izzybella

It was fun.  L2 and I went to Indiana to visit some friends of hers-we roadtripped which was really fun.  Without further ado, here’s a little recap.

SATURDAY: Driving all day.  We left around 7:30 and got there around 11:30 our time/12:30 a.m. their time.  It was a decent drive right up until we arrived in Indianapolis, which is a BIG city.  That last hour took forever.  Seriously, we felt like we were making great time and then we hit ‘napolis and it just slooooowwwwwwwed down.  We made a few stops-had a kick a$$ grilled cheese sandwich at this dive off the road-but mostly we just kept on trucking till we arrived at our destination.  B and K are awesome and super hospitable.  Seriously, southerners have nothing on them.  Plus they have two of the cutest dogs I’ve ever seen-Danica and Sam.

SUNDAY: We slept in.  Really, seriously slept in, then we had an amazing homemade breakfast of eggs, bacon, coffee cake, and mango orange juice.  We ate outside on their deck and it was such a pretty day.  Their next door neighbor came out and talked with us for a while and we met their dogs, two Great Danes named Lola and Beau.  Gorgeous dogs.  We went out to do a little shopping and when we got back, we helped set up for the party.  L2, who is completely unable to sit still while someone else is working, went out and mowed the lawn.  Later that evening, about 15 of their closest friends came over and we had hamburgers and salads and such…outside on the deck.  The best part was the bonfire afterwards and the conversation–just kind of chilled and quiet.  I liked it.  Plus I made some new friends, KB and her fiance P.  They are extremely kindredly. 

MONDAY: Dunkin’ Donuts.  They don’t really have very many of them out here, so I was completely stoked for a Dunkin’ Donuts breakfast.  We spent most of the day chillaxing and cleaning up after the party.   That evening, we had dinner at K’s parents.  Okay, first of all, how nice is K letting a perfect stranger (me) come and stay with them–and then her mom makes the best dinner for us.  Plus there was chips and salsa–easily the best salsa I have ever had.  Sorry, Texas.  The best salsa is in Indiana.  I can’t believe I just typed that, but it’s true.  We had a great time with her family, plus we heard the best duck call ever known to man.    B and K had to go to work in the morning, so we went home after that and called it a day.

TUESDAY: Slept in again.  I think that’s the best part of vacations–sleeping until you wake up.  No alarm, no nothing but daylight and that perfect drowsy feeling of waking up naturally.  L2 and I had lunch with a couple of her friends, then went and visited their office.  L2 used to work with them quite a bit at her last job, so it was really cool that she got to catch up with them.  We did a bit of shopping and then met K at home and watched some television.  That night L2 and I took K and B out for a very tasty dinner.

WEDNESDAY: The drive home.  Okay, we stopped in St. Louis and I had a freaking blast.  Saw the arch, which is very beautiful.  There’s a museum underneath and we looked around, but we were both so hungry that we couldn’t focus, so we had lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory.  It was good, but the bestest part of the day was the ferry ride on the Mississippi River.  It was about an hour long ride.  There was this perfect breeze and it was so beautiful.  I got sunburned and it put us behind schedule almost three hours, but it was worth it.  Not that I thought that at 1:00 a.m. when we were still on the road.  We were both so exhausted, but especially L2, who did most of the driving.  I got home about 1:30 a.m. and I don’t think L2 made it home till around 2.  Late, late night.  I took the day off of work on Thursday and slept most of the day.  L2 went in but wound up going home early, for which I am glad.  L2 has an awesome work ethic, but she had to be freaking exhausted.

All in all, it was a really fun trip.  I am glad I went, but I’m also glad to be home.  That’s one of the good parts of vacations, I think…going home.  Is that weird?

Anyway, I’m back at work now, starting school again next week.  Life is back to normal for a while.  Thanks for readin’ ’bout my vacation.  Hope you are having a good time yourself!!

I’m late with this, but we adopted a new family member, Butterfly (I didn’t name her…):

She’s super-sweet.  I’m not used to little dogs at all, so she’s taking some getting used to, but she’s adorable.  So, meet Butterfly…

It’s a scientifically proven fact. Okay, not really that I know of, but it should be. Mondays are sort of cranky and passive aggressive, you know…”oh, you had a good weekend, did you? Nii-iiicce…well guess what? You’re back at work and I OWN you.” That’s how Mondays are. Tuesdays are way more mellow though. They have a sense of humor, unlike Mondays. They know you’d rather stay in bed than go to work, but they nudge you gently out of bed anyway, all sweet like “remember, you have that meeting you can’t blow off, so go ahead and get up…make some coffee-I’ll keep your dirty caffeinated little secret.” Those are Tuesdays.

I didn’t actually sleep all that great last night, but I still woke up in a better mood this morning. And hey, no wrecks on the way to work. That’s like an automatic good day. Those are the benefits of truly bad days-usually, the next day feels so much better even if it’s only an average work day. See, I am going to find the bright side here if it kills me! Besides no wrecks, I’m wearing my purple paisley-esque tee-shirt that is much cuter than it sounds and I feel cute. Plus last night? Serious retail therapy. I replaced my worn-out pair of black jeans and picked up two tops. So, there! Take that, yesterday.

Got into a fender bender this morning. My fault-I rear-ended her. Minimal damage. The car and I are fine, but it just sort of colored today in a bleak shade of icky grey. I hate that it happened and I double-hate that it was my fault. Stupid, stupid Monday.

…at least for the next three weeks. I took my last final exam this morning and I have one paper to turn in tonight and then I am done. For all practical intents and purposes I’m done now, because that paper is finished and all I have to do in class tonight is place it in my professor’s hands. Ahhh…sweet, sweet freedom. What will I do with all this time? Hmmm. Well, I don’t know, actually. I’m always a little unfocused the first few days after I get actual freedom and I have no idea what to do. I’m sure I’ll think of something.