soak up the sun(burn)

OK, I'll admit that my legs are pink, I have some burn marks on my shoulders around my bathing suit strap area, and my nose looks like Rudolph. And I was wearing SPF 30!!!! But I still had a great day.

We got to Daytona a little after noon and headed straight to the beach. David and Mona had been there since like 8:00 am. We sat under their umbrellas on their beach chairs and talked until we were hoarse, taking frequent ocean dips to cool off. OK, OK, I sat in the sun. I KNOW it causes wrinkles, but I had on sunscreen and I live in Florida now, so I should at least TRY to stop looking like a ghost!!

We stayed out till about 5:00 or so. For about the last 20-30 minutes, Brian and I went out in the ocean and rode the waves. It was so fun! The ocean was pretty choppy, so there were some fairly good-sized waves. We had a ball. I haven't done that in years! Usually when we go to the beach, the ocean (or gulf) is pretty calm, so we really enjoyed today's waves.

We went in and I showered (I can't stand the sand!) and Mona cooked dinner. They have a condo right there on the beach and it was really nice. She made what she calls "camp burgers." It was chopped sirloin, surrounded with potatoes, carrots, green peppers, and onions, topped with cajun seasoning and cooked all together in an oven bag. YUM! It was DE-LISH! She had also made homemade rolls and homemade cinnamon rolls for dessert! Scrumptious! It was a perfect dinner.

Then we sat around and talked till we were hoarse again, and Brian and I finally headed home at about 10:45. David and Mona are so fab. They are just absolutely pleasant to be around. They know all kinds of funny stories from when my parents were younger (pre-kids) and also from when I was little. I remember some things too. We were remembering all the trips we used to take in the motor home. We went EVERYWHERE in that thing! It was SO FUN! I love them like my own family. Well, they pretty much ARE part of my family!

I must say a few words about the crop on Friday night. There were only about 8 ladies there and the room was huge, so I didn't meet everyone, but I talked to quite a few people. The girl working at the store was super nice, so I hit it off with her. I did talk to one older lady about cats (of course)--well, she had on cat earrings and I complimented them, so we had to talk about our furbabies. Another lady was cropping alone so I sat at the table across from hers and we talked some. She was really nice.

Some of the people did a lot of Creative Memories, some did simple scrapping, some did elaborate pages--there was just an eclectic mix. I finished 1.5 layouts. I have to put the finishing touches on the last one tomorrow afternoon. It felt good to scrap again--I haven't done ANY scrapping since NY.

When I got home, Brian asked me if I met anyone, so I told him about some of the ladies. He said, "Anyone who you think you can hang out with?" I said, "Not really." He said, "There's no one like your NY friends. You guys are the Sex and the City of scrapbookers." I thought that was cleverly put--we really kind of are! (Except there are five of us. Well, I guess there are four now without me!) :-(

I really, really, REALLY miss my NY friends. I can't WAIT to see them in November!