I'm baaack...

Jesusjosephandmary, computers are more trouble than they're worth. In technical terms, Blogger "ate" my password and wouldn't let me in. I considered telling Blogger where to go and starting over again, but as meager as my blog is I'd still have been sad to lose it. Miraculously, it seems Blogger has reconsidered me as a member and is now back to its usual self. *fingers crossed* Thank you for not forgetting me!

Considering it has been forever since I've blogged, I don't even know where to start to catch up! Let's see...well, my Magic didn't win it all (though I'm very proud of them)...but our vacation was awesome! Here's a quick re-cap:

Savannah: Eating at Paula's was an experience to be remembered. The mashed potatoes had to have a butter to potato ratio of 1:1, and that is a beautiful thing. It was as hot as hell, but a fantastic day of quaint old buildings, parks, and history. Not to be too elequent, but I freaking LOVE Savannah.

The Tennessee/Virginia leg: Our trip to Chattanooga and Ruby Falls and our drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway may top the list of most beautiful things these eyes have ever seen. Remember, I am a Florida girl who has never strayed far from the coast--nearly 30, and only now seeing mountains for the first time! We stopped at some darling wineries and even picked blueberries along the way!

Annapolis: visiting with my family was therapeutic and relaxing. I love Annapolis (helloooo, Midshipmen!) and the sight-seeing there, as well as our trip into Washington, D.C. Best of all, my lifelong goal of seeing the Baltimore Orioles play at Camden Yards was realized---and in bottom of the 9th, come-from-behind victory style, no less! I felt like my mom was there (she grew up an O's fan).

Then I'm home, getting back into the swing of things and BOOM! the beautiful and special Farrah Fawcett is gone. I always loved her (all my Barbies were named Farrah). I have a picture of my mom wearing her hair "Farrah style". I grew to truly admire her during her fight with cancer. Generally, I find people's obsession with celebrity to be a bit odd. I'm in the minority, but I just don't see the fact that someone is beautiful and in movies that you like as good enough reason to want to be like them or call them a hero. In full disclosure, I partially tried out bangs because Reese Witherspoon looked so cute with them, but that's where I draw the line. Some celebrities use their celebrity to do things worthy of our admiration, and with the attention she brought to her struggle with cancer, Farrah was one of them. Even as a cancer-free 20-something, she did cancer PSAs. Anal cancer has such an unnecessary negative stigma, and I really think she helped begin clear that. I am glad that she has brought attention to a lesser-known, lesser-researched cancer. Anal cancer doesn't get an awareness month, or sell cute pink products to raise money to fight it (Please don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking breast cancer's "success", I'm simply saying it gets a lot of attention and is not the only cancer out there...I've known dozens of women effected by breast cancer and lost a dear aunt to it 12 years ago, obviously I want a cure and am glad any disease--especially a woman's disease--is getting attention). Remember when no one wanted to talk about prostate cancer? Thank goodness that has changed. All in all, I am sad that Farrah has passed away and hope her family is making it through ok (I know first hand that even when a death is expected, it is not easier to deal with). They are all in my prayers, and I am thankful that Farrah was able to do such good for so many. What a legacy!

That was a long, poorly organized paragraph that I am too lazy to go back and edit. I apologize to your eyes and mind.

I have yet to upload my photos to Facebook or send them off to Walgreen's for printing for our summer scrapbook, but as soon as I do I will try to get some pictures of our travels up.

Decisions

Little Miss Indecisive needs to make up her mind about what to do for our June vacation (I know, poor me, right?)

I'd mentioned that we were planning a road trip up through GA, SC, NC, across TN and back down. But I got an email from one of my aunts last night with an invite up to visit the family (dad's side) in Annapolis. So now I need to pick.

On one hand, a solo getaway for Hubby and me would be nice (though we are going on a cruise in September, so it's not like we're missing our only chance). Sometimes vacationing with family is not really a vacation, ya know (and means I will "owe" Hubby a trip to visit some of his crazy family).

On the other, it'd be nice to get to spend some time with family that I never see. I don't know them as well as I'd like, but they're great people. I absolutely love Annapolis, and I know my aunt would be the Queen of All Tour Guides (she is the perfect Southern hostess and a major Type A personality, I'm envious sometimes). Plus my cousin, her husband and their little girl are there too. Mom's only sister (who is not speaking to us after mom's death, but that's a whole other pot of drama I've yet to figure out) lives nearby and we might be able to attempt a visit. And...I could see my beloved Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yard. (Plus we would stay at my aunt and uncle's house, which is much cheaper than hotels...)

Hmm....sounds like I have my mind made up, huh? Hubby said he'd be happy to go anywhere, so long as he's with me (awww). Tennessee will always be there for us to go see, right?

(And just so everyone knows, the path to both destinations takes us through Savannah, so visiting The Lady & Sons is a sure thing no matter what).

The Lady & Sons

Hubby and I have decided to spend a week or so this summer road tripping through the South. My main goal was to visit Memphis, my mother's birthplace. We'll take a round-a-bout route of getting there, but I will in fact get my pork BBQ and blues experience. As we head out of Florida, we are also planning a stop in one of America's most beautiful cities....Savannah!

We'll leave out of Orlando early Monday morning and hopefully roll into Savannah by late morning. We were thinking of walking the streets and seeing the gardens and homes, as well as having lunch before heading up toward the mountains of western NC and eastern TN.

Well, as you can guess from this entry's title I am a HUGE Paula Deen fan. Seriously, I adore her. She reminds me of my mom in many ways. Eating at her restaurant (The Lady & Sons) would be the experience of a lifetime for me.

From what I know, people start lining up to get on the reservation list well before they begin taking them at 9:30am. Getting into town at 11 won't work. Plus (despite the fact the waiting is for what just has to be amazing food) I'm not sure how hot Hubby will be on waiting so long. We could always do our "walking tour" while we wait, right?

But who knows? My sister and her husband stopped in last fall on their way back from Charleston and were seated in less than 10 minutes. Could we get that lucky too? I am trying to convince myself that the wait will be shorter on a weekday, but with how popular Miss Paula is....?

Has anyone been there lately to tell me if it's "worth" the wait? I know "worth it" is a very personal thing, but for someone who loves Paula but is also a practical person, is this going to be a stressful way to start our trip? Are there better/similar places to get some fantastic Southern food?



Another "Go Magic" P.S.! We'll practically be in the rafters, but we'll be in the O-rena to cheer on our team!

Times they are a'changin'

Flipping time change. Honestly, could they just pick one and keep with it? Either one, I don't care, they both have their positives and negatives. Standard Time gets dark early, but Daylight Savings Time means I wake up to pitch darkness. Either way, I hatez it. Today is dragging as-is, I can't imagine how I'd feel if it was an hour behind!

Our weekend trip was great, but I'm pooped today! 6:30 came far too early this morning (especially since it was black as coal when I dragged myself out of bed). The Gators and Noles both won, so we were a happy couple! Hubby also saw the Magic play Friday night, so he was 3 for 3 over 3 days. The hotel was great too! Country Inns & Suites, I highly recommend it. And we finally had our dinner at Ted's. It was a great trip, I'm so glad we were able to go.

That ideal night I was talking about on Friday? Yeah, you guessed it, it didn't happen. I did go to happy hour with DH and his buddy, but then went over to dad's to help pack. The move happened yesterday, and seemingly all went well. But Friday I didn't get home til around 11, and Hubby stayed out later than I expected so I woke up panicked in the night. At 11 I was already so tired, I didn't even shower (so yeah, nevermind that bubble bath). Sleep was not plentiful.

I didn't even have time to do my nails all weekend! I am such a priss, but gosh I cannot help my love for a fresh mani. Tonight, for sure.

Ooops!

Hello my lovlies, it's been a while.

I guess I've been finding other ways to waste time, ha. Shall we do a quick re-cap?

* Herb garden: it's a go! I got intimidated by actually developing the soil outside, so I got 2 big terracotta pots and planted the herbs in potting soil with some Miracle Gro. They'll be a week old tomorrow, and they're doing well! The basil, dill and mint have tiny leaves of new development. I'm proud that I haven't killed them....yet.

* Hubby's birthday: Yesterday. He got himself a Blackberry Curve for his present last weekend, but I got him the car charger. I also baked him a birthday cake! Not quite from scratch, but not totally from a box. It was one of those gussied up mix recipes from The Cake Doctor. You take devil's food, throw in a cup of sour cream, oil, water, 4 eggs, and a box of instant pudding. The result is an extremely moist cake. I will never stray from this recipe. It is still just as easy as straight from the box. And I made the icing. Mmm. The best part? I frosted it to look like a basketball! I tinted the frosting orange, frosted the 2 layers, then made some brown frosting a piped it on to draw the lines. He was impressed. I am so Martha. :)

We are leaving tomorrow morning for a trip to visit our respective alma maters for basketball games. UF plays UK, and whichever team wins will probably be the one to go to The Big Dance. Then on to Tallahassee to see them play VA Tech. Hubby booked us a hotel that has an in-room jacuzzi in Tally on Saturday night as a late V-Day/late 6 month anni/birthday celebration, wooooooooo, lol. ;-)

Right now, I am at work. Yesterday seemed like a Friday, so you can imagine what today feels like. I'm not feeling great, but I think it's because I'm one of those psychosomatic nutty people who feels ill the second she finds out she may have been exposed to something (our office manager has either food poisoning or a stomach virus). So I'm alternating working and piddling away time. I was supposed to go help dad move (long story, but he's remodeling the house and needs to move into a rental so they can knock down walls and such at the old homestead) but they moved the move to Sunday (I'll be out of town, darnit, ha) so I'm not sure what is expected of me tonight.

I was going to meet Hubby and his good friend downtown for drinks before they went to the Magic game. I guess that will still happen. (So long as I don't come down with the plague, lol.) Relaxing for a bit with a Mich Ultra or vodka tonic (extra lime, please) would be a nice way to end the day. Then I would simply love to go home and pamper myself with a nice bubble bath and mani/pedi, but I know that's not in the cards. My Zoya polishes came yesterday, so I'm hoping to at least get a chance to swatch them (10 bottles, 10 fingers, sounds perfect!)