Ah, Sweet Delights

One of my favorite things to do is sit and read Travelzoo's weekly e-mail, informing me of all the delightful deals I could be getting somewhere in the world. And one day, when we have kids and I'm not a teacher, we'll abandon the chillens at one of our parents and go on a January vacation. We'll sleep late in Venice again, finally go to Budapest, cruise on the Russian rivers, and picnic on a green Irish hill. Then we'll come home, hug our polite, obedient children and leave in February for a short US trip. Perhaps New York again, but this time we'll be at a high rise, 5 star, downtown hotel. We'll sleep late there too. And we'll have aTV in our bedroom, something we don't allow ourselves to have here at home.

Of course we'll have to be rolling in the dough for this. But I think we can swing a January vacation every once in a while.

Travelzoo Weekly Top 20

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TOP 20 DEALS * -- JULY 22, 2009
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$899 -- Thailand 3-City Escorted Tour Package incl. Air
http://www.travelzoo.com/top20/26112795-620767/
Source: Friendly Planet Travel

$699 -- Venice, Florence & Rome 6-Night Vacation w/Air
http://www.travelzoo.com/top20/26112795-621055/
Source: Gate 1 Travel

$1118 -- Peru & Machu Picchu: 6 Nights w/Hotels, Tours & Air
http://www.travelzoo.com/top20/26112795-621082/
Source: LatinAmerica4Less.com

$699 -- Dublin Summer Getaway incl. Hotel & Direct Flight
http://www.travelzoo.com/top20/26112795-621085/
Source: Aer Lingus Vacation Store

$139 -- Legendary Chicago Hotel into September (Reg. $255)
http://www.travelzoo.com/top20/26112795-620888/
Source: The Drake Hotel

$1099 -- 2-Week Panama Canal Cruise incl. $150 Credit & Air
http://www.travelzoo.com/top20/26112795-620897/
Source: CruCon Cruise Outlet

$69 -- Upscale New Orleans Hotel w/Breakfast, incl. Weekends
http://www.travelzoo.com/top20/26112795-619519/
Source: Omni Royal Crescent Hotel

$365 -- Fly to Fiji from Los Angeles (each way)
http://www.travelzoo.com/top20/26112795-620412/
Source: Air Pacific

July 21, 2009 Is Upon Us

Clouds behind Jarvis's house:)

Japanese Beetles are here!!!

Sadie is scared of WAY over grown zucchini...

The infamous Lizzy

Jessica and her son, my nephew, Levi:)

ECHINACEA!!!

The wonderful J

Hello world!!! I've been busy! With Lizzy!

Officially, today is my first free day with no work, no Liz appointments, and no family gatherings:) To celebrate, we have been reading, cooking, cleaning, and catching up on things. Liz is reading Night of the Twisters and I am reading The Eyre Affair, a Thursday Next novel. Makes me want to name my kids after days of the week. Wednesday Jarvis. Sunday Ann Jarvis. Hehehe.

We're waiting for bread to rise, the pasta sauce to simmer, and the yogurt to finish doing what is does (Curdling? Hmmm...). At 4:30 we're off to the farmers market in search of tomatoes, corn, broccoli, onions, and anything else that strikes our fancy.

Today is my 2 year wedding anniversary! You gotta love my husband for sticking with me this long:):) Happy anniversary delightful, marvelous, patient husband!!! You are my best friend and I'm glad I get to be with you forever!!!

Violin and Others

In preparation for my violin lesson today at 4, here's a pic of the lovely instrument. I am reminded of a dream I had a while back in which I bought a violin but accidentally broke it before I could learn to play it. Hehe, because of that, I'm being careful today! I've wanted to play the violin ever since I was a little girl and am finally going to!! TODAY!!

Moving on: recently I've been sneak brushing my cat while he is eating. Spock is a huge pig and LOVES to eat perhaps more than I love anything in the world. Since he has such long fur and he can't seem to lick it all off/clean, I'm left w/ the job. It's actually calming and a practice in patience to get all his excess fur off w/ that fine toothed comb! Like hanging laundry on the clothesline (of which I did 3 loads today) or baking bread (I've got dough in the fridge needing to be baked tomorrow). Unfortunately these 3 things don't seem to be helping my overall patience level day to day. Alas.

I finished The Story of Edgar Sawtelle on Tuesday (couldn't go to sleep until I had so I stayed up late!). The author had great voice but I'm not sure I'd enthusiastically recomend it to many people. 

My little sis, Lizzy, is in the hospital again. She's been having kidney issues and they think they've found the the name of what she has so she's been on meds for a while. She's very swollen though (lots of fluids hanging around in her!) and is getting stretch marks on her legs. Today she got worse so my parents are taking her to Riley again. I wish I could do something more than pray.... I'll visit her tonight or tomorrow and try to cheer her up. Poor kid, she's been like this since the end of May and it's going to take her whole summer to get better!  

William of Hamleigh

Just to let you know, I finished the book and William of Hamleigh died. In fact he was hanged. After 990 pages. 

My Week Thus Far

I started my summer jobs this week and have done the following at them: 

1. Wrote a press release (ridiculously hard since I didn't know how to write one nor much about the topic about which I was writing). Wrote blog posts and researched lots of stuff.
2. Planned a summer's worth of lessons for 10 kids. Tutored 5 kids on Wednesday. 

I ran out of room on my hard drive on Monday!!! EEEEEEKKK!!! So I ordered a new one and just got it today. I'm a bit leery of transferring things to it until J gets home from California. I'm sure I'll do something wrong. 

Yesterday I rented a steam cleaner and cleaned all the carpeted rooms in my house. Sadie and Spock (mostly Spock) make our house smell icky. So before the cleaning, in preparation, I bought myself a frappuccino. To give me strength. You know.

After cleaning cleaning for 2ish hours, I sort of fell on the couch and read for a few more hours. I was getting really hungry but there wasn't anyone there to cook for nor was there any food in my house so I just sat there. And read for HOURS. Until J called at 7:30 and my depressing book made me sad to talk to him and I was weak with hunger. WEAK. So I left to return the cleaner machine and bought a pizza. Then I sat around watching my parent's Star Trek TV series since I needed something to cheer me up.

The Pillers of the Earth, the book I was reading, is a captivating read but everyone is being killed and raped by William of Hamleigh. I HATE WILLIAM. He makes me very angry. Poor Phillip and Aliena and Jack and TOM BUILDER. Poor Tom. I can't read that book anymore. SO SAD. I get VERY into books and have trouble not adopting the feelings of the characters when I leave the book. 

Anyway, I'm hanging at my momma's house today. My nephews and I picked strawberries and lettuce for 2 hours this morning and then I spend 1.5 hours cutting and washing everything. The strawberries took the most time!! Yummy though! We're all eating strawberry shortcake (I've had 2 already) today!!!

Ummm, yeah.....

INDIANA!!!! So here I am, back at home. Well, not exactly.... I'm at one of my summer jobs (photography assistant and tutorer (is that right? tutorer? watch out, grammar mistakes ahead!)). 

I've got nothing new to say about life except that my husband is gone, in California for work until Friday night. I'm all alone in this world! Oh Rhett, whatever shall I do?!?!?!

I shall be photography assisting today and tomorrow, tutoring Wednesday, whatever Thursday, then tutoring Friday. Each night w/o J I will lounge about, watching raunchy, horrific amounts of TV, slurping spaghetti off my plate, eating salad with my fingers, and basically doing everything I don't do because people are around. J keeps me sane.

Here's a secret and it's really weird (to me) and slightly inappropriate (to you?). Stop reading if you'd like to NOT know the extra information I shall divulge today. I'm not wearing underware today! Wow, first time for everything! My gyno always tells me it is better not to wear underware so I'm trying it out. For size. Well, more like this: "OMG, I'm changing and all the laundry is sitting folded on the couch in the living room! I'm out of underware (due to vacation) (yes, I think in parentheses)(and sometimes don't capitalize correctly in them)! I'll grab some underware when I'm changed. Hmmm, I'm very busy getting ready to leave but I think I'm missing something. What is it? What is that 'off' feeling? OH. YEAH. Hmmm, maybe I'll give this a try, after all, I'm wearing a long skirt so it should be fine."

I've ever felt more free under my LONG skirt and it makes going to the bathroom 50% easier!!!

Weird. I KNOW. But this is a one time thing for me so don't freak out....

Maine

We're sitting in a Panera in upper NY, surfing the Net. We've happily eaten every meal local on this trip (except for those A&W cheese curds, yum) but not today!!! I need my Internets!! The iphone doesn't cut it for all my needs!

Here are random pics, sadly in no order: Maine and Maine next to our campsite, my boots in CT, Maine, and our vacation route. 

We're having so much fun! Weather has been sunny and cumulus-y for 6 days though I hear it has been very stormy back at home. I am starting to wish for t-storms but we won't be in a hotel until Saturday.