Pick Me Ups

Everyone has bad days. And if you are someone who never does, well then you are lucky.

But I’ve learned with grad school and teaching, there are some days that just truly suck. There is no better way to put it. But I have to find ways to work through them since I love what I do and others are depending on me to buck up.

One of Mr. A’s sweet things is that he will send me funny videos or pictures to cheer me up. Isn’t he a sweetheart?

I figured that this time of the year people are getting a little restless. The days are short. It’s cold. Summer is too far away. We don’t have Christmas to look forward too. We’re trying to lose some of the extra winter “heating” we’ve put on.

So I’ve decided to post some of my favorite videos or pictures to cheer you up. I’ve done it before and it always makes me smile.

End of Ze World!

 

Dom vs Hipsters

 

Funny Cats

 

Pencil VS Picture<—- Pretty cool images

 

The Closet Prank

 

Giant Water Balloon

 

Last but not least….

Gets me every time….

 

Hope you all have a great week!

End of the Summer

Again, I apologize for my terrible blogging. But it’s for a good reason this time.

I have been having a freaking blast finishing off my summer.

Wednesday was the last day of workshop. The sexual harassment session became its own beast and some issues within the department became evident, but that thing deserves its own post and I’m still waiting to find out about a few more things.

But, it was over. Thankfully. I learned a lot, but like any training time, lots of it could have been shortened and there was NO need for it to be a week and a half.

Despite training being long and boring, I have met some of the greatest people. I have made some fantastic friends who crack me up. My group leader was so nice and the big group leaders were thrown into their positions last minute, but they did a great job and I know if I have a question, they will be more than willing to help.

So, to continue the fun and to get ready for the school year, M and K came over to my apartment on Friday for a lesson planning party before heading out for the night.

We didn’t really get much lesson planning done. We DID create our blackboard accounts for our classes and filled in our gradebooks. We discussed a couple things and asked a couple questions, but we then decided we needed a Target trip. Target rules all.

M’s friends from home came down, so we all headed out to dinner then to get ready for the night. I was so excited to take them to my favorite bar. And hey, they had $6 mixed drink buckets on Friday nights. It was going to be an awesome and cheap night out.

Nope.

My all time favorite bar in Cville is under new management and no longer has their drink buckets. They no longer have their rail drink specials.

LAMEEEE

It was pretty much dead. All night. And that place used to be wall to wall packed by 9:30. Hopefully it picks up because the other bar options aren’t my favorite.

BUT. M and I decided to meet up with a couple of her other friends at the “undergrad bar”. It’s not only undergrads, but it’s 19 and up and it always has a much younger crowd. I had never been, but had heard about it.

I have never felt so old in my life. And I’m only 24.

We both were entirely too covered up and not drunk enough. Girls were in painted on dresses and I saw more butts and other things than I ever needed to see. We kept getting looked at like we were aliens since we weren’t showing all of our personal space to the bar.

But, it may have been the best place on earth to people watch. Holy cow. I know I didn’t act like that when I was in undergrad.

And…since when did mom jorts come back in? And I’m not talking about cute jean shorts. Full on mom jorts. We saw at least 4 girls wearing them. Ridiculous.

All in all, it was a good night. We’re fairly certain we will see some of these kids on our classes tomorrow. Which will be even more awkward for them since 99% of them will be freshmen and shouldn’t have had that beer in their hands anyways.

Saturday.

Oh Saturday.

We all headed to the best breakfast place around before heading out to go hiking. We didn’t know which trail we were going to do, but decided to do the moderate one which was a mile and then the rugged trail which was just over a mile.

First of all, this area of the state is SUPER hilly. You don’t think that when you think of us, but it is. Crazy hilly. The moderate trail was about to kill me because my legs were just killing me.

However, there was also some amazing sights. There are some cool rock formations and cliffs and we all had fun climbing all over the rocks. We saw the biggest daddy long legs that I have ever seen in my life. Pretty sure they have been living there since the dinosaurs and have just been chillin’.

Everyone still thought the rugged trail was a good idea. My legs were already sore and a little shaky, but I wasn’t about to be a party pooper, so I went with it. it was amazing until we came to these rock steps that went straight up for 100 yards. Pretty sure we all thought we were going to die.

And then I had the only injury of the trip when my foot slipped on some moss and my knee slammed into a rock. It’s all kind of scraped and bruised, but at least I got it doing something fun.

Then, the winery happened.

We all got cleaned up and headed to one of the best wineries around here. We live right in the middle of a huge wine trail and there are probably 20 different wineries within a 45 mile radius.

There were about 12 of us and we were all just joking and having a good time. A wedding was going on so we were having fun making fun of the absolutely horrific bridesmaid dress and the late guests that showed up. But the bride was stunning, and other than it being super hot, they had a pretty day for it all.

However, the outdoor area is on a slight hill. This is important to the story.

K was sitting next to me. She is a riot and we were making jokes and she likes to mimic people’s hand movements. The problem is that I tend to use my hands when talking as well, and we both motioned at the same time. She had her wine in her hand and I ended up making her spill her entire glass all over her shirt and side of her face.

I. Was. MORTIFIED.

I felt absolutely terrible and I was embarrassed. So what do you do when you’re embarrassed?

You start laughing uncontrollably. I was crying and we were all laughing.

And then it happened.

I leaned back a little while laughing and my chair fell backwards and my feet came up and over my head and I rolled down the hill.

Yes people.

I rolled down a hill. At a classy winery. While a wedding party was taking pictures feet away from us. Mind you, I was not even drunk.

I shall let you pause while you imagine this scene. (There were also about 200 other people outside enjoying the winery and the sun. )

I just laid there, on the ground, in the grass, laughing uncontrollably and dreading having to get up because then I would see all the people staring at me.

Our group was all crying laughing. I have never been so publically embarrassed in my life. My husband was considering possibly never taking me out in public again. I think K forgot that I just spilled wine on her since I had just rolled down a fucking hill at a winery.

I keep repeating it because I just can’t believe it’s true.

But I have the worst purple bruise on my arm to remind me.

So that was the end to my summer. I spent it with fun new friends. I explored our area a little more and made an ass of myself. Good end, no?

So tomorrow is my first day with the college kids. I’ve spent time figuring out how to look tough so that maybe they will fear me enough to do what I tell them to. I’m betting they figure me out by Wednesday. Here’s hoping I don’t fall in front of them!

The Other State

I thought this blog post would be one of the easier ones. I mean, I think trip posts are usually pretty easy to write. You say what you did. Tell funny stories. Done.

But there’s something about this trip that doesn’t seem to be coming out. I don’t know what all to say about the trip.

It was both a vacation and not all at the same time.

I guess it was a vacation for me, but Mr. A still had to work during the days, so I was left to finding things to do on my own and exploring a new city is not nearly as fun when you’re by yourself. I think maybe that’s why it didn’t feel like a vacation to me.

But I did have a good time.

I got there on a Thursday night and was pretty exhausted. I don’t like to fly and the stress just wears me out. We grabbed some dinner at a BBQ place close to his hotel and just kept it simple.

Since he worked during the days, I was going to take him to work and pick him up so that I could have the car during the day. Except I was fairly terrified of the driving there. I love driving in the city, but the drivers there think they are the only ones on the road and have no consideration for anyone else driving. No idea how there aren’t more accidents and that more people aren’t seriously injured. Mr. A basically had to Tokyo Drift down the highway one day so he wasn’t slammed into the guardrail.

Mr. A also didn’t know anyone there, so the whole time he was there, he didn’t do much, so when I showed up, I wanted to do some of the fun touristy things.

We went to the aquarium, which was really neat. They had a cool rain forest island with monkeys and other creatures and there wasn’t a barrier between you and them. The island was situated so that they couldn’t get out, but it was cool to feel like there was nothing stopping them from jumping over. They even had a sloth in a tree that, technically, was close enough you could touch and absolutely nothing stopping you from doing so other than sign that said “Do Not Touch the Sloth”.

They had some really cool fish and the shark tunnel is always fun to walk through. We also love sea turtles, and they had a couple huge ones. They also had penguins that were outside, which is just amusing since I always imagine penguins in the cold, not the 100+ degree weather.

The city is basically a lot of eating and shopping. We found some truly delicious restaurants. Ones that I am craving from home and so very sad that I can’t have it.

Of course, I went to Sprinkles Cupcakes more than I ever should admit to anyone. But ZOMG those things are the best cupcakes that I have ever had. Too bad their cake mixes you can buy have gotten bad reviews. I would give anything for one of their red velvet and a chocolate marshmallow. Nomzzzzzzzz

We also learned that this city has probably one of the highest concentrations of rich people, at least that I’ve ever encountered. Never seen so many Range Rovers and Panameras in one place. Also realized that a lot of the stores in the malls that I couldn’t even step foot in without them requesting to know my checking account balance. One day I can shop there, just not now.

And then we went to visit our friends in another big city in Other State, about 4 hours away.

We had a great time. I hadn’t seen them since January and it was great to spend time with really good friends for a weekend. A and Mr. A lived together for 3 years in college and P and I went to high school together. P and A got together about 6 months after Mr. A and I, so the 4 of us spent A LOT of time together. We talked about the fact that if we had to live with another couple, it would be them since we basically did it through most of undergrad.

P and I talked about their wedding plans for next fall. The boys were boys and talked about boy things. We just had a truly great time.

Too bad the trip had to end on a sour note.

We were heading to our car in the parking garage of their apartment complex. The garage is locked and you have to have a clicker to get in. Guests are supposed to park on the top level, sot hats where we parked. But when we got up there, we saw that someone had broken into our car.

They completely ripped out the window and some of his stuff was sitting on the ground around the car. Mr. A was so pissed off. I was mad and just didn’t know what to do. Mr. A has had one hell of a time since he’s been in Other State, and this was about the 4th thing to go wrong involving his car. Guy had only been there a month.

Thank heavens they didn’t steal anything other than an envelope of receipts he was keeping for tax purposes. And receipts don’t have full credit card numbers so it should be fine and I’m keeping an eye on our accounts.

We think they were either looking for drugs, a laptop, or a stereo system since they left all sorts of expensive things in the car. They left the gps and his expensive radar detector and hiking stuff worth well over $400 and other various things. They definitely went through everything and tore stuff apart.

So we got to drive 4 hours on the interstate without a window, which is pretty darn miserable. Luckily Mr. A’s boss was a saint and let us park the car in their garage since our other option was going to be taking turns hanging out in the car all night to make sure no one stole the whole car. I had to move my flight to the next day since we weren’t sure if we would get back in time. No real complaints about an extra day with the husband, but we spent 2 hours at the window place waiting while they replaced it. So happy Mr. A’s insurance covered it all or we would be out about $500. Insurance is awesome.

All in all, it was a good time. I was so very happy to see Mr. A and to get to spend some time with him. We missed each other and I know it was good for him to have someone there to get him out of that hotel room. We went to a ball game. We ate at delicious restaurants. We endured 100+ temperatures every single day.

I also got to meet some blog friends which was truly amazing. All three of them were great and I am so very sad that I don’t live closer so that we can hang out some more. I won’t say who because I don’t know how anonymous they are and I wrote all over Twitter where I was, so I will respect their privacy. (But ladies, you were all AMAZING and I hope one day we can meet up again. SO MUCH FUN!)

So that was Other State. I’m sure I’m missing something, but my brain feels like it’s a bit in a fog and I can’t quite think out this whole thing. I will write better. Probably about things that I have been seeing in educations systems that are ticking me off. Hello, soapbox!

Magic

Last night, I, along with some friends, lined up in front of the movie theater at 5pm to see the very last Harry Potter film.

We’ve had our tickets for weeks. We weren’t lining up to buy tickets. My mom did not understand the point in getting in line 7 hours early.

But everyone does it. Everyone wants the best seats. Everyone wants to be a part of the whole event. A movie like this isn’t just a 2 hour cinematic feature. It is an event.

This whole series has been unlike anything else for me.

I have read these books from the beginning. I waited in line at midnight for the release of the newest book. I would stay up until I finished the books because I couldn’t imagine going to bed without knowing what happened. I’ve reread them and found something new each time. I noticed mentions in the first book that become so important in the end. These books were written so well that I can’t believe she was able to weave such an intricate storyline that the first scene ties in with the end.

Call me a nerd. Fine. I’ll accept it. But I truly love this story.

And last night?

It was magical.

Anyone who has been to a midnight showing of a movie that they have been anxiously awaiting knows this feeling.

You can feel the excitement in the crowd. Every person there is just as excited as you are. There is a common thread running through all those hundred of people. People you wouldn’t normally talk to or interact with or think that you have anything in common with, these are the people you are bonding with.

You make so many friends while in line. You get to know those around you. People will share food and drinks and snacks. People will ask if you need anything when they run across the street to Wendy’s or the gas station for more snacks. People bring games and before you know it, 20 strangers are laughing and and joking while playing Taboo or Catch Phrase. One group even brought chalk and was decorating the sidewalk. They even played foursquare for a while. One group had a tent set up and grilled burgers for people who were towards the front of the line.

In this day when people are less willing to help strangers and you have to be more cautious, it’s events like this that show me there is still some good in people.

And then you finally get into the movie. Everyone is talking and antsy because we’ve been waiting hours for this to start. I normally get so nervous that the people around me are going to talk during the movie. It is my biggest pet peeve.

But as soon as the lights go down, everyone cheers and then a silence settles over the entire theater.

My favorite part of these midnight showings of movies that people know so much about is that when a bad guy dies, everyone cheers. When something happens to a favorite character, you can audibly hear everyone gasp. The entire audience laughs at jokes that maybe casual watchers wouldn’t catch or wouldn’t find it as funny.

And since this was a movie based off of a beloved book, we are all waiting for those scenes that are our favorites. We want to know how they put it together. Does it look like how we thought? Are the emotions portrayed how we expected? Are those lines that are so crucial kept in the script? (And let me say, King’s Cross, in my opinion, was spot on. I couldn’t have imagined it any better.)

It was so fun to clap and cheer with 300 other fans was amazing.

Yes, it was 2:30am before I got home, but there was so much adrenaline and excitement that it didn’t matter. Not once during the movie was I concerned with what time it was or felt tired. My eyes were glued to the screen. I watched through misty eyes during those scenes that just broke my heart. And for once, I was the only one crying in the movie. I could hear a girl behind me crying and I passed her some of my tissues.

I’m not doing justice to all of the emotions I had last night. I know that. I can’t seem to focus while writing this, but this has been such a big deal for me that I want to write this. No, I wasn’t one of the people that dressed up, but I definitely was just as excited on the inside as those people.

I’m a little sad that it’s all over. Actually, I’m really sad. Since I was 11, this has been a part of my life. For 13 years. That’s unreal.

So for now, I will relive last night. I will go see this movie a couple more times. I will reread the movies. And a part of me is very sad that I have no more Harry Potter to look forward to. Excuse me while I go cry in the corner. And look up how hard it is to take care of a snowy owl.

Favorite Summer Products

I am no fashion blogger or anything of the sort. I can appreciate pretty shoes and clothes, but until we have real money coming in, I will just have to stare from store windows and online catalogs.

This also applies to fancy makeup and beauty products. This girl here is balling on a budget. And I never know what things I actually need. Sephora and all its pretty things always lure me in, but then I get overwhelmed and leave.

But, I do have a few new summer products that I am LOVING right now and I thought I would share.

So, first up:

Sunblock.

And this Neutrogena Dry Touch Sunblock is amazing. I am a very pale girl, and by looking at my parents, I never had a chance. Which means I burn incredibly easy. Mr. A and I sat outside for lunch on the first warm day and my arms burned after no more than an hour. So when I was going to a baseball game during a 100 degree day and my seats were in the sun, I asked what sunscreen I could wear all day and not feel greasy and gross. A couple people mentioned this one and I am hooked. I put it on in the morning before I drove up and I felt fine all day. Even better? No burn after sitting in the direct sin for about 3 hours. Go buy some. You will love it.

This is Biolage Smoothing Gel.

In this Midwest humidity, my hair can get all kinds of crazy frizzy and this stuff helps a lot. It doesn’t make my hair feel like I have gel in and at least helps my hair maintain some smoothness and shape.

Add in this:

CHI Silk Infusion and my hair will still be shiny, smooth, and straight. And that is one heck of a feat for my hair. And the silk infusion also helps keep my hair looking great since I have to flat iron my hair.

Dove Ultimate Go Sleeveless

Folks. It’s hot. Like really freaking hot. Like heat warnings on the second day of June and oh my word what is August going to be like hot. And while we like to be all ladylike and think we just glisten, that no longer applies in 100% humidity. So yes, I sweat. But this deodorant is amazing and I love it. And it really does help make the underarms look better for all those tank tops and fun summer dresses. Never been so in love with a deodorant before.

Australian Gold Forever After Moisturizer

I found this lotion last year when I was tanning to get ready for the wedding and Mexico. I needed some color so I didn’t look like a ghost in all the wedding pictures and so I didn’t scorch the second I jumped off the plane in the Mexico sun. But since I burn so easily, I wanted to make sure my skin stayed moisturized and didn’t look like leather. Also, this lotion helps the tan stay longer. Even better? It doesn’t smell like coco butter because I HATE the smell of coco butter. It’s not greasy and I use it as my usual moisturizer. Even has some aloe in it for when I inevitably turn my shoulders into lobsters.

Nivea Kiss of Smoothness Chapstick

And I can’t forget about the lips. They burn just as easily and this stuff is amazing. Not sticky and goes on smooth. Even better, if I put it in before my lipstick, it just seems to make it look better.

And I love summer wedges. No, these aren’t fancy, or even my favorite ones, but I love that summer wedges can dress up an outfit. And heels always make legs look even better. Also, the perfect way to show off those fun summer pedicures.

 

So what are YOUR favorite summer products? What are your must-haves for the days in the sun and staying cool?

Something Fun

And we’re off on our crazy adventure of a summer.

Mr. A has worked very hard this semester. On top of backstabbings and general first year stress, Mr. A also had some pretty rough health problems flare up. I think he had something like 5 or 6 small surgeries/procedures where he had to be put under general anesthesia. And that’s not even counting the 8 hour night in the emergency room and the doctor’s visits and the general not feeling well for much of the first part of the semester.

I felt he deserved a small little token of my appreciation.

I bought him a couple of his favorite cigars and some crafts beers and took him out to dinner. I wanted him to have a couple days to relax before he headed to his first summer job.

Nothing too fancy. Nothing that was a big deal. Just something small.

But that’s not the only thing we have to celebrate.

On Memorial Day, May 30th, we will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary.

I have a whole post planned for it, but it has been one heck of a year. And, I think, we both deserve a little fun and celebration.

I had originally been planning maybe going to one of the local wineries and enjoying the sun. Maybe going to a nice dinner.

But this weekend, Mr. A surprised me. He said that we would be going to STL, getting a hotel room at one of the nicer ones downtown, going to a special dinner, and then going to a baseball game on that Monday, exactly as we did one year earlier. The fun of getting married around a holiday is getting extra days off to spend time together.

Since I had an e-mail with a discount to book a hotel through one of the booking websites, Mr. A asked me to book the room. He mentioned a couple hotels- one we’ve been to and loved, and another very nice one. I started looking at prices and upgrades and what was available. And then it hit me. Why not go back to the hotel we stayed at on our wedding night?

Through the travel site, the hotel was a little more than we were planning on spending. We may want to have a nice weekend, but we can’t just splurge and spend all our money on extravagant hotel suites.

I still wanted to see if it was possible, and lucky me, the hotel’s website had a special going on and I got the room for a deal.

So so so excited. The room and hotel was amazing. And now I have a surprise for Mr. A since he doesn’t know where we’re staying.

And one other little present.

Mr. A wears suits, or at least dress shirts and ties, every day for work and will do the same for his second externship. He dresses up nicely and actually prefers dress shirts to anything else. So I ordered him some brass shirt stays and had them engraved. Nothing big, but something so he knows how much I love him.

That’s our fun for now. I have no idea where we’re going for dinner since Mr. A wants to surprise me with that detail. I think he’s just thrown that I won’t tell him where we’re staying.

P.S. We’re also getting breakfast in bed on Monday.

P.P.S. Also can’t wait to eat our wedding cake! (Hope it’s still good. It sure was delicious last year!)

P.P.S.S. Wishing we were going back to Mexico, but maybe next year…

Tidbits

I feel like lots has been going on, but when I sit down to write, nothing happens. I stare. I write 5 sentences and blank out.

For the past month I’ve been having a hard time blogging. I feel like I don’t have a lot of free time. I may not have to take work home with me, but I do have long shifts, and when I get home I want to spend time with Mr. A, but all of you have become friends and I want to catch up. So I’ve been sticking to Twitter and haven’t been as good as writing on here. I’m going to work on it though.

But, to start me off, here’s just a little bit of random tidbits of everything going on lately:

— Work. Well. It’s work. Yes, I still hate the job, but I am working really hard on not whining about it all over the internet and having a better attitude about it in general. I really do like my boss and I like most of the people I work with. They are fun and most of them aren’t really thrilled with how our store manager is trying to do things, so at least there’s some camaraderie. Also, I have a blog post in the works about my day of learning about bras and how to best fit “the girls”. Hilarity will ensue. Or so it did.

— Grad school. Welp. I’m officially applied. Which might be more nerve wracking than not being applied. When I met with the head of the department, I had actually missed the deadline by 2 days. But, he was super nice and said as long as I got it in within the next two weeks, I would be fine since they would be picking their PhD students first. I finished it and turned it in within less than a week. Which I’m hoping will help me. Also, had a bit of a problem with getting my letters of recommendation. They wanted 3, so I sent an e-mail to 4 professors as a backup to ensure at least 3 responded. 2 responded right away, but it was 2 days and I hadn’t heard from them, and since I was on a severe time crunch, I had to go with my plan C- getting a letter from my student teaching supervising instructor. She loved me, and as long as I had 2 professors, I was hoping I would be good. So, she said yes, and then one of the other professors got back to me and said he would. So long story short, I have 4 recommendations. Hope they don’t mind. But the last professor was the head of my program and my adviser, so I thought it would look good.

— I need a pedicure. In the worst kind of way.

— Mr. A and I decided to go to my hometown for Superbowl. After some huge drama and backstabbing from some of his classmates, we didn’t really want to go to his friend’s house for a Superbowl party. I kept joking that it was because if I had one too many, I would probably go off on a couple people and we don’t need that. But, we knew that if we were in town and just at home, it would look bad. So, we headed north and used the excuse of family. We had an excuse and a MUCH better time. We got to spend time with my family, which included my wonderful brother. (Last night, I wrote a blog post that was basically a dating ad for him. HA! It was pretty amusing.) We had drinks, yummy snacks, and the Packers won. I’m totally a playoff fan. I don’t really follow football and our team wasn’t in it, so yeah. But, the company my dad works for is based in Green Bay and has some stake in the team, Mr. A graduated high school with a guy who kicks for them, and I like green. So, I picked them. And I can become pretty competitive and involved once I pick a team. Even if they end up losing, for that game, I am wholly involved and cheering for them.

— Last week was a bit of a flop on the diet. I didn’t gain, but I don’t know that I lost much. But, getting back on track this week. Also, hoping this week it warms up a little so I can get back out and run.

— New sunglasses. I needz them.

— Also, real running shoes. Brands to check out? Avoid? Places to shop- especially if it saves me any money??

— Mr. A got an iPhone 4 this weekend. His Blackberry had been slowly dying and since he was due for an upgrade, he went all out. However, 10 minutes after leaving the store, it had turned itself off 3 times. We went back, and the guy said for us to sync it with iTunes and charge it all night to see if that helps. Next morning, it spazzed out. So, he returned it and he got a new one. He’s had 2 iPhones in 3 days. Lucky kid.

— Puppy. I needz one of those also. Airedale and a Scotty. Yes, please, and thank you.

— GLEE last night?!?! I know, I know not the best episode ever, but at least it’s back! I think I’m just so excited for new episodes that I’m okay with it not being perfect. And more of Santana and Artie singing please. Also, bring back Kurt. I miss him. He just won an award. We need to be seeing more of him. And it better be on tomorrow’s episode.

— I discovered that all of GREEK and Grey’s Anatomy is now on Netflix Instant Streaming, so I have two shows I plan on watching in their entirety. I watched GREEK for a while, but then didn’t have cable, so missed the last 2 seasons. I’ve never seen Grey’s. I would catch an episode here and there, but never knew the storyline so I wouldn’t know what was going on and would just turn it off. After so much talk about it, I figure it’s time for me to watch. Especially since I think all the seasons so far are on Netflix and I can just watch back to back. Yes, my life is THIS exciting.

— Baseball season. YES! On to hoping the Cubs are as sucktacular as usual and that the Cards go all the way. I love baseball because it means summer. No more of this snow crap.

Miss you all. I’m working on getting back to commenting on yours. 

My Personal Trip Advisors

Ever think you want to be more involved? Here’s your chance!!

I need your trip advice. All of it. After you spill to me your juicy insights, I want you to need to research to learn any new tips because you gave them all to me. Intense.

But what is this all for you ask?

Well, this May is a big month for Mr. A and I. It’s not only the end of 1L year for my hardworking husband, but it’s also our first wedding anniversary. And I think both of these deserve some sort of celebration or such.

Also, it’s 5 months away, so a good amount of time for me to lose a good chunk of weight by then if I can stick to my better eating and workout plan. So lot of incentive for me.

Here’s where you come in.

I NEED HELP!! I don’t know where to go!

I have all sorts of ideas on my head.

Chicago. NOLA. San Diego. Back to Mexico. Gulf Shores. Somewhere in South Carolina. Galveston. Las Vegas. Seattle.

See? Too many choices.

I want to go somewhere fun. Lots of things to do, but I’m leaning towards somewhere with a beach or some pretty fantastic pools, like Vegas.

We have been to Chicago before and we loved it. We love the museums and walking around Michigan Ave and just how much was offered. Also, some fantastic restaurants. And while there is a beach, it doesn’t seem super easily accessible since we would have to get back on the El after being wet and sweaty and such, since we would probably take the train up (done it before-wasn’t too bad) and wouldn’t have a car. It would also be a good chunk of money since you have to pay for basically everything there.

I thought of Vegas since I found some absolutely fantastic deals on rooms in nice casinos and the casinos should have some nice pool areas to lounge in. I went with my dad when I was 16 and had a blast, but I would like to go now that I’m 21 and can go to the clubs and actually walk around the casino floors. We aren’t big gamblers, so that’s not the draw for us. We would rather do the other fun things. However, I think other than the rooms, everything is really pricey there, including restaurants and shows and such.

I thought Gulf Shores or somewhere in South Carolina since there are nice beaches, and if we could get a condo on the beach, we could get some groceries and eat in most of the time and only go out some nights to save money. And while I want a beach, I’m not sure these places offer a whole lot else to do which might be a problem. We love the beach, but we like to do other things as well. I’m not on expert on either place, so please, any extra details you know would be wonderful.

Neither of us has been to NOLA. And I think it would be amazing. I think we would both love the cemetery tours and seeing old places. We both love good food and I’ve heard that there are just fantastic restaurants there. I’m no geography buff, and I’m being lazy and not looking it up, but not sure if NOLA has beaches/close to the area?

Galveston came up in my mind since a good friend of ours is moving to Houston, today actually, and I think Galveston is about an hour South, so maybe he and his fiancé could come down for a couple days as well. I know NOTHING about Texas or the area and I’m not sure if Galveston has nice beaches or is a fun place to visit?

San Diego would be amazing. My dad took me there for my high school graduation trip and it was just amazing and I think Mr. A would love it too. I learned how to surf while I was there, so I could show off my sweet skills (yeah right!) and we could enjoy the beach. The only thing I’m coming across is that it seems pricey to stay there. Also, it would be a little too far to drive, but doesn’t seem like a place with trains/subway to get around like Chicago, so a rental car might be a necessity, but we aren’t 25, so not even sure if that’s allowed.

Now, I mentioned Mexico. Seems like if I’m trying to save money Mexico would be way off my list? Not so much. We found while researching for our honeymoon last year, that if you are willing to wait to book it until really close to your vacation date, you can get a steal on an all-inclusive resort INCLUDING airfare. Also, we fell in love with Mexico while we were there. We were in the Mayan Riviera and it was paradise. Also, ALL food AND drinks were included. And while we took an excursion one day, there was enough to do that it wouldn’t have been a necessity.

I have also considered a cruise since I’ve seen some really good prices and it might be possible to drive to the port city so we weren’t also paying for airfare. Priceline offers free hotel nights depending on the length of the cruise, so that would help as well. However, while food is included, drinks aren’t and doing things when at port can be expensive, so not sure if that’s the best option.

So, I need some advice. Also take into consideration that we are in the Midwest, so costs would include wither flight or if it would be feasible to drive there and all that jazz. We would be willing to drive to Galveston or NOLA, but San Diego or Seattle would be a little much. What is there to do and will it cost an arm and a leg to have fun? Where have you been and loved? Any places I should consider that I haven’t?

And if you’re new to the blog and haven’t commented, here is the perfect time when I’m not wallowing in self-pity. haha 🙂

Annnnnd…GO!

Old Fashioned

First, thank you for all of the support. You all are amazing. You wouldn’t believe how excited I was when I got home Tuesday night. I had a long shift at work and was tired, but I read those comments and words of encouragement and I was invigorated. I still am. I’m starting my running/walking workout on Sunday. I think it might be slow going for a little while because 1. I’m not a runner and 2. still get rundown pretty easy from this mono junk, but my schedule next week should be pretty conducive to working out, so I’m looking forward to it.

Did you read that?  I’m looking forward to a workout. And I think I have you to thank. I know I’m not alone. Also, I don’t want to let anyone down. And yes, I’m still doing this for me, but having another level of accountability helps. Also, Katie from the Overflowing Brain put out a food challenge and I have taken her up on it. Yet another goal. I plan on writing a post about all my goals for this process. Mr. A has upped the ante on me and I’m excited!!

 

Anyways….

Last night Mr. A and I had a little date night.

I had to work until 8, and he had been in my home city shadowing a judge for an assignment from law school. (It was the judge that married us, also my best friend’s dad, the best friend (boy) that was in our wedding. So he basically got to have an awesome time in court with a great guy. Jealous.) I had asked Mr. A if he wanted to have a date night since I would be off today, therefore not needing to go to bed early, and he of course said yes. So then I told him that he had to plan it and it had to be a surprise.

I sometimes feel like I’m the one always planning things, so I wanted to be surprised. He did a good job.

I didn’t know if we would be going anywhere or just staying at home, but when I came in after work, he had on khakis and a polo and told me to change. He took me to my favorite Thai restaurant in town and it was oh so very delicious. I think I could eat Thai food everyday if I was allowed. Yummmmmm

We had a beer, delicious spring rolls, I got a new noodle dish and he had a delicious and spicy pineapple rice dish. And, sticking with my new better eating routine, I only ate half and got the rest to-go. Which made a yummy lunch today, that wasn’t too much food and I got to experience the dish for one more day.

After dinner, I asked if we were doing anything else. Our money is a little tight, so I was just thrilled with going out to dinner as our date night. But he took me to Schnuck’s and let me pick out any movie from the Redbox. He was originally going to take me to see Black Swan, but I’m going to see that with some girl friends this afternoon, and there aren’t many other movies out that we wanted to see, so Redbox it was. He was even going to watch any romantic movie I wanted.

Lucky for him, Easy A wasn’t sold out, so I picked that one. We’ve seen it before, but it was when it first came out and I’d already forgotten some of the story line.

Probably going to be a movie I have to buy because I LOVE it. So funny and honest and not the typical teen movie. And hello new girl crush on Emma Stone. I told Mr. A I wanted her hair color from the movie and he said he thought it would look good. I will probably come to you with pictures before I jump into that, but yeah. Great movie.

He also bought some Clementines at the store to make me my new favorite drink. He made it up over Christmas at my dad’s when I wanted something fruity, but not overly sweet and the only fruit my dad had were Clementines. So, he juices a couple of the yummy fruit, adds vodka and diet tonic water. It’s amazing.

So we spent the night with olive oil popcorn, a good movie, a few drinks and it was perfect.

Can’t wait for our next date night.

What do you do for date nights? Stay home? Go out?

He’s On My List

You know the joke. Couples have the list of celebrities that their significant other is allowed to cheat on them with. It’s funny and amusing.

Mr. A’s: Natalie Portman (even bald in V for Vendetta), Katy Perry, Ellen Page, and Lea Michele.

**I just realized all of them are dark haired, a little darker skinned, a little exotic looking. And the total opposite of me. Hmm. I’ll try not to focus on that. ha

I have a list. Not always typical. I love Dennis Quaid, Ryan Reynolds, Adam Sandler (more to go grab a beer with), John Krasinski.

And Ben Folds.

I don’t necessarily want to sleep with him, but if he could just sing to me and be his funny, uncensored self? I’d be sold. I really would have loved to have “The Luckiest” as our wedding song, but that wouldn’t really have been in our wedding singer’s repertoire. And it wouldn’t have been as good as him, so no point trying. Now if he sang at our wedding… Can I get a redo and invite him???

I have been a fan of his since he was in Ben Folds Five. There is just something about his voice that I love. I think his songs are great and I could just listen to his music for hours.

 

He is from Nashville, which is about 2 hours away from my undergrad. He did a show at my school my junior year. I was so freaking pumped because 1. Ben Folds would be at my undergrad 2. my school NEVER had good people come unless it was a country person. Or John Mayer and the tickets were so effing expensive and then he only played for 37 minutes. Screw you John Mayer. or 3. Because my dad was AMAZING and got us second row seats.

So, the opening band played, and they were good, but was anxious for Ben. Now, just to remind you, he’s from Nashville. It’s SUPER easy to get from Nashville to my school. Since he had a show in ugrad town, he decided to make a doctor’s appointment for that day since he wouldn’t have far to go for the show. Somehow, he and his wife got lost from Nashville to school. No idea how, but they did.

His concert team was great. They gave out free stuff and all that jazz. They kept us updated on where they were. Mr. A was a little perturbed because he figured Ben would show up late, play for like 30 minutes and leave since he was late.

Well, two and a half hours later… he showed up. And not only did he apologize a BILLION times, he played as long as he would have had he been on time. So it was nearly a 2 hour show. Even better? He improved an entire song about our school.

Part of the song he improved for us. And yes, he does say “there’ll be no beer at the BP station.” Oh going to college in a “moist” county blows. (Sorry it’s not a great video. Best one I could find…)

One of my all time favorite concerts. He’s fun. He doesn’t censor himself, which I’m a fan of. He puts on one hell of a show live. Just wonderful.

And now he’s on the NBC show “The Sing Off”. I’m a new fan of the show and I love that one of my faves, who wasn’t always mainstream, is getting some more popularity.

Maybe I can covert a few of you as well. 😉