I’m off to Texas to visit family and kiss the new babies that have been born since the last time I was there. Two boys and a girl on the way! Prolific, that branch of the family.

So, behave while I’m gone (and note I didn’t say you have to be well behaved. Hee)

Here’s the latest news on the World Cup, just to give you something up-to-date to look at while I’m gone. See how it’s a different widget than the one in the sidebar? You are all kinds of informed, baby.

So, the plan today is to pick up Diana Pharaoh Francis, fantasy and urban fantasy author extraordinaire, and drag her around to sign the books the have on stock in the Sacramento area bookstores. On Christmas Eve. Pray for us.

The good news is, we’re not buying anything, so we don’t have to stand in line. The bad news is: traffic and fighting for a parking space. The kind of attitude holiday shoppers have just might make me whip out my inner Valley Girl on their asses. She’s a scary side of Crystal. Me. Whatever.

Some of the fun goodness that might be signed? (I just love showing off the artwork pretties)

I realized I never shared photos from the family time of Turkey Day. So, I uploaded some and here they are.

My niece, the ultimate camera ham. Seriously, she’s never met a camera she didn’t like. Good thing she’s so darn cute, isn’t it?

It was this big, Auntie Crystal!

The nephew, who has learned to run and talk since I last saw him. I think that’s my cup he stole, too, the little bugger.

Me and the nephew cheesing it up.

The niece and nephew’s mom.

Me with my aunt. She looks that tiny next to me because she is. She’s feisty, though. Don’t mess with her.

My cousin taking a picture of me taking a picture of her.

So, Turkey Day was awesome. Family is insane, and that’s kinda why I love them and kinda why I live in a different time zone.

I don’t think I mentioned, but I flew out to visit the Texas relatives. The niece and nephew have gotten huge in the past year. They run around and actually talk now. It’s crazy. And wow are they loud.

Still they’re cuter than buttons, so I think we’ll keep them.

Today is the biggest shopping day of the year, and the women in my family have a proud tradition of outdoing everyone else in our mad dash to new deals.

I survived. Shopping was done. Leftovers were had. And. I’m. Spent.

I think I need a cigarette.

So, I’m finally getting around to updating the pictures in my office. I mean, I’ve used the same ones for years now. For as long as I’ve been a librarian who had an office. In my last job too, so these are some old ass pics.

In various sizes, here are the ones that made the cut:

Me and Calamity Jane at her graduation.

Me and M at Calamity Jane’s graduation.

Me, Robin Rotham, and R.G. Alexander in China Town during the RWA conference.

Me and M at the Romance Divas dinner during the RWA conference.

A group shot of Divas on our way to the Harlequin Party during the RWA conference.

No, not THOSE kind of afternoon delights.

After 27 plus years of sleeping on hand me down beds and mattresses, I finally upgraded to one of my very own that no one has ever slept on except me. It was delivered yesterday afternoon and I slept on it last night. It was delightful.

And it looks lovely with the new sheets Grams got me as a queen-sized gift.

Here’s how I feel about it. I found this on Flickr and it expressed things so perfectly. Though my last mattress was a double and not a twin.

So, as promised, I bring reports back from my trip out west.

1. Calamity Jane was properly shocked when M and I showed up. She squealed. She jumped. She bounced. She tackled us with hugs and happy-happy-joy-joys that we’d come. Awww.

2. M and I had some road trip fun. Here’s some of the spectacular views of Mount Shasta.

3. And did you know that when you get far enough north in California, they’d tried to break off into their own state called Jefferson? Some haven’t given up the struggle.

4. When we got to Calamity Jane’s house–what I like to call Little House on the Prairie–and enjoyed the home on the range time.

5. Calamity Jane getting all diploma’d up. And a weird graveyard thing they had set up at her high school. I have no idea why.

6. Me and Calamity Jane. Don’t look at me, look at her. She’s cuter and thinner.

7. Me, M, and Calamity Jane.

8. The kittens that were hogging most of the bathroom. Try stepping over them and not on them when you reeeeeally have to pee, and they get less cute and more annoying really fast.

9. Me and my aunt, Calamity Jane’s mom.

10. Calamity Jane in a dress. I had to take a picture because it doesn’t happen that often. She’s sporty. Also, the cake in the background is her mom’s creation. She’s a bad ass baker. Yum. If you haven’t tried Bavarian Cream as cake filling, it’s orgasmic.

11. Me and M. And, oh yeah, my family thought we were gonna make out any second. They all camped out at the cabin and we eschewed the delights of kittens and campfires to stay in a hotel. Which of course meant we were sleeping together. That we had separate beds was beside the point and a trivial detail.

12. Calamity Jane’s younger brother. He’s the baby of the family and now he’s taller than me and has a girlfriend. I feel old.

13. Calamity Jane’s older brothers.

14. More road trip fun on the way back down to Sacramento and the airplane ride back to Utah.

I’m headed to California for Calamity Jane’s graduation, but will be back Sunday. Don’t bother behaving with out me, just clean up the party mess before I get back!

Things that should be fun to see:

1. M and I are going to see the Sex and the City movie. Hope it’s good as we both liked the series!

2. Calamity Jane and her three brothers (we have trends for the one girl to three guy ratio of kids in my family) may force M and me to play a rousing game of flashlight tag in which you run around at night playing hide and go seek and if you get hit with the flashlight before you make it back tot he safety of the house, you’ve been “tagged.” Can be fun and exhausting, but also terrifying as some people are willing to be tagged if it means they can scare the pants off of you first.

3. My family in a celebratory drunken stupor. The last graduation in the family was my college graduation and we had someone drunk and passed out on the front lawn to greet the last-arriving guests. Drink early and drink often, I suppose.

4. M and I are avoiding the fun of camping at my aunt’s house with all the drunken family members by getting our own hotel room. Even though there will be two best, this will no doubt confirm my family’s assumption that M is my “special friend” and we’re have wild monkey lesbian sex. For shame!

5. Happy Graduation, Calamity Jane!

We’ll see if any of this actually happens. I’ll report in when I get back!

Hi, all!

I’m back from the great family rumpus in Texas. Sadly, they lost my luggage on the way back, so they called and woke me up to drop it off on my porch at 3 in the frickin’ morning. No sleep for me. You don’t want to see me right now. I’m so tired my face is sagging off my skull. (See how long it takes you to get rid of that visual)

Other than that, I’m peachy. I might take the day off of writing and just sleep when I’m done with work. Sounds like a plan to me. I love napping. Napping is my friend.

Also, I had sugar and caffeine for breakfast to offset the no sleep. Now I’m buzzing around like a bee on crack. Woot!

No, I haven’t joined the coveted ranks of those in that club. Fat girls barely fit in airplane bathrooms alone, let alone with someone else sporting a raging woody.

I’m gone to Texas to visit the family for Christmas…I’ll be back January 4th so posting will be sporadic from now until them.

Happy Holidays all!