Corey Cogdell Women's Trap Shooting Bronze

An Alaskan took the Bronze medal in Women's Trap Shooting, and I actually know her. Congratulations Corey. She is a really awesome person. Nice, a strong Christian and a strong shooter. Alaskan girls kick ass!

Shooting
Born: Palmer, AK September 02, 1986

Hometown: Eagle River, AK
Residence: Colorado Springs, CO - Olympic Training Center
Ht: 5'7"
Event(s): Trap

Her Olympic Blog

I'll have to catch the medal ceremony on youtube or load it on nbcolympics.com later because its 16 hours time difference between Alaska and Beijing. I'm sure her family and many of my friends in Anchorage won't be getting much sleep tonight, but I've got work tomorrow so I'm off.

Russia Invades Georgia

When I got to work this morning I asked my colleagues what they thought of Russia invading Georgia. Much to my chagrin, they didn't know Georgia was a country and thought I was making a strange joke about Russians in Atlanta. No, its true, Russia did invade Georgia in attempt to back up their peace keeping forces which have been trying to keep Georgia from wiping out separatist South Ossetia. These peace keeping forces have recently come under Georgian attack and this invasion is Russia's response. As someone who has studied the area and history of this conflict for years it hardly surprises me. I do find it interesting that most of the articles discussing this matter are quoting ex-President current Prime Minister Putin rather than President Medvedev. Seems like Putin is retaining a good deal of power. Here is some non-CNN coverage in case you are interested. I have linked to English versions only which limited my choices.

Pravda.ru - Russian newspaper, Pravda is the Russian word for truth, take that as you want.(English version)
BBC - I like their timeline of events, which to those unfamiliar with the area helps set the stage on why things are happening.

1991-92 S Ossetia fights war to break away from newly independent Georgia; Russia enforces truce

2004 Mikhail Saakashvili elected Georgian president, promising to recover lost territories

2006 S Ossetians vote for independence in unofficial referendum

April 2008 Russia steps up ties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia

July 2008 Russia admits flying jets over S Ossetia; Russia and Georgia accuse each other of military build-up

7 August 2008 After escalating Georgian-Ossetian clashes, sides agree to ceasefire (which Georgia violates)

8 August 2008 Heavy fighting erupts overnight, Georgian forces close on town of Tskhinvali

Going on a Trip? Don't Forget Your Mail

We tend to just let our mail pile up while we're gone or trust our cat sitter to pick it up every once in awhile. But after hearing a few recent horror stories of stolen replacement ATM cards, missing bank statements and other potential identity theft issues we decided to take an item off of the cat-sitters to-do list and put a hold on our mail. It was super easy and took less than 2 minutes to complete on the USPS website. So take the extra 2 minutes and put your mail on hold. Don't forget to unplug your waste power loads, clean your fridge and take out your trash while you're at it. You'll save money, protect your home and come home to a far less stinky house.

Rome DIY Travel Planning

Photo Courtesy: MonasteryStays.com

Here are some of the websites I found useful to plan the Rome portion of our trip.

Guidebooks:

Lonely Planet

Frommer's

Rick Steve's - As I said in my Venice post, this will be our main guidebook for our Italy travels. We will use the walks, museum guides and basic phone number and other essential travel information. For the most part I have copied the important info on opening times, prices, metro stops, address, and other info into my Moleskine, but will bring this for reference. There wasn't much information on his website to link to, but its worth picking up a copy of his guidebook. I wouldn't buy seperate ones for each Italian city (Venice, Rome, Florence, etc.), just buy the Italy guidebook, it contains much the same information and takes up less space than multiples.

Maps:

I love the Frommer's maps for Rome webpage. I printed out a bunch of them and pasted them in my Moleskine. It's my own little DIY guidebook, with all of our hotel reservation stuff in it, photos of the outside of our hotel rooms (so if its late at night we'll be sure to recognize it rather than walking past looking for the address) and a bunch of Frommer's maps. It's much easier to print their guidebook maps than to try photocopying out of our Rick Steve's guidebook.

Getting Around:

Rome Airport Guide (FCO): Airport layout, maps, trains and buses from Rome Airport FCO to Rome or other areas in Italy, where to meet at Rome Airport.

Metro Roma

Summer in Italy - Transport Strikes: list of current transportation strikes (rail, airports, etc.)

Where to Stay:

We chose our hotel after reading simultaneous good reviews on Frommers Rome, New York Times, Expedia, Trip Advisor, and Venere. I'll let you know how this plan works out and post a review of our hotel after we go.

Attractions:

I would start with a decent guidebook which will give you an idea of how much you can see during the amount of time you have and a fairly good order to put it all in. For online help I like the Frommers Attractions and Itineraries pages. They have good descriptions, pricing and hours all in one place. I would still double-check with specific attraction's websites where possible.

Vatican Museums- You cannot buy reserved tickets for the Vatican museums (Sistine Chapel) to bypass the lines. The only way to avoid the lines, is to book a tour. I heard that booking directly with the Vatican is impossible and books up more than a year in advance. I e-mailed them just to check and was pleasantly surprised to have an e-mail waiting for me the next day confirming our tour with the official Vatican docents. No line for us, yay! For information on the Vatican, check out http://www.vatican.va/.

Borghese Gallery in Rome You have to have reservations for the Borghese Gallery. You can buy these through their website.

Other Sites:
http://www.mmdtkw.org/: Lots of general Rome information, most recently updated in 2000. http://www.romaturismo.com/v2/en/main.asp (official site of the Rome Tourism Board) http://www.tickitaly.com/ (Italy's site for buying tickets in advance and avoiding lines)
Enjoy Rome, Via Marghera 88, near the train station (tel. 06-4451843), was begun by an English-speaking couple, Fulvia and Pierluigi. They dispense information about almost everything in Rome and are far more pleasant and organized than the Board of Tourism. They'll also help you find a hotel room, with no service charge (in anything from a hostel to a three-star hotel). Summer hours are Monday to Friday 8:30am to 7pm, and Saturday 8:30am to 2pm; winter hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, and Saturday 9am to 2pm.

Venice DIY Trip Planning

Photo of Venice by: Ryan Darvish Venice, Italy

Planning your time: Rick Steve's has a great itinerary that flows well from place to place and shows you how much you can realistically cram into one or two days. We started here, then deleted what we weren't interested in and added a few other things based on web research. It gives you a good idea of how long to spend at certain attractions. We'll be taking his 2008 Italy guidebook with us for reference. The museum tours and walks are the best feature of his guidebooks.

Finding a hotel: What do other people think? Trip Adviser's website gets a bad rap. You of course have to be careful to choose a hotel that has a lot of really positive and recent reviews. You don't want one that has one 5 star review or one that has a ton of 5 star reviews, but recently went downhill, but still has a good average. Actually read the reviews, a lot of Americans complain about a hotel based on the size of the rooms when in reality it could be a lovely hotel that is typically European in size. I find the user photos to be particularly useful. Hotels are great about having photos on their websites which make the rooms feel larger or nicer. Seeing an actual room gives taken with somebody's 2 mega-pixel camera gives me a better idea. I take many reviews with a grain of salt, they could be competitors posting bad comments or the hotel itself self promoting with fake reviews. If a hotel interests me on Trip Advisor I look into it at least two other ways as well. For peer reviewed hotel suggestions I also look into what travel bloggers on Travel Pod have to say. It's hard to find somebody who has stayed at each place I'm interested in so this was less useful. If you're looking for lonely out of the way backpacker budget selections this is a great starting place.

I like Venere for their maps, which make it easy to find hotels by which part of Venice you want to stay in. I still book through Expedia to get my Thank You points and they are usually cheaper.
People who review hotels for a living can usually be trusted to give decent advice or word gets around and they don't sell guidebooks/newspapers/ads. I looked into NY Times, Rick Steve's Venice hotels (from his 2008 guidebook), National Geographic and Fodors.

Getting around: Guide to getting around from Lonely Planet
http://www.elmoro.com/: Practical information on how to get to Venice and move around the city.
http://www.alilaguna.com/: Waterbus (vaporetto) info between airport and Venice. www.actv.it/eng/home.php: Waterbus (vaporetto) routes throughout Venice.
Guidebook: We chose the 2008 Italy Rick Steve's for its walks and museum guides. It best meets our travel style. We like to have a general idea of what we want to do and walk most places.

The Rough Guide to Italy: Didn't have much more to offer than Rick Steves. We liked the good maps for all regions of Italy.

The Green Michelin Guide: This is useful for museums because they have very detailed descriptions of the art, but it didn't meet our needs in Italy.

Lonely Planet Venice

Other good info:

http://www.invenicetoday.com/: Events in Venice today.

savevenice.org: Venice restoration projects that are ongoing.

Venice Carnival Everything that you need to know about the Carnival...

Authentic Gondolas Learn about Gondolas and their history at the International Center for Wooden Boat Building

Wikitravel Venice

Main Attraction Websites: useful for finding up-to-date opening times, prices, and other info that might be out of date in whatever guidebook you're using. I'll add more as I find them.

Academia
Basilica dei Frari
Basilica di San Marco (39 041 2708311)
Collezione Peggy Guggenheim (39 041 2405411)
Palazzo Pisani
School of St Roch (Scuola di San Rocco)

Revised Europe Packing List

Europe Packing List (2)

After taking my Aeronaut with me on a quick business trip to Anchorage this weekend full of 27 pounds (laptop, chargers, 2 pairs of shoes, 5 star restaurant clothes, weekend clothes, work clothes, toiletries, etc.) I got to feel first hand what it felt like with that much stuff stuffed into it. Any doubts I had about leaving the laptop at home for our upcoming trip are gone, it adds a lot of weight and takes up a third of the main bag space. I also realized how necessary the Absolute strap is when carrying heavy loads. Thankfully the heavy load almost disappeared when carried as a backpack, so it was nice to know that I could handle the weight even when it is super heavy.

After living with the clothes I planned on packing for a week, reading the suggestions of my wonderful readers, and going shopping in Anchorage last weekend I revised my packing list. Hubby is off on a 4 day work trip camping with his Aeronaut with his camp stove, clothes, cooking dishes and other camping gear in the bag. He'll be reporting back on how it went

What came out of the bag:
1 dress-Two skirts with tops provide more options than two dresses.
1 pair flip flops-Not going to be taking showers in hostels and can't walk in them all day.
camera (moved to Hubby's bag)
1 hoody & 1 pair terry pants - I'm taking a smaller and easier to wash/dry sleep shirt.

Also not bringing:
1 messenger bag day bag-The flap on the bag made the items inside too inaccessible. The LED light inside also didn't work so it's going back to eBags.

What went into the bag:
1 Tide-to-go pen
1 pair Birkenstock sandals
1 cardigan
1 sleep shirt/2nd dress
1 bag lock

Also bringing:
1 hobo handbag - this replaces my messenger bag. It has a top zipper which keeps the stuff inside secure, fits under my arm, is roomy enough to carry all of our stuff for the day and has two rings on either side to attach a cross-body strap if I decide to. It also has a little pocket on the outside to slip the camera into and out of throughout the day. Ironically enough, I already owned this bag and didn't need to buy a new one for this trip, sometimes it pays to take a look around before going shopping.

I'm taking tiny travel size shampoos and conditioners from the Body Shop after still being unable to find solid toiletries at a reasonable price and because I have strong allergies which make relying on hotel toiletries to be impractical. I did get my toiletries down to just the essentials so I

I know I'll take some flack for it, but I'm still bringing the jeans and khakis. I hate travel pants and I get too cold to wear skirts the whole time. I've considered wearing leggings with the dresses and skirts, but in the end, I love my jeans, they make me feel beautiful like no other item of clothing and if I have to wash them halfway through so be it. We have two stays of 5 nights or more in one place and they will dry in that amount of time. Since we won't be moving around every day, its not as much of an issue.

His Europe Packing List

I've received more than my normal hits on this blog since posting my packing list so I figured I would add hubbies to the mix. Unlike me, his 3-1-1 bag will probably have aftershave and toothpaste in it and he'll rely on a combination of bar soap and hotel freebies the whole trip. I have also shifted some of the books into his bag and he'll be holding onto a few of our common items such as the laundry supplies and camera.


Hubby will also be toting along the 3 Skype phone. Not yet available in the US, I am going to be given one when we land in Europe to review. Hopefully my review will help future world travelers who are thinking about traveling abroad and renting or buying a Skype phone. I'm certainly looking forward to putting it through its paces. It will have tough competition, stacked up against my Nokia N95 with its 5 mega pixel camera, video camera, wifi internet, GPS and maps features, and Skype through Fring. And no, I'm not being paid to do this review, I'm just trying to make life easier on my fellow travelers and satisfy my geeky curiosity.


The reviews I've read say that the "3 Skype phone will allow users to make free Skype-to-Skype calls and send free instant messages over 3G, in addition to making normal phone calls and browsing the Internet. 3's Skype phone also packs a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, an expandable micro SD card slot (up to 1GB) and weighs a pocket-friendly 85g. The star feature however, has to be the ability to make cheap Skype calls. You can call friends or relatives anywhere in the world via Skype and not spend a penny, or have to be tied up to a laptop or PC -- we like."


We'll see how it pans out. Going to Europe without my laptop has me more than a little freaked. I was browsing the Sony website looking at their 1.8 lb laptop models and even considered the Macbook Air, but I'll just try to settle for cell phones and Internet cafes. We'll see how the blogging goes with the minimal electronics plan.


Back to hubbies packing list. It features REI Adventures pants which actually look like pants, not hiking pants and they don't go "swish" every time he walks which is awesome. They are also kind of soft and feature great little security pockets for wallet, passport, etc. so he'll be happy. My man judges the quality of any garment by the distribution and quantity of pockets.


Also included are more than a fair share of Horny Toad shirts. After I wore my modal shirts from them for several days solid, including biking back and forth to work, with no sweat stains, stink, or discomfort he was sold that the brand was more than just cute and soft. When I found coupon codes for 30% off on top of their sale which is already 30% off he took the plunge. 60% off some awesome travel t's and button downs...awesome. Code is: 38630 for 30% off any order over $125 placed on www.hornytoad.com or simple for 20% off any purchase, both work as of last night.

To explain the jacket situation, I am always cold and will probably wear my jacket in Paris and London 75% or more of the time (probably just the pashmina in Italy). He, on the other hand, won't bring his jacket at all unless it is currently raining. So on bad weather days he'll bring his real jacket and on other days he'll stuff his Marmot Ion jacket which weighs 3 oz in my purse or his pants pocket to pull out only if absolutely needed.

The rest is pretty self explanatory. I am making him bring the long sleeve shirt for the one formal dinner I know we'll have at my conference and the sweater for layering purposes (he probably won't use it). He is bringing along 550 cord, which will serve who knows how many uses, the primary one being as our clothes line. He showed me an old Army trick for using it as a clothes line which convinced me not to buy one of those surgical rubber models. He stole one of my large Tom Bihn packing cubes and fit everything but his pants in it. Maybe I'll have to steal his Absolute Strap and we'll call it even. If it weren't for the shipping cost I'd order a few more cubes and the strap, those things are awesome. And yes, it all fit in his Aeronaut, including his shoes which he'll actually wear on the plane, with tons of room to spare. Yay, more room for souvenirs.

Feedback appreciated...

What Kind of D&D Character are You

This doesn't sound like any characters I've played, but it does sound like me.

I Am A: True Neutral Halfling Bard/Sorcerer (2nd/2nd Level)


Ability Scores:

Strength-12

Dexterity-8

Constitution-13

Intelligence-14

Wisdom-12

Charisma-17


Alignment:
True Neutral A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.


Race:
Halflings are clever, capable and resourceful survivors. They are notoriously curious and show a daring that many larger people can't match. They can be lured by wealth but tend to spend rather than hoard. They prefer practical clothing and would rather wear a comfortable shirt than jewelry. Halflings stand about 3 feet tall and commonly live to see 150.


Primary Class:
Bards often serve as negotiators, messengers, scouts, and spies. They love to accompany heroes (and villains) to witness heroic (or villainous) deeds firsthand, since a bard who can tell a story from personal experience earns renown among his fellows. A bard casts arcane spells without any advance preparation, much like a sorcerer. Bards also share some specialized skills with rogues, and their knowledge of item lore is nearly unmatched. A high Charisma score allows a bard to cast high-level spells.


Secondary Class:
Sorcerers are arcane spellcasters who manipulate magic energy with imagination and talent rather than studious discipline. They have no books, no mentors, no theories just raw power that they direct at will. Sorcerers know fewer spells than wizards do and acquire them more slowly, but they can cast individual spells more often and have no need to prepare their incantations ahead of time. Also unlike wizards, sorcerers cannot specialize in a school of magic. Since sorcerers gain their powers without undergoing the years of rigorous study that wizards go through, they have more time to learn fighting skills and are proficient with simple weapons. Charisma is very important for sorcerers; the higher their value in this ability, the higher the spell level they can cast.


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

Summer Travel Dresses via Travelista

Travelista has a new post on summer travel dresses. I particularly like the navy dress from J.Crew which she linked to. It would totally go with the pashmina I'm already bringing and if I threw a pair of leggings on I could wear it on the plane. I particularly like her video on how to wear a pashmina which is originally how I found my way onto her post. Here are some excerpts from her dress post:

"Summertime travel in Europe demands clothing that is functional and fabulous. Nobody wants to be a hot mess when travelling. Don’t bust out your Karl Lagerfed fan just yet, a breezy travel dress can help conquer those hot days. Dresses are a natural for traveling. Instead of packing several separates to complete one outfit you are only packing a single item. Dresses easily take you from your daytime sightseeing to evening activities. A great travel dress will make you look totally chic and put together no matter what the occasion. When selecting a travel dress, fashion takes a back seat to comfort and fit. Shirtdress styles, wrap dresses, and longer tunic style dresses are flattering choices and easy to dress up with just a few accessories."

Packing for the Man

Hubby doesn't see the need to pack this early in the game. He kind of laughed as he watched me take over the living room, laying things out, putting things back, arranging outfits on the floor and then weighing everything after checking it off my packing list. Then I asked him what he was planning on bringing and given that he won't be wearing shorts and t-shirts the whole time (his normal summer casual uniform), but pants and polos, he reevaluated the need for early planning. All of his work pants and khakis work in Alaska and are 100% cotton. This makes them unfriendly for hot weather and hard to wash as we go. He also has suit pants, which are not travel or weather appropriate. His last option is his hiking pants of which he has two pairs. The first of which have zip off shorts which act like rubber bands on his thighs. Even though the rest of the pant fits, they look awful. The second pair are so loose they look like MC Hammer pants. Men's travel pants are really hard to find.

I first turned to google. A surprising amount of men wear the zip-off pants as travel pants, blech. Being an extensive traveler myself, I never see those pants on the locals, unless I'm actually out hiking. I looked on the OBOW (one bag one world) page, but they didn't seem to have any good finds on their "Solution to the pants problem" post. I went to stand by stores Eddie Bauer, REI, and Dockers which left me with a couple options.

• The REI Adventures Pant, which were reviewed as having problems with pilling.
• Dockers Championship Pant Pleated are nice because they are non-cotton, they are reinforced for men bending over while lining up their golf shots, and designed for hot weather. I didn't like the pleated part of them, which adds bulk around the middle to even the thinnest of guys.

By this time I realized why we buy all of his clothes at Eddie Bauer. Their excellent return policy means that as he wears out his pants I can steadily replace them for free and their website is a one-stop place to get items for a 6'-2" guy who wears a size Medium-Tall. Most men's clothes brands don't sell Medium-Tall and in general shopping for men's clothes is boring. I wouldn't do it at all, except for the fact that he would literally wear his current wardrobe until it fell off of him threadbare if I didn't encourage him in the fashion department. I basically do the research, line up a couple options for him and then he picks what he wants. Eddie Bauer was a god-send, I get the catalog in the mail, and he just leafs through and sticky notes what he likes. I can almost always find a coupon code, and if anything ever doesn't work out, we just send it back.

Next option was actually me getting bored while shopping on "men's websites" and wandering over to more familiar hunting grounds, stores hubby wouldn't be caught dead walking into because they rely on actually trying things on. This usually isn't even an option. In Fairbanks, Alaska there isn't too much of a chance for shopping. I wouldn't torture him by shopping on vacation so we're usually web shoppers. I found out that Old Navy, Banana Republic and GAP all allow combined shipping. Banana Republic has one pair of Relaxed Linen Pants which are lightweight, breathable, and have a flat front, but they somehow don't look like something I can talk him into. I'm considering ordering them anyway just to try them. I'm planning on justifying it by getting a couple shirts which are amazingly offered in Medium-Tall and breathable linen. I'll wait until I can dig up a coupon code.

It's looking like his packing/shopping is going to take awhile. That or at the last second he'll stuff some items in a bag and say that he is going with the Tim Ferriss Buy It There style of travel. When all is said and done his bag will probably weigh less than mine even after I foist off the guidebooks and electronics into his bag. Oh well. I'll let you know how it turns out. Hubby is used to one bagging and one outfitting it with the Army. One bag of green and camo clothes and one carefully chosen outfit that will get him through almost any situation, dinner out, sightseeing, shopping, or chilling with the guys. I'm not too worried about his packing, just his laundry, if he ends up bringing 100% cotton khakis, either he'll wear one pair the whole time or we might be dealing with damp laundry on the train. Men are complicated, and their clothes are boring.

Europe Trip Packing List

Is it a tad too eccentric to be packed over a month before a trip because you’re just so excited? I was ok when I was still planning things, researching hotels, figuring out what we want to do, and ordering clothing/bags/guidebooks, etc. But once everything was “taken care of” I got a little restless. I’m excited about our trip and want to be doing something to prepare for it, to make it seem like it will be here sooner. I know that it is only 15 days long and will be over in less time than I still have to wait, but I don’t want to think about that. In my obsessive desire to hasten departure day I packed my bags last night. I put everything in a huge pile and then packed it. This is our first trip “one bagging” it. I’m tired of lugging along huge bags which weigh more than I do, especially on mass transportation. And, given the fact that we have a connection through Heathrow and our checked baggage has a much higher chance of getting lost than usual, we will be going carry-on only. One bag and one personal item each.

Being a huge black Samsonite girl prior to this or a wheelie bag toting carry-on girl for weekend trips, this presented a challenge. My rolly-bag totally unpacked weighs close to 7 pounds. I love it to death. With 4 wheels I can push it down the aisle in front of me, run through the airport without hitting anyone and easily stuff it into most overhead bins. However, it isn’t particularly easy to walk with long distances, roll on cobblestones, or carry up and down stairs getting onto metro. It is perfectly suited for getting on a plane, getting in a taxi, checking into a hotel and returning. This left me with my backpack from college, but that really isn’t luggage and is far too small. So I went to google.

I’ve been on board with the carry-on only idea for awhile. I travel 12-20 times a year and more than 150k miles, with at least 2 weeks internationally. I just never was on board with the carry your carry-on idea until now. Wheels were the way to go. Being on expenses tends to make you this way. Apparently there is a whole group of people that take immense pride in being one-bag carry-on people. There are whole blogs about it. (One Bag One World). These people debate the differences between brands like Red Oxx and Tom Bihn, MEI, REI, and Rick Steves. Hardly the Tumi vs. Samsonite vs. Swiss Army luggage wars I was used to, but they have many valid points. And the same things that attracted them to each of those brands caused me to consider each of them. These bags are lightweight, well made, well organized and designed to be carried by a real person with today’s luggage limitations.

After tons of research I settled on the Tom Bihn Aeronaut bag. It was less expensive than the Red Oxx Air Boss bag and it had backpack straps which can be hidden away. Red Oxx also makes a backpack bag, but it had bad reviews for being uncomfortable with more than 15 lbs in it. I also considered the Tom Bihn Western Flier bag, but it is smaller than maximum carry-on size and only has a cross-body strap. I know that I am not the only woman that finds the cleavage generated by messenger bag type straps to be both uncomfortable (as it pulls on our chest) and unflattering and I know that I’ll need the extra room for either my stuff going there or definitely my stuff coming back. I also ordered two packing cubes to keep everything organized in what is essentially a duffel style bag. I didn’t like the openness of the bag at first, preferring a three compartment bag, but then I realized that this is actually more flexible. With some packing cubes it has the separation of a multi-zip bag, but I can also put items vertically along the entire depth of the bag, rather than being forced to pack horizontally only and being restricted by compartments.

I was stunned to discover that even with 2 pairs of shoes, 2 skirts, 2 dresses, 2 pairs of pants, 4 shirts, 10 pairs of underwear, 4 pairs of socks, pajamas, my toiletries (not insubstantial), an iGo charger, 3 guidebooks, and all of my other stuff placed in it, I had room to spare. Before succumbing to temptation and packing some of the items I had taken out of my pile as unnecessary (bathing suit, etc.), I decided to weigh the bag. First I stepped on the scale (that’s another post by itself), then I put on the bag as a backpack. I was amazed that it weighed 20 lbs and still felt comfortable enough to walk around the airport for a few hours, race to catch a metro or wander the streets before check-in time at our hotel. First reaction was “Wow, I thought I didn’t pack that much.” Second was, “How do I eliminate 5 pounds?” I wanted to keep it under 15. And then my final reaction was, “Who cares?” It still feels light enough to carry. I’ll still probably ditch a few things (flip flops) and give hubby a few things to put in his cavernously empty bag (iGo, digital camera, a guidebook or two). For a visual idea of what all I had in the bag, here is my visual packing list. This is only round one with the packing and I still have a month to over analyze it, but here goes. I still want to order a Tom Bihn Absolute Shoulder Strap like hubby has. It feels so comfy, it literally shaves 5 pounds off the feel of the bag.

The Italian Job - AKA Me vs. Trenitalia.com

The Italian Job

All the guidebooks and all of my friends who had been to Europe told me, just buy Italian train tickets once you get to Europe…unless you have specific trains and days you want to travel, then you should book in advance. We have a pretty tight schedule, 2 days in Venice, 2 days in Rome, 4 days in Paris and then 4 days in London before the conference and 3 days of the conference. I have hotels pre-booked at each location and it would throw everything off if I didn’t get the trains I want so I tried booking in advance.

First try was with the Trenitalia website. Their website comes in both Italian and English flavors, which is convenient. It is easy to search for trains; the fares are clearly stated and easy to understand what you’re booking with the pictures of the couchettes vs. beds. My first problem turned out to be that I was trying to book too early. Everything came up as not available and I freaked out thinking that all of the trains for the days I wanted were sold out. “Impossible!” my travel savvy friends declared. Some googling revealed that seats are not available for sale more than 60 days in advance.

I waited until 60 days in advance, hitting the reload button until it struck 12:01 am in Italy. I found my trains, one of which was available with an Amica fare (20% off for booking early), put them all in my cart, put in my credit card info and was declined. First step was calling the bank. They said they didn’t see the transaction as being denied and that no transactions had shown up on their end. After googling around I found out other people have the same problem and they suggested a variety of remedies. I tried them all. I am posting them here in case any of them work for you:

Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode: “Ticketless online reservations require online payment, but the site only accepts credit cards if you have set up a "3D" security system, such as Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode. Those plans require you to activate and use an additional password for all online purchases. Create a user ID before booking, then proceed through the booking quickly, as there is a time limit (15 minutes).”

I set up my MasterCard SecureCode and tried again, I actually got a little further this time. It requested my SecureCode password before denying my card. Called bank again, they still couldn’t see any denied transactions and to call MasterCard because that is where the hang up is. Called MasterCard and they said they can’t see any transactions and that I should call my bank. I repeated this dance about 6 times with different people. I finally intrigued someone at my bank enough that they checked into it for awhile. They called me back and said it must be a problem with the card I was using and that they would overnight me a new one. This also didn’t work. I did find that you can login to the SecureCode website and I could see all of the transactions as they went through, apparently my bank couldn’t see them though. At least I knew it wasn’t the Trenitalia website, the transactions were going somewhere.

Your middle initial: “Basically, in the Italian database there is not a separate field for your middle initial. While American credit cards all use the initial as an extra measure of security. I was able to immediately resolve this problem by calling my credit cards companies (American Express) and another debit card and having my middle initial removed.” I was quite hopeful when I found this anecdotal bit of internet advice, promptly called my bank, deleted my middle initial and tried again. No luck!

Browser Settings: “After four attempts using 3 different cards, I called MasterCard. They said it's not their problem - they could see that they hadn't blocked anything. So then I changed the browser Privacy settings (Tools, Internet Options, Privacy tab) to the next to lowest setting. I then went back and was able to complete 2 purchases with no problem. I hope this works for others because this is hugely frustrating and time-consuming. Good luck!” Tried this, didn’t work, but at least I didn’t get a virus trying.

Call them: “The TrenItalia Travel Help Center number is +39-06-6847 5475. (From the US, you would dial 00 11 39 06 6847 5475) Ask for an English speaking Operator and they will try and assist you. Here's the same info from the "Help" section of their website: http://www.trenitalia.com/en/area_clienti/call_center/index.html “ Um, this didn’t work for me because when I called it said that number works only for verified foreign numbers. I tried several times on Skype and even GULP on my home phone, no luck, guess Alaska is part of Italy.

Fax them: I faxed in a request with all of my details and asked them to call me back to book. No response.

Use another website: www.Italiarail.com or www.raileurope.com I tried both and they presumably work. They aren’t scams that steal your money, they just overcharge you. What should have been 250 Euro ($400 at the time) worth of tickets was coming out at almost $700.00. They don’t give you any discounts or Amica fares or anything, and then they charge you to mail your tickets to you. Also, their search engine doesn’t pull up all of the same trains as the Trenitalia website and I couldn’t get the exact itinerary I wanted. A last ditch solution, but I wasn’t giving up.

US Travel: Call a travel agent, they can book for you. I did so and got great service, they called Trenitalia directly (why can’t I find their number?) and got us tickets. However, for some reason they were also in the $700-$1,000 range. Insane! Plus side is that they hold tickets for free for 30 days so I held tickets while I kept trying to book.

I was about to succumb to paying $300 and justify it to myself as an hourly savings vs. continuing my fight against travel agents. Then I called American Express to ask them one last time if they knew why their card doesn’t work on the Trenitalia website and only Visa and Mastercard do. They didn’t know, but asked if I would like to be transferred to their travel department. “You have a travel department? Sure, what could it hurt?” Their travel department gave me the direct phone and e-mail address of the American Express travel office in Venice, our first stop. I e-mailed our ticket itineraries to them, they gave me the price quoted on the Trenitalia website, no fees, no booking charges, no commission, nothing. Sweet success! We will pick up our paper tickets at the St. Mark’s Square office of American Express Travel the first day of our trip. You can do this at locations all over Italy, including Rome as well. Just make sure you do it at the first location you’ll depart from by train. Our credit card has been charged, the customer service was excellent and I didn’t have to pay a dime more than I would have if I waited and bought them in Italy. In fact, I probably saved, because even after wrestling with this for 2 weeks there was still an Amica fare available.

We have tickets Venezia to Roma, Roma to Paris for two people in two beds for 250 Euro. Man, I don’t wish this hassle on anyone else, so I post this to the blogosphere in hopes that it may save someone else some hassle.

Why I Love Expensive Gas

As an Alaskan I enjoy the second highest gas prices in the nation next to California. I currently have a heating oil bill for the months of March, April and May sitting on my desk for $1,510.94. (I'll scan it in if you don't believe me.) And yet, I am happy about the price of oil. I still try to conserve. By biking to work every day I save $2.00 more per day this year than last, but overall that's still money in my pocket. I wanted to do a post on my reasons for loving high gas prices, but the Times already did one for me. So here you go, my top 10 reasons for loving high oil prices. Yes, I acknowledge that there are many negative reasons to hate it as well.

Perfect Bag for Europe Trip

I have an upcoming conference in London coming up. I have a bazillion miles so I'm bringing hubby along on miles. The last month I have been obsessively making travel plans using a combination of Rick Steve's and Michelin guidebooks, Tripadvisor.com, a selection of travel blogs, Expedia and Lonely Planet.

I'll have to do a separate post on my search for the ultimate carry-on travel bag and walking (but cute) shoes. Today I'll focus on day bags. I want something about the size of a large purse or tote that zips at the top or is otherwise secure. I love messenger bags, but I don't want something somebody can just slip their hand into after lifting the flap. It can't be just a shoulder bag as I want a cross-body bag that can leave my hands free when necessary and be easy to keep nearby on trains. It must be able to hold water bottles for the two of us, our guidebook, camera, iPod, a sweater for myself and any other stuff we need for a day. A plus would be holding a days worth of clothes so I don't have to dig into my larger bag after a night on a train.

I searched for like a week obsessively before buying this bag:

The Silverlake Canvas Flap from The Sak. "Casual, cool, and very functional; this Scotch-Guarded canvas flap is a real cutie! Clever zippered pocket inside the flap makes it easy to organize all your essentials. The lining is our exclusive print created by Parisian graffiti artist Gilles Jourdan. Contrasting leather trim and Shiny Nickel hardware. Shoulder strap adjusts up to 22 inches. Zippered main compartment and exterior front pockets. Interior features 2 open pockets and a back wall zippered pocket. Dimensions: 15.00" long, 3.50" wide, 9.00" high. 22.00" strap drop. " $99.00

Somehow I thought it has a zipper under the flap, but it doesn't, you just lift up a lightly magnetic flap and reach right in. It is totally cute, extends to be a cross-body bag and would definitely hold all of our stuff for the day. The scotch-guard is an awesome feature considering our tendency to spill and it also comes in other colors although I ordered the one shown. When it came and I realized it didn't have a zipper I felt torn between keeping it because its cute or returning it because it didn't meet all of my requirements. I still haven't decided what to do with it, but I'm still looking for a bag.

Also under consideration is the Keen Irvington bag ($75.00 from eBags, also at REI). It comes in 5 colors, including the standard laptop looking black, girly pink, an awesome green and grey and the red above. Hubby actually picked the red color for me and I trust his judgement. An interior light turns on when bag opens, off when closed, helping you locate items with ease. The neat thing about this bag is that the flap folds up and functions as a roomy tote as well. It's large enough for my laptop so it is versatile enough that I could get a lot of use out of it.

Next up is the cheapest option ($29.99 on sale at GAP). It is cute cute cute, but very very basic. It is a cross-body bag, no zipper on top, but the right size. I'm thinking of buying it anyway, just because it's so cute and then bringing it along as a tote to through souvenirs in as we go. It comes in khaki, green, and black.

Diva in a carry-on recommends this messenger bag with a rave reviews...touted as 'the perfect messenger bag', it's now just $99! Originally $179.00 USD and available through eBags on sale. It was cute, but again no top zipper. Good for smaller laptops, but it didn't strike me the right way. The price is definitely right. Tumi is a good quality bag company and their stuff lasts forever.

I also strongly considered these bags by Tom Bihn, Sherpani, Crescent Moon, REI, and hundreds of different Etsy stores but was too lazy to do separate descriptions of them.

San Francisco in an Afternoon

San Francisco is known for being a very romantic city. Despite the fact that the two times I’ve visited have been alone and one of the two was during absolutely horrid, bitter cold March weather, the reasons for this reputation are clear. First of all, San Francisco, despite its hills is a very walking friendly city. Its neighborhoods are perfect for spending hours wandering around, looking at the architecture, wandering through the shops, and enjoying the views, in other words perfect for a walk together. While the city has a lot of shopping, particularly in the Union Square area which is eminently accessible to tourists, being on both the cable car, bus line and metro line, it seems almost a crime to be indoors when there is so much wandering to do, a fact that would be sure to keep my husband happy as I would never drag him around asking for his opinion in San Francisco.

Even on your own, San Francisco still has a lot to offer. In just 4 hours of wandering I was able to hit a lot of the touristy highlights. My hotel was the Hilton at Fisherman’s Wharf. I wouldn’t recommend it for a good nights rest as the windows weren’t glazed to keep out the noise of the nightlife and the rooms weren’t particularly luxurious, but the location can’t be beat, a mere block from the wharf and right next to one of the cable car lines. This meant that after my meeting and business lunch I was able to switch into my jeans and t-shirt and stroll right over to the waterfront. It will never be like San Diego where strolling along with your bare feet enjoying the feel of the sand is more de rigour, but it is beautiful all the same.

The wharf is home to the sea lions at the pier, the Aquarium of the Bay (with its clear underwater tunnels), great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, a famous carousel and tons of shopping and great seafood restaurants. If I’d had kids with me I could have easily spent a day at the wharf, it felt like the state fair, people wandering around getting too much sun on their noses and eating food on sticks as they strolled. I skipped an actual visit inside the Aquarium (there’s always next time) and hopped on the cable car near the Hilton. The prices have gone up since the last time I was here with a one way ride costing $5.00 and a day pass $11.00. Being the sucker that I am I bought a day pass and only had 2 rides. There really aren’t enough routes to justify the day pass.

The cable car takes you through downtown, including Chinatown, and drops you off right at Union Square, shopping central for San Francisco. The square is bordered by Powell, Post, Geary, and Stockton streets. It is home to typical department stores and luxury stores and haute couture shops. With the value of the dollar what it is and the winter weight not yet gone, I was in no mood to splurge, so I pressed on passing the Moscone conference center which was hosting the American Diabetes Association meeting and the setting up for the Apple WWDC which happened today. I wish I could have been there. That block was nerd central.
After a quick stop off for a soda and a sit to watch the Carousel at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts I turned to reach the Science Museum. I was disappointed to learn that it is closed until fall 2008 for renovations. With not enough time to do the Museum of Modern Art justice before it closed, it was back to Union Square, back on the trolley and on to Ghirardelli Square which is at the other end of Fisherman’s Wharf from where I started, between Beach and Larkin streets. You can stop in their store and get free samples (chocolate square with peanut butter inside, heaven) and take a tour to see how the chocolate used to be made when their factory was in operation. It also the home of McCormick & Cavoletto’s, my restaurant for the night. (Ghirardelli Square open Mon-Sat 10a-9pm, Sun. 10a-6p)

This restaurant boasts some of the best views of the bay and wharf around, but apparently if you don’t get a reservation and are a walk-in party of 7, you get put in the back room and can’t enjoy them. Oh well, the food was good and the cocktail menu was inventive and fun. Once I saw Pisco Sour on the menu, I flashed back to memories of my trip to Chile and knew what I was going to order, but I kept reading. There were the typical Cosmopolitans of course, but there were also other more original cocktails on their “modern cocktails” list like white grape and basil which sounded intriguing. One of my colleagues got this later drink and it was delightfully refreshing, summery and tasty. (yeah, I snitched)

There was a lot more of San Francisco that I didn’t see in my half day tour. There is a Cable Car museum, Wax Museum, the famous Museum of Modern Art, and tons of boutiques ripe for some retail therapy. But, on a perfect sunny day, with no fog, no wind and not too hot temperatures, it seemed a shame not to simply walk the city, take in the sights and get sun on my nose. Even the locals were impressed and out in droves.

My previous adventure to San Francisco showed me the second most visited tourist site, next to Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown. I have vivid memories of a rat over a foot long (including tail) running up the wall of my Chinese restaurant and half of my dinner party screaming and running out, leaving our poor hosts with 30 people worth of food prepared and only 15 to eat it. The shopping was fun, even if I had no use for dishes, Buddhas, or other Chinese chotchkees. Chinatown is definitely worth a visit if you have a longer stay.

Everything I saw on this trip was free. No need to pay $15.00 to go over to Alcatraz, I have a great photo from the pier and I’ve seen the History Channel special so I don’t need to visit. The cable car took me past the famous street with its curly cue turns which my transportation engineer husband would loathe (sit on the right hand side going down the hill or the left hand side going up to get a good view). You can have a perfectly great day in SF without spending a dime, just walking around. Just bring your sunscreen. I still need to visit the SF MOMA (Museum of Modern Art), go up to the top of the Coit Tower for the view, and actually ride one of the carousels with my sweetie before taking him out for some great seafood, so I’ll be back.

Uncharted Too Scary

I've been enjoying our new PS3 primarily as a Blu-Ray player. Kids animated movies really show up great and I can tell a difference in the video quality with those types of films. Major action movies also show up noticeably different. The rest don't have too much added value in the Blue-Ray format, so I can keep having Blockbuster send me DVD versions of those.

Before he left Hubby played through Call of Duty IV and I played a few levels before we turned the rental back in. Enough to realize that apparently my childhood lack of console gaming left me without a fundamental grasp of how controllers are supposed to work. I had to play on the easiest level and even then, half the time, by the time I figured out how to look in the direction I was being shot from, figure out how to reload my gun and shoot, I was dead or very wounded. With hubby gone for awhile, I figured I'd work on my six-axis controller skills and so I bought Uncharted. It's basically a modern day Indiana Jones where the main character explores ancient south american ruins, ruining them even more in the process, kills a bunch of bad guys, etc. I enjoyed the puzzle like aspect of most of the levels. It wasn't a strictly shoot-em-up type game and had a decent plot. I got all the way to level 15 or so, then like the most recent Indiana Jones movie, they had aliens/monsters show up. I tried, I really did try to finish the game, but I just can't take suspense. I don't watch horror movies, not because of the blood and guts, but because I can't get startled or deal with knowing I am going to be startled. The game just got too scary for me to calmly shoot the aliens/monsters and I ran out of ammo and promptly died. If they were normal jungle troops, no problem, but scary monsters which move on the walls and ceiling I can't deal with. I'll have to let hubby play past the scary part and then keep going when he gets back. I told my guy friends and they all laughed. This game is not scary at all according to them. This launched them into a discussion of which games are actually scary like AVP2 and a bunch of others I hadn't heard of. Oh well, call me a chicken, but I just don't do scary, even a little bit.

So what did I do instead? It was too much effort to go out and rent something, there was nothing on cable, so for the first time in my life I used pay-per-view. For $2.95 I watched 27 Dresses, got a few laughs and went to bed. Shameless chick-flick which made me feel like I'd lost a few brain cells by the end of it, but it definitely wasn't scary. To prove to myself I'm not a totally lame and shallow girl who only watches girly movies, tonight I rented the new Rambo IV movie. While there was plenty of action, I must say that it was a shameless ripoff, barely 90 minutes long, and only made it to theaters everywhere because of the success of the earlier movies. Some series should just stick with 3 movies, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Rambo. More is just shameless, unnecessary, and a waste of 90 minutes.

Soup for the Single Gal

Soup is really the perfect food. There is such variety that with only $12.00 you can feed yourself for a week. It is perfectly portioned so that you won't have tons of little containers of leftovers in your fridge at the end. It takes mere minutes to heat. Its great for finals or other occasions when you really don't feel like cooking, but have exhausted your tolerance for delivery. Usually the only ingredient required is water and should you overbuy on soup and end up with a surplus lying around the house, you can always say that you are preparing for the next natural disaster by stockpiling supplies. I once met a family who kept years of food in the house in case the rapture happened after the tribulation, they had tons and tons of soup.

Today's choice was Amy's Organic Thai Coconut Soup. It has a mere 220 calories, making it a very sensible dinner and costs $2.50, which is way less than the take-out alternative Tom Kha Phak at my local Thai place. It doesn't have any onions like my local Thai place which has tons of onions in it so I might try and get hubby to try it. He absolutely hates onions. The coconut taste is light rather than overwhelmingly sweet and it has shiitake mushrooms and slices of sweet potatoes which were unexpected and yummy. I'm not fond of the tofu, but there wasn't too much of it. I may try and throw some shredded chicken in there when I make it again.

We'll see how long my soup kick lasts before I either run out of earthquake supplies or breakdown and go to the grocery store. After last nights incident with the milk-less mac and cheese and this morning's subsequent granola sans milk, I'll probably have to make at least a small grocery run very soon. Hmm...I wonder if I could go the whole 21 days that he's gone without grocery shopping? I could come up with some interesting dinners with my bare cupboards. Eh...probably not. It's still quite uninspiring.

Dinner for One?

Cooking for one is so uninspiring sometimes. This weekend I subsisted on a frozen pizza and fridge leftovers. When I'm sick I don't feel like eating much anyway. Today I pretty much scraped the bottom of the barrel and made mac and cheese without milk. I'm glad I smelled it before putting it in, because trust me, mac and cheese without milk is better than with spoiled milk. Thankfully I had a good size lunch. My brother-in-law and all of hubby's guy friends took me out to eat which was really sweet of them. I'll have leftover Pad Thai tomorrow for lunch. Hopefully I'll get together a shopping list tonight so I can hit the grocery store after work.

After all my greasy cheesy, leftover microwaved food of the last few days I'm feeling the need to go healthy for awhile. I'm craving vegetables, tea, juices and otherwise fresh cooked work intensive foods. I'll have to dig out my South Beach Diet cookbook for inspiration. Unlike Atkins where I lost 20 lbs in 30 days eating nothing but hot dogs and cheese when hubby was off at ROTC (and promptly gained it all back), South Beach tastes healthy and has resulted in my only long-term weight loss when I combined it with increased exercise. I'm hoping to create a little yoga space in our newly renovated washer/dryer workout room. It's really hard to do yoga on carpet and there really isn't room in the kitchen.

I also want to get back into fencing. The problem with having a competitive sport as a hobby is that getting back into it can be really intimidating. You know you should be beating the other person or at least making an account for yourself and instead you feel glued to the floor while your muscles no longer behave as they should and you're getting stabbed. Your watching your own body move in what feels like slow motion, your brain moving at one speed and your body following behind on a delay. I want to get back into fencing, but I have the feeling that I should be in better shape first. Thankfully with the summer weather right around the corner, I'll no longer be confined to the elliptical in the spare bedroom and will be able to jog around the neighborhood. Last year I did the couch to 5k program with good success. Perhaps I'll have to start that again once it gets warm enough.

My First Real Memorial Day

Memorial Day means so much more when you've lost someone who is close to you. I guess it really hit me tonight when I hung my American flag on the front porch struggling to reach with my husband oversees on Army orders. My cousin died November 7, 2007. I watched his burial in Arlington. I'll return to his grave whenever I visit D.C. He believed he was where God wanted him and had a real purpose in life. For that I am very happy, despite my personal sadness.

Sick, but still Inspired

Day 3 of 3 day weekend/Hubby's Army duty, and what have I done? I've done almost nothing. I was ambitious with my to-do list, planning on getting all of my gardening and yard work done, buying my home improvement supplies, cleaning the house top to bottom, cooking healthy meals to take left-overs to work all week, the list went on and one. Instead I felt like total crap. I finally drug my sick self out of bed right before Lowes closed on Saturday to save $160 on all the supplies. We also saved 15% +10% at Sears on our washer/dryer. They were having a 15% off sale + 10% off on Kenmore. The washer and dryer we wanted were Whirlpool Duets . The store gave us the Kenmore discount after a little persuasion when I pointed out that Whirlpool makes Kenmore and we could get 10% off +10% off for military at Lowes. We agreed to buy the 3-year warranty and they gave us the extra 10% off. Of course, we can cancel the warranty any time within the first year, so I'll get that ~$500 back later. All in all, with the money we got from the City and the discounts I was able to negotiate we got a way better washer/dryer set for about $1,000 of our own money. We could have replaced the ones we had with equivalents for far less, but it was important to me to get Energy Star appliances and I wanted a front-loader to save 70% water per load over a top loader. Saving money and going green are both ideas I can get behind.

The rest of the weekend wasn't nearly as productive, I basically laid on the sofa feeling sick, lonely and sorry for myself. I watched way too much HGTV, Food Network and Law and Order. Normally having time to just do my own thing would be nice, but when you don't have anyone else around and you're feeling bad its just lame. Normally I have the best husband in the world. No matter if I have a slight headache or he's the one holding my hair for me while I puke he always cares for me as if I'm on death's door. He generously gives me his zealous attention, taking care of my every need. My sister thinks I'm just high maintenance, which I probably am, but its hard to say no to someone who willingly hops up and runs for the Tylenol for you, covers you with a blanky and sits through a marathon of home improvement shows and girly movies just because he knows they make you feel better.

I'm still going to get my to-do list done before he gets home. When we first met and I saw his dorm room I was amazed. Everything was lined up, organized, minimal, and totally decluttered. He is still the neat one in the family, and having a clean house is a big zen moment for him, which totally destresses him. It doesn't happen often that the house is guest ready, but I try to make an effort to give him a clean house to come home to. If I could also get the renovations done and some of our projects finished it would be such a great way to say thank you to the man who takes such good care of me. Hopefully I won't feel like this too much longer and I can actually get started on some of these projects.

For the first time since I was 18 I'm not currently enrolled in any classes this semester. I have been taking classes fall, spring and summer semesters solid. In some ways I'm addicted to school. It's strange to not be doing something, learning something. I love new school supplies, the feel of a new (I could never buy used) textbook, and have a tingly sensation when I obsessively hit reload on the grades web page at the end of each semester. I guess I'll substitute transcript watching for highlighting when I start my Patent Bar review. The books look enormous. Vast swaths of white paper ready for my multi-colored highlighters and sticky-note collection. Ah, now all I need is some hot tea, I'm feeling inspired to start studying.

Advantages of Being a Military Wife

The City looked like it was going to take a long time to respond to our claim, leaving us with a mess of a house for months on end. They wanted more quotes from contractors, our insurance information, detailed photos, the list kept going. Then my husband sent them an e-mail which asked them to CC me on correspondence because he's going out of the country on military duty and the very next day they called with an offer! I can't help but thinking its because they felt bad making a military family wait and they decided to settle. They didn't give us the full amount of our claim, but close enough that with some careful budget planning I should be able to get the house put back together.

Hubby left last night for Germany for three weeks for his annual training with the Reserve. It really stinks to have his training in the summer. In Alaska, there aren't that many weeks of summer and having him gone for three of them really cuts into the summer. I am going to try and get the house back together while he is gone and begin studying for the Patent Bar. For whatever reason, when he is gone I am way more productive. I think it's because instead of getting home from work and trying to figure out what we both want to do, waiting around until we have consensus or worse yet, sitting in front of the TV, there is only me and I don't have excuses for not getting things done. When he's gone it's so quiet that unless I'm doing something it's really easy to be lonely.

One of the other advantages of being a military wife on memorial day are all of the sales. Lowes has 10% off for military, which I'm going to use to replace our ruined washer and dryer from the flood. I'll also pick up a few things for the flooded room.

Of course there are many disadvantages to being a military wife. I still feel isolated and a little bitter at times. We have been lucky so far in that he hasn't been deployed. This is his units year to go so the constant threat of that happening really hangs over us all the time. I was actually enrolled in law school last fall with tickets to move to Arizona and start my 1L year at ASU. I had the perfect schedule of classes and everything was falling into place. But, then we found out that he might have to be deployed as soon as October and there was just no way that I could deal with 1L year and him being deployed so I called the Dean, explained things, was denied a deferral and dropped out before paying my deposit.

This year I gave up on applying together. Hubby's window of deployment extends until this October so he can still be deployed at any point between now and then. We started saving money towards my education so I wouldn't have as many loans, I switched engineering jobs to one where I am far happier and even though I make less money I don't come home every day wishing I had not woken up and gone to work that morning. Once the threat of deployment is over and his unit is in its reset year rather than deployment year we'll sit down and weigh our options again. It's kind of nice to be approaching this with such a financially responsible plan. With the economy what it is, I really worry for a lot of law students who are taking out $100k+ loans, with no guarantee that they'll ever be able to pay them back.

I'm so proud of my husband and while I never truly love the fact that he's in the military, I know what it means to him. It has changed the path our lives have taken, and definitely added a lot of stress. But I don't think delaying law school for two years will ultimately be something I look back on with regret. I'm only 25, and while I sometimes think that's old and I've wasted time waiting, it really isn't, I have plenty of time to take care of my family and my career.

Dear City Dept. of Risk Management

Attention City Department of Risk Management:

On 4/20/08 frozen city storm drains caused the storm water drain in front of our house to begin welling up with the backed up water. This flooding is a known problem that has previously occurred. The City planned for the likelihood of this event happening by dropping a few sandbags outside our home in the spring. When the flooding occurred we immediately utilized the sand bags in an attempt to block the water from entering our home. We then called the City Public Works Department. With water coming in at an ever increasing rate, and unable to make contact with anyone who could help us at Public Works, we had to resort to calling 911. The 911 operator assisted us in making contact with someone at Public Works to come and deal with the problem. A City pumping and thawing crew was dispatched to our home. By the time they arrived the sand bags were doing little to keep water out of the house and the entire depth of the house was flooded not just the area near the doors. The rate of water was so great that it was also pouring into our crawlspace.

Because of the flood levels, which could not be contained, our home has sustained flood damage in the garage, one 309 sq. ft. room and in the crawl-space. Thankfully we were able to move most of our personal belongings to a higher level before they were soaked. On the city’s recommendation, we had Servicemaster come and do the cleanup of the flood affected areas and remove the materials ruined by the flooding and subsequent mold infestation. Servicemaster will be submitting their bill directly to the City and we will do a separate claim to submit a copy of their bill. This claim is for the reconstruction to restore the affected areas to the condition they were in prior to the flood. Additionally, this claim is for replacement of those items damaged by the flood.

...Detailed claim info...

Total: $14,399.65

So, for anyone wondering how the kitchen remodel is going and why I haven't posted in awhile, now you know. We had a bunch of friends come over and bail all of our belongings to higher ground which they did quite well. They saved almost everything, it's just in no particular order all over the rest of the house now. 1/3 of my house is under construction, probably closer to 1/2 counting the kitchen. I'm learning how to deal with claims against the city, insurance, contractors, quotes, blah blah blah. It's been a tough spring.

Halfway through flooding and the City hadn't shown up to pump yet. The water is welling up under the carpet, pushing it up. Ultimately it flooded the whole depth of the house in this room.

Water got behind the paneling and wicked up the vapor barrier causing mold to grow. I was so allergic I had to get prescription eye drops to keep the swelling down in my eyes.

Chic, Green and Won't Kill Me!

BPA is the plastic ingredient and endocrine disruptor that's been in the news lately. Present in everything from baby bottles to Nalgenes, basically any hard plastic bottles, cups, or other products. The New York Times indicates that in Canada BPA is about to be officially labeled as toxic. On top of this, the US Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program endorsing a claim that there is "some concern" that BPA might be harmful to human life, as it had caused precancer in mice. The National institute of Health ranks the risk from hard plastic bottles as a 3 on a scale of 1-5 on how much they are concerned.

So, beginning today, I am making a change. No more wasting the water bottles. Instead, I am buying a refillable drinking bottle made of aluminum. These bottles are 100% recyclable even at the end of their lives. This means no more wasted water or plastics for me.

Painting in Winter

One problem with the kitchen project is that painting when its still hovering around 0F outside means opening the windows and doors to vent the paint smell is a chilling experience. We ran out of primer half-way through so when I went to buy more I checked out the Freshaire line of paints at Home Depot for the following reasons:

-Fresh Aire paint has NO VOC'S, (Volatile Organic Compounds)
*VOC'S are a major contributor to the depletion of the ozone layer & poor indoor quality
-No harmful effects or chemical odors
-LIFETIME WARRANTY on performance and appearance
-Environmentally safe, not only the paint is good for the environment, but:
-the can
-the label and packaging
-the color chips
ALL ARE RECYCLABLE AND MADE FROM RECYCLED MATERIALS
ALL ECO FRIENDLY

Only downside is the price $35-$38/gallon for paint, less for primer and the fact that no color matching is available due to the fact that the color comes in little packets which are then mixed into the base paint at Home Depot.

I'm curious to see how well it works. The Home Depot people also told me I could order 3 free color samples which come in the mail: http://freshairechoice.com/contact.html I called them and my samples are on the way. Looking forward to seeing how well it works and how well our regular Lowes paint goes over the other primer.

Can police search your text messages if you get caught for speeding?

No, I didn't get pulled over, I just found an interesting article by criminal law professor Adam Gershowitz about the frightening prospect of police searching your text messages if you get stopped for a traffic infraction. "Search incident to arrest" anyone? Wonder what my law school bloggers/techy friends would think of this one. I could find out way more on my friend's phones than what they had been texting, their browsing history, their e-mails, photos, the list goes on. I really wonder at the Fourth Amendment implications.

The HGTV/Bloglines Addicted DIYer's Dilemma

My bloglines have grown recently. Which results in my not getting any homework done at lunch due to the fact that my feedlist is full of inspiring home improvement sites. I've been obsessively checking the Apartment Therapy "Small Cool" competition submissions for ideas. It has me regretting my choice/purchase of taupe paint for the kitchen and wishing for a spring green next to my oak cabinets. Hubby is wishing he could pull the bloglines plug in the same way as he sometimes limits my HGTV consumption by watching guy shows (poor man can only watch so much paint dry). I've become fickle with all of my decisions, second guessing myself. Do I really want a tile backsplash or should I go with back painted glass or just semi-gloss paint. Should I really hold off on getting new counters or will people think the kitchen looks unfinished without Corian, Silestone, Ceasarstone or Granite?! I know I should care, but there are so many cool options out there I can't possibly try them all. I need to find my own style and stick with it and not follow these design show trends. They may look easy on a 30 minute program with two full-time carpenters and electrician and a designer on board, but they really take a lot of time to put together with two DIY'ers at home. Worst of all it's making me discontent with my house, which is really not that small 1,300 square feet and either wishing for something larger or much much smaller (like 600 sq.ft.). I must settle down, finish some projects and live with the results for awhile. So this weekend my goal is to finish painting the kitchen, put it back together and live with it for awhile before moving on to other projects.

Removing Wallpaper the Green Way

Once Monday hit home improvement came to an almost hault. After a long day at work we weren't up for intensive tasks. We spent most of the week removing the wallpaper. Like any Gen-Y person with limited home improvement experience, the first step was Googling "diy wallpaper removal." Next we made a visit to our friendly people at Lowes and asked for their advice. We came home armed with wallpaper removal spray, squirt bottles, a wallpaper scorer and putty knives. In the end we used a combined approach. We initially thought that we should follow the Lowes instructions to the letter:

"Before using any method to dissolve the glue holding the paper in place, you must score the paper. Vinyl or other non-porous paper will not absorb any removal product, so you must make tiny cuts in the paper to let the product soak in. Even porous paper will remove easier when it is scored.

Specialty scoring tools are available to make the process faster. Though it might be tempting to use a knife or saw, those tools are more likely to damage the wall underneath the paper. Score all over the paper to be removed, paying attention to the corners and edges of the wall."

So we scored one section of wall, put the remover on and tried to scrape. We followed all the instructions to the letter, and...we made a mess! I also had a huge allergic reaction to the wallpaper remover and glue gunk and had rash all up and down my arms. I also felt decidedly un-green.

So we developed our own method of green wallpaper removal that requires just as much work, but only requires hard work and water, no nasty chemicals. While this method might not work for every type of wallpaper, we at least recommend that you try this first before buying the nasty wallpaper remover. We actually had two different types of wallpaper in our kitchen which required slightly different approaches, and one was easier than the other.

Removing wallpaper the green way:

1. Find a corner from which you can peel the paper, try removing a wallplate from an outlet as a good starting point if edges are hard to find. Turn power to the outlet off while working with a screwdriver to remove the plate.


2. Begin peeling back the paper from this point. (On half of our kitchen the top shiny layer of wallpaper just peeled right off).


3. If the wallpaper won't peel back at all then you'll have to use the scoring technique to get at the glue underneath.


4. Once you have either scored the paper or removed the top layer off, you'll need to get out your spray bottles. Fill these with boiling hot water. Spray the walls to the point where they start to drip water. (Other options to water include 1 part water to 3 parts vinegar or a 50-50 mixture of water and fabric softener.)


5. Get out your putty knifes and start scraping. Make sure to work in small enough sections that the water doesn't dry or else you'll have a sticky mess on your hands.


6. Once the paper is off you'll still need to do some prep work before painting. Wash the walls thoroughly to remove any remaining glue, then sand and wash again, prime and paint.

This takes no chemicals, no remover and it worked. One of our walls we just peeled, sprayed and scraped, and the other we had to score, spray and scrape. If, after trying the water you still can't get the paper off, we'd recommend renting a steamer before going with the harsh chemicals. Even after removing the paper, we tried using the remover gel on the bare walls to get the little bits of glue off again and still did nothing but make me break out and gum up the walls.

All in all this was a messy project which consumed the better part of our evenings for a week and all day Saturday. It was nasty, messy and I wouldn't wish it on anyone else. I hope to never hang wallpaper. Paint is way easier, easily changeable and better looking in my opinion.

Now I've just got to decide whether or not to try and use putty to get rid of the orange peel texture (taking the chance that the walls won't look perfectly flat) or leave the orange peel and go ahead and paint.

How to get 10% off at Lowes/Home Depot

If you want to get 10% off without employing your mad negotiating skills there are a couple ways. If you have military I.D. you can wait until memorial day weekend. Every year for as long as I can remember Lowes has offered 10% off to those with military I.D. on purchases less than $5,000 dollars. Last year I bought all of my plants and gardening supplies. This year I plan on getting a few last things for the house, but I couldn't hold off purchasing everything. So I went in search of another way to get 10% off. If you go to the Lowes website you can get a coupon for 10% mailed to you simply by filling out a form at http://lowesmoving.com/. I filled mine out and got my coupon 2 days later. Best of all, if you print out two copies you can use one at Home Depot as well because they honor their competitors coupons.

New Appliances!

Friday came and the new appliances arrived. It was a bit of a juggle getting the Lowes people and the Freecycle people there at the same time, but in the end it worked out great. The Lowes people even hauled the old appliances out and put them in the Freecycle people's truck with their nice dolly so labor was saved all around. The new fridge is HUGE compared to the old one and oh so shiny. Now I just need to police the fingerprints on the new stainless front! The new range is a big improvement as well. No more cooking turkey for an extra 2 hours on Thanksgiving (we hope). And it has a convection option so we just press a button and knock a few minutes off the bake times for our baked goods, handy. The new appliances are making the rest of the kitchen look like a clash between country meets modern so we'll continue to make changes. Next up, removing the wallpaper and brick backsplash to replace with paint and beautiful tile.

Kitchen (Before)

Thursday afternoon I took pictures of our current kitchen. It's not bad with fairly new cabinets and lots of space. It's not quite the right size to use our existing kitchen table so it's not currently set up as an eat-in kitchen. Rather we have a small cafe table which we use as a breakfast space/mail collection point next to our huge china cabinet. The style is a little less modern than I like, with a country vibe which we hope to change. The brick backsplash is quite ugly and the lenolium isn't the best, but its not too bad, especially when compared to some of our olive and orange apartment kitchens. The light fixture over the dining area definitely fell into the ugly category. Before I got around to taking our before pictures we had already replaced its matching brother fixture over the cooking area with this much more modern track lighting.

So, without further ado, here are our "Before" photos: