And it’s really funny, because this house almost never happened. We were out one day with our realtor and Liv going to see a whopping six houses (with a six-year-old!). This house – our house – was having an open house and we happened to be driving by it on our route. Liv and I waited in the car (a child’s patience with house hunting can only go so far), while Greg and our realtor ran inside for a quick walk-through. A few minutes later, I see them emerge and Greg’s laughing and clutching his head. When they get back into the car, Greg tells us that he slammed his head into the ceiling where it slants downward on one side at the top of the stairs. I’m pretty sure he had a mild concussion. So… it’s pretty silly that we went back to that same house for another look just a couple weeks later. And it’s also silly that Greg hit his head (albeit softly) in the exact same spot at the top of the stairs again. And I guess it’s just ridiculous that we ended up falling in love with this place despite our shaky beginnings.

Well, it’s ours now. It’s a work in progress. We love it.

One of the reasons why is that we got engaged at the end of May! We’re both so excited about spending our lives together. We’re just starting to give some thought to wedding planning, but we’ve got  time since we’re eying sometime next fall for the big day. Plennnnnnty of time to get things all in order.

If you’re interested, I’ll try and keep this blog updated with wedding goodness… More to come, of course.

Holy Awkward Headline! But read on to find out what we’re talking about. This one is cross-posted from gregverdino.com and gregverdino.net.

With social media usage approaching something like ubiquity, it’s not surprising to see creative endeavors that are are hatched and nurtured in social find their way into the more traditional mainstream media. To name just a few: Twitter’s @shitmydadsays has been optioned for television, countless writers have gone from blog to book including the successful and surprisingly good horror send-up John Dies at the End, more still — like J.C. Hutchins (who is profiled in my book) — go from podcast to print.

It’s practically harping on yesterday’s news to talk about social media projects making the jump into the so-called real world. But I’d like to call your attention to a crossover that is near to my heart and for which I’d love to solicit your support (hey, I don’t ask for much – the next time I do, it will be to ask you to buy my book – so indulge me for a few minutes.)

Enter David Niall Wilson: a horror and science fiction novelist turned Twitter fanatic. Early in 2009, a couple of chance remarks made on Twitter got his creative juices flowing and, as often happens with creative types, before long those stray remarks had inspired the basic plot for a horror screenplay that is equal parts slasher movie, serial killer story and ecological thriller. David called his script Killer Green, began publishing it to his blog one scene at a time (the first two scenes are still online), and letting his Twitter followers know when they should tune in for more.

With the script written, David quietly went about optioning the screenplay to a small indie production house that, in turn, secured commitments from some talent to play key roles. And so the movie sits, awaiting production which — as you undoubtedly realize — costs money… More on that in a second but first:

Why am I telling you all of this?

Well, for one thing David is a friend (disclosure: he has also sent Amanda and me some free stuff over the course of the past couple of years and suffered through a very bizarre phone call on Thanksgiving 2008). For another, taking his inspiration from Twitter in more ways than one, David loosely modeled Killer Green’s cast of characters after people he had gotten to know 140-characters at a time. One of the film’s main protagonists — Professor Gregory Verdino — is, well, inspired yours truly; Professor Verdino’s love interest is inspired by my love interest; and other social media notables like geekosaurus Chris Brogan feature prominently as well. So hell yeah I’d love to see this thing on the silver screen.

Cut to close-up of you: It’s fitting that a movie inspired by the social media community find its funding in the social media community as well. And that’s exactly what the Killer Green crew are aiming to do — which is why I’m writing this post, because I’m hoping you can help.

How?

Most of all, I’d like to encourage you to check out the Killer Green fundraising page on IndieGoGo — if you’re familiar with social fundraising startups like Kickstarter or the music-focused SellaBand, think of IndieGoGo as something similar, with a big focus around helping indie producers get their movies made through small financial contributions from regular people.

You can learn more about the movie and, if you like the idea or just want to support it, you can contribute toward its $50,000 fundraising goal.

Even if you can’t contribute money, you can certainly help to build the buzz. I’d love it if you would share this post on Twitter, Facebook or with your friends. Point people to the Killer Green page. Tell David Niall Wilson you love him (ok – I can’t ask that much, but it doesn’t take much to spread the word and help something social come to life on the screen.)

Professor Gregory Verdino will thank you. I will too.

A what?

You heard me, people. An ocicat, and her name is Khloe. We got her at the end of January, when she was just 3 months old, and she’s been meowing, cuddling, playing, biting and driving us crazy ever since.

When we first brought Khloe home, she hid under the printer for about two hours. Talk about instant bonding. She didn’t eat much in the first few days, but we were counting our lucky stars when we saw that she understood what the litter box (or space ship, as we call it) was for.

Before long, she was spending most of her time attacking her scratching post like she was fighting it to the death, hiding toy mice around the apartment, and learning that her favorite flavor of kitty pate (yes, pate) is the oh so delectable Ocean Fish. Naturally, her breath is super lovely.

Very early on, I knew that Khloe was meant to be mine, because we share lots of similar interests. You may think this seems weird to say about a kitten, but I assure you, we are like two peas in a pod. For starters, she enjoys spending time on my laptop, she likes to eat things she shouldn’t really eat, she’s got a thing for handbags, and she likes to annoy Greg. It’s destiny!

Now Khloe is 5+ lbs and continuing to grow into a strong young cat. She’s very committed to exercise, as she makes evident with her tough workouts learning how to jump higher and higher. She has athletically conquered the couch, the TV stand, the bed, Greg’s desk, and now the kitchen counters. What’s next? My face? Probably.

So now that you’ve heard all about our little beast, please give Khloe Marie Gravel-Verdino a warm Gremanda Blog welcome! Do it, or she’ll barf on your carpet and bite your toes.

Hey grefandas! We’re in the Personal Tech section of this morning’s Globe & Mail newspaper and neither of us said anything too hopelessly embarrassing. w00t!

The piece is called ‘The Couple that Tweets Together Stays Together” and also features that other Twitter couple (Gradon Tripp and Meg Fowler aka – ummm – greg? trowler?) and one of our best Twitter buds Paul McEnany.

Give it a read.

New posts coming soon: we got a kitten and we’re house hunting (ostensibly to get away from the kitten.) How riveting is that?

We’re feeling festive with our poinsettias and stockings, reindeer and Christmas tree.  I get giddy just thinking about it.  Coziness and love are what it’s all about, and Chateau Verdineau’s got oodles.

Truth be told, I haven’t been so excited about Christmas since I was a little kid.  This is the first time in my life where I feel like I’m beginning new family traditions and making important memories as an adult in the holiday equation.  And it’s absolutely magical to me.  I know I’m the luckiest girl in the world.  I can’t wait for this and every Christmas to come with Greg.  He’s the best gift I could ever imagine.

I hope you’re having a beautiful holiday, too.  And since you might want to see, here are just a few photos of the gremanda holiday season so far…

It’s Thanksgiving eve and it’s mighty lonely around Chateau Verdineau. And it’s not even that Amanda has wandered off into a different wing and I just need to wait for her to return to the Great Room bearing a silver platter heaped with gourds, gizzards or some other kind of holiday crap. She left for Florida (friggin’ FLORIDA!) yesterday, to spend Thanksgiving with her family and won’t be back until next Tuesday.

I was invited (at least that’s what Amanda tells me) and all is good in Gremandaland. But the trip just wasn’t in the cards for me. I’ll be spending my Thanksgiving with my daughter and my parents here on Strong Island while Amanda spends hers lounging around in a bikini while roast turkeys float in little plastic boats atop the pool water (sorry grefandas, but that’s how I imagine they roll down in the Sunshine State.)

Don’t get me wrong – I am so happy to have my little girl for the holiday. I just wish Amanda could have been here to share the day with us. And I’m happy A gets some quality time with her family. I just wish I could have shared that with her. Sooo – um yeah – the crisp autumn air bears the ever so slight scent of bummer. Wicked different from last year…

One year ago, I met Amanda’s parents for the first time. Amanda finagled me an invite to their home for Thanksgiving dinner. If I remember her end of the phone conversation correctly, it went something like this: “Yeah, so mom, I’m like probably going to bring this weird old man with me… Uh huh… Right… Well no, not exactly… I’m kinda maybe dating him..? Yes…I think like 27 or something, so not like THAT much older…Um OK… New York… No, he’s not a Yankees fan… I promise he doesn’t smell too bad… K… Love you b… What…? Oh. I think it’s Craig or something like that…Toodles.”

My memory might be off with that “toodles” bit but I’m pretty sure the rest of it is right on.

I, of course, combined my considerable charm and even more considerable monster bankroll to hatch a master plan to win over Mama and Big Papa Gravel. We’re talking the whole nine yards — flowers, fine wine, a new shirt (for me, not for them – I have worn this same no-longer-new shirt in roughly 40% of all Gremanda photos since then. To my knowledge the Gravels all wore their own shirts that day; these shirts may or may not have been new.)

As you can tell from the photographic evidence, my plan was a resounding success.

At my first ThanksGraveling, I discovered that a meat pie is something you eat (not just something gross you read about on Urban Dictionary), Amanda crank called one of our favorite Twitter people David Niall Wilson, and then I looked on helplessly as Amanda spilled wine on her crotch and mopped it up with paper towels. (For the record I did offer to help, even suggested we could save on the paper towels ROWR – nobody seemed to think this was a particularly good idea.) Of course we ate a crapload of turkey and, if memory serves, I didn’t get yelled at for putting my feet on the dining room table.

Then we went back to Amanda’s Boston apartment for a weekend full of buying weird hats and kissing (while wearing said weird hats.)

A lot has happened in the year that has passed since then. Amanda decided that she liked “Craig” enough to take up residence in the Chateau. She met and fell in love with my daughter – and my daughter fell in love with her too. She finally met my parents who, so far, have not tried to drive her from their home with torches and pitchforks. (I have a few ideas as to why that might be. See: bikini photo above. See Also: my father.) We’ve had some adventures, visited some fun places, and have had lots of time to hang out together and just be nekkid us.

I’m thankful for everything we’ve had, done and been over this past year. I’m thankful for the opportunity to keep on having these things forever or until I die – probably somewhere around 3 years down the road at the rate I’m going.  Don’t get me wrong,  I’m thankful for lots of other things too (my daughter, my career, my co-workers, my more or less pretty decent health, etc.) — but right now, even though she’s far far away, I’m thankful most of all for Amanda.

I’m thankful that she lets me love her and that she loves me back. She’s my one, the honest-to-god-fer-real-this-time love of my life and I love everything about her: she’s thoughtful, loving, sweet, smart, almost funny, the most beautiful woman in the world, and pretty damn fun to squeeze. I’m thankful for every bit of her from the very top of her weird hat to the teeny tips of her weird toes. And I can’t wait to pick up her hat, toes and everything in between when she arrives back at JFK next Tuesday.

Anyway, here’s his story (straight from gregverdino.com.)

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Meet Tim Goggin. He’s a single 32-year old entrepreneur who is (if you believe his pitch) the “most interesting  man in San Diego.” He’s also pretty frustrated with the tried-and-true dating scene and thinks social media may be good for more than just a poke.

A couple of months ago, Tim created a mock-infomercial and posted it to YouTube, in hopes of attracting the woman of his dreams to a site where she might claim her “free date.” Now, I’m not all that interested in single guys in San Diego but I am interested in some of the creative, low cost ways individuals–and by association companies–can use social media and new marketing techniques to accomplish their objectives.

This is classic content marketing (not to mention micromarketing) and it will be interesting to see if it delivers. As I write this, Tim’s video has amassed more than 30,000 YouTube views and has landed Tim a handful of mainstream media hits.

But is it bringing the girls? Maybe. As Tim told me in an email late last month, “Results have been pretty good. I’ve been on a few dates. Still haven’t met the right woman but I expect to soon.”

I’ve embedded the video below for any interested ladies living in the San Diego area (or even just visiting for the PRSA conference this week.) Check it out.