Tag Archives: panic
So I Broke Down and Tried Botox (please don’t judge me!)
I’m a squinter. Always have been. My Grandma used to caution me, “Quit doing that – your face will freeze that way!” In my twenties, David would affectionately tease me about my “worry line.” He would always know when something was amiss, all he had to do was look between my eyes.Fast forward thirty (or so) years and, still, I squint on. The squinting’s worst when I’m writing – I don’t even realized I’m doing it.
And Grandma was right, my face… CONTINUE READING >>
Fear Conquering & Roller Derby
“Mom. You are going to get owned.”
My, how the tables have turned. I’m not going to lie, I was getting a bit of pleasure out of worrying The Spawn.
The reason for their concern was not without merit — I was about to attend Roller Derby Camp. Or as the Killamazoo Derby Darlins call it, a “Fresh Meat Event”.
In our never-ending quest to find quirky things to do… CONTINUE READING >>
Smooth Sailing? Not Likely!
I’d been following the controversial Abby Sunderland story with interest. Remember Abby? She was the sixteen-year-old sailor who, while attempting to sail her vessel around the world solo, found herself stranded in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Her parents took quite a bit of flack over the situation. I’d looked at this story from many different angles – and, as usual, my feelings were mixed.The helicopter Mommy in me shouted, “What the &#*% were her parents thinking?!” But after calm reflection I saw things a bit differently. I too have a child with “dangerous dreams.” My son, The Boy, has been flying airplanes since he was thirteen.
Sure, I’ve heard all the arguments… CONTINUE READING >>
We Had Our Heads in the Clouds in Lima, Peru
We had a BLAST in Lima!A whirlwind tour of downtown, an amazing cooking class, a visit to the most unusual gardens, a romantic stroll along the parks of the sea cliffs.
Oh, and we sailed high above the city in a paraglider… CONTINUE READING >>
12 Things We Told Our NYC Girls to Prepare for Frankenstorm
We have two daughters living on Manhattan, right in the path of Frankenstorm. After years of living in the Caribbean we have some valuable tips to give them. Though being over-prepared may make them feel stupid, it can also save their lives.Please share these with your urban loved ones in the path of the Hurricane Sandy.
1. Fill up your bathtub… CONTINUE READING >>
Fear Conquering & Hate Mail
A comment on our site:“In my opinion, anyone who would refer to children in such a disgusting and disrespectful way (adult or not) is an emotionally bankrupt shell of a person…”
BAM! My first hate mail.
I read a lot of blogs. Any of them worth their salt raise strong emotion and spark debate on their message boards. Sometimes it can get a bit heated, but makes for a nice balance.
We have had comments on our website that strongly disagree with our opinions and we relish them, we value every… CONTINUE READING >>
War & Peace, Volume II
A reader wrote:“The best part is when they finally get it, and tell you sorry for being such pain in the ass during those (teenage) years. My son told me he now understands everything I was trying to convey to his logic blocked brain back then…”
Oh man, I can relate.
I was pretty certain that at least one of my envelope-pushing teens would flee the nest — i-Pod at full… CONTINUE READING >>
Fear Conquering & Paragliding in Lima, Peru
Yup, you read that right!Veronica takes on her biggest challenge yet – strapped on to a parachute high above the beach cliffs of Lima, Peru!
And it’s… CONTINUE READING >>
Veronica’s Hysterical Paragliding Antics
Veronica: I feel like we’re sideways, are we sideways? Pilot George: No. We are fine. We are going in very slow. Veronica: What? It doesn’t feel slow. (petrified laugh) No. Ayhhhhhh… CONTINUE READING >>
Boy, Are We Everglade We Came Here!
Your GypsyNesters take on the Everglades – all good fun until a very uncomfortable Veronica gets her hands on an alligator!
We encountered gator wrestling, did some (really fast!) airboat riding and visited the smallest post office in the US.
And that’s just the beginning… CONTINUE READING >>
Gator Wrestling!
Our guide asked for volunteers to give it a try. With no takers, he chose Veronica to be the next challenger. He gave her just enough instructions to have us all questioning how crazy… CONTINUE READING >>
Fear Conquering & Scuba Diving
Learning to scuba dive has been a long dormant dream of mine. I’m a water person, a good swimmer and love to snorkel. Scuba seemed the next logical step.
So I crammed my not-so-perky butt into a wet suit, strapped 16 pounds of weight around my waist (apparently I’m very buoyant) and jumped in. And immediately FREAKED OUT.
There I was in the ocean, treading water like a madwomen, embarrassed and humbled. What happened? I had aced the pre-ocean part of the lesson. In the swimming pool I was amazing – a scuba diving machine if there ever was one. I was practically one of those Discovery Channel shark chasers.
My mind frantically tried to grasp where things went terribly awry… CONTINUE READING >>
Fear Conquering & the Flying Trapeze
It was my first Fear Conquering – as kids today say – “epic fail.” Not pretty at all.Maybe I was too jet lagged. Maybe it was too early in the morning. Maybe it was the ten extra pounds of delicious-food Europe weight. Maybe 50-ish is a bit too old to take up a new trick this physical – the reflexes ain’t what they used to be! Maybe I should shut up and stop… CONTINUE READING and watch the video >>
GypsyNesters on the Radio!
Get the GypsyNester story!We joined Jill and Claudia over at Empty Nester Radio and had a BLAST.
Listen in as we answer these great questions:
How did you become known as the GypsyNesters?
What did your kids say when you told them of your plans?
Do you have… CONTINUE READING >>
Six Places That Will Scare the Snot Out of You
A church decorated with bones, a turn-of-the-century torture chamber, ghost lights in the-middle-of-nowhere Texas, a Voodoo Queen’s grave and a REALLY haunted hotel are among the scariest things we’ve seen out on the road. Click in if you dare… CONTINUE READING >>The Sound of Salzburg
Salzburg, Austria. Home of Mozart and The Sound of Music.Join your GypsyNesters as we sample the sight and sounds of this beautiful city, discover the Reckturm Torture Tower, Heart & Lung Stew and the street performers that keep Salzburg’s musical heart beating… CONTINUE READING >>
Video – Storming the Hohensalzburg Castle
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Nowadays there is an electric cable railway, or funicular, to take people up the rocky face of the mountain. It’s glass encased and goes STRAIGHT… CONTINUE READING >>
9 Things We Told Our Girls in the Event of the Manhattan Hurricane
We have two daughters, The Piglet and Decibel, planning to ride out Hurricane Irene on Manhattan. Having lived in the Caribbean, here is the advice we gave them. Please share this with loved ones as being over prepared can make you feel stupid, it can also save your life.1. Fill up your bathtub with water. Water supplies get contaminated with flooding. You will want to bathe and cook. If you don’t have a bathtub, buckets, pots & pans work as well.
2. Buy food. I called it “The Week of Living Amishly.” Canned food, canned food, canned food.
3. It’s gross, but your toilet will only… CONTINUE READING >>
When Hurricanes Blow
Our daughter, Decibel, spent a whopping twenty minutes at the college of her choice, Tulane University. She never attended a single class. It has to be the shortest college career in history.There was a storm a brewin‘. And it was a whopper.
On a beautiful August day, Decibel landed in New Orleans ready to take on the world. She was especially giddy since she had been chosen from the pool of incoming freshman in the Musical Theater program to sing at orientation — a high honor indeed. Not to mention instant… CONTINUE READING >>
Up in the Air in Courmayeur, Italy
Where Italy, France and Switzerland converge sits the fairy tale town of Courmayeur. At the top of Italy’s Aosta valley, high in the Alps, literally in the shadow of Europe’s highest peak, Mont Blanc, the town has become one of Europe’s premier alpine getaways. Whimsical slate roofed structures are set amid the amazing views of the Dente del Gigante (Giant‘s Teeth).Somehow David convinced Veronica that going on the Funivie Monte Bianco, a cable car that terrifyingly drags you STRAIGHT UP Monte Blanc was a good… CONTINUE READING >>
Okee Dokee Okefenokee
Yes, the Okefenokee Swamp is a real place – and we were up to our elbows in alligators!Two things struck us, first, someone should try using an alligator next time they want to set the long jump world’s record and, second, The Okefenokee’s most famous resident, Pogo, had it wrong. We have met the enemy and he sure ain’t us. He’s all teeth and…. CONTINUE READING >>
Okefenokee Swamp Gator Gazing
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Our walk along The Boardwark deep into the Okefenokee Swamp – and, yes, there be alligators! Lots and lots of… CONTINUE READING >>
Marfa My Dear
We found ourselves in the middle-of-nowhere West Texas and discovered some WEIRD stuff!The mysterious Marfa Ghost Lights (fact or fiction?), strange pig like creatures (with a little nursing baby!) and a really, REALLY strange work of art.
Join us on the journey into weird and wonderful West Texas…CONTINUE READING >>
Balls to the Wall
Ever since I was a kid growing up in the Colorado Rockies, I have heard the lore of the “oysters” but never had the balls to try them. Suddenly my opportunity was just over the horizon.Pressing across Montana, we began to travel through another dimension — a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind, mountains and cooked animal parts… CONTINUE READING >>
Getting High in Toronto
Can a city with over 5 million residents seem open and uncrowded? It can if it’s Toronto. Canada’s largest metropolitan area is without a doubt urban, yet the feel is neither hectic nor claustrophobic. Toronto’s city planners were careful to include open and green spaces in the waterfront and surrounding business district, lending the city it’s unique feel.
In keeping with this unconfined spirit, Toronto is remarkably bicycle friendly. The city has about three hundred miles of bike paths… CONTINUE READING >>
The Great Frog Fraud of Creek County
The journey to the “Creek County Frog” is an adventure unto itself. Was it that we in the area and thought we’d drop by? Could it be that we simply ADORE frogs and just had to see a really big one in rock form? Or maybe it’s that David has a more than unreasonable affinity for crazy quirky crap. We’re pretty sure that’s it. Yeah, that’s definitely it.
The sizeable limestone amphibian lives smack dab in the heart of nowhere. The nearest settlement is Mannford, Oklahoma, home to a bit more than two thousand souls, numerous Yeti and a number of genuinely spooky characters.
According to Wikipedia, the source of all… CONTINUE READING >>
