Where or where are the Boating Gods when you need them?

AHHHHHHHHHH !!! I wonder sometimes why I have cool toys when all they do is break! Why of why can’t the Boating Gods shine upon me? I just don’t understand!

We have had our boat only 4 years- and it was BRAND new when we bought it! We live in a state in which the weather is only cooperative to boaters (unless you fish or wear wetsuits) from around May-September. I work, my husband works, my daughter works, my son does not, but whatever. That only leaves weekends- so not a lot of boating time. This summer due to various reasons, we put our boat in for the first time 2 weeks ago, and then for a second time this past weekend.

We got up early on Saturday morning- what the heck that is about I’m not sure. Whatever happened to the days of sleeping late? Loaded up the boat with wakeboards and life jackets and headed out the door.

First stop- the grocery store. Gotta eat on the water. Why is that anyway? I am always twice as hungry on the water. Probably explains why Michael Phelps eats 4000 calories for breakfast. We loaded up on chips, cookies, fruit, Uncrustables (yes, we all eat them, it saves time and they’re easy to pack) soda, water and Gatorade.

Next stop- gas. Although much better than our last trip, I still ask the question. Why does gas have to be so darn expensive?

Finally, it’s off to the river! The river is much closer than the lake, so on those days when we need to be home for other commitments, ie teenage work schedules, its better to go there. Sucks when the tide is out because it makes for a much more difficult launch, but we deal okay.

With the boat launched – at low tide- we head on down the river to check out the “wakeboard run.” It’s a safety thing for me, especially when the river is low. Although my 2 teens (and Cheerleader Girl’s boyfriend) have driven me to drink on many occasions, I don’t want to deal with an accidental drowning, or big emergency room bills. That makes for a really crappy day on the river. ;) So, now we are way down river (only about 15 minutes or so). The water looks clear, no logs or stumps sticking up, water is like glass.

First up- Bud. He struggles with his wakeboard, my-oh-my how his feet have grown. Finally gets it on, jumps in the water and off we go- DOWN RIVER. Only a few minutes later the boat bogs down. My husband cuts the engine, looks at me, then says “Wonder what that was about.” Bud is pissed because he just missed his wake to wake jump only to find he is floating further DOWN RIVER. We bring him the rope, tell him oops sorry, lets try again. This time we head UP RIVER! This means the boat is going <--- this way, and the river is going ---> this way. Well, whata ya know- the freaking boat bogs down. AGAIN! GRRRRRRR!!! Now Bud is floating AWAY from the boat ---> this way!!!! And we need to go <--- this way. Fortunately the boat starts, we pick up Bud and head back UP RIVER! Unfortunately, the freaking piece of @#$%^&* boat we have used TWO @#$%^&* times this year decides to cut off every few hundred feet! So the next hour and a half consisted of travel up river, engine dies, float down river, engine starts, travel a little up river, engine dies, float some down river, engine starts, travel a little up river, repeat, we finally make it back to the dock. Loaded the boat back on the trailer, which is a huge deal if you have to CRANK it up cuz you can’t DRIVE it up. I have to give a shout out to the nice man who helped my husband! Thank you kind stranger :)

Now- every boat owner knows that your time will come when you have a “boat failure.” Its to be expected! But Helllloooo! My husband is kind of obsessive about maintenance, so we take extremely good care of this darn thing! And we have been out on our boat TWICE this year! This should just not happen!

Whoever said “A bad day on the river is better than a good day at work” is full of @#$%^&* !! They obviously have never had their boat break down! I did feel better after many Hillbilly Surprises! Hope everyone else’s weekend was a good one!

Can you say Balance?

Happy Friday!!

So my daughter turned 16 this year and has started driving. (ahhhh that's a story for another day) My husband and I decided this would be the best time to open up her own checking account and make her keep track of her money. She's working so she is getting a regular paycheck (at least for now). She has gas, car payments, and spending money she needs to keep up with.

I took her to the bank with money from her savings account and she and I sat down, talked to the banker and set up her new account. We all decided checks- the paper kind- were not such a good idea, so she only has her "check card." She can use it for cash at the ATM or to pay for gas, or whatever else she needs. We talked about how to keep track of her transactions in her check register, including deposits. We're fortunate that she's pretty organized, so she has done a good job so far.

This is where the funny part comes in..... A couple nights ago, we sat down to balance her check book. I was showing her what she needed to do, and noticed her registered NEVER had any cents. It always balanced to $ .00. For example, an even $400.00, or $372.00. Not $400.56 or $375.23. At first I thought, okay, maybe she is rounding. Some people do that and then just fix it when they balance their checkbook. But hello... she's never balanced one- how would she even know to do that. Nope, not the case.

When we actually started checking off the transactions in her register, I noticed she would have a deposit for $125.44, description, babysitting and $125.87, description babysitting. Now I know her fee for babysitting(that's her regular "fulltime" job) is $125.00, so I asked her "What in the world are you doing? You can't just make up the cents? You have to write down ONLY what you deposited." Her response was... "Duh!" Come to find out, she was depositing her CHECK of $125 and the CHANGE to make it a whole number. So her deposit slip said checks= $125.00, cash = .44! What a novel idea!!! We laughed so hard we cried, not at her, but I would have never thought of that. After we caught our breath, she looked at me and said, "Is that wrong? Should I not do that?" I told her of course not, but it makes me realize how innocent and naive they really are, even when they want to be all grown up.

Needless to say her check register balanced and all is well in the life of teenage spending habits :)

My Historic Adventure

Isn’t it interesting how you can live in a state or city with so much history and not ever visit any of the historic monuments that surround you? I have lived in Virginia for 35 years and until last Saturday had never been to a plantation!

The Salesman, Cheerleader Girl and I (Bud was busy) set out on our Historic Adventure on Saturday afternoon to tour the plantations on the road from Richmond to Williamsburg. We actually had intentions of touring several, but because of our complete indecisiveness about how we were going to spend our day, we got kind of a late start. Although we saw the outside of many, the only one we actually saw the inside of was Shirley Plantation.

It is the oldest plantation in Virginia, built in 1613 and has been remained after 11 generations in the same family. It’s still a working plantation today. I was amazed that it managed to survive, still in tact through the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the Great Depression and the family actually still lives there today. Something weird about having total strangers parade through the 1st floor of your house 7 days a week. I guess after that many generations, you get used to it : ).

It was amazing to me how it must have been back then. I would have been a Scarlet O’Hara of sorts because I don’t want to think of myself as anything other, at least not today ;) I can see myself riding in the most grand of carriages, in the most grand of dresses, on a cool day to enjoy tea and biscuits on the veranda overlooking the James River. (Gotta be a cool day cuz I don’t want to be sweating in my day dream). I, of course, would have been greeted by Mrs. Elizabeth Hill Carter, or which ever of the Elizabeths, or Hills, or Carters lived there at the time of my fantasy (the guide lost me after the 2nd or 3rd Elizabeth, Hill, or Carter. Did everyone name there kid after someone else in the family back then, geez, how did they ever keep up?) What a grand day it would have been…………………..

Pop- day dream over :( Back to reality!

Although I didn’t have tea and cookies on the veranda, we did manage to make it to a great restaurant in Williamsburg for dinner, Second Street Café. They have the best dang cookies in all of Virginia. Although not close to home, I will be visiting there again. Their casual atmosphere, but high class service to match the delicious food is well worth the drive.

I am not sure where my next historic adventure might take my family, but I'll be sure to share it with you.

Weekends at the Lake

It was off to the lake for us this past weekend. Believe it or not, we had not put our boat in the water all summer. That seems like such a shame. There always seems to be a valid excuse, but this past weekend, we made it a point to get in the water.

We couldn’t have picked a better weekend. The weather was beautiful and the water was warm. There was lots of this….

So Bud could do this

And cheerleader girl could do this…..

I am ready for next weekend so we can hopefully get back to this

Now if I could just get the price of gas to go down….. ugh wishful thinking :)
How was everyone else’s weekend? Let me know!

I need to learn to cook

So, my friend posts a really amazing Cheesecake recipe… I post a really short, but really easy and really good sandwich recipe. Something is very wrong. I really need to learn to cook. I would love to give credit to the person that invented it, but unfortunately, I am not sure who that is. At any rate, it’s quick, easy recipe that is really good.

Italian Steak Sandwich

Med onion, thinly sliced
Med green pepper, thinly sliced
Med sweet pepper, thinly sliced
½ c. mayonnaise, divided
¾ c. thinly sliced deli roast beef
¼ c. Italian salad dressing
5 sandwich rolls, split
¾ c. shredded mozzarella cheese

In large skillet, sauté the onion and peppers in 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise until crisp-tender. Remove and keep warm.

In same skillet, add roast beef, Italian dressing, and remaining mayonnaise. Cook and stir 4-5 minutes or until heated through.

In broiler, toast sandwich rolls. Place roast beef and vegetables on rolls, sprinkle with cheese. Place sandwich back in oven to melt cheese.

Serve with chips or fries. Enjoy!

This is great when you want more than a sandwich, but don’t have time for a full meal.

The Easy Eight

My mom called me this morning and told me I have to go see Mama Mia and that it would be a great movie for the “Easy Eight.” I thought that was such a cute nickname for this group of friends I have, there are 3 of them, all of whom have daughters the same age as mine, and I thought it would be a good time to introduce them to my fellow bloggers. Actually, if it wasn’t for our daughters, I may not have ever met them. Moms + Daughters = “Easy Eight.” It’s kind of like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants………

We met when Cheerleader Girl was in the 3rd grade (she is starting her 11th grade year in September, where does the time go?). All 4 girls cheered for the local recreational football team and became fast friends. Their moms and I became fast friends as well. There’s Big Hair Envy and her daughter Snow White, my beach buddies. Snow White is the actress/singer of the group- The one who we will all be sitting in the audience on Broadway cheering on because she has landed her biggest role yet. There’s Wild Child and her daughter Barbie. Yes, she’s very much like a Barbie and we love her that way. Barbie has spent many a night at our house. There’s Beach Chick and her daughter Rocker Girl. Rocker Girl is the one who will be seen on the big stage with guitar in hand rockin’ it out to our favorite songs. Then there’s mine, Cheerleader girl. She’s not the stereotypical “cheerleader” just outgoing and fun. As you can see from their descriptions, they are all very different people, and in the beginning they were inseparable. Now, they have different interests, some of the same, but mostly different groups of friends, but in the end- they are still the Sisterhood. No matter what, they are always there for each other.

What I like most, is all of us moms have stayed friends through everything our girls have been through- both good and bad. We try our very best to get together often, although not often enough. As you can imagine, with teenagers and very busy schedules, it is difficult. Superbowl is always at our house and emails are always in order! We started a new thing this year where we are trying to get together for dinner to celebrate each of our birthdays, although many are celebrated together, but it has actually worked. Those dinners are KID FREEEEEEEE! Of course we have to plan them weeks, or even months in advance, but that’s okay. At least we are making it happen.

It’s good to be a part of the “Easy Eight.”

ps. maybe one day, I will get a chance to upload some pics on this thing.