No BlogHer for Me :-((

I guess it's not meant to be this year! I just realized that my final payment for the cruise portion of our vacation is due on August 6th. After much calculations and tons of head banging, I have realized that I won't be able to make it to BlogHer11.

I was really looking forward to the conference and to visiting San Diego again. But, unless I want to live under a bridge and carry all my worldly possessions in a shopping cart, BlogHer is a no go this year. Unless I win the lotto of course. Or some AMAZING company sponsors me!

Thing is, that I already bought my ticket. If you or anyone you know would like to purchase my ticket, let me know. I have the Full Conference Pass for $163 plus any applicable PayPal fees, if any.

I am wishin' & hoping that BlogHer12 will be somewhere within driving distance and in my time zone. Better yet, bring it to the MIA! That will make it oh, so convenient for me!

Go Red for Women on Feb. 4th

Here I am, once again, asking you to take charge of your heart health. Don't be fooled into thinking that heart disease only affects men. Here is a link to my Go Red post from last year. It also links you up to a short history.

Today I would like to share what it felt like to have a heart attack. On that day, I had taken my daughter to the pediatrician in the morning. As I was driving her back to school, I felt a pulling on the left side of my chest. It went away within a few minutes though, so I went about my day. I ended up at the grocery store, where I grabbed a basket since I only planned on purchasing a few items. I hadn't walked more then a few steps, through the store when I felt that I could not carry my basket with my left hand. I then felt the pulling on my left side again but this time it radiated to my back and left arm as well. I thought it was heart burn. It definitely did not feel like what I would expect a heart attack to feel like. I've heard people describe it as a crushing pain or like having an elephant sit on your chest.
I had cold sweats and when I tried walking towards the exit, I had a very hard time breathing. That is when I sort of started to panic.

I was taken by rescue to the hospital where it was confirmed that I was having a heart attack. The very next day, I was in the cath lab for my first of two procedures to have stents placed in my arteries. Every doctor and every nurse that walked into my room would do a double take when they saw me. I was a tiny, thin, 35 year old woman and they were not used to seeing that.

So why am I telling ya'll this? Well simply because I can. I am thankfully, still around to be able to tell it. To let you know that all heart attacks do not feel the same. That you won't necessarily feel that clutch your heart, intense pain that screams that you are having a heart attack. And that you are not protected simply by being a woman.

The best defense is to take charge of your heart health. See your doctor. Know your numbers. Know your risk factors. And take control. Your heart will thank you for it.

Perfect Miami Weather

Today was an absolutely gorgeous! Temps in the 70's, cool ocean breezes and clear skies.  Who can ask for anything more? We spent the day at Art Deco Weekend in South Beach. That is the absolute best place for people watching!  Fortunately, South Beach is very pet friendly, so Kassie was able to come along.  She LOVES outings!


We ended the afternoon at South Point to watch the ships leaving the port. Guess what? The Epic left without us again! Pfft! We sort of like to torture ourselves like that. We do that a lot. We grab our beach chairs, go to the park and wave good-bye to all those lucky folks on the ship.  We try to pinpoint where our stateroom is located and where we wish we could afford to stay. 

We won't be on the NCL Epic until October, when she sails her Trans-Atlantic crossing back to Miami from Barcelona. To say that we are excited is an understatement. But we are 9 whole months away! Enough time to grow a baby! So the countdown is on! We haven't been on a cruise since Oct 09 when we did the NCL Jewel Repo so we are suffering from withdrawls!

I have seen the Epic from the outside many times, I can't wait to see her interior! I will be sure to share lots of pictures this time!
Hopefully we can get a Cruise Critic cabin crawl organized so that I can preview each stateroom category and report back on those as well.!

Have any of you sailed on the Epic yet?  What did you think of her?

I was born a Libra

 From Google Images

I am not much into the astrology and I don't read my horror-scope every day. I am also not superstitious. But dagnabit, I was born a Libra and that isn't going to change no matter how much the Earth shifts! According to the new chart, I am now a Virgo! Um, no.

If you have not seen the new chart, here it is:

The New Zodiac Chart

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16.

Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11.

Pisces: March 11-April 18

Aries: April 18-May 13

Taurus: May 13-June 21

Gemini: June 21-July 20

Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10

Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16

Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30

Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23

Scorpio: Nov. 23-29

Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17

Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20

They even have a new Zodiac sign in there, Ophiuchus. Don't ask me how to pronounce that! I would lean to thinking that it sounds like Confucius, maybe since I'm totally confused.

So to prove my case, here are a few snippets about the Libra woman


Born under the sign of Libra, the sign ruled by Venus the goddess of love; the Libra woman is one who definitely searches for peace, quality, and justice in everything she does. She is generally working to try to balance the oppositional forces that she senses exists all about her.

In her own life, the Libra girl may find that there is a basic duality as one of her scales is usually leaning towards compromise while the other leans toward her getting her own way.

Actually, I always lean towards getting my way! LOL

The Libra woman must take caution and be aware of her tendency to put off, or avoid, that which seems uncomfortable.

 ALWAYS try to avoid uncomfortable situations!

 Libra women love luxuries and good living in keeping with the sign of the goddess of beauty. However, in accordance with their sign of the scales and balance, the Libra girl will endeavour to balance her urge for the finer things of life by some appropriate saving and economies.

This is totally me! That is why I coupon & stuff, so I can travel!

Libra is the sign of partnerships, unions, and marriage and, for those girls born under this sign there is the inherent desire to merge. Libra woman can be very romantically inclined at a very early age in life.

I was picking flowers for my 17 year old neighbor boy when I was 3 years old!


The Libra woman will generally relate well with people of all the signs, however, those of Sagittarius and Leo can be particularly rewarding.

Well, my husband is Sagittarius, maybe that's why we are compatible.  But now he is supposed to be that new sign, Ophiuchus.  Does that mean we are no longer compatible??

Disney=Nostalgia

 

Walt Disney World will be celebrating their 40th Anniversary this year. As of October 1, 2011, I will have been going to WDW for 39 years and 10 months! We were originally supposed to go for my my 5th birthday in Oct of '71 but my parents, I guess to let them settle in and work out the kinks, decided to go in January instead.

I have seen some really neat retro 40th Anniversary merchandise, but I'm thinking that there really won't be a huge celebration this year. Especially since they are still in the middle of the Fantasyland expansion. Keeping with the retro theme, I would LOVE to see my all time favorite Pooh in his original costume. He was rounder and had a honey pot on his head. I know I have a picture somewhere! I would also like to see Dumbo with his big, floppy ears walking around the park again. Oh and the 3 Little Pigs and Gus & Jaq and ALL the dwarfs and...

I would love to see the the topiaries that lined the road to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom! Once we spotted those, our excitement level would triple! Then, my dad would tune in to the Disney Info Station on the radio and we would be bouncing off the walls!

I don't remember the crowds being as wild as they are now. The characters were free to roam with no one pushing & shoving. People in general are ruder now, so I can understand why characters need body guards. That's a shame!

You know what Disney? Just put everything back to how it was in 1972. Just for a few months ok? While you're at it, I wouldn't mind being 5 again. Thanks!

Here is a video that I found on YouTube. It's not mine, but it could easily be mine since I have one that looks exactly like that! I kept expecting to see a 5 year old me running around.

Even now, at my age, I still get tingly when I enter Disney property. I can not wait for the day that we have grandkids. Actually, strike that, there is no rush. My girls still need to finish school and all, but there is nothing quite like seeing WDW through the eyes of a child. Those are moments that you remember forever and take you back to how you felt when you first experienced the magic.

Now, the 50th Anniversary will probably be a huge shebang! I can only hope that I am around to see it...and maybe with a grandbaby or two! :-))

So, if  you've been along for the ride with WDW for a while, what do you miss most from that era?

Happy New Year!

Happy New year! I have been MIA and I need to get back on track. Sometimes life throws you a curveball and you need to detour in order stay focused.

As you know, I skipped the holidays this year. The best part about that is that I don't have to take down decorations and I don't have diddly squat to put away! Hurray!! As it turned out, however, we would not have been celebrating anyhow. At least not in the traditional way. On December 23rd, my step-dad had a heart attack. He has several other maladies that made this very serious. So he was taken to the cath lab and stents were inserted. That night, he went into cardiac arrest but was shocked back. The doctors basically told my mom that there was no hope and to make arrangements. After about a week and a few days in CCU, he was moved to a regular room and should be returning home soon.

So,although we spent practically every day in the hospital since the 23rd. We did end up celebrating a Christmas miracle after all.

Hopefully I can get back in the groove of things soon. I have to start a weight loss plan soon. I didn't technically make a resolution because I tend to break those pretty quickly. But I do need to really get it done this year. I might seek some outside help as well since I tend to suck at it by myself.

I hope you all have a wonderful, prosperous and healthy 2011!