I Might Actually Get to Post About My Vacation Time...

Okay, before something comes up that prevents me from posting:

Here's what we did....

Went to the drive in (that's where we rang in the 4th...for the third year running) and saw "Transformers" and "Evan Almighty." Both great movies.


We went to the movies on the day of my birthday/our anniversary...yay! I finally got to see "Fantastic Four...2." Another good action movie. Robert got me some newly released Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Jo and Robert got me a sweet card, 3 roses, a mug with a stuffed dog in it, and a little singing sunshine character that sits on a shelf and sings "You are my Sunshine." Say THAT five times fast. ;) Jess got me some "toasty almond" lip gloss from Victoria's Secret. We saw fireworks that night, and we had cake and ice cream the following day. (We were all too tired after the fireworks to stay up and enjoy the cake.)

Went "yard selling," and "thrift store browsing," and "outlet mall shopping" also in the middle of the day throughout my week off. Yep, I was excited to be able to do stuff in the middle of the day, because usually I am stuck in the office during prime daylight hours.

I did a little card making and read a fluff novel. Spent some extra time with the kids and the pet crew. Went out to eat a couple of times.

On the second Friday I was off I took Jess, her friend, our neice, DeeDee, and Jo to a beach close to Columbus. It was nice. They had a great time, and it was some much needed time away.

When my plans to see my uncle fell through due to some unforseen family issues he had, I was bummed at first. Then I planned to go see Ellie, and I was sure that was a "go." Well, McDonald's ended up giving Josh a hard time about trying to take the weekend off without adequate notice, so we decided to try it again sometime soon. Perhaps the end of July? I'm still working on the details on that, and crossing my fingers that it works out this time.

I slept in ALOT, got my sleep schedule all out of whack like a little baby. :) When I came back to work, I was exhausted for three days. Wheh! But I did get some great naps in and extra zzzzzs. When I am stressed, I cope by writing or sleeping. Needless to say, I was pretty stress free that week due to all the naps I got in.

The last day of my vacation I went to a friend/neighbor's home for a barbeque, which was fun. She gave me a vintage Strawberry Shortcake glass from the 80s. How cool!

I played catch up all last week at work.

This weekend, I spent most of Saturday with my friend, Tracy. She's my friend that has four month old twin boys. Plus she has a four year old daughter. Tracy's husband took the kids to see his parents in Columbus, so she had a very rare free day. Tracy works full time, takes school online and raises her family. She is amazing!

Anyway, I felt so honored that she would want to spend her one free day in MONTHS with me. We've been friends since 3rd grade, but it's only been the last couple of years that we've stayed in touch faithfully. The first few years after high school we were spending lots of time together. Then she got married, life got hectic for both of us, and we drifted apart. Back in 2003 we started hanging out a bit more, and I am so glad we did. Tracy's mom, who passed away in 2004, was instrumental in getting us reconnected. I will always be grateful to her for that.

During our "girls' day out," Tracy took me out to lunch for my birthday. We ate at a "make your own stir fry" restaurant at a fancy new mall that a neighboring town just opened last year. That was fun!

The waiter seemed to be flirting through our entire meal, but I just chalked it up to him vying for a better tip. After all, he was probably in his mid twenties. At the end of the meal, Tracy and I were taking pictures of each other to save to our phones. That way when Tracy calls me, her photo will come up....and visa versa.

At that point, the waiter asked if he could give me his phone number so I could "text" HIM. HAHA! Imagine that! I said, "I don't think my husband would appreciate that too much." After that, he was conspicuously absent from our table. Thank goodness we were done eating and the bill paid, or we may have gone hungry. Lol.

I've got some pictures to share of my week off, so here we go:

My birthday cake:

My goodies from Robert:

And Jo's: (Did I mention he bought these with the money we give him for feeding the guinea pigs every day? They were discounted items from Mother's Day...he was so happy he got a good deal so he could buy me more than one thing. What a sweet boy!)

The kids enjoying the beach. Btw, I don't know the guy walking past....;)

Some sunsets we got to see along the way:

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Last but not least, for sure:

I got a package from Denise today, which was so cool! I love it! It's like getting to draw my birthday out a little longer...have I mentioned I love birthdays? I am such a big kid...

Denise got me an inspirational women's book, a cute little angel girl that I plan to keep on my pc speakers, and a lovely bookmark. I chuckled, as well, at her very "uplifting card." ;)



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So, that's it for now. Hope you're having a great week! More later.