Tuesday

Woke up with a vengeance. Can you tell?



Erica was scheduled to land around 9pm in Phoenix, so we decided to spend the day exploring the city and getting in some shopping time. Girls.

First thing first, food! Olive Garden, be still my stomach.



Lasagna Frita, I swoon for thee.



Sat in the driver seat for my first mainland road experience. After 10 minutes on the highway, Cece remarked that she was glad I "was not a typical Asian driver". What? "Slow", she said. Get back to me in 30 years ;)

As always, I'm forever taking pictures while I drive. Bad habit, I know, yet awesome snippets are captured once in a while. With it being monsoon season in Arizona, pockets of rain appear here and there to make neat scenery. Mother Nature will forever fascinate me.



Drove to my toy store, IKEA. Walked in the door and saw the same item I wanted to stuff in my bag the last time, a reasonably priced coffee table (to put all my neat coffee table books on!). Not going to lie, got a little sad to think that it would be the first of many things I couldn't buy.



After 8 cups of water at lunch & 2 hours in the car, my bladder was ready to sing. Oh, hello neat Dyson Hand Dryer, may I take you home?



Hi, I want to sleep here.



Grabbed one of these last year and my co-workers made sure to not let me forget to grab a couple for them. $4.99 to keep coffee hot all day? Yes please.



Convinced Cece to pick up a couple of these picture frames for her Kurt Hasley prints. I spent a good 10 minutes trying to convince myself that it'd be a-ok to mail a few frames back. Yea, no. Boo.



After spending way too much time in IKEA, walked out and was greeted by a gorgeous sky.



Drove to another mall for more retail therapy, and made our way to the airport to pick up Erica. Girl twittered before calling to let us know that she landed hahaha. GPS'ed a nearby McDonalds to feed our rumbling tummies and somehow ended up in (as Cece liked to put it) the hood. Dirtiness everywhere, I half expected some mice to run up to me and try to sell me some napkins for some change.



Driving back to Tuscon, we encountered a lightening storm



a wind storm



and a wicked dust storm. I hart Cece for getting me back alive. THANK YOU.



Night driving is fun!



Got back around 2 am? With plans to start our San Diego road trip at 8 in the morning, and knowing I was going to be the primary driver, I went to pack up the remainder of my things while Erica & Cece talked Blythe into the wee morning. I sort of view Blythes as a younger version of those Victorian porcelain dolls that come to life at night. Cute, but not my cup of tea.



Didn't even bother to shower, just crashed to bed and am hoping that I get up. Sleep & I, we bond fast.


Lurk
+ The Olive Garden
+ IKEA
+ McDonald's
+ Blythe