Marcus’ Visit:

Marcus arrived to BCN at exactly the time he emailed Kate, 5:15 sharp. He waits and waits. Meanwhile, Kate and I are sitting at the flat discussing how Marcus’ plane should be touching down at 5:45 (the time Kate told me he’d be here) and she can leave the house late because the flights are never on time. The phone rings…its Marcus! “Kate where are you I’ve been waiting for almost 2 hours?” It’s always the same story!
I was working at the pub crawl and was standing on a really busy street when I see the two fools walking down the street holding McDonalds cups! Marcus had McD’s every single day safter he got off that plane from Albania. Oh yeah, for those of you who don’t know Marcus he is the guy from Texas I went to the Marine Ball with in Albania. Anyways, he’s almost done with his job in Albania and this week he’ll find out where they are shipping him off to next. He had 2 weeks of vacation so he decided to come to BCN and see the sights. We’re so lucky!
Since Marcus has been here Kate and I have gone out every single bloody night! My liver is about to pack up and move the Hell out! So, the first night I was “working” and decided that Kate and I should eat (while I was on the clock mind you) at this cool place and drink a few beers. I went back to work and met back up with the crew at the flat. We had beers and called it a night. Sunday we took Marcus sightseeing and ended up at Flaherty’s Irish Pub (where Martin our flatmate works) and had some beers. Monday Kate and I worked all day and Marcus got lost in BCN and then we had dinner. During dinner Antoine came home (yeah he’s living with us during the week) and we Mid-West chics schooled the boys on how to play Powerhour. Of course, I had to be different and play with white wine…so it got a lil outta control! This is where we learned that the face Marcus makes when he’s drunk is called the Popeye. He also has a slew of catch phrases that he swears King Jenkins himself came up with. Here are some examples of things that come out of this fools mouth: Good morning black people, I got girls to call me king Jenks, The Beatles who?, Sounds like that white guy Elvis, Black who?(we were talking about black licorice) , and on and on. Marcus could be one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. Tuesday we went to a salsa bar and Marcus learned how to Salsa. I had to go home early because I have class super early on Wednesdays but was awoken to Marcus and Kate showing me that they knew the dance “perfectly” and then forgetting how to do it! Wednesday we met Marcus at Flaherty’s (he had been there since 2pm) and watch some futbol and played pool with some French guys. The one guy kept talking to me and asking questions about the states and then he asked how old I was and when I replied that I was 25 he said oh 25 is my favorite age! Ha. So, I asked how old he was and you know he was 18! Anyways, we had a good night until one of the girls we sort of hang out with decided to make some rude comments about the USA and I wasn’t in the mood so we bounced. I’m pretty sure I made it quite evident I was pissed because the next time I saw her she apologized for like 10 minutes. Thursday we drank at the house and introduced Marcus to a new favorite of ours called the Kalamotxo (coke and red wine). Next, I went to work and Kate and Marcus went to a going away party for one of our Canadian friends at a tapas bar. I met up with Martin and we went to Travel Bar port where Antoine was working one last time to get free food and booze. Martin was playing the piano that has no sound and Antoine was cooking us up some rice dish with seafood and cheese when Marcus and Kate arrived. We all ate and drank and started taking ridiculous photos (you can view on facebook). As I said above, Marcus has a drunk-face called the Popeye that we all tried many times to master. Kate has it down with some improvements of her own (we all know her face can do some magically strange things) but I still need to work on it! This is where the night got interesting. After TBPort we went to the nightclub on Ramblas called Felini. All the other TEFL people met us there and I got to party with Shawn one last time before he shipped out the following day. We ended up at Apolo in our hood to top off the night where there were dancing girls on stage and live rappers. All in all it was an amazing night. Friday, Hell I can’t remember because our bum who always sings and pees on our door just caused a commotion outside and Kate armed us with water ballons and we launched them at his peeing ass! I swear this guy wakes up drunk! He’s about (let me ask Kate what she thinks…she says hmmm he’s pretty old maybe late 40’s 50’s) 50’s I think and he walks up and down the streets calling everyone names and screaming cusswords and singing the only song he can remember the words to Sevilla Sevilla (those are the only words). I can’t believe people like this guy can live so long, maybe I do have a fighting chance! Back to Marcus, I believe we went to Park Guell on Friday where King Marcus got to sit on his stone throne and we saw a man dressed in a proper Flamenco get-up (dress, make-up and all). Later that night, we went to dinner at a REAL Catalan restaurant in Gracia and ate a really great meal. It was funny because Marcus said all he cared about was eating meat so he ordered pork as usual, I ordered a Catalan specialty with black beans and sausage, and Kate got steak. After dinner, we went to a welcome home party for Kevin (the teacher who hated us and now loves us) and ended up clubbing at Otto Zutz. Saturday we went to Sitges and laid out all day and then went out for Martin’s 28th birthday party. I was at work when this Canadian chic came up to me and asked if the pubcrawl was going to be cool or not and I had just found out that we were letting people in for less money (so it was gonna suck) so I told her the truth. She explained that she was here in BCN by herself and wanted to go out but didn’t know what to do so I invited her to come out with me. As Christine and I were walking to Malpaso so I could get paid another Canadian walked up and asked about the crawl and we invited Mike to come along also. I met up with the crew (Martin & his boys from Prague, Marcus, the Brits, Kate, and the new Canadian friends) and we all went on a pub crawl of our own. After a couple of bars Roger called me and asked me where we were. We were standing in plaza Reial so I told him where we were and he was like “look up.” Roger was also in Plaza Reial at a luxury flat at the top of the plaza waving down at us! We ended going to the apartment that was a friend of a friend of someone’s mother that Nani and Roger knew. Anyways, the flat was amazing with a huge terrace and the best view in BCN and the people having the party urged us to eat all the remaining food and drink the booze so they didn’t go to waste. Needless to say everything was gone when we left. My life is made up of random events that somehow come together. This story is a perfect example! Mike and Christine probably had some amazing stories to tell their friends back in Canada because after you meet me life’s never quite the same. Okay, back to Marcus. Sunday I was like no more so we chilled out and Marcus went out with his new friend Mike to a club where they met some chics and Marcus didn’t come home until 4pm on Monday! He has now broken John’s record and I’m going to bet no one will be able to top that! (Top that Top that…Teen Witch) The next week is a blur and I can’t seem to remember what we did except the important days like on Thursday when we went to IceBar BCN. IceBar is a new bar that is on the beach and everything is made of ice. Marcus is from Texas so his ass almost froze to death, but we had a great time and got some really cool pictures. (check em out on facebook or webshots) Friday Marcus left and we went to a goodbye party for yet another fallen TEFL teacher/student, Terri. We’ll miss you Terri!

Charleston, South Carolina

We're here ya'll!

 It took about 10 hours, a truck, a uhaul, and my car...but we got here. Josh Johnson was nice enough to let us crash in Aiken while we looked for a place to live. Aiken was a cute lil town with lots of old horse money. Josh called it the Lexington of the south. After Patrick and I left all our belongs in Aiken we headed to Charleston to house hunt. People think we're crazy and maybe they are right. We no not one single person in Charleston, have no clue what the job scene is, and really don't know if the south is the right place for us...but oh well here goes nothing! We hunted for a day and stopped in at a local bar and grill and asked the waitress about where to live. Mount Pleasant is where we accidentally ended up while we were searching for downtown.  Umm where is downtown?  The nice waitress said that we should look at her apartment complex and gave us a name of a few others.  Within the next few hours we'd signed a lease and were on our way back to tell Josh the good news.  We were officially living in South Carolina!

Who knows what the future holds, but I bet it's going to be great.  Now should I buy a Gamecocks t-shirt just because...that's the question!?!?!

The Wedding x2

Image By Ola Hopper. I have to blog about our weddings. Most people can't believe that I actually had one wedding, but two is just nuts. The Barcelona blog is featured on Gourmet Bay Catering's site as well: Patrick and I decided to hop on a plane with 36 of our closest friends and family and get married in Spain! Of course the 1st thing we talked about was our vision, secondly our budget and expectations, and finally our wants and wishes. After we had a handle on the things most important to us like the food (of course), a great location for the wedding and reception, and close proximity to the city center in Barcelona we started looking for help. I Googled wedding planners in Barcelona and found a few, made some calls, and decided on Marry Me in Spain. Destination brides are Carole’s specialty. We filled out a wedding questionnaire, sent a few emails about what we as a couple cared about and then we were on our way through wedding planning 101. To us having a great place near the sea, being surrounded by all things Spanish, and having an amazing dinner menu was on the top of our want list. We explained to Carole that things like flowers and all the extras that we may have had in the states didn’t really matter to us and to not include them in our budget. Carole sent us around 15 different places she thought would be great to host the reception. The first few were beautiful but a bit modern for our tastes and not Spanish enough. By the end she had chosen the most spectacular restaurant that we quickly booked for our dinner and tapas. Carole listened to what Pat and I had envisioned and found the most perfect place for our friends and family to celebrate our nuptials. Décor was next on the list. As I said we weren’t overly worried about flowers and décor because the places we had chosen to book were so beautiful that they didn’t need much. I decided I wanted an all-white bridal bouquet which my friend, Anna, made for me. Carole brought all white flower petals to make the aisle for me and my father to walk down and Anna made the rest of the boutonnières. When we were discussing budget we decided to go to a local flower shop in Spain and purchase the flowers the day before and bought a few white candles to top off the décor. I would say my style was simple and inexpensive, but if you look at the photos you would never guess. Figuring out what was most important helped us weed out all the unnecessary extras. Another person I needed to find was the officiant that would be marrying us. Carole had a favorite person in mind and we booked Xavier. He was very well spoken and funny and made the wedding ceremony very memorial. Asking your planner to provide local vendors that they have relationships with will save you a lot of time. I also booked a wedding photographer named Ola who I found online. I searched the small town that we were staying in and her name was on the top of the list. After looking at her blog and website I knew I had to have her. To me photographs were a very important part of the wedding and I was willing to spend more of our budget on them. Ola was amazing to work with and her photographs are works of art. We have so many photos that it will take years to print them all, but I will say that doing your homework will pay off in the end when looking for a photographer. Luckily for us we didn’t have to do “wedding tastings” and decide on a caterer because we booked a restaurant. They sent us a few menus; we choose one and altered it a bit and then we had 14 different tapas, paella for dinner, and an amazing chocolate and butterscotch plate for dessert. The caterers listened to the requests we made for our pickier eaters, had some food set aside for our seafood allergy, and served one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. Letting your cater know what you love to eat, things that are must-haves for your menu, and any allergies or dietary requests can ensure that everyone will enjoy the meal served at your wedding. All in all our wedding was a success because we chose to have the local professionals take care of everything we needed. I couldn’t have pulled off a wedding across the world without my amazing wedding planner, talented photographer, and all my friends and family who helped out. As you can see I was catering to our "wedding" readers for this blog.

Here is the other blog featured on Gourmet Bay Catering's site: Add a Bit of Love Weddings can be the perfect place to show off your creative side while including items that are personal to your family and friends. This year my mother and father threw Patrick and I a wedding in Indiana that we will never forget. The ceremony was in our family church with beautiful stained glass windows, ornate candelabras, and our family and friends surrounding us. After the ceremony our photographer, a friend of mine from high school, got some fun shots outdoors and off we went to the reception. Our family and friends set up a blue and yellow rustic themed reception for us earlier that day. The décor was so creative with mason jars and yellow and white flowers, blue table cloths, personalized wine bottles with our photos, and wine bottle candle holders. A childhood friend of mine made a huge banner that read “Friends & Family” that hung over a huge fireplace. Below the banner my brother and uncle hung twine and clothespins for a photo wall. My mother asked everyone to bring a photo of them with Patrick or myself to hang on the wall. This was such a personal touch that added color and interest to the décor, but also meant a lot to us. After the wedding we got to keep the photos and make our own scrapbook of all the memories we’ve had with our guests through the years. My parents took an old barrel and took the wooden planks apart to make rustic signs using twine, chalkboard paint, and chalk. They also used the wooden barrel lid to make a sign with flowers for the front door of the cabin. We had a surprise when we saw that Pat’s mother and my mother had taken the metal rings or barrel hoops to hang old baby photos from. These small details really made the room feel like it was set up for us and it looked amazing. Using simple décor with personal touches can make your big day truly one of a kind. The Indiana wedding was especially special to me because it was thrown by my partents and grandma Lulu and other family and friends. I got to have my amazing little brother, Danny, in the wedding as well as my best friend Bob and my new sister in law Caitlin. My readers were childhood friends Sara and Jamie. I was tired of thinking about weddings before we got to IN, but after we were there and I got to see everyone all the stress melted away. I had the time of my life surrounded by the people I love most. Really both weddings were a dream come true. I think for not being the typical woman to "plan" my wedding since birth I did alright!

Football and Stuff

Here is my Fall Football Blog. Ready? Go.

I am annoyed that the Bengals still have Marvin Lewis as a coach when he's terrible, we're terrible, and we loose constantly. Also, Ocho my main man is now gone. I mean good for him that he doesn't have to play with hoodlums and convicts, but I'll sure miss him. On the Ocho note people are being WAY to hard on the guy. He said he was "in awe" after playing with a team that 1. knows how to play football 2. wins and 3. no one gets carted off the field and put in prison. I'd be in AWE too. All the ex-Patriot players were talking smack because THEY have never played on the Bungals and have no idea what it feels like to work/play/be a fan of them. It's tiring.

This year I'm rooting for the Bengals to loose and clean house starting with Lewis. Can't wait til he's the winningest coach in Bengals history with a loosing record. Perfect. I watched them Sunday and wanted them to play well but at the same time didn't. We lost. Go figure.

On to college. Love. My Bearcats got beat by TN but that wasn't much of a surprise. I got some new digs to show my support here in the Lowcountry and a car decal. I don't really understand having homecoming at the Bengals' stadium...isn't it called homecoming for a reason? Okay on to Pitt and Syracuse changing conferences. I think it's bad news bears for teams to leave the Big East for the ACC for a couple of reasons. I understand that football is the money maker at most school, but what about all the other sports? Basketball, Tennis, Swimming, Track and Field...what happens to these sports if in 5 years there are only 4 mega conferences? Will kids still get the opportunity to play, get scholarships, and compete at a college level? This def makes me nervous and it messes with my conference so I don't like it.

I'm glad it's football season and everyone is amped about it. Sat we were at the Roost and everyone was supporting their team (Clemson and Gamecocks fans galore), drinking, and having a great time. The weather has actually cooled off so it feels like proper football time. So glad I can sit in my own casa and watch football instead of going to a bar for every game! Bring it on Bearcats!

It's about time

I've been MIA for a hot minute but I'm back. I had fallen into the daily grind of work, sleep, hating work, talking about work, sleep, and more work. Stop. No more of that madness. It's so easy to get sucked into that world and hard to readjust when you get out. Being stressed for a year takes it's toll on your body, mind and dancers.

Last night Patrick literally scares the shit out of Pelota. Pup and I decided to go for a walk and Pat was MarioWiiplaying on the couch. I stopped near the mailbox to let pup sniff around when Patrick ran around the bushes and made some crazy noise. Pelota took off and ripped the leash right out of my hand, growling the entire time he was running away. Perfect guard dog we have. He came back when he realized he was far enough away to be out of harms way and it was only dumb Pat. I looked down and saw something all over the puppy and yes you know the rest. I had to clean him off and wash my hands before we could go on our evening walk. Way to go Puppydaddy.

I have decided that this world needs another book like it needs a hole in the ozone, but hell with it...someone might read it. Where to start is the hard part. What will it be about? Do I have this woman character searching for herself in Europe surrounded by booze, art, languages, boys, and tapas? Will she be funny like me? Does she need to have the experiences that I have had but with a twist to make them even more amazing or is it a book about people? My character could hate people and go through her life retelling the reasons people let her down. Will my other characters have your names or will I change them...just a little? I think the starting is the hard part. I think I'll just start in the middle and go back to the start and the ending...well it's not happened yet I guess.

Lets start. Go.

2010 Puppy Christmas

Well it was one for the books. Patrick, Pelota and my 1st Charleston Christmas together. We thought about trying to get home for the holiday but my work schedule wouldn't really permit it. We got a real tree, put up a wreath, made Christmas cookies, and opened gifts at 7am Christmas morning.

Patrick-
"Babe you get the 1st round and I'll get the next. We have no one to wait for to get up so let's OPEN those gifts!"

Me-
"Umm it's 7 am."

Patrick-
"Exactly! What else are we going to do?"

And so we opened gifts early Christmas morning. The weather was really warm so we took puppy to the park where he met a great dane and lab mix to play with. Of course I didn't pack the camera but it was super cute to see that huge dog and lil Pelota. Lucky for us Pelota was run ragged and was super tired the rest of my vacay. He is too cute when he's tired. You can literally do anything to him and he just looks at you with big puppy eyes. Pat and pup are cuddling on the couch with the new heated blanket (you know its snowing). I swear it hadn't snowed in Charleston in over 10 years until last Feb when I came onto town! It's only a dusting and it's not sticking, but Pelota isn't having it. He hates going out to potty in the cold. Like his mother Pat says! Haha. All in all it was a great Christmas break. I def miss the fam and friends but having our 1st Christmas alone was nice.

Movie Review 2010

Here is my movie review 2010:

Avatar- Cute story, loved the action and 3D. The characters were well rounded, the bad guys were bad and the main characters hot. All in all I loved it both in 3D and DVD. I usually don't believe the hype but this is a must see in my book.

Black Swan- Ummm disturbing. Natalie Portman was so thin that I honestly couldn't look past it. I get it. The self destruction of a dancer in the pursuit of perfection. Really I could have skipped this one. Caitlin, Pat's sister, is a dancer and knows what discipline it takes to live that life so she recommended it. To me life is hard enough without watching it for 2 hours on the big screen. If you want a movie to "make you think" or shock you see it.

Tron- Patrick was so amped to see this movie. We got there early, got the best seats, had the glasses and then waited and waited for something cool to happen. Where was the action? Where were the fight scenes? Why did "the dude" sit in his computer flat talking about nothing for 17 minutes? I wanted more and got nothing. Skip it save your money!

Potter- Loved it and can't wait until the last installment. When it's over I want the whole thing in a DVD set. So whoever reads this remember that for my Bday!

The Lovely Bones- I cried a lil. From the trailer you know that a young girl will die and the hunky Marky Mark will be shattered and try to find his daughters killer. I really thought the movie was done well. I'd recommend this if you don't need a feel good. God I love Mark Walhlburg. Cannot get enough of him.

The Legion- Def my type of movie and a quick time killer if your bored on a Sunday afternoon. Paul Bettany is a great actor. I'll watch it again when it comes to Netflix.

Hot Tub Time Machine- Watch it watch it watch it!! Too funny. Love the premise, the outfits, the soundtrack. It's too funny!

Just a few of my opinions. Still have a few in my Netflix queue.

It's Official

I've been real crap about posting to my own blog with work, laying out, kayaking, swimming, couch sitting, and all the things I do...I just can't seem to find the time. As everyone knows or if you don't know your outta the loop, Patrick and I are engaged! I didn't do the whole Facebook everyone write me dumb messages so I can gloat and show off my ring...instead I called, emailed, and told my peeps about the good news.

I know I know Erin was never going to get married...Erin doesn't want to go thru all the wedding hoopla...Erin could live with Pat forever and not care...

Well as a couple we decided we did care. I still don't want to make it something it's not. To me marriage is about the couple and that's about it. Yes, you want your loved ones to be a part of your life but all the invitations and rules and registries are not for me.

We're doing this our way. Spain 2012 and then a party in IN. I want to be in the most beautiful place on Earth where Patrick and I met to say our vowels and be married. I'm not going to say "start a life together" bc that's crap. We've been spending our life together from the 1st time we met in BCN and I'm not going to chuck that out. This is just something that we're doing for us. More details to come...

If your pond hopping with us start saving those pennies and if not we'll bring Spain to you in Indiana when we get back!!

Ocho vs. TO

Really you had to ask??

I was just asked this question and I thought my response was TOO good not to post!!

Response: No contest Chad...he's darker, sexier, richer (well I don't know about this), and catches more, runs more, and hopefully scores more this year...oh and Ocho def has more kids!! For the record I thought there were more but with a lil Google search I found out he's got 4...that we know of (Jicyra, Chad Johnson II, Chade and Cha'iel).

They are both fine as Hell and are funny as all get out but TO gets on my nerves. You know its in his contract to get more $ when he does something he's ALREADY getting paid for...I want some of that action!! (2 million dollars, with another 2 million dollars possible for bonuses) to catch and make TDs. Ummm what else is he getting paid for??

For the record me and Ocho go way back...like he dated/hooked up this chic that lives near my town and I sort of know people that know her

AND last year I went to the movies with him and his posse and he paid for my movie...so basically we're friends!

TO's got the smile but so does Chad. TO don't have a cereal with his face and last name on it...Ocho does and he's got the sex phone line on it too!! Let's be real this contest was won at GO.

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/oops-dwts-chad-ochocincos-cereal-accidentally-touts-phone-sex-2010110 (Funny article about the Ooops cereal #)

http://www.plbsports.com/ochocincos.html (Check out his pretty face on the box)

Really there is NO contest in my book. Hands down Chad is my main man.

Ochocinco holds the following records in the Bengals organization: Duh!!

* Most receiving yards in a season (1,440)
* Most receiving yards all-time
* Most receptions
* Most touchdown receptions
* Most receiving yards in a game (260)
* Most seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards (7)
* Most touchdown receptions in a game (3, tied with several other players)

Take that TO lovers. I know he's done some stuff too, but did he do it with Ocho's swagger??? I think not.

Hoosiers

Okay I didn't write this but this is amazing to me so I had to post this:
Here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about Hoosiers.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed
from September through May,
you may live in Indiana.

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you
assistance and they don't even work there,
you may live in Indiana.

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the
same time, you may live in Indiana.

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation
with someone who dialed a wrong number,
you may live in Indiana.

If "vacation" means going anywhere south of
Mooresville for the weekend,
you may live in Indiana.

If you measure distance in hours,
you may live in Indiana.

If you know several people who have hit a deer
more than once, you may live in Indiana.

If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in
the same day and back again, you may live in Indiana.

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow
during a raging blizzard without flinching,
you may live in Indiana.

If you install security lights on your house and garage,
but leave both doors unlocked,
you may live in Indiana.

If you carry jumpers in your car and
your wife knows how to use them,
you may live in Indiana.

If you design your kid's Halloween costume
to fit over a snowsuit,
you may live in Indiana.

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -
you're going 80 and everybody is passing you,
you may live in Indiana.

If driving is better in the winter because
the potholes are filled with snow,
you may live in Indiana.

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter,
winter, still winter and road construction,
you may live in Indiana.

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car,
you may live in Indiana.

If you find 10 degrees "a little chilly",
you may live in Indiana.

If you actually understand these jokes, and
forward them to all your Indiana friends and others,
you definitely do live - or have lived - in Indiana.

Love being a Hoosier!!

Really 2 years...?

So Patrick, aka the world's best boyfriend, and I have been together for 2 years as of tomorrow or the next day. We decided that we officially started dating on the 8-11th and my favorite number is 11 so I'm sticking to that one. August 11 is easy to remember and we both remember spending that day in Barcelona together and really we say what goes so...August 11th is our anniversary. I NEVER celebrate anniversaries because I can't remember dates and frankly I never cared enough, but it's a bit different now. Pat and I can think back to the sweaty flats we ate chorizo in and what festivals we watched death defying fireworks at, and where we laid on Mediterranean beaches soaking up the sun and sipping coconut juice. It's a nice reminder to get out the photos and see where we've been and where we are now. My last blog was about possibly moving and I'm going to say that today is the start of the rest of my life. Sounds cliche, yes. I stopped waiting tables and did some real job hunting. I want to stay here in Charleston and make a life for Patrick and I. I want a career and want to have a nicer car and all the things that I have been running from since graduating. I think I grew up...weird! I have met some really nice people here, I love the low country, I like our apartment, love downtown. All I need now is a meaningful career and I'm set. If I find one in the next few months consider me southern! I hope that the next 2 years of Patrick and my journey will be as exciting, fun filled, and memorable as the last. I can't believe it's been 2 years and also cant believe it hasn't been longer.

You know what they say "Time flies when you having fun." True Dat!