Never again do I want to do vacation for two weeks. That's about how long we were gone. We had a great time, don't get me wrong. It was restful; relaxing; and we had a great time. Travel there was great; no problems. Pouring rain and 54 degrees greeted us. Picked up by my little sister and hubby, we had to hit White Castles on the way to their place. Oh yum. I ATE 5 OF THEM!!! I was so full; but couldn't stop eating them! In my defense, they ARE small.
We had dinner with my little brother and his wife, my older sister, and my younger sister and hubby on Thursday. It was one way I could be sure to tsee them. I did get back to visit my younger brother at his home the next week and we had a nice visit. He said to tell my sons he loves them.
After a couple days with my little sister, we headed off to the in-laws to prepare for the wedding. It went well (on Saturday) and although it had rained earlier, and was very cool. There was a tent, in which I stayed except for the ceremony. The bride was a half hour late, but being the wedding was at the father-in-law's house, it didn't seem to matter. It didn't take long for me to notice why the new mother-in-law does not care for her. But that's none of my business. Catered food of BBQ brisket and pork, mac & cheese, baked beans - was all good. Since the nephew is a beer maker (wants to be a brewmaster) he had a big keg of beer there for everyone. Also had the champagne, sweet tea, unsweetened tea, etc. It became a bit disorganized (in my opinion) after the ceremony, but I minded my own business.
Monday after the wedding we rented a car for hubby to have and I met up with my little sister again. We had a good time together, leaving on Tuesday to go to Brown County in Nashville, IN. We checked into the hotel and then hit the shops. I didn't buy much as I knew I couldn't handle the weight in the suitcase. I miss being able to shop for my children, etc., but it is best that I didn't. (As it was, I did have to mail a couple small packages home just because of the 50 pound weight limit in the suitcase and I was at 46 pounds when we left. The packages will arrive tomorrow. I should have just bought a small suitcase to put them in. We found out when we got to the airport we could have two suitcases - not just one each.)
My sissy and I hit a lot of the shops in Brown County - she sure is the shopper; no wonder she is frequenty broke! LOL I did my share, for sure, but was very careful on what I did purchase. I did buy 'thank you' gifts for those we stayed with, so it was worth going. Before we got to Nashville we hit the outlet stores in Edinberg and I was able to find a nice pair of dress slacks and a polo shirt for myself. And I found out at the Lee store that my Rider jeans/slacks are being removed from the market. I love that brand as they fit me best in length and size. I can still order via Amazon so at least for awhile I can get new jeans. I just hate having to pay $25 for a pair of jeans - but then, I have jeans that I've had for years. They only wear through where my fat legs rub together. I know; TMI. I need to buy patches and keep them! LOL
I tried a couple times to go visit my big sister but she kept telling me 'no not today'. She actually called me yesterday and said that she didn't want me to see the mess that her son has made of her apartment. She is ashamed of the smell and spots in the carpet made by his bird and dog. She just can't get him to move out. She quarantines herself in her bedroom because he has taken over the front room and kitchen; which the apartment is only a one bedroom. I feel bad for her, but she needs to lay boundaries an follow through on them.
My visit to my big brother's house was a blast. This is the most we have spent with him and it was a lot of fun. One night we had such a great meal that I want to try and duplicate it. We had a tomahawk steak (I had never heard of it - but recently saw them in Sam's Club) that was amazing. He cooked it for two hours as it is so thick. It was so good. One tomahawk steak, four people, and hubby had seconds... and we still had leftovers. It was big. My SIL made French Onion Soup from scratch (I can't wait to try it!) and it was so good. Also had lobster and a baked potato. Needless to say, we ate well that night! We went to my nephew's for a cookout one night and I got to see his new house. It was huge and he has alot of land with it, and it is gorgeous. Church on Sunday morning - great service too - then on to the Indianapolis Museum of Art - where we got to see all the fall/halloween decorations throughout the property and in the 'Lily House'. We grabbed lunch while we were there and once back to my brother's house, headed back to the in-laws for the rest of the day. I did forget some clothes at my little sister's so we had to make a detour to her place to pick them up.
Our trip home had been changed by Southwest so instead of a direct flight back (a little over 3 hours), we had to go to Vegas, have a two hour layover, and then home (a little over 7 hours home). My daughter picked us up and had us home by 11:45PM. We were tired! Silly me, I didn't take yesterday off to recouperate so was up a little after 4AM to get woke up to work. I struggled throughout the day with the afternoon beign the worst, but made it to 8PM before I told hubby "I'm done". He slept a couple hours during the afternoon so he stayed up. It feels good to be back in our own bed, with our own pillows.
I started my new medication this morning for my osteopenia. I was determined I was going to enjoy vacation (and I did - and I didn't gain even a pound!) so waited until we got back. I was going to start it on Sunday, but decided Wednesdays will work as well. I'm a bit nervous about the side effects; they are brutal, I hear. My brother took these for awhile and he said after awhile he developed 'Barretts disease' and had to go on another medication. My daughter took them and they put her in bed for two days with severe bone pain to where she was taken to the ER. Please pray that I won't have any of those side effects and that I will do well with this medication. I was very careful while I was on vacation not to fall and only had one misstep, which I didn't share with anyone. I had my new glasses on and missed a step as I was walking to the car... and you know the feeling when you step off a curb that you didn't know was there and it feels like your entire back is slammed into the concrete. Yeah, I had that feeling. I was a bit shaken (it was about 6-8" I missed preparing for) but stretched my back out later and it didn't seem to hurt. Must pay more attention.
So that was our vacation. I learned a few things. 1) two weeks is too long to go on vacation; even with family. We had a good time, everything went well, but there were a few days nothing was going on and it felt like they were trying to find something for us to do. Overall, it was a great trip, but 8-10 days will be long enough. 2) two weeks is very expensive. Hubby came in and threw the pet hotel bill at me yesterday. It was about $400 more than he expected. I just looked at him. He was grumbling he is having to take the $ out of savings. I told him that we decided up front that cost was going to be high; but we haven't been in 8 years so it equals out. I did not offer to help pay the pet hotel bill (it comes out of the joint account, and he has the money). He actually asked me about things I paid for; the airline (you paid for it last year - so what, I still paid for it!), the car rental. Meals we ate out and I picked up the tab. Yeah, he wasn't pulling anything on me - he never offered to give me any help. :) I knew it would be expensive for us; but the money was in the bank and we won't do anything like this trip again. It was well worth it. I also reminded him it isn't just the 'room' he reserved for Sheeba (being large she gets the largest room which costs more - with a patio!), it was also the play time, extra potty breaks, etc. that he requested. It does all add up. She had a nice vacation from us; although we did get a report she was sent to her room one time.. she had an 'altercation' with a couple other dogs one day so that was her punishment.. LOL
It's good to be back home. I did come back to 600+ emails on the work computer. Yipes. It took me three hours to get them down to where I can handle them. Have so much to get done today in follow-up. Hubby wants me to take off this afternoon to go to a doctor appointment with him.... I'm not allowed to share.... but he has a couple medical issues that he is getting information on.
Time to hit the shower before hitting the work computer. Overall, we had a good time on our vacation and now recovery is in full mode - financially and physically. It's all good. Didn't get my 6 mile walk in (with my little sister) or the 12 mile walk in (with my brother). Sister sometimes is 'all talk' and no action; with brother, it rained during the time we had scheduled to walk. Oh well. I do need to get out here now and do some walking. Got to buid my bones up.
Take care - hope you have a great day.
Blessings!
