Some vacation observations, as we complete the first leg of our trip: I need to go back and brush up on my modern Israeli-Palestinian history. Our hotel is on The Seam", so we have seen more of the Palestinian side. We didn't even go to the Church of the Holy Seplichure, because The Garden Tomb felt so authentic to us. Three days in one city seems to work best for us. By the fourth day, we are ready to move along. Rowdy doesn't like walking places, but I don't mind it. Sometimes we just don't feel like going through the hassle of buying souvenirs. The Jerusalem Forest was a lovely find.

I Would Actually Post Things On Twitter If More People Than Rowdy Followed Me

I follow Rowdy; MotoGP; GP riders Valentino Rossi, Ben Spies and Colin Edwards; Steve Martin; Mindy Kaling; Alec Baldwin; Jim Gaffigan; and Roger Ebert. I think that's all. But only Rowdy follows me. It's not like I need Twitter to communicate with him. Jim Gaffigan and Steve Martin are hilarious. Mindy Kaling is pretty funny, as is Rowdy. Rossi usually posts in Italian. Oh, I also follow Janette Rallison.

Where in the World?

visited 23 states (10.2%)
Create your own visited map of The World or Free iphone travel guide
visited 35 states (70%)
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Trending

Two recent New York Times articles made me smile...and also feel a little bit of a trend-oid.

The first was about getting longer, thicker eyelashes.  I have been using Grandelash MD for about six months or so now, and it totally works.  It works so well that people comment on my eyelashes.  Well, not Rowdy, because he doesn't really care about lashes, but other women notice and comment on them.  Which is totally nice after having short, straight eyelashes my whole life.

Today's article was about "Skate Geezers"--40-somethings who are skateboarding, particularly longboarding.  I finally learned to skateboard sometime last month or so, and Rowdy is totally into it, too.  I am never going to go to the skate park, but it's fun to board along the sidewalk at Mission Bay.  The article is titled, "Skateboarding Past a Midlife Crisis".  Am I having a midlife crisis with the bass playing and the skateboarding and stuff?

Well, given that my maternal grandmother lived to be 99 and her mom lived to be in her 90's, and I'm now 47, it is possible that I am in the exact middle of my life.  But...crisis?  What I think is that I am finally able to do things that I've always wanted to be able to do.  I have the time, finances, fitness and milleu to do these super-fun things.  So, why not?

Virtuous, Lovely...

All of our Young Women could potentially have some dude say this to them, because they are terrific.

Several of the Young Women came over to my house tonight for nachos, Apples To Apples and chatting about/catching up on Personal Progress.

Can I just say that they are all so freakin' darling?  I love our YW.  They are awesome.

Weekend Feet

Here are some of the places my feet have taken me so far this weekend: 

To the movies:

• Headhunter, a Norwegian crime thriller.  There were some glaring plot holes, but all-in-all, it was a good movie.  There was some gore and some Scandinavian nudity, but the story was cleverly told, and the scenery only made us more excited for our upcoming trip.  Placing bets now on how long it will take for someone to make an English version.  Rowdy thinks that Justin Timberlake will play the lead.
• The Avengers!  I enjoyed it.  The story did drag during, of all things, the final battle.  But overall, it was well done.  Tony Stark gets the best lines.  If you see the movie, you absolutely must stay all the way to the very, very, very end of the credits.  Totally worth it.

On my first bike ride of any distance in months.  I have always wondered where the Rose Canyon Bike Trail goes.  And now I know.

Out to dinner with my sweetheart.  We had Greek food at a little cafe in Hillcrest.  It hit the spot.  Then we bought candy before going to the movies.  I never thought I'd like gummy Coke bottles, but I really do.

To the nail salon for the first time in probably three months.  The nail lady kept trying to get me to add things on.  "I do hair, too.  Want me to do your hair for you?"  No, thanks.  I have a hairdresser that I really like.  "You have someone who does your eyebrows?  Want me to do your eyebrows today?"  No, thanks.  I go to someone in Mission Valley.  I have an appointment with her on Tuesday.  "Want a flower (painted on your toes)?"  No, thanks.  I don't like those.  That's not really me.  Gee, was I ever a disappointing client for her.

To REI to spend our dividend. I've always wanted a Patagonia down sweater, and now I have one.  Perfect for those Norwegian nights and easy to keep packed away while we're in the Holy Land.

To a marvelous experience in the temple with my guys.  Keiler had never done more than baptisms at the San Diego Temple, and we were able to do an endowment session and several sealings--en Espanol.  It was sweet.