Yawn....

I need a nap.

We have been back from our vacation for about a week, but I've been sick with some coughing, sneezing, wheezing, phlegming chest thing that is finally starting to subside.

Here is a quick run down of the last two weeks:

Monday, 12/21 ~ Leave for first leg of trip (Savannah); stop in Pell City over night, eat at the worst Chinese restaurant on the planet, sleep in the worst hotel bed in Alabama.

Tuesday, 12/22 ~ Leave Pell City for Savannah, arrive at Marriott Riverfront and receive free upgrade of balcony room overlooking the river. Lovely.

Unload car, unhitch boat, go to Chris' house, then meet his in-laws down at City Market, where they treated all of us to a carriage ride through old downtown, the carriage pulled by two beautiful gray Peruvian horses (I asked, Rickey!), one of which took a liking to my leopard coat and tried to eat it while I was petting him. My coat was wet with horse slobber for the rest of the evening, but I didn't mind. It was very fun!

Wednesday, 12/23 ~ Shopping for our Secret Santa gifts, a tradition that Hagan started a two or three years ago. We draw names from a hat and purchase a gift for $15 or less to give anonymously as "Secret Santa." The kids get very creative!

Thursday, Christmas Eve, 12/24 ~ More shopping for everyone else, then a pretty quiet night.

Friday, Christmas Day, 12/25 ~ Chaos!! We arrived at Chris' house at 7:00 am and the kids had already been up for hours.


Later was breakfast...


Even later was dinner, but no photo...much too hectic, too many people.

Saturday, 12/26 ~ Deep breath. Sleep in. Back to the mall (to return clothing items too big or too small), to Best Buy (to replace defective Mini) and AT&T to activate my new iPhone (Yay!!!!). Dinner at Jalepenos. Yummy. Say our good-byes and back to hotel.

Sunday, 12/27 ~ Pack it up, hitch it up, gas it up and on the road to Clearwater Beach, Florida by 7:30 am. Oddly, the temperature only rises a couple of degrees as we make our way into central Florida, then over to the gulf coast. Disappointing. We thought for sure temps would be at least in the 70's. Added Clearwater Beach, Florida to weather app on my iPhone. There it is, in black and white...no temps in the 70's predicted all week?? AND I'm starting to feel like crap. AND there's no wireless connection for my computer. But, the view is nice.




A little grocery shopping at Publix. Cheese, crackers, pate, wine. That was dinner. A little TV, exhausted, early to bed.

Monday, 12/28 ~ Woke up feeling worse, but shower, blow-dry, dress WARMLY and drive to John's Pass (Madiera Beach) for lunch at Scully's on the pier. Sun is shining, but it's cool. A little window shopping at the shops, but I got tired so we drove back. Two hour nap and wake up feeling horrible. More cheese, crackers, pate, wine for dinner.

Tuesday, 12/29 ~ It's cold outside, with a cold wind. I feel horrible; have a fever. We decide to leave for home. As we are packing, I pick up a heavy overnight bag, twist and cough at the same time...felt a muscle pull and think, That is going to hurt later. I was right. It started to spasm a couple of hours later. Poor Tom. Trying to massage the muscle and drive at the same time. I cannot make it past Atlanta, where we stop for the night. Up almost all night long with back spasms. Tom doesn't fare any better because I'm making him just as miserable.

Wednesday, 12/30 ~ Back on the last leg of our trip home. Tom deeply massages the muscle before we leave and only has to massage it periodically during the day, but my skin is raw and painful. We arrive home about 5:00 pm and I head straight for my beloved chair massager, for which I will be eternally grateful to my sister, Karen, for purchasing it for me. After an hour, I can at least sit up straight. I'm still sick and both of us are exhausted and in bed by 8:30 pm.

Thursday, 12/31 ~ We eat in New Year's Eve. I'm downing cough syrup and every time I breathe, my chest rattles like an old grocery basket with a bad wheel. Still very tired, but we stay up late...10:30 pm...whoo hoo!! Happy New Year!

And so on, and so on, and so on, through the weekend and into the beginning of this week.

So that is what it has been like around our house. I'm just now starting to feel human. As with the rest of the country, except for probably southern California, we are freezing. Snow is predicted tonight and through tomorrow. I'm cranky and depressed. We were watching a TV program last night (Chef Academy) and I'm so depressed I started to cry when it came to the part where Chef Novelli took his students out deep sea fishing. It was a glorious, warm, sunny day. No one was wearing coats or hats or gloves. Everyone was in shirt sleeves and Novelli got sunburned. I was so jealous.

It's 2010. The new year came in on a rather down note, so I guess there's no where to go but up. At least that's what I'm hoping.