It's been a pretty good bunch of days. Saturday I had a milestone birthday (thanks to cardigirl  for a great birthday card!). Friday the 4th was our company picnic, which was originally scheduled for the 3rd. It was rescheduled by someone else so that kids could go; we had about 12 kids (most were still in school anyway) on Friday, and an ungodly TFW that made much of the experience pretty miserable. A couple of coworkers were sweet enough to bring me birthday gifts, including a skull martini glass and a mondo-cool Nightmare Before Christmas lunchbox (with thermos), and they even came up with a Finding Nemo birthday cake (although the fish toys turned up missing when the cake was packed up, oh well). A friend from Chicago sent me Fannie May candy. :)

I have to admit that the milestone birthday freaks me out more than a little. Lest I sound whiny, I won't go into that. The Husband has been, as always, hugely supportive and has plied me with lots of nice stuff, including white buffalo earrings and a stunning opal heart necklace. The bigger thing is he's taken steps to make the pool warmer, so that I can actually swim in it this year. Petite Desert Flower that I am, the water was only warm enough last summer for me to fully immerse twice.

As part of my freakyness over the Big Bad Birthday, The Husband and I discussed my writing as a priority, and we've reestablished that Grande Dame of Writing Hierarchdom: The Deadline. I now have one for completion of the first book, in draft (because I hope it will be a series and there will be more), of the Super Secret Project: October 1, 2007. He believes the problem is that I have no impetus to complete it, whereas in the past I have always had some kind of deadline, at least since I began selling. It's quote possible he's right. (Speak into the microphone, slowly please.)

As of right now:


And now, off to the day job. ::pfleeeeeet::