Due to my natural upbringing I have always been a bit leery of going to the doctor. Don’t get me wrong, I make my annual appointments for my eyes, teeth and girlie parts, but I don’t enjoy them, and I am glad to check them off my annual “to do” list.
Amazingly in the 70’s, my small southern hometown had a health food store that is still in business today. My parents were always of the persuasion that you should try vitamins, supplements, and sweating it out (Dad’s prescription), before you resort to taking pharmaceuticals. As a kid, treats in our house consisted of carob chocolate, sliced carrots, and fruit juice frozen into plastic Popsicle containers. When spending the night at a friend’s house I would gorge myself on sodas, sweetened cereals, and greasy chips. Delicious.
As an adult, I believe that a large amount of your health and general well bring is connected to diet and exercise, but I do realize that sometimes that isn’t enough. So for the bulk of this year I have spent an absorbent amount of time in doctor’s waiting rooms, taking pills, and hoping that modern medicine would serve up a “quick-fix”. I have a better understanding of why drugs are so heavily consumed in our culture, because it takes little discipline to take a pill. As long as you can ignore the long list of side effects that are sometimes worse than what you were taking the medicine for in the first place. After months of taking the modern medicine route with no success, I have decided to go back to a more natural approach. As of June I am drug free, for the most part.
So tomorrow I have an appointment with an acupuncturist. I am anxious and excited. I went to Wikipedia to read up on the subject. There are opinions on both sides as to the effectiveness of acupuncture, but there are always two sides to every story. Honestly, I don’t love the idea of tiny stainless steel needles which resemble nails, being inserted all over my body, but I am willing to give it a shot. At least the lists of side effects are short (minor bleeding, bruising, and dizziness) and don’t include rectal bleeding.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Lock your doors! Shutter your windows!
About once a month we receive an email update from our neighborhood association. They usually consist of upcoming events such as a Ladies Brunch or Mayoral Candidate's Forum, but the most recent one was titled "Crime Threat" and this is what it said.
"The "GYPSIES" are back! If you don't know who the Gypsies are, they are a group of thieves that travel to various states in the U.S. and enter homes through unlocked doors and steal jewelry and silver and immediately FEDX the stolen goods to New York City."
Now I don't know about you but this conjures up all kinds of images for me. I immediately picture a roving band of dark haired, hippie-clothes-wearing people wondering the streets of our neighborhood in their covered wagon peddling herbal remedies for your ailments, reading your palm and possibly kidnapping your youngest child.
But the email goes on to say,"A woman described as having dark hair, dark complexion, with high cheek bones, wearing a jogging-type suit will enter the home and attempt to remove jewelry or silverware. If confronted by the homeowner, the suspect will say they are looking for their dog."
their dog."
This starts out with the first image that came to my mind, but I guess a modern day gypsy has traded in the flowing skirts, tops, and headscarf for a jogging suit. Even gypsies have to get with the times.
These gypsies apparently think that my neighborhood is comprised of fools. To tell someone who has just cornered them in their home that they are looking for a lost dog. How does a lost dog get inside your home? And what about all those jewels and silverware that resembles your things or the bulging bag on their shoulder. That doesn't raise suspicion?
The email ends with this note: "The Gypsies usually work in groups of two or three. A male will drive a small rental car through the neighborhood while at least one female will walk through the neighborhood casing homes."
Hmmm well I guess a covered wagon, would draw a lot more attention than a rental car. I am not that worried about us getting a visit from these bandits. We have absolutely no silverware and the only jewelry of any value is my wedding ring which is always on my finger. But I wouldn't mind getting a glimpse of these modern day Gypsies. Apparently, fortune-telling wasn't paying the bills.
"The "GYPSIES" are back! If you don't know who the Gypsies are, they are a group of thieves that travel to various states in the U.S. and enter homes through unlocked doors and steal jewelry and silver and immediately FEDX the stolen goods to New York City."
Now I don't know about you but this conjures up all kinds of images for me. I immediately picture a roving band of dark haired, hippie-clothes-wearing people wondering the streets of our neighborhood in their covered wagon peddling herbal remedies for your ailments, reading your palm and possibly kidnapping your youngest child.
But the email goes on to say,"A woman described as having dark hair, dark complexion, with high cheek bones, wearing a jogging-type suit will enter the home and attempt to remove jewelry or silverware. If confronted by the homeowner, the suspect will say they are looking for their dog."
their dog."
This starts out with the first image that came to my mind, but I guess a modern day gypsy has traded in the flowing skirts, tops, and headscarf for a jogging suit. Even gypsies have to get with the times.
These gypsies apparently think that my neighborhood is comprised of fools. To tell someone who has just cornered them in their home that they are looking for a lost dog. How does a lost dog get inside your home? And what about all those jewels and silverware that resembles your things or the bulging bag on their shoulder. That doesn't raise suspicion?
The email ends with this note: "The Gypsies usually work in groups of two or three. A male will drive a small rental car through the neighborhood while at least one female will walk through the neighborhood casing homes."
Hmmm well I guess a covered wagon, would draw a lot more attention than a rental car. I am not that worried about us getting a visit from these bandits. We have absolutely no silverware and the only jewelry of any value is my wedding ring which is always on my finger. But I wouldn't mind getting a glimpse of these modern day Gypsies. Apparently, fortune-telling wasn't paying the bills.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Paradise Found
So we are back from vacation. We had an amazing trip. Two weeks is the perfect amount of time to truly drop out of your day to day life and really let go, which is exactly what we did. The only downside to this? It has been extremely difficult to get back into my regular schedule. Hopefully next week I can actually get to work on time.
My biggest decisions to make while on vacation? What to eat and what level of SPF to put on for the day. Tough decisions, I know. For two weeks I didn't use a blow dryer, went make-up free, didn't look at a computer screen once, no TV except to watch movies, and waking up each day by my internal alarm clock. Boy you really cannot imagine how these little freedoms can change a person. I was about as laid back as my normally fired up self will ever get.
So back to the trip. The weather was sunny the entire time, even where my Mom lives which is rare. They can have weeks of rain in Volcano Village. To give you an idea of how dependant her neighborhood is on rain, none of the houses on this side of the island have city water, all their water is stored in catchment tanks that collect rainwater. This is fine for bathing and brushing your teeth but for drinking and cooking you have to buy purified water. She really does live in the jungle.
The first day there we dropped Mom off at work and then drove through the Volcano National Park. It doesn't matter how many times I visit I still am caught off guard by the sheer power of what an active volcano does to a landscape.
This is a shot of Halemaumau which legend says is Pele The Goddess of Fire's home.
This is a steam vent. These are located all over the park. This is an opening through which volcanic material is emitted. At some point it could have been lava or gases, but this one is now releasing steam. If you stand real close the warm moist air hits your face and you get an all natural facial.
The next day we packed up and headed for Kona. Kona is a city located on the south side of the island. It is much warmer and sunnier than the side my Mom lives on, so this is where you will find all the big resorts that people typically think of when they think of Hawaii. We stayed at a condo for three days that was right across the street from our favorite snorkel beach, Kahalulu Beach Park. This is a great place to see all kinds of amazing fish and sea turtles.
This is the view from the beach at sunset. What I wouldn't give to be living in one of those houses right on the ocean watching this sunset everyday.
The next day we drove to another beach that none of us had ever been to. A lot of the prime beaches on the Kona side are "owned" by the resorts. They legally cannot keep locals off the beaches, they're all public but they have lots of ways of making it difficult to get to the beaches if you are not paying ridiculous amounts of money to stay at their resort. Anaeho'omalu Beach (or as the locals call it ABay) was an exception to the rule. The Hilton actually has a nice large parking lot which makes it local friendly and it is a perfect beach.
After a few days in Kona we headed back to Mom's for a few days before heading off again. Her neighborhood is eclectic at best. There are all types of homes, big new homes with manicured lawns, B&B's, houses that look like someone may be squatting. Really anything goes. A few lots down from Mom is an old abandoned bus. This picture really does reflect that if you leave something here untended nature will claim it.
Next we headed down to Kapoho, where we rented the cutest house. I truly never wanted to leave.
The house sat with two neighboring houses on a natural warm pond. Located right across from the ocean, the pond is filled with fresh sea water. Even the depth of the pool would fluctuate based on the tides. In the morning it would be shallow, 4 to 5 feet deep, by the evening the water was lapping over the edge.
Hawaii is full of mongooses which remind me of ferrets. They are not native to the islands, but were brought over to help cut down the rat population, but someone didn't do their research. Mongooses move around in the day, rats at night so now the islands are overrun with both. We would sit and watch as the mongooses would walk back and forth across that bridge. Smart buggers. It really would be much longer to walk around the pond.
On Saturday Mom's girlfriends, the "tribe" as she calls them, all came down for the day. We floated around in the pond, grilled all kinds of seafood and veggies and had a fabulous time. All these women are interesting and great fun. My only regret of the trip was that I didn't take a picture of the whole group. Every night we fell asleep to the sound of waves crashing on the shore, much more relaxing than the sound of our air purifier.
We have an ongoing restaurant tradition when we visit that started when I was 20. That summer my best friend T., had come over to spend the summer with me in Hawaii. At the time Mom lived on another island Oahu in Honolulu. We flew over to the Big Island for my birthday weekend and went to the Kilauea Lodge for my 20th birthday dinner. When J. and I were visiting in 2004 we celebrated my 30th birthday dinner their as well. This trip we treated Mom to a belated Mothers Day dinner. It is the best restaurant on the island, hands down. And I do hope by some stroke of luck we will be able to ring in my 40th birthday their as well.
Needless to say, I have had a hard time being back home. Nashville has lost a bit of her luster for me, but I am sure at some point she will win me back over. I did get a walk in at Radnor Lake earlier this week which is one of my favorite places to hike. As thick and green as it was at Radnor I almost felt like I was back in Hawaii, but just almost.
My biggest decisions to make while on vacation? What to eat and what level of SPF to put on for the day. Tough decisions, I know. For two weeks I didn't use a blow dryer, went make-up free, didn't look at a computer screen once, no TV except to watch movies, and waking up each day by my internal alarm clock. Boy you really cannot imagine how these little freedoms can change a person. I was about as laid back as my normally fired up self will ever get.
So back to the trip. The weather was sunny the entire time, even where my Mom lives which is rare. They can have weeks of rain in Volcano Village. To give you an idea of how dependant her neighborhood is on rain, none of the houses on this side of the island have city water, all their water is stored in catchment tanks that collect rainwater. This is fine for bathing and brushing your teeth but for drinking and cooking you have to buy purified water. She really does live in the jungle.
The first day there we dropped Mom off at work and then drove through the Volcano National Park. It doesn't matter how many times I visit I still am caught off guard by the sheer power of what an active volcano does to a landscape.
This is a shot of Halemaumau which legend says is Pele The Goddess of Fire's home.
This is a steam vent. These are located all over the park. This is an opening through which volcanic material is emitted. At some point it could have been lava or gases, but this one is now releasing steam. If you stand real close the warm moist air hits your face and you get an all natural facial.
The next day we packed up and headed for Kona. Kona is a city located on the south side of the island. It is much warmer and sunnier than the side my Mom lives on, so this is where you will find all the big resorts that people typically think of when they think of Hawaii. We stayed at a condo for three days that was right across the street from our favorite snorkel beach, Kahalulu Beach Park. This is a great place to see all kinds of amazing fish and sea turtles.
This is the view from the beach at sunset. What I wouldn't give to be living in one of those houses right on the ocean watching this sunset everyday.
The next day we drove to another beach that none of us had ever been to. A lot of the prime beaches on the Kona side are "owned" by the resorts. They legally cannot keep locals off the beaches, they're all public but they have lots of ways of making it difficult to get to the beaches if you are not paying ridiculous amounts of money to stay at their resort. Anaeho'omalu Beach (or as the locals call it ABay) was an exception to the rule. The Hilton actually has a nice large parking lot which makes it local friendly and it is a perfect beach.
After a few days in Kona we headed back to Mom's for a few days before heading off again. Her neighborhood is eclectic at best. There are all types of homes, big new homes with manicured lawns, B&B's, houses that look like someone may be squatting. Really anything goes. A few lots down from Mom is an old abandoned bus. This picture really does reflect that if you leave something here untended nature will claim it.
Next we headed down to Kapoho, where we rented the cutest house. I truly never wanted to leave.
The house sat with two neighboring houses on a natural warm pond. Located right across from the ocean, the pond is filled with fresh sea water. Even the depth of the pool would fluctuate based on the tides. In the morning it would be shallow, 4 to 5 feet deep, by the evening the water was lapping over the edge.
Hawaii is full of mongooses which remind me of ferrets. They are not native to the islands, but were brought over to help cut down the rat population, but someone didn't do their research. Mongooses move around in the day, rats at night so now the islands are overrun with both. We would sit and watch as the mongooses would walk back and forth across that bridge. Smart buggers. It really would be much longer to walk around the pond.
On Saturday Mom's girlfriends, the "tribe" as she calls them, all came down for the day. We floated around in the pond, grilled all kinds of seafood and veggies and had a fabulous time. All these women are interesting and great fun. My only regret of the trip was that I didn't take a picture of the whole group. Every night we fell asleep to the sound of waves crashing on the shore, much more relaxing than the sound of our air purifier.
We have an ongoing restaurant tradition when we visit that started when I was 20. That summer my best friend T., had come over to spend the summer with me in Hawaii. At the time Mom lived on another island Oahu in Honolulu. We flew over to the Big Island for my birthday weekend and went to the Kilauea Lodge for my 20th birthday dinner. When J. and I were visiting in 2004 we celebrated my 30th birthday dinner their as well. This trip we treated Mom to a belated Mothers Day dinner. It is the best restaurant on the island, hands down. And I do hope by some stroke of luck we will be able to ring in my 40th birthday their as well.
Needless to say, I have had a hard time being back home. Nashville has lost a bit of her luster for me, but I am sure at some point she will win me back over. I did get a walk in at Radnor Lake earlier this week which is one of my favorite places to hike. As thick and green as it was at Radnor I almost felt like I was back in Hawaii, but just almost.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Hawaiian Heart Ache
Oh vacations... They have always been a complete necessity in order to keep my head in a good place. A break from the day-to-day monotony is usually just what I need to jump back in to the routine of life renewed and inspired, but Hawaii has always been different than other vacations.
I was 19 the first time I went to Hawaii to see the place my Mom now called home. The first impression I had when I stepped off the plane was how different the air felt and this is still something I notice today. The air is warm, clean, and playful and smells like honeysuckle. You breathe it in and immediately slow down.
I have been going to Hawaii for many years now and I am still overwhelmed by the beauty of the island. Mother Nature rules with a mostly gentle but firm hand, and no matter how many times I visit I know I will never see everything.
The difference with Hawaii versus other vacations? Towards the end of most trips I am looking forward to being back home. I miss sleeping in our bed, petting the kitties, and the overall rhythm of our house. But no matter how long I stay in Hawaii the time always seems to go by too quickly. I start to feel anxious days before we have to leave, like I hadn't taken the time to fully absorb it all and I try my best to take in every detail. A large part of this feeling is a visit to Hawaii is more importantly time with my Mom and because this is few and far between I hold on tight.
Lying back in our bed tonight I feel out of sorts. While at Mom's I had gotten used to hearing the ferns blowing in the breeze and unknown night sounds. I know in the morning when I wake up, I won't feel the cool air and burrow down in the covers closer to J. I won't see the dancing shadows the lace curtains make on the bedspread. I won't look out the window and see the green of the jungle pressing in.
While I am in Hawaii I start to miss the things that are right in front of me. Each trip I leave a little piece of myself behind. If you held me up to the sun you would be able to see a stream of light shining through. This reminds me of something I read. In the past Native Americans would bury the umbilical cord when a child was born. This was done to ensure that the child would always be connected to its' birthplace. There are many ways to attach ourselves to a place, by leaving a bit of ourselves behind we can always feel it pulling us back.
*Stories and pictures from our trip to come.
I was 19 the first time I went to Hawaii to see the place my Mom now called home. The first impression I had when I stepped off the plane was how different the air felt and this is still something I notice today. The air is warm, clean, and playful and smells like honeysuckle. You breathe it in and immediately slow down.
I have been going to Hawaii for many years now and I am still overwhelmed by the beauty of the island. Mother Nature rules with a mostly gentle but firm hand, and no matter how many times I visit I know I will never see everything.
The difference with Hawaii versus other vacations? Towards the end of most trips I am looking forward to being back home. I miss sleeping in our bed, petting the kitties, and the overall rhythm of our house. But no matter how long I stay in Hawaii the time always seems to go by too quickly. I start to feel anxious days before we have to leave, like I hadn't taken the time to fully absorb it all and I try my best to take in every detail. A large part of this feeling is a visit to Hawaii is more importantly time with my Mom and because this is few and far between I hold on tight.
Lying back in our bed tonight I feel out of sorts. While at Mom's I had gotten used to hearing the ferns blowing in the breeze and unknown night sounds. I know in the morning when I wake up, I won't feel the cool air and burrow down in the covers closer to J. I won't see the dancing shadows the lace curtains make on the bedspread. I won't look out the window and see the green of the jungle pressing in.
While I am in Hawaii I start to miss the things that are right in front of me. Each trip I leave a little piece of myself behind. If you held me up to the sun you would be able to see a stream of light shining through. This reminds me of something I read. In the past Native Americans would bury the umbilical cord when a child was born. This was done to ensure that the child would always be connected to its' birthplace. There are many ways to attach ourselves to a place, by leaving a bit of ourselves behind we can always feel it pulling us back.
*Stories and pictures from our trip to come.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Yea It's Thursday
Today is day 5 of ditch digging at our house and J just finished the job. It really is impressive what one man with a few basic tools can accomplish. The problem? J says that the ditch is actually one of the easier jobs in this whole process and that the hard part is still to come. Yikes.
Earth Day
This Sunday is Earth Day. We will be in Alabama visiting family and friends, but if we were in town we would head to Centennial Park for the Nashville Earth Day Festival. As anyone who isn't living under a rock or in total denial knows, the Earth at this point needs all the help from us she can get. Instead of celebrating Earth Day once a year we should all commit to do little things everyday to make the future a little brighter for the next generation. One of my New Years resolutions that I have actually kept is carrying cloth bags to the grocery. What motivated me to do this was the April issue of Real Simple magazine which said "in an average year U.S. households use about 100 billion plastic bags, 99 percent of which are never recycled. Plastic grocery sacks take between 20 and 1,000 years to break down." I admit that the first time I handed the bagger my cloth bags and they looked at me like some crazy tree hugging hippie my neck got red and splotchy, my bodily response to being embarrassed, but honestly I refuse to go through life worried about what total strangers think of me. Plus I actually feel good when I leave and my cart is full of cloth bags instead of all that plastic.
Beauty Tip
So I recently stumbled onto a great beauty find. MAC eye liner is the first eye liner I have ever used that actually stays on all day and doesn't run down my face. The one I chose is MAC Techknakohl which I admit is a bit pricier than the Cover Girl that I used before, but sometimes you really do get what you pay for.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Earth Day
This Sunday is Earth Day. We will be in Alabama visiting family and friends, but if we were in town we would head to Centennial Park for the Nashville Earth Day Festival. As anyone who isn't living under a rock or in total denial knows, the Earth at this point needs all the help from us she can get. Instead of celebrating Earth Day once a year we should all commit to do little things everyday to make the future a little brighter for the next generation. One of my New Years resolutions that I have actually kept is carrying cloth bags to the grocery. What motivated me to do this was the April issue of Real Simple magazine which said "in an average year U.S. households use about 100 billion plastic bags, 99 percent of which are never recycled. Plastic grocery sacks take between 20 and 1,000 years to break down." I admit that the first time I handed the bagger my cloth bags and they looked at me like some crazy tree hugging hippie my neck got red and splotchy, my bodily response to being embarrassed, but honestly I refuse to go through life worried about what total strangers think of me. Plus I actually feel good when I leave and my cart is full of cloth bags instead of all that plastic.
Beauty Tip
So I recently stumbled onto a great beauty find. MAC eye liner is the first eye liner I have ever used that actually stays on all day and doesn't run down my face. The one I chose is MAC Techknakohl which I admit is a bit pricier than the Cover Girl that I used before, but sometimes you really do get what you pay for.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
And So It Goes
On March 22, 1994 I saw Kurt Vonnegut speak at the University of Florida. After his animated thought provoking performance I came home mind racing and wrote down as much as I could remember. I also saved my VIP Pass in my journal.
I must thank one of my professors that sadly I cannot remember his name who told a class full of bored freshman to go see anyone you can while they are still alive. If you like a band, buy a ticket and go, people aren't here forever and you don't want to look back and regret an opportunity you could have experienced. You could apply this train of thought to most things in life, but it was that advice that pushed me to go see Vonnegut who at the time I had not read any of his books.
So here are just a few thoughts from that evening:
"Rush Limbaugh is a fat fool. He is Polonius in Hamlet." I could not agree more.
"Reading is a dying entertainment. People today are entertained by TV and movies."
"Reading a book is a very personal thing. The weight of the book in your hands, the turning of the pages. You can write in it, give it to someone else, throw it away, open or close it. Reading in itself is a form of meditation." At the time I had not realized how meditative reading was. In college as an English major I devoured books in a fever to move on to the next assignment, but now I read much differently, slowly, rereading sections and even writing down quotes or ideas I do not want to forget, so yes reading and cooking are my two forms of meditation.
"Computers are going to either keep you at a minimum wage job or take your job altogether. You're getting screwed by computers." At the time he said he had written all of his books on an old model typewriter.
"Basically people are here on earth to fart around."
And my personal favorite:
"I see saints everyday. Ordinary people who are living decently in an indecent society."
Not long after seeing you I read Slaughterhouse Five. From the moment I started the book I could not put it down. Your writing challenged our views on history, the past and the present and made us look beyond "given" truths. From your perspective, decency was linked to skepticism instead of faith. Always questioning, always pushing.
So farewell Mr. Vonnegut. Wherever you are now, I know you are the life of the party. Everyone wants to be around you, so full of life, sharp as a razor wit, with a rebellious sparkle in your eye which comes from staying true to yourself and challenging everything.
Happy Easter Happy Spring
I hope everyone had a Happy Easter with family and friends. We did. Apparently too much sinful fun. Our household does not embrace any particular faith. I guess some would say we are Godless, we prefer Spiritual. As we all gathered around the dining room table I wanted us to say grace. Just a moment to recognize how thankful we are for good food and good friends. Our friend A's little boy B who is three said that he would say the blessing. B is Jewish and proceeded to impress the whole table when he said the entire blessing in Hebrew. A was kind enough to translate what it meant.
Just to make the Church of Christ really fired up we also served deviled eggs at our Easter lunch which in my family is a tradition. The next day while J was telling a co-worker about our Easter and what we cooked, he was shocked "You had deviled eggs on Easter." Apparently anything devilish isn't supposed to be offered on the day of the resurrection. Hmmm wonder if it made it worse that they were topped with bacon?
I must thank one of my professors that sadly I cannot remember his name who told a class full of bored freshman to go see anyone you can while they are still alive. If you like a band, buy a ticket and go, people aren't here forever and you don't want to look back and regret an opportunity you could have experienced. You could apply this train of thought to most things in life, but it was that advice that pushed me to go see Vonnegut who at the time I had not read any of his books.
So here are just a few thoughts from that evening:
"Rush Limbaugh is a fat fool. He is Polonius in Hamlet." I could not agree more.
"Reading is a dying entertainment. People today are entertained by TV and movies."
"Reading a book is a very personal thing. The weight of the book in your hands, the turning of the pages. You can write in it, give it to someone else, throw it away, open or close it. Reading in itself is a form of meditation." At the time I had not realized how meditative reading was. In college as an English major I devoured books in a fever to move on to the next assignment, but now I read much differently, slowly, rereading sections and even writing down quotes or ideas I do not want to forget, so yes reading and cooking are my two forms of meditation.
"Computers are going to either keep you at a minimum wage job or take your job altogether. You're getting screwed by computers." At the time he said he had written all of his books on an old model typewriter.
"Basically people are here on earth to fart around."
And my personal favorite:
"I see saints everyday. Ordinary people who are living decently in an indecent society."
Not long after seeing you I read Slaughterhouse Five. From the moment I started the book I could not put it down. Your writing challenged our views on history, the past and the present and made us look beyond "given" truths. From your perspective, decency was linked to skepticism instead of faith. Always questioning, always pushing.
So farewell Mr. Vonnegut. Wherever you are now, I know you are the life of the party. Everyone wants to be around you, so full of life, sharp as a razor wit, with a rebellious sparkle in your eye which comes from staying true to yourself and challenging everything.
Happy Easter Happy Spring
I hope everyone had a Happy Easter with family and friends. We did. Apparently too much sinful fun. Our household does not embrace any particular faith. I guess some would say we are Godless, we prefer Spiritual. As we all gathered around the dining room table I wanted us to say grace. Just a moment to recognize how thankful we are for good food and good friends. Our friend A's little boy B who is three said that he would say the blessing. B is Jewish and proceeded to impress the whole table when he said the entire blessing in Hebrew. A was kind enough to translate what it meant.
Just to make the Church of Christ really fired up we also served deviled eggs at our Easter lunch which in my family is a tradition. The next day while J was telling a co-worker about our Easter and what we cooked, he was shocked "You had deviled eggs on Easter." Apparently anything devilish isn't supposed to be offered on the day of the resurrection. Hmmm wonder if it made it worse that they were topped with bacon?
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Viva Las Vegas
I started out the early part of this week in Las Vegas. I flew out early Sunday morning to attend the American Beverage Licensees Convention and Nightclub and Bar Show. Yes this actually is work related and not drunken research. This was not my first trip out to the desert. I had been years ago as a kid with my Mom and her then partner B, but Vegas was just one stop on a two week road trip through many of the Western states. I think we stayed one night and then went to the Grand Canyon which in my opinion is the only reason to go to Vegas to begin with. The official last rest stop before you reach the largest hole in the world. I had been on a previous work trip say 5 or 6 years ago for the Bowling Proprietors Convention. *Just a note, the nightclub and bar show provides a lot more eye candy and things that make you go hmmm....
I arrived earlier than the other folks from my work so after I checked in at the hotel I decided to get out and explore. I had forgotten how long it actually takes you to get out of the hotels and actually hit the pavement. These guys really hate to see you leave. But our hotel was not one of the nicer hotels and it was a beautiful day so I wanted see what the city has to offer.
So I hit the Strip. Walking along I notice that the sidewalks are littered with what appears to be baseball cards, but on closer inspection they are escort "calling cards". Apparently you check your imagination at the door when you enter this city because these women were laying all their assets out on the table. Being a total tree loving liberal, I am disgusted by the littering but fascinated as well because this is when it hit me, I was not in Nashville anymore. On the next block I see where these sex nuggets are coming from. Peddlers are lined up on the sidewalk flicking or snapping these cards as people walk by. Here is how they tend to divy these morsels out, woman by herself (like me) they smile coyly at you but do not hand you a card, couple holding hands, try to pass the card to the man somewhat sheepishly, man by himself or group of men, it is New Years Eve and the ball just droppped, nude confetti for all. Fascinating. I could have hung out on the street all day and watched the responses from the passersby. Where were my Sociology professors now? Talk about group behaviour.
But I was headed to the Bellagio which is supposed to be the nicest most expensive hotel in Vegas. After taking two flat escalators because walking is for suckers, I entered the lobby. I must say that beautiful is not a word I would ever think to use in describing a hotel, but this place was impressive. The first thing that caught my eye was how packed it was with people, but then I looked up and saw the glass flowers hanging from the ceiling. My pictures do not do this hotel justice but here goes.
I was glad to see that there was more to Vegas than gambling and laying poolside, so I followed the signs to the Art Gallery. The current exhibit at the Bellagio is Ansel Adams. The exhibit is well done, lots of beautiful photos, and a section at the end that has letters Adams wrote as well as photos of him from all stages of his life. Just skimming the letters I realized that nothing would probably have saddened a man who loved nature as much as Adams than his exhibit in a hotel in Sin City. But maybe I am wrong...
I headed next door to Caesar's Palace and came upon the Brahma Shrine. It is an authentic replica of one of Thailand's most popular Buddist shrines. There was incense burning, gifts of fruit and flowers left as an offering and people were praying. It felt strangely peaceful and quiet in all that craziness and I was glad I had stumbed across it.
The rest of the day I shopped, sure wish Urban Outfitters would come to my neck of the woods, and then headed back to the hotel.
After my first day in Vegas whatever enthusism I had was completly worn off. So I will just list a few more tidbits or thoughts to sum up the trip.
1. Gambled at the Black Jack table for the first time. All other previous bets I had made in my life was a six pack on a football game or $20 in a poker game amongst friends. Needless to say I was entertained for about an hour and a half before they took all my chips. Those were the two most expensive "free" beers I ever got.
2. Went to the Stratosphere which looks like the space needle in Seattle and is located at the end of the Strip. It has incredible views of the city and that is where I took this photo. My main thought as we sat sipping our wine looking out at the view, "Holy Electricity".
3. The Monte Carlo where I stayed sucked. Construction on both sides of the hotel and those guys get going early in the morning. Even on the 25th floor I could hear those cement trucks backing up. Only upside to this hotel, Haagen Daz icecream in the food court.
4. My hotel window faced the direction of the airport and it was amazing to see the frequency of flights taking off and landing. About one every minute.
5. Vegas is all inclusive. They open their arms to everyone. I saw all nationalties, ages, and economics. This city, for some bizarre reason seems to appeal to just about everyone, like moths to a light.
6. I did actually do some work. There were meetings, conventions, and dinners to attend. Hands to be shook. But nothing earth shattering to report.
7. Spent my final afternoon before flying out the next morning, reading a library book in the bed and staring out the window watching the planes go by. I was ready to be home.
Spring In The South
On another note Spring has officially arrived here and these are the signs.
1. Our forsythia bush in the front yard has little yellow buds. This bush always reminds me of my Granny. I am sure it had no sway in my immediate love of the house when we saw it for the first time that it was in full bloom.
2. Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue arrived. Beyonce is on the cover and looking mighty fine I must say. This years issue came with a special section that had blurred photos of women in swimsuits that you view with the enclosed 3-D glasses. J's response while looking at the picture and moving the magazine slowly back and forth, "I still can't see her boobs".
I arrived earlier than the other folks from my work so after I checked in at the hotel I decided to get out and explore. I had forgotten how long it actually takes you to get out of the hotels and actually hit the pavement. These guys really hate to see you leave. But our hotel was not one of the nicer hotels and it was a beautiful day so I wanted see what the city has to offer.
So I hit the Strip. Walking along I notice that the sidewalks are littered with what appears to be baseball cards, but on closer inspection they are escort "calling cards". Apparently you check your imagination at the door when you enter this city because these women were laying all their assets out on the table. Being a total tree loving liberal, I am disgusted by the littering but fascinated as well because this is when it hit me, I was not in Nashville anymore. On the next block I see where these sex nuggets are coming from. Peddlers are lined up on the sidewalk flicking or snapping these cards as people walk by. Here is how they tend to divy these morsels out, woman by herself (like me) they smile coyly at you but do not hand you a card, couple holding hands, try to pass the card to the man somewhat sheepishly, man by himself or group of men, it is New Years Eve and the ball just droppped, nude confetti for all. Fascinating. I could have hung out on the street all day and watched the responses from the passersby. Where were my Sociology professors now? Talk about group behaviour.
But I was headed to the Bellagio which is supposed to be the nicest most expensive hotel in Vegas. After taking two flat escalators because walking is for suckers, I entered the lobby. I must say that beautiful is not a word I would ever think to use in describing a hotel, but this place was impressive. The first thing that caught my eye was how packed it was with people, but then I looked up and saw the glass flowers hanging from the ceiling. My pictures do not do this hotel justice but here goes.
I was glad to see that there was more to Vegas than gambling and laying poolside, so I followed the signs to the Art Gallery. The current exhibit at the Bellagio is Ansel Adams. The exhibit is well done, lots of beautiful photos, and a section at the end that has letters Adams wrote as well as photos of him from all stages of his life. Just skimming the letters I realized that nothing would probably have saddened a man who loved nature as much as Adams than his exhibit in a hotel in Sin City. But maybe I am wrong...
I headed next door to Caesar's Palace and came upon the Brahma Shrine. It is an authentic replica of one of Thailand's most popular Buddist shrines. There was incense burning, gifts of fruit and flowers left as an offering and people were praying. It felt strangely peaceful and quiet in all that craziness and I was glad I had stumbed across it.
The rest of the day I shopped, sure wish Urban Outfitters would come to my neck of the woods, and then headed back to the hotel.
After my first day in Vegas whatever enthusism I had was completly worn off. So I will just list a few more tidbits or thoughts to sum up the trip.
1. Gambled at the Black Jack table for the first time. All other previous bets I had made in my life was a six pack on a football game or $20 in a poker game amongst friends. Needless to say I was entertained for about an hour and a half before they took all my chips. Those were the two most expensive "free" beers I ever got.
2. Went to the Stratosphere which looks like the space needle in Seattle and is located at the end of the Strip. It has incredible views of the city and that is where I took this photo. My main thought as we sat sipping our wine looking out at the view, "Holy Electricity".
3. The Monte Carlo where I stayed sucked. Construction on both sides of the hotel and those guys get going early in the morning. Even on the 25th floor I could hear those cement trucks backing up. Only upside to this hotel, Haagen Daz icecream in the food court.
4. My hotel window faced the direction of the airport and it was amazing to see the frequency of flights taking off and landing. About one every minute.
5. Vegas is all inclusive. They open their arms to everyone. I saw all nationalties, ages, and economics. This city, for some bizarre reason seems to appeal to just about everyone, like moths to a light.
6. I did actually do some work. There were meetings, conventions, and dinners to attend. Hands to be shook. But nothing earth shattering to report.
7. Spent my final afternoon before flying out the next morning, reading a library book in the bed and staring out the window watching the planes go by. I was ready to be home.
Spring In The South
On another note Spring has officially arrived here and these are the signs.
1. Our forsythia bush in the front yard has little yellow buds. This bush always reminds me of my Granny. I am sure it had no sway in my immediate love of the house when we saw it for the first time that it was in full bloom.
2. Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue arrived. Beyonce is on the cover and looking mighty fine I must say. This years issue came with a special section that had blurred photos of women in swimsuits that you view with the enclosed 3-D glasses. J's response while looking at the picture and moving the magazine slowly back and forth, "I still can't see her boobs".
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