We went to the beach today. I took my camera, and promptly left it in the car, so there is no photographic evidence of today's outing. Oh well. Here are some pictures of last year's visit to Santa Monica, the same beach we went to today.

It was nowhere near that crowded (or that pretty for that matter). In fact, it was rather overcast and a little chilly. I still managed to get a little sunburned (as that is my spiritual gift).

While at the beach, Rich and I talked about our plans for the summer. Summer officially begins for Richard on Monday, once he's turned in his last paper! We don't have any huge plans, but we do have a few small things we'll be doing together around town. Should spice things up around here.

First thing on Richard's list? Spend an entire week watching TV and playing Super Mario Brothers. Isn't summer the greatest?

Weekending

We had a lovely, but busy, weekend in Houston!

First, we celebrated Cara and Danny's marriage with Richard's family. They laughed because Richard told a slightly inappropriate joke. In a church. With no encouragement from me. (Okay, I made him tell the joke).

Then we met our newest niece, Annive. She's pretty awesome! We nicknamed her "Monster Truck Rally." It's catching on (not really). I declared that she will call me "Aunt-ive."

We also celebrated Mother's Day, hung out with family, and had a great time.

Oh dear. Charlie is in the puppy hospital for the night. He has a slipped disc (and a lot of pain and muscle spasms because of it). The vet had to sedate him for x-rays, and Charlie had an allergic reaction to the medication, so they decided to keep him overnight for observation. Poor, poor puppy.

When Charlie's not around, our house just doesn't feel right. Sigh.

This week is shaping up to be a wee bit stressful. Richard is still furiously typing his paper (due tomorrow morning, thank God!), and I am trying desperately to get everything on my to do list done before the weekend. Or tomorrow night, rather, as that is when our weekend starts this week. AND then, Charlie began acting rather strangely last night- which resulted in a stressful night followed by an even more stressful morning. The good news is, we already had a vet appointment for today (originally for routine vaccinations, but now commandeered by mystery illness/injury) so it's not like I have one MORE thing to do.

But what I REALLY wanted to talk about today was my love/hate relationship with Facebook. On the one hand, I appreciate Facebook's stalker-but-not-in-a-creepy-way-because-we're-friends! capability. I like getting back in touch with old friends and family that live far away. And also knowing what's going on in people's lives without actually having to talk to them.

What are your favorite/least favorite aspects of Facebook?

On the other hand, I loathe all Facebook apps (Farmville, I'm looking at you) and their never-ending notifications and wall posts (I don't care that you just planted imaginary potatoes in your imaginary field). More than that, though, I get extremely irritated when people use Facebook as a platform for what I think are "discussion" topics- namely politics and religion. These are both topics I (sometimes) enjoy discussing, but Facebook isn't about a discussion- it's about a soapbox. So, if you talk about either with any regularity, you have a one-way ticket to Sarah's "ignore" list. Just like a person on a physical soapbox, you have the right to say whatever you want, but I have the right to walk away.