We’re back from vacation, some of us well-rested, even! We all had a great time, and we did ohmygod so much it was astonishing. Highlights include:

–a beer cocktail from Craft & Commerce, where the staff all dress as though from the Gangs of New York.
–seeing Leonardo DiCaprio at the San Diego Zoo. His hat was pulled low over his eyes, but I spotted him.
–seeing a sleeping cheetah super up-close.
–more beer. San Diego is renowned for its microbrewery scene.
–fish tacos, including swordfish, salmon, and halibut.
–Legoland’s Miniland exhibit. Sounds doofy, but the Lego recreations of cities are truly astonishing.
–a hot tub. At night. Yay!
–the Legoland waterpark.
–the San Diego beaches, even though a stingray got one of our party and another one tried to take a nap on the beach (guess which one?), not realizing a wave would crash over her iPhone and destroy it. Oopie.
–mac and cheese with truffles and pancetta. Yeah. As good as it sounds.

Back to work, back to working on projects, back to eating cottage cheese and trying not to think of bacon.
–

We’re back in Very Snowy Brooklyn, and thankfully found a parking spot when we arrived, since the streets have barely been plowed.

I have to work a smidge on freelance stuff, but otherwise, we’re nesting at home, watching movies, eating popcorn and laughing. Yay!

Next week back to the real world. But for now–hand me the remote!

No, I am not continuing to pimp Game Of Thrones (”winter is coming”), but instead to say we are heading to Minnesota for a wedding.

Whee!

and

Yikes!

It is supposed to be a high–A HIGH–of 12 degrees tomorrow. But since I expect not to be outside very much, it should be fine. Of course I am freaking out about being cold, since that’s what I do, but as a consequence a Lovely Spouse bought me a brown cashmere hoodie last Christmas, so I’ll be wearing that as often as possible.

Anyhoo, I have done my post at the Riskies for tomorrow already, talking about my Jane Austen love, so click on over there if you wanna see (lazybones, just click on ‘my other blog,’ since I don’t have the right URL here yet).

Okay. If I don’t freeze, I should return in a few days.

This is a short week, with peril up ahead: Family! Delicious Pie! Lots of Sitting Around! FAMILY!

So I’m trying to just get through the first part, and hope to rest a lot during the second, hopefully not clutching a piece of pie as I snooze.

Although pie IS good.

Whoa, I’ve been away from here for longer than I’ve ever been. So, what’s been going on?

Hm.

–the Frampies went on vacation to California; we saw Big Sur, good food, lovely relatives and many, many forms of aquatic life at the Monterey Aquarium (pic of 11 y.o. and cousins, above).

–we got an iPad, which I used to write on while Scott was hogging the Mac. FTW! I wrote over 1,000 words. Am taking said iPad to RWA’s National Conference, which I go to next week.

–Sleeping has been crazy problematic for me since returning home. Insomnia every night, exhaustion every day. Fun!

–My husband likes to take lovely pictures of picturesque landscapes, while I like to take pictures of people.

–I have been a week without diet Coke. No reason, just thought I’d try.

–This summer is flying by. And THANK GOD we put in central air-conditioning.

–Have I mentioned I’m so tired? Yeah. But, you’ll all be glad to hear, still preserving my inimitable sense of humor, which is to say, thinking ‘Yeah, that’s EXACTLY what I wanted to happen’ when something horrible happens. Joy.

–We all love ramen. It is the 11 Year-Old’s favorite food.

–

Ah, geez, could I be any more of a downer? If I’m not boo-hooing over how much I miss my dad, I’m griping about my inability to find time to write, delicious food I’m not eating, and how tired I am.

So–why mess with success?

I’ll be taking a break–just for a few days–so I can concentrate on middle school stuff, and lots of other things that are CONVENIENTLY SCHEDULED FOR THE EXACT SAME TIME.

But today is World AIDS Day, which is important to remember. Everyone has had someone in their life touched by AIDS; in my case (and I’ve talked about it here before), it was my uncle Paul. Not only was Paul gay, he was frequently unpleasant, incredibly intelligent, combative, selfish, manipulative and actually crazy. I didn’t like him. He caused problems between me and my dad, difficulties with other members of the family and was a burden on his siblings. But, for all that, he deserved the chance to live a long life, not to die of AIDS back in–I think it was 1986. I wish he could have had the chance to get well, stay on his meds, get a professorship somewhere, finally decide on which of his boyfriends he wanted to stick with and stop drinking my diet soda.

Please stop a moment and think of all the lives lost. For me, what is most painful about the disease is that the initial stigma made working on a cure much less of a priority. Imagine how far along science would be if we had attacked finding a cure with the same alacrity we’ve had for other, less controversial, diseases.

Megan

*An X song. You know by now, don’t you, that I can find a song to suit every occasion?

Too busy, not to mention insanely dull, to post actual words. But I did down/up load some pictures, so I thought I’d share:

Yesterday was lovely. I got up, worked on freelance, then headed back upstairs to take a nap. WIN1

Then I worked on my own writing, and finished this short Regency-set story I’ve been doing. WIN2

Then, McVane came up with the perfect anagram for my name: Tramp, Fang On Me. WIN3

The Picky Vegetarian, who’s been working like a dog WITH dogs (and cats) called, which was nice, but cell reception stinks so all I could hear was “Happy Birthday.” But still, it was nice. WIN3.1

After, I read more of The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks, which the Faux Critique Partner recommended. WIN4

[Many, many happy birthday wishes from Twitter and Facebook, plus a special post from my P-I-C] WIN4.1

Then, STEAK! And family, and wine, and laughter. WIN5

A gift of tube mascara and Godiva chocolate. WIN6

After that? The Nocturnal Aunt and I watched North And South, and she adored it. WIN7

A really, really good day.

So normally this spot is a place for self-deprecation, not self-aggrandizement. But today that is all changed, because–

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!

I am 45, and pretty okay with that. A few weeks ago, we had a Dance Party Fiesta to celebrate the birthday, and my nearest and dearest came over to the house and celebrated. Here’s a picture of me with the Super-Smart Lawyer (the female one) and frequent commenter Hatrack (the male one).

The party was fabulous, with loads of dancing fun. The funniest part–which the Super-Smart Lawyer’s Awesome BF noticed, and made due fun of–was that every time a new song came on, I gushed, “Ooh! I love this song!” Well, duh, Megan, you assembled the entire playlist, and of course you love all the songs.

I am still in Minnesota, so the Thoughtful Spouse texted me last night, and then called me first thing to wish me a HB. He sent a card, too, which I got yesterday. Tonight the Minnesota relatives are bowing to my demands and we’re having steak for dinner. Yum! And mushrooms in wine sauce, double yum!

Okay. Tomorrow, back to insecurity and angst. Today, we’re having birthday cake.

So this weekend was nutty; first, I went to Book Expo America, where I wandered the conference hall with Andrea Pickens, a wonderful, smart Regency-set historical author (her new books from Grand Central will be pubbed under a different name, which I will report when I can find). I met up with Amanda McCabe and Diane Gaston at the Met, where we oohed over the Decorative Arts exhibits and had lunch at the cafe. I felt very Ladies-Who-Lunch that day, it was cool. Then, my cousin arrived from San Francisco, and the 9 Year-Old and I went to pick him up at the airport. He was in just for the weekend, wanting to a) hang with us b) see New York c) shop for sneakers and d) catch up with old friends, not necessarily in that order.

Saturday we all went sneaker-shopping, checking into New York’s various cool sneaks shops, places where I was totally intimidated, way too old, and definitely not cool. We stopped at Economy Candy, where we got chocolate-covered halvah and the 9 Y.O. bought more jelly beans than I should have allowed.

We ate dosa–Indian crepes–at a Soho joint, where the Star-Struck, and Slightly Faint Spouse saw Carla Gugino. Then the cousin went off to see Mos Def and Talib Kweli, and we trucked home, where the Still Faint Spouse and I watched Taken, which was surprisingly not cheesy.

Next day, we did errand-y things, but then–!–I went out to meet Amanda, Diane, Hope Tarr and Kwana, the P-I-C, for dinner. It was so lovely to hang out with them.

Monday I took the cousin to the airport, got stuck in some wicked traffic, came home and met the Picky Vegetarian for a day of Chinese food, overwrought cupcakes and much talking. And THEN–no, I’m not done–I went out to Lady Jane’s Salon, where Amanda and Diane were doing readings from their new book.

But today I have a respite. I hope not to talk to anybody for a few hours. I was happy with myself that I didn’t get a panic attack at the thought of seeing and hanging with so many people, that I didn’t get stupid (it happens), that I made good choices and plans.

And back to work, first freelance, then some fiction. Later in the week, a much-needed hair cut. And then more weekend fun, starting with an evening with the Picky V., who is willing to come out to Brooklyn to get her Megan on. Yay!