Happy Easter, please pass the PEEPS!

Mark and I went north to RI to visit family for Easter. We hadn't been home since my grandmother's funeral some 10 months ag, so we were well overdue for a visit!

To further stress the urgency, my great great aunt broke her hip a few months ago. While she's doing well and healing well, she's definitely winding down. I wanted to make sure we had a visit...at 94 yrs of age, she's VERY aware of the passage of every day. Since she raised me, she's more like a second mother to me, and since we couldn't get home for Christmas...going for Easter was extra important.

Our trip looked cursed from the beginning. We were set to leave on Friday morning, and late Thursday afternoon, our car broke down. Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to find a mechanic willing to work on Good Friday OR a rental agency at five 5pm on a Thursday? It was darn near impossible! We finally found a rental agency that had some cars open. So...at like 7 pm, we drove the ten miles to the airport and ended up renting a rather larger car (The pickings were nearly non-existent). The ride was soooo comfortable and wonderful, even if the car (Chrysler 300) was much larger than we expected :) And there was a bonus...it got 30 miles to the gallon!

Unfortunately, we came across a fatal accident in CT. We literally arrived seconds after the impact. We just learned that the poor guy died today...but I think we instinctively knew as we passed the crash site that it was VERY bad.

Seeing something that tragic really put the weekend into perspective. Yes, the drive was exhausting, but being with family was such a gift. Much of the weekend was spent chatting and sharing new events in our lives, rather than all of us being gathered around a tv.

We got home late last evening and I realized that I hadn't had a morsel of Easter candy....not a Cream Egg, or even a PEEP had passed my lips. I must rectify that in some small way!

I hope that your weekend went well.

Father In Law update

While I wait for my Ipod to charge, I thought I'd give this update. As some of you know *waves to the new folks visiting my blog* my father in law, who lives in Katherine In Australia, was a flood victim this week.

After a day of frantically trying to get in touch with him, he was able to call us at 1:30 am today. He kindly got in touch with us as soon as he got home. I'm so relieved that Mark didn't have to wait any longer for news.

Dad lives on a huge 100+acre property, along with his wife, his brothers and their families. The property is on the banks of the Katherine River and has flooded in the past. While they have a small cluster of homes on the property, most of their land is simply landscaped grounds.

While the houses are beautifully modern, the land itself has a 'frontier' feeling. Dad proudly told me that they have multiple types of deadly snakes, cane toads (toads that secrete a neurotoxin strong enough to kill small animals and children) and the ever-popular deadly spiders.

Dad works the land...his responsiblity is keeping the grounds landscaped, planting new types of plants, killing the odd croc silly enough to wander on their property, etc. This is Dad's passion and purpose, along with his business, a nursery.

We were so saddened to hear that his nursery was a total loss and over 14,000 plants and seedlings perished in the floodwaters. The property in general is a mess. Thankfully, none of the houses were flooded.

They have a lot of work to do to set things right. Please keep Dad and the other relatives in your thoughts.

Doing the Ipod Shuffle!

I've shamelessly taken this from a few blogs...this is right up my alley!

Put your iTunes/iPod on shuffle.Say the following questions aloud, and press play.Use the song title as the answer to the question.NO CHEATING.

I have over 3000 songs on my Ipod and many are obscure so I'm betting this will be interesting!

1. How does the world see you? New Girl Now by Honeymoon Suite. Wow, this one is right on the mark :) There have been tons of changes in my life recently, most notably, a 20 pound weight loss in the last 6 mos.

2. Will I have a happy life? Modern Love by David Bowie. Okay :) This works :)

3. What do my friends think of me? Never Tear Us Apart by INXS. So true....so true, especially since I've reconnected with a couple of old friends recently (HI CRIS)

4. Do people secretly lust after me? You're Not The Only One by John Wetton. Hmm...

5. How can I make myself happy? Forgiven Not Forgotten by the Corrs. Another one that is right on the mark. I've learned a lot about grace and letting things go this year.

6. What should I do with my life? Kiss and Tell by Bryan Ferry. Ack, my husband reads this blog! I am not a flirt...I am NOT a flirt...I am....oh I'm not convincing ANYONE, am I??

7. Will I ever have children? Not Tonight by The New Cars. Hmm...okkkkkay ;)

8. What is some good advice for me? Reach Out (Never Say No) by GTR. Good older song...and the theme works for me :)

9. How will I be remembered? Days Like These by Asia. Cool :) "Days like these I feel like I can change the world." Works for me!!!

10. What’s my signature dancing song? Notorious by Duran Duran. Yeah...I can go for that ;)

11. What’s my current theme song? Shakin' With The Passion by Patrick Moraz. Um...actually this is better served as signature dancing song! This is another very rare and obscrube song, even among a bunch of other rare and obscure songs.

12. What do others think is my current theme song? The Story In Your Eyes by the Moody Blues. This was once my theme song, so that works!

13. What shall they play at my funeral? Read 'Em And Weep by Meat Loaf. LOL! Okay...

14. What type of men do I like? Run Like Hell by Pink Floyd Tribute band. LOL...with a few notable exceptions (hubby excepted, of course!), this totally works. And it is a great tribute too. This one is sung by Jason Scheff, the lead singer for Chicago.

15. How’s my love life? Heaven by Los Lonley Boys. Heh heh depends on the day ;)


I'm quite surprised that not more of the modern songs on my Ipod showed up. Contrary to popular belief, I do have songs from this century on board.

This was pretty fun and a nice break from the stresses of the week.