happy v-day

I've been in a huge "winter funk" lately. Which basically means I don't want to do anything that requires effort or energy. Perhaps I'm hibernating. Or perhaps I'm suffering from S.A.D. Whatever the case, I finally decided to take a trip to the Asian food store by my house. There I gleaned all sorts of motivation to be productive and cook delicious foods.

I also gleaned some delicious purchases. All of them happen to be Korean, but I'm a tad biased that way since I lived there for a year:

Stuffed green-tea pancakes, Kalbi marinade and Aloe juice!

I made the brown-sugar stuffed green-tea pancakes this evening. They're very sticky and sweet, a perfect combination.

They went perfectly with the cookies my mom and I made for Valentine's day. (We make them every year, it's something of a tradition!)

I also tried my hand at Coconut Chicken with Sweet Chili Sauce. It was delicious, but where were a lot of dishes to clean up from it. Also, I dropped an entire piece of chicken on the floor, which this one swallowed whole and then promptly upchucked again. Along with everything else in his stomach.

Good thing he's cute.

So all in all I think my "winter funk" is starting to fade. Things are happening (I got my very first glimpse at my cover today!!!! Yay!). Slowly but surely. Things that I can share and get excited about. 

And there was a beautiful sunset this evening after so many days of rain:

sneezing pandas

Working at a preschool has its perks. I get paid to play on playgrounds and read stories to kids all morning! One of my classes most recent favorites in the book department has been Chu's Day by Neil Gaiman. It's a book about a baby panda with a very powerful sneeze. There is, thus, lots of sneezing in the book.

I'm a huge Neil Gaiman fan, so I've been reading it to them basically every day. They LOVE it. Afterwards they run around doing fake sneezes and taking our classroom's panda puppets and flinging them around the room.

It really struck me, watching them imitate Chu's whirlwind sneezes, how powerful books can be. They have the potential to mold and shape us. I don't know if that's rewarding or terrifying from the POV of an author!!!

Also, sidenote, I tweeted Neil Gaiman to tell him about my kids and he retweeted me!! *fangirl faint*

What I have NOT enjoyed getting from the preschool is Norovirus (aka, the stomach flu). This Saturday has consisted of lots of couch-laying, tentative tea-sipping and snuggling with my puppy. (Who is HUGE.)

GAH. The cuteness.

Book 2 is still coming along. Slowly, slowly. I so wish I could write a perfect first draft in a month, but this just isn't how it happens for me. I'm on month 5 now. And about 75k in. Closing in on the end (hopefully), but who knows when that will happen!

And then there's revising...

Okay, I'm going to stop rambling and sleep more on my couch.