Last night, we had a chance to see Isabel Allende, the author of books such as 'Paula', 'Aphrodite', 'Eva Luna'. This was the second speaker in the Unique Lives and Experiences series.

I hadn't had a chance to read any of her books yet, and only barely had heard of her, so I was going in with a blank slate. All I knew is that she was Chilean and her Uncle had been assassinated.

She was amazing though! A little bit of a woman, tiny, under 5' tall?, but so feisty and witty! We were in stitches the entire night. She had some pretty political views but had a way of putting them across that it was not offensive and made you actually take it in. Her view of life, and especially politics, was deeply changed when her Uncle was murdered and she had to leave her beloved country.

Before that, my ex-coworkers and I went for dinner at one of my most favourite places, El Caravan. It's a Lebanese restaurant that serves fantastic food, and desert to die for. I had their special, Chicken-wrapped scallops in saffron sauce. Finished off by konafa, an Eygyptian desert made of honey, custard and thin strands of filo pastry. Sounds like the group is still going through a lot of trials after the culling, and people don't seem to know when it will end. Every day I become more sure of the fact that I got the better end of the deal.

I may be crazy, but I'm considering taking Shannon and the kids to Seattle for a few days. Hayley's at the right age for a proper zoo and it would give me a chance to do a little shoppin. I'm just not sre how restful it would be with the two little ones for 48 hours straight. Gonna have to give some thinkin' to that one...