Sunshine State of Mind

Brought to you by a glorious long weekend.

I'm back from fun in the Arizona sun, coming down from the high of a long weekend and a good trip. I don't know whether I've mentioned it here, but my niece Jocelyn is thecutest child ever. That's not just a doting aunt talking, either; I have photographic proof. She really is more adorable than any other child on the planet. Smarter, too — she has already developed a fine appreciation for her favorite aunt's undervalued ability to make strange faces and funny noises. Her giggle could conquer the world.

So there I was, basking in temps in the upper 70s, talking to Mother Media on Mother's Day morning. She was seeing snow.Snow! On May 8. That's just not right. Being the kind and caring eldest daughter that I am, I made sure to point out to her that I was barefoot on the patio while she was wondering whether her sidewalk was slippery. Love ya, Mom! ;-)

Anyway. Here's how I spent my spring vacation.

When I arrived Friday, Chef Jeff picked me up and took me back to the campus where he and Sister-san both work. I loitered around their offices until quitting time. We picked up little J-Bird from the babysitter and went home for a dinner of grilled meats. Chef Jeff takes the charring of meat, and also Spam, very seriously, and he's very good at it. I ate too much. The Cutest Niece Ever shamed us all by finishing her veggies and asking for more. Then it was bath time, duckie splashy time, and then bedtime. Thanks to an early morning and the time difference, I was first to crash.

On Saturday, we chicks with the wee chick ran some errands and then went to help Jeff with the theatre set he was building. I haven't done set work in 14 years, but my mad painting skillz came back to me like wrecking a bike. I turned a decent pair of jeans into work pants in short order, and I still have some blue and green paint under my fingernails. Probably in my hair, too. I spent at least 45 minutes hanging shower curtains, too (part of the décor). I hate the plastic reek of shower curtains. But I love my brother-in-law.

We cleaned up, then went for a drive into the Superstition Mountains. Breathtaking desert scenery. Many blooming cacti. Many potholes in the steep and twisting road. Many photo ops. We stopped for prickly pear cactus ice cream at the tiny storefront village of Tortilla Flats. I ate too much and bought some extra-tacky souvenirs. We picked up authentic Mexican takeout on the way home, and I ate too much of that as well.

On Sunday, Jeff had more work to do at the theater and departed early. Sister-san and I meant to spend the better part of the day shopping but had to wait until a certain baby, tired from her travels the day before, finished her morning nap. But eventually we got going. Our first stop was at the food court. When I was finished eating (too much), I took CNE onto my lap and obliged her desire to crinkle the wrapper of my sandwich. But baby's hand is quicker than auntie's eye, and she gave the paper a yank that sent leftover gyro flying. D'OH! It must have looked pretty in the air, because at least one of us laughed.

Since it was Mother's Day, I spent some time showing CNE the mirrors in the stores and prying tasty-looking price tags out of her mouth while Sister-san got a chance to try on some clothes. I also snared a striped blouse that would be perfect to wear with my black skirt to the show that night. After stopping to pick up an ice cream cake at Cold Stone Creamery, we made it home just in time to change for the evening.

It was then that I discovered the good news: my black skirt had not gotten wrinkled in my suitcase. The bad news: it hadn't gotten into my suitcase at all. Again, D'OH! With my one pair of jeans all painty and only pajama pants as an alternative, I was high and dry, wardrobe-wise. Fortunately, Sister-san had a skirt with an elastic waistband that I could fit into, so I didn't look too bad at the performance.

What IS it with me and packing lately? When I went to La Crosse a couple weeks ago, I forgot half of what I meant to take, including a bra. This time I had two bras but no skirt. Dad is laughing at me from Heaven right now. He was famous for undertaking a journey armed with nothing but a pair of clean socks — and by "nothing" I mean not even his wallet — more than once. Clearly that gene didn't skip a generation.

Anyway. The grown-ups saw a combined performance by a cappella jesters the Bobs and juggling virtuosi the Flying Karamazov Brothers. The show was good but not great; more on that tomorrow. Then it was back to the sitter's place to pick up J-Bird and back home for Oreo ice cream cake, of which, as you may have guessed, I ate too much.

Monday morning, up and at 'em, on the plane back home. It was hard to say good-bye.

I ended up taking the evening off from classes to catch up on some important stuff — only to get a phone call at 10:00 p.m. from partner-san checking up on me. Yet another D'OH! I had meant to let him know I'd miss our Monday practice but did not do it. Shame on me! Bad partner! Seriously, I did indeed feel bad about leaving him hanging. Worse because he wanted to make sure I was still planning to show up for the after-class May birthday outing tonight. (Since I'm among the honorees, it might be nice if I'd attend.) I will eat too much and laugh too loud and stay out too late rejoicing in the wealth that is my friends.

Today around the world: May 10 is National Receptionist Day in the U.S, Mother's Day in Mexico, Constitution Day in Micronesia, and Senor de la Asuncion in Peru.