today was the day i knew

I am not sure WHAT I knew. But he gave me this look. And I don't proclaim to be psychic or to have visions but that look (and my response) flashed me back to october 2008 when he proposed. More specifically the look he gave me when he picked me up from SF0. I didn't know then that he would propose that night, but I had the same "I know something feeling I have today.

Just saying.

We are nomads. Up in Bothell which is actually NOT as bad a commute as I thought it would be.

Waiting on the close of our old place so that we can move on our new place. Didn't happen Monday. Our agent bet on today which means not only did it not happen today, but it won't happen tomorrow either. Uhg.

Otherwise, getting reaquainted with my nintendo dsi. Still brainy in brainage but about to polish off all the suduko puzzles so might have to get a new game or two. Still eyeing the walking one since I'll have miles of trails to walk to here shortly.

Health care townhall tomorrow.if you support reform get there! I know you are probably gainfully employed and want to stay that way so 5 will be hard. But do it. The rest of all stay home. Or at least promise to use our indoor voices.

My fave person in the world is home now.

I'm out.

Life Catchup

Oh where to even begin?

Jump right in right?

Just got back from Mexico. Go. To. Mexico. Puerto Vallarta is a good start. Once off the plane, hop a blue bus to downtown (preferably one rolling on spinners - no joke!) or the Romantica District. Same thing. Stroll the boardwalk and go to PiPis when you get thirsty. Take a friend who will share your tub of margarita. Order the best chicken fajitas you will ever have. Do this the first night so you can enjoy them BEFORE the humidity melts your brain. Once you are done, go back to the boardwalk, watch the guys spin down the poll and then walk down the beach to the water taxi. Don't pay the dudes trying to sell you tickets. Pay the driver directly. It is 50 pesos cheaper that way. Ride the taxi to Yelapa. With the 50 pesos you saved, check into Hotel Lagunita. Pay a little extra for the beachfront room and take extra bug spray so that you can befriend Charlie. Take a nap until 3:30 and then come back outside. I PROMISE you will not be dissapointed. By the private beach or the amazing pool like no other pool you've seen before. Definitely use the mosquito net. Oh and make sure you order the tortilla soup for dinner.

DC was amazing! I really like Anne. I just got to meet David and I like him too. Small world? When we checked into Yelapa, there was a couple from Louisiana who was making their third trip to the fishing village. The wife was from your little piece of heaven. Hang in there. All things in due time. Besides getting lost a lot with GPS, David driving and Robert backseat driving, I got to see one of my fave cities in the world with the one person in the world I've wanted to see it with. And he (and the city) lived up to expectations. Congress was in session so we got to sit in on the House. On the never ending "Sorry, I mean this way" treck to the House, we made lemonade out of lemons. Robert and I got a very coordinated photo with Barney Frank - he in his purple tie, me in my purple tank top, Robert balancing out the whole lot of shortness going on (smile). One of the most awesome photos I've ever been apart of. ALMOST makes up for not getting to have lunch with Michelle. She was out of town and all. Speaking of which - on the awesome boat wedding with amazing fireworks to cap off the evening, we saw Marine 1 and escorts flying over. Talk about a day late and a dollar short. I DID get to go to Michelle's house though...and Sunjay's mom's cooking (and yes, I followed AW's ghetto fabu lead and packed leftovers...AND WHAT??)...all told DC was just as awesome as Mexico. Almost.

Don't Jinx it. There are things I don't speak about. Because I am of the crazy inclination that if I talk about things I am excited about, then they won't happen or they will fall apart. All I have to say is that it has been an interesting week. And I need to call Ryder back. And do you have a couch I can sleep on? Because neither of us really wants to become work a holics for these next 3 or so weeks, but we can make that happen I think. Fingers crossed really hard on the most amazing piece of amazing you'll ever see if it goes through.

I cried my heart out. My sister called me just before work on Monday to tell me my mom was in the hospital. After spontaneously busting into uncontrollable tears for a good 40 minutes, I finally got it under control to figure out what the heck is wrong. We still don't know. We should know more tonight and surgeries are being scheduled and as my sister told her 12 year old son (I quote) "Grandma is going to the hospital and all you can do is pray for her". Now. some folks would call that crash and cold and callous. it's just my sister and her son knows her well. He's okay, she's okay we're all okay. No use worrying over what my uber religious sister has more than got covered. I'm just saying is all.

I miss you terribly. And you know who you are. Hope your sister is well. I need a good laugh and I've got more than a few to share. You know you miss me too. Just admit it. Don't make me fly to Fairbanks...

My husband is better than your's. mine saved all the emails we've ever sent to each other. Including the original missive I sent to him that started this all. Something about wondering if he was REALLY all that atypical of a white boy. To which he responded with a request for a list of crimes I had in progress that I might need assistance with as he perfected his plot for world domination. I'm just saying...at least it wasn't in our vows (smile...that was cute S&C). But I digress. With those emails, he created a book for me with all our correspondence leading up to our wedding. He's amazing with the cute little thoughtful gifts he gives me. Cause Lord knows I can go and just buy the expensive stuff (smile). All said, I need to take him to dinner and get our cake. With the finger crossing gig above...we're holding off on that a little bit.

In a nutshell.

A week in a life - 2008 via 2009

A year ago. Yesterday. But on a Sunday.

I'm still trying to figure out why a guy like you loves a girl like me, but it makes me think of that Beyonce song and I start to tear up and then I cry uncontrollably at how incredibly lucky I am to be on this ride with you and you think I'm hyperventalating or at least that something is wrong and really, I'm just crying because it is so right and I just don't know what I did to deserve this. To deserve you. You are my favorite person in the world. well...tied. With Quantae. And probably my mom too. And my sister and I have this weird kinda thing going on. And we don't want David to feel left out while he's fighting for our freedoms. And Liisa, well she's a special different kinda love.

Okay. You're the most favorite person to commit unconditionally to. How's that one? And a few other non-bloggable reasons most having to do with that "are you crazy" look you give me about 3 or 4 times a day when I say things like "I think it would be fun to have a tail to wag." I'm just saying. I kinda miss Charlie. Probably not as much as you do though (smile).

This year that same week - Yelapa trip of a lifetime (well, the whole Puerto Vallarta thing...and DC too with a picture some of you will love to hate *smile* I know who I hang with). House hunting (SMILE!!). House moving. HELP! More later...I should get back to that work thing that makes things like our awesome wedding photography (and cake - I need to call Jen...where did my to-do list go??), our awesome Jamaica honeymoon, our even more awesome (is that even POSSIBLE??) anniversary honeymoon, our house sell and our house potential purchase of the most amazing house ever...

All that is possible only if I get up and go to work. Right. Now. Just like he did.

* Amazing amazing AMAZING wedding photo by Airika and Gerald Pope of Gerald Pope Photography. Who also share an amazing day with us as our wedding anniversary is their anniversary as well. Happy anniversary to some amazing role models of fantastic love. *

Nintendo Rocks the House (aka, the party you missed)

So perhaps I should just commit to blogging only once a month. Or maybe if I switched to a better platform it would be half as frustrating as having to type the same post over and over (and over) again.

Remember back (like one post ago, but in real time, forever ago) when I hinted at the awesomeness that is Nintendo? Well, get out the kleenex to dry your eyes and wipe your drippy nose (or the drool from your mouth) because here comes the recap.

Look at those chics get their game on!

flickr set

Four score and seven years ago...or about 2 blog posts ago, I had a birthday. Okay...it was longer than that, but less than a year ago when my hubby threw me an awesome Wii-themed birthday party. Everyone who came had to bring a gift that was wii related (not to imply that they all had to bring a gift, but if they did...and who am I kidding...they all had to bring a gift or they were run off the front porch. not). Even Liisa - the love of my life keeper of my frying pan secrets - who couldn't make the party got in the grove and made me an awesome mini-album, fold up card, all scrappalicious holder for my AWESOME Gamestop giftcard to get my wii game on.

Fast forward 17 or so days and the novelty wore off. Aka, Bernadette kicked in and I lost interest.

A little over a month ago (or was that really like two months now - my how time flies), Justine contacted me out of the blue. So out of the blue that I was like "Is this my stalker posing as a new girl in my life or does this woman really have something to say to me?"

What I say next should in no way reflect badly on the strong independent woman that I am. I read other women type stuff like this and I cringe. But the truth of the matter is that I turned to my Microsoft X box game testing hubby and said "Hmmm...check this out. What do you think?"

To which he said "You know...that Nielsen thing didn't work out so well."

Quick digression - Neilsen sucked the LIFE out of me. It made grocery shopping unfun and most folks know I LOVE to shop...even for groceries. But when most of your goods are from the produce or bulk section (or, worse yet, from Costco and in bulk - oh the horrors!), Nielsen doesn't like you so much. I stuck with it for MONTHS of agony. And finally just couldn't take it anymore. Though I did get a healthy appreciation for what it must be like to check me out at the grocery market. I'm so sorry.

Back on track. I replied that Nielsen was work and this would be fun. To which he asked me if I even knew what a Nintendo DS was. Which of course I replied "Yes, it is that little game thing that my nephew threw around the living room in his fits of rage when he visited."

Uh huh. But Justine ALSO forwarded me a link to another chica who was working out the Nintendo Enthusiast BlogHer deal and I thought to myself "Hmmm...this would net me a free electronic device (which I, evidently collect lots of), a great party that I don't have to do a thing for (that part is what you're waiting for me to get to) and, it just might get me to blog more often."

I did get the niftiest little DS in the mail a few weeks ago. And it sat in my box. Well. Actually, I opened the shipping package and this cute little DS box was in it. I opened it and it was the coolest packaging ever. I'll have to upload a photo. The packaging was so cool (little mirror on the box lids, flashing lights, applause audio when you open the lid...the lining is red velvety stuff - very red carpet awesome) I just couldn't bring myself to actually use the friggin' thing. I know pitiful. But then...came the party.

I have to tell you, I was sweating bullets. My people (yes, I'm talking about you) are skitish like that. We live in an alternate reality where last minute invites lead to last minute yes/no/maybe/can-i-bring-my-entourage rsvps and because Nintendo is local, I wanted to show the place up. Then I was notified that awesomeness would be coming not only from Nintendo -Seattle, but also from NYC and I was about ready to fly in my girl Rachel from the city to make it happen too. But then I calmed down and thought 6 degrees of coolness. Which ended up rocking out my party because I met folks who were related/bffs with folks I personally know and it was good to see people out of my normal context of knowing them.

So the party.

Off. the. chain.

Full disclosure here - Nintendo paid for every last thing. From the awesome loft that I actually ALMOST rented for my wedding reception (no kidding!) to the complimentary valet parking that made travels to Pioneer Square for a bunch of young women at night safe to the fantastic spread of snacky foods and beverages that filled our tummies (including the wine cause, it was like happy hour...and hour...and hour...you know). And yes, to the awesome Nintendo DSi's that everyone got to keep (yes KEEP) and the awesome game with their DS as well.

Grown women were jumping up and down screaming and I want to say I also saw a tear drop fall, but I wouldn't hold me to that last. It was definitely a blurry eye...that was for sure.

The service was great for the party part but the awesomeness was honest to goodness in the DS's themselves. I mean really. I'm the queen of gadgets and multitasking but even I was a bit dubious about how you might have a "party" with a bunch of folks sitting around playing individual games. Well, Nintendo can show ya how.

The loft was broken down into 4 zones. Each zone had a different game that you could play (Brain Age 2, Mario Kart, CrossworDS, and Rhythm Heaven). Earlier today, I spent a good hour researching the cool wiki and official sites for each of those games. Now you get to do it because blogger is a hot mess tonight and I'm not trying to break another laptop.

Throughout the night, different areas had different levels of popularity but I'd rank them as such:

Quietest Least Party Interactive - Rhythm Heaven. You had to wear headphones to hear the beat so there wasn't any superflous convo to mess up your game.

Most Studious - CrossworDS. I hang with a bunch of bright women. They were working out the word finds and crosswords like their next raises depended on it.

Most Boistorous Party Central - Hands down Mario Kart DS. Especially when gamers were tagged into each other and racing against each other. Of course this could have been because two of my co-workers in particular were particularly keen to this game - one who specifically mentioned "I would have NEVER bought a DS and I'm so not a gamer but this is so FUN!". Admittedly, I almost didn't invite her because I didn't think she'd want to come. Love ya Kate!

Biggest Line Ego Buster - Brain Age. Awesome game and most folks have heard of it before. Everyone wanted to check their Brain Age. On the system they had set up there, I was like 71. Really now? When I got home after the party and finally set up my DS (I also got Brain Age), I was 36. Awesome. Seeing as I'm thirtysomeodd anyhow. This one had a line I think because beyond testing your age, it has suduko. Had some law folks/financial analyst types present so you knew that was going to be popular with an average finish time of about 15 - 20 minutes for the digression to play Suduko.

The party was really hopping. There was a 5th station where you could start or end up at where you got hipped to all the neatness of the DS and specifically the "i" part. The DS has built in digital cameras (which, I might add, are better than the ones on my flippin' crackberry) and so everyone was spending time customizing their DSs. Everyone cept I cause I left mine at home. Alas.

As each lady went around to the different stations, there were Gamer Chicks (all dressed in black, all gorgeous) helping us get set up and settled in. They were also keepers of the gold coins.

Most guests didn't know WHAT gift they were getting at the end of the night. I had told them (cause they're my people and sometimes they need a bit of a bribe) that they would get an awesome gift. Originally, I thought it would be a charm bracelet with charms they collected at each station. That gift was their very own DS and a DS game (BrainAge for the most of what I could tell). The Nintendo hosts did an excellent job of reminding folks to collect their coins and towards the end of the night, when the cat was out of the bag that the coins were for systems, people stopped camping at their fave games to get up and collect coins.

At the end of the night...with the place cleaned, the music stopped (awesome music with attentive hosts who would skip songs, adjust volume as necessary), and the Gamer Chicks ready to leave, I had to walk up to two last stragglers and tell them I'd never invite them to another event if they didn't get out now.

I think I made about 4 or 5 new best friends that night.

All in all, it was the most awesome party I've ever had my name so prominently attached to. To this day, I still get tons of emails and most of them are no longer "I can't believe you got us free DS's" so much as "What's your brain age now?"

And so you're wondering. I didn't actually open up my DS until after the party. And it was actually my hubby who opened it, took a picture of me napping on the couch for my profile picture and recorded a "song" (if you will) that I get to listen to every time I open up my DS and laugh my butt off to.

I would say that last weekend, with great weather and a moment in the park to wait on him doing his bike ride was the first "real bonding moment" I had with it.

I am ADDICTED to Suduko. That's all I do on my DS and I admit it.

I'm not a fan of Rhythm Heaven (one of the games I got with my DSi) just because I have no rhythm and I don't like to be reminded of it each day. Interestingly enough, it's like Wario Ware Smooth Moves on my Wii (which I LOVE!), but I just can't get into it. Yet. Maybe on a plane with my ear buds in, but at the party I couldn't grove with it.

I'm also not a fan of Mario Kart (another of the games I got with it) because I LOVE Mario Kart on the Wii. I like to race people, not computers and the Wii is designed to be played in community. With the DSi, if I know someone else with a DS (which, now I do) we can get together and play, but alone...it's not as fun to me as Mario Kart on Wii by myself is. That and I've kinda convinced myself that playing Wii is more than just a workout for my thumbs so...

To that, games I'm looking forward to getting at some point:

I totally want to get Mario vs. Donkey Kong March of the Minis for fun and I could totally see using the Personal Trainer: Walking And anything Sims related you know I'm game...My Sims at lunch anyone? Goodness that's a whole other addiction to address. Both My Sims Kingdome on Wii and Sims 3 on the comp.

Perhaps it isn't blogger I should be hating on. Ever since installing Delicious and Windows Live (particularly the latter) my comp has been a hot mess. Totally need to uninstall WL. Used to love WL Blogging. Now it is just too much hassle when Facebook is so easy.

Holy goodness

So...

Evidently, all I have to do is a giveaway on my other blog to get ya'll to come out of lurkdome and even sign up to follow me through the gates of...well...I'm not so sure that hoarding is really a sin. Okay. Justifying ridiculousness IS so...we'll move on.

Since the giveaway fun worked so well on the other blog, I figured I should use this whole "social liberal media" thing (giggle...I'll stop, I promise) to promote an even MORE AMAZING opportunity than The Great Thicker Hunt of 2009. Yes. I am done with the scrap references. Now let's move on to technology. Fun technology at that.

I admit it. I loved a Wii. Like no other. Heck, I had a Wii themed birthday party for my thirtysomethingcoughcoughahem last year. Cause my hubby is a huge gamer (xbox in his case...he wouldn't be caught dead playing Wii which is why we have to play DDR2 in the friggin dark with all the windows shuttered), and he wanted to share the love. But get that I said loved. As in past tense. Because aside from blogging and scrapbooking (and we know how regularly I blog) I don't really stick with much of anything for more than about 24 days. I know.

However, Nintendo is determined to change that for me. And for you too.

If you're a local gal, hit me up with your email address if you want in. There will be an amazing shindig in Seattle (including valet parking, tasty adult beverages and fun like you never knew you could have - again...) on June 18. I know, short notice for you busy busy people, but because I do nothing but melt silently away most nights, I figure it should work out.

Trust.

Because I'm a tease, I leave you with this. You have to send me your email addy to get on the list and space is a tiny bit limited, but hey...for you...I'll make an exception (smile).

Exactly a month ago...

...I blogged. And that is attrocious. Really attrocious since it took me still more days to actually update this blog from that realization. I realize this. And you know it is either my will or my wont to do a list or a really (really) long post to get caught up. I'm fighting it. But don't say you were not warned.

First things first: I ROCK! Level 14, 100+ club (that's 100K+ point...I stand corrected). yes. In one sitting. yes. That is an hour of my life I will never get back. But it felt so dang GOOD! Not that I've ever been a crack dealer (or an enabler for those that prefer gentler terminology) but

Bejeweled 2 is really addicting. I'm doing very scientific research to determine if I make it farther when the sound is turned down (aka, I'm trying to hide from my hubby the fact that I'm waisting my life away on java script games when, yes, he sits downstairs playing xbox. whatevs). I'm also trying to determine if earlier morning play helps. Or if early morning play paused while I go to work and resumed when I get home has an impact. I don't think I've played nearly enough to figure that out yet. All in the name of science though.

In the name of COOL however, stay tuned. Potentially really exciting, cool, girl, games, tagalicious post coming. Not that I EVER tag posts. Well I did during the election. but then it got boring. And too bloggy. and I got bored. And moved on. Kind of like now. But in the long time it has taken me to write this post I have confirmed that exciting coolness will be going down June 18 and you will NOT want to miss out. Promise. This is HUGE! Well, for local gals that is.

So you're curious just what in the heck I do with my life when I can't bother to check in for a month? Well, aside from the Bejeweled addiction. Oh and the blackberry tampering trying to figure out why in the heck I don't get work emails anymore (answer = crappy server, imagine that). Oh yeah and tagging Pandora goodness. There. I do play tag. Just not on my blog.

For the longest time, I've wanted to update my blog. but I'm a creature of habit (and apparently, of lower case letters). That and start a couple more. Yes. I know that is crazy because I never update the Photo Blog (surprise surprise! Bet you weren't expecting THAT! lol) and if you're savvy or internet gallery addicted like I am, you don't necessarily get much special from the Scrap Blog (well, another surprise...I'm FULL of them today!). And never mind that I had an election blog, a wedding blog and one other blog that no one shall speak about. All said, I think it is time. I cannot believe how long I've actually stayed committed to this blogging thing. I think I keep doing it because it is an easy enough way to remember how long I've known my better half who refuses to live his life on the internet. I started this here blog right before my toilet exploded at Capitol House (this will be relevant below) that one fine Thanksgiving weekend.

My how far we have come.


Anyhow. That list. 30 or so things I've done in the Month of Sundays since I last blogged:


* Created a TON of pages from those gorgeous wedding photos by Gerald and Airika.

* Managed to get a NON wedding photo page picked up for publication by Scrapbooks, Etc (okay, but it was an engagement layout full of photos taken by your’s truly).

* Debated the merits of progressive/regressive tax structures with Miranda and Erick

* Attended an amazingly inspirational breakfast (900 folks!!) and dreamed of consulting again.

* Got a text (or two) from a crazy woman on her way home who ain't fraid of no hands free law.

* Got a call from a crazier woman (aka my sister) wanting directions to the Las Cruces Wal Mart (just in case she needs those again...I got her back and yes, that is Las Cruces...New Mexico...and no I have not lived there for…oh…5 years??)

* Won a bet about how long it would take to walk approx 4 miles (over 45 minutes)

* Realized that you CAN teach this old dog new tricks because my Sushiland is so much better than YOUR Sushiland. Kirkland has promise.

* Turned my Swag On and realized that My President is Black (parental advisory) before putting my Halo back on and realizing I need to keep it clean (and that maybe she needs to remember she is married...just saying).

* Missed Fred and his cousin and started to wonder why we were naming certain visitors to our pad.

* Realized that I'm too old to attend Summer Jam because all the teeny boppers will be out to impress yet, somehow, I am not too old to attend a Green Day concert. GA. In the pit. With my ex-security 6'6 hubby. That should be the last concert like that we do. But then again, we said that before with Sean Paul, JT and Modest Mouse. I'm just saying...

* Started a twitter account. Which I have a (relatively) lot of followers wondering why they've never heard a peep (or is that a tweet) out of me.

* Managed to STILL not call my mom (I love you mom, miss you too...and Q too...I wish I lived in El Paso. Okay. Well. Not really. I wish you guys lived here. But it rains a lot here. Especially lately). And in the months since I started this post, I’ve REALLY missed them even more. And I’ve wished for the rain to come back. No such thing as global warming though. Nope.

* Found a million dream homes on zip/redfin and realized why I never want to live in El Paso again (try to find homes on either of those sites. Yeah...I need a city...and Seattle is barely a city by these standards).

* I prayed really hard for Robert's sister's hubby. And that is saying a lot since some folks believe I'm the anti-Christ and...

* I got called out in church because it had literally been a month of Sundays (might have been a month in a half) since I had been to church. Specifically, Father Paul looked me dead in the eye and told me I was NOT to dip my cracker into the wine. Something about swine flu. Whatevs.

* Went on the great hunt for thickers. Found said thickers. Had to contain my habit over said thickers. Now the hunt is over and I’m being altruistic with those thickers.

* Almost melted off the face of this earth. Jury is still out on that one. We have a genuine heat advisory in effect. We’re shattering records. But remember, there is no global warming.

* Watched half of Earth 2100. If I could stay awake in the heat on my couch, I’d watch the whole thing.

* I of course watched all of Inside the Obama White House. Come on. That was a given. I still watch West Wing (much better than the official site) reruns.

*Rescue Me is still my fave boy soap opera. I still cannot stomach cops and everytime I hear Operation Repo on in the other room, I swear I can taste just a little bit of throw up in the back of my mouth. And you know what THAT means (taste it, hear it, see it, smell it = do it…or think really hard about strawberry cheesecake and smell a handful of baby powder to calm my stomach down). I do LOVE Southland though. To pieces. Which means it will be cancelled. Alas.

* I need new shoes. Apparently, not as bad as I needed those thickers.

* I’m so totally nesting (but totally NOT expecting). I bought a book on 99 ways to not lose it when teaching your kids manners. While I do want to have kids, I’m about 99 percent convinced that there was subliminal messages channeling from that screaming kid’s mouth who was running through the store when I picked that up. And I got the book on 99 ways to not lose it when dealing with your kids’ food issues because, well, I was hungry.

* My favorite snack lately? Well, since perfect margaritas don’t really count as a snack. Especially when you’re NOT having them on a Tuesday night. What was I saying? Oh yeah…perfect snack. I cup light French vanilla yogurt, two jumbo Costco strawberries sliced thin and two tablespoons of Cascadian Farms granola. Heaven. Oh dear sweet Lord thank you.

* Speaking of Costco. Aside from it being ridiculous to shop for a family of two there, you know what else it is ridiculous to do at Costco? No, I’m not talking about the fitness pass thing again. I’m done and over that one. I was going to say that it is really ridiculous to buy a tub of humus from Costco. No matter how much you love humus and have co-workers who do as well, there are just not enough wheat thins in the WORLD to eat a whole Costco sized tub of hummus. Not that I am speaking from experience or anything like that.

* Oh the toilet. Finally just have to act on that. which means I should follow up with my lawyer. Yeah...I'm big time now. "My lawyer". That's a trip.

And on that note, this post has reached ridiculous proportions and really, you should just hit me up on facebook where they limit the characters I can type. Yeah Twitter does too, but I don’t have a cool twitter ap for my crackberry so Facebook wins. For now. Until someone so politely hooks me up.

Flowers, Firearms, Funny Boys...and no...not Guns N Roses

So do you remember this cutie reporter?

You know where he's from? He's from the land of firearms evidently. Tivo and all...watched a 20/20 special tonight "If I only had a gun" and vowed to never have firearms in my house and when I learnted that 1 in 3 folks have firearms in the home, I vowed to have sleepovers galore. I'm not a fan of statistics like that.

20/20 special clip - check it here

My hubby is the best. And no, not just because he brings me beautiful flowers.
But partly because of that (smile).

Funny boys...have you ever watched Rescue Me? I stand my ground. That show is totally Novella for the boys. I used to say it was a boy soap opera. But it has surpassed even my expectations into the realm of Novellas.

hot. mess.

Like Jamaica...but with no AC

Let me tell you. My honeymoon was the bomb.

Some of my fave memories?

** 27 minutes on site and the welcoming "refreshment" was a Bob Marley.
** Air conditioning
** the smell of Jerk chicken
**Alfreds
** ATI/RTI
** Air conditioning
** late night beach walks
** Hobie cats
** Did I mention air conditioning?

I'm married to a wanderer. He likes to wander off places. Like Tibet. And Everest.



While yes, Jamaica is VERY much on the beaten path...especially since you have places in Negril that very much advertise that they are the party capital of the world for the just passed teeny bopper spring break set (ahem), it is definitely on the beaten path.



But here's the thing.



When we think about "where next" a lot of folks are on the "You'll never top Everest" tip. Duely noted. Competitive as we are, we don't feel a need to one up every trip we take.



So for the honeymoon, it became what is the best deal we can get for a long time away from crazyville (preferably right next door to Margaritaville - check) but with the option to see/experience some "real life". Remember...I got to experience rural Chinese toilets on our last big trip before the honeymoon and all.



All said, I loved my honeymoon so much that the ONLY (and I do mean ONLY) issue I had was really a non-issue rendered moot because, as I mentioned, one of my fave things about Jamaica was the air conditioning. Mostly, because that place was hot as a MUG. I mean come on.


I lived in Ujamaa at Cornell and I attended my first and last sweatbox only to get a cool glimpse of what visiting any of the island nations my pan-African people had come from. No joke that the university was really good about making sure the habitat was kept hospitable for us. I'm not saying...just cause, you know...I'm from Texas and we got heat too. Just not like island heat.



So.



Earlier this week, when my better half in all of probably 7 minutes (cause he's fast like that) forwards me an email to a place that shall not be named, I'm game. I mean really. Any place that I need to sleep with a net and be mindful of the lack of reliable electricity sounds like the trip of a lifetime to me. (And it was honey...it was).



This morning, he wakes up (well not really since he doesn't sleep anymore) and asks me:



"So...you do know that this place is like Jamaica right?"

Of course I do...that is why I want to go.



"But it is like Jamaica with no air conditioning"

[silence]



[more silence]



"Oh...and did I mention that they say you need a flashlight to go to the bathroom at night so that you don't step on the crabs in your room...I mean we're THAT CLOSE to the beach."

[really silent and then]


"Well, it's cool that it is on the beach."


"Oh yeah about that. We should also watch out for scorpions."

I'm from the desert. El Paso to be exact. I quit Girl Scouts the week after my troop leader came screaming out of her garage because she had been stung by a scorpion. I've never seen a real live one (well, because the one I saw that day was squished dead) and I'd like to keep it that way.

For the record, my troop split right after that because the leaders didn't get along. But I like to tell it as I do above because that makes it a bit more dramatic and special.

Oh Jamaica.