Rainy days at the beach are the best!

Happy Hurricane Day!  My vacation is officially over and I am completely thrilled to be back home!  I was not able to go ocean kayaking because of our uninvited guest, Irene.  Alex wanted to go for a helicopter ride but had the same problem.

Instead, we decided to hit the gym.  I was extremely happy with my short run on the treadmill.  I usually keep a very modest and slow pace of 5.5 but I was rockin' it at 6.5 mph.  It really felt great :)  Alex wasn't feeling well so he left the gym early to grab us lunch while I finished my workout. 

I rocked out with some walking lunges with twenty pound weights, squat jumps, chest presses, shoulder presses, and abs galore.  Patrice would be proud!  One thing that Patrice has taught me is that you need protein after a good workout so I couldn't wait to get home to some BBQ.

Gotta keep the guns loaded!

Alex and I found a really great BBQ place that is conveniently located across the street from where we stayed.  I may go visit my sister in the future just for the chance to eat there again.  We had tried the pulled pork and loved it so Alex got some more of that plus some beef ribs.  I came in and he insisted on putting a plate together for me so I waited patiently at the table. 

He put my plate down on the table and I couldn't wait to dig in.  So I started off with a hush puppy dipped in honey, cinnamon butter....mmmmmm.......

Then he handed me a napkin.......

He got down on one knee, grabbed my right hand, and asked me to marry him.  After I switched my right hand out for the left, I said yes!!!!  He originally wanted to propose on the helicopter ride but the weather ruined that plan.  I love BBQ and I love him, so this was perfect ;)

What's your proposal story?

~Andrea

Boo Benjamin :(

Good Morning!  It's my last full day of vacation and it's bittersweet.  Vacation is always fun but there is a certain comfort that comes with going back to real world and your regular routines. 

The other day we woke up at five-in-the-freaking-morning to have pictures taken at the beach.   I was pretty excited about it because I have never had professional pictures taken of my daughter and I thought these would be beautiful.  Well, they were gorgeous but they took me out of commission for four hours in the afternoon.  Yay for vacation naps!

When I finally woke up (8 pm), we decided to grab some dinner.  We ended up at Benjamin's Calabash Seafood Buffet.  Never again.  We paid $22 per person and the most palatable things there were not seafood.  They really committed to the seafood buffet idea though; even Alex's beef tenderloin tasted like fish!  The only bonus to the buffet was getting to learn how to eat crab legs.

I'm pretty sure my college roommate Kelly would have laughed at my attempts to eat crab legs (she's from MD).  I have learned that crab is for the patient and that's not me. 

Last night, Alex and I hung out with my sister Jessica and her husband Kevin.  We started the night out at Bovine's Woodfire.  We had a great view of the marsh and the food was heaven compared to Benjamin's. 

After dinner, we headed out onto the MarshWalk, which is a boardwalk around the marsh (go figure).  There was one genius in our group that wore high heels and kept getting stuck in the cracks of the boardwalk...

Oh well, at least I looked cute while getting stuck.

It's been really great seeing my sister and her family!  I'm definitely sad to be leaving them.  Her daughter Audra is very slow to warm up to people and I felt like I was finally making progress with her.  Instead of her greeting me with "No.  Icky," she was actually saying "Hi" to me.  Oh well, back to square one.

What food tragedies have you had?

~Andrea

Vacay Update

Good Evening!  Vacation is going well :)  We went to the Pirate's Voyage on Monday and it was a lot of fun!  There was diving, pyrotechnics, singing, animals, and acrobatics.  Miss Dolly knows how to put on a show. 

We paid $43 per ticket, which was probably a little over-priced.  The dinner started out with a bland creamy vegetable soup.  Next up was a cheesy biscuit (reminiscent of Red Lobster) and half of a rotisserie chicken.  The meal was rounded out with corn-on-the-cob, mashed potatoes and a BBQ pork rib.  For dessert, they served apple turnovers.  Like I said, the show was very entertaining but the food left something to be desired.

There was also an awesome gift shop with very reasonably priced loot.  Sadly, this hat was not purchased :(  I would recommend not buying the souvenir mug before the show.  They sell them in the gift shop for $2.77, as opposed to $4.50 with a non-alcoholic beverage.  When you get into the show, the drinks are included with the ticket so I would just wait to have your soda then.

As soon as you walked in the door, the staff took your picture in front of a green screen and during the show they came around with your pictures.  They were one for $20 or two for $30.  I'm a sucker for pictures so my mom and I bought two and split the cost.  All in all, I was very glad that we went.  

Yesterday, we went to the Ripley's Aquarium.  It was no Baltimore Aquarium!  It was very small and on the expensive side. 

After the aquarium, we went to get our rock-n-roll on at the KISS coffee shop.

I would like to claim that we went here only because we had coupons but alas, coupons or no, Alex had this on his agenda.  I had an unsweetened iced tea and Julia and Alex had some non-coffee blended drinks.  They were surprisingly tasty and wouldn't discourage a visit to this tourist trap.

What have you paid way too much money for on vacation?

~Andrea

Sandy Feet

Hello from Myrtle Beach!  This morning my loved ones are still in bed snoozing away so I thought I would take this opportunity to check in and say hello!

Yesterday was pretty relaxing.  We joined my parents at Denny's for some breakfast and then hung out by the pool all afternoon.  Later, we went to Broadway on the beach and went to Wonder Works.

My brother-in-law Kevin works at the ropes course/zip line so admission was gratis!  It was a really fun place.  Alex and I went on the design-your-own roller coaster, which was pretty awesome.  The best part about that ride was the music:  Beastie Boys "Intergalactic". 

We also did the zip line and the ropes course.  These were both firsts for me :)  I really loved the zip line.  The ropes course was very stressful for me.  It was too high and I felt like I was in a constant "fight or flight" state.  My pillow never felt as good as it did last night!

This morning me and my favorite running partner went for a run on the beach.  He is struggling with an injury so we warmed up with a walk together and then I went out on my own.  In total, I ran five miles in 47 minutes!  I was very pleased with my run. 

I have decided while the idea of running on the beach seems peaceful and beautiful, it is in reality very boring and frustrating.  The scenery is great but it doesn't change and I lose interest very quickly.  I also am a huge fan of picking markers in the distance as my short-term goal while running.  On the flat beach, the markers that I picked weren't as close as I thought they were because it was so flat and things felt closer than they actually were. 

When I got back to the apartment, it was breakfast time!

Yeah, I'm on vacation and my idea of a good time is trying steel cut oats :)  I was actually shocked that the Piggly Wiggly had these so I had to buy them.  They are chewier than rolled oats but I liked them.  There is a recipe for oatmeal cookies on the box that I think I will try when I get back home.

My goal for this vacation is to not gain any weight.  I feel like attempting to lose weight on vacation is a very lofty goal.  So far, I am doing very good :) 

What's your favorite thing to do while on vacation?

~Andrea

Is it Saturday yet?

Good afternoon everyone :)  I hope your day is going well.  Mine is actually going by pretty quickly despite my extreme excitement for my vacation that starts at six o'clock today!!  (!!!)  Alex, Julia and I will be heading down to Myrtle Beach for one week.

I have been busy researching fun things to do in Myrtle Beach and I think I have found some winners!  Since my little girl really wishes that she was a little boy, we will be doing pirate stuff :)  First I will be sending her to pirate skool and then we will be heading over to


I heart Dolly

Dolly Parton's Pirate's Voyage dinner theater!  They are having a special: for $58 for adults ($30 for Julia) you get a ticket to Pirate's Voyage and a ticket to Ripley's Aquarium.  I think this is a super deal and a day o' fun :) 

Other things on the list of to do's: ocean kayaking, laziness on the beach, lazy river, shopping, children's museum, and fireworks!  I'm sooo excited!

On the top of my list of things to pack are workout clothes and running shoes.  I will also be taking my laptop with me so fear not!  I will be updating you all during my vacation :) 

Where is your favorite place to vacation?

~Andrea