Post Vacation Reality

My long vacation weekend is now over and the work week is back in full force, along with a nice little 1-2 inch carpet of slushy snow.  SNOW?  Snow!  Right!  It is February 21, and for the first time this year (that I can clearly recall at the moment) it actually LOOKS like winter.  At least for the moment.  Tales of temperatures again approaching 40 degrees spell imminent doom for the layer of frozen water.

Fortunately, I made it back to MN before all the snowfall commenced.  Unfortunately, I had to make the 45 minute drive from my parents' house to my own homestead shortly after the roads started to get a bit sketchy.  I made it home safely with Lena in the backseat.  We are both happy to be home and in our own beds.

So what did I do on my weekend?  Well... I went out to eat at a lot of new and fun places.  I visited a Mustard Museum and bought some Bucky Badger mustard.  I drank a Red Velvet Martini with a cream cheese frosting on the rim.  I watched "Midnight in Paris."  I peed with a bitey kitten harassing me on my lap.  (Don't ask.)

All in all, it was a lovely time.  I love spending time with my brother and I love spending time with his girlfriend.  It is just so comfortable to stay with them. 

I came home to find that Lena had mostly behaved well for my parents.  Except that she kept coming into the house with muddy paws.  And she snapped at my mother when she attempted to make her move to a different spot on the bed.  I am at a loss to explain the latter behavior, but if her level of energy last night was any indicator, she was probably completely worn out at the end of the day.  This can lead to crankiness in anyone, but paired with the fact that she was sleeping in an unfamiliar place without her normal sleeping companion and she was probably just a perfect storm of bitchiness.  (Pardon my French, but she is a dog.)

So now I am back to the routine, which is not really such a terrible thing.  The search for new employment continues as does (hopefully) the house organization/cleaning project.  With the potential for a semi-frequent houseguest looming on the horizon in the form of my father who will be starting his new job and commute in a couple of weeks, I need to have my guest quarters in order.  At the very least I need to work on getting a steady supply of Diet Coke with Lime in my refrigerator.