So I head out to drop the kids at school this morning..... only to find that the doors of the car are frozen shut. We finally pried one open and my 10-year-old crawled in and used her feet to kick open the rest. Niiiiice.

Time for a vacation.

Here's the thing- I hate schlepping. You know, the act of carting around a bunch of crap/necessities. So I've taken to renting condos or houses for a week in nice, warm locales. You can pack half of the usual junk because they have {cue the gospel choir singing Hallelujah} washing machines.

And at the end of it all, the price tag makes them a downright bargain compared to hotels. Think about the economics of having a little kitchen with a fridge full of groceries compared to a week of restaurant meals or room service bills.

This site is one of my favorites. Tons of fabulously fun places and a great search engine for finding something within your budget.