I've thought of some more things to add to my list.

17. I almost always lose at Scrabble, but I'm pretty good at Trivial Pursuit, especially the entertainment and arts and literature categories.

18. I got my ears pierced when I was 12. I do not have self-inflicted holes in any other part of my body.

19. My favorite book is "To Kill a Mockingbird." I first read it when it was assigned in my sophomore English class.

20. I drink hot tea on weekday mornings, not coffee. I drink coffee on weekends.

21. I have sold used books online for more than six years. I have 7,500 books for sale on shelves in my basement.

22. I don't mind doing laundry, but I loathe cleaning the bathroom.

23. I hate little yappy dogs -- drop-kick dogs, as Kip calls them. And I especially hate poodles.

Did anyone miss me? I was on vacation last week. Kip and Andrew and I went to Abilene, Kansas, to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday, then we went to Springfield, Missouri, to stay with my parents for a week.


My sister Megan is seven months pregnant, and she and her husband Dean and their daughter Madison were there, too. Megan and Dean haven't decided on a name for the new baby (a girl) yet. To help them out, I offer this site.


Of course, they can always choose my own personal favorite: Insatiable Chianti.


I am not making that up. A few years ago Kip and I were in Las Vegas, and we splurged and had massages. The woman who gave me my massage was chatty, and she was also pregnant. She told me that if she had a girl, she planned to name her Insatiable Chianti.


Through great strength of will, I avoided laughing hard enough to pee all over the massage table. But it was a struggle.