I have a cold or something

It wouldn't be a true winter if I didn't get some kind of illness to keep me company. Normally I wait until I feel like I'm on death's door before I call my doctor because I know the routine. He'll give a prescription for antibiotics and tell me to wait a couple days to see if I can fight it off on my own before I get it filled. This time he told me to go ahead and just take them because my ears and throat looked so bad. I haven't had a sore throat this severe since I had Scarlet Fever when I was 16. I didn't get any sleep last night because it hurt so bad(cue sad violin music). I didn't want t take anything stronger than Advil because I have routine bloodwork to be done next week and I don't want to ruin the results. After a three hour nap, I do feel a little better. Just tired.

I discovered the best tea ever made. I feel like a crackhead over it. I went to the Fresh Market last night to buy some and I actually started to have an inner freak out when I forgot which aisle it was in. Anyone who likes tea would love this one. It's a little expensive for my taste but definitely a luxury I'm willing to pay for at a time like now. Anyway try it, you'll love it. Just don't buy the last box if you shop where I do because I can't be responsible for what would happen.

I'll be in a coma for the next couple days.

Tips from Pea. The beginning of a new era of knowledge from me to you.

Back when I actually posted more than once a month I had quite a few emails asking for beauty tips. This was pretty funny to me since I am 4'11" so I'm obviously not in the running to be America's Next Top Model. Also I didn't start wearing make up or really care about my hair until I was about 25 but, ok. I don't have very many beau-tay secrets but I do have a few misc. tips and product reviews I can pass on to anyone who might be of a mind to ,er,want to know. Feel free to add your own or shoot mine down but here are a few to tide you over until next time:

1. I hate bugspray. I hate the smell of bugspray. I live in Florida:mosquito breeding ground of the USA. Solution for this problem is Avon Skin So Soft bath oil. I buy it in a spray but the lotion works too. One squirt on my hands is enough to rub on my legs and arms without feeling like a greasy frenchfry. It smells good and for some reason mosquiters don't like it. Buy it. Try it. You won't regret it.

2. I have sensitive skin. I also break out easily. I usually hate most face products aimed at sensitive skin because for some reason everyone in the "skin" industry assumes that people with sensitive skin also have bone dry skin thus creating the heaviest, oiliest face creams that I would only buy if I somehow mutated into a lizardwoman and decided to live in Death Valley. Aveeno Clear Complexion is my go to. Now I've told you. Now you know. Rejoice in that knowledge and spread the word.

3. Ok the Baby Powder in the hair trick. I've heard of this before. Yeah it doesn't work. Don't do it. I tried it once because my hair was flat and oily and I didn't have enough time to rewash. Um. Yeah it just made me look like I had BABY POWDER IN MY HAIR. Maybe my hair is too dark for that trick but I'm not going to dye it just to find out.

4. I drink skim milk because I like to put half and half in my coffee. This isn't really a "tip" of any kind but it's something I do that makes me feel better about how heavy I like my coffee. I play several mind games with myself like this. I feel skinnier already just from telling ya'll.

5. Feet. I have to talk about them. Those of us who spend our lives in flipflops know the horror. Vitamin E. Not the gel that's sold in drugstores in the summer time-although that's pretty good for scars. The cream. Right now I have the BJs store brand and that seems to work well. Vaseline under your socks over night is a squishy thought but trust me, it works.

I have thousands more but I'll have to ration it out, peeps. All 3 of you that are left :O)

Great White!!

I think.

And two Tiger Shark teeth. These are the two species I'm always really happy to find because they are the most difficult, at least for me.


I'm particularly impressed it with because it still has ridges.

(BTW my hand is greasy-lookin because I just put on more sunscreen)

Yesterday's find-Quality not Quantity! :o)

I didn't get as many as Monday.

But I got a few bigger ones. I'm not sure what that big piece on the top is but it's definitely something. Someone told me it was fossil horse bone but I'll have to look it up. I'm particularly happy about the crooked-looking ones. They are from tiger sharks and I have only ever found a few. I don't know if they are rare for these parts but they are rare enough for me to get really excited about finding. I've always liked looking for shark teeth but it's that gigantic one I found last year that sort of started it all.

I was watching the sky all day for storm clouds. (I don't mind rain but I'm scared of lightning.)

I waited 4 hours for the storm to come so I would have an excuse to go home otherwise I have to force myself. Nothing came but these pretty clouds. I decided to give my skin and my eyes a break today and stay indoors.

I'm probably ruining my eyes.

Since I haven't posted about shark teeth in a long time

It's safe to assume I had a really good day at the beach today. Mother Nature was so generous to me with her shark teeth.

Oh does that look like a big handful?

Well actually I got a bigger handful, my peeps. Not including the ones that kept slipping onto the towel.

I just took this to show how diverse the shapes are. That spiky stick thing in the middle is actually a stingray barb and that thing that's shaped like an upside down cup cake on the upper right is actually a puffer fish mouth bone.

I wanted to show off how I can even find the teeny itsy bitsy baby teeth.




Someone asked me how. It truly is like finding a needle in a haystack. Just look at this picture. This is what I'm looking at when I find them.

But once you get used to putting your mind in neutral, your eyes just sort of work on their own.

Before you know it it's been 4 hours and you didn't even notice the time.


*I didn't put that tooth there, honestly. I was actually getting ready to leave when I saw that one and thought I would snap a photo so I could show you guys how hard it is and why I'm so obsessed with "the find". Weather permitting, I will be there all week. YES!

Check out my Wordle!

You have to click to enlarge because I don't know how to make it bigger.
I cut and pasted a bunch of sentences from my post about my trip to the beach. This wordle is so me.

Got this link over at The Eleventh with MaryMurtz!

Click here if you want to create one on your own.

Update*
Mary helped me with this--(thanks again)
So now no one has to click to enlarge....

yay! that's better

Man I just love nerdy stuff like this.

Cross Creek

Thursday my friend Dee and I jumped in the car thinking we would just drive to "a river, any river" for a change of scenery not knowing we would end up here. We've been talking about making a trip to Cross Creek for a long time since both of us have read the book by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings about a thousand times. Usually our plans to leave early and stay all weekend in a small town nearby are usually interrupted by my many health issues or hers. We were already halfway there when we decided, Dammit we might as well go now. I was more excited because she had already been there before. What used to be the orange grove is now a park with lots of trees, benches, and places to picnic.

The rusty gate....

I was dying, just dying to bang on that bell and yell, Dinner! Ya'll bad kids git in herr and eat!

I didn't take any pictures inside the house because there was a tour going on there and it was full of people putting their greasy fingers all over even though we were asked not to. Just picture your Grandma's house with lots of books, that's pretty much what it looked like. Ok when we were in the guest room, I heard the tour guide say that a few famous people had slept there, including Ernest Hemingway. I heard, and I won't say who, but I heard someone whisper in my ear,"I'da slept with him..." I giggled loud enough for the tour guide to give me a stern look which, actually, is the real truth about why I don't have any pictures for ya'll of the inside of her home.

Above is the front porch where she did her writing. Below is the side porch. If you've seen the movie(which, in my opinion, was not as good as the book ) you'll recognize the water pump which still works but we weren't allowed to touch it.

We walked around a bit. The orange trees were in blossom and I was scared of the bees but the air smelled so nice. This is the servants' house. We peeked inside since my giggling got us in trouble and seperated from the tour group who was by now in the barn(and I don't have pictures of that either because the tour guide was mad at me.)

It was full of 'antses'

We snuck behind the little house looking for varmints, keeping an eye on the ground for any snakes. We were both in awe of the canopy. It is exactly how I pictured while reading and exactly how I thought old, undeveloped wild Florida was.

We wanted to stay longer for more walking around, more giggling and more pictures but we were dying of starvation and getting eaten by the bugs--what nature girls we are! We ate lunch at a place with a name I can't remember for the life of me but it smelled like my Grandma's kitchen at the farm. I have to admit that we pigged out on fried chicken, biscuits and fresh honey, greens, butter beans, mashed potatoes, rice and beans...all the food I just answered as my favorites in my last post but no strawberry shortcake. Like I had any room left anyway. We both decided if we had been real visitors to Cross Creek, that's probably what we would've been served. Is the Spanish moss romantic? I think so.

Friday I went soul searching elsewhere and found some of these......

Somethin' good to blog about durnnit

So far Peanut's doctor thinks he's ok. He got some shots and an antibiotic to start tomorrow. And I have to say, he was way more well behaved than any of the other dogs at the vet this morning. I did have a laugh over something I learned: It's just an observation but, you probably look pretty sickly if your own dog's doctor takes a look at you and asks,"Have you been unwell? Do you need to sit down and let the vet tech hold Peanut for you?" Especially since I don't go around telling everyone and their cousin(well besides on this blog) about my personal health issues. I just said,"Yes, thanks for asking," because I know he was just trying to be nice and I do really look puffy and pale. But that will be remedied, my friends. I have a therapeutic massage scheduled for Monday after lunch. Yay! I haven't had one in like, never. What about poor Peanut you ask? Well it's his butt that hurts not his back and I'm not going there...and anyway he gets back rubs and belly rubs on command, he doesn't need to make any appointments.

Oh, and I saw a lone bald eagle yesterday scouting around. He was small but beautiful and scary-looking in the good way. I always see them here in March usually just one or two. I've heard they come here in the Spring to nest but don't quote me on it. They are so protected that an entire development had to stop construction for the season when some people spotted some in the area one year. The developers bitched and tried failingly to appeal but I was happy about that actually(Oh I just love developers don't you, they care, they really do). I've been looking for him ever since but I think the osprey mates that live in a dead pine on the golf course may have chased him away, because I know for sure they hatched a chick recently. How do I know? Oh I have my ways, peeps. I have my ways. I did forget to mention that for 3 days before I went to the hospital for the radio-iodine, there were a pair of yellowish golden hawks I couldn't figure out hanging around the neighborhood too. I saw them every morning and they were bee-u-tiful. They, also must have moved on, because I don't see them anymore. It would be nice if I had some pictures for you guys wouldn't it? But I'm too lazy to drag my camera around with me so you'll just have to take my word and imagine I guess. Poor you peeps, ya'll missed out. I've been down with the birds of prey lately haven't I?

And oh no(!), I saw a small alligator swimming in the lake behind our building. I'll try to get a pic of her tomorrow, I know where she's been hanging out. I make it my business to figure these things out. Not by the pool like last year's monster, but thankfully on the golf course side. I just hope some idiot doesn't decide to take matters into his own hands and try to feed it or harm it , it's too little to really pose any threat right now and will likely move on to the bigger marsh nearby. I'm not aiming for me or Peanut to be her lunch but there are professionals to take care of those issues. It's that time of year again. I'm actually thanking the heavens because it means we're into Spring. Couldn't have come at a better time.

Tag-tastic

My Seventh Sister tagged me(thanks!). I'm sort of sorry not to have any exciting answers....

1. What am I reading at the moment? Right now, my Peterson Seashores Field Guide. I've been taking advantage of the good weather so I've barely been home to read anything. Low tide has been in the afternoon all week and it's been sunny, so just guess what I've been doing.

2. What am I listening to at the moment? Oh everything. My ipod is set to shuffle. Elvis has been getting a lot of air time lately. Old Cure songs too. How random is that? French hip hop. I don't understand a word but I'm pretty sure it's the filthy kind. For some reason I feel like a badass when I listen but it might just be because I'm working out at the time.


3. What am I watching at the moment? Oooh! I just saw Sweeney Todd the other day. I liked it. There were some reviews that made fun of the way Johnny Depp sang but I thought he did fine. But Johnny can do no wrong in my eyes anyway so maybe my ears are broken. I really did like the whole movie though. A lot. And I'm waiting for Lost to come back on. And I have to say that I have been watching most of the Presidential Debates. I'm a concerned citizen like that you know. I care about stuff ok? Betcha' didn't know that didya?


I'm supposed to tag people but I'll just do as always and tag whoever wants to be.

Sweet Nothing

It's ass freezing cold out and the wind is making all those cool scary noises that I love so much. There's a fire in the fireplace, home-made soup heating on the oven, fresh coffee(pinch of sugar lots of cream!) and a sleeping dog warming my feet. I have so much leftover food from yesterday's feast, I don't have to do anything for dinner. In fact everything I wanted to do today is done, so I don't have to do anything at all. Life is goooood....According to the label on the candle, my home is supposed to smell like The Sea of Amalphi but I've never been there so how the hell would I know?

Remember this guy? He must have told all his friends about our hospitality because we had a Christmas visitor.


I haven't heard from my doctor about my scan results. I'll call around Friday if I haven't heard from her yet. But I imagine if there was something urgent to tell, they would have told me by now. Actually on my last day, the tech who was in charge of my scan was nice enough to show me my scans and(knocking on wood) it looked fine.

But I have to brag about my husband for just a second!! Oh gush! Oh swoon! On the first day of my scan I walked out of the hospital after lying still for three and half hours. I was feeling a little stiff from not being allowed to move, not even to itch my own damn nose- and boy was that mind over matter. Little did I know that someone went shopping for me. Look what my Mr.Pea had waiting for me. Joy! Joy!

My husband married a woman who is not impressed nor desires jewelry, perfume or flowers and prefers books as gifts instead. It must be confusing for him because it's taken almost 11 years to figure that out....better late than never. And what better way to spend a cold day inside relaxing by the fire than with some new books? I'm so loving that field guide...and I'm sure I've seen him taking a peek or two at some photos of beautiful Egyptian queen carvings. Should I be jealous?

Ok be honest

Am I a total dork because I'm happy about this? Well why the hell wouldn't I be since I read that book for the first time a few years ago while spending the summer in beautiful Quebec and loved it?(both Quebec and the book that is) Being in Northern, untouched Canada was like living inside the book. Plus I am hobbit sized (except for the big, hairy feet) so it's all stuff I can relate to.

After I finished that book I decided to read the others not knowing that the movies were being filmed. A couple months after I finished the last one, I heard about the movies so it was like double happiness. Yes my friends, I came late into the game on those books but better late than never. Oh joy. I am such a dork, but ask me if I care.



BTW, my second Thyrogen injection was this morning at the ass crack of dawn and it went well. So now both sides of my bum hurt a little but I'm feeling ok. I'm tired and have a little nausea here and there but I have ginger ale and mint tea(with honey) to keep it at bay. I feel better than yesterday that's for sure. Tomorrow is my radioactive iodine pill and if I feel ok I'm going to look for shark teeth on Thursday. HEEHEEHEE

On a lighter note-No pun intended

I still have some room on my ipod. I need some song/artist suggestions, I like everything. So come on, help a girl out and hit me up with some of your favorites......even if you have to de-lurk, I don't bite ya know.

Haven't been home much

Not bad for December.

Ok these are the last ones I promise

I can't help it. Someone needs to look at all these pictures because they came out so good. And everyone else I know is sick of me pushing them in their face! So you guys are just going to have suffer through one more post with these....


Walking up the stairs I was greeted by this view.




This is the sentry look out point.



I took it upon myself to check if any enemies were coming .





Maybe a few by land!

I don't have anything witty to say about these next pictures because even I am starting to get sick of looking at them....well not really, that was a lie. But I have ran out of things to say.

If I remember right, that was the bell tower that was rung if they were under attack.( I looked inside though and I didn't see any bells.







More wonderful patina for all you HGTV addicts out there.



I had a couple more I took walking around the town but blogger is driving me crazy right now......Hope I haven't bored you all with this. If so, too bad! Get used to it. This is the kind of nerdy stuff I love.

On my way out someone asked me if it was worth the 6 dollars. I said yes. What do you think?

My mini trip part 2 (more Castillo)

This was the original coat of arms that was brought from Havana in 1762 and installed over the fortified entrance. They replaced it with a new one in 1958 and put this one on display.


Another view from the courtyard.



The doors to the chapel look magnificently imposing.



Inside was a different story.

I don't remember the name for these, I'm sure it's for Holy water. Up close, I could tell that they were beautifully carved in their day but these pictures don't do it justice.

I suppose I should have been genuflecting like a good Catholic girl but...I felt like giggling, making funny ghoulish faces and taking pictures of myself. None of which will be posted here.

Someone offered to help me out and take a picture for me but I didn't need any help. I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures of myself anyway.

One room looked particularly scary. If I remember correctly this was the room where the arms were kept. I was by myself so, I'll admit, I was a little scared but I forced myself to walk in.

That scary looking doorway led to a scary looking storage room.



Looking down upon entering said creepy storage room one finds this. Another creepy looking entrance at about 2 and a half to 3 feet tall. I'm small enough to fit through if I wanted to.....didn't want to.

I was too scared so I just stuck my arm through and took a picture.


(One of my pictures had a an orb in it which, I've been told is just a reflection off of a floating peice of dust but it's still creepy-if anyone wants to see the pic with the orb in it, let me know and I'll post it. I was too lazy to look for it just now.)



There were a few more rooms with artifacts and historical pictures but there were too many people because of a field trip. They were at the tail end of their tour so I waited to see if they would leave so I could have the rooms all to myself like the others but, I got impatient and went up the stairs to the upper level.

Wait til you see the view, it will blow you away.(I hope....if I'm a decent enough photographer)