XXIX

1. There are only thirty more sleeps before I board a plane to leave this fair continent for a whirlwind trip to Paris, Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland.  I'm throwing Paris in there even though I will be in France for the hour it takes for me to switch planes, or for them to lose my luggage and send me on my way to Dusseldorf.  I'm pretty excited to get a stamp in my passport!  And see the Alps.  Eat schnitzel. Blog remotely from Europe.  Blow up my hairdryer because I've forgotten to bring a converter.  Attend a cooking class with some colleagues.  Colleagues... oh, right! Going there for work. Sure, I'll say I'm looking forward to that too.
2. This past week The Pioneer Woman was giving away a Kitchen Aid Artisan stand mixer on her blog.  When I posted my entry comment, the competition was a mere 1700 people.  By the contest entry deadline? A whopping 37806 entrants in three days!  There's comment envy for you, folks! 
3. I didn't win a mixer, in case you were wondering. Or couldn't guess.
4. For a little perspective, my blog counter is over 50,000 visitors since September 28, 2008.  That's almost the same, right? 
5. Getting over it...
6. Yesterday a friend and I went for coffee at a sweet little coffee shop overlooking the bay.  We sat outside on the large patio, watching the sun go down over the water. We had an amazing time of fellowship, catching up on months of not seeing each other.  Then, a little mouse ran past our chairs and into the bushes.  'Nuff said.
7. I love Yahtzee.  Enough so that I've used up the pad of scorecards that came with the game.  I decided to be frugal and make up my own score cards in Excel.  I made sure not to put the Yahtzee logo on the score card so that I can't be sued.  Oh.  I just noticed that I spelled Yahtzee wrong on the score card.  Now I can pretend I bought them at the same dollar store that tries to sell you name brand products with slight variations. You know, like Coglate and Plamovile.
8. The Len has one (1) more exam to write on Friday, and then he is done. Finished. Finito.  And let me tell you, after this semester he is good and ready to relax for two weeks before the fall semester starts.  He's going to renovate my kitchen.  No, I'm lying. He's truly going to relax.  And take Sacha to the vet on Wednesday for her shots, which means the relaxing really won't begin until Wednesday. I may even be able to convince him to bake me banana bread.
9. The end.