Busy Week, Awesome Family, and Feeling Bleh...

So sorry for being MIA for the last week!!!  I was travelling in Cali for work last week and so I didn't have much time or computer access.  On top of that, I've been uncomfortably sick for over a week now (a sinus infection I think) and so when I have had any free time at all, I've been trying to spend it sleeping and/or relaxing so my body can beat whatever hellish bug is currently making me feel like crap.  That free time has been infrequent anyway.

A couple of fun notes regarding my Cali trip - even though I felt icky I wanted to make the most of my free time there.  This time I focused on Venice where I roamed the many awesome (and mostly expensive) shops on Abbot Kinney Blvd.  I had lunch at the wonederful Gjelina where I had a delicious salad with arugula, avocado, grapefruit, and smoked trout followed by an incredible desert of chia pudding with fresh berries, toasted almonds and coconut and a strawberry balsamic reduction.  It was the only desert on their menu that wasn't made with egg, so I reluctantly agreed to it.  I'd heard the deserts there were amazing and I didn't want to miss out.  I didn't.  It was awesome!  After that I met up with B, who was also out in the area on business that week (happy coincidence!) and we took in some ocean views (see top photo) and then had dinner together at a tapas and wine bar.  It was a nice day minus the sore throat and stuffed up sinuses.  Which then proceeded to get much, much worse for the rest of my trip.  I did the job I went there for and spent the rest of my time in bed in my hotel room.  Bleh.

I arrived home on Thursday evening to a belated b-day gift from my parents - my first pair of cowboy boots!!!  Aren't they fantastic!  And what was even better is I was able to thank them in person the following day as both my mom and dad as well as my brother D came into town for the weekend!  I wasn't feeling great, but I was good enough to be social at least (just a nasty cough and runny nose for the most part.  Which I still have today.  Very annoying...)

On Saturday we hit up the St. Arnold's brewery tour where we played Rummikub, Liars Dice, and Cribbage and ate a bunch of yummy snacks that we'd brought with (S makes a mean sandwich!).  We then headed out to the burbs to show my family S's new place (which he closed on on Friday!  S is a homeowner!!!), and then to meet up with his family for an early Mother's Day dinner.  It was at this point that my health took a nosedive and my painful, uncomfortably swollen sinuses caused us to head straight home from here.  Lukily my awesome family was understanding.

Sunday I was back to the status quo of a cough and runny nose and so we all took a walk through the neighborhood.  We stopped off at the Menil art museum first to check out their awesome collection and then made our way to mine and S's favorite Sunday brunch spot: Eatsie Boys.  In order to not overdo it again, we spent the rest of the day just hanging out, which included an epic 3 hour game of Phase 10.  We barely finished in time for me to get my family to the airport for their flights home!  Minus the sickness, it was a wonderful weekend and so good to see everyone!

Now I'm just back, once again, to the status quo of an annoying, persistent dry cough and a now waning runny nose.  I'm hoping I can shake it in the next few days.  I'm also spending this week helping S move into his new place, so I'll be pretty busy.  I'll try to get in another update or two if I have time!