On Our Own

For the first time since January 20, Doug and I were alone tonight. We both love visiting our family and hosting them, but it was nice just to relax in a quiet house all by ourselves. We ordered Doug’s favorite pizza from Marco’s, sat on the back porch with the Tiki‘s lit, got out the ticket to ride board, and watched several episodes of Modern Family.

We did hear from all of our children tonight, which was very nice. We were glad that they were enjoying their evening as well. Living in Florida is a lot different than I ever thought it would be. We have a lot more visitors and we travel more, but overall, we absolutely love it here in Ocala and are thankful for nights like these to share in between the hustle and bustle of our busy life.

Safely Back to Indiana

I was really glad that we stayed in Tampa last night as I woke up at 1:30 a.m. and couldn't fall back to sleep.  I was surprised as I had fallen asleep well before 9:30, but for whatever reason, I couldn't sleep more than four hours.  Thankfully, I did not have a long drive to the airport and was able to get my parents to Tampa International well before their 7:10 a.m. flight time.  In the end it worked out very well that we were early as I had never checked a bag at Tampa.  We found the Southwest counter fairly quickly and checked in their bags easily.  While we were there, I asked if I could get an all-gate pass to go with my parents to the terminal.  I had never tried before and was extremely pleased that they would allow it.  I knew that would make my parents trip through the terminal a lot easier.

I was surprised to see short lines at security as Orlando is usually packed first thing in the morning.  Fortunately, that was not the case today, and we found their gate without any issues.  My parents grabbed drinks once we arrived at our seats and enjoyed the muffins they brought.  I was happy to see that the plane was already there, so all we had to do was relax and wait for their A boarding passes to be called.  Once my parents scanned in, I headed back to the hotel.  I grabbed a bagel for breakfast and went straight to the room.  I was exhausted and ready for a nap.  

I was up and ready to go home well before check-out time at 11 a.m.  I called my parents once I got onto I-75 to see how they fared in the Indianapolis airport.  They had no issues finding the baggage claim, getting their luggage, and catching the shuttle to economy parking.  We had found a spot right next to the shelter two weeks ago, so I knew that they would find their car without any issue.  I was a little bit worried about the ice storm that hit Northern Indiana last night, so I was glad to hear that they did not have any issues on the way home.  

It had been a great two weeks with my parents here in Florida.  My dad was able to play a lot of golf and my mom and I had fun shopping.  Although I didn't win any games of Oh Hell, it was great to play one of our favorite card games. We tried a few local restaurants while they were here and enjoyed Doug's homecoming as well.  I especially appreciate all of the help around the house while they were here.  My mom and I replanted multiple outdoor pots and went grocery shopping multiple times.  My dad helped me replace all of the outdoor outlet covers, fix the doorbell (ok, it only needed batteries, but I still appreciated it), replaced my sink drain, repaired a leaky faucet, showed me how to replace an old faucet handle and encouraged me to try Lime Away on my water-stained bathroom countertop.  For less than $50, my bathroom looked fantastic for which I was extremely thankful.  Overall, it was a great vacation for them and a nice visit for us.

Tampa

Today was my parents last full day in Florida and we made the most of it.  My dad and I played Jeopardy, then the three of us caught up on Chicago Fire and Chicago PD finishing two of the best episodes that I had seen in quite some time.  We then finished the last of the projects on my to-do list before heading south.

Since my parents' flight was extremely early tomorrow morning, we decided to get a hotel in Tampa.  Everything near the airport was over $400, so I chose a Spark by Hilton twenty minutes away that saved us $300. It ended up being very nice and close to several restaurants for dinner.  Before we checked in to the hotel, I took my parents to the beach that we found when we dropped Cameron off at the airport in November.  Traffic was heavy, but I was glad that we made the trip.  The beach was beautiful as always and driving there gave me the opportunity to see our path in the morning while it was still light.  

After enjoying the sunshine, sand and view of the bay, we headed to the hotel to check-in.  The staff was extremely friendly and our room was very clean.  I had seen that there was a Ford's Garage nearby and suggested it for dinner.  We stopped at the darkest 7-11 that I had ever seen beforehand, but we had a full tank for the drive tomorrow before we ate.  Ford's Garage was louder than normal, but my parents enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.  I was glad as it was one of our family's favorites.  None of us stayed up late, as we had to get up at 4 a.m. this morning, but we did have time to enjoy some television in the room before falling asleep.

Nerd Status

Cameron decided to sign up for bowling this semester.  It was a one credit class that he would take at the IMU bowling alley where he would learn tips to become a better bowler and how to keep score on his own.  He was excited to take it as he had always enjoyed bowling.  I remembered that Doug had really liked taking Health, Physical Education and Recreation classes at IU like bass fishing and volleyball, so I knew that Cameron would enjoy his HYPR class as well.  

The bowling class turned into Cameron joining an intramural bowling league with one of his roommates and several of the guys from SAB.  He knew that he might be the weakest one on his team but was really excited about it anyway.  Cora was also in a bowling league, so they went to Classic Lanes and practiced a few times before it started.  Cameron's goal was to break a hundred each time he bowled in the league and have fun as well.

After his most recent match, a video of him bowling a strike showed up on our camera reel.  It was fun to watch and nice to see Cameron having a great time with his friends.  Meg sent me a message shortly after I saw the video to let me know what a nerd Cameron was for his newfound interest in bowling.  She then gave him a hard time about "celebrating like he won the Super Bowl" just because he bowled a strike.  He instantly disagreed and an all-day debate continued between the two of them on whether Cameron was a nerd or not for being on a bowling league.

I heard Meg's story for most of the day, but Cameron did call to give his side.  He felt that he wasn't a nerd for being on an intramural bowling team and that the video was actually really cool.  I stopped him after a few minutes and broke the bad news to him.  For the first time in a long time, I actually agreed with Meg.  There was no way that Cameron could argue that being on a bowling team wasn't nerdy.  In fact, it may have solidified his nerd status in the Heinisch family.  It didn't mean that I wasn't impressed with the video, but that it was pretty hard to argue against Meg's point after seeing it.  He let me know that he was "disappointed" as a boy's mom was always supposed to support him in everything he does.  I disagreed again and explained that I would always support him, but there was no way that I could say that he was not a nerd while he is taking a bowling class and was part of a bowling league.  He finally reluctantly agreed with me.

A Strange Diet

For whatever reason, I have always been able to gain weight a lot easier than my peers.  Thus, I have been watching my weight since I was in seventh grade, and have spent a lifetime of limiting snacks, staying away from fried foods and cutting my portions.  Last spring, my new family physician suggested trying a Mediterranean diet instead, naturally limiting the amount of sugar that I ate.  I was amazed at how easy it was to follow and how quickly I lost thirty pounds.  It also helped to greatly reduced my familial high cholesterol which had grown to a dangerous level.

The Mediterranean diet not only benefitted me from a health standpoint, but it also helped me pinpoint a problem that I had been having for the last fifteen years with intestinal issues.  With the new way of eating, I had reduced my intake of dairy products and noticed a difference right away.  I then started taking note of other foods that were causing issues.  The next one to go was lettuce.  My body just couldn't handle it.  Egg intolerance was a recent one that I added to the list.  Lastly, over the weekend, I decided that corn would now be avoided at all costs.  I know this leaves me with some odd choices to eat at times, especially when we go out to dinner as cheese is an add on in almost every dish.  I will also miss taco salads, corn casserole and my daily lunch of egg whites and tuna.  I will keep eating "weird" however, as it sure beats the consequences.  

Although Doug really enjoys the Mediterranean diet, I told him that I didn't expect him to follow it as closely as I had too recently.  He should definitely continue eating the foods that he loves, but I did have one request. I hoped to limit M & Ms in our home and some of my other favorite candies.  Even though I knew they weren't good for me, I realized that I wouldn't be able to resist them.  He had no problem with that, and I appreciate him changing his lifestyle for my strange diet.

A Wonderful Weekend for All

I heard from all of our children this weekend and was glad to learn that each of them had enjoyed the past two days.  Brett went to Karen's where they attended mass and worked on wedding plans including some wine tasting at several local wineries.  Cal hung out at Maggie's enjoying his newfound drink, tea with honey.  He hadn't gotten used to the taste, but it did help with his ear pain.  They also went to out to dinner with Maggie's parents for restaurant week which they both really liked.

Meg invited Gabrielle up for the weekend.  They tried press-on nails, went to dinner and baked.  Meg really enjoyed catching up with her longtime friend.  Cameron spent quite a bit of time with SAB this weekend, including coaching an intramural basketball game at Assembly Hall and attending the IU women's basketball game, several tennis matches and wrestling as well.  

Besides spending time with Doug, the best part of my weekends is always hearing about the adventures of my children.  It is incredibly nice to know that all of them are happy and have friends or significant others in their lives that make their weekends entertaining.  I look forward to hearing about what they have planned next.  

Enjoying Ocala

We let Doug pick what we did today as he was the one who had worked all week.  He suggested the Ocala's Famers Market and lunch downtown afterward.  I was glad to hear that as I loved spending time in downtown Ocala, and we hadn't taken my parents there this visit.  I also realized that it would give us a chance to go to Grandpa Joe's candy store as well.  

We arrived around 10:30 this morning and were surprised to see that there was nowhere to park.  We had been several times before and had never had a problem parking close to the market.  We finally found a spot downtown and decided to walk the several blocks to our destination.  That was when we figured out why there were extra visitors to the area.  There was a Bluegrass Festival in Citizen's Circle Park.  It hadn't started yet, but the bands practicing sounded great.  Doug said that he would like to attend it next year.

The market was filled with a lot more booths than we had seen in the past and each aisle was packed with shoppers.  Doug picked out some okra and eggplant at the vegetable stand while I looked through the other vendors' stores.  While shopping, I was surprised to find a Kokedama, which was a Japanese form of gardening that I had learned about from a Master Gardener at a CCW meeting last spring.  Doug and I found out how to care for them from the same Master Gardener and picked out one to bring home with us.

After the market, we walked downtown to look for a spot for lunch.  Grandpa decided on Brick City Kitchen.  We didn't complain as it was our favorite restaurant in Ocala.  I had salmon while everyone else got sandwiches.  The food was absolutely delicious.  We then stopped at Grandpa Joe's for dessert.  

Once we got back to our car, I suggested The Appleton Art Museum which was a few miles away toward Silver Springs.  It was the first Saturday of the month, so admission was free for all.  We didn't know what to expect but really enjoyed it.  Doug even found some Nigerian statues that looked like the ones that his father brought back from his time in the Peace Corps.  Our day out in Ocala ended there as we headed home after the museum.  It had been a wonderful day, and I was glad that we got to share some of our new hometown with my parents.