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So we decided to drive to the premium outlets and have ourselves a shopping spree. And just for us, the insane 100+ degrees dipped to 82 for us yesterday. Thank you, Mr Sun! See, not a cloud in the sky!

Forget the term life insurance for now! Here we are at the landmark of happy shopping. A clock tower, a reminder to waste no time in whipping out the cash!!

Steev and I dashed around like a couple of crazed kids at a candy store. We only stopped for a half hour lunch at Togo’s. A 6 inch sub, chips and soda for only $5! We had to go cheap so we’d have more money to shop !

After lunch, we quickly got back to “work” and this, I’m happy to report, is our haul from 4 hours of shopping. They’re most clothes and bags for my 2 princesses…

… but I couldn’t resist grabbing this Nine West shopping tote for myself. Pretty neat, huh! And I got it for a steal too !

You know what? I thought I would have lots more photos to share but I’ve been mostly car-less and housebound, hence not many photo opportunities. Anyhow, here are a few. Hope you enjoy them and have a great weekend!

Flowers growing near Whole Foods where we had a simple healthy lunch. Amazing how these flowers remain so pretty and fresh in this scorching weather. I’m all wilted and dried up the minute I step out into the sun!

We spent half a morning wandering among the giant shelves of Costco wondering, if I buy this 96-pack of granola bars or 20 lbs of coffee, will we be able to finish eating everything by the turn of the century ??!!

Seriously, you would need a document management system to track everything you see in a store this size! And after checking the giant bags of gummy bears and M and M’s my daughters wanted me to bring home, we were starved and stopped for this.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being here though it might take me a while to get the hang of the peace and quiet of being home alone. Anyhow it’ll only be for a few weeks.

What’s exciting is Steev coming home with stories about college. I can’t believe we’re still charting those ‘firsts’ even now that he’s in college! He’s grown up so much since we got here a week ago. Things like doing a budget, writing checks, worrying about me when I take the bus alone. I’m watching these transformation happening right before my eyes.

And my girls, I miss them. I’m talking to them back home every single day, eager not to miss a beat. Looks like they’ve got things pretty much under control especially in the cooking department. Yup, my girls have taken over my kitchen and are cooking up a storm, wow! Who knows, I may have to retire as family chef sooner than I thought and  thumb through healthcare job listings to find a new “job” .

So here I sit, Steev’s gone to class and the thing that strikes me is this certain what do you call it… quiet. A quiet that I’m so unaccustomed to.

On any regular day back home, I’d be dashing in and out the door every other hour, picking up one teen, dropping off the other, and my car would be so full of tales from school and college and plans for the weekend that I can’t even hear myself think!

So let’s face it, there aren’t many any days like this when I’d be home with no alarms going off relentlessly on my cell phone and computer (sometimes on both at the same time), no place to go, nothing to do except sip my tea and watch the minutes tick by till Steev walks in the door.

Yeah, so this feels weird, you know. Usually I’d be cooking up a storm, a huge pot of something or other! But here, who am I going to cook for here?!! Hmm, so I end up munching on the simplest meals you can imagine and I have all day to get through my lunch.

Guess what? Forget the mommy time sans kids. I’ll have the noisy banter, kitchen clanking, loud music and traffic madness any time. That is so much more fun. This quiet is a little too much for me!

Okay so I’m finally a little more settled and finding the time to sit down and blog. So far, everywhere we go, it’s bursting with fresh fruit and veggie galore. There’s just so much variety this time of year in Sunny Cal that we’d be crazy not to go on a binge. And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing.

Here’s my snack (me? snack? nah!) of yogurt with fresh blueberries. Sometimes I add blackberries, grapes, banana or nectarine slices. Heaven!

We visited the Farmer’s Market last weekend and it was like strolling through nature’s very own garden in full bloom.

Beautiful locally grown fresh farm produce in every color imaginable! Amazing! I’m planning to go again this weekend !

I’m back with the photos and updates as promised. The thing about little aircrafts is that they kinda dip from side to side and make your tummy churn. Interesting how the noise of that engine makes everyone shut up immediately . I did a brave thing and took a picture just above San Francisco before my knuckles turned blue from my deadly grip on my seat!

This was my first meal after we landed. Tacos! Haven’t had them in ages so you can imagine how they made my tastebuds dance! So incredibly delicious.

And this here is my dream car monster truck! Now close your eyes and imagine Hip to be Mom sitting way up there and tearing down the highway in one of these! Cool, huh!

Just a few of the things that got me real excited .

Anyhow I spent the past couple of days running around with Steev on various errands. It’s scorching weather, and me and my umbrella, well, we’re are BFFs now. Wish Mary Poppins could see me now !!

Well, the good news is they found my bags. Finally!! After a spectacular 26-hour wild goose chase. I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice to say you can count on the airline hearing from me loud and clear soon. Very soon !

On a happier note, I rented a car this morning and felt an instant sense of freedom. I used to live here in Sleepy Town, California which is not as sleepy now as it used to be. There’s a lot more cars on the road but still far, far fewer than what we have back home. No traffic jams. Sometimes not even one car on the road. Oh joy!

It’s almost suicidal to step out in the 100+ degree heat. I can feel my skin sizzle each time the sun touches me. But since I still have a half day left from my car rental, I might as well make the most of my money’s worth . Now I’m paying for it with a sunburn. Not yet a lobster but I’m a couple of shades darker fo’sure!

Confession, I wore a long-sleeved shirt over my tank top to prevent my arms from turning into crisps and I carried an umbrella . In the old days, if I carried an umbrella on a summer’s day, I’d look like I just landed from Planet Pluto. But in these days of sun damage, I’m not the only alien out there with an umbrella.

I haven’t had time to upload and play with my photos yet, sorry. But I’ll be doing it soon so stick around, okay?

So  here’s the thing, I’m a mom who’s really big on rules. From the time the kids were little, I had lots of house rules which I drummed into their poor li’l heads.

My rules started when they were 1 or 2, yeah, old enough to understand simple logic if I explain it slowly to them. Rules like no sticking your finger in there (pointing at the wall plug sockets), no playing with knives and matches, always hold mommy’s hand when we’re out and stay where I can see you.

When they were older, we had the one about remembering to greet and say ‘hello’ people to friends and family we meet. Then the one about respecting other people’s property like not touching or using their things without permission. If it’s one thing that really irritates me, it’s when kids start running all over people’s homes, upstairs and downstairs, and playing with their things.

These days, the rules (I think we should be somewhere around #302 by now ) are more like advice and reminders. The biggie is Facebook, not something I necessarily approve of. To me, nothing on the internet is ever private no matter what they tell ya. And never mind what settings the radio deejay tells you to click to make things private. ’nuff said!

But I have to be realistic here and expect that, well, peer pressure may occasionally triumph over Mom’s warnings. So House Rule #302 says they’re not to post their real names, pictures or private stuff about themselves. Now let me see, what’s House Rule #303?