Vacation Notes

  Good morning everyone! Greetings from sunny Orlando! Another morning waking up to sunshine and blue skies. I love it! Even this damn cold can't take the smile off my face. Lindy, my beautiful artist neighbor, informed me that it snowed at home yesterday. Since we are here another week I'm oblivious.

  Christmas Day we checked into Daytona Beach and enjoyed the ocean for a few days. I forget sometimes how much I love just sitting and looking at it for hours on end. The water was warm....ish. We did get used to it and while I can't honestly say I swam in it, John and the boys did some bogey boarding in the waves.

  We arrived here in Orlando a few days ago. So far we have swam, shopped and slept. A theme park might be in the plans over the next few days but that is still under discussion. Disney Springs has changed so much since we were here last. The Marvel store was awesome. I'm such a geek sometimes.

  Yesterday was my birthday and it started with a visit to the doctor. Of course travel insurance is a must and remember to call your provider before going to the clinic as it makes life an awful lot easier. I've been suffering through some cold/sinus thing and the coughing is nuts. But happily my lungs are clear, as are Riley's, and we just need to suffer through it I guess. But what a way to start your birthday!

  We spent the day doing a little shopping. With the exchange things must really be a deal before I buy. While I saw plenty of things I would love to have, there weren't many things that I had to have. But today is a new day.

  It's time to start the day. There is sunshine to be enjoyed. 

  Now where did I put my sunglasses?

  Ang

It's Finally Here!

  This is it. Today is the day. Months worth of planning comes down to this day. The hours spent analyzing and preparing will result in a day of perfect execution. It's vacation packing day!

  Ok so it won't go as planned. I'd bet money on it. Mostly because there wasn't much in the line of planning. Or analyzing. Or preparing for that matter. We always do this to ourselves. 

  In my defense though this is a busy time of year even without the extra work of vacation packing. I have bought, wrapped, shipped and delivered every single present. Every card that went out was signed by me. The tree and house were decorated by these two hands. Our party was prepared by me and I even found the energy to organize Riley's school Christmas party.

  I took a second to read what I've written. It sounds.....ungrateful. I am, after all, going on vacation. I'm leaving behind the cold and snow. I won't be cooking, cleaning or making lunches for two entire weeks. No shoveling, scraping the car or wearing layers upon layers of clothes. Instead it will be all about sunscreen and which pool to swim in. Perspective.

  Enough of the self pity....it's time to pack. Now where are my sandals????

  Ang

Perfection

  This time of year people are at their best...at least they want you to believe they are. We all want to give off the impression that we are ready, willing and able to enjoy this wonderful season. Not the stressed out, broke and exhausted that we really are. 

  No matter how hard we try we just aren't ready. Almost every single person I know will still be heading to the grocery on December 24th. And they will all be complaining about how busy it is, as if everyone else should be better prepared when they are not. 

  Don't kid yourself it won't only be husbands out getting last minute presents. Many folks will remember a neighbor, aunt or friend who they forgot to get "a little something" for. It's part of the season I guess. We are all equally guilty.

  The kids will break something. Mess up the house. Turkeys will be overcooked and dry. Someone will drink too much and say things everyone will regret. Most will over eat. We will spend too much money on things we don't need. 

  The holidays, yes I said holidays relax, are not perfect. They can't be. Family and friends always lead to noise, laughter, arguments and upheaval. We all must let things roll off of us. Accept that the idea of perfection is just that... an idea. 

  Except on tv sitcoms!

  Ang

20 Children

  Four years ago today a twenty year old man walked into an elementary school in Sandy Hook Connecticut then shot and killed six staff members and twenty children. Twenty children. Twenty. Stop for a minute and imagine that number. Twenty six and seven year olds.

  Gun violence is not uncommon in the U.S. in fact it's ever too common. And mass shootings are so common that while they still are front page news, their life cycle isn't half as long as you would think. It's as if people expect it on a regular basis.

  Somehow I thought, naively, this would be different. This would be the final straw. This wasn't a shooting of adults who, while it would be awful, led full lives and experienced some of life's pleasures. These were children. Little children. Surely this was different. I was wrong.

  Yes there was outrage. Lots of it. Vigils and candles. Tears and calls for reform to gun laws and stricter regulations. The result? Nothing. No changes. Congress passed no new laws. No long wait times or in-depth background checks. No changes what so ever on guns. A few states strengthened their laws but others made the laws even weaker. And the NRA said that gun free schools were bigger targets and there should be armed police at every school in the country.

  I'm no expert on guns or gun control. I don't know how you keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals. But wait times, back ground checks and banning assault rifles would be an excellent start. I'd bet money on it.

  Take an extra second today to hold your child. And think about the families who cannot.

  Ang

Thin Skin

  I thought, hoped and even prayed, that after the U.S. election I would stop hearing about Donald Trump. Yes I know he won but every single day the rhetoric continues. He gets more coverage in Canada than our own Prime Minister! 

  According to his Twitter rants, every single person, news agency or country that says any teeny tiny thing against him is biased. And no good. The CIA, NBC News, CNN and SNL (Saturday Night Live) are a few he's taken issue with this past week alone.

  Now SNL has some unfunny skits I'll give him that but it's guaranteed the ones about him are hilarious. It's Alec Baldwin at his very best and if he wants it to stop he has been given an out....show your tax returns. So I guess the show will go on. 

  CNN commentators like Anderson Cooper and Van Jones do show their political leanings. Even without saying "I'm a democrat" you know that's exactly what they are. But they ask tough questions to all politicians. Are/Were they harder on him than others? Maybe but remember his stance on important issues that will directly affect their lives was not favorable. Yes it's their job but it still must be very difficult to listen to someone who you know for a fact dislikes a group you belong to and plans to make your life harder.

  Complaining about NBC seems funny to me. Isn't that The Apprentice channel? That's biting the hand that feeds you so to speak. 

  Dismissing the CIA is scary. This is where most of your intel comes from. Just because you don't like the information doesn't mean you belittle the organization. They are going to be briefing you daily and you must take most, if not all, of their information as the truth. They are the "experts" on what's going on in the world outside of Trump Towers! 

  This man is going to be the leader of one of the most influential countries in the world. His arrogance, combined with his ignorance, will most definitely change the world. But his thin skin may be the down fall of us all.

  Oh and please stop saying he will be the leader of the free world. Speaking on behalf of the free world.....we don't want him.

  Ang

Privacy Please

  Being a celebrity has some perks. I'm sure Beyonce doesn't wait in line at Disneyland. And there is no way Jennifer Lawrence or George Clooney are asked to leave a bar or restaurant at closing time. Private jets. Yachts. The list goes on and on. In some cases it also means special treatment within the legal system.

  That's why it seemed odd to me when I saw a news article yesterday about Brad Pitts custody agreement not being kept private during divorce proceedings. How does that happen? Six kids who face enough scrutiny on a daily basis now must have the world know their most private business? That doesn't seem fair.

  Every single divorce and custody agreement should be confidential. Not for the parents but for the welfare of the kids. This one will actually make the news. Imagine being 12 years old. The embarrassment would be unbelievable. So not only is your life in upheaval but all your friends, and those who aren't, know every private detail of your home life. Kids are horrible and will use it as ammunition in the years to come. Sad.

  The analyst said this was a ploy on Angelina Jolie's part to have the upper hand in divorce proceedings. If that is the case shame on her. Putting your own selfishness before your kids isn't okay and would make me question whether the kids are best off in her primary custody or not. Unfortunately people forget to be adults a lot of the time when going through a divorce. Celebrity or not.

  If you, or someone you know, are going through a divorce and have children, please, please, please try to stay adult about it all. Remember...this is your child's mother or father.  And the kids won't thank you later for slandering them!

  Ang

She's Making A List

  With Christmas a mere 18 days away I'm feeling a little Scrooge-like. Bah humbug. Not because I don't love love love this time of year but because once again I've waited til the absolute last minutes to get most things done! And I've taken on too much. Why do I do this to myself??

  This year is a little different because we are heading out on a two week vacation a few days before Christmas. That means I need to be even more organized than I already am....which is not at all!

  So today I have made a list. Checked it twice. And will not consider the day a success if it's not completed. What is on my list you may wonder? Mail the three boxes of presents I have ready and all the cards. Bring the decoration boxes downstairs. Go to the grocery. See it's a do-able list. 

  As long as I don't get distracted! I'll let you know.

  Ang

Parenting Woes

  Man this parenting thing is hard! Harder than anything else I've ever done. And so very easy to get wrong. No matter how hard we try we always get something wrong.

  Alex is a teenager and with that comes it's share of angst, screaming, tears and slamming doors. I know that. We all know that. But we aren't ready for it. How can you possibly be ready for it?? That cute little face that used to look at you with all the love in the world now believes you have no clue what pain and suffering they go through. And you don't.

  As adults we can't possibly know how hard it is for kids today. We can remember how difficult it was for us but it's different now. It's their experience not ours. In many ways it is worse! Far worse. Social media has changed the very definition of bullying and public shame.

  My child, yours, every child will go through something. They want us to fix "it", whatever "it" is at the moment. Especially when they say we can't. But the hard truth is we can't fix everything. No matter how much we may want to. And we need to accept that. Right now. That's a hard life lesson for an adult.

  I will admit I'm having growing pains. Each and every day is a challenge I'm not fully prepared for. Neither is John. Joined together as a united front we still aren't prepared. 

  Truthfully none of us are. Like Dory says..."just keep swimming swimming"

  Ang

Shopping....again

  At 5:30 this morning I was half way through my first coffee and had caught the overnight head lines on the news. I turned to John, who was eating protein pancakes, and asked a very serious question....how many more days til vacation?

  It's December so we are in the home stretch for both the holiday season AND our family vacation! That means we, ok really just me, need to get ourselves organized and accomplish something. And fast. 

  Yesterday I went shopping. No success. I found lots of things I would like but little or nothing for the actual people I was shopping for. Isn't that always the case? I could have spent my entire holiday shopping budget on me in two stores or less. I'm finding it hard to buy for the grandparents who want absolutely nothing! Their words not mine. 

  Today I will try again but maybe on-line. I'm waiting for a few orders right now that are happily stuck at the border. Plus Alex's passport still hasn't arrived so I should hang around for the FedEx truck. 

  The "locals" are easy to buy for. Honestly they can wait. It's those gifts that need to be in the mail I'm panicking a little about. My disorganized life comes back to bite me in the ass every year at this time. With no one to blame but myself.

  Oh well time to make good on my promise to myself.....wish me luck.

  Ang