Day trois

Today we stuck to Colonial Williamsburg like white on rice, like flies on poo, like...you get the picture. It's a very interesting place. People dressed in period costume, horse-and-carriages clop clop clopping down the street. It seems a little surreal to me to be in a place that had housed so many of our founding fathers. Anyway, we toured the Governor's Palace (don't let Arnold hear about this Governor's Palace thing, he might find new ways to spend my tax dollars) which was large compared to all the rest of the buildings but not as large as I had pictured in my head. But it has a really cool hedge maze. And of course I geeked out for a minute and pretended to be Harry Potter but, I digress. From there we just wandered on our own til we met up with friends who live in the area for lunch, then more wandering, then a nap in the car, then the Legends, Myths and Mysteries tour...ooooooooh...sorry, no pictures were taken but take my word for it, it was a little spooky and a lot of fun.

So, without more blah blah blah from me here are today's pics...

This is actually the rear of the palace, I don't think we got a single shot of the front, we'll have to do that tomorrow.

April in the gardens, I think this thing is called an arbor but I really couldn't tell ya.

The boxwood maze...don't ya feel like pretending to be Harry Potter too?

One of the many carriages that roam the streets (and leave poo).

The "townspeople" in period dress making a flag. If you look closely at the guy on the far right, I think they got the guy who played Napolean from Bill and Ted's Big Adventure.

So that was our day today. Lots of walking and standing = sore feet!!! I did spy with my little eye a spa not too far...hmmmm....

Day Zwei

Today we visited the Jamestown and Yorktown historical areas. First was Jamestown. The Jamestown Settlement was interesting. They have this huge modern building that houses a gallery and theater and museum then you leave the building and walk a little ways to the actual settlement. They have ship replicas on the river too, that was pretty cool. Then it was on to Yorktown...we didn't really stop at the historical area cuz by this time I was plum tuckered so we drove (slowly) past the battlefield but then we went down to the river where they have a little shopping area (closed, cuz of Easter) and a few historical type buildings. This is where we had dinner. Then after we left Yorktown we went shopping cuz what's a vacation without shopping?!?! Here are some pics from today's excursion...

This is the entrance to the Jamestown Settlement. There's a flag for each state.

This is the actual settlement.

This is the drive to Yorktown...beautiful isn't it?

Also on the way to Yorktown, right behind the College of William and Mary, there are all these bridges that make the drive even more picturesque.

I'm not sure where this is but I really liked the sparkly water....ooh, pretty.

The "beach" on the river at Yorktown. Isn't it a gorgeous day?

Anyway, that was today, more tomorrow.

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter everybody!!

Getting there and day one

I'm writing this post on Sunday morning because I had neither the time nor the energy to write it yesterday...you'll see why...

Oh, and sorry about it being so wordy but sometimes i just can't help it.

GETTING THERE

I woke up on friday with a sore throat but I thought it was just my normal sinus related sore throat. Nope. I officially have a cold. The day I'm scheduled to leave I get sick...God really does have a sense of humor doesn't he? Anyway, our flight on Friday wasn't until 11:25 so all day Friday we putzed around with errands and such and dropping of the dog, etc. We got to airport fine, we get on our flight and take off fine, no prob. Now, for those of you out there that stumbled on this blog by accident or divine intervention, whatever, and don't know me, I'm not by any stretch of the word a "petite" woman. I have a rather wide and expansive butt. When I sit down it covers a good 20 or 22 inches from hip to hip. Airline seats are 17" wide. this makes for a very uncomfortable 5 hour flight. Put that together with sitting in an emergency exit aisle where the armrests don't go up (but bonus, lots of leg room) and a redeye flight and, my friends, you have a recipe for, ok not disaster really more like pain and agony and lots of it. I also have a very sensitive tail bone so by the time we fly into Dulles in DC I can no longer sit.

We're told to go to gate c27 for our connecting flight to Richmond so we hoof it on over and while I stay with the bags my sister goes to check the monitor to see if our flight is on time...nope. Cancelled. huh? how? what the?? Okaaaaay we go to customer service and find out that the next flight isn't until 12:30 and it's 7:30 (4:30 my time...shouldn't I be asleep right now?). As we're standing in line we find out from the guy in front of us that he's been trying to get to Richmond for the last 28 hours. He slept in the airport overnight cuz twice they cancelled his flight, this was his third. So we all decide to rent a car and just drive because it's only a two hour drive from DC to Richmond. So after much phone calling and haggling Al (our new friend) finds a car for $103 and it's being put on his corporate account so none of us actually has to pay any dough out of our own pockets...thank God for corporate accounts! We convince the nice lady at the desk, Renee, to get someone to get our bags from the pile waiting to go to Richmond and off we go. Luckily, Al lives in the area so he knows all the short cuts and such so we make good time and get to Richmond before the plane in DC is scheduled to take off. AWESOME!! Take that you stupid United Airlines (except for Renee)!

There's Al and April. They're smiling cuz this pic was taken in Richmond, not DC...no smiles then, that's for sure.

DAY ONE

So we say good bye to Al and we go off to drive around the city. Here're a few pics of that adventure...

This is Virginia's capital building. Very pretty!

This statue has a bunch of important historical figures on it. I don't really feel like elaborating...fading fast, must take nap and dayquil.

I don't know what this is but it's cool looking.

After we left the big city we went and visited a couple planations (there's about 12 billion here). The first one is called Shirley and has been owned by the same family since it was built in the 1700's they're on their 13th generation...I find that amazing. There's a connection to Robert E. Lee in the family also. The second one is called Berkeley and it was owned by the Harrisons, as in Signer-of-the-Declaration Benjamin Harrison and President William Henry Harrison. Both have a whole butt load of history behind them and the tours were very interesting but the best thing about them was actually the grounds themselves - absolutely beautiful. Check 'em out...

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Then it started to rain...

so we headed off to our campground where we're staying in a cabin...

and I conked out for the night. And that was day one. More later.

4 hours to go!

I leave for the airport in 1 hour and our plane takes off in 4. I'm so excited and ready to go that I can't seem to sit still.

I took the bubbers to my mom and dad's house this afternoon and well lets just say it was very difficult for me to do. Then my mom has to go and call me up and be all..."He's still sitting on the chair near the door (where I last saw him when we dropped him off). He won't come down and he won't stop looking at the door. He's just waiting for you to come get him." Thanks Mom! That makes me feel all warm and sunshiney inside...geez!


Here he is trying to get away from my mom...*sigh*

Other than that little bump, though, I'm ready to go. I've got the world's biggest suitcase (it comes up to my waist and I'm 5'9) with lots of extra room for souveniers and such. Well, gotta go, more to come during the week.

Why I need a vacation...

I must tell you, I'm not a big fan of putting pictures of myself in my posts. I think there's only one or two of me so far. However, to illustrate the point of today's post, I felt I needed a visual aid. So, here I am...

Do you see those dark circles around my eyes? I'm in desperate need of this vacation! My pale and pasty skin is desperate for some outdoor fun. Granted, there's a huge storm on the east coast right now but at least I won't be under these horrific flourescent bulbs all day long with that tree messing up the whole feng shui thing, not to mention Tut back there looking down his nose at me, judging me, mocking me...oh yeah, I need a break.

I will, of course, be taking my little bag of crafty goodness with me so if there's too much rain, I'll still get some projects finished.

1 and 1/2 days left!!! YAY!!!!

Peanut update.

Last week LP had surgery to correct an inguinal hernia. I think his mom was more traumatized than he actually was but, like a champ, he's pulled through and is recovering at an amazing rate. Here are some of the most recent pics...he's just too cute.

4 Days and Counting!!!

In four days I'll officially be on vacation! Yay! I'm really stoked about going, mostly because we're doing it for so cheap. Our plane tickets were free tickets we got from the airline for volunteering to be bumped on a trip last year. We're staying at a KOA Kampground so that's super cheap ($148 for a week) and the rental car turned out to be super cheap also ($106 for the week). So between the two of us (my sister, and I) after buying admission tickets to some sites ahead of time have spent about $175 each on a one week vacation. That's AWESOME!! (especially since I owe the IRS a butt-load of money)

So now, I'm just counting down the days. We're going to Colonial Williamsburg and that area to visit all the historical sites (shut up Chris, stop snickering). I loves me an educational vacation. Besides, they have a Busch Gardens Amusement park there, too. And, it'll be one more state / capitol (we fly into Richmond) to cross off my list. I think it'll be something like 9 down, 41 to go. No prob, I'm young-ish. I'll be loading up some, hopefully, interesting pics as the week goes by. Until then I'm busy busy busy doing laundry, packing, etc. Oh, yeah, and making more little flowers and such, you know, idle hands and all that.

This is...my creation.

Ok, so there's this meme out there called "This is...". I know I know, what's a "meme"? Apparently, in the blogging world, it's a common theme among many bloggers. So there's this ring of bloggers that does the "this is..." theme and each week they come up with a new "this is". This weeks is "This is my creation" Though I don't technically belong to the ring, I thought it was a cool topic so last night I sat down and decided to make some jewelry. I've had the beads and such for over a year now but never just sat down to make it. Soooo, using this topic as my impetus I made this...

Well, this is while I was making it, duh.

Here's the whole set. I call it "Garden Party" just cuz of all the cutesy flowers and butterflies and such. I don't know what's going on with this picture but for some reason I just can't get it to come out right.

Here are some closeups of all of them.

Help!!!

My job is depressing me. I have been known to moan and groan about how I hate my job in the past and for those of you who've never been to the office (pretty much all of you I guess) here's part of the problem.
This is the lobby where my desk is...dismal isn't it. The plant behind my desk is fake but the one by the guest chair is real...Isn't there some rule in the whole Feng Shui dogma about fake plants being bad? And that sucker looms over my chair all day long. I think my chi needs repairing (can you do that? I dunno).

This is what I stare at all day, the view from my chair. I put up a few pics, mostly of my dog, (this is a new desk, before I had all sorts of pictures) to make things a little more homey.

The one of the girl (behind the ruler) I put up because she creeps the heck out of me. I originally had her taped to the back of my monitor but I switched it out for this pic...

CREEEEEPY

That way guests/clients who come in get a little surprise.

Anyway, if any of you out there know of a job opening in a place that's not quite so depressing, I might be interested.

Let the creative juices flow!!

I've been in a frenzy lately about finding ways to let off some creative steam. I did some scrapbooking but that just doesn't cut it for me (hee hee - get it - "cut it" cuz you do alot of cutting in scrapbooking...*sigh* I slay me). In the past I have made a few sewn projects but never really felt a passion for it. Then, at Christmas, I made a couple of lap quilts for my work friends, Fred and Gloria, and something changed. It was like a fever - a big old I gotta sew fever. Yeah, sewing fever...that's what I gots! So, lately I've been buying fabric by the metric ton, ok, not that much but definitely pounds and pounds of it. It's amazing how therapeutic and relaxing sewing can be. I just tune out the world and I'm in the "zone".

I came a cross this flower making tutorial and can't stop making them...I even make them at work on my lunch break. I've never been OCD but I'm teetering on the edge, man!! Anyway, I'm toting around fabric and needles and thread, etc with me everywhere I go so if you see me with "the bag" you'll know instantly that my mind probably isn't on whatever it is I'm doing at the moment but, more than likely, it's on when I can get to making my next flower. Alright, I'm not just teeterng, I'm way over the edge. I included some pics of a few of the flowers and some fabrics that I think would make awesome flowers. I'm also doing a couple other "crafty" projects but they've been put on the backburner for now cuz it's all about the flowers, baby!

Uhhhhh....

Ok, mark this day in your calendars. This rarely happens but once in a while it does and today is the day. I have nothing to say. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Have a good day.

My little gremlin

This is why I don't get things done. The Bubbers refuses to let me work, he is very demanding for such a small dog. If I worked from home I'd be a total pauper (well, more than I am now anyway). He gets very insecure sometimes and all of a sudden and out of the blue he'll pop up from his little doggie bed and climb into my lap needing some luvin. Don't get me wrong, it's adorable and endearing but, boy, is it annoying. Not that I do anything about it cuz how could you chide such a lovable creature? Anyway, here's a pic of him in my lap as I'm working on my blog and playing free cell. Try not to look too closely cuz my bedroom was a complete mess when this pic was taken.

OOOOOOHHHHH!!!!!

I bitch and moan a lot about the population overload here in SoCal but this is why I love living here....

You end the day like this:

And start the next one like this:

How do you eat your Peeps?

I love Peeps!! Fluffy little pillows of pleasure. I would eat pack after pack if my strong as aluminum foil will power wasn't firmly in place. I just eat one pack...one of the large packs. I was at the store today and bought myself some lovely purple bunny Peeps...yum...and it got me a-thinkin'...how do other people eat their peeps? I tend to eat from the top to the bottom. If it's a chick I just chomp off the head but if it's a bunny I carefully eat the ears then the head then the bottom (as illustrated in the photos). So how do you eat your Peeps? Leave a comment and let me know.

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Just a note about little poopaws...My dog sleeps with one eye open. It doesn't happen all the time but it happens often enough to really freak me out. Sometimes, when in the grip of one of his doggy dreams, his eye will roll back showing the whites, like in the picture, and it is F-R-E-A-K-Y!!!

I can't wait to puke!

There is only one situation I've ever been in where I said, "I can't wait to puke." Migraine. It's like there's a little elf wearing stiletto heals practicing javelin throwing running around in your brain. And, inevitably, the only way to relieve the pain is to puke your guts out. Why am I talking about puking? Well, yesterday was Migraine Tuesday.

It started as just some pressure behind my eye...hmmm...weird but no big deal. Then within 2 hours those maniacal little elves were having a full on track and field meet in my brain. So I decided to go home early from work. I just make it to my designated parking spot at my complex and promptly jump out of my car and hurl all over the hedges lining our parking lot. Thank God everybody was at work cuz oh the shame. So I drag my bum into the house, up the stairs and open my bedroom door. My little Jasper comes wiggling his way to me unable to contain himself. And, of course, the day when I do not need any more extra complications, Jasper had pooed on the carpet between the door and my bed and in his excitement tromped all in it.

CRAP (literally and expletively)!!

So I scoop him up and clean his little paws. Thinking I got it all, I drop him on my bed...boy was I wrong. Unbeknownst to me, there were little poo paws (now my dog's nickname) all over my quilt and my sheets. To top it off I banged my heel on the bed and took a chunk of skin off. So now I'm bleeding (but didn't know it) and my dog is poo-pawing all over my bed. Finally, I look down and see the mess. If I didn't have such a huge migraine...well lets just say my giving-up-cussing-for-lent pledge would've brought some major fire and brimstone. So now I grab little poo paws and dump him in the bathtub and make sure I get every little spec, change my bed, change my clothes (cuz there's a little poo from picking up my dog and a little puke from outside on my shirt) dump it all in the washer, curl up in bed and sleep like the dead for about 8 hours. After which, I hose down the bushes and parking lot and go get some dinner cuz after that laugh fest, I'm starving.

The best day ever..oh yeah.

There he is, hiding the offending paws in shame.

Little Peanut

Ok, I know I said that I don't feel the need to have children yet but Little Peanut is such a gorgeous fellow that he almost changes my mind for me...almost.

Duane Who?

The other day I said that I miss Duane Reade. A friend replied "Duane who?" For those of you who have been to New York City you know who Duane Reade is, or rather what Duane Reade is. Now, let me put it into context. I was basically moaning and groaning about missing the Big Apple itself, not really the pharmacy Duane Reade which is on almost every other corner in Manhattan. Mind you, I only spent a week there but I fell instantly in love. I mean any city that can get this die-hard L.A. driver up and walking the streets has to be a fantastic city. I loved almost everything about it. The jam-packed-ness of it, the height of it, the history of it, the glamour of it...almost all of it.

I miss the subway, and the nut/ pretzel vendors near central park. Those nuts are awesome!!! I miss checking out the diverse architecture, not to mention the diverse cultures. I miss Filene's Basement and Century 21 and The Pearl River Mart. I miss that you can get a bagel every 1/2 a block and the hot dogs and mango drink at Gray's Papaya, and the cupcakes (ok, mostly just the frosting cuz I'm a frosting junkie) at Magnolia Bakery, and I especially miss the hot chocolate at City Bakery on 18th. And, strangely enough, I miss the funny names on the train up the Hudson River line (Spuyten Duyvil?!?!).

Ah well, one day I'll make it back but until then, I'll just have to get my pharmaceuticals at SoCal's version of Duane Reade...CVS or Walgreens.

Throughout my visit there was just something that nagged at the back of my mind but I couldn't put a finger on it until we were on the flight home. Manhattan is for skinny people. I'm not talking about the fact that it's our country's fashion mecca and style capital. And I'm not speaking out of resentment towards thin women or any such emotion I'm being completely objective. I have a genuine theory that Manhattan doesn't allow a large number of large people simply because there is no room for them. Many of the restaurants and cafes are narrow little storefronts where the average space between tables (side to side) is about 12" and about 2 1/2' (front to back). This just doesn't allow for anyone of considerable girth, therefore, over time they're being weeded out so all that will be left are the skinnies. The very nature of the island - being so crowded and jam packed - demands that its inhabitants fit within its borders comfortably.