Plugging Back In

HI HI HI HI!!!!

I'm in the process of plugging back in. Really! Ya see the thing is, while I was on vacation at the beach, I got back into knitting in a massive way and that seems to take up all my time anymore!

I've not forgotten about ya'll. I promise.

OH! But lots of news to talk about.

• Right before I left for the beach, Army Bro's fiance asked me to be a bridesmaid! So I am going to be in the wedding after all! 
• Army Bro is coming home this Saturday!! He and his fiance will be at my parents on Sunday. We're all converging there to celebrate Baby Bro's birthday, Army Bro's homecoming (he's not been home since Christmas!), and Dad's birthday. 
• My Italian got a job!! He started work last Friday. He's working part time for the Commonwealth doing payroll. He LOVES his job. He told me it allows him to express his OCD more fully. (More importantly he's HAPPY! Not that he wasn't before, but it's a marked change. The guy who I dated is back. YAY!!)

Umm . . . What else is going on? I did join Planet Fitness. A gym that's a short bike ride away. My plan, initially was to go there in the morning and Curves in the afternoon. But, this week I've been taking my Italian to work and picking him up in the evenings so I've not made it to the gym in the morning.

I did get there last night. I did 15 minutes on the treadmill. Then got in some weight work (which is really why I wanted to join a gym in the first place). When I got home I found a yoga dvd and used that to stretch out. It also totally relaxed me, so after I got a shower I passed right out (Or that might have been the work at the gym).

I'm totally getting hooked on yoga now too. SO MUCH FUN!! Well . . . maybe not fun, but it feels good and while I'm not real good at it, I can see improvement each time I do it.

Food-wise things are developing. I've got a post that meanders all over that topic that I hope to have done shortly . . .

I've missed you guys!

Da Beach

THE BEACH! FINALLY!

Yes, this week I'm at the beach with my in-laws, nieces and nephews. A house full of people. It's so much fun. I'm bummed that it's already Thursday though.

It's been kinda crazy. Tuesday and Wednesday I got up REALLY (well for me) early. (6:30 am ICK!) Tuesday I went walking on the beach with Italian Sister-in-Law. Talk about HARD work! (Actually, swimming out to the sandbar this morning was a LOT harder though. The waves are brutal.) After breakfast I went walking with my other sister-in-law (& fellow outlaw). All of the walking combined with the up got up early Wednesday to go walking again, but there was no one to go walking with so I got on my bike and went for what I was originally intending to be a long ride, but shortly into the ride I realized that my legs had nothing left. So I rode a little past where we had walked the day before after breakfast and then came back.

I honestly was not sure I could walk when I got off my bike! But I was able to walk to the door and then up the stairs. I made some breakfast for myself and then got my Italian up and fed. 

Thankfully we're on the top floor of the beach house so I can just pop him in his manual wheelchair and roll him to the table for breakfast. Today I raced down to the beach with 2 of my nieces and my oldest nephew. When we got to the ocean they decided to play "Drown Aunt Em" . . . Or attempt to at least. It was fun! There's a definite challenge when my oldest niece is nearly as tall as I am and my nephew is pretty close. One of my other nephews jumped in on the game and then it got REALLY hard! 

(OH CRAP! I forgot about my Italian! EEK! He's sitting on the pot. I better go check on him. Be right back!)

An hour later 

Because, yes. Things do take an hour. But we did change his shorts (he spilled a glass of water and it looked like he had peed himself ha!) and he did walk from well within our bedroom to the dining room table where now he's playing backgammon with Italian Brother-in-Law and eating a mangled piece of apple pie. 

I'm so ready for a nap. After the niece and nephews played try to drown Aunt Em, I played wave jumping with my baby niece (who's not a baby anymore) then decided to go swim out to the sand bar . . . and spent 20 minutes essentially swimming in place. Frankly I can still feel the waves beating against me. 

Now I'm off to steal another one of Italian Sister-in-Law's cookies (yum!!) and take a nap. I'm worn out! 

Or maybe I'll throw a niece in the pool. HA!

I love being the youngest aunt!