Tag: personal

personal

Love is what matters…

Elodie

I could list the things my grandmother has taught me.

I could decide not to write about her passing away on this blog. After all, this blog usually speaks more about writing and reading. Plus, I´m usually very private about this type of events, the type which affects me to the point of tears. Tears that I again do not like to shed in public.

But…

I want to talk about her. I´d like you to see her through my eyes just one minute and see how wonderful of a woman she was.

My grandma was ninety, she lived through so many events, she had so many hardships, but through it all, she stayed mémé Julienne: gentle, generous, kind, and proud.

I spent a lot of time with her as a kid.

When I had music lessons on Tuesday after school, I would walk to her place to have dinner. She made the yummiest carrots for her Beef Burgundy. I ate with her and my grandpa.

When I was sick, I stayed a lot at her place. She taught me how to crochet. With her and my other grandma who taught me how to knit, I did the cutest outfit for my barbie.

When I broke my arm, and thought blood was coming out of my cast, she managed to calm me down. And still told the story 20 years later.

When I was little, she always had my favorite cookies at her place. She still did more than twenty years later. And kept the cup I wanted to turn from blue to white by drinking lots of milk.

My grandma told us stories from when she was younger. She also taught me a lot by not only being such a wonderful example but also by reminding me what was important.

She believed in me, in all her children, great-children and great-great children.

Every time I called her, she always told me to be kind to my husband, because love is what matters.

Tomorrow or next week or whenever, I´ll blog again about my book, my non-NaNoing, the stories I´ve read or how my grandma gave me inspiration but for now, I´ll just leave you with her words.

Love is what matters.

Road Trip Wednesday, writing

Writing in the future…

Elodie

Today is Road Trip Wednesday 🙂 RTW is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This week’s topic: What do you hope to be writing in one year? Three? Five?

At the beginning I thought about writing myself a letter – you know the “Dear Future Me” type of letter but for some reason that freaked me out a little 🙂 So I thought hard about what I hoped to be writing in one year, three or five and the answer doesn´t change much.

I want to write stories that make the readers feel ALL the emotions.

There. I said it.

This is already my goal, to have characters  readers can connect to and do not want to let go of. All my ideas for future WiPs are Young Adult but they range from more contemporary to historical, some are also paranormal. Some are funny, some are tragic. There´s always love in them. But their common denominator is that desire for the emotions to leap from the pages and lodge themselves into the heart of the ones holding the book.

And on a more personal level, I also hope that even if I´m still not agented in five years, I still get the kick from writing: the urge, the happiness, the relaxation…

Writing is a balancing act but it also balances me.

So, tell me what do you hope to read or write in one year, three or five years?

Blogging

A blast from the past

Elodie

Thank you again so much Kat for this award! I am now going to be able to showcase some of my past posts which can fit the seven provided headlines.

Let me tell you something, it´s really not that easy but it´s fun to look back 😀 I have been blogging since September 10th, 2011, so not a year yet but keeping this blog updated is really amazing. Not only did I meet wonderful people, I am also having a blast with it!

Most Beautiful Piece
This one is beautiful to my heart because this is the post with which I shared a few pictures of my wedding.
Published on 29th December 2011
Most Helpful Piece
My hubby wrote that one and many other writers commented how they would share it with their significant others. Reading it always makes me smile.
Published on May 3rd, 2012
Most Popular Piece
If I am looking at the one which received the most comments (almost 100! well counting my replies I think but still :D) , it would be the flash fiction I did for the Campaigner Challenge. It was also the first flash fiction I ever wrote.
Published on February 20th, 2012
Most Controversial Piece
 The one where I wonder about vocabulary and how going through revising makes me think about the words we use in our YA novels.
Published on March 5th, 2012
Most Surprisingly Successful Piece
I was overwhelmed by the positive response and by the amount of comments this one post received. This is the one where I reveal my first name and no longer go by “commutinggirl” only.
Published on January 11th, 2012
Most Underrated Piece
I really enjoyed writing this piece but it was published before I had a lot lot of followers…And  I do still ask myself the same question from times to times…
Published on November 14th, 2011
Most Pride-Worthy Piece
This one is more a pride-worthy moment captured in a post :D…it´s the post I published after finishing the first draft of my first WiP…
Published on January 15th, 2012
And here now the seven bloggers I pass on the award to because I cannot wait to see what they come up with 😀
  •  Jaime Morrow (YA Writer and Reader + wonderful Critique Partner)
  • Katy Upperman (Musings of An Aspiring Young Adult Author)
  • Jessica (Jessica Love – Writes, Reads, Rocks)
  • Rebecca Behrens
  • Alison (Left Brained by Day – Write Brained, all the time)
  • Tracey (Words on Paper)
  • Christa (Christa rambles and writes)
Blogme MAYbe, personal

I´ll be back…

Elodie

This month (well until my honeymoon :D), I will be participating in Blogme MAYbe. This wonderful idea is the brainchild of SaraMcClung and is a weekly blog format with an easy schedule to follow. For more information and join the fun (you can at any time!), simply click on the banner created by the super-duper-talented Tracey…and today is May I tell you something about me?

On Wednesday, hubby aka The Chemical Engineer and I are going on a three-weeks honeymoon (we got married in August). We are flying into NYC, renting one of those babies (well if the renting company actually does have one):

Source: fordnewsite.com via Devin on Pinterest

We´re going to visit dear friends of ours and spend quality time together…we´re also going to discover new places along the road, we’re going to create new memories…We will be travelling from NYC – Maryland – Texas – Detroit – Cape Cod – NYC…

He doesn´t believe I will not be blogging while on the road but I most probably won´t (I may pop up on Twitter from times to times though but pshhhh…)..so:

See you soon! A bientôt! Bis Bald!

Blogme MAYbe, personal

Size shouldn´t matter…

Elodie

….but sometimes we don´t know any better….I am more precisely talking about height.

This month (well until my honeymoon :D), I will be participating in Blogme MAYbe. This wonderful idea is the brainchild of SaraMcClung and is a weekly blog format with an easy schedule to follow. For more information and join the fun (you can at any time!), simply click on the banner created by the super-duper-talented Tracey. On Tuesdays, I am happy to tell you a bit about me…

Sweet memory from Junior High

There was this guy in Junior High who was very popular within our grade. He was funny and nice and cute.  We were very good friends and laughed a lot. He pretty much “dated” two of my best friends before “rediscovering” me. Nobody said the guy was a total winner. Plus, like a lot of teenagers/people (maybe even dogs?), self-esteem issues are part of the deal with me. My best friend broke up with him because he tried on a new hairdo (remember Zach from Saved By the Bell?). So anyways…

He did the cutest thing when he tried to woo me over: he rode his bike all the way from where he lived to where I lived just to say “hi” and chat for a few minutes. He lived about 5 kilometers away (about 3 miles).

Well it didn´t happen.

Because I got super scared. Because see, he was short and I was tall. I had a nightmare where my giant hand was 5 times as big as his and that everybody would look at us and laugh. Self-conscious a little? He wasn´t but I was terrified.

So nope, nothing happened. I think I had one of my friends tell him…He moved on quite fast.

No matter what the end of that story was though, this memory always makes me smile because even if there were hardships in the romantic department afterwards (and it wasn´t an easy ride), I still had a guy coming all the way on his bike just to see me 😀

So tell me, have you ever let the fear of embarrassment prevent you from doing things?

Blogme MAYbe, personal

Are you a daydreamer?

Elodie

This month (well until my honeymoon :D), I will be participating in Blogme MAYbe. This wonderful idea is the brainchild of SaraMcClung and is a weekly blog format with an easy schedule to follow. For more information and join the fun (you can at any time!), simply click on the banner created by the super-duper-talented Tracey

 

On Wednesdays, the prompt is: May I ask something about you?

I have always daydreamed. As a child and as a teenager, I used to tell stories out loud in my kitchen, even trying out my foreign language skills or I could just get lost in my thoughts. I still do it 😀

 So tell me were you a daydreamer? What did you dream about?

personal

I´ve been tagged :D

Elodie

So, I have been tagged several times these past weeks and I also received an award…How fitting to receive the Lovely Blog Award from the lovely Jaime (and if you do not follow her blog, you really should because it´s a treat!) Thanks again!

Now, on to the tagging business.  I have been taggboozzled (reference to Friends – because well, there´s always a possibility to refer to Friends).

In the past week, not one, not two but six wonderful bloggers tagged me.

First a shout-out to them:

Colin, Kiperoo, Elise, Gwen, Sophie, Diane

Really, you should go and pay them a visit, it´s worth it…I promise.

And since all this tagging amounts to 61 questions (and I´m not sure anybody would go through reading 61 questions about me…), I will mix them in my magic mixer and tada…here is the result:

1. Think of one person you aren’t able to see for whatever reason (distance, availability, etc.) you would love to meet up with. Who is this person? This can be a famous person, a relative, a literary agent–anyone, as long as they are alive.

My grandmother.

2. If you were a crayon, what colo(u)r would you be, and why?

Blue. Like the sky. Like hope. Like happy.

3. When you get (or got) “the call” from an agent, who will be (or was) the first person you will tell (or you told)?

My hubby would be the first person I would tell. I´m not sure he´ll understand the words coming out of my mouth though, I might be a tad over the moon.

4. What genre(s) do you write?

I recently finished the first draft of a YA paranormal romance and I started a YA contemporary romance.

5. What is your secret weapon of choice?

My smile 🙂

6. If you could sit down for coffee with any historical figure, who would it be?

Louis XIV – I have a healthy fascination with this period.

7. What was the #1 song the day you were born?

My friend “Google” told me that the #1 song in the US on August 18th, 1981 was: Endless Love (Diana Ross & Lionel Richie)


8. If you could speak a (another) foreign language which would it be?

Russian. First, it´s a beautiful language and then…I could understand the jokes hubby and his family make – they´re not easy to translate…

9.  Which series are you eagerly anticipating the newest release for? 

I cannot wait for Insurgent by Veronica Roth! Just a few more months…

10. Keeping with the foodie theme, what’s your signature dish? Something you make that blows people away and that you luuuuurve.

Aussie Chicken. It´s a dish which resembles one from Outback (love that place) and it has a lot of yummy ingredients: chicken, honey mustard sauce, mushrooms, fried onions, mashed potatoes, bacon…hmmm

11.  What’s something that made you smile today? 

Catching up with one of my best friends (big hug across the ocean Tonya!)

If you´d like, you can use those questions on your blog as well 😀 Just let me know in the comments. Otherwise, tell me: what foreign language would you LOVE to learn?

personal

11 things about me…

Elodie

The lovely Moosenoose tagged me into the 11 things blog series 🙂

The rules are:

  1. Each person must post 11 Things about them on their blog.
  2. Answer the questions the tagger set up for you and come up with 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
  3. Choose 11 people who you are going to tag, and tag them in your post.
  4. And finally, make sure you let them know that you tagged them!
  5. P.S. No Tag Backs

Ok so here I am going to do it in a different manner – instead of tagging 11 people, every blogger who reads this and wants to do it can feel free to do so – just let me know so that I can hop on to your blog and learn 11 things about you 🙂 I have been doing a lot of tagging lately so you know it´s starting to feel like poking (Facebook reference, I went there :D) but since it is a wonderful idea in the first place to learn more about people I enjoy the posts/comments, it´d be great if you decide to go for it 🙂

11 things about me

    • I recently developed an addiction to pinterest (there are a loooot of shiny things on there)
    • At my wedding, I danced with my father to this song
  • And with the hubby to that one
  • I used to live in Maryland
  • I got to see Jon Stewart at a show in Columbia and at the taping of the Daily Show
  • I like to read people magazines (People, US Weekly…) – yes I do
  • I don´t really like change but still go through the motions
  • I love to play scrabble
  • A great evening with friends can be spent playing poker 🙂
  • I love Disney movies
  • I am 30 years old

Here are the very original questions Moosenoose came up with:

  1. If you could visit just one place in Europe, where would it be?  Home. So that I could spend time with my family.
  2. Do you have a favourite book? Nope. Really. I love too many books to play favorite or I´d just feel bad to pick just one.
  3. What chore do you absolutely hate doing? Cleaning the bathroom. Not my thing.
  4. If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be and why? I like my age right now. 30 is good. But that can only work if everybody can stay the same age. I could not stay young while everybody else grows older. I mean have you seen Highlander, it´s not easy!
  5. Do you have any bad habits and what are they? I have plenty of bad habits. I can be super organized at work and not as much at home (even though that is getting better). Worrying too much. Just to name two.
  6. What is the one thing that you love the most about yourself? I am nice to others and I don´t judge easily at all. Basically I am much easier on others than on me 🙂
  7. How many languages can you speak? Fluently: 3
  8. How did you come up with your blog name? I spend more than 2 hours each day commuting…and I´m a girl 🙂
  9. Do you have any tattoos or piercings (full details please)? Nope the only thing pierced are my ears…
  10. If you had to be a mystical/supernatural being which would you be (e.g. Vampire, Werewolf, Zombie, Wicca, Banshee, Succubus, Ghost etc) and why? Probably a ghost, I don´t feel like biting people, werewolves are a bit too hairy for my taste. I enjoy Zombie movies (and the Walking Dead series) but come on zombies just don´t appear to be super happy people…As a ghost, I´ll make sure others are ok or I´ll look for The Ghost Whisperer 🙂
  11. What is the one item you can’t live without (not a person or pet!) a book

And here are mine if you choose to take on the 11 things mission…It´d be great if you do 😀

  1. What was your favorite cartoon as a child?
  2. Did you have an imaginary friend?
  3. Favorite drink?
  4. If you could tell one thing to your first love what would it be?
  5. If you could have dinner with one character from your favorite novels, where would you go?
  6. Name one thing your parents taught you
  7. Do you have a pet? If yes, what is it? If no, why not?
  8. Where would you love to travel to?
  9. Your favorite memory from high school?
  10. What song makes you want to smile as soon as you hear it?
  11. Why did you start blogging?
personal

I would like to thank the academy for…The Versatile Blogger Award :-)

Elodie

I received the Versatile Blogger award from both Ann Elise Monte and S.M. Boyce. By the way if you do not know their blogs, go pay them a visit, I promise it’s worth it 🙂 Thank you again very much ladies, I really appreciate it!!!

So what I’m supposed to do is: (1) share 7 things about me and….(2) pass on the award to 15 bloggers – (I´ll probably pass it on to less people than 15 though – I am feeling a tad playful today :-))

7 things about me: 

1.            My hubby is also called The Chemical Engineer

2.            My married name is Ukrainian

3.            I played volleyball in Junior high

4.            I miss the piano (played it from the age of 5 until 15)

5.            My hometown is a village (less than 600 people) an hour from Paris

6.            I have two older sisters – yes I am the baby of the family 🙂

7.            I first came to the US as an “Au Pair” and I took care of two little girls (they were my junior bridesmaids at my wedding)

Drum roll

Are you ready? Set! At your fingertips and mouse to discover some great blogs! (by the way if you’d like to see to which blogs I had passed the Kreativ award to, you can check here)

I am happy to pass on this award to:

Jaime – Her blog is not only adorable, she is witty, funny, honest in her writing and talks about books, writing and random things which make me smile…

Juliana – I really enjoy Juliana’s voice. It breaks through the written words 🙂

Robin – She has a great mix of things including the feature “news to novels” which triggers my creativity buttons and if you have not read her RTW take on two characters from different YA novels meeting up, you should it´s hilarious!

Colin – Colin has been one of the first blog I started to follow and I love that he mixes things up while keeping it real.

Tracey – She not only has great graphics (no really look at them!), she also has great ideas! For example: creepy children prompt and the YA book club.

Jessica – She has the sunshine shining on her blog and in her posts 🙂

Thanks again for passing on the award to me – it really does warm my heart to know people enjoy my posts…

personal, writing

Pssshhhh…Top secret :-)

Elodie

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic:

                         If you couldn’t use your own name, what would your pseudonym or penname be?

Nothing fancy, nothing funny…I could actually use the pseudonym “Commutinggirl”which is the one I chose for this blog and twitter…:-)

For me, this topic  actually brings up another question: when will I stop using a pseudonym? I don’t know if you noticed but I’m not out of the writers’ closet yet. No, really my name is not commutinggirl 🙂 

Only a few selected friends, my hubby and some members of my family know that I write (and you of course :-)). I don’t want it to become a big deal at work and maybe I am afraid to jinx it. I have decided that if when I get an agent, I will  let my bosses know and then I can be somewhat out in the open.

This is a scary thought…be still my heart be still… because really by not using my real name I am mainly protecting myself, my current pseudonym resembles a security blanket if you will, or the teddy bear you may still have from your childhood, the one you could tell your problems to without worrying about being judged or laughed at. So my current pseudonym is both a shield and a necessity at the moment.

In the meantime, I thought I could at least give you my first name, to you who help me, support me and make me laugh on the interwebs. Thank you sooo much! I did not know the writing/reading/blogging/tweeting community could be so nice!

Once you find out what my last name is, you may actually tell me to use my maid name or a pseudonym (I mean hubby has a very long Ukrainian name with a weeeird spelling, lol)

So I’m taking a big breath and … : Hi *waves* I’m Elodie, nice to meet you!

Now I’m curious: what would be YOUR pseudonym or when did you come out as a writer?