[sharonpdx]

{latte on board}

Sweet!  The TSA has lifted it's ban on some liquids brought on board US flights - making this frequent flyer a very, very happy girl. 

Liquids purchased in the gate area can now be brought on board.  Viva la water bottle!  This is good news.  And, once again, I can purchase a venti iced latte and actually bring it on board the flight (instead of purchasing a tall and downing it as they begin the boarding process).  This makes me insanely happy.  It's the little things, I tell you...

Travelers can also bring personal care items like toothpaste, shampoo, lotions, etc. on board again - with some restrictions, including that the items are limited to 3 oz.  each and must all fit inside a single, one-quart sized clear Ziploc baggie.  This may not seem like much, but for someone tired of checking a bag for a simple overnight stay, it's huge. 

For more, try TSA.gov - and thank you for choosing {we are beginning our descent} for all your travel information.  We know you have a choice in blogs and we're glad you chose us.  Have a pleasant stay here in San Diego, or wherever your travel plans may take you.

{a very special day}

Today is my Mom's birthday!

   

On Sept 19th, 19xx {yeah right like she'd speak to me if I typed in those last two digits}, June  and Carroll Eriksen welcomed their first child into the world... they called her Claire, only daughter, first-born child - but only I (ok, and Erica, too) get to call her mother, hero, inspiration and - best of all - friend.  She's my biggest fan and I'm so damn lucky to have her.

Today my mom awoke to a progressive birthday present.  Sitting on the table at breakfast was her first gift, with a note telling her that her second gift was in her briefcase.  Attached to that gift was a caution that the second gift could not be opened until after 12:00 noon today.  Later tonight, her third gift awaits her when we celebrate as a family at home.  My mom really didn't want to celebrate her birthday, you see... so it was my goal to give her something to look forward to all day. 

Whether I did or not: Happy Birthday, Mom.  I love you. 

and I'm spent.

{title should be said aloud in your best Austin Powers voice}

Back in San Diego tonight... doing a little laundry, checking email and watching my parents play their new game with Rusty which I call "torture the dog with the laser pointer." {seriously, the dog seems to love it - and I find it hysterical!}  Exhausted after a week crammed with 7 trainings, 6 different beds and as many visits with friends as I could cram in... so I'm signing off with a promise to post photos before I head out to Seattle on Wednesday.

In completely unrelated news: I rec'd an email today with a link to this website - check it out.  { http://freederekwebb.com }

{this time, just visiting}

Am caught up this evening in a flurry of laundry & packing.  And, oddly, in an inordinate amount of time spent messing around with my myspace page {which I don't use and don't broadcast because I only set it up in the first place so I could read my sister's blog} while on the phone with Suzanne.  Who, by the way, wrote a super sweet post about yours truly on her myspace blog tonight. 

The time spent on myspace may be inexplicable, but the laundry & packing is not - tomorrow evening at five o'clock, a Frontier flight {yes, my beloved Frontier, your prodigal daughter returns!} will depart San Diego heading for Denver, and I will be on it.

Spent the last 10 years of my life in Colorado, and frankly, I'm wondering if I'll find it hard to reconcile the fact that, now {like that corner of the Monopoly board}, I'm just visiting. 

Ostensibly a business trip - I'll be training my way up Interstate 25 as I facilitate sessions in Colorado Springs, Castle Rock, Denver and Fort Collins - the trip is also a mini-vacation, as I'll be crashing at Jessica's both this weekend and next.  On the agenda for when I'm not training: spending quality time with Jess and Erin, hitting my favorite stores at the Castle Rock Outlets, meeting up with Adele for dinner, visiting my dear friend and esthetician Kristin for a brow wax and some lunch, having dinner with Jerod, seeing my kitty, dropping in on my former neighbors to meet their new baby girl, Ava, and even fitting in a trip to Estes Park.  How is it possible that I lived there for 10 years and never went to Estes Park? 

Oh, and of course, also on the agenda: Super Target.  I may hit more than one.  I've a friend who thinks that this is a sign of deeper psychological issues.  Well, Chief... if a yearning for flourescent-lit aisles of hair clips, office supplies and iPod accessories is wrong, then, as the saying goes, I don't want to be right.

only 115 shopping days left...

...until Christmas.

Which, in light of this news story, is important information.  Especially if you were thinking about buying a gift for me.

{In news that will send Peach Pit-obsessed Gen-Xers racing to Amazon.com, the powers-that-be at Paramount have announced that Beverly Hills, 90210 and its spinoff, Melrose Place, are finally headed to DVD.   Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD will release Beverly Hills, 90210: The Complete First Season and Melrose Place: The Complete First Season to stores on Nov. 7.}

At least a year ago, I did a search on Amazon to find these, the favorite shows of my high school and college life, on DVD.  I learned that they weren't available - but did I want to sign a petition begging their DVD debut?  Why yes, thank you.   

{The two series will also be packaged in a combo set, The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful.}  Hey mom, are you writing this down? 

I think this must be what Margaret Mead meant when she said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens could change the world.  Indeed, it's the only thing that has."
{wink, wink}