Martini Cartwheels

My two nieces have had some health issues lately. First E was admitted to the hospital with severe abdominal pain. She ended up with a five day stay. Then my other niece S spent twelve hours in the ER due to a pain in her side (no, it wasn't me). Not feeling up to par can really bring you down. So I am sending them both some well wishes here today and hopefully convincing them that there are worse things in life. There is 80's hair: Oh, and a couple of more things to add to the list: red shag carpet and wrist corsages. Rock me like a hurricane girls, but you sure are pretty in pink (and black). Hey - didn't you have a cat that got lost at one point. I think I see it. ADDENDUM - THOSE PICTURES ARE NOT OF ME. SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION. TO BE FAIR, I HAVE POSTED MY 80'S PIC BELOW:

Hey Bain de Soleil lady! I wish I had never listened to you. Sure, you're a hottie and you look really good with that tan. But I used that Orange Gelee #4 all through high school. After three visits to the dermatologist and 3 sun damaged areas removed from my skin, I think you owe me an apology. I'm Whitey McPasty now and proud of it. And I'm the only person I know who goes on a cruise and comes back whiter then when they left. Take that, you scantily clad sun goddess with the gorgeous figure and personal butler. If you're looking you can find me and my glass under an umbrella.

I have been tagged by my friend OC over at BearsMountain. This one took me a while, even though I have lots of quirks from which to pick. I'm not tagging anyone this time but if anyone else does this, I would be interested in seeing your lists. The Rules:Once you’ve been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random, facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end, choose 6 people to be tagged, list their names & why you tagged them. Don’t forget to leave them a comment saying “You’re it!” & to go read your blog. You cannot tag the person that tagged you, so since you’re not allowed to tag me back; let me know when you are done so I can go read YOUR weird/random/odd facts, habits and goals. I don't eat when I am traveling by plane. Two things I don't like - flying and throwing up. I figure if I don't eat, I will decrease the odds of getting motion sickness I used to work in a microbiology laboratory for several years before changing careers. I

My buddy Stiffy sent me this email which I found to be quite humorous. I modified a few things to match my own tastes. What do you need to finish? CALMNESS IN OUR LIVES I am passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr Phil proclaimed, 'The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished.' So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished. Before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Pinot Grigio, a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin, a package of M&M's, the remainder of my old Ativan prescription, the rest of the Girl Scout Cookies, some chips, and a package of peanut butter cups. You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now. Pass this on to those whom you think might be in need of inner peace.

A while back I posted something about an intranet site we have at work where employees can sell items. Yesterday's item was the all time winner, even better than the $1.00 Barney VHS tapes. Unopened Box Of Taffy New Jersey Seashore 16 oz box of assorted salt water taffy. One dollar. Box unopened and wrapped in plastic. Get in the mood for summer! 5 pieces have only 150 calories..not bad! Are you kidding me? Why would anyone pay a buck to eat someones left over taffy that was probably from last summer? And the kicker - the thing sold a couple of hours later. The seller actually posted a big notice - TAFFY SOLD! As if everyone would be trying to get down to her office to purchase this before someone else did. Oh man. Well, I have a box of half eaten, individually wrapped chocolates left over from Christmas. What do think - should I try selling these for 25 cents? I don't know what is more odd - selling this or buying?

Yes, it does run in the family. This is a video of my two nieces . Since I'm feeling a bit worn out tonight, I'm taking the easy way out by posting a video from my cell phone. The quality is not so great, but it does show that I am not the only nutty one in the family. Unfortunately, the niece on the right is in the hospital right now with an intestinal infection. Feel better soon E so we can get back to singing in the kitchen! PS - It wasn't your mother's cooking was it? Oh man, please tell me it wasn't the scalloped potatoes - I ate those too!

Maybe Chewy can help me out on this one. She has a pool. A nice one at that. Last year was really my first year trying to maintain this thing. It came with the house. And I admit, I had a bit of difficulty trying to keep the pH in the normal range. I thought I could get away with it, that no one would be the wiser. Until the blondes that I know suddenly went green (sorry Belle and Stiffy ). And then folk's toenails started to turn the same shade. And so, this year I promise to do better. Really. I'm almost positive that it won't happen this year. Although the green was kind of cool.

It looks as though California may be ready to join with Massachusetts and allow same-sex marriage. I am thrilled to see another state extending this right. But of course there are the naysayers who seem to have their panties all in a twist. From Boston.com : Kris Mineau , president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, which opposes same-sex marriage, said Massachusetts, as the first and only other state to legalize gay marriage, would be a case study, and he expressed hope that Californians would approve the proposed constitutional ban. Calling the California court ruling "an outrageous act of judicial activism" and an "assault on democracy," Mineau asserted: "The lessons to draw out of Massachusetts will be that this was done by judicial edict. The people need to take back democracy." Let me explain something to you Kris. See, when you have folks vote on a civil rights issue, they don't tend to vote on the constitutionality of the actual issue

Can someone please inform as to the purpose of ticks? I understand that snakes, of which I am terrified, are good because they eat insects. I believe the same is true of bats. Worms, another thing that creeps me out, are good for the soil. But ticks? What purpose to those little bastards serve? I am asking because tick season seems to be in full swing here. Just about every day there is a tick or two on one of the dogs. The other day there was a dead tick in the bed. Near my pillow. I'm guessing it was from one of the dogs. As they say in Boston, that really skeeved me out. I have caught ticks crawling on me once or twice. None have embedded themselves in me (that I know of). And because they seem to go for the warmer parts of the body, when one does embed, I'm guessing it won't be fun to pull it out. I can just picture myself saying - "I don't recall ever having a freckle there before." What's that old saying, a tick in the hand is worth two in the bush?

Thursday we docked in Grand Cayman. I think this was my favorite stop. Very friendly people, great shopping, just an all around fun island. We had a great time checking out the shops and walking around town. Friday was our last port of call, Cozumel, Mexico. Several of us signed up for a dolphin swim excursion and that for me was one of the highlights of the trip. Our group worked with a female dolphin name Olympia. I got lucky and got two kisses. (Apparently the photographer did not get a good shot on round one). Despite the obvious sale tactics - each group of participants is accompanied by a photographer and videographer - we all had a great time.

Tuesday the ship docked in Labadee . The majority of our group thought it would be a great day to stay on board and take advantage of there being less folks on the ship. I started out the day with a massage at the ship's spa given to me by a very cute young woman from Romania . She convinced me that I should buy $100.00 worth of product in order to keep my muscles feeling as good once I got home. It was not a tough sale for her. The rest of the day was spent relaxing in the hot tub and in the pool. Day 6, Wednesday, we docked in Jamaica . Several of our group, including myself, had previously signed up for a jungle zip line tour. Being the wimp that I am, I decided at the last minute that shopping was more my thing and I backed out of the excursion. I'm told it was fun, walking downhill 45 minutes through the jungle to jump off platforms while wearing ropes and straps tied around your waist and around your crotch. Ok , I'll have to try that sometime. Maybe I will practice

On Sunday Day 3, our group met up at the port to board The Freedom of The Seas. After going through the check-in process, we headed to our cabins to check out our accommodations. Then it was time for our Bon Voyage party on Deck 10 as we headed out to sea. Day 4 was spent entirely at sea as we cruised to Labadee, a port located on the northern coast of Haiti. As a service to our fellow passengers, we made sure to QC the pool bar by testing various selections, including but not limited to, the drink of the day. After a thorough examination we concluded that the ice was safe. Monday night was the first formal dinner of the cruise. There were a couple of us that did not attend, myself included. Instead, we opted for casual dining in one of the ships smaller restaurants. The majority of our group did go however, and they looked marvelous.

The first Friday and Saturday of vacation were spent in Miami in South Beach. After arriving and settling in at the hotel, it was time for lunch. One of my favorite spots for a casual meal in South Beach is the Van Dyke Cafe. How appropriate don't you think? After lunch it was off to the Ritz Carleton for some cocktails. I can't afford to stay at the Ritz. But their drinks cost the same as any other place there and they have, in my humble opinion, the best bathrooms in all of Miami. Sitting at the bar I spied a gentleman walking through the lounge that looked familiar. Shot through the heart and you're to blame - it was Jon Bon Jovi. Not too tough on the eyes I must say, even for me. After a subtle confirmation from the bartender I kept my eye on him until he disappeared at a table for what looked to be a business meeting. Saturday was spent shopping, walking on the beach, and taking in a few minutes of a polo match that was in progress. The rest of the group arrived in Mia

My luggage decided to come back home yesterday and showed up in my driveway. It is a good day!

Oh where is my big black suitcase, Oh where or where can it be? The baggage clerk says not to worry, The bag is still sitting in Miami. I am home but apparently my luggage was not quite through with vacation yet and decided to stay in Miami. And of course, I ignored the instructions which stated to not put anything of value in the bag. To top it all off, the airline also broke 2 bottles of rum I bought in Jamaica. Fortunately,they were in a bag by themselves so nothing else got damaged.Other than that, the trip was fantastic. I'm hoping today for two things - the airline gets my bag to Hartford and that the house will stop rolling like the boat was.

We are cruising today from Mexico to Miami. Unfortunately, I was out until 4:00 AM last night. So the question of the day is, what is worse than a rum hangover? Answer: A rum hangover at sea. I got to play with dolphins yesterday in Mexico. I got a dolphin kiss, a hug, and a ride. What a great experience. We get into port around 7:00 AM tomorrow. I have a late afternoon flight and anticipate getting into Hartford, CT around 9:00 PM. This has been a great trip, but I do miss the Girlz (my little dogs) quite a bit and I am looking forward to seeing them and being home. Time for a nap.