New blogs ...

Added some stuff for your reading pleasure:

Giant Butters -- happened to run across this one a few days ago. Used to be known as The Cherry Ride and now has changed cities, lives and career choices. I was lucky enough to meet him last year on the Bag Lady Bus Tour.

Texts From Last Night/Emails from Crazy People -- both provide me with endless hours of laughter. We've all sent the crazy text/email. Now read what others are texting.

PostSecret -- a longtime fave. Check it out.

DCBlogs -- because I love all things DC.

Ruth Holliday -- good blog for all things Indy/Indiana. Former writer for the Indianapolis Star.

I can haz cheeseburger -- I love LOLs.

My Frugal Adventures -- because I'm a total cheapass and love knowing this stuff.

Enjoy!

Pinot Grigio = one dry mouth

Great googly moogly, I ought to know better. I mean, really, I'll be 36 years old in a manner of days but still, still, still I believe I am bullet-proof when it comes to wine.

Pino Grigio was the killer of last night. I had buckets (okay, glasses that were remarkably like buckets) of wine and lo and behold, this morning I have dry mouth like a MF.

Sahara Desert-like, you ask -- nay. Nay. The Sahara is the freaking ocean compared to the interior of my mouth today.

Famous last words: "Sure, I'll have one more." (you dumbass!)

Weird reoccurring dreams

A post the other day on my cousin's facebook status made me wonder something -- does anyone else have weird reoccurring dreams? The same dream, over and over ... same outcome, etc?

I have one, with three variations on the same theme.

a) I missed my math final and I am going to fail my math class.
b) I somehow forgot I actually *had* a math class and now have to take the final completely unprepared.
c) I know I have a math class, I've been skipping it all semester and now I have to take my math final.

For the record, same teacher in all three scenarios -- Mrs. Gondor, tenth grade geometry. She is always the math teacher in this dream, and it always has to do with me not going to graduate from college. I always wake up, heart pounding, scared out of my mind and frantic.

Why Mrs. Gondor? Hell, I don't know. I actually *liked* geometry -- to this day the only math class I've found useful, aside from the basics of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

So what about you? Any weird reoccurring dreams? What are they?

I Know Royalty!

Almost forgot (Heaven Forfend!)

Halle Pino was crowned Queen of the Bag Ladies on Saturday night. Halle is a great friend and most deserving of the honor.

I only wish I had been there to see it happen!!!

(for more info on the Bag Ladies, please see http://www.indyprideinc.com/ )
Love to you, Ms. Spicy ... xoxoxoxxo

Nonsense, happenings and DC!

Most importantly: on Sunday I fly out to DC for a week. I am SO excited :) Good news: seeing PM from Ivy, bad news: possibly bringing a winter coat. It is still boxed from the move!

This weekend was lovely, had lots to do and just generally did whatever my heart desired. Life of Riley and all that.

Friday night was spent in the company of Mary and Lee, at their house, with the kiddos. Between Mary and I, three bottles of wine were consumed and a couple of beers over the course of seven hours. Needless to say, I was quite delighted when Lee made up the sofabed for me -- I cashed out nearly immediately. It was 2:30 a.m. and we'd be talking since 7:30. Bright and early the next morning (7 a.m.ish), the youngest kiddo (C -- age 4) wakes me up by asking me if he can have candy now (as it was Halloween). I crack open one eye, attempting to figure out where I am/who is talking to me/and why does the voice sound like a kid when I realize where I am, tell him candy is for after breakfast and make my escape.

Did lots of household chores on Saturday -- planted some herbs and veggies, swept, dusted, cleaned tile floors. Saturday night was a trip up to Dad and Stepmom's house for dinner/hang out.

Went to Dad's favorite Chinese place for dinner and then we attempted to go out for a beer. The local bar we went to had some guy yodeling (okay, singing, poorly) so one beverage later, we were on our way. I doubt we were there thirty minutes.

Sunday was spent hanging out with them, making a run to IKEA, then back to FM for laundry doings. Before calling it a night, I met Mary for a beverage at the Sandy Parrot and was back at home by 8.

Last night was spent finishing my book, getting the rest of the laundry done and starting to think about my trip to DC. Lots to pack, lots to think about.

Last time I was there was January 2009, for the inauguration and the resounding memory of that trip is hoping to God my toes weren't frostbitten off. Brrrrrrrrrrrr. This time I'll spend some time in the botanical gardens and museum of American History on Sunday ... then dinner with Mary and Doc (another coworker who will be there that week). Count on beverages to be consumed.

Vampire Edition (or adventures in bloodletting)

I've given blood the past three years. I decided, shortly after I turned 33, to not be a big wussy any more, confront my fear of needles and give blood on a regular basis. As I have plenty of friends/family in healthcare/EMS professions, I know the importance of giving blood.

Yesterday, however, was the first time I've ever given blood with the Mad Hatter, a witch, Dorothy (of Wizard of Oz), Chucky (of horror movie fame), a nerd and a surgeon.

There was a blood drive at the college and apparently all of our EMS students were given extra credit by their instructor if they dressed up for Halloween. The instructor came as a giant chicken.

Anyhoo, I think I'm going to back off the bloodletting wagon for awhile.

The last two times I've nearly passed out after giving. I get all sweaty, feel my eyes going crossed and end up on the floor, with my feet over my head. While this is mildly amusing to all who witness this event, it isn't my idea of a good time. Yesterday involved lying on the floor of my office, feet up on a box that was under my desk. This is not the most professional of appearances, trust.

My mother and my sister find this absolutely hysterical.

I do not. I just feel stupid.

And one pint low ...

South Florida 'pace'

The transition from Indy to Fort Myers has been overall good, with moments in time where I am incredulous at the differences between the two places and I'm not talking geography.

The 'pace' is one of those things.

South Florida's pace is slow. Reaaaaaaaaal slow at times. I have to check my tendencies toward "wtf" fairly often down here. In the grocery store, I could be in line a half-hour, with only one person ahead of me, because the cashier and the customer ahead of me are having a conversation about people that they might know ... and how they are related, how big the kids are getting, don't the tourists seem to be here earlier this year and on and on. Then, if you are to wonder if these two people knew each other, the answer is no. They might know some of the same people, might live in the same area code or might just have wanted to be chatty that day. Oh yeah, this is life down here.

Meanwhile, my popsicles are dripping, milk is getting warm and I am losing what is left of my mind.

Not one single person down here is in a hurry to do anything. If you are in a hurry, give up. You will be thwarted at every turn. Your patience is too limited to be in a hurry down here.

So I'm learning patience. Adapting. Adjusting. Slowly.

Ain't nothin' goin' on but the rent

I've been reading a lot lately, nothing of serious note except for The Lost Symbol. If you are a Dan Brown fan, I recommend, otherwise ... it would make no sense at all to you.

Thinking about my upcoming trip to DC -- would love to see some of the places mentioned, must add that to my visit.

Still enjoying the Hot Damn cds. Still smiling when I think of Stan's.

So far the winter visitation schedule looks like this:


January: Sharkboy's dad, perhaps Marine.
February: Mom, Sister, Cousin K and Cousin B
March: CCM, former coworker T and her daughter

I'm sure there will be more as time goes by. Who can resist sunny 70s when faced with wind-chill, snow and ice?

Hot Damn and Stan's ... a match made in heaven

(picture 1, note plastic "butt" shorts and bikini t-shirt, worn by a man and the flamingo hat worn by the female, picture 2, note flamingo hat and bikini t-shirt. See below for explanation.)

As all great adventure stories start, it was a random suggestion at a table full of fun people, made half in jest.

Then it became serious.

It was Friday night, I was at the Sandy Parrot (a local wateringhole of pleasant reputation) with Mary, Mary's husband, Lee, and Mary's mom, Carrie. We were talking about fun little places to explore, and my love of the random road trip, when Lee suggested we get in our cars and head, immediately, for a place called Stan's in Goodland, FL. Once it was determined that Stan's could potentially be closed for the night (it was 7 then, but we'll get to that in a moment), Lee suggested a road trip for Saturday. Carrie dropped out of the fun, but the three of us left were to meet at Lee and Mary's house around 10:30 or so on Saturday morning.

I had woken up fairly early on Saturday morning -- around 7 or so, took a walk around the neighborhood then went to breakfast at FirstWatch. Came home, read the paper a bit, started laundry. Happened to look at my phone, realized it was 10:10 and I wasn't even in the neighborhood of being ready. I called Lee & Mary and reported I'd be there by 11. All good.

I get there about 10:50, freshly showered, bag packed, mind ready for adventure. Mary is still getting ready at this point (no big deal to me) and Lee hands me a beer. It was at this point I knew the day would be most excellent. Ice Cold Beer on the start of a roadtrip always portends good adventure.

We had a couple of errands to run first ... dropping off items to both of their Moms (coupons to one, tickets for the Commodores to the other) and away we go in the convertible, zipping down I-75. Sunshine, glorious sunshine and laughter were our guides.

We make it to Stan's at about 1:30 or so ... and hear live music as we arrive. Stan's is best described as a funky little small-town bar with a great following. It sits on the edge of the Everglades, has a tin roof (in parts), two stages and about 60-ish tables overall. The crowd was light on Saturday, about 60 people or so all day, coming and going with boats, cars and jetskis in attendance all day. One particularly unfortunate man on a jetski reminded me of the Chris Farley skit "fat man in a little coat" as the life jacket he wore would not keep him afloat if it was paid overtime.

The music of the day was provided by Hot Damn, a husband/wife duo out of Maine, who happened upon this place some winters ago and are now a fixture. They play damn near anything, with some definite leanings towards country music, which didn't bother me a bit.

Picture this: wooden deck, metal roof, license plates as decor, kitch for days, live music, dancing and buckets of beer under a warm October sky. Truly heaven, if you've got any sense at all.

The hours rolled by and the beer continued to taste as if it were made just for us. We laughed, told stories, enjoyed the hell out of the whole experience. As all good things must come to an end, so did Stan's. Yes, it is true, Stan's closes at 7 p.m. in the "summer" (winter hours start in November -- then open until ???) and I bought some CDs for my listening enjoyment later (all three are fabulous, btw).

One especially interesting thing to note ... next door to Stan's is a shop called The Island Woman, which sells all manner of tschotches, nonsense and whatnot, and was the store that Lee suggested I do all my Christmas shopping at for the northern relatives. The pictures included in this post are of some of the 'treasures' found at the Island Woman. Please let me know if you cannot live without any of these items, as I'm sure Stan's will become a favorite of mine in short order.

Apparently Sunday is the day that Stan's becomes out-of-control outrageous, as it is a well-known destination for local bikers. From what I could tell (60+ tables, two stages and plenty of madness), Sunday must be seen to be believed. I think a Monday off work will need to be in order for a Sunday adventure.

The 6:14 a.m. text

Yes, believe it or not, I received at text at 6:14 a.m. this morning and that person lived to see the day. Of course, it helps he is in Indy, as if he were here ... well, let's say it could get ugly.

It's not even that I mind morning. In fact, I love mornings -- it is just that my bed this morning was super-duper cozy comfy warm and cool at the same time happiness.

Oh, the text? It was a friend of mine, let's call him Marine, who had just gotten off work from closing a bar in Indy and he wanted to let me know that he wants to come visit, more than once, this winter. Why on God's happy little green earth he chose 6:14 a.m. to tell me this I do not know. Anyhoo, he and I have been friends since 7th grade and had lived in the same city for YEARS without knowing it, and rediscovered each other a year or so ago via Facebook. Many hi-larious times ensued and the last one culminated in us closing down the bar (see above) and him sleeping it off in my guest room. He wanted to make sure to tell me this morning that he hasn't had a good night of sleep since that time and that my guest bed was super comfy.

I told him to come on down, and he can check it out again. I know we'll be catching up while I'm in Indy in December, as his bday is 12/24 and he wants to celebrate.

************
This weekend looks interesting ...

I need to start thinking about DC, as I leave in two weeks and haven't so much as thought about what I will wear yet. I have a suit I need to pick up at the cleaners -- then probably need to look at Macy's/Dillards for other options. I have enough suits for the week but still want to make sure I have good evening clothes too. I'll be seeing a couple of former coworkers there, plus will have some new coworkers in tow. Should be big fun.

Saturday evening is the fundraiser of the year for my college. The Pops concert this year features the Commodores and Saturday night I'll be on my lawn chair, drinking adult beverages under the stars and listening to music. I'm excited and totally ready for that.

Sunday is still up in the air. I'm trying to do a little touristy stuff here and there and I have a few ideas bubbling around my head. Cayo Costa State Park? Capitva? Sanibel? Edison-Ford Winter Estates? Sitonmybuttandwatchfootball? :)