"Sleep Tight and Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite" is NOT Just a Cute Bedtime Expression Anymore

Don and I have talked about taking a vacation on our anniversary this year, but the more I do my homework, the more I want to stay home.

As I was searching online, I came across a website that reports hotels in major cities with known bed bug infestations. For example, did you know that some of the more exquisite hotels in Las Vegas have bed bugs? (Click here.)

The last time I checked into a hotel room with my husband and daughter, they called me paranoid because I wouldn't let them set our luggage down until I inspected the mattresses in the room. That was over a year ago. I can only imagine how much worse the epidemic is now.

If I really want to take that anniversary trip with my husband, I will need to do one of two things... 

follow the advice in this article: 7 Travel Tips for Bedbug Phobia 

or...

sleep in my car!

Camping Bites and I'm Not Talking Mosquitoes

This is the time of year when you hear about camps. There are scout camps, sports camps, cheerleading camps, weight loss camps, boot camps, etc. All of the buzz about summer camps makes me wonder. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate to camp? I don't think I have. Well, I hate to camp and here is why...

I went camping a lot when I was a kid. My family owned property on a nearby mountain and kept a travel trailer on it all summer long. I didn't mind camping when I was a child, but as I got older, I despised it.

I was twelve or thirteen years old when I attended girl's camp. It was my first experience camping in a tent and without my family. The camp leaders thought it would be a wonderful idea to split up friends so the girls could become better acquainted with each other. This was a HUGE mistake as far as I was concerned. I was immediately miserable without my best friend Jill.

While most of the girls had cute, young women for their camp leaders, my group ended up with an old lady that made us rub lotion all over our bodies before we climbed into our sleeping bags. She was convinced that our skin was going to get dry in the cool mountain air, but I am positive that it was completely the opposite. Seriously, what percentage of teenage girls have dry skin anyway? Most of us were worried about our greasy 'T Zones' and breaking out in zits.

Jill and I tried to be together as much as possible during the day, planning our classes/activities at the same time when we could. But when evening rolled around, I was stuck with a bunch of dud girls and Old Lady Jergens.

I think Jill may have went back to girls camp in the summers following that one, but I never did. That one experience traumatized me for life.

My idea of camping nowadays is to stay at a Hilton or Marriott, but even that is iffy with the bed bug epidemic and all. :)

Back in My Nest

I intended to post yesterday, on my blog-iversary. (That's right. I have kept this up for an entire year.) Instead, I spent the day travelling home from an appointment with Cody's neurologist. After NOT sleeping at the hotel because our room was next to the ice machine and the a/c was not working, I started thinking about the children's book 'The Best Nest' by P.D. Eastman. Do you remember that book? Let me refresh your memory...

Mr. Bird thinks his nest is the best in the world until Mrs. Bird tells him he's wrong. The couple go on a quest for "the best nest" and try building nests in a mailbox, a church-bell, and a shoe (among other places). Throughout the book they sing, "I love my house. I love my nest. In all the world, this nest is best." but in the end, a storm blows them back to "the best nest of all", their original nest.

That's kinda how I felt yesterday. I love going out of town, even if it is for a doctor appointment. A change of scenery is a good thing, but I am always happy to be home, where nobody gets ice out of my freezer in the middle of the night, I can sleep in a California King Size bed, and pee in my own clean toilet. You know...back in my nest.



FYI- You can find this book at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. WalMart has a newer edition (2005) available online.