i want candy

Arrived early for dinner with my co-mentors last night, and there was a candy shop on the way to the restaurant!! Picked up two nostalgic things: salt water taffy and Goldenberg's Peanut Chews (if you're from the mid-Atlantic, you understand). Put them away last night, and forgot about them. Got home early to beat the traffic and I'm sitting here, plowing through my inbox with a sense of grim determination, and I suddenly realize that the grim determination can be tempered with chewy, sugary goodness!

have hope

I'm not out of the running yet for Hope #1, and an unexpected Hope #2 has emerged, which may not be quite what I'm looking for, but it is flattering to be considered, nonetheless.

off season

Even though it's the off season for TV, this one, amazing week, we have new episodes of Mr. Robot, The Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise. Yessss...

lazy day

Dinner and a late night talking with a friend turned into a late start today with a long nap in the afternoon, leaving enough time to finish a book, but less time to anxiously wait for news I'm hoping for tomorrow.

isn't she lovely

Had a video call with my Cambodian mentee, and I love her already. Can't wait to get her into college and meet her next year.

suddenly

I can't remind myself enough times that in the end, it's mostly about who you know and only a little bit about how much you stand out, and you never know which person you know is going to end up doing you the biggest favor with the greatest of ease.

perfection

That thing when a dog-loving friend decides she might be ready to start meeting dogs after losing her beloved dog of many years, but leaves the shelter to think about it, and then you send her a picture of a dog she didn't meet because he hadn't been brought out yet when she was there, and she goes back and adopts him the next day. That's a good thing.

complimentary

When a nice volunteer at the shelter stops you and says you're so beautiful that you should be a model. Aww, thanks, nice volunteer. I'm old enough to be a model's mom, but I'll take it.

my cheating heart

Spent a few hours at the shelter today, walking and cuddling dogs and trying to play matchmaker for them with all the people who came in for Clear the Shelters. Happy dogs make my heart happy.

wow

When you get an amazing offer and they are proposing to hand you both the thing they value the most and the thing you value the most, it's pretty humbling. And when you realize it's still not exactly right and don't take it, it's pretty scary. And then when you sign on for a really cool volunteer program in the meantime, it gives you hope that you can still make a difference without flipping your entire life upside down.

close call

Tire blew out when I was going 70 mph on the freeway on the way to work this morning.

The bad stuff: It was terrifying. My battery then died while I was waiting for AAA to show up. I missed my first two meetings. I have to buy two new tires. The wait time at the garage is two hours.

The good stuff: I didn't die. I actually had my AAA card with me and the guy came and changed the tire and jumped my car (fortunately he hadn't left when I realized my battery had died). I got into work in time for a massage that I had scheduled weeks ago. My schedule today was forgiving enough that I could come to the garage and buy new tires and get them installed, and still get work done in the mean time. The garage is by Target, so I can buy a few things we need. Henry made lots of friends at Target.

early bird

It's kind of crazy how much you can get done if you leave the house at 7 a.m. with a carefully plotted calendar.

hold me

Quick snuggle break before diving back into the inbox.

green thumb

Apparently, if someone gives me a box full of rich compost in the sun, appropriate seeds and plants, and strict planting and watering instructions, the plants don't all die. The tomatoes, radishes, cilantro, green onions, and jalapenos have been fun to eat, and the bees appear to like the sunflowers.

good start

Calendar looks jammed, so an apologetic treat in advance should make Henry's day a little better.

next up

French Laundry with friends, for no special occasion (except maybe heirloom tomato season?) in just under a month. This reservation was months in the making.

prime

Back into the thick of things, but then found out it's Amazon Prime Day, so I bought a new Kindle (the one I've had for five years is starting to hold less charge and get dinged up, and I'm a sucker for sales, and honestly, if there's anything I get my money's worth out of, it's my Kindle), and an electric toothbrush (to replace the one that died a couple weeks ago). I guess that's a happy early birthday to me?

10.5

That's the longest I've slept in one night in a long time. I should do that more often.

back to normal

Epic journey home, but only four hours after walking in the front door, my laundry is clean, the house is prepped for the cleaning lady, the dog is fed and walked, dinner is eaten, my work bag is packed, and I'm ready for reading then bed.

whirlwind trip

Saw lots of friends (several more than once -- this was the best part of the trip, catching up with so many of the best people ever), watched fireworks, bought about 29 kilos of gummy candy, ate way too much food and drank more wine than necessary. Despite only spending a little over two days in Zurich and five days in Italy, we packed in so much goodness that I was only able to finish two books!

good and bad

Angry Tooth was considerate enough to be quiet yesterday, when I had tons of meetings and drafting to do. Past Me was prescient enough to schedule an afternoon massage. Present Me wasn't so thrilled to get a root canal this morning, but was pleased not to fall behind on work, and to take consolation in a massage from my favorite massage therapist, who had been on vacation for a month.

i was wrong

It was worth installing air conditioning, especially on weeks when temperatures are consistently over 90°.

i am robin

It's gotten to the point that Henry can't walk at work or at Stanford without getting at least one comment or request for an introduction (this evening it was five). I feel like his sidekick.

helping out

Three of my overworked teammates agreed to help cover me while I'm out over July 4th. Two other coworkers pulled me into a quick sync that turned into a three hour meeting to hash out the details of a group session that could turn out to be fun (but at least I had fun working on it).

rocky road

Rocky times call for rocky road ice cream.

smells like summer

The smell of freshly picked tomatoes from your garden plot at work.

high note

Rough week at work ended in a day of unexpected calm, with time to play board games with co-workers and get a pedicure in between meetings, inbox maintenance, and a call on the road (which T-Mobile didn't drop!).

Now we have our first weekend with both of us at home with no plans, so there will be some loafing, a movie (in the theatre, which we only do once or twice a year), and some quality time with TiVo and some library books.

a good day

Boyfriend is doing a mileage run, so I got up when I wanted to get up, took Henry on a long walk before the heat started in earnest (I needed to get 15K steps today for my team at work), did Henry's teeth and nails, read, did some yoga,  showered (there is nothing like feeling clean during a heat wave), went to my parents' place for home cooked food and hangout time with my sister and nieces, took Henry on a shorter walk (more steps), did the dishes, and now I'm settling in to read until bedtime, feeling content that the day was sufficiently productive.

absence of re-org

After a short period in which it looked like I would have to change teams, do less interesting work, or take on more work than seems reasonable, it looks like things are going to get better pretty soon. The threat of unfavorable changes really forces you to decide what you care about the most, and it's a relief when you end up getting it.

the great indoors

Temperatures approaching 90°, and a band of gardeners hacked, blew, and raked their way through our overgrown, buggy yard. I've never been the outdoor, gardener type, but today more than ever, I am thankful that my job is indoors.

absence of pain

There's nothing like a three day skull crusher of a headache to make you appreciate the simple joy of not having a headache.

back on track

Long weekend came just in time for me to get my reading back on track for 100 for the year.

taste the rainbow

There are so many different kinds of cheese, and so many of them are delicious.

that feeling when

Client signed off, saying she's unplugging for the long weekend, and I've got six books from the library with nothing to distract me other than a couple errands (returning things, which is basically one of my favorite hobbies), a barbeque, and board games. And TiVo.

get moving

The weekend in New Orleans and a team thing at work have finally (after about nine months off) motivated me to start caring about walking more again.

long weekend plans

We didn't really plan anything, but somehow the long weekend is getting filled with plans: dinner with a friend, afternoon barbeque with other friends, board games with another set.

tgif

Fun new hat, cafe au lait, food tour, comfortable new sandals, only a little bit of rain, dinner at our favorite place from last time, great live music, no line for late night Cafe st Monde beignets on the way back to the hotel, no rain in tomorrow's forecast.

the big easy

Long weekend in New Orleans started off with a bang. I haven't seen this much lightning and heard this much thunder in maybe ten years. We got upgraded to a hotel suite that might be bigger than our house, so we have plenty of windows to watch.

note to self

Take note, lazy self: this solo yoga at home thing takes the minimum amount of time and effort, and it always makes your back feel better and your breath come easier.

bananas

We had some over ripe bananas, and Boyfriend turned them into banana muffins with stuff we already had in our house. I've never had a pantry with enough stuff in it to make unexpected baked goods without a trip to the grocery store. They're delicious, especially with the brown sugar crumble on top.

learn something new

My sister adds flour to the water in the pan when making potstickers, resulting in more of the crispy, crunchy part of the dumplings. Didn't think my dumpling cooking technique was going to change after all these years, but it has.

perchance to dream

Boyfriend is sick, so he slept in the guest room, and I had the best night of sleep I've had in a while, which only ended with the delivery of a fresh cup of coffee to my nightstand.

timing is everything

When the audiobook you're waitlisted for becomes available on the day that you're finishing the last one.

dry

Having a working dryer continues to be amazing. After over two years of worrying every time we needed to dry any sheets or towels (much less extra loads of sheets and towels after having guests), it's kind of mind boggling to just be able to wash and dry several loads of laundry in a row without incident or delay.

best guests

My sister's family is the kind that shows up, cooks lots of delicious food, and when you turn around, the dishes are all clean, and there are cuts of sashimi grade salmon in your freezer and aged steaks in your fridge.

compare and contrast

House full of five adults, three kids, and a dog suddenly dropped down to just me and the dog. Fun times with family, lots of food and no time to think about work, and now some time to read and be quiet. I had set aside some clothes for my niece to check out, and she is a total clothes hound, so some of my favorite shirts, sweaters, and dresses will get a second life. My sister and brother-in-law brought me a thoughtful gift for no reason. My dog got lots of attention without any effort from me.

we are family

Sister's family is camping in our house for the weekend for food, folks, and fun, which is just what I need to disconnect my brain from its usual annoying rut.

oh deer

Rescued this guy from my dog and the fence yesterday. Cuteness overload.

moving on

Sometimes it's just time to move on. Seems like that time comes a little bit sooner with each iteration.

treasure at home

I have been coveting the California poppies that grow wild every spring, and lo and behold, there is a clump growing wild on the edge of our front yard. Breed and spread, poppies, and come back every year.

bright college years

College friend in town = excuse to round up another college friend and go get pedicures. We can't possibly have known each other for almost 20 years, can we?

solo practitioner

So I've decided to try doing this yoga thing by myself, because then I don't have to have an audience of coworkers or plan around class schedules. Downloaded an app, and have done four sessions in my basement, without having to leave the house.

social

Work friend over for dinner tonight, Zurich friend coming in town and staying with us for the weekend, college friend up from L.A. the following weekend, cooking with sister's family and some friends the weekend after that... It's almost like we have a social life.

rain delay

Working from home Friday means that changing into real clothes and showering can be delayed to the afternoon, and evening errands can be postponed until the next day, right?

after the rain

A good rainy season kicked off the trees going into bloom in late January, then California poppies (my favorite) in March, and now there are wildflowers everywhere, and jasmine season has started.

first day back

Dug my inbox from 150 down to 45, made it through five meetings, got a massage, got gas, picked up new glasses and two library books, bought dog food, and walked the dog.

back at it

Home for just over three hours, and I've walked the dog, washed all my vacation laundry and a load of dog laundry, skimmed my inbox, eaten dinner, put out my dive gear for a bit more drying time, and sorted the mail. Sad to be back to real life, but glad to be free of mosquitoes, rain, and humidity.

in transit

On our long way back home, almost five hours into a 25 hour trip, door to door. Squeezed in one last yoga lesson this morning, followed by one last massage (which lasted an extra 20+ minutes because she was being awesome). Back to reality pretty soon, but at least that reality includes my dog and less rain, with a visit from a friend only a few days after we get back.

drying out

Did our last two dives yesterday, and our gear is drying out. We had strong wind last night, which dried out my sandals, which had been sopping wet all week. Dry shoes are amazing. Two more massages, and two more yoga lessons, then it's time to head back to the real world, where there will hopefully be less weather, but unfortunately more stress.

hoppipolla

Good puddle jumping today. My pants were soaked up to mid-thigh.

the heavens wept

Pouring rain when we woke up, and even though we came here to dive, we were relieved that the storm is strong enough to cancel the dive this morning. Room service, reading, and napping sound much better than trying to put on a damp wetsuit and getting on a rocking boat on rough seas right now. Secretly hoping the second dive is cancelled as well, and then all I've got the rest of the day is lunch, massage, yoga, and dinner.

private lesson

My afternoon yoga class ended up being a private lesson that definitely pushed the boundaries of what my body can tolerate, particularly after a day of diving. All these poses look nothing like their names (crow, camel, pigeon, plow = me scratching my head and just copying whatever the instructor is doing while trying not to face plant). All this weird stretching seems to be doing something though, as I touched my toes for the first time in years.

pork belly

Village kids gave an enthusiastic performance before dinner, where I had perhaps the best pork belly ever (crispy like Peking duck in the outside, unctuous on the inside, flavored like Chinese five spice beef), with a bottle of wine comped by the manager to make up for some confusion over whether we had prepaid or not.

good deed

All the honeymooners here who don't dive are just bored and miserable in the rain. I took pity on a couple who are leaving tomorrow and gave them my time slot at the spa so that they can have one nice thing on their last day, and I feel so virtuous now, wallowing in the room until it's time to go to afternoon yoga. I'll go to the spa tomorrow, instead.

omg

Best vacation massage ever. May have to go back for another round or two. We have an ambitious slate tomorrow: morning yoga, breakfast, village tour, lunch, afternoon dive, afternoon yoga, and dinner. I could do this vacation thing for a very long time.

weather or not

It was raining this morning, but we went for a dive anyways, and I tested out my camera to make sure it's still OK after so much time. Then we opted out of the rest of today's diving, because it's our vacation, and we can do what we want. I sat in our hot tub for a few minutes before showing off, and the rest of the day will be divided between eating, napping, reading, getting a massage, and checking out a kava ceremony. Rainy days really aren't so bad, they're good excuses to be lazy.

vacation perks

No makeup ever, and the comfiest sandals with the best arch support.

afternoon agenda

It's only 2:30, and we've accomplished a lot: breakfast, two dives, and lunch. Now I need to spend a couple hours in the hammock, reading and napping until afternoon yoga, then a couple more hours of flopping around the room, then dinner. No yoga tomorrow, so I'm getting a massage after diving, instead. Life is so good.

nothing like it

There is really nothing like a hot shower and a dry towel after two morning dives.

dive dive dive

And tomorrow, we hit the water for the first time since December 2013, the longest I've ever gone between dives. There is nothing quite like flying like Superman while breathing like Darth Vader.

californication

We took a free yoga class on the beach here in Fiji. I have decided that despite my prejudices against it, I like yoga, when it's on a beach in Fiji, and there are only four students who are equally inept.

better than planned

Made it to the wedding, and slept for seven hours on the eleven hour flight to Fiji (personal record for plane sleeping), watched The Martian (which I missed in the theater), and managed to get onto the earlier direct flight (instead of the later flight with a connection), and didn't pay any excess luggage fees. We're all settled into our house for the week (it's huge), and only five out of twelve are occupied. I think that under our actual tickets, we should still be hanging out in airport #4, waiting to catch a puddle jumper to airport #5.

pasty goodness

Boyfriend went to a conference in Arizona and brought back pasties from the place we like, just in time for dinner!

in other news

We're dropping by a wedding in LA on the way to Fiji, and a dear friend is coming to stay with us the weekend after we get back. Slotting in lots of fun after the rough month that was March.

t minus four

Fiji is coming up so soon! I've been checking off errands and to do lists, testing out luggage weight (keeping checked luggage under 33 pounds is a challenge on a dive trip), trying to get things at work to a decent pause point, and realizing that it's been a longer gap than usual between trips for us. Can't wait. Diving! Sun! No meetings! And I'm even going to try the free yoga classes, but may just end up reading novels the whole time.

already done

Love is coming home and finding out that your boyfriend already wrangled the recycling and compost bins down your treacherously steep driveway.

less is more

One more box of donations (handbags and clothes), one more box of e-waste, and a big dog watering dish -- gone. Also salvaged a bunch of duffels and handbags from the box where the critters had been getting at them, cleaned them up and put them away, and started another box of donations (already half full).  

patchwork

Henry has a keen nose for forgotten treats left in jacket and sweatshirt pockets, and has chewed his way through several pockets in order to rescue the treats, including the pocket of my very favorite hoodie. Finally got around to patching the hole shut, and I must say I did a pretty good job, and it's good to be able to put my hand into a hole-free pocket and not have that twinge of annoyance.

makeover over

After three curated stylist boxes and lots of online shopping, I think I'm pretty much done with the acquisition phase of the wardrobe update. Just need to get the last few boxes, go through and decide what to keep and return, make the returns, do one more round of culling for donations, and then enjoy never having "nothing to wear."

going going gone

I think that the Mysterious Hives are mostly conquered? Nothing quite like four days of being eaten by your own skin to make you appreciate skin that doesn't try to eat you. Here's hoping that they stay away, even after the meds taper off this weekend.

heathen holiday

Not being religious means that on religious holidays, I have to remember that nothing is open, but on the upside, I've got an excuse to stay in and read.

root beer float

And Season 2 of Battlestar Galactica. Summer Saturdays are the best.

imported

Two separate deliveries from Switzerland in the last week, hand-carried by patient mules: four bars of chocolate and five bags if gummy candy.

down time

Inexplicable illness has erased all of my productive plans for today, and possibly for the weekend. Fortunately, I'd been getting a lot done in the last couple weeks, we had no social plans for this weekend, and I can catch up a bit on my reading in bed with minimal guilt.

seasonal

Fresh Thin Mints are so much better than the year-old ones I'd been eating from the freezer.

fresh local

Our friends grew these in their garden!

up a notch

Did an eight factor assessment of my life, and compared to last May, total score (out of 80) went up eight points, so that's pretty good.

busy but good

This weekend: dinner with a former legal assistant on Friday, coworker's housewarming party (preceded by the procurement of a suitable gift) and dinner and board games at our place on Saturday, Goodwill drop-off, glasses selection, Asian market, dive gear pickup, dog hygiene, and cooking lessons and dinner with mom on Sunday. So many boxes checked!

first time

For the first time since I got my first glasses 30 years ago, my prescription went down.

lighter

Daylight Saving Time is here!! Winter is shorter and less dreadful here than anywhere else I've lived, but it's still wonderful to see it leaving. Weather forecast says it will be sunny all week, after several long days of rain.

getting ahead

Finally, a day when I feel like I'm getting ahead instead of behind. Finished my self-assessment for performance reviews at work (four days early), filed my taxes (five weeks early), and finally took first steps to put my extra cash in something a little better than a savings account.

no more quarantine

Henry is going to be so glad that his quarantine period is over.

complimentary

Wore some of my new clothes to work today, and immediately got compliments. Either this stylist is great, or I was an even bigger slob than I thought.

nola

A good friend's 40th birthday gives us an excellent reason to go back to New Orleans in May.

all aboard

First board meeting for the shelter went well, and I'm excited to help drive one of our big goals: exploring ways to leverage technology to increase visibility, traffic, and adoptions, and developing projects to shop around for skilled volunteers to complete.

catching up

After a tough day of back to back meetings, grabbed dinner with a former client and talked until the restaurant closed. Good to get things off my chest. Also, wore my new jeans and loved them.

gravy

I even finished a book, cleared out space on TiVo, took care of Henry's teeth and nails, tidied up in advance of the cleaning lady coming tomorrow, and took care of a bunch of those little things that always pile up into a daunting big pile of things to do later/never. Having a few daylight hours with the house to myself while Boyfriend is out can either be major sloth time or major productive time.

purge

After so much frustration during the week (and partly out of guilt for buying more clothing), I went on a two day rampage: unpacking some boxes that are still sitting around from our move, sorting out six boxes of clothes, shoes, and books to donate, and starting to better use and organize our limited closet and drawer space. I feel so productive.

what a week

Thing after thing after thing some big and some little. Stressful work problems, then Henry got kennel cough, then a wrecked pedicure, then a weird miscommunication with the personal stylist... The best part of the week was that it ended, and I've been cocooned in the house avoiding all the much needed rain that we're getting.

sleep it off

No matter what is pressing on my mind, if I can manage to sleep for the night, the next day, it's hard to feel quite as upset about it. Mostly because I can't remember every awful detail that long.