..... tickets to paradise!!!

Ben, Ashley, Anya, Elise, Abigail, Margaret, Adrian and little Wulf, Camille, and I have purchased the tickets to go to Norway this summer!!!! It was SO exciting to actually purchase them, also they were much more expensive than we wanted...you know, you go to actually buy those five hundred dollar tickets, and um, a 13 hour layover in Zurich? If one had all the time in the world, and some extra money, a layover in a foreign city might be fun. But when you're traveling with small children, nah. So we got direct tickets, from New York to Oslo.

Paul is going too, but flying all by his lonesome, he has airline travel points.

Em, Evelyn, Jonathan, Sonja...they're flying separately because they're going earlier.

I know, booooring details, but for me, very exciting. We've been planning this trip for a long time. Charlotte Claire and Camille have been saving up birthday money and Christmas money and bottle and can return money for a few years now. They have saved enough to pay for their own plane tickets! This is really a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us all to go like this. Although it may be just so fantastic, we'll start saving up for another on in like two years.

So I joke about losing fifty pounds for each upcoming event. It seems like a grand plan, especially when the weeks stretch before me, giving me lots of time to accomplish it. If I had a dollar for every time I've thought along the lines of how much I can take off per week times the number of weeks, I'd be flying first class.

So yesterday, I decided I was going to work out a bit. I have to start these things slowly, because a few months ago I decided the very same thing....and seriously, I stretched out on the mat on the living room floor, lifted one leg, and pulled a muscle. So yesterday, some push ups, some planks, some stretches and leg lifts and lifting the ten pound weights, then going up and down the stairs a bit, because I hate getting out of breath so easily. Well, wouldn't you know it, I go up and down those stairs and notice they really need to be vacuumed. So, yeah, I vacuumed the stairs...then the hallway, and my room...then it was time to peel potatoes for dinner. I was halfway through that five pound bag of red-skinned potatoes when I noticed the exercise mat in the living room, with my socks on it that I had taken off. Oops, I got sidetracked.

Our dinner was yum. We took a quick trip to Aldi yesterday, and bought a 6 1/2 pound package of chicken breast. As soon as we got home, I put them in a marinade of lemon juice, olive oil, and chicken seasoning with lots of pepper. Jonathan grilled them later, and oh my goodness, summery-tasting goodness. I made mashed potatoes...a whole stick of butter, some half and half, onion powder, salt and pepper, not too shabby. Sonja prepared some broccoli, and wow, what a dinner. I only had a tablespoon of those 'tatoes, and believe you me, I could have eaten an entire bowl of them.

Here's what's happening around here: we are getting new kitchen flooring! I'm not sure when, but soon! Our tile is lovely, but so many of the tiles are cracked! It's also cold, and very slippery when wet. So we're thinking to get the waterproof vinyl planking, which is a snap together plank flooring, which looks like real wood. It has texture and variation in color, looks real, but doesn't scratch as easily, and...is waterproof. The hard part will be to rip up all the tile, unless we decide to install it on top of it, which you are supposed to be able to do.

Here's the other thing: we have this fake wood in the living room, which I really like. It's like ten years old, and is showing some wear...the new stuff in the kitchen won't match. So...you see where I'm going, right? Ca-Ching. The whole thing would cost a pretty penny, and...the living room still looks okay. I know for a fact that Paul won't get it, he'll be like, "What?!!!"

In any case, it's clear that with home improvements, it's like the kids' book, If You Give A Moose A Muffin.

Ah well. Life is short, and we can't take it with us. That's one thing my mother used to say all of the time. You can't take it with you. When Abigail was three years old, she had a favorite purse she used to carry around at all times...she was afraid to put it down, because she thought if Jesus came back, she needed to bring it with her. Um, honey...oh dear.

My mother also used to say that people wanted heaven on earth, making these kingdoms for themselves, but it'll all just pass away. The only thing we can take with us are those heavenly treasures we gain through our trials. Not to be a huge downer, but it puts things in perspective, doesn't it?

So...there are so many fun and interesting things in life, but let's get some of those heavenly treasures today...