ooh---chicago. it sucked all my time away with its' mighty mighty lungs and i didn't even get close to a computer the whole week long. so here i am, tucked in quietly in bucolic moorpark again. i must admit.....i don't miss the big city at all. i can go without hot garbage smell and dirty sidewalks and smoky air. but of course i will miss the people that populate the city----namely my friends. hello friends.
and hello family! i am pleased as punch that melissa and brady (!) and ryan and nana are all beginning to get into the blogosphere. hopefully sisters and parents are not far behind....(hint hint). chicago was an absolute whirlwind of activity and non-activity hopelessly jumbled and i feel as if i need a vacation after my vacation. sleeping on a very hard mat on the ground is not something i reccomend incidentally. my neck is so much happier in the softness of my bed. i was back at work this morning at 6:00 a.m. sharp, blearly-eyed and brain-addled. thanksgiving was gluttonous just as it should be and aunt melissa's stuffing was an absolute smash. i made a tart apple pie that looked cartoonish and there was cranberry sauce and turkey and salsa (?!) and bread pudding and loads of other goodies. the sideboard was definantly groaning under the weight of the victuals (how is that for some dicksonian language?). i am now offically moved out of chicago--all the books are on their journey here along with a heavy winter coat that will be completely useless and various other things that i found too important to give away but now can not even remember what they are. nick and i had beautiful dreams of going to the art institute and listening to some jazz and eating brunch at one of our favourite restaurants. somehow....none of those things happened. but i did get to hang out with michelle and riley and emily and michael and jon b and bryan and katie and lindsey and the cuddly cats bulldozer and battleaxe. it was better than good to get some kitty love. dogs are cute and all but you really feel like a winner when a cat deems you important enough to like you. speaking of....i deem each and every one of you reading important enough to like you.

graduate school. that is the keyword o' the day. i researched it all day without break. well....that's not true. i ate a cheeseburger for lunch. and i vacuumed the floor. but i was still thinking about it even then. oh grad school grad school. who will accept me? who will pay my way? when will i go? WHERE will i go? so many questions. sigh....
i drank far too much coffee today and i am sore in some very strange places from my oh-so-fit- personal-training-session on friday. i didn't even know i had muscles there. ow.
i'm putting in yet another action-packed, cubicle-licious, flourescent-lit, 55 hour work week. i'm telling you---this whole life-as-a-working-adult schtick is totally rotten. thus the graduate school dreaming. and i keep having these memories of mom coming home at the end of the day and yelling at alex, katelyn and me because we were still in our pajamas eating ice-cream and hadn't unloaded the dishwasher yet. and suddenly, instead of being like "oh man, the only reason she had children was so she could get slave labour really really cheap," i'm like "oh. man. sorry mom."
i dreamt about israel last night and woke up to the evacuation of gaza strip splattered all over the front pages of the news. i emailed some of my friends from there and asked questions. what a crazy time we live in...
speaking of crazy----it's 8:43 which is just about my bedtime. life is totally out of control over here folks.

now it is way past 5:00 a.m. and too close to 5:00 a.m. tomorrow. but i just wanted to write a quick word to tell all the chicago folks out there that we are flying in saturday the 20th and will be there until sunday the 28th. thanksgiving in august will be the talk o' the town, the event o' the decade. it is unbelievable how excited i am. i am a strong believer in thanksgiving at least 3 times a year. my mouth is salivating at the mere thought. i'm gonna peruse all my cook books and come prepared....

ergh....it is 5:00 in the a.m. i now officially work 55 hour work weeks. so much has happened that i want to tell you about---sonic booms, brainaic fish, georgia time etc etc. but it will have to wait until a decent hour. 5:00 is not decent.

oh california summer living.....
my belly is stuffed full of fresh fish from the grill and cherry tomatoes off the vine and artichoke all bought earlier this evening at the colourful farmer's market. yum yum. now i'm enjoying a cup of tea and trying to catch up on this blogging thing. georgia is home with her fabulous mohawk/40's style pouf hairstyle (didn't think it was possible did you? i'll post photos later to prove it to you). she is beautiful and sweet and it's very lovely to have her around. she has some very talkative friends that like to hang around till late in the night and...um...talk.
i signed up for ballet and modern dance classes at the community college here---i'm so so excited. i can't wait to be a ballerina and wear a tutu. i actually signed up as georgia because it's so much cheaper. i can imagine it...the teacher calling roll..."georgia lange" and me raising my hand and saying " i go by brandyn DeCecco actually."
we'll be in chicago soon. we're planning on leaving the 20th o' august and staying there for the week. dan and riley will be back from setting bones with bricks and we'll have a swell ol' time together again. yay chicago! we may have to throw a rip-roaring party or sumpin'.
i hope i haven't lost all my faithful readers by not ever writing. forgive me. i love you all.