It's The Little Things...

...that make me happy.

Along the way I somehow got the reputation of being high-maintenance. Now where did this come from? I know, I know....from Evian misters to triple puff cotton balls I admit that I could be perceived as a bit HM. But, I content this is less about being high-maintenance and really just that I like what I like.

It truly is little things...that make me happy. Those extra special touches. Like take today for instance....at lunch when they brought out my iced tea glass they also brought me a full carafe of back up tea. Fabulous! Just a little thing, but makes a world of difference so I'm not sucking on ice cubes waiting for a refill. Love it.

Another recent little thing happened just this past weekend at the pool in Florida. As we basked in the warm afternoon sun, the wait staff of the hotel walked around passing out delicious, refreshing frozen grapes to all the guests.

So see....it’s just the little things that make me happy.
- Handles on paper grocery sacks
- Valets who remember to take those pesky little paper tags off your windshield wiper
- Bartenders who remember your drink of choice
- The little cutout piece of cardboard in the bottom of the Chinese takeout sack so my hot and sour soup doesn't spill
- Coat checks
- Plastic baggies right there at the airport security line so you don't have to throw out your new expensive hand cream that you forgot to take out
- Gas stations that actually still have a full service attendant
- Black napkins when you are wearing dark pants and white napkins when you are wearing light
- The dry cleaners that carries you loot to the car
- And returning used makeup to Neimans just b/c you don't like it....no questions asked

Not demands, just special touches....little things...that make all the difference. Little things that make me happy....not high maintenance.

And all this inspired from a little old carafe of iced tea. Go figure.

Welcome To Shay's World

Late Sunday night, I returned from some much needed R&R in St. Pete, Florida. A week ago I wrapped up our big fundraiser at work and I needed to get away and relax. BTW...the fundraiser is to blame for the lack of and inconsistent blog entries. The event was a huge success, but I am happy to report that I am now back among the land of the living. So, on to Florida.

I jetted to Orlando Thursday afternoon to meet with Shelly (in from New York) and Cindy (in from Dallas) to stay at Shay's house in Longwood (just outside of Orlando).

For some reason I have this preconceived opinion of Florida and those who reside there. It may be partially because my favorite Floridian transplant has brainwashed me, but I have to say she is mostly right. Upon arrival I immediately noticed that Florida must be the capital of men in cut off jeans and women donning tattoos that are no doubt the regret of a drunken spring break in Daytona some time ago...but I digress.

We spent the night at Shay's on Thursday night and got to see her darling little ones Mason and Mary Beth before hitting the road for the two hour drive to St. Pete Beach.

With the gas tank full, our bags packed, and the Morse kiddos safe and sound with the sitter we headed out to the coast. One problem....in my haste to get out of Austin I forgot my bathing suit. Minor hiccup though. I'm nothing if not solution focused...so I enlisted Ashley back in Austin and she had a suit over-nighted to me and waiting for us upon check in. Now that's service.

We made it to St. Pete's in one piece and checked into our fabulous hotel the Don Cesar Beach Resort. Upon arrival we learned that the hotel was host to the 2nd Annual Tampa Bay Wine and Food Festival...which proved to add lots of entertainment throughout the weekend.


We were settled into our pool-side lounge chairs by noon and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon of sunshine with a couple of refreshing cocktails. Since the wine fest was at our hotel, we got free tickets and we decided to head into the tent to see what all the fuss was about. I think I'd equate the inside of that tent to the cheesiest club I've ever been to...body painting, vodka shot ice sculptures, a DJ blaring, shot girls, etc, etc. There was lots of great food and wine to sample, but we highly preferred the luxury of our pool-side spots. So we headed back to our post where we watched the wine tasting guests stumble out late in the afternoon. Highly entertaining.


Friday night we went to the roof top bar at Hurricane's to watch the sunset over the ocean with a pre-dinner cocktail. From Hurricane's we walked down the street for dinner at a darling little place called The Black Palm where we dined on delicious Latin inspired cuisine and sipped on refreshing Sangria (some of the best I've ever had). Since this trip's intent was rest and relaxation, we decided to call it an early night and we retired to our room.


Saturday morning we ventured out from the hotel again for a well recommended breakfast at the historic Seahorse Restaurant. We ordered a little (or a lot) of everything and it was delicious. I was particularly taken with the cheese grits! Delisch! After breakfast it was back to the pool for more sun. Late Saturday afternoon as the Wine Fest crowd staggered out we befriended Nancy and John...a sixty something year old couple who had had one (or 5) too many glasses of wine. Ask me about them next time I see you.....there are a couple of great Nancy and John stories that are much better shared in person.

After the pool we headed to the room to get dressed. Of course I had my iPod in tow, so we busted out some of our old school faves....and inevitably "Ghetto Shay" comes out. I hear Ghetto Shay and don't get to see her near as often I'd like since she moved oh so far away from me. Ghetto Shay can always be counted on to bust out with a heartwarming performance of "Gimme That Nut." Classic!

Saturday night we ventured into downtown St. Petersburg for dinner at The Table. Delicious, self described "Atlantic Rim" flavors and fabulous cocktails. For apps we had some of the best ceviche I have ever had. But their little bread rolls....oh my...these are little bits of heaven that I will not soon forget. Saturday night's dinner was an all night affair, so we headed back to the hotel for night cap before retiring for the evening.

As all good things must do, our trip came to an end Sunday with hearty lunch at the Sea Critter Cafe (the name is far more unfortunate than the food). I have to say I was a little suspect about heading out to the Florida beaches (mainly b/c Shay is a card carrying member of the "I hate Florida club"), but I really enjoyed myself. Great beach, great pool, great hotel with great service, and great company.

Cheers to a great trip girls. I can't wait for the next adventure.

P.S. We reinstated the quote list on this trip, although Shelly took over as historian so I could give my fingers a break this time. Here's a bit of what was overhead from the beaches of St. Pete....

"Welcome to my world." SM

"I can't be asked to _______." SH
"I can't imagine trying to date in this state." SH
"There are a lot ho's here." SM
"Is that the colonel?" SH
"That's suntanning gone bad." SM
"Did she dye her hair merlot for the wine fest?" LE
"It smelled like fried fish in there." SM
"Do you think he picked out his best mickey tank for tonight?" LE

"Should I put it in my purse?" CZ
"Critters in your pants? Like the pool boy?" CZ
"I'll take sex on my bed for money." SH

"(Circa 1:00pm) I'm drunk!" SH
"I don't want to nurse it, I just want to hold it." SM
"Are those her panties?" LE
"She's a stage six." LE
"I noticed in the bathroom that my loins are pink." LE
"What happens after 17 minutes? I'd want to kill someone." SH
"That probably hurt as bad coming out as it did going in." LE
"Magna crom laden." SH

Click here for more pics from our girl's weekend in St. Pete.

For My Faithful Facebookers

Anyone who is anyone is now on Facebook!!! Yes there was a time when I too judged away at the thought of it, but even the judgiest of us all eventually cave to the crack that is Facebook.

There is just something exhilarating (albeit strange) about adding a new "friend" to your friend list. (193 and counting) I love to hunt for people I "know." Let's face it...."know" might not be the correct word here. We've all done it....friends of friends; friends from way back when that you never actually spoke to iin the hallways outside of Coach Bohac's room...but we continue befriend them in cyberspace nonetheless.

If Facebook is crack, I consider myself somewhat of a Facebook pusher! I love to get new people to sign up and then "throw a chicken" at them.

Facebook is also a place of self revelation. The Facebook quizzes bring such insight to who you are and what makes you tick. Here's a little insight to me through the eyes of Facebook.



I've also learned such insightful things like which Sex And The City character I am (Carrie), what kind of weapon I am (M9 Handgun), and which city I should live in (Sydney, Australia).

If you are not yet a Facebooker, I highly recommend you jump on the band wagon. All kidding aside, through Facebook I have reconnected with long lost friends from high school, my college roommate, and more.

Yesterday I was sent this youtube video about Facebook by a fellow Facebooker. I think it perfectly sums up the Facebooking life. Happy Facebooking my "friends."

Reading Rainbow

Reading seems to be the theme of the day.

First I'll give a quick shout out to my friend, Elizabeth who attended her first bookclub meeting last night. Let me repeat that...Elizabeth attended her first bookclub last night. This is of note because Elizabeth does not, in fact, read. She doesn't read books, magazines, or really anything. And this is a known fact....she touts it on her myspace and facebook pages and regularly during literary conversations. Ok, so we probably don't have too many literary convos, but you get the point.

On the flip side, I was amazed by a story/guest who appeared on Ellen today. Alfred Williams is the most adorable 70 year black man I've ever seen. Over 60 years ago Alfred dropped out of first grade to go to work in the fields so he could help his family. But in doing so, he also made a promise to his mother that he has now made good on....he has learned to read. Alfred joined a first grade elementary class and participated on all levels. When they played, he played...when they learned to read...he learned to read. It was adorable to watch the clips of the kiddos talking about their "friend" Alfred...this 70 year old black man in a virtually all white first grade class. Amazing. Alfred is adorable. So full of life and one of the best smiles I've ever seen. He is proud to say that he can now read. While on the show, Ellen presented Alferd with a check for $10,000 that Alferd said he was going to use to build a house. What an amazing story.

Now I'm not what you would call a great reader. I have a very limited attention span and I have a bit of a reading comprehension problem. I'm sure it's nothing the right drug couldn't fix....but I've come this far might be too late. It takes me quite a while to plow through a book....as you can probably tell by the almost static portion of my blog "On The Nightstand." My reading mentor is Ashley. That girl can read. I've never seen anyone master the art of blocking out the world quite like her as she devours a book. Impressive. Anyway, I'm currently reading a great book about the circus in the 1930s. Doesn't really sound all that great, but it is fascinating and well written. I'll give you a book report when I'm done....it a month or three!

Happy reading....well not you Lizzie. :)