I’m still on ski vacation, while Andy drove back LA. He’s enjoying some “alone time,” and promised to take down the Christmas tree and decorations before I get home. I’m having a girl’s week with my friend M. She has a timeshare, and we’re using her points for a place up at Cedar Breaks Lodge. (Don’t ask me how timeshares and points work. All I know is that I owe her dinners, lift tickets, massages, and probably my firstborn. ) Continue reading The Mystery of the Fire (#107)
Our favorite ski town in the southwest is Cedar City.
Sort of. You can’t actually ski within the city limits of this small city in southern Utah. But Cedar City is a convenient (Andy says “cheap!”) place to stay if you want to get your alpine on up at Brian Head, which is about 45 minutes away. (35 minutes if Andy is driving.)
Cedar City is less than 3 hours from Las Vegas and well under 7 from Los Angeles (again, with the caveat that a maniacal male is driving an overpowered car and using Google Maps with Waze). Continue reading Best Little Ski Spot (#106)
When my elementary school classmates found out my parents were divorcing, they showered me with horrified questions.
“Are you mad?’
“Are you sad?”
“Are you going to try and get them back together? Like The Parent Trap?”
That last one was clearly from a naïve only child in a loving home. (The Parent Trap is the stupidest movie ever, BTW. Yes, both times.) I heaped scorn on her, of course. “No way! They should never, ever live in the same house AGAIN!” Continue reading The North Polar Bear (#105)
The year that Andy and I got engaged, he agreed to join my family in New Hampshire for Christmas. My family is huge and disjointed, however, so he would only be meeting three sisters and my Ex-Stepmother.
A week before Christmas, I spotted the ultimate in Yuletide perfection. A neon green headband with furry moose antlers that LIT UP with red and green lights. I pounced. That night, I showed Andy my prize.
He recoiled. “That’s hideous.” Continue reading East Discovers the Joys of a Western Christmas (#104)
I do a lot of walking in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. There’s always the beach, of course, but they don’t allow dogs. (Spoiler alert: we have a dog now. Yes, there will be future posts involving canine characters.) Also, the beach doesn’t have hills. I like hills. They keep my butt firm. Continue reading Episode #103: Christmas Spirit vs. the Force
When Andy stayed with my family the Christmas before we got married, he was shocked by how late my Baby Sister came home. She was my last sibling in high school. Her boyfriend dropped her off about 1:31 AM. We, of course, were still awake, thanks to the three-hour time difference between LA and New Hampshire. Andy strained chicken stock while I frosted cream cheese sugar cookies. Baby Sister told us good-night and helped herself to a cookie on the way upstairs.
After she went up to bed, Andy said, “Isn’t it kind of late?” Continue reading Curfew (#102)
My new in-laws, Sunny and Jay, insisted on a Chinese Wedding Banquet a month after our traditionally western wedding. They took us to beta test the restaurant two days before the banquet. It went…poorly.
Sunny and Jay found a new banquet location the very next day. As neither in-law sought my opinion on anything ever, I was shocked when Jay sat down next to me with a menu.
“What courses you like?” Jay asked.
I shot my new husband a suspicious look: Is this a trap? Continue reading The Menu and the Message (#101)
So this is my 100th blog post! Imagine confetti everywhere!
I’m shocked. I mean, not shocked I’ve written approximately 400 pages. All y’all know by now that I’m a loquacious monster with polysyllabic tentacles. Standard blog posts are apparently a page or less. Mine are more like 4. But that’s fine. I take pride in the fact that my blog is for people with above average powers of concentration (or possibly extra-long train commutes). Continue reading The Daughter-in-Law Tea Ceremony (#100)
