Ahh Vacation (Part Three - Returning... the bummer). My time to escape came to a close Sunday morning (the 7th). Up early and off the ship, to the airport by 9ish and waiting for flights. My sister and niece got lucky and managed to get on an earlier flight from standby. I, on the other hand, sat until nearly 1pm for my flight to DC and then until after 5 for the flight from there to the Jingle. It was a long day, but the worst was knowing I'd get home too late to get the girls. I hate sleeping here without them. Instead they were picked up first thing this morning, before I headed to... that place. Yep, back to work.

We came back also to find out that my mother was admitted to the hospital bright and shiny on Sunday. The heat and humidity had her feeling crappy for a while which lead to this trip in. They didn't let her out today because her heart rate is up and it sounds like she's got a new arsenal of meds at the time being. Nothing sounded pressing enough that I should head to Altoona. Let's just hope it stays that way.

The good news at work is that things progressed nicely while I was gone. I knew the folks here were capable, but I guess I expected more strife from what we needed to accomplish. I did feel bad leaving some of the harder things behind for someone else. The bad news is seeing some people and listening to planning for fun activities that underline my distaste for the situation. More return good news is seeing the possibility of tasking after August on another project. Definitely a comforting thought.

Ahh vacation (Part Two - Freedom of the Seas).

Sunday, the 31st, we took the shuttle to Port Canaveral to meet up with Ms Freedom. Sure, after being on Oasis last fall, she may not seem as huge as she is, but she's another beauty. A few misc notes:

• One flow rider, so the lines were longer
  
• Some new meals at dinner time
  
• No art going on onboard aside from the Britto store
  
• No waits to get onboard, thanks to being a Diamond member and nightly free drinkage in the C&A lounge
  
• Nice shows, but I'll say that this ice show wasn't as extravagant as those on Explorer
  
• Lots of (excellent) music going on onboard, but thinner in activities, particularly on at sea days than what I'm use to

Our first full day was spent at Cococay. This is my second visit here, and it was still every bit as lovely. Freedom is much bigger than the ship I previously visited there with, so there were more people along the back side, but it was still pretty quiet as we sat and enjoyed the sun, the gentle breeze, the lapping waves, and the fish. Along the paths we saw a TON of geckos and hermit crabs scurrying about.

Thanks to hurricane Emily the announced pretty early that we had a change of itinerary. Instead of revisiting St Thomas and St Maarten we headed to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. This had us hustling to pick replacement excursions. In Grand Cayman we headed to a few places I had been before, but still enjoyed - Hell and the Turtle Farm. After getting back onboard we snarfed down some Johnny Rockets and soaked in the whirlpool. At this point I had a good bit of sun, but not as severe as I have in the past. See, I was a good girl and put a good bit of 50 SPF on! Cozumel day had us heading to a clear kayak and beach snorkel which was pretty nice - ESPECIALLY FOR MEXICO. Have I ever mentioned how not fond I am? In port we were parked next to Oasis, so we were able to clearly see the size difference. I did manage to pop my left ear quite well while diving down during snorkeling. Eeesh that hurt like a bitch.

This nice part of this cruise was having two more days at sea to just relax and recuperate. In one hour sitting on deck to watch the belly flop competition (always entertaining) I got a solid burn on my legs and arms... yay, I actually have a tan!

Let's be clear, I didn't even plan/try to stay on any kind of diet while away. I sure could have done without heading up 6 lbs. Ouch. The icing on the (fat-ass) cake was the chocolate breakfast on Saturday. Time to totally refocus on the 17 day diet. I say that, but yet, tonight I haven't made time to hit the treadmill. There is just always so much needing attention after a week away (missed calls, emails, text messages, giving the dogs attention, grocery store runs, etc).

Ahh vacation (Part One - Orlando). The day I went away (the 28th) it was raining, which is long overdue, and it appears to have rained the day I returned too. I've been told we got plenty while I was gone, which would explain the bird bath being full and the grass I thought dead being green again! This time I managed to snag a nicely priced flight out of Johnstown. With what it costs at airports to park (it's free here) and the cost of gas, it just made sense.

The first two days were spent in Orlando, hitting up Universal Studios. We booked through their site and ended up at a Fairfield. The hotel wasn't dirty, but it wasn't what I've grown accustom to, sadly, especially for the prices. Let me tell you about sticker shock when you're a frequent cruiser who's shopping to spend just a mere two days and three nights in Orlando near the parks! They had a shuttle to and from the hotel to the parks, but the hotels aren't on the main bus routes and direct shuttles were obscenely priced as well. We managed to get there with a bus ride followed by a short taxi ride, less than desirable, but way cheaper than the shuttles. Meh, I'm a cheap bastage.

Our first day there was spent at Islands of Adventure, the primary destination, so the girl-child could check out the Harry Potter area - which was AWESOME. LOVE LOVE LOVE the main ride/attraction in there, and the streets capture the feel beautifully. The butter beer was yummy too :) The park as a whole has a nice balance between young kid areas and entertainment for the more mature tastes. By damn it was hot those two days though, I'll tell you what. The morning wasn't too awful, but by 2pm I was sweated totally through. Day two was the regular Universal Studios park. I remember being there when I was in high school for music in the parks, and still love my photo of the Psycho house from way back then... too bad it's long gone now. We enjoyed the Mummy coaster in this park the most and rocked out some time watching Barney (yes the big purple dinosaur). I can't believe my nephew was wee little when that was popular. I'm old.

Three parties closed out last night and lots of other small to dos accomplished. I don't know how or why, but I woke up at 5 again this morning. So, I decided to head to the bathroom. That said, it's my fault, the dogs didn't wake me, but I'm still peeved that Saffy found yet another rabbit outside at that hour. She didn't fight to keep it from me this time, thank goodness, and I did manage to fall back asleep for a while before the alarm went off.

Many more things crossed off of the list this morning, including a 45 minute spurt on the treadmill. I'll call that a pretty good start to a few days out of the office and vacation time well spent.

One of the longer work days (eva) went pretty fast. 11 hours in and some major frustrations along the way. SO glad that's done. I need some down time, but first these last few things need crossed off. I wonder which one I'll be in the middle of when I fall asleep against my will.

I thought I noticed the thistle bird feeder going down in quantity! At last this summer I've attracted a purple finch to the yard. She was there last night and I caught her having a snack again this morning. Yay!

Have I sung the praises of my central air recently? "No pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater... than central air" - indeed. The heat here has been quite the bear. I know other parts of the country are getting it too, we're simply not use to this and most places (particularly homes) aren't equipped. Mom's been fighting to keep her house reasonable and seemed pretty good yesterday. Pretty good being not on constant oxygen despite the high humidity and temps.

Yesterday I had another purse party in toona, so I made it a day hanging out with her. This was with the pack of my favorite wild gals down there, so it was truly a pleasure. The house isn't super tidy right now, but when is it? I can say it's still better than normal despite my neglect this weekend. Time to get on a few little things here now that I've returned calls. I've got so much to get wrapped up in the next few days.

Why am I awake already? I'll blame the dogs. I did get to bed at a decent hour last night too as I was beat. Up and to work a bit early, already had plenty of time in, so I left early too. From there an early dinner with Rex. The good news here is that his gram's spirits are up and she seemed to be doing way better than he anticipated.

Trying to take him somewhere new we went to the Pasta Shoppe (only my second time there). As you can imagine 95% of their options are pasta, so I broke diet once again *sigh* between the pasta and the bread I allowed myself I'm up 1.5 lbs today from yesterday. I just don't understand how bodies manage to do that.

Anyhow, from there I further irritated the dogs by heading to the Law household for a little get together. As always it was way over the top and irresistible. That would be why I had a mojito and still ate a couple meatballs and deviled eggs on top of my already full tummy.

Regardless I'm up and my eyes are finally focused this morning. Now to get on the treadmill and get that over wish before I head into my must dos today.

Ok, birthdays are always just blah. I made it through most of the day okay until a friend put the idea of going for dinner w/ other people into my head. I was just going to go to my hair appointment and then come home and cook dinner, but instead I tried by inviting a few ppl out... none of which I heard back from. The friend who originated the idea had plans w/ family already which I was invited to, but it was earlier than I could make due to the appointment. So, I went and ate by myself, scarfing down crap that isn't on my diet by a long shot, didn't eat all of it. Also stopped for ice cream, didn't eat all of it either, thank goodness.

I came home to get nagged by another friend about going for beer which made me grumpy. Even when I'm not trying to lose weight booze and desserts in the same sitting are not an option, which just made me think about all of the other shit I just ate and drove me to the treadmill, which was quite necessary.

Straight off of there I got to spend about 10 minutes out in the heat trying to pry a dead rabbit (is that number 3 or 4 for the year) out of Saffy's mouth. *sigh* Back in to hear a friend is heading back to town as his gram is really not doing well. TRULY a major shift from tolerable to inexcusably saddening and frustrating end of the day. Why do sweet, kind people end up suffering through cancer consuming them while the assholes of this world get to march along on their merry way breaking hearts and getting to live happy lives.

He snuck into another dream last night. In this one he was dead. Should I take that as a promising sign? Unfortunately, the very fresh dream stuck with me most of the day. I've been in training all day yesterday and today, so sometimes allowing my mind to wander is about the only thing keeping me awake. Man is not made to sit in a classroom setting viewing powerpoint slides for 8 hours a day.

I have nothing exciting to say really. Got the fence folks here tonight, should have an estimate for those repairs in the next few days. Haven't heard back from my other repair guy other than that he's not interested in the drain/plumbing work that is urgent unless he gets more work out of it - but I can't afford to drop the ton of dough on the other tasks I had him spec out. So, I guess I leave the drain clogged to all hell and leaking into the garage as a result? Thanks.

Yesterday was the yearly day out with my two closest girlfriends for some shopping at the outlets. All three of us have birthdays within weeks of one another, so it's easier to just celebrate all at once. I really don't need to be shopping, but I did end up buying a couple things. Admittedly, the pair of jean shorts I bought needed bought simply for the size they told me I was once again, gotta love that. I also snagged a really cute professional skirt off of a sale rack that would be excellent for interviews (if only I had a lead on some). As always, I get sucked in a bit at Harry and David, bit I did manage to stay away from buying sweets.

Today I've done a bit of cleaning, after sleeping in 'late' (by my recent standards). For the first time in a while I can walk the whole way around my dining room table as the boxes of things I brought home from work how long ago have been disbanded. I think that's a sure sign that I don't plan on moving them back there, yes? Of course as things were thrown away and moved into piles to keep those piles went upstairs, which still needs more things purged or boxed.

I tried to stop and sell the DVDs that I boxed up weeks ago, but the place I normally hit was closed yesterday morning before we left for the outlets. I really do want to get rid of things, I just have too much crap.

For now, since I'm sneezing from all of the dust I've kicked up, I think I'll spend a bit of time on the treadmill watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Maybe then I'll hit the grocery store for some fresh meat. I'm back onto the first phase of the 17 day diet, so I need to buckle down again.

I want nothing more than to just sit... but I know I'll regret it if I don't get things off of the list tonight, so, here I pause after doing dishes, vacuuming, putting the third load of laundry in the washer, watering plants, and dusting. I need to get my butt on the treadmill now so I can make some calls by 9. So much for getting to sit. I'm grateful I at least got a massage in earlier today. It works wonders for my sanity.

I'm a tired gal and feel behind once again. Tonight there was work to finish the concrete block painting out back (I didn't partake there) and then dealing with more tree limbs. Another huge pile is out front, I'm sure the neighbors will love that.

I had a repair guy come today to give me some estimates for things that need handled here... oof. Why is everything so frickin expensive. Really, $600 for a new steel door from the garage out to the back yard? Of course, without the bundle of things they're not much interested in fixing the leak in the apartment's shower that is dripping into the garage. Not cool. I can't even believe how crammed and backed up that shower is - but that's a whole other story I won't go into here as it just bums me out.