My Christmas List

Dear Santa,

I am not sure how good I have been this year, but unarguably I've been better than the year before that. If you're still taking requests, here's what I would like for Christmas:

Tambourine (so I can be in a band)
Flight of the Conchords DVD
The self-discipline to work on the next book
A new belt for my turntable

Sincerely,
Ashley Crownover
Age 41

New Car

Tonight we pick up our new car, courtesy of that guy with no license or insurance who totaled the minivan last month. Actually it's more courtesy of the insurance company. Anyways, we're getting a Scion XB, a weird boxy-looking thing that is very roomy on the inside. I'm most excited about the stereo system, which is apparently very good. It also has a jack for MP3 players and a special connector for iPods. I cannot admit how big a selling point that was.

Oh Happy Day!

We use ourselves as a mirror, judge ourselves by our own standards, and forget that we don't know it all. That's why it's very interesting to read editorial opinions from around the world about the election of my close personal friend Barack Obama. Okay, he is not my close personal friend. But he is going to be my close personal president. I don't believe I have ever used the word "my" with the word "president" before. I already know more about the incoming administration than I ever have about any previous group--of course part of this stems from the need to continue trolling for news online, an obsessive habit developed over the past few pre-election months.

I've talked with several friends who share this strange new feeling of lightness, as though a burden has been lifted, and there is something to be idealistic about again. As Obama said in his speech on election night, "The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there."

Amen.

Return to/visit www.ashleycrownover.com.

Busy, yet unproductive?

It seems like all I do is work these days. There's been a ton of Tres stuff to do, designing newsletters, writing articles, editing...it's good, but basically leaves me no time or energy for that next book I keep saying I'm writing. But money is money. And you never know how the things you do today are going to affect tomorrow. I believe in fruition...oooh, I just looked "fruition" up at merriam-webster.com and it is quite the juicy word. I AM SO PUNNY! Oh my gosh I can't stop.

Lame-o

I have not been much of a blogger lately. Real life has been taking up a lot of my time. The rest has been spent looking at "In Style" magazine and worrying about what I'm going to wear to the Friday night dinner for the Southern Festival of Books.

Keeping It Clean

As I reflect on my relationship with my soon-to-be 17-year-old chip off the old block, I find it is difficult to express the complex, maddening, pain-riddled experience that is parenting a teenage daughter without using expletives.

A Sea of Red White and Blue

After the conventions, I feel submerged in an ocean of politics. I was very invested in the last presidential election but it didn't go my way. Now I'm scared, Mama, I'm scared!