Perfect Day

Today was a perfect day! The day we have dreamed of for 2 years. (But in my dreams, it was hotter.) 80 degrees, sunny, clear blue skies, a light breeze off the ocean. We got up bright and early and went to the Venice farmers market for fresh, local, organic produce. Then we drove up to the Sarasota farmers market and got more! Plus they had a 'Go Green' event with all sorts of cool vendors giving away free stuff. I love free stuff! Afterwards, we went home, made some fresh caught shrimp for lunch - my favorite. (Take note, never get between a fat girl and her shrimp - you will lose fingers. I promise.) Then, we took a bike ride up to beach - all 3 blocks! We sat and watched the waves, enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air...and watched a bird eat a dead fish. When we got home - FYI, I COULD NOT BE MORE OUT OF SHAPE! - Michael made us a wonderful stir fry for din din, with all the veg we got today. This really was the day we had dreamed of for 2 years. This is the way we have wanted to live for a long time. Finally it is happening.

Shark

The other day, we took a break from moving in to go out to the pier - about 5 blocks from our house. It is the big fishing hang out by us. The guys were doing great despite the crappy, overcast weather - thanks latest hurricane off the coast! Anyway, we arrived just in time to see this local fisherman catch a baby hammerhead shark! Coolness! He let it go, so it can become a great, big hammy one day! PS - Venice is the 'Shark Tooth Capitol of the World', for a reason. :)

New Toys

Hubby got fishing cart to carry all his gear, and I got a basket for my bike! Two useful things down here. He can haul home catches for dinner - yum. He will be fishing our suppers regularly, it is enjoyable for him & our budget. And i can ride my bike to the farmers market or store instead of using the car. It is exercise and eco-friendly! Cool!

Date Night

Friday night, Hubby & I took a break from all the unpacking and went on our first date night in Venice! We drove up to Sarasota, to our favorite Thai restaurant, a Taste of Asia (http://www.tasteofasiasrq.com/index.html) - D LISH! And the owners are absolutely charming. It is someplace we have frequented every time we have come to this area. The food is outstanding, and inexpensive. Then we were able to do a little book shopping, courtesy of a gift card I received. Again, a delight. Hubby got some fiction and or sci-fi something, I got new diet books & cookbooks - so I can blow my new diet! HA! Then a romantic finish at the Soda Fountain in downtown Venice. YUM! There are only two things to do at night in Venice - watch the sunset, and go eat ice cream. There are like 6 ice cream shops on Main Street alone, and by 7pm, they are all jammed with seniors. Seriously, these old people eat more ice cream than you can imagine. I have been in shops where 100 year old women are taking down 8 scoopers with toppings! It is frightening! Anyway, the night was wonderful.

Our New Home

Various pictures of where we live in Venice. Lovely!!

The Trip

Just a few pics from our journey down. They are in reverse order.

The last photo was from the morning we left, Michael taking our winter coats out to the trash!

Truman at pretty much every hotel we stayed at.

The happy couple! In Kentucky/Tennessee - somewhere like that.

Mr Binkers in the back seat - for once. He tried to ride shotgun the entire trip.

Our lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Heaven.

Mr. Truman - not pleased.

Poor old Lucky Dog.

Exhausted

Well, we arrived. After three days on the road with two cats and a dog, we made it to Venice Island. The location is awesome, three blocks from the beach. The neighborhood is nice. Our first day, the lady across the street brought us a tray of brownies. Today, the woman directly across from us brought us a plate of pumpkin bread. YUM! How weird is that? Would you ever accept food from complete strangers in Chicago? Let alone, allow someone knocking on your door at 7AM into your house? Different world down here. The neighborhood seems nice, the rental - not so much. It is kind of a pit, but we are paying out the *&% for the location. So far we have had a plumber, electrician and an appliance repairman here. Still waiting on the handyman to fix the big stuff! HA! Not exactly my dream home.

It has only been in the high 70's, low 80's, since we arrived which is totally weird. Every other time we have been here it is in the 100's. I am freezing! This was not in the brochure!

Also not mentioned in the brochure, having to roach proof your house. I knew about the gators, the pythons, the sharks, the outdoor bugs galore...no one mentioned that Florida is the roach capitol of the universe. Again, NOT in the brochure. Had to spend a day buying 100's of $$$ worth of plastic air-tight everything to hold, well, everything, so we do not attract the little buggers. Yuck. Then I found a Wolf Spider in my kitchen. Oh, everyone said I was so lucky to have one - they are the best bug killers! Oh, yeah. My dream come true. If you have never seen one, imagine a salad plate with fangs and legs.

It really is a different world down here. A world I want to be part of, but have not yet been able to downshift into. Michael keeps telling me I have to relax, that the people down here do not know how to deal with the likes of me and my anal retentive, Type A ways. He has already adapted far better than I. He is patient and pleasant with everyone. I keep asking people if they f'ing brain damaged. Maybe not the 'Hello' they are used to, but I need to get things done. No one seems to understand this. Anyway, I will eventually settle in. Once the house is in order, all the repairs are done, and I can take a day to breathe, everything should be ok.

The other day we took a break to go fishing gear shopping for Micahel & stop by the pier (5 blocks from my house!). Arrived just as a guy caught a baby shark! Venice is the Shark Tooth capitol of the world, you know. The little buggers and their mommies are everywhere down here. I took pictures and promise I will post them soon. Just too tired to do anything more tonight.

Well that is the jist of it all right now. I will post more with pics later. right now I nee to slip into a coma.

Best Blogger EVER

I don't know if you have ever caught Ross on the Tonight Show, Chelsea Lately or Inside Dish, but he is riot. This is a link to his newest talky blogg from his website, www.heloross.com.

On the Road Again

Two days into our trip & we are still alive.

Traveling with cats - not so fun. That big, expensive car cat barrier - worthless. We weren't out of the drive way and they figured out how to get around it, and were flying out of the backseat like popcorn. So now we are driving with clothes shoved in every nook & cranny trying to keep the predators at bay. Lucky is fine. Couldn't care less we are in the car 10 hours a day, staying in strange hotels. He is completely oblivious to this whole process. Just happy to be here. At night the cats pace, Lucky snores, as does Michael. I sleep lightly, worried about how everyone is sleeping, did they eat enough, is someone going to sneak in and kill us....you know, the usual.

Day one we made it from Chicago to Nashville. The weather getting better by the mile, and the terrain the same. Southern Kentucky was beautiful. Grassy rolling hills, the start of the mountains, horse farms everywhere & plantation style homes dotting the hillside - it was all so lovely to see. I thought it was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen, until today.

Today we drove through the Tennessee mountains and it was truly breathtaking. I almost drove off the road several times, just from being awestruck by the beauty. The soaring mountains, covered in fall colored trees, broken up by enormous crystal clear lakes that appear out of nowhere.... Seriously, one of the most gorgeous sites I have ever seen. On par with Carribean sunrises & Florida summer sunsets. I will never forget those vistas, it's as if they were dropped out of a painting just for us to see.

Now we are in Valdosta, Georgia for the night. I would say 'sleepy little town' is overkill. More like 'comatose microscopic spec'. But much safer and quieter than last night. In fact, I think there are only 3 people staying here besides us. And so far, none of them are prostitutes! Last night we stayed at the scuz palace. The extended stay studio something or other on the outskirts of Nashville. Michael was propositioned by the hooker that was working in the room next door....that is the kind of place it was. And you wonder why I sleep lightly? Tonight is not so bad - and we have wi-fi! Yeah, I can update!

Trip tally so far - 7 dead deer, 4 dead coyotes, 3 dead raccoons, 2 dead bales of hay and 1 mutilated ball of insulation. I only keep track of the big & identifiable stuff. And the deer are ahead - by a severed head that is. I gave up counting bloody mush balls on the road - there were so many, it just wasn't fun anymore. I will say the road kill quotient overall dropped drastically when we hit Georgia. I think it is because the wildlife is smarter than the local population. Also noticed that in Tennessee the top billboards are all for hair restoration - i.e. lots of bald guys. And in Georgia - porn shops. There is one at every off ramp and rest stop. It is like their national past time.

Besides that, KY & TN have both kids of music - country & western! Or three different shows discussing Bulldog football and the occasional 80's channel. Not sure what is going on here, but it doesn't seem good. I did find a station playing Holiday tunes already, which I enjoyed. Although it seemed weird to sing "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" when it is 80+ degrees and you have the air on. Guess that is something I have to get used to in our new home.

Tomorrow is our shortest day, only about 4-5 hours of travel, to get us to Sarasota where we spend the night till we can move in to our new home on Monday. I hope it is nice. We have never seen it, we had to do everything on line since we had no time or money to fly down and look in person. My friend Doug lives about a 3/4 mile away. I think that 3/4 of mile is the walking distance between luxury and ghetto. Will let you know. I will also post pics once we get set up. I am having camera issues right now and we won't have Internet access for a while once we arrive. Don't ask, it is a different snails pace world down there and no one is in a rush to do anything. So until then, bye bye! Wish us luck!

New Theme Song

I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand
Life is good today. Life is good today.

Well, the plane touched down just about 3 o'clock
And the city's still on my mind
Bikinis and palm trees danced in my head
I was still in the baggage line
Concrete and cars are there own prison bars like this life I'm living in
But the plane brought me farther.
I'm surrounded by water
And I'm not going back again

I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand
Life is good today. Life is good today.

Adios and vaya con dios
Yeah I'm leaving GA
And if it weren't for tequila and pretty senoritas
I'd have no reason to stay
Adios and vaya con dios
Yeah I'm leaving GA
Gonna lay in the hot sun and roll a big fat one
And grab my guitar and play

Four days flew by like a drunk Friday night as the summer
Drew to an end
They couldn't believe that i just couldn't leave
And I bid adieu to my friends
Because my bartender she's from the islands
Her body's been kissed by the sun
And coconut replaces the smell of the bar & i don't know if its her or the
Rum

I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand
Life is good today. Life is good today..

Adios and vaya con dios
A long way from the lake
Its where all the muchachas they call me "big poppa" when I throw pesos their
Way
Adios and vaya con dios
A long way from GA
Someone do me a favor and pour me some Jaeger
And I'll grab my guitar and play

Adios and vaya con dios
Going home now to stay
The senoritas don't care-o when there's no dinero
You got no money to stay
Adios and vaya con dios
Going home now to stay

With my ass in a lawn chair
And toes in the clay
Not a worry in the world a pbr on the way
Life is good today. Life is good today

Courtesy of the Zac Brown Band

And Away We Go

And we're off! This will be my last post for a while. Today we pack the final pod, turn the keys over to the attorney and disconnect everything. Tomorrow we hit the road. Off to our new life, off to some warmth an sunshine. But during transit and for a while after we get there, no Internet. I am sure there is some way to blog from my Blackberry, but that is beyond me. So until we land and get everything hooked up, wish us well and I will talk to you later.

Seriously People

http://health.yahoo.com/news/afp/lifestylebritainhealthresearch_20091102154444.html

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/drmao/20270/what-soft-drinks-are-doing-to-your-body/

It isn't even funny. There is so much evidence behind the evils of processed boxed crap food & diabetes inducing sodas - how can you keep eating this crap? Please, it isn't even funny. I watched the whole foods episode of Martha the other day, she had Michael Pollan - my hero - on. He had stats from the CDC noting that 1 in 3 kids today is obese, not just fat, chubby or rotund - obese, and half of all children born today will end up with Type 2 Diabetes by adulthood. All from the foods they consume, a disease that will debilitate and is 100% preventable. It is sickening.

And I understand, every once in a while you want some crap food you remember as a kid, or have a craving for McDonalds fries - but I know people that survive on this excuse for food. Who never drink a glass of water or eat a vegetable. And they wonder why they always feel like crap. Garbage in, garbage out.

New Dylan

http://www.bobdylan.com/#/music/christmas-in-the-heart


It's new, it' GENIUS - it's Bob Dylan singing Christmas Classics! OMG! I think I blew something out, I cracked up so hard. He's Jewish. His voice, not what you think of as your carving the Christmas ham.... It is almost obscene. I love it!

LOL's

A Rare Shag

How Cool Can One Prez Be

The Nobel Peace Prize 2009
"for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"




" I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee. Let me be clear: I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women, and all Americans, want to build -- a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents. And I know that throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action -- a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."

PBS Must See TV

An amazing, fascinating new documentary by Ken Burns focusing on the creation of America's National Parks. I know you would think "What could be more boring?" You are so wrong. It is mesmerizing! How it transformed the country and the countryside. How it's development during the Depression gave hope to the entire nation and started chipping away at segregation. Did you even know all that was connected? Neither did I. Truly moving, awe inspiring, magical. If you can't catch it on PBS, hit the PBS store online and grab the DVD. Well worth the $$$$.

Awesome Sounds

The BEST new music I have heard in the last year, I swear. Uncle Kracker's new CD ROCKS! A must download @ iTunes. Just get the whole damn thing, every song is a winner, he really knocked it out of the park on this one. LOVE this guy, LOVE this cd.

Enjoy

Panic Attack

OK, the panic has set in. We have 33 days to pack, move across the country, find a new place to live with two cats and a dog, find new jobs - basically start entirely new lives. I know it is what we want, but now it is real and I am having panic attacks day and night. I don't know how I am going to pull it all off in such a short period of time. I am worried about everything. I am stress eating like a wild boar, then getting so sick I throw up half of everything I eat. I will either end up a whale or anorexic. I am shooting for the later.