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Remember turning 22? If you're not there yet, you have lots to look forward to! Last night I got a txt from my daughter who turns 22 today asking if we all wanted to get together to celebrate her odyssey on Thursday in San Francisco when she flies back home. Well, yes, of course we do. And how wonderful to think of your life in that way. And it truly has been an odyssey.

There are many reasons for this, of course, but I only need to point out what she's been up to for the last six weeks and it will give a window into what life's been like. She landed a full time gig at 21 and so decided to finish up university online and work full time at a very demanding job. But, there was a catch. One class had to be completed in Manhattan. So here's the drill, take the red-eye Sunday night for class on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday then fly home Wednesday night and work Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Repeat.

Odyssey indeed:)

Happy Birthday!!!!!

Mx showed this to me last night and I knew I had to see this documentary. So, I wanted to share it with you. Have a great weekend!

So I'm going to this writing group in town. And the teacher said something about keeping a pen and paper by the bed so that we could write our dreams down over the next few weeks and she has this cool thing she does to help make sense of them. Can't wait to find out what that's all about. I'm. All. In. Of course, I always keep a pad and pen by the bed, so that's nothing new. But I don't usually write down my dreams. I'm usually always just hatching another plot or coming up with an interesting character detail. This has been fun. And at times funny. For the first three days I remembered my dreams, no problem. Granted some were way more lame than others. But there was this one dream that literally hit the ball out of the park. Full of, what I call an Internet animal and Hilary Clinton. [stop laughing] Actually my daughter looked at me when I said Internet animal like I was out of my mind and said "Oh, you mean a YouTube Star." And I'm like, yeah. That's it. The animal was a YouTube star. And since I don't know very many animal YouTube stars we surfed to see which furry critter showed up in my dream with Hilary Clinton. This was the guy:



only he wasn't quite as dramatic.

We moved into our tree house on 3/4 and moved out of butterfly town 3/11, the day of the Tsunami warning in California. Tomorrow all our stuff from LA arrives––a Tsunami of furniture, and belongings you might say. Moves are so incredibly dramatic. We really didn't need the backdrop of a major catastrophe. Our daughter lives in Santa Cruz. It's estimated that the harbor there suffered anywhere from 10M to 20M in damages. On the 11th, the day I was cleaning out our rental I thought what a bummer it would be to leave this world while cleaning out a refrigerator. Then I thought of all the devastation and I just can't get my head around it. It's so much. People here are talking about radiation and carrying Geiger counters and iodine pills and closing the two plants we have in Southern California. And I can't even find the lids to my pans.

We moved ourselves out of butterfly town, and left it to the professionals to move our stuff up from LA. It took us eight days to move everything. Every night I needed two Advil, a ton of water and lots of hand lotion. I can't get enough hand lotion.

And in the middle of all of this we had a gigantic surprise. My daughter flew in from FL and Joe's best friend flew in from LA to join his mom and Mx and we all had an amazing celebration of our new tree house and our 25th wedding anniversary. It was my first surprise ever and I absolutely loved it. The girls and I climbed one of our trees and our house really became a home that day.

Got an unexpected chance to catch up with Mx last night. The last time we saw her we said goodbye after our ski trip after Christmas. She's been on a photo shoot in Mammoth and met us here in Tahoe last night. She went back down to Mammoth early this morning and will be back up here with us tonight in Tahoe. It's beautiful on the lake today. Sunny and clear. Snow-peaked mountains rim bluer-than-blue water. Not quite warm enough to ski in your bikini, but a lot warmer than our trip a few weeks back.

No skiing for me though. I'm in this boot. No idea what I did but I somehow managed to bruise a bone, no break, just a bruise. I either did it in Yoga [lame] or as a dancing jellyfish at Halloween [lamer]. So, I've slowed WAY down. But it's only for three weeks. And it's kind of liberating, even though I stand to gain a few pounds. Today finds me reading through my latest story from cover to cover. Reading in this change of scene helps sharpen my editorial eyes and ears. See my work in new ways.

I don't know what it is, but for some reason it's been hard to just type even a little bit on my blog everyday. So many things going on all at once. Been sporadic lately. But I did want to share a little story about last Sunday.

Christmas is about many things, but the things I love most about the season are the surprises. Just little ones. Every day ones. Things that don't come from a store. [church alert...if you don't like church or don't like reading about church--not that I'm telling you to go or anything, see below--stop reading now.]

We went to church on Sunday for the very first time in I don't know how long. We've been in our new, charming "hometown" for six months and when we first arrived I thought I'd walk to our beautiful church and then walk over to the village grocery every Sunday. That didn't happen. But, we did walk to church last Sunday. St. Mary's-by-the-Sea Episcopal church is a beautiful red church built before the turn of the 20th century on the corner of Central and 13th St. What makes the church even more majestic is the fact that it sits across from a hollow where the crows like to perch. The land the church sits on was considered worthless since a creek runs on it and so, once upon a time, five ladies were able to purchase the land. They built the church over the creek. It's kind of funny too how the red church is on 13th St. The color is majestic, but I'd never seen a red church before, and, well, 13th St. as bad a rap as the number 13 gets, seemed sort of perfect, considering the history and all.

Church is wrapped up in so much history for me and my family, with a grandmother whose parents and grandparents were missionaries in The Celebes in the 1800s and early 1900s. And the most beautiful moment for me was when we sang The Doxology. When I sing it, I'm a little girl standing next to my mom at our church in Chicago and I can hear her voice singing with me. [My mom and dad met in the church choir.] I'd missed singing it. It's sort of old school and we didn't get to sing it at all in our church in LA. Ok, hopefully you're still reading and not scared off by all this churchiness.

Which leads me to my second surprise. We set up our tree on Sunday night. It was a dark and stormy night. And our daughter came over with all kinds of fresh baked yumminess. She brought us a loaf of this amazing rye bread that she baked and a big batch of seven layer cookies too. It's our custom that when the tree is up the first thing we do, before we decorate, is make Tom and Jerry's, a brandy drink made with a batter bought at most supermarkets. That's when our daughter told us she was in the middle of a ten day fast:) We'd planned a big dinner and made it anyway. Mx baked some more, chocolate chip brownies. They were amazing. And then she was off. It's wonderful to get to spend time with the kids now that they are grown. Even when they try to fatten you up! What a surprise.

Of course I remember the years when the surprises weren't so wonderful. Like our first Christmas together when we gave each other a new water heater.

Had any seasonal surprises lately?

My baby turns 21 today! And we gave her the best surprise present, ever:) Flew her sister home from FL! Absolutely priceless:) They are celebrating this weekend in San Francisco. What did you do/will you do to celebrate your 21st?

It's an absolutely beautiful day here on the Monterey Peninsula. Gorgeous sunshine. We took Oso for a long beach walk, dreamed of owning a home on the ocean one day and saw the lighthouse here for the very first time. I can't believe that the 4th of July is around the corner. We've already lived here for a month. Seems like time is flying.

Flash Fiction: A letter to Summer

I love my daughter's car. It's not worth much, but it holds many, many memories. And it's been saved from the wrecking ball a time or two or three. I can't believe the only pic I have on the blog of the go-kart is one when the tire went flat.




I don't even remember the story behind that one. Note to self: better tags. Anyhoo, it's a little yellow convertible two-door Capri and it was in the shop again this week. Sat for about a year in the wilds of Big Sur and was in desperate need of, among other things, an axle. And every time we repair the car people wonder about putting the money into her because she isn't worth much on paper. But I always smile and say she's priceless. And, she is.

My friend Sylvia suggested it. A housewarming. When I said goodbye to her in Big Sur, she said something like you'll have to invite me to your housewarming. I said sure, but I was like, really? But, we don't really know very many people up here, and well, there's just so much moving-in left to do, and we are still in boxes, and Mx just arrived home and I don't even know where to shop yet, and we're just renting, and we aren't going to be here very long, and what food would I serve, and I'm still trying to figure out why the story I've been writing for five years matters and, well, fill-in-the-blank. So I sent out invitations to neighbors I've just barely met and we sent Facebook event e-vites to the folks we know in the area.

But there was this question I wouldn't allow myself to even think about ...what if no one came? Admit it, that's got to be one of the biggest fears of a party-thrower, right?

Well, it was wonderful. And the weather last Saturday was beautiful. We had a great crowd and I made all the Indonesian food I love and people were into it. Thank goodness we had a spicy-food crowd. Joe's mom even came and so did her dog, Lovey, which made Oso very, very happy. Another neighborhood dog stopped by too, Molly. She was lots of fun. It was so much fun seeing people we hadn't seen in a while while we made new friends too. Couldn't have pulled it off without Mx and Joe. Mx was in charge of music and Joe was at the blender and BBQ. And I found my new mantra.

I remember all the first-day-of-school photos I took of the kids. I remember the time I took a picture of Mx blowing a bubble for the very first time. The look in her eye. Today, Joe and I took pictures of her before her very first day of work, her first job out of college. She actually got the job offer before she finished her last year and since it's her dream job, she went for it. Turns out she'll be able to finish her degree online. It will be a mountain of work, but if anyone can do it, Mx can. We're so proud of her. Last night she said something so sweet. I guess I'm grown up now. And it was such a sweet moment. Hard to describe, really. A moment of becoming and of leaving behind. A moment of awareness and playfulness and everything all wrapped up into one. I love this picture of her, all grown up. As if we ever, really are:)

I think everyone knows someone who's been affected by this volcano. My daughter had a trip scheduled to leave Florence and go to Sardinia for the weekend last Thursday. Luckily, however frustrating it was for her at the time, events conspired to keep her from going. She is home in Florence, thank goodness. I didn't know this until Sunday when I received an email and discovered she hadn't gone to Sardinia like she planed. Lots of her friends are stranded in the UK, Morocco, Slovakia/Austria, and Sicily. She and I talked this morning and I found out that the kids in Morocco hopped a boat for Spain but are unable to get a train back to Italy because everyone is trying to take a train somewhere. Buses too. The kids [um, they are 19 and 20 yr. olds] in Sardinia are still stuck. And of course they all have a big project due tomorrow. A friend's parents have been visiting Big Sur for the past few weeks and can't reschedule a flight back home to The Netherlands for another 10 days.


Which leads me to today's question...

Yesterday, after my root canal, my dashing doc informed me that I have "unusual roots" and pointed to the x-ray of said tooth and told me my roots "talk to each other." I smiled. I have extra bones in my feet too, I said [which led to me being a writer, but that's another story]. He smiled. I'm a mutant. It's funny. And, I have to admit that I'm not shocked that the roots of my teeth "talk" to each other. Guess that's where all my characters come from:)

Feeling better than expected, in spite of my "unusual roots" which took a bit longer to canal then those boring regular roots everyone else seems to have, I floated out of the dentist chair and found Mx waiting for me, curled up with the Rob Pattinson Vanity Fair article. She handed me a teddy bear. It was the best surprise. And he's really fluffy too. The nice, soft kind of teddy bear. And I needed a teddy bear. I fell asleep with him last night, still wearing my glasses with my current read, The Ghost Sea, folded on top of me.

Teddy bear in hand, Mx and I went for a mani/pedi and shuffled over to the cinema in those girly pedi flip-flops you get after a pedi to see Nine.

Every writer should see Nine. It got the cold shoulder at the box office this holiday season because, well, there were SO many fabulous movies released this season. But, if you write GO. It explores the imagination and POV in ways seldom seen in cinema.



I often wonder why, with such an appetite for movies, I don't try and write a screenplay. I guess I know my own long-winded nature. Heck, my roots talk to each other. I don't think I'll ever have the talent to write a story in 120 pages and show, show, show. I guess it's the window into a character's mind that so intrigues me about novels and that movies can't accomplish in the same, intimate way. But, Nine comes close even if it was slow in spots. I felt that The Story Fairy paid me a visit during this movie and showed me what can be done with POV and its intimacy in movies.

My dear Mx...I've got my "cheer up" post up a little late tonight. In Italy it is 4 AM. I've been SO happy to Skype with you. Glad you didn't go to class today. Hope you are feeling MUCH better today, er, tomorrow? Hope these little things might cheer you up! [Gammy and Grandpa, Uncle Mark, Nanny, Aunt Suz, Uncle Mark the galy gals [Ra, Em, and Katie] ALL send their LOVE!]:

While I was washing dishes tonight the sun set and I took this picture just for you. Even the "Sunset Snob" would have loved this one! Don't you agree?



Oh, yeah, and Mischief says "Woof!" He saw the pic of your scar and thinks you are a TOTAL bad a$$:



Here's a little trip down memory lane for you...



Remember New Orleans? Our Road Trip was freaking amazing. Turns out we stayed at a Haunted Hotel. Just CLICK HERE and scroll down until you read about The Omni Royal New Orleans and scream your freakin' head off when you remember what we saw in the mirror!!!!!!!! I'll never forget our first night in New Orleans at that Blues place. SO freaky. That bartender had supernatural powers! Totally! And...speaking of supernatural powers...

You know how I get at Halloween! Well, it's only natural that I'm checking out all the Haunted Hawaiian spots starting tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have a few great stories to tell:) Heck, YOUR stories have been blowing me out of the water! hahahaha!

Click on THIS if you dare....mmmmmwwwwaaaaaHHHHHHHH!

More on Haunted Hawaii HERE

On deck in Maui? Something about a black sand beach and a Bamboo Forest.

We are SO PROUD OF YOU. xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxox

It's what no mom wants to hear: "Mom, I'm in the emergency room." [in Milan] And I didn't even get to hear it because with our recent move and lack of cell phone reception, my daughter couldn't remember our new number as she was in shock so, called the hubby. He talked her through the accident/emergency room on Thursday night. I found out bits and pieces of what happened when he got home. Didn't want to tell me over the phone.

I wish more than anything that I could be with Mx and lay an afghan over her and make her some chicken soup and tell her everything is going to be all right. This is the place where I'm posting things to cheer Mx up. We are very proud of her ability to handle such a taumatic event so far away from home. Mx, this is for you.......

Here's The Restaurant, now it's open to the public, and it's where we'll all celebrate your Italian adventures when you come home. Nice to see it full of life again:) How do you think it turned out?







Here's Dad's new office. Oso loves the courtyard and there's an open field where he likes to play, but he likes to escape to the shopping center close by to make new friends:







Here's a few photos from the weekend. Five condors flew directly over our heads on our hike to see the waterfall at Julia Pfeiffer Burns, Nanny got to see where you and Bridgette spent your Bday:







We love you and are very proud of you, Sweetie. Take care of that "shark bite."

whenever we get together great things happen.



Here's a sea lion that we came upon on the beach, we named her Sweetheart...we were AMAZED together...



we made cool rock sculptures...we LAUGHED together...







We SHARED things we never shared before. And before we knew it...



it was time to see Mx off to Italy for a year...



Go to an awesome rehearsal dinner, where I needed to borrow my sis's dress at the last minute and we had to change in a Taco Bell bathroom to make it there on time.

When we were little girls,



we thought we'd live down the street from each other.



Our trip was over too fast.

After a doing a little shopping in New Orleans and visiting some of the uber-scary places we saw the night before,






Old Ursuline Convent


we hit the road for Cut and Shoot, TX to meet up with my brother and his family at my sis-in-law's family picnic celebrating the 60th anniversary of her Aunt and Uncle.



Awesome Elvis Impersonator



We had a great time. All her relatives were so sweet to us, so welcoming, and there were at least a hundred people there. Fun to catch up with all that's been going on with Mike and his family. It was Memorial Day weekend, and, in honor of our fallen soldiers, those assembled stood and sang, "Dixie." I only knew some of the words. Such an amazing moment. A Southern moment. Mx had to leave though, the emotion of the day brought tears to her eyes. Her cousin Cody and his good friend David had called a day or two before to let her know that they were being deployed to Afghanistan that weekend.

After the wedding we crashed in our beds in San Antonio, we stayed at The Omni San Antonio, but were barely there twelve hours because we were headed off to Carlsbad, New Mexico the next day. On our pillows were little oval wooden boxes with tiny dolls inside and a note that read:

"Legend has it that the Yanaguana Indians, a peace-loving tribe of native San Antonians, extended their hospitality to Spanish settlers by presenting them with these handcrafted worry dolls. According to tradition, by transferring one worry to each doll before bedtime, and placing them under your pillows your worries would disappear by dawn's light."

We were selling our our house at the time, so I transferred my worries about the sale and Cody's safety to my little dolls knowing full well that the Spaniards of long ago had similar concerns about shelter and survival. Timeless worries, I guess.

We knew that New Orleans needed its own day and we were so happy that we took the time to enjoy this amazing city. Could spend so much time here, but, since Mx had a job to get to, we did what we could with the time we had.

First up? The Cemetery Tour. Highly recommend The Haunted History Tour of New Orleans. We took two of their tours and both had fantastic tour guides who were so entertaining and knowledgeable.

Our tour guide started off by saying that the streets of New Orleans are named after Saints and Bastards. One thing I loved learning about was that voodoo was the religion that developed among the slaves. They found that their gods and goddesses were similar to the Catholic saints, and were able to keep their religion alive by associating their gods and goddesses with the saints of the Catholic church. St. Expedite is an example of such a saint. I saw his statue in the Catholic Church just outside of the French Quarter. St. Expedite is no longer recognized by the Catholic church, and his history tends to be a little murky, which is why I like him so much.

A few photos from our day in New Orleans:



After some bignets at Cafe Du Monde [AWESOME!] we took in the sites,







had a little dinner,





then we went on The Vampire Tour,





Mx and our guide. Lemme just say. Creepy. Creepy. Creepy. To many stories to share, but we did discover that Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop is the best bar in the city. Hands. Down.

Of course, when I travel, I love to get books. I usually lean to books with stories about women, but I had to get "New Orleans Ghosts, Voodoo, and Vampires Journey into Darkness" by Kalila Katherina Smith.

We. Love. New Orleans.

We started our tour of Nashville at The Pancake Pantry, and I had THE most amazing potato pancakes. We visited the Ryman Auditorium next, the original home of The Grand Ole Opry. We only had time to tour one thing in Nashville and picked the Ryman. The tour was fantastic.[If we had the time I would have LOVED to see a show there.]





One of the best descriptions of the Ryman came from a tour guide who said "people courted here." I loved that. But, as it was built as a tabernacle originally, people also worshiped here. Story goes that Thomas Green Ryman, a steamboat captain who profited from the gambling and drinking houses he owned in town, built it for a preacher named Sam P. Jones. Ryman went to heckle the preacher one night, but after hearing him preach in a tent, he decided to construct a space so that Sam would never have to preach in a tent again. $100,000 and 7 years later the Union Gospel Tabernacle was complete.

Hard to say goodbye to Nashville, felt like we could have stayed a while. We swung by Memphis on our way to Natchez. And Sun Studio was our first stop, a recording studio so legendary it gave me goosebumps. "Walk The Line" was recorded there on April 2, 1956:



Mx and I grabbed a quick snack. I ate my first Moon Pie here!





On for some BBQ:



which was SO good, we thought they had put crack in it...WOW. Hated to leave Memphis so soon! Our BBQ buzz lasted all the way to Natchez, and helped us get over the fact that we were about to run out of gas on The Natchez Trace. Isn't it amazing how sinister a place can look, late at night when the needle is one tick from empty? Note to self: gas up BEFORE the ride.

And arrived at the BEAUTIFUL Monmouth Plantation. Ahhhh..... You MUST go there. Must. Friendly staff, great food and the rooms are to die for...





What the canopy looked like above our pampered lil' heads...



Even though we got there at like 1 AM, I had to sit and write at this desk. WOW. As I wrote about our travels, I couldn't help but wonder how many other writers sat down at that desk. I wondered about their lives, their dreams and all the magic and heartache that correspondence can bring.

We left Raleigh via Asheville on our way to Nashville. A day of 'villes. We were about to start our musical portion of the road trip. Music is so important when we travel. Whether it's taking turns being DJ to keep the drive interesting, or actually touring the iconic places I'd only dreamed of, music was what it was all about for the next three or four destinations.



Beautiful wildflowers of North Carolina on our drive to Asheville.





Mx and I stopped at The Biltmore Estate. Wonderful. For me, the most amazing part of the estate was the library. Ooodles and ooodles of leather bound books and Napoleonic memorabilia, including a desk that was rumored to have been used to display Napoleon's cremation urn. There was a lovely chess set too, made with a red marble. George Vanderbilt was a bachelor when he built The Biltmore, a fact that blew me away. Most bachelors I know are stuck in what I call the brown phase, usually involving lots of brown plaid furniture with brown-on-brown accents. George dodged disaster in 1912, when he booked passage on the S.S. Titanic, then canceled at the last minute. Dude, George rocks! Mx and I shared a wonderful lunch and basked in the beautiful sunshine.

I love Asheville.

We headed to Nashville after stopping at the winery on the estate [most of the grapes are imported from California's Russian River Valley] and set our sights on Nashville.

We stayed at the Best Western and loved it. Took a walk to Robert's Western World and danced to Phil Hummer & The White Falcons. They were awesome. A young guy asked Mx and I to dance and we had a lot of fun trying to keep up with Jim, who happened to be a dance instructor. He made us look good...Jim learned how to dance from his grandfather. His grandfather said that it was the only way to keep women happy. The other tip Jim had for keeping the conversations lively was reading "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader." Learn something new everyday.

I love Nashville.



Nashville at Night



The Robert's Western World, by the light of day.

Otherwise known as: A Couple Yankees Head South. Before we could hit the road for Raleigh, Mx had a couple finals to take. I went to the Antique Cafe for an awesome cup of coffee and then took in some of the student exhibits at FIT.

One of the Exhibits highlighted the history of and special attractions in Chelsea:



Art from The High Line



The history of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union in Chelsea



The Museum at FIT [closed on Mondays]



Student Designs>



Finals are OVER!
California here we come. After one last stop at Mx's apartment we took the Lincoln Tunnel out of Manhattan and headed south!

Here are some scenes from the road:







We arrived pretty late in Raleigh and to be honest we FELL into bed at the Best Western in town. We had spent about 8 hours laughing and talking and singing. Watching the world go by. When all was said and done we'd gone through 6 states: New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. It was heaven to drive into North Carolina. We were a bit challenged when it came to photographing all the state signs. Seems like they came upon us so fast. So, we didn't get much of that done, although we intended to. Just too much to talk about, I guess. We also got into the habit of reading FML; and making a road trip song list. Mx introduced me to Red Yellow Sparks and I love them.



Here's an excerpt from my journal from Day One:

"We passed by battlefields and looked up some history--learned that Patrick Henry gave his "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech in Richmond Virginia. Learned that Grant invented the foreshadow of trench warfare when he dug trenches in Petersburg to disturb the supply lines to Richmond and that it took him over a year to do so....One thing we noticed about North Carolina is how many churches there are."

We'd never traveled in The South and were just getting a taste of how The Civil War impacted all the places we would visit. I laid my head down on my pillow and went to sleep to the sound of the men in the room next door cranking country music and talking about the sorry state of it today which moved on to a discussion about their female troubles, angry about something that had happened that night. And, as I writer, I wished the walls were just a little thinner and sleep hadn't come over me so fast.

Click here to see all road trip photos [adding more as I go...]

Sooner or later we all do. One way or another. When my youngest told me she celebrated her 20th by literally jumping off a cliff into the Pacific Ocean I couldn't help but realize that Joe and I were doing the same thing in our own way. And isn't that what life is all about? I told Mx how cool it was and how brave she is [after I thanked her for not dying]. And I reflected on how many new experiences our whole family is having this year. The list is so long, won't go into it here. Bottom line though? Change is so good. And life, even though you might not recognize the one you are living from time to time, has a funny way of all working out. Now...back to my edits!

As I woke this morning in the barrel and had The Big Sur Writers Workshop on my mind a rare text got through to us here on Pfeiffer Ridge, a noted "dead zone." It was from Mx. She went to Fordham to see U2 in concert there on GMA this morning. TOTALLY. AWESOME. She said after "being raised" on U2 by Joe and I it was a dream come true to see them perform.



Check out Lit2Go a free online download source of literature and poetry, just download the mp3.

1. Had some great news that Mx got accepted into The International Fashion Merchandising and Marketing Program and will be studying in Italy next year. GO MX, GO!

2. I've finished the synopsis for my YA Coming of Age novel [highly recommend the pajamas, LOL!] and discovered the ending in the writing so I'm excited and can't wait to finish the story. [And, since it's Friday the 13th I thought it would be a good day to enter the first 20 pages of the story into a contest today.]

3. I love my weekly check-ins with maedwen, we call it a weight and words check-in. Each week we email each other with our goals for losing weight and writing. So far, I've lost 3 pounds this year and kept my writing goals front and center.

4. Weird weather: For the past three days, it's been pouring real wrath of God rain at night and every day has been sunny and beautiful, I'm happy for the golfers.

5. Mx sent this link to me and it made me laugh:

This is what's inspired me lately. A metamorphosis of sorts. Mx did a photo shoot and I just love this photo. Love how she's transformed. My nano novel "Libretto" is about metamorphosis. The process is fascinating. We are constantly re-imagining, reinventing ourselves, evolving. I love the intensity of self-discovery. After seeing this photo I'm inspired to keep up my quest of telling one good story.

Here's a nano sentence: "And since Pamina knew little of singing into the mask, her emotions flavored the aria and fed the ever hungry curse."

We arrived last night and hit the town:



Me and Mx

Had my first frozen hot chocolate [YUM!] at Serendipity3. [As seen in a movie with John Cusak] and the PLEASURE of having Mx's friend S. join us for dinner.



Toured the sound exhibit at The La Monte Young Dream House Amazing. Mx heard about it from one of her friends who is in a band here.

Loved walking in the rain. Here's a random shot:



Looking up at the ceiling of the The Mac Cube on 5th Ave. in the rain last night

Joe and I have been in lots of "hot" spots this year. Today we woke up in NYC to discover that our former [...as of last Wednesday] bank failed and had been bought by JP Morgan Chase. Somehow, hearing the news here in New York made the whole thing that much more dramatic. Not that there hasn't been a lot of financial and political drama the past few days.

Off to have a little wine before we go to the Guggenheim. In all my trips here, I've never been. Out to a show tonight. Happy Friday!