Faves.

Yes, I think the year on this photo may INDEED be correct. Me at a Waffle House in Kentucky in 2006. En route to visit friends in Tennessee, one of my many former homes. I love the Waffle House. We don't have anything similar enough in the "aggressive north" here that is adequately comparable. It's just not the same.

Heart attack on a plate, see you on the other side!

I say that to Brad whenever we have a huge breakfast and we're going for broke.

Anyway....I love this pic because it's just goofy. You know what else? My eyes are open!


Brad and I will not be taking our usual beach vacation this year due to funds and our impending move/downsize 2013! It's more important to have more than enough $$$ to cover our move and all things that go along with that. We'll be leaving the A'Ville Burbs and are excited to move back into or near the city. I seriously cannot wait. While I've enjoyed certain aspects of living out here ( a good hour from the city with good traffic.) I have realized it's just too damned far from everything, our neighbors are mostly weird (in my opinion, they could also view me as a total freak. Fair is fair!) we have a lot of peeps who keep it real, hang in the garage all summer long and watch tv out there...and seem overly concerned with everyone else's business. Not for me. No judgement. Just not for me/us.

We also plan to adopt someday soon (it keeps getting put on the back burner with each of Brad's hip surgeries, but we should be able to get back on the train soon.) and there just isn't enough diversity here. Again, my opinion. I'm excited to be around history again, older homes and buildings with character and PUBLIC TRANSPORT!!

Sidebar: I have lived in the burbs before and LOVED it. Before I met Brad, I bought a townhome in southern Minnesota and loved everything about it. We've both agreed there's just something "off" for us here. Bad feng shui? Homes built on some sort of burial ground? We don't know. It's just weird.


The point? I'm perusing vacation photos from years gone by! Here we stayed at the Grand Palladium in Jamaica in 2010 and my GOD, beautiful! Everything was large in scale and gorgeous. I'd go there again in a heartbeat. Too many restaurants to choose from, beautiful spots to grab a cocktail and watch the ocean. Beautiful design. The best jamaican jerk chicken I've EVER had (and we've been to various spots in Jamaica a few times) and paella on the beach. It was bliss.

From the upstairs bar area...on your way down to the beach.

Everywhere you go, a great place to sit. The gift shop near here WAS a total rip off I must say. I paid $11 US for a box of 5 tampons before leaving. Hey, you asked!

This pic makes me laugh because on our camera it was small and Brad kept saying "I took this of you while I was swimming." Me "That is NOT me. Not the older lady or the baby." He kept insisting until he saw it large.

I had a great massage here!

And I ate a lot of great food here! Tip: ketchup in Jamaica is one of the grossest ever. Avoid!

Again..love the architecture. This is my very favorite kind of yellow. Perfection. When you travel from Minnesota in February and you land here, it's magical. I usually cry. Life is abundant. Flowers bloom. From icy wasteland to a place that God seems to be smiling upon.

Also of note: Where Brad fell in love with scuba diving. I snorkel. Scuba scares me. He dives to crazy depths, I swim, drink and read on the beach. Win, win!

That's the ocean behind us, folks. The photo doesn't capture it's greatness and the person who snapped this picture isn't great at focusing on the subject, but it's all good. I mean, it's a good thing we have that table in the photo to the right..along with that empty drink. This is how memories are made.

Back to reality! We are headed to Tucson to visit one of my good friends, her hubby and their three adorable kids in a week. That should be super fun. We'll also hit Saguaro National Forest. Never been. When I lived in Arizona, it was in Flagstaff and Sedona, hours and hours away from Tucson.

Happy Wednesday, Peeps! Be well. Have a cognac. Rent "The Watch" with  Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller. It was goofy. As my BFF who recommended it said "It's no Shawshank, but you'll smile!"

xo

T