Adjusting

I was going to write a real post about our vacation, but that's going to have to wait. I'm struggling to get myself back to my normal schedule of working at night and sleeping during the day. It isn't working very well. I'm sleeping in bits and frankly, I'm wiped out. Hopefully, I'll be back on track after the weekend. In the meantime, I thought I'd post a couple photos of our adventures but Blogger isn't cooperating. All I could get to upload was this shot of Walker on our first day. I'm going to take a nap now.....

Anyone Been to Universal Orlando?

Help!  Anyone familiar with the attractions and layout at Universal Orlando?  I'm planning a family trip for next year and we're trying to figure out how much time we need to allot to Universal Orland to see both parks.  My mom really, really wants to visit them, but she doesn't do roller coasters or water rides, and she has limited mobility.  Universal has a "Rider's Guide for Disabled Travelers" but it didn't tell us what we need to know.  Specifically,  do any of the rides have those moving walkway things?  And if you don't do many rides, how much time would you need to give both parks a good go?  If you have any advice, feel free to leave a comment or email me at gooshanne@live.com

Spring Blossoms

Here's a cheery image to start the week off right!  This photo was taken at Disney World last month.  I have no idea what this flowering tree is called, but I thought the blooms looked gorgeous against a perfectly blue Florida morning sky.

To see more Blue Monday posts, click here
To see more Mellow Yellow Monday posts, click here

MM, This One's for You

MM over at Seaside Simplicity would like to know about our favorite indulgences.  She is prepping for Lent, you see, and is trying to get in a few more goodies between now and the end of Fat Tuesday.  Well, I don't have photos of tiramisu, Key lime pie, or chocolate dream ice cream, but I do have photos of Walker enjoying lunch at Dockside Dave's in Madeira Beach, Florida.  He indulged in three of his favorites: ginormous onion rings, Philly cheese steak, and an ice cold Corona.  And he loved every mouthful!

 

Screwie Louie's, Madeira Beach

 

This, my friends, is heaven on a plate.  Screwie Louie's of Madeira Beach was just down the road from our motel, so we walked up there one morning for breakfast.  I had the breakfast burrito, which came with  delicious home fries (and I can take or leave potatoes most of the time).  It was also served on a pretty blue and yellow plate. The service, honestly, could have been better, as they weren't busy and we only saw our waitress when she took our order and dropped off the bill (someone else brought the food), but I would recommend the place and I would definitely eat there again.  Hopefully the waitress was just having an off day.  Rats - now I'm hungry!

To see more Blue Monday photos, click here.

To see more Mellow Yellow Monday photos, click here.

Vacation on a Budget

Gail Vaz-Oxlade, I'm gonna make you proud! I just love Gail on 'Til Debt Do Us Part.  Her no-nonsense approach not only makes great TV, it makes sense to me.  This show is one of only about three that I actually sit down and watch.  Usually the TV is on, keeping me company, while I'm doing other things.  This show is worth paying attention to.

One of the things I like best about Gail's approach is that she encourages balance; even if you have debt to pay off, or you are lacking in your emergency fund, Gail believes that you need to have some fun once in a while, so long as you budget for it ahead of time and don't go overboard with the spending.  I think that's important.  Nobody can thrive when all you do is work for a paycheck.

Anyway - Walker and I had planned to spend a week on Sanibel Island in the Gulf of Mexico last November.  Those plans had to be canceled so I could do my daily radiation treatments.  When we were ready to try for another trip, we could not find decent airfare to Fort Meyers, the closest airport to Sanibel.  We could have waited a bit to see if the airfare came down, but there was stuff coming up at work that would require my presence, and Walker really needed some time away sooner rather than later, so we decided instead to check alternate destinations.  Walker has some family snowbirds in Orlando, and while we could get there for a good price, the flights had not one but two stops along the way. This time of year, with unpredictable weather, that bothered me.  Who wants to get stuck in an airport half way to their destination due to snow and ice?  We ended up deciding on Tampa, and were thrilled to discover we could get frequent flier seats with one slight catch - we had to fly down a day earlier than we were planning to. Ah well, what can you do?  Our vacation went from a week to eight days, challenging the budget a bit more.

This is what we had originally budgeted:

Airfare        $700
Hotel          $600
Rental car & gas  $400
golf  (greens fees & club rental)   $300
Entertainment, meals & miscellaneous spending   $800

Total budgeted cost for seven days and nights was $2,800, which is just a bit less than we had saved in cash.   But this is the year of fiscal reform, at least at our house.  So here's what we actually spent:

Airfare  $212 plus 50,000 frequent flier miles. $92 of that was baggage fees.  The thing is, Walker paid to check his golf clubs.  He would have spent more renting them than bringing his own, so it was money well spent in my opinion.
Hotel  $748
Rental car & gas  $407
golf fees $122 
Entertainment, meals & miscellaneous spending $636 in cash, $108 on the credit card, and 400 Disney reward "dollars".  The credit card will be paid in full as soon as all the charges post.


The total came to $2,233, which is $567 less than we originally planned for, even though we stayed an extra day. That's just over 20%.  Wahoo! The thing that's worth mentioning is, we didn't scrimp.  We did not live on peanut butter bread and tap water as some of my friends did when vacationing during their college days.  We spent a full day at Disney World, Walker went golfing three times, we rented a mid-size SUV rather than a compact car, we ate good food in fun restaurants, and we brought shirts and treats home for the kids.  Could we have cut the budget further?  Sure. But I'm happy with the budget and the experience we had.  We found the balance.

I Missed My Cyber Neighbors!

It's funny how you can feel like you know people you've never actually met.  When we were in Florida, I kept seeing things that made me think of my blogger pals and wonder how y'all were doing.  This is a tshirt that was in the window of a surf shop in John's Pass. It reminded me of Donna and her husband, Cliff.  Donna has spoken of Cliff's love of ketchup.  Once home, I realized it would make a good Ruby Tuesday entry. 

For more Ruby Tuesday photos, click here.

A Perfect Florida Morning

 

The best weather we had on our vacation occurred the day we visited Disney World.  These colorful umbrellas shade a popular dining spot between Main Street and Cinderella's Castle. 

For more Blue Monday posts, click here.

For more Mellow Yellow Monday posts, click here.

Home Again

This morning, we checked out of our motel long before the sun came up.  We flew north, trading palm trees and crashing waves for frozen rivers and piles of snow.  I confess: I am not good at flying.  I get totally nervous every time I set foot on a plane.  I hate the noise, the fuel smell, the cramped spaces.  The only reason I do it is the payoff of more time spent on vacation, less time in the travel itself.  This time, I didn't really care about any of that.  I just wanted to get home.

While we were in Florida, my brother was released from the hospital.  He's in the middle of a divorce, so he couldn't go home.  The doctors wanted him to not be alone, so he moved into our house and my mom stayed with him.  My sister picked us up at the airport and brought us home to a house full of people: my mom, Diva, my brother, and my brother's children were all here to greet us. It was chaos, and it was wonderful.


I think given the circumstances, we had a good trip.  We spent half our time at the beach and half visiting Walker's snowbird relatives in Orlando.  We spent a day at Disney World, just the two of us, playing like teenagers on a date. We took each other out to breakfast, and cheered the Packers to a Superbowl victory at an outdoor sports bar.  We walked on the beach, slept late, and ate ice cream sundaes for lunch.  I feel rested and ready to move on to the next challenge, but I wouldn't mind a bit if that challenge didn't present itself for a while. 

Choices

Walker and I are in Florida.  Right up until the plane took off, I wasn't sure I should go.  I kept thinking about my family, especially my brother, and I would think there was no way I could just leave town.  Then I would look at Walker, knowing how much he needed this time away.  I could not let him down.  In the end, I decided I had to trust in my brother and his doctors.  I wish I had stronger faith in God.  I envy people who find relief in prayer.  I try, but I can't release my worries.  I haven't learned to "let go and let God."

So we came to the beach.  I sat in the sun and sank my toes in the sand.  I watched the dolphins play just offshore.  It helps, some.  I know I need to let go of the guilt I carry but I don't know how.  When we get home I plan to call my brother's social worker to see if they have some sort of support group for family members.  Hopefully, she'll be able to hook me up.

Right now, it's just a day at a time.  We call home every day.  The rest of the time we walk on the beach, or shop, or hang out in a tiki bar listening to music.  From our room, we have a view of the Gulf.  We fall asleep listening to the surf.  Walker has spent some time on the golf course.  While he plays, I'm content to sit on the patio with a good book.  I do love the beach.  The ocean air is healing for me.  I sleep like a rock here. I needed that.

I'm not feeling great about being here, but I don't think I'd have felt any better had I chosen to stay home.  One of these days maybe I'll  find one of those crystal balls somewhere, and I won't have these choices to make.

Today