And a partridge in a pear tree

I went all the way to Portland last weekend, and all I got were these lousy photos.

Okay, that's a bold-faced lie, but if I could have bought a t-shirt with that phrase, I would have. I'm back from P-town. It'd been nearly ten months but it was surprising how little changes. My sister Mallory still makes the best chocolate-chip cookies in the world, our popcorn maker still makes the best popcorn in the world, and watching movies with the sound too loud is still one of our favorite past times.

Guess where I got to eat yesterday for lunch? I'm on the Costa Vida tour. Oregon is set to open six more in the near future--the Costa is growing like wildfire! (Off-hand today at lunch Julie suggested she and I open one. I had to reason with her that we could probably make most business successful, but food service is not our industry...) Geez, I sure hope they open a Costa in my town... I'm already sad (again, like last week!) that I didn't get a burrito to go. Or that our leftover salad remains are sitting in the fridge 3200 miles from where I currently am... sigh. Costa Vida Tour 2007--total count: 4. Which shall we hit next?

Yesterday was the literal shop-til-you-drop day. Mom and I got going by 8:45 and managed to hit three Jo-Ann's craftstores, a Ross, and the Costa before her physical therapy session at noon. After a 2-minute bathroom break/pick up DCs at the house, we broke Mal out from school early, and frequented four more Jo-Ann's and two more Ross stores. We had Taco Bell (my request; there's only one TB I can think of in my state... 25 miles from home) for dinner and took the loot home. Between us we purchased a ton of craft goods, a pair of boots, two pairs of flats, a pair of heels, two iPod cases, a headband, two pairs of dress pants, two shirts, and one pair of headphones. All but a pair of flats were mine. Suffice it to say, I went a few dollars over my vacation budget; but Mom approved of the overspending. I had to capitalize on no sales tax!

Kino and I had a staring contest. He gets me every time.


So that's that! We went to Chevy's for fajitas. My mom made chateau brion; my most favorite kind of meet. There was a roast beef, potatoes and gravy dinner waiting for me when I flew in Friday night--my family was even waiting for me inside the airport! (this is the first time on record I can remember that happening) I was basically treated as an A-list celebrity the whole time I was home. Moral of the story: I should go home more often!