The past four days have been a whirlwind and nothing at all like I imagined.
I picked up my mom from the airport late at night and she was wheeled out into the luggage area in a wheelchair. I was in complete shock and it turned out she had been dealing with sciatic pain for a couple of days. Sitting on the plane for several hours made it so bad that she could barely walk. It was just an awful sight to see her in such agony. She's usually the one who outtalks me whenever we go on sightseeing tours or go shopping. She can spend an easy six hours running around town, full of excitement, while my energy wanes within three.
After packing up the car with lots of presents, bags, and the dog we headed upstate. We were invited to a X-mas tree trimming party and spent the evening with lovely people. The food was incredible and healthy - think blackened green beans, ham, sushi rolls, veggies and dip, pulled pork and spicy shrimp. The desserts were fabulous as well and I sampled it all. We called it an early night because we were all a bit exhausted. I had had little sleep this past week because of a cough that kept me up during the nights. It's been a week now since my cough started and I'm finally shaking it. Goes to show you what happens when you neglect your body's need for sleep, rest and good nutrition. I let it all go last week because my priority was to get everything ready to take some time off. Now, I have to use the time off to get better. That's not what a vacation is for, people. A vacation should be for enjoying your health and to improve it. I get that now more than ever.
By Saturday my mom's sciatic pain was so bad that we headed to the ER. With heavy duty pain meds in hand and muscle relaxers we headed back home to rest. We decorated the X-mas tree and hung out around the house, enjoying a nice fire in the fireplace, recording goofy holiday greetings on video for the family and snuggling up with the reindeer.
You're probably wondering about my mom's suitcase. Well, she did arrive with two suitcases - one with clothes and the other filled with gifts. She brought only one cookie tin and it was sealed with tape so I didn't break into it :-)
In it were my mom's famous x-mas cookies: vanilla kipferl (an Austrian specialty), coconut macaroons, short bread cookies, and jelly filled cookies. I was happy to share them with the party guests and surprisingly they weren't so much of a temptation as I thought they would be. Seems like I've outgrown them... even though they're delicious.
Sunday morning we celebrated X-mas according to American tradition in the morning, even though in Germany you celebrate it on the 24th in the evening. The lucky one was our dog, who got all sorts of pigs ears, dog treats and toys from Santa.
My favorite gift? Check out these truly AWESOME vintage movie theater letters. They're now hanging by the entrance area so everyone who comes to visit can see how truly awesome this house is :-)
I have been low on energy from my cold but finally feel on the up and up again, so tomorrow will be the first day I'm back to exercising in 4 days. Yep, that's a confession and I need it badly. I don't feel myself when I don't exercise, so tomorrow I plan on running two miles and using my TRX for strength training. I promise.
I hope you're enjoying R&R and do something fun.
Cheers, Ariane
I picked up my mom from the airport late at night and she was wheeled out into the luggage area in a wheelchair. I was in complete shock and it turned out she had been dealing with sciatic pain for a couple of days. Sitting on the plane for several hours made it so bad that she could barely walk. It was just an awful sight to see her in such agony. She's usually the one who outtalks me whenever we go on sightseeing tours or go shopping. She can spend an easy six hours running around town, full of excitement, while my energy wanes within three.
After packing up the car with lots of presents, bags, and the dog we headed upstate. We were invited to a X-mas tree trimming party and spent the evening with lovely people. The food was incredible and healthy - think blackened green beans, ham, sushi rolls, veggies and dip, pulled pork and spicy shrimp. The desserts were fabulous as well and I sampled it all. We called it an early night because we were all a bit exhausted. I had had little sleep this past week because of a cough that kept me up during the nights. It's been a week now since my cough started and I'm finally shaking it. Goes to show you what happens when you neglect your body's need for sleep, rest and good nutrition. I let it all go last week because my priority was to get everything ready to take some time off. Now, I have to use the time off to get better. That's not what a vacation is for, people. A vacation should be for enjoying your health and to improve it. I get that now more than ever.
By Saturday my mom's sciatic pain was so bad that we headed to the ER. With heavy duty pain meds in hand and muscle relaxers we headed back home to rest. We decorated the X-mas tree and hung out around the house, enjoying a nice fire in the fireplace, recording goofy holiday greetings on video for the family and snuggling up with the reindeer.
You're probably wondering about my mom's suitcase. Well, she did arrive with two suitcases - one with clothes and the other filled with gifts. She brought only one cookie tin and it was sealed with tape so I didn't break into it :-)
In it were my mom's famous x-mas cookies: vanilla kipferl (an Austrian specialty), coconut macaroons, short bread cookies, and jelly filled cookies. I was happy to share them with the party guests and surprisingly they weren't so much of a temptation as I thought they would be. Seems like I've outgrown them... even though they're delicious.
Sunday morning we celebrated X-mas according to American tradition in the morning, even though in Germany you celebrate it on the 24th in the evening. The lucky one was our dog, who got all sorts of pigs ears, dog treats and toys from Santa.
My favorite gift? Check out these truly AWESOME vintage movie theater letters. They're now hanging by the entrance area so everyone who comes to visit can see how truly awesome this house is :-)
I have been low on energy from my cold but finally feel on the up and up again, so tomorrow will be the first day I'm back to exercising in 4 days. Yep, that's a confession and I need it badly. I don't feel myself when I don't exercise, so tomorrow I plan on running two miles and using my TRX for strength training. I promise.
I hope you're enjoying R&R and do something fun.
Cheers, Ariane
feel better! and your mommy too...say hi to her! if she needs an amazing chiropractor, let me know...mine saved my sanity after 7 months of nobody being able to help.
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