Anne & May

 
 
 
 

October 19, 2010

This Fall

Hello. It’s been awhile. I’ve missed you. It’s been a crazy fall, but in a good way.

For instance, in the past few weeks:

I went to Indianapolis and hung out in an apparently abnormally dark room.

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I went to Grand Rapids, where Wayne had a piece in a big art competition called ArtPrize. Basically the whole city turned into one big art gallery. It was cool. Wayne’s piece was awesome (it’s the big aluminum foil one in the middle).

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We stayed in a very nice hotel right on the Grand River.

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While we were there, we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. Five years! Craziness!

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To commemorate five awesome years together, we went to Portugal for ten days. I got some sun and some amazing Jesus souvenirs, which I will share soon.

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Then we went to Six Flags (awesome roller coasters!) and hung out in front of a big fountain of blood for Fright Fest. Last time I was there was with May, way back in the day before she moved away.

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That’s pretty much the highlights.

So what have you been up to?

Filed under : Uncategorized
By annedayton
At 5:33 pm
Comments : 6
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

October 2, 2010

We’ve Been Short-Listed for the INSPYs!

Well, blow me down. I opened my inbox today and discovered we’ve been short-listed for the INSPYs, which is an faith lit contest organized by bloggers. Even cooler, there’s a badge. Check in!

We’ve been nominated in the Young Adult category for our book A Little Help From My Friends and we’re right there next to our dear friend Donna Freitas for her book This Gorgeous Game. Anyway, I just wanted to say a huge thanks to the INSPYs for this nod. You should hop over there and check out the other short-listed books!

Filed under : Holy Moly, Reading and Writing
By May Vanderbilt
At 11:07 am
Comments : 6
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

September 20, 2010

A Dream Come True

I just had to share this.

When we were in Cape Cod over the summer, Wayne and I went to a garage sale, because we are those old ladies who stop at every garage sale and flea market we pass, looking for deals. Well, at this one sale in Cape Cod, I found something I really wanted. It was a fake fire. You know, like they use on stage in bad theater? The kinds that has a light bulb behind red plastic things that turns to it looks like the fire is dancing? Yeah. It was amazing.

But Wayne did NOT want me to spend four dollars on this beauty, mostly because we, well, we don’t have a fireplace. He didn’t want me to get it since I didn’t have a place to put it. I told him I would put it in the bathroom. It would be ironic. My mom, who was with us, thought I had lost my mind. In the end, he convinced me to leave that beauty behind, four dollars richer.

I’ve regretted it ever since. I recently listed it as my biggest regret of the year so far. I should never have given up my dream for a man (even if the man was my husband and my dream was having the most ironic living room in Brooklyn).

But here’s how I know my husband loves me. He was at a tag sale this weekend while I was out of town, and he sent me an email saying he found something I was going to love. I came home to this:

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HE BOUGHT ME A FAKE FIREPLACE! This one is deluxe, too, because makes a crackling noise, and it has a heater too, just like a real fire does. And this one only cost three dollars, so it really is a better deal.

I can’t wait to curl up in front of it on long winter evenings and watch the plastic spin. Maybe we’ll even have a Christmas party and we can all gather and sing carols in front it.

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Now, I showed the photos to our friend Lulu, who immediately warned me to be careful because her husband’s house once burned down because of a fake fire, and that gave me pause. I mean, burning my apartment down is like my greatest fear. But then, I thought, that’s just TOO ridiculous. My ironic fake fire cannot cause a real fire, because that would be so much irony the world would explode. (Which would cause a fire of its own, I suppose). For now I’m just going to sit here and watch the plastic flames and think about how my dream has finally come true.

Filed under : Uncategorized
By annedayton
At 4:36 pm
Comments : 7
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

August 19, 2010

What Do You Do When You Disagree With a Review?

Anne and I have had some bad reviews in our day. In fact our first review ever was from Kirkus Reviews and it was EVISCERATING. Baptism by fire, as they say. I read it once and promptly began to sob at work. But for the most part we’ve been really lucky. Most reviewers–professional and non–have been kind to us, have seen what we were trying to do and celebrated it, have turned a blind eye to our books’ faults.

That’s not to say that we don’t still get bad reviews or that they don’t still hurt, though. A few weeks ago, this review from Radiant Lit (no relation to the magazine, it seems) tripped my Google Alert and I hopped over to read it. It’s somewhat okay but at the end the reviewer says:

The portrayal of Riley’s struggle with her faith troubled me, however, through comments she made that bordered on sacrilege to my conservative ears. I find such portrayals inappropriate in a Christian novel.

Maybe I expected too much from the book, but I found little to strengthen my own faith, not to mention that of a younger, or less experienced Christian. If I remove the label “Christian fiction” from the book, it’s more enjoyable and easier to read, so I guess it just depends on what you’re looking for as to how well you like it. I know I prefer a stronger dose of faith in my reading than most.

Rated G – Nothing inappropriate.

(It’s okay to snicker at the end when you reach the G rating thing. I know I did.)

She concedes that “Love Will Keep Us Together is aimed at a teenage audience and the young adult market, and as such, it’s well written with a strong storyline and likeable characters,” but it is Riley’s struggle with her faith that upsets her.

Anne and I have always strived to portray what it’s actually like to be a Christian living in the real world. The ups, the downs, the doubts, the failures, and the triumphs. As anyone who has read the entire series knows, Riley struggles with her faith quite a bit (maybe even the most of any of the characters). She doesn’t have Ana’s unwavering confidence in God or Zoe’s true heart. And her home life is very messy.

To me, Riley’s struggle with faith is EXACTLY the kind of thing that needs to be in Christian fiction and is especially suited for a “less experienced Christian.” In high school I was right where Riley was in this book. I too struggled with hypocrisy at my church and questioned what God really wanted for my life. I think it would have been a great comfort for me to know that I was not the first person who had felt this way and that there was a way to deal with these feelings and still remain within the fold.

Anyway, something about this particular review really bugged me and I haven’t been able to just move on. It’s hardly our first and it won’t be our last, and there’s nothing I can do it about, but I suppose venting helps. Thanks, guys.

Filed under : Holy Moly, Reading and Writing
By May Vanderbilt
At 8:08 pm
Comments : 12
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

August 10, 2010

So far this summer…

Several of you have asked whether we are actually still alive. I am pleased to say that yes, we are, in fact, and we’re still blogging. If, you know, ‘blogging’ means your forget to blog for weeks at a time.

The truth is, we decided to blog less, and then it got hot, and I lost my mind and was too wrapped up in the fourth season of Friday Night Lights to remember to do much of anything else.

The cast is shown here, as if they all happened upon each other randomly in the middle of a dirt road.

So let’s see. What all has happened since we last spoke?

I have acquired another foot injury, which I think brings my total up to six in the last six years. My doctor thinks it might be a stress fracture from running. On the one hand, I want it to be a stress fracture, because a stress fracture means you’re tough, because you felt the pain and kept on running anyway. On the other hand, a stress fracture means you’re insane because you felt the pain and kept on running anyway. Which is a totally idiotic thing to do unless you’re being chased by a bear, which I was not. So I’ve been spending a lot of time recently engaged in my favorite hobby of complaining loudly about how when someone walks onto the subway and their foot is wrapped up and they’re standing on one foot and holding a crutch, you should probably offer them your seat. Not that it helps.

I went on a couple work trips, one to St. Louis and one to Orlando. I finally understood why some people hate summer. New York is humid, but nothing is humid like St. Louis is humid and Orlando is humid. I walked by the arch but did not have time to go up, and drove by DisneyWorld but did not have time to go inside. It’s rather unfortunate that they expect me to work on work trips.

My aunt passed away, so we went to Connecticut for the funeral last week. She was old and it was not unexpected and I didn’t really know her all that well, but it was sad nonetheless, as well as further proof that it is not good for your health to be related to me.

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Here’s us afterward, apparently posing for our album cover. Please note the awesome way my sneakers accent my dress and really pull the whole look together.

I went to a fancy-schmantzy wedding in Long Island where we were told to stick around because the fourth and final band of the night (four bands!) would be A-MAZING. We were sure it was going to be Billy Joel, being in Long Island and all. It was an Elvis impersonator, which I have to say was almost as awesome.

I had never seen an Elvis impersonator before, and it was everything you would expect it to be. Now I am fulfilled.

That’s pretty much the highlights of my summer so far.

What have YOU all been up to?

Filed under : Uncategorized
By annedayton
At 5:14 pm
Comments : 9
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

June 23, 2010

Look Who I Met!

Anne and Serenity

That’s me and Serenity!

Meeting her was awesome, as expected. I already knew that, of course, but it was cool to have her awesomeness reaffirmed.

Have I mentioned that you should all come to New York and hang out?

Filed under : Uncategorized
By annedayton
At 7:21 pm
Comments : 6
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

June 13, 2010

(Thank God) Wonders Never Cease

I don’t know about you, but I’m having one frantic summer. I went to a conference last week and worked from 8am-10pm every day and now I’m a fragile shell of a human being. And what’s even more frustrating is that my church hasn’t been much good in helping me refill ye olde well.

It’s now been a FULL YEAR since we had a pastor. The one I loved retired and since then we’ve officially been on the search for his replacement. Don’t get me wrong. I know we need to wait for the right person, but this is getting a little ridiculous. In the meantime, very well meaning congregants have been filling in but I really need consistency. This past year has taught me that I want to bond with the person who is standing up there every Sunday and I don’t do well with a rotating cast of characters.

But I have found something new and cool to get me through in the meantime. Well, new isn’t quite right. Reborn might be the better word. Our friend Rebecca Ramsey has written the awesome blog, Wonders Never Cease, for years, but a few weeks ago she made a big decision. She decided to change the direction of Wonders to have more of a focus on the spiritual and the effect has been wonderful. And the new design is beautiful too.

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Now every day she posts insightful, funny, and whimsical thoughts on life, faith, and everything in between, weaving in some of the best quotes from the bible. And for me, it’s been a total life-saver during this hot and hectic summer of my discontent. If you haven’t checked out her blog lately, you should hop over there.

But I’m also wondering how you guys refill the old well when you’re running on empty. What with the economy still recovering and the kids home from the school, I can’t be the only person going crazy, right? Do you have some time-tested secret, like sleeping late or even watching reruns of your favorite TV show? Volunteering, maybe?

Filed under : Holy Moly
By May Vanderbilt
At 7:35 pm
Comments : 7
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

June 7, 2010

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

So you may have noticed I’ve been MIA (or you might not have).

It’s because I’ve been out of town. For, like, ever. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

I started off the trip with my brother’s law school graduation.

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Somehow this is the only picture I managed to snap of the entire occasion. Note the startling lack of graduates. But there was much pomp and circumstance, and big egos, and entitlement issues, and free lunch, and much fun was had by all. My brother will (hopefully) pass the bar and become a corporate drone by the fall. Congrats!

Then my family went to Cape Cod for the week. It was lovely, and full of drama, and I wouldn’t change any of it.

My photos of this part of the trip are likewise odd.

Here’s me and my brother with my dad out behind a bathroom in Provincetown.

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Here’s a giant anchor, which we seem to have five different photographs of.

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Here’s me and Wayne some place I can’t identify, but is sandwiched between other photos of the trip, and must be from there somehow.

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He’s a bog of some sort.

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Then we came home for a night and headed off down to Washington DC, because my grandfather was being interred at Arlington National Cemetery. You may remember that my grandfather died last November, and we had a memorial service for him then. But today was what we’ve been referring to as The Big Show. My grandfather was in the Navy for 30 years, and he fought in three wars, and he loved to bore us with stories of boats (“it’s not a boat, it’s a ship!”) he served on, and so it made sense that he wanted that aspect of his life to be recognized on his death. So today, we had the ceremony where his ashes were actually laid at Arlington.

It was incredible. They had this horse-drawn thing and guys in navy dress uniforms (better than Fleet Week!) to escort him down to the place where they had a little service for us. Here’s a terrible picture of some horses’s butts.

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Then there was a 21 gun salute, which was seriously impressive, and the Navy band (or part of it, I guess, including a whole flotilla of guys whose jobs it seemed to be to stand around holding bayonets and looking pretty) played Taps, and we all cried.

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It was beautiful. He was a man who loved his country more than anything, and I don’t think he could have envisioned it better himself. It makes me happy to know that his years of service were valued and that he will always be remembered for serving his country.

We also took a tour of the cemetery, but were too lazy to get off the bus to look at the Kennedy graves (apparently I’m too young to understand the appeal) and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (which I saw when I was ten and couldn’t understand why this solider was walking back and forth in front of).  But there were several old guys on the bus wearing hats that proudly proclaimed them as veterans of Korea, or of Vietnam, and even a few guys from World War II still hanging on, and they were cool. I wanted to go up and hug them, but I restrained myself. Even though I’m kind of a pacifist, I have a nephew in Iraq right now, and probably for the first time understand what a big deal it is.

And as you see, my photographic record of all of this was sparse. At some point during the ceremony I decided that my uncle, who is a professional photographer and had a real camera (these are all brought to you by my iphone) was probably taking enough photos for all of us and I should just let him handle it. Which may not have been the best idea, in retrospect.

And then we did what you always have to do whenever you’re south of the Mason-Dixon line: find a Waffle House. Man, those are some good waffles. I think my grandfather would have approved.

I learned many important and insightful things on the trip, first and foremost of which is that I suck as a photographer, but most of those will have to wait for another day. This post has already gone on forever.

So anyway, that’s what I’ve been up to. What have you all been up to?

Filed under : Uncategorized
By annedayton
At 6:56 pm
Comments : 5
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

May 28, 2010

Books and New Friends

Look who I got to meet!

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That’s Deborah from Books, Movie, and Chinese Food,

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And that’s Amy from My Friend Amy.

They’re super cool. I got to meet with them today at Book Expo America, which is a giant trade show for books. Hooray for books!

Speaking of books, guess where I’m going tomorrow?

On vacation! Where I will read books! Many of them, hopefully. I had so much fun stocking up at the library and the bookstore and BEA. Seriously, I think planning out my reading is quite possibly my favorite part of going on vacation. It’s my time to read whatever the heck I want.
I’m bringing: Steig Larsson’s The Girl Who Played With Fire (loved the first one), Sarah Dessen’s Along For the Ride, Richard Russo’s That Old Cape Magic (I’m going to the Cape, after all…), Lauren Oliver’s Delirium (just got the galley today and I’m super-excited), and Rhoda Janzen’s Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. Oh, and I downloaded Michael Lewis’ The Big Short to listen to in the car. So that should keep me busy for the week.

Filed under : It's a Family Affair, Reading and Writing
By annedayton
At 4:38 am
Comments : 4
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

May 23, 2010

It’s Called a NetFlop

I was invited to the birthday party of a friend this weekend that STARTED at 10:30pm.

Shut the front door!

I begged the party planners to move it earlier and they just stared at me like I was nuts. Earlier? Why? I tried to explain that I hadn’t gone out at 10:30pm in ages. Sure, I had been out at 10:30pm, but I always get started at about 7pm. Starting at 10:30pm means you won’t be home till 2am.

At just the thought of this, my body and brain revolted as one. We can’t do that! We’re too old! So I bought her a fancy cupcake, brought it to work, and wished her a happy birthday there.

We’re getting a little long in the tooth these days so there’s nothing we like more than spending our Saturday nights watching a NetFlix movie with some Thai take-out and wine. Actually we did the math and we think we might be the people NetFlix loses money on. We have the three disks at a time plan and we are frantically watching and sending those disks o’ joy back. But every once in a while, someone puts a movie in the queue that SEEMS like a good idea at the time, but the moment NetFlix puts it in the mail, the disk begins to smell faintly of failure.

Does this happen to you?

Challenging foreign films are the worst about it. Nothing feels better than putting one of those in your queue. How educated and worldly, you are! You’re going to watch this film with subtitles that no one has ever heard of! But then the week happens, your boss yells at you, you hit the gym one too many times, it was your turn to cook the family meal, and you’re pooped on Saturday night and the challenging foreign film now just feels like a chore. Instead you reach for the brainless chick flick, mumbling something about how you’ll watch the challenging foreign film tomorrow.

But tomorrow turns into “next week” and then “soon” and eventually “someday,” until one dark day you grab the stupid thing, shove it back in the cheery red envelope, and send it back. You wave, as it were, the white flag of defeat.

We have one of these at our house right now and for a change it’s not a challenging foreign film. Oh no. Instead it’s a much-loved summer blockbuster: Star Trek. When Star Trek came out, people RAVED about it, and I thought, Oh, let’s put that in the queue! But now that it’s here, I’m having trouble finding the motivation to actually, you know, watch it.

On Friday night as we passed it over yet again, I turned to the Mr. and said: Hey, what do you call a NetFlix you never watch? He shrugged.

A NETFLOP! I said gleefully and then we watched Up instead (which was amazing, by the way.)

I may send it back this week, but the power of the NetFlop is strong. If you’re cheap like me, you have this incredible desire to watch the stupid thing and get your money’s worth. But the truth is, it’s probably a better financial decision just to send the stupid NetFlop back.

Filed under : It's a Family Affair, Pop Culture
By May Vanderbilt
At 12:15 pm
Comments : 17
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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