I am finally starting to feel better and figured it was about time I got it together and came around these parts with a little update from our trip home!
As you remember prior to leaving I was not feeling my best and let me tell you that just progressively got worse! Wednesday night before we left Jason got home late which has yet to happen since we have been here.. go figure! We got in bed around 8:00pm which suited me just fine because I was feeling terrible! God bless cold medicine because the one time it counted it knocked me out and I actually got some sleep before our early rising! We got up and were on the road by 2:00am, I wasn't feeling so bad about it on account that all New Jersey rest stops on the interstate have Starbucks, except they aren't open at two in the freaking morning!!!!! I was NOT impressed!
The drive was really uneventful! We had thought we might encounter bad weather from impending hurricane Arthur but besides a few sprinkles leaving New Jersey it was sunshine and humidity the entire way! We stopped in Virginia for a much needed Dunkin Donuts iced coffee and then were finally home!! I tell ya I have never been more excited to get somewhere.. it was exactly how we left it, home!
I would love to tell you this is where we opened everything up and took a nap but that just isn't the case, Jason had a "to do" list a mile long and we needed to get on it! We managed to get everything taken care of including a great deal on a new table for a deck which wasn't planned at this time but a great deal we couldn't turn down! We landed home around 3:30pm and by that point I needed to rest my eyes! Jason puttered around and I closed my eyes on the couch for 45 minutes, waking up feeling quite refreshed... but still like crap!
As you can see Jason's list of things included finding the perfect beach chair!
That night we headed to one of our favorite places, the Carolina Ale House! This was definitely on our list of places to go when we got home! I knew before getting there that I was having the buffalo chicken sandwich, its so hot it burns your mouth right off but I was desperate to do anything to get rid of this cold!
I wish I could tell you that while we were at the Ale House I enjoyed a nice Blue Moon or something but with the amount of cold medicine I was taking I figured it was probably a bad idea. Sadly.
After dinner we toured around trying to find lobsters! Jason was pretty set that he wanted to have lobster for the 4th of July but was not willing to pay the prices they were asking. After driving around for far too long he finally said screw it and bought one!
Friday was the 4th and much to our surprise pretty much everything was still open! I took a trip to Target and dropped into all the stores surrounding. I was so happy to drive, wander around and see the cheap prices I am use it! It was nothing short of fantastic, minus the fact that I was still feeling pretty crumby! I got a bunch of stuff accomplished and came home to help Jason tape off the railings on the deck so we could paint the following day. Jason had already washed the deck and all that so we were ready to go. We walked around weeding the yard and just getting things done around the house that were a little neglected with us being away.
We had intended to go downtown for fireworks Friday night so we needed to have a semi early dinner and get a move on! Jason was so excited for lobster, truth be told I don't get it at all.. this things are the ugliest suckers I have ever seen and the idea of cracking it out of its shell to eat it seems weird to me. He loved it though!
The corn however was FANTASTIC! Best corn we have had all year!
So we headed down town for fireworks after dinner. I wont lie at this point I was feeling pretty awful and before heading down there I could have easily been convinced to skip it. Once we got downtown feeling crappy or not I was pretty excited to be there. The atmosphere was amazing, live music everywhere, food trucks everywhere, it was awesome basically.. so we had to tour around as much as we possibly could before the fireworks started!
This sand castle was in the park, it was the only one and it was simply amazing!
Happy Birthday America!! There is just something about a huge flag that I love!
The night was amazing.. the weather was absolutely gorgeous! We toured around snacking on things from the food trucks, haha yes we had dinner before we headed down there but come on! I managed to scope out the House of Swank booth and get myself a T shirt! If you live in North Carolina or are from there check them out, their stuff is awesome and their prices are totally reasonable!
This year they decided to do fireworks in two different locations simultaneously so everyone could get a great view. I thought it was a great idea as I assume the show they put on was very similar but Jason felt although we saw a great show he was missing out on what he could hear and not see.
This guy... my world!
I thought the fireworks were simply incredible! Not only are fireworks magical all on their own the fact that Jason loves them so much he instantly turns into an 8 year old child when they begin makes it all the better! I took videos for Terry who Jason works with because he loves fireworks as well and anytime a good show is put on I make sure to capture some of it for Jason to share with him.. so I might as well share it with you as well... OK that isn't going to happen.. it wont load! It was obviously a fluke that it worked last week!
Saturday morning came far too early and I was feeling far worse when I got up! It really took me a lot to get myself moving but I really wanted to be helpful with the deck because I knew it was going to be a lot of work! The weather that morning was PERFECT, it wasn't hot or humid which made it great for painting.. especially so I wouldn't have to listen to Jason whine about the heat.
The painting was fine but the day was pretty awful.. as the day progressed I was feeling worse and worse. I wish I could say that I was more help then I actually was, god love Jason who assured me he couldn't have gotten it done without my help but I feel like I definitely could have done more. It was then that I decided I needed to see a doctor. Sadly mine was not open on the weekend for some reason so I decided to get up first thing on Sunday morning and head over to the Target clinic. Long story short I left there with two prescriptions for a double ear infection and upper respiratory infection. Stellar! The deck turned out great though..
I know the color seems to vary in these pictures but we went with a natural cedar stain and although we weren't sure of it when we started we are so happy with the outcome! The process took a lot longer then I had thought it would but in the end I couldn't be more pleased with the finished product!
Sunday was spent finishing up all the things that needed to be done around the house! Washing the truck, cutting the grass, chatting with the neighbors.. most importantly.. eating Moe's! Sick or not I needed to get my burrito fill before we left the south, it was a must!
The home wrecker burrito.. don't be fooled, I finished that bad boy!
Sunday was the day that made me miss home the most, the reason why I love having a house, why I love our life there! I love our home, and maybe my view is unrealistic of what life would be like there all the time because when we are there neither of us are working and I think part of what I love most is our quality time together! Although I was sick the entire visit and I feel like that put a slight damper on things, I loved our time there. I wish we could be there all the time and spending time there this past weekend made me realize just how much.. but right now its just not the case, and I guess I have to be OK with that.
Sunday ended up flying be, we didn't eat until after 9:00pm and although I really wanted stay up and help Jason with the report for our warranty inspection Monday morning but I just couldn't do it. Sadly I slept terribly that night and when Jason woke me at 8:00am because the warranty guy was there, I was near tears at the thought of getting up and more so knowing we had to leave that day.
The warranty inspection went as expected, I swear those guys are all morons and expect the homeowner to accept their crap excuses and do their job... word to the wise, DON'T BUY A KB HOME! Anyways Jason dealt with all that while I sat on the couch in my sweats hacking up a lung.. literally! When all that was said and done I got it together and headed to Target. Part of my disappointment in being sick during our visit was that our neighbors had a new baby girl at the end of May and I was dying to see her, but obviously that wasn't going to happen, so I wanted to make sure we got them a baby gift regardless. Let me just tell you the baby section at Target is downright dangerous.. I couldn't a bought a million things!
Baby girl head bows.. I die!
Naturally Monday morning flew by and we needed to get on the road. We left around 2:00pm but had to make a quick turn around so we really didn't get on the road until 2:30pm. We were already exhausted getting on the road so stopping in at our favorite Dunkin Donuts for iced coffee was a must.
I think Jason is addicted now too.. which makes me feel less bad about my own caffeine requirements during the day! Thankfully we stopped because little did we know we were in for one hell of a trip! Virginia, DC and Maryland traffic SUCKED!!!!! We should have been home by 10:30pm and we didn't get here until almost 1:00am. The traffic was HORRID and I couldn't have been more glad to just get here and unload everything from the truck!
Tuesday morning Jason headed off to work and I helped Dave and Lindsey move in! I am finally starting to feel better thankfully and I just got a call from Mel who is here and ready to move in as well. So I am going to cut this short so I can get ready to run down and help them as soon as they are finished with their walk thru!
I think having everyone here is going to help with my feelings of being here, I hope so at least! I am going to try and be better about being here but I will be honest its going to be less often then everyday.. the nice weather is here and part of me being able to deal with being here is going to be taking advantage of summer and everyone being here!
I hope you all had a fantastic holiday! I am officially counting down the days until we go south again!!
