Okay, here's the deal. Brett found out yesterday that he has a week of vacation that needs to be used by the end of the year. You're probably asking yourself "so what's the problem?". We are not ones to do the whole staycation thing... you know where you take a vacation but stay at home. That's just not how it's done in the Hertan house. We take full advantage of every vacation. So here was the dilema.
As a couple of DINK's (Double Income No Kids), we've been a bit spoiled. If we ever wanted to take a vacation, we would just do it, no questions asked. We are very frugal (ie. cheap) in other areas of our life. We have no problem going without cable, having cell phones that don't take pictures, using the library instead of buying the book, not going out to eat, buying clothes at Goodwill, etc., but when it comes to vacation, we don't hesitate.
The problem is that we made a pinky spit swear to each other a couple of months ago that we would not, under any circumstance, spend frivolously, until the Hummer is paid off. We have put off paying it off since it's a zero interest rate, but we want to not have that payment looming over us each month. We're getting oh so close to that day and here comes this vacation that must be taken.
Brett's family has their Christmas party that week and now we have the time off. Perfect timing. I checked ticket prices - ouch, maybe not so perfect. Next, I start playing on the internet just for fun and went to one of my favorite vacation sites and lo and behold I find a last minute 7 day cruise to the Bahamas for $199 per person!!! It's leaving out of Charleston, so it's within driving distance, which means no airfare! This cruise would be less than the flight to CA! I call to get more info. With taxes and fuel surcharge (don't they know gas prices went back down?) the rate ends up being $374 per person. Still WAY less expensive than just the flight to CA. Hmmm....should we do it? Do we break the pinky spit swear?
$374pp..that's crazy cheap when you think that it includes all your food. Of course, you have to pay for parking @ $15 day = $105. Charleston is a 9 hour drive, so add a room there and back and if you're lucky you can do that for another $150. Add the gas...$125. Of course, we'll want to attend the formal dinners....$100 clothes. We've got the TN honky white legs going on....$50 tanning. Excursions & food when in port @ $200 X 4 ports = $1000. We're now just under $2,000 and we haven't bought an alcoholic beverage or even played Bingo while waiting for a show to start (you cruisers know what I'm talking about).
In the end, the pinky spit swear wins out....we're going to try our first ever Staycation. Wish us luck that we're not bored out of our minds by Tuesday morning.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...
We love Christmas, but it is seems like we're always moving this time of year. Last year we had just moved in and the year before we were in Cabo so it's been 3 years since we went through our decorations. We collect ornaments during our travels and put a tag on each ornament so that the occassion and date do not get forgotten over the years. It's also fun when friends come by and can walk through our life by reading the tags on the tree. As you can see, we have lots of memories! There are way too many to show them all, but here's a glimpse of what you'll see on our memory tree.
One of the traditions we miss most is spending St. Patrick's Day in Lake Tahoe with the Gaudy's. This ornament is from 2000 and the Goleno's also joined us that year. What fun we had!
As you can see, this one is from Carlsbad, CA in May 2004 when we spent time with Brett's brother Brad and his family.
This is an ornament given to me by my good friend, Erin Wheeler (aka Erin Wilson for those who knew her back when) in 1983! I treasure that our friendship has lasted through the years.
One of our many Disneyland trips. This one is from 2003 when we spent the week with Brett's brother, Bryce and his family. Bryce's truck broke down on the way there so we extended the stay an extra day. We were all trying to save some money so we used hotel points and 6 of us stayed in a regular room at the Radison on that last night. We had to stack the table and chairs so that the boys had room to sleep on the floor:-)
National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas 2005.
And of course, one of our all time favorites....The Spam Museum in 2005! I had never eaten Spam before this trip and after returning home, I thought I should give it a try. I made some Spam and eggs and presented it as breakfast to our niece, Elizabeth, who was 2 at the time. She ate all the eggs and wouldn't touch the Spam!
This is an ornament given to me by my good friend, Erin Wheeler (aka Erin Wilson for those who knew her back when) in 1983! I treasure that our friendship has lasted through the years.
One of our many Disneyland trips. This one is from 2003 when we spent the week with Brett's brother, Bryce and his family. Bryce's truck broke down on the way there so we extended the stay an extra day. We were all trying to save some money so we used hotel points and 6 of us stayed in a regular room at the Radison on that last night. We had to stack the table and chairs so that the boys had room to sleep on the floor:-)
National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas 2005.
And of course, one of our all time favorites....The Spam Museum in 2005! I had never eaten Spam before this trip and after returning home, I thought I should give it a try. I made some Spam and eggs and presented it as breakfast to our niece, Elizabeth, who was 2 at the time. She ate all the eggs and wouldn't touch the Spam! Date night
Brett won tickets on the radio to the Grand Ole Opry. I know some of you are certainly not surprised by that. Brett is one of those guys who always seems to win. You can win contests on the radio station he listens to every 30 days, and he has won something the last 3 out of 4 months. In October, he was the right caller but had the wrong answer.
Anyhow, we've got the Dave Ramsey thing going on, so we haven't been going out much. Since he won tickets, we figured we would make a date out of it. Wouldn't you know it, I woke up feeling like I was getting a cold, but that wasn't go to stop me. I rested all day as I really wanted to go out.
We went to dinner at P.F. Changs for dinner since they have a separate gluten free menu that makes eating there easy. After dinner we went to Opryland and checked out the Christmas decorations. It's a sight to see. They use over 2 million lights in their outdoor decorations alone, 15 miles of garland, 15,000 poinsettias...you get the picture. If you love Christmas decorations, you have to check it out sometime. It's a good thing we had hours to kill as it was packed! The traffic driving up to the hotel was crazy and we started to get antsy in the car - thus the picture above.
The Opry was just okay this time but it was still fun to get out for the evening, although I do have to admit it made me feel really old to come in at 1am completely exhausted.
China worthy?
When we moved from CA we pretty much sold everything. Let's face it, we pretty much had to as we needed the money to do our little adventure and why pay to store a bunch a stuff. And when you live in a 5th wheel and you have a total of 3 cabinets for dishes and food alike, downsizing is a necessity. We've been back in a house for just over a year now and we were still eating on our camping plates. You know, Corelle...the stuff that wont break or chip? Well, Brett dropped one of those plates, and they are right - they don't break and they don't chip. They shatter!A few weeks ago, we had company over for dinner and even though we're still months away from Christmas, here I was eating on a plastic Rudolph plate. That was the night we decided we needed to buy some new dishes. But then we got thinking about the fact that we had plenty of perfectly good china in the attic. The more we thought about it, the more it made sense to use what we had and the whole idea of good china was nonsense. Why do we use our most expensive, most beautiful things only on special occasions? How often do you use your china? If you have both Thanksgiving and Christmas at your house, you probably use it twice a year. Our china is from Brett's mom and grandmother. Several pieces are chipped and there are quite a few pieces that are missing. We considered how we might feel if another piece got broken, but in the end we decided we would rather enjoy it everyday than not take the risk and only see it once or twice a year.
Aren't our friends and family the most cherished company? Shouldn't it be the people with whom we share our meals and not the date on the calendar that makes something special?
Our china has now been brought down from the attic and unpacked from it's many layers of bubble wrap and is now being "stored" in our kitchen where it is used everyday. Our cornflakes and meatloaf are now china worthy....or rather WE are now china worthy.
Titans
On Sunday, I went to a Titans game with all of the Team Leaders from work. Our CEO very generously gave us Executive Suite tickets. This is the way to see the game.
Now that we've seen how the other half live, it will be hard to enjoy another game without such amenities. Private suite with comfy seats, great view, lots of food and good company - what more could we ask for?
I am so blessed to work with such a great group of fun and talented people!
Giftfest 2008
Giftfest is a series of free events in Maury County that is sponsored by local churches and businesses. Saturday night we went and saw Phil Stacey perform at the local mall parking lot. He was an American Idol finalist in 2007.
We were also hoping to see Montell Jordan perform earlier in the day but we got sidetracked on the way when we saw an auction. Let's just say, we missed the concert and bought a few things we needed as well as a few things we didn't.
Chattanooga
I'm a little late in posting this but we went to Chattanooga over Labor Day weekend. We went with Gary & Jenny, friends from church and we had a great time. It was nice to spend some time with them and get to know them better.
We first went to Ruby Falls. The falls are deep inside the caverns so it was a tough to get a decent picture.
After Ruby Falls, we went to Rock City. Rock City is where you can supposedly see 7 states from one place. Whether or not we actually saw 7 states is up in the air since you can't exactly see state lines so I guess you just have to believe.
All in all, it was a very busy day as we crammed several mini trips in and being Labor Day, it was a bit busy. We also noticed that a large percentage of the license plates were from Louisianna. I guess if you're going to evacuate, you might as well have some fun. I think another trip to Chattanooga is definitely warranted as there is still plenty that we didn't get to see.
Wynonna
Brett won tickets on the radio for us to go to the Opry and then backstage with Wynonna. We had a great time. The Opry is kind of a joke between us. Brett would go every single night if he could and I on the other hand, well.....let's just say that I'm not quite as into it as Brett is. There are some nights when I have no clue who any of the artists are, but Brett always knows ALL of them.
This was one of the really good nights at the Opry; not only was Wynonna there, but also Trace Adkins, Martina McBride and Lee Greenwood. I know some of you are thinking that Lee Greenwood doesn't fit in with the others, but I've got to disagree. Hearing Lee Greenwood sing "God Bless the U.S.A. " was absolutely amazing! The best part about it was we weren't on a boat at Lake Berryessa....My parents and sister will completely understand what I mean by that:-)
Now mind you, I've never been a big Wynonna fan either, but what a voice that woman has! I think hearing her in person may have changed my mind about her. Brett also won her CD so I've been listening to it on my commute and I had no clue just how versatile she was.
I also have to mention the shoes incident. Brett got new sandals a couple months back and rarely wears them but when he does, he's like a little kid making sure I notice that he's wearing his new shoes. The first thing Wynonna said to us was that Brett was sure proud of his new shoes. I just lost it and started laughing. Poor Wynonna had no idea why I thought it was so funny so she looked at me and asked, "What are you laughing at?". I had to tell her that she was so right on about Brett being proud of his shoes. This was one of those times when you really had to be there to understand why it was so funny.
We got a Wii!
Okay, I have to admit, I never would have thought that we would purchase a Wii, but now that we have.....it's addicting! And don't our Mii's look cute:-)
What a blast to be able to play tennis in your living room and when you start to get all hot & sweaty, you just turn up the a/c. Humidity- what's that? I think I can get used to this. And bowling....well, let's just say the competition is on. Brett & I have a bowlathon just about every night.
Now we can't wait to get the Wii fit and Rock Band, but let's just say that July was a very fun (ie. $$) month, so we're going to have to wait until September. Hey, hopefully by then, I'll have my gold medal in tennis, have beat Brett's high bowling score of 238 and be ready for our next challenge.
Maybe this is a sort of mid life crisis? Seeing how it is the first video game we've owned since playing pong on Atari and at that time, I was still sharing a bedroom with my little brother. But who cares? I mean even if it is, it's a heck of a lot better than seeing Brett drive through town with his shirt off in a new corvette!
Chicken in a pot
Wow! I think this qualifies us as "country folk"! Yes, we've raised our own beef before but let's face it, you have a butcher come out and do all the work so it's just plain feeding a steer. Well, we got chickens a few months back and apparently one too many roosters. This guy was quite the problem child and we believe he was the direct cause behind two canibal deaths of his fellow coopmates. So, Brett decided to solve the problem and it looks like chicken is on the menu! I have to admit, I did absolutely nothing, unless you count filling the pot with water as participating. As much as I enjoy cooking, I still have Brett prepare the turkey at Thanksgiving and always buy boneless skinless chicken breasts, so this was a big much for me. Sorry, Brett, but if you want me to get into this country thing, it's gonna be baby steps. I love living without neighbors so I think that should qualify!
Infertility
I learned today that a very dear friend of mine, whose been going through IVF, may have had a successful implant. So far, so good! I am so excited and scared for her at the same time.
Dealing with infertility is something that we have in common even though our situations are vastly different. While I cannot understand the emotions she is feeling now and has been ,as she has struggled with IVF, which was not an option for us, I can understand the girly emotions of wanting a baby and not being able to take the easy, natural route.
Reflecting on it now, I find it interesting how totally opposite the two of us have dealt with the situation. For Brett & I, we were very private about our quest for children and the steps we took. In fact, we shared very little with even the closest family and friends. Other than each other, she is the only person that Brett & I have have openly discussed the whole gamut of infertility with. On the other hand, she has been very open with their struggles and emotions. I don't think either option is better than another, just interesting how we are so different.
The one thing that we definitely agree upon, is that while we know in our hearts that everyone means well, it is amazing how many people say the wrong things. I know that anyone reading this that has also gone through infertility, is currently shaking their head with an emphatic "Yes". Of course, I don't put any blame on those people for a couple of reasons. One, you can't know what to say unless you've been in our shoes and two, everyone processes things differently and what may move one person to tears may be laughed at by another. Let's just face it - if you have kids and you're discussing babies with someone dealing with infertility, you're in a no win situation.
Dealing with infertility is something that we have in common even though our situations are vastly different. While I cannot understand the emotions she is feeling now and has been ,as she has struggled with IVF, which was not an option for us, I can understand the girly emotions of wanting a baby and not being able to take the easy, natural route.
Reflecting on it now, I find it interesting how totally opposite the two of us have dealt with the situation. For Brett & I, we were very private about our quest for children and the steps we took. In fact, we shared very little with even the closest family and friends. Other than each other, she is the only person that Brett & I have have openly discussed the whole gamut of infertility with. On the other hand, she has been very open with their struggles and emotions. I don't think either option is better than another, just interesting how we are so different.
The one thing that we definitely agree upon, is that while we know in our hearts that everyone means well, it is amazing how many people say the wrong things. I know that anyone reading this that has also gone through infertility, is currently shaking their head with an emphatic "Yes". Of course, I don't put any blame on those people for a couple of reasons. One, you can't know what to say unless you've been in our shoes and two, everyone processes things differently and what may move one person to tears may be laughed at by another. Let's just face it - if you have kids and you're discussing babies with someone dealing with infertility, you're in a no win situation.
We are so thankful that God has granted us peace with the realization that children are not in our future. We know that He has a reason for it and that's enough for us. He has also given us 19 nieces & nephews and 8 great nephews! While some of these nieces and nephews are not much younger than we are, we still have plenty of little ones in our lives. Pictured above are just a few of them, including our newest great nephew who just entered this crazy world on July 6th.
Ambergris Caye, Belize
We just returned from a vacation in Ambergris Caye, Belize and it was absolutely wonderful!
This is the view from our porch and the hammock where I spent a lot of time reading. Waking up early each morning while Brett slept, I would gather my pillow and book and read while the sun came up. That's my kind of vacation.
In addition to lots of relaxing, we also made good friends and enjoyed many adventures on this trip. Click here to see a slideshow.
http://www.photoshow.com/watch/js9cN6Yh.
Let it snow!
We have snow! This is the first snow that actually stuck around more than a few hours. It was gone by the following afternoon, but it sure was pretty while it lasted.
Whale watching
We had the opportunity to go go whale watching in Guerrero Negro and couldn't pass it up. This photo is of a baby whale that let us pet it...what an unbelieveable experience. We saw dozens of whales in just a few hours.
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