And Then There's More

This morning, Meg, Cameron, Doug and I went to Ocala's Downtown Market.  I didn't realize that tonight was Light Up Ocala which filled the entire downtown area with vendors and shoppers making it very hard to find a parking place.  Thankfully, we did get a spot and enjoyed the market very much.  I bought Christmas gifts that I had been wanting to get everyone.  Meg and Cameron both purchased jewelry and got a peach fizz from a food truck owner that gave out Thanksgiving jokes for free.  Listening to the jokes were worth it as the drink was fantastic.  Although there was a lot of food at the market, we decided on Mellow Mushroom for lunch as it is Cameron's favorite place to eat in Ocala.  The guys ordered a white sauce pizza while Meg and I tried a cheeseless vegetable one.  Both were very good.

After our trip downtown, I dropped Meg, Cameron and Doug off at home and headed to Tampa to pick up Cal.  It had been a year since I had been at the Tampa airport and forgot how easy it was to get around compared to Orlando.  Cal's flight was on time and soon after I arrived, we were heading back to Ocala.  I enjoyed hearing all that Cal had been up to lately and his thoughts on IU football, work and the holiday season.  

Doug made brats, chicken sausage and potatoes in the oven for dinner tonight which were delicious and went well with the desserts that Meg and I made.  We spent the rest of the evening playing games, watching football and hanging out at home.  We also tried Cal's wine from Italy.  It was some of the best that I had ever had, and I could see why he raved about it this summer.  Overall, it was a wonderful evening, and I enjoyed having Cal, Meg and Cameron with us very much.  

Shopping

Cameron enjoyed sleeping in this morning while I used the quiet time to get a few things done for our Thanksgiving celebration this weekend.  Once he got ready, we headed to PDQ for lunch.  I hadn't been since the last time he was here and forgot how much I liked their grilled chicken sandwich.  From there we headed to the mall to do a little shopping.  Cameron didn't need a lot but wanted to get Christmas ideas for everyone.  I had several birthday rewards that were about to expire and was happy to use one of them on a Christmas shirt and sweater at Belk's.  Cameron found the perfect burnt-orange three-quarter zip on sale as well. Before we left, he went into Hollister to window shop, and I picked up my birthday candle from Yankee Candle.

Our next few stops took us to Heathbrook Square, my favorite shopping spot in Ocala.  We checked out Dick's, Home Goods, and Barnes & Noble before heading home to meet Doug.  Dinner was at Gators Dockside which we all really enjoyed.  Meg arrived shortly after we got back ready for a fun weekend.  We spent the rest of the evening playing ping pong, catching up and watching football on television.  It was a great first day of Thanksgiving break and I look forward to many more.  

He Made It

After a grueling thirteen weeks of I-Core classes, Cameron took his last final this morning at 8 a.m.  It wasn't just the early waking time that he had this semester that made it his toughest one yet, but the heavy load of classes, the internship with the athletic department, his job as a TA, being a director on Student Athletic Board and interviewing for summer internships that had completely wore him out.  I was extremely proud of him for finishing strong as I knew last weekend, he was ready to throw in the towel.  Cameron wouldn't find out the grades for his finals until next week but felt confident that the worst that he would finish with was a 3.7.  He still had a case study to complete when he returned, but that would be easy in comparison to the classes.  

It hadn't quite dawned on Cameron that he was done with the hardest part of his semester when I picked him up at the Orlando airport this evening, but the closer that we got to Ocala the happier he became.  I listened to Cameron talk about everything that had been going on in his life these past few months and was glad to hear that he did have several fun activities planned after break like attending the IU-Purdue football game and going out for a steak dinner with Cora to celebrate their one-year anniversary.  By the time we arrived home, Cameron was ready to have a small celebration of his own entitled "Thank God, I made it to Thanksgiving break."  Fortunately, I had the cooler stocked with beer and seltzers for him so that we could toast his achievements and finally relax.  It was a wonderful way to end a looooonnnngggg thirteen weeks.

What Does the Fox Say?

Several weeks ago, my Ring doorbell camera went off in the middle of the night. I jumped out of bed and grabbed my phone to see a cat walk across our front porch.  Animals setting off our Ring doorbell didn't end there.  While I was driving to Syracuse from Indianapolis a few days before my birthday, I got another notification that motion was detected.  I pulled over and stopped the car to see a lizard hanging out on the camera.  It looked creepy up close, but not too ominous.

Last week, my doorbell went off in the middle of the night once again.  I wasn't too worried as I figured that it was the cat returning for an evening prowl.  The animal this time was on the sidewalk a little bit further away and on the camera only for a few seconds.  I wasn't quite sure what it was at first but knew that it wasn't the same cat and definitely wasn't the lizard that I saw earlier in the month.  I was too tired to figure it out that evening but after watching the video multiple times and blowing up the picture, I finally decided that it was a fox.  At first, I was a little anxious about having a fox in our front yard but relaxed once I realized that foxes were harmless to humans. 

Hopefully, the next time my doorbell camera rings at night, it isn't something that is more dangerous.  Meg saw three bears on her drive home from church not too long ago.  A bear on my front porch would definitely be something to worry about.

Thankful for a Day at Home

I was up early this morning and out the door before Meg left for work.  Bible study had been cancelled for the day, but I still wanted to get back as soon as I woke up so that I could get started on my first full day at home in a long time.  With our family Thanksgiving planned for this upcoming weekend, I had a lot to do before Cameron arrived on Thursday night.  It didn't help that I had been in Indiana four of the past five weekends.  

Thankfully, I was able to get a lot of cleaning done today.  I was also able to make a list of everything that I needed to finish before Thursday night.  I had decided with all that I had going on to cancel on Thursday night's CCW meeting.  I would have only been able to stay for an hour before I had to leave to pick up Cameron, plus they were playing BINGO and having a pajama night, two of my least favorite things. In the end, I felt good about all that I had accomplished today, and by the time Doug arrived home for dinner, I was ahead of schedule and ready for a fun night of watching Dancing with the Stars.  

The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys were playing at Epcot's Eat to the Beat this weekend and Meg wanted us to see them as she had already been to two of their concerts.  I was very excited to go but worried about making it work after our busy travel week in Indiana.  Getting home early yesterday really helped, but once I saw the pictures of the crowds at Epcot waiting for the concert, my anxiety about going grew increasingly.

Thankfully, everything worked out perfectly and tonight, Nick, Meg, Doug and I were able to see one of my brother's favorite bands live.  Mike Love was the only original member still touring and his voice no longer sounded like it did on 45 in our home on Jackson Street in 1974, but it was still so much fun.  The band played all of our favorites and as an added bonus featured John Stamos on drums who also sang Meg's wedding song, Forever.  Meg and I enjoyed it very much and the guys appreciated one more trip around the countries for the last week of Epcot's Food & Wine Festival.  

A Weary Traveler

Doug and I decided yesterday that we would try to get an earlier flight if possible.  I was tired from the past ten days and the flight we were scheduled on wouldn't arrive in Orlando until 8:30 making it a late night for both of us.  Brett and Karen had plans for the day and Cameron was studying for his ICORE finals, so there was really no reason for us to stay in Southern Indiana any longer.  

I had tried multiple times over the past few weeks to change our flight and thought that with the government shut down, it would be easier to schedule a different departure but had no luck.  Fortunately, that changed at 12:30 a.m. when I woke up out of a dead sleep.  Changing our flights must have been on my mind as I had just gone to bed at 11 p.m.  Even though I was slightly disoriented, I was still coherent enough to look at the Southwest app and find earlier flights for Doug and I.  Normally, I would only be able to list us as stand-by passengers, but with the changes to the Southwest schedules since the government shutdown, they allowed me to pick an earlier flight without charging us any fees.  I was thrilled and chose the 9:45 a.m. flight before going back to bed.  

Doug didn't know anything about the changes in flights until I woke him up at 6 a.m. this morning.  He was happy to hear that we would be leaving early as he was ready to spend a day at home as well.  The only downside to our change was that we had C boarding passes and wouldn't get to sit together.  It was an easy flight, so that didn't matter and as an upside we were able to check our bags for free.  All of it was worth it to be home by lunch time today.  For me this wasn't about getting back from a ten-day trip but more of taking a long break from traveling after constantly being on the go since June.  I needed some time to rest and relax before going anywhere outside of Florida anytime soon.

Another positive about getting home early was that Meg and Nick stopped by on their way home from Tampa.  Meg was finally able to give me the birthday gift that she had been talking about all week.  It was a handmade beaded plant that she had worked on for a month.  I absolutely loved it and appreciate all of the work that she put into it.  It fit my title of "crazy plant lady" well.  Nick surprised me with a gift as well - a glass chicken from his Grandpa Leroy's collection.  It was awesome and even had room for a tealight for a fun nightlight ambiance. My final gift was from Doug - Tom Petty's Wildflowers vinyl.  What a wonderful way to end an awesome birthday celebration.