In a Nutshell...

Ok, so life's been crazy lately! And, when I say lately, I mean since we got married, in OCTOBER! I had no idea that getting married so late in the year would make such a huge difference. My friend is getting married tomorrow, and I cannot fathom the stress she must have dealt with, with a wedding and Thanksgiving/Christmas. Maybe I need better time management skills?

So, this is what we've been up to since the wedding. I think I am pretty much done with wedding/honeymoon posts.

~ For Halloween, we did our normal tradition - stayed home to pass out candy, and watched our annual scary movie. (By the way, we watched Room 1408, and it was hardly a boo. That says a lot coming from someone like myself, who is petrified of horror movies).
~ For Thanksgiving, we headed up to the Rosses in Peachtree City. It was a great, few, relaxing days, and we were able to enjoy some cooler weather. My brother and his family drove down from Sugar Hill to spend the day with us.
~ Bob and I both turned 29, he in November, and I in December. He wanted to be a homebody for his birthday (no complaints from me!), so I cooked for him, and we watched a movie. For my birthday, we enjoyed dinner down on Park Avenue.
~ For Christmas, we hosted the Ross family at our home. Bob's parents just left today, they were here for the week. His sister Jo was also here for a few days. We saw movies, family, and ate so much. I am disgustingly fat feeling right now.

New Year's Eve is on Monday. Bob and I stayed in last year, so I think we're going to head out this year to a party. Bob's friend Randolph is having one at his parents' house in Windermere. It should be fun! We just have to be careful driving home.

And, speaking of the New Year, here are my resolutions (yes, I have a lot):

1) Blog more (at least once a week).
2) Go to church more and learn to meditate effectively.
3) Take our pup to the dog park at least once a week (besides his daily walks).
4) Spend more time with family and friends.
5) Christmas shop year-round, instead of last minute (can you tell I did that this year?!?!).
6) Donate blood more often (I have O-, there really is no excuse...)
7) Start running as my main form of exercise, instead of just occasionally (I want to do the Disney 1/2 after my 3oth birthday).
8) Eat healthier and more organically.
9) Stop drinking coffee daily, and try for just occasionally.
10) Save $$ (this is a family resolution!).

Ok, honestly, I have more...but a) I don't want you to think I'm a crazy perfectionist (maybe I am, so what!?!) :-) and b) you probably don't care!

I'll post probably again in a week or so...until then,

We hope everyone has a Happy and Safe New Year!

P.S. Go Knights and Gators!

Our Last Day - Honeymoon, Day 6

The sixth day of our honeymoon was basically our last, as we had to leave the next afternoon. We were pretty bummed over this, but I think, at this point, ready to return home. I mean... we had our labradoodle awaiting us! We decided to spend our last day with the vanBlaricoms. They were our best friends during the honeymoon, and we still speak to them pretty regularly. We are hoping for a visit from them next year.

The four of us spent the afternoon on a nearby deserted island called Dog Island. It was appropriate because we are all dog people. The resort packed us these great picnic baskets, and umbrellas. We were dropped off by boat, only to be picked up a few hours later. The snorkeling here was beautiful. I couldn't believe all the coral and fish we saw. We had a great time, and definitely enjoyed our company. The waters were a bit rough for me, but Bob and Dave ate it up! Oh, and my bathing suit top broke. I guess that's what I get for wearing a Target bathing suit the whole week.

After our day adventure, Bob and headed back to the beach for some alone time. We napped, we drank, read, and we used those comfy blue rafts for the water. It was nice, and the reality of our honeymoon ending started to sink in for us. That night, we had our dinner on the beach to celebrate the closing of our trip.

The dinner was emotional for me. I cried, because it was the last night of our honeymoon. I mean, our honeymoon!!! When will we ever have a honeymoon again? But, I didn't let that spoil our meal. If anything, the meal was probably our most memorable for us.

Our table was set up on the beach, just a few feet from our room. It was decorated beautifully. We also had our own personal server. We had a full course meal, with a bottle of wine. The food was delicious, and we had a wonderful time. It was so romantic, and the moon was bright too. We couldn't have asked for a more peaceful night.

And, we couldn't have asked for a better way to spend our last night on our honeymoon...

Oooh la la - Honeymoon, Day 5

The fifth day of our honeymoon - Friday, was a relaxing, yet full day. We spent half of our day at the Spa at Little Dix Bay. This experience was expensive, but so worth it. We arrived at the spa after breakfast. The spa was beautiful, located atop a hill in the resort. We were given some beverages, and then escorted to the pool at the spa. This pool was amazing! It was an infinity pool. After lounging for a few moments, I was escorted to the Women's Locker Room, and Bob, the Men's. We changed out of our clothes, and into some robes.

We were then taken to our private villa for the afternoon. This villa had two rooms, one of which was a bathroom. The bathroom was up to par, just like our own bathroom in our room. In the main room, there were two massage tables for us. The first part of our treatment was a body exfoliation. After that, the therapists left us alone to smother mud all over ourselves. Yes, that's right...we stood in the room butt-naked and covered each other in mud! After we got situated back on the beds, the therapists returned. We were then given a body wrap, with an amazing massage above the neck. Our villa had a beautiful, huge outdoor shower, and we headed out there to rinse. After the wrap, we were spoiled with a 90 minute massage.

Then, came lunch. We had a delicious healthy lunch, with some yummy smoothies. We also enjoyed the private hot tub. Overall, we couldn't have asked for a more private, relaxing, and enjoyable afternoon.

After our spa experience, we headed back to Spanish Town with our friends. We were in the market for some souvenirs. We didn't have much luck, but did find a few nice ones. We found this beautiful map of Virgin Gorda and the surrounding islands. Bob and I had it professionally framed, and it is now hanging in our bedroom. It is beautiful! While in Spanish Town, we decided to have some Caribe beer with our friends. Bob and I are lucky, because they sell this Caribbean beer in Florida. We can enjoy it year-round!

Later that night, we actually left the resort for dinner. I'm really annoyed because I cannot remember the name of the restaurant we ate at. It was in a stunning location though. You had views of both the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic ocean. The restaurant sat on top of a mountain. The food was good too, although mine was a bit spicy! After dinner, we all headed back to the resort, and went outside for an impromptu cocktail hour on the beach. It was a lot of fun, and we all had so much alcohol that needed to be used!

Just like the rest of the trip, this day was just as spectacular!

Fun, fun, and more fun..., Honeymoon - Day 4

The fourth day of our honeymoon, Thursday, was a lot of fun! We decided to go on the Spring Bay Picnic. The resort had set up umbrellas, and a picnic on a nearby beach. But, it wasn't just any picnic...they were BBQ'ing, and they had a portable bar on the beach! This bay was literally right next to The Baths, so we were surrounded by these huge rocks! Bob was climbing up high on them, and I was a little tense over it. The snorkeling was great here though. We were snorkeling through the rocks, and the underwater scenery was beautiful (much better than our tour the day before). We made some new friends too while on the picnic. The best part of the picnic was the limbo contest. Yes, I said limbo contest. I won the limbo contest too! My prize was a bottle of champagne. We shared the bottle with everyone else on the picnic!

After the picnic, the fun really began! We headed back to the resort, via boat. It was at this time that every friend we had made on the trip came together. We all had those awesome blue rafts, and headed out into the water. Not only did we have the blue rafts, but we also had our fair share of alcohol. Jimmy, an employee of Little Dix was our best friend for a few hours! We had him working and earning his paycheck. Jimmy walked up and down the beach so many times, getting our drink orders. Anyhow, I think that afternoon was one of my favorites. Needless to say, I barely made it to dinner that night...

Our day of adventure - Honeymoon, Day 3

Our third day in Virgin Gorda was full of activity! We started the day by going on a hike. We hiked over to the bay that was adjacent to Little Dix Bay. The hike was three miles, but it seemed a lot longer. We were essentially hiking on a side of a cliff, so it was pretty treacherous and tiring. While on the hike, we saw all sorts of wildlife. We saw deer on the hike, and they were absolutely adorable! We saw a fawn with three of her little babies. She was even feeding them; it was so sweet! We also saw a lot of salamanders. If you don't know what those are, they are these enormously huge, slimy, disgusting lizards. I despise these creatures!

After our hike, we were off to Spanish Town, with our new friends. The resort did not include alcohol in the meal plan. So, with that being said, we all headed to the liquor store. Plus, as I mentioned in a previous post, we had our ice buckets filled 2-3 times daily. We bought some liquor, Bloody Mary Mix (for me, it is my most favorite drink!), and some beer. Unfortunately, (or, maybe not?) we did not even finish half of what we had bought.

After our trip, it was time for our guided snorkel tour. We joined Dave & Totty, and Susan & Jeremiah to our next adventure. We took 2 boats out into the ocean, not far from the shore. We were literally dropped off in the sea, left to fend for ourselves. Just kidding...it wasn't that dramatic. But, it wasn't my favorite snorkeling experience either. Actually, it was the least fun out of the few. The water was a bit rough, and my mask kept fogging up! Nonetheless, it was an experience, and for that, I'm grateful. Plus, we did get some really cool pictures (thanks Bob Sr.!)

After our snorkel tour, we headed back to our room for a quick shower. Our next endeavor was the Sunset Cocktail Cruise! This was one of the top 3 things that I wanted to do on our honeymoon. The other two was a trip to the spa, and a dinner on the beach. Boy, I was spoiled during this trip! The Sunset Cruise was a lot of fun, and we were able to take one of my most favorite pictures of us during this excursion. The Sunset Cruise is where we also met all of our other friends.

After the cruise, we went to the Sugar Mill for dinner with our new friends. We had a great day, and ended the night with some wonderful food, and more importantly, people!