I’m sure you all remember Charlie.

The infamous orange cat

He is the grey tabby cat looking up at our orange tabby cat in the picture. Well, about two weeks ago, I woke up in the morning to him peeing on our bed. He never does anything like this, so I followed him downstairs to the litter box and watched him continue to strain while he tried to go to the bathroom. So, I made a vet appointment for that evening. We took him to our local vet and they examined him. The doctor didn’t see any kind of blockage, but Charlie’s bladder was also empty, so he couldn’t really get a good picture of what was going on. He decided to flush Charlie out with IV fluids and give him some medication to take for the next two weeks. We took him home and gave him the medicine for the next week or so. Then my husband & I got lax. I admit, it was definitely not the right thing on our parts and I would never do it again. But, Charlie seemed fine. He was his old self again. And I know that when I’m sick, I don’t always finish out my medication either. When I feel better, I usually stop. I know, I know, everyone in the medical community is probably hating me right now, but I have to be honest, it’s true.

Anyways, fast forward to this past Wednesday Evening. I come home and I go online but I notice Charlie is yelling a lot in the basement. I mean, yelling and yelling. So, I go downstairs. Something is obviously wrong with him. Not only has he tried to go to the litter box about 10 times with no success, he is also hissing at Izzy (something I’ve never seen him do before). So, I pick him up and feel around to see if I can feel anything. In place of his normally small bladder is this HUGE orange like (that’s what the doctor called it) shape. So Ryan & I decided we needed to take him to emergency care right away. Our normal vet wasn’t open, so we took Charlie to the place we got him neutered. Now, back up for a second. When we originally got him neutuered, I knew we got ripped off. But, It was a once in a lifetime thing, so I just didn’t pay attention. Same thing this past Wednesday. When we were ready and needing to take Charlie in, this was the only Vet who was open, so I didn’t think anything about it. Our cat needed care, and he was going to get it! 

So we rush to the vet and she feels something is definitely wrong. She felt the size of his bladder also. So, she decided to put him immediately on IV and start trying to clear the blockage in his bladder and putting a catheter in. So, she kept him overnight obviously. She also mentioned that he wasn’t up to date on his shots and that he would have to have them before she could do anything about it. Anyways, they eventually figured out that his blockage wasn’t crystals from a urinary track infection like our other vet had previously thought. He actually had mucus and other blockages in his urinal track. She didn’t really give me an explanation as to why these things happen and in fact she is still waiting to this day for the total test results as to what the mucus contained and what not. He ended up staying up Saturday. Grand Total for the Vet Bill? in the $700 range.

I know the vet took excellent care of Charlie when he needed it, but I also know she ripped us off, big time. I know that if I had gone to our normal vet, it only would have been $300/$400. But, when your animal needs care,  you give it care.

Throughout the whole process I told a few people close to me what this process was costing us. One person told me to simply put the animal down and get another one. How can people be so cruel? As far as I am concerned, an animal is like a person. When you purchase a pet, even though you did not give birth to it, you are still committing yourself for the 15-20 year life range. You are promising to take care of (which means ridiculously high vet bills at times) and love this pet!

Today I woke up to a story, front page, of the Philadelphia Inquirer saying how many people are relinquishing the pets they have to shelters due to hard economic times. Or when their pet needs high medical attention and therefore expensive vet bills, just letting the pet go or simply putting the pet down. I don’t understand people. How could anyone do that? I understand that Ryan & I are blessed and lucky right now to be able to pay such a bill. But, I also know that if we didn’t have the money, we’d still have come up with it, somehow. Ask the vet for a payment plan, get rid of your TiVo for a month, do something! It’s a shame what America is coming to in some instances. As far as I am concerned a pet is a living, breathing, mammal. And if you make that commitment when you take it into your home, you need to stick with it, forever.

I love going out to breakfast with my husband on Saturday or Sunday mornings. I don’t know why, but it’s something that I just look forward to all week and always brings me joy! Yesterday we went to a local diner, sat down and ordered our food. The way the tables are set up at this restaurant, you are almost staring into someone else’s table. It’s not quite obnoxious because usually they don’t sit people right next to each other unless it’s super busy, but yesterday we happened to sit right next to a “blended” family. The child was obviously the mother’s daughter and if the mother and father were married, it was a new marriage. The girl called the father figure by his first name, something you wouldn’t do if that was your own father. Anyways. I couldn’t help but look over and listen in on some of their conversation. The girl was probably about 12/13  years old. She wanted $1.00 to go play that Crane Game outside. The father gave her the dollar and thought nothing more of it. He happily extended her that little pleasure. Then she came back, pleading and begging for $.50 more cents, because apparently she had something and then dropped it. At first, both the father and the mother said no.

The mother, pleaded that she didn’t have anymore money and the girl was driving her broke. I was taken aback by this. First of all, I don’t care what financial situation you are in, you do NOT let your kids know if there is a problem in the household. Maybe money is running tight this month. But, do your children need to know that? Absolutely not. It’s a matter for you and your husband or whoever you are sharing financial responsibility with. I will never, ever tell my children and worry them about that. It is not the responsibility of the child to have to worry about money. Plus, then they can start feeling as if they are not as good as the other children who have money. They should never feel something like that! Yes, they need to have instilled in them responsibility with money, yes. But my parents did that without me ever knowing what their own personal financial situation is. When I child, I thought my parents had all the money in the world. They never talked about it and later on in life I learned that sometimes they themselves forfeited things in the early years to go on vacation for me or to send me to Catholic School, but I never heard a word of that until I was an adult and it was casual conversation. Not to get off the topic, but I had another experience recently with parents bothering children about the money they make. One of our distributers came into our store with his daughter to purchase some ice cream. Afterwards, she wanted a lollipop too. The child is four years old, children at this age want things, so I didn’t find it unreasonable that she asked, but he easily could’ve said no. Instead, he started telling her that the reason daddy brought her to work was to show her that money wasn’t made on trees and that she had to know that daddy was very broke and only sold preztels for a living. This child was FOUR YEARS OLD. I’m not even sure she had a concept of what he was saying, but someday, she will. That was horrible.

So anyway, back onto my story from my little rant. After the mother refused her another dollar, so did the father. Except, after much pleading and begging from the child, the father gave in and gave her more money. So she went back to the crane game and won a reindeer stuffed animal! When she proceeded back to the table, the father and mother were overjoyed for her. Yes, they loved it, great job, etc. etc. By this time they were done the meal they had eaten and were ready to pack up and leave. But then, the girl AGAIN asks for more money because she saw something else. Both the father and mother strongly say no. Which, but this time is understandable. Although, if it was my child (and I have to agree with my husband on this because this was his idea), I would have said yes or no from the start. I would not have let the child beg something out of me, because then things are negiotiable. And they shouldn’t be with a parent/child relationship. The only reason I mentioned that it was a blended family was because of the compassion the father was putting out towards the daughter. He was talking to her about school, trying to get to know her, kidding around with her, things that all made me give a positive outlook of him. He even made a joke about a penny when she asked for more. After watching maybe a little too much Wife Swap, I thought it was very nice for a stepfather or whatever he maybe to take a genuine interest in his stepchild’s life. I’m not saying that they normally don’t, I’m just saying this is the first time I’ve experienced such a relationship and it was a good feeling towards mankind to witness this event. So this 12/13 year old girl starts pouting. And I mean pouting. Dirty looks, slinking down in the chair, come on dad, come on mom, etc. etc. If my child acted out like this, I would have punished them immediately. But no punishment and they actually put up with this behavior right in the middle of the restaurant. The mother went to the bathroom before they were leaving and the father was going up to pay. He invited the girl to come along with him, and being the brat she was, she sat there and refused to go with him because he hadn’t given her that last $1. She waited for her mom. I don’t know why I felt this situation was so sad. Maybe because the spolied brat reminded me a little of myself when I was that age. My dad always wanted to give me everything, but my mom put her foot down, which I can see now was good.  Maybe because I’m sad for this girl that she doesn’t appreciate what she has in life. Now, granted, I have no idea what the home situation is or anything like that, things could be completely different. But, if it is the way it looked, I feel sad for everyone involved.

Yesterday was November 1st! That marks my end of 31 day working streak! Yay! My husband and I celebrated by taking a little coastering road trip. What else could cheer me up after a month of working 10 hour days?

We packed up our car yesterday morning with plans of driving to Harrisburg, staying overnight and attending Hershey Park during our visit. First, we stopped at Boston Market while we were still our hometown, Lansdale. Let me tell you, Boston Market sucks. I mean, the food is great. But the entire chain is going down the toliet. I loved Boston Market food as a child. My family and I always used to have fast food on Saturday Nights. Normally, It was Wendy’s or Arby’s. But on the special occasion, we would go to Boston Chicken (as it used to be called before all the corporate buyouts). I remember the food being great and wonderful and the restaurant giving me a “being at home” feeling. Even after I moved from Allentown to Lansdale, we would still occassionally frequent Boston Market. My dad always paid for the venture, so I have no idea how expensive it used to be, but I remember enjoying it. When I entered the restaurant yesterday and looked up on the menu, I was shocked to see so little choices. My husband pointed out to me that they no longer even carried ham. I remember when they used to have Meatloaf and various other great meats. I settled for a Chicken Salad Green Salad and a side of stuffing. My husband got Turkey with two sides and we both got drinks. This came to $25.00. HOLY SHIT. For $25.00 I could’ve sat down at Applebee’s and got my meal served to me. Not that, but I have other compliants. The girl working behind the counter was so very slow. I hate slow employees. It’s one of my pet peeves. Why don’t you just work a little faster? It literally took her about five minutes to finish ringing up the person in front of us and walk back to the food so she could ask what we wanted. My stuffing was luke worm and none of the food screamed “I’m worth $25.00″. I’m not usually one to complain about the price of eating out. I know it’s expensive and if you can’t afford it, you don’t do it. But Boston Market just made me upset at how much of a rip off it actually was. The lady in front of us came back complaining that her spinach was cold. The other employee that was there was about 30 years old and a male. He continued to fight with her about how all the food was kept at certain temperatures and it shouldn’t be cold. Well, okay, but obviously this lady thinks her meal is cold. Then he continues to put a food thermometer into the spinach on display and tell the lady it is being kept at minimum standards. THEN HE FINALLY OFFERS TO HEAT IT UP IN THE MICROWAVE. Hello? Why not just offer that in the beginning? If that was me, I would’ve said “Oh, I’m sorry”, went in the back and heated it up and returned it to her. So he takes it somewhere in back and brings it back out. She tastes it again and asks if he did anything to it, because it still tastes cold. He says anotehr short answer and finally she just asks for a lid so she can heat it up at home. Not only did she pay $5.00 for two sides of spinach, but she paid $5.00 for two cold sides of spinach. HA. Anyways, I felt like I had to vent on my Boston Market experience. I had such good memories from  my childhood with them, and now they are totally ruined.

We finally were off! We drove to Harrisburg and believe it or not, neither Ryan nor I had ever seen the capital of Pennsylvania. It was bigger than I expected it to be and the city literally came out of nowhere. We went to our hotel and found parking on the street since it was literally in the middle of Harrisburg. Because we are in the Priority Rewards Club, the nice guy working at the front desk gave us a room on the 10th floor overlooking the River & City. We headed off to Hershey Park where the lines were Great! We rode Farenheit & Stormrunner, and a few other rides while walking around and enjoying the props. Hershey puts up all kinds of Halloween lights and figures. They also have a trick or treating route for kids. If you come dressed up, you can go all around the park and collect candy. It was neat to see little kids in their costumes, since we didn’t give out candy on Halloween.

We, of course, toured the Hershey’s Candy Factory and received our free chocolate at the end of the ride. I also went down to the shop and stocked up on chocolate. Ryan got a big hershey’s bar and pumpkin flavored hershey’s kisses. I bought a big cat filled with chocolate that was originally $24.95 before Halloween, now marked down to $4.95! HA. I also got some Chocolate Twizzlers and Nibs. I love strawberry Nibs. Then we went to Red Robin and continued to have another horrible dining experience. I’m not sure what it is with Ryan & I, maybe we just eat out a lot so we have higher standards, but we usually get the worst servers, the coldest food, etc. The wait for the restaurant was 15 minutes. Not too bad on a Saturday NIght right outside of Hershey Park. So we waited, got a both and looked at the menu. Ryan got a Bacon Cheeseburger with no mayo. He specifically said no mayo about three times. I got a wrap & soup. So, the fodo comes out and the burger has mayo on it. I try to brush it off, but I also say something to the waitress because he had emphasized no mayo so heavily. She says that yes, they can take it back, but it will take us a long time to get another one. I felt this was rude, and we didn’t send it back. The waitress didn’t refill our drinks and we left a bad tip. One thing about tiping and us is this: If you give us good service, we will tip you wonderfully. Ryan & I usually tip 20% or more. But, if I get shitty service, I will put that forward in the tip. If my drinks not refilled, why should I give you my hard earned money if I don’t feel like you deserve it? If I host a birthday party and I didn’t put forth my best effort, would I expect that mom to tip me? No! Anyways. We went back to our room and overall had a wonderful day, just spending quality time together.

Today we are going to the outlets in Lancaster. I’m excited because I’ve never been there before and outlets are always cheap.

October is over, I will update more =)!

I could start off this blog with many excuses about where I have been for the last two weeks. Or, I could explain what my job entails during the month of October. I work 7 days a week, anywhere from 8 to 10 hours a day.

October is a busy month for my store. We have a huge fall festival all month long and are constantly doing things. It’s a crazy time for me.

Birthday Parties- I plan, host and excute birthday parties for the weekends in October. We have four a day, both days. Birthday parties are actually something I’d never thought in a million years I’d get into. I am an only child, have never really been around children, and never thought about birthday parties. But, three years ago my boss said that we are now having birthday parties and she’d like me to be the host of these parties. I have grown to love them. They are my baby at my workplace. I’ve planned new things and brought them to where they are today. I go the extra mile. I love doing it - one month a year. But I don’t think I could handle it all year round. I actually thought about going into party planning- but I constantly get stressed out. I’m worried that things won’t go the way they are supposed to, or the family won’t be happy enough. I couldn’t handle that 12 months out of the year. However, It’s always worth it to see the smile on the child and sometimes even the parents face. Parents are demanding. I will try never to be rude or ungrateful to any service work ever that helps me. I assure you.

Corporate Events- This year we had a lot of organizations calling and wanting to plan corporate outings which included our cornmaze, hayrides, etc. So, my boss & I put together a package deal for corporate events and I have been hosting them since last week. The first two were a great success and I can’t wait to do more. It’s definately something I’d love to do on a regular basis.

Tours- For some odd reason, I got suckered into registering tours. So, everyday from around 9 am to 12 pm, I am doing this. Out of all my duties, this is probably the one I dread the most! The whole process is confusing. No one ever set up a system for the year 2008. We are still writing things on paper, when they arrive and everything is out of order. No one in fact, showed me how to do this job. My boss highlighted the important aspects, but she never really did the job so she couldn’t give me proper instruction either. The entire thing is just crazy and disorganized. If I had longer than a month to do these, I’d come up with a completely new system. But, the fact that they are only a month and I have all these other responsibilities, I don’t have time to deal with it.

In addition to everything above, I also have all my other responsibilities which include managing and doing inventory for the store! We are flying through all our products faster than anyone can put them on the shelves.

I can’t say I dislike October. It gives me something different to do everyday. After all the stress, anger and frustration, I still appreciate the month. So, I will try to keep up everyday with my blog. If not, you’ll know where I will be!

I am a huge fan of TV. During the summer, I almost lose myself because I have no idea what to do every night. I almost have a show to watch every single night.

Mondays

Heroes is my must see on Monday Nights. Ryan got me obsessed with this show. I didn’t even want to watch it in the beginning. I tend to be turned off by sci-fi shows, and I thought this would be another example of one. But it’s so much better. The plot line is wonderful and it always keeps you guessing every week. I don’t have a favorite character, but I never miss Heroes.

Tuesday

The Biggest Loser is something I love to watch. I used to be overweight myself, and watching this show reminds me I have to keep my weight down. It teaches me to eat healthy, be active and feel overall better about myself after this show. I have to say I do fast forward through some of the fluff. I can only watch someone work out so many times and I can only watch so many deliberations. I want to see the challenges, weigh-ins, who gets kicked off, and some drama in between. Ryan said it best the other night when he said “You know, at the end of the day, we are really just watching fat people run up and down a slip and slide”. I don’t know why, but watching people get healthy is addicting to me.

After Biggest Loser, I’ve been hooked on the new Fox Drama “Fringe”. My co-worker got me addicted to this program. I didn’t think I’d like it at first, but It’s definately a mini-CSI and one of the best new drama’s of the season.

Wednesday

I always watch Wife Swap. Some of them are absolutely unbelieveable. My personal favorite was the Military family who swapped lives with the Clown Family. The Military family was strict, lived by certain guidelines, and had a loss of fun in their lives. But, they were normal. The clown family consisted of a mom, a dad, and a little girl. I have to say as funny as their lifestyles were, I felt particularly sad for the little girl. Her parents honestly taught her that clowning was the only way to live. Nothing else existed in the world for them and the daughter was suffering because of their beliefs. It was horrible. This family lived in a garage, because they could not afford a house due to school loans. The father was a professional clown that had some talent and made approx $25,000-$30,000 year. Not too bad for a clown. However, the wife aspired to be a clown also. Not only did she get a B.A. degree in Fine Arts, but then she continued to return to school to get her Master’s in Clowning. This program alone was costing the household $35,000 a year, more than the husband himself was making in clowning. These parents should be ashamed of themselves. Not only are they depriving their daughter of experiences that should be part of every child’s lifestyle, they were extremley selfish and close-minded. HA. Anyways, I like Wife Swap. It gives me a nice view into other peoples lives.

After Wife Swap, I watch Private Practice. I loved Addison. Too bad she had to go get her own TV Show. It’s dramatic and this is a show I can miss, but I usually don’t!

Thursdays

Ugly Betty is on at 8 pm. I’m not sure why I like this show so much. Maybe on some sub-conscious level I identify with Betty. I was overweight as a teen and I had trouble fitting in at times. Maybe I just like the show. Who knows.

Grey’s Anatomy is always followed by Ugly Betty and then I DVR the Office and watch it afterwards. The Office is another show Ryan got me addicted to. I am so happy that Pam & Jim finally got engaged! They are adorable!

Fridays/Saturdays

I usually don’t watch TV on friday or saturday nights, but I will DVR Friday Night Lights on Friday and if I happen to be home on Saturday Night, I’ll watch America’s Most Wanted. Some day, I will see someone I know on this show.

Sundays

Sundays are The Amazing Race, followed by Desperate Housewives (and I love the fast forward five years! Desperate is probably my favorite show of all time), and then there is this new drama on HBO called “True Blood”. I was hesitant at first, because this show as about Vampires. How could I be watching a show about Vampires? But it is addicting. It’s about Vampires who came out in the late 1950’s. Those who drink synthetic blood and “mainstream” fit in with society, while those who do the opposite, do not. It’s about the drama with vampires and how it unfolds. It’s again very addicting. Ryan said that it’s based off a book, but I’m not sure what the series is called off the top of my head.

What does everyone else watch?

Sorry about the lack of updates. My husband keeps reminding me I need to stick with this! It is like therapy to me. However, September and October are the busiest months of the year at work. I’ve already logged about 50-60 hours in the past week and It’ll only get worse. November I will see some let up, but I will not be back on my 40 hour work week probably until after Christmas.

Last night Ryan & I got to talking about coaster and park plans for 2009. Actually, I was the one who brougth up the topic. Yesterday morning I was reading up on all the changes to the parks for the next year. I love to plan out my trip in advance. Although, I have to say this summer we were pretty spontanious in our trips to Boston and Pittsburgh.

In April of 2009, we already have reservations to go back to Disney World. We are going from Monday April 27- Sunday May 3. We love our trips to Disney not only for the parks, but for the rest, relaxation, and three gourmet meals. We always get the meal plan, which is the best option ever in my opinion. This year we are trying out the “Carribean Beach”. Last year we stayed at the “Coronodo Springs” and absolutely loved it! The Carribean Beach is suppose to be very similar and closer to a lot of the parks, so we thought we’d try that. Also, they are having updated Pirates of the Carribean rooms for 2009 and we were able to get one! I’m so excited! Disney World itself won’t bring too many new rides for us. I know they put in a new Toy Story 4D Adventure ride in MGM Studios. Er, I’m sorry, should I say “Disney’s Hollywood Studios”. They changed the name on that park in the middle of last year. I guess they cut their agreement with MGM. But other than that, Disney does not offer too much new for us. Like I said, I love being there. That place has something magical about it that makes you forget everything else and just be happy.

Occassionally we journey over to Universal Studios and Sea World. Both parks are having new coasters this coming year. Universal is adding on an entire Harry Potter Park for 2010, but sadly we’ll have to wait one more year for that. I would have to say the Harry Potter Park would be the thing I am most excited for as far as parks go. But for 2009, Universal is putting in a new coaster that hangs over the CityWalk they have built there, called Hollywood Rockit. They expect it to be done by the time we go there, so I am anticipating that. Sea World is also having a new coaster called “Manta”, whichly is highly anticipated by everyone in the coaster world. It is a flying coaster that will encorporate different water themes. I am not too sure if this coaster will be open for May or not. We will have to wait and see.

As far as other trips- I definately want to go south next summer. I want to go to North Carolina and hit “Carowinds”, a park Ryan & I have anticpiated going to for a long time. They are also putting together a new coaster for next year called “Carolina Cobra”. They give the date as early Spring 2009, so we will have to plan our trip for middle summer or so. I want to go longer than a weekend, perhaps a four day or five day trip to see everything in that area. Carowinds itself is a huge park with lots of coasters. I anticipate that park taking us two days alone. I’d like to hit Hard Rock Park while we are down there, depending on the future of it. It closed right away Labor Day this year due to financial hardship. I’m hoping it will open again for next year, but we’ll see. Six Flags Georgia is another option while we are down there, but It’s a long drive. I want to hit King’s Dominion in Virginia on the way home, because they have a new coaster this year also. I would love to go back out to Ohio and hit Geuga Lake & King’s Island. I think we’d almost have to fly there because of King’s Island. It’s way too long of drive in my opinion. But that’s why we got our new US Airways Card, to rack up miles so we can travel =)!

Just thinking about next summer and the coaster plans makes me excited!!

<3

Without giving away too much personal information, I am the manager of a local retail store. It’s a job I thoroughly enjoy and I have been working there for close to 10 years, being manager for 5 or 6. I also handle corporate events and event planning for the store and what not. I am young, at 24, people always look at me or second guess me sometimes, thinking that I can’t possibly be so young and run something like this, but I always come through in the end and prove them wrong! HA. =).

Every October, we have a harvest festival which we hire extra people for in the store and everywhere else we need them. We were already short on help because of a few people leaving or going back to school or what not. Today was a starting day for two new people. I always have mixed feelings about new workers. I love new people for the sole fact that it allows me to leave the store. I can do inventory, work on the event planning, stuff with the computer, etc. I can get all my work done without having to rush, which I would have to do if I stood in the store all day long. I also hate it when new people come in because it disrupts the social interactions that are already in place. Where do they fit in, will I like them or will they just annoy me to no end?

I also have mixed feelings because I am the trainer. I train them all and go through all the policies and procedures, etc. Training is not one of my favorite jobs. In the spring, when nothing else is occuring, I don’t mind it. But in the fall when I’m busier than anything, It’s not a job I look forward to. And it also depends on the age. I train kids all the time, but training someone twice my age is a bit tricker. I feel uncomfortable at times. But you have to push through, business is business.

I can’t remember what it’s like to start a new position, because I haven’t in so long. I’m sure I too would struggle. I can usually tell within the first five to ten minutes whether or not I will get along with the new employee. Mannerisms, Facial Expressions, and Sayings all take part in my developing an opinion. It’s tough. I am also very set in my ways. If someone tries to disrupt the equilibrium, that will NOT be okay with me. Ha =).

So what are some of your experiences in starting a new position?

Everyone has an obsession. For some it’s food, for some it’s an activity, for me.. it’s purses.

I am a cheap person. I skimp on everything. I buy generic paper towels and store brand cleaner. I’d rather get a $1.00 ice cream cone at McDonalds then go to Coldstone for $3.50. I save my change in a jar that I cash in occasionally for activites. But, I also buy $50-$200 purses.

I can’t explain exactly when or why I starting obsessing about purses. I remember having a lot of purses as a teen, like generic store bought Kohls or JcPenny purses. But - I do remember my first designer purse. I think I was in college, possibly a freshman at the time. I decided that I was going to take my own paycheck and go out and buy myself an expensive purse, a Dooney & Burke. It was a Barrel Satchel in a light purple color. I paid $155.00 + tax for that purse. I do have to say one thing about Designer Purses- they seem to be resistent to inflation. I had taken my high school friend Jen with me at the time. She thought I was absolutely out of my mind to buy something so expensive. But like I said- Everyone has an obsession.

And so started mine.

I bought many Dooney’s & Coach’s in the next few years. I have to admit that my cheapness always benefited me- I sold my purses on ebay when I was done using them. These days I have been more obsessed with Vera Bradleys. I am trying to save and be good- I have used the same wallet since December of 2007 (Ok, it also has sentimental value because my husband got me a really nice Dooney as a gift), and I have used the same purse since about May. But, like I said I am getting itchy again. This is what I have my eye on:

This is a Clutch Wallet in Frankly Scarlet. I love how this is a tad bit old-fashioned. It opens up to two compartments, one for credit cards and the other for cash and change. It retails for $42 which I haven’t been able to rationalize spending on a wallet yet. I can almost get another Vera purse for that much money and it hasn’t made sense yet.

And of course, I’d love the matching Villager to go with it. Only problem? This one is actually $72. I have tried many styles of Vera Bradley over the years. But I find the Villager is my best bet. I love to bring my lunch to work in it, I love to carry a book to read on the side in it, I just love how it allows my flexibility and accessibility. It is also wonderful for bringing drinks and contraband snacks into the overpriced movie theater! Ah…. How long can i hold out before purchasing these? Any bets?

Actually, our Boscovs is closing down in our mall. Just recently we went in to obtain some luggage for carry on. We do a lot of park traveling as I had mentioned in my earlier posts. I found the perfect carry on for 50% off.  And I actually did purchase the one below- but only because my husband bought a suitcase and that somehow made it OK for me.

What are your obsessions?

On February 19, 2007 my grandmother died after a long battle of cancer and old age.
I miss her so much. I will be the first to tell you that my grandmother & I did not get along during her lifetime. I’m not sure why to be honest. My grandmother was very critical and always said exactly what was on her mind, never holding back feelings. But I also know that she loved me more than anything in the world.
Day by day, I miss her even more. I wish she could have been at our wedding. I wish she will have been there to see our her great grandchildren. I wish she had shared her life with me more. I miss her. My heart aches when I think about her.
I never realized how similar we were until after she passed away. I read a book recently on life after eating disorders. Over 50% of eating disorders are heriditary. My grandmother was always concerned with what she ate. She always cooked for everyone else, but never ate any herself. If we could have talked, been there for each other, I would have loved that. But most of all, I wish I could have known more about who she was, how she lived her life, etc.
My childhood is filled with good memories from her. I loved her thanksgiving dinners. I looked forward to them every year and they are the best memories of my life. When I was young, I remember staring outside my window until gram & pap pulled up with presents on Christmas morning. I want my children to have memories just as wonderful as I have of her and my grandfather.
When my mom & i were cleaning out her house, I found the wedding card she had bought for Ryan & I. That broke my heart. She also bought me a shower gift but died shortly before the shower. My mom gave me the gift in private and I always cherish it.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m normally a hard ass about feelings. I don’t show emotion well and I don’t handle emotional situations well at all. But this takes over me. I think about her everyday of my life and I will always regret that I didn’t spend more time with her.

There’s no one in town I know
You gave us some place to go
I never said thank you for that
‘thought I might get one more chance

What would you think of me now?
So lucky, so strong, so proud
I never said thank you for that
Now I’ll never have a chance

May angels lead you in
Hear you me my friends
On sleepless roads, the sleepless go
May angels lead you in

So what would you think of me now?
So lucky, so strong, so proud
I never said thank you for that
Now I’ll never have a chance

May angels lead you in
Hear you me my friends
On sleepless roads the sleepless go
May angels lead you in

(May angels lead you in)
May angels lead you in
(May angels lead you in)
May angels lead you in

And if you were with me tonight
I’d sing to you just one more time
A song for a heart so big
God couldn’t let it live

May angels lead you in
Hear you me my friends
On sleepless roads the sleepless go
May angels lead you in

May angels lead you in
Hear you me my friends
On sleepless roads the sleepless go
May angels lead you in

My husband & I are avid roller coasters fans. We travel up and down the East Coast (so far! We are hoping to advance to the West Coast at some point!) and visit parks. A lot of my blogs on this site will probably be devoted to trip reports. There is actually a website devoted to all the parks around the United States and it lists all the coasters, past and present that have occupied that park. It is one of my favorite sites because it allows me to keep track of all the coasters I have ridden- I think we are in the mid 100’s by now.

Now, I have lived in Pennsylvania my entire life, always in the Philadelphia region. I have never once traveled West of Harrisburg. BUT, Labor Day Weekend, Ryan & I decided to make the car journey out to Pittsburgh and go to Kennywood, a local park around the area. Two weekends before, we had traveled to Massachsetts. Now, both car rides were suppose to be about the same distance, time wise. But Pittsburgh felt so much shorter. We ran into almost no traffic and drove through hills and valleys all the way. Although, I must admit as a passenger, I had much more to look at on the way to Massachsetts. You can only look at so many trees before you’ve seen them all!

We left Saturday Morning bright and early around 7 am, even stopped at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. Speaking of Dunkin Donuts, they introduced this new flatbread breakfast sandwich, and it is fantastic! Anyways, we stopped about halfway through at the rest stop, and arrived in Pittsburgh around 1:30 pm. We have a current obsession of staying at the Crowne Plaza hotels. We stayed at one in Massachsetts, loved it, and decided that will be our hotel from now on. We headed out to the mall across the street and ate lunch. You know what I loved about that mall? The foot court was unique. It had a lot of family owned or personal businesses in it, and the chains that did occupy some of the stores were not common and hardly seen at all. It was great!

We got to Kennywood at 5 pm. It was only $15.00 to get in, which I thought was a fantastic deal. The park itself was open until 11 pm, so that’s six pure hours of rides, much the same as you’d get during a full day of operation. I knew from the start of the day that I was going to love this park. Besides the very long lines, It had beautiful scenery, something I love in a park. We started our venture by riding Phantoms Revenge, something Ryan had wanted to ride for a long time and something bloggers thought a lot about on the coaster website. It was definately as good as we thought it would be. The main drop is a drop overlooking the river below. It looks like you in fact will drop yourself into the river! Next, we went over to a mouse coaster called “The Exterminator”. Now, I have to tell you that when I saw the line for this coaster, I seriously thought about begging Ryan to skip this one. I thought it would be another generic mouse coaster. But, it was FANTASTIC. It was a completely dark ride and it had great twins and turns and you could never see what direction you would be going next.

We ate dinner afterwards and had a great home-cooked meal, something you never see in parks. Ryan had Chicken & Mashed Potatoes and I got myself a Chef Salad with fries on top (a unique twist that I haven’t seen most places). We continued to ride the wooden coasters they have, The Jack Rabbit and Thunderbolt. Normally, I hate wooden coasters. They have always given me a headache, since I was a little girl. These woodens were fanastic. You were literally flying out of your seat and I was holding onto Ryan for dear life. We rode the Racer and two other rides we were interested in, before leaving. It was a WONDERFUL visit. I loved it and would go back in a second.

When we first arrived, I noticed a sky ride into the park, being that the parking lot itself was on the top of a mountain and the park was down at the bottom of the mountain. The sky ride wasn’t running at the time, I assumed it was broken. In fact, most parks we go to usually don’t have working sky rides. On our way out of the park, I noticed it was working and commented on it to Ryan. He was absolutely set on riding the sky ride to our car! Me, being the adventurous wife that I am, went for it. HA. I was scared the entire way. A little background on me is this- I can ride any coaster, anywhere and not be scared. BUT, put me on a ride that is up high off the ground and doesn’t move, and I’m scared to death. So I ride this sky ride, which what seems like FOREVER, because every time someone wants to go to the parking lot, it stops, until we arrive at our car. I have to say, looking back at the experience, I’m glad I did it because I’ll probably never get to do it again and it was definately a once in a lifetime thing!

to be continued tomorrow…trip report on Cedar Point.

Some more pictures of our wonderful time at Kennywood: