The moose, the fish

Quick Idaho update:

No fish. When I told Ginny I couldn't catch any of the stupid fish, she said that might actually make them smart.

I only saw moose clumping through a meadow as I was driving across Route 90 between Montana & Idaho. They were too far to see very well, and they were on the opposite side of the road so I didn't get to stop and take pictures.

100 degree days to start the trip, big storm came through with 2 days of rain, temps dropped to 70. Wild weather patterns!

The vacation was amazing! Ginny had a blast with her cousin Amanda. They are the same age, going into the same grade, and can talk on the phone for hours. They are sisters at heart! I spent 10 days in Idaho. Prior to the trip, I was worried and thought to myself.....What am I going to do in IDAHO for 10 days???? I'm always worried I'll be bored. I read 3 books, fished a bit, hung out with family, went out for great dinners, and woke up to the most beautiful view every day.....even in the rain.

Pictures above: View from the deck, Drew at The Smetheram Wheel

Pictures below: Idaho on foot :)

I've discovered something...

You can't drive down the highway at 40 miles per hour and switch to reverse.

No, I did not learn this in the car, that is a metaphor. I learned this through experience with my weight. Last year, after some personal heartbreak, family stress, and other external problems, I had a medical issue. It's called THE CREEPS! I had the creeps, my weight was creeping, creeping, and creeping up. I gained 40 lbs over the last year. The Creeps really suck!!!

You can't go from steadily gaining weight to reverse and losing it at the same pace. One must first stop, get into neutral, then you can move into reverse and slowly back up. I started on Jenny Craig in March. Since then, I've not even lost a full 10 lbs. I have been frustrated, annoyed, and really angry with myself for not steadily losing 1 - 2 lbs. per week.

Guess what??!!?? I need to slow down, stop, get into neutral, then....and ONLY then, will I be able to go into reverse.

So, now I will be grateful for the 8 lbs. I've lost and the fact that I'm no longer heading down that highway at the maximum speed. I need to get comfortable with where I am so that I can switch comfortably into reverse. THAT IS MY NEW PLAN!

I am working on taking out some of the bad (fast food), and adding the good (Jenny Craig & salads). I've been increasing my fruit, and found a great salad bar near my work that isn't too expensive.

Here are some of the good & bad coming up:
When the kids are with me, I will have to get up at 5:00am to get Drew to the bus stop. That will suck! However, I will have a chance to get on the recumbent bike and/or balance ball with weights during that early morning time before I take my shower and get Ginny up to leave with her.
I start classes on Tuesday nights and will need to avoid the fast food for dinner in between work & class.

Happy I go with my stop & neutral positions until I'm ready to hit reverse. Good luck to me!

Please God.....Oh, Please...

Please let me see a moose on my vacation. This I pray to you, my Lord.

For the last 3 years in a row, I have seen moose while vacationing in Idaho. The first year, we went out searching for them. Our neighbor drove us up a logging road, and there along the side of the road, was a bull and a cow. The bull's face was so big! And we were so close to them.

Year 2, the moose came to us. My father and I were out in our little boat (rowboat with outboard motor) fishing (we left at approx. 6:00am). We'd had a rough morning with a slight wind, and no luck catching anything. Another boat (same type) was coming toward us. The guy yelled "There's 2 cows to your port." Now, when I hear cows, I think.....cows....as in ....Moo!" Not in Idaho. That means female moose. Sure enough, we look to our left and there were 2 moose swimming in the lake. They were maybe 5 car lengths from us, we could hear them grunting. We were close to the mountain side of the lake, and they headed over to the shore and disappeared into the mountain forest.

Last year, we saw a couple of moose. The first one was swimming across the lake. She got out near some houses farther down from us. I ran to the road (Lane 4), to see if I could meet her on the path. Alas, that did not happen (maybe for the best since they are HUGE!!!). The final moose was seen amongst the lily pads. He was shoulder deep, munching, eating his lunch. We were in my cousin's motor boat, there was another boat, and a jet ski hanging around watching him eat. In the picture below, the moose is in between my 2 kids eating his lunch.

So, God, if you are so inclined, I would be very happy if you would send a moose my way while I'm in Idaho. For some reason, Lord, this very large, odd-looking creature brings me much joy, excitement, and even peace. (Not to mention the fact that all my sister saw when she was out there were Quail.....hehehehe).

Fun In Florida

So, you've seen some of the pictures of the fun we've been having. Now, let me tell you about some of the other happenings.

Drew was going to spend the week in Tennis Camp at Heathrow Country Club. He had a couple of 1:1 lessons before the week started. He was invited to attend the Advanced Tennis Class instead of the regular camp. He's being worked so hard, he's come home exhausted each day, but has really learned a lot.

Ginny has turned into a mermaid. She swims non-stop, and has been loving it. She and Mimi have gotten to spend some time together. They went to see the American Girl Movie, shopping for books at Target. She picked out a book called "If I have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince?" Wow.....don't know what to say.....didn't know she was that interested in finding her Prince....

Me, I've had a cold and have been doing a lot of snarking, sneezing, and coughing. Oh well! At home in Maryland with a cold, or in the sunshine, by the pool in Florida with a cold??? I'll take it!!!!

Fairy Godmother, Pics

So much to blog about, and will do so later. I want to get the pictures up from our visit to the Fairy Godmother. It was so amazing and I started crying the second she came out the door, the crying hit another level when she started singing.
Our evening at Cinderella's Royal Table was AMAZING:
THE CASTLE:



Ginny was the Queen of the Castle and ran around taking pictures, laughing and loving it all. We got to take pictures with Cinderella before we were taken up to the dining room....
THE DINING ROOM:
The room was beautiful. A rounded room overlooking the Carousel, rich colors, chandeliers. But even better than the Dining Room was the show....
THE SHOW:
And, here's where the tears flowed. The Fairy Godmother touched my shoulder each time she passed, and my dreams really did come true that night.

The Fairy Godmother

Here we are, back in Orlando at my parents' house.
Tomorrow, we will go to the Magic Kingdom. After hanging around the park, we will attend a wonderful show at Cinderella's Castle. The kids will get their picture taken with Cinderella, but to us, there is only 1 star of the show........!

The Fairy Godmother! When speaking with her, be it in person or over the phone, there is an immediate sense of wonder and amazement! She can give you hope just by saying that she is there for you, as the Fairy Godmother. Not only is she the Fairy Godmother, she is my sister!

And, your sister does ...what??... for a living???

What gives you the creeps?

So, let's think about this for a moment....
I get creeped out by:
spider-cricket things that we call "hoppers"
dead animals in my chimney
live animals in my house.... bats & squirrels
people that I don't want to have anything to do with showing up at my door...
nail fungus
pimples on the ass of humanity.....

But, how we handle what creeps us out is what really matters. Do we vomit, curl up in the fetal position, scream, cry? We may do all of the above or a combination, thereof. But, hopefully, we get through it and handle it.

Regardless of how skeeved out we may be, we push through. We allow ourselves the time to have the fetal-curling, screaming, vomitrotious moments. Then.....we move on....we persevere, and show what we are made of.

How skeeved out are you right now, and how do you handle it?