D-minus 5 Til Return

So we're heading home on Monday. Five days from now. (*big sad sigh*) Man, those days are going to fly by! It's been a great couple of weeks.

My fabulous friends are wishing that I experience "shock-and-awe" upon my return to Michigan. Some are hoping the day I get home it snows a ton, and it's below zero-degrees for weeks. Some friends, huh? (Kelly, Reggie, Eddie - I'm talkin about you!) That's horrible! I won't even care - I'll be drifting on the memory of all this sun I'm currently soaking in.

Lil Dude wasn't feeling too well this morning. I think he had too much sun or something yesterday. We went to the beach and he sat under the tent for a while, then went to find friends. How come the friends he finds are usually girls in bikinis!?

The water was calm. Well, more calm than the past few days. It was a little breezy, so Charlie and I collected big rocks to secure the tent. The wind would have tumbled it into the ocean otherwise. (Not good)

After a day of hot sun, warm breezes, crunchy snacks and tepid beverages, Charlie was wiped! He was shivering from being in the cold ocean and I wrapped him in a towel. Next thing I knew he was snoring! He slept an hour, maybe longer. How cute is that tuckered out 3-year-old busy ball of baby boyness? TOO CUTE! And yes, we were chillin in the pink tent.

Now we're home, he's bathed and lotioned, and I'm making new years eve plans. Not sure what I want to do at all. Most of me just wants to crawl into bed and sleep through it.

I've got a lot of thinking and planning to do. Only 5 days before we head North. There are a few things I have to do, there are a few nice to do's, and there's one thing that I want to do but probably shouldn't. The little voice is telling me not to do it, but I really want that automatic car starter a lot!

Regardless, have a safe and happy new years eve! I hope 2009 rights whatever's wrong, lifts whatever's sagging and strengthens whatever's weak. I have big plans for 2009. Let's hope life cooperates!

Big Love!

C.

Another Perfect Day

Yesterday the ocean wasn't playing. The newsmen warned of strong riptides and we were firmly planted on terra firma - especially in light of Charlie's desire to be a merman.

Today I am happy. Charlie is hanging out with Bakka (Grampa) this morning. I'm at the beach alone sipping a cocktail and listening to beach music on my iPod. What is beach music, you ask? The same stuff I listen to on shore plus the added bonus of the sound of waves in the background: James Taylor, Sam Cooke and other old hippie good sounding stuff. Edie Brickell is currently shooting rubberbands at the stars. I feel the Counting Crows next - August and Everything After.

There is a guy on shore throwing a tennis ball to his grandson, who is standing in the water. He has a helluva arm! Another group of ppl are playing frisbee. A family of 4 is about to go surfing together. The beach is jammed with people communing with nature and enjoying the ocean. It is another perfect day.

Tera called it. I'm thinking about moving back. Not seriously, of course, but wouldn't it be splendid to live here again year round, and be close to the beach? Charlie could see more of his Dad. I could work on attaining that beach body. LOL It's the stuff of which dreams are made! Karl would never have it, plus I need my job. *sigh*

We leave in a week. (Boo!) I've lost 12 pounds since I've been gone! (Yaay!) I feel fabulous and am more centered and relaxed. 'Sane' is another story altogether. Last night I threatened to snap Charlie's legs off if he kicked me again. LOL Maybe one more week will do it! Ya think? Stranger things have happened.

Reality bites (as do Michigan winters), so I'll stay in denial for 7 more days. For now I'm going to lay back in the warmth of the sun and figure out what I want to do next with my life. And smile. Life is good.

Big Love!

C.

Life is a Beach

I declare today as Crismas. Bah Humbug on day after Christmas shopping. I'm laying in the sun (1st time since I've been here), reading a book, sorta watching my kid and feeling totally carefree. My biggest problem today is that I am out of margarita makings, and that is easily fixed.

It's about 80 degrees, but there is a bit of a breeze off the water, so it feels about 72. Sheer perfection! People are trying to surf (a joke here in SoFl unless a hurricane's a comin), kite-surfing, building sand castles and jumping waves. The ocean is spirited and playful. These waves are strong enough to knock you down!

Jeez. Charlie found a friend. He kept asking me to go swimming and I said later. He cajoled a bikini-clad stranger to take him into the water. I can tell I need to keep an eye on this kid!

Meanwhile, I need to put on sunscreen or I'll be writing about my terrible sunburn tomorrow. I'd have the nerve to expect a bit of sympathy, too. (laughing) If the weatherman is correct, it will be like this through Tuesday. Guess what I'm doing through Tuesday?

I hope everyone is enjoying Crismas as much as I am.

Big Love!

C.

Update: We had 2 scary moments at the beach today. Charlie met some "friends" and they were swimming in the ocean. I moved down toward the shore and talked to the kid's father. The kid Charlie was playing with was 7, and they were riding on the waves and walking to the sandbar. Very brave! The tide was coming in, and the rip currents were getting stronger. On his way back from the sandbar, Charlie either lost his footing or the water had come in so far, that what wasn't over his head previously was now over his head. Regardless, he stepped and the water was past his nose. His eyes got HUGE and he went under water. I ran into the water and snatched him out. He was coughing and choking, spitting up water. But, as soon as he'd caught his breath, he wanted to get back out there. We moved a bit north where the water was more shallow, and he was back out there like a champ. I swear 15 minutes hadn't passed and he got caught in a riptide and pulled away from the shore. Once again he couldn't stand up and once again I ran into the water to get him. I said "That's it, brother, swim time is over!" And he said "Okay, Mama." He's been talking about going into water over his head and how Mommy had to get him. SCARY!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas!

Our day, thus far, has been excellent.

Charlie slept until 8:30 and we had a very laid back, relaxing day. Santa came! After seeing everything Santa left in his Christmas stocking, he gave me a big hug and said "Mama, thank you for letting Santa visit us." That boy is too sweet! He unwrapped and loved all of his gifts! He blew bubbles with a bubble maker, ran up and down the sidewalk screaming into his walkie talkies, and then we played rousing games of Chutes & Ladders and Candyland.

We're about to go up to the Hilton to have a Christmas buffet. I'm especially happy because I neither have to cook nor clean up the kitchen. YAAAY Hilton!

Just wanted to pop in and wish everyone a happy day from Charlie and me! Yes, that is ribbon in my hair.

Big Love!

C.

One More Sleep Til Christmas!

Hi Everyone!

I hope your Christmas Eve day and Christmas Eve has been as happy and pleasant as mine has. It started out on the wrong foot (my blackberry got grenaded) but has turned out to be a happy cosmo Christmas eve. (I.e., The cosmos made it happy - *grin*)

The past few days have been happy and filled with loveliness: beautiful sunsets, good dining and a content (but overtired) toddler. We've enjoyed the weather (a cold day is 70 with a breeze) and the warm, rejuvenating sun (closer to 80). We've enjoyed each other. And I've enjoyed my time at the beach! I'm even running outside these days, believe it or not.

I got up this morning with the intention of going to the gym. Instead, Charlie and I ran for 2 miles around the neighborhood. By the time we got home he was mad as all hell, and I was tired from making him play "chase mommy." We went a little too far for his legs to carry him. And then he was irritable while we went shopping - too bad lil dude!

I did ALL of my Christmas shopping today. No, seriously. ALL of it! I bought for immediate friends and family (i.e., people I'm going to see tomorrow). The rest I'll pick up on after Christmas sales.

Charlie is really into games, so I got him the old classics Chutes & Ladders, Candyland and Let's Go Fishin' (remember that one??!). Santa is coming to Michigan when we get home, so we're having a light Christmas here in Florida. I also got him a few stocking stuffers. Aunties Theresa and Cheryl got him gifts. And his Daddy, of course, was here today with a box full of presents.

My dad got back today from New Orleans. He looks so tired and ... tired. Aged. Wobbly and limpy. (Gosh I hope he doesn't see this!) He says he looks like somebody's grandfather. We're here together through January 4, and I plan to take good care of him - so long as he enjoys laying on the beach, swimming in the ocean and drinking margaritas. (haha)

Charlie is excited about Christmas, though he doesn't quite understand how Santa can come with no chimney. He also doesn't much care that tomorrow is Christmas. He just wants to go to the beach or the pool tomorrow. Christmas in Pompano, by the way, is going to be 80 degrees and beach breezy - which means it won't feel hot, and we can get burned if we're not careful!

While Manny was here we went to the intercoastal (the same place we saw the dead iguana) and met a man with his dog. Charlie just loves his daddy! Don't they look handsome together?!

I am wishing all of my friends, co-workers and family the happiest of holidays! No matter your reason for celebrating the season, may it be merry and filled with love and happiness. Sadly, there is no Charlie Christmas card this year. But I'm going to try to get a Happy New Years card out before January 10. (laughing) It may or may not include a picture of Charlie with "Black Santa."

He's waiting for Santa now - watching Madagascar (for the 932nd time) on the bed... How 21st century!

Biggest Love!!

C.

P.S. Den and Beth - big hugs and kisses to you both. Den, you've got to stop sending me those holiday emails. I'm such a sap, I cry every time. I love you just as much and am so happy that you and Beth are part of my life. Your sledding story made me laugh out loud! I take that as a warning - Charlie is expecting to go sledding when I get home!

P.P.S. This sunset is for you!

Lizards, Lizards Everywhere - I Even Saw a Skink!

Note: You might want to get a beverage and a snack - I was a little gabby tonight. To get right to the pictures, click here.

It was a heckuva first day of vacation. I forgot to un-set my alarm and at 6:00 I was awakened by my usual morning alarm tune: "Here Comes the Sun." Today it failed to bring a smile to my face. (Side note: James Taylor and Yo-Yo Ma have released a version of "Here Comes the Sun" on Ma's new CD. It's lovely!) My bladder was near bursting and after taking care of business I realized I was wide awake! So I updated my Facebook status and decided to start my day. Yup, priorities in order!

My girl Tera sent me an unexpected BB msg - it seems she also couldn't sleep and saw my status update on Facebook (GMTA) and we texted for a while. I noshed on leftover spaghetti then went for a walk down on the beach. I collected shells on the seashore in my bare feet. It was a cool 70 this morning. Yup - I'm bragging just a wee bit.

I walked back to the condo to drop off the shells and took a quick walk to the Intercoastal. Mind you, Tera and I gabbed this whole time! LOL You know how girlfriends do - we solved all the problems of the world and had time to crack each other up, too! Tera was cracking up at me, because I thought I saw a seal in the water... It was a coconut. (shaddup) She asked if I was still drunk from last night... HA! How rude. (laughing) Looking back, I think I was still buzzing just a little.

When I got back home, Lil Stinky was awake and we went to IHOP for breakfast. The boy loves pancakes! I caught a deal on a Viper auto-starter and window tinting for my truck (still shopping around) then came back home. Here's where it gets interesting.

While I was out in the morning, I was talking on my Blackberry, so essentially I didn't have my camera. I saw a couple of huge - HUGE - and colorful jellyfish in the Intercoastal, but couldn't capture them because I was talking, plus the zoom on the camera was acting hinky. Charlie, Aunt Peggy and I walked back to the Intercoastal to watch the bridge go up and down for the big boats. I was also on the lookout for these amazing jellyfish. On the way there we saw the Good Year Blimp, which Charlie called the "Blurp." That kid cracks me up.

As we crossed the parking lot to the park (it's really more of a meditation garden type-park than a play park) there were about 20 lizards in the parking lot. It had warmed up considerably (77 degrees) and they were out sunning themselves. I got the heebie jeebies. Mind you, these are the little sand lizards - about 6" long (tongue to tail). I was very brave for Charlie, and we held hands, walked very slowly and quietly and tried to catch a few. Inside I was silently screaming "RUN, LIZARD, PLEASE PLEASE RUN AWAY!"

So we saw a few jellyfish. And we watched a few boats and yachts pass by. And then I saw... IT. I thought it was a shark. Then I thought it was an alligator -- it didn't look "sharky" enough. It was another iguana! I admit it: I freaked out - I am embarrassingly sure I jumped up and down and shouted "OH MY GOSH LOOK AT THAT THING!" I thought it was feeding on something, because it looked like it was balanced over a piece of wood (and they can hold their breath a long time). Even more panic ensuing, it seemed to be heading our way! So what do I do? I pull out the camera and start taking pictures, of course. It was far enough away that I figured I had time to react if it tried to get us. Plus after showing y'all the pictures of the LAST big green iguana we saw by the pool, too many of you questioned the estimated length of two feet.

I watched it for a couple of minutes before (duh) I realized it was dead. And bloated. And HUGE. I mean the nasty little reptilian thing was ginormous! It was four feet long if it was an inch. So I was convinced that if enough of the larger boats headed South the wake would cause it to drift closer toward us and we could get a very good look at it. No such luck, however. Plus it was hot, so we left. On the way home we saw the "blurp" again, and another dozen lizards along the way. *shudder*

So we went back to the condo and Charlie swam in the pool. I was trying to read my book, but I swear there were those little lizards all over the place. Lil Orphan Annie was right - they leap! (Leapin' lizards.... remember?) They were jumping from the ground into the branches of the bush, and one jumped through a hole in the gate. It was like they were training for the lizard summer olympics or something. I had the heebie jeebies. No kidding. I was all jumpy and I kept feeling like they were on me. My Aunt, I'm sure, wanted me to sit down and stop acting all jittery. (Guys, remember that day I drank the latte with 4 shots of espresso? Yeah, I was THAT jumpy)

Sidenote: I just got goosebumps because I had a flashback to earlier today! What if that big dead bloaty lizard had floated close enough to the berm so that I could reach out and poke it with a loooong stick? And what if it flipped over?!!? i wonder what its dead bloaty lizard face would have looked like? All white and waterlogged and haunty like the end of that Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer movie... WOOF!)

So I finally calmed down about the lizards (we came inside) and get ready to go to Theresa's for dinner. Walk into her place and the first thing that I noticed after saying HI to her and Mike is the fishtank in the living room - guess what was in it? Another frickin lizard! To be precise, it is not a lizard, it is a blue-tongued skink. I think I shuddered the first 8 or 9 times I passed it. They took it out of the aquarium... terrarium... skink prison... and held it. Charlie touched it. I. was. dis. gus. ted. Mr. Funny Man (Mike) then told Charlie to come give Mommy hugs. You know I pumped the brakes on the hugging action until after Charlie washed his hands! Lizards, skinks included, carry salmonella, you know. Mike is also the one who thought it was hilarious to put on the Darth Vader mask - which makes that loud breathing sound - and chase Charlie around the condo. He did this last year when Charlie was 2. The boy was TERRIFIED - and yet he loves Unca Mike! Kids...

Mike regaled us with tales of horror about lizards and iguanas, which freaked me out but strangely enough intrigued me as well. I'm going to work on getting over my borderline reptile phobia. I am long past disgust and wading hip-deep in contempt toward reptiles, though I don't know if I'm quite phobic of them. I would certainly would rather deal with a reptile before I'd deal with a mouse, but that's beside the point. Mike knows of a place where you can drive up to see these huge things sunning by the side of the road and swears they'll swarm if you throw fruit and veggies to them (even though the city of Pompano has made it illegal to feed them now, because they were overrunning this piece of land). You know I'm a rule breaker at heart. I'd like to see that from the safety of my Highlander - and throw tomatoes and heads of lettuce through the sunroof. No way would I get out of the truck. He also claims he and my Dad were walking out on the beach last year and there was a dead and bloated iguana washed up on shore. Said some guy picked it up by the tail and held it up (to show how big it was) and the thing was easily six-foot long. He's gonna dig out some pictures of that to send me - which I will post. At this point, I've got a morbid fascination with those things.

I'm totally rambling tonight. I've posted a few pictures (33) in my Picasa album instead of clogging up this page with all of the pictures of the jumpin' jellyfish and leapin' lizards. Click here to see them!

Gotta wonder what's in store for tomorrow! It'd have to be a doozy to top today.

Big Love!

C.

Sweet, Sweet Friday!

So it's been a long, hard week. *heh*

My vacation officially starts today and I couldn't be more excited! I don't have to work, or pretend to work, until January 2.

So my friends in Grand Rapids are telling me how terrible the weather is up there. I saw for myself - www.woodtv.com has some really good pictures and a forecast thingy.

From what I can gather, it started snowing this morning at 2am, and less than 12 hours later there's a foot of snow, more blowing and blizzarding and essentially Grand Rapids is shut down. Police are telling people to stay at home and to stay off the roads.

Complete opposite of what's going on down here. We've got a foot of sunshine with more headed this way. It was supposed to be 78 today, but looks like it's only gonna hit 76. And after work, we've got a trip to the laundry planned, then an afternoon of bumming at the beach.

Now that I'm connected, I will add pictures to this post tonight. Charlie has that wild eyed look about him, and he's making more noise than one small boy ought make. Time to let him burn off some of his energy.

Stay warm, Michiganders! I'm thinking of you all. No, really - I am.

Big (Warm) Love!

C.

Butter Makes It Better!

We ate at Aruba's on the beach last night. They have a website - if you're ever in Ft. Lauderdale, take Commercial Ave east until you hit the ocean. It's on the left.

We ordered Bimini bread, which is essentially texas toast (untoasted) with honey butter. Charlie was more interested in the butter than the bread. LOL He licked the butter off the bread and had butter all over his cute lil face. I couldn't resist a shot. :-)

As we left he posed for yet another obligatory picture. The fisherman's name is, evidently, Aruba. LOL I'd had a couple 'ritas - they're my favorite. I swear I took 6 pics before we settled on this one. You can imagine how bad the others must have been!

It was hot when we left the restaurant, too. I thought it was the tequila (HA!) but when we checked the temperature I was amazed! 77 degrees. At 7:30 at night (the clock is 10 minutes fast)!

Needless to say we're getting a lot of beach time. During the day I work, in the evenings I spend time with Patricia Cornwell and at night I belong to Nancy Drew. Those Nancy Drew mystery games are damned addictive! I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but it keeps me out of trouble. :-D

Today we're at the pool opposite the iguana tree. Hardy har har to my smarty pants friends who sent me iguana recipes. I don't do reptiles. Periot.

Not much else to report. Internet is allegedly being connected today. (Shout out to Ken & Craig - allegedly!) Then I can post better pictures and format posts with a bit more savvy.

Love n miss my friends, but don't miss the snow or the cold. Hope you guys are staying warm. Reggie gets the finger for the "shock and awe" crack - yes January is going to be a mofo, but I'll look fabulous, won't I? Tanned, toned and suprisingly sane.

Big Love!

C.

Delicious Dinner!

Auntie, Charlie and I went to dinner tonight at one of my favorite places, LuLu's Bait Shack. The drinks are strong, and the fish tacos are fresh n yummy! It sits just South of Las Olas on A1A in a 3 story shopping plaza.

The view is faboo (as you can see). Friday night is ladies night - free-ish martinis. They usually have a zydeco or some other cajun sounding too-loud band. I love it!

As we left Auntie and Charlie rode the hog out front. HA! I blame the margaritas. It was a good day.

Then we came home and got in the pool. I'm beat, and am preparing for Tuesday.
Big Love!

C.

The Party Crasher

So the lil man and I are having a very relaxing time at the pool. He's floating on the raft, talking about everything under the sun, and for the most part I'm ignoring him. The pool isn't that deep, and it's Mommy to the Rescue if he falls in.

I'm about 200 pages into my novel and it's getting good. More mutillations and mysteries afoot. Out pf the corner of my brain I hear rustling in the trees. I ignored it because Dr. Scarpetta was dropping knowledge! Then I heard it again.

Now in Michigan it would have been a squirrel or a chipmunk. Some fuzzy woodland creature. Oh but noooooo, we're in Florida! Home of tropical breezes, sea mammals and reptiles. I nearly broke my butt getting away from this thing! It's a huge, free roaming iguana. The biggest, scaliest, nastiest, greenest, bug-eatingest thing I've ever seen outside of a zoo. Small lizards, gekkos and chameleons frighten me. I don't do reptiles, people! This was completely unnecessary.

Of course Charlie wanted to hold it. (No dice) At this point we went inside. Tomorrow we're back at the beach. I'll take my chances with sand crabs and sharks.

That is our adventure for the day. We're heading out for drinks. After we get cleaned up and I get the memory of godzilla out of my head!

UGH!

C.

P.S. Of course I had to take pictures! How else would you believe and fully comprehend the mammoth size of the beast that tried to eat me? ;-)

Sunny Monday

It's 78 degrees and sunny. We are at the pool. I am - of course - working. (grin) The only things missing are a cabana boy and a pitcher of margaritas.

Life is good!

C.

First Day Back!

So we're back in FL. Know what we did all day? We slept! We got home at about 2am and woke up close to 11:30am. Charlie wanted pancakes for breakfast so we went to IHOP. He loved them. We got back home just in time for naps. We woke up close to 6! Our neighbor knocked on the door with the mail, and when she left Charlie asked "Is that Mrs. Doubtfire?" Hahaha - she sounds just LIKE Mrs. D no kidding.

Charlie Boy had the brilliant idea to go "bye bye" so I asked if we were gonna have a date. We cracked up. This kid, I swear. We went to see Madagascar 2 and now we're at Chili's where he's eating food on a stick. Corn dog and corn on the cob.

I think the plan is to go home and watch a movie on the couch. Or we could just go to bed. Believe it or not, he's yawning! No, wait... That's me.

Big Love!

C.

Flights n Such

Our flight was great. The view of the mountains was spectacular. Charlie slept for 2 hrs - a stark contrast to the brats catterwauling a few rows behind us. Our seatmate (who I have dubbed "Walter") was a grumpy gus the whole flight. He also happens to be going to Ft. Lauderdale on the same flight and me n Charlie.

Mid-flight we had a party in the potty. We had a snack and sang a song, too! LOL Seriously, he was punch drunk, and I was pulling out all the Mommy tricks. We made the connecting flight in Atlanta without issue.

So our seats on the flight to Ft. Laudy were 45E and 45F - last row of seats on the plane next to the toilets. We asked a gate agent if we could be moved forward and she said no dice - full flight. I was prepared to suck it up, grateful for a seat. By some miracle of heaven, when she scanned our tickets, we were reassigned seats 20E and 20F! YAY!!!!! I think the agent in Seattle changed us. Regardless how it happened, SCORE!!!

As we watched people board, there went Walter! *snap* Of course Charlie yelled "Hey! There's our friend! HIIIII!" And of course he ignored us. Happy Landings, Walter!

Almost home. Charlie keeps asking for a drink. That makes 2 of us! It'll be 2am before we're home. Back on schedule tomorrow: up, gym, beach.

Big Love!

C.

Ready to Board

We're heading back to Florida. Charlie is full of beans today! I hope that means he falls asleep quickly when we get on board. Truly I am not in the mood for a bunch of foolishness and shenanigans.

Our flight lands at nearly midnight - it's going to be a long day if we can't cooperate. And by "cooperate" I mean he needs to calm down and follow directions.

We've got the movie player ready to roll. I have a book to finish. He has a nap to take! Heck, WE have naps to take!

Seattle was fun - it's always fun. We didn't get to do half the things we wanted to do but there's always next year!

Extra special hugs and kisses to Kamal & her family for showing us a good time. That waterpark was quite an adventure! And to my friends in MI, there's one in Traverse City. Wanna go? I'm looking at Pete, Tera n Sara particularly! :-)

We'll check in along the way, I'm sure. Our seatmate on the flight is a grumpy old man. He obviously doesn't know the protocol set by Big Daddy Smoov or Tristan...

Throwing Deuces -

C.

Mommy's Dinner

Prawn risotto with asparagus. And wine.(grin)

I'm half into the wine. They only sell my vintner by the bottle. *shrug* That's why I work, right!?? We're walking "home." - no worries.

Charlie has tucked into his grilled cheese, tomato soup and apple sauce. That is "mommy-love" food!

We're happy. We're together. Life is good.

XOXOXO,

C.

Great Wolf Lodge

We're at GWL in Washington. We've been down the slides, in the wave pool, in the kiddie pool, down the super giant slides, in the jacuzzi and over the lily pads. We played water basketball, leapfrog, jumped into rafts and inner tubes.

The first time down the big tube slide jacked us up! Charlie said "That was super fast!" Somehow I managed to get him to the top of the ladder again and he screamed "NO! NO! NO! NO!" the whole time I stuffed him back into the raft! I was cracking up. He loved the 2nd slide so much we ended up going thrice more. He was even brave enough to go down a slide alone. I panicked - he flipped backwards halfway down! He was A-OK but didn't want to do that one again because he "bumped his head."

After 3 hours in the water we needed to get warmed up, shower and have dinner. As we passed the big clock tower in the lobby, a show began! We watched the show - it had an owl, a moose, a talking tree, and a native American named Yellow Feather in it. Charlie wanted to watch, so I'm kinda stuck. It's not Disney, but it's not all that bad.

We're going to get a little light dinner and some wine. (You know momma likes her wine!). Then we're going to bed. It's been a full, fun day!

The workouts are paying off, too! I didn't look half bad in my bathing suit, and I could pull myself up onto the inner tube. Small victories, but I feel really good about that!

Hope things are well with my peeps! Back to FL on Thursday for another few weeks in th sunshine.

Big Love!

C.