ahh. back at the old abode. had to escape orange county before i lost my mind. sometimes i wonder how i lived there for so many years - and loved it. but the person i was when i lived down there WAS the type of person who would love the self-absorbed, materialistic world that exists behind the orange curtain. i am happy i have changed. well, at least i think i have change. i hope i have changed.

on saturday morning i went to vons pavilions (the double s's - maybe it's von's pavilions. whatever). a mind boggling-ly (nice invento-word, eh?) HUGE grocery store...complete with a chinese restaurant and a starbucks inside. picked up some juice (which was why i went there in the first place). walked up the aisles gaping at the sheer quantity of groceries. i shop at a small grocery store here, raley's. it's a 'supermarket', just not a very big one. to see that there are enough varieties of, oh, tortilla chips to fill about 20 feet worth of shelf space was a curious thing. they are TORTILLA chips. which is a deep fried flour and water concoction. how many kinds CAN you make? oh, but they did have red and green ones. yuck. where was i going with this?

oh, yeah. starbucks. after i bought my juice (also picked up dulce de leche m&m's. hadn't seen those before. pretty good), i went to the starbucks counter for some caffeine. spending lots of quality family time requires large amounts of caffeinated beverages. i'd look funny with a coffee IV, so i went for a venti coffee. the women in front of me in line were typical orange county yuppie moms, in their flare-leg strech pants, nikes and hooded jackets, highlighted hair pulled up in a ponytails. they ordered gingerbread lattes. nonfat. decaf. nonfat decaf? what's the point? anyway, they insisted on HALF a pump of gingerbread syrup. HALF. no more, no less. and watched the barista intently.

'no! that's too much!' one said. the guy making the latte looked up quizzically. 'it's just WAY too sweet with a WHOLE pump. can't have that much. could you pour it out?'

'the gingerbread syrup really isn't that sweet,' he said.

'oh, but we can't stand it too sweet. only half. the only way to get the perfect blend of sweet and spicy.' she proclaimed. and continued to critique his latte making skills...'that is nonfat, isn't it? are you sure? decaf, right?' i sighed. i remembered why i can only take orange county in small doses now.

i'll have a venti coffee, please. :P

first thanksgiving in my old house that wasn't my mom's thanksgiving, with mom's stuffing, good mashed potatoes...we had green - GREEN! - jello salad. and candles shaped like pilgrims on the tables. and those little turkeys that have the paper ruffle tail feathers that fan out...things that would've made mom gag...or laugh. it was just STRANGE. more on that later. the dogs need a walk.