Tauono's

So sorry "followers" that I didn't get a post up yesterday. The internet wasn't working for us here at the hotel and we just figured out that we were supposed to buy minutes from the hotel rather than from an online source. So now we're connected again and while I didn't post about yesterday's activities I did take notes so I will bring you up to date. Yesterday was a beautiful day here in the Cook Islands warm (hot/humid) and sunny. We went into town to try again to get credit for the phone cards but the woman at the telecom was out sick. We will have to try from NZ because everything is closed here on Sundays and she is out sick again today. After going into town we went over to Tauono's for the lunch we'd been anticipating with Sonja since Monday and it was well worth the wait! We had two tuna dishes one yellow fin and the other albacore(sp), fresh fruits, salad, cole slaw and lemonade and passion fruit to drink! It was an awesome lunch enjoyed on picnic tables in Sonya's yard. Sonja showed us pictures of her husband Tauono who passed away on December 30, he was a very handsome man, a cross between Anthony Quinn and Bob Marley! Sonja referred to him as "her handsome dude." I think the best food here isn't found in traditional restaurants but private residences with "open" signs in the front yard. While we were having lunch we could hear beautiful island music in the distance. It turns out it was live music coming from house across the street from Sonja's. Islands musicians practicing for a couple of upcoming gigs on the island including one at our hotel, a birthday party on Monday. So John and I sat on a picnic table by the road facing the neighbors front yard and enjoyed the live music. Speaking of front yards here in the Cook Islands. Cook Islanders often bury their loved ones in the front yard so practically every home you pass will have a grave site in the front yard some are just headstones others have shelters built over the headstones, some keep artificial flowers on the grave sites others place potted plants on the graves and we even spotted a few with laundry drying over the graves. Many Cook Islanders have chickens, pigs, and goats so in addition to the graves in the front yard it's not uncommon to see farm animals in the front yards as well. Most homes have daybeds on the front porch with beautifully colored linens although I was told yesterday that some of the beds I saw outside yesterday are probably regular "night" beds put out to dry following the cyclone a couple days ago because practically every home has a leaky roof. Later in afternoon we went to the coconut show here at the hotel. We learned an awful lot about the coconut (world's largest nut) from David (the coconut guy), we learned how to make shoes from the bark of a tree to make climbing the coconut tree possible. We learned how to crack a coconut (sharp stone, sharp stick, sharp teeth) yep, David was actually able to crack the coconut using his teeth but he stated before the demonstration "don't try this at home." The coolest thing I learned about the coconut is that every coconut has a face;-) Today is cooler and rainy but John just took a bike into town to shop for dinner so I'm going to check out the news back home on the internet and read. We had planned to go back out with Teking today for another day of snorkeling but with the rain we decided to skip it. We were also supposed to leave Aitutaki today and spend a day on Rarotonga but decided to extend our stay at Etu Moana because it's so nice here. Unfortunately, we're out of the money we paid for the hotel tonight in Rarotonga. At the end of the night I helped out the orthodox Jewish couple from Toronto by turning out their lights.

Cyclone

Kia orana (hello) today's blog post will be brief. Apparently we are sitting here in Aitutaki on the edge of a cyclone; I know exciting but no cause for concern according to the staff this weather is typical this time of year and the cyclone is passing over Aitutak. It has been cloudy and rainy since yesterday. We walked the beach right after breakfast and got soaking wet and drenched by the incoming tide. I spotted two blue starfish (etu moano) and have seen lots of beautiful shells but they've all been inhabited by hermit crabs so they must not be disturbed or evicted. After our walk we went back to our cottage where we enjoyed reading and relaxing. John went to the office to check emails and IM with Gretchen and I stayed back in the room reading. I'm really enjoying the memoir I bought in Santa Barbara, The Kids Are All Right and the time to read for pleasure. Now we're getting ready to go into town to buy a bottle of wine and find something for a late lunch/snack since we've only had gingersnaps since breakfast and it's now about 3:00. Speaking of "ginger" there are two cats in residence, Ginger and Ono. Ginger has taken a liking to us and shows up at our villa right around dinner time each night and even spent last night asleep on the daybed on the porch. If the rain lets up we are planning to go to Island Night (traditional dancing and fire show) if not we will just chill out with the other guests and staff at the hotel because everyone is super friendly except this one guy who is traveling with his elderly mother. I can't really say that he's not friendly, he just seems standoffish and a bit odd but this morning when I thought more about the duo I came to suspect that this is a case of mother taking care of son rather than son taking care of mother.

The Blue Lagoon

First things first...happy birthday, grandma from Aitutaki. Today would have been my grandmother's 87th birthday so this morning I wrote a big greeting to her on the beach. Today was another incredible day in the Cook Islands. We went on an all day cruise of the lagoon primarily for snorkeling but also to learn some of the history of the island. We went on the tour with a group of about 16 others with Teking Lagoon Tours. I would highly recommend taking your lagoon tour with Teking because he knows the lagoon inside and out and while his sense of humor is not for everyone he's a cheerful goodhearted man who seems only concerned with your enjoyment and safety. If you watched Survivor Cook Islands, Teking had a hand in the production of the show as a site coordinator and guide. The newlyweds from Portland (the ones taking a yearlong honeymoon) were also on the tour. We also met couples from Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Australia. Teking took us to four islands and we made three stops in the lagoon for snorkeling each about 35 minutes. I thought the snorkeling by the hotel yesterday was quite something but it paled in comparison to the things we were able to see today...blue and purple coral, giant clams, fish of every color and variety, the most stunning clear water colors: turquoise, blue, green against the almost purple cloudy sky. Spectacular. After the second snorkeling stop we went to a tiny island for lunch. The lunch was awesome! Grilled tuna, chicken, fresh fruits some I have never even heard of but all yummy.Understand folks we're not talking sack lunches or fast food this meal was the real deal prepared on the beach served from huge clam shells on plates made from palm leaves, I took photos and you won't believe the spread! After lunch another snorkeling stop and then another island, and then the heavens opened up and it rained and rained and it's still raining. No matter about the rain the day was absolutely beautiful and the rain helped cool down the temperature and humidity. We left the hotel around 9:30 AM and returned just before 5:00 PM so it was a very full day. Snorkeling is harder than it looks and because we were in the water for close to two hours my body feels like it's been through the wash cycle on and wrung out. I'm not sure what we'll do tomorrow but I'm sure it will be fun even in the pouring rain.

Downtown Aitutaki

When I have several exciting days in row I'm too beat by the end of the day to write anything that I think can do it justice. Today was such a day. I woke up from a really good and much needed restful sleep to the crowing roosters (tons of chickens and roosters on this island) around 6:30. I went for a nice walk on the beach before breakfast and took pictures of stuff in my hand a coconut and a clam shell. I saw a blue star fish in the water (etu moano) and snapped a couple good photos of this most interesting creature so be on the lookout for the photo of the etu moana (blue starfish). John spent a bit of the morning checking his emails and working. We met up by the pool for a nice island breakfast (toast, fruit, cereal). After breakfast I walked along the beach and took even more photos. I have some fantastic shots that I think you guys will really enjoy. A note about photos; internet charges are based on MB usage and while it's relatively cheap send and receive emails downloading photos and other images uses a terrific amount of MB so I'm limiting my photo postings until we get to NZ where I suspect we'll have fewer restrictions. Anyway after breakfast and a second walk along the beach John and I rode bikes into town in hopes of solving our cellphone connection problem at the telecom center. We rode what are called "push bikes" basically old fashioned bikes with 3 gears and to brake you need only pedal backward. The ride into town was interesting because we pedaled on the wrong side of the road (with traffic coming toward us) we figured this out after an older gentleman on his motorbike rounded the corner and almost collided with John. He told us we were pedaling on the wrong side of the road. The most interesting thing I saw in town was a number of parents on motorbikes with their young children either holding on or strapped onto their parents. I saw a woman with a baby in a carrier riding her motorbike with the baby strapped to her chest and another with what appeared to be an 18 month old child holding onto her waist. No helmets for parents or children but in some cases the children are held on by a strap connecting driver and child. A sight like this in the States would probably make the evening news but here it's quite common. We pedaled into town twice today because John was told that in order to receive a refund for the $150 worth of non-working phone cards he would need to present a receipt. We went back into town (about 3 miles) and this time John took the receipts but still didn't receive a refund (long story). On our way back the first time we stopped at a little restaurant that really looked more like a private home than a restaurant for fish and chips (delicious). We stayed there for close to an hour just enjoying our lunch and the hospitality of the owner and "mama" we paid the owner for the fish and chips but had to speak with mama about the two cans of soda. Mama sold us some nice refreshing beverages. The second time in I stopped at another store where I bought a large piece of fabric also known as a dress, the woman showed me how to tie it and assured me that the girls at the hotel would have even more fashion suggestions so to just ask them. When we got back to the hotel I was ready to try out my recently acquired snorkeling skills but this time in the ocean. We got the snorkeling gear and reef shoes and walked into the Pacific ocean. OMG it was absolutely amazing just like jumping into a huge aquarium! I managed to cut my leg on some coral but other than that tiny mishap the experience was amazing. While returning our snorkeling gear John struck up a conversation with the other newlyweds, Kevin and Crystal. It turns out they scored some fresh tuna from their cruise/snorkeling guide and planned to cook it up for dinner tonight. They invited us to join them for dinner but John thought Crystal may have invited us only because she was a little tipsy. I didn't get my hopes up too high for dinner with the newlyweds but they arrived right on time as promised at our villa with the most outstanding shrimp, rice, tuna dinner you can imagine. We enjoyed Crystal's outstanding cooking and a bottle of white wine with this sweet young couple from Seattle. Crystal is a molecular biologist and Kevin in a bartender, they've been together for 3 years and were married last week on the main island, Rarotonga. I'm afraid my writing is really going downhill but I feel like there's so much to write about but I'm exhausted so grammar and punctuation must take a backseat if I'm going to be able to keep up with this thing.

Etu Moana

I had the most amazing day ever! It was like a dream, a really pleasant, and amazing dream. Let's back track a bit; the Air New Zealand flight departed LAX right on time. I really liked flying on Air New Zealand, the inflight dvd players and ipod docking stations on every seat were awesome, I watched Sideways and a documentary about NZ.. Even the safety instructions seemed classier when presented with a New Zealand accent while soft jazz played in the background on the video; sexy safety instructions! The overhead compartment is called an overhead locker and the safety instructions were called a "safety briefing." The total flight time from take off to landing was 9 hours 48 minutes. A hot dinner was served about an hour into the flight and water and drinks were available throughout the night and then a hot breakfast was served as the sun was rising over the south Pacific. I had a lot of trouble falling asleep on the flight and was awake for the majority of the 9+ hours. John on the other hand slept all but perhaps 2 hours! He didn't even wake up for the hot sunrise breakfast. We landed in Rarotonga around 6:40 AM. The Rarotonga "International" Airport looks more like a hot sweaty bus station except I don't think you would ever see chickens weaving in and out of check-in lanes at a hot sweaty bus station...live chickens waltzing around the terminal like ticketed passengers. We tried to get on an earlier flight to Aitutaki but the 8:00 AM flight was booked so we walked into "town" to find the phone store to get a SIM card and internet access cards. The walk was long and hot and the roads are pretty rough. They drive on the opposite side of the road here so you have to be extremely careful when crossing. We made it to the store after a hot sticky 30 minute walk with motorbikes, trucks, and more chickens passing by us all along the way. We got our phone set up and checked emails and took a taxi back to the airport for our 10:30 AM flight t Aitutaki that didn't actually depart until closer to noon. The security at the airport was something else, children in their barefeet played in the the "restricted area",chickens roamed freely between domestic and international departure gates, and we were not once asked for any type of identification or to go through any sort of screening process. We made it to Aitutaki around 1:30 where we were greeted by some of the resort staff and driven to the Etu Moana resort where we met the owners Jim Dutch)(Canadian) and Jo-anne Brittigin who built the resort seven year ago after paying just one visit to the Cook Islands and falling in love with Aitutaki. We met several of the hotel guests, two honeymooning couples one from Portland the other from Seattle. The couple from Portland, Dean and Trish were married in September and are starting out on a year long honeymoon. They quit their jobs and will travel from Jan 2010 to January 2011. Our cottage/hut is awesome! It's like having an entire apartment all to ourselves overlooking palm trees and the clear blue Pacific. What I'm finding most amazing about this place is just how peaceful, undeveloped and unspoiled it is. There are 8 cottages on the this property here and we haven't seen any larger resorts or hotels on the island. We walked down the beach a few a little ways to a cafe recommended to us by the hotel staff where we met up with Sonja, a real character who is Austrian by birth but she told us that she really believes she was black or brown in another life. Sonja has lived all over the world spending many years in Jamaica and about 15 years in Aitutaki where she owns some plantations and the cafe (organic fruits and vegetables). We had a fruit plate and lemonade at Sonja's place and talked with her for a little over an hour. Her husband passed away over the Christmas holiday while visiting his daughter in Auckland so Sonja seems to be pulled in many different directions trying to figure out how she's going to manage on her own. She invited us back for dinner on Friday so I will have lots more to write about Ms.Sonja. We got back to the hotel and went for a swim or at least I attempted to swim (haven't been in a pool since middle school). I need lots of practice to gain confidence in the water but it was fun and exhausting. I tried on the snorkeling gear in the pool just to get the feel of it because tomorrow we're going snorkeling. John went out in the kayak and I freaked out when I saw the kayak but no John floating in the ocean; turns out he was snorkeling and after I had Jim ready to go out in his kayak in search of John we spotted him back in his kayak safe and sound. I could write for at least another 20 minutes about this amazing day but I'm beat and my body clock tells me it's 2:52 AM (Minneapolis) so I'm signing off for now.

On our way

I'm attempting to write this entry using my iTouch so it's going to be the shortest entry yet. We had a busy last day in CA starting with a 2 hour hike up rattlesnake canyon and ending with a 2 hour visit to the Getty Museum in Malibu. I forgot my camera battery and charger at the hotel so we had to find a Best Buy in LA on our way to the airport...that was an adventure but it's much too involved to go into when I'm typing one letter at a time:-) We arrived at LAX at 7:00 PM for our 10:15 flight. The flight to Rarotonga is 10 hours and we will arrive there around 6:30 am Rarotonga time. Rarotonga is in the same time zone as Hawaii in case you're curious. So we're having dinner at the airport and waiting for our flight. I hope to write more later. Best wishes to all for a wonderful week.

The Sideways Tour

Saturday in Santa Barbara was chock full of fun and adventure. We left the hotel and headed over to Will's place around 9:00 for breakfast. After a light breakfast (cereal) we took off on bikes furnished by Will's landlord. I had the girls' bike but the gears were crummy and John kindly offered to ride the crummy girls' bike allowing me to ride the better boys' bike; I protested because I thought he looked goofy riding the girls' bike but he didn't seem to mind a little embarrassment and discomfort. We met up with Marie's sister at the harbor and the four of us peddled about 8 miles from the Santa Barbara Harbor to Montecito and back(about 8 miles). It was a good little ride especially considering the sunshine and warm temperature. After the bike ride we made a quick lunch and hopped in the car for a drive through wine country. The drive was about an hour to the Melville Vinyard and Winery where we were able to enjoy our lunch outside before heading indoors to the tasting room.We each sampled six wines at a cost of $10/person. The grounds and main building were beautiful and the setting couldn't have been more perfect in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley. After the wine tasting we drove to another mission this time to La Purisima Mission. After the mission we drove to the Hitching Post restaurant (featured in the movie Sideways) for a quick look inside and a quick photo under the sign we also drove by the Days Inn (the big fake windmill) where the characters in the movie stayed. Then a drive through the village of Solvang, a charming town founded by Americans of Danish heritage; it was a little strange seeing windmills next to palm trees in front of Dutch colonial homes. Then we made our way down some curvy twisty roads back to Santa Barbara just before sunset. For dinner we returned to Julia Child's favorite Mexican eatery, La Super Rica. John and I went to Chaucer's Bookstore to stock up on reading materials for our long flights. I bought the novel Push by Sapphire and The Kids Are All Right A Memoir by the Welch siblings. We left the hotel this morning at 9:00 and returned at 9:00 PM so it has been a long but fun day.

The Mission

I woke up rested and headache free after at least 9 hours of good rim sleep. We went over to Will's for breakfast after a quick stop at Trader Joe's. Will's rental is on a city street but is situated far back from the street behind the main house, a long green/grassy path leads you to his "cottage" and as you walk down the path you are surrounded by fruit trees, benches, lawn art, gardens, a fountain, even a few statues, and eventually greeted by live chickens scampering about the grounds. The cottage is small and quaint with an eclectic mix of Mexican, Tanzanian, Tahitian art... all places the owner resided at one time or another. After breakfast John went back to the hotel to work and Will and I went into downtown Santa Barbara to kick aound, explore and to get my cellphone "unlocked" so it can be used abroad. I met up with John and we went to The Mission: Santa Barbara. There are 21 missions and California pretty much grew out of the missions founded by the Franciscans beginning is 1769, Santa Barbara was the tenth of the California missions founded by the Spanish Franciscans, the original purpose of the mission was the Christianization of the Chumash Indians. The Chumash seemed to be doing just fine before the Franciscans arrived to "help" them and thousands died of disease after they were "helped" and Christianized and stripped of their culture and land. Today the Santa Barbara Mission is basically a tourist attraction, you can take a self-guided tour of the church and grounds for $5 and buy overpriced plastic stuff in the giftshop or for the Catholic in your life who has everything you may purchase a wine bottle cover in the form of a friars robe. We met up with Will again later in the evening for dinner at Brophy Bros., a seafood restaurant overlooking the Santa Barbara Harbor. We had a really good dinner unfortunately, the only available table was near the door so we had to keep our coats and jackets on through the entire meal. After dinner we came back to the hotel to watch more of the Australian Open or I should say Will came back to watch tennis, John fell asleep and I'm writing about the day. Tomorrow we're meeting for breakfast, then going for a bike ride, then exploring wine country, and ending the evening with dinner and meeting up at some point with Marie's (Will's girlfriend) sister and her husband who live here in Santa Barbara. The weather is supposed to be much nicer tomorrow warmer and sunny.

Santa Barbara, CA

I woke up extremely early this morning; obviously I had too much on my mind to get a proper night's sleep. After a restless night I got up at 5:00 AM to complete my packing and straighten up the house. I was able to leave the house nice and tidy and hopped into the taxi at 7:50. I had arranged a 7:30 AM pick up but the taxi driver arrived at the right house number but the wrong street. When I called the company to report the taxi late the dispatcher informed me that the driver was in my driveway! After some back and forth the driver finally made it to my house. John and I arrived at the airport around the same time. He was carrying a backpack and a small carry on duffel and I was weighted down like an eighteen year old heading off to her freshman year of college! He was able to get me in the first-class line because he has elite status so getting through the security line was a breeze. We made our flight in plenty of time but the flight was delayed by an hour and 30 minutes due to an aircraft change, catering problems (what catering) and de-icing! I was in row 19 and John was in row 15. I had two seatmates but didn't interact with either of them. The young woman sitting in the middle was armed with morse code detecting headphones and the woman in the aisle seat read and slept. I went to sleep while we were on the runway and slept for about an hour before we were even airborne. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep much during the nearly 4 hour flight and developed a migraine or at least a very bad headache about an hour into the flight. By the time we arrived into LAX I was absolutely miserable sensitive to light,smell, sound and horribly nauseous. We picked up the rental car but the smell of it made me more nauseous not to mention it was a Chevrolet HHR (hideous piece of junk) John exchanged it for another car before we left the lot. Finally we were on our way to Santa Barbara about a two hour drive from LAX. The ride was pure agony because I could feel every bump and the roar of engine was torture. I felt awful but I really couldn't even bear the thought of talking so we made the drive was in almost complete silence. As soon as we got to the hotel I took a warm shower because I was freezing (chills) and got under the covers. John went out to get some exercise and to meet up with his brother who is renting a house here in Santa Barbara for six weeks. John had given me an Imatrex (sp) at the airport and 2 acetaminophen and 2 ibuprofen when we got to the hotel. I pulled the covers over my head and slept for at least two hours. I woke up feeling much better so the three of us went to dinner at one of Julia Child's favorite restaurants, Super Rica, an old Mexican restaurant near downtown Santa Barbara. It was good and because the weather is cool and rainy here there was no line or waiting as is typically at this restaurant. The food was pretty good or maybe it was excellent but I was still in a headache fog so I'm not exactly sure. Now we're back at the hotel watching the Australian Open tennis tournament. I didn't take any photos today so some will be added later this week. I can't seem to access Word on John's laptop so I'm having to write this in email form and copy and paste it into the blog so I'm sure there are plenty of typos and errors so apologies followers. I think I'm really going to miss my Macbook for the next three weeks.

Ready or Not

Holy cow! I’m leaving my little townhouse in less than 9 hours for three weeks and I’m not ready! I’ve been packing for what feels like hours. Now it’s after 11:00 and the taxi is due here at 7:30 AM and I’m feeling overwhelmed by this mess in the middle of my living room. What I know for sure is that I will absolutely come back from the trip safely because there’s no way I’m going to let anyone see my house in its current condition; in the words of my aunt Bea it looks like the “wreck of ‘97” it is a complete disaster. Anyway, I’m going to bed soon and will wake up at 5:30 to look at this mess through rested eyes. I had a good day with a nice final workout at the gym (washed and deep conditioned my hair there now it’s all big and poofy). I picked Anne up at the office and we drove to Keys Café to meet our former colleague Lisa P for lunch. After lunch I ran a few errands and then headed home to begin packing, but decided to watch Oprah and talk to my mom instead. After that I decided to talk with Tracy for an hour or two before packing. Then I had to talk with John for a little while before packing. So the actual packing didn’t really get started until around 10:00. I don’t even know why I’m stressing because so long as I have my passport and camera I’m pretty well set, right?! Whew!

Straightened

The highlight of the day was going over to the college for lunch with some of gang from the office. When I talked with J.R. in the morning she mentioned the annual “free lunch” in the dining hall. Every year before the start of the second semester our food service treats faculty and staff to lunch. It was so good to see so many people from the office before heading out of the country on Sunday. I spent several hours after lunch running errands. My first stop was at TJ Maxx to pick up the rollerbag like Tracy’s. I bought several layering pieces for the trip because I understand the mornings and evenings are cool and midday is very warm.. I also bought hiking sneakers and a small backpack. When I got home I decided to straighten my hair just for kicks and out of curiosity after 3 moths I was a little curious to see how it would look. I talked with John briefly, he’s still really busy trying to get everything tied up before the trip, and as a matter of fact he’s considering leaving a day later… because the weather in Santa Barbara is crummy (rainy and cool) and he thinks the extra day is necessary to complete his projects. Tomorrow morning he’s driving to Duluth on a very sad wrongful death case he’s been working on pro bono for the ACLU. I am excited to visit California but two days or three doesn’t really make a difference so if we leave on Friday that’s cool by me or even Saturday considering the pounding LA is getting in the storms right now. Goodnight.

Photo taken tonight after I straightened my hair

The Apple iTouch

Today was mostly about technology. I’ve been thinking about buying the Apple iTouch (handheld device for music, movies, tv show, photos, and internet access similar to the iphone but missing the phone). So I gathered up all of my Target gift cards totaling $150 and went out to purchase the gadget this morning. Once I got home I couldn’t wait to get it set up; unfortunately, I couldn’t get a strong enough internet wi-fi connection to download the necessary updates/software. So I went to a nearby place with excellent free wi-fi my doctor’s office actually! I camped out there for about two hours trying to get the iTouch set up but I didn’t have much luck. Just as I was about to give up and go to the gym my friend Anthony called to invite me over to pick up an article he found on New Zealand. So I went over to his house and stayed for about an hour. John’s flight from Chicago got in around 5:30 so I picked up takeout for us and met him at the house around 6:30 for dinner. John has tons of work to do before we leave on Thursday so I made plans to meet up again with Anthony and Katie after dinner to give John some space and quiet time to work. I met Anthony and Katie at a new restaurant in Uptown called Il Gatto for drinks… ginger ale for me, and more catching up. It was great to see Katie because it’s been months since we got together. Now it’s about 10:30 and I’m back at John’s getting ready to turn in for the night. The iTouch is working great! I finally got it set up at John’s earlier tonight. The iTouch is going to be great for those long flights next week, and I’m hoping to keep up with this blog while traveling with the aid of my new gadget.

Sunday Night at Panera

I’m on the hunt for a photo for this blog post so check back later. I’m sitting at a Panera Bread enjoying classical music, a macadamia nut blondie and probably the best cup of hot tea ever, orange ginger mint.. it is soooo good! I slept in this morning and didn’t leave the house until shortly after 2 PM when I finally got up enough motivation to go to the gym after talking with John and telling him that’s where I was going I decided I’d better keep my word and actually go. I’m glad I did because it was not only a good workout but also the 11th of my required 12 visits for the month. After the gym I stopped at the Mall of America to check out the sale at Bloomingdales and I got 3 good basic wardrobe pieces: black pants, black turtle neck, and brown knit pants for just under $68! I’m still working on booking our hotels for New Zealand so I decided to head on over to Panera Bread for dinner and of course free Wi-Fi. My neighbors have gotten all stingy with theirs making service at home unreliable I think after 3 years of sponging off my generous neighbors it’s probably time to get my own high-speed service (yes I plan to share at least until it becomes annoying). Well, I need to check my email hopefully for some confirmations from the hotels I contacted earlier. Watching the workers here at Panera swing their mops back and forth across the floor I think they are signaling us to get the heck out of here so they can go home. I can take a hint!

photo leaf on snow Switzerland Nov '06

Lifetime Lunch Ladies

Another fabulous day! The weather couldn’t have been more perfect to this time of year with clear blue skies, warm temps in the 30s and plenty of sunshine. A few weeks ago Linda sent out an email to several women she knows from the club to get us together for lunch. It was agreed that we would meet at the club at 9:00 and go over to Pizza Luce at 11:30 for lunch. I made it to the club around 9:45 but in plenty of time to get on a machine next to Linda and two of her pals Mary Kay and Jean. I drove to Pizza Luce shortly after 11:00 where I met up with Jane, Linda, Mary Kaye, Carol, and Joey. Oh what fun! We were there from 11:30 AM until 1:45 PM! The afternoon was just perfect with wonderful conversations and stories, really good food and lots of laughs. Carol confessed that she didn’t like Mike S one bit when she met him at the club three years ago and was glad when we broke up! Jane told me later that Carol had said to her even before meeting John that she had a good feeling about him despite the age difference; a concern of Jane’s initially. Thanks again Linda for organizing the meet up. After lunch I stopped by the office for about 30 minutes. I noticed a few of my colleagues were also in but I ducked into my office and closed the door to finish my work and because I didn’t want to distract others from their work on a Saturday. I went over to John’s to talk about hotels in New Zealand and make reservations. John and Mary kept busy packing up Mary’s things because tomorrow she flies back to school. John is flying to IL tomorrow to visit Gretchen at school and to catch up with her before our big trip later this week. We put together our itinerary earlier in the day and I spent the early part of the eevening researching and booking hotels. Mary returned home around 8:30 to have dessert with her dad after having dinner with her mom and to finish packing. Now I’m enjoying a quiet evening at home and waiting for my goodnight call from John☺

Fridays are Reserved for Friends

What a perfect day! Starting with a workout at the club, then coffee with Marie, followed by lunch with Karen. Then a stop at the consignment store where all but two of my thirteen items were accepted, plus I have over $100 waiting for me for things I consigned in the Fall. I went back home and watched Oprah (I think I’m getting hooked), did laundry, and relaxed for a bit before heading over to John’s. John had a busy day waking up around 5:30 to drive to WI for a Land Trust board meeting and other meetings throughout the day. Because he was in meetings all day I did the grocery shopping for dinner tonight. We hosted Greg and Svetlana for dinner and catching up with them was a ton of fun! They shared pictures (ultrasound) of baby Pasqualie (arrival date 5/22) and we enjoyed a very fun evening together. Just as Greg and Svetlana were leaving Mary and Jeffrey came home so we all chatted of a few minutes in the entryway. John and I cleaned up the kitchen and now we’re just kicking back and relaxing. Really a wonderful day of socializing and enjoying my time away from the office. Svetlana wasn't feeling up for pictures so I snapped a few of Greg and John for the blog entry. Greg and Svetlana are celebrating their one year wedding anniversary and expecting their first child. John and Greg met at Berkeley in the 60's when they were freshmen and have obviously maintained a long friendship.

Don't Forget to Floss

I’m afraid my sister Tracy is right… I am indeed “hair obsessed” Last night I dreamt my hair was yarn. It was fragile and stringy like yarn and I was freaking out about it!

I didn’t leave the house until 10:00 but it was a full and productive day nonetheless. I gathered up the Spring/Summer clothes I plan to sell at the consignment store and will steam and get them on hangers tonight, paid bills online, went the gym, and then to a dentist appointment for a routine check-up and cleaning; apparently I have the teeth of a twenty year old but the gums of a thirty-five year old because I’m so lame about flossing. I’m adding regular flossing to my growing list goals for 2010 because goodness knows I don’t want to walk around with twenty-year-old teeth and thirty-five year old gums! The dentist was very complimentary, but the hygienist lectured me on the benefits of flossing and gave me a bit of a gentle scolding. I made plans to meet Karen for lunch tomorrow, and Anne and Lisa P. next Wednesday. I got word today that I must have failed that dot test because the insurance company approved the request for the eye surgery as it is not considered a cosmetic procedure; yeah for me! I got home just in time for a teary Oprah about a young boy who lost his twin brother to brain cancer and is coping by baking cookies to raise money for a childhood cancer organization. Now I’m watching the news and feeling sad and depressed watching all the devastation in Haiti…simply heartbreaking. Help Now Help Now please donate to the Red Cross or another legitimate charity to help the people of Haiti.

Popcorn, it's what's for dinner

Today felt very much like a full workday because I left the house around 7:00 and was out and about until 4:30. The morning included a workout at the club and a couple hours dedicated to my healthy hair journey (deep condition, air dry, moisturizing, and braiding). A quick stop at Target before picking up Anne at the office for lunch, We went to one of our all time favorite places, Keys Café. I had the best grilled cheese and bacon sandwich and Anne had a turkey burger which she enjoyed equally. We had a very nice catch up lunch and she brought me up to speed on all that I’ve been missing at the office…absolutely nothing. Then it was off to The Bibelot Shop for their winter clothing sale. I must have tried on 10-15 pieces only to leave with a basic black turtleneck. A quick stop at TJ Maxx in search of the rollerbag like Tracy had in Florida but the bag is too large for the overhead compartment so I think I’ll stick with the one I have which fits securely in the overhead but isn’t very spacious. The last stops included an oil change at Goodyear Tire, stop at the post office to mail Zoe’s birthday card (she’s going to be 11! she was only 7 when we first met), the hardware store, and the gas station. Finally home for a popcorn dinner and a little downtime. John and I chatted about New Zealand and I followed up on one of the hotel recommendations via email it’s a B&B located on an organic farm. I had a pretty good chat with Anthony although our relationship is awkward and strained since I decided to discontinue the couples friendship/double dating with he and his girlfriend, but John still enjoys seeing them and hanging out. Okay kids that’s all for the day.

Catching Up

Today was all about “catching up.” I got caught up at the gym, caught up with my pal Jane, caught up on laundry, caught up on a few things back in the office (emails), caught up with Oprah who's looking fabulous by the way, and caught up on my sleep. I actually took an hour-long nap and boy did that ever feel good. I played around with my Florida pictures and put together a little slideshow of about 40 pictures; now I’m hoping to figure out a way to attach it to this blog post. My poor sister woke up with a cold and a cold sore ☹. She’s been under a lot of stress at work and she also had an encounter with that witch on the beach a couple days ago so hopefully she will be feeling fit in no time flat after completing a big work project and not looking too long at little Miss Take My Picture. I’m feeling healthy but a little run down so I’ll need to take it easy considering John and I leave next Thursday for three weeks! Goodnight Moon, goodnight stars, goodnight followers.

Leaving And Taking The Cold With Me!

Of course our final day on the island was the best of the bunch weatherwise. Oh well. We got an early start hitting the beach just before 7:00 to catch a spectacular sunrise. We couldn’t believe how many starfish and dead fish we saw on the beach but a guy walking by told us it was due to the cold snap; fish swimming in more shallow water can’t survive in the cold water. It was surprisingly warm when we got to the beach but once the sun came up and the wind kicked up a notch there was a noticeable chill in the air and we headed back to our toasty hotel room where we’d left the heat set near 80. We enjoyed our final free grand slam breakfast at the hotel and our last morning chat with Mr. Stout (the gentleman I mentioned in Friday’s post). After breakfast we wanted to be sure to get in a final bike ride since the bikes had been rented for a total of three days and we needed to check out of the room by 11:00. We rode the bikes for just under an hour before going back to the hotel and packing up our things. At checkout the desk manager told us to feel free to use the bikes for as long as we liked when we mentioned our flights wouldn’t depart until after 5:00. So we went for another bike ride this one was very long because we were trying to find a coffee shop, I think we rode around in a gigantic circle for at least 8 miles or more and we never did locate the dumb coffee shop. We left the Island Inn around 1:30, stopped for lunch in Ft Meyers at a Ruby Tuesday, and arrived at the airport just after 3:00 where we returned our barely used convertible. We had about an hour together at the airport before I went to my gate and leaving poor Tracy working at a Starbucks. My seatmate on the FL to MI flight must have taken a sedative before boarding because she was completely out of it for the entire flight. The inflight viewing was pretty good making the time between Ft Meyers and Detroit pass quickly. I had the entire row to myself from Detroit to Minneapolis and worked on this blog post. Now I’m back at John’s putting the finishing touches on this post. Thanks, Tracy for a fun time in Florida and all the laughter.

The Lighthouse

We had another terrific day! It started with a walk on the beach at 7:00 AM, breakfast at 8:45, and then a drive to Captiva for our daily Starbucks run. I had a little surprise planned for Tracy since I knew we would have to go into or onto Captiva Island this morning. I had heard good things about The Bubble Room, a restaurant on Captiva; so after coffee we walked over to The Bubble Room. It’s a quirky place with a vintage/old Hollywood theme and wait staff known as Bubble Scouts dressed of course in old boy scout uniforms. We dined on potato skins smothered in bacon and cheese and topped off this artery- clogging appetizer off with a delicious hunk of “tropical cake.” Stuffed to the brim we headed back to Sanibel after taking lots of picture inside the restaurant. We drove back to the hotel and hopped on our rented bicycles and went for a 10 mi. ride to the Sanibel Lighthouse. We were pretty disappointed at the appearance of the lighthouse because we expected something more traditional and perhaps more New Englandy, instead we got a boring and industrial SW Florida tourist trap that resembled a rusty old can on stilts. While walking the beach a cute little girl came up to me and said "you should take my picture" she was adorable all decked out in pink coat, fuzzy black scarf, and loads of personality; she appeared to be 4 or 5 years old, I replied "well yes I guess I should." Later we stopped a man with a fancy camera to ask if he would take our picture; he said “no I don’t want to do that” our jaws hit the sand but we grabbed hold of our confidence and squeaked out a feeble “okay, thanks anyway.” He was a very convincing prankster! He agreed and snapped the accompanying center photo. We peddled back to the hotel and watched some reality TV before heading back to the beach to watch the sunset. Then off to the grocery store to buy dinner and now we’re back at the hotel and poor Tracy is working. I sure hope those people appreciate her and realized what a gem they have. While reviewing today's pictures on my computer the two of the little girl in the pink coat caught my attention because in the photos she looks more like a creepy 35 year old woman than a cute little girl! Tracy and I have nicknamed her Sabrina the Middle-aged Witch because looking back on the encounter it was just freaky. The "child's" mother who was dressed in black from head to toe stood off in the distance while the troll in the pink coat went about casting her woodoo magic on passersby on the beach. It seemed really spooky that her mom didn't seem to think it was weird that her little crumb snatcher was going up to complete strangers on the beach demanding that they take her picture. Wouldn't a normal mother have some sort of reaction in this type of situation?! There was definitely something creepy about that "child"." Goodnight faithful readers.

Got Lemons Make Lemonade

We awoke to temps in the 30s and rain but we didn’t let a little cold and rain detract from our vacation. We braved the cold and the rain and headed down to the beach; never mind that I was wearing long johns under my skort, a sweatshirt, and gloves! We spent about 30 minutes on the beach walking and collecting seashells…maybe it wasn’t quite that long but it sure felt like it. We had a nice breakfast at the hotel restaurant where we had the good fortune of talking with one of the original stakeholders in the Island Inn Resort (the resort where we're staying is member owned). He shared a lot about himself and his early life, reminding me of the value of listening to the wisdom of my elders (he is well into his 80s possibly 90s). He told us of a time when he was a young boy growing up in Michigan; he went by a house one day and thought to himself that he would never live in such a crummy dilapidated house only to find himself and his family living in that very house a few months later after theirs was lost to foreclosure during the depression. After breakfast we returned to Tracy’s favorite watering hole where we had a nice lazy afternoon enjoying tea and hot chocolate at Starbucks and then a trip to a fancy grocery store where we bought sandwiches for dinner. Next it was off to the Shell Museum after a pit stop at the store where the accompanying photo was taken. The Shell Museum was very interesting, Tracy really enjoyed the cowry exhibit, and I found the tree snail exhibit most interesting. We made a pit stop back at the hotel before going into the town to see some movies. I got the last ticket for Up In The Air and Tracy got one of the last two tickets for Sherlock Holmes. We returned to our hotel where we relaxed and enjoyed our delicious dinner. Tracy went back to work and worked until 10:00 PM☹ Whew who knew you could have such a full day in SW Florida despite 30 degree temps and rain. We just heard on the news that this was the coldest day on record in SW Florida making us part of history!

We got a fairly early start this morning hitting the beach around 8:00 for a little photo taking and shell collecting. We need to get up earlier to gather the best shells because the pros are out before dawn so the amateurs are left with scraps. After the beach we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant. After breakfast I drove Tracy to her favorite watering hole, Starbucks on Captiva Island about 25 minutes from Sanibel. The distance between the two islands is only 10 miles but the trip takes about 25 because the speed limit is between 25-35 for the entire route. Tracy worked from about 10:00-2:00. While Tracy worked I went into town to the grocery store and a consignment shop before heading back to the beach. I picked Tracy up at Starbucks and we drove back to the hotel with the convertible top down… wind blowing in our hair and the heat cranked way up blowing on our feet and faces all the way, it felt so good! Once back at the hotel we rented bikes and biked into the center of town and around the island for a little over an hour. We stopped at a couple shops and decided to buy sweatshirts because we’re tourist and it’s cold here! It started to rain on the way back but that didn’t bother me because earlier in the day I had made a head scarf/wrap out of Tracy’s t-shirt. The t-shirt scarf kept my head warm and dry. Tracy didn’t even notice her t-shirt on my head until I pointed it out to her LOL! I’ll have to take a photo because it looks pretty cool, a little trick I learned from watching YouTube videos. After the bike ride we drove into town to buy food for dinner because the hotel room has a full kitchen and eating out gets so expensive. We bought a salad and a California Pizza Kitchen pizza and enjoyed a good yet inexpensive dinner back in the room. Now we’re watching TV and relaxing. Tomorrow should be pretty mellow because the high is going to be in the 40s Yikes!

Florida Bound

Taxi arrived at 5:15, snow was falling on the Twin Cities so the ride to the AP took a little longer. I was pulled for additional screening 2x at MSP. Flight from DTW to FMY was delayed nearly an hour giving me time to grab a breakfast sandwich at the Coney Island Hot Dog place, hands down the best airport food I've ever tried. The same flight crew from MPS to DTW to DTW-FMY a first in all my travel experience. Weather in FL 44 degrees when we took off but a predicted high of 62 for FMY. My seat mates, a couple from Madison, Bill a retired landscape architect and Betsey a retired UW-Madison admissions person. Bill told me the greatest story about how he got to college. His high school principle pulled him aside one afternoon and told him that he had already paid his tuition for the 1st semester at Madison and would be really disappointed if he didn’t go. Bill’s dad had died when he was a little kid, mom worked all sorts of jobs, he had no intentions of going to college b/c no one in his family but he didn't want to disappoint his high school principle and decided to give college a try. The principle obviously saw something special in Bill who not only went to Madison but spent 40+ years there after earning his graduate degree in design/architecture at Harvard.. Tracy’s flight arrived at 11:00 but mine didn’t get in until 2:00; but no worries, Tracy located a Starbucks and free Wii Fi so she kept busy with work. When we got to the car rental place the clerk was really pushing convertibles so Tracy offered to pay the difference and we took off in a convertible bound for Sanibel about a 45 minute drive. However, after about 15 minutes of cruising down the Florida highway we pulled over and put the top up because we were freezing even with the windows rolled up and the heat cranked. We got to the hotel and Tracy did a little more work. We went down to the beach around sunset and despite the chilly temps it was really beautiful We went out for a nice dinner at Matzaluna The Italian Kitchen and then back to the hotel around 9:00.

Early to bed early to rise

I’m not going to write much tonight because I have a 6:35 flight in the morning to Florida and I want to turn in at a decent hour. A very nice day and evening, John had friends over to dinner tonight., John and Erin. The dinner was delicious as usual with yellow fin tuna, coconut rice, and Brussels sprouts. John and Erin arrived around 6:00 and we had a wonderful time chatting and enjoying dinner. Because they were aware of my early flight the dinner wrapped up around 7:30 and John and I cleaned up the kitchen and will probably watch a movie in a few minutes. My contribution to the evening besides cleaning up the dishes was the stovetop grill I purchased about 10 years ago but used only once or twice, it was just the thing for preparing the tuna. Can’t wait to see my sissy in sunny Florida tomorrow. Okay good people I’m signing off for the day.

Tuesday at Big Bowl

A nice lazy day! So as usual I was off to the gym this morning but I didn’t break any speed limits getting there, rolled in after 11:00! If I workout 12 x/ month $20 is deducted from my monthly dues, so I need to get in as many visits as possible before we start traveling later this month. As some of you know I will be heading to Sanibel, FL with my sister on Thursday and returning Monday night. I just checked the extended forecast and it’s going to be cold by Florida standards but a virtual heat wave by my standards.

I met my pal Joyce for lunch today at Big Bowl. Joyce is the realtor who represented me in two home purchases and listed my townhouse about 18 months ago when I naively thought I could unload a townhouse in the suburbs for close to what I paid 4 years earlier, silly me. We had a great catch up lunch and I discovered that my wild relationship stories are nothing compared to hers! Whew, but it’s all about attitude and what you take from your experiences and Joyce has an awesome attitude. We had such a great time today that we scheduled our next outing for mid February for happy hour at McCormick’s. Tracy and Val I totally rocked the new wool coat and Jimmy Choo Choo handbag today!

I purchased a second video tutorial at National Camera Exchange this one is all about the speedlite so now I need to make time to watch and learn. I’ve been spending way too much time watching photography and healthy hair care videos on YouTube and a few days ago I joined a social networking site called Hairlista where I've also been spending a lot of time.

Did you guys happen to notice the sudden and big jump in gas prices overnight? Here prices are up nearly .25/gallon. Lucky for me I filled up yesterday.

Today’s photo Family n. a source of love, comfort, and happiness 2. the people who accept us just the way we are 3. those with whom we share a lifetime of memories 4. family is what we call home. I am so grateful for my family.

Thanks aunt Jessie for the beautiful candle; and it smells good too!

Happy Monday

Although this was actually my second Monday away from the office it really felt more like the first because it is the first full week of the LOA. Anyway, today was quite busy, starting with a good workout at the gym, then a quick eyebrow waxing, next off to the post office to finally mail off some Christmas gifts. Never again will I attempt to save time by mailing from one of those commercial mailing centers; they wanted $15 to mail something the size and weight of a thick paperback book! The USPS charged about $7 for 3-5 day delivery. I left the house at about 5:30 to meet Donna for dinner. We had planned to meet at Heartland but it turns out that place is closed on Monday. I stopped by the office to straighten up my office for Anne J. who will be camping out in my office for the next 3 months.. Anne W. and Erin where in the office when I stopped by so it was fun to catch up with them. I met Donna at Brasa Rotisserie for a rgood dinner, catch up chat, and gift exchange. I believe this is the earliest we’ve ever exchanged gifts usually we’re catching up in February or even March. Chatted with John for about an hour and figured out the what was going on with my new speedlite (camera flash) weak batteries! Yeah an easy fix. Then got ready for bed, nothing beats sleeping on freshly laundered sheets after a busy day. Sweet dreams.

It's so cold

It is so cold here! Today’s balmy high was a whopping 7 degrees and the low was -9. Today was all about Lisa. I saw John and Gretchen off in the morning and then I watched YouTube videos on hair care and photography. Gotta love YouTube for all the great “how to” videos, I’ve learned so much and all for free. After chilling out in front of the computer for an hour or so I headed to the global market to pick up more organic hair care stuff on the advice of my favorite youtubers. I spent a little over an hour at the global market buying stuff and taking photos and enjoying some delicious strawberry/mango Italian Ice yum! Next it was off to the gym to workout and try out my new hair concoction of coconut oil and shea butter. The sauna is a great place blend oils and try them out; so after my workout I spent about 15 minutes in the sauna moisturizing my hair…looks and feels fabulous. After the gym I headed to the office where I spent a couple hours wrapping up some stuff. I have more to do there but it’s so great to have the flexibility to go in when I want and leave whenever I feel like it. Oh yes I forgot to mention my little car mishap after the market. The streets are icy and I was heading down a main drag when my car slid just a bit and my side mirror caught the side mirror of a parked car; fortunately, there was no damage to the other car unfortunately my side mirror sustained some damage and will need to be replaced, knowing the dealer it will probably set me back a couple hundred bucks for a piece of hard plastic…. oh well. Finally, I arrived home around 5:00 and have been chilling out ever since. I think I’ll need to pick John up at the airport in a few unless he decides to take a taxi. I’d really love to stay in my warm house and not go out again but he’s always doing nice stuff for me so I’m happy to get off my lazy butt and pick him up considering he’s spent 8 hours in the car driving G. back to school.

A couple of you (okay just one) have asked about this “healthy hair journey” thing so I’ve attached a composite photo 1. Oct 31 2. Dec 16 3. Jan 3. Basically my hair was very dry and damaged due to over processing (relaxers) and too much heat. I decided in late October to take better care of it and have been watching YouTube videos my favorite is QB at thetruthishair regarding hair care specifically African American hair care and following a couple online forums and blogs: keep it simple sista and hairlista.com. I haven’t used heat or chemicals on my hair since Oct 23rd. It is a lot of work but I’m already seeing some awesome results. If you click on the photo you should be able to view a larger image.

O' Tannenbaum

The Christmas tree came down at John’s today marking the end of the holiday season. Gretchen heads back to school tomorrow and so 2010 officially begins. I don’t have much to report about today considering I didn’t leave the house until 2:30 when I met Anne for a late lunch at Ruby Tuesday’s and a movie right afterwards. One reason for not leaving the house earlier was the -14 degree temperature. We saw Nine with Daniel Day Lewis, it was a very good song and dance movie with some of the most beautiful scenery/cinematography I’ve ever seen, but the story was a big lame disappointment. After the movie I made my way over to John’s where he was preparing a terrific dinner for just the two of us of cod, Brussels spruouts, rice, and Caesar salad… um um good eatin’. After dinner we danced around the kitchen to some old tunes and I shot the attached photo for today’s entry. John confessed that he does indeed think I’m rigid but he also thinks I have a great sense of humor so I guess that’s a pretty good trade. We watched an old movie based on Noel Coward's, The Brief Encounter starring some actors I'd never heard of; it was just okay...too slow for my taste, but good acting and good storytelling, I just wouldn't count it among my favorite old movies. Nighty night.

Happy 2010

I realize yesterday’s entry failed to mention anything at all about the day and was actually all about December 31, 2007. So I’d like to bring my readers up to speed on just exactly what went down on New Year’s eve 2009. I spent a lot of time at the gym in the morning first to workout and then to focus on my hair regimen. A little over two hours was spent at the gym between the workout and the whole hair maintenance thing. The hair thing takes a ton of time, but I’m really liking the results so like this blog I plan to keep it up. John hosted a retirement luncheon for his brother Will at 12:30 yesterday, so we gathered at the house for a delicious lunch and celebration. Joelle made two awesome salads, the chocolate cake from Wollet's was delicious, and John’s turkey burgers were of course juicy and tasty. After the luncheon John and the girls ran some errands and I stayed back at the house and chilled out. Around 7:00 we headed out to meet Will and Marie for a movie, It’s Complicated starring Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin…funny movie but a lame ending. After the movie we went back to Marie’s house for popcorn and champagne; apparently I am not alone in believing popcorn is a great substitute for dinner. Next John and I headed on over to Luci Ancora where the restaurant was only offering soup and dessert due to the late hour 11:00 PM. We had more champagne, peppery soup, and yummy yummy desserts tiramisu cheesecake for me, and I think John had bread pudding, but I was too busy scarfing down my dessert to notice what he was having. At midnight John took center stage…yes still at the restaurant in leading everyone in Auld Lang Syne for which he received warm applause; I believe the song was a nice opportunity for the patrons and the staff to greet the New Year with good cheer. After it was all over I might have bumped my head while crawling from under the table, we headed for home around 12:30. I didn’t wake up until 10:00 and didn’t leave John’s until 2:00 on this first day of 2010! Once I got myself going it turned out to be a fairly productive day, gym, errands, uploading photos, and of course ending the evening with another exciting blog entry.