Labor Day Weekend

3 days off in a row, Nick without the homework hangover, home improvement done for now, what in the world are we going to do??? Ideas thus far:

1. Stay home, go to a bunch of garage sales, maybe a couple of movies, bake a bunch of food to freeze (Lasagne...) sleep in, read, hang out, soak in the newly functional hot tub.
2. Go daytripping to Soda Springs, Yellowstone, Jackson, City of Rocks, Craters of the Moon or other places.
3. Go for the weekend someplace like Soda Springs or West Yellowstone.

Hrmmmm, The Eastern Idaho State Fair starts this weekend, I'm beginning to really like option A. Perhaps its the hot tub and how tired I am. This is week two of working full time again and I'm wiped out. I know it'll get easier but really.....

Jenny

The newly finished bathroom

After
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

Okay, things get out of hand. First came the yoga room, and while talking about paint Nick suggested that maybe we could get the bathroom painted at the same time. Great Idea I said. We had some high gloss white paint (originally only going to be used for trim) and he wanted it white. So we started, or rather, he started. I was working on the yoga room.

First came the cleaning of the walls and the taping off of things and we started talking some more, about maybe getting something done to the floor. Then he primed the walls and ceiling. We started talking about fixing the sink and toilet. Then he painted and painted... As the room started to look better the plans grew. In the end, he fixed the toilet. He leveled the floor and put down a gorgeous faux tile linoleum. He stripped the old metal shower of years of latex and oil paint, rust, and contact paper then coated it with something more suitable. The parts for the sink are on order, a new shower curtain is up and we found the bright green curtains at a garage sale for a dollar.

The room looks so much larger and brighter. This is a basement bathroom and we finally feel like we can use it. Or in Nick's words: not be ashamed if anyone sees it.

For photos of both before and after see:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157606958859859/

Whooo HOOO
Jenny

Packing

Spot in need of a wash - Haines Junction, Yukon
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

After traveling a great deal (10,000+ miles) over the past six months, I have come up with some travel/packing tips that might be of interest. I also figure that if I write them down here, I won't forget them.

The primo tip, from my brilliant husband:
Bring a surge protector. Then in the hotel room you only have to find one outlet and you can plug all your rechargeables into it and you won’t accidentally leave a cord or device in the hotel room.

Packing Tips for Car Travel:

• Mp3 player, and transmitter
• A cheapo plastic tarp. It can keep the rain off the stuff in the trunk when loading and unloading. Alternately, it can be used on the ground when you have to pull everything out to fix the spare tire.
• A bag of condiments such as ketchup, hot sauce, mayo, honey, salt & pepper. If you get the individual serving kinds like they serve at fast food restaurants no refrigeration is needed. Though I might worry about the mayo. Why? Because then you can doctor any food you need to. You might also add individual tea or coffee pouches to the bag.
• Ziplock bags
• Paper towels
  
• Baby wipes
• Hand sanitizer (I had two, one in the glove compartment and one in the condiment bag).
• Book-light and flashlight in glove compartment
• Mints, Tums, sunglasses, sunscreen, lip balm, Kleenex, telephone, CDs, camera, binoculars, if traveling alone these can be placed in a box on the passenger seat for easy access. (The box idea is from my friend Barb in circulation).
• Big white shirt and cotton gloves to keep the sun from burning you. The windshield is somewhat effective at keeping out the rays, but in most cars, the side windows do not have the same type of glass and then the sun will get you. Especially true when driving 10+ hours in Texas sunshine.
• Full size spare tire
• Emergency kit with tools, jumper cables and flares
• Car recharger for cell phone

Tips for Clothing:

• Monochromatic is your friend. If your socks, pants, shoes, and most shirts are black, then you know what you’re wearing in the morning. Just add jacket.
• Polyester is your friend, fewer wrinkles and packs tightly. There are a Lot of good polyester based clothing out there that masquerade as silk, linen, wool and other high end materials.
• Layers, one good cashmere cardigan is invaluable. Thin enough to go under jackets, yet a warming layer over shirts.
• Keep jewelry and accessories simple. The fewer, the easier. One good pair of real gold earrings, a couple of necklaces, a couple of broaches and a really good watch is really all you need.
• Keep styling products simple, maybe it’s time to rethink your haircut if it’s going to require a zillion products and devices to maintain. Don’t rely on the fact that most hotels provide shampoo, rinse, and blow-dryers. I discovered that the ones I stayed at had migrated to an ‘all-in-one shampoo/conditioner’ product. The blow-dryers are frequently not up to par. Best bet is a wash and go hair style

I expect I’ll add things to this list as I remember them. - Jenny

Yoga Room

After 5
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

I realized recently that I wasn't stretching out, doing yoga, or even belly dancing anymore. And I figured out the cause... my living room. My living room has become chock full of large beautiful pieces of furniture. So in order to work out I had to move it and then move it back. I have known for awhile that my evening stretching wasn't happening because of dog hair and debris. In order to use the floor I needed to vacuum. Nothing quite like fuzzy poodle paws to track in dirt, pine needles, and leaf debris. I don't mind vacuuming that much, but before every evening stretch was a bit much.

So I was racking my brain trying to think of a space to convert to a place for yoga and the light bulb went on over my head. (Yes I think you could really see it.) I had a little used guest bedroom downstairs. It had ugly blue carpet, paneling and would be just perfect with a little work.

And here it is. We gave the bed away, removed the dresser and one of the night stands. I kept a night stand for the fountain to sit on, traded out the desk for a real tv stand and kept the nice desk to hold videos, candles, cd's, etc...

Best of all, it works. I stretched out before going to bed last night. Whoooo HOOOOOO!!! I might even take up regular meditation again.

Jenny

For more pictures see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157606750786749/