the search is on

Searching, searching....

Not for my brain, though that's probably not a bad idea.  

Searching for the perfect vacation spot.  That's what I'm doing.

We're trying to find a great place to go for spring break next year.  We think we're entitled to a great vacation after going through all this cancer crap, don't you?  We're not going to have a lot of money to spend...at all...but we need something fun to look forward to.

We're up for another road trip or a cheap flight somewhere.  Sure, I'd love to say We're going to Disney World! like so many other families do year after year, but that's just not feasible.  Maybe a National Park, maybe the mountains or the ocean.  It's amazing...this country has so many options and yet we barely ever get to see them.  My husband's never even been to the ocean.  Heck, I haven't been there since I was 5.  My son has seen the Black Hills, but no huge mountains. We need a memory-maker here, folks.

So many options, so little money, don't know where to start.  Any suggestions?

eight legs o' love

No, I'm not talking about those nasty arachnids from Hades that are out to kill us all.  I'm talking about those awesome cephalopods from the sea.

Take a bow, Tiny Gentleman Octopus

Somehow over the past couple of years, I've built up an affection for these things.  They're just so cool!  I mean, they can swim...

...they can run on two legs...

...they can blend in to almost anything...

...they are resourceful....

...they're extremely intelligent...

...and some of them are even explorers.

How could you not love them?

Okay, I'm strange.  I realize it.  You still like me anyway though, right?

apparently you don't know who i am

Lately at work I've been called "earthy" and "Bohemian"  I've been trying to figure out how they're coming up with this.  They think I know natural remedies and have a garden, and knowing the categories that my co-workers put people in, they probably think I don't shave my armpits or shower regularly or something.

Is it the fact that I don't go clothes shopping every weekend?  That I don't care about shoes?  That I know what's going on in the world?  Perhaps it's the fact that I meditate or the fact that I feel more comfortable not wearing a wig through my chemo.  I have no clue.

One person was amazed that I don't eat avocados or guacamole. "But you're so earthy - how can you not like them?"  Hate to burst your bubble, babe, but guess what else I don't like - mushrooms.  You can't get much "earthier" than fungus.  Another person asked me if I knew of any good herbs to take for some menstrual issue they had.  Ummm..no?  Call your doctor?  I will use a natural remedy here and there if I've learned one, but I certainly won't use it in place of doctor-recommended scientifically-proven medicines.

I also can't grow plants.  Not even an herb garden.  I've tried.  I don't smoke weed - never have.  I do love nature, but I don't like sleeping in it.  Nope, no tents for me.  Give me a nice cabin with plumbing, thanks.  I enjoy dressing up and wearing heels - I've done that since I was in middle school.  I take a shower every day, applying store-bought deodorant, and I certainly can't go out of the house without a bra and makeup on.

I think they'd probably run in fear from some people I know who are oh so much more "Bohemian" than I am.  Sometimes I wonder if they have any idea about real people in the great big world out there.