DragonBlog

Marking My Territory & PICTURES!!!

Well, the sunburn has stopped hurting, but now it itches something fierce, as it peels. I'm leaving little bits of my dead skin all over the house, it seems. The cats are probably annoyed that I'm marking my territory.

Now that I'm back I've had to renew my search for someone to watch the kids while I'm in class, since the woman I'd supposedly gotten doesn't seem to answer her e-mail, and didn't give me her phone number. Out of the four people up for the job - one never got back to me to arrange an interview in the first place, one didn't have enough experience with kids to make me comfortable, one was great, but doesn't want to work in my disaster of a house while we're in remodel hell (not that I want to be here while it's such a wreck either, but that's another blog entirely) so she offered to do it at her house instead and then never answered my e-mails, and then another that decided she wasn't the "right fit" for my family. Which was correct, mind you, she wasn't. I've never really had to do a lot of babyproofing with Jareth. Partly because I supervise him all the time, and partly because he behaves rather well. That last woman had a child of her own she would have brought with her, who instantly set about trying to find and play with every hazardous or fragile item in my house upon arriving! Okay, maybe not every item. I think she also wanted to plug my son into the TV with hers too. That wouldn't have worked for me.

Now I'm looking at the dreaded day care centers, and day cares people have in their homes. Ugh. I've got about a million phone calls to make. As it is, Brian had to stay home from work on Monday morning to cover my first day of class. This is so frustrating. I want someone qualified, with references, and all that jazz, but I can't afford to pay some of these places that want $300 a WEEK to look after my kids! Especially since I'm doing this to take a class, not bring in extra income yet. I've still got to work with what Brian makes right now.

Plenty of other stuff going on and being worked on right now, but I'll throw a bone to my readers here - the PICTURES from Florida are up! With captions even! Click the picture below to be taken to the gallery I set up for those pictures:

Okay, gotta go. More stuff to do, and a little boy needs to be put down for a nap now.

Later!

Current Mood: busy

8:52 pm - The Day After (Chicago Time)

Well, the plane didn't blow up, crash, or otherwise fail to get me (or my luggage, for that matter) to my final destination. This is good. I couldn't wait to get my hands on my little ones and properly snuggle them. I forgot to mention the part where I'd found a penny on the beach, in amongst the shells yesterday morning. I tossed it into the bag with the shells - see a penny, pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck. Who knows, maybe the penny did it's job in making sure I made it home.

Some of my luggage was worse for the wear, however. One of the wheels is half-off my suitcase and it doesn't roll right. In case that wasn't bad enough, it looks like the TSA people poked through my belongings in there too, as everything was totally NOT how I had put it in there, and the twist-tie I had holding the zipper shut had been broken and put back on in halves. The tape tie that the nice airline check-in lady had added over my twist-tie was gone entirely. And one of the souveniers I had purchased for myself from a shop in Sanibel had been utterly crushed. I had taken great pains to carefully put it in the suitcase near the middle, wrapped in soft things first and then my jean-shorts around that to kind of contain it all from slipping around and coming undone. But, after TSA goes through your bags, forget about anything fragile. I'm just glad I'd packed the teeny-tiny starfish I'd bought into a can in their wrappings - they actually survived. But the beautiful flower I found, made out of shells, was smashed half to bits. It was devestating to unwrap. I mean I NEVER buy myself stuff like that - I usually by it for other people, but never "waste" the money on myself. So to have spent the money (although it wasn't a lot, per se) and have it destroyed... Next time I WILL take the risk and try UPS instead. Sheesh.

Brian, however, has already agreed that it was a really cool souvenier and that I should contact them and get another one for myself. I've e-mailed them already, but the person who answers the e-mail is on vacation so I won't know for a while. And now I'll have to pay to have it shipped to boot. Good grief. It was a really neat thing though, and I wanted it to be part of the "nautical" theme I want to eventually do in our bedroom. I figure I'll take the biggest and nicest of the shells I found and purchased and use them in there too - dual-purposing them as both inspiration for jewelry and decoration.

Everything else seems to have survived. I don't think I had quite the same experience when I flew United/US Airways last year, when Brian and I went away on vacation for our anniversary. I blame the guy I saw winging the luggage at the conveyer into the airplane in Miami. He wasn't even watching what he was doing, just grabbing bags and throwing them in the general direction of the belt. They landed hard. I wouldn't be surprised if a few other people had things break too, but then I also saw that some people had these serious hardshell suitcases that would probably survive if the plane crashed. This being only the second time I've gone anywhere and back via plane, I'm not quite as savvy on what will survive the trip and what won't. Next time I'll just ship stuff home to myself. Lesson learned. The hard way, of course, but learned nonetheless.

Oh, and the hotel? I don't think I'd recommend The Outrigger to anyone. I think there might have been bugs in the bed after all, based on the fact that I suddenly noticed that I seemed to sprout a bunch of bug bites, starting the morning I left. They itch like hell. I just hope I didn't bring any of whatever it was home with me. I'll have to go onto tripadvisor.com, where I found that hotel ranked pretty high, and leave my own review. Considering I was left unimpressed by a restaraunt I found on there as well, I think I'll stop bothering to use that web site as a reference for places anymore either. Ugh.

Today has seemed to just slip by me, as I spent most of it just snuggling and being with my kids - reminding them that I'm back and how much I missed them. I also needed to let Kayla graze all day, milk-wise, so that my body understands the whole supply vs. demand thing again. We seem to be doing okay though - I think I'm still making about the same "nearly enough" as I was before. Two cheers for the breast pump! I'd say three, but it's not that nice of a pump. Ow. That would be the other reason why I only left for a couple of days. hehe.

Tomorrow I'll need to bust back into the routine again. Groceries need picking up, laundry needs doing, a trip to the bank, etc. And I'm still working out the details of who's watching the kids Monday morning, while I go to the first day of the fall semester's jewelry class. And there's still some web design stuff that I'm working on, and the remodelling of Kayla's room, and so on...

*sigh*

Excuse me, while I just go watch a little 30-second video I took of the gulf waters rolling in onto the beach. Or maybe the one of the wake of the boat as we rode away while the sun set behind us. Or maybe just one of the ones with the birds in them... That little bit of serenity I found out there has to last me a while yet. I can't let it all drizzle away in the first week. I haven't taken off the hemp anklets I wore (made by me, of course) the entire time out there - so they still have some sand in there, washed in by the gulf. I may not take them off for a while - as a reminder. *grin*

Oh - and pictures will be uploaded soon. I promise. There's just LOTS of them and I have to resize, upload, and do captions on each one, which takes a while.

G'night!

Current Mood: hopeful

3:01 pm Blogging midair

Okay, well I'm not actually posting while on the plane, as that would require internet. I am, however, typing this while in the air. In contrast to the previous flight, this plane is huge. A couple hours plus to go yet before we reach Chicago, and I'm bored. At this point I just can't wait to see my family. I tried listening to some of the radio stuff they have on the plane, since I have headphones with me, but overall it's not much to my taste. I'm wondering how much battery using Winamp will suck away. Or maybe I'll just play solitaire until the battery dies...

Current Mood: bored

2:37 pm - Miami

I've never flown on a plane as small as the one I came to Miami in before. I've also never been to Miami before, although I'm really not going to get to see much more than what I'll get out the plane windows and the airport itself.

I had this fear in my stomach from the moment I got into the little plane. It had two propellers, instead of the big, loud, honkin' engine I had next to my ear on the trip out. I have a feeling I'll be next to an engine again on the way back home to Chicago. I could feel every little bump of turbulance in the air and found myself clutching the seat in front of me with one hand and the armrest next to me with the other. I reminded myself several times of the affirmations from before...

I believe in the magic that keeps the plane in the air.
I believe in the skill of the pilot flying it.
I believe in those seemingly weenie little propellers...
ack!
I believe.
*gulp*

At least the little airplane didn't go high enough to make my ears hurt on the descent like it did on the way to Fort Myers. However it was scary. I wanted off that plane from the first moment I got on it. *shudders*

Obviously, if you're reading this, I made it safely home. The airport in Miami has internet access, but they want money for it so I'm blogging in Notepad until I can get home and upload it. If I don't make it to Chicago for some odd reason, hopefully they will pull the mangled wreck of my laptop out and Brian will upload it for me... hehe... Okay. I'm ready to be done flying now. But there's still the long-ass flight to Chicago. *sigh*

I was reminded of another thought from the vacation, however - from the little sunset cruise I took yesterday. I know why boats are always a "she" - because they rock from side to side like a mother does while holding her baby.

Oops.. boarding now. Gotta go.

Current Mood: anxious

12:54 pm - Airport

The airport in Fort Myers lets me onto the internet. Yay! I'm waiting for the plane to begin board for the first flight today - a short one to Miami, before the long one to Chicago.

I keep thinking of things I've forgotten to mention in the previous blogs. Like the classical music that played on the rental car radio while I was at the wildlife refuge - adding to the ambiance. Or the mold/mildew in the bathroom shower at the hotel. I started sneezing any time I took a shower. Let's just say the hotel was not the highlight of the trip, but the scenery was. There was also a moment on my way back to the car, after shelling at Bowman's beach, where I couldn't hear any traffic - just the local wildlife, and the water hitting the beach behind me. It was phenomenally beautiful. I like to remember moments like that. To etch them into my mind for later, when the chaos ensues again.

We'll be boarding soon, and I need to check a setting on my laptop first. Maybe more in Miami. We'll see...

Current Mood: mellow

10:11 am - Preparing to Leave

7:00 am - I've already snoozed for an hour before pulling myself out of bed. It's not actually too hard to do, considering that rolling over to try and snooze the alarm again scrapes the rough, white sheets against my sunburned back. I take more Tylenol as soon as I've turned the alarm properly off.

I waste no time getting into my suit, wincing as the straps settle onto my shoulders, and slip the coverup gently over my back and shoulders so that I won't make matters worse. Put on my bag, with the door key, camera, and shelling bag. I'm ready for one last trip to the beach.

On my way out, I take a quick shot of the view just outside the room - parking lot - for posterity's sake. I snap pictures as I go down the stairs and out towards the water, capturing the hotel, the pool, and the scenery heading away from it. More shots of birds, including a short video of a group of them. "Short" meaning 30 seconds - that's all my camera can do. It's enough.

I move through the cool, still water that seems to belong to the birds. A few of them squawk at me as if I was trespassing. I click my camera back at them. Then we each go on our way.

On the beach itself, the warm gulf waters cleanse my feet as I turn my eyes downward once again. I get another video of the water washing back and forth over a horseshoe crab half buried in the sand. Then I'm distracted again - there are more shells to pick up.

It's like some sort of addiction. I can't keep my eyes away from the ground, once I've begun. Each shell seems to lead me to the next. A few have to get tossed back towards the gulf, as they are still inhabited. They earn a reprieve from the birds feasting on them. I find myself thanking the birds, however, as I continue. The remnants of their morning meal remains for me to find my own treasure in. I realize I haven't bothered to eat anything yet myself. Nevermind that - it can wait.

I tell myself a thousand times that I'm done, but then see another shell. And then another. Wait - this one has a different pattern to it - smoother, spikier, swirlier, more colorful. I look for pieces of thicker ones that I can use for jewelry.

The sand itself reminds me of the play sand that Jareth has in his sandbox back home. It is fine and pure, work the gulf has done for us over so many years. It feels good between my toes.

As I make my down some and then back, collecting shells, I see more horeshoe crabs. I avoid them, leaving them their space. I look down at the shells I'm collecting and suddenly ideas pop into my head - other ways I want to try to use them in jewelry designs. It is invigorating, filling me with a feeling of excitement I only get from creative inspiration. I collect shells with even more furvor now, excited as I see the pieces of jewelry forming in my mind's eye.

Eventually I stop. I have a plane to catch and can only afford so much time before I need to be packing and heading out. I still need breakfast and to shower, pump milk, and change into fresh clothes. Back to the hotel I go, only stopping a dozen or so times to take more pictures. I notice the bird tracks in the clear still patch of water on the beach, and get pictures of that. I take more shots of some flowers at the hotel grounds. Then back in my room to get on with the morning routine.

There is still food in the fridge that will be wasted, I fear. I take as much as I can to eat on the plane, but half a loaf of bread, some mayo, and then the liquids. A couple small bottles of wine are left, along with some short-stack cans of mountain dew and some low sodium V8. I want desperately to bring the water bottle with, but know that they won't allow any of it on the plane.

I do my best to wrap my shells - both found and purchased - in such a way that they won't be smashed on the trip. I pack my suitcase. Seems to be much fuller than when I left, and I only barely manage to get it fully closed. As it is, I steal the twist-tie off the bread bag and use it to tie the zippers together so it won't spring open. Am glad I didn't bring more clothes - I didn't realize how many shells I was going to need room for! I pack my carry-on too, leaving my computer for last so I can type this up. I hope I'll have just enough time to upload it before I go to check out. I put on my bra and shirt last - sunburn again, and I was letting the lotiony stuff soak in and hopefully help the pain. I take a couple more Tylenol and a last look around before heading out of the room to pack up the car...

Current Mood: rejuvinated

9:11 pm - A Myriad of Thoughts

First off, I forgot to go back to the apples I mentioned in the last post. I seem to have a habit of forgetting to eat while I'm here, so it was a good thing I'd bought those two apples. Okay, well a good thing I bought one of them, anyway, as the other one is still in the mini-fridge in the room. However, I hadn't eaten any lunch yet when I arrived at Bowman's Beach, Sanibel yesterday to do some shelling, so I ate one of my apples on my way to the beach. I didn't end up getting around to making a sandwich for myself until close to 3:30 pm, when I finished pumping milk back at the hotel room and then made a late lunch to take down to the deck while I logged on. I've had similar eating mishaps today, wherein I forget about food entirely. It's actually a really good thing I stocked up on some stuff for the mini-fridge, otherwise I might starve for lack of stopping somewhere to eat!

I also wanted to mention that Brian was right when he mentioned that one of the critters I described on Fort Myers Beach sounded like a horseshoe crab. A google search confirmed it, and when I get around to uploading all the pictures, you'll see for yourself. I could have bought tiny dead ones at the shell shop I was at today, but... well... ewww. I got shells instead. Extra pretty ones that I was unlikely to find at the beach, and some little starfish I want to try and play with for jewelry.

I'm planning to use the shells and sealife theme for some of my jewelry. However, I sometimes bog myself down with the feeling that anything I might want to do has somehow all been done before. It's kind of like the sightseeing here in Florida - everywhere I go, someone has already been there before. Granted, no one else has specifically seen it from my perspective, so they haven't had the same experience as I have. But I sometimes have that nagging feeling that there is nothing original I can contribute - it's all been done before. I guess I've looked at one too many ads for the jewelry shops around here, with all their pretty pieces based on... well, yeah... the shells and sealife around here. Hrm.

But, no matter how many times I have feelings that might deter me, I intend to plod on. I enjoy making jewelry. It's another creative outlet, and more true to myself than any web page I might design. While I enjoy doing that too, I'm creating something that is intended to represent someone else, not me. So, I will still dabble ('cause c'mon - you know I'm a total computer geek!), but eventually I'll get to a point where I shift entirely to the jewelry, I'm sure.

Today's adventures filled the day completely, hence the lack of small blog posts throughout this time. I started off by checking in with one of the sightseeing cruise places, only to find that I'd missed an opportunity to go on a shelling cruise by about 15 minutes. I'd had a slow start that morning, since I had trouble fallng alseep last night - this sunburn is a bitch! It also sucks that I can't reach all the areas of my back that are burnt! Owww!

After chatting with them and noting the time for a later boat, I went back to Sanibel. There is a vast difference in style and feel between Sanibel-Captiva and Fort Myers Beach. I have kept finding myself drawn to Sanibel overall. While Fort Myers Beach has a festive, brightly painted feel to it, Sanibel-Captiva has more of a resort hideaway feel. I've also noticed the difference between the urban Illinois that I know and Florida overall. In Chicago, it feels like everything is very "right there at the road." We use up every inch of space until you get far enough away from Chicago that there start to be actual fields here and there. Then, the shopping centers start being set back from the road a bit.

But here, in Forida, as I leave the Airport or drive the highways, I've noticed that it sometimes seems difficult to identify the buildings. Sometimes it's just a matter of construction - some of the architecture is different here. Other times it's just the sheer distance from the road and the amount of trees and vegetation that are between the road and the building in question. Everything feels very set back, especially as I drive away from the Fort Myers airport.

However...

The minute you even get close to the water, the buildings start being packed tight together again.

In contrast the the laid-back feeling of the buildings near the airport, there is a feeling that every single inch of space has been claimed on the islands and the immediate shoreline near them. Jam-packed with hotels, shopping, restaraunts, mini-golf (though not as much of that as in some places I've been at least), resorts, marinas, and as many other attractions they can think of to entice the unwary traveler. Everyone who can have a stake in the beach does, although I imagine the insurance premiums down here are simply outrageous!

Anyway, enough observations for the moment - back to the day...

I finally hit the Shell Museum, where the woman who worked as a guide in the actual exhibit used to live in Chicago at one time. Seems to me that half the people who live in Florida moved there from Chicago. I recall it feeling that way everywhere we went around St. Augustine / Jacksonville a few years ago when Brian and I visited. Those nasty Chicago winters I think... driving them all south.

The Shell Museum was very cool, with shells from around the world and a highlight on the local shelling fare. I followed that up by taking the driving tour of the wildlife refuge next, where I had a wonderful time playing shutterbug every quarter mile or so. I've got some neat shots of some birds, crabs, a turtle, a baby alligator, and even one little racoon that ran across the road at one point. I also pegged a butterfly, a dragonfly, and the occasional plantlife. I really wish I had a more serious zoom lens on my camera for stuff like this. Totally.

After that, I drove for a bit, up to Captiva island to check out the beach. However, unlike Sanibel, the Captive island beaches don't take credit cards for the $2.00 parking fee, and I was fresh out of cash after forking over my last four bucks to pay for the refuge tour. It was supposed to be five bucks, but the lady took pity on me. Thank you!!

So I took one quick snapshot of the farthest public beach on Captiva before I made my way back to Sanibel instead, to check out a couple of shops I'd been seeing and wanting to stop at. First was She Sells Sea Shells, for some shell souveniers. Then I stopped off at a bead shop, expecting to find shell beads. Unfortunately, that stop wasn't what I had hoped. That place mostly had stuff I could order from the catalogs I have at home.

I figured I'd been away long enough by then that I ought to get back to the hotel and pump, but I was still hoping to find gifts for the kids. So I made a quick stop at a place I'd seen in Fort Myers, where I picked up a couple of things. A soft stuffed turtle for Kayla, since she's too little to really get excited over much else just yet, and I've got a puzzle for Jareth and I to work on together, with pictures of shells and their names on it. It's small pieces, but he loves puzzles right now (and I always do too!) so I figure it can be one we work on as a team. I've missed them both so seriously much these couple of days that I just had to buy them stuff. I've also promised Jareth that I will share some of the shells I found on the beach with him. I think I've got enough to help him start a little "collection". hehe.

I find it interesting. I keep comparing this trip to one I took back in high school, when I went with the theatre group on some trip to a theatre gathering - I think it was called Illinois Theater Festival, or something like that. I don't honestly remember a whole lot about the event itself, just the bus ride and the hotel stay that were involved. And being in tears on the eve of that last day, not wanting to go home again.

I compare that with this one in the sense that it's totally different. While I have enjoyed my stay here (and would love to come back to this area of Florida again some time and explore some more!), I'm not phased by the fact that I leave tomorrow - I'm looking forward to my family instead. What a dramatic contrast it is. I've already imagined the hug I'm going to give Jareth, and worried over whether or not Kayla will latch on okay when I get to snuggle up for a feeding with her again. And then there's Brian. I think during the day, I've missed my kids more, as I've seen families here and their kids remind me of my own little ones. But during the evenings, however, I miss my husband desperately. I've wanted so many times to turn and talk to him about the things I've experienced here. I miss sharing this with him.

Although I will admit - I will most certainly miss the beach, and sitting at this little table on the deck while I blog and check my e-mail.

The last thing I did tonight (after pumping milk, catching a quick bite from the mini-fridge stocks, and checking e-mail) was the sunset sightseeing cruise. I think I've got some gorgeous pictures from that, and some video footage of wild dolphins playing in the gulf. Wow. I had a great time, and will later put up my picture of Mike, who captained the boat, and Ralph, who served up the champagne. They were both great, and were nice enough to chat with me for a bit at one point. There are also a couple pictures of ME that were taken - courtesy of a couple of people who were nice enough to take them for me. I reciprocated with some people too, so that families could have their pictures taken together instead of always having one person missing. There was a glorious sunset too - or maybe it just felt more special since it was vacation, and I was on a boat - but there seemed to be just the right amount of clouds to reflect the golden colors of the sun for the camera to capture. Beautiful.

That's enough for tonight. There's more, including some interesting people I met briefly, but I want to get to sleep soon so I can take a little time on the beach in the morning before I need to pack up and head out to the airport.

G'night!

Current Mood: relaxed

5:10 pm - Sanibel, Shells, Sunburn, and Other Small Adventures...

Well, I did find a bag - a small mesh one designed for collecting shells. And a watch. And bottled water, and another small bag to carry my camera and a couple other items while I'm collecting the shells. I also bought two apples. More on that later.

Just before I hit the Wal-Mart, where I spent a mere $20.05 on all the items I was looking for (which is amazing because back home my trips to Wal-Mart never come in under $50 - but then I'm usually buying things like diapers...), I hit the Batteries Plus. Their internet was down, so the nice guy at the counter made a phone call to make sure the battery for my laptop would be the right one. I spent considerably more than $20 on that, but now I won't just *POOF* lose everything mid-post like I did yesterday during Quick Shtick Writing when the downpour took out the electricity for a moment. While it's gorgeous sunny out here right now (I'm typing this on my laptop at a table on the deck), there's still thunderstorms and the like in the forcast for today and tomorrow yet. And I might be able to post from the airports on the return trip too. We'll see.

After the shopping, I planned to head back and drop stuff off at the hotel and pump a little more breastmilk before heading out to the Shell Museum. Instead, I got on the wrong road, and found myself forking over the six bucks it costs to get onto the island of Sanibel, via the causeway. I get flustered easily when I'm all alone in an unknown place. I panicked and paid the lady. Then I proceeded to the Sanibel Chamber of Commerce, where I spoke to a woman who used to live in Arlington Heights, IL, who directed me to some of the sights on Sanibel.

Okay, so realistically I need at least a week just to explore Sanibel itself. There is just too much to see!

What they don't tell you before you come, is that everyone out here wants a piece of your wallet. Pay to get on the island. Pay to drive through the nature preserve (which I might do tomorrow anyway). Pay to park by the beach. Yes, it's two bucks an hour to park at the public beaches there. However, the hour I spent was rather productive shelling-wise. Between this morning outside the hotel and the hour on Bowman's Beach in Sanibel early this afternoon, I've got a gallon Ziploc freezer bag nearly full up of shells. And there's still tomorrow yet. My suitcase is gonna be heavy! Almost makes me want to UPS them home. Almost. The suitcase is on wheels. I'll be fine.

Then again, there's an obvious reason why they all want the cash. Between all the brand-spanking-new buildings I saw today, and the ones still being built, and the occasional piles of rubble... well it's not the best financial decision, I expect, to live where hurricanes thrive. Gorgeous place to visit but I don't think you'll find me setting down roots or anything.

I also am noticing a trend here - the "elderly" employed. I've seen an awful lot of people who appear to be well past the retirement age, but are working hard at often more "menial" jobs. I'm guessing their social security just isn't quite covering the cost of resort living and whatever their medical coverage isn't. While Florida is stereotypically a place where the elderly come to retire, I don't think I've seen so many who aren't than I have here. Even in other parts of Florida, but maybe I just haven't noticed it in the past. You tend to notice things more when you're out alone. And there's more time to ponder on them too.

But back to the vacationy topics! The water is SO beautifully warm! Although I'm wishing I had some of those water shoes, since I had quite a few critters try to take a taste of my feet while I was out there. Ft. Myers' beach has lots more sand dollars (although the only whole one I found I had to leave IN the water, as it was still alive!), while on Sanibel, I found more variety of shells, and larger shells overall. The storms last night helped more shells come in with the tide today, and I was there as it started pushing in on the beach in Sanibel, bringing some very pretty ones in with it. Nothing huge, mind you, but still very nice. I'm also picking up thick pieces of colored shell with the hopes of shaping it for jewelry.

I also picked myself up a decent sunburn while I was at it. With the forecast the way it was, I ignorantly thought I wouldn't need sunscreen as I didn't figure I'd get to be on the beach that long. My back and shoulders hurt already. It's only going to get worse later. I may have to pick up something to put on it. Doh!

I never did make it to the Shell Museum, however. After shelling, I made my way back to Fort Myers Beach and the hotel to get with the breast pumping gig. Some of the clouds looked foreboding, however, so I zoomed out to the beach to play in the water without the camera in tow (since I don't like to leave it lying all unattended on the beach while I'm in the water). After nearly godzilla-stomping on a bunch of sand dollars and finding the coolest shell of all (but it was live, so I had to leave it there *pout*), I took a brief dip in the pool for contrast before dripping my way back upstairs. After "expressing myself" (no, I just couldn't help it. sorry.), I cooked up a sandwich and grabbed the pasta salad I bought yesterday and headed down here to blog and check my e-mail.

Okay, so THIS is totally the place to sit with my computer. In the shade of a palm-frond tiki umbrella, plugged into the internet, with a clear view of the gulf and sandy beach, and the tiki bar within calling distance.

Okay, so I'd swap the computer to have my husband here with me any day. I miss the kids bunches, but right now it's Brian whom I wish was here. However, I do get to do a voice chat thingy with him through the internet. I got to talk to Jareth too. And hear Kayla crying in the background at one point...

Mmmmm. Vacation is nice... ;-P

Current Mood: relaxed

7:57 am - My Sunrise

I arrive on the beach as the sun is beginning to rise, the sky lightening (as opposed to lightning), but still gray. The gulls are having breakfast, along with one other, larger bird. An area of water has remained, left behind as the tide moved out, and the gulls sit upon it, pecking down at the goodies the gulf has brought for them. They are cautious of me, but not outright afraid, so I keep some distance as I capture some footage of their morning meal. The water there is cool and still.

I move over the sandbar, where thousands of tiny shells have been washed ashore. I am momentarily mesmirized by the colors and shapes. This one is smooth. That one is colorful. Chips of bigger ones look wonderful for potential jewelry projects. I want to take them all home, for every one is beautiful to me. I force myself to only take some, since the beach itself won't fit into my suitcase.

A small hermit crab comes to a standstill as I step into the gulf waters. Upon seeing him, I whip out the camera. He obliges me before skittering off. There are more shells to be found in the water. Distracted, I move on at a crouch, dipping my sleeve into the water again and again.

I make my way back and forth between the sandbar and the water. The water of the gulf itself is warm - a sharp contrast to the coolness of before. Some shells have both sides - indications that the gulls have finished evicting the occupants somewhat recently. So far, these are all small.

I am stopped again by some sort of critter on the sandbar. A ray of some kind? He seems to have a hard, dark shell and a pointy tail. I pause to take a picture and then leave him be, hoping he makes it back to the water safely. He is no longer there on the return trip.

As I make my way back across the cooler water between the sandbar and the hotel, a feather catches my eye first. I collect two, noticing the way the water rolls off of them. Presents from the gulls. I'm wishing for a mesh bag of some sort, that I could strap across me and not worry about. I need something to carry the key card to the room, and all these shells. I've already collected quite a few. The beach bag I brought isn't quite cutting it. It's plenty big enough, but not convenient to carry.

A rock catches my eye. I pick it up and examine it, but then leave it behind. It belongs here still. Another one, oval and smooth white, catches my eye next. I pick it up. "I am finished here," it tells me. I tuck it in my bag with the shells.

The closer I get to the hotel, the more other things catch my attention. A small, perfectly round, white item turns out to be a bottle cap. A glint of something is just a slip of plastic wrapping. I leave the beach behind me, and rinse my feet before heading back to the room to examine my finds. I stop to record my thoughts on the laptop before heading out again. I want to see the shell museum today, and the upper islands. I also need that laptop battery. And water. The water from the bathroom sink...well...ewww. I saw a Wal-Mart yesterday. I also need a watch, as I forgot to bring one. Maybe I'll find a bag there too, if it's not too expensive. Who knows.

Current Mood: thoughtful

6:43 am - Well, that's Odd...

While changing clothes I noticed something else about the room - no soap! The towels are folded all pretty, there's an extra pillow, and they put a small arrangement of flowers in the room, but there's no soap. Every hotel/motel I've ever been in that I remember has always had bars of that cheap-ass (or better in a few cases) soap available at the very least. No wonder the teensy bugs hang out in the bathroom. Good thing I've got little bottles of bath soap with me. Seems I didn't overpack after all...

Current Mood: confused

6:21 am - Begin Day 2

Already awake. Didn't get to sleep until around midnight last night, despite the short night of sleep I'd gotten the night before. Woke up around 3 am too - to grab a towel to put underneath me - I guess I didn't pump enough before bed to keep me from leaking overnight. It's 6:21 am here now and I've already drank some breakfast, and some O.J. I picked up at the grocer, pumped the breastmilk, and resized photos to upload later. LOL. I'm not at all sleepy and I haven't had any caffeine yet! Screw this - I'm going to go out to the beach. If there isn't any scary lightning that is...

Current Mood: awake

8:42 pm - lightning (last post of Day 1)

Well, it seems that no matter who I ask, the policy here is that the internet "doesn't always work in all the rooms," which means mind, of course. My dreams of whiling away the little bit of time after the tiki bar closes shattered, I am resorting to typing up my posts in the room here, until I can steal downstairs again tomorrow for more internet connection. The best I get is two dots of signal strength that seem to vanish the moment I try to log in to the system. Bugger.

I did, however, venture down to the beach, and collect my first shell. Basically, it was the very first one I saw and so I snatched it up. Since it isn't "live," it's a keeper - it's the law here that shells that still have inhabitants have to be left on the beach. Then the massive amounts of lightning that stretched across the sky and seemed to be striking out on the water sent me skittering back to my room like a scared hermit crab. I swapped beach bag for purse and made my way down to the tiki bar instead. At least the rain was mostly stopped and the flood warning was no longer in effect, but the idea of being the only tall thing on a puddled, sandy beach during a lightning storm didn't quite appeal to me. The bartender said that, while he hadn't seen anyone actually get hit by lightning in the three years he'd been here, he still didn't think I ought to risk it unless I have a death wish. Since I don't, I finished my beer (thanks again for that "taste" of tequila, man!) and headed back to my room. I picked up some alcholic goodies at the grocers earlier too, so I'm sipping a mudslide at the moment, wishing for some non-lightning time tomorrow and a good night's sleep tonight. I'll probably just turn in early.

Oh, did I mention the bugs? Yes, there's these little, teensy bugs. They are outside in abundance, but they also seem to like the bathroom. I'm ignoring them, as I am bound and determined to have a good time here. They aren't in the bed at least. Or, if they are, I haven't seen them and I don't want to KNOW. They seem harmless enough anyway. It's not like they are cockroaches or anything. Although I don't know that I'd give this hotel the ranking it was getting on TripAdvisor.com. I'll have to add my review after it's all said and done. I do wish the room wasn't quite so... peachy-pink. *shudder* I'll have to get a picture of that too.

More tomorrow. G'night!

Current Mood: a little irritated

5:57pm (Fort Myers time!)

Okay, phew! I'm here. Online and typing this live instead of scribbling it down on paper and putting it up. I had to pay to get the Wi-Fi working (1 month subscription - I didn't realize I needed), and it only works in certain areas of the hotel which doesn't seem to actually include my room. So I'm in the cafe, sipping iced tea and eating a light dinner while I type up stuff.

As soon as my little Dodge Neon rental car pulled into the hotel parking space, it started raining. There was even a flood warning briefly. Sorry, Florida - I guess the Rayn has arrived!

I stopped off at a Publix grocery I saw on the way, instead of the one I'd mapquested, and I couldn't find the paper I'd printed on where the Batteries Plus is at, so I haven't gone there yet. Maybe tomorrow.

As for the room - they wanted me to upgrade as soon as I got here, which was slightly annoying, so I stuck with my lovely view of the parking lot. If I stand on my tippy-toes, I can almost see the gulf from my room. Oh well. The hotel is still on the beach, where I plan to spend a majority of my time anyway. Assuming I don't get washed off into the gulf, what with all the rain. 'Cause you know I'm putting on my suit and going out there no matter what.

This is my vacation damnit. There's gonna be sand. Even if it's wet.

More later. Or maybe not until tomorrow. We'll see. But, for now, Brian's online to chat with and I've got fries getting cold next to me. I already finished the "crabbycakes". Yum. I think the waitress thinks I'm nuts. But she was nice enough to search for the one working power outlet for me to plug my 'puter into, so she can think whatever she likes. She's nice. But I still imagine she thinks I'm nuts. *grin*

Current Mood: amused

10:55 am (Chicago Time)

The pilot just announced us arriving in the Fort Myers area. Didn't feel like reading more, so I drew a possible design for one of my projects when jewelry classes start up again next week. We'll see if I do that one or not.

Note to self - Must do Quick Shtick Writing still today. Brian's busy schedule due to the recent RV show meant some QSW slackage was needed. Seems too soon to let the story stagnate though, as we've only just begun it. I've got to kick it back into gear today.

Wait - I see the gulf out the window! Picture time!

(editor's note - pictures will come later, although there was no picture of the gulf from the air as I was too damn slow getting the camera out and missed the opportunity. There wasn't much of one, what with that big ol' engine in the way!)

Current Mood: bouncy

10:35 am - Pooping at 13,000 feet

Yes. I did. 'nuff said.

Halfway to my destination and I'm already done with one of my magazines.

Did you hear me? I said I read an entire magazine!

Wow.

"Me time" is great!

Current Mood: happy

9:03 am - I Believe...

I believe in the magic that keeps this plane in the air.
I believe in the big, LOUD, jet engines.
I believe in the nice man piloting the plane.

Nevermind the clouds I see out the window below me.
Nevermind that lurch in my stomach as the plan took off.

Nope. I believe.

Or, at least, that's what I'm gonna keep telling myself until this sucker lands safely.

I believe.

Current Mood: hopeful

8:21 am - Ask and Ye Shall Receive!

Only moments after I finished writing the last post, they called for people to start boarding. I went to the ladies room, peeked at the plane through the windows, and then they were calling my name as one of the few remaining that needed to board. Doh!

Oh - I asked for a window seat. I have a lovely view of the engine. Ahh, well. I'm flying coach. What more can I say? Not much, actually - you wouldn't be able to hear me over the engine!

Current Mood: anxious

7:56 am

Haven't even left yet and already I miss my kids. There's a woman with a little boy about Kayla's age, sitting near the doorway. She holds him up in the air and talks to him, like I do with Kayla. If Jareth were here, we'd be sitting by the windows so he could watch the phones. I can imagine him, pressed up against the glass: "Oop! There goes one!" he'd probably say.

The man across from me just finished eating some McDonalds. I'm hungry, but not that hungry. Figures that that's the closest food to where I'm at. Still a half an hour until I board - give or take. Bored. Nervous, but mostly bored. Back to my magazine before my hand cramps up from writing. Not used to this whole "pen" thing anymore. Miss my keyboard.

Current Mood: bored

7:27 am - Day 1

You know it's love when your family gets up and leaves the house at the ungodly hour of 5:30 am, just to help you get to the airport on time. Having never navigated the airport before, we drop me off miled away from the terminal I need (or at least it felt like miles), but fortunately there's a tram thingy and lots of signage to get me there. The two hours we planned to get me to the plane ends up being way more than needed, but an "orange alert" status had us worried it would take longer. They did scan my carry-on twice, even though I'd removed the laptop and digital camera. I guess the power cords must have looked cranky.

Of course we found out last night that my laptop battery won't take a charge, so the lovely signs advertising Wi-Fi have me pouting and doing this by hand. I guess I'll have to put this in when I get to the hotel - after I stop off for a new battery. Already MapQuested a Batteries Plus near the airport when I arrive. That and a grocery store so I don't spend a ton on food. Especially now that I have to pay for a battery - urg.

Part of the fun for me in all this is to blog it...

Current Mood: anxious

Screw you guys, I'm going... away...

Okay, well, I'm not leaving now. Not leaving until August 14th actually. But I am going. But just for a few days. A few days of quiet, beachy sanity, all by my lonesome. Much-needed sanity, actually.

I have NEVER gone away on a vacation by myself before. Not once. Ever.

Buh-bye. I am SO out of here. In a couple of weeks, that is. Brian, cleared the time off work to stay home with the kids while I'm gone, and I officially booked it today.

But I'll still have internet while I'm away.

Hee. Heehee... Heeheeeeemwahahaha!

Can you feel the blog fodder coming?

Current Mood: happy

Reminiscing and Drooling Day...

Today I took Jareth and headed over to the Kane County RV Show, where the place Brian works at had some trailers, pop-ups and motorhomes available to see and buy. I think I went inside nearly everything that had an engine in it, generators not withstanding. Jareth got to tour about half of them, although I've all but thrown out my back from hoisting him up the steps so he could get inside. It was hot and humid out today, so I didn't feel like waiting while he tried to climb up every set of steps on every motorhome we checked out. Oof.

On the way there I realized that I'm already antsy to go somewhere. Maybe it's just the recent RV reminders with Brian's new job, but I do miss traveling. I looked westward as we crossed over route 90 on the way south to the show. A part of me wanted to turn off and start just heading out and see where I ended up. The rest of me, on the other hand, remembered I had this little two-year-old boy in the back seat with me. Thus, we went and drooled over stuff instead...

For living in, in the class A category, today's favorite was the Damon Intruder, floorplan #350. Oooooh. Count me smitten. I think I could finally learn to love slideouts. And next time we do it, we do deisel. That's been agreed upon. No more wussy gas engines after two broke down on us before.

However, the next motorhome we buy will be a class C, for family camping type trips. For that, I loved the Coachmen Leprechaun, floorplan 307KS. Normally I'm not impressed with the Coachmen floorplans, but this little model impressed me. I saw a used 2001 version of it too, and still liked it.

I didn't really look at trailers or pop-ups. I'm spoiled like that. I like to know I can get up and make a sandwich while driving, so I don't want to be in a separate car with the bulk of the kitchen being pulled behind. I also don't think we'd be happy in a pop-up after the luxury of our previous motorhome.

Anyway, gotta go tuck my little guy into bed. He's pooped after all that browsing...

G'night!

Current Mood: pleased

Anniversary Vacation 2005 -
Wrapping up and Coming Home...

Now that most of my sickness has abated to nothing more than a medicated fuzziness in my head, drippy sinuses, a raspy cough, and a sore throat I'll wrap up the posts on our recent vacation.

*pauses to blow nose*

Yeah. So...

I miss the ocean, now it's nothing more than a wistful memory, a handful of pictures (once I order some copies anyway), and a couple of 30-second videos of the waves moving in and out. There's just something about those waves. Once again, I slept wonderfully while I was there. That's part of what we paid the extra for the "ocean view" hotel room for - because when I can hear those Atlantic waves rushing onto the sandy beach, I sleep better than I sleep anywhere else. This, coming from a person who normally can't sleep in hotel rooms, means something.

*holds out hands to either side*

Desert? or Ocean? Damnit... where do I want to live?

I guess I'd take either. If I go with ocean, my sinuses seem to handle the Atlantic Ocean without trying to fill my lungs up at least. I can't say that for Seattle - a city I had to flee in search of the driest spot I could think of where we'd be able to find temporary jobs. I thought I was going to cough up a lung in Seattle, but so far I've never had that kind of problem when I've been on the east coast. The section of Pacific coastline we checked out seemed gray and dreary too, but maybe that was just the time of year. I'd want to check ahead though, and make sure I didn't move to some humid section of the country on accident if I ever get to move out of Illinois at all.

*sigh*

We left the hotel (and the recharger for my digital camera batteries apparently too) behind us after a final relaxing day and night on the beach. Sunday was spent sunning, napping, eating, and otherwise enjoying the kind of company two adults with a hotel room to themselves and no two-year-old little boy to look after can have. Yep, that's right. We was doin' it. We probably did *it* more times in that weekend that we have over the course of the last month. Such it is now that our little guy has invaded our lives. Priorities change. They aren't forgotten. They just change. But, send us away for a few days and let the partying begin! Woohoo!

We turned in our rental car and embarked upon our two-flight journey home, watching the ocean dwindle away behind us from 30,000 or so feet.

Bye-bye ocean...

However, I've come home to my little guy again. And all his hugs and sloppy kisses. I did miss him bunches - I kept wanting to show him all the cool ocean and sky! Someday I will...

But for now, I'm home again.

And all that that implies.

Anniversary Vacation 2005 -
"But I thought you said you'd NEVER do THAT!?!

So, while we were driving around the greater Fort Lauderdale area, in search of locally crafted objects and food better than the sludge at our hotel, we saw a few of a specific shop around. Here and there, somehow showing up on my radar of notice as we passed them. So much so that I inadvertantly was using one of these shops as a landmark to let me know I was coming up on one of my turns to get back to the hotel.

I mentioned my sudden and strange inspiration to Brian, who seemed oddly unaffected that I was suggesting I might want to do something that I had spent many, many years telling people I would never do. In his usual, nonchalant manner, he shrugged and said:

"If you think it's something you really want to do, then go for it."

Yep. That's my husband in a nutshell right there. Unphased by nearly anything I can come up with at this point. He's survived my drastic haircuts (I have a nasty tendency to grow it super long, only to then go have it chopped off super short) and the occasional hair dye "incident". This one, however, was going to have a more permanent effect...

So, after a dinner of peel-and-eat shrimp, grilled Mahi Mahi, and a slightly stiff drink on Saturday night, I decided it was time. I'd beaten myself up pretty thoroughly for the earlier morning's snorkeling being less than I'd expected of myself. I needed to do something daring and purposeful. I needed to do something empowering. And for some, what I was about to do is considered a rite of passage ritual. A symbolic stepping over a threshold into another phase of my life.

Please note that I only had the ONE drink. I was not, in the least bit drunk by the time we reached the shop. I also spent over an hour browsing, looking, choosing, indicating, waiting and eventually signing the paperwork before we actually began. So I was quite sober. I just wanted that on the record. I wouldn't have minded having a few shots of something serious right beforehand, but it was technically important for me to do this while sober. I did not want it to be something I regretted later. And I don't. In fact I am very pleased with both the experience and the outcome.

Because, on my back, on my right shoulder, now lives a dragon in tattoo form. She's probably only about four inches tall (I haven't specifically measured her). She's there to help guide me, watching my back when others try to push me down. She's meant to help empower me. The dragon side of me - the stronger side of me:

The picture was taken that night, when we got back to the hotel and enough time had passed that we could take the bandage off of it again. I'm still healing now and I have this lotion stuff I need to put on it several times a day for a total of two weeks.

The guy who did it, Leif, called it the Lil' Dragon on the sheet I had to sign. He did a wonderful job, trying to give me a balance between the kind of detail I wanted and the small size I was looking for overall. He first drew a rough sketch, based on what I was looking for, and then drew the outline of the final tattoo. I was actually amazed that it didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it was going to. I've spent years and years swearing that I'd never do such a thing as I always figured my pain tolerance was low and that I'd be a total wuss. I think childbirth is part of what changed that thought - I went for quite a while having back labor before I bailed out and took the heavy-duty stuff when I had Jareth. Handling an hour of getting a tattoo was no trouble at all. It's hurt some since, but no more than having a sunburn (which I managed to avoid, by the way) would really.

I wanted to link the shop, but they don't seem to have a web site that I can find! Bugger that, I'll just list their info here for anyone looking for a decent tattoo shop in the Ft. Lauderdale area:

Mine was done by Leif. I think he did a great job. There was also a guy there who had horns. Okay, they looked more like spikes coming out of his head, but you get the idea. They are in his skull. Interesting. But don't expect that to be next on my list of wild and daring things I do. I need horns like I need another... errr... two? holes in my head. Yeaaaaaah. Ow. *shudders* I think I can safely say I won't be doing that. Yup. Pretty sure.

My sister is going to flip when she finds out about this. I gave her some grief about wanting a tattoo (although she did get one anyway) a while back.

It's strange though. I wonder if people around me would change their perception if they knew I had a tattoo. Most of the time it is likely to be hidden under my shirts (although a part of me is scoping out shirts that would show it off for when I've lost a little more weight) and no one will even know it's there unless I mention it. I know that some people I know will likely just say "oh, that's cool" and not even be phased by it. Others, however, would have a slightly altered perception of me now. I, at least, have always had a different perception about people who have tattoos - that usually they either did something really stupid after having more alcohol than they could really handle, or that they have a rougher-edged side of them that is able to handle some pain. Then again, that pereption was my pre-tattooed perception, which thought that it would actually hurt a whole lot more than it did to get one...

Nonetheless, I have permanently placed a reminder, hovering mid-flight on one shoulder and looking fierce to help ward off those that might wish to do me harm in one form or another. A reminder that I can be a strong individual. Not just in the matter of dealing with a little pain. In life overall. It is an affirmation towards empowerment and assertiveness for me. I have allowed my inner dragon to peek out and show itself in the form of a tattoo, to help me better embrace her.

If I ever get another one, it will be my inner child (a small, pixie-like fairy) who will have to go somewhere on the left side of my body in order to maintain balance. But, for now, I need to embrace my dragon-self. To fill with fire and power and fly.

More tomorrow. Brian's drum circle was here tonight (which I'll have to blog about once I finish the vacation set) and I'm pooped!

G'night!

Anniversary Vacation 2005 -
The Snorkeling Adventure
(a.k.a. - how I jumped off a perfectly good boat)

The pictures from the snorkeling bit are coming back tomorrow hopefully, so I'll put up some when I get them, assuming anything actually turned out. In the meantime, I'll give you the story...

So, while booking the trip in the first place, there was a spot near the end where the web site offered up some "other" activities we could include for our recreational entertainment while on vacation. I was hoping for hot-air ballooning or maybe horseback riding - both things I've never tried but would like to. Instead, however, there was snorkeling.

Pro Dive (who really needs the linkage folks - I only found their web address by searching for their snail mail address on google and finding a PDF file that listed them amongst a bunch of other organizations. Their listing happened to include their web address. Talk about a round-a-bout way of finding someone's site. Eep!) had an easy checkbox to sign up for a snorkeling outing, so I decided to be daring and give it a try. Brian was game, and I've taken swimming classes before to help me overcome my fear of water, so I figured this would be a daring moment of self-affirmation as I conquered my fears and jumped on in.

After all... I'd have a snorkel for goodness sake! That means I could breathe underwater right? How much cooler could it get?!

So I pointed. I clicked. I included it in the package when I gave up my credit card number and set our vacation in motion.

We had vouchers that we printed out and could turn in any day that we wanted to choose for our snorkel trip. We picked Saturday, figuring we'd be pretty tired Friday morning after flying in late the night before, and not wanting to wait until the last minute and risk not being able to do it if we waited for Sunday. So Saturday morning we grabbed a quick and light breakfast (also known as "the McDonald's fiasco") and made our way to the Pro Dive place with plenty of time to hand in our vouchers and sit on the dock in nervous anticipation before getting on the boat. If you go to the web site, the boat in the picture at the top looks very much like the boat we went on. In fact it might even be the same boat. I'm not sure. I forgot to get a picture of the boat, but we'll get to that later...

We first got a quick lecture about how the boat is in water and therefore can get slippery so that the clueless amongst us wouldn't just go bounding down the slightly bouncing plastic planks to get to the boat and slip directly into the water instead. Then we got to board. Brian and I grabbed seats up front just outside the top front window, where we could see everything and yet not get totally nailed by seaspray every time the boat made a downward motion once we got out onto the rockier stuff. There was a small group of women who grabbed that spot - a little lower than we were sitting and further to the front - and they seemed to enjoy being up there. We shared the cushy bench with another couple and I also moved to a slightly forward bench for some of it to enjoy some of the spray on my legs and feet.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ride out there. The wind in my hair, the sun on my face, and the salt on my lips was wonderful! Brian was obviously enjoying it too, and we toyed with conversations about one day living on a boat for part of our retirement instead of just back into a motorhome. At the time, it all sounded fabulous to me. The open air, the sea spraying playfully across my feet, the complexity of the water - seemingly pure and gentle yet powerful and dangerous all at once. It was one of those crystal clear feeling moments of purity in life and I loved it.

We moved out of the bay and out into the ocean, but still within sight of the shoreline, where we dropped anchor and got a quick lesson on how to snorkel.

Inflatable thing. check.
(Blow a little air in there - don't fill it though! - if you get a bit tired and it will help you float easier. That sounds handy. But I don't need to put air in it yet, since I'm not at all tired...)
Mask. check.
(Spray stuff in there, rub it around, dip into the water bucket. Got it.)
Snorkel. check.
(Attached to the mask. stick the one end in the mouth and breathe through it. Breathe out really hard if you get water in it. Sounds easy enough.)
Flippers. check.
(Stupid floppy flipper feet things to help propel you in the water. Take them off before you try to get on the boat or you will hurt yourself in the effort. Got it.)
Walk or jump off the boat when it's time. check.
(I can do this. I'm going to do this. After all I'M the one who picked this activity out for us to try...)

So I put the inflatable thingy over my head, spray the stuff on the mask, rub and dip, put the mask on and check the snorkel out. I put the rubber flippy things on my feet and make sure I have my waterproof camera safely strapped to my arm so I can take pictures while I'm snorkeling. After all - that's what I bought the cameras for. Then I make my way over to the back edge of the boat, take a nice deep breath...

and then I jumped off of the PERFECTLY GOOD BOAT !!!

Let me just say this again. I jumped off the perfectly good, floating ON the water, NOT sinking or getting washed over with waves, BOAT. Nice and dry, floaty boat. And I. jumped. off.

What the HELL was I THINKING!?!

So, the very first thing that happens when I jump of the perfectly good boat was that I got water in my snorkel. All thoughts of "blow really hard to get the water out" immediately flee the vicinity of my consciousness as I frantically yank the snorkel piece out of my mouth so I can breathe real, honest-to-goodness AIR.

Calm down, Amy. You have to calm down and breathe. He said if you breathe quickly in the snorkel you're just breathing in the air you breathed out. You need to calm down and focus and you can do this. It's just a BIG FUCKING OCEAN you're bobbing around in. Those are just WAVES going over your head, and OHFUCK, OHFUCK, I CAN'T DO THIS!! OHFUCK, OHFUCK!!!

That was about the point I started paddling my ass back towards the boat, spitting and gulping the saltwater that kept getting in my mouth either through the top of the snorkel or while I had it out of my mouth so I could breathe.

Someone on the boat noticed my look of peril (hard to miss with me flailing my arms and yelling "Help!" I suppose) and first suggested I calm down and slow my breathing. By that point, however, total and utter panic had set into my body with an icy grip. It didn't take more than a moment before they realized and tossed me a nice orange floaty thing to grab onto to help me stay above the water. Which was a good thing too, as it helped stem just enough of the panic to keep me from going under entirely. My wits had pretty well left me stranded.

One of the guys was in the water already, and he helped get the flippers off my feet so I could make it back onto the boat, which was a feat in and of itself. The back end of the boat goes up and down with the waves, smacking back down into them after the rise. Getting onto it is tricky if you aren't used to it, and even worse if you are only barely this side of sheer mindless panic. I clung onto that boat for dear life, halfway up the ladder at one point, just trying not to let go of the perfectly good, solid, FLOATING boat again. After a minute or so I was back on board.

For a while all I could do was just sit there trying not to just shake. My fear of water in swimming pools wasn't that bad anymore. Big wavy oceans was a whole different matter entirely. Someone handed me a cup of water to help me offset the saltwater I had swallowed. I drank it and asked for another. I didn't feel it right away, but then it started. The nausea from having swallowed the saltwater. The water only helped so much. The real problem was now the boat. The perfectly good boat. Still out in the evil, rocking, wet, salty ocean - bouncing up and down and up and down and up and down. A fact that does not mesh well with a person feeling a sudden wave of nausea.

There was also the growing issue of my colon. You see, I have this irritable bowel thing which leaves me suddenly saying "uh-oh" and rushing for the nearest bathroom from time to time if my body and I have a disagreement on what I've been eating or how much stress I've been under. And being in that water was very stressful for me. And my colon noticed that fact. It hadn't been too hard on me about the light stress of going on an airplane for the first time. It made up for it with the jumping off the perfectly good boat thing instead.

I did manage to not actually throw up while I was on that boat. However, I handed my waterproof camera to Brian once he was back on the boat and suggested that he do the picture-taking for a while on our way back. I then locked myself into the little women's room they had on the boat. Twice.

Two things about going potty on a boat. One - If you're wearing a full swimsuit instead of separate top and bottom pieces - it tends to roll down and be a bitch to get back up again when wet. And it's even harder when you need one hand to hold onto the boat as it bounce up and down. Two - Some things just don't flush well without using the water sprayer on the sink too. And when you're nauseaus to begin with, you don't want to take the time staying in the small, enclosed area to begin with (especially one where you are supposed to put the toilet paper in the trash bin instead of the toilet... eww... I'm very glad I can't smell things much!). They warned us about puking in the bathroom as it would only make us feel worse. Fortunately, I can't smell very well, which is probably why I kept my McBreakfast down instead of hurling its regurgitated remains out one of the boat's windows. But I didn't want to stay in that bathroom any longer than I had to, so I know it didn't flush well. It flushed some, but not well.

Sorry about that guys. I didn't plan on leaving ickiness in the potty. Honest. I held that flush button down for a while before I gave up on it. But I was more concerned about getting my suit back up and finding a window where I could be prepped in case I did throw up.

Basically, once aboard the boat again, I spent every moment - that wasn't dealing with my swimsuit, the bathroom, or a feeling of nausea anyway - beating myself up emotionally for not staying in the water longer. I felt like I totally wussed out. But once the panic set in out there, I couldn't stay. I just couldn't. Argh.

But I will give myself credit for two things - I did jump off the perfectly good boat into the terrifyingly big and wavy ocean. On my own, without anyone pushing me. Also, I didn't throw up. Brian informed me there were something like four of the passengers that did throw up. I guess one of the guys was going around with a bucket to rinse down the side of the boat after each instance of vomit smacked against it. Ewwww. But I did not throw up. We changed our plans slightly and went back to the hotel for a while to rest afterwards, but I never threw up. Yay me.

Brian stayed in snorkeling for much, much, much longer than I did, although he did come in well before they called the people back to the boat. Mostly, though, he was having trouble with the mask - it wouldn't seal properly against his beard and he kept getting water inside it. But, if we have any pictures on the cameras of anything underwater from that - He took them. I think I tried to snap one picture while in the water, but I'm not positive and I wasn't looking through the viewfinder at the time anyway so I wouldn't have a clue what it got anyway. We did finish off the rolls of film in there with pictures of other stuff instead, and played with them in the shallows of the beach some too. And I was clever enough to ask about them after seeing a sign mentioning cameras at the airport, so they didn't go through the machine and get all ruined during the security check on our way back. So I should have some pictures to pick up tomorrow. I just don't really know what they will be of.

As for snorkeling - I'm not ruling it out entirely. I think that if I ever want to do it again though, I should learn how in a nice calm swimming pool first. Then I should build up slowly to doing the whole waves thing. It all looks very fun from a distance, but my fear of water is still just too great to be jumping right in like that. Back to baby steps on that one. I know where the fear stems from, but I'll leave that for another post at another time. This post has gone on long enough.

Next post... the other daring thing I tried that day - and how it was much more successful than the snorkeling...

Anniversary Vacation 2005 -
The Mystically Unattainable Local Crafts

Our first full day in Pompano Beach started out early (for me anyway) with some pictures of the beach from our balcony followed by the crappy breakfast at the hotel restaurant. After that, we basked on the beach for a bit before doing some of the planned shopping to get it out of the way early on.

One of the places we ended up was the mall.

Yes. I know. I flew how many miles to end up at the mall? I hate malls!

*sigh*

But the mall had the (supposedly) primo beachwear & surf shop and I wanted a hat. Not just any hat, but a replacement for a hat I bought long, long ago on our travels when we took our official "honeymoon" while traveling in our motorhome and stopped for two weeks in St. Augustine, Florida. It had been a lovely straw hat that actually looked good on me (a highly rare thing for hats) and I loved it. Then it got sat upon and died a horrible, squished death.

We found some shoes instead. I got some new sandals at the mall, and Brian found some at this large "swap shop" thing we ended up at on day two, after our lack of success at the mall on day one.

When it came to buying the hat though, the problem wasn't the amount of hats available. There were lots of hats, but none were the right hat. I did eventually buy two very inexpensive hats at one of the vendors at the "swap shop" place. They weren't the right hat, but they were very, very inexpensive and Brian assured me that they looked good. And no, he's not the type of guy to just say that because they were very, very inexpensive. At least he'd better not be, because if he is and I find out - he's gonna be in a wee bit of hot water if you know what I mean...

But what I was really having a hard time finding at the stores, were gifts to bring home.

You know - people who go on vacation usually bring little trinkets home for their friends and loved ones, yes? Yes. They do.

But we didn't. Not this time.

Why? yes... you might ask that. *sigh*

Because in the areas of Pompano Beach, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, and Fort Lauderdale - in all the sections that we thought ought to have those nice little shops that sell cute little items made of local shells and sand and palm tree wood or whatever - there was not a SINGLE GODDAMNED THING that didn't say "made in China", "made in Taiwan", or "made in the Phillipines" on it that wasn't stupid, overpriced, or altogether revolting!!!

And believe me, it sure as heck felt like we tried. I even went so far as to ask one of the people in one of the little oceanside gift shops filled with shot glasses saying Pompano Beach (made in China), shell necklaces, t-shirts and other assorted frequently seen trinkets - if there wasn't someplace that I could find some unique, locally crafted items instead.

All I got was a blank stare for a bit, followed by a "no."

And I did NOT want to just pick some stupid thing that I could have gone 100 miles up the coastline and gotten with some other town's name stamped onto it instead. I am NOT in the market for cheaply made CRAP as gifts for the people I care about.

So, if any of those friends and loved ones read this and wanted a gift - the best I have to offer you is one of the shells I picked up on the beach the last night before we had to leave. I filled a big ziploc freezer bag up with shells and a smaller bag of sand from the beach, so that I can make a jar up to remind me of the ocean until I can see it again.

My father-in-law doesn't have to ask though. For him I've got a rock. Don't ask why - it's a long story. Hopefully I'll one day just be able to link you to a web site so you can learn about that story yourself. But, I specifically found a rock for him. I just need to pluck it out of my bag and remember to give it to him on Sunday.

The other thing we found is that they really, really, really want to make it inconvenient for you to not just spend your money at the bars. We were there on a budget, so we decided not to really do the tiki bar thing, but pick up liquor and stock the mini-fridge instead. The local liquor stores, on the other hand, seem to stock mostly liquor for parties and wine tastings. We wanted fun, fruity stuff in little, easy-to-consume-before-vacation-ends bottles. They had wines, beers, and large bottles of stuff with liquor in them. In the end, we bought some of the larger stuff and had to pour leftovers out before we left. (we figured it was okay to leave cans of Pepsi for housekeeping, but probably not Pina Coladas) But it was still way less costly than it would have been to buy drinks at the bars. I swear that the whole area there is out to getcha when it comes to soaking you for your tourist money! Ouch, ouch, ouch! Some of that left a bad taste in my mouth.

The "swap shop" thing was basically what I'm used to seeing flea markets being, although there seemed to be a whole lot of vendors who had the same big bins of closeout or wholesale items (usually also made in China or some other poor cheap labor country). Although we found a few good deals there, we didn't buy much as we didn't want to try and pack it for the trip home. There was a farmer's market with it and some other stuff. I had been told by a local gal that we would find some local vendors there - I guess I should have been more specific and asked about local crafters at the time. It was a larger affair than my feet had the stamina for, and we wanted to get back on the beach, so we didn't see all of it. Maybe I missed the one local crafter by leaving before checking it all out. Maybe not. I may never know. But we'd spent quite a chunk of our first day running about town shopping, so we weren't going to spend most of our second day roaming aimlessly around the swap shop looking for him.

That second day also included our snorkel adventure... more on that in the next post I put up!

Also... for those who haven't heard yet... the mystery of the "thing I did even though I said I never, ever would" is soon to be unveiled! And yes, there will be a picture.

Anniversary Vacation 2005 -
The Hotel and Dining

The hotel, Ocean Point Resort, in Pompano Beach, had both good and bad points to it.

In the overall scheme of things, it was a decent price for the view and I liked the shape of the room. It was an odd sort of wedge-shaped room which lent a different feel to it than the usual box that so many hotels have. There was a small area with a microwave, sink and coffee maker by the door, a makeup mirror, a walk-in closet with an iron and ironing board, a bathroom with hairdryer, a king-sized bed, a bureau with a television and clock, a nightstand with the phone, a desk, a table, three chairs for them, and a comfier chair with an ottoman. It pretty much had all the basic requirements and had both a window facing westwards...

which I enjoyed trying long exposures with at night, and a balcony that faced northeast where we could see the ocean...

(Yep, there's Brian, checking out the ocean view). I thought they could have rearranged it better so that you could have seen the ocean while laying in the bed too, instead of sitting at the table inside, but if you layed down with your head at the foot of the bed you could see it that way too. When we were in the room, I had a tendency to lounge that way - sprawled out either backwards or sideways on the bed so I could see the ocean rolling in and out.

The main problem with the hotel was that it was a bit run-down. It's not that anything was specifically bad or scary (I've walked out of a hotel room in Springfield, Illinois once that had easily-found bugs, a busted chair, and exposed electrical wiring - that was scary!), it's just that it was obvious that they were working on both a budget and a lack of enthusiasm to really bring it back from its lackluster condition. The air conditioner in the wall, for example, was reasonably new, but the grate for it on the outside wall was old and rusting through. There were places of rust and occasional disrepair here and there. There was some concern about bugs - I was bitten a couple of times by something during the night - although the lack of screen on the patio door shouldn't have been a problem on the 9th floor as we were. I think a couple of errant flies and spiders just managed to make their way up and hadn't been shooed away.

The scary part was actually the elevator. There were two, and I found it highly ironic that it was the one that didn't wobble and creak as much that was shut down about midway through our stay. I wasn't too worried though - as I told all the other passengers who rode wide-eyed up and down it - I didn't fly all that way just to die on an elevator. Sheesh.

The other down to the hotel was the restaurant. Despite the fact that I overheard another customer telling our "waiter" (the guy told us that his wait staff hadn't shown up yet, making it sound like he was more of a manager) that it was the best (whatever she ate) that she'd ever had and to give her compliments to the "chef". Based on my own appraisal of the food, I think we were talking more along the lines of "fry cook" than "chef" per se. The Belgium waffle didn't taste right and had been made in a regular waffle iron instead. The eggs were overcooked, as was the steak. We tend to order two things and then split them all around when we do breakfast, so I got to try everything. Oh, and the "fresh" pot of coffee tasted far, far, FAR worse than the cup we'd gotten in the first place. I'm not sure how they managed to screw that up - it wasn't necessarily weak or overly strong or bitter - it just tasted wrong. Eech!

We never checked out the pool or the tiki bar, although Sunday afternoon it seemed like it was the loudest thing on our end of the beach! I couldn't tell if it was a bad band or a kareoke thing going on down there, but it was a long stretch of cover songs. I think the band changed at one point though as later the singing got better and the songs sounded less familiar at least. Dunno. *shrug*

For breakfast in Pompano Beach, I highly recommend The Upper Deck, at Sands Harbor Resort and Marina instead. Personally, I loved the vegetable frittata and we ordered that both times we went there for breakfast. We also tried their belgium waffle which was par for the course, and the french toast which wasn't anything out of the ordinary but also went very nicely with the frittata. Our server said she didn't take good pictures, but I'm putting her up here anyway...

She remembered us the second morning we went and was very nice.

We didn't get a chance to eat there for lunch or dinner, so I can't compare the rest of the food, but breakfast was wonderful.

As for the rest of the food...

Frank's Ristorante & Pizza (who didn't have a link on the Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce page (in fact a lot of the restaurants don't), delivered to the hotel and was tasty enough but arrived a bit overcooked and yet not as hot as I would have liked for a restaraunt I could have easily ridden a bike to get to.

Fisherman's Wharf was okay. A bit pricey, but then so were a lot of places in Florida. The mahi mahi tasted good (although I have had better) and the peel-and-eat shrimp appetizer was fun. I will give them credit for not chintzing on the alcohol in my drink - it was a nicely potent little sucker, but not so much as to get me actually intoxicated. The waiter we had was nice enough although he seemed a bit distracted. I think it may have been nearing the end of his shift by the time we got there. The hostess was distracted. Some guy came in right behind us and handed her a bunch of flowers. At least she seemed to know him, instead of it being some sort of tourist stalker situation.

There was also another area that looked more like a tiki bar, as well as a gift shop and the pier itself off this restaraunt. The problem was - they charge just to go out on the pier! We walked down, hit the gift shop (the search for gifts is another story in and of itself - probably in the next post) and then went to go stand on the pier - only to find that they wanted more money out of us just to go out there! It was only something like a dollar for sightseers, but it was the principal of the matter that pissed me off after we had just paid them for dinner. We turned around and walked instead of going out there.

We also ate at Peter's Bakery & Deli in Ft. Lauderdale for lunch, and the sandwiches we had hit the spot nicely. They had what looked like a yummy selection of desserts and cookies in the front display cases too, but I was good and didn't try any. *pouts*

We did grab one breakfast at McDonald's one of the mornings. Yeah. Um. It was... well... McDonald's. Ewww. It's amazing I kept it down. We were in a hurry okay? *shudders*

There was another place (Tony's somthing-or-other?) that we had subs delivered from too. Those were yummy and big enough that they lasted for both lunch and dinner that day. We also hit the local supermarket, Publix, as well as some local... um... liquor shops... where we stocked up our mini fridge with soda pop and other things to drink to save us from spending money down at the bar.

Next post - shopping, and the search for the mystically unattainable "locally crafted" objects.

Anniversary Vacation 2005 -
Plane Go UP! Plane Go DOWN!
Plane Go UP! Plane Go DOWN!

As Brian managed to beat me to saying on his blog, we're back from our vacation to Florida. It was a trip of many "firsts" for me, which is always a good thing. I do love traveling, as I get daring and adventurous and try things I might not ordinarily do. I find myself really, honestly, experiencing life in a way that it can be hard to do on a day-to-day basis.

I blogged in my head every day while I was gone, but we pointedly did not bring the laptop and I'm far too aware that my fingers can never seem to jot down on paper all the things I'm thinking as I think them. And my shorthand is far, far, too rusty to allow me to try to use that to keep up, much less read what I wrote afterwards. So I will take it a bit at a time and let the story of our weekend roll out of me here instead, over the course of a few posts. Hopefully I'll remember to include all the good stuff...

First, was the "leaving" part of it all. This involved dropping Jareth and all his bags (he had more stuff packed than Brian and I did combined, and he was only about 45 minutes away from home!) at Brian's folks. It was a tough one for me, leaving my little guy for so long, but I did manage to do it without crying, although I had a hard time getting myself to go out the door and I will admit to some moistness welling up in the corners of my eyes.

After that I went home and had a quick lunch while making sure all the last minute stuff was taken care of. Brian came home from working a half-day and grabbed some quick lunch as well before RainMoon and her husband came with their van and drove us to the airport. They dropped us off at the "kiss and fly" section where they suggested that we tuck and roll as they drove by at about 20 mph while they tossed our luggage out the back... naw... they actually did stop though. RainMoon helped us get our bags out of the back and I gave her the keys to our house so she could watch over our pets while we were away. Quick hugs all around and we scooted away with our stuff to make room for the next person while they drove off into the mess of traffic around the airport.

Then there was a wonderful person right there already to check our luggage and give us our tickets, which was really cool as we didn't end up having to figure out much on what to do or where we needed to be. She directed us to the door we needed to go into and we headed on in. I went through security without setting off any bells or alarms ringing, so I don't have any lurid tales about some security person groping me up my bra or some other such nonesense. It was actually moving very quickly and much simpler than we expected it to be. In the end, we stopped for some food on the way to the gate as we had planned in a lot more extra time than we needed in case security would take a while. We split an appetizer and a drink (after all we weren't driving anywhere!) and then moseyed on over to wait with the others.

Next, there was the plane...

That is a picture of the actual first plane I've ever flown on - US Airways flight 719 from Chicago O'Hare to Charlotte. In the picture it had only just arrived (a bit late) and was still getting hooked up to the gate. After taking the picture I returned to where Brian was waiting with our carry-on bags and waited with him while the plane unloaded it's passengers and then got situated to take new ones on board. I listened to people around me whining and complaining to each other or the people at the other end of their cell phones about how the plane was late as if this was something uncommon. I don't remember what it was, but Brian then told me the percentage of flights that actually do leave on schedule (he's filled with all sorts of little facts like that!) and it wasn't very high. So I'm not sure exactly what they were all worked up about. I mean the plane did show up and all...

Flying is both everything and nothing like I expected. I specified "window seat" when I picked the flights, and had one for each of the four planes total that we were on between Thursday and Monday. I kinda wish some of them were better at washing the windows though - I couldn't be sure if it was always a dirty rag that had left the streaks or if some kid had been there before me, spittin' on the window! The view, however, was phenomenal. I was a picture fiend in the air, snapping pictures like mad with my digital camera. It took great shots during the day, but nighttime shots sucked. When the plane is going that fast, long exposure doesn't work and for some odd reason they didn't seem likely to want to stop so I could snap a few cool arial shots...

The plane going up for the first time was a bit unnerving, but I don't think I was too jittery. The other guy sitting near us seemed amused that it was my first flight and assured me he'd flown bunches and would warn me if anything seemed out of the ordinary. We were behind the right wing and could watch as the stuff on the wing altered for takeoff and landing. It was cool to see, and Brian had all sorts of little trivia tidbits to share that he happened to know about airplanes and flying.

It seemed like I felt every movement of the plane for that first flight, which bothered me a little. I also had to remind myself to continue to "believe" in the "magic of what made it stay in the air", also known as... um... physics, as Brian was so apt to remind me. He briefly majored in physics when he first started college, you see.

Going down was tougher. The part I generally don't like about roller coasters is that drop after the climb. The part where your stomach seems to drop out form underneath you while your body catches up just doesn't appeal to me. Some of the descent just before we hit the runway was reminiscent of that for me. There is also a period of descent before that where my ears were hurting like mad. The ear infection I had been getting over wasn't totally gone yet, and it was especially painful on the second flight that day.

However - getting into Charlotte there was a thunderstorm going on with heavy lightning. We made our way over to within a few feet of the gate only to be told that we couldn't connect with it yet. Although the plane itself it apparently nicely grounded, connecting to the gate becomes a problem if one of them should get struck by lightning, I guess. So, in order to keep from electrocuting the passengers, the pilot was told to stay back and wait. He later told us that it was a 10-minute delay each time lightning struck nearby before they would consider it safe to connect us up. We were already running late to begin with, but ended up waiting a good 30 - 40 minutes before there had been a full 10-minute interval of safety and we were given the green light.

After that, we checked the boards in the terminal to find that our connecting flight had been delayed as well. We made a mad dash, running down the corridors and people-walks, to get to the right terminal and gate for that flight. A quick run to the bathrooms and a snatch-and-pay for sandwiches at one of the vendors was all we really had time for before we were boarding.

Between the delay and the rushing, the second flight was already almost "old hat" to me, although I was still enamored with watching out the window between bites of my seriously overpriced sandwich. The sandwich was good but costly - though it seemed that a lot of stuff was overpriced in the airports. The second plane landed in Fort Lauderdale about two hours overdue, dropping us off at around 1:00 in the morning their time, where we managed to figure out where to go to find our bags and then find the bus we needed to get to the car rental area.

The car rental (through Alamo) went smoothly enough (reservations are nice things to make, yes?), although there was a little bit of a wait in line as there were only three people on staff that late at night... this is the point that I ought to mention that it was in the 40's (degrees farenheit) when we left the Chicago area, and it was in the 80's in both Charlotte and Ft. Lauderdale. I was in blue jeans and a thick, long-sleeved shirt because I had been cold when we left the house. We stood there in line, where I repeatedly chastized myself for not putting a t-shirt into my carry-on to change into when it got warmer. I wasn't about to worry about it then, as I was tired enough to just want to get to the darn hotel by that point. After we breezed through getting our papers to get the car, we had to find another guy to get us one, which took a little bit. We ended up with a Chevy Malibu. It was a good little car, in and of the fact that it got us where we were going and didn't cost us much in gas to do it. Other than that, I did not like some of the "features" on this car. I think it had one too many things it tried to do automatically for me, like the lights, which I did not want to use for fear I'd forget and leave the lights on when I got back home. It was a little frustrating, and it seemed like it took me forever to get the seat the way I wanted it to be comfortable driving the damned thing.

Mapquest is a wonderful thing, and I was a smart little cookie and had printed maps to certain points I knew we'd be going to while we were there. The map to the hotel from the airport got us there in short order - the toughest part was seeing the sign for the hotel itself. By the end of the trip we had landmarks we watched for, as the sign was a bit tucked back and almost hidden by some trees. I'll talk more about the hotel itself in the next post, but check-in went quick enough and it wasn't long before we were in the room and gazing out our balcony at the vast ocean and the beach that lay humbly before it as its waves rolled in and out.

Thus, we had arrived at our destination. Vacation had truely begun.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...

I added a new category for this one. "Travels". Based on how my life has gone since we stopped living in a motorhome a while back, I didn't know when I'd do any traveling again. But now I'm off to vacation with my wonderful, handsome, dreamy husband. Aaahhhh.

And leaving my adorable, sweet, huggable little boy with my in-laws while where away. I will SO be pining for him. I just know it.

But tomorrow afternoon I'll be getting on a plane for the very first time in my life. So hopefully there won't be any strikes that prevent my plane from going on schedule, or hijackers that do something stupid mid-flight. Because if it's hijackers - they might well be in for a big surprise. I am SO not going to miss out on this vacation, damnit! *practices her evil eye look*

But it's nearly 11:00 pm the night before we leave and I haven't gotten much of anything packed as I was doing the laundry first so I'd have the clothes I want with me available. And I still need to pack most of Jareth's stuff for his weekend stay too. And Jareth has class in the morning, which doesn't leave a whole heck of a lot of time in between before I have to drop Jareth off and get back here so my friend RainMoon can take us to the airport.

*Takes a deep breath*

I can do this. The packing. The plane. The snorkeling while we're out there (did I mention I still have a slight fear of water, and yet I love the ocean?). The pining for my child. The whole thing.

It's just been a while. And there wasn't a child involved then.

But I'm going to enjoy this trip if it kills me.

So keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't, eh? Thanks.

This is me signing off until Monday night or sometime Tuesday, depending on how wiped I am when I get back.

Have a good weekend folks!

and, as always (or nearly always anyway)...

G'night!