Monday, Monday....can't trust that day

in·er·tia
a property of matter by which it remains at rest

de·mo·ti·va·tion
reduction in somebody's enthusiasm

stalled
to remain at a standstill

fa·tigue
weariness or exhaustion from labor, exertion, or stress

ap·a·thy
lack of interest or concern

Until tomorrow - demain -mañana - domani - завтра - αύριο

*Thanks to The Mamas & Papas, Merriam-Webster & Bable Fish

Oops, I did it again.....

I got adopted this week by that little cuss you see in the photo (that was his application photo....who wouldn't want to be adopted by that face?).

Seriously, I saw this photo in a local trader ad and couldn't say no. He's about 8 months old, a Chihuahua-Schnauzer mix (Chi-zer? Schnau-hua?), housebroken, a real cuddler who is shy around everyone except for kids and other animals, and may have been abused by a male (he's gone to work with me all week and every time he hears a man's voice he growls.....).

We had our first vet visit today, passed all his blood tests, got his shots & meds and is scheduled for the BIG SNIP on the 27th.

His name is Bo but for the most part I call him BoBo.

You might notice that the blog page theme has changed. Hope everyone likes it...decided to lighten it up a little.

RV Search Update

Morning everyone....

Well, I went to look at the Holiday Rambler yesterday. After getting lost (Microsoft Streets & Trips missed a vital turn) and getting found (thank you Mr. Garmin), I finally arrived. Chatted with the owner for a bit, nice guy who races dirt bikes and now wants to move to a toy hauler.

Several things concerned me, some fixable (front A/C not cooling as well as it should), some offensive (really musty odor, might have to pull the carpet & recover windows/furniture), some uncomfortable (it was very close to the size of our old one which was comfortable for two without feeling crowded, realistically more than I need or want) and some potentially really bad (signs of possible delamination around a window with ceiling fabric sagging inside). So I'm going to pass on this....it just doesn't feel right.

I really think my starter home needs to be a Class C to help me through the learning process. The house will eventually sell and I can upgrade then. This means no solar and I won't add it until I have an RV I plan on keeping, the expense is WAY to much for that.

So I'm still looking but won't be today since I have three appointments - one at the veterinarian's, two to pick up furniture I'm selling.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Bittersweet Day...New Beginnings

Today was bittersweet....my Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe went home with his new owner today. She is a lady rider friend and is already in love with him (although he may morph into a her, she says). I was fine until it came time for them to actually drive off....I had to turn away and walk into the house.

But this provides the money for the purchase of my starter RV. I have found one locally that I am quite interested in and have made an appointment to see it tomorrow after work. If I like what I see then it will go to a local outfit for a complete inspection (my expense - should run around $350, well worth it).

So, it's beginning to look like I'll have an RV by the end of this month. Talk about exhilarating, scary, exciting, terrifying.....LOL! What intimidates me the most is driving it...I know if I need help with hookups, backing up, etc., there will be folks to help when I am in a campground. Until I get solar added (probably at Quartzite this January), I won't be boondocking as much as I plan to eventually. I will have a generator but that adds to my gas expense.

Oh, I digressed....intimidated by driving.....fortunately I have a neighbor and my real estate agent's husband who both drive motorhomes as well as three truck driver friends (2 retired, 1 still working). I just have to find a safe place to practice.

So things are on track for my being in Goshen, IN at the Fall Escapade held by the Escapees. Several days of education, information, vendors, friends and more!

Watch for another update tomorrow after I look at the motorhome!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

A little motorcycle history.....

Not everyone knows the history of my riding so I thought I would post a little about it. First, I come from a riding family....both my paternal grandfather AND grandmother rode their own Harley-Davidson in the late 1920's, early 1930's (cheaper than a car back then). The story goes that my grandfather arrived home with two bikes, one with a sidecar and one without. My grandmother asked which one was hers...he pointed to the one with the sidecar (for my dad and uncle to ride in). She shook her head and pointed to the one without. Guess which one she rode.....LOL!

My dad rode an Indian after the war and in later years Honda and eventually got his Harley, a Sportster. Both his brothers rode Harleys after the war. Currently both my brothers and both their wives, one female cousin, her husband and their son, one male cousin and his son, a step-nephew and his son, one step-son-in-law (bought hubby's bike) and my son & his wife (she's learning) all ride....and they are all Harleys except for my son and his wife.

I learned to ride when I was almost 55. My husband had been diagnosed with cancer (spring of 2001) and I told him it was a bike or a boat....we were going to start enjoying life. He chose the bike. On our way home from his checkups after his surgery, we stopped by the closest Harley-Davidson dealer. They had a gorgeous, used Electra-Glide.....we bought it.

We had several good local rides including our first ever EVENT. Every year Zippo, headquartered in Bradford down the hill from us, sponsors a dice run to benefit Kids with Cancer. We participated and had a great time....our first group ride, our first dice run, our first long ride.

Eventually Mike headed to the Cleveland Clinic for his radiation treatments. He spent the entire six weeks convincing me that I needed to learn to ride my own motorcycle. The more I considered it, the more it made sense. Once again, a trip home for the weekend and we stopped in at our Harley dealer. There sat my dream bike, a 2002 White Pearl Sportster Hugger (remember, I'm one of those in-seam impaired folks ).

Before we left we had not only contracted for the Sportster, but traded Mike's Electra-Glide for a 2002 Heritage Classic Softail.

Things continued to move and change in our lives, we moved to Florida (job transfer for Mike), took the MSF course together and I started riding. I rode the Sportster for 3 months, about 750 miles and HATED it. LOL! Top heavy and quite torquey on the throttle. When we were in Atlanta for the 100th Anniversary Open Road Show, I sat on a 2003 Low Rider and was SOLD! We came home, talked to our salesman, and soon traded in the Sporty and picked my new 2003 Anniversary model Low Rider.

That is the bike that I rode during the Pony Express Relay for Breast Cancer. I ended up with 24k miles on it at 20 months. As I said in an earlier blog, it was sold when I ordered the 2005 Softail Deluxe which I have had just short of three years now.

So, 5 years of riding, 57k miles and now 4 bikes (3 Harleys and one BMW). Wonder what will be next?

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Step by step, Closer and closer...

I'm inching forward....step by step, closer and closer to getting on the road. It looks like my Harley, Rex, will be leaving for his new home on Wednesday afternoon. It will be a bittersweet moment...I am very glad he's going to someone I know, a lady rider at that. But he will be tremendously missed.

So I spent the morning cleaning out all the bags on the bike, figuring out what stayed and what went with him. This meant I started looking at accessorizing Squirt, my new BMW. First thing I noticed was that where I am used to lots of metal and chrome, Squirt is plastic (often referred to as Tupperware ). This is one reason he's so lightweight as compared to the Harley.

My little wristband frog rattle fit on my handlebars just fine. I found that the sides of the license plate holder were metal so I got to put my two small ribbons (USA Troops & Breast Cancer) on either side. I put my little biker frog on the very back of my luggage rack and fastened him down with two tie-wraps (zip-ties as some call them). Then I took my frog riding bell that was a gift and found a spot on the BMW for it.

I realized that I am going to need some type of tank or tail bag to carry the little things like sunglasses, lip balm, registration/insurance, wipes, sun screen, etc. On the Harley I had a good sized pocket on my tank panel as well as a windshield bag. Both were very convenient and easy to get into while riding. I spent a little time online looking at bags....boy, cheap isn't in THAT vocabulary! LOL!

Anyway, now that the bike is selling I will make an appointment to see the 33' Holiday Rambler here in town. If I like it, then will get professional inspection done and go from there. It is a bit larger than I want so I will still look for a Class C in the 25-30' range...so far they have all been cheapies, only fit for a weekend trip for a bunch of guys on a binge (be it hunting, NASCAR or beer....LOL!)

So watch for more updates this week....things are moving quickly now! (OMG, I'm trying to NOT have a panic attack about everything that still needs to be done!).

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

POTGPOTT vs ATGATT

POTGPOTT vs ATGATT - alphabet soup? Not for riders in the know (well, at least the ATGATT, I made up the other one...).

ATGATT = All The Gear, All The Time
thus
POTGPOTT = Part Of The Gear, Part Of The Time

I started out riding five years ago as a POTGOTT rider. As a new rider in Florida, I wore full-finger gloves, jeans, over the ankle boots and a shorty helmet...all the time. Hmmm, guess that really made a POTGAOTT. In summer it was too hot to wear a jacket and what the heck, I got nicely tanned arms.

I'd been riding a year when I participated in the Pony Express Relay for Breast Cancer, sponsored by the Women's Motorcyclist Foundation (WMF). I decided to do the entire Eastern Trail which went from the opening ceremony in Orlando, FL to the closing ceremony in New York City....and we got there via Chicago (imagine a group of 100+ riders going through Chicago twice in one day!).

This experience was life changing in many ones, one of which was my introduction to first, the wonderful founders of the WMF, Gin & Sue, as well as all the staff riders and second, The Motorcycle Tourer's Forum. Both were wonderful sources of education and information about motorcycling safely.

This meant learning how to ride safely in a group, doing day after day of riding, discovering protective riding gear and why it should be worn. My gear on the ride and then my solo return home, typically consisted of my requisite jeans, shorty DOT helmet, full-finger gloves, over the ankle riding boots, combined with a lightweight mesh shirt (this was in August) and topped off with a Draggin' Jeans Kevlar shirt (my pre-ride concession to the "what ifs" of an accident). Once I returned home to FL, it was POTGPOTF, meaning the helmet might get shed at times. (Hey, accidents happen to OTHER people, right?)

Since then, four more years and 55,000 miles on the road have made me a bit wiser. Too many friends, friends of friends and relatives of friends have been in accidents...that hits close to home. When I toured the country in 2005 after my husband's death, I went ATTGATT (okay, we won't count that 1 mile jog from the hotel to the Harley dealer on a hot Arizona afternoon when I left the helmet in the room Joe Rocket Alter Ego. It was textile but panels zipped off to expose a mesh base....perfect for those hot temperatures. So that was added to the closet...and it worked out great. I bought it a size too large on purpose, that let me layer a good fleece jacket underneath.

I have also graduated to a 3/4 helmet (which was a full helmet back in the 60's & 70's before full-faced helmets). I have trouble with helmets...I wear an XS and most dealers don't carry that in stock because of the limited demand. Imagine my surprise (and glee) at finding a gorgeous 3/4 helmet in my size at 50% off...at the Harley-Davidson dealer in Albuquerque. Normally I wouldn't have taken a second look, but in this case I had, just the day before, endured 3 hours in bone-chilling temperatures as I rode from Las Vegas, NM to Albuquerque where I had an appointment for my 1k service.

That helmet is now such a favorite that I ordered a replacement online way before I knew I would need it....in fact, once I bought that I never used the shorty on the trip again. I've found that even a black 3/4 helmet (this one has a flip face shield) is cooler than a white shorty helmet...except if you are in city stop and go traffic.

When I decided to go RVing last year, I sold off a lot of motorcycle gear I didn't use. That meant the Joe Rocket Alter Ego went on the block along with several other items. I added some new gear, most in pink to be more visible. I wasn't planning on longer rides but just in case I kept the black textile jacket & both the mesh and textile over-pants.

Now that I'm evaluating everything once again....I've sold off several jackets and ordered a NEW JR Alter Ego. This one is red & black (rather than the almost all black of the old one) and in my normal size. I know that once you go ATGATT you never go back.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

First an apology for my OOPS.....

I know I need to simplify....how do I know? Because I keep doing dumb things....at home, at work, driving the car, working on the computer, paying bills (actually NOT paying bills), etc. Yesterday was a big OOPS at work (my apologies to the lady I talked into letting her house be shown in 45 minutes after our phone call - she wanted 24 hr notice - turns out it was the wrong house - OOPS).

Tonight my OOPS was emailing a update to all my family & friends and NOT sending it BCC (meaning everyone's address is shown - something I detest doing). Guess I was subconsciously showing why I need to move my updates here. So I'm extending my abject apology to the masses who got blasted tonight...OOPS!

Okay, now for the life in general update for everyone else who bothers to read my blathering here (I promise it will get more interesting soon....).

The house is still getting shown but no offers...have another showing tomorrow afternoon. Keeping fingers crossed that something happens soon but know it will sell when the right person sees it. I've sold several furniture items, a bunch of motorcycle gear and am slowly sorting through things for eBay, keeping, storing, donating & trashing.

I think the Harley is sold....the good news is that he will go to a lady rider friend of mine. She relocated from GA to eastern TN last year. I'll know more next week.

I'm still looking at RVs for sale....vacillating between Class C (probably too small for me but great for boondocking) and Class A (more room but less built for back roads & out of the way boondocking). There is a nice Class A for sale here locally. Good news is that it's in my price range, appears to be in good shape AND already has a motorcycle carrier on the back. Bad news is that it's 3' longer than the maximum I had set for myself. I'll be looking at it next week, unless it's sold first.

I plan on doing a lot of boondocking (hopefully) both to save money on campsites (gotta love fixed incomes) and to be able to see more out of the way places. The photos and stories on several blogs I follow have made me realize that THIS is one of the main reasons I want to be on the road. Sort of a female Charles Kuralt...well, in my mind anyway.

My final day at work will be 8/30...then the serious fun (?) begins. I will be attending the Escapade in Goshen, IN from about Sept 7-14th. I may be in an RV (mine or rented) or a hotel...looks like it will be last minute planning on that.

My to do list is huge...all the little details that still have to be done. It's really hard to pin down everything, some days I feel like I have accomplished a lot, other days I feel like I've added three items to the list and only crossed off one. Part of the problem is every time I think of something, I jot it down. I now have a PILE of jotted down items....time to compile one list and set priorities and deadlines (hopefully the last deadlines I'll have to worry about ).

I know it will all fall together...eventually. I am really looking forward to simplifying things, getting on the road and taking things slowly....one sunrise & sunset at a time.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

P.S. if you currently use a blog reader, I hope you'll add this blog to your list. If you haven't started using a blog reader I highly recommend the Google Reader. It's free and it's the easiest one I've found to use. You can toggle the display from ALL blogs to UPDATED blogs. You can also set up folder and sort them that way. I currently have 46 blogs marked and most days only a few have updates, this way it's not overwhelming PLUS I don't miss an update on a friend's blog.

Naked Ladies & Unexpected Visitors

As many of you know, I have my house up for sale. Had an interesting afternoon. I got a call about 10:30 that an agent wanted to show the house between 12:30-1:30. Since I was trying to decide whether to read, surf or watch a movie, that made up my mind for me. Picked up a little around the house, got dressed and headed to my hang-out (McDonald's for coffee to enjoy while I read my latest book - Lisa Jackson for anyone who enjoys good mysteries with a minor dab of romance).

Came back home at 2 figuring that was plenty of time (and as always, prepared to turn around if they were still there). Started trying on more clothes, sorting out them out (keep, giveaway, consign). Was taking a break, sitting on the sofa watching a VH1 special on Freddy Mercury when I see a car drive in. Normally not a big deal but I had no shirt on...OOPS!

I rush into the bedroom, dig my t-shirt out from under the pile of clothes I was sorting, pull it on, grab my soda to put it away, jug a quick drink, manage to slosh it down the front of my shirt so I then rush to the kitchen to splash water on it (Cola stain) so I could then meet them at the door - wet shirt to the forefront. LOL!

Oh well, the joys of selling a house....

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

The future is written in JELL-O

Things are slowly moving....not as fast as I would like but moving. Nothing concrete, but that's okay since I now know the future is written in JELL-O anyway. So what have I accomplished since the last blog?

• Arranged for a good friend to handle all the eBay auctions for me for a percentage of the sales (WHOO-HOO!!! This is huge since she will handle everything including the shipping)
  
• Sorted out my motorcycle gear in preparation for selling the extras (forums first)
• Posted my Harley for sale in several motorcycle forums as well as a local online freebie trader
• Posted several larger pieces of furniture in the local online freebie trader
• Sorted through almost half my clothes, creating a pile for friends at work to go through and two bags for donation to Goodwill and discovering that NONE of my jeans fit
  
• Sold three pieces of the furniture listed in the trader (which left me with all the knick-knacks to go through deciding what goes with me, what gets stored and what gets sold)
• Bought anchors and fixed the closet organizer in the guest room....after it collapsed from the weight of all the motorcycle gear and extra jackets that I moved in there
• Continued researching RVs (another thing written in concrete - motorhome vs trailer)

On the house, there is currently a young couple looking at it, first-time home buyers. So far the wife, her brother, the husband and his parents have all looked at it and seem to like it. Now waiting for her parents to take a peek and then I am hoping for an offer (hopefully not a lowball one). She's also visiting their credit union tomorrow to discuss financing...hmmmmmm, keep those fingers crossed!

I am really getting excited about moving out onto the road. When I first posted the ad about my Harley for sale, I was really sad. Now I know it's just part of the path I need to take...simplification. It's starting to feel good....

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

WARNING: Dates on the calendar are closer than they appear!

Once again time flies....even when we're not having fun. It's been an eventful month. Here's a short recap since my last blog.

• June 19th I listed my house for sale
• July 4th my BMW was delivered (thank you to my agent's hubby who went to Houston and loaded the bike on his pick-up and brought him to TN)
• July 4th I took my first ride on the BMW, who is now renamed "Squirt", and knew he was going to work out just fine (and yes, I flat-foot him just fine)
• July 5th the house is scheduled for the second showing
• July 5th I get a full price offer on the house contingent upon closing within 3 weeks
• July 6th we make a slight contract change (deductible amount on the home warranty) and counter the offer, their agent insists that it will be no problem
• July 7th and we still don't have the signed counter offer back
• July 7th I spend the day in Chattanooga with a friend looking at RVs at Camping World (Shipp's RV)
  
• July 8th and the buyer's agent still hasn't gotten the buyer to call back
• July 9th and the buyer's agent finally hears from the buyer's boss (this is a corporate relocation) and finds out that they called him and no longer plan to move to TN (can you say culture shock?)

Fast forward to today, no more showings so no offers....open house set for tomorrow afternoon. I'm slowly starting to sort through stuff, finally. My friend Diana, who went to Chattanooga with me, is going to start eBaying stuff for me. My newly imposed deadline is approaching.

What deadline? Oh, guess I skipped that part...... In the aftermath of the sale fiasco, I made the decision that whether the house has sold or not, I plan to hit the road by September first. It may be in the something older, it may be financed, it may be....who knows? But it will all work out. My new quote is:

"I refuse to sit around waiting for the perfect tomorrow, I'll continue to work on savoring my perfectly imperfect todays." ~ Froggi Donna

My September is already pretty well booked. The first week I plan to ride my last 6 states (New England) with my youngest brother, his wife and possibly my son. I will park the RV in NC near my niece's home. When I get back from the week of riding I will head over to Goshen, IN for the Fall Escapade. I'm hoping to make it in time to attend one of the pre-Rally sessions (like RV driving school). After that I will head to northern GA for two weeks....I'll be fine-tuning the RV (may stop in TN if needed) and will be baby-sitting grandkids the last weekend.

After September the world (well the USA) is wide open....no real plans yet, I have to get there first.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Did she or didn't she?

In my quest to return to RVing, whether part or full-time remains to be seen, I have been keeping an eye out for a motorcycle that might be better suited to that lifestyle. That meant lighter weight and better handling in dirt, grass and gravel.

Because I'm in-seam impaired (read SHORT) I was finding lots of bikes where I could flat-foot but all were cruisers like my current bike, Harley-Davidson® Softail® Deluxe. This meant that I might save a couple hundred pounds but not much improvement playing in the dirt.

Well, someone was watching over me....for some reason I did an eBay search on BMW motorcycles and noticed a 2006 F650GS listed. The price was decent, the bike was factory lowered, had ABS and heated grips as well as hard-bags. For some reason the seller's name looked familiar so I emailed the gal that knew the guy I suspected had the listing, even thought the listing was expired. I was right and I learned more about the bike. It was owned by a lady BMW rider who was spending most of her time on her big BMW and decided to sell.

Long story short....I got the bike (and for less than the eBay listed price). Now I have to make arrangements to get it from Houston to here in TN. Oh, and then I have to learn how to ride it and be sure I can be comfortable. I doubt I will flat-foot it but hope to be close enough that I can deal okay....it's almost 300# less than my Deluxe and the seat should be narrower. I can look at shaving the seat a bit and as a last resort, I can have lifts added to my boots.

The seating position will be more like my first two bikes since it has mid-controls. Not sure about the handlebars since I've never sat on this model, time will tell. Oh, and it will get 10-15 mpg more than the Deluxe....AND, if I keep it and sell the Deluxe I should be able to bank at least $8k difference.

So, keep your fingers crossed for me and I'll blog when I go get the bike, who I've already named "Junior" (at least until he tells me his full name).

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

The Perfect Pet

It all started out so innocently. I was setting up a client's new laptop. It came with Vista and already had the Google Desktop installed and she was running the sidebar.

"How annoying", I thought. Computer snob that I am, I hate to give up any desktop space to something I feel isn't necessary. But since it was HER computer, I left it there. Well, before the day was over, I found myself interested in checking it out for my office computer (large monitor with lots of room).

I downloaded the software...nice look, not as slick as on Vista but still very nice. The first thing I did was have the photos start to rotate through the folder I had with pictures from my 2005 motorcycle trips across the country. Nice!

The notepad turned out handy for those little things I was putting on Post-it notes and sticking all over my desk. The To Do list I found I could use alone or link to my Outlook tasks. Next came the calendar...several tries to find one I liked. Oh, and had to add the weather...

From time to time I would search for new gadgets, switch things around, try new ones, get rid of them and try another. I've added a great digital clock, a volume control bar and a system performance bar.

One day I was checking out the "fun" tools and found my perfect pet....a little tree frog. I got to personalize him with blue eyes and red feet (you get to leave him all green or choose various colors for eyes and feet) and I found the perfect background for him....lilypads (imagine that).

When I'm bored or need to break, he follows my cursor around his lilypad home. Cute! Well, last week he got better....he was upgraded and I can now feed him flies. As I click my cursor little green flies are released and he moves after them zaps them with his tongue. Really got a laugh out of that.

After a week or two I realized that I felt like I was feeding my pet and felt guilty if I hadn't given him some flies that day! Oh my....this is like having a pet. Then I realized that this was the best pet....I never have to clean up after him, he's easy to take care of, I can talk to him and if I ignore him he'll never die.

Finally...the perfect pet!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Ruts...digging in or climbing out

It's been nagging at me for over a month. I'm in a rut and seem to be settling into it way too easily. My weekdays are the same.....alarm goes off, hit snooze for half an hour, fall back asleep, get up with the second alarm goes off. Shower, head to work, work through a lunch at my desk, leave work and head home. Hit McDonald's for an Asian Salad with grilled chicken and Newman's Own Balsamic Vinegarette dressing and a senior cup of coffee (50 cent coffee). Get a coffee refill and a low-fat ice cream cone while I read for an hour. Head home again, check the mail, toss everything on the counter, settle onto the sofa, check caller ID and voicemail, turn on the laptop and TV. Next thing I know, it's after midnight and past my bedtime once more. The weekends aren't much different....I try to get a few things done around the house but for some reason have been having a really hard time motivating myself. I do the critical things and the rest waits. I'm in a rut and seem to be sinking deeper. While chatting with a new friend from Knoxville, the subject of RVing dreams came up again. I explained my whole history and why I wasn't full-timing. The talk seemed to have set some things in motion.... This past week I have spent a lot of time getting back into the RVing world - forums, magazines, books, etc. It is really calling to me, telling me to get out of this rut and do what I proclaim I have been doing (but for the last year haven't). Life is truly too short, so I've made a decision....whether I sell, rent or leave the house empty is still undecided. But come September when I start receiving my widow's Social Security in addition to Mike's small pension income, I will hit the road. It may be part-time while I work part-time or it may be full-time. It will most probably be in a vintage (OLD) motorhome and I will, for now, pull a small trailer with my Harley for local transportation. Down the road....only time will tell. But the decision has been made, the notebook for developing the plan has been started, the countdown is ticking! Before I know it, I will be ON THE ROAD AGAIN! Till next time - keep on rollin', Froggi/Donna

Why is it?

~ Why is it that.....
Guys never turn on the windshield wipers until they haven't been able to see anything for at least 15 minutes?

~ Why is it that.....
If people even bother to turn on their directionals they either turn them on after they have started turning or 1/2 mile before they need to turn?

~ Why is it that.....
Guys seem to prefer backing into a parking spot? Is it due to the fight or flight response and the need for a quick getaway?

~ Why is it that.....
Some people insist on stopping everyone behind them when they are in the wrong lane, waiting to get into the next lane over? Why not just go around the block?

~ Why is it that.....
The easier they try to make computers for others, the harder it is for me?

~ Why is it that.....
We used to stop for yellow lights and now we plow through on red?

~ Why is it that.....
The phone company can tell me I need or don't need to dial a one to reach a number but they can't just ADD or SUBTRACT that one and complete the darned call?

~ Why is it that.....
The best tasting foods have the most calories or are the worst for your health?

~ Why is it that.....
Some folks think they need to be the speed limit guardians by driving at or below the speed limit in the far left lane?

~ Why is it that.....
Babies are so cute with little or no hair or teeth?

~ Why is it that.....
I can't leave toilet paper unrolling from the wrong direction on the holder????

Just a little food for thought today....

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Lost in the Fifties Tonight

I was chatting the other day via email with a new friend. I mentioned that the great weather this past weekend brought to mind the song, Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer. I didn't remember who sang it but the tune was stuck in my head. He wrote back that it was Nat King Cole who happened to be one of my mother's favorite singers.

That got me to thinking about growing up in the 50's and being exposed to my parent's music - not necessarily what we were forced to listen to in the back seat of the car (groan), but those delicious slices of Americana from that era.

Our record player resided in our combination den, sewing room, reading room and downstairs sick room (all three kids slept upstairs). Since I was the oldest of three and the only girl, I often lost myself in reading and music and the den was my favorite indoors spot (outdoors was high up in a pine tree in the woods across the street).

A couple of songs stick in my mind to this day:

• Doris Day and Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)
• Tex Ritter and The Red Deck of Cards
• Patti Page and (How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window
• Tennessee Ernie Ford and Sixteen Tons
• Gale Storm and Ivory Tower
• Gogi Grant and The Wayward Wind

A special favorite of mine was The Old Philosopher by Eddie Lawrence. I'd play it over and over and over. Anyone who has ever heard that song will never forget it.

Hiya folks.
Ya say ya lost your job today?
Ya say its 4 A.M. and your kids ain't home from school yet?
Ya say your wife went out for a corned
beef sandwich last weekend - the corned beef sandwich came back but she didnt?
Ya say your furniture is out all over the sidewalk cause ya cant pay the rent and ya got chapped lips and paper cuts and your feets all
swollen up and blistered from pounding the pavement looking for work?
Is that whats troubling ya fellow?

REFRAIN

Well lift your head up high and take a walk in the sun with dignity and stick-to-it-ness and ya show the world, ya show the world where to get off.
You'll never give up, never give up, never give up...that ship!

Ah yes, lost in the fifties tonight - your turn!
Top Ten Songs of 1950-1969

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Living Your Dream

While moving files to my new computer I came across this article I wrote 10 years ago for an RVing site. Thought I'd update it a bit and post it again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Live Your Dream Sometimes easier said than done.... When I was little, my dream was to be a nurse like my mother. I could take care of people when they were sick and help them feel better. I practiced for hours on my pets, various rescued wild animals and of course, my brothers. As I bravely marched into my teenage years, my dream changed and I wanted to be a professional actress or maybe a dancer. I loved performing, it helped me forget my somewhat dull (I thought) life and made me feel more glamorous. Reality intruded, as it usually does, and I ended up being the proud mother of two by age twenty. I really wasn't thinking much in terms of dreams; every day was an adventure in itself. Working in a hospital brought back thoughts of nursing, but the idea passed quickly. I did get to travel some, growing up in Massachusetts - moving to New Hampshire in 9th grade - relocating to Florida in my senior year. The service claimed my husband as their own and I got to see Georgia and Delaware as well as revisiting New Hampshire and eventually settling back in Florida. The travel bug was planted, growing slowly but there nevertheless. The twenties flowed into the thirties - a new marriage, a third child and a new state to live in, Iowa. Dreams? Who had time for dreams? I had discovered computers and started a real career! Part-time college student, full-time programmer, over-time mother and wife. I guess I thought I was living my dream - for the time being anyway. One day I woke up and got the news that my mother had passed on at the young age of 61. I was stunned. She was so close to leaving her nursing career for her three R's - reading, relaxing and retirement. She had spent her entire life doing for others but never really found complete satisfaction. Had she lived her dream? I don't think so, she was forced to make so many decisions that took her down a different path. Sitting back, looking at my life, I realized I was following the same pattern. Content with mediocrity in so many areas of my life, I had stopped stretching. I had given up reaching for my dream. Was this what I really wanted? Was this what my mother would have wanted for me? I didn't think so. My oldest children were out on their own, leaving only the eight year old at home. It's amazing what can happen when you realize you have stopped dreaming and start again. My life turned around. I met my soul mate, my husband Michael. My career soared, and I reached a peak that I had never even dared dream about. I did all the things I had always wanted to do, but never quite could find time for. I tried out for community theatre and got several parts. I tried skiing for the first time and I proved myself wrong - not only could I ski, but I even enjoyed it! Moving stayed a part of our lives taking us from Florida to Virginia. From there we headed to Georgia, upstate New York, Colorado, Long Island NY and finally Atlanta, GA. We had good times and we had bad but there was one underlying dream that we continued to talk about - traveling in a motorhome when we retired. But why worry about that now? Retirement was years away and we had so much living to do - right? Catastrophic events have seemed to shape my life in many ways. We had our dream house. Our kids were all grown and on their own. We were both at the top of our careers in well paying jobs. Were we happy? Usually, at least when we got to spend some time together. It seemed like our jobs kept us apart more than together. It was in February of 1996 that my father suddenly passed away. On the long drive back home, I found myself looking at every motorhome that passed by. "Why haven't we done anything towards make our dream a reality?" I thought. We were in the prime of our life, we had everything we'd ever wished for, but were we living our dream? Obviously not ... it was time to do something proactive. The rest of the ride home headed us towards a new life. We both realized that we had a mutual dream that was languishing for lack of effort and if we truly wanted it to happen, we had better get busy. The elusive retirement was closer than either of us wanted to admit and yet we both knew we would want to continue working. Lots of research and reading, many trips to RV dealers & shows, questions - questions - more questions, but we did it. In September we bought our new (used) motorhome with plans to go full-time within 5 years. But before we knew it, our plans had turned into a reality. A perfect job opportunity was offered to us and we jumped at it. It would allow us to work together, travel and live in our motorhome full-time! We would finally make our dream a reality. Is this the end of the story? Absolutely not, this was just the beginning. We lived our dream for several years, loving the RVing lifestyle but once again, reality had to rear its head and intrude upon our lives. Mike was diagnosed with cancer, we relocated to Florida (job promotion) and we had almost 4 more wonderful years together. He passed in November 2004 after seeing me moved and settled in a small Tennessee town. As many know, a year ago I was working on moving back into the RV lifestyle. It didn't work....but who knows what the future will bring. The dreams continue and life is for the living! When will it be your turn to live your dream? Till next time - keep on rollin', Froggi/Donna

Dating, Health Care & Other Dilemmas

Dating has always been a traumatic event....at least for me. An awkward, homely geek in high school quickly became a young mother who turned into a divorced single mother who once again quickly became a wife again. Not much room in there for dating....just the usual ups and downs of marriages made in haste and for the wrong reasons.

But at least my 20's-40's found me healthy, confident and reasonable attractive to the opposite sex. As I approach an age that I equate with finally being a senior citizen, I find myself single and not so sure I want to be looking. I mean why should I? I do what I want, when I want. If I want popcorn and ice cream for dinner, that's fine. If I want to veg away the evening watching television or reading, no one will complain. Got the urge to take a road trip? No problem, tell the neighbors to watch the house and head off.

Of course it also means that there is no one to listen to my daily ups and downs, no one to share those dreaded household chores, no one cuddle with on a cold day, no one to let me know that I am loved...as a wife, lover and best friend. Maybe I had better rethink this dating thing....

I've got it all figured out....about my health insurance that is. Simple....just gonna marry someone with group insurance. Heck, we don't have to live together...we don't even have to like each other! I mean think about it....people get married to live in this country. So why not? Think it'll work? Probably not....but it's a thought! LOL!!!

I'm sure you all remember my house-selling drama, I was going to sell the house and go RVing full-time. Got a contract on the house, sold everything just to have the buyer back out two weeks before closing. No other offers were forthcoming and I decided that the house just wasn't meant to sell and took it off the market. Oh, and then I re-bought everything.

Today, out of the blue, my UPS man saw me in McDonald's and asked if I would still consider selling my house. He and his wife love mine but they had no contract on theirs so never placed on offer. Well, they now have a contract on theirs and are interested in mine again. What to do...got to give this some thought.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

When did I lose my technical edge?

I'm not sure when it happened. I used to be an early adopter. As soon as I read about a new gadget, I just had to have it. New software, new computers, new peripherals, new whatever. I reveled in the knowledge that I was "out there", staying on the technological edge.

I worked with computers when they took up a hole room and no one had a personal computer. I was in the field when few women were interested. Quick to adopt the "new", I learned to adapt quickly. I laughed at jokes about flashing numbers on video recorders. I snickered at those who sneered that they would never use an answering machine. I smiled when listening to gripes about how difficult it was to use their new device. I was the queen, I ruled.

Then one day I realized that I was losing the edge. Commercials left me wondering what they were selling. Why was that person wearing headphones and dancing? My Palm Pilot languished in a drawer while I noted events in my paper pocket calendar. GPS and geocaching were foreign terms. Why in the world would someone want satellite radio?

Determined to get my edge back, I started out with an MP3 player. Very proud that I got one with removable memory so I can store more songs, I brought it home and opened the package. I had no idea what to do next. Several readings of the documentation, I figured it out. Phew!

From there I moved to installing my own wireless network. Piece of cake...I'd worked in the computer industry for years. Yeah, right! After spending an hour on the phone with a 19 y/o son of a friend of a friend, it was up and running.

The purchases continued as did the confusion. New DVD players/recorders, GPS devices, satellite radio, programmable kitchen appliances....I read the instructions. I muddled my way through...sometimes it was like reading Greek. But in most cases I managed to get things set up.....finally.

Then I realize I need to change something....or the power flickered and I need to reset my options....or the government changes daylight savings time. And once again I realize that I can't make the change without digging out the instructions and starting all over again. Wondering if I will ever find the instructions for the neat atomic alarm clock and be able to finally set the alarms!

I've become one of those I used to smile at and snicker about.....I'm now technologically challenged and use my son and grandkids for help. Sigh....

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

I love my TiVo®...I hate my TiVo®

I have had TiVo® for over two years now and am hooked. I rarely watch anything in "real time" unless I am on the computer in the office (no TiVo®there). I love watching a 60 minute show in 40 minutes. I love pausing a show when I need to do something, or I get a phone call. I love having a backlog of shows to watch when I want to watch them. But most of all, I love not worrying about missing my favorite shows, thanks to the Season Pass feature.

In addition, mine is connected to DirecTV and I can record two different shows at a time...and while I can't watch a third station, I can watch a previously recorded show while it records the other two.

That said, there are a couple of flaws with TiVo®. The first flaw was discovered when a football game pushed my Sunday night shows off by almost an hour. Imagine my dismay when I went to watch my TiVo®'d show only to discover the end of a game. Managed to catch 10 minutes of my show....grrrrrr.

Okay, fixed that by changing my recording option to record for two hours for Sunday nights during football season. Phew!

Next flaw is a variation of the above. I'm merrily watching a TiVo®'d show, getting to the last couple of minutes, fast forward through the last commercial break....to hit the end of the recording! What the...? It may be caused by a show running late but I have found that some shows don't seem to be quite on the same time schedule as others and a show may actually go 1-3 minutes past the hour.

Humph! Fixed that....set all my shows to record an extra 5 minutes.

Then one day a favorite show wasn't recorded.....trying to figure out why, I discovered that adding that 5 minutes sometimes created a conflict with a third show which was scheduled to start on the hour, thus it was skipped completely! So here I am back at square one, all my shows set to record normally with no variations.

I love my TiVo®. I hate my TiVo®.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna