8.18.2010

HOT

hot.

Today was hot. When we got home, every room in our house was hot. Our alligator pool thermometer indicated that our pool temperature was 90. hot. Time to take off the nifty bubble pool cover off. And so we did.

Yup, I think that as of August 18th, summer has made an appearance in San Diego, proper.

It was a unanimous decision that the house was too hot to even think about cooking, so we made a run to Souplantation and sat in air-conditioned comfort and ate a plate full of healthy, fresh, cool salad and sipped cold iced-tea. Then we finished our dinner off with two, not so healthy, but oh so yummy, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

Watered the yards, cleaned the pool, took off the cover and connected our new handy dandy automatic pool sweep.

Chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga....around the pool our Z-Ranger goes.

Tomorrow, it will be us floating around the pool. Enjoying summer.

8.17.2010

THIS SUMMER NIGHT

This Summer Night

Dinner tempts
pesto with linguine and chicken
chilled wine
toasted baguette

Beyond our window
joggers, walkers, dogs and kids
sunset blankets the street
in soft hues of orange

Breeze caresses
fan spinning softly above
evening grows older
and fireworks sparks alight

Quietly day draws close
calm abides
and sleepiness
creeps in

Sleep well this summer night

8.14.2010

OUR SATURDAY

For some reason my cup of coffee tasted especially delicious this morning.

Maybe it was because I have been taking (and drinking) homemade iced coffee with me to work every morning for three weeks now and I have forgotten just how yummy hot coffee is. Or maybe it was because I woke up with a bad headache (driven by bad dreams) and a mug of hot coffee was the perfect solution to my morning stupor.

But for whatever reason...I savored it and was so thankful for that steaming mug of deliciousness.

Our Saturday quickly got underway with a trip to Costco--we arrived shortly after they opened and crossed off the items on our list, checked out, loaded the Jeep and stopped for something to eat before finishing our food shopping at our local grocery and then finally back home.

Unloaded the car, put away our purchases and then we dug in and cleaned house, bathed the dog, paid some bills, trimmed some of the branches growing out over the edge of the pool and skimmed some leaves, picked some tomatoes and finished off our evening with a really good dinner.

Bruce grilled up some chicken breasts and halibut and I steamed some fresh broccoli and asparagus and cooked some brown rice.

While the grill heated, we nibbled on some warm toasted baguette bread slices with some Ponte Garlic Balsamic Dipping Oil and opened a bottle of chilled Chardonnay from Leonesse.

It was a productive day. And a good day!

8.04.2010

NEW "DO"

For the past month I have been thinking about cutting my hair. I mean really cutting it. Not just a trim off the ends.

But then, sometimes, on really-good-long-hair days, I would say to myself, 'what are you thinking?' And I would push that "crazy idea" out of my head. Yes, I talk to myself. Admit it. You do too!

Back to my story.

Alas, my good hair days were getting fewer and father in between.

I suppose I should preface this by saying first, that I have loved wearing it long. It has been long for quite awhile. And as this summer season crept in, I noticed that I began wearing it pulled up most of the time. Twisted up on top of my head with a clip.

I was beginning to resent the time it took to wash, condition, dry and style it. My long hair began to feel like a burden. I'd get frustrated with it and just pull it up in a clip. I'd wake up in the morning and pull it up in a clip. etc, etc.

I longed for a short, sassy cut that demanded nothing from me. I am busy enough without taking orders from my hair, thank you very much. Ya know what I mean, jellybean?

So when I went in for my scheduled hair appointment this week, I took Toni some photos of haircuts I liked and had printed from the Internet for consideration. She and I talked at length about the cut, style, length and decided to go for a Meg Ryan-esque cut. Short with messy layers that I can scrunch in some hair gel and be on my way out the door.

It didn't take me long to jump on that idea and I gave Toni the "A-OK" to cut it...


ALL OFF


I LOVE IT!!
(my hubby loves it too)

7.29.2010

JULY CAME IN LIKE A LAMB

And July is leaving the same way. We have had a very cool, overcast summer so far. That kind of weather is very typical for June but we are having one of the coolest summers in San Diego since 1912.

Let me be clear. I am not complaining. Though I would love to be enjoying more days in the pool, I am certainly not missing hot nights and even hotter days. Nope, not one bit. I am so thankful for the very pleasant days and nights.

Enough about the weather.

What have I been up to?
  • golf lessons with some girlfriends (lovin' it!)
  • completed Excel and Powerpoint classes
  • spending time with good friends (lots of laughter, food on the grill and a bottle of wine)
  • ♥♥celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary ♥♥
  • finished Season 3 of 'Friday Night Lights' (one of my favorite shows of all times!)
  • and Season 5 of 'The Closer' (I love Kyra Segewick's character!)
  • harvesting red tomatoes from our garden
  • made homemade pesto from the basil in our garden (oh, pesto, you are so divine!)

Other than that...I have been just hanging out and having a great relaxed summer. I know this blog post is bare without any relevant photos. Here is one of hubby and me at the Tim Mc Graw/Lady Antebellum/Love & Theft concert we saw in June (note the sweatshirt I'm wearing. It was cold!)

I really hope to have some photos to share with the sun shining in them soon!

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination" Jimmy Dean