Family scenarios you don't want to miss.

My sister, her husband, my 13yo nephew and my 11yo niece came to Florida for a few days to visit my parents (and me). When the seven of us get together it’s a trip. We're all growing up and getting older and we spend a lot of time laughing - at each other.

Scenario 1

My nephew has PDD and as he gets older his medication dose gets increased – most recently, right before this trip. Now picture the seven of us on the lanai eating turkey sandwiches for lunch. 

Sister: “I don’t know if he should be so calm…”

Dad: “It needs a little Grey Poupon?”

Scenario 2

My mother hung a large painting on one of the screened walls of the lanai to give us a little privacy from our neighbors.

Niece: “Grandma, your painting is upside down.”

Mom (in a mildly defensive tone): “No it’s not.”

Sister: “Yes it is. The signature's on the top.”

Scenario 3

Still on the lanai. Just finished eating.

Sister: “Dad, you have crumbs under your eye.”

Dad: “It’s that wrinkle cream your mother bought me.”

Scenario 4

My father and my nephew are at opposite ends of the the lanai, the rest of us are in the kitchen picking up after a meal.  Again, my nephew just had a medication increase.

Me:  “Look!  He’s really entertaining himself out there with that book.”

Mom:  “Who? Your father?”

Scenario 5

In an effort to break up some loving family discussions I decided to bust out a little blazing music.

Mom: “What’s he saying?”

Niece: “Like a G6.”

Mom: “Like a Jesus?”

Scenario 6

My mother, niece and I were picking up cheesecake for dessert along with a few other treats.  We’re in the checkout line analyzing our purchases.

Me: “Marshmallow Peeps, really? Did you pick those out?”

Niece: “Yeah.”

Me: “Hm. I’m not a big fan of Peeps.”

Niece: “Well, I’m not a big fan of beef jerky.”

Scenario 7

My sister and I are analyzing her Twitter progress and my mother starts in about some changes she wants to make to the company website – adding some photos, info, etc.

Sister: “Just get something off of Wikipedia.”

Mom: “What's a Wicked PDF?”

...and that's where I'll end, until next time. 

"How do you feel about a paid trip to Turks and Caicos?”

I got the phone call on Tuesday and two days later I was on a plane to Turks and Caicos.

The trip was originally planned for my gal-pal A and her man.  Break-ups suck but when they happen two days before the big trip… they suck even more.  Going into this I knew it was my duty to be the best wing-woman ever.  I believe my mission was accomplished.

After clearing though customs we met outside with a big jumping hug and hopped in a taxi.  I had pre-planned a proper kickoff and, on the way to the hotel, we had a toast with two mini bottles of warm Jack Daniels.  Arrival time was approximately 3pm on Thursday. 

Our first night out on the island led us to da Conch Shack for fried conch, live music, a big sandy beach and a whole lotta rum punch. 

Fried Conch

Conch Lessons on The Beach

At the bar we met a group of high rollers, casino directors and "models" from the Cosmopolitan Casino in Las Vegas.  They welcomed us into their posse with open arms, dancing and more rum punch.  We accepted (and thank you)!

Worth noting: If you’re planning a trip to Vegas you might want to take us with you.

The next morning around 5am I woke up with what felt like a huge granule of sand in my eye.  I flushed with water, dropped with Systane and went back to bed whining, slightly miserable and thankful for the remainder of booze that was lingering in my system numbing a majority of the pain.  9am rolls around and I officially cannot open my right eye… this calls for medical attention. Ugh.

We put our bikinis on, packed our beach bags and grabbed two bottles of mini Kahlua from our stash.  At the main office A got directions to the clinic and we both poured the Kahlua into our paper cup coffees.  My sunglasses held a crumpled tissue against my eye, keeping it securely closed, which I’m sure looked normal.  It was a quick shuttle ride to the clinic and I was one of three patients waiting to be seen, this was a breeze. 

A little over an hour later we were bored, starved and wicked antsy. Our coffee ran dry, we tried everything we could to fix my busted camera from the night before, we had small talk with some locals and we were aggravated.  Four other patients had come and gone and I was still in pain.  A said a few choice words to the nurse behind the window and in minutes I was back with the doctor.  There was no sand and no scratch but my eye was definitely “not normal”.  I was diagnosed with conjunctivitis and got a script for a steroid/antibiotic eye gel.  I shuffled next door to the pharmacy and soon after we were on our way to the beach. Finally.

Our days at the beach consisted of dips in the salty water, Corona's, food, jacuzzi hopping along the shoreline, naps, fruity cocktails, island music, gossip, people watching and reliving our adventures from the night before.

Friday night we were in rough shape.  Even though we hardly managed to make it out of our room, the big night out was about to start.  Fighting our gag reflex we both swallowed our first cocktail and headed to The Gansevoort for their Friday night party. I bought a super cute grey dress in China that I’d been dying to wear and this was the perfect occasion.  

The DJ was spinning, the crowd looked fun and the bartenders absolutely sucked. After paying $27 for two half-ass glasses of delicious sangria I handed my drink to A and headed to the ladies room.  The pool adjacent to the bar was designed with tiled stepping stones making it fun to maneuver around over several inches of crystal clear water.  I decided to take a little tour on my way to the restroom. 

“MAGGIE!” an unfamiliar voice calls out. I turn around and like a tall, pretty tree - I fall - into the pool.  Stunned and disarranged I immediately look around to find the man behind the voice. It’s one of the casino directors from the night before but he’s not helping me up, he’s walking away.  Mortifying.  My very next thought: I’m in the pool.

In my own defense, here's what the pool area looks like at night. Pretty dark.

Five inches of soaking wetness covered me from skirt to shoulder.  I was left with two options.  I could take a $30 cab ride back to our room, change and then another $30 return or I could let it dry, have a drink and ignore the dampness.  After assessing my appearance in the bathroom mirror I decided to suck it up and party on all while cursing my daytime Corona's for this disaster.  

A was standing at the bar, right where I left her, surrounded by some of the Cosmopolitan gang from the night before.  I told her what happened and, let's just say, there was laughing.

We were given access to their VIP section on the deck where we sipped free Patron XO Café into the early hours of the morning. If you love coffee and tequila you must try this liqueur sooner than later, you’ll love fall in love.  

The final 24 hours were extremely low-key.  Like clockwork we got up Saturday morning, headed toward the beach, ordered some Corona's and took a snooze. Only this time we fell asleep before actually making it to the beach and before finishing the beer (gasp!). We were down for the count.

That marked the turning point in our trip and we knew the adventure was going to end soon.  Later that evening we packed our bags for our upcoming Sunday morning flight, watched Sex and the City 2 from the comfort of our cozy bed and by 11pm we were fast asleep. 

Obviously these types of experiences don't come along every day and I'm incredibly thankful that my current schedule allowed for such a last minute jaunt.  I was honored to be invited and so happy to spend that time with A.  My random tragedies and her saddened heart made for a painfully awesome trip.  

Love you A!  You deserve nothing but the best. 

17 Days of Pure Bliss

It all started with eight days in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada.  I spent that time with a lifelong friend from Auburn, a great friend from UVM and one of his girlfriends, who happened to be on a similar journey. Heavenly Mountain got 81” of snowfall over the course of that trip. That’s almost SEVEN FEET of snow. “Epic” was officially added to my vocabulary the day I fell down, on the mountain, and couldn't get up.  We were buried in powder, laughed 'til we cried, saw some live music, danced the night away, enjoyed aprés-ski in the jacuzzi, lost money, won money, met new friends and reminisced about the old ones.

On the eighth day we cleaned the house, packed the Subaru and the four of us started our decent back to San Diego (I had shotgun).  Road trips are always eventful, right?  Roadside pee breaks, insanely intense heebie-jeebies, junk food, good smells, bad smells and someone always loses something... inside the car. It was all of that and then some. Ten hours later we arrived, unpacked and said our good-byes. Thanks again guys, it was a BLAST.

Two hours later I headed out to meet a few other everlasting college friends for some uber strong beer and shuffleboard.

San Diego begins.

Couch surfing, successfully, is an art.  If you’re not prepared I imagine it can be quite uncomfortable.  When I packed for SD, 2 weeks prior, I was under the impression it would be beachy and hot.  When I arrived, and throughout my stay, the weather average was high 50’s, low 60’s.  I was limited with my prearranged wardrobe while the bottom half of my 45lb duffel bag went untouched.  I had chilly flip-flop feet for 9 days but then again I was in flip-flops and I was in Cali.  Life was good. 

I stayed in four different houses in three different parts of San Diego: Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach and South Park.  The kindness and generosity of my friends (new & old) was so much more than I ever could have imagined.  Open arms, open doors, homemade meals, spare keys, spare cars, vacation days, pick-ups, drop-offs and so much more.  "Thank You" just doesn’t cut it.

A few highlights: drinking Kava at Mystic Water in North Park, listening to my friend DJ JCEE at Thrusters, witnessing the renovation of Starbucks on 28^th and B while freelancing in South Park, watching an SU basketball game at Brewley's Pint in PB, rekindling my love for dogs (shout-outs to Vinny, Murray & Bernie!), enjoying the best oysters ever at South Beach, Sunday beers at La Heinas in Mission Beach, nursing a hangover at Tiny's in Ocean Beach and the moment I realized I hadn’t had a hot flash in months.  I must be doing something right.

I’m back in Bonita Springs, Florida where I will recharge, devise a plan and make my next move.  I’ll keep you posted.