Feeling like Rose from The African Queen

Well its July and the mosquitoes are drunk on my blood, my hair is higher then it was in the 80's/90's, I drink more water then an in-ground pool and sweat like a menopausal woman in a sauna; it's July in the Keys and I wouldn't prefer to be anywhere else!

The rainy season of course brings rain so I get to break out my lime green/pink polka dotted golashes that I love :) It can be beautiful weather and with a quick directional change of wind and a sudden coolness to the air it will rain like the world is ending. Crazy winds, waves, rain, thunder, and lightning make for a pretty awesome sight out on the water. Unlike NY the rain does not break the humidity, rather you go from sweating in 90% humidity, to being 90% soaking wet, to sweating in 90% humidity all over again. I simply gave in yesterday and just ran around in the rain with the dog!

DEET is my new addiction, I mean seriously some people smoke, I lather up in DEET each day I have to work outside. I have lost compassion for some living creatures, that is squirrels, wasps and misquitoes. I will spray them mid flight if need be (this goes for all three). The squirrels that live on the beach near the hut I work in are so aggressive that each morning I spray them with a strong hose in order to let them know I am not the nice counter chick who feeds them...oh no...I'm the b*tch who wishes you would simple get the f-off the beach so I can work in peace. The wasps atleast provide entertainment, see they don't actually sting but all the tourists on the beach assume they do and they run frantically screaming, swatting, and just about crying up and down the beach so I get a few good laughs in each day! And don't think I am evil...after they come running my way I let them know that the wasps are harmless.

Bathing suit etiquette should be a class provided in flight while those from other states fly into FL. It your large that doesn't mean your ugly but it does mean your clothing size is L not XS. Klingons are for Star Trek, not what a mans bathing suit should be doing do his crotch. Leopard print is wrong no matter who is wearing it. It is hot here, the sun is closer to us, use sunscreen or get served as lobster to other unassuming tourists. I am starting to think alot of men are pregnant and that this is simply not making the news just yet. Now I know I sound like a horrible human being, but just know that some days are so quiet at work that we have coconut throwing contests. I love people watching and without the "crazies" it would be no fun, so deep down I love these people for keeping me entertained.

So on a daily bases life is different down here, but; good, entertaining, and laid back. I will try to update more often about daily life here in the Keys. Oh and as a wise fortune cookie once told me "if you feed a squirrel, be prepared to get bitten." :)

Keyzee

So I thought I'd share some info from the locals and the things I have learned while living here in The Keys, here goes.

Definitions:
Keyzee-simply means "keeping it easy." Down here simple beats complex
Keys Disease= slower life style, there are many definitions some positive, some negative, if you slow to the point of starting to not show up at work it becomes a -, if you simply enjoy a laid back atmosphere and less stress well thats a +
Rag Bagger= sailor
Stink Pot= motor boater
The Rock-=The Keys
Main Land= Rest of the US

Things you see here on the Rock that are alittle off beat:
Barefoot people at the grocery store, DMV, shops, etc.
Lots of long haired hippies
People of all ages riding bikes
"Something About Mary" Old ladies- just alittle over baked-crispy to be exact
Beer Can Shorts-they have a specific pocket for your beer, now if they only kept it cool!
Cuban Refuge boats hidden away in the mangroves
People of all flavors, the people watching is amazing...AMAZING, coolest part is no one cares down here...be yourself- it is the only way to be
Laid-back attitudes; take a NYer who is having a great day times their care-freeness by 3 and add alittle genuine and you arrive at the equivalent of a Keys Local, one that has lived on The Rock their whole life. If they were any more laid back I'd have to poke them with a stick to make sure they were still breathing.
The lifers don't lock their doors, wear sunscreen, or bug spray...this is why I know I will never be a true local- mosquitoes love me, I'd be a lobster, and I literally get out of bed to lock the doors.
How do we give directions? strictly by mile marker then Ocean side or Bay side

Street names:
Tropical, Bahama, Sunset, Ocean, Atlantic

What do we listen too?
Kenny Chesney singing Key Lime Pie
Barefoot Man
Micah singing anything local-check our his "Barstool Sailing"
Anything and everything by Jimmy Buffet, I personally love "Still in Paradise"
Most of our radio stations have Spanish/Latin/Cuban music (makes you wanna move!)

Local Food:
Anything Key Lime; pie, martini, juice, cookie, ice cream
Fish, Fish, and more Fish, they have a term for Mahi Mahi here that took some time getting use too, they call it "Dolphin", I just about freaked the first time I heard someone say "caught some dolphin and it was delicious!"
Conch; the locals ate it almost to the point of extinction, so we now import it while our own reserves grow
Lobster and oysters
Key West Sunset Ale

I'm sure I am missing a few key (no pun intended) details...I'll update again soon (meaning like a month from now...as the pace of my life has slowed and yet filled it self with many enjoyable leisure activities.)

Expanding My Web of Opportunity

I have kept an open mind, put myself out there into the universe with positive vibes, and in return have gotten positivity back ten fold! I have focused on two specific actions in the last two years:

#1 Keep an Open Mind
#2 Face Fear

KEEP AN OPEN MIND

Keeping an open mind leads to many opportunities; meeting new people, learning knew things, trying new things. Walking into a situation with joy in your heart, a smile on your face, and eyes and ears eager to listen and learn really makes a difference. Think positively, ooze positivity, and the universe sends it back ten fold.

Try it, go to some new event like a "meet up" or "dinner party" where you don't know everyone and think to yourself; I could potentially meet awesome new people/friends, as you walk through the door ooze positivity and then open your heart and mind as you interact with each person. Each individual will share something unique with you.

Be conscious of yourself, be present in the moment, feel your mood, be truthful, be you, there is no one else better to be! Remind yourself to listen. Wait till you see the results of opening your mind!!

As Charlotte from Charlotte's Web said:
"Chin up, chin up / Everybody loves a happy face / Wear it, share it / It'll brighten up the darkest place / Twinkle, sparkle / Let a little sunshine in / You'll be on the right side, looking at the bright side / Up with your chinny-chin-chin."

Without keeping an open mind I would be very lonely here in the Keys, when we moved here we didn't really know anyone. I now have a volunteer group I am involved with, a wonderful family I babysit for, people I can talk to who have similar interests, multiple businesses to work for, and on any given day I meet someone from another state or country with a very interesting story to tell!

FACE FEAR
(feed off the adrenaline rush)

Lets be honest with ourselves, how many times have you been afraid of something and after you did it you laughed at yourself for thinking so foolishly, or gotten an adrenaline rush from fear that you were high on it for the next few days/weeks!

I read a book by Roz Savage called Rowing the Atlantic, in this book she coined a phrase "JFDI" Just F'n Do It...her concept on dealing with fears is; right as you start to feel the butterflies just F'n Do It- whatever it is. Beat fear before it defeats you.

Don't let fear take hold and limit your web of experiences. Coming from Long Island where you can't see what is swimming around at Robert Moses I had to adjust to FL Keys CLEAR tropical water. I prefer to not see the fish and sharks that like to swim around me, but I couldn't let the fear of seeing the creatures me keep me from swimming in this beautiful Keys water. I took a lesson in stand up paddle boarding, and right before the lesson I told myself I would go into it with my heart full of excitement and my mind and body ready to achieve success at the sport. I told myself "JFDI it will be awesome" and the result was amazing...it is my new favorite sport, not to mention I aslo met cool new people!

Everyone talks to themselves whether it is in their head or out loud. We are supposed to love ourselves right? So why wouldn't we say nice things to ourselves and pump ourselves up!

My mom uses a saying that will stick with my forever, it goes "Rock on with your bad self". When I say it in my head I picture her saying it loud and proud and using her whole body to express AWESOMENESS!

So keep an open mind, face fear, be awesome...JFDI...and in your moment of success say to yourself "rock on with your bad self" (swivel your head or shake your hips when you say it, it makes the moment feel even more great!)

Home

Home is it a place? Is it permanent? Who lives there? For me home is any place where I feel welcomed, warm, and fuzzy with the people I love; friends and family.

I have many homes, in no particular order;

• The house where I grew up, the house I love, a house that contains so much love it oozes out of the cracks and spills out into the surrounding community.

• Aunt Jeannie's house, where some of my best childhood memories occurred, my other house, I can't return, but I'm sure those living their now feel it's warmth.

• Kathryn's house; where the oven is used for storage, girl talk echos off the walls, the guest room is like a B&B, meals are communal, wine is drank like water, relaxing is our pass time, and Riley is now welcome! True friendship grows there.

• The Kaye home; chaos at its best, absolutely beautiful. Always welcome, and you become instantly wrapped up in their chaos, I wouldn't have it any other way. Children who make the world seem all right with a simple laugh and smile.

• My life with Bill and Riley; whether we are in the RV, at the beach, our place in Albany or our new place in the Keys, where they are is my true and natural home. With them my heart melts, is completely content, even on my worst of days. True love and unconditional love create a home.

Think about it, where are your homes? I'm sure you have a few! Take time to reflect on your love, love of friends and family, they are what make your time here worth while. It is much more fun to share experiences rather then go it alone. Bill and I always joke that at our job interviews we always want to ask if we can bring each other to work, b/c seriously wouldn't work be way cooler if you could bring a friend! Bring your kid to work day-awesome, employers who allow dogs in the office-again awesome.

Share the love, this might be our only chance to do so, share and share big.

Laughter lasts longer when it is shared. If I could bottle a laugh it would be Kristin Q's and Tim S's...it comes from deep in their souls, it is genuine and all encompassing.

Laugh till your breath has ceased, and your belly hurts, love till your heart is warm and your soul is glowing. The world will see it, your face will show your true happiness. When life is great and when it's not, go home. Home makes it all OK.

Two songs worth listening too; (My cousin shared the first one with me, and it is wonderful)

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros- Home

Miranda Lambert-The House That Built Me

Ketch Up

We spent Thanksgiving with the FL family in St. Pete, good times were had by all. Great food, lots of laughs, and time spent just catching up!

Turns out my cousin has a passion for thrift store shopping as well, it was so nice to have a buddy to spend way to long looking at everything in the store-twice.

We went fishing-or atleast attempted to do so...my FL cousin had low expectations being that Bill and I are "yankees."

"Give a man a fish feed him for a day, teach a man to fish feed him for a life time. "

Still working on our "life time" skills. Bill hooked mostly rocks, and I let the fish get away with the bait almost every time. I am determined to become an excellent fisherwoman, practice starts again this week, reels in the shop being re-spun (need the right tools to do the job).

After Thanksgiving we knew we had to leave the St. Pete area, but we didn't have a clue of where to go next. Benjamin Franklin said "fish and company stink after three days." I wanted to catch fish not be one-it was time to move on. So we did what we always do when we don't know where our life is going-we look at boats (usually online) but this time we headed to marinas, contacted sellers, and crawled around in boats, something with both love to do. Thought we might buy one in Satellite Beach, but decided to walk away, to much of a financial risk.

Again-where to go and what to do? The west is cold this time of year, and if we weren't going to be living on the ocean I wanted to at least be in spitting distance to salt water, Bill felt the same way.

The Keys Disease had gotten into both our systems, and so we conclude the best move would obviously be to live in the FL Keys for the winter, why not right? So apartment hunting we went, up and down the Keys, and arrived at a nice quaint little beach shack of a studio, on a canal in Key Largo.

400 square feet seemed like a palace compared to the RV, along with double the amount of deck space, and dockage for our "some day soon" boat, all for the right price! Not to mention a real shower stall!

We may not be living on a sailboat just yet, but for now I am content to eat a...

Cheeseburger in Paradise
Medium rare with mustard be nice
Heaven on Earth with an onion slice
I'm just a Cheeseburger in Paradise

I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and French fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer
Well good God almighty which way do I steer for my

Cheeseburger in Paradise (Jimmy Buffet)

Dear Santa

So I know I should catch you up on Thanksgiving, but I wanted to share my Santa wish list with you, as I am now starting to listen to Christmas music and get in the spirit! All I want for Christmas is for people to live more; being alive and living are two very different things. Do what you love, and love what you do. Live in the present. As my favorite fortune cookie reads, one which I saved and read every day "Life does not get better by chance it gets better by change." Make yourself happy, you deserve to be happy everyday!


Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think. ~Chinese Proverb

Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. ~Wayne Dyer

To change one's life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions. ~William James

One Month, time well spent

It has been one month to the day since I blogged last, sorry for the delay, however the time has been spent experiencing new and exciting places;

Jacksonville FL we visited with cousins and Uncle Den...we always have a good time with our FL family. We played with the children, ate grits, and enjoyed many laughs. After a few days we got the itch and headed further south. Getting the itch to hit the road again is quite an awesome feeling. It is the first time I was craving the act of movement and exploration rather then being really nervous about where we would go next!

We headed to St. Augustine for a day (been there before) and decided to B-line it to Miami for a free concert. We drove down A1A and saw dolphins swimming by as we picnicked, and jumping the surf while we waded in the water at Smyrna Beach.

We reached South Beach Miami for a free Zac Brown concert on the beach. We were right up dead center in front of the stage, barefoot and dancing to "Free", couldn't have been any better.... but it got even better; those standing around us were very friendly people. We learned more about the band from a hardcore fan, about Miami and FL in general from a local, and each got a free beer!

After traveling through Miami (Manhattan with palm trees) we decided we have no burning desire to live in such an over crowded city, where life moves way to fast. So we hit the road again, this time...Key West was the destination!!!

Stopped off in Key Largo at Snapper's which is an excellent resturant/bar that my cousin runs. I had never been there and hands down had the best Key Lime Pie (even after we made our way through the rest of the Keys). I also ate the Vera Cruz Hogfish (local fish) which was delicious. Snapper's is on the water and has a nice laid back feel, check it out if your ever in Key Largo.

We then slept at Jolly Rogger's on Marathon Key, Breezy Pines on Big Pine Key, and Bahia Honda State Park on Big Pine. Jolly Rogger's we were parked right on the Gulf it was beautiful. At Bahia Honda we stayed on the Atlantic side and it was stunning (rated #1 beach in the US multiple times), check it out.

We traveled into Key West our first two full days, and it was like we had walked into the Caribbean while still standing on US soil. We rented a Hobie Cat and sailed off the beach into the Atlantic for an hour. The following day we took a Stand Up Paddle Boarding lesson/tour with Megan at SUP Key West. This is my new favorite sport, seriously you get to walk on water, freakin awesome. We went through mangrove tunnels, crossed little bays, went under bridges, learned about the wildlife; pelicans, sea cucumbers, and the locals. Mangroves take in salt water and deposit the salt out through warts on the skin of their roots. Nature amazes me more and more. Read about the mangroves and you will understand how awesome mother nature is. Go to this page managroves and scroll down for pictures, definitions, and descriptions. We celebrated our SUP experience at Irish Kevin's with some impressive live music, beer, and laughter...great night capped off with another sampling a Key Lime Pie!

We were hesitant to leave Key West b/c we knew we had to visit again and don't know how long it will be till we return. Thankgiving and family was around the corner and it was time to make our way to some homemade food and good times with the fam!

I took my Dad's advice, I'm not spending my time taking pictures, I am spending my time really seeing the world through my eyes, and experiencing things that are worth a thousand words.

(for all those who like pic updates, don't worry I'm still taking a few)