Meanwhile, Eight Years Later...

Mood: Content (just got back from a mini-vacation and celebrating my 8th wedding anniversary with the hubs!)

On Tv: Chopped (love what they give these chefs to work with - here's some hotdogs, liver, dried cranberries and dandelion greens - now make me a tasty dessert!)

Hubs and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on September 7th. In honor of this stunning accomplishment (seriously - his packrat tendencies and my OCD tendencies should have really created an ultimate death match situation far before now), we decided to take a small vacation to the St. Louis area and, for once, the vacation Gods smiled and we were allowed to (mostly) enjoy our days off!

First? We went to the Arch in St. Louis. Hubs has been before but I have not. I seriously underestimated two things.

1. Just how TALL the Arch really is.
2. Just how terrified of heights I really am (for the record? Terrified doesn't even begin to cover it.)  

Dude. That? Is tall. Props to hubs for doing the vertical pan to get it all in one picture because it was way more massive than I imagined. Also? Had no idea that there was a museum, shopping and other fun stuff under the arch...well, not under the arch but under the ground under the arch. Amazing. Really.

At first, I was all "no way am I going up to the top of that thing" and really that was a very smart initial reaction. I am a big baby. I make no bones about it and one of the things that I'm most terrified of is heights. Well...not so much heights as the potential for falling from them.

Then? I was all "I'm brave and I'm not going to allow my fears to limit my life experiences! I'm going up to the top of the arch!" So now I can say that, on this trip, I added to my list of life experiences : Going to the top of the Arch and Having a panic attack at a major National Monument. Go me!

Oh, and for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of going to the top of the Arch? You go up in a "pod". The pod is tiny, they cram up to 5 people in each one and it jerks and tilts as it makes its way up to the top of the Arch. I may have gotten a jump start on my panic attack in the pod on the way up. I may or may not have mentioned my fear that we were going to die.

                   Scary, tiny pod of doom ---------->


After we survived the Arch (and the resulting panic attack) we headed over to the Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch. Hubs raved on it, friends have raved on it and now I see why. The atmosphere was amazingly classy and romantic without being too over the top. The food was incredible and I tried an Italian Cream Soda. Quite possibly my favorite new drink of all time. Seriously, how did I not know about these and their amazingly creamy goodness?

The next day we *I* was all geared up to spend the day at the Grant Farm. It's a living history farm with all kinds of animals, historical demonstrations, A Deer Park, the famous Budweiser Clydesdales and all kinds of other fun and "squeee" worthy stuff. The best part? It was all free except for a nominal $11.00 parking fee. I was practically bouncing with excitement.

Thanks to my trusty smart phone GPS app we found the place easily enough but I was immediately concerned when I noted that the parking lot was completely deserted. The place was absolutely empty. Normally that would have made me happy but I realized there was no way that a place like this would be completely empty if it were, in fact, open.

Suddenly I had that sinking feeling that Clark Griswold must have felt when he arrived at Walley World

Unfortunately, there was no giant moose for me to punch. Why are there never giant mooses to punch when you need one???
Apparently the farm is only open on weekends after Labor Day. Well played Vacation Gods, well played.



Hubs and I quickly regrouped and decided to check out the St. Louis Zoo.

You guys? I got to play with stingrays. Baby stingrays, giant stingrays, black stingrays, gray stingrays...it was epically epic. I'm usually not a fan of touching wildlife of any kind and stingrays, well, they killed the crocodile hunter and he was pretty bad ass so normally I wouldn't even think of putting my hand in a tank of these things...but for some odd reason I really, really wanted to. And I LOVED it!

Oh, and ladies, try not to be too jealous but I have one more picture to share. My anniversary gift from my loving hubs:

 Some women get jewelry, some women get showered with priceless gems. I get a ceramic pig with a tiara and a tutu and it's absolutely perfect proving that my hubs "gets" me. :)

Aren't Vacations Supposed to be Fun?

Mood: Discouraged (Didn't get any writing done this week, despite being on 'vacation'. Also, just got smacked down by someone for a random, fun post about sparkly vampires on Facebook.)

What I'm Watching: Nothing (I know, right? Can anyone believe that I'm not actually watching a single thing on television. Yes, I paid the cable bill.)

Current Word Count: I am not willing to discuss that at this particular moment (meaning I haven't written at all this week)

Today? Is the final day of my vacation, and, even stuck at home, the vacation gods conspire against me. I had plans. I was going to write everyday. I was going to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather. I was going to cook wonderful dinners for my husband every night.

In reality? My week went something like this:

Monday: Still feeling the effects of the cold I'd been fighting for a week. Lots of coughing, hacking, sneezing and generally feeling like crap. Tired, muscle aches, mental confusion (would start to say one thing and end up saying something completely different). Obviously the cold was kicking my butt a bit harder than I'd first anticipated. Writing muse refused to come near me lest she catch my germs. Spent day on couch aimlessly flipping channels. Watched re-runs of Married With Children.

Tuesday: Coughing less, congestion was clearing but still felt like crap on toast. Completely exhausted just by getting up and showered in the morning. I tried to do a little shopping but came home absolutely exhausted and in pain from the effort. Also? Added horrible nausea to my list of symptoms. It was at this point that I realized there was something more going on than just a cold.

Remembered doctor had changed up my medications when I was in to see him last week. Did some mental figuring and realized that my horrible symptoms started about the same time as the med changes. Checked side effects on internet and sure enough: horrible fatigue, muscle pain, muscle weakness, confusion, etc. All listed as potentially dangerous side effects. Also? If you're allergic to sulfa, you're not supposed to take this med...guess who's allergic to sulfa drugs? Houston, we have a problem here...

Called doc. and was told to discontinue meds.

Wednesday: I was stuck on the couch and completely unable to even contemplate cooking the wonderful potroast I'd had planned because the nausea and fatigue were still so overwhelming I couldn't function. However, I did discover that every single Maury show is about some woman trying to prove that some guy is her baby's daddy. Hmmm...

Thursday: More of the same. Feeling slightly more human but still completely worn out. Doctor's office calls back to check on me and says the nasty meds should be out of my system within the next 24 hours. Great. Looking forward to it. Comforted to know that they will now note my chart that I am sensitive to these medications. Ya think? Also realized that MTV's True Life is completely addicting. Wondering if they should do a "True Life: I'm addicted to True Life".

Friday: Today. Sigh. The last day of my vacation week. Definitely feeling more myself. The cold has all but gone, I'm slowly getting my energy back and the nausea? Has left the building. It's a beautiful day outside but I still feel as though I've been hit by a semi truck and my body needs to rest. Realize that watching Dr. Oz is not good for someone who has an over active imagination.

So, there you have it. And this? is why I should never plan a vacation.

Vacation...All I Ever Wanted????

Mood: Sick (May not exactly be a mood but it's definitely what I feel right now.)

What I'm watching: Gladiator Days: Anatomy of a Prison Murder (Still endlessly fascinated w/ the criminal mind)

Current Word Count: 9,602 (Yes. Yes, it is in fact the same count as last time. Nearly a week ago. Yes, I'm aware I'm a complete slacker - loser type of writer right now. No excuses. To be a writer, I have to write, so let the floggings commence.)

For the first time in three years, I am officially on vacation! I should be excited and, in a way, I definitely am. No going in to the office, no dealing with ringing phones, ringing doorbells, endless rounds of "I need..." and "Can you...?", etc. I need this break. It's essential to my mental health and, quite honestly, the physical well being of the people around me.

However. This is also the first time that I've had meaningful vacation time without the hubs. Because of his layoff and his new job, he won't have vacation time until February. So, for the first time in a long time, I'm facing a long week of having to entertain myself. Yikes! Seriously, the last time this happened the results were not pretty for anyone involved. It's not that I don't like my own company...I do. It's that I get bored easily and, as much as I whine about being lazy, I don't do lazy all that well.

So, in general, my days would go something like this:

6:30 am: Get up w/ the hubs and see him off to work
7:00 am: Toy w/ the idea of going back to bed but decide against it.
7:01 am: Turn on tv.
7:02 am: Realize there's nothing good on tv during the day
7:03 am: Flip through all the channels again, just to confirm there's nothing on.
7:04 am: Check e-mail/facebook/twitter
7:15 am: Flip through channels again, just in case I missed something good. I didn't.
7:20 am: Check bookshelves for unread books. Realize I don't have any. Decide to go to library.
7:30 am: Realize library doesn't open until 9:00 am.
7:31 am: Drive back home to wait for library to open.
7:40 am - 9:00 am: Attempt to write with breaks for flipping channels, checking e-mails, twitter and facebook.
9:00 am: Yay. Finally head to library.
9:15 am: Remember why I never go to our local library...reference books from 1950 anyone?
9:30 am: Leave library, consider calling a friend
9:35 am: Realize all friends are at work.
9:45 am: Back home. Sit on couch and suddenly realize how small, cluttered, dusty and annoying our apartment really is.
10:00 am: Consider doing thourough cleaning, but remind self I'm home to rest...not mount a major cleaning expedition.
10:15 am - 5:30 pm: Alternate attempts at writing with breaks for staring hatefully at my cramped tiny apartment, channel flipping (still nothing good on), and e-mail, twitter and facebook checking.
5:31 pm: The hubs is home. Finally. And I am cranky, irritated and completely out of sorts with boredom and have absolutely nothing to show for the day.

Right. So, this week is going to be different. Partly because the week is not supposed to be a stressful exercise in irritation, but rather a break from the irritation of daily life. Also? The hubs doesn't want to come home to lunatic wife ranting about small spaces, cluttered closets and the Jerry Springer Show.

I'm definitely planning to get some significant writing done but I also need external stimulation or my brain goes numb, I get cranky and the writing? It doesn't work so well. So, I desperately need some ideas people...what would you do with a week to yourself during the day?