Extreme Makeover: Manatee Edition

17 years after its original release, The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently unveiled a new design for the Save The Manatee specialty Florida license plate. Ta-dah!
It's beautiful, I love the color scheme (very tropical), and I especially love the message it sends. The Save The Manatee plate is one of 109 different specialty plates available in Florida (wow). In 2007, it ranked number 6 in sales, behind plates for "University of Florida" (at # 1).....what??? UF over manatees???.....and "Protect The Panther", "Protect Wild Dolphins", "Helping Sea Turtles Survive" & "Florida State University". Over 559,000 manatee plates have been issued since 1990!

Appropriately, the unveiling took place at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, a refuge and home to many manatees.

Contrary to popular belief, the Save The Manatee Club does not receive any of the plate revenues (the SMC is completely donor-supported). Instead, plate proceeds are deposited into the Save The Manatee Trust Fund, which is managed by the FWC. The trust fund is the source of monies for Florida's manatee-related research and conservation management activities, including rescue and protection measures.

I currently have the previous, original edition of the manatee plate on my car:

It's equally beautiful. It was one of the first things I did when we moved back to Florida in 2000.....I went to the DMV and ordered a Save The Manatee plate, and had it personalized to say AMO FLA, which translates to "I Love Florida" in either Italian or Spanish. I'm a Florida gal and I was back baby !!!

a new leash on life

An uplifting story about wheelchairs for disabled animals aired on The Today Show this morning. A company in
Massachusetts, Eddie's Wheels, makes custom mobility carts for pets. And not just for dogs & cats....they've been made for rabbits, goats & alpacas too!

I LOVE IT !!!

still tickled "pink"

Hello, here I am, finally back online....Sal and I were celebrating our special anniversary and then we came back and got swept back up in the realities of life (car repairs, yardwork.....you know how it is....).

But we had a wonderful time on our getaway! Thanks for your guesses about our locale.....wow, I like how you think, Claudia! Bermuda was a terrific guess, and I wouldn't have minded being there! But we were celebrating somewhere just as special. We stayed at the Don CeSar Beach Resort in St. Pete Beach, also known as the "Pink Palace" of Florida. It has a remarkable history, please take a moment and visit their website if you can. It's also interesting to read about where its name came from and the other pink beach hotel that inspired its famous flamingo color.

We had a wonderful and romantic stay! Our beachfront room offered a breathtaking view of the pools and the beach, and glorious sunsets that we enjoyed from our balcony.


As we entered our room, I immediately noticed that Sal had the florist deliver a gorgeous arrangement of tropical flowers (my favorite!) that were waiting for me. Awww....

We had beautiful, sunny weather the whole time.....so fortunate! I played in the pool and we strolled on the beach. Just relaxed and enjoyed being together.

On our anniversary day, May 12, we commemorated the approximate time that we became a couple, around 4:15 PM, 20 years ago. We captured the moment on camera on the resort's large clock, affixed to its lavish (pink) architecture, facing the pools.

On our last morning there, my parents joined us for breakfast. They live only about 15 miles from the resort, so it was a nice opportunity to enjoy a get-together. Kind of an extension of Mother's Day.


Thanks for sharing our big day with us! And after 20 years, Sal, I'm still "tickled pink" that you're my "boyfriend"! {XOXOXO}


Have a great week!

20 years ago today.....

Today is a really special day for me and Sal! Yes, it was 20 years ago today that we became a couple! We started dating on May 12, 1988. It all happened during an afternoon study session at our college library. I told Sal that I would probably be dropping the (one) class that we were taking together that summer, and he got upset and slid a note across the table to me that said "...I'm in love with you, please don't drop this class....". And you know the rest of the story....I married him! So today we're in a really special location to celebrate.....I'll reveal photos and details later this week. So fun and romantic! Gotcha guessing, don't I ??? Here's a hint: I'm looking at waves and sand as I blog, and I'm tickled pink to be here! Where In The World Are Susan & Sal ? {smiles}

Hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. We celebrated with our Moms....we brought flowers to Sal's mom and he made a yummy ravioli lunch for her. I took my mom to her favorite quilt store, Rainbow's End Quilt Shoppe, with a giftcard that we gave her to go on a shopping spree there. It was fun to browse through all the gorgeous fabrics!

Have a great week ahead!

tragedy at the Derby

A beautiful horse, Eight Belles, died on the track shortly after the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Perhaps you hadn't heard? That's because the press was furiously covering the victory of Big Brown, while she was laying in agony elsewhere on the track. I applaude People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for not allowing this tragedy to slip under the radar.

After the race, she collapsed from 2 broken ankles......and was euthanized right there on the track. Among other questions, PETA has launched an inquiry about whether she was injured before the finish, but was "whipped" into continuing. PETA is seeking a ban on whipping, limits on races and the age of racehorses, and a move to softer, artificial surfaces for all courses. And they want the jockey suspended.

I have mixed feelings about animals as "entertainment". Certainly, I find the circus abhorrent. However, venues like Sea World arouse my inner conflict on this issue. While it has been documented that the park's treatment of the animals is by no means despicable, I cannot help but assume that an orca would rather be swimming in the Gulf of Alaska. On the other hand, I appreciate how interaction with the animals gives the public an educated appreciation for them. And an awareness of their plight in the wild. I'm particularly aware of the benefits that manatees have received from Sea World.....the residents at their manatee exhibit are ever-changing because they are rescued manatees that are undergoing rehabilitation, courtesy of the park's experts, facilities and resources. And then they are released back into the wild. Because of this exhibit, public awareness of manatees has increased dramatically.....people from Ohio and wherever now know what a manatee is and that they're endangered, and why. So, I believe that although Sea World is a for-profit organization, they have some noble motivations.

The Kentucky Derby, however, is nearly 100% motivated by money. OK, and tradition. But is the public ennobled by seeing horses run around a track? I doubt that most who won Big Bucks by betting on Big Brown were concerned with the suffering and loss of Eight Belles as they counted their winnings. And I doubt that if there were no monies at stake, that many spectators would be interested in this race at all. And there would be no race. And no potential for horses to die this way.

I did not watch the race, but was appalled when I heard the news later. This is not an isolated incident.....it's the second consecutive year that a horse has died as a direct result of injuries sustained in the Derby. Remember Barbaro last year?

I'm with PETA on this.....

happy National Scrapbook Day!

Today's the first Saturday in May......which is National Scrapbook Day......happy cropping and shopping to my scrappin' friends! Enjoy! {smiles}

thank goodness for my TV's PIP

Wow, what a fun morning! As indicated in my post title, I've been really utilizing the picture-in-picture feature on my TV......On one channel, I had The Today Show going since Matt was live in this year's final Where In The World is Matt Lauer? destination, The Seychelles, a remote island chain in the Indian Ocean, about 1,000 miles off the east coast of Africa. What an incredible place, it looks like a magical paradise! Sal - we're definitely going sometime! I love how they describe it as a place that's "more about scenery than sightseeing".

And on another channel, I was tuned in to QVC since they were having a scrapbooking extravaganza! Attention scrapbookers - they're featuring lots of new and fun stuff.....more shows are scheduled for this evening. Happy shopping today!

Enjoy the weekend!

Matt's day 4 destination

What an interesting segment Matt hosted on The Today Show's series Where In the World is Matt Lauer? this morning. On day 4 of his whirlwind tour of the world he's in Istanbul, Turkey. So exotic! Would love to visit sometime. I really enjoyed learning more about Whirling Dervishes and the famed Blue Mosque.

So, where will Matt turn up for his 5th and final destination this week? Here's a clue for tomorrow's locale: Many come here to see the natural wonders but the national symbol is for your eyes only.

Have a great day!

swirls and stuff

Gee, I hope that Sal isn't reading my blog today......this post's topic involves 2 hot-button issues....shopping, and what he considers scrapbooking "clutter". Usually while he's engrossed in a show on The History Channel or SciFi Channel, I'm online and he doesn't know what I'm doing (ahem...buying). {LOL}

With National Scrapbooking Day fast approaching (May 3), I've decided to join in the festivities early.....lots of stores and online sb retailers are having sales to celebrate. So, I took the plunge and got some "swirly" acrylic stamps that have been on my wish list for a while. A warning to my fellow scrapbookers --- you will want these, too! {grin}

from Luxe Designs:

from Bo Bunny: from Inkadinkado:
and from Fancy Pants:

Can't wait to play with them all !

P.S. ~ Per yesterday's post, Matt L. is in Laos today. Cool! Here's the hint for where he'll be tomorrow: So the prime rate you guessed, the red lights you saw through. The anagram even proved easy to chew. In this place you can rock and there's one heck of a mall. With a turn of the head, different continents call.

"Where In The World?" (but it's not my blog)

I've been enjoying Matt Lauer's jaunt around the world for his annual series on The Today Show, "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?", airing this week. Over the course of 5 consecutive days, he hops around the globe, showing up on live TV in a different locale each day. The fun part for viewers is that his next stop is always a surprise, but he gives a hint on the prior day. It's not easy to guess, for instance, here's the hint for tomorrow's location: This country is an anagram of a synonym of a homophone of an even prime number. Ooh, that's tough!

Anyway, I really got hooked on this series last year, and was especially excited when he popped up in Ireland since we were going there soon afterwards! The series is such fun because not only does he show the sights, but he gives some history and background of the country and its people. They also give some travel tips for planning a trip to these places.

So far this week, he has stopped in Argentina & Amsterdam.....where in the world will Matt be tomorrow???

food for thought

I really love magazines! I think they're some of the most fun things to get in the mail, a nice surprise. I subscribe to several scrapbooking mags, and of course a travel magazine too. But this weekend when Sal and I were browsing in a Barnes & Noble, I came across a new magazine that really spoke to me. It's called VegNews and, as the name implies, focuses on vegetarianism. But this mag is different than other veggie mags....rather than obsessing over recipes and healthy eating (cooking is just not my thing!), its theme is the vegetarian lifestyle which, in addition to a meatless diet, includes cruelty-free choices when shopping, traveling, decorating, etc. It covers the whole "eco-package", and I love it! (And, of course, the magazine is printed with soy ink on recycled paper.)

After flipping through an issue, I came home and went online to subscribe. Their website has a cool list of 222 Reasons to be Veg, here are some of my favorites:

# 13 not eating the bodies of tortured souls;
# 17 resisting cruel fashion trends without a second thought;
# 30 being the change that I want to see in the world;
# 34 watching loved ones and strangers slowly evolve toward vegetarianism;
# 39 looking into the faces of animal companions without guilt;
# 45 meeting brilliant, compassionate, creative people who advocate for the voiceless;
# 48 viewing non-human animals as fellow earthlings rather than as mere objects;
# 63 being the voice for the voiceless;
# 74 being consistent (claim to love animals? prove it!);
# 86 becoming a conscious consumer***;
# 108 treating all animals with the same respect and consideration;
# 165 vegan online shopping***;
# 168 cruelty-free Thanksgiving;
# 185 snuggling up in a warm, not-down comforter;
# 187 my vegetarianism gives me a sense of purpose in life - I can't imagine living any other way;
# 208 wearing my own skin and no one else's;
# 213 the music of Paul McCartney (there are lots of famous vegetarians!)

*** Certainly, being a conscious consumer isn't easy....I sometimes have to search hard for shoes, purses, etc. that are "cruelty-free" (i.e., not made of leather or other animal products). And I say that as someone who loves to shop and enjoys cute shoes and fashionable purses as much as the next gal. Products made from leather, suede, down, angora, etc., are ubiquitous, but I by-pass them and keep looking. I buy items that say "man-made materials" on the label, and I've had great success finding fashionable products at stores like JCPenney, Chadwick's, and Payless Shoes, among others. (A woman once asked me if my purse was a Chanel, but it was from Payless, and made entirely of synthetic materials!)

P.S. ~ happy birthday to my brother-in-law, Paul in Philadelphia!

that's a wrap!

Wow, what a one-of-a-kind day Sal and I had today! We spent it on the movie set of Marley & Me, based on the book, and starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson (Marley wasn't there.....bummer!). It's being filmed here in south Florida. We were among 80 extras filming 2 scenes, from 3 vantage points, at Miami airport. That airport is quite busy as it is, so it was interesting to watch the production crew orchestrate the film shooting among all of the normal hustle and bustle that's already there. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed, so I have no photos to share {sigh}. They were adamant about that, saying that we'd be escorted off the set immediately if we were caught taking a photo, so I didn't want to chance it and risk losing the opportunity to participate. As a scrapbooker, this was bad news for me, but I'll just have to relay the story in words this time.

Shooting started at 7:00 AM, so we were up at 4:30 AM in order to get down to Miami in time {yawn}. But it was a short day by movie set standards; we were done filming at 1:30 PM.

In all of the scenes, Sal and I were the "happy traveling couple", which is hardly a stretch for us!!! {how perfect} We were asked to bring a variety of clothes, and the first thing we had to do was meet with the wardrobe people to determine what to wear. They had me and Sal wearing jeans and shirts in all of the scenes. We brought everything in our luggage, as instructed, because our bags were to be used as props, given the airport setting. But, they decided that everyone's luggage looked "too contemporary", so they brought out older luggage, since the story is set in the early 90s.

About our scenes.....they were all shot between Terminals F and G, outside, in the passenger drop-off area.....the scenes are fairly early in the storyline......you'll have to look for us in the airport scenes! In the first shoot, Sal and I are walking along the sidewalk, pulling our 90s-style luggage, (they even gave Sal a briefcase to carry too, which was fitting since he often works while we travel, and he looked especially "professorial"), and it's raining a "fake" rain that they created with hoses and water tanks and stuff (Sal's favorite part of the day).....this is while Owen drives up in an old Toyota (with a camera mounted in the back), to pick Jennifer up after she returns from a trip, and she runs to the car in the rain while holding a newspaper over her head. We're probably just a blur in this shoot because of the rain, but oh well.

In the second shoot, which was shot repeatedly, Sal and I are holding hands walking off of the pedestrian bridge, crossing traffic and going toward the terminal. You'll see a staged pair of flight attendants standing and chatting where the bridge and street intersect. In this scene, Owen and Jen are again in their car several yards away from us.

A third shoot had me and Sal simply standing with our luggage curbside, chatting. We're in the distance beyond Jen and Owen, who are again at their car. All the people that you see around us in the scene....those walking past us, or running by us to catch flights, or flight crews, or people getting into or out of cabs, are all extras.....it was all staged. Pretty cool!

We're hoping that we'll be visible in some of the scenes, but of course all of us extras were "background". So, you'll just have to look closely for us!

It was neat to watch the production crew take care of the details to create the correct setting and feel for the story....some extras brought their 90s model cars for the shoots, and the crew put fake license plates on them so that they'd have a 90s registration sticker....and, of course, we weren't allowed to use cell phones or have them clipped to our belts because that technology wasn't available in the early 90s....cell phones were a lot bigger then, and it was beepers/pagers that were the norm! Remember?

The movie's release date is Christmas day.....see you there!

P.S. ~ Jen asked me where I get my hair done.....{kidding}

P.P.S ~ Happy 41st anniversary to my parents today! And happy Earth Day!

no peeking, Grandma! ;-)

I've just about finished a 4-page scrapbook layout for my Grandma, it's a Mother's Day gift. I can't take credit for the artistry of it because the overall design was by the teacher of a class that I took at a local scrapbook store. So I'm not complimenting myself when I say that I think the pages are gorgeous, and the photos don't even capture all of the dimension and details! The patterned papers are from Basic Grey's Two Scoops line, perfect for a feminine layout. And I did add a few of my own little touches and flourishes to the class design. Here are the pages, I just need to add the photos to them and then I can pop them in the mail up to Grandma in Canada:

page 1....

detail of the flower that's on page 1....

page 2....

page 3....

page 4....

Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Hi everyone! Hope your week is off to a great start. It's April 15....hope your taxes are all done and that you're getting a refund.

I meant to post this to my blog earlier, it's so neat.....last week, Sal and I went to the Wakodahatchee Wetlands, 50 acres of land that our county's water utilities company developed into a wetlands ecosystem ("Wakodahatchee" is a Seminole Indian word meaning "created waters"). Sal and I were impressed at this environmental haven that they've created for wildlife. It's an amazing place, we saw so many birds and other creatures as we strolled the boardwalk, and it was so peaceful. It's like having our own "mini Everglades" right here in metropolitan Delray Beach! We plan to return often, and next time will bring our lunch or dinner and sit and listen to the birds and enjoy the peace and quiet. Anyway, here are a few pics of some of the wildlife we saw that day:

Sal on the boardwalk (my favorite wildlife!)....{{wink}}

a little bunny rabbit nestled in the grass.....

a blue heron landed right next to us on the boardwalk.....so majestic:

an iguana ran across the sidewalk right in front of us.....

and of course the almighty alligator was there.....this one swam right under us as we peered down from the boardwalk....eerie!

I have some really fun news!!!

I am busting with great news today! As promised in my February 26 post, I'm keeping you posted.....today I got a call from the casting agent for Marley & Me, the book-turned-movie that they're filming here in south Florida.....Sal and I have BOTH been chosen as EXTRAS in the movie! WOW!!! I am super-excited !!! We'll be on set with the stars of the film (Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, and of course the main attraction, a cute pup named Marley) for a 10- or 12-hour day next week. The filming for our day will be happening at the Miami Airport. How fun will this be??? I can't wait to pull out my copy of the book tonight and go over all the specifics of the story again! I'll be sure to fill you in on all the details of this once-in-a-lifetime day....!!!

does your car indicate how you'll vote?

I saw results from an interesting, albeit unscientific, survey conducted in February by U.S. News. They tallied the responses from 500 participants, and claim that there's a correlation between your choice of vehicle and your political leaning.

Here are some vehicle categories that tend to fit Democrats:
hatchbacks
imports
prefer Honda, Toyota, Acura, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen

and for the Republicans:
pickup trucks
domestic (except for high-end cars)
prefer General Motors, Ford, BMW, Porsche, Lexus

Drivers from both sides of the political aisle prefer mini-vans, SUVs, sports cars, and Chryslers about equally, according to the survey.

Interesting huh? In case you're curious, I drive a Mitsubishi Eclipse (a sporty, hatchback import) and Sal drives a Volkswagen Jetta (a German sedan).....our next cars will be green (hybrids or entirely electric) though!

music to my ears

Tonight Sal and I attended a fabulous concert! The group performing was Andes Manta, four brothers from Ecuador who play a wide variety of handmade instruments (35 different ones, actually!).


It was amazing how so much beautiful sound could be generated by simple bamboo instruments. The songs were mesmerizing, I felt as if I was attending a festival in Ecuador or something. Take a moment and listen to an audio clip of El Yamor, a song typically played during a festival by the same name in the northern Andes. My favorite piece of the evening was a song called Causai Pacha, which incorporated sounds of the Amazonian rain forest within the music.....you could hear frogs croaking, wind whistling, rain falling, birds chirping.....and all of the sounds were created using the native instruments, it was incredible!

It was a perfect evening since the concert was held at an outdoor amphitheater, and not a drop of rain even though it was in the forecast for this evening. Wonderful music under the stars!

this will make you smile

Those Pedigree ads seem popular on my blog (see my posts dated February 6 and March 14), so I'm posting another one called "We See Love"......

fun in the sun

What??? No blogging for a week?!?!? Where have I been?!?!? Part of that time, Sal and I were in Orlando enjoying a getaway, Florida resident style. On Saturday, I attended the Scrapbook Expo all day.....what a fun time shopping and browsing around through all the vendor booths! And I took a terrific class where we combined canvas art and scrapbooking into a beautiful tabletop display. I didn't quite finish it in the hour-long class, but I'll post a photo of it when I'm done. Sal liked it so much that he asked if he could display it in his office! {thrilling for me}

On Sunday, Sal and I went to Aquatica, which is the new waterpark that Sea World just opened in mid-March. It was awesome, we felt like kids. We went from slide to slide and laughed and played in the water. Even I braved all of the rides except the one where you go down a steep slide laying on your stomach on a raft. No way! (Sal did it though) The park's signature ride is the Dolphin Plunge, where you slide through clear tubes so that, theoretically, you can see the gorgeous black-and-white Commerson's dolphins (in photo border below) that are swimming around the tubes as you zoom past them. Of course, you're going way too fast to see anything, but it's a neat concept. The park was landscaped with beautiful tropical flowers and trees, I loved it, and we were thankful for sunny weather (there was a 40% chance of rain, so it was a roll of the dice). Here we are as we entered the park (that's why we're still dry in the photo!):

a special thank you

To everyone who signed the petition in my March 10 post.....

Unfortunately, and as expected, the Canadian government has not halted the hunt of 275,000 seals.....it's scheduled to begin on Friday, March 28.

a new adventure on my must-do list

Yesterday Sal and I attended a travel expo in West Palm Beach. It was super fun for me, I just love that stuff! One seminar was about an expedition that I can't stop thinking about.....a polar bear safari in northern Canada! Sign me up! They take you out in an elevated tundra buggy and the polar bears surround you as they migrate in the fall (or, I guess it's actually early winter that far north). You also get to see the northern lights at that time of year. Spectacular! It would be wonderful to see these amazing creatures whose future is unfortunately in such peril.

are you wearing green today?

Hi everyone and happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you had a nice weekend....Sal and I enjoyed a little time at the beach, which was great until.....the lifeguards called everyone out of the water because of sharks!!! Whoa, the panicked looks on swimmers' faces were quite a sight! Not funny. Just part of life on the Atlantic coast of Florida I suppose.

Back to St. Patty's Day fun.....Aruba has a wardrobe of bandanas that she wears on various occasions and holidays, including today.....the fabric has a green background with a print of shamrocks and Snoopy wearing a leprechaun hat.....she's quite the fashionista {awww}:


This holiday sure brings back fond memories of our trip to Ireland last summer.....here we are in beautiful Killarney National Park, on the southwest coast of Ireland:

A few years ago, we saw the Irish dance show Riverdance, and it was great. I highly recommend it. It's coming back to our area in May, and I'm tempted to go see it again.....Irish music is haunting. After you leave a musical jam session at a pub in Ireland, the melodies ring in your ears for a couple of days.

Echo finds a home

Remember Echo? He was the dog in the video in my February 6 post, the one at the shelter who was passed up for adoption. Well, he has now been adopted and looks SO happy.....see for yourself (and I bet you hit the replay button when it's over):

Tarzan & Jane

Recently, Dr. Jane Goodall came to FAU to speak about peace and compassion, and afterwards held a booksigning for every single one of the 1,000+ people who stayed afterwards to wait in line.....she was there patiently for hours! Someone waiting in line near me astutely concluded that it was probably that same patience that was partly responsible for Jane's success with the chimps in the African bush. Our local newspaper aptly titled an article in the next day's edition, "Famed Chimp Researcher Wows FAU". That she did! How wonderful it was to watch the audience give standing ovations to this esteemed scientist. And what a cute story she told about how, as a child, she loved reading Tarzan and how she was jealous of that "other Jane" in the stories.....almost prophetic, I think....

It was a thrill to meet her again (I had once before about 10 years ago in Indianapolis) and to personally thank her for her commitment to animal welfare and the environment. They didn't allow us to snap our own photos while we were with her, but instead had their own photographer and uploaded the digi shots to the Internet for us....unfortunately, this photo of us isn't the best....it's a bit blurry and the top of my head is cut off....but I'm smiling while Jane is signing my copy of her book Jane Goodall 40 Years at Gombe: A Tribute to Four Decades of Wildlife Research, Education and Conservation, so the photo is perfect to me.

....helpless....

Hi everyone, hope you had a nice weekend. I woke up this morning to an urgent message in my e-mail inbox.

It's almost time once again for the annual seal hunt in Canada. In the coming weeks, hundreds of thousands of baby harp seals will be beaten and stabbed with sharp hooks, and some will even be skinned alive.

Most of them will be less than 3 months old, and many will still be in their first weeks of life. The animals are so young and innocent that they will lie on the ice as their attackers approach. Even if they know that they should flee, their motor skills aren't yet developed enough to do so. They have no chance of escaping to the safety of the water. The carnage begins as the seals have their heads bashed in with clubs. Still conscious, they will be dragged across the ice with boat hooks. Then these sensitive, intelligent animals will be skinned, sometimes while they are still alive. The sealers will take their fur but leave the seals' bodies on the ice to rot.

I realize that this is not the most cheerful topic for a blog post, but as you know, animal rights and welfare is a passion of mine, and it's not a cheerful subject. This practice would end if there was no longer a demand for baby seal fur coats and other goods. In the interim, I'm hoping that the Canadian government will one day respond to the worldwide pleas and will no longer sanction this brutal practice. Please join me in signing a petition and speaking for those who have no voice.

Mom Lepore's 70th birthday

The Lepore family recently had a fun time celebrating Mom L's 70th birthday. All 5 of her children were there....Sal, Mark, Deborah, and Paul came in from Philadelphia, Tricia from Seattle......it was a mini-reunion for Sal and all of his siblings. The pretty cake (in purple, her favorite color) said "Buon 70 Compleanno Mamma" ("Happy 70th Birthday Mom" in Italian).

During his weekend in Florida, Paul came over to my parents' for a visit, and to meet my sister, Theresa, for the first time. He and my Dad have a lot in common career-wise, both are tool designers....so they had lots to chat about, and enjoyed looking at mechanical project drawings and stuff.

a great weekend!

Wow, you know that you've had a great weekend when it takes you until Wednesday morning to finally blog about it {wink}.

Sal and I went over to St. Petersburg and saw the Broadway musical Movin' Out with my parents. It was fabulous! I've been wanting to see it for years.....the live renditions of Billy Joel's music were terrific, and were in perfect sync with the dancers. Great choreography, great talent.....a great time!

FAU is on Spring Break this week, so Sal and I also took a day-trip from St. Pete to Anna Maria Island. It's about an hour south, and is right off the coast of Bradenton. I love exploring the corners of my home state. What a quaint island, with absolutely beautiful beaches! We had perfect weather {smile}, which was so lucky because it has been pouring buckets of rain here in Florida all week. And since the island is in Manatee County, everything there seemed to have a manatee theme.....Manatee Hospital, Manatee Accounting Services, Manatee "this" and Manatee "that". A manatee even graces the "Welcome to Anna Maria Island" sign as you drive in. (of course, I just had to get my photo with it.....so much fun!)

Victoria who???

This certainly is an historic month for women......Hillary is a viable contender for the nomination of presidential candidate! (although she's not the first woman to run for president....that honor goes to Victoria Woodhull back in 1872) Bet you never heard of her, right? You're not alone, and this is precisely why we need Women's History Month....

The month of March was established as Women's History Month by Congress in 1987 to honor amazing women who, unfortunately, have so often been written out of history despite great achievements. The 2008 WHM theme is Women's Art: Women's Vision, celebrating "...the originality, beauty, imagination, and multiple dimensions of women’s lives...".

Leap Year 101

Happy Leap Day everyone! Thought I'd share some fun trivia about Leap Year.....I love knowing stuff like this:

• in the Gregorian calendar, 3 criteria determine which years will be leap years: (1) the year is divisible by 4; (2) of those years, if it can be divided by 100, it is NOT a leap year; unless (3) the year is divisible by 400. Then it is a leap year. Got that? For an easier way to determine if a particular year will be a leap year, try the handy Leap Year Calculator.
• your chances of being born on Leap Day are about 1 in 1500.
• there are about 187,000 people in the US and about 4 million people worldwide who were born on Leap Day.
• famous Leap Day babies include Ja Rule (rapper), Dinah Shore (singer) and Jimmy Dorsey (bandleader), among others

Have a great (extra) day today!

lights, camera, action !!!

If you're a dog lover, the book Marley & Me is definitely required reading. It's a great (true) story, and will soon be made into a movie. Since the book is set, in part, in south Florida, the film company will be here in March to begin filming....how exciting! Even more exciting is that they need 1,400 people as extras. I plan to submit my name & photo to the casting company.....maybe I'll be chosen, although I'm not holding my breath.....but wouldn't it be a hoot??? I'll keep you posted....

I've been away from blogging for a few days because Sal and I were in St. Petersburg for his Mom's 70th birthday....details and pics of the party to follow in a post here soon.....

Just Do It: recycle your athletic shoes

I was in the waiting room at the dentist this morning (yes, taxes and the dentist in the same week, ick!) and read about a great concept in a magazine.

We all have 'em.....athletic shoes (a.k.a. "sneakers", if you're a Seinfeld fan) that have worn out, and then we throw them out. No longer! Thanks to Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe recycling program, 20 million pairs of athletic shoes have been recycled into material used for athletic facility surfaces, such as basketball and tennis courts, running tracks and playgrounds. Nike will accept and recycle any brand of athletic shoe (but no cleats)......you can send your shoes to a processing facility in Oregon, or they have a map of drop-off locations around the country. Fabulous!

our taxes are done {RELIEF}

Wow, I'm early this year! I finished our taxes today and e-filed, it's so great. I looked at last year's return and saw that I filed in late March, so this year I wanted to try to get it done earlier......it has so many benefits, namely, that we'll get our refund sooner {smile}, but also that it's off my mind and I don't have to contend with jammed phone lines when calling the IRS or fight with a sluggish website when filing online. The IRS must not be too busy yet, because after I e-filed, they said it would take 24-48 hours to get final acceptance of our return, but I received the acceptance in a mere 2 hours! I used H&R Block's online service, it seems to have worked out pretty good. For $20 you can step through their online software, input all your numbers and deductions, print out a copy of your return, and then e-file, complete with an electronic "signature" and direct deposit instructions for your refund. LOVE it! No appointments, no mailing, no hassle. It even had all the Schedules that I needed to go along with the 1040, they were built right into the program. Ah, sweet relief.....now I can just relax and occasionally check the fun Where's My Refund? link on the IRS homepage.

I've discovered SONIC

When I was a kid, there was a drink stand that I'd pass on my way home from school. I loved their grape slushes {yum} and would routinely ask Mom for 65 cents so that I could get one for the often toasty walk home in the Florida sun. I haven't had a grape slush in years.....until I discovered SONIC the other day. I saw their TV ad and decided to see if, by chance, they had a location near me (they have an online SONIC locator). Sure enough, there's one in Boynton Beach, just north of Delray Beach, in the vicinity of where I happen to run lots of errands. So, now and then, I pull up to one of their drive-in spaces and a server whisks over to me, on roller skates, with my grape slush {by the way, their drinks are 1/2 price between 2:00 and 4:00 PM.....good news since slushes aren't $0.65 anymore !}. SONIC's slushes are not quite as good as I remember getting on my way home from school, but they're close. With every sip, I'm a kid again.

happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Actually, I call it Salentine's Day {wink}. I'm meeting Sal on campus for lunch to celebrate. Enjoy the day! XOXOXO

mixed feelings about Best-in-Show

For the first time in a long time, a beagle has won Best-in-Show at the Westminster Dog Show. The dog, Uno, is no doubt adorable (and everyone knows that I have a soft spot for beagles!), but I am left feeling uneasy about the whole concept of the Show. While it warms my heart immensely to see animals be loved and pampered, I'm concerned about the message of "perfection" that the Show sends. Hopefully, Uno's new fame will not spark throngs of people to beagle breeders rather than to adopt from animal shelters. Shelter dogs are also "perfect", both in body and in spirit. If you have any doubts, just scroll down to my February 6 post and hit the play button.....

Alaska, here we come!

I'm 95% finished with planning our trip to Alaska, whew. I just need to book a couple more places to stay. Sal and I are going to Alaska this summer as a way to celebrate that we both turn 40 this year. I'm super excited, but the trip was a "bear" to plan (pun intended). Since we're not taking a cruise, but instead are exploring the state on our own, I had to make sure to coordinate getting from Point A to Point B in a timely way. The distances are so vast in Alaska, and the modes of transportation are so varied....we'll be riding the ferry, planes, trains and renting a car.

We'll begin our journey in southernmost Alaska, arriving in Ketchikan, and will work our way north through the Inside Passage to Juneau, where Sal's cousin, John, lives. It'll be so great to have a chance to visit him in his environs. The 3 of us will take a helicopter ride to a glacier and go for a hike on the ice....how exciting is that??? From Juneau, we'll head west and explore Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula, staying in Seward. Then it's north to Denali National Park, Fairbanks, and a tour to walk on frozen tundra and to cross the Arctic Circle. Can't wait to visit the Land of the Midnight Sun!

MEMO: it's Monday....time for "Office Space"

Hi everyone, hope you had a great weekend. Sal and I were channel surfing on Sunday night and came across one of my fave movies of all time, Office Space. I've probably seen it 10 times, I just can't resist watching it. It's brilliant......the writer was spot-on in capturing the daily corporate nonsense that so many workers endure, from the daily commute to redundant memos about nothing. A perfect movie after having a "case of the Mondays". If you haven't seen the movie, you'll enjoy this video clip.....I guarantee that the movie will make you want to run out and buy a red Swingline stapler for your desk! {LOL} [Note: contains language not appropriate for little ones who may be within earshot of your computer]

those Pedigree commercials get me.....

.......every time

it's a Super Tuesday (and not just because of the election!)

Today is also a Super Tuesday because it's Sal's 40th birthday! :-) We're having a wonderful day celebrating together. He took the day off, and we went out for his favorite breakfast......pancakes and fresh strawberries. Then we enjoyed some relaxing time at the beach. The weather here is gorgeous today, perfect.



Happy birthday, sweetheart......I love you! Here's to the start of a great new decade!

what a photo!

SuperBowl XLII (it's all about the ads)

Hey everyone, did you enjoy the SuperBowl? Sal and I did. Although we're not big sports fans, we enjoy the annual tradition of the game and all the hoopla surrounding it. And, of course, the ads! A bit of panic set in though when our cable went out (what ?!?!?!?!) about 40 minutes before kick-off, oh no! I was so upset, but Sal's cool-headedness prevailed and he had the idea to pull out our little battery-powered "hurricane" TV. I didn't relish the thought of watching the game on a 5-inch screen, but figured it was better than missing the game completely. Then, a few minutes before kick-off, our cable came back on [relief] and we were back to the 36-inch screen.....hurrah!

The first half of the game was kind of boring, not much action. Halftime was pretty good, classic Tom Petty tunes and a good performance (no wardrobe malfunctions!). But the second half really got good in the 4th quarter, especially in the final 2 minutes of the game! The Giants really held it together.

I thought that most of the ads were lame this year, but I did have one favorite.....the Diet Pepsi Max commercial that was a parody of Chris Kattan's Saturday Night Live skit. Watch the ad here.....turn up the sound, and be sure to NOD !!!

see Jane inspire

"The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves."
--- Dr. Jane Goodall

Wow, today I'm feeling so fortunate! I was able to get a pair of tickets to attend Jane Goodall's lecture at FAU on February 27. Sal and I are thrilled! I've met the esteemed Dr. Goodall once before when she lectured at Butler University in Indianapolis back in the 90s. Her topic then was conservation, but this lecture will focus on peace, tolerance, and compassion. In addition to her lifetime of work and accomplishments as a primatologist, conservationist, animal rights activist, and founder of the The Jane Goodall Institute, she is also a United Nations Messenger of Peace. An extraordinary woman!