Beach bums and belly blahs

Well, our vacation has ended and we are home. This week had it's share of laughter, fun and sunburn. My husband and I braved our first vacation with our precious 2 month old. Let us just say that vacations will never be the same haha. We ventured to Buxton NC. A lot of our time was spent relaxing with our friends in their camper. We were minutes from the beach and just a short walk from several shops and one of the best bakeries I've been to in a long time.
Just a plug for shopping local, should you ever visit Buxton, you have to go to Orange Blossom Bakery. They are known for their Apple Uglies. An Apple Ugly is a GIANT fried piece of deliciousness. It has bits of apple and a glaze that just sends the sweet fritter to the top of the list. I could not believe the lines and demand for these tasty items. It took both my husband and I to finish one. We also sampled their amazing donuts and breakfast sandwiches (yes, we were big fans).

We visited various places in Hatteras and spent a day on Ocracoke Island. My husband and his buddies spent a large part of the week fishing along the beautiful beaches. We had forgotten how strong the sun's reflection off the water could be. We wore plenty of sunscreen...or so we thought. Even though we applied several times throughout the day, we both still came home with a nice sunburn. Our daughter was much more protected. She still sports her beautiful, flawless ivory skin. As I mentioned before, we enjoyed a fabulous bakery. That was not my only first on this trip. I also took my first ferry ride, which took us to Ocracoke Island, and saw dolphins swimming just yards away. I've only ever seen them in aquariums. The ferry ride might not seem like such a big deal, but for me it was pretty huge. I am not a fan of boats and for me to take a 40 minute ferry ride was a major accomplishment.

We were blessed to meet some new people and to get to know our friends even better. G was not a huge fan of the beach, but she loved all the people she got to meet. I look forward to more trips in the future, especially as G gets older. I love our family and the time we have together is so precious.

As I reflect on our trip, I am reminded just how special and valuable our time together is. Prior to my pregnancy, I was on the road to becoming healthy for my "future family". Well, pregnancy took over my body and took it places I never knew it could go. Now that I am two months post pregnancy, I am gearing up to get back on track. As I put on my bathing suit and headed to the beach, all of the self conscious feelings began to rear to the surface. Things are no longer where they used to be. I never had a "flat" stomach but I didn't sport a major muffin top...and now, I have to inhale, hold my breath and pray I can work my way into my old pants. Enough is enough. This left over baby belly has got to go. Not only do I want to feel and look better, I want to know that I am working towards a healthy life that will allow me to have thousands of memories with my daughter and husband. I've got a beginning game plan and have set my start date as July 1. I continue to encourage my spouse to do the same.  This semi-new journey is going to take a lot of prayer, discipline, and dedication. I'm working on a mini-goal list to help me along. One motivator, aside from my daughter, is my cousin's wedding in November. She is one of my closest family members and has forever been like a sister to me. She has met the love of her life and I want to look good for her big day. So...here's to no longer "sucking it in" and instead, sucking it up and making progress.