Deuces

There are too many passwords- I often forget what they are. But on a day such as this I have to share my work password with a techy colleague, I am so grateful that I have adopted a grown-up, professional password. I would be mortified to tell a colleague that my password was "sexsybeast" or "1hotmutha". I have done it before. I have been on the phone having a tech troubleshoot a problem and gone red in the face when they required my password. And no, it wasn't either of the above examples (so don't even bother trying to steal my identity... though I am 1hotmutha). But the ghosts of passwords past were always something less-than adult and mature and it was after too many rosacea- prompting moments that I vowed I would always use something grown-up for days like today when I need to hold my head high while sharing my "secret" password.

These summer days we make messes: These summer days we choose from too many flooring samples and get our home in order... (model not included): These summer days we fit in all our dental, doctor, DMV and other appointments: These summer days we travel to Seattle  These summer days we visit with friends: These summer days we get to a Dodger game and create a winning streak: These summer days are spent at the Lavender fields: These summer days are for us to remember, forever:

Saturday was a perfect day. The kind you write home about... Or blog about. Saturday took us to Thai food en route to the famous Stanley Hotel, inspiration for the thriller "The Shining". It was time to finally try to figure out how to use the panoramic photo capacity for my iPhone- this is what I got: How apropos for such a haunted place. This is a less creepy photo: We carried on through the Rocky Mountain National Park. Pardon my language but Holy Shiite that drive was gorgeous. Or as us faux French say, tres gorgeaux.  Predictably, we wanted a photo by the rushing current.  One of us almost fell into the river, but I won't say who. Nothing completes a full day quite like coffee, and the drive-thru java hut on the side of a mountainous road did not disappoint. I opted for the "Campfire" concoction: We headed toward the Haines Cabin, a colleague's family cabin that had been built 90 years prior by h

Day 3 was bliss, relaxation and fun. Our highlight was lunch at Jerry D's, the local biker bar with actual bikers dining beside us. With our tans and fast chatter and snapping of photos it was evident we were annoying the biker chick at the table next to us.  I was tempted to ask her to take a photo with us, but the silver studs on her black leather jacket told me she wouldn't be amused.  Some photos from Jerry D's (including a snap with Jer himself)

I gotta' back it up.  Too many beautiful views, too much wading in the pools at Glenwood Springs and too much snacking on Wheat Thins and string cheese made it impossible to blog yesterday.  So here I am, fully awake at the start of Day 3, waking up in some man's king size bed. Granted, there's no man beside me, but Jessica is there, curled up under the covers. Yesterday we stopped at the Glenwood Hot Springs and soaked in the sun for several hours.  I listened to Amber and Jess talk about the special-Ed students in their classrooms and I felt relieved to be in the company of great, caring people.  Sun-kissed, we left Glenwood and headed through the Rocky Mountains, watching the Colorado River wind through the valleys.  At times, we would see river rafters and bikini-clad revelers lazily floating by.  The 75 MPH signs kept throwing me for a loop and I got passed by a big rig at least once.  Oops. Slowing

Through California, lunch in Vegas, a jaunt through Arizona and seeing what we dubbed "the birth canal" of Utah. 10:30 pm and we're still driving, determined to reach Colorado before getting a room for the night. Conversations: endless. To the point we realized we hadn't turned on the radio all day. Finally, to fight the fatigue, we found a Britney Spears mix cd in Lloyd's car (wtf?). Highlights include playing the "ungame", dangerous pulling over quickly on the freeway to capture photos like this: And seeing a tiger cross the highway:

Leaving for our Girl's Only Road Trip. No husbands, sanchos, boos, boyfriends or babies. And though we'll miss our little families for these 5 days ahead, we're looking forward to celebrating our years of friendship by hitting the open road, leaving behind the messes in our homes, the to-do lists, the work that has been piling up, the demands, obligations and stack of bills. Because within every mama, wife and girlfriend is a dame who likes to laugh so loud with her girlfriends, let her hair down, confide in another and to enjoy the presence of the relationships that have sustained her the longest.  We have no agenda except to get to Colorado and to this cabin: