Am I Running or am I Standing Still???

The answer is...BOTH!

The title of this post was inspired by my sweet Lili M. who sent me a comment today wondering if I was okay. It was her rendition of a funny Dutch proverb but it's OH SO TRUE!!!!

{I JUST LOVE YOU Lili!} and yes...I am okay...thank you!   :)

I have been on VACATION for the past week...

I just returned from the fabulous white beaches of the Gulf Coast.

I shared toes in the sand with some of my favorite hometown girls and a weekend of fun and unforgettable memories!

We stayed at the Caribe Resort in Orange Beach, Alabama.

It was a magnificent condo...totally 5 star in my book!

Every year, us girls get together and take a vacation "somewhere". We've been on Caribbean cruises, to awesome casinos, to the beaches and we never fail to have so much fun together!!!

They call themselves the "Grey Goose Girls" aka The GG's (because of the love of vodka)...(or sometimes...not so much!) hahaha

They adopted me almost 4 years ago.

I am the "Baby Goose" as they are nine years older than me. Don't let that number fool you...I can't keep up with them, trust me!

Because I am sworn to GG secrecy, I cannot divulge any details of any of our times together...you just gotta believe me ;)

Anyway...back to the trip...The Caribe Resort was awesome!

The good news is...basically, we had the whole place to ourselves. 

The bad news is...many people canceled vacations due to the oil.

The hotel bay side pier should have been FULL of boats during this time of summer, but sadly...it was empty.

Below is a photo of the lazy river 7 floors beneath our balcony.

As you can see, our towels and floaties were the only ones out there waiting for us to come down and make a splash.

One of the eight pools on site was waiting and ready for us to jump in...

AND get the sunburn of my LIFE!

Whoever thinks that C*PP*RTONE sport continuous spray, water poof, sweat resistant, SPF 100 works... I am living proof that it DOES NOT!!!! For 24 hours after my FIRST (& only) 5 hours of water fun, I smelled like a fried pork chop and was forced to wear a long sleeve t-shirt and crops for the rest of the trip.

But I still had FUN!   :))))

Because I am always behind the camera...there are no photos of me with my burnt self. Again, you just have to trust me. Or...call my husband for living proof that no one can come within 3 feet of me or I'll scream with the fear of being touched!  ;)

I have to tell you though, he was such a sweetie upon my return home. He cooked my favorite meal (spaghetti) and had a garden tub filled with epsom salt waiting for me.

He's a keeper :)

My body is feeling so much better by the minute :)))

What is it with me and my ADD? I keep getting off track...sorry ;)

I'm sure you want to see what's happening with the oil spill on the Gulf Coast right?

Like besides what you see on CNN, right?

Well to be honest, I'm going to keep it real here.

Being that we are from Louisiana and we see (& feel) the devastation that the oil spill is leaving upon our state, we were determined not to cancel our Gulf Coast trip no matter if the beaches were already closed by the time we arrived.

We were going to continue to help our neighboring states by giving them our business in this desperate time of crisis.

And we did.

With a rented 10 passenger Ford van, we shopped from Mobile to Gulf Shores and partied at the Flora-Bama.

We ate at local restaurants who took the time to thank us for our support and we shopped local grocers to stock our condo with food, liquor & personal items.

I walked behind the girls as they were looking around in awe as there were no huge crowds, not even half of what is normally here this time of year...

With heavy hearts, we saw these things that reminded us of disaster every where we turned...

BP Claims Centers

Temporary tents being set up for disaster planning

Convoys of relief workers being bused in to help

Boats laying out hundreds of thousands of yards of boom

Hardly no traffic

Empty beaches

And finally, signs of oil all along the coast line, even in spite of all preparation and prayers...

It had arrived to the beautiful white beaches of our neighboring states on the beloved Gulf Coast...

Red flag beaches...

closed.

I'm not sure about the other girls, but I really appreciated that one last walk on the beach with them.

I appreciated that one last photo of our toes in the white sand even if it didn't include Cindy as she couldn't bear to see "her" beach any other way than the way she's always wanted to remember it.

We DID make the best of our time together with the oil behind us...

But it was devastating for me to see this bird in flight, knowing that it doesn't even know of the disaster that's right in front of it...

But in all reality...we really don't know it yet either,

do we?

*****
I returned home to be wonderfully greeted with over 200 emails and comments...thank you for thinking of me! :))))

I WILL read and respond to each and every one of you even though it may take me SEVERAL days ... I promise I will!

I have to catch up at work, catch up on clothes, show hubby and the dog some love (from three feet away) and keep myself slathered in lotion for a few more days!

I'm just so excited that I don't smell like a fried pork chop anymore and my purple-ness is now a cooler shade of red! haha

I'll be back on here on Saturday for Karen's Blog Party...I'll see you then  :)