Day Four Relaxing

Today was truly a day of relaxation no worries.  I went to get my hair done in the morning, strolled over to the nail salon for a pedicure, met my mother for lunch, and then grabbed a drink or two with my gang.  Yes, that's right I'm in a gang. We don't have a name yet, but I'm sure we will soon enough.  In fact we dubbed one member Dragon-Nuts this evening, and he loves it.  I digress.

So, what am I thankful for today on this laid back day?  Definitely nail salon technicians.  Anyone who can scrub the dead skin off peoples feet, trim their nails and then paint a perfect coat of nail polish deserves every penny they make as well as my thanks.  Just typing that last sentence made me cringe.  I don't know how they do it, day in and day out.  So thank you, nail salon technicians, for doing what you do so well, it's not a job most people could do.

Day Three - Three Day

Three day weekend that is...today I am thankful for my three day weekend.  It's been a grueling week at work and home so this weekend is just what I need.  I am going to see my fabulous hair dresser tomorrow for a little maintenance, and then I'm relaxing all weekend.  Ok, I'll probably through a couple etsy projects and house cleaning in there too, but at least I don't have any events, parties, or other commitments to attend.  So thank you, Spalding Consulting, Inc. for allowing me to have a compressed work schedule and in turn giving me this glorious three day weekend!

A quick google image search later and I found this appropriate little gem

Day Two, Thank You

Today I am thankful for someone that I have loved for many, many years.  She was by my side from middle school all the way through college.  Who am I kidding, she's hanging out in my kitchen right now. Yep, it's this little lady:

Photo stolen from the lovely ladies of HelloGiggles.

Hello Kitty!  I fell in love with her the moment I discovered the Sanrio store at the mall in Waldorf many years ago.  I even carried a Hello Kitty lunch box all through high school back when cutesy, character bags, purses, and lunch boxes weren't trendy.  And I just couldn't say goodbye when I got to college; there wasn't a semester that went by that Miss Kitty didn't grace the cover of one of my folders or notebooks.  Fairly consistently my sister buys me some kind of Hello Kitty paraphernalia for Christmas, and goodness knows I can't walk by a display of Hello Kitty goodies in a store without caving for at least something.

Thank you Sanrio and Hello Kitty for your adorable merchandise, I love you <3

Gather and Give Thanks

I am taking a cue from my Silly Girl sister, Marci, and counting down the days to Thanksgiving with a post-a-day listing out the things that I am thankful for.  I ran out of hours yesterday and wasn't able to get a post up in time, so here is what I was thankful for yesterday, November 1, 2011:

I am thankful for my vision.  This is ironic because I actually have horrible vision and haven't been able to see 5 feet in front of me since 8th grade.  Despite the amount of money I have to spend on contacts and glasses, my vision is something I truly do cherish. 

As we enter November, mother nature really starts putting on a show.  The changing leaves on the trees alone are enough to warm my heart and make me realize how lucky I am to be able to see such beautiful displays of color. Unfortunately the picture below is from last Fall, as I haven't had time to get out and take any pictures just yet, but it's still pretty...

3G Road Trippin'

Finally!!! I've found 15 minutes to sit down in front of my computer and blog about the fun things I did last weekend.  Several months ago my sister asked me if I'd go to a Hanson concert with her and I said, sure why not.  We decided to get tickets to the Virginia Beach show and make a weekend of it.  Our mom and grandmother decided to tag a long too, no, not for the concert, just to get away for the weekend and take in all of the sights Virginia had to offer.

Virginia really is such a beautiful state, especially in the Fall.  Typically my family likes to go for Saturday or Sunday drives to the mountains for hikes and picnics.  We haven't had the chance to get away for a trip like that just yet, so this mini-road trip to the beach was a great filler.  Here we go:

Since my mom and grandma weren't going to the concert and had to be back to work on Monday morning, they drove separately.  We followed them down the back roads of VA and made our way to our first stop, the Virginia Bazaar.  We found a few treasures, but not much...it was worth the drive just to see the beautiful horse farms and homes.

The next stop was Berkeley Plantation.  Absolutely gorgeous, I love old plantation homes.  There was a wedding taking place while we were there out on the lawn.  If I were a VA resident I totally would have looked into a having my wedding there!  Anyway, there is a lot of history in this old house; two Presidents have lived here, Taps was composed here, etc.  

The plantation is right on the James River.
Considering it was the third week of October, the weather was perfect!

We finally made it to our hotel on the beach!  We took a stroll around the town that night and woke up to a gorgeous sunrise, some porpoises close to the shore and then Marci and I went for a run on the boardwalk.  A great start to a great day...

We heard that there was a beer festival about 2 blocks from the hotel, so Sunday morning after our mom and grandma hit the road we hit the pavement.  The beer festival wasn't open yet, since it was only 12:30, so we headed 20 blocks away to a Fall Festival at a restaurant called Watermans. Upon closer inspection it wasn't so much of a festival as a "Crush Fest".  They were debuting their new "Orange Crush" drink called the "Ruby Red Grapefruit Crush".  Fresh squeezed, ice cold, heaven in a plastic cup.  There was also a DJ and live band playing...yeah, we never made it back to the beer festival.  We did, however, hike our way back to the hotel to get ready for the main event...

 The Hanson concert.  I can't lie, it was a great show!  I really wish people would forget about MMMBop and listen to their newer music.  These three young men are so talented, but don't get the credit they deserve.  Despite witnessing a fight (yes, a girl in front of us had to be escorted out) and having a slight  hangover from the Crush Fest several hours earlier, it was a lot of fun.  I bought Marci a shirt during the show and shoved it in my purse, planning to give it to her for Christmas, but that didn't happen.  Never in a million years did I expect her to get the opportunity to meet on of them, so of course it happened.  Zac, the youngest came out of the venue and put his things on their bus then came over and signed autographs and took pictures...I couldn't believe it, after 14 years of loving this band Marci finally got to meet one of them.  It may not have been the man of her dreams, Taylor (who by the way is GORGEOUS...without a doubt deserving of a sexiest man alive title), but she still can say she met one of them.  And I figured what the heck, I might as well get a picture too...

The next morning we hit the road, reminisced about the concert and made our way back to Maryland, stopping at a few thrift shops and a cracker barrel of course :) Mission road trip, accomplished.

Must. Write.

Today, my newest guilty pleasure, HelloGiggles, told me that today is National Day on Writing, which means that I had to find my way to the computer tonight to produce this little blog post.  I have always loved creative writing, and even took a few English classes as electives in college, so I am all about the National Day on Writing.

The past two weeks have thoroughly kicked my butt, and I've been cleaning like a mad woman ever since I walked in the door when I got home from work, in other words; I am exhausted. Typically I would be off work tomorrow for my CWS Friday, but I decided to go in so I can take off on Monday.  And just why do I need to be off on a Monday?  Because I'm taking a road trip with my sister this weekend and our last stop is Norfolk, VA to see her all time favorite band, Hanson.

Yes, I am going to a Hanson concert.  At the age of 25.  Go ahead and get your laughs in, I know it's not the coolest thing in the world to be doing.  However, even though my cheeks go rose colored when I tell people I'm going to see Hanson, I quickly let them know that Hanson still makes new music, and it's pretty quality stuff at that!  Even though I'm pretty sure I'll be hearing a more masculine rendition of MMMBop (Yes, I still know that the proper way to spell it is with three M's), their new music is very good and I'm looking forward to seeing them live.  They are truly talented brothers who have been doing this their entire lives.  I have nothing bu respect for them and the music they make.

This picture is actually from a Tinted Windows (a side project/band that Taylor was a part of) concert Marci and I went to a couple of years ago.  

I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open, even though it is only 8:40pm, so I'm going to sign off for the night.  I just wanted to make sure I did my duty and wrote a little something on National Day on Writing.  Stay tuned for a blog update after our road trip, it should be entertaining! :)