Stuff vs. Experience

We got new floors this week on our first floor.
When we built our house in 2009, I wasn't yet working for the country's largest flooring distributor, and we had a three year old and a baby on the way, not to mention two cats.
So we opted for the builder-grade, standard-issue ivory-colored carpet, figuring we'd upgrade "in a few years" to something better. Once the kids and cats had done their worst.

Well the "doing of the worst" came and went and now, almost 8 years later, we decided it was finally time.
We ordered the flooring, arranged the installer and Dave and I spent last weekend cleaning just about every nook and cranny in our home, whether the room was getting new floors or not.

The result? BAGS of garbage and donations.
The above photo is just a small sample.

And it further reinforced my long-held belief that money is better spent on experiences, not stuff.
The bags of toys (random pieces, long-forgotten "joys" and other treasures) were all put on the curb Sunday night and there hasn't been one cry of "Where's my [insert beloved toy] here?" from either child.

But do they remember our trip to Kalahari, or Cancun? Most definitely.

As the number of candles on the cake grow larger for each kid with each passing year, so do the gifts. For Christmas this past year, it was new tablets (which are well-loved and well-traveled.)
We've also started giving "experiences" as gifts, which is hard for a kid to understand at the start but over time, they get it. The promise of a day at Hersheypark, or a staycation weekend in Baltimore, something exciting to look forward to, gets as much of a reaction as the random Lego set that will soon just be a mix of pieces in the larger pile.

So we will continue on this path. Experiences, not stuff. It's money, and time, better-spent.

Daniel doing some planking on what is now our old carpet.

Slightly different angle, same room, new floors. 

Slow Roll Out of the Gate

My travel calendar got a little shifted this year for a few reasons, so the first quarter seems a bit quiet.

Don't worry. We'll crank things up to ludicrous speed in April.

But there have been some adventures to share so far in 2017.

There's nothing like a good "staycation" mom's night out. Some of my favorite moms and I get together each winter to go out sans hubbies and kids for some fun. In January, we shacked up at the Marriott in Harbor East (Baltimore) and tried the pedal bike thing. It was a fun way to get around Fell's Point but make no mistake, it was a workout. There is no motor aboard that sucker. We earned our beverages.

 We road tripped it out west and spent part of a day at Harper's Ferry. It's where West Virginia and Maryland meet, and is chock full of history, and good climbing/hikes. It was chilly, and off-season, so we basically had the place to ourselves. We climbed to Jefferson's Rock.

The Harper's Ferry stop was along the way to a weekend adventure in Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland.

 We hadn't seen much of the white stuff here in Baltimore this winter.
DCL had just enough to get a taste....

The kids enjoyed the (huge) icicles.

It was a fun getaway with friends....lots of laughs.

Work travel beckoned this month, consisting of a one day trip to Charlotte to meet with customers.

When one takes a 5:10 AM flight to Charlotte, breakfast at Bojangles is almost required.

The customer meeting was at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a great venue for meetings and events. It's one of my go-tos when I have something to plan in town.

 After the meeting, I checked out the NASCAR Hall of Fame, located in Uptown. While I am not really a NASCAR fan, it's a fascinating place and as I was there in a meeting-planning capacity, it offers a lot of great options for a fun customer or corporate event.