It's beginning to look a lot like...

NBC called yesterday to tape a Christmas in July piece. The last several times they've called, I've run over and taped and the piece has never run. Apparently, it was a slow enough news day that the light-hearted news made it in. Go figure.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Numbers game

On the way to the gym this morning, Chad was bemoaning the fact that he couldn't remember the combination of his new padlock.

(Side note: We left our old gym for a brand-spanking new one that's both amazing and about 40% cheaper...it was a no-brainer, even though I miss the guy who reminds me of Grandpa Howard.)

At any rate, this new gym has lockers and you need to bring your own lock to store your stuff. We bought a pack of two padlocks a few weeks ago, both with the same combination (super-smart if you ask me, as long as you're not trying to keep something from your husband or your kids). But for the life of him, Chad can't remember the combination.

"It's really easy to remember," I told him. "It's the age you look, the age you act, and the age you are."

The combination? 27-12-32.

I'll bet he doesn't forget again!

Weekend Update

So you don't have to endure another one of Chad's Cubs videos (though I wouldn't blame him for posting a clip of last night's game-winning Grand Slam...even I thought that was impressive), I wanted to send off a quick update of what we've been up to.

Over the weekend, we hosted our annual summer party, called Hootiepalooza (the name is random and I'll tell the story another time). The party always has a theme and this year we all went redneck to make up for last year's "preppy" party. People from West Virginia, Missouri, Florida and Georgia traveled to DC for Hootiepalooza, which started at 4 and ended around 1 a.m. Since 2004, when this party began, our group has expanded...sometimes literally: This year's party included four pregnant women and five kids (one of our friends at the party had her baby two days later!).

I'm still thinking about which pictures I should share with the world and which ones should stay protected by the 50 or so people who witnessed the hilarity.

So for now, I'll post three photos: our two men who took home award for the "best guy" ensemble (who both cut long hair just for this party -- and promptly shaved it on Sunday) and our "best couple": a photo of my good friend April and her husband Tom. She really is pregnant and they really don't normally look like this...

Bonus round

One of our most vibrant members passed away over the weekend at the way-too-young age of 41. I met him once or twice, but wish I would have known him better: from everything I've read, he seems like an incredible guy. My colleague, Larry, wrote an incredibly poignant blog post about this well-respected man, who seemed to have a refreshing viewpoint on life.

My favorite part of his blog post was about the eulogy his wife gave during yesterday's funeral. She said, basically, that her husband always had a lot of ideas, one of which was this concept of a "bonus day." In this concept, you take a routine, "normal" day and make something special out of it that can live in your memory.

As my friend Larry said, "Whether Alan was scrapping dinner plans to make something adventurous in the kitchen, taking his kids sledding when they should be sleeping, or some other zany activity — Alan’s life was filled with bonus days. If you take nothing else from his life, we should all try to create as many bonus days in our own life as possible." Man, isn't that the truth?!?

So I've been thinking about the idea of a "bonus day" ever since I read Larry's post. I have a slightly different take on it, in that I decided a "bonus day" means to me that every day I get is a day that I am 1) not owed and 2) can't "do over."

To be honest, I've lived 30 wonderful, healthy, fun, successful years (and I hope to live, hmmm...60 more!). But I realize that a zillion different things could have hypothetically happened to me that would have cut my life short, and everything I get on top of what I have should be considered a bonus. Let me tell you: that shift in perspective really makes a difference to me.

With this buried in the back of my mind, I went to girls' night after work with four great friends. We talked about everything: babies, weddings, showers, Europe, the Harvard professor, health care reform...you name it. As I was walking back to my car after we dispersed into five different directions, I realized this was my "bonus" for today: an evening surrounded by good friends, way too much laughter, and a dinner bill that didn't even come close to the value that can be put on memories like this.

Vacation? Oui!

Chad and I were planning to go on vacation at the end of August. We had it narrowed down to Barbados and Aruba. I was ready to sit at the pool and read books. Maybe snorkel.

Then Rachel randomly brought up that a hotel they stayed at in Hawaii was discounted at the end of August. We did some research, put together a budget, and planned our trip. I was ready to go check out the volcanoes and hike through the mountains and see Pearl Harbor.

After mom sent an email with some deals for Europe, we got on the Italy bandwagon. Rome...Tuscany...Venice...Sorrento...oh, so many options it was almost overwhelming. But, the wine! The pasta! The music! I was ready to do it all.

And that brings me back to our final decision, as today we booked tickets to France. (How did that happen, again?) We'll spend four or five days in Paris followed by four or five days in Nice. The way I see it, this vacation has it all: the history, the food, the art, the beach...I even know a little bit of the language. I'm ready for a lot of things about this trip but, most of all, I'm ready to go!

I told you so

Well, I said that the holiday season would be here before you know it. I didn't really mean literally...

And yes, I know, it was apparently a bad hair day today. Better luck next time.

My new love

Nine times out of ten, when I get a recommendation from someone (a new product, a magazine, an article, a website), I'll check it out. When I get that same, completely unsolicited recommendation from someone else, I can't move fast enough.

And that's how I met the Pioneer Woman. "Met" is a loose term, I suppose. After all, I just know her from her website. Thanks to my friend Megan and someone-completely-different-than-Megan-though-for-the-life-of-me-I-can't-remember-who-exactly, who mentioned to me weeks ago that I should check out this site, I have become obsessed. In a good way. I think.

Long story short: This woman left a high-powered, big-city lifestyle in her mid-20's after accidentally meeting the man of her dreams, who just happens to be a cowboy, in a local bar near her hometown in Oklahoma. After falling in love, she abandoned her thoughts of going to law school in Chicago and now lives on a ranch in Oklahoma (though she's hardly "roughing" it -- I've seen pictures of her house). She home-schools her four kids, helps her husband on the farm, and documents their life on her blog. She also takes amazing photos, regularly updates a section about cooking, and gives things away. And she never takes herself too seriously. I appreciate a little dollop of humor to go along with everyday life.

Oh, and in all of her spare time, she just finished writing an online book about how she met and fell in love with her husband, whom she calls Marlboro Man. (It's kind of sick how much someone can accomplish a 24-hour period, isn't it? It's all I can do to go to the gym and go to work and walk the dog and keep my house clean.) Check her out for yourself, but don't get mad at me when you look up and three hours have passed.

So anyway, I love her. It's not that I love her like I want to marry her. It's that I love her like I want to be her. After spending the last week soaking in everything I can on her blog, and I'm nowhere close to finished, I feel like I've known her forever. For some reason, how she writes and what she accomplishes makes me feel so incredibly inspired. More than Oprah does, and that's saying something.

I want to take more pictures. I want to write. I want to move to the country, which I've said before). My three biggest challenges: I don't know anybody who wants to give me any land, I'm not sure what I'd really do there, unless the Pioneer Woman is looking for an understudy, and I don't think Chad wants to be a cowboy. (That said, I may have talked him into letting me spend a lot of money on a new camera and taking a few classes, which is something. All I had to promise is that I wouldn't make him carry it around.)

So, in lieu of cashing it all in and moving to the country, for now, I will live vicariously through the Pioneer Woman and soak in all the inspiration she gives me.