Keeping Up with the Caribbean!

Disclaimer: Since I've been away from the internet for more than a week, this post may take just as long to read. Proceed at your own risk...

I'M HOME!!! Vacation was amazing but nothing is better than coming home to your own bed. For 8 days, I traded snow for sand, and returned home to even more snow. I thoroughly enjoyed the break, but I've come to conclude I was made for tropical weather.

Sunday, January 30th: So the first day was incredibly long. We had a car pick us up at 5:30am, that is entirely too early for me because that meant I had to be up PRIOR to 5:30am. I'm so not a morning person. Saying goodbye to my puppies is always hard, but this time was especially difficult since we have never left them for this long before. I know they were in good hands, but with no phone or internet to periodically check on them, I was nervous. Our flight went off without any troubles, and met some family in North Carolina for our connecting flight. The best part: Jamba Juice was in the airport. I love that place and its probably best for my waistline that there isn't one in Kansas City. Our flight from North Carolina to San Juan took what felt like forever, but we eventually made it. Once we got off the plane, it felt like the cliche "hurry up and wait" scenario. We hurry to get our luggage, then wait for Royal Caribbean to load us up to go to the boat. Hurry to get to the boat, then wait for security. Hurry to get through paperwork, then wait to get our luggage back (which we didn't get until around 9pm). The boat was really nice, our room was small for 3 people (my "bed" came out from the wall), but our balcony view was priceless. We eventually met back up with our other family members and watched San Juan disappear into the darkness when we debarked. Exhausting day!

LSAT, Gluten Free, & Erin Andrews

Hello long lost blogging world! I know I have been neglecting you for quite some time now, and for that, I am truly sorry.

I'm debating on going to law school despite a horrific LSAT score. I think the LSAT should be outlawed. No really. I think had I banged my head against a wall for 5 hours straight, it would have felt the same. It has no indication of how you will do in law school, and how many people are terrible standardized test takers (raises hand)? But do I really want to be in school for another 3 years, and lord knows how much more in debt?

My aunt Mary was diagnosed with uterine cancer back in May. Her older sister was diagnosed a month or so before (weird). But she's done with chemo and radiation, and feeling great now. The power of prayer definitely played a factor in my opinion. Half way through radiation, she said she wanted to do something on her bucket list, which was to go on a cruise. Her older sister and her family, my aunt Mary, my Mom and I will be heading to San Juan, Puerto Rico to cruise the Caribbean. More specifically, Curacao, Aruba, Dominica, & St Thomas. It's going to be so nice to get away from the tundra that is Kansas City and all the stress that hangs around town. I'd tell you when I'm going, but in case a robber is reading this, I'm keeping my mouth shut (you can never be too cautious, right?).

I have jury selection on Tuesday. I'm less than thrilled. Although it will be somewhat fun to see how the legal system works up close. Maybe that will make my decision to go to law school or not.

In unrelated news, I'm sad to say my Vikings are done for the season. Not that they even made the playoffs, but I conclude our season was sabotaged. Allow me to explain: Everything that could have went wrong, did. Favre, Harvin, Peterson, & Rice were never healthy the same time, our (sexy) quarterback and Coach did NOT get along, Brett's scandal, Randy Moss joins the Vikings, Randy Moss leaves the Vikings, goodbye Childress, hello Frazier, the Metrodome collapses... am I leaving anything out?? I'm a loyal fan, and faithfully wore my #4 Favre jersey every Sunday (except one when I was at the Chiefs game... but I did wear a Vikings t-shirt). I hope they'll do better next year.

I miss Nashville. A LOT. On one hand, I want to just move, and find a job later. Except that little fact that I'm not rich. Or is it a sign that I haven't found a job there that I should be somewhere else?

Oh, and I found out I have Celiac disease. It sounds a lot scarier than it actually is. It's a fancy term meaning I'm allergic to wheat, rye, barely and oat products. So no more cupcakes, fried chicken, or delivered pizza. Not like it's a bad thing, it's definitely forcing me to eat healthier. I'm still a little bitter about it but I'm learning how to eat now. It's not as bad as it sounds, there's quite a bit of gluten free food in grocery stores now. I just really miss spaghetti & meatballs with garlic bread, I've had the modified versions, but it's just not the same. More and more restaurants have gluten free menus now which is so helpful. I didn't realize HOW much food has gluten, even traces of it. Like some sweet teas, who would have thought there was gluten in sweeteners? So when you all want to make me cupcakes for my birthday (March 12th, now you have no excuse), make sure they're gluten free :)

I want to be the next Erin Andrews, I think I'd be good at it. I'm not sure I can do that with a law degree though...

I promise to blog more often than once every 2 years :)

Nashville, Khloe, & Jon and Kate

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

I've been on the go since last week and I loved every minute of it! I went to Nashville on Tuesday, and had a BLAST! How can you not in that town? Job hunting went well, hopefully I'll hear something this week so keep your fingers crossed for me! The weather was perfect and I had a blast with everybody, I really didn't want to come home. I got back into town on Thursday and went out with my favorite, Swank, to Mosaic to see Khloe Kardashian. She was soo nice, but right after we got our picture, we left. We were exhausted since it was about 2am. Regardless, we had a great time!
Right now I'm watching the Jon & Kate Plus 8 Marathon.... I love this show. Kate drives me crazy, but those kids are sooo adorable! Yep, I'm going to be one of the thousands watching tonight to see if they talk about the scandal at all, they'll have great ratings tonight...

And I'm SO happy for Team Shark on Dancing With The Stars! I am soo excited that Shawn and Mark won, I wish they were going on the DWTS tour... I don't think they're even touring this year, darn.

Back to Jon & Kate...

The Sandbar, Bling-Bling, & Crazy Train

Happy (late) Mothers Day! Better late then never, right? I am truly blessed, to have such a wonderful Mom, and honestly I hope I'm half the mother she is (not for a loooooong time though). I'm so proud of her, she is working full-time, going back to college, AND has a 4.0... She's a bit of a perfectionist, can you tell? :) I love my Mom!

This weekend was a blast! Saturday we had our Pre-party at PBR before the Kenny Chesney show, and was definitely a success! The show was amazing, Brittany, Kristie, T.J & I were all down in the "Sandbar". We were a little disappointed there wasn't any sand in sight, but we got over it pretty fast! Lady A was great, Miranda rocked, and Kenny came in on a motorized swing. Needless to say it was a good time! In the middle of the show, I get a call from my best friend Christy. I texted her and said I'd call her after the show... she said, "Call me RIGHT after!!"... Which I knew what that meant, and I was right... after 8 years, she is FINALLY ENGAGED! I was so excited I think I was screaming in the Sandbar, but this is huge news! I'm so happy for them!

So tonight what did we do, we started planning the wedding of course :) She is a little overwhelmed but it will be great. Her ring is beautiful!! Neal did a good job, I was pretty impressed with his choice of bling-bling.

My aunt was watching Ellen today, and there was this little boy on playing "Crazy Train" on the guitar, it's kinda the cutest thing ever... you have to watch it here!

Red Dirt, Crack Dip, & Team Shark

Happy Cinco De Mayo! It has been a while... so I'll catch you up!

Saturday was a blast at the Red Dirt BBQ in the Backyard of the Beaumont Club. It's kinda funny to think that just days before it was all one big mud pit. Anyway, it was a fun time. I love the Randy Rogers Band, they always put on a great show! The place was packed, and I only managed to leave with 2 bruises on my foot. Oh... maybe I should back up... I hurt my foot again! Yep, AGAIN! For those of you who remember, it seems like yesterday when I was wearing that really attractive black boot on my right foot... I'm praying I don't have to wear it again. This time I actually KNOW what happened! I was in the studio hanging out with Natalie, sitting on one of the aweseome rolly chairs (is that what they're called? They are now.) and was swinging my legs back and forth (dumb idea). I was rolling/swinging my way back to the computer, when SMACK, I hit the corner of the cabinet with my foot (dumber idea). Of course it has to be my right foot, and it starts bruising pretty much instantly. I'm awesome, I know. I'm telling myself it doesn't hurt and attempting to walk like a normal person, I'll keep you updated on how that is going...

Am I weird to kinda be in love with the new Price Chopper by my house? Everything is so bright and shiny, or as bright and shiny as a grocery store could be anyway. And it's maybe a 5 minute walk, not that I'll be walking there anytime soon with a bruised and possibly broken foot. But whatever, it's still awesome.

I have a remote out in Blue Springs tonight at Rancho Grande, and am soooo excited! They seriously have the best food ever. Chicken and spinach enchilidas, YUM-O! (That was me attempting to be Rachael Ray... HA!) And of course, anyone who knows Rancho knows about the famous "Crack Dip". Can you tell I'm a little excited? I keep telling myself that my diet will start tomorrow... after crack dip :)

PS I love love love Dancing with the Stars this season! I'm totally for Team Shark (Shawn Johnson & Mark Ballas) and reallllly hope they make it to the finals. Just a predicition for tonight, I'm thinking its Ty Murray's time to go. Just a thought.

Margarita's, Boots, & Power outages

Today has been fantastic, I spent the day with my family and had a pretty fun day! We started off the day getting pedicures, and who doesn't like those? I don't know anyone who doesn't. We went to a salon that we hadn't been to before, and we're just getting started and they ask us what we want to drink. I was thinking water, maybe Coke has an option... oh no, you can get margarita's, martini's and wine! Needless to say, I started my day off right with a strawberry margarita, but it was SUPER strong and at 10 in the morning, I wasn't ready for that. Either way, drinks and pedicures are a great combination.

What goes well with pedicures, but shopping of course! Let me say, I found the most amazing deal at Zona Rosa, it made my entire day. Going to DSW is dangerous territory because it's like taking a little kid to the candy store. But I found a really cute pair of brown boots for $24 bucks! YES!!!! So excited about that!

So its around noon and we start getting hungry and decide to try somewhere new. My mom suggested going to "The Cafe" in the Briarcliff Village so we headed out there. I love Briarcliff Village, it's so pretty. We get there and go inside a few shops and weird, all the lights are off. Apparently something happened and the power was out! Not even thinking, we walk over to the restaurant where we were informed we could order salads since they lost power too and they couldn't cook. No big deal, we'll go somewhere else... right? So we head up to Parkville to try "Frank's", this little family owned Italian restaurant that my friend Ashley said was great. I love Parkville too, it has such a small town feel to it. We get there, just kidding, Frank's is closed on Monday's. Figuring 3rd time is the charm, we ended up at Stone Canyon which is always delicious, but my goodness I never thought getting lunch would be so difficult!

It has been a beautiful day outside! A little windy but the sun is shining (maybe I should be a weather girl... haha!) and sunny days make me happy. A full day of shopping can make a girl tired, I think a nap is in order :)

Deal or No Deal, Chelsea & Disco Ball trophies

I figured out what I want to be for the rest of my life. I want to be a Deal or No Deal model. They work 5 months out of the year, 4-5 days a month, and make 6 figures. I want to know where to sign up. And kiss eating goodbye considering I'd have to weigh probably 100 pounds. But if I'm making 6 figures, I can pay someone else to eat for me.

I love watching Chelsea Lately, I don't know what I did before this show. Speaking of shows, I really need to catch up on my Gossip Girl, I haven't watched it in forever. I need to just have a DVD weekend, so if anyone has season 1, if I could borrow it that would be fab. I don't know about anyone else, but I think this season of Dancing with the Stars has been the best. I love Mark & Shawn and Chuck and Julianne... one of them need to win the obnoxious disco ball trophy. Just saying.

A little late, but here's our video with Taylor Swift from the ACM's! Colleen and I had fun, and we're not really sure why we all decided to make the little heart sign at the end... oh well.