MDW, NBD.

Thursday afternoon began my Memorial Day Weekend with a drive down to West Long Branch. I attempted the beach (fog quickly shut down that idea,) pumped some iron at the MU gym, played Wiffle Ball on the Great Lawn (showed C and his buddies how its done,) and went to see the Hangover Part II in Asbury.

Friday morning we woke up to a gorgeous beach day. I ran down to the ocean while C got his lift on, and we met back up on the beach. I roasted for a couple hours (my tan lines say it all) and we ended the day by celebrating Surf Taco's 10th anniversary! I enjoyed my taco salad and the "Nutty Surfer", the best pb and chocolate milkshake you will ever sip, in a celebratory manner. (I never let myself order that shake due to obvious health reasons, but who can pass up a good excuse to indulge in high fat, high sugar, high calorie treats?)  After our dinner I drove (with an aching stomach) to 'Squan to spend the night with my bff Caroline :)

I set my alarm early Saturday morning to sleep walk jog along the river before Caroline and I headed over to Belmar. MDW simply wouldn't be complete without a visit to b-e-l-m-a-r, just ask all the teeny-boppers with facebook statuses "DTS, MDW .. belmar NBD!" ..To that I say, smh. So we spent the day frying on the beach with Mikey &co before going on a serious shopping spree through Freehold Mall.  It would have been nice to stay all night in Belmar considering the plan was to return Sunday morning, but since I am few days shy of 21 I couldn't partake in the Happy Hour festivities :( Can't wait until next weekend!

Sunday morning I drove with C and his buddy back to Belmar for his sister's summer kick-off Luau, or "Ulua" as the sign from Party City read hanging over their front door...

The day was spent sipping Sangria from pineapple glasses and sunning on the front lawn. It was quite enjoyable.

Monday rolled along entirely too fast. I came home from the shore and sat my rear on a lounge chair poolside at the Palladino Resort. Grilling and tanning with friends and family was the perfect start to summer!

Now, it's Tuesday, the day before my 21st and I am prepping myself via Hot Yoga and a Mani/Pedi to celebrate in Atlantic City! Wish me luck ;)  Pictures and antics will be coming shortly.

Movie Review Monday - Hangover 2

On Thursday night I was accompanied by three frosty-smuggling Monmouth Football players to a sketchy Asbury Park movie theater to see the Hangover 2. The company alone had me laughing so hard my stomach hurt - the movie was just an added dose of funny.  


Let me start by saying this: without Zach Galifianakis this movie would be nothing.  The movie had quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, but not nearly as many as the first one.  The Hangover Part II was much, much slower paced than the original.  Although the plot line was identical to the first, it lacked the rapid fire one-liners and surprise events of its predecessor. (C had to shake me to make sure I was awake at one point...)


I literally cried laughing so hard when I watched the original Hangover in theaters, this time there were no tears (although I didn't expect to have any .. I never expect much from sequels.) There was entirely too much male nudity, Stu's character was unbelievably more annoying, and the newly introduced characters brought no additional humor or dynamic.


Indeed it was a good effort, and I think it would be a summer fav if it didn't have the first Hangover with which to compare. The repeated jokes were still funny, but I was hoping for some freshness. 

Thankfully, Bradley Cooper's ridiculous good looks and Zach Galifianakis' strange behavior make it impossible to dislike the movie. Oh, and the trio I arrived with made the night that much more enjoyable. Good company and a good flick make for a memorable movie night :)  I'll give it a B-.  

Workin on a Tan

My mindset for this beautiful Memorial Day Weekend.

"Yeah, so many things run through her mind
When to turn and when to re-apply."

Spending time down the shore with the people I love most, working on my tan (Soakin’ up the sun
Gettin’ next to nothin’ done) and pretending there isn't a care in the world - couldn't ask for anything better. I'll be back after Monday with updates :)  xoxo

Non-Word of the Day Wednesday:

Cuss.
This blog is not dubbed "Word of the Day" because "cussed" isn't actually a word. It's a corruption of the English word "curse" commonly used by my beautiful Roommates and other silly Southerners.

I always giggled when my roomies would use the term "Cuss" seriously in a sentence. It sounds so innocent, trivial.  However, being the nerd I am, I spent a portion of my Saturday afternoon reading a late 20th century publication of "Practical English and the Command of Words," which supported my claim that "cuss" and it's made-up past-tense version "cussed" are not recognized as legitimate words.

Fyi.

I do forgive my friends for using the term because they sound so darn-tootin'-cute when using the colloquialism. I'll get off my northern high-horse now and close the subject.

Ten on Tuesday

I'm having writer's block. Wit nor creativity are making appearances in this exhausted brain of mine.  It's frustrating. But blog I must.  I haven't been doing much these past few days but do minimal chores around the house, read, and attempt to stay sane.  In order to keep my eager followers waiting no longer, I decided to share the top ten goings-on in my life at the moment - in list form, as to evade the crisis of non-creativity.

1. Garage Sale: we held a garage sale outside our house on Saturday afternoon. It was the first day after a week of non-stop rain to see the sun so I was happy to wake up at 7:00am and sell my trash to strangers if it meant I could get a dose of natural vitamin D.  I made $40 (it would have been at least $50 if my customers weren't so pushy and downright cheap) and gained a few more freckles on my nose.

2. Brenna: I got to spend time at B's house this weekend with close friends and a good pizza. Gosh I missed that girl.

3. Confirmation: C's little cousin got confirmed in South Plainfield on Sunday. The pews were occupied by lots of cute babies and I occupied myself during the hour and a half+ mass by playing this fun game I made up: "Name that baby." In my row was a new born with a headband bigger than her head - her name was Emma. Behind me was a butter-ball dressed in yellow who wouldn't stop eating, she was Sofie.  In front of me was a toddler constantly being passed off between big-haired, lipstick-wearing Aunts - he was the cutest. I dubbed him Anthony.

4. Shopping: Express sale means buy one get one shorts. Which means I came home with 4 pair. Thanks Mom!

5. Hot Yoga: I took my first Hot Yoga class this Monday! Holy hell it was hot. Holding Warrior 2 in 100 degrees, mat-to-mat with 20 other women is not so easy! My hands were pruned by the end I sweated so much. But boy did it feel good after. It was the most challenging and cleansing 75 minutes of my life. I will definitely be returning for more! I think doing Yoga three times a week is a new ingredient to my Happy Plan.  Namaste!

6. "The Help": I'm half way through this Kathryn Sockett novel and I'm hooked!

7. Caroline, Jess and Diana: Got to see these girls in bits and pieces this week. So happy to see them - but I am definitely making it a resolution to see them more often. It's summer and I need my girls :)

8. GPA: I got a 4.0 this semester! This week has been kind of negative for me in a lot of ways, but getting my grades with nothing less than an A- to stain my transcript definitely brightened my day.

9. Bridesmaids: I've been wanting to see this new comedy every day this week, but it still hasn't happened. I'm hoping tonight is the night after Diana gets off of work!

10. Happy Plan: I'm trying to remind myself every day to do things that make me happy.  I've realized it is so easy to get bogged down in the negativity of my surroundings - I need to remember that I am the key controller to my happiness. I am going to share my personal ingredients to what I think might make me "happy" so my loyal followers can remind me to stay on track:
- Be active for AT LEAST 30 minutes a day. (Run, weight lift, YOGA, etc.)
- Eat healthy.  Only eat meat one meal per day. Only snack when I'm hungry!
- Get dressed daily. No day shall pass only in yoga pants and a t-shirt. I feel so much better about myself when I put effort into my appearance.
- Do something every day for me. (paint my nails, treat myself to an iced coffee, take a nap)
- Make an effort to see my girlfriends. It's so easy for me to just stay in bed with a good book for the night. Enough is enough. I'm nearly 21 years old, not 41; having fun with my girlies needs to be a priority.

And that's that. Happy Tuesday Lovies xx

'Til the World Ends

What if today is the last Friday ever?

Honestly, I am not convinced that tomorrow, May 21, 2011, will actually be "Judgment Day." Actually, I often have gut-instincts when something bad is happening ... so far, the signs my instincts sent me were for occurrences on earlier dates in May. My tummy tells me nothin' about tomorrow.

But wouldn't it be weird if we woke up tomorrow, a (hopefully sunny) Saturday morning and all of the pious people in our lives just started floating up to heaven? Good news for me, I'm almost certain my closest friends, family and I are all the slightest fraction sinner.  I wouldn't have to worry about saying my good-byes (or see ya laters?) until October...

Seriously though. What a weird concept, Judgement Day. Don't you think we should be expecting the return of our Savior anyday? If I was Jesus, I'd make a surprise appearance. Shake things up a bit. I mean the man is infamous for the unexpected; he gave sight to the blind, turned blood into wine. Why on heaven or earth should we expect him to follow the expected this time around?

I'm not saying I believe or disbelieve in the rapture beginning tomorrow. (But if it does happen tomorrow, I bet I'll regret sitting on my couch blogging on this last Friday.) What do you guys think?

Anyone doing anything super crazy out of this world for the last Friday ever?!?! Dancin til the world ends a la Britney?

The thought brought me back to my bucket list. Or rather, my "Things-To-Do-Before-the-World-Ends" list.  I wish I had more things crossed off...  cross your fingers I have slightly more time than the four months to complete everything!

Thanks

There is a spot in my agenda book to write down what I am "thankful for" at the end of each week.  The two lines of thankful declarations are laid out under each Sunday (the rightful end to a week, I hate when planners end with Saturdays) but I decided to share my thanks with my readers slightly prematurely, on Thursday.

I am thankful that I got to spend nearly a full week with C. It is so rare that I get to spend so much time with him since we started college. I think the last time we saw each other more than two days in a row was over a year ago. Time with family, bowling, road trips, and rainy days were all had this week, and all were made better with him.

I am thankful for Diet Coke. Headaches and exhaustion were plentiful this week, and each time a fountain Diet Coke was the perfect cure.

I am thankful for Dr. Kahn - the surgeon who performed my Wisdom Tooth extraction this afternoon. He did it quickly and painlessly. I anticipated much more misery with the surgery - I'm thankful that I am feeling surprisingly normal!

I am thankful for my Mom, the strongest person I know, to show me strength when I need it most. And Sara Evans. Because she made this song and I can't stop listening to it:

It's easy to lose track of your blessings in all the craziness of today. I find myself getting caught up in my weaknesses, in the drama of the media (Did anyone actually believe Donald Trump would run for President?!) and the "stresses" of college.

I am definitely thankful that my Vera Bradley agenda reminds me every week to look back on what I should be thankful for.