Category: vacation

I can hardly believe this week has arrived. I am so ready to go on vacation.

The countdown is on!

Click here to see my vacation countdown. Yep, just a little bit excited.

I’m still waiting to hear from my cousin to finalize that part of my trip. I can’t wait to see him and his family. I’ve really missed him!

I’m glad this week is over. I’m fighting off a sinus infection and took the day to clean and rest. I don’t want to be sick! I have a vacation in 25 days, so I will do what I have to do if I need to… just don’t want to…

I’ll be in California!

Slightly excited. 🙂

As you can see, I’m still a bit excited over my trip. Of course, the accident that caused this will cause Meg and I to go to SanFrancisco via another road.

I am growing more excited by the day, if that’s possible. I am looking forward to spending time relaxing and having fun, making good use of my digital camera, and hopefully stirring up my creative juices.

6 weeks, and then I’m California bound!

I JUST BOUGHT MY PLANE TICKET TO CALIFORNIA!!

I am a bit excited. 🙂

Just a bit.

Jene’ worked her magic and got me a good price and I don’t have to change planes or get up at the crack of dawn. She’s such a bargain diva.

Did I mention I just bought my plane ticket for my first vacation in YEARS?

I think you may have heard me the first time, but thanks for letting me say it again. And I’ll probably say it again.

And again. ha ha

The first weekend of my California trip promises to be busy. So far, we’ve planned to go to Lake Tahoe for two days, then I hope to see my aunt and her family sometime that weekend as well.

After a recovery day from all that, I hope to go to San Francisco with my personal tour guide, Meg. We’ve been discussing where I’d like to go and so far, we’re going to try to do everything in one day (ha ha).

Here are some possibilities so far:

Coit Tower – which promises some great views.

The Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park which are high on my list.

Pier 39 , which is mostly shopping, so we may skip that and Fisherman’s Wharf .

And of course, who wouldn’t want to see Alcatraz?

That’s the update so far. I am still very excited about this trip… can you tell?

My vacation itinerary is starting to take shape.

Apparently, one activity I will embark on is KAYAKING.

The more that fact has sunk in, the more I’m noticing the difference between a CANOE (which I grew up using) and a KAYAK.

Whatever happens, I’m up for it. I’m going to be doing so many new things and going new places and, in case you couldn’t tell… I’m just a little bit excited!

The California itinerary is beginning to take shape. Sharon asked me today if I’d been to Lake Tahoe and I nearly spit my Propel all over my computer at work today. Lake Tahoe? Um… let me think… nope, never been there. Do I want to go? How do I be subtle about this? YES! I can’t wait. I love to see new places and this entire trip I’ll be going places I’ve never been to before.

90 days will fly by… I hope!

In June, I am taking a trip to northern California to see my friend Sharon. We were best friends in college and we were partners in crime, I mean fun. Pixie sticks + Honda Accord + Interstate = a trip to Louisville, just because. Yeah. She taught me all about the word, “spontaneous.”

Now, sixteen years later, we’re still great friends and I’m looking for some adventure. I know right where to go. I may also get to see my friend Meg and some family in the Bay area.

I am looking forward to the trip! 97 days and counting!

Not only did I take a vacation from blogging, I actually had a week off from work. A very relaxing week, though I did not actually leave town. I had a loaner car (my car is parked for at least another week) so at least I could leave the house and get some things accomplished.

Monday, the official start of my vacation, was very relaxing. Houston was on the tail end of a week of downpours, but the sky was dark and the rain kept falling all day. I went to the Galleria, a mall so spectacular, it is on the official list of things to see in Houston. The mall houses all types of stores, but in Galleria I, the second floor has many designer shops including Armani, Jimmy Choo (where a pair of sandals is a bargain price of $450), Versace and more. The rest of the mall is for regular folks like me. Ha ha.

I arrived at the mall an hour before the stores opened. I got a good parking space, which was great, because I was driving a loaner car (a 1990 blue Thunderbird) and I wanted to make sure I could find when I came back out.

First, I stopped at the post office on the food court level to get some stamps and ask about airmail. The lady was nice and very talkative, something I rarely find at the post office, unfortunately. We talked about her son, who is in high school. Apparently, he keeps turning down scholarships and educational opportunities because, “he might not want to be a doctor,” or he might not “go into science.” She is very frustrated with him, and I can understand that. He won’t even check out these opportunities. I’m not saying that this kid has to know what he wants to be right this very second, but how will he know if he doesn’t want to go into science if he doesn’t try it out first? I’m afraid this is a boy who will wake up in a few years and kick himself for not taking these opportunities.

Since it was still early, I went to the ice rink to watch some skaters practice. In one end of the ice rink is a three story Christmas tree that the skaters must maneuver around. There were four young girls there that early, and I suppose since they were of school age, for the holiday, they got a “late” practice (most schools close the entire week of Thanksgiving here in Houston).

One girl in particular was working on her arm movements as she did her jumps. In her hip pocket was a pad of sorts, to cushion her as she fell, and she fell many times. She looked to be 12-13 years old, and had great enthusiasm during the entire practice. She had a very patient and fun loving coach, and as a result, she was having a great time and by the end of practice nearly had the arm movements down.

Another girl, a bit younger, maybe 10 or 11 years old, had a very grouchy, stern coach. I could tell this was a girl who really enjoyed what she was doing, she bounced right back up when she fell, and she smiled when she made mistakes. The coach, however, was not so nice. She scolded the girl for laughing and she rarely praised her when she did get soemthing right. I felt sorry for the little girl. Unless she gets some encouragement, this coach will kill her joy and after the joy is gone, she’ll most likely quit.

I think you’ll have a better chance of seeing girl #1 in competition someday because her coach keeps it fun, yet disciplined.

As I waited the last fifteen minutes before the stores opened, I saw some power walkers who should have said no to the spandex they were wearing, Then practice was over and I started to peruse the shops.

Later that day, I got my hair cut, went grocery shopping and bought my first turkey, and it stopped raining. A very good day.

Tuesday, I went to lunch with a friend of mine who was visiting from Missouri. I didn’t get to talk to her as much as I liked, but it was good Chinese food and we laughed and had a good time. Then I took my friend C (whom you can read about our great emergency room adventure here: Adventures in Emergency Room ) to the new IKEA which just so happens to be next door to the Chinese restaurant. We spent over 2 1/2 hours exploring almost every chair and gadget in the store. It was fun, and we escaped the torrential rains by staying indoors.

Jene’ and I watched Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban. All in all, a good second day of vacation.

Wednesday, Jene’ and I went to Target to pick up U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, which was on sale for $9.99. They were out, so I got a raincheck for the price and we continued to shop. We went to Ross, and then went home…watched Prisoner of Azkaban again.

Thursday, had great Thanksgiving feast for two. Watched the Indianapolis Colts pummel the Detroit Lions while chopping potatoes. Managed not to cut off any of my fingers while chopping. Watched tv and went to bed full and happy…until the indigestion hit.

You see, I’ve lost 17 pounds since August. I eat small meals about 3 or 4 times a day. I don’t know why I lost my mind and ate so much (and in hindsight, it wasn’t THAT much but compared to what I have been eating). About two o’clock in the morning, my stomach was churning. After a few TUMS, I felt a little better, but I so paid for overeating, and I was so happy about it. Happy because the changes I’ve been making the past few months really have worked and now the old way of eating makes me sick. WOO HOO!

Friday, had no desire to fight traffic or the bargain-hunting hordes. Stayed home. Did Christmas cards, wrote letters, learned some Tai Chi and chilled out. Started to feel a bit bored, though. Vacations are good if you have something to do.

Saturday, I got up and went to Walgreens in my yoga pants, a t-shirt, no makeup and dirty hair. You don’t understand, I never do this. This time, I didn’t care. Major milestone for me. Besides I needed to buy hair color and more Tums, and to color your hair, it has to be dirty, so washing it before going out would have been pointless… but I digress. Found a 4-in-1 chess/checkers/backgammon/tic-tac-toe game for less than $10 and purchased it. Went back home, colored my hair, did laundry, read up on how to play chess (still working on that) and stayed busy all day.

Today, at some point, we’ll get out the Christmas tree and start decorating. I will go to church at 6 for my first official Advent Sunday and then to another Target to see if I can find the U2 CD and then gas up the loaner car before I have to return it tomorrow morning and go back to begging rides to work.

All in all, a good week. Next vacation, though, I hope to get out of town a bit and be a bit busier, while still taking my down time as needed. I feel refreshed and I haven’t felt that in a long time.

Now that you know way too much about what I’ve been up to, what have y’all been up to?