How Time Flies!

After the comments on my Monday post, I decided to figure out how old I was on my first trip to Isla. I've always had a problem remembering my age! (Da' Nile ain't just a river in Egypt!) I came to the conclusion that I was 48 on that virgin voyage in 2002. I think the last seven years have been really tough on me because I looked a LOT younger in this photo! Ha! I need to figure out how to recapture my youthful glow! And here's the youthful Craig. I think we were at a restaurant on the lagoon in Cancun.

Here's another photo of Craig, male Bimbo, on that trip in 2002!

I know this sounds morbid, but we keep reminding ourselves now that we need to seize the day before we become too decrepit to travel and do all the things we want to do in this life. The events of this past year with relatives and friends have been a painful reminder that your ticket can be pulled at any time. I think I started a Bucket List somewhere in this blog! I need to unearth it and begin checking the list! (Ziplines have already been checked! HA!)

Here's a song from Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews that says it all!

Summer's Here!

Today's June 19 and it looks like the weather is finally turning. We've had a record streak in June of below 100 degree temps dipping into the lo-70's at night. Seriously, anything in the 90's here in June is wonderful! I've actually been sleeping with the windows open! But the forecast for tomorrow shows 103 with gradually increasing temps up to about 107 by mid-week. But it was a glorious ride while it lasted. I don't have a comparison from 2008, but I got my electric bill today and it was much lower than last year! I'll take it! And they're even predicting a possible monsoon storm for today. It'll probably be a dry storm here in the valley (evaporates before it hits the ground), but the high is still supposed to be below 100! It's the little things in life! HA!

Here's a video with some beautiful beach pics to kick off the summer!

Shi(f)twork!

Remember me saying that I was returning to the salt mines on Thursday? Well . . . this project is turning out to be a real booger in the garden of life. (Make that a cat turd in the sandbox!) We're already down two people because they figured out very quickly we were being stiffed on pay. Our hourly pay during the morning training/qualifying session unbelievably enough worked out to be less than $7.00 an hour. I could have made more money wiping syrup off the morning breakfast tables at McDonald's. (And this place requires at least a bachelor's degree.) And the disorganized P.M.S.-ing project leader is one of those people who wants to make sure that she takes all of her many frustrations out on any underlings within her reach -- because she evidently CAN! She runs into the room hourly with her whip and spreads her negativity. Speed up. Slow down. Stop asking stupid questions. Most of the people are working online from home, so she can't scream at them. We're the lucky people sitting in the room down the hall from her office.

So brainstorm with me for a few minutes. Can you help me come up with some good excuses I could use on Monday morning to just call in and resign?

My grandmother died (once again 30 years later) in Kansas.
I've been quarantined with the swine flu.
My car won't start and I can't afford to fix it. And the bus doesn't run through our neighborhood.
I contracted flesh-eating bacteria from my pedicure last week.
I took a stick to both eyes out hiking, tore both corneas, and both eyes are temporarily covered with pirate patches.
I fell and broke a finger in my mouse hand and they've put me in a full arm cast. (Make that a full body cast.)

Seriously, I probably have no choice but to return on Monday if I want the option of doing seasonal projects next year, but this is the pits. My last project wasn't easy, but all the supervisors and project heads were wonderful supportive professional people. It's one thing to take a big pay cut on a project and work for pennies (and I think they're doing this because they know they can get away with it in a time with record high unemployment) -- it's a whole 'nother thing to put up with verbal abuse and insanity for three weeks. Fortunately, I'm sitting next to a comedian and we can lighten the blows by laughing about it. What else can you do? (And don't suggest going to H.R. That's the ultimate joke.)

She comes in hourly with her whip and threatens that we could be locked out of our computers at any moment if our performance slips. Maybe I'll get lucky on Monday!

Down the Road

We took another bike ride yesterday and happened upon a different country lane. One more road we'd never been down in our area. Mules, ostriches, junkyards, etc... Love it!

Love this No Hunting sign that's peppered with bullet holes.

This mule was so cute and furry. He immediately came over to the fence, probably thinking we had carrots for him.

What's a country lane without a junkyard? Look at those cool old scales. And every junkyard has a guard dog. This one has a junkyard ostrich. She immediately ran over to the fence to check me out. Fortunately, there was no spitting.

Shiftwork!

Well, today's the big day. Up at 6 a.m. and off to worky worky! I'd tell you what I'm doing, but then I'd have to kill you. Tee hee. Not really, but I am doing something where I had to sign a confidentiality agreement and I'm not supposed to talk about it! I'll try to keep up with the blogging, but you have to know it won't be quite as consistent! See ya later!

Makin' Babies!

No, this is not a story about pigs makin' bacon, bunnies, or the Palin family. NOT what you think! Craig and I have discovered how easy it is to propagate new plants down here in the desert. A lot of plants down here just make little babies and all you have to do is dig them out and put them in a pot with dirt. Sunday was a work day because living down here also involves overseeding the lawn every year, so we decided to separate some of the babies from the mamas while we were dirty. Here's some of Sunday's booty.

But to start off, look at this angry sunrise Sunday morning!

On to the free plants!

Here's one agave.

And another smaller one.

A Mediterranean Fan Palm that was pretty big!

Two yuccas -- one on each end in this grouping.

And a Katie Ruellia. This plant gets little mounding purple flowers.

Now if I could just grow money in this manner -- wouldn't that be a miracle!

Tropical Splendor

Sunset is usually a gathering time in the tropics. When we've stayed on Kauai, people gather in groups at the beach waiting for the sun to go down.

In the Poipu area, people line the sidewalks and lawn at the Beachhouse Restaurant to take in the above view.


On the North Shore, there's a party atmosphere on Hanalei Bay. Local families congregate at Hanalei Beach Park to picnic, play music, and watch the sunset. Little kids take turns jumping from the pier. Some evenings, a Hawaiian man appears and sounds a large conch shell as the sun descends into the water.



Some nights when we were too tired to drive into Hanalei, we'd get lucky from our location on the northeastern side of the island. I took this picture of sunset reflected in the clouds from the deck of our studio on Moloa'a Bay.

Sunset on Isla Mujeres is also a time to get a drink and watch the show. When I was there in December 2005, sunset was early, so I would take a stroll down Medina to admire the view.

Playa Del Sol, Isla Mujeres

Airport Strip Sunset, Isla Mujeres

Sunset over Bally Hoo, Isla Mujeres

Isla Mujeres Winter 2007

Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven!

I just saw this video at the gym this morning and I love it! It's Kenny Chesney and the Wailers singing "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven." It has a great Caribbean vibe to it! Until I can figure out how to upload videos without the easy embedding code, here's the link:

http://www.cmt.com/videos/kenny-chesney/265952/everybody-wants-to-go-to-heaven.jhtml

I'm headed off to a pool party where the ladies (term used loosely :)) meet and talk politics, family, etc... and have lunch. Here's our August meeting. :)

Before I go, as an apology for yesterday's senseless humor :), here are some more pics of my favorite Caribbean island!