Home Sweet Home

I'm home in Cincinnati for my own little spring break! I came back for Easter and decided to take the whole week off work. Yes, a whole week. I haven't had a day off this year. The break was long over due and much needed.

I sang Easter Vigil and both Easter masses with my dad. Jude taught me the "Jesu" chorus for the meditation song. It felt good to learn something new. Overall, the masses were great and Fr. Stan's first-person version of the resurrection homily was quite moving. It was great to finally have an Easter with warm weather. I can't remember the last time the sun was out for Easter.

Monday I tried to get back on track with the marathon training. While doing my 16 mile run a few weeks ago, my knee got tight so I took a break from the training to let it heal. I was supposed to run 18 miles over the weekend, but I skipped that due to the traveling and Easter festivities. My dad and I ran downtown from Friendship park to the Reds' stadium. My dad made it 3 miles. I went on to do 6 and then the 78 degree weather got the best of me and I decided to stop. It's a good thing I did. I came home with crispy red shoulders and a red face from forgetting to wear sunscreen. Another 2 hours out there would have been really bad!

That evening, went to dinner with Aunt Nette, Uncle Frank, Thomas, Frankie and Lauren. I wasn't expecting anyone except Aunt Nette, so it was cool that everyone else came to. That was a nice surprise.

Tuesday, Mom and I spent the day with Aunt Stephanie. She looks amazing from coming out of such a serious surgery. It was sad to see her in a neck brace, but seemed to get around alright. Her dog, Purdy, is so cute! He thinks he's bigger than he is and wants to guard Aunt Stephanie at all times. I think my mom wore him out after taking him down the road for a walk. He took lots of naps the rest of the day. It was very nice to be with Aunt Stephanie and sit out in the nice weather in the peaceful country. Aunt Stephanie also showed us how to make our own vanilla extract. It looked easy, so I'll have to give it a shot when I get back. Then, I'll need to find out what to do with it after it's made. Maybe there is some sort of cookie or cake that would taste great with real vanilla extract.

Yesterday, I met my realtor, Eric, at the condo. I found out the day before that I would have two showings on Thursday, so it worked out great. I wanted to give the place a once over and clean before the showings. Right away when we pulled up to the building my heart sank. My neighbors' laziness and pets have made the outside look shabby. I immediately picked up the cigarette butts from outside (I think they are from Chad... booo!) The dogs peed away patches of grass, so I couldn't do anything about that. Since the next day was garbage day, I took out everyone's trash from the side of the building. Hopefully, the storm we had overnight didn't send all the trash all over the place. Once inside, the kitchen and living room were fine. What a relief. Dad and I were going to run, and if Aunt Nette called back she was going to join us, so I went into Chad's room to get ready. I walked in to his bathroom and realized it would need a scrub before the potential home buyers came through. So, I started scrubbing. Then I realized it was going to be a project. I was so upset. I thought if Chad wasn't going to pay me rent, the least he could do was keep everything clean. Cody was doing a good job, but I was disappointed with Chad. I was grumbling and getting angry as I was cleaning. I told my parents to go home since I didn't want to waste their time. I cleaned Chad's room top to bottom. I even called Steph to come over to get me to drive me to the store for new curtains and to replenish the cleaning supplies. I cleaned Cody's bathroom, the kitchen, dusted, vacuumed the inside and hall, and prayed and prayed I would get an offer out of the showings. I'm still praying. I'm ready to dump the condo. It's totally stressing me out. Luckily, I had a nice dinner with Steph and she helped me calm down. She's a great friend! I wish I could see her more. I miss her!

Tonight, Mom and I are taking the grandma's to see Mary Poppins. I head back to DC tomorrow and then a few hours later, hop in the car to go to Virginia Beach with Joe for the weekend... where I'll be scrubbing some more!