On My Way ....

.... back to Houston, where I'm guessing it is still hellishly hot?

I'm sitting in the St. Louis airport, which had an incredibly long security line, but also some very friendly people, so that balanced out the line.

G had a good night. Thank God. It was his first good night since before the surgery. So that means that V also had a good night.
R is also doing better today, so I knew that it was ok for me to return home. I thnk today will be a day of catch-up-on-your-rest for the three of them. Well, catch-up-as-much-rest-as-you-can-in-a-hospital anyway.

I'm so thankful that I was able to be there for V, and for her family. I'm thankful that my life is where it is at this point and that my time, and my children, are flexible.

BTW, if you happen to live in a hellishly-hot state at the moment, St. Louis is a lovely city and the weather is much cooler than that in TX. The highs were in the low 90's. They've
received some rain this past week, which I wish that I could bring back with me to Houston. So if you have some free time before oh ..... November, and want to feel cooler air, I'd highly recommend it for a place to visit. And no, this is not a paid advertisement. I wish.

I am now sitting on the plane so I'd better end this so that I can hopefully edit it for spelling (again, iPad so please forgive any mistakes ... or don't, I won't lose any sleep over it and I hope that you don't :).

Oh, I also was blessed to meet a lovely woman who reads my blog. :)
She saw me at the gate and introduced herself. Hi, Julie! It was so nice to meet you. :)
I hope your daughter has a blast at school this year. Oh yeah, and I hope she gets a bit of studying in, too. :)

That's it for now, Peeps.
Please keep praying for V, G and R. Pray that the kidney continues to work so excellently and that G's blood pressure goes down, and for quick healing and relief for both G and R.
And for rest, lots and lots of rest for all three of them.

Thanks, Peeps and happy Monday.
:)

In An Effort ....

..... to take my mind off of myself and off of my current struggle with God (just being honest) ....
I am posting D2's latest You Tube video.

But before I do I want to say thank you .... again, to all of you.  Thank you for the funny comment, Angela and thank you especially for coming out of lurkdom to make me smile.  It worked.  And I appreciate it.  :)

And thanks to the rest of you.  I very much needed to read your love and encouragement.  And Vicki, I hope your words come true.

To Anon #5, thank you so very much for telling me about you .... and especially about your love.  You do indeed give me hope.  :)

OK ..... here's the latest video.
Enjoy!



And, just to add a bit more to your day .... and to give you something more to read, even if you don't really need it .... here are the blog sites of D2 and D3.
I think they're fabulous.
And I don't think that's just because I'm their Mom and #1 fan.

Here's D2's:
http://adventuresoftheordinarylife.blogspot.com/

And here's D3's:
http://mildlyhumorousanecdotes.blogspot.com/
I'm sure you'll love her post from May 8th.  :)

And to catch you up on the 6, briefly:
D1 -- still in Baltimore, planning on moving to NYC in the fall.
I miss her.  A lot. (And am proud of her.)

D2 -- living down in the city at a foster care home for children.  It's hard but she's loving it.
I'm proud of her. (And I miss her.  A lot.)

D3 -- is now in D.C. attending a graduate program at Gallaudet University.  She will reside there for the next 3 summers and take classes on line at home while she teaches during the falls and springs.
I'm proud of her (and I miss her, too.  A lot.).

S1 -- is attending summer school up north in Texas.
And yes, I'm proud of him and I miss him. A lot.
And maybe he could call .... once in a while.

S2 -- is still working part time and working out weekly with the other recruits in our area.  He's still set to leave for boot camp in January, but is hoping that it's sooner.
Oh ... and he's getting ready to get to work on many over-due thank you notes.  Lucky guy.
I'm very proud of him.  But not missing him .... yet.  And not letting myself go there .... yet.

S3 -- is in Chicago for 2 weeks, attending a medical program for students interested in going into med school.  He's loving it, for which I'm happy and relieved.
I miss him.  A lot.  And am proud of him.

And I love all of them.  A whole lot lotter than a lot.
T.A.N.W.

There you go.
Thanks for helping me keep my mind off of my life and away from the abyss.
The steroids are definitely kicking in.  My joints are feeling better and better.
And I'm resting, unwillingly, a lot.
Oh .... and I hopefully won't cry at this ... again, but I had to decide to give Jack back.  I found out that I just can't physically keep up with 2 cats, or at least not with a kitten.  I've cried all day about it, but know it's the right decision.
On a high note .... which I'd always rather leave you on ..... S#2 told a good friend about it and she claimed him.  And I'm thankful and very happy.  She'll give him lots of love and we'll get to see him when she brings him over!!

OK, it's time for bed.
Yes, I feel like a 5 year old.
A 5 year old who has to take a nap during the day and can't sleep (I've never been able to nap well.  I need help).
But at least I went to bed for an hour this afternoon.
And stayed there for the whole hour.
:-p

Night, Peeps.
And thank you .... again.
:)

Kentucky Was ...

.... hot.
Really, really hot.

Now I realize that "hot" is a relative term of indicating warmer than warm temperatures.  And I realize that some people like to say, "Well, 110 isn't too bad here.  At least it's a dry heat."
What.
Ev.
Er.

I think that I can fairly say that I am a professional when it comes to judging whether the temperature is, or is not, hot.

And it was hot.
We were in Louisville and the high was in the 90's.
It's in the 90's in Houston ..... I thought Louisville would be an escape!!
Evidently it's been their warmest spring in quite a while.
I have great timing.

So our trip started off, as many trips do, at the airport.
As the Daughters and I were waiting to board our plane I noticed a woman standing near us who looked quite familiar.
I racked my brain ... which doesn't take as long as it used to since I don't remember much of anything, and then it occurred to me that she looked familiar because she look quite a bit like Beth Moore.  But not exactly.   Just a bit.
Her hair looked lighter in color and a little shorter.
Besides, if she'd been Beth Moore she wouldn't have been traveling alone.
And she would've had a really cute, expensive bag.

The girls and I were the first ones to get on the plane .... one of those tiny ones that you have to walk outside to get on.  You know, when you climb up the stairs and turn around and wave like you're the President of the United States or the Queen of England.
What?  You don't do that?!
Sure.

This woman was right behind us.  I leaned over the aisle (which was very easy to do since the aisle was only about 6" wide) and pointed her out to the girls and said, "She looks a lot like Beth Moore", mostly just to show them what Beth looks like.  They'd never seen her.
One of the girls said, "Maybe she is."  So I looked at her again.  And looked at what she was carrying.  She did have a cute bag.  In fact, it looked kind of "Brighton-ish",  which sounds very much like Beth Moore (at least, the Beth Moore in my mind).
She was carrying a note book, and a Bible, which of course should have been a clear indication, but I also knew that the girls and I were not the only females on the plane going to Louisville.  And the 3 of us were also carrying Bibles.
So I wasn't convinced.  She still didn't look exactly like Beth.
In my "before" days, I would've just sat back in my seat and started reading, still wondering if it was her.  And I would've wondered all weekend, but still doubted that it would.  I would NOT have asked her, because that would be way too embarrassing.  Especially when she'd say no.
But the "after" Janine kicked in and came up with a less embarrassing way of being humiliated.
I peeked over my seat and said, "Beth!".  That way, when she didn't look up I could just duck my head down and hope no one saw me do that.
But she did look up.
And she didn't say no.
She said, "Yes?" to which I blubbered .... "Are you Beth Moore?"
She smiled and said yes and I told her that we were going to the conference.  She asked my name and said it was nice to meet me and asked the girls their names and introduced herself to them.  We talked about some of the Tuesday night studies I'd been to, plus some of the studies I'd done at our church.  I told her that I had been on our church staff until recently.  I told her about our women's retreat in February and that it was the first time I'd ever seen/heard Priscilla Shirer.  She was delighted to talk about Priscilla and Kay Arthur and told the girls that she was so glad they were getting to see Kay, since she's like the .... Moses to the Christian women who came after her, to teach as well as study (and no, she didn't say the word Moses, I'm paraphrasing here).  Kay has been many a woman's mentor and Beth has a very high degree of respect and love for her.
We continued to chat until everyone got on the plane and then I told her it had been nice to meet her and wished her God's blessings for the conference.

So there you go.
And .... just in case you were wondering .... it turned out that she looked EXACTLY like Beth Moore.
:)

We arrived in Louisville right on time and the girls and I were met at the airport by one of my Peeps!  Hi H!!!!!!
No, we'd never met but when she read that I'd be in Kentucky she sent me an e-mail asking if I'd be anywhere near Louisville.  Turns out .... I was smack dab in Louisville.  So we set up a meeting in her busy, family-filled weekend.  I was so blessed to meet her and to spend a couple of hours with her.  We went to a restaurant that is "famous" for its "chili pepper wontons" or something close to that.  So the girls and I decided we had to order them.  After all, when you visit a city you should certainly try to eat something it's known for.  And they were excellent!!
After lunch H dropped us off at the hotel (Thanks again, H!!!) and we rested until it was time to go to the conference.
We joined 8,000 other people there.  They had a great worship team so we had lots of praise music and praising going on.  Then each of the women got up and said a little something.  They introduced themselves and said a little about themselves and past conferences.  When it was Beth's turn to get up and say "a little something", she talked about meeting me .... and the girls .... on the plane that day!  Oh yes she did!
So now we're kinda famous.
And I think Beth and I shall become BFFs.
:)

Kay spoke that night, Priscilla spoke Saturday morning and then Beth spoke Saturday afternoon.  The conference ended up around 4:30 and we headed back to the hotel.  Fortunately one of my good friends reminded me earlier in the week that her lovely daughter lives in Lousiville with her hubby.  So we got in contact and the two of them came over to visit and then took the Daughters out for dinner.  I begged off, saying I was tired, but I really wanted the 4 young ones to go out and have fun without the old lady. And so they did. :)
I had a nice quiet evening in the room, mostly reading .... and eating Chinese delivery food.

We left yesterday morning to return to the heat of Houston, which is mostly always hot.

My shoulder is doing better.  It still hurts and I still can't move it freely yet, but it's getting better every day.
Now, if I could just say the same about my joints.
I think my body has developed an allergy to traveling .... which is too bad because I'm not going to stop.
But my joints hurt .... a lot.  My feet started swelling and are still swollen, though a little less today.
It's hard to walk around, but it's worse to sit for a few minutes and then try to get up.
I'm SO MUCH FUN!!

I have an appointment next week to see the specialist.  I hope we hit it off .... because this will be a very, very long relationship (depending on how long I live, I guess).  I don't want to go doctor shopping so I'm praying that he's really good.

So that's it for now.
I hope to rest a lot this week before heading to Florida on Saturday.

And since Mondays are usually my "Monday Memories of What I'm Thankful For" .... I'll leave you with what I'm thankful for today.

*A great weekend with Daughters 2 & 3
*A fun conference with some amazing women of God
*Safe travels
*the chance to visit a neat city
*the blessing of meeting a wonderful Peep!
.... and even though it sometimes sucks .... I'm thankful for medical insurance and for people whom God has blessed to help others, medically.

Happy Monday, Peeps.
:)

I'm Home ....

.... and very, very woozy/fuzzy.
Make of that what you will.

I think it went ok.  The dr. didn't come back to talk to me afterwards but I'm going in on Monday to see him.
The good thing is that, for now, my arm is completely numb.  Dead.  My fingers, hand, shoulder and the right side of my neck and chest, which makes breathing a little difficult, but I prefer that over pain.
They gave me a nerve block through my neck before they put me out.  Now THAT was fun.   :-(
But at least I'll be pain free for the day.

OK, that's all .... I need a nap and Federer is playing Djokovic, so I'm tired, yet torn because it's a great match and I like both of them.

Thanks for the comments, please keep them coming.  p, thanks for the cat hint, I'll definitely try it.
Phyllis, I have those floss stick things .... thanks for reminding me.
Beth ... too funny!  I think Id have to smack him, though.  :)
H2 .... can't wait! And no, I've never played the banjo.   ;-)
Dawn .... I LOVE you!!
Patty ... I laughed out loud at the cussing joke!!  Thank you!!
Kathy ....thank you!

Well, this left handed pecking took me so long that the match is over (yay for Roger, sad face for Novak).
Time for a nap.
Please keep up the prayers .... when the pain hits it's supposed to hit hard.

Thanks, Peeps.
:)

And The Winner Is .....

..... getting ready to be named!

Got you there, didn't I?
You cannot be surprised by that fact.
Not if you've read my blog for more than a week or so.
Not if you know me IRL*.

First, before I reveal the big winner (really, Peeps .... don't salivate over this because I don't think I did that good of a job of finding something.  The pressure ended up being WAY too much for me.  Seriously.  How could I pick something for someone whom I've probably never met?  What if the winner is a man?  What if the winner hates what I choose?  See?  The pressure was freakin' HUGE (said with a heavy Scottish accent).  I almost could not enjoy the first few days of the cruise due to the pressure of finding the perfect gift.
Almost.
I mean really ...... do you think I'd let the pressure of choosing something totally ruin my Mediterranean cruise?!
I didn't think so.
Nonetheless ..... I still felt the pressure.
I think I felt it so much that I had to have 2 or 15 drinks every day.
I can't remember the exact number.
Don't judge.

Wow .... did I just digress there or what?!

So, back to what I was saying typing ..... before I announce the winner of said object(s) of humongous pressure .... I'd like to take a moment to shout out to all of the wonderful Lurkers (and to the rest of you) who came out of hiding to say hi (you greedy little lurker Peeps, you!).  :)

Hi to Mollie, who isn't a true Lurker as you've commented once or twice before.  And congrats again on being the first person to have the correct answer about our trip to hell and back to the oh-so-lovely  highly misleading excursion up the volcano of Santorini.
Very.  Very.  Misleading.
I cannot say who is to blame for that trip to Hell, but I think I can safely claim that it just might be someone who works for Celebrity cruise lines.
I will also add that yes, this excursion was included as an option on the Seaborn cruise, but I don't recall them extolling the virtues of it quite as strongly.  Though that could also be due to the fact that at the moment I saw the word "volcano" listed under the word "Santorini",  I had such a violent reaction that I almost threw the brochure across the room.

Wow #2, there I went again .... digressing.
I think I missed my Adderall dose this morning.

So hi again, Mollie and thanks for popping out to give a comment.

Hi also to Grandma Poppi, who is in no way a Lurker.  Don't worry, that's a good thing.  :)
I'm so sorry to say that I was not able to find a nice Greek, Croatian or Italian man to bring back for you.
Hell, I couldn't even find a mean one for me!
Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog and thank you for making comments.
I  LOVE comments.
(Do you think the true Lurkers caught that?)

LE ..... even though you try to be a Lurker, you are my sister-in-law and so you cannot be considered Lurkerish.  Nope.  Because I know you're there .... even though you rarely, RARELY comment.
Thank you for always reading.  Especially when you're reading it on your cell phone while sitting in my family room.  :)  Love you and thanks again and again for coming all the way to Texas to support Son #2 .... and me.

Alicia .... I don't consider you a Lurker, either.  I think you've commented a few times, and I read your blog regularly, so I don't feel that you're a true Lurker.  Thank you for reading.  And understanding.  :)

Anonymous #1 .... who was the 6th commenter .... thank you for coming out of Lurkerdom .... sort of.
Wait .... not "thank you" sort of, but "thank you" for sort of coming out.  You did not come all the way out, as you didn't post your name, initials or even your government-given Witness Protection Program name.  I'm so glad that you made a comment, but so sad that I couldn't put you in the pot to win since I didn't have anything to go on.  And if I picked someone who was totally "anonymous" ..... then most of my regular readers and I'm pretty sure many of the Lurkers would all lunge forward to claim that they had been that "anonymous person".  Not that I'm judging ..... but I think that's the kind of people that I attract.  :)
I hope you keep reading ..... and commenting.

OK ..... here's where you all witness the fact that I really do type the way I speak, as I think.    I rarely delete something I've typed that might be wrong, although I do correct it.  Just as I can't delete the words that have come out of my mouth, I don't delete the words that come out of my fingers.  Sometimes it makes for some humorous posts.  Sometimes it makes me look absolutely stupid.
As in this case.
I am going down the list of commenters .... mostly in the order they commented (except for Anna, who's getting my attention in a moment).  So I did not remember that Anonymous #1 really didn't remain anonymous, since she posted again immediately after the first post, giving me her initials.
Picture me ...... hanging my head in shame.
And now you know for certain that this is the way I write ..... very, very rarely planned out.  My fingers type the words as they come to my brain.
So .... a-hem .... Jo Ann C. ..... my wonderful friend, thank you so much for always reading and for always keeping up with me.  You mostly comment on FB, where my blog entries are also posted.
I love you.  :)

W .... where do I begin?  Thank you for always reading.  Thank you for having read for so long.  Thank you for letting me know how my honest rants and raves and very dark days have helped you and may have helped to prepare you for what lay ahead for you.  I treasure you.
Oh .... and thanks SO much for starting the whole "whorehouse" rumor ..... paybacks are hell, Honey.  :)

Roma .... thank you very much for coming out and commenting.  I hope that you will be able to check Greece off of your "to-do" list soon.  Thank you for living vicariously through me.  I hope you choose only the good parts.  :)

Heather .... you're right, you are not a Lurker.  You are a wonderful source of support when you comment.  Thank you very much.  :)   And I plan to come over to your blog later today.  Thanks for the invite!!

Anna .... as my naturalized niece, you, too, cannot be a Lurker.  But you come very close.  I suspected you read, but not as often as you do.  So that came as a wonderful surprise to me!  I love you and I hope that Hawaii is being wonderful to you.  :)

Hello Barbara .... it's nice to see your smiling face!  Thanks so much for coming out to say hi.  And thanks for keeping up with me.  :)

Cindy B from CA .... Hi!!!  California has such wonderfully nice people.  Thank you for your very kind words .... and for letting me know that you're there.  :)

Nat ... Thank you, my dear friend, for always reading and for always supporting me.  I love you.  :)

Andra ..... Hello!!!  It's so nice to meet you!!  And yes, you were very correct .... to say that I was "none too pleased" about the volcano trip is putting it very nicely.  And so ladylike.  Thank you for reading and thank you for letting me know you're here.  :)

Marcia ..... Of course you're a Peep!  Every single one of you Lurkers is a Peep, even if I don't know it.  :)   Thanks so much for popping in and saying hi.

RJ .... For someone who is most definitely not a Lurker, your addition of "seeing a donkey" was .... a bit off.  Not too far off because I did see a donkey .... or twenty.  But I totally mis-read your comment at first and thought you had said that I "rode a donkey".  My bad.
Thanks for being a consistent reader AND commenter.  I LOVE COMMENTERS.
Wait ..... didn't I write that earlier?
:)

Beth ..... you are not considered a Lurker .... at least not by me.  I know you're there and I'm grateful that you are.  Thanks for that and for the times you comment.  :)

Linds ... Yes, I do know you.  You've been here from almost the beginning and you've been in this horrible club longer than I have.  I love reading your blog and seeing how much you are enjoying life and what,  and who, it brings.  Thanks for being a great source of support .... especially back in the horribly black days that I don't like to think about.
And the weather was amazing while we were there.  It could NOT have been better.  It was like being in Heaven, I imagine.
And I, too, hope you can go to Camp Widow next year.  I wish you could come this year and am bummed that I won't get to meet you ..... yet.  But we'll work on asking God about that.  :)

Susan .... T.A.N.W. for the support you've given me and the encouragement.  Not just to keep breathing, but to keep writing.  I don't see you as often as I'd like to.  Not at all.  But I hope that you know that you and M are always in my thoughts and prayers.  I'm praying for him as he's gone and for you as you're single-parenting it for a while.  And for peace, strength, courage and God's love to surround you.  I love you.  Very, very much.

Bella ..... Hi!!!  So nice to meet you!  And thank you for not taking other people's answers.  As I said before .... I think many of my other Peeps just might think of doing that.  Heck, I would.  :)
Thanks for commenting!

Terryobx ..... Thank you SO much for posting!  I am humbled so much by the people who follow my blog .... and who have done so for a long time.  Yes, you are a Lurker .... or at least you WERE a Lurker.  And yes indeed ..... you are very much a Peep.  :)

Nlynch .... Thank you for letting me know that you're still here, my friend.  I love you.  :)

Raydene ....Thank you for commenting .... and for telling me how my life is helping you to help your friend.  That, after all, is what this blog is all about now.  I write totally for you.  For each of you.  For those who've been widowed, those who will be widowed, those who know someone who's widowed, and for those who just want to know what it's like so that they may, someday, be able to help someone they love.    Thank you again, for letting me know you're here.  :)

Chris ... You may think you're a Lurker .... but I don't.  Thank you.  Very much.  :)

Purejoy ..... You're definitely not a Lurker in my mind.  You, too, have been here for me from very early on.  Thank you so much for that.  :)

Wendee .... Hello, my friend!  And thank you for being honest enough to say that you commented just to get the prize.  Refreshing!  :)

SJE ..... Hopefully you commented only to look smart enough to know what Goodbye is in Croatian (so technically not Bosnian).    You cannot be a winner of the Greek stuff because .... you are my son and that would look terribly wrong.  And some disgruntled Peep might contact the FCC to complain of nepotism.  Not that I think of anyone in particular (W).  :)

Laura C ....Thank you for commenting .... and for remembering my trip last year.  This year no one stopped me.  Anywhere.  I was a bit disappointed.
:)


OK, I think that's everyone.  If I missed one of you, please accept my most humblest apologies and let me know.

There were 33 comments.  Those numbers were taken down and one number was chosen at random .... by one of my children.  I did not tell them why they were choosing a number, until after they did.

So ...... imagine a drum roll here ............

The Winner/Lurker/Commenter is ....................  RJ!!!!

And RJ is kind of a double winner because she kindly requested pictures of a Greek cookbook, which I complied with and will provide on this post.

So here's what you've won ..... again, don't get too excited .... and to the rest of you, don't be too disappointed:

I couldn't come up with one item, though I tried.  Again .... the pressure.
So I chose a sampling of items that represent Greece.
From the left ...
1.   A set of colored pencils from Corfu that are made from olive wood.
2.  A small bottle of Ouzo from Santorini, I believe.  If you like licorice ..... and alcohol,  you'll most likely enjoy it.  If, however, you are like me ..... you will most likely think what I thought (as I channeled my 16 - 17 year old self):  "Gag me with a spoon!!!"
3.  A package of sesame coated pistachio nuts (unshelled).  I really enjoyed these and brought extras home to snack on.
4.  A bar of olive and honey soap from Corfu.  It's very, very good for the face.  Gentle and great for cleansing and keeping wrinkles at bay.  For a while, anyway.
I have no idea what it does for already-existent wrinkles.
5.  A ceramic box-like-dish (box-like in that it has a lid) from Kotor, Montenegro.

So there you go ....  small samplings of Greece and Montenegro.  I hope you enjoy them.  Now I have to find a box to put it all in and make sure nothing breaks.  I will get this sent off this week (since I probably won't be doing much next week).

So please send me an e-mail with your name, address and zip.
You can send it to jeggerstx@gmail.com

And .... here are pictures of a few cookbooks I found.  I think it might be the first one that you were looking for, but just in case ... I threw in each one I saw.

I hope that helps.

Once again, thank you SO much to each of you who commented.  Thank you especially to you Lurkers.  I'm glad you took the time to let me know you're here, reading and silently supporting me.

I'm still asking for prayers ..... the sadness is still there,  kind of like a blanket laying underneath everything.  I think that when medical conditions arise, it just makes me more aware of how alone I really am.  The kind of, "If I died in my sleep how long would it take for someone to notice my absence?" or "If I were to slip and fall in the shower (God forbid .... please!) or start to have a heart attack, or even start choking ..... I wouldn't have a husband here who could help and keep me from dying" thing.  Not that I think about that a lot, because I really don't, but when medical stuff comes up, it's hard not to.
Ironically, if I'm in a lot of pain, I usually don't want anyone around anyway, but it sure is comforting and secure-feeling to know that a husband/significant other would be there anyway, just in case.

Thanks again, Peeps.  This was fun for me and I hope it was fun for you.
Have a great Monday/Memorial Day.
:)

*In Real Life

P.S.  I still have a few hundred pictures to upload and then go through more than 1,000 to edit them and get them ready for posting.
My computer is telling me that my iPhoto disk has very little room on it so I don't think I'll be able to upload very many until I can get my hands on a hard drive and move a lot of pictures over to it to make room.  I ordered one the week before I left on the trip from Amazon, but it still hasn't shipped.  Is it just me who finds that irritating?
So ..... that may be something that I'll be working on next week, as I'm recuperating from my surgery.  If so, it should prove to be pretty humorous, as I expect to be drug-filled for as long as I need to be.  So who knows what I'll write, or remember, about each picture.
I will also have the challenge of not being able to type with two hands .... so who knows what's going to happen or what's going to show up here.
Please know ahead of time that I am not holding myself responsible for what appears on this blog after 5:00 a.m. on Friday.

Adios .....

UPDATE #2: Thursday, May 19th
Hi Peeps!
This comes to you from Corfu, our last port in Greece. Tomorrow we'll awaken in Kotor, Montenegro.
Yeah, I'd never really heard of it, either.

Kudos and lots of props to Mollie B, who was the firt person to answer my question correctly. "Do vidjenja" means goodbye in Croation. Good job, MB!

And Susan .... I have never been to a whorehouse (that I'm aware of). W has a wicked sense of humor. I can only think that she was referring to my watching of Daughters 2 & 3 in "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas".
Maybe.

As for behaving myself or, as Nat used to thnk, being a "rule follower" .... ha!
All it takes is for someone to tell me that I can't do something .... something inane that shouldn't be disallowed in the first place ... something you would never have thought of doing ... for me to want to go and do it.

For example .... yesterday we were in Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic games. Yes, it was very cool.
We went to the museum there, but before we went in, our tour guide had to give us a oouple of rules. And yes .... my radar went up immediately.
The first rule was "no flash pictures". Hey, I'm cool with that one. I understnd why that's a rule and I always follow it (but rarely, if ever, follow the "no photos rule". Yes, you may call me a "rebel".)

The second rule was this: no posing next to the pieces of art.
Ummmmmm ....
Seriously?
Of course I posed like a maniac.
Which is quite easy to do with an iPhone 4. It has a camera that turns around so that the person holding it can see and take pictures of themselves. So it looks like you're taking a picture of something in front of you when you're actually taking a picture of yourself or something behind you.
Totally cool.
And fun.
Especially when breaking stupid rules.

I'll post those when I get home, as well as the pictures of Greek cookbooks that I took today for RJ. I wasn't sure which one you meant so I took pics of all the ones I saw ..... About 35
or 40.
Really??!
No.
I jest. It was only 3 or 4.
:)

OK, that's all for now. Time to get ready for dinner.
Or get a drink.
The taking of vacations is very hard work, Peeps. :)

Keep those cmments coming. The posting of multiple comments (but different) might be counted, too.
And .... the item(s) in this giveaway may or may not include alcohol.
:)

Kaliniktata, Peeps.



UPDATE: WOW!!! Look at all of you coming out into the open!! I may have to do Giveaways more often! And rest assured, each and every one of you is a Peep ..... yes, even you Lurkers. :)
So tonight we are on our way to Corfu, another Greek island. We went to Santorini today. Kudos to those of you who remembered that Daughter #1 and I did indeed go to hell climb a stinkin' volcano last year on this lovely island. It was horrible. But, we survived and are better people because of it.
OK, so we're not really better because of it. I'd say we are a bit smarter .... we'll never climb a volcano again!

Keep the comments coming. You'll be so sorry if you miss out on my Mediterranean giveaway!
I'll continue to update here .... you continue to comment.
Do vidjenja, Peeps and happy Tuesday.
Extra points to the first person who translates that. One hint: it's not Greek.
:)



..... los Peepos.
:)

I'm heading out bright and early in the morning.  I'm hoping that I'll have spurts of internet while I'm gone so I can update once in a while and maybe upload some pics.

My mom and I are heading to Athens tomorrow and the cruise starts Monday.

Alas, this time I will not be trying to help Greece out of its economic nightmare.  I just don't have it in me.  I gave it my very best shot last year .... I really did.
But did I get even a postcard as a thank you note from Greece?
I did not.
My hugely heroic attempt to lift them out of the red was not appreciated.
Which is really unfortunate for them.
Just one teeny, tiny "thanks" from them ..... and I'd be going full throttle over there, buying everything I could haul and/or ship home.

So I shall turn my attention to Dubrovnik.  Or Venice.
Or Santorini.
Which ..... if any of you remember ..... was where I ............

Nope.  I'm not going to tell you.
Instead, I'm going to leave that as my question to you.
We shall see how many of you have been paying attention.
We shall also see if ANYONE reads this blog anymore.
Hello?  Anyone out there?
******** <------------ the sound of crickets chirping -------------->  **************

OK, if anyone is still reading, and remembers what Daughter #1 and I did in Santorini last summer, please post a comment.
Or, if anyone is still reading ..... and has no idea ..... post a comment.
Or, if anyone just started reading ..... post a comment.
That goes for all of you Lurkers, too.
If you lurk ..... post.

I will bring back something really cool for one of you.
No, I have no idea what it is ...... but it will be cool.
So post a comment and you'll have a chance to receive whatever cool thing I bring back.
I'll choose a number at random.
So yes ..... this is a Giveaway!
And an attempt to get most of you (because I know ALL of you Lurkers will not unlurk) to come out of the woodwork.

If you post anonymously please write at least your initials or first name in the comment.  I can't really pick someone who's totally anonymous, now can I?  I do not have Sucker written on my forehead.
(It might be written somewhere else, but it's definitely not on my forehead.)

So there you go, Peeps.
I shall return in a week and a half.
Unless I meet a really hot, rich, funny, unmarried man.

Stop laughing.
It could happen.

Happy Friday/Saturday Peeps.