Just Another Day

No, sorry to disappoint, this is not a show with hot questions and even hotter wings. Although we do adore watching it, and our favorite guest by far was Conan O'Brien. If you haven't seen the show, it's possible that Conan's episode may not be where you want to start. The sheer unhinged insanity of it might spoil every other episode thereafter. Or, possibly it will make you hate the show altogether. It could go either way, really. But, if you do enjoy celebrity interviews with actually thoughtful questions, you should seek Hot Ones out.  No, this post is about my hot takes about things. Many things. Unrelated things. ALL THE THINGS! HOT TAKE #1 Zipper merging is great, fantastic, wonderful. Except 9 out of 10 people, at least in Southern California, can't, or refuse, to do it correctly. When traffic is moving slowly, 20 cars piling up to merge all the way at the very end of the merge lane is definitely not the way it was designed to be used. This also leads me to w...

I have been forced to conclude that I am by far the weakest link in the group when it comes to Escape Rooms. It's taken about 5 or 6 times, but finally I am here to acknowledge publicly that I don't have what it takes to complete these things.  My daughter and husband? On it. They stride about the room, proclaiming insightful observations about the various objects in the room and how they might be interconnected. They often have flashes of brilliance that lead to exciting breakthroughs and the next clue.  Me? I am definitely TRYING to be insightful, but I tend to just sort of point out 1 or 2 slightly useful things, and that's about it. I think my biggest accomplishment on the last room was discovering that a picture frame could be opened up. Invaluable contribution, I'm sure.  Sigh... Not to mention I am absolutely terrible at combination locks. I have no idea why, but if my life depended on my skills to accurately and quickly line up 5+ lines of a combination lock, I ...

 Well, the Celebration of Life went off with nary a hitch. My sister pushed back on the flowers, so I figured if she was that invested in not doing formal arrangements, so be it. I wasn't thrilled with how the flowers looked, but overall they were fine. My standards are probably too high for my own good. I was super lucky in choosing a really great caterer, and they did a beautiful set up, as well as the food being pretty delicious! My mother loved a high tea, so we went with a lot of things from a high tea menu, along with some of her favorite desserts. More than one person told me that the menu reminded them of times they spent with my mother and that was really very meaningful to me.  It is exactly why I went in that direction and I think it really paid off.  Also, I know that the event really provided a sense of closure for my Dad.  I think this type of tribute to my Mom was something he had been wanting to do, and I am glad we were able to finally execute it....