Mary Mac's

Fried Chicken, Fried Green Tomatoes and Potato Cakes

Georgia Peach Cobbler

Highly recommended by most reviewers. There is a whole other wall that has all the celebrities who have visited and left their recommendations.

One of our gang's favorite things is to enjoy a tea room where ever we go for our national conference. We found Mary Mac's. It actually isn't a tea room. It is just good, yummy southern food. It was yummy.

Tea Room Tradition

If you have followed my blog for awhile, you know that it is that time of year for my annual pilgrimage to my company's annual conference. Our little group has made a point to go to a local tea room in the city we visit. So I am in Atlanta, GA right now. We went to Dr. Bombay's Tea Room, and had a lovely breakfast of scones and tea. I hope I captured our enjoyable and eclectic visit this morning.

Bad Customer Service

It's been one of those days. Have you ever noticed that when you have an "issue" and it could be easily fixed with good customer service, and it isn't, it chews up your entire day?

Yep, my day is almost consumed by one simple issue. You wanna hear it? I'll keep it brief.

I am going to Atlanta next week for my company's national conference. I booked a hotel, that was giving a corporate discount to our 10,000 reps who will be deluging Atlanta. A friend also booked a room. We have several of us going so we are looking to save pennies and pack four per room. Turns out, some can't go because airfare is outrageous.

Last week, I called this national chain hotel and asked what their cancellation policy is, and what the deadlines are. I was told 48 hours, "No later than the 12th at midnight." Gotcha. Gotta to back to my group and see who is going to do what and who needs to cancel their room.

My friend and I decide I will keep my room, she will cancel hers. No go. Not this morning when she calls to cancel it. It's suddenly a seven day cancellation policy, and she will be charged a "full night's stay deposit, nonrefundable." Umm....that is $171. No.

I get on the phone and ask what happened to my specific call on July 2nd to ask this very question, and my answer was different. Apparently because I didn't take down the guy's name, and they have no record of the call, they can't help me. Too bad so sad, "I do apologize." Ummm...folks, this chick has been in customer service for 20+ years. Everything is fixable.

I am mad. Myself and my friend are looking at paying almost $200 because of information given to us from this company. Not acceptable at all. If I had known it was a seven day cancellation policy, obviously I would have made this decision before the seven days. Like even maybe on the 2nd when I originally called! Imagine that.

I ask the gal to give me her manager, and this is how that call went:
Me: Let me speak to your supervisor.
Her: I am the supervisor.
Me: Then fix this.
Her: I can't.
Me: Then give me the name of the person who signs your paycheck.
Her: Here is her number, and here is her voicemail.
Me: No, then give me someone who will actually take my call and not just ignore my angry voicemail I leave them.
Her: Well, I can connect you with the hotel directly in Atlanta, but I am told they are firm on these policies and it will most likely be no.
Me: Then get me someone who can fix this.
Her: Ummmmm......

And so on. And so on. And so on. That is the summary of about 40 minutes of wrangling. Got me no where.

Talked to the manager at the Atlanta hotel. Guess what? Here is how this conversation went:

Me: I want to cancel one of these rooms without penalty based upon the policy I was quoted on July 2nd.
Mgr: (puts me on hold and comes back) I am not sure what the problem is. I just looked at this corporate contract and it is a 48 hour cancellation policy. Not sure why you were told any differently or why you were told we wouldn't honor that.

And that is the summary of two hours of my life this morning. By the way, I won't be staying at a Hilton anytime again soon.

Still haven't heard from the gal who signs the paychecks either. I saw that cat coming down the road a mile away.

Hawaiian Happy Times

Okay, what is going on with our Cancun trip?

History here, I rep for a great company. I really do. I have done the candle thing for nine years and have very few if any complaints. I love what I do and I have a blast doing it. Every year my company gives away a nice, warm, tropical vacation to those of us who earn it. This year, I earned my seventh trip. These are trips of a lifetime. People save for years for the kind of swanky, five star, luxurious locations I have been to.

Cancun--and not just Cancun. The Moon Palace resort, known for every room having an inlaid hot tub on marble floors. Nice huh?

Well, until the swine flu came along right after my company bought all 2,000+ airline tickets. The trip was canceled by my company. Yes, my company is out over a million dollars in lost airline tickets. They also have upset people on their hands who have earned this trip and want something.

For my two cents, I am not upset at all. Several of the very few swine flu cases have come out of Cancun. While I certainly am not afraid of getting it, I certainly don't want to invite it either. Plus, what if (ten days ago, this was the scare when these decisions were being made) they send all 2,000+ of us to Cancun, and suddenly the airport closes because this level five hysteria hits massive levels.

I think this is so interesting, and I am not sure who is to blame, how a week later, it's all calmed down. The World Health Organization (WHO) is suddenly quite silent after making this thing so hysterically serious.

Anyway, we, candle people in my area, were told we would get a cash reward about a week ago. Great! How much? Don't know, we'll get back to you. In the meantime, the hubbie and I cruise travel websites for ideas. It was actually quite cool.....it was the whole "where would you go if you could" scenario. It was fun to dream a little and look at possibilities. We honed in on Hawaii for two reasons, it's warm and we don't want cold. Forget Canada, sorry. Out of country travel to like the Bahamas was out of the question just in case the swine flu got more scary. Plus, the U.S. government was recommending at that time no international travel. Plus we live on the west coast and it's quite the easy flight for us.

So we dreamed. Now what to choose? Again, we were excited, but held back until we saw what kind of funds we would have. I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew my company wanted to be fair, but they had also taken quite the financial hit already.

Got the news Tuesday. Are you sitting? The bottom line.....$3,600 cash reward.

That is more than enough to pay for a very swanky place, flight and car rental. So now where? After much consideration, a small poll on Facebook amongst the friends (thanks to you who voted!), and google, we decided on Kuaui. It is the "off the beaten path" part of Hawaii. Quieter, less tourists, more paths to hike, and natural scenery.

Huge huge thanks to my company. Here is the breakdown after booking the trip today.

Two of us at a swanky lanai castle/plantation place, airline tickets, car, luau, and trip insurance--$2,583. That leaves us with plenty of funds to pay our babysitter while we are gone. We always pay her a few hundred dollars. It also pays for extras while we are there. So if we want to shop, go kayaking on the river, take a tour of a sugar plantation, etc. it won't be out of our budget.

I am so grateful to my company. Time and time again, in big ways and little ways, I see them take care of their reps. It is a company with heart, which is not often seen these days, and I appreciate it so much.

Get ready for the travel diary beginning May 23rd. I will hopefully take the laptop and insert the photo disk a few times.

It's either here or there....

It's been one of those weeks where there could be a whole lot of nothing to say. Not much in terms of interesting things, but a whole lot of stuff.

Here goes:

* Trying to incorporate Lizzie back outside, and the other chickens are attacking her. Normally, I would let her duke it out, but she won't fight back and she is still slightly injured. Not sure what to do. I think she actually likes being inside, but being in a cardboard box 24/7 is no existence for a chicken, or my family.

* Had my huge annual candle sale yesterday. I didn't put as much effort into as I usually do, but I still sold close to $1,000 in products that were stored in my basement. So I cleaned out some stock, some friends got some great deals, created some future business, and now I can hibernate for Thanksgiving.

* School is going well for JM. He aced a math test yesterday, and I am so proud of him!

* School is going okay for BH. He is doing great, loves his teacher, loves his classmates, and tells me all the fun preschool things he does. The church that runs the school just pulled one of those typical church politics stunts (three influential people had a back room meeting while the school director was gone on vacation, and had her fired) that just chaps my hide. So we parents are dealing with that, and hoping the church realizes, no matter if she was worthy of being fired, that their way of doing it was completely mean-spirited and ungodly. The former director is planning to sue. It will be pretty I am sure!

* Need to make a spinach salad and a requested broccoli salad for my part of Thanksgiving dinner. Going to the inlaws. Just as a general rule, when I go to my inlaws, please pray for me.

* Went to cash a check at a bank yesterday that I don't bank at. The bank teller couldn't cash it. She needed an approval from the branch manager. Way back in college, I was a bank teller for three years. I know that was long ago, and fraud is a huge problem, I know this. I told this branch manager, "Why do you even have tellers? If she can't cash a check on your bank with sufficient ID and my fingerprint (yes, I had to fingerprint the check for CSI purposes) then why do we have bank tellers?" I got the "we need extra measures if you aren't a bank customer...." bit. That didn't answer my question, seriously, why have bank tellers?

Corollary, I am thankful to have banks. I am thankful to have money that needs to be cashed. I am thankful to have a distraction for my preschooler at the time I waited that thirty minutes for the manager. I am thankful I have these simple inconveniences that others don't have. I am thankful.

* Our beef has been ordered since the beginning of November. We have conversed with the butcher. On December 13th, our freezer will be full. I am so excited, and yes, very thankful.

I wish all of you a wonderful, safe, thoughtful and special Thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for. We have roofs over our heads, we have warm beds, we have people in our lives that make us who we are, we have opportunities, we have a warm meal on Thursday, and we have Jesus Christ. We have so much!

School House

Here is our school room "before" meaning this morning about mid morning. These are panoramic photos in a small room, so it's a little distorted but you can see the whole room.

I have to say, I regret that I didn't take the most embarassing "before" shot. The shot that shows the area below the window obscured by a table full of undone stuff. A lot of it ended up getting sorted on the desks to the left. I felt so good to actually be able to vacuum floor I hadn't seen in years.

For those of you who have seen this room as my former office, you will remember there were times when the only path to get in was between the door and the chair to the desk. There was no cleared space other than that. Why? I am not a super tidy person, but honestly, when you run a hectic business like I do, cleaning up incidentals becomes very secondary. Yes, it drove me nuts, but cleaning up my office has never made me money. Simple as that.

This is the now school room. The two chairs had been in our garage after being replaced by new chairs in our living room. Once I realized we would have space for them, I cherished the idea of having a reading area in this room. So to the far left, you can see the new printer I set up today and the laptop and the printer are the only big things on this desk (besides the DSL modem with the wireless router sitting on top of it).

Again, if you have been in my office before this big conversion, many times there was no space on the desk, just several piles of things that were secondary on my "to do" list.

Where is all that junk/undone things/etc? Good question. I sorted and sorted this morning. I ended up shredding/recycling most of it. Why? Because it was so outdated it was irrelevant. You can see on the panorama of the basement the small pile on the table to the right. Several things in there need to be dealt with, but my! I can do that!

Yes, to answer your question, my treadmill is right in the middle of my office space. I am hoping that has some lasting effects.

This has been a project that has been in my brain for over a year and it had to happen. I could not feel that unorganized and behind on my paperwork, and start homeschooling. I probably could practically, but I might have needed to be medicated.

I have to honestly thank T. She came to my house early last fall and hemmed and hawed around my house. Showed me a very good place in my basement to stick my desk, which I hadn't seen. Her vision has been with me this whole year as I have mulled and worked on this.

I also have to say, I can do a "neener neener" to her as well, and I think she'll be okay with that. She honestly didn't think the table with all the junk on it could make it space wise into the basement practically. Well, several more trips to Goodwill and another good purge (which she questioned if I could do, I swallowed hard and said yes) put the table comfortably in the basement. She also questioned if the chairs could go in the office, because again, it would require a whole lot on my part. I am proud to say, I did it. Thank you, T!

Can you tell I feel so good about this? I do. I am so proud of myself for getting this done. Honestly, my poor husband has been sick through most of this. He has moved a few things up and down the stairs, but mostly he's been keeping kids out of my way while I keep the vision going. Thanks to him as well. I can tell that once that table went downstairs today and the chairs came out of the garage, he could feel the end in site.

We both feel like if the school curriculum landed on our porch today, we could start schooling right now. We are about 95% complete. I still need to move a few things around inside of drawers and finish that small pile sitting downstairs. But the worst back-breaking part is over.

I have no idea what to do with myself tomorrow.....well, I do. I have to conduct a meeting tomorrow night. But you get my drift.

Fish or Cut Bait

Okay, this is what the basement looked like a year ago when T came over and we did a major Goodwill run and she gave me the vision of my office in my basement.



This is my basement two days ago after finally get more piled up junk out of the way. I had been painting on cement seal to keep moisture to a minimum. Honestly, sealer is like painting with toothpaste. It is thick and hard work to roll on. The last bit I did this morning I did with a brush and felt much better.




And this is the beginnings of my office. We had to have an argument this morning for this to be accomplished. I had been planning for well over a year to bring my gargantuan desk to the basement. Why? I didn't want to spend the bucks on a new one. Hubbie convinced me getting that huge desk into this small space would be impossible. Okie dokie, then I need to spend some money. For those of you in my city, I went to City Liquidators, which is a totally junky used office supply place, where you can find serious bargains. I love what I found. I found a desk with no drawers. But it was displayed with these two rolling drawer sets that slide really nicely under the desk, and have more room than if the desk had a bank of drawers. One of them had a pretty chewed up top, so it was only $20.00. The final bill was $160.00. After looking at Office Depot's website, where a cheap new desk starts at $235.00, we scored.



I am actually blogging from that exact pictured area. In other words, my new wireless set up works too. I don't have to have the phone company come out and hardwire my basement.

One more perk, for now. It is about 15 degrees cooler in the basement. One more downside, it is fifteen degrees cooler in the basement, and that will not be so nice in November.

However, the big picture. My former office upstairs is on it's way to being our homeschool room. I am beyond excited for that. To have an area with no distractions (like our kitchen table can be) where JM, and eventually BH, can do their school work is a blessing.

Upon Arrival, What Did I Find?

I am home. It's amazing to me how one can be gone from their home for only a few days, and yet several things are hugely different. Here is my list of changes when I arrived:

* My husband and the kids cleaned the kids room. Honestly, I have given up trying to do that because it is three against one. What a pleasant surprise!

* We have hired a couple of guys who do house painting in the summer to strip the paint off the south side of our house. One because they have a ladder that can reach that high. Two because they quoted us a great price. Upon arrival, I saw three or four days of work, and it was alarming how much hasn't gotten done. I think they are going to ask for a renegotiation of that deal.

* I found out that my toddler did NOT go to the two days of summer camp I had planned for him. The answer I was told, "He didn't want to go." Well, I need him to go. That whole exercise was meant to prepare him for preschool in a few weeks. Now he knows he can capitulate and can come home. The time he spends in preschool is the time I need to homeschool his big brother. Dropping him off at Vacation Bible School this morning was no picnic. You could tell he took the protests to a new level. Why? He was taught that if he protests enough, he gets to go home. Sigh....one step forward, two steps back.

* My husband's laptop has a virus. Apparently, McAfee virus software that we spend a lot of money on is "mediocre". So we are looking at $230+ dollars to fix his computer. Did I mention a few posts back that our money tree is not in season?

* My dentist can drill my root canal tomorrow since he had a cancellation. I hope he can. But, I need the toddler to be in Vacation Bible School for that to happen. One step forward, two steps back.....

* And the final change....drum roll please.....Over a year ago, a friend gave us a great bed set. We have had a cruddy brass bed frame. I know, brass bed evokes that Victorian look right? No, this was a swirly brass that evoked feelings of the 70's and the Brady Bunch. The one my friend gave me was a basic set up, an oak head board that has one shelf for storage. Plus, she also included the pillow top mattress that makes me purr. Anyway, the frame has been in pieces in my bedroom for over a year. That is not something I can do myself. So, we have been busting our toes tripping on it forever.

It is set up. My hubbie and two troopers for children put it together.

A lot can happen in four days.

Closing Ceremonies

A panorama of our closing day today.



A very fun game we have of candle American Idol.











Our closing day is done. It is the middle of the night. We leave at the crack of dawn in the morning. Our bill is on the TV and is incorrect. Sigh....we need to fix that. All is well. I'll be home soon, in my own bed, hugging my little kids, and enjoying the lack of humidity.

Phrase of the Day

Yesterday we went to the London Tea Company in St. Louis. I have a new favorite place. I love traditional tea! The two best places in my city to have a good, unpretentious, traditional tea have closed.

I also bought two blends of teas that I sampled. Those are "The Naughty Vicar" a nice blend of black tea, blackberry and vanilla. Juxtaposed to that, I also go "The Monk's Blend" which is a blend of black tea with grenadine and vanilla.

What added to such a fine day, spending time with the girlfriends over tea. You can't beat that.

The Phrase of the Day I have heard one of my girlfriends say an awful lot (her ex-husband traded her in for a younger model last year, he is now living with his grandma) yesterday. "It's time for him to put on his big boy underwear......" or "it's time for her to put on her big girl panties....."

As I am drifting off to sleep last night, I realized several ways that phrase applies to life. I like it.

St. Louis

Where am I?? Yep, St. Louis for the national conference of the company I rep for.

It has been a long day of flying, shopping, visiting, walking, etc. The view out of our hotel is breathtaking as you can see.

The events begin tomorrow, and it should be fun. I am on west coast time, so it's late, but my body doesn't think so.

I watched the movie "The Constant Gardener" on my laptop on the flight. Yep, I recommend it. It's a tragic story. No happy ending at all.

I am off to bed.

Moving My Office

Much work has already been done, yet when I watch this video, it seems like nothing has happened. I have worked hard on this particular corner of the basement, and it looks ugly.

What needs to happen. The clutter on the floor needs to go. A lot of that is cardboard, garbage or things to be donated. I am thinking a ginormous trip to Goodwill will feel like this is finally coming together.

Once the clutter is somewhat under control, my huge desk from the upstairs of our house is coming to that corner. You can see the new electrical work we had done on the walls. There are outlets for my computer. Heck, you can see the light fixtures. Those were not always there. For a long time we had one light bulb that was supposed to light the whole basement.

Anyway, this video represents the "middle" of this project. I am hoping the final looks a lot better than this.

I Can See the Future

Here is what happened to me last night at a candle party. I'll make it quick.

Young gal is there. She is nineteen. We'll call her Annie. Here is her bullet point story we talked about:

* Her mother died last month on Mother's Day from a heart attack. She had heart problems for a long time.

* Her mother was only 38. One year younger than myself.

* Mother lead a fairly unhealthy lifestyle. Smoked tobacco and pot, ate nothing but fast food.

* Mother knew she was having problems in the end and wouldn't tell anyone except a sister, who didn't tell anyone. Left behind Annie and a few younger siblings.

Now, Annie's parents are divorced so it's a situation where her parents have married and remarried all her life. She wasn't exceptionally close to her mother, but still misses her and teared up as we chatted.

Here is the kicker:

* Annie has massive shooting pain down her arms and her heart hurts sometimes.

* She's been told by a doctor that there is evidence that Annie has been having small heart attacks.

* She can't run the length of a block without "feeling like I am going to have a heart attack." She is rail thin, picture of health, and 19. She should be able to run a half block and feel slightly winded.

* I told Annie I, as an overweight 39 year old, can run around the block and feel slightly winded. Her mouth gaped when I told her that. She doesn't know any different than her own experience.

* Annie has piercings all over her body. Nose, cartilage part of her ears, and belly button. Exceptionally painful parts of her body to be pierced.

* Annie has tattoos as well.

I was very clear to Annie. I told her the symptoms she is describing are what doctors tell a person my age to call 911 for. They are major cardiac symptoms. Especially the shooting pain down the arm.

Guess what? Annie won't see a doctor because "I am afraid of needles."

I went around a few times with her gently about this. She has the opportunity to change her fate if she got some good cardiac care. She has the family history that many of us are glad we don't have.

She won't do it. She is being a typical 19 year old who thinks she's slightly invincible and these things only happen to "old" people my age.

I can see the future, and I feel so helpless.

Vacation Slide Show

One Aspect of Cruising....

When (not if, please make this something you do before you go to heaven) you ever go on a cruise, there is towel origami! Every day your cabin steward, in our case Ami from Indonesia came with her cheery giggle and while we were sunburning somewhere, she made us towel art. You must see this. It is the coolest and cutest thing. It's such a pleasant surprise when you return to your quarters after a long day of being a tourist. Here are all of them from our trip:

First, this was our cabin for a week. It was a privilege to stay in one that had our own balcony. See that threshold on the floor of the door? That is the one my friend could never maneuver. My bed was the closest to the window. Many a time, I was sprawled out on that bed, only to watch her launch through that door. Wish I had caught that on video.

Upon entry to our cabin, we had a monkey hanging from the light fixtures.

From behind, well, it's a little odd, let's put it that way.

Then we had a crab, intermixed with our daily newsletter from the ship letting
us know the next day's activities.

Next we had the gorilla.

Then we had the frog.

My friend kissing the frog. Cute huh?
The jury was out on this one. It could be a dog or a bunny. We thought it was awfully cute.

We couldn't take them apart! We put them in the closet of our room. One unfortunate incident happened to the monkey when we did this, his head fell off. By the end of the trip, we had to wave goodbye to our critters in the closet.

More pictures to come! I promise!

Top Ten Odd Things I Have Done in the Last Week

I am home, and what an adventure! This is the first trip I have taken like this where I haven't been with my husband or a family member that is old enough to be my parent. I took a friend who is a peer. The results, things were a bit more adventurous, and not tempered by "what would my aunt think if I did that?"

Here goes!

10) I rode in a taxi by the hospital in Nassau, Bahamas that Anna Nicole Smith had her baby girl in and her son died in. The taxi was being driven by a drunk taxi driver, though we didn't realize that when we got in the taxi. I had a slight vision of actually being in the hospital myself.

9)I have eaten a lot of adventurous food. Conch (pronounced "conck"), escargot, quail, duck, and plantains. Guess which ones of those I have had before. One of the best restaurants I ate at was a place called "The Poop Deck" in Nassau. I absolutely recommend this restaurant the next time you find yourself in Nassau. The walls are covered with celebrity pictures and autographs who have been there as well. Pictures will be coming soon of that.

8) I had my hair braided/cornrowed.

7) I have been flirted with by men twice my age and half my age, and so was my friend. Neither one of us initiated the flirtation, it was initiated by the men. We both agreed, since we spend most of our time in yoga pants at home with our kids, it's nice to know we still have some looks that are attractive to someone.

6) I got a tattoo. I'll let that fact sit for awhile while the shock wears off of most of you. I'll give you details at the end.

5) I took a shot of tequila, and I haven't done that since college. Don't plan to do it anytime again soon.

4) I snorkeled over the shipwreck Cali in Grand Cayman. Very cool story there, no it wasn't a wartime kind of thing, just maritime logic and maybe a bit too much rum in the decision making. (I recommend clicking on the pictures to make bigger, they are not mine, I found them on the internet, but I was in the exact spot where these were taken. My underwater photos need to be developed still.)


3) I laughed so many times watching my friend walk out onto our balcony of our stateroom (yes, balcony, not everyone got a room like ours), and trip coming back inside. I was usually laying on my bed, and she looked like Peter Pan trying to come through the threshold. It makes me giggle now. I also saw her do that coming out of a bathroom. It was comical by the end of the trip!

2) I stood at a memorial at the Anglican church in Nassau, read the memorial stone, and wept. I will share more on that in a future post. They were not tears of pain, but tears of God's work in the lives of people, not just now, but in 1825 when the memorial was first dedicated.

1) I have chatted (sometimes flirted) with people from all of the following countries: Serbia, Indonesia, India, Jamaica, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Ukraine, and I can't think of the others, but I'll get back to you on that.

The tattoo?? It is a henna tattoo. It looks real, and will last for several weeks. But it isn't permanent, but it's been a fun joke to play on others, my husband mainly.

I have also updated my movie list. I saw a lot of movies in hotels that we rented, and also the movies we saw on flights. I have seen more movies in the last week than I have in the last year. I will be doing a completely separate post on the movie "Bella". Extremely tragic story with a wonderful redemptive ending. My friend and I were not just sniffling during this movie, but sobbing. And it has a message about crisis pregnancy. Are you intrigued?

And re-entry is brutal. I have a kitchen that has dishes filling the sink, it didn't have a buffet waiting for me when I got up this morning. I had to make my bed Saturday night when I got home, it wasn't made for me. In fact, the reason it wasn't made was because my husband had my toddler sleeping in it (a big no no when Mommy is home), which he then peed in.

Yep, re-entry is brutal.

Twenty Four Hours From Now

T minus twelve hours, I will be getting in the car, heading to the airport.

I will board a plane for LAX. After sitting there for two hours, and meeting up with a friend, we will board a plane for Miami. We will arrive in Miami Saturday evening, to be greeted by reps from my company who will escort us to a fancy schmancy hotel, where I have been given a stipend for our dinner. The stipend, knowing what hotel this is, will pay for salad and ice tea, but who cares?

Sunday morning, awake and refreshed, we will board a the Carnival Fun Ship Liberty. We will pull away from US soil around dinner time. That same evening there will be a captain's fancy pants event to kick this whole shin dig off. We have three ports of call. We will be in Nassau, Bahamas on Monday shopping, I know that for sure. A day or so later, we will be in Grand Cayman, snorkeling. A few days after that, we will be in Cozumel, Mexico. We wanted to ride ATV's there, but my tweaked back won't go for that. We are doing a gourmet dinner there. Nice!

I am going on a cruise with a very near and dear friend of mine. This is all paid for and arranged by my company. It is an incentive trip they give away every year to those who earn it. I have earned it for six years now, and it's not that hard to do. Once I earned the first one, I made it a point to never not earn it. These are the sorts of trips people save a lifetime for.

We are both giggling excited, and yet, right now, we are in the tear away mode. What is that? That is finishing everything up at home so your household can function without you for a week. I have done all the laundry, paid bills, ran errands, bought pet food, had the lawn mowed, talked to the nanny who will stay one night, bought frozen pizza and lasagna, etc. I am not done yet. I have to pack. I have to remember all the things to pack. I should be okay, but I am going to end up packing at 10 pm tonight. Sigh....

This is not the rushed mode I wanted to leave on. My back is limiting me quite a bit. I am mobile now. But quite sore, when it screams, I stop. I need to be able to sit on a plane for 6+ hours without having spasms. I think I have my meds down to a T in such a way, I know when to take them before I need to get going. So laundry has been hard this week, driving is hard, I get tired easily because pain saps my energy, etc. I am a bit rushed. But I will be fine.

Plus, to make this just the best way to leave. My husband's college that he works at has graduation tonight. He has to be there. I have the kids with me. So there is no working on any of this until they are snoring.

And it's extremely hot here right now. We are pushing close to 100 degrees. It is absolutely unseasonable. I like to think it's preparing me for the Caribbean. But one difference is that my room will be air conditioned!

Anyway, I will be posting some fun pictures upon my return. I pray all of you have a great week. I also encourage you to remember that when I return, it will be Memorial Day. We need to remember those past, present and future soldiers who have died for us. The ultimate sacrifice anyone can make is their life. Thousands have done that for us. So while we will be barbecuing, enjoying the sun, and taking a day off. Say a prayer, attend a service in your area, show your kids what it means to memorialize people who are special.

Ships and the Caribbean

It's that time of year for me. The company that I rep for gives away a big trip to those who earn it every year. When I started doing this 8 years ago, these trips were not on my top list of things to accomplish. But I did earn my first one in 2003, and haven't not earned it. These are the kinds of trips that people save up their whole lifetime to go on, and I have had the honor to attend five and look forward to my sixth.

This year, it is a Caribbean cruise. This will be serendipitous for me. My first trip was a Caribbean cruise. Since then, we have gone to Mexico, Hawaii, Aruba, and the Paradise Island Resort in the Bahamas where we saw a lot of celebrities. It has been an honor.

One bummer, if I can say that. My husband can't always go. These trips are always prescheduled. They usually come around the third week of May. He is a college professor. So, unless the timing is right, he usually has to do final grades, administer tests, etc. that he just can't get out of.

Many years I have taken family members, and that has been fun. The year I went to Hawaii, I took my dad. That was completely God putting that together. We had just had our third adoption completely bomb, and I was a wreck. Sitting with my dad on a raft in a lagoon for hours and hours just talking through that garbage was better than any therapy. He gave me the emotional boost to try adopting again. I honestly wanted to stop trying. Well, thanks to him BH is in our family. In fact, it was while I was standing in the lobby of the hotel getting ready to depart, that an agency called me, "Can we show your profile to this family?" I said, "Sure, whatever." That was BH's birthfamily.

So, I am excited for this year. I am taking one of my best friends who will never get an opportunity to go on such a trip. Her husband hates cruises. That alone will make it so she never goes. She has never gotten to go on such a purely relaxing, don't make breakfast, do laundry or clean the house sort of vacation.

We will be leaving the third weekend in May and returning during Memorial Day weekend. Why do I put out this little brag? Honestly, many people out there say to me, "You still doing that candle thing? Why don't you get a real job?" Well, I make more money doing this than I ever have at a "real job". I have never been offered a huge travel package like this on an annual basis from a job. And I haven't found one yet that allows me to stay home with my kids during the day. I'll consider it when a gig that can compete with that comes along.

Candle Road Tour

Just got back today from a trip basically across the state of Oregon. Took the kids with me to visit friends, have some candle parties, and visit. It was totally fun, but the kids fried out in the end.

On the way home and the kids were arguing relentlessly about the Game Boy games, I took a moment to watch the scenery (or delve into denial, take your pick). While fully utilizing the cruise control, I snapped photos with the digital camera. I will show you a few, keep in mind, I took hundreds more, that is photography at 65 mph, there will be some lemons.

Started off in the Rogue River Valley. Didn't discover until after a rest stop that I needed to use the sports function that took pictures better while in motion. So just remember the movie "River Wild" with Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon from the 90's, it was filmed there. Very rugged country, lots of fast streams, and beautiful. I caught one picture that is okay. It has the clouds coming over the mountain. On a clear day, you see rolling mountains for miles. Stunning at sunset. I got a few.

I love the state of Oregon. I grew up in Colorado and I love it there too, but the stalker lives there. Through my amateur photo journalism, I will take you on a summary tour of Oregon, because I drove almost the whole length of it today.

I just noticed that I downloaded these in chronologically the opposite order. So feel free to start from the bottom and go up on the captions. I am thoroughly fried, and don't want to do that all over again.

Remember I said blackberries grow wild in Oregon? Here is the I-5 median covered with them. If you could see better, you would see huge blackberries dripping off of the canes. They are in full season right now.
Developers seem to ruin the landscape.
Fruit trees, one of Oregon's many harvests.

You can feel it, fruit harvest is coming soon and the farmers are getting ready. This semi has a load of fruit bins typically used for apples.
The Albany paper mill. It is smells so putrid driving through, it's disgusting.
Grape vines. Oregon's wineries are recognized world wide and have given California wineries a run for their money.
More wineries.
We are in a 50 mph section of I-5. It's hard to go from 70 to 50, but this news station did a report a few months ago about how stiff the fines were for speeding through this very section of interstate. Then this guy goes whizzing by me at about 70.

The Willamette Valley. Would love to own a farm backed up to the hills.
Once you are outside of the cities (Portland, Salem, Eugene, etc) Oregon becomes very rural and agricultural very quickly. It is harvest time.

Finally! Sleep! Quiet! Sleep away the grouchies!

The beginning of our trip in the Rogue River Valley.

See the rolling hills through the overcast skies.

About the only decent shot I got of the hills.
A picture postcard farm.
Blackberries, everywhere. This bunch has been sprayed with poison.
Again, very rural very quickly once you're out of the city.

I want to thank my good friend B, for letting myself and kids overtake her home for a couple of days. She is part of my girlfriend network, and I love her dearly. We had a great time and we'll see her again soon. Hope you got some rest today as well. Our kids really wiped each other out. Her backyard looks out across hills like these, and it adds a bit of peace to a hectic schedule. Thank you!

Also thank you to B for letting me entertain my friend, Tracy and her husband, in her home. You can link to Tracy's blog on my list of blogs. I haven't seen her in years, and have never met her husband. I have been dying to meet him and it was nothing short of an honor to meet him and enjoy their company at B's kitchen table for a few hours.

I did give both B and Tracy a bit of my harvest. Several jars of jam, blackberries and 18 eggs were divided up. And Tracy was so nice to give us some huge cucumbers and yummy cherry tomatoes. Thank you Tracy!

I told B this morning "I don't know why this trip seemed more hectic." She said it was because I was working, and I disagreed at first, but now I think she has a point. I did do some candle parties, and I am good at setting it aside, but it was just enough added onto the whole trip it did make it hectic. I have more candle parties in the future and will make a point to protect against that.

I had too much fun today watching the scenery. I will make a point to watch it going to my destination instead of heading home. I promise to let God's artistry soak in and give me a mental spa treatment instead of being a bit too task oriented.

I still had a fun trip. Thank you to those who contributed!

PS See Tracy's comment under "Proud Marine". I think the eggs were a hit.