Camping Completed

Well, we're all home safe and sound.  I started this post this morning, but am wrapping it up now because I got long winded (not me!) and didn't get this done before a boy woke up and we all had to rush out the door this morning.

I do have to say though, that the Cherry Hill Park campground is wonderful.  They've got an area that's just for tents, no RVs or pop-ups allowed.  It's all very wooded and there are plenty of water taps (sinks actually!) and trash and recycling cans throughout the area and a very nice, large, clean wash house very near by.  We'll definitely have to head back there again!  (The staff is very courteous and helpful and the women at the cafe remembered us, well Boo actually, from the evening before when we stopped back in.  The whole experience with the campground was great!)

Ok, so let me tackle this chronologically.  Saturday morning I drop Gak off at work and Boo and I go do laundry.  After that we come home and eat some lunch and Boo helps me finish up the packing and the hauling of stuff to the car.  Well, most of it.  I don't take down the cold stuff as I didn't have any ice and was going to pick that up when we left to pick up Poppa.
I debated if I should keep Boo up so he'd sleep most of the ride down, or let him take a nap so I could relax a bit myself before the drive.  Well, after a while I compromise.  I put "Follow that Bird" on the DVD player and after bopping around half watching it Boo falls asleep on the sofa halfway through.  (That movie itself deserves it's own post... especially watching it as a momma now....)

I manage not to forget the cold food and even picked up ice on the way to get Gak from work.  (There were a few odds and ends that I forgot, but no trip, camping or otherwise, would be complete without that!)  Gak manages to escape right at 3 and we're on our way!
Traffic wasn't too bad until we got to the tolls on 95 to get into Maryland out of Delaware.  It's just about 5:00 at this point and Gak and I are both hungry and there's a sign for a Cracker Barrel in about 5 miles.  So, we slog through the tolls (yes, even the EZPass lanes were backed up) and stop for a stretch and some food. That was an adventure right there.  (It seems most of our trying adventures this trip involve food...)  We had a brand new waitress, which meant even though it wasn't overly crowded, she was slow.  And, to top it off, the power goes out right as we're finishing up.  Thankfully we had the right amount of cash on hand to be able to pay and not require change.  Of course, this puts us back an hour in getting to the campground, something that has me a bit anxious.  (I shouldn't have been, but... I worry...)

The rest of the ride down was pretty uneventful, arriving at the campground around 7.  I'm so thankful that our son does well on long car rides.  We check in and get to our camp site and get everything set up.  It took about a half hour total to set everything up.  (We need a new twin mattress though, or an adapter for the electric pump... I'm not sure which...)  We then pile back into the car to get some firewood (didn't have room to pick any up when we checked in), check out the store a bit and hit the wash house.  After we got back to the site it's time to put Boo to bed.  He doesn't really want to, but with a little soothing and a snuggle, he eventually just drifts off.

This is what we get to wake up to.  A very awake, happy boy who wants to crawl all over his parents.  He actually slept in a bit until almost 7!

I manage to only burn a little bit of breakfast.  My propane burner doesn't seem to have a "low" setting and I forgot I was using a non-stick pan.  Luckily bacon is pretty forgiving, and lots of butter in the pan makes some awesome toast.  (I gave up on the idea of pancakes...)

So, after this minor adventure in cooking, we clean up and head out.  Since it's Sunday and there aren't many buses running to the park, we drive over to the Metro station at College Park.  I'm just happy that the parking is free on Sundays (Saturdays too I think, but I'm not sure).
If you ask Boo what he wanted to do all vacation, you were likely to get the answer "ride trains".  So, he was quite happy to ride the Metro.

We get to Smithsonian Station with little effort and realize that the Museum of Natural History doesn't open unitl 10, and it's only 9:30.  Oops.  That and my camera batteries died on the Metro.  And I didn't pack extras.  Double oops.  So, we get an over priced water and an even more over priced pair of batteries at the refreshment stand and let Boo run around in circles for a while.

We quite enjoy the Natural History Museum and even got to see "Big Trey!".  

Boo did very well.  We stopped in at the exploration (hands on) area and he was happy to pull all the books off the shelf and wander around in circles for a while.  Once we were done in the museum itself, we had lunch there and then headed over to the American History Museum.

I'm so glad that we did.  Boo, of course, passed out within about 5 minutes of getting there and getting a dry diaper on.  That's OK, it meant Gak and I could look at things and not fight a squirmy two-year-old.  (Although, he's much better at things like this than many kiddos I've known, which I'm so very thankful for.)  They're not quite done the renovations, so a lot of things weren't out for viewing.  The new exhibit for the Stars and Strips is open however.  I remember seeing the flag when it was hanging in the main entranceway.  They would show it for 5 minutes every hour or something like that.  It was quite impressive.  Even though you can barely see it now because of the ultra low lighting, it's even more impressive.  Before, it was hanging on a wall and far away.  It seemed large, but with the way they have it displayed now (lying on a display behind glass) I got a much better impression of the true size of the flag.  No pictures are allowed (although at least one person doesn't read signs... and it wasn't me).  It really is quite a sight.

Gak of course, loved the small display they had open of the TV and movie artifacts.  It was pretty cool to see Kermit and some of the other neat things.  I hope they open a bigger exhibit in the future though, there is so much American history there.

We also went through an exhibit that was about the way America travels and how it's changed through the years.  It was pretty neat and fun.

We rounded out the day with a short (too short) visit to the Native American museum.  I've noticed that each of the museums has it's own personality, not just outside or with what they're displaying, but in the atmosphere inside.  The Natural History is loud and vibrant and exciting.  The American History museum is a little quieter but still has an atmosphere of fun and I guess you could say both pride and hope.  The Native American museum is much quieter, almost reverent.  I'd like to think it is to honor the stories that are told within those walls.  Maybe it's because it forces everyone to rethink what they know, or think they know, about the Native cultures of this continent.  Maybe it's a mutual respect between the curators telling the story and those absorbing it.  There is a kind of peace in that building that permeates everything and makes you slow down a bit, to really read and look at and experience the exhibits.  We didn't get much time there, but it was quite enjoyable.

It's a good thing that we did the museums on Sunday.  That was the only day that it actually rained.  It actually rained a bit while we were in the Natural History museum, but mostly while we were in the American History museum and was clear and sunny by the time we left.

Dinner that night was a disaster.  So was trying to build a camp fire.  I guess I was just a little too cocky in my skills and not paying attention to what I was doing.  So, I was cranky and tired and it was getting late, so we just ate at the cafe.  It was pretty good.

Monday we didn't get quite the same early start, but headed back into DC.  The main objective was to go see the Navy Memorial.  Now mind you, it got really humid after the rain and it was nice and hot too.  Also, none of the memorials we wanted to see (other than the Navy Memorial) are anywhere near the Metro station.  And to top it off, we had a cranky, out of sorts boy.  

We did make it to the Navy Memorial, which was very, very important to do.  My son is the son of a son of a son of a sailor after all.  The Navy tradition runs strongly in his veins and it would be sad to be that close and not get a chance to see it.  I didn't get pictures of the really cool fountains, but every year they get water from the 7 seas and the great lakes added to them.  The whole memorial is very beautiful and moving.

After dealing with a cranky boy and walking for a few blocks trying to figure out what we were going to do.  We decided after a cranky discussion that it might just be better to head back to the campground and get some lunch, go for a swim and just hang out for the afternoon.

I'm so glad we did.  The pool was beautiful and nice and cool.  They've got a big lap type pool and a smaller shallow family pool with a couple of water elements.  Boo didn't want anything to do with those, but was more than happy to hang out and splash in the water.  It also felt wonderful to cool off a bit.

Dinner went much better.  I was able to make a fire and Gak took Boo down to the playground (which I don't have pictures of) and he enjoyed it.  I made some pretty yummy foil packet dinners of chicken, bacon, sausage (clean out the cooler time...) and some onion and BBQ sauce.  They didn't burn and they didn't stick either.  I also made some campfire biscuits and even Boo ate one of them!  I also finally got my toasted marshmallows.  (I would have had s'mores, but the chocolate had been melted and solidified and melted again a bit too much.)

We tried to go to the outdoor movie that night, but Boo wasn't having anything to do with settling down and snuggling and Night at the Museum 2, while appropriate considering we were at the Smithsonian museums the day before, just wasn't that catchy.

The next morning we broke camp in fairly short order.  (There were some cranky moments, which were mostly my fault.)  After checking out and picking up some more ice, we were on the road.  Our first order of business was to head to the Zoo.  Of course, this meant driving in Washington, DC itself.  Yep, I drove through DC and lived to tell the tale.  I wasn't so sure about it at one point when traffic was at a complete stand still for what felt like 20 minutes.  I also made a few wrong turns, but thankfully we have a nice GPS (thanks Gak!) and it got us back on track quickly.

We got to the Zoo right around 10:00 which is when it actually opens.  We started at the kids farm area and got to see a good part of it.  It was a bit too hot and humid to really enjoy it all though.  Boo did very well.  He really liked the tiger and enjoyed the invertebrate exhibit a lot too.  (Of course, I think that was mostly because it was inside, cool and dark.)

Even Trey enjoyed the exhibits.  There was even a life sized Trey at the Zoo.  Boo sees it and happily exclaims "Big Trey!"  Apparently it was used in a movie and used to live outside the Natural History museum for a while before moving into this flower garden.  I think it looks right at home here.

The drive home was fairly uneventful.  The biggest downer was that the Games Workshop store we stopped to visit had closed.  I was so bummed.  I know Gak was looking forward to spending some time browsing, drooling and planning his armies.  We did have a nice lunch at Bob Evans though, so that was a plus.

Once we got home I stopped at the now non-Wawa at the end of the block to get some cash and the boys walked home.  I was able to abscond with both Trey and Kelly and throw them, the sleeping bags and most of the laundry into the wash.  So, now we have a clean dino and bear.

So, yes, it was a good trip.  Not a perfect trip by a long shot, but a good trip.  We all enjoyed ourselves most of the time.  It was nice to get away, but it's also nice to get home too.

I'm going to wrap up this novel here.  There are lots more pictures on Flickr.

Peace to all and may your adventures be fun and your vacations enjoyable.

'Venture Begins!

Well, we're off on another adventure today.  Yes, August is the month of adventures in this house.  And about time too!  We've been stuck in a rut and routine for way too long (yes, even with the move).  It's all been work/daycare, home, dinner, bed, repeat.
I guess you'd like to know where we're going.  Well, I'll tell you.  We're going camping right outside of Washington, DC.  So, like I said before, we're going to have the best of both worlds.  We'll be able to be lazy and hang around camp and swim in the pool, or we'll be able to take the Metro into DC and see some museums or monuments or just wander around.  There is so much to do and it's all (well mostly) free!  Sure, there are some museums I'd love to get to, like the National Geographic museum that have an admission fee, but I'm not sure we'll get there this trip.  That's OK, it'll still be there next time.  With all the Smithsonian museums (including the Zoo!) being free, I don't have much incentive to go find others.  If we get to two museums (Natural History and American History) we'll conciser this a successful trip.
So, yes, we could easily meet up with Cybele, now that she's back from Egypt.  We could almost as easily meet up with Ben, Jenny and family (if they're home not in Vermont).  But, we're not going to.  This trip is all about the three of us.
Yes, you'll get lots of pictures when we get back and some stories.  But don't expect to see or hear anything from me until Wednesday.  Yes, the campsite has Wi-fi, but I'm not taking my laptop and I'm not typing a post on Gak's iPhone.
Well, I've got a boy who wants snuggles and some packing to get to, so I'll sign off here.
Peace to you all and may your 'ventures be fun!

Bathtime Bust

Well  it's official.  Boo hates the bath.  As you can see from this picture he loves to splash and dance around with a bucket of soapy water.  As I've told you before, he really likes going in the pool and even asks for it too.  He'll even ask for a bath from time to time.

But... get him anywhere near the tub, or even think about turning on the water and forget it, the screaming starts.  Not the hysterical, frightened of the boogey man hiding in the closet, terrified scream.  No, this is the "make me do anything include eat a huge plate of veggies AND clean my room at the same time" scream.  I swear, if I were my neighbors last night, I'd have thought someone was doing bodily harm to the poor boy.

I think I've mentioned this before.  It all started back at the end of April, around the end of our first set of swim classes.  I'm sure you remember my angst with the swim classes for the second session, how he'd scream and fuss and cry through them (but loved going to Amma's Y and now loves Uncle Frank's pool too...).  Well, about that time bath time also became a royal challenge.  At first he'd scream whenever I'd put him into the tub (even though he'd be all excited about bath time up until that point).  Then, it graduated to him standing in the tub (but never, ever sitting) and splashing around while I washed him.  While not overly fond of this solution, it worked.  I got a clean boy with only a minimal ammount of fussing on anyone's part.

I was hoping the move and the end of that stress would help with the bathtime issues.  Well, the standing in the tub continued on until about a week or two ago.

Then we started with the screaming in the tub again (while standing).  Then it became a bit of fussing before getting into the tub and expressing his intense dislike while in the tub.  Then it became time to start the fussing when the "b" word was mentioned at dinner time.  Last night, I didn't even get that far.  (And trust me, he needed a bath badly between the sand, the salt, the sunscreen and the running around on Monday and the fact that I hadn't washed him since Thursday, I had a boy in need of a bath.)

What simply astonishes and frustrates me though is that earlier in the evening he went with me into my room while I changed into some shorts.  He saw his ducky there (a favorite) and happily exclaims "duckie!".  "Yes, that's your ducky for bath time."  And then "letters!" when he sees some of the foam letters we have in the tub.  Again, "yes, those are your letters for bath time" I calmly tell him.  "OK!" was his happy response.

Well, we discussed bath time at dinner, with much whimpering on his part.  I then gave him the option of bath now or in 10 minutes.  He didn't say anything but quickly found something to do.  About 20 minutes later I tell him it's bath time.  I promptly get a "No!" as he goes into his room and flops on Lee and starts crying.  I try and explain about the salt and the sand and the sunscreen and the desparate need for a bath as I get his towel out of the cloest.  Then the floodgates open.

So, hoping for a bit of a calm down, I toss his towel aside and say OK, we can wait.  Well, he doesn't calm down.  So, I tell him that since he's fussing at me anyhow, he might as well get a bath.

In the name of all that is holy, you'd have thought I was trying to murder him as I undressed him.  And it only got louder and worse.  And by the end of it I was crying too.

I've tried everything I can think of. 

Changed the water temp?  Yep, doesn't matter. 

Tried bubbles?  Yep, bubbles win, but not enough to make him want to get in the tub. 

New toys?  Yep, he's gotten a new basketball net for the tub (which he likes) and he loves his duckie and his letters, but still the screaming. 

Crayons?  Well, no not bath crayons but tablets that change the water into cool colors, that was worse. 

Showers?  Don't even think about it, it was even more of a disaster.  Don't even think about splashing water near his face, let alone having it fall on his head.  Yes, this makes washing hair even more fun than the rest of him.

Bathing with him?  Yep, couldn't get him to come near the tub. 

Less water in the tub?  Well, since I refuse to waste water he's not going to play in, yep, we're down to almost dry.

Not draining the tub with him in it?  Can't even get him into the tub without screaming... but yes, I've tried this too.  And like I've said, it's not a terified scream but the "don't make me do it" scream.

Different tub?  Yep.  We moved in May, remember.  Also, Amma tried at Jay's on Sunday with the same disaster (and no bath).

Change soap?  Yep.  I've tried both the California Baby organic stuff I've been using for well over a year now and the regular J&J baby bath.  I've even tried my shower gel.  Remember, I can't even get him into the tub without screaming.  Heck, I can't even get him near the bathroom once the water is started. 

So, I'm at the end of my rope.  I don't think there's enough left to tie a knot on to swing from.  What happened to cause this?  I haven't a clue.  If I did, I'd know what to talk about/work on to fix the issue.  As is I've got one very, very, very unhappy boy.  The unhappiness usually passes within about 5 or 10 minutes of the torture ending and the jammies on.  It's not a naked thing, he doesn't mind getting changed or dressed.

Yeah.  If anyone's got a clue or wants to come bathe my boy for me, have at it.

On another note, I had my semi-anual checkup with my primary doctor.  It took twice as long as usual today because she's got a student PA with her right now.  (Which is cool, she's young and friendly and I don't mind helping.)  She gave me the name of a different doctor to see for the whole sleep thing.  I'm going to give him a whirl.  He's in Allentown, so not quite as convenient, but not bad either.  We'll see when I can get in there.  My asthma and allergies are behaving themselves.  My blood pressure (once they could hear the bottom number...) was 110 over 70, which is about average for me.  So, I'm in good health over all, if I could only sleep.

Well, I've procrastinated long enough, back to work.

Peace to all and may bath time not be torture for all involved.

Beach Time!

Well, our two beach days of the summer are done.  And what a 'venture it has been.

Last Monday Amma got here nice and early at a little before 7.  By shortly after 7 Boo, Amma and I were on the road and heading down to Delaware.  I was sad that Gak couldn't join us, but excited to have a day away from the office and with my son (and mom) at the beach.

The drive down was fairly uneventful.  There was a bit of traffic, as always on the Blue Route right around the Schuylkill and where they're doing some construction, but nothing too horrible.  We actually made pretty good time.  The only iffy part was a few sprinkles of rain on the way down and some lingering clouds.

Once down there we stopped at McDonalds to try their new smoothies (very yummy!) and change for the beach.  The weather was gorgeous.  The sun was shining, there were a few clouds providing a little spotty shade.  The game plan was to hit the beach for a bit, get some lunch, do a little shopping and head to Jay's by mid-afternoon to meet up with people.

We get to the beach and find a great little spot.  We were able to park on the Avenue about a block and a half up!  We even find another little guy who's not quite 2.5 years old and the boys have fun playing with their assorted sand toys for an hour or so.

The water was beautiful and nice and cool.  The waves were a little rough, but not too bad at the edges.  Unfortunately, even though Boo was amazed that the water was "rolling!" he didn't want anything to do with it this year.  We went down to the edge several times and each time I set him down, he'd turn around and walk straight to our blanket without even looking back.  So, we spent most of our time playing in the sand (even though Momma really, really wanted to play in the water.)

After the beach we get our feet cleaned up and our shoes and shorts and shirts back on and go for some lunch.  Of course, we go to Grotto Pizza.  (And of course I was evil big sister and sent Jon a picture of our pizza as soon as it got to the table...)  But, my non-pizza eating son had a grilled cheese and French fries.  (I never realized how good their fries are!  I think they salt the oil, not the fries.  Boy are they yummy.)

The cutest thing was after lunch.  Boo didn't want back into the stroller, but wanted to walk.  (He'd walked from the beach to Grotto while we pushed the bags in the stroller.)  He also insisted on carrying his bag of sand toys and was quite content to wander down the sidewalk all on his own.  I think he was anxious to get back on the beach, but unfortunately, we weren't heading there.  We made a quick stop at Dolly's for some mint sticks (I got Gak some chocolate-mint ones that are yummy!).  I also stuck my head in at Endeavor Trading Company, the store that has all those wonderful batik shirts and dresses that I love, but didn't buy anything.

Our next stop was the outlet malls.  We only stopped at a couple of places because I didn't want to take a lot of time and I didn't have a big budget to spend anyhow.  I got two things at Gap (which I returned yesterday) but even though I really liked the skirt, I knew I wouldn't get much use out of it and still spent too much on it.  At the VF outlet I did manage to get 1 pair of pants and 3 shirts.  I really love the one shirt, and the other two will be nice when it cools off a bit.  And yes, the pants are 2 sizes smaller than this time last year.

Then it was off to Jay's.  Boo got to meet the original Kelly, Jay's really big dog.  They did a very good job of just staying out of each other's way.  He also got to meet Molly, Robin and Paul's little dog.  Of course he got to meet Robin and Paul and see Jay again.  Overall we had a nice visit and then headed out for dinner at Bob Evan's.  We finally left down there at around 8 and had a boy who fell asleep at about 9 on the way home.  (He'd had a short nap on the way down and about a 20 minute snooze on the way to and once we got to Bob Evan's.)  Of course, this means we got home around 11, and the next morning was a bear.  But it was sooo worth it.

Yesterday we followed a very similar plan.  The weather was nice, but a good bit more humid.  Boo still wanted nothing to do with the water.  That's OK though, we had lots of fun in the sand and I kept going back to the surf to get buckets of water and a chance to cool off.

Lunch was at Grotto again and then to the outlets.  I returned my purchases from Gap from last week and Boo got a new shirt at A Children's Place that was nicely on sale.  This time there was all kinds of family at Jay's house.  Robin and Paul are up from Georgia, so of course it meant we had to get the family together.  Her two brothers live in Maryland still, so Dave and Kathy and Jimmy, Penny and "little" Jimmy were all there.  Unfortunately Bill (Robin and Paul's son) wasn't going to come up until today and Linda and Frank couldn't come up from Tennessee.  "Little" Jimmy is 14 and not so little.  He's almost 6' tall and a very nice guy.  He and Boo had a lot of fun playing together once they warmed up to each other.

It was a great day and we got out of there an hour earlier.  This time Boo fell asleep in the car within about 5 to 10 minutes.

So, yeah, we had two wonderful beach adventure days.

Go check the rest of the pictures (and some video) out on Flickr.

Peace to all and may your 'ventures be good ones.

Drama Done?

Well, unless something totally unexpected happens, the drama with the old apartment is done.
Gak is holding a check from our landlady in his hands.
I'm not going to go into all the details, suffice to say we got less than half our deposit back and have signed away the option to pursue this issue any further.  Some will think we're stupid for doing that, for leaving potentially $1200 on the table.  Yes, that's a lot of cash.  Yes, we could really, really use it.  But, I'm not sure $1200 is worth the aggravation, lack of sleep and other issues that we would have had to go through to get it.  And in the long run, I'm not sure it would have done any good for anyone (except possibly the bank account... but probably not even that...)
Personally, I'm just glad to see this chapter closed.
I thought about posting the letter we wrote to our former landlady's lawyer, but again, it really wouldn't help anyone out, so I won't.  (Although, if you want to see it, I'll gladly email it to you.)

On a side note, as you can see off to the side, I did manage to edit and upload pictures from Monday to flickr.  Hopefully tonight or tomorrow I can write about our 'venture.

Peace to all and may your conflicts come to a close peacefully and quickly.

Beach Teaser

Ok, Ok, so it's Wednesday already and I haven't uploaded my pictures from Monday or said a peep.
*sigh*  Blame it on being brain dead last night.  (I'm really supposed to be getting a shower, getting my lunch together and out the door in the next 15 minutes, but....)
So, I thought I'd just post a teaser picture from Mom.  We had a BLAST on Monday, even if I we didn't get back until about 11:00 and I didn't get to bed until almost midnight.  Ugh.  And I'm going to do this again on Sunday?
Anyhow, Monday involved a lot of driving, some nice beach time, pizza, shopping and a great family visit.  I did bust the budget a bit, which stinks, but on the plus side, I was able to buy a pair of pants 2 sizes smaller than this time last year and found 3 nice tops to stretch my work wardrobe a bit further.
Enjoy the teaser and hopefully tonight I'll get mine downloaded off my camera and posted.  I just realized I had some from the middle of July on there that I never uploaded either. *sigh*  Digital is not faster than film for posting when busy schedules are involved.

Peace to you all and may your 'ventures be fun, the weather beautiful and the pizza be Grotto's.

Vacation Excitement!

So here it is, 5:45 am on the last day of reporting month.  As you can see from the lack of postings, more severe than usual this month, it's been a rough one.  A friend and I were thinking back and we haven't seen one like this in a long time.  It was like the planets must have aligned or something.  There's no software or EPA release to blame this on.  The full moon only comes once a month.  There were no regulatory changes that snuck up on us. This was the second reporting month of the year, and so as a rule is a bit tougher than 1st quarter reporting, but not usually by this much!
Who knows.  All I know is that it ends today.  And I haven't been this thankful for the end in a long, long time.

But, there is brightness on the horizon!  Monday is a vacation day!  Mom, Boo and I are going down to Delaware to visit the beach, do a little shopping and visit with some friends and family.  And then we get to do it again on Sunday.  I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this.  I haven't seen Robin and Paul in a long time.  I think I saw them at Gram's memorial, but that was over 2.5 years ago now.  (Can it really have been that long ago?  Wait, yes, because I was pregnant with Boo at the time and now he's 2!  Where has the time gone?!?)

And, as insanely excited as I am to be going to the beach two days in the next week, I'm even more insanely excited about the weekend after that.  Yep, Gak, Boo and I are disparaging for 3 days, 4 if you count the fact that we're leaving after Gak gets off work that Saturday.  This vacation is going to be great.  Just the three of us. Yes, where we're going we could easily try and get together with at least one friend and some family as well.  Are we going to? Nope.  We only have 3 days and I want to spend it with my boys.  If we were going to be gone for 4 or 5 days, I'd think about it.  But I really need this "weekend" with just my boys, just the three of us.  I haven't had a real vacation since I went to Disney with Kat and the gang in 2007, and the last time Gak and I had a vacation together was 2005 for our honeymoon!  Yes, we've had weekends at friends' and a couple of trips back to OK, but no vacation, just the three of us.  The closest we've come was our one night in Baltimore back in April, but that was to spend some time with Michelle (which I treasure, but wasn't really much of a vacation...)

Where are we going?  Well, I'm not going to give you all the details.  Just that it involves both camping and big city.  That it's in my Mom's "backyard" of where she grew up.  And yes, the camping part was somewhat my idea, but the place we're going was Gak's.  We had the option of renting a cabin, but he was OK with taking the tent, which is good because that means we can stay the extra day.
Yes, you'll see all kinds of pictures and hear all kinds of stories once we get back.  I really love how this will be a mix of lazy camping and great sight seeing opportunities.  The best part of it is, there is so much to do that's free!  Yep, cheap is good, free is better.  Just thinking about this trip has had me bouncing off the walls since yesterday when the plan came together and I reserved the camp site.
The great thing is, I've got a good bit of camping gear still from when I was younger and we just got a new tent and sleeping bags.  I've got some other things I can borrow from Mom and I'm gonna see if I can't borrow the "kitchen" from Kat.  So, for the cost of 1 night in a hotel, we'll be spending 3 nights in a tent.  (And you'll never feel like you've got to leave your "room" at the campground if you don't want to so the maid can clean and make the beds.)
It's the thought of these trips that's going to get me through the next 10 hours.

We've also got other fun things planned for August.  Steve will be home in a matter of days (or a week or two).  This means that his "post deployment picnic" will be happening at the end of August.  And the next day a bunch of us are going to Ozzfest.  Do you know how long it's been since I've been to a concert?  Let alone a cool, all day, outdoor event like Ozzfest?  I'm really looking forward to it, even if the next day is going to be hard.  Gak's got to open the next day, so I get about an hour reprieve from my normal 6:30 am leave time on Monday mornings.
The biggest downside to August is that all of this fun comes with a ton of work for Gak.  He's going to be working open to close at least 12 days this month, not including his normal Saturdays.  While the paychecks will be nice, the dead husband not so much.  Oh well, it'll make up for Gak not getting vacation time for the two days we're taking off in the middle of the month.  (Can I tell you how much that irks me?  It does.  I mean, he's been there 5 years, minus a 6-month stint, you'd think he'd be able to get 5 or 6 hours vacation time in a year?  Ah, don't get me started... I like his boss, but sometimes he just doesn't treat Gak very fairly, even when he can...)

Well, I'd better get my butt together and out the door.  I've got one more day to get through this week and then I'm free for 3 days of vacation!  Yes, I really am that excited over a long weekend.  Yes, it has been that rough of a month, and pretty much that rough of a year.

Peace to all and may you have something to look forward to and time with just your closest loved ones.

Fit?

Well, it has been about 10 days since we picked me up a Wii balance board and Wii Fit game.
I'll start off by saying I didn't realize such simple exercises, could get you sweating and working so hard.
I enjoy it, really I do.  I like that it tracks my time and my weight and makes me set goals and things like that.
I do not, however, like some of the wording or phrasing or "attitudes" I get from the game.  Dude, I know I'm fat, why do you think I'm doing this?  You don't have to make my Wii look like she's just found out that she failed the last math final she needs to graduate when you tell me the results.
Also, I have no idea how in the world you're supposed to keep your center of balance in the yellow area on some of these exercises.  Unless I put my foot in the middle of the board, which you're not supposed to do.
I wish there were some pre-set "routines" or an easier way to list different exercises/activities that go well together.  Sure, telling me I should do XYZ after I've just don ABC is great, but if I'm not ready to move onto strength training because I want to warm up a bit more with the yoga, doesn't help when I finally do change screens.  (Especially because I've been doing this at about 5:30 am and my mind hasn't totally booted for the day yet...)
I love how I feel after 30-35 minutes working on the board.  My body doesn't feel tight or stiff, but warm and loose and ready for the day.  I love the fact that I can pick and choose what I want to do.  But... the avatars and the "trainers" with their canned lines bore and annoy me and seem to be that too helpful, too cheerful type I usually have a hard time not throttling.  (The Wii balance board animation on the other hand, is quite cute and friendly..)
So, I will keep working with it, hopefully at least 3-4 days a week.  I will get past the annoyances of the avatars and the depressing "wrong answer" type sounds when it gives me my weight results.  I'm stronger than that.  A stupid hunk of plastic and coding isn't going to do anything to my self image.

Anyhow, I don't talk about it much, but I am continuing down the path to a smaller me.  Unfortunately, this means I need a whole new wardrobe at this point.  I have 1 pair of work pants that fit great, 1 skirt that is acceptable, 1 pair of work pants that'll do (all 3 are khakhi, can I tell you how bored I am of tan??) and 1 pair of jeans and 3 pair of shorts that will work too.  I've got about 6 shirts for work (but a load of T-shirts that I used to avoid fit again...).  So, yeah, I need new clothes.  The biggest problem, well, two biggest problems?  Time to shop (trust me, shopping with a toddler is suicide) and a bit more importantly, money.  Part of me doesn't want to bother getting new clothes because, if I get to where I'm going, I'll need still more new clothes in another few months anyhow.  But, a larger part of me is almost embarassed by how long I've been dealing with clothes that just don't fit right.  I mean, I got a new pair of jeans on Mother's Day a size smaller than most of the work clothes I'm making due with, and they're a bit loose (but not quite loose enough to go down another size...).  So, I don't know what to do.  I did get a few pair of jeans from Kat that had been floating around that fit well, but I can't wear them to work.  I'm half tempted to find some cheap fabric that'll work and make a couple drawstring skirts, but once the weather cools off and I can't wear my sandals any more to work, that won't do.  (That and about 90% of people who know me are having to re-read that statement ot make sure they read it right...)
So, I'm not sure what I'm going to do, other than complain either about spending money or about having clothes that don't fit.

Well, my lunch is over, so I'm going to get back to pounding my head against imovable objects until the day is done.

Peace to all and may you find a fit you like.

Frustration and Figures

Here I sit at my desk at work, waiting for another download to happen. There is a lot on my mind and a lot going on right now, but it’s all pretty chaotic, and not ready for posting nor may it ever be ready to be out there in the great wide world.

I am very ready for the chaos in my life to die down to a manageable level, some nice background noise. It has been a very long 6 or 7 months, and hopefully we’re going to see the end of the tunnel sometime soon.

I honestly thought we had seen the end of the tunnel when we finally moved in to the new apartment. Well, we’re still not quite done with that drama. We should be soon. I just have to figure out how to say what I want to say. To make an anguishing story a bit shorter and easier to digest, let me just say that we’ve been in a battle the last 2 to 3 weeks over the deposit on the old apartment. The way we see it is that the lease was terminated on 5/31 when the keys were turned in. This means that according to law, she had 30 days to get us our deposit and/or an itemized list of what the deposit was used for. Well, she didn’t. So, on July 7th, I sent her an email politely asking what was up. Or at least I tried to be polite, but I guess formal comes across as “threatening”. *Sigh* Anyhow, she responded that she was out of the office and she couldn’t find our address (which I’d given her back in April and every email I send has my work mailing address and phone number on it) but would be back in on the 12th. Well, I guess I got a little ticked by the brush-off, especially considering I knew she had my email, my work phone, my work fax, my work address, Gak’s cell phone and his email as well, not to mention that she knows exactly where he works. She could have easily contacted us at any time.

Oh, and by the way, PA law states that if she doesn’t get us the deposit and/or explanation within 30 days, we’re entitled to double the amount no questions asked. Now, let me tell you, that’s a nice chunk of change we’re talking about. So, with a little help, I gathered my understanding of the law and fired off a response that could probably be seen as threatening, or at least very unhappy.

Well, to try and make this a little shorter, she went to her lawyer. Who advised her that the lease doesn’t actually terminate until next May 30th because we didn’t notify her in writing about not renewing before the April 3oth date in the lease, but a week later. Now, mind you Gak had told her we were looking to move back at the beginning of April, so she at least had verbal warning. Yes, we should have gotten her the written notice earlier, but since I hadn’t looked at the lease in about 3 years, I couldn’t remember how much notice we had to give her. There was also a lot of other trumped up and exaggerated statements in the letter from her lawyer, including that we didn’t let her know in a timely manner about the infestation. (I’m sorry, within 3 hours of figuring out why the hell Gak and I were both itching and had been for a few months now wasn’t fast enough???!) The long and the short of it is, she’s willing to give us about $350 for us to shut up and go away.

On the one hand, I’m so ticked at her that I’d love to take her to court and get her to pay out the $1600 she owes us, even if we only see about $500 after lawyer fees and court fees and all that jazz. But, the realist in me sees that it will probably be in everyone’s best interest to take the money and run. Taking her to court won’t make her a better landlady. Yes, the way we read it the law is on our side. But, the way her lawyer reads the lease, the lease is on their side. Yes, some of the things she’s charging us for is downright highway robbery and petty. But, I have to be above that. Being petty, while satisfying in the short run, will not make things better in the long run. Not to mention set a very bad example for my son.

Why do I have to be a grownup? Why can’t I just throw a tantrum and yell and scream loud enough so that I can get what I want?

Because that’s the way life is, for good or ill.

So, I guess I’ve talked myself into taking the money and running, no matter how much I could use the extra cash. Now, to figure out how to word our letter of response to tell her “don’t think you’ve won because of this, but we’ll take your money and be rid of you for good”. Of course, she’ll feel like she “won” and “beat” us, and we’ll feel like crap for being so confrontational and for potentially leaving $1500 on the table. Yeah, it’s a no-win situation at all for us, I’ll just be glad when it’s finally well and truly over. And still, $350 is better than a poke in the eye. Besides, if we went to court there’s always the chance the judge could side with the lawyer in that the lease really doesn’t terminate until next year and make us pay all the rent that would have been due this year. Not a chance I’m really willing to take, as that is way more than $1600.

Well, my download is done. I’ll wrap this up by saying that Amma finished Boo’s curtains and they’re hanging in his room. The look great! She hopes to have ours done this week, which would be awesome.
So, peace to all and may your ordeals not be ulcers on steroids and may calmer heads prevail.

Curtains to You!

Well, here it is Friday again, and not much to say this week.  It's been a long, mostly wet, mostly busy week.
Actually, there are a few things in the works, but nothing is ready to talk about yet.  One has the potential to go very bad, very quickly (even though we're in the right), and another is just heavy and I haven't finished worrying it in my own brain yet.  Then you have some more or less "normal" drama that exists in our lives here.  But, like I said, none of that is ready to be committed to words yet.

So, I  don't remember if I mentioned it on Monday or not, but Mom and I went to Joann's to look at fabric for curtains for Boo's room and Gak's and my room.  We spend $100, but I'm really happy with what we got.  (And trust me, I couldn't have bought pre-made curtains for this little... not for the two large windows and the door I've got!)
Boo totally loves the fabric for his, so much so that I got extra to make a pillow case out of.  Have you noticed that at all the chain stores you just can't find curtains in cool kid patterns?  They're all dull and boring and not even stuff I really want in my room, let alone something fun for a kid.  anyhow, we were looking through the quilting prints and I pulled out a navy blue fabric loaded with tiny little starts in a bunch of colors.  Boo wouldn't let go of the bolt.  I knew we needed something fairly dark as our windows get great afternoon/evening sun, and well, that's just when I want my boy to go to sleep.  That and he's got to be solar powered as when the sun comes up, so does my son.

I went a little more sophisticated for Gak's and my room.  There was this neat navy batik with a green spiral-y or vine like pattern to it which I really liked, but then I found something that would be a bit more subtle and look better with our room.  It's still a navy fabric, but it's got these pencil thin black spiral designs, somewhat like wrought iron.  We've got 2 lamps in our bedroom that would look great with that as well as a black lacquered sewing cabinet from Gram.  They'll look great, and again, dark enough to make the room dark in the evenings and mornings.  We also have a door onto the balcony with a large window in it.  So, we got some sheer navy fabric as well for that one.  Not cheap since we had to get 2 yards for such a skinny window, but there was no way around it.  Throw in some pleating tape for the two big windows so we can use the existing rods (the kind that open and close the curtains with a cord, you know, the "old-fashioned" pleat curtain types...) and you can see how we quickly reached $100.

And my mom, being the saint that she is, volunteered to make them for me!  I mean, I could easily have done it myself as we're using the pleat tape to make life easy, but she told me she would.  Her reasoning (which I can't fault a bit) is that I have a two-year-old, she doesn't.  That, and we all know me and projects, I'm all excited in the beginning and get about 80% done, and then just loose all interest and it sits.  This isn't a project that I want to have sit.  (Although, I did get the curtains done for the old apartment in record time for me... but I also had a week off and no toddler to chase...)  I just wish I'd taken pictures of the fabric before Mom absconded with it, so I could post some pictures.  Oh well, you'll just have to wait until they're done.

So, that's about the most exciting news this week that's ready to share.  There's more drama in my life, but a lot of it has to do with the former landlady and I really don't feel like sharing here until it's all over with.  I'm just too cranky and frustrated and just plain pissed to write coherently about it right now.  I was so hoping we were done with that place, but apparently not.

Anyhow, plans for this weekend include a night out with Barb and Norm on Saturday, without Boo.  I don't think we've had the chance to do that since December.  Then again, life's been pretty chaotic and so going out's been the last thing on my mind, and probably Gak's too....  Sunday we're going to go visit PopPop and Amma, as Boo was asking for PopPop earlier this week, and who am I to say no to that?  Other than that, it should be "normal" weekend stuff.  I am looking forward to it, even if what I really want is a nap.

Oh well, I should be getting myself ready to get out the door.
Peace to you all and may your projects come together and your life be not too full of drama.