Life in the Slow Lane

My loyal readers may remember that this year, rather than taking an exotic or slightly neurotic vacation, we chose to stay close to home and vacation all year long.  Today's installment? A helicopter tour! As you might suspect when an off-the-wall, out-of-the-ordinary idea makes it to our day planner, this was a deal we simply couldn't pass up. Not only was there a Groupon voucher for a 20 minute helicopter ride, but we had a still-unused Groupon gift card from last Christmas and a use-it-or-lose-it promotion code for Groupon about to expire. When all three aligned-- well, it was meant to be. (Besides, it is my birthday month.) I suppose some might get upset at us for counting a tour of the Channel Islands (off the coast of Ventura) as part of our Los Angeles vacation, but our pilot/tour guide made sure to point out the various mansions and beach houses of the Hollywood stars on our way. The helicopter company also offered us champagne (we chose sparkling cider...

In case anyone is curious, having a baby (or the imminent waiting thereof) is bad for your text message allowance. Where is this magical "reverse" that shows the care instructions for 0-3 months? Many of you may not have realized that we have our very own home theater. These are the Good Ol' Days.

I said goodbye to my best friend on four wheels this week. We had nearly seven and a half years of a beautiful friendship, Burgle and I. She was the first car I paid for with my own money. With her faithful service I met the man I eventually married, left home to seek my fortune, and started my first real job. I married, bought a house, and birthed two children. I wrote a chapter for a book, served as an associate editor on an internationally published textbook and added two stamps to my passport. I answered more than 10,000 letters, translated a phone call for the office of the first lady of a Central American country... and grabbed naps in Burgle's front seat on my lunch breaks. I don't care to try and count how many times Burgle helped me move (not to mention the 5 months I was mostly homeless... or had MANY homes as my mother pointed out). At one point, all of my worldly possessions could be moved with only Burgle's help... even my recliner, dresser, and bookshelf...