wyhr.orgWendy’s World

I think I’m funny.

And now for the background to this statement:
After most of our vacations, we send out a recap. Since Dave is timely and remembers these kinds of things, he usually posts it on his blog. I then forward it on to those whom I think would enjoy to hear about our vacation or were wondering why we hadn’t responded to their emails in a week. The thing is, when Dave publishes a recap I often feel like there are some stories left untold. For our most recent trip to Bermuda, I decided to make a “she-said” version and sent both recaps along to our friends. Here’s the he-said-she-said-Bermuda edition:

He-said:
I spent last week in beautiful, sunny, tropical Bermuda, riding a scooter around and snorkeling at several of the island’s gorgeous beaches. It was excellent. I know what you’re thinking. “Dave, what are you, like a bazillionaire? Didn’t you already go to Germany and Arizona this summer?” Yes, I did. But if you’ll remember, we slept in a tent and ate crappy food in Arizona, and Germany was unexpected, but still a large portion of it was covered by Wendy’s employer. So no, I’m not a bazillionaire. I just know how to travel cheap and often. Case in point: In traveling to Bermuda, we used credit card points to get airline tickets, then stayed in a bed and breakfast (and dinner) because hotels cost $200-$300 per night. It wasn’t a cheap trip per se, but it was cheaper than it could’ve been, which makes me happy. Anyway, here’s what we did:

Day 1 – Arrived via plane; checked into the bed and breakfast; walked around the rocks at Devonshire Bay

Day 2 – Took a bus to Hamilton; rented a scooter; walked around to City Hall and Fort Hamilton; ate lunch and watched some opening week football; drove to John Smith’s Bay for a swim

Day 3 – Drove to Hamilton; took a ferry to the Royal Naval Dockyard; snorkeled in Snorkel Park; took a ferry to St. George’s; walked around Ordnance Island and Town Hall; walked further to the Unfinished Church and Fort St. Catherine; snorkeled in Tobacco Bay; took a ferry back to Hamilton; watched Monday Night Football

Day 4 – Drove to Horseshoe Bay (and left because it was crowded); snorkeled in Church Bay; climbed the Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse; swam at Elbow Beach

Day 5 – Hiked in Spittal Pond Nature Reserve to Spanish Rock; stopped at Blue Hole Park and saw a blue hole and some caves; climbed up St. David’s Lighthouse; snorkeled in Turtle Bay; snorkeled in a downpour in Tobacco Bay; watched the sunset

Day 6 – Walked through Paget Marsh; snorkeled at West Whale Bay; snorkeled and rode some waves at Warwick Long Bay

Day 7 – Snorkeled at Tobacco Bay; flew home

Pictures are here. More information will follow (He later posted this review of the trip).

She-said:
Why Bermuda? Well, it’s two-fold: (1) it’s the closest island to us in NJ and (2) in order to fulfill Dave’s master plan to hit every place in the Beach Boys song Kokomo. For the record, we’ve already traveled to Jamaica and the Bahamas (and technically Key Largo [Key West is close enough] and Montego [which is in Jamaica]). Dave’s goal in life is to travel to all destinations mentioned in the song. Aruba might be next. Now on to the details…

Day 1 – Arrived after our 2 hour flight which was free courtesy of our credit card points!. Then we checked into our bed and breakfast in Smith’s Paris which was WAY cheaper than $300/night hotels on the island. After settling down, we walked around the rocks at Devonshire Bay.

Day 2 – Took a bus to Hamilton where we rented a scooter (tourists cannot rent cars on the island so your left with mass transit or renting a scooter). Once equipped with a scooter, we parked it to explore the city of Hamilton. We took a picture of Dave’s fort, Fort Hamilton (Dave’s middle name is Hamilton). We ate lunch and watched some opening week football at the Docksider (after Dave said “the Dark sider” in a Darth Vader voice I couldn’t stop thinking that each time we passed the bar). Then we drove to John Smith’s Bay for a swim (notice the swim-beach pattern?).

Day 3 – Drove to Hamilton where we took a ferry to the Royal Naval Dockyard (#1 tourist site on the island because that’s where the cruise ships dock). We snorkeled in Snorkel Park. We saw an octopus! It was small, but an ocopus nonetheless. We also saw a deflated puffer fish and many other Caribbean fish. Oh and Dave got stung by a jellyfish. This wasn’t your average NJ jellyfish. He (Mr. Jellyfish) actually wrapped a tentacle around Dave’s arm. We were worried about it being a Portugese man-of-war, but it turns out the arm sting didn’t even hurt so we quickly dismissed our worrying…until his foreheard hurt and we saw little purple jellyfish floating on the surface. You’re thinking why didn’t we just swim around? Well, when you’re snorkeling you’re looking down so you rarely look to the surface. Turns out we should periodically check for jellyfish on the surface After our snorkeling, we took a ferry to St. George’s to walk around. Some highlights from St. George’s = the Unfinished Church and Fort St. Catherine. We also found our favorite snorkeling spot at Tobacco Bay. After a long day we took the ferry back to Hamilton and watched Monday Night Football at the Docksider (they had a good salad that was cheap).

Day 4 – Drove to Horseshoe Bay and left because it was crowded. Snorkeled in Church Bay. We actually got to hang out at some cool reefs and see some great fish, but the swells made snorkeling a workout so this was ranked #1 by the Hosiers. After snorkeling, we climbed the Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse (TERRIFIC view of the island) and swam at Elbow Beach.

Day 5 – Hiked in Spittal Pond Nature Reserve to Spanish Rock (1st visitors to the island). We stopped at Blue Hole Park and saw a blue hole and some caves. Great fish again. Then, we climbed up St. David’s Lighthouse (another namesake) and snorkeled in Turtle Bay. Decided we liked Tobacco bay snorkeling better so we scootered on over there and snorkeled in a downpour. This was the evening where we took our Bermuda sunset pictures.

Day 6 – Walked through Paget Marsh (not that cool). Snorkeled at West Whale Bay (we were the only ones around so it was like our own private beach – I wish!) Then we went to Warwick Long Bay where Dave snorkeled. The long swim out to the reefs and the big swells ldiscouraged me from snorkeling plus I totally had to finish In Her Shoes! After heating up in the sun and finishing my book, Dave & I rode waves like little kids – SO much fun!

Day 7 – We got up at 7am to scooter over to St. George’s and get our last snorkeling in before leaving. It was the only day we set our alarm! After GREAT snorkeling we got some grub and went to the airport to fly home.

And now for why I think I’m funny? Well, I just do but my friends encourage me. Here’s Lisa’s response after reading the he-said-she-said-Bermuda edition:

Ok so I ready your recap and laughed out loud periodically due to your
funny antic dotes (sp?). Then I read Dave’s version and it was even
funnier to hear his side of the story!! Sounds like a blast, see you
soon

Xoxo
Lisa

I’m reading a book and I’m ten pages away from finishing – should I suck it up and read it? Or is life too short for me to read something I don’t enjoy?

Update: After posting this same question on feedback, six people encouraged me to finish the book. I did. Here’s my review on Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali:

“I would like to preface this review with this fact: I’m not a big non-fiction fan.
This is an autobiography that details Ayaan’s life from childhood to her current years in America … more ». I found the beginning part of the book easy to read and enjoyed learning about her home, Somalia. The part where she lost me, and why I’m only giving it three stars, is the Dutch political arena. This covered a good 1/3 of the end of the book. It was extremely difficult for me to enjoy and even follow. I suppose this is due to my lack of knowledge on Dutch politics.

Either way, I do appreciate her candid view on Islam. She speaks from first-hand experience and I appreciate her sobering reality of the situation. I believe these statements best summarize where she stands on the subject:

(p. 348-9) “My central, motivating concern is that women in Islam are oppressed. That oppression of women causes Muslim women and Muslim men, too, to lag behind the West. It creates a culture that generates more backwardness with every generation. It would be better for everyone–for Muslims, above all–if this situation could change.

When people say that the values of Islam are compassion, tolerance, and freedom, I look at reality, at real cultures and governments, and I see that it simply isn’t so. People in the West swallow this sort of thing because they have learned not to examine the religions or cultures of minorities too critically, for fear of being called racist.”

Yes people, this actually happens.

Back in high school I worked for the Steinbach’s department store. Over lunch a few times, I could hear the dressing room ladies complaining about someone defecating in the dressing room. I thought – thank goodness I don’t work there!

And then it happened.

In my department.

Thankfully, I never saw the culprit and only had to deal with the remnants. It goes without saying – it was gross. But I must ask – is there really confusion between the dressing room and the restroom?

I should hope not.

If you find yourself confused please look for plumbing before proceeding to do your business.

“I figured anyone who’d take the time to love and nurture a creature who’s primarily going to hiss, scratch, and barf for no good reason is kind of my perfect match.”
~Jen Lancaster, Pretty in Plaid

Agreed Jen. Agreed.

“Or can there be a more perfect pairing than the chocolate and peanut butter in the Tagalongs®?”*

The answer is no.

How do I know this? From the unfulfilled longing for this year’s Tagalongs®.  That’s right – unfulfilled. See this year, as part of my civic duty, I ordered some Girl Scout cookies. Two boxes of Thin Mints for Dave and a box of Tagalongs® for me. Well, the poor Girl Scout’s mom got confused when handing out the cookies and I wound up with a box of Do-Si-Dos®.** Do-Si Dos?® Really? Do you see chocolate with that peanut butter?

As you can imagine, I was outraged. Fortunately, my filter was on and I refrained from saying – “What the hell is the matter with you? A Do-Si-Do® IS NOT a Tagalong®!!”

So it goes without saying that I totally agree with Jen Lancaster. There is NOTHING that compares to a Tagalong®.

I suppose there’s always next year!

*Pretty in Plaid, page 39.
**What happened to kids actually taking the orders & handing out the cookies?!

Recently I was reading Charlaine Harris’ new novel, Dead and Gone. A paragraph from the book resonated with me:

Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve dealt out? There’s no profit in it, no point to it, and you need sleep.

Satan definitely hits the replay button on my life a lot. It’s hard to remember, but God has forgiven and forgotten my sins.

as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD “—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin. Selah (Psalm 32:5)

When I was teen, I began shaving my legs* with Gilette Daisy razors. Once, early on, I tried using a Bic women’s razor. It was a mistake. I wound up shaving off a 1-2″ section of skin on the back of my knee. I cried like the little girl I was. Since that fateful day I’ve almost never shaved without my Daisies. Recently I’ve been considering switching to a more earth-friendly option. By that, I mean something that (a) could be recycled or (b) would fill up landfills at a less extraordinary rate.

My options – an electric razor or a less disposable razor. I’ve tried an electric razor in the past and wasn’t impressed. That left me with the less disposable options. I immediately went to the brand I trust – Gilette. I figured these geniuses made the Daisies, certainly they can make other razors with superior functionality (i.e. less skin shaved off). So this weekend I tried the Venus. I must say, I was pleased. No shaving injuries occurred. The handling over the terrain was great. Plus I was able to achieve my goal – I’m putting less garbage in a landfill. I suppose change isn’t always a bad thing.

*Dave thought I needed this clarification. Me? not so much.

Bugs: 4
Yesterday, two wounds were inflicted in the middle of the day. Both just flesh wounds. Today I took two hits to the shoulder. The one hit was a bit serious. After re-application of my force field (aka bug spray) I was able to suppress enemy fire.

Wendy: 3
Although I was injured I was able to strike back and take down three of my mortal enemies.

I’m down one, but it ain’t over until the fat lady sings!

This is my formal declaration of war against insects, specifically the damn bug that did this to my shoulder:

Update: After this picture was taken I asked Dave to take measurements of the affected area. The bug bite is 1″ long and 1/2″ wide. I’m guessing this was a mosquito due to all the itching. This scares me. Why, you ask? All of the other bites were only about 1/4″ in diameter. What the hell attacked me? Mothra?

Seriously, I need to talk to think. I was reminded of this fact on Sunday.

Sometimes when these thoughts comes out of my mouth, I feel like it’s an out-of-body experience. “I said that, really?” And I can even be caught saying, “That just happened. Right now,” because for me it totally happened as my brain processed the information in to speech. Amazing stuff, that brain of mine.