It’s been almost a year since I left the world of real estate finance, and today the subject of whether I have any regrets came up not once, but twice.

First, one of my oldest friends called from Arizona to wish me a happy birthday, and we were talking about what I’m doing now. “A year ago,” I told him, “I was coming home in tears every night, not writing anything, and my dogs barely knew who I was. Now, I’m not making as much, but I’m really happy.”

He told me that he was really glad he’d chosen to leave is position at a major university and concentrate on spending time with his two-year-old son, and finally finish the dissertation he began in 1999. (I really wish he and his family lived closer. His wife is smart, funny, and snarky, and I’d love to get to know her better than I do.)

Then, in the car, Fuzzy asked if I’d heard about a certain major lender that is in serious financial trouble.

I looked at him and said, “You know, I really respect my Realtor and Mortgage Broker friends, but I think I left the industry at the right time.”

It’s strangely appropriate that these two conversations came up at the same time as my “almost anniversary” of leaving.

It’s 12:39 AM on Saturday the 18th of August.

Thank you to all who visited, shared favorite birthdays, and left sweet comments. If I haven’t returned your visit yet, don’t worry; I will before the weekend is over. My personal celebration goes on through Sunday, with the agenda tomorrow including a mani/pedi and brow shaping appointment, followed by miniature golf and sushi, and breakfast with a good friend on Sunday morning.

I now pass the birthday torch to Sky and Michele, who are also celebrating their birthdays this weekend, as well as to my troupemates Evan and Jeremy. Who knew this weekend saw the birth of so many Leos. Isn’t it grand?

Fuzzy and I just got back from Stardust at the Studio Movie Grill, where I had fries for the first time in a month. They were good, but first I was wired, and now I’m crashing, from that much grease, and that many carbs. Tomorrow, I will be back on healthy food, but for a slice of cake, and possibly an iced mocha. The movie was exactly what I’d hoped, a somewhat frothy, but still completely engaging, fairy tale. I enjoyed the book. I enjoyed the movie. I had fun.

And now, I have to stay up just long enough to change laundry loads so that my sweet husband has pants to wear tomorrow, and then it’s dreamtime for me.

G’night, all.

Today – Friday the 17th of August – is my 37th birthday. Can you still have pink hair and wear sneakers or Tevas most of the time when you’re 37? Well, *I* can, so apparently it’s possible.

A few years ago, I spent my birthday visiting friend’s blogs and leaving virtual gifts for them. I had a lot of fun, and they seemed to enjoy it as well.

And so this year I’d like to do it again.

Here’s the catch:

You have to tell me you want a visit.

I’m enabling Mr. Linkies on this post. If you want a visit from the Birthday Faerie, leave your link. (If you’re reading this at LJ or OD, leave a comment / note, please.)

And if you want to help make MY birthday deliriously happy, leave a comment sharing a favorite birthday memory of your own.

(And if you’re looking for my Thursday 13, it’s the next post down.)

Thirteen Things about MissMeliss 13 things that begin with N Napkins: I don’t like sticky fingers, so napkins are a crucial element of every table I set, and every dinner I serve. It drives me crazy when people don’t think to put them out. Nash, Ogden: One of my favorite poets, especially because he’s so silly. My favorite piece of his is The Tale of Custard the Dragon Nectarines: Peaches without the fuzz! Actually, they’re not quite the same, but I love them. Nesting: There are times when the best thing one can do for oneself is to withdraw for a while and just curl up on the couch with books and dogs and tea. This is nesting. New Jersey: I may be a little biased since I was born there, but it has the best tomatoes, the best corn, and some of the best beaches I’ve ever experienced. Nifty: In my effort to use the word “cool” less, I started using “spiffy” and “nifty.” It makes me smile when it rolls off my tongue. Night: My mind is most alive after the sun has gone down. I find myself wanting to write at three AM a lot, and curse the fact that I still have to engage in daylight activities to make money. Noodling: It’s doodling, but with music, or words. Northern Lights: Never seen them, always wanted to. They haunt my dreams. Notebooks: I like my moleskine, but my favorite notebook ever is a simple Mead college-ruled spiral notebook. They’re so un-pretentious that you don’t have to feel as though the words you put in them have to be good. Novels: I read many things, non-fiction, short stories, etc, but for losing oneself in a story, nothing beats a really gripping novel. Nothing. Noxzema: One whiff and I’m six years old and coated in sand and salt and sunburn. Instant time travel. Also, I really like how my skin reacts to it – even my froufrou Aveda doesn’t please me as much. Nutmeg: Grated over latte foam or eggnog, or ground for use in pies and muffins, nutmeg is one of my favorite “sweetening” spices. Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

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I blame Jeremy for the fact that I’ve been hooked on the soundtrack to Legally Blonde: the Musical for a couple of weeks now. He described it as being pink music, and he was completely correct – even the poignant songs are pink, just a more muted shade of it.

Looking around my house, my personal space, I find pink encroaching more and more. I’ve gone from being the girl who detested pink to the woman who has embraced it enough to own a pink laptop and a pink iPod shuffle, as well as a pink tote bag and a pink wristwatch.

More recently, there are the sneakers I “designed” at the converse website – you can see them here – that are not only pink, but also sport fingerprints. I need to go to a store and actually try some on before I order these because I’m not certain of how their shoes will fit my foot, but I do plan to actually get them at some point.

I guess I can blame Jeremy for the music, but the rest of the pink-ocity, is all me.

There are always reasons not to write. They appear as wantonly as toadstools after the rain. Entertaining those reasons even for a split second is the path to uncreativity. Write, even if you have a twinge, a doubt, a fear, a block, a noisy neighbor, a sick cat, thirteen unpublished stories, and a painful boil. Write, even if you aren’t sure. Come to Paris, even if you don’t speak French.

— Eric Maisel, A Writer’s Paris: a guided journey for the creative soul

If you’re going to market goods or services on the web, especially as an individual, you either have to join an existing webmall or marketplace, use an auction site, or install shopping cart software. The last option isn’t always the easiest, but it definitely gives you the most control.

I was looking for ecommerce software recently, when my mother asked me to help her market an ebook. She ultimately never finished the book, but in my search for a solution, I came across Ashop Commerce, an Australian company that does business in the US and UK as well. Even better, their software is completely integrated with PayPal and WorldPay, so if you want your buyers to be able to use plastic, you don’t need to get a merchant account with Visa or Mastercard.

What I like about Ashop is that the shopping cart supports digital products (like my mother’s unfinished ebook) as well as physical goods, but other great features are that it’s pretty simple to install, and there are no contracts to sign, just a setup fee and a monthly user fee. The template is customizable, so it can meld with your existing website, and while Ashop does offer hosting, no shopping carts are on their domain – you have to have your own.

Ashop’s pricing varies from region to region, and depends upon how many products you plan to sell, but the base price for folks in the USA is $39.95/month, which is pretty reasonable, when you look at what they offer – they even have special B2B and SEO packages.

My recommendation? If you’re planning to become an etailer, consider Ashop.