Incline Village, NV

Dave's family all have timeshares at a Club Tahoe and recently his sister and BIL offered us theirs for their week since they couldn't use it. We happily accepted and started making plans. We left Boise on Friday June 12th and drove to Winnemucca where we had breakfast at The Griddle which was pretty good. From there we drove straight to the condo and arrive just in time to check in. After unloading the car and getting settled, we decided on a local small place that had rotisserie meat cooking and the best burritos I've ever had. Their salsa was so good we even bought some to have back at the condo with chips I had bought. On Saturday, we drove all the way to the north end of the lake to Tahoe City and had breakfast at The Fire Sign Cafe which was excellent. From there we visited the dam and took a nice nature walk through the park. We drove back to the condo, picked up a movie for the night at the Redbox and then later went to dinner at Cal-Neva which was disappointing. Sunday we headed over to South Shore and rode the Heavenly Gondola which had incredible views of Lake Tahoe and South Shore. We sat outside, had a beer and waited to see if anyone was going to ride the zip line but there were apparenly thunderstorms in the area so it was closed. There was also an outdoor mall which had tons of great shopping. From there, we found the Rainbow Trail which was a nice walk and had a cool fish display. The weather was looking a little questionable, but I was determined to see more while we were on the South Shore so we went ahead and drove to Angora Lakes to do another hike. It was amazing. You park at the bottom of the trail and walk up about 2 miles and there are 2 goregous lakes and even cabins for rent. After that we went to the outlet mall and did some shopping. Since we were starting to get hungry, we decided to go to one of the large casinos for a buffet dinner. We decided on Harrah's and we weren't disappointed. The food was amazing, the price reasonable and the service outstanding though we did have to wait for about 45 minutes. With full bellies we drove back to the Condo and had a nice fire and watched another movie.

On Monday, we spent a lazy day in and went to dinner at La Fondue which was a lot of fun and very delicious. We also walked around the Hyatt which is right on the Lake and took a drive along Lakeshore drive where there are beautiful homes along the beach. On Tuesday, we were taking Aaron to visit his Dad who lives in Sparks and we took the long way through Carson City so I could visit the Trader Joe's. I spent over an hour there and bought lots of goodies to bring home. I was so glad we had the car so I could stock up! After we dropped off Aaron, we had lunch at a casino and then Dave let me do some shoe shopping at my favorite store DSW. We headed back to Tahoe via 431 which is a beautiful drive past Mt. Rose. Since we weren't too hungry because we ate a late lunch, we went back to T's Rottisserie for burritos for dinner. On Wednesday, we went to the breakfast buffet at Harrah's and then took a long walk along Lakeshore. For our adventure, we drove to a hiking trail and visited Chimney beach (pictured above) which was amazing.

On Thursday, we had lunch at Austin's which was recommend to us by everyone and it did not disappoint! Wonderful chicken fried chicken and chicken fried steak smothered in homemade delicious gravy and their famous garlic fries. After lunch we went back to the condo and got ready for a day at the beach. All week the weather was getting warmer and Thursday was a perfect day. Though it was only in the lower 70's it felt like it was 90. We spent the afternoon reading and relaxing and enjoying the bikes, kayakers and boarders on Lake Tahoe. For dinner, we went to a local favorite, the Wild Alaskan a surprisingly good place that had wonderful Thai Fish Soup that Dave loved.

On Friday, it was time to pack up and head home. Club Tahoe was amazing and we enjoyed it very much. The club house had a pool table which we played almost every day, a pool, spa and even a bar. The staff was very friendly and helpful and they even had a large binder of local restaurant menu's.

Full album of pictures here.

Confessions of a Hoarder

I've always been a little obsessive compulsive. I knew it was weird when I was a kid and I used to have a digital clock and I had to keep track of how many minutes I watch turn over each day and how many hours I watched change. I also used to write down the weather temperatures each night from the evening news. I wasn't especially tidy until I got in my 20's. When my Mom used to visit me, she used to clean and that, for some reason bothered me. Now I wish she would come and clean my house. I had too much pride to appreciate it when I was younger and just getting started with my first apartment and eventually a house. Now my friends call me "anal" and all say how clean my house is. I don't think it is as clean as I would like it to be, which probably is another indicator I have a problem.

Growing up, we always had enough. Aside from the time when we left the Bay Area and moved to the property in Garden Valley and Leo was unemployed for a while, I don't remember us ever being really poor. My step-dad was a sheet metal worker and frequently was laid off or worked less hours in the winter months. I remember my Mom always shopping and stocking up when he was working to help tide is into the non-working months. I say this is how it got started.

As I've gotten older and had more money, I find that I am still "stocking up" but so far there has only been 1 time in my life when I've needed to use this supply. Needless to say, I have much more than I can possibly use in a reasonable amount of time of lots of things. Living in Idaho where the LDS population is quite large, I find myself saying that I'm just doing "food storage" or collection for an emergency, but really, I just buy too much. I seem to not feel safe if I don't have a good supply of something and then a backup supply. Before I even run out of something, I add it to my list and frequently there is a new supply before I even run out. It is rare that we run out of something in my house.

When I first moved in with Dave and his boys, I tried to monitor the supply on what everyone used. This was crazy. I couldn't possibly keep up with 5 people's consumption and the teenagers ever changing tastes. So, as of 2 years ago, I adopted the policy of - if you use the last of something, either 1) notify me 2) leave the package out or 3) write on the list (fridge). This has worked quite well for everyone and we still rarely run out of anything. And I stress a lot less.

But here's where it gets weird. I have sooo much shampoo. I do wash my hair every day and I do have thick hair, but I must have years and years worth of shampoo. Why? I do remember when I moved out on my own that someone told me it was good to rotate the shampoo you use on your hair. So I had 3 or 4 kinds in the shower and rotated using them. Now I live in a home where the shower is a phone booth, so there is certainly not room for a selection. So all the shampoos and conditioners sit on the large garden tub, daunting me. I think I've been trying to "use up" what I have for almost 3 years. I also collect hotel soaps and shampoos. Why? I don't take them with me on trips because I'll be at another hotel that has more or staying at someone's house that has shampoo (I like to try other's people stuff!) so I never use them. I've recently started using the little soaps in place of my more favored body wash (which I also have a ton of) and still have a huge pile of soaps. I did manage to use up a lot of the little shampoo containers but then feel bad about throwing away all the plastic bottles.

I also have waaaayyy to much scrapbooking stuff (see above pic), linens (not really my fault, because we have all mine AND Dave's), tupperware (see previous reason), clothes, shoes, earrings, razors, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc.

I do think it's a good idea to have stuff stocked up, especially food. You never know when a natural disaster, illness or a lay off can happen and you'll be glad you have lots of things already paid for in your home. But I do think I need to question almost every purchase I make and be sure I need it and have a place to store it. I love having lots of stuff, but I also hate the feeling of clutter and overwhelming amounts of stuff. It's all about moderation, right?