Archive for April, 2009

We’re going to dang London!

I’ll be the first to admit it, I take a lot of pride in my trip-planning skillz. I’m the point person in our family for all of our travels, which I totally love. My favorite part is when I get on the computer and start researching like a son of a gun– and by ‘research,’ I mean ‘spend an inordinate amount of time looking at a bunch of pictures of places to stay and then get totally sidetracked and start going off on all kinds of tangents and end up looking up restaurants in whatever city we’re going to, which leads to looking up recipes of food I saw, which leads to pictures of kitchens and home decorating sites, which leads to spending an hour looking at the inside of other people’s houses until I look up and it’s like 10:30 at night and I’m all “What the h*ll???” and then A) it’s time to take a bath and B) read my devotional book because A) I’m hygienic like that and B) I’m trying not to say “What the h*ll???” so much.’

OK, what was I talking about?

Oh yeah. We’re going to dang LONDON!

However, since I”m missing some crucial components like, oh, I don’t know, exact dates I haven’t been able to do that trip planning voodoo that I do so well. It’s looking like we’ll be leaving July 13, but I’m still waiting for all of the info before I book flights and accommodations. So my style is cramped, but all the final details ought to be lining up soon and until then I’ve looked at so many photos of so many places to stay that my eyes are crossing. We decided to rent a flat instead of stay in a hotel, because with four of us we would need two rooms and I’d rather go ahead and get a place with a kitchen and a washing machine. But there is still a lot to be decided– What part of the city do we want to be in? How close to the trains do we need to be? Do we want to try to go to Paris for a day trip? LOVELY things to work out, but they do indeed need to get worked out. Russ and I have been to London several times over the years, but never with children, so this will be a totally new experience! Russ always says that I walk his legs off when we travel, and now I’ll have a chorus of three voices telling me they’re exhausted instead of just one, so I’ve got that to look forward to.

By the way, have any of you ever noticed how many sentences I end with prepositions? I do it all the time, all over the place! “…. do we want to be in?” “…. do we need to be?” “…. look forward to.” See?! It’s too bad that computers don’t come with preposition-check instead of just spell-check. (Note to self: invent preposition-check software, make a frillion dollars and then instead of worrying about where to stay, just BUY London. Awesome plan, self!)

Anyway this is the part where I invite you, my dear readers, to weigh in with any advice, travel stories, London tips, whatever. Any input about traveling with teens will especially be appreciated (although they are both pretty seasoned and really good little travelers, but still…) I am truly excited, part of me doesn’t really believe we’re actually doing this! I keep half-expecting Russ to say, “Oops, just kidding!” Of course then I’d have to punch him in the face.

And now, to get us all in the mood…

(Now picture me on the top deck hanging out of the window yelling at all the innocent passersby, “I’M IN DANG LONDON, YA’LL!!!”)

Springtime makes me want to clean out my closets.

OK, I didn’t say I actually DID it, but this time of year definitely makes me want to.
Something about the sunshine, the green, green lawns, the tulips, the baby bunnies in the backyard… it all just makes me feel like life is full of possibilities! Like, the possibility that I might actually finish unpacking my garage (hey, we only moved three years ago.) Or the possibility that I will wake up one morning and decided today is the day that Charlotte’s room gets painted to match her new comforter set. You know, stuff like that.

I’m not a big one for New Year’s resolutions, but boy howdy, every spring I start getting real ambitious. That burst of energy usually lasts long enough for me to get my deck spruced up and my garden planted and then the torpor of a Tennessee summer sets in and I sloooooow down. Well, either that or something happens to interrupt my plans like, oh I don’t know, one of my kids gets BITTEN BY A SHARK or something! (I told you guys I was going to milk that for everything it was worth.) Also, according to my friend Betty, my personality type falls into a category that is defined by a creative spirit coupled with a complete lack of organizational skills, so hey, whaddya gonna do? I forget what my particular personality type is called (help me out here, themema) but it’s an acronym with a whole lot of capitalized letters that doesn’t really spell anything, but looks very official– and I’m all about any classification that gives me a big fat excuse well-documented explanation for my scatter-braininess. And yes, I did just make that word up, thanks for asking.

But lately I’ve had a little wrinkle in my usual springtime ritual– and the name of that wrinkle is ZUMBA!!! Yes dear readers, I am still preaching the Tao of Zumba. Listen, this past week? I went 5 times! I am not even kidding. The best part is that I went with my friend and pastor (I just love saying that) Jillian Chambers last Friday and then Madi finally agreed to go with me (I’ve been trying to talk her into it for months) on Saturday. The only thing more fun than shaking your booty in Zumba class is shaking your booty in Zumba class with people you know! The bottom line is, I am going so much because I am feeling so good. My energy level is up and a cloud of fairy dust and endorphins follow me wherever I go. I may actually get some stuff done this spring!

How about you guys? What’s the season doing for you? Any ambitious undertakings you want to share with the class?

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