Unplanned Weekends

I tend to be a planner.  I like to know what I am doing and have everything scheduled.  Sometimes when I over plan and get supper hyped up I feel like I am setting myself up for immediate failure.  You just get so excited and set the bar high that it’s just going to be the best time ever.  Then you’re worried about making everyone else happy and you just have such high expectations.  I’m so guilty of this and then I’m like ehh wasn’t as fun as I thought. 

There’s just something about unplanned weekends.  You have zero expectations, other than you think all you are doing is sitting on the couch watching Trueblood.  They're the best and that’s exactly what this weekend was.  These are the times that end up being memorable.  Sometimes I need to take a chill pill and just let life happen and enjoy it. 

When I got home from the office, the bf was like we’re going to a HS basketball game.  I was of course like hell no, I think I’ll just curl up on the couch because it is so miserably cold out.  But, apparently my bf is good.  He ended up getting me to come out to get dinner with friends.  Put a mango margarita and some Mexican in front of me and I’m just the happiest girl ever.  Before I left the office I had tweeted, "Holy Guacamole!  It’s finally the weekend.  Let’s get some chips and start dippin.”  Could I get any cheesier?  Probably.  Anyways, Mexican was clearly on my mind and my bf knows me all too well and how to get me out of sweats. 

He even got me to go to the game, which I watched zero of.  I blame this on the grande margarita because I was chit chatting the whole time.  We all went for drinks at a local bar, we didn’t end up staying long because unfortunately you can smoke in bars here and my lungs were starting to hurt. What is this 1999?

With my friend Linds aka One Shot

Saturday we went to the grocery, which I saved 14 bucks thanks to my mperks and stopped over at Hobby Lobby.  Scrapbooking paper was on sale and this girl is trying to get stocked up on all things scrap booking so I can start getting mine together.  I’m beginning to realize that this is going to be an expensive hoppy.  And because I was on a Mexican kick I made some hooo-made guacamole and chowed down while watching Trueblood.  

We headed 45 minutes North to this amazing farm to fork restaurant, Joseph Dequis.  I’ve talked about this place before.  It’s one of those this is a special date night place and we don’t come often because you will easily spend 200 bucks on just appetizers and drinks.  There special was a $95 steak.  Yea it's that kind of place.  We sat at the bar and enjoyed our unplugged time and chatting with the bartender.  While we were sipping on coffee and liquor drinks a few people showed up from our town that we know.  We ended up staying longer sipping on bourbons, whiskeys and scotchs and somewhere during that time invited them over for breakfast.  One of the guys actually lives in a Frank Lloyed Wright house and he said to just to bring everything over and cook it there.  Sure dude, sounds good to me. 

When we got back home, We did a lot of this...

Stay warm, drive safe and drink a glass of wine.  Also, don't judge. Yes, that is a snuggie.

Because You Can't Just Have One

For as long as I can remember, I have loved tattoo's.  I think they are a great outlet for expression.  They tell stories about peoples lives or reminders to keep going.  They're inspiring.  They're beautiful. They're conversation starters. They're art.  

At 20 I got inked for the first time.  The best part was getting to do it with my best friend and pledge sister, Tori.  Who needs best friend bracelets when you can get matching tattoos?  Tori and I met freshman year and instantly clicked.  We pledged a sorority together and the symbol of our sorority is an anchor.  At the end of my sophomore year I decided to transfer to another college in New York.  So we chose the anchor as a symbol to be forever connected.  But my tattoo actually has duel meanings.  My father is a Tugboat Captain, so was my grandfather and my uncle.  My dad and three brothers all have anchor tattoos.  So it also represents family.  It's a very special tattoo to me and I'm in love with it.  

Tattoos are no joke though.  They hurt.  I don't know if you can tell by the picture. I also could look like I'm having trouble on the toilet.  Haha but no worries, it's just me getting a tattoo. 

At 22 I got inked for the second time.  I fell in love with the quote "Without struggle there is no progress."  Things have never come easy for me.  I've encountered many bumps in the road but it's part of who I am today and has made me a stronger person.  

I didn't have as much success with this tattoo and I was not pleased with the outcome. It straight up looks like crap.  It's so hard to read and it's not in the writing I wanted at all.   Here's my advice, research your tattoo artist and be super picky.  This is on you for life.  Once I get some money saved up, I'm going to meet with a new tattoo artist to see what they can do to fix it.  Cross your fingers that there's hope!

 

Below are the tattoos that I am crazy about. 

1 - Dream catchers are a symbol of unity and for children is used to catch the bad dreams and thoughts.  Growing up I always had a dream catcher hanging by my bed.  It reminds me of my childhood.  To me I also relate it to keeping happy thoughts and not focusing on the negative.  
2 - The Elephant represent a lot for me.  For one thing, my blog is Chasing Elephants. It means to follow my dreams, not give up and to remember what it is that I love.  It means strength, peace and family.  Elephants with their trunk up is good luck.  
3,4, 5 & 6 - I could sit outside for hours just looking at nature like things and have a big old dorky smile on my face.  Just ask my IRL best friend Erin.  My degree is in Outdoor Recreation and so obviously I like outdoor things.  I love hiking, backpacking, canoeing, skiing and just being outside in general.  Lately I haven't been enjoying the outdoors like I should/want to.  I can't forget to keep enjoying the things that I love.

7 & 8 - If you can't tell, I love to travel and it's the thing in life that makes me feel so alive and gives me that rush.  It reminds me how much beauty there is on this earth.  It's what I am most passionate about, besides family of course.  I think it somewhat defines me even.  Compasses also means protection and guidance.  

9 - "An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward, so when life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means that it is going to launch you into something great.  So just focus, and keep aiming."  I found this on Pinterest somewhere and it just sums up the arrow so perfectly.  

What I love about tattoos is the meaning behind them.  Every tattoo is a story. And every one has a story to tell.  Each of these tattoos would remind me to keep going, enjoy life and to stay true to myself.  Not to mention I think they are sexy.  As you can see it is going to be hard to pick my next tattoo.  What are your favorites?

My Dogs Like to Play Dress Up

Why is it Monday already?  I swear I feel like I was just at work.  So yes I’m sad it’s Monday and I would much rather be running around getting into shenanigans with the bf.  And can we talk about how pathetic that game was last night.  Good thing I only watched the commercials. 

After work on Friday, Philly and I went out for drinks and dinner.  It was extra special because we were unplugged and really had some good conversations.  We have been including unplugged every day.  Usually, it’s at bed time but as long as we make a conscious effort, I’m totally good with it. Catch up here about going unplugged.

We reflected on the year and that we are happy it’s over.  It was a roller coaster of a year.  It was amazing but it was also a year of change and growing for the both of us.  Last January Philly took over the family businesses as President. When we met he was transitioning into the roll.  With that comes a lot of stress.  So sure there were times that it was hard on our relationship but I am so glad I was by his side through all of it.  I feel that if we made it so early on in our relationship during a stressful time that we can get through anything together. It made us stronger both individually and in our relationship.  

After three glasses of wine, we were heading out the door and then ran into a couple that we sort of, errr, I had no idea who they were.  Two extra glasses of wine later and my voice increasing, it was time to get home.  I’m loud to begin with but add a few glasses of wine and I’m pretty sure the whole town can hear what I am saying. 

Saturday morning, I forced myself to clean up the house.  I’ve been neglecting it big time and feel like the worst girlfriend ever.  Thankfully, the bf helped me too and with a hangover.  He gets bonus points for sure.  The parts came in for our washing machine and the repair men came early to fix it.  I now, no longer have to wear dirty clothes.  “Ya filthy animal”!  Just kidding I wasn’t wearing dirty filthy clothes but I do love that movie, it’s probably one of my favorite scenes.  

At lunch time, we drove down to Indianapolis.  Whenever we head down to Indy we stop at the Midland Antique Mall.  I can’t count how many times we have been there, yet haven’t purchased a single thing.  Except of course, this beauty.  I mean, I couldn’t resist. I can't wait to put this in my family room.   It just simply speaks for itself.  

I’m totally kidding.  I had you going though, didn’t I?   So many questions.  Are Elvis lamps a thing and do people actually have these in their house? Please say no.

We drove up to the mall and did some shopping.  I had some gift cards and wanted to use them up.  I am now the new owner of this fabulous trench coat, 4 new pairs of underwear, and 2 VS bras that actually fit me.  I have been wearing the wrong bra size for years and can’t tell you how much better it is to have a bra where you don’t have side boob.  Cause it’s not cute.

We stopped for appetizers and drinks at Cheesecake factory.  They make the best Pineapple Mojito , go try it like now if you haven’t.  We caught the 5:15 showing of American Hustle, which I honestly wasn’t that impressed with.  It was good but it was slow.  I didn’t feel like there were any huge big exciting parts.  Also, I didn’t think Christian Bale could ever look ugly but guess what? He totally can.  The comb over?  Really dude.  But I did think he played the part really well. 

And yes, if you follow me on instragram you learned that I played dress up with my dogs on Sunday.  I don’t think I am normal.  I was getting a kick out of it though so it’s a win. 

Dragon in a black and white 3/4 length sleeve dress.

Mouse wearing the perfect shirt/dress for Summer.  See the Summer Catalog for prices and sizes.  

Then I wasted the rest of the afternoon looking at tattoos while the bf was trying to recover from his hangover from Friday!  Can you tell we are getting old?

We brought Dragon over to our friends’ house late Sunday to watch the super bowl game and consume a lot of food.  Mouse isn’t a social butterfly like Dragon so we kept her home.  Dragon and her friend Bella had a tiny disagreement about who was going to play with this one particular bone.  Of course there were 9 other bones they could play with.  Dragon hasn’t quite learned to share yet and Bella wanted to nibble on the bone for a little while.  This wasn’t going to happen.  A few battle wounds and a 15 minute time out later, neither one of them were allowed toys.  Hopefully they both learned their lesson to share.  Can’t let a stupid fight over a toy ruin a friendship.  Hopefully a walk with these two and they will be back to being playful, wild biffles!

Anyways, that’s my weekend in a nut shell.   Oh yea and Happy February! 

Christmas in St. Thomas

Whelp, this might as well be a #TBT post because it has taken me a whole damn month to finally blog about it.  But cut me some slack, I mean I did go on another vacation 2 weeks later. 

I've mentioned before that I love the holidays especially the traditions.  If you're new feel free to catch up here.  Though it was hard to be away from home and my family it was a Christmas I will never forget.  I cannot thank Phil's family enough for everything they did for us.  

Phil and I flew down to St. Thomas on the 19th and his parents and sister were at the airport waiting for us.  Obviously, our first stop was to hit up a local bar for beers and burgers.  Actually, I think I had some sort of grapefruit and vodka drink but beers and burgers just sounded better.  

The young folks decided to stay out and celebrate since we were in flipping St. Thomas and everyone back home was freezing and bundled up. Mary, Phil's sister took us to Duffy's Love Shack and just straight up broke it down.  We of course just had to get the touristy cups and I don't even want to know how much those things cost us.  I chose the Whale and Phil chose the Parrot. And because we are such pup parents we thought that they looked like our dogs.  Mouse is Parrot because of those eyes and Dragon is Whale because she likes to open her mouth and smile.  I'm sure this is where you are shaking your head.  Go ahead.  I am too.  

 

There's no better way to start day two of your vacation than with a Bloody Mary.  I don't even like Bloody Mary's but the bf's Mom makes the best ones.  She puts pickle juice in them and I swear it makes all the difference. I had a few of those and went snorkeling.   Not sure who decided that those two things go together but I went with it.   I've actually never gone snorkeling, other than in a pool and the only thing I saw there was scum on the bottom of the pool.  So this was way cooler.  

After a few more Grapefruit Vodka and Tonic drinks we  headed out to Joust, which is part of the British Virgin Islands.  I got my passport stamped and everything.  Joust is known for the The Soggy Dollar Bar, home to the Original Painkiller, aka the best Caribbean rum drink ever.  I had one or two or three of those before the Photo Shoot happened. I think I one point I might of even had two drinks in my hand at one time.  We grilled out on the boat and I'm pretty sure I passed out soon after. 

Jane (Philip's Mom) and I went over to Megan's Bay to pick up Mary (Phil's Sister) and we went into town to do some shopping. Before we stopped at Mary's the rental car was having some issues so we went to get it looked at.  They said it was not safe to drive so we got a different one.  Oh great.  I mention this because this was not the only time we switched cars. Anyways, her view from her apartment is unbelievable.   I can't even imagine waking up every morning and having a cup of coffee to this.

The bf's family really close friends arrived to join us for Christmas.  This was my first time meeting them and just fell in love with the family.  To celebrate everyone being together we went out to eat.  The place was really up high on the island and was partially exposed to the outside.  It was basically one big deck.  They had a serve yourself bar.  I've never heard of such a thing but you can bet I made my drinks stroannggggg.

The kids were hyped up on sugar and thought they were zombies.  It was cute, so of course I took a picture of it.

Explored the beach.  Found a coconut but it ended up being rotten. I was sad because I really wanted to try a fresh coconut from the beach. I know #firstworldproblems

Phil and I ended up going into Red Hook (closet town) because we needed to do some Christmas shopping.  We went to a few places but a majority of them were closed because it was Sunday.  Luckily, we found this outdoor restaurant and bar, Fishtails, was open.  The best part was that they had bottomless pit mimosas.  Jackpot. We stayed there for a few hours. Ate and drank even more. I mean this is what vacation is about right?  We came home with zero gifts.  Fail.

The ladies made hooo-made veggie roll-ups.  I have consumed 8 of these in one sitting before.  That's how much I like these.  So I was of course really excited to eat these for dinner.  After dinner, we went to Jack Pots to get some ice cream.  I have to stay the store was strange.  It had 8 flavors of hard ice cream, coffee, and slot machines.  I'm serious.  It was strange.  

Afterwards the bf and I decided to stay out and have a few drinks.  It is vacation after all.  Nobody wanted to join us so the two of us ventured off by ourselves.  It was nice to spend some time with just the two us. We met a few different people at the bar and by the 3rd of 4th vodka drink it was time for me to go.  It was a nice evening though out and I always love getting to chat with new people and just hearing about there stories. 

I woke up feeling a tad bit on the hungover side.  I had promised lil T (the boy zombie) that I would go for a run with him and search for coconuts.  This was before the 4 vodka drinks I had of course.  He dragged me out of bed and totally made me feel guilty.  I'm pretty sure the adults were telling him things to say to try to get me to feel bad.  Guess what, it worked.  Thankfully, I didn't hack up anything on the run.  It was a success in my book.  But we didn't find any coconuts.  That was a bummer for the both of us. 

The rest of the day Phil and I spent with Jane.  We went to all the touristy shops because this time we actually needed to buy some gifts.  Then we walked around Yacht Haven Marina where all the huge mo'fo mega yachts are.  It's just insane how big some of those ships boats are.  We stopped for a drink at the Fat Turtle.  It over looked the marina.  I took 2 sips of my beer and then realized that it just wasn't going to happen. Girl, can't hang.  We did successfully find gifts for everyone.  Phew.

Christmas Eve.  I'm still not used to all the decorations and the palms tree.  Just something about it seems off.  But I'm 100 percent okay with it.  I'll keep it short here and let the pictures do the talking.

A Caribbean Christmas eve is not complete without leaving Santa letters, cookies, ginger snaps, olives, and vodka.  The kids totally came up with this.  I swear it wasn't me. :)

Merry Christmas!  Woke up, had some Turkish coffee, which if you never had, its like bomb.com but make sure not to drink the last sip, its just pure coffee grounds, opened presents and headed off to the beach. 

One of my favorite parts of vacation was laying on the beach and seeing everyone in bathing suits and santa hats. Of course I didn't manage to get any pictures of it.  Buy the way, I bought a hat.  Another item to cross off my list.  It's not my favorite but it's a huge step for me to even buy one in the first place. We did the norms on the beach of building sandcastles, swimming, tanning, reading and writing our names in the sand.  Cheese fest.  :)

When we went back to the boat everyone decided that we wanted to take the boat out since it was finally calm. It had been pretty wavy the previous days.  We went over to St. John and found Mary and her bf.  They both charter the boat Take it Easy, previously owned by Kenny Chesney and had to work so they weren't able to come with us.  We found another spot to snorkel. 

I sat out on the bow of the bout with Jane, we chatted away and watched the sun go down. Parker (the dog) even came to enjoy it too. For the rest of the night we played the board game Ticket To Ride.  It's seriously one of my favorite games of all time.  I discovered it two years ago when I was and Outdoor Educator. I won.  That's expected though, because I mean it is my favorite game.  A game isn't fun unless you win.  

This had to have been one of my favorite times.  We ended up sleeping out in the middle of the ocean.  No joke, I had the best sleep of my entire life.  I woke up so rested.  That rarely happens especially with my thyroid condition.  There is literally something about the boat rocking you to sleep.  It was peaceful.    

This was our last full day on the island.  We woke up, played two more rounds of Ticket to Ride, which I lost because everyone figured out my strategy.  I hate this game now.  I'm a sore loser.  I don't really hate it, just joshin around.  We spent the rest of the day taking the dingy out to this lil private beach. We were the only ones there.  Yup.  Phil and I made chairs out of noodles in the water and  floated for hours, drinking beers and talking about the future.  It was perfect.  It was a moment I never want to forget.  

It also happened to be Jane and Greg's 32nd Anniversary.  I caught them smooching.  It was cute.  Later in the afternoon we headed back to the marina to get ready for dinner.  Not going to lie I was a lil love drunk and drunk off cider beer.  Dinner was at this place called, Room with a View. Solid, Italian Restaurant.  Actually, it was really flipping good.  I ate my weight in food, I think.  I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to do that. 

Our last day in paradise.  I soaked every last moment cheese smiling.  Who's the super tourist?  Oh hey, it's just me.  Before our flight we had lunch at Duffy's Love shack.  As you can see I got laid. Also, the menus were on bamboo sticks and it was a must to get a picture of them. 

It was at this moment that I am pretty sure I had some tears rolling down my eyes.  It was such an amazing trip and I always enjoy spending time with Phil's family.  Honestly, I cant thank them enough for everything.   How do you thank someone for an unforgettable trip?  

The worst part about vacations is how fast they go by.  I swear you blink and all of a sudden you are on a plane home.  The only good thing was we were going to spend the night in Cincinnati and spend the morning in Ikea. Our Christmas gift's to one another was to get things for the home.  Yea I feel old.  But walking into Ikea is equivalent to a kid having a bouncy house on their birthday. 

If you are still reading this, bless you.  I know it was a lot and heck i'm exhausted after writing this post. I just didn't want to leave out any parts.  I'll be glad I did this so one day I can look back on it.   And now i'm even more depressed because it's in the negative temps and I just wanna go back.  

Going Unplugged

I’ve often been told that I am an old soul.  I am not even sure what that entirely means.  Is it a good or bad thing?  Does it mean that my soul is hundreds of years old?  Anyways, I think I am just old fashioned.  I like to have dinners at the table completely unplugged.  No tv, no cell phone, no iPad, no computer.  Just simply, being.  I don’t even mind if it’s silent and no one is talking.  I just like having some part of my day without all the distractions.  Just enjoying time with the bf.   

The man though doesn’t get where I am coming from with this.  He is 100% attached to his phone and iPad.  He’s always checking e-mails for work and I get it, the dude runs three businesses and  of course he needs to be on top of everything.  And I am not saying that I don’t enjoy electronics because I totally do but I also don’t want it to run my life and my relationship.  There needs to be line drawn. 

The first few months after I moved in we would sit at our lil table in the kitchen at least a couple times a week.  Now, I can’t remember the last time we weren’t sitting on the couch in front of the TV.  Granted Dragon, our pup kind of took over that section of the kitchen because of her large kennel and our lack of space for it.  We had to move the table and it is not in a very convenient location.  I don’t like it one bit. 

While we were on the cruise it was great because we weren't able to use phone or internet, unless we wanted to shell out some cash money, which I did not.  It was so nice not to have my phone attached to my hip.  We weren't worried about what celeb was getting arrested or what someone was eating that they just had to post on Instagram.  Guilty as charged of this.  We were living in the moment and sometimes I forget to do that. 

So the other night I was thinking about it and suggested to the bf what if we have an unplugged bed time.  I mean who doesn’t love pillow talk?  For now, this could be our time to talk about the day, our dreams, goof off and just be together without distractions.  I think it’s healthy for relationships.  

The hard part in this whole thing is getting Philly on board.  I don’t want to say that he doesn’t respect the idea because he does but I don’t think he takes the idea seriously either.  Maybe it’s the old soul in me that just can’t keep up with the times.  But then again it could just be my need to feel close and to stay connected in my relationship. 

Do you have an unplugged time in your relationship?  How has it helped yours if you do?  I need some convincing points to win the bf’s heart on going uplugged.  

I guess I kind of went deep for a friday morning but I just couldn't resist.  

HAPPY FRIDAY!