This and That

What’s life been like for us since I last blogged six weeks ago?

Michaela kicked booty at Girl Scout cookie sales! She decided she wanted to sell enough cookies to earn an owl neck pillow– 300 boxes! (It’s the most expensive neck pillow ever, and ironically, we won’t have it before our vacation, so I purchased this one for her to have for our long flight) She walked the neighborhood selling cookies, did some “stand abouts” where the girls sell cookies in front of someone’s house, called friends and family, and made a couple of videos. After all her hard work — and me and Mike trekking cookies all over the state (literally! Mike took several boxes to Oakland, where a friend of a friend picked them up, and I took boxes to Sacramento to school PR colleagues) — she managed to exceed her goal. Many thanks to our friends and family who purchased cookies from her!

Mike traveled and traveled and traveled. At one point, I counted and he was gone 20 of the following 30 days. Then he came back and both sets of in-laws (Mike’s dad and stepmom, and mom and stepdad) come to visit (separately, not together), and now he’s gone again.

I went to Sacramento for the annual California School Public Relations Association conference. I’m president this year, so I had the honor of giving a “State of CalSPRA” address to our 200 attendees, including the state superintendent of public instruction (the top education official in California).

While Mike’s mom and stepdad were in town, we did some cool things. The grownups went to a special adults-only night at the Ruben H. Fleet Science Center and had cocktails and checked out the exhibits (including the very cool Sherlock Holmes and the Clocktower Mystery exhibit) while my parents watched Michaela. Mike’s mom and I visited the San Diego Botanic Garden for a girls’ outing, followed by a lovely lunch. And all of us – me, Mike, his mom and stepdad, and Michaela – got to go to a sneak peek of a new Living Coast Discover Center exhibit. Plus lots of relaxing, eating at favorite places, and even some naps!

Last fall, Mike bought a new car, which I lovingly refer to as his “midlife crisis mobile.” It’s a two-seater Mercedes convertible, and he loves it. Since it only seats two people, though, it’s not super practical (especially for a family of three). While his parents were in town, he needed to be able to take them places, so I got to drive his car while he used mine. I felt very chic zipping around town in it, and I drove home from work each night with the top down, soaking in Vitamin D and blasting tunes. Maybe I should get one, too?

Next up for us is our trip to Japan! It’s a quick trip (9 days including the days of our flights), but I’m really excited. I have never been to Asia before, and before this, the only place I’ve been with a non-Western alphabet was Greece, which is still in Western Europe. So it’ll definitely be an adventure!