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.