After finally adjusting to the sweltering temperatures, be began our vacay in earnest. Nothing like staying up until 3am only to have your child wake up at 4:30. Through some amazing planetary alignment, she actually went back to sleep until 8:30!! I – with all true and sincere honesty – can say that I don’t remember her EVER sleeping past 7am. EVER. I will be sure to send her a nice fruit basket for this amazingly generous gesture.

I managed to find her some super groovin jammies that are silky and wonderful and, well, pink cammo. Sweeeeet. I also was able to take advantage of the retail mecca that is Walnut Creek and find us the new towels we so desparately needed. Shopping is good. Very good. Must control self.

We also got the very pleasing news that the appraisal came back on our house at a lovely $274K. The Goldilocks factor is in full effect. Too low: can’t shake that stupid PMI, Too high: property taxes would take us to the cleaners, Just right: $274K.

Gaining $100k in equity over a 2 1/2 year period: Priceless.

Tomorrow we leave for cabin-land. That place without high speed connections and shopping at fancy retail establishments. Instead we will be gorging on massive quantities of food and traversing the lake on speedy watercraft. Gee, I hope we can make the transition.

Well, it is now 10:40 and Stella is still awake and happy as a clam. I guess napping from 5-7pm isn’t probably the smartest idea if you are trying to stick to any kind of normal sleep schedule. But then again staying up until 3:00 am, thereby necessitating said nap, is probably not the smartest idea either.

Family therapists should probably start submitting resumes now.