This has been a week full of frivolity and writing, just the way I like it. ;) On Tuesday, Mr Darcy and I hopped the bus into town to meet up with friends (3 adult women for me, 3 babies for him) at the café in the Leeds City Art Gallery & Central Library. It was really fun - I'm so glad that the women from my prenatal class are all getting together regularly; our expeditions are always a highlight of my week, and it's so great to share experiences with a group of smart, funny women who all have babies at about the same age - and it also reminded me of how lucky I am to be living in the same town as such a good, free art museum. On our way to the (astonishingly fabulous, no really) baby changing area, MrD and I walked through a funky contemporary art installation, and on our way back we stopped off in the 19th-century art room for me to revisit some of my old favorites, and for Mr Darcy to get really wide-eyed and interested in all the vivid colors. We will definitely be making a regular habit of going there, especially when he gets older.

Then, yesterday, we had another afternoon out, this time for me to - incredibly - get a haircut, for the very first time since Mr Darcy was born! (Actually, that's almost exactly true - I got my last haircut on a Friday when I was 37 weeks pregnant, and then I ended up going into the hospital that night for Mr Darcy's surprise arrival.) Sadly, since we're trying to save pennies, I decided against going back to the really wonderful local hair salon. (It's the kind of place that offers you free cappucinos or mineral water while you have your hair cut, so you can guess the price level!) Instead, we went to the SuperCuts at the local mall, where no appointments are required, no cappucinos are offered, and it's an awful lot cheaper. Admittedly, the cuts are also not as good...but it's a huge relief to have my hair at the right length again and to be able to see through my bangs. It was also a surprisingly fun expedition, since the mall was really quiet, and Mr Darcy was fascinated by all the lights and sights around him.

And then this morning started out with a huge and wonderful surprise. Remember my fantasy stroller, from my fantasy-shopping-Monday blog? Well, someone sent it to me as a baby gift for MrD! (Not sure if it's okay to name the sender on my blog or not, but I will just say again: THANK YOU SO MUCH!) I can't wait to use it for a trip around the neighborhood - or maybe to the local library - today. And there will definitely be photos taken. :)

On the writing front: I'm about 2/3 of the way done with my vampires-in-East-Lansing short story (my brother Ben's belated Christmas-request story!); I just signed my contract with Space and Time Magazine for my story "Wolf's Kin"; I read through the galleys of my story "Blue Joe", which will be in Issue No. 10 of Shimmer Magazine; and while we were out yesterday, I had a flash of inspiration for a new piece that I can't wait to get started on. It's going to be a novelette, which is crazy because those are so hard to sell, and it's going to be high fantasy, which is completely nuts because everyone knows I don't write high fantasy...but it's Jane Austen-with-dragons, I've already written the first page as a placeholder, and I'm filled with a bubble of happiness every time I think of it...so of course I'm going to ignore all the good, practical arguments against it, and as soon as I finish my vampire story, I'm going to get rolling on it.

Here's my rough-drafty first line:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young lady without a dragon is doomed to social failure.

Happy Friday, everybody!