was in July while we were in Ocean City with my friend Michelle and her girls. Look how wonderful a day it was:



After that, it was all downhill. We did have one more overnight trip with Chris's mom, which was fun, but by then I had a cough that started a downward spiral of my health for the rest of the summer. Getting caught in a massive rainstorm didn't help.





That was the beginning of months of sinusitis, bronchitis and MONO (for crying out loud!). I was weak, sick, tired and miserable for months. I'm only now starting to feel better, although I have also been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

So that's why no updates, no cooking, no baking, no pictures. I hope to get this back on track, if anybody is still reading. We'll see how it goes.

OK, not really. I mean, we're definitely having lots of fun, but it's not a normal blazing hot summer this year. Which means less outdoor pool time, but we've still been doing a lot of stuff.

June 16th was the last day of school (ridiculously late if you ask me). A couple hours after the girls got home, we picked up Grandma and headed to Ocean City for a couple days. It was downright chilly! It rained a bit on the way down, and was just gloomy. But I had taken that into consideration since we'd had a crappy spring, and booked a room at the Francis Scott Key Family Resort, which has several pools, including an indoor heated one. Definitely a good move; it never got warm enough to swim in the outdoor pools or the ocean.

We got there in the early evening, so after settling in, we headed right to the indoor pool. The girls loved it.



( More this way... )

The girls started school last week, but yesterday was the official end of summer. I know that September 22nd is the first day of fall, but for intents and purposes, summer is now over. Public pools are closed, the Ocean City boardwalk is closing up shops, amusement parks are only open on weekends. Before long, we'll be hitting the pumpkin patch. I do enjoy fall, but summer is my favorite season and I'm always sad when it's done.

I think the girls had a good summer. We did fit in one last overnight beach trip the week before school started. We had a good time, but it was a little melancholy since I knew it was probably the last trip of the year.



( More OC pics this way... )

We'll still have fun during the school year. As mentioned, we have the pumpkin patch coming up, which has been an annual tradition for us since the girls were tiny. There are various school functions, and once again, I'll be running the elementary school book fair. Thanksgiving and Christmas are wonderful times. I usually run into trouble around January; that's when my winter depression really kicks in. I hope to find ways to keep it at bay this year.

With the kids making a fresh start at school, I have also made a fresh start and re-joined Weight Watchers. I have gained about 15 pounds since the beginning of the year and don't want to gain anymore! The first time around with WW, I lost almost 50. I swear, maintaining is so much harder than losing! You just get so complacent and lazy, and then one day you're once again laying on the bed to zip up your jeans.

One of the hardest things about the new school year is getting up early! I am NOT a morning person, and in the summer, I'm sleeping until 9:30, sometimes even 10 or later. I do get ragged on occasionally by my friends (you know who you are!). But my natural rhythm is to stay up late and sleep in late. During the summer my sleep schedule is usually 2am to 10am. So waking up at 7:50 is HURTING! And I know, poor me, right? I know most of my friends and relatives get up much earlier, but we're talking about me right now. Is it the weekend yet?

One last beach picture from the Summer of 2008:

When I was little, my grandparents on my dad's side had a beach house in Beverly Beach, MD. They had had it since my dad was a teen, and he had a lot of great memories of summers there. So when I was a little one, my parents brought me to the house on weekends. I don't remember much about it, but a couple scenes are vivid in my mind.

I remember my mom giving me a bath in the kitchen sink with relatives hanging around. I remember being on the beach and having suntan lotion applied while my older cousins played in the water. And I remember that to me, the house seemed HUGE.

We took a trip there last week. I wanted to see the house (thankfully it was still there; a lot of those old houses were torn down and McMansions put in their places) and check out the beach.

This is how I remember that beach:



( This is how it looks now... )

I don't know WHAT was going on down there, but I kept coming across dead things. After the first few, it started getting comical. And since I love all things horror, my beloved family delighted in pointing out the dead things so I could get pictures.

Check out this beautiful churchyard:



You wouldn't think you'd find anything horrifying there, would you? Well, maybe zombies, if we lived in a Stephen King novel.

( Yet this is what awaited us... )

One thing I really liked about Charleston were the Civil War-era (and probably older) houses, especially along the Battery. GORGEOUS homes. Although not plantations, you could still imagine Scarlet O'Hara trying to win Ashley's heart at a party in one of them.



And speaking of Scarlet, Lauren chose to read Gone with the Wind for the first time since we were in South Carolina, and she's a Civil War buff anyway. We did take a trip for her to Fort Sumter.

This is how Lauren looked for the first five days of the trip (yep, it only took her FIVE DAYS to read an almost-1500-page book):



( This way to tour Charleston... )

The girls had a great time. Bike riding, boogie boarding, lots of good food and staying up late. They didn't mind going in Charleston for shopping and touring, but they definitely enjoyed the beach and the island the most.



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We went to Charleston, SC for a few days, then over to a rented villa on Seabrook Island. Charleston was nice and had some awesome restaurants, but my favorite part of the vacation was the island. The island was both wooded and beachy. The beach was nothing like my beloved Ocean City, but it was still incredible. It wasn't all built-up and resort-like; the beach was very wide with not many people on it, and the water was warm with much smaller waves. Plus you could find cool stuff in the water. I had no idea sand dollars were living creatures until Becca pulled one up from under her foot.

We rented bikes, and I actually rode one for the first time in probably 30 years! It was so much fun, even though I was a bit wobbly.

Becca found a hermit crab in the water and asked to keep it. We had brought both girls' crabs down with us, so I figured it was OK to add another. Well, the next morning, the poor thing had been ripped to shreds, probably by the bigger of her crabs. And then the day we left for home, Becca discovered the big crab was dead in the cage. I guess the sea crab somehow poisoned the big crab. Probably those creepy wormy things clinging the shell. But I'll bet the initial massacre was something to see!

On to the pictures...

The ill-fated crab:



( A gazillion more... )

My girls and I took a spur-of-the-moment overnight trip to the beach last week. It's easy to do that mid-week; there are lots of vacancies. We stayed at The Flamingo, and while it wasn't luxurious or anything, it was quiet and clean. We also had a view of the ocean, which is always a bonus. Plus, we were able to use the pool and shower room after check-out, which was pretty cool.

The view wasn't bad, considering we weren't oceanfront but oceanblock:



We usually just go for the day, so the girls don't get to play in the ocean (except for wading a bit). So they were happy to have some beach time:



( More fun this way... )

After having such a great time with my girlfriends at Ocean City, I wanted to go back right away. We ended up taking a last-minute trip on Memorial Day weekend. We got a great deal on a room, since we went on Memorial Day into Tuesday. We kept the kids out of school an extra day and had a great time.

Could've been warmer! Monday was chilly, so we couldn't eat outside like we wanted to. We walked the boardwalk that night, but could only stay for a little while, it was so cold. But the next day was warm and sunny and we got to enjoy the boardwalk for a little longer.

The hotel had an indoor pool with a waterfall whirlpool, so we spent most of Monday there. We had a great dinner out at Nick's Original House of Ribs. The prime rib was fantastic. After freezing on the boardwalk after dinner we went back to the hotel where the girls and I hit the pool/hot tub again.

Once again, can't wait to go back!

The view from our room:



( More beachy goodness this way... )

Last Friday, my three best friends and I headed to Ocean City, MD for a little "us" time. God, it was fun. We left after the kids were safely in school, stopping for some coffee and an Egg McMuffin on the way out. I haven't had one in YEARS, and it was so yummy. We stopped at a neat place called The Country House in Salisbury and bought some cute things.

Our hotel room was beautiful, even though we didn't spend much time in it. After checking in, we headed to the boardwalk, but unfortunately it started pouring down rain after we'd been there only a few minutes. We got drenched hurrying back to the car, laughing the whole time. So we headed to the outlets. I tried on a pair of capris, and my jeans were so wet, I had the cashier just cut off the tags after I came out of the fitting room and wore them out of the store.

After shopping, we headed for dinner. I had crabs and beer, and was in heaven. Cracking crabs is fun, even though a lot of people don't care for it. It is a lot of work, but it's a Maryland thing. After dinner we headed to Seacrets Nightclub. I felt ancient, but had a good time listening to a couple bands and having a few more beers. Man, am I glad I'm not in that scene on a regular basis. Fun to observe, but not so fun if you want to meet someone.

Back at the hotel room, where we wound down a bit with some TV and reading. I think we were all in bed before 1am. But amazingly, I woke up around 5:00 am (and if you know me, you know this is so abnormal). I did need to go to the bathroom, but it usually doesn't wake me up that early. I was actually glad, though, because I got to see the sunrise over the ocean (we had an oceanfront room). Absolutely gorgeous and really perked up my spirits. I did end up going back to bed for a couple hours, then we hit the breakfast buffet (YUM) before heading to the boardwalk again.

Gorgeous day this time. We walked, shopped, ate and just had so much fun. I can't wait until we can do it again! If you girls are reading this, you know I love you guys!

First sunrise picture:



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