Ready to Go Home

Cameron had plans the entire day today, but we did get to see him in the morning before he left.  I was sad to see him pull out of my parents' driveway, but thankful that we got some time with him while he was in Syracuse/Goshen.  Cameron made plans to play golf, go to lunch and hang out with Alina today.  He was hoping to see Samuel tomorrow morning at breakfast before he left for Bloomington.

We came back to Syracuse this week so that Doug could work, but another reason was to be here when Cameron arrived.  We would have flown back on Sunday so that we could have visited with my parents too, but we had gotten a great deal on our plane tickets.  Doug had earned a companion pass from a flight that he took in April.  Therefore, I was able to fly with him for free in August and September.  Unfortunately, that ended today, so we had to leave this evening.  

Our flight back was very relaxing.  We arrived early to the airport and enjoyed dinner at Champs Sports Bar while we watched the IU game.  Doug slept a good portion of the flight.  I tried, but ended up watching The Bodyguard instead.  I hadn't seen it in years and liked it more than I remembered.  I forgot how beautiful Whitney Houston really was and what a wonderful voice that she had.  The movie ended just as we landed.  Our trip to Ocala was uneventful and we were both very glad to be home.

First Trip Back to Goshen

Cameron arrived in Goshen today in time to meet his friends for dinner.  He had hoped to catch some of the boys' tennis sectional, but Bethany lost in the first round.  He was disappointed for them, but happy to see all of his friends.  He spent the rest of the evening with Alina.  They hadn't seen each other in six weeks.  Cameron said that it definitely felt long, but hopefully that would be the longest that they had to be apart at any given time during the rest of this school year.

From my own experience and that of Brett, Cal and Meg's, I knew that the first trip back after starting college always felt a little bit awkward.  None of us were completely separated from high school yet, but realized that life was much different for us than it had been just a few months earlier.  Cameron felt a little bit of that tonight.  It was great to be home, but strange as well.  He did tell me that he really missed the familiarity of Goshen.  I could totally relate to that as Doug and I drove through the town tonight on the way to Goshen Brewing Company. It was hard to believe that we no longer lived in the area, but nice to know that we were enjoying our new life.  Either way, I was very happy to see Cameron when he arrived at my parents late tonight and hear all about his evening.

Cape Cod

While Doug and I have been staying in Syracuse this week, my parents have been traveling on a bus trip to Cape Cod.  My dad has always wanted to visit Martha's Vineyard and this was the perfect opportunity for them to do so.  I talked to them several times during the week.  They were definitley having a great time.  The trip was a lot longer than the one that they took to Memphis, but the tour guide was very entertaining which helped pass the time.  The hotels were nice that they stayed in and they enjoyed all of the different stops, especially Uno's Pizza.  Martha's Vineyard was way too commercialized for my Dad and the weather was extremely cold. especially traveling on the ferry.  He loved Cape Cod, however, specifically all of the historical sites.  They wouldn't return until after Doug and I had left for Ocala, but that was ok.  We were just happy that they got to take this trip together.

Girls Night Out

Paula and I met Mary at Ruhe 152 in Nappanee tonight for dinner.  It was the perfect evening to get together as Doug had a doctor's appointment and then wanted to work on putting the elliptical back together.  It was so much fun catching up with them.  Paula and Mary spend a lot of time together as instructional coaches.  I love listening to them talk about what they have going on at school.  There's always a new lesson plan that they are implementing, a professional development that they are in charge of, or a classroom that they are supporting.  Teaching can be extremely frustrating, especially with all of the new laws that the state has implemented.  I am ever amazed at their knowledge and dedication to education. 

Paula and Mary are definitely two of the best teachers that I have ever known.  Their passion for student is amazing and Wawasee is so lucky to have had them for these past two decades. I know that they are both getting closer to retirement age.  They haven't talked about anything specific, but one day I am sure that they will both move on to the next phase of their lives.  I will be very happy for them, but sad for the students that will truly miss their influence.

Homemade Meals

 Meg has been sending me pictures of all of the wonderful dishes that she has made over the last few weeks.  Her stuffed green peppers and grilled chicken sausage with vegetables looked wonderful.  She said that they were easy to make, inexpensive, and delicious.  

I was very happy that Meg had decided to cook homemade meals.  I knew in college that she had started to make a few dishes on her own, but she hadn't branched out as much as she had recently.  Not only was she saving money by not eating out as much, she was learning a life skill that would last a lifetime. 

It is no secret that I really don't enjoy cooking.  That sounds funny coming from a FACS teacher, but I always found the mess to be overwhelming.  I also don't like looking at raw meat, let alone touching it.  I was happy that Meg did not share my aversion to cooking and had found some more elaborate dishes to try.  We can't wait to try her zucchini boat recipe.

Taking a Walk, Finally

Since I did not have a lot planned in Syracuse this week, I decided to begin the process of walking again for exercise.  My foot was better, not perfect, but good enough to try.  My mom had reminded me that my foot may never be 100% again.  I knew that she was right and really didn't want to wait any longer.   

Today's weather was supposed to be the best of the week and I knew that it was now or never.  I headed out around 10 a.m., first walking to CVS.  I didn't want to walk very far from my parents' home incase my foot gave out.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well the walk to and from CVS went.  The ankle brace and shoe supports had really helped.  Thus, I decided to rest for a few minutes and then head the opposite direction.  Soon I was on my way to the Frog, hoping to double my steps.  Besides having to dodge falling walnuts, the walk to the restaurant also went well.  My ankle and foot were still feeling pretty good, so I decided to just keep going.  I walked to the end of Harkless Drive and the start of the WACF trail before turning around.  My foot was definitely ready for a rest when I arrived back at my parents, but overall my first real walk in months went very well.  Before Doug arrived home I was at 10,000 steps, happy with my first days progress.  

Saying Goodbye to a Fun Weekend

Meg and Nick were the first to leave today.  They had had a great time, but needed to get back to Chicago.  We really appreciated them making the trip and I was sad to see them go.  I know that they had fun too, especially with so many of their friends in Bloomington as well.

Brett, Cameron, Doug and I went back to Kirkwood for lunch.  The guys had wanted to eat at Fat Dans on Friday night, but it was way too packed.  Today, we arrived just as it opened and easily got a table outside.  Lunch was good and we enjoyed seeing Cameron one more time before we left as he planned to attend an IU soccer game this afternoon.

Since we didn't have to be in Syracuse early, we hung out at Brett's for a little while.  I helped him finish an organizing project that cleared off all of the dressers in the extra bedrooms.  When I was there a few weeks ago, we got all of his memory tubs organized and each of his closets.  We only had one project left - the area beside his television - and would work on that when I came back.  It wasn't all work this afternoon as we also made time to play Ticket to Ride Germany as well.  I was sad when the game ended, not because I lost, but because I knew that it was time for us to leave.  We had had such a fun weekend with Brett, Cameron and Meg that I didn't want it to end.  Doug reminded me that we would be back soon.  That helped, but I still teared up when we pulled out of the parking lot at Woodbridge.  

Game Day Tailgate

Today's tailgate was a lot of fun.  We thought that we had arrived in plenty of time, getting to the grass lots before 3 p.m.  IU had changed the entrance into the lots, but we didn't know that.  We showed up at the wrong gate and weren't sure what to do.  Fortunately, the attendant was extremely helpful and let us cut in line.  We had heard later in the day that many cars had waited over an hour to get a spot.  We were only in line for two minutes.

Shortly after Doug, Brett and I got set up, Cameron and his friends from the dorm arrived.  We were very happy to meet Tyler and Bobby as Cameron had talked a lot about them.  They got out the corn hole, tried some minestrone and played football for awhile.  Meg, Nick, Mallory, Rachel and Alex joined our tailgate as well.  It was wonderful to see everyone.  Rachel was doing well adjusting to IU's optometry school and Alex was enjoying meeting new people in med school.  Mallory was happy to be taking another one of Andy's History of Rock 'n Roll classes again.  

Before the tailgate ended, Bobby's parents joined us for awhile.  They had flown up from Texas for the weekend.  We were glad to meet them as Cameron had already talked about living with Bobby next year.  Neither one of Bobby's parents had gone to IU and were impressed with the amount of people tailgating.  We packed up at 6:45 so that everyone that was going to the game could head into the stadium before the 7:30 kickoff.  Brett then left to meet Andrew back at his apartment.  Meg and Nick passed on the football game as well to hang out with their friends for the evening.  

The game should have been an easy one for IU.  When Doug and I left at the start of the fourth quarter the Hoosiers were up by two touchdowns.  Cameron had spent the third quarter with us, which we really appreciated.  He thought about leaving, but decided to head back to the student section instead.  In the end, he was very glad that he did.   Akron tied the game and it took IU four overtimes and several scores before they won with a two point conversion.  Cameron said that it was the most exciting game that he had ever attended.  The students ran from goal to goal to support IU, and Cameron lost his voice cheering the Hoosiers on to victory.  He could barely talk when he called me at midnight, but I could tell that he was still excited.  I was happy for him and that IU held on for its second victory of the season.

Back in Bloomington

Doug and I flew into Indiana this morning and headed straight to Oliver Winery.  We had just enough time to do a tasting and for Doug to check his emails before Cameron got out of Finite.  We picked him up at his dorm and spent the afternoon enjoying Kirkwood.  I was surprised with how crowded it was, but Doug wasn't.  He felt that most game day weekends in Bloomington were packed with visitors. Thankfully, we were still able to get a seat outside in the shade at Nick's for lunch and make it in and out of Track's with no problem.

The three of us next went shopping at Kroger for tailgate supplies for tomorrow's game.  Doug chose to make minestrone since that was one of Meg's favorites and she would be there tomorrow.  After Brett got home we tried dinner back on Kirkwood, but it was way too crowded.  Brett suggested Crazy Horse and we were thankful to find a table there.  Meg called while we were ordering.  They had just arrived in Bloomington and decided that it was too hard to meet us.  Instead they took a walk through campus and met us back at Brett's.  It was nice to see the two of them before they left to catch up with a few friends.  The four of us spent the rest of the night playing games and watching football.  It was the perfect end to a wonderful day.

Graphic "T" Thursday

Every Thursday in Ocala is graphic "T" day in the office at Winco.  Doug felt that it was a great idea for the employees, but never thought of participating in it himself.  The women that he worked with had a different idea, however.  Every week they let him know that they were ready to see his graphic t-shirt collection.   I always thought that it was funny that he garnished so much attention for always dressing professionally.  He changes immediately after work, so except for Sundays, I almost always see Doug in  t-shirts.  

Meg and I did encourage him to participate.  She even bought him a new Rolling Stones shirt, which he actually wore to work one day.  It wasn't a Thursday, however, but one in which he had arrived late from a delayed flight and didn't want to go home to change first. 

This week, Doug came home from work with two new shirts that he had received from several of his coworkers.  He realized now that he had no choice but to participate in graphic "T" Thursday.  I loved the shirts and was glad that he was going to wear one.  It fit his personality perfectly and gave everyone a glimpse of the Doug that I know and love.  

Coming Together

It has taken over a month to get the house unpacked and everything organized, but it is finally starting to come together.  This week I finished the music room with a new vinyls stand for Cameron and my albums.  I also got a nice bag for Cameron's new golf clubs, which Rena and Cameron both loved.  They fit perfectly into the new golf bag stand that I bought for the garage.  

I also organized the lanai, fit all of the games in the front closet, hung a curtain above the laundry room where we stored all of the Legos, turned half of my closet into a storage room and found a nice spot for the rocking chairs on the front porch.  I still need to unpack Cameron's bedroom, organize the lanai, hang our pictures on the walls and buy outdoor furniture for the back patio.  It sounds like a lot, especially since we also have to have the exterior of our home painted and the landscaping completed, but we are getting a lot closer to my goal of being completely done with all projects by Thanksgiving.  I can't wait!

Fall Weather in Florida

It looks like fall in Florida with all of the decorations in our neighborhood and advertised fall festivals.  The weather, however, does not feel like fall to me.  Growing up in Indiana, we had a lot of gorgeous days in September, but there were also cold, gray, rainy days as well.  I been conditioned to make sure that I got outside on the nice days as I knew that there would be less and less of them as winter approached.  

It has been totally different spending September in Florida.  Every day has been over 80 degrees with many in the 90s.  We haven't had much rain and there has been an over abundance of sunshine.  I still wear shorts and no sleeve shirts most days and have thoroughly enjoyed it.  With fall fast approaching and knowing that weather will soon be changing in Indiana, I had to laugh when I saw this meme on Facebook.  Although we have had a lot of 100 degree days, I could still understand the sentiment and had no complaints about the truth of the statement.

One Sore Foot

 In June, my left foot started hurting and it really hasn't stopped since then.  I should have taken time to do something about it then, but was so busy packing, cleaning and getting ready for the move that I didn't do anything about it.  I think that I went more with the "hope and pray that it went away" method for healing it rather than doing anything about it.  It got so bad that I had to give up my daily walks and spent a lot of evenings sleeping with ice on it.  

Once we moved, I promised Doug that I would do something about my foot.  I had had planter's fasciitis before and the pain was the exact same.  Thus, I got out all of the information from over ten years ago to read what I should do to help it heal.  Ankle exercises were recommended, which I had already started, as was ice.  The one item on the list that I hadn't thought of was the planter's fasciitis brace.  It wasn't quite a boot or an ankle wrap.  Instead it kept the foot at a ninety degree angle during the night so that the achilles could rest and hopefully heal.  

I got out my old brace and gave it a try.  It helped, but not enough to get me out walking again.  I ordered a new one last week and have already started to feel a difference.  Hopefully with that, ice, ankle exercises and keeping shoes on my feet I will soon be out taking my morning walks again. 

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa arrived in Bloomington yesterday afternoon for a weekend visit with Brett and Cameron.  While Cameron was at the IU vs Louisville game in Indy, Brett, Grandma and Grandpa headed to French Lick to the casino.  Brett had never been to one except on the cruise.  Although they weren't big winners, they did have a lot of fun.  Brett played the slots mostly and thought that he would try Black Jack the next time.

Last night, Grandma and Grandpa took the boys to an Italian restaurant for dinner where Cameron caught them up on the IU football game where the Hoosiers almost pulled out a victory. Brett told them all about his campaign efforts and the new pamphlets that he bought for door knocking.  They also took some great pictures together before the evening ended.

This morning they all met for lunch at Red Lobster  before Grandma and Grandpa headed back to Syracuse.  Cameron was happy to show off his new Jared Goff jersey to them as well.  All four of them said that they had a fantastic weekend and couldn't wait to get together again after the election was over.  I was happy that it worked out so well and couldn't wait to hear about their next visit.

Chicago Nightlife

A huge benefit to living in Chicago is having access to a lot of activities for friends when they visit.  Meg took advantage of those tonight when Gabrielle, Stella and Carson arrived for a weekend of fun.  They did a mini bar crawl, enjoyed a charcuterie board at Meg's apartment, went on a walking tour of Wicker Park and showed Stella several areas that they thought she might want to live in when she moved to Chicago this winter as she will also be an accountant with Plante Moran starting in January.

Meg sent us pictures of her night.  It was fun to see Nick and the girls enjoying Chicago's nightlife.  Meg thought they would check out Lincoln Park tomorrow.  I love that they are taking advantage of all that the city has to offer.  Chicago is the perfect place for young adults to live and thrive.  

Pumpkins in Magic Kingdom

Doug left work at one this afternoon so that we could travel to Magic Kingdom.  I really wanted to see the Halloween decorations and this was the perfect day to do so.  I almost talked us out of going as I realized on the way that tonight was Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.  I thought that the park would already be crowded by the time we arrived at 2:30.  

Thankfully, I was completely wrong.  There was hardly anyone there when we arrived and we were not only able to see all of the decorations, but also walk on several of our favorite rides including Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion.  We both had a lot of fun.

Attendance at Magic Kingdom started to increase after 4 p.m. when the party goers began to arrive.  With wait times on the rides increasing, we decided to hop on the monorail and head to Epcot for dinner.  Doug had not gotten to try the Food and Wine Festival offerings from the American pavilion yet, so we headed to their booth first.  We ended up ordering everything on the menu including Cioppino: seafood stew, Chilaquiles: corn tortilla chips tossed in salsa verde with ranchero chicken and egg, a hot beef sandwich with horseradish cream and pickled vegetables, and freshly baked carrot cake with cream cheese icing.  All four of them were delicious and well worth the walk.  We rested in the pavilion for a little while before leaving the park.  We made it out just before the rain hit, happy with our trip and thoroughly enjoying the start to the weekend.