Old Tweeter

Was going through old Tweets tonight when I found this one about taking our beloved gnome, Cotton Cuddlesworth IV on vacation with us:

Jon on Cuddlesworth's trip readiness: "He's probably looking foward to seeing the lady gnomes on the beach."


So that made me laugh pretty hard. But like my family always says...I'm easily amused.

Runner up Jon quote from Twitter (for now, because this list could get long if I continue):

"April, I know my presidents and vice presidents and brothers of presidents." Jon, when asked if he knew who Ted Kennedy is.

Vacation Vlog

Cassie's latest post made me remember a video blog from vacation that I'd never uploaded. They are both rather pointless, but pointless is interesting sometimes, isn't it? haha

Things of note:

-Jon's voice has gotten SO MUCH DEEPER since June. Oh my Lord. I hadn't realized. He sounds so young here. He was also agitated with me at the beginning of this video, we'd been arguing about my driving skills, no joke.
-Treading water is a common threat around these parts. Our Dad takes on this hilarious captain persona when we're near water.
-They call me GPS, it's a bit of an insult. They do it because I'm always confident about directions, even when I shouldn't be.


Vacation 08--Trip to Jerry's Part One from apsies on Vimeo.


Vacation 08--Trip to Jerry's Part Two from apsies on Vimeo.

This year I really want to remember to take more little videos like this. I think they are a hoot to look back on.

Anybody want to buy me a Flip? I think I need one of those.

Mad with Power

I'm zapped. But a new post needs to be up. Not that I don't love Molly, but I'm tired of seeing her at the top of the page.

• Finally exploded in a fit of hormonal rage that had been building for a week. Was surprisingly not as bad as in the past: St. John's Wort to thank maybe?
• Emailed someone I really used to care for, he actually emailed me back. Friends perhaps? Full circle moment for sure.
• Decided against buying the dSLR, for now at least. I'll revisit the idea in the fall after a few months of working again. But, it was definitely a more complicated purchase than I thought and I felt I was rushing it too much in the name of vacation. My camera will suffice for now.
• Worked out plans to redesign "my" room after vacation. I'm going to make it multifunctional so it transitions to Mom's craft room when I leave the nest. Am almost too excited about working out the plan and picking up paint samples and such.
• Bought all of the supplies to bake a cheesecake this weekend. Holy crap, when did cream cheese start costing an arm and a leg??
• 12 Days. That's all.
• Made a to-do list. Have about a zillion things on it that all need to be worked out this weekend.
• Bought an ASUS EEE PC. Will definitely put up a review when it gets here. But I'm initially super geeked about it. I love the idea of a mini laptop that I can throw in my purse and go with.
• Made plans to yardsale in the morning, which if you know me and my history of poor yardsale skills then you'd realize this is laughable. But one of them is going to have a luggage carrier tomorrow and we could use one.
• Had an hour long conversation about what you do at a wedding reception with no alcohol or dancing. Seriously...what do you do???
• Nearly fainted at the following headline: CLAY AIKEN IMPREGNATES A WOMAN.
• Then laughed at the structure of said headline. "Clay Aiken To Be Father". Nope, more shocking that he impregnated a woman.
• Spent 2 hours of my life watching Lucky 7 on Lifetime. Could say many things, but will stick with this: Patrick Dempsey IS dreamy...end of story.
• And I'll end with this: Chris Brown and Rihanna are freaking adorable. Like, seriously. And I'm not embarrassed to admit that.

P.S. Sex and the City...THIS WEEKEND. If you saw, don't tell me. But I really hope I can squeeze in a couple hours at a theater before the weekend's up.

What Would Jimmy Buffett Do?

Today Dad had a doctor's appointment. Not much new or unusual about that. But I must say, this office was the most beautifully decorated doctor's office...EVER. Which made for a more pleasing experience for me, the one waiting with the patient.

Jon could have cared less. Something about being 13 has morphed this kid into an iPod listening, texting food. Whatevs. I didn't want to talk to him anyway.




Speaking of this kid. I mean, teenager. He's totally been working on his Jimmy Buffett vibe in prep for our upcoming vacation. I'm totally jealous that he's 13 and working on his 4th beach trip, he's the kind of kid I hated in school. (Just kidding, I didn't hate y'all. I mean, not really. Well, just a little bit.)

Anyways. Here he is with the infamous "Florida Hat". The hat that was bought in Florida once and only makes an appearance once a year. Jon's claimed it this go 'round.



Ignore the fact that my foot is in this next picture. (Yes, I know, tiny toes. Flat footed. Stubby. I get it.) Look at those flip flops! Gorgeous.

Well, basic. But gorgeous nevertheless.

I'm breaking here for a moment to give a glowing review of "Havaianas". They are made in Brazil. I bought my first pair two years ago, and for a rubber flip flop they still look as new as the day I bought them. I hate when the cheapos from Target or Walmart rub all over my foot after a day of wear, or the pattern on the bottom wears off at all the pressure points. So I invest a little more. In Havaianas, Rainbows, Reefs, and Ocean Minded. AND IT'S WORTH EVERY PENNY. Even if my father just doesn't get it.

End of PSA.



Okay, where was I? Oh yeah. Pots de Creme. I made this yesterday. It was delicious. Pioneer Woman taught me how:


http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/page/2/

Love coffee, adore chocolate and aren't afraid of a little raw egg? This is the dessert for you.



My vacation is officially 20 days away. It blows my mind to even think about that number. I'm so ready to be on the road. I am a firm believer in the idea that getting there is half the fun. This year with gas what it is, getting there will be half the budget. But it will be amazing. I love rest areas and Pilot Stations and crappy coffee in paper cups at 3 am. Oh gosh. Am salivating at the thought.


But there are of course still things that need to be bought and taken care of. The van needs alignment, Jack needs his shots, we need a box of the crap to take put together and then there are beach chairs....


Last year I managed to come home from Seagrove with 4 shiny, beautiful beach chairs from Publix.

Fast foward to this year and you'll find me pilfering through the garage moaning, "where are my CHAIRS" like a crazy lady.

The chairs for the record are gone. Nobody will give me a straight answer about where they went. But I'm hoping they are in a better place now.

Amen.

In the meantime, I've now got to get more chairs. Until then we've taken turns claiming the lone leftover beach chair. Jon's got dibs currently.






The Florida Hat and a Beach Chair and I wonder why he asks me today to find him more tropical music for his iPod. "You know, songs about the beach and beer," he says.

Good Lord.

And amen.

From the Church of Buffett.

On the Road Again, Like a Band of Gypsies...

In less than 30 days I will be on the road. Possibly somewhere in North or South Carolina at this point. That is my favorite part of taking a trip: being on the road. There is something to be said about traveling by car in this country. The silly things you find on the side of the roads, the somewhat frightening podunk kind of towns you run across as you fill up gas. And when traveling in the South, the varying degrees of accents you run across at each station.

I simply adore rolling into parking lots in the middle of the night, with the lights illuminating the view. How around 3 am you have to crank up the air conditioning to force yourself awake as you drink shitty cappucinos and prompt the rest of the car into one more rousing session of "sing it if you know it". Or that feeling of hitting the florida state line at 5 am, where the wind immediately shifts and everything begins to feel stickier.

This year the exact nature of the road trip is up in the air. I could not say for certainty that we will even be stopping to spend the night somewhere. However I have been promised a roll into Savannah. For that, I am at least grateful. This much I do know, at some ungodly hour on Friday the 13th (cue the scary music) my family will pile into my mother's new ride with 2 yapping dogs and 1 sleepy kid. We'll bid adeiu to the house. Water the plants one last time and Dad will begin the trip behind the wheel.

It will all seem very "Leave it to Beaver".

25 minutes down the road something calamity will occur. Like that one year the windows began leaking, it downpoured and by Lebanon Junction we were all soaked to the bone. This year I predict something will begin to beep in my mother's ultra sensitive van and we won't know how to make it stop.

Approximately 1 hour into the trip my Dad will begin to bob his head. Mom will ask him if he'd like her to take over now, and he'll agree. He'll say "just for a little while" and he will really mean, "at least until we hit the Florida state line".

At this point I'll assume position in the front seat with my mother as the boys and dogs doze in the backseat. During this time we will get lost, argue over directions, listen to way too much bad music and quiz each other on useless trivia we think of as we pass various cities.

If there is anything for Lucy and Ethel to get into, this is when it will happen.

And I can't wait.

But mostly I can't wait for a very laid back vacation. I've warned everyone I'm traveling with that all I want to do is lay on the beach and take tons of pictures all week. I don't need to run all over Timbuktu, I don't need to see everything in the world, I just need relaxation and a break.

I think I have a tendency to run on full throttle when on vacation. I guess it has to do with how alive I feel when doing something I love, like traveling. I always want to see, touch, feel and do as much as possible. And in the process I can lose focus of what a vacation is really about. It's the simple moments I always remember most, not the ones I freak out over and try to create.

Like the very first time I walked onto the beach with Jonathan. Or eating key lime pie last year with my toes in the sand which was so simple and unexpected. And the night I sat on a pier for four hours with a pigeon staring me down the entire time. The last one I bitched and complained about the entire time it was occuring and yet it has become one of my favorite travel memories. Because it was quirky and unusual.

Remind me to take more pleasure in quirky and unusual, okay?

So that's what I'm doing here, I'm vowing to myself that I will chill out and promise to not run on maximum pressure for 9 days. I'll just sit back and enjoy the ride. Even if Jon sticks his stinky feet in my face the entire time.