Journey & Adventure

J and I are fortunate to only live approximately 30 minutes away from Lake Erie and as you know, we both LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the water and beach and spend as much time as we can there in the summer months. We usually get there at least one day on the weekends. When we go to the beach, we don’t typically go to swim or sunbathe, but go for a long walk instead. With a wetland and biosphere bordering that portion of the lake, we are able to walk for literally hours without running into another person. It’s truly rejuvenating to just wander in nature, where the only sound we hear is the lapping of the waves on the shoreline, the wind blowing through the poplar trees, the cry of passing sea gulls or a faraway screech of a bald eagle looking for his lunch. When we head out, we don’t have a purpose in mind. We usually walk for a couple of hours in one direction and then turn around and head back. Along our route, we pick up treasures of all kinds including beach glass, shells, rocks, d

I don’t usually hate Mondays, but I do today. I would prefer to come to work and do my job without drama – especially on Mondays. Alas, it’s not meant to be. Instead, I get to deal with internal sales people. Let’s just say, sales people and the legal department cannot possibly live cohesively. I’ve tried and failed - miserably. All I want to do is do my job.  My job is to point out legal risks and all the sales people want to do is sell product and they could not give a rat’s-ass about legal risks. They want to make their commission. Honestly, they’d prefer if I was not allowed in the building – it would make their job easier. Believe me, I’d prefer if I was not allowed in the building – it would keep my blood pressure lower than it is at the moment. The worst part is - they are cowards. If they have a problem, it would be so much easier to call us and talk about it, but instead they play stupid games and call meetings to discuss the legal department behind our back

This week’s rant is brought to you by the letter T - as is in Trash. I am absolutely appalled by the amount of trash/garbage/refuse that I have seen lying along the sides of the roads these last few weeks. I’ve witnessed everything from an old mattress, to old shoes and a chair, but the worst thing of all has been the amount of fast food trash. Have people really become that lazy and oblivious to the world around them? Apparently so. Do they think that by tossing their SH*T out the window, it will magically disappear? Apparently so. I just can’t understand what these individuals can possibly be thinking. Oh wait – they aren’t! There are trash cans at every fast food outlet. Public parks, malls and almost every other public space have trash cans. Every household has at least one trash can. Use them! I read a local news article yesterday where one town has the problem of finding whole trash bags full strewn about their rural areas because certain counties have a “pay

For over three weeks now, I’d see him in the morning, walking along the side of the dusty country road. I couldn’t quite figure out if he was coming or going, but he seemed to moving along with purpose. Then on my return trip in the evenings, I would see him just sitting in the tall grass off to the side of the road – not too far from where I saw him in the morning. Once again, I’d wonder what he was up to and where he lived. I began to think that perhaps he was homeless or lost, as he didn’t seem to wander too far from the side of the road. As the days passed, I began to worry about his safety since he was sitting so close to the passing cars, hidden in the tall grass. I also worried out his well being during the midst of the recent heat wave. Did he have enough shade? Did he have enough water? Did he have enough food? On Friday evening of last week, I noticed he wasn’t in his usual spot and then on Monday, I noticed he wasn’t walking along like he typically is in the m

The 5 year plan is still chugging along and time is passing much slower than I would like. I’m actually quite ashamed that that I’m eagerly wishing the next five years of my life away, but when you finally have an “end goal” in sight, it’s difficult not to become consumed by it. As mentioned previously J and I were sure Ecuador would become our future country of residence and although it wasn’t our first choice, it had everything we were looking for – warm climate, affordable day-to-day cost of living and cheap real estate. We’ve been recently re-evaluating our future needs, wants, must-haves and nice-to-haves. Where does that bring us? Well, we’ve decided that maybe we shouldn’t give up on our first choice just yet – at least not until we’ve done a little more research and financial number crunching. Our first choice is a place we’ve been close to 10 times over the past 14 years and from the first time we arrived on the island, we were in love. Yes, love. It’s a magical

Yesterday was The Boy’s 20th Birthday. I’m not sure how I feel about that little tidbit. Yesterday, it seemed like just another day, but today I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by the thought of where the last 20 years of my life went. Today would have been my mom’s 63rd birthday. As with the last 20 years, the 5 years since her passing have flashed by. I don’t know where the time has gone. So much has happened, yet so little has changed. Tomorrow, I’m having lunch with my boss to complete my performance review. We NEVER go for lunch together until it’s performance review time and then suddenly he feels the need to take me for lunch. Maybe he feels if he feeds me first, I’m less likely to speak my mind. I’d much rather just meet in his office and get it over with. Ugh… Day After Tomorrow is pay day! Everyone LOVES pay day – even if the money is spent before you receive it. Wait, maybe that’s just me… And then…it’s Friday! Need I say more? Happy Tuesday – I hope your

For some, 13 is an unlucky number. Many believe the number 13 will bring them bad luck. If people truly believe this then 2012 has not been their year and could send some scurrying for cover because 2012 is extremely unlucky given that there are three Friday the 13th this year. The first one was in January, then April, then today. For three to occur in one year is highly unusual, but I beg to differ because it also happened in 2009. Fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia and is one of the most common fears people have. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13. In case you are one that fears the 13th, I suggest that remain in bed, not answer the phone or door because you just don't know what might be lurking about. Happy Friday!!!  

For not doing much these last few weeks/weekends, I cannot seem to shut my brain off. I honestly believe I have recently developed an adult form of ADD, as I cannot seem to focus on one thing for very long and my mind easily wanders from one thing to the next. Needless to say, getting through the work day has been a huge problem for me. Do you ever feel overwhelmed by social obligations – current or pending? Like I said before, we haven’t done much this summer and we certainly haven’t been socializing, but I’m feeling overwhelmed by social obligations that haven’t even happened yet. I need to invite multiple friends over for dinner. You know the whole – “it’s my turn” fiasco. I need to visit an old co-worker – she doesn’t drive, so it leaves me to go to her. I need to RSVP to my niece’s wedding. I need to help plan my friend’s 50th birthday party. I need to make multiple appointments for not-so-social events like the dentist, doctor, eye doctor, etc. All I do is think about these

Nothing new here.  The weekend was uneventful, which is always a nice change. J and I went for another loooong walk on the beach yesterday.  I think with all the fresh air and exercise, we need Sundays to recover. I've been working away on a couple of new jewelry pieces, which I thought I'd share. Sea Glass Treasures This one contains pieces of sea and beach glass from Long Point, Lake Erie; Rincon, Puerto Rico; Negros Islands, Philippines; Oahu, Hawaii.  The large pendant piece is the bottom of an old Coke bottle. Driftwood Dreams The pendant on this piece is a piece of old tree bark I found on the beach in Rincon, Puerto Rico.  I love the way the worm holes make the piece look.

Happy Belated Canada Day to my Canadian readers; and Happy Independence Day (Tomorrow) to my American readers; and Happy Battle of the Boyne Day (on Thursday) to my Nothern Ireland readers. I’m not even sure that I have any Irish followers or what the holiday is even about, but I see it’s on my calendar, so it must be worth celebrating. Enjoy! Today is my first day back to work after an extra long four day weekend. I’m struggling to say the least and while I love the extra days off, sometimes it’s just not worth the punishment of having to get back into the work groove. J and I spent a good portion of the day on Friday, taking an extra, extra long stroll on the beach. There just something about sunshine, water and sand that makes all your worries disappear. Even if the feeling was short-lived, at least the cobwebs were temporarily removed from my brain. As with much of North America, we are in the midst of a heat wave. I’m not complaining about