8 Things Tag

It’s time to catch up on some awards and tags that have been passed along to me. This is the first of a few that I need to post.

I was given the 8 Things Tag from Join The Gossip. Leeann is such a sweetheart and we have become good friends through blogging. It’s too bad that we live on opposite coasts, because I think that we would be great friends. It’s a good thing there’s email. We both enjoy music, especially live music and that’s what got us talking. She is beautiful and one of nicest ladies around!

8 TV Shows I Like To Watch:
1. Desperate Housewives
2. Biggest Loser
3. Gossip Girl
4. Vampire Diaries
5. How I Met Your Mother
6. Melrose Place (this is probably getting cancelled)
7. Keeping up with the Kardashians
8. Grey’s Anatomy


I secretly wish that Geof and I could be friends with Barney, Marshall, Lilly, Robin and Ted.

8 Favorite Places to Eat & Drink:
1. Newtown Grill
2. Don Pablo’s
3. Spice
4. Cheesecake Factory
5. Jones
6. Dilworthtown Inn
7. Chart House
8. Melting Pot


This is the historic Dilworthtown Inn. Geof took me here after he proposed at Longwood Gardens.

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Traveling
2. Continuing to get in better shape and keep at it
3. Becoming a parent someday
4. Getting our dream house someday
5. Meeting blog friends. I’m going to be meeting up with Trish next month and Gwen and I constantly talk about this. Once Lis has her baby, I hope we can get together. If Leeann makes it out to Philly this summer, I’d love to see her too.
6. Summertime (pool time and BBQ’s)
7. Sex And The City 2 coming out in the movie theater
8. Spending time with friends and family

I cannot wait to see this movie.

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. Worked
2. Made chili and biscuits for dinner
3. Took the dogs to the groomers
4. Caught up on Gossip Girl
5. Found out the my friend’s father passed away :(
6. Had my weekly weight-in and was down 3.2 pounds (really only 1.4 since I gained the week before from vacation). Down a total of 18 pounds.
7. Caught up on blogging.
8. Made plans for the weekend



8 Things I Like About Winter:
1. Scarves
2. Christmas (the holiday, the lights, the cheer…everything)
3. Gingerbread Latte’s from Starbucks
4. Skating season
5. Snow (in small amounts…nothing like what we had this past winter)
6. An excuse to stay inside to have a lazy day on the couch
7. Comfy hoodies when I’m bumming around the house
8. Being near a fireplace

Mmmm...Gingerbread Latte's

8 Things On My Wish List:
1. Louis Vuitton Black Denim Neo Cabby MM Black Denim
2. iPhone
3. Christian Louboutin Cathy Patent Sling Back Pumps in Nude
4. A trip to Bora Bora
5. MioPINK Motiva Heart Rate Monitor Watch
6. Tickets to see Lady GaGa
7. Canon Rebel
8. Kendra Scott Danielle Earrings


Lusting after these Kendra Scott earrings for summer

8 Things I’m Passionate About:
1. Family
2. Friends
3. Music
4. Animals
5. Loyalty/Honesty
6. Trying new things
7. Travel
8. Work and blogging



8 Words or Phrase I Use Often:
1. “Like” (bad habit and hard to break)
2. “Whatever”
3. “Ew”
4. “Oh my gosh”
5. “Dude”
6. "Babe"
7. “Clearly”
8. “What’s up”

This probably started around when Clueless came out

8 Things I Learned From The Past:
1. It is possible to get over things that you never thought you could…relationships, deaths, etc.
2. Don’t let yourself be a doormat or let people mistake your kindness as a weakness
3. Things are never perfect. I used to get these big ideas about a party/event I plan going a certain way and it never does. I’ve learned to roll with it and have fun.
4. Never say never and don’t give up.
5. Be polite and gracious no matter how someone else acts.
6. Being a grown up doesn’t mean that you have to be boring. It's okay to act like a kid sometimes.
7. Working hard doesn’t always pay off or get you ahead. I think you need luck and the right people around you.
8. Let go of bitterness towards others and certain situations. Letting the anger fester inside only causes unnecessary stress.



8 Places I Would Love To Go Visit/See:
1. California (LA, Wine Country)
2. Bora Bora
3. Anguilla
4. Texas
5. Rome
6. London
7. Naxos, Greece (any of the Greek Islands really)
8. Aruba

Naxos, Greece

8 Things I Currently Want/Need:
1. Keep working on fitness/eating healthy
2. Make more time for myself to read/relax
3. Travel as much as possible
4. See live music more
5. Practice skating in the summer
6. Try new things with Geof
7. Visit a theme park this summer (I love all rides)
8. A bigger house


Dream house

I am now supposed to tag another 8 bloggers for this.

Ladies, you’re it:
1.Vynuss Vision
2. Pink Preppy Lilly Lover
3. Confessions of a Control Freak
4. Biology Gal
5. Saving the Best for Last…(fingers crossed)
6. Peeptoe Pumps and Pearls
7. Confessions of a Southern Belle
8. Sweet Southern Prep

All of the blogs above are fantastic and these ladies are all super sweet. Please pay them a visit. Thank you again to Leeann for tagging me with this!

Wednesday Randomness

We just got the pups back from the groomers and they look adorable! I had to share. I’m sure they’ll be a mess again in a few days, but for now I’ll enjoy the cute ribbons on their collars and the fact that they smell like little angels.

Mandy & Chase all fresh and clean

Last night, I went out with my ladies group and we did a spa night that was set-up at my nail salon. It was a blast. Everyone got manis and pedis (I just got a mani), had some wine, yummy snacks and listened to Lady GaGa on repeat.

The ladies

We had this really good blackberry merlot and those pink cookies were as soft as cake

Weekend recap & Giveaway Winner

This past weekend can be summed up in one word…lazy. That’s usually how weekends after a vacation are spent and this one was no different. Friday, I convinced Geof to download some Lady Gaga for Rock Band and he obliged. I rocked out on the guitar and he played the drums. We relaxed the rest of the night catching up on TV and called it a night.

Saturday, we went to the mall to make some returns and went to Gamer Doc so that he could get a new video game. We also hit DQ and treated ourselves to a Blizzard. It was so good, but heavy. Once we came home, we got Up in the Air OnDemand and watched it for the first time. It was really good and I thought the cast was perfect. I also thought it was interesting that they used some people that had truly been let go from their jobs and told them to either act as they did when it happened or to act how they wish they would have acted.



Sunday, I slept in way late and caught up on some Jerseylicious. I know that it’s a ridiculous show, but it’s a definite guilty pleasure of mine. My mom stopped over for a bit and we caught some of Sweet Home Alabama and Runaway Bride. She left and Geof made his infamous tacos for dinner. We spent the rest of the night relaxing.

This week it’s definitely time to get back to reality (and the gym).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The winner of the Misikko Hana Professional Flat Iron giveaway is…

Lexiloo from Tea and Crumpets

There were a total of 132 entries and I used Random.org to select the winner

Min: 1
Max: 132
Result: 59

Congrats! Please email me you address and I will pass it along to the folks at Misikko!

VH1 Best Cruise Ever – Day 4

This was our last full day on the ship, so we had to make it count. It was the first day that we actually slept in, but it turned out to be a good thing since we stayed up until about 4 AM. Once we got up, we grabbed lunch and then met up with Jessica, Amanda, Chad and Amy on the Lido Deck for some drinks. SafetySuit was setting up for an acoustic set on the Lido Deck stage and we were headed that way to get a good spot near the stage when Geof spotted Brad Arnold from 3 Doors Down walking the same way and grabbed a pic. The funny thing is that Geof though I was way behind him, but it turns out that I hopped in the pic right on cue. Geof didn’t realize I was in it until he looked through his camera. That was good for a few laughs.


Cockatil of the day!


My sidler pic with Geof and Brad Arnold from 3 Doors Down

SafetySuit took the stage around 1:30 PM and about halfway into their set, it started to pour down rain. This actually made things more exciting on a hot afternoon. I was soaked and didn’t let that stop us from having fun for one second, we even made our way right up front when some others took cover. Towards the end of the set, Doug (lead singer) left the stage and went to jump in the pool. It made for some good photos. After they were done, we caught up with our friends Liz and Josh and then went to say “Hi” to the SafetySuit guys and get some pics.


SafetySuit taking the stage...you can see the dark clouds coming in


My girls Amanda and Jessica


Found this pic from someone else. I'm right up front with my hands in the air


Here comes the rain


Doug taking the plunge


Nice


Us with Dave


Me with Chico


Us with Doug

The cruise crew (Geof, me, Amanda, Jessica, Amy and Chad) went to get a late afternoon snack and then Geof, Jessica and I went up to top deck to tackle the giant waterslide. It was awesome and much faster than I expected it to be. Geof and Jes begged me to go down because they didn’t it once without me and I finally went up. I wanted to do it 100 times after that. Will from Parachute even came up and was right behind me to head down the slide. We had a blast!


Ready to tackle the slide!

After the slide, Geof and I hopped in the pool with Steve and Cathy to catch some of the 3 Doors Down acoustic set. It was a good way to get a good seat and refreshing at the same time. We were getting tired and a little chilly, so we headed inside to change and then Geof wanted sushi. We met up with Amanda and Jessica again and later grabbed dinner in the Mardi Gras dining room. It was so much fun laughing with those ladies. They’re awesome!

After dinner, it was time to get ready for the last two big concerts and we headed to The Paris Lounge to meet-up with Amy and Chad. They held our place again and we were so thankful for that. We ended up in just about the same spot as we were the night before and had an awesome view of the Carolina Liar show. When Chad started “Show Me What I’m Looking For”, Jason Wade from Lifehouse came out and sang along with him. It was a great moment. After Carolina Liar left the stage, Lifehouse came on to do their set and they sounded amazing live in the bigger venue on the ship.


Carolina Liar with Jason from Lifehouse


Jason Wade

After the show, we headed back to our room to freshen up and then met up with our cruise crew. We went into the disco for a little while (don’t know why they still call it a disco) and then took the party outside the disco and hung on the Promenade Deck being silly, dancing and singing songs. We ended the night on the Lido Deck with one last ice cream cone before headed off to our cabin for the last night on the ship.


Geof with the guitar player from Shinedown and Nic Cowan


The Cruise Crew!

This was a trip that I will never forget. Thank you to all of the great people we met on this vacation (Chad, Amy, Jessica, Amanda, Steve, Cathy, Josh and Liz). We made lots of memories and it would not have been the same without you! Thank you also to my readers for hanging in there for all of these recaps.

P.S. I will announce the winner of the flat iron giveaway on Monday night. I’m still getting all of the entries together.

VH1 Best Cruise Ever - Day 3

We docked on Grand Cayman very early in the morning and grabbed a quick breakfast on the Lido Deck before dashing off to the Paris Lounge to meet with our tour group and take a tender to the port. Our group was about 15 people and we all hoped in a van and headed out on the island. The first stop was 7 mile beach, where we learned it’s really just over 5 miles long. Next up was the Old Homestead Pink-and-White Caymanian cottage that was built in 1912. We learned about how they got water in the early days on the island and also how they like to bring sand up from the beach to ensure their yards are covered for Christmas. After this stop, we saw the Governor’s Mansion where Queen Elizabeth stays when she comes to visit each summer. It was beautiful and has a private beach out back, since it’s right on the water. After that, we went to the Tortuga Rum Factory and got to sample different flavored rums and rum cakes.


Our ship - The Carnival Inspiration

Old Homestead

Next stop was Hell. This is a total tourist trap that I’ve been to before, but still fun. It is basically one giant rock formation with a gift shop and post office to send postcards postmarked from Hell. After this, we headed to the Turtle Farm. They have sea turtles ranging from a few pounds to others that are over 500 pounds. Some of the larger turtles are between 25 to over 40 years old. It was so much fun learning more about their conservation efforts and getting to hold and interact with actual sea turtles.

Hell

Geof where he belongs (just kidding)

Pretty conch shells

Geof at Tortuga Rum Factory

Geof likes turtles

They were so cute!

The highlight of our excursion was taking a boat ride out to the sandbar known as Stingray City. Geof and I were some of the first people in the water and immediately began holding and touching the stingrays. We even gave them a little kiss. They’re completely harmless unless you’re jumping around and acting like a lunatic in the water. At one point Geof was feeding them and the scent from the squid must have been all around because I was surrounded. That was the only part that freaked me out and may or may not have screamed. We got really lucky though because there was bad weather on and off all day on the island and the rain managed to subside for the entire time we were at Stingray City. On the boat ride back, one of the tour operators dove down and brought up a Starfish for us to hold and later we saw a dolphin showing off in the ocean. We had a blast there and then finally returned to the ship late in the afternoon.

Stingray City

\
I'm surrounded by them


Geof thinks he's tough in this pic

Stingrays

We met up with Amy, Chad, Jessica and Amanda and grabbed a quick lunch together on the Lido Deck. After that we took a dip in the pool and then got in the hot tub. There was an interesting incident with a drunk guy out by the hot tub. He tried to steal all of our towels and then was dancing around in his boxers and most of us saw it all…gross. We had enough at that point and headed off to the Lifehouse show. Because of the weather, they moved the show inside to the Atrium and it was perfect. The sound was great and they played for about 45 minutes. They played one of my favorite songs entitled “Everything”.

Back on the ship with Grand Cayman in the Background

Lunch with friends


Lifehouse


This pic cracks me up because here we are and Steve took this from above. Stalker pic...LOL!

After Lifehouse, we got cleaned up and Geof and I went to get some Sushi on the Promenade Deck. We ran into Jason from Lifehouse again and this time Geof got a pic. Just like the day before, he was as nice as could be.

Geof and Jason Wade

We headed back to the cabin to sneak in a quick nap and then got ready for the SafetySuit and Shinedown show in the Paris Lounge. We met up with Amy and Chad who were awesome for holding a spot in line for us. When the doors opened we made it pretty close to the front. The show started around 9 and SafetySuit rocked the house for about an hour. Their set was top notch and the guys put on quite a show. Once they were finished Shinedown came on and rocked for about an hour and half covering all of their hits and then some. They even did their cover of “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The lead singer, Brent Smith’s voice was incredible. That was a concert that I won’t soon forget.

SafetySuit

Amy and Chad rockin' out!

Shinedown

We headed up to the Candlelight Lounge and ran into Amanda and Jessica and then Geof and I met up with Steve and Cathy for some late night pizza on the Lido Deck. Overall, it was a jam-packed and fun-filled day!