Springtime is here!

Well, folks, springtime is here, and there's nothing more that this pirate princess wants to do than get outside and enjoy the nice weather. It's been nothing but rain and cold and rain and wind, and did I mention rain?

So here we are at the doorstep of the spring, just around the corner from summer, and where am I at this very moment? You guessed it, trapped--TRAPPED, I say--at my work desk in New York City, slowly counting down the minutes until 5:00PM. I tried to go out for a brief afternoon walk to enjoy the "beautiful" weather, but it's pretty hard to enjoy "beuatiful" weather in NYC. Unless you're hidden in the dead center of Central Park, and you can some how block out all of the noise, smells (the bad ones) and rude passers by, maybe you could enjoy the "beautiful" weather.

No such luck for me. I'm 20 floors up on the westside of midtown, right on the border of Hell's Kitchen. My "beautiful" view includes old roof tops, peep shows, ant size pedestrians and bikers andof course, the lovely state of New Jersey across the Hudson River.

I'm from New Jersey, and I should appreciate it more. I do love New Jersey, just not the northeastern section of it, with all the airports, factories, landfills, etc. (no wonder the rest of the country calls it the "armpit of America"). It's actually a very nice state if you're in the right area. For example, the Delaware Water Gap region in the northwest is beautiful, as is southern Jersey. Sections of the Jersey Shore (yes, when you hear someone refer to being "down the shore") still has very nice sections, and you can always have a blast in good old Atlantic City, the home of Salt Water Taffy and Miss America, as well a Donald Trump's home away from home away from home.

I've always loved traveling, and I need to do more of it. My husband and I always promise each other that we'll travel more, but that always seems to get lost in the shuffle of daily life, business and everyone else's schedules (you know, the ones where you absolutely have to be involved). We're trying to get to Salt Lake City this summer to see his Dad in the International Barber Shop Singing Competition. I've been to Utah, but not Salt Lake City (neither has my husband), so it should be fun experiencing a new place together for the first time. Let's all just take a moment to pray that airfares come down a bit more.

Well, me squabbies (that's pirate lingo), it's finally that time--5:00PM!!!!!! My husband and I are meeting a dear friend from Ireland tonight, so we'll be swilling down the pints on the east side. Have a great night all, and please, enjoy the "beautiful" weather for me. I hope to be outside somewhere tomorrow doing the same!

Pirate Fact: Pirates were some of the first people to use an organized democratic system, even going as far as voting, following a set of rules called "the articles" and utilizing a structured payment system.