Nocturnal Arachnophobia

I was about to open the front door to let out the cat tonight and lo and behold, this is what I saw...It looks even bigger than the photo when it's almost in your face. If you click on the pic and look at the close-up view, that's really what it looked like to me.
I don't usually think of myself as being scared of spiders --(big roaches freak me out a whole lot more)-- but this specimen was intimidating enough to make me think twice about getting too near, so I gingerly took my pic and closed the door for the night....I'll tackle it tomorrow, if giant spidey is still there in the daylight!

Beach week 2009

I'm back from a "ladies" week at Holden Beach but unfortunately, the only pics I took were with a disposable camera - I'm not sure why I didn't use my digital camera...I think I was afraid of getting it wet and sandy or of losing it altogether. Oh well, I guess my "witty repartee" will have to suffice (he he he).

The trip there started off with quite a bit of drama and frustration. Instead of 3 of us going this year, there were 4...but traveling in the same Toyota SUV. It had been a tight fit having to pack for three in previous years, but the fourth person told us that she was going to bring a container that would fit on top of the SUV for her additional bags. I envisioned this as a big sturdy (?fiberglass) thing. Lo and behold, it was a floppy leathery looking bag with a zipper!! Her son proceeded to take forever to attach this to the top of the SUV, and we found out later that he had put it on UPSIDE-DOWN!!!!

We had just reached the RTP exits when we heard suspicious noises on top of the car a few minutes before it flew off and landed in the edge of the right lane in an area between an on-ramp and an off-ramp. Miraculously, it did not land on someone's windshield or cause an accident. So we pulled off, backed up on the grass and dragged it to safety. Then we piled all the extra bags from it on top of ourselves and proceeded back home to lighten the load. I found it unbelievable that between us, there was no second car that was offered for use, and I certainly was not going to offer to drive down in the old Corolla. So we unpacked and lightened the load as much as possible, and were finally on our way again (squeezed in like sardines) around 1:30 in the afternoon (we had planned to leave around 10 am!!).

The rest of the week was less dramatic and I had a pretty good time. We had sunshine for the most part, unlike the weather back home, which I was told was fairly rainy. We took a trip on Wednesday to Fort Fisher and Carolina Beach. We had lunch in Southport, shopped at the Christmas shop (they have some really cute things there) and ate doughnuts at Britt's Donut shop - voted the 2nd best doughnuts in the nation. (They claim they should have won first prize since the shop that won used to be part of a chain, and the contest was for independent stores). http://www.carolinabeach.net/britts1.html

I was able to stay on my Weight Watchers diet most of the week, and I was especially proud of myself for stopping at eating just one doughnut....they were REALLY yummy, melt-in-your-mouth yeasty doughnuts. My home scales show that I didn't gain weight last week, but I'm pretty sure I haven't lost any weight either - but I think to maintain your weight while on vacation is pretty darn good, since we ate out several times, and I also resisted the home-made brownies that were made one day. I had my Weight Watchers fudge bars (quite yummy ice cream) as a substitute. My non-food splurge was to buy a couple of cute summer dresses, a new swimsuit, and really cute beach "cover-up". We also went to a used bookstore and got some beach reading.

One evening, the owner of the house (who is a friend of a friend) took us out on her little boat for a "Booze Cruise" (as she called it). There really wasn't much boozing (I think everyone had one beer), but the views and the sunset on the Intracoastal waterway were beautiful and relaxing.

We found out after we got back home that a woman had been bitten in the foot and ankle by a shark in a few feet of water at the same area we went to every day. I even recognized the woman who was interviewed in this news story -- she was sitting right next to us on the beach every day!!! :
http://www.news14.com/content/top_stories/612347/shark-bite-in-holden-beach-concerns-some-swimmers/Default.aspx

Luckily, this happened the day we DIDN'T go out to the beach and took the ferry instead, and I was so glad in retrospect that we weren't there, since I love going in the water, the "bitee" could very well have been ME instead!!!

I was ready to get back home by Friday -- It was getting really hot. I think I will probably use my vacation time next year for a family beach vacation during the cooler part of the year, and rent an oceanfront house instead of having to schlep chairs and umbrellas and coolers out to the beach every day.

California cruisin' + Graduation

It's been almost forever (mid-January to be more specific) since I've written anything on this blog, so there's probably no-one out there to read this, but a college graduation followed by a vacation cruise don't come along very often, and are deserving of documentation, if only with a few photos.

This is my son and me as he was standing in line just before his graduation from Pomona College in Claremont, CA. He majored in History but wants to see if he find a job in the entertainment industry.

After graduation, he was on his way to Hawaii to sing with his Glee Club - Lucky guy!!!! (He took Voice lessons in college, too)


So...the rest of the family went on a cruise to Catalina Island, California. We were supposed to go to Ensenada, Mexico, too, but couldn't because of the stupid Swine Flu outbreaks....possibly also due to the intelligent swine as well...he he he.

This is a photo of the cruise ship taken at the Long Beach port where we had to wait for a really long time to board....


I'm not sure whether I should post the best photo I have of Catalina Island. It's so beautiful that I'd like to enter it into some kind of Photography contest. At any rate, I hesitate to post it since I really don't know if copyright laws would protect it. From what I read online, it's probably OK, but I'll post alternate shots of some of the scenery on the island instead. This is a view from one of the streets near the dock:



There were ornate tiles and artwork on some of the buildings:


This is a view from our little tender boat near the Catalina dock taken before landing on the island:

We went kayaking near the shore and had a great time. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up due to my lack of upper body strength, but I did just fine, and didn't even get very sore afterwards. I'm guessing that was probably due to my hubby doing most of the heavy rowing : )



We were amazed when, during a "rest stop" a cute little baby sea lion hopped up onto the end of our tour guide's kayak for a few seconds -- he said that was the first time something like that had happened in all the years that he has been leading kayak excursions.

It was really hard to come home after being so pampered - being entertained, relaxing on the ocean in the sun, being served delicious meals and desserts day and night, and enjoying the company of all of my wonderful family for a whole week...and, of course, the piece de resitance -- having your bed made, turned down and decorated with chocolates and "towel" creatures every night:


AHH, that's the life!!!

Snowy Inauguration Day

I woke up to a winter wonderland, and although I really hate the cold, it is a beautiful sight. It's nice to be able to snuggle on the couch and work from home and watch the inauguration ceremony and festivities. I'm thinking that all those people standing outside (including the presidents and their families) must be soooo coooold!!! Thank goodness for TV for all the couch potatoes like me : )

Winter Hibernation

I must have been a bear in a previous lifetime. (hmmm, I think I've used that line before : )...Even with all the holiday festivities and ample time to do whatever I want, I still find it difficult to motivate myself to leave the house. I've managed to walk and ride my bike on sunny days, and go out and do a few things, but the thing I've most wanted to do is to be home and piddle around.

Even the cat seems to mirror my feelings. She acts as if she has a severe case of cabin fever, and is torn between the warmth inside and her desire to venture out. She looks longingly outside through the sliding glass door, but when it's opened for her to go out, she turns back inside with a somewhat panic-stricken look on her face, and then prowls around, meowing as if she just doesn't know what to do with herself.




In thinking about my seeming lack of motivation, I am inclined to say that I'm basically a lazy person; but to put it in a more positive light, I could also say that it has been a really tough year that has left me exhausted, and I am enjoying a well-deserved rest. I just wish I wouldn't feel guilty about it! I suppose we are all so programmed in the U.S. to constantly improve, achieve and DO things, that simply BEING doesn't feel like it's enough.

Here's a "shout out" to all the wonderful friends, family and health-care workers who lovingly supported me in so many different ways during the past year. I am very grateful to everyone for whatever part they played in my recovery, and I look forward to a healthy and happy new year.

Art & Scars

Last week I was fortunate to be able to attend a couple of free art sessions at Get Real & Heel. One of the former participants is an amazingly talented artist who gave us some painting tips for a couple of evenings. We used acrylic paint and painted flowers and a landscape on small canvases.

It was a lot of fun, and the results were surprisingly good overall for a group of amateurs. I think my paintings would have been more realistic if we had had a subject or picture to look at, or were outside painting an actual scene so I could see the real shading and color, etc. I can see a lot of flaws in my paintings, but they were done within the space of a few hours, and since acrylic paint dries very fast, mistakes are hard to correct.

On Thursday, I had my intravenous port removed at an outpatient surgical center, and have been recovering well since then. I have a one-inch incision, which burned a lot the first day or so, and I had an ice pack on it constantly. I've only had to take Tylenol and one "real" pain pill the night of the surgery so I could get some sleep. Hopefully, this represents the last "assault" on my body and the end of this cancer ordeal--fitting that it should come at the end of the year. I hope and pray that next year will be a healthy one for me. I'm so tired of thinking about and dealing with illness, and so very thankful that I can start 2009 on a healthy note!

Enjoying the holidays

It's so nice to be able to stay home and do whatever I want for four whole days! Here are a few pics of Thanksgiving day - lots of cookin' and eatin' and being together with family, including one of the "grand-dogs"! Tiring, but fun. I'm so very thankful for my good health and that I'm not in the hospital, or going through chemo. It's hard to believe that that's what I was doing last year at this time.


The turkey was falling apart...had to hold it together for the photo.


My beautiful family toasting together


Lillie enjoying a snuggle with her mom after all the excitement

Yesterday was spent mostly resting, with a VERY small amount of shopping (NOT at the mall!!), and today we're heading out to see the James Bond movie.