Good morning, everyone!  The sun is shining, the birds are singing - it is truly a beautiful day in this neighborhood.

Now.  I have a couple of things to say.

The first is really a question.  Can you eat too much seafood?  I have been keeping a log of all the food I’ve been eating to see how I’m doing.  I’ve been keeping it for sixteen days now - that’s 48 meals.  Out of those 48 meals, I have eaten red meat only seven times.  The rest of it has been either all vegetarian stuff or seafood.  Not even any chicken!  So I’m beginning to wonder if I might be getting too much seafood.  I eat tuna once in a while, and some white fish, but it’s mostly shellfish.  Crab, scallops, clams and shrimp.  Am I doing myself any harm?  I couldn’t find anything on the internet, really, except for the talk of mercury in fatty fish and its possible adverse effects on pregnant women.  Does anyone know the answer to this?

Secondly, I seem to have hurt myself on the treadmill yesterday.  This is only my second day back on the treadmill so, admittedly, I am way out of shape.  But the injury that I sustained is a true mystery to me.  I hurt my neck.  Yes, you read that right - my neck.  And it’s getting worse.  I can barely turn my head this morning.  And it didn’t start hurting until after I used the treadmill yesterday afternoon.  Now, how the heck did I do that?  And should I avoid the treadmill this afternoon?  *oh please oh please oh please*

There you have it.  That’s what’s on my mind right about now.  I hope you are all having a wonderful day and let me know what’s on your mind, if you’d like to.  Well, unless it’s going to make me mad, that is. 

I noticed something last week.  I no longer have the capacity to be as frenetic in my brain as I used to be.  Undoubtedly, I’m slowing down because of age.  Why, back in my younger years, I could rise to any hyper situation (especially at work) and fly like the wind to get everything done as fast as humanly possible.  And I was damn proud of it, too!

These days?  If I am pressured to come up with answers fast or take control of a desperate situation that involves high-speed decision-making or action, I start to feel all closed in and I can feel my blood pressure rising.

This is not to say that I can’t come up with the right answer in a timely fashion.  I just don’t get the high that I used to by launching into super-speed mode.  I’d like to keep my blood pressure down and have time to figure things out with a calmer, more peaceful mind.  I find that this is a priority for me and I think it’s just something that everyone around me will have to get used to.

Speed kills, or so they say, and I’d like to stick around for a good while longer yet, thankyouverymuch.

How cute is this??

*Click to enlarge*

From CNN’s Offbeat Images (to which I do not know how to link):

An animal expert holds five newborn “Egyptian tortoises” at the main zoo in Rome, Italy, on May 17. The tortoises’ parents were found in airport luggage along with 300 other tortoises in 2005.

The parents were in somebody’s luggage!  Now, were the people smuggling them or did they crawl in there to take a nap?  And were the 300 other tortoises found at the same time or is that the number for all of 2005 and this is a common occurrence?  So many questions, so few answers!

But an adorable picture!

I just read an article about another botched execution in Ohio.  And I’m confused.

The “lethal mixture” that prison officials are using to execute these people is obviously not working well enough or quickly enough and it seems that the people being put to death could be suffering right there at the end.

Now this post is not intended to garner discussion over whether or not the death penalty is a good thing or whether or not we care if the person who caused grievous injury to someone else suffers.  This is merely looking at it objectively.

The Constitution prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment”.  So I’m wondering why the prison officials are not using a more effective mixture of drugs or single drug.  We all know that Anna Nicole Smith died from a combination of 9 or 10 different drugs - many of them sedatives.  Why can’t they use several of those drugs?  Why not just a big honkin’ overdose of morphine?  Chances are good that the person being executed will have a small time of pure happiness and euphoria before gently slipping off to sleep (you can call that a coma - whatever!) and into the hereafter. 

I’ll tell you, if I was in charge, there wouldn’t be so many issues in this world!

I would like you to meet my latest grandkittens!  Our youngest son adopted them yesterday.  I would tell you their names but I don’t know what they are yet.  So for now, here are BOY and GIRL (in that order). 

*Click to enlarge*

Aren’t they sweet???

I went to the doctor today.  I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me but it was getting worse and worse and worse and I was keeping myself awake at night worrying about throat cancer or thyroid problems or polyps or something equally unsavory.

Turns out?  I’m sick.  I’ve got a full-blown, well-established sinus infection - and have had it for a couple of weeks now!

I’ve had sinus infections before and known about it immediately. There’s nothing quite like the pain and stuffiness that accompanies your typical sinus infection.  But this one had no sinus pain (just some regular old headaches) and I thought I was having allergies (no sneezing, but a whole lot of stuffiness and coughing).

Oh, and the coughing!  On and on it went!

So, um, yeah, I have a major league sinus infection with a nice little fever.  And, um, GERD.

I am about to launch into four different medications, some sinister sinus flushing sadistic thingy, and I’m to be on Prilosec for two weeks to see if that helps with the GERD.

Is it any wonder that I’ve been feeling like all I want to do is sleep?  Damn it - I’m sick!

“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.”

- Mark Twain

Oh my god - what an inspired idea for a blog!  Let me tell you all what I eat every day!  What a hoot that’ll be!!! 

Pre-breakfast - as always, two cups of coffee with half and half

Breakfast - Kashi GoLean Crunch with skim milk

Mid-morning - bottle of spring water and a banana

Lunch - tuna salad on a flatbread with onion and lettuce, a few pretzels, more water

Mid-afternoon - three bottles of spring water

Dinner - Pasta Primavera with tofu and leftover roasted veggies, served with two glasses of a luscious white mix called Black Rock White.  Just yummy!

After-dinner - a handful of little cinnamon swirl Sandies cookies - where have these been all my life?  Holy moly!  Go buy yourselves some of these.  Go - NOW!

Yesterday, I endeavoured to set my food and beverage intake to something approaching the ideal that I have in my head.  Here’s how my day went:

Pre-breakfast:  two cups of coffee with half-and-half (I will not give up my cream!)

Breakfast:  A bowl of Kashi GoLean Crunch with skim milk

Mid-morning:  Bottle of spring water

Lunch:  Chicken salad with grapes, walnuts and dark green lettuce on a hearty multi-grain bread with a glass of unsweeted iced tea (holy crap - that meal was SOOOOO good!!)

Mid-afternoon:  Bottle of spring water

Dinner:  Four thin slices of a marinated petite filet mignon cooked on the grill (probably no more than 1 ounce of meat), a frickin’ boatload of sauteed scallops, and roasted veggies (two kinds of squash, red pepper, red onion, crimeni mushrooms and asparagus), accompanied by a single glass of EXP Viognier, which made the scallops come alive!  (Well, not literally - that would have been just weird!) Then more water after dinner.

I am on an adventure of good cooking.  It’s all within my reach - I just have to give up the lazy and go for the good stuff! 

Here’s to your health!

I have been totally uninspired to write lately.  Although we have been on vacation, we’ve actually been filling our days - spending money!  Woo!  Since we exited-stage-left way too early from North Carolina and never got the chance to spend our vacation $$ on anything (like shot glasses or cheap t-shirts or post cards), we’re spending it now.  On our house.  We have done a whole lot of work on our deck and it’s coming along quite nicely.  New furniture, plants, decorations - the works!  (Pictures here.) Now we just need some curtains and a few throw pillows and we’ll be set!  Oh, wait…

The weather has been great, if a little hot the last couple of days.  We are TOTALLY enjoying not going to work and desperately trying to figure out how to make that a permanent situation.  But, alas, unless someone decides to donate a few million to the worthy cause of Buzz and Empress, we’ll be in the workforce for quite a while to come.

I’m reading a book called ”The Survivor”.  It’s about Clinton in the White House.  Bill Clinton, that is.  I haven’t had the chance to read too much yet but I’m liking what I’m reading.  Who knew that I was such a fan of actual history?  Who knew??

And speaking of history, our youngest son graduated from college today.  WAY TO GO, CHRIS!!! He now is the proud owner of a degree in history.  He’s going to take a year off before heading to grad school to get his Ph.D so that he can become a college professor.  You’d think after 17 of his 21 years of life spent inside the walls of a school, he’d want to stay away forever but I guess not!

Anyway, that’s two kids graduated and one to go (and he’s working on it).  That’s pretty damned successful for a couple of parents who never attended college, don’t you think?  I’m very proud of all of our kids.

Oh, one other thing.  We decided to do a fly-by of Statia and Meester‘s house - you know, just to make sure the present owners weren’t trashing the place or anything (they weren’t - it’s a beautiful house!).  We rounded the corner and Buzz pulls over.  I thought he wanted to take a look at the back yard or something but, no, he got out of the car and picked up the turtle from the middle of the road!  It was a very cool-looking orange and black box turtle.  I named him Darth Maul, ‘cause that’s who he looked like (see below - click to enlarge).  Buzz put him back into the woods.  Then, after ensuring that all was well with the new house, we headed home.  And don’t you know that Darth Maul was in the middle of the road again??  So I hopped out and put him closer to the stream on the other side of the road.  That’s the direction he was headed, anyway.  Silly turtle!

So there you have it.  That’s what’s been going on for the last few days.  Fun, huh?

We left Nags Head after three days.  We were supposed to be there for eight days.  Why did we leave?  Below you can see the forecast for the week.  On the left is Nags Head.  On the right is my local forecast.  What you really can’t experience by looking at these forecasts is the wind in Nags Head.  The wind that made the sand get into your eyes and nose and mouth the second you opened the door.  It was gale-force winds for two full days.  The ocean was up to the bottom of the dune steps.  The sea foam was flying up over the dune into the yard of the house.  The pool was nothing but a big sand box.  And when the wind was to die down, the rain was to start.  We were stuck in the house with nothing to do.  All twelve of us.

So Buzz and I came home.  The drive was way too long and we got a speeding ticket in Maryland.  That just topped off a wonderful vacation.  Ugh.

On the other hand, the weather is gorgeous here, our cats are here, our basement is here—we may never go away again! 

So we’re home and we’re not going back into work until Monday (a day early).  That will be just fine, thanks!

Well, folks, we’re on our way to North Carolina!  We haven’t been on a vacation in over a year and a half, so we’re R-E-A-D-Y!

OK, cue the denial - we’re leaving the house in the charge of the younger ones.  Dog help us!  I don’t even want to know what’s going to go on here while we’re gone.  Just so it’s all cleaned up when we get back! 

Alrighty, then, in about 7 hours, this will be me -

On the beach and enjoying the scenery!  Bye bye!

Last night, I dreamt that I was going blind.  Now, seriously, I think that I may get there one day but I’m OK for now.

Then I got up and got ready for work.  The last thing I do when I’m done getting ready is spray on my perfume.

It went right into my eye.

Do you think I knew I was going to do that?  Weird! 

doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo

(That’s the Twilight Zone music, in case that wasn’t clear...)