Life's a Beach...when you're at the beach!

Hello readers!  I know a neglected you last Monday.  I'm so sorry, but it was my only day of work for the week before heading to the beach with my in-laws for the week.  But...

I lost 1.4 pounds on Saturday (the 24th) and hit the coveted 25 pounds lost mark!  YEA!!!

I can't believe it, but I hit the 25 pound mark right square on the head.  What an amazing feeling that was.  I swear I walked on Cloud 9 all day with pride.   The journey hasn't always been easy, but I feel healthier and better than I have in a really long time.  In celebration of hitting that mark, I'm going to let you see a "Before" and "Current" picture.  Granted, I think the week at the beach is going to put me up a few pounds, but I'll just deal with that at weigh-in Saturday.  I missed weigh-in this past Saturday on account of, well, the BEACH (have I said that enough times to make you jealous yet?)!!!  Here's the pic:

The one on the left is me on January 31st of this year at the Georgia Aquarium.  I started Weight Watchers on February 6th.  The picture on the right is of me this past Friday before heading to dinner at Dewey Destin (my one fried meal of the week-was it worth it?  TOTALLY!).  This picture marks the "Half Way" point in my journey and lifestyle in changing the way I look at food.

I'll share a few pictures from the week at the beach...if you're friends with me on Facebook, you can see all of them there a little later when I find time to upload them.  Here a few from our day at Crab Island:

My really handsome hubby navigating the boat to Crab Island.

The honey and I in the water at Crab Island

THIS is paradise...for those of you not familiar with Destin, this is what is called "Crab Island".  It is this area just northwest of the bridge that separates Destin from Ft. Walton Beach that is really shallow...no more than 2-3 feet deep in most areas.  The area is HUGE and easily capable of a few hundred boats congregating around.  Everyone just anchors the boat, jumps out, and plays around in floats, drinks beer, etc.  The water is crystal clear and turquoise blue.  I recommend packing a few sandwiches and lots of beer and head out!

And since this is a food blog, here is my lunch one day (needed a break from the sun).  Those are mahi mahi tenders, gumbo, and hush puppies (Jay and I split all that-I didn't eat it myself)!  I eat hush puppies at every meal at the beach.  It is just one of those things I let myself splurge on.  This particular meal is from a FABULOUS little hole in the wall on the north side of Old Hwy 98 called Kenny D's.  Went there with my dad for years when it was called Wahoos.  I highly recommend it next time you're in the area.  Food is amazing!

Other places we ate were Bayou Bill's Crab House (shared a bucket of crab legs with new potatoes and corn on the cob here), the Tommy Bahama Restaurant (shared the fish tacos and a crab cake here), Dewey Destin (YOU MUST EAT HERE...had a crab cake basket with two crab cakes, fries, and hush puppies...this was clearly my major "splurge" meal), and Captain Dave's (this is my absolute favorite restaurant and I had the blackened mahi mahi with a twice baked potato and salad).  If you're wondering why I don't have the points listed, it is because I went on one little 4-night vacation and I didn't eat everything in sight, and I tried to make smart decisions, but I also let myself something if I wanted it.  Like I said earlier, I may pay for it at weigh-in Saturday, but I have some GREAT food memories from this trip!

Sorry this post is long, but I had a lot to cover!  Probably won't post again until next Monday.  I love reading your comments, though, so leave them if you feel so inclined!  : )