Hello and How Are You?

Here it is, nearly MAY! Can you believe it? The past month has been so incredibly full, and I've tried to stay present in the moments, but that has been a challenge with Future Things always begging for my attention. A quick recap: 

• April began with a 2-day trip to Panama City Beach in FL for part of our Spring Break. It was nice! Kate brought a friend, and it was wonderful for her to have that added element of fun; in fact, there were several other of their Georgia friends also enjoying the Gulf Coast, so for her it was really a very social vacation. Even Shawn and I had some friends down there, and we met up with them for dinner one evening. Fun! The condo was adequate, though not extravagant. Slightly bigger than the condo we are used to in Destin, but of course this was in a 30-story tower. Elevator access was our main complaint - we had to wait at least several minutes every time we wanted to go up or down (we were on the 14th floor). But overall it was fine. The sun and sand were delightful and we sat there doing NOTHING, 2 days straight. Five Stars for doing nothing! The water was much too cold, as can be expected in early April in north Florida. 
• The next weekend was Easter, which was weird for all of us. Alex didn't come home. Shawn had left town for a concert the night before, and wasn't home on Easter morning. Kate and I went to Mass and then to breakfast, but it didn't feel right. We made Easter dinner around 5 pm but I was also disappointed with that meal - I bought a Honey Baked Ham but I didn't find it as delicious as usual, and my deviled eggs weren't pretty. At least the lemon icebox pie was good.
• There was a 2-day volleyball tournament halfway across town the next weekend (we woke up at 4:45 both mornings), and then Sunday afternoon I left for Germany!
• The work trip to headquarters was actually quite nice, even though I have things to complain about: 1) I got sick on the way there, sore throat and stuffy nose the whole week; and 2) rainy, cold weather. But otherwise, my colleagues were delightful and I love Bavaria. I also got to meet a distant cousin of mine who is German! My parents had met him years ago when they visited Germany, and so Mom connected us. A little awkward to share a meal with someone you've never met, who's "all of a sudden" related to you. But nice nonetheless and definitely a trip highlight.
• I flew home last Friday, then we had volleyball regionals Sat-Sun, and then Mon-Tues we hosted a national sales meeting at OUR office, oh my! 10 sales reps plus some attendees from Germany! I gave a presentation (worked on it at the airport/hotel last week) and was told it was "inspiring." Ha! Not sure I believe that, but okay, thanks.
• You'd better believe I worked from home Wednesday.
  
  
• Also on Wednesday, I "graduated" from Physical Therapy! 8 weeks and many deductible dollars later, my foot still hurts in the mornings, but definitely less so. I'm going to keep working on lower-body strength and stretching 3x/week, and hope hope hope it fully heals eventually. 

I'm ready to move on to a new month! I can't think critically about much else besides my calendar these days, but would like to share with you:

• what I think about our recent Every Plate meals
• movie recommendations (I watched several during my 9-hour flights!)
• reflections on the kids' first years in college (alex), and high school (kate) - can't believe the schoolyear's almost over!
• what I'm reading (hint: not much)

Maybe there will be time for these things soon. :)