Bring me sand, bring me surf!

The sun sets on the Atlantic!

What's a girl to do when life feels overwhelming?  She goes on vacation.  While it wasn't actually that simple, that's just what I did. My mom has worked for the same company for nearly all my life, and she is sent to fun locations nearly every summer for their national conventions.  This year's conference was in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  My mom's husband didn't want to frolic in the Florida humidity, so she asked me to join her.  I'll admit, I almost turned down the invitation - I can't sit in one position on a cross-country flight, and I don't do well in extreme humidity....but I figured what the hell. A luxury hotel would be paid for by my mom's company, she offered to buy my ticket since hers was already paid for, and I'd never been to Florida.  The more I thought about it, how could I say no?!  I brought along one of my girlfriends from Arizona (sorry husband!), got my spray-tan on, and we were good to go. 

Boy, am I glad we did.

Jody posing with her tasty beach cocktail.

It was amazing.  Absolutely amazing.  We spent five glorious nights at the Harbor Beach Marriott - a luxury resort sitting on its own private beach.  While it was Florida's rainy season, we were lucky enough to get in some good beach time in the warm Atlantic ocean.  We played on the water taxi, we shopped, we walked miles down the beach picking up neat shells, we enjoyed yummy cocktails in our lounge chairs. I definitely needed the time to relax and worry about nothing except my tan and what I wanted to eat that night for dinner.  I'd been doing a lot of reflection lately, thinking about where I want to go with my professional life.  I had been looking for a different job that could still give me enough PinkyCrafts time, while trying to balance my personal and professional life.  Whew!  That's enough to exhaust anybody.  Just before we left, I had interviewed for a job that sounded fantastic on paper, but I ended up turning it down, and felt a bit re-committed to my current job.  I was able to go on vacation with a much clearer mind, although that doesn't mean I was excited to come back!  That's the funny thing about problems - they're always waiting for you when you get back.

An afternoon storm kicked us off the beach.

However, there is something to possibly look forward to.  I brought one of my scrapbook magazines on the airplane with me, and I flipped by this one advertisement twice before I realized what it was trying to sell me on: a Royal Caribbean Scrapbooking Cruise.  Yes, that's right.  There are CRUISES for SCRAPBOOKERS.  It's like a crop on steroids. How did I not know about this?!  It's true - just check out all of the options on Cruise & Crop.  As if a plain ole' cruise isn't enough amazingness, throw in unlimited scrapbooking, classes and goodie bags?  Count me in! Unfortunately, most of them leave from the east coast, but with enough advance notice, I could definitely see myself saving for one of these and having a fabulous time.  There are even a few that depart from Ft. Lauderdale, and I'd love to go back.



It sounds too good to be true, but I think a scrapbook cruise is definitely in my future!  Perhaps not my near future, but my future nonetheless!  Just thinking about it relaxes me...maybe I should think nothing of it until I make it happen :)