The Vacation that Wasn't

Vacation: a time to relax and enjoy yourself. No cooking or cleaning, not things I must do, no one to tell me when to eat and where to be. It was a nice dream.

I just recently returned from Hilton Head, South Carolina. And my non-vacation. Unfortunately I spent two days in my hotel room on my bed watching TV. The beach was only two blocks away, but it might as well as been a thousand. I never even saw it. Yep, the dreaded neck injury while I slept ocurred in the wee hours of Thursday morning. I'm talking about spasms and excruciating pain that kept me screaming whenever I moved the wrong way.

This was my first few days off since Christmas and I had such plans. I was going to sun and swim, read and draw, and just enjoy every moment with my daughter. Didn't happen. Didn't get to eat crab legs or drink beer, shop or read or draw or swim. But I did see the Hilton Head hospital and all the really nice people there. Got muscle relaxants and a sling to release the pressure on my neck.

There is a truism here that has been brought home to me. When you have your health, you truly have everything. I'm doing better and should be fine in enough time to go back to work on monday. Goody. Life is indeed a bitch sometimes.

Six Weeks and Counting!

Here is the house and it's beautiful. It definitely deserves the Snoopy Dance!! Each day, they do something more to the inside and it's really starting to look like a home. It may have taken Centex Homes to erect this house in four months, but it's been twenty years in the making for me. I've reached a lot of goals this year. Had a lot of hardship, but I had faith--one of the hardest things to do. For you see it or touch. It just is. Thank you God for listening, thank you all for reading. I'm truly blessed.

Harper's Ferry Retreat

I was out of the loop this past weekend as I took a trip into the wilds of West Virginia. Every year Washington Romance Writers hold a retreat in the mountain of Harper's Ferry where the Rappahannock and the Potomac Rivers meet. I've snapped a few pictures for you to see the granduer of the place. It's such a quiet and peaceful place to be. We ate, attended workshops, drank a little wine, and reacquainted ourselves with the joy of writing. Can't wait until next year.

Birthday Month

Yes, I believe that if your birthday falls on the first of the month, you have the right to claim the whole month as your birthday month. I intend to celebrate my birthday for the whole month of May. Here are some tidbits about May birthdays.

Birthstone - emerald (characteristic is love), flower is Hawthorn, Lily of the Valley

Here are some interesting facts about birthdays.

In England, when you reach 80, 90 or 100 years of age, you receive a telegram from the Queen.
In Japan, usually only the birthdays of 60, 70, 79, 88, and 99 rate gifts. Also, gifts consisting of less than ten items in a set should be given in odd numbers (tea cups are sold in sets of five). Avoid the numbers 4 and 9 in general. White gift wrap is associated with death (so is four of something).
Germans take birthdays seriously, sometimes receiving a half-day of vacation. Flowers and wine are common gifts among friends.
In China, small birthday gifts are given by family and friends. Age 30 is considered becoming an adult (there's quite a celebration). For men, age 60 is usually combined with retirement (for those doing physical labor). Don't give clocks as gifts (the Mandarin word for clock is similar to one for death). Avoid wrapping the gift using white, black or blue colors.
The French and Italian celebrate Name Days more so than birthdays.
In India, black and white gift wrapping is considered unlucky.
In the Islamic world, green is a good color to use for wrapping.
In Korea, the two most important birthdays are the 100th day and the 60th year.

Tam

My daughter has been doing some oragami. I bought her an oragami calendar and she's been making all different kinds of shapes. Tonight though, she brought in what she is calling Tam. You take pieces and you can make different shapes with them by assembling in different patterns. I thought it was cool. What do you think?

It's Framed!

Omygosh - do you see this? It's framed and the roof is on. I'm beside myself with excitement. I walked through the house with the windows in, the door on, the fireplace in and the rooms framed. I'm imagining what it will look like when everything is done. Since I've been through the model, it's not hard to think about what my house will look like. This is amazing. I've also included a picture of the porch and entry door of the model. This is what it will eventually look like. I'm planning my garden now. Can't wait to get dirty.

I'm still pinching myself!

Are You Superstitious?

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia. There are many myths surrounding the fear of Friday the 13th. It's considered bad luck for 13 people to sit down to a meal, Jesus was crucified on a Friday, Adam supposedly ate the apple on Friday, ancient man could only count to 12, and so on. But the most interesting tidbit I found is this story: One hundred years ago, the British government sought to quell once and for all the widespread superstition among seamen that setting sail on Fridays was unlucky. A special ship was commissioned, named "H.M.S. Friday." They laid her keel on a Friday, launched her on a Friday, selected her crew on a Friday and hired a man named Jim Friday to be her captain. To top it off, H.M.S. Friday embarked on her maiden voyage on a Friday, and was never seen or heard from again. Every year has at least one and at most three Fridays the 13th, with 48 occurences in 28 years an average of 1.7 times per year. Some famous people who were born on Friday the 13th are Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Fidel Castro, and Steve Buscemi.