I've Gone International!

So yesterday, I received a very interesting email....

First, some background....A year ago at this time, Hubby and I were cruising through Europe, where I captured each day in a rather detailed blog entitled "Adventures in Europe". Click HERE if you want to peek at that separate blog - complete with lots and lots of photos. It really WAS an adventure - and I tried to capture as many details as possible in my writings....

There is a cruising website entitled "Cruise Critic," where my blog address has been mentioned frequently by posters as a must-to read for anyone doing the same cruise that we did. It's not unusual for me to get 1-2 emails a month from someone with questions after reading my blog - and I'm always happy to help with tips, advice, etc. for their upcoming cruise.

Yesterday, I received an email from Dimitris, our fantastic tour guide that we used while touring the beautiful island of Corfu, Greece. Dimitris is a character, and you should click here and read about our day with him - it was one of the highlights of our trip.


Dimitris last year on a stop on our tour....

Anywho, Dimitris said that he discovered my blog "at random" from people in Greece who've read my story. He then mentioned that he had been doing a tour, and he saw people looking at him "weird"....there was a paper in one of the people's hands, and it was a copy of my blog. Get OUT!

So...there was someone...in the streets of Corfu...holding a printed copy of my blog. Again, GET OUT!

HOW AWESOME IS THAT??!!!

I was telling Hubby about it last night at dinner, and I said, "So, obviously, I've been published."

He looked at me like I'd just grown 3 heads...and I calmly said, "Well...think about it...if someone has put my blog on paper, then that can be considered 'published.'"

Duh. And published internationally, at that.

Authors are known to do book tours...I'm thinking of doing a "blog tour" - and including Europe, of course. I obviously have a fan there...somewhere...on the streets of Corfu, Greece.

Peace.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today's my birthday! Squee!

I LOVE birthdays! I mean, if you think about it, having birthdays sure beats the alternative - of not having any, right?!

And considering that there have been some dark & scary moments in my life when I really thought that I was looking at my last & final birthday, I am extremely grateful to keep having them...seriously.

I am 48 years young today - and proud of every year, every wrinkle, every grey hair, every fine line - I LOVE IT ALL! All 48 years have contributed to the person I am today - the stories I have - the adventures I've lived - the tapestry of life that I have weaved with my friends, my family, my coworkers, my experiences, my curiosity, my quest for knowledge - it's who I am today, and I wouldn't have missed any of it!

The number that we label ourselves with, is just that - a number. Numbers don't mean much...it's what is behind that number that counts. What have I done with the time that God has given me? What differences have I made in the lives of others? What influences have I left behind? If this is the last number that I should reach, what is my legacy? Is it a good one? Is it one to be proud of? That my children will be proud of?

My physical body may be aging - but my mind is growing, expanding, enveloping life as I speed through it...my mind doesn't "feel" 48 years - it is as energetic, youthful, and inquisitive as it was when I was 10.

Life is good. Birthdays are awesome.

I'm going to celebrate the day, and I hope all of you do, too!

Peace.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

It's been in my office now for the last 15 months, and I really never paid close attention to it. Although I've looked at it every single time I've been in my office....

It was there when I inherited the office...and it will probably be there when I bequeath the office to the next Chairman.

I'm thinking about it, because I'm getting ready to head into my Red Cross office - and it will be there, waiting for me. In all of it's weirdness. In all of it's wrongness. In all of it's strangeness.



Can you see it? Do you see what's wrong with this picture? Look at the clock on the wall....

This clock has been at my office for months...I even decorated around it, proudly hanging my Guatemala banner...and not once, until two weeks ago, did I realize that there was something totally off about that clock.

It's a metric clock. Go figure. And it actually tells the time accurately.

I just can't believe it took me 15 months to realize there was something off about that darn clock.

I'm SO observant, it's scary.

Geesh.

Disaster in the Front Office

I started a new volunteer position today...I spent several hours at the church office, manning the front desk.

Boy, did I ever feel all powerful!

I signed for packages from the UPS guy AND the Fed Ex guy - double bonus, woot!

I directed visitors to the bathrooms and the drinking fountains...

And I managed to only cut off two people on the telephone. Which is a small miracle, because I am so NOT a phone person. Give me email any day, please. And I only left one person on hold for an extended period of time...accidentally, of course. Oops. I apologized.

This is just a once a month gig, thank God...I can't create too much havoc only one day a month.

And if I'm lucky, the word will get out that the 3rd Wednesday of the month is NOT a day you want to call the church. Who knows how long you'll sit on hold....Oops.

My Own Twilight Experience

Yesterday was World Blood Donor Day.

Huh. Who knew?

I imagine there's a day for everything under the sun, if you really think about it. In fact, I'm pretty sure that EVERY day is "Middle Aged Drama Queen" Day in which the Queen is celebrated and revered. Ahem.

Anyways, are you a blood donor? I have the ever popular, type O+ blood...so I have been a frequent donor over the years. Sticking needles in my arm doesn't really bother me. Now, if the same needle were to go into my butt (for a shot), that's a whole different blog post.

Many, many moons ago - I was a student teacher at a local high school here in town. I was all of 21 years old - not much older than some of the students I was teaching, actually. The Senior Class had a blood drive in the spring, and I thought I would set a good example for the students and give blood.

The blood drive was held in the library, and it was packed that afternoon - what with nurses, students, and teachers - all participating in the philanthropic event. I had finished giving my pint, and stood up to walk over and get my desired cookie of choice, when - all of a sudden - BAM. I hit the floor. In a dead faint. Passed out cold.

The students thought I had died, or something. In their eyes, I was "old" (at the age of 21!!!) and old people had heart attacks, you know....It didn't take long before I "came around" - good smelling salts will do that to you (WHEW!) - but I never did live that down. I was teased and tormented by my students until the last day of school - all I had to do was hiccup in class, and a student would be saying, "Are you going to pass out on us?"

Yes, I will live in infamy now as the teacher who fainted during the blood drive in the Spring of 1984 at Hickman Mills High School....

I can only imagine at THEIR class reunions, the students are probably sitting around saying, "Remember that teacher who fainted? That was pretty cool...."

The things I do to entertain others. Geesh.

Peace.