Just My Rambling

2 more days and it will be the end of 2011. It is just unbelievable! Then it will be January 2012 and I am pretty sure that before I realize it, summer 2012 will be here. That means camping season will be here before I know it. This week I will have to get started booking campsites for our summer camping. Those popular campsites are usually booked up at least 6 months ahead. This year I am eying a few campsites that we were not able to get campsites because we booked too late. Hopefully I am not too late this year again. I will also have to start looking for good deals on camping equipments. There are a few that needs replacing. I am even thinking of getting a welding gloves for DH so that his hand does not get too hot from the campfire. We will also need to replace our tent since our old one has started leaking. I am really looking forward to another fun camping season this summer.

Shoes, shoes, shoes……. I love shoes. Unfortunately my shoe size is big and wide. That means those pretty dainty narrow shoes do not fit me at all. So I usually have a limited choice when it comes to shoe shopping. Don’t get me wrong. I love my boots and chunky shoes but sometimes I do want to wear some of those dainty stilettos. Oh well, maybe I can buy them for my girl when she grows up.

We have lived in our current house for about 4 years now. All the furniture that we have in the house were moved over from our old house and that means the furniture are really in need of an upgrade soon. During our vacation, I came across some barnwood furniture that I really like. However I don’t think that it will fit in with our current décor. That means either I have to replace all the furniture or look for other furniture that will fit in with the current décor. I will just have to figure out which option will cost less and make the final decision.

I love all aspects of winter. That includes the snow, the bald trees and even the cold weather. The only thing I do not like about winter is the electricity bill. Besides turning on the heater, we also use the kitchen a lot more since we like to make soup and hot drinks in the winter. That means the electric bill is a lot higher in the winter. In fact, it is about twice higher than our summer electric bill. I wish we have a low cost option like the one my friend has with nj electricity. Unfortunately we do not, so we might just have to make sure we do not turn on the heater as much or maybe not cook as much in the winter next year. Hopefully that will lower the bill.

We usually do not wear shoes into our house. So when we were staying at the hotels, the hardest thing for me to do is to remember not to take off my shoe when I get in the room. I wish I could take off my shoe but I am a little phobic about the cleanliness of the carpet. I wish I could call the carpet cleaning cary nc to come and clean the carpets but that is never going to happen. I think next time I should bring some bathroom slippers to use in the hotel room.

Since we came back from our vacation, DH has been checking out samsung lcd televisions. I guess it is because of all the LCD TVs they had at all the hotels that we stayed in during this vacation. Our current television is definitely not at the edge of technology. It is huge and definitely not as pretty and slick as one of those new slim LCD televisions. So I guess it might be a good time to upgrade. Now how am I supposed to get rid of my monster of a TV?

Buying gifts are fun but they can also be frustrating if you have no idea what to get for the recipient. Luckily I do not have many family and friends that I need to get presents. But when I need to get presents, I usually end up getting personalized gifts or gift cards for them. They are so much easier to get and usually well received. I think I will be sticking to the same plan for the next year. All I have to do now is to start stocking up on kids gifts. For those, I think Barbies and Legos will be the popular items next year due to the age group.

We went shopping before Christmas and the mall was totally packed! People were lining up for Coach bags, bulova watch, DKNY and other branded products. I guess the economy is not as bleak as reported. For us, Christmas was a quiet affair. First of all we were travelling and we were also trying to teach C the true meaning of Christmas. Gifts are good but they should not be the main focus of Christmas. So we just got the kids some small practical gifts. It was a fun and yet meaningful Christmas.

If you ask C what her favorite part of this vacation is, it is not Disneyland or Legoland. It is the pools and Jacuzzi at the various hotels. Besides spending lots of time around town, we spend a lot of time at the pools. Now that C is able to swim, she enjoys the pool a lot. I wish we have a pool at home but I think it will be too cold at our place for a pool. I think even the rheem pool heaters will not help. We will probably end up with an ice skating rink instead of a pool most of the year. Maybe someday when we move to a warmer climate, we will be able to have a pool at the house.

This Christmas vacation has been an awesome one. We are on a 2 weeks vacation and a very long road trip. We visited Legoland, Disneyland, Las Vegas and even Grand Canyon. Legoland was a first visit for all of us. I was surprised that it was so near the coast. I wished we had more time to spend there because I would have loved to stay a couple of days near the water. We also took the opportunity to drive around San Diego while we were there. I noticed that there were lots of houses with pool there. It reminds me of our Florida houses. However I did notice that many of those pools do not have safety fence around them. I hope that the owners will check out the pool fence san diego to put up a fence around the pool for safety sake. C loved Legoland. I think it is because there were lots of age-appropriate rides for her. I think we might be back to visit soon.