What Was I Thinking?

Do I really have it in me to write a blog? Okay, I'm anal retentive when it comes to grammar and spelling so I will be MORTIFIED when I undoubtedly will have a huge gaffe that will make Mrs. Gaskins - the English teacher I had in 7th and 8th grades who beat this stuff in me - cringe. Sorry, Mrs. Gaskins, ahead of time. I will promise that I will not misspell dessert as desert. Really. I know the difference.

So we're headed to St. George Island in the morning. We have this "tradition" of getting together with 6 or 7 other families at the beach - either St George Island or Cape San Blas - during the week between Christmas and New Year's. It's our beach family - none of us are related except my husband and his ex-wife. They started going when they were married and have remained friends. This "beach family" has been doing this for more than 20 years. I've only been a part of it since 1998, when I started dating my now husband. His ex-wife and her husband will be sharing a house with us, as she has every year since 1998. Our relationship with her, as well as with my husband's first wife (I'm number 3 - third time's the charm) TOTALLY freaks my family out. But it's really a testament to how cool my husband is. He's the bomb diggity. Really. If we could clone him, there is a HUGE market among my single girl friends who would pay big bucks for that kind of action. He rocks. We'd be rich.

Anyhoo - it will be wonderful to be at the beach. I totally love the beach. Doesn't matter what the weather is. If there's salty water (or really, any kind of water) I'm in my element. Catch up on my New Yorkers. Walk the dawgs. Nap. Get my Rita fix.

No, it's not short for MargaRita. It's really Rita. She is the most cool friend that has come out of the beach family for me. She lives in Gainesville so I don't get to see her very often. She is so amazingly cool that if I weren't married, and if she weren't married, and if we were lesbians, I'd be totally into her. She's one of those people who you are breathless to hear the next words out of her mouth - everything she says is epic. Or hysterically funny. Or just what you were thinking EXACTLY.

It totally sucks that she will not be there the whole time this year. Her husband's high school reunion is scheduled for New Year's Eve (who does that????) so they'll only be at the beach for 2 nights. I'm up for the challenge to get my Rita fix scratched. Haven't seen her since she came to Tallahassee in the spring.

Anyway, my hope is that this blog will evolve into something. Probably something just for me, but it might make Mrs. Gaskins proud too. And I promise some recipes will come out of this too. Thanks for reading.