So this month is the RWA National Conference, which I’ll be attending, and also doing a workshop (with Liz Maverick). She and I’ll be discussing Social Media, so yay. We know tons more about it this year than last, and last year was fun. I felt knowledgeable and stuff!

I haven’t been writing, but have been pondering new projects and counting WW points so I will hopefully not be as much of a house as I’ve morphed into. Maybe I’ll be less a Florida room, or something. I refuse to buy new clothes. Refuse.

I’m enjoying the nice weather, and the fun Frampton boys, and even survived a weekend visiting my mom (!). Wait–have I become an adult?!? No. I’m likely just tired.

Anyhoo, I do feel kinda (read: VERY) lame at not posting more often here, but I do post a lot of stuff at the day job, HeroesandHeartbreakers.com. I complain less about my personal life there, thank goodness.

This is one of my new favorite songs:

(Yes, those are enormous bear heads).

After vehemently refusing to go to Disney while in Orlando last week, I–went to Disney. It wasn’t awful! I’d thought I’d have a miserable time, but I promised my Disney partner, Liz Maverick, that I wouldn’t ruin her visit with my anti-Mickey venom (and you shoulda seen the older lady’s face at the Disney hotel when I said, in a hushed mutter, that I hated Mickey).

I also promised Liz I would let her take goofy (not Goofy) pictures of me. To wit:

So the Son is off having Adventures, leaving his sad, lonely parents back in Brooklyn. Which means that his sad, lonely parents don’t have the care and responsibility for the Son.

Party time!

We’ve been having Date Night every night since he left, except for one night when we saw our respective friends. We’ve gone to the same chi-chi tequila bar TWICE, had wine and cheese while watching Mad Men, went on a bike ride TOGETHER, went to the movies (!) and saw Inception, slept late, took naps and went shopping.

A good, if exhausting, time has been had by us.

And tomorrow I head to Florida for the Romance Writers Of America’s annual conference, and will be presenting a workshop with Liz Maverick on social networking. See? Like this here? I am networking, socially.

Will post when I can, but my life hasn’t been worth me saying anything about anyway, so likely will not be posting a lot.

Have I mentioned the Synopsis From Hell?

Well.

The Alpha Sparkle Dog read pages from the current Work in Progress (which implies that it’s in progress, which is a crock according to my own work habits), and said, gently, that perhaps a synopsis would be useful.

At which point–and this was about a month ago–I froze in terror.

I can’t write a synopsis. But I have to. Irresistible Force, meet Immovable Object.

So I started writing one yesterday. I’ve got three paragraphs. Three more paragraphs than I’ve managed to achieve in the past month. Yay? Sorta?

Anyhoo, I think this book is good, and I’d like to finish writing it. But in order to finish, I think I need a synopsis. There’s that Force/Object conundrum again.

And now off to futz around doing Important Things for the Spouse. Great way to procrastinate.

Megan

PS: CindyS, the Armitage thing is when he’s on Season 7 of MI-5, which is available from Netflix at the end of this month. He plays a spy who’s been captive in Russia for eight years, hence the tats and general bad attitude. Rowr.

So I was talking with the Alpha Sparkle Dog (whose book is shipping now! Go get it!) about being unable to move forward on a project. We are both experiencing the frozen paralysis of creativity, wherein we distract ourselves with bright, shiny things that are not our writing.

In my case, it’s because I have to write a synopsis. And seriously, there is nothing in writing more that I hate than a synopsis. I don’t know why.

Which, along with all the usual holiday mayhem, is why I haven’t written a word in far too long. I am such a dud.

Must get over self and do something productive. Feel lame elsewise.

Last Saturday night–otherwise known as Megan Escapes From the Shackles of Mother- And Wife-hood Night–the Alpha Sparkle Dog and I went to Chinatown to imbibe in some, duh, Chinese food.

We were crossing Canal St. when we spotted a couple in Santa wear; she had on the cutest white tutu, red and white striped socks and a fetching Santa hat. He looked like a dud, albeit a dud in Santa gear. No big deal, we thought. Until more people dressed as Santa started streaming by, and more, until we were engulfed in what Liz deemed “A flurry of Santas!” (note: An Exaltation of Larks by James Lipton; can I say just how impressed I was by Liz’s explication?) It was the SantaCon! Who knew? (The answer to which, of course, is about 2,000 game New Yorkers. Not me, however. I did not know).

Liz has the live action goods at her place, and here is a snap of some Santas doing some sidewalk belt-shopping:

And then one of our entrees:

More pix at Liz’s Rebellious place.

I went through the sobbies on Friday, not too many, but still, and Saturday the dreaded Back Spasm appeared, which it usually does the day after a traumatic event (note to Spouse: Do not pick fights with me. You’ll have to be tying my shoes for a week).

But yesterday we got our tree, and had the first snow, and got stuff done, which is always good. Today I am kinda hobbling around, but still able to move things from one place to another.

I am enthused about returning to work on this contemporary thingie I’ve had banging around in my head, and will be doing so at the Alpha Sparkle Dog’s house this Tuesday. Meanwhile, my agent remain on the case, but nobody is buying anything lately these days, and we just gotta wait until after the inauguration, she thinks, for something to happen.

My family talked amongst itself on Friday, and boy, does my family rock. They are tremendous people, and I love them all to bits. Especially my uncle Jon, who hurts more than I do, since at least I have the Nine Year-Old to distract me. And the P-I-C commented here, and the Picky Vegetarian sent me a lovely email, and boy is it great to have such amazing friends.

The 9 y.o. and I went and saw Twilight, which I thought did as best as it could to translate a teenaged girl’s fantasy onto film. Because, of course, each of us have differing fantasies, so how could one universal image ever satisfy? But that Robert Pattinson was a darn good Edward. My only quibble was Jacob, I thought the actor who played him was too young and mushy-looking, but that’s minor. And I’m not a teenaged girl.

Oh, AND, we bought and won a vintage blow-mold Frosty the Snowman, which will be adorning our back deck!! I am beyond thrilled!

More later. Meanwhile, thanks for stopping by.

Aha! I thought of what to discuss here, went to put it in the title, and saw I had already used it: Time Management. I’ve cleaned up my basement, all the white undershirts (don’t ask!) are clean, and I am able to keep the dining room table clear.

But I haven’t been able to carve out consistent time to write, except for when the Alpha Dog comes over for a writing date.

So the next step, besides ridding myself of my summer 10, is to write every other day, at least. A goal I think I can manage, if I reward myself sufficiently (”you can’t have a study break if you don’t study”).

Okay. Deep breath. Wish me luck.

Liz–aka The Alpha Dog–has her new book out today. Yay!

Click here for it. Isn’t it pretty?