We had a really nice time. Very peaceful and we did DC at our own pace.

My friend Mario joined us on Friday evening and most of Saturday. He was working. Kind of. He had his radio with him and handled most of his job by radio.

The flowers were just spectacular. Wow. My daughter and I took lots of pictures of flowers all over the city.

Mario gave us a tour of the Senate buildings on Friday night. We even got to ride in the Senators only elevator. Our tour gave us new meaning of being spoiled. We had the place to ourselves except for the workers who clean the place 24/7.

On Sunday we finished up DC and then took the metro out to Vienna and saw my girlfriend Nancy and some other friends of ours. Nancy is in really bad shape with her alcoholism. Very sad. Then our other friends picked us up and took us to Reston town center and we had a blast. Nancy's husband lives there and joined us for some relaxation. He is such a nice guy.
Then we went off and played mini golf at this really cool place.

All in all we had a really nice time. And the weather cooperated and was nice and warm.

Happy weekend almost.

My daughter and I will be flying into DC tomorrow for a long weekend. We are being tourists and just having a non schedule kind of trip. We have a lot of friends in the area.

So all of my friends in the area. I hope you enjoy my kind of weather. I see it's going to be a warm one. I love it.

My daughter and I are staying downtown at 14th and K. We wanted to be in the middle of everything and not rent a car.

The last few days have been incredible down here. I spent a day on the beach. It sure doesn't get better than the last few days. Mid 80's. sunny, nice breeze. Just awesome. Today I did my day 5 at the gym followed by a 5 hours motorcycle ride.

So tomorrow I will pack and get everything ready in the house for my adopted daughter to come in and watch the pets for the weekend.. She jumped at the chance to have a really quiet weekend away from her older brother who she lives with. She moved back east about 6 months ago and is in the process of getting a divorce. She's having a little bit of a problem being around her family again. Like her Dad, step monster, older and younger brother. You get the idea. She wants some peace and quiet and her cell phone doesn't get reception in my house.

Have a fun weekend. I know I will.

HAPPY WEEKEND!!!!

HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Mine started at the gym of course. Lots of reading, cleaning my house after the dog hair settled from my grand dog being here on Easter. The dogs went to the groomers. We had our first thunder storm of the season. Not a bad one, just a little thunder boomer to let us know our dry season is about to end very quickly.
Wednesday I was back to the Endodontist for the next chapter of my root canal. All done. My wallet is a lot thinner but my mouth feels 100% better.

Thursday the gym and all day on the beach. What a gorgeous day it was. Last night my son and I went and saw "Jersey Boys" at the theatre . Awesome play if you get the chance to see it.

Today was a down day at the gym. I detailed my bike and then went for a ride.

All in all not a bad week.

Easter Sunday started with a ride to the beach for a sunrise service. I kind of found a few of them and stayed with a baptism of 500 on the beach. I didn't stay and watch all of them. Just a few. Then I rode down to my friends restaurant on the beach and had breakfast.

Then I went to the gym in my bike gear and had a nice workout with my friends on Easter morning.

After that I rode home for a little bit and then took off on my bike to have my bike blessed at the local Harley dealership by the Bikers for Christ motorcycle group. They had a nice and short service and then we all got our bikes blessed and us too.

Lets just say I had a ton of energy. So I cleaned my place up for company and started preparing dinner for my family.

By the time the kids got back from the beach all the prep work was done. One day when I say dinner is at a particular time we might actually eat around that time. We finished eating and hanging out at 10 o'clock. We had a blast as usual.
A friend of mine who is a recording artist and record producer stopped by for a drink and ended up staying until the end. He said he has never had so much fun at a dinner table before. I swear my family should come with a warning label. He had a blast.

I hope all is well in your world and you had as blessed a day as I did.

What was your day like?

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

I had the first part of the root canal today. Pricey little suckers.
My jaw is still sore. But the waves of pain are gone.

Does this mean I can go back to the gym tomorrow? Please.

My life the last few days:

I have an abscessed tooth. OUCH OUCH OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!

So I am on antibiotics and hoping for some relief soon. The Dentist said take advil or tylenol in large quantities. He wouldn't give me drugs. I WANT DRUGS. This really hurts like a mother. Having babies didn't hurt like this.
I called him today to see if he could call it in for me. Nope. Switch to advil.
Man I am so over this.

Has anyone else had one of these mothers? And I can't get the root canal done until my insurance kicks in next month. I am not looking forward to any of this. I just want the pain to take a hike.

Now I did go to a hockey game with my boys last night. They had a blast acting like teenagers. I just didn't feel good. We had great seats that were free for filling out a survery. You had to know someone to get these. My accountant friend who is too busy to take me out set it up for us.

And I went to the beach today. Pretty day. I figured if I didn't feel good the least I could do was be in my favorite environment. Naked with my feet in the sand. It was too pretty to stay inside in pain. The water was even gorgeous.

I hope everyone is having a better weekend than I am. Oh well. I am generally very blessed.

SOMETIMES LIFE IS REALLY GOOD!!!!!!

This was taken going down alligator alley by a friend of mine. I was going 80 mph.

Have an awesome day!!!!

I like the new pipes.
Much louder ( helps others hear me I hope)
Better insulated and the placement is much more practical for less heat.
More torque. Just what I needed.

I hope everyone is having an awesome day>

WHAT A DAY!!!!!!!

A few friends and I went for a seriously long ride yesterday on our bikes to have lunch with another friend.
We ended up putting over 300 miles on our bikes just for a sub sandwich and great company.

We ate our subs under a very large and old banyan tree. The guys are in the trunk.

The picture of me is with my friend Kenny and Romeo. These guys I have ridden with a lot. Kenny called and asked if I wanted to ride. These guys all know each other from Rhode Island. We had so much fun. What a gorgeous and windy day.

On our way back across alligator alley we saw this huge guy hanging out by a gas station.

Just another day in South Florida.

Today I dropped my bike off at the dealers so I can get my new pipes on finally. This will be really expensive but worth it if it gets rid of the heat issue I am having. I swear it's like sitting on a furnace.

Have an awesome week.

RAIN, RAIN, RAIN!!!!!!!

We really need the rain. Badly. But enough already.
It hasn't stopped in 4 days.

I got rained off the beach again yesterday. I went to a Brazilian festival today on the beach to see a foot-volley tournament. It's huge in Brazil. You play foot volleyball. No hands. gets interesting. These guys are in great shape for sure and love being in the sand. I know more got there and got deluged on. I just laughed and walked in the down poor back to my car. It's a really good thing I brought a bag for my camera and phone just in case it rained.

I am hoping to go riding tomorrow with Harry. Or not. He seems really busy or really not interested. Amazing. I really hate dating. I understand it 's tax season and he's an accountant. But come on. I guess I am not the most patient person.

I hope everyone is having a great day.

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE!!!!

OR NOT!

Actually today my "Wusband" got shipped out to Iraq for the next 4 months. He went on active duty last week. He was supposed to be in Ft. Bragg for 2 weeks followed by 3 months in Iraq then back for 2 weeks and off active duty and back to reserves. I am not so sure the Gov't or Army cares about what is supposed to be verses what they do.

So lets all say a prayer that he comes homes safely from this adventure of being a Doctor to our soldiers in Iraq. I personally hope he grows up a little and gets rid of his God complex. Yes he is one of those Dr's that think they are all knowing and God like. All in all I just want him home safely so he can someday enjoy life and watch our grandchildren grow up. (when we finally get them of course).

Tomorrow my daughter in law and I are going to auditions for "The Amazing Race". They are 15 minutes from my house and she wants to get there before 7 am. Go figure. I am having a tough time getting up before 7:30 after the time change.

Today is Friday the 13th with a full moon. Is that why it rained on me at the beach after I got a wonderful massage?

And last but not least for tomorrow my boyfriend Harry and I are going to the Panthers hockey game. I hope they win. They are in playoff contention and that makes Harry really happy. He's great and very busy. He's a forensic accountant. And it is tax season. So he is swamped with deadlines. A big one on Sunday then April 15th. He swears he's taking a few days off on April 16th. Time will tell.

I hope you all have an awesome weekend.

Happy 26th birthday to my youngest Andrew.

My daughter thought it would be fun to make him a red velvet cake dyed purple with lavender icing. Everyone got a kick out of it. My youngest has a great sense of humor. A few years ago he got a krispy cream doughnut cake with strawberries and sparklers.

So our menu was pizza, wings, BYOB on the beer, etc. and around 15 people. My neighbors were wondering what was going on during the week.

Tonight we are having a small doggie party for my little Shiloh. She is 2 today.

Have a fun day!!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!

This week a friend gave me a Yorki that is almost a year old. What a sweet girl. Her name is Cocoa. A few months ago he asked if I could take the dog or find it a good home. I said yes. Well he called this week wanting to know if I was still willing to take her. I said tomorrow so the dog didn't have to go thru his ex wifes move. I think moves are really tough on animals.

So Cocoa is at my house until Monday when her new family will pick her up. They came over and met her and fell in love with her. Leo is a pharmacist and works with my daughter and they were talking about Yorkis and how they wanted one. I do believe Cocoa will be very spoiled rotten. I am really glad my daughter found her a good home. Not that mine is not a great home for pampered pets. But I really don't want or need 3 dogs. It's just too much work. Now my whole neighborhood has fallen in love with this little girl.

The second picture is of my Shiloh. She is not amused by the addition into the house. She has been down right nasty to her. She has gotten very nippy lately and bit the little 1 year old (neighbor) this afternoon. Not bad, just nipped her finger when Brianna stuck her hand in her face. As 1 year olds are prone to do. I feel bad for Shiloh. She's getting lots of smacks in her snout and lots of time out into the crate.

On the other part of my life that is not ruled by animals. I met a new guy who is really nice. We went out to lunch last week then he was out of town until yesterday. He landed an hour before he picked me up for a hockey game. We had fun. He's a forensic accountant and rides a Harley. He's working tomorrow day. It is tax time after all. Then we are going out to another hockey game (he's a huge fan and has season tickets for Florida Panthers and Denver Avalanche) He also has an office in Denver. Then we are going to a friend of his grand opening of a restaurant in Boca Raton. Ritzy. He said no jeans with holes in them for tomorrow. We are both big fans of casual clothes for the bikes we ride. I clean up nice and can behave myself. So I will show him that side of me tomorrow.

Sunday we are going riding all day. He never works Sundays if he is here. Then we have obligations to stop in and take care of. Like my neighbors 3 year olds birthday party. He also has clients coming in from Canada that we are taking out to dinner. But never fear. The weather tomorrow thru Wednesday is supposed to be low 80's and sunny. I do believe I will be on the beach tomorrow for sure.

On the other side of my compartmentalized life. My "wusband " flies out and goes on active duty for 4 months. He will be in Ft. Bragg for 2 weeks then off to Iraq for 3 months, back to Ft. Bragg for another 2 weeks then home. So I guess that makes me an Officers wife again. This time I don't have to play the game. Thank God.

I hope everyone has an awesome weekend.

Today was just one of those gorgeous south Florida perfect days. Wow. Sunny, nice breeze, water was refreshing ( man of wars jelly fish for awhile), just all out gorgeous.
I took a ride to say hello to a friend this morning early. He was waiting on his movers. He lives in Tampa now. He was supposed to stick around and we were going to go out tonight. He bailed. He's on his way back to Tampa. I knew he would. He was supposed to come over last night for dinner and he didn't. He has a bad habit of doing this. Oh well. He is consistent.
My kids are all up at their Dad's this weekends. So I am on pet patrol. Again. My wusband is going on active duty on March 6th and getting deployed to Iraq in 2 weeks. He will only be on active duty for 4 months due to the fact that he is a Dr. I guess they rotate them in and out so they are fresh and willing to serve in the reserves. I am not sure. He has kept me totally in the dark on this whole thing.
I hope everyone is having a great weekend. It looks like mine will stay quiet.

Meet my friends from the beach. Carmella, her son Aiden and her brother Mario.

A while ago I talked about one of my really good friends Walter. He owns this little Italian restaurant on the beach. He also has ACL> accute mylogenic leukemia. He had a bone marrow transplant just before Christmas. His sister Carmella was his donor. (pictured with her brother Mario and son Aiden) Lets just say Walter is having a really tough time and may have Graph Host disease. Not good. He was having a really rough day today. I drove Mario to the airport. I also pick him up when he comes in to town on Sundays.

This illness has affected the whole family so deeply. It's been going on since last June. Unbelievable. Mario lives and works in DC. He works as a maintenance supervisor in the Senate building. The 3 - 11:30 pm shift. He was late for work again today. He took yesterday off . He has no leave, vacation or anything else left. It has all gone to keeping his brothers restaurant open so Walter has some way to keep his house, etc. He has to be able to pay his bills. Mario has been down at least every 2 weeks since Walter got sick. He has been down the last 4 weeks in a row. 2 weeks over Christmas. The staff has been trying to keep it going , but they are young. And the old saying holds true. " While the cats away the mice will play" I feel really bad for the whole family. Walter's kids are great. They are 16 and 19. His oldest is a freshman at college. The younger one is kind of adrift. Mario is trying to do everything he can for everyone. But they miss their Dad. He raised them alone.
Carmella just had a baby 4 months ago. So she is busy with a 4 year old and a new born. Cute kids. Aiden is a dream. He and I went and explored the mardi gras vendors and had a blast. We banged the African drums, looked in all the vendors and he kept saying :don''t touch" I was really impressed. Then a street musician gave him a tambourine, I played the drums and the musician sang. We had such a nice adventure together. Then we listened to some music and danced. Fun kid. He makes me want grandkids.

So now you have met Mario. He and I really like each other. But alas he doesn't live here anymore. And has no plans to move back. I really wish I could do more to help him cope with all this. But he just keeps going and will do anything to help his younger brother. I will just continue to listen and let him vent. Thats all I can do.

THE AMAZING RACE

My daughter and I will be submitting our application and video to the Amazing Race today. We shot the video yesterday. They should have a great laugh. My daughter in law has wanted to do the show for the last 5 years. Originally she was going to do it with my daughter. Everyone decided our teaming up would be funnier and probably win us the race. And get us on the show. They have never had a mother in law / daughter in law team. And our relationship isn't the best on a good day. She frustrates the hell out of me. She' s a drama queen and very selfish. Time will tell. And she says I never listen.

I hope everyone is having a great week.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!

I have been out of town at Disney for a few days. I was a friend of Mickey's for years. (character) So I still have friends that are friends also. My sister said it was embarrassing that I kept getting bear hugs and being totally engulfed by stray characters. I miss my friends and they miss me. It also makes it fun. Bear hugs are good.

My baby sister was in from New Jersey with my 13 year old niece and her friend Molly. My niece is 6' tall already. WE had a blast. Molly had never been before, so we showed her a really good time. She fell in love with the Animal Kingdom as much as we love it.

My take on Valentines day is not a good one. I believe it is a card company holiday and the retailers and florist jack up prices sky high. I also believe that your sweetheart should treat you special everyday. And a card company shouldn't instill guilt one day a year. I would rather go out to dinner any other time than on a holiday. But that's just my opinion.

This is also the first time in 11 years that I have had this weekend off. I have worked the Miami boat show every year and it is always over Valentines day. I find it kink of funny that I don't have a sweetie this year and I actually have it off. But I had a nice day anyway. I worked out with a new friend who used to be a trainer. We worked out at his gym. Then he detailed my car for me and we watched a comedian on tv. The comedian was really funny. It was a gorgeous day out. But I don't go to the beach 2 days in a row. And yesterday was just glorious. But never fear. I will be at the gym first thing then off to the beach. These sunny low 80's type of days are my kind of a winter.

Have an awesome day.

Happy Sunday

I have had a quiet week. My back has been bothering me. My friend Tom gave me a massage on Friday and fixed it. Thank God. I was in desperate need of an adjustment for sure. Now I am sick with a head cold. I will try and fix that up today.

Tomorrow I head to Disney for a few days. My sister and niece will be there and I am going to tag along and steal half my sisters bed. ;-} I will also see some friends from my Disney days. I am actually looking forward to a few Disney days. Just getting out of town will be nice for a change. And the weather is supposed to be really nice. Sunny and 80 during the day. Mid 50's at night. Nice. My sister lives in my home town in NJ and has been freezing.

I snuck in a ride yesterday for a few hours. It was still raw out and I was starting to feel crappy. So I came home and took a nap.

Last night I went to the movies with my daughter and a friend of hers. "He's just not into you " is funny. And all women should see it and men. Especially us single woman. You will have a few Oh My God moments.

I am off to the gym this morning for a short workout. I will ride today. My carpets are getting cleaned at noon. Then I am going to go ride and find some live music. A lot of the local biker bars cater to destination riders looking for someplace to listen to music on Sunday afternoons.

Have an awesome week.

It's cold again. Tonight they say it will go down in the 30's. I am not sure I like that idea.

My weekend was ok. Nothing big happening. My back has been really bothering me. Thats not good. But I still haven't given up the gym. I am just taking it easier.

I have a friend of mine that has been coming in an out from DC helping at his brothers restaurant. His brother is one of my best friends. We were really surprised to have a very mutual attraction to each other. But as all things go we have thought it out and decided logistics are just not good. I have no intention of moving out of sunny south Florida away from the sunshine, and my kids. He has no desire to move back to South Florida. Now he has a government job that he likes. I know and love DC. I lived there for 7 years. But I am NOT moving back. I really like my lifestyle. So before we acted on this mutual attraction we thought things thru. He's back in DC today and back to work. I will miss the connection. He's one of the nicest and real people I have gotten to know in a really long time. He's cautious and thinks things out before he acts. Wow.

My other sweetie is gone too. Oh well. That has always been the nature of the relationship. I do believe I am going to take a long break from guys. Maybe I will find another Mario locally. That would be really nice.

I hope everyone is staying warm.

Yesterday was the annual Chili Cook off. It's a huge country concert that has a massive chili cook off contest. But you can't eat the chili. You can't even buy chili at the cook off.

We had a blast like usual. Alan Jackson was the final performer and was just incredible. My daughter and I have seen him like 6 times now. He puts on a great show. Not as full blown as his big concerts, but boy can he sing.

The pictures are of me sitting on a crotch rocket motorcycle, the concert and my daughter Lauren and her best friend Andrea. I consider Andrea my adopted daughter. Andrea moved back from the west coast a few months ago and is settling back into having family around again. Not always easy some days. But my house is her haven like when she was growing up.

I hope everyone has as awesome a weekend as I did.

IT'S INAUGURATION DAY!!

As our country celebrates a new President. I stayed home, warm and watched it all on TV. As you can tell my pets were really enjoying all the festivities..

Now I had a really good friend of mine in that crowd with his niece. She's a freshman at University of Central Florida. She loved it, he said it was an experience that he is glad he has had. But he'll watch it on tv next time and stay warm. He's still trying to get home. She flew in last night from Orlando and is already on a plane home.

The only function I would have even attempted to go to would have been the concert on Sunday. I love to be warm, fed and have a clean bathroom at my disposal with no lines. Call me silly.

Tomorrow the President gets down to business. My question is this. Can he sleep in? The last ball they are visiting is slated for 3 am. Yikes. I need my sleep.

I hope everyone enjoyed this history making day. Whether you voted for him or not. It was history. And it was well done for sure with dignity and grace.

The last week in our family we celebrated another birthday. This one was Cade's 24th birthday. Cade is the younger brother of my adopted son Logan. His request for dinner was tacos and a german chocolate cake. We had a nice time.

This week was also a full moon. I hung out up on the beach lying on my back trying to get a good shot. My favorite full moon shots still come from Cabo last March.

On Monday evening I had my first audition for a poker dealing job. I bombed it so bad. I was so nervous my brain shut down. Now I have to find experience doing bar poker or charity events. Now the good news is , once I get experience they want me to come back and audition again. I knew I needed experience but I didn't expect to totally loose my train of thought. Unbelievable. I am so mad at myself.

This weekend I am on pet patrol again while everyone is gone in different directions. A family wedding on my wusband's side.
The kids are staying in NY city so they can enjoy the city instead of Northern NJ. My daughter is heading to Denver for her god daughters christening. Then I have company coming in all weekend. On top of being on airport duty. Fun times. The good news is the airport is 10 minutes away.

I hope everyone is staying warm. It even got cold down here this week.

Stop by and say hello and let me know what everyone is doing.

Last night the sunset was spectacular. Being on the east coast makes it kind of tough to get a good sunset shot sometimes. Last night nature cooperated for sure.

We have had a very action packed week on our beach. The city of Hollywood did really good in the planning department. They scheduled a hot air balloon festival start on January 2nd and going all weekend. Talk about keeping our visitors entertained on our beach straight thru the New Year. Our beach front business' have had a really good 2 weeks.

Now the wind was too much for the balloons to be up, so they just blew the torches last night. It was a really cool sight.

I hope everyone has an awesome 2009.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

May 2009 be a very healthy and happy year for you.

Carol

We had a very nice Christmas eve and day. A typical holiday at my house. No drama. Just loving being together.

My boyfriend joined us this year and had a very nice and mellow day. He usually doesn't do family gatherings. Now he has known my kids since they were teenagers and they actually like each other. I gave him some dressy shirts, a sherpa blanket that we all have and love. And last but not least a really nice swiss watch. He gave me a headset for my helmet and a gorgeous Harley leather jacket. He did good.

Today I am having a total beach day. Up on the beach early and staying until at least 3. I am bringing my wind screen for sure.

Have a very happy holiday weekend.

My sweetie and I took another touring bike out for a ride yesterday. This time we went from home on the southeast section of Florida to Naples and Ft Meyers. A few hours across the state. We got a little rained on over there. But not bad. We had a really nice day. The gulf coast is so different from the Atlantic side.

It's really hard to believe that it's almost Christmas. It's in the 80's until ? I do hear the sun is coming back out soon. I hope.

I really liked the poinsettia Christmas tree around the palm tree.

Last Saturday night I had the opportunity to deal some poker at a charity event. It was fun. Some of the players were a huge pain in the ass. But thats ok. It was experience. And I sure need real time experience. I guess it's good some were difficult. But I think they forgot it was a charity fund raiser for a little league travel team. I got paid well. So that was good.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season.

I am such a bad friend.

Well that is what Nancy thinks. She wants out of rehab and I am refusing to go pick her up. She called her parents first and they called me after saying they would come get her. Well I put a stop to that and then sicked my friend Henry on her parents,. Lets just say they are staying in Jacksonville and not giving into her demands. I talked to them 4 times in the last 24 hours. Nancy has no clue that we are all in cohoots on this. Nor are we telling her.,

If I have my way I will have her husband cancel all her credit cards and pull the rug out from under her also. Maybe if she has nothing more to loose she just might get it. So far she just wants to run.

I chewed her a new ass whole when she called and told her to suck it up. She said she was going to call cab, check into a hotel and call the airlines and change her flight home. I told her to empty the mini bar and drink up while she was at it. I also asked her what she was afraid of. Maybe that it was all starting to get into her pickled brain that she can't drink or she will die. No one said it was going to be easy. But she is at a critical point and she has to stick with it.

We are all realizing that Nancy is going to need some long term care. Like a half way house or an extended program to keep her going. And she is fighting the 28 days. Imagine what she will fight us all on that. I guess the program is telling her that she needs extended help too. Hence she is trying to run. We are trying to make it so she has no place to run to.

So please keep Nancy in your prayers. She sure needs it. Hopefully she didn't run away from rehab tonight. I will call tomorrow and see if she's still there.

My past week!!!

I had a good week generally speaking.

I spent Friday on the beach and got a massage. I really like getting massages on the beach with the ocean crashing in the background and the sun beating down on me.

Saturday I went back up and saw my girlfriend Nancy in rehab. Same as last weekend. I think she is just marking time until she gets out. I'm not sure she gets it yet. She's still fighting it. It doesn't matter what we say. I even kicked her in the ass. Not hard. But she is just not getting that she really has to change her life. Everything and accept reality as it is. I tried, Henry tried and he agrees with me. He has been clean and sober for 13 years and has worked with a lot of addicts.
I asked her who the new lady is that is all black and blue. She had just gotten there. I also explained to her that she looked like that last year when I was at her beach house. All black and blue. Fact is drunks fall a lot.

Yesterday my sweetie and I went riding to listen to music. Today we took off to the Keys on the big bike he has been breaking in.
So for the last 2 days I have been on the back of a big touring bike. Really nice. It's fun to sit on the back and just enjoy the scenery and play with my sweeties long curls while riding. I also massage his shoulders. I'll be back on my bike in the morning.
Part of his job at the Harley dealership is to break in all the new bikes that come in on the fly and ride program. He has to put on miles and break them in. A fun job for sure. Then we get to ride on the touring bikes without buying one and being limited to just one bike. OK. I know we are spoiled.

I have been to the local casinos just checking in and saying hello to the bosses. I hear the way to get a job is to be around so they know your name. They are learning my name and face for sure.

Tomorrow it is back to the gym as usual. ( day 3 of my 5 day work out week). I find my work out keeps me sane and focused for sure.

I will probably go stop in at dealer school and play some poker and deal some cards to stay fresh.

Have an awesome week everyone.

Welcome to Christmas 2008!!!

We put up the tree on Sunday. A family event as usual. My friend Rheo was in for Thanksgiving with his boyfriend and his family. They were here the day after Thanksgiving for dinner, then Rheo stayed in town for an extra day and hung out with us. Rheo was my roommate for a year up in Orlando. We were both characters at Disney. He's so much fun and best of friends with my kids.
I spent Saturday on the bike riding up to see my girlfriend Nancy. She needs our prayers for sure. She had lots of complaints, liked the facility. What's not to like. It is a really small and cute facility. Small little cabins a block from the beach. I think one of the problems she is having is she can't hide and just skate thru without getting called out on everything. The counselors are not giving an inch and she is balking at the rules, etc. The rehab facility has a capacity for 18 and only 9 was in residence for the holidays. She is under the spotlight and not happy about it.
We did have a nice visit. Her thinking is all over the place. She looks like shit, and I am being nice. She is putting some weight on because they are making her eat real food. Not slim fast. Which she lives on at home. But I really hope she starts realizing that she really needs to get it this time. And I don't think she gets it. They are in 5 meetings a day. Forced to talk and open up. She is fighting the talking about everything. She doesn't see this as a problem. She finds outside meetings too big, having nothing to do with her, etc. I just don't know. But I will go see her next Saturday again and check on her progress.

I am off job hunting again today. Time to stop back into the casinos and say hello and follow up on my applications. They are all hiring right now and I want a job.

Have an awesome day.

I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving.
We had a very quiet and nice family day.

The Madonna concert was good. Not great. She started 2 1/2 hours late. No opening act except some awful D.J. for an hour.
Then nothing for an hour and a half. When I say that everyone was pissed. Thats an understatement. No explanation, nothing and not even a Happy Thanksgiving. She called us fuckers all night long. I will say she looks incredible, can sing with the best of them and she plays guitar. Which is something I didn't know. And she played a lot. The show was entertaining. I am just glad that I didn't pay for those overpriced tickets. And to make it worse, traffic was horrific. It took us an hour to just get out of the venue parking lot. My daughter was very happy I had her go pee before we left for the parking lot. I finally got to bed at 2 am. Way past my bed time.

Yesterday it was back to my life as usual. Up early, a good work out at the gym. Then off to a gorgeous day at the beach. I had dinner of left overs with my daughter, then off on my bike to listen to some music up in Fort Lauderdale. Just a nice day all around.

Today I am off riding all day. My girlfriend Nancy is allowed visitors today from 1 to 5. I will be riding up to see her and spend the afternoon with her. She has no idea I will be showing up. My friend Henry is playing golf with some corporate types. He's a financial planner. So he does a lot of golfing with the corporate types. His favorite weekend activity besides riding his motorcycle. But he has gotten the ok to speak at the rehab center she is at. He will probably see her next weekend.

I hope all is well in your world. Mine is good.

Have an awesome weekend.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE.

I will be having a quiet day at home with my family. Just me and the kids.

Tonight my daughter and I are going to the Madonna concert. A friend gave me some tickets. Not bad, club level seats. I hear parking is going to cost us $30. Holy smokes. But hey, we get to see Madonna for free almost. I really miss the day when parking was free. I don't know about where you live. But down here it has gotten really out of hand and expensive.

I hear the weather is going to be gorgeous here for a few days. I plan on some beach time and bike time.

Have an awesome day.

This is a picture of my best friend Nancy and I taken a year ago.

Nancy is a chronic alcoholic.. Tomorrow she will enter rehab again and try to stay sober. My friend Henry and I found her a place close to us so we can monitor the situation. She flew into Jacksonville on Thursday from DC (lives there) to her parents house. They will be driving her down tomorrow. Henry and I did volunteer to pick her up at the airport and drive her to rehab. Henry will celebrate his 13th anniversary on 12/18 of sobriety. For him it's a daily struggle not to self medicate. I do get it. But he has his life back. Is very successful and has no desire to loose it now.

This is something she has been talking about for months. So we found her a place. She was trying to convince everyone she needed to go to Aruba. It sounded more like a vacation to us. So we found her a place close to the beach, but half the price and not a vacation resort.

Now Nancy is a tough one. I think the longest she has stayed sober is 9 months. After the last rehab years ago. She has lost her husband, her friends, her business. Nothing seems to matter to her but getting drunk to a comatose level. Vodka in her morning tea. Wine all day. Her husband took her car away. Had to so she wouldn't kill anyone.

To say that I am tough on her when she calls is an understatement. I just don't get it.

I sobered up 3 years ago so I could get my life back. I have it back in full force an I love being sober. I really think she is afraid to start living again. She hibernated in her town house in the DC suburbs and does NOTHING. She watches tv all day. Even when she has detoxed herself and is sober for a few days. She's 48. She has totally lost her 40's to being a drunk. I look back at my 40's as an adventure. Even though I was totally dependent on Xanex and drank like a fish. I still lived a life, worked, etc. When it got really bad was after I stopped working. It only took a few months to see I really needed help and start getting my life back on track. And a ton of support and no mincing of words from those who loved me. But I had to do it for me. And it sucked and was not easy. And I have no desire to ever go back into that hell. Or go thru detox again. I feel like I finally have my brain back after years of Dr's saying I needed medication for anxiety and depression. And it's taken 3 years to have my brain function properly. The long lasting side affects of the Xanex, and anti depression meds are incredible. I came off the drugs with no Dr and never asked them if I could. I took control myself. And continue to stay in control. No excuses.

So please keep Nancy in your prayers. I really hope she finally makes some progress. But she is stubborn. She continues to fight anyone who voices an opinion. Maybe if she channeled all that will into being sober she just may make it this time. What do they say, "let go and let God".

Henry and I will be going up to see her when they let us. Henry will arrange to speak up there while she is there as a favor to me. But she has to want it bad enough to succeed. We can only wish her well.

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Saturday night I went to see Manheim Steamroller with my kids. Spectacular.. What a way to kick off the holiday season.

Sunday night I went on a double date with one of my boyfriends and my daughter and her boyfriend. He just shakes his head at my choice in men. (my 2 sweeties couldn't be more different) We saw Cirque De Solei in a big tent in Miami. Wow. Then we went out and had a really nice Italian dinner at a very quant and little Italian restaurant in South Beach.

Yesterday was spent at the gym followed by a photo trip to a squatters camp on Key Biscayne in Miami. With my other sweetie. He and I go on these photo shoots all the time. Always fun.

So these pictures are from yesterday.

The guy is a squatter there for the last 20 years. He thought I was doing some big shots for someone. I played along with it. We sure met some interesting people yesterday. I got some great shots. My sweetie got some great shots. We had a really nice and fun day for sure.

Today I am off to school to keep my dealing skills in top form.

Have an awesome day everyone.

YIPPEE YAHOOEE !!!!!!!!!

I FINALLY GRADUATED FROM DEALER SCHOOL ON MONDAY NIGHT.

UNBELIEVABLE.

I will continue to go to classes until the casinos start hiring in the next month or so to stay fresh and on top of my dealing.
I really do want to get a job. All the casinos down here will be going 24 hours in the next few months so they are going to need major help. So the final window of a large opportunity for a dealer job in Florida is approaching and I plan on walking in the door. Wish me luck.


Have an awesome day!

I have had a good week.

I got rid of some of my stress factors.

It's amazing what you can do to improve your mental state by figuring out what is bothering you and doing something about it.
I figured out what was bothering me and improved my mood. I am so much less stressed and happier,.

I started working out with a friend of mine at the gym, then he added a few more girls / woman to the mix, Almost immediately I started to try and get away from the group. I like to work out alone and keep it moving. Not standing around talking and waiting for everyone to go so I can do another rep. I just don't have the patience to wait. I don't want to wait. Well the others had a problem with my attitude. I had a problem with so many people working out near me and affecting me while I tried to workout. So my attitude started to really suck. And I was the only one working out 5 days a week. The fact that I do my abs at home didn't help. So they kept bitching to my friend that I was a bitch, not friendly, not supportive, arrogant, etc. But of course they didn't say this to my face. I found out all they said when I talked to my friend. I called him to quit the group. Almost instantly my sanity returned, my mood improved. I saw my friend on Tuesday morning and he couldn't believe how much better and less stressed I was. Hopefully his workouts with the harem will be less stressful also. But I doubt it. Anytime you get that many different personalities in a group, it won't work.

I am doing doubles at school to finish up. Hopefully this week. Lets keep the fingers crossed on that one.

I have also gotten back on my bike after letting my thumb heal after hyper extending it. And the weather has improved enough for me to get back on the beach on my days off. I needed sunshine.

So all in all I had a great week. I hope you did also.

I spent Friday at the Animal Kingdom with some photography friends learning my camera. The animals were having a good day. I have a good friend who always tells me like it is, whether I want to hear it or not. So the prairie dogs is a picture for Tom. Since he always has my back even when I don't deserve it sometimes.

The ape in the forest is my idea of bliss. A beautiful secluded area. The ape has the right idea.

I hope everyone is having an awesome weekend. I am going out on my bike, my sweetie is taking me for a ride. I hurt my hand, so he is nice enough to take me out to get the wind in my face.

Stop the rain already!!!!!!

This is NOT supposed to be our rainy time of year.

Our forecast for this weekend and into next week is nothing but rain. AGAIN!!!!

My bike is still under cover since Wednesday. It doesn't look like it will be out anytime soon.
They say on Tuesday that a cold front will move in and it will be 60 degrees when we wake up.
That is freezing for sure. But the silver lining is my electric bill will finally go down.

I went out to a Los Lonely Boys concert last night. Interesting, small venue, smoky ;-{.
The classify themselves as a Texican rock and roll band. Great guitar work ,drummers were awesome , nice vocals when they did sing, basically they just jammed thru and hour and a half. I'm glad I didn't pay for it. My friend Henry did. He was there with a good female friend of his, and called me and asked me to join him. We would both have preferred a country concert for sure.

I have had nothing but bad health news for my friends that have cancer. Neither one are doing well. My friend Walter with Leukemia is just having a really tough time on his second round of chemo. They couldn't kill him the first time, so they are trying it again. High fever again, they can't find the source, blood count won't come up. Etc, etc, etc. My friend Judy that I went to Mexico with in March is still in the hospital out in Chicago. They just put her on chemo to see if they can get the cancer that is in her spinal fluid, etc. Now Judy was in stage 4 bone cancer for the last few years. I just think her body is finally giving up from all the cancer. Her outlook is just not good either.

Then my best friend from DC called whining that her separated husband (2 yrs) took a woman to church with him. I say it's about time for him. He is such a nice guy and deserves to find some relief. She is a chronic alcoholic who refuses to sober up, stay sober or start living some kind of life. So I lit into her for being a total selfish drunk who can do something about her life, she is not terminal or have cancer, she just flat out refuses to get better. So I let her have it. She told me last night to get off her back. I just don't want to hear her excuses anymore. I love her and she and I have been friends for 35 years. But come on.

Now my really good friend Kevin is having serious health issues again. They just found several masses on his kidneys. So you can see why I just can't stand my girlfriends whining. I just don't get it.

I need sunshine so I can function thru all this sad news.

The weekend plans are fun though. A bridal / engagement party for one of my sons best friends and tomorrow we are having a meet the baby party for one of my daughters best friends who lives in Colorado. She is in with her newborn and 2 year old.
So life does go on. And in a good way.

I am still an optimistic person. I love life and love living my life. I surround my self with positive and sober people. Sober is very important to me.

And such is my life this week. School was tough but good. I made progress. I need to make more progress so I can get a job hopefully next month. The gym was challenging because I wasn't feeling 100%. I hurt my shoulder. But all in all it could have been worse.

Have an awesome weekend.

YIPPEE YAHOOEE!!!!!!!

IT'S GOING TO BE SUNNY AND NICE ALL WEEKEND.

NO RAIN FINALLY!!! I do believe our draught is finally over.

I spent the day at the gym and the beach. The water was murky for us.
But 85, nice breeze and quiet. My kind of beach day. My sweetie joined me for a few hours.
Peaceful. We try and turn our phones off. Down time.

Tomorrow I will go for a ride early. It is cool in the mornings now so I have broken out my full face helmet.
I love this time of year. I cocoon my head with my earphones in and enjoy the ride with my face protected.
I even have a dark visor on with sun glasses. Nice. And my face doesn't get dirty. Now that's really nice.

This week I missed school twice. Monday for the dentist. Thursday for my hair appointment. By the time I finished with my hair appointment it was 2 pm. Paula really takes her time. And her next appointment had cancelled.

Lunch on the beach in Fort Lauderdale then home.

Tonight is a quiet night at home doing laundry and reading. Just me and the dogs.

Sunday will be spent back on the beach. I really like getting vitamin D the old fashion way.

Have a fun weekend.

HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY TO ME.

I was born on September 4th, 1958.

I hear it was not a fun pregnancy for my Mom. And I guess I was a huge pain growing up. But I think I turned out pretty well. I think she just didn't know what to do with a normal ADHD kid with a learning disability. I was outgoing, always smiling, loved being outside and going all the time. And I wasn't bad looking. But my Mom didn't exactly like me. Thank God for my Grams. I think she kind of caught on really quickly, we lived next door and she always kidnapped me. I was the 3rd child in 3 1/2 years. So Mom had her hands full. She had 3 more after me. My parents split when I was in the 3rd grade and the baby of the family was only 1. I lost my Mom in 1990. And my Grams last month. So I was raised primarily by my Grandparent. Both sets. We lived with my Moms parents after my parents split. But my Grams continued to kidnap me.

So in honor of my 50th birthday I am going to be good to myself tomorrow. I am going to get up like usual and take my dogs for a walk. Go to the gym and tone and firm and bleed off some energy. ( I am just an adult now with ADHD and a learning disability.) Then I am taking the day off from school and going to the beach and get naked like usual.. I go to a nude beach so I have no tan lines. I am a naturalist. I will more than likely go alone, but thats ok. It's pretty quiet up there during the week and the lifeguards are right there. My sweeties are both working. Oh well. Then home for a shower and off to dinner with my kids. And that is how I will spend my birthday. No big parties, no boyfriends, and nothing out of the ordinary.

My "wusband " has also decided that in honor of my 50th birthday he will now need a divorce and cut me off financially until he makes me bankrupt. Lets just say that he chose this week to demand all kinds of things, be nasty and non ending harassment to let me know that he finally wants out. I knew he was too nice at our sons party.. There is always and will always be him pulling the rug out from under me. Never ever wonder why I left him 6 years ago. The abuse was non ending. He was just taking a breather. Oh and it must be my birthday. I just roll my eyes and shrug my shoulders.

Now the good news is I am finally getting ready to take my final at school, pass my auditions so I can graduate and be ready for the auditions that should be happening the end of the month or early October.

Sounds like the perfect timing for someone to act up and kill my concentration. And this guy wants out peacefully. He just never learns. The best way not to get what you want from me is to piss me off. I will dig my feet in and hold true to what I believe in and not budge. With a smile on my face of course. I will NOT sink to this mans level ever. I will not get nasty. I still have hopes of sitting at our children's weddings, family gatherings, etc without daggers being thrown. I know it's a lot to ask. But I do want a peaceful ending to a nasty 30 year marriage. I was smart enough to bail at 24 for good. It was just to dangerous to stay anymore.

So Happy 50th birthday to me. I hope the day goes as planned. That the ex takes a day off from the nastiness that came out of nowhere yesterday and hasn't stopped since via text, and email. I do believe I need a beach day. Thank God the hurricane is not coming our way so I can have a beach day. Wish me luck.

And thanks for letting me vent a little . I have had a total bitch of a few days.

HAPPY LABOR DAY WEEKEND!

Here is the sunrise from last Saturday. I thought it was a hazy morning, but I guess I got the shots.

What are your plans this weekend?

Today we celebrated my oldest sons 30th birthday. He wanted a beach BBQ.
We had a blast. A very nice and peaceful day was had by all on the beach. My wusband even came down for the weekend.
And the rain even stayed away for a change. Now that was a miracle for sure.

I'm still not sure how I can have a 30 year old child when I am only 35 myself. ;-}
I hope everyone else has had a nice as day as I did. I started it off with a ride to the beach to take pictures of the sunrise. I really wished I lived closer to the beach. But 15 minutes isn't bad.

Tropical Storm Fay has left the area.

We've had a few wet and windy days down here for sure. It's still really windy with a few rain bands floating in and out. But all is good. No flooding in my neighborhood, no damage to my cars or my body due to this storm. So all is good.

It always amazes me that the news over reacts to a possible storm. I know we need to be prepared, etc. But do they really have to stir up mass hysteria. Several of my neighbors put up their hurricane shutters. Are you kidding me. The wind only made it to 40 mph. I don't think we even got that high. The cover didn't even blow off my bike.

School was cancelled for 2 days. So all these kids down here got a longer summer vacation. Now I don't blame them for that. Safety first and it did start to get ugly yesterday afternoon. This morning was really ugly until around 11. My school closed today too. Better safe than sorry.

My friend Walter checked himself out of the hospital last night. He's had enough for awhile and needed to sleep in his own bed for the first time in 2 months. He's now recovering from open heart surgery. The chemo and the port they used to give it to him destroyed his heart valve. His surgery was last week. He's very cranky and mad at the world. His oldest daughter leaves for college tomorrow and he can't take her as planned. She's a nervous wreck.

His daughter called me last night at 10 o'clock needing my help. They needed help moving a recliner into his house so he could sleep and no one was strong enough to help. So she scared up a truck, I made a phone call for a few 20 something boys and we were there within 30 minutes. The boys enjoyed the adventure and like helping out a friend of the family. We pulled it off in between down pours in the middle of a storm. Walter got some sleep last night. His daughter knew he needed to sleep in a reclining type position. She wanted her dad comfy. We made it happen. She's a strong willed kid for sure. I had told her if she needed anything at all to call me and I would get it done.

Walter texted me this morning to say thank you. No thanks needed in my book. He's one of my best friends. He would do it for any one of us.

I hope all is well in your little corner of the world.

IN LOVING MEMORY

ELLA B. SCHULTZ

93 YEARS OLD

WHAT AN ADVENTURE SHE HAD

SHE WILL BE SO MISSED

I LOVE YOU GRAMS