Day 2

It was a little dark when we started....



If I saw this Minnie Mouse again, I'd RUN!!


More beautiful sights.



These guys were EVERYWHERE!!!



If only Jack Sparrow was with her....


Mummers!!!



At 17.5 miles, it was time to hit the bus. My feet thanked me by walking all of Day 3.

Today

Today, I woke up and felt fantastic. Tired, but fantastic. I did wake up earlier to pee (stubbed my sore toe) and realized I was parched and had a headache. Oops - dehydration. I recovered with the help of hubby who went downstairs to get some Tylenol and got me 2 glasses of water. I told S that the pink socks I gave him to wear were to support breast cancer awareness. He stopped complaining and proudly put them on. I just didn't feel like walking all the way to his room for a pair of his socks when Trinks had a pair right in front of me. He's a good boy.

Re-entry to the real world is tough. No one hi fived me when I walked into daycare. No one beeped at me when I crossed the street to go into the spa. The women in the spa fawned all over me and that was nice. They remembered me from last year.

I can't believe how great I feel. The blisters are a little tight, but I haven't yet figured out why there was blood all over my foot last night. The massage was amazing. I spent today writing about the experience, downloading pictures, and setting up my website for next year. It's done (for now) but looks really weird. I'll check it at work tomorrow to see if it's just this computer.

I made it to another kung foo class. It was really cool seeing what Trinks is learning. They had a lesson about the word compassion and it was really interesting to see what kids think about the word. Then Trinks and I picked S up, and remembered tomorrow is picture day. I just need to remember decent clothes for tomorrow. While picking S up, I ran into someone in the hall who noticed my shirt and asked if I felt like she did. I just smiled and let her know I felt that way last year.

Pictures from the 3 Day - Day 1

Eat more chicken!!!


I got to carry a flag on Day 1.


We passed by some very scenic locations.


Look at the pretty pink tents! After 20 miles, this is a fantastic sight!


Tired and happy feet. We made it back to camp!

We did the impossible

The main part of the 3 Day is to raise a boat load of money. The walk is to get out in the community and let them know we are walking for breast cancer awareness. The walk is to challenge ourselves so we realize we can do what we think is impossible. The walk is to meet new people, carry their stories with you and inspire others. The walk is to come together with people who have had similar experiences and laugh and cry with them. The walk is to get closer to the people you walk and crew with.

But as I said in the first sentence, the goal is to raise a lot of money to further breast cancer research. There were 3,100 of us. We raised $8.1 million. AWESOME!

Humbled

I'll be posting throughout the day about my awesome experience at the 3 Day. It was incredible and I have a lot of stories. I also have some pictures, but I have to recharge the batteries to download.

Prior to the event, I kept tracking the top fundraisers to see how much they raised. You see, the top fundraiser gets a tent you can stand up in and a queen air mattress on a platform. This is otherwise know as heaven after walking all day. I aspire to get that tent one day. I followed the story of this woman. Check out her family picture, her story and even the beautiful jewelry her friend makes to help her fundraise.

Then imagine that you are seated with a couple thousand people, listening to her tell her story. She found a lump at 24 and her dr told her to go home because she was too young for it to be anything. Are you screaming yet? Then she found a lump under her arm and the dr decided to take it out and discovered cancer. She went through chemo and 35 radiation treatments (that's every day for 5 weeks). She was cancer free for almost 5 years when it came back in her sternum. Further test results indicated it was in her liver. From what I have read, cancer in the liver is a death sentence.

This brave woman got up in front of us and wasn't bitter. She was inspirational, and happy and upbeat. She was a warrior. She was fighting for her life! She was fighting for a better future for her 2 year old daughter. And she was walking. It doesn't look like she has the endurance she once had because she was being pushed in a wheelchair for the time we shared the trail. It looked like her team, who joined together to raise just under $69,000, took turns pushing her. It was a tribute to them because I had a hard time navigating on the uneven, broken sidewalks. I can't imagine how these wonderful people managed to pushed her. The power of love and support really goes a long way.

Almost $10,000

As I type this, we are so close to reaching $10,000 for our 3 Day walk. We just need to track down $350 more and we are there. When I set the team goal, we had more walkers. When it dropped to 3 walkers and 2 crew, I thought we would never make it. Amazing. I am sure we will hit our goal tomorrow, right before we leave. My team is AWESOME!!!

I walk

In anticipation of this weekend's event, I thought I would list all the reasons I am crazy enough to walk 60 miles over 3 Days.

I walk because I am angry.
I walk because I am sad.
I walk because I feel helpless.
I walk to figure things out.
I walk for Karen and know she is somewhere cheering me on, and thinking I am crazy.
I walk for Sarah and Molly and hope the money I raise will save their lives.
I walk for Kathi and pray she will remain healthy after her surgery.
I walk for Kathi's daughters.
I walk for Amy and see hope from her journey.
I walk for Louisa and Jen, two women I have never met, but keep in my heart as their journeys are really tough.
I walk for my own daughter. May she never have to deal with this disease.
I walk because I don't know what else to do.

Continental or Southwest?

I always thought I liked Continental. This trip to the Bahamas changed my mind. They are too straight laced and need to loosen up. I listened, horrified as they monotoned through the safety checks. No one once commented if oxygen was needed and you were traveling with more than one child, pick the child who could support you better in your old age. There were no surveys about who made the best cheese steaks - Gino's, Pat's, or Jim's? I think the worst offense was that they ran out of pretzels 3 rows ahead of us. I think we should get a refund.

In all seriousness, I don't mind flying Continental, but I will do everything in my power to fly Southwest.

NJ gas sucks

I hope NJ gas station owners all get sued. They charge more money when you use a credit card to pay for gas. I remember this from my childhood, and they were forced to abandon the practice. We needed to get gas in NJ on Saturday and found gas for $2.89. The credit card price was $2.99. I pulled out a $20 and we made it back home.

Today, I filled up my car in DE for $2.91 and for once, it cost $50 to fill my tank. AND I didn't have to wait for some attendent with a bad attitude to pump it for me. For someone who grew up disgusted by the idea of pumping my own gas, I have come a long way. Jersey gas is just too inconvenient.

Yes, I returned Starbucks

I love Starbucks coffee. I don't need a fancy drink. Plain old coffee, preferably a bold roast, works for me. And I don't fall for their pretentious ordering. Large coffee. Not Venti. And don't correct me - I just don't care.

I haven't had Starbucks in forever as part of my cost cutting. When we hit Newark airport, Starbucks was waiting for us on the other side of security. I ordered a large coffee, and paid my $2. I went to fix my coffee and was in shock to see it wasn't full. It was a clear 2 inches below the top. Who the hell uses that much milk? I brought it back up and informed the clerk that my coffee was missing. I think she thought I was crazy, but she filled it up. I just wanted my $2 worth.

Kung Foo

I left work earlier than usual because of the holiday and I was able to watch a little of Trinks' king foo class. She's pretty good.

3 year old photographer

Touched by an Angel (fish)

Well, we arrived in the Bahamas with two children, but we are leaving with 2 merkids. S lost his fear of water and cried when it was time to leave the pool and the ocean. Trinks is getting to be a strong swimmer and wave jumper. We swam with angel fish and needle fish at the Cove beach, hunted down the elusive coconuts, and collected shells. Grandpa is now an expert coconut opener - he could be the next coconut man to roam the beaches selling rum drinks.

Our one major disaster (and it wasn't even bad) was that Trinks got thrown off her tube in the rapids during the Current ride. She was with Grandpa and in a life jacket, so all was well. She did develop a healthy fear of going on that section again, though.

So here we sit in the Nassau airport eating the last of our food and recalling the good old days when we could bring drinks through security and get drunk while waiting to board. If all goes well, we will have a great Portuguese dinner tonight before we depart for home. Ahhh - vacations just keep getting shorter!!!

The economy, international edition

I thought things were bad at home, but the Bahamas has been hit pretty hard. Between hurricanes and lack of tourists, prices are soaring here. While I would have paid $8 for a hamburger ($10 with cheese) last year, this year I can't even think about paying $12, $14 with cheese. We are calling this week a week of forced dieting - and to be honest, it wouldn't hurt any of us to shed some pounds.

This place is pretty empty, and some of our favorite places don't exist anymore. We're having a great time, don't get me wrong, but it is a little sad to see how things are right now.

Gotta log off - my 15 minutes are almost up.

It's finally here!!

The kids are asleep, I am fully packed and not stressed and I can go to bed. We have a DIRECT flight from Newark and don't have to check in until 7:45. We all are in the same row. I must be dreaming!

Today was a busy day, but it was made easier because my in laws took both kids for the day. It was tough getting up there when they needed to because hubby got a little stuck at work. If they could, I think his department would keep him home this week! But we ended up with matzoh ball soup for dinner, so the stress of the day was erased.

If I get the chance to blog again this week, I'll post some pictures. The weather looks decent. Hot, but decent. I'll have to break my shoes in early in the AM!

And because I need inspiration to pack

Heaven!!!

S-T-R-E-P!!!!!!!!!

AGAIN!!!!!!! I swear it wouldn't be a trip to the Bahamas without a child on antibiotics, which are such a pleasure to travel with. Yup. Trinks has strep. FUN! And I'm pretty sure S will develop it some time during our trip.

I think the most fun thing that happened to me today was the moment when I was practically sitting on Trinks to get the throat culture. Ok Mom. You win. I got a child as horrific as I was when I was this age. At least it didn't take 3 nurses, one mother, and one dr to hold Trinks down. And she didn't break a thermometer. I was a terrible child.

But it's was nice showing Trinks where I work because I have so much work to get done and my boss is off this week. Trinks finds my office to be really boring. Heck, I let her eat her weight in junk food and she still was bored. Thankfully she was quietly bored. She listened to Hannah Montana, watched a little Ratatouille, took a walk with a co-worker, met hubby in the coffee shop - not a huge loss of a day.

So I am frantically packing. Well, not so much frantically as procrastinating, but in my mind I'm in a frenzy. Hubby took both kids to his parents - we are so lucky! I need to get the suitcases ready for the car (which needs to have the tires inflated because that warning light came on and I had to look it up in the owner's manual this am while I was driving S to school), so we can load it and dash off to get the kids tomorrow night. I need a Bahama Mama!!!!

A Bad Day

It's a bad day when S chooses not to listen at school. It's a bad day when Trinks gets in trouble at school. Today was a really bad day because the BOTH came home with bad reports. Trinks had been so good for so long, so I guess she just snapped and became chatty and bossy. S just never turned on his listening ears. At least tomorrow is another day.

For Kathi

Now I just have to transfer this concept to a cake. Prayers and good thoughts for Kathi!!!

Reverse growth

Now that I have complained about the kids' growth, it seems I have the reverse problem. I am packing for vacation and only have 1 pair of shorts that fit. And to get them to stay up, I have to wash and dry them every day. I have some shorts to try on tonight, but I think they may still be a wee bit small. I've tossed a lot of the clothes that sit in my closet and drawers, mocking me, saying all sorts of unkind things about how I'll never fit in them again. At least we have a washer and dryer in the Bahamas.

Growth

So the kids have shot up several inches (at least it seems that way) since we cleaned out their drawers a couple of weeks ago. Trinks has 2 pair of jeans that fit, meaning they aren't floods. They are so big in the waist that they keep falling down and she rarely remembers a belt. And she informed me that her ballet slippers no longer fit. I swear I just bought her new ones, but I guess it has been about a year. S has 3 pair of fall/winter pants. Everything else is about 2 inches off the ground. When I return from the next vacation, I'll have to go shopping. Of course they need absolutely no shirts, so I guess I should be thankful that some growth isn't as fast.

Foggy day at the beach

This picture is brought to you courtesy of a weekend with Nothing Knew and family. Head to his blog for better pictures. While I appreciate having this camera, it definitely is not the same caliber as my last camera. The replacement camera I fell in love with is around $1,000, and the one I can live with is $300 +, so it's not likely I'll get a new one soon.



A nice father son moment. S had a blast running around avoiding the water and digging.

Cafe Press

I love my order from This One's for The Girls. Cafe Press promptly sent my 3 T-shirts and hat and I look forward to wearing them this weekend!!!

Check out the merchandise! It supports a wonderful cause.

Dyson ROCKS!

I took advantage of the great advice I received when I lamented the passing of my Dyson hose, and ordered a new part. I was reluctant to order it because I was afraid it would be too hard to fix and I just wouldn't do it. I assumed there would be complicated instructions to follow.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the box and there were NO INSTRUCTIONS! Thankfully I looked at the part before I flipped. I fixed the hose with a snap. Ok, make that 2 snaps: One to get the hose off and one to pop the hose on. I remain in love with my Animal. And yes, I picked it out because it was purple, but it works great on pet hair.

Oedipus has nothing on my son

Last night my son asked if he could put his tongue in my mouth. When I said "no", he asked if I would put my tongue in his mouth. I have no idea what to do with this.

Big feet

I am searching the web to track down new sneakers. Sneaker shopping should be easy, right? Try finding size 12 at a reasonable price. I think with my last order, I wiped out my cheap source of New Balance 844. Right now every store I can find with 12s in stock are asking the full price of $105. I know I can get them for $75 and free shipping!!!! Since these are last year's model, they should be trying to sell them cheaply to make way for the 845s!!!!

Dekorating

On Saturday we went to an orchard outside of Princeton to celebrate Apple Days. The kids had a blast and we bought apple cider donuts. The Daisy Jug band was playing. I think we have been following them for over 20 years - yikes! After a wonderful afternoon, we ended up at Europa for a wonderful meal. My in laws took the kids home (silence!) and my mother sent home fall decorations.

Sunday rolled around and I walked 8.5 miles, watched Evita, did some laundry and lounged around until it was time to pick the kids up. Since the Eagles were playing, hubby couldn't leave the house. I took them down to Willey Farms so I could get some real apples (really, it didn't occur to me to pick some at the orchard). By the time we got home, it was time for dinner and baths. Trinks was upset there was no time to decorate.

Monday morning, Trinks springs from her bed, gets dressed in record time, sticks her head in my room to tell me she's going to get her breakfast so she can decorate. After a quick bowl of cereal, she ran outside and rearranged the porch countless times until it looked just right. I thought it was cute. After school, I went through her backback and found an essay she wrote about "dekorating" the porch. Each section of the decorations have meaning and she named all of the pumpkins. Some days I wish I could peek into the future to see what she will be in 20 years. It's going to be fun watching that unfold.

The economy

This is in part a reaction to some posts at Nothing Knew and a post I have been playing around with. My post was decidedly whiny, so I never published it.

The economy sucks. I work for a Big Financial Company (BFC) and I know this first hand. The sight of the Lehman employees leaving with their boxes haunts me and threw me into a funk last week. Hubby and I are relatively safe right now, but cost cutting is a huge focus at work. We are also collapsing systems and reducing redundant employees. That means they decide if I am more important than my colleagues in the mid west. Who ever gets paid the least and can uphold quality the best gets to stay. Getting paid the least is my specialty, so I may dodge another bullet.

So what is my reaction? Aside from last week when I flipped out (rule of thumb - when the economy sucks this bad DO NOT CHECK YOUR 401(k). You will go crazy), we have started cutting our expenses drastically. Any alleged luxury is on it's way out. I have my eye on cutting Netflix and would love to get rid of cable. I will be outvoted on the cable (can't get rid of the sports) and Netflix means we don't have to take the kids to the movies. But cutting simple things seems to work. No more juice boxes. I cancelled the paper. Granted I was pissed at the lousy service, but I was able to cut $18 a month and I hardly miss it. I can get my For better of For Worse online. I convinced the kids to choose simple costumes for Halloween. S will be Thomas the Tank again and Trinks will be a Kung Foo girl. I drink cheap coffee. I reuse some zip top bags. Hubby and I carpool (except when the economy forces him to work until 8 PM) and pack our lunches. We joined the library and now I don't feel like we need to buy Scholastic books every month.

Two of my favorite websites offer advice and ideas. Get Rich Slowly is about a guy who got out from under debt and learned how to save money in the process. He covers a bunch of topics and seems down to earth. Another one site I visit is The Dollar Stretcher. This is update weekly and runs from stories from the incredibly frugal to sound financial advice about debt and savings. I'm not ready to make my own laundry detergent, but washing everything (except linnens) in cold water with half the detergent helps save money. I've also started cutting the dryer sheets in half. It doesn't make a difference.

A third site, Saving Dinner, is a valuable resource for menu planning. When we plan menus, we save money. The kids get involved so they feel like they are part of the dinner process. We've tried food I never thought we would like. Leanne Ely, the Dinner Diva at Saving Dinner is a wonderful down to earth woman. I met her a few years ago in Baltimore at a Flyfest. A Flyfest is a Flylady event. A Flylady is someone who rescues you from your perfection and gives you your life back.

So I have rambled on a bit, but I don't think it's as whiny as my first couple of drafts. I hope everyone is able to stay afloat until this mess passes. And I hope my 401(k) recovers before I retire.

This will knock your socks off

If you know my mother, you know she's really smart. Sometimes, however, she tries to disguise her intellegence. If you've ever seen her try to download pictures to Walgreens, you would know what I am talking about. Complete and utter failure. Ok - bad example. She was trying to send 1200 pictures to be printed in an hour and I think the system collapsed. But my mother and digital pictures are a prime example of my mother being overwhlemed by technology. But wait until you hear this!

My mother will be teaching the staff at her hospital how to e-mail using hyper links. Seriously. My mother learned how to do this and the tech people thought she learned it so well she could teach everyone else how to do it. I am impressed.

Prayers for Kathi, please

Kathi had a second lumpectomy and the doctor didn't get all the cancer again. Apparently the live cancer is really hard to see. Once the cancer dies, it calcifies and then it can be seen. Right now she is facing some tough choices as her next steps. I know she'll be fine, but this process is pretty tough.

This One's for the Girls

On the 9 month anniversary of Karen's death, I think it's appropriate to advertise the opening of the This One's for the Girls store. If you purchase any item from this store, the profits will go to the Breast Cancer 3 Day team, This One's for the Girls.

Not only is the product a fundraiser, but it's darn cute. How did we get to the point of opening a store? Very easy. I can't design T-shirts. If I could, they would be really ugly and wouldn't arrive for another month. I asked Felise if she knew what to do. That was last Friday morning. By Friday afternoon, not only had she designed a T-shirt (way better than the one I imagined), but she set up the store with various products. AWESOME! She is truly talented. My only regret is she doesn't get to wear our T-shirt at the walk since she is one of the wonderful crew people who take care of us walkers.

Good bye to an old friend

The poor sneakers have been used past the natural end of their life. The last straw was today at lunch when they shredded the bottom of my really ugly feet during a 3.5 mile walk. Buh-bye! I abused these sneakers and they took as much as they could. I feel badly throwing them out. I heard Nike collects old sneakers to make playground mulch. Maybe I can do that.

Shameless request

As you know, I am gearing up for the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk. This is no ordinary walk in the park, and the biggest hurdle is mental. I was an emotional basketcase last year, and I'm sure I'll be again. What really helped me was getting a stack of mail. I think I got more mail than anyone else out there. So now I am asking you to send me, and my team, mail. Here are the details:

Send letters to:
Breast Cancer 3-Day Camp Post Office
ATTN: INSERT NAME OF PARTICIPANT
P.O. Box 609
Montgomeryville, PA 18936-0609

Envelopes only, please. No boxes or large packages. Mail must be postmarked no later than October 7th in order to ensure delivery at the Breast Cancer 3-Day Camp Post Office. Any mail that is not retrieved by the walker by November will be destroyed.

And in case you are a smart ass like my father - INSERT NAME OF PARTICIPANT means putting MY NAME, or MY TEAMMATE'S names on that line.

I hit my fundraising minumum

Go me!! Actually, huge thanks to the people who donated. I knew I was $95 short before I left for Chicago. When I got home, I signed on to see when next year's walk is and noticed I had 100% on my site! I started crying - it's just so emotional to know that I raised $2,200! My plan is to walk until I have raised $17,000 - a thousand dollars for each year I knew Karen. Last year I raised $3,500, so I have a few more years of walking.

It's not a fruit

My son says "Li-berry". Does anyone remember the animated bookworm movie from the late seventies/early eighties? I've always had them in my brain about the correct pronunciation of library. I should check out You Tube. It's probably out there.

But in spite of bad pronunciation, we had a blast at the library. I discovered my card has been inactive so long that I needed a new one. Both kids complained that it took too long, but it was all completed in well under 10 minutes. And then they made a mad dash to the .... computer???? Trinks picked out a rare Junie B Jones she didn't have and then tore over to the open computer near her brother.

I was like a kid in a candy store. All my friends were there! Jonathan Kellerman, Janet Evanovich, Patricia Mott Davidson, the Alpine series lady, Suze Orman, Roald Dahl, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile - every one was there and I had to choose only a select few to come home with me. Kellerman, Evanovich, Motts Davidson, and Orman made the cut. I already finished Evanovich - it was a Stephanie Plum in between the series books. Boy am I glad I didn't buy it - I finished it in about 2 hours. Now I'm on to Suze Orman so I can get the Courage to be Rich. Didn't think you needed courage to be rich. I always thought you needed money to be rich, but I look forward to being educated.

I got James and the Giant Peach for the kids as well as a bunch of other interesting looking books. We read Lyle, Lyle Crocodile last night and started James and the Giant Peach. Even hubby got into it. He didn't get any books, though.

Bad news

When I called hubby from the airport to let him know I was about to board, he hit me with, "I have some bad news." He proceeded to tell me the TV in our room broke. Big deal - I can handle that! S loses the TV in his room that never should have stayed in there, so there is no impact.

Today came the REALLY bad news. The AC is broken. It won't turn on. It turns out the safetly thing that was wired to the condensation pump 2 months ago worked and we have to replace the condensation pump instead of the whole shebang. GREAT! And the whole thing may not last another 2 years like we were hoping. Fun.

Chicago - in pictures

Here is the view from my awesome room.



And here is my awesome room. I bet you can't see the iPod alarm clock thing. I enjoyed playing with that!



A night view from my room.



A rainy view from my room.



And proof I got out and walked really far before realizing I had to walk back. Oops! Just for a reference point, I started on the OTHER SIDE of the tall buildings.

Piano Man is truly timeless

I think I was a little older than Trinks when I first heard Piano Man. I loved it instantly. Tonight I had to return to work with both kids to pick up hubby who had to work late (read the business news. Not great stuff for BFCs). Of course he only has to work late on days we carpool. But I digress. I played some High School Musical 2 for Trinks and S started whining it wasn't fair that he didn't get his music. I stepped out of character (which would involve me making the situation VERY unfair)and let hubby decide what music to play since I was driving. He chose Piano Man. We arrived home well before the song ended and the four of us sat in the car singing Piano Man at the top of our lungs. Then we leapt out of the car so we could watch Tiny Toons as part of movie night.

Seafood Scott

Trinks really likes her Kung Fu classes. Hubby asked her to show him some moves and tell us more about her class. She started out by saying, "Seafood Scott tells us..." Whatever followed was lost because we were laughing so hard. The correct term is Sifu.

A little yellow bird, with a pretty yellow bill....

And nope! Not going to finish that song. If you have forgotten the words, contact hubby.



This goldfinch was so engrossed in eating the thistle that he didn't notice me slip my camera from my pocket to snap the shot.

If there is a bomb on board...

I didn't think you were allowed to use the word "bomb" in an airport. But I learned that in the event there is a bomb on board, the extra blankets and pillows will be used to cusion the impact to the rest of the plane. That would be why you can't move them to fit your oversized piece of luggage, lady, so sit down and stuff it under your seat. And no, it wasn't me. I had a sensible backpack that was barely filled and the deadliest of weapons I had with me were a small nail clipper I used to cut embroidery thread when I cross stitched.

Overall I have to say that flying has become easier than it was a couple of years ago. Even clearing security in Philly was a breeze this time. I usually wait forever to be abused by the nasty TSA officers. This time they were nice AND efficient. I waited 30 seconds to get through. Terminal E in Philly is a scant 1/10 mile long. How do I know this? I was bored since I cleared security so fast and wanted to get some miles in before I took off. I ended up walking 2 miles before I got too dizzy to continue.

Even my luggage came off the plane quickly. I didn't even have to wait 5 minutes before my luggage came off the conveyor belt. Perhaps this does not bode well for the Bahamas trip in three weeks.

Sweet Sanity

I am about to leave for four whole days in my favorite city, Chicago. Although I will be in a tax conference for 8 hours each day, I am really looking forward to some ME time. Don't get me wrong. I love my family and I will miss them desperately, but it is nice to have no responsibilities for a little while. And I know that all the important things will be handled while I'm gone, so I don't even worry about it. The only thing I have to worry about is where I am dining each night.

In another month and a half, I may even get to go on a midwest tour, including Houston, Chicago and NYC. I know NYC isn't part of the midwest, but it will be included. And if it's scheduled when I am told it will be, I will have to vote on paper again. Wa-hooooo!!!!

Ms Alice

My favorite teacher at daycare died this week. Ms Alice was a sweet woman who loved children. She had a 45 year career in banking before retiring three years ago. She was the perfect teacher. Kids loved her because she knew what they needed, whether it was a gentle correction, a hug, or a nice long rock to soothe a crying baby. She will be missed!

Tumble

If you have ever watched my favorite show Jon and Kate plus 8, you may have seen the episode when Kate gets the Tumblebus for the kids. Our daycare schedules the Tumblebus one day every week. For an extra fee (nothing is ever free, right?), your child can attend a half hour lesson. I've been looking at this option for S because he needs a physical activity, but I am reluctant to run him around town right now. I've been feeling guilty because Trinks was dancing at this age, but there seems to be no reasonably priced alternatives for S.

Starting next week, S will join the Tumblebus. The staff brought the bus to school for a sample. I got on with S and he proceeded to do 3 flips on the rings with no assistance. I think he's ready!!!

Return to dance

Dance started again! I wasn't too stressed because there was actually time to pick the kids up, shove dinner down their throats, dress Trinks, and head off to ballet - actually making it there early. Now that the girls are getting older, dance is getting serious. Some of Trinks' friends made the dance team this year and they seem to live at the studio. I think that's too much for me right now, but good for them. I'm just happy I have been able to keep up for 5 years.

I checked out the Dollar Store, updated my calendar, and made some phone calls. I think it can work at this new location. Even better, I figured out how to deal with the 20 minutes of reading that Trinks has to complete every night. Since we won't get home until 8:30, it just can't happen on Tuesdays. Being read to counts, so I downloaded Anne of Green Gables to my iPod to listen to on the trip home. I love this book and hope she does to. Chapter 1 isn't that exciting, but I think next week the good stuff will start. And then maybe we can go to Prince Edward Island to see L. M. Montgomery's house. I know - everything turns into a vacation idea. I was in PEI in 1984 and had a blast exploring the island and the L.M. Montgomery house.

A totally awesome day at Longwood

"Totally Awesome" is the favorite phrase of S these days. Most of the time he loves everything and it's either wonderful or AWESOME!, or totally awesome. We started out early this AM and noticed that the extra lane on 95 N is finally open! S pronounced it really awesome, although he doesn't understand the impact to traffic. We finally made it to Longwood after the millionth time he said he could see it - good eyes, buddy, but we were about 15 miles away the first time he said it. It seemed a bad sign when he begged to be carried in the parking lot, but he gained a lot of energy after we entered.





Our plan was to see some treehouses and then head to the vegetable garden. So the kids headed off to in the general direction of my favorite treehouse. The beautiful flower gardens were buzzing with bees! The good news is ever since Trinks got stung by a yellow jacket on vacation, she doesn't seem to be terrified of bees. She is healthfully cautious, but she knows it's not the end of the world to get stung. We ended up looking for fish and trying to see if the tadpoles we saw in the spring grew up. Guess what? They did. After grabbing a snack, we hit the hide and seek garden. That's not the name of it, but we end up playing hide and seek every time we are there. Then it was time for the musical fountain show - Sousa marches with a fountain display. S was literally sitting on the edge of his chair applauding every movement. The rest of us enjoyed it, but he really got into it.



The fountains would have been the high point for S if we hadn't run into his best friend on the way to the veggies.



THOMAS IS AT LONGWOOD!!!! This set is proof that you don't have to grow up. At one point, S was chasing trains - he was too excited to stand still. Trinks enjoyed it for a little bit, but she wasn't as into as S. She loves the veggie garden because of the playhouse and teepees and was anxious to get moving. The veggie garden is my ultimate dream. When I see it, I believe it is possible for me to have a garden just a beautiful. Yup. Me. The one who has killed at least one mint plant and has a great start on killing another. It's fun to dream, right?



The kids were sufficiently exhausted when we left. We ate lunch at our favorite haunt - Buckley Tavern and had a lovely lunch on the front porch. Then real life invaded and we had to get ready for the rest of the week. Ugh! At least it's a short week and then I hit Chicago for a couple of days.

Holy crow! Politics arrived at my doorstep

This guy knocked on my door. Not some chump stumping for him, but Mike Barbieri himself. Ok - I've never heard of him before, but I'm not into DE politics. He seems like a good guy, is big on education and he came to my door and talked to my children. And yes, Nothing Knew, I started researching him.

This will be a strange voting year. After living in DE for 13 years, I will finally vote IN A BOOTH for the first time. We dont' have an election every year, and the ones we have usually coincide with a trip out of the country. I prefer to vote by mail because I hate people in general, but I don't have a choice this year.

The best daycare

We have the best daycare. I love the programs that they come up with, the fact that they serve hot lunches, and I love how hands on the owner is. We moved Trinks there when she was 3 because she was rapidy getting close to the intelligence of the teachers at her old school. For some reason we didn't have to go on their usual long wait list - a space was immediately available. From that day, I was in love with the school. Trinks did kindergarten there and I loved it even more.

Ms. Lin has gone out of her way to make sure that the programs stay true to her vision - great early childhood education at affordable proces. I was holding my breath this last week because all of the surrounding daycares increased their prices to outrageous. Outrageous in DE in dirt cheap in the surrounding areas, but increases are just not in the budget. On Thursday, S came home with a note. Ms. Lin has decided to keep the prices the same, however, she asked us to pitch in with supplies and toy/book donations. She has also decided it wouldn't be kind to sell pizzas and cookie dough in these times, so there will be no fundraiser this year.

So today, I boxed up a bunch of stuff the kids no longer play with and I will send it into school on Tuesday. It fits in with my Farewell to Crap tour. I'm happy to do something so simple to help out a wonderful person.

Wacky Wilderness

Have you ever heard of this game? I bought it at least 5 years ago when Trinks was too young to play and it sat with all the games until today. Today has been a nice, relaxing, quiet day with only S. I took the opportunity to clean out toys and get them ready to be donated to his school - more on that later. I came across this game and S decided we HAD to play. I hate reading directions, so I reluctantly agreed. Hubby was even more reluctant to play.

We sat on the floor in the living room and rolled an oversized foam die to see which body part we would end up with and who we could steal them from. I don't think I have laughed that much playing a game since I learned how to play apples to apples with LRNs and Slick. And I think it's the only game where you can get head four times and still not be happy....

Anyway, we have a new crowd pleaser that I think Trinks will have fun with. It joins the ranks with Zingo, Uno, checkers, and Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Forrest Gump

Our dear, sweet, expensive, bed hog of a cat is sick. Again. I took an early appointment with the vet today to see if it was TIME. The vet is optimistic about him having a full recovery. Without getting too graphic, he is the ultimate procrastinator. He suffers from constipation. His colon apparently is misshapen and "stuff" can't pass through the pelvis. Great. And she thinks he may be diabetic, so Forrest gave up a blood sample for a complete blood count. His kidneys may be failing.

For now, he is on new food. Not less expensive food. Just different. And I have to get him canned pumpkin. I went out to get it but couldn't find it. I also had a 3 year old pointing out every thing he saw, so maybe I just went by it. I have to get a stool softener for him, as well as sprinkle powdered fiber on his food. At what point do we draw the line? If this fails, we can try surgery. Ugh!!!

So if you feel the little animals are worth praying for, please put one up for Forrest. He's only 10, but he is the only cat we have that I am not allergic to. And he loves the kids and put up with them torturing him.

Will bleed for Oreos

Today was the annual Blood Mobile event at the BFC. The lovely people from the Blood Bank came to our campus and took our blood. As usual, I was destined to be the problem child. Lately, my hemoglobin in my left had has been lower than my right. I found this out when I failed the left and they asked if I wanted my right hand to be tested. Although I find the finger sticks to be worse than the needle, I agreed and discovered this weird hemoglobin thing. Today I thought I would beat the system and start with my right hand - ha! It was 12.4. I held up my left hand and it was a 12.8. Very strange.

So with 2 sore fingers, I walked over to the lounge chairs. The lovely woman who felt for my vein, loved the vein, but was terrified it would roll. I almost started singing Roly Poly Oly, but refrained since that is by far one of the most annoying songs I know. At least I only saw the show once. So rolling veins are nothing new to me because they are the reason I can't give platelets. I waited for a supervisor to come stab me, bled really fast and made it to the Oreo table. Nothing tastes better than Oreos and Nutter Butters after giving blood. Now I just need to remember to make an appointment for 8 weeks from now, so I can have some more fun.

More pictures from this AM

I didn't get great shots this AM, but here they are. We have company at the bus stop this year and the child molester's house (conveniently located across the street from the bus stop) is for sale. And it appears that the fence at the bus stop was also damaged in the graffiti spree.

First day of 2nd grade and pre-K

It's the same driver from last year, so Trinks is in good hands. Now it's off to pre-K and the pictures I want are not uploading. Oh well. Maybe tonight.

Caretaker of Crap

That is the title I gave myself today as I sorted through clothes with Trinks. After cleaning out her dresser to see if she needed anything for back to school, I counted 50 T-shirts. Who the hell needs 50 T-shirts? And she has about 10 pair of pants. Not pants and shorts and skirts. Just pants. So, it was a good find for the budget. No back to school shopping for her. And no new clothes are allowed in the house until winter. Period. I don't care how cute it is or how cheap it was. I don't need any more crap in my house.

Hubby did the same thing for S, but I didn't count how much was left. I was too depressed about Trinks stuff. We just don't need this much stuff. I do laundry almost every day, so it's not a matter of not having enough clean stuff. I keep up with the laundry and then no one can stuff things in their drawers.

And then I got to thinking about the bigger picture. I am always stressed about the house and keeping it clean. There is no place to put things because we have too much crap. The kids clothes get passed along, looking like new because they never wear anything long enough to wear it out. The kids don't really have favorite toys because they have too many to choose from. They know they aren't allowed to bring new toys in the house until they get rid of the same amount of stuff. I still have toys Trinks won a couple of weeks ago because she hasn't cared enough about them to make a home for them. I give it 2 more weeks before they end up at Goodwill.

This is no way to live. It's not living. It's being a slave to things instead of spending time with the family. I have been steadily decluttering for a while, but it's time to step up the pace. I plan to evict this crap from my house so I can have my life back. And I won't buy stuff to replace it. That part I've been better about, but I need to get rid of this junk.

Vandals

We returned from vacation at 1 AM last night. On our door was a note from our very nice (no sarcasm) back neighbors. We apparently have been the victims of a graffiti artist. Luckily it's on our back fence, so we don't have to look at it, but we do have to file a police report. When I returned from work today, I noticed our storm drain wasn't spared. The lovely C word is on it. Yes Mom, call me and I will tell you what the C word is.

We live in a very quiet neighborhood, so this is a bit disturbing. I know kids will be kids, but there are tons of pranks that do not involve willful destruction of private property. I personally applaud the kids who tried to move our mammoth pumpkin one year at Halloween. They made it halfway across the lawn before giving up. That's what a steady diet of junk food and video games will do to our youth. I guess a can of spray paint is easier to lift.

Total Galway miles

I totalled up my mileage and (drumroll please!) it was 69.31. Wow! I really shattered last year's total!!! I am so ready for this walk. I only got in a mile today, but tomorrow I hope to tackle another 5 miles. I just need to get out of bed - YAWN!

Things I learned this year

1. There is no hill I can't tackle - come on Manyunk!!!

2. Don't cut a jalepeno and then take your contacts out, even though you did several loads of dishes by hand, and it's been 6 hours since you cut the pepper. And if your fingers are still burning 2 days later, you will continue to burn your eye EVERY MORNING.

3. I am not that bright - see #2.

4. There is no stress up here. That's mainly because there are no distractions up here.

5. Three year olds can play Disney monopoly, but there is a bit of crying at the start because he doesn't understand he has to leave Dumbo alone.

6. Trinks knows EXACTLY how she wants her hair, and Mom and Mom Mom better not try to talk her out of it because she really does know better than we do.

7. A rainy day on the lake certainly beats a great day at work.

Don't want to go home

It is the last day in Galway. The weather is perfect. I don't want to go home. We have changed our leaving time several times already and it looks like we won't leave until 4 or 5. That puts us home at around midnight. Not too bad, as I am the only one who has to get up and function on Saturday. I really don't want to go to work and that is the only reason we have to leave today. It's just cruel and unusual to work on weekends in the summer. I am already looking forward to returning next year.

And I am up to 59 miles. I plan to hit at least 3 more when my sister gets here. I am READY for the 3 Day.

More walking

I only have 2 days left and I am at 40.75 miles. I feel pretty good. Today I took it slow and only did 5.25 miles. Tomorrow I have to get up early and attack a long walk before taking the kids to the beach at Sacandaga. I'm not realy sore, although yesterday's hike through the woods was a little bit more uneven than I am used to and my knees protested a little.

Disappointment

I decided it was time to check out how cheap WalMart was after banning them for various reasons over the last 8 years. I was prepared to drop money there because I wanted cheap crap. Boy was I disappointed. I cannot afford to shop there. The cd I wanted to get for Trinks was $14.88. Amazon has it for $9.99. I wanted to buy her 2 Hannah Montana notebooks with a pack of stickers, but it was $9.88. HECK NO! I bought 3 big bags of school supplies, various house needs, and supplies for the 3 Day at Big Lots for $50. That's cheap.

Walking update

So I found out that my new pedometer isn't quite right about the mileage. I've adjusted it and it's going much better. Yesterday's official mileage was 4.1 and today's was 12. GO ME!!! I'm not sore or real tired and I get to sleep on a bed.

Tomorrow I am trying a new route that includes a dirt road. I hope I can get at least 10 miles out of it. The weather was great today, allowing the kids to catch fish, frogs and crayfish. The guys went out of the lake several times, but we had chicken for dinner tonight. Maybe tomorrow we'll have fish again.

Vacation

Again, we are away. And then in 6 weeks we are going away yet again. I don't think we will plan this many trips next year, but it has been fun. I love Galway. It's cold up here, so it's a wonderful change from home. We stayed with Metsfan and family last night which was awesome. We got up today and drove about 3 hours to arrive at our destination, which doesn't exist in our GPS. The GPS isn't a problem - I've been here so many times I know where to go. It was great to arrive, eat lunch and go for my first walk.

My plan is to shatter last year's record of 50 miles. I have prepared for this trip and even bought a new pedometer* and lumbar pack. I hope to get my 18/15 mile back to back walk in while up here. Today's wimpy 3 .5 mile trek was just a warm up! The weather was against me and I had to watch (at times) all 5 kids while the guys fished.

And yes I said 5 kids. My brother in law is up with the three kids while my sister works night shifts and hopefully gets some rest. This cabin is barely big enough for 4, so 10 of us is really a challenge. B-I-L is sleeping in a tent with the kids on the deck. It's not bad when the weather is good. And I am getting ready to make up the couch to catch some much needed rest.


*Nothing Knew will comment that I should link to this, but I am on my dad's laptop and can't really figure this out, not to mention it's late, I'm tired and mosquito bitten and Michael Phelps is swimming.

Tape

Yes - a simple roll of Scotch tape is the reason I don't want to send Trinks to Hannah Montana camp next year. It's run by her dance studio and it's a great program. My problem? They asked me to supply all the craft supplies for making a musical instrument. Now it wasn't hand carving a violin. It was making a maracca the first week and a tambourine the second. I was ok with bringing in the can (although we don't eat much canned food so finding one was tough) and the plastic dessert plates (ok - I didn't have them so I improvised with some plastic bowls, which Trinks forgot to bring with her even though they were ON TOP of her lunch box). But I was NOT ok when they asked me to bring in tape. Nope - I will not do it. I paid a bundle of money to them and they should have their own !@#$ tape. I willingly admit I am not supermom and I have no desire to even come close. All I want to do is send my kids to a camp where crafts are supplied.

Vacation - again!

Yes, it's vacation time again. I have barely recovered from Italy and it's time to pack up for a very different type of vacation. We will be in the middle of nowhere in upstate NY. Ahhhh - peace and quiet. I plan to up my training to insane levels. Last year I walked 50 miles in the 5 days we were up there. I want to top it this year!!!!

Back to school

I can't believe school starts in just over a week. I went into panic mode when I realized we had no after school plans for Trinks and we are gone all next week. I have been tossing around the idea of martial arts, so we stopped by last night to check it out. Trinks is now registered to take 5 classes a week, with the option to come in on Saturday too. She got a cute little uniform, too. I can't wait to see what she learns! The best part is they pick her up at school and take her right to the studio. I also signed her up for another year of dance and only had slight palpitations about paying first and last month tuition, along with registration. It was a very expensive evening!!!!

Alone on the ride

Yes - that is S all by himself on the baby scrambler. There are no lines for kids rides at Great Adventure!!!!

Three year olds are funny

S seems to have comedy mastered. One night hubby and I were in the kitchen kissing. S comes in the room, yells to his sister, "Hey Trinks, look! They're MARRYING"

Then last night I talked to the kids on the phone. They are at the beach (yes, I am from Jersey, but it is NOT the shore) this week. S gets on the phone and won't even say hi. All he tells me is I can't come pick him up because he is not ready to leave. He even explains that the hotel is really far away so I can't come and get him. I guess it's better than him being homesick.

I do miss the kids. The house is so quiet! But, I can get up and workout for a long time and not care about when I get to work. If I get there late, who cares? I can stay late without worrying about daycare penalties.

First Sony, now Dyson

My heart is breaking. My favorite appliance is BROKEN. Before I got my beautiful PURPLE Dyson, I hated to vacuum. I still don't like it, but at least it's fun now. We have had the Dyson for almost 4 years - a record - and the hose has a gaping hole in it. I am devastated. Tomorrow, I may start to explore repair shops or search for a roll of duct tape. I know Consumer Reports doesn't give the Dyson a high rating, but it worked well for us!!!!!

Montespertoli and Siena

Rome

Me vs GPS

I stop short of calling the GPS a worthless piece of crap. I realize it is not the GPS that causes the problems, but people who follow the darn thing blindly that cause the problems. I have huge issues with blind faith, but that's a different blog entry. I set the GPS for the Expo in KOP. Because I am a map person, I also Mapquested it. There were two different directions. Fine. I can deal with that. My problem was the GPS yelled at me everytime I didn't take her moronic advice to cut through sketchy parts of Wilmington and Chester. I refuse to go down 202 - too many strip malls and traffic light. Route 30 - same deal. I stopped counting at 12 "recalculating" messages. Yes, Nothing Knew, it is set for highways.

So what have I learned from all of this? I know more than the GPS for local places. I will defer to it's "wisdom" when we are out of the area and I won't know that it is taking me on a route 15 minutes longer than the one I already know. And I will never remove my maps from the car.

Expo

I attended the Breast Cancer 3 Day Expo today in King of Prussia. At 5:30 AM I was brewing coffee in my travel mug, ready to jump in the car so I didn't miss the start of the walk. I haven't paid attention to watched the weather in a while. Therefore, I was surprised when we were told (via a small woman with a large bullhorn) to calmly leave the track and head to the auditorium because there was lightening. By then the thunder was pretty loud, so we did what we were told. Forty five minutes later, we were able to start our walk. I did about 9 miles all together, so it wasn't all bad.

I ended up walking with a great group of women. Their friend was diagnosed with breast cancer, stage 2, recently and she is currently going through chemo. They all decided to walk to support her. She has no idea how she's going to feel in October, but she is steadily training when chemo hasn't knocked her down. I was in awe of her courage and dedication. And her friends were really fun, too. I hope I catch up with them at the walk.

We were pampered during the walk. The pit stop had snacks, water, scary blue sport beverage, and fruit. Then the crazy crew people cheered us on every time we passed them. They are the BEST! There were even real cheerleaders cheering for us as we approached the school. Mocha Frap (please come up with something to call you because I will not call you Nothing Knew's wife), our personal crew member, was on hand to sign people up at the door and make sure they had paper work. It was great to see her and we actually had some time to chat!

This walk is going to be wonderful, hard, amazing, tough and emotional. I will sign the rememberence tent in memory of Karen, and post a note of encouragement for Kathi. And just for the record, I will not make friends with anyone else with a name starting with K.

Something new

I have been busy with re-entry to my real life from vacation and haven't written in a while. Thank you to anyone who managed to sit through the really long slideshows I made. I thought I would try out Smilebox for a change. Yes - there is a play button in the middle of the compass (very hard to see), and there are ads. I have to play with it to see if I like it.

BTW - I still have about 300 pictures to arrange and they will be posted soon.

A SHORT slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Tuscany

Slideshow part 2 The House

Italy slideshow, part 1

Farewell, beloved camera

At lunch today, I ran over to Ritz Camera to see if my camera could be fixed. The good news is that it can be. The bad news is the repair is not covered under the warranty. The worst news is it will cost $250 to fix. I can buy a new camera for $279. I am royally pissed. It's only 1.5 years old!!!! I cannot survive without a camera, so I have to act soon. I will get an extended warranty on the next one and 6 months before it runs out (if it lasts that long), I will smash it on the floor and get a new camera.

It sucks to be home

So my camera broke yesterday morning at breakfast. It completely stopped working 2 shots into the Colosseum. Crap. At least I was thinking fast and popped the memory stick out and shoved it into the video camera. The stills aren't as great, but at least we captured our 7 mile trek through Rome.

The flight home was 9 hours. Nine hours with the kids was a bit much, but we survived. The laundry is sorted and started, the AC is blasting and the kids are running around outside. It's 11:30 for us, but we need to stay awake for another 2 hours at least. I think I will be happier tomorrow when I have a HUGE cup of coffee. The Italian coffee is great, but very small.

Arrivederchi

This should be my last post in Italy. Tomorrow we drop the cars in Florence and take the train to Rome. It will be tough to to make the 10:15 train, but I will be packed completely tonight. If you are expecting a gift, you will be disappointed. I didn't do much serious shopping.

I am looking forward to seeing Rome, but not all the crowds. I can't believe this vacation is almost over already!

Vallone - a set on Flickr

Vallone - a set on Flickr

Food

I know Flickr is the best way to post a lot of pictures, but I am having technical difficulties with the slideshow. Too much wine and too little sleep.

We went to a wine and olive oil tasting today. The food was fantastic and the wine was incredible. We ended up purchasing some olive oils and balsamic vinegar. Here's hoping that the bubble wrap and gallon sized zip locks will hold!

This is my Insalata della Casa from tonight. It was an incredible salad with beautiful presentation.

For Dad

This is a really bad picture of an artichoke plant. I took this while we waited for the car that was following us before we knew it fell down an embankment. Everyone is fine. I think I may dedicate another post to our car issues.

More pictures

Il Duomo in Firenze (Florence to you and me). The buidling was magnificent, but the piazza was littered with tours. We did not go inside.

This is the Ponte Vecchio (literally Old Bridge, but not like Old Bridge NJ). On this bridge are some fantastic jewelry stores. I believe this bridge inspired my love for the cheaper Murano glass jewelry!

This is the covered market in Florence. I did some great shopping here. I seem to be addicted to Murano glass necklaces with matching earrings. They are so pretty!My mother in law really likes that leather jacket.

This is a typical street in San Gimignano. That's possibly not the way to spell it, but the town was beautiful. If you have a chance, rent Tea with Moussilini. It has an all star British cast with Cher and Lily Tomlin and it takes place in this town. I loved how modern life has mixed in with the old buildings. Plus the gelato was pretty good.


And this was a sunflower in Voltarra. There are sunflower fields all over here and they are just magnificent.

10 Reasons I want to live in Italy

10. Beautiful architecture
9. My cell phone doesn't work here. It doesn't work at home, but at least I don't expect it to work here.
8. The fruit is perfectly ripe and wonderful.
7. The language is beautiful. Even when I have no idea what they are saying, it sounds great!
6. Shopping is fantastic.
5. I'm finally getting used to an international keyboard. Sorry for all the errors in the earlier posts.
4. Truffle pizza
3. Sunflowers
2. Gelato
1. Small towns with few tourists are a treasure. It is so nice to see how everyday life really is here.

Can you tell I don't want to come home? It's like the summer I was in Mexico and called my mother crying because I didn't want to leave. I have no idea how she did it, but I ended up with an extra week in Mexico. At least then, I didn't have to worry about work. I guess I have to return next week. This is definitely paradise!

What's the difference between art and porn?

a government grant.

I didn't break it - I swear!!!

In this picture, it doesn't even look like it is leaning. It was surreal to see this in person. Too many tourists. We have been spoiled by these tiny towns that have no major tour groups running through them. Going to Pisa was like a shock to our systems - too many people.

La Vida Dolce

I could really get used to this life. With the exception of today, we have been able to get enough lounging in to be restful. Today we were supposed to get some relaxing downtime, but we went to Lucca (a walled city - really cute and very few cars) and Pisa. It should have been a 20-30 minute drive to Pisa from Lucca, but between the stupid GPS and construction, we were significantly delayed. It was nice to see the leaning tower, but the Duomo was beautiful. The little fleamarket on the side was a bit tacky. We spent about 45 minutes taking pictures and shopping. I'll post hubby's pictures tomorrow. Right now I am waiting for my clothes to be washed. Then it's bedtime. YAWN!

It was Trink's 7th birthday today. We celebrated in style with a very special dinner. The cake was an amazing vanilla cake stuffed with custard and topped with chocolate icing. I think she had a nice day.

Gelato

My Castle

I am a princess

We arrived at our castle yesterday. Somehow hubby and I ended up in the Tower. We have two floors and a rooftop and we are removed from the house. It is truly amazing here. The house is gorgeous, with very big bedrooms, a lovely art collection and panoramic views. It is quite hidden from the main drag. Even the locals did know what we were talking about when I asked in horrible Italian Dov é il castelo?

Julia Roberts has stayed here several times. I can see what draws her in. It is a pleasant and simple life here. You feel so removed from time and stress. Our tower dates back at least to the 1200s. It is mind boggling to think of the history!

It is time for appetizers and wine. The food is truly amazing and flavorful. This place makes their own olive oil and wine - delicioso.

I am an International driver, and survivor

Well, it's official. I am an international driver. What car am I driving? I have no idea. It's a Ford and has 6 gears. And I took it to over 100. How did I end up driving today? I qualify more. My father in law can drive a manual car in the states. I have 19 years of experience and can get up hills. Go me. I had a great time driving to Spoleto. The trip was easy! I got cocky. We wandered around the town and saw all the sights, ate lunch, hit a playground and headed back to the car. I knew it would be a piece of cake, and then (dun, dun DUNNNNNNNNN - something went HORRIBLY wrong.

We used the GPS to get home. The voice can barely speak English, the Italian is horrible. Then we ran into construction - not the fault of the GPS. We RECALCULATED to a tiny lane. EASY. We went through a very low tunnel - yes I ducked going through it. Then we hit a 90 ° turn. I couldn't get through it. I had to back up and barely squeaked around the corner. Hubby was in the car behind me laughing. So I thought the worst was done for the day. We got on the autostrade and I put it into 6th gear. Then we came back to Todi.

Todi is on a hill. Correct that - a MOUNTAIN. I cruised up the hill and got within 10 feet of the top and the car crapped out on me. The clutch SUCKS. It wouldnàt catch and I was free falling back down. Crazy. Hubby had to rescue me and the stench of burning clutch has m enervous to get back in the cat again.

We are having a great time!!!!

We are in Italy

We arrived and are stying in Todi. It is very pretty and HOT. We are on our way to Spoleta today and Ovieta tomororow! Gotta run. The car is here.

It's a monster - no, wait, it's just underwear

I was awakened by soft sobbing from S at 5 AM. I dashed in and he was sitting up, sobbing and shaking. He pointed to the corner of his room and told me there was a monster there. I looked over and saw underwear. I slayed the underwear monster and now it is doing time in the washer, with a little extra soap to make sure it won't scare my S man again.