What I did during my summer vacation

I just got back to Kuwait from the States where I spent a perfect vacation with my family.  The weather was perfect, the mood was perfect, the food was perfect, the company (of course) was perfect.  I did NOT want to leave and I've been rather grumpy since getting back.

Anyhow, here's what I did.

Day 1:  Unpacked my suitcases and an unwelcomed traveller popped his little braissy head out of my suitcase, ran across the room and up the wall.  After chasing him for THREE hours, I decided that he would probably not make it in the house and would eventually die.  I couldn't tell my family because I didn't want them to spend every waking hour thinking that a gecko was going to fall on their head while they slept.  I told my mom, but swore her to secrecy (and she actually kept quiet this time).  EIGHT days later, my sister sees him run across the formal dining room.  She calls her husband and they both have a brief conversation about how strange it is to see a gecko in Virginia, but with the climate change - who knows?   I had to confess.  She didn't kill me, thank God.  We got a good giggle out of it.

How I spent my evenings:  Mad Men

Every summer, my nephew gets me addicted to another series.  This time, it was Mad Men; the most sexist show ever invented (probably why he loves it.  He just can't get over the pointy boobs....).  My mother, who lived and worked during the depicted time period, says that it was no where near as sexist as the show portrays.  Don Draper is a womanizing pig, but damn is he hot.  Anyhoo, I was on the sofa every night watching back episodes on Apple TV (and now I've started to do the same here in Kuwait).

Followed by.... talking on the phone for 2 to 4 hours every night to Monte Carlo (more to come on that, but maybe not).  Sigh....

This is what I ate:

Ok, we only ate crabs one night, but it was a good night.  The rest of the time, we had mostly chicken (my sister makes the BEST chicken!) and fish.  And margaritas and mojitos.  That's what I ate.  Also visited Silver Diner about a million times.  They've gone healthy, but I forgive them for that.  They still have great pancakes.

This is what I missed most about Kuwait life (besides my friends and pets, of course):

I wish they had water hoses in the US.  That's alls I'm sayin.

I couldn't take photos of the multitude of places I shopped, but that's usually where I spent my time with my mom. ... and we laughed and we laughed and we shopped and we shopped and we ate....

And my mother, sister and I had a wonderful girlie adventure at the beach.  So much fun.

Overall, I needed a low-key recharge and I got it.  I didn't realize how stressed out I've been and how it has probably affected my health.  My back is feeling better and so is my attitude.  I hope I can maintain it for a while.