**We return home tomorrow! Then I'll be able to catch up on blog notes. I swear, I haven't been ignoring anyone!*
I got this idea from Glamour magazine. They have a section called Hey, It’s Okay and will list a bunch of things to be okay about. I think I’m going to do this every Tuesday now. You're welcome to join in and do something like this on your diary. Doesn't have to be on a Tuesday either.
Hey, It's Okay....
To hate when a sea shell digs into the bottom of your foot while you are hanging out in the ocean.
To have tried Bojangles chicken for the first time and liked it (it was spicy! I guess Bojangles is a Southern thing.)
To hate going through the airport security. Sorry dude behind me, I'm moving as fast as I can. Stop creeping up to my ass and clearing your throat. I get it. I have two kids I also have to help. I'll move when I can.
To hate how your husband just breezes through security and looks surprised when you're not right behind him. Our offspring, dear. Did you forget about our offspring?
To still like getting those giant pixie sticks that they sell at amusement parks.
To love visiting family but also love getting back to your own home. And stuff. And bed.
To hope to go to Jamestown, Virginia someday. I love history.
To love Sharon Osbourne even though she probably won't end up liking you back. (She'd probably think I was a flitty thing with a potato shaped face.)
To still have hope that an agent will want to sign me even though so many have said thanks, but no thanks. Anyone BFFs with an agent or started a new agency? I'd be the easier author ever. I'm totally not picky and am told that I have impecible manners.
To have to sleep with a fan going on in the background since absolute silence is freaky. We sleep in absolute silent at the hotel, minus the small blast of air conditioner that pops on for like five minutes before clicking back off again. Tom says he prefers the quiet and would love to turn off the fan that I keep on at home. I said no way, as I need some noise to filter out his snoring. He says if he can deal with listening to me fart all night (which I totally DON'T) then I can deal with his snoring. Newsflash Tom: I can't.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Hello From Wilmington, North Carolina!
"Oooo this spot looks familiar, Tom. I think this is the spot where Dawson proclaimed his love to Joey. Quick, pretend to be Dawson and use big words and look all mopey and junk," I instructed as we walked down the streets of Wilmington, North Carolina where the show Dawson's Creek was filmed.
Tom, my lovely husband Tom who does not like imagining things (I always say he's Marilla in Anne of Green Gables ) frowned and said, "No."
"Remind me to marry someone with an imagination next time," I grumbled.
"Remind me to marry someone sane the next time," Tom retorted.
I am perfectly sane. I've just always had a huge imagination. It's the writer in me, what can I say? I'm supposed to be quirky.
We were walking along side the riverfront of the 4th of July. It was packed. People were everywhere. The lines from the food vendors curled to the point where I could no longer see the end. I so wanted a funnel cake but not if I'd have to stand for hours on end to get it.
I have to say, there were some people with questionable attire there. Like this one chick strolled past in the tiniest probably size 0 shorts when she was a size 10. And another kid tried to steal my purse because she "like-it-ed how it was pink." That's great kid but it's MINE. There were some intoxicated twenty somethings walking (stumbling) around saying something about cheese and anus holes. I know. Try explaining that one to your children.
I was surprised that Tom was even out in the crowd. Crowds usually make Tom nervous. He says it's the cop in him and he believes that someone is going to whip out a weapon at any moment and that he'll have to tackle them to the ground like they do in Cops.
But no, Tom came out with me, and I even got him to go out again while we left the kids with their Grandma. He even held my hand which is something he rarely does because "we're married and what's the point?" I actually pulled my hand away the first time because I'm not used to an adult male grabbing it. Children, yes. Adults, no. He went, "Don't you want to hold hands?" and I went, "Oh?" stupidly.
"You know, I won't be here much longer," Tom reminded me and my heart dropped, as it always does when he talks about leaving. (For those who don't know, he's going to Korea in a year. He only has a couple of weeks left before he goes. I can't go because it's a remote base so I'm staying behind.)
"I know," I answered as we walked past a woman holding one of those mini dogs to her chest. She was probably rich and owned one of those gigantic boats that we had seen floating along the river.
Tom volunteered to get me a funnel cake and brave the long and winding line. But it was hot and the air smelled like sugar mixed with body odor so I wasn't in the mood to wait. We kept walking along the streets and I kept thinking that I knew the spot from Dawson's Creek even though it probably had nothing to do with the show.
"Say Joey!" I told Tom as he stood in front of a building that I swore Pacey and Joey shared a special moment at.
"No," Tom said, not even cracking a smile. Getting him to smile is like getting a politician to tell the truth.
I took the picture anyway. We walked a little further and then turned around.
"I'll miss you," I said, but he didn't hear me because of all the people. And because he's tall and I'm not so I basically said the words into his shoulder.
"I'll miss you," I tried again, this time on my tip toes. "Thanks for coming out with me. I know you don't like crowds."
Tom tossed an arm around my shoulders. "Anything for my girl," he said and winked down at me.
Tomorrow we're headed to the beach.
"And you'll pretend to be a guy in a Nicholas Sparks novel?" I asked Tom sweetly. Nicholas Sparks sets most of his books in North Carolina, you see. Actually, he sets a lot of them in a place called New Bern, which is by where we are.
"No," Tom said.
"Whatever Noah," I joked. "Maybe it'll rain so I can leap into your arms and we can make out!"
"No."
Party pooper. Oh well. At least he took me out in the crowd.
That's a big thing for him, believe me.
Tom, my lovely husband Tom who does not like imagining things (I always say he's Marilla in Anne of Green Gables ) frowned and said, "No."
"Remind me to marry someone with an imagination next time," I grumbled.
"Remind me to marry someone sane the next time," Tom retorted.
I am perfectly sane. I've just always had a huge imagination. It's the writer in me, what can I say? I'm supposed to be quirky.
We were walking along side the riverfront of the 4th of July. It was packed. People were everywhere. The lines from the food vendors curled to the point where I could no longer see the end. I so wanted a funnel cake but not if I'd have to stand for hours on end to get it.
I have to say, there were some people with questionable attire there. Like this one chick strolled past in the tiniest probably size 0 shorts when she was a size 10. And another kid tried to steal my purse because she "like-it-ed how it was pink." That's great kid but it's MINE. There were some intoxicated twenty somethings walking (stumbling) around saying something about cheese and anus holes. I know. Try explaining that one to your children.
I was surprised that Tom was even out in the crowd. Crowds usually make Tom nervous. He says it's the cop in him and he believes that someone is going to whip out a weapon at any moment and that he'll have to tackle them to the ground like they do in Cops.
But no, Tom came out with me, and I even got him to go out again while we left the kids with their Grandma. He even held my hand which is something he rarely does because "we're married and what's the point?" I actually pulled my hand away the first time because I'm not used to an adult male grabbing it. Children, yes. Adults, no. He went, "Don't you want to hold hands?" and I went, "Oh?" stupidly.
"You know, I won't be here much longer," Tom reminded me and my heart dropped, as it always does when he talks about leaving. (For those who don't know, he's going to Korea in a year. He only has a couple of weeks left before he goes. I can't go because it's a remote base so I'm staying behind.)
"I know," I answered as we walked past a woman holding one of those mini dogs to her chest. She was probably rich and owned one of those gigantic boats that we had seen floating along the river.
Tom volunteered to get me a funnel cake and brave the long and winding line. But it was hot and the air smelled like sugar mixed with body odor so I wasn't in the mood to wait. We kept walking along the streets and I kept thinking that I knew the spot from Dawson's Creek even though it probably had nothing to do with the show.
"Say Joey!" I told Tom as he stood in front of a building that I swore Pacey and Joey shared a special moment at.
"No," Tom said, not even cracking a smile. Getting him to smile is like getting a politician to tell the truth.
I took the picture anyway. We walked a little further and then turned around.
"I'll miss you," I said, but he didn't hear me because of all the people. And because he's tall and I'm not so I basically said the words into his shoulder.
"I'll miss you," I tried again, this time on my tip toes. "Thanks for coming out with me. I know you don't like crowds."
Tom tossed an arm around my shoulders. "Anything for my girl," he said and winked down at me.
Tomorrow we're headed to the beach.
"And you'll pretend to be a guy in a Nicholas Sparks novel?" I asked Tom sweetly. Nicholas Sparks sets most of his books in North Carolina, you see. Actually, he sets a lot of them in a place called New Bern, which is by where we are.
"No," Tom said.
"Whatever Noah," I joked. "Maybe it'll rain so I can leap into your arms and we can make out!"
"No."
Party pooper. Oh well. At least he took me out in the crowd.
That's a big thing for him, believe me.
July 4th
Have you ever thought about the American flag and all that it stands for? It is a symbol of the greatest nation on the earth. It has been carried through centuries in battle. It is placed on the graves of our honored dead who fought for the right for us to remain a free nation, and it flies high during peace times, as well as war. I was draped across the coffin of my father. I have the folded remnant displayed in my living room. It is a constant reminder of freedom for me. “Old Glory” is its name.
Yes, today, July 4th is a day to honor our country....but today is Sunday....and there is another real freedom we can have. We can display it every day of the year, and that is our freedom “In Christ” to live a life to glorify Him, so that His banner of love, truth, and peace can be seen by all. Because of what He did for us on the cross we can be free in our spirit to serve the Creator of the whole universe and that my friends, is True Freedom.
Romans 8:2 says,
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death." (ASV)
Just as the flag that represents freedom, Jesus is a banner over us, protecting and shielding us. He is the “Glory and the Lifter of our heads” at all times. Let freedom ring out in your heart today.
Psalm 3:3 reads,
"But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head." (KJV)
Happy 4th to all of blogger world. My your hearts be filled with love and patriotism today and my Christ guide your path...today and always. God Bless You all!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Wehadkee Trade Days
Friday, July 2, 2010
Macinac Island, Michigan - A Point of Interest
For years I have wanted to go to Mackinac Island....I have always called it Mackinaw Island...but when I looked it up in preparation for our Michigan trip I discovered a great deal about the island....one of which was the correct spelling. "According to Anishinaabe-Ojibwe tradition, Mackinac Island is a sacred place populated by the first people and was home to the Great Spirit Gitchie Manitou. Mackinac Island, by virtue of its location in the center of the Great Lakes waterway, became a tribal gathering place where offerings were made to Gitchie Manitou and where tribes buried their chiefs to honor the Great Spirit. Native Americans traveling the Straits region likened the shape of the island to that of a turtle’s back and named it Michilimackinac, Land of the Great Turtle. Celebrations to honor the Great Spirit took place on Mackinac Island each spring along with rest and relaxation on after the long northern winter. Hunters and accomplished anglers would meet, trade and rejoin their families while elders would discuss tribal affairs. Once the Europeans came, these early visitors believed Gitchie Manitou fled the Island to dwell in the Northern Lights. Mackinac’s location and rich fish population also drew French traders and Jesuit missionaries. In the 1670s, the first Europeans visited Mackinac. Father Claude Dablon wished to establish a mission on Mackinac Island and encouraged Father Jacques Marquette to move his congregation to the island. Eager to escape the dangers from the Huron and Sioux conflict, Father Marquette agreed and moved his displaced band of Huron followers to the island in 1671. At about the same time French missionaries were converting Native Americans, French fur traders were seeking their assistance in the lucrative fur business. For 150 years, through French, British, and American settlements of Mackinac, the fur trade business was active on Mackinac. Europeans would ship canoe loads of their goods to Mackinac to trade for Indian-trapped beaver, muskrat, otter, and fox pelts. After the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the British moved their settlement from what is now Mackinaw City to Mackinac Island and constructed Fort Mackinac(www.MackinacParks.com) in 1780. Threats from American forces as well as growing unrest in the Odawa and Chippewa, led the British Commander Patrick Sinclair to choose the more defensible location provided by the island bluffs. In order to protect their interests in the Great Lakes Fur Trade, Chippewa chiefs Kitchie Negon, Pouanas, Koupe and Magousseihigan sold Mackinac Island to the British on May 12, 1781 during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The Island continued as a battleground during the War of 1812 (1812-1815), which eventually confirmed American and Canadian independence from the British crown. British troops were then forced to turn Fort Mackinac over to the Americans. During the 1820s Mackinac Island became one of the most valuable trading posts in John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company and dominated life on Mackinac Island. In the 1830s Mackinac’s primary industry switched to fishing. Schooners and steamboats traveled the Great Lakes and provided contact with markets hungry for the Straits areas whitefish, lake trout, and other native species. Small entrepreneurs dominated the fishing trade and American Fur Company warehouses switched from storing furs to storing fish. Before competition increased in the area in the 1870s, Mackinac shipped as many as 20,000 barrels of fish a year. The increase in rail access to the Straits area also hurt Island fish business as mainland competition could take easier advantage of this shipping method. The village of Mackinac was incorporated in 1817 and served as the seat for the territorial county of Michilimackinac by 1818 and as the seat of Mackinac County from 1849-1882. The territorial county of Michilimackinac covered much of what is now Michigan. Fort Mackinac (www.MackinacParks.com) housed the central government for the Northern Frontier after the American Revolution. By the end of the War of 1812, the Island figured prominently in the governing and early development of the Northwest Territory. Interestingly enough, Fort Mackinac served in the Civil War as a prison for three Confederate sympathizers. The island provided volunteers for the Civil War’s Union cause from both its native and military ranks. After the Civil War, Mackinac quickly became a popular resort destination and Mackinac’s business switched to tourism. Its healthy environment and beautiful scenery attracted visitors weary of war and eager for relaxing vacations. By 1875 Congress created Mackinac Island National Park, the country’s second national park (the first was Yellowstone). Military operations at the Fort had ceased and soldiers were removed from Fort Mackinac by 1895. Mackinac Island National Park became Michigan’s first state park in 1895 when the park was transferred from the U.S. Government to the State of Michigan. Today, Mackinac Island State Park land covers more than eighty percent of the Island; the remaining land is privately owned and includes the boat docks, shopping district, restaurants, resorts, hotels and summer homes. By the end of the twentieth century, tourism had replaced furs and fishing as the Island’s only viable industry. In the 1880s and 1890s Mackinac changed greatly. Business investment by large railroad companies and personal wealth led to the construction of opulent Victorian summer homes. Three transportation companies joined forces with hotelier John Oliver Plank and with Charles Caskey, a local cottage builder with an amazing reputation for quick construction, and built the Grand Hotel in less than four months. Meat packers, lumbermen, and railroad barons constructed elegant “cottages” on Mackinac’s West Bluff, East Bluff, and Annex areas. The traveling public also enjoyed Mackinac’s great offerings. Local carriage drivers were hired to take visitors on sightseeing excursions, entertaining them with stories about Indian legends and local history. By 1880, twelve carriage licenses were issued, and by 1896, a representative of the local carriage drivers, Thomas Chambers, petitioned the Village of Mackinac Island to ban the “horseless carriages” or automobiles because they startled the horses. Growing concerns for public health and safety in the 1920s led to regulatory systems which remain in effect today to restrict motor vehicles, excluding emergency vehicles in both the State Park and the City of Mackinac Island. The Mackinac Island State Park Commission, the steward of the island’s historic and natural resources began its preservation efforts in the 1890s. A revenue bond program, signed into law by Governor G. Mennen Williams in 1958, allowed the State Park Commission led by Chairman W.Stewart Woodfill (then owner of Grand Hotel) to establish an historic restoration and museum program for the park." We have all poured over Michigan places...everyone seems to be in agreement for Mackinac...Mandy wants to have high tea at the Grand Hotel...it costs 25.00....for tea and crumpets. Come on...for 25.00 I can eat a whole lobster in Maine. Grief...tourism can be a trap for sure. How much can it cost to make a few biscuits, put some jam on them, and boil a pot of tea? Definitely not a 25.00 investment. But...I will be able to say..."Been there, done that...." and that is half the point of taking a vacation somewhere you have never been. Right?
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Ever Wanted to Go to Frankenmuth, Michigan? I Have!
Yup, I Saw Eclipse (and was scared..)
I'm here.
In North Carolina, that is.
I had a fantastic time with my friend Jennifer in Ohio. Kidless. Well, not totally. Her kids were there.
Last night we decided to go see Eclipse.
I was a little frightened, seeing as the movie had just come out and surely there would be scary Twi-hards milling about.
There were.
Scary Twi-hards milling about, I mean. A lot of them were sporting those frightening Twilight t-shirts. Grown adults even had them on. I wanted to high five this woman who came in with her teenage children since she had a shirt that said, "Team shut the fu*k up." My thoughts exactly, lady. My thoughts exactly.
Jennifer and I lucked out and found a good seat--mind you, the theater was pretty much full. Of scary Twi-hards. And I swear this one girl in our row was crying. Or hyperventilating. Or both. I heard her gasp out, "Edward.." a few times and was tempted to ask if she wanted a paper bag to blow in. And to go into a lengthy rant on how I think Edward is borderline mentally abusive.
Here's the thing about the movie:
It did a lot of close ups of the actors. I found this disturbing. I don't need to see all the pores on Kristen Stewart's face. Rob Pattinson just looks like he really needs to poo and Jacob looks all pinched as though his underwear is on too tight. I kept groaning whenever a close up would appear on the (large) screen. The Twi-hards, however, would squeal with delight. And clap. I wanted to shout, "I didn't pay good money to hear you nutsos make noise, thanks." But I didn't.
The movie was entertaining enough. See, I read the books and enjoyed them, I just could never understand the hoopla. Especially when adults freak out over it all. I'm all for getting excited over stuff but the things I'm excited over exist.
One part of the movie that upset me was when Edward took Bella's truck engine out so she couldn't see Jacob. When I read that in the book I yelled, "EXCUSE me?" and was tempted to add a snap like those chicks on Maury do when they're pissed. If a man removed my car engine, it wouldn't fly with me. He'd be dumped in a heartbeat. But Bella just sat there and dumbly asked, "Did you do this to my truck?" I'd have said, "Did you do this to my truck, jackass? Last I checked I was a grown ass adult and I can be friends with whomever I want." See? Edward=CREEPY. Edward=Rob Pattinson=CONSTIPATED expression throughout ENTIRE film.
And parents? Please tell your teens that it's impolite to make noises in the theater and that Jacob is no reason to shout over. Remind them of his pinched face.
And adults that shout in the theater when Jacob comes on the screen?
I'm a little afraid of you.
In North Carolina, that is.
I had a fantastic time with my friend Jennifer in Ohio. Kidless. Well, not totally. Her kids were there.
Last night we decided to go see Eclipse.
I was a little frightened, seeing as the movie had just come out and surely there would be scary Twi-hards milling about.
There were.
Scary Twi-hards milling about, I mean. A lot of them were sporting those frightening Twilight t-shirts. Grown adults even had them on. I wanted to high five this woman who came in with her teenage children since she had a shirt that said, "Team shut the fu*k up." My thoughts exactly, lady. My thoughts exactly.
Jennifer and I lucked out and found a good seat--mind you, the theater was pretty much full. Of scary Twi-hards. And I swear this one girl in our row was crying. Or hyperventilating. Or both. I heard her gasp out, "Edward.." a few times and was tempted to ask if she wanted a paper bag to blow in. And to go into a lengthy rant on how I think Edward is borderline mentally abusive.
Here's the thing about the movie:
It did a lot of close ups of the actors. I found this disturbing. I don't need to see all the pores on Kristen Stewart's face. Rob Pattinson just looks like he really needs to poo and Jacob looks all pinched as though his underwear is on too tight. I kept groaning whenever a close up would appear on the (large) screen. The Twi-hards, however, would squeal with delight. And clap. I wanted to shout, "I didn't pay good money to hear you nutsos make noise, thanks." But I didn't.
The movie was entertaining enough. See, I read the books and enjoyed them, I just could never understand the hoopla. Especially when adults freak out over it all. I'm all for getting excited over stuff but the things I'm excited over exist.
One part of the movie that upset me was when Edward took Bella's truck engine out so she couldn't see Jacob. When I read that in the book I yelled, "EXCUSE me?" and was tempted to add a snap like those chicks on Maury do when they're pissed. If a man removed my car engine, it wouldn't fly with me. He'd be dumped in a heartbeat. But Bella just sat there and dumbly asked, "Did you do this to my truck?" I'd have said, "Did you do this to my truck, jackass? Last I checked I was a grown ass adult and I can be friends with whomever I want." See? Edward=CREEPY. Edward=Rob Pattinson=CONSTIPATED expression throughout ENTIRE film.
And parents? Please tell your teens that it's impolite to make noises in the theater and that Jacob is no reason to shout over. Remind them of his pinched face.
And adults that shout in the theater when Jacob comes on the screen?
I'm a little afraid of you.
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