Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Vacation Information

OK – I lied. Well, not intentionally, of course, but never-the-less… Actually, it was true when I said it but is no longer true. Let me explain... Since the time I posted last, our crack team of network gurus in the IT Department has, yet again, blocked access to blogs – all of them. I think they have simply denied access to any site containing any form of the word "blog". So, I’m back again to trying to do this posting thing at home. So much for being able to post during lunch breaks, huh? But I’m sure my network access issues aren’t what you’re interested in right now, am I right? You want to know about my vacation, don’t you? Well, by now you all should have received (those of you who receive my e-mail updates) an e-mail with a link to view some of our pictures from said vacation. We’re waiting on some pictures to come back from the "Foto Hut" (nod to one of my favorite TV shows) and as soon as I get them scanned, I’ll add those to the Photo Album on Kodak Gallery. I’m hoping they’re good, because neither Hubby nor I remember what we took pictures of. Anyway – the trip was WONDERFUL and Kiddo was as good as gold through the whole thing. One or two minor screaming fits, but they were short lived when he realized we weren’t just stopping what we were doing, we were preparing to do something else that was possibly even more fun! He had a ball in the sand, dug into crab holes, made sea-shell soup (brewed in a small yellow bucket filled with sea shells, sea water & sand then stirred like crazy with a little purple shovel), and picked up sea shells to decorate the sand "monolith" with (notice I didn’t say castle). He jumped waves in the ocean, paddled around in the pool on a little inflatable "dog boat" with holes cut in the bottom for his legs, went in the hot tub and had fun playing with the "fountains and bubbles", and somehow managed NOT to get sunburned! I guess we did a good job with the 50SPF sun block. Hubby and friends spent some time surf fishing, and while they did catch a few small fish, Hubby managed to hook a shark! No, really – an actual shark. Granted, it was only about 12" or 13" long, but it was a mean looking thing! He reeled it in and as it dragged across the sand, he looked at me, pointed at the shark and said, "Uh…I’m not touching that!" It was great! We celebrated our 6th anniversary out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, which also happens to be the place where our friend (who kindly invited us along on this lovely vacation) works. He is the bar manager there… If you’re ever in the area and want a REALLY GREAT place to eat, we highly recommend it! We went to Myrtle Beach to the Ripley’s Believe it or Not Aquarium – another place where Kiddo was thrilled with his surroundings! (Fish are friends, not food!) He ogled saw-fish, sharks, sea turtles, big lumpy-headed fish, small sparkly fish, brightly colored fish, tried to pet a ray (he didn’t manage it with his short arms, but mommy did!), and had an all-around good time. Anyway – I can’t say enough about it. The sun rises were lovely, the sun sets were beautiful. The beach was quiet and all but deserted. The house we stayed in was fantastic (it even had an elevator!) and quite comfortable. And the best part of the whole thing was the company. We miss our friends and we’re sorry we only get to see them once a year. TTFN JMS

Friday, September 15, 2006

Excitement

I knew this would happen – it’s 11:00 AM and I’m trying to find something productive to do. I’m so excited about having an actual vacation that I’m finding it very hard to concentrate. I feel like a little kid anticipating Christmas or a birthday! Actually, Hubby’s and my 6th Anniversary is tomorrow so that, in itself, is exciting! (Come to think of it, the UT Vols were playing UF Gators that day, too! Not that I really care, but I know some people really live and breathe UT football.) It is now 11:23 AM and you can see by how little I’ve written that I’m a bit scattered today. I guess my ADD has chosen today to rear its ugly head. Well, I’m signing off. I’ll write more when we get back. I have about 15 neighbors looking after our house, so don’t get any ideas! ;-P TTFN JMS

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Ah Ha!

I've just discovered something that I couldn't do before! My network access must have changed at the office because whereas I never used to be able to even VIEW my blog (or anyone else's) I can now not only view, but CREATE! This gives me a great advantage over my exhaustion and lack of motivation to do anything other than eat, bathe Kiddo, put him to bed, and go there myself after I get home at night! Now - I can start blogging again with some regularity because I can do it in 15 minutes during my lunch break! What a concept! (And I'm sure you're all SO thrilled that I will be updating this "thing" that has been so sorely neglected lately.) Anyway - there's SO much that's been going on and I'm going to try not to make this one post as long as the last installment of the HP series (800-something pages I think, but am so looking forward to the final installment! And it had better be over 1000 pages because there's simply NO WAY JKR will be able to wrap things up satisfactorily if it's not that long.) Side notes complete...moving on. Finally starting to feel human again, though this ugly headache has been plaguing me for about 5 days now, and though kind Hubby has spent an hour sweetly/viciously digging at the pressure points in my head, neck and shoulders (which has helped tremendously) I still have this nagging "thing" that won't go away. (Notice that "thing" seems to be my word of the day?) Maybe it's sinuses? Morning sickness (which for me was all day and mostly evening sickness) is quite a bit better, though I'm still tired a lot. I'm at 14+ weeks right now and into the 2nd trimester! How cool is that? We're going on an actual vacation to Holden Beach, NC... We'll be staying at what looks to be a wonderful house on the beach (link shows actual house) and with some good friends. This is very exciting because it's the first actual vacation we've taken in a very long time. Our trip to CT over Christmas in '05 doesn't count because though it was relaxing and fun, it was still a family thing, and we had to fly to get there. I'll be sure to e-mail you all some pictures when we get back. Job is still great, Hubby and Kiddo are both doing fine. Kiddo got up from a nap yesterday and came out of his room saying, "Daddy, I awake now!" and not only was he awake, but he had put his own pants on - all by himself! Getting to be such a big boy! So...hope everyone is doing well. I think that maybe my being able to post at work will be a good thing, but we'll see. TTFN JMS