Fortunate

Sometimes I forget how fortunate I am. . .fortunate to have a job, fortunate to have a roof over my head, fortunate to have a fiance that loves and adores me (not to mention puts up with me), and lastly very fortunate to have special friends.
This weekend I traveled to the Outer Banks, and Kirsten did some engagement photos for GeeGee and I. She did an AMAZING job, not that I expected any less. I don't want to share too much. . . .You will see more when you recieve your save the date cards this Fall. . .

I just felt the need to say, I am BLESSED!

LEO's RULE

Happy Birthday Mister Arroz!

. . .I am glad we could share your day with you!

Kirkie, the homemade carrot cake was AWESOME!

As for the kids that got to party with us, I feel bad what they are going to take home to tell their parent. . .wah, wah. . .

Complain, Complain, Complain. . . .

I just went to the Outer Banks with a friend of mine, that also happens to be an educator, and experiences the same whoa is me's as I do:

"All I do all summer is pack and unpack, pack and unpack. . . ."
"It is tough being able to go out any night of the week. . .and drink as much as you want."
"In the summer it is hard to keep a regimen. It's basically just eating and drinking!"
(as we were putting on our bathing suits) "It's difficult to keep a nice figure in the summer, with all this eating and stuff. . . "

After the first couple complaints, we made it our weekend joke! "If someone could be a fly on the wall and hear us complaining they would be PISSED!"

LESSON: Summer's off are SOOO hard!! (snicker, snicker. . .)

GeeGee's Birthday ~ Early

GeeGee and I went to Aruba for a week to celebrate his birthday early. He did a great job making sure I didn't get too sloppy, walk home by myself, meet strangers, and disappear (Thanks for all the concerns, my friends. I am glad you have that much confidence in my decision making!)

We had a wonderful time! We understood clearly why everyone looked so healthy and slender. . .The food was OUTRAGIOUSLY expensive (for my taste anyway). We did do quite a lot of the touristy things. . .

* An all day Jeep tour with ABC
* Tattoo dinner boat cruise
* Sailboat ride for brunch and snorkling on the Octopus

The Jeep tour was a little nutty (we shook it like Shakira for 8 hours) going up and down the NO road route. The Tattoo boat cruise was fun. We had dinner, drinks, danced. . .Then, after GeeGee had "enough", the boat anchored for it's last half hour of going down a 3 story waterslide and rope swing into the dark infested waters (no thanks for me. . .no matter how much I have "had"). The sailboat ride was very relaxing. . .sailing, mimosas, breakfast, snorkling, sailing, happy hour, snorkling, lunch, happy hour, swimming, sailing. . . then a nice freshing rainstorm. As soon as the cloud went by, and it stopped raining, the captain played:

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) Sun-Shiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day

It might have been cheesy, but it made me chuckle out loud! Good times. . . .

Small World

On a tiny little island, off the coast of Venezuela, I found a man, on a tiny little sailboat. On that very day, he happened to be wearing this very shirt:

East Wakefield, NH it said. . . . .

My mother's neighbor gave it to him.

Go to Aruba, and do the brunch/sailing/snorkling cruise on the Octopus! Jethro will take care of you!!

SLACKER

Hey All -
So I have been a complete slacker this month, but A LOT has been going on. I figured I just give you a run down of my events:

1. I went to Atlanta to visit Aklet: We had a lovely but short visit in the ATL

2. My sister came down to RIC for a week days (5), and we enjoyed some quality time

3. I resigned from my job (yes, it is true. I am going to try to find another job for September outside of teaching elementary children. Any suggestions??)

4. I refinanced my house

5. My roommate moved out

6. I went to the Bahamas

ALL of this in ONE MONTH'S time!! Can you blame me for not getting sucked into to the computer??

Ice FISHING 101

So, the Cousin showed me up this weekend! She was the daughter my father WISHED he had. Cousin volenteered to gut and clean the fish from the ice fishing derby on Little Ossippee Lake, Maine. We even got it all on tape!!!

NOTE: I am deciding not to provide any graphics for this one. I am having fish for dinner. . .

Ice Climbing 101

This weekend was QUITE an adventure! GeeGee and I flew up to New Hampshire for the LONG weekend, and met his cousin there (whom had NEVER seen ice OR snow) to go ice climbing with the International Mountain Climbing School in North Conway.

Cousin and I ventured up to North Conway, geared on up, and climbed Cathedral Ledge. It was an AWESOME adventure: we froze our BUTTS off, bruised ourselves considerably, and got a GREAT upper body workout. We were able to climb one side of the ledge twice, and then went and climbed a COMPLETELY vertical ledge as well.

We BOTH decided that we had never spent so much money on a Valentine's date before, but it was worth it.

I think we can officially be called "Mountain Women" now!

Unapproachable

So, I recently went on a trip to Destin with Aklet and some of her girl friends. Aklet and I met the other two girls down at the beach (we took a plane to Pensicola - Thanks Dr. Dave - and than borrowed a car to cruise on down to Destin).

We had a GRAND time (notice there will be NO pictures for this post)! Needless to say, I did not get much sleep. So, we were out at one of the bars one night, and on TWO separate occasions, I was approached by TWO separate guys telling me that I was "unapproachable". WTF is that suppose to mean????

HOTlanta

First of all, I will say that I have been entirely HORRIBLE at blogging since I have entered my Summer world. The day after I got out of school, I headed out to Atlanta with GeeGee. I have been excited about this trip and a little bit hesitant at the same time. . . .This trip was the start of meeting GeeGee's family:

Once we got to Atlanta, I broke GeeGee in by meeting my right arm, Aklet. He passed that test, by not turning around and running for his life as he saw the reaction of the "Aklet & Honeychild combination". He tolerated. I would even go as far as to say that he enjoyed the company of my best friend and I. We only cause just SOOOO much trouble together. . .

After several days, of exposing GeeGee to Aket, loads of KIDS, and meeting family, we managed to end "our" trip together with a nice dinner at Cafe Istanbul. It was a eye widening experience to the Turkish culture and food.

We started by getting seated on cushions around a table. As we swished in six of us, the table next to us swished in 12 (which GeeGee was soooo pleased about. . .sharing personal space with 5-14 years olds. . .smoking Hukas). It was quite the dining experience. We all enjoyed a nice meal, and finshed it off with a mixed berry smoke.

Quite tasty, if I do say so myself! Oh, and did I fail to mention the belly dancing entertainment (and no Chuk, I am not referring to YOUR interpretation. . . )

After our dinner, we returned to the Vinson household to rock it out with some Rock Band. GeeGee "represented" on the drums, and Chuk, Aklet, and I took turns singing and playing guitar and bass. Good times!!

We ended GeeGee and I's visit in the ATL together, by going to his sister's house for one last hurray. This time, we brought the Vinson family, and case of beer, and a bottle of red wine. The younger kids got along grand! It was a good thing, since I had my bottle of wine to concentrate on. . . .

At the end of the day, my Summer has had a very nice start. I have gotten to visit with my best friend, as well as spend time with GeeGee vacationing.

GeeGee has since flown back to the RVA, and I am still in HOTlanta to finish up my visit. I head to Destin in a couple of days, and can hardly wait. It is going to be a girl's trip from here on out.

Look out, dirty south!!

ChicaGOOOOOO

Since I spent time with Aklet & Chuk during their first couple weeks of parenthood, I thought that it would only be appropriate to spend the beginning of parenthood with ScarScar & Mr. D in Chicago! Not to mention, it usually cures any urges I have for being responsible for someone besides myself (Sorry Mom. . . .No chance for grandchildren anytime soon. . .even though you have MORE than informed me you are ready!).
SOOOO - I arrived in Chicago today to see the newest addition to my framily (friends + family):


Gracyn Betty-Rose

It was wonderful to finally be able to meet her and SQUEEZE her! She was wide-eyed and cheery to meet her Auntie! I am looking forward to spending the next week in Chicago with my bellysista and her beautiful babe!!


If I could only sleep like she does! Kisses Gracyn!
Hopefully, she will sleep like this all week while I am here!

Holly's Boot & Rally 30th!

So, the morning started off with good food and good company. Lil’ Sis and I made the boys some breakfast, and managed to NOT drink an entire bottle of champagne before we got on the road. The ride to Rangeley was long and bumpy. The frost heaves on Route 16 made YOU want to heave. Needless to say, we were all a little car sick by the time to got to Dad’s. Lil’ Sis managed to do the old boot and rally. Welcome to your 30’s!!



Dad hooked us up with some snowmobiles (a.k.a sleds). We each had one. I was proud of Lil’ Sis’s decision to drive one on her own (never mind that fact that she decided to come with us even though she just hurled). So, our adventure began. The line-up was Dad, Lil’ Sis, Honeychild, Mr. Clean, & GeeGee. We stopped at the gas station to fill up the sleds, not knowing REALLY how long we were going to be out. Up in Rangeley, the gas is usually a little pricey. . . $3.57 a gallon pricey! We got on our sleds to see what they were made up. As we started the Rangeley Loop, the first set of sleds we passed almost RAMMED us by being on the wrong side of the trail. I thought, “This is going to be fun! Didn’t Dad say there had been 5 deaths already this year on these things? Don’t let Lil’ Sis hear that one!”

After about 20 minutes of riding, Lil’ Sis was finally confident to give her some! We had a good pace going (no faster than 35 miles an hour, if you stayed within traveling distance), and it was time to decide how long our adventure was going to be. Dad suggested that it would take about an hour to finish the loop. We put the decision in Lil’ Sis’s hands, since it was her birthday, and she was the one that was not feeling well. She decided it was a go, and it was ON!

We had a GREAT time riding. The trails were a little bumpy. Evidently, they had not been groomed in about a week. Since I hadn’t been riding since I was a teenager, I didn’t know the difference! It started to get dark, which gave us ALL more confidence on taking over BOTH sides of the trail, allowing us to get a little reckless. We made multiple stops (so Dad could get his nicotine fix), so we were able to regroup and make sure everyone stayed warm. It wasn’t until 4 hours into our ride, that Dad gave the impression he was lost. . . A ONE hour ride, my butt!! Lil’ Sis and I should have been aware of this characteristic of Dad’s. His estimations of time aren’t always the best (I guess I know where I inherited that characteristic)! Lil’ Sis had a minimal panic attack, as we all thought about different things: What if someone ran out of gas? Could we build a fire in these snow covered grounds? Are the bears still hibernating? Should we sleep in the trees so the wolves don’t get us??

After Dad had seemed to found his way back, we all became a little relieved and a little skeptical of his 45 minute estimation to be home. Needless to say, we made it back to town with no crashes. CLOSE. . . but, no accidents. We gassed ourselves back up ($125 dollars worth), and headed back to the camp. Since we had only eaten breakfast that day, we were all quite grateful that Dad had made some homemade chicken noodle soup (Nana would be proud of her little bachelor!). We managed to go to bed at a reasonable hour without getting too intoxicated (This would probably be a FIRST during an overnight in Rangeley). We were all WAY TOO BEAT from the FIVE hours on the sleds!

We woke leisurely in the morning to Dad’s famous home fried potatoes, and then we were on our way down the mountain. We took a different route in order for us to avoid the horrible frost heaves, and so that GeeGee could see the Height of Land (okay, really, that part was for me). I managed to regain control and get the keys to the rental. . .OH – and get us lost. . . .AND loose a bet (way to go Honeychild!). When we got back to the camp, Lil’ Sis and I took a ride to the store (which is ONLY 15 miles from the camp. . . ). I cooked a delicious dinner, and we turned in at a reasonable hour.

So, GeeGee and I are now wrapping things up at the camp, and ready for our St. Patrick’s adventure in Boston. Wish us luck!!!

RIC is Improving!!

FIRST of all, for all of you to know, Richmond Airport has FREE Internet access! I know, I was shocked too! So, it seemed only appropriate to write a blog after 3 v/s with a splash of cran. . .and a shot of chilled Ketal. . . .

So, I am getting ready to board to my flight to BOS to celebrate my lil' sis's 30th birthday. . . my flight is delayed, so I get to ramble. . .this might be an interesting blog. . .

I got to the airport and went through security, and then directly to the BAR. First of all, I got carded (which the Leo in me LOVES), and I sat right next to one of my bar customers. Can you say "ironic"?? We chatted for a while and talked about some Internet dating experiences. . . After he left, I proceeded to call my left arm, Aklet. We carried on for a while about life and our plans for the Summer. . And yes, I was the annoying person at the bar talking on my cell phone. . .In the middle of all my chat, I managed to get MULTIPLY texts from my mom and stepdad in Dibai. I am getting ready to spend some time at their cozy little home without there presence.

My mom, whom I got ALL the best qualities from, has texted me multiply times (yes, my mom texts) about where to go, how to get there, what is in the fridge, how to keep the sponge after washing the dishes, and so on. . . .Her husband then texts me. . .I believe he thinks I am going to try to partake in some monkey business at their house. I assured him, that I will not do that until I am married. . . .

So, on that note, my GeeGee (Greek God), will be awaiting my arrival in BOS. . unfortunately he will be waiting more than he wants. . .sorry babe. . .it may be more than "seven"! My flight is delayed. . . .However, I am looking forward to a fun filled weekend, packed full of adventure and NO SLEEP! Welcome to Honeychild's World. . . Your welcome to live in it, visit it, or live vicarously through it! It is your choice! Happy St. Patrick's Day Weekend! Aket, I am going to try to top our Savannah St. Patty's Days! Did you know that BOS was the FIRST to celebrate St. Patty's Day in 1737??? Hopefully, you will not read about me and GeeGee in the Boston Post!