Just how bad are those alligators?

One of the constant themes in my life is vacation. We don't go on that many of them, since we're constrained by the kids' school schedules, but we spend an inordinate amount of time planning for them. My idea of a great vacation is a week at the Grand Wailea on Maui, where we cycle between a luxurious room and the best pool complex you've ever seen. It's ridiculously expensive, an expense you can cut by becoming a member -- which means you give them $3,000 of your dollars to hold on to for three years and, in return, they give you half price rooms. I'd also rather spend an expensive week in luxury there than two or more weeks shlepping around Europe the cheap way.

I'd almost talked my husband into another trip to Hawaii this spring, when he suggested Florida, instead, which I thought was a pretty darn find idea. I've never been to Florida, but I happen to be very fond of Disneyland. If I like Disneyland, I should like Disney World too, right?

So, now we're planning for that Florida vacation, with all the attendant decisions: Should we also go to Universal Studios? I hated the Universal Studios in LA, which I found loud and charmless, but I've been assured by several people that the Universal Studios in Florida is so wonderful, it's even better than Disney. Hard to imagine, but maybe they're right. Also, how much time should we allocate to the other Disney attractions, such as the Animal Kingdom Park or Epcot. Also, should we stay in a Disney hotel or go for a regular hotel near Disney. People recommend the former because it's easier to get to the park, but only three are on the monorail, and the rest simply have shuttle service -- in common with every other hotel near Disney. Decisions, decisions.

The biggest decision right now is whether to try to squeeze in time to go to the Everglades. My son has already announced that he's opposed to the idea, not because he doesn't like nature, but because of the alligators. Those Southern alligators are nothing to be sneezed at either (witness this swarm in Louisiana). Alligators may be interesting, but they are not our friends. Indeed, I recall reading about a series of alligator attacks in Florida within the last, two of which resulted in dead joggers, although for the life of me I can't track down that article.

If you're reading this, and you have an opinion about a Florida vacation with two elementary school aged children, please let me know.

If you like language....

If you like language, you'll love this video. Don't be put off by the fact that it starts in German. When it gets to the English part, it will have you laughing out loud:

Aargh! Blogger is confusing me

My format looks pretty bad right now, doesn't it? I'm trying to move the widgets around so that the advertisements aren't right on the top -- a look that I think is a little crass. But I haven't blogged in blogger for a long time, and I think it's mad at me. It refuses to abide by my instructions and resolutely keeps popping those advertisements right back up to the top of the column. I'll work this out eventually, but my apologies for the fact that the blog currently looks like an infomercial.

Beautiful crafts

When I was a kid, I loved reading through my Mom's Family Circle and Mother's Day magazines. In those days, the magazines were not obsessed, as they are today, with diets, make-up, and various personal and national crises. Instead, they had recipes and tons of crafts. I would page through the magazines endlessly dreaming of doing this craft or the other. I eventually realized that I enjoy thinking about crafts, but not actually doing them.

Now, the women's magazines pretty much ignore crafts, leaving that subject to very expensive and narrowly focused magazines. Fortunately for us, though, there's the internet. I've found some truly fascinating and beautiful stuff on the internet.

One of the loveliest sites I've found is something called A Rose By Name, whose proprietress is a beader. Not only does she showcase her own work, she showcases other people's as well, with a series of really lovely photographs. I'm too old and wise by now to have any illusions that I'll ever do that kind of work myself, but it is certainly a pleasure to look at the work that others do.

Go, Navy!

Have you heard about Project Valour -- IT? It's a fund raiser that uses the monies donated to purchase laptop computers for service men and women who have become severely disabled. Every year, there's a big fund raising, that's made a bit more exciting by turning it into something like a horse race. Each branch of the service is designated as a "team." Bloggers sign up for a specific team and urge their readers, not only to donate to Project Valour -- IT, but to donate through their team link. So, if you're reading this and you would like to donate to Project Valour, I urge you to GO NAVY!

Right now, the Army is in the lead, so the Navy has some work to do. And time is short, because the whole fund raiser ends soon.

Everything Moms do

Have you seen this video by comedienne Anita Renfroe? As a mother, she totally gets it:

Halloween

Today was a perfect Halloween morning. It was pitch dark when we got up, and it never seemed to get light. There was a heavy fog hanging over the whole neighborhood, giving everything a suitably spooky aspect.

At the bus stop, all the kids were fashionably accompanied by brown paper bags, bulging with Halloween costumes. Many had very interesting hair. Excitement was in the air.

Our neighborhood takes Halloween very seriously. The houses have been sporting decorations for days, and the day will wrap up with a huge blog party, followed by trick or treating.

I happen to like Halloween, too, as I do all the Fall holidays. I like the steady cascade of special days -- Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's -- all of which serve to relieve the short, wet days of winter. I enjoy all the seasons, but this is the time of year that always makes me feel like a child again.

Introducing Andi's Answers

I've got a whole lot of opinions about things: books, raising children, education, living in the suburbs, family travel, etc. Sometimes others ask me questions, and sometimes I ask them of myself, but the answers are always there. I see this blog as a place to spout my opinions on a variety of subjects, and as a place for you to come and give me your own opinions on things. Civility will be one of my watch words.

I'm already an experienced blogger at another venue, under another name, so this blog should be pretty polished right off the bat. Come, read, enjoy -- and then come back again.