Whats been going on in September...

September 2016
CNY

I have been longing for an RV for several years now. I have the whole things planned out in my head. Days, months...years on the road. Blog reading, craigs list watching, books on restoring vintage campers to glamp up. I envision big luxury fifth wheels...to tiny tear drops. The must haves..the I wants, space? style? SIZE? . Do we rebuild a classic 1960's shasta, or get a new one? I even have a retirement plan(only 8 years away...and no I am not that old yet.). All these dreams and I forgot one simple but needed part.....I may need something to tow these visions....and I do not think a Rav4 can do it, BUT I have  a better half, who apparently has heard, or at least suspected that his wife may want a camper one day and started talking about purchasing a truck.
May was the potential goal...an old debt we have been addressing for more then 9 years, (yep! the government has had us for that long thanks to interest and penalties) would finally be paid off, and we could financially make some changes within our budget!
Maybe God had other plans because a few weeks ago at bible study, someone backed into my car. It wasn't a bad hit..the car is still drive able, I wasn't in the car when it happened, and other then look ugly (as there is a big HULK sized punch in my rear bumper.) there wasn't anything I could do about it except get it fixed. 


My husband was pissed!!! We were planning to trade the car in for our new truck in May after all, and now what....
Well...as it goes...my car has/had more issues then a puckered rear. For the last several months I have needed to add air to my rear tire on a routine basics. Assuming that there must be a slow leak, and realizing that both rear tires are bald on the outer edge, I was anticipating new tires before my upcoming inspection. I also assumed there had to be something wrong with the alignment in the rear to cause the bald tires in the first place. Now faced with the exterior damage and the inspection quickly approaching...waiting until May to trade her in looked like a big investment for a car we were getting rid of in 7 months. So we had to make a few decisions...trade now and get a new truck...or hold out sink the few thousand (and we really don't know what else) into the current car that we are not planning on keeping.
The decision was finalized last evening. My hubby has purchased a brand new truck.....I said goodbye to my little red Rav4 this morning. It was all a total surprise.

Super excited as this is one step towards an RV...but I am always a little saddened to say goodbye to my cars. I know it sound silly, when I traded in my very first car....I actually cried. I cried even harder when they quoted a crappy trade in price. I knew my baby was worth more then what they offered. I was soon smiling as I drove off with my new car...but its always a little difficult to say farewell.
Hubby got the truck....I inherited his car. (I seem to be doing this a lot lately.) I now am the driver of a slightly younger (then my red) silver Rav4.

Enough about all that...What else has been going on??? Well in regards to TRIPS...There hasn't been a whole lot. We have been getting back into the grove with school, closed up the pool, prepped for fall and spent sometime cleaning, NOT all that exciting.
We did however...spend one evening at The Turning Stone casino for a FREE VIP dinner.



VIP dinner at the Turning Stone.

...and Mark and I had a date night at the new Tavern Theater in Camillus to view the movie The Magnificent Seven,

The tavern is actually really neat. It cost a little bit more then an average movie theater, but the lounge chair recliner with cushioned seats were a BIG plus. We also got dinner while we viewed. I have never eaten in the dark, so this was new. I'm not sure if I like it very much. I have been working on a healthier diet, so I ordered a salad. I usually pick out the things like onions, tomatoes and other items I don't usually like. (Maybe because I can see it) but in the dark....your pretty much scooping it in with no idea whats on your fork. I ate most of it so it must not have been something I don't usually like.

The Magnificent Seven (a remake I am told) was pretty good too.

The following day I went to Stamp Camp.

Items made at Stamp Camp

I had a great time with some of my favorite people and made some fun art work. That Sunday I had my September Stamp Club with my girl friends.

September Club 

The week before was Doreen's birthday so we celebrated at club. Kellie also joined the scrap club!!!

Happy Birthday Doreen!!!!

Several of my gal pals from work and I took an overnight at the Turning Stone the evening before a conference on Trauma and Addiction. (I know the idea of a conference on addiction held at a casino seems ironic, but hey we didn't mind.)

Mark was able to score us a free room. We started off with some wine before we all stuffed our faces at the buffet. Mark also scored us our dinner for free too!!!

Its a wonderful thing to work with people you can call friends. Both Barb and Renee were friends well before they worked with me, and Stacey is GREAT!

After we stuffed our faces with dinner, we were off to get deserts. I got a plate for myself and one for Barb. Renee decided that three little deserts were simply not enough and filled an entire tray. There is something very wrong with us....

I'm pretty sure we only made a dent in these delicious little treats...but it was sure great to have that many to choose from.

This is what happens to me when I have to many deserts!!! I get Kookie!!!

Apparently Barb was a little unsure about all those treats....YIKES!!! I can almost hear her now..."What the..???"

Stacey seems to just roll with it all.

Feeling incredibly STUFFED after dinner and since we were at a casino. We tried our hand at a few machines. No winners, although on that go I only lost a total of 2 cents.

After the losses we decided to check out the "club" area of the resort. This is a place I have never really explored. I am not really a "club" type , or at least I haven't been for MANY MANY years, but hey, I was out with the girls, why not. Most were closed as it was a Wednesday night. Lava is the most well known and my 21 year old daughter frequents there, so I know I am too old for that. There are also several restaurants like this Chinese  place. I thought the structure was cool.

and this light fixture was pretty cool too. This was inside the Lava club area and there were like four or five of them.

One club that was open, although I'm not sure if it is called a club, as it has a bar and a restaurant was the Tin Rooster.

This country bar/restaurant was open and about to have LINE DANCING when we arrived.

When in Rome....as they say.

Of course we had to give it a go. We made it through one whole lesson before we decided to pack it in. Flip flops and flimsy sandals do NOT make for good country dancing...they just dont have the right STOMP action. Renee and I vowed to give it another try sometime in the future. It was sure fun!!!






And who could resist having a meal in this vintage tin can camper. LOVE IT!!!

On our way back to the room we stopped and randomly played $1- on a machine! Just for the heck of it!!!! Guess WHAT!!!!! I WON!!!




So my roomies were a little irritated with me....I look at it like all the money I lost in the past coming back to me. NICE!!!
Back at the room...we had requested a roll away bed. We still hadn't received one. So I called down before we left for the pool.
At the pool we all enjoyed a dip...some deeper then others, Both Barb and I went full on swimming while both Renee and Stacey decided that it was just too cold. (What is wrong with them?)  we also enjoyed the hot tub! Ahhha! What could be a better night. Food, dancing, hot tub and WINNING money....all with great friends and did I mention it was FREE??? Ahhh FREE!!!
Back once again at the room...still no roll away, but there was a mini fridge. We all laughed about this before Renee called down and requested a roll away. Funny the women asked after being informed that we had received a fridge but no bed, if we still wanted the bed. Well she's not going to fit in the fridge...We all laughed about this before ending the night with the tv cult classic American Horror Story. I think Barb and I got Renee and Stacey hooked.

The following morning was the conference. Wasn't the sky beautiful? We arrived at the conference venue just as they were setting up and were able to meet with the key note speaker; Marti MacGibbon.

 She wrote this book (we are holding) Never Give in to Fear and started the conference off with her story of survival. True hero's who face adversity and trauma who find a way to pull themselves up and on to a road of recovery.

I've only gotten just part way through the book. which she signed "You Rock", tells of her horrific role in a hidden truth (At least in America we do not want to believe it happens) of human trafficking, drug addiction, survival and RECOVERY...,

After meeting Marti and getting some company FREEBEES. (Note pads, pens, key rings, stress balls etc) we had our breakfast.

Then on to the conference.

Marti bravely told her story to the audience bringing both hope and strength for recovery.  

The rest of the conference spoke to mental health. Depression/Anxiety...the many symptoms of the personality disorder and PTSD. Trauma and addiction often goes hand and hand with these mental health issues.

Some more of my co-workers had joined us. Becky (above) was/is getting married that weekend.

It was a great day of learning and a new source of inspiration while working with this population.

So that has been what's been going on in September. We are now on to another month. October....trips seem far off in the distance as we are all heading to Florida in November and focused on preparing for this big trip. I do have a few adventures coming up; Halloween party's, pumpkin picking, another conference this time, in Albany, maybe a few day trips related to the season....but for now the trip taking is to be a minimum of local runs. Til next time TTFN!