Scrabble Crush: vacation

Tina's Adventures in Ambien Land

Well, my fascination with my (and some other people's) reaction to Ambien might be a little self-centered...or maybe even narcissistic. I guess I'm not so worried about seeming narcissistic, because I'm sure people are just as fascinated with me as me...is. Ahem.

But, I have to mention this: I spent Monday through yesterday looking all around the house for my brux guard. (In my body's continued quest to make sleeping as unsatisfying as possible, I grind my teeth when I'm not experiencing insomnia.) In case you don't know, a brux guard is something you wear in your mouth that cushions the attempted grinding of the teeth. I couldn't find this thing anywhere! And this is not like you can just go out and replace these things! They're really expensive (for anyone who's brother-in-law is not a dentist) and still take several days to get back, and fruit basket to your brother-in-law's office if he is a dentist.

I knew it could be laying around the bedroom or bathroom because, despite what the commercials say, Ambien is hard to shake off when you wake up. (Should that be "laying" or "lying"? Is it "chickens lay and horses lie"? Why are horses so dishonest? What about "getting it right from the horse's mouth"?) But what's the choice? Be tired, disoriented, and unhealthy because of long-term sleep deprivation?

Anyway, the amnesia that you have at night can linger into the morning and, in my experience, it makes me emotional. Here's an example of THAT...back in January I was doing my last-minute weather checks for the Orlando area since we were getting ready to take the kids to Disney World for vacation. I checked Weather.com every morning when I first got up, waiting for the 10-day forecast to totally encompass the days of our visit. So one morning I'm upset beyond belief when I read that our trip was going to be filled with 30-something-degree days and a possible snowstorm. I immediately sent out a somewhat hysterical e-mail to all my friends, my dad (who lives in Sarasota), and my two brothers.

About an hour later I got to work and suddenly reality sank in...it's crazy to think it would be 30-something degrees and snowing in Orlando...let alone for several days in a row. I checked weather.com again and realized that I had not clicked on my saved Orlando search and had, therefore, been looking at the weather for Charleston, WV. Not surprisingly, and maybe intuitively, my dad's one-line response to my written hysterics was "No snow in the Big O."

So I couldn't find my brux guard for three days. I had to sleep without it and awoke with all the symptoms of grinding my teeth the night before. This morning, I was digging in the bottom of my purse looking for more mints (to which I'm addicted) and I found...my brux guard. I just wonder at what point Monday morning I decided to take it to work with me.

Dancin and singin and movin to the groovin

It's getting easier to remember special days around here. My great friends Melissa and Sara share April 19th as their birthday and now my brother Cliff's anniversary is on the same day! Eric and I flew down for the wedding last month and had a crazy-fun weekend.

Thursday we got settled into our hotel, took a little nap, and headed out to the Sarasota Sailing Squadron for the pre-pre-wedding party, hosted by my brother's fiance's Texas friends and family. The weather was windy and cold for Sarasota but being waterfront at sunset is always beautiful.

Ummm...did I mention it was cold? Well, it was cold...and I had arrived in Florida with a nagging cough resulting from the yellow layer of pollen coating every surface back in West Virginia. So, after Thursday night's windy chill, Friday morning found me with no voice, a deeper (but still dry) cough, and no energy because I couldn't breathe. I spent the day in the bed at the hotel with a box of Mucinex by my side. Unfortunately, I missed the bridal luncheon but taking some down-time to try and recover was the only chance that the whole weekend wouldn't be tanked.

By Friday night, I felt somewhat better so, still without my voice, Eric and I trotted off to the rehearsal dinner. It seemed like a lot of people were just beginning to recover from Thursday night...not in the same way that I had recovered from Thursday night, though. My Florida family is known for its partying power and, for the last several years, they've been able to drink me under the table and stay out waaayyyy later than I. Friday night I learned that they'd all gone out after the end of the pre-pre-party and many of them (especially the younger relatives and their friends) had gotten home at about 4:00 a.m. The rehearsal dinner was low-key and gave everyone the chance to sit around together, enjoy the food and drinks, and get ready for The Big Day.

Saturday morning was an A+ in my book. Since I'm not the best at sleeping in anymore, I woke up at about 8:00 and searched the Internets for something comparable to Charleston's Taylor Books. I lucked out and found maybe the coolest coffee shop to ever be located in a strip mall. Java Moon Coffee had free Wi-Fi, comfy chairs, local art, great latte, a to-die-for egg and cheese sandwich (on a croissant), and an atmosphere that welcomed me to stay the several hours I did. Of course, that meant online Scrabble time!!!! After several games of Scrabble, two extra-strength lattes, one egg sandwich, and maybe something sweet...I blame the fact that I can't remember on the two extra-strength lattes...I went back to the hotel to nap (yes!) until it was time to get ready for the wedding.

Being familiar as they are with: (1) Florida's quick-changing weather; and (2) their friends' and families' desire to get on with the party, my brother Cliff and his fiance, Beth, had a short, outdoor ceremony in the outdoor garden of the Chelsea Center. After that, we all had a 20-second walk to the reception, right inside the Chelsea Center's doors.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was drunk and on the dance floor. Okay...I'm kidding! Kidding!!! Everyone knows you have to eat before you really start to drink or you'll get sick. So...one hour later everyone was drunk and on the dance floor (or something like that).

Seriously, though, the party was spectacular! The band was called Stormbringer...it's a local favorite and the favorite of my dad and step-mother. They have a special talent for "playing to the crowd" and changing their set on-the-fly based upon how their audience responds. Almost everyone danced...and danced a lot! We all got our groove on to disco, newer dance stuff, and even some classic rock that you shouldn't be able to (even though we all did anyway). And did you know that if 200 people sing Bohemian Rhapsody at the top of their lungs, it can actually sound pretty good? It helps if you swing your arms around dramatically and maybe even direct an invisible orchestra or play an invisible guitar.

My dad played with the band for a few songs and that's always a big treat. He's been playing for, oh, maybe 40 years, and gets a great response. My lack of any discernible rhythm and/or pitch is some pretty strong evidence that I did not inherit any of his musical abilities. Heh. That's okay. I did end up with a pretty decent talent for photography, which it appears that I gained from that side of the family.

And the party went on. For hours everyone danced and drank and danced some more. Stormbringer played until about midnight, and the after-partying began. Eric and me being Eric and me, though, midnight was about enough. We headed back to our hotel room, buzzing from one of those super-good-time, perfect-amount-of-fun-without-overdoing-it, special kind of nights. Nothing compares to dancing all night, spending time with your family, and not ending up with a hangover the next day.

There are lots of pictures on my Picasa page. Here are some that I really, really like:

Beth, my cousin Erica & Erica's sister Jennifer