Vacation prep

Soon I'll be off for a long weekend in Los Angeles. While it's not my first choice for a spring vacay, it's certainly not the worst thing that can happen to a gal, either. My oldest friend and I will go shopping, go to the movies, and take in some sites I just can't see here in Chicagoland -- maybe

Hollywood, maybe the ocean. We'll see.

To help me get my head into this trip, this evening I got my spring pedi. Essie Tart Deco. It's a light shade of coral. I think I like it. I'm still not 100% used to the brighter look, but change can be good and soon Los Angelenos will be gazing at it.

And I got a portable DVD player. ORD-LAX can take (gulp!) four hours. That's just too damn long for a white-knuckled flyer, like me. Books, magazines and meds can't keep me calm. So I'll let this little 7" screen distract me and keep me sane. Also, with more and more people streaming videos and the new MacBooks not having a slot for DVDs/CDs, I figured I'd better snap up a DVD player when they're still being manufactured. The one I chose is by Philips, new and not refurbished, and still just

$60. I have to remember to pack DVDs (I always forget to pack something!) and that the TSA wants me to take it out of my carry on when I go through security.