Happy to Be Home!

Good morning my friends!

Yes, as my title suggests, I am home, happy to be sleeping in my own bed again. Thank you my friends for your prayers and well wishes as I have traveled, and cared for my aging parents. I am happy to say mom is on the mend. She is back to work, and completing her cardiac rehab. We had a few scary times with her, but she is recovering well. Dad is not doing as well. I am thankful for every day he is still with me, which I fear won't be many more. He is happy and accepting what will be, and so we go on.

I am trying to get back into my routine. Not that there is much of a routine in the summer. At least I can start to work out consistently again, and eat like I am used to. I think the food is the hardest part of being away from home. For example, this is what mom and I had for dinner, the night she came home from the hospital after her heart attack:

I love that the cardiac leads are still on her chest, hahaha. Now, I do know that a hot fudge sundae may not be the best meal for a cardiac patient, but, isn't there a saying, Life is short, eat dessert first! We actually argued about the ice cream. After this one treat, we purchased a much healthier version for her freezer! And over the next couple of days, we purged and restocked the fridge and pantry. I do not want to ever, ever, do that again, what a job! She had enough unhealthy food to satisfy my teenage son and his friends for quite a while! I'm sure when I go back to visit, she will have repurchased many of the same foods, and the cycle will continue. Sometimes, you just can't teach an old dog new tricks.

I was barely home from Texas, when hubby and I packed our suitcases and went on vacation. We have a friend with a home in the Dominican Republic. Since he is currently working overseas, he rents his villa during his absence. If you are looking for a place to vacation, I highly recommend Residential Casa Linda. We stayed in villa 647. We went with another couple, so splitting the cost made it even more affordable. Our villa had two bedrooms with their own bathrooms, and being at opposite ends of the house, we had plenty of privacy.

We spent our mornings in the backyard, laying by the pool,

 and our afternoons being tourists.

We ziplined over the jungle

played with monkeys

traveled by cable car to the top of a mountain

and climbed against the current up several waterfalls, so we could slide back down (no cameras available).

And yes, we even saw the ocean.

After all of this, how did we celebrate the 4th of July? Quietly relaxing at home, enjoying the nice summer breeze, grateful that the final countdown has begun, for our son's return from his deployment

I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July celebration! Thanks for stopping to visit!