FB2013 Sister Trip in Phoenix - Day 5 & Departure

Sun. 10/13  
1. We woke at 6:00am, tired, but knew we had to get up early for tennis. I called Jai as we needed to check-in for boarding passes. He said "what are you doing awake at 6am?"
2. We drove to a different local park (this one seemed closer, S said it was almost same distance!) to play tennis. Susie had found some new balls in garage so we played for about 45 minutes, even a few games. I had been winning for awhile, then we ended in tie. WOO HOO! That's good for me against the great Susie. It really was fun, I miss playing tennis and need to find a way to play more regularly. Hopefully when S comes home in December, we can play outside if not too cold and/or reserve an indoor court at Sportsplex.
3. Back home we cleaned & shredded old receipts for hours, taking breaks for breakfast (leftovers) & snacks & stretches, while watching 4 episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" on-line. We finally finished her desk area & relocated some papers to guest room in order to really clean her bedroom, sweeping & mopping after moving some furniture to create a better room flow. The feng shui chi/energy improved too. It looks like a new room! Seriously I am impressed by my work with great effort by Susie, too.
4. We took another break to shower & wash laundry since I have hardly any clean clothes left (I didn't bring much) & I'm leaving tomorrow.
5. Then we headed out for our final meal, dinner at The Yard (Culinary Dropout), a really cool space, known for fun games & people watching. We sat outside under this huge covered awning with couches & lots of TV with football games blasting. Again we enjoyed some happy hour specials - apps & alcohol, beers for both of us. I had a yummy blueberry beer ... you know I was buzzing so quickly AND I drank with food! Grilled cheese sliders, french fries, Korean chicken on stick, kale shrimp salad, then this delicious peanut butter chocolate tart.
I need to get home so I can return to my exercise routine & eating healthy! : )
6. I called Jai on way home - girls were in bed earlier tonight (he had a rough evening with yesterday's bedtime). First he said he could tell I'd been drinking by the way I was talking ... hmmm ... Then he said his hotel night isn't going to be enough compensation for 5 days with girls ... not sure what we can arrange, something to ponder. : )
7. Back at Susie's, we called mom on Skype to show her S's new bedroom - she was incredulous! I folded my laundry & packed bag, adding a few items gleaned from S's closet, also some books for Julia from S's reading storage. Susie has a ton of books she accumulated over first 5 years of teaching, many are chapter books at levels 2.0-4.0 so perfect for Julia to read. I packed a few in my luggage, most went in box to be mailed to Julia next week. Susie plans to take all of these books to school & distribute to students this next quarter as part of her continued efforts to clean out her house ... in anticipation of moving back to Nashville in next 1-2 years.
8. I updated posts on blog ... I will forget when I get home, likely attacked by my girls tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully we also can plan our next trip to Chicago for June 2014 - I missed not seeing his cousins!

Mon. 10/14  
Early morning rise as I depart sunny Phoenix, hoping to arrive in pleasant Nashville. 10 weeks until Winter Break when sisters will meet again. Hopefully successful in reaching personal & physical goals - each of us wanting to lose 10 more pounds of weight, probably 10 more pounds of stuff out of Susie's house! : )