A Month Of Good Times!

We spent the month of August traveling and seeing all kinds of new (and old) places and friends. I think I already mentioned that we went to Charleston, South Carolina, during the last week of July with my husband's family. We rented a huge house near the beach and had a great time swimming in the Atlantic, sight-seeing around Charleston, and eating all kinds of seafood. I think we ate a record number of shrimp that week, too! The Atlantic around South Carolina is so warm and beautiful, if a bit choppy. Our house had a pool, so we had lots of fun in the water. We even took a historic carriage ride and a ghost walking tour around downtown. It was a relaxing trip for all of us, which was exactly what B and I needed after his first year of practice. About a week and a half after South Carolina, B and I made our annual trek to Indy for Gen Con. V stayed with my parents, so that we adults could play and have some time alone. We rented a hotel this year that was attached to the Indianapolis Convention Center via Circle Center Mall. So, really, we never had to go outside if we didn't want to. We also decided to try out the "Very Important Gamer" package. It cost a lot more than we usually spend on badges, but we got all kinds of perks like our first choice of hotel at the Gen Con discounted price, a swag bag with probably $150 worth of great products, the chance to get into the exhibit hall an hour earlier than everyone else on the first day of the con, and choice seating at some of the big events. I even won tickets to "Hickman's Killer Breakfast", a Gen Con tradition that is so funny, I left with a headache and an achy face from laughing so hard! We also tried out the True Dungeon this year. It was a lot of fun, and afterward, we caught the Zombie Walk leaving the Convention Center. The best thing about the con was my costume on Friday. I had advanced in my sewing lessons enough that I was able to make a fantasy dress like the dresses from "Lord of the Rings" and a cloak to go over it. It turned out great, and I really enjoyed wearing it around the exhibit hall and getting my photo taken by various con-goers. It wasn't too long after we got back from the con that we packed our bags again for a quick trip to Seattle, Washington. Our friend, Ben, has written and organized a murder mystery party for the past couple of years, and this year, he invited eighty of his friends to attend and participate! We decided to join in the fun, and we had a ball. I even managed to make a satin 1930's style gown just for the party. While in Seattle, we spent time with friends of ours from other parts of the country who we only get to see at game conventions. Two of those friends spent a day and a half with us sight-seeing around the city. V enjoyed spending time with them, and he was a real trooper while we traveled around Seattle seeing various "touristy" locations, and then, spending time at a very large party with lots of people milling about acting like mobsters from the 1930s. We just got back from that trip yesterday, and this morning, both V and I slept in until 8:45 am! Even though we were really jet lagged this morning, we had so much fun in Seattle, and I would love to go back and do it again next year. Now that August is over, I look forward to the coming months and what they'll entail. B and I are officially working on getting pregnant, so I'm excited to discover how quickly it will happen. It only took a month for me to get pregnant with V. I guess we'll see if the next one comes along just as fast!
Here are a few of the many pictures I took of our travels over the past month:

The Snooty Fox, and Vacation Time!

After we first moved to our new house, I took some pics of the wonderful wildlife in our area. Even though we live in a small city, our neighborhood is so near wooded areas that we constantly find deer and rabbits in our backyard (and sometimes our front yard). This week, we've had a newcomer!

Twice this week, I've caught this little guy loping through our back yard to the front yard and across the cul-de-sac. This is the first picture I've been able to take of him, since he stopped for a few minutes before wandering off. I'm not sure where he lives, but I'm happy to see him, as long as he stays safe in our neighborhood and nobody runs him over!
Also, it's vacation time again! We're heading to Charleston, South Carolina, with my husband's family. We've decided to rent a huge house near the beach this year. I'm looking forward to (hopefully) some sun and sand and ocean. I'm praying the weather there won't be as crazy as it has been here. We'll have Wi-fi in our rental house, so I'll try to post pics at some point next week.
Have a great weekend/week, and be safe everyone!

Back Home Again In Indiana...

It's been two days since we returned from our trip to Los Angeles, and I'm still a little jet-lagged. V must be, too, because it's ten o'clock in the morning, and he's still asleep! It's been tough getting back into any sort of routine, but that has a little to do with our traveling fatigue. We had a wonderful time with B's younger sister in Pasadena and other areas of L. A. just seeing the sights and sampling wonderful food. Here are some of the highlights from our trip:

We spent Monday in planes and automobiles trying to get to our destination, so we didn't really see anything until Tuesday. We decided to spend that day walking around Pasadena and getting to know the neighborhood around our hotel. Everywhere we looked, shops and restaurants were decked out for Christmas.

V really enjoyed all of the fountains we saw around town.

Christmas in Pasadena means lights everywhere, including on the trees along the side streets.


We took the light rail and subway systems to Hollywood on Wednesday. On our list of things to see and do were the Highland Center (a big mall at Hollywood Blvd and Highland), where you can get a great glimpse of the Hollywood Sign; Grauman's Chinese Theater with celebrities' footprints embedded in cement for posterity; a walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame; and lunch at Pink's for some amazing and unusual hot dogs.
The entrance to the Highland Center

V and I in front of a very tiny Hollywood Sign

V tried to fill the shoes of a famous actor...

One of the hundreds of stars along the Hollywood Walk of Fame

A place famous for their hot dogs, which can be ordered any way you want them. I had the "Hollywood Walk of Fame Dog", which consisted of a hot dog with cole slaw and tomatoes on top. B shared his "Three Dog Night" with V, which was three hot dogs, three slices of cheese, three slices of bacon, and lots of chili and onions, all wrapped up in a tortilla! Talk about a heart attack waiting to happen!

After lunch at Pink's, we hopped a bus at Santa Monica Blvd, and took it to Beverly Hills. Ever since I saw "Pretty Woman" for the first time, I'd always dreamed of walking along Rodeo Drive and looking in on the rich as they indulged themselves in fine food, expensive jewelry, and beautiful clothing. The experience didn't disappoint, and it was made even more spectacular by the fact that everything was decked out for Christmas.
Another fountain V had to stop and look at...

The sign points the way to extreme indulgence...

The fountain in front of Two Rodeo, an extravagant outdoor mall in Beverly Hills

We had dinner that evening in Koreatown, where my sister-in-law and her roommate introduced us to Korean barbecue. It was fabulous!



On Thursday, we decided to do some more kid friendly activities. There was a cute park near our hotel in Pasadena where V was able to play and run and have a wonderful time.


After our visit to the park, we decided to drive to Griffith Park and walk around the Los Angeles Zoo. Though it was really chilly that day, we still enjoyed seeing the animals in their exhibits.




While in Pasadena, we spent our evenings either eating at my sis-in-law's apartment or eating out with her. While hanging out at her place, V had lots of fun playing on her Nintendo Wii.


My sis-in-law had the day off from work on Friday, so we spent our time with her in Glendale and Burbank shopping, eating, and enjoying the spectacular views of the mountains. Lunch was at Porto's in Burbank, a wonderful bakery and sandwich shop. When we got back to Pasadena, we had her drive us up to the Rose Bowl. B and I had tried to walk to it on Tuesday with V, but we had taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up seeing it from far away. We discovered that it was much easier to just drive up to the entrance and walk around on the lawns just outside it.

One thing I absolutely loved about Pasadena...roses in December! They were everywhere!


We spent the evening in the hot tub at our hotel before heading to my sister-in-law's house for some Chinese take out for dinner and Dots cupcakes for dessert. It was a relaxing way to end our stay in L. A., and we came home Saturday exhausted, but happy, from our many travels.

It's Monday, now, and B's back at work. V's finally awake and having a late breakfast. I need to stop writing, hop in the shower, and start doing the many chores that have been neglected over the past week.
I hope you all had a wonderful week while we were away.
Best to you all,
Amanda

Off On More Adventures...

B, V, and I will be leaving tomorrow for another week long vacation. We'll be spending the weekend at B's parents' house because they bought us tickets for the "Radio City Christmas Spectacular" in Cincinnati tomorrow night. It's an early Christmas present and something they've wanted us to see ever since they saw it last year. As an extra bonus, it'll be a "date night" for B and I, while V spends the evening with his grandparents. He's still too young to go to big, loud, long concerts, and it'd be really tough for him to stay in his seat the entire time, even if the show did keep his attention. Maybe we'll take him when he's older. We'll spend Sunday relaxing and preparing for the long flight to Los Angeles on Monday. V hasn't been on a plane since last May, so we don't really know what to expect. This will be the first time we've taken his car seat on a plane, too. Before, he was still small enough to stay on our laps. I think he'll like having his own seat, but I keep wondering how long it will take before he decides he's tired of sitting in it. We're going to take our portable DVD player as well as some small toys, crayons, and paper. Hopefully, he'll have plenty to keep him occupied, and maybe he'll even take a nap! We're going to be staying in the Pasadena area near where my sister-in-law lives. She's the big reason we're going to California. She's been back home to Indiana only once since she moved out there, so it'll be nice to see her again and spend some time getting to know her new city. I'm also looking forward to some sunshine and warm weather. I've found several touristy things on-line that look like fun to see and/or do. B and I plan on going over those together before we leave, but we'll probably plan everything on the spur of the moment while we're there. That always seems to make our trips more fun! I think B will be taking his laptop with him, so we may have an Internet connection while there. Otherwise, I may not be blogging again until we get back. Hopefully, I'll have pictures and stories to share!
Hope you all have a wonderful week.
Best,
Amanda

Hubby On Vacation

My husband started a week's vacation yesterday after his call shift ended at the hospital. He decided that he'd prefer to spend this vacation chillin' around the house instead of traveling, especially since we'll be spending his next vacation (in two weeks!) in Los Angeles. He spent his first night on vacation leading our Dungeons and Dragons group through his very own campaign. We had a great time as our characters did major combat on an airship, and then, landed in the middle of nowhere, fought off more baddies, and were rescued by a Warforged barbarian. Because B has next weekend off as well, we'll be continuing the campaign through Eberron, and I'm really looking forward to it. He's quite the talented Dungeon Master! We have a few other plans for the week. Since he'll be home to watch V, I have an appointment tomorrow at my new OB/GYN's office for my annual exam, and we'll be taking V to his two year appointment with his new pediatrician on Wednesday. I'm also going to try to get into an eye doctor this week because I'm in desperate need of new glasses. Besides these important tasks, we're also having friends over for gaming tomorrow night. One of the women in my new moms group mentioned that she and her husband like to play board games, so we decided to invite them to our house for dinner and fun. I'm really looking forward to adding more people to our ever growing circle of friends. Later in the week, B and I want to go see the new James Bond movie. Our college/gaming friends have volunteered to watch V for us while we have our "date", and in return, B is going to watch their sons and V while the wife of the couple and I try to see the new romantic vampire film that's coming out next weekend. It'll be like a little vacation for me, too, because I haven't been to a movie theater in ages! I also plan on catching up on some books I've been meaning to finish as well as a few NetFlix movies we have waiting for us to watch. So, if you can't tell, I'm really happy that B will be home all week. It'll be a great chance for us to just hang out, spend time with V, see our friends, and have lots of fun and relaxation.
Hope you all have a great week, too!
Best to you all,
Amanda

And, Now, The Internet Can Implode...

So, we just got back from vacation on Sunday, and later that evening, I innocently uploaded some pictures from our little vaca to my blog. I also, just as innocently, commented on Wil Wheaton's blog that I had added a picture of his book among other things I took on vacation with me to my blog. Yesterday, our internet connection in our new home went down, so I didn't find out until just now in our public library that not only did Wil Wheaton see my comment, he also posted my picture of his book and said a few nice things about it on his own blog. All I can say is that I'm deeply honored for him to acknowledge me in this way. I will admit that I had a major crush on him as Wesley Crusher on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" growing up. Now, I deeply admire him as a writer and father. I have no other words to describe this moment except "Awesome". And, now, because he linked to my blog and I in turn linked back to his post about my blog on his blog, the Internet can implode and I would be perfectly happy. Thanks, Wil. It meant a lot. The title of your book The Happiest Days of Our Lives couldn't be any more appropriate than how I feel right now.
Best to all,
Amanda

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words....

So, here's a few "million" words for your reading eyes, because I feel they can spell out our trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, better than I ever could on my own.



















A quick note on the last photo: I'd like to entitle it "What I Did On My Vacation". Look closely, and you'll see my Nintendo DS, my iPod, a copy of Wil Wheaton's latest book, The Happiest Days of Our Lives, and a copy of the Science Fiction short story anthology, The Road To Science Fiction: Volume 3--From Heinlein To Here. Yeah, it was a great vacation!