Morning Surprise

Out for an early walk last Friday. Feelin' pretty good about myself. No one's out yet, save for a man out watering his lawn. The section between the sidewalk and the street. He had his back to me.

Just as I'm fixin' to walk past him, this man, thinking he had the quiet morning all to himself, let out the biggest, longest fart I've heard in a long time.

"Fffffttrrrrrooooooooorrrttttt." A solid seven seconds, I'd say. The fart was over by the time I was on the other side of him. I didn't turn around, and I stifled my laugh.

The End of Summer

I know, I know. I'm such a tragic disappointment to all of you, not blogging, frolicking around Chicago as I devour delicious deep-dish pizza, and not even taking a minute to tell you about it. Well. I'll do my best to make up for my neglect with some news.

First, there may be a reception location found for the wedding! However, it is too soon to jinx it by telling you where it is, so until a deposit is paid you will just have to wonder.

Second, one of my best friends Frankie is finally, FINALLY starting her own company! This is great news. Instead of slaving away for The Man, Frankie will be putting her considerable talent as a make-up artist to good use. If you need someone for your Chicago wedding please leave a comment with your email address and I will have Frankie contact you. She is incredible, this girl.

Why is this blog entitled "The End of Summer," you ask? One of the joys of working in TV is that it's reminiscent of a school year. We get a healthy holiday break and a lengthy "summer" break - hiatus - that actually happens in the spring months. So, even though summer may technically be only beginning for the rest of the world, I have one more week of my own personal summer break until I start another school year with season three of Ghost Whisperer. It brings similar feelings of enthusiasm and dread: I hate to give up all this glorious free time, yet I'm itching to see everyone again and discover what excitement this next season will bring.

I wanted to upload a bunch of fun photos from my trip, but Blogger is not cooperating. 'Til later!

Not Much

Well, I said Tuesday, and it's Tuesday, so...

My computer is majorly on the fritz. Completely inoperable. Am I using that word right? Or are you only supposed to use it when you're talking about a malignant tumor?

I'm using Sausage's computer so I can't upload any lovely photos of my day at the Chicago Botanic Gardens with Ma. I also have no theme whatsoever. Just a coupla tidbits:

~ If you have anything at all you value on your computer, like, say, PHOTOS, or DOCUMENTS, be sure to back them up. Don't learn the hard way. Not that I had to learn the hard way, I'm just sayin'. I wish I'd done this sooner. Get an external hard drive or sign up for mozy.com, a site that came highly recommended to me.

~ Something that drove me absolutely nuts in Mexico was that there were no hooks on the doors of bathroom stalls. No place to hang a purse, or in my case, a gigantic backpack filled with goodies for the day (laptop, books, water, etc). Beautiful marble bathrooms, automated toilets and sinks, but the hooks were overlooked. Mind-boggling.

Being a germophobe, I quickly learned to take some paper hand towels with me into the stall, lay them all over the floor, then gently place my bag on top. I can be preeeeetty crafty!

~ I just watched two episodes of Roseanne, back to back, on Nick at Nite. It's timeless. Great writing, great acting. Now Cosby's on. Sigh. I love TV. I hereby vow to start watching more of it.

~ Many of you don't care, but the networks have the upfronts this week, where they announce which pilots got picked up and what the fall schedule will be. Stay tuned for Wednesdays on ABC, where three great new shows will be in lined up: Pushing Daisies, Private Practice (Grey's Anatomy spinoff), and Dirty Sexy Money. Reminds me of the good old days with can't-miss TV night at Frankie's - 90210 and Melrose Place, of course!

Be Back Soon...

Back from Mexico and now in Chicago. Getting my bearings, will write by Tuesday!

Workin' Away

It's crunch time!

Fotos

Later, we'll go through the mailbag and deal with some angry readers. For now, I'll share some photos of Mexico. Take that, Angry Reader Vivian!

I left the cleaning woman a little tip and she repaid me tenfold:















And here are some guys breakdancing in the town square. They were excited to have me take their pictures. They were great dancers!

Catch of the Day

When you walk along the beach here you see men fishing where the water meets the sand. I would think, come on, no fish worth catching is going to be hanging out right at the shore!

Well, I was wrong. This gentleman, also a guest at my hotel, caught three beautiful fish this morning in just such a spot. I got only one fish in the photo.

Nice work!

Mexico

Greetings from Mexico, where the pace is as slow as a cucaracha borracha!

I arrived yesterday, and this morning I was generously upgraded to a time share room with a view of the ocean! Look!


I'm doing a pretty good job of making the most of my time here, but I need to remember this trip is about WRITING not FROLICKING. So I'd better get back to the writing. Here is another picturesque view:
Wait a minu-- how'd a margarita get into that photo? Don't know where that came from!

I will fill you in later. I think that's it for now.

Wait, there was something else I wanted to tell you... what was it...?

Oh, RIGHT! Shrek and I are engaged!!!
If you're a friend I should have called with the news personally, forgive me, but it happened Saturday night and I flew out Sunday morning. But it was wonderful and such a surprise and now I am more excited than I thought was possible for a fairly level-headed person like myself!

OK, NOW I will go return to writing from my balcony as I breathe the salty ocean air. Ahhhhh.

Check Back

Hi Y'All,

This week is getting crazier by the minute. Check back on Monday, when I'll be writing you from the beautiful beaches of Mexico. With photos!