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BP Oil Disaster

29 June 2010, 3:56 pm

It’s been some time since I have been able to write a new post. This is something far to important not to take the time to share with the world. As many of you know, I live down here on the Gulf Coast, it is my home and it has my heart. My mother has often said I was born with gills because I love the beach so much. This video I’m going to post is heart breaking to say the least. Aside from blaming BP and our government for cutting corners and allowing something like this to happen, we need to set the blame aside and look for a solution not just as a country but as a world, as a race. Our planet is all we have, without it we can not exist. Please take the time to watch this video and also share it with others!

The effects of the Oil Disaster, hundreds of Dolphins dying

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Gone Coastal

22 February 2010, 10:36 pm

It’s been quite some time since I have been able to post anything. Time seems to be flying by so fast this year.  I am in the process of moving, which is a tremendous amount of work. It’s amazing the amount of shit stuff you can accumulate. I moved to the Gulf coast five years ago. We sold our three story home and gave away and donated most of the items in it. Only keeping a few pieces of furniture, lots and lots of books, thousands of photographs and tons of knick-knacks that I couldn’t part with. For the past five years all of those items have been in storage. I was quite excited to go through all of the items in storage I hadn’t seen for so long. Or so I thought. Turns out I have spent appropriately $6000.00 for five years of storage to discover most of the items I am shocked I ever owned. I am happy to have my books and photographs, but the knick-knacks…yeah not so much. My taste is somewhat eclectic and has also become very simplified. What a bunch of crap I had. I used to collect angels. Lots of angels. Many were gifts. Don’t want em. Not even a single one now. I certainly don’t want the cabin type decor I thought was so cute in my knotty-pine Minnesota house. Bears and moose, nah. I’ll be getting rid of all of that. I’ve gone coastal. I’m a bit more into the beachy breezy feel and natural earthy tones now. Less is more. This is also a theory I’m obviously going to have to apply to my wardrobe. I have way to many clothes. I mean girls like clothes, yes. We love them. But do I really need two dresser’s worth as well as an entire closet of only shirts.  Just shirts, I tell you. That’s entirely to many shirts. Besides, where would I put the bottoms. I’m almost like one of those hoarder’s when it comes to clothes. TOO many clothes. Then, I have the issue of pictures. Just regular old photographs. The kids growing up, snapshots, you name it. I have a chest full of pictures. A LARGE chest full. Again, too many. Those I’m not parting with. Those and my books. I’m keeping them even if I have to pay another $6000.00 storage fee. I wonder if I’ll ever be done organizing. Soon I hope to have time to write again. Very soon. But for now, I’m unpacking crap. Way too much crap.

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Out wandering around

19 January 2010, 3:52 pm

Travel has always been a passion of mine. I guess, maybe I have been a bit privileged in that department. I have seen the towering Statue of Christ Redeemer atop the Corcovado Mountain, overlooking Rio de Janeiro. I have seen Lima, Peru and taken train through the Great Rockies in Canada. I have been 60 feet underwater diving in places like Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. I have been to the island of Oahu, HI more times than I can count on my fingers and I have traveled to most of the states throughout the United States.

Like I said, I have been privileged in this aspect of my life. My father, after retiring from the Air Force began a long career within the Airline Industry, thus awarding us with many travel privileges while I was growing up. I assume this is where I get my wandering nature from. It’s also the reason I went on to become a Travel Agent when I was first married. Back then, Travel Agents were awarded with what was called FAM (familiarization) trips . They were often free or at least extremely reduced in price so that we could experience areas and places in order to sell them well. These types of trips were encouraged by my boss, and I took them as often as possible without feeling like I was abandoning my family.

When I was little we moved around a lot. That was the Air Force. After my father became a civilian and started working with the Airline Industry we traveled a lot so when I graduated, travel seemed to make sense. I have always been a wanderer. I love exploring new places, just getting out and seeing all there is to see and learning about new cultures. I have a beautiful little painting in my room of a sailboat floating, the inscription reads “My feet, with their need for solid ground, couldn’t convince my heart, not to set sail” That seems to hold true for me. I haven’t worked in the Travel Industry for many years now although, I still find that family and friends come to me often for travel advice. It seems I am again feeling the bug. Sometimes it seems like the wind calls out to me, like there are distant places pulling me to them. I wonder if I’ll ever grow old of wandering. I’m starting a new section on my web page that is going to have local travel information. It will have information on places to rest your head, great places to grub and all the fascinating areas to wander locally. Be sure to check it out if you’re headed over yonder.

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Randomocities of me

17 January 2010, 2:13 pm

A bad blogger am I. I have been so very busy that I’ve been slacking on my blog a bit. A dear friend of ours had been very sick and a few days ago we stood by his side as he took his last breathe of life. The experience was very difficult, to say the least and has forever changed me. I’ll write more on that another day. For now, here are some random facts about me.

1) I have been married (to the same man) since I was 16 years old. That’s been a really, really long time.  He will be turning 41 very soon and I just had my 39th birthday. Like I said, a really long time. I am completely spoiled rotten and am not sure why he has chosen to put up with me this long but he has. Lord only knows why I have chosen to put up with him either, but it’s probably because he’s a fabulous cook and he’s kinda cute too.

2) Our first son was born when I was only 15 years old and my husband was 17. Our oldest son is now the father of two of our grandsons whom we worship. We have 3 boys and 3 grandsons.

3) I have flown an airplane, as in did the actual driving (with assistance). I grew up flying, like a lot. We could even do sky tricks. My father had a Beech craft and a Cessna.

4) I hate puppies. Now before you flip out thinking I’m a hater, let me say, yes they are cute and sweet. But they pee and poo and chew. Not so cute. I realize humans start out this way as well, that seems o.k. with me, animals, yeah not so much. I do love dogs and cats. Just not puppies.

5) I’ve swam with dolphins in the wild. They are much bigger looking close up. I am a certified diver but swam with dolphins while only swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the beach. I also used to work on a Dolphin boat.

6) My favorite sounds in the world are children laughing uncontrollably, rain hitting a southern tin roof, and obviously the song of the sea.

7) I am very torn between the bright lights of the city, the seashore and the secluded mountains and wish I could have them all. I think I may have been a traveling gypsy in a previous life.

8 ) I get an IV infusion every 4 to 5 weeks for two days-forever and learned a very hard lesson about life and realized it could be much worse so take what you get and make it mean something.

9) I have two fat English Springer Spaniels, named Raisin and Cain…get it, raising cain. They are aptly named. Trouble I tell you.

10) I am extremely gullible. I tend to trust people at their word and often believe ridiculous things.  I once was convinced into believing cows I saw on a mountainside had shorter legs on one side so they could stand on the mountain level. I was told they were called Cadillac cows. Upon further investigation I discovered that was not true. Can you imagine if they turned around and walked the other way, only to topple over? (This thought was the forethought to doubt)

11) I claimed to love wild game at the dinner table after meeting my future in-laws, to which my father in law asked what kind and I replied buffalo. As in buffalo wings. (In my defense I was 14)

12) I collect wine corks, seashells, driftwood, flip-flops and on occasion stray people.

13) I often sleep with multiple men at the same time.

14) My 16 year old son (the baby) was given a full academic college scholarship when he finished 8th grade. He is attending college classes part-time while attending high-school. (He obviously got it from me….lol)

15) I have a fear of heights. Severe fear. I’m terrified of falling. To the extent I’m not even capable of climbing more than 3 steps on a ladder without extreme cussing and totally white knuckling  it.

16) I once pointed and laughed when someone random tripped and fell in front of me. I don’t know what possessed me to do so at the time, but I did (Quite possible vodka made me do it). Anyway, year’s later karma came around and bit me in the ass. I was on a business trip heading into a busy Law firm in downtown Chicago. It was raining out. I was dressed in a skirt suit, heels and carrying my laptop. As I stepped out of the rain and onto the marble floors, I slid across the lobby on my ass. As I said karma.

17) I have a love/hate relationship with writing.

18) I don’t sleep much.

19) I am slightly high-maintenance, all of the women in my family have always been. But I am also very laid back. It takes a lot to get my tail feathers in a bunch.

20) My sister bet me $500 bucks I wouldn’t graduate High school when I got pregnant, I graduated on-time, B honor roll with a baby on my hip. I have been known to do things out of spite, on occasion.

21) I take a lot of pictures. A whole lot, I carry a camera with me everywhere. Friends call me the paparazzi.

22) I want to one day retire on a boat. I want an old Woody, high maintenance but the bright work is gorgeous and they have so much more character than the floating fiberglass that you see today.

23) I collect books. I hate to borrow them out even after I read them, I just can’t do it. But you can borrow anything else I own.

24) I am working on writing 3 books currently and probably have 4 more in my head. I see characters everywhere I go and hope that one day I will be able to allow someone to actually read them. They seem too personal and I struggle with sharing them even though they have nothing to do with me.

25) I can’t watch scary movies, or even remotely hinting on scary.  If I do, I have trouble sleeping for weeks and I can hardly function alone anytime of the day.


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Hepburn’s Guide to a Happy New Year

4 January 2010, 11:54 am

“For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you’ll never walk alone. People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Never throw out anyone”- Audrey Hepburn

I came across this quote the other day and it made me think about the New Year. I did not make any New Years resolutions this year. Not one in fact. There are plenty of things I need to accomplish this year, however, nothing on my “stop procrastinating” list made it to resolution status.  After reading Audrey’s quote, it really had me questioning the common or usual resolutions such as losing weight, eating healthy, stop smoking…blah, blah, blah.  Her words of wisdom are so simple yet so insightful.  You hear people saying “Have a happy New Year” or “Have a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year” I’m not so sure that’s all I seek. Now don’t get me wrong, health, happiness and prosperity are all great things to have and to wish upon someone, but I’m thinking more along the lines of fulfillment, purpose, achievement and a paying it forward attitude. I have always been the type of person who tries to see the good in all people and to look at situations from both sides. I have never actually given up completely on anyone close to me in my life, with the exception of one person. I have sometimes taken a step back and given them room to reclaim themselves, but never thrown them out. It goes without saying though; once in a while it would have been easier to throw some people out. There have also been times when I didn’t let someone “in” in the first place, which I guess, is maybe similar to throwing them out but I don’t think that’s the same thing Audrey was talking about. Sometimes you come across people in your life who are toxic. Toxic relationships can be very hard to overcome. Some people just have a bad attitude, about everything. Sometimes you don’t really realize it until it’s too late. You’re steadily trying to see the good in a person, and its there, somewhere, buried under a layer of disparagement.  What do you do when you realize they are always going to be negative? Do you throw them away after all your failed attempts? Do you give up on them or do you end up feeling despaired yourself?   I think it is important to speak words of kindness, to have a positive attitude, and even more so when you are surrounded by someone negative. Perhaps, your forward-looking will in some way, change their outlook. It’s easy to jump on the wagon with someone who is ranting about something, but perhaps you can sway them into happiness with your own kindness. Perhaps you can help them to become renewed by giving them a positive outlook on a negative situation. Perhaps they will feel revived and restored by your grace and poise. Perhaps they will be able to reclaim and redeem themselves if you seek the good in them.  I think Audrey has a real lesson in her words, words we could all stand to focus on in the coming years.

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The Other Woman

17 December 2009, 4:46 pm

People were always drawn to them. They were radiant together. They had a unique magnetic quality about them. People were envious of what they had, they wanted it. They craved it. So many people were quick to settle for what seemed to be subtle happiness, but not them, and it showed. They were different. Fate had shown them to each other and intertwined their very beings.

Envy was lurking in a corner; it wasn’t the first time she felt it peering into her life. She was wise to it, and when it appeared she only felt sorrow for the soul attached to it. She knew that what they had was rare and hard to find. She wished more could experience it, she wished the world to be full of it. She knew there would be others who saw it and wanted it; she knew there would be attempts to attain it. She knew it was coming, it always came after them. She didn’t understand why it had to be this way, why there was such dissonance. Why was there always someone so eager to attempt to destroy it? Envy.

She watched.

Someone wanted what they had. Someone was desperate for it and had to have a piece of it.  Someone would pursue it. Someone needed that connection and would approach.

Again, she watched as the unfolding took place, quietly, silently and unnoticeable.

She watched how the envious would listen to him, how she would agree with his words, how she would portray her longing and take on his interests. The encouraging and willing and wanting that she would show.
Conscience always began to surface minutes too late. Conscience, but it was too late, she was left unsatisfied. She wanted more.

She was not sly or mysterious, she was not tall, or dark, or beautiful. She was not sexy or alluring. She was not fascinating or enticing. She was not mystical or magical. She was not dazzling or charming. She was not graceful and lovely. She was not radiant or delightful. She was not slick or clever. She was not considerate or giving or brilliant. She was not fancy or spontaneous. She was not ambitious or enthusiastic. She was not serene or compassionate. She was not gracious or charitable.

She was plain. She was everyday. She was easy. She was predictable. She was lonely and simple. She was thoughtless. She was common-place. She was self-serving and envious.

She was everything I wasn’t.

Envy was unable to break them and soon it would abscond  into the distance. They would recapture themselves and captivate each other again. They would be radiant once more and things would be beautiful and they would shine. Again, they would watch. They would watch the corners where the envious always stood. They would be ready and prepared.

Sometimes the envious appeared as a man. Sometimes the envoius appeared as a woman. They would be ready and they would prevail. It was meant to be.honeymoon_package_1_09_beach_couple

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Dear Vodka

14 December 2009, 8:31 am

Dear Vodka,
It is with great regret I have to terminate our relationship. Last night you caused me to act in an unbecoming manner and betrayed me; leaving me feeling very badly this morning. I have always been good to you, telling my friends and acquaintances about the great times we have shared. I am saddened that you would betray me this way. I do not feel that I can trust you any longer and should probably come clean with you as well. I have been cheating on you occasionally with Rum. At first it was by mistake, we ran into each other at a friends house. However, Rum has assured to never to make me feel the way you have. Do not make any attempts to sneak into a threesome with Rum and I, and do not think your fancy name brands will tempt me. Maybe one day we can do lunch, but right now, you make me sick and the Captain has promised to console me and take me to see some old friends on the island of Malibu. I’m sorry Vodka, but I’m breaking up with you.n1179234638_30235308_5198830

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Snow

2 December 2009, 9:43 pm

heavenly-1Tahoe was beautiful this time of year. In truth, it’s beautiful anytime of year, but with a fresh blanket of milky white powder atop the evergreens, it was awe-inspiring. Heavenly Village sits nestled in towering mountains and the glistening aquamarine waters of Lake Tahoe. This was just what Samantha needed after the hectic holidays. Sam had always been close to her family, and she truly enjoyed spending time with them over the holidays, but this year with her father gone, things had been different. She had always been very close to him, he was the one who understood her best when the rest of the family just didn’t seem to get it. He was always the one on her side of the fence, encouraging her, listening and providing her with a sense of being. He was also always the one to fend off the questions from the rest of them. Why aren’t you dating? Isn’t there anyone that seems interesting enough to give a chance? Don’t you want children someday? This isn’t healthy, Sam. She knew they meant well and were only concerned for her but she wished they’d back off. Why was it so hard for them to understand? Lately it seemed to have gotten worse, probably because they knew the loss of her father was going to take its toll and make matters worse. What they didn’t seem to understand was that she was already committed, she had already given all of herself to one man and although it had been five years since he disappeared, she wasn’t ever going to be able to look at another man the same again. Five years she thought, it was hard to imagine it hadn’t been longer. It felt like a lifetime, more like a thousand years, a damned eternity even. At the beginning she kept herself busy with the investigation, trying to find answers only to discover more questions. Now she just felt blank. Numb. Off in the distance a squirrel attempted to chase off his nemesis. Trying to push the thoughts from her mind, she watched the foreign shapes take form in the snow as he pounced from spot to spot before scurrying up the next tree. The branches bounced as he jumped from limb to limb and droplets of silvery snow plopped to the ground below. The air hinted of vanilla and pineapple from the abundance of Jeffery Pines that lined the mountainsides. The air was crisp and refreshing. It had been years since Sam had skied. Five years at least and she felt a bit tarnished. Her father had taught her to ski on this very mountain when she was just 5 years old. Although she hadn’t been here for quite some time, this mountain was like an old family friend. Growing up, Sam’s family had taken several trips a year to ski Tahoe. It felt strangely consoling to be back. Heavenly was always her favorite mountain with lifts and spectacular views on both the California and Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. She remembered the laughter in her fathers voice as he’d told her to slow down a little. She glanced back in the squirrel’s direction before she decided to head down the mountain. He was no where in site. She pushed off with her right leg and began a slow slalom weaving back and forth across the mountain. The slopes were starting to get busier as it shifted from early morning. A group of college aged kids blew past her, playfully hollering and weaving among them selves. Two girls lagged behind engrossed in conversation away from the group. She was starting to feel more comfortable with each turn and began relaxing when suddenly a familiar voice spoke loudly from behind.
“Hello Sam”
She tensed up, whisked sharply to the right, stopping dead in her tracks. She turned her head to his voice and feeling nearly frozen in place, she toppled over….

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Bite me like you mean it

20 November 2009, 2:38 pm

Call me a geek but I’m excited about seeing New Moon tonight, I’m taking my 16 yr old son, his girlfriend and a friend of theirs. Which that alone is fabulous, getting your 16 yr old and their friends to spend a Friday night with their parents is fabulous in its self and seeing New Moon is an added bonus. I was a late bloomer in terms of joining the Twilight bandwagon. When It first came out and I was told the basis of the story, it didn’t sound like anything I would be interested in. I wasn’t really into the whole werewolves, shape shifters or vampire thing. But it was everywhere. T-Shirts, dolls, hype, media, news and I had no idea what they were talking about. I figured it was some teen culture type movie that surely wouldn’t be appealing to an adult. However, when my 16 year old son began reading a book just shy of 500 pages with the sequels each having between 550-640 pages I decided I wanted to know what he was reading. I began reading Twilight and found I couldn’t put it down. It wasn’t at all what I had expected. I was expecting dark and twisted grizzly blood scenes, when in fact I found a love story. I mean sure there’s some blood, they are vampires after all, but not the gruesome story I would have expected. Hoards of teenage girls drooling over Jacob and Edward trying to decide which one they would choose, well I for one, as a woman, tend to be drawn to all things shiny and sparkly, so when a man’s skin can shine like a diamond in the sunlight, I’m going to take notice. sparkling-edward-cullen-wallpaper-small Not to mention, the shiny cars they drive and the super power ability to save your life. Maybe it’s shallow, maybe it’s a bit silly, but I have been bitten by the bug that is all things Twilight. At first I thought it was a bit creepy for a woman my age to have a twinge of lust over Edward’s 18 year old character, but he is a vampire, and he has been 18 years old for a very, very long time and he is shiny so I guess that makes it justifiable to my warped mind.
P.S. I am off all of the antibiotics, mostly recovered from my stint of a mysterious illness that landed me in the hospital and finally able to see through the haze and plan on attempting to write something more coherent next week so please check back.

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Press the Pause button

12 November 2009, 11:34 pm

Honey I’m Home!

I promise to attempt to write something very soon. I have been sick, in the hospital and now am finally home. YAY! However, I’m in a bit of a haze of medications and so I’m not really able to write anything coherent, err, well, actually, I haven’t even had a very coherent thought, much less attempt to make any sense on a blank page. As soon as I can see through the cobwebs in my head again, I’ll get back to it.

If your just plain curious,and really bored, feel free to read on. Warning: Boring Medical Shit Coming…

I get a treatment every 4 weeks or so through an IV which is administered through a port in my chest. The procedure is called IVIG. It is to treat an autoimmune disease. Last week when my nurse attempted to do my routine treatment, something went wrong with my port and I felt something “pop” in my neck. After evaluation, we went ahead with my treatment using a vein rather than my port and the treatment went as usual. The day following, I started feeling bad, hurting all over, I spent the night in the ER, had the swine flu test done, along with several other tests and concluded I was hurting for no apparent reason. Home I went. The next day I had a fever of near 103 and still hurt all over, head, fingers, legs, hips, just all over pain. Of course, I assumed I must have the H1N1 and had a false negative test due to having my treatment. Convinced my treatment was hiding the flu symptoms, I headed back to the ER with severe body aches and chills, to the point I chipped a freaking tooth from my teeth chattering. Only me. Anyway, after a very convincing plea to the doctor that surely it would be better to give me Tamiflu and send me home, he insisted on admitting me. I thought surely I would go home in the morning. Apparently my bloodwork showed my white blood cells to be near depleation and ended me up in what they call “reverse isolation”. It meant I was not at risk of being contagious but that anyone who entered my room could get me sick. They started talking about oncologists and hematologists and bone marrow transplants, like my head wasn’t already spinning. I was put on every antibiotic they make, continued taking the Tamiflu (just in case) and made into a human voodoo doll I’m sure. Finally, it was determined that my port had indeed broken. Remember the “pop” noise. The port snapped, became severly infected and had mutiple clots, which explained why I was having a hard time breathing, felt like shit, and stayed in a drug induced haze. Finally, a week later, I had surgery to remove the port, and got to come home. And here I am. I have to do a bit of follow up on the whole white blood cells thing but that’s about it. I’m a little sore from the surgery but not to bad and alot groggy and foggy from all the drugs but should be back to my old self soon. I hear I slept through a baby hurricane. It seems I do remember hearing an acorn hitting the hospital window at some point and I’m scratching my head wondering why they give you sleeping pills and then wake you up all night.

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