Reflection on 2011

This has been quite a year. I can honestly say I didn't think I had a very exciting life, but it seems I was told more than once, this year, that I have a very busy, fun life to talk about. And looking back through my blogs, I guess this year in particular, I did! So much, in fact, that it's worth a look back.

I can't say it started out so great. Unemployed, with a house for sale, and a very frustrated husband on my hands (understandably). For me, I was just going with the punches and trying to keep my sanity. Harder than it looked. But things started to take a turn when I found some contract work (that led to my current permanent position at a different company) and then the sale of my house. In the midst of it all, I got away for a quick trip to FL to see my family and try to forget about woes back home, even if only a brief vacation. But a trip to the beach has always been my serene place where I can forget it all and refresh myself. And it got me to my first anniversary. Wow. That was a stressful first year on a marriage! But it looked like it was finally all coming together.

So besides my quick trip to FL, I had a few other trips over the year where I could see people thinking I just travel a lot... wish I could say it was the norm. I had a couple of trips to Chicago to see Cubs games, a trip to PA to see my cousin get married, Niagara Falls, a trip back to Auburn (FINALLY!!!) for a mini reunion and football game, my first cruise (with the girls!), my much delayed honeymoon to Costa Rica, and finally, my trip home to FL for Christmas (with the added bonus of a trip to Fort Lauderdale to see my niece play in a soccer tournament). All a lot of fun.

Then there were the concerts! I saw way more concerts the I normally see! There were a few Indianapolis Symphony shows, a few with Time for Three. Plus there was Britney Spears, LMFAO, Katy Perry, Amos Lee, and Jimmy Buffett! Had a blast at all the shows!

Then there was the stress of the house remodel/renovation. Won't go into details... I'll just leave it at that it's still going. And going, and going, and going... with plenty of issues along the way.

So yeah... Guess it has been a pretty jam packed, fun year. I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out, too! If only I could've let the stressful stuff out. I really think that's why I had so much fun going on... to counterbalance the stress from earlier!

Here's hoping for another great year to come, though... There's still a lot of living' to do.

Soccer Star and Brotherhood

This post is simply me being a proud aunt and braggin' a bit about my niece and nephew a bit.

Our Christmas travels were skewed a bit because of a soccer tournament my niece was playing in in South FL between Christmas and New Year's. I don't get to see her play much, so naturally, I wanted to take this opportunity to do so!

Her tournament started yesterday with a 9am game and went through today, where they played two more games. They won two of their games, and tied one game, and ended up in tomorrow's Final game playing the team they tied to on the first day. I hope her teams walks away with the trophy tomorrow... (if there is one... not sure about that).

So the braggin' part... yes, her team is good. They are a travelling team, after all... typically hand-picked to play on the team. But I'm impressed with her skills, too! I didn't play soccer growing up - it was softball, for me. But I loved watching her on the field! I'm also amazed at how fast two 30 minute halves go by... sure doesn't seem like an hour! I think youth soccer is more exciting the pro-soccer - there's more action since they AREN'T pro, including more sideline throw-ins and goal kicks, etc. Professional soccer is too, well, professional!

Now onto my nephew. He's been thriving and striving in the Boy Scouts and was recently nominated to the Order of the Arrow, which is the Boy Scouts Honor Society (from what I know). I've done a little research since I found out about it and it's pretty prestigious, from what I can tell! He hasn't gone through his Ordeal, yet, but it's on the calendar. Wish I knew more or had pictures to share, but the actual induction hasn't happened yet. Just that he's been nominated is something to brag about, though.

I'm a proud aunt!

Christmas in Jacksonville

Another Christmas has come and gone... already! But Ihave to stay, despite the 'flexed schedule' we had this year, I think it was a pretty good Christmas this year... all of them.

I flew down to FL the Wednesday before Christmas (Eric flew down two days later because of his work schedule), which I haven't done in awhile. So I haven't had the opportunity to do the pre-Christmas stuff in FL in a few years. And I had a nice surprise when I landed in Jacksonville... my niece and nephew were already in Jacksonville! They decided to surprise ME for a change! I loved it!! It gave us that much more time together. Too bad my Sis and BIL couldn't be there until later in the week, but I'll take what I can get, sometimes!

So that gave us Thursday to do some shopping! I was done with my Christmas shopping, but there were a few things the kids needed to pick up, and my Mom also wanted to do one last scavenge of stores. We had a productive day. Stayed ot longer than my nephew wanted, but then he is a teenage boy and that's just how they get, right?

Friday we had a day of baking! I baked my cookies and my Mom made some pies. It made for a long day in the kitchen, but it should made the house smell good! I actually did a bit more cooking than usual, this year. I just had so many recipes I wanted try out or introduce to my family. It was fun!

Friday night, Eric and I took the kids out for a night at Dave and Buster's. It was mainly to just get out of the house for the evening (especaially since we were there all day!) and also spend some time with just us and them. They had a good time, as did we. I'd love to do this every year - not necessarily D&B's, but go out somewhere and do something with just us and them.

Saturday (Christmas Eve) I made a yummy breakfast/brunch for the family before heading out shopping (again) with Eric. He wanted to do some 'research' on a shopping center during one of it's busiest shopping days. We had to pick up a few things, anyway, so why not? It isn't as stressful if you're not shopping, believe it or not... not having a deadline looming makes it seem less crowded, even.

We actually did midnight mass that night with the whole family - haven't done that in years! We all stayed awake, for the most part, but it wiped us out enough to make for a late Christmas morning start! Christmas morning... always a magical morning. Even withthe kids at the older ages, it's still a blast to all sit around the tree and open gifts. I think everyone got most of what they wanted (though I'm sure there were some things not received). Regardless, there were a lot of smiles and fun that day. Of course, there were also naps... something about being all cozy at home (plus midnight mass) just brings the naps on on Christmas Day.

I love Christmas!

We capped the night off with a big ham dinner, completes with all the fixin's! It was really yummy! Afterwards, we just enjoyed each other's company the rest of the night. It's nice not having stores open to entice you to leave the house. Not that we were itching to get out of the house. We were all happy just where we were.

Indy Christmas

A few factors have shuffled around our Christmas plans this year and we celebrated our Indy Christmas last night with Eric's family. The change made things a lot more stressful in the week leading up to hosting everyone... suddenly, hosting responsibilities were combined with getting all shopping done, out of town stuff shipped, and cards in the mail. Yeah... just a little stressful. And it was pretty obvious I was stressed... at least when I was home, looking at the list that needed to be done. But you know what? I got it all done!

So luckily, we had almost all of Saturday to prepare for dinner and Christmas festivities at our house. We needed all of that time, too! Since we had the party the night before, none of the typical 'do it the night before' things were done (like desert). The day started with that and we had to finish that before moving on the the normal 'day of' stuff. We were smart and didn't choose any difficult sides for this meal - kept to the simple basics,  for the most part. Eric got a little creative with a couple of sides, but nothing crazy. So dinner ended up being ham, green beans, mashed potatoes, roasted yams, and white cheddar mac'n'cheese bake. And a spiced apple cake with carmel sauce for desert. Wait... back up to the ham... Archer Farms (Target brand) is an AWESOME ham! Comparable to those $80 hams you find out there! Yum!

So dinner was good, obviously. Then we had gifts to open. Four kids and gifts are interesting. I can only imagine what they're like at their house after Santa comes! But I guess relatively, they didn't get too crazy. But they did love all of their gifts! They immediately had to open them and either play with them or put them on. I remember being like that. LOL I think we did good on gifts this year. I almost forgot what it's like to buy for younger kids, not that they're any less picky. But I guess if you just watch and listen, it's pretty easy to figure out what they like.

So all in all, we had another great Christmas in Indy. Still can't believe I can say this one is in the books already. Where did this year go? Where did this last month go??

Ugly Sweater Party

Our old neighbors (meaning they used to be out neighbors, but no longer are) have been hosting an annual 'Good Dish/Ugly Sweater Party" for three years now. Eric and I have gone every year, and though I've never tried hard to win at either the dis or the ugly sweater, Eric has been determined to win. He came in 3rd for his dish the first year, and 2nd for his dish the second year. Never came close in the sweater department. So he was especially determined this year.

Problem was, we didn't have much time to prepare since our honeymoon was just the week before, PLUS, he traveled to Florida TWICE this past week for work. But he felt he found a pretty good 'ugly sweater' while on one of his FL trips. But the dish was still unknown. In fact, it was unknown until the day of when i was looking online for ANYTHING to make since he wouldn't have time. Then I found it... the perfect dish (or so I thought)... Buffalo Chicken Bites. And then I was off to buy the ingredients. Looked like a simple enough recipe, though maybe a little time consuming with the coating. So I had no time to waste!

Sure enough, I was making them to the last minute, which may have been a good thing since they're best served warm. Eric donned his ugly sweater, and I my $8 sweater I bought at the same time as the ingredients, and we were off. As soon as we walked in the door, people got a kick out of his sweater. And as soon as my dish was revealed and tried, people were throwing out the compliments. Was this our year?

Time to vote. Since it's not an overwhelmingly large party, everyone got two votes to hopefully help keep the odds of any ties down. Amber tallied the votes... the ugly sweater winner - Eric. The best dish winner - Kara. We swept it this year - both contests we won! I must say, Eric was thrilled. I thought it was a trip, myself, considering how last minute it all was for us.

So Eric went home with a big grin on his face, vowing that next year we wouldn't try so hard and not try to win it all again next year. we'll see how that pans out.

Costa Rica (part 3)

So far, a very busy week for us. But we're not done yet!! Who says you get to rest on vacation?? Or, in our case, our honeymoon.

Wednesday we had another 'planned' excursion, this one to a volcano. And then some. We'll start with the volcano, Poas Volcano, to be exact. We though, as we drove up there, we'd have a clear view of the crater because it was a beautiful, clear day! But as soon as we got to the park, we found ourselves in a cloud (literally). And there wasn't enough wind to blow it out of the valley where the crater was, so we only had a vague glimpse of it when the wind blew just enough to blow the cloud off a bit. We could see the edge of the lake and the steam coming up. But no full view, unfortunately. Maybe next time we can see a good shot of this one or another one.

But luckily, this wasn't the only destination for this tour. The next stop was Doka Estates coffee plantation - "The Best Coffee Plantation in Costa Rica" - to learn all about this huge export for Costa Rica. For starters, Starbuck's apparently buys a majority of this company's beans, accounting for about 75% of the bean sales for Doka. That should tell you something. But what I found interesting was the whole process. Did you know that the coffee bean is actually a fruit? And what most people consider the 'bean' is actually the seed in the middle. The fruit's skin and outer pulp is removed, which actually leaves a sweet tasting seed (not to eat, but you can suck on it) to dry, most of which is done in the natural sunlight. And it's an off-white - it's not brown until roasted and the roasting is what gives it it's flavor. The longer it's roasted, the richer the flavor. I had no idea so much went into a pound of coffee - it takes 10 lbs of the fruit to make 1 lbs of the coffee as you know it!

After our little tour of the coffee plant (and another great lunch at the plantation!), we headed to our last stop of the day... the Sarchi artisan shop. When Eric and I arrived, we saw an abundance of these little carts being used as decoration throughout the hotel. We later learned that these were replicas of the ox-carts built and painted by people in this very shop we were going to. It used to be the primary way to transport things around the country, which is why so many of their roads are so narrow. The detail that goes into this painting is amazing! And the fact that they still do it as an art form now is very cool - and just as much detail goes into it. The ox-cart seems to be almost a symbol of the region we were in - and I'm glad we got to see the shop because it made us clearly understand and appreciate the little gift the hotel gave us (miniature replica of the cart that we plan to use as a Christmas ornament).

We got back to the hotel in time to enjoy a bit of pool time before our dinner reservation. There was a great breeze blowing across the resort that made it actually a little chilly to go into the water, but it made for great sitting by the pool and having a glass of wine weather! So it was a nice way to wind down before dinner. Which,once again, was a wonderful meal. It was also nice that they kept portions in check, because the food was so good, you could easily eat too much of something! But, oh, it was so good!

Thursday rolls in - our final full day in Costa Rica. We decided to drive down and hit one last National Park (they have about 25% of the nation reserved as National Parks). Carara National Park is know for it birds, specifically Macaws. We already saw a couple of Macaws playfully fighting in a tree along the side of the road on Sunday, so we didn't need to go to see the Macaws. But we did want to see a true rainforest environment, which the southern part of Carara was. There were trees that towered at 150-160 ft in height! It was amazing to walk among these giants! We did see a few animals as they emerged for their morning breakfast. And there were a couple of Macaws circling the tree tops, squawking at each other the whole time. But the craziest things we saw were the ants! Yes, ANTS! There's were thousands of them, all very organized, carrying leaves back to the colony. They were so organized that they wore a path not only in the dirt, but on the gravel trail we were on! We were both fascinated by this for some reason... It made for a nice last day adventure.

After we had out fill of the rainforest, we went back to the hotel to pack up. Unfortunately, we had to head back into San Jose that night and stay at a different hotel. When we initially booked, our flight left pretty early. When it changed, we didn't change our hotel, and we should have. But instead, we took the same, longer, mountainous route we drove on Saturday night back to San Jose and actually enjoyed the views. It was worth it. And the hotel was another nice hotel that helped us unwind some more before a day of traveling. And that's all Saturday was for us... some brunch, and off to the airport we went.

Costa Rica was absolutely wonderful! Eric and I would love to go back now that we know the lay of the land a bit better. And hopefully we will get to do that one day in the future. Until then, we have many memories and MANY pictures - We took over 1200 pictures!! Well, mainly I took them cause I'm camera happy on trips like this. But it was worth it! You can see some of our handy work on my Fotki page. But even that is just a handful of what was taken!

Costa Rica (part 2)

So Monday was our first 'planned' excursion - a canopy zipline tour. We did a zipline tour in Mexico a few years back, so we kind of knew what to expect, though we also knew every one is different. But this one blew the one in Mexico away! First, it started with a 30 minute horseback ride to the top of the mountain. It also had more cables, plus two rappelling lines, and a suspension bridge. To top that off, we took a break in the middle where we could swim in a pool at the base of one of the 11 waterfalls we crossed. I personally took full advantage of this - it was a great way to cool off! Plus, it's cool to say you swam in a waterfall. But the ziplining, itself, was great - it was over twenty cables long, so it was an all day thing, followed by a lunch provided by the adventure company that we did the tour with. And it wasn't just a box lunch of something... it was a full on meal. Again, another awesome meal! Did I mention Eric LOVES plantains and they're served with almost every meal??

We took it easy that night. The ziplining actually wore us out pretty good, but it was absolutely perfect! It turned out that we missed a drenching downpour at the hotel - we barely had a drizzle at the very end of our canopy tour up in the mountains. So it was a good day to be away from the hotel. But we finally we able to watch a sunset at the hotel, and it was a beautiful one! It seems like the sun disappeared in seconds once it started going down. But the colors were amazing every night. We actually ate dinner at the hotel's buffet that night, as well. They definitely had the food pegged!I guess as we looked around, they were still cooking for the majority of nationals that were there - it wasn't quite 'season' yet for tourism, as the wet season was just coming to an end. But I was honestly surprised at how many non-international tourists were there. We really only saw 'tourists' on our excursions!

On Tuesday, we did our own excursion again, this time a little further south to one of the national parks - Manuel Antonio National Park. This was THE park to go to for wildlife per all the tourbooks. At least along the west coast. It was about a 2 hour drive, so we tried to get as early of a start as we could, which was still later than we wanted. But we also made an additional stop along the way... when we went to Jaco, we noticed a crowd parking next to a bridge and walking to the middle of it, looking down. It wasn't just a rare instance - it was constant. They even had a policeman at one end to help control traffic. So we were curious. We stopped on our way to Manuel Antonio Park, and not to surprising, it was crocodiles that were intriguing everyone. Not just a few... probably about 20 of them! Just sitting on some high areas in the river, sunning themselves. Eric and I couldn't, for the life of us, figure out what f=drew them to the bridge. The only thing we could figure was they were soothed by the sound of the traffic. There were other sandbars further out with none at all, so unless they get fed by locals, who knows?

After that worthwhile stop, we got back on the road for the remainder of out drive. We passed through a Black African Palm Oil Ranch, which we didn't actually know it was that until later in the week. Just row and rows and acres and acres of obviously planted palm trees with some sort of harvesting facility in the middle. Then we finally made it to the little town, Quepos, just outside of the park entrance and headed up the winding road that ended at the park. We thought about hiring a guide for just a moment, but then decided to go at it on our own, which turned out to be a good call. There were so many that DID have tour guides that all you had to do was stop when you saw a group of people stopped and someone, usually the guide, would point out the animal they were looking at. Along the main path there were a few monkeys and quite a few sloths. At least on the way in. On the way out we saw, of all things, a deer. And some other animal we're still trying to figure out... guess that's where a guide would've come in handy. I think the highlight (besides the monkeys on the beach) were the Toucans we saw on the way out! A guide was stopped with some people and pointed it out. He said seeing them is always a rarity... and we saw two as we left! A very pretty bird!

Regardless, Eric and I thought the best part was the beaches at the end of the trail - one on either side of the peninsula the park was on. Yet and FOURTH type of beach. This one was comprised of the soft, white sane that everyone has come to expect. No rocks, no seaweed, just a beautiful beach in a cove with no commercial development to be seen. I wanted to stay here for awhile... a LONG while! We both agreed that if we make it back to Costa Rica, these beaches, alone, are worth spending a day at. Unfortunately, they kick you out of the park just before sunset. We took some pictures at the beach outside of the park, first, and then drove a bit and then watched the sunset at the top of the mountain between Quepos and the park and watched it form an open air restaurant with a cargo plane in it. Another beautiful sunset...

Costa Rica (part 1)

Finally... Eric and I were able to take our honeymoon. Destination... Cost Rica!

We were there for a week and I have A LOT to cover, so this will be broken up into multiple blogs. Mainly cause I have a good feeling that my hands will get tired from typing! So here goes part one...

We headed out on Saturday afternoon... go figure - there's limited flights to Costa Rica! So, after all the flying and airport time, we picked up our bags close to 9pm and headed to Hertz for the car.And what a fun car we got! A Diahatsu BeGo! Didn't even know this brand still existed! Pretty much everything in Costa Rica is of the Asian brands... and a Volkswagon truck that they don't sell in the US for a good mix. Very few American brands... we weren't too sure about 'Beep Beep' at first (the nickname Eric affectionately gave it), but it turned out to be just what we needed.

So getting to the hotel... that proved to be interesting... at night. We knew we wanted to get the the 'new' highway, as the locals call it. We asked directions at Hertz, and it seemed easy enough. But we got on the road, and couldn't tell what road we were even on! They don't sign their highway (or any streets) well at all!! We finally broke out the compass on my iPhone and saw we were heading the opposite direction (east) of what we wanted to be heading (west). So, after finding a way off the highway we were on (VERY limited access), we literally drove through a nighttime construction zone (we just followed the locals that were doing it) and got back on the highway, heading in the other direction. Finally, after passing our initial starting point, we saw a sign for Puntarenas, but it wasn't via the highway we were looking for. But the fact that we were heading in the right direction was good enough for us. The county is smaller than West Virginia, how far off could it be??

Turns out we were within 1 mile of the new highway when we were heading in the wrong direction. They didn't explain that we had to head into San Jose to get to it (which was east of the airport).But none the less, we did finally make it to the DoubleTree resort, which more than welcomed us after the long drive! Check-in was easy and they took us to our room, which was thankfully far from the 'nightlife' part of the hotel. We walked into our room and it was decked out is rose petals and a bottle of wine for us, with a note welcoming us to our honeymoon. Which could finally begin after this long day of traveling.

Since we arrived so late, we had no plans set for Sunday. But we had our car. So after a late breakfast and a little pre-planning for excursions later in the week, we headed out in the daylight to see what we could find. Our first destination was Jaco, which was a surf town. It was about a 45 minute drive south along a highway that paralleled the coast (it wasn't a coastal highway, as you only saw the water for a few miles of it). We got to Jaco, which seemed to be a lazy little town you'd expect to find in California. There didn't seem to be much surfing going on, but we found out why a short time later when we headed to Playa Hermosa just a few miles south. To our surprise, the Costa Rica Surf Championship was happening there. What are the odds of exploring that beach on that day?? It was packs full of both surfers and spectators.

Even more interesting was that in our third beach visit, we had a completely different type of beach. The beach at our hotels was very typical looking, though a little more course than what I'm used to in FL. Still beautiful, though. Jaco was a sprawling, flat beach with a darker tan-ish gray sand. And here at Playa Hermosa was a nearly black sand, obviously volcanic by the color, but some of the softest sand I've felt on my feet (rivaling some of the powdery, white sands you find on the west coast of FL). So not only does Costa Rica have an array of ecological systems to explore, they also have a number of beach types to explore!

At this point, we could tell it was nearing sunset. Sunset occurred around 5-5:30ish this time of year in Costa Rica. We hoped back in Beep Beep and drove back to the hotel. We had a dinner reservation to make, so we didn't want to be late. And this would be our first major meal in Costa Rica. To this point, we had just done the breakfast and lunch buffet at the hotel (gotta love all-inclusive places), but even that food was great! So we had even greater expectations for the individual meals. The place we went specialized in seafood, which made sense being on the coast. And it was amazing! First, there was the Ceviche - three different kinds, plus sashimi! Then for an appetizer, I had this seafood bisque type soup that had full pieces of crabs and oysters still in the shells in a tomato based broth. YUM! I'd tell you what Eric had, but I was too engrossed in my meal! The main course was just as delicioso! I had these shrimp kabobs with these huge shrimp on it that were marinated and grilled to perfection. Eric had a sea bass dish that he practically inhaled! So the food completely hit the mark we were hoping!

So our first full day in Costa Rica was a hit and were were even more excited about what was to come in the remainder of the week!

Decorating

I love Christmas!  Anyone who knows me will tell you that.  I love everything about it.  What other holiday do you and all the stores completely change their decor for a month.

Or, for some stores, three months.

It's really kind of crazy when you think about it.  We turn everything upside down in our home to become 'festive' for the holidays.  Even more crazy is the fact that all of this stuff is store for 11 months of the year.  Granted, I may have more than some people - I really get into it.  Plus, I tend to be very 'protective' in the storage part, so things take up more room, it seems.  Eric absolutely hate all the extra storage needed for Christmas stuff.  But I think it's worth it.

Decorating for Christmas is almost as good as everyone opening their gifts on Christmas day... for me, anyway.  You open a bin, and it's always a fun surprise as to what's in that one.  Then there's the process of unwrapping the breakable/delicate things and remembering them, whether it be the story of how you got it or just a memory you have tied to it.  Maybe it's just because Christmas has always been a very special, almost magical holiday for me.

I'm almost done with my decorating this year... just have some things to put up outside.  It was too nasty (wintery mix) yesterday and it's just too cold today.  Not that it's going to get warmer this week, so I'll probably suck it up and do it tomorrow, regardless of the weather.

*sigh*

It's only the beginning of the holiday season with still so much left to do... but I'm already wishing I didn't have to take it all down after Christmas.

Black Friday!

You know... I just don't get excited about Black Friday like I used to. Ever since my disappointment a few years ago when I went to a midnight opening at an outlet mall and came away with nothing worthwhile. Plus, the fact that you can get a vast majority of the black friday deals online on Thanksgiving Day REALLY make standing in line unappealing, especially n the cold! Plus, I hate getting up early.

So why am I posting about Black Friday?

Eric and I did something different this year. We went to Ikea. We figured there wouldn't be Back Friday crowds there and figured this may be our last opportunity to go this year. There were a few things we wanted to look at, so why not? And we were right... no crowds until we were about to leave. Probably sent too much money, as usual, but we did come away with some things we were looking for. Score!

Then we made the mistake of going to a few stores that were 'mall adjacent' since we had some time. That mall was insane! I guess we should've expected that, but we weren't really thinking about that - we just figured the stores we were going to wouldn't be busy. And comparatively, they weren't. But their parking fields were filled with mall shoppers! Boo!!

But speaking of Black friday shopping, as I mentions, I DID do some of mine on Thanksgiving Day. While shopping and thinking about my list, I realized I really don't have much left. And most of what I still need, I know what I'm getting. There are a few lingering questions, mostly about the gifts the men in my life want (husband, father, bro-in-law, even my nephew)... why are guys so hard to shop for?? But I'll figure it out. I always do.

Thanksgiving

Can this year seem to go by any faster??

Thanksgiving has come (and gone) already... this year seems much more relaxing than in years past, though... well, after a certain point, anyway. Preparation began on Tuesday and I was feeling a little stress until people starting arriving, worried if we'd get it all together in time. But once everyone was here, I was fine.

Eric and I hosted again and we had a full house with his parents, sister, nephews, and her boyfriend and his girls. Plus we had a late addition right before we ate. Luckily we always have plenty of food. Including a 22 lb. turkey! Which, as usually, turned out perfect, thanks to the brining process. Plus, we had green beans, mashed potatoes, White Castle stuffing, roasted butternut squash, rolls and a salad. So yeah... PLENTY of food!

A fun new thing (for us) this year was that we got to actually have a separate kids table! I never understood the real reason for this until this year... I always figured it was a space thing... no, it's not. It's true separation of adult company verses kids. I have to admit, I liked it! Is that bad??

So once again, we had a great Thanksgiving with the family. That is the best part of the holidays, after all... time with family. On the one hand, I really miss my side of the family during the holidays. But on the other hand, it's nice to have such a great family to spend time with on Eric's side. Either way, I love my time with family.

Gotta Love an Underdog

I realized something these past few months... I really do love an underdog.

You always hear people say they root for the underdog, but I always assumed it was just because they had no allegiance to either team.  But something crazy happened this year on the NFL front... the Colts stopped winning.  And for the first time, I really found myself rooting for them in games.  Before, I always had a secret desire for them to lose, just to see the giant fall.  Well, they fell, alright...and now they're at a level that I can root for.

I know... that sounds horrible, right?  But it got me thinking about all my pro-team allegiances.  (college doesn't come into play, here, since you're just loyal to the school you go to, regardless.  I can't help that my school has a great football program.) 

I love the Cubs.  Not sure when it started, but it was sometime in college that I became a Cubs fan.  You have to admit, they are the ultimate underdog, curse or no curse.  I think even when they make it back to the World Series, they'll still be an underdog.  Maybe this is their year...

And then I'm a Jags fan, which is a team I love with all my heart, but they never get any love from the media.  Sadly, it's because they haven't done anything outstanding to get that love.  They had their few years where they consistently made the play-offs (and why did they get rid of Tom Coughlin, again... a coach who went on to win a Superbowl with the Giants?) and even made it to the AFC Championship game one year (damn Titans).  But even in those games, they were the underdog because they were still so new to the league.

So what is it about the underdog?  is it sympathy?  Is it wanting to see an upset?  Or is there more to it?  Do we, maybe on a subconscious level, relate better to a team that doesn't always win?  Who knows... I do find it interesting that I never saw this about myself before.  makes me wonder else I'm oblivious to...

Make-A-Wish Request-A-Thon

This is one of my favorite events every year... the WZPL Make-A-Wish Request-A-Thon.  This is what inspired me to start volunteering with Make-A-Wish.  The storied you hear over the 36 hour period do nothing but warm your heart, make you laugh, and sometime shed a tear.

I like volunteering for the actual Request-A-Thon, as well as the normal volunteer stuff.  It just feels good, all around, and talking to people who were so moved by listening to a child's story is just awesome.  Granted, it doesn't top when the child's wish is actually granted.  Warm fuzzies...

Since Smiley started hosting the 36-hour fundraiser, it's grown every year!  I remember when he fist started and they were excited to break $200k.  Now, even though they set there goal way below, they keep breaking $400!  Last year, it was around $415k (nearly 70 wishes!), and with just over an hour left in this year's even, I think they're going to break that!  How awesome is that?

Even more awesome is if you would add to the cause... this isn't a solicitation, cause I'll never know if you do... but the warm fuzzies right before Thanksgiving totally put you in the spirit!  They take donations through the weekend, which is a nice touch, but if nothing else, go check out the event page and read some of the kid's stories.  It makes you appreciate your own health, as well as your family's health.  Makes all the 'problems' you think you have minuscule. The kids go through these battles with so much positive energy (as much as they can muster)... we, as adults, could definitely learn something from them.

Professional Stalker

I am a professional stalker.

Okay, so not really... I just stalk professional athletes. 

Okay, not really... just one.  Maurice Jones-Drew.

Okay, so I didn't really stalk him.  I just played the role of a big fan when he and the Jags came to play (and beat!) the Colts.

I started with a plan.  A plan based on knowing nothing about getting a football player's autograph before/during/after a game.  So, naturally, I showed up early, in hopes of getting it after they did their on-field practice before the game.  Nope... not then.  They have their game faces on at that point.  At least the Jags do.

So how about after the game as they head to the locker rooms, especially after a win!  Well, they do start throwing gloves and towels if you ask, at least some of the players do.  But no stopping for autographs.  Hmmph.

At this point, Eric suggests asking one of the 'gate keepers' where the bus is - I figured in was under the stadium somewhere at Lucas Oil Stadium... and I was right.  So I batted my eyes and and flashed my smile to one of the guys and got to go down to the friends and family waiting area by their route between the locker room and the bus.  Way cool!

Most of the players came out and just beelined to the bus area with their box lunches for the road.  The guys look SO different out of uniform!  It was hard to recognize some of them... in fact, it was hard to recognize most of them!  But then came MJD... he stands out in the crowd because, up close and in street clothes, he looks like a very normal guy you'd run in to somewhere!  After he visited with some legitimate friends in the friends and family area, he did, indeed, work his way down and sign some autographs.

The best part?  He remembered seeing me in the stands!  He even apologized for not being able to stop up on the field - he said it's hard for them to do up there!  Love it!  He's a real genuine nice guy, too... really soft spoken.  A very cool guy to meet, even if it was in brief passing.

So I got my autograph and I couldn't be more happy!  Obviously the highlight of my day... of my WEEK even!

Go Jags!  Always and Forever!

Do What You Love, Love What You Do...

Few people in this world, especially in this down economy, can say they have a job they love, a job they are excited about getting up and doing EVERY DAY, a job that they will do for the rest of their lives.  You can spot someone with a job they love by the fact that they've already been there a long time and you can tell it's a part of them.  Without that job, they would be a fraction of who they are today.  And, as this seems to be proven time and time again, they will die without that part of their life.

One such case in point... recently, Andy Rooney died.  Yes, he was old.  Yes, it may have been his time.  Sure, it may have been purposely timed out this way... but the fact that he died weeks after his last broadcast on 60 minutes seems awful coincidental to me.  Suddenly, by choice or not, he was no longer doing something he had done all his life, something that he loved.  He might as well have lost a loved one and been heartbroken over it.  Sadly, he lost her in 2004.

Joe Paterno.  He's coached Penn State Football since 1966 (and was an assistant for 15 years before that). Some say he should have retired years ago.  But when you've been somewhere for over 60 years doing something you love, how can someone expect you to pack-up and leave, especially when it's all you've know for that long.  It's an intricate part of your life and it's what you love.  So it's sad to see him stepping down because of controversy off the field. I'm sorry, no... he's being forced out.

He did what he thought was right, what he thought he was supposed to do at the time after being told something by one of his assistants - send it up the chain of command.  Probably followed whatever policy/guildelines/rules were in place when he reported things the way he did. They probably had such a policy in place to keep things OUT of the media  He wasn't a witness to anything, nor did he expect nothing would be done beyond him telling his superiors (which there actually was - just nothing came of it).  But now he's been told it wasn't enough and he should have done more.  (If you haven't seen the full timeline, here's a link... you'll see this all began way before Joe knew anything about the situation... I just don't think he knows what else to do... so he's stepping down - in my opinion, anyway... it's a big, HUGE, cover up!)

Joe is not a young man - he will be 85 at the end of the year.  He will be 85 when he has to leave something he loves doing behind.  Correction.  He will be 85 when he's told to leave what he love doings.  This isn't your standard retirement, where you take off to FL and spend your savings because you CHOOSE to.  He's being told to leave what he loves doing so the controversy will go away next year.  So what's to become of Joe?  Will he see the same fate as Andy Rooney?  I sure hope not.

They say you should love what you do, yet so few do.  So to all those do what they love, love what they do, and die doing it... I commend you.  And I really envy you.

Political Season

I will be so glad when tomorrow has passed.  This was my first 'big' election living in Marion County (verses Hamilton County) and quite frankly, it's political overload before an election here!

The big debate is over the mayor... do we select the incumbent or his challenger?  The Mayor started out clean... but his challenger immediately attacked him, and the mud slinging began.  I hate that about politics... don't dog on the other guy, just tell me what you're going to do without bashing what they've done.  I'm SO sick of the TV commercials!  I will give both of them credit - they're not pushing their party affiliations, at least.

On a more local front, there was someone in our neighborhood running for our district's city council spot.  Eric befriended him before the campaigning began and actually got involved in the door-to-door campaigning.  He loved it!  Not something I'd want to do, necessarily, but it definitely gave a new perspective to what goes into a campaign as someone new comes into the game... LOTS of time!  I won't go into details, but at least there wasn't mudslinging at this level.  At least by him.

But the mailings, on the other hand, sent out by the party headquarters... there was mudslinging there, at least towards the incumbent since he apparently made some 'bad votes' on some 'critical' items of interest for the city.  Oh, the mailings... so many mailings!  We had one day of mail that was nothing but political adds from all parties for all positions... there was about 10 total, I think. Is that really necessary??  I don't think so.

For the record, I already voted.  I love that they allow early voting here... makes life easier to not have to deal with trying to get to the polls on election day.  Do it at your convenience on your schedule.  Plus, I get to avoid the barrage of last minute campaigning outside the polling locations.  "Leave me alone - I already know who I'm voting for!"  Seriously... why would I already be coming to the polls if I hadn't already made up my mind?

Oh well... here's to the end of the politcal season!  Yay!

Halloween

Happy Halloween... a day early.  Not really since all the parties were last night.  Just the trick or treating is left for tomorrow night.  Unless you plan on going to work in a costume, which I don't.

This Halloween was more of an awareness of how fast this year has gona by more than anything... can you believe it's less than 2 months till Christmas??  Eric and I committed to just one party this year in order to keep from driving all over town like last year... which led me to feel the need to bring something special.  So I baked a cake.  A haunted house cake.  At least I tried... it didn't turn out nearly like what I hoped it would, but everyone loved it, none the less.  It was fun to do, though, so I guess that's what counts.

The costumes this year... well, I wasn't feeling nearly as creative, so I just did a pirate.  Eric, on the other hand, was very inspired by LMFAO this year, so he went as RedFoo.  With a little creative thinking (by yours truly) and some last minute shopping by Eric, we pulled together a pretty good costume.  Unfortunately, not too many people in Indiana know who LMFAO really are yet... not sure how, but they don't.  He actually had to explain who he was to some people.  The downside to living in Indiana... always behind the trends.  or maybe they're not as big as I think... but I know I love them!

All in all, though, we had a good time and there were a lot of good costumes at the party.  It's amazing how creative some people can get (ie - zombie Steve Jobs... really only works this year).  That's what makes Halloween fun!  You see traditional costumes like mine, all the way to your creative ones that only work that year.  Or just straight up creative in that you have no idea where they came up with it!

If you head out tomorrow night, be safe!  And Happy Halloween to all!

Proactive vs. Reactive

I've been pondering the recent death of IndyCar drive Dan Wheldon.  It was a horrible tragedy and a big impact for the IndyCar series.  Similar to the impact that the death of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. had when he died in a race.  Both have drawn a lot of attention to their sport, not necessarily in a good way.  A lot of criticism followed regarding the safety of the drivers.

After Dale's death, NASCAR really stepped up their in-car safety requirements.  They already had restrictor plate racing for the faster tracks, but even more became regulated.  And what do you know, it's still good racing.

IndyCar had a safety meeting this morning - I'm guessing some safety regulations will come out of it.  Maybe even some form of 'restrictor plate' racing, however that might work for them.

The thing with racing... everyone's always trying to go faster than before and faster than everyone else.  Look back to when racing started... they went speeds that we drive now on the interstate.  Does it need to be that slow?  No... but 220mph is a little excessive.

The thing is, why do we have to wait until something major happens before we do something? They noted that many of the drivers were already voicing concerns about the speeds reached at the Las Vegas Speedway and were worried something bad would happen.  I think the death of one of their own wasn't their thought, but I think they all figured there'd be a 'big one' at some point during the race.

This goes for everything in life... why do people often ignore that little voice that says, "This might be bad" and keep pushing?  Why do we have to have all these stupid warnings on everyday products?  Most recently, some friends and I were laughing at a warning label on a hair dryer... "Warning - May burn eyes."  Really?  Sadly, you know it's there because someone sued someone over it (which takes me back a previous blog about stupid lawsuits).

Maybe this is why we're in debt... we've become a nation of reactive people instead of being proactive and thinking ahead of the game.  I just can't help but wonder if we've just become so competitive about everything that we've stopped thinking about what we're doing.  When's the last time you stopped before you did something major (or not) and asked yourself if it was a good idea, not just for you, but in the big scheme of things?

Obnoxious

Have you ever met someone who turns out to be someone so obnoxious and bull-headed that you wish you never crossed paths with them?  I'm not talking your typical stubbornness, but you're all-out, completely obsessive person who has blinders on to the world??  Usually it's a certain topic that sets them off... religion, politics, a constitutional right, the war, etc...

Everyone has their beliefs.  They all feel one way or another about something.  But most sane people are at least willing to listen to the other side.  They don't belittle the other side on contact and go off on a rant about their side of things.  So how does someone get to that point?  What makes them snap?  How do they get to the point of having blinders on?

It's one thing to vent about something you're not happy about, which I admit to doing all the time.  Sometimes, something will just set me off.  But even in the middle of a vent, I'll stop and listen.  Sometimes, that's what it takes to calm me down - someone on the other side speaking logically to me.  Not ranting back or saying things to belittle me, but actually bringing an intellegent outlook to the other side.  And if I feel myself getting to the obnoxious ranting level, I just stop and walk away.  It's not usually worth alienating people over, especially if it's a friend.

Healthly debate is good.  But you're not always going to be right, even if you don't want to admit it.  Soemtimes, there is not a right and wrong, as it's completely opinionated on both ends.  It is nice to be able to have an opinion and be able to voice it - that's a great thing about America.  But the key is that it is your opinion, and you can't always convince people your opinion is how others should feel.  And to start name calling or bashing someone's beliefs is just juvenille.  Let them have their opinion.

Personally, I've come across quite a few people like this is my lifetime.  I just learn to stear clear of certain topics, even if I agree, and everything's fine.  Probably just because I'm not a big fan of conflict.  Which is because I can have a temper... so I've learned the whole 'walk away' tactic to keep myself calm.  It may piss some people off when I blow off some debate or just some discussion... but bottom line, it's not worth losing a friend over.  And if it's a stranger, I walk away even faster... no telling what they might do! LOL

A New Blog

So I got inspired to start a new blog.  This will will keep going, full force.  This is all about me and my 'release' point, as far as blogging going.  In other words, this one will remain the 'exciting one', if you want to call it that.

My new blog is all about trying new stuff, like sample of products and such, and giving my opinion about how, or if, they work.  I've been going at it for a few weeks, now, so there's a few posts to read at this point.  And I'm sure I'll expand on what I post about as time goes on... but I just found myself getting the opportunity to sample so many things... why not share my opinion on my own platform??

Anyway, it's called Love It - Hate It, appropriately enough, and you can check it out here.

Enjoy!

Cruise to the Bahamas!

I was counting the day before this past weekend... my first cruise!  And it was geared up to be a good one... a girls weekend to the Bahamas!

We actually headed down to FL on Thursday evening, with plans on staying overnight in Orlando.  Timing wise, it worked out great because my sister ended up being in town for a conference that same time, so I got a chance to have dinner and catch up a little.  That was a pleasant, last minute surprise.

The next morning, we were picked up at the hotel by a shuttle to take us over to Cape Canaveral, which is the port we planned to leave out of.  We were sailing the Monarch of the Seas, part of Royal Carribean's fleet.  We weren't actually leaving port until 4:30pm, but you have to be there a minimum of 90 mins before that and we liked the idea of getting some early poolside time before departure.  But come 4:30pm, we all met up for a sail-away champagne toast as we headed out to sea!

With this being my first cruise, I really wasn't sure what to expect.  The cabins are, of course, much smaller than what you'd get for a hotel room.  But other than that, you're essentially on a floating all-inclusive resort!  Food whenever you want.  Various other bars/restaurant to hang out at.  Multiple pools (of course), lots of 'planned activities' by the cruise director and staff, shows at night, full sit down dinners (if you choose), and chances to meet new people at every corner.  Since we had a big group (there were 11 of us),we didn't have the typical dinner with new people because we already took up a large table, ourselves.  But as it was, many of us were meeting for the first time on the cruise, so it all worked out well.

We had a spectacular sunset that first night.  I wish I could say we had spectacular weather during the rest of the cruise.  It wasn't horrible, there was just cloud cover over the entire Caribbean from a tropical low over near Central America.  So even when they tried to find us sun for us, they couldn't.  But it didn't impede our fun - we were still by the pool and we still played trivia at whatever bar had it going on.

Saturday comes around and we pull into port at Nassau - my first time to the Bahamas! After the slow ride in and being turned around by a tug, we were docked and everyone disembarked for the day.  Our large group was quickly divided, though, and went separate ways (by default, in some cases).  This wasn't a bad thing.  I started with a group going to Atlantis and just walked around the massive resort (at least in the areas they'd let us without paying for one of the attractions).  That place is pretty insane - there's so much going on.  But after we saw everything we could see for free, we split up again and some stayed to see the aquarium and some went back to the Straw Market/Shopping district. I went shopping.  Of course.

So back in town, we started walking around, and that's when the intermittent rain showers started.  Some were just full downpours, which even the locals were saying is very rare.  Figures... our luck.  But as I said before, we still had a good time.  The Straw Market, for those who don't know, is like Canal Street in NYC... lots of 'cheap' knock-offs and stuff.  And we found quite a few deals!  Some of the girls can haggle!

Back on the ship, we had our formal dinner night where we got to get alldressed up.  Girls love to do that!  This is a good time to talk about the food.  You always hear about how good the food is on cruises.  My opinion... it was good, but not the 'best I've ever had.'  I think I've become a food snob - everyone else seemed to love it!  But it didn't matter - it was all about just have a good time at at dinner.  And we did, all three nights.  With lots of wine.

Sunday was our scheduled day for the private island, Cococay.   Well, it was supposed to be, anyway.  The water was too rough due to the tropical low positioned near Central America.  We were just going to anchor here and use tender boats to get to shore - they were concerned the waters would throw the tender boats around too much.  Plus, a lot of the excursion were in the water, which also were of concern.  So this was the day the Captain tried to find us some sun out of the cloud cover with no luck.  But we still had a blast around the pool and doing all the other activities on board.

Monday was just the day to pull into port - we were docked by 7:30am,  We weren't off the boat until later (about 9:30am), but we were all packed and ready to go.  It was kind of sad to end so soon... but we had so much fun!  We all decided we have to do this again next year... maybe even make it an annual tradition. 

I have lots of pictures, as you can imagine.  I want to edit some before posting, so I'll post a link here, later, when it's done.  Got some good ones.

UPDATE:  Pictures are posted!!  Go to my Fotki Page and check them out! 

Little Pumpkins

I'm a little bummed about my pumpkins this year... the dry, dry summer left the 'crop' rather small this year.  Both in numbers and size!

The spring started great - lots of rain, and the vines took off like wildfire!  But when they normally start flowering and producing 'females', it got dry, so few female buds were produced... and despite our watering, it wasn't enough.  So there were very few.  One finally took off, though.  But sadly, that pumpkin didn't get very big (because is was so dry).  He's a cutie, but only big enough to bake with - no carving this little little guy.  But he'll look cute sitting out before I carve him up for pie, at least.

Sadder, still, is the fact that this is the only pumpkin that's come to term.  And that's with about 6 vines going!  The recent rains made the vines flourish, again, and has produced quite a few female buds... there's probably close to a half-dozen!  But my concern, now, is that we'll get our first frost/freeze before they mature enough.  Keeping my fingers crossed since we're having a warm October so far... but not getting my hopes up.

*sigh*

Glad I still have seeds from last years crop!  Can't let my NC pumpkins cease to survive here (I have no idea the variety - they just came from a pumpkin I originally got in NC - it's more of a peach variety, not orange).

Never thought I'd get a kick out of growing pumpkins...

Steve Jobs

You know someone has made an impact on the world when news of their death spreads faster over social media than it does news outlets.

Just hours ago, the world was made aware of the loss of a creative genius.  Steve Jobs died today at the age of 56.  One day after the announcement of the next iPhone.  Which made bigger news?  I'll let you be the judge.

I find it interesting how I learned of the news myself.  Eric called me on my iPhone (from his iPhone) and asked if I saw his email I sent.  I said "no" and he bluntly just said "Steve Jobs died."  I scrambled for the iPad to check my email and pull up the links about his passing.  Wow... it's true.  He's gone.

I remember when I was in elementary school, and it was a HUGE deal when we upgraded from a Commodore64 computer lab to an Apple Macintosh computer lab.  But then I also remember the brand "Apple" kind of disappearing for awhile... ironically during the period Steve Jobs left the company.  In that hiatus, though, he pushed on the animation world, proving there could be better animation than what Disney could provide by pioneering Pixar films.  Then Apple made a comeback with Steve Jobs at the helm.

Now, as I write this blog on my Mac Mini, I can't help but wonder if Apple will stay the same.  Will Apple keep on the forefront of technology or will they disappear like they did before.  I hope it's the former.

Here's to a man who made us see the world differently.  A visionary who left this world a far better place with his creative mind.  Thank you, Steve - you will be missed.  Rest in Peace.