Trip Report

Preface
K spent Thursday throwing up due to a stomach virus

Act I Scene I - Friday Night
K was too sick to drive but determined to make it to Orlando come what may = I had to drive the whole three hours.
(in unison) "Chunky butt blue!"
(one kid says) "I saw it first! You cheated!"
(other one says) "How you gonna say I cheated?"
(sid says) "Chunky butt white!"

Act I Scene II - Still Friday Night
We arrive in Kissimmee, a half hr south of Orlando, just after 11 pm. We stayed at my "cousins" house. 3900 sq ft. Twice the size of my own house and three times as many garages. Each of the older children had a room. My suite I had to share with my husband and youngest child. We had our own bathroom and our bedroom opened onto an enclosed side patio. The bed was more firm than my delicate self is used to. Dinner was waiting. We talked. We laughed. We showered. We went to bed.

Act II Scene I - Saturday Morning
Breakfast was waiting. We went to a local (small) church instead of attending the camp meeting service at FLA. The service was nice and so were the people. Lunch was served but we went home anyway where, you guessed it, lunch was waiting.

Act II Scene II - Saturday Afternoon
The Bible Bowl competition was scheduled for 3:45 pm. At 4:30 pm we (sans K who stayed back with his stomach virus to keep him company) left the house to find the hosting church. Despite mapquest's greatest efforts we got lost. What should have taken 45 mins max ended up taking 2 hours! I was not a happy camper. But the evening wasn't done. The oldest kid wanted to go to FLA to see what was going on. Well, how could we go all the way up to Orlando and not partake in some of the festivities??

Act II Scene III - Saturday Night
Ran into lots of people at FLA, some of whom I hadn't seen in a while. That was nice. Stayed for the 7:30 service. Watched some of drill teams compete (9 pm). Grabbed something to eat. Home by 11:30 pm. It was a long, long day.

Act III Scene IV - Sunday afternoon
Went back to FLA to buy the tickets for Wet'n Wild but the ticket sellers were already gone. Mad beeline for the park. By 4:00 pm we worked it out and the two older kids got in. Another mad beeline, this time for the Belz Outlet Mall. (pix of goodies to come) Dinner was at Sizzler's where I stuffed myself at the buffet and waited for my blog buddy to call me back.

Act IV Scene I - Monday
The usual - breakfast was waiting. We packed and cleaned up our spaces, thanked the hostess and headed out - not south, no, but north instead. Our sights were set on Macy's. Spent a few hours there then went to Chevy's for dinner. Stalked my blog buddy til she finally relented to bring herself and her family to meet myself and my family. That was cool. (I gotta tell you, that girl looks good. When I saw her get out of the driver's seat of her vehicle all I could wish was that I could one day look as good as she does. My husband even commented on her excellent muscle tone and how jealous he is. I would post a pic if I had her permission but I look so fat compared to her I couldn't show you all anyway!) Got back on the road heading for home at about 8 pm.
(in unison) "Chunky butt blue!"
(one kid says) "I saw it first! You cheated!"
(other one says) "How you gonna say I cheated?"
(sid says) "Chunky butt white!"

Afterward
Overall Weekend Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
The food was good, the company was good, met old friends, made new friends, hubby was sick, I got sick (cold), the kids had fun, I'm back in my own comfortable bed now.

PS According to the kids, a chunky butt is a PT Cruiser.
PPS Sorry if you think this story had TMI, but it's my party and I'll cry if I want to!

Shoes, Shoes, and More Shoes

So, eLuxury is having a 40% off sale and I've fallen in love all! Here are the two shoes I'm feinin' over...
Gold Pumps by Christian Lacroix
Black Pumps by Donna Karan

You all know what would happen if I even mentioned these shoes to my husband, right? *ding ding ding* That is correct - he would laugh. And laugh. And laugh some more.

"On The Road Again"

We're trying to get on the road by tonight. That means I'll be out of the blogging loop for DAYS!! I don't know how I'm going to manage. Hopefully I'll at least come back with some good stories to tell. And some new sunglasses.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend, All!! For those driving somewhere, puhleeze be careful!

Blog Tagged

*sigh* Jinny got me. I couldn't get away.

How many books do you own?
Tons. I love reading. Always have. Did I mention I have tons of books? For a long time I've wanted to have a library in my house. The place we have now there's just no room for it. As a matter of fact, if my husband could he would donate all my books to the nearest library. (I did donate all of my Sweet Valley High books to a library a few years ago.)

What was the last book you bought?
"The Hamptons" by Princess Dominique.

What was the last book you read?
"Emma" by Jane Austen. I finished it yesterday.

Mention five books that mean a lot to you and that you've read more than three times.
I don't think I've read any book three times, except maybe Sid's books. Some books that I would recommend would be "Crime and Punishment" and "The Godfather".

Tag 5: Make 'em blog it.
Hmm, who should I punish?? purfiktgurl, mz giget, ...and devast. oh, I gotta add neena.

Happy Belated Birthday To Me!

Oh, where do I begin??!! Yesterday was a really nice day. A friend of mine called me at the crack of dawn to wish me a happy birthday. When I went to work I saw a happy birthday message on the board, I was taken out for lunch, and I got the funniest card. I got tons of well wishes, e-cards and pseudo-singing from blog buddies and friends and family, and to top it all off Tiffany dedicated a whole post to me! A special mention goes out to Purfiktgurl who bought me a gift certificate to Amazon.com.

Last night I left Sid home with my mother while K and I went out for dinner. We decided to try the Art Institute Culinary School restaurant. Of course, the food was presented well. It was more expensive than I anticipated but overall is good. Today I got taken out for lunch (again). Can't complain about that.

How do I feel about being 31?? Pretty darn good. As Devast tells me, I'm not over the hill just yet. But as my loving sister reminded me, I'm not that far away either. GeckoGirl mentioned riding a motorcycle. How could I have forgotten to add that my wish list?! I will one day own (and ride) a motorcycle.

Let's See How Far I Get With This One

After Sid's graduation last night we stopped at Target to find me a bicycle. I know I don't have a uniform I have to fit in to anymore, but I still need to improve my overall health. Soo, I picked up a bike. You could say it's for my birthday but it's really not. It's a 15-speed mountain bike; the cheapest, sorry, most inexspensive bike they had. I'm looking forward to riding it. What I'm not looking forward to is riding in this nasty hot Florida weather. It's humid and the sun burns. Wish me luck. In high school I used to ride almost every day after school. In college I still rode a bit. I remember one time I rode 45 mins to a friend's house. Let me just say, he had to drive me back home. Now I'm going to make another go at it. We looked at a couple of bicycle trailers but they cost twice as much as the bike. I wanted to be able to stick Sidney in the trailer and take him riding with me. We have to save up for that one.

Speaking of my birthday. What do I want? Hmm? The big day is this Wed, May 25. I'll finally be over the hill: 31 years old. I'm happy with my life. I have life and health, an amazing husband, an angel for a son, a decent job with terrific benefits, and a TiVo. What more could I ask for? I mean, really? (Besides financial independence, more kids, a bigger house, a motorcycle, a BMW, my own company, and a wireless adapter for my laptop, what else could I possibly need?) I forgot. I need an iPod and some new sunglasses.

Ooh, this Friday is the start of the BMW Ultimate Driving Experience. This year the feature is the new 3 Series. It will be fun. I'm taking the afternoon off. (SP, shh).

This week I'll be back to the grind at work. Not. Looking. Forward to it. That's exactly why I'll need Friday afternoon off. What a way to start the long weekend. (The countdown to the weekend trip has officially begun. 5 days and counting.)

@The Princess - SP finished reading your book this weekend. I just started. I really want to finish reading "Emma" first.

Replies

Edit: I wanted to make sure that those who commented on my previous post saw my reply without having to search for it. THANK YOU, ALL! I love you guys!

@Proactiff - Of course you can call me Shell. We're virtual friends (but that's about to change)! I hope your girl is better now (for her sake and yours). Indeed, it was hard to find you. I was workin' that "Next Blog" button pretty hard. It was discouraging, the junk that I found. Then I tried going through other people's blogroll which was much more effective.

@Lawda - Just say hi once in a while and I'll be the happiest girl in the blogosphere. :)

@SP - I'm glad I could have had such an influence. Although it would be really cool if you did start a blog. You could put up pictures of your niece and not tell your sister (hehe).

@Purfiktgurl - Blogging as another form of friendship - my sentiments exactly. My husband rolls his eyes everytime I turn on the computer but he doesn't understand that instead I could be making phone calls and it would essentially be the same thing to me, i.e. me sharing myself with others.

@Jin - Thank you!

@Mz Giget - I really don't mind if people don't comment (cause I don't know any different). But if a person starts to comment but eventually stops, then I wonder why. I especially wonder if I finally bored the person away.

@Don - It's funny you should mention my (15 million) blogs. I started out with one but it snowballed quickly. I already know I'm an unsociable weirdo. Nothing too wrong with that as long as I'm a functioning unsociable weirdo. I guess birds of a feather...

@Iselfra - LOL - I didn't know you were reading me. Even if I did, my statement would be the same.

@Neena - I too love reading people stories and I know you have some interesting ones to tell. I'm (im)patiently waiting! :) (We should do do a duet)

I'll Admit It

I'm superficial. I'm drawn to the linguistically inclined, the creative, the artistic, the beautiful people of the world. If this is what is meant by the phrase "opposites attract" then it is so correct for me. I have found some blogs (see my blogroll) that I can't seem to do without.

I like blog conversations. Blogging is different things to different people. I think I'm beginning to find out what it means for me. I've read bloggers who say that they love to get comments. I'm of the same mindset. I liken blogging to talking with my friends. Regular conversations involve dialog. People take turns speaking and listening. With my crazy schedule blogging is so convenient. I can say as much (or as little) as I want and if my friends are 'listening' they'll respond. At one point I thought I was addicted to blogging and it felt bad somehow. But how can it be bad to speak and be heard? To all my beautiful and handsome blog buddies (I don't have any ugly ones that I'm aware of) please don't leave me alone out here! Without you I have no reason to post. "I can't live, if livin' is without you." And without you I won't have any interesting posts to read. Do you know how hard it was for me to find you'all in the first place??

Just wanted you to know I appreciate you.

Shelly

FYI

EDIT: Thanks for compliment, Tiff!

Tiff, those who hath offended me KNOW who they are. You stood up for me when no one had my back. *in my best Dionne Warwick voice, "That's what friends are for* Fortunately, I don't hold grudges. I hath forgiveness in my heart of hearts.

Btw, I just found out that one of my co-workers reads my blog every day. (Hi, SP!) Don't worry, it won't affect what I write and since I barely write about work it wouldn't matter anyway.

Also, I modified the template to allow anonymous comments, just out of curiosity to see what kinds of other comments I'll get, if any.

TiVo Info Here. I haven't had time to play around with mine yet. I'll have to dedicate some time to it. I can't let K beat me to it.

I coming out of my funk, people. Jinny, are you with me??

Technological Advance

I've always been a late bloomer. I didn't get my driver's license til I was 18. I wasn't ready for college to end no matter how much I prolonged it. I didn't even lose...oh, I'll leave that one out in case my mom's reading this. But, you get the idea. Anyway, we just got cable last Friday. Really, we had cable when we first moved into our house two years ago but cancelled it and got a dish instead. Well, we gave up the dish so we could get broadband. How do they all fit together? They do. Trust me. The real bottom line though is that we also got a TiVo! When I made the announcement in my office my coworkers applauded. (You gotta understand, I work with a bunch of g-g-gee. I shouldn't say it. I love those guys.)

Just So You Know

I posted some pix from two Saturdays ago, when Sid was playing with the goats and one with us on the beach. I also put up a pic of me in my Pathfinder uniform (taken yesterday).

Talk about a long day. I was asked to facilitate a Sabbath School class (Gig, you know what I'm talking about). (I have to thank the class members for participating in the discussion thus making it easier for me - I was nervous and cotton-mouthed. Yesterday was Pathfinder Day (in case you missed it the first time) so they wanted all of the Master Guides teaching the classes. For me, that meant trying to fit into a modified army uniform I bought FOUR years ago. I just barely fit into it back then much less yesterday. I tried to change my diet and exercise more over the past two weeks. Didn't help. I almost couldn't get the skirt zipped up! Anyway, I wore it. All. Day. Long. That would be from 8:30 am teachers' meeting until 10 pm after taking members' photographs for our church directory. Also, some friend's of mine brought their beautiful baby girl down from Orlando (because most of the family and friends are down here) to be blessed. I wish I could show you a picture of her but her daddy would murderize me.

I went to work today. SUNDAY. We have a Wednesday deadline for an upcoming trade show or something like that (hence the crazy hours I've been working). To make sure I don't become the bottleneck I had to do it. I had to go in to the office. I got there at 11 am. I left at 4:25 pm only to find myself rushing back to church for our first 4:30 pm Board meeting with our new pastor. And here I am, online at 11:45 pm after getting home at 10 pm.

Not that you asked for all that boring information, but I thought I'd share it anyway. *hmph*

I could pick some bones with a few fellow bloggers here but I won't. I will be the bigger person. Instead, I will put in a plug for The Princess. She needs to get as many copies of her book sold by Monday as possible.

Still Nothing

Hey, All!

Remember not long ago I mentioned that work was kicking my butt? Well, yeah, it still is. I've been in as early as 7 am and out as late as 8 pm (like last night). That's overkill for me. But, I. Am. Dedicated. It's amazing how tired you feel after spending 8 hrs staring at a computer screen. My mother used to always ask how I could be tired sitting down all day, but it happens - mental fatigue and eye strain are the major issues. I shouldn't have to think this hard to make some money!

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Some things have changed since I've last blogged:
Jinny had a birthday.
Devast put up a new profile pic (quite attractive).
Tiff switched up her site.

n/a

I've been so out of it the past couple of days. I'll post something (hopefully worthwhile) when my head clears.

My Day, My Way

I must say, I enjoyed my Mother's Day.

Breakfast: fruit salad, callalou, festival, boiled banana, hash brown, veggie meat something, mint tea, orange juice (all courtesy of the men's ministry dept at church).

Post-Breakfast: took a nap

Lunch: Krispy Kreme donuts (glazed, chocolate glazed, raspberry filled, apple cinnamon filled, strawberry shortcake filled)

Post-Lunch: went to the beach and did some grocery shopping

Dinner: broiled tilapia, basmati rice, macaroni & cheese, carrot & celery soup

Post-Dinner: watched "The Incredibles"

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I had a nice relaxing day. Just as it should be.

In Advance...

To all my girls!
To all the girls of my boys!
To all the boys playin both roles!

HAPPY MAMA's DAY!!

I'm Destined To Be A Superstar Diva

At least in my own mind!

I got a digital camera this evening. It was a great deal. Kinda makes up for the parking ticket I got this morning...in front of my own house.... Anyway, most days I check slickdeals.net for the latest technology deals. gotapex.com is another good one if you're looking for a computer. One of today's deals was a Canon Powershot A400 WITH an iP3000 printer for $149.99. Ok, you might say that's an alright price. However, the rebate is for $70. That means I get an inexspensive point and click camera (just what I wanted basically) and a photo printer (which I know I won't use) all for under $100!

The ticket was stupidity on my part. I'm usually quite anal about following the rules of the road but this one time I couldn't be bothered and I got 'caught'. All I did was park parallel to my house. The problem is that I had all four tires on the pavement. I live at the end of a cul-de-sac and I was trying to get as close to the grass as possible without knocking over my and mailbox. 6 am bright and early this morning K is leaving take Jr to school when he sees Mr. Policeman writing up something. He goes over, they have a little chat, all seems good until the officer said that if K had come out just a couple of minutes sooner then he wouldn't have written the ticket. Instead he would have just told him to move the car. But, alas, the difference a minute makes. He already started writing the ticket and I guess there's some rule about finishing what you started. I don't know. What I do know is that it's going to cost me $27.50. Dang it, that means I have to return my hat!

Speaking of which....

Here's me and my hat! Never mind that I'm in the house. Notice the DKNYs and the oh so subtle lip gloss!

Workout Update

I was a bit sore yesterday, so I pushed it and went to the gym again. By the time I got home my left leg felt leg it wanted to cramp any minute. Fortunately I have a big strong manly man of a husband who took that itty bitty leg and pushed it and pulled it and beat it and rubbed it til I thought, "oh. my. goodness. I won't be able to walk tomorrow." But you know, it felt so much better afterwards. Today it feels like it wants to cramp again but superman is nowhere to be found. *sigh*

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I had carrot soup for lunch.
I had a chocolate muffin for dessert.

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So, I didn't feel working yesterday (all week, actually) and today it's kicking my butt!

Here's another one. I guess I don't feel like working.

Your Brain is 53.33% Female, 46.67% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Should I move? Guess I don't really have to.

American Cities That Best Fit You:

65% Miami

60% Honolulu

50% Austin

50% Boston

50% Los Angeles

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

One Elliptic Machine and Four Workout Machines Later

I forgot to respond to Tiff's reference to my undecisiveness and my notice of 15 million MAC Lipglass colors. I didn't even realize it when I wrote it, but you, Tiff, picked up on it right away. LOL

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Soo, I went to the gym this evening after work. Yeah, I did. My co-workers could hardly believe that I was really going to go this time. (I've had my workout gear under my desk for the past two weeks.) I went down to the gym (4:15 pm) and it was thankfully empty. I quickly changed cause by 4:30 pm I knew people would start coming. First was the elliptic machine. My stamina is non-existant these days. I could barely do five minutes. I decided it would be okay to move on. Lower body. There are only two machines dedicated to the legs (it's a very small gym, maybe three times the size of my bedroom, not that helps you to visualize it). I worked my thighs and my calves. Then I thought why not go all out and make my whole body sore so I can complain all day tomorrow...and the next day. I did some chest presses and lat pull-downs. Then I went back to my thighs and calves. I wanted to ride my bicycle but it's raining. Plus, I need new tires (and tubes, K says). All in all, I feel pretty darn good right now. I was tired before the workout but not so much now.

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Ooh, the subtlety!
Here are before and after pix of my lips with my new love lipgloss. 

So Much To Say...So Unlike Me

TO DO

• Get toned by May 13 (I have a Pathfinder uniform to fit into, plus Memorial Day weekend is coming up which means our usual family / church trip to Orlando and Wet 'n Wild)


• Meet with the Communication Dept. to put together mission and vision statements


• Get better. My throat was killing me last night.

My list isn't long, I know. There's just so much I can't even remember what I'm supposed to have on it. Gotta start somewhere though.

Men, don't feel guilty about skipping this section on lip gloss. Women, I need some help here...
Kind of like how Princess Dominique in search of the perfect shoe, I'm in search of the perfect lip gloss. I've been looking for years the perfect subtle shade with sparkle and smoothness and non-stickiness. If I had a camera I'd take a pic of my lips with yet another one I bought. The latest one is Cover Girl's wet slick crystal in chocofix and smells really good - like chocolate. If you have any suggestions on what glosses work for you I'd love to read them. Btw, I just tried it and it's perfect! Thanks to my sister, T for putting me on to it. (She has candy.)

Despite how materialistic I'll sound I've got to tell you a few other things I'm in search of:

• the perfect pair of sunglasses - K and I went to Germany two years ago and bought three pairs of sunglasses at one time! Yes, I have an affinity for nice sunglasses. My favorites right now are my DKNY's. I had some 'superstar' sunglasses once but the screw fell out. When I say 'superstar' I think of a woman driving in a red convertible with a head scarf and big sunglasses. Ahh, that will be me...except I'll be on a motorcycle minus the head scarf but wearing the perfect lip gloss. Anyway, back to reality, my superstar sunglasses had big, but not too big, blue lenses. My husband won't let me get sunglasses if the lenses are too big. Don't know why he doesn't like them as much I do.


• the perfect watch - There was a Movado Macy's special on sale two Christmases ago. With the discount it came up to $1200. I wanted it badly. K said no. What I wear right now: a "gold-faced" Disney Mickey Mouse watch with brown leather band that I got during a gift exchange at work last Christmas. You may laugh, but that watch is one of my favorites.


• the perfect car - There is none other like a BMW, the ultimate driving machine. I had a 740i once. It's time for me to have another one. Again, K says no. What is up with him?? I would settle for an Audi A6 if I had to.


• the perfect hair products - Something to stop my hair from drying and breaking, but not make it heavy and sticky.


• the perfect manicure - If I had perfect fingers and nails this would easy. I don't have time and money to spend getting my nails done professionally.


• the perfect massage - Ok, any massage will do. K says I can pay someone if I want, but he hasn't anted up the money. At least he said yes.

Oh, how could I forget to tell you that I bought my first hat! I absolutely love it. I call it my superstar hat. It's wide-rimmed, red, and you can see through it. I really need a digital camera! I imagine now I need an outfit to go with the hat. I can't wear the hat by itself! (he he)