Random.org has made its selection, and Carol N Wong is the winner of Erin's The Heroine's Bookshelf! Congratulations, Erin! Just send Erin a message with your mailing address, and the ARC will be shipped to you.
And thanks to everybody who entered the competition, for increasing my TBR list! :) (That is actually a good thing, no matter what our groaning bookshelves might think...)
Today was a day of total decadence. This morning, I got my first haircut in (drumroll) FIVE MONTHS, and ohhhh, did I need it. When I admitted to the (new-to-me) hairdresser how long it had been since my last cut, she actually gasped in disbelief and horror. This is the thing about working at home - or rather, the combination of working at home AND having a small child. My focus is divided between childcare, writing, and desperately trying to keep the house from falling apart; somehow doing things for myself like getting haircuts (even when my bangs have grown almost to my chin and I wince every time I see myself in a mirror) never makes it onto the list, because I don't have the external pressure of running into other adults at work every day.
On the other hand, this haircut feels SO good. My head feels so light, and I keep on reaching up to touch my nice short hair, just for the sheer pleasure of it. And since I'm actually going to be doing a bunch of public events in the next few months, I might just remember to make time for another cut even before my bangs start trying to eat my face again.
This afternoon was even more of the same, since MrD and I went into town together and indulged in a shopping frenzy: lots of cool stuff for him and a new pair of jeans that actually fits (shock! horror!) for me, along with a stop in at the printing shop to order up invites to my launch party. (My publisher designed them for me, thank goodness.) We ended up at a great child-friendly café and just had a really nice time together.
I always remember that it's important to work hard and take care of other people. But I don't always remember how good it is to take care of myself, too. Today was a good reminder.