South, South-er, South-est

I started out this morning in Ruskin, Florida and will end it here in good ol' Toledo. I've been awake since 4:30 a.m., so I feel like it should be MUCH later than 6:18 p.m. right now...

Florida was the end of our 5 day trip to take my grandma (who's what we here in the Midwest call a Snow Bird) down to Florida, where she will stay till Spring. Which almost sounds like she's a groundhog... Anyhoo. The trip was Cory, my mom, my grandma, my grandma's cat, all of my grandma's stuff she will need for the winter, and me...in a Pontiac Vibe. We started out in Toledo, stopped in Tennessee the first night to visit my grandma's brother, Jerry and his wife, then stopped in St. Augustine, Florida the second night/third day, and went to my grandma's the third night/fourth day, and spent the fourth day at the beach near my grandma's house. Then me, Cory, and me mum flew back to Toledo this morning.

How do you travel with a cat in a car for four days? It takes adjustments and fancy packing...















And yes, in Tennessee, we ate at a restaurant called Family Ties.



No, Michael J. Fox was not there, but there were singing/dancing waitresses who sang along to what Cory and I theorized was a CD made by a local artist they were advertising all over called "T". Cher and Madonna may think they're cool with just a first name, but times are a'changin'...it's much more "in" to go with just a letter.














Obviously, I did not have coffee or food yet when this was going on...





































In St. Augustine, we stayed at a questionable hotel, but it was clean enough...BUT, while I was showering the next morning, the power went out. Which is all well and good except that there are no windows in hotel bathrooms, which is practical until you are in the shower and the power goes out and it is PITCH BLACK. After 2 minutes of yelling, "Hey! HEEEYYYY!!" my mom finally came to my rescue and opened the door so I could at least have a little bit of sight...

Then we were off for some St. Augustine sight-seeing. There are a lot of really nice things to see and do in St. Augustine, but one of my favorite things was this:

It is a regular tree with a palm tree growing through the center of it. I call it the Love Tree, because according to legend, any couple who kisses in the vicinity of this tree will stay together forever. Cory and I kissed under both sides of it just to be thorough.

There is also an old fort in St. Augustine...I forget what it's called, but apparently it was so strong back when it was needed that cannonballs would bounce right off of it. Here are my mom, Cory, and a sucker he got for free from our waitress at lunch in front of the fort...

And me and my grandma at the fort...

And me and Cory IN the fort....

After St. Augustine, we stopped and had dinner with my mom's friends in another part of Florida (by then I lost track of where we were), and Cory and I got to have Yueng-Ling beer, which was awesome. We got to my grandma's house shortly thereafter, and when I was going in and out bringing stuff in, I was surprised by this little fella, who was going in and out of the blinds on the front door. Don't worry, we liberated the poor guy...

And better a frog than an alligator...

Which I did see later in the pond in my grandma's neighborhood... Luckily he was a baby and didn't notice me sneaking up to take pictures.

And after a very lovely day at the beach full of swimming, shell and stone skipping, and laying in the sun, Cory and I got more Yueng-Ling and spent the evening playing cards with my mom and Grandma, who totally kicked our asses at Euchre. My grandmother may be a card shark...I accused her and she just laughed, so if that doesn't say guilty, I don't know what does.

Then we flew home early this morning...VERY early...

And luckily Toledo was sweet enough to give us 70 degree weather upon our return. Thank goodness! Nothing's worse than coming home from a very warm place to cold, shitty weather. And I have the day off tomorrow. And it's supposed to be warm again. Abe and I are going to the park!

BIRTHDAY!!!

Today I received free spaghetti, free Panchero's, new socks, perfume, a Harry and the Hendersons doll (complete with accompanying movie), a purse and matching wallet, and shots, shots, and beers.

My mom took me, Cory, and Kyle to see Robin Williams do stand up in Ann Arbor. Vulgar AND hilarious.

I got drunk for free. And am now drunk-blogging.

I received Belinda Carlisle in the mail.

I received countless good wishes and lots of love.

Tomorrow is our 4th annual Halloween/costume/joint birthday party.

I was serenaded by a genuine Italian at the bar (with the happy birthday song), and then we confused each other because I kept saying "fiance" and he kept saying "Beyonce"...clearly, a language barrier. Until Kyle did the "put a ring on it" gesture and all became clear.

28 is pretty fun so far...

Some Notes for October 24th, 2009...to you, sincerely me...

To the lady at the gas station who sold me beer earlier: Don't be embarrassed about your sudden, loud outburst into song as I was walking away. I totally got into my car, found that station, and belted some lines myself.



To the sheep who eat pumpkins all day on my way to and from work: Who knew sheep liked pumpkins so much? Everyday I drive by you twice, and you are all always eating pumpkins. Where did you get so many pumpkins? Don't you ever get full? Are pumpkins really that delicious when they are not in pie form? Man...I just have so many questions for you...



To the people who already have Christmas lights up on their house: No. NO. Just....no.

To my fear of giving blood: Take THAT! I kicked your ASS!!

To the chicken stir fry I ate earlier: Thank you for being so delicious. You are my sunshine.

To my birthday: See you in a week!! You don't scare me!

Buzzzzzzz.........

Things have been super busy lately, but lots of good stuff going on.

Cory's cousin Richae is getting married next month in Chattanooga. I went to her bridal shower with Cory's sister Dawn and his mom...here's me, Dawn, and Richae...


Next month, Cory and I are going with my mom to take my grandma to Florida. Along the way, we are either stopping in Savannah, GA or St. Augustine, FL (we haven't decided which yet). Then we will be going to Chattanooga for Richae's wedding...then we'll be going on our annual trip to Philadelphia/New York City over Thanksgiving. Then it will be December and I will be very sleepy...

In the meantime, my sister Lauren had an opening at an art gallery last Friday- at Space 237. They even featured one of her paintings in the Toledo Blade, because she is amazing. Her art will be on display there for a few months, I recommend everyone going to see it. Here are Bethany and Lauren at the opening. They are adorable. And I have a bad feeling I am never getting my purple cardigan back...

Here is one of Lauren's paintings....my current favorite. I want to buy it. Dibs. And please note that this painting not only features a Santa Claus monster and a vampire monster, but also a Jesus monster.

Yesterday my mom and I drove up to Monroe to visit a Halloween store that someone recommended to us. The store was kind of a bust, but we did end up following some signs that said "Island", because we were like, "What island? This is Monroe." and we found a secluded road that took us alongside Dog Lady Island. There were lots of cranes, seagulls, and a lotus bed. But no dogs. Or ladies.

Oh, and I ended up getting my Halloween costume accessories back in Toledo. And just in time, cause our annual Halloween/birthday party is soon. And my mom is taking Cory and I to see Robin Williams for our birthdays. Kyle, too. And Cory, Mike, Steph and I went to see David Cross last week, which was AWESOME!! And a long time in coming, Mike and I have been waiting for him to come around for YEARS.

Anyway, time to get ready for a family meal. Some of my Texas relatives are in town and my cousin Linda is making food and she is an excellent cook, so hooray!

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

J'aime Mes Amis

So last weekend was a bit of a rough one for someone very close to me and his family, who I also love ("bit of" being an understatement). But, one thing I have always admired and loved my friends for is that we are all family, and everyone comes together in bad situations and, you know, makes it better.

On that note, in no particular order, here are a bunch of people I truly adore...

Walkin' for a Reason

Today was the Toledo Race for the Cure. It's so much fun every year and for such a good cause (breast cancer, btw) that we've made it a yearly thing. This year, it was me, Lauren, Bethany, Brittany, and Sara.

We started out the morning the way we always do- with general mishaps and disorganization. First Bethany's car wouldn't start, so I zipped across town to grab her, then we all met at Sara's as planned...all of us, that is, except Lauren. When calling her over and over didn't work, we drove to her house where I simultaneously called her and tapped on her window. She finally woke up and came out giggly and mismatched, and we were on our way.

There were over 18,000 participants at the Race this year, which was a new record. The skies looked threatening, but luckily it didn't rain. And after the Race, the weather actually turned sunny and quite pleasant. My mom and I went to an orchard and bought apples and cider.

In case I've never mentioned it before, I LOVE the fall. :)

Breathe In, Breathe Out...

So I have bronchitis. Blech. I've never had bronchitis before. I've had pharyngitis, which Stuart so lovingly calls "Erin-gytis", which was hell on earth, but never bronchitis. I was not prepared for the way it feels to not breathe at full capacity for days and days. It's unnerving and uncomfortable. Luckily, though, I caught my bronchitis early and got on antibiotics right away, so I do not have the hacking cough that normally accompanies this lil' respiratory problem. Thank goodness. I am, however, constantly tired and missing my real breathing patterns. And for the first couple of days, I had regular hot and cold flashes, which was a fun preview of menopause!





But, I digress. The real reason I brought you all here today was to tell you about my engagement party!





We had an engagement party. And it was SO much fun. My parents were kind enough to let us yet again take over their house and yard and fire pit. We had a beer potluck and made a hairy buffalo. Our friend Justin brought 8 pizzas. I brought snacks. Kyle brought me owl shorts.





Everyone brought the good times.

There was such an out-pouring of love for us at this party, it was awesome. People brought us presents, and even more importantly, people came despite bronchial pneumonia, sick relatives, and family drama involving a black eye, among other things (side note: this last part makes me wanna exact revenge not suitable to put in writing on the intra-web). And the next morning, we were left with 3 coolers still full of beer and bottle upon bottle of liquor that was gifted to us the night before. Then I got bronchitis and didn't feel like having a drop of any of it- but all in good time, dear friends.

All in good time.

P.S. I did a spell check on this blog and apparently, blogspot.com doesn't think "Erin-gytis" is a word. Pssht! Whatever, blogspot. Whatever.