A Bonus Day

When I invited Brett down to celebrate his 30th birthday this month, we went through all of the dates that worked for the three of us and chose this weekend.  As our main activity was going to the Epcot Festival of the Arts, I quickly booked a hotel for us for Sunday night and then Brett picked out his flight schedule to coincided with the plans.  When I went to purchase Brett's Disney tickets, I realized that because of a special that they were running, it was actually cheaper to buy a three-day park pass instead of a two.  Because of the non-Disney plans that we had already made, I thought that we would only use the two days but was alright with that since it was still more economical to have the three-day ticket even if we didn't use it all.  After talking to Brett and Doug, we realized that Brett and I would have time to use it if we planned a short day for lunch at Magic Kingdom.  He was more than ready to do that, and I was looking forward to hanging out at one of our favorite places for a few hours. 

Doug offered to pick Brett up for me last night, since I had a CCW meeting and he would be close to the airport.  I appreciated that and assumed that they would drive back, order pizza and I would meet them here.  It dawned on the both of us this week that it might make more sense for them to stay in Orlando, so Doug would have a short drive to work, and Brett would be close to Magic Kingdom in the morning.  I wasn't sure when I would be able to meet them but decided to book a hotel and figure that out later.  To my surprise, there was a Spark by Hilton halfway in between S.I. Goldman and Disney that was only a $108.  I booked it right away and we were all amazed by how nice it was for the cost.

Doug left this morning for work before we were ready to go to Magic Kingdom.  He enjoyed the relatively short drive, and we appreciated being able to almost make rope drop this morning.  Due to our plans tonight, Brett and I knew that we only had five hours at the park and decided to just enjoy anything and everything that we could get done.  Peter Pan had a relatively short wait compared to normal, so we went straight there after watching the Dapper Dans drive by singing to all of the guests.  Both of us had fun in the interactive queue and loved the ride as always.  From there, we headed to the new Country Bear Jamboree since Brett had not seen it yet.  Pirates of the Caribbean was next on the agenda before ordering lunch at Pinocchio Haus where we were able to grab a highly sought after table overlooking the Small World ride. Before our time was up, we were also able to catch Haunted Mansion and The Little Mermaid rides ending a fantastic day at Magic Kingdom.

Our trip home was an easy one with only one accident slowing us down.  Meg called to check in with us and Brett and I were able to finish his RSVP list for the wedding while catching up on political news.  We pulled into the driveway a few minutes before Doug ready for our night out in Ocala with dinner at Crazy Cucumber and a game of Catan with Uncle Phil.

Letting the Good Out Way the Bad

Some days bad things happen that are pretty hard to overlook.  Today was one of those, and I worked very hard not to let the bad overshadow all of the good that happened.  One person tried to ruin the happiness that I was feeling by bullying her way into my life.  For the first time in a long time, I didn't let that happen.  Instead, I focused on everything that was positive going on in my life.  It helped that both Robbi and Meg were available to listen to how I felt including why I was tired of the negativity that one person was causing.  I also knew that I had the backing of someone that believed that I was doing the best that I could for the group that I had come to really enjoy.  So instead of being upset or crying, I focused on all the wonderful things that I had going on today.  

First, I was absolutely ecstatic that the new stove I ordered last week was delivered this morning.  Even the delivery guys were impressed that we still had the original stove that was installed in our home twenty-one years ago.  The new one looked awesome in our home and reminded me that soon we would have an updated kitchen for a lot less than either Doug or I thought it would cost.  Second, I was able to complete everything on my list today before I left for my meeting at the church.  I cleaned the bathrooms, went grocery shopping, got gas, stopped at the bank and packed for tomorrow.  I even had time to pick up a few refills for my Yankee Candle plug-ins at the mall.  

Tonight, my meeting went very well even though I thought one person treated me poorly.  I had worked very hard this week to remedy a tough situation and felt that that wasn't appreciated by all.  Thankfully, I didn't let that bother me and really enjoyed the fellowship that I found tonight and the positive comments that I received from many in the group.  The best part of all of the day, however, happened after my meeting.  I met Doug and Brett in Orlando to start Brett's 30th birthday celebration.  Doug had picked him up at the airport and they had enjoyed dinner at Rock N Brews before I got there.  I appreciated the soft pretzel that they brought me and had a lot of fun with the two of them before turning in for the evening. 

Overall, I was incredibly proud of myself tonight for not letting the negativity of today ruin all of the good that happened.  It was challenging to do so, but I was so glad that I did.  It made all of the difference and helped me to enjoy this evening very much.  

Cabrini

Brett pre-ordered me the movie "Cabrini" for Mother's Day last spring.  I was excited to see it as I hadn't been able to catch it when it was in movie theaters.  It took a while to come in, but last fall he was finally able to give me the physical copy of the movie.  Because I had been watching the series, Chicago Fire, I decided to wait until I finished that to start Cabrini.  Last week, I looked at the place I had stored the film on my television stand and realized that it was missing.  I looked through the house, not believing that I had misplaced it as that was very unusual for me.  I had almost given up when it dawned on me that I might have put it away with the Christmas movies when I took down the holiday decorations.  I decided today that the only way to find out was to pull the tubs out of Doug's closet and look for it. After moving one Christmas Hippo, a Santa pig and five heavy tubs, I finally found it in the last one in the back corner.  I was incredibly happy and started the movie right away.

The reason that I really wanted to watch Cabrini wasn't just because Brett gave it to me.  I knew that one of the worst parts of Chicago when Doug lived there in the early 1990s was called Cabrini Green. It was notorious for gang violence, drugs and run-down tenements.  I had never forgotten the story of how Doug had gotten lost there one night on a way to a pick-up basketball game and a Good Samaritan found him and directed him to the church where he was meeting his group.  Although that entire area had now been renovated, I hoped by watching the movie, I would understand why an infamous part of the Windy City's history was named after a canonized nun.

I thought that it would take me several days to finish the movie, but once I started it, I couldn't stop watching.  The film begins in Italy with Mother Cabrini wanting to start an empire of orphanages in China.  The pope refused her request multiple times until he finally agreed to meet with her and listen to what she wanted to do in person.  After hearing her pleas, he consented to support her mission with one stipulation - she starts in New York with the Italian immigrants.  

The film moved fast from that point on and the plight of the people that she was chosen to help was depicted very well on the screen.  There were a lot of intense moments and several heart touching ones as well.  I learned a lot about the strength of character that Mother Cabrini had even though she struggled with poor health throughout her life.  Overall, it was a fantastic movie that I believe that everyone would enjoy.

Cignetti Talks

Tonight, Cameron had tickets to see Coach Cignetti talk at the IU Auditorium.  Instead of a speech, it was set up as a question-and-answer session with the students.  Cameron was really looking forward to it and I know from his reaction afterward, he really enjoyed it.  I wasn't surprised as he had been an IU football fan for as long as I could remember and thought that Cignetti was one of the best if not the best coach in college football.  Cameron especially enjoyed the coach's confidence and his plan for the program's future.  

While Cameron was talking about his night, I instantly thought back to the days when Coach Knight did this while I was at IU.  Knight was bigger than life when I was a student.  The talks made a huge impression on me, and I remembered them vividly as basketball was such an important part of my IU experience. I was glad that Cameron got to feel the same excitement that I did over thirty years ago.  He also told me that no other IU coach had done a student talk since that time period.  Thus, I was extremely happy that Cameron got to be a part of something special even if it was a different sport.  

Jeopardy Tournament of Champions

Last summer when I stayed at my parents for three weeks, my dad, Cameron and I watched a lot of episodes Jeopardy.  I had been playing Jeopardy against my dad since I was in high school, so I loved it that Cal and Cameron had carried on the tradition.  This summer there were some very memorable champions, one from West Lafayette who won a lot of money, another one who was also a veteran of Survivor and a third who was extremely charismatic and a little bit eccentric.  We all really enjoyed it.

When I saw that the Tournament of Champions was on while my dad was staying with us this winter, I suggested that we watch it.  I was even more excited about it when I saw that all three of our favorites from the summer were semi-finalists this year.  My dad and I didn't get to watch every episode before he left, but I was able to finally finish it up today.  I was sad to see that all three of my favorites would not be in the final Jeopardy rounds when Drew lost his semifinal round but was glad that I would still be able to cheer for Adrienna and Isaac.  It took six exciting rounds to crown a champion, and even though it wasn't one of the two that I was cheering for, I did have a lot of fun watching the tournament.  The best part was that on the very last day, they showed the exhibition match between Drew, Adrienna and Isaac.  It was only for practice, but I thought it was the best game of the season.  I probably will take a break from Jeopardy for a while since I have no one to play against, but it sure was fun watching it this past year.

SNL 50th Anniversary

Doug and I enjoyed our hotel stay last night.  It was at a Hilton in Port St. Lucie.  There was a PGA course surrounding it and a lot of golfers at the hotel as well.  We were able to get a drink at the bar before heading to the room.  On our way home this morning, we had fun catching up with all of our children.  Each one shared their Valentine's celebrations with us.  Brett spent yesterday in New Albany with Karen where they not only celebrated Valentine's Day but his birthday as well.  Cal took Maggie to an Italian restaurant, and I was pretty sure that he was only joking that they had side salads and tap water since he was paying.  Nick had to fly on Friday, so he and Meg celebrated yesterday with a delicious homemade dinner and a strawberry cake that Meg said was fantastic.  Since Cameron and Cora were attending the IU game on Friday night, they shared a Valentine's Day lunch together.  She had never been to Dat's, so he decided that would be the perfect place to go and they both liked their meals very much.  Cora also liked her homemade smoothie, and they had a lot of fun making a cheesecake together.  Doug and I not only had time to talk to everyone before we made it back home, we also were able to stop at Portillo's in Orlando for lunch.  I hadn't been in quite some time and was very glad that Doug had suggested it.

Tonight, Doug and I set aside time to watch the SNL 50th anniversary show.  There had been a lot of hype surrounding the program especially on talk radio and we couldn't wait to see it.  Although I enjoyed it, it wasn't quite what I thought that it would be.  There were a lot of old cast members in attendance, but the skits were mostly based on new material and weren't that funny to me.  I did really like the Black Jeopardy sketch and the 50th anniversary tribute song by Adam Sandler, but a lot of the other parts just weren't that great or were way too long in my opinion.  Even so, Doug and I were both glad that we had watched it.  It was a nice walk down memory lane as we both remembered all of the years that we spent our Saturday nights watching our favorite comics.  It was also a great way to end an awesome Valentine's weekend.

Palm Beach

Several months ago, my Aunt Jan texted me to let me know that she would be staying in Palm Beach this weekend and that Jackie and Jeannette's families would be visiting her there.  As I knew that it wouldn't really work to take my parents to see Aunt Jan earlier in the month while they were in Ft. Lauderdale, I thought this would be the perfect time for Doug and I to take a road trip.  We would not only be able to visit my family, but we would also get to see a part of Florida that we had never visited.  Even though it was only a little over three hours from our home, we decided to make a mini-vacation and stay overnight while we were traveling.

For a little while this morning, I started to regret that I had suggested the trip.  There was an accident on the turnpike that added a half hour to our trip and the traffic close to Palm Beach added another one.  Because of the delay, our lunch plans quickly changed to finding a place to grab a sandwich somewhere along the way.  Even that got stressful as there was nowhere easy to stop and the only toll plaza along the way was completely packed with not one parking space open.  

Thankfully, once we arrived in Palm Beach, the trip got a lot better.  We found a KFC with a drive thru for a late lunch and we got to the Henry Flagler Museum with enough time to tour the mansion.  We absolutely loved it.  We learned a lot about Flagler and his role in developing tourism from St. Augustine through Key West and enjoyed looking at the extravagance of the gilded age.  The older that I have gotten, the more I can see the waste of that time period, but it definitely was a beautiful home, and I was glad that his granddaughter had preserved that time in history.

Doug and I met Aunt Jan at her hotel after our tour.  She had just checked-in, and Uncle Lee was laying down.  It sounded like he may have picked up a bug while at their last stop.  We were sorry to hear that but had fun visiting with her while waiting for Jackie and Jeannette's families to arrive.  It was so nice to see everyone.  They were happy to be done traveling and everyone was looking forward to a week on the beach.  We hung out with the Barnhart family for the next four hours, eating dinner and catching up.  We were excited to hear about Evan's thoughts on going to IU next fall, and I was glad to have given Anna her Valentine's Day gift in person.  I always have fun with Joshua and Benjamin.  They were definitely ready to eat dinner, look for lizards and hop in the pool.  Overall, it was a wonderful time in Palm Beach, and I was extremely thankful that we were able to visit my family.  I don't know how much I will be in Syracuse this summer with Cameron going to Greece, Meg moving to Orlando and Brett's wedding, so it meant a lot to me that they were able to keep some time open on their vacation to visit with us.