Home Sweet Home

And in the blink of an eye and a final swipe of the credit card, resort life came to an end and we were back to the life of flying coach on the way home.

But that whole upper class kinda life?

Totally fun while it lasted.

The one thing that happened on this trip to the pretty island was the quality of my sleep.  Not just sleep,  but I experienced real, restful, deep sleep.  No kids coming in at all hours of the night.  No dogs having bad dreams.  (yeah...Buddy the dog is like a toddler in some ways.)  No cats meowing at weird times.  No worries about unanswered emails or facebook or sticky floors or bills that needed to be paid.

There was none of that...only the sound of ocean waves in the distance.

I'm not sure the last time I experienced that kind of deep, restful sleep and it was so very, very needed.

I am so thankful....but also a little concerned that I will only experience that if I stay on a little island at a 5 star resort, because if it comes down to sleep or the amount of room on my credit card, well, I'm out of luck.

Yawn.

But seriously, the pillows at that hotel!  I really want those fancy pillows.  And the big bathtub.  And the housekeeping service not once, but twice, a day.

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I do think the very best part about traveling is the coming home part.  Boys were waiting.  Pets were waiting.  Laundry was waiting.  I was rested, happy, and feeling the love for about 3.2 minutes and then was just a tad irritated at how needy everyone was.

Job security.  Job security.  Job security.

And let's face it...the only real housekeeping service is, well...me.  

I made a long 3 page list (while in Hawaii) of every home improvement project that needs to be done in the 4 weeks I am off of work...there's everything from 'clean out under the boys bathroom sink' to 'tackle the attic' to 'paint the whole house'.  But then, in an effort to make me feel like I'm not such a failure because we all know none of these things are going to get done, I put things on there like 'sweep out the pantry' and 'dust the bedroom lamp'.

Whew.  At least some things will get accomplished.  That whole list making thing seemed a lot more manageable when I was laying on the beach with a cocktail in my hand.

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Today we walked around Balboa Island with coffees in hand, spent a fortune doing a restock at Costco and then came home and took turns playing Animal Crossing on wii. 

I'm sure those things are buried on that home improvement list somewhere.

I'm beginning to think I should have made a different sort of list...one that looked like this:

1. chill out and don't feel guilty about it

2. see  #1

Hmmmm....I'm liking that list.

The summer heat came and the grapes ripened over night...they are so sweet this year!  Not enough to do anything  with but pick and eat and that is perfectly ok...we just cut them and put them on a cheese board and munch away.

Summer grilling is in full swing and we're keeping things super simple around these parts.

My favorite part is that I just stand by and watch.  That guy that I like so much does it all while I stand by and eat bon bons.  

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Can you smell how good that smells?

Toss a BIG salad and sound the dinner bell and voila!  Dinner! 

And on this night all boys somehow jumped ship with better offers and this ended up being dinner for two...though a whole crowd showed up a bit later and gobbled the leftovers up.  

Not quite sure how the whole 'cooking for two' thing will ever work around here?

It is nice to be home.  We were both tired of restaurant food (for reals) and that whole turn down service at the hotel got old too.  Not.  But maybe if I say it over and over I'll start believing it.

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