"I've got GREAT news!!"

Now THAT'S how an oncologist enters a room!

:)

Automotive

It's been awhile since we did major repairs, but getting new:

brake pads
rotors
oil
an air filter
a cabin filter
a steering hose
a seat belt buckle

and reconditioned rear calipers all at once feels like a lot.  Especially when that's only half of the(strongly) recommended (and overdue) work for my poor car! It's been a decade+ since I left home and I still wonder sometimes when the real grown-ups are going to show up and take care of me and my stuff.

Booted

OMG I hate moving!

Especially since our place is my favorite part of living here... :(

Told you so

Warm, mild, sultry climate.

Raucous, generous, friendly people.

Oysters, crawdads, pralines, etouffee, gumbo, jambalaya, and poor-boys.

Bourbon and Frenchman's streets.

The Mighty Mississippi!

Gracious, colorful, multicultural architecture, for both the living and the dead.

Festivals, parades, and general merry-making.

Music in the streets, in the shops, in the bars, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and on your mind.

All the iterations of pork and hot sauce one could ask for.

Round-the-clock, world-class people watching.

Topped off with midnight beignets.

I knew you'd love it :)

They say it's all about the layering

There's a certain satisfaction to, finally, dressing perfectly for the weather.  As we say in my household, we don't like when it's too HOT!! or too chilly-willy, but we're happiest when it's nice. Maximizing meteorological comfort is an important skill, particularly for all-day sojourns in an an unfamiliar clime, especially when one has missed the mark for several days running. 

Girl vs. Toe

Girl = 0 
Toe = 2

Two months of regrowth gone in an instant. Ow OW OW!!!!!

At this point

I think it's safe to assume that I won't outgrow my love of stories about humans and their talking animal friends. 

Happy VD

OK 2013, I'd thought you could be a good, maybe even a great year, now that a few of our major life questions have been settled.  So far, though, you seem to want to make this memorable as the Year of the Hospital.  I can't decide which incident wins on irony:

Foot-related ER visit on the first day of a Hawaiian vacation, rendering all water and walking-based activities moot

versus

Boob (skin, mercifully) biopsy on Valentine's Day, rendering certain, er, Valentine's activities moot 

I mean, seriously??!! We're done for the year, right?

Masterpiece

I love watching TV, especially period pieces, without interruption. Without jarring commercials every 10 minutes, you can really let yourself be absorbed in the world on the screen. I think it's essential for the programming on Masterpiece Theater, especially, since they generally feature long bygone eras that are not improved by McDonalds or Bud commercials.

The only problem? No built in rest stops! If it's good, you don't want miss a moment. The double episodes for Downtown (yes, I know it's actually Downton) Abbey have been especially problematic, as we were watching live and couldn't pause. How we suffer suffer for entertainment!

The magic table

The magic table of "take it, please!" at work has been quite bountiful, providing:

- zuchinni
- bagels w/ accoutrements
- tomatoes of various sizes
- chips, with or without dip
- meyer lemons
- regular lemons
- wooden and glass bowls of various sizes
- giant pixie stix
- bag upon bag of Haas avocados
- jolly ranchers
- granola bars
- fruit salad
- honey buns and other danish-ey things
- large and small oranges
- walnuts in their shell
- potato chips
- cookies, cakes, and cupcakes of all kinds
- coupons for food places (though never to places I want to go, unfortunately)
- Martinelli's apple juice in cunning round bottles
- leftovers from any food-supplied conferences (e.g., trays and trays of sandwiches!!)

as seasonally and/or meeting appropriate.  Nary a week seems to go by without something appearing.  It's my favorite thing about my new office!

Small town life

This is by far the smallest town I've lived in. Not in terms of population, but in terms of running into people we know. At the store, on the street, at the movies, in restaurants...You can NEVER assume you're anonymous. Someone is ALWAYS watching. And we don't know that many people!!! 

Lesson: Don't forget to brush your hair before you leave the house. Seriously. And wear the nice(r) yoga pants!

Travel 2012

January: San Francisco, Livermore, and Hayward, CA

February: Los Angeles, CA

March: Miami, FL, and Los Angeles and Ventura County, CA

April: Hong Kong; Penang, Malaysia; Phuket and Bangkok, Thailand

May: Baltimore, MD; Palm Springs, Victorville, and Ontario, CA

June: Home sweet home, for a little while longer

July: Clevelandish, OH
-I-80 and I-90 to LaCrosse, WI
-I-90 across MN and SD, stopping in Sioux Falls, Mitchell, the Badlands, Wall, Rapid City, Mt. Rushmore, Wind Cave Ntl. Park, and Hot Springs
-Down through WY, to Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, Colorado Ntl. Monument, and Fruita, CO
-Across Utah to Moab for Arches and Canyonlands Ntl. Parks
-Las Vegas, NV
-Ventura County, CA

August: New home in Ventura County!

September: Settling in...day trips to Los Angeles, CA

October: Long Beach, CA

November: Tucson, AZ

December: Chico, CA, and Clevelandish, OH