January 21, 2014

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Monday December 30 we were pretty much exhausted from our crazy traveling the day before and I was still trying to cope with my nasty cold. Some cheer was brought our way from a visit from the Vanderkolk girls! We all spent the day hanging out and watching tv and talking and laughing and baking. It was good to see them! They took Maria home with them but I stayed home in hopes of resting and feeling better.

Tuesday December 31 was New Years Eve. I spent the afternoon making homemade soups with my mom. She made broccoli cheese and I made corn chowder. Then I spent my night ringing in the new year snuggled on the couch with Josue and Maggie watching the Texas A&M football game and being amazed by Johnny Manziel. Thinking maybe I would feel better, I tried to get dressed up with my mom who went with Dan to one of their friends' houses, but quickly ended up back in my tshirt and sweatpants.
Wednesday January 1 Josue came over to hang out for a while, then Maria and I headed to my dad's house for the night. We had spaghetti, as requested by Maria, and rented the movie 42 to watch together.

Thursday January 2 I had woken up for 6am hearing my dad shoveling outside. By the time Maria and I had fallen back asleep and awoken again later in the morning snow had covered the driveway and sidewalk that my dad had shoveled. He was at work but left us a note asking to shovel his driveway and sidewalk as well as the neighbors. Maria and I got to work. It wasn't so bad since he had already done some and all that we had was light fluffy snow to remove.
After shoveling Maria and I went to my mom's for the day and Josue joined us. When we sat down on the couch Project Runway was on, and the three of us became really into it and watched episode after episode all day long. It was awesome!
Friday January 3 came a day full of car problems. I was on my way to Josue's house when I started my car and saw the battery light on. I called my dad and he told me a place to have it looked at. I called my dad back and even let him speak to the guy who had looked at my car, but my dad told me to drive it for now so I did. It had died on me once before so I weary of it and just went to Josue's house since it was closer than mine to the car place. I watched tv with him until my mom, Dan, and Maria picked me up to go to the DMV place, which was all kinds of the opposite of fun. After pretty much a waste of a lot of time, I got my car and went to my dad's house. We got back of salt to put in my car then drove it back to the car place I had gone to that morning and right as we pulled into their parking lot it completely died. Luck was on my side that they had time to rebuild the alternator still that day and my dad and I got a ride home from another customer. Josue brought me to pick up my car that evening. I was thankful to have it working again and that especially in these frigid temperatures I wasn't left stranded anywhere! It died in the most convenient spot and timing there possibly could have been.

Sunday January 5 we went to mass early before the snow fall!! On our way home we picked up Josue to come hang out. Yay.

When we got home, Josue, my mom, Maggie, and I took a walk around the neighborhood as heavy snowflakes fell and accumulated. It was so pretty!
After warming up, I got dressed in my warmest clothes again and went out for round two. Maria and I had so much fun playing in the snow with Maggie. Maggie doesn't seem to be much of a fan of the snow until it is playtime! She loves it. And still tries to play a good old game of soccer. Dan, Josue, and I took turns playing GTA. It was fun watching Dan get to fly the helicopter and I improved my driving skills (well just a little bit). Then there's Josue who is an expert.
I also finally had the chance to hang the pictures up in my bedroom! I was so excited! Josue got me the frames for Christmas and I had spent so much time narrowing down the pictures I wanted to use and turning them black and white on walgreens.com. They were supposed to be done in 48 hours and the machine was broken so after waiting 48 hours I spent an equal amount of time editing them and making them black and white on walmart.com only to finish and see that our walmart was the only one unavailable for instore pick up. I finally went to CVS and got them printed (this was on Saturday, then made it home just in time to watch the football game with my family and Josue). Anyways, Sunday evening Dan helped me hang them up in my room. I have found myself more than once just standing at the edge of my bed admiring them, I love the way it turned out!!!
That evening Maria, Josue, and I watched This Means War before going to bed. Because of the weather Josue wasn't able to drive back home and spent the night on the couch in our living room. I wasn't complaining.

Monday January 6 was the cold, cold day. The perfect day to stay inside and watch movies and that is what we did! Josue, Maria, and I watched Like Mike 2, then Josue and I watched Red Dawn. Michael, Josue, and I also went for a drive in Michael's truck to check out the world. It was pretty barren and pretty white. Then that evening everyone watched Man of Steel together, and weren't so impressed really, especially Maggie who was put right to sleep. I had never seen her as snuggly and cuddly as she was during the snow storm, I loved this new side of her!!
Tuesday January 7 I took Josue home and worked out and cleaned up, then he came back over! Yay! We all had tacos for dinner then Josue watched Pretty Little Liars with Maria and I. It is so much more fun watching it with those two by my side! Maria was supposed to go back to school and start classes Monday, but wasn't able to go back until Wednesday due to the weather. Josue, my mom, and Michael were supposed to go back to school Tuesday as well but got the day off due to the weather also! Winter break and the fun just kept continuing!

January 10, 2014

Two of my favorite things in one post: Florida & my grandparents

Thursday December 26 Dan drove Maria, my mom, and I to Indianapolis and we got on an airplane and flew to Florida to see my grandparents!! We had a driver take us from the airport to their house who talked non-stop, going very in-depth about anything and everything. After an hour and a half drive with him I think it made us all even more excited to finally arrive at my grandparents' house! It was so, so good to see them. Once we got our bags inside and hugs all around, we sat on the porch and were encouraged to eat cookies as we told them about our travel and other recent things in our lives.

We all agreed that dinner at our favorite restaurant, Rose Buds, would be a good idea. It sure was! The food has always been really good, but by far the best is getting creme brûlée for dessert.
After dinner we took a drive around their residential park to check out the Christmas lights, the new clubhouse and pool, and also stopped in to say hello to their long-time friends Marv and Fran!
Friday December 27 we all went to the pool for a little while, including both of my grandparents! It was much better than December in Indiana, but it was still pretty chilly! Maria and I also joined in playing bocce with my grandpa and some of his friends. It was pretty fun!
We went shopping at Belle's outlet that afternoon and then Mama Leone's for dinner. On our way to dinner my grandpa very excitedly told me that we would have just enough time to catch the sunset! We drove around trying to find the beach, thinking that my grandpa was taking short cuts that ended up taking us the long way through many neighborhoods. But we made it just in time and found a close parking space! It was beautiful! I was happy to get to walk on the sand and stand beside the ocean as I soaked in the few minutes I got with one of my very favorite places to be.

Dinner was a lot of fun! We ordered a cheese pizza, a margherita pizza, and linguine alfredo to share. Everything was so good, but the margherita pizza was my favorite. Then came the laughing. My mom kept making fun of me saying I was eating so much, including making mooing noises at me. Ohh my. Maria, my mom, and I could not contain our giggle fits! To conclude dinner my grandpa insisted we order tiramisu which was also really good, and again brought on more jokes about how much I was eating.

Saturday December 28 we started our morning by going downtown to the souvenir shops on Venice Avenue with my grandma. We were looking for Christmas presents for our cousins and I also got a cute box to put my jewelry in that matches my bedroom at home really well!
After lunch at my grandparents' Maria and I went to the pool for a little while.
Then when we got back we went with my grandpa to the grove for our very favorite ice cream! It was so busy, and 100% worth the wait! After enjoying our orange sherbet and vanilla cones we took a quick drive to the jetty so we could check everything off on our usual Florida visit check list. Then we went home for a hamburger dinner. That evening my grandparents' neighbors came for a visit and after a little while Maria and I went down to the hot tub!
Sunday December 29 was our last day to be in Florida and still no sunshine! We went to Target for a bit that morning then came home for lunch. Afterwards we all went down to join in for bocce, even my grandma! It was a lot of fun that all of us were there even though we were split up in different games. I played with a partner named Paul against my mom and grandpa and beat them!
Then it was time to pack up and head back home. We had so much fun with my grandparents and weren't ready to leave! Time went by so quickly and we were only down there a few days to begin with.
Our flight that was supposed to leave at 5:50 and get to Indy at 8:20 got delayed multiple times, leaving us in the airport for a total of 4 1/2 hours before it finally took off around 9. While we waited we had dinner at Chili's that we were pleasantly surprised by. It was pretty good for the airport and our waitress was really great. Also I had started to get a cold that Maria had and got sicker with each hour that passed. I was feeling so feverish and achey and had a runny nose. I couldn't wait to get back home finally and go to sleep!