Have plane will travel

I know I said I'd get a real post up yesterday but we spent the day making our way home and the idea of blogging about the weekend was just too overwhelming. My head was so full of thoughts and still is and I'm kinda just enjoying remembering all the fun we had which I'm not sure will translate here. I think I'll break this into two parts because you know it takes me lots of words to say just a little.

Rewind to Friday morning when we got up at 5 am to go to the airport in spite of the fact that just six hours prior my husband had come home from an out of town trip (yes, we're insane when it comes to travel) to find me laying curled up in the fetal position in a pitch dark house. I seriously wanted to cry and in fact did just thinking about getting on an airplane in a few short hours. But Friday I woke up feeling mostly fine and decided since it had come on so suddenly it must have been a case of food poisoning. And when I say suddenly I might even mean that I was sitting in the chair at my hairdressers with half a head of highlights in and the other half still to go. Not my finest hour.

Moving on (you're glad I know)...we flew to Atlanta for the weekend to attend a surprise 50th birthday party for one of our college friends. And some of our other college friends were also there so it was a mini reunion of sorts. As soon as we checked into our hotel I located a place to get a pedicure (priorities people!) I had to cancel mine on Thursday and I was not going to have icky unpolished toes all weekend so hubs carted me around until we found a salon and voila...pretty feet.

Afterwards I dropped the hubs at the hotel and scooted out to a nearby Starbucks to meet my first real live blog stranger friend. What's the terminology here? Anyway, Rebekah lives in that area and we had made plans to meet. I recognized her immediately from her photos except a. she is tiny and for some reason I was expecting her to be tall and b. she is young which I guess I knew in my head but the reality was she was young and fresh and I still felt kinda wonky from Thursday (eventually I'll hush about that episode) so not so young and fresh. She has four children but I only got to meet her youngest son and her daughter who started kindergarten this week and was positively precious and even sat in my lap before we parted. Her son was a cutie pie too. He was a typically curious toddler and I think Rebekah felt a little anxious about it because she wrote about our day too but honestly I'm used to kids and just plowed right on ahead talking. It takes a lot more than a busy three year old to shut me up. Everyone go over and say hi to Rebekah and tell her you know she is adorable because she is.

Friday night the 'college friends' were meeting in a nearby tavern to surprise our friend, R. The actual surprise party was Saturday night but since we were all in town his wife thought it would be fun if we met up Friday night so he could hang out with us all weekend. They have a local place they go for dinner and trivia and to meet friends on Friday nights so we all piled in there. The owner was nice and he got in on the fun and let us all come behind the bar to hide so R didn't see us immediately. I love a surprise and he was definitely surprised. And then the fun began. And it was the kind of fun that would maybe not be fun to you but it was fun to us. Because we laughed and laughed and told stories and felt the years fade away in an instant. What is it about these college friends that when we get together makes it feel like we saw each other yesterday when in reality it is months or even years between visits? I love these friends. Still.

Saturday we spent the entire day standing in the hotel swimming pool talking. Seriously. It was perfect. Saturday night was the actual party and again, he was surprised. There was a big crowd and an awesome band and we might have danced a lot. Of course I have the requisite picture of my hubs singing with the band because somehow he always manages to charm his way behind the mic.

When the party ended we may have done something that really hearkens back to our college days...we went to Waffle House and ate a full breakfast at 1:00 am. First of all, 1:00 is way way way past my normal bedtime. Secondly, I don't eat a full breakfast like that for breakfast but oh yes I did do that smothered and covered kind of ordering on Saturday night. And may I just add that the clientele inside a Waffle House after midnight in the year 2010 looks remarkably similar to the clientele that frequented Waffle Houses back in 1980something. Just sayin'.

We said our goodbyes about noon on Sunday and left for the second leg of our trip, an overnite stop in Tennessee with my in laws. We were 'in the neighborhood' so we figured why not? Yes, a three hour drive is 'in the neighborhood' and when you live away from family you have to take advantage of these moments. My fil has a birthday next week so we had a nice dinner out and caught up a bit before heading out Monday for state #3 which I'll save for part deux. I may be taking another little mini vaca sometime in the next few days (I already told you...we're crazy when it comes to traveling) so I'll be in and out again but hey, if you want to blog you need fodder, right?

Hello Monday. Oh wait...it's Tuesday.

I'm not really writing a blog post because wow, we've had a little mini whirlwind of a trip which may or may not be over as I type this and I am going to need more brain power than I currently posses to recap our extended weekend. In the past four days we've seen college friends in one state, my in-laws in another, and my children in yet another. Oh, and I met a sweet blog friend in person too. Whew! To add more fun to all the fun I spent the entire day before we flew out laying on my bathroom floor wishing I'd never eaten whatever it was I ate that resulted in me spending the day up close and personal with my bathroom tile.

If I had to sum it all up in a single sentence it would be this.... Old friends never get old and new friends are really nice too, birthdays are meant to be celebrated, and seeing my children even for a day or two makes my heart happy. It's a run on sentence but it's a sentence nonetheless and I think I told you I haven't had enough coffee (or sleep) to write something sensible today.


I am curious about something though....when you click on your google reader after being incommunicado for 4 or 5 days and there are over 200+ posts to be read what do you do? Do you say sorry and then hit delete all? Do you scan and read a few? Or do you slog thru all 200+? I'm leaning towards option A so if I missed something fabulous you wrote please let me know. I'm sure I'll catch up on a few but most likely not all.


And I realize you are probably thinking, hey, didn't she say four paragraphs ago that she wasn't writing a post today? You should know that I don't consider this an actual post...it's just a friendly update. I'll get it together for a real post sometime Wednesday. That's tomorrow, right?

Happy Monday Tuesday!

The post in which I don't talk about stuff

So I know I mentioned a little thing about a job interview yesterday and yes I did indeed have a job interview but I don't think I'm going to say anything about it here. Not because it did not go well-it did. But because a. my head is still spinning and 2. I'm conflicted and also c. if I do take a job I will not be blogging about it for privacy reasons...work place privacy that is, not my own. Suffice it to say I tossed and turned all night and finally fell asleep only to be awakened in what felt like the middle of the night because my hubs left the alarm set from yesterday when he got up at ridunkulous o'clock. And our clock is up high on his armoire and is operated by a miniature remote control which is kept on his side of the bed so not only can I not easily reach it but I cannot read the buttons when I do.

On the bright side, I'm having my highlights done today so all will soon be almost right with the world. And then I'm going for a pedicure. There is nothing like a great haircut and color topped off with a pedicure to clear the foggy head and provide clarity about life's big decisions. At least that's what I'm hoping.

Plus, I think...I think that I might possibly meet my very first blog stranger friend tomorrow. And I'm not going to say anything else about that either. Aren't you glad you popped in here today to not read about stuff. I will most definitely be writing about it after the fact but I want to make sure it actually happens before I do.

Enjoy your weekend everyone...hey, it's Thursday, that's practically the weekend, right?

A little nepotism, a lot of random

It's Wednesday which means it's time for the weekly random dozen you have come to count on. Right?

Here we go...

1. I feel much more like an official blogger now. Daughter1 designed an original header for me which I think is really cute. I like a simple page background so we looked around to find something that would coordinate with the header. When I asked daughter1 if she thought this one was too yellow she said, 'No, yellow is kind of your color.' I asked if she meant on my blog and she said 'No, in life'. She's a keeper that one!

2. If you are interested in a blog header of your very own visit her blog Sincerely Shannon and let her know. She has done a few now for friends and will have pricing information up shortly.

3. I suppose I could call daughter1 by her given name since, if you read #2, it isn't much of a secret. Nah. I've grown accustomed to calling her Daughter1.

4. Hubs had a ridiculously early flight this morning and a button broke off his shirt sleeve just as he was getting ready to walk out the door. His ride was waiting in the drive so he stood breathing down my neck as I attempted to a. find a pair of scissors that were small enough and sharp enough to remove the remains of the old button b. thread a needle without using my reading glasses c. give up and thread a needle while wearing my glasses and d. finally sew on the button. All without coffee. That was pleasant.

5. We have finally gotten some sweet relief this week from the humidity and that pesky thing they call the heat index. It's nice to walk outside and not feel like you've just stepped into a pizza oven. Not that it's cool, it's just that temperature is relative.

6. I did not watch The Bachelorette this week. It was that strange episode they always have just before the finals where the contestants who were booted off come back on and talk about each other. Daughter2 and I were curious about the people who sit in the studio audience for this one. And listening to a group of men whine and 'tell all' is icky.

7. I finally took all my kitchen knives to be sharpened and wow! They are sharp! My husband says its only a matter of time now before we are at the ER reattaching one of my fingers or stitching up my hand. I blame it on genetics. The women in my family are not known for their prowess with a knife.

8. The bear. Monday morning my neighbor phoned to let me know a bear cub was at the end of our driveway. I missed him. This was his second visit (that we know of) in less than a week. We were away on Saturday and the same neighbors said they saw him stand on his hind legs with his front paws resting on the pillar that holds our driveway lights. He then proceeded to look around and sort of survey his domain. He seems to come out of hiding on the days we have our rubbish picked up which is why we never put ours out until the morning of and always bring the empty can immediately back inside. I'm slightly tempted to leave it and see if he shows. One question though...where oh where is mama bear? That would be good to know before I trek all the way to the curb unarmed. And by unarmed I of course mean without my camera.

9. I've got a couple of fun little short breaks planned in the next couple of weeks so I may be in and out of the blogosphere for a few days. That's all I'm sayin' about that.

10. Except to say that one of my short breaks will include seeing these guys...

What's your favorite Brooks and Dunn song?

11. I think the Garden State Parkway is one of the absolute worst roads in the universe to travel...always bumper to bumper, always cars zigging and zagging from lane to lane, always under construction, always at least one minor fender bender that backs up traffic for hours, almost always at least one major fender bender that backs up traffic for days and, best of all, you get to pay frequent tolls for the privilege of traversing this highway.

12. I have a job interview at 3 o'clock today. Or a discussion. Or something.

Thought I'd end with a cliff hanger...Happy Wednesday!

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Taylor over at The Lumberjack's Wife is starting a little online challenge for anyone who is trying to drop a few pounds. You can write a post on your own blog or leave a comment on hers if you want to take her up on it...I figure what do I have to lose except these last few pesky pounds?

When I was growing up I was 'stick thin' as they used to say. Or maybe they still do but whatever, I was skinny. Really really skinny... there was not an ounce of body fat on me anywhere. My stomach was oh so very flat and perfect. Sigh. I remember being kind of excited to reach the 100 pound mark. (Whyyyyyy????) I was in the 10th grade. Big sigh. When I went off to college everyone said, "Beware the freshman fifteen"..blah blah blah. No worries... I was the girl who could eat pizza at 3 o'clock in the morning and not gain a pound. I bought clothes because I liked them. I wore a bikini. I was active but not purposefully 'working out'. I didn't need to because no matter how much or how little I ate, how often or how seldom I exercised, I never gained weight. I was the woman who gained only 17 pounds while pregnant. Both times. And I was 30 years old when my youngest arrived. I didn't have to work to lose 'baby weight'...those few leftover pounds dropped off while nursing and caring for a newborn and a toddler.

Fast forward a decade and a half...I woke up one day to discover I was in my mid forties. And it was about that point in time that my metabolism said, 'hey let's slow this party right on down'. Honestly that is exactly how it felt. Like I went to sleep one night and woke up in someone else's body. Now, keep in mind that at the time I was living in the land of the world's best cream (England). Their motto is 'dessert is good but wouldn't it be even better with a little cream or custard poured on top?' By the way, yes it would. Anyway, we used to tell newcomers to the UK that they needed to beware the "ex-pat 15" because essentially you're living in a very social environment where you are attending breakfasts and luncheons and dinners full of fabulous food several times each week. We won't even mention the wine.

However, I was walking everywhere....into town several times each week, big hilly hikes out into the countryside each week, I joined a local gym, and I was on the go a lot. Still, something had changed. And I like to call that something hormones. They wreak havoc with your metabolism and create all sorts of other fun issues too...almost every woman I know has a metabolism malfunction when they hit their mid-late forties.

I am well within the normal weight range for my height but for me its more an issue of where the weight lies. Why isn't it a little bit here and a little bit there instead of congregating in my middle? These days I eat less of the foods I enjoy and I pay attention to what I'm consuming. I think about menus and foods to prepare that are satisfying but lower in fat. I use skim milk, very little butter, make sweet treats only when we have house guests or dinner guests or 'stick thin' grown up daughters home to visit....I resist my biggest craving of all which is salt. Because in addition to a few pounds that refuse to budge my blood pressure borders on high along with its ugly obnoxious twin sister, cholesterol. Ugh.

I know some people have spent their entire lives watching what they eat and counting calories and depriving themselves of some food or other. But that has not been me. I have spent most of my life eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and to be honest that was way, way more fun. Now I work out several times a week, skip the after dinner snacks, omit the bacon and the cheese from the bacon cheeseburger, limit my pasta and bread intake, and indulge in dessert only on very special occasions. And still...those few pounds linger. What is up with that???

I figure I'll take on Taylor's challenge and try to kick things up a notch. I'm taking a couple of mini trips here and there in the next couple of weeks which always means less control over my food options but I'll do my best. Let me know if you join in too...a little moral support can go a long way.

I have a BIG birthday coming up in a little less than two months. That's my first marker. I'd like to get a glimpse of my 30 year old self on that day but will happily settle for a glimpse of my 40 year old self, before the body snatcher invasion of course. And I think Taylor is calling this Torturous Tuesdays but I am all about thinking positive so how about we call it Triumphant Tuesdays instead?

The Jersey Shore minus Snooki and The Situation

Okay I don't even really know what those nicknames mean but I've managed to work them into the conversation a few times this weekend. For the record, I like some reality programming but Jersey Shore? um, no. Anyway, Saturday hubs and I decided to brave the Garden State Parkway and spend the day at 'the shore'. Or as I like to call it, 'the beach'. We only live about an hour and a half from the shore (I can't help it...something about blogging from NJ forces the word shore as opposed to beach into my brain and onto my blog).

Let's begin again, shall we?

We are not far in miles from THE BEACH but a little something called 'shore traffic' does stand between us and the crashing surf. We left the house at 8 am and had our toes in the sand by 9:45. Not bad. Did I mention it was in the 90's with a heat index over 100 degrees? What is a heat index anyway? Whatever it is I know its nothing good when it arches over 100 degrees. Fortunately it was really breezy sitting in a beach chair facing the Atlantic Ocean. Normally I don't even put my big toe in the water at the 'Jersey Shore' because even at the end of one of the hottest Julys on record the water is still icy cold. Saturday was so hot that icy cold actually felt pretty good.

There were some awesome waves too...maybe not awesome like Hawaii surf conditions awesome but still really good waves for body surfing. Hubs spent a lot of time in the waves. I spent most of my time reading in my beach chair which is my most favorite of all pastimes.

If all you know of the Jersey Shore is what you've seen on a questionable television program of the same name then you might be surprised by the loveliness of Spring Lake. (Hello NJ Dept. of Tourism. I'm back with more free advertising.) There are some gorgeous homes in Spring Lake and I'm pretty sure I would love to have a beach house there. It's a quiet town but you can always drive up or down the 'shore' a town or two if you feel the need for anything more entertaining than the ocean.

Speaking of the ocean...what is up with people loudly making and taking business calls while standing on the beach??? On a Saturday no less. We saw this in Marco Island too so its not a 'Jersey Shore' thing. I think its more of a 21st century thing. Hey, its the ocean people! One of the most awesome displays of God's power and creativity we have here on earth. Put down the phone for goodness sakes! If you don't you may very well end up on a stranger's blog.

Just sayin'.

One thing about NJ beaches...they are crowded. As in lots of people. Lots and lots of people. NJ is a tiny state but it is packed with people. And cars. And taxes but that's a post for another day. Anyway, I think the fact that Spring Lake doesn't have all the arcades and amusement park rides and casinos, etc. that some of the other shore towns have are what has allowed it to remain a little less crazy. Which is how I like my beach towns.

We found a parking space without any trouble in a beautiful neighborhood only one block from the beach. There's not a lot of town to Spring Lake, mostly pretty neighborhoods, some restaurants, the ocean of course and also, a lake. Hence the name-Spring Lake. I would love to have a beach house someday but it's pretty safe to say that as lovely as Spring Lake is my future beach house will not be in The Garden State (Hello NJ Dept. of Taxation. I blame you.)

Spring Lake did make for a a wonderful day out...we soaked up the sun, had a nutritious and delicious hot dog on the boardwalk, drank our body weight in water (did I mention it was HOT?), and did lots of people watching because truly, is there anyplace better for people watching than the beach? When we headed for home close to 6 PM it was still 100 degrees. Literally. At 6 o'clock in the evening.

We have a few busy weekends coming up but we'd love to go back before summer comes to a close. It was the perfect little spot for a day-cation...

Sun, sand, surf.

That's what I think of when I hear the words "Jersey Shore"

Write it down

I ordered a new date book recently and it arrived in the post yesterday. And I might still be living in the 1980's in some areas of my life because seriously, when was the last time you heard someone use the words 'date book'? I have tried to embrace technology in all its many forms but I have not let go of my week at a glance calendar obsession. My hubs tried to convert me to one of his old palm pilots years ago but it didn't take. I'm not even sure an IPhone would win me over...I still like a great pen and clean paper. And yes it is July and you may be thinking it's a strange time of year to be starting a new calendar but, I personally think calendars should begin in August like the school year.

I love a new calendar. No crossed out appointments that had to be re-scheduled. No new addresses written on top of old addresses. No notes scrawled on pages where they don't belong just because the calendar happened to be sitting beside the phone when I needed something to write on. No pen tests...you know where you grab all the pens in a drawer and scribble to find one that writes. That's not just me is it? Instead you have fresh clean unmarked paper in a super cute cover.

It's important my calendar fits certain criteria-

• It must be spiral bound.
• It must be in the week at a glance format.
• It must have a few address pages tucked in there somewhere.
• The cover must be super cute.

Success!

This one also has a few pockets and some lined pages for notes which earns it bonus points.

I love the way a new calendar makes me feel like I'm getting a fresh start. In reality we're given a fresh start every day but the blank pages yet to be filled remind me that a lot happens in a year. Sometimes its hard to part with the old book. I go thru it to copy addresses and any important dates and phone numbers I may have written there and as I do I feel grateful for my everyday life. For people and places and moments.

And I'm pretty sure syncing an electronic device via another electronic device does not have the same effect. Just sayin'