I have never been on a fancy trip to an exotic place.
Pretty much any vacation opportunity that my family or my marriage has had in the last 30 years has been with Mickey and 10,000 over-tired children and their stressed out parents in Orlando.
But this week our church staff was offered the chance to visit a private island in the Bahamas and – here’s the best part – they could bring their wives as well.
BAM. Whoever said that the penny-pinching life of being in ministry had no perks??
So we packaged up our children and sent them to grandparents and I borrowed a large, floppy beach hat from a friend and picked up a new book at Barnes and Noble and we hopped on an airplane that I thought might break in half about 25 minutes into the flight.
I also should mention that I had to buy a new bathing suit for this trip because after having 2 children I may or may not have, on a dark and bloated night, burned thrown away any item of clothing that uncovered my torso and thighs.
I was super hesitant when we arrived at the beautiful lagoon and the moment came for me to remove my swimsuit cover-up.
But there is something about the Bahamas that sort of sets your spirit free.
You know what they say (or maybe it’s just my husband?), “What happens in the Bahamas, stays in the Bahamas.”
I am fairly certain that this applies to my cellulite and underarm pudge.
While revealing my post-partum bikini body took some convincing, it took me about 5 seconds of toes in the sand to feel good about the fact that I don’t have to fluff pillows or be responsible for the incredibly exhausting task of coming up with meal ideas 3-4 times a day for 3 people that never seem to stop being hungry.
One of whom recently declared that he wants to start eating Paleo, but doesn’t like about 3/4 of Paleo-friendly foods. {{sigh}}
Now one thing you need to know about the hubs (other than his recent dietary changes) is that he is quite passionate about scuba diving.
This passion is not a shared one, my friends.
Oh, I love watching his videos and seeing the photos from all his underwater escapades, but getting me to put on a trillion pounds of gear and then entrust my entire life to a rusty tank on my back is not exactly my cup of tea.
The hubs tried to explain to me some basics of diving like the importance of equalizing your ears as you descend and ascend and I was already overwhelmed. I am not one of those people that can think about 100 things at once. I’m sure I would get down there and see a pretty fish and think, “Oh, wow. That’s pretty,” and then blow up my ear drums.
But I was bound and determined the 2 months prior this trip to be a ‘cool wife’ and engage in this activity with my husband. I prayed and prayed that I would be able to get over myself long enough to come alongside my man in something that he loves with so much of his heart.
The only problem, however, is that I am apparently very claustrophobic.
I couldn’t even snorkel, people. I thought I was going to DIE in that mask.
I wish I had a story of victory for you. I wish I had a photo of me at 70 feet below sea level spearing a Grouper or wrestling a shark or looking wicked sexy in a wetsuit or something totally rad like that.
But the only pictures of me you will find from this trip are those where I am lounging in an Adirondack chair, getting burned suntanning, using a striped maxi-skirt from Target to cover my muffin top, and rooting my husband on from the safety of the sandy beaches.
I spent some time discussing this with the Lord because I had set some expectation in my heart that not scuba diving=bad wife and overall failure as a Christian to obey all those verses about not being afraid. But He reminded me that our marriage vows didn’t really say anything about “to love and to scuba,” so I think I can still be a good wife without sporting a regulator.
As for the fear part, I just chalk it up to being healthy because, you know, I have kids waiting for me back home and I don’t want to get eaten by a shark.
We had a great time, but now it’s back to reality and repairing the leak in the outside wall of our house that soaked the carpet in our dining room while we were away, working on Home Loan Modification paperwork, and figuring out what’s for dinner.
Does anyone know any good Paleo recipes?
– Julie 🙂
Soooo glad you had this opportunity to be away from the routine and do some fun things with hubby! What a blessing! You both deserve this treat!
As a 62 year old nanny, I very much enjoy your posts and get lots of super ideas for fun times with my grandkids and elementary school students!
Thanks for your positive, spirit-filled & inspiring messages! You are a blessing to so many!
Gail, your words brightened my day! Thank you so much!
Were did you get your dress I love it.
Hey! Sorry for the delayed response… The dress is Old Navy from a hundred years ago… You can totally have it if you want! 🙂
You are absolutely adorable!! I love laughing (at) with you!
Stephen started eating Paleo about 6 months ago. I threw out all my normal cookbooks and only have Paleo cookbooks now. Come on over!! You can borrow them anytime!!
I’m so glad you got to have a getaway!
I ate paleo for a month, doing the whole 30. nomnompaleo.com and theclothesmakethegirl.com have some great recipes. Here’s a freezer cooking listing of 50 whole 30 (hence they are paleo) recipes. http://onceamonthmeals.com/50-freezable-whole30-recipes/
Eating like this takes a lot of work and extra time, but it really is quite healthy! Good luck 🙂
I’m glad you don’t have any sexy scuba pics. Seeing as the who-ha outline isn’t fit for public consumption. :). Seriously I don’t think sexy and scuba suit have ever been used in the same sentence. :). Glad you guys got away! Thanks for the great posts!
I’m so happy for you and Ryan that you got to take a get away weekend! Praise The Lord for that!! Xoxo
Sent from my iPad
I have enjoyed following your posts for a few years now…you are soooooooooo adorable & so is your family!
Oh my goodness, thank you! Thank you for following my little ole’ blog… It’s readers like you that remind me to keep on sharing. xoxo
You are the best storyteller! You deserve the Bahamas every year!
Love that you were able to have this experience. Thank you for sharing a bit of it with us. Looks like a great time away.
I am so happy for you and your hubby!
Hey Julie –
Best wishes from Tally 🙂 Have enjoyed reading for a while, but haven’t found anything to comment on yet 🙂 But Paleo? This I got!
We’ve been Paleo on and off for a few years, so here are my thoughts if I was going to start over: In the beginning keep it SIMPLE:
breakfasts should be eggs & veggies & a healthy fat,
lunches & dinners are meat & veggies & a healthy fat
Quantities on all of those will be significantly MORE bc he won’t be eating starches, I buy frozen microwaveable veggies to keep it easy and less expensive. Make sure he eats LOTS of healthy fats (way more than you’re used to – avocado, nuts, and coconut milk are my favs). Just add a healthy carb to each meal for you & the kids if you’re not going paleo too.
Meals might be boring for a while, but once you’re in the groove then you can start experimenting. If he REALLY thinks he wants to be Paleo, he should do a Whole30 first (and he should be helping with the food prep and reading labels to see how difficult it is).
You should definitely check out the Whole 30 Freezer cooking someone mentioned above, as well as the Paleo Emeals plan (love a site that will meal plan for me), but here are a few others I use frequently:
http://nomnompaleo.com/
http://stupideasypaleo.com/
http://paleomg.com/
http://paleoonabudget.com/
http://paleoparents.com/
http://balancedbites.com/
We’ve loved Paleo (lost more than 50 lbs each, more energy, fewer allergies, feel better all over), but it IS a ton of work. If you don’t buy 100% into the philosophy (which we don’t, we know that God created us, we didn’t descend from cavemen, etc.), then you can give yourself permission to enjoy non-paleo foods occasionally and then just monitor how you feel after.
Sorry for the long comment – email if you want to chat more – Good luck!
Thank you so much Meagan!!! I LOVED hearing from you! This was SO helpful!
Love it!
You can look through the last couple of year’s of menus at http://onceamonthmeals.com/ to get some good ones. You don’t have to sign up to view the “out of date” recipes menu plans.
Eggs for breakfast got old for me on paleo. A lot of the pancake, muffin, etc. paleo version of recipes just didn’t taste right to me…and with the cost of some of these ingredients, I got tired of experimenting with new recipes and not liking the results. I really liked this recipe for almond muffins, if you are allowing raw honey in your diet. This calls for butter, but just sub coconut oil.
http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/?s=Almond+muffin&cat=50%2C+56%2C+55%2C+53%2C+62%2C+43%2C+16%2C+51%2C+52&Search=Search
Also the author suggests in another post to double the recipe and freeze half. Just put the liners in the muffin tin, pour in the batter, and put the whole pan in the freezer to flash freeze. When they’re frozen you can pop them out and put them in a ziplock bag. That way you can just pop them in the oven in the morning (or thaw them the night before) without all the mess.
Also, it can sometimes be difficult to find nut butters that don’t have sugar or a lot of salt added. You can make your own by just putting the nuts in a food processor. It will take a while, but eventually they release oil and get smooth. I’ve read it works with most nuts, but have only tried it with cashews, almonds, and peanuts (which of course are not allowed on paleo).
You guys are so cute! Thanks for sharing your adventure. I love how God explained that whole scuba thing. Isn’t He sooo COOL (as in AWESOME)???