I'm a bit late with this so I'm not going to bore you guys with a full trip recap. It was all fairly typical visiting family, holiday-y type stuff. I really enjoy seeing my family, who I always feel close to, despite only seeing them once every 2 years, and I'm rapidly learning to love Ryan's family also.
On a less sentimental note, here's a quick summary of other trip highlights:
On a less sentimental note, here's a quick summary of other trip highlights:
- Hotel Christmas - Sister3 brought lights to hang up, Momma, Sister2, and Sister3 made and traveled with Christmas cookies, stockings stuffed to the brim, and we all exchanged gifts after taking full advantage of our complimentary breakfast
- Road Tripping - I packed a plethora of healthy snacks, so Ryan and I munched on grapes, carrots, V8, trail mix and pretzels instead of multiple fast food meals on the 13 hour drive down South. I also discovered the joys of the V8 Fusion energy drink, which seems like a good replacement for other, more highly caffeinated beverages
- Reading - I read so many books! And most of them were 4 or 5 stars!
- Animals - I held a snake! And I petted these dogs.
- San Diego Adventuring - the house we stayed at was out in the desert, with its very own orange trees! Naturally we picked and ate some and I can honestly say they were the most delicious oranges I've ever had. We also took the practically required sister hike, in which Jenn becomes exhausted and pushes her body to the limit, but stoically hangs in there until we all reach the top, with only minor whining and griping. At one point I said my health goal was to never be unable to do the things I want to because of being out of shape and I think I can say I've stuck to this. It might not be pretty, but I can always get where I want - even if it involves a 9 mile hiking trip.
- Coming Home - 2 weeks away is a bit long. I enjoyed just about every aspect of the trip, but I got to missing my dog, and my own bed, and even the blog and my goals lists. I suppose it's some kind of victory that I start to miss being productive after a week or so away from it. :P
Alright, now that that's out of the way, I really want to tell you about Ryan's aunt. This lady is absolutely amazing, and I would tell you every little reason why, but she's a fairly private person, so I'll respect that and just talk about this one aspect.
Look how awesome this is! Aunt Mel makes things like these by hand, and sells them basically at cost, just because she enjoys doing it.
What's mind-blowing is the fact that she does this despite vision issues that would probably send me into a self-pitying stupor. Some of her jewelry is just decorative, although she makes a note of stone types, and colors, for the spiritual types, and some of it has a deeper meaning. For example...
I love everything she's given me, but this piece is my absolute favorite. Ryan told Aunt Mel that I get down sometimes with my sisters being farther away and frequently too busy to chat, so she made me a family tree pendant. The bottom 2 colors represent my parent's birth stones (similar colors, not the actual stones), and the top 3 are my sisters and me. I love, love, love the symbolism of it and I can't wait to buy some of her stuff under a fake name so she can't keep giving it away. If anyone's interested, her website is GrayMistCreations.com.
Oh! On a not-at-all-related tangent, I had about 30 comments while I was away and, despite my lofty ambitions, didn't respond to any of them until Sunday night after returning. I realize 30 is not that many, but egad, it took a lot of time! I've gained a new respect for those of you who handle that amount and more every single day.
Do you miss blogging when you go on vacation? Do you like road trips?
