In repsonse...

...to the amount of e-mail I've received, phone calls and personal inquires:

I am writing a blog (perhaps and column if all goes well) about McCain's running mate Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin. My editor asked me if I wanted to, and I said yes. I'll post a link to it when it's published.

About a year ago

A Knoll's sunset.

About a year ago I was in New York finishing my internship at Men's Journal. Besides leaving my internship, I also said temporary goodbyes to to some really great people.

Before I flew to New York, I had know idea where I would live. I had contacted a few people on Craigslist, but nothing panned out. And there I was — less than a week until I had to get on a plane, and I didn't know where I was going.

I honestly don't know what I would've done if Steve and Karen hadn't asked Mark and Sue if I could live with them. When everything was finalized, and I had a place to live I was so grateful (and I can't express in words the relief my mom felt).

After I arrived and we all got to know each other, my summer went very well. Mark, Sue, Melinda, Liam, Aine and Caera welcomed me into their lives, and I don't think I could ever thank them enough. Sue and I mastered the art of baking angel food cakes, and we hiked the Appalachian Trail; Mark and I completed crossword puzzles, and we shared a love for Curb Your Enthusiasm; Melinda and Liam invited me to the beach house, and their daughter Aine didn't waste any time putting to work at whatever her next idea of fun was.

When I look at Sue and Melinda's blogs, I'm amazed at how much Aine and Caera have grown, and I can't wait to meet their new sister or brother who is on the way.

Thank you all for taking me in and making me feel like I belonged there. I hope I can return the favor some day.

What's your bet?

Moses weighed in at 44.5 pounds today...


Aspen weighed in at 64.5 pounds...

Right now he is almost as tall as she is, but the real question is...

When will he over take her?

Lions, and tigers, and bears

Oh my!

Quinn's here!

We're moving into our new place on Sunday. But for now, our current place is also a storage unit.

Quinn arrived Wednesday, and he already has a job. He will be working at The Ridge Tahoe in the spa. Now I'm living with two hermits who probably won't leave the top of Kingsbury since work is only a 15 minute walk away for them.

A short lived trip to the beach

I love when Tyler brings home specials! This is seared tuna with rice noodles, beet carpaccio and cucumber cardamom foam.

Tyler and I took Moses and Aspen to Nevada Beach to cool off in the lake on Sunday. The temperature has been in the 90s, so we thought it'd be fun to hang out the beach (aka the lake shore). It's been sunny every day since Memorial Day weekend, so we didn't pack coats or anything.

When we got there, a dark black cloud creeping over the mountain. We hung out for a bit, but it started to rain. We decided to get some grub and wait it out. Once we finished eating, the sun was back out and we all went back to the lake. Shortly after our second arrival, the clouds came back and big, heavy rain drops started falling. We then started moving toward the car when hail started to fall. Needless to say, we did get some beach time in, but not as much as we were hoping for.

Here's a visual account of the experience:

Last weekend

The aftermath of the puppies' romp through the campsite.

Unfortunately my camera battery died shortly after this picture was taken, so I don't have any more for photos. So for those of you who are visually oriented, I apologize.

This last weekend we went camping and explored Highway 4 and the Point Reyes area. On Monday we met up with Katie, Caleb and Mazie James in San Francisco (they were out here for a friend's wedding). It was great to see them again, especially Mazie because she's grown so much since June. We wanted to go to the Exploritorium, but to our dismay it was closed. We settled for a walk around the wharf, where we saw a creepy magician, sea lions and some fantastic landscape photography. All in all, it was a successfull trip — but as usual — way to short.

Did you get your plague vaccinations?

Tyler and I didn't realize this was going around...