Here's a picture of my kitchen floor. It's African Gold Slate. I love it! Otherwise, progress is moving along..slowly but surely. I have some base cabinets, my island, A WORKING SINK!!!! and a stove. Today they're coming to install my new countertop. Then we need the wall cabinets to be hung, the desk and cabinet around the frig to be built, and a microwave "cubby" installed and the electricians to come back and finish the lighting. Then trim work is all that's needed. Hopefully all this will happen within the next week or two.

Braden left today for boy scout camp. The game plan is for him to be there until Saturday. We'll see if that actually happens. While he's gone, I plan to "dejunk" his bedroom. He's a big collector of, let's see, how should I put this, oh yeah, CRAP.

Next Sunday we're all going to a Yankee's baseball game. But, my oldest son called on Friday and said he's coming for a visit over that weekend, so I'll offer my ticket to him. I'm sure he'd much rather see the game than I would. There's a whole busfull of people going, and I was only going to socialize. (There Jilly, are you happy I mentioned him).

Other than that, I don't have much else to report. I go back to work on the 17th of August...the summer goes so quickly, and I didn't get done all that I usually do. Oh well, there's always Christmas break.

Here's what was disappointing about our vacation. The resort itself.

First of all, the part that ticked me off the most...the resort boasted free water activities. Glass bottom boat rides, snorkeling, parasailing, kayaking, wind surfing, etc. Braden really wanted to learn to snorkel, and that was part of the appeal of this resort. Well, we came to find out that while snorkeling is free, the use of the equipment and the boat ride out to the snorkeling area is not. So much for free snorkeling. They charged $20/person for a half an hour. The only water activities that were completely free was the kayaking and boggie boarding.

We wound up getting this local guy, who lived in a shack next to the resort, to take us snorkeling. It was wonderful. We walked to this little lagoon area of the beach where there were virtually no waves, and he taught Braden and JJ how to snorkel. He took his time with them, and they really enjoyed the experience. Of course we had to pay him $15 a person, but they snorkeled for close to an hour, and he actually taught them how to snorkel. Plus, if we were in need of starfish, shells, aloe, or weed, we could go to the same guy.

When we booked this trip, it was advertised as "all inclusive". There are three restaurants and a buffet. Some of the restaurants had items that you'd have to pay an upcharge for, but most of what was offered was included. Not so. The buffet was the only thing completely included. Sure, one of the other restaurants had a couple of choices that were included, but the majority were upcharged by about $15 a piece....so that would mean spending $60 for the four of us to eat at an all-inclusive resort. We did that two nights, and the food was good, but it just wasn't in the budget to do it every night.

We arrived at the resort on Saturday, and on Sunday when we went to take showers, we noticed that the showerhead sprayed all over the bathroom. We reported it to the front desk. The next day it was still the same, only this time the head flew off when we turned the shower on. Also, the toilet kept running. And running. Keith had to keep going in there, lifting the lid off the tank and fixing it. We reported that too. Finally, on Wednesday, the plumber came and fixed both problems. Wednesday! We started reporting it on Sunday.

Also, and this might seem small, but, we had a room booked for 4 people. Everyday, we had either no washcloths, or 2 washcloths. What the heck?

The main pool, the sports pool, is where we spent a lot of time. Playing volleyball, pool olympics, etc. The ladder to get out of the pool was missing a step, and the top step was loose. While it was amusing to sit there and watch unsuspecting people climb out of the pool at first, it's obviously a safety issue. The ladder was like that for our entire stay. Never fixed. One of the pool's interior lights kept coming out of it's socket and falling to the bottom of the pool. Someone would report it, one of the employees would climb in and fix it, but the next day it would pop out again.

Now, one other thing that slightly annoyed me. I was telling Allan this....no one offered to sell me any pot. Not that I smoke pot, or wanted to buy some, but am I so "mom" looking, that no one even asked? C'mon....give me a break.

So, while we enjoyed our vacation, it wasn't because we enjoyed the resort so much. I wouldn't go to that resort again, trust me.

"One love, one heart...."

What a great vacation we had!!
The weather was beautiful...I couldn't have ordered any better. The kids had a blast. The resort was along a gorgeous stretch of beach. The ocean water was so warm, it was like wading in clear, green bath water. We all had a great time. The kids met other kids from England, Canada and Jamaica and really enjoyed hanging out with them and learning new phrases. By the end of the week, Braden was speaking with a bit of an English accent.

Braden leared to swing from a trapeze, JJ went jet skiing, we all kayaked and Keith and the kids learned to snorkel. There were a couple of negative things with the resort, but I'll post them in a different post, because I want this one to be POSITIVE POSITIVE POSITIVE!

We ate, we drank, we relaxed, we played. We went shopping in these little shacks next to the resort where people sold crafts, shells, etc. One of them was painted to look like a big bullseye, which I thought was odd, until I looked at the sign hanging above the door. It said, Target. Upon closer inspection, some of the other shops were named Walmart, Sears, Tiffany and Walgreens. I wish I would have had my camera with me for that little walk.

We also went on an evening boat ride to the Luminous Lagoon where there are microscopic organisms in the water that emit a phosphorescent light when you agitate the water. It looks like you glow in the dark. I'll post some pictures, but I'm not very good at getting them to show up where I want them.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip that we all enjoyed very much!

"Oh happy day"

I changed my blog layout, and added some pictures on the side. What do you think?

Construction is continuing. While we're away, my slate floor will be installed and I'm promised that when I come back, we'll have an island (with a working sink) and a stove, at the very least. I'm really tired of cooking on the grill. I primed and painted the entire space. A nice, soft yellow. A very different choice for me, as I usually go with bold colors. But I like it.

Now that we FINALLY have all the paperwork needed for our vacation, we're all getting thoroughly excited. Yesterday I started putting aside all the clothes we'll be taking, called the boarder for the dog, and arranged for the neighbor kid to come and feed the cats, and water my plants. I'm looking forward to relaxing, being waited on, and eating real meals! We leave Friday night and won't be back until late next Saturday. I expect you all to behave while I'm gone. Wait, who am I kidding, no I don't. Thanks to all of you for your positive thoughts while we were in limbo!

WE GOT IT!!!
We got JJ's passport. We got in line at 4:30 this morning (we slept in the car in a parking garage last night....it was extremely hot and uncomfortable-but well worth it) and by 1:pm we had the passport! Now we can get excited about vacation!
And, some of the horror stories from people in line. The guy in front of me is from Jordan, but he's a citizen. The rest of his family is still in Jordan. He and his wife are traveling over there and leaving Thursday. They're going for his brother's wedding. The entire wedding was planned around when the wife could get off work and fly over, since the family has never met her. They applied for her passport in March. Every time they try to check it online, it says, "pending". So, they drove 7 hours from Pittsburgh, stayed in a hotel, and spent hours in line this morning. When they got inside, they were told that Fed Ex had her passport and it was being delivered to her house this morning! She just started laughing like a crazy person when they told her. I can still hear that laugh.

I have finally received, and have in a very safe place, the notarized letter from DHS saying that I can apply for a passport for JJ. I called the Passport hotline on June 30th, as my buddy Justin from Arlen Specter's office told me to do, and the first available appointment was for July 10th at 10:30. We leave on the 13th! But, I took it. I called Justin back, and he said that that shouldn't be a problem because I will get the passport the same day. We were all on cloud nine. JJ was finally getting excited about the vacation (he's amazed that everything is included, and that he won't have to make his bed for a whole week!).

The plumbers came back, and the electricians did their thing. The drywall guys were here for a few days and it's ready to be primed and painted.

Yesterday, Justin called me again. He said he wanted to give me a REALITY CHECK. The past few days he hadn't been able to get through on the "congressional hotline" at the passport office, he thinks they have the phone off the hook. He heard they were turning people away, even if they had appointments. He said that just because my appointment was for 10:30, I should plan on going early. I told him that I thought I'd get there about an hour early, and he said I should go even earlier than that. He told me he'd just received a call from a guy who got in Philly about 5:am for his appointment that was supposed to be sometime in the morning. The guy said when he got there, there was already a line formed all the way down the sidewalk. He was able to get his passport, but he'd already applied, and was only going to pick it up in person.

Now I'm worried again. I planned to leave around 8:am, but now I think I'll have to leave hours earlier than that. The kids want to go down the night before, and sleep in line like we're going to a concert or waiting for a new video game. I don't even know if you're allowed to do that. Plus, it's in downtown Philadelphia...is it safe to do that? They think it's an adventure. I think it's going to be dangerous. Plus, as fun as they think it might be, at three in the morning, when they can't sleep and they're tired and hungry, they're not going to think it's fun anymore, and I especially know how Braden gets. I wish I was familiar with the area. JJ said it's not a bad area, so we'd be safe. Don't get me wrong, I'd do anything to get him his passport, I'd camp out all night...but I don't know if having the kids do that is such a smart idea. Although, if we did it, and got his passport, wouldn't that be a great story for them to tell?!

Today I have to wipe down all the newly spackled drywall, then paint primer on it, and the old kitchen walls. But first I have to move all of my old kitchen stuff that I have in boxes and piles out of the attached dining area and into the living room because the dining area has to be painted too. Tomorrow I'm painting the actual color on the walls (whisper yellow). But, as things naturally go for me, I've run into a problem. I planned on painting the ceiling the same as the walls, since the color is so light, that way I won't have to cut in....I HATE CUTTING IN! But, the way my house is designed, it's one celing through the whole downstairs. Where do I stop the yellow? Would it look strange to have a straight line down the entrance, where the eye thinks the dining area ends and the living room begins? Even if I do paint it white, the white paint that's on the ceiling now is five years old, and I don't even know what it was called. New white paint is never going to match. I still don't know what I'm going to do. And, I'm painting it tomorrow!

Why is everything so complicated? Family vacation....not so fast Miss Smarty Pants! Paint the kitchen, will you? We'll see how that goes! It's truly a miracle that I don't drink.

Per Emma's request

<---Here's a picture of the mural I did a few years ago....some of you may have already seen it.

The other one is a painting (not a mural) I'm working on now. It's nearly done. I have to do a little more work on the shadow, and maybe add some detail of some kind on the orange-ish building.

I thought I'd update you a little on the kitchen redo. First of all, this is what the kitchen looked like before we began....





The second picture is what it looked like midway through the demolition.


Now, keep in mind, we're not doing anything to the section where the table and chairs are in the first picture. They're removing the wall in the second picture, to open it up to the new part. Since then, it's been plumbed, wired and insulated. Drywall is going to start going up tomorrow. Next week, it's getting primed and painted, then, while we're on vacation, the cabinets are going to start going back in. After that, the floor goes in, then it should be done. I thought it would be done in June, now it looks like August till it's completely finished.