AAA Gets Triple Stars in My Book!

Did you know that AAA offers travel services for members and non-members? You do pay a per ticket charge on top of the ticket price, after all AAA has to make a little money to pay their agents.

I recently used AAA to assist me in booking my two week Hawaiian vacation. My family is traveling to two different islands along with a friend of my daughter's and another family of four. Seems like a straight forward trip right? Not exactly.

The first week of the trip is to the island of Kauai where we will use our timeshare points. Getting a room in a timeshare works fine as along as you book a year in advance. We took are of that portion. The next week all of us, except for the friend of my daughter's, will fly over to the Big Island of Hawaii. This is where things get a little hinky.

Our fabulous travel agent, Mary, over at the South Hill- Puyallup AAA put together a package deal saving us hundreds of dollars each for airline tickets and great rates on car rentals for both families. We didn't realize that even though we were staying at a timeshare on one island, that we could get a discounted packaged rate on the second leg of our trip while staying at a resort. 

Mary spent several hours with us and two different occasions going over every detail such as travel insurance, using our Alaska Air miles to redeem tickets for the kids (didn't know we couldn't do that for the adults or we'd loose the package rate since it was linked to paying adults) inter-island flights, getting an unaccompanied minor back to home while we flew on to another island, rental car insurance, things to do on both islands, gave us maps and tour suggestions along with a friendly smile. With 20 years in the travel business, Mary is a wealth of information and has travelled extensively herself. She can rattle off rates as if accessing it from a computer and gives top notch service. Give her a call at 253.445.3745 and tell her Misty sent you!

This will be our 2nd visit to Waikoloa Beach Resort 

(A Marriott property) on the Big Island. We loved it here!

               A fabulous place for kids and adults.

Stumbling Momentarily Off The Food Wagon

This evening I made this incredibly healthy dinner. My son is in the middle of his wrestling season. We always eat better during wrestling season. If I don't cook what he can eat, he's likely to grab a square of cheese and a piece of lettuce and run off to his room. I kid you not.

I'm finishing up this wonderful meal of whole-grain noodles with low-fat cheese, low-fat elk burger, and broccoli, when my husband walks in and plunks down a Christmas tin. A post-surgery gift to me from a co-worker.  A tin suspiciously looking like it's full of something I swore I was finished with on January 1st. I can hear you yelling already, "YOU DIDN'T OPEN IT DID YOU FOOL?"

 Step away from the brownie and no one gets hurt!

Yes, I did. Not only did I open it, I took a bite. I was like Bruce the Shark in Finding Nemo. One bite and I was a goner. They were the MOST incredible tasting chocolate chip, cookie-like brownie thing I have ever eaten. Ever. My husband stood there watching me devour these with a very guilty look on his face and says, "Yeah, I had three on the way home". I almost decked him and smugly told him, "You won't be seeing me in that bikini in Hawaii if you bring any more of this type of food into this house again!"

It wasn't my fault. I'm innocent. If I gain 5 pounds tomorrow morning, my husband is eating hamburger helper for dinner on Friday.

New Eating Mantra

Do these jeans make my butt look fat? Is my muffin top showing through this shirt? I'm mentally weary from asking myself these questions. After all, I have post- baby, saggy belly fat; I'm on the other side of middle age and just about finished with menopause (translation... bye-bye metabolism). No, I won't miss that random blushing of the cheeks look, especially when it's so red people ask me if I'm ill with a fever.

Every female I know suffers from body-image issues and is or has been on a diet in the last month. I'm trying out a few new things for the new year to assist me with my body image. First, when I dive into the frig or cupboards I ask myself, "Will this help me get into a bikini for Hawaii this summer?, and "Will it help me loose ten pounds by August?" Ten pounds probably doesn't sound like much to you, but at 5' 2" that amount of weight is two pants' sizes smaller.


One of my BFFs and I, have set a date in March for when we want to loose ten pounds. We give ourselves permission to purchase a complete outfit and treat each other to lunch when we reach our goal. We will be doing weekly weight loss updates to each other via email. It's always better with a friend.

I'm excited! I have a plan of action and a deadline. I'm even contemplating before and after bikini photos. Not that I'd share them on the internet. Ewe!

What's your eating Mantra? Are you trying to loose weight? Be honest.

The Return Blahs

The best part of returns

I hate returning purchases. It's a phobia for me, even if the store is known for being reasonable about returns. For my daughter its no big deal. She is chaffuered to the store without a worry about parking, door dings, long lines, tired feet or negotiating your return without a receipt.

Okay, I sound like I'm 90. It's not that bad. My brain just remembers all the bad feelings of returns, not the good feelings of the shopping experience. The 'oh my gosh' it fits perfectly and is just what I was looking for feeling. The older I get, the less patience I have for finding that perfect fit. I prefer to order everything online that I can, if only they'd give me free shipping when I return it for a bad fit. Some places do, not many.

My happy feeling of waiting for a few shirts and sweaters to arrive UPS was fleeting as last night I carefully tried each one on and NONE of them fit. Sigh. Now I have to return them.

Where do you shop that offers the best online return policy?

Is it summer yet?

Brrrrrr....Is it cold enough here for you yet? I don't know about you, but the Pacific Northwest is known for its mild, winter weather. It wasn't mild today. It was bone chilling cold. The kind of cold when I take my dog outside for a walk, I have to wear three layers of clothing, thermal underwear, wool socks, gloves, and a hat in order to not have my teeth rattle. Wimp?  Heck yeah.

I stare out the window boldly proclaiming "I will walk the dog today". But the effort of putting together a cold-weather outfit for a 15 minute walk seems daunting. My mind wanders to visions of my Hawaiian summer vacation.

The white frost outside my door reminds me of white
sandy beaches, flip-flops, and shorts. I can't wait to get there and feel a warm tropical breeze while sipping something with an umbrella in it. Thank goodness for my vivid imagination during the long, dark month of January.

Back to School. Thank Goodness!

Family time is treasured time. Family time that is full of activities that keep the kids from fighting is the best time of them all. As our family winds down the holidays, I'm noticing that we're experiencing less and less patience with other. We need to get back to our routine. The kids need homework instead of XBox and Facebook.  We all need to see other faces besides those whom reside in this house!

I'm particularly anxious to dive into those closet drawers I boasted about in my 'New Year's Resolution' post. Every time I try to put something away, I have to stop myself from emptying it out onto the floor and dumping the contents into the garbage. Mind you, I'm not suppose to lift more than 10 lbs at a time, so this might prove to be challenging.

We finished putting away Christmas decorations today, and my husband and son took down all of the lights. I reveling in the space. The living room appears to have expanded by five feet and is no longer an explosion of red and white.

I love Christmas, but admit it, it's a lot of work for us moms. Now it's time to plan for Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. We've earned a few nights on the town don't you think?

New Year's Resolutions

What kind of Blogger would I be without a post about New Year's resolutions?

It has been said that if you don't aim for something you'll wonder around aimlessly. That's kind of been me this past year. While at home during my forced recuperation, (I say this with love because it is forcing me to take a long look at my life's goals) I've been making a plan for things I want to accomplish next year  and beyond.

I love the freshness of a new year. It's like clean sheets. This week I have been making a list of some things I want to accomplish and places I want to take the kids.

Here's some of my top THINGS TO DO IN 2011:

• Get bikini ready for Hawaii (no laughing!) 

Seriously, when I'm finished with surgeries, I have this goal to wear a bikini again. GO AWAY CHOCOLATE & COOKIES.

• See a comedy act (In Jan. we're seeing Lily Tomlin)
• Women's college basketball game
• Seattle Art Museum 
• Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
• Friends over for dinner (we rarely do this)
• Do more hiking on new trails
• Visit a lighthouse 
• Oktoberfest-Leavenworth & Nutcracker Musuem
• Snowshoe at Mt. Rainier 
• Ape Caves at Mt. St. Helens
• See a play
• Discovery & Olympic Sculpture Park
• Free concert in the park 
• Halloween train in Snoqualmie
• San Juan Islands for a weekend
• Creative Memories photo album for the kids
• Clean out my office-DEEP CLEAN IT.
• Clean out my bedroom closets & drawers
• Sell some stuff on e-Bay
• Get rid of junk stored in the basement. I mean it.

By the way, I made it to 11:30 pm New Year's Eve. I woke up at midnight when the dog jumped on the bed. Does that count as being awake for the new year?

How about you? What are your New Year's Resolutions? Any special places you want to see?