I learned something through online shopping today...see? Even shopping can be educational.

Apparently it is illegal to import python into the state of California....along with some of their other furry and scaly friends:

"alligator, crocodile, polar bear, leopard, ocelot, tiger, cheetah,jaguar, sable antelope, wolf ( Canis lupus), zebra, whale, cobra,python, sea turtle, colobus monkey, kangaroo, vicuna, sea otter,free-roaming feral horse, dolphin or porpoise (Delphinidae), Spanishlynx, or elephant"

Californian residents who are interested in the Fall Coach line will just have to settle with "plain old" snake skin trimmed items. I guess the other members of the snake kingdom need their skin less than the pythons do.

Nothing like an old fashioned brownout to make you realize that your condo building makes a perfect haunted hotel.

Half of my hallway was lit, the other wasn't. The half that was lit had no power in each unit. The half that wasn't lit had some power in each unit. Most noticeably, no power to my alarm clock, which is a crucial part of the "oh lawd, I gotta get up already" process every morning. I also need to go shopping for some essentials:

• a backup battery or alarm clock
• full sized candles so I don't have to burn my fingers and waste my time lighting teensy weensy tealights
• a flashlight
• a slightly less inky black cat so that I don't trip on him in the dark and cause bodily damage to the both of us

I took a walk outside today.

The sky was crystal clear blue with little wisps of clouds, the temperature just right with very low humidity. It reminded me of those days when you first start the school year with a backpack full of new binders and notebooks on your way off to class. You are looking forward to meeting new people and revisiting old stomping grounds. It's a wonderful day full of promise, happiness and the expectation of fall just around the corner, bringing with it college football.

You learn to savor small moments like this in your life. Sunshine, good food, good friends, good laughs. The ability to look back on old embarrassing moments and laugh at yourself. These are things that can't be purchased in any store.

Happy Monday to everyone!

My horoscope today as told to me by not one, but TWO Dove Promises: "Listen to your heartbeat and dance."

Thanks, I think I will!

I'M IN!!! I feel like Elle Woods when she finds out she made it into Harvard law.

Another girl's unfortunate last minute bout with food poisoning is my ticket into a yoga/bellydancing workshop with the prestigious Rachel Brice, the world's best tribal fusion bellydancer.

Don't believe me? Check this girl out.

New York truly is a city that never sleeps. After all, how can you, when the trashman is operating his machinery right below your window? Trash removal seems to be an all night operation in NYC.

It's an absolutely amazing city, and one whirl of a weekend does not do it near enough justice. It's just enough to whet your appetite. Photos, you ask? Well, of course I had to take a "few".

"....Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.... " --Baz Luhrmann Lyrics - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

This Saturday, we moved Casa Cate into her new one bedroom condo in Arlington. "We" being the misstatement of the year. The motley crew of "we" consisted of 6 females and 1 male, our lone male was hungover and already exhausted from lack of sleep as he and his band had played a gig the night before. The other male who had promised to help had managed to attend a birthday party the night before, grabbed 3 hours of sleep on the fly, woke up on time to make his golf lesson from 9-12, promptly zonked out afterwards and was therefore otherwise incapacitated. It was quite the comedy of mixed up priorities, or perhaps a tragedy?

Our little motley crew of 4 attacked our afternoon with no fear (yes, we're down to 4, a pregnant woman 7 months along and her 50+ year old mother really aren't prime candidates for a Red Ball hauling crew). Our first (of 2) moves started at 2pm. Move 1 was to move Mandy into her ne apt. move 2 was to move KT from Public Storage into her new condo. Three hours later, we had cheerfully emptied the contents of a 17 foot U-haul truck while repeatedly marching up and down a graduated hillside and a flight of very narrow apartment stairs. We had also managed to memorize fun trivia on the "Monster Tully" from Illinois that was emblazoned on the sides of the moving truck because it provided some much needed shade from the relentless sun and 80% humidity.

Move number 2 started with a pickup at Public Storage. Some heavenly Double Cheeseburgers provided much needed sustenance, I have never inhaled such a delicious piece of grey meat so quickly.

The rest of the evening went fairly smoothly as we piled Cate'belongings on top of her newly installed (and absolutely gorgeous) redwood floors. As we shoo'd the non English speaking flooring installers out of the way, her new fort of boxes continued to grow, the sawdust settled and the flooring glue degassed. Needless to say, she stayed at my place for the night, the chemical fumes could have killed a herd of elephants.

The next day we treated ourselves to a very well deserved brunch. All I needed was a manicure to go with my sweet potato fries.