A Great Weekend

Last Friday I got up, got ready, cooked breakfast for my family, took Savannah to school--and then headed down the road to FREEDOM! I met my friend Rebecca in Greensboro, NC at noon at our hotel, The Drury Inn. They let us go ahead and check in which was really nice of them. After we settled into our room, we got into our suits and headed down to the pool, because it was super nice weather. We packed a cooler of drinks to take with us and we just sat at the pool, drank and talked all afternoon. I got a tad sunburned and have been a little itchy this week because of it.

I would like to interject at this point that I highly recommend the Drury Inn. For those of you who want to take your pets on vacate, this is the place because it is a pet friendly hotel. And, as a non-pet owner, I was not disgusted by pet hair in my room. Nor did I start sneezing or anything. If my daughter had been there she might have started freaking out at the sight of a dog, but that was a non-issue. Also, not only do they have a really good continental breakfast, they have cocktail hour and snacks from 5:30-7, every night of the week. The two nights we were there they had hot dogs, baked potatoes, nacho fixin's, salad and chips. The first night we only had drinks because we were going out to dinner. They give each adult three free drinks per night. Really good bloody marys!

After cocktail hour was over, we went upstairs and started getting ready for dinner and then we went to Carrabah's, which was right next door. Dinner was awesome. We got seafood canneloni and steak marsala and shared it and it was so yummy. Well complemented by a bottle of chardonnay!

Saturday morning we got up and stumbled downstairs to get breakfast and COFFEE! After that we headed to the mall, which was just across the street, to get pedicures and it was great. That is my favorite thing to have done. Then we just shopped around at all the kids stores (even on vacation we have to think about our kids first!), and of course, Victoria's Secret. Then we headed back to the hotel and ate lunch. After lunch we got to talking about my favorite grocery store, The Whole Foods Market. Well, Rebecca googled and found out that there is one in Winston-Salem, just twenty minutes up the road and she has never been to one and wanted to check it out. I was happy to comply as there is not one near my house and I LOVE it. So we got ready and headed down to the Whole Foods. I was in heaven when we pulled in to the parking lot. Needless to say, we were there for like three hours, she was very impressed and we had a happy old time.

We went back to the hotel, ate our hot dogs and baked potatoes and bloody marys, and vegged out in the room watching TV and talking for the rest of the night. It was an awesome time.

Next morning we went to breakfast and then packed up and were gone by ten in opposite directions. Hopefully we can plan to do this every year. We deserve it!

Maintaining

Life these days has one very important word in the forefront of my mind. . .maintenance. Maintaining my weight loss is key. I have however cooked several of my favorite meals and had the in-laws over for eating and fellowship. Two weeks ago I made pinto beans with ham and cornbread, scalloped potatoes, and apple crisp with ice cream. After that meal I was MISERABLE. The next week I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes, crock pot corn, green beans and garlic bread. I kept myself in check and felt much better than the week before. The good thing about having everyone over was that we had very little leftovers, so I wasn't forced to eat them two days in a row. Not that it would have hurt my feelings, but it might have hurt my waistline. For anyone who doesn't know about crock pot corn, it is easy. Frozen, two pound bag of corn in a crock pot, put 1/2 stick butter, 8 ounces, cream cheese and 1/3 cup sugar all on top of the corn, put on the lid and cook on low for 3 hours. Do not take off the lid for 3 hours. At the end, stir it all up and it is awesome! Big winner at my house.

Next weekend I am going to Greensboro, NC to meet my best friend Rebecca. We are staying three days with no men and no children. I am so excited, although I have never been away from Savannah that long. I think that it will be good for both of us. I am sure we are going to have a wonderful relaxing time!