Huguenot Memorial Park

 

What a great day we had. We rode up to Jacksonville today taking Highway A1A through Ponte Vedra. I can not believe how much has changed in the past 30 years. I remember the stretch between St Augustine and Jax Beach spotted with stilt houses built up on the dune line and then miles and miles of sea oats and palm scrub. There is now a short stretch of pristine beaches between very expensive and very modern multistory homes ranging upwards into the million dollar range I’m sure. Ponte Vedra a once small town just south of Jacksonville Beach has grown into a thriving community with a very high tax base. PSL has nothing on this small town. We stopped at a convenience store that carried a several different flavors of coffee blends, a nice wine collection and a fresh flower cooler.

“Stepford wives” was one quips we heard from the back seat.

As we drove through Jacksonville Beach I was a little upset to find that I recognized very little so many things have changed. There is no more boardwalk. We rode out towards Mayport, I thought it would be nice to take the ferry over to St Georges. Funny thing is that as we were crossing there was a news crew there. Apparently the mayor of Jacksonville is debating closing down the ferry because of high diesel prices and the news crew was there filming. Our Yukon can be seen in several pictures. Okay the bumper front and then back was seen in several frames. Too bad they did not talk to us. What a great story. I took that ferry several times as a child and almost 30 years later here I am taking my children across on the ferry. Now there’s a news story.

We visited the Huguenot Memorial Beach and let both the girls try out their driving skills. They were happy. We sat on the south side of the inlet few a little while letting Fred take pictures of jetty and he took some shots of the ships docked at NAS Mayport. They seem to be under pretty high security a helicopter flew over us on a regular basis. Fred just knew we were going to get stopped and checked. He was using his long range lens on his camera and I have always thought he was very suspicious looking.

We then drove over to the Kingsley Plantation and walked around until we could not stand the cold anymore. We took the ferry back across and then had a very large lunch at Sticky Fingers. We love their ribs. I guess we should be thankful there is not one closer to home. We called it a day and headed back towards St Augustine. Fred took over 200 pictures today. I took a few but it was so cold out; the wind made it worse. My legs still hurt from the lighthouse. I don’t think they will ever be the same. We head back towards home tomorrow. It will be great to sleep in my own bed but there is such a long list of things I have to do I almost regret going home.

St Augustine City Gates

 

Can you see the orbs.......I'm thinking dust.

The Lighthouse and the Ghost Walk

 

St Augustine has a very rich history including ghosts. We wanted to take the midnight tour Friday night but it was too cold. So we hoped to try again last night. Rains threaten our tour this time so we planned to take the 8:30 pm trip. Another cold front was threatening to blow through again. We’d spent an excellent day exploring the lighthouse, the beaches and old Fort Matanzas. I almost did not think I was going anywhere after 219 steps up and 219 steps back down the lighthouse stair but some how I managed. I hurt all over this morning.

8:30 pm finally arrived and we met the old Sheriff Guy White. He is definitely a character and a most excellent tour guide. He was funny and picked on my daughters the entire trip. It was fairly uneventful tour until we arrived at the Tolomato cemetery. The night before as we were searching for a parking space Elizabeth swore she saw someone walking around in the cemetery, we all saw what we thought was a guy in a white t-shirt walking from his vehicle to a house. I still think that is what I saw but Beth insists she saw someone moving around the grave stones. The cemetery is pretty busy. There are tours all over. We walk to a fairly secluded spot on the north side of the cemetery. I lean up against the old concrete wall. It comes up almost to my waist and I find a spot that is relatively clear of all debris. As I lean there something pokes me gently in the side twice. I turn to look and there is nothing there. A small vine is hanging down but I quickly eliminate it. It is too light to have caused the sensation I felt. There is nothing there.

I am amazed that I did not freak out or even say anything. In fact I am still trying to think of a more plausible explanation. I do believe in spirits or ghost if you will. When I was a teenager we lived with one in our house on English St in North Charleston. The cold spots the noises in the attic were not always explained away. We were lucky our spirit was nice and I believe this one was also just being a prankster.

Erin also had a little fun. Apparently she was touched by Sally the ghost and named the prettiest girl on the tour.

St Augustine

 

There is nothing like a little time off from work and life as we know it. Fred took off Tuesday to visit his grandparents in Tuscaloosa while I stayed home and with girls so they would not miss a week of school. Friday being a half day we ditched and met Fred in St Augustine for an extra long weekend, we plan on returning sometime Tuesday.

We spent most of the afternoon downtown in the historic district near the main gates. We had dinner at a place called O.C. White’s recommended by a vendor. I was not impressed. Fred and Elizabeth seemed happy with their meals. They had seafood. Erin and I had steak and it was a little bland. I hate to say this but beef without kosher salt is dull. Erin and I both liberally covered our meat in table salt and it was better but still not what I wanted. Bread was served barely room temperature. Baked Potato over cooked and the vegetables were bland. Even the peppercorn sauce that my food was smothered in was a bit plain. The pepper corns were the only thing I tasted most of the time and I lick pepper but damn.

We returned to the motel and relaxed in front of the T.V. until about midnight. We planned on taking the midnight ghost tour but it was so cold we surrendered and went to Denny’s for a mid night snack, back to the room and to sleep. Another brain storm was to get up earlier about: 5:30 am and take sunrise pictures of the Castillo de San Marcos, awesome. It’s past 8:30 and my husband and children are still snuggled up in bed. I turned on the T.V. to get the weather report. It is 37 degrees outside. We all rolled over and went back to sleep for some reason we are really adverse to cold weather. It is suppose to rain tonight. Yeah……..

An Experiment in Honesty........

I read in this in Readers Digest about an experiment of sorts and I want totry it out on my friends and co-workers. I thought it would be interesting and maybe a little dangerous to find out what kind of person I have become. The article suggested to find 5 people you trust that will be honest enough to tell you exactly what they think of you good and bad. These people dont have to be your best friends or the people closest to you. Anyone who has had contact with you enough to have made an impression of what they like or dislike about you. I propose to ask myspace friends and family to do something similar. Please list 3 things you like or admire about me and then 3 things you can’t stand or irritate you about me. Send the post back to me so that maybe I can see what kind of person I have become and how I can become a better person, friend and loved one. Please be honest........


List 3 good things you like about me:


List 3 bad things you don’t like about me:


The end of the experiment explains how a person can compare all the answers and see how many are the same or similar. It's these traits in your personality that you either need to expand upon or change. I will post back with the results once the test is done. Wish me luck and Thank you!!!

Love You All ……Kathy

Back on Day Shift

2nd morning back on days so far so good. Yesterday was a little rough. Both the girls made it to and from school with only a small hitch on Elizabeth's side and Fred is trying to turn my hair totally gray or give me a heart attack or both.

Beth called me at about 2:09 pm wanting to know where her Dad was. He was late. I pulled up his screen and it indicated he was on a traffic accident. Poor Beth she was like "well how am I suppose to get home?". I told her she could walk home but she did not find this humourous. Now as I am having this mundane conversation with my daughter my supervisor has been called up from to the Fort Pierce Dispatcher. I can see something is up but I am busy taking care of teen drama.

"How long is Daddy going to be?"

"I dont know let me look."

As I pull up the comments I read that this is an officer involved accident. My husband being the officer involved. I dont recall what I said exactly to my daughter but she wants to know if her Daddy is okay. I look up and my supervisor is headed my way.

"I know is he okay?"

They still dont know yet but he is on the radio and he is talking not yelling. That is always a good sign. They call out rescue to check on everyone. Long/short story he is fine. No trip to the E.R. but his car is out of commission. He was sore last night but it did not interfer with our WOW time. Burning Crusade was released Tuesday night and we have played hard since then but that is another story.

Beth was able to catch a ride home with a friend and life is more or less back to normal but toay is another day.

Sick and Tired

I think I am finally tired of being sick. The gunk in my chest is still there in the mornings and my sinus are still running and I still get tired very easily. I know I am getting older because I am beginning to like my late morning naps. I do feel better I just can't shake the weakness.

I was bad and took two days off from work. I think the stress in fact I know the stress from there just makes it worse not to mention the building itself. It may not be a sick building but it is damn near close. We spread germs around that building like a bag of chips. My new best friend is ‘Mucinex’. I would have been absolutely miserable without it. It took care of most of the snot that comes with a cold. Coughing was to a minimum but I still had to rely on peppermint to sooth my throat. I put those left over candy canes to good use.

Erin has been feeling a little off the last couple of days but she managed to stay in school all day yesterday. She had a slight fever and an ear ache. She is better now I think.

I have not felt like doing too much of anything except sleep, watch TV or play WOW.
I think this is the first real thing I have written in days. Comments at TCPalm don’t count. I am trying to get back to my happy place. Home is much better but I still have a much to consider as to what I need to do at work to be happy again.

Fred says I am unhappy because I can not control what happens at work. The nature of my job also has much to do with how I am feeling. I try very hard to let go but it seems the harder I try the more stressed I become. I try to be a leader and an a role model because I do have control over who I am and how I behave but I think maybe that has even become too much. Fred asked me if there was anyone at work that I trusted and I could only think of two people. I guess that is good better than no one but still I don’t feel comfortable enough to talk to them about how I feel.

I have pondered over resigning as an assistant because I don’t feel like I am accomplishing anything any more. I like training because I do feel like I am doing something constructive but then I feel burnt out. I have 14 years of this job and I still like it most days, love no, but I do enjoy what I do. I want nothing more than to make it better for everyone but it seems like the harder I try the less I accomplish and the angrier I become. I am at a loss I don’t know what to do or how to fix it.

All I know is that I am tired of feeling angry, tired of feeling unappreciated, tired of feeling betrayed. I am tired of feeling sick and tired.

Gonna be a bear.

In this life I am a woman. In my next life, I’d like to come back as a bear.
When you’re a bear you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I can do that.

Before you hibernate you’re supposed to eat yourself stupid. I can do that.

When you’re a girl bear you birth your children (who are the size of a walnut) while you’re sleeping and wake up to partially grown cute cuddly cubs. I can definitely do that.

If you’re a momma bear everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I can do that.

If you’re a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.

Yep, gonna be a bear!

Original Author Unknown and I did twaek it just a little. Enjoy!!!!

2007

It is hard to believe that it is 2007. I probably say this every year but I can’t believe I have made it this long. The world was supposed to implode; we would be invaded by aliens, the second coming of Christ, or when Florida and California both sunk back into the ocean. I have a few more but at 42 I don’t think I want to tempt fate too much.

I celebrated New Years by sleeping all day. I never left the house and vegetated. Fred and I had a nice long conversation and I think we will be able to finally get through this little hic cup we’ve been having. My life is not perfect by any means and I hesitated to write anything at all about my marriage but then again most people have no problems bragging about how good one’s life is so why can’t we talk about what is not right. Fred and I usually get along well enough we have much in common but we are also very hard headed. Sometimes that gets in the way but I am hoping we are beyond that now at least on this current incident. There will always be new things in our future that we will disagree upon.

I was up early this morning and went straight to Home Depot. I love Hope Depot. The girls and I wandered through the garden area searching for plants for the back yard. We found nothing. It is still too early. I want 2 Don Juan rose bushes to plant in the back yard and it is time to pull up the pineapples. Only one plant actually produced fruit but we have a sneaky suspicion Cujo tried to play with it because we found it knocked over last week. Cujo likes his toys and I can believe he thought the pineapple was there as his personal chew toy. You’d be amazed at what that dog will chew on.

Anyway I bought 2 bags of top soil and 6 more bags of mulch. I am trying to repair and fill in the trenches that my dogs seem to enjoy digging. To look at some of the holes you would think they were trying to dig to China. I think it was 2 weeks ago I used the mulch technique. It has not completely stopped the digging but it has slowed them down. I fill the hole with mulch and they are less likely to dig in that spot again. Today I made and new flower bed and mulched around the back door. The dogs are dragging in so much dirt it is unbelievable. I may have to mulch the entire back yard………….maybe not but it was a thought.

Shopping later on this afternoon and some minor cleaning will finish out my day. The kids go back to school tomorrow so I will have the house to myself again. This also means no sleep for me for the next two weeks. I go back to day shift on the 17th month; I am looking forward to getting back to a regular schedule. It will be nice to be able to sleep all night. It’s the work that will suck. I get to go back to the rat race of day time life the only thing good about day shift is it goes by pretty quick.

Happy New Year Comment Graphics

Redemption......

I am feeling a little better today. Mind you today could be worse but so far it is bearable. A few small obstacles today that only a paycheck can fix but tomorrow, pay day, will be here soon enough. I hate being broke but if I get real desperate I can always turn in my winning lottery tickets all of $6 if I remember correctly or maybe I’ll just turn them in for more lottery scratch off’s. I could win something big maybe……..or most likely not.

I am trying not to catch something so I tried to sleep in late. Of course the dogs woke me at 6am, I let them out for about 15 minutes then back to bed. I slept past 9am and felt a little better. I still have the little tickle in my throat but it seems only slight now. I went to my computer and read my mail as is my usual routine when I wake up and found a pleasant surprise. Redemption, there is integrity in the world. With the way things have been going lately I had assumed that another ‘incident’ would be swept under the rug. I was wrong and I am glad. I feel better knowing that the world has not completely lost its mind nor have I.

The day after Christmas....

I survived Christmas 2006, it was tough but I made it. Five more days to go before the New Year, I can't wait. A New Year and fresh plate time to slough off the old and bring on the new. I have had so many great things happen but at the same time I have been more disappointed than I can recall in a long time.

I feel better than I have in years but this has bought on a whole new set of problems. Change no matter how good you think it is only cause’s problems. I think I was a Lemming there for a long time, too exhausted, tired and sick to protest I went along with the crowd. I'd have a burp every once in a while raise my head growl my discontent only to lay my head down and go back to sleep. Sleep is good. I am good at it.

I'm awake now and no longer a Lemming. I am deeply disturbed by things that I once let slide because it was easier that way. I have let my children slide for years only to discover I have raised a bunch of slobs. They are good kids but OMG they are lazy at times. Needless to say I have put my foot down and they are getting better but there is room for much improvement. I am including myself here because there are many days I ignore the laundry completely. I hate laundry I truly do.

I have let my husband take advantage of me. I can not blame him totally because he like my children push the limits to see how far they can go and I have let him go to far I think. I am trying to pull back hard on the reins now and he is fighting me for all he is worth. Sometimes I think it would be easier to just call it quits sometimes it is just too much but I do not know how to stop loving him after 20 years and I don’t really want to. I do hate him sometimes because he can be so selfish but I have to take much of the blame. Don’t get me wrong he is a great father, a good man in general but he is a man. I created the monster so now what do I do. I miss my best friend.

I can’t think about work right now. I like the people I work with most of the time but we all have our moments. I am having one of those moments. I'll get over it or I'll find another job. 2007 is a new year so I guess we will see.

I have ranted enough I think this is way more personal than I usually date to write but I do have a good life and most times I am happy. I was skipped over for promotion last month and it has affected more than I imagined. A good slap in the face will wake you up but now I am pissed off by what I see and I am not sure what I should do. I just know I can’t hide my head in the dirt anymore. I am hoping I will start to feel better with the coming of the New Year. I don’t want to feel used anymore or taken advantage of. I think next year I will change the way I do things and maybe I need to quit taking so much of the blame.

I'm Broke

 

I need a better paying job because it’s Friday night and I am broke. Maybe rob a bank or winning the lottery would be more likely at this point but I can wish. I feel like I shopped all day even though my daughters were nice enough to have me home and back in my bed by 1 pm this afternoon. (I worked all night.) I was back up at 6pm after several interruptions chauffeuring my daughters to the firehouse then spending a few moments with my friends. I was invited to a Christmas Party at the Daly’s but I had to leave before 10 pm because I had to chauffeur my daughters back home. Poor Fred has work all day so I know he will be either wound up or exhausted when he gets home. He wont be happy to know we are broke but he should be satisfied that I purchased all his requested presents before funds ran out. We maybe eating Cornish hens with canned vegetables for Christmas Dinner if I am not careful. There is a little money in savings but I really don’t want to touch it. Money is so hard to save there always seems to be an emergency.

I didn’t forget about myself this year, I did go shopping last week but I remember why I hate shopping and only bought a nice black business jacket. I broke down today and bought myself new bras the expensive Victoria Secret ones. Poor Beth is busting out all over so I had her in the store with a clerk for almost an hour trying on bras until we found ones that she liked. They did not have her size in the store which turned out to be a good thing for me. I found them on line at a cheaper price and was able to order her an extra bra and free shipping. She’s 14 and wears a cup size smaller than me. If she doesn’t stop growing here soon I see a breast reduction in her future. Erin appears to be following in her foot steps. They don’t get this from me I was a charter member of the IBTC until my first pregnancy. I think I will blame Fred and the Pate genes for this one they are more like their Aunt Jennifer than me in that aspect.

I still need glasses but I will wait until after first of the year. I can still type without too much difficulty but I can’t read the small print in books anymore. If I strain my eyes too much anymore my vision becomes blurry and I get head aches so no reading small print or quilting until I get new shades. Getting old really bites but what do you do? I know get contacts and find a really great plastic surgeon which brings me back to I’m broke but in 3 more days this will all be over with.

The picture above is called 'Sunrise over St Mark's'

Sunrise Over Lawnwood Stadium

 

As I was drving home yesterday the sunrise was uncommonly gorgeous. I picked a spot on the west side of the stadium and took this shot. Not to shabby........

6 days until Christmas

 

The final days of Christmas are upon us and my children are counting down the hours. I have finished my Christmas cards and they are all in the mail. I have not wrapped one present but I hope to have that chore accomplished by tomorrow. I still don’t feel rushed and that is a good thing I think.

This year I have to work Christmas night and Fred works Christmas morning so we will open gifts some where in between. The girls and I will be cooking this weekend. I am hoping to make Banana Bread, cookies, and I have 6 Cornish game hens in the freezer waiting for Christmas Dinner. I usually leave the fancy cooking to the chefs in my house but since I am a pretty fair cook I thought I might give it a whirl.

I have another meeting this morning; these damn get togethers are driving me nuts. Although they let a few people share their dissatisfaction with the center nothing ever truly gets accomplished. I personally have had enough of making suggestions and trying to “improve” a broken system. No mater how much I complain about dispatching errors and officer safety, they seem to fall on deaf ears not only from my peers but also the supervision. They always agree that SOP should be followed but no one enforces it and if I try to enforce I usually get attitude so much for authority and seniority. Of course just because you have been given a title dose not necessarily mean anything as I have discovered recently.

I guess I have ranted enough this morning. I need to shop some more this afternoon, my girls are going to a Christmas party tonight and we still need to look for a gift for the host.

Erin's First Christmas Concert

Erin is a percussionist and doing a pretty good job. This is her first concert and although the songs were simple the children played very well for first years. Some like Erin have only been playing their instruments since August.

Erin's First Band Concert

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Christmas Concerts

Elizabeth's Concert Tuesday the 12th 7 pm at Central High School....

Erin's First Concert Thursday the 14th at 7pm At Dan Mcarty.....

The Closer

 

 

I am not too awfully fond of T.V. anymore. All the new reality shows don’t interest me at all. I don’t want to watch dancing with the stars or see who is the next Top American Model or Idol or whatever………

Although I have to admit that Mario Lopez is smoking hot!!!!
(the girls at work twisted my arm and made me watch)

I can honestly say there is not too much on the tube that I like. However I have to admit that I set my timer just to watch Kyra Sedgwick in ‘The Closer’. I love this show. I love the Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson. She is a tough cookie and more blunt than I could ever imagine being. She knows what she wants and goes for it but at the same time showing her fears. She cries and stresses over the decisions she makes but never backs down once she’s made up her mind what she is going to do. She follows through no matter what anyone else thinks. I just love her character I really do…..

Brenda being a southerner never hurts either………I wonder if she can get sweet tea in LA?

South Park Winslow

 

 

Happy Turkey Day!!!!!!!

 

 

With my job comes the responsibility of having to work 24-7 and all holidays. At 911 it is the luck of the draw, some year you work Thanksgiving and Christmas or you don’t. I seems like I work the holidays most of the time. I have a wonderful family though and I can depend on them to make my day great no matter if I am working or not.
This year my co-workers and I are lucky enough to have dinner catered. I think I mentioned it earlier. Fred and my daughters are right now slaving away in the kitchen roasting a 20lb bird with all the trimmings. The food is starting to pile up on the table; I hate my nose right now.