Jetsetting & the Glamorous Life

even the sky was showy...

Yeah, yeah,

<--------- that's just me in there,

jetting off for a book release party this past weekend.

Don't hate me because my life is glamorous.

I flew all the way to Tacoma, Washington, to celebrate the launch of my dear friend Megan Bostic's debut young adult novel, Never Eighteen.

And, oh, there was glitter,

and wine,

and parties,

and french pastries,

and fancy clothes.

Annmarie, Megan and me... I put us in a movie box to make us look extra fancy.

Heidi and me, posing for the endless paparazzi
(okay, whatever, someone took this shot with my cell phone).

For two whole days, I lived the glamorous life.

Okay, sure, fine, maybe the glitter came with me in my suitcase and I tossed it around when I got there,

and maybe some of the parties were just us girls, sitting around in our pj's, drinking wine and giggling over cardboard cut-outs of our friends. . .

Some of our best friends are merely cardboard heads...

... but we treated them well...

and, we didn't judge...

Still,
all kidding aside,
there was a fabulous party, set against the sparkling backdrop of the Puget Sound, to celebrate a new piece of art being launched -- a  baby book being born into the world:

Megan, reading from her baby book...

and there were fabulous new sights in a distant city:

Chihuly glass bridge in downtown Tacoma at Union Station

and, even a stolen bag:

me, with the awesome sequined skull bag I stole from Heidi Peach

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend.

I'm lucky to have such talented, funny, warm and generous friends.

Jetsetting glamour? Who knows.

You keep the jets and the glamour,

leave me with the cardboard cut-outs, the glitter, and the friends.

- gae


(and I say there was glamour, so there was.)

Proyecto Sobrecarga

What? I studied Spanish. I can speak Spanish if I want to.

It's my damned blog.

Me muerde.

(hahahahaha!) It seems like that says I'm dead in Spanish, but it doesn't. Whatever.

So, it's a new year and, yes, I am still fucking upside down for those of you who know what that means -- for those that don't, sorry, you'll have to follow me a bit more closely... ;) and I am seriously on project overload.

Project Overload, yes, yes, people, that is what the title says, Project Overload. And, no, I didn't remember how to say "overload" in Spanish even though I took it right through college (maybe I never knew), I just googled the translation. I did remember how to say "project" though, so, yeah. *curtseys*

Anyway, some of the project overload is self-induced. For example, after failed physical therapy on my blasted old-lady hip for the past six weeks, I've decided to add hot yoga back into my routine (yep, just in time for that stupid New York Times article telling us that yoga is going to kill us all... for a great retort, check out my friend (and certified yoga instructor) Lori Landau's blog post, Does Yoga Hurt More Than it Heals on technorati.)

It's a big time investment, but my body seems mostly happy to be back to it.

Add that to my usual swim routine, and I'm already in the (swimming) hole just on exercise alone.

As for swimming news (see, I should switch back to Spanish, because this blog post suddenly sounds like one of those chain Christmas letters), I think our open water season is finally (heartbreakingly) over, but what a freaking hugely fantastic exhilarating magnificent season it was. End o' May to January 7th.

Here's my friend Annmarie and I right before we swam on
January 7, 2012. I believe we may have set a Pod record.
And, yes, I added the snow. The air was actually unseasonably warm
but the water was $*&%&$^% cold (maybe 36 degrees).

So, it's back to the pool with me until, hmmm, late? April?

Plus, there's the usual mom/taxi stuff, and trying to get my sixteen year old to do all the things he's supposed to be doing (like getting his permit, and studying for the SAT's), and running from my almost 14-yr olds basketball game to basketball game (both school and travel teams).

Plus, there's my writer stuff: promoting The Pull of Gravity (did you hear it's going to Paperback?), e.g. getting in contact with the several schools that are about to launch into their units that teach it (!) to set up dates to either Skype or make an in-person visit, doing guest blog posts (I'm here on Nerdy Book Club today talking about the books that shaped me as a kid and will be on TeachingBooks.net on January 24, to name just a few) and just keep trying to get the word out there -- seriously, it's a full time job.

And, then, there's my mediation practice. A new client this week, plus a six-way on one of my bigger cases (not as sexy as it sounds, means the clients' separate counsel comes into things to try to resolve some sticky issues), plus a separation agreement that has been taking me days to draft. . . (which is what I *should* be doing now) . . .

Weeks like this always remind me of this:

except that I do the bacon in the microwave, and I'm pretty sure, at least this week, my husband will tell you that he's totally forgotten he's a man ... Sorry hun!)

(TMI? *coughs*)

Finally, I have my first book club appearance ever tonight, not even a friend's book club that felt sorry for me and invited me in. These are a bunch of twenty-somethings I don't know at all. I hope they don't throw tomatoes at me. The moderator chose my book because several places have compared TPOG to John Green's Paper Towns and he's a fan of that book (though I read it and don't really see the comparisons... btw, how weird is it that I get compared to John Green a lot and his new book, out today, is called The Fault of Our Stars, when the manuscript I'm working on is called In Sight of Stars? Hmmm. Wonder if I'll have to change it. . . he's way more famous than I. . . ).

And, the last thing (I know, I know, I said finally, then tricked you and slipped in another last thing), next week I'm flying to Tacoma, WA for my friend Megan's book launch. Here's Megan, being totally adorable as she talks about jealousy and how she handles it,

   
and here's the link to her shiny debut, Never Eighteen.  http://www.amazon.com/Never-Eighteen-Megan-Bostic/dp/0547550766. You should totally buy it and read it, and tell your local library to order it in (I even helped her to revise an early draft. I've not read the final version yet, but I'm excited to).

I'm not that thrilled about the flying part (or the leaving my hubby and kids part) but I am totally excited that my friend Annmarie is coming with me (thanks, sweetie!) and excited that I'm going to finally meet a bunch of friends I only know through facebook and email! That means you, Katie and Brent, and you, Peachy, and, and, and...! I wonder what I should wear... maybe the companion piece I have to this shirt I wore on New Year's Eve?

Come on! That's one fun shirt!

So, that's it. You're all caught up. Both in Spanish and in English. I'm  not spellchecking this puppy or reading it over for nice order or proper grammar. I'm so freaking busy, I shouldn't even have written it in the first place.


But I love you, dear readers, for coming here to check on new posts, so I didn't want to leave you hanging.

If I haven't said it before, Happy New Year! If I did, well, I wish you one again.

*blows kisses, throws leftover, slightly walked on confetti*

Now, get on it. Already January 10! And miles to go before we sleep.

- gae