we got mail!

Friday, we checked our mailbox and found a yellow slip inside. Yellow slip days are the best because they mean that we got something too big to fit in the box...a package! We knew that we didn't order anything, so we were pretty excited about the possibilities. We weren't disappointed. It turned out to be a small package from my mother-in-law for Jerry. Not only did she send him something, but it was something she made:

It's a littl difficult to tell from the picture, but inside is a photograph of Jerry, one of a series that Elizabeth photographed and developed several years ago. What a sweet and thoughtful gifty!

Speaking of my mother-in-law....today's Barbara's birthday! It's a big birthday weekend! Today is also my sister's birthday. I can't believe that she's turning 18!! And just in time to exercise her right to vote!! Yesterday was my Grandma Marian's birthday. Happy birthday to all of you!! Jerry and I (and Scooter too!) wish all the best to all of you on your birthdays and throughout the year!

You may have already guessed that the absence of posts this week has had to do with the fact that I've been busy spending time with my husband! You were right! Jerry arrived home on Tuesday afternoon and was given the rest of the week off from work. So we've been spending lots of time together, which has been a nice change for both of us. We haven't really been doing a whole lot, but we figure we'll be doing a lot when our real vacation starts next weekend. We did walk downtown a few days ago and I was able to take Jerry to the booze and oil store, which he enjoyed as much as I thought he would! We purchased some delicious amaretto and even deliciouser (that's right, deliciouser) sour cherry vodka....we're planning on returning for more of that! We also went to our favorite Eis Cafe, which I hadn't visited since he left over a month ago. I've been excited to try an ice coffee and finally had an opportunity. You may wonder why I would be so interested in an ice coffee, especially those of you who know that I don't even like coffee (but love coffee ice cream)! Well, in Germany, ice coffee is cold coffee poured over scoops of vanilla ice cream. It was one of the most delicious treats I've ever had! I look forward to future (occasional) ice coffee treats!

As I'd said in a previous post, I didn't lose as much weight as I'd hoped to while Jerry was away. But I found that I've made some pretty significant changes to my body. Shortly before Jerry returned, I purchased a new pair of jeans that was a size smaller than the last pair I purchased. Not only were they a smaller size, they were pretty roomy. The last pair had been a bigger size and tighter when I bought them. My workouts have gotten more intense and I'm finding myself getting stronger and stronger with the weight training....all great things. But let me bitch for just a moment: I love my husband, but sometimes I just hate him!! During the month he was gone, he lost ten pounds without really trying! That's just a few pounds shy of what I lost! Granted, he had long hours and did PT almost every day. And he wasn't allowed to drink alcohol. But other than that, he had lots of snack foods....candies and crunchy things. Meanwhile, I was at home, watching every morsel that went into my mouth and exercising multiple times a day and barely seeing change! Sometimes that's so frustrating and gets me a little down about my own progress (or lack of progress). But Jerry looks amazing, not just trim but muscular. I'm really proud of him and hope that I can continue on this good, but slow, path that I started while he was away.

Tomorrow Jerry goes back to work, which will help me get back into my regular routine. Since his two-week vacation starts next Saturday and we expect to be moving almost as soon as that ends, I'll also be spending much of this week getting everything ready to move (taking things down from the walls, filling in holes, organizing our stuff). Between packing,traveling and moving, I have a feeling that September is just going to fly by!