To Those Fallen in Combat

This post is dedicated to Gary (Marc) Farwell and Elder McKay Choy Burrows. Both of them passed away recently doing what they loved most. And despite my beliefs, I find my stomach in knots every time I think of their families.

Marc's helicopter went down on Wednesday. He was a Black Hawk pilot. Though he graduated before I did, I am honored to have known him and his family. He represented the Waterford School and our country well. To contribute to an education fund for his children, please click here.

McKay, it almost sounds cliche to say, "I remember when you were born." Just last month, I was talking to your Mom, and I don't know if I've seen anyone prouder of her son. I love your parents, and I know you will be blessed for your service.

I am grateful for all our soldiers and missionaries. Words cannot express how much I appreciate the way you go out and do what most of us are afraid or unwilling to do. You keep us safe. You make sure the world will be a better place for my children.

DOs and DON'Ts of Vegas

Ah, Vegas. There are so many stories, I don't know where to start.

VALET: Doesn't everyone drop their car off with a valet when they go to hotels in Vegas? Apparently not. And that is how I got the nickname "Bux" aka Bucks, which I seriously think is a misnomer. Anyway, here are some tips before you drop your car off.
Do: Leave the driver side window rolled down with your keys in the ignition.

Don't: Sit in the passenger seat, look at the valet walking to your car, and sing, "She looks mea---eeen" with the window open. I'm sure the valet thought I was the one who said it because when she handed the ticket back to me, she said, "Don't worry. I won't bite."

In Brodi Ashton's defense, she hadn't been to Vegas in a long time. And the valet did look a little mean.

ELEVATORS: They are not as easy as they seem. While waiting for the elevators, we were standing with a man in a yellow shirt and his wife. The elevator doors opened, but it was too crowded so man in the yellow shirt opted for the next elevator.
Do: Press the button of the floor you want to go to.

Don't: Assume the button has already been pressed and ride down to one floor shy of where you want to go then ride almost all the way up again.

I pressed the buttons madly so we could stop as soon as possible and go back down. So finally it stops, we get off, catch the next elevator going down, and lo and behold, man with the yellow shirt and his wife are on that elevator. Yes, they recognized us. And yes, we looked like idiots.

Another Don't: Don't let this elevator-button-confusion thing happen to you twice. Like we did.

CONCERTS:
Do: Try to see a show if you have the time and money.
As previously mentioned in a different post, Emily Wing Smith is a huge Barry Manilow fan. His new show starts in March at the Paris.
Don't: Suggest over and over again that we should see the show before the show even gets there. I think the conversation went something like this:

Brodi: Okay, I know the tickets are kind of expensive, but let's just go. Tonight. Emily, you'll regret it if you don't.
Emily: Um, he doesn't get here until March.
[A few hours later.]
Brodi: Seriously guys. Let's just go buy Barry Manilow tickets. I don't care how much they cost.
Emily: His show isn't opening until March 5.
[Later that night]
Brodi: We're going to Barry. Let's go get tickets. I don't want you guys not to do something just because of me.

Imagine that happening ten more times. I'm not joking.

Okay, this is getting too long. More Vegas DOs and DON'Ts next time. Anyone else have fun Vegas stories?

LDS Storymakers Conference Info

For all you writers or aspiring writers out there, check out the LDStorymakers Writers Conference. Bree Despain, of The SIX, will be presenting along with other author friends. And, of course, I will be there too.

You can also enter their blog contest here for the chance to win dinner with authors James Dashner, Jessica Day George, David Farland, and editor Krista Marino.

North of Havana

Holy cow was Vegas fun! But I've decided to blog about most of that next time because today is Sara Bolton's birthday. There are so many reasons why I love her:

1) Of The SIX, I text Sara more than anyone. And that's saying a lot because I never text anyone.
2) She knows my tastes (both likes and dislikes) better than anyone. Just yesterday she sent me this pic saying, "Wish you were here" because she's still in Vegas for a shoe conference. I was totally wishing I was there.
3) Some of my most memorable moments have been spent with her: Seeing New Moon, being scared by the fake owl, rolling the dice with Carmine. Last night I got a text from her saying she saw half-priced tickets for the Thunder from Down Under show. If I were ever to go to that show, it would definitely be with Sara.
4) Being with Sara means laughing. Hard. Until I can't breathe. Love you, girl.

Okay, so Vegas. I'll start just with the road trip down for today. Brodi Ashton drove my car because Emily Wing Smith and I should probably not even own driver's licenses. And then it came to choosing music. Before you read the following conversation, you need to understand that Emily is a HUGE Barry Manilow fan. In fact, references to Barry make an appearance in her next book coming out in Spring of 2011. Anyway, we started with Taylor Swift. Emily put in her CD, and I chose a song.

Me: So Brodi, do you know this one?
Brodi: No.
Me: Okay, how about this one. It's really popular.
Brodi: No.
Emily: Play "You Belong With Me." That one's on the radio all the time.
[I switch it to "You Belong With Me."]
Brodi: Nope. Never heard it.
Emily: Okay, how about Barry. Do you know "Mandy?"
Brodi: Nope. Oh, wait. Does it go "Mandy, mandy, mandy, I can't let you go."
Emily and Me: Um, no.
[We hook up her iPod, and Emily plays Barry Manilow songs to get us in the Vegas mood. She, of course, starts with Mandy.]
Brodi: Never heard this song.
Me: Seriously? [I switch it to Copacabana.] Okay, if you haven't heard this song, something is wrong with you. [The intro starts to play.]
Brodi: Ooh, ooh. I know this one! Cococabana, right?
Emily: COCO-cabana?!! COPA! COPAcabana.
Me (to Brodi): Dude, you are embarrassing us. We are never taking you to a Barry Manilow concert. You're going to get us beaten up.

I think Brodi has been converted though. Mission complete. Any other Barry fans out there?

To Katie P.

I'm headed off to Vegas today! Can't wait. I'm going with 2/3 of The SIX: Emily Wing Smith, Brodi Ashton, and Sara Bolton. We are celebrating Sara's 30th birthday, so it's a monumental occasion.

But I can't leave before I post something special for Katie P. as promised. So here is a video of my sister Ashley doing a haka (Maori war dance.) It's funny because she has no recollection of doing this, and she kept claiming I didn't have a video of her. In fact she was so sure that I didn't have a video of her, that it was almost like she was daring me to show her proof. So how could I resist?


You're welcome, Katie.

Man of the Decade

First, the birthday contest winner is........Peppy! And she happened to be the last one to comment and enter the contest. I guess "last" really is the best of all the game. Peppy, can you email me (valynne@gmail.com) your mailing address? Also let me know which of the two books you want, and if you want it signed to anyone in particular.

Okay, so yesterday was Grant's birthday. Part of his celebration involved meeting my dad for lunch. While there, Grant got this fortune:

"Your secret admirer is concealing his affection for you."

I will try to be concise (although the whole story is incredibly entertaining) but here's why that fortune is so hilarious. When Grant was in high school, he played football. There was a kid who was a little unusual. I'll call him "Freud Natto." Freud went to a different high school than Grant, and many did not really give Freud the time of day, except for Grant, who makes an honest effort to be nice to everyone.

So Freud suddenly started showing up at Grant's football games. Then he started coming with posters that said things like, "Grant. Man of the Decade" or my favorite, "Grant is my friend." And then he began calling Grant's house all the time and was sort of stalking Grant. But one day my mother-in-law yelled at Freud on the phone, and it stopped. My mother-in-law is awesome. She's tough as nails and even has her own spear gun. Perhaps others will criticize me for making light of stalking in this instance. But what can I say? I'm crazy.

Happy Birthday, Hubby

Happy birthday, Grant! My husband is a great person because he is patient and long-suffering. I mean, he has to be. He's married to me. He loves me despite the fact that I am crazy (although only #4 crazy.) And I love him despite the fact that my family loves him more than me. (It's okay though. After living with my clone, Maile, I've realized I wasn't that easy to live with. But if you ask me after today, I will deny, deny, deny I ever said that.) Here's the card my family gave him. Just for the record, my parents are confused. I was not the daughter who spent the family inheritance. It was Ashley.

As a writing update, I don't know if I am going to make the Feb. 1 deadline. Lately, my writing style has mimicked Bree Despain's: I keep writing and re-writing and then erasing. Bree says this disease might be contagious since she had it before I did, but I'm hoping to recover soon. I'm also hoping that it isn't a mutating virus because once I recover, I hope to be immune. I doubt I will be that lucky though.

Anyway, I promised Katie P. something special this week, so be prepared for something awesome in the next few days. Also know that I hype a lot of things and then realize only afterwards that others don't share my same definition of "awesome."

And finally, don't forget to enter my birthday contest for a chance to win a signed copy of either The Dark Divine by Bree Despain or of The Way He Lived by Emily Wing Smith.

Mission Almost Complete

Okay, so a couple of things I should mention:

1) I have changed the name of my blog to Valynne E. Maetani. That's the name I hope to publish under when my book hopefully gets published ten years from now.

2) If you have not entered my birthday contest, do so right now!

3) Both of my sisters have finally learned how to click the button on the right sidebar that says "Follow," so my mission is almost complete. Sis-in-law insists she kicks my brother's shins nightly when she sleeps, so my mission is even more complete.

4) In my rush to get the contest posted, I forgot to mention that if you should be lucky enough to win, you can choose one of two prizes. I have already mentioned The Dark Divine by Bree Despain, but the other choice is a signed copy of The Way He Lived by Emily Wing Smith.

5) I'm thinking of joining Twitter. Any thoughts?

6) I like lists.

The Birthday Contest

First, a shout out to my bro-in-law Mitch whose birthday was on Monday. Despite his poor trash-talking skills, he is awesome.

And as many of you know, yesterday was my birthday. Here are some things awesome things about having a birthday:

1) You can get incredible shoes if your friend owns a shoe business. Thank you Sara Bolton.2) You can receive beautiful flowers and a plant (not pictured but still appreciated.) Thank you Patrick, Lani, Julie, Landon, Brayden, Haruyo & Linda.3) You can get lots of books and even one that's signed. Autographed books are my favorite. Thank you Emily Wing Smith, Kimberly Webb Reid, and Grant and kids.
4) Your parents can give you funny cards like this one. Even though I'm sure it was a lot more humorous to them than me, it was still funny.5) You can turn 26 again and again and again as long as you have friends & family who are just as delusional as you are.

And here are some not-so-awesome things that can happen on your birthday.
1) Your child can have a fever of 103.8 degrees.
2) You can have a nightmare where you see yourself looking in the mirror and find that all of your hair has gone gray.
3) You are another year older . . . and it's not just a nightmare.
4) You can have a younger sister named Ashley who insists you face the harsh reality that you aren't really 26.

Anyway, for my birthday, I have decided to have offer my readers a gift by having a de-lurking contest. And because signed books are my favorite, the winner will get a signed copy of the Dark Divine by Bree Despain. I can even have it signed to a person of your choice.

So here are the rules:
1) To enter, leave a comment.
2) If you are already a follower of my blog, you will earn two more entries.
3) If you become a follower of my blog, you can earn one entry that way too.
4) And finally, you must accept the fact that in my world, I have just turned 26. (Hear that, Ashley? I don't need your negativity messing up my reality.)

I've decided to do this because it occurred to me recently that the only family members following my blog are two sister-in-laws. Not my own sisters or brothers or even my husband. Lame. So I have to try to bribe them with a contest.

I guess I would say that you can also earn another entry point if you know these family members, and you give them a kick in the shins. The contest will end at 11:59 p.m. next Tuesday, Jan. 26. I will announce the winner next Wednesday.

Those Rascally Humans

Happy Civil Rights Day. Since I didn't have to work, I spent the day with The SIX getting writing done. Though I didn't get as much done as I wanted, I successfully brainstormed my plot with Kimberly Webb Reid, and received awesome feedback from Sara Bolton. These guys are miracle workers. And, with their help, I was able to revise my beginning pages and get them sent off, once again, to the editor of Flux.

So because I was gone all day, Grant had to take Maile to soccer practice. We've started her on a new team, and the coach is this military man, so it's possible that Maile has finally met her match. Here's how practice went.

1) Remember this child? Well, before practice Maile decided to draw all over her legs again with marker. One leg was green, and the other was red. When asked at practice why she did that, she immediately threw Grant under the bus and said, "My dad told me to do it. Blame him."

2) While running ladders, Maile decided to take a detour, suddenly, and run sideways (directly in the path of other girls) instead of straight ahead.

3) Maile told me that they did "finger eight" drills with the ball. We informed her, she was probably doing "figure eight" drills.

4) Apparently there were two teenage girls were helping them with the drills. According to Maile, their names were "Ashley and Ashla." I asked her if that was like "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum," but she didn't get it. I'm willing to bet a lot of money that the second girl's name wasn't really Ashla.

5) At some point, Maile slipped and hit her head on the ground. She told the coaches that she had to sit out for a couple of drills because she had a "migraine."

6) She also informed me that "only one human had to do push-ups for messing around." Yes, those darn humans are so much trouble.

So was your holiday as eventful?