Gimme A Break

This has not been a good day. I had to send my minivan into the workshop again because it’s making funny sounds. I hate that when it happens because it’s so distracting and I keep wondering where the sound is coming from. The workshop was a nightmare and Mr Mechanic was too busy to attend to me so I ended waiting for over an hour before he even looked at my car !

After taking a brief look, he suggested I send my car in next week so he can spend more time isolating the problem. So off I went, having wasted an entire morning. I was driving along the highway when I saw what I thought was a clump of old newspapers on the road. I didn’t have time to swerve and drove over it. Turned out the newspapers were a rock and I busted the oil cover or something and my minivan had to be towed in for repairs *sobs*! What a crappy thing to happen.

• driving in the driving rain
• my top 5 driving peeves
• crazy young drivers
• sheer stupidity, bad attitude
• the bathroom question

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My expat girl friend is so lucky she gets to jetset around the world while her husband is stationed in Vietnam. She’s lived in Asia for more than 10 years but frequently travels home to Europe to visit her family and friends. In fact, she flies back and forth so often that she’s become an authority of sorts on European travel. Whenever any of us have questions about what to do when we travel to Europe, she’s the first person we call.

She usually books her flights online at Shuttle Direct which offers some of the cheapest European Airport Transfers to and from major European cities. Personally I prefer to patronize only those sites that she’s used before because then, at least I know their service is reliable and the possibility of me being stranded at some remote location en route to my destination is minimal.

She’s tried many of the services Shuttle Direct offers including organizing a group tour for her family when they were traveling around Europe last summer. And why not? She has all the free time in the world. She doesn’t have to work. She doesn’t have kids and her husband is too busy at work to mind .

• one lucky girl
• her daughter’s graduation
• so who wants to go where again?
• strangers for daughters
• not going anywhere?

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The Year of the Tiger will be here in about 2 weeks. It’s not a popular year for weddings because of some superstition that I’m not even very sure of.

But for those who are not superstitious, it will probably be a blessing as there will be less competition for reception bookings, etc. Even destination weddings will be easier to book, I guess.

And we know how popular those are these days especially to exotic destinations like the Riviera Maya which is the choice of many newlyweds for the range of romantic options available.

So if you’re thinking of getting married and you’re not superstitious, consider getting down on one knee this Valentine’s Day, sweep her off her feet and away you go !!

• what’s up on Valentine’s Day?
• red red wine
• McWedding
• Valentine’s, who’s celebratin’?
• the early bird

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Well, here we are, on the first weekday of the year! And already I’m dreaming of where the kids and I can go on an inclusive Jamaica vacation soon. As you can see, it’s proving a little hard to get back into the grind after the holidays.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m not the only one daydreaming of all inclusive resorts right now! When I dropped the kids off at school this morning, I could see a lot of grumpy parents and kids and I can almost bet they’re thinking what I’m thinking.

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, we went on a beach vacation to the Hard Rock Hotel last month and had a really good time. I promised the kids we would go on another beach vacation, this time we’ll probably be looking at Ocho Rios hotels for a change but first we have to save up really hard.

• pirate-style vacation
• another beach vacation so soon?
• got my house plan picked out but…
• back from the beach
• medical professionals gone fashionable

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I hate unpacking. Well, packing also but usually the excitement of the vacation nullifies the reality of it. Now that all my laundry is done from our beach vacation, I can actually sit down at my computer and tell the world…

Hey, I’m back from my vacation at the beach. Sun, sea, sand, nothing like it!! We drove 5 hours to the beach and it was well worth it. We ate and lazed around and walked around the shops a little.

So yes, I’m a happy camper. Still wishing I was at the beach and waking up to the sound of waves crashing.

• another beach vacation so soon?
• shopping and eating
• island days
• my handy travel tips
• where to go on our next vacation?

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This is a sponsored guest post written by Carl Schwartz on behalf of hotelicopter. Post powered by Sponzai.

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• when the travel bug bites
• the tale of three Aussie cities
• so who wants to go where again?
• one lucky girl
• our jetset consultant

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The kids and I were just talking about going to Melbourne, Australia for a week. OMG suddenly it’s all sounds so exciting the more we talk about it! I was there once during the Moomba Festival and it was fun. If you’re the sort that enjoys a slow, laid-back vacation, then Australia’s pace will suit you.

If our plans are to materialize, I’d better start checking out the Accor Hotels 3-Day Super Sale Asia Pacific. Well, the sale is only for 3 days from October 27 thru 30, 2009 where I’ll have over a million room nights to choose from with rates starting as low as US$30 per night, and we can plan our stays any time between December 2009 to April 2010. At such crazy low rates, I’m already starting to imagine how much I’ll save !

Even if we change our minds about Australia, there’s still all the other exotic destinations in Asia Pacific – Thailand, Korea, China, Japan, HK, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia, Taiwan, India, Bali – to choose from, each with its own unique personality and charm.

Woo-hoo, I can’t wait to start surfing I’m so excited just thinking about looking at all the hotel options available. Come to think of it, the last I visited Bali and Hong Kong, I shopped so much I almost missed my flight home!

• finally a holiday we can afford
• grass? mmm, yummy!
• the annual pilgrimage
• more thorny ‘thons
• pinning down a blog name

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I love shopping for my kids, with my kids. But when it comes to shopping for myself, it’s hard to do it when my kids are around. Not that they rush me or anything, it’s just that I feel like I have to make quick decisions before they lose patience and start wandering off.

I’m wondering what it would be like to go on a Cancun All Inclusive Adults Only trip where I’ll have the freedom to savor good food and shopping all day long at the Riviera Maya without a care in the world. Many of my friends have done it – left their kids with family and just zoomed off to a distant land.

I don’t think I could do it though. I just know I’d be missing my kids toto much and wondering how they’re doing without me. Maybe I should learn to let go just a little, huh?

• I only wish
• celebrating family and good food
• the weekend has flown
• losing a family stronghold?
• is it wise to leave kids+baby home alone?

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