Home again! It’s nice to be back home. I missed the animals, the stereo, and the comfort of my own bed. Hotel beds are always too hard.

First, I’ll get into how I feel this trip has helped/changed my attitude and the way I see life and other things, then I’ll wrap up the trip.

I feel more certain that not having a child is the best, and this trip has made me appreciate how things are all the more. Just the freedom and all that has made me sure about forgetting about seeing a fertility doctor, not just cuz it’s easier to talk than do, not just cuz I’ve had enough medically, but just cuz I love life too much these days to throw it away. Besides, what with all the bitching you hear from parents, it makes me wonder - is there really such a thing as “the joys of motherhood?” I suppose many people would call me spoiled and selfish, but I want to live life for my husband and myself. Not for something that’s just gonna be a costly, time-sucking, life-ending burden.

Shit! The freeloaders did get their yard enclosed after all. I see a wooden gate has been put up between the block wall and their washroom. So when they bring in the new dog, it’ll be huddled in that area where it can see the street and where it’s just outside our window, and it’ll bark non-stop. At least they kept their paws off my packages and there haven’t been any music or ball games yet.

Typical Andy. Instead of doing the favor I asked of him, he calls asking me to do him a favor. Does everything I say to him go in one ear and out the other? He should’ve known we’d be in CA. Nonetheless, it worked out fine.

So, like I said, I took lots of pictures. Believe it or not, we drove by some snowcapped mountains. It was weird seeing snow, flowers, and palm trees all at once.

We also drove through an area where there were tons and tons of huge windmills. Guess it was a pretty windy spot where they were, so they took advantage of it to make electricity that way.

So we drove through numerous cities within the L.A. area. I didn’t find Beverly Hills to be all that it’s cracked up to be, but some of the houses were beautiful. Drove by a lot of movie-making companies like United Artists, etc.

As usual, I loved the stuff my folks sent. They sent pretty new peach towels with shells on them, some other odds and ends, and a really beautiful collector’s teddy bear. It’s so cute and is supposed to be worth $200 - $300. It’s in a pretty dress, holding a matching umbrella, with a lamb on a ribbon as a leash, too. They also sent other stuffed animals. A mouse, a rabbit, and a few others.

They sent some exercise videos and I like this guy’s method better than Denise Austin’s, but I just don’t see how just a few exercises that take no time at all to do, can be that effective. And they guarantee fat and inch loss in 30 days. I’ll give it a try, but I still think my thin and firm days are a thing of the past. I also don’t know if she went out and bought these for me, or if she had them and decided she didn’t like them or was just sick of them or what.

I loved the tape of my dad and his bird. The funniest part was when he got a feather stuck in his mouth. Tom and I got lots of laughs from it.

Another tape she sent was the long-awaited tape of Tammy’s kids doing plays and singing. It was what I’d describe as both wonderful and awful. The younger kids’ singing and flute playing were way off-key, but I know they’re little kids and that’s to be expected. It was cute anyhow. Whoever was doing the filming, though, had a shaky arm and couldn’t seem to focus very well, and I also didn’t get what I expected of Lisa’s solo. She only sang for about 20 seconds, the music was 10 times louder than her, and I couldn’t make out a word. I thought she’d be doing a whole song that I’d be able to hear loud and clear, but the most important thing is that I have my nieces on video besides photos. It’s something that’ll always be very dear to me and that I’ll forever cherish.

Later…

Tom stopped at a 1-hour processing photo center and got in a while ago with the 98 shots I took of our trip. As usual, I look fat and geeky, but oh well.