The Worst Time To Be Sick

Meg started the semester not feeling the best.  She had what she thought was allergies with a runny nose and congestion.  For the most part she could function pretty well.  She made it to class, hung out with her friends and went to Bible study without too much of an issue.  Nick was there, which was nice as he could help if she was feeling too run down.

For a couple of days, we thought that Meg was on the mend.  She sounded better and had a little more energy.  That changed quickly, however, and soon her chest started hurting and she was too tired to do much of anything.  She made an appointment at the IU health center.  They were worried about pneumonia.  Thankfully, that was not the case and they prescribed an expectorant for her.  It worked well and soon she seemed to be rounding the corner of her illness.

Unfortunately, things started going downhill soon after Nick left for his family's Christmas in Jimtown.  She called me on Saturday saying that she could barely breath and her entire body ached.  I was worried at first that it had turned to pneumonia. Once we talked through what medicines to take and to have her put ice on the back of her neck, she felt a little bit better.  One of her friends stopped by to check on her and to bring her some supplies as well.  

On Sunday, Meg said that she finally felt that she could function again.  She still had to study for two exams this week, but at least had the energy to do so.  She even made it to mass and started to eat some solid foods.  Nick decided to come back down on Monday to help her get her computer set up for her first day as a remote worker for Plante Moran.  I was really glad to hear that as it had been a rough weekend for her and the worst time for her to be sick with work starting and two tests.  

I talked to Meg today.  She felt pretty good about her test and was very excited to be working again.  She already had some tax returns to prepare and meetings scheduled.  It wasn't quite the start to the last semester of her senior year that she wanted.  She had to miss Gabrielle's birthday party over the weekend and Bible study tonight.  She had one more test on Thursday and then a full day of work on Friday.  After that she could rest.  She will definitely need it. 

Goal Accomplished - Impressive

When Brett finished graduate school, he had two goals in mind.  The first and most important was to find a job that would not only support him financially, but also give him room to grow and learn.  That took Brett about a couple of tries, but once he started at Storage Express, he found success and earned a promotion within a year.  The stability that he had in his career allowed him to follow two of his passions outside of work.  He became actively involved in the Republican party in Bloomington campaigning heavily for others in the 2022 election and eventually putting his name in the ring for city council.  Brett also focused on increasing his time at church and became an important member of his weekly Bible study group.  All of these successes while still being a loyal friend to those who knew him was extremely impressive.

This week, Brett met his second goal which was equally impressive.  Back in 2019, he decided that he wanted to lose weight.  As Brett knew that I had had struggled weight loss, he asked me what I thought about it.  I gave him my tips and encouraged him to check out Weight Watchers.  It was the only program that I had really had success with over the years.  I even offered to pay for the first three months for him.  He downloaded the app, set a weight goal and started to follow the program.  I offered one more incentive to him.  We had been reading the Disney Villains series and I told him that I would buy him the third one in the set if he met his goal.  He liked that idea and was very enthusiastic about the journey.

From the summer of 2019 to 2022 Brett lost weight, gained some back, followed his app, took a break from it for awhile, tried different foods, exercised a lot, found success, and became frustrated at times.  He never met his original goal during those three years, but came close several times.  This fall, Brett decided that he was going to completely focus on weight loss.  He said that he wanted to do this for his health and to feel better in general.  During the last three years Brett had come to realize that although exercise was a big part in helping him reaching his goal, the most important was to follow the food plan.  

With this new knowledge in hand, Brett worked very hard this fall and winter on watching what he ate.  He took some time off at the holidays and on his cruise, but overall was very diligent about sticking to the plan.  Monday morning he called me to let me know that he had finally met his original weight loss goal.  He couldn't believe it when he first stepped on the scale.  In fact, he moved it to several other places in the apartment to verify, but the weight all read the same.  I was super happy for him and could tell how proud he was of himself.  Even though we had long stopped reading the Disney Villains series, I ordered the Ursula book for him as soon as I put down the phone.  Whether anyone read it or not, it was a great reminding of how persistence really does pay off. 

 

Last Lego Listing Until We Move

When Doug and I were in Florida last week, we made a schedule of what we needed to get done before Cameron's graduation knowing that shortly afterward, we would be listing our house to sell.  The list wasn't quite as long as I thought that it would be as we had already finished several projects for the house.  Instead, most on our list had to do with graduation or were minor items around the house, such as replace the registers.  

This weekend we started on our list with Doug painting over Bloo and with me measuring all of the registers.  One important item on the agenda was to list Cal's Indiana Jones Lego on Ebay.  Doug had worked on it before Christmas and was ready for me to check it. I decided that tonight would be the perfect time to get the Lego ready for Ebay as we had plans to watch the NFL championship games this evening.  Even better, the first game between the 49ers and Eagles was relatively boring after Brock Purdy got hurt on San Francisco's first possession of the game.  Thus, I was able to put a lot of time into the Lego. 

It took a while to find a few of the missing pieces and to get pictures of the set, but by 8 p.m. tonight Indiana Jones: Temple Escape was listed.  Cal was happy to hear that we had started the auction price at $99.  I was glad to finally have one of his Lego's up for sell.  He hadn't made much on Ebay last year and I really wanted to remedy that.  I decided tonight that this would probably be our last Lego listing until we move.  With everything else going on the rest of this winter and this upcoming spring, I just don't think that we will have time to do much more.  The good news was that by the time I went to bed, we already had an offer and several people watching the set.  No matter what Cal earns off of his Lego, it will definitely be worth the effort.  

Saying Goodbye to Bloo

When we added a bedroom on the main level all of the Heinisch children got new bedrooms upstairs.  Before we rearranged the furniture, however, Doug repainted all of the rooms.  Each children got to pick the color.  Meg chose purple and Cameron picked Navy.  Brett and Cal moved into the upstairs master bedroom together and decided that they wanted bright green.  When Doug finished all of their requests, I asked them if they wanted any type of decoration on their wall.  Cameron was happy with having new blue walls with Winnie the Pooh wall hangings.  Meg asked for stars to match her Tinker Bell theme which I had fun painting for her.  That left only Brett and Cal to decide on a character or decoration for their wall.

I wasn't sure if they'd be able to decide on something together as they had separate favorite television shows and activities that they liked.  I was wrong, however, as they almost instantly decided on Bloo, one of the characters from "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends."  They were excited about it and I loved the idea.  I instantly began drawing the outline of Bloo on their wall.  Soon their "friend" was adorning a prime spot in the room greeting everyone who walked through the door.

As the years went by, the Heinisch children changed rooms several times.  Walls were repainted and decorations were taken down.  One thing remained constant, however.  That was Bloo.  No matter who took over the upstairs master bedroom or what color the room was painted, Bloo stayed on that wall, smiling at everyone who entered.  

When we started talking about projects that needed to be completed this winter, I realized that it was time to say goodbye to the Heinisch children's loyal friend.  I knew that the trees on Cameron's wall could be left as they fit any room theme, but Bloo was too specific and too prominent.  Doug had a free afternoon today and agreed that it was time.  Cameron said that he would take one last picture with Bloo before the character was covered over with purple paint.  Out of all of the projects that we have completed so far, today's was definitely the saddest one for me.  Cal agree with that wholeheartedly.  Brett's friend Patrick suggested that we paint Bloo in a new house once we move.  Who knows, maybe we will.  Until then, he will be missed here in the Heinisch home.  

IU Women's Basketball

As exciting as it has been to be a IU men's basketball fan recently with their four game winning streak, it has been even more fun to follow the women's team.  They are currently ranked number sixth in the nation and are leading the Big Ten women's conference.  Last night they played Ohio State who was ranked number two.  IU students were given free tickets to attend, and Meg invited her Bible study group to go with her.  She texted us from the game to let me know how much fun she was having.  The stadium was packed with over 10,000 fans (a record for a women's game at Assembly Hall).  The score was close throughout with Indiana holding on for the win.  What a great night for Hoosier fans, even Cameron and Grandpa caught the last quarter.  It should be a fun rest of the season with hopefully both basketball teams playing well from now through the tournament.  

Winter Storm Wednesday

This week’s winter storm in Indiana arrived just as predicted yesterday with snow, wind and cold temperatures.  It wasn’t the storm that we had over Christmas Eve weekend, but it was enough to cancel in person class for both Meg and Cameron.  They each had assignments to do on their own, however, which took up a good part of the day.  Meg didn’t mind at all as she had been feeling sick the past few days and was glad for the rest.  Cameron didn’t love it, but realized that it was a necessity.  

After school work was over, Cameron spent the rest of the afternoon playing buck Euchre with Grandma and Grandpa.  Cameron decided that he was ready for Grandma to “pay up” what she “owed” him.  She told him to wait until graduation.  Their evening was spent watching the IU vs Minnesota game.  It wasn’t the blowout that Cameron predicted.  In fact the Golden Gophers led most of the game.  Thankfully, IU stepped up their play to go ahead with a few minutes left in the game, holding on narrowly for the win.  Cameron didn’t care.  He was just happy with the victory.  

Unlike Brett, Meg’s Bible study was cancelled.  Since the roads had been cleared earlier in Bloomington then in Northern Indiana, she invited her group to go sledding instead.  Four of them met at the football stadium and enjoyed an evening in the snow.  She definitely had a lot of fun and the best part was, no one got injured.

So Many Choices

One of the best parts about visiting Ocala is all of the different shopping plazas and restaurants that they have.  It is such a sharp contrast to what there is in Syracuse.  No matter how many times we have visited, I’ve never grown tired of all that the city has to offer.  As an added bonus, I love the fact that we can eat outside more days of the year as well.  

This week’s visit was no different.  I didn’t do a lot of shopping this trip, but we did eat at several restaurants.  Monday night was McAllister’s; Tuesday took us to Beef O’Brady’s; tonight’s dinner was at Bonefish Grill and tomorrow we made plans to go to Tijuana Flats.  

Phil agreed to three of the nights which added to the fun and the conversation.  From 1980s movies to 1970s music to family memories, I enjoyed listening to Doug and Phil talk.  I found out that Doug was Phil’s moral compass when they were with others, reminding him multiple times that he was “being rude.”  I also got a kick out of their memories of television at Grandpa Brucker’s home.  Doug remembered Bradley basketball games and Phil talked of Magnum P.I. episodes that Grandpa taped for them on his new VCR.  Delicious food and a walk down memory lane was definitely a perk to our Florida trip.  

Festival of the Arts

After I dropped Brett off at the airport yesterday, I had some time to stop by EPCOT before I had to get back to Ocala to pick up Doug.  Recently, EPCOT had added Festival of the Arts to its yearly activities and I really wanted to check it out.  I also wanted to pick up the Dumbo magnet that they were giving to annual pass holders and a birthday gift for Brett. 

I had about two hours to walk through the park after picking up my magnet.  As I walked through all of the countries, I checked out the art festival booths.  There were a lot more than I thought that there would be.  Some had Disney art, others had jewelry and a few had pop art.  Thomas Kinkade had two booths filled with artwork that matched several of our puzzles.  I loved looking at all of the art.  It reminded me of the street fair in Bloomington over Labor Day weekend.  

There were food booths set up in each of the countries as well.  There weren't quite as many as the Food & Wine Festival, but there were still a lot of choices.  It reminded me of the food offered during the Flower  Garden Festival.  I did not eat anything, but took pictures of the menus for Doug in case he wanted to try it sometime.  

While in the countries, I picked up a gift for Brett's birthday from Meg.  She had seen it on a Disney blog and knew that he would like it.  I also decided to buy a Figment popcorn bucket.  Meg and I had talked about getting one for awhile and Brett thought it was a great idea as well.  Cameron and Doug told me that I was lame, but I bought one anyway.  I was surprised by how many other guests had one.  Figment was the mascot of the festival and it was fun seeing all of the merchandise featuring him.  

My last stop of the day was the Gran Fiesta Tour.  It had been hard to get into the Mexican Pavillon lately and I wanted to ride it if possible.  Thankfully, the crowds were light and I was able to get a picture of the three caballeros for Meg before I left.  It was definitely a quick trip at EPCOT, but a fun one nonetheless. 

 

A Successful Cruise

When I figured out that I would be in Florida this week, I asked Brett if he would like me to pick him up at the end of his cruise.  He was definitely interested.  It would not only save him the $65 Uber ride back to the airport, but it would also give us some time to hang out in Orlando before his late afternoon flight.  Last night, I was pretty nervous about it all.  I was excited to see Brett, but he was getting off of the boat at 8 a.m. and we had gotten to Ocala a lot later last night than we had planned.  I was afraid that I would be too tired to make the two hour drive.  I was also nervous about connecting with him.  I had never been to Port Canaveral before and didn't know how to pick up someone from a cruise.  

Thankfully, everything went off without any issues.  Brett disembarked at 7:45 a.m. and found a Subway to hang out at until I arrived.  I had no problems with the drive and was there shortly after he called.  I was very happy to see him and thrilled that his cruise had gone so well.  He talked the entire way to Orlando.  He had had a fantastic time.  The wedding was nice, he got a long great with his roommate, and he also enjoyed all of the activities that the cruise had to offer.  He played miniature golf, went to the casino, tried multiple new beers, and sang karaoke every day.  He was excited to have finally left the country when he went to the beach with the wedding party in the Bahamas.  He bought a shot glass to prove that he had been there and even brought me back a beautiful candle from the country.  He had a lot of pictures to share and overall just had a wonderful trip.  I loved every second of listening to him about the cruise and was extremely proud of him for taking a chance on this adventure.  

Since we had several hours before he had to be at the airport, we decided that we would do something that we never had - check out the Disney Character Warehouse at the Orlando Outlet Malls.  It wasn't quite as exciting as we thought that it would be, but Brett did find a pin to purchase.  There were a lot of other shops to look at on our way out as well.  

Our next stop was a lot more familiar - Disney Springs.  We checked out several stores and had fun window shopping.  I let Brett pick our lunch stop and was super happy when he chose "Chicken Guy", Guy Fieri's restaurant.  I had never eaten there and always wanted to try it.  Our food was delicious and we even got a "picture" of Brett with the famous chef.  After lunch, I dropped Brett off at the airport.  I was sad to see him leave, but happy to have spent the morning with him and also that his cruise had been a huge success.  

Off to the Sunshine State

Doug and I woke up to a freezing cold house.  Ok, so no one was going to get frost bite at sixty-six degrees, but it was rather cold in the house.  We checked the furnace and the pilot light was definitely out.  I called my dad to see if he could help us light it.  Thankfully, before he left, I was able to restart it myself.  There was a trick to our furnace that I learned several years ago that worked once again.  Both of us were relieved that it was soon seventy-two degrees in the house.  It wasn't the cooler temperature that we were worried about, but the fact that we were leaving for Florida tonight and didn't want Cameron or my parents to have to deal with a furnace issue.

The rest of our morning was a quiet one.  We ate lunch and watched the first half of the IU vs Michigan State game with Cameron.  We listened to the rest of the game on the way to Indianapolis.  Indiana won fairly easily which was very nice as it gave us a three game winning streak against some tough teams.  Cameron left for Goshen after the game.  He was invited to dinner with the girls' basketball team as they all watched the sectional pairing show together.  After he found out that they would play next Friday against Blackhawk Christian, he spent the rest of the evening hanging out at Samuel's.

Doug and I arrived at economy parking just before 4 p.m.  Meg and Nick showed us just after us.  Plante Moran had delivered her computer to our house yesterday.  Thankfully, she didn't have to drive all of the way home to get it.  We only visited a minute before they left for Bloomington and we caught the shuttle to the airport, but it was great to see them.

We ate dinner and got in some steps before boarding.  Our plane was on time, but it took an extra half hour to de-ice the wings.  The flight was an easy one.  Doug slept the entire time and I watched Nottinghill.  He woke up in time to see the 49ers beat the Cowboys before we got off of the plane.  We picked up our rental car and were on our way to Ocala soon afterward.  Doug ordered pizza once we were within thirty minutes of Marcos.  A strong storm hit just after he hung up.  Fortunately, it was a quick one and didn't slow us down too much.  Marcos closed at 11 p.m. and Doug really wanted to make it.  He needed pizza for his lunch this week and maybe a slice or two tonight.  We pulled into their parking lot with one minute to spare.  It was the perfect way to end a relatively easy trip.

Happy 18th Birthday Cameron!

 Cameron had been talked about his birthday all week.  He was excited to celebrate it and to also turn 18!  He made plans for Alina to come over and for us to have dinner at Ruhe 152.  He also asked Grandma and Grandpa up for dessert afterward and to watch him open presents as well.  

I was thrilled that Cameron was excited about his birthday.  It dawned on me last night that he was the last of our family to turn 18 and the last of the Heinisch grandchildren to become an adult as well.  That almost seemed unreal.  It didn’t make me sad, however, as Cameron was so excited to finally be of legal age.  He has told me multiple times in the past few weeks that he is more than ready to be done with high school and move on with the next phase of his life.  That made me feel really good about him coming of age.

The celebration today went exactly as Cameron planned.  He first read all of his birthday messages to me and then had subway for lunch before heading to the girls’ basketball game. They greeted him with two huge 1 and 8 balloons and a birthday pin.  Breece also had something for him, a Happy Birthday bandana from Pet Supplies Plus (his current employer.). Cameron appreciated everything and was glad to report that the girls’ beat Culver Military Academy.

Alina arrived shortly after he did.  We left for Nappanee  soon afterward.  We didn’t realize how busy the restaurant would be so early in the evening.  Thankfully, someone cancelled just as we arrived and soon we were seated.  Dinner was delicious with some fun conversation.  

Grandma and Grandpa were at our house already.  Cameron loved all of the decorations and the desserts.  He chose to open his gifts first starting with their present.  He was thrilled with the cash, black jeans and shirt.  He also enjoyed the Jim Croce vinyl from Cal and the Snakes game from Brett.  Alexia gave him an Amazon gift card and Grandpa Heinisch sent him money.  Doug’s gift was the heaviest.  It was filled with lots of food - creme soda, jalapeño Cheez-Its, gummy bears and more.  He found the Post Malone artwork and Kid Cudi album perfect as well.  The last gift of the night was the most fun for me.  I filled a binder full of some of our family’s favorite recipes and even got a few from Renae from his international cooking class.  

Dessert was next on our agenda and included some miniature cheesecakes, Texas cake and Cookies n Cream ice cream.  Afterward we taught Alina how to play pass the ace.  All in all, today was a lot of fun and the perfect way to celebrate the last of the Heinisch children becoming an adult.  

The Love Boat

 Early last summer Brett was invited to attend his friend AJ’s wedding in Florida.    He was very excited about it and even more so when he found out that the ceremony would take place on a Carnival Cruise ship.  His options were to either attend the ceremony only or go to the wedding and stay for a four day cruise.  Brett decided that the cruise option sounded like a lot of fun and signed up for it immediately.

As Brett had never been on a cruise before and I hadn’t been in almost 30 years, there was definitely a learning curve to signing up for it.  Added to the stress was the pressure to make sure that all was aligned with the wedding plans as well.  Carnival Hub App, drink packages, excursions, and room assignments were all things that we learned about during the past few months.  I think there was a time that Brett was ready to call it quits, but thankfully Carnival had a helpful customer service department that guided him through it all.  

Earlier this week, Brett called to review everything that he had laid out for the cruise while I looked at the packing list that Carnival emailed him.  We both read and reread all of the directions from the wedding website.  We looked at different ways to get to Cape Canaveral from the Orlando Airport before deciding that a ride share vehicle was the best option.  It would be more expensive, but the most reliable.  Brett also confirmed his flight information and hotel reservation before calling Grandpa to get tips on a successful cruise.  

Brett landed in Orlando yesterday afternoon.  He took some time to check out the shops at the airport before getting an Uber.  His hotel was close to the port and there were a lot of shops and restaurants to check out there as well.  He found one to eat dinner at and enjoyed his meal.  The rest of the night was spent ironing clothes and preparing for the morning.

I talked to Brett just before he left for the port.  He was nervous and excited.  He texted me a little later to let me know that he was on the ship and had met up with the wedding party.  We made a few jokes about one of his favorite 1970s show, The Love Boat before he said, “All is good, Mom.  See you Monday.”  I was super relieved that all of the planning had worked out and very excited to hear about his trip.  

Catching Up With Cal

 Cal called Doug tonight to let him know how busy season was so far.  Doug enjoyed talking about accounting with him and hearing that it was going well.  Cal thought that raises might be in order soon as there is a public accounting shortage right now.  That would be awesome as there is a predicted recession in 2023 that might cause layoffs in other fields.  Doug and Cal also had time to talk about football playoffs as well.  Cal said that he had placed a $5 bet on the Jaguars beating the Eagles in the Super Bowl.  If it came through, he would win $1500.  Although less likely than a raise, it would be exciting.

I talked to Cal for awhile after he finished catching up with his Dad.  He was returning from work when he called.  He was very happy that the weather in Chicago had been mild so far this winter.  That made his life easier right now.  He had watched Apocalypse Now this week and wondered what we thought of it.  I was not a fan as it was based on one of my least favorite books, “The Heart of Darkness,” but Cal did like it.  He also wondered if we had seen the movie, Alive.  It was the featured movie on The Rewatchables podcast this week.  I don’t remember seeing it, and neither one of us were sure that we would watch it as it was about the 1972 Uruguayan Rugby team that was involved in a plane crash and had to resort to cannibalism to survive.  Either way, it was fun hearing his opinion about a lot of older movies.

Cal hadn’t been able to hangout with Rachel as much since New Year’s due to his work load.  He did have plans with her this weekend though.  He’s done a little more with Jayce and his friends lately, even attending a Bulls game, which he has enjoyed.  Overall, it was a nice phone call and Doug and I really appreciated hearing from Cal.

FAFSA & Scholarships

Since we got back from Florida, I have been helping Cameron with scholarships.  I figured that I was a good resource for him as I had already helped Brett, Cal and Meg.  One thing that changed drastically since I first helped his siblings fill out their forms was Cameron's FAFSA score.  When I looked it up for one of the scholarships, it gave him a score of almost 70,000.  It meant (according to the government) that our family would be able to afford $70,000 a year for Cameron to go to college.  Obviously, I didn't agree with that, but there wasn't anything that I could do about it.  The more I thought about it, the angrier I got.  How could anyone afford to pay that much in cash for college?  Even if we could, what if we decided to make Cameron pay his for his own college.  The government wouldn't give him any money because of our "ability to pay", but there wasn't anything that said that we had to pay for it.  The whole thing made no sense to me.  

Thus, I went back to looking into scholarships that he could apply for this winter.  IU had several and asked him to complete one for the IU honors college.  I was very hopeful that he would be awarded one or two of those and maybe receive a merit scholarship as well.  The rest that he completed were a long shot, but we thought that we might as try.  I don't know how Indian Farm Bureau or Kosciusko REMC awarded their winners, but maybe there was a chance for Cameron as we had been long time members.  I also hoped that the Knights of Columbus would help him as they did his siblings.  Either way, I decided to plan on paying it ourselves.  That way I wouldn't be disappointed if no one stepped up to help.   

Faux Windows and Door Knobs

Out of all of the projects that we have worked on since the new year began, I am most proud of two of them.  The first, my Dad and I worked on this week as he taught me how to replace door knobs on the inside of our house.  We had a little hiccup to start.  The inside mechanism of the new locks that I bought did not quite fit into the door frame.  A little pounding helped us solve the problem and we only got locked in the bedroom once while we were working on them.  After replacing two door knobs, I was able to do the rest on my own.  I still have a few to finish, but the ones that have been completed look so much better than the corroded brass door knobs that were there previously.

The second project was my favorite one so far.  After we finished painting the stairwell in December, I realized that the faux windows looked very plain.  I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with that space, so I started looking at ideas on Amazon.  I found something that I thought would work, so I decided to try it.  For $25 and a little bit of time, the windows looked fantastic.  It gave purpose to the faux windows and a little bit of color to a very white space.  

Martin Luther King Jr

When I was in college, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was revered as one of the greatest Americans in history.  As a US History major I went even further and stating that I felt that he was one of the greatest human beings in all the history of the world.  His speeches about peace and equality were phenomenal and his emphasis on anti-violence protests were impressive.

As I grew older and spent more time researching the 1960s, I soon learned that Dr. King was more complicated than the history lessons that I learned in high school and college.  Although he promoted racial inequality, he did very little to help women's equality.  In fact, he was a noted philanderer who cheated on his wife many times over the years.  He was also rumored to be rude to the women on his staff and rarely assigned them to roles of leadership.  

At the end of my research, I decided not to hold Dr. King's treatment of women against him, but I did take him off of the pedestal that I had him on for so many years.  I was still impressed by his non-violence movement and his talk of peace.  He made a positive impact on the movement for racial equality.  His life also made me realize that most humans are flawed.  I don't know if I would have lobbied to name a holiday after him, but I certainly couldn't argue with those who did.  

Playoff Sunday

One thing that kept us occupied during our weekend of projects was the NFL playoffs.  It was nice to have a game to check up on or a score to relay to one another.  Most of the games were close and kept our interest.  The only real blowout was the 49ers win over the Seahawks, but even that was only a twenty point victory.  No matter the team or the game, it was fun to keep track of it all.  

Cameron and Cal joined us in following the games.  Cal spent Saturday in Crown Point with Cameron Adams enjoying each catch, touch down and fumble.  Cameron was at Samuel's today watching them with his group of his friends, but made it home before the end of the Bengals game.  He was just as excited that we were that Cincinnati won and even more so that the Jaguars had come back from a 27 point deficit to win as well.  

With so many projects complete, Doug and I decided to go out to dinner this evening.  Goshen Brewing Company was closed for a staff holiday party, so we decided to try Hacienda.  It was a great second choice as it was still easy to count Weight Watchers points.  I hadn't been out of the house since Friday, so I really appreciated it.  Our projects will continue for awhile, but they have lessened.  The nice part is that we have another weekend of football and Cameron's birthday to keep us entertained next weekend as well.  

"Oh, No!"

"Oh, No!" may be two of the worst words every spoken together.  It is very rare that when one hears that phrase that it is followed by something good.  You usually don't hear, "Oh, no, I got all A's on my report card!" or "Oh, no, I got a new job!"  Unfortunately, today was filled with several "Oh, Nos" that made Doug's day a little more challenging.  

The first "Oh, No!" came at lunch.  Doug made a new low carb quiche dish which we were all excited to try.  Unfortunately, our glass pie pan was missing, so he had to use a smaller dish that leaked egg all over the bottom of the oven.  It definitely created a mess, but thankfully, the quiche was still very good.  After lunch Doug cleaned out the oven as best as he could and then decided to start the self-clean option.  It had only run a few minutes when the fire alarms went off, creating the second "Oh, No!" of the day.  We had to open every window in the house, turn on the all fans and keep the vents running.  After twenty minutes of waving towels at the fire alarm upstairs, we finally got it to turn off.

Thankfully, the rest of the afternoon was relatively "Oh, No!" free.  In fact there were several positives.  We got to see IU beat Wisconsin.  Doug finished all of the touch up painting that we had on our list.  I figured out how to fix both our bifold closet door that kept coming off of the track and the gaps in the wood floor.  We also took a walk and burned a pile of my receipts.  

Our night was also a quiet one.  Cameron had a girls game to keep stats at this evening.  Doug and I stayed home, played Ticket to Ride and watched several football games as well.  Cameron arrived home a little after 10 p.m., happy that he got to watch football before he left and still some more once he arrived home.  At the end of the last game of the evening, we heard the biggest "Oh, No!" of the night.  Cameron had opened the refrigerator door and some how knocked out a full gallon of sweet tea.  It split open and ended up all over the kitchen floor, inside the refrigerator, on the wall and under the freezer.  It took a lot of towels and a combined effort to clean it all up.  Doug took the brunt of the clean up as the dust under the freezer had gotten all over his shirt and made him sneeze for the rest of the night.  Thankfully, we were all able to laugh about it, but wow what a mess.  Hopefully, that was the last "Oh, No!" of the weekend. 

Elvis

Growing up, my family was always into music.  There was either a radio on or a record being played at all times during my youth.  It makes sense to me since my dad spent so much of his life working at the radio station.  From DJ to salesman to general manager, he did it all.  Because of our family's love of music, there are a lot of musicians and musical groups that I can remember from my childhood.  The Beatles, Beach Boys, Michael Jackson, Neil Sedaka, Jim Croce, just to name a few.  Of all of the ones that I listened to in the 1970s, my favorite was definitely Elvis Presley.  I even remember my parents going to see him in concert at the Morris Civic Theater and telling us how they really did come on the loudspeaker at the end to say, "Elvis has left the building."

I don't really know how much Doug liked Elvis growing up, but I realized when the boys were in elementary school that the singer had become a big part of our family's listening routine.  Meg danced to his song "Devil in Disguise" and Cal even went through an Elvis phase.  Besides gelling his hair back and playing his music over and over, he wanted to visit to Graceland.  He didn't have to ask twice.  During his third grade year, we packed everyone up and made the nine hour trip to Memphis.  We all loved it so much that we decided to visit it again during Cal's senior year spring break trip.  Meg even talked my parents into taking a bus trip to Graceland this past December as she really wanted them to see the mansion. 

Last night Elvis fans heard some unfortunate news.  His daughter, Lisa Marie, had suffered a heart attack and did not survive.  I was really sad to hear that.  I thought back to when we heard about her Dad's death.  He was the first person that I "knew" who died.  A few weeks later, my brother would be the second.  I believe those two deaths being so close together and Lisa Marie's age and mine being relatively the same, I thought a lot about her over the years.  That increased when I saw her bedroom at Graceland.  It felt like I was walking right back into 1977.  I know that she had lived a hard life and had just lost a son to suicide.  I hoped that neither of those led to her early death.  Either way, it was sad to think about her death last night.  The one thing that made me smile, however, was when I realized that Cameron had wore his Elvis socks to senior night yesterday.  How fitting that our family was representing the King on the day that his daughter died.  

Senior Night for Girls' Basketball

When Meg graduated in 2019, I thought that we had attended our last high school girls' basketball game and definitely our last girls' basketball senior night.  That was not to be the case, however, as in October of 2021, Cameron asked me what I thought about him being a statistician for the girls' basketball team.  I was completely surprised.  I had never even considered that he would be interested in that position.  Austin must have thought differently, however as he had asked him in the fall of 2021 to work with him during that basketball season.   

As Austin graduated last May, I wasn't sure if Cameron would continue his position as team statistician.  He debated it as well, but decided that it served a purpose, was a great way to keep busy during the long winter months and would allow him to hang out with his friends even more.  His enthusiasm for the position increased when Keegan agreed to work as a statistician as well.  

Just like last year, it has been a great season for Cameron.  Tonight, we got to see him in action as we attended our first girls' basketball game since February of 2019.  Cameron had invited Doug and I to the game as it was the girls' senior night and he would be recognized as well.  He asked his grandparents attend as well and we met at the school at 7 p.m. this evening.  Cameron had told us that the team was really good.  He was right.  They were ranked #4 in the state and it was obvious why as they controlled the game against Blackhawk Christian from the beginning, winning easily by double digits.  

Senior recognition was after the varsity game.  Kiersten and KP had very nice things to say about his work as statistician for the team.  He received some fun gifts as well.  It was really nice to see all of his friends run out to hug him after the game.  They also brought him several of favorite snacks and celebrated at Culver's afterward.  Once again, Bethany showed their support for their students.  It was really wonderful to see.  

Weight Watchers

In the spring of 2021, I met with my doctor about unexplained weight gain.  She went through my daily food menus and exercise habits.  She suggested several ideas to my routine, but admitted that they probably wouldn't help much.  The most important one to her was that I commit to 150 minutes zones minutes a week.  That would mean two and a half hours of exercising with my heart rate about 100 beats per minute each week.  I said that I could definitely do that, but wasn't sure that it would make a difference.  She didn't argue with that and decided instead to draw blood to see if there was a medical reason why I couldn't lose weight.  I had had a thyroid issue when I was pregnant, I wondered if maybe that had returned.  She was more interested in my glucose levels.

The nurse called me as soon as they received those tests almost two years ago to let me know that I was glucose intolerant and would need to take medication for it.  The medicine would cause severe intestinal issues, but it would help me to lose weight.  I honestly thought that glucose intolerance was a made up term by people who were overweight.  I didn't realize that it was a medical diagnosis.  I asked the nurse if I could do anything else besides medication.  She said that the only other option was to cut down on the amount of sugar and carbohydrates that I ate.  I chose that option, joined Weight Watchers, and soon found myself losing weight.  By the fall of 2021, I was back to a weight that the doctor and I both felt comfortable with and my glucose levels were down to a normal level.

Doug and I talked at the start of this year about taking a break from Weight Watchers.  I had grown tired of all of the chicken and cauliflower meals, so it sounded good to me.  To maintain my weight loss, we decided to try his routine. We would eat healthy, low carb foods every meal of the week except for Friday nights and all day Saturday.  We would also commit to exercising the 150 minutes a week that my doctor had recommended.  This had worked well for Doug in the past and we hoped that it would for me as well.

Fast forward to this January and unfortunately, our well thought out plan to maintain my weight loss did not work.  I was not as heavy as I was in the spring of 2021, but had gained enough weight that I knew it was time to rejoin Weight Watchers.  I was bummed at first about the weight gain, but not really sad about returning to eating healthier.  I hadn't really felt well for the past few weeks after I ate and knew that following a healthy diet plan would help with that.  Cameron had told me that he was interested in eating healthier at the start of the year as well, so Monday I spent the afternoon shopping at various grocery stores filling my cart with low carb foods.

Doug was on board with the healthy eating plan as well.  He preferred the chicken and vegetable dishes anyway, so it didn't bother him at all to change our menu.  In fact, he really had fun looking through recipes finding low point soups and meals that he could make.  I appreciated his enthusiasm as I knew that he had weighed in on Monday as well and was pretty much the same weight that he was a year ago.  The plan that he had come up with worked well for him, but was disastrous for me.  In years past, I would have resented him for that.  For the first time ever, I didn't get mad or frustrated that losing and keeping off weight was easier for him.  Instead I came to realize that for whatever reason, genetics or environment, my body could not handle eating sugar or carbohydrates like his could.  I was not going to beat myself up for it as there is nothing that I could do to change that fact.  Thus, Weight Watchers it is and hopefully by Cameron's graduation, I will be back to my weight of the fall of 2021.  If I am not, I know that I have tried my best .  Either way I do understand now that this truly is a lifestyle change, not a diet.  

Thankful for Airpods

I spent quite a bit of today on my phone.  Meg called multiple times during the day to let me know how her first couple of days were going and which friends she had already caught up with since returning to Bloomington.  She also talked a lot about Run Rose Run, which she finished today.  She liked that it had a twist at the end, but thought the beginning was way too long for the quick finish.  I agreed with her completely.

Meg wasn't the only one that I talked to today.  Cameron called after his appointment with Dr. Phil.  It was the last one for him for awhile and Cameron felt very good about it.  I appreciate how hard he has worked during the fall semester on his emotional health.  I knew that it would be challenging, but glad to see him make so much progress.  

Doug called right after I finished eating lunch.  He had a really interesting situation happen at work which had kept him on the phone all morning.  It definitely wasn't the first problem that he had had to get involved with as a CFO, but it was unique.  Hopefully, it will be solved soon.

I talked to Brett for well over an hour this afternoon.  We had set aside this afternoon to go over everything that he needed to do for the cruise.  I can't believe how complicated it has been to follow.  With the directions on what to wear on which days, what to bring, how to set up an expense account, drink plans, excursions, and much more, I can see why Brett wanted someone to verify what he was reading.  We stopped after an hour when we realized that he would still need to contact Carnival about his boarding pass.

With all of the time on the phone today with the Heinisch family and a couple of phone calls with my parents, I was very happy to have fully charged AirPods to wear.  They have been one of the best purchases.  Wearing ear buds connected to my phone have freed up my hands to do other projects while talking.  Today with help from my AirPods, I could keep the conversations going which still feeding my birds, making beds, putting away photos and organizing all of the snowmen tubs in the basement.  I didn't quite finish everything before Doug got home, but definitely got a lot done.  

Thankfully, tonight, no one needed to talk to me on the phone as Doug really wanted to watch a 1955 French film entitled "Les Diabolique."  It had subtitles, so I definitely had to pay attention.  It was worth it as we both really liked the twists and turns throughout the movie.  It was compared to Psycho as they came out around the same time.  I could see that and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought that I would.  

Intrusive Thoughts

Cameron, Meg, Doug and I had some great conversations about intrusive thoughts tonight.  Through our discussions and research on the topic we found out that they can happen to anyone at anytime, although they tend to occur more when someone is already anxious.  That anxiety can be from a mental health disorder, a specific situation, lack of sleep or even too much caffeine.  As we were talking, we all discussed different ways that we know of to stop intrusive thoughts or to relax if we are having a panic attack.  I told them that my therapist of long ago had told me that everyone has intrusive thoughts, such as worrying that they will do something harmful, but very few people act on those thoughts.  Doug let us in on the fact that he never has intrusive thoughts which made everyone laugh.  I decided not to point out his obsession with checking and rechecking and checking one last time to make sure that the garage door is shut before we leave.

As the conversation turned to what to do when an intrusive thought increased our anxiety or made it challenging to sleep, I let everyone in on how I handled my irrational fears.  A few years ago I noticed that I had started to become scared around knives.  I was positive that someone would get hurt by one and I couldn't stop worrying about it.  Instead of trying deep breathing or another relaxation technique, I instead came up with my own.  I told myself that if all of the knives in our house were in the dishwasher or put in the knife drawer, then nothing ever bad could happen.  So now, I just make sure that all knives are put in their place before I go to bed.  Since I decided to do that, I have never had an intrusive thought about a knife again.  Of course, Meg, Cameron and Doug thought this was absolutely absurd and I am sure that my therapist would not have suggested it as a way to control an intrusive thought, but hey, if all I have to do is put something in a drawer to stop worrying about it, I'm all for it.  Now if I could just do that to get rid of my fear of dogs.  That would be an accomplishment.

Starting to Feel Motivated

I woke up a lot more motivated today than I did yesterday.  I don't know if I got more sleep or just felt better about being back in Indiana.  Today, I was able to cut Doug's hair, work on Cal's Lego for Ebay, finish all of the bedding and towels from Christmas break, and do Cameron's laundry.  I even had time to go to my parents and help them fix the driver's side door, overhead lights and set the clock in their car.  While I was busy, Doug was able to accomplish a lot for work as well.

Today wasn't all about working.  We did have time to watch the Seahawks vs Rams football game with Cameron.  Unfortunately, the Seahawks won in overtime, eliminating the Lions from the playoffs.  Cameron was disappointed, but thankfully Alina arrived just as the game ended.  That definitely took the sting out of the loss.  They enjoyed looking through the photo albums while watching the first quarter of the Lions vs Packers game.

I talked to Meg, Brett and Cal today as well.  Meg was busy getting ready for the start of her last semester.  She cleaned her apartment, went grocery shopping, organized her classes on Canvas, attended mass and hung out with Brett.  Brett enjoyed talking with Meg before going to 9 p.m. mass.  He had a lot to share.  Cal's work week went well and tonight he relaxed by watching the movie True Romance.  Doug and I took his suggestion of watching Gone Girl with Ben Affleck.  We realized while we were watching it that we had seen it before or at least parts of it, but didn't remember any of it.  It was really good and we made plans to finish it tomorrow night as Doug needed to get some sleep before starting his work week tomorrow.  

As soon as Doug went up, Cameron came down to finish the Lions game with me.  Detroit was up by 4 with less than four minutes to go.  It looked as though the Packers would have plenty of time to score the go ahead touch down when Aaron Rodgers threw an interception.  We were both excited to see that.  The Lions had to keep the ball in their possession for the next three minutes to secure a win and did so on a gutsy fourth down play.  Cameron and I were both thrilled to see the Packers eliminated from the playoffs.  He was already talking about the Lions' chances next year and where he will be able to see them play in person next year.  I loved his enthusiasm and will remain hopeful for both the Lions and Bears in the 2023 season as Chicago secured the first pick of the NFL draft by losing today.  

Not Moving Very Fast

I had no desire to do much of anything today.  I was so incredibly tired from the drive home, our time in Florida and all of the activity of the past month.  I also developed a headache midway through the day that took some time to go away.  

Even though I didn't feel the best, I was able to get a lot done.  I put away the outside Christmas, washed the bedding and unpacked everything from our trip yesterday.  We talked about going to mass in Goshen and to dinner, but I decided that staying at home sounded like the best idea.  Doug didn't mind as he had a lot of work to catch up on this weekend.  In fact, he worked pretty much from when he woke up until 6 p.m. this evening.

Our schedule didn't affect Cameron at all today.  He was up early to attend Samuel's senior recognition for swimming.  He was then home long enough to eat lunch and to register for Chemistry 103 through Goshen College.  He left again at 4 p.m. to attend Bethany's boys and girls basketball games.  It was alumni night and he enjoyed seeing all of his friends from last year, especially Austin.

While Cameron was busy, Doug and I played Ticket to Ride.  We hadn't played in several weeks and had a lot of fun.  Doug made chili dog casserole for dinner, which was very good.  Afterward, we watched The Glass Onion.  It was the sequel to Knives Out and we thoroughly enjoyed it.  Edward Norton was in it which was very surprising since we hadn't seen him in quite some time.  Overall, it was a quiet day here in the Heinisch home, but a nice one nonetheless.

Best Drive Time Ever

We left Ocala this morning at 5:40 a.m. hoping for an easier trip than the one we had on the 29th.  At the start it said that we would be in Bloomington at 6:10 p.m.  From our previous trips, we expected that number to grow.  For the first time ever, it really didn't.  We added some time to it when we stopped at the first Buc-ee's, but not much.  As we closed in on Atlanta, our travel time jumped up an hour.  I checked my phone and there was an accident blocking I-75.  Once the GPS rerouted us, we were right back on target with an estimated time of 6:22 p.m.  We never really wavered from that the rest of the trip.  We did stop two more times.  Once at the second Buc-ee's for lunch and one last time at a gas station at the Kentucky/Indiana border.  Everyone was exhausted when we arrived at Meg's apartment, but thankful that we had pushed as hard as possible to get back.  Meg and Nick were ready for a quiet night, and Doug and I were glad that we would be able to drive the rest of the way home this evening.

Before we dropped Meg off, Doug ordered breadsticks from Pizza X for us.  We picked those up on the way out of town.  We were bummed to miss Brett, but he had an office New Year's party tonight so it wouldn't have worked anyway.  As we left BTown, I realized that this was the first time that Doug and I had really been alone in over three weeks.  It made for a nice ride back as we were able to talk about everything that had been going on this past month.  We made plans for Cameron's last semester at Bethany, talked about what we had next on the agenda, reviewed the list of projects for getting the house ready to move, made plans for how to handle future expenses and came up with our favorite characters on Law & Order that would have been great in a spin off show.  We did stop one more time in Peru, but we were still home by 10:30, just in time to see Cameron and my parents before heading to bed.  It was definitely a long day, but we didn't mind.  We were just incredibly thankful for the light traffic on the way back and the safe journey.  

City Council & Busy Season

While the rest of us have been in Florida, Cal and Brett have been busy themselves.  Brett went to Monroe County’s Election Central to file to run for Bloomington City Council District 3.  He was very excited about it when I talked to him yesterday.  He said that it would be challenging to win as BTown is largely Democrat, but was thankful for the experience.  He already had deadlines and dates in his phone.  He didn’t know how much he would campaign, but was very happy to see his name in the paper already and to be contacted for a short written interview as well.

Cal eased his way into Busy Season this year starting yesterday by working at home.  He was glad for the short week and to begin with an easy assignment.  I was happy to hear that.  I remembered how Doug felt when busy season started - like there was a never ending pit in his stomach.  Hopefully, Cal’s smooth start will continue through the next few months.  At the very least it will keep him busy and make the winter go by faster for him.  

What a Difference a Day Makes

After Cameron’s plane left for Indiana, I went back to Port Orleans Riverside to lay down for an hour or so.  Meg and Nick were just leaving for Epcot and I told them that I would meet them there at noon.  When I arrived, I was absolutely floored at how packed the park was.  We had been there many times over the past year and had not seen it like it was today.  

Meg and Nick had only ridden Frozen and Living with the Land in the three hours that they were there before me.  They talked about heading home after lunch.  Since I had just arrived, I really wanted to stay.  After bratwurst and pretzels in Epcot, we decided to check out the other rides and plan from there.    It was a long afternoon, but we still had a lot of fun.  We rode Remy and Spaceship Earth.  Nick also got to try the different types of sodas at Club Cool and Meg found a gorgeous sweatshirt while shopping.  Doug didn’t beat us home by much as he worked a fourteen hour day at Winco.

Today’s experience was way different which surprised all of us.  Magic Kingdom was crowded, but nothing like yesterday.  We rode our three favorites - Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion - all before lunchtime.  We enjoyed the Friar’s Nook with its choice of macaroni and cheese entree.  Afterward we rode Small World.  We then picked Mickey’s Philharmagic and the Carousel of Progress next.  

We talked about ending our day with The Tiki Room and The Country Bears Jamboree.  Doug called, however, to let us know that a storm was coming and would hit Ocala at 7 p.m.  We decided that we’d rather leave early and avoid it as we knew that we could save those shows for the next trip.  Plus, we were all exhausted from a busy three days at Disney.  

Thankfully, we all made it home safely.  Doug treated us to Tijuana Flats for dinner.  The food was delicious as always.  Nick enjoyed trying all of the sauces.  It was also very nice to relax and get off our feet for awhile.