Oasis for YA knows that the surest way to get good things in life is to be thankful for what you have. So why not encourage a group thankful-fest once a week in which we all send out good energy and hope to get some back in return? Plus, participating in Thankful Thursday is a great way to connect with other writers.
Here are the rules:
1. Do your own blog post on what you’re thankful for today. It doesn’t have to be book or publishing related (but it can be!).
2. Be sure to grab our badge and include it in your post.
3. Post a link to your blog in the comments here so that others can find you.
4. Go forth and share your gratitude! (And when friending new blogs, be sure to let them know you found them because of their participation in the meme.)This week I’ve lots to be thankful for. In the words of the fabulous Andy Cohen, Here’s What:
1) Last week I entered Brenda Drake’s Show Me the Voice! blogfest/contest. There were well over 100 entrants, yet somehow the first 250 words of my YA ghost story Where Poppies Bloom was awarded third place! I’m very thankful to the judges, especially lovely literary agent Natalie Fischer who’s going to critique my query letter. (Pardon me for tooting my own horn on this one, but yeah… I’m excited!)
2) My husband is at Ranger School. If you’re unfamiliar, Ranger school is an intense 2 month Army training school that is often referred to as a cross between boot camp and a concentration camp. I don’t use that comparison lightly. Ranger School is all about pushing participants to their physical and mental limits. Very little sleep (outdoors, in the rain), very little food (MREs), mind games, and miles and miles of walking with a hundred pound ruck sack. No fun! What, you might ask, does Ranger School have to do with being thankful? Well, I’ve been getting letters from my husband! Like, the old-fashioned paper and pen kind of letters. Plus, every night I get to write to him. It’s a little retro and a lot inconvenient, but there’s something so romantic about opening the mailbox and finding mail from someone you love.
3. This POST from Hannah Moskowitz about making a playlist for your WIP. Rules to write by. 🙂
4. Fellow writer/blogger Caroline Tung Richmond, and her recent mention of the online indie clothing site ModCloth. Cute clothes alert! I placed an order yesterday, which included this adorable dress (I plan to wear it to my husband’s graduation from Ranger School):
5. If you follow me on Twitter you might know that my daughter (three-and-a-half) had one of her teeth knocked out the other day. She was climbing up the ladder of one of those inflatable bouncy slides, slipped, and somehow nailed her tooth at the perfect angle to take it out. Needless to say, I was SO sad! Her new tooth won’t grow in for about two years, plus she was bleeding and worried that our dogs wouldn’t love her anymore because her tooth was missing. Ugh… heartbreak! Still, I’m thankful. It could have been worse. There could have been broken bones or a neck injury or any other number of tragedies. Plus, she’s still cute as can be, even with a missing tooth.
What do you have to be thankful for today?
katyupperman.com 
Aw, I LOVE that picture of your daughter! She is a cutie pie!
And yay for ModCloth! Doesn’t it have the cutest dresses? I wish I could buy all of them!
Thanks, Caroline! And yes, love ModCloth! Thanks for enlightening me to their awesomeness. 🙂
lovely dress- it’s swoon worthy, for sure.
letters are wonderful. I still get excited about the mail.
Your daughter is adorable, and YAY YOU for rocking out with voice.
Thanks so much, Katharine. I’m super excited about the contest, the letters AND the dress. 🙂
I love this post! You have a lot to be thankful for! And congratulations on placing in the voice contest! Yippie!
Today I am thankful that I have two weeks off for spring break after tomorrow. I need it so bad.
Two weeks for Spring Break?! When I was teaching we only got one… yes, you should definitely be thankful for your vacation. Here’s to lots of rest and relaxation!
a) i love your blog and don’t comment enough.
b) every time i read something from you i realize how much more we have in common and it makes me sad that we spent our childhoods apart and that i am just now starting to “know” you. 🙂
c) curious about how you end up liking modcloth – i love the stuff i see on the site but i am always hesitant to order – the dresses often look too short for me and i am afraid i’ll end up looking like i’m trying to be 23 instead of my age appropriate 36. lol
d) the letters from matt made me tear up!? how cool is that?!
e) sorry about claire’s tooth! saw that on FB and cringed for you.
f) still rooting for you and all the book stuff, which i don’t totally understand process-wise but am intrigued by.
happy weekend!
a) thank you, and please do comment whenever you’re so inclined.
b) same! better late than never though, right? 🙂 I still say we need to meet up in some warm, tropical location for a country music concert.
c) I always worry about the length of clothing because my legs are freakishly long. hoping ModCloth will come through for me. I’ll let you know after I try on the dresses I ordered.
d) aww, the letters make me tear up too! I never realized how much I took phones and email for granted!
e) ugh… the tooth! I still wake up in the middle of the night stressing about it. silly, I know!
f) ha! I don’t even get the book process sometimes! keeping my fingers crossed for progress with this manuscript.
Thanks, Carla!