Back again!

We’ve got to stop meeting like this…people are going to start wondering!  Holy month-plus blogging hiatus!  Ideally, I’d begin this post explaining how refreshed and relaxed I am, but meh, it wouldn’t exactly be the truth, so what the hell – I won’t waste your time. 

Yes, we captured this 2 foot tall penguin in Las Vegas, NV.

Anyhoo, after my last confessional missive, I began a fabulous! sensational! post entitled “Essay on Marriage” to commemorate my upcoming 7th anniversary, but the writing proved more complex than I originally anticipated (how deliciously ironic!). So I had to put it on ice while we went on a whirlwind 2-week vacation.   I’m sure I’ll be thawing it out of the draft locker soon.

Bowling with kids... a little frightening

Said vacation was a nice, if not entirely original, break.  First, we did a 5 day stint in Vegas…after all, it is tradition on our anniversary.  We ate some good food, drank some good stuff, did a little shopping, caught a couple movies (I really liked Karate Kid!), bummed around the pool, and generally had a good time.  This time we did try something new though…we took K bowling, and it was surprisingly more fun than I expected.  I’m sure it’ll become a regular Vegas agenda item now that she knows how much fun it is, and that there is a 24-hour bowling alley inside the hotel/casino where we usually stay. 

From Vegas, we then spent a night in Kingman at the fairy-dust Hampton Inn, luxuriating in their ultra-comfortable environment.  And the next day…a good ol’ Route 66 adventure!  We ambled along to Peach Springs and did the Grand Canyon Caverns tour, which was very interesting, but not something I will probably feel compelled to repeat.  I’m not really claustrophobic about caves…but there is still something just a little overwhelming about being in a rocky void 200 feet underground.  After a post-caving dinner stop in wacky Seligman, we were on our way into lovely northern AZ to spend a few days with Gmom and Uncle Bubba, including a delightful July 4th steak-and-s’mores experience.

Enjoying the cool northern AZ weather with no hands!

Going against the norm, I actually took a wee break from my various electronic leashes this time too, although I did not maintain complete abstinence.  I left my work phone at home, and only briefly glanced at work email ONE TIME in that 2-week period.  It was rather blissful to leave it all behind for a while.  I did bring my netbook of course, but barely used it, except to slip in a couple of episodes of LOST here and there. 

After returning home, we faced a marathon of mundane unpacking, laundry, and pre-surgery appointments for FF.  The hell season is in full swing, with temps running in the 110-115° range most days.  I am so cringing in advance for our August electricity bill.  The heat and residual vacation lethargy kept me from bothering with anything that remotely required intellectual focus (ie blogging, responding to email, paying bills etc) and so all my spare moments have been filled with an odd assortment of summer shows on DVR, and reading a few books FF picked up for me at the library.  This summer has had a distinctly supernatural flavor, with lots of vampires, pixies, demons and the like.  I breezed through Terry Goodkind’s “Law of Nines” on vacation because I have been pining for a new Richard/Kahlan book, but unfortunately this book fell quite flat in my opinion…very one-dimensional and forgettable compared to his other works.  Sigh. 

My little cowgirl!

Anyway, FF survived his wee eye surgery last week to straighten out his lazy eye.  He apparently had a significant amount of scar tissue from prior childhood surgeries, and so he came out of surgery looking drastically, demonically bloodshot.  At 2 weeks post-surgery, the redness is just now starting to clear a bit, poor guy.  But in true FF fashion, he is quite stoic and takes it all in stride.  He is looking forward to improved depth perception and peripheral vision once his brain sorts out the new visual field.  I am looking forward to him being ready to drive again, because while I dearly love my daughter, I am getting tired of being the sole parent on transportation detail.  Yeah, I know that sounds pretty self-centered and all, but…  Kids are so lovable, but SO horrifying, too.  Anyone who says otherwise is on much stronger drugs than I am.

And with that poignant thought, I will wrap this up, with other updates to follow soon.  Ciao!

What a little monster!