Distance makes the heart grow fonder...

Where do I begin? Just breathe I tell myself, just breathe.  This has been the craziest month of my life.  Crazy in an incredibly amazing way, but just crazy! Let's pick up where I left off when I was heading back to Jax to meet the boy I slipped my number too......

Friday night Heidi and I went shopping and kept it real chill. She was on call so we couldn't drink so we just decided to hang out and Dave cooked us dinner and we looked through old photos.  It was a perfect night.  Meantime, Justin (the boy) was texting me asking me what the plans were for Saturday.  He was about an hour north of Jax and wanted me to drive there in the morning and get him and hang out.  Anyone that knows me, knows I'm difficult and at the time this did not sound appealing to me because I just kept telling myself "he lives in California, I won't see him again."  I'm always negative, its a poor quality of mine.  Heidi was on my ass that I have nothing to lose and just give it a shot.  I went to bed with the plans still undecided and wanted to see what the morning would bring me.  Woke up in the morning and we had decided we could meet halfway.  But the timing was all off and by the time he was ready it was almost kick off for the Iowa game and I don't miss Iowa games.  (Thanks for knowing me)  So I was just going to cut my loss once again and say oh well.  We lost that day to Iowa State in triple OT.  My heart was broken.  Justin had texted me to see if I could come after the game but after that loss, the beer had been flowing.  So he decides he still really wants to see me and get to know me, so decides to take a cab from Brunswick GA down to Jacksonville!!! Its about an hour cab ride.  I was shitting my pants I was so nervous.  We got back to the house and I jumped in the shower and chugged lots of water to sober myself up.  Meantime, we had invited our new friends from the Jax Iowa Club over to the house and Heidi was going to make food and we were going to chill at the house and drink and watch football and play games.  We decided to have the cab drop him off at the airport, a mutual meeting place and probably the easiest.  I got there first and saw the cab pull up and I couldn't breathe.  He got out of the cab and it all came rushing back to me how hot he was and why I slipped him my number.  He gave me a hug and said it was so good to see me and he had me right there.  We went back to the house where we had a great time.  Everyone liked him.  Dave and him bonded over the Notre Dame loss and Heidi of course interrogated him for about an hour and he survived and still said he liked her! That's a keeper!  The next day I took him back up to Georgia and we had lunch with a couple of his friends and he took me on base and we just really got to know each other.  He had two more weekends left and wanted me to come back the next weekend but that was my weekend I was going to Iowa for Kalen's walk.  I was sad.  Here was this great guy who came into my life and this was going to the be last time I saw him.  We said goodbye and as he shut the door he said "don't forget about me."   I pulled away from base with my heart completely aching. 

We continued to talk and I made a huge decison.  I cancelled my flight to Iowa to go back and be with him.  All my life I have done everything for my friends and never myself.  I'm not saying that's a bad thing or that I regret living my life that way because I don't at all! It's just who I am and what I do.  But this time I didn't want to look back and wonder "what if" or have the regret of just not driving back to Georgia and taking a chance.  So after explaining my situation to Steph, she agreed I needed to do this for me and it made me feel a lot better.  Everything about Justin and mine's relationship so far had been completely crazy so might as well keep going!  So Friday I took off for Georgia.  It's about a 4 and a half hour car drive.  I got up there and we went out that night with his friends to a Mexican restaurant.  I was nervous to meet his closest friends there but they are all great guys and we all had a blast.  It was also his last weekend there with his friends so I understood spending the time with them as well.  Saturday we woke up and went to Buffalo Wild Wings so I could watch the Iowa game. (I'm slowly trying to turn him into an Iowa fan)  After the game was his class party.  They were having a BBQ with ribs and chicken and playing cornhole and sand volleyball. My kind of party! There were about 30 guys and 4 girls.  Everyone was once again so nice and we had a great time.  After the party we went to the bar on base and watched the fights.  Justin is very affectionate with me and it's nice to have a guy show that he's with me in public and act proud to be with me.  I'm not an affectionate person but he makes me want to be! Sunday we went to St Simon's beach and ate at a really good seafood restaurant and walked the pier.  We came back and watched football and continued to lay there and talk and learn as much as we could about each other.  It really was a perfect day.  We said goobye that night knowing that I would come back Thursday for his graduation on Friday. 

Thursday I headed back to Brunswick where we got a hotel room for the night and went out to dinner at a really good Italian restaurant.  Just the two of us.  It was so nice! We were both so exhausted..me from my long drive due to bad storms and him due to his busy week preparing for graduation.  We woke up early the next morning so I could take him to base and he could prepare for the ceremony.  The ceremony was really awesome and I'm so proud of him and his accomplishment.  As I sat there by myself waiting for him to march in and recieve his badge I just kept thinking to myself "wow, I can't believe I am here and this is happening."  After the ceremony we literally had no time.  He had to pack and I had to get him to the airport in Jax so he could fly home.  My heart was breaking as I sat on his bed watching him put his final belongings into his bag.  We were both so quiet the ride to the airport as we knew what was coming.  "All I do is tell the people I'm closest to goodbye, why do I keep doing this to myself" was pouring through my mind over and over.  I pulled up at the drop-off (we had two other guys with us) regretting the fact I didn't have my sunglasses on because I just wanted to cry.  It was a quick hug and a kiss goodbye "we will see each other soon, I promise" was muttered and I got into the car and pulled away.  Bring on the tears! Thank goodness Heidi and Dave live right there so I could go there and be with her.  Heidi was waiting for me with Budlight and open ears, as I knew she would be.  I cried, and I cried.  My heart was aching because I wasn't ready to see him go and all I wanted to do was spend more time with him.  Heidi said she has NEVER seen me like this and in a way it was so refreshing to see me like this.  I normally bottle in my feelings and have a hard time showing I care.  With him, throw everything out the door with the way I used to be because it has been completely different.  And it all began at a bar and seeing this hot guy and giving him bedroom eyes.  Who would have thought!  I don't know what is going to happen but all I can say I know this is something I am going to try.  I have never felt like this before, especially so quickly and I know it is something that I have to give my all to and see what happens and I know he feels the same way.  He lives in California, I live in Florida.  2,489.8 miles apart.  1 day 15 hours driving.  A three hour time difference in our everyday lives.  And the thing that is crazy, I don't care.  I know this is not going to be easy. It's not going to be easy at all.  But it is not impossible.  He really is an amazing man with such a good head on his shoulders and knows what he wants in life. And on top of that he's athletic, a sports fan, a huge smartass and a shit talker.  My perfect kind of man.  Everyone comes into your life for a reason and I'm so glad we both decided to go to the bar that night (thank you Dave for passing out and to his friends for dragging him out)  Our whole relationship has been a crazy, amazing story so we can't let it stop now! We just need to keep adding chapters.

I know its weird to hear me talk about someone this way because its just so unlike me. I have a problem with just being negative about everything but I'm going to give it my all and be positive.  This is something I want, I really do.  So what's next? I'm planning on going out there in November.  We hope to figure out the dates soon so we can begin a countdown.  And until then thank goodness for technology these days as we will continue to talk and text and skype.  I never do things easy in my life and I don't give up.  I made dinner tonight, chicken and vegetables.  Unfortunately, it was still dinner for one.  But at least now I can pick up my cell phone and know there is someone on the other end that is just as eager to hear from me as I am him.

While you all process all this information let me drop another bomb that is making my heart hurt more.  My poor heart can't take this all!! Heidi and Dave are moving.  Moving to Milwaukee.  I am happy for them because I know they are happy to be moving back closer to their family.  But I am so selfish in the fact I have been with them so much lately and don't want to see them go.  I know distance puts a strain on friendships and I have just gotten so used to having Heidi back in my life all the time! But just like this Justin thing, I will make this work too.  I was going to say goodbye to them on Saturday but I think Heidi knew if I had to go through another goodbye in the same weekend she was going to have to lock me in a crazy home! So fortunately I do have one more weekend with them so this weekend I will be heading back to Jacksonville for the last time (I think I can make the drive with my eyes closed) and we are going to enjoy a weekend on the beach.

Now the question is....how much longer will I be living in Florida? My lease is up in three weeks and the odds of me moving back to Iowa real soon are increasing daily. 

I don't know where my life is going to take me or what is going to happen.  All I can do is take one day at a time and continue to take risks and follow my heart. 

Stay tuned.....

Help Support Kalen!

You know how you become friends with someone and you just know that you will be friends for life? Well that is Stephanie to me.  One of my best friends.  We started to become inseperable in junior high and it hasn't changed to this day.  She is someone I can always pick up the phone and call and someone I always see when I go home.  People come and go out of your lives and there are the select few that stay forever and she is one.  Maybe our mom's had a feeling about us at birth and that is why they both named us Stephanie.  Right from the start we had that bond.  Then we also had the bond of being born 8 days apart. (She is the older one).  So growing up, we liked to have our birthday parties together and our birthday cake would say "Happy Birthday Steph & Steph!"  We went through many milestones together..high school graduation, community college, her wedding, and I was there for the birth of her first child.  Now she has four boys and I couldn't love them anymore if I tried.  Our lifestyles are completely opposite of each other but that's what makes us work.  Life hasn't been the easiest for Steph and her husband but they take what happens to them and build from it and grow.  Having FOUR boys in itself under the age of 6 is just a lot of work, but they make it look pretty damn easy.  I give Stephanie tons of credit because she has always been a girly girl (In softball she would always have makeup all over her jersey) and now she's adjusting to having all boys and even moving to a farm!!  I'm always prepared to hear the boys screaming or crying or demanding something from her when we are trying to have a conversation on the phone, but it just makes me smile.  She went with the "K" theme with her boys.  The oldest is Kaedon, then Kalen, then Krue and the newest addition is Kinnick (yes, Go Hawks).  All spitfires with different personalities.

Now for the serious part and the reason I'm writing about Steph and her family.  The second oldest (Kalen) has chiari malformation.  For those of you that aren't sure what that means....

Chiari Malformation (Arnold-Chiari)  is a serious neurological disorder where the bottom part of the brain, the cerebellum, descends out of the skull and crowds the spinal cord, putting pressure on both the brain and spine and causing many symptoms. 





Kalen is dealing with many symptoms and Steph and Jake are trying their best to get him to the best doctors and to get done what needs to get done to help him.  She was telling me about a doctor in Chicago they are hoping to take him to and she seems really excited about it so that is a good thing! The poor kid is 4 years old and having MRI's done when he shouldn't even know what an MRI is!

They were looking for ways to help or certain things they can do and they came across a Conquer Chiari Walk Across America.    It is an annual fundraising event that consists of series of local walks on the same day.   The walk is next weekend (September 17th) and I am flying home for it because of course I wouldn't miss it for the world.  The goal is to all raise money for this event that goes towards the research for chiari malformation and helping people, just like Kalen.  Anyone can make a donation, even if you aren't doing the walk.  So if you are reading this and are feeling charitable, please make a donation! It's so easy to do...just go to this website http://www.conquerchiari.org/index.htm and once you are there, on the right hand side click sponsor a walker.  The location is Iowa, Burlington then scroll through until you see my name-Stephanie Smith.  Any donation would mean the world to me and of course to the Maine's!







With the Maine's (I'm holding Kalen in the middle and Kinnick wasn't born yet



Have a great weekend!!!!!  I am going back to Jacksonville tomorrow so we will see what this weekend has in store for me.  :)

California Dreamin'

It hasn't even been a week and I'm back at it! So far, I'm improving at this! :)

It has been one heck of a week for me! I think the angel of dating was looking over my shoulder for the first time in a LONG time! My horoscope told me to enjoy my popularity...and boy am I ever!  It started off last Wednesday.  My friend Courtney called me to go have a drink for her birthday.  And after the work week I had been having, a drink couldn't have sounded any better. I never go out on a work night either.  We went out in South Tampa, a place I don't frequently visit and it was hopping with men! On a Wednesday night! So I'm thinking to myself "Oh great, this place is filled with young college boys who are going to get drunk and skip class in the morning"  (been there, done that)  Courtney and I were sitting there having a beer and I was throwing myself a pity party.  I don't know if she so much wanted to attend that party, but she did.  "What is wrong with me that guys don't hit on me? Why doesn't anyone date me? Why have I not been on a date since I have lived here?" etc...  None of my friends really know these answers and I sure wish they did.  I don't know if I'm just not approachable or what my deal is.  But I am going to figure it out.     Anyways, we went to a couple different bars to check out the different scenery.  We went and sat at the bar and ordered two budlights.  We were sitting there talking and out of nowhere, this hot guy comes and stands right next me.  And he started conversation.  This does not normally happen with good looking guys.
Hot Guy (HG): Hey were you just at MacDinton's?
Me: yah we just had a beer there.
HG: Well my name is Mike
Me: Hey I'm Stephanie.
HG: What are you girls up to?
Me: we are out celebrating her birthday.  She turned 22 today.
HG: oh wow that's young.
Me: (thinking in my mind..SCORE) good answer because I feel especially old.
HG: well I would love to take you out sometime.
Me: Definitely, here's my number.

So he sat next to me and had a beer and we talked forever.  Meanwhile, his friend swooped in and kept Court occupied.  (Good wingman)   Here's the kicker..of course there is always a kicker.  He lives in CALIFORNIA.  He's a real estate agent and owns a house here in Tampa so he thinks he is going to move here.  He was flying out the following day.  He texted me the  next day and told me he will be back in two weeks and wants to hang out with me then.  So we will see.  Just. My. Luck.

Friday I slept in and got ready for Jax.  The three hour drive turned into 4 and a half because this genius decided to leave when I would hit Orlando at rush hour.  Smooth.  But I had my tunes and rocked out and I really didn't mind that much. We kept it chill Friday night.  Ordered pizza, drank a few beers, skyped with Britt and of course I played some NCAA with Dave. 
Woke up Saturday, took a shower, threw on my jersey and painted my nails black.  Of course! We were all three pumped for the game and decided we would go to the Ale House to watch it because it had a nice outdoor patio.  We picked the perfect spot and talked the waiter into letting us get the sound switched to the Iowa game. Boom.  Next thing we know, two Iowa fans are walking up! We were so excited and of course asked them to join our party.  They were really cool too.  Then next thing we know, two more!! Then two more! We had ourselves a great time and they were all really fun to hang with.  That bar sure knew when Iowa scored!! After a mid-game rain delay and dominating performance..Iowa won! GO HAWKS!

After the Iowa game it was the USF/Notre Dame game.  Dave is a huge Notre Dame fan so we had to stick around and watch it.  Which just meant more buckets of beer! USF pulled the upset and after the game Dave was starting to pull the one eye look to see the tv, so we knew it was time to go home.  Got home and he fell right asleep.  We didn't want the party to stop so I took a shower, we changed and got ready to go right back out! We didn't want to wake Dave or let him know we were heading back out..so Heidi wrote a note and literally laid it on his chest and we basically crawled out of the house on our hands and knees so he wouldn't see us! Success.  She took me to a bar I had never been and we switched it up to raspberry vodka and club soda (thanks Michelle) and hit the dance floor.  We saw a guy all decked out in Iowa gear so we had to approach him, naturally.  He is in the airforce and lives down in Jax for the time being.  He seemed cool at first and then quickly turned into a stage 5 clinger.  We talked to him for awhile longer because he was then buying our drinks but the longer we talked to him the more we realized we needed to ditch him.  The guy basically told me he was in love with me and I'm too perfect of a girl to let walk away.  Then he was confessing his love for me to Heidi.  Hello dude, you have known me for 10 minutes.  We would go to the bathroom and come back and try to lose him in the crowd and he would just appear again.  We went back to the bar for another drink when I spotted this hot guy! Normally I'm the shy girl who just sits back and think wow he was hot and nothing happens.  Michelle and Jess have tried to teach me "bedroom eyes"  Basically if I see something I want I need to give him that look and I will get it.  I just need to have the confidence in my stare.  And confidence I lack so therefore these "bedroom eyes" don't work for me and I never try it anyways.  Well this time was different.  I gave him a look and he smiled and I smiled and we just kept doing it to each other from across the bar for awhile.  Flirting with our eyes!  Stage 5 clinger wouldn't shutup and I was scared he was going to blow this for me so Heidi had a brilliant idea to go to the bathroom and come back and pretend to be sick.  We got into the bathroom and I told Heidi about my eye flirt fest! I told her I needed some paper and so she started digging through her purse. If you know Heidi then you know her wallet is FULL of reciepts so she handed me a reciept and I flipped it over and wrote my number on the back of it.  I told her I couldn't leave til I saw this guy again and the bar was PACKED.  We went back to the dance floor, no clinger in sight and finally found my hottie again. Made the eye contact and he came right up and started dancing.  No words were said, it was loud as hell in that club.  All of a sudden I could feel these eyes and there was the clinger and Heidi saw it too and said we had to go.  So I grabbed that guys hand and slipped my number in it and left.  I HAVE NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE! We didn't even have a conversation! I just went with it.  We made it safely out of the bar and home without the creepy guy following.  And I thought Iowa guys were supposed to be awesome! haha.  Anyways, I forgot my phone charger in Tampa so I had to plug in my phone to my car charger over night.  I got my phone in the morning and the hottie had texted me! He told me he was name was Justin and he was just checking to see if I made it home ok.  This was Sunday morning and it is now Tuesday night and we haven't stopped texting since.  Here's the kicker..and yes in my life, there is always a kicker.  He lives in CALIFORNIA! Are you kidding me? Two guys from California in one week?!?! What the hell! He is down here in Brunswick GA in the federal officer academy.  (Its about 40 minutes from Jax so him and his buddies decided to hit up Jax for the night, his first time at that bar too)  He only has three weeks left then he goes back home.  Just. My. Luck. Again.    He wants to hang out this weekend so I'm going to head back up to Jax and just do it. You only live once right? I can watch the Iowa/Iowa State game with Heidi and Dave and this guy is a big Notre Dame fan like Dave so who knows if he will want to hang out with us or what will happen.  I'm not a planner, I just always go with the flow so we will see.  So as of right now, I am going to go back this weekend and see this guy.  Before he moves back to CALIFORNIA.  Of course.  I don't know what it is with me and guys from California. (yes penpal, this does include you) :)

All in all it was a great weekend and my aunt and uncle came down to Tampa from Orlando, so on Sunday night and Monday I got to hang out with them.  Now it is a three day work week (well technically two now) then the weekend again!!! Gotta love having Fridays off!

I figured I would end this blog with a little urbandictionary.com "bedroom eyes"

1.That sensual seductive-looking glance that you (whether you are male or female) express when you are in a mood for something romantic and/or sexual

2.eyes that are big, dreamy, sultry, bold, and seductive, and are so beautiful that when someone looks into them, they get lost inside

My friends are the best teachers.

Sweet Summertime

I am back!!! For those of you who have been randomly checking to see if I have updated and have chosen to stick with me even with my absence, thank you.  Hopefully once things settle down a bit for me I will get back on the writing train.

I haven't blogged in so long I don't even know where to begin.  So I will try and summarize everything to the best of my ability.  This summer has been a blast and has really flown by! I can't believe September is just two days away.  Where does the time even go?

First and foremost my most exciting news of the summer..my top braces are off!!!! Three months exactly is what I had them on and that in my mind was three months too long.  I still have the bottom braces on but they don't even phase me.  I am thankful to have a normal looking smile again with lips that aren't sticking out like Bubba Gump's.  It's easier to eat foods and chew gum and smile at cute boys without worrying if a big piece of lettuce is stuck in my brackets.  

classmates and childhood friends

I made it back to Iowa  couple times this summer.  The first time was the beginning of July for a family reunion.  I saw aunts and uncles that I hadn't seen in a long time and it's always so refreshing to be around your family.  We had a bonfire and roasted marshmellows and caught lightning bugs in the back yard.  You forget how beautiful lightning bugs are floating in the breeze.  I'm about ready to break out some Nitty Gritty Dirt Band right now! 

The second trip was at the end of July for a classmates wedding.  It was a good guy friend of mine who I have grown up with since pre-school.  He was actually my first boyfriend ever in the first grade and after one day of being boyfriend and girlfriend, he broke up with me at recess for a different girl.  That was the same day he had written me a poem and drawn me a picture. It's amazing the things you remember.  I should have realized right then what my future was going to hold when it came to men! He married a girl I absolutely adore and the setting was at a winery in the middle of a vineyard and a cornfield.  It was beautiful.  It was great seeing people and catching up.  And of course the infamous question I always face when I'm back home "are you dating anyone yet?"  That's when I just have to look at you and smile as I mutter the words "no, not yet."   I also got to experience my first "ragbrai."  It came through Wilton this year and it was so crazy to see thousands and thousands of people and bikes in that town.  It was an awesome sight.  I definitely picked a good weekend to go back!



cheers!-michelle and me



I made it to a couple Rays games and a Lil Wayne concert.  Yes, I love Lil Wayne and it was one of the best concerts I have seen! I guess it's just the inner gangsta in me as Heidi would like to say.  I also made it up to Jacksonville for a weekend to see Heidi and Dave.  Friday night we stayed in like college kids and played happy hour to fratmusic.com (one of my fav websites)  We had a blast! Then the next day we went to the beach all day and hit up the beach bars.  It was a nice change to be at a beach with big waves! Heidi invested in a bocce ball set and it is so fun to play, especially on the beach!

My brother made it down for a weekend and its always nice when he's here to have the 4 of us together eating moms amazing home-cooked meals!

I also had a couple visitors.  Michelle was one, of course.  She now holds the trophy for most visits to see me! We had a great weekend consisting of the beach, bars, shopping, feathers in our hair, and more bars. (Wearing a feather in your hair is huge down here so I'm rocking the new style with a hot pink one and a white one and I LOVE them.) We made it to Blue Martini for the first time and I think this is where all of the hot men in Tampa go to hang out.  Our eyes did not know where to focus.  They just kept wandering, and wandering.  Its an expensive hangout where we sipped on $14 martinis and complained about paying a  ten dollar cover, leading the bouncer to let us in for free.  We took advantage of her time here which meant little sleep and lots of adventures.  It took me a week just to catch up on the sleep we had missed, but it was worth it!

We went out to a club on Friday night and these two guys came up to us and started hitting on us and wanted to buy us shots.  The one guy looked at us and asked how old we were.  When we replied "27" he gave us a look like we had the plague.  For the first time in my life I actually felt like I was too old!  So he quickly walked away.  His loss anyways.  :)

My other visitor was Jon..a boy who was a big part of my past and I have known for about 5 years now.  When I first got out of my long relationship I met Jon at a college party.  Thought he was cute, but didn't want to date.  We still always hung out and always had a great time.  Then the time came where I wanted to date and then he didn't.  Typical.  We lost touch and didn't speak for two years (since I had moved to the sunshine state).  Well the beginning of this summer, on Memorial Day actually..he randomly calls.  We hadn't spoken, hadn't seen each other, nothing.  We caught up and randomly found ourselves talking almost everyday.  I saw him when I went back to Iowa for my family reunion and we had an awesome weekend.  My heart did a little flip wondering what was going to happen if I still had this crush 5 years later.  After I left he mentioned he wanted to come to Florida.  We started to lose touch and went weeks without talking.  Well he calls the beginning of August and says he's coming down "next week."  Booked his ticket and I quickly took off work for the long weekend and was so nervous.  We hung at the beach and I introduced him to Florida the best that I could.  We had a great time but he was just acting so different from the last time I saw him.  On his second night here he admitted he was getting back with his ex-girlfriend.  As I wanted so bad to scream at him "then why the hell are you here seeing me?" I kept my cool and played it off like no big deal.  We still had a great time, even rented scooters and took them around Clearwater beach, a first for me! As I dropped him off at the airport the Beyonce song was playing "the best thing I never had"  Here's your sign.  But I give him props for being faithful to her and I really still enjoyed his visit.  He is always someone I have a blast with and I'm sure we will hang out again soon in the future.  That night I came home and ordered a pizza..for one. 

So my summer has been so great consisting of trips, the beach, my pool, friends, family, and cocktails under the sun!!



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Now for the baby news in my life...not me of course, but two of my best friends! Britt FINALLY gave birth to Emersyn J and she's beautiful!!! I was able to meet her when I went home and she was just two weeks old.  It was so crazy for me to see Britt as a mom yet so wonderful at the same time.  I give so much props to Britt as she's basically being a single mother (her fiance is only home every other weekend due to work) and she's doing an amazing job. She is one of the strongest women I know and she is taking life on head on and doing great.  I had never seen a live birth before and Britt quickly changed that as she had her sister tape it.  I wanted to scream in pain for her as I watched it and if that day comes for me all I can say is bring on the drugs!!! Britt wanted to run some errands so I told her to go ahead and I would watch Emersyn.  I have never been alone with a baby that young before.  I cuddled her, fed her and burped her.  I was so proud of myself and we had such good bonding time!  I miss them everyday and am thankful for skype!

L-O-V-E

And for the second part of the baby news..Jess is expecting! So excited for her and B and can't wait to meet their addition in the future.  Yes I know what you are thinking, how are you surviving without the crazy shenanigans you and Jess get into? And truthfully, I miss it like crazy! So this explains why this blog hasn't consisted of tricking boys into buying shots with a plate game, the blue wave or mouthing off at sporting events.  I've only seen her once this summer which is a huge adjustment from the every other weekend we were used to.  But, this is life and we are doing our best.  As always, I will be the best aunt ever! :)

So the end of summer is officially this weekend with Labor Day approaching and this means BRING ON IOWA FOOTBALL!  I'm so excited! It's my favorite time of year! The Tampa Bay Iowa Club had a big ten kickoff party over the weekend and we all went and Heidi and Dave came down from Jacksonville.  We had Iowa tenderloins and the Iowa boys dominated tug of war beating Ohio State in the championship.  Let's hope this is a sign! 

I hope you all have a great Labor Day weekend! I'm heading up to Jacksonville to spend the long weekend with Heidi and Dave and to cheer on the Hawkeyes together in their first game! I hope to follow up soon with fun stories and a victory!

Surprises, hometown visit, more weekend adventures and a wedding



me with the bride-to-be



Time to sit down and actually update the blog again! Let's start where I left off and rewind three weekends ago...

One of my best friends, Heidi, is getting married next weekend in Mexico. Sadly I am not attending because it is so damn expensive to go single..so I knew I had to make it up to her.  Three weekends ago she was having her bacehlorette party back in Iowa and everything was going to be a surprise.  All she knew was that it was going to be an 80s theme...if you know Heidi, then you know that an 80s theme couldn't be anymore perfect.  Anyways, I told her that I couldn't attend because plane tickets were really expensive and I already had a prior commitment that weekend (but really, my plane ticket was purchased)  I wanted to make the weekend even more special for her with this surprise, because it is always fun doing surprises! I flew in on Friday night and her and a group of friends were at a restaurant having dinner.  I showed up at the restaurant and the look on her face and having her jump in my arms was worth every second of lies to her as why I couldn't go.  It was such a fun weekend and I am so thankful I was able to attend.  Friday night we had dinner, Saturday was followed by pedicures and Peking (oh how I miss that place) and getting ready for the 80s party.  Michelle met me at Britt's where we got to hang out and get ready together like old times.  Michelle and I contemplated delivering Britt's baby right then and there so she could go out with us all night.  And let me just tell you..crimping this thick head of hair is such a process!! It was a fun night filled with lots of laughs, a gay pride festival and Heidi's first drag show.  Our group dressed up definitely fit right in with the crowd :)

I also got to meet Steph's newest addition, Kinnick.  Such a good baby and I'm not sure which one he looks like yet! I love those 4 boys so much!

It's always fun for me to go back to my hometown.  Everytime I turn onto that main highway to enter that town all these memories come flooding back and I just feel happy.  Steph and I got to go on a walk around town and it was just what I needed.  Seeing friendly faces and being on the streets I rode my bike everyday as a kid, passing houses where you know every resident inside. I wouldn't trade the way I was raised for anything else in the world.  Of course I had to drive down my street and see the house I was raised in.  It looks like a dump now with electric blue shutters and the siding is dirty and shingles coming off the roof and the front porch all ripped up.  Part of me wanted to walk up to the door and ask them to leave my house! The trees my brother and I had planted in the front yard are so big now and its so crazy to think my parents have already been out of that house three years next month.  Where does the time go?  I will always drive down that street to look at my house..the house that built me. 

Last weekend Jess came to visit the sunshine state again.  Yes, I do get to see her all the time with her living in Atlanta and I love it.  We had a fun weekend filled with World of Beer, pool time, and youtube.  In her spare time, Jess raps.  I had learned the Nicki Minaj Super Bass song and rapped it to her one day and from then on she grew a new obsession. And she is good.  You know the song "Look at Me Now" with crazy fast rapping in it? Well she can do it.  We were out Thursday night at WOB and the dj got on the microphone and said if anyone can rap this song I'll buy your drinks.  Needless to say, Jess hopped up there and blew it out of the water.  It was amazing.  Next time I'm recording it and putting it on youtube.  (Yes Jess, no arguing with me..you are a youtube sensation and some Saturday two girls will be laying in bed drinking beer and youtubing you) It made her a hit all weekend there with the song being played several times and she would be rewarded with beer shots, always one for me too of course.   Jess is coming back this Wednesday again already and will be staying for almost two weeks for work.  I couldn't be more excited! The plans are in the works but as always whatever we do will be a fun time.

This weekend Heidi and Dave came down Friday night.  We had a mini bachelor/bachelorette party of 4 at no other than World of Beer of course.  Dave had never been and he fell in love too, just like I knew he would.  I'm so glad they came down and so glad I got to spend their last weekend before they become Mr and Mrs Healy with them!  I couldn't be more happy for them and seeing how happy Dave makes one of best friends makes me so happy.  I have been a part of their relationship from the beginning.  I lived with Heidi when they first met so of course Dave had to gain my approval if he was going to be coming to our house all the time.  I have seen it all with them, probably more than anyone else has and love them both so much.  I know they bring the best out in each other and can't wait to watch this marriage grow.  I wish more than anything I would be on the beach in Mexico with them next weekend jamming to Bob Marley and sipping drinks with an umbrella in them.  I can't wait to celebrate with them when they get back! Congrats to Mr and Mrs Healy!!



Dave and Heidi at World of Beer on Friday night

Today is Father's Day so I just want to give a shoutout to my dad.  I'm so thankful to have him as my dad as he has always been there and always been a part of my life.  I'm told daily by my mom that I am just like my dad so obviously he is a great man :)  I get my stubborness, competiveness, smart ass sense of humor, love of sports, sense of cleaning and mannerism's all from my dad.  Thank you for everything Dad!!
To all the dads out there..especially mine, Happy Father's Day! 


an oldie, but a goodie.  Me and my dad.

 I'm trying to think of anything else new I can share.  The braces are still kicking as it will 5 weeks already this week! Just like I said before, where has the time gone? I've gotten a lot more used to them and I'm told all the time they aren't really noticeable so that's good.  I'm going to get an adjustment this week and not looking forward to that.  I can tell a big difference though in my top teeth so I have high hopes they will be coming off soon, as I am so ready for them! I know the bottom will be a long process but thats okay, you don't see them anyways.    Work has been crazy busy as everyone wants to put braces on their kids in the summer when they aren't in school.  With only 4 employees and seeing 70 some patients a day it makes for long days. 
It's been really hot here lately.  So hot that when you wear your sunglasses from inside to outside they instantly fog up.  I'm ready for some colder weather!
Oh and how can I forget my corneal abrasion? It happened the weekend I was in Iowa and that Monday morning I was home my eye was swollen shut.  It was the worst pain ever.  Seriously.  I couldn't see out of my left eye for days.  Thank you Nate for driving me to my doctors appointments and to get my drops! Its so nice having him as a neighbor to depend on!  So needless to say I couldn't work much that week as there was no way I could see in a patient's mouth and of course I couldn't wear contacts.  I got a new pair of glasses because of the deal and am finally feeling much better.  The doctor said my abrasion was so deep I'm lucky I didn't lose my vision.  I don't even know how it happened! But eye pain is the worst pain and I hope I never have to go through that again.

And an update on my love life..still non-existant. But I'm still perfectly fine with it as I am loving my single adventures and traveling and doing what I want to do.  My time will come, so they say.  Until then, I will sit back and continue to enjoy the ride.
Hope you are all having a good weekend! Can't wait for more upcoming adventures to share with you all and in closing I think I found a perfect quote for me..
 " Maybe some women aren't meant to be tamed. Maybe they just need to run free till they find someone just as wild to run with them."

Until next time..


Traveling Braceface

It has been one month since I have written! One month! There goes my goal at getting better at writing more.  I will continue to work on that. ;)
I have been so busy! I have been a traveling fool lately and loving every minute of it.  A month ago I went to Iowa (Des Moines) to visit one of my favorites, then the following weekend went to Atlanta to visit another favorite and then the past two weekends I have been in Orlando with friends and family.  My weekends have been filled of laughter, memories, sunshine, Zac Brown Band concert (again), pooltime, and of course ice cold beverages.  I am taking advantage of doing things like this while I am not tied down and have the opportunity to do so.  I have been really happy and grateful for chances like these and the memories being made.
I'm trying to think of things that are new and exciting with me so I can share with you all..
I attended my first hockey game last week with my neighbors.  It was the Tampa Bay Lightning playoff game and it was such a good time!! I have not really been into hockey before but I have been following lately and learning it and really becoming a fan.  Plus the single, hot Canadian boy that sat next to me during the game explaining everything to me really helped the situation.  "I'll teach you some hockey ay!" Sign me up.  Too bad he was just visiting for the week from Canada for this hockey series. 
I made 100 beers at World of Beer! 100 different beers! Does that sound like I have a problem? Sounds like more of a good time to me!  I am the first girl to get my name on the board of loyalty members.  How proud are you mom and dad? Plus I love the bartenders there and of course they enjoy when I am there too. I even have one of the hot ones wearing a Hawkeye hat.  Boom
Me and my girlfriends now have a new obsession of learning Nicki Minaj raps.  You want a fun challenge? Learn one of her raps.  The best was when a couple weeks ago Jess and I were sitting at the bar and Super Bass came on and we rapped the whole thing.  Talk about being surrounded by impressed men.  It is super fun and challenging.  Give it a try! :)
And now my most exciting news that is new with me..I HAVE BRACES! I know, it looks like I had a beautiful smile with perfect teeth, but looks can be deceiving.  My gleeming white teeth are what have helped me get by.  My top teeth have always been okay, but my bottom teeth are crooked. (my brother received braces when he was young, and obviously I didn't...sore subject. haha)  If I wasn't in the dental field and didn't spend everyday in people's mouths, then I probably wouldn't care that much...but I do.  So now I am officiallly a braceface at the age of 27 years old.  And like I have said, I am probably increasing my odds of being single.  I look like a 17 year old that is not sure how to eat or talk. I now have a lisp as saying s is showing to be quite difficult for me, plus I think having no upper lip does not help the situation. (awesome family genes)  I was so sore for the first three days. Miserable sore.  I barely even talked, which is so unlike me.  But now as its been almost a week, it is getting better.  I can finally relate to my patients and how they are feeling so I am really happy about that.  It is just a huge change for me and something I hope I can get used to! It's still hard to eat some foods and goodbye to corn on the cob this summer! :(  We will see how this whole experience goes and hopefully I won't find myself sneaking into the office some weekend and taking them off myself because I can't stand it.  So for now, I will try my best to rock the braces!
Today was Oprah's last show ever.  I have been glued to her final episodes and honestly I have watched her over the years growing up.  Today's episode was my favorite yet.  As it was just her..no guests, no surprises, just lessons she has learned.  It reminded me of "The Secret" but coming from Oprah's mouth.  My favorite thing that she said today and a saying I really want to have stick with me forever because it is so true..
"What is life? What is every flower, every rock, every tree, every human being? Energy. And you're responsible for the energy you create for yourself, and you're responsible for the energy that you bring to others. Don't wait for somebody else to save you, to complete you, to fix you."

Food for thought as I end this blog.

Until next time....

The Blue Wave and A Ticket For One

I am slacking, I know.  I haven't blogged nearly enough as I have wanted to or what I had in mind when I created this blog! So I am going to work on this, I promise.  And I know my last one was sad and depressing, it was just how I was feeling at the time. This one will be better! :)
Things are going well for me currently in the sunshine state! The weather has been simply amazing and I have enjoyed many days at the pool and the beach in the last couple weeks.  I have made new friends! (So exciting I know!) and have made new memories!  So I suppose I will start where I last left off...
Jess moved, I was sad, we all know this.  But she was literally back one week later for work.  The two of us got a hotel room (scary thought, I know) and had a wonderful weekend.  We visited our favorite hotspots, danced, drank, laughed and cried.  One thing I have to share with you all that is most blog worthy out of our whole weekend was "the Blue Wave"   If someone ever offers you a Blue Wave shot, it would be in your best interest to kindly say no.  Jess recieved the Blue Wave from coworkers and she soon shared this hidden joy with me.  We had to find the perfect candidate to try this Blue Wave shot on and we waited awhile surveying the bar until the perfect candidate approached us.  He was a drunk, "badass marine" in his words who wanted to buy two beautiful ladies a shot.  Jess flashed the wedding ring and I said I had a boyfriend (because clearly I was not interested)  but he insisted and wouldn't leave.  So we told him we wanted a "Blue Wave" and Jess secretly ran to the bartender to fill her in.  She poured one shot of Blue UV Vodka for him and two shots of regular clear vodka for us (or so he thought.)  We all lifted our shots and toasted to the Blue Wave and now he could be a part of our Blue Wave club.   Needless to say, we really had water in our shot glasses and when he took the shot of the UV Vodka we threw our shots of water in his face.  "WELCOME TO THE BLUE WAVE CLUB!"  If I could have taken a picture of his face and posted it for ya'll I would have.  It was seriously priceless.  And the best part, a girl quickly approached us and said "it was the coolest thing she had seen that night"  Classic. 

Last week Nate and I were hanging out, drinking beer, playing video games..a typical Saturday night for me. (I swear I really am a girl!!!) when his neighbors from upstairs came down.  They are newlyweds of 6 months and she is my age.  They are both Florida born and raised.  They are a lot of fun! We went to World of Beer that night (of course) and had a great time! And since then we have cooked out, had a wine night at the pool, had a girls night, and then last night for Easter we grilled out and dyed Easter eggs.  This girl is 27 years old and has never dyed an Easter Egg in her life! I quickly introduced her and we had a great time. I'm so excited to have a new friend in my life that lives in the same apartment complex as me!

Like I said, yesterday was Easter.  Before I met up with my friends for a cookout mom and I went to Church in the morning and then spent the day at the beach.  We of course ended up at a beach bar and did a Happy Easter cheers and had a great time! Dad was in Chicago with my brother and they spent their Easter sitting in the bleachers at Wrigley Field. Can you sense the jealousy as I type these words? Good.  But I still had a great day to make up for it!   I did miss being with my family so much though and the ham and deviled eggs, Grandma putting quarters in eggs and having to find them and chocolate eggs all around the house.  Memories I will cherish forever.  But just like mom and I did yesterday "Cheers to new memories and traditions."

An update on airplane boy..since I have had some of you ask! (I love it, thanks!)  We do text now and then but are yet to meet up.  Good news though, Heidi did book us a 3 night 4 day stay in Daytona to use some weekend so we are just trying to pick a date and I have told him about this and he's excited (since that is where he lives now)  So we will see what happens!  And he has text me a few pictures and he is just as hot as I remember!!

Heidi and Dave are getting married in Mexcio this summer and I have been procrastinating buying my ticket because I honestly do not want to go alone.  I was a bridesmaid in another friends wedding in Jamaica and I didn't end up going because it was at a "Couples Only" resort and I would have to pay so much extra and would have to stay at a different location than everyone.  How sad is that?! So today as I spoke with the travel agent about Mexico she informed me it was going to be about $400 extra for me because I am single. A ticket for one is more expensive than a ticket for two.  Ouch.  Why is it so hard for me to find someone that wants to be with me and go lay on the beaches in Mexico with me? Obviously it's very frustrating.  Hi I'm Stephanie and I'll take a ticket to Mexico....ticket for one that is.

Where is the good in goodbye?

Goodbye.  That is a word that has shown up in my life way too often in the past couple years.  I am always saying goodbye. And it doesn't get easier either.  In my perfect little world all of my friends and family would live in a small town and be able to walk or ride your bikes to each others houses, just as it was growing up for me.  You wouldn't have to say goodbye, instead you could say "see you tomorrow!" But instead you grow up, life chages, decisions are made and you all end up living in new places.  Granted, change is good and new places are exciting but it still can be hard.  I have learned moving away that you don't make friends like you do back in Iowa.  Making friends is genuinely hard in new places, especially in your mid 20's when you are out of college and don't know anyone.  All of my friends that I have in my life and continue to surround myself around are friends I have always known or are from Iowa and can easily relate to me.  I don't know what I would do without my cellphone, or facebook, or Skype.  How did people ever survive without it? Technology these days makes long distance friendships so much easier and when I can see my friends faces right on my computer screen and have a conversation, I feel like they are sitting in the room with me.  Everytime I go home to visit and have to say goodbye, it sucks.  Or when I have visitors and they leave me, I feel like part of me left with them.  Can my perfect world please exist so I don't have to feel this way?Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together?  I guess that wouldn't work.  Someone would leave.  Someone always leaves.  Then we would have to say goodbye.  I hate goodbyes.  I know what I need.  I need more hellos.

I went through a seriously hard goodbye this week.  My best friend down here and the one who has been my rock and made Florida so much better for me, left me Friday for Atlanta.  Her husband got a job opportunity he couldn't pass up so they had to make the decision to leave.  Seeing that apartment empty where I have spent almost every weekend the past two years of my life felt like something was being ripped out of me.  It was such an awful feeling.  I felt like the day I saw my parents house empty after 25 years of living there.  It was all I had ever known.  And living here in Florida, being in that apartment and being with the Garvins is all I've really known here.  I could always count on them to be there and it was so nice having the feeling of being back home with them.  Everything from the Iowa Club, to Field Day, to my pool weekends, or hotel beach stays...just everything, was all with them.  So now a piece ofo me feels empty and I feel like I'm starting all over on my own again.  I know that may sound weird and its hard to explain in words, it's just that feeling I have.  I feel like I'm starting all over again.  What will my weekends consist of now? It's just the unknown feeling that scares me.   Is Florida the place for me still? Do I want to be here when all my friends are elsewhere? All these thoughts running through my head and I just don't have an answer to any of them.  Yes it's so nice I have my parents here and yes I have Heidi three hours away.  Three hours doesn't seem like much, but it's not that easy.  The real world tends to get in the way with making it easy. But regardless, I am thankful to have that option. 

I just found this quote and I think it's the perfect way to end this post....
"How lucky I am to have known someone who was so hard to say goodbye to."

Spring Break '98!!

Spring Break '98! That was our theme for the weekend.  Why you might ask? Well the only one of the 4 of us to take a spring break was Kati and that was in the year 1998 (I was in 8th grade, sorry Kati had to throw that out there) But we wanted to live like we were 18 and on spring break and not 27-31 years old..and boy did we ever! So the theme Spring Break '98 just stuck.  This weekend was seriously one of the best I have ever had. Many memories were made. I still continue to sit during the day and will find myself randomly smiling at something funny that happened or a random story pops into my head.  I'm still slowly recovering as my body nor my liver has ever taken such a beating. 

Thursday after Michelle and Crystal flew in, Kati and I leid them with green and white leis and took them to a bar on the water for some beverages under the sun.  We caught up and discussed our weekend plans, so excited to be reunited.  We came back to my apartment and got ready for the St Patty's night events.  On our way back we had to stop and buy some honey.  Somewhere Kati had heard that if you have two tablespoons of honey before you go to bed then you won't be hungover the next morning.  So honey was the first on our must have list, we had to try it. We went to O'Brien's Pub which was set up outside with tents and live music and men in kilts playing on bag pipes.  We opted for bottles of green beer instead of keg green beer.  A couple of my friends also came out to meet us and we had a good time.  My official name for the weekend was "jersey chaser" as I seem to be drawn to professional athletes.  I found myself at the bar with one of the Tampa Bay Bucs football players getting him to buy me shots.  Black, white, it doesn't matter to me..I was just loving me some athletes!  Kati was known as the "hat whore"  No, she's not a whore but when she is out drinking she likes to take men's hats and wear them around and pose for pictures.  Suprisingly, she is still lice free.  Michelle and Crystal are the married ones of the 4 of us but they still get their groove on and have a good time.  Michelle is the one in the group that turns heads wherever she goes so needless to say we had plenty of drinks bought for us over the weekend.  After the bar we came home and had Kati pouring honey down our throats (who measures out two tablespoons after a long night of drinking?!)
We woke up Friday morning and three out of the four felt amazing! (Crystal was hurting bad)  Maybe the honey really did work? We had more days to test it out of course.  We packed up and headed to Clearwater Beach. We checked into our hotel and left Crystal in the room to sleep.  The beach was PACKED! What else should you expect with spring break though.  We had a little cooler of beer and waited for Crystal to wake up and join us.  She finally felt better then we decided to go back to our hotel bar and pool.  Had some more fun under the sun then it was time to get ready for the night!  Jess came and joined us after she got out of work so the fantastic 4 turned into the fab 5 for the night!  We got ready, played some music, drank some beer, watched Crystal put in her hot hair extensions then headed for dinner. We didn't eat much but decided to box it up and save it for an after drinking delight.   After dinner we headed to the tiki bar outside and met a group of older married men.  They were nice guys and weren't really hitting on us, just talked and wanted to buy us drinks.  Who would turn down free drinks?  We socialized for awhile and then went into the club for some bottle service.  We orded our bottle of vodka and people watched the dance floor until we were ready to get out there and show off some moves.  The married men appeared again and got us to join their bottle service and after 4 bottles of champagne and 4 bottles of vodka spent on us I would say it was a pretty successful night.  While I was on the dance floor I found myself surrounded by a bachelor party and all of his friends were asking me to dance on the bachelor..who turns out, plays baseball for the Phillies.  Jersey chaser.  He was the bachelor though so it was all in fun.  I look over to the other side of the dance floor and Kati is wearing some man's hat of course, doing the robot.  Her signature dance move. It doesn't matter if a rap song was playing or a country song.  Kati would be breaking out the robot!  For the first time I experienced a full night of shoeacide.  This occurs when you wear high heels the whole night and can't even feel your feet the next morning.  Usually I keep flats in my purse but for the first time I went all heels, all night.  Ouch.  Anyways, after the club closed we went to Ihop and sat there to order breakfast but then remembered we all had leftover dinner so went up to the room to have a feast.  Apparently 5 girls having a feast and making drunk dials aren't exactly the quietest things ever, so we had security at the door and calling our room but we promised to be quiet and were able to stay.  All I remember before finally falling asleep was Kati pouring honey down our throats.

Woke up Saturday morning and amazingly felt pretty damn good.  We all did actually.  Maybe this honey thing really does work.  We packed up to head back to my apartment and to get ready for the Billy Currington/Zac Brown Band/Kenny Chesney concert. We were starting to feel a little tired and not as motivated so we pulled the "hair of the dog" and started drinking beer.  The concert was at Raymond James Stadium where the Bucs play, so we got there and tailgated a little bit.  My mom was our DD....what a trooper :)  The concert started at 4:30 and we enjoyed Billy and Zac Brown Band but Kenny was so disappointing! The sound system just wasn't right when he performed and he was so hard to hear.  I think us being high up had something to do with it and the fact it was an outdoor football stadium.  Kati managed to put on the guys hat behind us and pose for a picture.  It's just not a night out without this happening! We love you Kati! We left the concert during Kenny but it was still 10:30 so 6 hours at one concert and lots of beer drinking was a really long time! We didn't want to go out to another bar so instead we stopped and got some beer, frozen pizza, mac and cheese, chips and dip and tator tots.  My neighbor let us come to his apartment and drink and play games and cook since my roommate wasn't having it with us.  We played some cards and did head stands and cartwheels and the airplane.  Pretty typical right?  It was a fun time. 

Sunday morning I woke up and I felt like crap.  I had been drinking non-stop since Wednesday night and it had finallly hit me.  I was struggling to even move but I knew we had one more beach day ahead of us so I had to find the motivation. The other girls were doing pretty good.  I was thinking by now we would all have cavities from honey being poured straight into our mouths every night. And yes, we all did go to dental hygiene school together.  haha    

Kati drove my car to the beach for me since my head was pounding and we got there and went straight to Frenchy's.  A well known place in Clearwater.  We split the cheese fries and grouper..one of my favs there.  Of course we had to pull the "hair of the dog" again and started with bloody mary's.  It went down okay and we were all feeling pretty good.  We then realized that at 4pm Lil Jon was going to be performing on the beach for 20 bucks a ticket.  For a full spring break experience, this was an opportunity we just couldn't pass up.  OOOOKKAAAY! We switched to strawberry colada's (yum!) and tried to mentally prepare for this rap show.  Such an opposite day compared to our cowboy hats and country concert the night before.  Have you ever seen MTV when they show spring break concerts and girls in bikinis are getting crazy and everyone is having  a drunken time dancing on each other...well that is exactly what it was like.  Lil Jon and his entourage came out and were pouring shots down throats and whipping beads and cds.  Girls were literally getting it on in front of us and everyone was just getting down.  It was something I have never experienced before but now I can at least say I have.  Michelle got her picture with Lil Jon after she had been grinding in her bikini (one of the things on her bucket list) and after a long afternoon of  mixed drinks, dancing, rap music and a parking ticket we finally headed home.  It really was a good day and I'm so glad we decided to do it.  We ended our last day of spring break in true spring break style. 

Monday morning came early when it was time to say goodbye and then I had the longest work day of my life while they were having delays in airports.  It was all worth it though.  We had such a successful spring break trip, making up for the spring break experiences we never took the opportunity to do.

It really was a wonderful weekend and one that I will always remember.  We vowed to do this once a year around this time so it will be easier to plan around and something that will be set in time for us.  I know I will always remain close with these girls and it makes me smile.  These are friendships I will have forever.  I already have my flight booked to fly up to Des Moines at the end of April and we already have a night planned out since I will be there.  Bring on Spring Break '99...and don't forget the honey.

Thank you girls for an amazing weekend.

Happy St Patrick's Day!!!

So here I am, Thursday morning, sitting in my bed while Kati's hungover ass sleeps next to me. It's St Patty's Day! I'm ready to go!! So for the time being, I decided I would blog quick since I was slacking again all week and I know my next blog will be all about this epic girls trip!

My vacation officially started today and it feels so good to not be at work right now! Michelle and Crystal fly in at 3:50 and I have green beads ready to throw around their necks when they walk off that plane.  We are deciding between two huge bar parties tonight so I can't wait to fill you all in on what we do.  I introduced Kati to World of Beer last night, it's a must if you have never been like I said!  I think I should open up one in Iowa.  It would be a hit.  I got my 50 tee-shirt last night because I'm officially in the 50 club! I'm pretty excited about it.  haha    I woke up last night to Kati projectile vomiting on my floor..I think that means she had a good time.  Welcome to Florida.

I hadn't had a chance to write about my weekend last weekend so I will give you a quick update.  I got my hair done on Friday and for the first time in my life I got my eyebrows waxed.  I was so nervous my hands were sweating.  She put the warm wax on and I was just waiting for her to rip it off and be terrible pain and me yelling out "Kelly Clarkson!" but it really wasn't that bad and she did a great job! (There is your shoutout Stacy!) :)  Always a good time at the hair salon!
Saturday I went up to Orlando with my mom to stay at my aunt and uncle's house.  If you want a good time and great snacks, make this trip with me! I always enjoy going up there hanging out by the pool and having lots of laughs and of course being in great company.  We are definitely a F-U-N family! We went to a couple bars and my cousin and I were drinking 100 ounce pitchers of beer.  Classy girls? Of course.  I have to throw the quote of the night in this blog just to let you in on how entertaining my family is...we are sitting around the table and my cousin stops and looks at us and states "you know, I'm like a fine antique.  I mean, who wouldn't want this sitting in their living room!"  Then she proceeds to strike an "antique pose."  Thank you Kacee for all the laughs. 

Well Kati is finally up and moving and it is a beautiful day out! I think this means it's time for a green beer.  :)

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Field day, friends, and Florida sunshine

This was a weekend where I sit back and realize how nice it is to live in Florida.  While my friends and family are up in the midwest dealing with another snowfall and freezing their butts off, I had a weekend filled with sunshine, drinking by the pool and reading a book on the beach.  It really was a wonderful weekend.
Yesterday we competed in a field day through the Tampa Bay Sports Club with all the proceeds going to the Special Olympics.  It was such a fun day! We competed in all different types of events.  For example we all had to tie ourselves together and go through an obstacle course, there was a waterballoon toss, a rubber ducky launch, flippy cup, football throwing, relay races and even an event where you had to carry empty kegs and move them along while someone rides on top of them. It was all about strategy!  I competed in the football throwing contest and basically you had to go down the line and hit targets.  Each target was placed further and further out.  The last target is worth 50 points if you hit it.  There were 39 teams yesterday and I was the only girl to hit the 50 point target. So that was something I was definitely able to smile about!  And then this got me thinking..I am not your average girl.  I can be good at sports, I'm addicted to the video game Black Ops (yes I play almost everyday and yes I wear the headset), I would rather go to a sports bar and drink beer and eat wings then sip wine at fancy restaurant.  I would think these characteristics would make me a good catch but now I'm realizing that maybe I'm too intimidating to men. Maybe this is why I always end up the "friend" and not the girlfriend.  Maybe they don't want a girl that can beat them in anything competitive or know a little bit more about sports than them or have more kills than them in their video game.  I think I make myself harder to approach with these characteristics of mine or make it harder to see me as more than just a best friend.  But I am not changing how I am and I will just continue to wait until that day may come where someone will  want to be with me for these characteristics of mine! He just better not be a sore loser. ;)
Ok now that I'm done venting about not being your average girl, I will continue on with how my weekend went.  After field day we filled the cooler, took some cards and our music and hung out at the pool.  It is hands down one of my favorite things to do on the weekends.  Always a good time!  You know you want to come here and hang out with us after reading this! :)
Then today mom and I went to the beach.  I think everyone that lives in the Tampa Bay area was on Clearwater beach today.  It was so crowded! With the weather being so nice this weekend, that is obviously where everyone wanted to be.  After dealing with the traffic and searching for a place to park it was so nice to just lay there and relax! It was a beautiful day.
Oh yes and now for an update on the "airplane boy."  After texting yesterday we decided that we need to randomly stop seeing each other on airplanes and offcially make plans. (thank you Jess for giving me that courage-you are the best)  We are trying to figure out a weekend that works for both of us and then I will head up to Daytona! My hands are starting to sweat already just thinking about it!  So we will see what happens, and of course I will keep you all updated.

Now I'm going to go back to watching the Oscars and wishing I looked like Mila Kunis and owned that dress! So beautiful!