There's Busy & Then There's Busy

Meg called me several times this week to let me know how frustrated she was with work.  I listened as she talked and tried to be as supportive as possible.  I knew from living the first year of public accounting with Cal and Doug that it wasn't the most fun that she would ever have in life. I also realized that she would grow a lot at work this spring and would feel a lot better about it all by this time next year.  Her partner told her the same thing when they had their check in recently.  

The part that I loved best was when Meg said to me, "Ok, Mom, I get it.  Last year when you were getting the house ready for Cameron's graduation open house and to put it up for sale shortly afterward, I told you that I was just as busy studying.  Let's be honest, college doesn't even compare to the schedule of the real world."  That made me laugh.  Meg was right, you could never know what the real world truly was until you lived it.

The reality for Cameron right now, however, is that he was feeling just as down in the dumps about studying for tests as Meg was last year.  During our daily conversations, I made sure to empathize with his situation as we all had been there.  I also knew that one day he would feel like Meg or I did during the first year after college.  The reality is that a college schedule isn't quite as bad as real life.  That won't matter to him until he has to live it.  There's no reason for me to bring that up now.  Instead, I am just happy that Meg is doing her best to survive busy season and that Cameron finished three midterms this week before spending a relaxing few days in Goshen with his friends.  

Who Pulled the Fire Alarm

Cameron had tickets for Tuesday nights IU men's basketball game against Wisconsin.  He also had upgraded seats for the night.  In order to make it to the game early enough to take advantage of the upgrade, he would have to skip his History of Rock N Roll class.  He asked me several days ago what I thought.  Since he would be able to watch the class lecture later on video, I strongly encouraged him to go to the game.  I agreed that IU would probably just get beat, but I had sold my tickets twice when I was a sophomore and missed two of the best games of the season.  I didn't want him to do that.

In the end, Cameron was thrilled with the decision that he made.  By missing the class in person, he was able to first attend the IU baseball game.  He then was early enough to the game to secure fantastic seats in the bleachers.  In fact, my parents texted us on our way back from McAlister's to let us know that they had already seen him on television.

Doug and I headed straight home and flipped on the game.  IU was up and held that lead going into halftime.  While the game was at break, we rewound it to the time when Cameron was on the big screen.  It was fun seeing him enjoying the game.  The second half was extremely exciting.  Wisconsin caught the Hoosiers and the lead went back and forth until there were ten minutes to go in the game.  That's when we noticed that the crowd had started to walk out of the gym.  The announcers weren't sure what was going on and soon both teams were sent back to the locker room.

I texted Cameron as soon as the broadcast switched to the studio.  He said that they were outside and no one really new what was happening.  We figure that it couldn't be weather related as they would not have had everyone go outside if it was.  The confusion went on for about five more minutes until IU men's basketball finally tweeted out that it was a fire alarm that cleared the building.  Within another ten minutes, fans were filing back into the stadium and the team was warming up again.  Wisconsin came out from the break strong and we figured they'd run right over IU.  The Hoosiers stayed strong, however, and ended up winning by four.

Cameron texted us after the game to tell us how excited he was about the win.  He also said that the fire alarm was absolutely crazy.  He had heard two different stories.  The first was that there was a fire in the elevator.  The second was that a pledge from a fraternity had pulled it.  Both sounded plausible to us.  The news media didn't have the answer either, but said that they were extremely impressed with the student body for returning to support the team.  After hearing that, I told Doug that I actually wasn't surprised at all.  Two things that IU students do well - first, deal with fire alarms from a lot of practice during their dorm years and second, hang out in the parking lot before, after and during games.  All they need was a bunch of tailgate tents set up and it would have been completely normal.

A Mouthful of Woes

I broke my tooth in January and since then I have made more trips to the dentist than I have in years.  The broken tooth was big enough that it needed a crown to fix it.  The x-rays showed not only the damage to that tooth, but to several other areas that I had been feeling pain in recently.  The first priority was to take care of the broken tooth, but after that the dentist had to come up with a treatment plan that both he and I thought would work.  It was more than I wanted to have done on my mouth, but I knew that it was important as my previous crowns were causing decay at the gum line that would eventually travel down to the jaw.  

Two weeks ago, I returned to the dentist to take care of a broken crown on the opposite side of my mouth.  The dentist was concerned that I would lose the tooth as it had quite a bit of decay.  After a lot of drilling on that tooth and the one behind it, he felt confident that a crown was the best way to go.  I was glad to hear that the tooth would be saved.  

Today's news wasn't quite as good.  Under one of the top two crowns was too much decay to save the tooth.  I didn't want to have a crown put on something that would cause long term problems, so I agreed to have my tooth extracted.  The process took a lot longer than I thought that it would as the root to the tooth was curved and he wanted to slowly take it out to ensure that it didn't break at the jaw line.  It was also a lot more painful than I thought that it would be as it required four stitches in the end.  I spent the rest of the night with ice on my face, eating soft foods and taking plenty of ibuprofen.  It wasn't my favorite night ever, but I did have a temporary bridge already that should help in the long run.  

Brett's Nice Weekend Break

Cal wasn't the only Heinisch that spent a weekend away from home.  Brett left Saturday for Syracuse so that he could visit his grandparents and also go to the dentist today.  The added bonus was that he also got a day free from work while he was there.  Although I thought that Brett had stayed there recently, he told my parents that he hadn't spent the night at their home since he was in middle school.  The furniture arrangement had been a lot different in those days, but the enjoyment of visiting was just the same.    

I talked to Brett this afternoon on his drive back to Bloomington.  He had really enjoyed his visit.  He got to talk about movies and famous people from Indiana with Grandpa and Cal.  He watched several movies that he had wanted to see including The Music Man and For a Few Dollars More.  He had also appreciated Grandma's meals and overall had a great time.  Although no one really enjoys a dentist appointment, Brett was thankful for his as it gave him a reason to take a break from work and a lot of family time.  

Cal's Nice Weekend Break

Cal took yesterday off from work so that he could go with Maggie and her family to their lake house in Michigan to celebrate her birthday.  He had an awesome time, and as an added bonus, he was able to spend today at Grandma and Grandpa's visiting them and Brett before heading home.  While together they all watched movies, talked sports and ate some home cooked meals.  Cal called on his way back to Chicago tonight to tell us about the two movies he had watched over the weekend - A Field of Dreams with Maggie's family and For a Few Dollars More with Grandpa.  He also thanked us for his Valentine's gift, the book In Cold Blood and candy from Grandpa Joe's.  Cal then spent the next hour talking about all of the movies that he had been watching, the book he had been reading, Devil in the White City, the couch that Jayce wasn't able to buy and his work schedule.

Doug and I both enjoyed talking with Cal.  I was extremely glad that he had taken the weekend off from work to enjoy family and friends.  Most of all, I was just so incredibly thankful that Cal sounded very happy.  A year ago, he wasn't quite feeling that way.  I am not one to push relationships on our children or encourage them to "settle down," but it does seem that Cal has become much more calm since he started dating Maggie.  I do not know what the future holds for them, but for right now life seems to be extremely good for Cal.  Knowing that my children are happy, always makes me smile.

It's OK Not to Remember

This picture showed up on my FaceBook feed several days ago.  It's such a cute one of Meg and Nick, but it is hard for me to look at it.  That day had been such a good one for Meg.  She went back to school for a half day after having oral surgery earlier in the week.  Since she couldn't eat, Meg spent her lunch hour with KeSawn catching up on everything that he had going on in his life.  He made her promise to come to his senior night at basketball.  She even made him a poster for the game once she got home from school.  Meg joined the girls in her grade donning cheerleading outfits while Nick stuck with the cowboy theme night.  

Meg was sore and tired when she got home that night, but was still full of stories.  There had been a root beer keg after the game to celebrate seniors.  Afterward, they all went Culver's and enjoyed a lot of together time.  There had been two seniors on the team that year, but Shawn was the MVP and most involved with basketball.  The next day he was actually going on a recruiting trip to a college for the sport.

As wonderful as that Friday night was, the next day was one of the worst in Meg's life.  KeShawn was killed in a car accident that Saturday afternoon.  Shock, disbelief and a long time of mourning followed.  Seeing the picture of Meg smiling always makes me think back to that Saturday night in February.  I wish I could have stopped the accident from happening or the sadness that followed.  

This year, I actually thought about deleting the post so that it wouldn't show up in my FaceBook memories anymore. I don't like thinking about sad things.  I've always sad that it is ok not to remember.  In the end, I left the memory intact.  It was a wonderful recollection of a fun night and Meg's successful transition to Bethany.  KeShawn was a big part of that.  Instead of being sad, I chose to think about that instead.  

The Tag Along

One thing that I did not realize when we became empty nester was that we would no longer have to plan around anyone's schedule but our own.  That has become more and more apparent this month as we did not have any specific projects to do or visitors staying at the house.  It's a strange feeling but does have some advantages.  Now when I don't have time to clean or don't feel up to getting something done, I can leave it until the next day.  We really don't have to plan too far ahead either.

Although I do miss having the Heinisch children at home, this newfound freedom came in handy over the past few days.  Aunt Jan had invited us to visit her family while they were in Orlando, and I ended up hanging out with them four separate times.  It meant for more time in the car, but it was fun being a part of their vacation.  Besides dinner on Sunday night and the Florida Aquarium on Wednesday, yesterday I ran down to Orlando for a few hours to see them by the poolside.  Mary was there visiting them with her husband and sons as well.  It was nice catching up with her before she headed back to South Carolina.

Today, Doug joined me on the adventure as he had the afternoon off from work.  We stopped at Rock N Brews first for lunch before meeting everyone at the hotel.  We caught Jackie's family before they left to go miniature golfing and chatted with the Dustins before they headed to Disney Springs.  The Pancoasts had just gotten back from Gatorland and we enjoyed listening to their adventures and seeing their new souvenirs.  Jeannette invited us to join her and the boys at Disney Springs to do some shopping and get dinner.  Since we didn't need to get back for anything, we decided to tag along.  We had a great time looking at all of the Legos and Disney toys with them.  I was even able to help them save a little bit on their purchases with my annual pass discount.  Dinner was a rainout, so we said goodbye at the parking garage.  Overall, it was a fun week and I was glad to have been a small part of it all.  

IU Basketball

 This year has been a big disappointed for IU Men's basketball fans.  The team has been plagued with injuries and have underperformed in most games.  They have made it a habit of getting down early and then trying to play catch up for the entire second half.  Once or twice they have been able to come back and win, but not enough to make them relevant in the Big Ten conference.  All of this has led IU fans to take to social media to criticize the team or call for Woodson's resignation.  Doug, Cameron and I think that is a terrible take.  The team just isn't that good, firing another coach won't make the players hit free throws and improve their turnover record.  

The bright spot in IU basketball, however, is the girls' team.  When we were in college they just weren't very good.  That has changed drastically in the past few years.  They are consistently ranked nationally and have found themselves at the top tier of the conference almost every season.  Tonight, they played Iowa and the hype for the game was big.  Caitlin Clark had gained worldwide attention for being the leading scorer in division one history.  Even the announcers were talking about the Hawkeye player during the NBA skills challenges this weekend.  Iowa and IU were tied in the Big Ten standings and Assembly Hall was sold out for tonight's game.

Cameron was fortunate to have secured tickets for the game through the Student Athletic Board lottery.  He was very excited about it and made plans to go with several of his friends.  The game absolutely lived up to the hype.  IU played unbelievably and held Iowa's star to only 3 of 13 from the three point line.  She definitely didn't look like the player she did in previous games.  In fact, IU's leading all time scorer, outshined her in every way.  The win was a lot of fun to watch and I was very glad that Cameron got to see it in person.  As an added bonus, Cameron's tennis coach from Bethany, Matt, was there tonight as well.  Cameron really appreciated catching up with him before the game.  

The Florida Aquarium Part 3

 When I found out that Jeannette was going to be here this week with her boys, I texted her to see if they would be interested in going to the aquarium in Tampa.  I knew that Joshua and Benjamin were really interested in frogs and toads, but didn't know if they would also like seeing fish, birds, lemurs and more.  She texted back right away and said, "Absolutely, Ben had just said that he wanted to go to an aquarium."

Jeannette let me know on Sunday that Wednesday morning was the best day to go The Florida Aquarium for the four of them, so I made reservations for that day.  I met them there at 10 a.m. and we spent the next two hours walking through the exhibits seeing all the aquarium had to offer.  Just like I did the last two times I visited, I took them to the Florida Wetlands area first.  That's by far my favorite and the easiest place to start.  The boys loved the turtles, crocodiles and snakes.  I was once again amazed at the birds in the water so incredibly close to us.  

Our next stop was the fish tank area and sting rays.  Josh and Ben both loved touching the sting ray.  Their interest started to wan a little bit after that.  We had been looking at exhibits for about an hour and a half, and Ben was ready for the gift shop.  Once they found the shark tanks, however, they were more than excited.  We counted the sharks, watched the sea turtle and name all of the odd looking fish.  It was a lot of fun and made me a little bit sad too.  As I watched the boys run toward the glass, I had a flashback to when my own children were that age.  It was bittersweet to think that we would never do things like this again with them when they were young.  The nice part, however, was remembering that we were all here together two months ago enjoying the same aquarium.  

Before we left today, we visited the gift shop and the penguins.  It was fun watching the boys pick out a souvenir to take home - a stuffed squid for Joshua and an ocean play set for Benjamin.  The Pancoast family made plans to head to the beach for the afternoon, while I made my way back to the car.  It had been a lot of fun and I was glad that I could share a little bit of the Florida that I have discovered with them all.  

Togetherness

While we were getting together with the Barnhart family, the rest of the Heinisch family was enjoying their own togetherness.  After a week of travel for Nick and a busy time at work for Meg, they made the most of Saturday and Sunday by shopping, eating out and relaxing.  They got a lot done for the wedding as well including putting a deposit down for the cake, looking at flower arrangements for the reception and picking out a dress for Meg for her bridal shower.

Cal and Maggie enjoyed a quiet weekend as well.  Cal made Doug's macaroni and cheese dish for the first time.  He sent us pictures of it once it came out of the oven and it looked delicious.  After spending the weekend supporting IU athletics by attending both men's water polo and basketball, Cameron took Brett out on Sunday night to Logan's Steakhouse to celebrate Brett's belated birthday.  They both texted later to let me know that they had really enjoyed it and thanked me for picking up the tab.  I was glad that they had a chance to celebrate in person.  Overall, it was a fun weekend for all of the Heinisch family and I enjoyed hearing all about it from each of them.

Visiting the Barnhart Family

Aunt Jan's family all arrived in Orlando yesterday after a terrible trip down through ice and snow in Southern Indiana.  Tonight, Doug and I drove down to meet them at Portillo's for dinner.  I was glad to hear that everyone had had a relaxing day after the trip and made the best of today even though it was cold and rainy.  I told everyone that since we had moved here, I could only remember two terrible weather days.  Unfortunately, today was one of them.  

Portillo's was very good.  I wanted my usual chili, cheese dog, but decided to stay healthy and try the grilled chicken sandwich.  It was delicious.  Doug stuck with his favorite - The Big Beef.  More than the food, however, it was very nice to see so many familiar faces.  We enjoyed catching up with everyone and decided to go back to Aunt Jan's vacation spot  before heading home.  Their hotel was very nice with room for everyone.  Aunt Jan was most excited about the shower renovation.  It was impressive.  We made plans to try and get together again before they all headed back to Indiana.  All in all, it was a fun evening and both Doug and I were glad that we were able to make the trip on this uncharacteristically cold and rainy Florida night.  

Time at Church

Yesterday, I spent the morning at Blessed Trinity enjoying a spiritual retreat put on by the Council for Catholic Women.  I loved the fellowship with the other women and learned a lot about the Eucharist and Adoration.  While I was there, one of the women who runs the church gift shop asked me if I could help work the register before or after a mass on the weekend.  I told her that I was definitely interested in helping, but knew that I couldn't work there every weekend.  She was more than receptive to any help that I could provide and we made plans to meet tomorrow before the 11 a.m. mass for my training.

I arrived at the church at 9:45 this morning, a little bit nervous about volunteering.  I had never been in the gift shop and our new church was very large.  Thankfully, I found the shop right away and soon was learning along with one other volunteer on how to run the computer, where the inventory was and even how to record "tips."  The gift shop wasn't quite as busy as I thought it would be, but there were enough customers that I was able to process a few sales.  I also learned how to open and close the door, turn on the security system and where to put money from Father Pat's book.  I felt really good about it all when we closed for mass at 10:55 a.m.

After this weekend I realized that it is so nice to have a church that has activities for people who want to be involved.  I have absolutely loved that about Blessed Trinity and know that I was missing that in my life.  I should have more opportunities to get involved as well.  I was asked to help sell souvenirs at the special exhibit of the Arm of St. Jude and may even have a chance to be treasurer of CCW next year.  All in all, it has been a great start to becoming members of our new parish.

Oppenheimer

Last night Doug and I started the movie "Oppenheimer."  I had been dying to see it ever since it came out this past summer.  I knew the length at 3 hours was too long for Doug to watch in the theaters, so decided to wait until it came out on streaming.  Yesterday if finally became available on Peacock and we started it after our trip to Hollywood Studios.  

I knew absolutely nothing about Oppenheimer the man, except that he was in charge of the Manhattan Project.  I really didn't even know much about that either.  It was a part of American history that never really fascinated me.  Even so, the film had multiple award nominations that I didn't want to miss it.  

The first half of the film was interesting as we got to know a lot about Oppenheimer, the scientist.  Much as the Bob Marley movie was, this film told his story through a series of flashbacks.  I didn't always understand what was happening, but at the halfway make I understood that he was regarded as brilliant highly thought of in the scientific material, and surprisingly had a lot of women after him.  The random nudity was a little strange, but other than that I really liked the movie.

We finished the film today.  The second half of it was absolutely fascinating, especially when they were testing the atom bomb.  I was amazed that the physicists knew that there was a chance that the explosion would take off and cause a reaction that would destroy the earth, but still went through with the experiment.  I not only learned a lot about Oppenheimer, but also others on the Manhattan project and the after math of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Overall, I still liked the Barbie movie that came out on the same day better, but was definitely glad that we had finally watched it. 

Hollywood Studios

After looking at the forecast, Doug and I realized that the best day of the weekend was going to be today.  Saturday and Sunday looked like a complete washout with high temperatures only reaching the 50s by the end of the weekend.  Thus, we decided that if we were going to do anything outside that we would do it today.  We thew around a couple of ideas, including a return trip to Swamphead Brewery.  In the end, however, we picked Disney's Hollywood Studios as our destination of choice.

Doug got off of work early today, so we were able to get into the park by 3 p.m.  It was absolutely packed because of President's Day on Monday.  We made our way through the crowds to Baseline Tap House.  Neither one of us had eaten, so we ordered a large soft pretzel to split.  Doug also tried one of their new beers.  The food was delicious and it was fun doing a little bit of people watching.  We couldn't believe how crowded the walkways were.

While we were at Baseline, we put in a reservation for Disney's Toy Story Mania and spent the next hour walking through the park.  Doug found another place to try a beer and I did some window shopping.  Toy Story Mania was a lot of fun.  Doug's notorious for finishing in last place when our family rides together.  Today was no exception, even though it was only the two of us.  Afterward, we stopped in Star Wars Galaxy's Edge and tried a new quick service restaurant.  The hummus was delicious, and I absolutely loved the atmosphere.  It felt as though we sitting in a docking bay on the planet of Tatooine. 

Doug and I headed home after our snack.  We were back in Ocala well before 8 p.m.  It was a short trip to Disney, but definitely a lot of fun and a great way to spend this beautiful day.   

Bob Marley

When my mom, dad and I went to see The Beekeeper in January, I saw a preview for the Bob Marley movie, One Love.  I didn't know a lot about the singer, but absolutely loved reggae music, so decided that I wanted to see it.  The best part was that it came out on Valentine's Day and would be a great way to spend the afternoon before Doug and I celebrated the holiday.  

I was surprised with how many people were at the theater for a Wednesday afternoon, but still was able to find a seat on the end by myself.  The movie was nothing like I thought that it would be.  I expected it to be like Bohemian Rhapsody was with Queen and Freddie Mercury.  One Love didn't focus just on how Bob Marley and The Wailers started, but instead spent a lot of time on the political war that was happening in Jamaica in the late 1970s.  Bob Marley was important to the peace movement at the time and even survived an assassination attempt.  The film showed Bob Marley's life thru flashbacks and definitely included his love of women, family, and smoking marijuana as well as his Jamaican roots.   His son, Ziggy, was extremely involved in getting the movie made and his wife, Rita was a producer.  Overall, I really enjoyed learning about the history of that time period.  I was saddened by the circumstances of his early death, but the music was excellent and such a nice reminder of how peaceful reggae music truly is.  

Valentine's Day 2024

It was a low key Valentine's Day for everyone, but an enjoyable one just the same.  Cal was in Wisconsin working, so he planned on taking Maggie to dinner once he got back to Chicago.  They were both excited about the restaurant that they were going to try.  Nick was flying home from California late tonight, so he and Meg decided to wait and celebrate this weekend.  She had already bought him a really fun gift and he had hidden chocolates around the apartment for her.  Brett had celebrated Valentine's Day with Karen last weekend, but had a nice evening at Ash Wednesday mass tonight.  Cameron followed the same path as Brett only he also sent Alina a cute drawing to match the one that she drew him for his birthday celebration.

Doug and I decided not to worry about gifts this year.  There wasn't much that either of us wanted or needed, so Ash Wednesday mass and dinner out sounded perfect to both of us.  Mass was very nice and we headed downtown after it was over.  Doug had heard from the women that worked with him that all of the restaurants would be packed this evening, so we weren't really hopeful that we would find one that had available seating.  

When we first pulled into town, there was a line of traffic, but the only restaurant that seemed to have a waitlist was Harry's.  Doug had wanted to try The Lodge again as we had had a good experience there in December.  We were surprised to see several empty tables and sat down right away.  We both ordered the spicy chicken sandwich and enjoyed the atmosphere while we waited.  We weren't the only couple celebrating Valentine's Day, but there were a lot more groups of people sitting together instead of tables of two.  While our food was being cooked, we were asked if we wanted to participate in music bingo and thought that we would give it a try.  Although we didn't win, we had a lot of fun playing and made a mental note to return again.

The rest of the night was spent at home watching one of Doug's favorite Hitchcocklike movies - Charade.  I broke our rule of giving gifts by surprising Doug with Ghirardelli chocolates.  He had been extremely supportive of our low sugar menu and I wanted him to enjoy his favorite candy.  All in all, it was a wonderful night and the perfect way to celebrate our 34th Valentine's Day together. 

Happy 29th Birthday, Brett

Today was Brett's 29th birthday.  When I write it out like that, it looks a lot older than it really is.  I guess that I don't ever really think of Brett when he was younger anymore.  He was always the oldest in the family and more mature in his youth.  Thus, I loved looking back today at all of the pictures that I had save on my phone from his younger days.  It reminded me of just how much Brett has always loved life, especially the holidays.  

Brett said that he has felt old since he was 27, so turning another year older wasn't that big of a deal to him.  He did have fun celebrating, however, old he turned.  After work he went to Yogi's for dinner.  He had been talking about going for quite awhile, but couldn't get anyone else interested because of their infamous poor service.  Since Andrew ended up cancelling his trip to Bloomington tonight, it was the perfect time for him to give it a try.  Dinner was nice and was finished in time for him to make it to his Knight's meeting at 7:30.

Brett was excited about his meeting this evening.  He has really enjoyed being a part of the Knights.  He attends meetings regularly, goes out with other members throughout the month, has taken on an officer's position, and is in charge of the annual Tootsie Roll drive.  Although it may not seem like everyone's perfect way to celebrate their birthday, he felt it was extremely appropriate for him.  I was very happy for Brett, especially since the rest of us were unable to be there with him today.

As our children have gotten older, I have come to realize that we can't always be with each other on the day that we were born.  The nice part is that we are all so connected that it feels as if we are.  Gifts from Amazon, social media posts, texts, and calls all make us so much closer.  Celebrations get stretched out from days to weeks as we honor the birthday when we do see each other.  This year, Brett had already received gifts from Meg and Grandma.  He got something in the mail from Cal today.  He and Karen had celebrated last weekend with a nice dinner together and early birthday presents.  Cameron made plans to see Brett this weekend, and we bought him a ticket to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival for when he visits in March.  A month of celebrations seems like a great way to commemorate a 29th birthday and I know that Brett really appreciates the sentiment.  

My Dental Woes

Today, I went back to have my temporary crown replaced with a permanent one.  It actually hurt more than I expected.  This was the first time that I had a crown without a root cannel first and the cold air on the nerve was extremely painful.  The process took a lot longer than I expected, but it did look nice once it was finished.

While I was there, I also had a new patient exam complete with full dental x-rays.  There were a couple of small cavities on the right side of the mouth, but I wasn't surprised to hear that.  What really caught my attention was the decay that they found surrounding the three crowns that I had done several years ago.  The worst one was on the bottom left and the dentist wasn't sure that he would be able to save the tooth base because the decay was that bad.  The three areas that he showed me were ones that I had pointed out during my past dental cleanings.  I guess the technology must be more advanced here as they could detect the problem right away.  

I decided not to wait any longer on getting the other work done.  I did not want the problem to get worse and really wanted to finish all of the work before Meg's wedding.  I made an appointment for tomorrow morning to get started on the left side.  It will be expensive to have all of this done, but by the grace of God, the money I had left from the sell of our home in Syracuse was the exact amount that I would need for my dental work.  

Super Bowl Sunday

Tonight was the accumulation of the NFL season with the Super Bowl being played in Las Vegas for the first time ever. It was a different experience for each of us, but a fun one for all.  Brett spent his Super Bowl Sunday at the Knight's party much as our family did when we lived in Syracuse.  It had some differences in Bloomington, however, as they all actually watched the game.  Brett said that he enjoyed it, but was bummed that none of the five squares that he bought brought him any money.  Every time he was close, San Francisco would score and ruin his chances for a win.  Thus, he became a hardcore Kansas City fan tonight.

Cal was also hopeful of winning some money, albeit a lot more than Brett.  He just needed the 49ers to win by 1, 2, or 3 points.  They definitely had a chance and for awhile Doug and I both thought that they would.  Patrick MaHomes was just too good and the Chiefs won by four in overtime.  Cal wasn't too disappointed and was glad that he had a reason to watch even though the Bears hadn't even made the playoffs this season.

Meg sat out this year.  She had heard enough about football all season long from everyone else in our family including Nick.  She was also tired of all of the Taylor Swift hype and had no interest in even watching the commercials.  Nick was traveling, so he watched it on his own.  As a big San Francisco fan, he was the most disappointed.  He decided, however, that the whole season had been scripted with KC the intended winner all along.

Cameron made it back to Bloomington in time to watch the Super Bowl with his floor mates in the lounge.  He wasn't too excited about the game ever since his beloved Lions lost two weeks ago.  He did enjoy the Chipotle that the floor provided and found the poor play calling of San Francisco's coach in the over time interesting.  

I felt like Cameron did about watching the game this year.  My heart wasn't in it without Detroit.  I did, however, decide to support the 49ers and thought watching them lose was really disappointing, especially knowing that Cal had lost out on his big payoff.  Doug had the best night of all of us.  He made a turkey brat dinner with chickpeas and roasted potatoes.  It was warm enough to eat outside and watch the first half of the game on the projector.  Both he and Phil were rooting for the Chiefs, so the outcome was favorable to him as well.  Overall, the night was better than I thought that it would be two weeks ago when the Lions lost.  It gave us all something to talk about and there were some great commercials this year including a Ben Affleck Dunkin' Donuts one that we all loved.

A Disney Valentine Celebration

Doug had told me last December that the next time that we went to Disney World that he wanted to go back to Animal Kingdom.  We had spent most of our time at Epcot lately because of all of their festivals.  We both liked Disney's 2nd theme park, but thought a change of pace would be a good idea.  A couple of weeks ago, I suggested to Doug that we take a day trip to Disney this weekend as it was supposed to be beautiful and we didn't have much of anything else on our schedule besides his work for Champion.  I also thought that it would be a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day a little early.

Doug and I left at 6:30 this morning for Animal Kingdom.  I was very glad that I had made a park reservation several days ago as all of the parks were full for annual pass holders.  Earlier this week, I had also called Disney about getting a disability pass for myself.  I had been having a lot of problems with the arthritis in my left leg and knew that I would not be able to stand very long.  I couldn't believe how easy the process was and was impressed with how well it worked once we arrived.  The pass allowed us to walk right on four different rides, even my favorite, the Nav'i River ride in Pandora.  Since I didn't have to stand in line, I was able to do a lot more than normal, even walking through Gorilla Falls before lunchtime.  

Since we had done everything that we wanted to in Animal Kingdom, Doug and I decided to have lunch at Epcot.  The Festival of the Arts was going on and Doug had never been.  It also gave us a chance to pick up the new passholder magnet.  We were surprised that the park wasn't quite as crowded as Animal Kingdom.  We had to wait for the magnet, but the lines for the food booths weren't very long at all.  We walked around the countries looking at the different art booths.  I thought about buying some wall decor, but decided that I didn't really need any.  The food was very good.  We especially enjoyed the selections at Morocco.  Of course, England had the best drinks, including my all time favorite - The Welsh Dragon.  The DAS pass worked on the Epcot rides as well, and we were able to ride both Remy and Soarin'.  We only stayed at at Epcot until 3.  My leg had had enough and I was completely exhausted.  I did have just enough energy to get a chocolate banana for dessert before we headed to the car.  I was ready for a break from walking, but so incredibly happy to have celebrated our Valentine's Day early at one of my favorite places on earth.