We Had a Better Vacation!!

So if any of you recall, hubby and I went on a cruise in February and by the end we were miserable people.  Well, on June 9^th we left for vacation to the Turks and Caicos Islands!!!!   This vacation was incredible, and we were much happier and satisfied with our week in TCI.  And even better, this was a trip in which hubby did not have to work like he did on the awful cruise. 

We went to the island of Providenciales of the TCI with a couple friend of ours and had a blast.  Since our flight was at 9a Sunday, hubby and I wanted to be at the airport about 7:30a, which meant we had to be up no later than 5:30a to get ready and finish packing.  We arrived at on the island about noon, went to the rented out townhouse, and then walked around the town of Grace Bay.  Anyway after eating an early dinner and having a couple of drinks, we were in bed around 8:30p.  What a long day. 

Monday and Tuesday were spent on the fabulous beach. (Per our normal selves we had a large bag of stuff and a cooler full of beer.  We cannot go anywhere without taking a crap load of stuff that is ‘necessary.’)  The beach was beautiful and fairly empty.  The water was gorgeous and clear and a few shades of blue.  It was dream like.  I was incredibly happy to see water like that with my own eyes.  I had seen that kind of water on tv shows and in magazines, but I just could not bring myself to fully believe that marvelous water was in fact a reality.  Marvelous!  Wednesday we spent the day at the pool of the townhouse.  There I practiced swimming (am a real beginner) and learned to float with patient hubby’s help. 

So Thursday, I was able to do another thing I had been dreaming of for years.  And that was to RIDE A HORSE ON THE BEACH!!!  Hubby, our friends and I had a great time.  The other wife and I were really excited to ride horses on the beach and in the ocean; the husbands were not thrilled at all.  But they were nice husbands and did it with us girls because they knew how happy this would make us. (Thus in turn making their lives happier.  Ha!)  Hubby was assigned a Belgian horse – think the size of Budweiser horses.  He said he felt like a Viking up there and all he needed was sword and shield.  Haha!  It was about a 10-15 minute walk from the stables to the ocean, and we rode in the water for about 30 minutes.  My horse wanted to swim but I was a little nervous about going out far enough for him to swim because he was a shorty.  After that thrilling adventure, we came back home and got ready for the beach again.  We were in the water so long we pruned.  This time hubby and I stayed long enough to watch the sunset.  It was quite pretty, but if there had been no clouds, I am sure it would have been stunning.

Friday, we had another amazing adventure and this time the husbands were really delighted about it.  It was a half day sail and snorkel tour on a sailing vessel.  And they happily served up ‘happy juice’ – aka rum punch.  On this tour, the boat captain took us to two spots.  One place for snorkeling was on a reef and the shallowest part of that area was about 15-20 feet.  I was going to stay on board and get in the water at the next spot.  The captain and assistant captain (or whatever 2^nd in command is called) convinced me to get in the water.  They were extremely helpful and patient.  I was given the orange ring used save people and a noodle to use since I am a beginner swimmer and really panic when my feet can’t touch the bottom.  I was so frightened and nervous.  But I did it.  I went over board and began to learn how to SNORKEL!!!  I was extremely thrilled and proud of myself.  That time I was in the water maybe 10 minutes and that was all I could handle.  But I did get to see a few things once I convinced myself to put my head in the water.    At the next stop, which was at a beach, I swam and snorkeled even more and felt much more comfortable in the water and putting my head in it.  I truly loved my new found sense of freedom.  It was exhilarating!  I am already ready for my next snorkeling adventure.

We came home Saturday and it was nice to be back home.  But, HOORAY for happy and wonderful vacations!!!  :-D

path to the beach

hubby learning about Turtle

yay! 

so peaceful

fish at the first snorkeling spot

beach where I spent a lot of time snorkeling

sailing boat captain and 2nd in command

OTTO’S TOY

If you have ever been into a pet store, and specifically went to the dog section, you have probably seen a toy that is a stuffed animal but instead of having regular stuffing, it has an empty water bottle.  Dogs like the crunchy sound of an empty water bottle.  In the store I frequently shop for Otto’s things, these can cost about $10 bucks.  And I have purchased 2 of them.   After about 2-3 months of pretty frequent and rough playing, the toys finally died.  Meaning they were ripped apart and could not be sewn back together.  Well, after the death of the 2^nd toy, I decided to make one for Otto using one of Caleb’s old t-shirts.  I cut out part of the torso, knotted one end and went to sewing.  Before sewing up the opposite end, inserted the empty water bottle.

The toy turned out ugly and my sewing skills need some work, but all in all it worked out quite well.  It withstood tug-of wars, fetch and chase.  Since the fabric of this shirt was old, the fabric itself got some tears in it pretty easily and quickly.  But my design (the sections I sewed together and knotted) held up quite well.  So despite its ugliness and the fabric ripping after the 3^rd day of play, my design worked quite well.  And for that, I am a little proud.  J

Here are some pics of putting it together, the finished thing and Otto playing with it.

HIKING

We really enjoy being outdoors, hiking through woods and seeing nature.  It is such a beautiful place to be.  This weekend we are outdoors quite a bit.  Yesterday we walked at the Chattahoochee River State Park for 5 miles and today we went to Sweetwater Creek State Park for 3 miles.  After doing both, we quickly realized we are ‘flat-landers.’  By that I mean, we much prefer walking on flat land as opposed to trekking up steep hills.  The Chattahoochee path we walked was level, read, easy; the Sweetwater path we chose was difficult and felt mountainous at times.  At the top of a couple of strenuous hills, we decided to stop and have a look at nature.  Having a ‘look at nature’ was not a euphemism for stopping to catch our breath and rest.  Wink wink. ;-)

Here are some pictures of our walk today.  Otto had fun playing in the water.  After the walk, he was as tired as us.  We were tired but quite happy.  Love walking through the woods!

FOOD – IT’S GOOD FOR YOU

Could I have made a more obvious statement about food than the one in the post title?  :-P

Anyway, lately I have been trying to lose weight and eat more healthfully.  I pack a lunch nearly every day of the work week of every week of every month of every year for about 6 years for hubby and I.  (If anyone wants to calculate that, go ahead as I would like to have a dime for every one of them!)  But it has really been on my conscious lately to eat better and definitely eat in moderation; though come Friday or Saturday night, the careful eating goes right out the window, crashes and burns.  The older I get the more easily the fat packs on and the more difficult it is to shed.  (If our bodies were really intelligently designed, then why can’t we tasty, salty, sugary, high-fat foods that we all love and enjoy and still be slender, well-muscled and in good shape?  I ask that sarcastically of course.  Maybe.)  I know I need to take better care of my body especially if I want to live to my 90s.  Granted, I realize that an incalculable number of things can go wrong and prevent that from happening, but if things go as planned, I will be an awesome, funny, cool old woman who people still want to hang with.  So I have to eat better. 

Hubby and I are now counting calories for most meals.  Honestly I hated, I mean truly hated, the idea of counting calories.  I don't think I can accurately express my level of hatred-ness of this idea without using expletives.  It seemed completely tedious, aggravating and a time waster.  In reality it is a time-consumer and tedious, but not aggravating.  After seeing results of counting calories, I am super happy that we are doing this now.  It actually WORKS!!!  I am much more conscientious of the food I consume and don’t want more than I can work off – except for the 1 or 2 cheat weekly meals that I need to keep me sane.  (Obviously we exercise too.  I mean our dog is not going to walk himself.  haha!)

Back to the lunches.  For a while, I ate a salad for lunch every day for about 4 weeks and it was delicious.  Then I got tired of it and moved on to other foods, about as equally healthy.  The salad I thought was awesome.  It had iceberg lettuce, spinach sometimes, beans, cauliflower, cucumber, carrots, mushrooms, bell pepper and dried cranberries.  Basically veggies with a little bit of lettuce.  It was truly tasty; I actually looked forward to eating my salad.  I was excited about lunch and not because I was hungry!  I used a Caesar Vinaigrette dressing by Kraft for my dressing and it was delicious.  But after about 4 weeks of salad I was ready to move on to other foods. (pic of the salad below).   Now I make a wrap, have fresh veggies (with awesome hummus), cuties and string cheese for lunch.  This particular lunch is less than 600 calories.  Love it!  I will be an armchair nutritionist and say this and the salad are really nutritious and healthy meals to have.

So here’s to many good, nourishing meals!  And the night (or two) of wine!

                                     

                                          salad components