Another IU Victory

Another weekend and another IU victory.  It started out a lot like last Saturday.  The game started at noon, and it was extremely hot once again.  The tailgate field opened at 6 a.m. and Cameron was one of the first to arrive.  Cora's family was there with plenty of food and drinks for everyone and rally towels were handed out to everyone at the game.  

There was one big difference from last Saturday to today, at least for Doug and I.  This weekend, we watched the game from our living room in Florida.  I had sold our tickets on Seat Geek last week as returning to Indiana would be impossible especially since we were all going to be there next Saturday for family weekend.  Neither Doug nor I were sad to miss the game in person.  We had a great watching the blow out at home and enjoyed seeing Cameron on the big screen.  He also took a lot of pictures which almost made us feel like we were there.  No matter where we watch the game, it is nice to have a football team that makes Saturdays in the fall a lot more enjoyable.

A Day with Meg

I went to work with Doug this morning as Meg wanted to spend the day with me.  I arrived at her apartment before she got up and decided to take a nap as I hadn't slept very well last night.  When I woke up, I noticed that her bedroom vent did not look right.  Upon closer inspection, I could see dirt and mold coming out of the vent and on to the wall.  Last week, Meg and I had talked about her furnace filter as the apartment smelled a little musty, now we knew why.  Meg changed the filter right away and our suspicions were correct.  The filter was wet and had mold growing at the bottom of it. Maintenance was on their way to check the AC shortly after we left for the day.

Meg and I got smoothies for breakfast and then dropped off the Pilot to Doug.  She and I then went to Epcot for the rest of the day.  The Food and Wine Festival was our main focus, but we did ride Figment, Spaceship Earth and Soarin' while we waited for Doug to arrive.  Once he got to the park, we started our journey around the countries trying foods that we hadn't had the last time.  My favorite was the pumpkin ravioli.  I also made sure to get a piece of chocolate cake from the US booth which has become my favorite festival food of all time.  Doug and Meg each got a margarita after we rode Gran Fiesta Tour, and then we did some shopping in Germany and England as well.  Doug was thankful for the light rain as it seemed to keep the crowds low.  Overall, it was a great day, and I was really glad that the three of us were able to enjoy a fun day together.  As an added bonus, the maintenance men were able to completely clean Meg's vent before she got back home.

Why Does My Brother Look Like George Harrison?

Last week, Meg posted this picture on her story and asked the question, "Why does my brother look like George Harrison?"  I do not know what type of responses she received back, but I almost had to do a double take when I saw the picture.  It is amazing how much Cameron really does look like the famous musician.  Meg pointed it out several years ago when she was taking a History of the Beatles class at IU, and I haven't been unable to see it ever since then.

Cameron used to get really mad whenever Meg called him George, but now he seems to embrace his doppelganger.  He has had several people over the years tell him that he looks like other celebrities including an airport custodian who swore he was the dead ringer to Tom Cruise.  None have stuck as long as George Harrison, however, and as I always tell Cameron, "At least no one is saying you look like Ringo."  

The Ups and Downs of Steroid Use

Last week, my dentist put me on a steroid to help the ligaments surrounding my tooth heal quicker.  It definitely helped as within two days of taking them, I felt a lot better.  Before I started them, I couldn't even brush my teeth without wincing in pain.  By the end of last week, I was almost pain free.  I still remained on a soft food diet to give my tooth even more time to heal and to make sure not to reinjure it.  By the time I went in this morning to receive my permanent crown, I felt almost 100%.  

The downside to taking the steroid was the side effects.  It was by far the most wired that I had ever felt in my entire life.  I only slept four to five hours a night but wasn't tired at all.  I resisted the urge to get up in the middle of the night and work on projects as I read that it was better to read or find a quite activity in bed instead. The worst part was that my brain was incredibly scattered.  It was like I had random thoughts flipping through my head at all times, and if I thought of a task, I had to complete it.  

Thankfully, I read all of this was normal and since I was on a small dose for a short period of time, there was no reason to call the doctor about it.  I had a lot more respect for those with ADHD or who were just naturally hyper after taking the steroid and was glad to return to my normal frame of mind this week.  Hopefully, this will end my use of steroids for a while and my tooth pain will all soon be a bad memory.  

A Weekend in Door County

Brett, Karen, Doug and I weren't the only ones who visited Green Bay this year. Cal and Maggie were there this past weekend for a wedding.  Because it was also the same weekend as the Notre Dame versus Wisconsin game at Lambeau Field, there was nowhere for them to stay in Green Bay that was affordable. Instead, Cal and a group of his friends booked an Airbnb in Door County. 

Over the weekend we heard from Cal multiple times about how much they loved upper Wisconsin.  They thought the views were beautiful. They loved all of the shopping spots and even bought some cherry beer to bring to our tailgate in a couple weeks.  He also was impressed with all of the restaurants for them to try and David even posted a picture of Cal at Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant complete with a goat on top of the roof.  Doug and I especially loved that one as we had been there years ago.

Cal called today and was surprised to hear that we knew all about Door County. It was one of our favorite places to visit we lived in Illinois, especially since Doug’s cousin, Jenny, lived near Green Bay. We had even taken Cal and Brett camping there with the Budde family when Cal was a baby.  He didn't love camping back, but Cal sure did enjoy Wisconsin this weekend.  I love it when my children visit places that they do not remember, but we know well.  It makes my heart smile and brings back so many fond memories.

Field Hockey Fun

I woke up early this morning and asked Doug if he would like to try and fly out early so that we could get back before dark.  I should have looked at the flight schedule before I did, because every one of them was fully booked even the flight that we were on this afternoon.  Doug wasn't interested in changing anyway as we had plans to meet Cameron and Cora for breakfast and to go to the field hockey game at noon.  In the end, I was very glad that we stayed as I really enjoyed it.

After we checked out of our hotel, we met Cameron and Cora at Bloomington Bagel right behind our hotel.  I had a blueberry smoothy and a peanut butter bagel.  It was too much food for me, but it definitely tasted delicious. Our next stop was the field hockey game.  Doug and I have enjoyed going to them over the past few years.  We do not know a lot about the sport, but it's fun to watch and the fans are enthusiastic.  Today, Hoosier the Bison even showed up to support the girls.  The best part of going, however, is knowing how much Cameron enjoys being a director of field hockey.  They had a great crowd this afternoon and even the wasps hanging out near the student section didn't detour anyone from cheering on the team.  

Doug and I left at halftime so that we could return our car before catching our flight.  It had been a great weekend, and I was sad to leave.  The best part was knowing that we would all be together when we came back to Bloomington in two weeks.  

Labor Day Weekend in Bloomington

Today, we enjoyed all that Bloomington has to offer during Labor Day weekend.  First, we took Cora and Cameron to the 4th Street Art Fair where the streets were lined with booths and there were plenty of shoppers everywhere.  None of us bought anything, but we all had fun looking at the different works on display.  We stopped at Everbowl when we were done shopping and had a delicious smoothie for breakfast. Afterward, the four of us met Karen and Brett at Oliver Winery for lunch and some wine tasting.  It was a lot of fun, and everyone enjoyed the wines that they chose.  The charcutier boards were delicious as well.  There were some great conversations around the table, and before we left, Brett picked out a bottle to take home with him.  

Brett and Karen headed to the art fair from the winery.  Brett had to lector at mass this morning, so they weren't able to go with us earlier.  We dropped Cameron and Cora off at her apartment so they could study this afternoon while we checked into our hotel.  I was disappointed to see that the movie Coyote vs. Acme was sold out today as we had plans to see it with Brett and Karen.  They were ok with that as they had seen it before and the four of us agreed to meet at Nick's instead.  While we were there, we talked a lot about the logistics of them moving to Florida from packing to finding employment.  It was a nice starter conversation, but they still have a few months to decide what they really want to do.

It was almost seven when we left the restaurant, so Brett and Karen decided to head back to Columbus.  Brett had to work in the morning, and they were both tired from the day.  Cameron was ready to go to dinner when got back to our hotel, so the three of us walked to Upland as we hadn't been there since his birthday weekend.  It was definitely a lot nicer than when we made the seven block trip in single digit temperatures in January.  Dinner was great and I loved my Hoosier tenderloin.  We walked back to the hotel bar, but it was just closing as we arrived.  That was ok with us as we had visited it earlier in the day.  Instead, we walked next door to Social Cantina and tried a few margaritas before the end of the night.  While we were there, we continued the debate in the Heinisch family group chat between Cal and Meg on which is better - Hacienda or Social Cantina.  Cal loves the first one because they have free chips and salsa and Meg prefers Social for their queso.  Either way, Doug, Cameron and I had a great time tonight even without the free appetizer.