rain or shine

Six hours of rain overnight, which is great, it will help with drought and wildfires, and the sound of rain on the roof is the best nighttime sound. And then it cleared up and left behind a clear, sunny day an hour before I got up, which is great, I prefer clear skies for my weekend loafing routine.

sinbad

I fall in love with a new dog every week. This week, it was this guy, and while I was cuddling him, a woman who had been looking around and was about to leave saw him on my lap and thought he was adorable. Her whole family was there in short order, and they became his new family. It's sad to see them go just as I get to know them, but I hope they have such amazing lives and never end up in a shelter again.

don't wake me

After weeks of inexplicably (or sometimes unavoidably) short nights of sleep, sleeping almost ten hours is amazing.

maybe in time

Both of our ovens died in September, but after much delay (repairman on vacation, then we were on vacation, then the parts had to ship out for repair and come back), they just might be fixed tomorrow, just in time to host Thanksgiving.

weekday family time

I spent the night at my sister's for a rare weeknight get together, and was amused to realize that my nephew inherited our (lack of) athletic ability (but has lots of enthusiasm for sports that we never had), and my older niece shares our love for musical theater (but with more talent).

tailored to fit

And then there's the thing when you think, "what next?" and by coincidence, you get several scary but interesting ideas from random people, and one random but exciting idea from your favorite work buddy ever (and she's so into the idea that she wants you or nobody else).

perf-ection

Annual peer reviews are a pain, but reading the feedback is always a nice postscript.

come together

Right when you think, "I might be interested in being on a non-profit board, but only if it's something I'm totally into," you meet the director and the chairman of the board for your dog's shelter where you volunteer every week, and they mention the possibility of joining the board.

honolulu

I may get to go to Hawaii for work.

playdate

A coworker's dog came over for a few hours after work yesterday, and it was the first time Henry has had another playful dog in the house. There was a solid hour of sprinting, dodging, wrestling, and wagging.

running short

Two hour conference call only lasted one hour.

fixed it

Suddenly, seven years in, Boyfriend has figured out how to give a good backrub.

halloween

No trick or treaters, but I spent the weekend hanging out with dogs at the shelter, buying new boots, eating Halloween candy that I'd bought just in case any kids came, and watching a lot of vampire TV. Dinner with friends tonight (in the post-DST gloom, although it is satisfying to go through the house adjusting clocks), and it's back to another week. Thanksgiving countdown starts... now.

moving on

I was not feeling the last book I was reading, but couldn't bring myself to drop it, because I was already 33% of the way in, and it's end of year, and every book counts... And then I dropped it for a book on the history of Scientology, and found out that L. Ron Hubbard did affirmations to stop being scared of snakes and to protect himself from being hypnotized by his guardian angel. I should have moved on sooner.

like butter

Traffic just gets worse and worse, which means that when I drive in at a weird time on a Friday and there's no traffic, it feels like magic.

more crank

Another day in the zone, banging out stuff that will buy me a weekend of peace, with some well-earned catch-up TiVo time.

And after a day of being completely ignored at work, my dog is now being super cuddly, like he was in his puppy days.

crank

Every once in a while, my calendar and inbox and deadlines align so perfectly that I can just crank out an ungodly amount of work in one day without having to wait on anyone else's feedback, and I like to imagine all these steaming piles of legal work product piling up in other people's inboxes faster than they can shovel it back out. I had one of those this week and it was so satisfying.

lucky number seven

Yesterday was our seventh anniversary! Asking Boyfriend out may be the best impulsive decision I've ever made.

razor edge

The path to here has been a razor edge, and the path ahead is foggy, but I can see a few new razors through the mist.

experiencing delays

Paris: three 3-star meals (two of them totally awesome), a 2-star meal, and a really amazing fancy but friendly bistro. Two weird and fascinating museums. Catch-up time with a law school friend, a former legal assistant, and a cube neighbor. Absurdist jewelry window-shopping. Handmade Italian boots. Working public transportation. Minimal rain.

jetlag

Is there any nap that is a better guilty pleasure than a jetlagged nap after a huge French lunch? I think not.

inside joke

When your friends conspire to make an inside joke unexpectedly show up on your desk from 5,000 miles away, and you actually laugh out loud when you get into work, it's a good Monday.

soon

Paris is so close I can almost taste it. Dogsitter booked, hotel lined up, and four reservations (three Michelin 3* and one 2*) in the books. Hard to believe that we've been back from Namibia for almost three months, and then after this trip, we've got less than two months before our last trip of the year (Vietnam and Cambodia, with quick stops in Bangkok and Hong Kong), and then it's on to 2016!

how things change

After seven years of living in California, including three years of drought (and actually driving by a freeway wildfire this summer), my sun-loving self has finally caved, and I'm excited that we're having a little bit of early rain. Me, excited about rain!

routine

Back in the Bay, and the usual routine feels good, especially the "no longer having a nasty September cold" part of the routine. It was great to see friends and spend time in my favorite city, but it's also great to be back with my boyfriend and dog, just in time for TiVo to start picking up all the fall shows.

east coast tour

Caught up with college friends at a wedding in D.C., where we also managed to score a table at minibar, a fun molecular gastronomy place. Decided to try to get together every year. Took the train to New York, where I'm working for the week, and also seeing as many friends as possible for meals and cards. A week packed with travel, friends, food, and fun, what more is there in life?

random wednesday

Got captured on video wearing a horse head mask while dancing without any music. It was for work, sort of.

belly in belly

Those pork belly buns may be the most delicious thing I've ever made. Even Boyfriend, who doesn't usually like pork belly and avoids carbs, ate three.

free at last

I stopped wearing my FitBit a few days ago after realizing that the 100° heat wave had more power over me than the guilt trip of the step count. It feels so liberating to not be checking and stepping, stepping and checking. I think I'll enjoy the novelty of freedom and laziness for a while, until I'm resensitized to the shame factor of the FitBit. And then once more into the fray.

roots

While I was at Henry's shelter yesterday, we looked up his old shelter records, and I found out that he had spent a month in the public shelter in Hollister, where he'd been turned into their night box with a collar but no tags, malnourished and about five months old. They had one picture of him from that time, all motion and blur, and I'm even more curious about the mysterious lives that all the dogs lead before ending up in what we think of as their real lives with us.

all set

New phone arrived yesterday to replace the one I broke last week. I've gotten all my settings and apps the way I like them. Ahh...

delicious future

We're going to our favorite local Michelin two star restaurant for Boyfriend's birthday dinner tomorrow night, and I'm making sous vide pork belly tonight to broil up and eat with some quick pickles and steamed buns on Sunday. The concierge at work has also started making some reservations for us for our trip to Paris next month.

box of food

Thai chicken burgers (packed with ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and sriracha, topped with hoisin mayonnaise) with home fries were delicious last night. Even Boyfriend, who questions the utility of the food deliveries, was impressed. Tonight, we'll have steak with romesco sauce and potatoes (which we'll jazz up by sous vide-ing the steak and adding sous vide eggs and sunchokes).

solid bet

Margaret Atwood never disappoints.

on track

After a slow first half of the year, I'm on track to get my 100 books in again this year. I'm working on two books now, one of which is an Ian McEwan novel that turned out to be good for a law nerd, and the other of which is the first in Lev Grossman's Magicians trilogy, which is like Harry Potter goes to Narnia as a less innocent college student. It's good to have a good book in progress, and awesome to have two.

what's up cuz

Getting excited for some cousin time tomorrow! Dinner out, whiskey, and games, it will be just like old times (except that the old times didn't involve dinner out or whiskey).

flying colors

In the past 36 hours, Henry has hung out with two dogs at work that he isn't used to, passed a temperament test at a kennel (which included meeting two dogs, one of which was a mastiff), met a friend and his family (three kids and two dogs, one of which was a very playful pit puppy that he played with), spent half a day in daycare with about two dozen dogs (part two of the kennel temperament test, which he also passed), and met a super nice dogsitter who lives near my parents' house. He did really well, and now has lots of options when I travel, beyond me just begging all of my coworkers to take him. So proud of his progress and relieved to have more flexibility.

west meets east

That thing where you fly cross country for a wedding weekend with college friends, and you split a house, and you remember why you loved them in college and you realize they're even more awesome now, and you get to sing in the ceremony with those awesome college friends, and the groom turns out to be just right for your friend, and one of the readings is from the Supreme Court decision on marriage equality, and you may have sung college fight songs at the reception. That thing is so great.

connect the dots

That thing when you realize that what the dog shelter really needs is better online presence and public awareness, and you remember that you know a marketing person who loves dogs.

happy place

I went to Henry's shelter today, walked five happy dogs and spent a little time playing with two others, and took a bunch of pictures of this sweet girl to try to convince someone to adopt her, and then a nice veteran came in looking for a dog to fill the hole that his last dog left, and I got to see her start her new life!

fully committed

Met up with college friends for dinner in the city and then karaoke, and the bar we went to was small, full, and totally into it. Unexpectedly awesome!

dog walker

The trainer at the shelter decided I only needed one session, not two, so I'm officially a volunteer at Henry's old shelter, and so happy to be helping out!

humans to the rescue

When you've got a lot of travel coming up and people start asking if you're going away any time soon, and if so, if they can take your dog. And then you don't have to stress about lining up all that coverage. My dog and his people are awesome.

mcscreamy

Henry and I have been working on his dog anxiety issues with lots of treats and minimal meltdowns, and he's making good progress. One day, he will be sane around dogs.

they're growing up

A couple former legal assistants came in for lunch today, I love that they still keep in touch. I'm trying to get to know the new ones, and am excited about designing a training program for them.

this week

Dinner tomorrow with a visiting friend who always brings me chocolate. Karaoke with college friends this weekend. Training days at Henry's shelter so I can start volunteering there.

surprisingly calm

I flew down to LA to see how Henry (who hates being crated and is terrified of loud machine noises) would do on planes. He was completely quiet and stayed still the whole time. If he does well on the return flight tomorrow, maybe he can start coming to New York with me.

girls girls girls

Wine, cheese, fruit, snacks, gossip, laughter, old friends, new people, silly music, good times.

brownie points

Found out where my parents were going for my mom's birthday, and arranged for me to treat them, and added in wine and a birthday candle, and got lots of easy points.

birthday recap

Flowers from Boyfriend, FitBit challenge winner, funnel cake at work, pulled pork dinner, next day dinner with sister in the city (where we confirmed that we're sisters in so many ways, most involving singing, odd noises, and inappropriate gestures, much to the embarrassment of our mates).

fitbit reboot

I hit a bit of a rut on FitBit, until my coworker added me to a challenge, which spurred me to a stellar week. He's set one up for next week already, so I'm resting up this weekend.

small revelation

Homemade ketchup tastes nothing like ketchup, and it is so much better.

dinner with friends

Had three friends over for dinner last night, and we all made sous vide dishes (and some non-sous vide): wine, cheese, grapes, flatbread; wilted lettuce salad with bacon; sous vide asparagus (with bacon fat) topped with sous vide egg and truffle salt; sous vide burgers, finished on the grill and topped with lots of deliciousness, including homemade ketchup; sous vide pork loin, finished on the grill with a smoked bourbon BBQ sauce; and sous vide bananas (which acquire an interesting, dense texture) with ice cream and shaved chocolate. Finish it all off with lots of wine and games, and it was a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon and evening.

click

After all that reading, and ten days of practice (and it really is practice, with all of the "I can't do this, it doesn't make sense" that comes with practice), I think that this meditation and breathing thing may finally be starting to make a little sense. On my morning walk with the dog, something just clicked, and even if I still don't understand it, it somehow suddenly made more sense and felt less difficult.

going native

I've been trying out a life coach, just to see what all the California hoo-ha is about. Despite the cringe factor, it has proven to be quite useful for an overachieving procrastinator, because she sets tangible tasks and deadlines, including all of the following...

• reading books on meditation and mindfulness (one very hippie one that she assigned, and one more scientific one that I picked, both of which have been interesting)
• trying out meditation (formal meditation always seemed long and uncomfortable, but short ones have been good so far, and yes, there's an app for that)
• finding multisensory cues (she pointed out that I focus on written word a lot, so I'm working on smells, pictures, and sounds that remind me of my happy place)
• taking step one to New York (if this pipe dream is going to happen, first I have to test Henry on a plane, which is happening in two weeks)
• spending more and better time with people (sometimes you have to just schedule things and assign tasks to people so that you see people but there is still an element that you're not responsible for and which can still surprise you)
• taking better care of myself (more water, fruits, and vegetables)

So I'm not sure it's going to be a total revolution, but iteration and improvement are good, too.

cutting back

Managed to cut out Tums entirely (after a few years of taking them daily, I needed the calcium anyways, right?), and cut my Advil and caffeine consumption by over two thirds while we were vacation. Now I'm cranking up water intake and hoping this all sticks.

serenity or nap

Tried out a guided meditation app today, and fell asleep for a surprise nap, instead. Not quite what I was planning, but refreshing, nonetheless.

what's cooking

Sous vide salmon, roasted sunchokes, and leftover gazpacho for dinner. Friends coming over tomorrow, and we're making mi-cuit salmon, a fresh batch of heirloom tomato gazpacho, sous vide eggs over arugula and smoked beef tenderloin with pickled sunchokes, and stone fruit and berries with a balsamic vinegar reduction over sorbet.

namibia in depth

Two weeks of pure awesomeness on what Boyfriend has declared to be the best trip we've ever taken!

• Windhoek
• showing up and finding a firepit in the room
• Okonjima:
• eating granola with yogurt and fruit every morning, and bacon (I don’t usually eat a real breakfast, but I also don’t usually get up at 5 every morning)
• discovering the joys of having hot water bottles in the bed at night, and a fire in the fireplace
• watching a baby leopard play while its mother ate a warthog on our first drive
• taking an extra day so that we could go on a second leopard drive and a second cheetah drive
• going into safari trances on the road and getting a lot of thinking done, and having some good realizations
• and some smaller realizations, such as how much I really like to pee on dives and game drives
• giving up on FitBit, because it registers too many fake steps on bumpy roads
• not being online
• Ongava
• watching the sun set and the moon rise at the same time
• seeing mother and 3-4 week old baby rhino at watering hole on first sundown drive
• taking a hot shower (super-hot, heated by a wood stove) in a cold tent after a dusty day never gets old
• watching a huge orange full moon rising
• seeing a herd of elephants with two babies at the Okonkuejo watering hole in Etosha, drinking, bathing, playing, and taking a dust bath
• watching rhinos and elephants at the watering hole during second dinner
• seeing a mother rhino and her older baby on our last morning drive, and walking near them
• squeezing extra life out of my camera battery when it tried to give up a few times near the rhinos
• Onguma
• getting in before sunset and not having anything to do the rest of the night
• staying in a warm room and a fancy lodge is so great after a cold tent with a basic lodge -- so glad this was after Ongava so we could really wallow and appreciate it with no pressure to go do things
• seeing the Milky Way from our house
• listening to roaring lions the first night
• going into Etosha and feeling no pressure, since we'd already seen everything we'd really wanted to see, so everything else was just a bonus
• getting back from Etosha by noon and having the rest of the day free to relax, read, write, and think
• taking a 2.5 hour nap on a sunny bed after a week of waking up before 6 a.m., and on this particular day, waking up at 6, going on a walk for an hour and a half, then having breakfast, then getting back in bed before 11 a.m. to have a dream within a dream within a dream in a sleep that felt like I was in an underwater cocoon
• coming across a fat, sleepy male lion on night drive
• having a super helpful manager who fixed our wheel well and got our car washed
• starting to figure out manual camera settings for sunrise, sunset, stars
• eating the best food of the trip (the food was good in general, but particularly good here, and we discovered that all those antelopes are delicious -- oryx and springbok are good, but kudu is the best)
• Windhoek
• after seeing the room they were going to give us, asking for our first room back and getting it
• Sossusvlei
• having the front seat in the plane
• making it up the biggest dune (Big Daddy) after much huffing and puffing
• gliding back down the steep face of the dune after some doubt, making the sand sing like a cello and then like a tuba or trombone
• spending another morning at the dunes -- two fun descents, and a long photo session at Deadvlei
• going horseback riding into the sunset, which was startling when we were galloping but exhilarating
• getting two massages, one of them outside!
• getting a late afternoon flight out of Kulala so we could chill for the day
• spending the last night under the stars
• sitting in the cockpit again, just by asking

And generally:

• I don’t usually keep this kind of schedule when left to my own devices, but it was amazing to see sunrise, sunset, and stars every day, especially when there was so much sky.
• I realized that one of the amazing things about dive trips or safaris is that you just show up, and then you can turn your brain off, because there is no planning to do and no decisions to make. They tell you when to wake up, when to eat, where to go, what to see, and you can just enjoy yourself without worrying over whether you’re doing the right thing at the right time to get the most out of the day.

namibia is awesome

That was an amazing trip, in both expected ways (safari! dunes! stars! no work email! quick catch-up with old friends and the gummy candy store!) and unexpected ways (long meditative rides! hot water bottles! hot showers in a cold tent!) and I will have to dedicate a post to it, but for now, it was an incredible trip, and we came back to our favorite dogs and stone fruit season.

all purpose day

Yesterday: morning meetings, final vacation planning, lunchtime mentoring of high school girls, afternoon heavy drafting session to get a big deal moving, evening pedicure, facial, dog supplies (with some impromptu training thrown in), and human supplies (for vacation).

homecoming

The joys of coming home after a good trip: incandescent canine joy, boyfriend chit chat, your own bed and shower, morning coffee.

perfect timing

When your low fuel indicator goes on just as you pull into the gas station.

pork and cards

Finally got to try the bo ssäm at Momofuku with a bunch of friends, then played cards and hung out like the olden days.

new/old york

Hitting some of my favorite restaurants that I've been going to for fifteen years, catching up with friends from work, Switzerland, college, and law school, and walking and taking the subway everywhere. Today, we had soup dumplings and bubble tea in Chinatown, walked to Nolita, took the subway up to Harlem, walked all the way down through Central Park, cooled off in a fountain in a playground, had ice cream and listened to a busker, and hopped back on the train only when we got down to Columbus Circle. Quick break in the hotel, and then walking down to the Village for Ethiopian. Love this city.

chicken tonight

Leftover chicken tonight. It was pretty darn good last night (pan roasted with quinoa salad and rhubarb preserves), so hoping it reheats well. The shrimp fettuccine on Saturday was good too. Turns out I'm decent at cooking if the recipe and ingredients are delivered and no one is watching. Just me, my chicken, and Miles Davis, hanging out and ignoring the dog.

signed up

Finally got in touch with the shelter Henry came from, and signed up to volunteer with them once all this traveling is done!

relaxxxzzz

After falling asleep repeatedly during a mindfulness workshop at work while sitting upright in a brightly lit room with two dozen coworkers, I thought I should give meditation another shot. Nope. Can't do it on my own. But then it turns out that the library has digital recordings of guided meditations available, so I downloaded one, listened to it this afternoon, and fell asleep within ten minutes. Wonder if it works at night, as well...

pretty good dog

Henry came to a lot of meetings at work this week and met a lot of colleagues who had never met him, and we got a lot of compliments on his training. I guess it's been such a long and gradual process, and I've always been so focused on his weaknesses that I don't notice his strengths as much. So it was good to hear that we're doing well.

purge

Time for a closet purge! Can't wait to have more space, fewer things, and a pile of stuff to donate. So far, I'm at 45 items and lots of fond memories made while wearing those clothes.

single for now

Boyfriend and I have opposite travel schedules for the next twelve days, so that's twelve days of taking up the whole bed and keeping my own hours!

service

Looking forward to doing some work-sponsored volunteer work tomorrow!

return to sender

Finally did a bunch of returns for online shipments today, so that's out of the way and a good thing for my credit card and my office clutter.

well deserved

Watched a wonderful coworker get a really well deserved award today, which was awesome. She was so happy she almost started crying, which was also awesome. And everyone in the room was so happy for her that the applause went on and on and on, which was even more awesome.

third time's the charm

Third day in a row that I've engaged in significant cooking. I'm realizing that I like doing it, just not while anyone else is there.

dinner club reunion

Our old dinner club got together for the first time in years. Wine, cheese, bread, salmon two ways (smoked with creme fraiche and sous vide with homemade quick pickled onions, broiled crispy skin), truffled mac and cheese, grilled and smoked corn on the cob, smoked filet mignon on English muffins broiled with cheddar cheese and topped with truffled arugula and sous vide poached egg, Humphrey Slocombe ice cream (Secret Breakfast, Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee, and Peanut Butter Curry), and assorted Japanese KitKats. Good friends, good food, good times. I think we're going to reboot and reconvene every two or three months.

no reheating necessary

The warm lentils and cold sunchoke pickles went well with the fish yesterday, and today they were good as a cold dish without the fish, straight out of the fridge. Sunchoke pickles may be my new thing for a while.

two in a row

Decided to cook again tonight. Sous vide sole (this time with garlic and olive oil), lentils with chorizo, and sous vide sunchoke quick pickles. Let's see how this turns out.

hep hep hooray

Blood test came back, and I'm already fully immune to both Hep A and Hep B for the rest of my life, so no more shots needed for those. I'd probably know this if I'd kept better records of my vaccinations in the past, but now I know, no more shots for hep, ever.

ask and receive

Noticed that the sous vide circulator that I bought at a discount was even more discounted. I planned to quietly fume, but Boyfriend asked if I was going to ask for a credit. I screwed up my courage and set aside my embarrassment and sent an email asking if they price match, and lo and behold, I got an email back saying I'll get a credit for the difference! Much more effective than fuming.

ange can cook

Between free food at work and a boyfriend who likes cooking, I rarely motivate myself to make anything beyond the most basic stuff to eat. Today, I decided to cook! On a weeknight! Three dishes! Sous vide sole with dill and butter, sauteed sugar snap peas with mint and feta, and roasted sunchokes with truffle salt. I'm kind of proud of myself.

free shots

Went to the clinic at work today to get some shots in preparation for Namibia. Got three, plus a blood draw and two prescriptions, and it turns out that because it was all preventative care, there wasn't even a copay. So then I went to the allergist for my fourth shot and fifth needle of the day. Free shots!

number one

As much as I hated being required to get good grades, I sometimes miss the uncomplicated clarity that good grades gave. An A said, "you're doing well." Anything else said, "try harder." It's hard to get that kind of clear message once you're out of school. So when you reach the number one position in your FitBit rankings, it's a sweet little taste of the uncomplicated past, when it was so easy to know where you stood in relationship to the world.

long weekend

We're taking most of our vacation as long trips this year, so we aren't taking a lot of random days off for long weekends, so I love when we have one built in, because that extra day makes a weekend feel amazingly long.

chorizo

Chorizo is so delicious. Turkey chorizo isn't even that bad for you, and freezes in small portions for convenient use.

climber

The conference last week and then a lazy weekend totally killed my FitBit step count, but now I'll get to watch them go up again.

back for seconds

Apparently ten hours of sleep wasn't enough, and I was also in need of a two hour nap.

experimentation

We tried making abalone three ways (raw, smoked, sous vide), with varying success but lots of fun.

it's people

Met some interesting people at a conference this week, spent time with my sister's family and a college friend, then had a law school friend over for a night.

rekindled

I've hit my weight target, so can back off that a bit and spend more time on books, which have taken a bit of a backseat these past few months. That pile of seven library books is looking delicious!

make up

When you sleep ten hours after a few nights in a row of sleeping 5-6 hours.

aspirations

I spend so much time aspiring to be someone different, some better iteration of me that is less like me, that it comes as a pleasant shock when a coworker says that she aspires to be more like me.

everyday victories

I may have found the perfect sweatpants. Can't say for sure until they've gone through a few washes, but this is an amazing possibility, given my fondness for lounging around the house in comfy pants.

today

Called mom. Saw a dog that looked like she could have been Fiver's younger sister. Returned a bunch of stuff. Made brownies. Read more of this gorgeous book. Ate junk food and played games at a friend's house. Confirmed plans to reconvene our old dinner club for a reunion in a few weeks.

oh the possibilities

Finally got around to getting a sous vide circulator, with a discount, free shipping, and no tax! Now we just have to decide what to make first. So many foods, so little time...

wfh

Working from home on a sunny Friday is so great. I can wake up late but still start work early. Sweatpants are a given. The house is silent, other than birdsong and the washing machine. I can make as many faces and snide comments as I want, without judgment from the sleeping dogs. And eventually, when the workday is over, I'm instantly home and ready for the weekend.

mirror mirror

Trying on clothes is so much fun when you're the size you want to be. Even though I'm a total jeans girl, I admit that dresses are kind of fun once in a while. I've got two candidates balled up at the bottom of my closet (so that I can see if they'll travel well). May the best dress win.

box of chocolates

One of the benefits of keeping a long queue of books to read is that by the time I get to some of them, I have no recollection of what they're about or why they got added to the queue in the first place. You never know what you're going to get, and sometimes, every once in a while, it's an unexpectedly delicious one. There's nothing quite like reading the first few pages of a mystery book, loving it, and realizing that there are another 600 pages to devour.

just breathe

It still periodically boggles my mind that I can breathe through both nostrils, thanks to several years of allergy shots. Breathing just never gets old.

lost and found

Lost my driver's license while walking Henry yesterday. Found it today in the parking lot we walk through at the end of our walks. Whew.