Moving On

My month-long separation from David ended a week ago tonight, at 9:23pm to be exact, when he picked me up from the airport. My flight was a bit delayed and I was waiting on the runway for a bit, but that's okay because that was when I decided that I'm never going to fly again. My ever-thoughtful husband had a package of my favorite candy, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, waiting for me as I got in the car. Guess he was happy to see me :).

The four-day weekend went by nice and slow, I'm glad to report. We did a lot, as usual, but also had some down time to relax, which was wonderful. Let's see if I can remember all I/we did:

• Dentist appointment: I like our dentist, he's quite chatty and makes the visit go by fast. He was my dentist, actually my entire family's dentist, before we got married and now he's D's dentist, too. D went for a visit on Monday. Nice thing to check off the To Do list.
• Driver's license renewal: I actually didn't wait in the DMV line for long at all. A government-run office that actually ran quite smoothly? Yes, I guess there IS such a thing!
• Girls' Night at Yana and Rita's: We can't ever have a true girls' night at Mom's house because of all the guys lurking around, so we go to Rita's now :). Mom and I made chicken soup, cut up some Italian bread, whipped up some spice cake with cream cheese frosting and there you have a very yummy meal for five starving ladies. Of course we couldn't help but talk of weddings and guys and when we remembered, we watched Miss Potter (A++) with Renee Zellweger.


• Shopping: It can't be helped with mom and I are together. Neither of us mind too much at all, but I can't say that our husbands feel the same...
• Manicure: Another one of those mom-and-I-together things. Another thing at which our husbands nod and [force a] smile. We do the same with all their computer gadgetry, so there you have "men are from Mars and women are from Venus" proof.
• Sears: Not something D and I did, but Mom and Dad went on the hunt for a new washing machine because theirs broke mid-cycle. I'm not blaming it--Mom said they got it when I was 3 months old. Well they didn't stop at just a washing machine. Oh no. They got that, a fridge, a stove, and a microwave. I guess they've been meaning to replace these items, but haven't gotten around to it. And of course they got an excellent deal because Dad wheels and deals like no other.
• Another movie: D and I picked up some grinder ingredients and that's what everyone had for dinner on Saturday. But the boys, as in Ryan and Nick, didn't feel like sticking around for the movie entitled The Holiday (A), a through-and-through chick flick, for some reason. So Mom, Dad, David, and I watched it and loved it. Their loss.
• Sunday lunch and a house walk-through: Mom invited the extended family over for a big lunch on Sunday for the obvious reasons of eating and visiting, but also for the reason of getting everyone at the same place. Nick and Kristina recently purchased a house nearby and everyone wanted to see it. It took three cars, but we all managed to get there and tour their cute home. It fits them perfectly and was a great bargain, so it was an all-around great experience for their first purchase.
• Volvo: Throughout our time there, I had the opportunity to frequently use Mom and Dad's car when D had his car and I needed a mode of transportation. Well this is the same car that they kept saying they would sell to us next year, but for some reason I was never too impressed with it. Boy was I mistaken!! I love it and now am urging Dad to hurry up and find a new car for himself so they can sell the Volvo to us. It even has a sun roof!! Dad thinks Volvos are the best and wants us all to have one because an ER nurse client of his says they are life-savers in accidents. He will not be hearing any complaints from me!
• Ari-girl: On Monday, we went to visit D's mom, Peter, and Ari! She's lots of fun and has taken a recent liking to her Uncle David. She even went to him over me :( which she never did before. She made up for it by cuddling on my lap for a minute before something else caught her attention. I'll take what I can get, that kid can move!
• Back home: It took us exactly 4 hours to get back to PA, which was awesome. We got in around 11pm, so we went right to bed. I automatically went to sleep on D's side because that's where I slept while he was away. He immediately rolled me over and now we are back to our usual routines.

The same ol' grind promptly resumed on Tuesday and I can't say that I mind. We'll be back up in CT in exactly three weeks for another four-day weekend in which D'll cram in two interviews. By the way, he got an interview invitation to UCONN this afternoon. He only hasn't heard from two programs in CT. There's still time. Lots of time, actually.