Tessa wakes up early in Tucson. There are too many lemons to knead against the ground and new things to put into her mouth and rooms to dismantle. It's still dark out, and we've been up for over an hour, us two. But that means I get to have my coffee and get to my blog before anyone else gets up and teases me for being so committed to updating my little blog page.

Yesterday was another roll-your-windows-down-'cause-it's-hot-in-this-car kinda day. The sunshine has been good for my soul. We even grilled out last night. Meanwhile I hear temps might have dipped to one degree in Nashville last night. Guess it was a good time to split town.

Or not. We were out to lunch when we got news that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords had been shot in the head during a Tucson grocery store shooting rampage an hour earlier. She and 18 other people were shot, and six are confirmed killed, including a nine-year-old girl. After that you couldn't roll your windows down far enough to forget what a terrible day it was for this city and for our country.

We spent the afternoon shopping for and cooking dinner for a dinner party Molly and Rocky had planned with some friends. Turned out to be a perfect evening -- great company, food, wine, even some booty shaking. I got a great night sleep, and later this morning we head on to Sedona!

Did you guys know that hotels often have licensed, insured babysitters that they recommend? This is the discovery of my century! We're lining up a sitter for one night in Sedona and one night in L.A. Ahhhhh ....