the convo that broke the camel's back (except we are many camels. camels plural.)

cole:
what were the sexy teen books when we were in high school? the ones we didn't want our parents to know we were reading? also, if you know them what are they now? thanks and love love

laura:

every teen is reading twilight but their moms are reading them too.

ever since gossip girl got made into a tv show it seems like nothing is really taboo...

 

when i was a teen i feel like i read adult books. there wasn't so much YA lit being published. i'm super curious to hear what you guys say!

traci:

The book I hid in the zipper-backed stuffed animal when I was 14 was Valley of the Dolls. That probably says something about me.

 

I just read Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn and it was way more sex-involved than I anticipated.
 

cole:

i read forever by judy blume but that was really more mom's generation. i was also reading, go ask alice and a child called it but i can't think of any really sexually explicit books i was reading other than the harlequin romance novels passed down to me by my grandmother bc i was the "grandchild that liked to read alot" and boy did i read the shit out of those bc they were racey for a twelve year old. my mom actually took one away from me. i wonder how that conversation with her mother went. funny.

my students were reading this series called the zane series which was seriously crazy when it came to sex by they are not technically ya books. i am are we just squares or did those books not exist for us?

 

laura:

zane wasn't around when we were teens--they're super sexy, basically urban erotica. not YA.

 

i liked tamora pierce's alanna books which i remember being sexy but i think really all that happened was alanna disgusised herself as a boy and one of the other guys saw her bathing and figured it out. woo.  

aly:

The sexiest thing I read was Sweet Valley High. Blond twins! Hey-O! 

 

traci:

Oh my god, I just recently read that Francine Pascal is going to publish an adult Sweet Valley book.  Per BookPages:

 

...Francine Pascal has signed a deal to publish Sweet Valley Confidential in early 2011 with St. Martin's Press. The book will follow Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield--and all their Sweet Valley friends--into their late 20s and early 30s. No word yet if it will be a single book or the start of a series, or if the target audience will be teens or adults. of the book, Pascal says, "I've had thousands of queries from fans over the years wondering what Jessica and Elizabeth would be like as adults....Well, Sweet Valley Confidential should give them all the answers. And I can guarantee they will be very surprised. Actually, more like shocked." Will Elizabeth get back with boring Todd Wilkins? Are Jessica and Lila Fowler still frenemies? Will the twins still be a "perfect size six"? We'll have to wait until 2011 to find out.

 

kathy:

Those Blonde Twins.  OMG.  I have never even read one.  Can you believe it?  I was too busy with the Baby Sitters Club.  I also read adult books, most murder mysteries, sometimes they get sexy.  I don't think a sexy teen genre existed when we were young.  Think about how far TV has come even since we were in high school.  When we were tweens/high school it wasn't really there.

 

 cole:

yes! sweet valley high! good call aly!

ok. so the consensus is that we acted (or were) appropriately naive when we were young; and teens today, or maybe just teen writers, are slutbags. got it. consider my teen literacy project basically done.

also, we should totally just starting publishing our conversations. for real. love love love. 

aly:

Oh my god it's ridiculous how old kids are today. The stuff they're watching/reading/listening to, my parents would have killed me. I had a hard enough time hiding my Marilyn Manson CD's.

This would have made an entertaining blog, I must admit. If we all had a gmail account we could use blogger.

 

erin:

I feel like such a nerd.  I never read any of those books.  I mostly read sci-fi and fantasy (ala Ender's Game or the Xanth books).

 

traci:

See? THIS is what I am saying! We would make a hell of a blogging team.

 

cole:

so everyone needs to get a gmail account and then... WE CAN PUBLISH THIS BITCH. and make a ton of money and fly to see each other whenever we want.

then, when we are being interviewed on whatever woman steps into oprah's britches next they will say so thoughtfully, so empathetically: "You all know that you have touched women all over the world but what we want to know is why you all decided to do this?" We can say honestly that it was because we could never afford to see each other so we needed a forum to be together... although...Catch 22...once we can afford to see each other will the blog cease to have meaning...Existential Crisis!!!

No. I will not have an existential blog crisis until we actually have a blog. So...?

 

erin:

I'm in.  I have an account already.  You don't even need a gmail address, I used my yahoo one.  Word.

 

kath:

I have gmail already.  I am the only blogless one (which may make me the least qualified) so I can try to set it up if you like.  Or if there are any other takers...

 

cole:

i can do it bc today is my day off or i can defer to traci if she prefers bc she was the first soul brave enough to mention it. if i send everyone a link tonight and check on formatting etc does that work for everyone?

let me know. i have to go to the nutritionist but will be back in less than an hour. you should all know that if i went up in pounds at all since the last time i saw her i might very well make the entire blog black.
like death.
black black.

(although the day of champagne, and chocolate, and elderflower at laura's might have been worth it.) we all really need a cabin to gather at.

love love. 

 

traci:

Coley, Hope your appointment went well!  As for the design, I say knock yourself out. I'm home and working and therefore attached to my computer. Holler if you need anything!

 

cole:

So i am pretty much done except for one tiny detail...the name of the blog?

any idea? kind of can't believe i didn't think to ask this before i started. 

Options:
Lady Birds (obvious)
Just the Six of Us (like that tv show that i don't think i have ever actually seen)
WFT? (ha)
I have no fucking clue bc you are better than me at this...
Help. 

 

traci:

Headed to the gym. Will think on this while Ivy & Ash are ignoring me.

 

cole:

OH! What about the Vagina Oligarchy!!? Funny or inappropriate?

Inappropriate I think.

I am going to just wait for morning and you birds bc this is pathetic. love love

 

traci:

As much as I love my vagina, I'm going to go ahead and veto anything with vagina in the title. Imagine the google results!

 

Here's what I came up with (slightly disapointing, all)

1. The Madness of Maps

2. Girl Tip of the Day

3. Shout Outs and Shake Downs

4. Scatter, Love (or Love, Scattered)

5. [something with "Matriculate"]

 

Or

 

In Hysterics

 

?

 

aly:

TACKLE is an anagram for all of our first names.

 

laura:

I kind of love TACKLE. 

 

kathy:

Tackling life, love, and the pursuit of happiness.  I think we do those things.  And I think that is what the blog will be about.  Especially the nature of tackling.  Figuring it out, wrestling with it.  Traci seems to think we are all in interesting times in our lives, which includes a lot of transition still.  Wrestle-full transition can be.  (My Yoda sentence for those that just think I can't form sentences.)  I am goofy.  My coffee is waiting...

xo Wish we could get a coffee/cocoa together xo

 

cole:

K. if tackle works for everyone I'm gonna do that. Woop woop to Aly! I feel like a hot woman football player.

However, I also really love the ideas of madness, maps, hysterics, and scattered love from Traci. Traci, do you think we could turn that into the one or two sentence intro to the blog? Everyone let me know if you have a beautiful wordy way to do this.

So excited bc i am having coffee now so it is kind of like having coffee with you...kind of. love. 

 

kathy:

Sexy Six.

 

Yes, in my mind we are having coffee together.

 

traci:

Love TACKLE. And I knew Aly would come up with something good!

Drinking coffee with you,

 

cole:

invites are out! how do we drink champagne online?