If I had a Rabbit it would be named Mrs. Babbity Wabbity

So there's a lot going on in Pittsburgh right now, and suffice to say I've had my fair share of being-in-a-building-surrounded-by-state-police, so I think I'll be a bit more relaxed when this week is over.

Our California trip Airfare has officially been booked, and we're getting CRAZY by reserving a "Compact" car rather than an "Economy". This trip is going to be hooked UP for Shizzle. We're going to be flying in to Northern California and in the course of week, we will be going no further south than San Francisco. Although it'd be nice to say I've seen LA and other various aspects of Southern Cal, I'm letting it go in favor of Redwoods, coastal roads, Beds and Breakfasts, and cool crisp air.

Is there anything you know of in Northern California that we simply SHOULD NOT MISS?

(I looked up the beautiful place Jennie recommended - Gorgeous! But it'll have to wait till we can't stand it any longer and leave the kids with Grandma and Grandpa for another vacation a gazillion years from now...)

We're looking forward to upcoming weekend visits from his parents and my parents and an old friend from college. We're heading to the Lancaster Renaissance Faire, and we're going out to the Cabin in the mountains with a ton of other hip young couples and that will be a blast.

Unfortunately, I'm dealing with some personal anxiety demons as a result of another upcoming upheaval. Greg is being sent to the on-site location of something he's been working on for over a year - 5 hours away. For Four Weeks.

We don't know too many specific details - probably because He avoids talking about it, and I avoid thinking about it - but it's almost definitely going to happen this fall. So for 2 weeks BEFORE California and 2 weeks AFTER California, I'll be home-alone and totally freaked out.

First of all, I've never done well with separation. I would love to be one of those couples who can look at you, in horror, and say, "No! We haven't been apart for a single night since we've been married!". The stupid king sized bed is just going to emphasize the emptiness. I'll miss him dearly and that's the absolute worst part.

Second of all, I'd be a complete shut-in if it weren't for Greg. It's not that he pushes me to go out and do things - it's just that when he's around, I want to go do things with him. When he's not around, I'm most likely to stay home, watch bad T.V. and not cook anything, ever. Does that mean I'll starve? Order take out every night? Learn to digest my own hair? Who knows.

Third of all, I have an insanely overactive imagination. There are times I can convince myself that there IS a serial killer in the house because of one tiny noise. Back when Greg used to be in the Lab at all hours of the night, I used to spend the majority of my time focusing on breathing slowly and convincing myself that that shadow out the window was NOT in fact a skeletal groping hand. Without him there, there will be no one to check for serial killers, no one to reassure me that shadows are, in fact, only shadows, and no one to stroke my hair and explain for the 18 billionth time that that noise was JUST THE CATS.

Fourth, POOR DEXTER. Greg gets up with the dog at 5:15 a.m. and takes him for a 30 minute walk. If we don't go to the dog park in the evening, he takes him for a 30 minute walk then too. I will not be doing that. I've said it a hundred times that I couldn't have a dog were it not for Greg. I know my limitations. I love dogs, they're great and I KNEW Greg would love having one... But I also know that I'm lazy and when it comes to a canine companion, I wouldn't be a responsible dog owner. Cats? Sure. Cats, I'm good with.

We're going to work on a few things so that I can be an adequate dog owner while Greg is gone which will include, but is not limited to, fencing in the back yard and installing some lights so that I can actually see all four corners of our (small) yard at night. That way I'll be able to take him out back and play with him in the yard if I'm uncomfortable taking him for a walk when it's almost dark out.

Fifth, I have a bad dream about once every 3-5 days. These dreams vary in horrible-ness. There are dreams like the one I had last night in which I found a large orange stray cat on a 20 foot leash that I got bad vibes from and told Greg to take Dexter and run away, but He didn't move fast enough so the evil orange cat scratched Dexter all over his face, and I couldn't reign him in because the leash was so long... and then I wake up, and I'm upset, but it's manageable. And There are dreams like the one when I woke up crying, told Greg the entire thing, and then forgot it during the day. To this day Greg still won't tell me what happened in that dream. Regardless, No one will be there!

And those are just the top five. I'm sorry if I sound whiny - I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment. He'll be gone the majority of November and some of December. I'm sad. I've cried once about it already, and I can't see it getting any easier. And this isn't something we can just DO and get it OVER with already, because time - it creeps slowly when I'm this anxious.