Today has been a wonderful day! I got off the phone a few hours ago with Greenleaf Book Group, which is a division of Ingram, a major distributor and publisher. They called to tell me that they want to pick up UnInked! The Complete Guide to Tattoo Removal, and distribute it to all of the major bookstores, like Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million, as well as offer the book in over 900 independent bookstores nationwide as well as sell the book to libraries across the country. They are a top distributor and offer to represent less than 1% of the books that are submitted to them.
Needless to say, I am very excited and joyful that they want to distribute the book! I have a meeting set with them for January 4th to discuss the details. Greenleaf wants to republish the book with a new cover, and do an extensive marketing and publicity campaign. They believe the book will be a huge success! I am so excited!
I also was contacted by Baker & Taylor, which is a major wholesaler of books. They also want to carry UnInked! in their catalog. This is a major coup, and I am thrilled at all of the possibilities opening up to us in the world of publishing.
It's a great honor and a wonderful Christmas present to get this news today. It is particularly validating, and I am flying high at the moment. Yea!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
6 Days Til Christmas!
I can hardly believe there's less than one week between now and Christmas! Eek! Things have been hectic in our household for the past few weeks, and it will be nice to slow down and enjoy the holidays. Mr. Mustard's last day of work is tomorrow, and I am breathing a sigh of relief for him to be home and for us all to enjoy some good, quality time together. He has been working late- very late- every night. When I say late, I mean coming home after midnight and leaving for work by 6 a.m. the next morning. It's been rough. He's sick, and I have been dealing with my tooth pain. No fun! So, I am very much looking forward to spending the holidays together and breathing a collective sigh of relief.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
16 Months Young!
Paprika turned 16 months old on Sunday! Time is really flying. She is running everywhere, into everything, and is such a bright-eyed joy to be around.
She loves reading books- and can sit and read them for longer than anyone I know. Seriously. She would sit and read all day long if she had the choice. Before bed, we read books together for an hour straight, and she's not ready to put them down when we say it's time for night-night. She will let me read to her, but if I'm going to slowly or not doing it right, she'll take the book away from me and sit on the floor and she'll read the book outloud to me. Of course, most of the words are a little bit gibberish, but I know she knows what she's saying! And it sounds very conversational me. I sometimes wonder if all of the reading I did studying for the Bar Exam while I was pregnant with Paprika had an effect on her- she really loves reading!
In terms of words that she's speaking that I understand, there are hundreds. She picks up new words and phrases every day, and is able to put them together into sentences. Her new funny thing she's saying is "Oh, no mama!" which she says when she sees something going wrong. She puts her hands up to her face and gets a very concerned look- and then says it with the utmost seriousness. She says all sorts of other unexpected things, too- like today she pointed to a picture of a pumpkin and said in a very clear voice- "pumpkin"- I have no idea where she learned that!
She can name all of the farm animals, and what sounds they make. She knows her colors and can say pink, purple, and gold. She can point out and say all of the basic body parts- like eyes, ears, nose, hair, teeth, feet, hands, belly button, etc. She makes little sentences like "let's go outside" or "mommy, i go in car now!" or "let's go upstairs and take bath!"
She tells me when she has to go poop (or after she's already gone). That's proven to be pretty helpful, actually! I'm not planning on starting potty training for some time, though. We are still cloth diapering, and it's working out great. The fact that I don't have to buy diapers every week makes me less inclined to start. I think Paprika will let me know when she's ready. Right now she says "poo poo" and "pee pee" and wants to flush the toilet- so that's a good sign. But, we're in no rush.
Paprika is very outgoing and friendly to others, and is genuinely interested and excited to meet anyone and everyone. We've been noticing that she's started to get a bit more clingy to me. If I leave to go upstairs to get something, she will get upset and try to follow me. She only wants me to read to her at night, and is just very much a mama's girl right now. But, that's normal- and it changes weekly, it seems!
She is not afraid of anything, and is a true daredevil. For the past few months, she has wanted to walk down the stairs by herself- not slide, not go down on her bottom- but walk fully upright all by herself. Of course we are there to hold her and show her the proper way. But left to her own devices, she would bound ahead without fear. This happened last week. Mr. Mustard was helping her down the stairs to the garage, and she stood up and tried to launch herself down the stairs standing upright. Luckily, Mr. Mustard was there to catch her, but she came very close to falling head first onto the concrete floor in the garage. She gasped and I think for the first time really scared herself. Afterwards, she sat down and was much more cautious in going down the stairs. So, she's learning.
Paprika is also getting many new teeth! She has been working on her molars, as well as several other teeth, and is developing quite a smile. We're still nursing- and so far it hasn't been an issue at all, thank goodness!
She loves reading books- and can sit and read them for longer than anyone I know. Seriously. She would sit and read all day long if she had the choice. Before bed, we read books together for an hour straight, and she's not ready to put them down when we say it's time for night-night. She will let me read to her, but if I'm going to slowly or not doing it right, she'll take the book away from me and sit on the floor and she'll read the book outloud to me. Of course, most of the words are a little bit gibberish, but I know she knows what she's saying! And it sounds very conversational me. I sometimes wonder if all of the reading I did studying for the Bar Exam while I was pregnant with Paprika had an effect on her- she really loves reading!
In terms of words that she's speaking that I understand, there are hundreds. She picks up new words and phrases every day, and is able to put them together into sentences. Her new funny thing she's saying is "Oh, no mama!" which she says when she sees something going wrong. She puts her hands up to her face and gets a very concerned look- and then says it with the utmost seriousness. She says all sorts of other unexpected things, too- like today she pointed to a picture of a pumpkin and said in a very clear voice- "pumpkin"- I have no idea where she learned that!
She can name all of the farm animals, and what sounds they make. She knows her colors and can say pink, purple, and gold. She can point out and say all of the basic body parts- like eyes, ears, nose, hair, teeth, feet, hands, belly button, etc. She makes little sentences like "let's go outside" or "mommy, i go in car now!" or "let's go upstairs and take bath!"
She tells me when she has to go poop (or after she's already gone). That's proven to be pretty helpful, actually! I'm not planning on starting potty training for some time, though. We are still cloth diapering, and it's working out great. The fact that I don't have to buy diapers every week makes me less inclined to start. I think Paprika will let me know when she's ready. Right now she says "poo poo" and "pee pee" and wants to flush the toilet- so that's a good sign. But, we're in no rush.
Paprika is very outgoing and friendly to others, and is genuinely interested and excited to meet anyone and everyone. We've been noticing that she's started to get a bit more clingy to me. If I leave to go upstairs to get something, she will get upset and try to follow me. She only wants me to read to her at night, and is just very much a mama's girl right now. But, that's normal- and it changes weekly, it seems!
She is not afraid of anything, and is a true daredevil. For the past few months, she has wanted to walk down the stairs by herself- not slide, not go down on her bottom- but walk fully upright all by herself. Of course we are there to hold her and show her the proper way. But left to her own devices, she would bound ahead without fear. This happened last week. Mr. Mustard was helping her down the stairs to the garage, and she stood up and tried to launch herself down the stairs standing upright. Luckily, Mr. Mustard was there to catch her, but she came very close to falling head first onto the concrete floor in the garage. She gasped and I think for the first time really scared herself. Afterwards, she sat down and was much more cautious in going down the stairs. So, she's learning.
Paprika is also getting many new teeth! She has been working on her molars, as well as several other teeth, and is developing quite a smile. We're still nursing- and so far it hasn't been an issue at all, thank goodness!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Visiting Daddy at Work
We had a very busy weekend. On Saturday, we went to Old Town Pasadena, saw Santa, and did some Christmas shopping. We picked up some sushi, and came home and had a wonderful dinner together.
On Sunday, Mr. Mustard had to work all day, so Paprika and I made a daytrip and met up with Mr. Mustard for lunch at his office. Mr. Mustard is working on the upcoming show "Dance War" at the CBS lot. It was a great adventure meeting up with him and getting to see all the stages on the lot. On the way to his office, we passed through all the props for "The Price Is Right" and by the stages for "The Young and the Restless." Of course, we had to snap a few photos!
The Showcase Showdown from The Price Is Right:
The Late Late Show:
At The Young and the Restless Stage:
Then we went to lunch at The Grove, which is a very posh mall right next to the CBS lot. There is a secret entrance between CBS and the mall, and we were able to zip right over to the mall on foot without having to deal with the swarms of people trying to park at the mall. It worked out perfectly. We had a great lunch at the Farmer's Market, and even got to see Santa's Village at the Grove- it was truly a sight to behold. They even have snow that falls nightly at 7pm and 8pm. They have a huge Christmas tree that is in the center of their dancing fountain. Paprika loved looking at the water and was dazzled by all of the lights. On the way back from lunch, we ran into all of the contestants on the upcoming "Dance War" show. Mr. Mustard knew them all because he's editing the show and looks at their faces every day on his screen. So, we chatted with them for awhile. A good afternoon was had by all!
Paprika and Mr. Mustard in front of Santa's House:
Friday, December 14, 2007
A Day At The Park
Paprika and I took advantage of today's gorgeous weather to get out and have fun at the park. Paprika loves to run, run, run and be outdoors. She is learning how to play with other kids, and is infinitely interested in them. Today there was a 22 month old boy at the park, and she wanted to chat him up and play on the jungle gym with him.
She amazes us with her love of books, and her ever-increasing vocabulary. She surprises me with new words every day- like out of the blue yesterday she said "blanket" and handed me her blanket when she woke up in the morning. We really limit television- Paprika watches no broadcast tv, and only rarely watches a kid's video- like Sesame Street, Plaza Sesamo (Spanish Sesame Street), or the Pixar Animation shorts. But, that's not to say that she's not interested! She loves the Pixar short "Boundin'" and will go to the dvd player and say "Bounce!" when she wants us to play Boundin'. Then she wants us to play it over and over again, and gets really upset when we turn it off. But, that's life! :-)
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