Just As I Am

I am back from the Florida trip. Reese and I eeked it out...nearly 6 hours on a plane from Charlotte, NC. Thank the Lord she slept the first and last 2!

Besides that, Reesie was a peach. Sometimes, I even forgot she was along. Well, except when I had to push her stroller all over the place! I really had an awesome time, though it all seems surreal since it happened over the course of 2 days, 1 day being all travel.

I took a risk in flying out at 8:30 p.m., to arrive at 6:30 a.m. Never again. Let's just say I got 2 hrs of sleep that night. And Reese, who normally sleeps a solid 10/11 hours got only 5, poor girl.

By the time we landed, got the rental car and drove to our friends' house, it was 8:30. You can't just say,"Good to see you, can I take a nap?" Really, all I wanted to do was shut my eyes! Instead, I got ready for the wedding and chatted while Reese got her winks.

It was a small ceremony. The bride had only two bridesmaids, both relatives. And only a handful of people were there. But it was simplistically chic. All the memories went through my head of law school days and awful tests and how my dear friend was always, and I mean always, there for me. Not only for school issues, but matters of the heart. As it turns out, she graduated with her JD and I did not, but I was glad to be there for the day when she did. In fact, she convinced me to play the violin at her graduation (not my best talent). Then, a few years later, this dear woman was in my wedding. Because of her studying in Pennsylvania, then abroad in Oxford, you can see how it was hard to "hang out". But we kept in touch via phone. And after a long road of waiting and searching for the right one and praying her through it all, I found out Hastings had met this amazing guy, Werner, in England. He treated her as any man should treat a woman he loves. I could tell without a doubt I would be hearing wedding bells in the near future. Well, thankfully, that happened this last weekend! What a neat lady, who loves the Lord with all heart, mind, and soul and loves to counsel women. Now her ministry can continue in England where she is going to be the director of a Care Net Center! I didn't even know they had branches over there!

The remainder of the trip, I hung out with our friends, whom I called Aunt and Uncle when I was little. We went to a restaurant called Rusty Belles, right on the water. The next day, we spent the day out. First, at the Orlando outlets, then at Downtown Disney. Its the only area of the "parks" that is completely free to get in to. I must say, I was floored. It was HUGE and had so many cool places to eat and shop. We ate a late lunch at Planet Hollywood, and later had hot fudge sundaes at Ghirardelli. It would take forever to describe all the cool stuff. You just have to go some time! They also had an AMC movie theater/diner.

The next day, we planned to go to Clearwater for the beach, feel the sand between our toes. But it poured. There was a tropical storm in the area. One of the neighboring airlines had lightning strike plane, so we were on the ground waiting for an hour.  In fact, I barely made it out of Florida, before there was drastic hurricane weather! 


Needless to say, I'm still catching up on sleep. To boot, all the girls have colds something fierce. When I left my middle girl only had it. Probably due to the lack of rest they got with relatives babysitting and not realizing the importance of sleep, along with sugar at a weekend birthday party, combined with having to go to church in the morning because Daddy had to teach class. Moms really are the best nurses. My only complaint is that we were scheduled for swim team every morning this week at 9:30 a.m., but have had to miss a couple days.

Last but not least, I took the front bumper off our car last night. It hurts to even write that. A gal visiting the neighbors parked directly in front of our driveway. I successfully inched out, not hitting her, but instead, hooking the fence behind the bumper and peeling it off as I went in reverse. And I was trying so hard not to harm either car! So frustrating. The same neighbor noticed our plight and is going to help us reattach it. They work on their cars all the time. Hope he is successful and it's not an ongoing project. Else I'm taking it to the auto body shop.
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Okay, for accountability: last night I had an intense soccer game. Felt like I was insanely running like a dying chicken! The second half was much better, I go into the rhythm and controlled the ball more.

Then this morning, I got a great workout from Denise Austin :) Wow, I have rediscovered muscles! Boy, am I going to hurt. My plan is to walk the circular mall tomorrow. I am trying to exercise every day, that way, if I miss a day or two, I'm still getting something in that week. It is raining which puts a damper on outside exercise.

My eating was horrible on vacation. Donuts, fudge sundaes and fries. Yum, yum ;) Since getting back, I've been eating fruit/yogurt/wheat germ smoothies, peanut butter toast, veggies and beans.

Ah, feels good to have my metabolism up and running.