[Band Mamma]

Here's what Band Mamma is doing so far this week (see pics):
Just thought I'd stop by to torture you for a second and to announce a very special mother-daughter moment: buying baby's first Coach purse!
$23 on the island, mon!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gotta pay 8 bucks for a gallon of milk and $7.50 for a 12 pack of Pepsi, but by golly you can buy a carton of smokes for 15 bucks and a Coach purse for 23 smackaroos!!!!

The ocean view pictures were taken from our balcony.

I hope y'all are having as much fun as I am this week! Bwaaahahahahahahah!
Au revoir!

[Raquel]

Band Mamma thank you for submitting your vacation papers! Enjoy your vacation ... as it's evident you are! ahem

Keep up the good work and good eating!
Now off this computer and do something tropical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ps: Wish I would have sent you $23 bucks for me

[Cmarie123]

BEAUTIFUL!!! Where are you???

[sue0580]

ok ur having fun but im so hating right now. Coach for $23.00 impossible.....

P.S Where the heck are ya?

[libby0920]

hey you can send 1 of those coach purses my way

GLAD YOUR HAVIN FUN!! TAKE TONS OF PICS!

[dalako]

I am so proud that you are starting the child off on the right foot!!! Training for the 'finer' things in life! LOL
It looks beautiful... thanks for tormenting!!

Glad to hear you are having fun!!! Catch some rays for me.... I am still lily white up here in MN... lol

[hope2win]

You lucky duck! Hope have you have good time and be safe!

[gothprincess]

How much alcohol are you bringing back?? LOL

[Band Mamma]

I'm on the lovely island of St. Martin on the French side. My hubby refused to learn even hello or goodbye before we left but randomly decided to learn one word tonight: bra. He also saw his first topless sunbathers today. Coincindence? I think not! LOL
I think I've talked hubby into going back to Phillipsburg tomorrow to do a tad more shopping at that certain store. After all, it's really not fair to buy one daughter Coach and leave the other one out, is it?
The liquor allowance is 2 Liters per person, but the storekeeper said wine doesn't count???? I'm going to check that out before I try it, though. I'm not lucky enough to get something past security. We will be bringing back 4 Liters because although the 2 kids I have with me are old enough to drink here, they are not old enough in the states. So I assume they would take it from us once we get to our layover in Atlanta. Again, 'cause I'm just not that lucky in life. LOL
Now ciggies- I'm allowed 800 per person, multiplied by 4 people, add in the 3% foreign transaction fee for using a credit card, and I'll be bringing back.... dunno. Haven't gotten that far yet.
We spent the day on the beach and went to a Lolo for dinner tonight cause these people are starting to be a pain in the behind. I may take that Coach back if someone gets p i s s y again. We were supposed to go fancy tonight but ended up at a Lolo due to the kids changing our schedules. One decided he needed to be online IM'ing while a 4H meeting he was missing was going on (so he could "be" there) and the other found out Project Runway's premiere is tonight, blah blah blah. Anyway, a Lolo is a grill type restaraunt on the beach. Picnic tables for tables, big grills going, some guy badly singing 80's songs, $1 beers, and cheap food. $31 American for 4 meals, one to one exchange with the Euro (meaning they charge you one dollar per Euro instead of the current exchange rate of somewhere around 1 to 1.65). Tastes good, repeats bad; but quick and cheap with entertainment tossed in. If you don't like the singer, you can always laugh at the drunks. LOL
Off to shower and some Aloe Vera Gel. I'm still a pasty white American, we're all just burned pasty white Americans now.

[Band Mamma]

I'm home again. Yeah and boo. Yeah cause I've been traveling for 16 hours, boo cause I'm not on vacation anymore.
Will update once I get some sleep and read a bijillion posts to catch up.
Delta blows, by the way.

[insearchofme]

I was insanely jealous until I read your last post and saw you are now home.
Hope you had a great time.


Get offline and get some sleep woman!!!

[scatanafas]

Not sure when you posted this but I just read it..Girl I would have FILLED my suitcase up with coach just to resell here in the states for a profit.......Sounds like you had a glorious time !

[Band Mamma]

One last update while I am waiting on load #10 to dry. How all that fit into the suitcases I will never know!
Eating: did what I could and went to the bad side when given the opportunity. Traveling with the Fast Food Hounds is never easy. Arbys, McDonald's (twice), Burger King, the Lolo, and pizza at Bistrot DaVinci (plus half a piece of Tiramisu cake) went into the bod this week along with the usual take-along snacks of granola bars, crackers, rice cakes, and sugar-free chocolate. I drank lots of water every day, a few diet soda's, 2 lite beers, a couple of cups of coffee, and some rum drink that will burn your stomach lining in seconds. It was half a shot of 50 proof with a touch of sugar syrup and fresh squeezed lime. I don't remember rum burning like that on the way down, but it has been many years and this time it wasn't in a glass of Coke. Breakfast every morning but one was the usual Raisin Bran (pancakes the other day), lunch was on the go fast food for the most part, and dinners were mostly cooked in the room stuff like hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken breast with a side of veggies.
I walked quite a bit doing the tourist/shopping thing and took the opportunity to walk more when I got it. The hill down to the ocean was quite steep- we called it the Buns of Steel Hill. I haven't checked the back view in the mirror yet to see if it helped yet, LOL. Our flight from Atlanta to home was delayed so I probably walked about an hour in the airport running to the smoking room, bathroom, and to get something to eat. If anyone knows who planned that airport, I'd sure like to speak to them. Little tip: the people mover wall will say it's Concourse D but it's really concourse E. Do not ask airport employees or Delta about the location of the smoking rooms because they are unaware of their existence (try the glass door beside the restaraunt near gate E12, after hours try E16).
I spaced my phen to take it every other day and made sure to mesh it with the day I left and the day I returned so I wouldn't be so hungry during those long travel hours that I would eat the plane seats. I pooped every day, thank you very much (bowing for the applause) and three times today. My body feels thinner, but the scale doesn't show it yet. It shows a 4 pound gain. However, my body is equalizing from the different altitudes on the plane and on land, from the stress of traveling, from swimming in the ocean, etc.... I started to get dizzy the last couple of days from all the different forces on my body. I'm not gonna stress about any gain for a couple of days yet. In the meantime, I had my last hurrah today and ate chocolate chip cookies and drank a glass of wine. I made sure to drink plenty of water today, too.
Traveling with uber conservative son, I did NOT try going topless on the beach (it was a nice excuse not to try it, LOL) but I did borrow daughter's bikini and layed on the balcony with the bottoms rolled down and the top straps untied to try to get some sun on places that haven't seen sun in 20 years. It felt really weird, but it was worth it because I need to adapt a bit more to the new bod and because the vast white expanse of belly does look smaller with a little tan on it.
Now for some pictures. The first one could have been me 25 years ago, but alas it is mini-me in one of her new outfits. Remember what it was like to feel your sexuality oozing like this?
Second picture is me and hubby-usual tourist picture. Sorry for the big top, clothes were running low. The pulled back hair is because by Thursday I gave up on it. I had it styled nicely and the moment I stepped outside it first went POOF! and then flattened in the humidity.
The third one is me being stupid because son was being silly, but I included it because it's a full body shot.
Number 4 is a sign we all found hilarous. Also, this chick works for several companies-she's all over the billboards, especially for the every popular El Presidente beer in the Carribean Islands.
I'm out of room for attachments so I mightl post a couple of other ones a bit later. We are all home safe and sound. We got home around 4 a.m. and my son had a concert/recording at 11 so he napped in his car during the afternoon break between practice and the recording. My daughter had to work from 11-9 today so she collapsed when she got home tonight. I am hoping to never hear the flying monkey song from The Wizard of Oz again in this lifetime as my son sang it every time we were taking off or landing on a plane (that would be 8 times) and every time we got in the car to leave or return to the room (around a billion times). Daughter felt the need to announce "Doggie!" in a child's voice and point every time she saw a dog. There are a LOT of dogs in St. Martin. Hubby decided sitting in an airplane seat beside his wife was a good time, every time, to pass foul gas. Me? I was a saint. I hope they all chant, "Cedez le passage!" every time they merge while driving. Hey, I had to do something to annoy them all in return!