Or I should say, I’d like to - get away. The tension in this house is outrageous. I can honestly say that I know what it feels like to walk on egg shells!

This tension and the feelings I’ve been having would certainly be remedied with a nice little get away. It’s been years since I’ve been to any kind of amusement park but I have to admit, it sure would be nice to visit Silver Dollar City near Branson Missouri. You can find all kinds of vacation packages at Branson Getaways that include things like; tickets to Silver Dollar City, gift cards for dining at Olive Garden (select packages) and even a coupon book with loads of extra savings (select packages). There’s so much for you and your family in Branson, whether you want to race around the Go Kart Track, enjoy water rides, shopping and if you’re like me, have a round of miniature golf.

If the roads were safe for driving, I would have to seriously consider all of the fun things Branson has to offer. Sadly it’s going to be at least another month or more before the roads are decent enough for traveling on. Could someone please remind me why we decided to move here?

I can’t remember the last time I went camping. Actually, that’s not entirely true. I think the last time was probably when my friend Heather and I camped out in my dad’s tent in my back yard. I guess camping out in your back yard doesn’t really count as camping though does it? If that’s the case, I’ve never been camping. Ha, ha.

My in laws go camping every year to this place called Lumsden, which is a beach that’s much like the ones I’m used to back in Georgia. It’s several hours away, which usually means they camp out a few nights so that they get a chance to really enjoy it. Well guess what? This year is no different. They’re expecting Jo and I do tag along this year and honestly, I’m not sure that I’m cut out for it. I’m certainly not too prissy to camp out but I think I’d be the party pooper, especially when it comes to it getting dark and trying to get to sleep. I really enjoy silence and somehow I don’t think I’m going to find that there. I guess we’ll start thinking about what travel supplies we’ll need for the trip though, because I doubt there’s going to be anyway that we’re getting out of it!

So what are your plans after the holidays? You know, when everything starts to settle down, all of your guests go home and all of your holiday decorations have been packed away until next year? I have no idea what my plans are beyond preparing for another move but it would surely be nice if I could take a week or so and just get away, for some quality rest and relaxation. If I were to have the extra money to do that, I think it would be really nice to go somewhere I’ve never gone before. A new place to explore. Perhaps a place like Sydney, Australia. I’ve always wanted to visit Australia and isn’t it warm there this time of year? That would be a much welcomed change from the current freezing temperatures, that’s for sure.

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This coming summer I’m hoping that Jo and I will visit Calgary again. You’d think after living there for over 6 months that I would’ve had my belly full and while it’s true that I fell out of love, there were many things I wanted to see there and didn’t get a chance to. One of the things I really wanted to do while we were there was go to the Calgary Stampede. I’ve been in Calgary twice now when this event was being held but both times wound up unable to attend. The Stampede is a huge, huge event in Calgary and millions of people flock to Calgary just for the Stampede itself. One of the things I’m looking forward to is all of the free concerts. I say free but in reality, you have to pay your way into the Stampede to be able to see the free shows. The one thing I did actually get to enjoy was the fireworks display from a park near our apartment in Calgary. It was pretty awesome that far away, I can only imagine how much more fun it would be in person.

When we start making our plans for our trip back to Calgary, we’ll be using a guide - Event Lstings - this way we’ll find listings for affordable hotels like the Sheraton Suites Eau Claire. I honestly can’t wait. There are great things about Calgary but I’m just not a person who can live there. It’s going to be awesome visiting our friends there and attending the Calgary Stampede, finally.

I would love to just get away and just relax for a few days. I could see myself soaking up the California sun, resting up in a lovely little cottage - something like Mendocino lodging. I’ve always wanted to visit California and be able to say I dipped my toes into the Pacific Ocean. And after everything we’ve been through in the last few days, a nice vacation sounds wonderful. Jo says we’ll do it someday because he would even like to do something like that. Who knows, maybe it’ll happen someday!

One place I have always wanted to visit is Oregon. Even as a child, watching the movie “The Goonies”, I became fascinated with the Oregon coast and now, I know a couple of people who live there. It would certainly make for an amazing vacation and for someone like me, who loves taking pictures, it would be a fabulous photographic opportunity and experience. In fact, some of my closest friends have taken some really nice pictures on some of the beaches of Oregon, all of which make me extremely jealous and eager to visit.

When the time comes and we are able to afford a nice little getaway, we will search through oregon coast rentals to find that perfect vacation home. Of course we could go with a hotel or motel but honestly, we would be taking other relatives and it would be really nice to have that extra privacy we will get from a vacation home. Plus many hotels and motels do not come with kitchens and that is something I would prefer to have during our vacation. Eating out is not something we really do that much on vacation. In fact, the last vacation we took we only ate out a couple of times during the entire week we were vacationing.

Oregonbeachvacations.com would be a great place for us to start our search for a vacation home rental. I love that they provide photos of the homes, both the interior and exterior and the biggest plus of all, there are even gorgeous beach photos to browse through. I can really appreciate that extra step they have made to ensure people like me get exactly what they want in a vacation home.

After everything we have been going through with Jo’s grandmother, a nice Oregon vacation sounds pretty dern perfect right now.

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Sounds great, right? So what are you waiting for?

I have always wanted to visit Las Vegas. Many of my relatives and close friends have taken “Vegas Vacations” in the past and every time any of them tell me of the fun they had, it really makes me want to visit there myself that much more.

Some of our friends here in Calgary had been thinking of taking one of these vacations, as a group, and invited us. Of course it will be next year (possibly next summer) before that would be a possibility for Jo and I, since we will be so busy settling in again in a new place. Even so, I can wait a year. It would be well worth it, to visit Las Vegas in stay in one of those really fun hotel / casinos like the Excalibur Las Vegas Hotel and Casino!

Hopefully we will get a chance to join our friends. I am positive we will have a great time!

The weather here in Calgary is going to be so nice over the next few days. The temperatures will be dipping down into the 30’s (Fahrenheit) but will crawl up to about 60ºF. This is my kind of weather, the kind that I love. The sun will be shinning and there will be very few clouds.

Knowing my luck though, that will all change in the next day or two. As I have mentioned before, the weather here in Calgary flip flops a lot. I mean, just last week it was snowing. I will enjoy it while it lasts though.

I also hope the weather will be nice for our drive to Newfoundland. I will not mind a little shower here and there but I really hope our drive will be free of any kind of bad weather. As it stands right now, it looks like we will be spending our second night in Ottawa with some of Jo’s relatives. It should be really nice. These are relatives he has not seen in over 10 years and relatives that I have never even met.

I guess I should be calling it a night soon though. I really need to lay off of the caffeine again. It really makes me feel, well … gross.

Man, what I wouldn’t do for one of those caribbean cruises right now. I am so sore from sleeping awkward, not sleeping enough and of course, all of the cleaning and packing. I am so, so tired. I will be so happy when the packing is done, the moving is complete, the unpacking is done and I can kick my feet up and relax for awhile.

I am really looking forward to that. That and being around family and friends again. I am hoping to get my camera right away and take a few trips along the coast with Jo’s mom. Though I doubt that will happen right away. Like I said, I want some time to just relax for a few days.