Catch up

Well, I'm just now finding time to sit down and write a bit of 'catch up'. We had a wonderful time in Oceanside, as always. Our condo was on the second floor, directly on the beach, so close that when the tide started coming in at night, it looked like the waves were coming right on into our room! I LOVED being able to hear the waves crashing all day and night. And water running over the rocks have a magical tinkle that is just a delight to my heart. It was a perfect time to go since school isn't out yet. Most mornings, I was the only person on the beach or almost! What a treat! It was pretty cool so I had to bundle up, which is how I like the beach. I'm not a swimmer so I never go to the beach to swim or lay out. I go to walk. I'm a treasure hunter and I found much. I still have to go through my huge pile of treasures I brought home! Morning beach walks alone were my trips highlight.

We didn't "do" a lot on this trip. No major running around, etc.. We did go to Legoland one day and it was really nice and relaxing. After we got back, I even took the boys out to walk the beach for a long time!

The trip wasn't quite as relaxing for Chuck. He's never able to totally leave work behind and forget about it. I don't think he would even know how. So, he did make phone calls and do work on the computer every day. That was a bummer. I always wonder what it's like for families whose husband/dad, has a regular type job so that when they take vacation, he's truly on one. Oh well, this is our life and part of our vacation too. :(

When I go on vacation, I get there and IMMEDIATELY forget everything about real life. Truly, I do. It's always a shocker coming back into it!

Now that I'm back home, I've gotten back into the routine of school, life, etc... but realized that by next week, that nice routine will be blown out of the water as school gets out for the summer.

This week, Chuck's friend of about 40 years, has been in town with his wife. (Hi Karen!) I had briefly met Mark a few times but this was my first time meeting Karen. Karen has been reading my blog so she had an unfair advantage to our meeting! She knew all about me and my life but I knew very, very little about her! Chuck just kept saying, "You really like her, trust me. Oh, and she's a redhead too." Like her hair makes a difference?! He kept trying to reassure me because, unfortunately, I'm not one of those people who likes to meet new people, sit around getting to know people, or attend anything that resembles a party.... However, as much as I hate saying these words to my husband, I said them... "Honey, you were right." I was drawn to Karen right away, felt completely comfortable with her as if I've always known her. She has a rare gift of making people feel totally as ease. She was very easy to talk to, loves to laugh, and is a really sweet person. Mark chose well. We had a wonderful dinner Wednesday night and they will be coming for dinner again tomorrow evening. And, the shocker is, I'm actually, truthfully, really looking forward to it. As much as I hate to admit it, I can't always say that. I may not even put on makeup! Now THAT's comfortable for company coming for dinner! LOL!

Well, I'm going to work on my owl painting a bit while I'm waiting for a friend to come over to look at some of my handmade books.