Travels and Trade-Ups

I'm improving my average of one blog a month with this blog!  Let's see...I left off with my departure to St. Pete to visit Michael for the Fourth of July.  That night we met up with one of his friends, Nick, and we all went to downtown St. Pete for dinner and then to see the fireworks over the water.  We were worried the weather wouldn't cooperate, as it had been thunder storming on and off all day long.  However, it stopped just long enough for the 30 minute show and then started sprinkling just as we were leaving.  It was a great show (other than the fact that I was being devoured by the state bird of Florida the whole time...aka - mosquitos). I realized that Michael and I have a history of watching great fireworks displays together.  Many years ago, while visiting their family in Virginia over the 4th of July, I really wanted to go see the D.C. fireworks.  No one was willing to take me into the city to see them except Michael.  The traffic was, as expected, terrible.  But we finally made it and ended up watching the fireworks from near the Iwo Jima memorial. It wasn't the best display I've ever seen because there was no breeze  and the smoke lingered, but it is among my best memories of watching fireworks.  

The next time I remember seeing epic fireworks with Michael was junior year of college when Casey (my college roomie) and I went down to Tallahassee for spring break.  Michael drove us down to Disney for two days.  When we were at Magic Kingdom, I wore our entire party ragged dragging them from ride to ride at a breakneck pace.  It must have been 9 p.m. as we raced toward Thunder Mountain Railroad for the second time when all of a sudden the fireworks started.  I skidded to a halt (probably for the first time that day) and we all stood still as we watched the show above our heads.  It was magical. 

I don't know where our next epic firework sighting will be, but I'm sure we'll have more to come.  But there is one running theme - I want to see fireworks, and Michael humors me.  I have the best cousin ever!

After the firework display in St. Pete, we went to a karaoke bar and I sang "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and "Wagon Wheel."  Michael's friend Nick sang some patriotic song (can't remember which).  It was a really fun night!

The next day I went for a run around a big lake right near Michael's apartment.  I saw loons, egrets, turtles, cranes and all sorts of different plants.  I really wanted to see an alligator, as there were warning signs for them, but I didn't see any (and being from FL, I'm pretty good at spotting them even though they are good at hiding). I did, however, see a crane catch a water snake and then think about eating it for a good 7 minutes, then finally eat it as it wiggled all the way down.  So cool.  lol  

Dolphins at the aquarium.

By the time I returned, Michael had finished the stuff he was working on and we decided to go to the Clearwater Aquarium.  By the time we finally arrived in Clearwater (boy do I hate Florida traffic), it was down pouring.  We decided to get some lunch first at a little café, then made a break for the car to drive over to the aquarium.  When we reached it, it was raining so hard you couldn't see out the windshield.  Michael dropped me off at the front which was the ticketing area, covered by a permanent tent sort of structure.  Just running the 3 feet to get under it, I was soaked.  I made my way farther into the tent, trying to avoid the rain blowing in from the sides.  I pressed myself up against one of the ticket booths as I waited for Michael - and waited, and waited. He was trapped in his car without an umbrella.  Meanwhile, I was watching the storm and wondering if the tent was structurally sound because it certainly gave off the appearance of wanting to blow away.  I'm pretty sure we were experiencing a low-grade hurricane, because that storm was INSANE.  Finally, I suggested Michael use the towels we had in the trunk, but he pointed out that getting into the trunk would soak him.  I then suggested he use the little door that most back seats have to get into the trunk.  He didn't realize his car had this, but upon checking, realized it did, and he found a sun shield.  He used the shield to cover himself and ran to the aquarium. 

The aquarium was pretty cool, and is also the home of Winter, the tale-less dolphin.  It uses a prosthetic tail three times a day as physical therapy.  We got to watch the dolphins do many tricks and I enjoyed watching the otters.  By 5 pm, the weather had died down and we were able to see an outdoor dolphin show.  Overall, it was a lot of fun.

St. Pete Beach with Michael.

That night we met up with one of Michael's cousin and girlfriend for dinner.  Then we went to downtown St. Pete for live music and festivities. 

On Saturday we went to the St. Pete beach because it was finally sunny!  I had to take Michael to the airport that night as he had a flight to London. I drove back to his apartment and wrote a travel article and watched "Into the West" which was one of the many DVDs Michael gave me to take home with me. About 12:30 at night, I decided to check in online for my flight.  When I did so, it said I was too early to check in.  I didn't understand because the flight was in less than 10 hours.  When I went back to my confirmation email, I realized I'd accidentally booked my flight to return the following Sunday.  Well, I totally freaked out.  I was in a city I didn't know, Michael was on a plane and a taxi was scheduled to take me to the airport the next morning for a flight I wasn't on.  Mom and Dad were in the mountains with no cell service. I called Ryan who was at Myrtle Beach with his family.  He went down to the computer in the hotel to start looking up flights for me as I did the same on my end.  It was impossible to change my flight because the airline was really cheap and they don't have a number to call.  Long story short, I ended up booking a one-way on the same airline and flight I thought I'd booked.  Except the one-way cost over $200 and the roundtrip had cost me $177. 

When I got to the airport the next day, I asked about cancelling the second half of my original flight.  They ended up giving me a $38 credit after taking out all the fees and whatnot.  So, it ended up being a very expensive trip, but I'm glad I went - I had a great time. 

First Friday Night Dinner at my house.

The next week was a good time in Charlotte.  Ryan and I had dinner with his parents on Monday night as they were in town from Canada.  Ryan and his mom made a delicious dinner and they were really delightful to talk with.  

That Friday night I hosted First Friday Night Dinner at my house (even though it was the second Friday).  We probably had about 20 people and it went off very successfully.  Ryan and the other guys cooked on the charcoal grill Mom and Dad gave me making sausages and steaks.  Alissa made sloppy joes and I made my famous sopapilla cheesecake.  Everyone else brought random items and it was really great.  At the end of the night we busted out the Just Dance for the Wii and Ryan was the only guy brave enough to do it.  He actually enjoyed it and had a lot of fun.  Everyone said, "Yup, that's why Lauren's dating a Canadian - because he's the only one man enough to dance in front of a whole room of people to a Brittany Spears song." hahahaha

Adam, Lindsay and me - all CBCC employees and my friends :)

On Sunday Ryan and I picked up a washer and dryer from a couple off Craig's List.  They are only 5 years old and were $300.  I think I got a pretty good deal!  However, once Ryan and Dad helped get them in my house the dryer wouldn't work.  We thought it was the house, not the dryer, but we weren't sure and Uncle Bob was on vacation so we didn't want to call and bother him.  Ryan also hadn't gotten washing machines for his new house, so both of us went over to Mom and Dad's to do our laundry and eat dinner and use the internet. We also watched So You Think You Can Dance with mom.

This past Monday, I made dinner at my house for Ryan.  I made caprese salad (tomatoes, basil and mozzarella).  I had fresh basil and tomatoes from Mom's garden, and the cheese was from Whole Foods.  It was very yummy!  I also made pasta with Prego sauce, but I added lots of yummy veggies to the sauce so it was kind of like homemade.

On Wednesday we went to Coyote Joes for line dancing lessons, so we now have six dances in our repertoire! 

The guys at First Friday Night Dinner.

Today at work was great!  I was offered a promotion at work - a real one this time - and will be the new "Communications Coordinator" as of Monday with a significant raise (which I also bargained for! Go me!) and my own office.  I'll be doing marketing work more full-time and the C.E.O. even agreed to pay for me to take classes in computer design programs like "InDesign," "Photoshop" and "Illustrator."  That way, in future, I can start bringing design work for CBCC in house.  My boss promised that this is only the beginning of great things for me at CBCC, so I really hope to move up even further in future.  

I also negotiated with AT&T for my internet service today.  They were going to charge me $40 a month plus a $150 for equipment/insall fee.  Then my roommate found out that she could switch her Time Warner to our place for $38 a month for slightly faster service without any fees.  So I called AT&T to cancel, and they said they'd give me even faster internet for $28 a month with one $50 fee.  I said "SOLD!"  Yay!  Way to pit them against each other!!

I am now typing this from Knoxville where I drove with three other friends after work for my friends' Lesley and Ben's wedding.  I've never been here before, so I'm looking forward to seeing the city tomorrow. 

June

June was a very busy month for me (as though that's a change!).  For starters, my friend Alissa and I moved into our new home (the one Uncle Bob bought to fix up and eventually flip).  He said if we found two more roommates, we could rent it out from him through at least next July.  So, we spent June moving in, cleaning and painting and fixing and hanging, and searching for roomies.  I finally found two girls who will move in mid-July: Kenya and Atecia. They are both writers (though Kenya writes books and Atecia does web editing and writes for NPR).  Kenya is very outgoing and laughs a lot.  I met her a few years ago before I went on my cross-country road trip.  She'd originally planned to come along, but got a job just before the trip was about to start, and couldn't take the time off.

Alissa and me.

Lauren, Danny and Lieselotte at River Jam.

We recently re-connected when she invited me to her book release party for her newly published book: The Chronicles of Koa. I wanted to interview her first for an Observer article, and when she came over I mentioned we were looking for roommates.  She loved the place and eventually decided to commit to the move!  A few days after the interview, I went to her book release party.  I was happy to be there to support her, but as I walked around the party, I realized why I always rank as a slight "introvert" on personality tests - not knowing another soul in the room, I was having a mild panic attack.  My skin was clammy and I felt as though everyone was looking at me thinking "Why doesn't she have any friends to talk to?"  Of course the rational side of my brain said that no one probably even cared, but none-the-less, I felt very awkward.  Not wanting to just leave, I sat down at a long table where people were gathered on each side of me talking amongst themselves.  I waited for a good 10 minutes before I found an opening to talk to the small group to my left.

My friend Christen and me at Pops in the Park.

The guy sitting next to me was named Ryan and we started talking about various things.  My cross country road trip came up (as my connection to Kenya), and Ryan asked if I'd made it up to Canada during my trip.  I said yes, I'd been to Vancouver and also to Toronto a different time.  He asked if I'd ever made it anywhere farther north, like Price Edward Island.  I just about fell out of my chair.  "How do you know about Prince Edward Island?" I said with enthusiasm.  "I've wanted to go there since I was four years old, but no one's ever heard of it!  Do you have a mother or sister obsessed with Anne of Green Gables?"  He said, rather shyly, "Well, my mother likes it.  Yeah, we used to go camping there as kids."  I'm pretty sure my jaw was hitting the table as I tried to grasp the fact that this guy actually got to spend significant time in my dream destination.

performing silks uptown on an outside rig

Then I found out he was Canadian, and it all started to make sense. We spent the rest of the night talking about this and that.  He's an engineer for Siemens and keeps giant energy generators from blowing up (at least, that's my take of the very long explanation of what he does).  When the book party ended, we went outside the pub and played giant Jenga (which I won), before he walked me to my car. He got my number so we could hang out again.

Over the next week we hung out several times, going line dancing at Coyote Joe's, ice skating (and since he plays hockey, he really showed me up there), playing scrabble and having a cookout at his apartment pool.

Lieselotte and Danny also came to visit Thursday afternoon to Friday morning that week.  It was a short visit, but I was so happy to see them both.  I gave them a driving tour of Charlotte and Thursday night we went to River Jam at the White Water Rafting Center (which is a free concert at the center).  It was really fun and we ran into several of my friends there as well.  After that, we stopped by Saddle Up (a new line dancing/country bar), and while we had a lot of fun riding the bull and dancing on the completely empty dance floor, it wasn't nearly as authentic or cool as Coyote Joe's. Friday morning I went with them to Cracker Barrel very early in the morning, and (of course) Danny being from overseas thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. "I can't believe you can get this much food for $8!!" he kept saying. 

Ryan (blue shirt), me and 2 of his friends who helped him move.

The following week he was moving into a new house he just bought close to Ballantyne.  On Tues and Wed after work, his former roommate and I helped him load the U-Haul and move all his stuff and unload the U-Haul.  Then I drove him to the airport on Friday b/c he was flying home for Canada Day (July 1). He spent the weekend in Toronto with his two brothers and one of their French Canadian friends, then they all flew back to Charlotte on Tuesday.  Tuesday night, all four of them stayed at my new house because Ryan has almost no furniture in his new house. We all had a good time and there were many laughs to be had, though we stayed up far too late considering I had work on Wednesday.  Wednesday morning, when I left for work, Ryan and the Canadian crew all set off for Myrtle Beach where they would spend 4th of July weekend.

Wednesday after work, Mom, Alissa and I all went to Cirque du Soleil with a group from my silk aerial class.  The day before I'd gotten to take a class at our studio from the primary silk aerial performer from the show, which was so cool.  I didn't realize how amazing she really was though until I saw her in the show - WOW.  I couldn't believe her strength and speed doing silks 50 feet in the air!  Afterward, the dancers from my studio (including me) got to go back stage with Tania (the aerialist) and have a little tour.  The show (Quidam) has been running for 17 years and is truly something to behold.  The oldest person in the show is 51 and he was so strong and amazing - he was doing all sorts of strength and contortion.  The youngest person was 19, but most were 21 or older (which is hard to believe because some of them are sooo tiny).  I'm so glad I got to see the show!  Mom loved it too!

Today is the Fourth of July and I'm currently in the Greensboro Airport (where I drove this morning) to take a flight out of here to St. Petersburg, FL where I'll visit with Michael (my cousin) for the weekend. I hope it doesn't rain the whole time!  It's been raining almost nonstop on the East coast lately. 

I guess those are most of the highlights!  Pictures coming soon!

Wedding Festivities

It's getting harder and harder for me to keep this updated, and the longer I go without writing, the more I forget about.

In a quick recap: May consisted of 3 weekends in a row where I went out of town.

Erika and me

Aaron, me, Erika after Aaron's graduation

Bridal shower with Tiffany dressed in a "TP" dress ;)

Weekend 1: I drove to Chapel Hill on Friday and visited with my old professor, Dr. Gless (who now wants me to call him Darryl which is going to be exceedingly hard).  After meeting with him, I met my old roommate Krystle for dinner in downtown Chapel Hill.  It was so good to see her again and it was just like old times.  After dinner we got Yogurt Pump (an old haunt with delicious frozen yogurt), then walked around the campus in the dimming twilight.  The lamps came on, lighting the brick paths, and as we wandered and reminisced, we got teary eyed remembering the good ol' days.  Then we felt sorry for ourselves about actually getting old enough to "remember the good ol' days."  haha  But in all seriousness, we both agreed - the farther we are removed from our Chapel Hill days, the more we realize how unbelievably blessed we were to go there.  We had amazing professors, made friends for life, lived on the most beautiful campus in the country (I'm not a bit biased), and shared experiences that will never leave us.  And I miss it every day.

At our cabin in Hot Springs NC for bachelorette party

After a night of watching Dawson's Creek for old times' sake, I got up the next morning and drove to Cary where I met up with my good friend Erika, her brother Aaron, and their parents.  Erika was in town for Aaron's graduation from UNC's School of Nursing, so I decided to come up, see Erika (who lives in L.A.) and also go to Aaron's graduation (we've become friends through Erika).  Erika's parents are the editors/producers of Boom! Magazine which I've been writing travel articles for since last year, so while I was there, they gave me some copies of the most recent issue with my article about Utah inside.  Here is the link if you'd like to see the online version: http://www.boomnc.com/featured-articles/happiness-dwells-in-utah/

Hanging around on an old caboose

I had a great time with their family, per usual, and was sad to have to leave early Sunday morning in order to make it to Lake Norman where Tiffany's mom was throwing her a bridal shower.  However, I was certainly glad to be at the shower, as it was beautiful and Tiffany is my longest friend.  I planned the games for the shower, and it was a lot of fun and laughter.

Weekend 2: I picked up Tiffany Saturday morning and drove her to Hot Springs, NC where we had rented a cabin for her bachelorette weekend.  Six of her other friends met us there and we surprised her with a hot springs bath (sort of like a big hot tub that we all got to sit in for an hour), as well as a 1 hour massage for Tiff on Sunday.  Saturday night we had an "ugly dress party" where Tiffany was adorned in a 1980s wedding dress from GoodWill and the rest of us brought along the tackiest dresses we could find.  After we were properly adorned, we hit the town - which was the definition of a one-horse town.  By the end of the evening, everyone in Hot Springs knew who we were.  Even the Sheriff took a picture with Tiffany.  We left with a very good feeling about Hot Springs and a longing to return to the town that welcomed a raucous bachelorette party with open arms.

Ugly dress party

Weekend 3: On Friday morning May 24, I left Charlotte at 7:30 a.m. in order to be in Asheville by 10 a.m. where Tiffany's dad paid for all the women in the bridal party to get mani/pedis and massages. It was a delightful morning of pampering.  Tiffany also presented us with robes that have our names on the front and our title (mine said 'Maid of Honor') on the back.  Later that afternoon, we met at the wedding venue (The Crest Center on top of a mountain in Asheville) and went through the dress rehearsal.  It was windy and rather chilly, and we were praying it would not be so the next day.

Tiff and me

From there we went to the rehearsal dinner at a yummy Italian place in downtown Asheville.  It was nice, by this point, getting to know the bridesmaids a little better (since most Tiff had met through summers at Girl Scout camp).  I felt the closest to Thea who was very sweet and the only other non-girl scout in the party.  Unfortunately, she lives in Austin,TX now. :(

I gave a speech at the dinner that made everyone tear up - except Tiffany.  It was then my personal goal to make her tear up during my speech at the actual wedding.

in the limo being silly

bridesmaides

That night, Mitch (Tiff's soon-to-be husband) asked me if I'd teach them how to dance.  So, after the dinner, I went back to the Grovepark Inn with Tiffany and Mitch and taught them how to waltz in the middle of the bridal suite at 11 p.m. the night before their wedding.  I was a little concerned, but when they had their first dance, they did very well.  I was proud.

walking down the aisle

Saturday morning all the bridesmaids met in the bridal suite and hair and makeup artists arrived to do us up.  By the end, we all looked incredibly beautiful, none more so than Tiffany, who was simply radiant. The photographer took us for pictures before the limos arrived to transport us to the Crest Center for the ceremony.

perfect day

The day of the wedding could not have been more perfect.  A light breeze complimented the 72 degree sunny weather.  The skies were 100% clear and the view was spectacular. No one tripped while walking down the aisle (which was really just a grassy pathway), and the ceremony was short and sweet.  Mitch surprised us all when he was asked to kiss the bride and dipped her back to kiss her.

You May Kiss the Bride

The reception was a ton of fun and I danced the night away.  My speech also brought a few glistening tears to Tiffany's eyes, so my mission was complete. (I also got many compliments both at the rehearsal dinner and at the reception about my speeches, which made me happy :)).  The entire wedding was pulled off so beautifully, with not a single detail overlooked.  Every place setting had a rock with our name written on it, candles floated on glass trays above the tables, white Christmas lights decorated the rafters.  It was just perfect.

We love you guys!

It was also weird - sending my oldest friend off with her new husband.  My best friend just got married. What??  How is this possible?  But I can't say I'm not thrilled for them both.  Mitch is fantastic and like a brother to me.  But it's still strange.

Now: Now I'm in the process of moving into a house my Uncle Bob bought to eventually re-sell.  Until that point, he's letting my friend Alissa and I move in and rent it.  We are currently looking for 2 more renters to come split the cost.  In the meanwhile, we've been painting, cleaning, moving stuff...it's all been a lot of work, especially since this is my 4th move in a year.

at the reception

I also had a recent silk aerial performance, which went great until I got a bad silk burn on my leg. :(  However, it won't stop me going forward.  I'll just be more careful.  Yesterday I went to the dentist for the first time in 2.5 years (b/c I didn't have dental insurance until recently).  They found a cavity in my top wisdom tooth, so instead of trying to fill it (which would've been very difficult b/c of how far back it was), they decided to pull it out.  Right then.  They numbed me up, but let me just say, having someone pry a wisdom tooth out of your jaw while you are awake and hearing it and feeling the pressure and listening to the doctor strain - well, it's rather terrifying.  So yesterday I was pretty sore.  I'm doing much better today, but still not back to normal.

Doing the waltz I taught them the night before!

I suppose those are the major updates.  I will add pictures soon!

old high school friends

Marshall and me

Horse Races and Other Fun

At the Steeplechase horse race.

Today was a day of both reminiscing and looking ahead.  To start with, Mom, Dad and I went to a storage unit Maria had with all the condo furniture in it, I rented a U-Haul, and between that and Mom's van, we moved all the furniture (which Maria gave me) to Uncle Bob's garage where it will be stored until I move into an apartment.  I hope to move into a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in Aug or Sept with my friend Alissa who studied abroad with me the summer after Freshman year of college, and I ran into a couple years ago in Charlotte. She's a quiet, low-key, but very sweet girl and I think we will get along really well.  Now that I have furniture for the place, I'm really getting excited about looking.  I want to live in the Montford area, which is where a lot of people my age are living.  It's close to a lot of restaurants, shopping, movie theater, bowling ally as well as very close to my work.  It's about 10 min from uptown and 7 min from Grandma and Grandpa's house & my church.  So here's to the future!

With friends at the race (see the rogue horse behind us).

But, it was also a day of the past.  I got back to Kherri and Craig's house around 5 pm, and they are at a music festival all day, so it's quiet here.  Just the dogs and me.  And it's been raining and cold all day (clearly Charlotte has forgotten what month we are in), which always makes me miss people.  Funny how that works.  I had a nice long catchup with Lieselotte first.  She met someone a couple months ago and is so happy, and I love talking to her just hearing the joy in her voice.  I really hope this guy is "the one" because she deserves to have someone as great as she is in her life.  She really is such a wonderful friend.  She calls me nearly every week, and in most friendships, I'm the one who always has to make the effort.  It really warms my heart. I can't wait until June when she comes to visit.  

Life group dinner at 1900 Mexican Grill.

Next I talked to my roommate from senior year of college, Krystal.  We don't get to talk often as we are both so busy, but today we had a nice long chat, and I'm very excited because I'm going to see her on Friday when I drive up to Chapel Hill.  I'll drive up in the afternoon, see my old professors and then stay with Krystle that night before going to Raleigh to spend Saturday and Sunday morning with Erika (in town from LA) and her family.  Her brother Aaron will be graduating from nursing school on Saturday, so I'm looking forward to supporting him at that. I really love her family - it will be great hanging out with them.  When I leave on Sunday, I'll have to drive straight to Lake Norman where Tiffany's bridal shower will be held at her mom's house.  I'm planning the games, so I'll have to have those prepared beforehand.

The following weekend is Tiff's bachelorette party in the mountains, and the next weekend is her wedding!  While I'm looking forward to all these things, it'll be nice to be able to breathe a little come June.

Me, Adam and Kenika at work.

The past two weekends I've done Kentucky Derby style things.  Steeplechase was first - a big horse race down in Waxhaw.  That was fun.  We had a tailgate party inside the giant track and watched the race from the middle on a big hill.  All the ladies wore big hats and dresses, and most of the guys donned their seersucker and polo shirts. We had a big picnic and ate way too much.  It was delightful. lol  There was also a horse in the first race that threw its rider and went flying around the track about eight times before they could stop it.  It ended up in the back of one of our photos which was pretty funny.

Yesterday I went to a Kentucky Derby part at the Mint Museum where they had croquet and food and showed the race live on a big screen. I went with Alissa and some of her friends, and it was fun, but it was cold and dreary.

Friday at work, two of my colleagues, Adam and Kenika, and I all wore our green pants to work for an unofficial "green pants day." haha  On Friday night, my friends and I had our First Friday Night Dinner party at my friend Jenna's house.  It was very successful with about 20 people coming.  We had a bonfire and my sopapilla cheesecake was a hit, per usual. :)

First Friday Night Dinner at Jenna's.

At work, I started my new job doing social media and I like it a lot so far.  I didn't get a raise, but I'm hoping I'll get a decent one in the new fiscal year (October).  They are, however, going to get me an iPhone, but since it'll be through work, I don't think I can get my phone number transferred to it.  However, it'll be convenient to have, even if I do have to keep carrying my old phone. 

26 and the Race is On

I’m sorry it’s been such a terribly long time since my last blog.  My 26^th year has started out even busier than my 25^th was.  If it keeps up like this, I’ll have to learn how to fly by 30. 

On my 26^th birthday, which fell on a Friday, my oldest friend, Tiffany, threw me a party.  It also coincided with our monthly First Friday Dinner, so we combined them.  Around 15 people came and Tiffany made a cake and Mitch (her fiancé) made great burgers.  At the end of the night, we had a bonfire in the backyard and roasted marshmallows.  I had a fantastic time and the evening made me feel a lot better about turning 26.  It really struck me how very blessed I am – I not only have an amazing family, but amazing friends.  People underestimate the value of true friends. For me, they are family.  Tiffany, Lieselotte and several of the girls in my life group will always be like sisters to me.

At my 26th B-day party.

Toward the end of the month, I took a few days off and hitched a ride to Jacksonville with my roommates.  It was so fantastic to see Kelly, Bob, Sydney and Camryn again. Sydney has grown several inches taller, impossibly, and Camryn is still as cute as a button. They are both such loves and hugs from them make all your cares disappear. 

The day we arrived, I was super tired because Kherri and Craig had insisted we leave a 7 a.m. and I hadn’t gotten to bed until 1 a.m.  So, after picking up Sydney from the bus stop, I took a nap.  I was awoken at 4:40 by Kelly jumping on me and telling me she got off early to see me. She came and snuggled with me and we talked for a while.  Sometimes I forget how much I miss my girl cousin time. Kelly reminds me so much of my mom when I was a little girl.  There’s such a strong family resemblance too – it makes me very proud to say I’m a Carraway woman (figuratively speaking). 

While there I also got to watch Camryn’s Easter parade at school, visit the Ponte Vedra beach with Bob and the girls, and take a lovely bike ride with the whole family.  Their neighborhood in Ponte Vedra is beautiful and I loved seeing all the gigantic mansions with the Spanish moss-covered trees in the yard. 

On Friday I rented a car (and got it really cheaply thanks to Kelly’s ACOSTA discount).  They gave me an Infinity, which I’d never heard of until everyone kept saying “whoa, you got an Infinity? That’s a nice car.”  It was pretty cool.  Key-less ignition, lots of cool gadgets that I wasn’t sure how to work, a large sunroof and incredible pickup made driving fun.  I left their house around noon and drove down to St. Augustine. 

I spent about 2 hours walking through the oldest city in America and found a great Spanish bakery that sold real empanadas.  I ate my lunch by the harbor and enjoyed listening to the seagulls.  I also bought some sunglasses, as mine had broken the day before.

From there, I took the coastal road for a long time before cutting across toward Orlando.  On my drive, I stopped at a nice beach where I spent a little time enjoying the beautiful day.  Unfortunately, all these detours caused me to hit terrible rush hour traffic outside Orlando.  I finally arrived at our hotel about 6:30 p.m. and I was supposed to meet Justin and Kayla and their friend, Taylor, at this fun park at 7.  Unfortunately, it started raining, so we couldn’t meet there anymore. We decided to meet at the mall instead. 

Out at Olive Garden for my 26th with Gma and Gpa.

It was so nice to see them again – it’s been years! – and we walked around the mall and caught up until Michael was close.  (He’d hit bad traffic from Tampa to Orlando).  We decided to meet him at a Greek restaurant called Opa! At 8:30.  I really liked the restaurant.  It had dancing on tables and throwing of napkins and overall merriment.  Plus, the homemade hummus and pita was enough to sell me on the food!  Michael got octopus (not even fried) and we all tried a bite.  I feel much braver since the last time I was in Spain (with all the crazy food I tried there).  I got a gyro (my favorite Greek dish). 

Afterward, we went back to Michael’s and my hotel room (which was a suite with a living room), put on music, and danced and hung out for a couple hours.  Justin and Kayla, who are both very athletic, showed us how they can do the Dirty Dancing lift, which inspired Taylor and I to try it out.  Since there were two beds on each side of us, we felt safe trying the lift because if I fell, I’d land on a bed one way or another.  And while there were plenty of falls, we did it!  I was very excited and want to try it again with someone else who looks like they’re strong enough to hold me up. Of course, trying it out in water may be a better idea.

Given that we didn’t get to bed until 1 a.m. or so, I decided we weren’t going to get up until 9 a.m. the next day.  After a leisurely breakfast, Michael and I headed to Islands of Adventure.  We made a beeline for the Harry Potter world and immediately got in line for the famous HP immersion ride.  I think the line may have taken about 40 minutes, but the time flew because there were so many cool things to look at in the castle (which was unbelievably life-like) and because Michael and I had so much to catch up on.  When we got to the part where I was about to get on the ride, Michael waited where I would get off because he thinks it would make him feel sick.  I took motion-sickness medication beforehand because I REALLY wanted to go on this ride! 

It was very cool, to say the least.  Just wish it had lasted longer!  You really do feel like you are flying.  When I got done, we walked around Hogsmeade, checked out the wand shop, the sweets shop, bought some Butter Beer and pumpkin juice and tried to soak up the atmosphere of being at Hogwarts.  I think it would’ve been cooler in winter though (not that Orlando gets much of one).  It’s hard to believe the snow on the roofs when it’s 85 degrees out. Lol  

In Harry Potter world at Universal.

From there we went on a couple other rides inside IOA, then headed over to Universal.  We did many of the rides at Universal, my favorite being the Spider Man ride.  It was awesome – and similar, in a way, to the Harry Potter ride. 

Half-way through the day, I happened to look down at the map and actually read something on it.  In honor of Mardi Gras, Universal was having several big-name singers coming each Saturday to perform on their stage.  Realizing that it was Saturday, I checked to see who would be there.  Lo and behold it was Phillip Phillips!  (A recent American Idol winner who I really liked).  I was so ecstatic. 

Per his usual self, Michael followed me around (literally, for I walked far too fast to keep pace with him), and rode the rides I wanted to ride, and stopped upon occasion for a beer or snack.  He was happy I was excited about Phillip Phillips, and dutifully stood there among a bajillion people that night to watch the concert.  All I have to say is, I have the best cousins in the world.  :)

By the time the concert was over, we were totally pooped.  We went to the Universal CityWalk and got a quick dinner at a Panini place.  By the time we got back to the hotel it was nearly midnight and I was so exhausted I could barely see straight.  But it was a great day, and I couldn’t have asked for better company.

The next morning I left at 8 a.m. to drive back to Ponte Vedra.  Kelly and Erin (from San Fran who was in town visiting) came to get me from the rental car place. Then Kelly drove us down the main strip in Ponte Vedra that has all the multi-million dollar mansions on it.  Wow.  Beautiful.

About an hour late, my roommates, Kherri and Craig, picked me up on their way back from Coco Beach and we drove back to Charlotte. 

Overall, it was a whirlwind of a trip, but a lot of fun and so good to see so many cousins in 5 short days!

April has been one social event after another, combined with long hours at work for me.  I am the favorite of the three recruiters at my work, and all the developers (the ones who book the blood drives) request me to recruit at their drives.  This means that I am out of the office a LOT of the time.  Which is generally fine with me because when I am there, it usually means I have to make phone calls for upcoming blood drives, and I really don’t like doing that.

Michael, Me, Taylor, Justin, Kayla at Opa!

Just recently, one of my co-workers put in her notice and five minutes later, my bosses called me into an office and offered me the position.  It is half marketing and half tele-recruiting.  I thanked them for thinking of me, but declined.  I hate the phone calls I have to make now, but making hundreds per week would be unbearable.  Twenty minutes later, they called me back into the office.  They said, “What if we take away all the phone calls (from your job now and the new one), give those to someone else, and have you just do a couple days of drive recruiting per week and marketing/social media the rest of the time?”  I said, of course, “YES!” lol 

Long story short, I got this new position because the marketing woman at work really wanted me to work with her, and the phone call aspect of the job went to another one of our recruiters.  So now, between the two of us, we make up 1 full-time recruiter, and the position of the girl who is leaving.  Another employee changed her position from a developer to another full-time recruiter still ensuring that we have the equivalent of 3 full-time recruiters.   Now, they’ll just have to replace that developer and we’ll be back to normal.  Haha.  Lots of changes and confusion. 

At Coyote Joes country bar with my gal pals.

I asked for a raise, and they are “considering it” but if they won’t do that, they said they may be able to get me an iPhone which would be quite essential to the social media aspect of the new job I’d be doing.  I’ll be managing our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Linked-In accounts, as well as updating our blog, working on our newsletter, going to certain drives to photograph people giving blood, meeting with other social media personalities in the community, so on and so forth.  An iPhone would really help with all these things.  So, I guess we’ll see what happens. I’ll be in training Monday and Tuesday, then Molly (the one who is leaving) will be gone after that, so that’s when I’m “official.”

My beautiful city.

On the social side of things, I’ve been meeting a lot of new people at church and having a good time going to dinner parties and other events.  A couple weekends ago I went to Coyote Joe’s (a country western club) and line danced the night away.  It was a blast.  Last night I went to Alive After Five – an event that happens Thursdays after work in Uptown Charlotte where live music is played and people gather to talk, listen, dance and hang out.  From there, I went to dinner with about 15 people for a friend’s Birthday, then on to Cosmos (a Latin club) where we salsa danced until after midnight.  (I was able to go into work late today because I’d worked so many hours already this week). 

Tomorrow I’m going to Steeplechase – a horse race that happens just south of Charlotte every year in Mineral Springs. I’ve never been to a horse race, but after seeing Pretty Woman, I’ve always wanted to go.  :)

I’m sure there is more to tell, but this is already long enough and I’m exhausted.  One thing is for sure – I never have a problem sleeping anymore. 

Turning 26

I’m not sure where the days and weeks and months are going.  Why does life do this?  Just speeds up and speeds up – before I know it, I’ll be 80 and wondering where on earth my time went.  How have I already been at my job for four months?  Why, just yesterday I was seeing my best friend in California and enjoying a relaxing drive up Hwy 1.  But the most serious question is this – how, how in the world, do I have a birthday on Friday that will make me closer to 30 than to 20 for the first time? 

I always assumed I’d be one of those women who aged gracefully and without complaint like my grandmothers are.  That when I found a grey hair or a wrinkle, I’d shrug and think, “Well, it happens to everyone.”  Now, I’m not quite so sure I want to go down without a fight. But how does one “age gracefully”?  Is it simply taking care of your body and praying that you don’t get wrinkles as bad as your sun-worshipping counter-parts?  Or is it accepting the changes you know are inevitable and living as though you were still 25? 

My biggest worry, I suppose, is that I am 2 days from turning 26 – at least a quarter through my life – and what have I accomplished on the checklist of what you’re supposed to get done in a life?  This is a chief problem for women my age.  It was clear in our grandparents’ day – even our parents’ day.  You get married right out of high school (or college), you have babies, you take care of said babies, and maybe have a part-time job or some good hobbies that you can fall back on when they grow up.  But now, in this global world, where our options are unlimited – what should our checklist look like?  Part of my inner clock is thinking, “I should be married by now, possibly with a child.”  The other part of my person (the part shaped by the world around me and experiences, not my biological and ancestral instincts) thinks “How lucky am I? I don’t have to worry about a husband or children.  I have no one to tie me down.  I can do and see whatever I’d like.” 

But then, that’s not quite true is it? Because without a husband to help provide for me, I can’t do as much as I’d like.  If I got the kind of job that would allow more traveling or more money, I may have to move out of Charlotte.  And even without a husband and kids, I still have other family that holds me to this town.  How could I leave them all behind? How could I start all over in a new city and make all new friends and only see my family twice a year?  Twice a year?  When I see them at least twice a week now?  It was different when I was studying abroad because the term of my time apart was set.  But were I to take a job in California, for example, who knows how long that would last.

So then you have a 26 year old who is both too independent and too dependent at the same time.  A woman stuck in this weird quagmire of her years in comparison to her heart in comparison to where people think she should be in life. 

Twenty-five was such a great birthday.  I felt like the world was at my feet. I had 25 friends show up and I felt sure the year would hold great, life-changing things.  I guess it did – just not quite the way I planned.  I went to Europe again, which was fantastic.  I spent more time in Spain which I love, love, love!  As well as England, which everyone knows, is my second home somehow.  Yet the problem with this return trip was making the longing to go back ever stronger.  Sometimes, the more you see and experience, the less content you are with the day-to-day.  Or maybe you just want to incorporate all you’ve seen and all the new ideas that have been shared with you into your daily life, but no one else gets it, which makes the implementation of such a life impossible.

Then I met the man I thought I was supposed to marry.  And I thought, “This is perfect – I’m 25, I’ve seen and done a lot, and now I’ve met my soul mate and we can settle down, (but not really because he loves to travel too).  And life with him will be easy and happy because we understand each other.  And in a few years, I’ll have kids and they’ll travel with us and we’ll have tons of amazing photos of them because we’re both photographers.”  Twenty-five was really looking like the best year of my life.

And then, I spent nearly half a year recovering from what was supposed to be the “best year of my life” when he broke my heart into a million little pieces and left me crying on a bench outside Harris Teeter one August evening. Not that big things didn’t continue to happen – they did – but behind it all was a hurt I’d never felt before; and the shattered pieces of a dream that I kept bumping into and cutting myself on. 

I moved into my own place (kind of), and then ended up having to move out in four days when the family suddenly sold their other house.  But for four months, I got to live alone and feel somewhat independent, and that was nice.

My big highlight from the “recovery” period was visiting my friends in California.  That was an amazing trip – there is nothing like new terrain, amazing friends and constant activity to keep you from looking back. 

I also got a full-time job, which I like, but in the end, I know it can’t fulfill me forever.  And I’m still making “poverty level pay” (as my mother likes to put it), despite a four year degree from one of the most prestigious schools in the country.  On the plus side, I’m helping save lives on a daily basis and I’ve gotten over my fear of needles.

So now, here I am, another year older.  And thinking back, it’s been a year of learning, growing and strengthening.  My heart was truly broken for the first time, and I recovered.  Thanks to God and friends and family, I was lent the strength I needed to overcome a mountain.  Compared to that, getting kicked out of my condo and moving into a friend’s guest room within a span of four days was a tiny mole hill.  In fact, it was a year that felt a lot like riding a roller coaster – which is perhaps why it seemed to go by so quickly.  There was one very big drop, and the rest were just ups and downs at break-neck speed.  

And in the end, as I step off the ride, I’m glad I did it.  Not that I would choose to ride again, but I’m glad to say that I did it and lived through it.  And some of it was fun (much like I hear the first half of Tower of Terror is - very cool and interesting, up until have your stomach plummet into your throat as you drop 15 floors straight down). 

So here’s to my 26^th Birthday: may this year hold surprises that help me feel comfortable in this age and satisfied.  May I be brave to make hard decisions and pursue dreams.  May I never stop loving to the fullest of my being, and may I never forget that wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve isn’t a bad thing. May I never grow cynical and may I always find life’s joys in the world around me.  May I never forget to appreciate the beauty of a Carolina blue sky or a starry night.  May I never grow complacent or defeatist.  And may I always enjoy Disney World as much as I’m about to enjoy it at the end of this month when I go visit.

Did I forget to mention that?  I’m going to Disney!  Yes indeed, my birthday present to myself is visiting Kelly and the kids in Jacksonville, then meeting Michael in Orlando and spending time in the most magical place on earth. Because if there is any place that makes me feel like a kid again, it’s Disney.  Forget the unbelievable amount of money I just spent on passes or the long drive down in my roommate’s car (they are going to FL and dropping me off on the way) – I am going to jump and skip and clap and laugh and hug a giant mouse – just like I did when I was six.