And then I remembered...

So after I vacuumed tonight (uh, yeah, the hubby also vacuumed this morning, crazy huh, see post before this one to get the gist of that), I made an attempt to put the clothes away that my hubby had folded. I've been meaning to clean out my drawers for a long while and I took the plunge this evening. Folding, refolding, reorganizing, and even putting a few things to the side to give away. And then I came to the pajama drawer...

I pulled everything out of the overstuffed drawer and began to shuffle through my inventory of pajamas. About eight pairs of boxer shorts, so comfy to lounge in. About three shirts, I use my regular tshirts most of the time. And probably fourteen pairs of pajama pants. As I looked at the pants and thought through each pair, deciding which ones I love, which ones I don't wear, etc. I asked myself, WHY DO I HAVE SO MANY PAJAMA PANTS?? Geez!

And then I remembered... something I've forgotten in the month of August, when the AC is blowing in the house to combat the upper 90 temperatures outside of the house... during the winter months, the heat in our house does not turn on until mid to end of January. My hubby likes it cold! Oh, and he enjoys sleeping with the window open during the months that make me go brrr! Oh, and the window is on MY side of the bed!!! No wonder I own enough pajama pants to clothe a small army! Plus I love them, lounging in a pair of PJ pants is the best.

A Plethora of Dog Hair

Some dogs shed. My dogs, however, seem to drop off their entire coat about every 45 minutes or so. You think I'm joking...

Seriously... last summer, Dexter was just a few weeks old, so the understanding of his shedding capabilities was not known. This summer however, the shedding is full steam ahead and the tumbleweeds of dog hair produced by our mutt and the pup is unbelievable.

To combat the shedding of our husky (pup) and retriever/lab (mutt), we have increased the frequency of vacuuming and brushing to no avail. The hair is winning the war!

The fur babies better be glad that we love them unconditionally, otherwise they'd be in trouble in this matter. When the hubby or I take the time to vacuum (almost daily at present), we make our way completely through the house only to discover the hair has arrived again when we go back to the beginning to put the vacuum away.

The cartoon below doesn't even do it justice, but it tries...

Thank goodness for our Animal Vac and Furminator brush, without those, not only would the war be lost, so would each battle!

The Other Woman Arrives...

I can tell that Fall is around the corner, the school day for high schoolers, middle schoolers, and those elementary folks have begun again. The teachers are back to work, molding the minds of our youth and future. The streets are booming a bit more than they did during the summer months, mini vans moving to and fro to get their kiddos to their needed location before the bell rings. The clothes of summer are beginning to disappear from the shelves, and even though it's still 95 degrees or more outside, long sleeved shirts replace where tank tops once laid. Soccer is gearing up, and the dreaded pre-season for college athletes has arrived with a crash and a bang. Additionally, the college fall semester is also right around the corner. This is quickly apparent by the streets in our neighborhood (we live right next to the University) that are filled again with the many cars of the returned students.

And one more specific reality exists to remind me that fall is on the horizon... it's actually ANOTHER WOMAN in my husband's life. I know you might be quite surprised about this... how could I know about another woman and stand for it, right? And why would I write about such a thing on my blog??? Well... it helps that the other woman is actually NOT a woman at all, but rather what I call FANTASY FOOTBALL!

It has begun! I can't deny it... the other woman is back in my hubby's life, and I'm going to have to work to compete with her for his time throughout fall. Last night the reality of her arrival was thrown in my face... the first football game of the season (preseason) arrived on our television set... and the phone calls to discuss players, trades, and talk smack rang with frequency, while the emails began to fill my hubby's inbox. I hear the draft soon begins for both of my hubby's fantasy football leagues... oh the other woman has definitely arrived.
I'm so thankful that I am a woman that enjoys sports. I will enjoy the football on the television most of the time throughout fall. I'll enjoy the cooler weather that will come with the football overtime and the ability to curl up in my favorite sweatshirt and cuddle with my man while we watch men in tight pants tackle into each other with fervor. (he he) I love the competition and the adrenaline that pumps as your team is so close to taking the win home! I like football... however I know there will be time, (just like last year) when after the multiple games each evening airs night after night and my hubby spends phone call after phone call discussing this or that about fantasy football, that I'll say,

"I WANT MY HUBBY BACK! Can you leave the other woman for a bit and spend some time with your wife?"

And thankfully, just like last year when I get to that point, my amazing hubby will turn and look at me and say...

"One second..."

and after a few moments, the computer or phone will be put down, and I'll have some quality time with my man away from the other woman! Away from fantasy football.

Yup, it has begun. The other woman has arrived.

Bermuda Vacation: Part 4

Delayed Travels Home & Bermuda Cup Match

So considering that my hubby and I have heard much snickering regarding our "delay" in Bermuda, I think it's time that I do some explaining! In order to take this amazing vacation, we were blessed with the use of buddy passes from dear friends. The buddy passes (flying standby) went pretty smoothly on the way to Bermuda, but not so smoothly on the trip back.

As planned, four days and five nights after our arrival to Bermuda, we made our way to the airport. We were scheduled to fly standby on the 4pm flight from Bermuda to Atlanta that Wednesday and were expected to be back at work Thursday and Friday. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan. When we arrived at the airport over two hours before the scheduled flight, we were informed that the flight was already overbooked. Overbooked flights mean little room if any for standby folks. We waited the two hours or more and were not put on the flight home. This left us scrambling... what were we going to do? How would we get home? When would we get home? And what about work???

My hubby was intuitive enough to ask about the next flight option and its capacity. Turned out the next flight available was the next day and it was overbooked even more extensively than the Wednesday flight we had just missed. Therefore, our best option was to make an attempt Friday, two days after we expected to leave the island. So there we were standing with the reality that a) we were not going home Wednesday as planned, b) we would not be able to try to leave again until Friday, c) we would have to tell work that we would miss two additional days, d) we needed a ride back to Uncle Geoffrey and Aunt Mary's, and e) we were going to have some extra time in Bermuda!


We later found out that there were quite a few factors leading us to this reality and being delayed.

• There was only one flight a day from Bermuda to Atlanta, and actually only five flights total off the island per day.
• It was Cup Match time in Bermuda, a two-day public holiday involving a game of cricket. To give you an idea as to what Cup Match is, I'll let a website explain it a bit below...
  

  Bermuda celebrates this two-day public holiday to allow its residents to watch a game of cricket between a team from the west end, Somerset, and a team from the east end, St. George's. On Cup Match days, many natives (Bermudians) don't actually go to the game but choose instead to listen to it on the radio or watch it on TV (pay-per-view anyone?). You will find many residents camping and picnicking at the public (Government) parks or beaches or both.
  

  Tourism Information: If you are planning your trip to Bermuda in the first week in August, you will not see Bermuda as it is the rest of the year. It is sometimes hard to find the usual level of service on this weekend (week?) of the year because literally, "THE WHOLE ISLAND SHUTS DOWN!" Bus service is on a very limited schedule, it is absolutely impossible to get a taxi anytime the whole weekend, you may find that many of the workers at your hotel who are normally there and excellent workers, not there at all for a weekend. Hopefully, if you have planned a trip on this weekend, you want to see us locals partying and having a good time. Even the most reserved let their hair down on Cup Match! Come enjoy the gambling at the Crown and Anchor tables, enjoy local food from the many vendors, try a rum drink from one of many mixed drinks or beer tents, oh... and, of course, check out the Cricket match.

• In addition, many Bermuda natives LEAVE the island during this long holiday in order to go shopping in the US or Europe. This is what we ran into at the airport.
  

We definitely enjoyed our extra time on the gorgeous island with family, but have learned our lesson to know that at the end of July/beginning of August every year, Cup Match is a force to be reckoned with in Bermuda! Oh yeah! The newspaper does not even run during the holiday. ha!

Bermuda Vacation: Part 3

Our Travel Companions Along the Way

Throughout our entire Bermuda adventure, we were blessed to have three travel companions along the way: our cousin, Courtney and his handsome boys, Nolan (11) and Colton (7). These guys helped entertain us throughout our entire adventure in Bermuda. We laughed together, and joked with them, road the bus together and traveled with them, snorkeled together and laid on the boat with them, ate together and ended up all around vacationing with them. It was a great adventure with our travel companions along the way.

We learned a few things about our companions while we spent about six full days in their company. Firstly, I quickly discovered the reason why my hubby and Courtney got along so well from the start... they are both boys trapped in a man's body. They don't forget how to have fun like a little boy and become entertained by things in that way. From jumping off the boat doing acrobatic acts into the water with the young boys to finding crabs in the sand and water of the Atlantic Ocean, these "boys" had just as much fun as the little ones. It cracked me up. Aunt Mary often referred to Courtney and his sons as the "three boys",... once my hubby arrived it became "four". Nevertheless, the hubby and I surely enjoyed Courtney's company during our travels. It was awesome to see a man be a great dad to his sons right in front of ours all week, and to see their love for their daddy shining through and through. Thanks for the good example, Courtney.


Nolan, the oldest of the two Channon boys was more than a joy to travel with. I consider this stud of an eleven year old, my new buddy. We had a blast together. Watch out, I hear he has not one, but TWO girlfriends waiting on him back in Calgary. Like my hubby and I, Nolan is the oldest child of the family and therefore struggles with the "mother hen" syndrome or as my hubby calls it for a male, the "father figure" syndrome. You know what I mean, the oldest falling into playing the parent role, rather than just the older sibling role. Nolan does this too, sometimes. But beyond that tendency, he's super responsible and a super good kid. He loved catching frogs & lizards during the trip, and was very good at it. In addition, Nolan was the resident photographer for my hubby and I. Whenever we wanted a photo beyond our own self portrait, Nolan was up for the challenge. In the same way, he worked hard to explain to my hubby how to use the Canadian term "aye". Lesson after lesson, Nolan instructed when the term was used correctly or not, but my hubby butchered it repetitively, giving Nolan a good laugh. During the trip, my hubby gave him the nickname Robert, although this is his middle name, my hubby said it with a french accent.

Colton, the ham of this bunch is a seven year old to recon with. Always marching to a beat of his own, Colton brought about a great bit of comic relief to our vacation. With his hilarious facial expressions to pose for the camera to his constant singing and dancing, my hubby and I cracked up on more than one occasion to Colton's performances. Uncle Geoffrey put it best one day, while we sat on the verdana watching Colton dance with some lights in the Bermuda night, "you're going to be a performer one day". No doubt. If the performer biz does not workout for Colton, he may always fall back on photographer. With a photographer gene in his body, Colton brings "taking pictures" to another level. If there was a flower and a weed, you'd get a picture of the flower, and then a separate one of the weed. He took pictures of EVERYTHING. We laughed with Courtney on more than one occasion that we're all thankful for digital photographer, otherwise they'd be in trouble. Among other things, I learned that Colton is highly interested in three basic things during the trip: Lizards/Frogs, Looney Tunes, and Titanic. We heard about all of these things on a REGULAR basis. Colton was fun.


The hubby and I are looking forward to visit this bunch again soon! Oh, and for show, here is a shot of Colton's dancing act.



The last of the series, Bermuda Vacation: Part 4 - Delayed Travels Home & Bermuda Cup Match coming soon...

Bermuda Vacation: Part 2

Our Daily Adventures

From the moment our first full day arrived in Bermuda (Saturday), we attempted to do and see as many things as possible. At the same time, we did our best to enjoy the natural relaxation that the scenery around us brought to the table.

On Saturday we had the luxury of getting a ride on Geoffrey and Mary's beautiful boat. Captain Geoffrey took us out into the Atlantic Ocean to not only enjoy the grand ride, but also find a spot for snorkeling and later some fishing. I could have ridden on that delightful boat for hours, and actually we did just that. We anchored near the coral reefs to snorkel and enjoy lunch out on the seas.

The next day we again enjoyed a leisure morning before taking to the nearby waters. After having some good time of swimming and snorkeling, Captain Geoffrey gave me an opportunity to actually go sailing for the first time in my life. Instead of using the boat's motor as we had the day before, we used the sails on the ship to travel about the waters. I've always wanted to go sailing, it seems so beautiful and relaxing to those that have the luxury of riding rather than working during the sailing process. And man oh man was it worth the wait! I absolutely loved sailing. I loved sitting on the bow and enjoying the rock and rhythm of the ocean, as the strong winds pushed us across the waters. Seeing the sails be pulled from the port (left side) to starboard (right side) in order to change directions as needed by the Captain. It was fabulous and a very much enjoyed Sunday experience.

We took a break from the full Bermudian sun on Monday and instead traveled through the city by bus to visit the Bermuda Aquarium & Zoo and the Crystal Caves. We spent tons of time in the aquarium. My favorite part of the aquarium experience was the massive tank that held every sort of fish imaginable (0f course that's probably a vast exaggeration, but you know what I mean). We watched that tank for probably an hour solid, if not longer, enjoying the classical music that played throughout the halls and seeing the sharks and array of beautiful (and some ugly) fish flow past us. My hubby made a comment how one could sit in the aquarium near this tank for hours reading a book and enjoying the ambiance of the place.

The Crystal Caves were a neat experience too... although a bit expensive. The story goes that two young boys (12 yrs old or so) found the caves many moons ago after their cricket ball fell through a hole. The boys could hear that the ball had fallen a great distance, and therefore grabbed a 120 foot rope and climbed down in the pitch black, undiscovered cave (sounds like a foolish boy thing to do, doesn't it - who knows what COULD have been down there, yikes). Instead, the boys discovered that the caves house some beautiful blue and green pools of oceanic water, as well as many stalactites and stalagmites.

We did our best to pack our fourth and final (planned) full day in Bermuda with as many activities as we could see fit. Tuesday brought about a journey that took us from the house around 10 am and did not return us until about 6:15pm. We started with a ferry ride to the Dockyards. There we visited the Maritime Museum and were able to see the British military fortress that was built so many years ago. The Maritime Museum is set up in the six to ten acre Royal Naval Dockyard of Bermuda, which was set up as a direct result of the English America colonies declaring their independence from Britain 1783. Following the museum, we made our way to the bus route and traveled to the island's Gibb's Hill Lighthouse. Once we arrived at the foot of the lighthouse, we then climbed its many stairs to arrive at the top and enjoy the amazing view of Bermuda. After our lighthouse adventure, we lastly made our way to Horseshoe Bay, where we enjoyed the beach, relaxed, and played in the water until it was time to head home.

After not making our scheduled flight on Wednesday (more details about this in Bermuda Vacation: Part 4), we were given two additional full days in Bermuda. The first extra full day, Wednesday was pretty much wasted by spending over half a day in the airport expecting to head home. The second additional full day was much better utilized. We attempted to see a couple touristy things, but they were closed (more details on that in part 4)... nonetheless, we had a chance to see different parts of the island through our travels. And what ended up being one of our most favorite things of all during the entire trip, we were able to experience on this second extra full day Thursday. Captain Geoffrey took us out in his lovely boat again. This go around we waited until later in the evening to enjoy the water, leaving the house around 6pm or so. The Captain drove us to a lovely cove where we snorkeled, swam, and enjoyed dinner on the boat. Once the sun set, we made our way back in the dark and were able to enjoy the rhythm of the waves, the flourishing of the stars, and the sounds of jumping fish following the boat.


Bermuda Vacation: Part 3 - Our Travel Companions Along the Way coming soon...

Bermuda Vacation: Part 1

The Island & Our Amazing Hosts

I was not sure what to expect as we made our flight from Atlanta to Bermuda on Friday. I knew I was excited and anxious to get there and enjoying our first class experience, but also did not have any expectations. All I knew was that I looked forward to seeing family and getting to experience an island that my hubby was excited to bring me to.

As our flight began it's decent, the clearness of the Atlantic Ocean opened up to me through the plane's small window. I could see the waves rolling over one another and began to get more excited as I knew the island would show itself to us any minute. Wow. The beauty impressed me from the start...

We had the luxury of staying with our Uncle Geoffrey and Aunt Mary during our stay in Bermuda. They graciously opened their home to us, and showered us with food, drink, and exquisite company. We were blessed with the opportunity of staying in their daughter, Eileen's cottage while she was away on holiday volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. Mary using the term "cottage" to describe Eileen's place is quite humbling.... this place is wonderful. A loft of her own with everything you need to survive: bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, laundry area, living room area, etc. It was an awesome place to stay and although we missed seeing Eileen, we greatly appreciated and enjoyed her place while she was away. Check out the photos of her great place:

I couldn't speak highly enough of the beautiful nature of the island and the amazing nature of our hosts during this vacation. The hubby and I have been spoiled, rotten! Geoffrey and Mary not only housed us, but also carted us to and fro when we missed the bus, gave us bus passes abundantly, tickets to the Aquarium and Maritime Museum, took us on their boat, and helped enhance our vacation in every way. The food we ate nightly by way of Chef Geoffrey and Chef Mary was delicious and always fulfilling. With a glass of wine and/or can of Heineken always within reach, we enjoyed every meal.

To show off their hospitality even more, my hubby and I were expected to leave Bermuda on a 4pm flight Wednesday afternoon... flying standby has its downfalls, such as what we experienced this go around... the flight, as well as Thursday's was overbooked already and we were unable to leave as planned. Geoffrey and Mary opened their home once more and welcomed us for the additional two nights stay beyond our plan. Simply wonderful they are - family rocks!


Bermuda Vacation: Part 2 - Our Daily Adventures coming soon...