Taking Down Larry Nassar

I hate that I have to write about this, but I can't write extensively about all the gymnasts who won gold medals at the last Olympic Games and not write about how some of those very same athletes that won gold joined forces to take down a child molester.  I don't like to see a sport that has brought me so much joy as a gymnast and a fan, do so much wrong, but the reality is that USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University failed miserably to protect it's athletes. Last week Larry Nassar former USA Gymnastics, Michigan State University, and Twistars Gymnastics team doctor was convicted of sexually abuse disguised as medical treatment of young girls over a time period spanning twenty plus years.

My Shoulder is What?

I sleep with a teddy bear.  I know it sounds weird, and I know I'm way too old for stuffed animals, but you see my shoulder is frozen.  And when I say frozen, I actually do mean frozen.  Sleeping on my stomach is not comfortable, and sleeping on my right side is not possible. I know better than to even try.  I can sleep on my left side okay as long I stuff a pillow under my armpit for support, but I spend most nights sleeping on my back.  That's how the giant teddy bear found it's way from the basket in the spare room to my bed.  I can't rest my hand on my belly when I lay down.  It's really  bizarre how it just sort of hangs there hovering above my stomach like a limp rag.  Teddy gives me another option besides leaving it stiffly at my side.  I wrap my arms around him, and generally contort him into whatever shape I need to get comfortable.

Life By the Numbers: That Kind of Year

2017 IN NUMBERS

0 arm workouts.

1 time eating Panera Bread, and it was so good.  I had to fly all the way to Dover to do this.  Not like they aren't all over the place where I live or anything.

1 pair designer jeans purchased.  I got lucky and found Seven jeans for $50 on a mess of a clearance rack at Macy's.

2 times eating cheese spaetzle in Germany.  I love it so.

3 flights to Las Vegas.

Why We Didn't Use AirBnB

When we went to Europe we had five hotels to book, which added up to 17 nights of hotels in the space of about a month.  Once I narrowed down my search on Trip Advisor, I was definitely stressing about how much money all of these hotels were costing us.  I felt I owed it to myself to check out AirBnB and Home Away, just to see what my options were so I created accounts and started looking.  However, I found that the search was even more exhausting over there than on Trip Advisor and that it probably wasn't going to work out because A.  I probably wouldn't be saving all that much money in the end and B.  I just wasn't comfortable taking a chance on some of the places. 

Hotel #3 NOSTOS APARTMENTS in Santorini.  This adorable kitchen.

I considered going the non hotel route but it didn't work out and this is why.

Some of the rentals have pretty rigid cancellation policies, and I only feel comfortable booking when I can cancel.  I don't even mind paying up front as long as I can get my money back if I  need to. Even the cheaper no cancellation allowed price doesn't lure me because I can't stop the what if anxiety.  How many big vacations have I had to cancel?  Zero! But still.  You never know.

Sometimes it's all Just a Little too Much

September was the worst.  

Coming home after 6 weeks abroad was fantastic. There were spiders in every corner of my kitchen. Disgusting Spiders. And you know how much I hate spiders? A lot. It's just one reason I really need my husband to come home. I'm so afraid of spiders that I took my garage door opener with me to Germany, and it's not because I drove to Germany or even to the airport.  My car was in the garage the whole time I was gone, but I knew I'd never make it through the front door of my house in the dark with my luggage through cobwebs (I knew were waiting for me) without some serious mental trauma.

I was also really thrilled to show up at the post office on Saturday afternoon to collect my mail only to be told there was no record of my mail hold.  How are they going to send me an email that my mail hold is ending soon when they never even did it in the first place? I was beyond annoyed.

The other awesome thing that welcomed me home was my dear old friend insomnia. Return to USA jet lag was not so bad. Dead tired at 7pm, deep sleep, and wide awake at 4:30am (before my alarm) was doable. I could work with that, but as the days progressed, tired at 7pm, barely any sleep, and an alarm clock that goes off at 6:30am, leaves much to be desired.  Grocery shopping. Meal prep. I missed it so much! The familiar zombie like routine of work, eat, skip the work out cause I'm too tired, and then go to bed so I can not sleep was back in full effect. I was not impressed.

What most of my weekends look like lately and I'm not mad about it

No Monday, No TGIF, No Problem

Day trip (with husband) train ride to Esslingen

My husband had to work in between the traveling to other countries, and the exploring we did together in Germany.  During the weekdays I was left to my own devices.  Before I got there, he would ask, "Well, what are you going to do all day?"  I assured him, that filling my days would not be a problem.