martyflorida

So, where were we? I cannot remember when I last posted. Did I mention that I took the train to Jacksonville to visit my parents for 3 days? I met up with a high school marching band in Chicago and worked as their tour guide for a week. They had a busy schedule that included Blue Man show, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, Chicago symphony, Navy Pier, Magnificent Mile shopping, and at the Orient Theater, we saw the musical play Witches of Oz (or similar name). We ate at ESPN Zone, Ed Debevic's, and Gino's Pizza. I flew home, unpacked and washed clothes and then 2 days later I met up with a VA performing band that toured both Disney and Universal, had a competition and then went home with top awards. At midnight, after I waved bye-bye to the group of 110, I hurried home and Mark and I left immediately for NC. We stayed at our Beech Mountain house for a week, and my sister Patty and her boyfriend drove up for most of the week. We replaced the kitchen counters and sink.Looks a whole lot nicer. On our next trip we plan to paint the old pine cabinets white. On our way home the car broke. It was the fuel pump that is located inside the fuel tank. $900 and five hours later, we were back on the highway. The delayed getting home and so we will have to stop at a hotel again tonight. On Thursday I will fly to Chicago for a 3-day tour group, followed by three days with Mark's sister, Bonnie. After a couple of weeks and another Disney/Universal group, I will guide a group in Washington DC. Looking forward to that trip. I'll get home on the day after Memorial Day and our family will spend that week at Cocoa Beach, as we do every year. I will try to update here more often.

Yesterday was a pleasant day.  I started off taking our old stove to my sweet cleaning lady, Shuntika's house.  The old stove works fine, it was just time for a new one.  We got a white stove to match our other appliances, and it has a glass top and a fan in the oven that accelerates the cooking time.  Not a convection, but not a plain oven either...like a "junior" convection, I suppose.  Works fine for me.  I have burned beans on the stove top, and over cooked vegetables. I have to adapt to the new fast burners.  Shuntika's old stove had a short or something in one of the burners, and every time she turned on her stove top, that burner would pop out, so he was excited to get a better stove and oven than the one she had before.  After we got the stove in her house, Shuntika and I rode over to the church that has Angel Food Ministries (www.angelfoodministries.com), where she and I buy a monthly box of food through the co-op.  After this, Mark and I went to a nearby church to see a big car show.  There were lots of cars lined up, sparkling in the warm sunshine.  Most had the hoods open showing off engines.  It was fun to wander around, and then we enjoyed a hot dog and coke before going home.  

Inspired with all the cars, Mark wanted me to look at a car he is interested in, a Toyota CJ Cruiser.  It was comfortable and drove well, but man is it ugly.  He likes the brick-toned one...a dark cherry coke color.  All of these style of cars have a white roof.  I think this makes it uglier.  We are not buying now, but it was fun to look at cars for future reference.  If this is the car Mark really wants, I won't stop him, but we will have to look at many other cars before we settle for this one, simply because it is so ugly.  Next, my request, we drove to the location of the new very tiny cars, Smart Cars (www.smartcarofamerica.com) to check those out.  The dealership is still under construction, so that was a no-go.  This dealership is right next to the Mellinium Mall, so we headed that was to see this new mall.  Instead, I encouraged Mark to take me to the IKEA store and we had a wonderful time walking through this huge store that carries EVERYTHING for the house.  A person could spend all day there and not see it all!  We even had dinner there at the in-store restaurant.  Our purchases? $7.  I got a pillow on sale, made especially for back sleepers, and we also got a couple of dish washing brushes for a dollar.

What a shock to hear the doorbell in the dead of night.  I woke with a start, checked the door, assuming perhaps David had gone out and was locked out...something that has never happened before.  Instead I see a uniformed officer standing outside the door.  "Ohhhhh noooo" dread quickly washed over me.  Looking down the driveway I see two police cars.  I opened the door and the officer smiled and apologized for waking me up.  Someone had either vandalized or accidentally hit my mailbox and a neighbor, TJ, had witnessed a portion of the mischief.  Someone in a white van was throwing the mailbox part of our mailbox and stand into our yard, then hurried off, ran into another neighbor's pile of tree and bush clippings.  I walked down the driveway to have a look and it seemed to me that the van may have clipped our mailbox, as we live on the end of a cul de sac, and it would be easy to do, and maybe the driver tried to put it back on, got frustrated and threw the mailbox about ten feet, and skidded off.  Wierd that it was at 4 AM. but our street is dark and whoever was driving may have parked near our driveway to either smooch with a date or have a little drinking or weed party in the van.  TJ was ready to fill out paperwork and instead chose to not file a complaint.  Mark will reattach our mailbox to the wooden stand in the morning.  The stand is leaning a little and the metal box part is not dented.

On Monday, March 3rd,  go to Daytona Beach for a five day stay at a medical facility.  I have chosen to be a test subject for a new rheumatoid arthritis biological drug.  It is my hope that volunteering to be a medical guniea pig will make another person's life better.  This biological drug is an IV administered medication that will introduce T-cells into my body that will attract the inflammation causing cells away from the triggers that cause my arthritis to inflame.  This medication has already been tested for functionality with good results, but now they require a closer look on how it effects white blood count.  Feeling relatively healthy right now, I am ready to give it a shot (shot - - - hahah).  I have taken most of the biological medications on the market right now, including Enbrel, Remicade, and Kineret.  After taking Kineret for several months, we realized that my arthritis has become much less active, so I'm feeling lucky!  It is my hope that this new medication will arrest my arthris entirely.  A really long shot, but stranger things have happened.  There is a chance, however, that it could reactivate my disease.  It is a chance I am willing to take.  Did I mention money?  At the end of this progam, I will be given a check for $2500.00.  I learned to knit last week, and it is my plan to finish a scarf and make some cotton kitchen wash cloths too.

Hello from beautiful, magnificent Sedona.  First of all, let me tell you all that the weather could not be more perfect!  Blue blue skies, warm sunshine, cool dry air.  Aaaaaahhhh!  Sigrid and I flew into Phoenix, then rented a car and drove two hours to Sedona.  The closer we got, the more beautiful the land became.  Our timeshare is very nice done in adobe style.   We were tired, went to the grocer store for some things, that's all.  On Saturday Sigrid and I went shopping a bit, ate at a wonderful Indian buffet at India Palace.  We both loved the food and also the delicious warm Indian tea (ingredients in menu on their website).  We visited Red Rock Crossing park.  This place is gorgeous!  We walked down to the edge of the fast moving river (creek?) and there were lots of round stones everywhere.  Some people stack them 4 or 5 high (maybe a foot or two) and it is some sacred reason, but I cannot recall the name of them.  Red Rock Crossing is the most photographed spot in Arizona and also a national treasure.  On Sunday we went to church and then to Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well.  Funny thing about these places being named after Montezuma...He was never in these parts!  And it's not a castle either, it was the home of ancient cliff dwelling Anasazi Indians instead.  Speaking of Indians, I went to a talk given by a bona fide Navaho Indian today.  Very very intersting.  He played an old indian song on his flute and it was so soothing that I could have listened for the rest of my life.

While Sigrid is taking a myofascial healing class ,I am on my own at the timeshare.  Today, besides the Navaho Indian talk, I also went to a Mary Kay beauty class.  You all know I am a Mary Kay consultant, but I went to see how this woman did her class.  There were several of us at the class and I didn't learn anything new, but I did share with the other ladies about how much I love the cleanser and moisturizer and also the day and night solutions.  Two women bought that as well as some color, how about that?

The views are breathtaking and I may have seen more through the lens of my camera than I have just looking.  Well maybe not, but I have taken so many pictures.  Each time I turn my head, there is another fabulous photo opportunity!  

My friend and neighbor Cathy had a Superbowl Party tonight.  We had to root for somebody, and since Mark and I don't really follow either team that was playing, I decided we should shoot for the underdogs, the Giants, because Mark is a giant!  The party was fun, with other neighbors there, and some friends we all know as well.  There were lots of snacks to eat too.  The Patriots were winning by a few points through the whole game until the last two minutes when our team got a touchdown.  Oh how exciting!  It was fun to watch the big game with good friends.

The red velvet cake I made yesterday is 2/3 gone.  I had two girl-sized slices myself, one yesterday, one this morning for breakfast.  I have a goal for the week to beat my Mary Kay top sales week of $2100.  I am shooting for $2500.  Want  to buy some makeup?  CALL ME!  EMAIL ME!