Author Jen Meyers

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Crafting

I’m starting to look ahead toward the holidays and think about the handmade gifts I want to make this year—for my kids and our extended family.

We’ve done this for several years and I have to say that while it’s a lot of work, it’s something I love. In part because it doesn’t bankrupt us—I’ve never been a fan of spending loads of money for one holiday/birthday/event. I’ve always wanted to keep it small. And with kids around now, it feels even more important to keep it meaningful and manageable. Not buying something so there are a specific number of gifts under the tree for each child, but buying something they will find value in and enjoy in the long term.

And if those gifts can be handmade, at least part of the time, all the better. Last year, the kids all helped make each other a lap quilt. (Can I tell you how much my kids LOVE using the sewing machine? My boys floor it like it’s a sports car.) Each child knew they were getting a quilt as a collective gift from their siblings, but they didn’t know what theirs would look like. (It was a surprisingly well-guarded secret.) And do you know what? That was the first gift that each child wanted to open on Christmas morning.

Very wrinkly, very loved

We also like to make gifts for the kids’ cousins. And while I’m sure they’re not as instantly exciting as the latest, greatest toy, I do hope they are loved/enjoyed/used for years to come. (Last year the little cousins got superhero capes, an idea I stole from my sister-in-law who made them for my kids several years ago.) I’ve found that with my kids, the simplest toys get the most use. (Years ago I bought a set of colorful silk scarves and as soon as they were opened, all three boys decked themselves out in scarves. Five years later those scarves are still used on a weekly basis.)

So my plans for this year? I’m not sure. I’ve been mulling it over (and I really must decide soon!). I might try making lip balm this year—I think the kids would be really into that. I’ll be making toffee as I do every year. That’s become tradition for us. I have flannel to make warm rag quilts for the kids, but I’m not sure there’s enough time to get them all done. I’m feeling very inclined to make these monogrammed mugs stuffed with a bag of homemade hot chocolate mix for the nephews and niece—something my kids can be a part of making for their cousins, which makes those gifts extra sweet, in my mind. (And that I think my kids would LOVE to make for each other as well.)

There is nothing quite like the excitement that comes with making something for someone you love. You know?

Do you do this? Do you make gifts for the big holidays and/or birthdays? What will you be making this year?

 

By jen | October 22, 2012 | Blog |

On the F-word

No, not THAT f-word.

Fat.

At the end of last week, I came across “The F Word,” an article written by Jennifer Weiner posted over at Allure.com. You should go read it now. Just click the link. (Don’t worry, I’ll wait.)

Done? Good.

It got me thinking, I have to say. I’m slighty somewhat unbelievably and overwhelmingly sensitive to the word fat. Because I was fat as a kid. And no one would ever describe me as petite as an adult. I’m tall—5′ 10″—and I’ve never been smaller than a size 10. (Not for lack of trying, mind you. I feel as if I’ve been trying to be smaller my whole life.)

I have this clear memory of sitting on the floor in my grandmother’s living room, watching cartoons with my sister and brother while my mom and grandma chatted on the couch behind us. My grandma commented, not unkindly, about how I’d gained weight (again) since the last time she’d seen us. I froze, my eyes on the TV, my mind on my grandmother’s words. I wondered why she thought I couldn’t hear her.

It’s ironic how being large can make you feel so. damn. small.

Recently I came across my old medical records from when I was a kid and was crushed (as a normal-weight adult) to have been described as “obese.” It was upsetting to me THIRTY YEARS LATER that I’d unknowingly carried that title.

I have never liked fat jokes. NEVER. They’re not funny, they’re just mean. I hate it when sit-coms go there. Like on Frasier (how ever many years ago that was) when the actress who played Daphne was pregnant in real life, they just made the story line for her character be that she was gaining weight. And then they did fat joke after fat joke about her. For months. I HATED that. And was so disappointed that such an intelligent show would stoop to meanness.

I grew up fat, and even when I lost weight in college—went from a size *almost* 18 (which is what prompted me to join Weight Watchers—it was either that or shop at the fat store, a horror I was not able to just look the other way on) to a size 12—I still saw myself as fat. And even though I was thrilled to SEE my collar bones and *almost* felt thin because of them, I didn’t have a flat stomach (I never have and I’m DYING to find out what that’s even LIKE). I was smaller, but still larger than I wanted to be.

I was also convinced that no one would ever love me if I was fat. And that idea didn’t come from my life experience. I mean, I wasn’t abused or harassed by my family because of my weight. My parents loved me no matter what and they never harped at me about my weight or what I ate. And sure, I was teased on occasion for being fat (a few times even by my friends) but I was never bullied. However, the media I was exposed to (TV, movies, magazines, books) definitely had a loud and clear message: thin=loveable, fat=not-so-much.

I was so worried about it that I asked my first serious boyfriend whether he’d still love me if I was fat. I also asked my husband that same question when we were dating. Because I was so afraid I’d gain weight as I got older or that when I had babies I’d never lose the pregnancy weight.

And even though (outside of pregnancy) I’ve been a consistent size 10-12 for the past 20+ years and did, in fact, lose the pregnancy weight each time (four times, to be exact, but who’s counting?) (Oh wait, I AM) and I’m (mostly) at peace with the fact that it’s HIGHLY unlikely I’ll ever be a size 6…I’m still afraid.

Afraid of growing in girth. Afraid of being unlovable because of my size. (Which I KNOW is ridiculous because I LOVE people no matter what their weight, so you’d think I’d realize the same would hold true for me in return.) (But it’s hard to convince the little fat girl in me that I’m right.)

And maybe that fear is okay, in some ways, because it definitely keeps me on my toes. I don’t gain weight without noticing, and I change the way I’m eating to lose it again. I’m also a fresh-fruit-and-vegetable pusher when it comes to my kids. They’re eating a lot healthier than I did as a kid, and that’s GOT to give them a better shot at not suffering from fat issues like I have.  At least, that’s my hope.

In the meantime, fat is not a part of our vocabulary. (And, well, neither is that other f-word, either.)

What about you? Do you have similar or different issues with the word fat or your weight?

 

 

 

By jen | October 16, 2012 | Blog |

The Wrap Up

1. Steve just drove away with all the kids for another day of adventure so I can have a whole day to WORK. (He rocks my world, that husband of mine.) I have to say, though, that I always have  a few moments of panic watching them drive away. I mean, that’s my WHOLE FAMILY in that car and what if something happens? I have to tell myself that they’re safe over and over again…and then try not to think about it. Is it just me who does this? (I realize I’m insane. I’m okay with it.)

2. I’m not a worrier by nature. Or at least I wasn’t much of a worrier until I had kids. When they say that having children changes everything, they really mean that it changes EVERYTHING. I never thought much about death or dying before, didn’t worry about it. But now? I fear death with every cell in my body. I fear my own death (because I have four kids and I NEED to be here for them), Steve dying (when he’s late getting home my mind often goes there), and I fear losing a child. It’s not a paralyzing I-can’t-do-anything-or-go-anywhere kind of fear. It’s just something that creeps into my thoughts when, for instance, they all go off in a car without me. (I’m okay. I’m just going to take a deep breath, here, and remember that they’re safe and are destined to live long, happy, healthy lives.)

3. Okay! So I’ve got a cup of coffee, a toasty fire in the wood stove, and a quiet house. So of course the Big Plan for the day is revising Imaginable. I’m still struggling with the fact that it’s not going as quickly as I’d like but I’m trying to just let that go and focus on crafting a good story. Quality takes time. Maybe that should be my new mantra.

4. It’s all good.

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

 

By jen | October 12, 2012 | Blog |

A Good Cry

It was only recently that I found out a movie has been made of Les Miserables, the musical, and is coming out at Christmas. (I’m sure that’s old news to most of you, but we don’t have TV—I don’t know what’s going on.) Honestly? I was a bit distraught (okay, I was a LOT distraught) because I LOVE this musical like NO OTHER. And I’ve loved it for over 25 years. So my eyes rolled back into my head at the thought of it being butchered into a movie, at them ruining what is IN FACT the PERFECT musical.

Seriously. The first time I saw it on stage I swear I did not BREATHE during the entire show and realized (too late) that I should have brought an entire box of kleenex with me. Javert’s suicide gave me chills. That one note he sings as he’s falling—do you know that note? it doesn’t fit with the music at first, and then the music swells up to meet the note and it’s so amazing it just rips your heart out and makes you sob (right there in the theatre in the midst of all those other theatre-goers when you don’t have enough kleenex to catch all the tears)—listening to that song brings back that moment to me EVERY time.

Okay, you have to see it to know what I’m talking about. Skip forward to 4:30 and watch for about 20 seconds. It won’t make you cry, but it will give you a glimpse at the genius behind and power within the music.

 

See? (But it’s even more amazing in person. Trust me.) And then there’s “Empty Chairs At Empty Tables” where the ghosts of the dead line up behind Marius as he’s mourning their deaths. It’s POWERFUL. I mean the music and lyrics are amazing all on their own, but then when you SEE it. Oh. My. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s the perfect musical.

So I’m sure you can understand my concern about the movie.

And then I saw this. (Watch it.) (The whole thing.) (Seriously.)

 

O.O <——That’s me after watching it two hundred times (that might be a SLIGHT exaggeration…but not much). I’m in love again, you guys! I cannot wait for this movie to come out. (Or, more accurately, I can’t wait for it to come out on DVD because THAT’s when I’ll see it. I am SO buying this movie—and any time I need a good cry I’m going to watch it.)

On a totally unrelated note, except for the crying part, if you haven’t seen this video about the editors of Harry Potter making a 15 year old writer’s dream come true, grab the kleenex and click the link. Really and truly this is the most heart-warming, incredible, bittersweet-happy story. It’s so worth the watch (but have tissues at the ready).

Hope you are having a fantastic day!

 

By jen | October 10, 2012 | Blog |

On Craftiness (and Avoiding Revising)

I’ve been feeling so crafty lately—as in making-things-with-my-hands crafty. I’m sure it’s a combination of the cool, autumn air and the mental crafting I’m doing with Imaginable. I have this theory that craft begets craft—that if you’re feeling creative or working creatively in one aspect of your life, the creativity infuses many or even ALL aspects of your life.

So for the first time in a couple of years I’ve been overcome with the urge to knit and am almost finished with a quick sweater for my 10 year old.

(I’ve come to LOVE soccer practice and games because I can just sit and knit, rather than pine to be home and working on Imaginable and stressing that I’m losing time. I’ve traded that for the zen of knitting peppered with the satisfaction of making something with my own two hands. It’s a LOVELY flip for my psyche.)

I also sewed up these super quick fingerless gloves for the kids with some fleece a couple of weeks ago.

  

I LOVE sewing fleece because you don’t have to finish the edges—you just have to sew up the seams. They were so excited about their new gloves that 3 out of the 4 of them slept with them on that first night. It’s a lovely, lovely thing that something so simple makes them so incredibly happy.

Some of this craftiness, of course has been getting in the way of doing ACTUAL work on Imaginable. (Who me? Procrastinate? *Ahem.*) In part because it needs SO MUCH WORK that the task was feeling immense and a little bit scary. Or, you know, entirely OVERWHELMING. But I’ve since gotten over that and have jumped fully into the manuscript and am making my way through.

And I have to say that it’s surprising me. This first draft is not as horrible as I’d thought, which is REALLY lovely. Don’t get me wrong—it’s rough. VERY rough. But there are some gems in there that I don’t remember coming up with—some great ideas, some funny bits of dialogue. I’m breathing more life into it, expanding on what’s there, filling it in…and it’s FUN. Seriously. I LOVE this part of writing.

So, ALL of my craftings are going strong (the kids and I sewed a quick quilt for my dad’s birthday…which was at the beginning of August—sorry Dad! we didn’t forget, I was WRITING!—and have lots of knitting plans for the immediate future—I am in dire need of a simple cotton sweater, must finally finish a sweater for Steve *cough*that I started a few years ago*cough* and have sweater plans for all the kids). It feels SO GOOD to be all crafty in my work AND my play.

What are you crafting these days?

 

By jen | October 8, 2012 | Blog |

Cybils Award

Just popping in for a moment to tell you a quick little something: You can nominate your favorite YA and Children’s books for the 2012 Cybils award. YOU! And me! I’m kind of excited about this because I’ve never nominated a book for an award before. So now I’m trying to decide which ones to nominate (you can only do one per genre). They take nominations between now and October 15, 2012. So go now!

And have a fantastic day!

By jen | October 3, 2012 | Blog |

Celebrate the Freedom to Read!

Hey! September 30–October 6, 2012, is Banned Books Week. What better way to celebrate than to read a banned book or two? Check out this list of banned books to see if you’ve read any and to find some fantastic new-to-you reads. Or this longer list of challenged books handled by the NCTE (National Council  of Teachers of English) from 2004-2011.

I’ve read a bunch of them, but not nearly enough. Time to get reading! I DEFINITELY need to read a banned book this week. Now the problem is…how am I going to choose? So many great books!

What are YOU reading this week?

By jen | October 1, 2012 | Blog |

Breathing Here

On a morning that Steve has taken ALL FOUR kids on an adventure for the ENTIRE day and I have a WHOLE DAY to work on Imaginable, this book that is getting me more and more excited the more I revise it AND I’m feeling like I just don’t ever get ENOUGH time (you know, outside of today) and though the revising is going well it’s NOT GOING AS QUICKLY AS I WANT IT TO…

…I am reminding myself to BREATHE (and enjoy the unusual quiet of this day).

It will all get done in time.

(Er, but not unless I get working…so off to work I go.)

Have a great day, everyone! (And don’t forget to breathe.)

 

By jen | September 26, 2012 | Blog |