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I'm about to head out to my fifth or sixth tennis lesson, and I am still getting used to the idea that I am the proud owner of not just a tennis racquet but the requisite white, boat-like tennis shoes. Only now in my mid-twenties, have I willingly tempted the Sports Gods.

You see, I have never played a sport.  Not AYSO soccer as a six-year-old, not middle school softball--nothing.  When I was ten, my mother dragged me (whining and pouting, of course) to a two-week session at Olympic Sports Camp, to see if anything would stick.  I spent two weeks crafting daisy chains and participating in gymnastics only (my perfected center splits would later appear in the camp brochure).

I wasn't a total couch potato.  I took dance lessons from toddler-hood well though high school and later rose to power on my high school's amateur cheerleading squad.  But there was something about sports that terrified me.  The concept of winning and losing, succeeding and failing--I wanted nothing to do with it.

When my 12-year-old sister started taking tennis lessons this summer, I mentioned to my mother that I wouldn't mind learning how to play.  My friends in college had casual matches with each other, and I always felt a little wistful bowing out of their invitations.  So when my mother offered to treat me to some lessons over the summer, I decided I had nothing to lose.  If I was a total disaster, no one would have to know besides Lori, the shockingly chipper 40-something who gave lessons on her parents' Beverly Hills tennis court.

At my first lesson, I was shocked that I managed to make racquet-to-ball contact, and I felt pretty pleased with myself.  When I learned how to hit backhand and travel to the ball, I was ready to challenge Venus and Serena to a match.  Could I serve?  No.  Could I rally more than 3-4 times over the net?  In my dreams!  But did I feel proud to be overcoming a life-long phobia of courts, points, balls, nets, and competition?  More than you can imagine.

See you on the court...
 
 

For the past year, I have been working with Badgerdog Literary Publishing's writers-in-the-schools program, visiting an elementary school classroom twice a week to run creative writing workshops (see my adorable class pictured at right).  At the end of each semester, Badgerdog publishes an anthology of student work from 20+ elementary, middle, and high school classes across Austin.

This past Saturday, Badgerdog celebrated the book release with a student reading and book signing party.  The kids got such a kick out of having strangers ask for their autographs, as well as having their teachers (me included!) serve them cookies and lemonade.  To order a copy of the spring 2009 anthology, visit the Badgerdog online store.  

 
 

I have been sucked into the alternate universe known as Twitter.  I may sound like I'm kidding, but it's keeping me up past my bedtime and preventing me from getting my work done.

It started innocently enough.  As a dedicated fan of The View, I'd been listening to Sherri and Elisabeth rave about Twitter for weeks, how much they loved "tweeting" with their "tweeps," etc.  I scoffed at their enthusiasm, wondering just how fun it could be to post 140 characters at a time.  But on the day they convinced Barbara to join, my curiosity won out over my skepticism.  

Within minutes, I had collected over fifty celebrities to "follow," as well as some actual friends who wanted to follow me back.  I was amazed at the new inside scoop I was gaining into the lives of my favorite celebs, and it was fun to exchange witty quips with friends across the country.  The only problem is that the constant influx of updates makes it hard for me to tear myself from the screen.  I wouldn't mind if they created a feature that only allowed me on the site for a certain number of minutes a day...ideally no less than an hour ;)

So what do you think: to tweet or not to tweet?

(For the record, my mom voted to tweet...I helped her sign up last night!) 

**I almost forgot to mention: you can follow me @clairemrs.**

 
 

I know I'm biased, but I could watch this commercial over and over again (it's almost as enjoyable as watching everyone's favorite singing sensation, Susan Boyle).  If you like what you see, leave us a rating and/or a comment!