Why the RC sucks. Seriously.

So I just realized I never told y'all that I was going to be offline last week. Monday I had to fly quickly to DC for a meeting on Tuesday and back out on Wednesday. The meeting was definitely not worth my time but I got to see my parents which was awesome.

As usual I took a United flight but my bag didn't make the connection in Denver. United assured me that my bag would be on the next flight so I headed to the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner. My parents came over and we had dinner with my brother at Maggiano's. (Which btw - Yum!) Because I'm always prepared for the worst, I then ran around Tysons 2 looking for clothes in case my bag didn't make it. Well, I thought that the mall closed at 10. It doesn't, it closes at 9. That meant that instead of and hour and a half, I had 30 minutes to find a complete outfit.

I ran like hell and stormed Anthropologie. I saw a pair of black, dressy, wide-leg crepe pants. I didn't even have time to try them on, I just threw them with a blouse on the counter. Well, they are by Elevenses and they are FABULOUS. Want to know why? They're extremely high-waisted and yet make me look tiny, tall, and lanky. Woo hoo!

I then ran around the mall trying to find size 11, leather, stacked heels. Apparently this size is only worn by transvestites because NO ONE had any. I finally found one pair at Macys (ick) that, surprisingly, I don't hate.

Anywho... long story short, United delivered my bag that night but the Ritz didn't see fit to keep track of it. I got to wear my cutie-patootie pants with my 3" tranny heels for my meeting on Tuesday. I then got my bag before checking out that night. I'm about to write a very mean note to the manager of the Ritz. I mean, really. They're known world-wide for their service - why should I get the shaft? Looks like I'll be at the Four Seasons from now on.

Oh kittens,

It has been a whirlwind weekend. DH didn't come home until 8 or so on Friday and he had a really weird face when he asked what we were doing this weekend. Turns out he had volunteered us to drive up with some of his work friends to go hiking and camping in the San Jacinto mountains.

Elliott doesn't do the outdoors. In fact, I cried three times when we summitted Mt. Snowdon in Wales two years ago.

Anywho, everyone promised me that it wouldn't be that bad. Tahquitz Peak is seven miles, 8800 feet, listed as "moderate" in the hiking book. The big liars - it was listed as "moderately strenuous" which really means "Holy hell, you're going up Everest!"

Here it is, in all its glory.

Anywho...it was a tough hike. Even the serious climbers in our group were surprised at how tough it was to slog through. The beginning is really steep, then it levels out for a mile or so, and then the last two miles are tons of switchbacks and extremely narrow and rocky. I think everyone was feeling the altitude. Having lived my entire life at sea-level, I didn't think it would be that big a difference. HA!

The view from the top, however, was killer. There's a fire watchtower at the top and the lovely ranger let me collapse there for a while. The view is so good that the rangers can spot a fire before satellites can!

So after our hike we headed to the town of Idyllwild, CA and ate at the Gastrognome. Such a cute restaurant. The waitress kept our water and wine glasses filled and didn't blink an eye when we asked for the breadbasket to be refilled a third time. (Some of the group was going to do a 20 mile hike today so they needed to fill up on carbs.)

We pulled in to our campsite around 9, drank bottles of a really good rioja until 10 and then passed the heck out.

Even though it was a rough day, I'm glad I slogged through. DH loves his outdoorsy things and I want him to have fun weekends. I have to admit though, I almost cried when he told me how proud he was that I had pushed through and gotten to the top.

Well, I guess I should go unload the 8000 pounds of hiking gear still in the car. Later, kittens!

More wedding pictures

Here's a picture of the GORGEOUS Swan Hotel. The weather last weekend was sunny and beautiful. Between the ceremony and the wedding breakfast, we ordered a bottle of wine and sat at cafe tables on the side of the river. FAB.
Headwear was a big issue for me at this wedding. The ladies all were wearing beautiful hats but 1. I get really bad hat head and 2. I had to get it through 12+ hours of flying. I decided to wear a foofy headband instead. I LOVE headbands so I was delighted when I found this one that matched my dress at Nordstrom. Also, I swear I wasn't perturbed with DH, despite what my face says.

Also, I'm convinced I'm going to get West Nile

DH and I went to the garden center yesterday and I got two mosquito bites. Pshaw...big deal, no? Well, little ol' Elliott is allergic to EVERYTHING and mosquitoes are no exception.

The small bite on my shoulder is the size of a half dollar. The large one is on my wrist. No joke, we measured its diameter: 4-bloody-inches! It's itching like a mother, despite massive amounts of hydrocortisone. I went to bed and it was hot and pink. It's now burning and bright red. If it goes purple I guess I'll have to hit the allergist tomorrow. BAH!

On a more serious note:

I have friends who work in law enforcement in crimes against children. They universally said that it's both the best and worst job they've had. It's a horrific job because of the subject matter and the victims. It's the best job, however, because they have one of the best conviction rates for any program. (Personally I'm rather outraged that these predators tend to get to live out their sentences in solitary. Put them in general population and let them get a taste of their medicine. Ahem.) ANYWHO... please contact your senator and pass Senate Bill 1738 for increased funding for law enforcement.

Help Pass Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act
Hundreds of thousands of children are victims of sexual abuse each year. Due to the sheer lack of resources, law enforcement is unable to follow up on the majority of leads they have.

The PROTECT Our Children Act will:

Authorize over $320 million over the next five years in desperately needed funding for law enforcement to investigate child exploitation.
Mandate that child rescue be a top priority for law enforcement receiving federal funding.
Allocate funds for high-tech computer software that can track down Internet predators.

Act Now!
Your U.S. senators will be voting on the bill soon, so it is crucial you contact them immediately.
Go to www.senate.gov to find contact information for the senators in your state. Search for your senator by name or state by clicking on the arrow from either dropdown menu. Contact information is provided here. To send an e-mail, click on "Web Form" below his or her name, and e-mail your letter to make a difference!

Call Your SenatorsIf you choose to contact your senators by phone, be sure to tell them, "Vote yes on Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act."

Write to Your SenatorsIf you choose to write a letter, fax, telegram or e-mail, you may use the following sample letter—and modify it how you see fit.

Dear Senator:

I know that you believe, like I do, that we must do everything possible to protect children from sexual predators. That is why I am asking for your help.

Last year alone, U.S. law enforcement identified over 300,000 criminals who were trafficking in movies and pictures of young children being raped and tortured. Experts say that one in every three of these criminals has local child victims. Child pornography trafficking over the Internet has given us a trail of evidence that leads straight to their doorsteps, but the vast majority of these children will never be rescued because investigators are overwhelmed, outnumbered and underfunded.

As your constituent, I urge you to do everything in your power to pass the PROTECT Our Children Act (S. 1738, Biden-Hatch). This bipartisan legislation passed the House 415-2, but it is now the victim of petty partisan politics.

Now that we know where these children are and how to protect them, there is no excuse for the Senate to fail to take action this session.

(Your name here)

Instructions for How to Copy and Paste the Letter
To copy and paste the letter into your senator's web form at www.senate.gov, point your mouse arrow at the beginning of the text that you want to copy. Click your left mouse button and hold it down. While holding the left mouse button, drag your arrow to the end of the text that you want to copy. Release the button. The text should be highlighted. Place your mouse arrow over the highlighted text, click your right mouse button once and let go. A new menu should appear. Select Copy from the drop down menu. When you get to the message form field for your senator at www.senate.gov, point your arrow at the beginning of the message field that you want to copy your text to and right click with your mouse. Click Paste from this menu. Submit your form and help our children!

She may be the devil...

...but Rachel Ray has some yummy recipes in her magazine.

As requested, the beer margarita recipe:

	Four 12-ounce bottles cold light-flavored beer, such as Corona 1 cup (8 ounces) tequila	One 12-ounce can frozen limeade concentrate Lime wedges Kosher salt, for rimming glasses

Rim glasses with lime wedges, dip in salt. Mix the remaining liquids together. Take a big gulp and add extra lime, if needed.

Cheers!

Street Scene 2008

After several years of being hosted at Qualcomm, Street Scene is back in downtown San Diego - right outside my building!

As seen from our balcony:

I'm totally bummed that Saturday's headliner, Black Crowes, canceled. Devo's replacing them. Whip it, whip it real good! Gotta go, there's a beer margerita in my immediate future! Woo!