Cruisin

I'm kneeling on the super sized bed with my face pressed against the porthole in our lush stateroom. No balcony here but we have a huge window to view the sea. I watch the crew as they slip the gigantic ropes off the dock and slowly we start to move away from land. The blue sky is filled with puffy white clouds. The sun shines upon the water turning it a marvelous shade of aqua as the slight breeze ripples the still waters. A holiday trip awaits hubby and me.
Then, the light bulb (actually it seemed like a floodlight) goes off. OMG, I realize that my much needed can't live without medicine is home on the kitchen counter. It's not granite just the neutral Formica. My light bulb and my blood pressure blows and goes dark.
What to do? Jump ship? Cancel the voyage? Ask the captain to wait till I go home (1 hour) and return to the ship (another hour) so we can begin our cruise? I'm sure that would go over like a deflated life raft.
I'm in panic mode. I take in my deep belly yoga breathes and try to relax. The light comes back on - dimly - like the lower part of the dimmer switch. I call my pharmacist and spill the awful truth. A few tears and hiccups seals the deal. He doesn't laugh, criticise or lecture me. I tell him our first stop is Key West. He calmly informs me that he will call the pharmacy in Key West and have my much needed life sustaining medicine ready for my retrieval on the next day. He also assures me that one day with out my meds will not cause my death.
I'm thinking after we disconnect from the line there's lots of laughter at the pharmacy. If only my head were attached better to the rest of my body or my brain worked in a more normal pattern.
The next day we race to the pharmacy to pick up the much needed medicine and relaxed a bit as we toured the island. We lunched with my brother spent money on trinkets and t-shirts and moved on to the next port. Mexico was hot and our adventure was exciting. More trinket shopping and back to the ship on time. We sailed away into the night with stars lighting our way back to the states. The cruise was enchanting and restful. Christmas at sea is a happy experience especially when you have your life sustaining medicine. It could have been worse or worser. When we returned home from the cruise I read the headline, 'Woman Lost At Sea.' I wonder if she had forgotten her medicine and jumped over board to swim back to shore to retrieve her meds? Or my gut feeling is that the husband pushed her over the rail. I wonder if my hubby had similar notions?

Stomach View

I have 'motion sickness', the extreme kind. Most likely it's psychological but then that's me. I can get ill just watching a roller coaster I don't even need to get on it to be sick.

I remember when I was a teen (so many moons ago) when I and a friend went on this stand up ride that twirled around. You were strapped in and it twirled faster and faster and then pivoted. After the third rotation I closed my eyes and was terrified to open them again. When the ride from hell stopped I couldn't even unbuckled myself. Some kind young man standing next to me helped. Such a kind soul and I repaid him with my lunch on his shoes.

We're getting ready for the cruise and I have been in a panic. I have my 'Bonine' packed and ready to use. The trip and my affliction have been a constant mess swirling in my thoughtless head. I obsess with minor details till their death. Last night being so preoccupied with the fact that I may get sick again on a cruise - I fell into dreamland. My dreams - so real - woke me from slumber. OMG - I was seasick in bed. I could barely make it to the bathroom. What will happen when I walk the plank onto a real ship and she starts to rock? If my dreams can make me sick what about the real world? Woe is me as I continue to clash with reality and the real world. Take me away - a better place - a secret place -a hiding place.

Holiday Kisses

Sow only shadows into moonlight,

plant only love,

as regret starts each day at sunset.

Troll Toes

I own a German Shepard or to be honest - he owns me, us, the house, the furniture , the car and some of the neighbors. The pack leader mentality is truly his. We are his servants. And one of those servant services is constantly cleaning up his EXCESSIVE hair. We have giant dust hair bunnies that weigh in at 5 pounds. Dark green furniture and dog hair do not mix well or help your home make the cover of Coastal Home Living magazine.

We have dog hair in every conceivable place in our home and even places that would not appear in your wildest dreams or fantasies. The dog sheds like Niagara Falls. Constantly and excessively his hair multiplies like wild horny rabbits. He leaves no bed skirt unscathed. I find dog hair in the refrigerator. How gross is that. Hair, hair everywhere but we love the old fool who has us trained.

The holidays are fast approaching and I purchased these lovely new foot adornments called - Fitflops. High end flipflops with a mission. Firm those buns. Tighten those saggy calves. Show the world that you are not afraid to push the envelope.

I decided since we had dress down week at work and flip-flops are on the naughty list that I would break the rules and wear my new Fitflops. The toes were in a sad sorry state of affairs so something was needed to bring those toes up to snuff. The color red is bold, sassy, bright and the only color nail polish I could find without leaving home and spending $20.00 bucks. I gussied up those 10 deformed toes of mine with that slightly old and out of date red nail polish and walked around the house to dry my little piggies. I assumed that nail polish several years old does not degrade and take more than mere minutes to dry completely. I'm back to my assuming again.

I slipped my trampy red painted toes into my new Fitflops and off I went to work. I'm not entirely sure when I finally looked down at my spiffy new flip flops and my cherry red painted toes but the shock was enough to raise the blood pressure and embarrassment to the same shade of red on my piggy toes.

Did I mention that I own or actually am owned by a big robust German Shepard that sheds his hair faster than the stock market drops? Do I need to mention that still wet red nail polish attracts massive amounts of dog hair? OMG!!! I have troll feet!!! I'm at work with this - this - hair protruding from my toes that are elegantly painted trampy red. And the polish is dry and hard as the rock of ages. The hair is cemented to my trampy red painted toes. And I have to face the world.

This little piggy stays home, this little piggy goes to work and all the little piggies painted bright-bold red encased in lovely new Fitflops are mutants.

Where is Caylee?

Through our minds, hearts and eyes and that of the media WE the People have tried, convicted and sentenced Casey Anthony for the crime of murder. Not just any murder - but that of murdering her child. We have not an ounce of sympathy for her or her parents. What must the grandparents be going through? A hell on earth!
They stand by their daughter steadfastly. What would you do? What if this were your child being accused of this heinous crime? Would you throw them to the wolves or support them? Such a precarious position to be placed in while the rest of the world is against you.
Ignoring all the lies and deceit I wanted this child to be found alive. Still, in the back recesses of my mind I am hoping she is alive and this is not her remains found dumped in the woods. Statistics say... point the finger to the parents but....what if? If we had to walk even a block in George and Cindy's footsteps what would we feel? Where would our thoughts be?
I feel so much pain for the entire family. They love their daughter and grandchild but now both of them have been ripped from their arms. I watch people on the news shows screaming at them as if it were also their crime. Unfortunately, it is or will be their crime for eternity.
I would absolutely not want to trade places with these distraught grandparents for anything. Their world has collapsed and they are trapped forever in this limbo-hell. I believe they will never accept the probably true fact that their child committed a horrible act.
I still have this tiny glimmer of hope (that is fading fast) that Caylee may still be alive.
I watched a program on the Eisenberg case a few nights ago - another Florida tragedy. Another child missing - this one never found. Her parents accused of the crime with the stigma forever molded to their lives. We also tried and convicted them through the media.
Why do we do this?

3 things

3 ...Things I am happy about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. The dog stays off the couch. Those mouse traps under newspapers works quite well.

2. Walking around the neighborhood looking at all the Christmas decorations. YES, I can say Christmas instead of holiday.

3. Bubble bath for my tub.

Find three things that make you happy.

Catholic Girls

Last night we attended a fund raiser at a Catholic School and it sure brought back memories of my school years. Uniforms, saddle shoes and a sense of security.

What really struck me last night was the politeness of the students. They acted like responsible, considerate and happy teenagers. What a great experience. If only we could all pass on this joy to the rest of the world.

Three things I am thankfor for....make that four

1. a wonderful hubby....

2. great kids....

3. peace and contentment inside myself....

4. good friends....

Insomnia

My insomnia has risen its ugly teeth again. It has annoyed me all week long. I just need to get some sleep. Sleep deprivation is making me into a zombie with black bags under my eyes.

Every night I have a cup of tea to relax me and help me sleep. Hello - read the label. Caffeine!!!!!

Tonight there will be NO tea.

Stone Crab Claws - Dangerous

I went to the local seafood shop and picked up two huge stone crab claws. I needed theses luscious pieces of seafood for my seafood chowder. At $11.99 a pound there nearly broke the bank. This is the reason I only bought two claws and even two were quite pricey.
This would be my first time devouring this tasty morsels. Sometimes you just need to live dangerously.
The little buggers were already cooked so I needed to open them up and plop them in the chowder. That task was more difficult than I had imagined. Just crab claws I thought. HA.
I could not find my nut crackers - they were nowhere to be found. My solution was to get a wrench thingy from the garage and wack them open. Not an easy task. The claws were rather chunky and the wrench thingy would not fit around them. So I hit them several times with the wrench thingy - nothing. These guys were like stone. Hmmm, stone crabs - what a great name.
I beat at them with fury and finally a little crack appeared. I foolishly thought I could pry them open and get at that sweet meat. A task involving lots of frustration. I pounded them with the wrench thingy and somehow that lifeless claw reached over and ripped the skin right off my palm. OUCH!!!!
Today I have this ugly red (probably infected) slash across the palm of my hand from the big black claw. But - the seafood chowder was superb. My first and last time buying stone crab claws and using that wrench thingy.

Recycle Recession

Recycling is now in a recession. Since so many manufacturing plants are closing there is not a great need for plastic, aluminum, copper or paper to make new products.

The sad fact is recycled materials have dropped in value. Not enough money to make a profit so we slack off and quit recycling altogether. Money is the root of all evil.

More litter will grace our roadsides, landfills will increase and the recycling fad will disappear. I do not think it is a fad nor do I personally profit from recycling. I recycle for my environment.

Money seems to rule society. I urge everyone to continue to recycle.

Vernon, Florida

I just watched a documentary by Errol Morris called Vernon, Florida. It was produced in 1981. Many of the townspeople were appalled when the film premiered. They stated it viewed their town in a negative light.

The documentary included several old men, a police officer and a turkey hunter. The turkey hunter must have had the turkeys giblets and other parts in his mouth because to understand what he was trying to say was difficult and boring. Apparently he lives and breathes turkey killing. He saves their feet and beard and has them hanging on a plaque. I suppose this is better than a deer head above the fireplace.

The other old men or perhaps I should refer to them as 'seniors' just rambled on about stuff, like a muddy river and gofer tortoises. Once again extremely hard to decipher their words and make sense out of what they were talking about. Eccentric men with a passion for life through their eyes.

Vernon is in the Florida panhandle, west of the state capital Tallahassee. The Florida panhandle is interesting and desolate country. After watching the film I would love to visit Vernon and see what the town has to offer today. On the front cover of the DVD it states - An Unforgettable Film, and it is. I'm sure it did not win any awards or Oscars. It's a little quirky, bizarre and at times boring. I'm glad I watched this documentary as it gives me a different perspective on Florida. This would be what some refer to as the REAL Florida.

Juice or Poison?

We hear about China and the junk that is placed in baby formula, toothpaste, etc. and the lead that they paint our children's toys with and I am horrified.

I have been trying to improve my health so I read labels and try to buy healthy food products.
Today as I was reading the label on a bottle of juice (made in America) I noticed that acetate is one of the ingredients. I almost freaked out and dropped the bottle right there in aisle 3 of the grocery store. I put the bottle of juice with the label saying 100% juice but not mentioning the acetate right back on the shelf.

I looked up acetate on the Internet and freaked out even more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetate


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetic_acid


I have purchased a juicer to make my own.

Animal Behavior

I have 5 cute, adorable turtles, Big Al, Cooter, Cracker, Romeo and Juliet in my backyard pond. I love sitting by the pond, feeding them, talking to them and yes, they do listen to me. It's very relaxing watching them watching me and wondering what they are thinking. I hand feed them krill their favorite food product. I also give them live tadpoles when available. I do this to help with their hunting skills just in case they ever have to be released to the wild. Since the cold spell has hit Florida my buddies have taken refuge at the bottom of the pond. They don't swim up to greet me or bask on the rocks. I sit by the pond and call them by name but I am ignored.

The cat Martha has gotten quite irritable lately. She wants to be fed 24 hours a day. She's so fat now that she waddles when she walks across the room. I am giving her a low cal food and she is not a happy camper. She whines and yells every time you walk by her and runs to her food dish. If she is not compensated she swats at you with her dagger claws. Most of the time she catches my arm as I walk by and leaves her mark. I go through a box of band aids every week. This morning to makes matters worse she up-chucked all over the kitchen counter. Thank you Martha that was so very appetizing.

Then, Ron the beastly dog has been caught sleeping on the couch. His hair clinging to the cushions was the giveaway. He has a brand new dog bed but will not go near the thing. Why? I ran out of dog food so just for today I substituted the low cal cat food for his breakfast. He is not a happy camper and has gas that is really polluting the air. He did jump up on the kitchen counter to help with the cat clean-up. Gross me out and gag me with a spoon.

The Koi, no names here are no trouble at all. The cold has not sent them into hibernation. I walk by the pond and they all swim up to greet me with gaping mouths. In reality it's the food they want and not my company :(.

Animals you gotta love them.

Economic Hardships

Money does not grow on trees like I previously thought. Sometimes my fantasy world is a lot happier place than my real world. In the real world I go to work every day, get a paycheck (not much) and pay bills. Prices for everything have escalated but my income has stayed right where it has been - stuck in the mud.

In Japan restaurants have compensated for these tough economic times by employing monkeys. Yes, monkey waiters. Perhaps we should give that a try. We may get better service and we can tip them with peanuts.

I have tightened my money spending by no longer feeding the birds this includes the seagulls at the beach. 'Let them fend for themselves', is my new motto. When dining out, usually at a fast food location and always from the 99 cent menu, I make sure to get extra napkins, utensils and condiments. I no longer have to purchase napkins, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper or mints. It has been a great savings on my grocery bill.

I have found a fantastic way to have dinner out without spending a dime. Some stores give out free samples of food. I know all of them. The kiosk in the mall are big on this during the holidays. No one has said anything to me about the grazing although some of the food preparers give me strange looks. One does have to make several stops at the same pizza sample station. The pieces are very small. The deli's are my favorite. They just place the food right out there with no one watching or passing it out. It's a help yourself buffet.

Another fantastic meal is the financial seminars. They are usually held at great restaurants but you must listen to the speaker for at least an hour. There is one financial planner that has his seminars at a steak house. MMMMMM. Always ask for more rolls and butter to take home with you as it makes a tasty late night snack. If you are lucky you can attend three or four a month without ever spending your hard earned cash.

Harry and David's is an all time favorite. They even have coffee. Their cups are way too small so one day I just took in my own cup. Ice cream parlors is another favorite. You can sample every flavor they have. They will not let you sample the toppings - darn! Making the rounds at these food giveaways is a real night out for hubby and me. Pickings may be slim after the holidays so the movie Wedding Crashers has given me another idea.

Gone with the wind

I despise roller coasters. They give me a major headache make my tummy do backward flip flops, make me scream the death curl and they bring up previous meals. I can stand and watch a roller coaster and become sick. I also have this really kool visor.

In Florida one needs something to keep the sun off the freckles. Hats are not my thing but visors are. I have a special visor that I purchased about a year ago at the pier in St. Petersburg. It set me back $10.00. It has a colorful tropical design and it fits snugly on the head and produces no achy heads or hathair.

Did I mention my displeasure in roller coasters?

Hubby and I spent our special day at Universal Studios. We had free tickets. Our very first ride of the day was the Mummy ride. The wait was only about 30 minutes compared to the Soarin ride at Epcot that was an hour and a half. Hubby the fine man that he is talked me in to taking the Mummy ride. Seconds before we entered the ride I noticed a sign that mentioned the ride is not recommended for those with back problems, pregnant women and those that experience motion sickness. I am the motion sickness Queen.

I nudged hubby and requested he read the sign. He smiled. I said, "Is this a roller coaster?"

"It's a baby one," he whispered.

My stomach began to knot itself silly. I felt the dizziness seeping through my blood. I swallowed down the remains of breakfast.

"Why didn't you tell me this was a roller coaster?"

"It's just a mild one," sneered hubby.

Okay I think to myself there is no way I can traverse back down those stairs through masses of people to leave. I took in a deep Yoga breathe and proceeded into the coaster. It didn't look like a baby one to me. I sat down stowed my prescription sunglasses inside my womanly clothing and adjusted my visor. I took it off and squeezed it flat. But then how could I hold on desperately to the bar and hold my visor.

I put the visor back on my head and it felt snug as a bug in a rug. It should stay firmly attached to my head - I foolishly thought. Off we go into darkness as I scrunched my eyes closed. Perhaps if I don't see anything I will not get sick and be terrified for my life.

The jerky movement began. I screamed, a thousand times I must have screamed because my voice box became non existent. And then the baby curve and the rush of hot stagnant air and off with my visor. I couldn't let go of the bar to grab my precious visor and I was in the middle of a panic attack. My visor was gone with the wind. I felt sadness and then sickness.

My breakfast boiled like a great volcano ready to erupt. I leaned toward hubby. Let him get a full dose of what a baby roller coaster ride really does to me. Eject scrambled eggs.

We left the ride while I wobbled down the narrow hallway feeling the loss of my precious visor and breakfast. For some strange odd reason the ride was momentarily shut down. I'm thinking my most precious visor was resting somewhere on the tracks. The next day I checked with lost and found but came up empty headed. The visor was gone with the wind never to be seen again. Hubby will buy me a new visor.

Did I mention that I really dislike roller coaster?

St. Michaels Artists

I love art and nature. There is an abundance of art all around us. Beauty surrounds us, comforts us and inspires us. Then we have the artist who take their inspirations and talents and shower the world with their art forms.

I am the proud owner of a fantastic piece of art that hangs in my home. This lovely piece of work has traveled with me through three states and many years. In New York it hung elegantly above the fireplace. In North Carolina it claimed a prominent place on the living room wall. In Florida it adorns the wall in the family room. It is such a marvelous painting that I painted my walls to match the landscape in the painting.

This talented artist who now resides on the Eastern shore of Maryland has had her work displayed on the streets of St. Michaels. These fabulous artistic banners will be auctioned off in a few weeks. I am so pleased that I own one of her masterpieces.

Mary Ellen Mabe - you are the best. Check out her banners that graced the streets of the Eastern shore giving everyone a glimpse of nature as seen through the eyes of an artist.

http://www.eastonmainstreet.com/event_banner_2008.html