Thursday, April 19, 2012 was the day I got to meet Judy Blume. Why is this important, well, she is the reason I LOVE to read and the reason I love storytelling.

The First United Methodist Church where Judy Blume spoke.

How I was first introduced to Judy Blume

I was born in the Rio Grande Valley in the 70′s. Have you been to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas? The tip of Texas is not much. It’s a very isolated area. When I was in fourth grade I had a wonderful teacher who would read to us after recess. One day Mrs. Ward chose to read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. The way Mrs. Ward read that book made Fudge and Peter jump out of the pages and into our imaginations. Of course, one of the next books Mrs. Ward read to us was SuperFudge. I fell in love with New York City and I fell in love with Princeton, New Jersey, where Fudge and Peter later moved. I wanted that life. I thought “city” life had to be better than the dust, hot and citrus tree life I lived. I had tucked those dreams inside me and lived vicariously through Fudge and Peter, oh and of course Margaret, Sheila and Frecklejuice.

Dallas Museum of Art

Fast forward to sixth grade–still reading Judy Blume, my family and I moved 15 minutes from Princeton, New Jersey. Wow, I was living the BOOK! I could visit New York City often, and I was surrounded by the Fall leaves and the brisk mornings and snow storms. I remember rereading those books just to compare where I lived to Fudge and Peter. I was in the heart of Judy Blume land!

Fast forward 30 years

Helen and I walking from the DMA to the church.

I am sitting in the audience waiting for Judy Blume to come out to discuss her life as a writer. Pinch me. I’m in heaven. Really? This is happening? As I looked around, I saw every woman sitting next to me with tears in their eyes. We ALL felt the same way… pure love for this woman who has a talent to connect with a young adolescent’s soul. Everyone around me was about my age, 40+ and with their daughters. I can only imagine how much pride Judy Blume must feel knowing that her legacy lives on generation after generation. I know that Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was in its 141st printing. Amazing…

When Judy Blume enters the stage she thanks her Tweeters. Yay! I LOVE that she acknowledged her social media crowd. I will say this, @judyblume is a GREAT tweeter. I remember when I found her how excited I was to follow her tweets. She is just a cool person!

Blume then talked about the writing process. No, I’m not a creative writer, I am an academic writer, but still writing is writing. She inspired me with these helpful tips:

• She does not believe in Writer’s Block. Take a long walk to regroup and take some aspirin.
• She believes reading leads to writing. The more you read the more you have to write about.
• Write 2 hours in the morning. (I am going to try to keep to this to finish my article I am writing.)
  
• Read your writing out loud as if you are reading to an audience. You will edit like crazy. Here’s her advice on her web site.
• Let your child read and explore. Don’t judge what they read, they are READING!
• Libraries allow us to browse and let us figure out what we are interested in reading–especially let children browse.
• She says brush off the critics and censors. Someone will always find something wrong with what a young person is reading, especially if the book becomes popular.
• Ereaders are here to stay. Just as long as people are reading, it doesn’t matter the source. Although we all agreed in the room we still like good old fashioned books.
• Be passionate (My favorite)

She also said she was 74. I say phhhsssshhhhh! Judy, you are lookin’ good! Key West must agree with you.

I also found out she’s in the middle of writing a new book about a Elizabeth, New Jersey in the 50′s. I will be first in line to read it. 1. I love Judy Blume and 2. I love New Jersey since I spent my teenage years there.

I was surprised to find out that she thought Summer Sisters was a hard book to write. I believe she said she went through 20 drafts. I finished that book in a day. It was THAT good! I remember devouring the story. Blume makes her characters jump out of the page. I also found it fascinating that she doesn’t imagine her characters. Her and her son made a movie out of her book Tiger Eyes. The moderator asked if she visioned anyone in particular to play the characters and she said no. I think that is the best way a writer could look at their story when turned into a movie. I’m curious to see the movie now. I also learned her son, who directed the movie, was the inspiration for Fudge.

I loved how she took questions from the audience. Cute little girls asked some of the best questions. One little girl wanted to know how old Fudge and Peter were TODAY! Well, they are probably my age, 40!

Two little kids looking in awe at Judy Blume. I was so impressed how she treated children. She empowered them with imagination.

Helen and I meeting Judy Blume... she did not disappoint.

After the talk, the audience walked across the street to the book signing. I waited for an hour and a half, but who’s counting. Once I met Judy Blume, standing in line didn’t matter anymore. I just met and talked briefly to the woman who inspired me to read and to dream.

Judy Blume was as cool as she is on Twitter and as thought provoking as her words are on paper. Meeting your idols can be hit or miss. I am writing to say that Judy Blume is the REAL DEAL. She is genuine, friendly, and considerate. And, humble.

Thank you Judy Blume for your books, your graciousness, and your inspiring words.

Waiting for Judy in pictures

The line waiting to have Judy Blume sign books. It was well worth the almost 2 hour wait.

Yay! We made it to the statue. That means, we are getting closer to getting Judy Blume to sign our books.

Waiting in line with Helen. We were practicing our picture taking skills.

Knowing Helen, she is dying inside right now!

Helen's face is PRICELESS! We are 40 going on 10 here.

OMG! I MET Judy Blume!

Why yes, Judy, I am Dr. McCourt and I teach literature...

In my head... AHHHHHHHH!!!!

A Happy Ending...

This past Friday Dad found two estate sales close by. No real good stories to tell. I didn’t recognize any of my favorite estate sale companies. Yes, I am known by a few estate sale people, 1. either I’ve had a family member in my class (true story) or 2.  I chat with them about the story behind the estate sale. I love the story behind the items I buy.

If you go to enough estate sales, you end up knowing all the people who run them. It makes going more fun when you see your friends. I think a lot of estate sales took Easter weekend off.

The garage was packed. I think I overheard this was a former school teacher’s home. I found a lot of evidence to support that fact. Things shaped like apples with #1 on them.

Seriously, the estate sale people should just throw this Hummel out. I hate finding broken items.

This lady had a TON of beanie babies… these were the cutest of them all. Ok, I admit, I bought a beanie baby that was a Poodle and looks just like Lucy.

Dad bought this Elvis CD collection. We listened to it on the way to the other estate sale. Plus, every estate sale has an Elvis something…

This lady must have LOVED rugs. They were everywhere. Cute little kitchen and living area too.

I had to laugh at the Donny & Marie DVD. I would love to go to Vegas to see their show. I used to never miss their show as a little kid in the 70′s. No, I did not buy the DVD. I was tempted for fun, but I have so much stuff laying around that I said that about that I now try to censor my buys.

The best part of going to garage sales and estate sales are the people you meet. Dad had his Air Force cap on and was approached by a WWII vet. I LOVE the stories people can tell you about their lives. I should start recording the stories.

The second house wasn’t that exciting. Just very very high prices.

Oh, let there be silver!

And, Easter Bunnies…

I thought this was a cool radio… but not for $200.

I loved this bar. It was sold and I could see why!

I thought this chair was kinda cool too. It could be redone and spiffed up. They only wanted $24 for it.

No great finds. I will have to post my London picture that I found for $80 that they originally wanted $200 for at an estate sale. It hangs in my office. Our couch and chair  are the best find of all. I will post a picture of those too. I just thought of a post I’ll work on… my favorite estate sale finds.

This morning was beautiful. It was crisp, beautiful and it seemed as if everything was really vibrant.

First, I was greeted by the honeysuckle blooms on my patio.

On the way to school, Starbucks is a necessity!

Once I got to school and out of my car, I noticed all these blooms.

Then, passed by the view from my office window.

I went to my office to make a call.

Checked on my African violets–aren’t they beautiful!!!!

Took a seat at my desk to contemplate the day…

Did the obligatory check of the mail while on my way to class. Nothing as usual.

Opened up the classroom…

Class time!

Later that day, went to Whole Foods and had a great lunch and picked up some lettuce for the garden. And, took pictures of these beautiful flowers they had out front!

Things I didn’t take a picture of, the boring maintenance stuff for classes. Otherwise, it was a beautiful day.

Long meeting today mixed with wild tornado weather = worn out Dr. J. At least I live fairly close by, less than 10 miles. I encountered heavy rain but soon drove out of it.

This past month I received my 5 year pin. A lot has happened to me in those five years–both really bad and really good. In fact looking back, I feel like it should have been 20 years. I’m just really happy working where I work. I love my job and love the people I work with. Most of all I fell back in love with researching after my hiatus from graduation. I’ve met some incredible people. I am definitely blessed.

Allergy season is here and this is why…

Ok, so my brother turned 50 today. A lot of milestone birthdays for us this year, I turned 40 and my brother always is 10 years ahead with another big number. Always larger, the way I like it.

When I was younger, my mom would put me in the high chair and I would always get to blow out the candles the second time. Yes, mom would always light them again just so I could blow them out. This is why there are several pictures of us always together on his birthday.

Hi everyone! No, I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth, but if you keep up with my blog, it might seem as if I did. I’ve been busy with school and with a research project that I’m very excited about. And, I just wanted to take a blogging break. Lately, I have felt as if I’m being pulled in several different directions and I haven’t really been able to focus. I’m sure a lot of you can relate to that feeling.

Here’s the most exciting thing that has happened recently. My sister adopted a new dog. She named her new Chihuahua, Bella.  I named it Bella Ethel. I thought since I had a Poodle named  Lucy, she should have an Ethel, but my sister disagreed

When Lucy met Bella Ethel, well, it didn’t go so well. Lucy was afraid of Bella Ethel. It was really funny to watch what a wimp my doggie is. Bella Ethel tried really hard to make friends, but Lucy was a bad host. No, no barking or growling with each other, Lucy hid behind everyone and asked for me to hold her. It was amusing. Maybe next time she encounters Bella Ethel, Lucy will want to be more friendly.

Bella Ethel on Lucy's favorite blanket

Lucy's first meeting with Bella Ethel--Lucy was afraid of her.

Brenda and Bella Ethel

I promise I’ll try to update more often with more pictures. I have several I took to share that are on my phone. I will post them soon.

Lucy is so cute, she had her toy in her paws, asleep, while we are watching television before bed. Life is good with Lucy by your side.

Leg Warmers–seriously?