Moon Over South Carolina.....................

Well, we are back from another vacation to Myrtle Beach. It may be our last one of the year. It was a really good vacation. It only cost an extra $6,300 unexpected dollars, as our air conditioner/heating unit decided to go kaput the minute we pulled out of the driveway. It was a really good vacation and we had beautiful weather. Here are a few pics of our trip.

Is there anything more beautiful than a full moon over an ocean?? Well perhaps a sunrise over the Atlantic is more beautiful, but that's too early for me to snap a pic.



This was Bill's dragon kite. It actually wiggled it's hind end while in the air.



We had a great location for our RV. We were only three sites from the ocean. It was a total of 40 steps to the beach. I counted............



The view from our bedroom window. Does it get any better than this???




This is actually not a posed pic. They were playing football, and I have no idea what caught their attention.




The relaxed face of a middle aged grandma........



My two favorite guys in front of our favorite restaurant. Bill looks sort a stunned, but Billy is happy :)




My man howling at the full moon.




What a great trip we had. We were home one day and we were back to teaching the locals how to save lives with CPR. Billy starts to school on Monday, and semester classes start the following week. The summer is over. I am sad............

I find myself aggravated by common citizens......

I usually try to extend common courtesies to my fellow human beings. I smile and greet, I help if they need it, I even ask if they could use some help. But I must say something is really jerking my chain lately. lt's the people who cannot be bothered to put the shopping cart back into the proper receptacle after they've loaded their car. I've seen them just let them go, and even laugh about the carts hitting other cars. Would they give the same chuckle if the carts hit their own cars while they are inside the store shopping? At one point, as a cart was heading my way, I had to catch it, return it to the proper place, while exclaiming "loudly" that "this is where the cart belongs, it's not that hard, have a little consideration for others." I'm not even talking about the elderly or women with small children, these instances were young moms, with teenage sons. What are they teaching the next generation about responsibility and courtesy. Look out for number 1 and don't worry about anyone else? How rude is this world going to get?????

I long to live in a society where each person cares for the other. Where everyone doesn't just look out for themselves. Or blindly follow a leader, but rather judge, based on merits, whether he's doing a good job. Where government gets smaller, and small businesses get larger, where the private sector jobs are increasing 2 to 1 over government jobs instead of the other way around. Where tax cuts are the norm, and spread the wealth is a slogan we laugh about because of the absurdity of it, because the norm is each person, working to better themselves and their farmily, expecting no hand-outs from anyone.

Anyway because that is a foolish pipe dream at this time, I thought I'd show you a van I saw driving down the road. It is going 55 miles an hour so the pic is not that clear. It was all covered with polka dots and the back window had this written in it:

MY BOSS IS FULL OF MORE S#%T THAN A CONSTIPATED OUTHOUSE FLY!!!

The woman looked to be close to sixty, and I don't know what the problem was, but she was driving that polka dot van for all it's worth! A disgruntled employee for sure, I hope she wasn't married to him.




Now this is my good service is hard to find pic. I was dining at Red Robin and ordered a freckled lemonade. The drink arrived looking very appetizing, but upon closer inspection, it looked as if the employee couldn't be bothered to remove the barcode sticker from the lemon. Doesn't anyone pay attention to details anymore?

This Past Week at My House..........

I thought I'd begin with what went right at my house this past week. I had a visit from my very beautiful granddaughter. She is growing up so fast I can hardly believe it. She is truly a delight to my heart.




My retired husband Bill had worked on our deck all week long. He started with pressure washing it. Apparently it isn't suppose to be the color of gray ash. It took him a total of three washings but eventually it was clean enough to think about staining it. But first he has to replace some of the boards that have cracked. Its' turned out to be quite a project. I will post some pics of the finished deck when he's done. This pic is before it's stained. The floor was still wet, but you can see the difference in color between what the plant is sitting on versus the rails behind it.




Okay, this mediterranean diet is just not for me. I went shopping and bought lots of produce and olives and hummus. I felt very international. I could just see myself walking in the open markets of Greece, my long gray hair tied back in a ponytail, flowing, flowered skirt and leather thong sandals. But the reality of nuts, olives, and hummus was too much to bear. Or else it was the lack of diet soda. I was teaching on Saturday and when I saw that my students all had sodas I felt tears well up in my eyes and I had to call for a 10 minute break. Plus without going into all the gory details, I'm pretty sure that instead of a yellow scrunchie, I used an old pair of Cassidy's Dora the Explorer underwear to tie back my hair that day.

My daughter Susan, who is an avocado nut, was thrilled with this diet. It's okay if she could always be there to prepare something for me, but left on my own, I couldn't figure out what to make for a meal. Plus, one serving of bread a day just wasn't enough. By Sunday I was fluctuating between anger and tears. I wouldn't even go to Bible Study that night because I couldn't trust myself to behave.

This was a sandwich I made with my one serving of bread. It was 2 ozs. of chicken, spinach, and tomatoes. Pretty, but not that filling.




This was my dinner on the last night of the diet. It is avocado, red onion, tomatoes, feta cheese, and red wine vinegar. Susan made it. It was really good, but I actually thought it was the appetizer.





This is the naan bread you dip it in. That's it...Sorry, but I guess I'm a fat American. I can't just graze and pretend I had a meal.




So now I feel like the lady in the commerical where the hospital gurney is following her everywhere she goes. Bill asked what I was going to tell the Lifestyle Coach when I see her again. I told him I wasn't going back. I've decided to leave my toxins undisturbed for awhile.

I started back on Weight Watchers today. The 6 point sub I had for lunch was much more filling than three feta cheese stuffed olives.

You Know You've Crossed a Line When.........

...Your doctor of almost 20 years refers you to a "Life Style Coach." "What is that" you may ask. I'm not really sure, but her name was Dee. She was nice enough. I must admit I was a tad bit concerned when prior to my appointment these were my list of requirements:

1. No alcohol 24 hours before appointment.

2. No exercise 12 hours before appointment.

3. No food 4 hours before appointment.

4. Drink 1 quart of water 1 hour before appointment.

5. Make sure there is access to your right foot during appointment.

Access to my right foot????? I had to go and get a pedicure the day before so that I wouldn't be embarrassed to show my right foot. I must admit the words "Hokey" crossed my mind.

Apparently I'm overweight but it's not my fault. It's just that I eat the wrong foods, at the wrong time, in too much quantity. I'm so glad I paid for that bit of wisdom.

I had to bare my right foot so she could attach some electrodes to it and to my right wrist. Then an electric current I couldn't feel measured not only my body fat, but my cells and told her all kinds of things. I'm apparently water depleted even though I drink it all day long. It's not reaching into my cells because of toxins. I am evidently a toxic waste dump. But I'm not alone, because everyone else is too. Who knew?????

So I was given a diet so that my body can be put on the proper "rhythm" of eating and sleeping. Sort of like an infant, only I can burp myself. Then was I given a supplement, to help me "relax" in the evening. Just something to take the edge off. I thought that was what valium was for, but no, pharmaceuticals are bad, chinese herbs are good. Can't say I really noticed anything when I took two pills, but maybe it was a low stress night.

I go back in three weeks. I have a feeling some big cleanses are heading my way, and I don't mean the kind you wash your face with. I'm not sure I want my toxic waste dump disturbed. Maybe it is better left alone.

Meanwhile I got out my Richard Simmons "Deal a Meal" cards, which happen to have the same foods listed on them as the diet she gave me. I always knew Richard was the answer!

Food is a Many Splendid Thing....

After getting back from Charlottesville, Virginia, and with my son at Boyscout camp, I decided I would take the rest of the week off from cooking. Not so good for my waistline, as I can eat much more healthy at home, but still, it is one less thing I have to do.

As I mentioned before, my oldest daughter Susan is back home with us and she loves to cook. However, she is not cooking out of the Betty Crocker Cookbook like I do. She likes to look at recipes and most likely, adapt them to her taste, which is what a good cook does.

On Saturday we were talking, and I mentioned I hadn't had lunch yet and she said she would make something for me. I'm thinking a tuna sandwich, but this is what she served me:

On a toasted bagel thins you spread cream cheese, and top with chopped avocado, halved cherry tomatoes, and crabmeat. It made a really pretty presentation, but the brushetta from an earlier posting was really stretching my culinary wings. However, this tasted really good, and I made it to dinner without having any snacks, which was a calorie plus for me.



The next day Susan announces that she will be making Sunday dinner. I love it, of course, since I'm not cooking anyway. She makes this dish, which doesn't have a name, so I'll call it The Really Tasty Pasta Dish I Didn't Have to Make:

First she sauteed chopped garlic and onion in olive oil, then added chopped asparagus and mushrooms.




Next she adds halved cherry tomatoes. They were such a luscious red and so good!




She then lets them all cook on low heat until the asparagus is tender.




Then remove all veggies from the pan and add about a half cup of white wine. On medium heat, she lets this reduce to about a quarter of a cup.




Next, she begins to whisk in about a cup of half and half. If you are not calorie restrictive desperate like me, you can use real cream.




When it's all smooth, then add back all the veggies and cooked Farfalle pasta (or bowtie pasta, which is what I always called it). Toss until well coated.



Then just top with some grated parmesan cheese. What a pretty, colorful dish this makes.




This was a delicious pasta dish. I'm so used to pasta meals being very heavy and filling. This was a great, light summertime dish. It would go great with some crusty french bread and a nice green salad. Thank you Susan for a wonderful pasta dinner!