A Smell...A sound....

I have been blessed enough in my life to do a lot of traveling. I must say I am a bit proud enough to say I have been to four of the seven continents...but mostly my heart lies in the beautiful country of Italy. I don't know what it is about Italy, but when I am there it's like nothing else even exists....no place else even exists. It's like the country is magical. It can over power you so much so that you want so much of yourself to remain in Italy.... my love for this country could possibly be that my fathers roots lay from it. It could be that they produce some of the best food I have ever ate. That the country is so rich in history I cannot even fathom or because the people are so welcoming and blow our standard of family and hospitality out of the water.

Every so often.. I mean every so often I will be outside, walking the dog or something and in the smallest of breaths there is a smell that is in the air that takes me back to Italy. Go a head, think it's funny and say "what in south west Fla could ever trigger a smell so similar?" I don't know. I don't know how it could be but it happens. It brings me back to the smell of the Eternal City in Rome, or the Grand Canals of Venice. It brings me back to the sunsets in the Tuscan countryside, the mountain villages, the early mornings when things are so still in the southern country side and the smell of the Mediterranean Sea. It is there. It lasts only for a moment but I am swept away back to Italy. And then there will be a sound of a car in the far distance that takes me back. I love it. It is a random event that happens, but I feel like I should be there and not here experiencing it all over again.

I do have one dream in my life and that is to return to this country. I would like to give myself two to three years there and immerse myself in everything that Italy has to offer. To till the soil and grow veggies, to tour the ruins in depth, to dig deep into the Roman Empire, to learn to cook it's native foods. To speak the language fluently so that I dream in Italian, to swim in lakes and seas. To have a siesta for the afternoon. To drink wine that I pressed. To shop it's fine stores. Learn more about the beauty of art and music. To press olives and sail along the Italian shores. To retrace historic battles of World War II. To be surrounded with family and open my heart more than it is.to see George Clooney at a restaurant in Rome. To learn Italian hospitality and a way of life....I think it's an attainable dream really. This place pulls at my heart strings and makes me actually WANT something.

There is nothing like being together as a family exploring places and the food. we can all sit together eating olives, cheese, drinking wine, eating prosciutto, bread ,salami, a slice of potato pizza, and have happiness and beauty all around. It's love and family that draws me back to Italy. Maybe those sounds and smells that I randomly have is a reminder of My Love, My Life and My Family, maybe THAT'S what is pulling on my heart strings.

ICU....

We have this place at work called ICU- I really do not know what it stands for, normally everyday use of the letters ICU would be Intensive Care Unit...but not at The Ritz (since it is a hotel and all)

The ICU at the hotel is behind the scenes. The guest cannot and will not ever see the back hallways of the hotel, but lets focus on this place. ICU hmmm ICU... It's our employee cafeteria.

The upshot is we get a FREE lunch.That's where the upshot ends. Yesterday when I worked It was the lame attempt at Chicken Catchatore..oh PLEASE...Mostly it's some kind of slop that someone in the chef department makes up. Now I will state this, the people who work the ICU work very hard to keep us fed, so I am not knocking their job what so ever. What I am knocking in the actual food that comes out of there.

Here is how it works... There is always some kind of Hot food. Like what is called Chicken Catchatore, or half cooked Tilapia or over cooked hamburgers and hot dogs. There is always rice and steamed veggies. Some kind of soup, apparently the Cream of Asparagus is the favorite at the moment, and if the soup is Chicken Noodle you are lucky...yet actually finding a noodle in the Chicken Noodle soup would be like finding Willy Wonka's golden ticket. Then there is The Salad Bar, or "The Heart Healthy Salad Bar" as the sign says. Romaine Lettuce (all the time) your basics salad toppings, tomatoes, cucumbers,cheese, chick peas, hard boiled eggs, dry tuna fish, celery. You know stuff. There is also a selection of breads...don't get to excited. the breads are from Wonder Bread and are in their bags still. White, Wheat and Rye. So when the bag is open, then it stays open all day long and you are eating dried out bread. There is also Deli meats like turkey breast and ham with sliced cheese. Then the salad dressings, all fat free. It's good to have fat free stuff but it just has that fat free taste to it. Then the drinks.

It's rare that a meal is actually good. The days to stay away from the ICU are the Tilapia days. During Lent season, this would be every Friday. I give them snaps for dishing out the fish on Fridays, but the other holidays things cannot seem to come together...lets see....the hotel hosts a large Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner so for weeks after those holidays you are eating (or not) Turkey Something. Roasted Turkey w/ all the trimming, Turkey Pot Pie, Turkey Rolls, Turkey this Turkey that. But lets say on the Fourth of July, the All American Holiday, lunch would be Tacos. On Christmas we would get Pork and fried Plantain's. Instead of Corn beef and Cabbage, (which is a selection on some days) on St. Patrick's Day we would have Chicken Teriyaki. But fear not, on those holidays the ICU is decorated with table clothes and flowers and something related to the holiday celebration. So they try.

You get REALLY lucky when you eat later in the day because then you get the left over food form the banquet department. The stuff that they used for a banquet that has come back unused or half used. That's when you WANT to be in the ICU. They food is taken off the Queen Mary's and brought onto a table in the ICU and then all of the employees that are eating drop their forks and make a mad dash to the front of the room and take what is there...even if you don't like it you still takeit because you know it will be better than the stuff you currently have on your plate. At the Marriott in Marco Island where I used to work enos ago, they too have an associate cafeteria. They have a better and bigger selection of food that you can choose from for a minimal cost....so what do you do, accept the fact that ICU is FREE, or ask for better food at a cost?

Tag....

I'm not to sure what it means when I get "Tagged" on facebook... but I got photo tagged the other day by my bestest friend EVER....

A photo of me and two dear friends for Up With People at our five year reunion in Breckenridge Colorado... back in the day. Now I am approaching my 20th UWP reunion in Tuscon AZ this summer. I will not be attending due to lack o money...the economy and sheer and utter laziness I am sure... but when I saw this picture I got a warm feeling in my heart for these guys. We did have a lot of fun on the reunion, and have you know I have short hair here...Some thing I have not had for YEARS and YEARS... (cut it for a guy...BIG MISTAKE) But the time on this hotel deck with "The Boys" smoking cigars was fun and we swapped stories. When Kevin got married (on the right) his wedding in NY was like THE BEST WEDDING I HAVE EVER BEEN TO....was like a mini reunion....maybe its a THING about reunions I have. I have not been to any of my high school ones... but seriously High School...But maybe it's because, people feel the need to IMPRESS other people w/ their lives...

I met up w/ my first boyfriend in high school about five years ago, maybe four at a church event... I had NO idea who he was but he knew me...come on lets face it I look exactly the same but 30lbs heavier...so I met his kids and wife (who were lovely and I felt bad for her 'cause you know... the old girlfriend thing).. so anyway, he's asking me stuff like...How long have you lived in Naples? what are you going now...you know the basics, but it all seemed like a competition...I just answered the questions of my beautiful mundane life... easy.. Not holding back and not trying to impress..I cant do that shit anymore...impressing people with things that I just don't have or even want. Making things up about my life...come on be real. I am almost 40 so why even bother... It's just ME. Simple... But when I asked him about it...Well he sucked in his belly and took a deep breath like "where do I start." and fed me all this bullshit that I had no interest in even hearing....I kept my focus because I was either going to bust out w/ laughter or roll my eyes to the back of my head....but anyhow..it was all shit...Look, be yourself and don't try to impress...it doesn't work anymore...

The guy on the left of this photo. Brian... Salt of the earth guy...one day I asked him how he likes being a dad...his answer was...I love it but it's really hard some days...HONEST. I love that...so maybe the UWP five year was all I needed. Seeing people outside of things like these events are funner for me. On their territory, their lives. If I went to Denver I would call Brian and hope to get together w/ him and chat, just be real...If I went to NYC and saw Kevin, we would chat and be ourselves....I found a friend from high school on facebook. I have been reading her online diary..it's been great for me because she is so much herself.. always was and looks like she will always be....I like that.

Be Polite Damn It....

I called a friend the other day to congratulate here on the purchase of their new home...They bought a house, who is buying a house these days????? I think it's great, I am so happy for them...
The conversation went something like this....
As soon as she answered I was excited for them so I let it flow....
"Yeah, have you moved in yet?"
"No, we have problems with bugs..."
"Bugs?" I question
"Yeah bugs."
"That sucks....But are you excited?"
"Well we have a lot of work to do, and we can do it once we get these bugs under control."
I fizzle... "Well, I am sure you will but I just wanted to congratulate you on buying a new home."
"There is just so much to do and these bugs really put a damper on our plans."

HOLD ON A MINUTE... Did I just compliment you on something great?

If someone pays you a compliment... then respond in a nice way...even if your day sucks...bugs, jelly fish, ferocious lions....respond in a polite manner...a simple THANK YOU is sufficient...right?
Even when your world crumbles in front of you and someone stops by your desk, catches you in the hall, calls on the phone and pays you a compliment, take a deep breath and say THANK YOU. They are taking time out of THIER day for YOU. I was jolted. I think it's impolite, and unfriendly to snub...Yet the world thinks it's okay... What in your life is so BAD that you cannot respond to someone paying a compliment or a greeting...It's amazing how many people
will be courteous back and how many don't. I work at the Ritz-Carlton and as it is part of our job to greet people with pleasure. My parents also instilled in me to be polite to others.. Hell in the third grade Mrs. Scholtiz taught us The Golden Rule... Do Unto Other As You Would Have Them Do Unto You.

By not responding to a compliment you are now setting the ground rules of how you want to be treated and how you treat others and passing it on...Damn It.

I'm not sure....

Miles is just hanging around on his usual perch this morning while I pen...(We do have the windows open so he feels the need to bark at every noise he hears)... February in Naples....
So last night the husband asks me "what do you work tomorrow?"
"I don't " I replied "I have the day off..."
"Well what are you going to do then on your day off?"
"I'm not sure yet, I don't have a plan."
Husband almost fell to his knees....I ALWAYS have a plan. I always have SOMETHING to do. I like it more that way because it give me a small feeling of purpose...a small feeling that I actually have something ....you know...So I have this day off today. Got up and walked the dog as usual...we took a different route, nice long walk and came home and looked around. I have a friend coming to stay with us for a few days, but I cleaned the house yesterday...I could go to the beach and get a little sun... but I have to get a parking sticker...I could get a parking sticker...but then I would have to actually do something....
I wonder if it is in us to always have SOMETHING going on... I mean I had a friend who could not relax...I would be frightened to go away with her on a short holiday and sit on the beach, I don't know if she could do it..she can never relax... I am starting to think that I am getting that way...I relax by reading in bed. Lately that is my favourite thing to do. But I feel like if i climb into bed on my day off to read, then I am ruining my day... Like going places.. I need to know about the place... The history the sights the... "look we traveled all this way and paid all this money we are going to see everything..." Like Ross Gellar on Friends when he takes all the hotel amenities...Oh my... My poor husband...he just wants to find a pub somewhere and sit and drink a beer... I want to know how the pub got there, the history of the building, who the owners are, where they came from are the a success story, what famous people have been there and more.... Sick.
Maybe it comes from feeling like either I got jiped in high school of a total educational experience (not socially I had my fun in high school) or I jipted myself in high school educationally...It was the advance kids...the upper standard kids...the standard kids and the lower standard kids....(I was lower standard) maybe that was it...when I was young I was told I would never be good in school... there you go, but I wonder if I had a chance I could have kept up with some of those higher groups... you never know, it's like once I left high school my thirst for learning about everything had sprung into action.
20years out of school..this past year..funny. I would never even think about going to a reunion...
I have no interest in being again. We were terrible people in high school. ALL of us, I don't care who you are...we are selfish individuals who have to show off or be shown off...we don't care about a thing...why would I want to go back and relive that? see that's because when you are from a small town like I was from..there are still people there who are the exact same way.. Move on..that's what I say. I love to go back to my small town and eat Brigham's Ice Cream and see the families that I babysat for, but as far as reliving high school...HELL NO.
And Having no plan is a bit scary to me really. I will have to conger something up because if I don't have a plan then I find myself into a shame spiral on something that has no relevance to anything. Can I relax and find another book to read? Can I go to the beach? Can I call a friend and meet them for lunch? Can I do.....? What will it be, how will it be...
I'm not sure

Choose....

It's been a strange winter... All I can say is that I am SOOOO glad I live here and not up north, (past Orlando into the rest of the country).

I cannot believe it when I see the weather and see how cold it is in so many other places....In October the Farmers Almanac said that this winter would be a cold one all over the country... and it was true, even here in Naples Fl. the weather is probably the worst I have ever seen....no not counting hurricane weather but for every day weather... I mean seriously... it has been cold for us, for me, for Dan. Some days and nights into the thirties... really it should just snow then because we should have something to show for it....

It's been like this photo....do I wear Uggs?...(they are Lexie's and I have failed to send them back to her... thanks Mooch)... we have had the heat on for sometime.... Do I wear my flip flops?......we have the windows open to let the fresh air in and it feels like the way Florida should... or do I just go barefoot?.....We have to put the air on... This did happen all in one week....One day we had the heat on, then the next we had to open the windows because the day was so nice and then the next day we put the air on because it was so humid and warm out..... People say it global warming....really???? all I know is that FPL will have a field day at our house... Okay so we are out of the norm. There are a lot of people who don't put the heat on down here, I will just say though, our home gets no sun to heat it because of the big huge trees that hover over it....so it is great in the hot months.. but it causes us to have to put the heat on... At the moment the forecast for the week looks better... much better, maybe I can be barefoot or in my flip flops...it's February... this is one of the best months...but rumor has it I will be wearing the Uggs later on in the week....UGGGG.

Is anything really THAT bad?

I had this book recommended to me by a dear friend....she said "you have got to read it". I love to read so anything that comes my way I try to read...i know... I was never a reader growing up, but now sometimes I have two or three books going at one time...depending on my mood is which one I will pick up and read...but anyway, I went home and ordered the book and when it came I sunk myself into it....she said, just get past the first four chapters and then the story really takes place...true...the first four chapters were a bit of a struggle, but then the book was riveting. Yet those chapters set the ground for the rest of the story. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom.

I am not giving the story away to you if I tell you that she lived in Holland and during the German invasion of Holland her and her family played a pivotal role in the Jewish underground. She was not Jewish, but she helped many many come to be safe during the persecution of the Jews during World War II. Later she and her family were turned into the German authorities and spent time in a concentration camp for political prisoners. Her story compelling. Her survival during this time of her life heart wrenching, and the life that she lead after her release...incredible. So I suggest you read this book.

When you are finished with it ask yourself: What in your life is so unbearable, so unspeakable and what can we do with Gods help to turn it around? I am so glad that I read the book when I did because with all that is happening and the economy, people and family members, friends losing their jobs....hours getting cut at work and figuring out how bills will be paid and when we can afford to go out to dinner and more...I have nothing, I mean NOTHING to complain about. Corrie ten Boom's life showed me that you can find GOD in ANYTHING and he will show you the light. Though I had stopped complaining a long time ago about things because God has been and continues to be so good to me, this book had me explore myself and my times so much more. My surroundings, my family, my relationships, my faith, my walk, my prayer life, my all. If she can survive then I can too...we all can. During this time in our country, w need to be proud Americans and face the challenge that has come our way. We need to be faithful people and accept the challenge that God has given us and ask Him daily to lead us to do the right thing. We need to believe in ourselves as His children to know and be settled with what he is putting in front of us and how we are to overcome anything that is rough, to be thankful daily for what we do have and be especially thankful for the things we don't have.

We are not in food lines...(yet) but if that day does come, rest assure..God will provide just what we need. He does each and every day..sometimes we just do not see it....but look around and you will see....

Not Microsoft...

Okay, so we all know that Dan and I have no kids...another story... but WE have "MILES THE WONDER DOG"...or Miles. Our"large pomeranian" mix of a dog that we picked up at the Domestic Animal Shelter a few years ago...And upon our ride to the shelter I kept saying to myself I will not turn into one of THOSE people w/ their dogs... didn't happen... I DID turn into one of THOSE people w/ their dogs..well really the only thing that truley saves me is that Miles is to big to carry around in a bag with me and go places.... So with that said, he is our little guy. He is our child...can you blame us really. I mean all the years babysitting and loving each boy or girl I took care of and not having any of my very own, we have Miles and it works...well, we cannot do art projects with him or teach him how to say mom, but we can still play with him, and walk with him and laugh with him. He has to be bathed and groomed. Yes sometimes we dress him too... when there is a Red Sox game on. (he has his own red sox shirt) or when there is a Buccaneers football game on. We also cook together. (miles is very well fed) and he even talks back to us...meaning he will constantly get the last word in... or bark... but when we tell him not to bark and to go lay down...you an still hear the little grumble of a few barks...All we can do is laugh....but my point is.. YES he is spoiled. I feel the urge, the need to spoil my dog. My little guy. my smoosh. Sorry... What if I did have kids? I often ponder that, would I spoil them as kids in the same way I do Miles?....

Well, Miles has a pile of toys... his latest trip to Pet Supermarket was yesterday with Dan and I. He knows where we are going and where to go in the store. His first stop is the $1.99 toys. I usually let him pick out one and that is it. We have plenty(it's also hard to find a toy from that area he does not have). Then onto the food section of the storeand then back to the toys. He is very good in the store. All the people who work there know Miles and coddle over him, and he is very good. It's HIS Toys R Us. So he's got all these toys and he plays with them until thay cannot be played with anymore. His newest one is the little frog. We were home with it not four minute and he had one of the frogs legs chewed off. But the funny thing about it all is...when he has a new toy, just like a child he will hold onto it for a full day. I have noticed that that toy will be with him everywhere he goes. For a walk, by his food dish when he eats, on the bed, under the bed, on his bed, and back in his mouth when he jumps on me in the morning to wake me up. There is the toy, or in this case the frog.

Miles also has a perch that he rules the house from. It is at the corner of our couch and looks out onto the street we live. A palm tree in the way but other wise. Miles knows who is comming and who is going. (He would make a great member of the association, or neighborhood watch president...) Another plus to this spot is that it's got great air flow. The spot is not directly under an air vent, just a little to the side but keeps him cool in the hot summer and warm in the cold winter. He has his own little blanket too for this area. It's a white baby blanket w/ a winnie the pooh on it. It's cute and cost us nothing so it's his...but he is our boy. We love him and he loves us. He is loyal and fun and smiles and he is so good at taking care of us and well as we take care of him. His name should really be Riley because he has the life of....But you know...would I spoil a child of my own this much... some of ou may say yes and those that I babysat for may think otherwise, because of how strict I was... but who is to know... All I know is that Miles is our dog, and however we choose to raise him, he does just fine here @257. He can be spoiled because he will not go into society and work for Microsoft or have the pressure of getting good grades in school or pay a loan back. Miles just needs back to him the unconditional love that he puts out to us....He's got it!

The Gray T-Shirt

I have to say I am not a nightgown gal. never really have been. I do not like them. I wear some yummy P.J.'s to bed. Flannel pj pants that i bought Dan a few years ago.(which he never got to wear because I started to.) and YES they are flannel, which to some may sound funny living in south west FL, but they are worn and cozy that even in the hot months, we have the air on, they just feel so good against my skin. I also have a favorite t-shirt that I wear too. You know the kind that is worn out and soft...just to be cozy.

After my dad passed my mom gave Dan a bunch of my dad's old gray t-shirts that my dad use to wear all the time. He had stacks of them. I cannot tell you WHEN he bought them and WHERE he bought them, but some of them were still in thier orriginal plastic. My dad was a pack rat and I THINK thats where I get it from. But mom handed them to Dan. We washed them and Dan started to wear them. They are GREAT. He loved them. When I told mom how much Dan loved the shirts, the very next day mom left another stack of them at our front door.

One evening I was having a bad night missing my dad. Dan suggested that I put on one of the gray tshirts that he has of my dad's to sleep in, then I would feel close to him and always have him around me. Oh I hemmed and hawed over the suggestion because they are Dan's shirts and not mine... than Dan says, "oh honey, you know how this works, whats yours is yours, whats mine is yours." He was right. I put on dad's old gray t-shirt, and I felt a little better. Plus it is so comfortable. for months now i have been wearing this shirt to bed. It's all stretched out and the holes that it arrived in ae starting to get bigger. This is a bit discouraging to me because i know that someday I will have to retire the gray t-shirt and move on to something else. I am sure in time I will be okay w/ it, but for now the thought of giving it up just makes me sad. I know that Dan has more gray shirts, but it was this ONE that he gave to me that made that night so much better. So for now, since I cannot pick up the phone and hear my dad's voice bellow out... "MELISSAH" I have his shirt around me each night. It's the best gray t-shirt.