Hello, hello! I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! I made mashed potatoes using herbs from my garden (very exciting!), bought $12 worth of Humboldt Fog cheese and a bottle of champagne, packed up the car, and drove down to Portland to spend the long weekend with my sisters and Trav. Trav's dad, Joe, and friend Jake joined us for a delicious dinner (chicken for them, tofurky for us), and we spent an enjoyable time eating, talking, and playing a fun card game that was new to me late into the evening. After drinking mimosas and wine throughout the day, and finishing the night with vodka mixed with Hansen's raspberry soda, Mols and I got a bit punchy. We laughed hysterically over things that could only be funny to us, such as the sexy shoulder shake and saying "Oil can!" out of the sides of our mouths a la the tin man from the Wizard of Oz.

Yeah. New to the card game, I lost quite a bit at first. The loser is supposed to shuffle, but I don't like to shuffle, and in my buzzed state I refused to do so, leaving poor Jake to deal the cards every time.

Oh, and I showed everyone my book, which I'll tell you about in a minute.

Friday night, we all took Trav to see the Zoo Lights. We left after the zoo closed, and as we pulled out of the parking lot, Trav started to wiggle around and promptly announced that he had to go to the bathroom. With no bathroom in sight, the four adults consulted and determined that we could pull over to the side of the road near the freeway entrance so he could go. But, when I came to a stop, he took one look, apparently decided roadside whizzing was undignified, and stated that he could wait until we got home. Are you sure? Yeah! So, off we went, with Trav asking a couple of times when we'd be home. About halfway there, we all were chatting, and Mols and Joe missed telling me a turn. As I circled around a few blocks to get back on track, driving through a quiet street, we slowed down to consult on the best way to go. Suddenly, a little three year old voice from the backseat called out with urgency, "I'm having an emergency!" I quickly veered to the side of the road and screeched to a halt. Mols speedily unhooked Trav from his seat, Jake hopped out the passenger side, moving the seat up so Trav and Joe could climb out, and they hightailed it over to a quiet spot where Trav relieved himself on some pavement.

I'm having an emergency!

So, the book. Last weekend, our Israel group got together for the first time since returning at the end of August. One of the totally amazing students, who took picture after picture everywhere we went, put together a book (you have to understand, a *real* book-book!) of photos of all of us in Israel. It. Is. Gorgeous. Well, minus the fact that in every picture with me is either from the back or the side or only includes a part of me (like, let's say, my boob when I'm sitting next to someone at lunch), AND/OR I'm either looking away, looking bored, making a funny face, or eating something. But, you know. Whatever. Besides that, it's fabulous, and it's not stopping me from showing it to absolutely everyone and giving what's turning out to be my "lecture" on the trip. It triggers a lot of memories, so I can just talk and talk! Most of my friends are now aware of this. If you know me, beware if you see me armed with it and heading your way. I even made the big boss at work take a look, although I condensed down the lecture since he's a very busy man. The book is dedicated in memory of the lovely Rosemary, which is completely perfect.

Friend Casey pointed out that I could have something special with the boob shots. I could do some garden gnome type thing at various international destinations. "Look, here's my boob in Paris next to some French guy. Here's my boobs at the wailing wall. There they are at the Taj Mahal!" We'll see.

Speaking of friend Casey, remind me one day to tell you about the email exchange I had with him and his friend, J, about the perceived bennies of dating divorced women with kids. As you can imagine, I had a lot to say about THAT! It was intense. At one point, one of the boys even brought Guitar Hero into the discussion.

Ooooo, and read Casey's story here at Thieves Jargon!