We're home

We made it home safely if a little tired. We had a great vacation and I can't wait to do it all over again in the near future. Tiger Lily is the best!!! I love traveling with her--she doesn't sweat the small stuff and we enjoy everything that comes our way. Where to next I wonder?

Back to work tomorrow!! I hope everyone finshed their love notes I left them...

Vacation is nearly over

We had a fun time at the beach yesterday, it was overcast and cool though so not alot of sun which was nice. Tiger Lily got a chance to boogie board and watched my cousin do some kayaking. The water was too cold to surf without a wetsuit. We did see a lot of dolphins though and some came pretty close to shore.

We're planning on going to the Sugar Mill today for breakfast. It's an old sugar mill where they have a griddle in the middle of the table so you can make your own pancakes (Tiger Lily's favorite breakfast). It's located at DeLeon Springs which is one of the many state parks built around the natural springs in the area--we'll walk off our breakfast I'm sure.

We're heading home tomorrow so I'll probably post something and pictures later in the week after we recover.

Happy Easter everyone.

Busy two days!

We have been busy the last two days!!!

Yesterday we slept in and lazed around the house for a couple of hours before we headed up to Stetson University to visit my nephew and see my Alma mater. Tiger Lily got to see her first fraternity house (smelled like stale beer and other stuff) and then we toured the new science building. I actually got to meet up with a few of my old professors and the new building is very nice. After touring campus and visiting the bookstore we headed off to Belinni's which is a landmark sandwich place in Deland. The sandwiches were as good as I remember. After lunch we headed over to Daytona and walked on the Pier and put our toes in the water--it has been chilly down here and the water was pretty cold. We visited a couple of surf shops and waved at the speedway as we went by. We went to a Stetson baseball game last night and saw a couple of home runs and some pretty good plays which was good for Tiger Lily since she has started softball again (unfortunately, the Hatters lost 8-3).

Today was our big Disney World Day and we did it all!!! We purposely went early and rode all the big rides first and then spent the rest of the day finding little rides and enjoying ourselves. One big highlight was The Laugh Floor where you can text in a joke while you're waiting for the show--Tiger Lily texted one in and they used it!!! Why did the cow cross the road? You'll have to wait for the punch line... It was crowded today and when at 2:00 this afternoon the fast pass for Space Mountain was good for 11:00 tonight I knew we weren't going to ride it again. We still had a good time. I'll post some pictures when we get home.

Tomorrow is beach day. My cousin surfs so we're headed out early to watch him catch some waves. Yes, I promise to wear sun screen but...what's the worst that could happen? I'd get cancer??? Ha, beat that already....

By the way: Because the chicken was out of town.

Til tomorrow.

We made it

Just wanted to check in and say that we made it. It took a little less than 13 hours and was an easy drive. We missed the DC, Richmond and Jacksonville traffic and our car flew down the interstate (I didn't go much over the speedlimit I promise). Tiger Lily is an amazing travel companion and we had a good time together. She didn't get bored until just after Jacksonville which was more anticipation than anything else I think.

First thing she did when we got here was jump in the pool which is a balmy 68 degrees due to the cold weather they've been having down here. We had a quiet evening and Tiger Lily got to go for a ride in her "uncle's" convertible...

We have a full day planned for today and I'll post an update either tonight or tomorrow.

Getting ready to go

Well, our vacation is almost here. We're loading up at 4:00 tomorrow morning and driving south. It snowed (flurries only) here today so I'm really ready to head south and warm up a little bit. It's funny how relaxed I am about this trip. This time, we've each got a bathing suit (not a new bikini tho, shopping was a bust), a beach towel, sunscreen and a credit card (well, maybe just me with the credit card)--what else do we need? No huge list of things to bring and no planning party, we're just going--it's a vacation. Strange how things change...

We had company on Saturday and made a couple of batches of paella--Tiger Lily's turned out better than mine. She's an amazing cook and enjoys it. I enjoy spending time in the kitchen with her.

I'm bringing a laptop so hopefully I can post a short report from sunny Florida along with some pictures of us and Mickey Mouse!

80 degree weather here we come!!!

The Cost of Breast Cancer

Consumer Reports magazine has an article in its May edition that talks about health insurance and how different plans can vary widely in their coverage. If you read the article I’m lucky I have the same coverage as most of the members of Congress (trust me, I pay for it too…). It was surprising to see that the total care costs for most breast cancer patients is about $104,535. The article also discusses how individual health plans depending on the state and how the plan is written can have large coverage gaps and sometimes patients can end up paying about 1/3 of the total cost. So where am I going with this? Not sure, but people pay premiums therefore people expect coverage and perhaps one universal health care plan that at least eliminates the coverage gaps that leave breast cancer patients paying upwards of $35,000 isn’t such a bad idea after all. Just don’t tell my father I said this—he already thinks I’m a heathen since I’m a Democrat, I can hardly imagine what he’d think about my socialist tendencies….

Lucky for me I have great health insurance, I was treated at a premier institution and I don’t have $35,000 in bills (but I did have just about enough to claim the costs on my income tax). I count my blessings every day.

The weather is getting nice, is everybody getting ready to go walking?

Girls Time!!! (tiger lily came up with the title)

It's been a week of girls time so far. My sister and her husband flew out for a quick visit to help go through what is left in my parents house. They were a big help in persuading my dad to part with a few of his treasures. My sister is pretty much the opposite of me, she holds a management position with one of the big ambulance companies in Arizona and she is excellent at what she does (she runs a tight ship) which isn't surprising since she has 7 children. We have always gotten along really well (she was the best roommate I ever had in college) and I wish she lived closer.

I had cooking class last night and learned a few new things (and ate some really good food). I went with a friend who also enjoys cooking and her daughter is a big rice fan so the paella was a welcome addition to her repertoire. Of course Tiger Lily loved it. We also made a Spanish tortilla (fritatta) and a manchego cheese and date salad. We paired it with Tempranillo and Grenache wines and I can hardly wait to have people over to try everything I learned.

We are spending the rest of the week getting ready for Spring Break next week and are heading to Florida towards the end of next week. We are going bikini shopping this weekend (yes, for me...) so obviously the beach is involved. Disney World is also on the list as well as spending time with family.

I'll post more as we get ready to leave.

Adios amigos....