I'm Worse Than California

California has a three-strike policy in place for their penal system. I however employ a two-strike policy when it comes to dealing with me. This all stems from me stepping outside my box of requirements or wants with regards of potential. There is this guy that has pursued me for a while now, and despite the fact that he drinks like mad and smokes (total deal breaker), I gave him a chance.
First, he promised to take me to Caruso's on a date for some great Italian that I live for. He never followed through. Then, me and my crew were going out to the Cactus Moon so I decided to give him a second chance to show and prove.  He no called no showed, giving a lame excuse the next day,apologizing and assuring me it wouldn't happen again. Not believing him for ONE second,I asked around for opinions on how to proceed knowing all along that I was DONE with him.
So I messaged him letting him know exactly where I stand and told him I'm done. Just goes to show you that sometimes stepping outside your box could be a good thing, but you should trust your gut and choose wisely. On to the next! Til next time..deuces!

Apple Annie's

Today, I went down to Willcox Az to go to Apple Annie's Orchard for some fresh fruit and veggies. Thank God for my navigator Angie because I know without a shadow of a doubt that I woulda ended up in Mexico! It's always nice to spend time with family and today I spent it with my girl Veronica and her family. My son was supposed to come but he had an attack of the toodlyoops and was not gonna be able to leave the porcelain throne for a while. Poor thing.
We went to pick some peaches before Angie and I went on to get the veggies. Today's haul: Apple pie, peaches,a delicious honey butter, squash, zucchini, green beans, sweet corn and a huge watermelon! I suported local business and at least reduced their carbon footprint....being eco friendly is gonna taste so damn good! Get out and find your local farmer's market if you are not near a farm or orchard and get some of this eco deliciousness! Til next time. I gotta go cut that melon! Deuces

I Fell Into a Wormhole

Oops I did it again. I erroneously walked into the casino last night and when I left there this a MORNING, I was completely jacked up thinking it was the same day. Being able to walk outta that joint breaking even is a WIN for me. But just like every time, I know I need to be rid of this habit. And yet, I know that emphysema be damned, the ringing bells and random yelling will pull me back in a again!

Swimming with the sharks

Me and my work out partner had a usual crazy work out tonight at the Platinum Fitness gym. We started with our Body Jam class, where we spent half the time laughing at ourselves (especially silly since we were in the damn front row!). After Jam, she decided that she wanted to work on legs, so I showed her a few of the exercises that Kenny aka Kill Kenny showed me.  Again laughing at how much we were actually sweating. And then it happened..one of the WAIT the biggest dude in the gym starts asking all kinds of questions of us; Am I training her, what exercises are we doing next, what body part are we working on next? etc... When we were on our way to work on abs, he was eyeballing us, so I went and introduced myself to him. Biggest guy in the gym ....Named ROMAN! Really? For Real? Turns out my partner knows this guys brother and could not be bothered to give him the time of day. So when he told me to tell her that she should give him her phone number, that created a bit of a ahem...problem.  So when he followed us to the core station I knew he wasn't going to back down, so I went and told him that she was scared  and a bit weirded out since she knows his brother never mind that fact that he has her by at least 1 1/2 feet and probably 150lbs! ha ha. So we moved on to the pool where we like to just float around and chit chat. Tonight would be different. There was a larger gentleman getting his fitness in (big ups to the big man!) but as he was backstroking past us, it was literally like we were at Breakers Water Park. We literally were clinging to the edge of the pool and of course wincing and dodging to try to keep our hair from getting wet! No luck. So then we decided to go to the Jacuzzi for a change of pace. Within three minutes of hot bubble heaven, our eyes were burning so bad we had to kill the bubbles and just chill with the jets. We went back inside after laying out (in the dark) and relaxing and "complained" to our new friend Everett inside.  He has been putting up with us for awhile and has just recently began to take a shine to us and our antics. Oh yeah, they're all paying attention to these chicks focusing on their fitness. So, anyway to shut us up (yeah right) ...why did he wink at me when he gave us a handful of entry tickets to our gyms drawing??? We each must have like 50 entries in there in the past week! If we win something (other than a stupid t-shirt or water bottle of course) I guess our antics will have paid off.  Here's hoping! Til next time. Deuces!

Italy at a glance

Now, England was a bit low key, whereas Italy and my girl Fabrizia .....whew this girl kept me moving!  You wonder how it's possible to eat like they do/ I did and not gain a single pound even after all the dessert in ENGLAND? I'll tell you how-WALK YOUR ASS OFF!!! I had no concerns that Fabrizia would make this trip just as memorable as in '03 and she did not let me down one bit! I kept a daily journal and suffice it to say that it was a necessary evil for me to keep track of all we did and saw during my visit.  And it all started with a party the minute I got off the plane (just like last time I'd like to add). It was supposed to be a kid's party, but the adults were eating and drinking (myself included) more than any kid present. The host offered me a glass of Prosecco, which I told politely declined and he so lovingly informed me that I WOULD be having a drink, so...when in Rome...Cut to the 2nd glass of Prosecco and I think a glass of Muscato. Let's just say that I've never drank more on this vacation than EVEN Puerto Rico (and that was a lot of drinking). Everyone just kept reminding me that I didn't have to drive. Ha Ha, right. Pour me another will ya?  Fabrizia, Baby Leo and myself went off galavanting around North Eastern Italy and Slovenia daily. I'm pretty sure the day we spent in Potoroz and Piran, Slovenia were even tough on her. This girl can walk and along with myself, she was complaining the next day that her legs were hurting her too.  I didn't know if I could push through one more day of walking but somehow I found the strength and had another great day exploring.  Fabrizia and Gianpi have some of the greatest people for friends I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, from that first party, to the Italy/Germany football match complete with Cevapcici (I love Cevapcici!) and you guessed it more Prosecco that we had to keep drinking to keep Germany from scoring.  There was also Elena and Pierro that treated us to a dinner of my also new favorite Tigelle followed by some of that ever so delicious gelato.  Elena and Pierro are two of the funniest people ever! Not to be out done by good ole Maurizio and his Germany shirt and Italy underwear...and the forced drinking.  There was never a dull moment with this group and I'm am so thankful to have gotten the chance to know them even if just a little bit.
Fabrizia and I went to so many places, like the Sagra event with my very FIRST taste of Cevapcici, Potoroz and Piran, Slovenia for the amazing seaside beaches and nudity to boot (weird at first), I swear we walked for at least 10km that day. We went to Padua (or Padova) a former Venetian city and saw some of the most beautiful churches that literally rivaled any in Venice. St. Michael's was amazing. Saw St. Luke's relics, and St. Anthony's for his tomb (which was incredibly touching). I toured Muggia by myself for half a day while Fabrizia studied and somehow got lost and ended up in a Post Office where one person spoke English...I figured while I was there to play it off and just get some stamps for my postcards! Who does that? ME, that's who!  I found the castle and the gelato shop for some of the best gelato I'd had. And even contemplated going to get another scoop while I waited for the ferry to take me back to trieste.  That in itself was fun. I literally was laughing to myself as the only thing in my mind was Otis Redding's Sitting on the Dock of the Bay while I waited for my ferry to come. It was hilarious! We went to Grado, Italy, Lubiana-the capital city of Slovenia and Lipiza, Slovenia-where the Lipizzaner horses hail from. Amazingly, every Lipizzaner horse in the world has come from the line of horses at this stud farm! And lastly, Aquiliea for the Roman Gladiator reenactments.  Whew! I told you it was busy! I'm so grateful to Fabrizia and Gianpi for being so kind in opening up their home to me and to Leo for letting me use his room and letting me into their lives for a while.  Mama Salvi for making that awesome Eggplant Parmesean (and for my lovely journal and pen) and Mama Barbieri for those delicious meatballs too! Yummy!I've decided that Europe is where I want to be as a result of the connections and interactions that I've had this vacation. I can't wait to come back!

England at a glance

During my stay in England with Dawn, Billy and Sean, we did so many things.  We mostly stuck to areas that were nearby Rugeley as we all are probably aware of the challenges of traveling with an infant for long distances by car especially.  That said, they (not only Dawn and Billy, but the ENTIRE Jones clan) made my visit there as memorable as I knew it would be.  From touring Staffordshire with Grandma and using her handicap placard to park ANYWHERE we wanted to and eating at the Soup Kitchen (which up until the point that we arrived I thought it was an ACTUAL soup kitchen in the American sense. Thank God it wasn't and we had a lovely meal where I had the best baked potato I have ever had in my LIFE!!!of course complete with dessert. When you are with Grandma you eat dessert...there's little discussion to the contrary.   We also saw the world's first Iron Bridge (the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution), went back to Victorian times at Blists Hill where Dawn "won" a coconut and I LEGITIMATELY won my little cup and ball game :) It was really cool to change our current money for the currency of the time and do business with it instead.  That is also where I had my first traditional fish and chips...which were absolutely delicious! I couldn't eat it all so I just wrapped up my leftovers and stuffed them in my purse.  They were yummy reheated too. Sure makes the fish and chips at the Voyager restaurant where I work look ridiculous! After my leftovers we had a few scones (warmed up... ha ha) and of course a glass of Pimms of which Dawn is the resident mixologist and she does a great job with that yummy yummy drink!.  Then we went off the feeling like we were in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory with our tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. They gave us so much chocolate it was ridiculous. My kids really appreciated me bringing it back to them. They loved the Crunchie and the Curly Whirly the best.  We also  paid our respects at the National Arboretum where they honor their lost soldiers. It was a wonderful momument and even though the weather was not cooperating (the coldest and rainiest day yet) being able to touch the names and experience that site was remarkable.  And how could I forget out trip to the National Brewery? SAMPLES!!!! Yes, even though beer is not my drink of choice (PIMMS is though) I did try the samples and actually found beer not to be as bad as i thought when you learn of it's ingredients and processing.  
We were joined by Dawn's mom on a visit to Lichfield Cathedral which was beautiful and then she treated us to lunch in town where I got to see the local town crier walking about. A missed photo op! Dang, but our lunches were a delicious treat! Dawn and Billy were sure to make sure I had the foods I had wanted to try since the last visit and I did just that with our last meal at the Ash Tree where I had my Steak and Ale Pie which was absolutely yummy! It was so filling, this was the one time that NO one, not even Sean had a dessert.  
In addition to our meals out, I had delicious meals cooked by Dawn and her mom (the Roast pork was ace) and Dawn made some kick ass lasagna too.  I would also like to mention that I actually had the opportunity to visit Dawn's dad at work at the Rugeley Fire Station where we actually sat in on an in-service training for them. It was especially exciting when we sneaked out a shirt for me and then they got an emergency call.  Grandma Jones made some of the most delicious deserts (or pudding as they refer to them) A damn delicious homemade Cheesecake for desert for Father's Day and then we had a scrumptious homemade cake for Mama's birthday! Made me think of my own grandma baking from scratch and us kids fighting for the mixer paddles and licking the bowl.
Overall, I'm just a truly blessed person to have all of these wonderful people in my life.  Who knew being the Female BLACK Austin Powers would lead to such great things for me! I'm forever grateful and will remember this time forever. Especially when I put up my bunting for the start of the Olympics even though I know my neighbors will think I'm a right NUTTER, but if anyone asks I will proudly tell them that I'm just reppin' for my family across the pond! Til next time. Deuces!

Back in the Saddle

So, I've finally been able to make it to this computer. In all honesty, I think my friends have a little something to do with my absence. Since I've been back I've been avoiding this PC like the plague. And all because they both had laptops at my disposal. Seems so antiquated to us this monstrosity, but it must be done.  So where do I begin to catch you up on on the happenings. I figure I'd do one country one post...the abridged version...