It's just Tuesday

Today has been the longest day ever. Been busy which is good but it didn't make the day go faster. And it's only Tuesday. I really was hoping today was like Thursday or something. I have no wisdom today or any thing pithy to say.

That's just how it is some days. "It's Tuesday" is the best you can do.

Did go to the new Whole Foods store today. It was awesome. Not too expensive. Tons of food I've never heard of. Couldn't decide what to have for lunch so I had a little bit of everything. From the salad bar that is. I can't wait to have time to explore and shop.

Saw the funniest video at a women's event at church on Saturday. It was a comedienne I'd never seen before, Anita Renfroe. In the middle of the clip I realize that I'd seen her on Good Morning America. She's hilarious. Here's the link to the clip I saw on GMA - Momsense
Check out, I'm sure you've heard some of these lines before.

Enjoy what's left of the day.

Rainy days and Mondays

Man is it raining or what? It's so dark outside I just want to curl up and nap. Rainy days do that to me. It's a day to veg and read a book, drink hot chocolate or spiced tea. Wear fluffy socks and relax.

These days I'm wondering about change and contentment. I've had a few experiences lately that made me realize that I've changed. I think that I've reached the age where I've realized that I have a choice in how I handle change in my life and/or things that happen. I can either adopt the "it's sucks" posture or accept them and move on. Life is too short to fill my days with negativity. It's not that I don't get angry and think that things aren't fair. It's just that I can't control the things that happen. I've tried to control my life for most of my life. All I got out of that was being tired. And I realized that I actually didn't have control after all. All I can do is the best I can do. I'm not responsible for the rest of the world and their actions.

So I work my butt off and all anyone asks is for me to do more. And the person across the hall from me does nothing all day and get's labeled as indispensible. Do I like that? Heck no! Is there anything I can do about it? Other than just keep working and complaining? No there isn't. So good for them. I've discovered that if I dwell on it, I'm the only one that's miserable. And when I'm miserable no one wants to be around me. So what does it get me? Nothing.

Life isn't out to get me, I've decided. Life happens. We live in a fallen world. Sucky stuff happens. The difference comes in how I deal with it. I can do my best to correct things to make things right. But I can't force circumstances or people to be or act how I think they should. My part is to do my part. I can't and should not be responsible for anything or anyone else. At the end of the day, when I look in the mirror - I need to feel that I've done the best I could. If that is the case, then I can rest easy. No one is asking me to be perfect. No one has promised me that life would be easy and carefree.

I pray that I'll always be learning and growing. That I don't become negative. I don't want to be a pollyana. I just don't want to waste my time by living in the state of unproductive, unpopular, and unfun-negativity.

Instead of why me? Why not me? Why would I want to wish any misfortune or suckiness to go to someone else? Maybe God has made me able to withstand stuff that someone else can't. Maybe there's something for me to learn. Maybe there isn't. It just is.

Sometimes it's just a matter of perspective. I'm not a saint nor am I anywhere near perfect. I just want to live as peace-filled and joy-filled as possible. I want to laugh as much as possible. So I'm going to look up - look out - and keep that nasty attitude away. I'm sure I won't succeed at it in every situation but I'm going to try. Is anyone with me?

P.S. I'm not going to finish my Alaska blog. Too much time has passed, I think. Sorry about that. It was great though. Everyone should go and see the unspoiled vistas. Especially in light of global warming - it might not always be there.

Alaska Day 3 - Juneau

Here we are approaching Juneau. The weather was nasty. It was cold and rainy and foggy. This is the one port where I wanted to participate in a shore excursion offered by the ship. Shore Excursions in Alaska ain't cheap and some of them are downright scary. I found one that wasn't too expensive nor too scary. It was rafting down the river flowing from the Mendenhall Glacier. I was actually excited about it. Normally I'm not into rafting or other outdoor sports. But I decided to step out of my comfort zone and do this. As we pulled into Juneau, I was having second thoughts. The weather was awful. What was I thinking going out there and spending 3 hours in a raft on a river. The weather was so bad they canceled all the flight seeing excursions. It was too dangerous for planes or helicopters to go up.

So here we were standing in the rain, waiting for the bus to take us up to the Glacier. Needless to say, Mr. D was not a happy camper. He kept looking at me like I was forcing him to drink castor oil. But he was a good sport and off we went. We finally came to a parking lot in the nature preserve at the Glacier. A young guy from the tour company operating the shore excursion jumped on the bus and proceeded to read us a waiver that we were all to sign as we got off the bus. He was hilarious. The waiver a little iffy. You might get wet, the raft might capsize, it's not their fault, yada yada. We all signed and out we went. LOL

We lined behind a truck where we were handing rain gear: pants with suspenders and hooded rain slickers and the loveliest pair of rubber boots you ever wanted to see. If I hadn't had to put away my camera so it wouldn't get wet, it would have made a heckuva picture. So very pretty. As if that weren't enough, we then had to don life jackets. I felt like the illegitimate daughter of the Michelin Man and the Pillsbury Doughgirl (yes, the doughboy has a woman). I could barely move and these people wanted me to wade into 35 degree water - yes 35 degrees! and climb into a rubber raft. I wish there were pictures, you'd laugh until you wet your pants.

We get packed into the raft - onto a wooden bench that is only a 2x4 plank - 4 people across. It was cozy. Too bad the couple on the seat with us were kinda poopy. It sure would've been more fun trying to move around. Oh well. By the way, our guide and raft pilot was a college student with red stripped hair. Shawna was awesome! She was so much fun and really knew her stuff.

We got in and down the river we went. Shawna pulled us right up to an little iceberg. It was a piece of the Glacier that had broken (calved) off. It was blue and white a beautiful. As we floated down the river we saw eagles and a black bear, actually D saw the bear I couldn't move to turn around to see it. Plus we saw various dams that beavers had constructed. Very cool.

After a while we couldn't feel our hands cause the water was so cold and the north wind was blowing. That just made us laugh harder. We went down some rapids. It was great. As you can tell I survived to tell the tale.

We didn't see much of Juneau. Thought about getting off the bus on the way back from the ship but it was pouring down rain and the prospect of a drink and a hot shower on the ship made the decision for us. Tomorrow Skagway!

Alaska Day 2 - Cruising the Inside Passage

This was an awesome day of napping, eating and hanging out. The views of the shore line were spectacular. There were snow capped mountains and rugged coastlines that were simply beautiful. I even spotted some dolphins swimming along next to the ship. They looked like they were having so much fun. I was almost jealous of them. Jealous of their freedom and unbridled joy.
We looked forward to seeing the show that night. It featured a troupe from Second City. Second City is an improvisational comedy group from Canada & Chicago. They were hilarious.

I love days at sea. They are so lazy and fun. It was the perfect way to get started. We got to unwind and prepare for the rest of the week's adventure.

In fact just writing about it is making me want to take a nap... night night.

Idiot Sightings

Received this from a friend and just had to post it. I've seen some of these folks. Especially in airports. Enjoy! More Alaska stories to come.

IDIOT SIGHTING:

We had to have the garage door repaired. The Sears repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a "large" enough motor on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one Sears made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head and said, "Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower." I respondedthat 1/2 was larger than 1/4. He said, "NO, it's not." Four is larger than two.."

We haven't used Sears repair since.

IDIOT SIGHTING:

I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: "Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore."

From Kingman , KS .

IDIOT SIGHTING IN FOOD SERVICE:

My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for "minimal lettuce." He said he was sorry, but they only had iceburg lettuce. He was a Chef? Yep...
From Kansas City !

IDIOT SIGHTING:

I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, "Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?" To which I replied, "If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?" He smiled knowingly and nodded, "That's why we ask."

Happened in Birmingham , Ala.

IDIOT SIGHTING:

The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it's safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually challenged coworker of mine. She asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, "What on earth are blind people doing driving?!"

She was a probation officer in Wichita , KS

IDIOT SIGHTING:

At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear coworker. She was leaving the company due to "downsizing." Our manager commented cheerfully,"This is fun. We should do this more often." Not another word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the-headlights stare.

This was a lunch at Texas Instruments.

IDIOT SIGHTING:

I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the sake of her life, couldn't understand why her system would not turn on.

A deputy with the Dallas County Sheriffs office, no less.

IDIOT SIGHTING:

When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the drivers side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. "Hey," I announced to the technician, "its open!" His reply, "I know. I already got that side."

This was at the Ford dealership in Canton , Mississippi !

STAY ALERT!

They walk among us... and they REPRODUCE!!!

Alaska Cruise - Day One - Seattle

We boarded the Norwegian Pearl in Seattle (sailing away from Pier 66 in Seattle) after spending the night at the Red Roof Inn. The Inn is an interesting little hotel near the airport. It's cheap and I doubt it's earned any stars at all. I woke up with D's camera flashing having my picture taken. Not a pretty sight, and no I'm not posting that picture.

We got to the pier and check in and waited impatiently to board the ship. We actually tried to sell chairs to our fellow passengers while we waited. Didn't think that $20 a seat was too much.
Because I'm in the biz, we were treated rather well by the cruiseline and ship staff. We boarded the ship in the second group and immediately the feeding frenzy began. The ship has 10 restaurants and 17 lounges. We ate at 9 out of 10 restaurants. But more about that later.

Can't wait to get to actually get to Alaska!
(If you can't wait to see more pictures, visit my photo album posted on Facebook - click here)

Alaska was fabulous

I have so much to tell about the cruise to Alaska. It was awesome. The weather was a bit cruddy. Cold, rainy, foggy, but we didn't let it bother us. I have pictures to post as well. Unfortunately, I'm off again today for a business trip to Philadelphia. I will be posting day by day posts when I get back so stay tuned.

Sorry to make you wait. Tia