It's all about me...still

It's hard to believe, but this is the last day of January. Tomorrow is February 1st. I don't know about you, but time sure does seem to fly by for me. My birthday month could have lasted at least another week. I needed a little more time to milk that for all its worth!

On the plus side, February means Valentine's Day. Ok, it's just another excuse for the card and candy companies to make some money. But it's also an opportunity for you to remember to tell that special someone that you really love them. Sometimes we forget to do that and need a reminder. I know lots of people love me so I'm expecting to get tons of Valentine cards this year!

The best valentine I could get this year is that my great nephew be born happy and healthy. He's not actually due until March 1st, but sometimes babies decide they're coming out early and ain't nobody gonna stop em!

So Jack, if you're listening to your Aunt Maura, be happy, be healthy, and be here in time to send your aunt a Valentine's Day card! (Remember my mantra..."It's all about me"!)

Happy Birthday to me!

What an awesome day! This had to be one of the best birthdays that I've had in a very long time.

For starters, my sister Maryann and her husband Bill, were here to help me celebrate! They usually come down the end of February, but this year moved their visit up a bit due to the fact that Jack will be born during their usual trip time. Since they wanted to be home for Jack when the time finally arrived, they made plans to be here for my birthday. That worked for me!

Our day started very early...up at 4:00am! Why so early? We had made plans to go on a hot air balloon ride and had to be at the starting point by 6:00am. What an outstanding experience that was!

We drove to a local hotel as our starting point. From there, they drove us to the take off point. That ended up being a huge orange grove in Clermont. Wow! We watched as they unrolled the balloons and connected them to the basket. First they filled them with cold air from huge industrial sized fans. Followed by adding the hot air...the fire torches were amazing. It's hard to imagine how they don't burn up the ropes and balloon, but they don't.


It wasn't too long before we had to climb inside the basket and prepare for take off! The baskets are sectioned off into 5 sections. There are two sections of either side and the middle section is where the pilot and hot air tanks are. They said they could fit up to 18 people plus the pilot in one of these baskets, but we had 14 people in ours and it was pretty packed. If there were more people, we'd have been packed like sardines.

Finally, the heat was going long enough that we began to float upward. It was amazing! You didn't even feel the basket moving at first...you just kind of noticed it happening.




There were a couple other balloons taking off about the same time as us so I was able to get some great shots of them as we took off. This all took place at sunrise so the setting was breathtaking. The morning fog wasn't really visible to the eye, but quite visible in some of the pictures. If you've never flown in a hot air balloon, I highly recommend it! It's like floating on air...literally.






My sister being a goof! Warming her hands in the fire...hahaha!









Our pilot, Damien, was a real hoot! He's from Ireland and had the neatest accent. He along with all the ground crew really made it quite a memorable experience.

Sunrise over Clermont Florida

This is our view of the other balloon as we took off.
Our higest altitude was about 500 feet. We floated up and down but never went over the 500 feet mark. The winds were perfect at that level to allow us to drift on the appropriate path to our landing site. We had a few brushes with the tops of a few pines, but for the most part, we cleared all obstacles in our way.

Some great aerial shots of the area. You've really gotta try this!

These cows were mooing about below.

More sunrise pictures


Our reflection over the retention pond.

Another treetop view
Looking down at the trees below

Maryann and Bill enjoying their view

The landing was the roughest part. You don't just land...you kind of hit ground and bounce a couple of times. It's a little on the rough side, but an exciting experience.

Yep, this sure was the best birthday ever! I can't wait until next year!

It's a long week

This has been one long week! It actually started last weekend.

Last Saturday, I had a four o'clock flight back home to Pennsylvania. The occasion? My niece, Sara, was having a baby shower. I wanted to be there for the big event so I made arrangements and off I went. I arrived in Erie about 7:00pm. Uncle Joe and Aunt Lucy picked me up at the airport telling me stories on the way home about how horrible the weather had been and there were almost certain my flight was going to be cancelled. Of course, the time they had picked me up and our drive home was perfect. No snowing, no blowing. Shortly after we got home, however, the weather started to pick up and visibility was horrible. Didn't matter by then...we were home, inside, out of the elements.

Sunday was the baby shower! Neither Sara, nor my mom, knew I was coming so it was going to be a surprise. I arrived and was standing at the back of the car, helping Michele unload, when who drives by us in the parking lot? Sara! What the heck...she's supposed to be inside already hobnobbing! Fortunately I was facing the opposite direction and was able to walk away before she stopped to talk to Michele. And while the two of them were chit-chatting in the cold weather, I was hunkered down in front of the car. When Sara pulled away to park her car, I got up (which was a major task in and of itself) and climbed back into the car. Michele went inside and I waited until I saw Sara walk by and go inside. Then I climbed out of the car and went inside. My cover wasn't blown!

When I got inside, I hung up my coat and was able to walk to the table at which my mother was sitting without being noticed. She was talking to everyone at the table when I tapped her on the shoulder and said hello. Needless to say she was surprised to see me! Sara was on the other side of the room and everyone kept telling her to turn around. When she did...she was surprised to see me!

The party was great! There was a chinese auction which I thought was a neat idea rather than just the random number draw for a door prize. The prizes were nice too, not the usual box of tissues or writing tablet. The food was good. The only thing I didn't care for was the salad. Too many strange leafy things in it. I'm just an iceberg lettuce kind of girl and don't need all those other leafy lettuce in my salad. The best part ... the cake! Yummy french vanilla with almond frosting...mmmmmmm! I got to see all the family that I wouldn't normally get a chance to see. Overall, a great party.

Sunday morning I was heading home. Maryann picked me up and dropped me at the airport about 9:15. My flight was scheduled to leave Erie at 9:45. They told me when I checked in that there was a delay and we'd be leaving about 10:30ish. Well, that ended up turning into an 11:15 departure! Needless to say I missed my 11:20 connection in Cleveland and had to wait until 3:45 for the next flight. That turned into a 4:30 departure from Cleveland! Needless to say, rather than being home at 2:00 Sunday it was nearly 7:00pm. But I made it home and that's what really matters.

This week has been rush rush rush! I seemed to have been running all week. Thankfully, it's the weekend and I can maybe get caught up so next week will be just the normal rush routine.

Guess I'm just not cut out for this jet-set life!

It's almost here

For those of you who read my blog regularly, this is your reminder that my birthday is almost here! You only have 6 more shopping days! So be sure to beat the crowds and that last minute rush and go shopping today! And tomorrow. And if you have time, do some more on Tuesday!

Shop often. Buys lots!

The Bucket List

If you don't listen to me about anything else, listen to me when I tell you this is a MUST SEE movie! This movie is on HBO this month. I've watched bits and pieces of it several times but today I finally managed to see the entire movie from start to finish.

This movie stars Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. They both come from very different walks of life, however, they end up in the same hospital room suffering from the end stages of cancer. After both get the news from their doctors that they only have months to live, they devise a list of things to do before they die (kick the bucket).

The best line in the whole movie is given by Jack Nicholson. He gives this advice to his young assistant Thomas (whose real name was Matthew, but Jack's character found that name to be too biblical so he called him Tom). His advice? As you get older, remember 3 things. Number 1: Never pass a bathroom. (I can relate to this all too well.) Number 2: Never waste a hard-on. And number 3...drum roll please...Never trust a fart! LMAO! I laughed until I cried! (Which, by the way, was one of the things on the bucket list. Guess I can cross that one off my list!) Yes, this movie had a lot of great comedy moments that made you feel pretty good.

Should you decide to watch this movie, I also give you this advice: have a box of tissues handy! You'll need them from laughing so hard, but also because you will cry...especially at the end. That's all I'm saying as I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't yet had the opportunity to see this movie and are now planning on doing so.

My best advice: Watch the movie. Oh and don't forget that fart thing! That can save you from a lot of embarassment!

RIP Mr. Bear

As you may already know, I spoil my dog. I give her cookies for no apparent reason and buy doggie ice cream for her. Yes, I know, but I can't help it. I love my dog.

She also doesn't want for toys. Every time I go shopping, I look for a new toy for her. I don't always buy one, but if I see something that I think she might enjoy, I've been known to pick up one or two..or five! One of the most recent toys purchased was "Mr. Bear".

Now let me preface this by saying that when she gets a stuffed toy, Shae's goal in life is to unstuff it! So fast forward to Mr. Bear.

Mr. Bear is a small koala bear. Actually, this would be Mr. Bear #2. (Mr. Bear #1 has been but a mere memory for quite some time.) Anyway, Mr. Bear came out probably mid-November. For awhile, she didn't pay much attention to Mr. Bear. She still had Mr. Snowman (who, by the way, has joined Mr. Bear #1), Mr. Kitty, plus a couple other little toys to play with. So when Mr. Bear #2 came into the picture, he wasn't the main focus of her attention.

Mr. Bear was strickly an inside toy. Any toy that gets dragged outside, stays outside. About a week ago, Shae had a different idea. She thought Mr. Bear would make a much better outside toy. Poor Mr. Bear was banished to the outdoors after that.

Everytime Shae went outside, she'd play with Mr. Bear. Today, Mr. Bear looks like this:
Both ears are gone and one leg is missing. I'm not sure what happened to Mr. Bear's eyes, but his vision is not good. And that little poof of white stuff at the top of his head? That used to be inside Mr. Bear. The remainder of Mr. Bear's insides are strewn about the yard.

Monday, Mr. Bear will be sent to his final resting place. I've arranged for a big truck to come and pick him up curbside.

Has anybody seen Mr. Kitty?

Back to work

This was the day that I was dreading. It had finally arrived. Today was Monday, which is bad enough, but that which made it even worse was it was the first Monday back to work after having two weeks off! Ugh! The last thing I wanted to do this morning was get up, get dressed, and drive 30 minutes to get to work.

I even had an out. My very good friend, knowing how I felt about going back to work today, was kind enough to write me an excuse for not going into work today. It was a multiple choice note and my employer could choose their preferred reasoning for me not be there for the next week. (Or in the case of option number 4 on the note...the next 15-20 years!) My personal fav...I have nippleitis. It's just what it sounds like it might be too. My nipples hurt! And everyone knows that if you put an "itis" at the end, it sounds so much more believable!

Even with having a valid written excuse, I went to work today. And now I'm very tired as I didn't get to take my afternoon nap. And top that off with the fact that I really don't feel all that well. (No it's not really nippleitis...but it could be, dammit!) The meds that my doctor has me on for my various aches & pains (which suddenly seemed to appear once I hit my mid-forties), most of them list nausea, fatigue, dizzy & lightheadedness as side effects. Of course, I have them all. I even get the flushing at least 3 times a week from one of the meds I take. My skin begins to turn all red and I feel a burning sensation throughout my body. I like to think of them as "extreme hot flashes". After several minutes the flushing will stop and I'll be back to normal again.

Thankfully, she didn't put a date on that note and I think I can still use it tomorrow. If my upset tummy doesn't go away, I just might do that. But just in case, Ann Marie, please be on alert. I might need another note!

Holes

Our house is made of cement block. There's no aluminum siding and the only woodwork is around the door frames and windows. Otherwise, we're cinder block all the way. I always thought that cement blocks would be the best type of building material. It won't blow away in strong winds (think about the 3 little pigs...who was the smartest pig?) and it's not something that would be eaten away by critters like termites. Yesterday I learned differently.

Picture this...I was standing on the cement block patio in my back yard; minding my own business (like I usually do), waiting on my dog to finish her "business", when I look over at the sliding glass door. Next to the door, I see these two little holes in the cement block. "Strange", I think to myself. I've not seen those there before. I walk a little closer and as I do, a wasp-like bee swoops down and into the smaller hole on the left. That little peckerhead was drilling holes in the cement blocks of my house and filling it with bee eggs!

Now, I know you're thinking I'm crazy and that the bee didn't drill these holes. But he did! I watched him drill deeper before I finally got the Raid out and sprayed the little bugger! I sprayed inside the hole too so nobody would think of finishing the job. And I sprayed the neighboring hole that had already been filled with eggs.

Now my house looks like it got bit by a vampire! I wonder if a little toothpaste will take care of this?

Lighthouses

I am, by no means, what I would consider a "crafty" person. I have very little talent when it comes to being artsy, and I've learned to live with that. However, there are times that I amaze myself.

Long about November, I happened across a craft fair. I was pretty excited about it too. It's the first one I'd seen since I moved to Florida 8 years ago. Anyway, I stopped and wandered about the booths, marveling at how crafty some people really are. I mean, I look at a pile of stuff and think "just junk, trash it". But these people look at that same pile and say "Hey, I can make a scale model of the taj mahal with that stuff! All I need to do is add a button right here!" But not this time.

I came across a booth that was being manned by a kindly older gentleman. He obviously wasn't a true crafter as he was willing to share every step in the process of making his craft. Had his wife been there, I'm sure she would have stopped him long before he gave me all the trade secrets! But it was my lucky day and I decided that I was going to try to build these lighthouses to give as gifts this past Christmas.

Armed with the knowledge of how to make them, I went to Lowe's (One of the few times I agreed to go with husband without kicking and screaming!) and got the necessary supplies. This was followed by a trip to Michael's (Which I must say, I never have a problem getting John to go to. He's so much the better person than I!) to pick up some creative stencils for painting and decorating. Once we arrived home, it was time to start working on the project.

Overall, it took about a week to make the three. I worked on them all at the same time so I bounced from house to house to house. That worked out kind of well as it didn't allow me to get bored working only on one pattern over and over. The fourth one I worked on by itself, so it only took a couple of days to complete. Yes, they are working lighthouses. The solar light will glow at night once it's dark. It looks really cool too!

Here's a tip...If you're trying to paint a stencil on a rounded or curved surface, don't do it! The paint will just drip since the stencil isn't laying flat and it ends up adding more work for you to "touch up". I did discover, however, that I could draw the stencil pattern on and then paint. That worked out much better.

Oh yes, and let me mention, a special thank you to John for this project. He helped me do some of the painting when my steady paw was a little shaky! I also needed the capital W but only had lower case letters so he made a capital W for me out of scraps. See what I mean about crafty people? I was going to just use all lower case!

So anyway, that is how the "lighthouses" came to be. And each one matches the personality of its new owner. An added bonus, I saw the things down here so not too many can be found up north. They'll be "one of a kind" for a while...until somebody comes along and steals the idea again!

I have to start thinking about what I can do for next year. This will be tough to top!

Piggies...revisited

Long ago, back in July of 2008, John and I were headed north to go to my nephew Jake's wedding. Along the way, we decided to stop and visit his aunt & uncle that live in Virginia. They are a great old couple that have a huge farm. At one time, they grew tobacco, but have since stopped the tobacco growing and now spend all their time and energy on pig farming.

Pigs are a wonderful thing. But they are just as their name implies...pigs! They smell bad, like to wallow in mud, and eat like there is no tomorrow. These pigs aren't even pigs really...they are full blooded HOGS! They grow to be about 500 pounds which is great as several times each year they send the pigs (hogs) to slaughter and end up getting a lot of meat out of them. Some of it they sell, some they give away (always kind to those in need), and a little bit of it they keep for themselves. It's funny because when we stay with them, Aunt Hilda will make us bacon and eggs for breakfast. The bacon never comes from one of their pigs. They don't care much for the pig bacon...they buy it at the store just like the rest of the world that is not pig farmers! And, just so you know, they aren't big fans of sausage either, yet each time they slaughter, they make several hundred pounds of sausage and keep very little for themselves. Most of it is sold off to people who put in their orders months before the slaughter!

Anyway, back to my original story. When we visited in July, one of the momma hogs had died giving birth. Only 4 of the piglets survived. If you look back at my August blogs, you see I posted a video of the piglets. They were so darn cute!

Over the holiday, we stopped to visit Aunt Hilda and Uncle Aubrey on our way home from Erie. Upon our arrival, we found out that one of the pigs had just had a litter the night before. There were 8 new little piggies on the farm! These are the "small" pigs on the farm. (Not the best picture, I know, but these little guys were trying to get as close to momma as they could as it was pretty chilly outside!)

About 8 weeks prior to this, another one of the hogs had babies. She had about 12 little piggies, now 8 weeks old, roaming around the pen. These guys are truly "hams" too! (Yes, I know there's a pun there. Pretty corny, but it worked for me!) When they saw me focusing on them for the picture, they "struck a pose" and didn't move until the flash of the camera went off. Then they scampered back to their momma. These are the "medium" pigs on the farm.

We also went to visit the piggies from July. They weren't the cute little piggies from 4 months ago, but now were getting much bigger. They had to be about 100 pounds each, except for Runt. She was still a little on the small side compared to her brother and sisters, but still growing. I'm sure she'll catch up to them at some point. Although they had grown, they were still cute pigs. Actually, if you had a pig for a pet, these would probably be the perfect "full grown" size. But they won't stop there. They'll keep growing. These are the "large" pigs on the farm.

Finally, there were a couple of female pigs that they believed to be pregnant, plus the momma's that had given birth recently, and of course, big daddy...the proud poppa of them all! These guys rounded off the line up as the "super industrial size" pigs on the farm. (They were also a bit more shy about getting their picture taken, so I allowed them to keep their privacy. You know how you feel when you're pregnant and just want to be left alone. And daddy, well, he worked hard too and needed his beauty rest!) Weighing in at anywhere between 400 to 500 pounds, these little ladies, and studly gentleman, made the farm count complete. We had basically had every size of pig imaginable on the farm. Of course, this time next year, most of those babies, from newborn to 4 months, will be old enough to become part of somebodies sausage and egg breakfast!

The circle of life will be complete.

Happy New Year!

Well, it has been some time since I've posted anything. I've been out of town since the 21st and just haven't been able to get much computer time on the road. But that's ok. I now have enough for a couple of new posts to start off the new year right!

Our visit home was nice. We had a great time visiting family and friends. Christmas Eve at mom's was very nice and there was more food than any army could eat! It was all delicious too.
After eating, it was time to open presents.

Here you can see Jake & Aaron both enjoyed their new signs. It gets harder and harder every year to find the perfect gift for everyone. Especially when you live so far away from everybody. John and I actually picked these up after Christmas last year and since we don't have any snow to measure, I thought it would do our northern family members more good. (They came with gift cards too.) We went to visit Jake while we were there and he had his reindeer measuring stick already in the ground right outside the front door. Good job, Jake!

I keep saying that John is like my dad. Here they are both sitting in pretty much the same position. Look...even the hand placement is similar!

And here is Sara and her favorite dog mommy! And let's not forget Jack! He is in this photo as well. Sara may not name him Jack, but that's what I will call him anyway! Why not? I had an aunt that used to always call me Molly and an uncle who always called me Sophie! I'm just going to carry on the tradition with Jack. No matter what name his parents will bestow upon him, he will forever be known as Jack by me.

Mark & Barb weren't able to make it home for Christmas Eve. They had a terrible ice storm in south eastern PA the night before and it had closed down the PA Turnpike. They were able to make it up on Christmas day however. They brought with them their new baby...Willy. Actually, his name is Wilson, but they call him Willy. What a cute little guy he is too. Still a puppy and full of energy, but when he crashes, he crashes hard.

We all had a wonderful holiday. But no matter how great it is to visit, it's always good to get home too. I got to see my doggie again (whom I hadn't seen in about 10 days) and it's quiet in my house.

Except for my new Wii...I hear Mario calling name!

Happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year to one and all!