Beating The Baby Blues...

Here is my continuation of my accidentally deleted post from last week.  I promise to never let that happen again...

As noted in my last post, I recently spent a week in Florida.  It was mainly a house hunting trip, but I also got to spend time with family and friends that I hadn't seen in a while.  I was able to keep busy, and found many distractions to beat the baby blues.

The first three days of our trip were spent house hunting in Central Florida.  Lots of driving around and getting lost, but Vin and I think we found our perfect home.  The best perks of the house have to be location, neighbors, and most of all the low price.  It is a fixer upper, but we are up for the challenge.  One of the highlights of our time spent in Central Florida was the peaceful atmosphere in the lakes area, which gave us time to relax.  Thanks to my Aunt and Uncle for letting us stay in their lake house while we were there!

After house hunting, the hubs and I proceeded south to see our friends and family in Fort Lauderdale (FtL).  We started our first afternoon in town with a quick trip to my cousin's, and then having a nice dinner with my former stepmother.  It had been years since I had seen either of these family members, and I was glad to have the time to catch up.  Our night ended with a quick hug for my dad, and an early night to bed.

I love being on the water!

Our second day in FtL was spent at one of my favorite places in South Florida...Sawgrass Mills Mall!  Vin would have been miserable there, except he found an entire store of his favorite brand...Hurley!  The hubs found his clothing heaven.  I should have gotten a picture, but I didn't.  Once we shopped til we dropped, we met up with my dad for a boat ride, and dinner on the water.  I always forget how much of the sea is in my veins, until I get on a boat.  Dinner was also a definite high point.  Vin decided to attempt the burger challenge that the restaurant had, a whole pound and a half hamburger and a large side of fries, and he conquered it...with an agonizing effort.  I must say, if you are ever visiting South Florida, make a stop at the Downtowner... they have some tasty food. And since we took a boat to dinner, it meant a boat ride home... My Dad was definitely worried about the cleanliness of his boat with the Hub's full stomach!  But my dad forgets, that like us, Vin grew up on the water in Florida.

Missing that Pineapple Drink!
What a goofy Face, Vin!

 Our third day was a Friday, so we were in total TGIF mode.  I was feeling great by this point because I hadn't been on Facebook in days (so I wasn't seeing baby announcements), we were staying busy, and we were having fun... which all lead to not thinking about my miscarriage or obsessively trying to conceive.  Vin wanted to take a drive, so we rode along A1A (for those that don't know, it rides along the beach).  I was able to show him things from my past, and we had a good time.  While driving, we made the decision to go to happy hour at a long honored establishment in FtL, the Mai-Kai.  So we did a quick shop for appropriate clothing, and called and invited my cousin.

Boy, the beach was windy!
 

The Mai-Kai has a long history in FtL, and in my family.  It was one of the places to see and be seen from it's opening in the 50s or 60s until the early 80s.  Many celebrities have visited (Like Jerry Lewis and the Prince of Monaco), and my family got to meet them all. My grandmother was the gift shop manager, and most of my family worked there at one point in time or another.  My parents even got married in the Mai-Kai's gardens.  Now though, it's a bit run down and feels like a time warp, but I hadn't ever been there and really wanted to see it for myself.  The start to the Mai-Kai was a bit bad, the host gave us some issues about our out of state identifications, but we still managed to have fun.  We had our drinks (which I am still craving another), walked the gardens, and giggled about the atmosphere.  This is another place that should be seen, even if just for a chuckle.  We finished off the night with a walk on the beach, and hanging out at my cousin's house.  

Ren Fest!!!

I know it will sound dorky to some, but Saturday was spent at the Florida Renaissance Festival with the hubs, my cousin, and her husband.  We have always had fun at Ren Faires, and this day was no exception.  The cider, mead, and beer were tasty; the costumes were awesome (though we went in modern attire this time); the shows were hysterical; and a good time was had by all.  Though everyone needed a rest after the walking.  Vin had been wanting to go to a Dave & Busters for a while now, and with $50 that was magically found in a drawer of a curio that my grandmother left me (Thanks Grandma! Even though you are not with me, you're still looking out for me!), we spent our evening at D&B.  To anyone who doesn't know what a D&B is... It's a restaurant with a huge arcade in it, a.k.a. an over sized Chuck E. Cheese.  I know the hubs had fun, and I had a good time watching him.  My favorite part of the night had to be our midnight dinner at a little diner, and thanks to the stupid American daylight Savings time change...we didn't get home until 3 am.  It was TOTALLY worth it.

Yeah, I know I look like my Dad...

Sunday was our final day in town, and we began it by spending time with my Dad while we set up for my stepmother's surprise birthday party.  After setting up, we ran some errands, and said our goodbyes to my cousin.  Vin and I made it back to my Dad's in time to make a casually late entrance to the party.  One highlight to the party, I FINALLY got to meet two out of three of my step brothers.  I also got to meet my step sister-in-law, which was bittersweet.  She is another woman who has been through miscarriage, one just a couple of months ago, but she also has a son that would be right about the same age as my second pregnancy loss.  As I said, it was bittersweet... but at least the party was a hit, and my step mom was happy.  As soon as the party was over at around 7 or 8 at night, Vin and I hit the sac.  He had a 7 AM flight out of Orlando to go back to work, and that meant that we had a 4 hour drive to Orlando to make in the middle of the night.  At least it gave us plenty of time to chit-chat on the road.

The trip really helped my emotional state, and has truly improved my mood.  I still feel the twinges, but they seem to be easier to deal with at the moment.  I totally recommend taking a trip to anyone needing to escape the baby blues.  Even if it's only temporary, it helps.  Now, I just need to work on getting everything in order to buy our house.  Wish me luck.