Damn it feels good to be a Flynnster

Welcome to 2012!  Man, how weird is that?  I suppose it’s all just part of the silly process.  You blink and the calendar starts-a-changin’.  The weirdest thing is that I got all of my Spanish residency woes under control, finished up my last lessons in 2011 and got on a plane back home.  I swear that all took about 25 seconds but it ended up taking a few days.  There’s no way I can describe on here exactly how it feels to come back home after a long stay in a different country.  My flight from Madrid to New York was delayed a few hours which made me miss my connecting flight from NY to Columbus but I was put on the next flight out a few hours later.  My flight from Madrid to NY went by in a flash however my flight from NY to Ohio felt like it lasted 3 days.  It was like I was 6 years old again and we were on the ferry going from the mainland to the Magic Kingdom in Disney.  I swear that ferry is set at the speed of “snail” just because they know how excited the little kids are to get over there and this just is one more way for adults to torture children.  Anyway, as soon as we were in our descend out of the sky and onto the runway in Columbus, Ohio I just felt better.  I always wait until I see the Cap city skyline and then I close my eyes and start imagining that I’m already at home.  With my family and dogs and my cat.  An instant and uncontrollable smile creeps up over my face and I’m pretty sure I start glowing a faint bit.  After I got off the plane and walked through the empty concourse my heart started pitter-pattering faster and faster until it reached “hummingbird” speed and I knew I’d be seeing my family in a few short minutes.  I turned the corner at a nervous walk/run pace and went through the security into civilian air and immediately saw my mom, brothers, and sister in law.  WWOOOOHOOOO!!  I was home, baby!!  I really don’t get separation anxiety or homesickness but you really don’t know how much ya miss it till ya’ve been gone for months and come back.  Damn it felt good to give my momma a hug.  Another benefit of living 4,000 miles away from home? We get to eat at all the places I want to eat at.  First on the menu??  Mellow Mushroom pizza, of course :)  Mellow Mushroom is my first go-to for multiple reasons.  Not only do the serve up a Kosmic Karma pizza that make your taste buds do a happy dance and your stomach give you a well done pat on the back, but they have Magic Hat #9 on tap.  Holler back.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Spain...but their drafts should be ashamed to call themselves a beer.  It’s like carbonated water with a little wheat flavor and coloring.  When ya get back to the states from europe your best bet is to hit up Mellow Mushroom to make your taste buds come to life again.  After the ‘shroom, we went back home to where I almost peed my pants in excitement to see my little puppies again!! Don’t let me fool you, they aren’t actually puppies, they’re 4 and 5 years old.  And when I say little, I mean both of them are tipping the scales at well over 100 pounds.  The white one, Murphy, doesn’t get riled up too much but as soon as our eyes locked he was like a grey hound right out of the gate.  He almost barreled right thru me!  The brown one, Marley, was just as charged.  Whoever says that dogs are just dumb animals, aside from being the ignorance you have to live with the rest of your sad lives, I must tell you that you are completely mistaken.  They love you with all of their heart and if you let them into yours I can promise you that you won’t be sorry.  they truly are a man’s best friend.  They followed me around the entire night and even slept up in my big comfy bed with me.  In the morning I woke up to Marley’s big furry head in my face, undoubtedly in disbelief that I was still there after 12 hours.  I’m sure if Murphy woke before 10AM he would have been right up in there too.  Instead he’s my lazy baby and was still snug as a bug next to me snoring.  Yeah, he snores.  LOUD.                                                      

That's my baby Murphy...on my Queen sized bed!!  That boy takes up darn near the whole thing!!

 I’m going to share with you the highlights of my trip home and spare you from all of the hussle bussle that took place.  It would take me a month to write it all down in here and just as long for you to read it.  I’m writing this all after the fact (as I wait during my 6 hour layover in JFK) so a lot of editing will be done and you will get the idea of all the things I did.  But let me start by saying that it’s always great to be home and this trip lived up to ever expectation that I had for it :)  Really I only write this to keep my family and friends updated on what’s been going on in my life because I’m so far away, most of ya guys know exactly what has happened during my stay back home, but here are some highlights:

*CHRISTMAS!!! all four of my siblings and our parents were all together on Christmas day.  It sounds funny, but to have all 6 of us in the same room is rare.  To have all 6 of us together, in the same room, on a HOLIDAY is darn near unheard of these days.  Santa, as always was great to us all and we had a great time.  My dad’s side of the family had the big family christmas a few weeks prior so I didn’t get to attend that but we did make it to my mom’s side in Toledo for our christmas party there.  It was incredible.  yet again all of us were in attendance. :) :)

Most recent addition to the Brown clan.  Let me introduce Gage Mason on the scene :)

*NEW YEAR’S!  I took a few close friends and we headed to my lake house with our dogs.  Although I was thinking I’d have a crazy night out on the town in C-bus, this was so much better.  Again, great food, great booze, great friends, and my doggies...sooo great!!

The puppies were exhausted and I was hungover.  We felt better after a nap on the sofa together :) :)

*Back to Toledo and Port Clinton!  Went on a road trip with dear old dad.  I had a meeting in Toledo and got to see my grandparents one last time before I hopped the country so I was very excited to see them.  We went to lunch together and talked for a bit and before I knew it I was being whisped away by my dad to Port Clinton so spend the night with my other grandparents in Port Clinton.  It’s real nice to get up there by the water and there are always surprises at this house so I was rather excited to get over there.  About 5 minutes after stepping through the door I had my first surprise: My aunt Tina and uncle John got there with their over night bags to stay with us.  Sweeeeet.  About 20 minutes later we were surprised yet again by my aunt Theresa and uncle Tom.  Double sweeeeet.  We all went out and got a great meal in us.  We also stopped at the drive-thru beer stop up the road (God Bless America and Beer places you can just drive thru without leaving your car).  When we got home we cracked some bottles and soon found ourselves planning an over night stay in a casino in Indiana just past Cincinnati.  That must be where I get it from...  My mana even made me Benyas (that’s right Flynn kids and Flynn grandkids: MANA MADE ME BENYAS. just for me.  jealous?!?!)  Before the night was over, we had played a full round of $1.35 cards, which I’m pretty sure my dad cheated the entire time, we were stuffed with miller lite and benyas, and we had planned and booked our stay in the casino hotel for later in the week.

*Hollywood Casino!!  The last time my family all went out to Las Vegas, I was absolutely smittened my the craps table (haha, craps) and I needed to learn how to play immediately.  Unfortunately, it's easier to learn a second language than it is to learn all the thousands of rules to craps and the over 150 ways to bet without anyone to explain it.  I sat for 2 days watching and drinking it all in.  When we planned an absolutely spontaneous trip to the casino, it was MY TIME TO SHINE!!  AFter about 4 hours of watching, waiting, and Dad insisting I play I decided to do it.  Also, Dad giving me money to play really pushed my ambition over the edge.  I threw my money down like I didn't want it to exchange it out for chips (seriously, I tried to lay it down nicely and the dealer yelled at me and told me so slam it on the table like I'm not interested...which is damn near impossible to be quite frank.  But I played the part).  Surprisingly, I put a bet down and I won.  And then I won again.  And then the guy threw a 7 and his roll was over.  They collected the chips and looked at me expectantly.  I looked down and realized "holy shit, it's my turn to throw those die!!  I picked them up, swirled them around and gave them a chuck...and the die flew right over the wall of the table and onto the ground.  For those of you that don't play craps, I'ma tell ya right now...That's a biiiiiig newbie mistake.  Might as well tattoo "loser" on my forehead and call it a day.  Surprisingly, the men around the table took a liking to me and once I started rolling, everyone around the table started winning.  Until I rolled a 7.  And then I lost.  And lost again.  And then all of Dad's money was spent.  But seriously, I was there with my grandparents and aunt and uncle and cousin and Dave and mom and dad and I didn't really give a hoot because I got to throw them dice!!!

At the casino, fanny packs are a MUST...clearly!

With my mom, my beautiful counsin Sarah and Mana.  I look just like my Momma...She's hot.

*Spontaneous party at the Flynn house!!  I had the great honor of having a spontaneous going away party called in my name and got to see some of my thousands of cousins which was spectacular as well as some aunts, uncles, a rob, and some other tag-a-longs.  It was just magnificent.  And Belle made a special appearance even tho she's not fond of crowds just to be with her momma.  I love my little Belle-tini

Belle-tini under the tree...with a six pack of the silver bullet

Belle got about 10 toys from Santy Clause and her favorite thing to play with is still one of my hair pins.  Silly Kitty

She refuses to drink from anything except a sink.  She's quite persnickety...just like her Mommy.  Can ya tell how much I love her?!?!  <3

Time just slipped right on thru my fingers as per usual at my house and before I knew it I was aboard a plane shipping me back to Spain.  A little jetlagged and zombie-esque as I am thrown completely out of time whack but it was a vacation well needed and I’m so happy I got to go back if not for just a couple of weeks.  Now, back to the hussle-bussle of Madrid and surprisingly loving it :)

Here’s to a happy, healthy, and one hell of a new year as we slide right in and get situated in 2012 <3 <3