On the road again...

Well almost. We had a nice time in Arkansas visiting my friend and today we're taking a little detour to see my aunt. It takes us a couple of hours out of the way but she is so excited to see us, and I think I was in the Army the last time I saw her so it was many many moons ago. She really wants us to stay the night but she owns many many many cats. Way too many for my comfortability and so I don't think we're going to stay. I can't remember he exact number of cats she owns but the number is more then 10! She also has several cats she feeds that she doesn't let inside, yep, she's the crazy cat lady, LOL. Actually she's not crazy but that's just way too many cats. I won't let Nancy own more then 1.

The fam is still sleeping. I'm going to hop into the shower then make their butts get up so we can get on the road. We still need to pack up, get some breakfast, get gas, stop at Starbucks (for Kim) so it'll be over an hour before we get on the road. I told my Aunt she'd get a 3 hour notice which is how long it'll take us to get there, LOL.

So tonight we're going to try and drive all night. Kim doesn't have a lot of hope but I think we can do it. I only need a break for a little while. Oh, I should buy some energy drinks today too! Guess, I better hit the shower!

PS: My aunt is anti-internet so I won't be checking in from her house, LOL. Yes we are very different!

12:30 PM (pacfic time)

Since Leiha left Alabama this morning at 7:00 pacific time she has driven through Alabama, Mississippi, and is now 6 miles from Tennessee. The gang is hanging out at the Flying J getting snacks and gas. (keep your fingers crossed that the car doesn't break again).

The highlight of this leg of the trip? Well driving on the Jim Neighbors Highway of course! We all love a little Gomer Pile :)

While Leiha slept she put Kim and Jordan in charge... So Kim had Jordan watch for cops while she sped to make up for Leiha's careful drivin style LOL. I think she cut an hour off her time.

I finally figured out how to put a map of the trip in the blog... so here it is.
A= Daytona Beach FL
B= Opelika AL (the unplaned overnight trip)
C= Van Buren AR (Sat overnight stay)
D= Forsyth MO (Aunt Lona's house)
E= Portland!
I will update stops as the gang makes stops across the country!

View Larger Map

It's a quarter til 8am...

and there is no sign of life at the Hyundai dealership. I did call to find the hours out and the service dept is supposed to be open at 7:30am but apparently that is a flexible start time LOL. I slept like crap in the hotel no-tell. When we pulled in the clerk was asleep in the back. I think he lives there and is the owner. The room was sweltering when we got in and the a/c sounded like a helicopter was in the room all night. I only brought my toothbrush in, didn't feel like unloading. Beginning at 5am I woked up every half an hour and checked the time. I tried to do a wakeup call but the room phone didn't work, LOL. So I had Kim and my phone set. I wanted up and out as soon as possible. Finally at 7 I got up, brushed my teeth and headed out. No reason for the others to get up.

The roads are not major highways so I drove for awhile until I felt comfortable giving the reins to Kim and I chatted with Nancy. 10 minutes later Kim asks why my check engine light came on. It was about 1am. I thought maybe Jordan didn't tighten the gas cap enough even though I told him to. I'm teaching that boy to pump gas, never too soon to learn, LOL. So I get out and tighten it but we notice the idle is really rough which has never happened before when I didn't tighten the gas cap enough so we went across the street tot he gas station. Kimberly called my brother while I talked to Nancy. My brother was trying to talk us thru some things but I am not a car person. I checked what I thought was the oil but turns out was the transmission fluid. Hey, it had a dipstick LOL. I had gotten my oil changed at the dealership last week. Got my tires taken care of and thought my car was road ready. After an hour of fiddling around and not knowing what we were doing, with some help from a kind stranger we decided to get a hotel and go to the dealer. I didn't want to chance it since it also ran rough. I don't think it's anything major and it's still under warranty, I just hate the waste of time. We had planned on being in Arkansas this afternoon. Now we'll be driving!

The loading of the truck wasn't too bad. Both Kim and Jordan were rockstars and we had some construction workers help us load the heavy stuff since the truck didn't have a ramp. It took awhile and once we got the truck loaded we had to wait for te driver to come back 3 hours later but eventually we hit the road after eating a final meal at the Brickyard. The Cincinnati Kid hooked us up with food for the road. Too bad it was all fried so about midnight we threw it out. It was taking up room and we didn't think it would travel well, too bad, it had chicken tenders, fried shrimp, poppers, shrimp jammers and friend mushrooms. Su would have been in heaven.

Alright it's 8am, where is everybody? The good news is I was able to connect to the net while waiting in my car. Thank goodness for wireless internet! Will be back later with more info.

Update
Oops, turns out I’m now currently in the central time zone so technically I’ve been outside the dealership since 6:30am! Oh the horror, LOL. Not like I was sleeping well anyway. Kim better be ready to do some driving this afternoon! She’s sleeping like a baby. Actually I felt bad for her because shortly before the car went kaput she took an energy drink since it was her shift to drive, LOL. I have no worries though, I'm sure that chick got to sleep right away, she has a gift.

Update 2It was a bad coil, whatever that is, LOL. The good news is it's covered warranty and I'm fixed and ready to go. Got to hit the road now. Look for updates via Nancy.

2:35 Friday Morning

Well... no need to wonder where Leiha will be in the morning after I wake up. Shortly after our update and the last gas station that was not for peeing Leihas check engine light came on and the car was running rough.

They are spending the night in the lovely town (at least we think it is lovely, it is hard to tell in the dark) of Aubun AL.


View Larger Map

They are staying at the University Inn - and are going to be at the Hyundai dealership bright and early at 7:30 am.

Here is the gorgeous room you get in Auburn AL for the cheap cheap price of 65.00. I will get up early and check in to keep everyone posted.

12:30 am Friday Morning

Leiha just passed into Alabama on the Corn, Elk and Cow Parkway... what was that? Oh, the Collin L Powell Parkway LOL! So far they have been through three states, one Dairy Queen and three gas stations (one gas station was just to pee though). Not bad.

Kim is at the wheel, Jordan is navigating and Leiha is just telling everyone what to do.

I am going to bed now... and when I wake up they will still be driving, how weird is that? Where do you think they will be when I check on them at 6:30 my time - 9:30 their time? Stay tuned.

She is on her way home! Kind of...

Well I am now posting for Leiah because the mean internet company came and took her modem! The truck arrive bright and early at 9am, Kim and Jordan rocked and they had the truck packed and ready to go by 1.

They called and found out the truck people wont be back until 5 so the dream team went to the Brickhouse for a goodbye lunch. Now they are waiting around for one more hour before they can leave.

I (hopefully - technical problems you know...) have posted a map of their proposed route and I will keep everyone posted on their route.

OK - No map for now till I figure out how to post it... but the total trip is 3230 miles with a total time of 49 hours and 36 minutes. Their first stop is 17 hours from when they take off tonight at 5:30 - thank goodness for energy drinks!

Nancy B

Sorry

That I haven't been around to post. My nephew and sister came in last week and we had the band stay with us this weekend, talk about a packed house, LOL. We also did Disney on Tue and on top of all that I needed to get the house packed up. Kim and Jordan are already in bed and I'm heading that way soon. I will have to play catch up when I get to OR. I will have my trust companion Nancy check in for me while I'm road warrioring it. I will be making a couple of stops, my aunt wants us to stop and I have a friend who I want to see. I wish I had time to visit more people but I need to get to WA in time for my stuff. My things are going to Nancy's so after I get to OR I'll be heading to WA. The drunk who I was going to have help load didn't call back, imagine that so we'll be loading ourselves tomorrow and then heading out. It's going to be a long long day. The good news is, we've already bought some road food. The bad news is, we've already gone thru our bag of funions, LOL.

another farewell...

Monday I gave Jenna (in case you don't know is world famous roofer author Gennita Low) a call because I wanted to see her before I left. Luckily she was able to re-schedule her plans for Tue nightso we could meet for some sushi! She had a place that she wanted me to try out. We met at her house since it was closer to her place but we did switch cars and rode the Low-mobile, a convertible Lexus, shwing! I was worried my hair would fly all over but that didn't happen at all. It was a wonderful ride.

Dinner was wonderful. We got a couple of apps, the crab rangoon and the chicken yakatori, which is basically chicken skewers. Very tasty. Then we split the dragon boat which was the perfect amount of sushi for the both of us.We're very happy, our food is here. Don't worry, I also got a closeup of the sushi, LOL. The dragon roll was fantastic. They use smoked salmon on it, tasty!

We spent the dinner talking about any and everything. Jenna always gives me the scoop on what's happening in the romance world. This woman has her finger on the pulse of everything. Dinner went by much too fast and before you know it it was time to say goodbye but not before we took one last picture together.

Su and Nancy Do Seattle

she said/she said

Day One
SU: My hubby and his in-laws drove me up to Alki in West Seattle to meet up with Nancy at Salty’s restaurant. This fabulous joint has a buffet brunch on the weekends. I was seized with panic when I saw how much food was available. Would I be able to take it all in? Would my stomach be able to stretch enough to accommodate all the bulging plates of food I was about to stuff into it?

NANCY: You have to agree that Su and I showed great restraint at our measly four plates when presented with the obscene gobs of food goodness. It was so great to see Su's family, her hubby is just about the greatest guy ever!

SU: I think Nancy and I had only four plates each. We decided not to go too crazy. After our light snack, we decided to explore a cute little park that Nancy had spied earlier as she was driving in circles trying to find the restaurant. As I was taking in nature and all its wonders, Nancy snuck up behind me and pushed me down. Unfortunately, I was at the top of a hill and couldn’t keep myself from rolling down it at great speed. All I could hear above my own screams were Nancy’s maniacal cackles. That horrible sound still haunts me when I close my eyes at night.

NANCY: Hummm, I think Su must have hit her head somewhere during her tumble down that hill. We had just asked a nice couple to take our picture when she yelled HILL at the top of her lungs and threw herself off the hill and she started rolling down the hill at breakneck speed. She frightened away the nice couple with her maniacal screaming descent.
SU: In a fiendish attempt to knock me down again, she rolled down the hill herself and tried to head butt me. I was barely able to dodge her considerable noggin. I was so dizzy that I could barely stand. It took us a while, but we eventually made it back to the car, covered in grass stains.

NANCY: Being the good friend I am I threw myself down the hill risking life, limb and dog poo to save my good friend Su from an unfortunate collision with the blackberry bushes. Yes - that is how I show how much I care - roll down a big steep hill and eat grass for my friends!

SU: Nancy decided Jake (her little angel cat) needed a new scratching post. We stopped at a cute pet shop and found the perfect one for little Jake. The ladies at the front counter sprayed the whole thing with catnip essence. Guess the catnip made Nancy feel pretty cocky, so she decided to share her mojo with the rest of the world. Namely, this meant holding out the scratching post from her hips like a penis and running around the neighborhood touching people with the tip of it. Ewwww!!

NANCY: The best part of this story is me being "sneaky". I was carrying the scratching post out of the store and noticed it might look a little phallic. I turned to Su and in the quietest voice ever called her to look. Turns out I was not as sneaky or quiet as I thought and the two gals working at the store had a good laugh. They were the first victims of the pole tip touching.
SU: Once we got back to Nancy’s place, we started getting ready for the weekend. I played around on the computer while Nancy scrambled around packing. We made a quick dash to Borders so I could pick up a few books and off we went to our lovely 0.5 star mot-hell. The female employee who checked us in was surly and wore too much make-up. She couldn’t wait to get rid of us. I’m surprised she didn’t try to spit on us. She was in desperate need of a BOB that attaches to a car battery.

NANCY: Scrambled around getting ready does not properly describe the three trips I had to make back in the house because I had forgotten stuff that we had to have for our trip starting on day two. Little things like our tickets and my birth certificate to go across the border, just small little things. Yeah - that girl at the hotel counter was a cow!! When I asked to move to a room with two beds there was no way to help me because I made my reservations on-line, but when I asked about their fancy suite suddenly she could move me. Then she decided she was done helping me and asked the person behind me if she could help them, Really? Come on, I get riled up when I think about it GRRRR. Su was there with her calm demeanor (she hadn't started drinking at this point) to keep me from climbing over the desk and choking her.

SU: On the bright side, our room was perfectly fine. Not the best, not the worst. When I called down for extra towels, housekeeping presented them to me within five minutes. Not bad! While we were getting ready to go out, Sarah, one of Nancy’s awesome friends was at the hotel bar eating a snack. It took us a while to get ready because I’m always slow, and Nancy was curling her hair. I swear, that girl is a goddess when she does her hair. She looked amazing.

NANCY: The hair police have been issuing citations so I bought some hot rollers and curled my hair for the first time in YEARS. Poor Sarah was stuck waiting while I ran around asking Su, "Do the rollers go in like this?", "Are they done yet?", "Do I look like a freak?". Once we picked all the grass off us from rolling down the hill we decided I wouldn't scare children so we headed out for the evening.

SU: We were finally ready to head out around 7ish and decided to hit the Pink Door. Twist and Purple were the other two places we considered, but we were short on time and didn’t know exactly where they were located, so we opted for a sure thing. Thank goodness Sarah offered to drive, she new exactly where to go. She’s got brains, looks, and great taste!! Did I mention she is the proud momma of two dachshunds?

NANCY: Not only was Sarah nice enough to drive but she apparently has Linda T's parking karma because we found a free parking spot just a half a block from the fabulous Pink Door (where she told me they have a pink mojito that will change your life). Someday we might let the angel-cat Jake meet the two sweet dachshunds but I worry for their safety.
SU: There was a 45 minute wait at the Pink Door, so we put our names on the wait list and went over to Kell’s for a couple of pints. Walking into Kells’s was like walking into a cave, dark and damp. Yup, a dark and damp cave filled with cute boys. No hardship here! After our beers and a little boy talk, we went back to the Pink Door to wait some more. One of the hosts there bought us a round of Pink Mojitos. Verra delish!

NANCY: Kells was yummy - Beer and men, what else is there to say? And then to get free drinks - OK anyone that knows me knows after my beer and free drink I was happy, happy, happy!

SU: Once we were seated, Nancy abandoned me and Sarah to look for Arturo. Her timing couldn’t be better because we got a chance to talk behind her back!! By the time Arturo and Nancy came back, we were digging into our garlic and cheese appetizer. Nancy and I split a salad with beets and the house special risotto. Sarah had pasta with meat sauce that was totally divine.
NANCY: Yeah, I went out to help Arturo find a parking spot because I knew a parking garage really close that would be perfect! Turns out the parking garage was right where I remembered, but it was closed! After driving around for far to long (ok like three minutes) I yelled pull in here - the first pay parking I could see. I said I would pay anything to get parked and back in the restaurant because there was no telling what those two were saying about me!
SU: Tragically, as I was exiting the ladies room at the Pink Door, the heel of my left boot broke. How totally craptastic! I said to myself, “Screw it! What would Vivica do?” Party on of course!! So, after touring Seattle by car with Arturo, our most fabulous designated driver, the three of us were off a great bar and dance club. We tinkled, drank, danced, drank, talked, drank, wandered around some alleys, drank, etc. By the time we left, I was a tiny bit blitzed!!

NANCY: Thank Goodness Vivi joined us! It is a shame it took a broken heel for her to come out but you know a night out is not the same without her. My friends loved meeting Su and Vivi, and it is so nice they believe my friends are real now. Su is right - we danced and drank and danced and drank - but only tinkled once! She was a good leader and had us leave early 12:20 so we could get sleep for our trip the next morning... and that would have been great if we hadn't had that last drink and gotten thirsty and hungry.

SU: Next thing I know, we are at a café of questionable reputation eating breakfast and laughing our asses off. Nancy had to fill me in on a few details which I had forgotten due to ass-kicking my brain cells were getting from all the alcohol. She said I wouldn’t stop banging on the front door of our hotel even though it wasn’t locked, and the front desk clerk was waving us in. I’ll eventually get the whole push/pull thing down. I also didn’t remember taking pictures of ourselves in bed. Not pretty when you can barely hold the camera. I didn’t remember changing out of my boots into sandals until halfway through breakfast when I noticed I didn’t have my boots on. Yup, I was sharp as a dull plastic spoon.

NANCY: Well the front door was locked when we got there, but as I was digging for my key Vivi decided we needed in ASAP and proceeded to bang on the door like a fiend. It is a good thing the the front desk guy (who is way cooler than the skank that checked us in) was used to dealing with drunks and buzzed us in. I love that Su cant remember taking off her boots - the ones that had a broken heel all night so she had to walk on her tippy toes. And notice how she is so blitzed she cant remember taking the picture but she looks so fabulous!?! It is a good thing I love her or I would hate her!

SU: I vaguely remember talking to the front desk guy about where to go for breakfast. When Nancy asked him if there was a place we could walk to, he said there was a diner nearby, but that it was a little dodgy. When Nancy asked him to clarify, he said that there weren’t fights there every night. We said “Great! We’re going!”

NANCY: The desk guy said there were not fights every night we asked what kind of food they had, come on, even drunk Su and I know what is important. When he told us cafe food that is when we yelled in tandem "Great! We're Going!"

SU: As I recall, I could barely read the menu or sit upright. I know we were loud and loved ourselves. Apparently, we were the best looking, coolest rock stars in the place. Everyone wanted to be like us in our drunken little minds. The food was greasy and good, so I had no complaints. Sometime during our meal, Nancy suggested that we call some of our friends to let them know how much fun we were having. I said, “No, Nancy. That just wouldn’t be right. What if our friends are sleeping? It would be wrong and dishonorable for us to wake them for our own enjoyment.” Nancy told me to shut my pancake hole and started drunk dialing away.

NANCY: The waiter had come to our table three times to take our order so I took control and just ordered what I wanted for both of us - Yummy! It really didn't seem like a rough place, it was just a bunch of rock and goth people hanging out. If it had been rough they would have beat the crap out of us for telling each other how cool we were and that we were the coolest people in the place.

SU: Only one brave soul answered. She was soooo sweet about it too. She was so understanding and loving. She told us to “have a blast”…or was it “I’ll kick your ass?” Hard to tell through all our devious snickering.

NANCY: Remember how Su has already admitted how parts of the night are spotty? Well SHE is the person who decided we should drunk dial a few people. It was when we were getting a ride home so I have backup on this by the way... She said "Let's call Leiha!" I said OH NO, she will kick my ass if we call her drunk, it makes her mad!" Somehow after that my phone was out and Leiha was wishing us well on our big night of fun. Since that call went so well we decided to call lots of other people... If you didn't get a call from us just be glad you have a spouse that we were frightened would kill us if we called at 5am. I finally sobered up in the middle of our last call... at 2:30 to my cousin in Portland.

SU: We eventually left after our 2 hour mutual admiration society breakfast meeting came to an end, and we walked/stumbled back to the hotel. I took a shower while Nancy took some z’s. I knew the next day was going to be rough, but damn, the fun was totally worth it.

NANCY: Yep - Su and I knew how great we were and really hoped we would make it up for the 6:30 am check in time the next day!

I got this em from Debbie D

and I thought I'd spread the word. It only took a sec.

If you're not already voting for one of the other lighthouses, please vote for this one. We're in desperate need of funds to repair it. Thanks, Debbie D

New Orleans Lakefront Lighthouse
I'm hoping ya'll will take a sec, (and it only takes a sec) to help out. Our lighthouse on Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans was destroyed by Katrina. Built in the 1890s, the lighthouse has been a lakefront landmark for years, guiding boats in and out of the Orleans Marina and the Municipal Yacht Harbor . Some of the original materials were salvaged and they're trying to rebuild it but of course it takes money the city doesn't have right now.

There is a company that restores lighthouses and has a contest going on right now to donate new windows and doors for a lighthouse in need of restoration, and the Canal lighthouse is on the list! PLEASE help out and vote for New Orleans !! Thanks ya'll!

Click the following link www.jeld-wen.com/lighthouse and then go to Vote Now and select Canal lighthouse/Louisiana.

The beginnings of the goodbyes...

Last week I told the girls at the lunch I'd try to do a pool party before we left. Even though our place is a mess and we have a ton of things to do (you know I have to start early for all of my breaks, LOL) I invited the girls to come up last Sat. Unfortunately only Elizabeth could make it. It was last minute. Lina made a greek salad which I always love and a spinach and cheese boreck which is like a hot pocket and picked up pastries at the middle east. We greeted E with a strawberry margarita, gabbed some in the house then headed to the pool. It was such a wonderful day we ended up spending at least 2 hours at the pool, if not more. We tried to talk her into staying to go out to see Disposable Heroes that night but she had a long drive ahead of her and had to work on Sunday.

After my much needed nap (isn't every nap much needed?) Lina and I got ready to go out to see the boys for one final time *sob*. They knew it was our last time seeing them and of course they were devastated. They may not have used that exact word but I'm sure that's what they felt, LOL.

Here is our evening in pics. It was so freaking hot Kenny changes shirts between sets and Mikey and Jeff don't bother with them. I was sweating up a storm, dancing the night away, unfortunately I didn't have a shirt to change into and even worse, I forgot my hair clip!





After the boys broke down we went to IHOP. Let me tell you, it takes awhile to break down. The good news is it gave me plenty of time to go home and change. They didn't even flinch at me wanting a pic at IHOP, LOL.

We had the boys crash at our place. I've been trying to sing karaoke with them for ages! I love this pic even though it's not me at my most flattering. It was about 5am at the time this was taken. I'd had a couple of shots over the course of the night, factor in my tiredness and my singing abilities did not blow them away, LOL.

It was fun having the boys to ourselves and of course Lina made a breakfast for them that had them drooling. It was a wonderful last night with them, except for the fact I found out about 3am that they're in town next weekend. Oops! So much for the last hurrah! It was the next to the last hurrah, LOL.

Moning Maniacs

OK so Sunday morning arrives and JK and Nes are supposed to head out to Tampa. JK has a cold and isn't feeling too well so we take that opportunity to pounce. He had an itinerary that he wanted to stick to but hey, he's the one who changed it originally. They were packed and ready to go. Nes was saying how much she wanted to say but JK was saying we were ready for them to leave. As if! Lina was saying how it would be fun to go to the beach bar that night and I was saying how close St Augustine was and it was originally on one of his itineraries so he wanted to go there. He got the hint and decided they could stay one more day. Jubilation all around.

Now Lina and I had plans that day to meet with a bunch of Karen's fans for lunch in Orlando. I would have loved Nes to join us fellow readers but I thought that would be pushing it so they were going to spend the day at St Augustine and we could all take our time.

At Ross I tried on a dress that Nes thought was too sweet for me, which of course meant it was perfect for my lunch and Lina already had the perfect dress and shoes to wear. I think my dress was under $20 and I'm actually wearing a bra! Othersied the dress flattens them and we can't have that happen, LOL. We all left at the same time. Marlene, a moning maniac who helped me with the set up f the luncheon also was able to hook Lina up with a mini-massage and me with a pedicure. I almost traded for the massage but I really needed the pedi. This was a hotel spa, so different then my normal loud rushed asian nail salons. I changed into a robe and slippers, not cause I really needed to but because I wanted to. There were cookies and tea in the changing area also. I wish I had more time to shove some cookies in my mouth but we were running late. I was the only person getting a pedi, it was so relaxing. She put a towel on my lap and a pillow behind my head and offered to recline my chair but I told her I'd be drooling if I did that. Of course, after I stopped yammering I eventually reclined and just enjoyed the process.

We rushed out of there to meet up with the gals. A couple didn't show up that I expected but Ana and Nally showed up to fill in the ranks so that was fun. It's always fantastic to meet up with other readers. When you can talk the books you love there's no awkward silences. Of course with me around, there very rarely is, LOL. One of the gals flew in from VA. She was telling her hubby about it and he made fun of her so she booked her ticket and flew down as a big FU to him. She'd never flown by herself before. How awesome is that? I think we were at the lunch for 4 hours which totally flew by. I think the internet is an amazing thing, bringing people who would have never met together. Some of them are already making plans to go to a Sherrilyn Kenyon signing together in Aug. I need to see when she's coming to the Pac Northwest and get my own group together. Nope, I'm not jealous, LOL.

After we said our goodbyes I drove Lina and I home. She had a waitor who was very generous with the wine so she slept the whole time and I tried like hell to stay awake. I was too tired to even talk on the phone cause I tried that too, LOL. Shortly after we got home Nes and JK came in. They had a wonderful time, they went canoeing and wandering around and ended up at the beach. I'm sure she'll blog about it, eventually. JK wasn't feeling well so he went to bed early. I wanted to take Nes to the Brickyard so she could complete her eating tour of my favorite spots in Daytona but they were closed so we ended up at Sonic again, LOL. Hey, the girl knows what she likes. We then went to Walgreens so she could buy medicine for her hubby and stock up in lip balm. You think I'm addicted! I can't count how many she bought. Then again, they don't sell what she likes in Europe so I don't blame her.

Monday morning JK held strong and they ended up leaving. I was quite proud of Nes, she held the waterworks til the very end. I just told her today I see her more then I see most of my family. Nes and JK are both like family to me and I was so happy that they were able to come this way and to fall in love with FL and Lina got to meet my #1 fan. It's definitely a mutual admiration society. He and I see eye to eye! Oh he taught us something also. I will never look at the Waffle House the same. Yes, they had to go eat there after reading about it in my blogs. In Dutch there's a term called Swaffle. A swaffle is when a guy takes his semi-erect penis and slaps it back and forth on a woman's face. Swaffle anyone? That's why I love my #1 aka Mr Swaffle.

more adventures with my #1 and his wife...

Lina had to work on Sat so she woke up early to drive home. I was out of it and didn't hear a thing. Apparently we were all out of it because she said there was a symphony of snores going on, LOL. All 3 of us were singing to the angels with our noses. If she had more time she could have been the conductor.

Eventually the rest of us got moving. Our hotel had a free breakfast so that was the motivating factor for finally moving. Jan Kees and I wandered over to get breakfast and he was so sweet getting food for his lady love. We then went back cause I wanted more juice (the walk was short otherwise forget about it LOL) and he wanted to make a waffle. He was very excited about the make your own waffle feature. I was just excited about the free food LOL.

Checkout was at 11am so 11am is when we were finally ready to leave. Since in the original itinerary they were driving to Tampa on this day they decided to shop instead. OK, Nes decided to shop instead. There was an outlet store close to the hotel, how perfect. On the way there I noticed a Ross and pulled in so they could experience the joy that is Ross. They didn't get anything but I found two dresses, LOL. Nes wanted to spend more money on name brand things so off to the outlet store we go.

We walked by White House Black Market and Nes loved the dress that was in the window. I said let's go in since I knew this was one of Lina's fave stores so they must have great clothes. The dress in the window was almost $200 so forget that but we went to the sale rack and I bought a $20 black dress and Nes bought that dress as well as 3 or 4 other dresses, LOL. She was on a high after her purchases. We spent a couple more hours wandering around. I didn't find anything else but they did.

After that I wanted to take them to Korean food. The problem was, we got to the mall via surface streets and coming out there were no markings for how to get to the freeway. We eventually made it to the Koreand restaurant, only one wrong turn on my part, I was pretty happy about that LOL. By that time Nes was just ready to pull over to a Popeye's, she was hungry and you don't want to see her when she is hungry. It's not a pretty sight. Of course she was happy we made it to the restaurant once she walked around and saw all of the food on the table.

I do what I always do to new to korean people. I tell them what I'm ordering and say they can order something different but I strongly recommend what I get, LOL. Nes wanted to try the bulgogi which is something else I said was good, just not as good as my kalbi but I didn't want to split, I knew what I wanted so her and JK got one of each. Our panchan (the side dishes) came out really quickly and we started eating. They both really enjoyed their meal at the Korean restaurant and would totally do Korean again.

The drive home was horrible. I was so tired. We were taking 2 cars so they were in theirs and I was in mine. That's why I don't go to Orlando too often. The drive there isn't a problem, it's the drive home, even if it's the next day, LOL. Oh, they wanted to stop at the mall in Daytona because it had a couple of stores they wanted to go in. I went in and waited and waited for them to shop and then realized I was very close to home and they know how to get there so just when I'm telling them I'm going home, they suggest I go home, ahhh, great minds, LOL.

Lina got home just before me. Literally! I pulled in right behind her. I really wanted a nap but knew the Dutch would be home soon but I did take a little 10 minute nap. I needed it, those shopping fools wore me out. After they got home we all headed to the pool. Lina and I were doing synchronized swimming. My floatie made spinning me really easy, LOL. and then we played with the self timer. The pics didn't turn out great but it was a lot of fun. After playing in the pool we were hungry again. We decided this night would be the fast food places Nes hadn't had a chance to try yet.

Off to Sonic we went. JK didn't really like the food but he really enjoyed the experience. Nes loved her chili cheese dog, which is what I always order. They also enjoyed the cherry limeade. After that we headed to Popeye's. Yup, back to back. Not a good call on our part, we were pretty full even though we tried to eat lightly at Sonic. Lina waited in the car at this point, LOL. The chicken took forever and while Nes did say it was better then KFC which is what I told her, it was anti-climatic for her since it had been built up for a year. Having a full stomach didn't help, LOL. This is JK and I playing with the cam while Nes smoked. Afterwards we rolled home and just chilled out. We were exhausted and full! What an action packed day!

The eagles have left...

I know I've been slacking, I've been too tired to post much at the end of the night, plus, my mannions haven't been very active so that's less motivation for me to get on.

Orginally Nes and JK were going to leave Sat morning but they had so much fun (and with a lot of pressure from Lina, Nes and I JK caved, LOL) they stayed until this morning.

On Thursday they went to Cape Canaveral. I thought about going with them but it's not really my thing and was going just to spend time with them but then I found out it cost money and since I wasn't really interested in it I decided to skip it. That night when they came home Nes said I made the right call. She enjoyed the first couple of hours but then it went on and on. I'm sure she'll be blogging about it when she gets home, whew, bullet dodged!

Nes was exhausted when she got home but JK was exhilarated. He said it was a dream come true. Since the previous day was shopping it was JK's day. Since it was still daylight out I suggested we go down to the pool which they loved. I wanted to try out my floatie, LOL. The water was so warm. It was a lovely way to unwind. JK decided to head over to the hot tub. I told him we'd get in if he took his shorts off and the next thing you know he's waving them in the air, LOL. It was made even funnier because while he was trying to get them back on one of the kids came down to the pool! Luckily he stayed pool side. He just spent his time shooting us with is water gun. Obnoxious punk! Nes and I finally joined JK in the hot tub, that sucker was hot but relaxing.

Where was Lina you ask? Why she was making dinner, score! I'll leave that post for Nes since she took the pics but JK had never had chicken parmesan and that is one of Lina's specialties. Needless to say, dinner was a wonderful affair. Afterwards they ran to Target to buy electronic catchphrase. Lina and I were watching password last week and she thought that would be fun to play with them. We broke up the teams into Lina and Nes and JK and me. JK and I rocked. I am an excellent guesser after all. Then we decided to put Nes and JK together and they didn't do so well against team #1. They did have a disadvantage in the fact that they think in Dutch first and then English but the truth is, I'm just an excellent guesser, LOL. After all, I was the only undefeated person of the night. I do believe Nes was the only one to not win a game but let's not point that out to her, LOL.

On Friday they were doing Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Since Jordan will be here next week I had no interest. The plan was to meet at Citywalk for dinner and drinks after their day of playing. We had gotten a hotel thanks to a hookup I had for a great price so we didn't have to worry about driving home. You know me, I love to invite tons of people so Ana and her hubby Jack joined us as well as some of the gals from Karen's board, Marlene and her hubby Charles, Sue and her mom and luckily Nally was in town with her kids so she was able to join us too, yay!The dress totally makes me look preggo but the color is great! We had dinner at Margaritaville and then went to Rising Star to sing karaoke with the band. Too bad it was packed and we wouldn't be able to sing if at all until 1am. It's a cool place, you get to sing with a live band and backup singers. Now we know, get there early, LOL.

We headed over to the british pub hoping there was some karaoke going on but alas, there was not. So the ones of us who made the jaunt there just hung out and took pics of course!

Ana and I, look at my glorious tan!Nes and I, ok guess the tan is not so glorious, LOL. The boys, Jack and Jan Kees. The girls! Can you believe Nes did the bunny ears? I think I'm going to cut her out of the pic, LOL.

The eagles have landed...

And you know with Jan Kees it's a party, LOL. Alright alright, Nes is the party, she's louder then I am! You know she's going to kick my ass when she reads this, well she can try and kick my ass, you know I would win, LOL. Before you get excited, I don't have pics to post. We've been lounging in the house so I haven't been taking any but Nes has some to share when she updates her blog and I'll make sure and take some pics tomorrow night.

Nes and JK got here Wed night, just a tad behind schedule. They were shopping at one of the biggest outlet stores in the state and called to let us know they were on their way at the time they were supposed to be here. Too bad that meant that they were going to be 4 hours late LOL. They went a little crazy with the shopping. JK loves the brand Clearance! He sees their stuff everywhere, LOL. The good news about them being late is I could watch Top Chef without feeling guilty, unfortunately it didn't take them a full 4 hours to get here so I didn't get to watch the whole show. Thank goodness this is Bravo and it repeats a million times. That meant I could give our company part of my attention, LOL.

Lina made dinner, natch. We went Mexican and had chips with queso dip, pico de gallo and guacamole, all home made by the wife and then we had a shrimp salad followed by a black bean quesadilla and topped with a cool whip fruit pastry concoction that I loved. Nes and JK thought they had died and gone to heaven and decided to eat in tonight also instead of going out to eat, LOL. JK was trying to get Lina to come live with them in Holland. He didn't ask me because he knows I'll just invite myself, no invite needed.

Nes brought her song chips so JK was once again able to hear the dulcet sound of my voice, he was oh so happy *G*. I'm sure my neighbors weren't so happy either considering they didn't get here til 10:30pm so who knows what time we started singing. With Nes and JK there is a lot of just sitting around and laughing. When we're together it feels like we just saw each other yesterday. There's no need to catch up. It really does feel like just the other day when I was spending my summer in Holland and it makes me want to go back. Then I remember how weak the dollar is.

About 2:30am we began to wind down for the night. The morning comes much too early.

Sale Alert!!!

Nancy sent this to me and it is true because I just ordered 18 items (not that I needed more make-up but $1, hello!) and entered the code so basically it's free shipping. I'd hurry up if I were you.

Hello Everyone,
Just thought I'd pass along the good deal. Nordstrom is changing the logo on their makeup, so they're selling everything that says "e.l.f." for $1!!! (You still may have to pay shipping, but it's SO worth it!!)

ELF Website

The make-up line E.L.F. (Eyes, Lips, and Face) has been bought out by Nordstrom and will be re-packaged with the Nordstrom name on it. They are getting rid of all the make-up in ELF packaging. They are selling everything for $1. YES ONE DOLLAR. You do have to pay shipping, however, even with that charge it's cheaper than buying make-up anywhere else and it is fun to try things when you don't have to worry about the cost! They have powder, mascara, eye shadow, concealer, brushes, nail polish, you name it...

****Also, if you use the coupon code: CAROLINA you will get $7.50 off your first purchase of $15***

I got lip glosses (I can never have too many), bronzers, I'm still looking for the one I like and makeup brushes, yep, they were on sale too, woo hoo!

Just got back from Baskin & Robbins...

and I'm a little sad. I love B&R! Or rather I should say, I loved B&R but I haven't been there in awhile because it's not exactly health food LOL. Not that I'm a health nut but I try not to go too tempt myself unnecessarily. B&R has had some changes since I've last been in. They no longer do the pre-packed pints, you have to get pre-packed quarts if you want pre-packed ice cream which I like to get because it's so much cheaper overall. They also do soft serve now. I had no idea. One of my favorite flavors used to be daiquiri ice well they now have lime daiquiri ice and it is too limey! I am so sad. Then I get home and have a scoop of chocolate chip and a scoop of chocolate chip mint and it's too sweet for me! Of course I know they didn't change their ice cream menu so it must be my palate that changed but that doesn't mean I'm any less bummed LOL.

Today Ana and little J came to hang by the pool. He loves the water so I've been wanting them to come play at the pool for awhile. I bought a pool floatie for myself awhile ago but hadn't used it yet so thought today would be perfect. Too bad little J wanted to use it the whole time. Yes, I let the 2 year old use the floatie but I didn't want to, LOL. We also went to the UBS and I picked up Lover Enshrined. No, it wasn't used but she sells new books too at a discount. Gotta love that. I picked up Blood Noir from her for less then Nancy paid with her employee discount. I also took in a box of my TBRs. I decided I hadn't read them yet and I didn't see myself reading them in the not too distant future, especially since I'll be perusing Linda's library that I should take them in instead of lugging them around. The woman who runs the store has made comments about bringing books in, that's how they survive. I got $80 in credit. I don't see myself using most of it before I leave if at all, guess I'll be giving it to Jenna, LOL. She's the one who introduced me to that store to begin with. The main reason I've been going lately was to find books for Nes. There's not a lot out there I can think of I want.

Tomorrow night Nes and JK arrive. You know that that means don't you? Time to clean, LOL.

I'm getting too old for this...

Lina and I went out to see the boys aka Disposable Heroes Sat night. We hadn't seen them in awhile and it's true, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Plus, the bar at Frank's Front Row where they normally play is too smoky for us so we decided to wait til they played the Mai Tai bar before we went to see them again. You know I'm always tickled when they wave to me when I come in. It's about the little things. Kenny the lead singer, I realized I didn't have a pic with him. And we did a roommate sandwich with Jeff, the drummer.

I wasn't drinking. I had an icy mai tai because it was so flippin hot and it was only $4 but it gave me a tummy ache, rum does that to me so I just had water the rest of the night. Yet I still woke up feeling like I had a hangover. The boys were going to Frank's after their show to see another band so we joined them (so much for avoiding the smoke) after we detoured to IHOP, we were hungry! Anyway, I digress. Spending time in a smoky bar combined with getting home at close to 3:30am and waking up at 9am made me feel like I'd spent the night drinking. Imagine how Lina felt who actually was drinking and had to be at work by 9am? She made an SOS call for some red bull which took me about 4 hours to do. I was awake but not functional. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't so I just laid in bed playing with my photoshop, something brainless.

After I took Lina her red bull I was finally able to get some more sleep and then felt somewhat human and by 5pm was ready to leave my room. So much for me having a productive day. I still have a few more days before Nes gets here. The cleaning can wait. I need more sleep!