Busy Momma

I’m working really hard at focusing on the positive.  It’s been pure chaos the last week.  It’s not easy, but I swear it’s the only thing keeping me sane right now.  Kids are on spring break this week, so hopefully it will be a little easier to fit it all in.  I’m taking Thursday off to take them to the zoo, so that will help.

We’re also taking off for the weekend in a couple of weeks.  Were going to the ocean, but I think we may borrow my friends cabin instead.  We are just getting caught up on bills and I really don’t want to go blow a few hundred dollars we could put into savings instead.  Plus then we can bring all the dogs with no problems too.

It’s no secret that I’m always looking for a deal on vacation. I’ve found a fun wine themed cruise that I would just love to go on. What better than to be pampered on a big boat with no responsibility and lots of different wines to taste? Not much! You can see other themed cruises in the cruise specials at cruiselocators.com. I am looking forward to running off to Mexico in October and can’t stop shopping for what we want. It’s time to commit now.

If it’s by a port, then you can bet there is a cruise that will take you there. There is even a cruise to visit Middle Earth and be a true Lord of the Rings junky. Somewhere warm or somewhere cold, it’s all beautiful and it’s all in a pampered setting. Or at least it is for me when I book a luxury cruise. I’m not going anywhere in basic. lol

I’m so damn jealous. My friend went to Vegas and watch the national pro rodeo finals and had a blast. It was just too late for me to come up with the money. All I had to pay for was my plane ticket too darn it. Granted I wouldn’t have gotten into the rodeo, but the whole environment there is just awesome. They had the hotel already paid for.

They had so much fun. Of course she emailed me pictures of them all cowgirled up. And not only that, but they made a ton of friends while they were there. She even flew most of the way across the country to spend New Year’s with a group of them. Ahh, the single life huh? lol Granted, not worth becoming single for, but I can live through her. lol She texted me from their huge dairy farm and said they were going to put on a team roping show on New Year’s day for everyone. New Year’s and cowboys, not a bad hit. lol

So it’s that time of year already. Wrangler National Finals Rodeo tickets are on sale and I so want to go. We really want to go to Vegas, but we aren’t into gambling. This would be the best reason to go. How much cooler it would be to watch it live instead of on tv. I don’t want to watch on tv again and look for my friend in the audience. And here about all the fun they had dancing until 7am every morning. lol

Last year we caught the final day of the event on tv. Thankfully, because it was so good. Makes you cringe and sit on the edge of your seat. We so much rather be there.

Well you might have read my previous posts or even seen the national tv on how we have record rainfall here in the pacific northwest. Yes, record rainfalls would be a lot. Duh, it’s Seattle. lol We’re used to constant rain, but not big huge drops. And it washed away a lot of the snow we just got in the mountains. ARGHHH, don’t mess with my boarding!

I’m ready to get out of here. Can you tell? My posts have been about here and there and sun. I’d love to go on a snowboard vacation, but right now all I can think of is sun and sand. Right now Africa sounds awesome and I’ve found some cheap flights to Egypt. I’ll have to ask my friend/client if she’s been to Egypt. She is from Swaziland and has of course traveled way more than I have just by coming here to the states. lol

My Mom always wanted to be an archeologist and I wish she would book a trip to Egypt and see the ruins and maybe visit a site, maybe dig a little. You only live once and I’m all about doing anything you’ve always dreamed of. With all of the history in Egypt you just can’t go wrong. Oh and the shopping is to die for!

My Aunt is going to move down to San Diego to be with her husband now. I’m totally going to miss her when she does move, but they have been living this way for months now and I can’t imagine how hard it must be on their relationship. She can’t wait to get us all down there. I was down there the summer before my senior year and I can’t wait to go back.

I know the kids will love going to the San Diego Zoo and I’ve found a great place to pick up discount tickets for the zoo and other attractions. They have other cities to choose from like Savannah, but I’m all over the legoland and harbor tours in San Diego. There’s a super cool Haunted Old Town walking tour for only $16.50 and a haunted ghost tour by bus. I’m so going to hit that with hubby. What fun!

Sign up for the Trusted Tours and Attractions eNewsletter for stories, travel tips and fun blogs to visit. You will also be entered to win 4 free attraction tickets in the city of your choice just for signing up. I mostly want to be updated on new tours and great deals. lol

I was so excited to go down there and hang out on the beach of course. But now that I’ve looked at just some of the fun attractions we can visit I’m super excited to get down there. Now to check out other cool tours in different cities.

Well I am on the hunt for places to stay next October when we go to Mexico. The more we’ve talked about it, the more people have said they want to go at the same time. lol Well this leads me to just wanting to get a condo or house instead of hotel rooms. Much cheaper to split it three or four ways instead of all of us paying over $200 a night for a plain old hotel room.

I came across Rocky Point condo rental in my surfing and I’ve spent way too long going through their rentals already. The houses are gorgeous. It’s very easy to use. You type in the date of arrival, how many days you will be there and how many occupants. Then when you are surfing around the houses it will show you the price for your stay immediately when the house comes up.

You can search for only houses on the beach if that is important to you. Many of the houses come with more than one master bedroom so I love that. A friend of mine stayed at a house like that with some other families and it worked out really well.

So I’m going to be looking at houses on the Rocky Point condo rental site for quite a while. lol I can’t wait to show hubby all of the gorgeous choices and some of the great deals. Oh and make sure to check out the deals on some of the houses. There are also reviews of some of them so you can hear what others thought of their stay. MEXICO BABY! Next October!

Here’s the deal. I honestly need an adult vacation. I need to run away with my husband. We have a bunch of friends and family that I can’t wait to run away with. I hope you know the kind of friends/family I speak of. The kind that you can go on vacation with, but they won’t try to guilt you into spending every minute with them? Yes, I am blessed with the friends and family…now…that we can do that with.

We are going to Cabo next Oct. Our friends just got back and said they are going with us next year. lol Then my Aunt’s bday is the same as Sammy Hagar’s, so they are going with us as well. SWEET!!! I love everyone involved and we are going to have so much fun. But I’m all about saving us money. Why should we all get hotel rooms when we can rent a condo or house together?

One of my clients has booked <a href=”http://www.vlbo.com”>vacation rentals</a> with friends and it went awesome. You just have to know the right people to go with. Last time she even took her 5 year old and a nanny. They honestly had a blast, I got email updates for her fitness and diet. lol

I know if we could find a big condo/house with 4 bedrooms we’d be set. I could get my in-laws to join us as well. I look forward to spreading the good time with other couples that are happily together. What a difference that is!

And HERE you can visit exactly what I’m talking about. No, it’s not in “Cabo”. But it has the most incredible view, pool, and living area. It’s close to the quiet markets and the party night clubs. I’m so there!

Book it out ahead of time so you can enjoy every minute. Book your vacation rentals now and enjoy who you’re with. Yes, that is my hubby, I’m a prude. ROFLMAO

Here’s where I’ve dreamed of going, THE END. It’s honestly the end all be all of vacations for me. I’d love to take the kids and that is an option, but first I want to go with just my hubby and enjoy the tropics. Yes, I am selfish and I’m not afraid to admit it. I want the full meal deal. I want to know that my vacation is done paid for and all I need is to have my waiter (yes, the hot one) bring me drinks and watch my hubby sleep beside me in the sun.

You have any idea what doesn’t help? Club Med has special deals on last minute vacations. Is it not easier to book at the last second? How about booking 50% less at the last second? OH yeah, I’m all over that. LOL Did I not mention, you are paying 50% less for the entire vacation? There are also great deals on vacation dates. Every time I try to book a vacation, I hear about the black out dates when it is the best time for me to go.

Club Med is the tops on my vacations. I can’t believe how many people do not know about all-inclusive vacations. I am so all over them.

I know everyone’s been waiting with baited breath right. Where’s the posts about Reno. Well life didn’t slow down once I got home so I didn’t get to posting. I’ll start now and just go through day by day. lol But let’s just say I am so glad I went. It was a blast and I can’t wait to take hubby and then the kids down there as well. It’s my new favorite place to go. So beware, these will be long posts!

We almost didn’t make our flight though. We checked in online at my Aunt’s house, then took off to the airport. We were there with plenty of time to spare. Well over an hour. My Aunt thought it was weird cause our gate was somewhere she’s never loaded before and she’s been to Reno a lot. Her (just like family) lived there for many, many years before passing away recently. So I grabbed a bottle of water, Mom bought coffee and my Aunt bought a new suitcase to fit her laptop. lol So jealous, I’m about ready to trash on mine cause it gets put in my gym bag. Not safe! Luckily my Aunt gets a phone call and it reminds me to check the time on my cell phone. WTF? It says 10:12 and we were supposed to start loading at 10:01. The plane leaves at 10:20. So my Aunt goes up to the ticket desk and low and behold, they’d changed the gate an hour before the flight. HOLY SHIT, to the other side of the airport. That would be Sea-tac airport for those that understand. We aren’t talking about a quick run, we have to get on the underground shuttle to get there and then RUN! lol But we made it and it was a mess to get our overheads in since we were almost the last to get on.

I now know why pilots like to fly. It’s the take off. I LOVE THAT! Going over 150mph rocks! I could do that all day long. lol

We got to Reno with no issues at all. It was rocky through the Sierra’s before landing, but it was ok. We couldn’t get ahold of my Great aunt and cousing after we landed, but low and behold, their plane had been late and they were right in front of us waiting for the hotel shuttle. lmao Awesome timing.

I really liked Circus Circus. I felt very safe there and since it’s connected to the silver legacy and the el dorado, you never have to leave the 6 block complex. Mom brought me some great luck and I was up $2.50 by the end of the night. Since I only gamble with $20 this is a great feat. lmao We had lunch and dinner with my relatives and that was a blast. My Great aunt had drinks with me (she’s in her late 70’s) and she also made me eat half her dinner. I wasn’t hungry, but you don’t argue with her. She’ll kick your butt no matter how old she is. I so love her!

We had a good time in the midway as well. One cousin is only 16 so we went and played a bunch of the games with her. My Aunt and I were doing some serious competition. I won two stuffies so that was enough for me. One for each of my kids. lol You can easily drop more money down in the midway than in the casino, it’s horrible!

Mom and I read our books for a little bit that night, but didn’t stay up late. It was a great start to our trip.

I won’t believe it until I get on the plane. lol I’ve flown once in my life. To San Diego on a family vacation my senior year. My Mom was so freaked out I couldn’t even leave me seat and my seat belt had to stay on the whole time. So it’s only fitting that the next time I fly, 17 years later, I’m going with my Mom again.

My Mom, Aunt, Great Aunt, and a bunch of cousins I haven’t met are meeting up in Reno on Tues. morning. I have so much to get done by then. I know hubby is a little jealous, but he’s doing a great job of holding it back. I’m sure if I wasn’t having to room with my odd Mom it would be a different story. LMAO

So since it is mid-week the trip is uber cheap. $368 with airfare and room for both of us! Two nights stay and 2 round trip tickets. WOW, yes hubby and I will be making that trip. Hell, that cheap we can actually take the kids sometime. We’ll be staying at the Circus Circus. The funniest thing is I don’t gamble, so I’ll be wandering around all three of the adjoined hotels. I’ll report back this weekend when I get back.

Keep the internet in order till I get back.