I hate baths.

Dear Mom & Dad,

If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times: I hate baths. Still, every week you make me take one. Why? I've told you I hate them. Aren't you listening?

Last night was the end of my rope. You gave me another bath. What. the. hell.

Well take this. I went outside and rolled in all the drought-killed grass I could find. It got good and stuck to me. I'm a mess. A stinky, grass-covered puppy dog mess.

And I know you won't give me another bath because you wouldn't be able to stand if the last day before your vacation, I gave you the I-hate-baths cold shoulder.

Ha. That'll teach you.

-Lexi

Formula to a Great Vaca

Just now, searching ABCNews.com for a story I was going to blog about (debt ceiling) I found a way more fun article on vacations. And given that today was my last day at work before our Canadian vaca, very timely.

Apparently there is a formula for a great vacation. The ingredients are

1. Revel in the planning
2. Be practical
3. Build boundaries
4. Pad your trip
5. Align your expectations
6. Allow opportunities for the unexpected

I rock at number one. I've been planning for Canada for months. Tomorrow my number 1 goal is getting all of our maps together, making sure we have all our details printed out, etc. It is a planning (and packing) day!

I think we do well at number two. We're going to Canada in part because we have a place to stay (big thanks Mike & Brenda) which is very practical. There's also the practical weather side of traveling very far north in August.

Number three, again I rock. At least this time. Being in Canada means no cell phone (high fees) and no internet (the lakehouse doesn't have it). I'll be setting up my out of office notice tomorrow and I've already alerted everyone that I am officially out. Off. The. Grid.

Number four - check! Ross works tomorrow but then we're both off Sunday to do last-minute things like the puppy juggle. We get back Friday but both have next Saturday and Sunday off before going back to the real world on Monday.

On the itinerary for Friday!

As for expectations...well, I have an itinerary. I have to go on a tangent here. Normally, I require 24 hour entertainment. Very high needs as Ross will tell you. He however can entertain himself for hours or days just kinda puttsing around. But when it comes to vacation time, I am more than content to sit down with a book and glass(es) of wine for hours with no agenda. Ross however requires constant entertainment. We seriously do a complete 180 when we're in vacation-land! I've learned from past vacas so this time around, there's an itinerary.

Number six...OK probably our weakest. But even though we have an itinerary, it's fairly vague and I think (hope) leaves lots of room for last minute "ooo this sounds fun" types of things. So we'll check off allowing for the unexpected too.

If you ask me, we have everything in the Great Vacation Formula. Bring it on!

Who Did What?

We took a painting class tonight. (Thanks Mom & Dad!) Who do you think did which painting?

How Much Should We Save?

I called Mom today with this question. And you know what? She didn't have a magic answer. (Though after some conversation she did say she thought 20% of net income would be pretty damn good.)

Shy of not getting a magic answer from Mom, I hit the Internet. I really just wanted to know are we saving at a rate that's good, normal or crap? My gut said not crap since crap savings probably would mean we didn't care enough to be asking if our savings was crap or not. I was guessing normal to good.

I found lots of articles out there on the interwebs. Here's some of the advice they gave.

• Spend 60%, save 30%, play with 10%
• Saving 10% sounds good-ish
• Save at least 10% in your 20s
• Needs 50%, save 20%, play with 30%

So we're looking at a 10-30% range for savings. Some of those include retirement (the 40% specifically does) and some don't.

I have to admit, playing with 30% of our income certainly sounds the most fun. A heck of a lot more fun than only playing with 10%. And where do vacations fall in there? We save every month...but then every few months we blow invest some of it in travel.

Also, what about things where you go above and beyond? That first link talks about "committed" expenses. His example is he committed to his kid's music lessons. You could cut or eliminate them but really you've committed. Our big "committed" expense is my school loans. I have Y due but we try our darnedest to pay Yx2 so one day they'll actually be paid off. (Lofty goal I know.)

Math isn't my strong suit and with all those variables (retirement, long-term savings, short-term savings, interest rates, net income, gross income - AH) this feels more like algebra by the minute. But I think I'm determining that at least 10% of our income should go to long-term and/or retirement savings. I can work with that number.

What's your take on smart savings goals?

Blue Jeans and Pension Plans

This made me so sad/outraged that it gets a lunch break blog post.

According to a recent Chicago Tribune article on 21 workplace benefits that are going the way of the do-do bird, not only are our pension plans in danger, so are our blue jeans!

While I may not like companies cutting any benefits, I can't say I'm surprised that pension plans, retiree health insurance or home-purchase assistance are being cut. (Really? Some companies help you buy a home? Don't most think your paycheck is help enough?) I may not like it, but I get it. These things are expensive and times are tight. It's crappy but...eh.

But casual dress day!?

Rockin jeans & boots at work today

Me wearing my blue jeans (and awesome boots) to work is not costing you any money. If raises, bonuses, etc are going to go out the window, the least you could do is help me make my wardrobe go farther. Besides being an employee expense consideration, talk about culture killer. You take away my insurance, take away the office season tickets and then slap me in the face with no more casual Friday. Who does that?? Talk about kickin' someone when they are down.

I think my office is probably in the clear on this one since we have casual everyday and not just Friday. We're a fun place and it's part of our culture. Thank the blue jean gods for that!

If your office is taking away your blue jeans, rebel! Rebel I say! Long live blue jeans!

Boot Scootin' Boogie

A few months ago at a friend's baby's party, the baby mama was wearing a hot pair of cowgirl boots.

I got jealous.

And I told Ross I wanted some cowgirl boots one day. He agreed, some day I should have a real pair of boots.

So this past weekend while we shopping for Ava's cowgirl hat, I tried on boots. I fell in love with a pair of brown, monochromatic, pointy-toed short boots. LOVELY.

Today I came home from work and on our bed was a big gift bag. Inside was a card which to paraphrase said any hubby can buy anniversary, birthday and Christmas gifts but only a husband who really loves his wife buys just because gifts.

And inside the big bag was my very first pair of cowgirl boots!! They are so beautiful! The exact pair I tried on this weekend. I love them!

If you don't know much about cowgirl boots, real boots are a real gift. I've never had real non-Payless brand pair of boots before. This is a legitimate milestone in the life of a Texas lady.

I am wearing them to work more than socially acceptable this week. Who cares if my coworkers don't think I own other shoes. I'm wearing my boots!

Ross promises to take me out dancing in them as soon as we get back from Canada. We're gonna do the boot scootin' boogie all night long. I can't wait!

Heel, toe, dosey doe come on baby let's go boot scootin'!