Month: June 2013

feelings

thank you notes

abby mumford

this arrived in the mail the other day:

MMM thank you

and it’s the coolest thing ever for so many reasons.

(1) my niece signed her name as MMM. we (me + my family members) often use her initials when texting and emailing because it’s faster and shorter than typing her full name, but the fact she’s now using it as her signature? so cool! so grown up!

(2) the excess of O’s in the word so remind me that’s she’s 11 and i don’t have to worry about her being tooooooooooooo grown up.

(3) she finished a book in a week!

(4) her brother is bugging her to read faster so he has something to read.

(5) she lets her brother’s desires motivate and monitor her own habits, which shows what an amazing and gentle and sensitive big sister she is.

(6) they’re like me, in that, as a friend recently said about me to me, “you eat books for breakfast.”

(7) the letter was also the envelope, aka, it was a complicated and fancy folding job by MMM.

(8) handwritten thank you notes are one of my favorite things in the world (to write and to receive) and SILM and brother G have trained their kids well. in fact, i still have a postcard from when MMM was about 6 hanging on my fridge because her misspellings created the funniest note ever.

(9) i can feel the love all the way from the west coast.

convos with strangers

conversations with strangers #61

abby mumford

strangers? yup, i talk to them. here’s why.

after much discussion about cookie cakes, R and i decided the next things on our agenda were (a) a chocolate chip cookie and (b) a glass of red wine. we stopped by two places whose dark windows reflected our rather large pouts.

point A might have been off the menu, but we could still conquer point B. we ended up at our favorite bar where two seats were waiting patiently. obviously, we were meant to be there.

R to bartender: i’d like a glass of this red wine *points to menu* and a dessert menu.

me to bartender: i’d like a glass of this red wine *points to menu*

i may not be the bravest when it comes to trying new food, but when compared to dear R, i’m basically lewis and clark. i’ve conquered the food frontier. all this is to say, the desserts listed had rather fancy descriptions that slightly terrified us. we settled on the one with “chocolate” in the name. it was no chocolate chip cookie, but we made the right decision.

we dined in style, chatted merrily, watched the crowds, sipped our nightcaps and patted ourselves on the back for a successful wednesday evening.

R to bartender: i think we’ll close out now.

bartender: *punches buttons* okay, you’re all set.

we stared at the bartender who crumpled up the receipt and tossed it in the trash. we looked at each other. we eyed the bartender who smiled and nodded. our eyes grew wide. our smiles grew wider. with those four little words, our status as regulars were cemented.

yes, we left a large tip.

yes, we high fived once we were out of eye sight of the bartender.

wordpress com stats plugin
book club

wreckless cover reveal

abby mumford

i am pleased as punch to be a part of the cover reveal for bria’s upcoming YA novel, WRECKLESS.

i am like you all. i haven’t read the book yet. all i know about this book is the blurb:

Wreckless…Where obsession and rebellion collide.
Bridget Larson’s never met a rule she didn’t like. Drawing inside the lines isn’t just a way of life – it’s the only way she can make it through the day. And through it all her BFF Leah has stood inside those lines and weathered the unspeakable with her. Then Bridget catches her boyfriend with Leah–and the last thing on her mind is staying safe.
Salvation… A bad boy and his jacked up pickup.
Jake Moore was everything she needed and nothing he claimed to be. With one night of freedom and a spontaneously scribbled Rebellion List, Jake leads Bridget down every path she thought was forbidden… And into the one place she’d thought was lost to her forever.

and the cover.

hold onto your horses or your hats if you don’t have any horses because this cover is simply stunning. it’s elegant, racy, bright, clean, enticing, (i want that red dress!) and perfect. i’m not just saying all that because i know bria. i’m saying this because, well, here…..judge for yourselves.

Wreckless_iBooks

i know, right?? i repeat: simply stunning.

in order to endure the wait until the book is released (on June 13. we are almost there!), you can do three things:

(1) go to this page and read chapter one.

(2) go to this page and add it to your TBR list.

(3) *pats seat* sit next to me and twiddle our thumbs.

congratulations, bria! and congratulations to us future readers. we’re now one step closer to being able to read WRECKLESS.

general

names

abby mumford

having the last name i do + a popular band with the same name = i’ve been picking up comments left and right…

“do you have any sons?”

“your kids are pretty talented.”

“you should have some daughters.”

“you’re not related to mumford and sons, are you?”

of course, within the family, we have our own comments, such as “and we’re off, like a herd of turtles.”

and in other parts of my name, when you add the “dear” salutation in front of my first name, it becomes immediate fodder for advice. i can’t tell you the number of times i’ve opened an email to see “dear abby… (sorry, couldn’t resist.)”

does your first or last or middle name or any combination thereof inspire others to make silly or serious remarks to you?

feelings

happy birthday, nephew L

abby mumford

brother G and SILM”s youngest is 5 today. happy birthday, L!

as a fellow third child, i feel quite connected to this little man, even if he lives on the west coast and i live on the east. even if he’s got the awesomest curly hair and mine is stick straight. even if he’s a boy and i’m a girl. even if he’s 5 and i’m, well, not. even if he’s short and i’m tall (he’s predicted to be well over 6 feet tall, so i have to use this while i still can.) even if he’s just starting school and i’ve been done with all levels longer than he’s been alive. even if he likes pineapple and i don’t. even if he’s wicked good at video games and i’m not.

okay, so maybe the only things we have in common are our genes, our birth order, and our lack of bravery when it comes to trying new foods.

either way, he’s a grand kid and i truly hope his year 5 is as unique as his fashion sense:

555150_10201095466007739_952982246_n

happy day, L!! i can’t wait to give you a proper birthday hug next month.