Vacation at Long Last

I am finally off from work, for an entire week! I originally had no plans, but hubby called me today and told me that he booked us a room in Tampa and we are going to Busch Gardens. These are the times that I am glad I work in hotels. He got us a super cheap rate at a nice hotel and Florida has great resident specials and they are offering season passes for residents for about $100 per person and the beauty of it is that we can pay for the tickets with low monthly payments of $20.

I love amusement parks and roller coasters and there is also a water park there too. Yes, I know I am very immature. So what? We went to Disney in July (did Magic Kingdom, Epcot and MGM in one, very long day) and I loved it! I have been wanting to go to Busch Gardens for a while. Next spring I will volunteer to chaperone a high school field trip to Universal (3 day trip - how come we never got to go on any cool trips when we were in high school?). My friends daughter is a sophomore in high school and they are always looking for people to chaperone. Hey, I'm SO there. Free trip!

Anyway, I will touch base with everyone when I get back!
KP OUT

The VMAs, South Beach & Hubby

The show was okay this year. I really don't think Diddy is any kind of award show host though. He was actually pretty stupid. I would have loved to go to the show or at least see some of the preshow outside, but none of my friends that live down here would really want to go. They are all "over it". The show was much better than last year, that one really sucked. There was just too much noise and it seemed really unorganized.

Tracy needs to get down here so we can hit some clubs and party on South Beach. There are some great clubs and bars and its just a really cool place to go if you are with the right people. Hubby just isn't the club type. About a year ago, we were invited to a night club opening in South Beach that was really cool. They had live flamingos by the dance floor and these little gay dancer boys in unitards fluttering around. Very "South Beach" I guess. There were some live performances, but hubby just stands there and doesn't get into it. He was more into the fact that they were serving "mini burgers" as passed hor d'oeuvres. He can be a real dork. He also took me to a Beastie Boys concert last fall and, AGAIN, just stood there. He actually looked constipated. I mean, come on! We were 10 rows from the stage and Mix Master Mike brushed right past me on his way to the stage! Hubby was like, "Who's that guy? Is he with the band?" THE BAND?!? The Beasties don't have a BAND! God Bless him though, he tries. He reads my hip hop magazines and tries to have a conversation with me about it. Inevitably confusing the crap out of me because he says the names wrong and mixes up the people.

I continue to work on hubby to broaden his horizons. He's a kind hearted boy from the South and thats why I love him, but he can drive me crazy sometimes. I work in a luxury hotel with an incredible restaurant. Very trendy and very innovative with the menu. I have taken him there twice to eat. The first time for lunch and he just did not like the different flavors of sweet and spicy all mixed together. He made very obnoxious faces at the food (to the point where our waiter asked if everything was okay). It was a flabread, pizza like thing that he ate. If I had know he was going to be that picky I would have told hiom to order a burger. Then we had dinner there with another friend of mine from college that happens to live down here. He refused to "dress up" and wore his khaki pants and Vans and sat there slouched over and picked at his food. He's definitely a work in progress. This is why we are not ready for children...

Anyway, I digress....KP OUT

Katrina You Bitch

After watching the future forecast of Katrina and seeing that it is now a CAT 5 heading straight for New Orleans, I was really concerned for Autumn. I feel better having spoken to her and I know she must be nervous as hell, I know I would be. I saw what the storm did to South Florida as a CAT 1 and can't imagine what it will be like as a CAT 5. I mean, holy shit, 215 mph wind gusts and sustained winds of over 175 mph? She's a fucking monster! Autumn, I hope you and the family just hunker down and stay safe.

After the Storm

The storm blew directly over us and our complex sustained remarkably little damage, lots of trees down, but other than that, nothing else. Now the area around our complex is a different story. Its a disaster area, trees down, power out, traffic lights out, awnings and parts of roofs blown off and some areas, especially out west and south, are flooded. I did not go to work today, but I saw Ft. Lauderdale Beach on the news and the roads are completely covered in at least 5 inches of sand. I saw businesses there shoveling their patios off.

Hubby is still at work and I have not been able to talk with him because the power is out there and the phones are not working. We spoke for just a minute this morning and he said the hotel had some damage and they are extremely busy with distressed airline passengers needing a place to stay. I hope he is able to come home tonight...

I think this storm took a lot of people by surprise. It just "appeared" out of no where on Wednesday. Luckily it was just a Category 1 when it hit us. So far about 7 people have been reported killed by the storm. Very sad.
KP OUT....

Hurricane Katrina

So here I am, about 8pm on Thursday night in the thick of the hurricane and bored to death. Outside is trecherous, lots of wind and rain. And, unfortunately, I have to ride this storm alone. Hubby has to stay at his hotel as part of the EC Management Team. I left my hotel this afternoon about 3pm. I had offered to stay and help out in the restaurant, but they had enough staff, and, honestly, I would rather stay in the comfort of my own apartment with my kitties. I also understand that the hotel is now without power and I, obviously, have power and at least have a means of entertaining myself.
My brother called me asking me about the weather and thought I should go walking on the beach to see the surf. He obviously has not sat through a hurricane down here by the beach. Its a fricken' sand storm! The wind that I have seen so far has been a lot stronger then what we got last year with the other storms. But last year, we were not hit directly and this time the eye of the storm was a direct hit even though it is only a Category 1.
Good news is that I do not have to report to work tomorrow, and so my vacation will start a day and half early ( I took next week off ). So this damn storm better hurry up and get out of here so I can enjoy it!

Yet Another Storm

Where the hell do these come from? I woke up this morning to a Tropical Storm Warning for the whole east coast of South Florida. They say it will be more of a rain event than a wind event, which pretty much sucks seeing a live in a complex surrounded by water on three sides. Event though we have felt the effects of two hurricanes already this season, its been pretty mellow. We'll see if this one does anything...

The Beautiful Beaches of Florida...

Aren't always postcard beautiful, especially when it is covered with Fat Canadians wearing thongs. Why is that? Is it a European/Canadian thing? I was thinking about that today when I ran an errand on my lunch break. I do realize that I am blessed that I get to work in a hotel that is right on the beach and get to see the sun come up over the ocean most days, but some of the people I saw today...well, what I saw was just wrong. I guess I am just the kind of person that believes in covering up and not showing EVERYTHING. Maybe I should be applauding these peoples self confidence. Today, I counted about 5 VERY old, pale white and wrinkly men as I drove up along just part of the beach. One of the men was even "jogging". The women can be even worst. Last time hubby and I went to the beach, I had to fuss at him for staring at a rather enormous woman, I think of Latin decent, wearing a thong and string bikini top BRIGHT YELLOW, at least from what I could see. Hubby is never non-chalant about anything and was just flat out staring. We haven't gone to the beach since.
SO next time you see a video on MTV depicting hot models on South Beach, remember one thing, THEY'RE HIRED!
KP OUT

Let's Try It Again

Okay, so I haven't really kept up on the blog thing, but I am going to try to do it this time. I have become addicted to reading the Tracy's Times and I figure, what the hell, I can do this. Eventually I may even get creative with my blog and add some stuff. Lets just do baby steps though, this is only my 2nd entry.

Things have just been crazy the past couple of months and I think my life is getting back to normal. I am in the process of changing positions at my job, which will ultimately result in more hours at work, but I will be happier and doing my thing. I have also been doing the diet thing and I am finally making some headway. So far I have lost 16 lbs and its seems like I will be able to keep on track with it. The hubby and I have both been dieting, he's on the traditional counting calories and keeping track of everything and I have been doing the Six Week Body Makeover. I really like my diet because you eat about every 2 1/2 - 3 hours and I have figured out how to prep everything the night before and just pack it up for the day before leaving for work. I think I will be able to stick with it. I have been doing it for 4 weeks now.
KP OUT....