Neighborhood Watch

Our neigborhood recently (or at least, I think it was recently, I hadn't noticed it before on Wrigley's walks) updated the neigborhood playground. It's not very big; it takes up about the space of a corner lot, but it's nice. It has a picnic table and swings and other new play things. They also put up a nice little sign to explain the rules of the playground.

Apparently, though, only the neighborhood vampire children are allowed to play on it:
Edit people! EDIT! You never know what kind of bloodsucking undesirables you'll have playing in your neighborhoods because you didn't take the time to read over your text!

A Little Piece of Paradise

I just took my first vacation in 4 years. It was well deserved and much overdue. My momma and I flew down to Florida to stay with the g'rents (this was the only way I could have afforded a vacation, and FAR superior to staying in a hotel somewhere!). The g'rents have a beautiful house in Debary, Florida, with a glorious backyard. Honestly, it felt more like we were at some fancypants, exclusive resort where only the rich and famous can go.

Amazing, isn't it? We had an awesome trip. We'd spend our mornings at the pool, our afternoons running around or hanging out, and our evenings going to the BEST restaurants in the area. I ate SO good that week. We also got to see a lot of family, generally in settings that included more yummy food. Our first full day included a major gathering at a great German restaurant in Sanford, Hollerbach Willow Tree. We actually went back again later in the week to get more of their dessert. We also went to a great Thai place in Deland twice because it was so great. There I had the Best. Dessert. EVER! It was sticky rice made with coconut milk and magical deliciousness in the center of thin slices of mango. The combination of flavors was amazing! I need to figure out how to a) make sticky rice and b) figure out how to pick and then slice a good mango!

But enough about the food (which I could go on and on and on about), we also made it to the beach for a day. We went to New Smyrna Beach, which I hear is the place where lots and lots of sharks like to live and play. I didn't see any. And as I don't get in water where things live, I wasn't at too much risk. I got in up to my shins, which is a major step for me (I got stung by a jelly fish as a child, and I haven't been too enthused by the idea of swimming in the ocean since then...I prefer the layout on the sand portion of beach activities.). It was a gorgeous day and the water was crystal clear and warm. Loves it!

Proof that I made it to the beach (this is all of me that you're gonna see from this particular trip).

To conclude, Florida was wonderful and I can't wait another 4 years before taking another vacation!

Vacation?

Why is prepping for a vacation so hard? Clean the house, do laundry, find a dog sitter (which is why the house needs to be cleaned - they'll be staying here), figure out how to get all your toiletries into tiny bottles, figure out if I need to buy a new suitcase, spend quality time with the dog before leaving, slather myself in tanner so I don't blind the Florida natives with my brilliantly white skin, make sure there's food in the house for the dog sitter, try to figure out how to give the dog sitter access to the internet (big, fat FAIL), make a sleeping area for the dog sitter, make sure all the dishes are clean and put away, write detailed instructions for dog sitter, make map of the area for dog sitter, find vet info for dog sitter (my dog is SO much trouble right now)...

I know I'm going to forget something. It's probably very important. I am seriously going to need this vacation once all this prep work is done. Sigh.