I found $5 in my pocket! That means it’s going to be a good day. (I never carry cash.)

The boys want to play in the sprinkler today but I’m holding out to see if we can secure a playdate with out-of-town friends who are visiting. I get to have real conversation that way. ;)

I finished readingThe Eight by Katherine Neville last week. It was a very good book– lots of detail but it still had intensity. I wish they hadn’t compared it to The DaVinci Code on the cover; while it had a lot of historical facts and figures and had the same wild-goose chase sort of theme, her writing isn’t as smooth as Dan Brown’s. Though, I wouldn’t have noticed that if the comparison hadn’t been right there on the cover, and I’d definitely read more of her books.

I picked up another Anita Shreve book at the library yesterday (The Last Time They Met). It’s chick lit at it’s best. After I finish that, I really need to tackle the growing stack of sci-fi books upstairs. Josh bought a bunch of Greg Egan books, and I’m lost when he tries to talk to me about them. He’s ahead of me by about six books by now. I still have several Melissa Scott books waiting, and oddly enough, I still haven’t read Gibson’s Pattern Recognition.

Wondering when I find time to read? I don’t sleep much.

Now that I’ve finished making M & J’s wedding invitations (waiting anxiously for the box to arrive in CA!), I’ve got to finish the web store I’m doing for another friend. It’s a much bigger project than I’d originally thought, but I’ve learned A LOT doing it. That makes me happy. I need to arrange for a MySQL login on the other server and copy everything over… then I can start populating her catalog. Which reminds me that I need to sort through and resize photos ASAP.

I’m also stupidexcited over the website and forum I built for my high school graduating class. It still needs some work (ok, a lot of work… like a real logo-type-thing and more visual polishing in general) but it’s functional. I’ve already been able to catch up with a few people– it’s been fun.

The laundry beckons…

Much of yesterday was spent outside– it was *only* 90 degrees! We pulled out the pool and the boys had a good time splashing & playing.

The mosquitoes, while usually ravenous, were out of luck. Burt’s Bees Herbal Insect Repellent seems to work well– I only got one bite all afternoon. It’s a little pricey at $7.50 for only 4oz, but if it works without coating my kids in chemicals then I’m willing to pay for it.

I need to mop the kitchen. Toy removal is necessary first… it was clean last night, but Max & Khai have been playing restaurant. I need to strap sponges to their feet and let them pretend they are skating. Or something?

Maybe coffee will motivate me.

There are a million and one cute photos on my camera, and I just spent about 15 minutes searching in vain for my USB cable so I can download them. Then Josh pointed out that ol’ Loaner here has a built-in card reader. How am I supposed to give this machine back??? There’s plenty of room on my credit card…

As a child, I didn’t eat many fried foods. I have no memories of my mother deep-fat frying anything– no fried chicken, no chicken-fried steak. We only had non-sugary cereals, had milk for dinner every night, and ate veggies at every meal. I’m thankful now, though at the time I yearned for Fruity Pebbles.

I think my mom’s health-nut status was in part because she was a nurse, but mostly just because she was health-conscious and wanted us to reap the many benefits of a healthy diet. Things changed somewhat as we kids got older, but not by her choice. ;)

I write this because today, for the first time, I attempted to make corn dogs. Well, sort of. I used turkey hot dogs (less fat!), modified the batter with spelt flour and rice milk, and fried them in trans-fat-free oil. All of the corn dogs out there in the world are made with wheat flour, so my kids very rarely get to eat them. They were begging and pleading for corn dogs today, so I compromised and said I’d attempt to make some myself.

They actually turned out pretty well. I had batter left over, and after a quick search of my fridge, decided to mix in some frozen corn and fry that up, too. Look at me go! The boys loved both, and I realize only now that I might be in big trouble. Now that they know I can do this, I’m probably going to be getting a lot more corn dog requests.

In other news,

After an almost-twelve-hour drive, we’re home again. The kids actually did really well, maybe in part to the nine (yes, count them, NINE) stops we made. There were only a few screaming contests, and they kept the picking on each other to a minimum.

At one point, Max determined that he needed a bathroom. We were twenty minutes from a tiny town that might or might not have a bathroom, and he said he couldn’t wait. “It’s coming out NOW!” I pulled over and somehow managed to unbuckle both him and myself in record time. We crawled through to the passenger-side doors and hopped outside. I helped him squat, and he exclaimed in glee–”Look, Mommy! I’m just like an animal!” Laughing, I replied, “Yes, honey. Now bend over so I can wipe you. And don’t step in your poop.” Ahhh, motherhood is grand.

I’m a litte bit depressed today– it’s good to be home, but it would be better if Josh were here and not at work. I miss my family already, and there’s just not much to be done about that. Distraction is good, but doesn’t last long.

There’s much unpacking to be done yet; I don’t know how we managed to come back with so much more than we left with. The house was so clean when we came in… but the toys have taken over already as Max & Khai reacquaint themselves with everything they missed playing with over the last two weeks. Life is back to normal, I guess… whatever that is.

I’m still awake. I’m still in Santa Fe.

It’s 2am in Texas… and I should be asleep. Being exhausted after such a big weekend helped in the decision to stay a few more days, though in the end I just asked Max if we should go home Monday or Wednesday. He chose Wednesday, and Khai chimed in with a big “YEAH.” That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it.

Josh had a really rough day at work, and I feel guilty for not being there. It’s not like there’s anything I can do, but at least he’d have had someone to hug when he got home.

Tomorrow morning I will venture out for some pictures and shopping… alone. Mom is going to stay home with the boys, and I will relish my moments of complete thought and real focus (while at the same time missing my babies). Strange, that. It almost always works that way.

Knowing that tomorrow is our last day here is hard; my tears are right at the surface and have started to fall more than once today. Even such, I feel still inside. That’s unusual for me– my mind is usually going a million miles a minute, thoughts flying-bouncing-dancing-cartwheeling.

Sleep.

It has been a magical day. Not just today– this whole trip has been renewing, somehow. I feel lighter.

The Paul Oakenfold concert ended hours ago, and I’m still smiling. The amphitheater was a great venue; there were a good number of people there– full, but not too crowded. I’m going to be sore tomorrow from all of the bouncing and dancing I did… I don’t think I stood still for more than a few seconds throughout the entire evening. A storm blew in an hour or so before the concert began, but it had passed over for the most part by the time we got there. The amphitheater was protected from most of the wind, leaving us at about 65 degrees with sprinkles falling on and off. The rain only enhanced my experience. Again, still smiling. It has been a long time since I’ve been so completely immersed in something– nothing else existed for a while. Just me, the music all around me, the air, the rain.

Earlier today Rachel and Steve took the boys and I downtown to meet some friends. One of our stops was Sequoia, a gallery that left me overwhelmed and near tears for a while. I don’t know what comes over me– when I see a certain kind of art, it’s like I’m filled with something that pushes against my lungs and heart, something that swells up so much that even my breathing changes. The same thing happened when I saw Monet’s Water Lilies at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City; I just stood there and cried, taking it all in. There is something pure, raw, real– and for me, that is how art feels. Sequoia is, in my mind, the epitome of what an art gallery should be. I fell in love with every single piece I looked at. Rachel introduced us to Sequoia, and I couldn’t even find the right words to express how moved I was by his pieces… maybe there aren’t words. It left me feeling very full, very happy.

Since all of the Santa Fe relatives have to miss both boys’ birthdays, we made up for it this morning with an in-between party. Max requested a castle cake, so Mom and I stayed up til 4am putting the finishing touches on it. He was so happy– “I love my birthday! And I love my castle cake!” That makes the lost sleep well worth it. Max and Khai both had so much fun, and of course got lots of new clothes and toys.

Yesterday Rachel and I joined dad for a New Mexico Book Association meeting. I got to spend a good amount of time talking with Barbara Riley, whom is also a good friend of my parents. She had so much useful information, and I really enjoyed getting to finally meet her. She told me of a writer’s group in Denton that she knows of, and I’m going to check that out when we get back home.

After the luncheon ended, Rachel and I made our way down to the plaza, stopping for a latte. We bought the most amazing chocolate at Todos Santos in Sena Plaza, and sat in the courtyard. It was bliss– sitting on a bench in a gorgeous, shaded garden, eating exquisite chocolate and drinking a latte with one of my most favorite people in the world. Count this amongst the moments that will define this life.

While sitting there, I overheard part of a conversation. A man was telling a woman that she didn’t know how exceptional her family was because they enjoyed being around each other and truly liked each other. He told her that it was unique that they were happy doing things together and for one another. Upon hearing this, I realized that I take for granted how well my family gets along and how much we truly like each other. I’m so lucky. It’s easy to forget that not everyone has this same connection with their families. It makes it hard to be so far away, but I’m grateful to have such a strong relationship.

We wrapped up our time in the plaza with some window shopping and a stop at Laura Sheppherd Couture. Rachel did some modelling for Laura Sheppherd, and raved about her dresses. After seeing her shop, I understand completely– I could have spent hours taking in all of the dresses and their details.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow is our last day in Santa Fe; we leave for Texas on Monday morning. I can’t let myself think about it too much because it’s such a sinking, sad feeling to have to say goodbye to my family without knowing when we’ll see each other again. It sits heavy on my heart.

I want to stay so badly– my mind is already devising ways to stay just a few more days.

My family makes me happy. Mountains, art, my babies, banana cake, music, rain, chocolate– these all make me happy. Josh makes me happy too, and he’s in Texas. So off to Texas we will go. I wonder if he will ever know how significant that is? He wins. I will always choose him.

OMG WOW!!!!!

The kids and I are in Santa Fe visiting my family for a coupla weeks, and guess who is playing here on Saturday night? PAUL OAKENFOLD! He’s playing the Paolo Soleri Amphitheatre and I WILL be there. I’m tooooo excited. I can’t believe that he’s not only in Santa Fe, but that I’m here at the same time. Squee!

Oh, and hey, we’re having a great time. :)

This is Loaner– he’s mine while the other laptop is being repaired (a rumored 6-8 weeks). The screen is so wide that I don’t even know what to do with all of it… a maximized browser window is just too big. So I guess that answers the burning question: YES, you can have too much screen. Not that I’m complaining, mind you; I’m already plotting ways to keep this machine forever and ever and ever.

The first thing I did after bringing Loaner home was to download Firefox. You should download Firefox, too. The world should download Firefox.

Now that I’ve got most of my apps in place and I’ve wasted a sufficient amount of time, I can get back to packing. I should’ve been done with that hours ago, but y’know, I can’t resist the call of a shiny, new computer.