OK, I finally have a chance to post about our trip!

First, AJ, Bo, and I met up in San Francisco.  It was a little weird that Bo and I were on vacation together without my parents.  I guess we’re really grown up now, huh?  LOL!

The first full day was our big sightseeing day.  We took a sightseeing tour bus that drove us all around town and showed us everything.  It took us to the top of a hill where we could see the whole city - it’s so big and hilly!

And then the bus took us to Golden Gate Bridge:

Then we traveled to Muir Woods, which was a beautiful state park.  The redwoods were so gorgeous!  So, of course, AJ had to act goofy in the middle of them

Then, that night, we went to see Al Capone’s old haunt - Alcatraz:

The next few days we spent exploring the city, including visiting the original Ghirardelli store.

We also spent an afternoon at Haight Ashbury, which is a place I’ve been wanting to visit for YEARS!  We also smoked a little hookah in a hookah bar at Haight Ashbury, which just seemed too appropriate.  This is a horrible angle for me, but look, I was there!

Then we met up with my parents and we all headed to Napa Valley!  We had the best time.  We probably went to 15-20 wineries.

AJ and I slowly collected a case’s worth of wine to bring home with us . . . until we went to the last winery.  We had tours at several of the wineries, and tastings at almost everyone, but the last winery we went to was a little different.  At Del Dotto, we did a barrel tasting - we tasted the wine straight from the barrels that were in the caves!  It was so cool!

This was some of the best wine that we have ever tasted, and since the vineyard is a smaller vineyard that only sells wine from the winery (not in stores or resteraunts), we bought another half case of wine there, LOL!  We’re going to let the wine age, so AJ and I used a Christmas gift certificate I had saved to by this AWESOME wine fridge.

So, I guess can check off #37 on my 101 in 1001 - I’ve been to California!  For all the pictures, see my Flickr.

Then, Mama, Daddy, and Bo all went home and AJ and I went to New York for a couple of days.  We saw August: Osage County (which was soooooo amazing) and American Ballet Theatre’s production of Sleeping Beauty (which meant a lot to me - Disney’s movie has been my favorite movie since I was 2, and I’ve always wanted to see the ballet).  We also got to spend some time with my best friend Stephanie.  She lives in NYC now, and she’s never had a chance to meet AJ.

So, we’re back now, and completely exhausted, but we had a truly great vacation!  I think I’ve decided to give wine tasting/journaling another shot now that I’ve been to Napa and have a bit more knowledge about the whole thing.

Oh, and while I’m posting, we can also scratch #69 off of my 101 in 1001 list - over the past year I’ve really switched a lot of my grocery purchasing to organic food, and I try to consciously pick the organic options, even if they do cost a little more!

My mother’s mom had been sick for a very long time. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about 12 years ago, and had steadily (but slowly) declined since then. She lived in her own home all this time and was fortunate to be able to have around the clock nursing care in her own home.

The past year had been more difficult for her. While her mind had been gone for some time, her physical health hadn’t been too bad until recently. Her episodes of low blood pressure and breathing problems became more frequent, and we knew that her body was beginning to shut down.

This evening around 8:45pm, Nana passed away in her home. My mother and her sisters were there by her side. I will be leaving in about 4 hours to drive with my brother to Georgia to be with our family. While I am sad that she is gone, I am more relieved that she can finally be at rest. This is a difficult and awful disease, and I know that she tried her hardest as long as she could.

Please pray for my family as we travel to be together to honor her. She lived a very full and successful life, and I have great respect for all that she accomplished.

I have big news, and I have been holding back on it for a week!

Last year, I mentioned that one of the things I wanted for Christmas was a puppy. Then I met AJ, we started dating, and he got kittens, Jazz and the Little One. So I changed my mind, and said I really wanted kittens. I had no idea that I liked cats - I have always been a “dog person.” It never occurred to me that I could be both a dog and cat person, but I truly love AJ’s cats soooo much (need to get some updated pictures, they’re so big now)! I even asked for your advice about cats just in case!

Well, the day after Thanksgiving, my whole family and AJ decided to go to lunch together, and AJ suggested a place by the humane society because he decided to get a third(!) cat. We went and ate, then AJ said “OK, I’m gonna walk to the humane society to look at another kitten for me.”

Then my mom said “actually, Lindsey, AJ is not getting a kitten, you are getting two.”

My Christmas present from my parents is two kittens!!!!!!!!!

They decided that since I have a job and therefore can’t travel as much, now might be a better time to get a pet. And since I’ve discovered cats now, they would be better for me than puppies because I am away from home for long periods of time during the day (with school and work). So, that is my present from them - two kittens and allllll the stuff that comes with them (litter boxes, toys, vet trips, food, etc.)

So, we went to the humane society, and I didn’t see any I wanted. Over the next week, AJ and I visited the humane society, two PetSmart adoption centers (with animals supplied by local shelters, NOT bad animal places), the animal control adoption center, and the Animal Adoption & Rescue Foundation (AARF).

I was looking for two kittens that were young - baby to around 6 months old. I quickly realized that most people only want one cat, so it is often hard to adopt out siblings together. So, since I was already looking for two, I decided I wanted siblings because that would be good for the cats. We looked and looked and looked. I wanted short hair, and I kinnda really wanted an orange one, but they seem to be in high demand, so they were hard to find.

At AARF, a nice woman named Rebecca told me about several of her kittens that she is fostering in her home. She brought in a pair of brothers that are black and white, and a pair of sisters that are brown tabbys. I played with both pairs and just couldn’t decided if I wanted EITHER pair. She told me a little about their history, and it turns out the brothers (4-5 months) are REALLY attached to each other, and she would love to see them go home together. So, that made me pick the boys over the girls, but I still wasn’t convinced.

So today we went to a couple of adoption fairs and the humane society again. The first two places didn’t really have anything that interested me, so we went to the adoption fair held by AARF.

It was a NIGHTMARE! That made the decision soooo much harder because there were SEVERAL pairs of siblings, and they were all so cute and so sweet!

After half an hour of cuddling all these kittens, I was down to two pairs - the black and white brothers I had seen earlier in the week and a pair of brothers that were 8 weeks old. They were so tiny and adorable and kept purring and kissing me! They were medium-haired, and one was black and the other was orange (like I’d been wanting)!

So now I had a tough choice. And I must have deliberated for another half hour, LOL! I asked the foster moms of both pairs as well as some of the other foster moms. And AJ and I discussed it a great deal. And the general consensus was that the two little bitty ones would get adopted since they were so small, but it is harder to adopt kittens that are closer to the black and white ones age. The little bitty ones were also so young that even though they kept flopping all over each other and curling up together, they would probably be just fine to be adopted separately. The black and white ones really needed to go together.

So I’m taking them!

At this point, I was worried since I didn’t have an immediate reaction to them (the “you’re supposed to be mine!” feeling). But after talking with everyone, they said that would come with time once we got to know each other. And in all honesty, this will be best for the cats, because they really should go home together.

So, here is a picture from their foster mom and a little excerpt from her email when she was first telling me about them:

“I’m attaching photos of Jacques and Philipe. They are both short haired, black and white. They are about 4-5 months old. Both are very affectionate, playful and they love each other. Jacques is the more outgoing of the two, but they are both very social. Philipe is a water baby. The other day my husband turned on the shower and left the room. When he returned and opened the curtain, Philipe was standing in the shower! Today, my husband was taking a soaking bath and Philipe was sitting on the side of the tub with his front feet in the water. He is so cute about it.”

They aren’t responding to their names yet, so I will be changing them. They’re at just the right age to be neutered, so the foster mom has an apointment for them to get neutered on Tuesday and I will pick them up and bring them home on Thursday! I have all week to get the apartment kitten-proofed and finish getting ready (I have most everything I need except for food, litter, and a couple of carriers).

So that is my big news, and I am so completely thrilled! Of course, there will be more pictures of my babies (and new names) once I get them, so be on the lookout. I am SO excited!!! Merry Christmas to me! And thank you Mama and Daddy!!!!!

Also, all advice for this first-time cat owner is appreciated !

Sidenote: While we were looking for me, AJ fell in love with another kitten. Her brother has already been promised to a family, so they are going to try to get the family to adopt her as well, but if they say they only want the brother, then little Ana is going home with AJ . . . sigh, he’ll have three cats then!

OK, the lowdown on tipping . . .

This post was inspired by XBOX WIFE - her backwards WFMW was all these tipping questions that I have completely copy and pasted and answered below. Let me preface this by saying that I am not a professional on this, I can only share my personal experience (which is actually quite a lot - my family travels a considerable amount). For somewhat professional advice, consider the following:

* Wikipedia: Tip
* The Original Tipping Page
* Get Rich Slowly: Basic Tips on Tipping
* Emily Post: Holiday Tipping

And now, on to the questions! These are based on my personal experiences and opinions (and I inherited most of my tipping habits from my parents). Note that I am typically a big tipper (at a restaurant I consider around 20% to be standard, if not more). I will also leave less of a tip if my service was not that good. It is rare that I will not leave a tip at all, though I have done it once or twice for truly appalling service. But, like I said, I’m usually a very generous tipper.

* How much do you tip the security officer that brings a band-aid to your room? - I’d think a couple of dollars.

* How much do you tip the taxi driver that doesn’t answer any of your questions, or chooses to text message friends while he is driving? - Depends on the length of travel and such. For a $10 cab ride in NYC, I’d say $2 or so.

* How about the taxi driver that gives you great tips and good conversation? - Again, depends on the length and location. For a $10 cab ride in NYC, I’d probably give him $18ish total (but they were really great tips and some AWESOME conversation).

* Do you tip the doorman that greets you, the one that takes in your bags, AND the one that carries them to your room? - Are they 3 different people? If they are, then I typically only tip the one that carries them to my room (unless I have 15 bags . . . then I might consider the others). And usually it’s $1-2 plus $1 for each bag

* How much do you tip the doorman that hails a cab for you? - How hard was it to get the cab? If there was a cab in a line by the hotel, then $1. If he had to call or something, then $2-3.

* The concierge? - Did you use their services? If no, then no tip. If it was a quick question or two, then maybe $1. If they booked a tour for you and gave you 3 good restaurant recommendations, then $5 or so.

* Housekeeping? Do you tip housekeeping daily, or at the end of your trip? (I always worry that the person that has been cleaning our room all week will have the day off on the day we leave!) - If I’ve stayed at a nice hotel for a week or so and received excellent housekeeping service, then perhaps $10-20 at the end of the trip. But usually I don’t tip housekeeping. On a cruise though . . . definitely.

* Salon and spa services in your hotel? - Yes. Example: $50 massage - $10 tip

* And what about salon and spa services in your hometown ~ How much do you tip your hairstylist, the shampoo person, the manicurist, the esthetician? - Yes. I get a $120 haircut and color. The colorist usually gets $15-20, and the hair cutter gets $10. If they are the same person, then they get $20-25 total. And slip a $5 to the one who washes your hair and sweeps up the mess on the floor! Nails? If the manicure is $50, then give them $10-15 . . . and if you’re a regular, make sure to include ALL these kinds of people on your Christmas list (a small little gift, $10-20 gift certificate, homemade cookies . . . you get the idea, somewhere in there).

* The barber? - $15 harcut for the boys = $5-10 for the tip

* The shoeshine guy? - Do people still do this? I have no idea.

* Car wash attendants? - If they were super excellent, maybe $5. Typically though, no.

* Restaurants? How much? Do you determine the amount depending on the specific restaurant? How about the maitre d’? How about self-service places where someone buses your table? - I sort of addressed this already. Usually I go somewhere around 20% - regardless of how nice the restaurant is . . . those waitstaff are working just as hard at Ruby Tuesday as they are at Ruth’s Chris! At self-service places I usually leave a dollar on the table for the busboy. Unless the matre d’ has done you a special service, I usually don’t tip.

* Airports! How much do you tip the guy who unloads your car and the separate guy that checks your bags before you ever actually get into the airport? The parking attendants? The bus drivers for long-term parking? - Usually $1-2 plus $1 for each bag that you have. This goes for the shuttle driver and the skycap. The parking attendant in the little booth - no tip usually.

* Valet parking attendants? - $1-2 when you give them the car and another $1-2 when you get it back.

* Grocery store baggers and car loaders? - I usually forgo using them, so it’s been a LONG time since I’ve done this . . . I would imagine $5 is good if you’ve got a big carful of groceries.

And I’m gonna toss one in here for myself - TIP YOUR BARISTA! If you’ve had good service at Starbucks (or any other coffee shop for that matter), toss your change or a dollar into the tip jar, ESPECIALLY if you’re in the drive-thru . . . it’s factored into our pay like a waiter’s would be, and the drive-thru stores are notorious for getting awful tips, which is quite unfortunate because the work is harder. ::Steps off soap box::

Any other things you’re wondering about for tips? I’d love to keep going!!!