My first tattoo. May 30, 2013

 Here we are at Tattooed Theory in Hialeah, FL about to get my first tattoo. 

I am just a little nervous before getting started.

 Heather started with a short line just to show me what to expect. 

She told me it would feel like someone scratching a sunburn, and that's exactly how it felt.

 It's not that bad... I think I can do this!

 The worst part was being still for more than an hour.

I can't usually keep my legs still for more than a few minutes. 

I had to concentrate very hard on not moving.

 Outline is done and we're taking a short break before coloring him in.

 He's all done, and he's awesome.

Thanks to CreateMyTattoo.com I got just the design I wanted.

I am very happy with how it turned out and I am already planning my next tattoo!

4 and a half hours until kick-off of the All SEC, BCS National Championship Game. University of Alabama vs LSU.  I'm soooo excited!  Roll Tide!

Getting out for some air...

I took a walk over to Pasion del Cielo this morning... having a latte and croissant for breakfast.  I might make this my regular Friday thing again...

New year... new me... new attitude...

2011 was both good and bad for me. I lost 30 pounds and so far I am doing a good job of keeping it off.

I bought a Wii and we got Wii Fit Plus, so that should help.

I had a short battle with depression and so far I seem to have won.

I've decided to try and keep up with my 365 Project again this year, and I figured I might as well give the blogging thing a go again too...

Most days there won't be much more than a link to a photo or something similar... but I'll try to update something here every day.

I know no one is reading it... it's for me mostly. I just want to stay focused on positive things and moving forward.

Happy New Year!



This was taken during the neighborhood fireworks display. The air was thick with smoke and Tom was playing with his laser. My cat was inside hiding behind the couch and none of us got hit by stray bullets. I think that was a pretty good start to 2012.

One day I'm going to move to Florida and go to the beach every day...

So... I was half right.

I've been thinking alot lately about how I used to love the beach. And how since moving to Florida I have lost that part of myself. We now live about 9 miles from the beach and do you know how long it's been since we went there? Neither do I.

Going to the beach used to be the highlight of my entire year. I only got to do it once a year, and sometimes it wasn't even every year.

I remember stopping to take pictures when we got down south enough to see a palm tree, and how excited we were to finally see signs for Gulf beaches.

Now I see palm trees all the time, they are everywhere... and I rarely notice.

I remember dreaming of moving to Gulf Shores or Panama City Beach and working in a gift shop, selling souvenirs to tourists... spending every spare moment at the beach.

Now here I am in Miami, and real life has taken over my dream.

Well that is about to change... I told Tom I want to start going to the beach again... very soon, I want to get that part of me back... I want to be the girl that thought the beach was a very special thing. I want to build sandcastles and look for shells and all that stuff. :)

Coffee time again...

I made it through another week at work and am doing my Friday thing... having coffee at Pasion del Cielo in The Gables... such a great place to relax and enjoy a good coffee. Not as noisy as Starbucks because it's tucked away on a side street...

We watched Alice in Wonderland last night and I really enjoyed it. I love Tim Burton's movies... they are always so unusual.

3 more weeks 'til my B'day trip... can't wait to see my old friends Spiderman, Hulk and the dragons again... wondering if the Harry Potter thing is going to increase lines on Dueling Dragons... and everywhere else in the park too.

Lazy Saturday...

I'm sitting here at Pasion del Cielo Coffee in the Gables, sipping on a coffee frappe and trying to think of something to blog about.

I see I forgot to update since we were sitting at Space View Park waiting for the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis. Well... they launched, completed their mission and landed back at KSC this past Wednesday morning. Someone posted a picture on fb of the shuttle flying by the KSC Visitor's Complex on it's way to land... that would have been really cool to see!

4 weeks from today I will be celebrating my birthday at Universal Studios in Orlando. Hope the weather is nice the 2 days I am there. Earth Wind and Fire is playing there that night... if I'm not too tired I might actually stick around for the show.

Can't believe my weekend is almost over already... NOT ready to go back to work tomorrow...

STS-132 Atlantis

We're in Titusville again... this time to see space shuttle Atlantis launch on it's mission to the ISS.

There are currently low clouds in the area, and weather is at 70% "go" for launch.

Space Shuttle Atlantis

We're getting ready for another trip to KSC to see the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on May 14th.

Hope everything goes as planned and we get our daytime launch.

Stay tuned... (though I hardly ever remember to update this thing)

Happy New Phone Day

Just checking out what I can do with my new G1...

Searching for...

a backpack for my netbook while I wait for lunch at Denny's.

I can't find one local so I guess I'm going to have to order one online. I hate not being able to just go into a store and pick one up... you would think that would be pretty easy to do living in Miami but I find that more and more often I have to send away for things.

Best Buy: no
Target: no
Staples: no
Radio Shack: no

Going to check Office Depot and Office Max next.

Last published July 7th 2009...

Ok... it's official... I am not a blogger.

If I haven't added anything to this blog since July then I guess I have nothing to say... ever... about anything.

Though mostly I guess it's because when I DO have something to say I say it on facebook...

So let's blame facebook. It is facebook's fault that I am not a blogger.

:-P

Remembering Michael Jackson...

For whatever happened in the later years... I really did like MJ back in the Thriller days... his music was great and he was a superstar.

I'm watching the memorial.

I hope his kids grow up to be happy and healthy adults, with a somewhat normal life ahead of them. If that's even possible...

Happy Birthday To Me!

I bought myself a present yesterday... an Acer Aspire One netbook. It's pretty awesome... It's light enough that I can bring it to work and it's small enough to fit in my locker.

Airports are going to be a breeze now... I can't wait for my next trip! I always hated dragging the full size laptop around on a vacation but just didn't want to leave home without it.

I'm sure I'll have lots more to say about it later, but right now I'm having a coffee break before work. I'm enjoying an iced latte at Pasion Coffee in Coral Gables.

Bloody Mary's in the Quarter...

I spent the weekend in New Orleans on a mission to try some of the best Bloody Mary's around. I'd done some reading before I left and made notes of a few places people were talking about. I ended up trying them at 5 different bars...

1. Pat O's on St. Peter: Mostly tomato, very little spice... paired very well with the super spicy Jambalaya I had for dinner though. Garnished with pickled green beans... no celery. :(

2. Johnny White's Bar on St. Peter, across the street from Preservation Hall: My favorite of the 5... spicy, but not too much. Garnished with olives... no celery. :(

3. Coop's Place, 1109 Decatur St., across the street from Margaritaville: Very interesting to watch this one being made. Spices, vodka, brown stuff, and a splash of bloody mary mix "for color" she said... definitely not my favorite because it had hardly any tomato flavor at all, but seriously not my least favorite either. It was at least drinkable unlike my next stop... more green beans and again, no celery.

4. Yo Mama's on St. Peter, next door to Johnny White's bar: Vera went in to get this one for me so I didn't see how it was made. She said it had about 8 or 9 steps to it, and she couldn't even tell what most of the stuff in it was. Not a good sign... it was WAY too spicy and just not good. At this point I have given up on finding a Bloody Mary garnished with celery. Sadly I couldn't finish this drink... it just was not good. Too much spice, lots of "stuff" in the bottom of it... it was quite chunky. Bleh...

5. The Gazebo Cafe, 1016 Decatur St.: This one was just ok... definitely not as bad as the one from Yo Mama's, but not as good as Johnny White's or Coop's. Serious chunks in it... looked almost like pickle relish. Just a bit strange... no way of knowing what was in it because it was a gallon sized jug of pre-mixed stuff.

Even after all those drinks, I didn't have a hangover or headache, and surprisingly no heartburn either. :)

I can't wait to go back next year... I'll make Johnny White's Bar on St. Peter my first stop!

Website Update

I have uploaded pictures from the Miami Dolphins vs San Francisco 49rs game from December 2008.

I'm looking forward to football season this year... hopefully it will be just as exciting as the last one!

Roll Tide and Go Fins!

:)

Website update

Work is progressing slowly on MelissasTrips.com, but it is starting to come together.

I've been sick for 3 days but forced myself to work on it a little this afternoon. I worked out a color scheme for the main page and then figured out how to make Coppermine match it.

The next step will be to get back to editing and uploading photos.

I'd been looking forward to walking down the Mile to see the Hot 8 Brass Band tonight but I just don't have the energy...

I feel like poop.

Ok...

So when I said "this" weekend I didn't actually MEAN "that" weekend.

:)

Updates!

There has been a bit of progress on the websites.

AerosmithIsland.com is almost back to normal, though there are quite a few areas I wanted to remove and have misplaced the original "map" files so I can't actually remove them from the main page. Now those links just point to "under construction" pages... which I hate!

At the moment, MelissasTrips.com just links to here until I get time to redesign everything this weekend. I've got the new Coppermine photo album thing installed and am currently adding pictures and trying to decide how I want the thing to look. I don't like any of the pre-installed templates and need to get with Tom about making some adjustments.

Email is working now at least!

My websites...

are currently under construction...

they are completely blank slates...

and...

my email isn't working...

grrr!

No...

I haven't been locked in my room playing X Box since November.

I really just haven't thought much about updating the blog since my last post last year.

Soon I'll be giving my website an overhaul... a total redesign... and I started with the look of the blog. This might also be changing again after I start working on the website. I did this with one of the pre-made templates, and if I do something different to the site, I'll want to make the blog match it.

Let's see... 2008 ended pretty good. I got tickets to the last Dolphins home game, which they won against the San Francisco 49'ers. It was fun, and I stayed far away from the frozen Sangria this time. I limited myself to 2 cocktails (my new love, Crown and Pepsi) and we had a great time.

Christmas was good. Tom got me a Nintendo DS Lite and I became immediately addicted to it. I've got Animal Crossing: Wild World, Nintendogs: Lab and Friends, New Super Mario Bros. and Brain Age 2.

February 4 & 5 marked the coldest temperatures in Miami in a year... we reached an overnight low of 36 degrees, and finally got my kitty to start coming back in the house again after more than a month of her acting as if she was terrified at the though of crossing the threshold. Now she comes and goes pretty much as she pleases, which is fine with me. Though I would prefer her being a 100% indoor cat, I'll take what I can get, and know that having her in part of the time is better than none at all. I knew winter wouldn't be too much for her, let's face it, it only lasts 3 or 4 days at a time... but hurricane season will be here before we know it and I hated the thought of her hiding under the car during the next tropical storm or worse. Now at least I'm pretty confident she'll hop on the couch at the first sign of bad weather... just like last year. :)

Work still mostly sucks, but at least 1 person that was stressing me out is gone now... too bad the rest aren't going anywhere, but I try my best to just do my job and ignore them. It's easier now that I'm working a later shift...

Oh yeah... I'm working a later shift now because I was followed to work by some weirdo on a bicycle a few weeks back which made me very uncomfortable about walking to work before daylight. Now I don't have to be at work until 8:00 4 days a week. It's working out very well so far.

Wednesday night I'll be staying overnight for inventory... I hate it, but I do love that inventory bonus. At least this year we're only doing it twice... previous years we had 4 of them! We do still get the 4 bonuses though. Yay!

I guess that's about it... hopefully I'll get the changes started on the website this weekend and then start doing regular updates to both the site and the blog. No promises though because sometimes I just don't have much to say.

I got an XBox 360!

Happy Turkey Day

Stop the remake!

How not to discover an allergy...

Yesterday at work I ate about 4 cashews and within 5 minutes my throat was getting itchy and I told my boss "I think I'm allergic to cashews". He thought I was kidding around, it was just a little itchy so I didn't really do anything about it.

About 5 minutes later it felt as if my throat was closing up so I ran out to the medicine aisle and grabbed a box of Benedryl, took 2 tablets and drank a bottle of water and said to my boss "No shit... I really think I'm allergic to cashews!"

About 5 minutes later when I couldn't swallow anything my boss took off down the street with me headed to the Fire Department... it's only a block or two from the store so we figured we could be over there quicker than if we called them to come to me.

I got a shot of epinephrine, they hooked me up to a BP monitor, heart monitor and some oxygen and made me sit there for about 30 minutes. I had about 10 of the fire-rescue guys hovering over me. Which was a bit embarrassing... did it really take that many guys to do what they were doing?

They wanted me to go to the hospital, but by then I was already feeling MUCH better. The throat was opening up some and I was getting really sleepy from the Benedryl. So I promised them if there was a secondary reaction later I'd head straight for the emergency room.

I called Tom on my way back to the store and asked him to come pick me up...

The rest of the evening was miserable... when we got back to the house my entire body was covered in hives... I was itching like I've never itched before... like I was itching in my bones! I couldn't stand for anything to touch me... it was like my skin was on fire. Like a really bad itchy sunburn.

I went to bed, but was afraid to go to sleep. I had some serious chills... chattery teeth and all. Not fun.

I didn't get out of bed again until it was time to go to work this morning... I have been fine since, except for a bit of a sore throat.

This was the first time I have had an allergy reaction that has had an effect on my breathing... scary stuff! Usually I just break out in a rash or sneeze alot...

I'm going to be making an appointment with an allergist soon and have some tests. I don't want to discover another allergy this way ever again.

---

Today at work my assistant manager told me that he had let our Store Manager know what happened after I went home because the Fire-Rescue guys said they'd be sending him a letter. His response...


"Did she pay for the cashews?"

Bills vs. Dolphins

On Friday, my boss gave me tickets to Sunday's Dolphins game...

It was fun... though I drank a little too much. If I get tickets to another game someday, I think I'll pass on the frozen sangria...

:)

HHN 2008

Halloween Horror Nights was not at all boring. It was great! I'm already planning for next year, and this time Vera's going with me... with or without Steven, or so she says.

I had a lot of fun, and a great 2 days at Universal and Islands... there were hardly any crowds... I hardly had to wait in any lines at all.

The trip was over before I knew it, and I was back in Miami... back at work... putting up with the same old bullshit I'd left behind 10 days earlier...

New Orleans 10/10/08

We had lots of fun during our weekend trip to New Orleans.

I flew there from Ft. Lauderdale on Friday afternoon, got to the Hotel Villa Convento at around 5:00 and after checking in, went to Margaritaville for dinner.

Vera, Steven and Lauren hadn't arrived yet so after dinner I walked around a little and then went to the Tropical Isle for a Hand Grenade.

The sun was beginning to set when they arrived, and after circling the block a few times they finally found a spot to park, right out front... which we thought was the 10 minute hotel drop-off parking.

After getting them settled in, we went back to Margaritaville so they could eat dinner. When they were just about finished I remembered that in our rush to get out and do something we forgot to move the car to the hotel's parking garage. Thinking for sure her car would be towed, we paid the bill and ran back to the hotel... when we got there the guy working the front desk said we didn't have to move the car at all, we were in a legal spot and could stay there as long as we wanted. Whew!

So we went back out and walked around for a while, and even saw a movie being filmed... starring James Gandolfini. Kinda cool, actually! After getting back to the hotel Vera couldn't find her credit card. We were in such a rush to get back to the car earlier that she had left it on the table at Margaritaville. I called, told them we'd pick it up in the morning, and went to bed.

I got an early start the next morning, my first stop was Cafe du Monde for coffee and beignets. I spent a couple hours walking around the French Quarter waiting for the rest of the group to wake up. Around 11:00 they were out and wanted to go to Cafe du Monde too... so more coffee, and more beignets! We had an early dinner at the House of Blues, and then took a buggy ride through the French Quarter. We had reservations for a ghost tour at 8:00, and went back to the hotel to get ready.

Steven and Lauren went for a walk, and I didn't want to sit around so I went out for a drink... then I got a call from Steven, he wanted crawfish and wanted me to go with him to get them... we had NO time to spare, but we took off to the restaurant, so he could eat... finished up and got back to the hotel as quickly as we could to pick up Vera and Lauren and meet our tour.

After the ghost tour we were hungry... they had gelato, and then we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for appetizers. Our waiter looked like Nikki Sixx Jr... Vera tipped him 10.00 because "he's pretty".

We went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Another early start for me on Sunday... back to Cafe du Monde and one last walk through the Quarter... I watched the Raiders fans meet up on Bourbon Street and start their march to the Superdome. I looked around in a few stores and snapped a few more pictures before going back to the hotel to load up the car.

After checking out of the hotel we went to the French Market (where they had breakfast) and Riverwalk Marketplace (where I had lunch). Back to the Quarter for one last walk through... Vera, Steven and Lauren went to St. Louis Cathedral. I was thirsty and went to Pat O's for a Hurricane... didn't taste like it had any alcohol in it... suppose they water down the drinks during football games? They are usually pretty strong...

It's 5:00 and we're still shopping... why can't we ever leave New Orleans?

Our adventure was not quite over yet... we got back to Vera's house before midnight... Steven couldn't find his phone anywhere... earlier in the day it had been put in a shopping bag... along the way home we had stopped for gas and that bag had been thrown away. Uh-oh... we Googled the gas station, called the store, called Steven's phone and sure enough the cashier could hear it ringing in the dumpster. She told him she couldn't get it out... she wasn't climbing in the dumpster... (can you blame her?).

I went to bed thinking we'd be going to the mall to buy a new phone the next day... and when I woke up Vera said we'd be leaving in about an hour. So I got ready, got in the car and after heading down the road I found out that we were going to get his phone... the cashier had gotten it out of the dumpster. 136 miles later, he had his phone back.

I got a short concert from part of Steven's band last night... :)

I spent most of the day today curled up with Miss Kitty... she's asleep at my feet as I type this. :)

I leave tomorrow evening... heading to Orlando and Halloween Horror Nights. I wish they could go with me... I think it might be a bit boring going alone... but I wanted something fun to do in between leaving here and going back to Miami.

Avast!

Drink up me hearties... and be talkin' like a pirate!

Arrrr!

My kitty can be LOLcat too...

I can has 5 moar minitz?

Another day, another storm...

another of my favorite cities in it's path.

This time Key West is looking pretty good to get hit by Hurricane Ike.

Good luck y'all!

Get out and stay safe...

I love New Orleans.

And I am very sad today because of what is headed their way again... just 3 years after Katrina devastated my favorite city.

Hurricane Gustav is expected to make landfall near New Orleans tomorrow morning. The city is being evacuated, and I really hope more people leave this time.

I don't want them on their rooftops begging to be rescued.. I don't want them lying dead in the streets...

I have a ticket to New Orleans on October 10th. I want everyone to be OK... I want New Orleans to be OK... I want to see her again soon...

I love New Orleans.

A new toy for my laptop...

Today I bought a mouse for my laptop.



A Logitech V220 Cordless Optical Mouse for Notebooks

It's red. It's pretty. And now I can play Sims 2 on my laptop!

I'm also going to be getting Microsoft Streets and Trips 2008 soon... so we can use the laptop as a GPS. It's gonna be awesome on roadtrips...

Beef!

It's what's for dinner...

Today I smoked a chuck roast and it was awesome.

I combined a few recipes I found online, made a few substitutions for ingredients I didn't have in the kitchen and gave it a shot... literally!

I started by making a dry rub.

1 T pepper
1 T kosher salt
1 t garlic powder
1 t paprika
1 T Chef Paul's Barbecue Magic

I coated the outside with that mixture and then got started on the marinade...

I injected the roast with a 50/50 mix of Dale's Steak Seasoning and apple juice.

Next I recreated a fat cap for the roast, since it didn't have one of it's own... I covered the top of the roast with bacon.

Here is how it looked before going into the smoker:


And here is how it looked 3 1/2 hours later:


We're going to play around a bit with the cooking time when we do it again. It was probably done 30 minutes before we took it out, but it wasn't dried out at all...

and that was the most awesome bacon I've ever tasted...

Fall vacation countdown...

In 61 days I'll be on my way...

My vacation will begin in New Orleans, LA. I'm meeting Vera and Steven... and maybe Steven's girlfriend Lauren... and maybe Steven's friend Matt... we've got a couple of rooms at the Hotel Villa Convento. One loft, and one single...

We plan to go to the Preservation Hall, and maybe do another ghost or vampire tour. I've also made a list of some daytime activities... French Quarter tour, cemetery tour, and maybe a buggy ride... stuff like that.

After spending the weekend there I'll be riding back to Alabama with them. I'll spend a couple nights at their house. Since they'll both be working or in school during the week I decided not to stay the whole week.

On Wednesday evening I'll be flying to Orlando. I'm going to Halloween Horror Nights on Thursday night. Thursday, Friday and part of Saturday I'll be doing my favorite thing... Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure! Saturday night I fly back to Ft. Lauderdale... head back here to Miami and have Sunday to recover from the trip before I go back to work on Monday.

Then I start the countdown to the next trip!

Coaster death at Six Flags

I've been thinking quite a bit about the boy that was decapitated by the Batman roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia and I just don't get it...

WHY would anyone go into a restricted area near a speeding roller coaster???

AP: Ga. ride that killed teen to remain closed

I am just in total disbelief that anyone could do something that wreckless and stupid.

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my birthday and after waiting 2 weeks I finally got to see the most awesome zombie picture that Tom had made for me at ZombieMe.com.

This guy is great!

He started out with this:



And turned it into this:




I am the coolest zombie ever!

Orlando for my B'day...

As a pre-birthday present to myself, I took a quick trip to Orlando.

I went in early to work on Thursday (3:00 am) and had planned to stay until 11:00, but the weather started to look ugly so I left at 10:00. I had hoped to make it to the Tri-Rail station before the storm hit, but I didn't quite make it. By the time the train arrived it had stopped raining though and I was on my way to Ft Lauderdale at 11:00 instead of noon like I had originally planned.

When I was in line for the security check I heard an announcement about passengers waiting for my flight needing to proceed immediately to the gate for an important announcement. Is that ever a good sign?

The gate agent told us that our 1:50 flight had been delayed and our new departure time was 3:15. I gave Tom a call to let him know that I had rushed up there for nothing and I would be stuck at the airport for a while. I settled in and turned on my laptop to find something to do for 3 hours...

An email check informed me that the new new departure time was now 3:25

Oh joy!

I played around online for a bit and a final 2:00 email update said the even newer departure time was 3:20... yay, going in the right direction at least!

More sitting and waiting until finally they start boarding the flight. I arrive in Orlando, catch my shuttle to the hotel, check-in and am walking through City Walk on my way to Universal by 6:00. I was really looking forward to the new Simpsons ride that moved into the old Back to the Future ride building. A sign at the entrance showed a wait time of 70 minutes. The park closes at 8:00, so I figured this one ride might be the only thing I got done that evening, but I was determined to ride it anyway. I had all day Friday and part of Saturday to do everything else.

When I got to the ride entrance, the wait time showed 50 minutes. The actual time I was in line was only 30 though... not too bad. The ride is pretty awesome. I don't want to give away any details, but I really did enjoy it. I still had plenty of time before the park closed so I got in a ride on MIB Alien Attack, The Revenge of the Mummy, and Jaws.

Before heading back to the hotel I had dinner at Margaritaville... a BBQ Bacon Burger and a beer... I did a little shopping, bought a couple Tees for me and Tom and grabbed a cab back to the hotel for a shower and a sleep.

Friday morning I was up and gone at 8:00, heading straight for Islands of Adventure and the Incredible Hulk. My favorite way to start the day... front row on Hulk!



Stopped off to have a look at my picture... bought it and stuck it in a locker. I'll have to get my scanner working so I can post it. Next I was off to the Lost Continent and front row on the Ice Dragon! By this time they had the single rider line open for Spider-man... I took a ride on the Bilge Rat Barges at noon, got soaked, changed clothes and went over to Universal. I made the rounds of all my favorite rides, even got to do a solo ride on ET. I really wish I had remembered that I had my camera with me during that ride so I could have video taped him saying goodbye to me. Usually he's calling out a string of 12 names and sometimes it's hard to even hear him when he says it. There was no missing it this time. "Goodbye Melissa!" he said... "Goodbye ET!" I replied... :)

At around 4:00 the sky turned dark and it started to rain. I happened to be walking by the Jaws ride, so I figured that would be a good place to take shelter from the coming storm. I was surprised that the ride was actually still running, but that didn't stop me from climbing aboard. I'm so glad I did. This had to be the most hilarious ride of my life. Everyone had the same idea... the boat is covered, so we'll ride and stay dry... WRONG! Our poor skipper was just getting soaked in the front of the boat... and it was a cold rain too. The wind was blowing it in on all of us. Towards the end of the ride, when Jaws makes his final lunge at the boat, a small tidal wave came over the left side of the boat and soaked everyone from row 2 back. I have never seen that much water on that ride... everyone was laughing, except the guy that got a direct hit. He was sitting in the exact seat I had been in the night before...

Our skipper was great. He asked if the man's camera was OK. He said he wasn't sure, and that he'd come on the boat to stay dry. Our skipper told him there would be no extra charge for the drink... "The water is on me." To which I replied "It's on me too!" *High Fives*

I ducked in under an awning at Nathan's Hot Dog Stand just outside the boat house and called Steven and Tom to tell them about my adventure. I was soaked... I made my way from awning to doorway on my way to Finnigan's Bar & Grill for an early dinner. I was really cold from all the rain so I ordered a Bailey's and coffee and a bowl of their Guinness Beef Stew. Both were really good and just hit the spot.

I needed to make my way back to Islands for the end of the night, and to get a change of socks out of the locker. I'd been slopping around in wet socks for far too long... I'm still paying the price for that one too... ow! I have blisters in places I didn't even know existed.

I did a little more shopping as the park was closing and went back to the hotel to check out the damage on my feet... I'm definitely getting my $$ worth out of the podiatrist on Tuesday.

My flight wasn't until 6:00 on Saturday so the hotel kept my suitcase for me after check-out so I could go back to the parks for a few hours in the morning. I'm SO glad I did... I broke my old record on MIB by scoring 601,000 points!



GO ME!

I had planned to stay until 1:00, but by noon I was in quite a bit of pain from the combination of my heel spur and all my new blisters. I was back at the hotel by 12:30 and arranged for an earlier pick-up to the airport. I got there around 2:15 and my 6:00 flight was already delayed until 7:15. I had another long day ahead of me... I'm so glad I have this laptop. I spent most of the afternoon chatting with a friend...

Thanks for hanging out with me Sue!!!

I had a very bumpy flight back to Ft Lauderdale... and finally made it back to Miami around 10:30...

I'm pooped!

But I had an awesome time! I'd do it again tomorrow if I had the money for one of those scooter rentals! :)

Can't wait to get back there in October...

Let's see... where to begin...

When I last updated the blog I'd just gotten over being sick twice... today I am sick again. It's becoming a habit now, and one I'm not happy to have.

Since I was sick all weekend and not really paying attention to much of what's going on in the world, I just found out today that Steven Tyler checked into rehab last Thursday. I have very mixed emotions about this. I hate that he's going through whatever it is that he's rehabbing from... but I'd much rather find out that he's been in rehab for 3 days than find out he'd been dead for 3 days... so rehab is the bright side... right?

*sigh*

I don't want to let go of my Aerosmith yet... I know that band will not go on forever, but damnit... I'm not ready yet!!! I suppose I never will really be ready though... I'll always want that one more show.

I've been in zombie mode for about 2 weeks. I bought a couple zombie books: The Zombie Survival Guide & World War Z An Oral History of the Zombie War... both by Max Brooks. We've been watching a few George A Romero movies this week too... I spent yesterday afternoon watching the special features on my Shaun of the Dead DVD, and spent this afternoon watching the movie. I love it... it's awesome!

My trip to Orlando is coming up fast... just a little over 3 weeks and I'll be there. Yay! I can't wait to try out the new Simpsons ride... it looks great. It won't be a very long trip, but it should be enough to hold me over until my vacation in October. I'll be flying to New Orleans to meet up with Vera and Steven for the weekend. I reserved a loft at the Villa Convento... it's supposed to be haunted, but aren't all New Orleans hotels supposed to be haunted? Then I'll stay at their house for a couple days before heading back to Orlando for Halloween Horror Nights and 2 days at the parks. Yay again!

I have decided that the only shoes I can wear pain-free are Crocs. I don't care what people think of them... if they had ever gone through the pain I go through every day they wouldn't care either. I've worn my old "Professional" style Crocs all weekend and MY FEET DON'T HURT!



My 1st pair - Professional in Black.

They're awesome! So on Friday I ordered 3 new pair of Crocs. I can't wait for them to arrive...

My new Crocs:



Off Road in Khaki.




Professional in Chocolate.




Specialist in Black.


I really hope to be able to wear the Specialist style to work... because that's where I spend the majority of my time on my feet. Ugh! Don't even let me get started on work... that is an extremely sore subject for me these days...

My laptop...

I don't think I mentioned how awesome it was having that laptop with me on vacation.

That is the best purchase I have ever made.

It was SO heavy though... after carrying it around all day through 2 different airports I knew something had to be done before my return trip.

So I bought a cool little rolling laptop case... coming back to Miami was a breeze! It has space for clothes too... to double as a weekend bag. So I think that may be the only bag I take with me to Orlando in June.

I've already got the ticket and the room... I can't wait!

Bleh...

The week leading up to Valentine's Day I was sick... REALLY sick, with the flu, which after about 5 days turned to bronchitis. I went to the doctor, had the chest X-rays... got prescriptions for antibiotics, steroids, a new Albuterol inhaler and had to use a nebulizer while I was there. Bleh.

I had that annoying and lingering cough for a couple weeks. I went on vacation on February 28 and had to use my inhaler quite a bit while I was gone. So I don't think the bronchitis ever fully went away.

I flew back to Miami on March 9th... March 11th I was sick again... starting with a sore throat. I missed work on the 12th because I couldn't stop sneezing and I just don't think that mixes with food. I felt a bit better on the 13th so I went back to work... around noon I really started to feel bad again. That evening I had a fever so I was back at the doctor again yesterday... yep... bronchitis again. So now I'm on Advair indefinitely. Singulair too. And another round of antibiotics... oh joy! Luckily he gave me samples of all of it this time... he's also ordering a nebulizer for me so next time this happens I can treat myself and save a trip to his office.

Did I say "Bleh"?

Bleh.

Home Sweet New Orleans

We spent last weekend in New Orleans. Our first trip since Hurricane Katrina. We had a really good time. Driving in to town was a bit emotional for all of us... there are still a lot of areas that have damaged buildings, or places where everything is just gone.

When I get back to Miami I'm going to donate some money towards the rebuilding of one of my favorite cities. A place that years ago I wanted to move to. My home away from home...

New Orleans is a beautiful old city, and she deserves more help than she's getting.

Brad Pitt Launches The Pink Project

This is a project that Brad Pitt has launched to help the people of New Orleans the Right way. It is set to build one of the most "Green" Communities in the U.S. So it is a great investment in America. He is asking for the support of the people of the U.S. We all know our government will do nothing. But "We the People" will make a difference

read more | digg story

My new baby...

Sheba, the Toshiba Satellite Laptop.

I can't wait to take a trip and really try this thing out. I love it so far.

As an added bonus, I can finally play games at Pogo again! I hadn't been able to do that in at least a year on any of our desktop computers.

I'll be getting a plane ticket for a trip home soon. I'm planning to leave February 28th and I'll be gone about 10 days. The trip to Orlando was NOT long enough!

Later...

Happy New Year!

The first post of the new year...

I'm going to try to get more into updating this thing... I think I said the same thing last year, but this time it's true.

I just got back from a weekend in Orlando with Vera, Steven, Tammy, Tabitha, Tara, Teresa and Bobby. It was great!

I bought a laptop yesterday. It's awesome!

More later...

The artist...

formerly known as kitty...

I got a nice little present after kitty ate her dinner this evening... She's very artistic.




Seriously, this is exactly how it looked when I went to pick up the plate...





She's soooo talented!

"Tiny Cat"

There is this little black and white cat at a house on my way to work, it's not a kitten, but it's small... I named it "Tiny Cat"... each day as I walk to work, I pass by that house and see it in the yard. Most mornings I say hello to it and it just sits there and gives me a mean look...

I say it just has that mean ol' look on it's face to make up for being so tiny and it just looks at me more... so I keep going on my way to work each day.

This morning I saw a black and white cat by the side of the road, under a tree... it wasn't moving. I don't know for sure that it was Tiny Cat, it was a few houses down the street and there are quite a few black and white cats in that part of the neighborhood, but when I got there Tiny Cat wasn't in the yard...

I thought about that little cat most of the day, and when Tom picked me up from work I had him drive by that house... still no sign of my Tiny Cat in the yard, and that cat was still there by the tree...

I'll check again tomorrow... I really hope it's not the same cat... that poor little thing made me smile every morning I walked by the house... and that's a good thing.

No Mo Mrs Gap Tooth!

Well... today was the day. I took my birthday winnings and did something I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember. Here's a rarely seen before smile and a (hopefully) often seen after smile...



It feels weird... hope that weirdness goes away soon. The dentist said that was normal, and when he had his bonding done it took about a week before it felt normal and the feeling that something was stuck between his teeth finally went away...

I'm glad it's done though...

*S*

My birthday...

Yesterday was my 36th birthday and Tom took me to the Miccosukee Indian casino. I won 140.00 on a nickel slot machine, got nervous and left after only about an hour there. I really didn't want to risk giving it right back to them.

I'm going to use the money to do something I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember... have a little cosmetic work done on my teeth!

I've never smiled in pictures where my teeth would show if I could help it... maybe that will be changing soon...

After the casino I got taken out for a German dinner at Fritz & Franz Bierhaus.

It was a good day.

Samsung 932B LCD Monitor

I finally got something brand new for my computer... something not a hand-me-down from Tom...

Yesterday I bought a Samsung 932B 19" LCD Monitor.



I love it! It's hugemongous! My video games look awesome on it too!

*happy dances*

I'm freeeeeee...

got the stitches out today!!!

Day 5

Typing is getting a bit easier, but the finger is starting to hurt a little around that one really gross looking stitch.

They are being removed Friday. I can't wait!

Owwwww!

Wednesday night I spent 5 hours at the ER...

I sliced my finger open and had to get 4 stitches.

Typing is not easy...

Bleh...

It's not easy...

Your Life is 36% Green

You're on the right track to living a green life, and you're definitely doing your part to help out. You care about the earth, and hopefully this quiz has given you some ideas on how you can do more!

How Green Is Your Life?

Rock on!

You are a Rocker Girl!

If you don't have musical talent, you've got a talent for picking out great CD's. Music rules your life - and you've got the best MP3 collection of anyone you know. Many guys find you intimidating, but a select few think you're the catch of a lifetime. Start hanging out in more used record stores, and you'll find love with a fellow rocker!

What Kind of Girl Are You?

Star Wars Name

Your Star Wars Name And Title

Your Star Wars Name: Melcv Joroc Your Star Wars Title: Hcivan of Mot

What Is Your Star Wars Name and Title?

Alien Abduction?

There's a 24% Chance You've Been Abducted By Aliens

Even though you have a few alien abduction signs, you're almost certainly in the clear. However, if aliens ever do come to your neck of the woods... they'll probably be coming for you!

What Are the Chances that You've Been Abducted by Aliens?

Universal - April 2007

I arrived in Orlando before noon on Saturday (April 14). It was a quick flight up from Miami on a Beech 1900.


The view from my seat.

When I arrived I wasn't exactly sure how I was getting to the hotel from the airport. I'd looked up several options online before leaving Miami. A taxi with an estimated $35.00 fare. A shuttle for 17.00. Or the Lynx bus for just a few dollars, but making a few transfers.

Not being familiar with the bus routes I chose the shuttle this time around. Though after arriving at the hotel and seeing the bus stop right out front, I think maybe next time I'll try them out.

Our shuttle driver was very friendly and talked to us along the way. I shared the shuttle with a couple from Philadelphia that were staying at the Hard Rock Hotel. (Jealous!!!) After dropping them off he took me to my place.

I checked in and changed into some more comfortable (it was HOT) clothes and headed for Universal. I decided to walk because the girl at the front desk said it was about a ten minute walk that would save me about 8.00 if I didn't take a taxi. It actually took 15-20 minutes, but I walk all the time anyway so I didn't mind. If it hadn't been 900 degrees that day I could have probably made it quicker...

I chose Islands of Adventure first because I wanted roller coasters! The line for the Incredible Hulk coaster was 45 minutes and there was no single rider line so I decided to come back to him later. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man was my first ride of the trip. No wait at all in the single rider line for this one. Next I headed over to Lost Continent and the Dueling Dragons... Fire... and Ice!

I spent a few hours there and went to Margaritaville for a late lunch. Steven, Vera and Greg were still hours away on the road from Alabama and I was HUNGRY! I had the Cuban Meatloaf Survival sandwich and a Last Mango in Paris margarita. Mmmmmmm...

Next I was off to Universal Studios. I spent the rest of the evening there and then caught a cab back to the hotel.

After a shower and a late dinner from a nearby Wendy's I watched a little TV while I waited for the rest of the group to arrive. They got in late, around 11:00 I think. There was quite a bit of bad weather in the forecast for the early morning hours so we decided not to be in too big of a hurry to get going the next day. They were tired from the long drive anyway and we had 3 days there so we had no reason to be rushed.

By 8:00 or 9:00 the next morning, the weather still hadn't arrived, so we decided to get ready and go. We decided on an early lunch (around 11:00) at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. We arrived at Universal and parked, but on the way through all the moving walkways that take you from your car to the entrance of City Walk the rain arrived. She short sprint from the last bit of covered walkway to Bubba Gump's front door was an adventure, and we were soaked when it was over. Our waiter was very nice... he cheered us on and high-fived us as we ran through the door "The Wet Family is here!"

Vera's boyfriend, Greg had never been to Universal Studios, so we took the first day slow and made sure he got to do everything this trip. Several times we split up so they could do shows we'd already done. Me and Steven were there for roller coasters and alien attacks.

On this trip, Steven became the new Grand Champion of MIB Alien Attack, beating my previous high score. The new score to beat is 714000. I was very close on my last try... 675000 I'll get you next time Steven!

After Orlando I rode back to Alabama with them and spent a few days being Miss Kitty's favorite sleeping spot. She was on my lap for 3 days...

I always hate leaving... I can't wait for the next visit...

Halloween Horror Nights - here we come!

I'm back...

and already counting down again...

Updates III

I just added 15 more pictures to the Rock City Gardens page of the "Etc" section.

The place really is beautiful. I hope to be able to fit another trip in there when I go home either next month or in the fall...

It's still countdown time...

Click it!

My new desk.

Yesterday I bought a new desk. My old desk had an open back and things were always falling behind it, never to be seen again. I went to Staples and looked at their computer armoires and found this one...



We put it together without the doors because there just isn't enough room for them in the space we're using it. I just LOVE it. There's so much more storage space than on my old desk and the back is closed in!!

May 25th!

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Woo Hoo!

Updates II

Pictures from our 2005 Rocky Horror Picture Show are up in the Alabama section!

Website Updates.

I'm beginning to catch up on some updates at Melissa's Trips that I've been putting off for a while.

I just added some pictures from our January 2005 trip to Desoto Caverns and I've gotten a few of our Rock City pictures up. It will take me a while to get captions on all of the pictures... that's my least favorite part about doing these updates so I always put it off as long as possible.

Bugs!

A few weeks ago I noticed a few small black bugs in our kitchen. I didn't think much about them at first, that is until the "few" became the "many". I started searching the 'net to see if I could identify them. My Google search led me to a site called What's that Bug? and on that site I found them! Pantry Weevils.

I talked with Tom's mother and told her we needed to go through all of the cabinets in the kitchen and find out where they came from. I knew there must have been some kind of food in there somewhere that was causing it.

That weekend I searched through all of the food that belongs to me and Tom and found nothing. I figured his mom had done the same and didn't think anything about it again until tonight.

While I was cooking dinner I noticed a LOT of the little bugs on the floor around the cabinets, and more on the wall behind them. His mom came in so I asked if she had gone through her cabinet. Nope... she said most of the stuff in there had never been opened so she didn't think she needed to check it. WRONG! I found several of the little buggers crawling around inside her cabinet, so she starts taking stuff out and came across a box of organic rotini pasta in the back and hands it to me. I could see a couple of the bugs crawling inside the package through the little "window" on the front. She tosses it in the trash and that's that...

After dinner I'm back in the kitchen with Tom and he opens the trash can lid to throw something out and it is FULL of them... seriously, the whole top of the bag and inside the lid is black, covered with bugs! Ack!

We tossed it in the can outside and sprayed everything with bug spray. I really hope that getting rid of the pasta will get rid of the bugs. I need to do a bit more reading about them and find out I guess...

Seems like it's always something around here...

Carnaval on the Mile Pics

A few pictures from last weekend...


Hot 8 Brass Band



---------------------------------

Miami Heat Street Band

Countdown time!

| Create Your Own

BBQ Time!

A few of Tom's friends came over for a BBQ last night and after dinner they walked over to the Mile with us to listen to some jazz. We missed the Hot 8's 7:00 show but they joined the Soul Rebels for 2 songs and it was really great. I've got one more chance to see them today at 4:30. We also missed Dr John. I had a pretty bad headache after we got back last night and didn't feel like walking back over at 11:00 to see his show. He's playing again tonight though, and we're definitely going.

It was SO hot yesterday. When I went over at 11:00 AM it was already 82 (felt like 86, or at least that's what TWC said, personally I think it felt like 186). It was much hotter when I went back over at 1:30 for lunch, so hot I didn't even want to know the exact temperature.

I stopped by a Greek booth and picked up a couple gyros for me and Tom and got back to the house as quickly as possible.

Happy Birthday Steven!

Today is Steven's 16th birthday!

Woooooo....

Carnaval on the Mile

This weekend is the annual Carnaval on the Mile Jazz, food, wine and art fest on Miracle Mile in Coral Gables, Florida.

I'm on my way over there now to check out the early exhibits.

I usually don't stay too long during the day because it's just too hot, but I'm definitely going back tonight at 7:00 to see the Hot 8 Brass Band and again at 11:00 to see Dr. John. The Hot 8 Brass band was there last year and they were great. Can't wait for the show...

CAT-astrophe!

Last weekend I had a cold so Tom had taken over the cat feeding duties at night so I could sleep. On Monday morning he told me of his sanity questioning adventure from the night before...

He said he had let our cat inside to eat her dinner because it was a little bit cold out... she ate, sniffed around the house a bit, and went back outside. At around 2:00 am or so he goes out to the kitchen to get something to drink and in the darkness he thought he saw a black cat run through the room. He wasn't sure... it was dark. So he gets his flashlight and searches the house, doesn't find anything and goes back to our room thinking he's losing it...

He watches a movie and around 5:00 am goes back out and is hit by this horrible smell when he opens the bedroom door. He again gets the flashlight and searches the house and this time finds a pile of poop next to the front door. He's really thinking he's losing it now... he can't find a cat anywhere in the house, and he's starting to think it must have been there all along, from when he let our cat in to eat. Now I'm having none of this idea because I just KNOW my cat would not poop in the house... seriously... I know. But really, what other explanation is there? There is no other cat and my cat was in the house earlier.

Now we get to Thursday night and we head out to the kitchen to get food for our cat. We hear this loud noise in the room between the kitchen and garage, like things are being knocked around and the blinds are being shaken. My first thought is that someone is out there messing around, but we look in and no one is there... no person anyway... there is a cat in there!!! One of our neighbors strays that she keeps around has hidden itself in there since Sunday night and we can't get it out. We use that room for storage of your basic junky stuff... empty boxes, camping gear, old books... The stupid cat has gotten down under all of that stuff and will not move. So at 10:30 pm, we have to start unloading all of the stuff in that room into the back yard and dig out the cat. Finally, we get enough stuff out that we can see exactly where it is... for a while we would just move a few things then stop and listen for movement... and poke around blindly with a broom handle. After we found it, that is when the fun began...

The cat was obviously terrified. It would run around the room climbing on top of everything it came close to. At one point it climed the window screen and got on top of the blinds. I had to go outside and tap on the window to get it down... It kept going back down under this old weight bench and hiding. Finally we were able to get it to run outside.

We were so worn out afterwards that we just left everything in the back yard overnight.

We're still not sure how or when the cat got in. The door had been left open by a few people throughout the day, so I guess it could have went in at any time and found a place to hide. It's just amazing to me that it was there that long and no one saw it.

Dog or Cat?

You Are: 30% Dog, 70% Cat

You and cats have a lot in common. You're both smart and in charge - with a good amount of attitude. However, you do have a very playful side that occasionally comes out!

Are You More Cat or Dog?

First Deadwood...

and now I think they're going to cancel Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

I'm really not happy about it either... I like the show alot. I've decided that we just shouldn't even start watching any new shows again because they eventually get canceled when we like them.

More BlogShares stuff

I still haven't gotten this thing figured out completely...

I made a voting mistake and now I have - Karma

I did figure out how to get my Networth graph though.



Maybe after I get over this cold I'll feel like reading about it more... right now I feel like crap.

It's the weekend...

and I'm sick!

I was just fine when I woke up yesterday and went to work. About an hour after I got there my throat got a little scratchy and in another hour I was sneezing, had a stuffy nose and just felt horrible. I think that's the fastest a cold has ever come up on me before...

Blog$hares

I started playing a game called Blog$hares last night. It's a fantasy stock market game where you buy shares of blogs. I've barely gotten started but so far it looks interesting.

If you want to try it out, click here... who knows, maybe I'll even get something if you sign up.

You do not need to have your own blog to play.

Oh yeah... I had surgery!

I have been letting this blog go unattended for quite a while...

I had surgery in December... got myself fixed so I could stop taking those evil birth control pills. They were doing all sorts of horrible things to me and after taking them for about half of my life I actually am starting to feel better since stopping them 2 months ago.

The surgery went well and I got over it relatively quickly... and I don't think I whined too much during recovery, but you would have to ask Tom to find out for sure.

He really took great care of me while I was recovering. Yep... I have got me one really good boyfriend.

I had a laparoscopic tubal ligation, and I have only a tiny little scar from it. The worst part of the whole ordeal was getting over the carbon dioxide bubble that parked itself under my right rib for about 3 days after surgery. That was a horrible feeling and it kept me out of work for a couple days longer than I had originally planned. I am SO glad that went away...

I'm very happy I had the surgery AND that I have fully recovered from it... I do not miss taking those pills every day.

Orlando trip - April '07

I finally made my hotel reservations at a Universal Studios area hotel and am really ready to go...

Is it April yet?

I'll be spending 4 nights at the Suburban Extended Stay Universal. It's nothing fancy, but it's definitely affordable and extremely close to Universal Studios. I was actually looking forward to being able to stay at a nicer than usual hotel on this trip but the surgery I had, and the unexpected extra doctor bill from that surgery put an end to that idea. It's not a big deal though considering the small amount of time we actually spend at the hotel when we are in Orlando. We're really only there to sleep and shower anyway...

After Orlando, I'll be hitching a ride back to Alabama with Vera and Steven for a couple days before flying back to Miami...

V Day!

Well it's almost time... time to spend 12 hours at work inflating helium balloons and selling flowers. I will be so glad when it's over.

It's Stupor Bowl Sunday!

It's the big day in rainy South Florida. I'm looking forward to all of the great commercials during the game tonight and also the big halftime show with Prince!

I've just started using a new IM program that is web-based. It's called Meebo!



Check it out!

Happy 2007!

I can't believe another year is almost gone...

Shula fired

Full Story

TUSCALOOSA — Alabama football coach Mike Shula was informed of his firing by UA athletics director Mal Moore in a meeting late Sunday night at Moore's house, a source close to the situation said early today.

The source said the university is scheduling a press conference today — likely at 2 p.m. — to formally announce Shula's dismissal. The meeting will occur after Shula has a chance to address his players about his firing, which he was not able to do late Sunday night.

Thomas Murphy, posted November 28, 8:58 a.m.

---
I was really hoping they would give the guy one more year. I was sure he was going to do good things for my team.

Goodbye Coach Shula. I'm sorry to see you go.

It's Iron Bowl Day!

The Alabama Auburn game is today at 3:30. I hope my boys play well...

I am always really homesick on this day. Being down here in Miami where I'm practically the only person that gives a damn about this game, makes me wish I was home watching with my fellow Bama fans, cheering on our Crimson Tide.

I was surprised in Sears a little while ago when I got a "Roll Tide" from a girl walking by... sure don't hear that much down here, except when I'm saying it myself. It made me smile.

ROLL TIDE...

153

Yep... that's how many days until I'm back at Universal Studios with Vera and Steven.

But until then... we're getting ready for our busiest time of the year at work... Turkey Day!

After that will be Christmas and before you know it we'll be ringing in the new year!

It's hard to believe that 2006 is almost over...

After another loss last week, Alabama is facing LSU tonight.

Another TripAdvisor Review

is up!

Renaissance Concourse Hotel