Peanut is still king of the snow

Even though it doesn't snow here. Yesterday was Peanut's 11th birthday so I wanted to post this picture of him in Canada. As I've said before, we got him on Valentine's Day at a pig farm in Slidell, Louisiana. I almost didn't take him home because when I picked him up he was so wiggly and noncompliant unlike his wiry haired sister, who, I was 5 seconds away from putting in my backpack and running off with after we had already paid for our new disobedient, new shoe eating puppy. He sort of chose MrPea, even though today he has an "I love you/I'm ignoring you unless you have food or something I need," attitude towards the both of us(but especially MrPea). He doesn't listen. He'll run out the door if you leave it open. He steals unattended food. He likes destroying crumpled up paper. He enjoys dismembering and disemboweling his toys. He likes to hunt lizards in a creepy, stalkerish manner. He also begs shamelessly and sticks his face in everyone's food. But still, we'll keep him around a little while. He's our old man of the house.....


I have nothing interesting to post as nothing interesting has happened lately. Well, no, there are a couple noninteresting but noteworthy things I can tell you peeps.

-Two days ago I was wearing a short skirt and teeshirt. This morning our temperature was 43. How the hell is that possible?

-Last week MrPea talked me into buying some really highheeled snakeskin(faux,mind you) peep toe shoes. I'm loathe to admit that I loveth them. But my goal was to find warm shoes. I did not accomplish this goal because I hated everything else in that store that looked remotely warmish. And there they were beckoning me. But I've decided to return them. I already feel jealous of whoever's going to buy them. I feel like I need to take a picture of them before I bring them back. Is that sick or what?

Sorry that's all I have for you guys as I'm all blahhged out. Give me something to blog about peeps. Ask me something, I'll tell you. As it is, life is blissfully quiet right now and I find myself in hibernation mode with the drop in temperature. No shark teeth either, the wind is damp and cold. Maybe next week.

Feedback Please!!

I'm not so sure I'm crazy about the new look over here but I needed a change. Please give me some feedback guys and let me know if it shows up well or if I should lose all these colors and get with a more simple palette. Even if I don't hear from any of you peeps, I might just change it all up anyway. I am keeping my header no matter what. I'm just not so sure about keeping a template that forces me to have the same color for my header and post font.

Tuesday Confession

I have been eating chocolate covered popcorn nonstop for 5 days now. Yesterday I ran an extra half mile just so I could eat a bigger chunk of chocolate covered popcorn when I got home. I hate sweets but I do this every winter with the chocolate. Why?


Last week I had a Doctor appointment. I got bullied into agreeing to having a body scan this January. Well I wasn't really bullied, she just told me that this would be a yearly thing until every body scan in a row for 3 years showed up clean. This means I could possibly have another radioiodine situation which depresses me just thinking about because of how badly it was all coordinated last year. I talked with her about how angry I still was about all the scheduling problems, the no return my phone calls, the letting me know about my appointment the day before, making appointments without asking me first, me being off my meds for 6 weeks instead of the 2 that I was promised which resulted in my being extremely and unnecessarily ill and sore for a month and a half, etc etc. She said she'll give me her cell phone number so that if this happens I can reach her directly but I have a feeling it will all be the same story. Everyone gets treated this way by their healthcare providers when we have a for-profit-system so I don't see why I would get any better treatment just because I'm bitching about it now. Plus even she knows it's a possibility otherwise, why would she try to make me feel better by giving me her number. I have a feeling it won't come to that though. I mean, I've had radiation twice. Most people with my problem only need it once. I'm preparing for the worst though because my tumor was the size of a friggin banana. That way I won't be disappointed if they still find some left over cancer cells. I told her I wanted to get it all done ASAP so I could get it over with. She said January, which I'm wondering if it really means February since that's when it all went down last time. If you were around back then, you'll remember I snuck in an old phone so I could post. What I didn't post was that they were working on the fire alarm system and it was going off every hour from 11pm until 6am. The food was puke on a plate and my view was a brick roof. I took so many showers and drank so much damn water, forcing myself to pee as much as I could(that brings your radioactive level to safer levels so you can go home), that's why I got out of there in 24 hours. I'm doing it in a different hospital this time. I wish you guys could have seen my room when I left. They tape paper on the floor and everything in the room except the bed and in the bathroom they use latex to cover anything that might be touched except for the shower. The water facets look like they are giving you the bird because they used latex gloves. It was a primary election day so I decided to write Barack! all over everything in the room. Every nurse that came in said," bay- rack? what's that honey?" At around 2am when I gave up on getting any sleep because the effing alarms were going off, I started writing stupid stuff like,"Help me help me. They told me I was a mental patient...I just thought I was Elvis...they are keeping me against my will. Can I have some Cheerios please?"Anyway, at least I'll be left alone until after Christmas....


BTW Did anyone watch Charlie Brown last night?

(I hate)Shopping for winter clothes

I've been busy lately. Instead of posting like a good blogstress, I have been at the mall looking for warm clothes to wear until Spring. I loathe winter clothes. I've already told ya'll this. I hate long sleeves, they make me feel like I'm in jail. I hate tights, they itch. I hate hats, I'm vain about my hair. I hate gloves, they make my hands sweat. I hate scarves, it feels like a noose. I hate jackets, they are heavy and once you get to your destination you have to drag it around all over the damn place. And most of all I hate pants. Yes, even jeans, the staple must have in every person's wardrobe. But the biggest of my many reasons I hate shopping for jeans/pants can be seen here:

Looks like a nice little outfit right? Navy cardigan, nice fitting jeans.....

Until you scroll down. I'm not a big fan of paying for new jeans and then having to pay even more to get them tailored.

I did end up getting the cardigan but not the jeans. I hate cardigans too but, like I said, I'm not going through another winter feeling like slouchy smurf. I heard about another store nearby that does free alterations. I'll probably go there this weekend.

I'm still looking for the shoes. I might get these for walking just cuz' I'm beginning to feel like a girl Jerry Sienfeld in my old Nikes. I'm just not crazy about the price so let me know if you guys see anything similar for less. I'm also still looking for some boots that don't make my legs look like two stumps.....

Birds and dead things from yesterday's beach trip

Don't be crabby about the winter.......

This Horseshoe Crab is dead by the way.(He's probably crabby about the winter)I was a little scared of him because he was pretty big until I realized he wasn't alive. Not that there's any reason to fear these guys, I've already told you all, I'm afraid of everything.



This dead thing, I'm not quite sure what it is. I tried to put it back in the water just in case it was still alive but stuck. But no, dead too. I'll have to look it up in my field guide to figure out what to call it so until then, we'll just call it the squishy dead thing.

There were a lot of birds. This probably looks like parent birds with their chicks but they are actually 2 different species. Both of which I don't know the names because I'm too lazy to look for my field guide but they are pretty common shore birds.

Sing along with me, Bob Marley lovers: Rise up this morning....smile with the rising sun...three little birds...each by my doorstep....singing sweet songs... of melodies pure and true...sayin', "this is my message to you--oo--oo.....Don't worry...about a thing...cuz every little thing.....'s gonna be alright..."

Pelicans always amaze me when they fly so close to the water like this.

This was actually taken by accident while I was adjusting my camera but I liked it. I can't wait to get a better camera so I can start taking some better pictures.

Notice my shadow appears to be wearing jeans and a thick sweater so don't get too jealous, those of you who live in winter wonderland---it wasn't that warm. (But then again, it wasn't that cold either so, ok, go ahead and get jealous if you want to)

I could not end this post without showing of my modest find. I didn't find the pocketfulls I usually do in the summer but I was happy with the few I did. That hooked shaped one in the middle is from a baby Tiger Shark and I'm always excited to find one of those since I've only ever found a few. And the one in the crowd that's shaped like a perfect triangle is from a Great White, I think. I always pick up white or pink scallop shells to glue to picture frames. Scallop picture frames make good gifts.....Martha's not the only one who knows how to make stuff.

Tuesday Confession

Two weeks on a row! So remember, I told you guys about my difficulty in letting go of my little "injustice" grudges ? Well I have some more. One of which I'll share with you for today's cleansing of my sins.


-I'm still irritated with my 6th grade teacher for giving me a B for my Science Project instead of an A. Mind you I was 11 years old. I made an Electromagnet machine and my experiment was to find out what kind of materials would make the best electromagnets. I even made a compass with a needle and some cork as an extra little side experiment. I made about 3 or 4 little electromagnets using a large nail, various wires, electric tape and these little mini-jumper cable looking thingies(ok it was over 20 years ago so you can't expect me to remember the exact names for everything so just use your imagination.) My hypothesis was that the tiniest wire would create the most energy and make the strongest magnet and pick up the heaviest pieces of metal when hooked up to the machine. My experiment was damn success because I proved my hypothesis and was able to recreate my experiment for my class when we did our presentations. So I should have received an A not a B. You know what my jerk of a teacher said was the reason he knocked my grade down? BECAUSE THE BOX I USED FOR THE ELECTROMAGNET MACHINE WAS AN OLD BROWN TACKLE BOX. He said if I had used something more "pleasing to the eye" my grade would have been a perfect score. Can you tell how pissed off I still am about this? Especially now that I am older because I feel like going back in time to scream at that jerk teacher of mine,"I'm f-ing 11 ok? I made a damn Electromagnet and you give me a B, but you give the idiot who made a stupid person proof hurricane machine with a MOUNTAIN DEW BOTTLE an A!" Jerk. (not to offend anyone who made any hurricane machines, I was just pointing out that it was a Mountain Dew bottle with the wrapper still on. Even though I do think my creation was superior to a hurricane machine....) I don't even know any 11 year olds who actually know what an electromagnet is. Sorry I could only use what was available to me and by the way, isn't that usually how great discoveries get made? I guess I just didn't have access to thousands of dollars like the rest of average 6th graders in the free world do. I'm sure if I had known how to boil ore and cast my own beautiful metal "pleasing to the eye" box I would have received an A and gone on to MIT to become the greatest scientist on the face of the planet. But no. I'm using my 11 year old resentment to entertain the blogosphere instead. Enjoy at my expense internets.

-So I've just realised that's not really a confession. It's a rant. Well I can't help it. I'm still mad about it. Breathe-breathe. Ok I'm ready to confess something else: I once dyed my hair blond ya'll. A few years ago when I was living in Hawaii, I had just gotten over a really bad all over skin allergy and was feeling quite depressed and vulnerable about my looks. I made an appointment for a cut and high light. The stylist suggested an all over make over and I was such a depressed little mouse I said yes. No it did not make me feel better. It looked horrible and I realised, I don't like blond hair on me. But I spent so much money to get it done, I felt like I had to get my money's worth so I kept it for 2 months until the roots got so bad I had no choice but to dye it back to my natural beloved brunette. I told myself it would be a social experiment. Here's two things I noticed about being blond: Men look at you in a dirtier way when you're blond and are obvious about their dirty thoughts. Like you should just put up with it or something. And 2, if you're not a natural blonde you have to wear a lot of makeup if you don't want to look tired and worn out all the time.

And since we're on the topic I really disdain so called "blond jokes." It gives a certain kind of gal an excuse to pretend to be dumb when they are so clearly not. I really disdain women(and men) who do that. Dumb and cute have never been on the same plane in my book. My Grandma once gave me some really good advice: Never pretend to be dumber than you are just to attract a man. The only kind of man you'll atrract by playing dumb is a dumb man.

Help me internets with my superficial(yet important) stuff

-I've been invited to a party given by leaders of the club I joined when I started volunteering for the Democratic Party in my town. The invite says they'll have all the Holiday main dishes and cocktails but to bring a side dish or appetizer. Everything I make is too 'involved' and takes forever. If I have to make a fussy dish, I'll end up not going and these people are my new friends so I want to go. What could I bring that doesn't take too long to make or that I could buy that won't get wasted? I hate cooking otherwise I wouldn't care.


-Um. Yeah. The whole winter clothes shortage is still a problem. Besides my jogging shoes, there's not one pair of shoes in my closet that cover my toes. Every year I tell myself, "This year I'll buy a couple cute outfits that are warm." And every year I end up dressing like Slouchy Smurf. Old raggedy jeans, raggedy tee shirt, old ugly ratty jacket and canvass shoes with my piglet socks. Well guess what. Even that uniform is no longer. The canvass shoes have been thrown out the piglet socks had a hole and I can't look at one more raggedy tee shirt if I want to hold on to my sanity. Ok I still have the jeans-one can never go wrong with jeans I know this. I even have one outfit I could wear and not be embarrassed to be seen in but I don't have the shoes. I can't exactly wear a pretty wool skirt, tights and cashmere sweater with my Asics running shoes. I'm sure I have something strappy and cute I could put on my feet but I'm so sensitive to the cold now. I can't be wearing high heeled strappy sandals when it 40 degrees outside. I would love a cute pair of suede boots but dammit when you're 4'11", boots just look so weird. Like you're a little kid playing dress up in a tall girl's shoes. So, if you guys see anything......I should mention I hate pointy toed shoes, and platform stripper shoes. Oh and I need a new jacket too. So if you see one, send me a link. (I hate the puffy, down blanket looking ones. Love corduroy) I wouldn't be asking for help if I didn't live on Florida you guys. There's no winter clothes here. MrPea is no help either because when I complain to him and ask for his help, he just laughs at me and asks me why I even want to bother when we'll only be cold for a few weeks anyway. Well I refuse to spend another couple months feeling like I shop at the Hobo The Clown store. That's why.


-Should I dye my hair? I usually do in the winter because my hair gets so much sun in the summers. The natural highlights the sun creates looks good in the summer but in the winter when my hair grows out it's natural dark brown, my ends start to look brassy and orangey. I just hate having to pay 90 bucks for something I could do myself for 10. Ok actually I just answered my own question. But the other 2.

Tuesday Confession

I hardly ever do this. But it's only because I'm perfect so I have nothing to confess. You guys know this. Right?


Well I have only a couple really boring confessions to make. But, you know it's Tuesday and that's what Tuesday is for.

1. Today I made broccoli, yellow squash and zucchini for my lunch. Er, I should say I burnt broccoli, yellow squash and zucchini for my lunch. Anyone who's ever burnt this trio of veggies or at least broccoli already knows the wonderful aroma that never goes away. Not even after hours of burning a pumpkin spice candle from World Market. Nope, still stanks(the better, more pungent version of the word stinks. Feel free to steal it and add to your own vocabulary. You're welcome). So now my house smells like garbage soup. And pumpkin spice. Great.


2. Sometimes, when I'm too lazy to dig out and lace up my own sneakers, I use MrPea's to take Peanut downstairs to pee hoping no one will happen to walk by and see me. His feet are twice the size of mine so it's easier to just step into them and head out to door for a few seconds. Guess who was seen in really big shoes and laughed at by some of my neighbor's grandkids? Yep.

Monday Meme

I got this from a blog I delightfully found by accident. Thank you Curious Cat for giving me something to blog on a Monday......


1) What book has most touched your soul?

-I read so dern much I can't really say this book or that book touches my soul. I was lucky enough to have had teachers in elementary school who read to us a lot and I'm sure that's what sparked my love of reading. When I was in the 3rd grade my family moved and I was in a new school. The county happened to be having some kind of book reading contest and our teacher was reading a Ramona book to the class at the end of each day that we were "good." I participated in the book contest and enjoyed listening to my teacher read to us and that was when I started reading books on my own. My dad even took me to get my own library card and I remember being really happy about it. So that's the best answer I can come up with.

2) How do you think being a teenager today is different from when you were a teenager?

-In some ways it's easier and some ways harder. Easier because today they have a lot more access to information. Harder because, well, they have a lot more access to information. But I'm going to say it's about the same only like I said, they have internet, ipods, and gas is more expensive.

3) If you found out for sure there was no afterlife at all, would you change how you live your life?

-I would probably get really depressed. If all this beauty and ugly were for nothing is a question I ask myself often. No afterlife, the thought makes me very sad and frankly scared. I am not one of those people who don't fear the thought of completely disappearing, losing all thought and existence. What would the point in living be then? I can't really say I would change the way I live my life but I would live it with a fear and sadness without hope that I can't fathom. So I don't really know how to answer this question.


4) What is the biggest regret of your life so far?

-That's easy. I never finished college and I don't have any children. Well the children thing is not as big a regret because I can still have one given me being healthy enough to carry one and if not, there are other ways of becoming a mother. But the school thing. Yeah, what a waste really. But even then, this is also something I could change eventually.

5) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.
Oh moose. No it does not make me think of Sarah Palin.....nor any of the pictures I saw of her smiling over the dead body of a big beautiful moose. Honestly it doesn't. (Plus I eat meat, so I have no place to judge. It's just for some reason I have a soft spot for moose. )

I think of Canada. When I was in Canada(for that COLD LONG NEVERENDING WINTER), I wanted very badly to see a moose. My in laws offered to drive me to the zoo to see one. But I said it didn't count. I have to see one in the wild. I walked my dog all over the place hoping to see a moose. Never saw one. I did see a bunny though. Maybe next time.






Feel free to tag yourself, anyone. These things are always useful for those of us who get blogger's block.

When did Autumn get here without warning me? And why?

Yesterday I was wearing a miniskirt. Today, I'm miserable in jeans and a sweater. Sigh.....


My efforts to look for shark teeth have been thwarted twice over. Well I did find a few but none to really brag about. For one, rough seas left a layer of sand covering the usual patches of shells where I like to look and with the 69 degree water there's no chance of me wading. And now it's just too damn windy cold and will remain cold for at least a couple weeks or until Spring if Old Man Winter is grouchy this year. Damn this weather. Damn. Damn.

I know, I know, I'm the winter grinch. While all you sweater and mitten lovers are getting all excited and digging out your beloved long johns, I'm getting ready for my two to three month long grump fest. But again, I have to say I'm not going to complain too much because, well, hello, I live in Florida! So I have come up with a few things to cheer myself up with.

1. I just went to the beach 2 days ago. Wearing shorts.

2. Friday night at 7:55, MrPea and I ran out to our balcony to watch the sky for the space shuttle launch. This was the 6th one I've been able to watch right from my home. Mind you, during the day all you can really see is smoke and a burst of bright orange. But the night launches. Oh my the night launches, ya'll! Flashes of green surrounded by a bright halo and you can usually hear applause and cheers from anyone else who happened to have come out to watch our space shuttle fly into space. There's nothing like it and I saw it right from my own patio. Said a prayer for our astronauts.

3. I'm still on the decaf. Ok I strayed a little a couple weeks ago because I really needed the energy for canvassing BUT that was it. No caffiene for me.

4. My jeans still fit me.

5. Colder weather means I need new shoes. Which gives me just the excuse I need to go shoe shopping.

That's all I could come up with today. Hopefully I can come up with a few more by Thanksgiving. Have any good news? Leave me some.....

Happy Veterans Day

Hope everyone's having a good week.

We did it!

We turned Florida blue! We elected "that one!"

America's new first family.


I'm so proud to have been a part of it all. To have been part of such a positive and inclusive campaign for change!

Barrack Obama is our nation's first Biracial President. And as someone who is also biracial, I have felt a personal connection and drive to elect someone, not who I want to have a beer with, or who's "like me", but someone first and foremost qualified AND knows what it's like to be me. Someone who looks out not just for their own, but will look out for all of us. It is my belief and hope that we have elected(no pun intended again) that one. In my conversations with fellow children who are products of mixed marriages, the topic that comes up so often is our sometimes feeling of invisibility. We can either be one or the other ethnicity, not both. I have always felt like an American and have always loved my country with the devotion of a veteran's daughter who pretty much grew up on a military base. But always within a culture that tells you to check the box, are you white or Asian? You can't be both. I always felt like I was never enough of one or the other for either culture. I sometimes describe myself as a chameleon,fitting in everywhere and no where, but doing my best to create my own identity while at the same time embracing and celebrating both parts of myself. And identity is something that many biracial kids in my generation still struggle with. I could never be white enough to be considered white or Asian enough to be considered Asian; living in a "check the box" culture. We begin to feel invisible sometimes because up until maybe a few years ago, there was no "box" for people like us. I've heard the word Hapa, used to describe people like me with mixed Asian backgrounds, someone even wrote a book featuring us a few years back. I picked up that book and saw my face on every page. In 2004 I watched a self described,"skinny kid with a funny name," speak to America and something in my heart burst. I was not only, no longer invisible, but I was now a "skinny kid with a funny name" too. Living in such a red state and having had the words "unAmerican" pressed upon people like me with unapologetic liberal leanings, listening to this unknown state senator speak about America and Americans with inclusion as the defining message, I felt like someone had given my beloved flag back to me when Karl Rove-ian divisive politics tried to take it away from me and bully me. So while we're celebrating America's first African American President, many of us "hapas" feel some small ownership in celebrating a bi-ethnic President who struggled with identity in a similar way we did. We are happy for our African American brothers and sisters, and we can celebrate ourselves as well. Because an African American President named Barack Hussein Obama can possibly open the doors for us too. I cried like one of my own had won last night. Because he is one of our own in a really special way that all of us who are of mixed heritage can claim.


And by the way I just want to call it- I told everyone I knew after that beautiful 2004 key note speech that someday he was going to be president. Most people said,"WHOOO? What the hell kind of name is that, sounds weird!" And now anyone who remembers me saying that are eating their words. So I just had to brag about that too and rub it in- oh I love being right. :O)


I canvassed til an hour before the polls closed last night. I felt like I contributed to my country just by participating. I said to myself, whatever the outcome, I will never have to say that I didn't do my best so if my party doesn't win, I would at least not have any regrets. When I attended my first meeting back in June and heard our county coordinator talk numbers and say that we could really turn Florida blue, I thought,"Yeah right. Ok." But I hoped. And we did! And I was part of it! So tonight at our party I want to relish in that. But I look forward to working with my new found blue friends in finding some small ways to be purple because everyone who I spoke with when I phonebanked and canvassed: Republican, Democrat, Green, Independents said the same thing. That they were sick and tired of the divided atmosphere we're living in.

I was there

I don't need to tell anyone who doesn't live under a rock what day today is. I have been canvassing my behind off and you don't need to guess for whom. Yesterday I got maybe 3 hours of sleep and didn't think I was going to be able to do it one more day. I thought maybe if I'm so exhausted, I'll just phone bank for an hour until I'm tired. But after attending a rally with thousands of people giving positive vibes to each other, praying together, dancing together, and singing our National Anthem together, then hearing one of the best pep talks I could have ever been given, I was on a high energy for the rest of the day and was able to muster the power to keep the wheels turning. You can see from this picture what a great view I got to have and how close my position was from the podium.

As he worked the stage when it was over I yelled out as loud as I could, "Senator show me your handsome face!" Whether or not he heard, I don't know but everyone around started laughing and all hands went in the air holding cameras. So this was the only photo I got with him smiling and of course as ya'll can see the person in front of me was definitely taller than 4'11".

I'm going out again to canvass right now and make sure everyone who hasn't voted yet gets to the polls today. To the very last minute I'll be walking.

Everyone who hasn't voted yet please get out to the polls and vote. Whoever you support. It is such a privilege to be able to make our voices heard in this country that we shouldn't take for granted. Stand in line, bring a chair and some snacks, make friends with your fellow voters, do whatever you need to do. Just get there and VOTE!!!


My favorite lines from his stump rally speech has always been this one.

Little Pea and Jolly Green Giant

Yesterday I showed up at my team leader's house expecting to canvass. She told me I was the only who wanted to and everyone else wanted to phone bank. I said, "I'll stick around and make calls with you guys in case anyone else shows up that I can convince to come with me because I don't like and won't canvass alone. I was by myself yesterday and I didn't feel safe." A man sitting on the couch looked up and said, "If you need a partner, I suppose I can go with you." Then he stood up. And he was frikin' 6'9", OK? Yeah. I'm 4'11". Obviously I felt safe. What a sight we were walking through our town. People opened their doors when we knocked and for a second just looked at us like we were from the circus or some kind of Halloween comedy group. But it made it easier for us to talk to people because they seemed to want to know how in the world we even knew each other. So if anyone happened to look out their windows yesterday and noticed a freakishly tall man walking around with a freakishly small woman carrying a clipboard and waving to people, that was us.

I know I brag all the time about my freakish strength that enables me to pick up my tall 6'2" husband and carry him around for a few minutes. No way in hell I could have picked up this guy. Not even on steroids.

Today I am exhausted from all my canvassing and need a big rest. I feel guilty about it as it is crunch time but I'm dead tired in my bones. I feel like I've walked a million miles. I'll be back on the trail tomorrow, so again guys, if I knock on your door, be nice. Offer me some Gatorade. Or some painkillers. Whatever.

Busy Bee Random

-Yesterday I accomplished the impossible. I convinced a Republican to vote for Obama. Yes you read that correctly. I even drove him to early vote. I also convinced him to vote no on amendment 2 which discriminates against gay couples (and actually would negatively affect more heterosexual couples who live together and common law couples than gays so I'm not sure how it even got on the ballot). Can you guys believe it? Uh Huh. You're welcome.


-We're looking for a new apartment. There's nothing wrong with this one except for the fact that I'm getting sick of walking up and down several flights of stairs with groceries and/or a dog. Plus electricity costs a damn fortune up here. It's also drafty and with winter creeping in, I'm not in the mood to freeze my behind off again. We're in no hurry though and we're both very specific about what we're looking for. I need lots of windows, a kitchen with plenty of counter space, and my own walk in closet. Mr.Pea requires a fire place, tile floors instead of carpet, and a big porch. We both agree we want a lower price too but that goes without saying. We might end up in a 1/1 if it's nice enough. This idea uneases me a bit as I've hinted at you guys before about my loathe to share a bathroom with him and especially a closet. If my marriage unfolds after we move into a 1/1, you guys will know why.


-I went for coffee with my nephew and we passed by my very first apartment. It was in a first floor of an old house that honestly was 37 steps(I counted) from the beach. The place was drafty, salty, made scary 'old house' noises at night, and the hot water didn't work if someone else in the building was using the outdoor shower but oh how I loved that apartment. The guy who had lived there before painted the walls a soft pale aqua and I remember my gauzy curtains billowing every evening. I had shells all over the place(but no shark teeth as that beach doesn't produce any) and books galore. I rode my bike to work on the beach when the tide was low and drank tea every night on the front porch to the sound of my bamboo windchimes. I was also a hop, skip, and a jump from my favorite coffee shop (which is still there even though Starbucks moved nearby a couple years ago) and a couple skips more from the library. (My dad was particularly pleased about the police station located one block away in case any psychomen tried anything funny with his daughter.) I can't comment on any of the resteraunts since I was too damn poor to eat at any of them. I never had any money. I didn't have a car. My fridge was always sparse, my phone was always being shut off and I was always by myself(because did I mention that I never had any money? Oh yeah I already did. Well I'll just say it again anyway, I was always broke!). But I remember being so happy in that cozy little apartment and wanting to live there for the rest of my life. I'm not sure why but it makes me happy to see that who ever resides there now, kept my sun sticker in the window and happy face I painted on the mail box.

-My allergies are driving me insane. I don't get stuffy nose. I get the bloody-murder-painful sore throat and ears. It's the worst in the mornings when the air is dry. Zyrtec sort of works. Only sort of though.

-My endocrinologist had her baby. The one who told me I couldn't have kids until she said it was ok. I know already told you guys about this but I'm feeling particularly jealous so I though I should mention it again. Anyway her office called me today and said I needed to get some blood drawn this week and suggested I get a flu shot just in case I end up having more cancer crap to do. I'll get the flu shot but if they suggest I need radioiodine again I'm going to say hell no. Which really means can I just put it off a few more months because I was enjoying not having to see them.


I haven't been leaving comments lately, I know. I've been busy and lazy- can you say that in a sentence and still make sense? Ya'll know what I mean. Anyway, you'll see me soon and more often, I promise.

I'm feel like tattle-telling

Because someone needs to hear about this and there was no one around to whom I could bitch about it.

There are very little things I despise in this world more than pollution. I realize some pollution can't be avoided. But when I see people leave their garbage all over MY beach and flick their cigarettes out the car window(I mean, we're only driving GASOLINE-FILLED vehicles) I make sure to give them the evil eye, if they happen to be looking my way. Last week the wind was blowing a ton of seaweed from the Sargasso Sea and with it all the crap people must be throwing off their boats or dumping on their beaches. Nasty people.

I first encountered this bottle.


At first I got excited because maybe there's a message in it....maybe I was wrong. Upon closer inspection I notice it said Havana Club on it. Does this mean it floated here all the way from Cuba? Is there such a drink that can be bought here in the US called Havana Club? I just want to pretend the answer is no because at least then this is pollution I can maybe get excited about.







More bottles with no messages inside.....

Someone's big gulp.


And the cherry on top was this nasty shoe. I did not find it's mate.

If you see the people who did this, you tell them I'm not very happy with them right now because I hate cleaning up after people.

Vlog the vote. Makin' History :O)

I voted today!
I felt all "historical" so I had to make a video. I ended up having to do another take when I realized I was holding my camera the wrong way. Typical....

Here is my message(s) to the world:


Oops. Take two:










And here is my ballot. I encourage everyone to do the same whoever you vote for.

Random is as Random does

-I got an email inviting me to a high school reunion. My 15th year high school reunion. Well, well, well. It's pretty odd to get an invitation in October for an event that is going to happen in June but I suppose it;s like a wedding invite where you need to plan around. I'm feeling pretty indifferent about it since I already keep in touch with the people I had wanted to and frankly don't care one way or another to hear about the rest. High school was for me as with anyone, shitty most of the time with a few really great memories. I probably can't fit back into my cheerleader uniform but I was never a huge fan of the school colors anyway. I'm not going to go and I'm not exactly sure why I should feel bad about it since everyone I've told about it says,"No! No! You should really go." It's not so much that I'm LOATHE to go, it's just I don't see the point, there's not going to be anyone there I'm dying to see and since I moved back here, I run into just about everybody anyway. Do you disagree?



-Confession: I accidentally ran over some one's newly paved driveway the other day on my bicycle. Really though, not much harm done because the pave guy(I don't know what the job title was but he was nice to me) was able to fix it since it wasn't completely dry. Still though, I felt bad about it. Absolve me Internets.


-Um. Last week while I was looking for shark teeth, this guy came up to me bragging about his find. That was fine. But when he started with his lectures and instructions about how wrong I'm going about it I had to shut him down by reaching into my pouch pocket. My smallest one was bigger than his biggest one. Does size matter? Absolutely when you've got some jerk in your face telling you what to do and talking out of his ass. I hate when men do that to me, actually everyone does this to me. Just because I'm small and smiley, I must be stupid and in need of guidance. I wrote about this before, small people of the world, you know what I'm talking about. You guys know my shark teeth prowess, I don't need to tell you guys about it.

-Speaking of shark teeth hunting, I wonder how I must look to people who may happen to look out the window and spot me. Big floppy hat, green bathing suit, pink flip flops. Yellow pouch worn sideways that my husband makes fun and says makes me look like a crossing guard. Eyes furtively looking around, head down, shoulders crunched, staggering like a drunk person, gleefully giggling with every find and quickly putting in my bag before anyone sees because I'm stingy like that. Oh and don't forget my pepper spray conspicuously clipped to my bag so as to warn Psychoman if he decides to try it. Or do I look like Psychoman?


-The other day my sister said this to me:

Her: My gawd! You went to the beach again? What the hell, Angel how many shark teeth do you need?

Me: Wellll, it's just that.....low tide was at 1.... and ...and... and the North wind is picking up so I thought...

~~~pause~~~~(defiantly) well guess what?! I'm going again tomorrow!

Her: You're going to drive yourself blind girl. You need to calm down.

Me: SO?!

Her: Didn't you just go Monday? What do you do with all those shark teeth- put them in a damn bowl and sit there whispering,"mine mine all mine?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~LONG PAUSE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Me: SO!!!!?


Yeah. It's that important to me.

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)

Blue Canvassing in Red Territory(or so I thought)

Saturday I went canvassing for the very first time. I had shied away from volunteering to canvass because I live in the darkest, blood Red section of Florida. In fact I was actually a little scared of my safety when I saw how nasty, and ok I'll just say it right out, RACIST supporters seem to be comfortable enough to get lately.(It's actually worse than what's been shown on CNN-don't believe me, just look on youtube) When I heard that someone had yelled,"Kill him," at a rally in Florida, I wanted to apologize on behalf of the state of Florida. I had visions of some crazy person chasing me down with a pitch fork because I was campaigning for "that one." Mind you, I have nothing against republicans, in fact, my whole family and one of my closest friend have Rs on their voter registration card. And I'm in NO way saying that republicans are racist, of course they aren't. Racists are racist, it's a simple as that. (I never heard anyone yell death threats at the Obama rally that I went to a few weeks ago. ) But I grew up in the South. Biracial, in the South. And I love the South and I love Southerners but as a woman, who's half Asian, I can tell you guys some stories about some of the stuff I had/still have to put up with. So it would be safe to assume that an Asian girl canvassing on behalf of "that(black) one" whatever the political affiliation, might be a little nervous. At any rate any Democrat would not be very enthusiastic about canvassing in Republican territory. I did it anyway. Actually my team leader told me that we outnumber Republicans in my county but we've just not been as vocal until recently. Whatever the outcome, I'd like for all of us in my community to just accept the fact that we don't all agree on everything, and there's nothing wrong with that.

So you guys would be happy to know that my experience was a really good one. Just about every door we knocked on was happy to see us and those who were not, didn't chase us away with pitchforks. And the people who were happy to see us acted as if they had been in hiding and were happy to be discovered. It was as if they were being intimidated by their neighbors to just shut up and take it because they were outnumbered, actually no it wasn't as if, it was. So they were all so excited to see friendly faces. Most of our house calls were senior citizens(it is Florida) and wanted to talk issues with us but spoke in hushed voices. When they did this I told them loudly,"No. Let your voice be heard, this is your community too. You're not a second class citizen just because you're blue in the red zone. You would be surprised how many of us there are, I have 7 pages here full of people to visit, almost all Democrats. There's no reason we should all remain quiet. " One lady wanted to make copies so that she could make some new friends but of course I can't disturb anyone's privacy. One old guy raised his fist when we told him who we were and said,"Yeah!!Yeah!! Go young people!" Some couples offered us cookies and told us they were proud of us. Another was worried about us and said,"Don't let anyone see what you're doing, you guys are gonna get yelled at or something. We had our signs run over." I said,"Let them see us. I want them to know we're here. And I will smile at them and flirt and win them over too." They liked that. One lady expressed concern over his middle name being Hussein because she really liked his ideas before that. I told her my middle name was Marie but that didn't make me the Virgin Mary, she laughed at that and asked for a ride to the polls. Another couple was still in their bathrobes and was embarrassed about the fact that they slept so late(it was only 10:30) but they had just started taking a dance class the night before. How cute is that? I thought about my Grandparents a lot. I don't even know what their party affiliation was, I know my Grandma was a huge fan of Reagan. Huge. I wonder if they would approve of my volunteering and if they would be proud of me.

The next day, I went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. On my way in, some guy made a smartass comment about my Obama teeshirt. Honestly I can't even tell you what he said, I wasn't even paying attention because I was thinking about all those people whose homes I visited and again understood why they felt the way they did. As I was standing in line, an old lady, who had heard, whispered to me,"I see you're wearing the right shirt." I said, "Say it louder ma'am, don't be shy. You're among friends here even if you didn't know it. I'm one of 90 volunteers." So she did and her husband did too. And they told me they already voted by absentee ballot. I told them I would be waving signs near the library and all over the beach next week so if they see me, to beep.

Phone banking, I'll still do, especially since the people I called yesterday didn't even know and never heard of early voting. But the human connection was better. It's nicer to see a smiling face knocking on your door than to hear your phone ring during dinner time, I think. And like I said, whatever happens in this election, I hope I have contributed in some small way to opening a dialogue or at least gave a feeling of belonging to the people I met who felt like outsiders in their own neighborhood. Needless to say, that night I called my team leader and told her to count me in to canvass at every date we have left.

It's getting too serious lately, have a laugh at my expense

I don't mind.

Recently I was asked what my MOST EMBARRASSING moment of my life was. I thought, my word, do you have a few days cuz that's how long it's gonna take since I have so many. If you've been reading here for a long time(those of you who are still left) you might think it was the time I accidentally felt myself up in front of some prisoners. Um. Yeah. This kind of stuff always happens to me, be it my fault or not. But believe me, this does not even top my mortification list. I have one just as bad, maybe even worse- you decide.

The summer I lived in my very first apartment, I was 19 and I had a job at a fancy pants chocolateir shop. This place was so expensive and sheesheefoofoo, they did not even have price tags or any indicator for how much things costs. They just assume anyone shopping there has so much damn money, they know it's expensive chocolate so they don't need to ask(those were my manager's exact words). I loved making the chocolate and dipping the strawberries, pretzels all that stuff- I did everything. I put all the assortment boxes together and wrapped the solid forms with plastic wrap and ribbons. I even made ice cream. And truffels, OMG the truffels ok? The best perk was that I could eat anything I wanted as long as I didn't take it out of the store. Yes, you guys, an all you can eat chocolate buffet. I hearted this job. I didn't even mind that they made me wear a really ugly hot pink hat. Because it was such a small store, I worked mostly alone and I had my own key to the place so I could close up the shop on my own after weekday evening shifts and open the store on my Sunday shifts. I was the only girl employee. And one thing started to bother me about being the only girl employee. After about 2 months I started to notice my coworkers were not cleaning up after themselves and leaving HUGE, DISGUSTING messes for me to clean up at the end of their shifts. Anyone out there ever clean up gobs of dried chocolate stuck to the floor? Not to mention the squished strawberries and nuts mixed in. It's not a whistle while you work kind of task. It took a while but, I finally got up the nerve to do something about it. I complained about it and my manager said that it's always the responsibility of the person who closes to clean up. I said,"No. When I work in the mornings, you guys always have a clean area when you come in because I clean up after myself. Fair is fair. I'm not every body's wife or mommie, I shouldn't have to clean up other people's sloppiness. Of course the store needs to be clean at close up, but this is food we're making here when it comes down to it and this room is disgusting." This was pretty bold of me, because I am a really passive person who's always too shy to rock the boat but that's how bad it was. But for a while it was ok. Then they got lazy again and this time I was ignored and treated like a whiny little girl. It started to make me feel more timid to even say anything at that point cuz I needed that job. So the day I knew I had another job lined up I went to eat lunch with my sister and was working myself up into such a state talking about that I finally said," that's it! I'm not going back there, not even to give those jerks a two weeks notice!" Of course because of how belittling he was to me the last time, I was too timid to just call my manager and say I quit, I'm not coming back. So me and my sister came up with this wonderful plan for her to call him and say, " Angel had to leave the country for a family funeral, she doesn't know when she'll be back." So she did. Big problem. I needed to pick up my last pay check and give them my key. Of course once again, I'm too chicken to do it because I just couldn't take his smartass smirk PLUS I'm supposed to be out of town remember? So my sister volunteers to do it for me but I have to come with her and hide in the car. We were too stupid at the time to park in the parking lot behind the building because my genius plan was just to crouch down in the car so no one could see me. My sister went in and came out empty handed because she said they refuse to give a check to any other person but me. So we're sitting there arguing back and forth because I wanted her to go back in there and demand my check as my sister and tell them all to screw themselves because obviously someone like me who crouches in a car so as not to be seen doesn't have enough nerve. We're still arguing about what to do next and I hear a tap tap on my window. There's my now former boss standing next to the car with my check. I said,"oh," and rolled down the window and he gave it to me not speaking. We then slowly drove away in hu-mil-i-a-tion. I can still see his smartass smirk in the rear view mirror to this day.

Yep. Big lesson learned: never lie in the place of sticking up for yourself. I should have easily sauntered in and told every one of those jerks where to go.

I've been busy, Phone banking

I participated in my second phone bank today. Mostly no one answered but there were a few friendly supporters. Last time I was able to convince 2 people who were undecided to vote for Obama and sign up 2 volunteers but none today. I got yelled at a couple times too. It's kind of hard to grit your teeth and say, "Oh I'm sorry I disturbed you, thank you for your time and have a nice day." But I do. In my sweetest voice. Gosh! How hard is it to say, "I don't want to talk to you, goodbye." Next time a telemarketer calls me, I'm going to be nicer.

There's one woman who I keep thinking about. She was around my mother's age and told me she was undecided. When I asked her what issue she was the most concerned about, she started to cry and said,"Jobs. I got laid off a month ago." I didn't know what to say. I felt like an intruder. At this point I wasn't about to go off with a list of reasons why she should vote one or another while this poor woman was crying- ok I am a human being. I just told her I was sorry and that I hope things get better for her. I said I understood how she felt, that I still have hope and not to give up. I'm not sure why she didn't just hang up on me for I would have, but she wanted to talk to me. She told me about how hard it's been for her lately and how stressed out she was. She asked me about my family, where I was from and how old I was. She was surprised, she said, because I sounded so much younger and that the youth in my voice gave her hope. We ended up talking for about 15 minutes because she wanted to know why I was supporting Obama and told me not to read from a script. Of course, I wasn't. At the end of our conversation she told me she would pray for me. She said she was still undecided and would make her decision after watching the debates but because of my phone call, she was leaning a little and she actually thanked me. Obviously I'm glad about the leaning but most of all I'm glad that I was comforting to her. I can't even believe that a total stranger with so many problems of her own would want to pray for me. This makes up for all the mean people who yelled and hung up on me.

(I'll be canvassing for the first time this weekend so if I come to your house, be nice to me. Offer me some m&ms.)

It just kept getting better

I wasn't planning to blog another beach post today but yesterday was so full of treasures I had to share.

This particular shell is not the prettiest in the world but I like them because they are called Baby's Ears. You can see why below.

This one is either a Moon Snail or Sharks Eye. I'm pretty sure it's Sharks Eye. I'm not exactly sure and I'm too lazy to look it up but I have a thousand of them.

You can see how this one met it's demise. I didn't keep it because the last time I encountered one of these shells, something was living in it! My BFF's daughter found it, kept it in a tupperware. She brought it to the beach the next day, we opened the tupperwear and the poor hermit crab was walking around so we let him go. Now I usually leave these small to medium sized shells alone.

Of course I found my usual handful.

But then I saw this one. This big boy was in the water and I risked ruining my camera to get it. I saw it being pulled away in knee deep water and snatched it up. Actually I wasn't even 100% sure it was a tooth until I picked it up. It was a good gamble. (I'd love any excuse to buy a new camera anyway)

A few minutes later and a few feet away I saw this one being pulled away too so I was quick.

Another few minutes later, this one found my toe. It's not as big as the other 2 but it looks like a Great White tooth and it still has ridges so I'm happy about that. (The heart shaped one is from a Tiger Shark and the other one I have no idea as I've never found one like that before.)

I always use a quarter to show the size in case I decide to send the pictures to the Florida Museum of Natural History so they can identify it for me.

It was time to go home but I decided to take one more look. Just five more minutes I thought. This is what I brought back.

I didn't think I would ever find a prettier Whelk snail shell than the one I found Monday but this one is just gorgeous. Look at those burgandy-brown stripes.

No hermit crab inside I promise!