enjoying the week

a week at home? it feels like its been a L O N G time since i've had one of those. it has been wonderful to to spend weeknight evenings with mark, to sleep in my own bed at night [which, by the way, i now love. time certainly won us over on that purchase].

of course, there was a bit of a trade off for my week of "local" travel. i spent upwards of four hours a day commuting from our home, located about 30 miles northeast of san francisco, to a client site about the same distance southwest of the city. 60 miles equals 60 minutes, right? maybe on the weekends or in the middle of the day, but not this week for me - i seemed to hit traffic in at least one direction, every day. never mind that i left home between 5:30 and 6:00am [thank you, starbucks double tall lattes], or tried to head out before or after rush hour. sigh.

two things made the commute more bearable. in fact, they made the week downright enjoyable!

the first, that the highway that i chose to take between san francisco and palo alto is breathtakingly beautiful. at sunrise, the fog was still so thick that the mountains weren't even visible and only the largest trees near the road could be seen, paving a captivating path. mid-day, the lush, rolling hills and green trees could be seen for miles, and at time the lakes to the west are even visible. yesterday, i stopped at a vista point to take some photos, attempting to capturing a bit of the beauty. and this evening i found that sunset is equally gorgeous.

even better than the beautiful scenery is that being in palo alto [have i mentioned that i love that town? reminds me of evanston in so many ways], is that i got to hang out with vlada a few time!

on monday evening, we did some shopping [and incidentally, i purchased yet another suit. seriously, i need to make a decision and make some returns], and then i enjoyed dinner with the newlyweds. after michal headed back to class, vlada and i grabbed our new favorite dessert [let me tell you, the fresh strawberry and shaved chocolate toppings pair perfectly!], and then i got a preview of the best of their wedding photography.

and this afternoon, i stopped by for a quick visit and to drop off some baked goodies.

vlada time twice in one week? what a treat:)