Procrastination.

Things I'm doing instead of blogging about our Orlando trip:

Enjoying the recently-reduced heat and humidity (we'd finally gotten about two weeks' worth of real summer, and I'm totally over it--no more sweating in the subway, please).
Trying on clothes I can't afford.
Repeatedly enjoying the amazing hilarity that is Heidi Montag's Miss Universe performance.
Playing Word Warp on my iPhone.
Watching Mad Men.
Being jealous of my friend's awesome new apartment on the Upper East Side (and eating takeout in said apartment while "helping" her move in).
Going to Ellis Island.
Re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Looking up airfare to London, Sydney, and the Bahamas.
Anticipating my parents' visit next month.
Eating popcorn.

35 years.

For their 30th anniversary, they took us to Kauai. For their 35th, they took us to DisneyWorld. I'm already looking into a Mediterranean cruise for 2014. But besides taking us on bitchin' vacays, my parents have spent the last 35 years building a family, and showing us a wonderful example of what a marriage should be. I know that my family's great relationships and the fun we always have together--whether sailing off the Na Pali Coast or sitting around eating popcorn--is a credit to Mark and Wanda. So Happy Anniversary, mom and dad, and thanks for everything. Especially the bitchin' vacays.

Excitement.

Am I too old to have had trouble sleeping the night before a vacation to Disneyworld? In a few hours, 15 Ostlers will converge on Orlando, including a niece whose 4th birthday party will be a lunch with the princesses at Magic Kingdom.

We're going to have some fun.

Pappy.

Do you know what this is?


It may look like a plain yellow legal pad to you. But anyone in my family knows that in the hands of my dad, it becomes magical.

My dad has probably used thousands of these during his lifetime--often for work or keeping track of daily tasks. But there is another, wondrous thing that he uses it for: planning. Anytime there's a holiday or trip coming up, you can find one of these bad boys filled with my dad's scrawling handwriting. Pages of lists, excursion ideas, sites, charts, timetables, possibly even diagrams designed to maximize the enjoyment of everyone involved. He loves coming up with great ideas that ensure everyone has fun. In my family, when you see the yellow pad, you know amazing things are about to happen.

Today I wish a happy birthday to my favorite travel agent (and career advisor, and trivia guru, and hug provider, and arch nemesis), knowing that any enjoyment he gets out of his celebrations today likely pales in comparison to the pleasure he is currently finding in finishing up the planning for our upcoming family vacation extravaganza.


It commences in just 3 days, and the excitement is palpable.