20K and a Year Away

Hello! I cannot believe how quickly time has flown by!! The last time I checked, it was July and I was just getting home from Greece. Crazy.

Well, it has been a busy six months. Axel and I did a little domestic travel, I made a few life decisions, and we booked a trip. Honestly, the international trip was booked about two weeks after I got home from Greece. What is wrong with me? Oh, yeah, nothing! HAHA!

August rolled around and Axel came home from Washington. We had a quick start to school, which turned into a really hard time. Who knew starting high school was hard? We had to do some heavy thinking and rearranging of things so we could keep moving forward. Axel got a handle on his school work and then, it was September.

In September, two things happened. First, Axel adopted a little Gizmo, or as we affectionately refer to him, el chupacabra. Our friends who watched him for us tell us he speaks Spanish, which only seems fitting given his true identity. He is a tiny ball of crazy and Axel thinks he’s awesome.

Second, we went to Universal Studios in Orlando for Axel’s birthday. It seemed like we needed to get away from our surroundings and clear our heads, so what better place than Harry Potter World, seriously. We spent a day going to as many not scary rides as possible. Try as I might, I could not convince Axel to go on the two big roller coasters. Maybe next time.

We went on a ton of rides, though, and ended the day soaking wet! It was a great day, and a much needed change of scenery. To top it off, we didn’t get eaten by an alligator (which happened around the same time) and it wasn’t even humid. Two bonuses!

In October, we went to Boston to hang with my brother and his people. I had never been outside of the Logan Airport before, so that was a cool visit – oh, and my brother, he’s cool, too. haha We went on a couple adventures with them. We attended a Renaissance Faire – complete with muddy streets and darts, swords, and axes flying around, a walking tour of downtown Boston, and a visit to Harvard. You know, when I was a little kid, I wanted to go to Harvard. It didn’t last long after I learned about Oxford – which I also did not attend – but now I can say in that obnoxiously over exaggerated tone that I have gone to Harvard. You know the tone, you can hear it right now. So pretentious! It was great seeing the family and spending some time catching up. We’ll probably go back sometime.

Work started running double-time as soon as we got back from Massachusetts, where Boston is (pretentious tone here). The big Christmas event was starting and my days turned into 15-hour stretches of graphic design, event planning, and public information sharing. It was a blur. The event was a huge success, which means it was a good blur, apparently. The plan is to do it again next year. You should come. It’s the Saturday after Thanksgiving. You can stay at my house.

After the mini-whirlwind of activity, things started to calm and we entered a travel holding pattern waiting for the trip we already set up for the end of December. Instead of us going somewhere, we were getting visitors! Whoo Hoo! Meaghan and the BAAABBBYYY came to see us. It was a great – albeit fast – visit. We got to teach Betty some bad habits and send her back home with her mom. Betty and the chupacabra did not see eye to eye, even though they literally saw each other eye to eye. Gizmo spent some time in the pen, doing hard time, but it was for the best. They managed to tolerate each other from a distance. The visit was too fast. Betty strategically left a sock behind, we understood our assignment and put it on the mantel with the other stockings, and Meaghan helped us set up the Christmas tree. The best. Matilda and Lydia are coming in February for Christmas, so that tree is going to be here for a while. Santa better get his calendar set. We have cookies waiting.

I am afraid I did something I thought I would never do while they were here, too. We went to Buc-ee’s. Peer pressure happened, we caved. I will say, however, that if I ever need to go to the bathroom on the south side of the country, I am looking for these potties. It’s like its own little potty kingdom in there. So nice not sharing your toilet time with everyone. You get your own little room. It’s like the bathrooms in the airport lounge. No, I will not be sharing with you today, thank you. And they are clean. The rest of the store I can leave behind, but I am a fan of the restroom. Not a hardcore fan, mind you, we won’t be getting cups.

I mentioned we planned a trip as soon as I got back from Greece, right? We scoured the internets for cheap tickets someplace. As you know, I was looking south, toward warm and inviting locations that allow for umbrella drinks and hammocks. Axel, however, was not feeling those same vibes. He asked, “Can we go someplace cold this time?” I think I blacked out and lost my sense of hearing. I didn’t understand the words he was saying. It’s like that Spongebob episode where he grabs the dictionary to see if those words can even be used together in a sentence. You know which one I’m talking about.

He waited for me to start breathing again and had the audacity to repeat himself. Who is this kid? What is going on in my life? Where did I lose him to the cold side? Actually, he has always been one of those – a cold-lover. I just didn’t prepare myself for the day he would say it out loud. But, since I already dragged him to the warm place I wanted to go, it was only fair to let him choose the climate for this trip, in the throes of winter, to someplace cold. Right?

We looked at the tickets in the price range we prefer and settled on Prague. We will be heading to Prague tomorrow, as a matter of fact. We are going to see some really cool stuff, eat some cool food, and wear 165 layers of clothing so we don’t freeze to death. I will write more about this upon our return. It won’t be another six months, either. Swear.

Also, just so you know I have not completely lost my mind, I am going to Panama in May – which is a WHOLE other story that you will not want to miss. Let’s just say that this story has taken a twist in the last 35 years and will be one for the story books. We’re shooting for a happily ever after…