My parents are out of town this weekend. The dog and cat are with them, so I can hang at their house with no responsibilities.

Doing my parents’ house solo gives me great pleasure. The first thing I do is rummage through the fridge, freezer and cupboards. My own stringent food shopping guidelines---no bread, crackers or certain sweets-- are temporarily suspended.

Unfortunately, my parents took food on this trip. There aren’t any goldfish crackers or cheese. My mother did leave me some egg salad and a Ziplock bag with a serving size of fresh Yellowtail. There were post-it notes on each item—

Tiffany-Fresh Yellowtail
Tiffany- Egg Salad

Mom deemed this necessary despite the sparse fridge. My list of tastings so far include:

-- 2 Dove dark chocolates
-- teaspoon of Dulce De Leche (from Argentina)
-- a few Nestle semi-sweet and white chocolate-chips
-- 2 pineapple coconute tea cookies from Hawaii(I opened the package)
-- 2 pizza Pringle chips (they were stale)
-- egg salad wrap with romaine lettuce (my own creation)
-- bite of Yellowtail

I might order out a vegetarian burrito later. Then I can drink some of their Dos Equis beer. My parents have a decent bar and lots of wine, too. I do have the whole weekend. I shouldn’t get too worked up.

I am in desperate need of caffeine, but there are only coffee singles. Those scare me. I might have to take a drive to get coffee. Not bad-- only having to leave the house for one item.

After my tastings are done, I like to test out the different chairs, sofas and beds. Being in a house is dreamy. My tiny one-bedroom apartment feels like an elevator in comparison. I like to lounge reading magazine and watching DVD's on the wide-screened tv. (Eventually I get some writing done)

Additionally, my parents have an ocean view. Watching the sunset here becomes a sacred ritual. It brings up a gamut of clichés-- “Isn’t the sunset breathtaking?” or “I don’t think the sky could be more exquisite!” With my parents gone, I don’t have to listen to these clichés or have my mother insist on taking my picture.

‘Excuse me while I kiss the sky’…Jimi Hendrix said it best.