Inspiration Alley

Roof Update

So the roof is finished - and it looks beautiful.  All in all the process wasn't too painful but I'm glad I won't have to deal with it for another 20+ years.  I've got to get out there and take a picture.  I might have mentioned it, but we got a concrete barrel s-tile in white.  Come to find out white is not a common color and it was a special order.  Everyone seems to like the clay color tiles these days.

Now ... the rest of the house looks shabby, so I'm getting quotes for painting.  I've just got to decide on a color.  I like yellow (a very pale yellow like the color of butter), my husband doesn't like yellow that much.  He wants it beige, which is what it has been for the last 20+ years - kindof an peachy beige and I just can't stand it anymore.  I'm working on him, and I'll either convince him of light yellow, or we'll pick something else I just don't want that peachy color - I've had enough.

High School Reunion

No ... not the reality show, but real life.

I'm coming up on my 30th High School Reunion (if you do the math, don't even mention that I'm getting old).  I'm starting to get emails from Classmates.com about it. 

I don't know ... I just don't have a tremendous desire to go.  I didn't go to the 10th or the 20th.  I was pretty much a nobody in high school - sortof blended in with everyone as well as the walls.  I wasn't in any clubs or groups, didn't go to prom, sort of wanted to just get through it.

I am kindof curious about what people are doing now and what they look like - but there is noone I want to really connect with KWIM?  So, have you ever been to one of your reunions?  Why did you go?  Was it worth it?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Blogathon 2008

Yep ... it's almost that time again.

I'm thinking about what charity to blog for this year.  I want it to be cancer or ovarian cancer related, since my mom is fighting ovarian cancer at the moment.  Last year, I did Gilda's Club and I may do it for them again.  Right now, I'm in the planning stages -  making a decision of which charity to blog for, deciding what I want to blog about, and deciding if I want to create a separate blog just for the blogathon, or just do it here like I did last year.  I've still got plenty of time yet as it's not until the end of July, but I love to have a plan.

At this point, I'm not 100% sure that the event will take place - the person that organized it for the last couple of years is not available for 2008, but several have offered to help with the event, so if all goes well it should still work out.  I've got my fingers crossed.  It was quite an experience.  I thought it would be easy, but it was not.  I was really tired at around 4AM and didn't think I was going to make it.  It's weird, I can go to crops and stay up all night, but it is so different when you are by yourself posting away.

I hope it happens because I really want to blog again.

Cruisin 2009

I've committed to going on the next Hilltop Cruise, which will be March 2009.  It will depart from Tampa and go to Belize.  I already can't wait for it to get here.  We'll be traveling on Royal Caribbean again.  The main site doesn't have the excursions posted yet, but I've heard there is some sort of tubing through caves, which sounds like fun.  Thinking about next years cruise makes me think of how much I missed this years.

I'm already hooked up with a roomie, and am splurging for a room with a balcony this time around.  Getting all excited just thinking about it.

Not too good

of an average this month.  I'll strive to do better this coming month.

It just seems like the days are just flying by.  Heck, I just watched the season finale of Survivor last night, so that puts me about 2 weeks behind on TV alone.  I guess with all work and no play there is not much on this end to report.

Had a great Memorial Day weekend.  Hubby's birthday was Friday and I bought him some new clothes, some car parts (what else), and took him to Carabbas for dinner.  It was wonderful.  The rest of the weekend we just relaxed at home.  I kept thinking about going to South Beach, but then remembered that it is a mess with the HipHop convention thingy going on over there.  When I say a mess, I mean it literally.  Last year, we forgot and went to the beach in the early AM to see the sunrise and South Beach was trashed - bottles, cans, flyers, everywhere from the street to the waterline.  I don't envy the folks that have to clean up after the event. 

Made it through the weekend anyway, and now it's back to work to close the month.

My Kind of Traffic Jam

I've been stuck in traffic for many things, but I would have loved this one ... I hope the driver was alright though.

updated 9:07 a.m. ET, Mon., May. 19, 2008

MORRIS, Ill. - You'd need a lot of milk to dunk all the cookies that spilled on an interstate highway in Illinois this morning.

A trailer loaded with 14 tons of double-stuffed Oreos overturned, dumping boxes of cookies all over the road and the median about 50 miles southwest of Chicago.

It shut down the highway and backed up traffic.

Word Clounds on SnapShirts

I saw this on Diana's blog - a link to where you can get a shirt done at Snapshirts with a word cloud from recurring words on your blog. 

This is what mine would look like.  Interesting -- it pulled a lot from my book lists.

If you have a blog it's fun just to see what your recurring topics/themes are.

Travel Day

Uneventful travel day.  Flew Southwest which has a pit stop in Houston, then onward to Austin.  No problems, and on-time.  First time I've flown SW since they changed how they did the boarding, and I really liked it better.  You have an actual place in line rather than people sitting in line as soon as they arrive. 

Had some worries about the hotel because of comments left on some of the hotel review sites, but all is well on that account. Room is clean, front desk efficient, plus free hi-speed internet, lots of cable channels, free hot breakfast, and an exercise room.  Internet is not wi-fi, but still a very fast connection speed.  Haven't had much time to play, but did have time to check email and update the blog.  Tomorrow I'll be better rested and will spend some more time playing online.

Got the final date for my uncle's memorial service at Arlington Nat'l Cemetary.  He will have a full service w/gun salute, etc.  My sisters are going and I really want to go too.  Will have to see if I can make it work out as it is later this month. 

Roof Update

The roof is progressing along.  They've removed all the tiles and paper, they've put down the new paper and "dryed it in", and they've completed the wood repairs.  Apparently we had some termite damage in one area of the house.  We didn't realize there was damage, but we knew we had termites and tented about 2 years ago.  So now the wood has been replaced and the job boss said that there was no live termites (that's a relief).  After the wood the "mopped it in" with the tar (Thursday), so if all goes well, they should start with laying the tile sometime next week.

This roofing stuff is a whole other world with how it's done, and inspections needed, and the permitting.  I've been true to my normal inquisitive self and asking questions along the way, so I now can at least have a semi intelligent conversation when the roofing company calls to tell us something.

My cat's are freaked out with all the banging, and weird tar smells, so both they and I can't wait until it's all over.  Mother nature has really been behaving as we've had no rain (ok ... maybe a few light showers, but nothing major).  I'm just glad it's been moving along pretty quickly.

Diners DriveIns and Dives

Do you watch it on the Food Network ?

I've watched Guy since he was a contestant on the Next Food Network Star competition.  I was glad he won, and love both his shows.

OK ... so they did a piece on a Miami place called Skully's Tavern.  This happens to be pretty close to my house and we have never been there.  I didn't even know they served food, I just thought it was a bar and billiards place.

So anyway, after the show aired, I've been dying to go just to check it out, so we went Wednesday.  I had the dolphin sandwich and hubby had the dolphin dinner.  This was done just like in the show with the potato chip crust.  It was great!  There is a picture here at their website.  The owner stopped by the table and we told her that we came by because of Guy's show and she said that since the airing it's been like a 2 hour wait on Saturday evenings.  Since we went mid week there was no wait at all. 

The menu is standard pub food - burgers, wings, sandwiches, salads, etc, but then every day they have specials at both lunch and dinner.  Besides a soup of the day (which is pretty common for most restaurants) they have  potato of the day (which is how the potato is made) and a desert of the day.  The night we were there the potato of the day was done with a sort of horseradish sauce which was great - not overpowering, but definately horseradishy and definately delicious.

We'll be going back for sure, and I took a paper menu because it's close enough to the house to call in an order and pick it up.  I was checking out each thing that passed by my table, and I definately want to try the Fried Green Tomatoes next time, and I hear they have all you can eat ribs on Mondays, so that would work too.

Overall Great Food at a Great Price but then I knew Guy wouldn't lead me astray - now ... I need to find a reason to go to Sarasota so I can try the Turducken (stuffed Turkey, Duck, and Chicken) at the Alpine Steak House that he profiled last year.  Mmmm!