Bee-Bay-Doze

Seriously, this is ridiculous. We went to Barbados and got back on September 25^th and I am still playing catch up.

 

 

First-there will be no pictures of the trip at this time since they are on a camera that broke when Leah dropped it over the weekend and while I am sure there is a way to upload (download?) pics from the camera to the computer without actually using the camera, I do not know how nor do I feel like learning.

 

 

Barbados was GREAT! We saw turtles hatching and helped them reach the ocean. We went swimming in the ocean and the pool. We drank lots of beer and rum punch. (Leah especially--the lush.)  We explored the island and got lost over and over and over. I highly recommend Barbardos to families.

 

 

Now, I know I sing this song all the time, but I have laundry to do.

 

 

I’ll be in touch.



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Thoughts

I think of my mom every day and probably will forever. Sometimes it stings and sometimes it doesn’t. I know that they say that if something doesn’t hurt then it no longer means something to you, but I don’t care. I’d rather be able to think of my mom and not have it hurt. I’d rather it just be a thought in my head, along the lines of “buy pull ups” and “dvr Glee.”




Marco, Adriana, and I took my dad out for brunch on Sunday. Afterwards everyone came over to my house to swim. Marco threw everyone in the pool. The family raft was a big hit. Bella fell asleep in the stroller. I made pastina and then ordered pizza. We sat in the shade. Greg kept changing the station. Leah screamed “god bless America” like a mad patriot.



And I didn’t really think of my mom. And it was such a good day.



Yesterday was a good friend’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Gabrielle. Sorry you missed out on your birthday party.

Myrtle Beach Wrap Up

While down in the low country, Leah found a new best friend: her Pop Pop John.

Mama Ba Ba was a suitable replacement when Pop Pop wasn't around, since she would drag Leah around the perimeter of the house on a boogie board.  But, Pop Pop was just the bees knees.

I might have made fun of Myrtle Beach because of all of its fried food, and I totally disappointed myself by not running, but all in all, this was a great trip.  We really had a good time.

From our wait in the airport...

To our time at the condo on the Isle of Palms...

To questionable shoe choices...

To interesting packing techniques...

 

We had a dang good time in the South.  Thank you, John and Barbara, for being such gracious hosts.  And thank you, Greg and Leah, for being such wonderful traveling buddies.  May our future continue to take us on awesome adventures.

 

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Isle of Palms

When we were in Myrtle Beach, we were able to sneak away for a few days to the Isle of Palms, just the three of us. We stayed in a condo in the Wild Dunes Resort.

When you have a two year old, you get to the beach before even the fish wake up, and you can get some really good pictures that make it look like you were staying on a deserted island.

When you have MY two year old, you start to see a pattern when it comes to the people she enjoys keeping company with. In short, they are usually 1) male and 2) older.

She just went and plopped her butt down next to this kid and started building sand castles with him. No introductions, no small talk. It’s actually kinda neat. I wish that adults could initiate relationships, whether friendly or professional, with such ease. Imagine it being socially acceptable to go up to a complete stranger and cut his steak for him? Or to just take someone’s bike and begin riding it, without asking? That sounds like fun.

Greg got to do some fishing while we were there.

The splash park was fun.

We had a nice dinner at a restaurant on the Marina.

You know you’ve had a good time when you fall asleep in the car on the way back.

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Vacation Update

We’ve been to Myrtle Beach twice now. Greg’s parents live there, and we stay at their home a few minutes from the beach, shopping, food, a pool. Everything really.

Each time we’ve gone, we done both the touristy thing and the local thing and try to keep everyone happy.

I, for one, think that outlet shopping is the bees knees. There is a Coach outlet near my in laws house that I will dream of for years to come. I’m sorry, but when you walk into a store where everything is 50% off, and then upon entering you are handed an additional 20% off coupon, well, you die. I died.

Both times I went.

Dana: boosting Myrtle Beach’s economy, one handbag at a time. (And a wallet. Maybe a couple of wristlets.)

We also went to a place called Broadway at the Beach, which, if you ask me, can best be described as A Boardwalk. Greg and I can’t figure out why it’s called what it’s called…it’s neither Broadway-themed nor at the Beach, but, there you have it. No worries, though, there is shopping (yay for me) and drinking (yay for Greg.) Win, win.

I guess the best part of this trip is that Leah was old enough to enjoy it. She loved the sand, the ocean, the pool, the restaurants. When we were getting ready to go somewhere, I would say to her, “Leah we are going to go to lunch now.” And she would say, “I come?” And when I would tell her yes, her excitement went through the roof! As if we normally go out and just leave her home. She was just so excited to be included.

So, we are slowly getting back into the swing of things. The weekend before we left was a whirlwind of weddings, friends, and some big life decisions. And now we are just trying to get back to normal, let things calm down, and see where the dust settles.



And do laundry, of course. There’s always laundry.

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Some Day...

Some day I'm going to wake up and realize that this life is not making me happy.

Some day I'm going to sell all of our material possessions and pack us a bag and move to an island. 

Even my purses.

Especially my purses.

I'm going to say good bye to my family and tell them I'll write them.  Some of them.

I'm going to quit my job and not look back.  Hand my laptop to my supervisor with a smile on my face.

I'm going to live in paradise and spend my days with Leah.  We'll go on island adventures, and play with children at the playground, and play in the sand and swim in the ocean, and we'll go for runs at dusk.

We'll wear our bathing suits every single day.

Greg will be a farmer and grow vegetables, or tend to animals, or maybe he'll open a restaurant.  He'll do whatever makes him happy because we will not be slaves to our lifestyle.  We will not live paycheck to paycheck.  We will live life experience to life experience.  We will never be a marching ant again.

Some day we'll look back at the minute we decided to take the plunge and laugh at the hesitation we had before we did it.  We'll think back to how stressful life was before, and how we let our fear of the unknown keep us in a place that made us unhappy.

Some day we'll laugh at the idea that we are meant to work hard, and not have fun, and stress over simple things like the cable bill and a leaky pool filter.  And that G D 529.

We'll remember how we let other people's ideals about life rule our life.  We'll remember when we decided to stop doing that.  We'll remember when we figured out that we deserved more and that Leah was meant to do great things and that our life at that time was not great.  And was not going to lead to anything more than two people working their asses off till they are 65 and then retiring and then dying.  And Leah going to school in Sparta where everyone looks the same and growing up thinking that life is full of really white people who go to work every morning and then come home and have dinner and head to 7-11 for a slurpee or maybe Sparta Dairy for ice cream and what kind of life is that? 

Some day we'll take that plunge.  Mark my words. 

Maybe that day is today.
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