Send me some good vibes today - I have my uterine polyp removal surgery at 12:45. I'm honestly more worried about not dying from hunger than anything else since I can't eat for 8 hours before surgery. Ha!
After yesterday's longer post, I'm back from a couple of "hot takes" from our vacation.
1. OMG, so many people have tattoos. I am certain guests without tattoos were a small minority at this resort. And it wasn't just small tattoos, I'm talking huge tattoos that cover significant portions of a person's body. I can say with complete certainty that Phil and I will never get tattoos. There isn't anything I feel strongly enough about that I want to permanently mark my body with it! I know I am very prudish about things like tattoos. I do see the beauty in tattoos and find the stories behind them interesting but would never ever ever get one!
2. Also people apparently still smoke! It is easy to forget that people smoke now that smoking is banned in most restaurants - at least in Minneapolis. Phil and I have never smoked nor do any of our friends. So you can start to think smoking is a thing of the past that no one does. But on this vacation we were reminded that people in fact do still smoke which I find to be such an awful habit. Yes, this is judgy of me but I am so very sensitive to cigarette smoke! I waitressed all through college and HATED working in the smoking section. But it's not like there was a barrier between the smoking and non-smoking sections so I was inevitably going to smell like smoke no matter what section I worked in. The restaurants at the resort were smoke-free so we mostly encountered cigarette smoke at the pool or at the beach. So it wasn't a big deal - but we are happy we don't encounter cigarette smoke very often back home!
3. A lot of people were vacationing with friends - it was an adults only resort so they either didn't have kids or they have someone watching their kids. I find it difficult to organize dinners with multiple couples so it is hard to imagine planning a group vacation. We did try this back in 2016 before we had kids and it did not work out. We love the idea of doing this but feel like the chances of it ever actually happening is pretty low. I think we could travel with one couple - but multiple couples? How!! But it did result in me designing a fantasy draft game of 'who would we travel with' if such a thing were possible!
And those were some hot takes from our trip. A post doesn't feel complete without pictures so here are some of photos of the boys that we received while we were on our trip.
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| Barely awake, snuggling with nana with an ever-present car in his hand. |
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| Snuggling with my dad. |
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| These are the absolute best jammies. Isn't he the cutest little elf? |
What are your thoughts on tattoos? Would you want to travel with other couples? Our first Caribbean resort experience was our good friends' wedding in Jamaica and we loved having lots of people to go to dinners with/hang out with on the beach. And Phil liked being able to play lots of beach volleyball with friends.
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12 comments:
I’m so surprised that people still smoke despite how bad is for their health and so expensive. Go figure! Oh group vacations I don’t know who has the time to organize these. I’m happy to join if someone else organizes it, hahahah. Looks like the boys had fun with grandparents. They are the best to leave kids with!
That gingerbread house, Lisa?! What the what?! It is PERFECT. Real Simple will be calling your Mom and Paul to decorate one for their next Christmas issue.
I am constantly in shock of how many tattoos there are now; I don't have an issue with someone choosing to get tattoos, but I really wonder how these are all going to "age." Like - do all these 20-and-30-somethings really want huge eagles wings over their arms when they're 80?
Also, to me, tattoos look very odd in any formal/dressy/business capacity and I definitely do have a gut "shock" reaction when I see really big thigh or arm tattoos. I don't ever plan on getting a tattoo (and if I did, it would definitely be hidden). I think this is especially true for women; this isn't FAIR, but I do think that certain women could be marginalized in certain job markets for presenting with visible tattoos (especially since, in those jobs, so often women are expected to dress a certain way and those clothes - i.e. a sleeveless business dress - tend to reveal tattoos at a much higher frequency than they would for a man wearing a business suit!)
And yes to the smoking. I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke (allergic reaction and feel literally ill), and it also surprises me how prevalent smoking still is. I'll be curious to see how NZ's approach to prohibiting anyone below a certain age from accessing tobacco product - ever, as in for the duration of their life - will pan out. Will it drive up a black market for tobacco products?
I'm so glad you had such a great time on your trip and that the boys made such great memories with your parents.
I like tattoos! I do think that a sagging 80 year old tattoo is definitely not as attractive as a firm 20 year old tattoo. However, I think that we just get used to that person having a tattoo and the only people who are bothered by it when we get old is the younger generation. I remember sitting with my brother ogling the "old" (I wonder what age they were -- 50? 60?) people with their not so firm tattoos and wondering if they regretted them now that they were older. While I definitely think it is a permanent decision, I think it becomes a part of you and is not really as serious as it seems. I would love to get a huge one on my back but I have not quite figured out what it will be and I do have to consider what will show when I am wearing my work clothes.
I do not love smoking and I totally agree that I sometimes forget it is even a thing, since I go from my smoke free house to my smoke free train to my smoke free job every day. However, I went to a concert last week and although you could not smoke inside, people were going out for smokes and all standing out in the cold and I was surprised how many there were (including my Mom, where everything we do is determined by when and how she can have her next cigarette).
Sending good vibes for surgery!!! LOL I can actually hear Paul telling you one side of the gingerbread house is a disaster! 😂 it looks beautiful!!!
I remember when smoking was banned inside and suddenly going out I didn’t come home smelling like an ashtray! There are still plenty of people in this state who smoke. I’m just glad it’s not allowed inside anymore!
Thankfully for the outdoor vendor events that I’ve done people have respected my space and not come into my area.
I have so many friends who have tattoos and many have stories behind them. If I’m meeting someone for the first time and notice a tattoo I’ll ask about its significance because a lot of times there is a story. For me, I don’t have anything I feel I need permanently on me.
Lori
I also sometimes forget that lots of people do still smoke! I think it's such a rarity in our "circles" nowadays, as middle class suburban type parents, it's just not something we tend to see much of. The other day at the swim meet, the lady who organizes the lunch for the coaches realized she needed a lighter to light the hot plate things to keep the catered food warm. We were all joking that in the 70s this would be no problem- all the parents would be outside smoking in between events and we could just borrow a lighter! But none of us had a lighter. Eventually I guess she found one- so there must have been a smoker or an otherwise prepared person in the crowd somewhere.
Re: tattoos, I'm not a big fan, although that is hypocritical for me to say, because I actually have one! It's on my lower back, you know, the usual place girls used to always get them. I got it when I was only 17, in Las Vegas, on a trip with my high school boyfriend's family. His stepdad was big into tattoos and they had a house in Vegas and the stepdad knew the tattoo guy, so they let me get one even though I wasn't 18. In hindsight, if I could go back, I would NOT get it!! I don't hate it or anything, but it's just kind of random. It's a butterfly. No special meaning, just a design I found on the internet and printed. lol. I also feel like they placed it a little bit too high, so when I'm wearing a bikini bottom, it bugs me a little that it seems like it's kind of floating above my suit line, if that makes sense. Like it should be just a little lower. But oh well, no way to move it now! I would highly discourage my kids from getting tattoos especially if anywhere visible. I do feel like they tend to kind of cheapen a person's look...judgy, I know, but it's just how I feel. Some are kind of interesting/ cute, but on the whole, I don't like them. I guess at 17 it seemed like a good idea. LOL. Fortuantely, no one ever really sees mine, except in a swim suit.
I think I would potentially get a small memorial tattoo to commemorate a loved one's memory, but I tend to think most tattoos are cheesy and/or ugly, so I probably won't be getting one anytime soon. Let me join you on the unintentionally judgey train on that one.
I spend a fair amount on a college campus and I can say that I think smoking tobacco is decreasing among young folks. Most of the smokers I see are definitely faculty and staff and not students. However, I cannot speak to what they are doing off-campus.
I hope your surgery goes well!
"one side of the house is a disaster" cracked me up.
I do not have a tattoo but most of my friends do, and they all have stories attached, which I find interesting. I don't smoke but I did when I was a teenager, as a weight control mechanism, which I obviously don't recommend. I haven't smoked since I was about 17 though. My mom is a very heavy smoker and so is my MIL, so I am used to the smell.
We have had some very successful vacations travelling with others. One year four couples went to Las Vegas, which was fun, and we have another family who we have travelled with quite a bit. The key is to have one person/ couple who is the real organizer, and everyone else kind of goes along with things. Also key is giving the other couples time alone.
I was recently in Las Vegas for a work event and people can still smoke inside of the casino's! I had no idea. The whole trip was kinda terrible, but being in the casino was awful.
Good luck on the surgery! Hope everything is smooth and recovery is easy
I've found the way to travel with friends is you have to plan it like a year or 9 months in advance. You also need a person who will assertively say this is where we are going these are the dates. It also obviously helps if you had previous convos about this. We traveled to Mexico for a friends wedding and literally the year notification helped arrange childcare and planning. Friends came and went over a two week period. We also plan group camping trips all summer. We started a tradition of weekend before memorial day with a certain set of friends and choose to go to a place close to them so their kids can still particpate in their sports over the weekend if there are any. And then for the rest of the summer we utilize a group chat and say hey we booked this place and these dates and other people will then decide to go and days overlap or not. But it works well to most of the time always have friends with us!
I am so sorry I didn't send well wishes for your surgery yesterday. I pray it went smoothly and your recovery is swift. I was so caught up in my thoughts on tattoos and smoking I missed the only relevantly important part of your post.
Hugs <3
I’d be up for traveling on a couples trip with you both! :) And feel so similar with your views on both smoking and tattoos. It’s hard not to judge, but it’s just something I can’t really understand…
Let me just chime in and say, that gingerbread house is perfect.
I find (some) tattoos fascinating, but I'd never get one (except for a tiny little star somewhere, if I absolutely had to. Haha.)
Very well thought out sleeves can look quite beautiful, but I am not a big fan of multiple, seemingly random tattoos on someone's body. I get the idea of commemorating something, but you can do that in so many other ways. What if you change your mind about it?
Ugh, and don't get me started on smoking in this day and age. It SHOULD be a thing of the past. I think it's a waste of money, terrible for your health, and all-around a bad idea. I don't know why people still do it.
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