Bora Bora vs. The Kitchen

The other day my parents called me from their cell as they drove home from a visit with my Grandma (who is turning ninety in March—yowza!) My favorite part of the story about their visit was the fact that Grandma was sitting in front of one of those ‘sunlight boxes’ when they arrived, so they all gathered ‘round the sunshine box during their visit. The modern equivalent of ye olde hearth, I guess. My Dad ended the conversation with one of the more amusing excuses I’ve ever heard (“Well, we’re at the mall now—have to run in and get some calendars”), to which my mom added, “Yeah! We don’t know what day it is ever!”

Someone needs to give them their own sitcom. They even have a new household pet for even MORE hijinks: an abandoned kitten my mom rescued and bottle-fed. They call him Mr. TeeTee, and he is deceptively adorable, because he’s the biggest asshole ever. We all have the scratches to prove it. Daisy has yet to meet Mr. TeeTee, but I suspect the meeting won’t go well, because my 15 pound dog is terrified of… kittens. And her own shadow. And sneezes, and certain public radio show theme music, and water.

She does, however, have a very special fondness for her doggie bed, if you catch my drift.

Question for you all: Mr. Riley and I are contemplating our very first "real" vacation together EVER. Nearly nine years together, and we've never had a honeymoon or vacation 'just because.' So, it's time, don't you think? The destination at the top of my list is Bora Bora. Sure, it'll eat our bank account in one lovely, week-long, romantic chomp, but they say if we bring an underwater camera, at least we'll have PROOF that we enjoyed ourselves. (Scuba diving! Get your mind out of the gutter.)

Anyway, right now we (and by "we" I mean "mostly I") have been looking at Bora Bora, Costa Rica, and Hawaii. Kenya and Bhutan also top the list, but they'll be there for the ten-year anniversary, barring some unfortunate national turn of events in either country.

Bora Bora vs. a decent kitchen remodel. What do you think? Meh, dishwashers and fridges that don't make horrid, shuddery noises every twenty minutes are SO overrated!

Oh, also: is anyone watching the third train wreck Bre t Michaels has brought us...now MOBILE? This is our latest guilty pleasure. You can't help but feel better about your own life after watching.