Vacation: Part I

Before I left for vacation I had a series of mishaps...nothing was going my way and my stress level was going through the roof- from having to rearrange my plant water-er/house-sitter, to making alternate arrangements for a friend to pick me up from the airport when I came home, to missing the garbage pick-up the morning before I left (which meant it wouldn't be picked up for 2 whole weeks-ew), to the dogs eating the banana bread my sister brought!

Plus, for some reason I was feeling nervous for my trip...I even told my friend N (the one I would be staying with in CO) that on Thursday night and told another friend that on Friday and on the way to the airport Saturday morning. Why was I so nervous? Not exactly sure, but I just had this weird feeling.

After a very early morning on Saturday, a long layover in a boring airport, a delayed takeoff, and a very short catnap on the flight to Denver, I finally arrived! I was so happy to see my friends and I'm pretty sure they were excited to see me too. :) The weather in CO was... exactly as I'd left it in WI- chilly, foggy, and rainy. Booo. I couldn't even see the mountains!

From there my trip got...interesting. To make a long story short...we ended up taking N to the ER that night for some nausea, severe pain, and vomiting. After hours in the ER, they finally said they were going to admit her to the hospital and would be removing her gallbladder the next day! Poor thing. She was in so much pain and she just kept apologizing to me because this was supposed to be my big vacation. Instead I took on the role of Nurse Heidi... Is it just me or does anyone else see a pattern here? People end up in the ER when they're around me... Anyway, N wrote a detailed blog post about the whole crazy experience...it's an interesting read, so feel free to check it out!

N was feeling much better after the surgery (she was discharged the morning after) and she and I were able to have lunch with a friend on Tuesday and even managed to do a little shopping. After some rest, we all headed to Okole Maluna for dinner. That's the Hawaiian restaurant I've written about before... I was super-excited to be able to go back there for some awesome food! I even had a Hawaiian beer, which was also very tasty.

 Kalua pork, lomi-lomi salmon, white rice, and Haupia (traditional coconut cream dessert)

 

Blackened seared Ahi tuna.

After dinner we walked around the corner to a little ice cream shop. N and J got a tasty treat, but I was way too full and only had a few bites of N's "mini" banana split (it was HUGE). While they were ordering I drew on the sidewalk and took some pics (apparently N secretly took a pic of me!). I love the downtown Windsor area...it's so darn cute!

On the way home I asked J to stop at the park-n-ride I used to use all the time so I could snap a couple of pics of the mountains (shown in my previous post)... it's funny to think that used to be my view on the drive home!

N took this picture...

and this one....sneaky!!

The following day was a day of a little pampering. N and I both got pedicures and manicures! My toes still look lovely, though the mani didn't last long at all. We went to this beauty school, so the price was right, and hey, those students need practice! After that we grabbed some lunch after which my dear friend wasn't feeling very well...and got a bit sick on the drive into Fort Collins. So we turned around and went home. Poor dear. The rest of the evening was pretty low-key...a movie, some Wii, time on the patio...relaxing, yes.

Stay tuned for Part II...

Coming Soon...

I will be writing a bit about my vacation....I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm workin' on it, I promise.

Until I get around to it, here are some pictures from the trip!

Stay tuned...

While I Was Out...

SO much happened...in the backyard, anyway. :)

The basil plants exploded. Trust me... this was much smaller when I left.

So did the parsley.

And the tomatoes. This is the same Black Krim I posted here. Pay no attention to the grass....it also grew like crazy while I was out (apparently it rained almost all week).

Lastly...

I have a baby jalapeno pepper!! Isn't it so cute?

It's pretty phenomenal what nature can do...I'm grateful I can watch and learn and enjoy. :)

Tell me... how does your garden grow?

Good Intentions...

I had good intentions to blog about a number of things this week...

but that did not happen. Obviously.

And tomorrow morning (very, very early, mind you), I'm leavin' on a jet plane! For my "real" vacation. Woohoo!

Which also means... a vacation from my lil' blog and all three or four of you devoted readers. :) I'm not even taking my laptop.

I'm not taking any study materials either!! But I am taking sunscreen, a book or two, maybe a magazine (if they come in the mail today, fingers crossed), a camera, and a long list of people I want to see and food I want to eat!

And when I return.... I'll be 30. Good gracious, where has the time gone?

Have a great week y'all!!

Babies!

I may have mentioned the GIANT bushes in front of my house... I want to rip them out so badly, but for various reasons, it hasn't happened yet.

And as long as these baby Robins are living in the bushes, it isn't going to happen.

A List & Turning 30

As I pointed out in my last post, I've not made as much progress on my List as I had intended by this point in the game. It turns out though, that I really can cross a few more things off that List!!

In case you didn't check out the comments, my friend N mentioned item number 9:

And yes! I will be able to cross that one off my list! I'm headed out to Colorado to see my Peeps! In less than 2 weeks!! I don't have many plans except to see some people, eat at a couple of my favorite places, celebrate my Birthday, and relax! Oh, and there is a chance I might go to a shooting range. Fun!

Moving on...

What do a Black Krim, Yellow Giant Belgium, Orange Persimmon, and Boxcar Willie have in common? Item 1, of course: Grow tomatoes in the backyard. Eat them.

Woohoo! OK, so they're not ready to EAT yet, but they're growing! I got these little tomato plants at a neighborhood plant sale a couple weeks ago (the proceeds from the sale were donated to neighborhood services/programs). They're heirloom varieties and I am so excited to see them grow! And they get lots of sunshine, love and attention, so I'm hoping the eating part is a foregone conclusion. What do you think? Can I cross that one off the List?

Stay tuned...I've got a few more cross-offs on the horizon!

15 days and counting...

So Here We Are

Or rather, here I am.
 
It's June 1st. Already. My Birthday is approaching quickly. The Birthday. The Big. Three. Oh. 

Someone, who didn't really know how old I was, but guessed that I was about 27, recently asked me how I was doing with the thought of being 30. I told her I was fine with it. Honestly, for whatever reason, I was more freaked out when I turned 27 than I feel right now. True story.

Anyway, shortly after starting this blog I decided to make my List of 30 Things To Do Before Turning 30. I didn't give myself much time, less than a year and a half, so my list never actually reached 30 items. No big deal, 25 items was A-OK with me, especially since a number of them were BIG items.

Let's review what I have completed:

10. Go see a movie alone. Not a matinee. And buy popcorn.

I am so glad I did this! It might seem small, but it was a tough one for me.

7. Read all of The Chronicles of Narnia. 

This was a fun one, though my favorite in the series is and probably always will be The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

8. Buy one new piece of furniture for myself.

Still loving my purchases!

22. Buy a house. 

Some days I still am surprised I bought a house. Most of the time, I'm really, really glad. I will say this item took more of my time, emotional/physical/mental energy, hope, and effort than I ever thought it would. 

So. Four items. Wow. That's it? Really? 

Hmm. 

T-minus 16 days and counting...