Beach House in the Burbs

... when I was pregnant? No, I'm not pregnant. I don't even wear perfume. But this an interesting piece to write for HowStuffWorks. I learned many things--which is one of the best things about writing. Happy Friday and thanks for reading!

Started work yesterday as Senior Writer at Corporate Reports , a firm that produces annual and sustainability reports for some pretty big-time clients! Yay!!! I'm very excited, for several reasons, not least because of my very own great, bright green office with a door AND a window! I have a lovely view of the Wingate by Wyndham hotel sign just across the parking lot. But, if I stand up, which I need to do more often, I can see beautiful, green trees that don't clash with the bright green office more than a tiny bit. View when I stand up. Lovely, green and rainy today. But, I'm also excited because, you see, I like to write. And for the past couple of years I've written approximately 5 words in a row, often starting with "Ideal for ... ", which in my book means I've really only written 3 words in a row, because somebody else made the decision about "Ideal for ..." so they don't count. Now, for these reports, I will write THOUSAN

I am NOT a fan of bullfighting. It seems cruel, stupid, mean and bloody to me. But for some reason when the good people at Howstuffworks.com looked at my resume and writing samples they thought, "Bullfighting. We'll get her to writing about bullfighting. It'll be great!" Ok, maybe they didn't think exactly that after seeing my extensive experience with writing about electrical projects and economic development, but something made them think bullfighting would be a great test. So, the first thing I ever wrote for howstuffworks.com was How Bullfighting Works . Enjoy--if that's possible! Happy Friday and thanks for reading!

It was a staycation this year. But I managed to cram in a whole lot of stuff: I had a birthday! I got beautiful flowers that are still beautiful a week later. I went to Trader Vic's with Chris. We had fruity, girly drinks. But, no Pina Coladas. My apologies to Warren Zevon . Trader Vic's floor show--making bananas foster! I finally got to see the cats playing on the new cat tree. Tallulah loves it the best. Mattie is possessed by the tree demons. I suffered a sequin disaster. But, on the upside, learned that some things really can't go in the washing machine, even on the hand wash setting. I went to the Southern Living show house. That's me taking pics with my new birthday iPhone. I was an iPhone virgin--and am totally in love now! I found inspiration in the show house bathrooms. The show house inspired me to tear into the Elvis bathroom, which was last painted/updated before the Civil War. Of course, it's not finished, but don't worry, Elvis isn't leaving

Now, I've never had a baby--and believe me, the ship has sailed on that possibility. But, I've written all about labor and delivery for a regional health system. (I wrote about pregnancy, too, but I figured I'd start with the end game. 'Cause you're gonna get there.) I've also written a lot about doing electrical work, and I don't plan to rewire my house, either. It's the nice thing about writing. You gain all the expertise without any of the pain. So, if you're pregnant or plan to get that way or don't plan and find yourself in that condition or know somebody who is, take a look at all you need to know about what's gonna happen when that baby's ready to come out . Really, it's all you need. At least that's what they tell me. Happy Friday and thanks for reading!