I’m not sure if I’d ever actually make the trip out there, but for a quite some time I’ve been interested in learning more about Amsterdam. Over the last year an old friend of mine kind of moved himself out there, but he’s heavy into the “rock & roll” kind of lifestyle that Amsterdam has to offer. So I looked into Amsterdam hotels just to get a general idea of how much it would cost me in the chance that I do actually get out there. I was actually surprised to find a few cheap hotels in the area that really weren’t that bad looking. Sure, when you go on vacation you don’t want to stay in some kind of a dive and that’s completely understandable to anyone involved. I wouldn’t recommend going to some horrible motel that costs $10 a night. I figure if you’re going on vacation you can find something in the $50-$80 range which is about what you’d spend for a decent two star here in the states. I was shocked to find out that a few hotels out there are in that price range and they look more like the three to four stars that we’d spend over $200 a night for.
Archive for the ‘BVT’ Category
World Travel: Amsterdam
Wednesday, October 10th, 2007Paris Hotels
Tuesday, October 9th, 2007I’ve always loved the idea of hopping on a plane and traveling to some gorgeous location in Europe just to get away from it all. While I’m unsure of whether or not I’d actually step foot on a plane, this doesn’t mean that I’d actually stop myself from going out there one day. I’ve poked around for Hotels in Paris just to get a general idea on the pricing. I’d love to see the Eifle tower, I know it’s kind of a cliche landmark to look into but it’s the big one for me. I found quite a few Paris Hotels to be quite gorgeous. Everything from the scenery outside the window to the layout and bedding in the room itself are more than enough to make me drool on getting out there. There’s something so luxurious about H?¥tels en Paris. I’m just itching to get out there.
Ceiling Fans
Tuesday, October 9th, 2007Sean and I know from the get go that the place we’re looking to purchase doesn’t have central air conditioning. With this we’re looking into a few different cooling options that will work for us year round, without us having an air conditioner in the window. So we’ve been looking around the Internet for different things and I personally think that installing a few ceiling fans would be a great route to take. I’ve always liked Craftmade ceiling fans, but I found a few Monte Carlo ceiling fans that sparked my interest. The one I like the most is the Mach Two. It comes with a lighting kit and even a remote control. I know that’s a little two high-tech for a fan but for $250 it really isn’t half bad. The one I originally looked into was like $450 which really isn’t even worth it to me, so settling for something in the $250 range wouldn’t be a bad idea in comparison. I figure it’ll be in the right spot to cover the living room and office areas. I’ll have a vent in the kitchen to at least suck the air out in there. I don’t plan on spending too much time in there, other then when I’m cooking, so the flow of air from the living room will be more than enough for me. I have seen quite a few (beautiful) kitchens that have fans over the dining table but that doesn’t mean I’d actually put one in there. If you’re working on an electric stove then that’s one thing, but it’s really more of a fire hazard than anything when you’re working on a gas stove – you know? The flame goes out with any kind of a strong breeze and having the gas on after the flame goes out is pure stupidity. But hopefully anyone would know that.
Nope, don’t think so.
Friday, August 24th, 2007We’re still trying to figure out where we’d like to go on Vacation. It’s proving to be a bit more difficult than we originally thought. Sure we could use our free rooms up in Atlantic City, or we can hop on a plane and go to Australia or something.
I’ve always been interested in Sydney but even more-so I’ve thought about Brisbane because I know someone who lives there, we’ve been talking for years now. She loves the entire country and that isn’t surprising to me considering she’s moved so much that she’s forgotten where she was actually born. I know she’s been in Brisbane for the last few years or so, I just haven’t spoken to her in a few weeks but I think she was going away with her husband or something, she was talking about hotels in Sydney for a while.
I’m unsure of just how close these places are to each other, but I’m sure Google will give me enough information for that one. I’m just not sure how well I’d do when it comes to flying. I haven’t been on a plane since I was maybe 18 months old and I don’t even remember taking that trip so the thought of flying over large bodies of water is scaring the bejesus out of me. I know people who’ve spent quite a bit of time flying and they’ve all told me that it’s just the initial fear based on the media. It’s really not like that for me though, I could care less about the media. It’s just the heights thing that gets to me, not to mention the watery grave known as the Pacific Ocean…:ugh:
The Daily Do
Wednesday, August 15th, 2007A little while ago, Sean and I went out to do some shopping. We headed over to Dollar Tree to look for baskets because no one can beat $1. We then stopped in EBGames and I picked up a new game for the Wii and I bought him a docking system for his xbox360 controller. Turns out, it was the wrong one so we wound up taking it back and exchanging it. Either way he’s happy. A quick trip to AC Moore to look for other odds and ends, then wondering around Walmart for a little bit so I can look in the vitamins section and now we’re home.
I’ve been poking around the natural health stuff for a while now. I’ve been taking supplements with my diet that are working out pretty well for me. My energy levels are through the roof these days, which is more than likely the reason behind my accomplishing so much in the past few days. I’m right on track with all of my monthly goals, I’m at the 50% mark for my financial goals which works out great for me considering it’s literally the half way point of the month. I like when things balance out really well and I think the MSM Supreme is doing the trick. It’s a dietary supplement but I’ve been using it for pain management considering how bad my back has been these days. It’s working out really well for me so I’m not complaining, and I’m also not spending a butt-load of money on pain killers that my addictive personality would pounce on. Another one I’m taking is Lithium Orotate, it helps my frequent migraines but based on research it also helps those with depression and bi-polar disorders. Asprin wasn’t helping me anymore, not even Aleve and I was popping at least 6 of those a day just to concentrate.
Anyhoo, I’m about a half hour behind on some work that needs to be completed by midnight. I need to get my booty in gear on that.
Dyslexia
Friday, August 10th, 2007I’ve been side-tracked with work helping Kayla find some tutoring for her daughter Megan. She’s been having some trouble in English and figured before school started she’d get her enrolled in an online course, or even just a local tutoring service in general.
She’s a sweet kid, about 9 years old and has what we believe to be dyslexia. The problem is a lack of insurance is keeping Kayla away from getting her tested for it. It’s not that her daughter isn’t healthy, there is a clinic in-town that’s been more than gracious with helping her out but when you’re 27 with a 9 year old, it’s just hard to give them everything they’ve ever really needed. It’s just unfortunate that I can’t help her out with the tutoring at the moment, if I had the money to send over to her I would but lord knows what a specialist would charge for this kind of a test.
I did some reading though, Google is pretty easy to use for situations like these. It’s not hard to help someone with dyslexia and one of the big things to do is get them involved with a tutor that can help their needs. I don’t really think there’s any medication involved, it’s not really a physical disease it’s obviously brain based. When I first heard about what it was, I seriously thought that someone’s eyes were just backwards or something but that was me being a dumb 10 year-old at the time as well. Knowing that she really just needs a reading comprehension tutor in a structured environment, that her school doesn’t seem to have for her, would more than likely be a good thing.
Do you know anyone with dyslexia? Were you dyslexic? What route did you take?
Old friends doing really well!
Thursday, July 26th, 2007My friend Pat is in a band that’s been traveling basically everywhere. They started off as local hotness and has now skyrocketed to a large success, especially among college campuses. They were once Hyjinx but now known as Stealing Jane. I asked him about coming down to Dewey because it’s a massive college town and he said that there’s some big band thing going on in September that they’re waiting to hear back on – YAY!.
Either way their music rules and based on the last I heard they were doing really well on merchandise sales too, shirts are flying off the rack it seems. Their EP is about to drop so they’ve been looking into expanding their merchandise to include baseball caps, mouse pads, pens, stickers, bags and other fun stuff. So this is where my actual point comes in.
When it comes to band based merchandise, owning a shirt just won’t cut it sometimes. What would you like to see with a band name on it? They want something unique, I’m sure. They used to do thongs but those went too quickly and strangely lonely boys were the only ones actually buying them – lol.
Pick a holiday already, will you?
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007It’s kind of weird that I went from talking about Christmas to Halloween but I just came across a really cool site that’s in full dedication to Halloween. They’ve got everything from Halloween costumes to decorations. I found a “Dog, The Bounty Hunter” costume and almost fell out of my chair laughing because it’s one of the same outfits that you’d see Beth wearing. It’s even got the big puffy curly white hair to go with it, I thought it was pretty cool haha. They kind of remind me of a Party City kind of store. I know they’re primarily just for Halloween based items, and that’s fine. The store I’m used to going to has nothing but Halloween decor but things are changed out seasonally for Christmas. All in all they seem like a fairly interesting resource.
Taking on the US by storm!
Wednesday, July 18th, 2007When you’ve spent 22 years living in the same home you’re naturally itching to get out and travel a bit. Naturally when I met my fiance I found myself traveling up and down the eastern seaboard but I know for sure that I want something more. For many years now I’ve been itching to travel to another country, maybe even just get all 50 states under my belt as well. Finances have stopped me from doing this but I know that if I could get myself to the point of putting money into savings, here and there, specifically for traveling I’d make it a point to at least get all 50 states taken care of and then work on the other countries I’m interested in.
Sean and I have spoken, numerous times, about taking on the US territory by renting (or buying depending on finances) an RV. We could very easily take two months (maybe summer) and hit up all 48 states that you’re able to drive to, naturally. Then maybe sometime down the road we’ll work our way through Canada so we can get up to Alaska. I think the ultimate last place to travel to would be Hawaii, that would kind of be a gift in itself. I think that would be a pretty decent way to end a journey, don’t you?
If you had enough money to travel anywhere in the world – where would you go?
Travel Plans: London, England
Wednesday, July 4th, 2007It’s officially the 4th of July and since I’m basically living in the middle of a huge tourist attraction, there are approximately 125,000 people here that aren’t typically around throughout the year. There are supposed to be some kind of fireworks going off at the beach but a recent view of the boardwalk thanks to the towns website has shown me that not only is the place completely packed but there isn’t even standing room at this point either. Times like these make me wish I was some place else, preferably Europe considering I’ve always wanted to go to London.
Naturally, if I ever did get to Europe I’d more than likely hit up Italy first considering that’s where my family comes from. I’d also spend a bit of time in Ireland as well. I’d personally, however, prefer to see something with a bit more history especially a place like London, England that houses close to half of all of the locations of my favorite British comedies, ones I still watch on a daily basis thanks to my local MPT station, Afternoon Tea = Best Stuff in The World! I can’t tell you how many questions I’ve answered just trying so hard to win the official Afternoon Tea mug that is just too cute for words, it would match all the rest of my coffee mugs so perfectly. It’s not like we don’t have an over abundance of mugs in the house though, it would just be nice to have one that I can say I won instead of one I spent $1.00 on at Dollar Tree.
A fellow blogger friend of mine happens to live in London and while she’s traveled throughout most of the world, she finds that home is where the heart is and she’s stated numerous times that she could not, nor would she ever, find herself living in another part of England, it’s just close to impossible and while I’ve never been there and have only seen images, movies and quick clips that are focused there, I have to say that I can completely agree with her.
So how’d you spend your July 4th? Are you in a heavily populated tourist area? How’d that work out for you?
I can tell you this though, I feel HORRIBLE for the residents in Ocean City right now. They’re even more packed than we are and there isn’t even standing room down on that boardwalk which is a mile long. Ocean City has a 5 mile long boardwalk that all overlooks the ocean where the fireworks are shooting off right now, those poor residents must be going through hell!
Dream Home: Bed and Bath
Thursday, June 28th, 2007With the recent house hunt, I’ve been looking into everything from floor to ceiling. I keep notes of the items I come across that I think are pretty cool. I don’t want our first home together to be that one where we bring in old materials and then just kind of throw them together. We’ve done a pretty good job of merging all of our belongings at this point, now I’d kind of like to start fresh.
We want to have some kind of a sanctuary, a place were we can just go to relax and completely get away from it all. I’d adore a place with vaulted ceilings and even ambient lighting just to set the mood for an overly relaxed atmosphere. I’ve always been a fan of big fluffy beds and just pure comfort. I don’t want to sleep on a slab of two inch mattress, I want something I can fall into and be completely lost in, I know many people that would even agree.
Off the bedroom is going to be a spa like bathroom, and for the sake of privacy I’d like to have the toilet kind of sectioned off away from the rest of the room. This way you’re kind of behind closed doors in case one has to go while the other is in the shower or soaking in the tub. I plan on doing that a lot, especially if I have a hand in which tub will actually be in the room. I’d like a big tub with jets for ultimate comfort, surrounded by candles for again for lighting so you know where you are but dark enough to the point of being completely content with everything going on around you. I want a place where I can just disappear.
I know I’d never be able to afford it unless I get really lucky with lottery numbers or if the site that Sean’s been working on actually takes off to the point that he’s earning millions of dollars. Either way I’d adore it if I could have a bathroom like this. I know the tree in the middle looks a little weird but I found it on Google so give me a break there. It’s got gorgeous lighting, a beautiful tub, a nice separate shower, and based on the description I found about it, the toilet itself is right by the main door but closed off in it’s own little ‘stall’ so to speak. But the stall is about the same size as the bathroom I’m in now and has more than enough room to even throw a table in there, something I didn’t understand but I know how men can be in the bathroom when it comes to keeping themselves busy while on the toilet, if it was organized properly – I wouldn’t mind throwing a magazine rack in there some where.
So yea, I have a dream sanctuary – while I highly doubt it will ever come true, at least I know that I’ll still have my dreams to keep me happy.
Have you bid yet?
Sunday, May 27th, 2007Has anyone checked out Bid4Prizes.com? They’re actually pretty damn cool. You can enter to win cars, cash and other hot items just by submitted the lowest unique bid via cellphone or Bid4Prizes.com. The lowest unique bid for every prize starts out at one penny, but if more than one person bids a penny then that penny is no longer the lowest unique bid, two cents would now be the lowest. If more than one person bids for 2 cents, then it’s bumped to three cents – and so on, and so forth. The winning bid could be anything from one penny, to $1.07 to even $401.32, whomever has the lowest unique bid with absolutely no copy cats then you win the prize for that amount. The cool thing is, if you do happen to win the bid you don’t have to spend any money to win the prize. If you happen to win being the lowest unique bid then the prize is completely free. bid4prizes.com will even pay for the shipping. Note that state tax is different for everyone so you may have to pay taxes on your winnings but considering you’re getting ht item for free, I’d say being fair about it isn’t so wrong.
Dying to get there
Monday, May 21st, 2007I know I’ve been on quite a few mini vacations over the last year but the only places I’ve really gone is casinos and before I moved to Delmarva, I just considered being with the boyfriend a vacation in itself. There’s one place that I’ve always dreamed of going to and I can’t stress it enough but Hawaiian vacations is the only way to go. Beautiful beaches, amazing scenery, gorgeous homes and excellent food – there’s nothing you can’t do in Hawaii. I think each Island is equally gorgeous Maui, Kuai, Lanai, you name it – it’s gorgeous. I’ve been itching to get down to one of these islands for many years. I’ve done many book reports on Hawaii over the years so I’d like to think I know a thing or two about the island that would help me out for my future visit there. I’m just waiting almost too patiently to get there.
Heading North!
Wednesday, May 9th, 2007The news tonight was filled with information about terrorists plotting mass homicide on Fort Dix, NJ. They were apprehended but this doesn’t mean that there are others just like them looking to do the same. I never really liked Fort Dix, I’ve been there a few times but nothing really seemed interesting to me while I was there.
I like Jersey, some people don’t but I have family there. I have an aunt up in Paramous, I know a few people from the Amboys, Atlantic City and even Jersey City. I have to say that if you’re ever IN Jersey, you should seriously consider checking out Liberty State Park, it’s gorgeous. So see, there isn’t really anything wrong with Jersey, they were just ‘lucky’ enough to house the largest military base in the US.
While I’m a New Yorker, through and through, I do enjoy my time in Jersey. I know this weekend won’t be any different. I can’t wait to hop on the Ferry out of Lewes, DE and take my ride up to Cape May. :wee:
Switch-a-roo!
Tuesday, May 8th, 2007I need to get myself over to Wal-mart before we go on vacation. The blinds in the bedroom are broken and the last thing I need is for someone to be able to scope out the place while we’re gone. Right now there’s the typical white plastic blinds in there but I’m really interested in getting something different. The problem is that we’re going to be changing the rooms around so now I don’t really know if I’m going to be searching for blinds for the new bedroom or for the one we’re in now. It’s pretty annoying.
We both decided that since the office is very cramped that it would be a better idea to change it over to the bedroom. There is an upside to this, however. The bedroom is MUCH larger than the office and since all of his clothes and things are already in there, he can keep his crap in there and I can get some shelves up for the closet in here. I won’t need a dresser because I can always get some fabric lined baskets and keep my unmentionables in there. It’s a fairly decent sized closet, not as large as Baby’s but my clothes easily pile up nicely on shelves. He’s anal retentive about having everything hung up. Most of my daily clothes can be folded considering they’re primarily t-shirts in every shape and color imaginable.
There’s just enough room in here to fit a king-sized bed and enough wall space so we can put my TV on the wall and maybe some shelving for my light collections. I have quite a few ‘funky’ kind of lamps that I think would look great if they were actually on a shelf down here.
He won’t let me paint the new bed room, even though I’d spend more time in there than he does. Maybe I can convince him in the future or something – I don’t know. For now, at least, I know I’ll have my own closet so that’ll keep me happy for a while anyway…heh.
Curb Appeal
Monday, May 7th, 2007When I think home decor, I typically think everything from upstairs to downstairs, inside to outside. Curb appeal is probably one of the most important for me. Sure, the inside of houses can be absolutely beautiful but if landscapes look horrible and mailboxes don’t even match the house, it’s basically pointless to me.
I put pretty high regard into residential mailboxes, the more creative the box – the more interesting the owner. Some people design theirs to look exactly like their house, others will shove a poll up a chickens behind and put a drawer on it. It really doesn’t matter though they’re showing their sign of creativity. The one thing I hate the most in the world, however, is how commercial mailboxes look. They’re a lot smaller than most of the standard mail boxes and if you’re expecting something, like 8×10 mailer or something, it’s bent in half to fit in there. When my diploma showed up at the house, the mail-man gladly left it open so that it didn’t crush it. In this community, however, it’s a small commercial box (even though it’s technically residential) that’s opening is probably only large enough to fit the boyfriends hand in it. So that would be what…4″x3″ or so? I don’t know. I know that commercial mailboxes have a purpose, it’s good to know that sites like mailboxixchange.com are making them better looking though. No more typical brushed-metal boxes. They’ve got some nice setups to choose from. Maybe I should write a letter to the complex manager… :hrm:
Krissy.