#225...the official return. unofficially.

 

okay, i'll make this quick being that I am back - but not quite back.

- as in back from vacation...but not back from work - yet.

yes, faithful subjects, even your queen has promises to keep and bills to pay...

so, this note finds you all via a remote hospital desktop - and on hospital time...

eh - the way i look at it - they're lucky i agreed to come in....(short staffed)

in a nutshell - the vay-kay was simply...mahvelous....

busy, fun, beautiful, interesting, maddening, spensive and did i mention....mahvelous? 

i'm not rested at all, but i am tanned and hot damn, i look good.

i thank you all for keeping the fort down, especially ayn...of course, i will post more details and pics soonest.....

so what the hell has everyone been up to?

 

#224....okay, we're off!...

                               

                    ...see ya later alligator's!....<----click there.

#223...so the official aol desk tour is underway...(entry 222)

okay, houston, we're now at T- minus 24 hours and counting...(yaaaaay!!)

        

Here ye, Here ye, one and all!!

The official orders to you whilst I am away -  go out to you thusly and in this official manner:

Mess or no mess, fellow journalers, send me your links to your

"personal arena of creativity," aka: "aol playstation", aka:  "official desk top"...

and to those of you who are still completely lost - also known as: "your desk." - the one where your computer is...where you post from...right there..where your fingers are            ...yes. that one.

now, if everyone sends me, via email or comment,  an official link to their pics-

 I will, upon my rest-filled return, good graciousness and curiosity, organize 

            the very official grande tour.

      yes, loyal subjects, your queen is willing to do this for you.

                                         free of charge. -  and with all the bells and whistles.

  

 

#222...cause it seems to be the lastest rage here..

so scalzi is doing it...andreakingme is doing it...slomotionlife is doing it...

so I thought it would be kinda fun to see where everyone posts each day -

so there you have it  - the very official, floralilian desktop. 

the mess is usually in direct proportion to the creativity that may or may not be flowing that day...this must have been before my morning coffee...okay, I lied...I straightened it up some - blame my mother.

anyway, it's a great place to work, to the left a window, to the right the door, behind me a balcony with a great view over the family room and out onto the golf course...

it's also a great place for launching paper airplanes - go ask the kids....i'm just grateful they haven't thought of bungee jumping to the sofa as yet...

come on now fellow journalers...link up...let's do "the official aol desk tour"...

ya know..kinda like a conga line...with steel drums playing...

(T minus 2 days and counting....)

#221...a little desktop vacation of your own...

------------>a little treat to you, from me... 

     why? because I might be feeling a wee bit guilty (but only a wee bit, mind you..)

                    be sure to click through all of the options...

#220...time for a new theme...

in anticipation for the cruise - let these new journal colours officially be called

the sun and sunburn theme..

#219...T minus 5 days...

and counting....till setting sail for the Caribbean -

San Juan, St. Thomas, St. John, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Maarten/St. Martin, and Barbados......

aaah...I can almost hear the sound of steel drums off in the distance.....

 

#218...on my very romantic valentine dinner.

...so, the lighting was dim and small candles flickered a small seductive dance, while soft Mediterranean music floated about. The decor was that of a Tuscan village under a setting sun....aah, the atmosphere, the aromas, the food...all delicious.

Waiters filled glasses with icy clear water, while others served appetizers, or entree's or fresh baked breads - all warmed - all glorious.  

Couples were sprinkled here and over there, enjoying their meals, their partners, their Valentine dining experience.  Soft conversation was spoken over small cups of espresso, and chilled wine, while savoring samples of white and dark chocolate mousse cake drizzled with red raspberry sauce and shaved curlicues of dark chocolate...

Our pretty waitress, with her dark eyes, and dark brown hair bid us a good evening with her fabulous rich accent and hoped that we would return again soon. We thanked her and assured her we couldn't wait to come back.

Yes, a perfectly romantic dinner for two, on a perfectly romantic Valentine weekend..........

....that was, of course, until I misjudged the one small step while exiting the dining room  - and stumbled - and fell - completely and totally to the floor...knees..then hips..then hands...all very loudly -  to an audience of not-so-romantic - Valentine gasps..

...!!!!!!......


..........

The best part:  My husband, Bud, not the least bit embarrassed, bent down and helped me up - and then leaned over to dust my knees off for me. 

Now that's what I call love folks....!!

#217...oh look, another wormhole...

and to think she is only, what...like 21...such an ancient soul shining through...i wish she would post more often.  sit and discover for yourself ----> foxfyre

#216....valentine eyes..

i will catch your eyes with mine
one loud and crowded night,
while individual voices mingle
to a confusing roar,
while perfumed scents, liquored breath
and sweet smoke fill the air.

i will catch your glance,
 hold it
and invite you with my eyes
to be with me and warm yourself
                                      
in the sun of an emerald girl..


~bobbi murrow                                                        

#215..happy valentine's day!

                                           

                       ....Be Mine?

                                                  Valentine?

                                                                                       
                                                                            

#214...She was a phantom of delight

She was as phantom of delight
when first she gleamed upon my sight,
A lovely Apparition, sent
to be a moment's ornament...

 

~William Wordsworth

                                                               

#213...Wine..

Wine comes in at the mouth
and love comes in at the eye
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die
             I lift my glass to my mouth,
                           I look at you, and I sigh.

 

~William Butler Yeats
    A Drinking Song

 

            

#212...love is in the air ..

I want to breathe

you in   I'm not talking about
perfume or even the sweet o-

dour of your skin but of the
air itself    I want to share

your air inhaling what you
exhale    I'd like to be that

close  Two of us breathing
each other as one as that.

 

~James Loughlin
I Want to Breathe

 

                

#211...more love words..

You are dearer to me than anybody
ever has been or ever will be...

I do not think one could conceive
of a love more exclusive, more
tender, or more pure than I
have for you.  

I think it is
immortal, a thing

which happens
                   seldom.

                                                                   

~vita sackville-west

#210....and more..

i like my body when it is with your
body. it is so quite new a thing.
muscles better and nerves more.
i like your body.  i like what it does,
i like its hows.  i like to feel the spine
of your body and its bones, and the
trembling - firm -smoothness and
which i will again and again
and again kiss...

...and possibly i like the thrill

                     of under me you so quite new.

 

                                                ~e e cummings

         

                         

                                                                           

#209....on nearing valentine's day

one can never get enough Love poetry..

                    

It seems to me, to myself, that no man
was ever before to any woman
what you are to me - the fullness
must be in proportion, you know,
to the vacancy....

and only I know what was
behind - the long wilderness
without the blossoming rose...
and the capacity for happiness,
like a black gaping hole, before
this silver flooding. 

It is wonderful
that I should stand as in a
dream, and disbelieve - not you -
but my own fate?

Was ever anyone taken so suddenly
from a lampless dungeon and
placed upon the pinnacle of a
mountain; without the head
                turning round and the heart
                          turning faint, as mine do?

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

 

                         

#208...some Love Poetry.

                                

..she laid on my chest

                         & her breathing filled me

               almost to beyond

                                             what i could hold.

 

~brian andreas

 

                 

#207...some Love poetry.

I love you without knowing how, or
                                                         when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without
complexity or pride

so I love you because I know of no other way

            than this:  Where I does not exist, nor you

                         so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,

                                                   so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

~Pablo Neruda  1904-1973
   from Sonnet XVII                                              
                                                                      

#206...some Love poetry.

                                     Reasons

Sweet one I love you
for your lovely shape,
for the art you make
in paint and bed and rhyme,
but most because we see
into each other's hearts,
there to read secrets
                 and to trust,
                         and to cancel time.

~Tom McGrath

                                                                      

#205...some Love poetry.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's 
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right, 
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints - I love thee with the breath,
Smells, tears, of all my life! ~ and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

                                                 ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

                                                                                              

#204....some Love poetry.

                                       Somewhere on the Way

I wanted to say a lot of things.
I wanted to say how often lately
your bright image has wandered through
the dark rooms of my mind;
I wanted to say how good it is to
wake up every morning
knowing that the day contains
something that is you.

I wanted to say a lot of things.
I wanted to talk about
the changing colour of moments,
the silent secret language
of bodies making love.
I wanted to say that you
are always only as far from me
as thoughts are from thinking....

 

~Peter Roche
                                               

#203...on the genuine love letter.

                                

Ah, the genuine love letter - a thing that happens all too seldom -

Mortimor J. Adler once said: 

     "There is only one situation I can think of in which men and women make an effort to read better than they usually do.  When they are in love and reading a love letter, they read it for all they are worth, they read every word three ways; they read between the lines and in the margins....then, as if never before or after, they read."

"....as if never before or after, they read."  So true.  Methinks it's time to return to the age of the quiet graces - when elegant words were written, not bought; when ink was smearable, not printed; when love was expressed, and proclaimed, and revisited...

     Perhaps it's time to give your loved ones the kind of memories that can be bound together by faded ribbon and wisps of perfume - to be stowed away secretly in their hearts and minds and old shoeboxes...

                                

#202....the official quote for the day

"....are we put in this world to be busy or to chat over a nice cup of tea?"

~Frank McCourt

#201...a note from dad.

 "DEAR A    

 I got to reading your journal---------going on thirty ????  you know Im not afraid of old age I am there and am working on VERY OLD AGE.  I Talked to Moses and got the real dope.  He said get the old testament calender and go down to Florida with the rest of the Israelites, thats how its done. Keep up the good work and give us a breakdown on your cruise.   Love, Dad" 

"Send me your tired and your aging.."  My submission for the Florida state motto.

(and we're not even jewish)

 

#.....this is...

 

my 200th entry.

 

cool.

pointless - but cool.

#199...okay, I'm back..

Albert Einstein has been rumored to have said:  "Reality is an illusion - albeit a persistant one."

...and that persistance, unfortunately, was responsible for interferring with my postings of late.

Yes, kind readers, even the Queen of Pointless Posting has to work occasionally. 

I hope you didn't lose too much sleep over it. 

I did...but alas, that is the nature of my shift...the mysterious and oft time revered 12 hour night shift. 

Yep, the ol, 7p to 7a...the shift of the living dead. 

It can be a wonderfully grueling and sometimes gruesome experience, let me tell you.  Couple that with, oh, I dunno,  25 screaming newborns

(depending on the phase of the moon) and some first-time parents...and well, you begin to see the picture...

But really, where else can you combine, fears, tears, pain, blood, spit-up, merconium, circumcisions, urine, engorged breasts, bottles, diapers, smiles, tiny faces and new life all in one sitting?

yep, only one place - the labor/deliver and newborn nursery under a full and heavy moon.

it's more than a job - it's....it's an experience.

#198....my hope in youth is now officially restored!

okay, so I was rummaging through the journal board, and saw an invitation to come visit a new journal...(surprise!)...and so I clicked and was sucked into the journal wormhole continuum...(why am I hearing echoes?)

anyway -  just look where it  took me ---->7th Grade Life  - this is a wonder little journal from a very articulate young man - his name is Andrew and he is in the 7th grade - he lives in snowy Michigan....

His site, and his writing are smooth! He looks like he has been doing this for years. He won't be posting pictures of his friends he said - not that he didn't want to - because his parents said it was a "privacy issue".  Nice to see that they are still looking over his shoulder... obviously, they are doing a great job raising him....

so, go on.... what are you waiting for - you have been officially ordered. shoo!

 

                    thank you.  This has been yet another journal service announcement.

#197...time for a cat entry...

   why?  cause it's been a while.  okay, blame andreakingme - she started it.

#196...how crazy is this..

Left Brain, Right Brain 

While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction and there's nothing you can do about it. 

I honestly thought I could do something about it...drat! 

and another tidbit:   do you know that only 2% of the population can wiggle each eyebrow independently? 

                                                          I can..who else?                                          

#195..well, touch me with a big stick...

By the way, I just noticed that the almighty, the master blogger, john scalzi, guided

the hungry,

          the drooling,

                 and the calcium starved -

                                   masses toward "the milkshake light" over here,

in hopes that the enlightenment will soothe their minds and their cramped little dieting bellies -   go ahead, my little hypoglycemic friends - enter the light....that's right - go on....do not be afraid...

hmm, mebbe I should set up a milkshake advice stand out in front of my journal now....

#194....okay, so today is the 4th. That means...

T minus 16 days and counting!!

 ah, barbados...

                              this is worse than christmas as a kid...

#193...yee-ha!!...

I had another brief encounter with a great man online this morning.  I taught him some new tricks....I fell in love all over again.  I applaud his perseverance, stamina, and his bravery on trying new things!...

like computers, (a laptop even), like the internet, like...like...TYPING  even!

who is the mystery man, you wonder?

why noneother than my dear ol dad -  80 something, going on 30...

we would have talked longer - but he wanted to eat his lunch, and take a nap...soft smile...

                                                   ah, the "tings" we take for granted...

 

#192...now onto something completely different.

"  human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an evasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, and die gallantly.
Specialization is for insects."

~Lazarus Long
(Robert A. Heinlein) 

#191....mmmmmmilkshakes continued...

I won't bore you with the chemical reactions that happen at the cellular level, but listen up... here is something even more important  -

"Dietary calcium in the form of dairy had an even greater effect on reducing fat storage than a calcium supplement." 

"Researchers, led by Michael B. Zemel, Ph.D., director of the University’s Nutrition Institute, found support for their conclusions in data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), which shows an inverse relationship between calcium and dairy intakes and body fat in adults.    The researchers concluded that low calcium diets lead to increased fat storage and higher calcium diets favor increased burning of fat."

There is a lot of information out there on this subject...That's homework you'll need to do for yourselves...

And let's not forget about our calcium needs as we age to prevent osteoporosis, maintain blood pressures, and nerve conductability...some seriously good other reasons to keep dairy in our diets!  Almost every nutritionist will tell you that the best way for the body to absorb nutrients is in their natural form. 

Okay, so now, don't you feel better?  We can absolutely have that milk shake! -  just take out some of the fat content...so try, frozen yogurt, lowfat ice cream with skim milk...if you like, add a banana or other fresh fruit for zing...remember...calcium needs Vitamin D to be absorbed....how perfect that milk and ice cream has both...

so - here's to milkshakes and successful dieting - cheers!

  

#190...so let's address this milkshake issue....(since andrea asked)

a fellow journaler absinthemnded recently posted on her cravings for a frosty tall milkshake..but..because she is trying to stick to her diet (like we all are) she is using all of her tricks and all of her willpower to NOT give into milkshakeheaven temptation...

I applaud her efforts, but at the same time I feel sorry for her struggles...and I told her so in a comment I left - then andreakingme asked me to 'splain...so here 'tis...

ladies - listen up...MILKSHAKES ARE NOT BAD FOR YOU. well, not in the ways that we always believed them to be...with a little ingenuity and some clever calculating - we need not remove them from our diets..

I can hear you all saying - "Oh really. Well, prove it.".....well, quite serendipitously, thanks to our little obese rodent friends at Perdue University, research has found that increasing the amount of calcium in your diet actually helps you lose weight.

"Women who consumed an average of 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day, which is slightly below the recommended daily allowance for this age group, showed an overall decrease in body weight as high as six to seven pounds," Teegarden says.

"Oh, my!...How can this be, nurse floralilia?"  Well I am glad you asked, my leetle grasshoppers... "As dietary calcium intake increases, it acts at the cellular level to alter energy metabolism so that more food energy is burned and less is stored as fat. This is the conclusion of researchers at the University of Tennessee’s Department of Nutrition who studied the effect of dietary calcium levels in mice."

and wait, that's not all...(continued above)

#189....T minus 18 days and counting...

sigh....what! 

#188...one word..

aah...aahh.....ah-bullsheit! 

excuse me - but i have this  NASTY  cold.         

(...wardrobe malfunction my ass..)                                                   

#187...do yourself a favor...

and be one of the first to jump on his bandwagon....why?  - because it's an official order.

          The Uncoolest Blog

(and of course, i have a penchant for people who post pointlessly in case you haven't been paying attention -)

#186....February 1, 2003 9:02 a.m.

     So on this day one year ago, I was walking through the Cafe Boulangerie at the Paris Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, carrying a bag of freshly baked, still warm, croissants while sipping on a fresh cup of coffee. The flavor was warm and wonderful, and I was anxious to again get started and explore another day in the beautiful Nevada canyons. The casino's promenade of shops and restaurants was busy with fresh, and not so fresh, morning faces. And as usual, one could hear the familiar songs of the ever-chiming slot machines, seductively calling their wares to the morning gamblers.  

Over in the corner, a man with a morning newspaper suddenly peered over his reading glasses and stared intently at the television mounted up on the wall. Curious, my eyes followed his. Almost immediately thereafter a hush fell over the cafe as other people, too, turned their attentions to the breaking news banner that ribboned across the bottom of the screen. Confusion turned to horror as patrons pieced together the newscaster's voice to the images. People unaware of what was unfolding stopped short as they entered the cafe - temporarily caught off guard by the heavy cafe atmosphere.

A pillowly couple standing in front of me, pointed and whispered to each other. Wide-eyed, an elderly woman placed her hand over her mouth and shook her head slowly from side to side - not wanting to believe what her eyes were showing her; her husband dropped his gaze to the floor. Varying degrees of horror became evident as people, one by one, came to understand the tragedy.  Sadness flooded the air, thick and syrupy, and choked us almost to the point of smothering.

                      The spaceshuttle Columbia broke apart on reentry... 

The seven aboard just lost their lives. Four wives, two husbands are now widowed.
Six children just lost their fathers. One child has just lost her mother. Seven families are now torn apart.

An agency, two nations, and the rest of the world, are united in mourning, on this morning, February 1, 2003 at 9:02 a.m...

#185... a quote.

"You must learn day by day,
         year by year,
to broaden your horizon.

The more things you love,
the more you are interested in,
the more you enjoy,
the more you are indignant about,

the more you have left when
anything happens..."

~Ethel Barrymore

...sometimes we need to remember stuff like this....

#184....ever wonder...

what was going on the day you were born, married, had your first child, bought your first car, graduated high school, or wore your first pair of high heeled shoes?  yeah. me too....check it out---------------->dMarie Time Capsule

 

#183...i was going to post right now...

but then, i didn't feel like it....

 

hey...wait a minute..