Flyin' High

Thanks to Groupon, I got to fulfill one of my more adventurous goals from my list!

✔ 43. Go parasailing

Even though there are places to do this around here in Pensacola, the Groupon was for a place in Destin.  That's about an hour and a half east of here, and I had wanted to go visit anyway.  My mom was in town to come with us and watch the baby while we were out on the boat.

We had one hiccup in the day, where we found out the idiot who took our reservation had booked us for the wrong Sunday, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise.  They had extra spots on the later cruise, so we went for some ice cream and got the last outing of the day at 6pm.   It was much more pleasant weather!  And sort of a sunset cruise, too, although the sun just sorta hid behind some clouds when it was done.

As for parasailing--I loved it!  Well, actually I was pretty scared watching the first couple go up.  Then I reminded myself that I had pushed a baby out of me, so I could probably do this.

Before we were out there, I had no idea how they got you from point A on the boat to point B in the air.  I had some theories, which were all wrong.

They strap you in, then have you sit on the back of the boat.  Then they let out the line and speed up!  It was actually very smooth, even though I look scared out of my mind there.

Up, up, and away!

It was so quiet and calm once we were 500 feet up there.  I felt like I should say something profound.  Instead, I think I just said "Ooh, pretty" and held onto the straps for dear life.

The deckhand was nice and took pictures!

My favorite part was when they dipped us in the water.  It was a lovely day, and the water was delightfully warm!

We were the second couple of six to go in the air.  This was good for my nerves to get it over earlier, but terrible for my stomach.  I've never gotten seasick before, not even when I was pregnant.  But by the time the fifth couple was in the air, that ice cream and the rocking boat had joined forces against me.  It didn't get too bad (all stomach contents stayed intact), but the last half hour of the trip all I could think was, "Please get me off this boat!"  I was immediately better the second I got back onto land.  I didn't even have that rocking feeling in me when I went to bed that night.

All in all, we had a great day in Destin!

He hates it when I do cutesy stuff like this.

Our Quick Trip to Houston

Last week, Baby Cora and I joined my husband B in a trip to the fourth-largest city in the United States.  We had a few reasons for traveling to Houston, but the primary one was that B was attending a job conference where he got to interview with five different companies.  There are tons of engineering jobs in Houston, so we know there is a possibility we could end up living there after B's military separation.  None of us had been to that city before, so it was a good idea to check it out and make sure we didn't hate it.

It also helped that we knew Cora does well on road trips.  This was her third road trip, and she's only 5 months old!  She has now been to 10 states.  We also got to meet up with some family, as we each have a cousin living in Houston.  Business cards were exchanged and advice was given over meals at the Rainforest Cafe and the Cheesecake Factory.  And I got to "talk shop" in my own way with their wives who fawned over the baby.

While B was off doing his thing, Cora and I explored the city a bit.  Since we were staying by the Galleria mall, we wandered around there.  (Bonus points because it was indoors, as Houston doesn't have the benefit of the coastal breeze we have here in Pensacola.)

Cora, "enjoying" watching the ice skaters at the mall

After being in the mall for awhile and not buying anything other than lunch, we headed to a landmark around the corner known as the Water Wall.

It's a wall.  of water.

Lived up to its name.  Also had a nice mist coming off of it.

 At the suggestion of reader Erika, we ate dinner at Pappasito's for some yummy Tex-Mex.

Why yes, that is a Sangria, since you asked.

On the second full day there, Cora turned exactly 5 months old!  We usually do a picture on the glider with her "birth-stat elephant," so we brought it with us.

"Please tell me about a time you had difficulty with a subordinate, Mr. W."

As B went into his interviews with his fancy suit and power tie, Cora and I went to explore downtown Houston.  It was H-O-T that day, so I found some indoorsy things, like going to an observation deck on the 60th floor of a skyscraper.

Helloooooo, Houston!

We actually did walk around outside a bit, though, and found this adorable park called Discovery Green.

It had a big splash area where a bunch of kids were playing in the water.  It took every piece of my restraint not to join them.  But I did find this other thing with water I could stick my head under.

It felt heavenly.

Overall, the trip was good, barring one misadventure with a parking meter that refused to take my credit card and then ate my dollar and went to sleep.  But a kind stranger bailed me out, and I ended up actually liking the next (perfectly-functioning) parking meter I used.

How could I not love a parking meter that runs on solar power?  I guess the "Energy Capital of the World" really does live up to its name!

The good news of the trip is that we didn't hate it!  I wouldn't call it the perfect place to live, but we didn't hate it.

Blueberries and Babywearing

Unlike last year, I made sure to remind myself that berry-picking season here in Florida comes pretty early!  We already missed strawberries, but luckily blueberries are in full swing now!

Don't mind my stupid hair that never stays put.

The friend I went with also has a baby about Cora's age.  She brought her in her stroller, which was fine, but I wanted to try a long carry with my Boba 3G.  It was pretty great!

That was the first time I used the sleeping/sun hood, and Cora pretty much slept the whole time.  I kinda take forever to pick berries, so that was very nice of her.

My half-gallon of berries

As much as I didn't want to get up really early, we definitely should have.  It was HOT!  We started around 9 and were out there until almost 11.  Luckily, I usually have a change of clothes for both baby and myself, so we were out of our sweaty clothes in no time!  The carrier actually stayed cool and sweat-free (and odor-free) though.  I was quite impressed.  And since I used all of my Amazon gift cards for it and paid about $20 out of pocket, we'll call it money well spent!

I guess you're wondering what I did with all those blueberries, huh?

I totally screwed up my first-ever attempt at streusel topping, but it tasted great anyway.

Big fresh blueberries are amazing in muffins!  However, these hardly put a dent in the amount of blueberries I picked.  I froze most of the rest!

Next month is grape-picking around these parts, and that will be a new one for me.  I can't wait!

our mini-vacation

"So, are you a lake person?"

This was the first thing my father-in-law asked me when he picked us up at the Indianapolis airport.

"I . . . I don't know.  I've never really been given the chance."  It was mostly true.  I recalled one fall break in college where I was invited to someone's lake house.  There were only five of us, good Catholic kids all of us, no illegal drinking, and only one or two trips out on the boat.  I think it was a speed boat, but I honestly don't remember.  The one big memory I have of those few days is watching Georgia lose to Florida again, even though the Dawgs were having a stellar year.  It's always depressing.  As for being a "lake person," I don't think this experience qualified me.

B's dad drove us up toward Fort Wayne, where I finally met his maternal grandfather (long story involving family drama that has nothing to do with me), and then to their lake house on the Indiana/Michigan border.  Coldwater Lake, for those of you who want bearings.

Omigosh, I LOVED southern Michigan in the summer!  I had only ever been to visit when it was cold out (the closest to warm being in late March, and my southern blood did not think that was warm!).  B's dad once stated that he could feel it getting kinda humid, and I had to laugh!  The day we left Pensacola was the most miserable day.  The kind where you walk outside and your shirt is immediately drenched in sweat.  Now that's humidity, my friends!  This pansy-arse 'humidity' in Michigan was lovely.  It rained here and there but never enough to impede on our fun.  I could definitely get behind this "reverse snowbird" idea.

Coldwater Lake: the water really wasn't very cold

I went out on the water every time I could.  The first night, most of us went out and watched a gorgeous sunset from the boat.  The next day, I hopped in the speed boat and got to watch each family member waterski, and then kneeboard, and then B and one brother go tubing behind the boat.  Every time I turned around, there was some other thing that floated.  They had a speed boat, pontoon boat, fishing dinghy(?), and a kayak.  You may notice that "waterski" is actually #1 on my 101 list (random order as I thought of them), but I have to wait until next summer since it's a huge pregnancy no-no.

I tried to cross off another item, though.  We went fishing out on the pontoon boat one morning, but nobody caught anything.  It was only my second time fishing in my entire life.  (And yes, I caught something the first time, so I definitely can't check off my #62 now.)  This time, I actually ended up losing a bobber, breaking the line (twice), and somehow getting all my worms eaten without even getting a fish out of the water.  Oh well, it was still a great morning.

All in all, we had an awesome but way-too-brief trip.  (Blame B's job for the brevity.  Ugh.)  I took a ton of pictures of everyone, but I don't really have any of myself.  So here's a video of B and his brother "tubing."  I use that term loosely because tubing down South does not involve a boat--just a river, a tube, and usually a cooler full of alcoholic beverages.  I took B on my version of tubing back in June, and he had no idea what he was getting into.  The good thing was that I could do it while preggers (minus the alcohol, of course).  But here's the high-brow Midwestern version of tubing:




And, yeah, I think I'm a lake person after all.

pregnancy vs. Habitat for Humanity

Okay, I know I said I wasn't going to do weekly updates on the pregnancy, but I sorta like the idea of doing a pregnancy vs. whatever obstacle presents itself series.  (Probably not weekly, but whenever.)  Maybe I'll even keep a running tab of what's winning (pregnancy or . . . me--I didn't think it was going to be a duel, but we'll roll with it).  Hope you like it!

This past Saturday, I did a Habitat build.  I used to work for Habitat for Humanity, during my AmeriCorps days.  Here's a picture of me looking like a tough-girl construction worker:

Yes, that's a level in my left hand.  So tough!

(Okay, if you really knew me, you'd know that 80% of my year I was holding a paintbrush instead of a hammer.)  I also must add that I did my AmeriCorps year in north Florida.  So yeah, I guess I know a thing or two about doing this in the heat.

We were invited to join the Catholic Young Adult group here in Pensacola for a Habitat build.  I guess the only day available was the 30th of July?  I originally didn't think I would be up for it, but I decided this past week that I could probably do it if I just took a lot of breaks and left if need be.

B came with me, and we framed a house!  Good grief, it was HOT.  And humid.  Probably 97° with 85% humidity.  My body is definitely not as conditioned as it was four years ago.  Sometimes my strategy was just to drive in three nails, then take a break.  But I wasn't the only one doing so.  Even the crew leaders said the heat on Saturday was the most miserable they had felt this year.  I probably drank at least a gallon of water while out there.  Then I had to use the porta-potty.  Yuck.

Overall, I felt pretty good about my day at Habitat!  Then I woke up the next morning to discover that my thighs were sore and I had a breakout covering my entire upper back.  (Yeah, eww.)  But those things have happened to me before when I did stuff like this sporadically.  I'm going to call this a win.

I also took some belly pics!  Sort of a base line, but I've definitely gained a gut and a few pounds.  I already miss my body.  Hate me all you want, but I had a pretty awesome hourglass figure.

This was taken last August, but I looked the same back in May of this year

I'll be doing all my belly pics in the same tank top.  I got this during the Old Navy $2 tank sale around week 7 or so.  I purposely bought a size up from my usual with hopes that the extra length could help me out later on.

Barefoot and preggers at 14 weeks, 6 days.

I now see why most women don't take belly pics until they actually "pop."  This totally looks like the beer gut/Freshman 15 that I never gained in college.

B and I will be heading out on another airplane ride this week, so that we can actually enjoy Indiana in the summertime.  I've only ever been when it's cold!  Hopefully, now that I'm in my second trimester, this plane ride won't be as awful as the last one.  That will be fodder for next week, of course.

summer swap goodies!

I recently participated in the Summer Essentials Swap hosted by Flip Flops & Combat Boots.

My swap partner was Anna from Life to the Full.  I had never been to her blog before, but soon found out that she is 27, moved herself to one place and fell for a dashing submariner there, recently uprooted herself to follow him all the way to Hawaii, got an awesome job as a PA there, and she has a "28 before 28" list.  Half of that sounds like my own life!  I don't think Hawaii will ever be in the cards for me though.  But she did send me some of what I'm missing!

Yes, it took up almost our entire dining table!

She sent me note cards that say "Aloha" and have flowers, some nail polish, a reusable coffee cup, a postcard that has fun Hawaii facts on the back, the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's (love!), a Jamba Juice giftcard (never been to one before so now I have a good reason to), various Hawaiian macadamia nut candies, and some fun tissue-paper flowers (they have wires attached so I can attach them to anything.  I'm sure B would love them on his shoes, right?).  Speaking of B, he's already gotten into the candies, and we both devoured the Caramacs (caramel, macadamias, chocolate--yum!).

Many thanks to Anna for the wonderful package!

two things right quick

A photo from yesterday:

 live crab at Fort Story, Virginia Beach

And a photo from today:

 

peach at Knott's Island, NC

an i-40 road trip

This post was inspired by my friend Elizabeth a.k.a. The Young Retiree, who is about to embark on her second cross-country road trip.  My mom and I (and sometimes other family members) have done THREE cross-country road trips.  Actually, I think my mom was bummed out that Uncle Sam didn't give us our shore tour in our #1 (and #2) pick of San Diego, just so we could've done another one.  Our last trip, back in 2007, was by far our best, longest, most well-planned, and most interesting.

So here are your must-see hits on a journey on I-40 from Virginia (or in our case, Atlanta) to San Diego.  Mind you, this was only Leg 1 of 3 of our monster adventure.  Perhaps I'll post about our other legs and other trips at a later date.  Here's a Google map overview of the route:




View Larger Map

(If you're starting/ending in southeastern Virginia, I would suggest adding Asheville, NC, and Nashville, TN, to your itinerary.  I've actually never been to Asheville, but I hear it's awesome.)

Stop 1:  Memphis.  Graceland, amazing barbecue (try The Pig on Beale St.), National Civil Rights Museum (includes the site where MLK Jr was assassinated), the Peabody ducks, and my favorite part of Memphis - Mud Island River Park--a scale model of the Mississippi that you can really get your feet wet in.  That's where my profile picture was taken:

Stop 2:  Little Rock, AR - just go walk around Little Rock Central High School.  History was made here when the school was forced to integrate and the governor was quite opposed.  Read up on the Little Rock Nine to really appreciate this one.

Stop 3:  If you have time, go a bit out of your way and head down to Hot Springs, Arkansas.  A nice park and a cute place to spend the night.  And get some (hot) water out of the ground while you're at it!

Stop 4:  Oklahoma City.  Especially the Bricktown Canal area.  If you're there overnight, I hear that the bars are neat, and you can ride a boat to hop from one to the other.  Even if you're there during the day, it's really adorable.  We didn't do this because I wasn't too hot on depressing/reflective tourism at the time, but I hear the OKC National Memorial is a good place to go, especially the outdoor part with its Field of Empty Chairs.  Also, the restaurant Sonic is headquartered here, so it would be a sacrilege not to stop and enjoy some tots and a limeade.

Bricktown area during the day

Stop 5:  Amarillo, TX - the Cadillac Ranch.  Get a can of spray paint before you head out here (we found ours for $1 somewhere in OKC).  Spray-paint your deepest feelings on this monument to old Route 66 roadside kitsch.

That's me contributing to a study in ever-evolving art

Stop 6:  Albequerque, NM.  Walk around the adorable Old Town area, and if you have the time, take the world's longest cable-car ride to the top of Sandia Peak.  Absolutely gorgeous.  A gal I knew in college even got engaged there.

San Felipe de Neri Church in Old Town Albuquerque

Stop 7ish:  Once you're in Arizona, check out the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert National Park.  This is definitely a 'drive-through' park.  Do it.  Get out a few times and walk the paths to see the old hieroglyphs.  But don't take the petrified wood - buy some legally in the store on your way out.

 The beautiful Painted Desert

Stop 8?:  If you don't have time to swing north at Flagstaff and hit up the Grand Canyon's south rim and Vegas (that was a different trip for us), head down just a bit by the CA-AZ border to Lake Havasu City, AZ, and stretch your legs and practice your phony British accent at the London Bridge.  No, it's not the pretty Tower Bridge you're thinking of, but London Bridge was falling down (just like the nursery rhyme says) and the big city sold it to this town in 1968.  Which was good for Lake Havasu, since before us schmucks came into town to see this wonder, all they had were their seasonal lake people.  I will say, now that I've seen both the new London Bridge in London and this one, I much prefer the 'American' version.

The flag directly up and to the left of me is a Union Jack

From this point, we went down toward Yuma, underwear drenched in sweat from the 110° temps, ready to get our bums as quickly as possible to temperate San Diego.

The other way to go is toward Joshua Tree National Park, which is probably worth checking out.  As for us, we were trying to beat my dad to the airport to pick him up in San Diego, so we were booking it but still trying to get a good glimpse over the fence to our left that (we're pretty sure) separated us from Mexico.

And for those of you wondering how we afford these road trips, check out our plush accommodations:

$20 a night, thanks KOA!
(Some families have a Winnebago, mine has a Coleman . . .)

Happy summer travels to everyone.  And remember that I am considerably jealous!

the best part of navy livin'

Sometimes I wonder how I lived the first 22 years of my life in a city that was more than a half-hour drive from this:

Chicks Beach, VA, 5 July 2010

"At the beach, life is different. Time doesn't move hour to hour but mood to moment.  We live by the currents, plan by the tides and follow the sun."  - Sandy Gingras

i am not celebrating the 4th of july . . .

I am celebrating America's Independence Day! Which happens to fall on July 4, since that is the date on the Declaration of Independence.

No, we're not the only culture that does this. B's boat was actually in Norway for their Constitution Day, which Norwegians like to refer to as "Syttende mai," or 17th May.  As for the U.S., John Adams actually wrote a letter to his wife Abigail on 3 July 1776, predicting that we would be celebrating the 2nd of July.  Why?  During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June.  Adams' prediction of our fanfare was mostly accurate, minus that whole date fiasco:

"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

Alright, Mr. Adams, let's see how we're doing:

Pomp and parade?  Head on up to our nation's capital for their annual one

Shows?  I hear there's a jazz ensemble playing down at Town Point Park

Games and sports?  An American competitive eating tradition, of course:  Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest    American Joey Chestnut FTW!

Guns, bells, bonfires, illuminations?  Let's be American and blow crap up!  Scared of drunken injuries?  We can even do it digitally!

Happy Birthday, America!  You hardly look a day over two hundred and thirty-three.

pink lemonade

I don't like soft drinks.  I gave them up a few years for Lent back in high school, and I never turned back.  I also make a horrible excuse for a Southern Belle, as I cannot stand sweet tea.  And unsweet tea is a punishable offense where I'm from.  Coffee looks (and smells) disgusting, so I'm oh-for-three in the caffeine department.  But at most restaurants, especially fast-food ones, I want more than water.  Enter lemonade.  Sometimes - actually more often - of the pink variety.

I've been drinking this stuff for years and never questioned it before.  But what the heck is pink lemonade?  Why is it pink?  Is other pink/red fruit added, like raspberries?  But wait, isn't that called raspberry lemonade?  Are there pink lemons?  Or is it just color?  And which does it mix better with, vodka or rum?  These, my friends, are questions that keep me awake at night.  Or, more accurately, keep Google in business.

So I did my homework, mostly thanks to everyone's favorite collaboratively-edited encyclopedia.  (What the hell did we do before Wikipedia?  I kinda doubt there was a pink lemonade article in our '97 WorldBook set.)  Yes, there are pink lemons.  But no, they don't make pink lemonade--the skin is pink, but the juice isn't.  Pink lemonade used to be made from crushed red sumac berries.  Odd, since the only time most of us hear the word "sumac" it's usually preceded by the word "poison".  This potentially poisonous concoction was then sweetened with maple syrup.  Then the sumac market dried up (okay maybe not all of it is poisonous), and maple syrup is ridiculously expensive because it takes so darn long, so now we have . . . a pink version of lemonade.  Sometimes made sweeter than the yellow stuff.  But preferably in a powdered form with a Crystal Light logo on the pack.

My favorite "form" of lemonade is probably the fruit juice-added kind.  Strawberry lemonade, pomegranate lemonade, cranberry lemonade.  Put some sugar on the rim of the glass while you're at and add one of those frou-frou little umbrellas.  It's like summer in liquid form.

As for my evening drinking habits, it seems like this would be easiest:  

BACARDI PINK SQUEEZE

1-1/2 oz. Bacardi Light Rum
Pink Lemonade
 

Pour Rum into tall glass filled with ice.
Fill with Pink Lemonade.

 I'm a fan of easy drinks like the one above.  But during my digging, I did find half a gabillion other drinks containing pink lemonade, especially at this site.  I have also found a veritable wealth of other pink lemonade recipes, including pink lemonade bars, pink lemonade cookies, and even pink lemonade pie.  Maybe I'll start getting inspired by all these great ideas and uses for pink lemonade, but in all probability I'll just go crack open my bottle of rum.

my summer anthem

The band BarlowGirl is very quickly becoming one of my favorites.  I had heard of them, thanks to a song called "Barlow Girls" by Superchick, but it was thanks to the Virginia Beach Public Library that I got a chance to hear their work.  The band is made up of three sisters and is generally classified as Christian rock (I would say more pop/rock).  But don't let that bother you if you're inclined to think Christian music (or Christianity in general) is crap.  Obviously this song is about God, but beyond that it's about optimism and recognizing warmth in your own life, especially after a period of darkness.

This song is the final track from their newest album Love & War.  And on the CD, it actually continues after this 4 minutes and kicks back in with about a minute of a re-vamped ska version of the melody to finish out the album.  I can just feel myself driving to the beach, windows down, blasting this song, and singing along without a care in the world.  Ladies and gents, I give you "Hello, Sunshine"