Officially on Vacation Supported by my PO

Vacation? Yes. Vacation! With my PO's permission!! Today was my last day of work for 1 1/2 weeks. I thought I'd have to work tomorrow, but at 5:50pm tonight, my boss and I uploaded our cover sheet to the federal government and officially filed our annual performance review a week early and we high fived one another. There's no reason to come in tomorrow, she informed me. I'm off til the 5th.

I have plenty to be doing, but it's all on my time now for a bit. I like that flexibility. Right now I'm focusing on finishing wrapping gifts and packing for our trip. We leave tomorrow late afternoon and spend tomorrow night with my mom. My mom, being the good Jew she is, is making a ham, green bean casserole, jello mold and more for dinner. We usually do Chinese food and a movie, but I guess she wanted to do something a little different this year.

Christmas Day will be with Sporty's family with likely more ham, more green bean casserole, and a lot of Christmas cookies! We fly out that night to Arizona to see my father.

My dad's brain tumor is still there, but has not grown. I guess that's good news?!? His cancer is also in his hip bone now. That puts his cancer starting in his bladder to his brain and then his hip. They will do another PET scan next week and I'm a bit scared for where they'll find the next location. It was a miracle he made it to now and I fear if these three days with him may ... Well, I shouldn't go there, should I?

Anyway, I'm not expecting much from the trip. My dad's stroke in 2013 left him unable to fully communicate his thoughts. 

In other news, I stopped in on my PO today. Took an hour to get through talking to him. Nothing is quick. He approved me to go to a GA conference out of state at the end of January and to a couple meetings I have out of state as well. So far so good with him. As I was finishing up, he realized it has been nearly six months of my supervision and he hasn't done a urine analysis since the beginning... So even though I just happened to stop in, suddenly I was told to pee in a cup with a female PO watching. No problem... Except, I always have the worst aim!!! I made a total mess! Their cups are like really narrow and especially splashy and ... Well... Let's just say nothing was dry by the time I finished my sample - eeewwww. Glad I don't have to do that often. I have nothing to worry about in terms of results!

I think I should start bringing a funnel with me just in case...

Anyway, right now, I have no worries. I'm on vacation. It's a vacation I can afford because I'm staying with family and I no longer gamble. It's a vacation where I can spend time with people I care about. I love vacations!!!