No place like home.

I was in Raleigh this weekend for my sister's graduation. She just got her MBA! I was so proud of her - after several long years of supporting her husband through his MBA and job losses (he's in the financial sector, which has clearly been prone to layoffs), she got her MBA from a prestigious school after working her ass off for 22 months.

We had a great time - flew in on Friday, went to a reception almost immediately, then back to the hotel, then out to dinner. The next day started with a walk in the woods in 90-degree heat (not surprisingly, my sister and I were the only ones who went), we picked up her cap and gown, went back to the hotel to meet everyone for lunch, then off to graduation, another reception, then dinner, which lasted into the wee hours of Sunday morning.

My only complaint over the weekend was getting whatever Ragsy got 20 minutes before I was to meet my family for breakfast on Sunday and just hours before getting on a plane. There's nothing worse than being on your hands and knees in front of a toilet in a strange place when all you want to do is curl up and die. Anyway, I made it through the day, got on the plane and came home to...nothing. Which was kind of disappointing, but my husband doesn't think in those terms, sadly. When I got upset, I was taken out for Chinese food (I'm not certain why these things are only deemed important after I get upset - my husband apparently hasn't gotten the whole idea where I don't like to have to ask for at least a Happy Mother's Day, which is a whole other story) and brought home to a house that looked like a train wreck. But it's my house. Mine.

Being here made me feel better, even though I was somewhat saddened by the stuff everywhere. Oh, well - can't have everything, right? Today is my "day off." I hate quotes, but I used them anyway, because the day will be spent going to and from doctor's appointments and attempting to put the house back in order while ensuring healthy food in the fridge instead of various pizza remnants, stromboli scraps and last night's leftovers. Yuck. Oh, well. There's no place like home.