My favorite picture

My boss snapped a picture of Marjie and I at our radio station’s cocktail party, where we entertained our 150+ guests from the Wabash Valley. It was one of my favorite times on the ship because it was just us and our listener friends, a nice chance to get to know a few of them a little better. I wish the party had been longer because it was so much fun and spirits were very high!

Dinner with the Captain!

My coworkers and I got a special treat onboard: we were invited to dine with the Captain and a couple of his crew, the Chief Steward (who sent a fruit basket to our room, really making us feel like celebrities) and the Chief Engineer. All of them were foreign and spoke with heavy accents, so the dinner started out just a little bit awkward until I mentioned to Captain La Fauci that my sister Marjie was a sailor too. He started testing her mettle and I must say she passed with flying colors. By the time our dinner was over, the Captain invited our small group to come and visit him on the bridge of the ship, a truly rare experience! I don’t have those pictures but will share this one with Camillo, the Engineer, myself, Marjie and the Captain. You’ll notice he has a pretty tight hold on Marjie. Even he knows now she’s a real keeper.

Back in Cozumel

Here’s Marjie and I on the beach in Cozumel, taking a rare break from being in the beautifully clear, warm water.

On this beautiful day Marjie taught our Beach Guide how to make painkillers, a great rum drink I enjoyed very much.

Marjie paddle-boat raced one of my coworkers, Christopher, and beat him, of course. ;-) Then we dragged out a couple of rafts and spent most of the afternoon lying in the sea on those rafts, talking to each other and contemplating floating out to sea. But we didn't, I kept going back to the beach for another painkiller. It was a spectacular day.

Crand Cayman with Marjie

Every day was spectacular, and Marjie and I were perfect ship companions. I have to give her props: when we boarded the ship she said, “Okay let’s make a deal…no elevators.” I readily agreed, having no idea how many stairs we would be taking in lieu of the elevators. I had blisters on my feet from every pair of shoes I took and I gave her a hard time about it the whole trip. BUT when I got home I hadn’t gained any weight, even though we ate and drank all the time! That sister of mine is a good influence on me, even my boss said that when we got back. He told me he had seen another side of Diane on this trip and I have to agree: a very happy Diane at that.

Grand Cayman with guide Dennis

Grand Cayman was another spectacular day for us. We joined a few of my coworkers here at the radio station on an excursion to a private beach on Seven Mile Island. Our guide Dennis was fantastic, showing us around parts of the island on our way to our beach…so we took a picture with him and the girls, Jana, me and Billie.

Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel turned out to have one of the prettiest beaches I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. We spent a lovely day in the sun there, drinking painkillers. Marjie taught our guide how to make them and he did an excellent job!

This is the part of the ocean we spent the day floating in…isn’t it beautiful?

My Girls Night Out gang

I was thrilled when four of my girls night out gals booked the cruise and NONE of us were disappointed. This is a crazy bunch of women (witness Bonnie’s leg flung over my boss’ leg…even I wouldn’t do that, LOL) and we have agreed that what happens on the cruise stays on the cruise, so this is about all I can show you of this crazy bunch. ;-)

We met lots of great people on the cruise, but really bonded with those who dined with us in the lovely London Dining Room onboard. Dinners were fancy four course meals but it was the conversation with these people that made dinnertime a must-go experience.

In this picture are our friends Stacey and Rick, Ciara and Faith, and Mark and Cindy. I hope this is not the last we see of each other because these are some really great people!

This picture was taken at our cocktail party, not in the formal dining room.

Cruising with Marjie

Marjie and I just got back from the best vacation I have ever had and I just had to share some of it with you. My radio station had me host a cruise to the Western Caribbean on the Carnival Cruise ship Triumph. Our destinations were Ocho Rios Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel Mexico. My dream has always been to see white sand and turquoise water and that’s exactly what I got!

Marjie acted as my personal cruise photographer and did a fantastic job of getting everyone to take their pictures with me. But we also had lots of time off the ship to enjoy our beautiful shore excursions.

Since I can only share one picture at a time I’m starting with Marjie and I on the deck of the Triumph as we were about to set sail from Miami. More to follow.

Wrapping it up

Longing for honest love,
Wishing for more integrity,
Tired of frustrating hypocrisy,
Hoping for simple emotions,
Enduring too much solitude,
Looking for intense sensations,
Dreaming of secret desires,
Fearful I might find them in you…
Then what would I do?

Breaking it down

What’s going on in my head?
Is it empty like my heart?

I could break it down, consider this
Or I could tear it apart,
Seeking out the missing link,
In search of a new start.

But beginnings always scare me,
The effort wears me out.
Am I meant to be alone?
Or am I the reason for the doubt?

Rain, Rain

Trying to define my emotions right now
is like trying to describe a sudden summer shower
in the country
late at night
when you can actually
hear the drops as they hit the leaves.
There are words that might work but
they’re fading away even as I try to capture them,
much like a sudden summer shower
in the country
late at night
when the rain drowns out the words
so I might as well enjoy the downfall
and just for the moment,
forget about the consequences
of getting wet.

Walking with the stars

Stargazing in the middle of the day
Is as extraordinary
As my heart’s reaction
To seeing you again.

To the flame

Moving slowly,
reaching out,
sharing smiles
and looks for miles.
I am drawn to you
in ways I don’t quite
understand.

Temptation

I’m looking for my place,
it’s quiet and sheltered and safe
and I haven’t visited in some time.
So perhaps I have been abandoned
by my own neglect.

Maybe some effort is in order
So I can rediscover the emotions
that have not, in some time, undone me.

Today

I want to walk in the rain,
laughing as we get wet
and forgetting about sensible things
like makeup and hairstyles
and staying high and dry.

I want to run up and kiss you
instead of walking in calmly
and patting you on the shoulder
to let you know I’m there,
but my feet won’t move that fast.

I want to be swept up in a torrent
of emotions I haven’t felt in years
and sometimes I sense you feel the same
but there we sit, knee to knee
and many miles apart.

This is what I want today.
Tomorrow may be completely different
and that’s probably why I’m still sitting here
and you’re still sitting there.

Vacations are for moments like this

My best friend and I in front of the camera,

nothing hidden in our devotion to each other

touching by design, never by accident,

smiles crinkle from the corners of our eyes

to the wrinkles around our mouths

but we only see the love.

We're almost there

THE BEACH

Three weeks before vacation work starts to drive you nuts no matter how much you love your job. Two weeks before you leave it’s just a minor form of torture. But I am finding the week before FLIES BY and there’s so much to do! Laundry, cleaning, packing, making lists (and all of those are in the wrong order, so you see what the week before is doing to me!) and following them. The day we fly out will be here in less than four days and a little panic is setting in.

But then I remember where I’m going and why I’m going there and my crazed thoughts begin to settle down and I begin to relax. I am flying into the arms of my beloved family, who will forgive me any packing forgetfulness and be happy to see my daughter, who hasn’t been around much for any of them to see lately.

I remember we will be at the beach, where I can walk with my sisters to my heart’s content. We will eat at our favorite seafood restaurant and we will cook great meals together. Although I might have to schedule our visit to Bushwackers for crab legs the night my sister Chris plans to fix sushi. Not my favorite meal by any means.

So it is with great patience that I face this week and watch the days fly by because they are hastening me to the retreat I need the most.

Picture above is my niece Maddie, me, my mother and my sister Chris. I hope we do a lot of that next week...just sitting on the beach listening to the waves crash in.

Jefferson sleeps here

Jefferson

Christine has a new puppy in our house. A chocolate lab my daughter has named Jefferson. He has quite the personality, this little seven-week old baby. He seems to want to please when it comes to training him to go outside but the inevitable accidents happen, always when one of us isn’t paying attention.

He wants to chew on every toy I have bought but his favorite chew toy seems to be me and I have the scratches and bites to prove it.

Does this make me magically delicious?

Last night I brought him to my room and hung out on the bed with him until he finally got that wonderful puppy exhaustion and flopped down and slept for three hours. That’s when I fell in love. It’s a lot more endearing to be his comfort zone than his chew toy.

Cupid...?

We had a lovely dinner,
He bought me a rose, my favorite; yellow.
He didn’t make me dance when the music started
And he was easy to talk to.

So why did I wish I could run to you?
You are an enigma to me and not exactly accessible.
So why do I think about you?
I don’t want a relationship,
I don’t want a boyfriend,
I’m content in the world I have created,
so I find it vexing that you stay on my mind.
I don’t even know you, can’t pretend to understand
what’s happening in my own head.

But honestly?
I feel like maybe the arrow must have grazed me
when I wasn’t looking.

Wishin'

When the day is quiet

I find myself wishingfor something that's absent within me.

Is it wishin' for more time to do what I do

or am I wishin' for someone in my life like you?

Dreams

I love to sleep,

I love to dream...

to see a world that might have been,

to dwell a spell in some enchanted place in my mind,

or feel a man's arms wrap around me from behind.

The sweet simple moments are fleeting in my dreams

and I yearn for them to come to me again.

The Truth

I am without hope and yet I dream.
I have lost duality but found myself.
I am publicly confident and privately lost.
I wear my life on my sleeve with my heart in a vise.
What to do?
What to do?
I really hate I'm still lost without you.

Quiet Time

There's music in my head tonight though the room is silent. After talking and playing music all day it's nice to sit quietly and muse about what song happens to pop into my mind uninvited. Tonight it's nothing I recognize. It's just a pretty background for my thoughts,which is really where I was headed all along.

Kiss

I used to think we should get that first kiss overwith as soon as possible, maybe even before you know if you are compatible or not.

You know what I mean if you've ever leaned in for that first kiss and had your mouth swallowed whole. Or he kisses like he's performing tongue to tongue CPR...and it's not working.

So it seemed logical to me that getting that first kiss out of the way could save a lot of wasted time with the wrong one. Then I learned the excruciating beauty of anticipation.

Staring at his mouth until we cannot help but bring our mouths closer together...and then back off, putting off the crucial first kiss for a little while longer. Talking late into the night on a first date and our body language brings us closer together, close enough to wonder if this is the moment and then pulling away.

The anticipation and hormones flowing make almost touching the most exquisite longing I have ever experienced.Now I know you can never get back your first kiss and that's what I think makes a first kiss worth waiting for.

Haunting

Now you have crept back into my dreams
like I haven't lived this nightmare long enough.
The time of you and I is long, long dead,
what is it going to take to get you out of my head?

Carolina on my mind

Seventeen days and Christine and I will be jetting to North Carolina for a week at the beach with my extraordinary family. I can't wait.

So when I sift through the messages and calls from flood victims and the people who are trying to help them and I can't stop crying, I think about the beach.

I think about walking the sand with my mom and talking about anything and everything.

I think about holding my 22-year old daughter's hand on the plane because she's afraid of flying.

I think about my funny father and the great food he'll be grilling while we're there.

I think about my beautiful sisters who will be at my side for six days running and I can't wait to be with them.

I think about floating in the ocean up to my neck in soft, salty waves, floating all day if the riptides don't stop me.

It's the nature of my job to deal with events like this catastrophic flooding, but the hardships my friends are enduring make me cry. The pictures keep coming, of flooded streets and homes and broken levees and roads and they make me cry. The calls keep coming and everyone wants or needs something. Like I said, it's in the nature of my job.

But today when I can I am thinking of the beach and our escape, so close I can taste the salt water.

Just a bite

I write when I’m hungry or when I’m sad.
Right now I’m seriously thinking about hunger;
the passionate, torch like fire of your touch,
the soul drenching kiss that seems endless
but begins again and again,
each kiss taking us to a hotter place
until finally the heat between us
fuses us together
for that moment in time.

I made it to youtube!

When Jeff Bates was in town for our big show, he stopped by the studio for an impromptu interview. His people were there videotaping, along with our own videographer Scott. Jeff's video guy included a little of our interview in his clip, so I made youtube for the first time ever!
I feel like a Vetters kid now. ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/jeffbatesmusic

If by chance you're a Jeff Bates fan (and you should be, he's awesome) you can hear a better audio quality video of our entire interview here:

http://www.hi99.com/wimpy/videoindex.aspx For this one you'll have to scroll down the archive to find JEFF BATES INTERVIEW 1. He sang "Long Slow Kisses" to me and it's worth the viewing. His voice is simply amazing.

Things my sisters have taught me

*Victoria Principal's acne cream really works.

*Kindness is easier on everyone.
*It isn't the cost of the gift but the thought behind the giving...and if it's homemade, it's the best gift of all.

*The longer I stay in one place (by choosing to stay in Terre Haute radio) the harder it will be for me to ever leave. (Guess Carla was right on that one) Something to do with endorphins in the brain.*Dog people are good people.

*Walk with God.*Don't go sailing in forty foot waves.

*No matter how bad it is, we can ALWAYS confide in Mom and Dad.

*If you catch your fingers in the blades of an electric mixer, running screaming down the street is probably not the best way to seek medical attention.

*Jump in! Whether it's a party or a job interview, show up and make an impression!*I never have to ask for help because my sister is already there giving it to me freely.

*Spend as much time with Mom and Dad as possible.