-10 years ago – I had just moved to New Orleans, was working in the warehouse for Schlumberger Oil and had just landed a column in the New Orleans Times Picayune.

I legally changed my name to Susan Taylor Brown.

I adopted my dog Chelsie from the pound.

I was living alone for the first time in my life.

I signed with my 3rd agent who eventually sold my picture book Can I Pray With My Eyes Open? to Hyperion.

– 5 years ago- I had been back home in California for a year and a half.

I was still working for Schlumberger, just a different division and different location.

I was a newlywed of about 9 months.

My daughter graduated from high school.

I graduated from college.

I was with agent #4 who eventually sold my picture book Oliver’s Must-Do List to Boyds Mills Press.

– 1 year ago-

I signed with agent #5 at Writers House and hope it is the agent change I ever make.

I sold (without an agent) my book Robert Smalls Sails to Freedom to Lerner.

We finally moved out of our cramped 4-plex and into a house.

My cat Benjamin died.

My grandson was born (he’ll be a year old next month.)

-yesterday- I worked the day job, still with the same company which has gone through 2 name changes due to spin-offs and takeovers.

Worked with numbers all day – yuck! (day job)

Received something really cute in the mail for publicity for Oliver but I’m not sharing it yet.

Had Hannigan’s barbecue ribs for dinner. Yum.

Went live with my new Live Journal.

-tomorrow- Will have to call my mom for our weekly check-in call

-5 snacks I enjoy- chai, chocolate, cheese, almonds, baby carrots

-5 bands/artists that I know the lyrics to most of their songs- Beatles, Rod McKuen, Five for Fighting, Meat Loaf, Garth Brooks (okay…that shows how weird my music tastes are.)

-5 things I’d do with $100,000,000- Buy us a house of our own so we didn’t have to deal with landlords anymore. Set up a trust fund for each of my kids. Quit my dayjob. (okay…all very selfish ideas)

-5 locations I would like to run away to- Hawaii, England, Ireland, Italy, France (but only if I knew I would have a comfy bed, and I could take my own pillow because I don’t travel well.)

-5 bad habits I have- procrastinating, buying things I don’t need, taking on more than I can handle, eating junk food, having lunch out of the vending machine at work when I don’t want to walk across the street to the cafeteria

-5 things I like doing- reading, going to Santa Cruz with Erik, browsing bookstores (on and offline),
designing webstuff, blogging

-5 things I will never wear- turtlenecks, mini skirts, bikini, apron, tights

-5 t.v. shows I like(d)- One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls, Everwood, Joan of Arcadia, ER

-5 movies I like- Kolya, The Story of Us, When a Man Loves a Woman, Pretty Woman, Notting Hill

-5 people I’d like to meet- all my virtual friends and I won’t name some because I might forget others

-5 biggest joys at the moment- my husband, my son, my dog, my writing, my friends

-5 favorite toys- PDA (great for playing Scrabble on the go), books, digital camera, computer, kids toys that make animal noises

-5 people tagged – (if you want to play) Kim,Janni, Pamela