Bridget Zinn Auction

If you don't already know this special person, you should. Bridget moved to Portland about a year ago, and I "met" her in the kidlit blogging community. She's a librarian and young adult writer, a health food enthusiast...and now a cancer patient. Although the words cancer patient bring to mind sad and tragic images, Bridget is anything but. She's a fighter and an optimist.

Bridget was featured in today's Oregonian.

As if battling cancer isn't enough to deal with, there are the enormous costs of medical care not covered by insurance. Please check out the silent auction for Bridget and bid, bid, bid! There are some one-of-a-kind items up for sale...first editions, artwork, vacations...you name it!

You can also follow Bridget on her blog. 

But really, go BID. The auction closes on May 30.

Our Anniversary

Happy 19 Years, Honey!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Can it be?? Finally?? A BLACK Disney Princess??

Hallelujah and Hail Mary. Disney has finally created a black princess. Check out the trailer.

It only took about 75 years. Better late than never, Disney.

Tini Time

Those of you who know me will recall that my favorite adult beverage is a classic vodka martini. Shaken, not stirred, up, two olives, and very dry. Those apple-cranberry-chocolate-mandarin-lemon-and-god-forbid-espresso-infused beverages? Not martinis. 

Thanks to the people at If It's Hip, It's Here, I've discovered some unusual new vodkas, and thought they might provide the ideal libations for reading YA, if I were a drink-and-read type. Which I'm not. Seriously. 

Sit-n-spin while reading A Curse as Dark as Gold.

Make the perfect Bloody Mary for a midnight session of Twilight.

Food for thought while dipping into Charlotte's Web.

(I know, Charlotte's Web isn't YA, but I couldn't resist.)

Make mine a double during What I Saw and How I Lied.

Get a buzz on with Sutter and The Spectacular Now.

Laugh my Bu-tay off while Spanking Shakespeare.

Silver Phoenix Debuts!

Drop by Cindy Pon's blog to win prizes and check out her debut novel. I've got mine on order, and a book review will follow. I can't wait to read it! Gorgeous cover, eh? 

My Favorite Rathersting

My favorite fierce fairy was on Laini Taylor's blog today!

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

True story. Not from The Onion.

Wind Tossed Chihuahua Found Safe; Owners Credit Pscyhic

Candice Williams and Christine Ferretti / The Detroit News

Waterford Township -- Two days after Tinker Bell, a six-pound chihuahua, blew away in high winds at the Dixieland Flea Market, her owners found her safe and sound about three-quarters of a mile away. The Rochester couple credits a pet psychic for the discovery.

"We were shocked when we found her," said Dorothy Utley, 72, Tinker Bell's mother. "You don't know how happy we were. We love her so much."

More than 50 volunteers helped Utley and her husband, Lavern, search for their dog, who blew away in 70 mph per hour winds Saturday.

After speaking with a pet psychic from Holly, Utley said she and her husband headed to a wooded field on the opposite side of Dixie Highway. There, they found Tinker Bell. The black and brown long-haired dog was very dirty and hungry.

"That dog was so happy," Utley said. "She just went wild. She was so hungry and we had to bathe her."

Market Manager Joe Goldberg said the whole event was phenomenal.

"It seems like (the dog) is her whole life," he said of Utley.

cstolarz@detnews.com (313) 222-2650