I'm Not Ready

I'm not ready. I'm not ready for cold weather or snow or ice or frozen tundra-like landscapes. And I'm especially not ready for LAKE-EFFECT!!!

I'm freaking out here.

Virtual Vacation Day 3-Denmark, the Happiest Place on Earth

In honor of the Dane who visited my blog Friday, Day 3 of my Virtual Vacation is being spent in Denmark. I've read that it's the happiest place on earth. Don't take my word for it, though. Here's a video:



A few quick facts:
*Home of Hans Christian Andersen
*One of the oldest kingdoms dating back to Gorm the Old (910-958)
*Second-most visited country in Scandinavia
*Constitutional monarchy with parliamentary system of government
*Current Queen is Margrethe II
*Associated with being the home of the Vikings
*Population of 5.4 million
*Home to Lars Ulrich (Metallica drummer), Connie Nielsen (actress), and Helena Christensen (model).

My First European Blog Visitor

I was reading my blog stats this morning, and I had my first blog visit from Europe. Someone in Denmark found my blog via a search on Albufeira and was directed to my Virtual Vacation post.

Hooray! I hear that Denmark has fabulous sandwiches called smorrebrod which are as varied and wonderful as can be. And their Crown Prince is quite the action man. And he married an Australian whose haircolor I covet.

In honor of this, I will be visiting Denmark tomorrow on my Virtual Vacation.

Death by Golf Club

So my husband, whom I normally love and adore, wanted me to come in to work with him today. He told me he had to be here early, because he had lessons and clinics. So I got up at 6am on a rainy, cold, dismal Saturday so we could be in by 7:30am.

Do you know what time he actually had to be here? 10AM!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was ready to KILL him when I found that out. I was so tired, and it was so warm and cozy in my bed and it was so dark outside. I could hear the rain and I did not want to move. But no, Mr. I Have To Be 2 Hours Early forced me up and out the door.

Obviously the only solution is death by golf club. Should I go with a driver or an iron?

Virtual Vacation-Day 2...Let's Scuba!!

Welcome to Day 2 of my Virtual Vacation. Today I'm scuba-diving at the Great Barrier Reef. The best part? No jet lag!!

I Declare a Virtual Vacation

Since I'm home anyway, I've decided to take a virtual vacation. For every day that I'm not working, I'm going to visit a new place. Today I'm visiting the Algarve in Portugal. I spent some time there ten years ago, and I loved the people, the towns, the ocean, the beaches! This is a video I stole from someone else. It's my favorite beach, in a town called Albufeira. In order to get to this beach, you have to climb down a steep set of steps. Albufeira is a version of an Arabic word meaning lagoon, which is perfect for this cove. I would love to go back!

Catching Up

I realized that I still have a ton of pictures on my camera, and thought I would share some of them. Some of you remember the apple-picking trip from September. Here are some photos of my niece, Palmer, and my mom from that trip...

Of course, no trip to the orchard is complete without lunch and ice cream at Ye Olde Mill followed by a walk by the water wheel and the duck pond. Big Day!

And here's a video from the day!

Curse you, Down Comforter!

I finally did it! I broke down and got the winter bedding out. I washed my jersey sheets and thermal blankets, rinsed them in the fabulous lavender-scented Downy and now have a bed that is ready for cold and crappy weather. I think it's the thing that depresses me most about the coming season.

That being said, I do love my winter bed! It's so cozy and inviting with it's fluffy down comforter and incredibly soft sheets. It begs you to hunker down and stay a while. Last March, when that awful blizzard came through, I spent most of that snowy Saturday in it, catching up on several months worth of magazines. It also makes it hard to get out of it on those super-cold mornings.

I hate winter. Why don't we just hibernate?

Bad Hair in the Wind

I was flipping through the channels today, trying desperately to find something to watch that was work-friendly (I'm tagging along with Dave to work today) and found unintentional comedy on VH1. Did you know they show videos from the 70's?!?

First of all, let me just say that the amount of hair that men sported back then was, quite frankly, appalling! Was it really that attractive to women back then to date men who had hair longer than theirs? And the beards? Really? You needed emergency nesting material for whatever wayward bird flew your way?

The first video we saw was "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas. Folks, I've been in Kansas. They know about dust. Anyway, in the interest of full disclosure, I should also tell you it was the only video we saw. I was laughing too hard, so we changed the channel. Dave's first comment was "Jesus?" And I could totally see where he was coming from, as two of the band members did resemble him, except these guys clearly just came from their prom or a really awful wedding with the tuxes they were sporting.

And talk about a depressing song! I don't feel right just telling you about it. I want to share it as well! So here, good readers, is the video in question:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkbdP7sq0w8

I'm off to find more videos from that era. I need the laughs today.

I'm Tired of Politics

Anyone else? I'm so ready for the election to be over. OVER. O-V-E-R!!! Every other commerical is political. The level of vitriol being spewed at rallies is atrocious. And what exactly is it about elections that brings out the most ignorant, nasty people? It's getting to the point that watching the news is just depressing. There's a reason I don't know what to wear to work every day. I'm afraid to get the weather report, for fear of getting sucked in to 20 minutes of political crap.

3 more weeks.

I can get through that, right?!?

A Blog for my Best Friend

We all have at least one, right? A best friend. A person who has seen you at your very best, your very worst, and everything in between. Someone who takes the time to drop everything and chat with you about nothing, just because. For me, that's BJ. She's my very best friend. We've known each other since our freshman year of high school. We've been through it all together: dating, marriage, her pregnancy and childbirth, my constant job changes, everything!

Some people are blessed to live close enough to see their best friend on a regular basis. BJ and I are not that lucky. She lives in western Kentucky. I live in northeast Ohio. Before she moved there, she lived in Texas. We burn the phone lines, though. And when the opportunity arises, we are able to see each other. This weekend was one of those times. BJ, her husband and baby were up for the Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, so I took an extra day off and had a long weekend with them. I got some cuddle time with their daughter, too, which is always a bonus!

Here is BJ doing what she does...I wish I knew more about it, but I just don't. But I am in awe at the wonderful life and career she has built for herself. Through thick and thin, she always sees the positive. She is a joy to me.



So this entry is dedicated to my very best friend, BJ, who reminds me to always look on the bright side, to live my life honestly, to love my husband with all my heart, and to embrace whatever comes my way.

BJ, I loved having three days to hang out with you. They were priceless. I cannot imagine my life without you as my sounding board, my cheerleader, my most sincere critic, and my calm before, during and after the storm.

I'm a Pet Owner...okay, not really

I adopted a virtual pet, because my schedule combined with allergies does not allow me to have a real pet besides fish. And who wants to deal with that? (No offense to "fish people")

So over there to the right, under that fabulous picture of my awesome husband on our honeymoon, you will find Pilar the Pig. She's kinda cute, and seems to be really enamored with her tail. If I do okay with her, I might find a friend for her. Maybe a turtle or a hedgehog. I love stuffed and cartoon pigs. I also like them roasted or fried, but don't tell Pilar. There is the cutest stuffed pink pig at Cracker Barrel. Someday, she will be mine.

When I was four, I was a flower girl in a wedding in Dayton. I lost my stuffed pig in the hotel. I just know that damn housekeeper gathered her up in the sheets and that was that. I was DEVASTATED. I cried all the way back to Columbus, then for two more nights. I wanted my pig!!!

And clearly I am still affected. And I still hate Dayton for it. Sorry, Daytonites, it's nothing personal...except if you were the housekeeper in question, and then it's entirely personal!