Honeymooning in Paradise.

When Mr. and I got married a little over a year ago because of the strenous PA program I am in there was no time for a honeymoon. (we literally got married over the 7 day break I had between the spring and fall semesters). We hesitantly chose to postpone our honeymoon until there was more time. I tried to not make a big deal about it but the last breakfast we had on the island that week of the wedding I wanted to cry. We had had a wonderful time entertaining and celebrating with all our family and friends but I had no time to ourselves to share the joy of being in love.

So fast forward a year.... and here we went back to Anna Maria to celebrate our honeymoon. And boy was it worth the wait! Here are some pictures to explain.

Our hotel suite, The flounder!

 Standing in the exact spot where we got married!

 Wishing you were here!

 I had to sacrifice my pedicure but it was worth it.

I surprised Mr. with a deep sea fishing trip. Mr. caught way more than I did. This is him with his favorite fish to eat. Grouper!

 This is us with our Red fish we caught. (over two feet in length and about 15lbs each.)

 I caught two Red fish! I never realized that the hardest part was reeling the fish into the boat!!

Mr.'s honeymoon surprise for me was to order a cake from the bakers who made our wedding cake and get a bottle of wine for the little shop that we bought all the wine for from the wedding. (Mr. also bought me several bottles that are going to be shipped home yum!!)

PS. we got to keep all our fish from the fishing trip. Snapper, Mackrel, flounder, and red fish (the only fish that I contributed to our bounty was a red fish) But I did catch a baby shark!! sorry no pics of that one you will just have to believe me and my fisherman tales! .... Come over and eat some with us ok??

Book Review/Reflection: The Help

I just put down "The Help" it was an intriquing story that shares the story of women, prejudice, and old fashioned snootiness. The characters are admirable and it is a fun book to curl up with and read. I must say I thought one part was going to turn out differently than it did but all in all I enjoyed the book!

If you are looking for something to read, this is a good choice.

Simple living

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life you look up and say what am I doing... I've recently become interested in simple living. I am at the beginning of my thinking/experimenting with this lifestyle but really I am just interested in distilling my life down to what makes me and Mr. happy and fulfilled.
One of the ideas from the simple living manifesto (posted above) is to come up with simple pleasures and sprinkle them throughout your day. Here is a sample list. and here is the beginnings of my own list.

•  Coffee
•  Painted nails
•  a hot bath
• a glass of wine
• baking/creating
• a good book
• watching Mr and the dogs play
• blogging 
• catching up with a dear friend
• a massage
• getting my eyebrows waxed
• going for yogurt
• Christmas music/decorations
• laying on the beach
• walking barefoot
• a quiet saturday morning
• kolaches 
• fresh baked bread
• staying up talking 
• sitting on the porch 
• a baseball game
• a nice walk
• the way you feel after a good workout
• dinner out 
• pizza carryout
• new sheets 
• planning a weekend away
• dinner with friends
• a new piece of clothing or shoes
• curling my hair
• JIF peanut butter on bread
• a clean house
• clean dogs

I just came up with 33 things in like 5 minutes and just making the list brought a smile to my face. That is what I want my new lifestyle to be about: making myself happy (I hope you don't see this as selfish, I see it as filling my tank so I have more to give to Mr.'s and others), using my time more wisely and not stressing the small stuff. I look forward to adding to the list.

ER!!

First day of ER! I work noon to midnight. I'm so excited!

My summer reading: Books for June/July

My reading lately has included some wonderful books:  

Books about womanhood:

A year by the sea: Thoughts of an unfinished woman by Joan Anderson -- A beautiful look into the mind of a woman with beautiful lessons about life, motherhood, wifehood, and living life to the fullest!

I hate my neck and other thoughts on being a woman by Norah Ephron -- A funny, narrative written by the author of when Harry met sally and Sleepless in Seattle. This is a book that will make you laugh at womanhood 

Popular reading:

Hoda Kotb: How I survived war zones, bad hair, cancer, and Katie Lee by Hoda Kotb -- I love watching her on the TODAY show and I had to read this book. It is a good autobiography. 

Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. This is a nutrition/diet guide. I could not make it through chapter 4 of this book and maybe it was because I had a horrible headache after trying to go without coffee (after reading the first chapter!) This book is hilarious, although openly reader-deprecating. But it is written by two models and the logic shows. As a medical professional I think there is possibly a grain of truth to some of the assertions like don't drink soda. But when it got into chemicals and metabolism, I got the feeling the ladies didn't know what they were talking about. Maybe I will try and read it again in the future... but my advice is take their advice with a grain of sand, or in my case a cup of coffee! 

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls -- This is a memoir about the author's life. An amazing story about growing up as a child with crazy dysfunctional parents who drag them around small towns around America. This is a beautiful story about the resilience of children. 

Half-broken Horses by Jeanette Walls -- written from the prospective the authors grandma. This is like a female version of Huck Finn. Ashlee Clark if you are reading this. This is the book for you. 

I didn't realize it until I was writing out this review that almost all of the books I have read recently are memoirs!