Greetings from the Keys

I'm too tired to "talk" so I will just post photos as I go along..suffice it to say...so far so good, this is just what the Dr ordered!!

Went fishing today, caught snapper, made snapper francese and ceviche...it's beautiful here and I feel relaxed already!!

This is what I see when I walk out the front door.

The View from the bow today..nice!!

ah...a like minded soul...wonder what he caught??

Three Old Grandmas

Three old mischievous Grandmas were sitting on a bench outside a nursing home. About then an old Grandpa walked by, and one of the old Grandma's yelled out saying, "We bet we can tell exactly how old you are."

The old man said, "There ain't no way you can guess it, you old fools."

One of the old Grandmas said, "Sure we can! Just drop your under shorts and we can tell your exact age."

Embarrassed just a little, he dropped his drawers.

The Grandmas asked him to turn around a couple of times, asked him to jump up and down for a little while and then they all piped up and said, "You're 84 years old!"

"How in the world did you guess?"

The old Grandmas snickered and laughed. Slapping their knees and grinning from ear to ear, all three happily yelled in unison, "Because we were at your birthday party yesterday."

OK, that's it..I am pulling myself up by my boot straps..I've been in a funk for days now...alright maybe I was allowed to be, afterall, we did put out dog down last week and it's had a big affect on me, which I keep on stuffing down. I've also had a mixed bag of emotional crap I've been dealing with...family issues, life issues, both good and bad.

The new car was a big high..the dog a big low..a family member with a health scare...then getting a good report...empty nesting, loving it and hating it...ya know, stuff like that...and it's been going on for months...up and down. I'm f*cking exhausted.

The good news is.....we are off this week on our yearly trek to the Keys for vacation...even though we didn't make it to California in May..we will make it to our hideaway down there for 10 days. A time to recharge my batteries...time to put some life stuff in perspective...a time to sleep....read...fish....sleep more...read more...fish more....lol...yeah, it's what I'm needing right now... in a big way.

I feel better already! :-)

Faster than the speed of Light

Over the weekend I put a 1 GB memory chip into my 3 year old Dell laptop...I cannot believe how fast it is now...

Is it sad that this excites me? :-)

La Vie En Rose

GO SEE IT!!!!

Then let's discuss it...wonderful film!!!

Sad Day...

I suppose today is a milestone day. Not a happy one, but a milestone just the same.

Today we put our family dog Buster down.

Buster was 15 and one of the greatest dogs a family could ever have. Back in 1992, we had only moved to Florida a year earlier. Our daughter was 4, we were in our new home, starting a new life. One Saturday, my husband calls and says, guess what I got? For some reason..I said "a dog"! Not even a question, I just new he had found us a dog. He had. He found Buster at a garage sale, a 8 week old puppy. An adorable white ball of fur. My husband said the momma dog was there and her owners raved about what a delightful dog she was. He was reminded of a dog he had a long time ago, who was a great little mutt, so he picked our Buster out of the box.

We were all delighted with him. I immediately took the puppy in my arms and snuggled and cooed over him. We all fell in love immediately with the little guy.

He did in fact turn out to be a great dog, he trained easily and quickly, always had a sweet demeanor, loved babies and children. He barked at strangers appropriately and loudly, staving off any would be intruders, had they attempted entry however, he would more than likely have licked them to death :-) He was sweet, loving and adorable.

He will be missed, our Buster.

So now, the empty nest has gotten emptier..Dogs and children gone. We are determined though now, to move forward in our lives, my husband and I find ourselves back to the way things were in the beginning, within our home anyway, certainly not in our lives. We look forward to travelling (eventually), we are easily sated with a small meal on trays in front of the TV for dinner. We are throwing ourselves head long into our business which is thriving at the moment. We are closing one chapter of our lives and starting another. That IS what life is all about isn't it.

Rest I peace dear Buster, we love you and we will miss you.

Midlife...yeah it CAN be ok...

I got a brand new car yesterday…I never had a brand new, right out of the showroom, car before…brand spankin’ new RED, 2007 Honda Civic Coupe EX with a sunroof, XM radio, low profile tires with black alloy rims…wow…it’s soooooooooo HOT!!!!! Just look:




My husband and I had been talking about getting me a new car…we had pretty much decided on sensible Toyota Prius hybrid car…

On Sunday we went to the local Toyota dealer and unfortunately they had none on the lot..not even to test drive..so we took a spin in a beautiful Camry and left with promises of returning later in the week when the 2 Prius’ they had coming in would arrive.

Husband said..lets just go up the street to the Honda dealer..because the #2 hybrid is their new civic. So off we went and met with a very agreeable salesman..We took a look at their hybrid..we drove it..it was very nice…we went back into the showroom…talked about this and talked about that…then we wandered into the showroom and saw a nice regular civic…leather interior..nice color gray…nice car for sure…we went back to salesman and asked…so what’s the dealio with the regular civic…he was happy to give us the run down…as he was making yet another print out….husband wanders back out to the showroom and looks at the red 2 dr sports coupe, which for some reason we didn’t even look at when we came in the showroom…...he opens the door, gets in….says: Babe come check this out…I’m thinking..THIS RED CAR???? THIS BEAUTIFUL RED CAR?? He said yes..THIS red car…so I got in….it was nice…..it was pretty….it felt right…it had leather…it had a sun roof…if felt right…I smiled when I sat in it….so he looks at me..and says…” THIS IS IT..THIS IS THE CAR WE’LL GET YOU!!” Just like that he made up his mind…I looked at him in disbelief!! What about the sensible prius?? What about….what about….OK I SAID…LEELEE LIKES THIS PRETTY RED CAR…

Another salesman walks by and I say to him…So how do I look in this pretty red car?? He says… beautiful, that’s the perfect car for you…another salesman walks over and says…Goes with your blonde hair…(leelee is totally enjoying all of this..do I care that they are doing their salesman thing?? NOOOOOOOOO, I am totally smiling and eating it all up..BECAUSE….it;s pretty and its red, but it is also a well made car…at a reasonable price..and gets 30 city and 40 hwy mpg..) PLUS we didn’t just fall off a turnip truck..we know that we are doing and what we can afford and we also know WHAT WE LIKE…and isn’t THAT what it’s all about anyway..

Sooooooooo after talking with the manager about price..and working him down some…and asking hubby if I could just go ahead and put the XM radio package in now..(he agreed because we all know that THAT is what really makes me happy) and dealing with the finance guy…leelee drove the pretty red car off the lot wearing a HUGE SMILE and once again counting my blessings. Not just for a pretty red car…but for all the good things in my life…my wonderful husband, my family, our health, our good business, our friends…so much to be thankful for…I am humbled by what the universe has to offer, when I am open and able to receive it..and willing to give back…just to keep things even.

Instant Karma - Save Darfur

Yesterday I received this 2 CD set of songs by John Lennon performed by contemporary and established artists, to benefit Amnesty International in saving the people of Darfur from the hell that is their life there. I think it's a worthy cause and am asking you to consider ordering the cd.

The conflict in Darfur, Sudan, has led to some of the worst human rights abuses imaginable, including systematic and widespread murder, rape, abduction and displacement. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed by deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, and over 2.5 million civilians have been dispalced. Help Amnesty International end the atoricities.

www.instantkarma.org

Imagine,

All The People,

Living Life In Peace

Irish Diet

An Irishman was terribly overweight, so his doctor put him on a diet.

Doc advises: "I want you to eat regularly for 2 days, then skip a day, and repeat this procedure for 2 weeks. The next time I see you, you should have lost at least 5 pounds."

When the Irishman returned, he shocked the doctor by having lost nearly 60 pounds!

"Why, that's amazing!" the doctor said, "Did you follow my instructions?"

The Irishman nodded..."I'll tell you though, by Jesuz, I t'aut I was going to drop dead that 3rd day."

"From hunger, you mean?"

"No", the Irishman said, "from skippin..."

Out Of Office/Home/Blog Reply

I'm taking some time to tend to some personal stuff..

be back soon..

HUGS!!

This was already buried in the news by noon...

But I thought it should be the TOP headline all day and the lead story in tonights news:

Baghdad’s Sunni residents battle insurgents

Locals join fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq; mayor hopes U.S. stays away

by John Ward Anderson

Updated: 5:40 a.m. ET June 1, 2007

BAGHDAD - Sunni residents of a west Baghdad neighborhood used assault rifles and a roadside bomb to battle the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq this week, leaving at least 28 people dead and six injured, residents said Thursday.

The mayor of the Amiriyah neighborhood, Mohammed Abdul Khaliq, said in a telephone interview that residents were rising up to try to expel al-Qaeda in Iraq, which has alienated other Sunnis with its indiscriminate violence and attacks on members of its own sect.

More Iraq news

"I think this is going to be the end of the al-Qaeda presence here," Abdul Khaliq said of the fighting Wednesday and Thursday, which began over accusations that al-Qaeda in Iraq had executed Sunnis without reason.

The Baghdad battle is evidence of a deepening split between some Sunni insurgent groups and al-Qaeda in Iraq, which claims allegiance to Osama bin Laden. Although similar rebellions occurred in Diyala province earlier this year, the fighting this week appears to be the first time the conflict has reached the streets of Baghdad.

Abdul Khaliq said he hoped U.S. forces would stay out of the fight. "But if the Americans interfere, it will blow up, because they are the enemy of us both, and we will unite against them and stop fighting each other," he said.

The article continues on read here

Now is it just me...or is this welcome news? Do I see Iraqi's actually rising up to fight against the terrorists?? Isn't this what we wanted all along? I say...stay out of their way..let them fight for their country..