Vacation: Part II

Once again, I intended to blog sooner and more often than I have been recently. So many things have kept me from it: a 4-day headache and fluid-filled ears, a friend's birthday, my brother's visit & 4th of July fun with friends, a shiny new cell phone, an impromptu visit from family, studying...and the regular everyday life stuff. Whew.

But here I am, ready to finish my vacation post...even though it's not THAT exciting. I woke up on my Birthday to find my friend already awake. She had a present for me on the table and seemed super excited for me to open it, but we had to go to her post-op appointment, so really I was more concerned with getting her to the doc on time. I had plans to meet up with a friend I hadn't seen in a loooong time later that day and was looking forward to it. Par for the course, it seemed nothing went right that day. We were a mere 3-5 minutes late for N's appointment...but we ended up waiting over an hour to be seen for a very brief appointment!! Grr! N colored me a picture while we waited....probably to keep her mind off of her own increasing discomfort...poor thing.

After the doc appointment, we ran to the store for a few things and to pick up a prescription...which apparently hadn't been called in. Sigh. Just as we were getting ready to leave the store, they paged N and she went back to the pharmacy while I took the groceries out and brought the car around. N said we needed to kill 15 minutes and they'd have the script ready. So, we went to a couple stores next door. I ended up getting a new pair of sunglasses. My other friend called and said she had to do some work before we could meet. On one hand, this was a good thing since we were running behind; on the other, not so great because who knew when I would actually get to meet up with her and have some fun.  At some point during the day I also called another friend I was supposed to meet for lunch the following day. She made a mistake in scheduling and couldn't make the original time, so I was hoping I could at least meet her for coffee! Quite frankly, I was getting a bit cranky by this point because nothing, even loosely made plans, seemed to be working out. 

Finally, N and I got her script and went home to eat lunch. She insisted on making me something and I opted for a grilled cheese and some soup. N wasn't super happy with how the sandwich turned out...

Oh well. It tasted fine. At this point, I was tired and just wanted to do what I wanted to do. So, I changed clothes and went out to sit in the sun for a bit, even though I knew my other friend was probably waiting to hear something from me. Shortly after, N had the FedEx guy at her door with 2 boxes from ProFlowers.com (love them, by the way). She asked, "who are they for?" I looked at her like she was a little nuts and said, "For you. Who would be sending me flowers?" She got approximately 6 dozen roses- some miniature and some full-sized, in a variety of colors. Her mom and sisters sent them. They were so pretty!


A little while later, the doorbell rang again and N was handed another flower arrangement. This time it was for me! Apparently she and my brother secretly plotted via Facebook and he kindly sent me this pretty little arrangement. He wanted to send something small so I could carry it home with me. He wasn't thinking that I wouldn't be able to take it on the plane. He is still sad about that.

Either way, I really loved the flowers and carried them from room to room with me- if we were spending time in the basement to play Wii, I moved them there, or the dining room if we were upstairs for long. Plus, I took LOTS of pictures!

I finally left to meet my friend, but she was late meeting me because she had more errands to run and ended up trying on some stuff in another store. Sigh. Anyway, we eventually did some shopping, had a nice dinner and got caught up before she forced me to eat the most amazing cupcake I've ever had in my life. Seriously. I have no other words to express my feelings. Amazing.

Then I headed back to N's house, where she and her husband were waiting to force me to eat cake. I knew N had ordered a cake and she was very excited about it, but I had no clue what would be on it.

She said she wanted a garden scene because of my backyard and flowers. I wish you could see how 3D the frosting really was!! And it was a very good cake. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. I even ate it for breakfast the next day. :)

The next day (last day of my vacation) really felt like my birthday to me, since I'd be seeing so many friends throughout the day. I even wore a dress! Gasp! N and I met up with our mutual friend for coffee and then another friend for lunch. It was so good to see those women! I used to work with them at the Evil Empire and it was really good to know that not everyone there hated me (just my Evil, Wicked, Horrible boss) and that they really did still care about what was going on in my world.


Later that night, N and J took me to Fort Collins to Cafe Vino to meet my friends. It was a great night! Lots of hugs, friends, laughter, and some good food and drink.



The most frequently asked question while I was in Colorado was, "Why the heck did you come here for a vacation?"




My answer, "To see my friends. I missed you."

And really, that's all I wanted. To see my friends. To take a break from my normal routine. I definitely got that. :) Granted, it wasn't what N or I really had in mind when we planned my visit...but it sure was different.

The second most frequently asked question, "When are you coming back?"

I'm not sure when, but I will be back. Colorado will always hold a special place in my heart. And so will the friends I made there.

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...

Call Me Doctor...

I did it! I passed my oral dissertation defense yesterday afternoon!

Lee said I "nailed the orals" and I got some other really great feedback from my committee members. My toughest committee member was even impressed by the fact that I had knowledge at my fingertips- I could speak to his questions, give him examples of research and didn't get too flustered by his "rapid fire" questions. Although... he did ask me a statistics question that I know and have read all about but when he asked me, WHOOSH!, it went right out of my head. So I grappled with what to say, gave it my best shot and then he said, "No, not really." I'm sure my face got a little red, but I did laugh and made a lame joke about it. Maybe that's why Larry told me, "Nice job today. You are so skilled in the verbiage; even when you are a little off base you are so very skilled. Congratulations!!!"

It was fun. Of course it was nerve-wracking, but I did have fun.

So then I chatted with some of my friends in the Department and went to Starbucks to meet Canadian friend Steve. We had a nice chat and then I was able to just sit and relax by myself for a while. I tried the new Vanilla Rooibos Tea Latte and it was wonderful (and caffeine-free --I was already quite wired). I highly recommend it. I also enjoyed a Red Velvet cupcake. It was really quite perfect- I was in a comfy chair, sitting in the sunshine, sipping my lovely tea latte, and Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin were playing! Love it!

The evening festivities got started when I met up with some friends at Cafe Vino in Fort Collins. I have never been there, but it was very cool and hip (thanks for the suggestion Talisa!). It was great to be celebrating with my friends...it was humbling to see so many people at the table with me. I had a fantastic time, I laughed a lot, hugged a lot, and had to have someone drive me home... but instead of stress dreams I dreamt of beaches and I woke up smiling.

Today I am going to go clean out my office at work: I'm leaving work earlier than expected, which is A-OK with me.... I would like to keep having dreams of beaches.