Am I bad?

I know....

where is the world have I been?

Actually- I haven't been doing much work at all lately. The problem has been my internet connection. I don't have one. Right now I am in Canada. Finally I got a trip added to my schedule. However, it's after midnight and I'm exhausted. I'll try to post something tomorrow. We'll see. I still haven't finished the last post...and I was just getting to the good part.

In other news....Today the house closed escrow!!! Yipee, me so happy. Come on...don't I look happy? Sure I do.

The divorce is slow going. Lawyers!

I believe the next step is filing a motion in court for child support and alimony payments. When will this crap be over? Easy girl...easy.

One last thing...I need a new car. I am giving my beloved trooper to my mother. She needs a car worse than me. I am thinking of transfering back to Fresno and I need a car with excellent gas mileage. Any ideas? I'm thinking a Hyundai Elantra. I would love a Honda civic hybrid, but I can't afford it. I have about 15-16 grand to spend. Yes, I'm paying cash. No more debt for me!!!

Adventurous Annie takes on Lisbon!

This is going to be a LONG post. You've been warned!!

October 27th

It's our last day in Lisbon. Toni and dad made plans to visit the town of Fatima. It's pretty much a catholic shrine. I would have gone along, but it was our last day and I was not big on the idea of spending another couple hundred Euros it would take in transportation, sights and food. Besides, Megan still needed to see an art gallery for school and Kaytee wanted to go back and explore the mall some more.
So the girls and I slept in! We ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant. It was free. Thank goodness cause it took me 3 tries to figure out the coffee machine! The first cup was WAY to strong. I would have had a heart attack if forced to drink it. The second came out with milk in it. Third times a charm. I wised up and filled a large mug with 1 shot of expresso then continued with hot water and a couple packets of sugar. Ahhh, coffee.
We stepped outside and took our pictures in front of this wall that is part of the hotel. Not all of the characters fit in the picture, so you get an idea of it's size. BIG!
Next, I consulted the map and we drafted a rough plan for the day. Mall, metro (subway), bus, castle, cable car (similar to our light rail system) down to Belem where the big art museums and monuments are, then back to the hotel. It was destined to be a fun filled day...if I could manage to navigate the city without getting lost...or in trouble. The latter proved to be elusive.

First up: The mall...again

While Kaytee shopped for everything...Megan and I walked around and watched a group of artists. They were good! You could rent time and paint if you wanted to, but it was expensive.
I bought a skirt and few more toothbrushes. As it turned out, I bought the wrong size skirt. I was confused with the sizes (they are different) and ended up putting back the size 6 by accident and buying the size 10. Oops! It's to late to exchange it now! O'well.

Our next adventure was figuring out the metro (subway). It was actually much easier than bart (bay area rapid transit). You simply follow the color line to where you want to go. There are 4 lines and they are not hard to figure out at all. You almost can't get lost. The hardest part is trying to decide what type of ticket you need to buy from the machine. And of course DON'T expect anyone who works there to help you. They hate you and will NOT acknowledge your pleas for help.
We got off at a place called "Rossio" where we emurged from the underground to this amazing site.

Can you see the Castle in the background? That was our next destination. But how to get up there? After doing some research, which involved talking to strangers and getting yelled at a bit, we managed to find the right bus. It was a small bus that you pay when you get on.
Once at the Castle (Castelo S Jorge) we were shuffled to the place where you buy tickets to get in. I was tempted by all the neat looking shops along the way. It was just like you see in travel shows. People, little foreign cars, all cobble stone streets and sidwalks...although most streets were to narrow to have sidewalks. In fact, I think in some places the ground never sees the sun because of how tall and tightly packed the buildings are together.

more to come....stay tuned!

Train to Lisbon

October 26th

The next day, all the girls and I wanted to do was go to the beach. Be lazy and soak up the sun's glorious rays of heat. However, I wanted desperately to run as well.

I got up early and headed out. First I ran around the resort and saw some of the golf course. This place is known for it's beautiful golf courses. To bad MB couldn't be here to play them. The pain sank in as I pondered the idea and wished he could have seen it.
After the course, I wasn't done running. I decided to run down to the beach. When I got there I kicked off my shoes and ran along the waters edge. Back and forth, I did approx. 8 full rounds. I was tired and my feet were hurting, but I didn't want to stop. It was so beautiful and I knew that these opportunities don't happen very often. The last beach I ran on was in Maui. The tide was low. Fisherman were standing in the tide pools trying to catch something. I don't know what.

Later, the girls and I came back down to the beach. Soon after my dad showed up. He told me that him and Toni were going to take the 3pm train up to Lisbon and get a hotel room. That's fine. It was the plan. However, we wanted to stay longer, so I told him that me and the girls would take the later train at 6.
Well as it turned out because I didn't have a watch, we ended up getting back to the resort before my dad and Toni left. If we hurried, we could still make the 3pm train.

We rushed like mad to pack our things. Toni and my dad left for the station. We had to take seperate cabs anyway since we can't all fit in one.
Well, the girls and I showed up to the station with approx 20 minutes to spare. The train up to Lisbon cost a little bit more than when we came down because it is a faster, newer train. I'll say! It only a little over 2 hours instead of the 3.5 it took on the old train. But for some reason, I prefered the way the old train felt. The older model was more comfortable and brighter.

Once in Lisbon, we needed to find the hotel. It turned out to be only a few blocks away. However, it sure was difficult to roll our luggage across those cobble stone sidewalks all that distance. I worried that I'd break one of my tires! I put a lot of miles on those babies!

The hotel we stayed at was called "VIP Executive Arts" It was modern and fancy. The first thing you see when you walk in is a very large entrance with chairs that look like eggs. The rooms all have hardwood floors and 15 foot ceilings with extremely large automatic curtains. It was nice...but I hated it.
No coffee pots (no surprise) but of course a complimentary toothbrush and razor.
The closets were so large that I actually used one of them to change my clothes in since the bathroom was taken. Yes, we all shared one room.
How did we get away with that, you ask?
Easy. I passed for one of the children! Oh, how embarrassing! But we saved money. It was $200.00 American dollars a night. We needed 2 nights.

You'd think this would be enough for one day, but we were hungry. I was hoping to find something in the hotel, but no such luck.
We footed it back down to the train station were we knew there was a large mall right across the street. Once we found the food court, I was the only one who didn't bolt for the nearest familiar crap Burger King. If I had to waste my money on some foreign thing I'd never heard of, I was determined to try something new. I could sense that my dad wanted to follow my lead, but the death stare he got from Toni was clear. Come with me or else!
Sorry dad. I thought to myself...I better order extra so he can try it!

I was so impressed with their selection. It far exceeds ours. The healthy choices were endless! Some places just had salads. ALL kinds of salads from fruit to lettuce. Most were decorated in bright colors and displayed large pictures of fruit. I was tempted to buy that, but I needed something more substantial. I considered a place that only served soup and another spot that I couldn't quite figure out what it was?? I ended up ordering a plate of steak, rice and beans. It helped that there was an employee who could speak English to me. It was absolutely delicious! It was also reasonably priced.
My dad loved it too. Oh yeah, the drink I ordered was their idea of juice. However, it was more like a smoothie. I could taste kewi and oranges. It was thick, sweet and had seeds. I let everyone try it and it didn't last long.

After dinner, Dad and Toni walked back to the hotel while me and the girls checked out some of the shops in the mall. The mall was 3 levels high. They have a much stronger sense of style than we do. Everywhere you look were shops for clothes. But not just clothes...every shop had the whole outfits available from the hat to the boots and everything inbetween. One shop started with womens clothes, then maternity clothes, followed by baby clothes and then toys for the tots! I found many shops had progressions like this.
We made a couple purchases with my favorite being the toothbrush dispenser in the bathroom. Gotta love it!

Bad Body! Bad cells! Go away!

I had another pap done on Monday.

They just called and said the test revealed more bad cells on my cervix. Not sure if they are new bad cells or leftover ones missed from my last leap procedure.

I go back for retesting in January.

Life is short.

Bus Tour

THE WHEELS ON THE BUS GO ROUND AND ROUND, ROUND AND ROUND, ROUND AND ROUND. THE WHEELS ON THE BUS GO ROUND AND ROUND, ALL THROUGH THE ALGARVE. :)


October 25th

We were at the bus stop by 8:10am. Shortly thereafter, we were sitting on a nice tour bus bound for the entire western region of the Algarve.

After picking up some more people, we made our first stop. Just a quick 5 minutes for a picture overlooking the castle in Silves. The town was one of my favorite places we visited this day and not just because it was named after me. (My original last name closely resembles it). But because it was so cute! I loved the narrow streets and old castle. The beautiful cathedral was breathtaking and I even liked the fruit & vegetables market. We were allowed to stay for 1 hour.
Just outside the entrance to the market was a bunch of old crates filled with various wines and an old man sitting on a turned over empty one. He didn't speak English so I did the best Portuguese I could muster. Even though I could read the unmistable cost of the items (2 euros...or 4 euros) I wanted to know which wines were the best. I would point to a bottle and look at him. As authentic as possible, I would ask, "muite bom? He would squint his face and wave his dark wrinkled hand back and forth as if to say "it's alright..." Next I picked up a bottle and judged for myself by sticking my finger up underneath the bottle. It has been my experience that the better tasting wines have bottles that reach way up underneath. I don't know why???
He noticed my selection and gave me his approval. The last bottle I purchased I did so only because of the label. The old man let me know it wasn't going to be all that great, but I tried to explain that the label says "Silves". I pointed to myself and said "Silva." He seemed to understand. I gave the man 13 euros for three bottles of red wine and smiled. "Obreegada!"

Next we drove up the to the "Top of the World"...at least that's what they called it, because it is the highest point in the Algarve. It was a beautiful scene, but very windy. We didn't stay there long. Some people even stayed on the bus. I don't know why because just beyond the tiny gift shop was a wine cellar. Our guide had assured us before arriving that we would be able to taste a few on this stop. I was looking forward to it since I had not tried any Portuguese wine yet. However, Megan needed to use the restroom badly. While I was gone, they had finished our group! I muscled my way through the other bus tour group and chose to taste the port. Where do you think port wine came from..."Portugal!" Dah. I had to try theirs. It was wonderful! I bought 1 small bottle.

Another half hour on the bus and it was lunchtime. The food was pre-ordered and the only thing left to do was pick out a table. The tables were set for 4, so I had to scrunch in. I learned that there is no drinking age in Portugal. Our meal was very nice and included wine and a shot of something (I never did figure out what it was). Our waiter asked if Kaytee would be having a shot. What?!? OMGosh, no way! But she wanted to try it. I lightened up and thought...well, techniqually it is legal. I'm not breaking any laws in letting her try it. Besides, she'll hate it! Okay. Go for it.
But then I tasted it. It was sweet and didn't taste like alcohol at all. Just great. Now she'll love it. But I was wrong. She didn't really like it at all. She thought it tasted like syrup and put it down.

Lagos! I liked this little coastal town almost as much as Silves. Lots of shopping. All the streets are like this. In fact, better. It would have nice to spend more than 1 hour here. We felt very rushed.



If memory serves, our next stop was to the "End of the World." I'm sure you can figure out why...
This place was windier than the last! It's also called St. Vincent. I think because there was once a church here, but half of it eroded and fell off into the ocean. There isn't any building structure to speak of, so we didn't stay to long.


Our last stop took us to the small little town of Sagres.

Of course there was lots of history to be told, but all I remember is that the guide believed it was home to the UGLIEST church he had ever seen. Sorry- I didn't get a picture. The church looked very much like something modern you would easily find here in America. Slap a coat of beige paint on the concrete beast and I would have said..."hey, lookie there...now it's kinda purty!" hick hick

After taking everyone back to there original starting points, we arrived back at ours. 12 hours later, I was beat. It was the longest day in Portugal.

Stressed and feeling low

Here's a few reasons why I've been missing in action lately...Keep in mind that stress can happen weather the events are good or bad.

I've been working and had very short layovers.

Sleep deprived.

Stressed with lack of funds and bills getting out of control.

I lost my case in court and had to pay the traffic fine. ($206.00) Online traffic school to follow.

House is in escrow and scheduled to close Nov. 28th! I have to get my stuff out now! UHHHHHHH (moving is always my biggest stress.)

On top of all that I just feel low. Sad. weak.

However, God knows my woes. He knows my stress and doesn't want that for me. He gave me a book to read on the plane. I found it in row 2 seat C.

It's called "23 minutes in Hell". It certainly makes my problems appear as they are...small. I do believe that Hell is a real place. If you get a chance, check out this book. It's an eye opener. I am so thankful that I will not be going there. On Earth there is hope, no matter what your situation.
Hell is eternal torment, pain, hopelessness, depair and great fear. There is no "Hell on Earth". Just as our brains can not comprehend the peace and love of Heaven, so can we not fathem the horrors of Hell.

But you say..."God will not send me there. I am a good person. I've never raped or murdered little children. They are the ones who deserve Hell."

Have you ever lied? Even a little bit? Have you ever taken anything that wasn't entirely yours? Not even a quarter you found on the ground? Have you ever looked at someone with lust? Have you ever yelled out, God damn it?

Like it or not, you are a sinner; a lying, blasfomous, thieving, adultress (I know my spelling is terrible). You deserve Hell. God does NOT want you to go there. He died for you. He took your punishment and gave you the right to choose. Please don't choose Hell!!! Come be with me in Heaven.

But you say, "It's not fair that God would send good, decent people to Hell." Guess what? He doesn't. You choose with your pride and opinion. Let me ask you, did you open enroll for your work benefits last month or did you do nothing and let it roll over? You can't do that with God. You can't sit on the fence. If you do nothing, you go to Hell.

But still you insist, "It's just not right!" Who are you to determine what is fair and what isn't? Are you willing to bet your eternity on your opinion? I'm not!

Listen, Hell is a real place. The Bible says so over and over. It's very clear. The devil gets the ties and that's just the way it is.
Warnings is our lives are good. They tell you danger is coming. Please take this as a warning. Avoid Hell.

You don't have to be perfect. Have faith and believe in Jesus Christ. Call upon Him in times of trouble. Don't wait! It is the most important thing you will ever do. Why do we buy coffins and plots of land to house our rotting bodies when we die, but do not consider our soul?

Okay- I'm off my soap box now. For some reason, I needed to say that. My next post will resume with October 25th in Portugal.

Explore, Discover and Get Lost

Wednesday, October 24th

Fully rested and ready to see the sights, the whole group (my dad, Toni, myself and the girls) woke up about 9am. We enjoyed my father’s famous breakfast once again. After pouring over some maps and guide tour options we had somewhat of a plan.
We decided to spend this day in old town Albuferia and perhaps if it were available, take a bus tour the next.
I gathered up my things as best I could, not wanting to leave anything important to me in the room. Before I left America, I had made a special trip up to the house to retrieve a backpack purse from my belongings, thinking it would be just the right bag for such a day as this. However, on the plane I discovered that the zipper was broken. Now it was to late. I ended up using Kaytee’s blue cloth backpack, which had many rips and was dirty. I didn’t want to use it, but it was all I had available to me. I thanked Kaytee for letting me borrow it since sharing doesn’t come easy for her.
At the resort lobby, we purchased tickets for the bus tour that would take us on a daylong excursion tomorrow and requested a taxi. My dad wanted to first stop at the train station for a schedule.
When the taxi arrived, we quickly learned that there weren’t enough seat belts and we wouldn’t all be able to fit. Instead of calling another cab or getting split up and going different directions, we decided to forgo the train stop and just walk to the bus stop that we hoped would take us into the old town area.
We walked quite a ways and wasn’t sure which bus would take us there. We asked anyone who could speak English and couldn’t have looked more like the stereotypical tourist with our maps out and pointing in all directions.
Finally we got on a bus and I said to the driver, “Tresh bilhetes por favor.” Three tickets please. Then I handed him 3 gold and silver coins that were worth 1 euro each.
I had learned a few phrases and words before leaving America, but saying them in a real situation was an odd feeling. It was both fun and scary at the same time. In the back of my mind I’m wondering…did I say it right? What if he says something back to me and I can’t understand him?
He kept his head down, busy with his job. Not suspecting a thing, he repeated “tresh” and handed me 3 ticket stubs. I sat down with a sense of victory that I had fooled the driver into believing I was not a tourist.
After a few more stops, we got off at what promised to be tourist shoppers galore. We took a few pictures and noticed a cute little tourist train that stopped behind us. We bought tickets and got on. After a while, we got off and started our souvenir hunt. The first thing I found was a new backpack purse for only 2 euro! Good buy. I wish everything else could have been so cheap.
I didn’t buy that much more…a mug, a magnet and some post cards. I’m not a big shopper. I usually like to buy a t-shirt, but these were kinda ugly and expensive. Why buy that?
I had more fun soaking in all the differences. Even the bathrooms (banos) were different. No seat covers on most and you push a button on the tank to flush. Back in the resort, you had to pull up on a lever to flush, but at least it had a seat cover. Bidays are widely used here, but I wasn’t brave enough to try one. Yikes!
Another thing that is different is the food. Portuguese don’t use dairy products like we do. Except for cheese. They swear that it doesn’t come from a cow. Which is easy to believe since they use very little beef. Pork and lamb are #1. I was brave enough to try their ice cream. The banana was awesome! I only had a lick for fear of getting sick. I am happy to report that I did not get one single stomach pain while in Portugal. ☺
We walked and walked and walked… my dad and Toni in the lead. We were trying to find the town square. We never found it. I have a pretty good sense of direction, but I didn’t want to be rude acting like I knew where I was going in a foreign country. Once everyone started complaining of sore feet and being hungry, I took control and got us back to the little train.
We ate dinner at a place that looked like it wanted so much to be an American fast food chain. The place was dressed in bright bold colors of yellow, blue and red with big pictures of fries, hamburgers and hot dogs hanging on every wall. Inside you could watch VH1 on a flat screen TV. The menu was interesting. Meals came with a cheeseburger, fries and a BEER! Or you can order pizza and a beer. Luckily the beer could be substituted for soda. I gave my beer to dad and had a real drink…vodka, cherry rum and pineapple juice. They called it a San Francisco.
I had a hamburger that tasted nothing like a hamburger. What the heck was it? I don’t think I want to know.
It was getting late, but there was still so many shops left to explore. Kaytee bought a pair of boxer shorts at a store called “Funky Fish” and Megan bought bubble bath and a necklace.
By the time we got back on the bus it was dark. My dad told the driver we wanted to go to Balagia Village.
The driver took us to the entrance to a resort that said “Balagia” but we all knew it wasn’t the right place. When my dad tried to ask the driver about it, he was greeted with annoyance and told to get off! Arguing with this driver who spoke very little English was pointless. We stepped off the bus not knowing where the heck we were.
Time to get out the map and look at street signs. Nothing. We wondered around a bit. I wasn’t about to ask anyone for help since we were standing in front of a bar and the people walking out were scary looking and mostly drunk.
I tried to flag down a cab, but it doesn’t work that way. They won’t stop on the road like that…you have to call them.
We decided to find the receptions desk at the resort that wasn’t ours. It took forever to find it! My dad and Toni went in and spoke with the receptionist.
“We have good news and bad news.” Toni said when she came back out.
“The bad news is, we can’t get a cab to come here. The good news is it’s only about a mile or so back to our resort.”
I knew it! I knew that billboard we walked past looked familiar! O’well. I smiled and said, “Hey, it’s all part of the adventure!” Kaytee and Megan didn’t see it that way.
We arrived back to the room at about 9pm and went right to sleep. We would be getting up early the next day for a guided tour to the end of the world.