Where Yvette Goes

As a child, I was lucky because my Mom raised me to eat food that I enjoyed, never forcing me to eat something just because someone put it down in front of me.  For example, Mom wasn't the one who forced me to eat brussel sprouts for the first and last time, that was my Grandma. Gosh, they were so awful that even the dog Fritz wouldn't eat them! Forced to get creative, I found the easiest thing to do was to cut them up into small pieces, pop one into my mouth, pretend to chew and then spit them back into my milk glass (I know, totally gross).  This I could get away with because as kids, we were the ones who cleaned up after dinner, so I could hide what I did and just flush it down the garbage disposal.  Thank God I never got caught!  I swear, Grandma would have made me drink that milk and chew up the brussel sprouts.  She was a "clean your plate" kind of Grandma but gave good hugs, for those of you who might be thinking she deserved to wear a witches cap.   But on

One of my favorite activities on board a cruise ship has always been The Newlywed Not So Newlywed game show, hosted by the Cruise Director.  Whether it was me hosting or keeping score, the couples and their answers have, for the most part, been fun and entertaining and it was rare that we would get a "dud" couple.   For those of you who have never been on a cruise, you may remember the TV show The Newlywed Game that made its debut in 1966.  I don't know who the original host was, but host Bob Eubanks is the one who gets the most air time in re-runs or clips, but he was the man who coined the phrase "make whoopie" to avoid censorship.  After holding a microphone and hosting/mc'ing shows for 14 years, I can well understand the need for this, finding words to communicate intent without offending anyone.  When you have as diverse a canvas of an audience that we have, you should be politically correct - although I will add that the gloves have come off which i

"To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine the brightest." Before heading to Hawaii for Chris and Nikki's wedding, I decided to Google the top 10 things to see and do in Kona, comparing my list of what I had accomplished in the past, when I was in Hawaii with Holland America Line . The list included: Volcano national park and helicopter ride Rainbow Falls Banyan Tree Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory Swim with the dolphins Sunset at the telescopes on Mauna Kea Out of curiosity, I went looking for the telescopes and found an ad for the Mauna Kea Summit Adventures , see paraphrased description:   While acclimatizing and dining at the Mauna Kea, home to the world's largest telescopes, visitors center, we issue parkas and gloves ( the warmest available ) and engage our four wheel drive for the steep 1/2 hour drive to the summit area. On the summit, see the obs

A Sunday in Middle Tennessee can be absolutely spectacular simply seen from the balcony of my house, however the icing on the cake is getting out and enjoying good food and beautiful nature. Food: Fido in the Village My first choice was the Pancake Pantry (a Nashville tradition).  I've been home for over two months now and still haven't made it there - not for the lack of trying, I assure you.  My order was ready and my taste buds watering with the dream of two eggs scrambled and two sweet potato pancakes, however 10 am on a Sunday is still not the time to go unless you want to stand in line for an hour and a half.  Yes, it's a Sunday and you would think that most people would be in church, but then again, summer school at Vanderbilt and the U2360 concert the night before, would have a lot of people in town and nursing hangovers.  And what is better to absorb the leftover alcohol?  Pancake Pantry pancakes!  It seems that I was not the only one who had the idea to go and