Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - Recovery Day (Sort of)

Despite my exhaustion, I still woke up every two hours, and this time, couldn’t get back to sleep for a long time, once for over two hours. Thank goodness Hubby doesn’t have this problem, he just keeps happily snoring along moments after his head hits the pillow! I’m usually a good sleeper, but lately, not so much. I need to get out in the woods for awhile, where it’s quiet and I don’t have anything to think about except when’s the next time we’re going riding! Walked across the street to Coco’s Bakery and Restaurant and had a very disappointing brunch. Hubby’s blueberry waffle was okay, but my El Paso Benedict had many shortcomings. The eggs were too hard (probably from sitting under the heat lamp too long), the bacon cold, the muffin soggy, and the side of fruit (melons) was totally tasteless. I complained and they took it off the bill, but it will be the last time we eat there, sadly, since it’s so conveniently located to several hotels where we hold workshops. Walked over to Target to pick up a few things before heading back to the hotel. Got back into bed, where Hubby napped again, but my mind was too active so I spent time working on a chart of potential Costa Rican riding vacations which we are considering. Finally tried to sleep around 5:00, but only managed to rest a bit. Instead of getting up and going out as we had originally planned, we called down for room service, and mostly packed out bags while we waited for it. Lights out at just after 9:00, feeling really exhausted, and hoping for a good night’s sleep! Alarm set for 4:45 am.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - Work Day

Still woke up every two hours, and once couldn’t get back to sleep for over an hour. Don’t know what’s causing it, maybe the alcohol. Anyway, up bright and early again, rejoined our group for another busy but very productive day. Really excellent progress on the whole. Looks like it might open a few doors to other jobs, as well, several people indicated a need for other associates to either attend one of these workshops, or to have us come in to work with their group by itself. Either way works for us! Though we ran almost a half hour long, people still hung around to talk to us, even after the class was finished! Just can’t get enough, I guess : -). Went to happy hour again, this time we had margaritas, and were joined by two students from the class for a bit. Finally had to head off to the room, exhaustion setting in after being "on" for so long. Lights out by 10:00.

Monday, December 12, 2011 - Work Day

Arrived in the meeting room by 7:00 am. Most of what we had discussed had been done, with a few minor details remaining, so everything worked out. Students started to arrive by 8:00, and we got started just about on time. A good group, somewhat subdued and serious at first, warming up a bit by afternoon. Very attentive, and they all seem to be absorbing everything thoroughly. Went to happy hour for a change, this hotel’s cantina had a Monday Martini and Meatball special, so we decided to splurge again and had a couple of Cosmo’s and appetizer size meatball plates for dinner. Off to bed, hoping to get a better night sleep!

Sunday, December 11, 2011 - Recovery/Shopping Day

Didn’t get out of bed until after 10:00, but I was awake every two hours for some reason, so I didn’t feel as rested as I had hoped. We went out to Denny’s for breakfast, then to Staples to pick up a table top easel pad. The salesman at the store insisted he didn’t have anything like that, right up until we found one sitting right on his shelf, then he got rather huffy for some reason, like it was my fault he didn’t know. Weird. Headed back to the hotel. Checked out the meeting room we were going to be working in, and discovered a complete mess, everything was in the wrong place, so we had to try to rearrange as much as we could, but there wasn’t anyone from the banquet office in on Sunday, so much of it we simply had to leave instructions. Not an easy task, since the vast majority of people working at this hotel don’t speak English. Anyway, we did the best we could before heading back up to the room. Late in the afternoon, Hubby decided to steam our suits, and we discovered that one of the suits I had brought, which I hadn’t worn yet, had a different size pant than jacket, and didn’t fit properly! That necessitated another outing to a Burlington Coat Factory, which was right up the road. Not much of a selection compared to some other stores we’ve been in, but I managed to find a green jacket w/black pants that looked good. Not that I needed another pair of black pants, especially since I’ve been trying to avoid black these day (shades of my fat-hiding past), but it did the trick. Finally got back to the hotel, and got to bed early since we have an early start.

Saturday, December 10, 2011 - Fly to Anaheim, CA

Had a lousy night sleep for some reason, and woke up incredibly tired. Left the farm about 10:00, with lots of time for a nice brunch at IHOP and an easy run to the airport from there. We had accumulated a lot of frequent flyer miles, so we decided that since this was a cross-country flight, we’d splurge and go First Class. What a treat! Not only did we have the expected bigger and more comfortable seats with lots more legroom, we were served two excellent meals, starting with hot nuts, unlimited liquor (okay, just this once!), appetizers (shrimp cocktail at dinner), salad, entrees, and even dessert (cookie on one flight, and, would you believe, ICE CREAM on the other!) What an indulgence. Had more calories on this one day that we usually have over three! But what the hey, we don’t get to go first class every time (though I may start looking into how to upgrade more often...: -). You only live once! Arrived on time, picked up our little chartreuse Ford Fiesta, and headed to the airport. So exhausted we didn’t even stop to shop on our way. We certainly didn’t need an evening meal! In bed early, have to catch up before our workshop on Monday!

Friday, December 9, 2011 - Travel Day to Jacksonville, FL

Managed to get out pretty early. The ranger had told us about a manhole cover over a sewer that RV-ers were allowed to use as a dump, so we were able to get that done before we left camp (though handling the manhole cover was no easy task). On the road before 9:00. First stop breakfast, then fuel and propane, then clear sailing to our next stop, a stable in Callahan, FL just west of Jacksonville. No trouble getting over through the Ag stop at the border, the young man didn’t even come out to compare our horses to their passports! Arrived around 3:00, a bit ahead of schedule, but that allowed us to get everyone well situated. The horses are in big stalls with runs, the dogs will stay in the RV and the staff will look after them when we leave next week. Hubby got the satellite dish up, we plugged into electric in the workshop, and we’re home free! Well, not free, this place is a bit more than usual, but it will do the job nicely. Did a little preliminary packing, then settled in for the evening.

Thursday, December 8, 2011 - Preparation Day

Slept late, and tried to take it as easy as possible in preparation for our long drive tomorrow, but we did get almost everything packed up early today. Finished up the laundry, had a nice shower before going to bed, set the alarm for an early start.