Country Roads, Take Me.... On Vacation

At the end of football season, MS came out victorious in his fantasy football pool. Instead of rolling around in all the cash, he thought it was a good idea to take Namath on vacation. He let me tag along too, in order to document.

So off we went.

First stop - Walgreens, where we blew $20 on candy and magazines. Second stop - the mountains. I was too excited to fix my hair. Or even run a brush through it.

It was all fun and games until we had to drive across this -

I pink puffy heart electricity - besides salvation I think air conditioning may be one of God's greatest blessings - but I do. not. like. dams. I used to have nightmares I was getting sucked in the turbines and wake up nearly screaming. I'm not making this up.

Which raises the question, what are these fools doing?

We held on for dear life and made it safely across.

We arrived, unpacked and had a little quality family time.

After the dam and the dam curvy mountain roads, I was never so happy for a glass of wine.

Namath wasn't so sure about my pool game. It is frightening.

I think him and MS were even whispering about it.

Saturday morning after heading into town for pancakes and telling MS 492 times we weren't taking old time pictures in costume, we headed out to see some wildlife.

Unfortunately, the closest Namath got to nature was the leather in the back seat.

After a relaxing dinner Saturday, Sunday morning we headed back down the mountain and towards the city. After stopping for more caffeine and candy.

Our first family vacation was a success. We both had quite the food hangover Sunday night. I can't imagine why.

Back in the Saddle

We are back.

Laundry is done and suitcases put away.

I've traded my bathing suit for a business suit.

We had such a relaxing trip. I finished two books, hardly took any pictures and sported a ponytail for the majority of the weekend. It was just what the doctor ordered.

We left early Friday morning. So early in fact, I ran out the door and left the baked goods I had slaved over the night before. I sulked for a good 15 minutes. Seriously. Have you ever had chess bars? If so, you can understand my sadness.

We got to the beach in time to spend a whole afternoon enjoying the sun. Isn't the ocean beautiful?! There are few things I love more than sitting by the ocean, good book in hand.

After brushing the sand off and putting on our finest attire, we headed to Dewey Destin's - a little jewel the Searson's discovered on their last beach visit.

It's not much to look at.

But the food and ambience couldn't be beat. The company wasn't so bad either.

We went for a run Saturday morning, before mixing up one of my favorite beach concotions - the banana daiquiri. The mix can only be found at the beach - or so has been our experience. It nearly filled the chess bar void.

We got some rain in the afternoons, so we headed to the outlets. Unable to escape corporate America completely, I snagged a couple of suits for a great deal.

And that's about all she wrote, folks.

We ate, we drank, we felt our toes in the sand.

Is there anything better?

All Signs Pointing South

Three books. Mostly mindless. This could mean only one wonderful thing. We are beach bound soon. I can hardly contain my excitement. It even merits an exclamation point!

On a semi-related note, if you haven't heard, the library is a wonderful thing. The largest one in town is mere blocks from the corporate tower I call home 40 hours a week, and every time I go I kick myself for not turning off Bravo and reading a few more books.

My favorite feature? Well, since you asked, the online ordering is fantastic. This morning, I checked out the web site for the book(s) I wanted to make sure they were in. If they werent, and I hadn't waited until the last minute, I could have them shipped from another library to the one closest to me. Fabulous.

This may be old news and/or common knowledge, but just a friendly reminder of something you are already paying for out of every single paycheck with your hard earned dollars a free service.

Any books you recommend? I think I have time for one more trip this week...

Somebody call Parker Brothers

Saturday night we headed to some friends for game night. The food was delicious, the competition fierce. I am ridiculously, Monica Gellar-ish competitive prefer to win. There was a heated debate discussion about whether you still get the point in Catch Phrase if your team correctly guesses but a member of your team is still holding the buzzer. The rules clearly state that I am right. Any one know the answer to this? Bueller? We decided Parker Brother's needed a hotline. Maybe it was a joke, but I thought it was brilliant.

Hostess with the Mostess made an amazing spread, and after we stuffed ourselves, it was time to get our game on. Although I hate to admit it, the girls didn't come away victorious. Maybe next time. Here's some proof we were winning at one point.

Team One Wins! In case you can't read it. That would be Mrs. Smith in the background with her serious camera. She also brought some delicious pork loin.

Name that show -

Why do you keep taking pictures?

I was tasked with bringing dessert, so I went to a classic standby, the chocolate chip poundcake. It sweetened the bitterness of defeat. I got the recipe from a good friend at work.

Gather together your ingredients.

1 box of yellow cake mix
1 box of instant choc. pudding
¾ cup oil
4 eggs
8 oz sour cream
12 oz of choc. chips

Mix the first five ingredients together, then fold in chocolate chips. Pour in a bunt pan.

Bake on 325 for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. You can serve it with ice cream, strawberries, powdered sugar, or just plain. Plain delicious, that is.

Confession: I don't own a sifter.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!