Beach Trip

* I'm a bit late blogging about this- so for the sake of my journal I'm backdating this post.

WARNING: This blog is extremely long and contains over a dozen pictures!

My last post was about our anniversary. Well, that Friday we packed up and headed to the beach. We'd been looking forward to this trip for months! We usually stay at the Hilton Garden Inn (that's where we stayed during our honeymoon). This year we decided to try the condo thing. My good friend Chickadee recommended a few. We ended up with a great condo on the ninth floor- it was ocean front and the views were breathtaking.

So, here is a recap of our trip......

We left Friday morning around 8. We stopped for ice (we brought a few snacks in our cooler), gas, and yoohoos. We ended up eating a quick fast food breakfast and then lunch at O'Charley's in Foley. We were a bit early arriving so we headed to the souvenir shop for some goodies. We had 2 pennies pressed and bought some cute stuff. We started a tradition on our honeymoon of buying a Christmas ornament at the beach each year to commemorate each anniversary. This year was no exception- our ornament turned out to be a pretty sand dollar (it's hard to pick out shell ornaments that acually match my Christmas tree theme of blue, white, and silver). Afterwards we headed out to our condo. We loved the condo! It had so much more room than the hotel plus we were able to bring snacks to cook. We then headed out to the beach to relax! We always rent our beach chairs to save us the hassel- this year was no different. We walked on the beach, swam, sunned, and just relaxed. While walking I found a small hermit crab! I was so excited! I ended up giving it to a little girl and she loved it! Later that evening we went to eat at Bubba's (the live music, margaritas, seafood and fried dill pickles were great!), rode around on the strip for a while, and stopped by a store so I could by some goggles.

We also went to the state park pier to watch the sunset. We had a blast watching the other people catch huge fish! The sunset was amazing! We stayed up late just sitting on our balcony and watching the boats and listening to the sounds of the ocean. Here are a few pics from Friday....

Me getting ready to go and chow down on seafood!

Me again...

The view from our balcony. Gorgeous!

The front of our condo overlooked the main strip. Again, the views were gorgeous!



You could see the bridge to Florida from our condo.
The State Pier

Again...


It felt like you walked a mile by the time you reached the end...

Sunset from the pier...


Me at the end of the pier...
The two of us at the end of the pier....


Again...
Watching people catch fish as we walked back. I was sooo afraid I was going to drop my camera in the water!

Saturday was spent on the beach! It was a bit hazy but the sun finally came out in full force around noon. I looked like a dork swimming around in my goggles- but hey, I caught another hermit crab! We walked to the rocks and Bob helped a boy release a baby sting ray- a foretelling of something to come! Later while we were swimming, I was standing about 2 feet away from Bob when I felt the sand under my foot move. I accidentally stepped on a sting ray! He was about the size of a mazagine but he didn't sting me with his barb. After that Bob wouldn't get back into to water. Scaredy Cat! That evening we were sad to learn that Ruby Tuesday had closed- that's Bob's favorite place to eat at the beach! So, we ended up eating at Hooters. Again, the buffalo wings, margaritas, and fried dill pickles were great! =) Afterwards, we went to the track where I whipped my hubbys boootay at gocarts! We came back to the beach that evening to play in the water and then ended up swimming in the indoor pool. Again, we stayed up late watching the boats and listening to the ocean from our balcony.
Here are a few pictures from Saturday....

Me...

Bob...

Our little spot in paradise...
Sandy toes!
Sunning with the iPod...

The second hermit crab. I found this one while using my dork goggles.. haha

All cleaned up and ready to go eat....

Strike a pose...

The Track....

Bob talking smack.... That's okay- I schooled him!
Me after I won! =)

Throwing down the deuces in my dork goggles! lol

Sunday was a sad day. I did NOT want to leave! We took our time going home. We stopped in Mobile to eat, shop, and visit Hobby Lobby. Unfortunately Hobby Lobby isn't open on Sunday. Luck was on my side and I was able to find cute fabric for my classroom at Wal-Mart (blog on classroom changes coming soon!).

My Sad-We're-Going-Home Face

One last picture of our gorgeous view.....

I bet you've stopped reading by now! =)
And that concludes our beach trip 2009!

We're planning a trip to the mountains for Thanksgiving- just the two of us! =) We're looking at different cabins, but we've never been to Gatlinburg. So, if any of you guys have been before, please feel free to recommend places to eat, attractions, and most of all a good cabin location!

Our Day

Happy Anniversary Honeydo!
It's been an amazing 4 years- and I look forward to many, many more!

To my dear and loving husband:

If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let's so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

Anne Dudley Bradstreet

A Bride in the Bargain

A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist
I give this book 4/5 stars.
(It reminded me of my all time favorite book, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.
This may be why I enjoyed it so much.)

I finished reading this book yesterday afternoon and it was soooo good! It's one of those books you want to go on forever- and once it's over, you miss the characters! I highly recommend this Christian Fiction book! It's a sweet love story that will have you addicted within the first chapter! I couldn't put it down!

I've moved on to The Deliverer by Linda Rios Brook (this is the sequel to Lucifer's Flood which I blogged about earlier.) It picks up during the time of Moses and goes from there.... again, it's interesting to read in that the perspective is from a fallen angel who now regrets his decision to side with Lucifer. Very different!

Check out my "Recommended Reads" section to the left of the screen to see what I've enjoyed, hated, and loved.

Not-So-Terrible-Horrible-Dreaded-It-Day

I had been dreading having to buy new tires for some time now. I would have postponed it even longer, but my hubby insisted I get new tires before we drive to the beach.

I hate buying tires. I always imagine what other cutsey things I could spend that money on.

Last Monday I went in to get new tires- I arrived in a horrible mood, and left a happy camper.

Turns out, the tire place had a sale going on- if you bought four new Continental tires ( a total of $499+) then you received a new TomTom GPS system.

I was pleasantly surprised! It turned out to be a good day after all! I just wish we had this device over the Fourth of July- we could have used it while navigating around Mobile.

I Couldn't Sleep.....

So I redesigned my blog.

I also upgraded STITCHES and added new photos- so have a looksy!

The Boleyn Inheritance

I give this book 3/5 stars.
But, I give The Other Boleyn Girl 4/5.

Last night I finished reading The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory. It was not quite the page turner that The Other Boleyn Girl was- but it was still interesting. One of the reasons I've enjoyed reading this series is because I have a passion for history and Philippa Gregory goes to great lengths to ensure that her novels are historically sound. I did a bit of research on the wives of King Henry VIII and it's quite interesting! I was even able to find some of the love letters that King Henry wrote to his wives! Pretty neat! I would love to visit Europe one day- perhaps even take a tour of some of the places mentioned in this book. This book covered the two wives after Anne Boleyn- Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard (Henry's fourth and fifth wife). There is one or two more books in this series- but I'm going to save them until after I read a few others!

I'm now working on A Bride in the Bargain. I'm on a book roll these days- I've read two books in just over a week and I'm now on my third. I guess you know how I've been spending these hot summer days- curled up in my favorite over-stuffed chair reading (and trying to stay cool).

Happy Reading!

Oooh, oooh, oooh.... I love a rainy night... - My 150th Post

Last night was no extraoridnary night- and today is no extraordinary day- until you add the rain! It started raining last night just before we went to bed.... and I woke up to the rain! Those are my favorite mornings- when you wake up to the beautiful sounds of rain! I even love the smell of rain! So, I'm putting on my rain boots and getting out of the house today! With the cooler temps and the rain- it almost feels like an October morning.... oh how I long for Fall! But first I had to post this song- I was dancing in my kitchen to it a few minutes ago! haha I should have videoed it for you to see!

How appropriate that my 150th post is about rain- one of my loves in life!
Happy 150th Post to Me!

My Sister's Keeper

I've decided to start rating my books- so I give this one 3/5 stars.

Although the end of the book was interesting, the beginning drug on! There was a time when I considered putting it down- but I can't stand not finishing a book..... so onward I trudged. One of the reasons I chose this book was because the movie was coming out....but this too became frustrating. I finished the book at 2 a.m. Saturday morning - and I cried like a baby! We had planned on going to see it in theaters, but to our dismay it was not playing in Meridian. So, I really doubt that I'm going to drive 3 hours to Mobile or Jackson to see it (being as how I wasn't that into the book.) I'll wait and watch it when it comes out on DVD.

Here are three new books that I've picked up.
They're all Christian Fiction's that I've been wanting to read.

Home Another Way by Christa Parrish


A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist


The Deliverer by Lida Rios Brook
This book is actually the sequel to a book I read a few months ago- Lucifer's Flood- which I discussed in this post.

HEADS UP: To all of my fellow readers- Books-A-Million is having a good sale on books- particularly Christian Fiction. When I bought these new books last Monday the sale was 'Buy 2- Get 3rd Free'. Not bad- you might want to check it out.

I'm finishing up The Boleyn Inheritance- which I discussed here -and I plan on reading A Bride in the Bargain next. (I had put The Boleyn Inheritance down for a bit so I could read The Last Lecture before school let out.....then I found My Sister's Keeper.....but I'm back on it now! I forgot how much I enjoyed reading that series- I'll have to find the other books in the series and finish them up this summer). Speaking of which, I think I'll pick up the movie The Other Boleyn Girl today while I'm out.

Happy Reading!

Happy Fourth of July