9 posts tagged “travel”

Sorry for the lengthy entry...lots of rambling after being gone! :)

Getting out west this year was a nightmare - as noted in my previous entry regarding US Air. I did finally make it a little after midnight on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. My luggage even got there too!

I got the best Christmas present ever as soon as I got into the truck with my sister and mom...my sister announced that she is going to be a mommy!!! Which means I will be an aunt (duh!) - due date is August 20. I am SO thrilled I can't even express it properly. And the funniest part was that the silly sister of mine was sorry she couldn't drink beer with me while I was there! *laugh* Aside from it being a darn good reason for not being able to, it was better all around because I didn't drink as much as I probably would have otherwise.

So, though I had already planned on going back out at the end of August for my sister's b-day (I want to make that time of year my annual trip home time...this holiday travel thing is for the birds), now I will for sure be heading that way so I can help out with the new baby. And it will be convenient, because I can celebrate with both of them each year. Who knows, maybe Nugget (my sister's name, not mine - based on the current size and shape of the fetus) will be late and will have a birthday right next to or on my sister's (Aug 27)! Hehehe! Personally, I think that would be kind of cool since my birthday is the day after my mom's.

Aside from all that excitement, Christmas was nice. My dad was still there because his flight to TX was cancelled as well. I got to see more snow in the harbor than I have ever seen on all the years I lived there. I know it was annoying to the folks having to deal with all the ice on the roads that came with it, but it was also beautiful. I got to hang out with my mom. And I got to spend lots of time with my sister and BIL (they are some of my favorite people on the face of this planet). I got to see Dad's new boat (I forget if I have mentioned that he now lives on a boat?) - it is gorgeous for a boat...but man is it small for everyday living! And as always, the trip was way too short.

UPS got way behind in deliveries because of the crazy weather nation-wide so my sister's presents didn't arrive until after the holiday, but at least they got there. And I made out like a bandit and had to ship a box back home to myself because it wouldn't all fit in my bag.

The trip home was uneventful other than I couldn't sleep - I got into Charlotte around 6:00am on Wednesday and then picked up dogs (who were both beside themselves when they saw me), dropped Sadie at the house and took Moo to the vet for another check-up on the ears (see below).

I slept through new year's eve...no Times Square for me. And yesterday I spent the day reorganizing my china cabinet, kitchen cabinets, and shelves - I am still trying to find space for everything that is useable and accessible.  I think I am finally getting there! Today I am going to tackle my bathroom and maybe even my closets. And tomorrow I will work on the office here (which is on hold somewhat until I can afford additional shelving for the closet) and also the refrigerator (I need to go through all my sauces and stuff and see what is outdated, etc.)

First, though, the dogs need a bath. They stink after being at the kennel...I could have gotten them groomed there, but that gal charges an arm and a leg for her services (she does the all out doggy spa stuff...massages and such with the bath).

PS Cats were all fine and happy, happy, happy that I was home. :) 

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Moo's Ears:

Her ears are still boarderline OK. Way too much ear wax/goo building up in there which is requiring daily and sometimes twice daily cleanings on top of drops and other medicine. The good news is that the eardrum looks to be healing itself well and there is very little redness. So, the vet changed up the ear drops and put her on the food elimination trial. I knew the prescription food would be expensive, but seriously...$85 for a 27.5 lb bag of food?!? Even worse, she needs 6 cups a day (vs the 3 cups of Wellness). And we have to do this for 12 weeks. *sigh* I am also doing this with Sadie for two reasons: 1) Marly likes to steal food from Sadie sometimes and I really want to do this right to see if her problems are indeed food related and 2) Sadie has such itchy skin and it has been seven or eight years since I've seriously taken a look at the problem, I feel this is a good place to start. 

This means, including Sadie, I am feeding 10 cups of food a day. I will probably end up buying four bags of this food before it is all said and done...and then, I will also end up buying some canned to make treats with since they cannot eat ANYTHING other than this food during the 12 weeks. I also need to ask the vet when we go back next week what I do for heartworm medicine during the trial - right now they get liver flavored pills which they aren't supposed to have because of the liver in them. I went ahead with this month's dose since it was given on the same day the trial started. 

I will be very interested to see what happens with both of their coats during this trial - they currently get salmon oil which I am suspending during the trial. I think it is one of the primary factors in their pretty, shiny fur. We shall see! And once we are done, I am going to go on a hunt for another distributor of the Nature's Variety food. I really liked their salmon kibble and would like to get the dogs back on it. I wish Wellness made one for dogs...they do for cats. 

The travel this week really wiped me out. But I guess it was a really productive week, so I shouldn't complain.

So, I have survived my crazy week of travel with our new team member. She, by the way, is fabulous and I can't express how much I enjoyed having some company on the trip. Getting home last night was...a nightmare really. Bad weather all over the place made for lots of late flights and cancellations. I finally crawled into the house here around 12:45am. 

I am still in small town, nowhere PA. This morning what to my wondering eye did appear? Snow! (There may as well have been reindeer too with as shocked as I was.) Tomorrow it is supposed to be 65 here. Go figure.

I am back in PA. This time in the Western part of the state...a couple hours outside of Pittsburgh. It is amazing to me how dilapidated this entire area is.

Sadie bone

The weekend wasn't all bad, but I get very little of the MUCH needed yard work accomplished and that frustrates me to no end. I feel like there is never time to get everything done these days and that something important always has to give. Some folks may not consider housework or yard work important, but I take pride in my home and I want to keep it nice (which is tough enough to do with two dogs and three cats...let alone adding a job that always has me away). 

The city has let up slightly on the water restrictions. For the time being I am now allowed to water my lawn on Thursdays (even number homes Thurs...odd are some other day of the week) and I can wash my car on Fridays. 

The trip was nice...the city interesting. What a different mix of a very new downtown high-rise area surrounded by really, really old sprawling city mixed generously with old industry.

The left thumb is healing up just fine thanks to it being a nice clean cut. The right thumb, however, it slow going and achy...and downright owie when I smash it on things. Nothing lets you know how used our digits are until you seriously injure one. At least it no longer stings when it gets wet, so showering and doing things like washing dishes is doable again.

I talked to my dad about helping to finance some of my portion of costs for my sister's wedding. He was happy to do it. I am mentally perturbed that I had to ask and yet very relieved. I am tired of blowing so much money on this thing. I am overjoyed for her and very excited about the vacation - but it won't really be a vacation...and if it were, I would never spend this much on one. At least not at this time in my life. (She chose the Hilton as our hotel for the bridal party. To my knowledge, there are only a couple places there that cost more per night.) Unfortunately, I think actual wedding gifts are going to have to wait until after the first of the year. Luckily, tradition and Ms. Manners both say that you have up to a year after the wedding to get the gift. I figure this way I can pick up whatever was missed on the registry. Right?

Heh...so now that I am relieved of the full burden of my trips and the shower and the wedding stuff what do I do? I buy myself a new camera bag. Though, I suppose technically this falls into the "things for the wedding" category since I would not be buying a new bag anytime soon if I weren't needing it for all the travel and if I hadn't been asked to help supplement photos for the wedding. I will also be photographing the shower. Oh yeah, and since I am throwing the shower am I still expected to do a shower gift too? Anyway, I will post photos of the new bag when it arrives.

Thankfully, one of my sister's friends has offered to do the planning for the bachelorette party while we are up there. This is good because I am a terrible party planner, though I have been asked to monitor the planning to ensure there are no male strip clubs or anything of the sort planned. My sister and her fiance are not into that sort of thing. The shower planning is fine because I am a decent coordinator and I have enlisted one of our good friends to help with "stuff to do"...and it will be more of just a casual pool party/BBQ (or as they say here in the South - 'cook out') than any sort of traditional bridal shower anyway. I do think some sort of ice breaker thing would be nice though, since I don't know a lot of the girls nor do our friends because they are Amy's work buddies. I am sure they are all super nice people though...my sister has awesome friends!

Speaking of bachelorette party, my sister is nuts! They are doing traditional separate parties for the bachelor and the bachelorette the night before the wedding!!! The way these two (and more importantly the way their friends) can party...there could be a lot of hung-over people the next day. Good thing the wedding isn't until later in the afternoon. The reception will be held in the lodge-style bar of our hotel. All in all I think it is going to be a fabulous affair that we will all remember for a long, long time...but I am already exhausted just thinking about it!

OMG...and it just dawned on me that I need to think of some sort of little speech to give for the toast. Maybe I can pawn all of that off onto the best man? I will be bawling my eyes out - that's what I do at weddings.

I am so excited to be going home for this visit, I can hardly contain myself. I am already working on getting things together and packed. I am going to miss the critters, but my mom, dad, and sister all have kitties and lots of our friends have dogs so I will still get some fuzzy snuggling while I am away. It will also be nice to get away from this hot, humid weather. Yesterday was 97 here...today is cloudy and only slightly cooler. Dry air and temps in the 70's will be weclome! And 4th of July should be fun. I think we are headed to one of my sister's friend's houses for a little shindig. I am sure there will be photos of that too.

Whhheee. I suppose I ought to go get some work done now.