I don't care if Barack Obama just won the Nobel Peace Prize, we are keeping the yoga mat.

Zazie is blogging today. Here is what she had to say:

Dear Ashleigh and Jonathan,

Thanks for dinner the other night. I don't know where you scored that little bag of green gold, but I will trade totally invite you over one night when my maid cooks dinner for the source of that basil. I didn't want to tell you at the time, but I was sneaking extra raw leaves under the table to munch in secret later. Also, my Mom's pockets are still full of pistachios looted from your house.

All of this is a long-winded way to say, sorry, I think we are going to have to keep the yoga mat. I didn't know it, but a yoga mat is the only thing that has been missing from my life. For some weeks now, I have needed a parking lot. And your yoga mat seems to really work for the purpose.

Do you see the cunning order and logic, the arrangement of color and form? Do you see the beauty of the light yellow yoga asphalt underneath? Notice the deft juxtaposition of the NYC taxi cabs and the Indian auto-rickshaw. There is even an small airport for emergency landings and take-offs. I like to think of myself as an artist. My medium is little cars and now realize that the only possible canvas for this work is your yoga mat.

Oh, and no, my Mom can't really reimburse you. Since you have made two trips to the international foods grocery store without even asking us if we needed enchilada sauce or cake sprinkles, she spent all of her money at the village grocery store.

She said we are going to have "pizza" tonight. I don't know why she said it with the little air quotes, but I know that instead of delicious, mouthwatering basil, she is going to make it with this stuff:

I hope it doesn't taste like the last cheese we bought there. I could barely finish my chiplet:

However, if you want to buy *me* a surprise, you can get one of these car-scented air fresheners:

I have already decided that I will name it Lorileia and you can get it at the car accessory shop in the village. As an artist interested in synesthesia, Lorileia would really heighten the experience of my work. I think I am ready to take my stuff to the next level.

Love,

Zazie