Mind-body connection

My hypnotherapist has published his first book! He is the director of the Rocky Mountain Hypnotherapy Center so check out his website for more info. Although his book does focus on fertility a lot of women who choose not to have children have similar issues so it could be worth checking out. You all know how much success I've had with hypnotherapy, so I couldn't resist a plug for him.

Horsefly update

I woke up with 25 horsefly bites. It reminded me that I better get itch cream to take to Burma with me.

Carolina Bch SP cont...

Here's a pic from my Dad's camera of one of the hundreds of fiddler crabs we saw. How ridiculous does he look with that one ginormous claw.

Aaahhhh, I'm being attacked by horseflies... hurry and take the picture.

To Hell and Back: Horsefly attack, Egret feeding, finding the trail and still looking for the elusive Venus Fly Trap

In red you will find the approximated trail hiked by my father and I. Of course our intentions were to stay on the trail, however as you will see right after Lily Pond we somehow managed to get off course.

Dad was trying to get a picture of a red wasp that doesn't fly. Today the horseflies were EVERYWHERE and biting the crap out of me. I tell you if we used horseflies in interrogation we'd have no problems getting people to talk.

Dee, dee, just walking through the woods and bam, you're on a dune.

We scared the egret a bit and it flew further out and proceeded to catch 8 fish in front of our eyes. Cool! It was hard to hold the camera still in the wind...

Just a bunch of washed up crab things. Poor J. Smith lost all these...

What's a walk in the wood without acting like Tarzan. It's the testosterone that won't let men pass up the chance to swing from a tree.

Today we decided to head to Carolina Beach State Park and do a little hiking. I've only been there once before, years ago with Winnie. I don't remember the horseflies, but I don't think I'll soon forget the attack today, aahhh get off of me. The egret was amazingly cool, as was watching the crabs run from us. We were unable to actually locate any Venus Fly Traps, maybe it's all a myth like bigfoot...

The Ko Visit

The Ko family came down to Wilmington today. Sara was looking for some yummy seafood, so we headed to the Dockside. Her twins (Cameron and Timothy (Mr. T)) are almost 5 months old. It was really nice to see Sara as a mom :) and YES I held the babies. I have to tell you that it was the longest I've ever held a baby in my life. Don't worry hanging with them only reinforced my choice to not have my own kids. Sara is amazingly patient and great with the kids... I'm just glad I can take a nap later!

Sara and I have known each other since the 7th grade. I was on my 3rd middle school when we met. She asked me if I liked blue or red better, no brainer, blue of course, so automatically I was a Carolina fan and we were friends. We ran track together in both middle and high school. She went off to culinary school in New York while I was at UNCW. I was able to visit her every year for four years and then she went out to San Fran, where she has been ever since. She is a wonderful person and friend. She is an amazingly talented pastry chef and although we have very little in common anymore we have the same sense of humor so it works! It was great to see her and meet her family.

Gone Shopping

I'm back in the world of cable and obsessed with "What Not to Wear". I love that show. I've wanted someone to nominate me for years, but as I'll be out of the country soon it looks like I'll have to wait. In the spirit of a decent wardrobe I went to Raleigh today to shop with my sister. I'll take a pic of all the clothes I've bought since I've been here and post soon. Some of you may be pleasantly surprised. My sister stepped in for Clinton and Stacey as I tried to buy a snoopy shirt. Nope, I'm too old... I even made a huge leap today and bought make-up. We'll see how I look when I have to put it on myself :)

College try

My plans of studying biology for 2 hours a day hasn't really come to fruition so I decided maybe I should sit in on a college bio class at UNCW. I went to class today and sat in on a intro class for non majors. The prof was trying to "connect" with the students by asking them why they were taking the class. Most responded "because it's a requirement" which I get. Then one kid said... "I don't really know what biology is (another kitten gone)". WTF. Did this person graduate from high school? My 7th graders can tell you what biology is. So I sat through two hours of the most basic information and after looking at the syllabus decided that this was going to be a waste of my time. So here I am back to my independent study.

Quarantine

Well Mama has been quarantined until the blisters (eewww) have crusted over. Apparently the virus is airborne but only affects people who have NOT had chicken pox and then that person will not get shingles, they will get chicken pox. The virus that causes shingles is the same virus that causes chicken pox (a strain of herpes) and if you've had chicken pox (even a mild case, the idea that a mild case doesn't count is a myth) the virus is laying dormant in your body as we speak. Well for some reason, stress, compromised immune system, the virus reactivates, but this time since is was laying dormant in our nerve cells the reactivation can be very painful. Just like chicken pox, a person with shingles is only contagious until the blisters are crusted over. And just in case you were worried about contracting shingles, about 25% of people do.

If you know my mom, than you know that rest and relaxation is torture to her, so luckily I am here to teach her a few tricks, like how fabulous naps are...

Just another day at the beach

Went down to Ft. Fisher this morning. Here's some pics I took...

Poor sick mama

The story is very long, so I'll summarize it for you... my mom started getting this horrible ear pain and she chalked it up to getting water in it while swimming, so went to the doc and he thought she had and infection so she got some antibiotics. Well the pain wasn't going away and she woke up to swollen lips and eye on one side of her face (her left eye is so swollen it won't blink, see picture). After a CAT scan and MRI with no scary tumors the doc decided (over the phone) it was probably shingles. Seriously. We've been playing HOUSE (I think more like Scrubs) and started researching shingles. The family does not unanimously agree, but as far as I'm concerned my mom has shingles. I guess we'll find out for sure on Monday.

Yeah!

Not one but two alligators at the Lake this morning... Today I decided to run at the lake so I didn't bring my camera, but here what I love about the new me... the old me would have been running and maybe spotted the gators and said wow that's freaking awesome but, I gotta keep going, on a time schedule here, clocks a tickin... BUT the new me said, wow that's freaking awesome, I can stop running and hang out with the gators for a while and enjoy the moment! Yeah!

Ouy Vei

I've had many wtf moments since returning to North Carolina... Here's one I had to share:

Tonight on the news one of the stories went like this...

A local man lost his single wide trailer in a fire today and among his possessions was his $5000 NASCAR collection. Yehaw (I added that part :)

Frog Heaven

We had a little rain storm yesterday... I think we got more rain in 2 hours than Denver gets in an entire year. This is the view from my parents front porch... The froggies are going to love this :)

My Dad can beat your Dad

My dad... for father's day this year I got my dad the extra, mega, sun protection hat and my sister got him the coolmax shirt. It is really nice to be back at home for a while. I can really appreciate my parents for who they are. We joke that my dad is Homer Simpson and as you can see it's not because of his beer gut... he works at a nuclear plant. Sometimes he has to carry a pager and we tease him that the guys down at the plant have run out of jelly donuts, a true nuclear emergency.

You will never meet a kinder human being. My dad is very generous and compassionate to all people. I am lucky to have him as my father.

Good Times

Amy and I met up with a college friend... Samuel Apple Bobbit Jr. :) Amy and Sam put themselves through college by running track and cross country. It was great to see him and catch up :)

Amy and I decided to spend some time downtown. Ended up at the Reel Cafe drinking Land Shark. Thank god there was a singer to give us a taste of Jimmy Buffett followed by Busta Move! Only here :)

Mom, Amy and I were out and about today and came across this church in a strip mall. Those of you that have been praying for my soul... I think I've found a church for me. In case, like me, you are uncertain what to expect at the Pimpslap service you can look on Urban Dictionary to update your vocabulary. Oh and look after church I can get my hair cut in time for hurricane season.

I love, love, love North Carolina blueberries! Just down the street is Lewis' Farm. YUM.

Who could ask for more... fields of blueberries and strawberries.

Mama and Amy carrying out our loot from the farm.

Greenfield Lake is so cool...

Cyprus trees at Greenfield Lake

I've spent a lot of time at this lake over the years that I lived in Wilmington and although I've always seen this sign I've never run into an alligator... until...

TODAY! eek! I was crossing one of the bridges and paying attention to the hundreds of turtles, when I looked down and here he was... Just chillin'

Running down the path I looked ahead and was like ??? Yes a slider turtle just hanging out in the middle of the trail.

Here's another view from the bridge. All those spots are turtles...

Greenfield Lake is one of the coolest places in Wilmington! There is a 4 mile loop around the lake for running/walking/biking. I love this place! This morning I drove over to the lake and in between running and walking took these pics.

Now that's cool!

Did you know? The only place in the world that venus fly traps grow in the wild is a 100 mile raduis around Wilmington, NC. Very cool, huh? As land plants evolved they competed for space so the venus fly trap adapted to a nutrient poor, sandy soil, by being able to digest insects to get the nutrients that are missing from the soil. Recently NC made the venus fly trap the official carnivorous plant for the state! Now if we could just get the people in NC to focus more on the venus fly trap than on the confederate flag we'll be making progress :)

Wrightsville Beach, NC

Here's a view of Wrightsville Beach looking north. The first pier you see is Crystal Pier with the Oceanic restaurant attached to the land side. In the far north end you can see Johnny Mercer's Pier which was destroyed during Hurricane Fran and rebuilt as a concrete structure. My parents church is on the beach side between the piers so while they were in mass I spent the hour walking the beach :) Tonight me and the folks went back for more walking. The ocean breeze and clean salty air are heavenly. All this only 10 minutes from the house...

It's Africa hot

So when I was in Africa last summer I kept waiting for the heat to kick in. You know Africa hot... well on Kili it was freaking cold and then on our safari the sun really never made it out and it was never hot. Well, yesterday I found Africa's heat. It's stuck here in NC. Yesterday was the hottest I think I've ever been in my entire life. Different kind of heat than when we were in the Grand Canyon roasting. This heat was the kind where you were dripping with sweat with no possibility of evaporation at all. Wilmington actually broke a record yesterday for the hottest day this early in the summer in recorded history. I guess this is part of my heat training for Myanmar... The pool water in my parents backyard is 87 degrees, so it feels great. I know you are thinking it's too warm, but I love it like that. The ocean temp will get there soon :)

Beach time

View looking south on Ft. Fisher beach

Pelicans looking for fish...

Turtles like to nest here so the rangers build protection for the eggs. Volunteers spend the night out on the beach to protect the nests.

I love the skinny legged sand pipers running frantically up and down the beach.

Ft. Fisher is one of my most favorite places on earth. About a 20 minute drive from my parents house this state park is protected from development so there are no houses to disrupt the landscape.

It's pig pickin' time...

Today my dad's bosses boss had a Pig Pickin'. Here it is, the headless butterflied pig...

Apparently in the South we control the bugs by randomly spraying the bushes with deet.

If you'll notice in the center of my plate is pig :) yum yum

Here's my dad and sister enjoying some desserts. The oreo dirt thing was the best.

Chill-ax-in

Hmmm... what should I do? Oh, I know, I'll go hang out by the pool. My parents back yard is a little oasis of peace in this crazy world.

This is the view from the back yard. There are no houses behind the house because it is too marshy. It is hard to see but there is a mimosa tree blooming out there.

Looks like new growth for the palm. Tropical :)


Maurice has found a warm, cozy home on the porch. He hasn't decided if he wants to look at the house or out in the yard.

2 LONG days and 1900 miles later

Twenty minutes east of Denver and here's what you got... a whole lot of nothin'

Hmmm... that's weird, is that fog? I haven't seen fog in years. Are we decreasing in altitude?

WHAT? A fog bank in Colorado? Saw an elevation sign, nope... still over 5,000 ft. I spent over a half hour driving through the fog. The visibility was terrible. Luckly not much traffic in Eastern CO.

Ahhh, Kansas. Hard to see, but I passed a windmill farm. Kind of cool on the flat Kansas landscape. I really enjoy driving across KS. Not much traffic and visiblity for days.

Due to the weather along I-70, I decided to take the southern route to I-40, so in Salina, KS I drove south to Oklahoma... here is the very brown Arkansas River.

Spent the night in Conway, Arkansas... Motel 6, yes cheap, but disgusting... up at 4:30 AM and after laying there for a while I just got on the road. Drove in the dark for a while and here's the Arkansas sunrise.

Memphis, TN, ahhh starting to see more water.

A little roadside geology of Tennessee

Made it to NC :)

Decided to take a "short cut" from Ashville to Wilmington... I forgot how dark it gets out there. I've been living with the city lights for so long... As you can see from my windshield, I killed a few bugs along the way...

Two days on the road and 1900 miles later... Just kept driving and driving. Lost two hours with the time change, but managed to drive 15 hours a day to make it in to Wilmington by 10:30 last night. Here are some random thoughts from the trip:

• really, I decided to not get the cruise control package?
• armadillos are not good at crossing the highway...
• so much for caffine free! Second day I woke with coffee and then proceeded to get three sodas...
• I'll need a junk food detox
• my ipod has amazing battery life
• $200 in gas... still cheaper than flying
• everything I own is in this car, just one wrong turn and my existance could be erased!
• the last 65 miles are torture