Wonderful Charleston!!!

Well, we're FINALLY back from our trip to Charleston. We had a bit of personal business to take care of down there on Friday, so I had traded shifts with a co-worker earlier this week so I could get some sleep Thursday night before driving down on Friday.
Well, that didn't QUITE pan out like I had hoped.
We got in bed about 2300 hrs...(11PM).... and JUST as we was falling asleep- we was RUDELY AWAKENED.
Me by Lucy(fer) as she climbed on the top of the entertainment center and then dive-bombed to the top of the Drafting Table which, I might add, was propped up at a steep angle so she ended up sliding down the top of it and landing directly on top of my chest and stomach..... and Paul was awakened by me yelling at Lucy(fer) when I finally caught my breath from her stupid little kamikaze stunt. After all that commotion, neither Paul nor I could get back to sleep at all, and we ended up talking til time to shower and get dressed and leave for Charleston.

Well, we got down to Charlie-town about two and a half hours earlier than we was scheduled for- but they took us back right away and we was there for a grand total of about 8 minutes. Seriously.

After the appointment was over- we decided to drive down to Mount Pleasant and have lunch at Waters Edge. We asked to be seated overlooking the water on Shem Creek, and we ordered...seafood!!! Yeah- I know, Right??

Well, as we sat there waiting for our dinner, a few pelicans flew by and one landed on one of the posts outside the window where we was sitting, and Paul took a lovely photo of it. He laughed saying he knew it looked like a totally touristy thing to do...but then he said heck- it was his first time to visit the city and obviously from his accent he wasn't from around here....so .........LOL.
We discussed heading out to Patriot's Point and taking a short Harbor tour, but as we was sitting there discussing it- looking out on the water of the creek....two bottle-nosed porpoises surfaced and started playing right outside where we were sitting. Those porpoises are the main reason we(meaning I) were/was thinking about taking the harbor tour- so seeing as how we had the main attraction already,it was hot as Hades, the humidity was horrid and it was starting to get cloudy outside and looking more and more like rain, we decided against the boat-ride.
Instead, we rode a bit farther down past Mt. Pleasant onto Isle of Palms and ogled some of the ritzy high dollar real estate on the island.
I also pointed out where my condo was on the island...in a prior life.

Believe it or not- we didn't even really go into Charleston Proper. We went onto the Ravenel Bridge..and what an absolutely STUNNING piece of art that thing is, too!!!....and we thought about riding back thru Charleston around Battery Park and Rainbow Row, but by that point we were both starting to get a bit punchy and thought it was best if we headed back to Easley instead. So off we went, having had a LOVELY time and still enjoying every second of it.

Well, we didn't get very far. About 45 miles back towards home, in Orangeburg, I was literally falling asleep at the wheel, and Paul was nodding off himself. So, seeing as we had WELL over two hundred miles more to go before we got back home, I knew I was going to get us killed if I tried to continue on- so we pulled into the first Days Inn we came to (luckily less than five miles later)and got a room for the night. My sister, Nina, was at Pawleys Island just along the coast a ways vacationing and had invited us to come down, but we had planned to drive straight thru back home after our appointment....had we known we wasn't going to make it back home anyway, we would have drove along the coast for the 45 miles instead and spent some enjoyable time with her and her family. (Hindsight is 20/20 huh???)
Well, we signed in and literally five minutes after walking into the room- I was fast asleep. And I didn't wake up until after midnight. And then I went back to sleep for another hour and a half before waking up again- but this time because my blood sugar was crashing. I woke Paul up and altho I had drank some sweet soda, my blood sugar was still plummeting so we got in the car and drove the three blocks to the nearest Waffle House and got some real food to eat.

After eating Supper/Breakfast, we went back to the room and I slept for another hour and a half while Paul watched TV for a while. When I woke up again, we decided to just go ahead and drive back while the sun was down and it was somewhat cool and comfortable outside...plus there was little traffic out at that time of the morning as well.

So we re-fueled and we drove a while until we found a 24-hour McD's where we got a couple of Caramel Frappe's and then we continued home. We arrived back here at 7:45..... almost exactly 24 hours to the MINUTE since we had left the day before.

I have to say- we don't get to take trips very often, but when we do, they always turn out to be an adventure for us to remember.

Ain't Life SWEET????

Why??????

Okay, in my last post I told you what I would do if I had been told I had a terminal illness and only had a very few weeks or months to live, and then asked why I/We weren't living like that now since we are basically one day closer to dying every day of our lives.
And I got some interesting comments on it already.

Paulius said it translates to "what would you do if there was no consequences".....and
"We may not live each day as if it's our last, but that's because if we did, there's a good chance it would be our last...or we'd make our remaining days miserable."
And in response to that I want to ask- How would doing what you have always wanted to do make you miserable?
"Call off work, lose your job. Eat nothing but desert, get fat and unhealthy, etc, etc."......Okay first of all- calling off work to make love all day to your hubby if you only have a few weeks/ months to live isn't frivolous- it's making some more really wonderful memories for your loved one to have of your last days instead of being all sad and miserable about how little time you have left together....eating nothing but dessert-Obviously not ALL the time- but if you have always wanted to but have always been sensible and responsible and you wanna see what it's like to be bad- what do you possibly have to lose(unless you're diabetic and wanna speed things up, that is)....get fat and unhealthy??? LMAO- you're DYING and only have a few weeks/months anyway....how much more unhealthy can possibly make a difference???

Odie agrees with me about Quality of life and grabbing life by the horns and LIVING your final days the way you want to make it COUNT.- Altho I have to argue against myself a bit and say "What???- Like my life wasn't counting for anything BEFORE I was diagnosed with this THING???"

Scratch says she would get a second opinion- first thing.
Second start contacting everyone she knows- and third put her affairs in order....

Okay
My reply to her is
First- Well, DUH!!!!!
Second-WHY?? Why would you be contacting everyone you know? Especially the ones you haven't heard from in a long time. I wouldn't. I would let immediate family members know, then my few REAL friends who care enough to KEEP in CONTACT on a regular basis. And then I would let the grapevine do the rest for me....anyone who really cares would contact me- and if they didn't then they don't matter anyway.
Or that's MY take on it anyway.
And third-putting your affairs in ORDER???? Sweetie- WHY do you not have that done ALREADY??????? OMG-you have a family to think about..... God forbid- what if you were in an accident today and something happened to you?? Would your loved ones be taken care of? Would they have enough money to take care of funeral expenses and to take care of bills and such during their grieving/mourning period? Or would they have to go back to work after three days like I did when my dad and son left us?
(I'm sorry hun, from experience I really have a hard time when it comes to getting affairs in order.)
In all fairness, tho- I'm so WITH you on the Hot Fudge Sundae thingie tho....make mine with Chocolate ice cream, extra hot fudge, extra nuts and a half dozen cherries on top of the REAL whipped cream!!!!

Okay so more on this later if/when I get more comments.....

"I'm Sorry but......"

Okay so today's blog-post was inspired by Michelle and her blog-post about her and her hubby going out to a restaurant just for(GASP!!!) Dessert.

Holy Cow- what a concept!!!! And a damn GOOD one!!

That's exactly the way I would live my life (and want to NOW)if the doctor gave me the news that..."I'm sorry, but you have an incurable disease and only have a few weeks to live."
Now, Michelle has recently been diagnosed with congestive heart failure(I'm not giving out any big secrets here- if you go to her blog it's in her "ABOUT ME") and I'm pretty sure that they're getting it under control with a big diet change and some meds and such...but it's still a royal pain in the arse for them I'm sure...Paul and I had the same deal when first I, and just a few months later HE, was diagnosed with Diabetes.

What I'm saying is it changed the way we thought about everything. My FIRST bout of thinking about this came with my kidney hospitalization in early 2008. I came very close to dying then. It was scary.

But anyway....I'd go out to eat and I would eat dessert first. Or have dessert for the entire dinner..(Or breakfast). I'd call off work and just stay in bed with my hubby and make love all day. I'd go to the theme park and ride all the things I was scared to ride before. I'd tell everyone exactly what I was thinking. I'd have picnics in the park, and go riding horses on the mountain trails. I'd go for long drives. I'd eat only if I wanted to eat. I'd go for long walks in the afternoons.
I'd only do what I wanted, when I wanted to do it.

But here's the thing......
We're ALL, every day, one day closer to our last day on Earth...so why am I NOT doing all these things I would do if I had been told by a doc I was dying?
Why are WE ALL not doing the things we really want to do? Can't we still lead productive lives and do all those little things that we would do if we had limited time left?

Think about it.

Happy Birthday Joan!!!...and Other things...

First of all, Happy Birthday to my mother-in-law, Joan.
We love you BUNCHES & we wish we were there to celebrate with you!!!
*****************************

Okay, so Paul and I have been having LOADS of fun doing the new Podcast. We're getting loads of feedback on it- altho no one seems to want to leave comments on the podcast comments spot!! Don't be shy- let us know what ya think!!

So far- we've learned that the first one was a bit too short.....the second was a bit too long and a bit too ......."off direction" at the end. We knew that.
So I think we're going to change it up a bit and do a couple of regular feature type things on it and then our discussion in between. Paul had his podcast before and it isn't so new for him, but having a partner in one IS new to him and it's ALL new to me. I'm still trying to find my rhythm in it. It's hard for me too- because I like to think about what we're discussing before I make any points that he could blow holes the size of Texas in, but by then the podcast would be over so I'm having to learn to think fast on my feet!! (I also still get mesmerized by his accent and the rhythm of HIS voice, so it helps for me to only sort of "half" listen to him and to have something else to distract me a little bit while we're recording. LOL!!)

Finally, we are getting to go to Charleston!! Ever since we've been married we(meaning I) have wanted to take a short trip down there. I'd LOVE to stay for a weekend, but we just can't afford that at the moment, but we DO have a business appointment down there for Friday, so we're finally going to get to go for a day anyway. I figure we'll get there, have our meeting, maybe go to the market and stop by the Mad Hatter, and have a bit of early dinner somewhere down there before heading back. How I would LOVE to be able to stay and have a moonlight stroll on the beach before heading back upstate!! I can't be out in the sun much due to my Blood Pressure medication, but just as the sun is going down would be a lovely time to be out on the beach!! We'll see, maybe we can swing it, after all.
One of my Co-workers, Kevin, graciously agreed to trade shifts with me this week so I wouldn't have to work 12 hours and then drive down to Charleston immediately after. So I'm in for him tonight- so HE can extend HIS long weekend and have an extra day with his friends near the coast too!! Works out for us BOTH!
I work with such NICE people!!!

Speaking of work....I suppose I better go get dressed and head that way. We have a big day planned for my off day tomorrow too...gotta check all the stuff on the car to make sure it's trip-worthy for Friday!!
Okay, so we need to check: the Coolant, the tires(air pressure and worn spots), the transmission fluid, The wiper fluid, & fill the gas tank.........vacuum and clear out the car of all the accumulated "stuff" so we get decent gas mileage too.
We also need to make sure we have change in cash for parking fees, sunscreen, and something sweet in case either of us have a blood sugar drop on a long stretch of highway not near an exit. Need to wear something cool and comfy too..... Cash card & check off the paperwork we need to take with us.

Am I forgetting anything??

The Podcast.....Happy Birthdays...... & the Rest Of The Day.

Another podcast finished. Paul's editing it now so it should be up sometimes Sunday. It wasn't as comedic as the last one- but then, nothing's the same every time, now is it? I'm getting used to the mic now- not so shy about being recorded. I suppose that's a good thing.

I spent most of today baking a Pink Lemonade Pound Cake with Pink Lemonade Glaze & a couple dozen Lime Cupcakes with Pineapple Coconut Frosting for one of my BFF's Birthday celebration tomorrow at work.(Happy Birthday Karen!!!!...Oh- AND Happy Birthday to our blogfriend Dave too!!! Y'all not getting older- y'all're getting BETTER!!!) Karen requested the P/L PC and I decided to do the Lime CC's extra.
I tell ya- I LOVE my BFF's. They keep me from going insane at work!!!

I also made a batch of No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Drop Cookies for my Baby Bro's birthday on Saturday!! He LOVES those things! When we were growing up, I got in the habit of making homemade baked goodies for gifts for Christmas for the family. Well, for the guys, that is....My Daddy always wanted Fudge with Peanut-Butter in it.
My brother Eddie, he always wanted Chocolate Brownies so that's what HE got. Baby Bro, Charlie, always wanted the Chocolate oatmeal Cookies, so that's what HE got. Mom usually wanted a Black Walnut Pound Cake with Creamy Maple Glaze(also a favorite dessert for Thanksgiving Dinner).
Paul seems to favor Cherry Yum-Yum.(Also the favorite dessert for Christmas Eve Buffet.)
Everyone else seems to hold their breath for the first frost of the year because the weekend following is usually the only time of year I make my big ole VAT of Chili, served up with loads of extra sharp melted cheese and corn-chips!!!

Dammitt- now I've made myself hungry....and I'm sleepy too.

Later Y'all!!

Charleston Bound..... Next Week.

Have an appointment in Charleston next Friday

OMG!!

OMG!
OMG!!
OMG!!!!

:-)