes), only to be turned away at the Burgers and Cupcakes place and have to hobble back to the Javits, where we ate a much needed food court lunch off on the floor.

From BEA 2010

One of the highlights of the trip for me was the signing I did at BEA. I got to the Javits (convention center where BEA was going on, aka giant glass building that someone told me leaks when it rains) at 10:00 unbreakfasted. I got breakfast at the food court, which was surprisingly grilled up right in front of me (and tasty and cheap) and then looked at my phone to see I only had 8 minutes to get to my publisher’s booth to be escorted to the autographing area. The exhibition hall was full of SLOW people who weren’t late to signings and apparently had all the time in the world to meander in front of me. (To my credit, I didn’t push anyone down or elbow anyone too hard.)

From BEA 2010

When I finally got to the Egmont booth, they told me my editor had already left, thinking I was there already. They said my fans were waiting, but when I got to the autographing area, all I saw was a couple stragglers for the people signing before me, and then empty space. I thought, “My fans are waiting, huh?” BUT it turns out there was so much empty space because they’d gated off the signing area until I was ready to start. In fact, it turned out there was a huge line waiting. O__o I later found out that Khy, Mitali, and Sarah had been camped out at the front of the line for half an hour. Probably a huge number of people in line were there on threat of death from Gail, who has been known to beat people with my book. (And now that it’s out in hardback, watch out!)

My editor had to ban anyone from taking pictures with me, because we didn’t have time, and he had to call for backup and implement the post-it notes system. It was only a half hour signing, and I signed as fast as I could, and we still had to turn a few people away at the end because there just wasn’t time. I was honestly not sure what to expect going into it. I knew at least some people would show up, because they told me they would, but I had no idea there would be such a large crowd!

This is a picture of the line, which I totally stole from Gail. They let me keep the poster, which I promptly framed. Best. Souvenir. Ever.

From BEA 2010

I stole this picture from Sarah. That’s me signing Mitali’s book, with my editor standing guard. (In Dia Reeve’s post, she referred to him as my “handler,” which made me feel like a wild animal. Or a spy. XD)

From BEA 2010

Since we were staying in Chelsea, everything was Chelsea ___, including this television studio. Since I’ve always wanted my own television studio, it was what I chose out of the many potential Chelsea items to capture on camera and take home with me.

From BEA 2010

And of course there was this lovely billboard across from the theater where we saw Promises, Promises. Apparently New York has bedbugs, and it’s a serious problem. If someone you love has been plagued by bedbugs, make sure you get them the help they need. /sarcasm

From BEA 2010

And since I don’t want to end this post with a picture of bedbugs, here’s a pic of the one and only Vordak.

From BEA 2010

• by Chelsea Campbell
• Posted on May 31, 2010June 3, 2010
• 9 Comments on BEA 2010

Since there are quite a few expletives that have to do with bodily functions, today I ask, why not barfing? It seems to me it’s been overlooked.

Like, you could say, “Who left this barfing skateboard on the stairs?! I could have broken my barfing neck!” Or “I have to go to the barfing grocery store AGAIN. It’s the fifth barfing time this week.”

And instead of WTF or WTH, we could have WTB–what the barf? “What the barf are these toadstools doing growing in my yard?!” (I barfing hate those things. *shudder*)

It could also be an insult, like, “You know that guy on American Idol last night? What a barfer!” And, for a full strength insult, there’s always “motherbarfer.” “Those barfing kids better get their motherbarfing toys off of my lawn!”

All in all, I think the English language is ripe for a fresh expletive, and it’s time for barfing to stand up and fill that role.

• by Chelsea Campbell
• Posted on April 30, 2010
• 7 Comments on A new expletive for the masses – aka WTB?

Yes, I know this is a pressing question on everyone’s mind. Or at least it was on my mind the other day when I started wondering what happened after the Odyssey ended and if Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, ever did anything cool. WELL. It turns on Odysseus had another son with Circe, due to his affair he had with her while trying to get home, and his name was Telegonus, and eventually he came to visit Odysseus or something, after his Circe told him who his father was, and it didn’t go well. He accidentally fights Odysseus to the death, not realizing he’s his father. AND THEN Telegonus, his half brother Telemachus, and Penelope, Telemachus’ mother/Odysseus’ wife, all go live with Circe. (???) And then Telegonus MARRIES Penelope, his half brother’s mother/his father’s wife (ew), and Telemachus marries Circe, his half brother’s mother/his father’s mistress (double ew), THE END. Oh, wait, and Circe makes them all immortal.

Needless to say, this was not the tale of adventure and coolness I was hoping for, and I was kind of grossed out and disappointed. Though this story came later, I think, and isn’t supposed to be Homeric, so we can all go, “Well, I’m choosing to believe it’s not cannon,” just like with the last to Pirates movies and move on.

More importantly, today I saw a sugary blue sheet cake with–wait for it–a picture from Avatar printed on the frosting. o__O They also had cupcakes, but the cupcakes weren’t big enough to print on, so they just had pictures printed on paper sticking out of them. At first I saw this display of all blue cakes and was like, “What holiday is it? What’s going on?” and then it wasn’t a holiday at all, just, you know, Avatar.

• by Chelsea Campbell
• Posted on April 26, 2010
• 5 Comments on Whatever happened to Telemachus?

While I was doing some research on the Anemoi, the four winds, which make an appearance in Shades of Rome, I came across this hat pattern. I decided to make it while the book is on sub and I’m waiting to hear back from editors, since it seemed appropriate. I started it a little over two weeks ago, just finished it tonight. And hey, it fits!

Obviously this should be my new author photo. You can also kind of see my glasses, which I promised to post pictures of but didn’t.

Here it is on its own:

And on a side note, I have another contest going on GoodReads, this time for a signed hardback copy of The Rise of Renegade X. The contest ends May 11th, the day the book comes out, so if you don’t win, you can go stare longingly at it in the store.

• by Chelsea Campbell
• Posted on April 21, 2010
• 3 Comments on New Hat!