Hollywog's Pond

Birthday extravaganza!

Spent most of last weekend making momma feel special.  :)  The weather was gorgeous so we took a quick trip downtown on the bus and had a little walk.  Then we went out to lunch with some friends of mine before attending the RCRG derby.  Too much fun!  Mom remarked that it was much less violent than she remembered.  There are rules and everything - even a penalty box. She took pics and swears that she'll send some to Oma via her sis as Oma used to watch back in the day. So that was fun and we were out pretty late.  Slept in a bit the next day and then we ran off to Discovery Park for a cold, early morning picnic.  We caught the best weather of the day which soured a bit later so that was nice.  Then we ran off to REI to get her Senior Parks pass.  Lucky devil.  Lifetime pass for super cheap!  Will have to have her tag along on more trips... who says getting older isn't fabulous?

Speaking of which, my lovely little niecey-poo, Lauren, had her second birthday!  The phone call was brief and I think she wished me a happy birthday before I could even offer the greeting myself.  Too cute.  :)  Hopefully she liked the messy glittery card I sent.

Stumped.  I hate it when I wait too long to post and can't remember anything.  Let's see.  Work is really annoying.  Instruments going down left, right and center and no one has any idea what is wrong or how to fix them.  They do enjoy asking us to perform meaningless, unrelated tests and then refusing to do checks or analyses that we request of them.  Gah!  Dating again which is always amusing.  But in case there are proficient cyber stalkers out there I'll leave it at that.

Caught a head cold that has been chasing me for weeks so I've spent a lot of time at home doing nothing.  Feeling better today though so hopefully all is not lost for the weekend.  Could do with a bit less restlessness though.  I hate being sick.

Cruise planning has entered wardrobe mode.  The goal is still to fit everything I could possibly want into one carry-on bag that will see me through two weeks of European cities and a cruise ship.  Was quite successful last week (yes!  now I remember what I did on my day off) and found a bunch of cute tops and some bottoms that all go with my color scheme.  To make packing easier I have selected a palette of brown, white, purple and green.  If I can't wear it with everything else it doesn't get to go.  Ordered some travel laundry items to make wash & wear a possibility.  Found the neatest clothes line (thank you Rick Steves) that you don't need clothespins for.  And just for fun I bought a pac safe purse in a khaki color (working the browns).  They are so cool!  I keep thinking about Kate's S.Am. trip where her bag was ripped or cut to get her monies.  Granted the Med isn't S.Am. and I'm going to avoid sleeping on buses but having a purse you can't cut into makes me feel better.  Also, I can't find my money belt.  Any ideas?  Last seen in 2000...

Tried tooth powder as opposed to paste.  Incredibly salty.  Wondering if they are all like that and if it is worth it to have one tiny toothpaste tube less in my liquid bag.  So far my liquid bag is going to be sunscreen, lotion, shampoo/cond. and maybe a face wash.

I'm a-hunting the perfect pair of shoes now with a vengeance - and may have found them in a merrell.  Mesh sides are good, mostly cute and they come in purple.  Yes, I realize I'm addicted and have a problem with purple but they don't make them in brown!  I want to find a better insole for them.  My superfeet feel not scushy enough.  Yup, that's a word.  Scushiness is important.  Then I will find some of those little socks for the moisture wicking idea relayed in a previous post.  THEN I will be done with clothes and I can panic anew with how little language prep I have done.  It's only a few weeks away!!!!