It's Monday now...technically my first day off of work. And I already feel a huge improvement. Friday night I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking "Why am I doing this...Why am I driving all this way by myself?" And then I would think "I'm so excited, I can't wait!". Well after only 1 hour of sleep that night, I will say that the drive was pretty tough....but so worth it.
I made it to my sister's at exactly 8am in Minneapolis, which is when I said I would arrive (I'm so good at that - seriously - ask Julia). We met my brother and his wife and my niece for breakfast. It was good to see them! From there I made my way to Iowa. OH - and Tom made me a great mixed CD, and Julia...thank you - convinced me to purchase the Kings of Leon CD. I haven't bought a cd in YEARS- but it is SOOOOO good! So I made it to Iowa where I did a lot of thinking about myself - and relationships - be it romantic relationships or relationships with family....just a lot of reflecting on what makes me happy. Then I stared at some windmills. After several hours I found myself in Adaire (I might be making up that spelling), Iowa. Their water tower made me smile. :)
My goal on Saturday was to make it to Kearney or North Platte, NE. Well...on one hour of sleep that wasn't an option. I got to Omaha....and then got delirious and checked into a hotel. Slept awesome though. Saturday night I spoke with Eric and told him I would be getting up at 5 to get a head start on the day. He said "Why don't you sleep in a little, and take it easy on your vacation, instead of making it like work?" After I hung up I thought about that for a little bit. Why do I do that? I did want to get up early and get moving..but really....5am? I then set the alarm for 7 and was very happy that I did.
Once I hit the road I was immediately happy to see the speed limit back up to 75 (which of course means 82). Check out I-80 on a map sometime and see how damn straight it is between Omaha and....Grand Island I think it was. I realized that I have a pretty great alignment on my vehicle.....no hands on the steering wheel....no curves in the road!!! During this part of my trip, work started filling my brain. But not in a negative way. I've felt so negative and down on myself lately....that almost every day at least once, I've felt as though I've lost worth in the department. My boss (and others) have told me that I'm being too critical of myself and have tried to give me some positive reinforcement but I just couldn't see it. All I could see was ---well....nothing. Yesterday - after staring a couple more windmills....I finally could see the things that I have added to the department. And what kind of differences I've made, and for the first time in months, I felt good about it. I really think that sometimes you just need to take yourself out of the picture....in order to see everything else around.
I arrived in Denver yesterday at some point. I was pretty exhausted. My aunt and I went to Hamburger Mary's for dinner. A very happy place. :) I had a spicy chicken sandwich and afterwards, my aunt and I tried to split what is the biggest slice of carrot cake I've ever seen in my life. Didn't get through it - but certainly had the stomach ache to prove that I tried! :)
This morning I got up, got ready for the day, and first took a nice walk around the neighborhood. Then I went to the Denver Zoo (Mandy's recommendation) and it was probably the best zoo I have been to. I spent several hours there, and even sat in on a wild life show that was more geared toward kids but it was still pretty impressive. I normally do not buy things at gift shops at these kinds of places because the prices are ridiculous, but I have to say...not too bad at this one. Actually came back with a couple things. I do have to say though (and I texted some of you this) there is NO place like the zoo, to make you feel like you're the only woman on the planet with no children. At first I actually felt a little sad - all of these children with their parents, but then when I saw the hunger tantrums begin in the early afternoon, it made me realize that the zoo, can also be a great method of birth control to stick in your brain. I'm ready for kids....but not so ready that I can't enjoy my time without them. :) Then I toured around and I must say - I have never - in any city I have ever been it - been so enamored with the houses. It's not just one little neighborhood I don't think. The houses in this city are just beautiful. They give me a much more southwestern kind of feeling. A lot of brick, stone, wrought iron, gorgeous homes. I thought about heading up the mountain today, but....it was pretty overcast in the afternoon and I couldn't find the damn thing. :) Then I made my way downtown, after getting my streets and avenues mixes up several times, I made it to the 16th Street Mall which is blocks and blocks and shops. I didn't buy anything - didn't need to - was just happy to see some of the city. The one thing I DID want to do was pick up a postcard at the visitor's center....and I spaced it. Hmph. Anyway I am having a wonderful time - and I think that a trip like this was exactly what I needed to get rid of any extra stress...some of which I didn't even know I had! Tomorrow....off to Utah.
