Text pictures have been traded while my dear wife Karen is enjoying her annual Girls Getaway on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
How could you concentrate on dinner, dear?
From the south, a sunset during dinner. Gorgeous.
From left: Georgia, Karen, Cathy, MIchelle and Chris.
Another night, another happy dinner. Equally beautiful.
And I am grateful to receive these as I am typing blogs and comments and reading the same on my iPad Air. OK, watching the Mets, too.
Meanwhile, heading back from the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Syracuse from my iPhone 6 I muster from the porch one morning …
Hey, Ma, Da won’t be as nice to me when you’re not around! No, really!!
I know my dear will want to see Ellie B looking happy. Our beloved rescue mutt is doing her thing, but misses half the attention in her life these days.
I’ll look better at the airport, promise, my dear wife.
As for me, I swear I did not stage this shot to look as pathetic as possible. It came before my morning jolt of joe in the cup the size of my head. I hadn’t yet used the Sonic Care to brush my teeth. And …
Karen returns tomorrow. The laundry will be done.
Does your significant other go on a getaway, and if so, how do you fare? Do you take good selfies or bad selfies, and what’s the trick? Does your pet like to pose for pictures, and if so, what’s your favorite?
Mark Bialczak 
poor poor pitiful you Mark 🙂 you look so forlorn. It’s hard to be away from the one we love – especially when the laundry needs to get done! My husband hates it when I have gone away for a mere 2 days overnight- it’s lonely!
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Yes, indeed, Lisa. I got the laundry done and the house looked perfect for MDW Karen’s return. That was not pathetic at all. 🙂
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According to my teen, while 10yo and I were gone this past week, my dog Freedom moped. When we returned last night, he about had a heart attack do to happiness! What can I say, our dog has good taste 😀 You’re learning to weather these separations like a champ, Mark…but you never want to weather them to well, right?! Welcome home, Karen 😀
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Yes, you can’t be too happy during the separation, Angie McFly! You have to be more like the dogs Freedom and Ellie B. 🙂 ❤
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Obviously Ellie B looks pettable and squeezable as usual. The peacock earrings are the bomb.
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That dog knows how to get it done, Kerbey.
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I love the first one 🙂
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Thank you, Leyla. That’s a nice one, dear friend, yes. 🙂
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Some of my friends go off with sisters while husbands go off to golf. My friend, Nsncy, loves historical tours while her husband likes to go on tavern tour us at night to hear jazz and blues with her brother on law and guy friends, days golfing down south.
Mark, I think separation keeps life sports y and interesting. Glad you know who she is with since they seem like a great group of women. You had t.v. dinners last year, if memory serves (?!) Indulge in some kind of thing to enjoy yourself. No feet on the table, ha ha! 🙂
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I keep my feet on the recliner, where they belong, Robin. Yes, you have a good memory. TV dinners last year. 🙂 Step up this year. Ha. 😉
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I hope she’s enjoying our beautiful State !
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Yes, she is, my friend.
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Thank God I’m the full team here bro Mark. If I don’t want to comb my hair (meaning I forget) then I don’t worry about it. And if someone has the nerve to knock at my door they deserve what they see when I open it, unless they have called to let me know they are coming. This usually discourages further impromptu visits from the sane ones, and teaches me to check the peephole before opening the door the next time.
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Well, they get what they deserve, is Angie. 😮
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OBX is truly beautiful…and looks like a fun group there. I’m all in favor of the “ladies getaway”; have done it quite a bit in my life. ☺ I’d say I’m catching up on my WP Reader, but I’m really here to avoid the Phillies getting handled by those pesky Mets, Mark. Ouch ???
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My Mets are on a roll, Van. Sorry your Phils are in the way. Ouch, indeed.
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It’s been rough this year…but now, we can watch all the teams our favs were traded to…LA, Texas, Toronto…the only bright spot. ☺
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Chase Utley to LA. Ouch. And he’s a Mets killer for us to face in the playoffs now, thinking of it selfishly. I have to, Van. We make the playoffs once a decade. 😮 There, I’ve jinxed us but good now.
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I’m just glad it’s not Atlanta ! ☺
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Me, too, Van. 🙂
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Yay she’s coming home Mark – hope she had a wonderful time and I hope you did as well! ❤
Diana xo
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Thanks, Diana. The time went by fast for my dear wife, I have a feeling!
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I’m sure you will look happier when that mug sees her face. 🙂 And yes mine goes on trips with his college buddies. And he sends me pictures of HUGE foods. I could send him a picture of my toast I suppose. 🙂
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Ha! A toast for you, MBC. ❤
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aw, it’s sweet and i’m happy you’re missing your love, mark. when mg is gone, i miss him much ))
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That is sweet for you and MG, Beth. 🙂 I’m glad to hear that report from Michigan, my friend.
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What a beautiful place for your beautiful wife and her friends to visit! I love Girls Getaways! 🙂
Ellie B is so cute! I have a 6 year old Shorkie named Cooper! And he is a good poser for photos! 🙂
My SO goes with his guy friends on trips and I encourage him to! I actually enjoy some alone-time once in awhile! 🙂
YAY on you getting the laundry done for your wife’s return! You should clean the house, too! Oh, and fix her a Welcome Home dinner! HA! Or have I gone over the line here?!?! 😉 😛
HUGS,
Carolyn 🙂
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I will have things ship-shape for MDW Karen’s return, Carolyn. 🙂 Maybe we’ll go out for dinner. 😉 You and your SO seem to have a good thing going on. 🙂
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Yes, take her out for a nice dinner!
Well, I don’t want to control anyone’s life, so I want him to be able to enjoy time with his guy pals. I know men who’s wives always tell them “no” when they want to buy something or go out with friend. I refuse to be thank kind of person. 🙂
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I’m with you. I don’t believe that’s the path for a good relationship, either.
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She’s nearly home!
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One day away, Vonita. Talked to her on the phone, even, this afternoon. 🙂
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I literally cannot take a selfie to save my life, so it’s fortunate that my partner and I don’t vacation separately. I occasionally send him cute dog pictures when he’s at work and I’m at home frolicking about, and he sends me pictures so I can check up that he’s doing the chores properly.
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Mid-day photos of frolicking and chore-doing! Interesting trades, Jay. 🙂
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It looks like you’re doing just fine! I am always amazed at my friends who go away and must leave premade dinners in the freezer with explicit instructions, then get umpteen phone calls on where things are within the house. Makes me wonder if their other half actually lives there or just views it as a hotel:). You’re doing stellar! A modern man indeed . . .
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No instructions necessary, Kay. It’s just the company that I’m missing. 🙂 Thank you for your kind words, modern woman. 😉
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Love the OBX, where is she staying at? Plus I just picked up chunky Colon on my fantasy baseball team for an emergency start tonight he better wax the Phillies!
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He better wax ’em, Skippah! And I’m not giving out exact location of the ladies to keep ’em safe. Not from you. In general. 😮
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Understandable
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Is Karen in Ocracoke? I love that island!!! We had such fun there. I never go away on trips unless the boys are with me, then we just leave my husband home with the dogs, the fish and Shirley, the turtle. Coming home after the end of the day is like a vacation for me, it is so peaceful out on our patio with the trees (looking rather poorly this year) and the dogs. Think if I was going to go away – I would go over to the ocean for a week and write a book, just me and my laptop. That would be great!!!!!
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No, mainland, SD. Now you go and write that book with a peaceful setting! 🙂
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My husband and I haven’t taken individual vacations in quite sometime but we really don’t need to. As soon as I come home from work at 3, he’s off to work until midnight, comes home after I’m asleep, and we don’t even get the same days off. I have to say, it isn’t easy functioning as if you are a single mother but I’m grateful for his help when I can get it.
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Yow, Marissa. Ships passing in the day AND night. Ouch, you two.
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Yeah, it can be tough.
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The question I have is what do you have in your fridge?
The first time I went over to The Boffin’s house for dinner, he had everything he needed to make the meal, but the only things he had in the fridge was beer and cheese. I remember the cheese being a good quality European cheese, but it was still beer and cheese.
Have you stooped that low?
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I have lots of stuff in the fridge, Karen. Veggies and cheese and cold cuts and the real deal. Milk. Half and half. Eggs and butter. Baby carrots.
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I think it’s great that Karen gets away. When I was married, Marie used to go to her parents for a few weeks every summer without me – actually I drove he down and then came back to work. She also traveled a fair bit for her work too but that wasn’t really a vacation for her. Initially she was responsible for making all of Canada Post’s retail outlets handicap accessible. Every town and county in Canada has their own bylaws regarding accessibility – including very literally the actual legal measurements and construction of ramps, doorways, etc. This required quite a bit if supervision to make sure it was done right so she had to travel some for that. Then she was in retail training and would often go away for 3 or 4 days to give a training session.
I think that is healthy Mark. I must say, you do look down in your selfie. Cheer up! Karen will be back shortly.
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Yes, it is healthy for us, Paul.
I was looking that way because it was a 7 a.m. pre-coffee shot. 😮
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Well for goodness sake Terp don’t look so down and out?! LOL Its good for you to bachelor it every now and then! To be honest I do not personally need girls time away-we have so much company coming soon (MY BFF and her family, too) that I am rather content right here on my Ocean paradise! We enjoyed going to the Georgia Mountains to my in-laws other (new) home (and treehouse) so it feels like getting away?! The Gatorette…now get on that laundry!!!
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I’m OK, Gatorette. Tonight’s my golf league!
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Right, be safe, careful, have fun, leave plenty of water for Ellie B, secure the itty nitty and have at it! Gatorette
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Yes to all, Gatorette. Thank you. 🙂
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Well…With YDW Karen off I must be the surrogate step-in for you Terp! LOL
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The husband was away a lot when the children were growing up since his retirement he does not go away as much, but I love it and I enjoy every second of me time. I have never had many get always but when I do he does well and enjoys his time to the full.
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Good times for you two, Willow. I’m not saying I’m stomping my feet and pouting, mind you. Just being honest and having a little fun with it. 🙂
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I am sure you are quite capable but that’s not to say you’re not missing Karen ! And that’s just how it should be. 😉
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That group of women definitely looks like trouble. Wish I were there with them!
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You would fit right in, CM. And I think in the talking sessions, they would help you come up with great plans for your neighbors. This I know from time spent with these great people and reading your tales, my friend from up here.
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Ha, ha. I’m in.
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This pic does remind me of puppy dog eyes!
I take decent selfies, but so much depends on light. I’m so pale sometimes my face disappears, and then if the light is too dim, I get a lot of shadows and look ghoulish or strung out.
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Yeah, but you’re natural beauty wins the day, Joey. 😉 That photo of you and The Mister on your anniversary post is magazine-worthy.
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Sweet, Mark, thanks 🙂
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Well, I’m speaking my truth here, Joey … 🙂
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You’ve got me laughing here, cuz. You really do look like your tail is between your legs, you poor thing. No java, laundry that must be done, AND missing your dear wife. That’s a triple whammy! Don’t worry, Ellie B and you will be feeling so much better when your better half comes home. (smile) ❤ cuz from the east ❤
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You’d think that Friday-to-Thursday would be a piece of cake by my age, Amy Rose. Ha!
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Nope, there is no age limit when it comes to LOVE, cuz. I’d say you have a bad case of the LOVE BUG. Hehehehe Oh, poor baby!!! ❤ ❤ ❤
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Yes, I do, Amy Rose. ❤
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Consider yourself fortunate, my friend. And for heavens sake, pick your chin from off your shoes and SMILE. You are LOVED. ❤
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Got it, Amy Rose. Thank you, cuz! ❤
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There you go!! I bet you feel better all ready! I’m always saying to hubby SMILE you will feel better …. no more said there. LOL Now you will have a truly glorious day as you go throughout every moment with that famous smile of yours in place!!! I’m smiling for YOU! ❤
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