maybe wave if i pass you

Happy almost new year! It will be midnight here in ten minutes, but I hope to be done with this post and have the lights out by then. I spent the last couple of days being a city person - as I mentioned Monday, I drove up to Des Moines Monday night so that I could accomplish a variety of errands yesterday and today. Yesterday's primary errand was getting my car serviced, which went fine; they are v. eager to sell me on an upgrade since my car is seven years old, and I will perhaps get eager to upgrade because my car is worth increasingly little and any future repairs will be increasingly expensive thanks to zee germans and their car designs.

However, yesterday was not the day to shop for a car (unless it was, due to end of year sales, but I didn't have time). Instead, I slogged most of the day - almost everyone else was off, but I had several hours of planning meetings, which went well. And I took advantage of being in a city by doordashing some thai food to my hotel room door while talking. The thai food was actually somewhat mediocre, but I was so excited about being able to order it that I didn't care that much about the quality.

After I wrapped up for the day, I met up with Drewbaby and Sammie for a drink and dinner. Yes, I had just seen them this weekend, but it was fun to see them again. We had a drink at my hotel, and then walked to Roca to have dinner, which was quite tasty. And then I was going to get a bunch of stuff done last night, but instead dozed / slept, which I suppose was better.

This morning I got up reasonably early, grabbed coffee, showered, packed, and drove to West Des Moines, where I hung out at a Starbucks for a bit. Then I got my hair cut - I'm a little iffy on the woman I've been using, even though I like her, because I feel like she gives me too much of a 90s midwestern mom/Jennifer Aniston blowout + I think she messed up my bangs this time, but luckily blowouts wash out immediately and my bangs grow fast. After my hair cut, I ran several mall errands at poisoned myself with mall chinese food, which was mostly worth it. Then I grabbed a few groceries and came home.

I spent the rest of the night doing very little beyond eating cheese and playing some Animal Crossing, and now I need to go to bed so that I can accomplish much more than that going into the new year. Hopefully 2026 brings many lovely things for all of us - goodnight!

i'd fake my death if it weren't such a mess

Yesterday I was too wiped out from family time (Iowa family, not Adit, although he's exhausting too) to blog - we had a delightful Christmas, but Becky and Brian left at seven am Sunday instead of Monday due to weather threats, and I woke up to see them off because I was sleeping in my illegal hidey hole in the basement and so I couldn't help but hear them moving around as they prepared to leave. I went back to bed after saying goodbye, but I mostly dozed for an hour before getting up to entertain my remaining guests. 

The Des Moines Metro crew ended up sticking around for brunch at my mom's house, but they left around noon, which was not a moment too soon since a storm hit around the I-80 corridor and made travel v difficult. In my neck of the woods it just got bitterly cold and a little icy/snowy, and I took that as an excuse to do as little as humanly possible yesterday. 

Today I had to work, which I was almost grateful for after a week of family time - again, Adit is exhausting too, but my only meetings today were all with him and they were a welcome change from making ham balls, lasagna, gf garlic bread from scratch, and other labor intensive endeavors. When I was done for the day, I packed a bag and absconded to Des Moines - I have an appointment to get my car serviced tomorrow, so I decided to come up tonight and have a hotel to work out of while my car is in the shop. 

The drive was uneventful, and I spent some quality time at the bar eating dinner + making many lists + getting into a TMI convo with the guy next to me, who was stranded in Iowa due to flight cancellations and was the type of interesting character you only meet at a hotel (my favorite). And now I'm going to go to bed so I can focus tomorrow - goodnight!

now you're just somebody that I used to mow

I had an excellent Day 57 of Christmas break (or at least that's what my energy level thinks today is). When I got up this morning I was immediately #inittowinit (after making coffee) because I needed to make all the food before going out to my mom's for lunch. I tried a new to me gf garlic bread (monkey style) that turned out quite well - I think it would be even better if it had proofed longer, or if I had had time to chill the dough before forming the loaf, but it was an admirable (albeit time consuming) first effort. 

Becky and [censored] were generally hanging out in the kitchen throughout this and helping with tings like peeling zucchini and sprinkling flour on my hands. Drewbaby and Sammie arrived around 10:30 and also hung out, so they got to participate in the light chaos of me putting together a quadruple batch of zucchini lasagna (perhaps double what we actually needed, but I didn't want anyone to starve). Then I sent others ahead to put stuff in Mom's oven while I took a quick shower before heading out. 

Lunch was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself - we also had Mom's ribbon salad, and a Caesar salad, and the lasagna was great. Then we hung out all afternoon - I got them to play Vibe Check with pretty fun results (although Brian will never accept that I think Amsterdam is pretty mid).

Eventually Aunt B prepped a bunch of stuff for tacos, which was a perfect cap (although I forgot to make guac). Then we played a few rounds of scattergories, decided to call the games quits bc the fog was getting intense, and most of us came into town. I was supposed to make ambrosia tonight, but after changing my sheets it was close to ten and I was out of steam, so I gave it up. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

you're too sensitive they said

I'm v v tired, but I have seen two of my three aunts in the same day, which is rare enough to merit a post. I got up a little after seven to get ready so that [censored] and I could pick up Mom at 9ish and head toward Moberly. It's over 2.5hrs away, but it's the half way point to St Louis, and we were meeting Aunt Dee and Moriah and Santi for lunch at our favorite Mexican place.

Lunch was accomplished in due form - Santi is 18mo and v.energetic, but also v cute, and so it was fun to see him. And it's always good to see Moriah and Aunt Dee. Jackie and Shawn came too, even though they were a bit late due to a flat tire. A good time was had by all, and it was great to see them even though it was a long trip for lunch.

Then [censored] drove us home, with a couple of brief stops to get supplies. When we got home I vegged for a bit, and then Aunt B and Uncle B arrived from Colorado. So we all hung out while eating leftovers, and then I talked to Aunt B while making the meat sauce for tomorrow's lasagna. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

jingle jingle

Merry Christmas! I had a v lovely day, all in all, although the weather was dismal (foggy and misty throughout). But I woke up in time (barely) to make coffee, wrap all presents, and take a shower before heading out to Mom's for brunch. She made breakfast casserole and gf blueberry muffins, and my ambrosia turned out quite well (critics say I needed more bananas, which I will take under advisement, but otherwise the 3:2 orange:grapefruit ratio was correct). So we had a tasty and enjoyable brunch, with enough left over to have a snack tomorrow before heading to the next adventure.

After that, we opened gifts, which went as well as it could have given that I went off script and gave [censored] something that wasn't on his list, which is high treason in this household. Then we all relaxed / napped / etc before playing Ticket to Ride. The rules are supposed to be different for three people, but we didn't change them since we wanted to see how the mechanics would work first. Ultimately, Mom and [censored] tied, which was a v. shocking outcome, so perhaps I will petition to change the rules next time.

Then we all came in to town to eat leftover ham balls and twice (thrice?) baked potatoes. I took Mom back home after, since she didn't want to drive in/out of town due to the fog, and then I spent the evening getting ready for this weekend's celebrations before relaxing with some Animal Crossing. And now I need to go to bed - goodnight!

albatross

Merry Christmas Eve! I have been slogging relentlessly the last couple of days to get to this point - yesterday I worked all day, and today I was 'off' but I probably worked harder in the kitchen than I do at the day job.

Nothing that I made today was hard, but it was all time consuming. I made a batch of twice baked potatoes, which I love - and love to have extras of in the freezer. I also made close to three batches of ham balls, which involved grinding six pounds of ham and forming ~55 ham balls. This was all #worthit, though - Mom came in for supper, and [censored] and Mom and I feasted on the aforementioned potatoes and ham balls. Mom and I had originally intended to go to Christmas Eve services, but it was quite foggy, and so we skipped out and ate early instead.

This was probably a good call, since I was v. low on energy after dinner and therefore spent a couple of hours playing Animal Crossing (I opened it last night for the first time in a year and a half, according to the game) and messing around on my phone to relax. This is not what I should have done, since I still need to wrap presents. But then I spent a couple of hours making ambrosia. Dad always made ambrosia on Christmas Eve, and I wanted to continue the tradition - but from a timing perspective, I didn't really account for the fact that while Dad spent a couple of hours segmenting grapefruit and oranges, I wrapped all his presents for him. So this is something I will need to remember in future years, because my tradition of wrapping on Christmas Eve is definitely hampered if I need to spend quality time with some citrus.

Anyway, I think the ambrosia will be good, and I have a game plan for what I need to get done tomorrow morning, so Christmas should be nice. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

holy roller don't go wasting all your time praying for a sign

I worked today, unlike most people in the company - I would have taken this week off, but my Mexico trip was much more necessary and also made me feel a bit behind, so I decided I should get some tings done before the end of the year. However, I wasn't entirely diligent...while I did get some tings done, I also skipped out a little early because I desperately needed to go to Des Moines to grab groceries and a couple of last Christmas presents.

I should have gone yesterday, but yesterday I took care of some house stuff and then spent several hours with Allie and Chris and their baby at my mom's house. Hopefully I'll didn't get them sick - if I'm picking up what [censored] has I'm asymptomatic so far. It was good to see them, but it was not how I intended to get ready for the holidays. 

So anyway, I went to Des Moines and did a speed run through a liquor store, target, and whole foods in an attempt to get everything together, mostly successfully. Of course, I have to slog relentlessly tomorrow, and at some point I have to cook and clean and wash bedding and wrap presents and maybe decorate....but that is a problem for Future Sara (unfortunately that future is tomorrow, lol). Goodnight!

don't you miss the breathlessness, the wildness in the eye

Yesterday, I slogged more than I wanted to for a Friday before the holiday, but less than I do on most Fridays, so I guess I will take it. The day ended on a lovely note because [censored] and I took Mom to Seymour for prime rib to celebrate her birthday. The prime rib was particularly good last night, and it was worth venturing out into the cold for - and of course it was good to see Mom after my various city travels.

Unfortunately, though, [censored] seems to have come down with some dreadful illness, which knocked him out last night and continued to knock him out today. We were supposed to go to my sister's for Christmas today, but [censored] was too sick and I was starting to feel funky, so I decided to skip as well in an effort to keep from getting the various infants sick. It was really too bad since I don't get to see the kids very often, but I still feel funky tonight, so I think it was the right call.

However, I didn't really have the energy to do anything else either, which means I still feel quite behind on getting ready for Christmas. But I got some rest, downed a ton of vitamins, and am generally trying to avoid any further disease. I also made pasta for supper (using a jar of Rao's + some sausage and mushrooms), which [censored] rallied to eat while we watched a weird episode of SNL from a couple of weeks ago. And now I need to sleep so that I can hopefully stave off any symptoms and get some stuff done tomorrow - goodnight!

before he speak his suit bespoke

I have been v busy the last couple of days - on Tuesday I packed, ate breakfast, went to the office, had several meetings in a row, did one coffee meeting while walking around the v cute Christmas market in Union Square, and then caught an Uber to LaGuardia. I was cutting it closer than I like, but I got lucky on navigating the airport and was through security and at the door to the Delta/Amex lounge in less than ten minutes. So I had time to grab some food and a glass of rosé before boarding my tiny plane with the emergency rope exits to Des Moines. 

Yesterday I slogged all day, with no fun and nothing to report. 

Today was more of the same, although I left the house to get allergy shots. And my meetings were a little more emotionally taxing than I like, but all in all they were good. I wasn't done until almost seven, and I had no food to cook or eat, so [censored] and I grabbed Mexican. And now I need to go to bed so I can produce another valiant slog tomorrow - goodnight!

my finger is on the button

I have nothing to report tonight - I woke up reasonably early, grabbed breakfast at the hotel while doing some work, went to the office, did some more work, had some meetings, had some more meetings, and ended up eating sushi for dinner at the office bc I had a late ish meeting and a couple of people were also still around. I love that the east coast starts so much later than the west coast, but there is a price. 

Then I came back to my hotel, grabbed a snack at the bar, and attempted to wrangle the rest of my to do list with mixed results. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

i've been looking for a light that i can't reignite again

I had a v. nice, v. chill day in New York. It was snowing when I woke up and snowed for most of the day, which made everything quite pretty (and somewhat treacherously slushy) - and I'm glad I didn't switch my flight to come home today like I had considered, since the earlier flight was delayed by four hours and the later flight was canceled.

Instead of dealing with travel woes, I had a leisurely brunch in the hotel restaurant, got ready, and went to the Nordstrom flagship store at Columbus Circle. I browsed six floors of goods (well, I skipped one) and generally enjoyed being in a store rather than ordering online. I didn't get a pair of boots as I had intended because the shoe section was the most chaotic of any area, but I did buy a couple of tops, and I had a v. tasty mocha from the coffee bar. I also got my nails done at their beauty bar, which made me feel refreshed, so all in all it was a lovely afternoon.

Then I came back to my hotel because I was feeling overwhelmed with all the tings I need to do (personal and work). I still haven't caught up since being on vacation, and I feel like I really haven't been caught up since, like, September - so things are getting a little out of hand and I knew I would feel better if I did various tasks tonight instead of attempting to have fun.

So I had an early dinner in the hotel restaurant, where I had an excellent gluten free pasta - I've been on a pasta kick this entire trip, with no regrets. I brain dumped a million tings to my to-do list while eating, and then I came upstairs, talked to my mom and [censored] about various holiday gifts and tasks, and then did some mix of work, personal, and holiday stuff for the rest of the night.

I should probably push through with one more task tonight, but I'm tired enough that I think I would be better off sleeping and getting up early to do it. So on that note, it's time for bed - goodnight!

west end girls

I got a ton of sleep last night, which helped me feel immensely better this morning - still not fantastic, but definitely close to recovered from the last few days of chaos. I had a chill morning with some coffee and a tasty gluten free lemon cake that I grabbed from down the street, and then I showered and took the subway to the Upper West Side to pursue my plans for the day.

First up, I met Sara and JM for brunch at Dagon. I originally met them in Boulder, but they now live in NYC, so I was excited to see them here. Sara's sister is in town and it was great to meet her too, and they also brought someone who used to work in my office in Boulder who I didn't know well but certainly knew of. So, it was a fun brunch time activity, and hopefully I will see them on future NYC trips.

Happily, the restaurant was only a few blocks from Terry's place, so after we were done eating I went over to meet up with her. We hung out with Haseeb and the kids for a bit, and then we went to a cute cafe to have wine and hot chocolate and catch up properly. We continued the conversation over an early dinner at a v lovely Italian place, and all in all it was a fabulous afternoon. It's hard to chat over zoom, so a long and leisurely time together was v overdue.

When it was time to part ways, I grabbed the subway back to FiDi, and I have spent the rest of the evening being v lazy. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

shake shake shake

I have had an absolutely bonkers couple of days and I'm running on fumes, so luckily I had not made plans tonight and am already tucked into bed.

Wednesday I got sworn into city council, as one does, and then I worked all day before going to the peo Christmas party. I made cheesy potatoes for it, and I was joking to people I met with during the afternoon that they were getting to watch my cooking show since I was actively making food while talking to various people. The party was fun, albeit a little bittersweet since some former members came, but all in all it was v nice. 

Then I went home, talked to [censored] for a bit, and then finished packing. Sadly I only got five hours of sleep before waking up to go to the airport. I was cutting it close, but then my flight got delayed, so I was able to have breakfast. I slept most of the way to LaGuardia, and then when I landed I came straight to my hotel, where I took several hours of meetings before throwing on a dress and some makeup and going to my holiday party.

The party was at a restaurant in Brooklyn (Cafe Mado), and it was v v fun and v v delicious. I would have enjoyed sitting with anyone at the party, but I particularly enjoyed that I got to sit next to Adit, Emily, Emily's wife Lauren, and Mitchell, and also got to mingle with everyone else. We then proceeded to take the party to two more bars, which was perhaps ill advised, especially because I got back to my room at three and had to be at work and on relatively early this morning. 

But I survived, tried to hydrate, went to the office, and did a couple of critical tasks. Then several of us went to Friend of a Farmer for brunch with a potential new hire, which was fun - the decor was really great, as was the food, and I liked the vibes. 

I spent the rest of the day mostly in meetings with the interview candidate, other meetings about various things, etc. Then I took the subway back to my hotel, did another meeting, and walked over to Serafina's to grab dinner. They had a decent gf pasta with an excellent pool of burrata on top, so I was pleased. I also got to see the massive Christmas tree outside the New York Stock Exchange, which was gorgeous.

And now it's only 9:15 but I'm going to attempt an early bedtime and try to clear some of my sleep debt + goodnight!

 

up all night

I had a decent day, all in all, but it started earlier than I prefer because I had an economic development board meeting at 8am. This was accomplished in due form, and then I came home and slogged all day with mixed results - my spirit is eager, but my brain is still having trouble getting back in it after vacation. 

But I took a break in the evening to have dinner with my mom, which was nice. Then I came home, talked to my boss (luckily at 8pm instead of our intended 10pm), talked to Adit, and spent some time packing. I'm going to New York on Thursday, and this would normally mean packing tomorrow, but I have other commitments tomorrow and so needed to figure out my clothes plan tonight. I think I'm mostly there, so I can edit my outfits tomorrow and throw them in a suitcase. 

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

i don't know where we're going but we've been coming undone for quite some time

I am back in Iowa, obviously, although I didn't blog last night and so it may not be true since it wasn't documented. I woke up yesterday morning in a bed in Kansas City that was, frankly, an insult after the resort I stayed at in Cabo, and I was pretty surly about it. But I got on the road, made a brief detour to browse various holiday tings at Home Goods, grabbed some McDonalds for breakfast and Starbucks for good measure, and drove home.

Once I got here, I unloaded my car to avoid having everything immediately freeze, and then I talked to [censored] for awhile. Then I took a quick shower and met Mom at the funeral home - they were having a Christmas/memorial service for people who passed away this year (customers??), and we decided to go. They had some nice snacks and did a service with music, a poem, and a quick sermon, which was nice. Of course, it was v. bittersweet, but I was glad I went.

Then, Mom and I went out to the Fairgrounds to see the annual light display, since it was the last night. The outdoor displays were down from previous years, but there were some nicely decorated trees inside, and we enjoyed browsing around them. Then I dropped Mom back off at her car, grabbed some groceries, picked up a pizza, came home, and slogged on some stuff until bedtime.

Today I had to get up and go into town for allergy shots, which I was v. v. overdue on. Then I came home and slogged all day with mixed results. After I finished meetings [censored] was already gone, so I had the house to myself while I did a whole bunch of tasks (laundry, unpacking, tidying, etc). And now I need to fold a final load of clothes so I can go to sleep - goodnight!

shine a little light on my soul

I am in a Springhill Suites by the airport, which is a v v v far cry from the Montage in Cabo, but all dreams come to an end eventually. I woke up well before sunrise today thinking many thoughts, and so I actually got out of bed, grabbed coffee from the coffeeshop, and went down to the beach to watch the sunrise. While Cabo is on the Pacific side of Mexico proper, it faces east across the Sea of Cortez, and so sunrise is over the water (instead of sunset, which my California dwelling memories are more accustomed to).

Luckily the rain was gone and the sunrise was gorgeous, so I enjoyed myself. Then I went back to my room, finished packing, ate a room service omelette, and then went back to the beach to catch 90min of sun before wrapping up my trip. I had a farewell Paloma (I usually don't drink tequila at ten am, but this felt necessary), warmed my skin, and then showered etc before saying goodbye. I don't know if I'll go back to that particular resort simply because I don't know if I would want to repeat myself, but I would go back to Cabo again anytime. 

Then I went to the airport, where everything was remarkably smooth, and I grabbed lunch before boarding. I was seated in the midst of a remarkably obnoxious set of people, but I did some journaling despite them. We got to Denver on time and I was glad I had a three hour layover because the walk from the gate to the start of customs was almost fifteen minutes, and I was glad I had global entry because I sailed through.... But then had to wait 20-30 min to get my bag so I could go through customs and recheck. Then I had to go through regular security again, which in Denver is typically a shitshow...but this was my first time experiencing their new security setup and I was through in five minutes, which is unheard of. 

So all in, it was over an hour from landing to getting back through security, and then I still had to get to the far stretches of the b gates. But I had time to grab food, and I made it to the gate just as they started to board. My flight was uneventful and I slept the whole way, and landing in Kansas City was a breeze.m, but I decided I didn't want to drive 2.5hrs after all of this. So I'm ensconced in a hotel and need to sleep - goodnight!

lonely boy

I had an unfortunately boring day in Cabo - it rained until sunset, which is very rare (they get less than ten inches of rain a year, and one of those inches happened today). So I couldn't go to the pool, and everything was a little worse than I wanted it to be. But rain is better than snow, and I still had some excellent food, and I had a final cocktail with my favorite bartenders, so it all could have been much worse. And I did some writing / journaling / reading, so really, it was still a good vacation day.

But now I'm going to go to bed early so that I can hopefully take advantage of some sun in the morning before heading to the airport - goodnight!

all my favorite colors

I had an excellent but v lazy day - mostly because it rained, which made me decide to cancel my plans to leave the resort. Instead, I wrote this morning, had a late breakfast, and spent the afternoon in the spa, where I had a great massage and spent some time getting rained on in the hot tub.

I spent this evening eating various tasty things and drinking various tasty tequila drinks at Marea, while also plowing through an interesting book on the social implications of AI. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

oh think twice, it's just another day for you and me in paradise

I had a v lovely and lazy day in Cabo. I was supposed to go to a tamale making class today, which I had been looking forward to - but the presence of Irish Matt changed my plans, and also the fact that it will probably rain all day tomorrow made me want to spend today enjoying the sunshine. It didn't help that the class was almost an hour away, which felt like a real burden. So I cancelled and I have no regrets, although perhaps I'll have some regrets when I want to eat tamales this winter and can't.

Instead, I grabbed an early coffee and wrote on my balcony until I was too hungry to continue. Then I had a v tasty breakfast, followed by as much pool time as I could handle - I don't do well getting too hot, but with the clouds rolling in this afternoon, I was mostly shaded the whole time. I read a book (BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD, which is a strange and cozy little book by a Japanese author, featuring a bizarre coffee shop with time traveling properties). I really enjoyed it, and it also made me cry profusely while I was reading + eating tacos, which probably made me look insane, but c'est la vie.

Eventually, I showered, put on a dress, and went to Irish Matt's hotel. Security is tight at all the resorts and they didn't want to let me in because somehow the front desk hadn't given my name to the gatehouse - or they thought I was a prostitute, since most prostitutes show up at four pm.  But I got in, hung out with Matthew at the pool, and then Matt and Scott and I had a v tasty dinner and drinks and a whole bunch of fun stories. 

But now I'm back at my hotel and falling asleep at I type, so it's time for bed - goodnight!

but you can never leave

I had an absolutely fantastic day in paradise, no cynicism or tuesday scaries allowed. I woke up just as the sun rose, which I saw from my balcony. Then I walked over to the cafe and grabbed a cold brew, which I drank while sitting on my balcony and journaling for awhile, which was illuminating. Then I grabbed breakfast - I had huevos rancheros today, and while no one can beat Tony's huevos rancheros from my favorite cafe of my Marina-era youth, these huevos were pretty delightful.

I then spent most of the rest of the day at the pool, where the weather was absolutely perfect. I had a couple of margaritas, some excellent nachos, as much water as I could drink, and enough sun to give me some tan (and perhaps a slight amount of redness around the edges of my right shoulder and hip, which were the most exposed to the sun). The pool here is v. nice, and as expected it wasn't too crowded - the lack of the Thanksgiving/Christmas crowd is really playing out in my favor.

The real surprise of the day, however, was that I completely upended my planned solo trip....because in an extremely weird and serendipitous moment of fate, Irish Matt and I somehow discovered that we are both in Cabo this week. I have not seen Irish Matt since a month or two before the pandemic, when I visited him in LA; we had had some zooms since then, but it has been a v v long time. However, he texted me randomly yesterday morning, and as we exchanged pleasantries we found out that I was already here and that he was flying in last night.

So, of course, that was amazing, and we had to get together. He's traveling with another friend (Scott), whom I hadn't met but who is from Dodge City, Kansas, and so Matthew and Scott came over to my hotel for dinner tonight. Irish Matt actually came early, so we grabbed a margarita at the bar that I went to last night (and I was v. pleased to show the bartenders that I have a friend). This turned into a second margarita when Scott came, and so we were 45mins late to our dinner reservation, but clearly no one cared (or if they did care, this is a "the customer is always right" kind of place and so they didn't say anything). Eventually we adjourned to our dinner reservation at Mezcal, where we sat by a firepit and had some absolutely incredible Mexican food (a take on a tamale, some excellent fried rice with clams, some hamachi crudo thing that is so 2019, a birria and tortillas that was outstanding, and various amuse bouche things and flan for dessert). And my margarita at Mezcal was total perfection, so I'm riding high on tequila and life (mostly life).

It was, as always, an utter delight to see Matthew, and we had much to catch up on (and Scott and I had much to learn about each other). I think I'll meet up with them again for dinner tomorrow, so I'm pretty pleased about that.

And now, I need to go to bed - goodnight!

you can check out anytime you like

I had an excellent day in paradise, although I find myself looking for the little things that imply that this place is just as fallible to the whims of nature as any other (the small vanguard of ants trying to make it to the snacks in the spa; the possible mouse I saw out of the corner of my eye near the beach bar). I woke up at sunrise, although sunrise was obstructed by clouds. I had excellent enchiladas for breakfast and wished all my breakfasts could be enchiladas.

And then I spent the day at the spa - first to get a desperately needed manicure, and then to relax before a body treatment. I'm sure the main pool was also dead that since the resort is v quiet in the week after Thanksgiving, but I had the spa's adults only pool basically to myself for four hours. So I journaled, read, ate fish tacos, napped, etc, and it was glorious. 

Then, I spent an absurd amount of money to be tortured - I like massages a lot, but I had not done a wrap before, and it turns out it's for the best if I never do one again, because I was simultaneously overheating and claustrophobic and wondering if I would have survived infancy if 80s infants were swaddled in sleep sacks the way today's infants are. But luckily the wrap part was relatively brief (and I rebelled immediately and unsnapped myself to pull my arms out before the service provider had even finished the swaddling). And the massage was excellent, so I may go back later this week, although there will be no wrapping allowed. 

After that, I relaxed, showered, and spent a few lovely hours at the bar of the restaurant I went to last night, where I read a bunch and talked to the bartender and ate some sushi. And now I'm going to go to bed - goodnight!