S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G B-E-E

The bee.

Vanessa Rothrock here. Have you been watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee? I have. It's so exciting.

A girl from Florida, Serena Laine-Lobsinger, went to the semi-finals and appeared on ESPN. She was a championship finalist! You can read about her here. Way to go, Serena!

I was biting my nails during the finals. Weren't you?

C-O-N-G-R-A-T-U-L-A-T-I-O-N-S to all the fabulous spellers and the big winner -- Kavya Shivashankar. She went all the way by spelling such doozies as mesophilic and bouquiniste! Hooray, Kavya!

I still can't believe that I got tripped up on a cookie during my bee experience. As if!

If you want to read about my spelling bee misadventures, check out AS IF BEING 12 3/4 ISN'T BAD ENOUGH, MY MOTHER IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT!

Well, gotta book. Mom just challenged me to a game of Scrabble. Maybe this time I'll actually win. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

Hugs,
Vanessa

P.S. Here's a hilarious bit I just discovered from the fine, funny folks at McSweeney's.