Hello to the loyal blog readers (aka my close friends and family)--
So I've realized that I've been slacking on my blog, but I think this is symbolic of the way that I live my life. I think I build everyone's expectations up of me by being this uber-on top of everything, competent person and then, I feel like a slacker when life stuff comes up and I'm no longer able to maintain the image. But, whatever, no excuses. An explanation--the girls have been up late skyping which means that I haven't had my evening reflection time, which is generally when I post. I was actually surprised to see that it's only been one week since I last posted--it feels like forever.

I took Asha to a doctor for her twitching (two, actually) who couldn't figure out any medication that might help her, so it's back to working on the stress that actually causes it. That's okay for the time being though because she seems to have her stress more under control since she's started being my "mother's helper" and she's adjusting to life without her twin in the house. Speaking of her as a "mother's helper," I don't know if I've talked about this, but this is the best thing ever. She works. I don't have mounds of housework in addition to my school and professional work--nice.

I've been tossing around the idea of buying a Yaris. I am really tired of my Camry, which is now home to a small colony of ants (I did not think this was actually possible, to have ants colonize one's car, but apparently it is--I've told Hans if the queen comes out while I'm driving, he should just expect an accident as I freak out and try to stomp on it). More than that, I've realized that it's not a particularly practical car, given how much commuting I'm going to be doing this school year. As a consultant, I'm driving everywhere in the Bay Area (including....gasp...San Francisco). The Camry has pretty poor city gas mileage and it's really hard to park. We got it because we thought it'd be easier to drive than the Odyssey, but in actuality, it's only slightly less long. I really want a Prius, but I'm not even really sure that I can afford a Yaris, although I wonder if I can write it off as a business expense--I am using it to commute to all my consulting jobs. What do people think about the Yaris possibility?

Aisha's still adjusting to Eugene. She's thinking she probably will want to come back to the Bay Area after her lease is up, and is working on ways to deal with what caused her to leave. We'll see how it goes--I will keep everyone updated, but I'm glad that she's thinking about her future in a productive kind of way.

I'm leaving for my friends' Justin and Maria's wedding tomorrow morning. I've realized that my weekends lately have been insane which makes me feel really bad for Nate. Last weekend, we did our anniversary date (oh, I didn't blog about the dinner, which included wagyu beef nigiri--it was the best thing I've ever eaten. I love the restaurant we ate at, it was such an experience and really peaceful. It's called Kaygetsu, for any fellow foodies who are interested), so Nate was with his aunt Kim (Hans' little sister) and Asha. This weekend, I'm in Las Vegas for 3 days. Next week, I'm heading to Eugene, and Hans and Nate will take the train up on Friday night. But, at the end of August, Nate has a daycare break week, so we'll spend lots of time together at the zoo or parks. Yes, I have to use my blog to reassure myself that I'm not a crappy parent ;).

Okay, I'm going to go to lunch with Hans now. I'm monopolizing his work computer to do this journal. I'm starving. I'll see some of y'all in Vegas, everyone else can live vicariously through a promised update on Sunday.