One of the many wonderful things about living in Florida is that we are surrounded at every turn by desirable places to visit. I live in a vacation destination. Can you ask for anything better? Today the weather was a perfect 72 degrees all day long and I have the windows open as I sit here typing after dinner beside the side gardens.
One of my favorite places here in the state (and I have many favorites) is Key West. I have visited there with my sister, my dad, with friends and even I even went there for my Honeymoon. And despite the fact that my marriage ended in divorce, Key West is still not spoiled for me. That’s how amazing it is down there. I’ve done a lot of touristy adventures things in Key West and I have also taken advantage of having local to guide me so that I could partake of several off the beaten path delights as well. You win either way. It’s fun to sit in a tiny diner in the middle of the key eating Cuban food from plastic dishes, and it’s just as fun to sit on one of the Conch Train tours. I think I leaned more unique facts about the city on the Conch Train than from any single other thing I did in Key West. I’ve done the glass bottom boat deal, I’ve gone on early morning snorkeling trips, I have toured museums full of shipwreck treasures, and I have traced the footsteps of Papa Hemingway (that delightful misogynist). I really wish I had gone on the Ghosts and Legends tour. I’m going to make a point of it the next time I am there.
Now, while I advocate the tours, museums, and day trips, they can get very expensive once you choose a few to enjoy. If you go through a site like Trusted Tours and Attractions, you can find discounted tickets to pretty much all of the cool stuff in Key West, as well as lots of other cities like Savannah and San Diego. Plus if you sign up for their Trusted Travels newsletter while you on their site, you will be entered to win 4 free tickets to attractions and tours in one of 21 different cities. That’s sure worth a couple of extra clicks. (Do it now, though. The give-away ends December 14, 2007.)
Beautiful little Riley Ann Sawyers
My heart is breaking. Every new detail I read about the shameful case of Riley makes me cry until my eyes are swollen and my cheeks are stinging. Tonight I just held my sleeping daughter, shaking as I cried silently.
How could a mother kill her child? How? What darkness has to be in your heart? How hollow do you need to be? What kind of monster beats a two-year-old, or ANY child, with belts, picked her up by her hair, throws her across the room, holds her under water, and in the end takes her innocent, helpless, trusting life away from her? And then – stuff her lifeless body in a storage shed for months, only to then put it in a storage container and toss it in the water.
Kimberly Dawn Trenor. She was able to do those things.
I think of how hard I worked to have Gigi. I think of my friends who have gone through years of painful and expensive fertility treatments just to have the honor of being a mother, entrusted with the life of a child. I think of the love and longing and joy my daughter inspires in me.
Riley’s dad was quoted as saying Riley was hyper. Two-year-olds are hyper, pretty much by nature. They are difficult, full of energy and often exasperating. And even so, they inspire love and wonder in those who have the ability to give love.
It is my fondest wish that people who give birth to children they abuse and cannot love fully will find the wisdom to walk away and give these children to loving, responsible, safe adoptive families.
When you have family members who are sport enthusiasts, Christmas shopping is an easy task. I always know my step-brother will like a jersey or some other goodie sporting the Bucs logo. I’m even getting my niece a little Bucs cheerleader outfit. And then there are my cousins, who share my love for hockey. Of course, we don’t cheer for the same team, but as long as we still see eye to eye on a love for the ice; all is well.
I love a good discount and I’m feeling pretty psyched about finding Hockeyoverstock.com. They carry skates and sticks and pretty much anything else a hockey player might need – as well as NHL apparel at surprisingly low prices. It’s hard to find licensed apparel at reasonable prices, so I consider this website a real find. So, I am currently up late combing through the deals on Rangers apparel for myself, Columbus Blue Jackets stuff for the cousins, and the token Lightening jersey to show my local spirit.
Most of the NHL stuff is over 50% off (a lot of it is closer to 75% off) of the regular retail price and if that’s not a good enough bargain for you, here’s a coupon code, too: ppp001107 gives you 5% off.
I don’t like seeing news of another celebrity death, especially when the person who died is young. Kevin DuBrow, the lead singer Quiet Riot, died over the weekend at the age of 52.
Quiet Riot gave us one of the greatest anthems of the 1980s with their cover of Slade’s “Cum on Feel the Noize”. I can still remember kids shouting the lyrics at junior high school dances.
DuBrow died at home in Las Vegas, Nevada. The cause of death has not been released.
