technical difficulties

Seriously, I know that sounds so lame, but that's the best way to describe what's currently going on. 

Point A. Any time I try to insert a picture (either myself or using code/tag/whatever from another website) my formatting goes wonky and I cannot fix it no matter how hard I try. 

Pint B. Our home computers are broken. My laptop is 8 years old, so technically is runs but about as fast as a snail and loading two tabs on the internet is more than it's capable of. Hubby's laptop (all of 2 years old) no longer recognizes the internet. As in it says "No there's no internet to connect to" even when an ethernet cord is plugged directly into it! And our desktop, sturdy old boy he is, is spazing out and won't let you open the internet or any other program after you've passed the approximately 15 minute mark from when you last turned it off/on. 

Points A and B cause me difficulty (at best) to blog. (This may or may not have been written on my work computer...) 

So I haven't forgotten about you, interwebs. If I somehow I actually accidentally managed to lure anyone into being interested in my blog this includes you, you aren't forgotten! I'm working on fixing things (aka trying to see if we can pull savings to buy a new computer or how much it'd cost to fix one of the three) and I'll be back as soon as I can!

our second big adventure

Last November I married my wonderful husband and the very next day we left for our honeymoon. He had never left the country before (despite having gone to Alaska he flew from the US into Alaska, who does that!?) so I was determined to make that happen for our honeymoon. Which is how we found ourselves aboard the (at least at that time) largest cruise ship in the world, the Allure of the Seas, for 7 days while we visited exciting and exotic Caribbean locations. 
 

I figured I'd share a bit of what I was doing, roughly around this time, last year: wedding and honeymoon!

 

Life is a constant adventure. Some of our adventures are more exciting or life changing than others. But even those small adventures, those "blips" in your day or week, add up. Those small moments that seem insignificant add up to become the real force of change and growth in your life.

First stop the Bahamas! After a crazy adventure of last minute booking our excursion (that's the fancy name for what cruises call planned trips) then following what it said and then finding out we'd in fact missed the only bus to take us to our excursion by several hours we finally made it to Atlantis which is on Paradise Island. It really was very beautiful, minus our inability to enter the waters on the beach due to red flags. We bought a crazy overpriced drink in a coconut shell, that was truly AMAZING. I fought my husband over those meager 3 ounces (maybe not much of an exaggeration, truth being told) because they were pure gold! The aquariums were really great as well, we went for the unguided tour (saved good money for an already expensive excursion just simply for the Atlantis entrance fee) but were able to skim around other tours going on to get the fun info!

Onto the US Virgin Islands, St. Thomas to be exact. Our excursion (this time we cheated the system and booked it ourselves with a private company not through the ship and saved a bundle! thank you interwebs!) was a guided bus tour through the islands, a few hours shopping in the city downtown, and a few hours on a world renowned beach. Whenever you go on a cruise to a Caribbean island all the locals think you must be crazy loaded. It's fun to play a game of playing tourist, of a crazy rich tourist like they all think you are! "Oh no honey, I'm not sure about this {$80,000} necklace. You did say I could get one treat this trip but I'm just not sure this is it." I know it's a bit cruel to the salesmen thinking they may have scored a great deal for a sucker from the states but it's still a fun game to play! And suffice it to say we bought nothing crazy, just trinkets and magnets. But the view from the mountain top was amazing and so was the view on the beach at Magen's Bay. As we came in the morning it'd rained and it scared most of the other tourists away. Which turned out great because the beach only had a few hundred people, instead of thousands, like it would have had. 

Even though we'd had a day at sea by the time we reached the French/Dutch St. Martin/St. Maarten we were too exhausted to do an entire day entire island adventure like we'd had planned. So instead we totally ditched the excursion and rolled off the ship when we felt like it, walked to the nearest city, and just rambled through the town. It really was a beautiful island but the heat was oppressive and it wasn't even an unusually hot day (for them at least). And this is coming from the girl that grew up in Miami! Anyway after looking around the many shops, taking a break for some tropical drinks (so yummy!), we were ready to go back to the ship, but too lazy to walk the mile back. So we took a boat taxi! 

Not to be outdone by any one destination we had two more days aboard the boat before our honeymoon ended. And that ship is a vacation all on it's own! We ate on the Johnny Rockets on the ship (yes it seriously has one) and my husband, ever the go-go-go always busy guy, was almost always on the sports deck playing something. Each time he competed and was first or second place he'd get a gold or silver metal. He got a lot of gold medals. And since the sports deck was next to the pool deck where our table mates for dinner would spend their days (sunbathing and getting crazy drunk) we'd always pass by them when he got another medal. The last night one of the guys had made the kids station give him craft supplies and he made that award medal for my husband. The smaller award he made for me, it says "side kick" since most of the time I was just sitting on the sidelines watching. (Napping or reading or just watching in the shade was so much more fun!) Most of the craziness wasn't documented, we were having too much fun to take a picture. So things not captured: there's a rock climbing wall, zip line across the ship, water theatre (think Cirque du Solei), Broadway equivalent theatre, ice skating rink, surf simulator, mini golf, and so much more! Then we finally came back to reality, sort of. 

We spent the next week with my parents on our extended vacation since Thanksgiving was that week. So much build up to the wedding and then such a great long honeymoon/vacation afterwards. It was so incredibly hard to drive the 8 hours back home and return to work and real life! 

these boots were made for walking

This was originally just about boots but I decided to change it to "Friday Faves".

Part 1. My current craving: boots! Anyway, here are a few pairs that are making me most especially want to take them home and make them mine:

Baking Sota Boots by Aersoles @ Macy's, picture via thestylecure

Watermelon Tall Boots by Nine West @ Macy's, picture via Macy's.com

Inspirre Tall Boots by Steven by Steve Madden @ Macy's, image via Macy's.co

 What do you think of these beauties? Love them? Hate them? Have an even better suggestion? (Know of a crazy sale or deal that'd get me any these for el cheapo?)

Part 2. This song/performance. I cannot get enough of it!

Bruno Mars "Locked Out of Heaven" performed on SNL

high five for friday

With the whole lead up and resolution (so to speak) with the election this week it's kind of hard to think of anything else that happened!

Why!?! Two pollsters came to my house, separately. Both wanted me to answer their questions which were crazy and something like "Besides the economy and foreign policy and everything else concerning, which of these topics most matters to you?" The second one didn't believe me when I said less than an hour before someone for that same campaign did this entire thing with me. She seriously didn't believe me! And it made me kind of mad I'd voted for their person. Sort of. But he lost anyway. Whick means this might be true for them. via someecards

Four. Not to get all political, I think enough has been said and I don't want to force my opinions on anyone, but I'm really happy things turned out the way they did. Four more years! That's all I'm going to say on that. (I am a total bleeding heart crazy conservative social worker after all.) via stuff.co.nz

Hair. It's now officially been a week since I cut my hair. I think I like it. Well I don't hate it. It being shorter is something I'm still getting used to. But even "eh" different is different, keeping things interesting. (Oh yeah, it was an Aveda salon I went to. So my hair wasn't the best but it smelled great!) via aveda

One week down. So this happened. Again I refuse to actually admit this occurred or that I plan to try to follow through on this (as I don't feel trust worthy enough to comit all the way to this, especially with winter starting here).  personal photo

linked up to Lauren/frommygreydeskblog's High Five For Friday

 

hair drama

I've had a bad track record with my hair and hair cuts. Throughout my childhood my Mom cut my hair. Then I'd go to Super Cuts with her and get my hair cut and she'd "trim" my bangs in between. When I went to college and (tried to) come into my own I decided I was going to grow my bangs out. I also got tired of dealing with my bangs (that got dirty before the rest of my hair did and always needed trimming to stay out of my eyes). 

via google images

 It wasn't fun (it wasn't horrible either, but then again it was years ago so it's kind of fuzzy) but I did it. And I vowed that I was never getting bangs again. And then every celebrity since then seems to have gone with the long swept bangs that look amazing. I stayed strong and kept my no bangs policy. 

I had a fabulous hair cut shortly after this. I'm not sure why but everything went perfect. It was a new girl, new place for me, got an amazing hair cut, my hair looked amazing for DAYS (I didn't wash it for fear of ruining my new hair beauty), nothing I did affected how great it looked. I went back to her again, each time I asked for the same cut and got different results. Never bad but never "omg that's fabulous!" again. 

So began my hunt to find a new hair dresser. And so also began my hair cut mis-adventures. 

I let my sister-in-law cut my hair. She had graduated from beauty school a few months prior to our visit. It was the first time I'd met her and when she offered I didn't think to say another other than "yes". Of course silly me thought that if she got her beauty license she must know what she's doing. Yeah, no, not at all. She gave me a very long mullet. Seriously, about where my neck is was a straight layer she cut there and then I had the rest of the length of my hair hanging beneath it trying to hide and pretend that wasn't what was going on. 

I felt like this little girl, all day every day, and my hair cut was all done! via here

When it grew out (mostly) from that I decided it was time to try another hair cut. (Not with her, though I'm sure years later she's got to be better.) I tried a new salon my new co-worker raved about. I spent CRAZY money: cut, treatment, products, and had an "eh" cut at best. I found out after the fact that place is only good for color, not cuts! (WTF why didn't she tell me that!?!) Enough time passed and I decided to try another cut. I went back to that first great salon and tried someone else, it was another "eh". 

I never had a cut this bad, but a bad on still makes you feel this way! via here

Then I got engaged. I was so incredibly afraid of another bad hair cut I was  simply too fearful to get another hair cut, from anyone! Over a year later, after the wedding, I decided since no more huge life events that will be documented and photographed for perpetuity would be going on I could risk trying another cut. I googled, I yelped, I tried whatever reviews I could access. A hip looking place downtown had good reviews. I called and asked for one of their best stylists, I had an appointment scheduled right before Christmas and I was excited for this new potential good hair. I went and it was a fabulous experience. The salon looked like something out of a TV show, like what something looks like after Tabitha comes in and takes over. Anyway, the hairdresser said she'd do the cut I wanted and I'd love it and in another visit or two she'd get me comfortable enough to do something different and drastic. Then she styled my hair in curls since my natural hair is straight to give me something different. I LOVED it. My hair looked amazing, I was so happy. 

Not an actual picture of me, I wish! But I totally felt like I was as pretty as her when I left that day! via here

I tried to style it as she showed me to get the same look: total fail. Much of that holiday season I tried and failed. It looked good, sometimes, but nothing like how she did it. Then it as my birthday and I decided I was going to legally to change my name to my married name. I decided my hair had to be just right so I set up an appointment with her and went straight from there to the DMV. My hair looked .... well it was good, but not fabulous and light years from the great first cut from her. My license picture doesn't look that great. She styled my hair in big curls and in the small picture on my license it looks, well it looks like I woke up and didn't brush my hair and rolled into the DMV.

I knew I had to try someone else. No one I knew could recommend anyone. Just so happens a friend of mine had a party and her friend that came (who I'd met once or twice before) is a hair stylist. Well she seemed nice enough, her hair was great, and she was slightly more than I'd paid the previous girls but still not crazy priced enough I wasn't willing to try her out. It was a TOTAL DISASTER. I went in and told her an abbreviated version of my hair history. I did tell her I was kind of getting bored with how I'd had my hair and was interested in maybe eventually something different. I said cutting the dead ends were fine, a few inches would be okay. She suggested a hair treatment, she swore it'd be different than what I'd tried before and it was great. So I went for it. She said it included a complimentary head massage, I was excited. (Even though I realized in the back of my head that was included with my cut in the first place) The "massage" was more like three quick wooshes of her hands in my head, the end. And then she cut my hair and blow dried it. She dried it in what I can only call a lazy manner. No brush, just her hands and the dryer randomly trying to get my hair dry, no technique (I could see) involved. 'Okay, she'll style it after she dries it.' Then she says "My next customer is here but your hair needs more time. I should have washed out that treatment more I guess, I don't want you leaving like this." {My head looked GREASY like I'd literally poured oil in my hair or hadn't washed it in two weeks. Gee thanks for not wanting me to walk out like this.} She informed me another "consultant" would re wash it and dry it for me. I never had any contact with her again, she went on her business (literally) with her next customer (a guy, they don't need much time for a cut and he totally could have waited!) . This new girl, well all I can say is I hope she just got her license because she seemed almost afraid of me and my hair. I was this close to saying "Ok hand me the brush and blower I'll do this myself". I walked out an hour and a half after walking in, with my hair cut, not styled at all, no pampering, and no apologies. I was a cash cow, I was prepared to buy all kinds of products that day and they blew that opportunity.  Around 8 that night the girl called me and checked on my hair and if that last wash fixed it, I told her I think so but I wasn't sure. She offered that if it wasn't okay to come in and they'd do a detox, complimentary of course, to fix it. 

via this

I shouldn't have gone to someone I vaguely knew. I should have complained. I shouldn't have let all of that happen. I don't hate my hair cut. I'm just not in love with it. I'm guessing the experience didn't help anything either. My hair is short (for me), I cut off something around 4+ inches. To me it seems ... so totally different. It's short, it's got layers but some are smooth and great and others seem really chunky. "Is this a whole chunky section of layers/hair here!?!" 

And so now I'm not sure what to do. Try her again? Try someone else? Who!?! Oh and in the coming weeks, what do I do with my hair? I'm having pictures taken with Hubby over Thanksgiving as part of our anniversary celebration. What the heck do I do with my hair then!?!

Weekend Update/I Wore Yoga Pants

So there's this blog, the name itself is hilarious but the blog is also pretty amazing. 

Anyway, she does this thing (weekend update) so I figured I would be that cool too I would try it myself.

Greek Food Festival. I shouldn't have to say anymore, those 3 words alone should be enough for you to know the wonderful, amazing, fabulous thing that took place this weekend. And yes I was a big enough fattie that I went for lunch Friday and Saturday. Hubby explained it wasn't just a fattie move, it was a moneybags move. Since it's so freaking expensive (but good). You know since it's $7 a gyro and we must have at least one each. We just chalked it up to supporting our local Greek Orthodox Church. And being fatties foodies. 

Pinterest Crafting (Fail). So we're doing this gallery wall. Still a work in progress. Namely waiting on hubby to hang it all. Well that and for me to do one little thing. Make a freaking letter for the wall. Because Hobby Lobby letters are too freaking small and I can't find anywhere else with larger letters. And I'm stupid enough to try it myself. For several hours I sat in the living, on the floor, with The Voice knockout rounds playing, cutting out cardboard (and cursing) trying to make my own 3D letter. To eventually be painted, a silvery something color. Eventually. Maybe. (It's still in pieces, with the fronts, top and bottom cut. No sides and I still haven't figured out how to cut and do the inside part of this A.)

Pot Pie Soup. Yes it's a thing, thanks to Skinnytaste.com and it's amazing. I went crazy grocery shopping, we're talking THREE different stores people! And yet I made this dish last night instead of something harder more complex when I realized hubby was out working (on call) all night. And yet it still took me way too long to finish the recipe, considering it's easy not that complex and I've made it a bunch before. 

Homeland. Thanks to Comcast messing up our tv (still not fixed, but that's on me since I haven't felt like waiting for 30 minutes Saturday morning at the store before they open just to be helped in a timely fashion and I'm pretty sure swapping out our dvr won't even fix things anyway!). Anyway, I've got Showtime for free for 2 more months. And this show is amazing! I'm totally addicted, but now that I'm caught up I have to wait (what!?!) for new episodes to air!

Visit Whitney at I Wore Yoga Pants

Weekend Update via Sami's Shenanigans

P.S. I'm having serious technical difficulties. Blogger makes it seem super easy to have your own blog. With the HTML stuff being optional. But it's not proving to be easy or cooperative. Trying to link to things (as good bloggers do) makes my words get all funky. Images move all over with my mouse even when I'm not clicking them or try to move them. I get 5 of that same pesky image. And the formatting goes crazy. So bare with me, I'm sorry. I've tried more times than I can count to fix this (in this post alone) and it seems like the harder I try to fix it the worse the problem gets. So if anyone has any suggestions/tutorials I'm all ears!

high five for friday

Happy Birthday Mom. Tuesday was my Mom's birthday. Happy birthday to the best Mom EVER! (I told her as much, several times)
c25k. I may be starting this. The jury is out whether I'm officially admitting this (depending on it I stick with it or not) I will say that if I were to be starting this I may be about as out of shape as a person can be because the Week 1 Day 1 program may or may not have been too hard for me to complete as is.
Zoe's Halloween Outfit. And this isn't even one of her costumes! This is just one of the most cutest doggie outfits ever that's just perfect for and this holiday!

Friends that are funny. Response from my friend from Japan about what she wants to do with my parents (and me) when she visits over Thanksgiving. She's hysterical. Sadly to hide the identity of the innocent most of her humor is lost in what I can share.
Voting. I'd jokingly say vote early and vote often. But seriously, vote. Take advantage of early voting if you want or make it out to the polls on November 6th. Either way, make your voice count and go out and vote!

linked up to Lauren/frommygreydeskblog's High Five For Friday