The calendar said February...2012

Well, the photo is as it says! St. Augustine Florida! And again, warmer than here in February! I took this picture IN February...but February of 2011. I flew down to Florida to see the shuttle launch, and experience for which there are no words, perhaps some tears, but you can't be explained the emotions felt! I've already blogged about the awesome, amazing, word-less, experience that it was. That blog is "Shuttle Launch. Best. Thing. Ever.".

I stayed with some dear friends with Green Light Group Tours....(Fab company by the way. Normal people. Great tours. Great prices. BOOK IT!) They were more than kind to let me stay, lend me a car, let me play with their kids, AND? Let me ditch my lawn chair there! :-) (Sometimes I blog on that site too, so, take interest, and stalk their page too!)

At any rate....St. Augustine is a wonderful little tourist town, at any season. Of course it's better to see it with friends, and it's a glorious sort of sunshine, but please....don't leave without having a sticky bun from the Bunnery Cafe on St. George Street...WOW! Y-U-M! From a historical stand point, it IS our oldest continuously occupied settlement of European and African-American origin here in the US! It was founded in 1565...forty-two years before the English colonized Jamestown! Fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock! So it's fun, warm, yummy, AND educational!

The calendar said January....2012....

January….it’s cold here, so a healthy reminder of WARM is always good. I took this picture in Oia, on the island of Thera….one of the five islands that make up Santorini. Picturesque is the word that books will use to describe this place….I think that’s hardly the tip of the iceberg beauty! It’s simply stunning, and for a couple reasons. 1. Of course that it’s STUNNING! 2. Every picture you’ve ever seen of Greece, woo’ing you with it’s history and magnificent beauty has a picture from this little town of Oia, unless it’s the acropolis. Magazine articles about Greece cause us to believe that there are two things to see…the acropolis….and these blue houses. Now, while that’s not true of course, as Greece is awesome in every corner, it IS true that these are two MUST SEE’s! Now, sure, I travel for a living….and I’ve been to Oia more than “a lot”, yet way under “never enough”! I want to move here for a month, hang with the locals, and learn to be annoyed with the hoards of tourists that run all over until about 5pm! (Who cares if that’s how I do it!). BUT, until that moment…I’m forced to steal beauty in small doses. This picture…taken during too short of time on a shore excursion, and I am surrounded by OODLES of people. You don’t see or feel that in this picture, and when I flip open January? I don’t feel that either. I’m caught in the moment of beauty looking over the Aegean. There is no need for a fancy camera, a special secret location from where to shoot, and certainly no need for photo shop, with the exception of the words stating where it is! It’s stunning. Period. I know, I’ve said that already, but there aren’t words for this place. As always, I encourage you to go, put it on your wish list, or order and print it up to a huge canvas like I did! So now, its not just January…it’s bliss all year long.

Everything came up Roses!

It was the 123rd Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, California, (Fine...120th for the picture to the left, with my FAVORITE elephant!) And if you are reading this and took a sharp breath in and said "I WANNA SEE THAT SOMEDAY!!!"...then go ahead and book your tickets for 2013, cuz it's beyond plenty awesome!!! I'll give you the number for Al Brooks-the company of choice to work for and go with for the Rose Parade/Game...and I'll even wait for you to book it and come back. 1-800-341-2766. Tell them I sent you, you won't get a discount, but if you promise to bring a dozen honey crisp apples to Jay Brooks....perhaps you'll get a seat cushion upon arrival!?



Okay. Are ya booked?

Good. Read on.

I'm SMITTEN with the flowers, and it of course helps that it's in SUNNY CALIFORNIA where the average temperature on parade day is? DRUM ROLL PLEASE?! 68 degrees. Insane. And fabulous! Granted layers are clutch, and some years are cooler than others, but this year...it was about 82 degrees by 1pm after our fabulous Mexican lunch on Olvera Street!

So hit the 5 "W"s? Who? What? When? Why? Where? Oh...and HOW!

Who?

I didn't think this through very well. Who what? Who puts it on? The Tournament of Roses! Who has a float in the parade? Whomever can pay for one! Who marches in the parade? Whatever bands qualify, and whatever bands that can raise the money to get to Cali! Who benefits? CALI! They say that the Parade and game generate like $400 million dollars for southern California. Who gets to watch? YOU! On TV! Or hopefully, some year, NEXT, in person! People camp out for good free seats. I vote for paying, sleeping in your own bed the night before, and being dropped off pretty near to your sweet seats!

What?

The parade...full of flowers. 40+ floats...made entirely, and I mean ENTIRELY, of some sort of a living plant. The more actual ROSES, the better, but seeds, petals, bark, leaves, fibers, stems, vegetables, nuts, and almost any other part of a plant are also used! Only 7 types of glue are allowed to be used! Every single visible part of the float, must be covered. Next time, take notice of the hitches! Generally those are covered in onion seeds. Amazing.

When?

January 1! UNLESS January 1 is on a Sunday, then it's January 2. "Never on a Sunday" is a rule steeped in tradition, and thankfully still adhered to today!

Where?
Pasadena, California. 5.5 miles of Rose Parade goodness. Where is best to sit? Me? I've never not sat directly on the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado, but I've been spoiled and living a dream. You? Somewhere in a bleacher! And if you can be somewhere where the sun is behind you? That'd be swell, plus your pictures will turn out better! Honestly though....book a tour with Al Brooks-less hassle, better seats, worth every penny, and plus I hear they have great guides...

Why?

WHY NOT! Well, the real answer is this...which I will steal from the official site of the Rose Parade...

"This uniquely American event began as a promotional effort by Pasadena's distinguished Valley Hunt Club. In the winter of 1890, the club members brainstormed ways to promote the "Mediterranean of the West." They invited their former East Coast neighbors to a mid-winter holiday, where they could watch games such as chariot races, jousting, foot races, polo and tug-of-war under the warm California sun. The abundance of fresh flowers, even in the midst of winter, prompted the club to add another showcase for Pasadena's charm: a parade would precede the competition, where entrants would decorate their carriages with hundreds of blooms. The Tournament of Roses was born.

"In New York, people are buried in snow," announced Professor Charles F. Holder at a Club meeting. "Here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let's hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise."

(I INTERRUPT THIS QUOTE TO SAY TRUE TRUE TRUE! I SHOVELED OUT OF 36INCHES OF SNOW HERE ON THE EAST COAST IN 2010 SIMPLY TO MAKE IT TO THE 2011 ROSE PARADE!)

"During the next few years, the festival expanded to include marching bands and motorized floats. The games on the town lot (which was re-named Tournament Park in 1900) included ostrich races, bronco busting demonstrations and a race between a camel and an elephant (the elephant won). Reviewing stands were built along the Parade route, and Eastern newspapers began to take notice of the event. In 1895, the Tournament of Roses Association was formed to take charge of the festival, which had grown too large for the Valley Hunt Club to handle."

It's pretty much? JUST AWESOME!

HOW?

Well, it's a science for sure. They estimate that over 18 million flowers are used each year! Growers must time their growing cycle exactly so that the flowers are ready to be picked and shipped just a few days before the parade! Volunteers from all over help out! YOU! Yes, YOU could be a volunteer! "Petal Pushers" as they say! There are many different requirements as to height, as there is a bridge to pass under, and the float must be able to fit under the bridge in less than 25 seconds so as to NOT slow the parade! Planning starts in January, once the THEME is announced, then ideas must be submitted so there are no overlaps, and then by March the sponsor shopping begins! In May those builders must have a scale model to present to the sponsors! June sees them working on the main framework, and by September, the main construction is complete, and any small items are fabricated and installed on the float. Deliveries of non-perishable items such as seeds and beans start in October. Flowers start arriving in late-December and are stored in separate tents until they are needed. Approximately 30,000 workers, many of them young people from schools and church groups, report to the various builder's construction sites to begin the round-the-clock job of decorating the floats. Most flowers are prepared by popping the heads off the stems before being glued in place. Delicate flowers are placed in narrow plastic vials filled with water before being pushed in place. Each float requires an average of 10,000 lbs of flowers and takes 7,000 person-hours or more to decorate! (The photo here is of the 2012 float promoting organ donation, and featured those that had lost a loved one, and the one saved by their loss. )

The first time I ever saw it, I was given SWEET tickets, and I went to all the floats before the parade, they are located in various parts of the county. There are many out by where the Rose Bowl actually takes place in the Rosemont Pavilion. There are some in other buildings around the city. The La Canada-Flintridge float gets built underneath an overpass-and every year is hysterical and VERY cute! Then the morning of? I walked the row of floats, yes, at like 5am. (PS? They get disqualified if they aren't in line by 3am) THEN? You watch the parade, and after? You go to the Post-Floats! Where they are all lined up and ready for onlookers like us! And just when you are all flowered out? You fall into bed, since you've not slept all week, and wake up to the option of having "In and Out Burger" for dinner, as you are in California after all!

Go to the Parade. Go to the game if you want, but really, get float stalking, and get to the parade. You'll thank me. And I'll just go ahead and say it now. You. Are. Welcome!

And yes...yes HGTV DID make it snow on their float! Seriously. MAGICAL!

"Must be nice..."

I'm pretty certain that there is NEVER a time or place for "Must be Nice"....I'm racking my brain here. Maybe...when you think of ridiculous money....like Paris Hilton or some other silly trust fund baby, that just shops and does nothing substantial with her life....whilst you are working your tail off? Maybe then. And EVEN then? You should be aware, that that poor little soul is most likely not going to heaven...simply for how she lives and I've yet to hear her claim that Jesus has her heart. SO...it MAY be nice to have oodles of money...but it's gonna be niceR when we're in HEAVEN eternally.

Now listen...all of this said. Honestly...when was the last time you said the phrase "must be nice...". Can you truly truly say that it wasn't laced with bitterness? Or jealousy? I mean did you really say it out of true LOVE!? Answer? No. It's always said with a jab of the knife to the side. We don't get to be jealous...and we're called to love. I know that we are human.....but boy oh boy do we need to rise above, and edify. Encourage. As hard as that may be....it's back to the green grass situation. I travel for a living. I have the best job in the world. I LOVE what I do. My Christmas card is RIDICULOUS! (And includes a picture of Keifer Sutherland and I on it.) AND...and and and...I love Jesus. I am secure in my position in heaven, He has forgiven my sins...and has sent His son to die for me. I, have it all, in a sense. BUT...I don't. I'm not married...I don't have babies....I don't have a house....I'm nobody's last call, there are LOTS of things that make your grass greener than mine...lots of things that make me want to say..."must be nice"...but in the end...they edify nobody, and really...it IS nice to be me!

I get that we say it in jest...but I challenge you to love what you have jealousy of....and encourage that which you are jealous of, and more importantly to somehow, in love, impart on that person that says "must be nice", that in fact...it is nice, or at least it WAS nice, until they ruined it. We shouldn't feel guilty for having things others don't....we should share, we should feel blessed, and we should be sure that WE are not being jealous of things that OTHERS have that we don't. We are all ALL blessed in different ways. I preach "love anyway"....I mean it. I preach the part where GREEN GRASS...still has to be mowed! So now, I challenge you to take the phrase..."must be nice", and change it into real excitement, and happiness and say "AWESOME! I am SO JEALOUS of that right now!" And more so-I challenge you to mean it!!!!!

No more "must be nice". I won't be offended if I hear it, but I will challenge you to lace it in love! Love more, speak less, judge not.

Happy New Year friends! I'll be in LA "working" and going to the Rose Parade...and yes...it WILL be nice!

:-)

PS...inspired by a dear friend that I love completely. This blog is based on the conversation that we had, and she said "must be nice" to me as I left. We laughed at it, and it may have been...the only appropriate time, for the phrase to be used! Ha...there, found ONE! So my dear friend...please know....I like your green grass...though it isn't green at all when it comes to some things. And I am more than blessed to have you in my life, and will forever be praying for you and yours. I also promise to never say, nor think, "must be nice" in your general direction! Love you dearly! And may loving those that think that it really "must be nice"...just come easy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

Ah yes....tis the season. The season of giving, spending too much, being crabby in traffic, eye-rolling at shoppers, and WRAPPING...oh wrapping. I like to wrap. One present. Now put those two sentences together....I like to wrap one present. HA! Seriously. Lots of rad ribbon, awesome bows, and perhaps a spring of pine. However, then I'm tapped. Of course, we're not that family that buys one present for each other, I literally just wrapped like 20 presents for my mother....(1. by "I"...I mean Schmols. Thank you. And 2. Perhaps I didn't HAVE to wrap them all individually. Oh...and 3. Thanks also to the fact that my mom doesn't read my blog.) Anyway, wrapping isn't my thing, I mean maybe it would be if I did nothing for a living, because I think that's when I'll start cooking too. Dear working mothers...how DO YOU DO IT! Anyway, since Christmas Cards are starting to go out, I thought I'd take the time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas....the time of year when we should be impacted by the BIRTH of Jesus. He came so that we might have life....more abundantly. From a cliche' standpoint....He is the reason for the season....cliche'? Yes. True....YES! May you know Him, may you have His peace this holiday season. As an added bonus to the blog....know that I like the "idea" of santa...but we never believed in him. He didn't bring us presents....my parents and loved ones spent good money on presents for us...they got the credit! Not some man in a suit. We still left him cookies....but our parents were sure to have us believe that Jesus was the true reason...and he is. So, the bonus, includes a picture of me, and Santa....when I was about 3....not a big fan...of the big man! lol MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS!!!

We count....you don't.

When I title this "We count....you don't.", I mean it, but CHILL first. I am not saying you aren't important. I'm saying that when we are counting people....like 1, 2, 3, and so on? YOU DO NOT! You don't say 14, 37, 9, it's ANNOYING, aggravating, there's one (sometimes two) of you on every tour, and honestly? IT WASTES TIME!!!!!! Now, there is the occasional old man who can't help himself, he's just trying to get your attention, well intended perhaps, annoying still? YEP!

We GET that it's the "thing" to do. I find that even I want to do it sometimes, but the difference? I DON'T!!! Seriously, we have limited time, chances are you were late on the bus anyway, having been given 2 hours for lunch, yet having to go to the bathroom upon meet time. REALLY? (Side blog...when you get free time? It's yours, but be smart and listen to your OWN BLADDER! GO, in the time given. We don't set "meet time", and then the "after meet time" for "bathroom time", we quit doing that once you were over the age of 7.)

So I try to count fast and so we can go, making up for the lateness, and when you jack my counts? It takes longer. Duh. ALSO? It JACKS MY COUNTS! And that's when we leave people, or wait LONGER for people that aren't coming!

So, bottom line, when you hear counting, resist the 12 year old boy in you and do NOT throw out meaningless numbers. Don't do it. We'll instantly like you better.

ATH-LHR-EWR-BED

Well, my trip home is ALWAYS an adventure!

When I was standing at the base of the Acropolis....there was a wind....a movie moment of silence, and that was the exact moment when the cold hit me. I was standing there listening to Daniel and his guide....zoning....and it hit me....from there, my nose ran continuously until I could start to really mix meds. THANKFULLY...I keep all sorts of drugs, just short of the "good stuff" in my "Mary Poppins" bag. We rock out Greek Night, well, my dancing left a little to be desired, but we had a good time, and I loved my group-every last one of them.

Anyway, so then of course we get to the hotel, I finish up the address list after a dose or two of Nyquil...and woozy is my middle name...I'm not sure how I took a shower, or if in fact I did use hand lotion as shampoo. 3am rolled around too quick, I got up, gave myself a pep talk, had 3 cups of coffee, and made my way downstairs to drop off the Florida crew. Check in actually worked out well, our driver, Babbis, didn't speak a lick of English, but he also didn't smile either, so I obviously had a task ahead of me. Not smiling is not an option. I head back to the hotel, jam with Daniel, pack a little, have more coffee, set 3 more alarms, and fall into bed for another 1.5 hours. Up, again, more coffee, some more drugs, downstairs, to drop off the remaining bits of my fabulous group. Airport, all is well, of course it's so sad to say goodbye, but I like knowing that all the rest of my peeps are together at least for the big leg of their trip home-warms my heart. And they are all smiling. I hop back on the coach, and head back to the hotel.

BREAKFAST! Fresh OJ-yum...and? MORE COFFEE!? In a normal world? I'd be WIRED-pinging-and highly entertaining...though in the sick, on drugs, not enough sleep world...I'm barely functioning. So I head back up....must...pack...for...real....now. (Sidenote...I can't remember if I've blogged about it yet or not, but the word EXPLOSION is very common in the tour guide world. We get to a hotel room, and it's literally like a bomb goes off...it's how we appear to be put together, but it's also why we don't let people see behind closed doors...we can't explain how THAT got THERE either!) Anyway, packing, and of course going down to say farewell to sweet Daniel. Au Revoir. I'm standing there at the front desk, and Babbis comes in, and so I pretend to fall asleep at the counter, a simple snore out loud, and the man giggles. He. Giggled. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!! HA!! Daniel comes running over, and says...HOW DID YOU DO THAT!? "I've been trying to make him laugh since 2am!" He says! lol He had the same mind set, only he tried walking like a zombie, the "snore" was apparently the way to Babbis' heart. We then proceeded to "have a conversation" about how I was headed home to see Momma, and we were bff's from then on. I think he hugged me somewhere in there. Cracked him. :-) It's the little things people.

Daniel goes on his way, I'm the sole survivor at the hotel, I have 45 minutes till nice looking Greek man takes me to the airport. I pack. My bag weighs like 65lbs at least. Hmmm....I'll deal with that later. I get to the airport....cute Greek never lets me tip him-he's another blog....he's sweet, adorable, and told me to calm down once because I was fretting about something needlessly-total strangers know that I need to chill. lol. At the airport...reunited with Daniel, and I "babysit" his bag, translation, HIDE it from silly Alitalia and their silly little "policies". See prior blog-I've nothing nice to say about Alitalia. He meets up with me at my counter when I'm deep in funny distracting conversation about the weight of my bag, I mean I was comparing his ticket machine to old movie reels....it was a good time, I had to take out about 4lbs, but in the end, I checked a 59lb bag with a smile, and a genuine smile. And he specifically said, "normally it's only 50lbs, but for you, since you are so nice...." :-) Ahhh.

Daniel then treated me to lunch at McDonalds....oooh! YUM! And he was walking away to catch his flight home, turned to say "I'll miss you"....and? Guess what? THAT is when the cold hit him!!! UGH!!! Poor guy.

My flight, I am saving my very last Nyquil for the London leg, but I've got some Sudafed for this leg. I sleep the whole time, well, as much as I can, as I am an aisle seater-another blog-but my middle seater had her elbows full on out, like IN my side. She's lucky I was sick, but getting tossed between her and the carts going by, it's a good thing I was also heavily drugged. London-played fair. Shocking I know. I even had time for a stop at the "Giraffe" in Terminal 5. Over priced place to sit, which has now become a joke with my brother and I, as he'd never noticed it, and for a while and he was flying to Deathrow monthly? Well, he didn't notice it because he was in the "lounge". Turn your noses up people. I, am not lounge worthy, so I go to the Giraffe. So when I send him the picture of where I am, he asks me if I'm slumming it. Yes, yes I am. I'm also having some sort of smoothie, pretending it's $8 is worth it because it's got some magic healing property to it. It doesn't/didn't, but don't tell me that.

I head to my flight, board, sit down, next to Greek woman, who, before I sit? Asks me if I'll help her with her customs form. Really? I put my stuff up, sit down, and she asks again, in great English. I say yes? But I don't trust this because I only really know mine, not visa's/visitors/aliens/etc. And she says "Do you know how to read?"? I should have said no. I say yes, she says good, because I can't. I don't know what this means. Like you can't read English? Or you can't read. At all. Okay, well, I say yes anyway, as she picks up an English newspaper and proceeds to read...hmmm...suspect. In the mean time, lanky feminine boy with bad boots gets on in a fret and late, and I help him find room for his bag, move mine for his, and he plops down, turns to me, and gives me the "most considerate neighbor award!" AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! YAYA!!!!!!!!! I'm a WINNER!! lol It made me laugh, and smile (later he gives me a cookie-true story)

I pop my precious Nyquil, break out my neck pillow, insert ear plugs, and eye mask, I'm gone. I wake for dinner, eat a little, and she's already asked the flight attendant for help on her customs form....I go back to bed....to be woken by the flight attendant over me...helping her. AT LEAST an hour she spent on the form that takes 3 minutes. She filled out every form, and then when I did pull up my eye mask, she saw, and made me look at her forms. LOL! And the best part is she didn't know what "livestock" was. So I say "animals". She looks more confused. I say, "This question asks if you have been around animals"....NO! I HAVE NOT NOT NOT been around animals!!! As though I was accusing her. Oh boy. And so for the next 15 minutes, we go over it, I repeat the question, she gets defensive about the answer, and I say I'm just repeating the question, she calms down till the next translation. I can imagine she makes her daughter roll her eyes often! Anyway, back to the eye mask. We land, in SLUSH! WHAT THE HECK!? And we SAT on the run way for a solid 2 hours, waiting for our gate, since the plane that was there was de-icing. Seriously, get me a staircase, and get me to my mother....the drug medley I'd fashioned is fading, and I've just taken my last Sudafed. Finally, the fasten seat belt sign goes off, Greek mama BOLTS OVER ME, to get her bags and stand there, awkwardly, so that I can't do anything, but wait. I get off the plane, surely I'm in slow motion, the drug fog, tired fog, sleepy fog. Greek mama is lost in passport control land, I'm okay with not being near her for that-I can only imagine. I make it through, pay $5 for a cart, if for no other reason, than to keep me upright. I wait one hour for my luggage, I mean, there is slush on the ground after all. HELLO, it's NEW JERSEY! It snows all the time! Whatever. I grab my luggage-heave it onto the overpriced cart and roll out. Roll out to Momma Bear. It's snowing out. That's right...SNOWING! And I have to drive home. I'm not sure that was safe or legal, but it was the right decision, my poor mother, waiting for me for WAY too long.

We get home, I fell asleep on the porch. Ha-no, I made it into my bed somehow, and forced myself to keep sleeping. Skipped church. Got up, had some cereal-told my mom I was disappointed in the breakfast that this establishment had, and where was the coffee.

She didn't slap me.

She should have.

Then, after having been up for 2 hours, I needed a nap. I had to be at work by 7pm. I work at Bath & Body Works part time when I'm home, and like a goofball, I said I'd do the Christmas Floor Set. Well, I had new drugs that I'd tapped, so I'm feeling okay, but I'd still rather be sleeping, and this floor set is a hot mess. At 3:50am I was done, and drove home, and fell into bed. Now, I didn't fall into bed and then SLEEP!? I LAID THERE! Till 7:30am. Then slept for an HOUR!!!! Then, LAID THERE! And was USELESS! Until 3pm when I got up, finally showered, put mascara on, donned my Halloween colors and decided I'd be awake to the world and rocked out the "rainstick" craft at the "Harvest Party". And now, here I am, I got up at 7:30 this morning...and I've sort of been productive, I've put off paperwork all day, I did some shopping, I got coffee, and I took a conference call. I've also not taken a nap-I'm proud of that. And? I wrote this giant run on paragraph, in response to the email sent my way by some of my fabulous pax. Intended as a response, turned into a blog. HA! But? I LOVE THE QUOTE! I'm sharing it here. Isn't that the truth!? Especially coming from our "Footsteps of Paul" tour through Greece, and a drop of Turkey.

"Trying to follow in the footsteps of the masters, but it's a lot harder than it looks because even though they had the same size feet as us, they weren't looking down the whole time while they walked to make sure they were doing it right."

My amendment to that of course is...."OR FALLING"! They had it good, things weren't RUINED when they lived there, just when we visit...how is that!?

I miss you friends. Thank you again, for a great great trip. And --------------->

is my "Halloween" outfit. Own orange? Wear it. DONE! And of course....Darian...the nerd....DariaNerd. NerDarian.