TToT – Summer’s Fast and Final Blast

August 30, 2014 Off By Lisa

How can a week go by so quickly and so slowly at the same time?

Somehow, these last two weeks have flown by in exactly that manner and Labor Day is upon us. We’ve had a wonderful last bit of summer, even if it did go by a little too quickly. Zilla and I have spent a ton of time doing chores, learning math games for school, playing, crafting, and doing a bunch of nothing but snuggling. The Hub has been with us for some of it, but most days has been happily busy at work. We’re still reeling in the thankfulness for that!

But there are many more thankfuls this week, so I’m going to dive right in…

Let’s start by picking up with the end of last week’s list. When last we saw our Heroine (that would be me), she was headed off on a desperate last-minute search for beach-appropriate attire. Super Sister and I walked into the store and it was FALL I tell you. Fall sweaters and jeans everywhere. Nevertheless, we were there for swimwear so we hit the clearance racks and – unbelievably – were successful!

Let me just insert here that clothing shopping flat out sucks. I don’t care how old or young you are, what size or shape, thick, thin, tall, short, your ideal whatever. Clothing shopping is a horrible feat for nine different reasons. Period. But every now and then it can be somewhat tolerable. Even a pleasant surprise.

For starters, I did indeed find swim separates. In my size, even. I found black bottoms that I liked well enough and a swim top in precisely my bra size. However. The top? OMG with the very large very shiny very gold designs on it. Mmmm…no thanks. And the bottoms ended up being very long – like up to my chest long. So scrap that. But we did find a pair of better-fitting bottoms in my size and an athletic top that worked together. Good enough. And here’s the best part – since that top is actually an athletic top, it will see good use for exercise. I’ve already worn it on two other occasions because it is wicked comfortable. Worth the sale price for sure.

In addition, I found a terrific t-shirt-y maxi dress that was perfect for the beach. OK, so it’s actually labeled “sleepwear,” but Super Sister pointed out that it was more coverage and better material than some of the non-sleep, actually intended for public viewing maxis. I grabbed it because it looks awesome. OK, maybe not on the hanger, but trust me – it’s cute and it’s way comfortable.

AND – yes, there’s more – AND I tried on a maxi that I would never in a million years have tried say two years ago, but the BFF has convinced me that it never hurts to just try and not to be afraid of how anything might look. So I tried on this crazy-looking maxi in a green and black stripey pattern and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it fit perfectly and was unbelievably comfortable. Sold. I look like a big, beautiful green and black zebra in it and I love it. Wearing it to dinner tonight for a date with the Fab Hub.

So I walked out with all four pieces for less than the original price of the zebra dress alone. THAT, friends, is a tolerable shopping trip. And having the Super Sister along was great fun. Her eye is much more complimentary and forgiving than my own about my outfits. So while clothing shopping is generally a torturous experience, this one was one for the record books.

On Monday we took a semi-impromptu trip to the beach for the day. Late last week we saw that the weather forecast was to be absolutely perfect, so we decided to go. The weather really was perfect – temps in the upper 70s, not a single cloud in the sky, and a very light ocean breeze.  It was lovely. The worst thing we could say was that the surf was a bit rough, but with tropical storms off the coast in the days prior to our trip, it wasn’t surprising.

Overall, we had a great time. Zilla got her first taste of the beach and the ocean. We spent a few hours on the beach, visited the boardwalk aquarium, and had dinner and frozen yogurt in town before heading home. We opted for a day trip because, well, it was not exactly planned in advance and we didn’t want to make a huge commitment in the event that Kidzilla hated the beach. She loved it – particularly the taste of the salt water on her lips – and asked to go for her birthday next summer. While a two-hour drive isn’t the worst for a day trip to the beach, I would not choose to do that again – you can’t possibly do everything you want to do in a day trip. So in the future, if we do the beach, we’ll plan to go for a few days.

I should probably say here that I am thankful my Mom and the Fab Hub did not toss me out of the car on the drive home. I’m a terrible, nervous passenger and my road anxiety levels were particularly high on the return trip. And that is a gross understatement. I’m thankful to the Hub for being a patient and calm driver, even with a crazy anxiety-riddled wife in the passenger seat, and for getting us home safely in spite of all the crazy not-so-safe drivers that shared the road with us.

I’m thankful to be holding on to my previous weight loss, despite several restaurant meals in the last couple of weeks. That can add up pretty quickly. So I’m glad to have made fairly decent choices, I guess, or else thankful to be lucky enough not to have re-gained those lost pounds.

As the news that I am not returning to my teaching position this year started to spread this week, I’ve been asked by several people what I’ll be doing now. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reaction from people and thankful to have figured out a good answer! I was kind of stumbling all over that for the first few inquiries.

And in other job-related news, the Hub was asked to step into the office on his way out of work yesterday. He emerged surprised and delighted to find that the length of the term of his employment has been extended! He was originally brought on as temporary until the end of October with a review of the technical needs of the position sometime during that month to determine what would happen at that point. But we are so glad to know already that he’ll be staying at least for the year!

Tonight the Hub and I are having a grown-up dinner out and Kidzilla will get to spend time with my Aunt D. and Uncle D. (her Godfather) and their dog so she will have a wonderful time, too!

OH, yes, and I must mention how thankful I am to Rotten Cats One and Three for helping with the laundry this week…I really wanted to wash that basket of whites twice, Cat One. Good job reminding me. And thanks, Cat Three, for napping all over my freshly-folded jeans.

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Cat Three also provided more than a few minutes of laughter for us this week when we discovered that he’s afraid of our new lobster sheets. He kept walking on them, sniffing at them, then jumping back when his own weight made the lobsters wiggle.

20140817_024135[1]I so wish I had video, but we couldn’t grab the camera fast enough. Trust me when I say it was highly entertaining. If you have cats, you can imagine!

I’d say that’s a pretty full week…now it’s your turn! What have been your moments of thankfulness this week? What events surprised and delighted you? Share ’em in the comments or – better yet – link up with the Ten Things of Thankful hop!

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Ten Things of Thankful