~ A PTR for a CAMPING Trip That Might Never Be ~ *TR Started (link inside)*

[earthfaries]

Hi Carissa Just checking in. How exciting about your upcoming camping trip!

Oh, and happy belated birthday

 

[jordanyosh]

My idea of "roughing it" is a hotel with no bar.

I would have to agree.

 

[longneckthree]

Extremely stressed I'm considering withdrawing from school at the moment so that I can focus on Connor's issues. He had an apt. yesterday and it didn't go well (read that as basically we still don't have any answers and I'm frustrated!). There's just so much going on in my life at the moment and I'm feeling severely overwhelmed.

Thanks for asking Jennifer I know it will get better.

Sending my support and pixie dust!

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Just giving you a bump. I know you are busy but I'm hoping you will come back and give us an update on everything. I've been wondering how your class went and how Connor is doing.

.....when you have time, of course. We miss you around here!

 

[pamouselover]

Hi Carissa,
Hope you are enjoying this great weather we have been having here on the east coast.

 

[carissanboys]

And taking the summer off from classes sounds like a good plan, and shouldn't set you back much. You deserve a summer break, too!

Thanks! I agree since I've been taking classes pretty much non-stop since January '07.

Hi Carissa Just checking in. How exciting about your upcoming camping trip!

Oh, and happy belated birthday

Thanks!

I would have to agree.

Camping builds character

Sending my support and pixie dust!

Thanks sweetie

Just giving you a bump. I know you are busy but I'm hoping you will come back and give us an update on everything. I've been wondering how your class went and how Connor is doing.

.....when you have time, of course. We miss you around here!

Thanks Cherie I miss everyone too! I will try and check in on everyone's threads this week.

Hi Carissa,
Hope you are enjoying this great weather we have been having here on the east coast.

The weather has been lovely! I bought some flowers (just hanging ones for my porch at the moment - will maybe plant some this weekend) and put up a bird feeder. I love spring.

 

[carissanboys]

I apologize for my disappearance. I finished my class on Monday and six "free" months loom ahead of me. Still waiting on my final grades, but let's just say my 4.0 will be out the window. This professor was super picky. At least the pressure to maintain that 4.0 is gone.

Connor is doing ok. I've been working on the potty training and we've had some success. I will continue to focus on that in the coming weeks. He has his yearly checkup next month and I'll talk with the doctor at that time for a referral to have him evaluated. And if he can be more consistent with the toilet use I will sign him up for preschool.

Now that all of that is taken care of...

I haven't thought much about Disney the past few weeks, I'm afraid to say. Dh and I are contemplating a trip next April/May to celebrate our ten year wedding anniversary and I'm not sure if this will impact our tentative camping trip to Disney. Currently our dream plans are big, but we may scale it back. If anyone has any ideas for a romantic getaway in the states, I'd love to hear your ideas!

Our camping trip at the end of June is still scheduled and I need to get together with my SIL about the food. I would really love to plan a trip in May, but like I mentioned before, with soccer - that just isn't going to happen. The next month is a whirlwind of games! I was looking at our shedule for this summer and with the camping trip in June, our trip to Alaska in July, and a possible trip to Maine in August, there isn't much time left for camping! Soccer will be starting up again at the end of August so this camping trip might end up being the only one of the year.

The big news around here is that we adopted a new kitten Her name is Oreo (Connor named her) and she's very playful and very sweet. She's definitely a lap cat. I've already fallen in love with her.

That's all I have for you now. I'm trying to stay away from the computer these days so that I can get things done around the house that I've been putting off forever. But, I appreciate the posts and I will definitely try and check in on everyone's PTR's and TR's this week.

Up Next...My Birthday Weekend - Mini TR

 

[scottny]

nice to see you back. glad things are getting a little better. a romantic vacation, that sounds nice.
I hope everything u hope for works out your way.

 

[jordanyosh]

Carissa, Glad you popped in...I hope you can pop in a bit more often...

10 year anniversary? I have a ton of suggestions, but it really depends what type of getaway you're looking for.

Tropical--Hawaii or the Florida Keys

California-San Diego,San Francisco, Napa Valley(Wine Country), Yosemite, Carmel

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Glad you are back and updated!! So glad to read that everyone is doing ok. Love the new kitty. So cute!! Sounds like you guys have some fun plans coming up soon.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hi! Welcome Back! You've been missed !

Sounds like you have a busy summer planned -- at least it is "fun" busy!

Oreo is precious!!!

Good luck with the potty-training!

 

[irene_dsc]

Carissa, Glad you popped in...I hope you can pop in a bit more often...

10 year anniversary? I have a ton of suggestions, but it really depends what type of getaway you're looking for.

Tropical--Hawaii or the Florida Keys

California-San Diego,San Francisco, Napa Valley(Wine Country), Yosemite, Carmel

Ooh - dh and I took or 1st trip together (still dating) on a similar CA trip - Napa (camping), Yosemite (camping), Hearst Castle/Cambria (motel), drive up the coast to Monterey...(I forget where we stayed there).

 

[carissanboys]

nice to see you back. glad things are getting a little better. a romantic vacation, that sounds nice.
I hope everything u hope for works out your way.

Thanks Scott

Carissa, Glad you popped in...I hope you can pop in a bit more often...

10 year anniversary? I have a ton of suggestions, but it really depends what type of getaway you're looking for.

Tropical--Hawaii or the Florida Keys

California-San Diego,San Francisco, Napa Valley(Wine Country), Yosemite, Carmel

Those all sound like great ideas. My main issue at this point is that I'm trying to come up with something closer to home so that it won't cost so much to travel there (and then we can spend more and enjoy our stay - whereever that may be). At this point I'm actually thinking of finding a nice B & B or Inn in a historic town. Gettysburg is nearby and there are some nice places that aren't right in town so we could relax out in the country, but also spend a lot of time looking at historic stuff (which is something I love to do). Add in some nice restaurants and I think that sounds like a perfect romantic getaway

Glad you are back and updated!! So glad to read that everyone is doing ok. Love the new kitty. So cute!! Sounds like you guys have some fun plans coming up soon.

Thanks for sticking around!

Hi! Welcome Back! You've been missed !

Sounds like you have a busy summer planned -- at least it is "fun" busy!

Oreo is precious!!!

Good luck with the potty-training!

Thanks! Busy summer for sure.

Ooh - dh and I took or 1st trip together (still dating) on a similar CA trip - Napa (camping), Yosemite (camping), Hearst Castle/Cambria (motel), drive up the coast to Monterey...(I forget where we stayed there).

The only things I've seen in California are the insides of airports. Someday I'll do more traveling out that way, but it's pretty pricey to fly there.

 

[carissanboys]

I had mentioned that I would try and post some pictures from my birthday weekend when my friend and I went into to D.C. for the Cherry Blossom Festival and to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.

On Saturday, March 29th, we took the metro into D.C. Our first stop was the mall and the obligatory pictures in front of the Washington Monument and Capitol Building. We also got to see the cherry blossoms. I'm not sure if kite flying is a big part of the festival, but I have NEVER seen so many kites being flown at one time in my life. You can see a few in the following picture.

We then went to the American Indian Museum, which I'd been to a couple of times, but it has a great food court with foods from the different tribes (VERY pricey though). We hung out a bit in there and then went to the Natural History Museum to catch a 3D Imax movie about prehistoric sea creatures. Very cool.

When the movie finished, we headed back out to the mall to catch the metro home. It was getting super crowded (I've never seen it so crowded before) and they weren't letting anyone get on the metro at that stop. So we walked a few blocks to the next one.

The next day we headed into the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. It was another sunny, but windy and cool day. Besides just walking around that area, we went up the World Trade Center to the 27th floor and got some amazing views of the city.

Camden Yards in the distance:

I had to take a picture of this:

We then decided to go to the African American Museum, which is only a few years old. We walked in and basically had the place to ourselves. They were having a special exhibit of quilts that all had to do with Jazz. That was probably our favorite part of the place. Very interesting. I wish I could have taken pictures of the artwork.

We didn't spend as long as we would have liked looking around as my feet were getting very sore (I wore my crocs instead of my sneakers). We began our walk to find Bertha's. We had done our research ahead of time and had settled on Bertha's for lunch. It's an Irish Pub and supposedly has amazing mussels. We had no intention of eating mussels, but they also had crabcakes. My friend really wanted to eat some.

The meal was delicious. I started out with a Guinness, of course (come on - I was in an Irish Pub!!!). We both had the crabcakes, which came with a side salad, roasted asparagus, and some potato salad. The crabcakes were lump crab meat and no fillers. Yumm! I'm not a big seafood eater, but I love crab because it's just so sweet.

We each were only able to finish one of our crabcakes so we brought two home for Chuck. He was a happy camper. On the walk back to the parking garage I snapped a couple of pictures.

When we returned home, Chuck and the boys had decorated for my "party" and Chuck had even made me a cake (he's never done that before). It was a great weekend and one of the best birthdays I've had in a long time.

Up Next...Take A Seat

 

[irene_dsc]

Hmm...never been to Gettysburg, so don't know much about it. Savannah is nice (if you aren't there in hot & humid summer, argh!) - lots of historic buildings, and very walkable. Not far from beaches, either. Cape Cod also has a lot to see. I haven't spent as much time on the east coast, so don't have as many ideas for there.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Looks like you had an absolute blast in DC and Baltimore!

Now I wish I had some of those crab cakes for lunch as opposed to the sandwich I packed this morning.

 

[Native NYer]

Oreo is a cutie!!!

You've got a lot of traveling planned.

Your birhday weekend sounded fun. I need to try Bertha's next time I'm in the area.

 

[carissanboys]

Hmm...never been to Gettysburg, so don't know much about it. Savannah is nice (if you aren't there in hot & humid summer, argh!) - lots of historic buildings, and very walkable. Not far from beaches, either. Cape Cod also has a lot to see. I haven't spent as much time on the east coast, so don't have as many ideas for there.

I thought about Savannah. Might have to look into it more. We've been there on our way back from Disney, but have never done any sightseeing.

Looks like you had an absolute blast in DC and Baltimore!

Now I wish I had some of those crab cakes for lunch as opposed to the sandwich I packed this morning.

Tell me about it My lean cuisine frozen meal was a poor, poor comparison.

Oreo is a cutie!!!

You've got a lot of traveling planned.

Your birhday weekend sounded fun. I need to try Bertha's next time I'm in the area.

A lot of travel keeps me happy. I know you're a fellow travel lover yourself

 

[Native NYer]

I also love to travel. I just hate unpacking

 

[scottny]

the pics were gorgeous.

the crab cakes looked delicious. I know what dinner is tomorrow.