PA with the Fam...

My weekend didn't turn out quite as busy as I had said on Thursday... but it was still busy. On Friday, Hubby and I went to pick up his car instead of going to my aunt and uncle's for dinner. Oh, and I got a haircut! It is so invigorating to cut it short after it's been long and heavy for months and months. Please forgive my horrid unphotogenicness (that's word is long, but made up), but I thought I'd show the change... too bad I'll never get it to look as good as the stylist did (not that this photo really shows how good she made it look).

I didn't end up working at the Fall Festival on Saturday, but instead did a bunch of cleaning before heading up to Philly to my sister's to see her and my parents (who were visiting for the long weekend). Of course, 495 was a hater as usual and it made my trip up there longer than necessary.

Eventually I made it to my sister's and then the whole fam' went to stay at a hotel just outside Philadelphia. On Sunday we were blessed by beautiful weather as we headed out into the country for a ride. One of our stops was Valley Forge National Park.

Oh how I love bagpipes and it always makes me so happy to hear them- especially in locations like this.

We saw quite a few deer at the Park, including these two. The one in the back was giving the one in the front a bath. Us camera wielding folks in the car didn't bother them one bit.


As we were driving about, not really lost but not really with any specific place to go in mind, we saw a sign for the Daniel Boone Homestead. As Dad sang the theme song for ol' Daniel Boone, we turned off to take a look.

On Sunday night, after a long day driving around PA country, it was decided that it was necessary to experience one of the great landmarks of Philly- Pat's. So Mom, Sister, and I drove into Philly from the hotel (Dad stayed behind to watch baseball) to get ourselves some cheesesteak. I was hesitant to order one, as I can be quite fussy when it comes to food, but decided it was better to try than be left out of the experience. It was quite tasty and I'm really glad I didn't wuss out!

I like this next pic because it looks like Mom is a little nervous. This may seem silly, but if you haven't been, you don't know how nervewracking it actually is to order! There is a specific way to order a cheesesteak at Pat's, and if you don't do it right, they correct you. Mom and Sister ordered provolone wit and I had American wit. Wit means with onions. Wit-out would be no onions. If you say with instead of wit, they will have you repeat it correctly.

This morning we had breakfast together before Mom and Dad headed home. It was a great weekend and I love being able to spend time with my family. It's awesome to be so close to my parents and all of us have such a great time together- I'm absolutely grateful for that.

Fortunately my trip back down to NoVa wasn't as long as going up. I got home and did some cleaning I had planned on finishing before the long weekend ended and then made some yummy spaghetti with red sauce and spicy sausage. Hubby is studying for class tomorrow, so after finishing this post I'll probably go do some reading before sleepy time... Mom let me borrow a book called Taking Flight and after reading just a little of the beginning, I'm really interested to see what the author has to say.

Oh, and in case anyone could possibly be wondering, the Zone for this week is the non-master bathroom and an extra room. For me it's the guest room and guest bathroom. I'll be focusing mainly on the bedroom because it is the biggest mess of the condo at the moment. Hopefully I'll get some serious liquidating done as it's my most clutter-filled room.

Yay for a short work week! I've got yet another transcript to get started (and hopefully finish) tomorrow. A non-work goal for the week is to get back in the gym and get a better food plan going. I definitely haven't been taking good enough care of myself in the food department lately and I can feel it, so that's got to change ASAP- I'm hoping the change will benefit Hubby as well. Hopefully putting this goal out there for other people to see (????) will help me stay motivated to meet it.