Spin Cycle- Favorite Post

Before I get to my Spin for the week, I want to give a special shout-out to Manic Mommy. She is another awesome blogger that I met Saturday night (that I forgot to put in my BlogHer recap). I went up to her and was like, "I won a contest from you... It was a prize for moms, but since I'm not a mom, you got me a ton of fun stuff"... and she TOTALLY remembered it!! She was one of the first blogs I lurked, and continued to lurk until just recently (read: yesterday)... And if you didn't see it already around the blogosphere, here is the adorable pic of Manic, Shopgirl, and I from Saturday night.
P.S. That Boa? Hot as all get-out. I tried to give it to Manic. She gave it back...

And now for my spin: Which was actually another Spin. I'm not sure if it's truly my best post ever, but I had so much fun putting it together. I'd never done a photo-post before and just had a great time (my adorable subject helped, I'm sure)!! Here we go:

When I heard that the Spin Cycle topic this week was Celebrity, I thought... "Great!! I can tell them about the time I saw Steven Tyler walking into the mall!"
And then I remembered... that's the gist of the story. There he was. He walked into the mall, I followed him (not follow-follow. I was literally walking in behind him). He turned left, I turned right. That was it.

And can I just say, I don't get the whole Steven Tyler vibe. How is this man considered sexy? Can someone explain it????

So there's my spin. Weeks between posts and that's all I've got.

Or is it?!?!?!?!?

As most (all 5) of you know, I had the distinct and amazing pleasure of meeting the Spin Cycle Queen, Sprite's Keeper (who's real name is Jen, and apparently shouting SK!!!!!!!!!! at the top of your lungs when you see her? Isn't super effective.)

And on the subject of shouting names... As we drove through Tampa, I stuck my head out the window and shouted, "HI CASEY!! WHEREVER YOU ARE!!!!" She said she heard it. She thought I was strange for yelling her name out the car. I thought she was strange for being on a ladder at 8:00 at night. :) Love ya, Casey!

So anyways, though the amazing Jen, is pretty famous, no one in the blogging world is more famous (in my opinion) than this one....

Yep. It's who you think it is.... SPRITE!!!! (I know her real name, but I'm not telling!!!)
So, when I first met Sprite, I of course, like any other fan, wanted to take pictures... but this girl is used to paparazzi and dodged my every effort:But I'm sneaky. And once I got her playing, well, I got some money shots.

The photo above was her practice look. She zigged and zagged and then suddenly, she was gone! We started looking and I found her... she had taken off. Now, Jen thinks she was heading to the fountain to lose her scent. I believe she just planned to run into Coach to grab a new handbag. Either way, I sprinted after her. I'm no Colepack. I don't sprint... but I did it for her. I think she also may have been practicing her getaway maneuvers. You know, paparazzi and all...

Sprite and I became good friends that day, as Jen and I did a few days prior. She even gave me some kisses (Jen, I totally won't sue if I get sick after she started coughing... swear.) Here's a shot of the new friends, Dee and Sprite...

The shot above.... Sprite, these are the photos you want to avoid being taken in the future.

But don't worry. We know you were just moving the hair out of your face...

I So Didn't Belong... (A Random Blogher Post All Wrapped Up And Tied With a Crooked Uneven Bow)

How many of you watch cheesy teen chick flicks? Let me see, raise your hands... higher... higher... higher? Ok. So it is just me.

Well, in most of these movies, there's that one girl who's in the popular crowd, but really shouldn't be. They keep her around because she makes them feel good... for whatever reason.
That was me this past Saturday night.

Thanks to the incredibly stylish and gorgeous (inside and out) Stiletto Mom, we got in to the coolest party ever! This one, hosted by this fabulous woman. It was in the top floor of her apartment building, but we spent most of the night on the roof.
You can probably look at any of the other 30 (or so) guests' posts and see a better picture. A photographer? I am not.

But anyways, so we're sitting in a circle, and she suggests we go around the circle and introduce ourselves. Which is probably fine if you're, you know, cool, and have a lot of readers, and have posted more than 2 times in the last 3 months. But I'm not one of those people. I really hit a slump and just hadn't figured my way out of it yet. But we did. And then we sat around and talked for hours! I think meeting this incredible blogger was the most fun. She said people always think she's so sweet when she totally isn't. That's a lie. She's adorable!

I was in the company of her, and her, and her. How could I not feel like a total nobody!! But I really didn't. They were all so funny and inclusive.

Even though I totally went all Superfan and asked for a picture with Jen Lancaster. She's so gracious, and agreed. Aren't we cute?

It was definitely the coolest party ever. And the next morning, we kept saying we couldn't believe we were at this awesome rooftop party with Jen Lancaster! And Poppy! And Allison Worthington!! So fun, and definitely the highlight of all of our weekends'.

Shopgirl and I had later flights out on Sunday and had planned to tool around the city. We bumped into Amo before we left the hotel and her flight was later too. So the three of us spent about 3 hours walking around the city until we realized it was freakin' hot and we'd never see enough. So we dropped $28 and went on an Architectural Tour of the city, via the River. It was a great boat tour. We saw everything, took tons of pictures, and didn't have to walk!!!!
Then we headed back to the hotel, grabbed our luggage, and went to the airport. I was the first to take off, so we had some food and said our goodbyes. P.S. Amo is wearing the hat, because MaryAnne told her she didn't look good in just a pony tail. No lie.OH!!! Fun story. As we were dining Saturday night (check out that pic and be totally jealous of all the cool people I had dinner with) Amy and I were chatting and learned that her in-laws live right near me!! She'll be coming to visit later this year and hopefully we'll meet up again!!

So there was my fun weekend. It was incredible meeting all these wonderful people face to face. They are all truly charming and delightful. I have been re-motivated to blog and tweet... catch ya around the blogosphere. And see you at BlissDom!! :)

Congratulations, Bubba

Tomorrow my baby brother is getting married. I'm not saying a toast at his wedding but I thought I would share with you the toast in my heart. He reads my blog so at some point he'll hopefully see it.
Bubba, I have called you that since you were 3 or 4. I don't know why... But you allowed it so it continued....
Because you're 8 years younger than me, we used to always talk about our life before you. But our life with you has been so much better.
I have loved watching you grow into the man you are today:
From tickling you till you cried, to crying on your shoulder.
From being your Youth Counselor (sorry I was always harder on you) to being a Youth Counselor with you.
From hearing about your first real crush (I never liked E) to watching you fall in love with your bride-to-be.
I love that people have thought us twins, and not just because I assume they think I'm your age and not the other way around.
I love how important your family, especially R and I has been to you. We are both so incredibly proud of you and I'm sorry that we mothered you more than mom ever did!!
So on your wedding day, I wish you and L all the love in the world. You are a wonderful couple and it is an honor and privelege to stand up for you on your wedding day, and a true joy to call you my brother.
Congrats, N & L. I love you both!

Congratulations, Bubba

Tomorrow my baby brother is getting married. I'm not saying a toast at his wedding but I thought I would share with you the toast in my heart. He reads my blog so at some point he'll hopefully see it.
Bubba, I have called you that since you were 3 or 4. I don't know why... But you allowed it so it continued....
Because you're 8 years younger than me, we used to always talk about our life before you. But our life with you has been so much better.
I have loved watching you grow into the man you are today:
From tickling you till you cried, to crying on your shoulder.
From being your Youth Counselor (sorry I was always harder on you) to being a Youth Counselor with you.
From hearing about your first real crush (I never liked E) to watching you fall in love with your bride-to-be.
I love that people have thought us twins, and not just because I assume they think I'm your age and not the other way around.
I love how important your family, especially R and I has been to you. We are both so incredibly proud of you and I'm sorry that we mothered you more than mom ever did!!
So on your wedding day, I wish you and L all the love in the world. You are a wonderful couple and it is an honor and privelege to stand up for you on your wedding day, and a true joy to call you my brother.
Congrats, N & L. I love you both!

Vacation and Memories

Last week, I had the pleasure of taking my third unemployed vacation. Some may feel I was taking advantage of the fact that I wasn't working. And the fact of the matter is, I was taking advantage of the fact that I wasn't working. It's not a bad thing. I didn't spend a lot of money. And I did some job searching on my first trip. (I didn't have to this time, because I have a job now!!)

So anyways, where were we? Oh yes. Vacation. I went with my extended family, on my dad's side. We took our first vacation together in 1993. Actually, we went to King's Island in 1991, but that was only 2 days. The past 16 years (minus 2) have been for a week.

It actually began when my mom decided that our childhood vacations weren't really vacations at all. We'd pack up enough food and clothes for two weeks and stay in a log cabin, on a deserted peninsula in Canada. No indoor plumbing, no electricity and no heat. It was a 3-mile ride in a little wooden boat to even get to the campsite!! And it was a good hour plus to the nearest life form, so if we didn't bring it, we wouldn't have it.
After ump-teen years of this fabulous vacation (my mom went there as a child too), my mom decided that indoor plumbing, electricity, and populated areas were a bit more desirable.

So she did the research and sent letters to all of my dad's siblings. That first year, in 1993, we made our trek to Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. There were 36 of us in all. We stayed in four different houses. My cousin even made us all sweatshirts. I should say that this trip took place in the middle of July. They had heat advisories every day, and it was usually still over 100 degrees well into the evening. So yes, of course we donned these sweatshirts and took pictures!!
(I would love to post them, but I don't have any copies.)

Over these past 16 years a lot has changed with our vacation. Way back then, we all used AAA Trip-Tix. Now we use our GPS. Most of my cousins came along those first years. Now, my siblings and I are really the only ones who still join the "adults." We did a lot of sight-seeing and souvenir purchasing in the beginning. Now we usually hit a Wings more for kicks than anything else.

We've also changed locations. We spent quite a few years in Ocean Isle, but have also tried North Myrtle, Cherry Grove, and Surfside Beach. We are currently at Surfside and love it. We have a beautiful pool and we're only one street from the ocean.

But every year we go, we end up reminiscing.

Sometimes it's about previous years which usually ends up in a "No. It was...." "No. Remember? We did..." My dad's family never will admit to being wrong, so these stories can be entertaining.

We talk about pool fights, and restaurants, and the houses we've stayed in. We've tried to remember who came which year, and what made it special (there were 19 of us this year, by the way, and it was special for lots of reasons. We got to meet my niece, T. And my cousin, R, was able to come from his base camp to visit as well. He's a marine and we haven't seen much of him!)

Other times my dad and his siblings will talk about their childhood. Share their stories, their memories. I love hearing about how my dad came to be the awesome man he is (he beat some odds!!)

I consider myself so fortunate to have a family that vacations together. That loves being together. That can laugh, and cry, and celebrate, and remember together.

Thanks family for 16 (minus 2) awesome vacation memories. Here's to 16 more.


Posted in participation with Jen's Spin Cycle. I'm back... at least for a week! :)

Live long and prosper, Spock

Proof for #5.
It may not be perfect... but you try it and see if you can do it!! :)


P.S. Don't mind the chipped polish. Just got back from the beach and haven't repainted them!

I'm 17 Kinds of Special

This is a statement I find myself sharing with others regularly. I don't know where I heard it first or why I picked the number, "17" but I did. I've threatened to list them all out, and decided who better to share them than with all of you??
Now, I should say, if you read through my archives, you'll probably see a good portion of these already mentioned, but who doesn't love a list???

So here we go!

1. I have "uniquely slanted ear canals." No really. That's what the Ear, Nose & Throat Doctor told me.
2. I also have a huge build-up of scar tissue on my eardrums. I shouldn't be able to hear well at all.
3. My hearing is above average.
4. I'm completely flat-footed.
5. I can do the Star Trek sign with my toes.
6. I have an obsessive personality.
7. I am addicted to pre-teen entertainment. I seriously have "Bring It On: All or Nothing" memorized. Also in my DVR saved list is "A Cinderella Story", "Another Cinderella Story", and "Mean Girls."
8. I have a photographic memory. I can envision resumes and applications from candidates from 3 years ago. I could tell you the font they used, the placement of their name/address/ and whether they knew the difference between being detail-oriented, and detail-orientated (Fyi- the second one? Isn't a word.)
9. I'm not allowed to eat oranges in public. I peel the skin, the thin white layer, and then open the little pieces and only eat the pulp. It's messy, and wrong.
10. I eat "kids" cereal in order as the color/type appear on the box or commercial. Watching me eat Lucky Charms will often put a sane person over the edge (the cereal stuff first, then the marshmallows, in order).
11. My right leg is 1/2 inch longer than my left (most people's are about 1/4 inch different).
12. I once got sun poison from a tanning bed.
13. I talk a lot of smack, but I am a total pacifist. (Though my mom feels I've gotten much more assertive in the past 2 years).
14. I talk to my cat. I only think I'll be considered crazy when I think she's answering me.
15. I've been hugged by random strangers, as well as my Eye Dr, OBGYN, a Facilitator at work, etc.
16. I've never had to wax or pluck my eyebrows.
    
17. I have friends who I've never met! Or rarely met. Even before I started blogging I had friends who I had emailed regularly or talked to on the phone all across the country, and many of those people I'd never met or only met once!! That has only increased with my finding all of you!!

So there you go. 17 Kinds of Special!

What makes you special?

P.S. I started my job yesterday!! Maybe working will give me blog fodder? Though it's 100% remote, so it's still just me and my cat...