So, other than my occasional postings of books, which is easy thanks to Goodreads, I've been terrible about updating. No excuses or apologies for that really. Things have been really good for the most part. Work has been a bit rough lately, but in my job the few weeks before school starts are the worst of the year so that's not a surprise.

For instance, I neglected to write about my fabulous fortieth birthday where my family and friends came down, gathered and ate at the always wonderful Loveless Cafe, providing stories, laughter, gifts and fabulous company. I like to joke about getting old, but so far I'm liking 40. Dad stayed an extra day and we journeyed up to Bowling Green, Kentucky, and a visit to the National Corvette Museum. We had a good time.

I also neglected to write about my recent trip to Washington, D.C. I was there for my annual law librarian conference. I got to see a bunch of old friends, which was wonderful, and made a couple of new ones. I have so many friends now in or near D.C. it was impossible to see everyone. I did manage to squeeze in a trip to the National Zoo, though, which was fun. I also got to see the Library of Congress where there was an opening reception full of drinks, fabulous desserts and the original library of Thomas Jefferson. *swoon*

But, this past weekend, I visited rosepurr. She is on an assignment in New Orleans. She usually comes home on the weekends, no matter where she is, but she opted to stay so I could come down and spend the weekend with her. We've both there before, but never together. Like Paris, it is a city for couples and romance.

August is not the best time to visit, with its raging heat and humidity, but it didn't matter. We visited some of our favorites haunts like the Gumbo Shop and Cafe du Monde. Walked down Bourbon Street on Saturday night. Ate fabulous food. Drank fabulous drinks. Went to visit Mardi Gras World, where they build & house the floats for the annual spectacle. Snuggled in a fabulous hotel room, the recently remodeled Roosevelt, owned by the Waldorf Astoria.

Saturday we inadvertently found ourselves in the midst of an annual event, the Red Dress Run. About 7000 people, men & women, show up in red dresses and run/walk/drink their way through the French Quarter. Sponsored by the local hashing group, it is truly a sight to behold. Fortunately, we also found fantastic Bloody Mary's at the same time. I want to gather a group and go down next year for both the run and the Bloody Mary's.

In short, fantastic. I knew it would be, and yet it exceeded my expectations. Time with rosepurr always does. :)

So rosepurr teasingly commented to me that I haven't been praising her enough in LJ. I don't dish out enough praise to everyone, actually. It's too easy to got on a blog or in some other type of journal and complain about something. It's much harder to write about the good things. It's something I should work on.

My sweetie got me a wonderful ring and contributed to renting a cabin over the 4th of July as part of my birthday celebration. She's good to me in so many ways, like sharing her fabulous cooking. Last night, on her suggestion, we attended the Frist Friday, which was fun, feeling more a part of the Nashville cultural scene while looking at the current exhibits - one of genuine Tiffany glass, one of some American abstracts, and one of four contemporary Southern artists.

Then we walked across the street to Flying Saucer, which I knew nothing about (she'd heard about it from her coworkers) and which immediately established itself as one of my Nashville favorites, even though it's apparently a chain. YAY, beer! I had the Sierra Nevada Torpedo, which I admit knocked me on my butt a little. (Our waitress warned me it had a high alcoholic content; she was not lying.) Afterward, we came home, turned on the TV, and got completely sucked in to an infomercial for Time-Life's Country Romance Collection. Sometimes we are an old married couple.

We slept later this morning than we have in a long while. A great start to a day dedicated to being lazy.

My fabulous sweetie also saw to it that my LJ was bombarded with birthday greetings earlier this week, which was nice. (Hello and thanks, all!)

I got wonderful gifts from family, too. I'm in T-shirt accumulating phase right now. My sister, mrsbowlert sent me a couple of neat ones from Threadless. Here's the one I'm wearing as I write this. Meanwhile, my dad sent rosepurr and I matching ones from the Harley-Davidson dealership in Woodstock, NY. We can match like all those other biking couples. Well, except for the bike part.

So, life is good. The newspaper told me so.

What's sore and black and blue all over?

Me on my birthday.

Yes, it's my birthday. I'm a whopping 37. It's just a number and not a terribly exciting one at that.

What's more exciting is that the wedding is fast approaching. July has been a blur really. I had the 4th (which was consumed with a lot of wedding stuff anyway), and then the AALL conference and then I had to move.

I got a new apartment because I hated the one I was at and they were raising the rent again. So I found a new place. The bulk of the move took place Wednesday. I rented a U-Haul and got one of my co-workers to help. (Hell, he volunteered - sucker.) It was almost 100 degrees Wednesday and it was an all-day job. I can't remember the last time I physically exerted myself like that. Although at the end of the day, I felt accomplished, even if in agony. My arms felt like iron. And when the entertainment center fell on my knee, I cussed like a sailor. I have a bruise about the size of a Mason jar just above my kneecap; it's a pretty shade of purple.

But I already like the new place better, even as I live out of boxes.

Tomorrow I will head back to the old place for a bit more packing (I have way too much stuff) and cleaning. Yuck. Oh, well. It will be done, and then I can devote myself that much more to wedding stuff.

So much for the birthday celebration.

So I spent all weekend in my apartment. As if in cooperation, God made it a cloudy, rainy miserable weekend, further encouraging me to stay in.

But now it continues to be rainy, dark, and miserable. And I'm very cranky. I had a difficult time getting out of bed, perhaps because I woke up at 4:30 AM for no apparent reason.

If I don't see the sun soon, someone's going to get hurt.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Oh, and

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, mrsbowlert!