Batteries Recharged

I had a wonderful time in Texas visiting my family. I really wished they lived closer. Texas is a far piece! It's hardly driveable for someone who isn't interested in spending more than 4 hours in a car. (i.e. ME) The flights are expensive and indirect to Austin. But the cost of the ticket and the whole day of return traveling were well worth it. I miss my sister all the time and only get to see her a few times a year since she moved there 5+ years ago. We didn't even have any special plans but you forget how nice it is just to go to a store together. I don't have a good shopping buddy at home besides John and he gets increasingly more exacerbated the longer I spend in the dressing room. I also had a nice lunch out with just my bro-in-law. He graciously spent 90 minutes in the middle of the work day to dine with me. How kind!

Once again, I was using this trip as a baby-o-meter. At Thanksgiving, my nephew Ben was 4 months old. I had never spent an extended amount of time around a baby and that trip was super eye-opening. It was clear that John and I were not yet ready for children, although we already knew that. Our baby timeline has a ways to go still. However, now that Ben is 10 months and a bit more mobile (crawling!) I wanted to see if I felt differently. Babies are a lot of effort, yo! It definitely didn't start any biological clock ticking but now I miss him even more! I think for now I like being the helpful aunt.

Unfortunately, I felt like all I did was eat while I was there. Yes, vacation tends to be a calorie-fest. I only ran one day. It was bloody hot outside! We went out to eat for nearly every meal. I'm trying not to stress about this too much. There are many restaurants in Austin that Dayton just doesn't provide....obviously. We tried some new-to-me places and hit up all my faves too (Chuy's!) So, as soon as I got off the plane and got home yesterday, I hit the weights. I'm renewing my fitness fanaticism. I am not going to weigh myself for a few weeks because I know it won't be pretty. I would have John hide the scale again but we all know how that went last time. So I'm going to have to muster up some will power.

I'm really sad my trip is already over but I'm looking forward to planning fun summery things to do for the next few months!