Sometimes thank you just doesn't say it.

I'm not a "big" person. In my family I'm not the prettiest, or the smartest, or the most ambitious. If you asked them to describe me they would say I was the sweetest. All of my treasures that I stored or put on the boat are either gifts or things inherited from the family members I've lost. We gave away the rest when Corey and I decided to live in this crazy and wonderful way. I'm not big on "things" but the treasures from my loved ones... those I kept. All of them.

If I had to describe myself I would use the word temperate. My biggest wishes are for happiness and health, usually for other people. I love peace and quiet and being on the water. I'm a mostly happy, mostly nice, mostly quiet person. Want to see me uncomfortable? Make me the center of attention. All I want out of life is to love my husband and family, live on this boat and travel a little, and treasure every breath and day after August of 2009. No big aspirations there! I don't want anything because I honestly don't NEED anything. Can you believe this, I'd actually be embarrassed to ask for or have more. It's just not right when I've been so lucky already.

It's no secret that I'm one of those girls that wants little and receives way too much. Yesterday was my birthday and I got all the phone calls and texts from my family and friends that I always do. Do you know what else happened? Facebook! This may seem very silly to you guys but it meant the world to me. I woke up to over a dozen birthday posts on my wall. By lunch, three dozen. By the end of a truly fabulous birthday about 150 people had taken a moment out of their day to post a "happy" for me to read.

Can you believe that? That many? What a gift! For a girl like me nothing could have shocked or touched me more. Thank you for my birthday present guys. It meant the world to me. In true Gillian spirit my birthday wish is simple. I want everyone to have as blessed and happy a year as you wished me. Seriously. Be happy, be nice to each other, and try your best to be healthy!

Thank you, thank you, you're more then I deserve. With friends like you it's going to be a wonderful year!

Update - Chuck has decided to participate as well. Right after this posted I stepped on a flying squirrel. Chuck sat serenly on our railing, looking very proud of himself. Sigh. It looks like Corey is on critter cleanup detail while I boot the cat onto the dock for a few hours. Let the year of 32 begin!

Bottoms Up!

Did any of you notice that I said I had to get out of town in my last post? Well I really did. Our baby broke. Kind of. Don't be scared, I'm going to break down all boat terms into Gillianese so we'll all be on the same page. The Ms. Linda had a blistered bottom. I kid you not. That's what it's called. Last month we had our boat lifted out of the water for an inspection and a power wash. We're crazy, obsessive boat owners and we want our baby to be perfect so that's why. What we found was b.a.d!

Sometimes the fiberglass on the hull of a boat will "bubble" on a boat bottom and cause what looks like a blister. This is potentially awful because they let water in. Without a boat bottom you don't have a boat so this sucks. The blisters had to go and the Ms. Linda needed a whole new bottom job. We need new paint, sanding, and repairs. The only problem? Corey had to fix one girl of his while getting rid of the other one. Me!
This, my friends, is why. Very, very uncool. Our baby would be placed in the boat yard for at least 4 days to get the work done. The only way to get on the boat is to climb up a ladder and crawl through our tuna door. She's only running on half her power to. While most stuff works, there's no heat, or air, or fun stuff like cable, wifi, and Netflix. There's no way Corey is going to tolerate living with me on a boat, on LAND, without entertainment or heat. His solution was the best birthday present ever...
Bam! Disney! You already know how I was disposed of though so lets get back to what Corey was doing. He was busy! I called every day to check on him and our "baby" only to hear that we were a little behind schedule. All our old bottom paint was sanded down and then he repaired all the blisters. There were more then we thought so it took him a long time and I returned to this.
We're still in the boat yard. Darn. On a good note, notice our new black paint! Almost done! Guys, she looks gorgeous. All problem areas have been fixed and thanks to the fact that we both work in this particular boat yard we got a weekend date to go back in the water. I for one was very grateful to not have to wait till Monday. The giant blue thing you see in this picture is a boat lift. It's what picks up that monster boat of ours and moves it all around.
Look at our pretty props and shafts! The silver "bling" you see snapped everywhere are called zincs. They corrode away instead of the metal parts of the Ms. Linda. You place them all over your running gear to protect it from the crud. This may sound silly guys but looking at this just makes me happy. I'm officially insane for loving this that much. You know that little hum women make when they look at jewelry? I still do, but I make the same happy noise when I see beautifully maintained boats.

I can't explain it. It has to do with elegance and symmetry and all tied up with how they're maintained and improved by the people that own them. I just plain like them and always have. Simply put, boats are pretty. So there.
Here is my handsome and handy husband ambling around to the bow of our boat to guide the lift into place. That's a looong way down! We both aren't bothered by heights so amble it is.
Lifted! The creaks and groans had me pacing like a worried momma but she was fine. The yellow straps go all the way around the boat and the cardboard you see stuffed between the straps and the boat are there to protect our new paint.
Corey is very worried. She handled the lift fine, but the ride down to the water was a nail biter. She made it back to our slip without a scratch to her new paint so we're happy!
Also worried, Chuck. I came home to this pitiful critter wandering around and crying at everything and everyone. Reason 437 that I love Corey would be that while I was out of town he fed him and actually carried him onto the boat so that he would know where it was. No dice, Chuck is traumatized. We've reached full on stalker mode since I've been back. If you see me in the marina these days you'll find Chuck within a 10 foot radius and if not he's sitting on some of my stuff somewhere. Corey and I have no idea how to cure pitiful so it looks like I'll be dealing with an oversensitive cat for a while.

That's it! My week, Corey's, and poor Chuck's all in two big, fat blog posts. I'm going back to Googling a cool birthday present for Corey. He deserves it! Ideas???

I'll never beat this!

I had to be out of town for a few days and my birthday is coming up. Corey stepped up and gave me the best birthday gift ever! Seriously guys, I don't know if I'm ever going to beat this. What would make Corey as happy on his birthday as he's made me?! I don't know yet, but I've got about half a year to figure something out.

So what did I get? A trip! Corey sent me to the happiest place on earth. Disney World! The stars aligned in such a way that I got to meet up with my sister in the sunshine state and spend some much needed quality time with her and her family. Corey gave me some unscheduled time with my family. That's a HUGE deal for this chick. Ready for some pictures?
It's a bunny! Okay, not really. It's Briar Rabbit. Every time my sister and I see a bunny of ANY kind we give a little nod to our mother. I couldn't find a better bunny in the parks so ole' B.R. here will just have to do.
I am super, very, happy! Disney is beyond adorable everywhere you look. See my Mickey sticker I'm wearing? That was a gift from my nephew. If you know a kid then you know how important the solemn sticker giving ceremony is. He gave me one of his treasures! Another good thing to note... gorgeous, pin tucked, hand stitched shirts look like crap after a day in the parks. Lesson learned. Sigh.
Here's me so happy I'm ignorant. And there's that expensive shirt looking like crap. Darn it! Still, Cinderella's castle! Weeee! It's all the little touches and hidden Mickeys that make this place so fun. Everywhere I looked I found Alice's cards painted on a floor or mouse ears painted on doorknobs. Do you know there's mice hidden in the rafters of Cindy's castle? I love all the details!
Look who met the mayor! Is he the mayor of just Main Street or does he get the castle to? Does Cinderella throw state dinners or something? Who would give the state of the union address and can you IMAGINE what the assembly would look like? Hmmm...
I really loved this. I popped in a dress shop and found it tucked in a dressing room area. The best part? Birds were chirping over the speakers. So. Stinkin'. Cute!
My favorite ride! It's different now. Disney made a movie based on the ride. The movie was so great they adapted the ride so it's based on the movie based on the ride. Whew! Did ya'll get that? Still, Jack Sparrow and pirates! Fantastic!
And last but not least, meet my new boyfriend. Pirate Goofy! This guy was hysterical. He let me smooch him then he dipped me and flirted for quite a while. Everyone standing around to meet him cracked up when I walked off and he hopped the ropes to follow me. It hit really adorable when another pirate got in the act and dragged him back at sword point, Goofy acted SUPER pitiful and pouted. I seriously LOVE this place!

I have a ton of pictures of me gazing adoringly and my niece and nephew and hugging my sister. Seeing them was the best part of the trip! Seeing my nephew eat ice cream with chocolate Mickey ears... wow. Holding my niece so we could see a show in front of the castle and hearing her gasp when Donald Duck came out... double wow. I actually got all teary a few times just SEEING them. They're gorgeous and they're getting so BIG! I'm never ever ever going to beat this trip. One more time, thank you Handsome! It's already the best birthday week ever!

Megastation

I want. My MegaStation. Right now please. I bought this thing the first year that Corey and I moved onto our boat. I was ambling around in Sam's and saw this giant thing hanging from the ceiling. The golden glow appeared, the angels sang, and I had this brilliant idea that I NEEDED a MegaStation if I was going to live on a boat. NEEDED it people! It seats six and has two ice chests in it. It's so big it has loading platforms so you can get on the darn thing. How can you live on a boat without that?!
I had some poor, malingered Sam's dude squeezing that thing into the back of the Kia Pet in no time. It weighed, a ton. Was Corey happy with the MegaStation? No he was not. His first experience with it was of me crammed in the Kia Pet and using my legs to push the box out. Once it was (and busted) I grabbed the torn piece and tugged it down the dock. When THAT ripped I pushed it the rest of the way. It's huge, it's heavy, it takes forever to blow up with an air compressor, and it's SO MUCH FUN!!!

The MegaStation has only one design flaw in my eyes. Whoever built this thing decided to use the slip n slide material. It's impossible to get on this thing! Attempt one had me sliding from one side to the other and right off. All other attempts have been graceless, usually resulting in a face plant in the swimming pool net thing. When it's choppy people go sliding all over the place. Pour a little wine on a choppy, slip n slide material, MegaStation kind of day and hilarity ensues. It's fantastic! I've got big ideas for this summer. I want to tie the loading platforms together and secure them to the back of our boat. That way you can SLIDE onto the MegaStation! Someone is definitely going to get hurt. Probably me. Doesn't it sound kind of fun though? A slide onto a raft over 12 feet long... so cool!

Right now my favorite boat toy is languishing in winter storage. It's just waiting for some strong sun and warm breezes. So am I! Come on spring. I want my MegaStation! Hasn't winter been around long enough?

And yes guys, that is me up there in the picture. This was way before heart attack troubles started knocking on my door. Orange bikini, curly hair, ball cap, and khaki shorts. Gillian in her natural environment! All these "before" pictures are kind of odd to look at now. It's like a critter in the zoo. Who WAS that girl?!

A Great Blue Morning

There are mornings that you just have to take a moment and soak in how lucky you are. I live on a beautiful boat on the southern part of the Great American Loop. My husband and I have jobs that allow us to live and work with all things marine AND we're surrounded by wildlife in their natural environment. It's amazing!

I took my coffee onto my back deck to enjoy the boat rock and avoid my grump-a-saurus of a husband in the morning. The poor guy is unbearable until his caffeine kicks in. After five years of marriage I think it's precious when he's all confused and grumpy but I still keep my distance.

The marina is an estuary for all intents and purposes so when I heard clacking on the dock boards behind me I froze. You never know how a wild animal will react if you startle it. Imagine my suprise when this great blue heron strolled right up and stopped in front of me! My feet were propped on my railing so we were literally toe to toe. I remained frozen while he looked at me with his funny colored eyes for the longest time.

Eventually he ambled away and I ran for my camera. I managed to get this shot for you guys! Look at his face and you can tell I'm starting to piss him off. He's using our docks to fish for his breakfast so I backed up and left him to it. I've got a soft spot for the water birds in my marina. Isn't he gorgeous? Seriously guys, how lucky am I?!

Spatula

I love my ice chest. If I ever decide to be un-crazy I don't know how I'd live in a "real" house without one. A Diet Coke with this level of frosty goodness can't be achieved without one. Un-crazy, house dwelling people don't have ice chests fully stocked on their back porches. Slightly eccentric, boat dwellers can TOTALLY pull it of. It's just one of the perks. I get a refrigerator AND an ice chest. Go me.

Unfortunately, it's winter and that does pose a tiny problem. I do NOT want to stick my hand in there and fish around for a frosty Diet Coke. When it's blustery and rainy I want to even less. I'm a problem solver at heart and I still want my stuff on ice. Simple solution? Hijack my husbands stuff. His awesome man grill spatula has been commandeered for the season. It's perfect! Problem solved while our level of eccentricity (i.e. "crazy") rises.

By the way, that's definitly my pink North Face sock you see peeking out down there. I still think there needs to be a rule somewhere that says all docks and boats should be no shoe zones. The world would be a much better place!

Just have a cold.

Home! The Man and I took a lot of time off to travel all around and we were happy to see our cozy boat in our pretty marina. It's nice to get back to work you enjoy and your own routine. Am I right?

I woke up after ONE day back at work to a runny, sneezy nose. "Ugh. Nose! What the hell are you doing?!?"
"Ha ha! I'm going to ruin your Christmas!" I had a cold. After practically being chased out of the office with a can of Lysol I was parked on the sofa and pouting. Stinkin' great. That's okay though. I'm prepared this time!

The last time I got sick I had a narrow miss with a hospital bed(You're not putting me in there!) and I got needles up my nose. Heads up heart buddies. Runny nose + blood thinners = nosebleeds. DON'T blow your nose. It's a super bad idea. Trust me on this.

The awful, miserable, crappy truth is if you're any kind of heart patient like me you're going to JUST have a cold. There's not a lot of treating and medicating you can do. I didn't know this the last time and took my regular dose (a ton) of decongestants. That cranked up my blood pressure, I felt worse, then I almost landed in the hospital. Admitting my stupidity was one of the only things that kept me out.

This time around I called my doctor and got approved to take Coricidin. It's built for us heart people once they tell you you can have it. There's no decongestants or fever reducers in there to tinker with your blood pressure or mess with your medication. By the second day of the Coricidin treatment the only good it could have done me is if I'd punted the box across the room. THAT might have felt good. It's not that the stuff doesn't work, it's that the "good" stuff works BETTER! So long Nyquil. It was fun while it lasted.

I also went the homeopathic route. Shower Soothers that turned my shower into a giant cough drop, saline nose spray, Vicks Kleenex (I love you so much!), vitamin C, and comfort food. My fever treatment was frozen yogurt and my sleep aid was called sleep when you can.

The Man and I did spend our Christmas laying low but we both recovered. HE got NyQuil, the lucky duck. We're both back at work and feeling froggy so I'm no worse for wear for missing out on the "good" stuff. The fact that I listened to the doctors this time and avoided all scary complications just proves it worked! Just have a cold... imagine that!

Sorry Guys!

I'm an awful, mean, selfish blogger. Winter living on a boat, a really cool job, a husband, and holiday traveling made me put off my blog. Add in a narcissistic cat, heart maintenance, and all the other "stuff" and BAD me. Very bad blogger. I'm so sorry if you worried guys. I'm alive, healthy, and very happy. Promise! I've also been storing up posts in my handy dandy notebook given to me as a Christmas present. The giver was more astute than I as I didn't realise it's value until I had 10 pages of potential posts. So thank you!

I know, you're still mad. Would it help if I told you where I was for a bit?

Maybe?

No?

Well fine then. I'm going to tell you anyway as it was AWESOME! My husband and I ventured north to visit his family for the holidays. Twice! November and December were spent traveling all over Oklahoma, Ohio, and Kentucky.

I know what you're thinking. Awesome? This? It's great, sure. But awesome? Well yes it was. The Man and I are cruising towards our 6th year married and our 10th year together. We've made several trips north and I have never, ever, seen real snow.

This last trip was snow covered! Finally! I'm giving you some pictures to make up for not posting so forgive me okay?

Check out the Kia Pet! She's covered! I have never in my life seen anything like this.

Check me out in my pink pea coat! I'm standing on a frozen pond! This cracked up my husband because I'd been having a bit of trouble walking in the snow. Where's the ground?!? I spent a considerable amount of time picking through it like I was about to fall in a sinkhole. I've seen too many movies. To my poor, overstimulated brain Ice= solid. Snow= sneaky. After about busting my "yass" because of this error Corey grabbed my hand and hauled me off right after this was taken. Smart man.

Here I am having trouble walking. Sneaky snow. It's hiding the grass. Yes, this is embarrassing being caught in the act. Let's be fair though blogger friends. I was born in New Orleans. That means veeery southern. Sweet tea and crawfish southern. Living on a boat southern. I'm like a magnolia in the freezer here. Again, I was rescued by Corey after he finished laughing at me.

That's me at the top. I'm sliding down a hill in some borrowed snow pants. I now love snow pants. Us southern people don't recognize their value. I also love hills. This is the day I got my first sled ride, my first 4 wheeler ride in the snow, and my first deep snow trek. There were snowballs in there somewhere and one faceplant to go along with this not-so-graceful booty slide.

Finally, me freezing. I didn't want to go in though! In this picture I'm wearing so many layers of clothes I had a hard time bending my knees. Why? You heart buddies know. Cold weather stresses your heart. As I've never dealt with this level before I had to be careful. Lots of gear and short trips outside with plenty of warm up time in between. I kept my nitro in my pocket just in case but I'm happy to announce I didn't need it once.

And last but not least... we did so many things and saw so many people. Why aren't they in this post? Because it would be rude. I didn't ask permission and they don't know you guys (and how fabulous you are) like I do. :) It's just not fair to post pictures on "the internets" without expressed consent. There's that southern thing again. Take my word on it though. We had a blast!