A few good farmers

I read an article yesterday about a new matchmaking site for farmers. So now I'm trying to find a farmer that I can register. I really want to get in and dig around to see what types of people have been posting but I can't do it myself. Because, well, I'm married and I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea if I'm the one with a profile.

Does anybody know a single farmer who might want me to do a bit of marketing for them?

I told Chad it was a good thing I didn't find out about this site before we got together or I may have found another husband.

He told me I wouldn't last one week as a farmer's wife. He's probably right.

Rhubarb recipes

Why on earth is rhubarb an ingredient in anything? It tastes terrible and makes most things worse, not better. I am trying to make a dessert for this weekend and everything fruity has rhubarb in it. I have never known a person who truly liked this nasty plant.

I'm convinced it is just added filler. Kind of like bread crumbs in meatloaf.

Congrats to Saunish!

I don't brag much about my family, but wanted to pass along some great news. Janice has just accepted an amazing job as a White House appointee to the Secretary of Agriculture. She's going to be working in the communications office of the USDA. There might even be some travel involved to handle all of the advanced work that goes along with the Secretary's excursions. Though ag issues don't get everybody in the world excited, we've been following the Board of Trade and weather reports since we could walk. We're really lucky she passed the background check--it was touch-and-go there for awhile...

If you want to congratulate her, send her an email. We all know that Janice can be a little testy sometimes, though, so don't get on her bad side. She's becoming important enough that she might need to start hiring people.

Media madness

It's been a crazy--but great--last few days. Other than having to spend the majority of time inside when the weather has been perfect, I have no complaints. We have had such a great time at dinner each night and the restaurants have been very fun. Last night a group of eight of us went out and I think it was the most random, fun group I've ever eaten with. If I've got to go somewhere three times in one summer, San Diego is a pretty good choice.

We had a great article on the front page of the San Diego Union-Tribune business section this morning. Also some good TV and national media coverage. So this show is over and we're heading back to the other coast in a few hours.

Travel karma

Well, here I am in San Diego. Poor Scott had quite a day. Long story short but United changed our seats from a window and an aisle to a window and a middle seat (who on a five hour flight would choose a middle seat?) and the flight was too full to change it back so Scott sat in the middle the whole way to San Diego. The woman he sat next to had a horrible--absolutely horrible--container of cheese and radishes. This is at 8:00 in the morning! It was awful.

Then once we got to San Diego, it took Scott five hours for him to get his room. I think he was ready to call it quits. But we made up for it at dinner tonight--we went for sushi and it was really good!

Our hotel is nice, though. Right on the bay with a view overlooking both the water and the city. Here are a few pictures--enjoy!

It's actually quite cool here. A low of mid-60s and a high of only high 60s. Chad has mentioned several times that he could live in San Diego and I can certainly see why...this city is amazing.

We're connected (for now)

So we decided to invest in high-speed internet access at home. It will come in handy for a variety of things, not least of which is working from home, which is often high on my priority list. To make a very long story short, sometimes it's been working and sometimes it hasn't. I was on the phone last night for 90 minutes with an absolute IDIOT from Verizon DSL who had no idea what he was doing. He kept pleading with me to give him ten more minutes...until finally I told him that I was done with this whole process and wanted to cancel my service. And then Chad called this morning and got it to work. At any rate, as of right now we're connected. Who knows how long this will last...

We decided not to get a dog. Or should I say, someone else decided we shouldn't get a dog. The one we applied for from the shelter went to another family but it was probably for the best. It would have been great sometimes and a complete pain other times. And I wasn't thrilled with the idea of having a dog in my house. I have to clean up after Chad enough as it is.

Happy second anniversary to us...we decided in lieu of dinner or a trip we were going to get new furniture for our basement. This turned into more of a project than either of us were anticipating because our entryway down to the basement is only 29 inches. We ended up finding a sectional that fits really well, plus a chair that we like. And Chad was pretty convinced that he needed a game table to round it all out, so we found one on Craig's List for a pretty decent deal. He's trying to get some guys over for poker tonight to test it all out. We're giving away our old furniture to Habitat for Humanity, which is coming to pick it up on Monday sometime. Meanwhile, it's hanging out in our living room. I'm looking forward to getting it out of here!

And in other news...Chad picked a hotel for us in Napa. I'm so excited about it. It's the Napa River Inn and looks really awesome. I booked the rental car and he's looking for wineries. I'm also in charge of the spa so it's been fun to research which ones look the best! Perhaps I'll bring my computer and blog from vacation--or not. We'll see.

I'm home for another week then head out to San Diego next Sunday. I'll be in San Diego three times in the next three months--you think we could have done a better job planning these meetings?