The Oiled Squeaky Wheel

Word to your mother...

2010-08-14T19:55:00.003-04:00

So, why does this post start off with a picture of Vanilla Ice? Well, it is another memory. No, it doesn't have anything to do with rollin' in my 5.0... or anything do with A1A now that I live in Florida. This has to do with a shovel and my brother.

As I recall, I was maybe 6 or 7 which would make my brother Joe maybe 4 or 5. It was a snowy Pittsburgh night and Dad hadn't gotten home from work yet. So, Mom wanted to clear off some of the driveway so Dad could pull his car in off the street. Joe and I went out with her to "help" in that way that kids do... not really helping but out there with the tools nonetheless. Only, our "children's" shovel was METAL. What do you expect? It was the early 1980s! It had a blue metal scoop, a yellow wooden handle and metal grip on the end. I doubt they make such things these days. But then again, what do I know? I don't have kids and I live in FL.

Anyway, Mom was working on the top "pads" of the driveway while Joe and I were in the back. I had the shovel. I was bigger. I was bossy (still am, but whatever). I knew Joe wanted to use the shovel too, which only made the darn thing more "valuable" to me. Plus, I was doing very important work, clearing this driveway for my daddy. I didn't have time to deal with a little kid wanting to play ;) So, I'm "working", scooping up the snow onto the shovel and throwing it over my shoulder like I saw cartoons (probably Bugs Bunny) do on TV all the while singing "I've been working on the railroad".

Joe still wanted the shovel and started to become very insistent about getting it from me. Although I could hear him behind me, I continued my "work" shoveling and throwing the snow behind me over my shoulder. I can only imagine that at each throw over my shoulder, Joe was grasping at the shovel. I only sung louder and continued shoveling and throwing... until...

DUNNNNNNGGGGGGGG! One of my over-the-shoulder-throws stopped abruptly. Into Joe's face. The edge of the shovel clipped him right through his left eyebrow, stopping eyebrow hair growth even until this day. I still feel bad about it. In the early 90s though, Joe was quite fashionable, when it became "cool" to make designs in your hair and eyebrows a'la Vanilla Ice. I'm sorry, Bro :(

That was the first time I learned the phrase "nuthin' bleeds like a head wound!"

Cream Horns for SAT Scores

2010-08-09T22:36:00.001-04:00

I love cream horns. I love the combination of the flaky pastry with the creamy filling. To this day I can't make a pack of 4 last more than about 24 hours if I (finally) find them at my local Publix. Well, maybe not to this day, lately I've been working out and trying to lose weight. But, in days past, this has certainly been true. And, for what it's worth, the cream horns at Publix are way better than the ones at Walmart. But, that's just my opinion.

One celebration I will never forget is the celebration for my SAT results. The story may seem insignificant, but I still remember it vividly, 15 years later.

Prior to the start of my senior year of high school, my mom took a job with Carnegie Mellon University. The incentive was for Mom to get a job at a university that would have some kind of tuition reimbursement for children of staff. When Mom got the job at CMU, I then was given the task of "getting in". I already had the grades and GPA I needed. The last thing left was a good SAT score. A "good SAT score" by CMU standards... Yikes!

The first time I took the SATs I didn't score well AT ALL. Embarrassingly poorly, actually. Nowhere near the score I would need to get into CMU. Thankfully, that first round was taken with enough time. So, my parents enrolled me in an SAT class at the local community college to help me better prepare. I was really nervous taking the test the second time around. There wasn't enough time with the second round. I had to get it right the second time. And, to be frank, there was no reason I shouldn't score poorly. I was a smart kid, in mostly AP or Honors classes. I got great grades... just "froze up" with that first SAT try.

The morning of the second test, I remember my mom waking me up early and gave me two Tylenol to "take the edge off". Mom was good for that kind of stuff. She played classical/instrumental music while I ate my breakfast and she made me tea to get some caffeine into me to help wake me up and keep me on my toes for the next few hours of testing I was up against.

This second try at the SATs had one significant difference than the first time... I was in a cast. On my right hand. A soccer injury I suffered during the season (the first season of girl's soccer EVER for Steel Valley, thankyouverymuch!). I remember during the regular school year my mom would help me with my notes in the evenings. I would take these awful notes during class, and when I came home, my mom would type them for me on the computer that very night (when they were still fresh in my mind) so I could go back and read them again days later. I also remember my BFF Lauren coloring in teeny tiny sections of pictures of the human brain and other body parts and labeling them for me (as well as her own) during our Anatomy & Physiology class because my dexterity was so poor there was no way I could do that myself and stay in the lines accurately. But, I digress...

When I showed up for the exam, I remember the proctor in the room I was in making a comment that maybe I should re-think taking the exam that day... that if I were right handed (which I am), it would be too difficult with the cast to last the duration of the test. He also tried to look inside the cast to see if I had any cheat sheets. Dude, I grew up in a Catholic school. I don't think I knew what a cheat sheet was! Cheating was lying and lying was a sin. Nope, no cheat sheets. Maybe a few broken pieces of uncooked spaghetti (this was what my mom used to scratch under the cast for me when I really complained... pretty good idea if you think about it... uncooked spaghetti couldn't break through the skin, and if a piece broke off it wouldn't do much - but again, I digress...).

Oh, my hand lasted through that exam... so did my bladder! I remember that in the 4 hours of the exam (or however long it took), I never once left my seat. Not for ANY of the breaks they gave us, not for anything. I was in the zone.

When the exam was over, I was picked up by my parents (honestly, I don't remember who picked me up - probably my mom) and anxiously asked how I did. I wasn't sure (although I probably did a lot of dramatic eye rolling and hand gesturing to show that I was over-anxious myself and how dare they ask me such a question).

Pins and needles were arranged everywhere I went for the next few weeks as we awaited the results of the exam. I remember when the letter came in the mail. I remember the whole family being in the little kitchen, eager to hear the score. I opened the letter and read the numbers... excitement spread across my face I'm sure. I did it. I got over the requirement for the university. I DID IT! Everyone was so happy, but Dad was the only one who gave me a present. Who else do you know got a present when they got their SAT scores back?

In jubilation, I remember my dad opening the cabinets above the stove. Out fell three packs of cream horns... a WHOLE PACK EACH of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla! They were my "reward" from my dad of a job well done. Kel-kel did it. The last piece of the puzzle to get into CMU was finally in place.

Men's Shorts - An Intervention

2010-08-09T22:35:00.001-04:00

Everyone's parents embarrasses them at some point in time. Especially when you are a pre-teen or teenager. Those are difficult years, aren't they? I can remember being MORTIFIED by my dad's maroon shorts. Everytime he wore them, I would try to think of any way possible to pretend that I didn't even know him, let alone admit he was my father. This was difficult to do when you were in the same house, on the same driveway, on the same porch or otherwise. These shorts were *short*. I mean REALLY short. Not quite Daisy Dukes, but believe me when I say that they were short. "Say no to crack" ... anyone?

Dad would wear these shorts around the house while doing chores. I don't think he ever really wore them out of the house... at least not often. I'm sure my mom would have had something to say about that. Oh, how my mother and I hated those shorts.

I remember one summer when I was in high school, I was helping my mom and dad work on the "circle" in the front yard. This was what we affectionately called the front half-moon shaped flowerbed that was on the left hand side of the house (when your back is to the street), and under the long lower awning.

This flower bed had two large azalea bushes that over time had grown together making it look like one large bush. I really liked that azalea bush... in the spring, it used to bloom pink flowers, and (I think) in the fall we used to cut it back so it was in the proper "hotdog bun" shape that we loved.

I think this was the year that my parents were putting in the "railroad ties" around the circle, with my dad custom cutting the long planks of curved side wood in short angled sections to best fit that half-moon shape. Those railroad ties also were put along both side flower beds as well, but this story took place during the work on the front flowerbed.

Dad had the saw in the front yard, and was cutting the wood as he went. This was a fairly hot summer day and Dad didn't have a shirt on (fairly common for when he was working in the yard). He had on his maroon short-shorts, a grungy ball cap with a pencil that he used to mark his cutting lines shoved up into the cap near his temple. As he worked, he was often on all fours, crawling around to get things. He was using a seat cushion to buffer his knees from the ground.

"Working with Dad" was often a challenging task. He was very meticulous about how he wanted to do something, and was often quite impatient. He would start off asking for a tool or for you to get him some other supply, and time after time we would bring him the wrong thing. "If you guys would spend more time with your old man, you would know more about tools and what I'm looking for!" he would often complain. I'm sure it was trying for him to ask for whatever tool he wanted, using the proper name for that tool, describing the color and size of it and even giving us an idea of where on his garage-wide tool bench it would be located (there were thousands of tools) only to have us bring back the wrong tool, wrong color, wrong size, found on the opposite side of the tool bench.

Needless to say, over the duration of the task, Dad would become frustrated with our "help" that he would become frustrated and even angry, grumbling around, sometimes tossing a tool or two "if I have to come and find it myself...". Usually after a little while, this frustration and tension would break and things would be lighthearted again. Reducing us "helpers" into puddles of giggles and laughter with Dad joining in, laughing at the tension from just moments before.

It was at one of these tension-passed-lighthearted times during this railroad ties in the front circle project that my mom and I caught each other's eyes after noticing that each other were seeing the same sight. There was Dad, on his hands and knees, sweat dripping from his brow, cutting or fitting the next railroad tie. From the front, here was a hard working man trying to finish a challenging job. But we weren't looking at him from the front. In front of him was the half moon flower bed. Mom and I were behind him... watching Dad... and a good 3" of cleavage... from behind. We stifled snickers and giggles as best we could.

We continued to help him, but the giggles came harder and harder, rattling our bodies and bringing tears to our eyes. Finally Dad caught on that we were laughing, although I don't know if he knew initially that we were laughing at him. Smiling at us, "What?? What's so funny?" Between giggles "your..." "shorts..." "see..." "butt...". Smiling his million dollar smile that I love, mouth gaping open, with just a bit of teeth showing on both the top and bottom, Dad kind of blushed and tried to yank up the shorts in the back while still sitting. I think he tried to gauge if we were lying or not when he tried to pull them up too... but the yank didn't work. Those darn shorts were so short and ill-fitting that no amount of jostling would fix them.

The remainder of that project was many laughs and giggles from me and my mom as Dad scooted around the circle fitting in and securing each railroad tie. The entire time, my mom and I were threatening my dad that we were going to take those shorts away from him, donating them or maybe burning them to ensure he wouldn't EVER wear them again. Each time we threatened, Dad protested. He liked the shorts. He didn't see anything wrong with them (maybe he liked the breeze?).

Finally... a few weeks (maybe months?) later I took matters into my own hands. In the time between the front circle project and this next event, there was LOTS of talk about the maroon shorts. Each time my mom or I would see Dad in them, we would tease him about how we were going to get rid of them. Dad couldn't do much about Mom, but he would threaten me with my allowance, or letting me go out with friends, or giving me more chores if we threw out the shorts. That didn't deter me.

I didn't have the courage to actually throw them out, burn them or donate them... but I did have the guts to hide them. Being a good Catholic girl, I wouldn't lie about the situation. If asked about nearly ANYTHING, I would always tell the truth. Still do. I tend to be brutally honest, often at the expense of people's feelings. Just the way I am.

I hid the shorts behind the "hunting cabinet" in the basement. This was a large armoire type piece of furniture that my dad and brother stored all of their hunting gear. There was just enough space (and my arm was skinny enough at the time) for me to tuck those shorts as far as my arm would reach back behind the cabinet, but also close enough to the wall that by balling up the shorts, I was able to snugly cram them there so that they would be forever suspended between the chest and the wall. I want to say that I did this in the fall/winter time frame so that Dad would not be looking for those shorts for some time. But, shortly after the leaves started to bud on the trees and the weather warmed up, Dad had a reason to wear the shorts and went looking for them.

Initially, he wasn't so suspicious because it had been a while since had worn them, but eventually the questions came more and more often. Dad would ask "did you throw those shorts out?" or "did you donate those shorts?" I could honestly answer "no" each time. Eventually he stopped asking about them. YEARS later, maybe when they decided to paint the basement, I don't know, I don't think I was living at home anymore, they moved the hunting chest. Dad found his shorts. But, I don't think I've seen him wear them. I wonder if Mom was finally able to donate them?

Great-Grandma Used to "Fry" Japanese Beetles

2010-08-09T22:34:00.001-04:00

My Great-Grandma McElhinny lived until I think she was 94. She was a spitfire of a little lady and I'm blessed to say I knew her. Not many of my friends knew KNEW their Great-Grandma. I think I was 12 when she died.

When I was really young she lived in (crap, can't remember - need to ask Mom/Dad) in what I remember to be in the top level of a duplex. As she got older and needed more full-time help, she moved in with my Great Aunt Rita. Aunt Rita was the youngest of her 12 children and lived on the street behind my parent's house. I remember occasionally walking up to visit, or on Saturday or Sunday afternoons my mom would bring her to our house for the afternoon and dinner and then take her home later to give my Aunt Rita a break.

I remember Grandma (we just called her "Grandma" to her face) liked to sit on the front porch of my parent's house. the porch spans the entire width of the front of the house and is a great porch. It is brick and carpeted (with outdoor "carpet") and has always had comfy furniture. I remember bringing Grandma my Cabbage Patch Kids and other baby dolls for her to hold, and she would sit and rock them while she was out there, and I would show off in the front yard doing whatever kind of "gymnastics" I had learned (note, the quotes around gymnastics... they really were necessary).

I don't think they still have the same kind of problem with Japanese beetles now, I'm not sure why they would just go away, but I don't hear my mom complain about them anymore... nor do I see the "Bag-a-bug" thingy hanging in people's yards on my parent's street like we used to see when I was a kid. But, needless to say, my parent's yard had trouble with these Japanese beetles. I remember picking them out of the yard with my mom and throwing them into the Bag-a-bug to "kill" them. They had these greenish/blue wings on their backs and prickly little black legs that would kind of stick to your fingers. They were just gross.

Great-Grandma HATED these bugs. God bless her, I remember her, at eightysomething, stooping over in the front yard and picking these suckers outta the grass. Great-Grandma was hardcore. No Bag-a-bug for her! I remember picking these bugs out of the yard with her one day and she told me to go get a cup from the basement and fill it with bleach. Being a respectful and obedient little kid, I obliged, thinking on my trip down the driveway to the garage that Great Grandma might be crazy. I didn't know what she wanted with the bleach, and I couldn't understand why she was carrying around 10+ beetles and not putting them in the Bag-a-bug like my mom used to do.

I came back to the front yard with the cup full of bleach (I think I used a cup that my dad used to brush his teeth down in the basement... what did I know? I was a kid!). I handed her the cup, and she took the cup in her free hand and with the other hand, a fist full of beetles, shook that fist vigorously for a few seconds. Then, when she was convinced that the beetles were sufficiently scrambled and dizzy, she chucked the contents of her fist into the cup with the bleach and began to swirl the liquid dotted with bugs around. The beetles, dazed from the shaking, weren't able to escape. They sizzled and bubbled like they were frying in the bleach.

I was shocked. Here was this little old religious lady, a few stitches of curls on the top of her head, in a dress with pantyhose (or at least knee highs), permanently hunched over due to a spine problem, glasses with lenses like Coke bottles savagely shaking the crap outta beetles and sizzling them to their death. Rock on, Great Grandma! I love you!

Blog Update

2010-08-09T22:25:00.003-04:00

So, I've decided to combine this blog back with my book and garden blogs. So, I will no longer have those separated out. However, I will still have my crochet blog and my jewelry blog separate.

Since I post a lot on my Facebook page, I thought I'd get better about posting more detailed things here. A little while back I started writing down memories of mine...

Since I've been swimming again, I find myself with a lot of time to think about stuff. Swimming takes me back to high school. I loved high school. I have so many fond memories from my years at Steel Valley. Thinking back that far, I tend to go back even further to my memories of St. Therese, and even earlier than that. I wanted to start to capture these memories in written form. We don't know how long we will be on this earth. Although I have no intention of leaving anytime soon (my plan is to be a crazy crocheting old lady burden to my children and even grandchildren someday), I thought it would be good to write down my memories and stories as they come to me.

The idea for documenting my memories/stories has always been in my head in some form or another, but was really sparked by my post when Michael Jackson died and I posted about my memories of him earlier on this blog.

When I post them, the stories written here are the way I remember them to be. I apologize if I've missed some details or got some of them wrong. I've tried to capture them as accurately as I can. If you strongly disagree with something I've written, by all means, please email me or leave me a comment.

Thank You...

2010-05-31T23:37:00.003-04:00

I haven't been posting often (I make most of my posts/comments on Facebook). But, in honor of all who have served in our armed forces and especially those who have lost their lives so that I can be safe, and enjoy the freedom and liberties that this country was founded on...

Thank you.

The Happiest Otters on Earth!

2010-03-26T17:49:00.003-04:00

So, today during lunch I was in our cafeteria with my friend, C. Outside our cafeteria is a pond that you can walk around. At the table, I was facing the windows/pond and C had her back to it. As we were talking, I became distracted by something dark moving around on the bank of the pond. All I knew was that it wasn't a bird (there are lots of birds - LOTS of ducks out there). After watching it a little while, I figured out that it was an otter! I begged C to go outside with me to investigate. She reluctantly said yes (we thought the otter might have eaten a baby duck - there was a lot of activity out there and she didn't want to see the potential "carnage").

When we got out there, we realized it was actually a little "family" of FOUR otters! They were having fun, rolling around in the water, finding fish, eating them and horsing around with each other (we came to the conclusion that they probably did NOT eat a baby duck, but were either playing or fighting over a fish).

I was able to snap a few cool shots of them in the pond... there is this walkway that goes over part of the pond, which is how I got the really close-up shot. They were on the move because the otter in the front of the "lineup" had found himself a VERY LARGE fish and the others were squawking and clucking at him that he needed to share, and they quickly formed a uniform line all following the large fish :)

My standard joke for all animals we find on Disney property... "These must be the Happiest Otters on Earth!!"

Cool Animal Pics :)

2010-03-22T22:58:00.003-04:00

Franco didn't appreciate getting his picture taken... he started "fluffing up" and head bobbing and weaving :)

Our beautiful girl, Mrka.

Al - so sweet...

Bauer, calm... for about 20 nanoseconds...

AARP - Seriously?

2010-02-20T22:31:00.001-05:00

No lie. I just deleted an email (the fastest I've ever deleted an email in my life) that was from AARP. WTF? Seriously, W T F ? ? ? ? I'm nowhere near old enough for an email from them... Right?

Pictures from the balloon ride

2010-02-03T21:07:00.003-05:00

For everyone who is NOT on Facebook... here are pictures from the balloon ride that Chris took me on for my birthday last week :)

Al's Faceplant :)

2010-02-03T21:04:00.002-05:00

Al loves to rest his head and/or face on just about everything...

Zzzzzz...

zzzzzz...

zzzzzz...

I likes to put my face on stuff...

To Do List For Today - Revisited

2010-01-10T17:28:00.002-05:00

Let's see how I did yesterday...

~~1. Drop off glasses for new lenses~~
~~2. Drop off stuff to get framed~~
~~3. Pick up glasses with new lenses if they will be ready today~~
~~4. Clean up the kitchen~~
~~5. Go through mail piles~~
~~6. Clean up coffee table~~ ...cleaned up my stuff
7. Clean up diningroom table
8. Clean up computer room
9. Clean out closet
~~10. Laundry~~ ...finished today, but I'll count it :)

Not too bad... :)

To Do List For Today

2010-01-09T10:31:00.002-05:00

1. Drop off glasses for new lenses
2. Drop off stuff to get framed
3. Pick up glasses with new lenses if they will be ready today
4. Clean up the kitchen
5. Go through mail piles
6. Clean up coffee table
7. Clean up diningroom table
8. Clean up computer room
9. Clean out closet
10. Laundry

I'm hoping to get well over 1/2 of this done today ;)

Are you there? Am I here?

2009-12-28T12:18:00.003-05:00

Yes, I'm here... well, kinda but not really. Enjoying the holidays up north with my family. I'm not very good at keeping up on my blogs anymore, what with Facebook being so much fun and all ;) Friend me there if you want more updates on what I'm doing and reading my witty comments and observations ;)

http://www.facebook.com/kantalek

"COOL" Holiday Photos

2009-12-13T23:21:00.004-05:00

Last weekend we went to Chris' holiday party at Gaylord Palms Resort here in Orlando. As part of the celebration, we were given passes to ICE!, a walk-through Christmas attraction hand-carved from nearly TWO MILLION pounds of ice. Here are some of the photos of the "cool" (literally) stuff we saw :)

New(-ish) hobby, new blog!

2009-11-29T23:09:00.001-05:00

Check out some of the jewelry I've made!

Updated Crochet Blog

2009-11-04T12:12:00.002-05:00

I posted new projects on my crochet blog :)

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T17:05:00.001-04:00

Check out the dog's Halloween costumes for this year :)

Mr. Scruffleupagus

2009-10-28T22:25:00.002-04:00

For the past few weeks, I've been enduring this facial hair "experiment". What do YOU think??

In one short month from today...

2009-10-20T22:03:00.001-04:00

...seriously, I can't wait.

Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle!

2009-10-17T15:39:00.002-04:00

I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like

Queen, anyone?

As you can see, the song is relevant today. Today, Chris finally convinced me to get a bike. I don't know why I didn't listen to him sooner (but please don't tell him I said that, I don't want him to get a big head or anything :) We went to the local bike shop and got this blue beauty. It is a Motorbecane hybrid, a Jubilee. It is one of their "comfort" bike types, so it is perfect for me to ride around our little subdivision town with Chris without putting stress on my wrists (carpal tunnel and tendonitis were concerns). We rode from our house, to the local Subway and then all around our little downtown area and took the long way back home afterwards. Fun!

Did I just grow?

2009-10-16T08:36:00.003-04:00

So, while I was swimming last night, I had this thought... "I wonder if I'm REALLY 5'3"". I don't know why I thought it, but I did. The last time I was measured for height I was at my first endocrinologist's appointment (stupid thyroid). This was shortly after I had first moved to Florida. I moved to Florida on November 1, 2002. So, let's say this appointment happened in early 2003. I distinctly remember the nurse checking my weight AND height and not speaking EITHER of them aloud. The weight I could understand, but the height? She said it was a privacy thing. Ok, whatever. So, the number she wrote down was 5'3 1/4". This was no surprise to me, I've always known myself to be 5'3". So, when someone would ask me how tall I was, my answer was always "five foot, three inches (and if I was in a silly mood) AND A QUARTER! The quarter inch matters to us shorter folks!!"

I've always known myself to be 5'3".

When I came home from swimming last night, I asked Chris to measure me. We went over to the whiteboard on the wall, I took my shoes off, and Chris marked my height on the board. I went to get the tape measure, and to my surprise, the mark on the whiteboard fell ABOVE 5'3" (and 1/4")... a "lot" considering I'm 33 years old and haven't grown since about the 8th grade (maybe 7th grade?). The reading on the tape measure was almost at 5'4"! I mean, it was 5'3 15/16". Dude. Totally 5'4"!. Ok, ok, maybe it is just a funky way of measuring. Maybe we held the tape measure wrong.
Maybe I stood funny. Maybe the whiteboard somehow make the lines you draw on it higher than where you actually wrote it (NOT!). We took the measurement again with me standing against the refrigerator and he slid a flat metal tool over the top of my head and held it there. I stepped back and measured again. 5'3 15/16"!! Totally 5'4" rather than 5'3"!

We measured again this AM. You know, you're taller in the AM than you are in the PM, right? Anyway, this AM, I measured 5'4 1/4"!

I think it is official. I'm now 5'4".

This totally changes the game.

Happy Birthday, Little Friend!

2009-10-14T20:10:00.002-04:00

Today is the day we celebrate as Al's "Birthday". Birthday is in quotation marks because we don't really know his actual birthday. He was "about 4" when we adopted him from the rescue organization. Today is the day that we adopted him, 4 years ago. Which makes Al "about 8". So, Happy About 8th Birthday, Al Udeid! :)

We celebrated this morning just after I fed all of the dogs breakfast. I got out the PupCorn (cheese flavored) and started dumping handfuls of it on the floor, singing "Happy Birthday" to my favorite pug! :)

2,000 yards is "just right"

2009-10-02T18:51:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited that at this point, I can do 2,000 yards in the pool and feel pretty good and not overtired afterwards :) I also noticed just this evening that when I was on the sofa, laying on my side, my thigh didn't have any dimples on the side and was pretty firm - go me!

7 Night Eastern Disney Cruise!

2009-09-20T23:57:00.003-04:00

We're back from our second cruise of 2009. Our second EASTERN cruise too. We had a great time. Our itinerary was:

Day 1: Port Canaveral, FL
Day 2: At Sea
Day 3: At Sea
Day 4: Tortola, BVI
Day 5: St. Thomas, USVI
Day 6: At Sea
Day 7: Castaway Cay
Day 8: Port Canaveral, FL

The frogs in our backyard...

2009-09-11T18:27:00.002-04:00

This little guy is just an example of the many frogs that we have in our backyard. Come to our house any night - especially nights when it has rained - and you will find (or hear) dozens of these little guys. When I first moved to Florida, I didn't know what that sound was that I was hearing. It sounded like screeching or something. No, I found out that it was frogs.

In the back of our house, next to the garage we have a white fence that circles our backyard. the place where the fence meets the house at the garage has a light above it. The bugs are attracted to the light, and the frogs climb up the wall or fence and sit on top, eating the bugs that gather at the light. It is kinda cute and fun to look at, but I always feel bad when we startle the frogs... they go hopping away and sometimes try to "escape" us by hopping into our garage. The only problem there is that they may go in nice and squishy and alive, but we usually find them when we move a box or something... all crunchy and dead :(

September 3, 2009 - Our 4th Anniversary

2009-09-03T21:54:00.002-04:00

2005

2009

I love you, Babe!

3...2..1...LIFTOFF!

2009-08-29T07:40:00.002-04:00

We watched the midnight launch of Discovery's mission last night... I really love the night launches... the WHOLE SKY lights up... seriously! You can watch on TV when the rockets start to light, and then go outside the back of our house in the driveway and watch the cypress head glow orange until finally you see the shuttle emerge through the trees. Way cool.

Here is a link to a long exposure photo that Chris took last night from our driveway on a tripod and posted on our local television station's (WESH) website. Just beautiful, isn't it?

Hysterical.

2009-08-17T22:13:00.001-04:00

http://www.heartlessdoll.com/2009/03/top_ten_best_responses_to_when_are_you_having_a_ba.php?page=1

I. CAN'T. WAIT. FOR. THIS. MOVIE!!!

2009-08-17T21:42:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

2009-08-07T08:53:00.001-04:00

Cheers to you, Mom! I hope you have a GREAT day! I love you!

Nuisance barking problem solved?

2009-07-24T10:30:00.002-04:00

We have a couple of barkers in our house. It can be quite annoying, especially at 5:00 AM when a certain JRT decides he's up for the day and everyone else should be too. I kept complaining about it... so much that Chris finally decided to do something about it. Introducing the Anti-Bark citronella spray bark collar by Multivet.

This bark collar is completely painless, humane (it is SPCA approved!) and safe without any kind of side effects. It isn't one of those ones that will "shock" or "jolt" the dog when they bark. Instead, if they bark while wearing the collar, a spray of citronella comes out of the collar and sprays upward towards their face (but not in the eyes). More than anything it startles the dog and overloads their sense of smell (their strongest sense) and soon they realize that the barking is what makes the spray blast.

We tried it out on the dogs last night. We first put the collar on Al, but he wasn't really barking so it didn't really work very well. We then put the collar on Mrka and I went outside and rang the doorbell. All of the dogs bark when the doorbell is rung. When she barked, the citronella sprayed and startled her. It was really funny, actually. She looked like "WTF was that???" It only took about two times before she associated the barking with the spray. We continued to ring the doorbell and although she was VERY alert, she didn't bark.

We also put the collar on Bauer who had a similar reaction. Maybe we've finally solved the barking problem in our house?!?!

Right now, the plan is to only have it on them when we are home so we can use it as a training device...

No workout today -- BAD KELLY!

2009-07-20T21:36:00.002-04:00

Nope, didn't do it. Didn't get up as planned to do my Monday AM workout. Didn't even work out this evening. Too tired! I woke up when the alarm went off this AM, but when I could barely reach my arm from under the covers to turn it off, I decided maybe I needed a little break.. So, here's to getting up early tomorrow and getting back on track!!!

Back-to-back Swim Attack!

2009-07-19T20:08:00.002-04:00

Good idea or not, I did a second swim workout today. 1,200 yards. It felt good during, but I ended up needing a 2 hour nap afterward!!

First swimming workout in about 7 years...

2009-07-18T22:47:00.005-04:00

Today we went to the new gym for the first time. They have a 25 yard pool that I desperately wanted to take advantage of. So, after signing up there, I signed up on Swimplan.com. This is a great site. It will customize swim workouts for you depending on what kind of strokes you want to do, the equipment you have, the duration you would like to swim, and your experience level. Today, I did a 1,400 yard workout! I'm so proud... and I'll be so sore tomorrow :) But, it really felt good to be back in the pool!

An awesome keyless lock!

2009-07-17T21:45:00.003-04:00

So, we joined a gym today. Shocker, right? The main reason was so I could have access to a lap pool again. This one has a 25 (they claim) meter (although I think it is really a yard) pool with four lanes. Yippee!

But, we needed to get locks for the locker room. Chris suggested I pick up these ones, and I LOVE it!

These locks are by Master Lock and are called the Speed Dial. They're awesome not only because they are keyless, but they have this slider "button" that moves up, down, right and left and customize a sequence instead of memorizing the numbers.

I can't wait to try it out tomorrow, for my first workout!! (at the gym, that is)

Sore :)

2009-07-11T09:44:00.002-04:00

Today is officially a "rest" day according to the workout schedule I printed from online. Waking up (about 40 minutes ago), my butt and thighs and biceps hurt! I'm thankful for the day of rest. But, I think I'll still probably take a walk or something later... that is, if it is cool enough. I'm getting my hair done today, including color, and I don't want to get all sweaty... so much that I would need to wash my hair afterward... especially not with fresh new color on it!

Taking Control!

2009-07-08T20:25:00.003-04:00

This week I'm taking control. I'm trying to get my food intake and lack of exercise to where it SHOULD be.

Sunday afternoon, Chris and I (ok, mostly Chris) cleared out "his" spare bedroom (this means we took all the crap he had in there and junked up "my" spare bedroom, but that's ok... for now) and set up the Bowflex and made the elliptical more easily usable. We also moved the TV in there to a position that you can see it from either machine. We also dug out the dumbbells and whatnot. We also went to Publix and bought all kinds of yummy healthy food.

Monday morning I got up just before 6:00 AM (ugh) and did my first workout. This was one I printed from online, and it alternated 5 minutes of cardio and one set of a Bowflex exercise. I'm kind of liking those "fat burning" routines. I did it again yesterday too! Today was my "rest" day from those workouts, so instead of that, we walked to dinner and back. We went to our local sub shop and I got a great roasted pork sub on a wheat roll. Was quite yummy. We're also really liking the Stauffers skillet meals... you just dump the bag into a skillet and in 10 minutes it is done! Plus, they're only about 350 calories per serving and I think they're quite satisfying. Super easy solution for a work night!

Oh, and I'm also tracking my exercise and food intake via the "Lose It!" app on my iPhone. Super cool app... and it is FREE!

Wish me luck!!

Happy 233rd Birthday, America!!

2009-07-04T09:25:00.002-04:00

How are you going to celebrate? We'll be watching fireworks at Epcot :)

King of Pop

2009-06-25T21:22:00.003-04:00

I really can't say that I've been a fan of Michael Jackson's antics later in life, but I have always loved his music. I still do. His music was always great, no matter how many plastic surgeries he had or didn't have or whatever other kinds of legal drama was going on. It was always just good music.

I remember as a kid, the first RECORD (yes, an actual record) that I ever bought with my own money was Michael Jackson's Thriller. It came out in 1983, which would have made me 7 years old. In those days I was probably getting like $1 a week allowance, so it probably took a long time to save up the cash to buy the darn thing. I remember loving the album. I believe it still holds the record for the best selling album of all time.

I also remember going to my grandparent's house to watch MTV because we didn't get that channel on our cable. I remember seeing the Thriller video for the first time. It was epic. I remember thinking it was really LONG (which it was, of course). I loved Vincent Price's narration... what a spooky voice! I remember I didn't like seeing the zombies (never liked horror movies and still don't) that much, but was impressed by the way they danced all in unison! I remember for YEARS to come (and maybe even still now if/when MTV actually plays videos...) Thriller always being the #1 video when MTV would do a countdown show of the best videos of all time.

I used to love puzzles and get them often for my birthday or Christmas. One year, probably the same year or close to the year Thriller came out, I got a puzzle with a picture of Michael and his chimp, Bubbles. I remember thinking, "how cool is that, to be able to have a chimp as a pet?!"

I'm pretty sure I had a poster at one point that hung on my bedroom closet door of probably the Thriller cover or something... I know for sure I had one of those cheesy small vinyl purses with basically a string strap that had a screen print of MJ on the side. I think mine was blue.

I remember when things started happening that were a little weird... him grabbing his crotch at the end of a video, marrying Lisa Marie Presley, kissing her awkwardly at the MTV Video Music Awards... maybe it is MJ, the first celebrity that I really knew who he was, that got me into the whole celebrity gossip following. It seemed that there was a different story on him all the time to follow.

Anyway, despite his faults and eccentricities, I wish him a peaceful rest.

Happy Father's Day!!

2009-06-21T09:33:00.002-04:00

To all the dad's I know... I hope you have a wonderful day today... HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

To my FIL: I'm sorry we weren't able to come out to see you today, but enjoy your porterhouse dinner tonight! :)

To my own Daddy: I love you 1,000 dumptrucks... where do I get all that love, you may ask?? "from my little heart" :)

I love pierogies!

2009-06-18T13:31:00.001-04:00

No matter how long I've been away from Pittsburgh, I will always love pierogies :) My favorite way to eat them is pan fried, then a bit of butter over them and a dash of salt! Mmmmmm :)

My lovely lunch hour while working remotely...

2009-06-05T11:59:00.002-04:00

...I was working remotely today (meaning, working from home). I went into the kitchen to grab something for lunch about 20 minutes ago. When I walked in, I noticed that Mrka had dark smudges on her fur around her neck area like she was rolling in some dirt or something. She LOVES to roll in stuff. I got a pet wipe and started cleaning off what I at first thought was dirt/mud, only to find that it was poop. And, it wasn't just on her neck area, it was all over her body and completely mashed all into her LEATHER collar too. GRR. Then, I look at Bauer, and he too has sh!t all over him. WTF?

I'm thinking this may have been a result of this morning's VERY EARLY escapades. Around 4:00 AM this morning to go to the bathroom, and when I get up, Bauer will usually get up and follow me. Sometimes he'll also run downstairs and go outside to go too. Well, when I finished in the bathroom I started to hear barking. Concerned about the early hour, I ran downstairs to shush the dog. I couldn't get him to come into the house! Chris finally got up too and brought a flashlight and started looking in the backyard. I didn't have my glasses on, so I couldn't see very well. Turns out there was a possum or something in the back yard that must have crawled under the fence and that's what Bauer was confronting. We finally got the dog in the house, while also keeping Mrka and Al at bay. We then slid the panel into the doggie door so that whatever that was couldn't get into the house. When we got up this morning, our visitor was gone.

Anyway, my guess is that our little "visitor" left droppings that were then found by Bauer and Mrka (my precious Al was poop free). Poop and dead things are apparently irresistible to both of those guys, especially Mrka. So, I spent my lunchtime bathing all three dogs (they were due, so Al got a bath too). I also had to get the tags off of both Mrka and Bauer's collars and threw the collars away. Thankfully I have some (albeit ugly) backups that they'll wear until we can get them new (more fashionable) styles. So much for having an early lunch!

Nuthin'

2009-06-01T22:20:00.000-04:00

I have nuthin' exciting to say... check out my crochet blog to see what I've been up to lately :)

Too...much...rain...

2009-05-28T20:54:00.001-04:00

I was just outside to water my plants. Yes, I know that sounds crazy with all of the rain we've had the past two weeks. But, it is necessary for the plants that are on the front and back porches covered by the porch roofs.

Seriously, when the rain stops long enough for the ground to dry out a bit, I have a TON of weeding to do. Blech!

I'm so proud of myself!

2009-05-25T22:50:00.002-04:00

I've been diligently going through the emails that I've been receiving and unsubscribing myself from newsletters and emails that I never read. Mind you, none of these that I'm unsubscribing to are the ones that end up in my spam folder. Those you should NEVER respond to in any way because then the sender knows that they have a "live" email address. I've just been trying to clean up the clutter that I never read that comes to my inbox on a regular basis... I feel like I've done spring cleaning in my inbox!

Now, if I could only harness that motivation and start working on my closet to go through my clothes and shoes...

One of my favorite things about summer...

2009-05-24T09:02:00.002-04:00

...is FRUIT SALAD! Living in Florida, summer is kind of a yucky season. I often tell my friends from up north that it is like winter in Pittsburgh. We don't go outside much, and instead find things indoors to do. It is just way too oppressively hot during the summer months here in FL to be outside for very long. If you ARE outside for any amount of time, rest assured you will be taking a shower the minute you return back indoors. Between the general heat, the humidity and the blistering sun, I prefer the day or two of fall and then the two weeks of winter we get ;)

But, back to the fruit salad. I love summer fruit. Yesterday, I made a giant fruit salad for us to enjoy this weekend. Watermelon, (Florida) cantaloupe, pineapple, grapes, cherries, strawberries and blackberries. YUM! And it is so pretty!

The only thing about making your own fruit salad in this way is that the trash bag was pretty heavy to hoist out of the can with all of the melon rinds and other fruit scraps... so, bonus points... healthy snack AND a workout! ha!

June and July Book Club Selections have been chosen!

2009-05-12T23:31:00.001-04:00

I'm happy to report that the June and July book club selections have been chosen, and I already own BOTH! :)

June's book club selection is Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella of the Shopaholic fame. Funnily enough, you can see the book on my book shelf in the background of this blog (yes, the background is actually my very own book shelf!). See the red book on the right hand side?

July's book club selection is Second Chance by Jane Green.

Oh, and in other news, I'm now the organizer of our book club. Fun! :)

I'm addicted to Podcasts

2009-05-12T22:52:00.002-04:00

My latest obsession is Podcasts. I'm constantly listening to them... I listen to them in the car on my way to work, I listen to them at my desk when I'm doing work, I listen to them when I'm driving home from work (I drive a lot... 45 min to 90 min, depending on traffic), I listen to them when Chris is playing video games, I listen to them when I'm waiting for Chris to arrive somewhere that we're mutually meeting (I often arrive first - sorry, hon ;)

Anyway, here are my favorites:
The Answer B!tch - this is a podcast from E!. The host, Leslie Gornstein is an E! insider who answers questions about how Hollywood works. I have to say, it is pretty darn entertaining. I've been listening to this one for a few years now. This podcast has new episodes each week.

CRL with Vickie Howell - CRL stands for craft.rock.listen. They also stand for the host's line of yarns, Craft, Rock, Love. This is mostly a knitting blog. Howell used to host a show on the DIY Network called Knitty Gritty. But, since DIY Network eliminated their craft shows, Knitty Gritty got the axe. Howell hosted 8 podcasts, all of which were super informative about some of the fiber industry insider info. I wish she had more to download. Last week I finished my last from her.

Crochet Unraveled - This is the official podcast of the online crochet community, Crochetville. There are 4 episodes that are OK, last one was recorded on 08/13/2008.

Fiber Lust - Hosted by a SAHW/M, Kat records her podcasts complete with potty mouth and on-the-fly disorganized segments from her bed using her laptop while her husband works nights. Sound quality of the podcast is surprisingly good. I personally find this podcast amusing. It is quite self-indulgent on the part of the host who freely admits that she loves being the center of attention and probably even more, loves talking about herself. Hmm... a girl after my own heart! :)

Yarn Thing: Crochet and Knitting - I just barely listened to the first episode and it was weird. Lots of shrieking and odd music fading the segments in and out. Too soon to tell on this one, the jury is still out.

Yarn Craft - This is the official podcast of Lion Brand Yarn. This is a VERY organized podcast with regular segments and two hosts. If you can get over the Liz girl's gravely voice, the podcast is really quite interesting and informative. This is an ongoing podcast and posts episodes every-other Tuesday.

Podcasts I have downloaded and haven't yet listened to:
The Adam Carolla Podcast
The Crochet Student: Where Textbooks Meet Yarn
CrochetCast
Crochetlocket: running with needles
The FiberCast
Getting Loopy! with Mary Beth Temple
Imprint: The #1 Twilight Podcast
Stash and Burn
Stitch Stud and his Bride
Yarn Talk

Lonely Blog

2009-05-10T09:01:00.000-04:00

This blog is very lonely. I don't update it very often, even though I continue to read all the time. My apologies. Lately, I've been working to finish the Twilight series. Most people think I'm crazy for not finishing these books in a week or less, or some other such crazy time frame. The truth is that I've been very busy with work, and then when I'm home and relaxed, even the Twilight books have been putting me to sleep. So, I've been spending the bulk of my at home idle time crocheting while watching TV. But, as of around 10:30 PM last night, I finally finished Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer.

By far, this has been my favorite Twilight book. It is really funny because there were parts of it that I complained about and hated... but in the end it was truly my favorite of the series. I would say that I'm grief stricken now that I've finished all of the books in the series, but I have a little bit of a reprieve in that I'm already now reading the pdf version of Midnight Sun made available on the author's website. After reading the author's notes about the partial book, I'm saddened for her that someone had leaked it without her permission, and will read the book with an open mind (as it is an unfinished work). I really do hope that the author is able to overcome the violation of trust that lead to the book being leaked before it was ready and eventually continues to write about the Twilight saga. It is a wonderful escape for myself and I know many others who have read and love these books.

My May book club meeting is fast approaching, and I haven't read that book yet. I'll be at Barnes & Noble later today to buy the book since it is not available on the Kindle. May's selection is Naked Came the Manatee by Carl Hiaasen.

Speaking of Barnes & Noble... when I just went to their website, I found a new Jen Lancaster book! I had no idea she was writing another! The Twilight rock I've been living under has obviously been all-consuming. Apparently, Pretty in Plaid was just released on May 5th, this past week! I'm having a vision... I'm seeing my bill at Barnes & Noble going up by about $15 today... and yes, I want this book in physical form (as opposed to Kindle form)...

I Heart Mom

2009-05-10T08:56:00.003-04:00

To all the mothers I know, I hope you have a very special day today filled with doing things you simply love.

To my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law, it was great to see you yesterday!

To my own mom... I send you 10 dumptrucks full of love this Mother's Day!

New roses + bone disappearance conviction!

2009-05-04T21:30:00.002-04:00

The bone stealer was caught! In my last post, we saw Al, a sensitive pug who was mourning the loss of his bone. Now, we see that it is official. Bauer stole it. Count the number of bones in his mouth... I say we have our culprit! I only gave out three bones. Mrka still had hers, Al was missing his and two show up in this turkey's mouth:

Here are some roses from the new bushes in the garden:

I LOVE Totino's Pepperoni Pizza!

2009-05-03T20:35:00.001-04:00

Yes, that cheapo pizza with the crunchy crust... but with GOBS of extra shredded cheese added by moi. Only 5 minutes until the oven timer dings!

More roses - just words, no pic yet!

2009-05-01T21:44:00.002-04:00

This evening, I bought some more rose bushes... FYI, Lowe's in Orlando has them as cheap as $7.99! I bought five new ones... a light pink, a blush with light pink edges, blush with dark pink edges, a bright pink one, and an grafted one that has pink and red. I cut some of the blooms and shoved them into the same vase as the others. I don't want to get the camera out and take a pic, maybe I'll do that tomorrow :)

BTW, YAY, THE WEEKEND IS HERE!

A pug and some roses...

2009-04-30T20:46:00.002-04:00

The roses are growing like crazy right now, and I keep taking the blooms that are opening and cutting them to bring inside. They smell so yummy and are just so pretty to look at! Here are some yellow ones from my garden...

While I had the camera out, I snapped this cute picture of Al. He was sitting with his bum on his beddie, pouting and all dejected because Bauer had just stolen his raw hide bone.

Garden Roses

2009-04-26T17:58:00.003-04:00

Although I should probably put this on my garden blog, I just couldn't resist sharing this on my main blog :) Here is a trio of roses that I cut from our garden just a little while ago and put in a vase inside for us to enjoy :) I think I'm going to do this with all of our roses as they open. They're so fragrant and pretty! Today, I only had red ones opened, but we have some yellow and white rose blooms that will likely open later this week!

New layout...

2009-04-25T11:57:00.000-04:00

...what do you think? Personally, I'm going to let this one simmer a little while...

Non-crochet Baby Shower Stuff

2009-04-24T06:36:00.003-04:00

We had a baby shower at work this week, and I think I am now unofficially/officially the baby shower coordinator for our team. In addition to the crochet gifts I made from myself (as opposed to the team), I also created a diaper cake centerpiece and also made cupcakes with baby faces on them!

I learned to use a carpet shampooer today!

2009-04-18T18:29:00.003-04:00

Yup! That's true. The woman who does anything possible to NOT have to ever clean, actually picked EVERYTHING up off her floor in the master bedroom (which is quite a feat when you live with Chris - his side has all kinds of crazy crap all over the place, but he kindly got most of it up off the floor prior to my cleaning) and FINALLY learned to use our carpet shampooer! Geez, after 3.5 years of marriage, and living in this house, you would have thought I would have learned to use it sooner. After all, Chris had it long before he ever met me... I had avoided it like the plague prior to today. Seriously, I think I was afraid that maybe by using it my hand might fall off or something.

Anyway, what a difference it made! Geez, with three dogs, our carpets were gross. We would clean up the messes with spot cleaners, but they would always leave something behind. So, I did our master suite, the hallway, "my" spare bedroom, and the stairs. Chris helped... he did the regular vacuuming prior to me using the shampooer. Oh, and another thing I found out... you should change the bag inside the regular vacuum *prior* to the bag filling up and weighing almost 5 pounds :) I can't remember the last time I changed that stupid bag. I can't remember the last time I used that stupid vacuum!

When I lived at my old apartment, I had a problem where there was a small separation between where the sliding glass door was and the wall, and that crevice was just big enough for bugs to get through... palmetto bugs (read: COCKROACHES! EW!) I used the vacuum to sweep them up rather than squish them until the maintenance team could fix the hole. What did you want me to do? I lived alone! So, when Chris changed the bag on the vacuum, I was half expecting to see a colony of palmetto bugs come marching out. Thankfully, that did NOT happen :)

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-12T18:20:00.001-04:00

New blooms in the flower beds...

2009-04-11T23:20:00.001-04:00

When I took pictures of the garden last, these blooms weren't open yet. Here are some more daisy-like flowers. We have 8 of these in the front flower beds, four on either side of the sidewalk:

...and the first gardenia has opened... and smells heavenly! This bugger is growing like crazy and is looking REALLY healthy.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

2009-04-11T22:59:00.003-04:00

We love you!

Is 40 violet plants a lot?

2009-04-10T20:27:00.001-04:00

Yes, I said FOURTY. I counted them today. I have an obsession (I guess I'm putting that mildly) with violets. They are my favorite indoor plant, and thank God I have a knack of growing them! Right now, many of mine are in bloom, so here are some photos:

COLLECTIONS...

These are the violets on plant stands in our family room:

Violets on our kitchen windowsill:

Violets on our master bathroom windowsill:

Violets on the ledge of our master bathroom tub:

Violets on the ledge between the counter and tub in our master bathroom:

INDIVIDUAL BLOOMING VIOLET PLANTS:

BLOOM CLOSE-UPS:

Oh, and the 40 violets? That hat does NOT count all of the ones I'm trying to propagate on the back porch...

Das Good Bier!

2009-04-07T21:27:00.003-04:00

We went to The Willow Tree Cafe, a German restaurant in Sanford, FL when my parents were in town. Since it was 1/2 way to Port Orange, Chris' parents joined us for the festivities. Here are some photos of the fun!

Chris, and his 3 litre beer (only rule, the bottom of the glass of beer is never allowed to touch the table until all of the beer is gone!):

Down the hatch!

My dad and the beer (the waitress said that she could not serve that much beer to a single person, so we all took turns at it):

Me and the beer:

YUM!

My mom and the beer:

Chris' mom and the beer. She's my kinda woman. No messin' around posing with it, just drink! ha!

...then again, apparently, giant beers are funny...

Chris' dad and the beer:

SINGLE HANDED!

Bottoms up!

You call this thing a beer??

Happy, with a belly full of beer. Quite handsome, too, I might add :)

Gardening is fun!

2009-04-05T18:23:00.002-04:00

Head on over to my garden blog to check out what I've been up to in my garden!

April 2009 Garden Update

2009-04-05T14:26:00.001-04:00

All of the local gardening experts advised that we not cut back the dead on our plants in the yard from the extended days of frost that we had earlier in the year until you were able to see what was going to come back and what was truly dead. I'm glad that I heard that advice. I took it.

Maybe about 2 weeks or so ago I finally went out and started pruning what was dead from our plants. Things were initially looking pretty bleak, but I think things are doing better now. My pansies, although they looked ok after the initial frost, eventually took a turn for the worse. But, when I dug them up, I noticed a LOT of new growth at their centers. So, I cleared the old/dead away and relocated the pansies in the front yard to the side yard. That made room for the new impatiens I wanted to plant. Home Depot had a sale that weekend, their 4.5" standard annuals for $0.33 each! So, we took advantage of that discount :) :) :)

First up, are some plants on my front porch. This is my first fern. I've always wanted one, and I got this little beauty last weekend at Lukas Nursery in Oviedo.

My gloxinias are coming back... more photos on them when they start to bloom...

We have two large planters, one on either side of our front door with pink and purple impatiens. Here's one of them. I can't wait until they fill out more!

This little one is also a Gloxinia, but is a different variety than the standard above. This one is a "Sylvatica" and has a "sister" plant on the opposite side of our porch steps, and they attract both butterflies and hummingbirds.

This "trough" planter is quite funny. Last year, after my tulip bulbs bloomed in their pots, I dug them up and broke up the bulbs. For safe keeping, I dumped them into this container and threw some dirt from some dead plants on top of them. I then forgot about them. As you can see, the tulip bulbs have sprouted again, and should bloom soon! But, what about those pink begonias you say? Well, this planter sits on my front porch, kind of under a hanging basket. Last year, my hanging baskets had pink begonias in them. I think what happened is that some leaves fell into the trough from the hanging baskets and took root! Maybe next weekend I'll dig all this stuff up, put the tulips in their own containers until they bloom again, and plant the begonias somewhere in the yard :)

The last container plant on this post is another funny guy. This Ponytail Palm used to sit in my front window inside the house. But, a while ago, it got a bad case of scale. So, I took it outside and all of the leaves fell off. I thought I might lose it, but continued to water it to see if anything happened. Well, it is growing again!

Now for the plants in the garden.

The frost did a number on much of our yard. But, this Crown of Thorns was protected by some bushes and did quite well.

This Crown of Thorns wasn't so lucky and had a lot of damage from the frost. But, I've cleared away the dead and it is starting to come back!

This is my latest work. Yesterday I built up the dirt around our front tree and added more pine bark, and planted some Dusty Miller.

Here are some of my pansies that are still blooming. I'm going to leave them in the yard until they give up from the heat ;)

Along the pansy lines, here are my Johnny Jump-ups. I love these guys. They look like such "happy" flowers. It is as if they are standing at attention saying "HELLO!" They did much better with the frost.

I'm not sure if our Crape (Crepe?) Myrtle is going to come back. It had been struggling the last few years and didn't fair well in the frost. Not to mention, every time I mess with that bugger I am bitten up by all of the damn fire ants that crawl up and down it :( I've cut it back the way I've seen the others around town. I'll let it go this season and see what happens. Who knows? Maybe it will be replaced by a Plumeria...

Living in FL, we have these guys everywhere. I don't really mind them much, but funny thing, when my parents were here last week, I was helping my mom gather up some plants that we propagated that were out on the front porch. As I was bringing in a flat, all of the sudden I felt something on my thumb. I started shrieking. The little lizard had made a "home" in one of the baby plants and got scared... My daddy had to save me and get the lizard off me and out the patio door :) More than anything I was startled by him.

Here are some of my white impatiens in the front yard.

Remember my mums from the fall? Well, here are most of them! They're still going strong, and have been relocated to the side tree in our front yard and are doing great!

This is a new addition to the yard as of last week. This is a coreopsis. I love it because it looks like a daisy (my favorite flower in general). When I get more blooms, I plan on clipping a few of these to bring in the house and enjoy :)

Also new last week, lookin' like a daisy and ultimately planned for clipping and bringing inside is this Arizona Sun.

And, to round out the trio of daisy-looking, new last week, to be brought in side from clippings is this Sunny Cambria. The advantage this newbie has over the other two daisy-like flowers is that it is my favorite color, purple :)

The larger plant in front of the green pipe is a hibiscus that was featured in my last post. This used to be a beauty and would cover that green pipe quite nicely. The hope is that it fills back in from the frost damage and covers the pipe again. I've planted a number of pink impatiens in front of it to give it some more color when it fills in.

Some red and dark pink petunias in the side yard:

I honestly don't know what these things are called. I've had them for about 7 years now and they had been in containers most of that time. With the frost, we lost two hibiscus that used to be in their place. So, I decided to take these out of their pots (in which they were both severely root-bound) and put them into the garden. Don't they look great? I remember when I first bought them they were two sticks about 12" and 8" in a single container with some green sprouting at the tops. They've come a long way, baby! We planted a number of red impatiens around their base.

Wider shot of our front and side yard... I love my hanging baskets! This year, they have purple impatiens:

Close-up of the front of the house:

Topiaries

2009-04-03T22:15:00.002-04:00

So, I realize that I do have a garden blog, but I thought these pictures really belonged more on this blog. Below are some my favorite topiaries that we saw at the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival last weekend with my parents in town:

Cindy's Coronation: Cinderella and Prince Charming (1950)

Beauty & The Beast (1991)

Snow White (1937)

Sorcerer Mickey from Fantasia (1940)

Minnie Mouse

Tinkerbell

Mufasa (Lion King, 1994)

Rafiki and Baby Simba (Lion King, 1994)

Aladdin (1992)

Bambi, Thumper and Flower (Bambi, 1942)

Donald Duck

WELCOME, MOM AND DAD!!!

2009-03-27T14:05:00.002-04:00

My Mom and Dad will arrive here in Orlando in a few short hours. I'm really looking forward to spending some time with them, hanging out and doing some fun things during their stay!!

Update!!

2009-03-24T22:39:00.001-04:00

Ok, so I admittedly never finished Wally Lamb's The Hour I First Believed :(

The next book we read for book club was The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. This book was one of a list of maybe 5 that I had the book club choose from... I was given the task (well, truthfully, I'm pretty sure I asked for it) of coming up with the poll for our March book club selections. The 19th Wife won as it was chosen by our book club members in our online poll.

The book is an interesting intertwines two stories of polygamy... one of a wife in the late 1800s (Bringham Young's wife Ann Eliza) and a 20th century murder mystery in Utah.

In the meanwhile, I continued to succumb to my Twilight indulgences and am finishing the third book in the series, Eclipse (by Stephenie Meyer in case you've been living under a rock and don't know who the author of the Twilight series is). LOVE this book too! :)

Happy Birthday, Francobirdy!

2009-03-23T21:30:00.004-04:00

Yes, my little Franco ("American") is 10 years old today. Can you believe it? Happy Birthday, my little feathered friend!

Towel Animals

2009-03-18T20:45:00.002-04:00

Ok, now that I'm feeling MUCH better, and no longer bitter about getting sick on our cruise, here is some detail of our cruise that I really enjoyed. It may sound funny, but I LOVED coming back to our stateroom at the end of the evening to find out what kind of towel animal was waiting for us. Here is a list of what we found:

Breaching Whale:

Snake... a cobra?

Elephant:

Monkey (my fave of the week):

Dinosaur:

Peacock:

Seashell? Mayan King/God? We weren't sure...

Turtle:

I'll post more about the trip later...

Being...killed...by...cuteness...

2009-03-08T20:29:00.003-04:00

Since I'm still sick and not feeling like posting about the trip, here is a quickie... who doesn't love baby animals?

Find more of these cuties here at babyanimalz.com

Back from the Cruise

2009-03-07T22:48:00.003-05:00

We are now back from our 7 day Eastern Caribbean Disney cruise. The quick rundown of our itinerary was as follows:

Disney Cruise 2009 - 7 Night Eastern Caribbean
Day 1 - Saturday, February 28 - On Board
Day 2 - Sunday, March 1 - At Sea
Day 3 - Monday, March 2 - At Sea (Palo Dinner)
Day 4 - Tuesday, March 3 - St. Croix (and Pirates IN the Caribbean Deck Party)
Day 5 - Wednesday, March 4 - St. Thomas
Day 6 - Thursday, March 5 - At Sea
Day 7 - Friday, March 6 - Castaway Cay (Disney's private island)
Day 8 - Saturday, March 7 - Disembark

Overall, we had a fun time and it was great to get away. The only problem is that on Tuesday, I started getting some sniffles... by Thursday it sounded like I was hacking up a lung. I think all those kiddos on the ship brought along some microscopic friends that they spread all over every public area of the ship, contaminating it and me!

After arriving back in Orlando, we came home, greeted the dogs, and I promptly went to our local Walgreen's Take Care Clinic (which, by the way, I LOVE!) and was diagnosed with bronchitis. Since I'm asthmatic and wheezing like I'm 102 years old, the doctor gave me a new Albuterol puffer, a steroid pack for my lungs and Bactrim. So far, I still have a very HARD cough deep in my chest that is not productive (lovely, right?) and a pounding headache from all of the brain rattling from the coughing.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I got some nasty sunburn yesterday on Castaway Cay? Yes, I'm just so shiny right now I can't stand it.

I'll post again tomorrow or something... the trip really was fun, despite being sick. We have some great photos that I'd like to share!

Check out my work!

2009-02-27T18:11:00.004-05:00

I've been quite the busy crocheter lately... head on over to my crochet blog and check out my latest completed projects!

Justice...

2009-02-27T14:40:00.000-05:00

...is a marvelous thing.

Regret...

2009-02-23T01:20:00.002-05:00

...I think I'm going to regret staying up to watch the Oscars (a bit delayed on our DVR) when I have to get up early enough in the AM to make a 7:00 AM dentist appointment!

Another sinus infection...

2009-02-22T21:55:00.000-05:00

...diagnosed today at about 4:00 PM EST. FUN!!

Bahama Mama

2009-02-22T10:44:00.001-05:00

Less than a week to our cruise... WOOT!!!

Seriously... SERIOUSLY???

2009-02-14T15:50:00.002-05:00

Another day, another headache. That's 6/7 days this week. Awesome.

doin' another happy dance

2009-02-12T19:41:00.004-05:00

Chris just shared with me that he ordered the latest Amazon Kindle (Kindle 2). I'm so excited!

It is going to be our shared Valentine's Day gift to each other. This is so cool! Now, we'll be able to take up to 1,500 books with us on our cruise! I know we won't need that many books, but isn't it nice that we have the option?

doin' da happy dance

2009-02-11T22:25:00.003-05:00

We booked a 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise! WAAAHOOOOIEEEEE!!!!

Migraines are the worst.

2009-02-10T10:15:00.000-05:00

'nuff said.

From courts to diamonds...

2009-02-09T22:31:00.002-05:00

Chris and I had our first softball practice for my work league. I did ok at bat... I was the first batter and probably the most consistent girl... but I swung at EVERYTHING - way more than I would have in a game. It took Chris a few extra swings to finally connect, but when he did, he swung for the fence and dropped it just inside. That was awesome :)

Tennis, anyone?

2009-02-03T21:09:00.001-05:00

Chris and I tried our hand at tennis this evening after work. It was only my second time really trying to play (EVER) and my first time trying with Chris. He's a pretty good teacher :) By the end, I was starting to hit the ball on a "front spin". It was a great alternative to going nowhere on the elliptical machine upstairs :)

I missed my boyz :(

2009-02-02T21:03:00.003-05:00

So, Chris and I went to Magic Kingdom to try and see Santonio and Ben as the grand marshals of the parade. The parade started at 3:00 PM and we got there at about 2:00 PM. But, when we got to the parking lot and monorail, I noticed a lot of black & gold leaving the park. I asked Chris if he thought the parade was canceled... it was really raining today. When we got to the turnstiles, we found out that the parade with the players had already happened. It started at almost 1:00 PM. Which, is NOT what I was told when I called to find out the time of the grand marshal parade. Plus, it doesn't look like Ben was there, just Santonio. Man, was I disappointed :(

I'm going to Disney World!!!

2009-02-01T23:23:00.003-05:00

I'm drunk, and so happy ;) I'm going to Disney World to see Santonio Holmes at Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom tomorrow!!!!!!!!!

GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HERE WE GO!

2009-02-01T13:02:00.000-05:00

33... feels good!

2009-01-28T22:00:00.002-05:00

Yes, today is my birthday... it was a great day! I was really surprised! Not sure why, but I was. Here I am with my squeeze at the ripe old age of 33... not too bad, eh?

Anyway, my day started with Chris waking me up with one of my presents... a garnet (my birthstone and favorite) tennis bracelet... isn't it pretty?

At work, our Admin put a sign on my cube for my birthday, so everyone was acknowledging my special day (which I LOVE)! A co-worker sent an email out to invite folks to lunch, and mentioned "Happy Birthday Kelly" thus causing an unprecedented 15+ people to all go to lunch together (that is a huge number for IT folks, if you didn't know that already), and he picked up my bill for lunch! Yay!

I also had a plethora of email, voicemails, phone calls, text messages and Facebook (holla!) notes wishing me a Happy Birthday which was really nice.

Chris took me to dinner at Roy's on Orlando's "Restaurant Row". It is a Hawaiian theme restaurant and was oh, so good! When I got home, he had a yellow cake with white PUBLIX icing birthday cake with plenty of roses on it (MY FAVE). Finally, he had one final gift for me...

A new color printer! I've been wanting one for quite some time... honestly, I'm not sure which I like more... the printer or the tennis bracelet! Does that make me a geek?

Good Grief!

2009-01-25T10:38:00.001-05:00

Long time, no post! Let me catch up... So, for November I read Girls in Trouble by Caroline Leavitt as mentioned below. It was quite good. It was a story of a young girl who, as a teenager, is pregnant and decides to give her baby up for adoption. Specifically, an open adoption. It is a VERY interesting read.

Following that book, in December, I read Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright for book club. It was a very easy read, good for the holidays. My only complaint is that things were too "convenient" at the end.

I then indulged my Twilight craving and read New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. OMG, LOVED it! I can't wait for the movie to come out, and I can't wait to read Eclipse...

...but first, I have book club commitments. January's book was Molokai'i by Alan Brennert. A story set back in the 1890s in Hawaii where lepers were hunted, arrested, and sent to the island of Molokai'i for seclusion. The story follows the life of a young girl... admittedly, I didn't get all the way through the book, but I plan on finishing it soon!

Next up for book club is The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. At this point, I am not very far in, so I don't have a real opinion of the book just yet.

My task for today is to come up with a short list of books for a poll for my book club for March's discussion. The book club leader has decided that each month we're going to have one member pick a short list of books that the rest can vote on. I think it is a GREAT idea!

...and the #1 reason why sub-freezing temperatures in Florida SUCK!

2009-01-25T10:30:00.001-05:00

Check out my Garden Blog for the answer.

Death and Destruction...

2009-01-25T10:11:00.001-05:00

...thanks to a Florida freeze! This past week we had temperatures below freezing for 3 or 4 days in a row. I realize that the rest of the country was much colder if we were in the low 30s, but this is not temperatures that Florida is used to. In fact, it causes all kinds of problems with our plants, being that we have different plants all over our yards than people up north do. Anyway, here are some pictures of what I hope will come back at some point...

Hibiscus:

Marigolds:

Impatiens (this goofy thing was so hearty and strong, and had been growing since March '08!):

Crown of Thorns:

The only plants that made it through unscathed were the Pansies and the Violas...

Pansies:

Violas:

...for the most part :( (here are a few pansies that didn't really do so well)

Friggin' AWESOME!

2009-01-22T22:32:00.003-05:00

I love the Steelers :) :) :) :)

1. The Pop Rocks Steelers song
2. Roll With the Steelers - NEW STEELER FIGHT SONG 2009
3. Steeler Sunday 2009
4. Steelers Tribute Pump Up the Black and Gold 2008 / 2009
5. The Puhlahmalu Song by Mr. Devious

And, last but certainly not least, the song to become my ring tone:
6. Pittsburgh Steelers Here We Go Theme Song (2008-2009 Season)

...there are MANY more if you go to YouTube and put in "Steelers Song".

SHEESH! Seriously, Cold is Relative, people!

2009-01-22T22:15:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I've now talked to FAR TOO MANY people who poo-poo the cold weather that we've had here in FL the last few days. "Cold" is a relative term, people!

The low today in Orlando was 32. THIRTY TWO! For Florida, that is pretty darn cold! I know it isn't as cold as it has been in Seattle, Buffalo or Pittsburgh, but c'mon, 32? That's freezing! You don't hear me tell you about how wimpy you are when you complain about 90+ degrees for a few days straight in the summer, do you?

FYI, tomorrow's low is going to be 34... that's three days in a row that we're in the 30s for a low!

25 Random Things About Kelly

2009-01-20T18:40:00.004-05:00

...I took this from my friend, Aleece's (again) Facebook page. Post a comment and let me know if you've learned something new about me! For a little twist, 24 of these are true. One is a lie... can you guess which is the lie? Post your guess in the comments. I'll reveal the answer in a few days.

1. It recently took me over 6 hours to organize my yarn stash.
2. As a rule, I really don't like chocolate much.
3. I don't like coffee at ALL.
4. I hate raw onions... so much so that I won't let Chris NEAR me if he's eaten them.
5. I once owned 16 dwarf frogs at once.
6. When I was a kid, we had a tuxedo cat (black & white) named Scooby.
7. I can wiggle my ears.
8. On a good day, I can touch my nose with my tongue. (I'm sure my parents are proud!)
9. I can tie a cherry stem in my mouth. (I'm sure this makes my parents even MORE proud!)
10. I prefer to bake rather than cook.
11. Banana cream pie is probably my favorite kind of pie.
12. I read quite slowly.
13. I had a teensy bit of a studder when I was a kid... only manifesting itself when I read out loud (which, by the way, terrified me to have to do when I was in school).
14. I just hosted book club at my house... everyone left within the hour.
15. I've recently been "slummin'" it at the drug stores for makeup to compare to what I've been wearing that costs way more (fyi, eye liners and lip glosses are awesome!)
16. I'm propagating about 40 African violets on my back porch (and I covered them with a blanket this evening due to the freeze that is supposed to come overnight).
17. We have 5 televisions in our house (if you count the computer monitor hooked up to an HD antenna in the front room).
18. With those 5 TVs we have 5 DVRs, three on one TV and two on another.
19. I have been in love with Jack Bauer since the TV show 24 began.
20. Big Bang Theory is probably my favorite comedy on TV right now.
21. I had two imaginary friends when I was a kid. Their names were Babe and Lori and they were always going to New York to visit their grandma.
22. I prefer a Whopper to a Big Mac.
23. I prefer McDonald's fries to Burger King's
24. I've been known to make two stops for dinner for my favorite fries and burger at separate drive throughs (see above :) )
25. I prefer to have photography on my walls as opposed to art. We take lots of pictures on our trips, and we have interesting angles of all kinds of things hanging around our house (Notre Dame's ceiling, side shot of the Eiffel Tower, a weird bird giving us the "stink eye", etc).

I'm just so happy :)

2009-01-19T00:23:00.002-05:00

Meme

2009-01-16T10:34:00.002-05:00

Meme stolen from my friend Aleece. The rules are simple: bold the things you’ve done. Explanations are optional. Fun is guaranteed.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (not "more than I can afford")
7. Been to Disneyland/World (Um, ya think??)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (do computer languages count?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (someone did a caricature of me once...)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (only the middle :( )
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I'm O-negative. They call and BEG for my blood!)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (it was raining when we were at Buckingham Palace :( )
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (I'm Catholic, so, that would be a "no")
86. Visited the White House (not the inside)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Fish?)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (I was a lifeguard and had to go in a few times)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Competed in a triathlon
101. Adopted an animal from an animal shelter
102. Been to the top of the Sears Tower
103. Traveled to at least 3 continents
104. Stood up in a wedding

I'm adding a few:
104. Rappelled off a cliff
105. Eaten buffalo

Check :) No Check :(

2009-01-15T22:15:00.002-05:00

- Updated main blog look and feel: CHECK!
- New interesting post: NO CHECK
- Updated other blogs: NO CHECK

...oh, well. One for three isn't terrible, right?

The road to Super Bowl XLIII...

2009-01-11T20:27:00.004-05:00

...yet again goes through Pittsburgh! GO STEELERS!!!

No excuse...

2009-01-04T22:03:00.001-05:00

... I really have no excuse for not updating my blog. I need to find a new template and write another post, but I've been lazy. Stay tuned...

Franco's new toy...

2008-12-27T14:04:00.002-05:00

Franco got a great present from his "Grandma" and "Grandpa". A wind-up penguin!

"Hello new friend!!"

"Lemmie see here..."

"Ah! Here is where I wind you up!"

"Muahhh!"