Just My Rambling

I used to travel a lot but for the past 2 years, travelling has taken a backseat to the demands of life. This year it seems like my travel mode is in full swing. So far, we have been to Canada, California and Oregon. The next destination will be Alaska this summer and New York in the fall. I am hoping that we can also squeeze in a trip to the Outer Banks too sometime this year. That will depend on whether my husband will able to take time off from work. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my travelling streak will continue.

Even though I have a gym membership, I rarely go to the gym to exercise. Somehow, I have all sorts of excuses to avoid going to the gym. Now with the gas prices at an all-time high, it has just become another excuse not to visit the gym. No wonder I have been gaining weight. Maybe I should just cancel my gym membership and buy one of those home gyms. Then at least I won’t have any excuse not to exercise when the gym equipment is right in my house.

Yup, that’s me for this past month! No, I didn’t get a job but I really do feel like one with all the travel plans that I have been making. Let’s see, since last month I have been planning for

• 2 camping trips
• Alaskan cruise
• hubby’s trip to Orlando
• my parents’ trip to Canada
• local tours for my parents & their friends
• round-trip transportation for my parents from CA and WA.

I have been researching, planning and booking all the flights, hotels, tours, campsites, cruise, rental cars etc etc ….. I think my head’s going through information overload!! Aaargh !!!!!

So, does anyone need a trip planner?

Now that the weather is getting warmer, we have dusted off the grill and started our summer weekend grills. That means it is time for outdoor eating too. During the summer, we love to eat out on the patio while enjoying the nice weather. Unfortunately I have just discovered that our current metal patio set has rusted over the long wet winter. I plan to replace them with teak furniture. Hopefully they will weather the wet winter better and last longer.

It was my birthday last week and this is what I got. Yay! I have been wanting to buy a zoom lens for a long time but I have been procrastinating my purchase. I have already spent way too much on my photography stuff already. But since we will be going to Alaska next month, I really needed this lens if I want to capture good photos of the glaciers. Maybe it’s just the excuse I need to buy this lens without the guilt! Of course I really want the 18-200mm lens but it is way over my budget. This 55-200mm is less than half the price. At this time, the cost factor definitely outweighs the inconvenience of changing the lens when I need it.

Many years ago, when I was still in the corporate world many years ago, I loved going to the spa for massages. I was working a very stressful job at that time and those spa sessions were my stress reliever. Now that I am a stay at home mom which I think it is also a stressful job, I don’t go for massages anymore because I just can’t afford it. I wish I have some friends who went to massage therapy schools, then at least I might be able to get massages at a discounted rate or even free massages.

What happens when you have a 3 year old princess wannabe  at home? You end up with lots of sparkly princess shoes! These are her 2 current favorites.  They are worn all day long together with her princess gowns, tiara, wand and whatever else that befits a princess.  :P

Thanks for visiting my PhotoHunt. Have a great weekend.

Since I started furniture shopping, I realize that there are so many new and cool house furnishings and accessories out there. Now I am starting to get the itch to replace some of the other stuff around the house like my cabinet knobs. There’s nothing wrong with my current cabinet knob but they came with the house and looks really boring. Maybe I should get something fancier to jazz up my cabinets.

* Photo Credits: Door Hardware Plus

Lately we have been travelling a lot and Lil’ C has been asking a lot of questions about the places that we’ve visited. I figured it is a good time for to learn a little geography especially about the different states that we’ve been travelling to. It is very boring to learn the map on its own. So I tried to think of a fun way to teach her and that is through puzzles.

Ever since she was a baby, Lil’ C has always loved puzzles. I found this photo from my other blog of her playing puzzles while eating.

 This was taken when she was 2 1/2 fixing her 60-pieces puzzle. She is now able to fix a 100 piece puzzle easily.Anyway, back to topic, I got her this 84-piece map puzzle. 

It took her a while but she finally figured out how to put the map together. Sometimes I will purposely hide a few pieces and she has to figure out which state is missing before I will give her the state. With this puzzle, she is not only learning but most importantly she has fun doing it.  

In preparation for my vacation, I started shopping for new clothes this week. Shopping is supposed to be a happy task, right? Well, it was until I discovered that I could no longer fit into a sexy swimwear anymore! Sob! I have gained so much weight this past year. I guess I have either have to lose weight or find a swimwear that will hide all the bulges! Now where can I find such a miracle swimwear?