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August, 2010

  1. Love Letter

    August 29, 2010 by Leanne

    While going through my old photo albums searching for band pictures from high school for my upcoming band reunion I came across a note sent to me from my junior high school 7-th grade boyfriend, Robert.

    I barely remember his last name or even what he looked like.

    What a romantic, huh?  LOL!  It was folded in the traditional school note format where we cornered the edge into a fold. Too funny.  Why I kept it all these years – I have no idea. Now it’s timeless history that I can’t throw away.

    School days….  I bet today’s kids don’t ever write notes to each other. Remember how much fun it was passing them down the row hoping the teacher wouldn’t see you?  Or writing them, folding the note and slipping into the locker through the vents?

    Those were the days, my friends.

    Category Daily Life, Featured | Tags: ,,, | 4 Comments

  2. Bad Car Karma

    August 23, 2010 by Leanne

    It’s one thing to get a flat tire – that’s a hassle all in itself.  But to have back-to-back car drama – really??

    On Wednesday, which was my last official day of my summer vacation, I was headed into downtown Orlando to get my hair cut (see previous blog post) and do some errands.  I was on the 408 (for those not in Orlando it’s an East-West highway) cruising along at 60 mph when I noticed all of a sudden my tire  pressure warning light came on.

    I didn’t think much of it, it’s come on in the past when the air got low. I figured I’d put some air in the tires next time I stopped for gas.

    I exited the highway and drove about 2-miles when I started hearing “thump thump thump thump”.  I knew instantly what this was. I slowed down and pulled into a 7-11 parking lot to see the damage.

    It’s really hard to see from this angle but the left rear tire was flat.  Very flat.

    It seemed like I had just put new tires on which made me really frustrated. Turns out my sense of time was flawed, it had actually been almost 3-years ago to the day.

    Anyway, I called AAA for help.  The operator said it would be 2 hours before someone could get there but the rescue man showed up within 45 minutes.

    He couldn’t have been nicer and very efficient. He had me fixed up within 20 minutes and I was on my way again. (Funny, as I’m typing this I’m listening to Willie Nelson sing “On the Road Again” on Sunday Morning Coming Down on Real Radio.  Too funny!)


    That afternoon I was at Sears getting 2 new tires. $$$

    The next morning it was back to work. At least that was the plan. I went out to the garage at 7:50am, turned the ignition and heard “click click click”.  Ugh! You gotta be kidding me!  Yes, a dead battery.  Thank God for my handyman and wonderful neighbor, Pete.  He came over and jumped the battery so I could head back to Sears again.  More $$$.

    My lessons:

    #1.  Women – if you aren’t mechanically savvy, be sure you have a 24-hour car repair service at your disposal.  I’ve had AAA since high school and while there are years that go by where I never use their services, it’s a comfort to know they’re there when I need them.

    #2.  Be prepared for the unexpected and don’t let it ruin your attitude.  Yes I was frustrated and upset, but it is what it is. Deal with it and move on.  I’ll probably get very frustrated again when my credit card bills come in, but that’s life.

    Category Daily Life, Featured | Tags: ,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  3. Running for Office? Don’t Call Me!

    August 22, 2010 by Leanne

    Here in Florida the primary elections are this Tuesday, Aug. 24.  My answering machine has never had as much use as it has this past week, and not from my friends and family. It’s all political.  One night I came home from work to find 9  messages from candidates.

    I early voted this year.  (Love that option!)

    Now, every time I get another political call I just want to scream “Hey – it doesn’t matter now. I’ve already voted. You can’t influence me.”

    But that does no good.

    I have to wonder just how successful these phone messages are for the candidates. I mean, I don’t ever listen to a message past the first 3 seconds – even when they get a celebrity to call on their behalf. My finger is on the delete button immediately. I have to think its mostly wasted money from their campaign funds.  What do you think?

    I almost opted not to vote this time. There is only one race I feel highly confident in my candidate selection (the Orange County Mayoral race.)  In most of the other races it’s the battle of “has-been’s” versus “shady newbie”.  IMO.   But that’s a whole other blog post. Where are the truly good leaders?

    Are you voting this primary?

    Category Daily Life, Featured | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  4. Camping Completed

    August 21, 2010 by Leanne

    The annual O’Regan Lake George camping adventure for 2010 is completed.  Hard to believe I’ve done this three years now.  If you know me at all, you know what camping instincts I have (NOT!)  So to survive the trip for the third year is quite a feat in my book.

    I’ve definitely learned a LOT about camping over the years.  The first year the biggest lesson learned was about appropriate attire, most importantly, shoes. (Tevas rule!)  I discovered after many bruises, cuts and scrapes that hiking sandals are imperative, and that cute shirts and tops are meaningless in the woods.  I also discovered, too late in the trip to make use of, that there were HOT SHOWERS and toilets at the marina.

    These lessons learned in year 1 made the next year so much more bearable.  In the second year I learned, or paid more thought to, bringing my own personal food and drinks that would survive a camping trip.  For instance, stashing my own snacks that I could eat when my hunger struck if the rest of the campsite was still sound asleep.  I’m an early riser most of the time and need that little nourishment to tide me over till breakfast.

    This year, with food planned, appropriate clothing packed, I went the extra mile and bought a wet-suit so I could enjoy the lake this year with everyone else. Oh my – this made all the difference in the world!  The lake water is typically so cold my thin Florida blood has a hard time adapting to it. In fact last year when I jumped in (sans wet-suit) I started hyperventilating because it was so cold.  This freaked me out because I am a good swimmer but I could barely even dog-paddle back to shore. Not this year!  I swam and swam and swam!

    Lake George is beautiful.  Although we had some reptile visitors this year which made it a little more harrowing experience, it was another great fun time.

    Category Daily Life, Featured | Tags: ,,, | 1 Comment

  5. Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

    by Leanne

    Overused cliche, I know, but it fits this title.  I chopped 6-inches off my hair this week. Every ten years or so I get tired of the same old look  and take the plunge.  Looking back at my photo albums it was late 2000 the last time I went short.

    This year I made the decision while Mike and I were camping.  I called the salon on the way back home from New York and got it done 3 days later.

    No going back now – at least for many more months.

    Category Daily Life, Featured | Tags: , | 6 Comments