My son's band played at the Cape Cod Mall over the weekend.

I used to go to shows. I used to date guys in bands. I went to Dead shows all over the East Coast and survived "festival seating" at a Pete Townsend concert in Brixton... and saw the Who's first and third "farewell" tours. Yellowman played on my college campus.

And now my 10 year old is in a rock band.

I don't know whether to feel old or pumped. One of the mom's from my Brownie troop went to see the Cure over the weekend, and said she and her husband went to the concert with the same couple they last went to see the Cure with - 25 years ago. I bought the Cure's greatest hits for my 12 year old this past Christmas.

What music do we listen to now? In the Minivan? Snow Patrol, Counting Crows, Entrain, Wilco, the Shins, the Spongebob soundtrack, Nickelback, James Blunt, Jack Johnson, John Legend...
and the Cure. The kids don't so much like the Who, and it makes me feel old to listen to it, oddly enough. But in the summer we still break out the Dead and Bob Marley.


What do other moms listen to - especially those who eschew American Idol.... ? Lemme know.

I need some new CDs in my minivan.

My First Award

I've been reading a lot of postings lately about awards my fellow writers have won... Have been nominated for... Have led to finding agents and signing publishing contracts. I admit it, I'm really jealous. Last year I entered the "Fool for Love" contest and didn't even final.

So I was Thrilled last night, when I received the Very First Award garnered since beginning my quest as a Serious Writer. And yes, it was for writing. Unfortunately, not for writing fiction. It was for being quoted on an international website, and promoting the cause of Girl Scouts to a wider audience.

It was a Girl Scout award.

But still, it was for writing.

I'm a Brownie leader for my daughter's troop. For Girl Scout Thinking Day this year (2/22), my girls participated in an international poster contest sponsored by "Nature's Voice, Our Choice," a really cool NGO promoting water awareness and access issues around the globe. The theme of the contest was "What Water Means to Me," and the deadline was World Water Day (3/22).

I wrote a letter describing our Cape Cod Brownies and how we as leaders incorporate water use and the oceans into our curriculum. I enclosed a picture of our girls on a field trip we took last September to a barrier island off the coast of Chatham that has since been reclaimed by the sea. The places we had visited six months before were now far below the ocean's surface, without a major hurricane, typhoon or natural disaster. Simply the power of the ocean.

None of our Brownies won the contest, in fact only one out of the twelve winners was even from the U.S., but in the press release announcing the winners NVOC quoted from my letter - as the closing quote to the press release no less. I was thrilled, and apparently so was my local Girl Scout Council.

So it's not a prestigious writing award - but I have the certificate and was applauded by my fellow leaders at the meeting last night. So I feel pretty good about it.

Welcome to My First Blog!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

After thinking about it for a while now, I've decided to just do it. I'm writing a blog. Now, for many of you reading this, I'm sure you're thinking "So? What's the big deal?" For a woman who lives by a color-coded schedule of which-child-has-to-be-where-at-what-time-and-why, it feels a lot like another commitment in an already overloaded schedule. And this is something just for me, not for any of the kids, or my husband, or the dogs, or my Brownie troop.... Then I look at the blogs by so many other busy writers and agents, and figure if they can find the time, I probably can too. And if I can't, there's always the handy "Delete" button.

The thing I have been doing "just for me" in the last two years is writing fiction. I have two finished manuscripts: the first started as a chick lit and has since morphed into a romantic comedy, and the second is a paranormal suspense. While still working on my second manuscript last summer, I promised my middle child I would write something he would like (my two older boys are avid readers; I still have hope for my daughter). I'm stuck on that one with just under 100 pages written... I know what I want to happen to the characters but can't seem to get them from Point A to Point B. So I put it down for now and am working on a historical fiction.

I know.

All over the place.

I'm still searching for my niche. And still searching for an agent who will decide she or he is passionate about my writing.