Sticky Fingers

Do you remember that album cover? That was always one of my favorite Stones albums, and the Warhol-designed cover had a man's blue jean-clad crotch, complete with a working zipper. I love CDs, but they sure can't match some of the cool artwork you got with albums!

Anyhoo, I don't have sticky fingers, but I definitely had sticky legs for a while. Some of you who have been around for a while might remember the Great Self-tanning Lotion Fiasco of 2008. We were making our annual trip to Florida, and I wanted a little color on my legs, so I tried some self-tanner. The stuff smelled so bad I couldn't stand it, and had to go in and wash it off--and went to Florida with my pale legs. I managed to have a good time despite them.

I thought I'd try a different kind this year, and picked up some Loreal bronzer that smelled okay when I sniffed the bottle. When I tried it on my legs this afternoon, it really did smell okay! It also had little sparkly bits in it, so my legs were oooo, shiny! It wasn't real dark, but that was okay, and I figured I'd put on a second coat tomorrow. After sitting on a towel with my legs up for a solid hour, it was still feeling really sticky, enough so that I didn't want to cross my legs because they'd stick together! Yuck!

So yep, I went in and washed it all off. I think I'm done with self-tanner, and will not worry about my pale legs.

I do still have a few sparkly bits here and there, though!

I had an email this morning from Senator Evan Bayh, one of Indiana's Senators. It was because I'd written about the bill that would allow loaded firearms in National Parks (which I was against). Unfortunately, it was attached to the credit card accountability bill, which did need to be passed, and was. It just irritates the hell out of me that they put things like that together. Two completely separate issues on one bill. What the hell? It was nice, though, that he wrote back, and he took the time to explain other gun legislation in which he's been involved. (I'm not anti-gun, but I have a definite problem with guns being sold at garage sales, for example.)

Today I emailed Senators Bayh and Lugar asking that they vote in favor of the Matthew Shepard Act, which involves hate crimes. I find it amazing and wonderful that we can so easily contact our legislators. It may be a flawed system in many ways, but it's still pretty awesome that we can contact them and that they respond. I don't take that for granted.

I started pulling out clothes today for our trip! Yay! I'm definitely starting to get excited now. I've been checking the weather in New Smyrna Beach, and it's pretty consistent: high 80's during the day, about 75° at night. Doesn't that sound horrid? [grin] With the humidity, it feels like about 98°, and that's where the ocean comes in handy. There is almost always a stiff breeze coming off of the ocean, and it's very comfortable. I'm sure most afternoons will feature a thunderstorm, but they pass quickly. Today I picked up three book club books from our library branch, and I think I'll take a couple of others (and a couple of puzzle books). Vegecating held a lot more meaning when I was working--it was a way to recharge my batteries--but I still enjoy the chance to just relax and enjoy the beach and ocean for a week. We keep the costs down by cooking most of the meals in the condo, because it has a full kitchen, and we've found a fresh fish market where we buy lots of...you know, fresh fish. It's all paid for (we made sure we paid both units off before I stopped working) so our only costs are the week's groceries, the yearly maintenance fees, and a couple of lunches or dinners out. And of course, we have to have a dozen fresh oysters each, which we usually have at JB's Fish Camp. I always have to have a piece of Key Lime Pie at some point during the week, too.

Dang, I'm making myself hungry.

This year, we plan on meeting my cousin Ron for lunch or dinner (at a cool retro place called Norwood's), and our friend Lee is coming down from Jacksonville to stay a night. Next year, if things work out, our friends Kim and Steve might come and stay with us for the week. I think that will be our chance to try some deep sea fishing. I bet they would enjoy Cape Canaveral, too, and it's been a few years since we were there, so that would be fun to do. I shouldn't start planning ahead, though--we've got this coming week to enjoy!