A Bit of Winter Pretty

This was just a really pretty pond that was all froze up.

I took these pictures for my Florida-born friend who couldn't remember ever having seen a body of water completely frozen over. 

Road Trip!

Last week, I was able to go home for a few days.  I had to turn in my rental car and take care of a bunch of relo paperwork with The Man, but aside from the 'business' part of my trip, I really needed to see my people!  It was good to get home, but man-oh-man, what a whirlwind!

This is what waited for me - a month of mail - ugh!  I haven't made it through the stacks yet, but I brought all of it with me.  In between work and meeting everyone for dinner, I managed to declutter the house (just don't look in the garage), meet with the realtor to finalize the listing stuff, and pack up my car.

Oh my goodness!  I really don't have room for any of this in the hotel, but once I got started the stuff just seemed to multiply.  Best friend, Mel, is awesome and she rode shotgun for the entire drive.  I left a little, tee-tiny spot for her bag on the other side of the back seat.

Then we wedged ourselves into the front seat and started on the long, long drive.  It was 17 hours of drive time, but it took us a bit longer because we may - or may not - have stopped at an outlet mall.  The time went really quickly.  We drove about 10 hours the first day and stopped in St. Louis for the night.  I felt extremely uptown as I strolled into the hotel carrying my Ikea luggage.

The next day, we saw our first snow.  It's been a fairly mild winter - thank goodness!  And that made for an easier drive, too - the roads were clear all the way.

We did see some areas that were frozen - the rivers and ponds were really pretty.

When we finally arrived at my home away from home, we unloaded most of the junk out of my car (some is just going to stay in there until I move into my more permanent home).  Here I am trying to sort through various bags and find a place for everything.  Ugh - I'm going to have to upgrade to the 2-bedroom suite just so I can have a place for all of it!

And lookin' oh so pretty after that 2-day drive - but obviously pretty darn happy to be out of the car!

Spring in Texas & the Crazy Girl

Do not get in between me and my ability to go home.  That's all I can say...

I was in Houston yesterday for work, and when we (a co-worker and me) got to the airport to go home, we found out the three flights before ours were cancelled due to weather, and ours was delayed for at least an hour, probably more.

It's an hour flight from Houston to Dallas, plus we were at the airport an hour early.  Add that to the one hour delay (at least), and that's three hours.  It's a 4 hour drive.  So, what did I do?  Rent a car. 

The weather was FINE (not one single rain drop) until we were about 60 miles south of Dallas.  Then, the heavens opened up!  This is what the sky looked like. 

It got really green and there was a wall cloud in front of us.  My poor passenger is not from Texas, so she doesn't ignore storm warnings.  If you grow up in Texas, you know that we have tornado warnings and thunder bumpers every other day during the spring.  If you get worked up about it, you are going to be a nervous wreck for about 2 months - it's not worth it.  Most of the time, it's just a little wind, just a little rain and a lot of noise - no big deal!

   

At one point before the big rain started, the clouds in front of us did look a bit like this.  Again, I told my passenger, "it's fine, it's just a storm - it's nothing."

I never felt like the wind was blowing the car, but man-oh-man, the rain was coming down in buckets and the hail was INSANE.  It was soooo loud hitting the car - the sound was probably the scariest part.  I think the other drivers on the road were probably more dangerous than the storm.  The person in front of me slowed down to about 20 mph - in the fast lane - and I had cars screaming up behind me. 

Once we were able to pass that person, I maintained about 30 - 45 mph - in the slow lane - until we could see past the hood of the car. 

The sky went from cloudy but fairly bright, to green (never a good color for the sky), to black like night, then it started to get a bit brighter, and within about 20 minutes, it looked like this.

By the time we pulled into Dallas, it was SUNNY!  Are you kidding me?!  They cancelled flights and it was SUNNY?!  (Actually, the weather around here changes on a dime - just wait 15 minutes, and it will be different.)

My poor friend/co-worker!  During the big rain and hail, I can't tell you how many times she asked if we should pull over.  I just kept saying "No, we're ok."  I was on a mission to get home.

Bless her heart! When I got home, and saw on the news that four tornadoes touched down in the area we were driving through - at the time we were driving through it - I felt a tiny twinge of guilt - and a whole lot of grateful to have made it through ok!  After I reflected on it a bit, I felt bad that she had to ride home with this crazy girl!

But...I was really happy to be home!



(Picture Source)

Fat Girls Shouldn't Fly

We've been out of town the past few days.  We went to Cincinnati to visit Joe's family.  We had a good time just hanging out and visiting.  It was lovely.

The flight home, however, was AWFUL!  On the upside, Joe travels quite a bit and has pretty high status on American, so we were able to get seats in an exit row.  This was good, but... we are not little people, and airplane seats are not made for big girls.

Crammed into this tiny spot might have been bearable if it hadn't been for the temperature of the plane.  Oh.My.Goodness! I'm normally cold - all the time- so I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say it was at least 90 degrees in there.  (forgive the blurry phone pics)

I took off my coat, my sweater, my ball cap (bad hair day), AND my shoes. If I didn't think I would go to jail (or the crazy house), I probably would have gotten nekid! (Have I made it clear that I was uncomfortable?)The temperature made me a little - shall we say... irritable.  So, compound that with being a big girl wedged into a small seat, the baby that would scream every time I dozed off, and the sun shining in from the window across the aisle, and I was MISERABLE!

We asked the flight attendant to turn the heat down... puh-lease! But she said they were "freezing" at the front.  I watched the people in the first few rows taking their coats off.  Shall we take a guess at who may have been cold???  Hmmmm.....

Anyway, Joe had left the car with the airport valet.  They were there when we arrived - this was nice - but they'd parked it in a 3" puddle of water.  Argh!  This probably wouldn't have bothered me if I weren't already grumpy.

I know I'm being extremely un-gracious - it won't matter tomorrow.  I am glad to be home, and I had a NAP this afternoon - so all is much better already! 

Lesson learned:  my goal (not resolution) for next year is to lose some of this weight so I don't have experiences like this in the future.  Thinking about other "to do's" for the coming year and starting to make my list.  What about you?  What would you like to achieve in 2011?

Thirsty?

Geez! I took a ton of water tower pictures... Don't ask me why - I just thought they were kind of cool, and I find it interesting what a town would choose to put out there to represent itself.

I thought this one of the apple basket was especially clever.

And this one of the hot air balloon.

I'm not sure what this last one was, but it was neat. It's some building in Memphis (I think).

OK - so this was just a little filler - I'm working on lots of posts for the next few days, but none of them are quite ready yet. I should have something more fun to post tomorrow. Have a great day!

The Road Goes On Forever

I started home later than I had planned... remember, I said it was hard to leave. I just fussed around like the mama hen until I was about to be kicked out.

So back along the Virginia Creeper Trail. Something about that name makes me uneasy - like I expect it to be haunted by all kinds of pervs and weirdos. I don't think the name does the scenery any justice.



I don't know what this is or where it is - somewhere in Virginia or Tennessee. Again, something about it made me uneasy. It looked out of place.



This, however, looked perfect.

And the road goes on forever....

It was a long trip home. I got in about 1:00 AM on Friday/Saturday, and went to bed. I stayed in bed all weekend - partially because I was exhausted from the trip, and partially because I couldn't think of any good reason to get up. I was in a bit of a funk.

Going to work on Monday was difficult, but I made myself get up and go. I was still wiped out - physically, mentally and emotionally. I felt like I was having to learn how to interact with my environment in a whole new way. I felt awkward talking to people at work, and weird being home with just me and Joe. I felt slightly uncomfortable all day. I was in bed before 7:00 that night.

There’s no need for concern - it's just a transition phase. I'm a big fan of cocooning -wrapping my old self up and not coming out until I'm transformed and ready to be new. It's a little weird still and the house seems kind of empty, but I'm starting to feel more comfortable and at the same time, a new sense of energy. I am starting to think about the possibilities and opportunities, and I can feel myself already starting to ease into this new way of being.

Baltimore or Bust!

Day 2 started off much cooler than Day1. WOW! (please ignore the speed...)



We passed this groovy little miniature golf place when I pulled off the highway to get gas. Every hole was some sort of animal or fairy-tale theme. They were closed - and we were on a mission - but I sure did think it looked like fun!


Ahhh... gourmet dining. If all else fails, you can usually find an Awful House. It's hard to go wrong with a waffle and a side of bacon. Not so healthy, but stick to your bones (and your butt) kind of grub!

No more complaining from us - this Grammy was near the end of a very long road trip!

Then we hit the "Virginia Creeper Trail." Hadn't heard of it before, but it was a gorgeous drive.

She didn't make it quite as far as the first day... probably because her crazy mother woke her up before the sun then pumped her full of maple syrup. This may have been a sugar crash.

Cleared four state lines on this day and even drove over the Shenandoah River. That was amazing! The bridge was very narrow and tall. There wasn't anywhere to pull off and get a proper picture - I would really like to go back and explore this area when I have more time.

We landed in Baltimore, at an extremely lovely, clean and comfortable hotel, at 8:00-ish. Perfect timing to check in, grab a bite to eat, agree on our plan of attack the next day, and then really get some good sleep before the craziness of moving day....

Later That Day

So I left you yesterday as we started our journey. Just a few hours and one state line later, found us here:

Yes, please! Sign me up - I'll take both exits for a little Hope!

It was a really long day/night!

Chicken Little made it through two states, Memphis and almost to our hotel before she crashed. I have to give it to her though - she was really trying to stay awake - normally she would have been asleep before we hit the Texas border.

So, I was really looking forward to reaching our hotel and getting a good night's rest. I'd booked it online and wasn't expecting The Four Seasons, but all of the reviews were good so I thought it would be ok. It was 2:00 AM, and we were a few minutes north of Nashville when we pulled into the parking lot. As I checked in through the outside window (the lobby was locked - never a good sign), I realized that those reviews must have been written by employees, cousins and best friends. It was a little shady and totally icky...

Our room was on the poorly lit back side of the hotel...scary! Not to mention I had a van crammed full of stuff - can you say "TARGET"?! I parked right outside the room hoping that I would hear something if someone tried to break into it. (But really, what would I have done if I did hear something???)

Look at the room - filthy - I even pulled the sheets back to check the mattresses for bed bugs. I didn't see any, and I was exhausted so I decided to make the best of it.

Chicken obviously was not bothered by the state of our accommodations - she slept fine. I took it as a good sign that the college student's expectations were relatively low. She didn't see any problem with the room and thought I was over-reacting.

So much for a good rest, I was awake before 6:00 AM - no alarm necessary. I took a shower to try to rinse some of the road grime off, but I can safely say that my feet never touched the floor. I kept my sandals on - even in the shower.

We were back on the highway before 7:00 - Destination BALTIMORE! Woo hoo!

And We're Off

Last Tuesday afternoon, we hit the road for the long, long drive from Dallas to Baltimore.

I rented a minivan (you aren't obligated to own one if you only have one child). We put the seats down (it took both of us to figure out how that worked). She loaded it up (to the very top), and off we went...


Yes, she took all of this to outfit her dorm room... and this was after weeks of scaling back on the "to go" pile. I have a firm belief that it doesn't matter how nice your stuff is, when it is piled in the back of a truck (or van, in this case) it just looks like a bunch of junk.


Notice that the door is not fully open. The entire van was like the overstuffed hall closet - you had to open the door a crack, put a hand in to catch anything that may come tumbling out, and then, without opening the door all the way you could quickly put in or take out what you needed. Just like that piled up truck on the Beverly Hillbillys intro...



Load 'em up, move 'em out. Say cheese!


Enough with the pictures already, Mom! LOL! She held that bonsai on her lap for about 8 hours before she was finally able to make a spot for it on the floor in front of her. It left her with about 8-10 inches of room for her feet.

It was hot! Even though most of our time would be spent in the car, this heat was not something I would miss over the next few days. 1300-ish miles to go!

Absentee Blogger

Forgive my absence this past week. My world has been busy, busy, busy! Last Tuesday afternoon, Libby and I embarked on the College Road Trip. We left Dallas at 4:00 pm on Tuesday and arrived in Baltimore at 9:00 pm on Wednesday. Then, there was the whirlwind of unloading, unpacking and getting settled, saying goodbye, my seemingly much loooonnngggeerrrrr trip home, and my recovery for the last several days.

I've got tons of pictures from the last two weeks and a few stories to tell, but right now I'm trying to get caught up at work. My plan is to catch up on the blog a little later this week.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Lake Michigan

Here are just a few final shots from last week. The weather and the lake were gorgeous! Even though we worked hard, it was really a treat to be able to spend a few days up there.


This is the view from the back of the house where we were staying. The lake is so big it feels more like the ocean - you can't even see the other side! It was rough.



Just some of the pretty plants and flowers growing everywhere. It was so lush.

The view from an inn down the road. This is White Lake which feeds into Lake Michigan.

White River Canoeing

I mentioned that one day last week we went canoeing down a river. This activity was billed as “teambuilding”. Hmmm….



Looks like a promising start, huh?

All those colorful kayaks and tubes looked like they would be so much fun! The tubes weren’t even an option, so we had to pick a kayak or a canoe. Not being that familiar with how to operate either vehicle, I chose to partner up with someone and float down the river in a canoe.

This is a relatively tame example of the vegetation in and around this particular river. There were so many fallen trees, stumps and branches in the river; it quickly became obvious why tubes were not an option. You would be moving along just fine, and then out of nowhere you’d be wedged between a couple of fallen trees, or tipped over by a submerged stump.

A perfect example of how I experienced most of this particular river - from the side of an overturned canoe.

The first casualty was the beer (refer to picture #1), the second was our dignity and poise, the third was the nice buzz most of us had from the few beers consumed prior to the tumbling, and finally the last thing to give way was our good humor.

I’m all about adventure and having fun, and I really LOVE almost any activity involving being on, in or near the water. This, however, was more like one of the challenges you might encounter on a reality TV show. Half way through our trek, there were more than a few people I had identified who should be voted off the island (or in this case, out of the canoe). By the end of the journey, we were all dead tired and starving, but we were a team again – with everyone grateful just to have survived!

In spite of all the ins-and-outs, it was a pretty fun afternoon… Everyone had a good time, with only a few bumps, bruises and missing flip-flops.