It's a GPS .. It's a Watch ... It's SUPER WATCH!!

You know all those credit cards out there that give you the "special deals" ... like airplane miles or cash back or Disneyland cash??  Nowadays there are too many to count and I've tried VERY hard to keep mine to a minimum.  When I began this RV adventure, I cut back even more.  I will admit I have a Disney card because I LOVE Disneyland!!  I only use it for automatic charges, things like Direct TV, etc ... so it's easy to control and keep track of expenses.   A couple of years ago, after paying a pretty penny for airfare to Hawaii, I applied for an Airlines card and charge practically EVERYTHING to it.  Now I fly free every year (a minimum $1000 value).  The one extra card I keep around for emergencies is REI ... Recreational Equipment Incorporated.  Not only do you get a discount every time you purchase something from them, but you get dividends back at the end of the year.  Since I pay every card in full by the end of the month, I don't pay interest charges.  THAT part is crucial!!!  REI must have had a good year, because my dividend statement came in with a whopping $300 credit.  If worked right, these credit cards can be pretty cool!!!

Since my Nike watches were giving out right an left, I decided to see what REI had in the way of GPS watches ... maybe that would motivate me to keep running!!  Sure enough, they had a GREAT one.  This thing does everything but the dishes!!  It can tell you what your pace is, how far you've gone, how long you've been running or biking or swimming, what your heart rate is, it draws a map of where you ran (or walked) and will navigate you back home.  It tells you temperature, altitude and barometric pressure and has a compass in case you get lost.  You can also program it to tell you if you are hitting your goals.  Besides all THAT, it tells time, date and day in HUGE letters, easily readable.  It's SUPER WATCH!!  Sorry for the bad image, it wouldn't let me download a picture. It's not exactly small and petite, but it does absolutely everything I could ever want ... and I have a $300 credit!!

Once I came down off Cloud 9, I picked up my newest magazine.  I was thinking of making some of these hot-chocolate-in-a-jar gifts for my neighbors.  Wasn't I surprised when I flipped through the pages to find cookies, candy and cake recipes that sounded delicious!!  There are even a couple of soup recipes if your neighbors are trying to eat light!!  I immediately started a grocery list, since marshmallows, marshmallow creme and cocoa powder aren't usually in my cabinets.  Do you see another cooking disaster in my future??

SURPRISE!!  It turned out WONDERFUL!!  The only recipe in the book I had the ingredients for was the lemon pound cake, so I whipped up a batch of three loaves.  It's yummy, as you can tell because half of one loaf is missing already.  That was dinner by the way!  The other two are going out the door as gifts ... I promise!!  So I'm off to the store for some healthy things like peanuts, snickers bars and whipping cream!!  This should keep me busy over the weekend, in between packing the rig.

I actually DID get some packing done yesterday.  All of my coffee is loaded, along with dog food.  I had to trash 6 cans of vegetables that were past date ... some by two years!!  YIKES!!  It all came to a screeching halt when I discovered one slide wouldn't move at all.  Not even a squeak or groan.  I don't think it's getting any electricity, even though I checked all the breakers.  There must be one I'm missing.  Thankfully, it's the smallest slide that doesn't really need to extend for me to pack up and get on the road.  I'll have someone look at it in Indio.  It's always SOMETHING with these homes on wheels!!