Ten Things Thursday...Catch Up Edition

Thanks to the beautiful Laura Belle we have Ten Things Thursday. And this is probably the best way for me to catch up after taking a two month break from blogging :)


1. Can you believe it has been two months since I blogged???? No real reason why, I just wasn't in the mood to blog. It would be a big ole lie if I said I had been too busy. Too lazy...that is way more believable. Since many of you are friends with me on fb I feel like you already know what I have been doing.


2. I am at the exact same weight that I was 2 months ago when I last blogged. I am ok with it. I could probably stand to lose 10-15 more pounds, but quite honestly, I am not stressing about it.


3. Work is going good. I am actually on fall break this week. Normally, this would be a great thing. But...since I work for the government I am not currently getting a paycheck. Which means I did not plan anything for fall break...and I can't even go out shopping since I have no idea when I will get a paycheck again.


4. The Rockstar's school system doesn't have their fall break until next week...LAME. I wish we could have had the week off together, but that's the sucky part of not working for the same school system. He has been very busy lately. He is an assistant band director and this is marching band season. Plus he has his full time teaching job, he is working on his Master's degree, and he is in a band. Needless to say, I don't see him very often. We try to have a date night as often as we can...but it isn't as often as I would like.

 

 

 

5. Did I tell you that The Boy had moved out?? Well guess what???? He moved back home!!!! I was thrilled to have my baby home. I no longer have to worry if he is getting enough to eat, getting enough sleep, or has clean clothes to wear. The Rockstar was just bummed out that we would no longer be walking around naked.

 

 

6. The babies went to the beauty shop yesterday. Their beauty shop is in their doctor's office. Harleigh went straight from the beauty room to the operating room. She got spayed and was quite pitiful last night :(  Mayzie was being so sweet to her. She laid right beside Harleigh and kept her head on Harleigh most of the night. Harleigh seems to be feeling much better today :)

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

7. I have noticed that I have some new followers. Sorry that following me has been so boring lately. If you are following me, and I am not following you, please send me a link to your blog. I haven't been commenting lately, but I am going to do better about that.

 

 

8. The weather here has been a little crazy. At night it has been in the 40's and during the day nearly in the 80's. As long as it is still above the 60's during the day I refuse to put my flip flops away. Tennessee weather...gotta love it :)

 

 

9. I went to my 25th high school reunion a couple of weeks ago. I didn't go to my 10th, and although I went to the 20th, I stayed for like less than an hour. So, some of those people I had not seen in 25 years. It is safe to say that I will be completely ok if I go another 25 years without seeing some of them. I had this girl come up to me and actually say "Did you date Bob??" (not his real name) and I said "Who??" She then proceeded to accuse me of dating her then boyfriend in high school. Really???? It has been 25 years....are you still not over him???? And for the record...I did not date her boyfriend. We were in a play together and went to an afterparty together. That was it.

 

 

10. If you have followed me for long, then you know at this time of the year I am all about Thursdays...because that means Grey's is coming on. I now have also been sucked into Scandal. Yep, my life IS that exciting :)



22 years is a loooonnnnng time

Twenty-two years ago today I married The Rockstar. That's a long time. A very long time. Especially considering that most people didn't think we would last more than 6 months. I don't blame them for thinking that...I only knew him for 3 days when he asked me to marry. And it was only 6 weeks later that we got married.


Don't get me wrong...it has not always been peaches and cream...some times it has been piss and vinegar. Marriage is hard....really hard sometimes. But sometimes it is so easy. So comforting. So loving. And so right.


I am quick to give up when things get hard or uncomfortable. Thank God The Rockstar is not. All the times I wanted to just give and walk away he simply would not have it.


We are empty nesters now and although I miss my kids living here, having so much time alone has made me fall even deeper in love with my Rockstar. Today I feel like such a lucky girl to be so in love with my husband and look forward to the next 22 years with him :)

New baby and other random stuff

I know many of you are friends with me on fb and already know this, but for those who don't know...I got a new baby!!!! She is a rescue baby and we named her Mazie.

 

 

The lady who had her rescues German Shepherds and had just stumbled upon this baby who had obviously been abused and at the time was malnourished. She got her healthy and then put her up for adoption. Now I am her mama :) She hasn't had a trip to the beauty shop yet, but no worries...she will soon have painted toenails and bow bows in her hair :)

 

 

 

My nuclear scan came back with a very small tumor on one of my parathyroid glands. I told my family the scan was negative. My mother tends to over worry about things and I didn't see the need the worry her. Some people freak out when they hear the word tumor. It is very small and right now it doesn't appear to be doing any damage to my body...my calcium level is normal and my bone density scan was normal. Parathyroid tumors are almost never cancerous.  At some point I will probably have to have surgery to have it removed when it starts to do damage, but I just don't want to have surgery right now. They will monitor my bloodwork every 3 months and I will have surgery when it's a "need to" situation...but not now.

 

 

We got invited to a cookout last night by a couple who are friends of ours. It turned out to be a surprise wedding! There were probably about 30-40 people there...most of them we didn't know because they were family members and such. I usually don't really pay too much attention to what people have on, but I couldn't help staring at one woman's shoes. She had on sandals and was missing a toenail...on one of her big toes. I tried not to keep looking....but I just couldn't help myself. If I were missing a big toenail I would probably either get a fake one (they can do that just the way the way they do fake nails...my sister lost a toenail and has it done every time she gets a pedi) at at the very least I would paint the toe just like I paint the other nails. She had red toenails, so it was pretty obvious....

 

 

 

 

 

Work is going along just peachy. I still hate getting up early. I eat much less when I can sleep as late as I want. When I have to get up early I feel like I get hungry earlier, and once I eat then I feel like I am hungry more often through the day. In the summer I didn't wake up until 10:00 and I wouldn't really start getting hungry until about 2:00. Now I get up at 5:30 and by 8:00. Then of course I feel like I have to eat something during lunch time (11:30) and then I am hungry again when I get home from work (3:30), but it's not quite time for dinner...then I eat again at dinner. I haven't gained any weight since school started back, but I sure do feel like I am eating more.

 

 

Today is just a lazy day...that's how we roll on Sundays. I have the tv on Lifetime, which means I will get sucked in to every movie and probably not move from the couch much today other than to check on dinner. The Rockstar calls this the nap channel, so I look for him to be napping probably within the next few minutes. Sundays are my favorite day :)

 

Have a good week peeps!

 

 

 



Back to the Grind

Today was my first day back at work. Waaahhhhhhhh.....I hate getting up early. But since my family thinks to have to eat every day, I guess I will continue working. I sure did hate dragging that alarm clock out...

I have been home alone this week. The Rockstar is away at band camp (he's an assistant band director at one of the high schools, aside from being a special ed teacher as well). Harleigh was so upset when I had to leave her this morning. She is mad at me right now for leaving her all day...

So my first day back was fine. They moved me to a different classroom. I am now with the kids with severe and profound disabilities. I didn't mind the move, but it's like starting all over with organizing and decorating the classroom.


Several people commented that they thought I looked great and a couple asked me if I had lost a bunch of weight over the summer. I actually didn't lose any weight over the summer. I think it just appears that way since most of the swelling from the tummy tuck is gone (until late in the day) and I am wearing smaller clothes. I am also very tanned, which I think always makes you look skinnier.


In other news....mainly health related....I am sick of going to doctors appointments. Remember I told you that they thought I had a tumor on my parathyroid gland?? Well, I had an ultrasound done Friday. They saw "something" on the ultrasound, but the radiologist told my doctor that he really felt like I needed a nuclear scan. I'm not real sure what a nuclear scan is....but it doesn't sound like fun. My appointment is this Friday. It kinda pisses me off that I have to take time off work in the first week back, but the hospital only does these "nuclear" scans at 10:00 am on weekdays. The good news is that my bone density scan came back good, so even if it is a tumor it has not yet started depleting my bones of calcium (which is what a parathyroid tumor does over time). Hopefully I will know something for sure next week.


I hope the rest of you had a great hump day :)

Doctor Doctor, give me the news...

Do you have that song stuck in your head now???

I feel like I have spent the last week doing nothing but going to doctor's appointments. Last week I had to go to the Endocrinologist. I wasn't supposed to go until next month, but they had a last minute cancellation and asked me if I could come in. Since I am still off for the summer it was no problem for to have short notice.

She reviewed my bloodwork and ordered a buttload more. One of the tests ordered was a bone density test, which I had done today. I also went to my regular doctor...so that's 3 appointments in a week. And two of those are an hour away.

Between the Endo doctor and my regular doctor they are both fairly certain I have a tumor on at least one of my parathyroid glands (you have 4). Now they just have to locate the exact location of the tumor and then they will schedule surgery. I have to go Monday and have an ultrasound. The ultrasound is only about 50% reliable in locating the tumor, but they have to do that first before they order nuclear scan because apparently an ultrasound is much cheaper and insurance makes you try to find it that way first.

In unrelated health news my sister in law and niece are here visiting. If you have followed me since last year then you may remember that the diva spent a week with me last summer. She is still a diva. And still up my butt 24/7....I can't even go pee without my shadow. It's all good. I kinda like having a kid in the house again.

We are seriously thinking about adopting a baby (a fur baby) so that Harleigh has a playmate. She used to always play with my neighbor's dog and they moved last week. Harleigh has been so depressed since they left. She just goes over to the fence and stands there and whines. It is so sad. So I found a little girl who needs a home. I had to fill out an application. They asked me a ton of questions about me, my home, my work schedule, etc. They asked for 3 references and they called my vet's office. They take their adoptions very seriously.

I am hoping to take Harleigh to meet her potential sister this weekend. Good timing since she just got all beautified....

Triple T!!!

Thanks to the gorgeous (and preggo) Laura Belle we have Ten Things Thursday!!


1. Since it's summer I never know what day of the week it is. Today I am assuming it is Thursday since I saw a few people do TTT.


2. I have decided I want to be a stay at home mom to Harleigh. I can't get the Rockstar to get a second job so this would be possible :(

3. The Rockstar and I are empty nesters now :( The Boy moved out just a few days before we left for the beach. Going to the beach was a good distraction for me. I cried like a baby the night he left. I still haven't gone in his room. It will break my heart to see an empty room. He still comes over to eat (frequently) but it's just not the same as him living here.



4. I watched the new Honey Boo Boo last night. The only reason I knew it was on was because there were a few posts about it on FB. If you don't like Honey Boo Boo then don't watch it people. I don't like sports, so I don't watch it....and I feel no need to get on fb and talk about how stupid sports are. It's simple....if I don't like it, I don't have to watch it. Honey Boo Boo makes me laugh, so I choose to watch it.


5. I need to go shopping before I have to go back to work. I don't think I have any pants that fit me. Before school got out I was still having swelling from the tummy tuck. Now that most of that has gone away (except late in the day) my pants are too big. I only wear swimsuits and shorts when I am not in school, so I haven't even thought about pants. I better get on that....I don't think my principal would appreciate me showing up in my bikini. Or maybe he would....who knows :)


6. I wasn't supposed to go see the Endocrinologist until next month, but they called yesterday and said they had a cancellation for today. The good news is I don't have to take a day off from work next month to go. The bad news is I have to pass the cupcake place to get there. I will try to refrain from stopping, but I make no promises.


7. I love bacon.


8. I totally have a new addiction...frozen chocolate covered bananas. I love them and I have been eating a pack of these (or 2) every day...

9. Did I ever show you my Origami Owl necklace?? My mom and The Big Boy gave it to me for my birthday. I love it, but I kinda wish I had the large locket so I could add more charms.

 

 

10. I have been sleeping until 10:00 every morning...I will be hating life in 2 weeks when that time will change to 5:30 :(

And poof...just like that summer is almost gone :(

It's been a few weeks. I have thought about blogging many times...just never sat down and did it. I had to go back and look where I left off, so I would know where to start. So, I left off with returning from my 2nd beach trip. So I will catch you up from there...

A couple of weeks ago I went to have my yearly EGD for my Barrett's. It was a crappy day. It was pouring down rain. Part of the interstate was closed due to a wreck and I ended up being an hour late for my appt. I figured they would just reschedule it, but since I called and let them know what was going on they just moved some people around and took me right back as soon as I got there. I have never had any problems after getting an EGD. I have been having one yearly for about 10 years. This time I wasn't so lucky. Well maybe lucky isn't the right word. I blatantly did not follow my doctor's instructions, and I paid the price.

My doctor said: Do NOT eat anything for 2 hours. Did I listen????? Nooooooo. Just down from the hospital there is a famous little cupcake place. I told The Rockstar we just had to stop on the way home. They had a cupcake just for me....

 

 

So I got one of those AND one of these...

 

 

 

 

I slept the whole way home because I was still very much drugged. It took us an hour to get home and as soon as we got in the house I thought I just had to have a bite of my cupcake. The Rockstar told me not to do it since it still had not been two hours...but of course I do what I want to do and ate some of it any way.

 

 

That was a mistake....

 

A big mistake.

 

 

I lad back down to sleep some more. Out of a dead sleep I jumped up and ran to the kitchen sink (I didn't have time to make it to the bathroom) and threw up....blood. Apparently if you have just had a biopsy of your esophagus it is not a good idea to shove a cupcake down it. Lesson learned.

 

 

My band doctor was the one who did the EGD. I used to see a gastroenterologist for my Barrett's, but I don't trust just anyone running a scope down my throat now that I have a band. I figured the best person to do was the one who put in it. Any way, this was the first time I had seen him in a long time. I usually see his nurse when I go to the office. As you may remember, my doctor is not a huge fan of lapband and actually rarely does them. He went on and on about how well I had done and if he saw that kind of success more often with band patients he would be a bigger fan of them. It's always good to hear your doctor praise you :)

 

 

He was, however, concerned about the recent blood work that his office had done on me. Apparently my parathyroid hormone has been elevated for over 2 years (they have tested it 3 times in the last 2 years). If you are low in Vitamin D it can cause your level to be elevated....but my vitamin D is completely normal. Given the fact that I have a history of kidney stones and severe hypertension that is resistant to medication, he is concerned that I may have a tumor one of my parathyroid glands. He referred me to an endocrinologist, but my appointment isn't until next month. I will keep ya updated on that when I know something :)

 

 

Two days after my biopsy we hit the road. Where, you ask??? To the beach!!!! Yes, I had 3 glorious beach trips this summer!!!

 

 

On the way there The Rockstar stopped at a casino for me....he knows how much I love to play the slot machines...

 

 

 

We didn't stay long...because it would take me no time to lose all of our vacation money. I put in $60 and walked out with $63.

 

 

 

When we got to the beach it was pouring down rain, so we went ahead and unpacked and went to do our shopping for the week. The Rockstar was like a kid. He thought he had to have a boogie board, a pale and shovel, a new beach chair and who knows what else he managed to sneak in that buggy. He was trying out the beach chairs and actually had a hard time getting out of one of them. I was laughing so hard I almost peed my pants right there in Walmart...

 

 

 

 

The rest of the trip we had beautiful weather. We played in the water a lot...lots of exercise. Which is a really good thing because nobody likes to eat like The Rockstar does...so there was lots of food involved with this trip...

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I should tell you that most of that food was NOT mine. Although I ate more than I normally do, I did not go too crazy during this trip. We even made a quick stop at my favorite doughnut place (because the hot sign was on!!!) and I actually didn't even eat a doughnut.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, like every other time I go out of town, my body went on lockdown. This shirt was not true for me...

 

 

 

So, needless to say, I have been spending this week trying to get my body back on track :)

 

 

I already miss the beach and am sad that there will be no more beach trips until next summer. Until then I will just have to look at these and wait until the next time...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only 2 more weeks and I have to return to work :( This summer went by waaayyy to quickly. Can I get redo????

 

 

 

 

 

 







 

 

 

 

 





Living the Good Life

So I am back from the beach...again :) This time I went with my mama, her partner, and my cousin. They all left last Friday, but I didn't go with them when they left. The Rockstar's birthday was last Sunday and I didn't want to be gone for his birthday. We had a pool party on Saturday and then on Sunday just the two of us hung out in the pool and then I took him to dinner.


I got up early, early, early Monday morning to drive to the beach. Yes, I broke my "no alarm clock in the summer" rule, but I figured going to the beach was a good reason. It is an 8 hour drive from my house. I am not used to making that drive by myself. I had to find things to do to keep me from getting bored. I made videos of me singing in the car. I would post them so y'all could laugh with me, but I don't know how to do all that :)


It was a very relaxing and fun trip. During the day we hung out on the beach all day.

 

 

We didn't get in the water too much because Jelly Fish were really bad. There were kids out there with nets catching them...nothing I was interested in doing. I told my mama if I get stung by a jelly fish everyone would think I had been bit by a shark because I would act a fool screaming and crying.

 There was a young, hot cabana boy who hung around quite a bit :)

 

 

We went in every afternoon around 4:00 and showered and got ready to go out shopping and to eat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We shopped every night...

 

 

 

 

We also ate out every night. No matter what time you go out to eat, or where you go, you always have to sit around and wait to be seated....

 

 

 

 

We hung out on the balcony every night. There was a full moon last week, so it was really pretty...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got home late, late Thursday night. Since we ate out every night I knew I had gained weight. I am super sensitive to sodium and when I eat out a lot I tend retain a lot of fluid. I had gained 9 pounds in 5 days....how is that even possible????? I had not taken Lasix (fluid pills) since I was gone, so I knew most of that was fluid. I have already lost 6 of those 9 pounds...I peed them out :)

 

 

Don't be too jealous, but I am going back to the beach in a week. This time it's just The Rockstar and me....bow chicka wow wow :)

 







 



Unfill Update

I went to the doctor's office Friday.

This little model of the lapband always takes me by surprise. In my mind the stomach and the band are so much bigger than the model. That model is actual the only thing in the room that has anything to do with the band. Everything else in their has to do with the sleeve or gastric bypass. I told you my doctor doesn't do very many bands. They have a support/information fb page and I think I am the only one banded out of the 150 people on there. Needless to say, I don't go there much for support or information.


So my appointment was fine. Apparently I had lost weight over my vacation. I had not weighed myself a while prior to vacation and I guess I had lost some weight before I went as well. I thought I was still at 83 pounds lost, but according to their records I am now at 91 pounds lost since my highest weight, which just so happened to be exactly 2 years ago today.


I had to wait a while to see my girl. At first she didn't have any appointments open. When she found out that I had an appointment with the other nurse she agreed to work me in...she knows I don't like to see new people. So I had to wait lomger than I normally do...which was fine. I know how to entertain myself...

 

 

 

I had to get a buttload of bloodwork done since they had not done all of it since surgery. It all came back great! My liver enzymes came back in the normal range...that was the first time in 10 years that has happened. I will get the endoscopy later in the summer. My doctor only does them on a certain day of the week, so he stays booked up on them pretty far out. Of course I told them if he has a cancellation to give it to me since I am off and be there on a days notice.

On to the unfill...

I didn't see the doctor. The "band clinic" is on Friday's. You can go on a day other than Friday, but they try to set all band stuff on Friday's because that is when they have the guy that does all the xray/fluro stuff. And they like to do fluro with all the fills/unfills.


My band looked great. No slippage. She said it didn't look tight at all. I told her it may not look tight, but it felt tighter than I would like. So she said had no problem with taking some out. I don't remember exactly how much she took out, but I know that I now have 4.25 cc's in. I don't feel a difference as far as how much I eat, but I can definitely tell as far as when I eat. Before the unfill I wasn't eating a thing until early afternoon. For the last several days I have actually been eating breakfast. I may gain a few pounds with this unfill, and I am ok with that...as long as it isn't too much.


Happy Monday! I hope all of y'all have a fabulous week!!!

TTT

Thanks to the gorgeous (and preggo) Laura Belle we have Ten Things Thursday!!

1. I love summer. I sleep late every day, I lounge in the pool, and I watch lots of trash tv. Life is good.


2. Apparently I have a step mother now. The rumor is that my dad got married. He has not told me...well I also haven't talked to him since I got back from the beach. You would think that something like getting married would be a big deal and you would mention it to your daughter(s). I guess my dad doesn't think it's newsworthy.


3. I am going to get my first unfill ever tomorrow. I have had 2 fills. The last time I had a fill was over a year ago...February, 2012. I knew when I got the band that I could never have a tight band because it would be dangerous with having Barrett's Esophagus. My doctor didn't even really want to do a band on me for that reason (as well as he thinks people aren't generally as successful with the band). Any way, since the tummy tuck I have felt like I am tighter than I should be. I can't eat at all until early afternoon. I am also past due for having the scope to biopsy my Barrett's, and I feel more comfortable getting an unfill before the scope.


4. I go back to the plastic surgeon on Tuesday for my 3 months post op visit. I couldn't be more pleased with this tummy tuck. If you saw the before pics you would never ever think it was the same person. My brain hasn't caught up with my body yet and I am still buying clothes that are too big and have to return them.


5. Speaking of buying clothes, I did some shopping while I was at the beach. I bought a dress for a wedding I have to attend next month. Guess what size it was???? Size small. I started off trying on the Large. It was too big and they didn't have it in a Medium. My bff told me to try on the small. I said "Are you crazy???? I can NOT wear a small." Apparently, I can.


6. I love burned meatloaf and burned bacon.


7. I love being tanned.


8. I love sweet tea.


9. Harleigh has developed severe separation anxiety since we have been home for the summer. When we go out to the pool she cries so loud we can hear it from the pool. I am going to start taking her to doggy daycare one or two days a week. Hopefully that will help.


10. I haven't weighed myself since my return from vacation. I will find out tomorrow if I gained weight. I didn't eat a lot in volume, but what I did eat was junk. And I went 7 whole days without pooping. Sorry about the TMI. I can't help it. My body goes on lockdown when I go out of town. I would be in serious trouble if I had to go away from home for a long time.

Back to Reality

I'm back from the beach and back to reality. But let's be real...my reality is pretty damn good in the summer :)

I had a great time at the beach, but after a full week without The Rockstar, the boys, and Harleigh I was really starting to get homesick. It was pouring down rain when we left, so I really wasn't sad at all the day we left.

So let me tell you all about my vacay....

We left the night of my birthday. We drove for about 4 hours and then I started getting really sleepy. So we pulled over and got a room for the night. We got up at our leisure the next morning and got back on the road. We got to the beach in the early afternoon. We had some time to kill before check in so we went and bought some trashy books for the beach.

We got to the condo and immediately unpacked everything....

 

 

Yes, we did have enough flip flops for the beach :)

 

 

We went to dinner and then did the grocery shopping for the week. The next morning we got up and got ready for the beach. Every day we stayed on the beach all day.

 

 

 

 

We met new people every day. Some were very interesting....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every night we got ready and hit the town. There was a lot of waiting by the elevators....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went shopping every night. We also ate out every night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ate entirely too much junk while we gone. The snacking on the beach was a bit out of control....

 

 

 

 

It wasn't all fun and games the entire time. On our 3rd day there the water was very rough. In fact, they put up the red flags. If you don't know what they means, one red flag means the water is dangerous...it's probably best to stay out of it. Double red flags means you can't get in. Unfortunately, some people either don't know what the flags mean or they choose to ignore them. As we were sitting on the balcony drinking coffee (I actually had chocolate milk...she had coffee) I saw someone going out into the water. I made the comment that I couldn't believe someone would get in the water as rough as it was. Within minutes that person was pretty far out. I told my friend I knew he didn't mean to be that far out and I thought he was in trouble. I was right. The current had taken him out. The cabana boy went running out there trying to save him. Then another man went out. Then a lifeguard got there and went out. It was painful to sit on the balcony watching all of them struggle for their lives. They finally all got back to shore, but the teenager (the first person who had gone out) was lifeless. We watched as they performed CPR on him. We watched his mother sobbing uncontrollably. We watched as they took him off the beach to the ambulance. It was horrible and weighed very heavy on our minds all day.

 

 

 

 

Every time I saw a kid getting in the water I just wanted to punch the parents in the face. When the water is that rough even getting in up to your knees or ankles can be dangerous. The water can knock your feet out from under you. As we sat on the beach we watched another girl (probably around 10 or 11) go out in the water. Within seconds she was in trouble. Her mother ran out there to try and save her. The girl was hysterical and almost pulled her mother under water. The cabana boy went out there once again (same cabana boy) and saved the girl. Although she never lost consciousness like the first boy, they took her to hospital anyway to get checked out.

 

 

My bff's kids are grown (late teens/early 20's), but we told them they could not get in the water at all. So since we couldn't play in the water, we played in the sand...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every night after we returned to the condo we would enjoy some adult beverages on the balcony...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our last night there we hit up all the little souvenir shops. We don't usually buy much there, but we always have fun just looking at all the stuff...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last year I gained 7 pounds in 7 days while on vacation. Since I also lost that 7 pounds within the 7 days after getting back, I have decided not to weigh myself for at least a week. Actually it will be more like 5 days since I have a doctor's apt on Friday.

 

I had a great time, but I am glad to be back home. I have no other immediate plans except to sleep late every day and lounge in the pool....aaahhhh, the life of a teacher in the summer :)