Our House Is A Very Very Very Fine House

Good Morning to all my blogger buddies. I've been out of commission for a few days. Our internet connection depends upon how many ducks are swimming in the lake in front of our house. At the moment the lake is full, but forgive me if this is short, they like to fly away from time to time.

We are in our new home now. I pinch myself often to be sure it's me. I will say this, if you decide to leave your creature comforts at home, you will find others to replace them. This place feels like paradise.

I awoke at 5:30 A.M. just to see the sunrise. When did I ever do THAT in LA? This picture was taken at about 6 A.M. after I figured out how to open the sliding glass door without breaking a nail.

Truthfully, I rarely think about my nails here. My hair is flat and lifeless cuz it's so gosh darn hot. But, I can go out at night in a sundress and not be cold. Gotta love that!

Yesterday our good friends Rhoda and Peter Samuels came over. They were wowed by the place. We ate peanut brittle from Hadleys.

Peter told us a funny story about the Dalai Lama coming into his office with seven of his Monk buddies to buy some Rolex watches and rare coins. It happened about thirty years ago, but the funny thing was he rode up the elevator with the monks, and, he said, it was a very quiet ride up. Bless them. Not even a cell phone. After ordering about $150,000 worth of Rolex's and an equivalent amount of coins, the monks opted not to pick them up at a secretly arranged pick up spot. It appeared they were more interested in some gorgeous women that they met on the subway and they just forgot. 

Rhoda was kvelling over her Rosh Hashana services in Temecula where her son Josh was the sitting Rabbi. We saw pictures of a man who really hit his stride.

Congratulations Josh. You look wonderful in that tallis. You brought happy tears to mom and dad. Happy New Year To You and Nikki. I hope to be in your congregation someday. By the way, the Samuels are grandparents to Abby. Dear Abby has the face of an angel. Good work Rachel & Jason.

OK..so we're unpacked now. Luggage is stuffed into the closets, boxes are stored in the garage and our clothes are neatly put away. So what do we do next? Figure out how the f*cking AC works. It's a nightmare. I'm either frozen or on bake. How in God's name do they rig these things? Are they trying to make it impossible to figure out, or what?

I woke up this morning with a dry mouth. Jim said he'll fix it. He's my savior. The next task is the cable. When the ducks are all lined up in a row, it works. But, this house has outdated ducks, so they are sluggish. We need them to glide so, the cable guy said he'll fix it. He's my duck hunter! Pray for him, please.

Honeymoon update! After the Thai Coup in Bangkok, Dana and Adam left and flew to Singapore. Then they flew to Koala Lumpur, then to Tokyo and on to Hawaii. But, it was kind of noisy and crowded with children around there. So, they left Hawaii. Now, they're in Cabo. 

Let's hope Cabo works out. Maybe a stop in Catalina on the way home would be nice. A real island hopping honeymoon.

ER Break. Without going into details, we spent this morning at the Eisenhower ER. All is well, but Barbara needed a little extra medical help this morning. She's fine. God Bless Her.

We were all thankful by the end of the day. 

Kathy and I had a mani/pedi then did some wine tasting at Tulip. Cocktails and appetizers outside, and a wonderful BBQ tri-tip dinner at our dining room table. 

Time to go now. I'm shriveling up.

Women Rule

"I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore"
Yesterday, along with 13,000 of my closest women friends, I attended the California Governor & First Lady's Conference on Women at the Long Beach Convention Center. We partied all day and night.

The governor and Maria (my only politician friends); Fergie (my only blueblood friend);Martha Stewart (my only jailbird friend); Elle Macpherson (my model friend); Sally Ride (my astronaut friend); Tyra Banks (my top model friend) and two dudes, Tim Russert (my brainiac interviewer friend) and the Dalai Lama ( my favorite Buddhist Monk friend)were all there to celebrate women as architects of change.

I can't tell you how much I have changed. First of all, the aforementioned are not my friends anymore. It turns out they were only using me to get into my party. I feel betrayed, but I'll get over it.

My sister Kathy, who provided me this opportunity is a tried and true sister all the way. She'll always be my friend. Thank you, Kathy.

Besides being host to Dr. Ro, and Dr. Murray...my new best friends, I was VIP'ing all over the place. You see...I had a green dot on my pass card. If you are anybody...you have a green dot. I guess I'm somebody because I had one. Rock-On

I'll tell you what I learned. I learned that lean or fat-free muscle tissue is about 22% denser than fat tissue, so you should use free weights, a lot.

And, if you don't know how to manage your money, hire someone who does.

And, if you want self-esteem...don't hang around Elle and Tyra.

And, if you fight with your brother or sister and scratch their face, makeup with them after.

And, if you want to be a royal, marry one.

And, forget about being an astronaut, you get WAY too HIGH.

Those are some pretty good lessons, wouldn't you say?

This party was a success.

Hope you all can join me for the next one.

From Russia With Presents

Welcome Back, Barbara. Your trip was a success. And now we have presents. Noise Makers. Masks. Chinchilla Wrap. Mink Scrunchies. Pendants and Amber Jewels. All very Russian. You even brought back a cold. Sorry, Grammy.

Last night we dined at the home of the temple president. She had a lovely traditional meal. The evening was a success. 

Happy New Year Everyone.

Honeymooners, Dana & Adam

After an apparent Thai Coup, Dana, and Adam made it safely to Bangkok and Singapore where they are livin' it up. 

Today, Barbara returns from Russia. I can only imagine what stories she'll have to tell. I'll let you know.

Wonderful Wedding Weekend

Congratulations to the newlyweds, Dana & Adam Wilkins.

A big thank you to all of our friends at Westmac for throwing a lovely cocktail party in Jims' honor.

Also, cheers to our LA friends. You all look fantastic and we had a great time seeing you and sharing stories.

Gone But Not Forgotten...Our Nomadic Adventure

Sept. 13, 2006

Jim and I are packing for our whirlwind wedding weekend in Los Angeles. We have been in Rancho Mirage for a little more than 2 weeks and it has been wonderful.

For those of you who don't already know...Jim and I are on our one-year Nomadic Adventure and we've settled into Rancho Mirage. We are at Barbara's house now while she is in Russia. It is wonderful here. No traffic (yet) no parking meters, graffiti, pot-holes, bad air, etc. We play golf at twilight, swim at night and just enjoy the views.

We rented a home at Mission Hills CC on the 18th fairway of the tournament course with lake and clubhouse views. It is beautiful. We also joined the Mission Hills Country Club on a one-year trial membership so we have golf, tennis, fitness (it's brand new), and food.

We move into our new home on Sept, 28th, and will remain there through March. Then on to Healdsburg, a very quaint wine country retreat where I have located two possible houses for rent. We are planning a trip to view the houses in October, for an April - June stay. Then, I found us a vacation rental in Beaver Creek, Colorado, twelve miles from Vail, on the 12th fairway of a course called Eagle Creek. We will visit that area at the end of October. So, once we solidify those homes, we will not have to worry about our living arrangements for the rest of the year. I've worked hard on that and it has paid off. That finishes off the year and we move back to LA the end of August 2007.

The girls are settled in at UW, Madison. Amy is elated to live in an apartment with her own washer-dryer. We sent a gift package we saw online filled with filets, chicken, fish, potatoes and chocolate cake. Their freezer was empty. It was a home-run moment for the girls. They'll have food for a few weeks. She has 3 roommates.

Stephanie is in the Chi-O Sorority house in a very small room with Melissa from Santa Monica, but she loves it there. We talk often and she is busier than ever. The weather has been lousy. They were in the biggest thunderstorm about a week after they arrived. Welcome to the Midwest girls.

On Thursday night, Jim's office is throwing him a goodbye party.  It's so nice of them to honor him this way.

On Friday, the girls and I are doing a day of beauty. Waxing, hair, mani/pedi, eyebrows. The works. We'll try to find time for lunch.

Friday night is the rehearsal dinner at Spago, in Beverly Hills. Ninety people from all over New York and various other places will be there. Adam's parents are hosting it.

Saturday is hair day, then the wedding at the Four Seasons. Cheers to Dana & Adam.

Sunday, after we send the girls on their flight, we are having brunch with friends and then back to the desert to unwind.

The Governors Conference is coming up in Long Beach and I will be to host a speaker. I hosted Dr. Laura last year. It was such a fabulous event. This year The Dalai Lama is speaking. I feel blessed.