Merlotmom Is Outta Here

I have a post up today entitled, What I Did This Summer, at LA Mom's Blog.
Please link over and read me there.

I'm leaving for Japan tomorrow but I have some amazing guest posters filling in for me while I sip sake and nibble naguro.

I'll be back after Labor Day with photos and stories to share.

Until then, enjoy my replacements. I always do.

Sayonara.

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

Traveling has been a dream of mine since I went to Europe after graduating college. At that point, I hoped one day I could offer my kids an education beyond their classrooms, an opportunity to open their eyes earlier than I did. (Hey, it was 1984 - even Al Gore didn't know the internet was coming.)

Our travels began last summer with a trip to NY, London, and Paris. Despite my kids being awake when they should have been asleep and asleep when they should have been awake, and in spite of their constant whining and complaining, they came back changed, their purview of the world a little broader. For the few months that followed, instead of illustrating footballs, soccer balls, and dogs on his school projects, my son drew pictures of the London Bridge, the Empire State Building, and wrote stories about a really, bad man he learned about in a Paris museum named Hitler.

So, now that I'm past the procrastination and the palpitations of last week (sorry if I left a few of you short of breath), it's time for Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday. Here's what this bitch is showing gratitude for this week...

1. I am grateful that we are embarking on an amazing, family adventure and hopeful we can hold our bladders long enough to skip those "traditional Japanese toilets". Ewwww.
2. I am grateful for (unfat) Deb who is a godsend sent from above Jenn@Juggling life. TY.
3. I am grateful that JCK walked away from a frightening, multiple car collision on Saturday night (and hope that she's still feeling okay).
4. I am grateful that my kids are no longer in camp and we can all sleep in this week.
5. I am grateful for professional carpet cleaners (yes, again).

What are you grateful for? Please tell me in your comments...
(I love that you comment people but this gratitude thing is supposed to benefit everyone . So tell me what your grateful for and we can all be the better for it. Dammit!)

*photo courtesy of pc.org