Alaska! Sorry--a little late

A view of the Pacific Ocean from my balcony room.

Very early one morning I awoke to the pilot boat speeding up to the ship. By the time I found my camera and took a picture the excitement was almost over.

The pilot boat leaving.

In Ketchikan we spent several hours onboard the Aleutian Ballad for the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's tour! Wonderful experience!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holding a crab!

12 New things-September and Alaska!

September is coming to a close and I need to update on the 12 New Things challenge. My goal for this month was to use natural, chemical free cleaning products made from such things as vinegar, baking soda, etc. I feel I mainly succeeded on this one. A few example of my new cleaning routines are swishing the toilet with baking soda (works like a charm), this morning I scrubbed the showed with baking soda and vinegar paste, I have started using vinegar in the wash instead of fabric softener, instead of a bleach based cleaner I am using a vinegar water spray that I mixed. Also, when I do use a fabric softener sheet, I use it to dust after it has been through the dryer. Dryer sheets really do work, and I have cut down on Swiffer usage and dust just a little bit at a time. Overall, the house is much cleaner!

On another note, Mom, Dad, and I leave for an Alaska cruise Saturday morning and will be gone for a week! This week, besides working, we have been busy getting everything in order and ready.

FLYLady Housekeeping Program

I read about a fun housekeeping system on another blog. FLYlady is an online housekeeping program and system that is completely free, but yet still thorough (or at least from what I can tell right now). I just started today with by bitty steps--clean the sink and make it shine. This meant getting out the toothbrush and scrubbing ever nook and cranny--I am ever amazed at the difference. Now, after every use I am to wipe down the sink so that it will never lose it's shine.

Everyday, a list or schedule of cleaning activities is sent out the night before. For example, this week's area is number 4-the bedroom. Tomorrow I am to clean the doorknobs and light switch until the glimmer. Everyday, you are to spend 15 minutes exercising and 15 minutes decluttering an area.

We'll see how it goes!

12 New Things in 12 Months--Month 1

I saw this challenge on another blog and decided to try it, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with my original direction for this blog.http://www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.com/home/2010/08/12-new-things/



My List of New Things
September-learn to make homemade cleaning supplies instead of store bought chemicals. I am putting this on my list because not only do I want to rid my house of harsh and toxic chemicals--but also to save money when I have a house to run of my own.
October-Sell my dollhouse I made this summer for a profit--never done this before, but if it works out I may do more in the future.

November-Learn to make a pie from scratch--crust and all. I do a lot of baking of cookies and cakes but have never made a pie of any kind.

December-Stay within my Christmas Budget--every month I have $20 taken out of my checking account and put into a different account just for Christmas shopping. My budget will be about $265--not a lot but I also don't have a big long list of people to buy for this year.

January-Travel--alone or otherwise--outside of the U.S.

February-learn to sew--mainly for mending this month
March-Learn to quilt

April-learn to tie a bowline and other knots and also start a small vegetable garden

May-make a favorite recipe book and learn new recipes

I haven't yet thought of something for June, July and August, but I am sure I will.

Today I started learning about homemade cleaning products and other tips.

Drain Cleaner-I read that you need equal parts baking soda and vinegar for a drain cleaner. First you pour the baking soda down the drain, and then the vinegar. Let sit for 10-15 minutes before running hot water. This did work somewhat on my bathroom drain, but it wasn't a miracle worker. Would use again in the future. While I was waiting I used to paste that the baking soda and vinegar made to clean to faucet, another score here--the faucet is shining and I got quite a bit of ick buildup off.

Fabric Softener-add 1 cup vinegar to the fabric softener cup in the clothes washer to soften clothes as well as get rid of the chemical build up. I tried it on a load of towels and underwear today. I haven't gotten them out of the drier yet, but I was impressed by how soft they were when taken out of the washer.

For Dad's Work clothes and other smelly clothes, I will be trying the 1/4 cup baking soda trick which is supposed to help stop them from smelling quite so bad.

Burning Bright

After finishing Triangle, I immediately started Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier, who is also the author of Girl With a Pearl Earring. I have read Chevalier's writing before and enjoyed the story. Burning Bright is set in Georgian England and is about a family just moving to London from tiny town England. Something tells me that the plot is going to be predictable--hardships for the family, trouble finding work and paying the bills, horrible things happen. Again, this book laid on the discount section at Barnes and Noble--$5.98.

Itinerary Draft

In between working long 10 hour days I have started to put together a sample travel schedule which includes prices for hotels, flights, and train connection. I won't post the whole 5 page detail because everybody would be more bored than children this summer.

Fly to Dublin-most likely by AerLingus
Dublin
Fly to Amsterdam by AerLingus
Amsterdam--Amsterdam won because Venice usually floods during the time I would be there
City Night Line Train to Munich
Munich
Most likely fly Munich-Naples and then take the train to Sorrento.
Sorrento/Pompei
Rome
Egypt--including a 3-4 night cruise on the Nile from Luxor to Aswan

From this point, I still have some decision making. From Cairo, I have a choice between flying to Lisbon, Portugal or Barcelona, Spain. Nice is also on my list, but no direct flight seems to exist between Cairo and Nice. After visiting either Lisbon or Barcelona, I will fly directly to Nice (or travel by train). From Nice, only one direct flight back to the states is listed.

As for the budget, so far it depends on the calculations of economy/first class, hotel room prices, etc. I have my lowest end through Egypt at $11,000, the highest calculation with all first class accommodations and tickets over $18,000. The middle is probably the route to take.

Amsterdam vs. Venice

For several months now I have been debating which of these two cities I should visit, as there would not be enough time to visit both. Since my busy work season in from April-October, my trip will have to be November-March. Amsterdam is said to be about six degrees cooler than Venice in these winter months, and coming from Nebraska, I have had enough cold weather and snow at home. However, my travel partner has already been to Venice and has not been to Amsterdam but since he/she isn't paying for the trip his/her suggestion only goes so far. Cairo and Luxor, Dublin, and Frankfurt has been added to the list just for them, so I figure I can take the liberty to choose the rest of the stops. So, do I want the red light district of Amsterdam or the lace and blown glass of Venice? My notes seem to have more information on Amsterdam and include a list of hotels suggested from various sites and travel writers. My stay in either city would probably be limited to two or three days at the most.

Other cities that I would like to fit into my itinerary are Dublin, Berlin, Frankfurt, Warsaw (but again, very cold in winter), Munich, Paris, Marseille, Nice, Barcelona, Lisbon, Rome, Sorrento (and Pompei), Istanbul, Cairo and Luxor, Mumbai, and St. Petersburg or Moscow (again, cold in winter). The whole shebang can't be much more than a month long, so obviously more than one of these stops will have to be written on next trip's wishlist!

Triangle just passed my 100 page test last night and I will continue reading it. Finally, the political part of the book looks to be over awhile and the stories of the girls are up front.

Boarding the plane!

After reading several blogs, I have been hesitant about starting my own because I'm not quite sure my life is exciting enough or if my writing has enough oomph. So, here I am starting a blog about travel planning and books. Throughout the next months I will write about planning a major trip to Europe and books I read.

Last night I finished reading the 9th book of the 39 Clues series by Scholastic. The best one so far! Although I am 21, while student teaching last fall I became engrossed by this series because of the action and many different lessons found in the books--geography, problem solving, and math. My mom even became interested after picking up the book and reading a few pages, she'll be starting book one sometime soon!

Currently I am reading a book about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory entitled Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle. I have read several books on this topic, and many better than this one. Not quite 100 pages in, but so far the story is dry and a good bedtime read. It is not often that I stop reading a book, but if by page 100 I am not enjoying it, I stop for awhile and move on to the next story in the stack.  Ashes of Roses  by Mary Jane Auch or Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix was a more heart touching read even though fiction. Triangle is non-fiction and a more in depth discussion of the topic from three years before the actual fire factory fire.