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Actually, I should be looking at this like a birthday present. I spoke to my editor this morning, to let her know where I am and it was a great conversation. Among other things, she told me if I was still planning to hand in my book at the end of June, she was going out of town and wouldn’t get to it until July 9th, so I should might as well hand it in then. It’s this enormous gift of time!! It’s funny, because if I needed more time, she would have just given it to me, but still. It’s a present!! I told her about all the things I’ve uncovered in my research, and it was just so much fun to share that with someone who is excited about what you’re working on. “And then I found out this, and this and this!”

Plus, I had my hair color fixed yesterday. What more can I ask for? (Okay, true love. There’s that. But for now, I’m happy.)

This is how you can tell. I’m on deadline but what did I do first thing this morning? Take a picture of Finney, and play around with text boxes.

Today is spa day. I may also go see a movie with Howard, or he will panic because he’s on several deadlines and it’s not his birthday week.

I may also work, but if I do it will be fun stuff. Like go through my “to be added” pile. Sometimes I’d finish a chapter, then later find out something really cool about whatever I already finished writing about. I’d put it in my “to be added” pile for later. I really enjoy this part, taking these fun or bizarre or interesting facts and seeing if there’s a place for them.

I’ve got a story about this woman who kept the skeleton of her best friend in her apartment for two years, because her friend had made demands about her burial and she was afraid if she didn’t fulfill them her friend would come back and haunt her. She was holding onto her skeleton until she could satisfy her friend’s wishes. INSANE.

This MBSR stuff I’m learning has made me stop and smell the roses, which is nice, although in my case that translates to getting down on the floor to smell the kittens. I took this a couple of hours ago while taking a break from writing.

Birthday week plans.

Getting my highlights done on Tuesday. The cut I’m leaving alone, I’m just going to grow it out. Other plans: movies. Knocked Up, Waitress, 28 Weeks Later, The Lives of Others. Shopping. I need new clothes for the gym. When I first started going I bought a lot of spandex-y like things because what did I know and that’s what they sell in the gym clothes section. Turns out, I hate those spandex-y things. I also need some summer tops, and dressy earrings to wear to this dinner for my brother who is Man of the Year for … a kidney foundation charity, but I can’t find the papers and I forgot the name!

I’ve also got an Apple Store credit that I’m going to use. I’ll be going to the gym, so I feel fit and healthy and ready to have 50 more birthdays, and giving myself a nice, home-spa-like day.

A bunch of friends are planning to do a group birthday party thing, but we haven’t been getting our act together on this.

Any good Memorial Day weekend TV?

I’m sorry for the sad picture. This is the grave of Christine Diefenbach. I wrote about her murder in my book about the NYPD’s Cold Case Squad. It was sent to me by the detective who took over her case when Tommy Wray (the detective who had it and who was in my book) retired. This is why I don’t want to write any more books about crime. It’s just too sad.

But of course you can’t escape sadness. I can’t believe I am once again writing about murdered children (the story of Bruce Kremen, the little boy who went missing in California in the sixties).

I’m still working furiously to get this book done by the end of June. It should be okay, but I am currently overwhelmed by the epilogue. Why is it kicking my ass so?? Speaking of the epilogue, I’m reading this book called The Canon. It’s an overview of science written for people like me, adults who really don’t know a lot about science. It’s pretty great so far. I wish I had this when I started this book.

My birthday is next week. Well, a week from Sunday. The whole week will be my birthday week. But I feel weird talking about that in the same post about Christine, it feels disrespectful. I will talk about that tomorrow.

Doesn’t this look like one of the living statues from Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast? I love that movie. Time to watch it again. I found this on 10th Street, on the same block as the firehouse, I think it was. I notice it’s not just a face, but a flying, snake-head face. They just don’t make flying snake-head faces like they used to.

Meanwhile, my arm is killing me, and I haven’t worked on my arms for weeks, and probably won’t for weeks more. I’m going to have very built-up legs and weak arms. The opposite of Popeye.