National Parks

When we took Cameron to the Everglades, he bought a National Parks passport book to collect stamps and stickers from different parks. It also gave him a little bit of information about each park, why it was important, and where it was located. His first stamp was obviously an alligator from the Everglades National Park.

On the way home from our trip, we talked about all of the other National Parks that we had already visited. Many of them were located in Washington DC and Philadelphia. There were others, however, like Lincoln‘s home in Springfield, Illinois, that we had toured as well. I told Cameron that it would be great if we could collect stickers and/or stamps from those parks also, but I wasn’t quite sure how to do that. He agreed that it would be neat to fill the book with at least the places that we had already been.

This past week I started doing some research on how to collect stickers or stamps from previous visits .  The National Parks had a website where I could order stickers, but they didn’t have each individual park. I would have to buy sheets of stickers and that didn’t make sense to me as I didn’t need stickers to parks that we had not been to or probably would never visit. Thankfully, I was able to locate individual stickers from eight parks that we had visited, so I ordered those.  There were still 20 others that I would love to have some type of stamper sticker from to put in our book.

As I’ve done in the past, I decided to turn to eBay. I thought maybe someone would have a collection of stickers for sale. Instead, I found a woman, just like us, who had bought her passport book after she visited a lot of the parks. She was also disappointed that she didn’t get stamps or stickers from them, so she created her own stamp that she could individualize with the park names and dates. I got super excited as the cost was extremely reasonable and a lot less than buying my own stamp making kit.

Doug and I made a list of all of the National Parks that we had visited over the years with our children. During the last few days, I searched through stacks of pictures so that I knew the date on our trips as well. I made a spreadsheet and once I found information on all 20 different parks, I contacted the lady from eBay. She told me exactly how to order the stamps and soon, I had all the information to her. Within a couple of hours, she had already made the stamps and sent a proof to me before she shipped them. I know that they won’t be authentic, but I am still extremely happy about filling our book with stamps from all of our family trips. 

As an added bonus, it was also a lot of fun walking down memory lane while looking through the pictures. We took a lot of great vacations with our children and they got to see some wonderful places in the United States. I am so glad that we were able to share our love of travel with them.

Congratulations Brett and Karen

Sometime after Meg‘s wedding, Brett started talking to me about getting engaged to Karen. Originally, he thought about asking her after the November election. He soon realized that his feelings were too strong and he didn’t want to wait that long. I couldn’t blame him. Brett and Karen were very happy together, and they had waited a long time to find that special someone.

When Brett started making plans for their engagement, he asked my thoughts on places to ask and how.  He had thought about taking her to Memphis during Labor Day weekend, but found out that she had already been there. I suggested the Biltmore. It was only a 5 1/2 hour drive from Karen’s and they could make a weekend of it. He didn’t give Karen any specifics about getting engaged, but did ask her if she wanted to go away to celebrate their seven month anniversary. She was super excited and asked if her parents could meet them as well. Soon, they  made plans to spend Labor Day weekend in Asheville, North Carolina. Brett told me that he was going to schedule the 2:30 tour on Saturday and then afterward find a quiet spot in the gardens to ask her to marry him. I thought it sounded really nice and was excited to hear all about it after the weekend.

Tonight, I opened up Facebook to a picture of the two of them smiling. Brett‘s post above it said, “I just asked Karen to marry me.” All of the comments congratulated them and responded with “Did she say yes?” Brett never answered that on Facebook, but I did hear later from him that she said yes. He said that the post was actually his proposal. They were at their favorite restaurant in New Albany when they went out back to talk.  He must have said, “Hey, have you checked Facebook lately?” I thought it was the perfect way for Brett to ask and was super excited for them. Now they’ll be able to enjoy their Labor Day weekend at the Biltmore celebrating their engagement and making memories that they will never forget.

CVS

When we lived in Syracuse, I did a lot of shopping at CVS. Walmart was too far away for me to run to just to get ibuprofen, and I really hated going into Dollar General. It was too crowded for me.  The prices at CVS were a little bit higher, but once I joined their Extra Care Plan and started looking for coupons, it was pretty comfortable to what I could find at the discount stores.

When we moved to Florida, I really didn’t think that I would shop at CVS anymore as there was a Publix, Aldi, and Walmart all within a couple miles of my house. Around that time I started to realize that the Extra Care Plan had gotten even better. For $49 a year, I could get $10 gift cards each month and 20% off all CVS brand products. They also always seemed to be sending me different rewards and percentage off coupons that saved money as well. Soon, I started realizing that it was actually cheaper to shop at CVS than any of the other stores around. The best part was, I could order it online and within 15 minutes pick it up at the front of the store.

Meg and Cameron make fun of me when I tell them all the money that I save at CVS. I know they’re just giving me a hard time, and I don’t mind. Two weeks ago, I got a free box of hair color saving me nine dollars and last week I bought shaving cream for $.46. Each time place an order, I save almost half of what the product costs.  Even when I check the price at Walmart, I can’t get it for that low of a price. I would also have to do the shopping to find the product. Thus, I’ll take my children’s friendly joking and keep shopping at CVS. Nothing feels better than saving money.

Three Days, Three Doctors Visits

I have been to the doctor each day for the last three days. The first two appointments were for Doug and the third one was for me. By the time I went this morning, I was so tired of sitting in the doctors office that I wanted to cry.  Fortunately, all of the visits went well.  

I don’t know why I was so annoyed about going to the doctor. I actually like our family doctor in Florida. I think the reason that I was bummed about going was because I feel like since we’ve moved, I’ve gone to the dentist and doctor more than I ever have in my lifetime. The nice part is that my teeth feel a lot better and nothing hurts when I chew. We also have found our new family doctor to be extremely knowledgable and helpful.  She has worked really hard to help us with some health issues that neither one of us even knew were a problem. Doug has responded well to the medication and advice he’s gotten from her.  Through bloodwork, she found out that Doug’s vitamin B 12 level was low enough to need injections. The medication she is giving him for his tremor has helped as well. Also from her advice, I am at the lowest weight that I have been at in a long time, and my A1c is at an all-time low. Hopefully, the suggestions that she is giving me about my leg will make it a lot better as well. I definitely have seen improvements since June, but not enough to be pain-free. Hopefully, by the next time we see her in March, all will be well on that end as well.

Sophomore Year Begins

Cameron started classes this week and so far is very excited about his schedule. Monday and Wednesday seem to be the best day for him as he not only has his new weather class, but he also has guitar. He’s not quite sure how he’s going to carry his guitar through campus, but I know he’ll figure it out. I am excited to see what he learns and what songs he learns to play.  I am also excited to hear about what he learns in his extreme weather class. That topic is one that we have had to deal a lot since moving to Florida. When it rains, it rains hard.  When it’s hot, the humidity feels like a sauna. When the wind blows, it blows fast, and of course we have to deal with have hurricane season. I’m going to appreciate any insight that he has after taking the class.

Cameron’s Tuesday and Thursday are filled with business requirements and a Latin American music class. He wasn’t too worried about that one, but did realize that his Business Law and Stats class would be a lot of work for him. He was excited about his Business Law professor as he was a former Deputy Attorney General for the state of Indiana and a Vice Provost for IU.  He was also one of Meg’s favorite professors. 

As daunting as classes may seem, Cameron was actually looking forward to the routine of them. His social life still revolves a lot around Student Athletic Board. They have a call out meeting tomorrow night and he had made plans to go to both a women’s and men’s soccer game on Thursday.  When he I talked to him today, he told me that he and his roommates had earned several buy one get one free Chipotle coupons from a quiz they had to take. They were planning out how they can make use of those for a few free meals this week.  I am glad that everything is going well and the kickoff to sophomore year has been a positive one. Ian’t wait to hear about the rest of his adventures this semester.

Here's to A Better Week Ahead

Meg and Nick had a really rough week last week. They had to take a break from a long time friendship due to circumstances out of their control. Unfortunately, hurtful things were said to them that will take some time to get over.  I feel really bad that this happened, but I guess I’m not that surprised. It is hard to be friends with someone who always needs to be right or has no empathy for others. It doesn’t make that person a bad person, per se, but it is challenging to maintain a close friendship, especially when you need support on a delicate matter.

I was glad that decided not to involve anyone else in their friend group on that decision. Criticizing a friend to another friend is one of the worst things that a person can do. I was also happy this weekend that they were able to connect with friends.  On Saturday and Sunday, Maddie was able to come out and spend a few days with them.  It was what they needed to take their mind off of the situation. The three of them went to the ice cream museum, the American Girl Doll store and the zoo. Meg and Maddy also enjoyed making crafts together. Tonight, Carson showed them the interview videos from the wedding and that definitely took their mind off of anything negative in their life. They absolutely loved the video. It was a lot of fun to watch and a great reminder of what an awesome wedding that they had had.

There is no better remedy to getting over a hurtful relationship than spending time with a more positive one. Hopefully, this will be a better week for both Meg and Nick. Thankfully, soon, all of this will just be a memory.

The Senior Open

This weekend was the senior open at Maxwelton and I knew that my dad was really looking forward to it. The club championship hadn’t quite gone the way he wanted, and he was ready to redeem himself. I was super impressed to find out that he was a one handicap . That’s pretty impressive for somebody who is 81 years old.

I checked in with him yesterday to see what his score was. He was pretty proud of his 75 and was leading the 70 year old and older flight by one stroke. I was extremely impressed as there were 19 people in his flight and my dad was the second oldest.

The first nine today didn’t quite go the way that he wanted, but he held it together and shot even par on the back to finish in second place overall. He was bummed that he didn’t win, but I was super excited for him. He had represented the above 80-year-old crowd well.

My dad taught me that golf is just a great way to tell a story. I knew that there would be another tournament around the corner for him to prepare for, think about, and plan. Thus, I was happy that my dad was already talking about playing in the big cup with Cal and Cameron in a couple of weeks. They will have so much fun and a lot of stories to tell.

Cal and Jayce

When we were at Meg‘s wedding reception, a question started circulating among our family and friends wondering which Heinisch would be the next to get married. Morgan, Brett, and Cal seemed the most likely suspects as they each had a serious boyfriend or girlfriend. I noticed that most of them dodged the question.  Maggie gave the best response when she said that she was on a one to 10 year plan. 

Halfway through the evening, I found out from Cal and Jayce that they had jokingly thought about having a common law marriage party on the weekend of August 24 as they would have officially lived together for seven years on that date.  At that point, we just started joking that Cal and Jayce were the next to to get married. Aria, Jayce’s girlfriend, even offered to officiate.

Today, this picture showed up on my Facebook memories. I remember being incredibly sad when Cal posted it. I hated thinking that their last year in college was their final chapter of living together. At the time neither boy knew where they were going next or what their life would look like in the future. They didn’t even even realize that they would live through a pandemic together. 

Who would have ever thought that those two middle school friends would have been together for four additional years after graduating from college.  Their friendship has gotten them through so many tough times. They have also celebrated many milestones together. I couldn’t imagine one without the other. Outside of Nick, there is no one who has ever been as close to our family as Jayce. I am so happy that 2019 really wasn’t “the final chapter.”

A Curveball

Brett started his new job two weeks ago and was excited about learning a new position. This week he was thrown a curveball when he found out that the person he was training with, quit. Brett didn’t seem overly surprised by this, but it did throw a curveball into his plans. Right now there is just two of them working in that office and they were going to split days during the week to take off.

When Brett first texted me this, I was a little bit worried. I wasn’t sure what that meant for him. Doug reminded me that it would help his job stability, which was true, and that Brett would be able to handle everything on his own. I talked to Brett several times on the way home from work, and soon realized that Doug was 100% correct. Brett had a great attitude about everything. He let me know what he was learning and what he still needed to learn. He felt good about his progress and was optimistic about learning from his mistakes. He also said that he has not been asked to work any overtime right now and they are diligently looking for two more employees for his office.  

I love Brett’s optimism and his ability to find the positive in almost every situation.  I am really glad that everything is going well.  I am also also thankful that he has a weekend to look forward to just to rest.

Home

It was hard to fly home last night because of the sinus and asthma problems that I had been having this week. While I was flying, my ear filled up to the point where I could not hear. In saying that, however, I was super glad to be back. Everyone asks me all the time how I can stand the heat in Florida. It really doesn’t bother me. I have learned not to do a bunch of yard work in the middle of the day when it’s at its hottest, but other than that, it really is no big deal. It definitely rains harder and more often here but that helps keep all of the plants watered and the grass green all summer long. I definitely didn't mind leaving the 50 degree morning that I woke up to in Northern Indiana.  As soon as I saw the palm trees at the airport and felt the warmth of the air, my heart smiled.

The best part about being home, however, wasn’t the weather or the palm trees. It was seeing Doug. I know that he had really missed me. He had kept busy and even went out with Phil a couple times. He had also rented a carpet cleaner at Lowe’s and our floors had never looked better. With that said, he was ready to hang out with me, and I was glad to make plans with him. It was one of a few times ever that I had traveled, and Doug really wished he had been there. I thought that the best way to cure that was to make plans to head back to the Midwest this fall and maybe catch an IU football game or just hang out with our children. We looked at dates and went ahead and booked some flights for October and Thanksgiving. 

I wish that Doug didn’t have to work so much and I wish he could take some time off. Hopefully that will happen soon. Until then, we will just have to schedule some day trips around here on the weekends, and I won’t plan any weeklong trips without him for awhile.  

On His Own

I was sad to leave Cameron this year, but nothing like last year. Cameron was more than ready for me to go after a couple days of moving in last weekend. I couldn’t blame him.  We had a great summer together, but he was ready for some independence. His apartment was situated really well and he had some great roommates to hang out with during Welcome Week. 

Cameron texted and called a couple of times this past week.  I had fun listening to him tell me about what he had been up to since I left Saturday.  He finished organizing his room, attended church, hung out with his roommates, attended SAB events, and even caught up with a friend from Bethany that is a freshman at IU this year. Cameron also talked a lot about the upcoming football season. There’s a kick off night at Memorial Stadium on Saturday that he plans to attend. 

Cameron has also shared some of the purchases he’s made for the apartment including his new favorite kitchen item - a bacon plate. Cooking his own meals was one of the things that he was most looking forward to this year. He’s already sent us several pictures of the food that he has made and was proud of the chicken pesto sandwiches that he made for family night dinner on Sunday.  What a great way to start the semester.

"Feel A Whole Lot Better . . ."

I thought a lot about the song “‘I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better When You’re Gone by Tom Petty today. My head cold and sinus issues weren’t completely gone , but I definitely felt a whole lot better. I was able to breathe and actually sleep. I still have a cough that is pretty bad, but it is getting better as well. Meg keeps telling me that I sound like a smoker, and I probably do.

Thankfully, I was able to get out and do more today. I got my haircut, did a load of laundry, and met Mary and Paula for dinner. My hair is the shortest that it has ever been, but that will be nice since I won’t be back for Amanda to cut it in  a while. Paula was filled with a lot of stories of Paula’s upcoming move to Indy and Mary had beautiful pictures of her new granddaughter. I was so thankful that they were able to meet me at the last minute. I hadn’t told them I was coming as I didn’t know my schedule and I didn’t know how I would feel.

Tonight, I was able to make it back in time for a couple games of Switch with Grandpa and a few episodes of the Drew Carey show. I will definitely be ready to go home tomorrow, but I am thankful that I was able to see so many people on my weeklong trip to the Midwest.

Back in Indiana

Nick drove me to South Bend after we all had Portillo‘s for lunch. I was incredibly thankful for the ride as I wasn’t sure that I could navigate the train with my suitcases and backpack. My mom met us at the airport and I was looking forward to a day of rest. I still did not feel well. My cough was bad, and I was absolutely exhausted.

I spent the evening with my parents watching Switch and the Drew Carey show.  I forgot how funny that sitcom was.  I filled them in on everything that my children were doing this past week. It probably wasn’t the most exciting day of my journey back to the Midwest, but it was definitely much needed. Doug said that he had been feeling sick as well, and that it took about three days to get over the hump. I don’t know if I have what he has or if the dust in Cameron’s apartment affected me. Either way I was crossing my fingers that Doug prediction was correct. I am definitely hoping that tomorrow I feel a whole lot better. 

A Wonderful Day in the Windy City

I knew that I was struggling with some type of sinus issue yesterday when I left Bloomington, but I wasn’t quite prepared for what I woke up to at 4 AM this morning. My chest felt like there was an elephant setting on it and I was struggling to take any type of breath. I set up immediately and tried not to panic. I thought about waking Meg up, but I didn’t want to scare her. I considered calling the ambulance, but wasn’t sure how they would get up Meg’s three flights of stairs and help me get down to the truck. If Nick had been home, I would have asked him to drive me to the nearest hospital, but he wasn’t due until 6 AM. I knew that calling Doug wouldn’t help at all, so I decided the best course of action was to stand up and see if I could catch my breath. Standing up helped, but it didn’t alleviate the seriousness of how hard it was to breathe. To take my mind off of it and relax, I started walking around Meg‘s apartment. The next thing I knew I was picking up any odds and ends that needed put away and throwing out any trash. Meg made fun of me for cleaning in the middle of a serious asthma attack, but I think that the real life activity calmed me down as I was able to finally start taking some breaths normally. Within a couple of hours, I was well enough to lay back down and at least rested for a little while this morning.

Once we all got up and around, Nick drove us to a restaurant called Yolk.  We were going to sit outside, but it started to rain.  The food was absolutely delicious.  I had never seen that big of portions. Meg and I didn’t finish our brunch, but Nick made a pretty good dent in everything.

After eating, Meg wanted to go shopping. We stopped at HomeGoods, Kohl’s, Target, and Michael’s. I was impressed that they had that many shops close to their apartment. When Doug lived in Chicago, the only place to go that had any type of food or anything was a grocery store named Treasure Island. Needless to say it was expensive and outdated. These stores were extremely large and had a very nice selection.

While we were at Kohl’s, Cal texted that he had finished his fantasy football draft early and was headed over to Meg‘s apartment. Nick finished up paying for his shoes and soon we were waiting for Cal to arrive. He filled us in on his draft and everything that he had been up to the last couple weeks. Maggie had been at a pool party with friends and joined us later. It was really nice to see everybody and hang out for several hours. Cal loves talking about sports and movies and I enjoy listening to everyone very much. 

The five of us walked to a really nice restaurant called Perch for dinner. They not only made their own beers, but seltzers as well. The guys tried a Gatorade inspired one that they really liked. The food was absolutely delicious and I liked my turkey sandwich a lot. We walked back to Meg’s afterward, thankful that the rain had held off for the rest of the night. We talked about the rats that I saw last night while we were coming home . Everyone agreed that was one of the toughest parts of living in Chicago. We also speculated on how the Democratic National Convention would affect traffic in Chicago tomorrow. Neither Meg nor Cal had to go into work this week due planned protests surrounding the convention.  

Cal and Maggie headed out once we got back to Meg‘s apartment. They wanted to finish the movie Clue and needed to leave before I accidentally spoiled the ending for Maggie. Nick, Meg, and I spent the rest of the night in her apartment. Nick played a few video games. Meg worked, and I relaxed. The cough drops and the Vicks that I bought did help my chest, but I was pretty wiped out from the previous night.  Even so, I had such a wonderful day in the windy city.

Chicago Bound

As tired as I was last night, I really didn’t sleep very well. My body hurt too bad from all of the activity.  I waited until 10 a.m. to text Cameron and see if he wanted me to help in his room, but he wanted to unpack himself. Brett was at the Saint Vincent dePaul Society helping move donated furniture, so I decided to get a few things done on my own. First, I packed up everything that I would need to take to Meg’s. Second, I ran to target to get Cameron a curtain rod that actually fit his windowsill. My last stop was Bloomington hardware. I realized yesterday that Cameron did not have a carbon monoxide detector, fire extinguisher, or battery operated fire alarm for his apartment. Those were extremely important to me, so I picked them up the hardware store. The last item on my list ended up being the funniest. Cameron was living on the third floor and there was no fire escape. I decided to buy him a fire ladder. As I was talking to Doug about it, he envisioned a tall 25 foot aluminum ladder that Cameron would keep in his room. Thankfully, I realized that a fire ladder was a rope ladder that hung on the window and could easily be stored under Cameron’s bed. I thought Cameron would think that I was nuts, but he agreed that he needed one and ordered it this afternoon.

Brett picked Cameron up on his way home and they loaded the last two things from Brett’s apartment into the van. Cameron really didn’t want to move his mini fridge and microwave today, but knew that Brett was available and could use the help getting them upstairs. It didn’t take very long and while we were there, I helped Cameron put up his curtains and get his fire alarm and carbon monoxide detector set up. I wanted to help him unpack again, but he really wanted to do himself. It made the most sense as he would know where everything was. We left for lunch at McAllister’s and enjoyed our last afternoon together in Bloomington before I headed to Illinois. I was sad to leave, but Cameron was more than ready for me to go. He had made plans with his roommates and had several SAB events that he wanted to attend he wanted to tackle his room.

Brett and I had a wonderful time on our way up to West Lafayette. The traffic wasn’t too bad and we were able to get to the mall by 5:30. I really enjoyed my stay with Brett. We had talked about a lot of things and spent some quality time together. I know that he would’ve been OK if I would have stayed one more day, but he was also happy to get back home and hang out with Sean for the night.

Meg and I walked through the mall and did a little bit of window shopping. We picked up a soft pretzel from Auntie Anne’s. The traffic into Chicago wasn’t anything like I thought it would be and we made the trip in a little less than two hours. Parking was hard to come by, but thankfully we found a spot and could get all of my things up to Meg’s apartment in one trip. We spent the rest of the evening talking, listening to albums, and ordering dinner from Nando‘s. It was extremely relaxing. I loved looking at all of Meg’s wedding gifts and hearing about what she’d been up to this past week. I even tried one of her favorite drinks, a cosmopolitan. It was a fun night and I was very glad to have spent it with Meg.

Cameron's First Apartment

This morning started off fantastically. Cameron got the title switched to the van and put the car in his name. I was super happy about that as it had taken some work to set him up with new insurance.  Two days ago, we weren’t even sure that the van would still be running. Thankfully, it only needed spark plugs and ran just like new on the way down.  Cameron officially owned his first car and saved our family quite a bit of money in the process.

The next part of our day, was a little more stressful. Cameron was the first one to move in to his new apartment. We opened the door to a complete mass. It looked as though the cleaning crew had arrived, started on their project, and left. There were bags of trash, an extremely dirty kitchen, and bathrooms that thoroughly needed scrubbed. Cameron called the management company right away, and they said they would have someone out within an hour. I was skeptical and unfortunately, right. We ran errands while we waited and arrived back after 12:30 to the same mess. One of his other roommates arrived after lunch and his dad called the property management as well. They at least promised him that cleaners would be there at two. As that was still over an hour away, Cameron and I decided that we would just start cleaning ourselves.

Fortunately, I have a lot of experience cleaning and know to start from top to bottom. I was so glad that we had brought our own supplies. There was at least an inch of dust on the ceiling fan in his room, so we started with that. We then cleaned the windows, dusted the baseboards and vacuumed. We had just started on the bathroom when the cleaning crew arrived. They spoke absolutely absolutely no Spanish, but I was at least able to point them in the right direction. Within an hour, Cameron had a clean bathroom and the kitchen looked a whole lot better.

Once the apartment was clean, Cameron and I started moving everything in to his room. He had a van full from Syracuse which we unloaded first.  We then moved a load over from Brett‘s house. It was so much work. Brett called me at 6:30 to see what our plans were for dinner, and if we needed any help with the apartment. We told him that we were putting together the bed and the desk chair before we left. We told him to hold off helping until tomorrow as we were both physically exhausted.  

The desk chair took a little longer than expected, but by 8:30 we had picked Brett up and were on our way to Bucceto’s for dinner.  The food tasted delicious and we both enjoyed telling Brett about our day.  We ended our night by playing Cameron’s new game - Hands Down Yahtzee - back at Brett’s apartment.  It was a lot of fun and a wonderful way to relax after such a busy day.  

Bloomington

I flew in last night and Brett picked me up after work. It was really nice to drive home with him and listened to him talk about his new job and his plans with Karen. We hung out in his apartment after we got back, ate breadsticks and watched a few episodes of Frasier.  It was a wonderful night. 

Today was a gloomy one in Bloomington, but a productive one nonetheless. I had a whole bunch of work to do on the computer and happy to have some downtime to finish it. I spent quite a bit of time working on Meg‘s wedding video and really loved what I put together for Doug‘s dad. During the afternoon I walked to Best Buy to look at a new computer. My MacBook is six years old and will need replaced soon. Right now it only works if it’s plugged in.  After window shopping, I walked over to Chicken Salad Chick for lunch.  They had a new southern style sandwich which I enjoyed very much.

Brett got home from work around 7 PM. He had just enough time to change and relax before Cameron pulled into the parking. I was glad that packing the van didn’t take as long as he thought it would and we were all able to go to dinner together. The boys picked Bigwoods, and we all had some fantastic meals. I wished that Doug could have been with us.  

One Last Trip for the Summer

Cameron and Alina had planned all summer to take a trip to the Indiana Dunes together before he left for college.  His trip to Florida, her job and then dental surgery kept changing their plans.  Thus, I was very glad to hear that they were finally able to go today.  Not only was the weather forecast perfect for the beach, but it was also the very last day of summer vacation for Cameron in Northern Indiana.  

Cameron called me after he dropped off Alina in Goshen tonight.  I was so happy to hear that he had a wonderful day on the beach.  He had packed a picnic lunch for the two of them and Alina bought them dinner at one of her favorite restaurants.  I loved the pictures that he shared and enjoyed listening to him talk. It was the perfect way to end a fun summer vacation.  

A New Roof?

When we bought our home several years ago, we had it inspected.  We knew from that information that we would have to repaint the outside of the house within a year and half of owning it.  The roof would need replaced, but at the time we were told that it had three to five years of life left on it.  Our house was repainted last fall and looked great.  The painter agreed that we probably had two years to three years left on the roof.  

Fast forward to this year and we realized that we couldn't actually wait until 2025 to get a new roof.  Insurance companies can require an inspection once the roof hits twenty years old.  Since our home was built in 2004, we couldn't really wait.  I began to do some research and found two reputable Ocala companies to come out and give us quotes.  Both recommended a third quote, but after the first two I knew which one I wanted.  

I contacted my roofer last night and asked a few more questions before we committed.  He answered them right away and gave me addresses of roofs that they had installed in our neighborhood so that I could see their work.  Tonight, Doug and I drove around looking at different roofs.  I was impressed with the quality and color of all three, but finally settled on one that would match our house perfectly.  Our plan is to have the project completed in September.  I can't wait to see how nice it looks.  

Getting Out of the House This Weekend

Part of the reason that I was so sad on Friday was that I had been spending a lot of time at home by myself last week.  Doug was very busy with work and I had been doing several projects for him as well.  Thus, I was really glad to get out of the house on Saturday night and most of the day Sunday.  It really lifted my spirits.  Last night we went to Gainesville for the evening with Phil.  The guys tried a few new beers including "Among the Wildflowers."  I didn't even have to taste it to realize that I loved it.  Anything named after one of my favorite Tom Petty songs had to be good.  Once they were done with their tastings, we ate dinner at Relish before heading back to Ocala.

After church today, we spent the majority of our Sunday in Orlando.  Doug wanted to check out a few places and I wanted to drive by a trendy area that I had read about.  We were very impressed with Baldwin Park.  It would be the perfect place for Meg and Nick to live if they move this way.  There were townhomes to rent, coffee shops and a lot of bike trails.

Our next stop was Epcot. We walked through the countries, ate lunch, rode a few rides and avoided the rain showers as much as possible.  The park was relatively empty due to the weather and absence of any festivals.  It was nice to be crowd free, but I think we like Epcot during the festivals better.  

Cal had sent me an article yesterday about the new Haunted Mansion beignets at Port Orleans French Quarter. I decided that we had to try them before leaving Orlando.  There was a long line, but absolutely worth it.  They used powdered sugar flavored with cookies and cream.  The pastries were also topped with vanilla and marshmallows drizzle.  I honestly thought that they were better than the original.  Either way, they were fun to try and the perfect way to end our day out. 

Hanging Out in Chicago for the Weekend

Meg called Cameron this week and invited him to visit her in Chicago this weekend.  It was perfect timing as he had a few free days and this would be his last weekend in Northern Indiana before heading back to Bloomington.  He took the train up yesterday and Meg met him at Millenium Station.  They walked to the Bean, ate hamburgers for lunch at Small Cheval, and spent the afternoon at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  An overcrowded bus caused them to walk back to Meg's apartment, but they didn't seem to mind the extra exercise.  

Tonight Nick, Cal and Maggie joined them for dinner at Parlor Pizza Bar.  Cameron loved the food and enjoyed hanging out with his siblings very much.  Nick made grasshoppers to drink afterward and they all had fun catching up back at Meg's apartment.  Cameron hadn't been to Chicago since Meg moved there last summer.  I was very glad to hear that their weekend had gone incredibly well.  Besides hanging out with my adult children, there is nothing more fun than listening to their adventures together.

Lowe's Hot Dogs

Today was definitely a lot better than yesterday.  I didn't sleep very well, but Doug finished his work well before lunchtime so that we could enjoy the rest of the day.  The first place that we decided to go was Lowe's.  Meg told me not to do any projects this weekend, but buying a planter for the wildflower seeds that Jeannette gave us at Meg's shower wasn't a project.  It was fun.  Doug also figured out how to drain the planters in the backyard.  Lately when it rained, they would be completely full of water.  That shouldn't be a problem anymore.  I really enjoyed working in the backyard and everything looked very nice when we finished.  

One other benefit to going to Lowe's today was that we finally got to try their hot dog stand.  I had read on the Ocala Restaurant FaceBook page that they had the best hot dogs in town.  They smelled delicious every time we walked about out of the store and we both always wanted to try them.  It had been months since I had eaten a hot dog and I was very excited about it.  I picked the jumbo one and Doug chose an Italian sausage.  They were just as good as I read that they were.  I wouldn't get one every weekend, but for a treat on a Saturday afternoon it was perfect and a great way to start our Saturday.

Ever Have One of Those Days

This afternoon I got completely overwhelmed and I could not stop crying.  Doug kept asking me what was wrong, but I couldn't really pinpoint the issue.  I just felt sad.  We talked for a long time and even went out to dinner at Shuckin' Shack, but nothing seemed to help.  This hasn't happened to me in a long time.  I have done a great job of holding it together through some challenging situations these past few years, but I just couldn't do it today.  Maybe it was because I had had so much fun at Meg's wedding and was sad that it was over or it could have been the reality of the end of a great summer with Cameron that may have been too much for me.  

By the end of the night I started to believe that my sadness was in direct relationship to Doug's increased workload.  I am definitely at the limit of what I can handle.  We had plans this weekend and Doug let me know this afternoon that he had received a project late in the day that could change that.  I felt like a deflated balloon after he told me.  The worst part was that Doug didn't see an end to his current situation.  That means that our weekends will never be free and making plans ahead of time will always be challenging.  I am sure that tomorrow will be better, especially after I get some sleep.  For tonight I will just try and focus on the positives in our life.  

Owie Toe

When Cameron turned two, he severed his toe. It was a very traumatic event. Thankfully, the ER doctor was able to save it. For a long time afterward, Cameron would talk about his “owie toe.” I never really knew if it still hurt or if he just remembered how bad it felt when it happened. Either way, it was awful.

This past year I’ve really been able to relate to “owie toe.”  In January, I accidentally ran into the end of Cameron‘s bed and broke my toe. Wearing a boot really helped the toe, but it messed up my sciatic nerve. My leg took forever to heal, and it really didn’t feel back to normal until the last couple of weeks. 

Unfortunately, I was in the yard weeding a few days ago and I hurt the toe again. I was super bummed. The toe now looks terrible, but at least this time I do not think it is broken. The pain is not the same, even if it looks pretty nasty. 

I guess going forward that I will have to be extremely careful.  My left leg has enough nerve damage in it that I don’t always feel it.  I realize that it’s just going to be more prone to injury. For now, I will just be thankful that I have not had the traumatic toe injury that Cameron did years ago.

A Promotion and a Brand New Start

When Brett took his job with Storage Express five years ago, he gave them a two-year commitment. It wasn’t the exact fit that he had been looking for, but he realized that having an income was better than none.  Gaining experience was also extremely important since all he really had was his education.  At the time, I encouraged him to take the job, try it for two years, and make politics his hobby. Brett did just that and five years later, he has become an important part of the Republican party in Monroe county.  He has also become successful with his job and has being promoted several times.

Last year, Storage Express was bought out by Extra Space Storage. During all the changes, Brett found out that his position wasn't an actual role at Extra Space Storage. They grandfathered him in and adapted his job to fit what they needed. The changes were hard at first. Brett liked some of them and others he did not. He adapted, however, and soon began to realize that he was one of the few left from the original Storage Express staff in Bloomington.

A few months ago, Brett found out that his position was being cut and that several others were being moved out of Bloomington as well. That seemed scary at first until they told him that they really wanted him to apply for a different possession. It would be a promotion. It would also require him to move. As much as Brett loved Bloomington, he was ready for the challenge.  It seemed like the perfect time as he had talked a lot recently about leaving Bloomington.  He had even researched other areas in Southern Indiana that he would like to live. With that knowledge he decided to apply to be a store manager in Columbus and was hired at his first interview. Brett was extremely excited, although a little nervous about starting something new.

Brett‘s first day on the job in Columbus was scheduled to start today. Last night, he said goodbye to Storage Express in Bloomington and prepared for the training that started at Extra Space Storage this morning. He called on the way home to let me know that all had gone really well. I was extremely happy to hear that.  He realized that it will take some work to learn the new system, but thankfully much of it was the exact same. This position will be more demanding physically, but he was looking forward to that. Sitting in a chair all day can get rather old. I am super proud of Brett. I know that he has worked hard the last five years. He is ready for a new start and a new challenge,  I know that he will do well.

Suvriving Another Hurricane

 The hurricane officially hit landfall on Sunday afternoon. The eye  was about 90 miles from us, which was farther away than it was last August. Because of that we thankfully did not have any tornadoes. Instead, we got a lot of rain. From Sunday afternoon until Monday morning we had 8 inches of rain in our rain gauge. We got two more over the next 24 hours making the total 10 inches of rain for this storm. it was windy, but nothing like it was last year. I was still glad that we put all of the outside furniture behind the tiki bar and found a safe space for my gnome and turtle in the garage.

I walked around the house and assess the damage this afternoon. I was surprised at how little there really was. I could hear water dripping in one of the exhaust fans, but nothing came through to the floor. There were some branches down off of the arborvitae bushes , but overall, everything looked great. I was very surprised that we had no standing water after that much rain. I couldn’t believe that the retention pond across the street was relatively dry after the storm. Doug only had to work a half-day from home on Monday morning. The plant was up and running and thankfully nobody lost power. Even our Internet stayed on throughout the storm. Both of us were thankful to have survived another hurricane.  Our fingers are crossed that this is the worst that we get this year.

Maybe Not So unny

While we were in Indiana celebrating Meg’s wedding, someone at Doug’s work left him a present. It was an IU blanket and an IU pillow. It seemed like a thoughtful gesture, especially since we were huge Hoosier football fans and had just had a wonderful week in Bloomington. 

Once Doug told me the reason that he received it, however, I didn’t think it was as great. Someone gave him this gift as a joke.  I guess they keep teasing him about sleeping there since he’s there before the rest of the office arrives and a lot of time stays until they’re after they leave. Maybe it would be funny if I wasn’t starting to really get frustrated with how much he actually is working. I know that there are projects to do and things to stay on top of, but 60 to 70 hours a week is enough. I would be extremely happy to give the blanket and the pillow back if we could just return, to 50 or 55 hours a week. Our nights wouldn’t be planned around Doug‘s work schedule and our weekends would be free to travel. 

Unfortunately, I do not see an end to this soon.  Having to work on Meg wedding day was probably the most annoying to me. Thankfully, however, it didn’t affect our weekend and being in Indiana was an awesome reminded to us of how blessed we truly are.

A Fun Weekend in the Midwest

Meg and Nick arrived in Syracuse Friday night. They were exhausted, but happy that their honeymoon had gone extremely well. It was hard adjusting to the reality that vacation was over, but they made the most of the weekend and had fun as well. Meg sorted through all of her flower centerpieces. She gave a bouquet to Grandma and enjoyed hearing about how much fun that she and Grandpa had at her wedding. The next group went to Paula and Gabrielle. They loved hearing about her honeymoon, talking about the wedding and showing Meg all of the packing that they had gotten done for their own move.

Meg and Nick also made time to get her wedding ring and engagement ring soldered together at Newcomers in Nappanee.  While they were waiting for it to finish, they visited with Kyle and Nancy. They also spent a wonderful time with Leroy and Maxine. They were happy to hear that Nick’s grandparents had really enjoyed the wedding as well.  Leroy officially welcomed Meg to the Yoder family by giving her a beloved glass chicken. Meg absolutely loved it and was thankful to finally call herself Yoder. 

I was happy to hear that all had gone well. I knew it would be sad weekend saying goodbye to their honeymoon, so I was especially glad that they had a fun weekend in the Midwest before returning to Chicago.  it would be a hard reality going back to work after all that fun, but at least they had their gifts to unpack, cards to read and stories to share with each other. 

Hurricane Kit

A week after we moved here last year, a hurricane hit North Central Florida. The eye of the storm made landfall about 50 miles from us, causing tornadoes in the Ocala area. It was intense but not too different than what we had experienced with Spring storms in Indiana. Areas closer to the coast did have some major damage. We could still see some of that six months later when we drove through Crystal River on our way to the beach.

This year I had time to be more prepared for hurricane season. According to the local meteorologist, this season could be the worst one in history. I realize that most hurricanes probably won’t reach us, but the winds, the rain and the tornadoes that it produces might. I wasn’t exactly sure what to do to get ready, but thankfully the state of Florida had a disaster supply kit checklist online. I spent time today going through that entire list to see what we had and what we needed. Most of the items were every day items that we always had on hand, first aid kit, copies of our important papers, a small generator, extra batteries, flashlights, etc. What we didn’t have was supplies in case we lost power for a few days. 

With that in mind and the threat of a storm in the next few days, I headed to Walmart with a list to pick up paper products, food that would not need to be cooked, and cases of water. I packed up everything once I showed them to Doug. I put most of the items in a tub or basket and made room for those supplies, the generator and the cases of water in our front closet. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be the first hurricane of the season. We’ve been watching it follow up through the gulf. Hopefully, it remains a tropical storm, but if not, we are definitely more than prepared. 

Honeymooning in the Keys

Everyone thought that Meg and Nick were going to Disney World for their honeymoon.  Thus, people were absolutely surprised that they actually chose Key West as their honeymoon destination.  Doug and I weren’t surprised at all as they had talked about it for quite some time. I was extremely excited for them. I had always wanted to go to the Keys. It looked beautiful and Cal said it was so much fun when he went there several years ago.

Nick and Meg left on Sunday morning and made it to Key West by early that evening. They spent five days enjoying all that Ireland had to offer. They went parasailing, took a jet ski around the island, tried snorkeling and made several trips to the beach. They visited Hemingway‘s home and loved all of the cats. They also went to a butterfly conservatory which Meg said was so much fun. They ate dinner at Sloppy Joe’s, one of Hemingway‘s favorite hangouts. They also enjoyed a meal at Margaritaville in honor of Jimmy Buffett. Meg and Nick had several romantic, candlelight meals on the beach, booked a dinner cruise and went for ice cream multiple times. They both highly recommended that we visit and bring Cameron sometime soon. Nick wanted to make it an annual trip for him and Meg.  Hopefully, they can do that if they move south someday. 

I loved  all of the texts that they sent. The pictures were just beautiful and I could see that they were having so much fun.  Meg and Nick made so many fun memories together, but I know the best part was just enjoying each other’s company. That’s what Doug and I loved most about our honeymoon as well.

Cameron Back in Indiana

 I had such a fun summer with Cameron that I was really sad to be back in a Ocala without him. I figured that he would be OK without me and was glad that he found a lot of things to do even when Alina was working. So far, he’s been able to play golf with Grandpa and with his friends from the golf team. He has hung out with his high school friends and also has played disc golf. He’s gone out to eat with a few people and has definitely played a lot of cards with grandma and grandpa. 

That is the one thing that I really miss about being in Florida. I do love to play cards with everybody. I know that my family can’t live with me forever, but it’s so much fun when they’re here. That is probably why it’s so hard when they leave. Thankfully, Meg has already talked about coming back for a visit, and Doug‘s making plans for the next time we visit the Midwest again. I will see everybody in the middle of August when Cameron moves in to his apartment. I’m already looking forward to it.