Camping, Cravings, and New Technology

Dear Diary....

I'm back!!  Did you miss me?  I can't believe I've been gone for three whole days.  Well, technically I got back Sunday afternoon - but I've spent the rest of the time recovering.   I spent the weekend exploring the wilderness.  OK, fine, I went to a public camping ground in Oklahoma - not exactly the wilderness, but close enough.  I went camping with my kids, my parents, my brother, sister, and 4 additional small children that my mom is fostering.  Yes.  There were 12 of us.

This was the second time I've ever been camping in my whole life.  The first time was last year.  It's something my parents have started doing - and I like to tag along.  I wouldn't really consider myself an outdoorsy kinda gal - but I have to admit, I really enjoy camping.  For some reason, when I'm out by the lake the bugs don't bother me as much, the dirt doesn't bother me as much, and the heat doesn't bother me as much.  Any other time I scream at the sight of a spider, I can't go a day without taking a shower, and I'd rather stick hot pokers in my eyes than spend a minute outside when the temp is over 70 degrees.  But it's different when I'm camping.

This camping trip was a little different than the last time I went, however.  There was something missing.  Something very important missing - bathroom facilities.  My mom found out the night before we were supposed to leave that the onsite bathrooms/showers were locked until April 1st.  How f'in ridiculous is that?  It's not only a camping site, but a boat dock and fishing area.  I'm pretty sure there are going to be people there most of the year - but Oklahoma decides to lock up the bathrooms for the winter.  My mom made a quick dash to a store and bought a porta-potty.  Not exactly my ideal situation - but it beats popping a squat in the bushes...which is where I would have drawn the line, by the way.  I also couldn't take a shower the entire weekend.  That was groody and icky feeling - but I'd rather not be able to take a shower than pee in the woods. 

The whole weekend was a lot of fun.  The weather was beautiful.  The kids played in the dirt.  Peanut and Butter fished with my dad and brother.  Jelly had her first try at fishing.  And my mom and I sat and soaked up the sun having a good chit chat.  It was all very nice.  Saturday night, I made 5 little children's dreams come true by making them their first ever s'mores.  And they loved every bite.  All in all, a very awesome weekend.

Here are a couple of pics...as I know you're dying to see what was going on...

View from our campsite

Tents all set up

Jelly and I after we arrived - still clean!!

Can you spot what's wrong with this pic?

My girls and I - Ready for a fun weekend!

My awesome Butter - LOVE THIS PIC!!

Jelly and my nephew digging in the dirt

S'Mores Time!!

The highlight of her entire trip - Eating s'mores

 While I was there, I didn't eat on my detox plan.  It's kinda hard when you are very limited to food preparation and storage.  I didn't, however, over eat.  I ate my meals.  I did eat a few snacks, but very small amounts.  I also ate two s'mores - and that was the extent of my "cheating".  On the way home, we stopped at McDonalds where I ate the wrong foods - but it just didn't taste as good.

I came home pretty dehydrated, because I just couldn't drink the amount of water I was used to drinking.  That, of course, caused some bloating to appear.  No biggie, though, I've been making up for it since I've been back.  I gave myself another day off from the detox yesterday and took Butter to eat some pizza for lunch.  I will admit right now that it just didn't taste the same.  I didn't care for the greasy taste, and even the dessert pizza (which I absolutely devour any other time) was just too sweet.  I enjoyed my salad a lot more.

I'm going back on my detox today.  I have to.  No, I need to.  I've still got a lot of work to do in regards to my cravings.  Certain foods may not be tasting quite as good, but I still had the urge to eat them.  I need to continue working on that.

When I got back from my trip, Sunday, I came home to a new toy.  A toy that I've been wanting for almost a year.  It required saving some pennies, and getting a nice big win at bingo a while back.  I cam home to my new iPad.  Yes.  The new iPad.  The one that came out Friday - and has the name "New iPad" which I think is ridiculous - but I'm excited to have it.  I've been playing some games, and even discovered the wonder of ebooks.  Something I've never really wanted to get in to - because, well, I LOVE books.  Real books.  But, there's a book I've been wanting to read for a while now - and it's only been available on ebooks.  So, I downloaded it - and haven't been able to put the thing down since.  I love it.  I sat in bed last night, reading, in the dark.  Never could do that with a real book - but the iPad lights up, so it makes reading so much more convenient. 

As you can see, I'm all over the place this morning, trying to cram everything in to one post.  I don't like being gone - it messes with my head.  My blog is a part of my routine, and when my routine gets messed up - I get messed up.  Tomorrow, I'll try and get a little more organized - but I can't promise anything.  I'm off work for the entire week thanks to Spring Break, so I'm going to be a little all over the place this week.  Just try to bear with me - I'll do the best I can.

Today is Butter's birthday.  It's hard to believe he's 11.  For the next three weeks, he's the same age as Peanut.  That's what happens when you have two children only 11 months apart.  Tomorrow, I want to do a special post for him - so look forward to that, tomorrow.

Till next time. ;)