So What is Your Book About Exactly?

...I get this question all the time. Followed by: Will there be new recipes or is it only the recipes already on the blog? Does it have anything to do with the dinner diary you've kept since 1998? Is it a book about you and Andy? Will it provide any more variations on that yogurt-marinated grilled chicken I love so much? Is it also for people who don't have kids? Loyal readers who remember the book announcement back in January sometimes ask "Is it a cookbook devoted entirely to meatballs?"

For the most part, the answers to all these questions (except the meatball one) is yes. I will get into more detail as I approach the June publication date (believe me, I will!), but for now I wanted to share the above photo with you which might help clarify things a bit. What you're looking at is an excerpt of the "Style Sheet" that the copyeditor sent along with my marked-up manuscript. A Style Sheet shows how certain words that frequently come up in the book need to be written -- whether they should be capitalized, written in contractions, what the preferred spellings are, etc. The words are listed alphabetically so it's easy to refer back to them.

Looking at the "S" section the other day I had the realization that those six words, when taken together, might capture the spirit of the book better than any 500-word post. For those of you with newborns wondering if the book is for you, "Snap 'N Go" should answer that. For those of you with toddlers whose idea of dinner is one chicken nugget, two potatoes, and nothing green, see: "survival mode." For those of you who stay up at night trying to solve your own personal work-life-balance equation, you will find plenty of "soul-searching" And for those of you just interested in what quick side to throw on the family dinner plate after a long day of work "Swiss Chard" should do the trick. As for "Spoonula," I'll keep that one to myself, but let me just say that it has become a revolutionary tool in the scrambled-egg department. If only my kids ate eggs. (See D: "downward spiral.")

Have a great weekend.

P.S. Next week: The Cover! I couldn't be more excited to unveil it and hear what you guys think.

P.P.S Next month: A bunch of awesome giveaways. Remember, to be eligible, you need to subscribe to our newsletter.