The Best Part of Having A Fall Birthday!!

Erin had her 9th birthday this week and it was lots of fun. Hannah and her friend Sarah made up a new twist on "Pin The Tail on the Donkey" game. It involved lipstick and a frog and is called "Can You Turn This Frog Into a Prince?". The girls had a lot of fun playing, especially because it involved wearing lipstick. They also enjoyed the fall weather and playing in the leaves.

This morning I took Sam to the Salvation Army store to buy items for his halloween costume. He is being a little vague, but we suspect he is either going to be Michael Jackson, or one of the zombies from the video "Thriller". He bought a suit coat, a white shirt, and very high platform boots. I can't wait to see what he comes up with.

I am adding the link to the travel agent for the cruise in case anyone wants it. Nothing new to report at this time, but am happy that so many are really thinking about going. Again, the travel agent is Tenenbaum's Travel and the website is under the link for the cruise line. The agent I am working with is Joanne.

A Call From The Wild

This week was Sam's birthday and he chose "Smokey Bones" as his birthday dinner choice. When we ordered the cake from the restaurant they seemed puzzled that we wanted a whole cake. When they brought it to the table we knew why - it was huge. We managed to eat about 1/16 of the cake and had to take the rest home. It was served a second time at Sam's party on Saturday and a third time at Sunday dinner. There is still almost half left. I have to say that although it is ridiculously huge, it is also scrumptious.

I have been thinking a lot about Katelyn the last couple of weeks and wondering how she is doing with her Outward Bound experience. Well, I spoke with Jillian this morning and she received a phone call from Katelyn and all is well and she is loving the experience. We have had no contact with her since she left for North Carolina on September 15. I really admire her for doing this and am happy that she is enjoying it. I don't know how I would do in the wild for 50 days. I think a Mediterranean Luxury Cruise is more up my alley.

With that nice segue into the cruise topic, I wanted to mention the email that Cindy sent regarding her plan to finance the cruise. I shared the email with everyone - I found it interesting that giving up a few things can earn enough money to finance the trip. The cruise sounds less expensive when you look at it that way.

Took The Big Step

Cindy and I both booked the cruise yesterday! I decided on the spur of the moment to find another travel agent to work with. I went to the yellow pages and found one that specializes in cruises. I think I hit the jackpot!! I stopped in just to check it out and loved Joanne right from the beginning. She has sailed on the Norwegian Jade and began by telling me the best places on the ship to book a stateroom. I had read in a travel book I bought several months ago that location on the ship was important, but didn't know where to begin. I was struggling with having any faith in the agent I had been working with; it seemed to me I was doing all the research and sharing the information with her.

Joanne encouraged me to stay a night in Barcelona before flying home. I was easy to convince, especially after just seeing "Vicky, Christina Barcelona". Mary Jane and I saw it at the film festival and thought maybe we would run into Javier Bardem there and he would invite us to his place in Oviedo for some casual sex. It's not impossible!!!!

For those of you who are truly planning to join me on this adventure when you book it will be a $400 deposit with the rest due in August of 2009. That gives me almost a year to save. If anyone is interested the travel agent I am now using is Joanne Schall with Tenenbaum's Travel in Kingston, PA. 570-288-8747, email joanne@tentrip.com. Their website is www.tenenbaums.com.

One of the annoyances of traveling, in my book, is having to go through immigration every time you hit a new country. I found out that on cruises the cruise line takes care of that and you don't have to go through immigration at every stop. Another benefit to cruises.

Movie Madness

Tunkhannock's Dietrich Theater is holding it's semi-annual film festival and in the past 9 days I have seen 15 movies. The festival continues for four more days, but I have already seen all of the movies so it is time for movie withdrawal. Marcus, Elaina and Courtney came down the first weekend and saw a bunch of movies, then Mary Jane came for the second weekend and continues to hold the record for watching the most movies in one day. She saw 5 movies on Saturday. I love the festival because of all of the great movies - I also love it because it "brings out the BeVards". Hanging out with BeVards is one of my favorite things.

I also just got some exciting news from Jillian - Peter is taking his first independent steps today!!! We have been waiting for this news - he has been promoted from infant to toddler. Congratulations Peter!

The cruise plans are coming along nicely and I am about ready to commit and book. I woke up in the middle of the night the other night in a panic. I dreamt that I didn't have a passport and they wouldn't let me go. Allthough I know full well that my passport is valid I actually got out of bed and dug out my passport to make sure. It's going to be a long year.

Sailing, sailing, over the ocean blue

Here is a picture of the ship that I will sail on over the Mediterranean. I have done quite a bit of research on cruise lines, ports, etc. etc. and this is the one that offers dates that work for me and ports that I want to explore. This one actually hits a couple of places that others do not. It leaves from Istanbul and includes stops in Athens, Venice, Naples, Rome, and Barcelona.


Now -- another option was suggested by my niece Debbie and may also work. She was nice enough to give me a "heads up" on this great deal. It is only seven days as opposed to the 12 day cruise that I have chosen, however, it may be hard to pass up.


This is the "Dixie Belle" a member of the fleet of the Gypsy Cruise Line. Isn't it a beauty? It is much cheaper also. What do you think?????






The birthday crown might be nice.









Telephone in the bathroom - nice touch also.

Call Me Ishmael

I doubt that Captain Ahab will be chasing the great white on this cruise, however, we can pretend. Many of you have asked for specifics, many of which I don't even know yet. I do know the cruise line, www.ncl.com. If you go to that website, then enter Europe as the destination and November 2009 as the date you will come up with several options. The winner is the Norwegian Jade, which sails from Istanbul, Turkey on November 2 and is a 12 day cruise. I have many takers already which makes me very excited. I am very lucky to be part of a great family who love adventure.

stupid is as stupid does

Well, in my zeal to keep fit I do wii fit as well as going to the gym on a regular basis. Last week dropped a 25 pound weight on my foot, so am doing no exercise at this time. I do have a spectacularly purple toe, however. We are told that we get wiser as we get older - really????!!! Sometimes I wonder.