My Very Own Public Service Announcement...

So right before Christmas, Target had a security breech with it's customer's information.  I was lucky, although I had shopped during the time frame, I was not one of those effected.  However, one of my friend's was, and his entire account was wiped clean on payday.  In truth, he said if it had to happen to someone, he was glad it happened to him, as it was his supplemental income, his mortgage was paid, and he had no mouths to feed. He would have rather had it happen to him than any of the single moms he worked with at Target.  In the end, it all worked out, his money was returned and all was well.

Fast forward a few months to September and the largest security breech so far, encompassing Canada and the entire US, through Home Depot's customers.  A different friend was effected, but he is a contractor and is in and out of HD nearly everyday for business and his own home.  So when he announced his accounts had been breached, I was sorry, but not surprised as the odds were not in his favor. After that, I honestly didn't think much about it. More specifically, I thought it wouldn't happen to me, as I had not been in Home Depot since July.

Except the breach happened as far back as April.

Three days ago I got a notice that my account was in overdraft. I knew my balance was low as this Friday is payday, but I thought I had managed it fine.  Frustrated, because I thought I had been so careful, I wondered what I had forgotten to enter. So Tuesday night I checked online to calculate what I would need to put in for the rest of the week and I saw a weird processing free of $5. Still, I didn't think much of it, and on Wednesday morning I headed into the bank and put my cash in via the ATM.  When I got home, I went over my account with a fine tooth comb to see what had gone wrong.  

Scrolling through I found a transaction for $183.33 that had a strange tag line beneath it. Having shopped at a different grocery store that week, spending about $180, I dismissed it as the grocery store purchase.  As I continued though I noticed the REAL grocery store purchase for $187.

Ding, Ding, DINGGGGGGGG!!!!!!

Needless to say, after 45 minutes on the phone with Citizens, they've issued me a new card and are now investigating the charges that originated from a foreign ATM.  I sent it out on Facebook and told friends to check their accounts.  The most interesting part to me is that of the many people I thought really had their finger on their finances, some confessed they would have had no idea if their account was breached or even what to look for (Small charges at first, then larger ones).  The other scary part is that they pulled out just enough to get my account down to $2 on a FRIDAY.  I can't help but think how bad it could have been had it been a pay week.

So, today's PSA is...

CHECK YOUR BANK/CREDIT ACCOUNTS!

Look for any small purchases, charges, or processing fees.  Investigate tag lines you don't recognize. Look at your credit card statements, check the charges.  And lastly PULL YOUR CREDIT REPORT.  It's easy and FREE.

Because if it can happen to this broke Mamma, imagine how bad it could be for someone who actually has money.

While Tony's Away...

Tony left me again.  He'll be returning at some point tonight, but having conveniently left his phone behind, I have no idea when that will be.  So he's on his own for dinner...

Anyhoo...

While he is at the NASCAR race I decided it might be nice to get away from the computers, iPods, our regular routine, and go kayaking. And as it happened, today was an unseasonable 80 degrees, so while it was a bit muggy and we'd be ditching the occasional raindrop, the risk of hypothermia if I fall in, will be low.

I chose a guided tour.  Basically you just show up, sign a wavier and go. And if you fall out, they put you back in.  Win, win.

Normally there's a lot more color change in the leaves by now, but it was pretty just the same...

The lake we were on is over 200 acres wide, but at it's deepest point is only about 8-10 feet deep.  Because of this, it's an ideal habitat for bass fish who thrive shallow water. Trees had been blown over all along the edges of the lake causing tangled root habitats where all kinds of species call home...

The land is a town operated park, and is home to the endangered red belly turtle, the threatened Osprey, and endangered lady slippers.  In June, one portion of the lake's edge is densely dotted in pink lady slippers, as well as white (extremely rare) and a newly discovered white/pink cross breed.  Apparently, they are a very hardy flower, but they die upon transport, thus resulting in them being endangered.  The boys could have cared less about any of it though, except for the red belly turtle that we did see sunning himself on a branch who's shell was over a foot across....

 ...and of course, racing kayaks, and splashing each other with the water...

At one point this was the oldest town run park in the country.  Care has been taken to maintain/rebuild the bridge that was used hundreds of years ago to gain access between the landings...

The lake has two islands.  The larger was once a family homestead.  When the matriarch of the family passed on, she willed it to the town, as to have it stay preserved.  The surviving family however, was not thrilled that their childhood home was no longer theirs, and not long afterwards, the home suspiciously burnt to the ground. In any case, the town was relieved, as they would have had to wait until the lake froze over to bring trucks across to remove the home.  All that exists now is the front stairs and a bit of the stone foundation.  Now, the larger island is used only for over night camping by the boy scouts. (Mental note: remember to suggest this little gem at the next meeting) 

The smaller island could almost be missed among the tree line.  Yet the cottage on it still stands (barely) among the trees...

Half way through our trip around the island we stopped at a landing for a mile hike...

Years ago, when there was a huge tuberculosis/Polio outbreak in Boston, someone thought that getting the patients away from the city smog could help them heal.  This was one of the places that the patients were shipped to, and fortunately for them, it worked. None of the hospital remains here though, unlike Bumpkin Island, where you can still find remnants of the hospital that was built there.

The lake is connected to a smaller pond, shaped like Mickey Mouse's head.  This smaller pond is a glacier formed pond, resulting in a rounder, deeper pond.  This pond is 90 feet deep in the center and is fully stocked with a wide variety of fish...

The hike ran through an older section of the park that is no longer accessible by car.  Since it was at one point though, most of the terrain is dirt road and was relatively easy to travel.

 We found plenty of sassafras, which back in the day, (the root) was used to make root beer, as well as many white pine trees like these...

These trees are several hundred years old and grow straight up, verses the scrub pines that grow throughout town that are smaller and scraggly looking.  In the "olden days" these were the trees they cut down to make masts for the ships.  I have a fascination with how trees fall when they die.  The natural state that they are left in always makes me curious about what happened. Youngest however, just thought this one looked like a giant sling shot...

Which of course, sent Oldest's imagination into warring countries and catapulting random things across the lake. *sigh* Not likely buddy, not likely...  Interestingly enough though, thanks to the conservation and hands off rules of the park, there are actually more trees now than there were when the park was originally established. So I guess, it's all part of the natural process.

Perhaps one of the coolest parts of the day, was relevant to no one else but me.  Remember how I said that years ago they allowed car access to this part of the park? The only other time I had ever been to this park was when I was 16.  We drove in and just hung out by this tree, where a bunch of us carved our names. What are the odds of me finding this tree nearly 24 years later?

Turns out, pretty good....

Crazy, right?

*sigh*

But the best part for the boys?  They run summer camps, one of which is a build your own kayak camp.  They give you a PVC frame and using DUCT TAPE you craft your own kayak and set sail.

How awesome is that???

Kind of makes me wish I was ages 8-16.

The Hangover...

I had made it 16 days.

Sixteen tedious, hand wringing days.

I went through the headaches.

The numbness.

The jitters.

I had been clean for 16 days.

Not only had I not had any caffeine, but no refined sugar, no dairy, no artificial anything, no processed foods of any kind.  For sixteen. whole. days. And after the initial detox, I felt good. I even felt full, long before hitting my daily calorie intake level, sometimes even before I hit 1,000 calories for the day.

The day started off good.  A banana. A clementine orange. Then Youngest suggested we go to breakfast out which I knew would be a challenge.  But hey, I'd been doing so well, a Greek omelet wouldn't hurt. Cooked dry, with no butter, spinach, olives and feta.  Feta would be fine, right?  It's not as bad as whole milk dairy, right?  Oh, and I splurged on a piece of toast, gluten free of course, and a teeny bit of butter. I would be fine.

Then we visited my mother who had purchased my favorite olive hummus. So, I had a wee bit of chips to dip in the hummus.  Which turned into 4 hand fulls of highly processed, salty Tostitos corn chips. The dip-able kind of course.

When we got home I was depressed.  I should have resisted.  And since I'm a moody eater, I went to the freezer, and found a dark chocolate Klondike.  Dark chocolate is good for you right?  And I've eaten dairy all my life, surely it would be fine just this one time.

By the time I got to dinner time there was no hope for the gluten free butternut squash ravioli with butter and Parmesan cheese.  I mean, the day was already done, right?

Oh, but it hadn't even started.

By seven o'clock, my stomach had swelled into the pregnancy zone at five months along. Not only was it swollen from ribs to button, but suddenly I felt like I had a fever.  I opened all the windows, put on lighter weight pajamas.  I started moving around just to try and get the bubble inside me to move around, shift, do something.  Then the pain started.  Piercing pain through my stomach and lower abdomen making it hard to walk.  It subsided in about fifteen minutes, creeping back up on me in smaller, duller waves. Water.  Water would get things moving. Moving about the house I slowly drank two large glasses of water before settling into the couch, utilizing my Lamaze breathing from so many years ago.

I finally gave in and went to bed at 930.  By one in the morning I was up.  In and out of the bathroom, burping up a storm, the giant bubble in my belly trying to escape any way it possibly could.  I propped pillows up to sleep on with no luck.  By three in the morning I was praying to throw up but too much of a baby to make myself do it. By five, although I had managed to fall asleep, my whole body just hurt.  My belly was no longer swollen but it was sore. I could not move, I didn't want to open my eyes. I wanted to just curl up and stay there all day.

But that's not the life I live nor a luxury I have.  There were kids to drop off, dinner to be started in the crock pot, and a full day of work ahead. Slowly, painfully, one eye at a time I began to wake up. Showered.  Made lunches for the kids.  Prepped the stew for tonight.  The thought of food literally made my stomach turn, but I knew better than to go on empty all day.  I grabbed an almond milk juice box from the fridge to try and settle my stomach.

I felt like crap all day.  Every time I moved, lifted something or bent over I thought I may toss cookies. I swore over and over I'll never do it again.  I never want to feel like this again.

The hangover is just not worth it.

And yet, I know it's only a matter of time.

Why do I do this to myself?

Truth Is....

Truth is... it's only Tuesday but I have a whole bunch of stuff rattling around in the noggin, so here we go.

Truth is... My health symptoms have seemed to have settled down a bit.  The RA medicine (for Malaria) seems to be taking the edge off the foot pain and I was even able to go for a 3.5 mile walk after work the other day.  And while my hands are still occasionally going numb at night, eating clean (no preservatives/processed foods) and free of refined sugar has helped tremendously.  The hormones they have me on have alleviated much of the abdominal pain and resolved the concerning cysts, however I have started to have some signs of depression and have succumbed to the nasty side effect of weight gain (15 pounds) which isn't really helping any of the situation.

Truth is... I should just put on my big girl panties and deal with it, but sadly, they no longer fit.

Truth is... neither do my jeans.  I may need to go shopping.

Truth is... at the next appointment, I will be telling them I want off the hormones.  I just don't feel like me.  I can't get excited, sad, truly happy.... just blah.  It's not good, pen pals.  Not good at all.

Truth is... I took on another wedding dress to alter.  As I left the house with it, her brother in law said to me, "Now take good care of that dress.  We're gonna need it soon."  I had to laugh.  Somehow I think taking every seam apart and putting it all back together would not be considered "taking care of it".  I wonder what he'd think if he saw the dress as it sits now... in six pieces in my bedroom.  All and all I am hoping it isn't too much of a nightmare to get back together, and it will give me some extra cash to get the trim we desperately need to replace on the house.

Truth is... we've decided to replace it with the "plastic wood" trim, since it never needs to be painted and doesn't rot.  It's pricey, but worth it in the end if it means no maintenance.

Truth is... my birthday is in 33 days.  It snuck up on me folks.  I fear I have not finished all my 40 before 40 items. Particularly since I didn't really have a list per say, just seized the opportunities as they came along.  But hey... I figure I'll have plenty of time to work on my 50 before 50 list, right?

Truth is... I was looking forward to spending my 40th in Bermuda. But as with everything, I've learned that I need to just roll with the situation, and the truth is it's just not a good time for us to be leaving the country right now. Nor do I really have the cash-o-la.  So, I'm thinking a nice dinner out, and maybe finally getting us a big kid bed and real furniture for the bedroom.  Maybe.

Truth is... my boss decided (using the term loosely, as it really wasn't his decision) that I need to have a reduction in my workload as they won't pay me for the volume of work I am currently doing.  Now, I knew this was coming, and in truth he may not get to doing this for a while, but I am just not prepared for the pay cut this time around.  The last time it was $400 a month that I had offset by paying off a loan, therefore making it a wash.  This time there's nothing to pay off.  Needless to say it's going to be a tough adjustment.  Manageable, but tight.

Truth is... because of this, I'm thinking a new gym membership may be out of the question.  I am signing up for a Thursday Yoga class though through our local recreational department.  The hope is that I'll regain some flexibility in my legs again... and that I won't fart in class.

Virginia Day 5...

So, day five leaves us heading further north in Virginia (and a wee bit closer to home - see my plan here?) to Mount Vernon.  After of course, more bad GPS directions, we found ourselves at the home of George Washington himself.

After a quick walk through the visitor center....

....we headed outside to tour the grounds....

The greenery on the veranda looks painted, but I assure you it's very real, and historically correct. Most verandas at the time had archways only in the front, as to not see the servants walking back and forth to the main house.  But, Washington knew he had a beautiful view and opted to leave them open front to back.

Behind the kitchen workers were excavating the grounds to see how they would have used this area prior to the building being built. So far all they had discovered was a drainage pipe.

The stables were oddly enough, just as beautiful as the home...

Even the view from the manure shed was beautiful...

Eventually we headed down to the old vault, where I found this sign.  For days the last line bothered me, as I felt it should read "The Washingtons were moved to the new Tomb" but Janie Junebug (my personal queen of grammar) assures me it's correct.  So I let it go...

...and we made it to the New Tomb, where Washington and his wife lay in the marble coffins just behind the bars.  An additional 25 (?) relatives of the Washington family lay within the tomb behind them.

After the tomb, we headed down to the waterfront to the dock in which Washington would receive guests via ship...

From the waterfront we headed down past the gardens to the 16 sided barn where Washington had developed a process in which he could harvest and mill wheat for sale and trade.  The gardens are currently worked and grow vegetables known to have grown at the time Washington was alive.  The harvest then goes to the kitchen or is given to the employees to take home.  Oddly enough though, when I asked what happened to the tobacco being grown, and no one seemed to know what happened to it once it was harvested.

Now, even though Tony could have spent six more hours here, asking questions like what the box was in the corner of the dining room (Washington's traveling liqueur cabinet), and marveling at all the paintings (originals from Washington's time) and take a ferry ride on the Potomac, alas we had more places to be.

Back in the car we headed for Chantilly, VA and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.  We had been to the one in DC so I was interested in seeing the differences between the two.

For starters, they have an observation deck from which you can see for miles....

The view was quite amazing...

...and ironically of the real control tower at Dulles Airport.

The inside exhibits were amazing and featured planes, torpedoes, helicopters and air and space memorabilia from every decade....

But perhaps the most amazing display was the actual space shuttle Challenger....

The sheer size and my ability to get so close was amazing to me.  The kids were wowed by some of the exhibits, but particularly loved the 3-D motion rides and flight simulators.  This is also where my camera decided to die, so I have no more pictures.  But if you're ever in the area, I HIGHLY recommend this center, and you can't beat the price (FREE admission, but $14 to park)

So, with our day coming close to an end (and thunderclouds rolling in), we headed to the Marriott hotel in Sterling for our final night before heading home.  

The hotel was beautiful and clearly catered to business travelers, as the boys and I were the only ones in the pool. Had it not been raining outside, we'd have likely claimed territory fireside in the outdoor courtyard, but with heavy down pours, we decided to take over the round couches in the restaurant downstairs, and relax with a bite to eat and some good old fashioned Batman.

Our trip home began at 5 am.  We stopped around 9am for a real breakfast at an off highway diner.  Our stupid GPS took us through NYC via the George Washington Bridge (top level), only delaying our ETA 20 minutes which I was thrilled with, but Tony was less than enthralled.  We made a final pit stop in Providence at Dave and Busters for food and arcade fun, and then hit home around 3. 

And there you have it, MA to VA in 5 days.  I enjoyed it a lot, and loved that I could finally give the boys a real road trip experience with their grandparents, like I had with my grandparents when I was young.  But going forward, I think my maximum time in the car is 6 hours.

Which of course, my sister has already planned for next year.

Anyone want to join us in Lake George?

Virginia - 4....

(I know, I know... but let's just pretend I posted this a day or two after I posted Virginia 1,2,3 , and completely ignore that it's actually been a small eternity of time between the two, during which I have formulated many new posts in my head that have nothing to do with our vacation.  Mkay?)  

~~~~~~~~~~

Day four found us traveling northward through Virginia, to the town of Spotsylvania.  Spots, as it is locally known, is famous for four main battles in the Civil war, one being the Battle Of Chancellorsville, in which Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded.  The farm country is as rich in history as it is in farmland and rolling green hillside.

Too bad we saw very little of it.

But we did stay the night in Stevenson Ridge.

Stevenson Ridge is a homestead set on 90 acres of land tucked discretely off of 208.  The property was purchased in 2000 by a builder with a passion for restoring older homes.  With the help of special permits, he moves historic buildings board by board numbering each one, and then like a puzzle, rebuild the home on his property.  The completed homes are then rented by the night, similar to a bed and breakfast, but with the privacy of having your own home. 

One of the two original buildings on the property is the old corn shed.  The Corn Crib, as it is now called, has been restored, updated, and holds all the amenities that you could ever need for a retreat away.

Each cabin has central air, kitchen and a full bath.  The Corn Crib even had a walk in shower.  Also on the property was an antique Post Office....

 .....but sadly it only slept two people and was not an option for Tony and I to stay in.  So instead, we chose the Spy Hill House....

Located just down the gravel road from the Corn Crib...

The Spy Hill Hose was a little gem all of it's own.  For starters, this was our view through the antique 1700's glass windows...

Through the front door we came to find a home full of period antiques as well as modern day necessities (hello air conditioning in August).  Some of the things in the home were actually found in the original, much larger home, including the old crank telephone. Wherever there was a board missing or something that needed replacing, it was salvaged from the larger portion of the home and sized to fit.

Towards the front of the house was a small kitchen on the left and to the right, an old spiral staircase which lead to the upstairs bedroom and bathroom...

The bathroom was obviously a newer part of the home, and came complete with the newest copy of People magazine and plush terry bathrobes. Notice the stairs on the edge of the bed? A welcome detail, as the bed was a good two feet from the floor. The attention to detail was everywhere.  The only television in the home was upstairs, much to the disappointment of the boys, that is until they found the array of board games in the downstairs chest, which provided much laughter and old fashioned game time.

Downstairs there was a small photo book of the original home, some photos of the family that lived there in the 1800's and the deconstruction/rebuilding of it there on the property.  Here's where it gets really cool (as per their information booklet)...

"The original Spy Hill House was once part of the Round Hill Estate in King George, VA.  The land was acquired in the 1650's by George Washington's grandfather, John, and stayed in the Washington family for years.  Lawrence Washington, George's half brother, seems to have built the house sometime in 1732. The home still retains some of the red scalloped shingled on the roof, the same shingles used on Mount Vernon."

Neat, yes? 

Well, not as neat as staying in the old post office, but we slept surrounded in history.  And while I believe the house is totally haunted, clearly the ghost-ies were fine as they let me sleep through the night and no one's head spun around and spit pea soup. (Because that would have been tough to get out of an antique rug!)  In fact, the only thing that woke me up was the sound of crickets and Youngest coming up the stairs to use the bathroom at 5 am.

We did get a quick look around downtown Fredricksberg while we were there, parking in a little off street parking lot guarded by this guy...

Downtown looked like a quaint little village from way back in the day....

With a few modern day throw ins...

We deliberated over a few different dinner options down town, hit the candy store where the kids stocked up, and checked out the local sports card store, which sadly closed at 7 and left Tony very little time to find any of his favorites.  And while we opted for a fast food place on the main drag back, it was a nice change of pace from the roller coaster, water slides of the previous days.

And a welcome rest for the day ahead...