These are a few of my favorite things......

Ok, you may think that just because I am home from vacation and our 12-day eating extravaganza is over, that I've discontinued my love affair with all things food related...ummmm, I don't think so!!!

I'm still a die hard chocoholic and although I'm not currently sitting in the Martini Bar throwing back those chocolate martinis, it doesn't mean I'm not thinking about them...and everything else that was covered in chocolate that I encountered, while we were traveling.

My love affair with chocolate started at a young age, and although candy in our house was in short supply, except for the very obvious times of the year, it didn't mean I loved it any less. The old saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" didn't refer to my longing for a boy (that is, until I turned 14), my heart would only skip a beat when anything in the chocolate family presented itself to me. I counted down the days each year, patiently waiting for Christmas, Easter and my all time favorite childhood holiday....drum roll please...HALLOWEEN!!!!!


What a teenage girl wouldn't do for a bag of chocolate??? Even back then i had no shame when it came to how, when and where I obtained a chocolate fix. Love the fake eyebrows and what is left of the drawn-on mustache and beard....wow I forgot how long my hair was then...even pulled back during my transformation into a "man" it would sneak around my shoulder and give my disguise away...yikes!

When in a child's life can they indulge in all things sugar-loaded, than during the days, weeks and even months following that wonderful neighborhood "begging session"??? I still have fond memories of counting out my haul and deciding what would get eaten first, what things were second-string candy, and what pieces had the ultimate trading power. You could not be slow on the uptake, in our house the trade was on a crucial first-come first-serve basis. This is when our growing numbers came in candy, oops, I mean handy.....the more bags of goodies we collected, the more there was to trade. Six kids, with six large sacks (I think at one point we were using old pillow cases) of candy, makes for an interesting bidding war and negotiating session. After the initial flurry of wheeling and dealing was over, all bets were off and we were each on our own. Then the goal was to see how long you could make your personal stash last...I don't recall my parents being all that strict on how much we could eat. As a matter of fact, we kept the candy in our rooms, which we all know was the only way to protect our precious treasures. It probably also contributed to a few late night noshing sessions and my future addiction to the hard stuff. Wait a minute, my future addiction....who am I kidding...I was already head over heels in love with this stuff.

When I think back to those years, I realize that my only saving grace, and what ultimately kept me out of the plus size clothing racks, was the simple fact that we only indulged in the sweet stuff a few times a year. Not to say we didn't have the usual cookies and ice-cream during our normal meals, but this was all very much regulated and doled out in small portions....just enough to feed my chocolate addiction and keep my nice healthy eating regimen in check. In other words, we got two cookies a day in our lunch bag, and a small dish of ice cream covered in Hershey's Syrup after dinner. There was not a lot of baking going on in our house, and if it did occur, it was more than likely something out of a box. Again, home made cookies were a treat around the holidays, and cake was something we had for birthdays only. Not to say we didn't have plenty of those, at least 8 times a year, we were guaranteed to have a cake for dessert. At some point when I became a teenager, I just decided to start baking for the family. I was always jealous when kids at school (and again...this is soooo not about boys, yet!), would pull homemade baked goods out of their lunch bags. I recall falling in love (yes, still food related) with my best friend's mother, a yet unknown woman, who baked cookies, brownies and other assorted yummy sweets, and packed them for her daughter's school lunch (we packed our own lunches and had store bought cookies--yes, I know....I had SUCH a deprived childhood--how DID I ever survive???) This woman won my chocoholic heart, and I didn't even know her name...I am pleased to say, that she eventually became the grandmother of my two children, but that's another story.

Back to my current eating obsession and let's take a short little stroll down memory lane...you do know that this is exactly one of the main reasons I have taken pictures of my food for years, and ultimately began to write my food blog...so that while I'm home sitting on the couch, counting down the days to our next vacation, I can browse back through my photos, remembering each and every meal, and dream about the next time I'll be on board the ship indulging in my favorite past time....EATING! (during the writing of this post, I'll have you know I was eating 5.3 oz. of plain non-fat greek yogurt--with a tiny drizzle of truffle infused honey...tasty, but nothing compared to the bounty on this page)

Let's keep the drooling to a minimum...I know I'm doing my best, but this IPad screen may get a bit soppy, I'm just not going to be held responsible if things get out of control.


You probably don't recall this cute little tasty dessert because I never posted this picture. There is a very good reason why this particular photo was relegated to the "do not use" pile that day. First and foremost, it was the day of our renewal, and our lunch was pretty much forgettable. If you will recall, or maybe you won't because I failed to mention it...it was the one and only day we had lunch in the dining room on the ship. Every other sea day (we only had 4), we were either at the buffet or the Aqua Spa Cafe and for the remainder of the cruise, or we were off the ship during the lunch hour. So, this little chocolate desert is making it's pictorial debut, and if I recall correctly, is was the perfect ending to a not so great meal. We originally chose to eat in the dining room, because we were still dressed in our wedding finery. It just made more sense to be served a sit down meal rather than schlepping a tray full of food, while holding up the train on my wedding gown, as I strolled through the buffet line. We also had an hour to kill between the ceremony, our earlier photography session and our time on the bridge for our final pictures, as we cruised up the Grand Canal into Venice. We were both a bit hungry, having not eaten since early morning. It was probably the first time all day, where neither of us had butterflies in our stomachs. I couldn't think of anything better to do under those circumstances....could you?


GeLOTo (not the correct spelling, but just how I felt about the substantial portion, I was about to attempt to eat) I did eat a LOT of it....this one is especially rich and chocolatey....which, if memory serves me correctly, was a part of the "eyes-where-bigger-than-my-stomach" serving of four scoops...which I would have completely eaten if I hadn't just had a slice of pizza. Most times, the gelato was my meal...this time I really overdid it. There were a few mouthfuls left in the bottom of the cup when I sadly dumped it in the trash...sacrilege to the people who worship in the house of all things chocolate :)


A little creepy to look at, but where else would you find chocolate shaped face masks, but in Venice of course!!!! Kinda lends itself to the whole Halloween part of this story...


The bakeries in every port we visited, were truly a feast for the eyes. We have nothing that even comes close to this type of shop here in Florida...if I lived in NYC, it would be another story...probably the reason I love to visit cities, but wouldn't want to live there. Looking forward to eating some yummy stuff on our trip next Saturday to see Brian and Taryn in Chicago.


Just a couple more to tempt your taste buds...


This was one of my favorite types of special cookies I found on the ship. I was first introduced to it during our formal tea in Muranos restaurant. Then, much to my delight, I discovered them a few days later at afternoon tea in the buffet...you can be assured, that when I am once again on board a Celebrity ship, I will be keeping a very keen eye out for these delicious little babies.


My second and sadly last few bites....chewy, sweet, oatmealy goodness...dipped in chocolate...oh man...this is tougher for me than it is for all of you because I actually KNOW how good these things taste!!!!


And last but not least, and totally unrelated to chocolate...this one-of-a-kind shot. If you will recall, several of the food photos I took, were through a glass window (always a good idea to keep the addicts a safe distance away from the goodies), so therefore, more often than not, I had reflection issues to deal with. In this particular instance, it actually contributed to the overall picture. I had on a colorful dress, and the large stack of black licorice was just dark and dense enough, that the definition of the dress design reflected back and combined itself with the candy. How appropriate that my love of food and desire to share it with everyone, was captured in this unique and interesting photograph. It just goes to show you....there is always a little bit of "me" in every picture that I take!

Hair I go again....or hair today, gone tomorrow?

As women, we either have very high maintenance hair, or we do not. We either spend a lot of money on our hair products each month, or we do not. We either stick to the latest hair fashion trends and styles, or we do not. We either color our hair every six weeks to cover the grey as is dictated by our hair stylist, or we do not. I am one of the "do nots" in all of the aforementioned categories and live by a very personal choice when it comes to the subject of my hair. I have chosen to keep my hair low maintenance, don't purchase a lot on hair products, don't cut my hair to follow the latest trends or styles, and don't color my hair to cover the grey. Contrary to most women my age, I refuse to jump on board the hair color merry-go-round as I like to call it. For some women, once you buy that first ticket and get on the ride, it's almost impossible to ever get off. Once a very long time ago, I did get my hair colored, in a salon, to cover the gray. I was "blessed" with prematurely grey hair during my early 30's with a white streak on the left side of my head, just at the temple. After a few short months, I got tired of looking at the roots, refused to pay for the expensive salon maintenance, tried coloring it myself and eventually, just cut it all off. Literally, I took a set of electric shears and buzzed my hair to 3/4 of an inch in length, and wore it like that for many years. Low maintenance became my middle name, not only did I cut my own hair, I cut Roger's too. Just think how much we saved in salon fees over all those years!!! And, I firmly believe, that if a couple of very special ladies had not come into my life, I would still, to this day, probably have the same short grey buzz cut as I did back in 2005.





So simple, so low maintenance, so me

Throughout the course of our lives, we meet and befriend folks from many different walks of life, from many different backgrounds, and from many different parts of the world. I met each of these women in the exact same manner, through my office at work. One, in 2003, and the other a few years later in 2006. I consider myself lucky that I can refer to many of my co-workers as friends, and I'm happy to say, we also enjoy each other's company outside the confines of our jobs. You can't even begin to imagine my combined concern, when it was discovered that they had both been diagnosed, within weeks of each other, to be suffering from the very same life threatening illness. One that would result in both of them enduring almost a year of debilitating treatments and numerous subsequent complicated surgeries. Throughout the ongoing months of medical care, they learned very quickly to keep a positive attitude and to persevere through what I am sure, was the most difficult times in both of their lives. They taught me so much about strength, courage and just how important the power of love is to the process of healing our bodies, hearts and minds. Unfortunately, during the course of their battle against this illness, they sadly both lost their beautiful hair. In the past, I had heard of women banding together and shaving their heads in support of their suffering friends and I wanted to do something to show my love for them and my compassion for their loss. I immediately realized that shaving my head would be the least expressive gesture that I could make, as I already had extremely short hair. Shaving the remainder of it off seemed to me, to be a rather shallow attempt at showing my support for all they were experiencing during this tough battle.





Headbands, curlers and perms....oh my!

It soon occurred to me, growing my hair out, as they were losing theirs, would be the only hardship I could imagine. You should understand, I loved my short, worry free, no muss-no fuss hair...it was my "look" and I had come to really embrace my freedom from all things hair related. I'd also been wearing this hair style for so long, I'd pretty much forgotten what a time consuming effort the upkeep of hair can be. Lets face it, I was just plain lazy, wanted absolutely nothing to do with maintaining a different look, and was quite happy to keep things status quo for the rest of my life. However, my love and support for both of them, set this personal challenge in motion and I finally decided to let the growing begin. At this point, you are probably thinking, what a strange way for me to show my solidarity with these two women...here they were facing this health crisis and a long arduous journey without hair, and I was going to grow mine right before their eyes??? Well, nothing could be further from the truth, they both enjoyed and were quite entertained while watching my hair grow. And, let me tell you, there were numerous conversations, and lots of giggles during my struggle with this new found mop on top off my head. If anyone has ever grown out there hair from a very short length, you can understand, it's plain and simply just NOT fun!





Struggling to find what worked....this one...not so much :(

I do recall many months, after the completion of their treatments, of watching them dealing with their own slow re-growth and trying to figure out how to work with the seemingly, never ending growing-out process. We swapped ideas and a few times we were all sporting similar hairdos. There were many days in the months (which turned into years) following my "brilliant" decision, when I just wanted to pull out those shears and go back to my easy, carefree look. Interestingly enough, and much to my surprise, that actually never happened. I began to embrace the subtle change that having all this hair in my life brought to me. People I worked with for years, didn't recognize me at a brief glance. Folks that I hadn't seen in a long time, were amazed at the transformation.





Little by little, I began to accept the change and embrace it...wow, I had a head FULL of grey hair...a bit of a shocker after ten years of looking at nothing on top of my head

I looked in the mirror at one point and realized I actually liked this new look.....after all the time, energy and money (perms, endless products, electronic devices, haircuts, and eventually straightening--grey hair is SO unruly and coarse) I had dedicated to years of growing out my hair, I was slowly beginning to appreciate this new phase in my life....me with a head full of hair!!! Four years later, I'm still wearing this long grey hair. I've made peace with the idea of dedicating the extra time and effort I need each morning to look presentable (ponytails on the weekend are a lifesaver). I've settled on a hairstyle that works for me, without multiple products, color, monthly haircuts or the latest style. It's simple and it's me.





It was slowly becoming a part of who I am today...how could something as insignificant as the length or loss of ones hair, play such an important role in my life?

Of course, not in a million years would I ever compare this teeny tiny personal battle I had entered into regarding my hair, with the uphill struggle they were experiencing, on an ongoing basis. They both found so much inner strength and managed to become such fighters, to overcome each obstacle that came their way. It was my goal to initiate a small change in my appearance in hopes that I could understand, even on a miniature level, the major changes they were facing every day in their lives. It is just not possible for me to ever comprehend what either of my dear friends were going through, although I have witnessed, for the last 4 years, their heroic journey, and ultimate victory over this disease. I love you both L and S, you are truly an inspiration to all the lives that you have touched. At best, it is a constant struggle to accept the losses that occur during our lifetime. It is my continuing goal, to embrace all that life throws at me, the good the bad and the ugly. It is not always about what happens to us...instead, it's how we deal with the adversity in our lives, that strengthens our spirits and makes us who we are as people. I honestly believe that we are not simply human beings in search of a spiritual experience.....but rather spiritual beings enduring and struggling through this human experience.





With the love of my wonderful family surrounding me....I feel that nothing is impossible

FLASHBACK: Put one foot in front of the other

On some days, my mind feels like Swiss cheese, I can't remember why I walked into a particular room, or where I put my glasses when I last took them off--so now I have four pair and that helps a little bit. Filling in the holes in my brain with the information that is missing, well...I'm not sure there is an easy solution for that, and if there was, people would be lined up around the block...no make that lined up around the world to purchase anything that would even come close to helping them hold on to those precious memories. My band aide to try and prevent everything I recall from slowly leaking out of my subconscious mind, is this...my writing. I can recall small bits and pieces of moments in my life, then I sit down and write about them--with the hope that someday I can go back read my words and the memory will come flashing back in all it's glory...pictures and everything. So, I've decided that every time I write about a subject that is not current in my life, I'll preface the title with the word FLASHBACK. It's a warning to anyone who happens to be following along, that we are going to take a little stroll down memory lane. Fair warning.....in my mind, that road will be hilly, bumpy, windy, ice covered, cold, possibly lonely, at times a bit boring, there may be a detour or two, and certain parts are still under construction. However, I can promise you that as I've traveled down that road....the most important lesson I've learned is just to laugh at the things I cannot change (most of the time--that means laughing at myself), don't worry about the things you have no control over, and don't take everything so seriously. It really makes life much easier...just go with the flow.

That being said, I'm also a firm believer that things happen for a reason, and I try really hard to listen to that little voice inside my head when I hear it whispering. Ok, I admit that sometimes it has a hard time getting my attention and has to YELL at me before I listen, but as I grow older, I am allowing it to guide me more and more...with great results, I might add. And speaking of more, that is where this story began. At 30,000 feet (or however high we are when we fly from Chicago to Florida), sitting in my seat reading a magazine named "More"...which until that day, I never knew existed. A magazine for women over 40? I was less than a year from my 5Oth birthday, so I was more than qualified and considered myself part of the female demographics they were attempting to engage. How had I missed hearing about this magazine? Oh well, I found it at the airport magazine stand so now it was time to lose myself with a light read on our way home from a great family visit in Chicago, where we had just celebrated the engagement of our son and his fiancée.

Something very interesting caught my eyes as I flipped through the pages...More was sponsoring a marathon for April in NYC for women over 40...what??? How many women over 40 could possibly want to participate in marathons?? Not really surprising that I was unaware of this tidbit of information...if you know me at all, you'd understand that I am as uninformed about female sports as I am about what language is spoken by the people who live in Tahiti. Apparently, More had been organizing this marathon for six years and the numbers of participants have continued to grow each year. I had never run in my life and had a distinct aversion to almost anything athletic. In high school, I recall trying to find a way to get out of gym class and would cringe each year when the President's Physical Fitness Test was added to our requirement for our Pass/Fail grade. I'd think to myself.....you want me to run HOW many times around the track??? And sorry, but sit-ups and pushups were not my idea of fun by any stretch of the imagination. So, needless to say, I was shocked at myself for even considering reading the article, never mind that I actually checked out the website when we arrived home. The one thing that drew me back to the article...you could either run, walk or do a combination of both in the full marathon, or 1/2 marathon. What was I thinking??? It was being held in NYC...and I live in FL. I'd just left my son's engagement party and we had a busy year ahead with a wedding set for the fall. For no reason apparent to even me, I actually began to consider the training program and how I could combine a trip to visit my inlaws in New Hampshire, a quick run to Boston to see my daughter's new home and a drive through CT to visit with my mother and the rest of the family, on the way to NYC, all in a week's time. Now I knew it was a bit ambitious and crazy...but never put a problem that involves travel in front of me, I'll find a solution and add another leg to the journey to boot. And, after checking everyone's schedule, I arranged the entire trip, and I hadn't even begun training for the marathon. The logistics of all we intended to do, where we intended to drive to, who we intended to see, and where we intended to stay read like a 4 state, 4 city 1200 mile road trip. Which is exactly what it turned out to be...and it all worked pretty much exactly as planned.

But I'm jumping a bit ahead of myself....I needed to train for a 13 mile walk/run, and I'd NEVER run before...but that did not seem to be an issue...how hard could it really be??? I had one advantage over a majority of the other participants...I lived in Florida and the self monitored 4-month training sessions were set to begin in January, the most beautiful time of the year in south Florida. What a breeze that would be, no numb fingers or toes training in the harshest winter months of the year. Little did I know, I'd be wishing for some of those cool temps...I was bloody HOT during all those afternoons racing around my neighborhood. First hurdle, figure out the paths to take so that I was meeting the requirements for miles per day and time constraints per miles. I would need to complete my 13 miles in a certain amount of time or I would not be allowed to finish. The whole walk-a-minute run-a-minute was working quite well, until my knees decided they didn't like the pavement. Up until then, I'd been doing just fine on the treadmill. Someone forgot to tell me....it's not exactly the SAME. Silly me decided to try to run/walk 3.5 miles in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure in January during my 3rd week of training....big mistake. I was sent home from work and ended up on crutches with bursitis.


So much for a warm sunny day in South Florida...I was freezing...brrrrr

A week later, two ugly little stretchy black knee support braces were added to my training outfit, and off I went, back on track for April. Ultimately, I was able to fast-walk a 15 minute mile which would enable me complete the 13 mile course in the allotted time required by the rules of the marathon. I have always been a quick walker in my everyday life, so the increase in my speed was not something beyond my physical capabilities. I was determined to get through the training, fly up north, visit my family and complete this marathon. Our weeklong schedule was planned to go something like this:

--Wed arrive in Boston, meet Stacey and Scott
--Wed all drive to New Hampshire for 2 day visit with husband's parents
--Thur pick up Brian and Taryn at NH airport
--Thur goodbye to S & S, they travel back to Boston (S has class)
--Fri drive back to Boston with B & T to stay with S & S
--Fri night Red Sox game at Fenway (all except me-not my thing)
--Sat goodbye to B & T, hubby and I drive to CT for brunch at brother's house
--Sat afternoon drive to NYC
--Sat night at Tavern on the Green Central Park for pre-marathon pasta dinner
--Sat night hotel in NYC
--Sun MARATHON!
--Sun back to CT stay at Mom's
--Mon night meet friends for dinner, drive back to S & S in Boston
--Tues hang out, hit the airport and home

By the time we got on the plane, I was ready...I'd made it through the grueling training schedule with the help and motivation of my husband, family and friends. Three days a week, I'd train after work by myself walking the shorter distances. He would come with me on the weekends, when we took the 10, 11, 12 and eventually 13 miles walks, as I approached the end of the training sessions. Little side note here...my feet hate to be in shoes, they are just not happy campers in anything other than an open backed wedge, mule or flip flop. I often joke that we moved to Florida 10 years ago, because I wanted to spend the remainder of my life wearing only open toed shoes...and I gotta say, I am pretty much following that credo. No one told me that your feet take such a beating during the training...this was not something I had even considered in the planning stages. I'd done a lot of research on the proper running shoes, and even purchased 2 nice pair of Adidas sneakers with the thought that I'd swap them out to keep both in good condition for the marathon. Well, 300 blisters and 400 band aides later, my feet still hated being in those sneakers. After I left NYC, and before we flew home, I gave that almost new pair of sneakers to my daughter because I knew, and my feet concurred, that I'd never be walking in those things again!!! As a matter of fact, I still have a brand new pair, in the box in my closet...perhaps I should have them bronzed :)


All of us together in New Hampshire


Our day in Boston was warm and sunny...this is just about the time I lost my prescription glasses and had to fit one more stop into our trip through CT. Thank goodness you can buy glasses in an hour!


My love affair with seafood is never ending...yummy


There is always room for dessert..like mother, like daughter...love the gelato :)

Time to carb up...that should not have been an issue, I'd been eating 3 days nonstop


Bright sunny morning in Central Park

So, you may be wondering if I ever did reach my goal and complete the half marathon, in Central Park, in New York City, on that beautiful spring morning??? Through no fault of my own, I did NOT walk the full 13 miles...the folks at More magazine decided that due to the record breaking heat wave that descended upon the city that weekend, they would not be allowing anyone to finish the race/run and cut everyone's distance in half. (In a race in another state, a few days prior to our particular marathon, a participant had collapsed and eventually died as the result of running in record breaking high temperatures). Although I completely understood the safety issues involved, I had to wonder at their concerns because I didn't even feel the heat that day...I'd trained in some pretty warm temps, so the weather felt the same to me. Not even sure if I broke a real sweat during my entire walk. There were some ladies who were dripping wet before we even started the race. The walk was a challenge for me in only one respect...I'd trained almost exclusively on flat terrain and the hills in Central Park were kicking my butt at one point. We took a few of our weekend walks up and down one of the bridges here in town, but let's face it, Florida is not well know for having hills or mountains, unless of course, you count sand dunes?

We all crossed the finish line and were awarded our medals, however for me, it felt like a hollow victory....almost as if I'd cheated to get it. My initial reaction was to plan a return trip the following year, and complete the entire 1/2 marathon. On our long drive back through CT, heading towards Boston, I reflected on all the reasons I'd attempted something so far outside my comfort zone. Never mind what other people thought, even I couldn't believe I'd be crazy enough to attempt something so physically challenging. Remember, I'm the gal who hated gym class as a teenager, and thought an indoor treadmill would be a sufficient training tool for a marathon. In 2009, I turned 50 years old..... it just seemed to be sufficient reason to strike out, into a athletic arena which was foreign to me, and attempt to prove to myself that I had the tenacity to attain a goal as lofty as this one.


Across the finish line and still fresh as a daisy...my training days in South Florida were tougher than the actual marathon.....love those cute little knee support braces...NOT!!!

As a result of my self-imposed challenge, I discovered a few things and lost a few things during my 50th year...some very important and dear to me, only one, insignificant and fleeting in nature. I lost my fear of setting a goal which initially seemed unattainable. I sadly lost a small toe nail (it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to grow back, yuck), which in and of itself solidifies my decision never to do that to my poor little toes ever again. I discovered that the love of a daughter-in-law is invaluable to the very foundation of our continuously growing family. And lastly, I gained the knowledge that it is never too late to push yourself either mentally of physically, no matter what year of your life you happen to be living in...just go out there and do it!

They come into our lives....and steal our hearts away

I still have distant memories of just how quickly, at the age of 10, my heart was stolen by my very first furry friend. At the time, I was in grammar school and my mother happened to be volunteering for lunch duty that day. Which for her in those days, was quite a feat. With 6 children at home, I'm not sure where she found the time to make the 40 minute round trip drive back and forth to our school. At some point in the morning, I recall glancing out the classroom window and seeing a tiny white kitten sitting on the cement roof of the stairs that led down to our basement cafeteria. I thought nothing more of it until I arrived home from school and saw that we had a new member of the family, except this one had a sweet pink nose and two pointed ears, with so much fluffy white fur, he resembled my mother's powder puff...and that's exactly how he got his name...Puff. He slept with me and I instantly became his caretaker. At first, I was scratching my head.... here was my mother, who had no time or energy to care for another living thing, yet she had taken it upon herself to rescue this lost little kitten from our school yard. I didn't give it another thought, he was now my responsibility and I considered myself incredibly lucky to have a my own pet in a busy household shared by 8 people. My brothers had no interest in a kitten, and my little sister and 4 year old baby brother, would tease him and run away. It became apparent to me, that this kitten would need my protection and love, if it was going to survive in our large family. I fed him little pouches of tender vittles and watched him grow. Years later he'd had enough with all the kids running around the house, and decided to make the woods behind our house his personal hunting grounds. He was a tough old boy as he aged, and would come back to visit every once in a while, climbing up the back steps to look for a plate of food. It would be another 20 years before another animal would come into my life and steal my heart away.

They say that only bad things come in threes...well that could not be further from the truth for me. In the mid 90's I was pet sitting for my mother's little shitzu, Christi, and whenever she would come back from vacation to take her home, I felt such sadness saying goodbye to her dog. It was time for us to get a pet, and although I love all animals, my heart knew a kitten would be perfect for our family of four. The whole walking the dog in the cold and wet weather, just didn't appeal to me...a litter box was right up my alley. Not being the most patient person once I've made up my mind, I called around and found a local vet who had recently rescued a litter and had a few left to adopt out. I made a beeline for his office and came home with a sweet female, who we named Indy--short for Independence, she was born on the 4th of July. It had been so long since I'd had a pet, I rushed to the library to find a book and read all I could about raising a kitten. First and foremost, it suggested getting a second kitten to keep the 1st one company. So, I marched right back to the vet, picked out her brother, took him home and we named him Rocket. They were quite the pair and kept us entertained all day, running around after each other morning, noon and night.


They always curled up together to sleep.

About a month later, my brother from California was moving back east and needed someone to watch his grown cat while he got settled in NYC. I was a little leery at first, here I was with two brand new kittens, and I had a cat cousin to add to the mix. We went from a no pet household to a 3 pet household in the short span of three months.



She was full of piss and vinegar, and ran circles around those two boys.


Poor Junior, my camera didn't capture his beautiful eyes.


Rocket loved to crawl up on my lap and find a comfy spot to sleep.


They were such happy cats, never mischievous or sneaky.


She waited for me to come to bed, she loved curling up around my neck to sleep.

We fell in love with Junior, his big blue/grey eyes just made my heart melt...he was ours from that day forward, my brother was just outta luck. Those three cats continued to be a part of our lives as the kids left home and went off to college. In the spring of 2000, we'd had enough of the horrible New England winters and decided to move from CT to FL. By August, there we were with the three of them, in their cages in the back seat of the car, driving down 95 heading toward warm, sunny skies. They were an important part of our family for almost another 10 years, until one by one, we sadly said goodbye. It broke my heart each time one of them left us. In 2010, for the first time in 30 years, it was just Roger and I at home. We knew with all the traveling we did, it would not be a smart move to start over again, with another animal who would come into our lives....and steal our hearts away.

This summer, we were so excited to hear that our daughter and our soon-to-be son in law, were planning on adopting a rescue puppy. As much as Stacey had always loved cats, Scott is allergic and a dog seemed to be a great fit for them now that they had a house, with a nice backyard. We absolutely fell in love with the newest member of the family...Otis is our new grand puppy and we could not have been happier to welcome this sweet little boy into our hearts. Although they live in Boston, they generously share pictures and videos of all of his cute puppy antics. It pleases me to no end to see what loving and caring pet parents they have both become, in such a short period of time. We anxiously wait for updates on his progress and look forward to the day we get our first doggy kiss from this adorable, playful puppy. There will alway be room in my animal-lover's heart for the pets that I encounter along the way...I just wish I could bring all of them home. I couldn't be more proud of both Stacey and Scott, as I watch their love and commitment grow for each other and this beautiful animal who has come into their lives..... and stolen their hearts away.


New puppy sleeping on his daddy's lap.


Not small for now....Otis was quickly growing into his long legs and floppy ears


He has the sweetest face


Never more happy than when he is outside with his Mommy.


He loves the water and can keep Scott very busy


No longer a small puppy, he has outgrown Scott's lap in 4 short months


Sleepy boy, sweet boy


He has truly stolen my heart away...

"I" almost missed the boat

So, by personal choice, I pretty much don't read the newspaper, unless you count my eyes grazing the daily front page headlines of the Palm Beach Post as it lays on the mailroom counter at work....which is usually followed with the rolling of my eyes into the back of my head as I cringe with disgust. I also do everything within my power to avoid the local and national newscast each day on television (not difficult to do if you rarely turn on the tv). Why don't I indulge in one of America's favorite obsessions you might ask??? Well, that's a whole other story. However, I do make one exception to this self-imposed avoidance of anything newsworthy.....I tune in when a storm is approaching the southeast coast of Florida. Then all bets are off, and I'm glued to the set like the rest of the millions of avid-but-crazy hurricane watchers. Lastly, I only listen to XM radio in the car and have it tuned to the "Blue Collar Comedy" station during my 5 minute commute each day. I begin most days at work with a great big smile on my face after hearing incredibly silly jokes, which more often than not, cause me to laugh out loud. I sometimes sit in my car a minute or two after arriving in the parking lot, just to catch the punch line at the end of a comedian's set. Believe me, it is a great way to start the day...no one loves to laugh more than yours truly.

That being said, as a result of my decision to keep the oh-so-depressing and horrific reality of what goes on in the rest of the world, relegated to my peripheral vision, I've been known to miss out on the announcements of some of the new technological advances that enter the marketplace every few years. Back in early 2008, I had a slight indication that a new phenomena referred to as the IPhone was going to hit the techno world, and blow the pants off every other phone in the universe. Whatever! I didn't need a new phone and if it wasn't free, well then it was not on my radar or even a possibility. I dismissed it as I'd done in the past with other "latest and greatest" cell phone products. I'm one of those folks that was never over-the-moon about cell phones and, to the dismay of my husband, carried one for quite a long time without ever turning it on. HUH? Calm down...that was then...this is now. Up until recently, I had only owned the free phones that were offered by the service provider, at the beginning of each new contract. Pay for a cell phone....why....when they will give you a perfectly good one for "free"?

Little did I know that not only had my daughter purchased an IPhone, along with the other millions of Apple enthusiasts (ya, I'm hadn't become one of those either), she would have it with her when she came for a visit to South Florida to celebrate my birthday in September that year. She and I had set aside some time for a mother-daughter trip, with the intention of meeting up with the remainder of the family at the end of the week in South Beach. My first introduction to this shiny, sleek, miracle-in-a-protective-black sleeve, was all it took to reel me in....apps, Internet and photos...I was hooked. I ran her battery down at every opportunity, she rarely had it in her hand as my mitts were in constant possession of this new found pal. It was love at first sight, and as I sadly said goodbye to the phone at the end of the weekend, (and Stacey, Brian and Taryn of course), in my mind, I was already making a beeline to my local AT&T store. The rest is history....I purchased my own and we've had an ongoing love affair ever since we first met the fateful fall day. I have chosen to be faithful to my old (in techno years, it is now an antique I believe) 3G--no upgrades for this gal. I mean really who needs it, mine works perfectly fine...when I remember to sync it with my non-Apple laptop for updates. Yikes!

The following year, I once again hid my head in the proverbial sand (I live in FL--there is a ton of that stuff around here), and completely missed all the hubbub surrounding the introduction of the IPad. A new fangled Apple computer...I didn't need that, my laptop worked perfectly fine. Whatever....ummm.....not so fast. Although I had missed the long months of media buildup, pre-order madness, and then the initial world launch, I was just a little bit intrigued by what I was beginning to refer to as a jumbo, be-still-my-heart..... IPhone. It had the potential to, and just might actually, take the place of my 3 year old, heavy, outdated, cumbersome (oh come on...it sounded good) laptop. So, in mid-May, just for ha-ha's....I found myself in our local Apple store, which was a first for me...I had no idea where it was located and had to actually stop and ask for directions in the mall.

All I can say......it had me at "slide to unlock"

Unfortunately, the next question to present itself...3G or not to 3G (ya, I know I'm wearing that one out--humor me). Happy to say it was a question for a nano second....once you go 3G, there is no going back...WiFi??? I don't think so!!!! I placed the order, then waited (I am soooo not patient) 20 very long, painful days while it was shipped from the factory on a slow boat from China...well maybe not a boat, but it still took almost 3 weeks to arrive and it did come from the factory in China. Yes, that is my punishment for ignoring the techno news world that surrounds me on every level. But then again, I didn't get caught up in the year long (or however long it was), anticipatory wave of news media frenzy that the rest of the world was was floating along on...I made the decision to buy one and then 3 "short" weeks later (we were traveling out of state when it arrived--UGH), I had it in my hot little hands...so in my bizarre mind, I was ahead of the game. What you don't know about....can't cause you unnecessary angst, while playing the mind-numbingly endless months and/or years of the techno-release waiting game.

My IPhone now has a rival for my affection....it's name is IPad...they would soon learn to share my attention, but let's face facts....it's no longer necessary for me to continue to use my IPhone to its full potential.....as difficult as it is to admit....my IPhone would never again be 1st in my eyes...and that will just have to be good enough. My IPad goes with me just about everywhere and allowed me, with the greatest of ease, to blog my way through our 12-night cruise in the Mediterranean. I'm also pleased to say, that although it has now fallen to 2nd place in my heart, my IPhone continues to serve me well, gets regular sync sessions with my laptop, and will always have a place of honor in my heart as my very first Apple "I"

For someone who enjoyed apple picking as a child, attended high school next door to an apple orchard, and still looks forward to the nice crisp candy apple at Disney, I've only just recently learned a whole new appreciation for taking that first important "bite" of each techno season's "crop" of new Apples


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Don't worry...be happy...just remember to buy the trip insurance before you leave home

I was very sad to hear this week that the Century was having mechanical issues and had to cancel it's 10-13-10 European cruise only two days into the trip. It was to be her last european cruise of the season, before heading across the atlantic for the winter caribbean sailings. Over the last 48 hours, I've been following all the posts on the Cruise Critic website, along with one cruise passenger's personal blog, and another USA Today article which has some unhappy passenger's quotes about the situation. My heart goes out to all the passengers and the crew members as well. The only silver lining I can see in this incident....they were close to the port and not far out to sea when the troubles occurred.

Having only been back from our trip on the Century for two weeks, I keep trying to put myself in the shoes of all those passengers who have been put off the ship in Villefranche-sur-Mer near Nice. I have read that many are floundering for a way to finish out their vacations, in a foreign country, with absolutely no reservations for lodging or transportation. Some have been fortunate enough to finally get through to travel agents back home, who worked through the night to arrange alternate vacation plans. Others found their way without assistance from anyone and are currently traveling through europe making the best of a bad situation. Kudos to all of them!


Century anchored at sea waiting to disembark her passengers so that she can slowly make her way to Marseille for dry dock and repairs to her rudders.

We tend to take for granted that once we reserve our cruise, and make that final payment in full, that we are guaranteed a stress free, enjoyable vacation. Well, I'm guessing there are very few of us that could even imagine what some of these vacationers are going through right now. I, for one, think back to our second day on board, and realize we would have missed every port and all of the wonderful memories we now have of our Mediterranean cruise. It is such a shame for everyone involved, including the crew, when a mechanical failure abruptly turns your cruise vacation upside down. Far from home, not speaking the language, with limited internet and telephone service to contact a loved one or travel agency back home, is a situation I hope never to experience. However, this is not the first, nor will it be the last time something like this occurs. Ships malfunction more often than the avid cruise enthusiast wants to believe. We never expect it to happen during our vacation, and when it does, the results can be devastating to travelers with no contingency plans.

We travel 3-4 times during a 12 month period, and only just recently, in the last few years, have we begun to purchase travel insurance for some of our more extensive and expensive trips. Being able to drive to 4 ports here in Florida, makes our chances of missing a ship, slim to none. More often than not, when we book a 3-hour flight to see family, we don't feel that the expense is a loss we could not overcome, if circumstances forced us to miss the trip. The bottom line is now becoming more clear as I witness first hand, what some of these stranded passengers are experiencing. Not only do you need travel insurance (which should reimburse you AFTER you return home and fill out all the proper documents) to receive repayment for a lost vacation, you need reserve cash and/or a credit card with a generous credit line, in order to purchase an emergency substitute vacation, if and when the situation turns sour. This very lack of contingency planning has left some of these cruisers in a very unpleasant predicament. I'm not quite sure what I would have done, however, the idea of making the best of a sticky wicket, comes quickly to mind.

The cruise line is clearly unable to process revised travel arrangements for the 2000+ passengers on board. The ship is clearly not staffed for an emergency situation that requires these types of transactions. It has been noted that Celebrity, while efficient at taking care of cruise passengers while they are at sea, is lacking in it's experience and ability to handle these situations, once the vacationers are actually no longer on the ship. It is my understanding that the cruise line will reimburse all passengers the full fare 100%, offer a 25% discount on a future cruise and provide them with $250 cash to change current airfare bookings. They also offered to passengers that chose to return to the port of embarkation, buses to get them back to Barcelona (10 hour bus ride because France is in the middle of a transit strike). Please understand the first hurdle for everyone onboard, was to physically get off the ship via a tender. Villefranche is a tender port, which means the ship does not dock, passengers are ferried to shore on small boats...luggage and all. Just think what that would be like for 2000+ passengers....not to mention anyone who is traveling with children and/or a huge amount of luggage (like yours truly).

So bottom line, what do I take away from all of this information and the experiences of my fellow cruise addicted travelers...BE PREPARED!!!!! Whether it is an international cell phone, an IPad, a credit card with a couple thousand in accessible funds or a great travel agent back home who you can rely on morning, noon or night (I'm a do-it-yourself gal, but others swear by their TA). Don't rely on others or the cruise line to come to the rescue during a vacation disaster...be proactive and strike out on your own if need be. The little, teeny, tiny, eensy, weensy bumps (trying to make a comparison here folks--even though I completely understand these people are a 1000 times more unfortunate than we were) we encountered on our recent cruise taught us to pucker up, get out those squeezing machines, and be ready to turn lemons into lemonade. I'll always hope for the best, but being prepared to roll with the punches makes for a more enjoyable adventure on land or at sea.

Hmmm....I may be rethinking our 18-night cruise on this very same ship, the Century, across the Pacific from Hawaii through Tahiti ending in Sydney next year....then again, maybe not. Although I would never be pleased to hear that any interrupted or canceled cruises are in the near future for us.....being stranded on Tahiti would not be an altogether unpleasant situation!



Our itinerary for next fall...keeping our fingers crossed :)

As my fellow cruise addicts like to say....a bad day at sea is ALWAYS better than a good day at work :)

Happy cruising....

To blog or not to blog....that is the question?

Well, here goes nothing, or maybe it will be something...who knows at this point? I started this blog almost 2 years ago, and I stopped writing this blog almost 2 years ago...see a pattern here? It's not that I haven't thought about it, the fact that I actually started one sometimes amazes me. The reality that I recently started and finished my travel blog absolutely astounds me...so why not continue the effort when I'm not traveling??? Well, I've been asking myself that very same question for the last 15 days since we returned home from our trip. And I just couldn't come up with a valid reason not to revisit this one again. First and foremost, I really do love to write. That's a pretty good reason right there, because at this stage of my life, doing something I love to do is a top priority for me. We spend a good portion of our lives doing things we may not be particularly fond of...and that's probably sugar-coating it, just a bit. After following along and reading my recent blog, a few close friends and family members ("F&F") encouraged me to continue my writing. So, I've set myself a goal of blogging at least once a day...on subjects that may have little or no value to anyone other than myself. But then again, isn't that what blogging is all about, us talking to ourselves without the input of others. Unless of course you count the comments, but those are easily ignored if you so choose. And to be perfectly honest, other than a few F&F, very few of my readers (and I've had almost 10,000 hits from readers in 10 different countries on the blog to date), have left any comments.

I guess it is time for one of my disclaimers, which I usually put at the beginning of my writing as a type of warning system for unsuspecting readers. I suppose I could just cut, paste and revise the one I wrote from my cruise/food blog...perhaps I shouldn't be so lazy...who me???? Here are the things, in no particular order, that I will be ignoring in this blog....

-proper sentence structure
-punctuation

Oh brother, who am I kidding??? I'm not taking the time to write this all out again...cut, paste and revise is all the effort I'm gonna make folks...maybe the cliff notes version will suffice....I'll do my best to make it short and swe.....sorry no sweet here!

"I can promise you right now, my entries will not and shall not be in any way, shape or form a grammatically correct blog. It will be full of punctuation, spelling and various other writing faux pas...and that folks is just the way it's gonna be...sorry in advance. I will also apologize in advance for some of my other bad writing habits, or speaking ones for that matter...you will be witness to my horrific run on sentences....my perpetual........separating of thoughts.....with theses.........dot, dot, dots....and of course, my long winded rants....whether you want to hear it or not. Selfishly I'll state, that this blog is as much for me as it is for you. I enjoy going back and reading about parts of my life, and let's face it, when the alzheimers really kicks in, it will be the only way for me to recall my thoughts and opinions about various issues. You've been warned, I try to be fair and include one of these disclaimers at the beginning of all my writing...proceed at your own risk. And for those of you who see me in person on a daily, or not so daily occurrence, sorry if I am repetitive....I'm very guilty of that faux pas as well. When trying to make a point, or when I'm am very passionate about a subject, I tend to repeat an entire statement once or twice....I blame it all on being raised in a large family...if you wanted to be heard, you'd repeat yourself until someone paid attention....what can I say...old habits die hard."

Hopefully that wasn't too painful, if so.... you continued reading...not my fault.

So, back to the subject at hand, writing....I tend to do it all the time, morning, noon and night...where do I do all this writing you might ask...In My Head of course....I'm just too lazy to actually stop the thought process for even a moment to write anything down. So all my thoughts get lost in the nether regions of my mind....and, perhaps, that is a good place for them to stay...or maybe not :) it can get awfully crowded in this brain of mine...must be time to open the flood gates and let just a little bit out at a time. Hold on to your hats, my thoughts have been set free and there is no stopping them now. Or is there??? Is there such thing as blog police? I gotta tell you, I've even reading some blogs recently, and some of them are unexpectedly raunchy and pretty harsh...from people I would least expect it from. Then again, you don't really know about a person until you've read the thoughts, that until recently, they've kept secreted away in their heads, just before they commit them to the type written word. Some might be saying the same about me in the not too distant future...only time will tell.

So the question of the day...what am I going to blog about....and why blog at all? A friend of mine mentioned to me after I returned from my trip, that her husband (who was also following along and reading my blog) asked the very same question, why is Joanne blogging? My initial response and honest answer was "because I can" but even more so, because I love to write and eat. No matter if anyone reads it, if I find pleasure in it, that is really all that should matter. They say you should always write about what you know, who doesn't know about eating??? We all do it a few times a day, and whether it is interesting or not, I like to also write about it. Most of the time, my eating regimen is pretty dull, then again, I don't really have what most folks would refer to as normal eating habits...it just works for me.

I will also continue to blog when we travel...we have some trips scheduled for the remainder of the year and for a good portion of next year.

And finally, I'll write about me, my life, and how it all relates to my friends and family. Just the typical, normal life of an everyday 51 year old, grey haired, middle class woman, living out her remaining years in Florida, married to her childhood sweetheart and finding the joy in this craziness we call life.

So, after a false start back in the fall of 2008, and with the assistance of my trusty IPad, my constant companion in all of this, I will once again begin my blog. Thanks to those of you who are tagging along for the ride...I can promise you nothing except a glimpse into this far from normal mind of mine...the one my husband perpetually refers to as "cute".... you just can't argue with a man still in love after 37 years :)


Finally, a picture of me not eating or drinking something. Actually this is from one of my many hours of writing on our trip. As a matter of fact, I had just experienced an "uh oh" moment when that kind stranger found my camera connection kit on the ground and returned it to me. We were heading back to Salerno from Capri on the ferry, to once again board the Century on our way to Venice. Boy, we miss that ship...so sorry to hear she is having major issues...more on that later.