vacation - st maarten

our second stop was st maarten
or st martin
depending on which side of the island you're on
one side french and one side dutch
we didn't stay long - were just passing through
that's just how we roll
we booked the aruba week and the st kitts week
without thinking about how we would get from one to the other
so after lots of searching and multiple travel agents
staying in st maarten for two nights was the solution
not a bad solution when the little island offers you sunrises like this...

we didn't have a lick of sun the entire week in aruba
so we spent all our time lounging poolside finally enjoying some rays

i mean, how could you not want to just lounge around
when you can have someone bring you food and drinks all day with the raise of a flag

our resort was technically on the dutch side but very near the border
so we headed to the french side for some amazing french cuisine
we sat on the front porch
i had french onion soup...

i also took a little time to practice some moving water photography skills
i'm not 100% pleased with any of these but they have some interest to them

ok, so that last one wasn't moving water but it was caused by some moving water...

vacation - aruba

and who doesn't?
this girl
that is, until i actually went there
the first part of our trip was to aruba
which i didn't really want to go to
cuz everyone goes there
but it turned out to be a great time
i most enjoyed just driving around in the areas with no streets in the jeep
i least enjoyed the lack of sunshine we had
once we switched rooms so it no longer overlooked the office of the company we work for...
we had this view...

not sure how that little bird's nest stayed on that palm prawn
did you know aruba has a lighthouse at both ends of the island?
there's the one they bus all the tourists to

and then there's the one you don't want to go to
because it's in a sketchy area
and isn't much of a looker

but has beautiful views like this

did you know aruba also have lizards?

everywhere...

we may or may not have had a few of these

aren't those koozies awesome???
my favorite part was taking this road...yes, that's a road

to this beautiful, natural pool

i don't have much to say about these next photos, except, enjoy!

here is some proof that we were actually there

this is what crazy humid weather does to my hair - makes it crazy! 

aren't those the tallest cacti you've ever seen???
i made him stand there so you could get an idea of how big they really were
we may or may not have taken a road we shouldn't have...oops!

and this last picture...
hmmmmm
on someone's hotel door

happy election day!

may the best politicians win
did you get out and vote?

beauty is what you make it

beauty isn't just reserved for roses and orchids
it can also be found in the weeds
so if you're not feeling like a rose or orchid
you're still beautiful!

let's talk tax rates

HA!  i just got done writing this post about talking about something other than the weather
but yet i still feel compelled to caveat this post
if my numbers are not exact, don't yell at me
i'm going by straight memory here
and i've also not reviewed anyone's tax return so i'm just stating "what ifs"
i'm also not actually supporting one candidate or the other in this post
just giving my opinion on a topic that irritates me

*********************************
14% - that's what they like to tell you romney paid in taxes
and what an atrocity it is because he makes so much money in the first place
guess what - if you're in the 25% tax bracket, you don't pay 25% either
based on how they're calculating the 14%
they also don't tell you what tax laws he's taking advantage of to get to 14%
the same tax laws everyone in the country can use to their advantage, too
like maybe he's generous and gives a ton of money away
or maybe he makes some good investments
everyone can do both of these things
and they also don't tell you how many deductions he loses because of phase outs
and the media is banking on that most people can't read a tax return and understand these things
so they just repeat the 14% over and over

why is it that people that make more should pay a higher percentage anyway?
debate...

let's talk, i mean really talk

it's one week before the election now
and all you hear is how much people are tired of hearing people talk about it
and that they're checking out until after the election is over
i say instead of checking out
check into the conversation!
why is it we're all so superficial these days?
don't want to go beyond the surface with people?
the only "safe" thing to talk about any more is the weather
well, i'm tired of the weather
and besides who likes to live life safe anyway?
why can't we talk about politics, religion or money?
who cares if i don't agree 100% with you?
isn't that how we grow as people?
hearing what other people have to say?
so i say - broaden your horizons
step out of your comfort zone
talk to someone today about something other than the weather
speak the unspeakable!

so what do you want to talk about?

running water

we saw a few waterfalls when we went on our camping trip
and i decided to play around with my camera
and try to get that really soft look for the water
these are my favorites