So out of my league (Tumbledown Mountain)

It was a nice start. Shelby and Sam were eager to get started. I on the other hand had to make a quick pit stop at the outhouse. Oh, that was one of the great things about this trail, it had a VERY NICE outhouse at the trailhead. Seriously.


I wish you could hear what this little brook sounded like. I would have loved to pitch a hammock and just lay and listen to that all day.


See me smiling here? Yeah, I had no clue what I was in for.



This is the trail. Where? You ask? Ummmm....right there! Can't you see it? Well, if you look at the trees you'll see the occasional blue paint splotch. Those mark the trail. At least now we know why they call it Tumbledown.



Sam is a little leary. Can he make it holding Shelby (which he had to carry her through about 3/4 of the trip because it was just too rocky for her little short legs) and would I be able to follow as well. This still wasn't the worst part of the trail.



THIS was the worst part. I tried a half dozen times to get up over that rock. Finally a couple came along and I watched where the lady put her hands and feet and with the help of her husband I was able to finally conquer the mountain.



The views were great though and the little pond was very peaceful.



The map said it was an easy trail. Sam says "not so much". Shelby didn't think it was all that rough since she had a pretty smooth ride.


My legs and arms and hips and knees and ankles and back are all screaming this morning. I took a couple of ibuprofens because there is no time for soreness. It's a beautiful day and brush needs to be hauled. It was a good hike and a better than good workout. I saw a heavyset woman climbing up on our way down. She looked miserable and I'm wondering if she made it up over the big ledge. She was greart motivation for me. If she can make it I can make it and not complain (too loudly).

Back to Baaa Hahbah

It's become our favorite getaway spot. And now that we have taken up hiking it was like a gold mine. Acadia National Park has some really fantastic hiking trails. Jr sure knew how to build a road.

I truly enjoyed spending so much time outside.


Jordan Pond is a serene place. I could sit there all day.

We visited 7 lighthouses and a life saving station. We hiked several trails, browsed many shops and went 3 days with no computer. We even left the cell phone in the car and was only taking messages and returning calls as necessary. Very little texting. Just about no contact work. Very limited contact with home. Wow.....even writing it sounds amazing to me. Much needed time. Away. Alone. Relaxed. Rested (well, mostly rested. We are so spoiled with the sleighbed that we didn't sleep that great in the hotel beds)

Yeah I'm feeling pretty good.

Doo- Dee- Dooing

"You missed the turn"

"I couldn't get over in time. The GPS will recalculate"

"You could have moved over if you weren't Doo-Dee-Dooing"

"Huh? Doo-Dee-Dooing??"

"Yeah, gawking around at the buildings and not paying attention. Doo-Dee-Dooing."

Ok....so MAYBE I was Doo-Dee-Dooing.

Sam and I went to PA this weekend. It's a lot of driving in a short amount of time but we had a good time.

We left Friday night after work and headed to my Aunt's in CT. We decided to have dinner at Cracker Barrel in MA. We had never been before. What a treat!! We loved it. The gift shop was divine and everything was on sale. I got a very cute birdfeeder that looks like a picked out watermelon. Once it is hung up I'll take a pic. It was only $9. The meal was good and inexpensive. We just loved it. My Aunt was in shock. The Cracker Barrel around the corner from her is VERY expensive. Hmmmmm....I guess it really IS true that just about everything is more expensive in CT.

My Mom, step dad, Sam and I all stayed at my Aunt's in CT. Sam and I were downstairs and the "grownups" were upstairs. It didn't matter that we had a floor/ceiling between us, Sam and I could still hear them sawing ZZZZZZZ's ALL NIGHT. It was like a house of horrors. Chainsaws running all night and teeth floating in a bowl in the bathroom. Our bed was very comfortable though. Once we fell asleep we slept well. The next morning Mom said she she didn't fall asleep until after 2AM. Sam and I looked at each other and giggled. I guess she snores when she is awake too.

On Sat morning we set Nagatha(my cousin's name for the GPS) for Perkiomenville, PA. We were riding in tandem with my Aunt and Uncle who had been there many times before so we didn't really need it. Except that we stopped to gas up and my Uncle got a little discombobulated and had us traveling east when we needed to go west. Nagatha knew the difference and after about 5 miles I agreed with Nagatha and made the executive decision to turn around. My Aunt was riding with Sam and Mom and I so I asked her to call my Uncle and let him know that we want to take a more direct route but that he was free to go any which way he wanted to. He opted to turn around and follow us.

2 pit stops and 5 hours later we arrived in PA. We stayed at the Courtyard in Collegeville and it was great. The bed was SOOOO comfy that Sam and I never heard the chainsaws. Maybe Mom and Rog slept so good that they didn't run their chainsaws all night. I don't know but we were all in the same room and we heard nothing. And I slept until 7:30am the next morning.

After checking in at the hotel we went to my cousin's for the party. OMG.....their house is to die for!!! It's a mansion. Sam and I counted 4 fireplaces, 9 flat screen TVs, 5 bathrooms, 4 beverage centers, 5 car garage and well over 20 rooms. They have a killer media room with stadium seating. It really is an awesome house. It even has an elevator. And a laundry room with more cabinets and counter space than my kitchen. Unbelievable. And of course there is a pool and patio area comparable to any movie star's house in Beverly Hills. Just the bill for maintaining the grounds would be waaayyy beyond my means. It is gorgeous and my cousins are so gracious and down to Earth. The party was great. T is all grown up and he'll be going to Penn State next year. The catering was great too. The caterer was wonderful. Not only did they put on a good spread they waited on us hand and foot.

We hung out at my cousin's until 10pm then went back to the hotel. We got there just in time to see Tiger Woods sink one of his eagles. I don't know anything about golf. Heck I don't even care about golf but THAT was a shot. I was so intrigued that I followed the game all day yesterday. I felt bad for Rocco but I am glad that Tiger won.

Sam and I headed out for home on Sun morning. Mom and Rog stayed down an extra day because my cousin had set up a tee time for a round of golf.

We had just gotten our new GPS last week so now it was going to be tested. I kinda knew my way back but decided to just let Nagatha take us where it would, with the exception that I did want to go through NYC. It was in Manhatten that I missed my turn while Doo-Dee-Dooing.

About 4pm we were getting hungry. We decided to ask Nagatha where we could eatand how to get there. Bug-a-Boo Creek it was. I must say, it was my first bad experience. Not with the food but the service. We decided to sit in the bar rather than wait a half hour for a seat. The bartender brought us the menu and a loaf of bread right off. But that's where the service ended. It took her about 20 min to come and take our order. We only ordered pasta bowls and it took over a half hour more to get them. We lost well over an hour there. She refilled Sam's glass but not mine. She never asked how the meal was. Didn't bring us the second loaf of bread we requested and we had to ask for the bill. I'm usually very gracious and understanding but we were sitting right directly in front of her yet we could not get her attention. We watched her interact with the couple on the other end of the bar many times, but I guess we were invisible. It cost us $30 for 2 pasta bowls and a Sprite (I had water w/lemon) which I thought was alot to not even get any service. All we wanted was our meal in a timely manner, more bread and to be acknowledged. Not nearly as good as Cracker Barrel had been but that's not to say we won't give them another chance.

About 2 hours later Sam mentioned ice cream. OK. Sounds good to me. Again, Nagatha to the rescue. I punched in Dairy Queen and hit the mother load!!! 9 Dairy Queens in an 11 mile radius! Now that's living the good life.

All in all it was a short but good trip. Nagatha is our friend even though she does speak a bit of a different language gets a bit testy if we don't do what she wants. Even though we slept very well both nights we were very glad to be back home and sleep in our sleighbed. I missed Sarah and Shelby. I think Shelby is mad at us because she slept in her own bed all of Sunday night and a good part of last night too. I hope she doesn't a hold a grudge for long.

The long hard winter

When I was little and even after I was grown I always likes to read the Little House books. In the winter I would find myself reading the Long Hard Winter. Boy they had it rough. Twisting hay for heat and grinding wheat for one loaf of daily bread to be shared amongst 5 people. 7 months of blizzards with barely a half day day between storms to prepare for the next. At one point their house was completely buried in snow. It was those few days that they actually had it easier because they were warmer.

We certainly have it easier than them but it has been a long winter and we ARE buried. This pic of the window was right before Sam and my ex got on the roof to shovel it off.


This pic is midway through the shoveling. Sam is standing on the snow bank. As you can see that snowbank is now at the height of the top of the window. No ladder needed to get on the roof but that was official a few days ago.

The blue sky is deceiving. It was actually about 18degrees out. That window to the far right is my bedroom window. We are in a gray out. The bedroom isn't really dark but it isn't light either and it has that eery quietness that comes with a snowstorm. It would be peaceful if it weren't so eery.

It has warmed up to 38 degrees and it is raining. The roof is shoveled and I'm hoping that the rest of the ice will melt off. We need a decent melt off. We are out of space for snow. The driveway is full. The roof will have to be shoveled up. It is kinda exciting that we are having such a snowy winter. We have several small fir trees out back that have always managed to keep their heads above the snow. Not this year. They are completely buried.

I'll be monitoring the snowpack from the inside for awhile. I'm anxious to see how long it takes the snow to melt below the bedroom window. Until then I don't have to worry about any peeping toms.

Oh and I seem to have come down with another nasty cold.

Mama please make it stop snowing

All of our paths are narrow.

Here is the driveway.
Sam is trying to get the porch steps cleared but he finally gave up and just cleared a narrow path.
Poor Wellaby had to stay inside while the driveway was being plowed. The snowman is still under that pile of snow but he is snug as a bug in a rug.
That roof is not giving me a warm fuzzy feeling. Sam will be getting up there on Fri to clear it off. The trusses can take the weight but the ice and water shield only goes back 3 feet and it does leak if the ice creeps up beyond it. The snow is so high that Sam can almost climb onto the roof of the doghouse to get up on the roof.

It's crazy. Absolutely NUTZ I tell ya. Snow Snow Snow. Today was the 2nd in 2 weeks that I have missed work because of bad storms. Normally I would love the chance to have a lazy at home but now I'm starting to worry about summer vacation time. Just like the kids I will have to work all summer to make up for time missed this winter.

More snow predicted for Friday and Monday and possible next Wednesday. Arrrrrrggghh

Wake me up when it is May.

Boobs and eggs

What is it about the sight of a woman's breast or bra that automatically causes a man to say "woohoo"?

Not that I mind, I was just wondering.



I got my PedEgg on Tuesday. I had actually ordered it from a seller on Ebay and it took over 2 weeks to get here. That part wasn't good. Note to all Ebay Sellers: DO NOT SHIP BULK RATE. It takes freaking forever. I had a tracking number and the package was with the Post Office for 11 days. That is just plain stupid.

I love it!!!! It really works. My feet are so nice and smooth now. I feel like I have had a pedicure only it's even better. I have given my feet the once over each night since I got the Egg and in only 3 nights my feet are so luxurious. (That's if feet CAN be luxurious) I highly recommend it. I threw away the 4 other utensils and the pummace stone that has been taken up room in my shower but haven't been used because they don't work. I even did Sam's feet and his are on their way to being luxurious too. At frst he was a little apprehensive. He didn't want a rainbow breaking out behind him but I assured him that straight men are entitled to healthy attractve feet too.

Get one. You won't regret it. Check Ebay first, there are some good deals just beware of how it will be shipped. Especially if you have a significant other who doesn't want to hear the question "did my PedEgg come yet" every single night.

Trained or Spoiled???

I had stripped the bed last weekend and was preparing to put fresh sheets back on. Sam is always really good about helping me make the bed. Sometimes he even makes it himself. You may think this is no big deal but believe me, it's a huge deal. I'm very anal-retentive when it comes to my bed. I like the sheets and blankets pulled tight and I have become quite spoiled by the quality of my sheets as well.

I work with a guy who has a business on the side where he sells leftover stuff from Home Shopping Network. I was able to get 2 sets of 1000TC sheets for a song. They were so inexpensive that I can't even post the price here. They retail for $450 per set and I can say I didn't even pay a fraction of that. Anyways, they are sooo luxurious. Sam loves them as much as I do.

Even though I have other sheets, and nice ones at that. 2 sets of 800TC and one set of 550TC, we have been alternating between the 2 1000TC sheets. We are sooo spoiled. But last weekend I brought out the lesser sheets. I didn't say anything I was just thinking I really should use the others now and then too. We got the fitted sheet put on and we were wrangling with the top sheet when Sam stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at the top of the sheet and flipped it over to look at it then he said "heyyyy...these aren't 1000 count". I burst out laughing. It was funny and amazing at the same time. He knows the difference in sheets. I don't know if he's trained or spoiled. Either way he appreciates the finer things and that is a good thing.

I gave myself a New Year's gift. I started a new savings plan!!

I made a resolution a few weeks ago that I was going to get a better track with my finances. I'm going to try to be wiser about spending and saving my money. The first thing I did was resolved to not spend so much this year. I tend to justify my spending because I am usually doing things to upgrade my home, but the fact of the matter is my home is fine like it is. I don't have to do much this year. I do have one drainage problem to fix and a little landscaping around the pool. But that is it. There is no need to do anything wild and crazy this year.

This year will be the beginning stage of building my financial independence. To do this I opened an account at ING. It's a small step. I'm only doing $25 per pay period to start. I have been so bad about saving money. I do well contributing to my 401K but when it comes to day to day saving? I suck. A friend told me about the company. There are no minimums and the regular savings account yields 4.12%. Once I get it built up I can move the funds into trading accounts. I'm hoping the automatic deduction from my check into the account at an institution that I don't drive by and can just stop in and withdraw from will help me to stay on track with saving. I would encourage everyone to "pay themselves first". It's not easy but Rome wasn't built in a day. A few dollars every pay period will add up nicely and the sure bet of 4.12% is nice for now.

Happy New Year to y'all. Hope it is a prosperous one!!

Merry Christmas Eve

Christmas comes early at Boo's house. We celebrated on Sat with my Mom and Bro and the in-laws. Shelby got a new stuffed penguin from her Grammy and as you can see she really likes it. She took it over to her bed for safe keeping and a little exploration.

She is very possessive and wasn't willing to share with Baby Kit. It really wasn't a big deal. Baby Kit wasn't interested in the toy, she was more interested in making sure Shelby was kept busy so she would be terrorizing her.

We had a good time and good food and good gifts. We've all had a bumpy year so it was good to all be together under good circumstances.

Yesterday the kids and I went to my father's for a redneck Christmas. We got together in the garage because it was the only place big enough for all the festivities. My father decorated the tree himself. It was a Charlie Brown tree with a strand of white lites and about 100 Budweiser bottle caps as ornaments. He took the label off a Budweiser bottle, put it on top of the tree upside down then he put the label back on so it was right side up. I'll have pics tonight to download and I will post them. It was actually pretty cool. I knew my father had talents but I had no idea he was into holiday decorating.

I have another busy day ahead. I have to stop in at Walmart one last time before Christmas. That should be a blast.

Sam and I are having Xmas with his family this evening. It will be a casual evening with finger foods and holiday snacks. Shelby will get to meet her newest cousin Jasper and her favorite cousin Zoe.

Even though it has been a busy weekend I have had a chance to get caught up on some sleep. The weather has broke and it is sunny and close to 40. Sam shoveled over 2 feet of snow from the roof on Sat and thanks to rain overnight the roof is now completely clear. My driveway that was too slippery for the average car on Sat is now clear as well. This is very good considering I will have about 30 people coming here tomorrow afternoon. I have a beef stew in the crock pot and laundry going in the washer. The dishwasher is empty and the rugs have been vacuumed. A quick swoosh of the toilet bowls and I'm ready for another round of visitors. I'm hoping to post more pics tonight especially the ones of my father's tree but if I don't make it back around today I wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope Santa is very generous with each and every one of you.

The work around

His driving drives me nutz
mine for him, not so much.

After major bitchin and 'plaining thoughtful discussions
and a short walk in the snow
I will be the primary driver.

Just goes to show that things can be worked out in a most amiable way.

To make it up to him I "let" him beat me at cribbage. Little bastard got me pegged into "dead hole". Next weekend the tournament will continue and I won't be taking any prisoners.

We went to a 50th anniversary party on Sat. It was for my aunt and uncle. Seems weird that that much time has flown by. Everyone kept talking about "the good old days" and "remember when" and of course remembering those who are no longer with us. It was a happy day in honor of a spectacular feat but it also felt sad. The constant thud of time ticking away was pretty loud. When they say time is a thief they ain't kidding.

Today is day 10 since I have seen my male cat Fluffy. I'm worried that I may have lost him for good. He is almost 9 years old and weighs about 18 pounds. He is a honghaired black Maine Coon Cat. If you see him, please tell him his mommy is sad and wants him to come home soon.

There! Now you have room!!

Sam moved in with me a few weeks ago. It has been mostly good. We are quite compatible and even though neither of us has lived with anyone in years we have been doing splendidly. Except for one thing- Closet Space.

Sam has mentioned a couple of times that he has no room in my closet. I told him we need a closet organizer first. When he moved in this was discussed and we agreed that I would make some space (which I have) and the rest of his stuff could be stored downstairs. I know it's not ideal but it is what it is until I have an extra $100 for the organizer.

Last night he was standing in the closet looking all disgusted. I took the bait and asked what was wrong. He says "I told you before I need room in here and you didn't bother making any for me. I just told you again an hour ago and you still haven't made me any room"

I casually got up off the bed (I was checking my email and such) went into the closet, quietly took most of my stuff off the rack, tossed it onto a hamper in there and said "there! Now you have room"

He looked at me then we burst out laughing. I said if he can have a tantrum so can I.

I think we may get the organizer sooner rather than later.

A little more Thanksgiving

Busy schedules delayed Thanksgiving with Sam's family. We got together today and you know what? It doesn't matter what day you get together on, if the food and company is good that's all that matters. Sam fired up his turkey fryer and the bird came out perfect

I have been watching alot of Food Network lately and have been inspired. Check out this pumpkin that I cooked.
It was a perfect serving bowl for the stuffing that I made. It turned out even better than I had imagined.

It was a nice center piece for the table which was very festive.
While the turkey cooked, we bowled a couple of strings on the Wii. Sam and I definitely want to get our own Wii. It was great fun.

Shelby joined in the festivities as well. She played and fought with her cousins, Zoe and Goose. Turns out that it doesn't matter if she is the smallest dog in the house, she can be quite a scrappy little thing. They only had a couple of scuffles and are still best buddies.

I love this pic, check out her eyelashes. She is such a doll.

I caught him in the act

Sam is such an imp. He pushed the button on each one of those Xmas globes. They were all playing but not in time with each other and not quite in time for a round. It was funny and annoying all at the same time.

It's cold. I mean it IS COLD. Colder than a witch's tit. 12.2 degrees of freezingness. Wind chill factor says feels like 6 degrees. Forecast says 12-18 of snow Sunday night into Monday. Global warming my ass.

All in favor of warm, mild weather say Rabbit Rabbit.

RABBIT RABBIT!!!

Snuggling

Sam and Shelby were still snuggling when I left this morning. I don't know which one I'm more jealous of.