To make this really quick & easy for this week the only thing I've got left to say is that I've picked out some of my favorite Maroon 5 music - enjoy!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Five on Friday - Maroon 5
To make this really quick & easy for this week the only thing I've got left to say is that I've picked out some of my favorite Maroon 5 music - enjoy!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tesla Talks
With all the drama that's been going on here around the house the past week or so, you guys have no idea how incredibly bored I've been. It seems like no one has been paying any attention to me at all because they're so worried about their own stuff!
I mean, come on now, what's a cat to do when no one wants to give head scritches or dig my toys out from under the couch or play with that feathery thing on a stick that I like to play with?
I'm going to have to give some serious thought to finding some way to entertain myself as it appears no one else around here is going to do it!
Oh hey wait, that blue thing with all of the brushy sticks sitting in it on the table gives me an idea!
That kid that lives here who makes the huge mess in the dining room that the lady always complains about is always doing something with this thing here and those brushy sticks and that seems to keep her occupied and happy so maybe I'll check it out myself!
Ok, all I have to do is jump up and here and get one of those brushy sticks that the kid uses, I know there's some back here ... hmm, where are they??
Oh dear, I can't seem to reach one and I think I'm on the wrong side of the wooden leggy thing anyway! Man, this ain't gonna work!
Oh hey wait, what's that? Did I just see a squirrel run past the open window??
Man, if I could just get outside I bet I'd be able to find something to do! I bet the squirrels wouldn't ignore me like everyone in the house seems to do lately!
Oh well, guess I'll just go hang out in the laundry room on my rug for the rest of the day being that no one wants to pay any attention to me.
Sigh ... I just don't get it!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Please Let Me Explain ...
In trying to sum up the past week the only word that I can really think of is AAUUGGGHHHHH!!! Yep, that looks and sounds about right. With the exception of a couple of high points, last week and this past weekend reached a high watermark of suckiness but I'm hoping that perhaps the worst of it is behind and we can now move on towards getting things done without feeling like I'm developing the world's biggest ulcer.
To try to sum things up as succinctly as possible (not an easy task for me on my best day being that I tend to be rather, er, wordy) - during the past week I have been dealing with some stress at work which came in the form of a couple of really, really busy days as well as a colossal feeling of being let-down by someone who shall remain nameless. This blog isn't for bitching about work so I'm not going to go into detail but the stress from that certainly added to the stress from other arenas.
For those of you who are friends on Facebook, you've probably got a pretty good inkling of what's been going on in those other arenas and know that the major source of my stress has been centered around college financing for Amanda. As I am the world's worst money manager and totally inept when it comes to finances, I am not able to do anything for her in regards to the Parent PLUS loans that are out there or am I even able to co-sign for her on a commercial student loan; some of that is my fault and some of it stems back to my divorce but let's just suffice it to say that my credit looks like a very fine and holey piece of Swiss cheese. Eventually my credit will clear up but for now, I can't do anything for Amanda in that arena.
As such, Amanda's brother was going to co-sign for her loan as he feels that she has the talent to make a living as an artist and he didn't want to see her lose her place at Montserrat or her scholarship. Unfortunately, he was turned down as a co-signer as he had a delinquency that he didn't know about so that option went out the window and things were looking quite bleak as there were no other co-signers to be found. Needless to say, there were an awful lot of tears flowing this past weekend as Amanda saw her dream of going to art college turning to dust and I was feeling like a major failure as a parent as I should have been able to do something about this if I had just had the good sense to plan better for the future of my children. Guilt, recrimination, woulda-shoulda-couldas ... it wasn't a fun time by anybody's standards I suspect.
Sunday night while I was tossing and turning with all of this running through my brain, the thought occurred to me that I have a 401K through work that - though it doesn't have much in it because of the recent hits by the national economy - might hold enough to get Amanda through the first year of college if I was able to access it. It was a glimmer of hope at least and when I went to work yesterday, I contacted our Human Resources Director to see if there was a way I could use the money. As it turns out, I am able to access the money through a hardship withdrawal that allows me to "pay tuition for the next twelve months of post secondary education". Ah-ha! There's a glimmer of light at the end of the college financing tunnel!
While I was at work talking to HR about what I was going to need to secure the hardship withdrawal, Amanda was at home getting a letter from Montserrat with the information for her residency and the names of her roommates - roommates that she was thinking she was never going to get to meet as from her end, things were still looking pretty bleak. When I called to tell her that I was going to be able to withdraw the money to pay for her first year, she was both happy and concerned as she wanted to make sure that was something I really wanted to do - after all, the money in my 401K is supposed to be for my eventual retirement and it's taken me seven years to accumulate the not-substantial amount that's there so any withdrawal is a big withdrawal.
Well, the way I look at it is that the money is there, it's available to be used, and who knows if/when I am ever going to reach retirement anyway. I would rather use the money now to help my daughter on her way to achieve her dreams then leave it in an account that's going to be buffeted by the ups and downs of the economy. I'm not going to be able to retire until I reach the full Social Security age of 72 anyway so that gives me another twenty years of contributions to build the account back up. Besides, when Amanda is a famous artist she can support me in my old age! And there's also the added bonus of knowing that there is at least one year of student loans she's not going to have to pay back. Granted, we are going to have to figure out how she'll pay for the next years after this one but I'm hoping that the time between now and then will give us some more workable options. There are three more bridges ahead of us but for now I am just going to worry about getting across the first bridge and setting Amanda off on her freshman year of college.
Now as if all of that wasn't enough, in the midst of all the stress from work and college financing I received a phone call on Saturday morning from Jamie that threw yet another log on the fire - her father has told her that she needs to move out and she wants to come back to Connecticut to live with me. This is one of those double-edged swords as I think that moving back to Connecticut will probably be a very good thing for her but by the same token, until Amanda goes to college there a) isn't much room and b) the girls still don't get along all that great. Of course, having been sent back to Connecticut by her father years ago herself, Amanda is at least a little sympathetic to Jamie's situation and hopefully that might ease some of the tension between the two.
The reason that Jamie is being told to move out is because she doesn't tell her father or stepmother the truth a lot of the time and this makes her no longer welcome in their home. Whereas I can certainly understand not wanting to be lied to, I'm not so sure that gives a parent a right to send a child packing - especially a child who is still only 16 even if she has her high school diploma. I had noticed when I was with her in Florida that Jamie embellished on things sometimes or minimized them but this is something that she has always done ever since she was a little girl; I don't think she does it on purpose and I'd be willing to bet that a psychiatrist may very well say that it's directly connected to her ADD.
I've been researching the difference between compulsive liars and pathological liars as I've got to think there's something in Jamie's makeup that causes her to lie easier than to tell the truth - especially when confronted with an unpleasant situation. She's not a bad kid at all - she has some personality disorders that need to be addressed and just throwing medication at her isn't the way to do it. And throwing her out of the house isn't the way to do it either.
I need to speak to my ex and get things figured out for Jamie to come up here and live with me and once she does, I'm going to see about getting her into some sort of regular counseling so that her problems can be addressed properly. Jamie has told me that she wants to get a job and she'd be willing to do just about anything while she continues to study for her ASVAB to try to get into the Air Force. I don't believe she's lying to me about that and even though jobs are still very hard to find around here, perhaps there will be an opening at the local Stop & Shop or McDonald's where she can pull in at least a few hours. Once she gets up here we'll figure something out and I'll do my best to get her on a path she wants to be on also. It's probably not going to be easy and I suspect we're going to hit some roadblocks along the way but Jamie deserves just as much of a chance at a good life as Amanda does and as her mother, I owe her that.
So anyway ... that's been my week and I hope it explains what's been going on that has put me in such a funk lately. I'm hoping that now that a couple things have been resolved that I'll be able to get back to some form of normalcy soon and that I'll also be able to get around to visit everyone else's blogs and see how your lives are going. Talk about feeling out of the loop!
Oh, and so much for succinct, eh??
To try to sum things up as succinctly as possible (not an easy task for me on my best day being that I tend to be rather, er, wordy) - during the past week I have been dealing with some stress at work which came in the form of a couple of really, really busy days as well as a colossal feeling of being let-down by someone who shall remain nameless. This blog isn't for bitching about work so I'm not going to go into detail but the stress from that certainly added to the stress from other arenas.
For those of you who are friends on Facebook, you've probably got a pretty good inkling of what's been going on in those other arenas and know that the major source of my stress has been centered around college financing for Amanda. As I am the world's worst money manager and totally inept when it comes to finances, I am not able to do anything for her in regards to the Parent PLUS loans that are out there or am I even able to co-sign for her on a commercial student loan; some of that is my fault and some of it stems back to my divorce but let's just suffice it to say that my credit looks like a very fine and holey piece of Swiss cheese. Eventually my credit will clear up but for now, I can't do anything for Amanda in that arena.
As such, Amanda's brother was going to co-sign for her loan as he feels that she has the talent to make a living as an artist and he didn't want to see her lose her place at Montserrat or her scholarship. Unfortunately, he was turned down as a co-signer as he had a delinquency that he didn't know about so that option went out the window and things were looking quite bleak as there were no other co-signers to be found. Needless to say, there were an awful lot of tears flowing this past weekend as Amanda saw her dream of going to art college turning to dust and I was feeling like a major failure as a parent as I should have been able to do something about this if I had just had the good sense to plan better for the future of my children. Guilt, recrimination, woulda-shoulda-couldas ... it wasn't a fun time by anybody's standards I suspect.
Sunday night while I was tossing and turning with all of this running through my brain, the thought occurred to me that I have a 401K through work that - though it doesn't have much in it because of the recent hits by the national economy - might hold enough to get Amanda through the first year of college if I was able to access it. It was a glimmer of hope at least and when I went to work yesterday, I contacted our Human Resources Director to see if there was a way I could use the money. As it turns out, I am able to access the money through a hardship withdrawal that allows me to "pay tuition for the next twelve months of post secondary education". Ah-ha! There's a glimmer of light at the end of the college financing tunnel!
While I was at work talking to HR about what I was going to need to secure the hardship withdrawal, Amanda was at home getting a letter from Montserrat with the information for her residency and the names of her roommates - roommates that she was thinking she was never going to get to meet as from her end, things were still looking pretty bleak. When I called to tell her that I was going to be able to withdraw the money to pay for her first year, she was both happy and concerned as she wanted to make sure that was something I really wanted to do - after all, the money in my 401K is supposed to be for my eventual retirement and it's taken me seven years to accumulate the not-substantial amount that's there so any withdrawal is a big withdrawal.
Well, the way I look at it is that the money is there, it's available to be used, and who knows if/when I am ever going to reach retirement anyway. I would rather use the money now to help my daughter on her way to achieve her dreams then leave it in an account that's going to be buffeted by the ups and downs of the economy. I'm not going to be able to retire until I reach the full Social Security age of 72 anyway so that gives me another twenty years of contributions to build the account back up. Besides, when Amanda is a famous artist she can support me in my old age! And there's also the added bonus of knowing that there is at least one year of student loans she's not going to have to pay back. Granted, we are going to have to figure out how she'll pay for the next years after this one but I'm hoping that the time between now and then will give us some more workable options. There are three more bridges ahead of us but for now I am just going to worry about getting across the first bridge and setting Amanda off on her freshman year of college.
Now as if all of that wasn't enough, in the midst of all the stress from work and college financing I received a phone call on Saturday morning from Jamie that threw yet another log on the fire - her father has told her that she needs to move out and she wants to come back to Connecticut to live with me. This is one of those double-edged swords as I think that moving back to Connecticut will probably be a very good thing for her but by the same token, until Amanda goes to college there a) isn't much room and b) the girls still don't get along all that great. Of course, having been sent back to Connecticut by her father years ago herself, Amanda is at least a little sympathetic to Jamie's situation and hopefully that might ease some of the tension between the two.
The reason that Jamie is being told to move out is because she doesn't tell her father or stepmother the truth a lot of the time and this makes her no longer welcome in their home. Whereas I can certainly understand not wanting to be lied to, I'm not so sure that gives a parent a right to send a child packing - especially a child who is still only 16 even if she has her high school diploma. I had noticed when I was with her in Florida that Jamie embellished on things sometimes or minimized them but this is something that she has always done ever since she was a little girl; I don't think she does it on purpose and I'd be willing to bet that a psychiatrist may very well say that it's directly connected to her ADD.
I've been researching the difference between compulsive liars and pathological liars as I've got to think there's something in Jamie's makeup that causes her to lie easier than to tell the truth - especially when confronted with an unpleasant situation. She's not a bad kid at all - she has some personality disorders that need to be addressed and just throwing medication at her isn't the way to do it. And throwing her out of the house isn't the way to do it either.
I need to speak to my ex and get things figured out for Jamie to come up here and live with me and once she does, I'm going to see about getting her into some sort of regular counseling so that her problems can be addressed properly. Jamie has told me that she wants to get a job and she'd be willing to do just about anything while she continues to study for her ASVAB to try to get into the Air Force. I don't believe she's lying to me about that and even though jobs are still very hard to find around here, perhaps there will be an opening at the local Stop & Shop or McDonald's where she can pull in at least a few hours. Once she gets up here we'll figure something out and I'll do my best to get her on a path she wants to be on also. It's probably not going to be easy and I suspect we're going to hit some roadblocks along the way but Jamie deserves just as much of a chance at a good life as Amanda does and as her mother, I owe her that.
So anyway ... that's been my week and I hope it explains what's been going on that has put me in such a funk lately. I'm hoping that now that a couple things have been resolved that I'll be able to get back to some form of normalcy soon and that I'll also be able to get around to visit everyone else's blogs and see how your lives are going. Talk about feeling out of the loop!
Oh, and so much for succinct, eh??
Sunday, July 11, 2010
A Quiet Moment
“After all to the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, spoken by the character Albus Dumbledore
Friday, July 9, 2010
Did Someone Say "Pressure"??
Just a quick note to say thank you to everyone for your kind comments on Wednesday's post and to let you know that I'm hanging in there in spite of even more added stressors the past couple of days. I'm sure there are many reasons for my being overwhelmed right now - not the least of which I'm sure is the heat & humidity and aging hormones - and I really do plan on seeking out someone of a professional nature to talk to before my head explodes or something, I just need to remember to do that!
In the meantime, this evening is Amanda's long-delayed graduation/birthday party for which she has a fantastic cake courtesy of the talents of Miss Maggie Moo and I promise pictures and such as soon as I can get my ducks together and keep them in some sort of row for at least a little while.
In the interim, this video might just sum it up!
In the meantime, this evening is Amanda's long-delayed graduation/birthday party for which she has a fantastic cake courtesy of the talents of Miss Maggie Moo and I promise pictures and such as soon as I can get my ducks together and keep them in some sort of row for at least a little while.
In the interim, this video might just sum it up!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Feeling Like The Bug
Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits fame wrote a song quite a few years back called "The Bug" wherein he sings the lyrics - "Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug".
Well, to be honest, I'm really starting to feel like the bug here lately and I'm at that stage of the game where all a person has to do is look at me funny and I'll start to cry. Right now I am totally stressed out about so many different things on so many different levels that I'm not even sure which thing it is that has me waking up at 3:00 in the morning and unable to get back to sleep or which thing is putting the knot in the middle of my back right between my shoulder blades or what might be causing the headaches and the constant clenching of my jaw. I'm not sure why I read other people's blog posts and get all sniffly and weepy or why I just want to go crawl under a rock afterward but right now I do and I'm thinking that's really not a good thing.
So, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go break out the pointed hats, the streamers, the balloons, and the other trappings of any good full-blown Pity Party and have one for myself for a little while. Hopefully when I come back I'll feel human again or at least a little less like I've been splatted onto one windshield after another in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Well, to be honest, I'm really starting to feel like the bug here lately and I'm at that stage of the game where all a person has to do is look at me funny and I'll start to cry. Right now I am totally stressed out about so many different things on so many different levels that I'm not even sure which thing it is that has me waking up at 3:00 in the morning and unable to get back to sleep or which thing is putting the knot in the middle of my back right between my shoulder blades or what might be causing the headaches and the constant clenching of my jaw. I'm not sure why I read other people's blog posts and get all sniffly and weepy or why I just want to go crawl under a rock afterward but right now I do and I'm thinking that's really not a good thing.
So, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go break out the pointed hats, the streamers, the balloons, and the other trappings of any good full-blown Pity Party and have one for myself for a little while. Hopefully when I come back I'll feel human again or at least a little less like I've been splatted onto one windshield after another in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Van Gogh Doctor
I've got a few more pictures to post from my Florida trip and a couple other posts in the wings, too, but I thought I'd take today to show you one of the paintings that Amanda recently completed. Inspired by the latest episode of Doctor Who on BBC America, Amanda wanted to do a picture of the 11th Doctor who is played by Matt Smith in a Van Gogh style. The painting was done in oil, not her favorite medium, but a good choice for portraits.
I told her that I thought he had that "Bill the Nye the Science Guy" look about him and she said that was what she was shooting for - in which case she was right on target!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Adventures in Florida, Part 7: When The Lady Says "Paradise", She Means It!
After inspecting our "swanky" room but before climbing back into the rental car and making the short drive over to meet Empress Bee and Sarge Charlie, we decided to clean up a bit from our long day on the road and Jamie went from bright neon colors to classic black & white. I think this is her "thoughtful" pose!
As we drove over to their condo and I looked around at West Palm Beach, the thought occurred to me to try to remember to mention something in particular about Bee's blog when I wrote this post and that is, for those of you who read Muffin 53, Bee often titles her posts with whatever the day of the week it is and the words "in Paradise". Obviously I'm not a big fan of Florida on several different levels - with the highest one being the heat and humidity - but when Bee says "in Paradise" she really means it and I don't think it's just because she lives on the 19th floor and has the following views (though I'm sure it doesn't hurt!):
I think if I had a terrace that overlooked those kinds of views, I'd be writing "in Paradise" on my post titles, too! Talk about gorgeous ... not to mention a long ways down! But anyhow, enough on the view, how about something about the people who possess that view?
I believe that Sarge Charlie first started commenting on my blog via the old "Bestest Blog of the Day' and shortly after that, Bee started coming around, too. Charlie has always held a special place in my heart as it turns out that he served in Vietnam at the same time as my father. Matter of fact, if my faulty memory serves me correctly he was also stationed at Da Nang where my Dad was stationed though my Dad was Air Force and Charlie was Army. It didn't matter what branch of the service they were in though, as they were serving in the same place, at the same time, fighting the same enemy and that made them comrades-in-arms.
Unfortunately, both of them being in the same place at the same time also meant that they were both exposed to Agent Orange - the effects of which eventually caused the cancer that killed my father at way too young of an age. Regular readers of Charlie's blog know that he, too, has recently been fighting quite the battle with cancer as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange so when I finally made up my mind that I was definitely going to Florida for Jamie's graduation, I also made it a priority that I get the chance to meet Charlie & Bee in person as I admire them both tremendously: they are both cancer survivors, they are both patriotic Americans, and they share the same sort of love that my parents did - that rare type that you know makes them soulmates and best friends and perfect for each other. The kind of love I wish that I had been able to find but never did.
Of course, you can't meet Charlie & Bee without also meeting their pets - Flat Skeezix and Flat Jeter! Jamie seemed a bit confused about the whole flat cat thing initially but caught right on when I explained that as much as Bee loves cats, she can't have a real one as Charlie is allergic. Flat cats are better than no cats and these two are always up to some sort of antics. In the picture above they're posing with a cache of cookies that Bee scored in her Liberals versus Conservatives CookieScam Contest.
Jamie and I were in for a definite treat that evening as we were having dinner cooked for us by Miss Bee and it was absolutely delicious! So good in fact, I failed to take any pictures! We had steak and mashed taters and corn on the cob and broccoli and the most delicious gravy ever. I know I've raved about the gravy already but it was just THAT good! (I'm hoping maybe I can convince Bee to sneak a vat of it onto the Bloggers Cruise in February!) In addition to all of that, we were treated to a fresh-baked cherry pie with vanilla ice cream that was totally delicious! Seriously, Bee totally outdid herself and Charlie assured us that it was a rare treat indeed to have her cook these days so we felt doubly honored!
I've got to take a moment to say that in addition to Jamie being a good photographer, I was totally impressed with my youngest daughter while we were visiting. She not only helped Bee in the kitchen with the meal preparation and set the table but she also cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher - all without being asked! In reward for that, Bee let her go "shopping" in her big walk-in closet where Jamie ended up cleaning out a bit of space for Bee to put new things! And she told Bee that she wasn't on a shopping ban! I think that scored her a couple of points!
All in all it was a lovely evening and the next day was going to be just as nice as Jamie and I were going to be treated to breakfast at the famous John G's on the Beach in Lake Worth! I'd read many a blog post about John G's and it was pretty exciting to be able to go to the actual spot I'd read about so many times before. First though, it was back to the Marriott and a nice relaxing night in a nice comfy room.
The next morning had us up semi-bright and early after a very restful night in our luxurious beds and as we waited in the lobby for Charlie & Bee to arrive, Jamie - of course - made use of my cell phone to catch up with her friends. Just as an aside, I don't know why but this picture reminds me of something out of the John & Jackie Kennedy era - I must be crazy, right?
Anyhow, after the short drive down to Lake Worth on a beautiful Tuesday morning, we arrived at John G's and before we knew it, the following had arrived at our table (feel free to biggify the picture and drool!):
Just in case I get it wrong, I'm sure Bee can correct me but I believe what we have here from left to right across the top is Charlie's Spanish omelet with hash brown potatoes; Bee's Italian omelet with grits; my eggs over-easy with hash brown potatoes; and Jamie's corned beef hash with poached eggs.
That delicious looking toast was rye and it was hands-down the best rye I've ever had! Bee shared some of her omelet with me and I've got to say that it was absolutely delicious, too. I can see why John G's is such the popular place that it is!
As you can see, I was too busy stuffing my face to be of any use with a camera so Jamie grabbed the Nikon and took some shots of the restaurant so that you can get an idea of what a nice homey place it is. Apparently it's been in business in the same spot on the public beach for 33 years now and is a family-run business. Certainly made me wish I lived a lot closer than 1,200 miles so that I could come back and sample some more of the menu but maybe one of these days I'll get there again!
Following our wonderful breakfast, Charlie drove us back to our hotel via the scenic route while Bee played tour guide and pointed out Rod Stewart's house, Jimmy Buffet's house, Donald Trump's house, The Breakers Hotel (which is absolutely gorgeous), the house that John Lennon lived in when The Beatles recorded The White Album, and a host of other gorgeous houses and buildings. Jamie explained to me the difference between royal palms and queen palms and I let her do all of the photography along the way. It was really, really nice to be a passenger and be able to gawk at everything while someone else did the driving! I've put the pictures all together in a slideshow that you'll find at the bottom of the post I but neglected to put any captions in as I couldn't remember what half of the pictures were of! All I know is that the whole area was absolutely beautiful but if there's one in particular you have a question about, I'm sure Bee can help you out with the answer as that's her stomping grounds and I'm sure she knows it well. It seemed to me like she sure did as she shared her beautiful city with us!
After we arrived back at the hotel, we bid Charlie & Bee a fond farewell and thanked them for their hospitality and the wonderful time we'd had. I am very glad that I had the chance to meet them both and am even more excited that I'll get to see them again on the Bloggers Cruise in February! Yay to Barb for that!
Thinking ahead, I'd made arrangements with the hotel when we checked in the day before for a late check-out so we still had time to hit the pool before we had to head down to Fort Lauderdale to catch our flight back to Connecticut. There are pictures of the pool in the slideshow below, too, and even though I can promise you that I actually did go swimming, you aren't going to find any pictures of me in a swimsuit! I did take some of the pictures from the middle of the pool, though, to prove to you that I was in the water but that's as good as it's going to get and I'm just glad I didn't drop my Nikon in the water! I tell ya, the things I do for blog pictures!! Still, it was my first time in the water in years and it was ... well, it was like being in Paradise!
As we drove over to their condo and I looked around at West Palm Beach, the thought occurred to me to try to remember to mention something in particular about Bee's blog when I wrote this post and that is, for those of you who read Muffin 53, Bee often titles her posts with whatever the day of the week it is and the words "in Paradise". Obviously I'm not a big fan of Florida on several different levels - with the highest one being the heat and humidity - but when Bee says "in Paradise" she really means it and I don't think it's just because she lives on the 19th floor and has the following views (though I'm sure it doesn't hurt!):
I think if I had a terrace that overlooked those kinds of views, I'd be writing "in Paradise" on my post titles, too! Talk about gorgeous ... not to mention a long ways down! But anyhow, enough on the view, how about something about the people who possess that view?
I believe that Sarge Charlie first started commenting on my blog via the old "Bestest Blog of the Day' and shortly after that, Bee started coming around, too. Charlie has always held a special place in my heart as it turns out that he served in Vietnam at the same time as my father. Matter of fact, if my faulty memory serves me correctly he was also stationed at Da Nang where my Dad was stationed though my Dad was Air Force and Charlie was Army. It didn't matter what branch of the service they were in though, as they were serving in the same place, at the same time, fighting the same enemy and that made them comrades-in-arms.
Unfortunately, both of them being in the same place at the same time also meant that they were both exposed to Agent Orange - the effects of which eventually caused the cancer that killed my father at way too young of an age. Regular readers of Charlie's blog know that he, too, has recently been fighting quite the battle with cancer as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange so when I finally made up my mind that I was definitely going to Florida for Jamie's graduation, I also made it a priority that I get the chance to meet Charlie & Bee in person as I admire them both tremendously: they are both cancer survivors, they are both patriotic Americans, and they share the same sort of love that my parents did - that rare type that you know makes them soulmates and best friends and perfect for each other. The kind of love I wish that I had been able to find but never did.
Of course, you can't meet Charlie & Bee without also meeting their pets - Flat Skeezix and Flat Jeter! Jamie seemed a bit confused about the whole flat cat thing initially but caught right on when I explained that as much as Bee loves cats, she can't have a real one as Charlie is allergic. Flat cats are better than no cats and these two are always up to some sort of antics. In the picture above they're posing with a cache of cookies that Bee scored in her Liberals versus Conservatives Cookie
Jamie and I were in for a definite treat that evening as we were having dinner cooked for us by Miss Bee and it was absolutely delicious! So good in fact, I failed to take any pictures! We had steak and mashed taters and corn on the cob and broccoli and the most delicious gravy ever. I know I've raved about the gravy already but it was just THAT good! (I'm hoping maybe I can convince Bee to sneak a vat of it onto the Bloggers Cruise in February!) In addition to all of that, we were treated to a fresh-baked cherry pie with vanilla ice cream that was totally delicious! Seriously, Bee totally outdid herself and Charlie assured us that it was a rare treat indeed to have her cook these days so we felt doubly honored!
I've got to take a moment to say that in addition to Jamie being a good photographer, I was totally impressed with my youngest daughter while we were visiting. She not only helped Bee in the kitchen with the meal preparation and set the table but she also cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher - all without being asked! In reward for that, Bee let her go "shopping" in her big walk-in closet where Jamie ended up cleaning out a bit of space for Bee to put new things! And she told Bee that she wasn't on a shopping ban! I think that scored her a couple of points!
All in all it was a lovely evening and the next day was going to be just as nice as Jamie and I were going to be treated to breakfast at the famous John G's on the Beach in Lake Worth! I'd read many a blog post about John G's and it was pretty exciting to be able to go to the actual spot I'd read about so many times before. First though, it was back to the Marriott and a nice relaxing night in a nice comfy room.
The next morning had us up semi-bright and early after a very restful night in our luxurious beds and as we waited in the lobby for Charlie & Bee to arrive, Jamie - of course - made use of my cell phone to catch up with her friends. Just as an aside, I don't know why but this picture reminds me of something out of the John & Jackie Kennedy era - I must be crazy, right?
Anyhow, after the short drive down to Lake Worth on a beautiful Tuesday morning, we arrived at John G's and before we knew it, the following had arrived at our table (feel free to biggify the picture and drool!):
Just in case I get it wrong, I'm sure Bee can correct me but I believe what we have here from left to right across the top is Charlie's Spanish omelet with hash brown potatoes; Bee's Italian omelet with grits; my eggs over-easy with hash brown potatoes; and Jamie's corned beef hash with poached eggs.
That delicious looking toast was rye and it was hands-down the best rye I've ever had! Bee shared some of her omelet with me and I've got to say that it was absolutely delicious, too. I can see why John G's is such the popular place that it is!As you can see, I was too busy stuffing my face to be of any use with a camera so Jamie grabbed the Nikon and took some shots of the restaurant so that you can get an idea of what a nice homey place it is. Apparently it's been in business in the same spot on the public beach for 33 years now and is a family-run business. Certainly made me wish I lived a lot closer than 1,200 miles so that I could come back and sample some more of the menu but maybe one of these days I'll get there again!
Following our wonderful breakfast, Charlie drove us back to our hotel via the scenic route while Bee played tour guide and pointed out Rod Stewart's house, Jimmy Buffet's house, Donald Trump's house, The Breakers Hotel (which is absolutely gorgeous), the house that John Lennon lived in when The Beatles recorded The White Album, and a host of other gorgeous houses and buildings. Jamie explained to me the difference between royal palms and queen palms and I let her do all of the photography along the way. It was really, really nice to be a passenger and be able to gawk at everything while someone else did the driving! I've put the pictures all together in a slideshow that you'll find at the bottom of the post I but neglected to put any captions in as I couldn't remember what half of the pictures were of! All I know is that the whole area was absolutely beautiful but if there's one in particular you have a question about, I'm sure Bee can help you out with the answer as that's her stomping grounds and I'm sure she knows it well. It seemed to me like she sure did as she shared her beautiful city with us!
After we arrived back at the hotel, we bid Charlie & Bee a fond farewell and thanked them for their hospitality and the wonderful time we'd had. I am very glad that I had the chance to meet them both and am even more excited that I'll get to see them again on the Bloggers Cruise in February! Yay to Barb for that!
Thinking ahead, I'd made arrangements with the hotel when we checked in the day before for a late check-out so we still had time to hit the pool before we had to head down to Fort Lauderdale to catch our flight back to Connecticut. There are pictures of the pool in the slideshow below, too, and even though I can promise you that I actually did go swimming, you aren't going to find any pictures of me in a swimsuit! I did take some of the pictures from the middle of the pool, though, to prove to you that I was in the water but that's as good as it's going to get and I'm just glad I didn't drop my Nikon in the water! I tell ya, the things I do for blog pictures!! Still, it was my first time in the water in years and it was ... well, it was like being in Paradise!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The Reason It's Called "Independence Day" - just in case anyone has forgotten!
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
— John Hancock
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
Friday, July 2, 2010
Five on Friday - Amanda's Choice
Due to the fact that I am pretty much wiped out from the seven shifts I just worked in the past five days and am feeling less than creative when it comes to even just picking out music, I decided to pass the baton over to Amanda and asked her to pick five songs based on nothing in particular except what she likes. Considering the kid has about six times more songs on her iPod than I have on mine it wasn't difficult for her to pick a handful of choices. Some of you may notice a bit of a theme but they're all definitely Amanda!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Adventures in Florida, Part 6: Southbound to West Palm Beach
After waving good-bye to Sandy and leaving Saint Augustine Beach behind, Jamie and I began the roughly 240-mile drive south to West Palm Beach. If my GPS was telling me the truth, the drive was going to take approximately 3-1/2 hours – give or take – on Interstate 95, a road that I am very familiar with up here in the northeast.
For those of you who have driven on I-95 anywhere in the northeast corridor you’ll know exactly what I mean when I say that it’s not the most relaxing highway in the world! There are just too many people in too many cars on roads that weren’t designed for the amount of traffic that they receive. Generally speaking, by the time I get to where I’m going I almost have to pry my hands from the wheel! I was hoping that wasn’t going to be the case with I-95 in Florida and that the drive would be at least a little more enjoyable than what I was used to dealing with up here.
The first 60 miles down to Daytona Beach weren’t too bad even though there were a decent number of other cars on the road. People weren’t weaving in and out of traffic and cutting each other off and slowing down and speeding up or any of the other angry-driver shenanigans that go on up this way. It was actually quite refreshing and I was able to remember what it was that I had always enjoyed about driving back before it became an exercise in frustration!
Beyond Daytona Beach, the highway dropped down to two lanes rather than three but the traffic lightened up considerably also. What hadn’t lightened up, though, was the grumbling in my stomach reminding me that it was after 1:00 and I had yet to even eat breakfast! Problem solved when I pulled off the highway and stopped at a Chick-fil-A for the best southern-style chicken sandwich I had eaten in a long time! We seriously need to get one of these up here in Connecticut!
Back on the road there wasn’t a whole lot to look at except maybe for the clouds overhead …
And the trees by the side of the road …
But I didn’t mind – I like clouds!
My co-pilot apparently got bored with just the whole clouds, trees …
… clouds, trees repertoire and she decided to inspect the back of her eyelids for awhile instead …
That was okay by me, though, I was enjoying the drive and the slightly higher speed limit than we have here in New England. Oops, no wonder the miles were flying by! It seems I was exceeding that slightly higher speed limit by about ten miles!
Getting closer to West Palm Beach, the Florida sunny skies started to turn not so sunny -
And even left a few drops on the windshield ...
By the time we pulled into the parking lot of the West Palm Beach Marriott, though, the clouds had passed, the sun had come out, and there were bright blue Florida skies overhead once again.
Having spent the previous night at the not-so-great-quality Quality Inn in Saint Augustine from the moment we stepped into the lobby of the Marriott, Jamie was majorly impressed with our accommodations for the night.
She was even more impressed when we arrived in our room which included “Look, Mom! Real glass glasses wrapped in paper!”, lots of big fluffy pillows on the beds …
… and even an overstuffed chair in the corner where she could contemplate the nicest hotel room that she had ever stayed in!
Our room at the Marriott was definitely nice and was made even nicer by the fact that I had scored a great rate on the room on Priceline.com and had only paid $50 for it! Gotta love William Shatner and his expert price negotiation skills!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)