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July 22nd, 2013 at 06:15 am

What a summer it has been. Summer school, CA trip, and finally a long sojourn in NE. Now about three weeks til the first day to report back to work.

I have so much to catch up on, I'm not really even sure where to begin.

Finances - Oh boy. I really am not sure how much I spent between CA and NE, but to put it mildly ... it was way too much. Gas and lodging I have hard numbers for the NE trip -gas $237.xx; 2 hotel stays - $105.xx. I averaged 35.8 mpg (that's including around town driving in the average - otherwise it would probably be closer to 37mpg.)

I went a little nuts with the close proximity of fast food places and other shopping places. Seriously, a little nuts. NE treated for most of the meals we ate together - but that was just one meal a day. I bought groceries for myself to supplement, and ... the fast food ... Less than a block from his apartment - McDonald's (smoothie anyone???) and Pizza Hut (personal pan pizza???) Amazingly I seem to have only gained a pound (maybe it was due to all the walking I did as well?)

Then of course there was the Adventist Book Center (or ABC as Adventists know it.) I restrained myself on books (only 2! both on sale) but the veggie foods?? Total spent $71. I also checked out a Goodwill store and came away with 20+ books for the library (one, a brand new hardcover 2006 Guinness World Record book!!! Score!!) as well as a few other items (such as a pretty casserole dish, a pannini maker and a glass container for NEs change.) All for ... $28.xx!! (less than the cost of the WR book alone brand new!) I also went to the mall ... it was SO hot ... and I wanted to see if my gym pact anywhere function really worked ... It did. I also managed to spend money at JC Penny's (super clearance sale!) and then at Dress Barn (lace skirt/white blouse for $30.)

I messed up with one of my credit cards. I thought I had them all on auto pay full bill - but I left one out. Ooops. Thankfully when I got the notice that my payment was late, I was able to call them and get the finance charge and late payment fee dismissed. Thanks to my history of no late payments and always paying in full. Smile
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As I mentioned, I did a lot of walking. NEs place is less than 3/4 of a mile from Wilderness Park. There are some really fantastic walking/biking trails there. Most nights when NE was working, I did 3 - 5 mile walks (usually 4 miles.) It was SO beautiful! (and HOT!)

Other things NE and I did together - spent a lot of time at various area lakes with him showing me some of his favorite fishing spots as he was growing up. We also went out to Tuttle Creek where he caught a lizard, took a picture of it, and then let it go. We saw Man of Steel - loved it! Went out to eat at a lot of fast food places - mostly that are only NE/Lincoln places (Runza, Gregs, Tastee's --- all for Cheese Frenchies! Yum!!) I ate more fried foods in the three weeks I was there than I usually do in a year! We did eat at a few sit-down restaurants - IHOP, Olive Garden and a local place Beacon Hill Bar and Grill. I treated for IHOP.

NEs aunt died while I was still out in CA, and the TN family held the memorial service for her without inviting NE or his sister ... so we didn't do any big road trips.

Kari and the five cats ... Kari eventually settled down enough to where she was comfortable being out and about in the apartment -but not without hissing and batting at the other cats. The five cats just kind of tolerated her I think... Kari knocked down a 5 gallon aquarium (empty thankfully!) which shattered all over the place. She also took a great liking to a pair of expensive speakers as a scratching post ... Ugh. I hope when NE comes here to visit, that he and Kari will be able to like each other without the other 5 cats running over every time .. NE just barely got to the point of being able to touch her without being hissed at.

--
I attempted to hook my computer up to NEs modem, but could not get it to work. Until tonight I was slightly worried that I had jostled the modem or something in it during the trip to NE - but it is working perfectly. So, I was pretty much without a computer (although NE did let me use his laptop .. I didn't do too much on it because of its small size.) I really did not accomplish much at all - other than reading several books, watching stuff on Hulu and Netflix (and getting a warning notice from aTT that I'd gone over the 3 GB limit and my service will be slow next month ... ummmm thought I had unlimited data??) I forgot some books I needed to do stuff for my elective classes (from the six=month class.) Still, all in all, I kept pretty busy/occupied while NE was at work.

I am happy that I went. The time there definitely helped me see some things more clearly, and see some things that need to be addressed. He really tried to be thoughtful and do things he thought I would like. One thing that was clear is that I won't have to worry about him complaining about my housekeeping ... Smile We did a lot of talking about different things - from current events, past events, views on issues, to possible future scenarios. It was definitely a good thing.

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So ... in other news... my great Uncle (my grandma's sister's husband) died this past week. I wasn't close to him or anything, but I did like him from the times we'd interacted. Then in other big, but not really surprising news (sadly) ... my mom and the man she married in December are getting divorced - his idea. Basically he decided that he couldn't handle her health issues (more later), that she drove him nuts always wanting to go do things instead of sitting and meditating for eons of hours, etc. She is coming out of this pretty badly ... gave most of her furniture away when she moved in with him, gave up her tutoring students/business, gave up Buddy her dog, etc.

Her health issues --- about 15+ years ago she had a pituitary tumor which was removed by them going through her nasal cavity. It has returned, bigger than ever with the addition of lesions. She's going to need surgery to get rid of it, but due to the larger size and the legions, they are having to figure out the best course of action. She is staying at an extended stay place right now, and last week slipped and fell hard on her back/neck. She has had multiple back and neck surgeries ... So far it doesn't appear to have caused any more damages, but still not good.

Oh the REALLY big news?? My brother called my mom today!! (He had cut off contact with her in June after our dad died due to a number of reasons.) He told me he decided that it was time to let go and get past it. I was completely ecstatic!!

In mixed news ... I am now without any walking partners. Both of the co-workers I walked with this past year have gotten different jobs. Frown Frown One of the former teaching assts is taking one of the positions, another vacant position is being taken by someone who I don't think will be living here, and I don't know what's going to happen with the third one. The third one is my only hope for a new walking partner...

I have more I am thinking about, but this is already way too long. Smile Tomorrow - what I found when I arrived home ... and lifestyle/diet thoughts/plans/thinking.

14 Responses to “Home!”

  1. LuckyRobin Says:
    1374479891

    Welcome back. Sounds like you had a wonderful time.

  2. creditcardfree Says:
    1374497206

    Sounds like you did the town right! My brother in law is in Wilderness on his bike quite often. Glad that you had a good time and made it back home safely.

  3. MonkeyMama Says:
    1374500725

    Welcome Back!

  4. CB in the City Says:
    1374501693

    Welcome back! I'm sorry about the bad news, but happy that you had a good time in Nebraska. I must have missed something, though. Does NE have five cats?

  5. My English Castle Says:
    1374503043

    What an adventure. Nice to be home?

  6. ceejay74 Says:
    1374503506

    Welcome home! Can't wait to hear the rest of the story -- nice teaser at the end! Wink

  7. Kiki Says:
    1374513308

    Welcome back! So glad to hear about your trips and great teaser for tomorrow...

  8. Petunia 100 Says:
    1374513662

    Glad you're home! I've really missed your posts. Smile

  9. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1374516045

    Thanks everyone! Smile
    Yes, I am glad to be home. While I enjoyed my time in NE, it is good to be back in my own environment and schedule. NEs sleep schedule and mine are wayyyy different. Yes CB - NE has 5 cats. 2 of them he had back in 2004 when we first met (I think they remembered me Big Grin ) - the other 3 warmed up to me pretty quickly (well, all but one - but even she eventually accepted me.)

    I've missed posting here as well and am glad to be able to do so again easily. I have been keeping up with everyone's blogs for the most part, but commenting on them from my phone is a bit of a pain - so haven't been doing much commenting.

    CCF - I wonder if I may have even seen your BIL at the park. Smile I saw lots of bikers.

  10. snafu Says:
    1374544530

    Welcome home. Hope you enjoyed every hour and every bite. I just read a new study whose results showed that people who carried negative feeling [like DB to mom] cause themselves significant suffering. Far better to substitute those feeling for any positive, happy thoughts and memories that can be dredged up from the past. Giving yourself negative messages through venting is BP raising and oh so negative etc.

  11. mamasita Says:
    1374570788

    I love the feeling of coming home after being away! Good luck on finding a new walking partner. I am switching schools this year so I am losing my workout buddy as well Frown

  12. dchomewares Says:
    1375512116

    I hope in time I'll hear my kids say they miss home, too! For now, quite obviously, it's me who couldn't stand even just a day away from home, it's quite torturing for me.

  13. Looking Forward Says:
    1376539866

    Like I said..catching up.. your summer sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe next visit to CA we can all catch up again.
    Too bad for your mom things didn't work out - not too surprised though.

  14. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1376540957

    LF - that would be great Smile
    I might be going out there at Christmas ... perhaps with NE (my aunt invited him, will have to see if he takes her up on it.) Would love to see ya'll again. Smile

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