March 22, 2008 by samantha.

Well, I made it back to good old Florida. I would like to say that it looks the same, but I cannot. Still, it feels like the Florida I remember. We drove around the Bay today to see how things looked. Familiar places popped up in between new buildings. But for the first time, I did not feel like it was home. I truly felt like a visitor on my home turf. It felt a little like déjà vu. I knew where I was going, but I was still unsure of my surroundings.

Anyway, my flight out here was far from boring. Of course, we did not leave Ontario on time. Since it was a long flight from Ontario to Atlanta, we had movies, TV shows and games to play during the flight. I even played a competitive game of trivia with the girl sitting next to me. It made the flight go quickly. That was the highlight of my flight. Now I am sure most of you know that I hate flying through Atlanta. The airport is always busy and the flights are usually late. This time was no exception. My flight to Niceville was about two hours late. I struck up a conversation with a lady from Costa Rica and now have a place to stay if I ever make it down there. When I finally made it to Niceville, I was famished. As sad as it sounds, we have a tradition of going to the Waffle House after a late arrival. I have never been so happy to go to the Waffle House. It was just as greasy and dirty as you expect, but I was hungry and it was delicious!

Tomorrow we leave for Atlanta. We have over a six-hour drive and it will be interesting. I’ll fill you in on the details when I get back. Have a great Easter! Good luck egg hunting!

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March 20, 2008 by samantha.

I have tons of useless information that is clogging up my brain. And for some reason, I have an easier time remembering the useless stuff. For instance, I know that ants snore and a manatee’s nipples are under their flippers. See what I mean about useless info? Well, I learned something new today. I learned that most people have one foot longer than the other. Usually it is their left foot and most if the time it is one half size bigger. I also learned that most people try on the right shoe while in the store and rarely try on the left. What am I supposed to do with that? How is that making my life better?

On a different note, I leave for Florida tomorrow. I am excited. I have not been home in over a year. Maybe I will blessed with a thunderstorm while I am home. A girl can dream!

Finally, Happy Purim and Happy Easter. I figured I would play it safe and get the well wishes out early!

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March 17, 2008 by samantha.

I wanted to share the card my parents sent me for St. Patty’s Day. I do have to say that I will never call my parents normal! As for the card, I loved it. It fits in perfectly with my sense of humor!

I do have one question. Is it common for leprechauns to dress up as cowboys?

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March 16, 2008 by samantha.

Good Things by Mia King was an easy to read, silly book. It will never be called a great work of fiction, but it was a lot of fun to read. The book follows the Deidre, a Martha Stewart wannabe, as her plush life comes to an end. In a week’s time, she loses her job, her apartment, and finds out that she is broke. In a chance meeting, she meets a guy, Kevin, that offers to let her stay at his place in the woods. I think we can all figure out that this guy is a Prince Charming and they end up falling madly in love. The book was predictable and a defining example of Chick Lit.

The book does has a twist that I found hilarious. Deidre decides to take up the offer to stay at the county home. She drives hours outside of Seattle to find this little two-room cabin. It is run down, dirty, mouse and spider web infested. Deidre decides to make the most of the situation and starts to make herself at home. A month or so later, Deidre learns that the place she has been staying is not Kevin’s house. His house is the mansion on the lake that Deidre has been drooling over. The cabin belongs to Kevin’s weird uncle that no one cares for. I was laughing out loud when I read that. With my luck, that would have happened to me!

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March 16, 2008 by samantha.

I remember hearing that weekends are supposed to be relaxing. It is a chance to regroup from one busy week to another. For some reason, I seem to forget that. My weekends always seem to be crazy. On Friday, I got my hair done. I feel like I am always at the salon, but my hairdresser is a good friend and I enjoy hanging out with her. We went out to dinner after doing my hair and stayed out way past my bedtime. Thank goodness my hair looked good!

Saturday morning I was up early. I needed to walk Val before I carted a friend around town. My friend was getting some work done on her car and I was enlisted to play chauffeur. We went to this cute restaurant, Little Green Onions, for breakfast. It was very yummy and I loved that they brought us chips and salsa at 10 a.m. I do not know what I loved that so much, but I did! After my chauffeur gig was up, I decided to get my oil changed in my car. It got me thinking. I have wanted a new car for a while, but my car will be paid off in August. It was would be nice to not have a car payment to worry about each month. And my car does its job perfectly. I just would like a new car. I do not want anything fancy. Another Civic is all I need. Anyway, I am digressing from what I was saying. Saturday ended with dinner with friends. And I finished my book! It was productive Saturday.

Sunday was quiet. I was up early again to walk Val. There was talk of rain, so I wanted to make sure Val got her walk before the rain came. Some days I feel that my life revolves around Val. I have to schedule everything around her daily walks and I would not have it any other way. The rain never did hit. There were some sprinkles here and there, but nothing special. I think our rain if over for the next two years, at least. I have noticed a pattern since I have lived in Southern California. We get almost no rain for two years, then we have some horrible fires, and then we a really rainy winter. Too bad we cannot get a rainy winter every year. But there are some good things about California… to bad I am still looking for them!

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March 13, 2008 by samantha.

Let me first say that I have not played tennis since I was in college. And that was every obvious today. A couple of friends and I got together to play tennis and I think we have a lot of practicing to do. We had a great time and laughed a lot. It helped to turn my frown upside down. But my arms are tired! I think I used some muscles that had been dormant for so long! We only played for an hour or so, but damn it was a workout! We had such a good time that we have already scheduled another tennis date. Give us about ten years and we may be ready to play in the US Open!! Of course, if anyone wants to challenge us we are ready! Just give a few months notice and be willing to play by our rules!

I know that this will not come as a shocker to anyone, but Val also plays tennis. Her rules are a bit different than ours. Her goal is to stand in the way, steal a ball if possible, and be comic relief. Val also has a tennis buddy and yes, Courage plays by the same rules. I am thinking of trying to play their way next week!

Posted in Val, Rants | 1 Comment »

March 12, 2008 by samantha.

It is time to get away. I am stressed and frustrated. When I get like this, I need to do something different and forget what is going on for a little bit. Some may say that I am running away from my problems and maybe I am. But I am wise enough to know that all of my problems will be waiting for me when I return. I just like to get away from them for a while. I think it is healthy. Everyone needs a break from his or her daily routine. For some that is hard and nearly impossible to do. I am thankful to say that I can usually get away when I need to.

What is bothering me now? Narrowing it down to just one or two things is difficult. People are disappointing me and I know that I only have myself to blame. Work is getting more stressful than usual, but when is that never true? I know that my worries are so minor and insignificant to most peoples’ problems. That, as well, is stressing me out.

On a happy note, I am leaving for Florida in a week. We are going to drive up to Atlanta and visit Georgia Aquarium. I am very excited. Then we are going to drive over to Savannah and look around. I have been back to Florida for about a year and I am anxious to return. Along with my trip to Florida, I am planning a trip to Boston and hopefully to Europe. I looking forward to both. Which reminds me, if you have ever been to Boston I need ideas of what to do, where to stay, places to eat, and so forth. The more suggestions, the better!

Now writing after all that, I feel really silly for my poor mood. I should learn from Val. According to her, everything can be solved with a walk, a ride in the car, and a good belly rub!

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March 9, 2008 by samantha.

Since I was playing catch up with my magazine subscriptions, I was unable to read many books. I was able to get to one this week. How to Be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward was recommended to be me by a stranger in Target. The woman was reading the back of the Kite Runner and I told her it was a fantastic book and she would not be disappointed. In return, she recommended this book to me and told me it was an easy, fun read.

It is the story of a family that is torn apart by the disappearance of their youngest daughter and their continued search for her. Everyone’s life has been put on hold. When the mother dies, one daughter continues her search, for her missing sister, in Montana. She travels from New Orleans to Montana, with a picture of someone she thinks is her sister and no idea of what she is going to do when she reaches her destination.

I enjoyed the book. It was not a great work of fiction, but it was an interesting book. In a way, I could relate to the book. I do not know how to explain that. I have never had a sibling that was kidnapped and I never drove across the country in search of someone. In the end, I am glad I listened to the stranger in Target. I do not think I would have ever picked up this book if it had not been for her!

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March 9, 2008 by samantha.

I subscribe to all of these different magazines. Whenever they arrive in the mail, I flip through them, and then throw them into a drawer. The magazines pile up and then one day, I cannot close the drawer anymore. That is what happened to me this week. I was reading magazines that go all the way back to September. I am my own doctor’s waiting room!

Why do I keep subscribing to these magazines? I do not know. I always say that I am not going to renew the following year, yet I always do. I do read Time and Rolling Stone immediately when I get them. But those are political magazines and I like politics. Yes, Rolling Stone is an excellent political magazine. They do not try to be politically correct and they always provide a perspective of the other side.

Inbetween reading magazines, I have been trying to figure out my Spring Break plans. Do we go to Atlanta and Savannah first? Do we go at the end of the trip? What a stressful dilemma! Yet another example of how stressful my life truly is not! I just have to remember that next time I get all stressed out.

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