You may remember that last year, for Mr. FG’s birthday, I gave him a trip to Florida rather than birthday presents.
And he liked it so much (he hates winter!), I did that again this year.
(with free flights, thanks to our Southwest card.)
So, for most of this week, he and I were in warm and sunny Florida, in the Naples area.
Sonia and Zoe stayed with a friend, and since Joshua and Lisey can both drive themselves wherever they need to go, they stayed here at home.
Mr. FG and I ate out all week, since we were staying at an Airbnb with no kitchen access, and Joshua and Lisey fended for themselves, which is why I’m not entirely sure what was eaten at my house this week!
Joshua likes to cook fancy Asian dishes, but Lisey isn’t so much into cooking.
So, I bought her some convenience foods from the frozen section at Aldi, and she also made some easy stuff like quinoa fried rice with an egg.
We saw lots of sunsets, walked on the beach, slept in, went to a spring training baseball game, went to a waterpark, and took a 25 mile bike ride on Sanibel Island.
It was really lovely to have some days with no responsibilities other than ourselves, and lots of time to talk and connect. So, I’m really glad we went!
We came back to cold, rainy, windy weather, which is kind of a bummer after sunny days in the 80s.
And I’m really sad to put my shorts and flip-flops away.
But.
Daylight Saving Time is coming up soon (a week from Sunday!).
The weather does usually start to warm up a bit in March.
And flip-flops and short sleeve shirts start to make an appearance around here in April.
So, better weather days are coming.
Not gonna lie, though…I do wish I was still in Florida! And I could definitely do with about a month of no responsibilities. 😉
_____________________
JD
Monday 5th of March 2018
Good morning from North West Florida, where it was 38 degrees at my house this morning. No barefoot walking around here. Reminder -- we had snow one day this winter, along with an ice storm. I can't stand Florida heat and humidity, but here I am, and have been for over 40 years, so here I'll likely stay. I miss Kentucky, though.
I'm glad you got to have lovely weather for a lovely vacation. Lovely weather is fleeting, so it's good that you could enjoy it while here.
I can't remember what all we ate, but I know I cooked a pork roast in the pressure cooker and served it with roasted veggies. We had tacos (AIP compliant for me) one day, and a small chuck roast another day, again with some roasted veggies. I also cooked mushrooms, celery, and onion with the roast and made a yummy gravy with them, which the husband had over rice, and I just put on the roast itself. I think the rest of the week was leftovers, with the addition of more veggies. Gotta have the veggies!
Kristen
Monday 5th of March 2018
How's the AIP going for you?
Do the mild winters in Florida make up for the super hot and humid summers? Where I live, the outdoors is basically useless for three months, so I wonder if Florida is tolerable if you just view the summer months as indoor months. Mr. FG would LOVE to move to Florida, and while I'd love to winter there, I'm hesitant to take the plunge and live in a fairly tropical climate year round. I just don't know if I can handle the humidity for so much of the year!
Miriam
Monday 5th of March 2018
You went to the warm weather, and we had our first snow in 6 years (!) in Rome, Italy :-)
And, I wanted to tell you: you both look soooo young, as if you'd be expecting Kid #1 and not have 4 kids (teenagers!) already. <3
Laura Jewell
Sunday 11th of March 2018
We've just come back from Rome, Italy (to the U.K.) and my son and his girlfriend are leaving for Rome tomorrow. Our most favourite city, next to our home town of London/Essex.
Kristen
Monday 5th of March 2018
Aww, thank you! I appreciate the compliment. :)
Randi MacDonald
Sunday 4th of March 2018
My wife really wants to retire in Marco Island/Naples. I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale so I'd much rather move there. We go to Napes/Marco 2x a year for vacation( we live in Socal). We find it so relaxing. We usually AirBnB in Marco. There is a great inexpensive breakfast place in Naples called Goldi's restaurant.
Kristen
Monday 5th of March 2018
That's funny that you live in Socal and yet go to a beach for vacation! Do you just enjoy the change of scenery?
Jody
Saturday 3rd of March 2018
We have been without electricity since Thursday. And it's cold. :( We've been having to go to town to get food (either already prepared or pb & j stuff). I have decided I do NOT want to be a pioneer family with no running water or electricity, mostly because I really want a shower.
I'm glad you had fun though. I can't wait until my husband and I can get away together sans kids.
Kristen
Monday 5th of March 2018
Oh my, you poor thing! I hope you have power by now.
Deidre
Saturday 3rd of March 2018
So glad you had a great time; it's so wonderful to have that time together and in such a beautiful place - made me wistful for holidays, I won't be able to have a break for a while so am trying to make little holidays throughout the week where I can like going for a walk or singing to the radio in the car. It's been warm here - 88 today but dry with a fresh cool breeze late arvo & will be 68 tomorrow. I mainly ate freezer leftovers this week but after 2mths of freezer/pantry challenge treated myself & we had Thai tonight - potato prawns & pad thai; was so yum.