My life was thrown for a bit of a loop late yesterday. I’m hoping that things will work out for the best, but really, my hands are tied and there’s nothing that I could do to change anything. I’ll find out more this evening, and then I’ll figure out how best to deal with it.
I’m choosing to keep things positive, so here’s a photo of my dad and I after the wedding reception (and in both of our cases, lots of alcohol) before heading back to the hotel for the night.
From this weekend*…
I certainly didn’t know that it was going to be a rainy day here in Sunny SoCal when I made plans to meet a friend for lunch. Not that it held either of us back, mind you. I just made sure I drove slower going over the hill (we get rain so infrequently that the roads get quite slick during the first rains) and packed an umbrella.
Let me just say, while lunch itself was just okay, the company and conversation was just what I needed. We talked about upcoming business opportunities, friends, gift ideas and how to deal with some of the (what might seem to be) drama that goes on with my site. But yeah, a great lunch and I even got a little shopping – mind you it was mostly for me, but well, ’tis the season and all that.
On the way home, going over the hill, I decided to stop on Mulholland to take a picture of the city and the Hollywood sign. Sadly, both came out pretty crappy (as you can see below). The sign was behind so much fog that even after five minutes of waiting, I still couldn’t get enough of anything to focus on (guess that’s an arguemet for hauling out the D70). The view of the city was so foggy that you couldn’t even see the downtown buildings.
In the end, it just reminded me that today is absolutely perfect for heading on over to the Bean and treating myself to a hot anf frothy peppermint mocha (non-fat, no sugar added thankyouverymuch). Starbuck’s seems to do a tastier pep mocha, at least for the hot ones, but man, those folks at the Bean sure know how to make an iced coffee drink. But if ever there was a day just made for a hot coffee, today was that day.
But man, thanks to the rain, my car looks awesome!! Which is a good thing since it was a horrible, horrible mess from sitting outside, unwashed for so long. Glad I didn’t drop it off at the car wash this past week or I’d be bumming.
And for a little bit of gratitude…I’m so very thankful for the many folks that are in my life that I can call a friend. And for peppermint mochas, of course!
I also realized that while writing my posts day to day I’m always thankful for the activities or topics that I’m posting about (the positive ones anyway), but I often don’t state this gratitude outright. So to make up for what some may view as some lacking thankfulness or gratitude posts, here goes…
* I’m thankful for our home – I may complain about it from time to time, but we’ve got a good thing going here and the neighborhood is awesome (she says having just returned from a lovely evening walk).
* I’m thankful for the boys – it’s not always easy blending a four-legged family, but our guys have taken to it quite well. They’re also always looking out for each other (when the pupster wasn’t feeling well, the kitkat was right there snuggling close and giving him hugs). They’re also great napping mates (see yesterday’s post regarding my love for napping).
* I’m thankful for my darling, non-sports loving, geeky, mellow, moppet-haired hubby – he’s my dream come true and all I could ever hope for in a partner (even if does desperately need a haircut right now). I aspire to be as calm as he can be in stressful situations – I’m sure I’ve said it before, but he’s so go with the flow and mellow its enviable.
* I’m thankful for my car. It’s a very simple, very inexpensive, bargain-priced Hyundai Elantra, but I love it. It’s the perfect size and it has and does pretty much anything I’d ever want or need a car to do or have. Mind you, I’d love a little sporty 5-speed so I could whiz through those Hollywood Hills, but considering this car cost less than my old sporty car that I bought over 15 years ago, I’m just fine. But once we make it rich, a sporty weekend car will be mine! Bwahahaha!
* I’m thankful for modern medicine and awesome doctors – both for me and for the pupster. I’ll sing it to the world, our doctor is awesome – along with our vet! We get special appointments if we need them, we get follow up phone calls after treatment, but more importantly, we get heard. Our doctor heard my casual chatter about little thing that seemed off and immediately suggested that we check my thyroid and even though my numbers were relatively low, she got me on the meds and it’s made a world of difference. She totally rocks!
* I’m thankful for chocolate – okay, I might be PMSing here, but really, nothing beats good chocolate. My friend recently visited Japan and brought me back some KitKat bars (at my request since that’s a common search keyword here for the blog – blog post to follow in the near future) and man, they’re good! Even cooler still, she’s in London this week and will hopefully be able to bring me back some Cadbury Dairy Milks or Fruit & Nuts. How exactly does US chocolate manage to taste so crappy compared to European chocolate?
* I’m thankful for my Mac and the lacking blue screen of death. Ah, so nice and so simple to use. I’m thrilled that I made the switch without argument or dragging my feet. Now I just need to learn to use half of the fun programs.
* I’m thankful for my friends. I seem to have had some slight bumps in the road of friendship these past couple of months, but I’m moving on. I know that I’ve got a great batch of friends that have been in my life for years and seeing them again, or talking to them from time to time feels like slipping into the most comfortable pajamas…just right.
* I’m thankful for NaBloPoMo – it’s brought so many blogs and bloggers that I’d otherwise never have known about into my life. And that’s not counting the cool things you can learn – like yummy Mexican restaurant recommendations while visiting Tucson! So handy and helpful. Fussy totally rocks for starting this up.
* I’m thankful for the time I’ve been able to spend working from home. I know that I sometimes vent about my job – who doesn’t, right – but it’s nice to know that I can work from home, have fun, and be able to take off on a moment’s notice. I honestly believe that working a 9-5 sort of job would kill our relationship (the hubby being a workaholic that doesn’t go to bed before 2:00am), so I’m thankful to have the opportunity to work with something that’s so flexible and creative.
I could go on and on, but I feel comfortable leaving this at an even ten. Well, that plus the pupster is begging for his dinner (and his medicine) and I still have Thanksgiving stuff to research. So I leave you with a pretty picture from my birthday getaway two years ago (San Juan Capistrano), just because pretty things to look at are just one more thing to be thankful for…
I’m thankful for my hubby (how cute is he?)
I’m thankful that I got to see grapes (even if they were shriveling up into raisins)
I’m thankful for the beautiful colors (so purty!)
I’m very, very thankful that I was about to sit in the hotel lobby, in front of a toasty fire and get some brief internet service that allowed me to upload a handful of photos.
And it goes without any need for explanation…I’m most certainly thankful for WINE!!
First stop, two days in Healdsburg drinking yummy wine and eating awesome food. Hopefully we’ll pop on in to Sonoma since there are a couple of vineyards there that we really like (Kunde, Valley of the Moon, etc).
We’ll be staying in Petaluma (just a short drive away) on the marina. The rooms are gorgeous and comfortable and there’s a marsh right near by with walking trails. Last time it was crazy windy, so this time I’ll be sure to bring warmer clothes – and a hat.
From there we head back into San Francisco for Herbie’s show at the Masonic. The hubby will be shooting the show and we’ll have plenty of backstage access so this time I hope to get some great shots myself. The photo above was taken backstage after the Sonoma Jazz Festival but I wasn’t using my flash since it would have messed up the hubby’s pro shots. Sonia Kitchell will be performing with the band and I’m pretty excited abut that (she’s the blond above).
Then we drive down to Santa Barbara for the last night of Herbie’s mini-tour. Again, the hubby will be shooting the show so I should again be able to get some fun shots. We won’t be staying in Santa Barbara this time around though, we’ll be staying in Ventura instead – gotta save some money considering what we’ll probably be spending in wine – so who knows how much sightseeing we might get to do.
I’ll be back on Monday (and hope to post a photo or two while I’m gone).
I’m not sure if I’m going to have computer access today tomorrow today, so I’m pre-publishing this for tomorrow. So in case I can’t get online until we get home, here are a couple more photos from Old Town.
While I have a few moments, here are a couple photos that I took today walking around Old Town…
30 Days of Thanks…I’m thankful for being able to spend quality time with dear friends.
Last night I went looking through all my digital photos looking for something that represented Albuquerque to me. I remember all those years of taking photos in Old Town and during Balloon Fiesta. Well, turns out all I have digitally are my going away party pictures, my moving truck pictures and a batch from the last roadtrip that my roomie and I took before I left. Notice a theme here?
This photo above is what’s left of the army post at Fort Union on the Santa Fe Trail. We headed out there because I’ve always wanted to see wheel ruts from the Calistoga wagons. So we drove the couple of hours to get there and started taking pictures of what we thought were the wheel ruts. Turns out they were wheel ruts alrighty…from a pickup truck (see below). Yeah, disappointing.
On our way back to the freeway, we stopped at the museum and asked them where the damn ruts were. Turns out, they’re right along side of both the road and the freeway. Um…but they look just like every other natural arroyo (as evidenced below). Which of course makes me wonder if it’s arroyo or ruts over on the Turquoise Trail into Madrid.
So while I may not have many digital photos of New Mexico in my arsenal, I do hope to get a couple good shots will visiting this weekend. That is if I can find the time between the margaritas, the green chile and the sopapillas!! Yum! New Mexico, here I come!
I brought the dog into our marriage, my husband brought the cat. Interestingly enough, our cat thinks he’s a dog**. He likes to bark at strangers (when he’s not in Scaredy Cat mode, that is), he eats his brother’s kibble, canned food and dog treats whenever he can, and he likes to play with plush dog toys.
In many other ways, he’s all cat. He goes crazy for turkey or tuna. He insists that if you’re opening a can, any can, that it’s for him. He will search out boxes and bags and will do whatever it takes to squeeze himself inside. In fact, he’s all about hiding inside or under things, but when he hears me freaking out because I can’t find him, he’ll pop out with a meow to let me know he’s here.
Sadly, I’m allergic to cats. Mind you, we don’t let him know this. I don’t get sneezy and luckily I can control it with Zrytec. But let me tell you, when I forgot to take it my entire body, head to toes will start to itch. You’ll see me attacking my hair, my neck, my boobs and my thighs they itch so much. Then I take the meds and within the hour, all is well.
The point of my post…I’m allergic to cats, but boy howdy do I love out little guy!
* I just wanted the chance to use this picture – it really has NOTHING to do with Halloween – isn’t he handsome and autumnal though?
** Mind you, the dog loves cat treats and will roll around the catnip toys forever and a day.