Video games and train tracks

A perfect Sunday morning.

At the end of the rainbow

I know I have been reporting a whole lot about driving and being away but just to give you an idea of why I might be yammering like a broken record, consider this....I drove almost 1100 miles this week. Actually, I think it was 1083. That's in a 5 day period.

When I hit the first hour of any drive, my left side begins to get numb. That's a relatively new thing since this commute began. I go numb. When the numbing begins, thoughts of exercise enter my mind. I start considering the yoga gift certificate that I still haven't redeemed. I remember that I should have stretched this morning before getting into the car. I try to remind myself to stretch when I get home in the evening. So far, I haven't followed through on any of this. But the same thoughts begin again on every drive.

Two days ago, while 1/2 numb, and listening to A Thousand Splendid Suns on route to some Central Valley outpost, I saw a rainbow. I was quite taken aback. Hard to capture in a moving car but very beautiful.


Yesterday, I returned to the Bay Area for my quarterly Hair Pampering. Very extravagant. Stacy, who cuts and highlights, takes her time, and by time I mean...I was there for over 3 hours. It was oddly great. I drank a glass of wine, ate truffles, had some peppermint tea, read People Magazine and of course, gossiped. Nice.

Away

This has been my first official week in my new home away from home. I lucked into a small makeshift studio behind the garage of a client's in-laws' home.


On day one, no hot water. On day two, 5 minutes of hot water. Perhaps I need to take shorter showers. Overall, I am happy to have my own tiny little place rather than various hotel rooms.

I bought some groceries, made my first dinner, watched some TV...did I mention the WiFi doesn't really reach my studio from the main house?

A few bumps in the road but...I am glad to have an actual home away from home.

Politics of a Party

Birthday parties. Why is this hard for me? Max is turning 6 yrs old and wants to have a Lego Star Wars party. Fine. I can make a Lego cake. I can create fun activities and games. I cannot for the life of me figure out the proper invitation etiquette.

OK, so for those of you without kids or without kids in this age range, please keep your snickering to yourself. My issue is that I don't want to hurt any little person's feelings. We are not going to invite his entire class over. We need to choose up to 6 to 7 kids but then, they talk and then they ask why they aren't invited....awkward.

So yes, I will make a birthday snack for the classroom to dull the rejection but still, I feel sort of bad. Where do you draw the line? And, there are kids I want invited and those I don't but its not my party. But, I am the mom. I am assuming this will all be so clear and easy when I get here with Aiden. Right now, it takes me back to wedding invitations and who gets left out.

And no, I did not bake and make that "Troy" birthday cake. I just put it there to show you what I am up against. I thought by taking a stand against big pricey parties I had this thing beat. I was wrong. Its easier to just say, invite everyone, but then its chaos, just as expensive....

I need some corn chips.

Driving

I know. If you aren't supposed to text while driving, you certainly aren't supposed to be snapping pictures.

This one makes me nauseous just looking at it. Which is kind of how I felt. Sick just descended on me yesterday afternoon while in Shafter, CA.

Over the last few weeks, I have been experimenting with how to stay engaged, awake, alert while driving long distances. I listen to different radio stations, the news, podcasts, books on tape and I call friends and family (not very often as I have to look at the phone to dial-not so safe).

Some favorite podcasts, lately, are: The Rachel Maddow Show, Bill Moyers, New Yorker Fiction, Planet Money. I just finished listening to My Life, written and read by Bill Clinton. Really good and very interesting. Yes, he cleaned his story up a bit BUT he really gives a great insider view of Washington, being the President, and how things really go down (yes, he discusses Ms. Lewinsky). A bit depressing but it deserves first prize at keeping me safe on the road for many hours.

I am also listening to Pandora but need to branch out from the same (and favorite) girly sounds I have been listening to. Suggestions welcome.

Oooooo spooky

This is how I started my day.

I finally got to experience this famous "Tully Fog" that everyone warned me about. The main thing is that you have to drive very slowly. And it means I can't text message as I drive. Speaking of....(calm down, I'm partially joking), speaking of texting while driving, did you realize that this is just illegal if you are under 18 years old? What kind of new law is that?