A vacation top 10

Our vacation has come and gone, but the memories will last forever.  No one got sick, argued, got lost or had any problems to speak of (besides sunburn) for a whole week.  That in itself is a miracle in my book.  We spent a great deal of time shelling, swimming, laughing and basically just being together.  Before we knew it, it was time to make the nine hour trip back to Kentucky.  Baby girl was sleeping in the back seat, my sweetie was navigating some fierce memorial day weekend traffic and I was quietly reflecting on our vacation week.  Mentally, I noted how different vacation is now that we have a child, are older and yes, a bit wiser.

Maybe y'all have noticed some of the same changes or maybe, just maybe, we are weird early 30 somethings......

1)  I am much more easily distracted and tend to do better with one or two projects at a time.  I noticed I am not as good at watching road signs, playing with the MP3 player and talking to my daughter...at the same time, as a used to be.

2)  My husband and I are no longer speed demons.  Speed limits?  We never paid attention or cared before having precious cargo!  Now, we don't have to worry about getting a ticket--we aren't speeding.

3)  Rest stops are now my friend.  My five year old daughter seems to now have a stronger bladder than me.  How did this happen?

4)  My taste in music has changed.  I have always had eclectic taste.  One minute I'm listening to an old Charlie Pride song and the next minute I'm listening to Skillet.  Not so much anymore.  My Ipod is full of Country, Contemporary Christian and Bluegrass.  Still have a couple of rock songs on there, but they will be leaving soon....lol.

5)  Hello SPF 85, goodbye SPF 15 with tan accelerator.  My skin does thank me for this change, but it's another indicator that I am becoming as responsible as my mother and crave simplicity.  If it's the right thing for my baby girl, it's good for me too!

6)  I have turned into a Japanese-like tourist with a camera.  Snap, snap, snap....I feel like I have to capture every moment.  I do love photography, but I think I took like 600 pics this week. 

7)  Instead of scoping out cool eateries and the like when reaching our destination, I now look for urgent care centers and Wal-mart.

8)  Sensible, economical, gas-sipping cars have always been me.  I would rather DIE than drive a gas-guzzling SUV.  It's always irked me that people have one child and think they need an 8-passenger vehicle.  Now, after five years of parenthood I am about to cave.  I NEED THAT ROOM.  That room will allow my 6'4" feller to have leg room and have room to haul all the crap we feel we must have.  You know, the 4-wheeler, boat, etc.  Geez.

9)  Gone are the days of sleeping anywhere, anytime.  I know need MY bed and pillows.  The end.

10)  Finally, I love kiddo pools.  They are awesome.  The water is warm, the company is friendly (kids don't care about cellulite) and well, the bathrooms are always closer! 

Just beachy....

Tomorrow morning, our little family of three will embark on a journey.  We will make the 700 mile trip to Gulf Shores.  This will be both my husbands and daughters first trip to the ocean.  My hubby is a country boy through and through and his idea of vacation involves rolling hills, lakes for fishing and trees.  I've never been able to get him to commit to a beach vacation and I finally put my foot down this year.  Our daughter will be starting Kindergarten this fall and I want to head to beach as one last hurrah of freedom.  Growing up, my parents frequented Panama City and it was nice but too commercialized for my liking.  Many of our friends love the GS area, so we decided to give it a try.

My goal is to take lots of pictures, eat as much fresh seafood as possible and just enjoy the time with my hubby and little girl.  This gal loves a good road trip and I cannot wait.  The Ipod is loaded, bags packed with new vacation clothing and I am ready to hit the road. 

My intention is to post reviews on the restaurants we attend....does anyone have any suggestions as to where we should do?

To fake tan or not!?!

Being blessed with a medium to dark skin tone was just not in the cards for me.  My father tans easily, my mother burns and then stays tan.  Myself and my two sisters are ghostly (glow-in the dark white) and burn without tanning.  It stinks.  In high school, I vainly and quite dutifully went to the tanning bed.  After 10 to 15 visits and as many burns, I would manage a light glow.  At that point, I gave up trying to get darker (because I couldn't) and moved on to the maintenance phase. My sweet little maternal grandmother has a very delicate complexion and burns easily.  Due to farming in her early years, raising several children and adoring her garden and yard, granny has picked up mucho sun damage.  For the last several years, she has been struggling with numerous skin cancers. She sees her dermatologist every few months and has countless growths removed from her arms, legs, face, scalp,  you name it. Her daily skin care regimen is ridiculous and quite frankly embarrassing.  She constantly deals with redness, stitches and creams on a daily basis.  Seeing her go through this has been a changing experience.  Since my complexion is so similar, I have decided no more artificial tanning.  Seriously, I am 30 years old, overweight, a slightly frumpy mom and wife and I can do without "the perfect tan", right? 

Well, like it or not, I still desire a healthy glow.  What's a girl to do?  Last year, I started testing sunless tanning lotions, gels and sprays with vigor.  Many were horrid, some were so-so and others left no visible tan.  Very quickly, I became aware that not all self-tanners were created equal-not even close.  My favorite was hand down L'oreal Sublime Bronze gelee in Medium Natural.  Oddly enough, I almost didn't try this product because I had had disastrous results from a spray tan from the same line.  Frankly, the 6.97 price tag was the deciding factor as I didn't have much to lose.

Right away, I was impressed with the pleasant smell.  Not overpowering and most importantly smells the same when first applied and after the product dries.  Product went on smoothly and was very light.  Think hair gel in terms of consistency.  Dry time is a big deal to me and I was pleasantly surprised.  Application to complete absorption was maybe five minutes.  This product will not leave you naked in the bathroom for an hour while you will the crap to work it's magic.  Believe me, I've been there!  For me, two light applications will get a light, golden tan.  No hint of orange!!!!!  I've also been cursed with extremely sensitive skin and as long as I follow the directions and apply once daily, I have no problem with irritation.

Just thought I would pass this along!  Here's to a long, sweet summer, y'all!