Home.

Don't worry everyone, I didn't fall off a dune into the Grand Traverse Bay. Nor did I decide to stay in Traverse City forever, eschewing computers and technology. Although it was lovely not to open my Macbook for three whole days. Beautiful as upper Michigan turned out to be, I would have to be heavily medicated in order to live there. My sinuses were going crazy all weekend. It didn't ruin the trip, but it did severely annoy me. I thought my allergies were getting less severe as I aged, but apparently it's just living in the city where there isn't as much pollen to be inhaled that has fooled me. I've gotten away with using only herbal remedies (ie: neti pot) to cure some minor sinus blockage along with the occasional Benedryl, but I realized this weekend that if I'm ever to move out of the city, I'll probably need to go back on something a little heavier. And that could be sooner rather than later -- Nick was so taken with the beauty and green and peace and tranquility that was upper Michigan. I hadn't seen him that happy and content and excited in awhile. He scaled some ridiculous 90 degree angle dunes in order to take photos. At one point he vanished from my sight, and I seriously thought he had plummeted into the bay. But no, he was fine. It was truly beautiful; I've seen a lot of these United States (thanks Mom and Dad!), and it was definitely one of the most gorgeous panoramas I'd seen on this continent. The B&B where we stayed was delightful, sparkling clean and cozy, and our host was super nice and cooked us three delicious breakfasts. Our only disappointment was with the food. We found it a little over-priced and not spectacular for a resort town that boasts fantastic restaurants. I'll post some pics later on. Right now I'm trembling in my sensible Nine West black pumps, because I'm due to give a "presentation" to sixty high schoolers in about two hours. I found a job teaching private lessons at a north suburban high school, so I'm going in today to hand out info and talk about voice lessons and sing something for kids. Now, it hasn't been that long since I was in high school myself, but for some reason I'm feeling a little terrified. High schoolers are a tough crowd. I'm still going back and forth about what to sing (musical theater - opera aria??). I know there are already many kids who are interested, and it's going to be a lucrative part of my income this year, so...I need to do a good job. Time to put on my teacher outfit and make copies!

More later kiddos. Ciao.