finally

a way to feed Mr. Boyfriend.

topsy turvy

Hm. Yeah, about that recession thing. I'm ready for that to be over now.

The vacation was lovely, and certainly the best thing about an all-inclusive is that once you've spent the money - that's it. No tabulating your expenses every night when you're out to dinner, just eat and drink to your heart's content, tip a bit, and your wallet stays safe (after that initial purchase of the package, of course). But yeah, spending still stings.



Anyway, I'm not sunburned, and we had lots of fun. Pics will make their way onto FB someday, probably...

I'm glad we got home Saturday night and had Sunday as a buffer day. The next few weeks will be really busy, and I'm going to have to limit my ice cream lunches and find another stress-buster (three ice cream shops in one block - torture). I walked in to the city this morning (takes about an hour) and took advantage of the gorgeous day. High of...93. See? I didn't even need to go to the Dominican Republic!!! We cleaned up the patio and are summer-izing the house and I've got the painting bug - I want to take make EVERYTHING a nice light cream color, like Benjamin Moore Linen White... Low VOC and all that.

But alas, I do not want to paint myself. And Mr. Boyfriend can only be bribed with so many calzones.

The best part about vacation was reading. Mmmm delicious fiction. Book reviews to follow.

Punta Cana

Day 5 of our vacation in the Dominican Republic - 80 something degrees and sunny clear blue skies!

So far, no rain - I kind of wish it would so we'd have an excuse to hang out in our room more - it's awesome and huge and has a king sized four poster bed. Every girl's dream.

We are steps away from a beautiful pool (and most importantly, a swim-up bar), and we can see the ocean from our room. We just have to walk for about 30 seconds and we hit smooth white sands.

I've had about a dozen of some pink drink called the Majestic (we're staying at the Majestic Colonial) and have met all sorts of other hedonistic vacationers. Off to apply SPF 70!

Punta Cana

Seven tops

Six dresses

Five bikinis

Four pairs of sandals

Three cover-ups

Two pairs of shorts

and ONE METRIC TON OF SUNSCREEN.

Hello, vacation.

shippin off to Buffalo

Dude, it's April.

When did that happen?

And it's already Friday - again, I need to tattoo a calendar on my forearm.

This means last weekend the Sig O's sister and bro-in-law came and we had lots of circus-y fun. And this weekend I'm off to Buffalo to be Polish and Catholic. Mmm chocolate bunnies and pierogies just in time to fatten me up for our VACATION which we leave for NEXT WEEKEND. Holy moly, we leave in just over a week.

Where is the time going????

Oh, and Mr. Boyfriend and I will celebrate our four year anniversary on Thursday :-D

We are not alone

As a guidebook and review fanatic (must...prepare...obsessively...for travel...), I've read my fair share of Rick Steves. And Frodor's, and Lonely Planet, too. But I never really favored one over the other until now.

I really like this guy, his interview is thought-provoking and insightful - exactly what you would expect from one of the most widely traveled people on the planet. The interviewer describes Steves:

Steves wants Americans to get over themselves. He wants us to please shed our geographic ego. "Everybody should travel before they vote," he has written. We should be represented by politicians who want America to act as a good global neighbor.

Gotta love this. Let's hope that sticking a Canadian flag in your backpack becomes an old joke amongst Americans. Because, you know, who wants to be confused for those crazy maple loving hockey heads, eh?


And because I know you just can't live without it, one final poetry post.

Bat Snot

Just in case you didn't get enough yesterday, here's another batch from our favorite poet, the wondrous Glenn Beck.

I think I'd like "The Border" printed on a coffee mug. Ooh, and you know that "Imagine" would look great on an inspirational mouse pad, just in time for Easter.