Finally! The Secret of the Sisterhood!

I'm a big fan of Ann Brashares' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series.  I didn't think I would be, as the premise of four girls sharing one pair of jeans seemed a little bizarre to me, but once I picked up the series, I grew to love the characters. 

I did get over the idea of them sharing the pants, but I always wondered about their "you must never wash the pants" rule.  Even in the movie version, this rule was addressed with an "EWWW".  Today, Yahoo has provided me with their secret.  I share it with you now:

"Denim retailers from Levi's to Gap want you to stop washing your jeans after every wear. Ultimately, the more you wash, the more water you waste and the more your denim will fade. To benefit the planet and your wallet, freeze your jeans instead. By slipping your pants into a plastic bag and tossing them in the freezer for a night or two, you can kill odour causing bacteria, preserve your worn-in fit, and maintain the colour so that they'll look brand new way longer. Plus, you will end up doing laundry less frequently. Time for a bigger freezer."

From: http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/quick-tip-freeze-jeans-190000285.html

November is National Novel Writing Month!

...and while I don't expect any of us with "day jobs" will end up with final, polish works, the challenge of writing a set number of words every day could be just the motivator we need to hammer out a draft.  I thought about my first novel, Painting Caitlyn, for years.  But thinking didn't get it written.  The Random House contest for a first Young Adult novel did inspire me to write, because I had a set deadline.  I didn't win, but I ended up with a solid draft that only needed a bit of editing before Lobster Press picked it up. After that, I've written to contact deadlines (eg.  I submit an outline of what I think will happen in a book, sign the contract, and THEN write it.)  There's nothing like a little external pressure

And so, write away - after all, it's National Novel Writing Month!