April in a blur

April went by in a blur, partially due to my travel and visits from friends and family.  In between visitors and my trip to DC we also managed to cram even more native wildflowers into our yard and the existing plants continued to wow us with stunning blooms and color.  Check it out on our Picasa site.


Wade's parents were here for a long Easter weekend and we had fun showing them St. Pete, our farmer's market, the Florida Aquarium, local fishing grounds, and Easter at Mom and Larry's.  Katie and Dustin also spent Easter with us where were enjoyed an old fashioned Easter brunch complete with mimosas, quiche, and fruit salad. 

Phil, Wade, and Grace in front of the redfish tank at the Florida Aquarium.

A sunset Easter walk on Anna Maria (where I appear to be dressed as a hobo)

The weekend after Easter, our friend Kellyn came to visit.  It was so good to see her and we had so much fun.  Our goal was to cram in as much good ethnic food in one weekend as we could possibly eat since she doesn't have much where she lives in NC.  We headed to Sarasota to pick up chicken feed and stopped at our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch, had Indian food for dinner, and the next day we made the trek down to the island to see Mom and Larry and enjoy excellent sushi at our favorite place on the island, Ocean Star.


The Monday after Kellyn's visit, Wade dropped us both at the airport for her return home and my trip to DC for some big meetings.  I ended up being pretty ill one night which was horrible, and I was so thankful to have my friend Whitney there to help me through it.  Being debilitating sick away from home is a little scary. The morning after we were in a big meeting with the leadership of a national retail chain and members of their board so I did my best to hold it together thankfully.  In a weird moment of the "Six Degrees of Separation" game, I sat next to Ed Norton's (yes, the actor) dad and I now have a decent idea of what he'll look like when he's older. :)


The weekend after I got back from DC I was really ill again and ended up having to cancel a work trip to Orlando where I was going to give a talk.  That Monday, Wade left for a work trip for the week, so Mom and Larry came to stay with me to keep me company.  By Wednesday it became clear that I was going to need surgery on Friday to deal with the problem. Thankfully, Wade made it home Thursday night and Friday morning I was put under to correct the problem.  I was so thankful to have Mom and Larry there to take care of me for the week, and so happy Wade made it home in time, because it turns out, I am actually not a fan of hospital gowns and socks, being put under, or being starved before surgery.  There might have been some hunger-induced swearing just before they knocked me out and Wade might have said my sailor mouth was going to offend the nurses...  Fortunately they were able to correct the problem with laproscopic surgery, and Wade even got a photo of my internal workings as a souvenir, how thoughtful of the doctor.  (haha)  I ended up taking a week off work afterwards and generally laid around the house trying not to think about the fact I had three little holes in my body and couldn't bend enough to wash my own feet.  It was a great time to start reading Harry Potter again which turned out to be just what I needed to take my mind off things.