Jamaaaaaica

I'm not sure why I haven't yet retired to an island yet...what am I waiting for? Why isn't this a more immediate goal of mine? I'm not sure. :)

I'd like to live on an island, painting, composing, singing, swimming, boating and the like. Is that too much to ask? I don't see why. We can do whatever we want in life. It's probably a good thing (for my career) that I'm saddled with 2 mortgages right now, or else I would consider becoming a poor artist...even if it was just for a while...

We had a wonderful time in Jamaica. The resort was beautiful, the water was amazing, the sights we saw were so unique... Other than being ripped off by every local I met, I have absolutely no complaints.

The food wasn't great, actually, but I wasn't expecting it to be. It was an all inclusive resort, so it is what it is... it was fine, though. It was just as I expected, so I wasn't let down or delightfully surprised.

I loved the glass bottom boat - we were way out, and the water was so clear, you could see 30 and even 60 feet down! I saw lots of cool coral, fish, an octopus and even a shipwreck! We went into one of the poor villages nearby, and I couldn't believe the poverty. They didn't even really have walls to their houses, and certainly no running water or electricity.

We toured a nearby farm as well - that was really neat. I'll post more pictures later. We asked our driver to take us to local places, avoiding tourist traps, and he did a great job of that. I know it was sketchy going off with a strange man with no cell service, but he was old, I suspected diabetic, and I knew I could take him. :) As it turns out, he was very nice and he says we'll be friends for life now. Very cute. He wants me to send him a copy of my CD as soon as possible, and that he's going to go to the post office every day until it arrives.

Darcy didn't want to leave, but I was ready. I missed my Henry, and I wanted to have some time back home to recoup before going back to work (in an office) full time next week. It will be an adjustment.

That's all for now!

New Red Neck Fun for Me!

Darcy, Henry and I went off roading in the golf cart today. LOL. It was SO MUCH FUN!! We are such rednecks, I know, but I don't care. It's a blast.

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There are all these trails near our house where four wheelers go, and there are bumps and hills and places where you can drive up almost sideways. I was impressed how well the golf cart handled it all!

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Off roading tires will be our next purchase. Too funny.

Thou shalt not covet

TJ is going to Bermuda next week, and I'm extremely jealous! I've never been, and I've heard it's fabulous!

I am taking the first week of September off for vacation, and that should be nice. I thought of going to the Cape or the Hamptons, but I've decided to stay home. I've traveled a lot this year, and because the summer and weather have been so strange, I really haven't had a chance to enjoy my own waterfront home.

I also have a ton I want to get done before returning to a full time, office bound job. I will definitely make time to relax, though. That's for sure.

My parents are heading to Hilton Head next week, also a wonderful vacation. They are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. Congratulations, you crazy kids!

I suppose I shouldn't feel too bad about my staycation since I'm heading to Italy in 2 months. !

Just say no

Once again, I've decided there's WAY too much television watching in my life. I know you may wonder how that's possible since I'm so busy, but trust me, it's possible. At night when I'm working, often I'll sit in front of the TV and work with the TV on in the background. As soon as I decide I finally need to veg out at the end of the day, I plop myself in front of the television.

I've lost entire days, just gazing into that silly little machine. It's crazy, and it needs to stop. There's hardly anything good on right now (except for SHO/HBO!!), so this is a good time to take a break. I'm going to try to greatly reduce the amount of time I spent in front of the TV.

I tried it last night, and believe me, it's way more enjoyable relaxing on a hammock, reading a book, than sitting in a hot house in front of a lame TV show...in a chair that's practically conformed to my every bump and curve.

I think TV can be quite entertaining, but right now, it's just not adding to my overall quality of life in anyway, so that's that.

A Celebration of Life

On Sunday we celebrated Sally's life. Some of the pictures above, begin to capture the beauty of the day, but they don't do it justice. I should have taken more after all the flowers, tables and decorations were set up. At least I have a lot of it on video.

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The bench above was built, painted and donated by some neighbors on the river...so sweet...Sally loved to garden, and this bench will set in her garden at her house. Lanie made the seed packets that are placed on the bench, so that we could all plant wildflowers, Sally's favorite, in our own gardens as a tribute...

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Amanda loaned us her memory tree, that's on one of the tables above, so that we could all write messages to Sally and her loved ones, placing them on the branches of the tree, and then given to the family.

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Lanie and Amanda donated all the beautiful flowers, and there were TONS. It was really wonderful to see so many people get together to help plan, and give of their time and money freely to make Sunday a beautiful day.

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I can't help but think what a shame it is that we do these things after people have gone...

My parents used to throw spontaneous love parties for us when we were growing up, and we could throw love parties for our Mom and Dad too. It was just a party in your honor, with your favorite food, games, and some fun presents...just because! I love that idea, and while my friends would probably commit me if I tried something like that now, I think we can at least learn from the principle...

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You never need an excuse to show someone how much they mean to you. I'm going to continue to try to do a better job of that.

Wow - I missed a whole week?!

The picture above is Fiji. When I couldn't fall asleep last night, I was picturing vacationing in a hut in Fiji. That would be nice. Do you have any idea how expensive it is to rent one of those huts? It's crazy. I'm sure it's worth it too.

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I could never justify spending the money, so I've found cheaper huts in still beautiful locations (just not Fiji) where you can stay in a hut over the water with a glass bottom floor for like $300 or $400/night. It's still a lot of money, but at least it's not monopoly money like the Fiji huts.

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I need a vacation. I'm working two full time jobs, while I film a documentary and get my CD going. When anything extra comes up, all bets are off. We're having the memorial for Sally at our house and Krissy's house this weekend. It's turning out to be a lot of work, which I'm more than happy to do, but it's just hard to find the time.

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It makes sleeping a challenge because I never feel like I've taken care of everything I'm supposed to. I think if I take a vacation, I'll probably just use it to work on other things, but I'm still thinking of taking the first week in September off, and possibly the last week in August. We'll see.

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TJ thinks I can't be happy unless I'm going in a million directions...maybe he's right, but I think it's also just that I have so much I want to do - how can I possibly pair down the list more? I've already put so many things on hold.

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This is what happens when you lose your job. You remember all the other things you wanted to do with your life, and you have the freedom and flexibility to just go for it.

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Hopefully when I start my full time job in September, I can go back to my life of quiet desperation. ;-)

Day off

Even though I had a million things to do, I decided to take the day off yesterday. I had such a busy week, by the time Saturday came around, I was completely exhausted. I was out with friends until almost midnight for a birthday celebration the night before, and I had to be out of the house by 7:30 AM Saturday morning. I didn't sleep well Friday night, so by the time 6AM came on Saturday morning, I was TIred.



I had many stops along the way, and I didn't get home until around 11 on Saturday night. I can't believe I made it that long. When I got up yesterday, I spent about 5 hours sorting through things I'd picked up at the house in MA the day before, looking for pictures, things for my documentary. It was something that needed to be done, but it was relaxing, so at least the day wasn't a total waste.



Other than that, I moved out of my office in Manch., and we went to the movies. At home, I watched tv and ate junky food, so I have a food hangover today, and I feel gross, but at least I'm well rested!



I've been cruising along with my work all morning, and I know I'll get more done this week since I took a day off