Are you excited?

                                                                                
I watched part of the opening ceremony for the London Olympics last night...but couldn't hear the sound...so I really had no idea what the heck was going on...hahah It was a bit confusing. I did manage to listen and watch the end...after all the countries marched in and were introduced. That was impressive...my favorite sports guy Bob Costas always cracks me up with his comments...and he did not let me down. Matt Lauer I could do without...and he totally blew the surprise of the copper "petals" lifting up to form the caldron...
Tonight Brenna and I listened to this hilarious commentary from one of the volunteers. Listen to the people who are filming...you can't NOT laugh!

More heroes and a new goal...

 Last Wednesday we had our second day of "Super Hero Training". We had a new batch of heroes in training...they all had fun.I got to pop in for a few minutes...but was not "allowed" to help this time. Even though Dianne had cleared it with my supervisor...I guess the director got wind of the plan and decided that I was needed more at the front desk...so I was told (not by her) that I had to choose either the program or my usual Thursday morning storytime...but I could not do both. Needless to say.....I was a little annoyed. Not once in the 2 months that led up to the program did anyone suggest that my participating in these two programs would cause a problem with scheduling at the front desk. No one ever said anything to Dianne either. The only thing we can figure is that the boss wasn't happy that we made the arrangements without her.. I chose to do my regular program...since we only had two weeks left of our summer schedule (...I'll be out of town the first Thursday in August and the kids here  go back to school August 8th... Several in my group will be starting pre-k or kindergarten... so I didn't want to cancel my regular time with them) I miss being in Youth Services full time...............and I know they were "letting" me have a few extra hours...but I sincerely believe that  my participation in the program for a couple of hours wasn't  really causing any problems keeping the Circulation staffed. There is also the fact that every other Wednesday there doesn't seem to be any problem when one of the Reference ladies is sent over to help with the" Tales to Tail"s program for an hour and a half. I can't help it...that bothers me. (and sometimes I just want to bitch about it...haha)
 I was not happy...but I am (sort of) over it. Turns out ...the day of the program I was told that if it wasn't busy I could go in for a few minutes. This was likely since we had two other people scheduled at the desk that day....so I have no idea what the problem was to begin with...seems obvious to me that it never was a problem! I was glad to go in...but it wasn't quite the same. I was happy to see that we had a nice sized crowd and everyone who came, made a point to tell us how much they enjoyed it.
Now I've decided what I need to do is work at finding a job where I can do more of what I enjoy(ed) doing. I am happier when I am working with the kids...so I need to find a way to get back to doing that...instead of pouting about being told that I can't.

Each participant will get one of these with their special power, name etc filled in.

                        One " hero" gets ready for the tunnel crawl and another is saving the baby.

                                                             We had lots of strong "men".

                         This little hero walked across the "lava" with the "weights"...haha

                                                      Her brother standing by for his turn.

                 B was very attentive to the baby...made sure she was carefully tucked in...very sweet.

clouds

 Not much excitement lately...but there have been some cool clouds! Sunsets....

 and then these clouds the other morning...don't know why there was that blue patch right through the other clouds.....

 And tonight...I'm just glad I am not scheduled to fly into or out of Melbourne Airport this evening!

                                            No sign of rain yet...but it sure looks intimidating!

How's it look??????

 This afternoon we got a little bit of rain. Around 2:30pm if someone were to ask "How's it look outside?" I t would depend on where you looked out. (haha...couldn't resist) If you were on the porch looking out to the east...it looked like this....not bad.......................However..........

if you looked out towards  the west from the front porch...it looked more like this!

Luckily I was done with my bike ride and all my errands. It got pretty dark...there was thunder...but all in all it was not too bad. we have had times when it rained in the front yard...but not the back...today both parts of the yard got some.

Last week we started out having two dinners with friends... , I had a Pampered Chef party on Wednesday with a few friends. ....then the week ended just like it began. Friday night Charlie and Gayle invited us over for * hors d'oeuvres and wine; followed by a trip to Lou's Blues. All I can say is it was interesting. I enjoyed the company...C & G, Sean and Nancy...and a few other friends we ran into while there (a group from Mel High was celebrating their 30 yr reunion.) The band, Absolute Blue was pretty good....sounded good....but the lead singer sounded too much like the singer in ACDC...and I just couldn't get past his voice. (that guy always creeped me out..."Dirty deeds...done dirt cheap...". He just sounds creepy.) Gayle, Charlie, John and Sean all danced...Nancy and I watched from the balcony...I just never heard the right song to get me going...hahah...or maybe I just didn't have enough champagne! I was the driver for the night...at least for John and I It was a night out......don't know if that would be my first choice of venues for future nights out.....but it did make me think we need to have a party or arrange to play our music again somewhere...Heather, Mike and I have talked about this a few times since my birthday celebration.......so I'm not the only one! hahaha
Saturday night John invited our friends Art and Gayle over for some fish. we haven't really seen them since Laura's wedding..........so we needed to catch up. Gayle brought over some Lemoncello liquer, and  vodka so we could make some champagne cocktails. I passed on the vodka...but the lemon/champagne mix was good. Gayle might've regretted bringing it...because I talked her ear off...hahah. Really we all talked...and it was nice to catch up. I got a nice little "buzz" from the drink..and I didn't have to drive anywhere...and  I had NO headache the next day! So...after all that Sunday seemed kind of quiet...but it was a good week.

*whenever anyone says hors d'oeuvres it reminds me of when I worked at Meadowlane Library years  (like 30 years) ago. At the time it was a staff of me, Patti, Dottie and Mary...and that was it. Dottie was an older lady...so of a know-it all but the kind that really DOESN"T know it all. She used to call people to remind them about their overdue books. One day she was making her calls and Patti and I heard her say "Hello Mrs. ______, I'm calling to let you know you have a book on hors d'oeuvres out overdue"..(.or something along that line) The only problem is when she said the name of the book she pronounced it Oh dee O vrahs.
Patti and I both glanced over..."What the heck?"...then we just had to laugh...I can only imagine what the patron thought. I still laugh every time I hear the word!

And now on a completely unrelated note...Brenna was babysitting today and had to pick up one of the girls at the local school. While waiting  on a bench at the front of the school... another child's grandma started chatting. She mentioned that they had been at a Republican picnic (Brenna inwardly groaned...haha that's my girl!) and that there had been an Elvis impersonator. (even worse...haha)...then the woman said...well not really...he wasn't dressed up... but you could tell that he was an Elvis look alike...because he had the big sideburns and the hair. When she told her little (6?7?yr old) grand daughter "Look there's Elvis".
The little girl responded...."That's impossible."
 Grandma "Why?"
Little girl "Because he's dead. He died on the toilet."       Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
How do 7 yr olds even know stuff like that??
Then she asked her grandma how someone could die on the toilet...grandma said "I don't know...why don't you go ask him."

Dinner with friends

Yesterday we got a call from our friends Mike and Denise. They had just returned from a week (or so) in the Florida Keys and we were invited to come and have some of their fresh catch. We had plans to cook up some grouper John got when he took a couple of friends fishing on Saturday... but  Mike's cooking is too good to pass up... Mike was cooking up some flounder with stone crab stuffing...all caught by him. He also had seviche and crackers...he knows how to make it to... It was delicious...and the company was good as usual. :)
John had Brenna lined up to make us some mahi mahi for dinner tonight...then we got a call from Ron who recently got some mahi and grouper. The group he went out fishing  with also got some scallops. He and Devan are friends with the owner of Cabana Shores a tiki bar/restaurant in Melbourne. Josh(the owner) told him if they brought the fish up to his place...the cook would fry/saute, etc it for us. Well...once again this was an offer too good to pass up...so we headed up that way after work. There were 13-14 of us. We had scallops with onions and bacon, sauteed mahi with rice, fried grouper and mahi fingers (in a tasty potato chip/Ritz cracker batter), zucchini, peppers and mushrooms, sweet potato fries...and there may have been more. All of it was GREAT!...so fresh...and brought hot and steaming to the table. Ron treated everyone to beer, water, tea, soda....and it was a beautiful, relaxing evening. We sat outside and enjoyed a nice view of the river. It was hot all day...but it was very pleasant outside on the (sand) floor deck............really very relaxing and comfortable. I will definitely go back there again some afternoon/evening. It's nice because it's not as  big as some of the other places on the river. Grills is nice, good food...but it's always packed..this place had a more cozy feel to it.
This week is getting off to a great start...I wonder who's making us dinner tomorrow night...hahaha

4TH of JULY

In case anyone tried to link to the train ride post...I have corrected it so now it actually links....my tech support is back in town...hahah*I

 It's the 4th of July...and that means it was time for LONGDOGGERS annual party. It's mostly for the employees and their families...but also for the investors and some good friends (regulars). Over the  past 15  years the party has grown and  gotten really BIG...too big...so this year they scaled back a bit and made it just for employees, their families and investors. It made it nicer for the owners to enjoy the party and really...brought it back to what it was originally intended for...a reward for all the hard work the staff puts in all year long.

 As usual...the tables were all decked out with Red, White and Blue.....necklaces, fans, tablecloths

                                           One big flag draped across the top of the pavillion

 Tents set up down at the beach for party games and races....balloon toss, kayak paddle, etc

 the whole beach was packed...it was hot... no big waves...and  the weather was beautiful...at least for now....

 Instead of the usual keg...each restaurant (Indialantic, Post Road, Satellite Beach and Palm Bay) got a cooler full of assorted beers...and some jello shots (yuck) but the younger kids like them...hahah( I sound like an old lady."those youngsters")

 Investors each got a small cooler with a 6 pack. They had a whole table full of assorted prizes for the family members and staff. I snagged one of the purple cups...it looks like it will be perfect for work...fill it with ice and water...put the top on...and I'll be good for the day. I actually have a pretty cool (literally..haha) cup I got for free from Starbucks last summer in Cherry Creek, Colorado. They were giving them out when they were promoting their iced coffee drinks. It worked well...no sweating...kept my drink cold...and I loved it...but one day on my way out the door...juggling my tote bag of books, my purse, my keys, my sunglassess (I may have been a homeless woman in a past life...picture me with a cart full of junk.. that's kind of the scenario....only now I don't have the cart...hahah) I DROPPED the cup and broke it. It still works...but the insulated interior is separated from the outer part...so it's not as easy to use....you have to kind of hold it together...or remove the inner part to get a drink.... I'm get a little long winded here...surprise surpriseSo...this new cup will come in handy. All the kids got a sand pail and shovel...full of fun stuff like temporary tattoos. so the kids can look just like their moms and dads...haha...there  are lots of tattoos in the bunch , poppers, sunglasses and treats.

 This year the designated charity was the Surfrider Foundation...Tony presented a check to the local chapter for over two thousand dollars.

 Snow cones and popcorn over in the corner near the dessert table.....where you could also  find        cookies,  cookie "cake" and fruit skewers.

                                          I brought my own drink...since I don't drink beer.....

                              Courtney won the Hula Hoop contest for Indialantic again this year...she has won every year since she started working there...

 The weather was great for the first 2 1/2- 3 hours...then the black clouds rolled in....along with some thunder and lightning. It put a temporary hold on activities...the balloon toss ended in record time...hahah

As the storm moved closer...the sky all around us got darker and darker, the temperature dropped at least 10 degrees and the wind started blowing.....and then after a good soaking rain for about 1/2 hour...it moved off and it was nice again. The group that was still around went down to the beach for the kayak races....I watched a bit and then decided to ride the bike home before any more rain moved in...and to let the dogs out. I'm sure Kiena was a wreck during the storm......they were happy to see me. I drugged the dog so she wouldn't freak out during the fireworks.....like most dogs...she'd not a fan. Fortunately (I guess) she is 12 and starting to lose her hearing...she doesn't always hear them now...so if we can keep her distracted...she'll never even know what's going on....and trust me...it's a lot easier that way...........................
Well....Happy 4th of July! Last year on the 4th we were in Colorado with the gang....on that cheesy train ride...I had looked so forward to...it was pretty lame...but...we had fun since we (Burton & co gang) took over...and made it fun! The fireworks over the mountain were nice...other than that...I think if anyone wants to know if they should take the train ride---( you can check it out on my blog from last July with the  link here) -
 ...I think the answer would be "Don't bother!"...(haha)
Hope you are enjoying your celebrations...wherever you are!