We took the kids to the vet for their checkups and to settle them in for their boarding this week.  Off we go to the Caribbean.  Miss Lucy is over 9 lbs! The Mack Attack is now a robust 5lbs, 6oz!  He is such a little cutiepie, all the girls in the office and even the lady vet were ooohhhing and ahhhing over the little stinker.  He just eats that stuff up.  After getting them settled, arranging for Lucy's surgery(no puppies in the future), we wrapped things up by paying $595!.  Jeesh, these kids are expensive!

We had a nice breakfast at the local cafe called Ram's where the food is good, service is with a smile and the prices so so.  We came back to the rig and started packing.  I also started the "dismataling" for breaking camp early tomorrow in the morning.  We will leave the rig at Suncoast window repair, and hopefully we will be able to stay plugged in.  We had made prior arraignments to leave the rig there while we are gone so we could have a place to store the rig as well as getting it repaired.  Paul talked to the office manager and even if they have to move us out of the hookups area, we will be plugged in with a 20amp cord so the fridge doens't get turned off!  I don't want to come home to spoiled meat and rotten royal red shrimps that are $14 a pound.  I think they understand and even if no outlet is available, they will make sure the refer is on LP.  That very thing happened to us while we were on a five day cruise with Grandpa, and I was one unhappy momma.  Yuck.


We can board the ship at 12:30 p.m. but am not sure what time we will get there.  No use getting there early and have to wait for hours to board.  I have read on several cruise critic sites that Carnival has the embarkation down pretty well, and there isn't a lot of waiting.  I am taking my scooter, and I am sure I need it, even if we just disembark at one port where a lot of walking would be involved.


So, we are hoping to have a great cruise, and celebrate our 25 unbelieveable years together!  Never thought that would happen!


later,
dennise

Photos speak a thousand words....here are my "babies"....Lucy is now almost 7 months old, and Mack will be 2 in May!

Mack is still under 5lbs but Lucy, who knows?  It's like picking up a ten pound sack of potatoes!

We will get an update on Saturday when we drop the kids off at the Vet.  Lucy will get spayed and they will be boarded while we are off on our anniversary crusise.  We leave Sunday afternoon for 7 glorious days.  We are sailing with Carnival this time, a first, and don't know what the ratio of spring break kids will be on this crusie. Oh well, we'll see...I am just going to enjoy it all, especially not having to cook or make meals for 7 whole days!

Here are some recent updates to the Aluminum Assylum:

We added some storage by taking out the hard to move island storage (which had replaced the paltry dining table and rickety chairs.

There is a lot of storage under the benches which are actually higher...about 27" tall.  Considered "counter height" seating. I keep my daily use appliances in here on the right side and store my hand held Orek vac in a backet and lesser used stuff on the left. While traveling, the pillows get stored in the right side also.

This is the setup I usually use while cooking.  The island is a foldable, portable one with  lot of storage.  I use baskets so when breaking camp it is easy to just grab the baskets, put them on the bed, and go.  I have one for dishtowels which saves drawer space.  I have a bread/snack/cookie basket, a veggie/fruit basket and a puppy supplies basket.  All easy to just place on the bed while traveling as they don't slide around on the bed..  Behind the island you can see my other can't be without folding shelving.  I bought this a number of years ago at El Boutique Target.  This also holds various baskets, the two Mexican  pots that I store my kitchen utensils (yes, two...I like kitchen gadgets ok?) I also store my toaster and my huge canister of protein on it.  It too simply folds up and along with the island and stores in the bedroom while traveling. I have a foldable canvas box where the stuff on the shelving unit goes and it too travels in the bedroom.

When set up for dinner, we just roll the island to the bench area and viola! Dinner is served.

Here is a shot of the kitchen area and the new backsplash I put it. It is really just plastic panels from Lowes, and is cutable with a scissors.  A very cheap way to protect the walls and I think if you didn't know it was plastic, you would think it was metal...which I eventually hope to replace it with sometime in the future.  You may also notice we put in lineolem which I hate as it doesn't cover the slider rollers.  Not too terrible in the living area where the throw carpet covers it, but I hate the other one sticking out like a sore thumb.

Here's another view...

I still have some honey-do's for the Polish Prince....new sink and new faucet...I get so frustrated with the ones we have now....one side of the sink is normal the other is a tiny useless dinky thing and you can't even fill water in anything with that short faucet.  So far though I like the space I have gained.

Here is a picture of my "lamp table"...a file cabinet topped with a square wood top and a table cloth.  I need a different cover, but overall the double use is good.  I do worry about the weight of the stuff IN the file

cabinet!  One more shot....

Ok more pictures of the puppies coming in a while...

hugs,

dennise

Wow, it is now St Patty's day. Where has all the time gone. We are really having a great time in Florida. Well, that's not entirely true. The weather here has been as bad as in the Texas Rio Grande Valley. Rain. Cold. Wind. Nasty. We did see frost, and I froze, I have been cold since October(!)...no winter coat. I ditched them all. I guess I will look for a lightweight fleece jacket at the flea market. I saw them with flea market kinda "themes"....geese, wolves, strange zigzags and the typical fugly patterns. But, who cares? I sincerely doubt that some person(one like me, that is!) would walk up to me and ask me where I bought the darling jacket I have on. And I would certainly tell them the flea market, er, yah right!!!!


We celebrated our 25th Wedding anniversay yesterday, March 16. We celebrated with some friends from Central Illinois Cenois Prairelanders FMCA chaper, of which we are still members. Our McDill sponsors, Hank and Elizabeth Kerr were there; Dave our Treasurer and his cutie pie wifey, Patty,and one of my favorite ladys, Roberta Williams with her hubby Tom. I love Roberta...she is one of the most fun people to be with. She tells the most wonderful stories of her and Tom's travels and family, and their missions work. She is not afraid to get on the roof of their motorhome and scrub the roof. No, I am not kidding. I couldn't climb up the latter and here is this slip of a gal, short cropped hair and in her capris, is cleaning the roof! I asked her why and she said she didn't want Tom to fall off. Hmmmm....


We did a lot of running around. A typical kind of Griswald day...Our cruise departs on Sunday, and the Polish Prince needed a sport jacket and a pair of decent pants to wear on the two formal nights. He said he could get in with casual, which for him is basketball shorts and a sleeveless tee and flip flops. I pointed out that a jacket is required, and he said he would chance it...what could they do, not seat him? I said yep, mrknowitall. Then I will eat all dressed up by myself. So we were on a hunt for a jumbo man sport coat. He found one at the second shop we stopped at and while he was browsing, I began a pretty bad hypoglycemia episode. When he got back to the car we headed for the nearest McDonnalds to get me a hot mocha...enough sugar to kill any diabetic is just what I needed. I am going to have to carry packets of sugar with me so I can just suck one or two down when this happens. Of course I have to get in some protein and carbs immediately to avert another crash. Paul pulled in and I went in. He was going to put the jacket on so I could see it. When I exited the store, I saw a man fall just outside the door. I look and it is the Polish Prince. I got to him as fast as I could. He had put the jacket on, and walked over to get the newspaper by the first handicapped spot which was sloped downward but had a strange short curb immediately in front of the newspaper thingy you put the money in. He had backed up a half a step, hit that curb edge and lost his balance. He staggered back a few feet to try and get his balance but fell and HIT his head on the car parked in the handicapped spot! We looked at the car front door and it appeared that there was no damage. We got back into the car when an older lady and her son came up to the car and told Paul that he had dented the door. He went to look again and he did dent the BACK door of the car! Some patrons of the restaurant told us he hit his head on the back door. Well, that's comfirmation, his head is so hard he dented the crap outta a car door. (he did put a dent in our Tauraus about 15 years ago when he was on a ladder in the garage and lost his footing coming down and landed on the hood of the car and dented it with just one butt cheek...I am NOT making this up!) The lady was very nice and asked for our car insurance info. The Prince began to oblige when I stepped in and said, our car insurance won't pay for this...our car didn't make the dent, his head did from a fall on poorly designed handicapped ramp! It is McDonald's responsibily...I told him to go to the manger who had also come out of the store to see if Paul was ok and of course, embarrassed, he muttered he was ok. I told him to make out an accident report, what if he couldn't get out of bed tomorrow 'cause he hurt something that turns up latter. So, he did. He also gave the poor lady whose door was dented, our insurance info, telephone number. I told Paul, she would have a hard time collecting from our insurance company for this, he wasn't in the car when he did the damage. Paul had told her to see how much it would cost and he would send a check. Dumbshit. McDonalds is liable here, not The Prince's hard head!


We stopped at another Salvation Army place and he found some more stuff that he tried on and fit. I found a yellow top for a pair of capris (but once home they clashed...) and I also found a green T shirt that will work. Gotta look carefully at this stuff...and wash it a couple of times, but who can beat $.99 for a t shirt?


Crappy day for St Paddy's but we need to find a place that serves corned beef and cabbage today. The Prince can eat a burger, but I love my CB & C!
*Sigh*. What'sa poor Irish girl from Chicago subpossed to do?


hugs
dennise