Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Today I am traveling to the west coast to visit my daughter Meghan and her boyfriend Mark.  I haven't seen them since just after Christmas so I am very much looking forward to this trip.  The fact that they are in Long Beach, California is just a bonus! 

Getting ready to go away, in itself, makes one deserving of a vacation!  All week at work I slowly eliminated tasks and items from my desk so that by the time I left yesterday, anyone can sit at my now-anonymous desk and tell themself, "Wow, what an orderly desk this woman has!" I don't mind if people have the wrong impression of me!  There's something about an empty desk that invites me back to work with so much more hospitality than a desk piled high.  So, desk and work-related tasks, done.  After leaving work yesterday I took time to enjoy my great-neice Alexis's first birthday party.  She is adorable, my sister Patsy's little granddaughter, her feminine energy so new and welcome after Patsy and her husband Britt happily raised three sons and also have two grandsons.  Alexis is just walking, has a crop of light brown  hair, and a smile that knocks your socks off. 

Katie, Henry, and I stayed at the party but made an early exit -- I had baking to accomplish.  Henry could have stayed all night.  He loved the bouncy-bounce house and, little aquatic child that he is, the pool. 

But there was work to do.  My friend Judy's little granddaughter Adeley is being baptised this weekend, and I promised her a cake with my "old recipe" cake before I left on my trip.  She wanted a simple cake without a lot of color, and I think she'll be happy with it.  It's a black-and-white marble cake with buttercream frosting.  I don't usually eat my own cakes, but this combination is one that calls my name!

So now, I'm getting ready to pack my little back with not-too-much stuff (I tend toward over-packing).  I'll jump in the shower, and at 12:45, I'll be westward-bound to spend a few days with Meghan.  After getting ready to go, I'm looking forward to doing nothing but read on the plane.  Once there, I'm not sure whether I'll be blogging or not.   I'd love to see the Queen Mary, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and whatever else Long Beach has to offer during my short stay, so I may be out and about.  It doesn't matter what we do.  As long as I get to spend time with my kid, I'm happy!