Lessons learned...

this week mom was in town, painting and spiffing up my condo so that the editors of architectural digest will turn green with envy. my brain was working overtime due to the newness of everything: condo, mom visiting me at home (?) in virginia, job, training, steady diet, not driving my car across the country every weekend, etc.

a few things i thought about:

1. where, oh where do us 30-ish chicks get our fascination for cutesy things? hello kitty, pink, pictures of puppies/bunnies, cushy pillows in the shape of hearts, t-shirts with kittycats on them, etc? answer: no idea. but perhaps something important to ponder on the next cross-country road trip. maybe, as well, someone could get a fulbright fellowship to study said phenomenon.

2. according to mom, how on earth did i make it to age 29 without knowing:

a. studies show that your car runs better when the clutter is off the floormats

b. eating raw cookie dough will kill you

c. eating the results of (what's left of) the cookie dough will make you fat

d. every single person who surfs the internet is a serial killer. clearly, it is a useless and illegitimate medium that will die out soon

e. the world will stop spinning if you dry your hands on a dishtowel instead of hand towel.

f. the guys at the medford, OR mac store do not try to sell my mother more computer than she needs. everybody knows salespeople never work on comission

i'm glad i know all that now. i think i just might make it to 30.

on that note, i'll leave you with a picture at home on the ranch on a warm summer day. yes, i am holding a bottle of bombay saphire.L-R: mom, uncle mike, ryan, jake, aunt shirley, dad. kneeling: sarah, minnie the border collie, me, the bombay