BAREFOOT AND ...NOT...PREGNANT

Thanks to the Merriam Webster online dictionary:

Main Entry: ¹va·ca·tion

Pronunciation: \vā-ˈkā-shən, və-\

Function: noun

Usage: often attributive

Etymology: Middle English vacacioun, from Anglo-French vacacion, from Latin vacation-, vacatio freedom, exemption, from vacare

Date: 14th century

1 : a respite or a time of respite from something : intermission
2 a : a scheduled period during which activity (as of a court or school) is suspended b : a period of exemption from work granted to an employee
3 : a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation
4 : an act or an instance of vacating

I'm on vacation.  I am enjoying a respite from work and the daily routine, and for the first few days I have enjoyed suspending a lot of activity.  Every once in a while I feel a twinge of "should" as in what SHOULD I be doing?  I bat it away with a shake of my head.  It's almost noon and I'm still in my pajamas and barefoot and wearing my daughter's Snuggie. 

Every morning so far (this is my 3rd day of vacation) my grandson Noah and I have enjoyed coffee together in the dining room.  We discuss the view outside the French doors which includes trees, leaves falling from the trees, rain (yesterday), sunshine (Saturday), clouds (this morning), and Harley.  We discuss the deliciousness of the coffee while stirring our coffees with our spoons.  Mornings are the best.

I have to admit staying TV free has been a challenge.  At home I've rarely been tempted to watch since I unplugged 9/1/09; however, here in my daughter's house temptations are everywhere.  My first afternoon here the family went to a birthday party (for a 1-year-old) and I stayed here to take a much-needed and appreciated nap.  I snuggled on the couch with an afghan and a magazine.  The magazine, Entertainment, had the Twilight-series' stars on the cover and lots of talk about the movie New Moon, but lots of the magazine was devoted to current TV shows and what's happening on various series.  Suddenly I was salivating about Dexter and wondering about new shows I had never seen!  I put the magazine down, pulled the afghan over my head, and slept soundly.

Later that day my daughter was laughing at the latest Survivor shenanigans and told me she wished I was watching it this season, because one of the "survivors" was really sly, manipulative, and smart.  (Not always a combination you find on the show.)  He's president of an oil company and doesn't care (or at least he says so) about the million dollar prize.  I found myself laughing at his antics as retold by my daughter, but not really tempted to watch.  Then I asked her about Amazing Race and she told me about the gay brothers who pretended to be straight to woo the girl teams, and the Harlem Globetrotter team members who were very down-to-earth, and funny as all get-out.  Why did I ask?  Self-torture.

Last night I was listening to my audio book in my room as I relaxed before bed.  When I realized I was dozing off and missing whole sections I decided it was time for lights off.  I walked into the living room to say good night and...my eyes were drawn...unwillingly...to the TV...to the episode of....Amazing Race...that was playing.  A little voice in my head screamed, "Nooooooooooooooooooo."  I turned, I turned back.  There was Phil, the good-looking and wry host of Amazing Race.  I gasped, "Where are they?"  My daughter answered, "Prague".  Oh my, the Czech Republic.  Maybe I'd just watch for a minute.  I confess.  I watched almost the entire episode. 

Was this a slip?  Would I have to attend TA* meetings again? Did I have to call my sponsor?

Naaaahhhhhhh.

I went to bed with an almost-clear-conscience.  About 96%.  Pretty good for a recovering Catholic.

This morning the TV is on and Noah has watched an episode of Backyardigans, some Einstein show on the Disney channel, and now some dinosaur train show on PBS.  They are just background noise while I catch up on email and blog.  I did stop to sing the Backyardigans' songs.  I'll be getting dressed eventually; it's still cold and overcast outside.  My daughter has a cold so we'll be staying in today.  Whatever.  I'm on vacation.

*Television-addicts Anonymous

I'VE LOOKED AT CLOUDS ALL DAY

Yesterday it was cloudy.  All day.  Today it was cloudy.  All day.  The forecast for tomorrow is Mostly Cloudy.  What gives?  This is FLORIDA.  Where's the sun?  I did not move here to look at gray skies all day long.  I am willing to take it for one more day but that is my limit.  After three days of no sunshine I will start getting mean.  Or depressed.  Either way...someone's gonna pay.

To make it worse I just emerged from a very involving book.  Compulsive readers know what I'm talking about when I say emerged; sometimes a book pulls you right into the story and won't let you go.  You almost feel groggy when you take a break or finish. 

I've been reading Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series about a vampire executioner.  The series can be very dark - lots of soul searching (Anita was raised Catholic), violence (oh my it is very violent), and, uh, sex  (though not in this particular book).  Sounds like a weird grouping.  It is.  Though this will never be one of my favorite series - I prefer lighter reading with more laughter than gore - Laurell K. Hamilton can spin a great story.  The real world just fades away and suddenly I'm in a vampire's lair, stalking a serial-killer monster, analyzing a crime scene, or fighting for my life.

In this book - Obsidian Butterfly - Anita Blake travels to Albuquerque, New Mexico to help stop serial killings that may or may not involve non-human predators.  Anita lives in St. Louis, Missouri, so this was a nice break both for Anita and her sun-deprived reader.  At least she was getting some sunshine in between the murder and mayhem.  At least it wasn't cloudy every damn day there, but I digress.  I enjoyed traveling with Anita to Albuquerque and seeing with her the great expanses of nothing but sand and grasses with black mountains in the distance.  Did you know Albuquerque is 7,000 feet above sea level?  I learned that Albuquerque is only about an hour from Santa Fe, NM.  I have cousins in Santa Fe.  They aren't vampires or monsters, though, and were not mentioned in the book. 

New Mexico is still on my list of places to visit.  It sounds beautiful and exotic and SUNNY. 

And Anita killed all the monsters so it's safe, too.

WEEK 2 - Yawn...

I feel uninspired tonight but I will try to perk myself up to some kind of acceptable level of performance.  I just finished eating a nice big helping of cold fresh watermelon.  That's been the highlight of my evening.  I spent about an hour farting around with "gadgets" on the Google Blog Tools and finally gave up on the countdown gadget.  Talk about getting distracted.

I finished La Vida Vampire by Nancy Haddock this afternoon.  I emailed Ms. Haddock last night and asked if she would be available Saturday at the Florida Heritage Book Festival.  She replied and said she would - between 9:30 am - 10:00 am.  GREAT!  I'm looking forward to meeting her.  She really has a great story-telling ability and makes the city of St. Augustine come alive.  I like her characters and I'm glad there are more books with Cesca the vampire.  I'm going to get another copy of her book and send it to my niece Savannah.  Savannah originally turned me on to vampires with the Twilight series and then the series by Laurell K. Hamilton.  I hope Savannah enjoys La Vida Vampire as much as I did.

As far as TV...well I was tired when I got home from work, but decided to lie down on my couch and finish my vampire book (as mentioned above).   I really don't miss the TV shows...I really don't miss the TV as company as much as I thought I would.  This is a weird and strange experience - - totally unexpected.  I thought I would be CRAVING TV and sad and upset and ...well miserable.