Ghosts, Blood, and Cupcakes!

So, my sister and I decided that it would be a really fun/cool thing for us to give blood together. At the Blood Donation center down the road from her house. Soooooo we trecked down there, and low and behold, I can give blood......for another YEAR because I got bit by a bat and may have rabies. Though it turns out that NO ONE knows jack about rabies. Since they had to make like SIX phone calls to find out if I could give. No one knew, so they decided that I had to wat a year. But Addie got to give.

Just after we got home that day, the offical word on a family emergency (brother in laws) came through, and I found out that I would be a single mom for a week. Something, that was a lot of fun and also a bit of work. It was report card day the friday that I was "MOM" so I singed all the paperwork and "hi fived" my nephew, while the teacher gave me the run down on the report card. I soooo couldn't take it seriously. It was....I mean, thrid grader grades, they make it sound like he is going for the SATs all ready. To hell with their "U" marks, Aeryk and I decided that he was AWESOME and so we made "good grade cupcakes!"



Later in the week, saturday I belive, aerky and I were on a super secret mission to the USPS to post some fruitcake to some people, and I managed to bumper kiss a brand new truck. NEW NEW NEW. I dented the plastic lame-o cheap bumper. Plexi glass american made POS. Soooooo to change my mood, we had a "Car Crash" Boogie party that night. There was a lightning thunder storm and so we boogied down to James Brown. Ohhhh YEAH!



And we are GHOSTS! Party GHOSTS, check it. I'm a boogie ghost!

Disney and the Coconut Obsession

January has arrived, and the new 2008 with it. I think that this is going to be a good year. I went out to dinner and watched Ocean's 12 until midnight. Nice an mellow. During the 1st week however, we all decided that it would be fun to head to Orlando, and take a trip around the world....... Disney Style.



I had never been to Disney World until that day, January the 3rd, and I must say that it was an experience. Real Americana entertainment at it's best. So naturally I was awestruck people watching. Though I must say that I was disappointed in the fact that they now sell beer and alcohol in the park as well as allow smoking in special areas, since that was always a thing that they DIDN'T do. Plus there are a lot of advertisements and billboards as well as franchise owned booths, McDonalds' being one of the more prevalent. Boring.



However, the fun I had with my sister and family, was awesome. and let me just say that the Tower of Terror ride.......GREAT! I was just amazed at the amount of artistry that it took to make the darn place, just amazing! Space Training ride, and all the landscaping, i mean, the list goes on and on. The whole place is just so.....planned.....it hurt my head at how much thought went into every detail. Quite the experience. Really worth the trip. Thanks sis.



So this past week my friend Chris and I decided on a whim to drive down to Key West. Which ended up being a MUCH longer drive than we'd thought. We spent the first night on Marathon Key, then Wed. finished the drive ti Key West, which I must say just might have some of the most interesting architecture in Florida, plus having consistently good food. Seriously. And also they have some fablooo Drag Queens. The place is hopping like every night. would be awesome if I were a party kid still. Some neat-o-sail boats.



The keys also had some great beaches, ya know, warm water, blue sky, sandy smooth seashell covered beaches. It all makes for a lovely postcard.



I should mention, while in the Keys, i became COMPLETELY obsessed with obtaining, drinking and eating a coconut. as they grow wild and every where there. Bananas too!

Pre Christmas Gameing

So christmas came and went more or less.....in an uneventful and wonderfully family way. We spent an evening at the Tampa Bay Aquarium, which was fun. Saw an Elf Scuba dive in the main tank, and stamped some construction paper christmas cards. Then my sister and I proceeded to stamp the tank-top that I was wearing, though the stamps washed out. it was washable ink I guess......oh well. no snowflake stamps for me.



Adeline and I went out to dinner, super seafood yumyummmm....and watched a sailboat christmas light parade on the docks, and that was nice. I had a cosmopolitan, I have never had one before, intresting, but they look purty. ha ha





We made Kuegelhoff (I cant really spell that) bread for christmas morning. and just hung out, it was nice. My family is low-key on the gift giving aspect of the holiday, it is more about the being together part.

Above is the most important 2 things about christmas. Coffee and fresh baked keugelhoff. Warm and tasty, I look foreward to it all year.



Also, Christmas Eve, we found an unexpected visitor, a christmas lizard. awesome. welcome to winter in Tampa.


This (The Below Photo) was my thank you to my parents, who are awesome. It is my very first email card, but I feel one step up for having made it myself instead of picking out one of a billion on line readymade lame-o-rama hallmark cards.

Corndog Cowboy

My nephew show's us how to eat a corn dog....
Dip it, Bite it, End it! DONE


Me sewing my very own christmas stocking.....check it out, i am crafty!

Making.....stuff. of wait, dinner...for the month.

SO check this out, for a fee....you can go to this place (above) and make dinners......so they have all the ingredents, containers, measureing cups etc. and recipies posted at the station. You call ahead, tell them what you would like to make....and they get the stuff ready, You make it, and take it home, toss it in the freezer and Voila! you have 12 meals all ready to go.....12 three serving meals! It would almost cost more to buy the ingredents that to make this....and its fun, and you dont have to do the dishes!! Amazing.



THIS SIGN, makes me mad.......I was a tiny bit insulted that someone would tell me to "grow up" why shouldn't I be aloud to play in the playground!? I mean is it a weight size thing? because there are a lot of fat 12 year olds out there now, and if it's not safe for me it sure wont hold them....there was another lame o sign at the tennis court....



LIGHTS!

Human Sass Machine

Ahh sunset along the Tampa Bay, we were walking dogs and watching the manatees surface and play. it was nice and mild out, the tropical birds were chearping, it all made for a lovely postcard.

I have the pleasure of being my sisters nanny on occasion while I am here so she can have some adult time. So this perticular evening, my nephew and I were putting up christmass decorations and listening to the radio, when some Led Zepplin came on, I noticed that my nephew was kinda bouncing/dancing/flailing on the couch to the music, so we rocked out to some Zepp. Oh yeh, gotta start him off right!



We got to go swimming the other day, I bailed early, got cold in the pool. But we had a "splass Battle" and of course I won....it makes me feel like a stud to win a splash battle against an 8yr old....ha ha. He just needs to learn how to hold his breath longer. Another lovly day in Florida.



Yesterday I went on a 40mi bike around the tampa bay, from my sisters house up and through center city tampa. I was suprised how well behaved the cars were. it was nice, so the ride wasn't too bad dispite being 2/3rds on major rd/highways.

It is strange to ride here, it is like either you are on a super busy major rd with a junkey shoulder OR a tottaly deserted rd with no cars. Also, it is REALLY FLAT, but that is to be expected. The suposedly have cross races here, I wonder if they have to make "run-ups?"

FLORIDA!!!

(putting together "Orange Bike")


Ok so I am (and have been for about a week, yes a week today infact!) in Gibsonton, Florida. Which is a (among other things) a wintering ground for carnival folk. kinda cool, kinda unusual. I like it. My sister lives here. and I will be wintering here. SWEET. because it is like 80 and sunny everyday mostly. and I have my bike and the ocean, my sister and family. what could be better! Plus a trampoline! Heck yes!



It is, I belive, classified as "Sub-Tropical" climate, so it's humid and damp. I dig it, there's all this moss on stuff...like everything. It is like "The Land of the Lost" Dino world. If you leave anything about for long moss will grow on it or Giant Mosquitos will hatch. bleh!

Along with the lanscape, there are all of these strange developments that remind me of the move "Edward Sisscior hands" Because of their purfect lawn height and evenly spaced mailboxes and driveways. Super BORING! how can people live like this! Why do the landscape/designers DO SOMETHING, make 'em diffrent somehow. God Save me from cookie cutter homes. bleh!



So I went on a bike ride other other day, rode south, and would you belive it, I came accross white tigers! In captivity of course, but how often to you come accoss giant cats on personal property? There were sevreal large black gaurd dogs surrounding the premiter. to keep people out. crazy! Love it!