I hate our yard. Well, some parts of it. The cool play area Zyon and I built is awesome:

Go to my Independent Mom blog if you want to see how we built this! So, this summer I want to get some things for the adults. Maybe some nice patio furniture, then we can sit outside comfortably and watch the kids play.

I can't wait until the weather is warmer and I can blog while I'm outside!

Testing this feature - seems simple enough!
Should be easy to post updates while on vacation!
Wonder how pictures post?

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

I hope you have your Obama bingo cards downloaded and ready to go for a fun night of O-Bingo! This fun event will take place tonight at 9 pm EST - here are the rules:

"On Tuesday at 9:00 PM Eastern, President Obama will address a joint session of Congress. To help get you through the 50-minute speech, use our handy Bingo card to check off terms and phrases likely to be used. As a bonus, print out the different versions of the card and watch the speech with your friends or family."

Haha! My ex-husband, who by the way, voted for Obama and is suddenly slowly regretting it (gee, surprise! DUH) - sent me the cards to download, I just may have to play!


Here's the key:


Credit: Americans For Tax Reform

My mom usually calls me every day - even though she lives next door. When she doesn't call I always say to her, "I'm not feelin' the love!" just to tease her.

Tonight by about 9:30 pm, I hadn't heard from my mom. I was craving potato chips and was hoping she had some so I decided to text her to ask. My text said:

I want potato chips - oh and I'm not feelin' the love

Her reply?

I have no chips I do love u and by the way I just talked to Michaela Conlin - yeeha.

Lucky her! She spoke with Michaela Conlin - who plays Angela Montenegro on the tv show Bones - which airs on FOX.

Eileen, who is my mom's BFF from high school, is Michaela's aunt. Eileen lives in California now but comes home to PA often to visit family. Michaela is also from PA. She graduated from Parkland High School in 1996 - I didn't know her as I went to Northampton High School and graduated in 1991.
She sure is gorgeous though! I love to look even half as good as her - although I'd probably need the aid of many, many weight loss pills to look that good! I have had the pleasure of meeting her on a few occasions when she was in the area- she is very cool!

Anyway, Eileen was visiting Michaela tonight, she was at her trailer on the set of Bones. So Eileen called my mom while she was there because she thought it'd be cool to have Michaela talk to my mom.

My mom is STILL all giddy. LOL

I want to thank all of you who left me comments on my last post about driving or flying to Disney. It sure helped me decide - so I made a decision. I can't decide! Hahahaaaa

The ONLY reason to fly is money - the plane tickets are non refundable and non transferable and we are out about $970 - so I had to decide if $970 is worth the aggravation of flying.

By aggravation I mean, the driving to Philly the night before, unpacking the car, staying at a hotel, getting the shuttle to the airport the next day, waiting in an airport, being on the plane. Then the return trip home - flight doesn't leave until 3:40 pm - so that is kinda sucky! Packing and getting to the airport late in the afternoon, flying home, finding our bags, finding the shuttle to get back to the hotel to get our car, packing up the car driving home.

We thought about just driving to the Philadelphia airport the day of our trip and leaving the car at the airport's secure parking lot but our flight leaves at 11:44 am so that means we'd have to leave the house at like 7 am on a weekday morning and drive almost 2 hours into Philadelphia - yea, no thank you.

Driving - we'd leave around 4pm after Olivia gets home from school. Grab a quick bite to eat (Mcd's or something) and drive straight through. It will be night time so the kids will sleep. Of course we'll stop for breaks and such but not at a hotel - we'll drive straight through. That should put us in Orlando around 11 am or noon - which is PERFECT. Our first day there, we have nothing planned so Zy can rest and we can hang at the pool if we want.

Coming home - we can leave when we want - no 'rush' to make it to the airport. We can stop in the evening and find a hotel if we want to sleep - depends on Zyon and how he feels - he'll be doing most of the driving. Yes, we'll get home a day later but I'd rather get home in the afternoon after a paced trip than late at night after flying and driving anyway!

Now, what's more of a hassle?

In the end, Zyon just made the decision for me because well, I'm a Libra and have a hard time making decisions and so he said, "screw it, we're driving. This isn't the first time we've made an expensive mistake and I'm sure it won't be the last!"

Our next Disney vacation is fast approaching. Once I find out the status of my mother in law's health, I will be able to concentrate more on planning the trip. Right now my mind is mush.

However, even if she doesn't go, we will still be going and there are some things I have to make decisions on - such as, should we drive or should we fly? Last time we drove and I swore I'd NEVER drive from Pennsylvania to Florida again - but the topic has come up anyway.

When I booked this upcoming trip, I booked a flight. My MIL is in Ohio, so she will fly regardless. She had to fly last time and meet us at the resort. I thought, since this time my mom and grandma won't be going, we should just fly.

We got a direct flight from Philadelphia to Orlando so our plan was to drive to Philly the night before and stay at a hotel, leave our vehicle there, in a gated and secure parking lot and have a shuttle take us to the airport. Get to the airport and within 2 hours (hopefully) we'd be in Florida. That versus a 20 hour car ride. Sounds like I made the right decision, right?

Well, I hate flying. I haven't flown since before the tragedy of 9/11 - my husband (at the time) and I had gone to California and we had just come home on 9/9 - so that was a bit freakish for me. So between all the new regulations because of terrorism and the fact that, I don't know, it seems like planes are just falling out of the sky more often lately - I admit, I am more than a bit uneasy about flying. Last night CJ and I talked about not flying and just driving. Since my mom and grandma won't be with us, we feel we'd be able to drive straight through, taking turns driving and stopping frequently so the kids can stretch.

Driving is such a pain in the butt though. Last time we rented a van - this time we wouldn't need to. Our Honda pilot is only a ear old and we have AAA in case anything should happen. I am trying to weigh the pros and cons of driving:

PROS:

• We can pack as much as we want! I won't have to worry about packing light because we're flying. Not that I want to take all kinds of stuff with me but heck, this way we can even take our stroller along like we did last time. Plus, we will have an easier time getting any souvenirs back home.
• We have control of the trip (for the most part) - if we want to stop at a hotel for the night, we can, if not we can keep going. We won't have to worry about our vehicle being left in a hotel parking lot for the entire time we're gone.
• Our vehicle has a DVD player in it so the kids will be entertained. Hey, THAT is important on a long drive!
  
• We will have our vehicle with us - so if we need to leave for any reason, (Gods forbid) at least we have our vehicle there and won't have to worry about trying to get a flight home.
• Anything could happen - our plane could be delayed, flight could be canceled, the kids could hate flying and have a melt down and we could have a very stressful flight.
  

CONS:

• We have already paid for our flight and it is non-refundable, so we'd be out about $900 - I think we can get our money back for the hotel stay in Philly.
• Gas - we'd already be out $900 by not flying, then paying for gas and quick meals here and there when we stop to eat is extra money too.
• It will take longer which means Olivia will miss an extra day of school. We'd leave Tuesday, when she gets home from school and we'd return on a Thursday. If we fly, we'd be back Wednesday night and so she would be at school Thursday.
• Anything could happen, car accident, breakdown, it could take us longer than we anticipate depending on traffic.

It's obvious flying is quicker and since I already paid, it would seem like that is the way to go. So why am I still pondering this? I already spent the money so I'm out $900 no matter what.

I would love feedback - what would you do?

Who else is hooked on the FOX show Fringe besides me?

Zyon and I have never missed an episode yet and even enjoy watching some episodes more than once. Hey, DVR is a great thing - all I need are a few home theater chairs and I am set!

"From J.J. Abrams ("Lost"), Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, the team behind "Star Trek," "Mission: Impossible III" and "Alias," comes a new series that will thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between the possible and the impossible."

When I first read that blurb on the Fringe website I immediately thought it was not a show for me but I gave it a shot and I've been hooked ever since. Who else?

Sneeze, blow, cough, gag...yep, those are the sounds coming from this house. First Olivia, then Wyatt and Dante and now me. Wyatt and Dante are still icky and I feel as though I hit a brick wall and kept going.

I've really been trying to exercise daily and today I was barely able to stay on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Tomorrow Dante goes to school and I usually stay there (his school has a gym) so I work out for the 2 hours he is in school. Not tomorrow. (Sorry crazy neighbor.) I shall drop the child off and then pick him up. Maybe I'll be able to come home and use my own treadmill or maybe I will stay - oh I don't know. Depends on how I feel, that's for sure!

I keep misplacing my phone and that is what I use to tell time - we have no clocks in the upstairs part of our house. I should just get a watch, a nice Jaeger - I wouldn't loose that baby, that's for sure!

In other news, my MIL was to have her MRI today and she called me to tell me that 20 minutes before her appt. the machine broke!!!! Now she must wait AGAIN, until it gets fixed. This poor woman has had to wait so long already!

UGH

I was up early today and immediately started cleaning. I hate our kitchen, I want new counter tops and a new sink. The one we have is old and it just doesn't sparkle anymore, no matter how hard I scrub. I decided it was time to start looking at what's new in sinks since I think it's time to get a new one.

I clean normally but today I think I started early because I am worried about a few people i my life and I've been trying to occupy my mind with other things.

I hate worrying about other people but of course, it's in my nature. I guess we all worry about others on some level. My mother in law is facing a real possibility of having breast cancer. She goes for an MRI on February 9th, so of course that date hangs over me as much as it hangs over her.

Zyon has been sick off and on for over a week now. So much has gone on in January with him. We both decided to change our lifestyle - eating healthy and exercising daily. I lost 8 pounds in January, he lost 22! I think between the change in eating habits, exercising (and pushing himself a bit) probably made his body scream What the hell! Then he got an ear infection. He was on antibiotics and had an adverse reaction to them - made his stomach upset (if ya know what I mean) and he went to the doctor last Thursday. Things got better but then last night he felt bad again. The man fell asleep as soon as he got home and sat on the sofa - that never happens! He said he was going to go back to the doctor today - he better.

Olivia was up last night - she had a headache and she sounded stuffed up, gawd I hope she's not getting sick!

I've been trying to occupy my thoughts with other things but it's tough. I just want those around me, those I care about and love to be alright - of course! I hate when the balance is off - that's only allowed for me. I can be unbalanced, no one else!