Hello all! Especially the couple of new readers/commenters that have been popping up in the last post or two. I am happy to hear from everyone. Speaking of which – does it seem like there are crickets chirping around the blogosphere lately? It just doesn’t seem as lively with people posting and, especially, commenting on blogs lately. I didn’t know if it was just me or what. I think it’s because summer is in the air. Not a bad thing in my book.

Many things have kept me occupied this week, that’s for sure. It may only be Wednesday, but I feel as though I have done enough for the entire week. Today I started off with a Kick class at the gym. It felt so good to be back. Then, I spent the day with a friend at her house. We planned on taking a walk with our kiddos, but the 98 degree weather quickly squelched that idea. I don’t care to die of heat stroke today, thankyaverymuch. I instead savored every moment of A/C at her place before I had to head home and pretend I was on a tropical isle. Without a dang margarita.

Swoon. Oh, what I would do for a tequila laden, salt-rimmed, tangy glass right about now. Well, I won’t harm my baby so I guess it’s all a moot point. I will simply spice things up in my life a different way.

With Mexican food, Edward, and Hot Tamales. Triple swoon!

Last night, as I mentioned, I had a ladies’ night with my mom and sister. We hit up a few things I was craving. First off would be Mexican. I told you – Mexican, BBQ, and Chinese will never lose their appeal during pregnancy. They call to me like those pesky sirens call to the seamen. I even “forgot” to eat my afternoon snack so my appetite would be suitable for Cheeky.I’ve told you before I’m in love. Instead of saying it again I will just provide the proof that jaws drop and drool flows at the sight of the beauty.

I had a taco trio plate with one fish, one crabcake, and one pork mango taco. I ate about 3/4 of each taco and most of my beans. I didn’t touch the rice. It wasn’t worthy of room in my stomach like the chips + salsa.

After dinner we had a bit of time to kill before going to see our movie. My mom mentioned wanting to break movie law!!!! get some Hot Tamales to bring with us to the movie.

I’m down with that. It would only be my 2nd favorite candy and sometimes you must use the whole pregnant-so-eat-for-two reasoning. Not every day mind you, but once in awhile is good for the soul. It’s gotta be in the Bible somewhere I tell you. And after having to stop at three different stores to find some, I certainly swooned.Yes we stopped at 3 stores because a gas station and the Target were out. Um, if you’ve been pregnant you understand the logic behind this.

Now it was time. Time….for Edward er, Eclipse.

I got swept away in the books before the movies existed and eat up the movies simply because they do such a good job of portraying the books. I also believe there is something innately sexy about Edward. Not Robert Pattinson, but the vampire. Only the vampire. It’s 100% the crazy intense passion and I think that is what draws me into these stories so much, as well as the intriguing characters and plots. You can say I’m a preteen little girl, but I like the series. So there. *stamps foot and sticks out tongue* I’m so mature. I guess it runs in the family. I’m off to celebrate my grandfather’s 89th birthday and he is not mature by any means. Ciao!

• What is your favorite thing to snack on with a movie?
• Do you enjoy the Twilight series? What is your favorite (or least favorite) thing about it?
• Does the blog world seem quieter to you recently? I think we are all naturally taking breaks. I know I had mine!

And no, it’s not the Backstreet Boys. I’m back! For good!! I missed you all and blogging soooooo much while I was away. I have to say that as much as I enjoyed vacation and all it entails, I am glad to be back to regular living. We knocked out a bunch of errands (like restocking our fridge and such) yesterday so that way I could just go about life today. I went to a spinning class this morning (first workout in over two weeks!) and then did some other odds and ends running around – like to the post office to ship something, to pick up the loads of photos I got printed from our trip, to get a new hair dryer to replace my busted one, etc. I don’t know for sure what it is, but something about having a wonderful vacation and then coming back and still loving everything in my life just makes me smile from the inside out. I sincerely hope you all have been doing just as fabulous.

Now I guess I should move onto what most of you are looking for in this post…vacation details! Basically every day is the same when we are on our Daytona Beach vacation. My extended family has been going there for over 25 years and I look forward to it every year. Days of relaxing at the beach, spending time with family I only see twice a year, and topping off the night with a fabulous seafood dinner out together makes for a great vacation. Even better? It’s all on my G-Pa. He spoils us. 😉

Day to Day In Daytona

In the morning, we would wake up at around 6:00 am thanks to a specific little person sleeping in our room. Then, we would do our best to make it out to the beach for a morning sunrise walk. We would do a 3 mile walk with M in the stroller which was a lovely start to many mornings.

After hopefully making it out for our walk, we would come back in for some breakfast. Then we lathered up the sunscreen, got in our swimsuits, lugged the endless vacation paraphernalia down to the beach and just enjoyed ourselves. Makenzie played in the sand; we all went to jump waves in the ocean; I read some books.

We would hang out for about 3 hours and then head up for naps and lunch. I loved naps! I took an almost two hour nap pretty much every day. It was glorious. I loved lunch as well. Healthy food finally sounded good to me again and I ate it up. I think I ate my weight in fresh fruit, cheese, hummus, carrots, and whole wheat pita chips this trip. If I was extra hungry a sandwich or something would accompany this snack plate.

At around 3:00 pm we would head back out to the beach to soak up a few more hours of sand and fun. After all, we had to be sure to work up appetites for our dinners out every night. I absolutely adore the food from the places we go eat at in Daytona Beach. I start drooling over it a month in advance. This year did not disappoint. Here are some of my favorites….

Lots of Salad – Caesar or House

The Most Delicious Filet with Spinach & Mashed Potatoes

Coconut Shrimp

Broiled Crab Cakes + Baked Potato

Clam Chowder Bread Bowl for the Sis & I

And in case food pictures aren’t all you were looking for, here are some others of us going out.

All the “Kids” with our G-Pa

When dinner was done it was time to return to the condos, perhaps play a game or two, and then crash in bed simply to repeat it all another day. I did have a few other highlights on the trip, including a luncheon meetup with the awesome Julie and a trip to the Ponce Inlet lighthouse, but I will save those for a post later this week.

Now you tell me…

• What is something that made you smile this past week? I want to know a highlight from your world while I was away frolicking in the sand.
• Do you have a vacation spot that is special in your heart? Daytona Beach will always be my favorite beach and place to vacay simply because I have ALWAYS gone there.I have so many wonderful memories from there.