Mornings make me happy...

I love mornings...they are my best time of day. I guess you could say I am a "morning person." I get up in the morning and I feel good. My best ideas come to me in the morning. This morning I got an idea for a story I would like to write that is based on something going on in my own life. I jotted down a few notes and hope that when I sit down to write tonight things will flow out of my mind like they are flowing this morning.
I am afraid if I start writing now I will lose all track of time and be late for work. ha!!
My mind is soooo full of things. I feel like my mind will just explode with all the ideas, thoughts, plans, conversations, that are going on in there. There is so much that I feel. So much that I want to do and say and write and places I want to go. I want it all. Am I greedy?
I always think of the Aerosmith song, "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing." That is me.
This weekend will be another super fun weekend! I am leaving bright and early Saturday morning to go to Chicago. Bree and I have tickets to see My Fair Lady. Then we will meet John for cocktails and dinner. I love that musical. I think I know every song by heart.
I will update you on the weekend as soon as I get back.
I hope all my thoughts for my story are sharp and clear when I get home from work tonight...Keep your fingers crossed for me!!! Love to all of you!!!!!!!

Atonement, the movie

Janet and I went to see Atonement yesterday. Neither of us had read the book. Janet really liked the movie. I didn't like it that well....maybe if I would have read the book it would have been better.
But I had a big bag of malted milk balls in the movie and that was fabulous.
I am now reading The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller.

My friend, Janet

This is my friend, Janet. Janet and I have been friends since 1974 when we met in nurses school. She is WONDERFUL!!! She is so beautiful! She just lost 30 lbs!!! She has such willpower. Janet is one of those people that I can tell anything to...she always makes me feel better.

If you scroll down (or go to Older Posts) you will read more about Janet. I have pics from when Janet and I went on our Chick Trip to Union Pier, Michigan.

Ok, are we just stupid, or what???

Archie and I got IPODS for Christmas and Bree got each of us an ITunes Gift Card.
I know it can't be that hard to use this ITunes Gift Card...my Gawd, little kids can do it! But Archie and I could not figure it out. Archie got so mad and frustrated trying to make it work he was cussing and got so worked up he had to go outside.
Well, he finally figured it out....no help from me. I'm as dumb as a box of rocks.
And I am proud to say I'M LISTENING TO MY IPOD NOW!!! Songs playing in my ears and I LOVE IT!!!! I don't know how Archie got it working and I don't care. All I can say is...we needed a 13 year old kid to come over and train us in the art of using the ITunes.
HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...as long as I can have you here with me I'd much rather be...forever in blue jeans....

Sunday

We woke up bright and early and had coffee out on the balcony. We got a later checkout so that we could have a little extra time on the beach. We treasured each passing minute! Took pictures, went for a swim, and relaxed by the pool. At 11:00 we got dressed and packed. We checked out and headed to the airport. We were sad to leave the beautiful Bahamas but were glad to be going home...Bree missed John!
We got to the airport and got to our gate and passed the time playing Hangman, reading, talking, and snacking. We had a peaceful flight home. We read most of the way.
When we got back to Bree's apartment John was waiting for us. Bree gave him the gifts she had bought for him and we ordered pizza and watched South Park.
The next day I had to go home. Bree and I went for coffee at Fox & Obel and then we hugged necks and promised that next year we would go another fabulous tropical vacation!!!!
It was wonderful!!!! I had the best time!!!!!!

Saturday "Beach Bum Day"

We decided that Saturday we would hang at the beach all day! We were up bright and early and were on the beach by 8. I had already downed 2 chocolate croissants. Also by now we were too lazy to even make the coffee in the room...we just ordered room service and had it served to us where we would proceed to take our coffee out on the balcony. We were living the luxe life, let me tell ya.
It was the usual morning of playing in the water, reading, drinking pina coladas, and having lunch in the Dolphin Grill. After lunch we each got a raft and took it over to the lazy river -- or as we called it...the "cold" pool. It wasn't heated. We found a place under a makeshift cave where we were completely shaded from the sun and could read and lay there without worrying about burning. It was wonderful!!!! We took pictures of each other and stood under the waterfall just letting that cold, fabulous water pour over us.
After we had had enough water for the day we decided to get some ice cream...so off we went. We wanted big fat sundaes but all we could find within walking distance were cones. So we settled on waffle cones at the little deli in the Wyndham Hotel. We just chatted and ate our ice cream and people watched.
Then it was time to clean up and get ready for cocktails and dinner.
We decided to go to this place that our busy driver on our first bus trip told us about....he said The Fish Fry was the place where all the locals go and the fish is WONDERFUL.
We took a taxi and the taxi driver said, "yes, you will eat well at Fish Fry." We thought the Fish Fry was the name of the restaurant....but it is like a strip of several restaurants. We picked the first one we saw called "Twin Brothers." We started off with (you guessed it!) conch fritters were the best ones YET!!! I got (yup, you guessed it!) grouper fingers and Bree got red snapper. We both agreed it was the BEST MEAL of all and the CHEAPEST!!!!
We had a wonderful time. It was real laid back and kind of hokey in there. Bree had to go to the bathroom and she was gone a long time. When she came back to the table she said, "Mom, I hope you don't have to go outside. It's across the road and its an outhouse!!!!" Well, let me tell ya, I'd have held my pee til my eyes turned yellow before I'd go in an outhouse!!!
The meal was great and we returned home full and happy and laughing and sweetly tired from the sun and the day outdoors.
Here is a pic of Bree and I at Twin Brothers!!!!

Friday in the Bahamas

We spent the morning on the beach reading, drinking our pina colada, swimming, playing, laughing. Then we went to Paradise Island in the afternoon. We took a water ferry that was really fun. We walked around the island and went in and out of all the little boutiques. We got ice cream. Then we went to the Atlantis which is gorgeous!!! Huge and very beautiful. We played some slot machines and walked all around. Then we went to lunch at a really cool deli. I had a cold roast beef sandwich and Bree had a cheese toastie.

That evening we had a cocktail in the hotel bar and then off to dinner at The Poop Deck. I had seen The Poop Deck on our way to the hotel and told Bree I'd like to eat there. We had a long, lovely dinner. I again had the grouper fingers and "peas and rice" ... we don't know why they call it peas and rice...its red beans and rice!!! Bree had salmon again, I think! And of course, we got more conch fritters. These were even better than the night before!!!

Our taxi driver who took us to the restaurant was so sweet. He gave us his card and told him to call us when we got done eating and he would pick us up. We didn't need to do that because the door man at the restaurant got a cab for us. We just loved the Bahamians...so nice and "whatever, Mon!"

This is me on Paradise Island!!!!!!

Chocolate croissants

Oh my GAWD! Like I always say....some things are worth being fat for. And the chocolate croissants at the snack bar at our hotel were one of them. I ate my first one for breakfast the first morning of my trip. I swear...my eyes rolled back in my head and I damn near died. That croissant was the best thing to touch my lips in ages!!! Light, buttery, flaky, sweet. Oy! The next morning I got two of them for breakfast. The next morning after that I was tempted to get three but stuck with two. I moaned with every bite. I will never eat another chocolate croissant from Panera again now that I have tasted the ones in the Bahamas. What I wouldn't give for a bite of one of those croissants right now!!!!!

Our First Full Day in The Bahamas

I woke up Thursday bright and early and Bree's bed was empty. I went to the balcony door and there she was sleeping outside on the balcony. She said I was SNORING!!! I said For the Love of GOD, why didn't you wake me up and tell me to shutup? She said she didn't want to disturb me, so she moved 3 padded stools out to the balcony and slept on them!!! She said it was beautiful. I didn't even hear her moving the furniture!!!!

We had coffee in the room and then packed up our beachbag and headed to the beach. We settled on 2 chaises under a tiki hut and then held each others hands and RAN into the ocean screaming at the tops of our lungs!!!! The water was delicious!!!!

Every morning we would start out on the beach and go from ocean, to pools, to ocean, to pools, to hot tub, to ocean, to pools. It was wonderful. Every morning we would have our first pina colada by 10:30 a.m. Then by 11:30 we would have lunch at the outdoor restaurant on the beach and then get ready for our afternoon adventure.

Our first day afternoon adventure, we caught the bus for $1.00 a person and went downtown to shop. We went to the Straw Market and the shops on Bay Street. The Straw Market was a hoot!!! The ladies at the market were very pushy. They would try to get you to buy things and they would try to make deals with you. They would get huffy if you didn't buy anything from them. I got a beautiful straw bag and a straw hat. Bree got several nice things....Tee shirts and a straw jewelry type box. Very cute. We had a great time just walking around and going in and out of the shops. As we were walking down the street to get the bus to go home, this man came up to us and said, "Are you going to Cable Beach?" I said, "Are you the bus driver?" and he said yes he was. Bree and I got the hugest kick out of that!!! Imagine the bus driver coming down the street to find you!!! We loved riding the bus. We loved listening to the locals talk in their adorable Bahamian accents. It was great.

We got home and chilled out for a bit, then went to dinner at this place called Johnny Canoe's. It was only about 2 blocks from our hotel. Very cute and the drinks were to die for. I had another strawberry daiquiri and Bree got a tropical drink but I can't remember the name. We talked and laughed and took pictures of each other. The food was excellent. I had grouper fingers and Bree had salmon. We shared conch fritters as an appetizer which is a Bahamian speciality.

Here is a pic of Bree at Johnny Canoe's.

That First Night

We got changed into casual summer clothes and decided to explore the resort a bit and then find a place for dinner. We chose an Italian restaurant that was right in the hotel. It was absolutely delicious and the service was fabulous. I got a strawberry daiquiri to start off with and I believe Bree got wine. We had a cheese fondue for an appetizer and I had a pasta dish with sweet Italian sausage and peppers and Bree chose the veal parmesan. The bread was crusty and warm and we ate everything! We even had room to share tiramisu with our coffee.
After dinner we walked to the beach and watched the sparkling ocean waters. Our hearts were high, our tummies were full, and we were filled with the spirit of adventure and anticipation of all the fun things to come!
That first night was the earliest we went to bed...I think I pooped out at 9:30. It had been a long day. I couldn't wait for tomorrow!!!!

I had the time of my life....

....and I can't wait to do it all again!!!!

The fun started the second I got to Bree's apartment on Weds morning. She answered the door wrapped in a towel (I was early) and we both started squealing like stuck pigs and jumping up and down like 2 crazy ladies on crack.

We calmed ourselves down enough for Bree to finish dressing and by 9:00 we were on the street hailing a cab to O'Hare. On the way to the airport I told Bree the whole story of "The Bucket List." She said she wasn't going to see it so I replayed the entire movie to her. I hope the cabbie wasn't planning on seeing the movie because he got a blow by blow description of the movie.

We got to the airport, checked in, found our gate, and proceeded to the snack bar for a coffee and bagel. As we stood in line at the snack bar, I turned to the nice looking young man behind me who was dressed in a navy uniform. I asked him where he was from and he told me "a little town in Washington." Looks can be so deceiving...in the space of a 5 minute wait in line he told me he was walking down Michigan Avenue and looked down an alley and saw "3 guys getting mugged" and the cop just stood there not doing a thing. O.K....this does not sound like the Michigan Avenue I know and love. He told us he was just overwhelmed by the big city and the malls and the airport and how his little town could fit into just a corner of this airport! The poor fellow was on his way to Pensacola. I was scared he was going to sit with us and this guy had the gift of gab. Luckily, he didn't sit with us as we avoided eye contact when he passed our table.

We talked and laughed and visited while we waited to board the plane. Time has a way of flying when I am with Bree. There is never a dull moment when she is around.

We had a beautiful flight to the Bahamas. Clear blue skies and smooth flying all the way. Except for the woman who sat in front of us and across the aisle. We were barely off the ground and she turned her head to face the poor man across the narrow aisle from her, opened her big fat mouth, and began to snore!!! This woman snored (very loud and mucus-y snore) all the way to Nassau. YUK!! We felt sorry for the schmuck sitting across from her!

We landed in Nassau, went through customs and I got MY FIRST STAMP ON MY PASSPORT, and grabbed a taxi to our resort hotel.

We checked in and went to our room on the 4th floor. Our room was so pretty and it had a wonderful balcony that looked out over the ocean. We were like 2 kids. Bree started jumping on the bed! She was so happy and so was I. We couldn't believe that we were finally here!!!

The BAHAMAS

The Bahamas were everything I had imagined and hoped for and MORE! It was beautiful there!!! Just like a tropical island. The water was clear as can be! You could see right through to the sandy bottom. It was so calm too...no waves at all. The hotel/resort we stayed at was fabulous! It had just been remodeled and Bree and I couldn't get over how nice and new and clean and fabulous it all was. We were on the 4th floor and our balcony looked out over the ocean. We had gorgeous weather. I think it was in mid to low 80's. Just perfect.

Our meals were all delicious, the hotel staff was friendly, helpful, nice as can be. I will give a day by day summary of everything!!! First, here are some pics.

We came home to snow and it was beautiful!!!! This is a pic of Bree and I sipping our pina coladas at the outdoor beachside bar. Best pina colada I have EVER HAD!!!!

If I Could Hold A Flower

......and watch it's petals fade
If I could touch the well-worn earth on which my children played
If I could hold one moment of the times you've made me smile
Then I can take the bad times
For you've made them all worthwhile

2-1/2 more days....

...TIL BAHAMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I AM PACKED AND READY TO GO!!

I won't be around for a few days but make sure you visit me when I get back from the BAHAMAS TO HEAR ALL ABOUT MY TRIP!

I love you all.

Kelli

THE BUCKET LIST

Yesterday afternoon, my brother, his wife, my sister, her husand, me and Archie met at the theatre to see the afternoon matinee of The Bucket List. It had only gotten 1 star in the movie review....I don't pay attention to those because lots of times (more times than not) I don't agree with the reviews. Well....WE ALL LOVED THE BUCKET LIST!!! All 6 of us were crying!!! My poor husband's shoulders were actually shaking. It was funny and sad. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson were wonderful, as usual. The scenery was wonderful! It was soooo good. I could see it again. I am a sucker for movies that make me cry and this tugged my heartstrings very well.
Go see The Bucket List. I loved it!!!!

Karin

Karin and I have been friends since we were 16 years old. We met when she moved in down the street from me. I marched right up to her and introduced myself and we've been friends ever since!!! Between the two of us we have lived in North Carolina, Oregon, Canada and New Zealand and our friendship never weakened. She is an absolute angel. So much fun and so full of spark and love and laughter.

We are 2 days apart ------- she is the older one. Ha!

My Kitty, Sabi

My kitty, Sabi, always runs away from me!
I try to pick her up for just a cuddle, but she always runs away!
Sometimes I catch her and hold her and pet her soft fur...but only for a few seconds- then she runs away!
I tell her that Mommy has been good to her and she can let me love her for a few minutes, but she doesn't care. She just runs away!
What she really wants from me is for me to lay down! Preferably in the bed. The only time she wants me is when I am laying down. Then she will hop up on my lap and settle in and I can pet her til the moon turns to cheese. Oh, I just love this time with her! Petting her soft fur and listening to her purr...but if I move my legs just a bit, then off she goes! I have to lay still and not move!!! Is that a spoiled little brat of a kitty, or what?
I love her though. She is my baby. Here are some pictures of the little stinkpot. She is wanting a new baby sister or brother and I hope to get one for her this Spring (after Bahamas & Florida trips) !!!!!

Exactly 14 more days til BAHAMAS!!!!

I am so excited!!! On January 16 Bree and I leave for the lovely, warm, Bahamas!!! I have never been to the Bahamas and neither has Bree. I have never used my passport before either! This is a first for me!!!
We are just going to have the best time. Reading, walking the beach, swimming, shopping, eating, drinking fruity cocktails, and laughing. Always lots of laughter!!!
When I get back home I will write all about the trip on my blog and I will post pics too!!!
I love having something fun to look forward to after Christmas.
It is sooo cold today! And snowing a little too.

A New Year is Dawning...in JOY, PEACE, AND LOVE

A new year is dawning in joy, peace and love...
the joy I feel in my heart when I wake up each morning to a new day. A new day full of possibilities and laughter. A new day to discover something new or remember something of long ago.
The peace I feel in my soul when I count all my blessings. My ten fingers and ten toes (even the crooked toe) My job, my home, my friends, my family. The good, happy memories I have of Christmases past and the excitement I feel when I think of all the good things to come and the memories that will be made.
The love I have when I look into the eyes of my fantastic, beautiful, daughter and son. The love that swells my heart when I see them and the pride I have for them. The love I have for Archie for giving me these beautiful people and helping me to make the kind of home that I always wanted.
I have often said that my life has turned out just the way I always wanted it to. I always wanted to be a Mom and live in a 2 story house and have a dog and a cat. I am grateful for all that I have.
A new day is dawning in joy, peace and love....A new year is dawning also....much love and good wishes to you in 2008 and for the years to come. May sunshine fill your soul and warm your shoulders. May friends hug you in happy times and comfort you in gloomy times...may you always know that someone loves you.
My good year wishes to all of you. Especially to Bree and Michael. For being the loveliest people in my life. I love you guys.
Happy 2008.
Love,
Kelli