Just a Few Pics…

March 11, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Ok…not much time today, so I´m just sharing a few pictures/stories with you all.

Morocco yesterday was wonderful…and there are a lot more pics than these, so I’ll take some time and post a bunch when we get back in a few days. :)

We’re have a great time…enjoying the sunshine and time to just be together. We’re definitely more-than-a-little excited to see our girl again, but she’s in good hands and having a great time. It will be a fun reunion, though.

Ok, the pics. Enjoy!

First up…here we are. Baby camel = Way. Too. Cute. Must cuddle.

Camel ride! Something I’ve always wanted to do…and even more exciting that it was actually in Africa. Cool.

Making friends in the Tangier marketplace…I actually bought that scarf, which one of you will probably receive as a gift. 😉 Truthfully, of all the markets and hawkers we’ve experienced, those were some of the worst. But this guy was ok, and once we bought a few things from him…well, best friends for life. Or something like that. He was cool.

And…a pic from exploring today. Tobin and I needed to get to the train station to buy our tickets for the trip to the airport on Tuesday morning…we were advised to buy them early. We could have taken a taxi but decided to walk it and save the 13 Euros…about $20. It was a good walk…and we stopped to eat a pastry on some obscure, out-of-the-way park bench. But there’s no picture of the pastry because…well, if you’d taken a bite, you’d know why we didn’t stop to take a pic. 😉 Good thing we shared.

Back tomorrow…hope you’re all having a great day!

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, Tobin, travel

So, Um…

March 10, 2012 by · 1 Comment

Warning: I am not whining here…just being dramatic. You´re used to it.

😉

So, just a small request of my favorite blog readers:

If you ever hear me mention this word again…and I do mean ever…and that word would be FERRY…your response is this:

No, Mel.

NO, Mel.

No, No, NO, MEL!

Two doses of Dramamine later, which were taken far too close to each other, I did survive the ferry rides over the crazy, choppy, boat-rocking, Strait of Gibraltar…but that was it.

I hereby swear that my days of traveling by ferry are O.V.E.R.

Over.

I don´t want to do that to myself again. Or to my husband. OR…to me.

Thankfully, despite the drowsiness and drugged-ness, we did have a good time in the land of crazy, Moroccan, fun.

Here´s a teaser for you…more stories and pics tomorrow. 😉

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, Tobin, travel

Jet Lag JOY

March 9, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Maybe there is a teeny bit of sarcasm in that title…or maybe more than that.

But it´s true…jet lag kicked my butt today.

It´s to be expected when your days and nights get all mixed up…but this time it hit a lot harder than I was expecting.

We slept like rocks our first night here. And last night we went to sleep around 10 pm, planning to get up at 6:00 to catch our first bus at 7:45 to Algeciras, to catch another connecting one to Tarifa, to catch the ferry to Tangier.

It never happened.

I´m not sure exactly what happened…other than the phone rang just after midnight. I´d slept for just long enough for my body to feel like it had gotten enough rest, and that was it.

After (both of us) tossing and turning until 2 a.m. or so, we had a conversation that went something like this:

Mel: Honey, I´m fine if we wait til Saturday to go to Morocco.
Tobin: Huh?
Mel: I cannot go to Morocco tomorrow…I´ll be a wreck.
Tobin: Why are we having this conversation now?
Mel: Because it´s 2 a.m. and we´re both awake. Why not?
Tobin: Should we check into a different trip?

So we both got dressed, went down to the lobby to get on the computer and reserved our spot on a tour for tomorrow.

Yeah, that´s what we did in the middle of the night. :)

Then we went back to our room, fell asleep around 3 a.m. and slept til 9 or so.

It took me two cups of coffee, a hot shower, and three ibuprofin before I was even able to function, but we tried to make the most of our day.

It was cooler, so we took some time and walked through the old part of town, had lunch, walked more, had coffee, walked more. I like exploring and seeing new things so it was a good way to spend the day. :)

I had expected to be in Morocco today, which was a bummer…and the gray clouds didn´t help. But tomorrow we´re going on an organized tour, and as much as neither of us like structure on vacation, with a trip like this, it´s almost better.

At least I hope so…at least all of the travel plans are made FOR us. :)

So tomorrow will be a long day, but we´re both looking forward to it and will, I´m sure, have a lot of pictures and stories to share.

And hopefully the jet lag will be gone by then, too.

:)

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, just life, Tobin, travel, uncategorized

Vacation Pics…and a Few Memories to Go With Them!

March 8, 2012 by · 1 Comment

This is round one. There are two pictures that I can´t post yet, but will get to them before the trip is over. :)

We had a wonderful day, and to dispel any rumors that Marbella is cold…well, it´s not. Apparently it is at night, but today was gorgeous…in the 70´s. We loved exploring and walking everywhere, soaking up a city that most definitely agrees with us!

We started off our day by sleeping in a little and then heading out to find coffee. And then, well, see for yourself. Here are a few pics of the trip so far…more fun to come.

I heart adventures.

This one should just be shared to prove that I can sleep anywhere…except on airplanes. Though I was highly unimpressed with the Paris airport, at least the couches were comfy for sleeping as long as the German tourists sitting behind you don´t scream in your ear. Not that that happened or anything…you know, hypothetically.

Sleeping in Paris

Here´s me taking my first bite…and falling in love…with French bread. Goodness, it´s a very, very good thing sandwiches aren´t made out of this at home because I would eat them every day.

And we had another one today. 😉 Thankfully, Tob and I are mostly following our rule of sharing everything we order. It helps…and then we can decide if things are good enough to try again. Apparently this sandwich was.

Here´s the view from our hotel room. Spectacular.

And possibly my favorite find today… Never in my life have I wanted to work out on vacation. Ever. And yet, today, I saw this from my balcony and decided that it was the perfect workout. Somehow they fused playground equipment with workout equipment and came up with an outdoor gym, on the beach, and I could not resist. I got in an awesome 30 minute workout, and the best part was that since the breeze was blowing I didn´t sweat like crazy. I am already begging Tobin to build me a gym like this in our backyard. 😉 Unfortunately, he didn´t get a picture of the whole thing, but here´s me lookin´cool while I burn calories. Hee hee…I got to work out fifty feet from the Mediterranean Sea. Cool.

And…here´s us…by the Mediterranean. It´s good.

Tomorrow we head to Morocco…if we can miraculously make the slightly complicated travel plans work out…we have to take two buses, one which we can´t book until tomorrow…before we take the ferry, which we haven´t purchased our tickets for yet, either. Prayers are appreciated.

It´s good…we´re having a wonderful time. Missing our girl, yes, but enjoying each other, too.

Have a wonderful day!

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life, Tobin, travel

All the Way From Spain…

March 7, 2012 by · 2 Comments

This is gonna be short tonight, but we did arrive safely in Spain. :)

All is well…though I am really hoping that tomorrow is warmer than today…otherwise I´m going to be wearing the same two sweaters over and over and over. To be fair, the sun was almost down by the time we arrived at our hotel. Here´s hopin´for some WARM sunshine!

Neither of us has had much sleep…I think we each managed about two hours, Tobin on our flight from Paris to Malaga and me on a couch in the Paris airport. (Tobin took a picture…I´m not sure it will ever make it to the blog, though!) I. Was. OUT.

We´re looking forward to the adventures the next few days will hold. Tomorrow is exploring, a trip to the market, and maybe some walking on the beach if it´s not too frigid.

I need to get a little tan! Friday we head (hopefully!) to Morocco…we´re still figuring out transportation deals.

Almost time to crash…g´nite! :)

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, Tobin, travel

Little Blessings (Pt. 26)

March 6, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

:) Um…vacation time?! YaHOO!!!!!!!!!

:) Amazing friends who love our daughter and are willing to take her for us while we’re gone.

:) Flu shots that work.

:) Sunshine and sweater weather.

:) Unconditional doggy-love.

:) My sweet daughter and memorable moments involving door-closing, couch-jumping, and plunger-stealing. I so love her.

:) Surfing! I. Can’t. Wait.

:) A quick morning coffee and chat with my dear friend.

:) Free wi-fi so I can still (somewhat) update the blog while we’re gone.

:) Adventures with my best friend.

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, blessings, friends, just life, Maelie, Tobin, travel

The Caffeine is Flowing…

March 5, 2012 by · 4 Comments

It’s Monday morning, and my humongo mug is full of caffeinated brew.

So. Good.

I am packed…as packed as I can be until tomorrow when I throw the last few bits into my suitcase, zip it up…and that’s that. Maelie is packed, too…though I am sure we’ve forgotten a thing or two. It’ll be ok, though.

I clearly have learned a few things from the multiple trips for which I have packed in five minutes.

Paperwork is done for the girl. While we don’t want to think of anything happening (to her OR us) while we’re gone, we have to be prepared. Just in case. Ugh…kinda makes my stomach twist. Thankfully, we have been blessed, over-and-above-times-a-million, with amazing friends who love our daughter and have our complete trust.

She’s gonna have a good time. :)

And so are we.

So I haven’t really talked about the trip much ’cause I didn’t want to make you all jealous ’cause I haven’t taken much time to actually think about it.

We leave O’Hare tomorrow afternoon and fly into Malaga, Spain, where we’ll take the bus to Marbella, a coastal city about 45 minutes from the airport. I chose it because it’s on the coast and decently near ports to travel to Morocco. When we did a little research, we discovered that Marbella seems to be how we travel.

Beach. Coffee. Surfing. Sun. Making friends. More beach. Definitely more coffee.

And I really can’t wait to surf again. I hope I don’t kill myself. 😉

We’ll check out Marbella on Thursday and then take the ferry to Tangier, Morocco Friday-Saturday. This is my dream. I have always wanted to go to Morocco. I don’t know why…except other cultures fascinate me, and I have a few friends who have been there and loved it. Enough for me. And a big thank you to my hubby for obliging. I know Morocco doesn’t excite him nearly as much.

And we are both definitely looking forward to the food there.

We’ll hop back to Marbella Saturday night and stay til Tuesday morning, when we fly here for a quick 22 hours and 50 minutes. 😉 We hadn’t planned on it originally, but the stopover was free and the opportunity to kiss under the Eiffel Tower was too much to pass up.

Oh, and a random confession…I kinda hope it rains a little while we’re there.

Kissing under the Eiffel Tower in the rain?

Right out of a movie.

(Hey, I can hope.) 😉

We’re so thankful for frequent flier miles so we can do this…it seems like a dream.

So, trip aside, it’s been a wonderful Monday for other reasons.

Going to bed early and getting good sleep…even if I woke up at 5:45 a.m. and wanted tea. So I made some and drank it. 😉

Two wonderful chats with friends from Indonesia. :)

AMAZING news about a former student accepting Christ! :)

Encouraging words from a friend. :)

A couple good ideas passed on from a friend about books to read on our trip. :)

Workout tonight…I’m gonna need it after my calorie binge this weekend! :)

Today Mae and I are just home…finishing up a few little things, hanging together, and just enjoying being mommy and daughter. She is full of sunshine and love…and she blesses my heart every single day.

I’m going to miss her so much while we’re gone.

But I also believe with everything in me that Maelie needs a mommy and daddy who invest in each other, too…and this trip is giving us time to do just that.

So I’m gonna spend my day enjoying the most precious little girl…cry a little when we say goodbye to her tomorrrow…and enjoy every single moment.

Well, my mongo coffee mug…the one I refilled once already…is just about empty. 😉

And I should get back to my girl…Elmo is almost over. :)

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, coffee, encouragement, friends, just life, Maelie, marriage, travel, uncategorized, where I am

Life Two Days Before a Trip…

March 4, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

At least I’m not waiting ‘ til the last minute.

:)

Sig

Filed Under: just life, travel

Thinking… (and Writing…)

February 25, 2012 by · 3 Comments

Do you ever have those moments when you type a word…and you KNOW you spelled it right, but it LOOKS so very wrong?

That’s the way the word “thinking” looks right now. Please assure me that I spelled it right. Pretty please?!

Ok, moving on…

I had every intention of sitting down with my mug of blueberry tea (still fightin’ off that cold…) and having a little chat with you.

That was thirty minutes ago.

The tea is gone, I ate a peppermint patty (by the way, those don’t go so well with blueberry tea), helped hubby pick out a couple trip necessities on Amazon…

And didn’t write.

But that’s ok…I’ll just write now. (And maybe refill my mug because, you know, there’s nothing I’d rather do than be up all night going to the bathroom. Ok, ok, TMI.)

I’ve been pretty cool with being kind of whatever for this trip. We haven’t planned much other than hotel, which is typical Mel-Tobin travel style. We find adventures without looking for them, so all will be good as long as there’s a beach, a place to get coffee, and some type of public transportation in which I won’t be sat on by a random stranger. (Long Indo story/memory.)

I’ve hit a couple thrift stores for some clothes that fit, borrowed some more from my most amazing friend who is excited that her clothes are going to Spain, (I’m happy to oblige) :) and hopefully that’ll be enough. I must say, though, it’s very difficult to pack for a trip in which the daily temperature can vary from 40-75. Hello, layers. Hopefully I will get a bit of color, even if a tan really isn’t at the top of the list for my trip goals. 😉

But the one thing I kind of freaked out about…is my hair. (Yes, I’m vain. I said it, you don’t have to.) I have fretted more-than-slightly about what on earth I’m going to do about my hair and it’s overly-frizzy-curly tendencies in humid climates. (Or even in not-so…) That’s because my current straightener isn’t dual voltage.

Amazon Prime to the rescue!

I actually needed a new straightener anyway, and we found a great one with good reviews for an awesome price. And since we’re prime members, free shipping. :) Hee HEE!

I can rest easy that at least my hair will look good in all the photos.

I’m really not as vain as I sound…I just firmly believe in doing my hair before going out in public. :) Even my hubby admitted that I’m mostly not high maintenance. (Mel breathes a sigh of relief…as she puts on eyeliner before going to bed.)

Kidding. Completely.

Gosh, what was IN that tea?!?!

We really need to move on to another subject.

I could tell you a funny story about how my hubby just came downstairs at 10:35 p.m. in order to teach me how to properly hang up my pants that I’m wearing tomorrow. Admittedly, I’m a clothes-thrower. I’ll try on a few things usually before deciding what to wear, and they usually end up in a pile to be sifted through and hung up again…which I do maybe twice a week.

I just figured since they were already off the hanger, I could just leave them there until tomorrow. I guess not. 😉

It was kind of cute how he came downstairs…and kind of annoying, too. (Which I let him know. :)) In the end, though…success. I now know how to hang up my pants the right way. (Just so you know I’m still chuckling at the entire situation…)

I love him. Honestly, we’ve had a pretty up and down few months. I’d be lying if I told you that being married has been a big, happy fairy tale. But life is good. I’m learning a lot about love. We’re laughing more. And we’re learning that “us” is just as important as “Mel” and “Tobin”.

God has been giving me little pieces of JOY each day, despite some of the heartaches I’ve shared lately. And I want to share this one because I mentioned it yesterday…my friend made it through surgery. She did well, and though recovery will be long, the doctor’s are optimistic. Praise Him. :)

I’ve been spending more time talking to Him…just pieces of my day spent telling Him my heart. It’s good. I know I have a lot to learn about prayer, but I’m thankful that I can just talk with Him and cry to Him.

Well, tomorrow morning is going to come early…I need to crash.

G’nite, friends. :)

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, encouragement, just life, travel, where I am

Remembering…

February 4, 2012 by · 2 Comments

I had fun

looking through some random pictures this afternoon while waiting for Maelie to take a nap.

Twenty minutes later: she is still fighting. Forty later…ahhh, quiet. 😉

Anyway…we just booked our hotels for our trip (finally!) and it got me thinking back to some of the crazy trips we’ve taken. So, of course, I had to look at pics!

Here are a few I thought you might enjoy. Yeah, we were younger…we definitely look it!

It’s fun to remember.

This is us at Clifton Beach in Cape Town, South Africa…and it just screams happy. It’ s one of my favorite picture

s of us ever. (I won’t tell you how many tries it took for us to get one that was Christmas card worthy.) :)

We unashamedly went to Bali six times while we lived in Indonesia. Yes, we did. (And you would have, too. Promise. ;)) This was from the trip we took at the end of our first year there. Good memories. :)

Here’s adorable us at the Grand Palace in Bangkok. It was cool…and I was sick. Like, horrendously, running-a-fever-on-Christmas-day-but-still-traipsing-throughout-90 degree-Bangkok sick. In fact, after this, I think we got Subway and went back to the hotel so I could sleep. Alas, it was a fun memory, and I had dreamed of seeing the Grand Palace for years. So cool that it happened.

I know it’s dorky, but I think this is one of the coolest pictures ever. When we were in Kuala Lumpur for our visa run several years ago, we had to see the Petronas Towers. And though we don’t look as cool at night, the towers? Most definitely do. That was fun.

I don’t have a photo of just the two of us, but there’s no way I could leave this trip out. In ’08 we took a long weekend beach trip with some of our closest friends. We crammed eight people into an eight passenger car (plus luggage!), drove six hours one way, sang every song imaginable…and we had the most amazing time. This pic tugs on my heart a little…I doubt we’ll all be together again this side of heaven. But what a memory. (And I had to laugh when I saw this, ’cause I realized that the trip was just a few weeks after I’d broken my foot…and begged our P.A. to let me go to the beach without crutches.

Thus, the taped up foot. Haha. :D)

Oh, the beach, how I love thee…even if I am not wearing makeup and got “slightly” sunburned. 😉

Such fun memories.

Here’s to many, many more…whether we’re travelin’ the globe or around the corner. :)

Thanks for letting me share.

😉

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, friends, Indonesia, remembering, Tobin, travel
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