Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Because I could-tales from my vacation

Some who know me are puzzled by my recent vacation alone. Am I unsociable or a loner? Nope, I simply needed to get the heck out of Michigan. The long grey days of winter affect my mood every year, and this year has been especially harsh. So when my hubby said (as he does each year) "why don't you just take off for somewhere sunny?", this year I went for it- because I could.

I have a good friend who had considered coming along. She called me several times a day with suggestions and had me convinced we should do Disney together with no kids. It would be fun. Eh, OK, I'm not the Disney fan she is, but why not. I have only ever been to the Magic Kingdom, so there would be plenty that was new to me. I did a little research to find a good deal on a flight and hotel and booked my trip. I was going to Florida and I was excited. Until I found out my friend couldn't go.

This is exactly the type of thing that would normally have me concerned enough to cancel my plans. But the need to see the sunshine was so strong, I started packing for my vacation alone. I could do this. Or maybe not.

The night before my flight, I got an e-mail from the company I booked my hotel with. It seems they had overbooked and did not have a room for me as promised. What?!!! A phone call and an hour later, I still didn't have a clue where I would be sleeping once I reached Orlando, but at least I was assured they would have it resolved upon my arrival.

Now, a sane person probably would have insisted that everything be resolved before they left home. I however decided to hand this one over to God and trust He would take care of it. I needed to get away from the cold grey weather more than I needed to know where I was going to sleep once I got there. And I am a person of faith.

As it happened, all went fairly well once I got to Orlando. I was moved to a hotel about ten minutes away from the original one I had booked. It was easy find too, as it was located within the Disney Resort. My original hotel was not.

I had this huge suite all to myself.

And, if my friend had come along, it would have been a great location due to the convenience of location to the parks. But, since I was alone, I had decided to simply sit out by the pool and read and soak up the sun.

So naturally the first two days in Orlando brought cloudy skies, tornado watches and rain. Yup. Luckily, I was near a couple outlet malls as well as a regular mall. So I spent my first two days shopping. This actually turned out to my benefit, as I had nothing that still fit me from my summer wardrobe. So I was happy to find a new bathing suit and some shorts that fit.

When the weather was finally agreeable, I donned my swimsuit and headed for the pool.

Which I soon discovered was part of a construction zone. The pool was in fact open, but they were building a new bar/restroom area next to it. Good thing I brought along my ipod to drown out the noise. And the book distracted me from the notion that I was on display to a bunch of construction workers. Too bad I forgot to bring sunscreen. Oops, I'll remember next time.

Since I have family in Florida, I had planned to include a visit as part of my trip. My parents spend their winters in the Tampa area, and my sister lives in Jacksonville. I told neither that I was in Orlando. Instead, I just showed up unannounced at my folks place.

Mom and Dad

They did not seem all that surprised to see me. Probably because someone had told them I was in Orlando. Ahem. You know who you are, big mouth.

I only had a couple days to spend with them before I had to head back to Orlando and my flight home. They took me out for a fabulous Strawberry shortcake sundae.



Mom and me enjoying our shortcake. No, I did not eat the entire thing!

Yummy! I love, love, love strawberries. And I had a visit with several Aunts and an Uncle who also winter in the same park as my parents. Always good to see them. What I wasn't happy to see was the dead mouse I had spent two nights sleeping with in the sofa sleeper. Oh yeah, I found the dead mouse after I had spent two nights on the sofa sleeper. Ewwww! That is so disgusting. At least their current guests have been spared that experience. Next time, though, I think I'll visit my sister. She has cats.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

I'm Baaaaaaaaack!

Wow, I guess it has been a while since I posted anything. I have been home since Wednesday afternoon. It's still cold here, but at least the sun has been trying to put in an appearance. For that I am grateful. Still, I wish I could have stayed in Florida longer.

I have been too busy getting caught up from my vacation to do any sewing. Add to that the cold I am suffering with, and there really is not too much exciting going on. But I am proud to say that I managed to lose a couple more pounds while on vacation. This brings my weight loss to 46 pounds so far. I am doing a happy dance and grinning shamelessly here!

This weekend my daughter is moving. She and her fiance bought their first house. They are very excited, as it took far longer to close on the house than they had hoped. My husband and son spent a week or so repainting the interior, and it looks great. I think my daughter and future son-in-law have done very well for their first house.

Friday evening will bring another edition of strip club. So if I don't find my sewing room sooner, at least I will have something quilt related to post about soon.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

I have been tagged...again. :)

I have been tagged by Ruth Ann.


THE RULES:

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.

2. Post THE RULES on your blog.

3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.

4. Tag 7 people and link to them.

5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged




I will try to play along ; sort of. ;)


Seven random things about me:


1. I am left handed.


2.I have a collection of pig themed items-mostly banks.


3. I hate arriving late to anything.


4. I do not like being in small confined spaces.


5. My favorite snack food is popcorn.


6. I snuck away from home for a vacation all by myself and only told my husband and kids.


7. I am currently on that vacation in Florida, where we are under a tornado watch. Sigh, severe weather seems to be haunting me.


Now for the hard part, the tagging. Many of the people I would like to tag have already been tagged. So, I am making an open invitation. If you read this and would like to play along, post your list on your blog and link back to me.



Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Happy,happy,joy!

For those of you who don't know, I have made many changes in my eating habits over the past several months. This has resulted in some excess pounds dropping off. Which in turn made me very happy. But around Christmas the pounds stopped coming off. Ack! I have been stuck on a weight plateau ever since. I got some exercise equipment, and started using it even, and still the pounds were not coming off. This has been very frustrating to me.
But, I have kept at it, because I believed that eventually things would change. And today they did! Finally, after far too many weeks, I have seen some new weight loss. Yippee! Another two pounds off this big old body. I am so happy,happy,happy! :)

Friday, February 1, 2008

I have been tagged...


by my e-friend, Marion, with a "You make my day" award. And as I started typing this post, I got a phone call from her. She lives only about a half an hour drive away, yet we have never met. That will have to wait another week, when we get together to stitch. :)
Many of the people I would like to pass this award to have already been tagged. But I will tag Ruthann, who has made my day on more than one occasion.