I was assistant manager of a small successful bookstore in my town for the last 3+ years--until our large parent corporation closed us down! Now I get to play on the internet as I collect unemployment and try to figure out my next step...

I like being sort of a lay expert in a variety of areas...in other words, I know a little bit about a lot of things. (As my husband is fond of saying, "You know more about nothing...") And I just love to listen, talk and give advice to teenagers/young adults. Those are two of the talents I miss using since the bookstore closed!

I also miss knowing how to put things away, because in the store everything went in alphabetical order by author and genre. I can't do that with all the clutter in my house! We are all messies here.

I have two amazing, quirky and talented kids, both in middle school (and with no organizational skills, like me!) They think I'm crazy and are very proud of me for not being boring like everyone else's parents. I always thought that at some point they might find me embarrassing, but it hasn't happened yet!

I've never forgotten how it felt to be a kid and a teen. Frankly, I still think and feel the same way as I did then (though hopefully tempered by a bit more wisdom and judgment!). That is probably my most unusually marketable skill. I really can give a lot of good advice to kids and also help them to understand their parents better, because like it or not, that's where I'm at chronologically.

My husband is wonderful, patient and adoring. He even deals well with such things as my various obsessions, as they come and go. His joking ridicule of "Etch-A-Sketch as art" has been very easy to take and has inspired me to actually try to do more with it! In my wedding vow to him 17 years ago, I promised to keep surprising him. I hope I'm living up to it!

Someday I'll write (or edit) more (or less) about me...

I wish I lived in a tree house in Costa Rica. That is my only interest., A tree house in the rain forest with nothing else. Nothing but my family. And my dog elvis. And my computer. And of course, my Nintendo Wii (with a new flat-screen TV, please). And lots of good food. And room for friends to crash. And a safe-haven for run-away teens. And a nice housekeeper. And a music studio with a Yamaha baby grand and two sets of drums. And no junk mail or clutter. And most of all, no socks.

I am a singer without a band. I love percussion! Current IPod Playlists Include (In No Particular Order): ..., Panic! At The Disco, Elvis Costello, Wilco, Weezer, Gym Class Heroes, The Pillows, Chemistry, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, David Bowie, Elton John, Beatles, Meat Loaf, Peter Himmelman, Justin Timberlake, Orange Range, Remy Shand, Tenacious D, Fountains of Wayne, Rufus Wainwright, Haircut 100, 311, Ramones, Forgive Durden, Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls, Harry and the Potters, Draco and the Malfoys, The Whomping Willows, MGMT, Coldplay

Sullivan's Travels, Harold and Maude, Ghost World, Shadow Magic, Fantasia, Groundhog's Day, School of Rock, The Music Man, High Fidelity, About A Boy, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and too many more to name...but as I remember, I'll add them!

True Blood, Project Runway, Simpsons, Futurama, Daily Show, Colbert Report, X-Files, Charmed, Sopranos, Bugs Bunny, Fullmetal Alchemist, Cowboy BeBop, Six-Million Dollar Man, Invader Zim, I Dream Of Jeannie

I love Young Adult fiction. Harry Potter, Ender's Game, Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, Feed by MT Anderson, Death Note, Naughts & Crosses, Wicked, Vonnegut, About a Boy, His Dark Materials Trilogy, Let the Right One In