Another Pleasant Trip to Florida

I finally got my Florida photos together. I had a lovely time again. I love, love, love going down there. I get to see my Grandma again and spend time with my family. We are a family to whom vacation = relax. We don't fill our time with activities we mostly sit and do very little...and it's perfect. I read six books this year...heaven.

Jesse, Dad and Mom at the beach our last night. We went down to check out the sunset.

The drawbridge on Cortez Road as seen from the Seafood Shack.

A closer look at the bridge. It was up for a sailboat to go through.
The sun setting behind clouds. This is a view towards the island in the opposite direction from Cortez Road.
The family enjoys dinner at the Seafood Shack. It was our first night there and Aunt Jan was there with us.
We did some yard work for Grandma and then washed the gloves afterward. This is the best way to dry everything down there.Jesse decided to take a photo of the sunset with the bird in the shot. I decided to take a picture of Jesse. hee hee.

People walking on the beach at sunset.
Almost done.

The last bits of sun were behind clouds so we headed home. This is what the beach entrance looks like. Lots of people drive in, although we walk.

Overall - awesome. Already looking forward to next year's visit.

Attack of the Inflatable Marketing Animals

I'm still amazed every time I drive past another huge animal or cartoon character stationed outside a car dealership or restaurant or just anywhere really. Joliet has a fascination with using these to promote their businesses and I still don't really get it. True, they do catch my eye, but really they just make me think "that place is a bit too cheesy for me."
I spotted another one right before Easter. It was a huge pink bunny at a busy intersection. I didn't get a clear picture, but I'll post it anyway.
I also drive by a car dealership that has a cowboy at one end of the lot and a giant purple dinosaur at the other end. Cause, you know, nothing says "Used Car Sale" like a giant dino and his cowboy pardner.

My Jet-Setting Aunt and Uncle

My Aunt Karen and Uncle Bill are world travelers to the extreme. Every time I turn around, they're heading somewhere new and trying something different. It's great to hear their stories at family get-togethers and learn what the food is like in certain countries and what the transportation options are in other countries. They are founts of information.

This works out well for me for a couple of reasons:
1) When I finally get to the point where I can afford to travel out of the US, I totally know who I'll go to for advice. Chances are they've been there, done that...twice.
2) Aunt Karen is great about sending me photos of their adventures, like these from Amsterdam. She's a great photographer and its fun to see pics from around the globe that aren't just stock photos.

So here are some of the newest ones from Turkey. She said they were with a large group this time and their tour guide was great. They also got to take a hot air balloon ride. What fun.

Relay for Life 2010

Every year the American Cancer Society does a Relay for Life fundraising event. Here's the blurb from their website:
"At Relay, teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length."

This year I've joined a team, the Memorable Moments, and we're off to a great start. My goal is to raise $100 and the team goal is $1500. At this point, the more the merrier!

If you have any desire to contribute you can donate online at http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?team_id=628833&fr_id=22181&pg=team
Click on my name or donate to the overall team. If online doesn't work for you, feel free to send me an email to figure out an offline donation.

Thanks and here's to putting up a good fight against cancer.

Heck of a Weekend!

For those of you that know me, you know that my love for the Doctor runs deep. I think it's a genetic thing. My dad watched Doctor Who back in its first incarnation and I distinctly remember him trying to sing the theme song to me and my brother. Now that the show has successfully rebooted I am a full-blown addict.Saturday night was the 5th season premiere on BBC America. (and yes I know that it's been on for three weeks in the UK so watching future episodes online is a possibility, but I've chosen to watch it with the rest of the country...well most of the country...the honest part) In addition to being the start of a season, which means new adventures every week instead of sporadic "specials" for a year - blech!, the big excitement is that there's a new Doctor. And as much as I loved David Tennant's space man, Matt Smith has quickly showed he's got the right stuff for the job.
I am really pumped about this upcoming season and I will fly my freak flag and admit that I have watched Saturday's episode three times now. It's that fun.

In addition to the Doctor Who high, I also went and saw How to Train Your Dragon (in 3D of course). What fun! The characters were these great stereotypes, which is exactly what you would expect, but they did it so well. There were plenty of laughs that weren't in the previews and the 3D really did make a difference. I would love to see a sequel if they made one. I would freely go back to that world for another adventure. (and random tid-bit: according to the end credits, David Tennant does a minor voice in the movie - I'm tellin' ya, small world)

British Literature

I'm taking a class at USF called "British Literature from 1700 to the Present" and am really learning a lot. We're reading through the ages and its been very interesting to see how novelists and poets in Britain reacted to the times the were living in.
One of the first things we read was Alexander Pope's Essay on Man, and while it was very dense and structured, it may be my favorite thing we've read so far. Here are some of my favorite stanzas:

Each beast, each insect, happy in its own:
Is Heaven unkind to man, and man alone?
Shall he alone, whom rational we call,
Be pleased with nothing, if not blest with all?


More rich, more wise: but who infers from hence
That such are happier, shocks all common sense.


Condition, circumstance, is not the thing;
Bliss is the same in subject or in king,


Weak, foolish man! will Heaven reward us there
With the same trash mad mortals wish for here?

Pretty cool.

MUSE

Last Saturday (March 13) Jesse and I traveled to The Palace of Auburn Hills to see Muse in concert (with special guest Silversun Pickups). I've been a Muse fan for a couple of years now and was super psyched to find out that they were playing in Detroit while I'd be there for the week. It was an amazing show. These guys sound just as awesome live as they do on their albums. In fact, it may have even been better than their CDs because they jam like nobodies business which made all the songs that much more alive and fun. And the set-up was super creative with the three columns that went up and down and featured graphics and videos throughout the night. The only downside was trying to get out of the parking lot after the show (it took half an hour) but we were so pumped it didn't really phase us.
I took lots of pictures even though my camera battery died before the end of the show. Here are some of the better ones.