monday mash up, March 12

We went to Charleston! Of course I had to give you a whole extra row of photos! We had a wonderful time. I won't give you all the details today because I think those will trickle out over the week (I did use my real camera too, not just my phone, you know.) So how to sum up the trip? I thought about sending out this tweet: legs ache from walking so much; tummys ache from eating so much; cheeks ache from smiling so much. That's not so bad, is it? We had a lot of fun, and I think the trip was mostly about the food. I have no problem with that at all. The architecture of Charleston is stunning. I could look at it for ages. Neel was captivated by the gardens, and Callum was captivated too. He's taken to my old point and shoot with some awesome results. We'll tell you about that later. We took a carriage ride (That photo in the middle of the bottom row is of the bingo machine they use to determine the routes for the carriages. How cool is that?), and I may have had a cocktail or two. See that Bloody Mary? Garnished with house-cured proscuittio and a pickled green tomato. Hello. Callum got a new belt (He has to wear belts to school, and just now he tells us that he's tired of the same old brown belts. Who knew?) Callum has declared Charleston his favorite city (U.S.), and wishes we lived somewhere where we could walk everywhere. Vacation breeds discontent. Success.

We got home late Saturday just in time to lose an hour to Daylight Savings (maybe not my best plan) and I've been playing catch up. I did laundry. I went to the grocery store. We got Callum new shoes, a half size bigger than me. Can you believe it? It's both a terrible and wonderful thing, you know. My baby. Sniff.

I miss you guys. I need to catch up. Seems like quite a few of us had rough weeks. That's not good. Trying to keep my chin up, you know? I may be worn out, but I'm so glad we got away. What have you guys been up to? All your comments to me all week just meant the world. Lifted me up like nobody's business. Love you all, my ducks. What have you been up to peeps? xo

five things, march 9th edition

1. I think you guys know me pretty well. We came to Charleston for a few days. Thanks to some help from my dear (and only) aunt, we're staying at the delightful Mills House Hotel. Those of you in the U.S. may remember seeing the Mills House back a few months ago during the Republican primaries in South Carolina. MSNBC's Morning Joe was aired from here. The place was crawling with Republicans then. It's not now. At least not patently obvious ones.

2. I think I love really decadently lovely hotels. I may need to stay in them more.

3. I think I'm a miserable packer. I know I'm an over packer, but a shirt I was convinced I'd packed for Callum is nowhere to be found. We once went to visit friends in Charlottesville and had to buy Callum pants! What's wrong with me? Maybe I need to rely on lists more than I do.

4. I think I've had a pretty crummy week. I think, all things being equal, it's actually been a pretty crummy year, but this week was particularly rough. My balance is completely off and it's affecting my home life. I do not like that one bit. Fortunately it was Callum's spring break, and he was pretty much on "coast," but I'm really feeling like I need to get my crap together. Plus, I've really missed you guys.

5. I think I'm just going to relax and soak up this weekend. This really is one of my favorite cities in this country, if not the world. I'll have all sorts of stories to tell you next week, but my intent is to slough off my sadness and just sink into being here and being with my family. We're having lunch with some friends we haven't seen in ages, and I'm so looking forward to that. Maybe things are looking up.