How Could This Happen?

I watched a Peanuts television show last night that I never saw before. How is this possible? I am the biggest Snoopy fan I know . . . and probably the only adult that still religiously watches every Peanuts TV special. I can’t get enough of them. I’m still a kid at heart and I will go to my grave with the same love for Snoopy that I had when I was a child.

But how on earth did I miss an entire program all these years? The title was “You’re Not Elected Charlie Brown” and it was produced in the 70’s. I’m wondering if I developed my severe aversion to politics at an early age and that is why I never watched it. The funny thing is that the program voiced my complete opinion of politicians. God I loved Charles Shultz!

I hope you all watched the Great Pumpkin last night and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Burning Questions of the Day

I have two burning questions today:

1.) Do deer whistles really work? Some people swear by them, while others claim they hit multiple deer despite the whistles on their car. Now I guess there is an argument that maybe they only hit deaf deer. Who knows. This morning we were driving down the long, dark, dirt road on our way to work. A big buck was just about to cross in front of us when he stopped dead in his tracks. He looked like our dogs when they KNOW they did something wrong and are about to get into trouble . . . you know, like a deer in the headlights. We had his captive attention. Luckily Karlo spotted him early and slowed way down and the buck retreated back into the woods. Was it the whistles that saved us?

2.) Can nylon knee-highs expire? I don’t see an expiration date on the package, but I am assuming they MUST expire. This morning, I pulled out a BRAND NEW pair of black nylon knee-highs from a package that I must have had for lots of years. By the time I walked from the car to the office, they were down around my ankles. Nothing bugs me more than slouchy knee highs. This is going to ruin my day. I’m going to have to find some elastics, or tape, or even staples - if I must, to keep them up. Why don’t the manufactures simply print an expiration date on nylons to save me the aggravation?

Weekend Ramblings

I don’t have a cohesive story to tell about our weekend. So instead I’ll share some mini stories . . . or maybe just elaborate captions to some pictures.

Peanut Potter is in Love


Our little pup has really taken to her space under the stairs. She actually prefers to be down there to anywhere else in the house. We have to beg and coax her to come upstairs with the rest of us.


Unless of course, the new love of her life is over. It seems she has fallen completely in love with Chicago Sue’s husband Dan. They were a match made in heaven. Nothing was cuter than watching them snuggle.

Toasty Warm

This weekend was the official kick-off of the wood stove season. Karlo has been itching to play with the wood stove for weeks and he finally got to light a fire. That stove rocks. It is so warm and cozy and my favorite spot in the house is sitting at the kitchen counter with my back to the stove. I have a feeling I’m gonna love having this stove all winter.

In addition to the wood stove we also installed and programmed our new thermostats. Saturday morning was the first time our heat came on and what an experience that was. The heat in this house is NOTHING like it was in Andover. The heat actually works here. I set the temp to 67 and it was so hot in our bathroom I couldn’t function. To my delight, we discovered a blower under the sink that blows hot air at your feet as you are in front of the vanity. So hot, that my feet were sweating in my slippers. You can stand barefoot on the marble floor in January and be comfortable. What a brilliant invention and a delightful surprise bonus this was.

Jammin’


Last Friday night I picked up my Dad’s bass and amp. After my visit down to Gibson, I got inspired to play the bass again. I just couldn’t wait to see if any of it would come back after all these years. Well, it did. I had a ball this weekend plunking through some old Police tunes. Fun fun.

I Married a Mad Man


You see that one lonely leaf on the deck? That leaf was the reason Karlo couldn’t enjoy his dinner. The man has lost his mind. At breakfast he noted all the leaves on the deck. We can’t have that. He was out there sweeping the entire (very large) deck first thing after breakfast. Then at lunch he complained that more leaves fell on the deck. What does he expect? It IS Fall and we are in the woods on a windy day. I like the leaves on the deck. I think they are pretty. But he couldn’t stand it. He had to sweep the deck again after lunch. Then when this one lonely leaf appeared at dinner, well it ruined his night. He needs professional help.

We Deserve a Medal

For energy efficiency. Some time after we agreed to purchase our new house, I asked Rick and Nancy what their typical electricity bill was. I was prepared to hear that it was a little more than Andover. After all, the house was bigger. When Rick told me that they typically spent about $150/month I nearly fell off my chair. In Andover our typical bill was about $75/month. I thought, “hmm, I should have asked these questions before we signed the contract. I can only imagine all the other utility bills, oil, propane, etc.”

Karlo insisted that the only reason that Rick & Nancy’s bill was so high was because they were extremely wasteful when it came to electricity. Every time we visited them they had all kinds of lights on that they weren’t using. They even left some lights on when they traveled down to Virginia for several weeks at a time. I just hoped that Karlo was right.

When we got our first bill from Northeast Utilities I was pleasantly surprised. The bill was only $86. Not bad considering Andover was usually in the 70’s and Rick & Nancy’s was over $150. But we just got our next bill and to my shock, it was only $66. Holy smokes. We should get an energy efficiency award for that. I can’t believe it. Karlo noted that the first month we moved in, he was running power tools constantly. His miter saw ran just about every night for a few weeks.

Karlo likes to blame our big fish tank in Andover for sucking too much energy, but I’m not buying that. I was trying to imagine how we can be doing so well here in Eastford, especially since we had high efficiency light bulbs in just about every socket in Andover, compared to the dozens upon dozens of halogens all over our current house. I am attributing our low bill to the following:

• High efficiency drier. I used to run our old drier 2.5 hours for every load. Now the clothes are dry in less than 50 minutes every time. This must help a lot.
• No more cooking with electricity. Now we cook with propane so that must be a big savings too.
• We have a much smaller and more efficient fish tank.
• I no longer work from home on Mondays running my desktop and laptop all day long.
• And we are anal about only having lights on when we are not using them.

Let me also mention that in Eastford our hot water heater is run by electricity (in Andover it was not) and we have two ceiling fans that run 24/7 non-stop. But even with these two additional draws, we are still beating our old bill.

Future Hell's Angels

This is too cute . . . our future riding buddies . . . These are JoAnne's kids. I see her husband is starting them young.

I Miss Kayaking

I didn't realize how much I missed it until last night. We took our maiden voyage this year. It's hard to even believe that it's nearly been a year since our boat was in the water. We used to go out 3 - 5 times a week for a good work out. We did venture out once, in an older kayak, at the Wethersfield Cove during our "Hartford stay." But I don't even think that can count. It just wasn't the same. We had the roaring sounds of the traffic from 91 overshadowing the whole trip. Funny, all the time I spent at the Cove growing up, I never even noticed the sound of the traffic. Now that I'm so used to complete peace and quiet, I can't seem to not notice it.

In addition to the traffic noise pollution, somebody had a remote control boat that they were racing around the shoreline. As if the droning traffic wasn't bad enough, now we had a high pitched engine to try to block out. We decided that kayaking in the Cove just wasn't worth the effort.

Last night was the first time we ventured out to find a local lake. To our delight, Bigelow Hollow is a closer drive from home than Coventry Lake used to be from Andover. Bigelow Hollow is a beautiful state park in Union with not only one lake, but two! It was bliss. The kind of kayaking we are used to - quiet and peaceful. The time we spent in our kayak is, by far, the most relaxing moments of our life. Don't get me wrong, there are times that we paddle like crazy, just for the exercise. And Karlo loves to go out in hurricane conditions just for the terrifying thrill of it. But we also have had many trips where we just stop paddling and float. We just sit there and let the wind gently push us toward shore. All you can hear is the wind in the trees and the gentle glunking of the water hitting the boat. This is what I miss the most.

I'm so happy to have found a local spot for our routine paddles. I look forward to many, many more.

Weekend In Pictures

Could we have asked for a better weekend? It was heaven. The weather was perfect - the scenery spectacular. We really made the most of it, but it went by way too fast. I want a do-over! Yesterday was my favorite day. We met friends at 10 am for a motorcycle ride that lasted until after 4:00. I posted a few pictures of the weekend here.

My 5 Other Lives

I recently bought a book that was suggested by my online class instructor. It’s a book to help you increase your creativity. I was reading the first chapter last night, as I was eating my freshly prepared gourmet dinner (a bowl of Cheerios). One of the exercises was to imagine that you had 5 other lives to lead. You were supposed to think about what you would do in each of those lives. What would you want to be?

This was so easy for me. Without much pondering, I quickly jotted down what I would do with my five other lives. Here’s my list:

1. I would like to be an Interior Designer and shop and decorate all day long.
2. I would like to be an Architect because I truly love it.
3. I always said in my next life I want to be a Dancer.
4. Now-a-days nothing thrills me more than the thought of being a Writer. Staying home all day, making my own schedule, just being creative and making a living at it.
5. Which leads me to my next, and most desired life, of being independently wealthy. Wouldn’t it be nice to just live off the riches of your family, travel the world without any cares or worries?

Hmmm, I’m seeing a trend here. I went from a couple real jobs that require real work, all the way down to a bum – a rich bum, but a bum none-the-less. I think I ordered those wrong. They increase in desirability as you go down the list.

The next thing the book told me to do was think about how I can achieve pieces of these lives in my real life. For instance, they gave the example of if you wanted to be a cowgirl (I’m sure that’s a common one) then perhaps you should take horseback riding lessons.

So in looking back at my list I have to say, I have done an amazing job of incorporating my fantasy lives into my real life. Let’s see:

1. I spent a year taking an interior design course and even got a certificate that says I’m a real one!
2. I spent the last couple of years designing our dream home (which we, of course, never built). I did however design our new laundry/bath room and had the satisfaction of seeing it completed. Loved every minute of it.
3. I have taken several dance lessons (from hip hop to ballroom) over the past 10 years and even performed in a recital.
4. I’m currently taking a writing course to pursue my dream of writing a book.
5. And despite not being wealthy, I’ve made my way around lots of parts of the world.

Gee wiz. Maybe I should have written the book I’m reading. Now it's your turn. What would you do with your other lives?

What Does Your Name Mean?

I just played with a little online quiz to find out what my name means. Aren't you curious to see what your name means too? Or maybe you can play with different names to see what you should have been named. I never liked my name. Maybe I'll come up with a new one . . .

What Paula Means

P is for Perfect A is for Arty U is for Unusual L is for Lucky A is for Artistic

What Does Your Name Mean?

My Fish Needs a Name

I’m happy to report that I added two new fish to the family. Last night I went shopping in Manchester with Lisa. Because Lisa was with me, I got brave enough to enter PetsMart. I was still determined to walk out if the evil witch was in there, but luckily she wasn’t. Lisa helped me pick out a couple new fish. I failed to mention that I lost another fish last week. Gee wiz. I went one month without changing the tank water and all was good. I changed the water, as instructed, and within one week I lost two fish. I think from now on I’m only taking fish advice from Lisa. She has the most laid back approach to fish care and seems to have the best success.

I got one fish that has three black dots on the back of its body and these dots look just like Mickey Mouse ears. That name was easy. That fish is now Mickey. The other fish is a dwarf something or other. It’s the cutest little thing. Tiny little fish. When I looked at it it reminded me of “Mini Me” so I thought the perfect name would be “Mini.” It took me a few seconds to realize that I just named my two new fish Mickey and Mini. What a riot. I swear that was unintentional.

Now all of my fish have names except one. I can’t seem to come up with a good name for this one. All the other names came to me so quickly and easily. I named Siggy after a fun guy we met in Croatia. I named Snowflake after her pure whiteness. The name Lilly just came to me after gazing at here for a few seconds. All of my sucker fish will always be named “Sucker.” I think I get that from my grandfather who had a dozen different Beagles throughout his life and named every single one of them Mario (even the girls).

So I need help with the “No Name” fish. There used to be a bar in Harford called “The Bar with No Name” so I thought I could have “the Fish with No Name.” But Lisa thinks maybe the fish is having an identity crisis and that’s why it’s always hiding. Poor fish needs a name. I’m open to suggestions. Anybody got any? The fish is a orangy/reddish color with not much personality. What do ya think?

Toilets are Very Scary

I have come to terms with the fact that I have an irrational fear of bowling balls. Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous, but I find it very difficult to bowl because I can't seem to get over the fear that my fingers are not going to come out of the holes. Not sure why I have this fear. I have really skinny fingers. But still, I picture myself being flung down the alley being led by a big ball that weighs nearly as much as I do. Not a pretty sight.

Luckily I don’t bowl often.

But now I realize that I have another irrational fear . . . Of toilets. I used to be afraid of toilets as a kid. But that was public toilets and it was more a fear of using them. Last night I realized that I'm terrified of all toilets.

Same old story . . . Because Karlo is out of town and something just has to go wrong . . . The stupid toilet in the master bathroom clogged up last night. And it's ironic too because one of my favorite commercials is the one from Kohler where they guy tries everything to clog up his Kohler toilet. Click on the graphic below.



I put one tiny piece of toilet paper in the toilet and, lucky me, clog the darn thing. So I called Karlo who guided me through the basement to find the plunger. I did as directed and could not believe how scared I was. I just left it alone and wasn't all too anxious to try to flush it again. After all, I have three bathrooms. This could wait until Karlo got home.

But just to torture me, Karlo called me back and told me to flush it and see what happens. Was he NUTS? I was terrified. What if it over flowed and I'm home alone? I have no idea why I listened to him. Like having him on the phone would be of any help to me. But I did it. I flushed with the plunger in my hand. As I watched the water rising higher and higher I thought I would have a heart attack. I can not believe the fear that a simple toilet can instill upon me. Thank God Karlo explained what to do if the water started to rise too much.

Let me just say this, I am NOT touching that darn plunger or toilet again until Karlo gets home. I don't need more stress in my life. I'm not dueling with a toilet. They scare me.

Weekend Report

What a busy and exciting weekend this was. What were the chances that two out-of-state friends were in CT on the same weekend and I got to see them both? And add to that improbability the incredible weather. It made for one great weekend.

I went to Hartford to cheer on Reggie who completed a half marathon – you go girl! I was so proud of her and inspired too. If I could run, I just might have been fired up to start. Such a shame that I can’t. Oh well.

I took an awesome mountain bike ride. A portion of the ride was on a trail that I previously tackled on my motorcycle. I don’t think I was ever more proud of myself. I could NOT believe how difficult the trail was. It challenged me on my mountain bike. I’m still shocked that I made on the big bike without wiping out.

I also got to experience the new UConn. I went to meet up with CA Sue and some other UConn friends. Good thing Sue told me that the Co-op was in a new location. I had no idea. It was unreal being on campus. I had no idea where I was. NOTHING is the same. Sort of sad. Everything is so big, and new, and unfamiliar. Boy was I surprised to walk out of the Student Union and see the homecoming parade. Like I said, it just wasn’t the same. I got to meet Sue’s daughter for the first time – too cute. Even sadder is the fact that she’ll probably be a teenager the next time I see her. Oh so scary.

I ended this weekend with an incredible motorcycle ride. The best one yet. I swear it just can’t get any better than today’s ride. Last time I saw my brother he asked me, “So how do you like living out there?” I still can’t believe just how much I love it. When you see my week in pictures you will understand. The photos start last weekend, but the captions will tell the story. Click here to view the pictures.

Another Writing Assigment

I've totally slacked with my writing assignments. I printed all of my lessons out and have been reading and studying them, but I haven't exactly gotten around to many of the homework assignments. That is the trouble with a cyber classroom - no accountability. But unlike the days when I dragged myself to boring classes because I HAD to, this class is important to me. It's something that I really want to do.

So at lunch today I was completely unmotivated to work out or walk in the cold gray weather. Instead, I logged into my classroom, read the latest lesson and actually did my assignment. I even posted it in the virtual classroom and my instructor gave me kudos. I feel like a little kid getting good grades. So satisfying. I think the only reason I had the nerve to post this was because I was the first to do so. Every time I log in and read the work of the others in the classroom, I get completely intimidated. Those folks are real writers. I don't want to embarrass myself. But then again . . . nobody knows who I am so what the heck.

Anyway, today's assignment was to write about something that I taught myself. It had all sorts of parameters like it must have a title, it must start with a question, and other requirements, but I won't bore you with the details. This is what I wrote:

The Art of Making Something from Nothing

Who wouldn’t want to create a work of art from useless scraps?

I haven’t discovered many new crafts that I didn’t want to try. Seems I have an insatiable itch for crafts that needs constant scratching. Nothing thrills me more than creating something with my own two hands. And the inspiration that I feel when I walk into a craft store is indescribable. My head spins with all the different ways to be creative.

There is just something about the glorious feeling that comes over me when I walk into a fabric store. There are so many colors, so many patterns, so many choices, so much potential. My mind reels with the nonstop ideas that flood into my brain.

It may be my inner artist that lures me into new and challenging projects. It may be the pack rat in me that loves the idea of not wasting anything – even scraps of fabric. There must be something that I can make with those!

My road to quilting wasn’t a smooth one. It all started about 10 years ago. I bought my first quilting book and experimented with lots of trial and error. I talked to other quilters, got some tips, practiced, and practiced some more. There were lots of mistakes, not much patience, a little (OK a lot) of cursing, and even some bloodshed. But the sense of accomplishment I feel when I sit back and marvel at the quilts that hang on the wall makes it all worth it. Looking at the beautiful pieces, that I made, I don’t remember the struggles. I only feel the sense of pride of what I accomplished. Months ago a worthless pile of scraps and today a precious family heirloom.

Big Brother

This is weird. Last week while I was in Charlotte, I was walking down the street coming, back from dinner, when a car that was parked on the side of the road caught my eye. I was totally attracted to this car and HAD to walk over to it and check it out. This very rarely happens to me. I have completely outgrown the lust for nice cars. I used to know every make and model on the road and had a wish list a mile long. Nowadays, I like almost nothing and my choices for a practical car are so limited that even thinking about switching cars bores me.

But there was some sort of compelling attraction pulling me toward this car. I couldn't resist it and had to go check it out. It was the most adorable Audi I ever saw. Funny, the number one car on my imaginary wish list has been an Audi All-Road. I even considered trading up for one (until I discovered the price tag, the gas mileage, and the fact that it requires the highest octane fuel). But still, if I could have any car, it would be the All-Road wagon.

So this little car was an Audi A3. Has anybody ever saw one before (in this country)? I know they are all over Europe (they have the coolest cars in Europe and its not fair), but I have never spotted on here in the States. If I could have that car with a diesel engine it would be a dream come true. In case you are interested, here it is:

Yeah, I know . . . Its very similar to what I already drive. Maybe. But it's so much sportier, sleeker, sexier. Its just plain better. And I want it!

Here's the strange part. Earlier this week I fetched the mail and found something from Audi. Now I have never received any mail from Audi in my life. Why is it that ALL OF A SUDDEN Audi is sending me mail? I swear its like Big Brother. I have a fleeting thought of "God I want that car" and my brainwaves were sent out into the universe so that the marketing people at Audi could pick up on them.

So now I'm invited to some la te da special red carpet premiere party at the new Audi dealership in Hartford. Should I go? Could be very dangerous. But I wanna go . . .

Buy Stuff Online, Earn Points, and Get Free Stuff

Who doesn't like free stuff? If you are anything like me, you shop online - a lot. With the price of gas these days (and the few extra miles I have to drive to get to the store), shopping online makes more and more sense. Plus, you don't have to deal with all the idiots that flock at the stores. Hmmm, I think I'm going to start ordering fish online. At least you never get interrogated when you order online.

Which leads me to a great find. Sometime last year (or maybe even longer ago) I discovered a web site called "My Points." It's a shopping portal that includes hundreds of big name online stores. Places that you probably shop at every month. If you become a member of My Points (and it's free to do so), every one of your purchases made to those merchants will earn you points. All you have to do is first go to the My Points web site, search for the merchant, or the item you are trying to buy, and use their links to get to the storefronts. Then your purchase will be tracked and you will earn your points. I already have 15,000 which scored me a $100 gift certificate to my choice of lots and lots of stores.

I may have a slight advantage over most in that I can book my business travel through Travelocity and get points for it. But believe me, you would be amazed at how quickly the points add up. You have nothing to lose and only some free gift certificates to gain, so what are you waiting for?

Click on the graphic below to find out more.

Happy Sweater Day

No, it’s not an official holiday and I’m not wishing you a “happy Sweater Day.” I’m just happy that I’m wearing a sweater today.

I guess this marks the official start of Fall – the first day I’m wearing a real sweater. As much as I’m sad to see the long days and the warm weather fade away . . . I LOVE sweaters. I think tonight I’m going to switch over my closet for the change of seasons. I always get excited to bring out the winter clothes.

What is cozier than wearing a sweater? Of course, I’m thinking about Tina right now, who is probably itching just thinking about it. I guess there are two kinds of people in the world . . . people that don’t wear sweaters and people that adore them. At last, the days of my non-stop goose bumps will be over. I will no longer look ridiculous walking around indoors with a jacket on in July. I can finally snuggle into my sweaters for the next several months.

Remember that Magic Hat beer cap that I got several months ago? I still have it on my desk. It says,

Life is Better inside a Warm Sweater

And I agree.

Am I Unfit to Keep Fish?

I’m starting to get a complex and Karlo thinks it’s hilarious. Let me explain. Last month I went to Petsmart to get 2 more fish for my new tank. On my first trip to Petsmart I explained what sort of tank I have and the sales clerk told me that I can have 6 fish all together. She recommended that I get 3 to start and then in a couple of weeks, get a few more.

So I got my 3 fish and life was good. After a few weeks I was all excited to add more fish to the family. I drove all the way to Petsmart and was greeted by the most unpleasant old lady I ever met. I swear she was a parking ticket agent in a past life. She was just evil. First she completely ignored me like I didn’t exist. Then finally she barked “I’ll be right with you.” as she continued to do some ridiculous useless task just to make me wait. She was testing my patience, but I continued to smile and be pleasant. I was ranting in my head.

She finally got around to helping me and I told her that I would like to buy a couple of fish. She immediately starts to interrogate me . . . “What size tank to you have?” I have a 6.5 gallon tank, but I lied, “8 gallons.”

Then she barked “How many fish do you have?” I had 3, but again I lied “Only 2.”

And then she proceeds to tell me that I can’t have any more. Excuse me?!?!? I can not have another fish? What the??? OK, I didn’t just drive over 30 stinkin miles to get to this store so some evil witch can tell me that I can’t buy a $2 fish. Now my patience was snapped. After some comments like “Are you kidding me, blah blah blah” she finally agreed to let me buy ONE fish, WITH the understanding that I can’t get my money back if it dies. Like I would drive my 25 mile per gallon car 70 miles (round trip) to get my stinkin’ $2 back! Has this lady lost her mind?

She carried the fish and walked me to the check-out line where she instructed the cashier not to let me have the fish warrantee. For a $2 fish! Good grief.

While in Charlotte I was having a nice fish conversation with a fish-fanatic co-worker. He explained the importance of changing the water every 2 weeks. Very, very important. Oh brother. It was a month and I didn’t change the water. I couldn’t wait to get home. My poor fish.

I got home and first thing I did on Saturday was change the water. All the fish were alive. Thank goodness.

Sunday comes, I feed the fish and then 20 minutes later, one is dead. I lost my poor Siggy fish. I loved him.

Do I dare go back to Petsmart? No way. Yesterday we went to Walmart, figuring they are more laid back there. And they were. I asked the dude if I could have just one guppy and put it in a tank full of Mollys. His answer was “I don’t see why not. Try it and see.” OK, my kind of fish salesman.

Karlo can’t wait until I go back to Walmart so often that even Walmart refuses to sell me fish. He is envisioning a sign posted at the aquarium section of all Walmarts with my picture on it . . . Do NOT sell any fish to this woman! What a riot. So far my guppy seems to be happy. She’s yellow with an orange tail and her name is Lilly. So there! Petsmart can take a long walk off a short pier.

My Day In Nashville

I survived my big day in Nashville. Good thing I spent the first 4 days in Charlotte, easing myself into this Southern thing. I have to admit, I felt like a fish out of water down there. It was definitely an interesting experience! I had the pleasure of meeting and spending half a day with some TRUE rednecks. They were quite amusing, as I’m sure I was to them.

The first half of the day we toured the Gibson Guitar factory. The tour took 3 full hours and I truly can not believe how much I learned during that time. It was fascinating. When I first discovered the price of most guitars, I thought they were expensive. But after seeing all the work that goes into making them, they suddenly seem like a bargain. If I had to guess, I would say a minimum of 100 different people have a part in building each guitar. And you would be amazed to see how much hand work is still involved. Knowing that John and Jamie (and maybe Ang & Dad) would be interested in the process, I took lots of pictures and posted them (along with captions) online here.

After the tour at Gibson we visited the Opryland Hotel. I have heard of the Grand Ole Opry before, but never this hotel. Everyone in Charlotte kept insisting that you can’t go to Nashville and not check this place out. It’s a hotel, how great can it be? Well, it was amazing. This is the largest hotel in the country that doesn’t have a casino in it. Who would have thunk that it’s in the middle of Tennessee?

It took us just about an hour to walk around inside. The courtyard of the hotel includes 9 acres of indoor lush, tropical gardens. There are waterfalls everywhere and you can even take a gondola ride inside the waterways. You would think you were in Disney Land. I took a few pictures to share with you and posted them online here.

I’m very happy to be back home (in Yankee land). After the typical flight delays, lost luggage, and all around travel woes, I’m not eager to travel again soon. And next time, I’m bringing my own soup!

No Soup For You

That phrase used to make me laugh. But now it's just ridiculous. From the minute I landed in Charlotte I have been craving chicken noodle soup. I know it's psychological and it probably doesn't really make you feel better when you're sick, but I wanted it anyway.

So immediately upon entering my room, I called room service and asked what kinds of soup they had. The answer was: New England clam chowder and lobster bisque - both of which are guarantee stomach aches for me. I hemmed and hawed and finally decided that I didn't need to add a stomach ache to my already long list of ailments. So I passed.

The next night there was no soup of the menu. Oh well.

The next night there WAS soup on the menu and I asked that all important question, "What is the soup of the day?" To my delight the answer was chicken noodle. Finally, I was going to get my long awaited soup. I was so excited . . . 10 minutes later the waitress comes back to the table to inform me that they just ran out of the chicken noodle soup. sniff sniff. In place of it, they could offer chicken cream soup which she explained was spicy. Uuugh. Spicy and cream. Not good. So sadly, I declined.

Then yesterday I decided I would treat myself to lunch, something that we don't often get during a show. I walked over to the cafe and to my surprise, there was a big vat of soup. Yippee. This time I was getting some no matter what the type. I wasn't even going to ask what kind of soup it was. I just walked right up, with a big smile on my face, and ordered a bowl of soup. The lady opened up the cover, looked in and said, "I'm sorry we don't have any soup left today."

That's it. I give up. Me having soup has become the biggest joke of the show. I'm glad I am amusing everyone with my sad soup stories. I have come to terms with the fact that I am not getting soup in this state. Maybe I'll have been luck in TN. Or perhaps at home. But then again, by the time I get home I'll be perfectly healthy and will no longer crave the soup.

I'm Still Alive

Well, the show hasn't killed me yet. I made it through the first full day and unfortunately I didn't take Nicole or Lisa's suggestion. I have my Benadryl, but I'm afraid the side effect of completely knocking me out is worst than the heach ache, cough and runny nose. The day is hard enough to get through awake. And although I would have loved the Rita's ice, the hall is FREEZING. I wore my jacket all day today and still shivered non-stop. Tomorrow I am not wearing my coporate uniform. Screw that. I'm wearing the big sweater that I thankfully packed. I'm in charge of the booth so I make the rules. It's my booth and I can what I want to, do what I want to. (You have to sing that part for the full effect).

I brought my super funky new company digital camera on this trip with the hopes of walking around the city and taking some photos for the blog. Only I don't see it happening. I just don't have the energy. I'm sorry. I will bring it to Gibson though, I promise. And Jamie, I'm already working on a deal for you. Stay tuned.

Holy Mother of Misery

I only have a few minutes, but that's just long enough for me to complain about how terrible this trip is. I'm not sure I did myself any favors by staying home for the extra day and a half. My stupid cold got worse and all I wanted to do on Sunday was lay on the couch and groan. The one day set-up was brutal. My cold got yet even worse and I truly don't know how I got through this day.

Remember my past blogs about the joys of setting up a trade show booth? Well, now picture it like this . . . no Karlo, and instead 3 guys that never even saw the booth, let alone set it up. No electricity put down over the weekend - the most necessary thing to be done before any setup begins. (The day did not start off well.) A major pressure cooker because my crates needed to be cleared off the show floor at 3 PM and they gave me a 2 hour warning. Oh brother, I can go on with the gory details, but I will spare you. Just know that I feel like hell. My head is detached from my body, I can't think straight and by tomorrow I will have zero voice left from the incredibly painful sore throat. Just in time for the show to begin. I think I'm gonna cry.

OK, I complained enough. Sorry about that. I wanna come home . . . and sleep.