Day Forty-One, One of a Kind Meeting!

I decided to stop the 500 calorie diet since I met the minimum of 20 days.  So far, I have lost 15 pounds and almost 30 inches over my body.  I was able to fit in my jeans that I bought just before I went on bed rest, but no longer fit!  I am not slacking now though, however, I'm moving up to a modest 1200 calorie diet and I will keep you posted on how it is going.  I'm sooo enjoying food right now, even if it's smaller amounts but my ulcer pain came back with the first meal.  I may have to reschedule the appointment with the GI surgeon after all, but I'm hoping it will heal itself.

I sat down to do my Love Dare today and realized that I only did it for three days and then took a week off.  The Dare really builds upon the previous day.  So, I've decided I'm going to start it over and give it another shot from Day One.

I was so excited for today's gift!!!  I found out one of Dakota's favorite authors was coming close to us for a book signing.  We worked really hard on our school work all day so that we could leave early afternoon to get there in time to get a great seat.  We brought the book Dakota already owns of his and bought his newest release at the store.  It is a series called "39 Clues" the author is one of many in the series...including R.L. Stein and Marc Brown and many others.  Here's a brief description:

Books 1-7 of the #1 bestselling series are available now! Read The 39 Clues books to follow Amy Cahill and her brother Dan as they travel the world to hunt for the Clues. Each of the ten books comes with 6 game cards, reveals important information about the Cahills, and most importantly, unlocks one Clue!

The author was the most passionate and funny author I have ever met!  He had an amazing presentation on what it is like in the life of a writer on a daily basis.  He had the kids rolling on the floor laughing.  He expressed how he writes three, four, five times and then realizes it's "junk" and starts over.  What a boost for the kids self esteem!  He showed copies of what his manuscript looks like after the editor has gotten a hold of it...I was shocked, every other word was marked up!  Then he told us how he comes up with ideas, outlines, builds the chapters, etc.

I was totally impressed by this guys background...author of over 150 books and Harvard grad, I learned so much from him.  He was a ghost writer for the "Hardy Boys" and "Babysitter Clubs" series.  His 39 Clues series has just been undertaken by Steven Spielberg to make into a series of movies!  We got there an hour early to make sure we got front row seats and we enjoyed treats in the coffee shop while we waited.  Dakota asked the author questions about the foreign languages in the books and the author admitted that he really does bad with the grammar and has to consult a native speaker.  He talked about how much he has to research because the books take place in different countries and that from the start to the finish, the process takes about a year.  He asked who wanted to be a writer when they grew up and I was the first to pop up my hand, he was impressed :-).

He asked for one more final question and he called on Dakota.  Then my cutie said, "Well, it's not really a question, but a comment."  The author said, "OK".  Then Dakota said, "I've read most the books and yours is my favorite one!"  The author was thrilled and the crowd clapped at his comment.  It was just a wonderful experience.  Here is a picture of Dakota getting his books signed.