Bikini-Clad Beach Babes Trip

Okay, well, you can forget about the bikini part of that title...those days are long gone for me and my girlfriends...child birth, getting older, cellulite ripples, etc. make the bikini wearing totally out of the question, but not the beach trip part... Seriously, I think we will be making this trip...




for a very, very long time (or at least until we look like these lovely ladies)...LOL!

For about twenty plus years now, I have been taking an annual "girls only" beach trip with 3 of my closest friends a.k.a. The Beach Babes. Two I met while I was a freshman in college and pledged the same sorority with them and the other I bonded with immediately as a co-worker a few years later. It is the one time each year that we know we can just be girls...not moms, not wives, not employees, just girls. Mind you now, our type of trip has definitely changed over the years. What used to be laying on the beach from dawn til dusk and staying out all night has now turned into a drinking morning coffee, laying by the pool for a few hours, getting an uninterrupted shower, putting on our pajamas and popping in a good girly movie on the DVD player. Trust me, I can honestly tell you that both scenarios have proven to be just what we've needed for the time frame in which they occurred.

Our husbands (although completely amenable to the idea of us girls going) don't really get the whole idea about the need to take such a trip each year. My sweet husband has even said to me, "We take a week-long beach trip together as a family every year. Isn't that relaxing?" Hmmm, let me think about that honey. Family beach trip means Tracey packing for three, Tracey checking to see that all beach/pool paraphernalia is in working order, Tracey preparing meals and feeding child and husband at the appropriate intervals, Tracey applying sun screen to husband and child throughout the day, Tracey washing wet towels and bathing suits every night, etc. And then, after a week of said family beach trip, Tracey packing up for three, Tracey checking to see that beach/pool paraphernalia is all accounted for, Tracey making sure the condo refrigerator is all cleaned out, etc. Puhlease, tell me that you all are getting the "relaxing" picture here, right?! - - LOL!


As of tomorrow, I will be on my way to REAL relaxation. For the next few days, I will only have to be responsible for me. I hope that doesn't sound selfish because truth be told, I love being a mom and a wife, and I really love my job too. However, 4 days of nothing but adult reading material (and, I'm talking People and Redbook magazines here folks), my beach towel, my girlfriends (yep, not even taking my lap top), no temperature taking, no pee sticks, AND no anything related to trying to conceive IS for me...total bliss. Seriously, it ranks right on up there with chocolate and for those of you who know me, you know how much I absolutely L-O-V-E chocolate.


Before I head out for the next few days though, I did want to post a comment from a friend of mine who was the first one (and by the way, the only one) to participate in Tell Me Tuesdays yesterday (I know, I know, all of my blog visitors are either people I already know everything about or if not, had errands to run yesterday while their computers were down...LOL!), and she is dealing with a medical issue that she hopes/we hope someone out there reading my blog can offer her some info on or lend advice regarding this procedure and/or can share your experience if you've had this procedure done. So, with her permission, I am posting her comment here.


As for telling about me, and the theme of your blog, I'll tell you about us trying to conceive. John was on Methotrexate, which, although no one told us, apparently causes birth defects and low sperm count. He is off of it now and on Humira instead...which is extremely expensive and is self-injected, much to his dismay. However, he feels much better. I have to have surgery before we try to get pregnant, called a surgical cerclage. Apparently, I have a "weak cervix". 99% of people with a weak cervix have the surgery at about 12 weeks of pregnancy, but mine is so weak that I need the surgery before we get pregnant. I'll give you more details when we meet next week for dinner, but I just thought I'd fill it in on the blog for your other readers as well. Anyone out there had this surgery? Or experience with a weak cervix?


Sweet readers, if you can lend her some helpful comments, please do so at the end of this post. Thanks!

As for me...magazines - check, beach towel - check, girlfriends ready to go - check, relaxation here I come - double check!!