Thursday, April 24, 2008

Preoccupied.

I don't know if that's supposed to be
preoccupied

or

pre-occupied.

I think its the first one.

Anyhow. It's apt. I never actually defined that one for myself. I know there's a dictionary definition, but some words are REAL only when you make your own definition. Plus, you don't have to go to the fuss and bother of looking them up, and/or using them in correct context.

I am doing my dadgum ding dong darndest to live in the present. It's not like there isn't stuff to do and enjoy! (there's plenty of stuff to do and NOT enjoy, but that's beside the point.)

There are some problems with this, however.

One problem is that stuff in the future tends to seem so much more consequential than things in the present. Another problem is that time goes by SO FAST. I swear, it was yesterday, like, 10 minutes ago. Case in point. Darling baby nephew Zach is 17 today. That is ridiculous.

When I try to embrace the present, I start to go a little crazy. When I get a minute (forgive me, moment) to reflect, I start counting. Trust me, when I start doing Math, it's a sure sign that screws are loosening.

For example. Zach is 17. I was 17 16 years ago. Bo was born half of that time ago, and in that same time (8 years) I will be 41 and Bo will be 16. (Lord, help us all.) Emma will be 14 which is the age I was when David was born. David is graduating from High School next month. (and has a full basketball scholarship, btw!!! GO DAVE!!!!) When I graduated from High School it was 1993 and I bought my first CD which was the En Vogue single "Free Your Mind." The divas of En Vogue are probably the grandmas of Beyonce and Rhianna and Ciara. Which means that time is moving unaccountably fast and I can pretty much guarantee that I just lost track of it.

By the time I have thought all these things, and done all that horrible adding and subtracting etc..I'm totally exhausted and have to go play a game of pyramid solitare just to recover. It turns out that reflecting is not restorative in many cases for me.

But pyramid solitare?

That's zen, man.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Ten Years










The cruise was wonderful.
Three happy days of being away together, blue sea, and eating.
Not necessarily in that order.

An honest review of our experience on board.

Pros:
*eating at all times and in all ways.
*the bed was SO comfortable!
*towel animals.
*not having to decide where to eat, or bust out the wallet three times a day.
*room service.
*beautiful water, and time to sit together without the temptation of cell phones and computers.

Cons:
*motion sickness
*feeling like you are stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean.
*the first impression you receive (due to the roller rink decor and smoking allowed) is that you've stepped into an episode of "Saved By the Bell- 21 and Headed to Reno" That fades, mostly.
*motion sickness that lingers for a week after you get off the boat. I'm so over it.



Conclusion:
I think we both agree that we probably won't do another one, just ourselves. We think it would be nice to
a) have friends on board
b) stop more places (we only did a three day with one destination. I think two would've been better, but five days seems like a long time)

I think my favorite hour or two of the trip was in Nassau where the above pictures were taken. We walked right through the Hilton, to the pool/beach bar and ordered a platter of conch fritters, fried grouper and wings. We sat and enjoyed the beautiful colors and talked, and were sometimes quiet. Lovely.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Spring (thank you Lord) has Sprung

To celebrate, here are some bright happy pictures.
I'd like to introduce you to the sweetest puppy ever.
Meet Bella, the newest member of my sister's clan.

If you are looking for me in the next few days, I'll be here. LALALA!!!!