Yesterday was great, more on that later, also

Its the start of our 3rd full day on Anna Maria Island.  Yesterday was good in a mellow sort of way.  After a morning playing in the surf and walking the beach, Todd & I had lunch at the condo (leftover spaghetti,mmmmm) and tried another mall in Bradenton.  For those of you who ask why we shop while on vacation, Todd and I love shopping- and shopping where we live sucks, so its nice to try new places while we’re traveling.  Generally we find some good buys.  Unfortunately the DeSoto Square Mall in Bradenton was a bust.  I think this is where the bluehairs go before the early bird special at Dennys.  Wasn’t supremely eventful but did find a cute pair of Capri’s in Sears and a few tshirts for Maddie at Aeropostale.

We headed back to the condo and I took a nap, one of MY favorite vacation passtimes.  Then we headed out to meet my friend, Larry for dinner.  We toured the island in the convertible a bit and went to Rod & Reel Pier for dinner.  This place is what Larry called “old Florida” and I think back home we call them ‘greasy spoons.’  Todd is pretty sure he saw a dolphin break the water (a dolphin that looked like a shark) and i stuck to my chair, but other than that it was a pretty good meal.  Grilled Grouper for me again, could have used a bit less oil/butter in the grill “sauce” but other than that was a good meal.  Great french fries!

We drove around the island a bit more with Larry then parted ways.  I have known Larry over the phone and online for about4 years, was nice to put a face to the name.  We no sooner dropped Larry off and put the top up on the convertible and it started raining.  I’m not talking sprinkling, I’m talking torrential downpour.  We stopped at Publix and bought some Talenti Gelato from the freezer section (ZOMG heaven in a cup) and headed back to the condo for a lazy rest of the evening.

Today is more of the same, beach, shopping, dinner maybe a movie.  Pretty mellow here, we like that slow pace.

AOne thing about the water here, the surf is a bit bigger than it was in Treasure Island/Clearwater last year.  It’s not unbearable, just not as calm as it was there.  I just think the wind blows a bit more here.

For lunch we headed to the northern tip of the island to a great little place called the Waterfr0nt Restaurant.  Its right across the street from the City Pier and the food was phenomenal!  I had a grilled grouper sandwich on a fresh roll that was the best Id ever had.  Todd had pork carnitas, and you could tell everything was super fresh and made right when you ordered.  Well the carnitas were slow cooked, but you could tell from the meat it was made on-site and not brought in in a box.

After lunch we went in search of shopping. On the island you’re limited to tourist kitsch, so we headed south to Sarasota.  Driving with the top down on the convertible was comfortable and sunny (just a tiny bit of sunburn) and the road through Longboat Key was beautiful.  Huge houses that make you dream of winning the lotto or blackmailing Bill Gates.

Our misfortune was the Sarasota Powerboat races, downtown Sarasota was PACKED!  We walked around a bit and strolled through the Wyland gallery.  I love his marine life paintings, but none of them would go in my house…well that and a lithograph is over $900 – pretty to look at, not to buy.

I dug out the GPS and found a mall a few miles away, an indoor mall!  We strolled around until they closed at 5:30 and it was nice to be in out of the heat.  The mall had great high end stores like Macys, Coach, William & Sonoma.  Todd bought me the awesomest Coach bag – looks like this one:

Super cute - I’m a lucky girl.  We had dinner in the condo last night, then walked on the beach past sunset and swam in the pool here at the condo fora bit.  We talked about plans for the week.  Looks like kayaking through the mangrove tunnels (dolphins & manatee on that one), parasailing, and Epcot one day.

We’re having dinner with my friend Larry at Island Real Estate tonight (I told you about them yesterday) and a tour of the island.  That will be fun!  Not sure where we’re eating, I’ll keep you posted.  I think the battery on my camera is finally charged so I can begin trying to figure out how to get pics from it to the computer without the cord, because I forgot the damn thing!

Getting here was pretty painless if you discount he 3 1/2 hr flight in the last row of a packed plane – and the kid that yacked all over the door to the bathroom behind my seat.  All I can say is good thing Todd wasn’t on the aisle or it would have been all over.  Hopefully they’re staying in Tampa less or more time than we are and don’t share the return flight.  I felt bad for him but – HELLO – that’s what the little bags are for, people!

We’re in a really nice condo on the beach on Anna Maria Island.  It took us about an hour of really easy driving from Tampa airport to get here.  I really like this place, nicer than Treasure Island was last year, altho I do miss the free breakfast at the Marriott Residence Inn there (highly recommended if you have to visit Treasure Island, it was nice).

So back to Anna Maria – we rented our cute and convenient little condo from Island Real Estate.  Its in the Anna Maria Island Club and is unit #40.  It was remodeled this year with new carpet, tile,paint, furniture & kitchen.  Very nice granite & stainless appliances.  It looks like the previous tenant ripped the doors off of the utility closet, but that’s not a huge deal.  I called the office to let them know we would be out and about and to let us know if they wanted in to fix them.  The kitchen was stocked with all the dishes you’ll need and even had coffee & filters.  Of course, it was half-caf Folgers so I had to hit up Publix for some Dunkin Donuts coffee.  I cant handle half-caf – what’s the point in drinking coffee?

I “borrowed” this picture from the Island real Estate website.  This is the view of the pool & ocean from our balcony.  It looks like the water is far away but once we’re past the pool, its about 100 steps to the ocean during high tide.  There’s a sea turtle nest right in front of the pool along the beach, just past the vegetation.

Again this image is borrowed, but as you all know how much I like cooking, a kitchen like this is enough to make me happy!  Very nice granite and appliances.

The other really nice thing about Anna Maria is the Pink Flamingo wireless service.  I can pick it up at the condo and its only $15 for 7 days – that’s a bargain!  You’d  pay that much a night in a hotel.

So we dont have a lot of plans for the week, probably a bit of kayaking through the mangrove tunnels, Todd wants to parasail, and we might head to orlando to visit Epcot again.  last year when we were there it was the last day of our vacation and EVEYRONE was on each others nerves, we didnt get to enjoy it much.  Plus the fireworks this week at Epcot should be amazing!  Too bad we missed them last night

I’ll keep you all posted and try to figure out how to get images off my camera and onto my Dell Mini, if I cant I’ll share a slideshow when I get home! 

Right now its 8:15 and humid, I want to go swimming  lets see if I can get Todd out of bed, he’s participating in his favorite vacation passtime, sleeping in!

Selling vacation lodging online is a mixture of science and art.  Just like selling clothing, electronics or even FOOD – what you “name” something is as important as what it looks like or how it functions.  Think about a trip to a restaurant…are you more likely to pay $17.95 for a “hamburger” or a “Double Decker BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger”?

I’m a newbie to the “Math” of SEM – but every since SES NY in 08 I’ve been fascinated in the numbers & behaviors that make up turning clicks into money.  I’m working on getting a Post Click Marketing program going at work and I’ve spoken a few times on the topic at various conferences.  The highlight being SES San Jose when I was on the stage with Scott Brinker of Ion Interactive (the founders of the phrase “post click marketing”) and Tom Leung – the fella that invented Website Optimizer at Google.  Wow that was a rush.

This time I’ll be on the stage at the inaugural SMX Search Analytics conference and sharing space again with Scott.  We will be joined by Andrew Goodman, our moderator and John Quarto-von Tivadar (who has the coolest job title in the world – Chief Scientist and Thinking Officer!)  I’ve never met John and Andrew but I’m betting we’re going to have a blast talking about Traffic Segmentation and why it matters.  I have a feeling I’m going to be talking about segmenting traffic through SEO means and Scott and John will be addressing PPC avenues – (I’m speculating here, but that’s ok it is MY blog, right?)  I’m also really excited to be traveling to Toronto – I’ve never been and even had to go apply for MY FIRST PASSPORT in order to attend.

Last time I was in Canada folks – I was like 10 yrs old and my mom was in charge that time   We’ll see how I do, but right now I have credit card and currency anxiety.  If I can get through the 3 days by swiping my credit card or signing things to my room – I’m good.  If I have to exchange money I’m fucked – hopefully Blackberry has a currency converter application.

If you’re headed to Toronto for the conference March 31-April 1 – let me know, I’m leaving the evening of the 1st but will be in the afternoon of the 30th – I’m always up for dinner & drinks with new friends.

Happy “Heart” Day everyone.  I had a good but very mellow day – Hubby, Kids & I went to breakfast then I was gifted with a spa certificate good for an hour long “full-body” massage and a full body wrap.  I’m going tomorrow around lunch and then for a haircut – it’s a mom day – YEAY.

I’ve never had a “full body” massage – why do they call it that – do I need to shave my legs all the way up to my armpits or what?  I’m modest even around my hubby – how much “full body’ing” is this stranger I’ve never met before going to do?  Okay, Hill – suck it up – you can do it and you WILL relax!

I have a few more posts brewing here – hopefully I’ll keep going as I seem to go gangbusters and then fall off the face of the blogging earth.  I just have so much going on.

My workplace is frustrating – but not to the point that I’m ready to chuck it all in.  I mean – for the right deal – who knows, But right now – I’m happy with what I’m doing and where I’m going.

The kids are kids – and hubby is a hubby – joys and frustrations every day – but that’s pretty normal from what I’ve seen.

So why am I restless?  I feel like there’s an adventure around the corner that I’m missing out on.  Is it because I was married with children so young?  Did i miss out on some grand adventure by starting my life earlier than my friends have?  I figure my kids will be out of the house before I’m 50 – so i’ll have money, comfort and time to find that grand thing that piques my interest then.

In the mean time – how do you cope?  I’m going through the motions – but i’m not really living.  Wow that sounds like some corny movie line – but I sort of relate.  I watch movies and want to be the adventurer or the love interest…I read books and dont want them to end – and then I’m sad when they do. 

I could try harder to find a hobby and stop living my life by the glow of a screen.  I’ve searched for that thing that makes me complete – yoga, writing, shopping, exercise (yuk), reading, cooking – which I LOVE – but with cooking comes eating – and that leads to a whole other set of problems (i think I mentioned how much of a weight watchers flunkie I am.)

I just read through this post – and I think I used the words “I” and “My” about a hundred times.  Maybe that’s my problem – am I selfish?  I coordinate and contribute to charity – I am available for my friends and family whenever they need me – but maybe that’s not enough.

I need to work on my motives maybe.  My pet charity is the Heifter Project.  They give livestock to people who are starving in 3rd world countries.  They teach them to care for the animal(s) and as a condition they need to pass on the first offspring to someone else in the village….a way to pay it forward….maybe I could do more.

Mine is a life that is a work in progress - That must be what life is – a work in progress?

Highlights – Landing Page Opti session RAWKED!  Organic Site Reviews session was great too! Dinner at Benihana – which is a Las Vegas tradition – and I’m up about $100 on the slots – so all in all a great day!

Oh & I saw the Bellagio fountain show today for the first time – was AWESOME.

Bellagio pic courtesy lemoncat1

Ask Chicken – the cat – I know it’s all very confusing but I think Chicken LIKES his pink wig – very Diva!

Check out the site here: KittyWigs.com