34 mins and counting....

We are leaving in exactly at 2 AM this morning. I'm just taking a few mins to let you know I will have my cell phone on me if you need to get with me for something. I still have to unplug everything I can possibly unplug, and take a shower.
We are going down with 5 people and coming back with 6. Yes, Ashley will be riding home with us.
Take care, and I'll post again when we get home.

Travel Tip Number 588.

Okay, so maybe I don't have 588 different travel tips, but I do have 3.. Ha ha ha....
I already shared one... Putting everything in ziplock bags. Well.. Got 2 more for ya...
This first one isn't limited to traveling, but that's what I use these for.... The mini M&Ms in the plastic containers are PERFECT for quarters. You can find them USUALLY in the checkout line at stores... There are 2 sizes... The smaller one holds about $7.00 worth of quarters... The larger ones (which you can find at the counter of CVS in T) holds approx. $22.00..

I have 2 large ones filled.. Which are perfect for vending machines (Never know when you NEED a candy bar or a bag of chips at rest stop)or need them for the air hockey table at the campground. LOL... However, We use them for a more practical reason.. The washers and dryers at the campground..My parents don't usually pack for the whole week. So mom and I usually spend one day (at the end of the week) washing clothes. I told her it would be cheaper to do them at home. Then again, if you do it there, you won't have to do them when you get home. Nice to just put them back in your drawer when you get home instead of doing laundry the moment you get home.
My next tip is if you like to camp in tents.. You can use luggage locks to lock up your tent. I've read that most people get robbed while on vacation (mostly while camping) because people let their guard down. They don't think about being robbed.

I also lock up my luggage if I stay in a hotel as well. I actually watched a talk show one time that showed footage from a hidden camera of hotel maids TRYING on clothes out of suitcases.. Including UNDER CLOTHES.. I shudder to think of some stranger trying on my under clothes while I'm out.
Anyway... I lock my tent when I leave and while I'm asleep. (You can rest peacefully knowing I lock myself in my tent at night.)

Okay, thought of another tip... So make this tip #4... If you're going to a big city (NYC or DC for example) NEVER carry all your money in your wallet/purse. When I went on SR. trip my mom (She really is a very smart woman) took squares of cloth, folded it over, sewed 2 sides. The last side she folded over and used a safety pin to hold it closed. She made me two of these pouches to hold my money. I pinned it to the inside of my waistband. I would count out my money every night and divide it by how many days I have left and only carry one days worth of money in my purse at a time. (I still do that while on vacation. By the end of the week I usually have more to spend per day than I do at the beginning. LOL.) The rest was pinned on the inside of my clothes. That way if I was victim to a pickpocketer, I wouldn't lose ALL my money. Just that day's.

Strange Phone call..

I received the strangest phone call yesterday. I was taking a nap when my phone rang. When I answered this young lady asked "What do you look best in bright or dark colors? I told her that I wear both, but prefer bright colors. She said "Ok, that's all I wanted." "So, you wake me up during my nap and ask what colors I like." She laughed, and said "Pretty much."
Okay Ashley, I am really curious. Want to fill me in? Or is it some sort of surprise? :)
Oh, and I CAN'T WAIT to see you!!! Prepare to be hugged.... A LOT!!! :)

Whew What a month!!!

In Feb. I had everything planned out... I would use my tax return for vacation, and work overtime 3 days a week and every Sat for extra spending money on vacation... Well.... Guess what?

I ended up with a $1,486 Jeep bill...
Seemed like every time I fixed one thing, something else went wrong.... Had a blown tire after that bad snow in Feb. Then the manifold (It's a pipe that runs from the engine to the I THINK muffler) was cracked. Got that fixed. Then they discovered that my timing belt was bad, would've snapped soon. If it had snapped, the Jeep would've been completely dead. To think that it could've just stopped as I was driving is enough to give me chills.
Went through 2 sets of spark plugs (12 all together) and then found out that the oxygen sensor was bad. Which caused my plugs to go bad, and to go through a half a tank of gas with one trip to and from work. Usually takes 3 trips to K to use up half a tank.. Oh, and it wouldn't even go up to 50 MPH.
Thankfully my coworker, Dave, follow me home one night just to make sure I got there. Then to top all that off, my car insurance was due at the end of this month. So, guess where all of my overtime money went?

I'm just thankful that my job allows all the overtime I want. Sure comes in handy for these type of situations. My tax return is all I'm taking on vacation. I might not be able to buy a sword to hang on my wall like I'm wanting, but oh well. I'm sure there are other things I "can't live without". I can't WAIT to get to the Discount Christian bookstore.

But look on the bright side..... I won't have to replace my front passenger side tire, spark plugs, Manifold, timing belt, or oxygen sensors for a LONG while. And my insurance isn't due again for 6 months. Plus, I have a wonderfully running and QUIET Jeep. It used to be loud. Not anymore!!! I feel like I'm driving a brand new Jeep. Might even hang onto it for another 3 or 4 years. Or at least until after contract which is in Sept.

Book and movie update.....

The Sarah Plain and Tall triology has been claimed. Everything else is up for grabs.

Free Movie and Book Giveaway.....

With the warmer weather upon us, it only means one thing..... Garage sales are in the near future. Garage sales, rummage sales, yard sales, bargain hunting, or grummage sales whatever you want to call them it means the same.. Getting something for practically nothing.
So, consider this an EARLY start to those bargains.....
I am getting rid of some books and movies to make room for other books and movies...
Here's a list of what I have. If you want something let me know. If you have questions, again, let me know... Oh, and IT'S FREE!!! Yes folks you heard me right.. FREE.. As in not a single penny will be charged. It's on a first come, first served basis. Oh, and if someone wants something that's already been "asked for" ask anyway. You never know, maybe the kind person that first asked for it, might be willing to give it to you. Never know...

Okay, so here goes......
All are dvds, unless marked otherwise.....Oh, and these have only been watched once or twice.

Hoodwinkle

Monster House

Sarah, Plain and Tall, SkyLark, and Winter's End (Videos. Was Grandma T's. Offered them to Carol, but didn't hear back. So Carol if you want these, you have first dibs. Oh, and these were grandma's favorites. I'd prefer they stay together.)

The Mickey Mouse Club week 1 Oct. 3, 1955-Oct. 7, 1955

The Adventures of Pinocchio (Not cartoon.. Jonathan Taylor Thomas)

Peter Pan Return to Neverland

Cheaper By the Dozen (remake. Steve Martin)

A Cinderella Story (Hilary Duff)

The Flintstones (Rosie O'Donnell)

The Flintstones Viva Rock Vegas (sequel to the above)

Are We There Yet?

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Books
Children's books....
Beetles, Lightly Toasted by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Socks by Beverly Cleary

Dear America Early Sunday Morning The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows Hawaii, 1941

Mitch and Amy by Beverly Cleary

Christy fiction Series volume six Christy's Choice (based on the show. young adults book)

Paddington Treasury by Michael Bond (hardcover, oversized, looks like the complete Paddington Bear series. I have 2 of these)

Great Illustrated Classics.... Christmas Bedtime Stories (Hardcover)

Adult Books

Ever After (novel based on the movie)

3 in 1 Grace Livingston Hill The City of Fire, Time of the Singing Birds, and The Gold Shoe (Hardcover)

3 in 1 Grace Livingston Hill, The Strange Proposal, A Voice In the Wilderness, and Mary Arden (Hardcover)

Prince Of Egypt Destiny And Deliverance Spiritual Insights from the life of Moses by Philip Yancy, Max Lucado, John C Maxwell, Jack Hayford, Joni Eareckson Tada, Tommy Barnett, Kenneth Boa, and Thelma Wells (Hard Cover)

Holy Humor by Cal and Rose Samra

More Holy Hilarity by Cal and Rose Samra

Angel Behind the Rocking Chair.. Stories of Hope in Unexpected Places by Pam Vredevelt (Hardcover)

I'm sure I have more to list, but thought I'd do it a little at a time.

My poor Jeep.....

Besides the pipe thing needing replaced, they also had to replace my timing belt... (Can we say expensive?) Total cost? $664.00...
I wasn't kidding when I told my dad to call them up and ask if they have a payment plan. A hundred dollars a week or so. I had already gave them a check for $200 and told them to call me if it was more. I was even willing to let them hold the title until it was paid. He said he'd ask and hung up (I was at work at the time). He called back later and said..... "Your mom and I were talking. We can take the remaining $464 out of our vacation fund, and you pay us back before vacation." I sighed with relief knowing I didn't have to come up with the money on the spot.
Lois..... (I really love her.) textd me and asked about my jeep. Since she's my best friend, I told her. All she said was "OUCH" before we dropped the subject...
At 9 O'clock break, she textd me that I should come over and get some cookies (She bakes cookies and brings them to work ALL the time. She's the reason we never lose weight. LOL. She's SUPPOSED to bake a bunch for us to eat on the way to TN. Like I said, I love her.) I went over there, grabbed some cookies, and she handed me a book that I had asked beforehand if I could borrow. She handed the book to me, and I saw a piece of paper marking a place. I took it out to hand back to her, and she said.... "Oh, that's yours." It was a check for $330 made out to me, and in the memo part she wrote. "Broken Jeep" with a sad face. I started crying right there. This was enough for HALF of my repairs.. She then said... "Pay it back whenever. No rush. If you were one of these lazy people that never show up to work, I'd NEVER give it to you, but you're not. You're doing your best to work it out yourself. You're even working TONS of overtime, which I KNOW you HATE with a passion to pay it off. That's why I'm helping you out. It's the lazy people that would rather be given a handout that annoys me. Like I said, take your time paying me back. ENJOY your vacation." (Oh, and did I mention that I love her?) After thanking her a million times over, she said "I HAVE to take care of my little sister."

Growing up I always wanted an older sister. An older sister that would look out and take care of her little sister... On the other hand, Lois, being the youngest kid in her family, had always wanted a little sister.
All these years later, we both got our wish. I now have an older sister who's 9 years older than me. She is officially my unofficially adopted big sister.

Packing Hint

When I go on vacation, I like to take the LEAST amount of luggage possible. Wasn't always like this, but I discovered you only have a small amount of room in a 3/4 person tent (even less once you blow up the air mattress.) If I was sleeping on grass that's one thing, but the campground we stay at is all ROCKS and gravel. HAVE to have an air mat, but that's beside the point of this post.
Aw yes.. luggage.... As I was saying.... I usually take a double layered dufflebag.. (two compartments on top of each other. PERFECT), and a tote bag... Now the tote bag travels with me, while the duffle is in the camper. The tote holds everything from a notebook, pens, cd player, cds,portable dvd player, dvds, and of course a book or two. (Bet you can't guess what I do at 1 AM while every one's asleep. Ah the downfall of being the only night owl of the family. Another reason I insist on sleeping in my own tent.)
One of my biggest fears is rain.... If you've ever been in a tent while it's raining, you will know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. If you're not careful your air mat may become a floatation device. Not to mention your luggage being waterlogged. Before we go anywhere, I pull my air mat to the center of the tent and place my luggage on top. I've even slept (not very well) with my stuff on my feet during a storm. Which brings me to the title of this post.... HINT....
Lois and I were discussing traveling horror stories... She retired from the Air Force last April, and she's been EVERYWHERE.. Including serving in Desert Storm. She told me that she had to go fly out of the country.... Germany? London? Italy? Can't remember, after all like I said she's been EVERYWHERE...
She told me that when they landed, the group she was with had 2 or 3 hours to get ready for an important military dinner/meeting thing... They had to wear their dress uniforms (can't recall right off what they're called). When they landed ALL of their luggage was SOAKED.. So the girls went to their rooms, and all of them EXCEPT ONE had hair dryers trying to dry their uniforms. What about that one that didn't have a hair dryer? She opened her two gallon ziplock bag, pulled out her DRY uniform, shook it out, and was good to go. Lois told me that she was the envy of all those girls...
Here's a way to cut time and keep your clothes dry......
Go to the store and buy two gallon ziplock bags. When you pack, lay out each outfit together on the bed.... For example if you are packing for 3 days, lay out three outfits including socks and underclothes. Put each outfit in one ziplock bag. In other words if you're packing for three days, you should have 3 ziplock bags. It cuts time later since you don't have to dig through suitcases for socks, shirts, etc.. They are all together in one bag. You might have to shake some wrinkles out, but what's that compared to dry clothes and saving time? And I'm sure if you have kids, it will REALLY be a time saver. Just grab a bag and go.
Another great thing about this idea is when I'm camping I don't have to worry about dropping anything on the way to the showers. Not only that, but it's easier to know what's clean and what's been worn. Not to mention the assurance of dry clothes in the morning.

Don't forget!!!!

Don't forget to turn your clocks up an hour before going to bed tonight... Yes, DST starts at 2 AM in the morning.
If you are like me that have clocks that automatically set themselves, great.... If not.. Well.... I would really hate to see anyone show up for church an hour late. ;)

More pictures part 2

Pictures

Now that I THINK I have the hang of posting pictures. I thought maybe some of you might like to see these pictures of Grandma and Grandpa.
They were taken Oct. 27, 2002. It was Pastor Appriciation Sunday, and the church wanted to honor them. The idea of being baptized while they were there was a spontanious thing. I had to send SEVERAL emails to different church members to make sure it was possible.. Sure enough, it was. I don't think my grandparents had any idea how much of an influence they were in my life. They belonged by my side on that day, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Chocolates

I know one of the most famous phrases in movie history is from Forrest Gump.... "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." There is so much truth in that... Buy a box, and see for yourself.. You never know if it will be coconut, carmel, strawberry, or creme until you bite into it... UNLESS... You cheat and poke your finger into it first.... By the way, YES I am a cheater when it comes to chocolates. I WANT to know what I'll be biting into.
I'm the same way with life... I LIKE to be prepared for things. HOWEVER life doesn't always let you... For example...
I had planned to work Mon, Wed, and Fridays for three weeks, and then work Tues and Thurs of the fourth week. PLUS all Sats. for the next 3 weeks. Just so I could have extra money for vacation.... HOWEVER LIFE is getting in the way of that......

Last Sat. I told my dad that my Jeep was acting up... It would jerk when you took off and let your foot off the brake. He told me it was probably the spark plugs and needed tuned... He did it for about $100. Pretty cheap if you ask me.
Then, for the last few weeks.. OKAY MONTHS Lois had been after me to get a new muffler. Well, I have noticed it's A LOT louder than normal. So, my dad called around.... It would be around $80 for a new muffler and tailpipe. Great... Still not bad... Then I found out it WASN'T the muffler/tailpipe after all... It's the pipe that goes from the engine block (Can't think of the name of it.) Has a HUGE crack in it.. Price? $500 and some odd dollars....
Mom and dad are using their vacation money on this, and I HAVE to pay them back by the time we go.
This is my ONLY mode of transportation, and I HAVE no other option but to get it fixed. I worked over Monday, Tues nights and I'll be working over Thurs, and possibly Friday night and HOPING to work Sat. Just the thought of using my overtime money on my Jeep instead of "stashing it" makes me sick...
Lois knows I'm working overtime for extra spending money, and she even offered to loan me the money for it. I told her I appriciated her generous offer, but I'm going to do my best to find my own way out of this. Besides I don't want to take advantage. However, if I can't come up with the money beforehand, I'll be calling her up. She's the first friend I ever had that EVER offered to help me out like this. She really is a TRUE friend.

I am SOOOOO ready...

I was planning on working 4 hours early OR over Mon. Wed, and Friday, and 4 early on Sat for 3 weeks, and then Over/early Tues and Thurs of the 4th week.. The overtime pay and the Sats. will be my extra money on vacation. I was worried I wouldn't have enough... HOWEVER, got my tax papers back, and that money will be PLENTY to go.. I'm still planning on overtime (just maybe not as many days.)

Then I found out today that Aaron MIGHT be going with us. He has postponed his vacation so many times, that he thinks it won't be a problem to get the week off. He's planning on taking his tent too. We're going to try to fit all three tents and the camper in 2 lots. It's going to be so much fun with the Aaron with us. I am SOOOOOOO excited.

25 days and COUNTING!!!!!!

A True Story.....

Once upon a time there were two fearless pirate lasses that went by the names Captain Lois and Poppet. One rainy, gloomy afternoon Captain texted Poppet during work. "What are ye doin' around 12 tanight Poppet?" "Don't know why?" "What say ye we sail to Ihop and plunder some grub?" Poppet thought about it. She knew she would just be watching a movie if she didn't go. Truth was she loved Captain(Okay NOT like that. It's a sisterly love) and was worried about her working 12 hour days 5 sometimes 6 days a week. The work had to be wearing Captain down, and she had tried several times to tell her to slow down. Poppet knew that it wasn't healthy. Besides she was sometimes sad when weeks would go by without hanging out with her friend. "Aye, sail away Captain," She texted back...

Later on at Ihop Captain ordered the Cinnamon pancakes. She took one bite and said "They're so good I could pee my pants." Which drove them both into a HUGE laughing fit seeing they weren't the only people in the restaurant. A while later Poppet's brother, Aaron, arrived on the scene. He said the waitress told him that the cinnamon rolls are so good she screamed. He said that if they don't make him scream, he's going to sue for false advertisement. I told him that if he doesn't scream, maybe he'll pee his pants. Which threw Captain and Poppet into another HUGE laughing fit.
After spending two hours in Ihop, Captain and Poppet said goodnight and sailed to their separate home ports with the promise of talking the next day.. And they both lived happily ever after.
The End.