Spending Diet

I've decided to challenge myself to not spend more than $5 for any nonessential item during the month of July. I'm calling it a Spending Diet.

In the last couple of weeks, I've been bombarded with emails offering a variety of items at deep discounts. In other words, the end-of-season clearance is in full swing. But, truth is, I don't need a thing. Besides, I'm itching to do another whole-house purge, so adding to the clutter is not at all appealing.

One exception to the nonessential rule might be plane tickets for a fall trip we're considering to Washington state. But beyond that, I'm feeling good about this challenge. Let the games begin!

C-Section Scheduled!

Granddaughter is currently head up. Last week she tried to move, but failed and returned to her comfortable upright position. So, today, the doctor scheduled a c-section for July 14. That's just three weeks away!

Also today the new parents saw granddaughter's face during the in-office ultrasound. My son said she was sleeping and appeared very content and comfortable. She also looked Asian. If you don't know, my daughter-in-law is 100% Korean, so the odds of an Asian-looking sweet baby are very good.

Given today's information, I'm even more excited about the arrival of our third grandchild. And I'm amping up my prayers for a healthy baby and safe delivery while also requesting a grandchild with no colic or acid reflux. (Grandson #1 had severe colic for nearly six months; grandson #2 suffered for many months with acid reflux.) That might be a lot to hope for, but it never hurts to ask.

Let the countdown begin!

Still Recovering and Now Also Stressed!

I'm still suffering with congestion from the virus I caught over two weeks ago. It's minimal, but still extremely annoying even though it gets a touch better everyday.

Frankly, I'm starting to think it's allergies and quite possibly from our cat. Rupert lives in the basement, but dander could be seeping through the vents. I truly hope this isn't the case. Nevertheless, Rupert's definitely our last pet.

So I'm still not 100% and getting more and more stressed about the baby shower this Saturday. Thank goodness my daughter finally realized we have to hold the shower indoors and not under tents as previously planned. It's just way too hot.

But now we're shifting our plans to seating 30 people in her new home, and to keeping food and drink off her white couch and SIL's piano. As a friend said, let's hope people are respectful. Sadly, however, I've experienced the opposite when hosting large groups in my own home.

I'll just be so glad when the shower's over. I haven't hosted such a large event in a long time. And, at this point, I don't plan to ever again!

Recovery

A few days before the end of the trip hubby caught a virus. Congestion, headache, coughing, you get the picture. Then I started with it the day we flew home. So, in addition to getting over jet-lag, we've both been dealing with the tail-end of a viral infection. But I think (and hope) by the end of this week we'll be 100% again.

I did manage to get back to the gym today, however. I know I'll be sore tomorrow, but welcome the pain. It felt good to be squatting, lifting weights, and doing push-ups and abdominal work, again. At the end of a class, I'm always appreciative of the fact my body can still do those things.

And I know working out regularly helped me enjoy the trip more. We walked an average of 5.5 miles a day. And nearly all those miles were logged carrying a full cross-body bag.

My reward was eating and drinking whatever I wanted and not gaining any weight. In fact, I lost weight. A friend suggested I may have broken my plateau by eating more calories. I pray that's true. I've been counting calories, logging everything I eat, and working out regularly for well over a year and I'm still six pounds shy of my goal. I know six pounds isn't much, but when I set out to do something I'm used to getting it done.

But now my focus is on baby. My daughter and I are giving my daughter-in-law a baby shower on June 25. Zuae needs so many things before baby comes. She's had a miserable pregnancy, constantly suffering with nausea and heartburn, that it's been tough for her to prepare. But this Wednesday she'll be 35 weeks, so it won't be much longer. It's time to "feather the nest!"

Home

After many months of planning and anticipation, I can now say we enjoyed our trip to Eastern Europe. We did have a rough start, but once we got to Munich it was all good for the rest of the trip.

But on day one, our flight from St. Louis to Chicago was delayed 1.5 hours, which meant we would miss our connection. I immediately got on the phone with Lufthansa, and Eddie spent nearly 1.5 hours with me working to fix the problem.

We ended up spending the night in the Hampton Inn across the street from the St. Louis airport, and starting our trip a day later. The next day we took the earliest flight to Chicago, resulting in a 10-hour layover in the O'Hare airport.

That's a long time to spend in an airport, and the only thing that saved us was finally getting a day pass to the United Club. For $58 per person, we enjoyed comfortable chairs, fast wifi, and all the food and drinks we wanted.

Once we boarded the Lufthansa flight to Munich, the real fun began. We upgraded to Premium Economy when we first booked, which turned out to be a wise decision. For the first time ever, hubby and I both managed to sleep on a red-eye long-haul flight.

Besides our first time upgrading, the flight was also our first time on an airbus. What a beautiful piece of engineering, and so quiet and smooth.

We arrived in Munich a few hours before our Globus tour's Welcome Dinner. I'm not sure when I'll have time to share photos and experiences, but I will. For now I'll share we enjoyed every minute. Good tour director and driver. Good travel companions. Good sights and food.

I've already started researching our next Globus trip. Portugal? Spain? Italy? Switzerland? Norway? So many options. So much more of the world to see.