Parly Voo?

La vie she eez very very beezy. Zer are many many exciting zings going on. Oui?

So exciting, in fact, that I'm going to speak with a French accent from now on. Just kidding. Peut-être.

First, Carly--Tim's sister--got engaged last week! Wait, was it last week? I literally cannot distinguish one day from the next at this point. It might have been two weeks at this point. She got engaged and I'm so excited for so many reasons, not least of which because I think Greg, her fiancé is a wonderful person and I feel like they're so great together. I'm also excited because they're having their wedding in Shreveport and I relish any chance I get to go back there. I really miss it. And (as if that wasn't enough) I'm excited because she asked me to be in the wedding!

So--then we have the following exciting things happening.

1. I got to meet Pioneer Woman. The National Book Festival blows my mind every year, but the hands-down highlight this year was meeting Ree and getting her signature (plus hearts and smiley faces) in my cookbook. She is just as funny and self-deprecating and charming in person as she is on her blog--isn't that nice? Plus, you can't really see it here, but she had on cute boots. So... good for her!

Jonathan Safran Foer (see below) was also there to talk about his new book, Eating Animals, which was super depressing, and kind of made me want to read the book but mostly just made me feel guilty about eating a giant steak the day before. Or maybe I ate a giant steak the day after. But I still felt guilty.

We also heard E.O. Wilson and Katherine Paterson (who wrote Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved). There where others there, but those were the highlights. Oh, and I (and lots of toddlers) met the Penguin, of Penguin Publishing fame (see above).

2. I have to send in my first draft of my oral exam prospectus next Tuesday. That is all I'm going to say about that. Jonathan Safran Foer.

3. Our friend Dan is briefly returning from his hiatus to South America and he's staying with us next week. I just like telling people that we have a friend that dropped everything and moved to South America. I feel like it gives me street cred.

4. We're going camping the weekend after that.

5. On the 30th Jason and Kristin will be here for the Stewart/Colbert Rallies to Restore Sanity/to Keep Fear Alive. As if the rally itself wasn't amazing enough, JASON AND KRISTIN. I'm planning on calling the gathering of Centenary people, "The Rally to Negotiate Uncertainty." Plus, that's Halloween weekend. Plus, that is my Dad's fiftieth birthday. I have a feeling that that day is going to be pretty much epic.

That's about it (but not really) until May and June) when the world explodes.

Because in May and June: Ihavemytenyearhighschoolreunion, I'mgraduatingfromGradSchool (crossyourfingers), Carly'sgettingmarried, TimisgoingonrotationsomewhereinSouthAmerica, and only God knows what else.

What am I forgetting? Zis is very crazy, je pense.