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Terms of Engagement

Tonight, after Thanksgiving dinner, Samantha's boyfriend of seven (!) years popped the question. He did it in front of both their families, down on one knee, with a beautiful ring and teddy bear to boot. He even talked to my parents to officially ask for her hand beforehand. A lot of people think that's old fashioned, and even Luke said he'd prefer to tell me before talking to my family, but I do think it shows a certain amount of respect. Anyway, she bawled, said yes, and there you go: the first sibling to get engaged. They've not discussed a wedding date yet, but knowing my sister, she won't want to wait longer than a year. And I'm going to be a bridesmaid. Another excuse to shop!

Am extremely happy for my sister. A little envious, but overall, extremely happy. (Sniffle.) Upside: I have two weddings to go before I'm considered a lost cause.

And So It Begins...

The day before Thanksgiving - a day of working, driving, cooking, packing, and other various -ings. For me, it means eating, sleeping, and napping, as we're being released from work at noon today and I'm not driving home until early tomorrow morning. I'm gearing up for The Day After Thanksgiving Shopping, which I truly love, even though it wears me out after only a couple of hours. A day off from work and full of shopping. What could be better? NY&C sent me some fab coupons in the mail just for This Day, and you better believe they're gettin' used. I told myself that last month's spree would be It until after the holidays, but really, why waste perfectly good discounts when you're most likely going to buy the stuff anyway?

I love this time of year - all the running around, wrapping presents, catching corny movies on TV (or ordering them on Amazon.com so you can enjoy them all year 'round. I own A Very Brady Christmas for that very reason.) The only thing I don't like is working out family get-togethers. By the time the season is over, I'll have celebrated Christmas five times, and half with people I don't really care for. On top of THAT, my grandparents are flying in from Arizona to spend Christmas in Chicago, and as usual, they've told my parents they're staying with us. This is the same grandmother who, last month, sent my sister a pamphlet highlighting the Church's stance on sexuality for her birthday. I love Grandma, but if there's anything even remotely related to chastity literature waiting for me under the tree this year, there's going to be words.

The Concert: Part Two

The last time we saw Amy and Jane, they were trying to get their groove on with the fabulous NKOTB. Do they succeed? Let's find out.

A security guard stopped the girls. "Do you have a pass?," he asked. Amy showed him the 2 passes and he let them pass.

JOE found Amy and Jane and took them to thier dressing room.

JORDAN, JON, DONNIE, DANNY, and JOE started talking about thier likes and dislikes. After a half hour, the girls said good-bye and left. "I can't believe I just met N.K.O.T.B.!," Jane kept saying on the way home.

"I can't believe I'm pregnant with JOE's baby," Amy said.

The End

OK, that's not how it ends, but as I was typing the rest out, it wasn't as funny as I remembered it to be. But you just wait. Number 3 is really the best one. And my first masterpiece,We'll Never Eat Candy Again, is killer.

The Concert: #1 of NKOTB

"It'll be so much fun," Jane said. Imagine, New Kids on the Block in concert, and we have tickets!"

Jane Emmons and Amy Scott were talking about the New Kids on the Block (NKOTB for short) concert, whitch was a week away.

"I know," Amy said. "The tickets are sold out now."

"So," Jane asked. "What are you going to wear? I'm wearing a jean skirt, and a white tee shirt."

Amy replied," Oh I gues I'll wear a pair of jeans and my JOE shirt."

"My aunt's going to buy me a JOE shirt. If not, I'll wear a white shirt with all my pins," Jane said. "Let's go to my house and listen to some records."

"Jane, do you have any records the NKOTB can sign?" Amy asked. "I have 1."

"I'm going to get one today," Jane said. "My Mom's taking me to Platters."

For a while, the girls sat in silence, listening to "HANGIN' TOUGH" on the record player. At last, Amy broke up the silence.

"Do you think we could meet him?" she asked.

"Who?" Jane asked, lost in thought.

"JOE MCINTYRE!," Amy screamed.

"Oh," Jane said. "I don't think we have very good chances."
I mean, I'd love to meet him, but so do hundreds of other kids.
It's hopeless," she added sadly.

"Not so hopeless," Amy said. "i know a place where the New Kids reherse. Want to go with me?"
Jane practiclly yelled her answer. "Do I ever! Let's go!"

It's over at Harris high school in the gym," Amy said. "And thier leaving in 20 minutes!"
You never saw anyone run faster to Harris High than Amy and Jane. After 10 minutes, the girls reached the high school.

"This - is it," Amy said between breaths.

"When did you find all this info?" Jane asked.

"On the "HANGIN' TOUGH" album just 10 minutes ago," Amy said.

"You didn't!"

"I did."

The girls laughed as they made their way to the gym. On the 4 floor, both girls were puffing.

"There - they - are!," Jane cried. We made it!"

Both girls tiptoed into the gym and sat behind the sacks, listening to JOE, singing, "PLEASE DON'T GO GIRL."

Amy sighed happily as Jane was staring at JOE. Both Amy and Jane were wearing the pins, "I'M JOE'S GIRL," "I LOVE NEW KIDS," AND "BOSTEN BABES."

When the song was over, JORDAN went to get a punching sack.

"Oh no!" Amy whispered.

"He'll find us," Jane whispered back.

JORDAN took a sack and saw the girls in a huddle on the floor. "Well, what do we have here?," he said, chuckling.

Both Amy and Jane got up. "We didn't mean to spy on you, honest we didn't. We just had to see you reherse. We're big fans of yours," Amy explained. "I'm Amy Scott and this is Jane Emmons." Amy pointed to Jane, who was stiff, her mouth wide open.

"H - H - Hi," Jane faltered.

"Hello, girls," JORDAN said. "I'm glad you came. Come meet the others."

Jane and Amy went with JORDAN. JOE, JON, DONNIE, and DANNY were on stage.

I didn't know we have visitors," JOE said. "But it's nice. Especially when fans crowd us." He smiled at them.

"Hi," Amy said. "I'm Amy Scott, and this is Jane Emmons." "Hi," Jane said happily.

"We have tickets to your concert," Amy said. "We can't wait to go."

"I'm glad we'll see you there," DANNY said.

"Turn around," JON said.

Amy and Jane turned around.

For 5 minutes, the girls stood.

"You can look now," DONNIE said.

When they turned around, there was 2 boxes at thier feet, in pink wrapping paper. "We got to go now," JOE said. "But hang tough!"

The N.K.O.T.B. waved to the girls and left.

Amy and Jane ran to Amy's house. When they got to her room, Jane and Amy opened the boxes.

In it was a note.

Hope your like this gift! Love, Joe, Jordan, Donnie, Jon, and Danny.

Inside thier boxes were 2 N.K.O.T.B. shirts, one tee-shirt and one sweatshirt. A pair of shoelaces, a mirror, and 1 back stage pass!

Finally, the day of the concert arrived. They put on thier N.K.O.T.B. hat, shirt, shoelaces in thier shoes and jeans. They were off!

For 4 hours they listened to songs, and were even called to the stage! When the concert was over, Amy and Jane went backstage.

To be continued...

P.S. I wrote this when I was eleven. As if you couldn't tell.

Heeeere's Frema!

Well, I'm back from my two-week hiatus, and I'm back with a vengeance. Finally wrapped up are my two classes for the fall quarter; finally watched are yet another two weeks of All My Children (although I must've forgotten to turn off my VCR at some point, because Thursday and Friday's episodes are missing. Argh!), and my work publications are just about ready to go to press. My apartment is clean, Christmas shopping has officially begun, and I've already celebrated one Thanksgiving. Yessiree, the holiday season is officially underway.

And I'm feeling inspired. My writers' group released its very first collection, From the Edge of the Prairie, just a couple of weeks ago, and it's selling really well in town. This isn't the first book I've been a part of, and I'm beginning to think that maybe it's not a crazy idea to try and put out my own. Sure, it'd cost some money, but I've been known to rack up my credit cards for less worthier causes, and at the conference I went to this summer, quite a few editors said it can be easier to sell a book to a large audience if it's already been marketed to a smaller one. Not that I'd definitely want to push it to a Barnes and Noble, but I love the idea of taking the stuff I'm most proud of (including the three-part New Kids on the Block series I wrote in fourth grade) and making it look pretty. Something to add to 2005's list of resolutions.

In the meantime, I've been thumbing through my old stories, so don't be surprised if a few of them end up here. I was a freakin' genius.

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming...

Well, folks, the countdown is on. By next Wednesday night, I will have turned in all assignments for my fall classes at DePaul and received permission from said university to dance naked through the streets of Rensselaer until the first week of January. In the meantime, I have several papers to finish. So what the heck is she doing fiddling writing to us? you might ask. What the bejeezus, I'm on a study break!

In order to clear my head for the night of writing that lies ahead (nice, eh?), I present you with...

Things Frema Should be Embarrassed About But Isn't

- Her passionate love for All My Children and the station that is SoapNet.
- Not only remembering who Rhythm Syndicate is but including "Hey Donna" on a mixed CD. Is also not ashamed to say she had the lyrics committed to memory at age 10.
- Devouring her little sister's stash of The Baby-sitters Club when she should be studying the art of the personal essay.
- Wishing she'd made time to watch the premiere of The 25 Million-Dollar Hoax.
- Giving pens a prominent place at the table during meals.
- Collecting NKOTB trading cards in the fifth grade.
- Ever thinking Jewel was deep.
- Her inability to choose lipsticks.
- Having bangs. (Quiet, Luke!)
- Not knowing how to walk in high heels.
- Getting buzzed after one Sky Blue.
- Never remembering the definition of "facetious."
- This picture.

Actually, I take back that last one - I just wanted an excuse to show off my red highlights.

My Attempt at Being Political

Well, I did it! At a quarter to seven this morning, I rolled out of bed and headed to the polls to cast my vote. While it wasn't the first time I had ever cast a ballot, it was the first time I voted for our president, and it was a little intimidating. I normally don't make it a point to stay current on political issues, so I had to play catch-up these last few weeks in order to decide which candidate to support. Neither one was a perfect fit for me, but I think I chose the person who would best look out for the entire country's interests. From now on, I think I'll make it a point to get more involved.

Not a very interesting post today, but I'm proud of my bad-@$$ voting self, so there you go.