I’ve posted four updates today — and one for the kid. Nothing’s shown up.

This after Ellis and I were just discussing how much we love the Twitter.

Curses.

ETA: Well, now my updates are showing on my page and the kid’s are showing on the kid’s page, but we don’t show up on each other’s…

• Girl Farts: horrifying strangers since… I dunno. For a good long while now.
• 30 Days of Night: Eben & Stella #4 is out today.  You love me, so you bought it, right?
• 23 days until the baby’s due. As of yesterday, the kid hadn’t dropped yet and zero dilation. BUT, I’m 50% effaced. So something is happening.
• Has everyone seen Antony’s take on Getting Things Done for Writers?
• Yoda cake. Yoda. Cake.

Photos from the Star Clipper signing in St. Louis are up here and here.

That store is mind-boggling, truly.  Easily in the same class as Meltdown and Comic Relief and maybe prettier than either.  Chandeliers!  iMacs!  Gorgeous display cases!  Friendly and knowledgeable owners and staff!  Le sigh.  The only sucky part is that they’re four hours away.

Anyway, we’re definitely going back in the spring and we’re taking Tony Moore with us this time, even if we have to do it at gunpoint.

Many thanks to our hosts, and to Droob, whose suggestion this was in the first place.

(Also great to see Amy, Henry, Chris Samnee and Brian Hurtt and to meet Matt Kindt and Cullen Bunn, who is, I might add, HI-LARIOUS.)

Hi, all.

A friend (who should be canonized, I think) came over yesterday to help me do an erase and reinstall to combat what looked like disk failure.  Most everything is okay as of today, but I seem to have lost my address book. I found an old sync to restore, but it’s… well, old.

If you have an up-to-date vcard you want to send me, now would be a good time.  (K E L L Y S U E A T K E L L Y S U E D 0 T C 0 M) If you don’t know what a “vcard” is, don’t sweat it.

Thanks,

Kelly Sue DeConnick

(Now on Plaxo — thanks, Antony.)

• 30 Days of Night: Eben & Stella #4 is out August 29th. Preorder page for the tpb is up on Amazon here.
• Fraction was interviewed by GQ! Pick up the print version (with Obama on the cover) and check out page 258, or read the interview on their site. (Now, I think somebody who is not me ought to add that link to Fraction’s Wikipedia page.)
• I am apparently in danger of letting Ann Coulter run my life.
• Our baby is due one month from today.
• Covetous Corner: Tartan tote from Target; this book/magazine rack for the nursery; more energy; an extra 3-4 hours in every day.
• YouTube belly pr0n.
• The nursery is coming along. We had to rearrange everything to accommodate the new glider, but Fraction put in a full day’s work on it this weekend and took care of the hard labor aspect. My mom and Frank are coming labor day weekend to help us tackle the rest of the to do list.
• I think I might need to go take a nap.

Holla holla for the amazing posse of talent coming to the Lou from 2 to 6 PM Saturday, August 25 2007! Respect to the WESTSIDE:

JASON AARON, WRITER (Scalped, The Other Side)
KELLY SUE DECONNICK, WRITER (30 Days of Night: Eben & Stella)
MATT FRACTION, WRITER (Iron Fist, Casanova)
JEREMY HAUN, ARTIST (Civil War: Iron Man/ Captain America, New Excalibur)
B. CLAY MOORE, WRITER (The Leading Man, Hawaiian Dick)
SETH PECK, WRITER (Sorrow)
STEVEN SANDERS, ARTIST (Five Fists of Science)

And representing Missouri’s EASTSIDE will be Matt Kindt (PISTOLWHIP, 2 SISTERS), signing his new book SUPER SPY while his SUPER SECRET STUDIO is installed in our gallery!

Don’t miss this opportunity to meet some of the freshest new influences in comics. Be there to INCREASE THE PEACE YO!! And don’t forget your scrilla… fo’ shizzle.

Original post by Star Clipper Gallery

• As I compose this, I’m sipping on some divine smelling Kyoto Cherry Rose organic green tea, part of a care package from lovely Kathryn. Also included in the pick-me-up: fancy salt and the “hot” version of my favorite smoked paprika. (We use the version of the latter on salmon pretty frequently. Can’t wait to taste the difference.) Thank you, Ms. K.
• Oh, ouch. The housing market in the midwest has T-A-N-K-E-D. A house down the street from us just sold at auction this weekend for $109K.
• Had the pleasure of Danyon’s company for a day yesterday and looking forward to brunch with him again on Sunday. What a peach! I wish we lived closer.
• My friend Sarah is making an effort to eat locally this summer and is blogging her efforts here.
• Rantz has opened a new forum for those who will be left homeless once the Engine closes its doors at the end of the month. Rantz is a good guy and will no doubt make a great host, but I admit to being turned off by a thread that seeks to name 50 bad autobio comics. Less than classy, if you ask me. [Mind you, no one did. This is unsolicited opinion-giving.] I mean, really: isn’t this a discussion we’ve had a zillion times? The threshold to comics publishing is so low that bad comics are just not hard to find. (I have a love-hate relationship with that low-threshold, but that’s a conversation for another day.) What’s to be gained from this list? We could also make a list of embarrassing semi-autobiographical first novels if we really wanted to get our snark on. Isn’t it more interesting and more challenging to find and talk about the good stuff? Le sigh. Rantz has cautioned the guy already but I suspect that thread will devolve and fast.
• Yesterday was a big day for ticking things off the monstrous and intimidating to do list. Also? For spending money. We got this glider for the nursery (and its ottoman) and despite my concerns that it may not actually FIT in our tiny little nursery, I think it’s a good buy. Fraction and I were both comfortable enough to sleep in it and it’s hard to find a chair that’s comfy for us both, what with the foot of height difference. We also ordered the breast pump and bottles. Fraction and Danyon installed the car seat — we just need to run by the hospital and have them check it and make sure it’s in there properly. What else? Oh, we did our shopping for Kara and Tony’s wedding, too!
• Lee is starting up his Fast Fiction Challenge again. Go check it out here.
• T2 was kind enough to package up my purchases from SDCC and send them, sparing me the trouble of carting heavy luggage home. Even better? He threw some goodies into the box, including an AWESOME rubber stamp of a pirate baby and the Kid’s handmade baby book. I believe we have a plans for that; I’ll confirm with Fraction and fill you in later.
• Adrian got a fancy new camera lens. EVERYTHING that girl makes is beautiful. It’s both uncanny and unfair. Good thing I adore her. (Speaking of women I adore who make pretty pictures, check out Lauren Martin’s lomo set on Flickr. Stunning.)
• …Aaaand the glider is here. Aaaaand it takes up more room than I’d hoped. We did figure a work-around, but it’s going to involve a lot of, well, work. We’re going to have to move the changing station to where the shelves are now, which means taking shelves, pictures and a mirror off two walls, patching, repainting and rehanging. Ugh. When we’re done, though, we’ll have space for the crib, the changing table/dresser, the chair and a small table next to it for a lamp, some books and oh, I dunno, a breast pump, maybe.

I think this is my third post in a row asking for your help…? I’m now officially your high maintenance girlfriend.

So… anyway.

This time I’m trying to choose fabrics for a diaper bag.

Ideally:

• It should make me smile;
• It should go with — or at least not clash with — the colors I tend to wear; and
• It ought to look at home in the nursery.

I’ve put together a few possible exterior and lining combinations on Flickr. What do you think? I like all four a lot.  This is my favorite combination right now, but that changes every ten minutes or so. (All fabrics from purlsoho.com. Feel free to poke around and suggest an entirely different combo.)

Oh, and once we’ve got this sorted out, we’ll need to choose a terry cloth for the changing pad — so don’t think for a second you’re off the hook. (I wonder: couldn’t I just cut the changing pad terry cloth from a towel…?)

So at the suggestion of my aunt and our childbirth educator I’m putting together a few images to blow up, laminate and take to the hospital with me to use as focal images during contractions.

Here’s a few I’m considering:

• Something with a giraffe — maybe this one, maybe a giraffe mom and a baby giraffe. It would have the benefit of being both personal and impersonal and give me spots to count;
• A photo of Captain Applejack – absolute evidence that I can love unconditionally;
• Shaun White flying, for inspiration;
• A photo from the Pacific Grove Triathlon — evidence that I am capable of feats of physical endurance;
• A photo from our wedding… for obvious reasons.

Any other suggestions? My aunt says that the best image she found in three births was one of a mama and baby orangutan. Our childbirth instructor also suggested Where’s Waldo.

• How do you clean out the ice maker/water thing in the refrigerator?  It wasn’t hooked up during the kitchen remodel and now the water tastes funny.
• I just saw a DIY board book How-To link… somewhere.  Anybody remember where that was?  Some time next year I want to make the Kid a board book with pictures of family and friends and I’d like to bookmark the instructions before I forget.

We have a functional kitchen again!  For date night tonight we’re staying in and trying this Chicken Tikka Masala recipe.  (You might need to either already be a member or to sign up for a free trial membership to Cooks Illustrated Online in order to make that link work.)  Wish us well.