See a Linkin Park concert...CHECK!

In the summer of 2001, Christine (my older sister) introduced me to Linkin Park's first album, Hybrid Theory. I was on a twelve hour drive to New York City with the rest of the family, and I remember her playing "Crawling" for the first time. It was different. It was hard rock. It was awesome! Once in the Big Apple, I found a street vender selling burned CD's for $5 (this was a new business at the time, and we didn't have a CD burner at home. Yes, I realize purchasing this CD was illegal. Yes, I'm criminal). I found the Hybrid Theory amongst the music selection, paid the vender, and played that CD till it broke. Literally. I physically played it so much that it started skipping even though it was scratch-free. This actually happened again, and I'm now on my third copy of Hybrid Theory. Linkin Park's second released album, Meteora, was even better. It was an awesome compilation of songs and I'm probably on my third copy of that as well. The third Linkin Park CD released was a remixed collection of the first two hits and was titled Reanimation. It was like rediscovering my favorite songs all over again. Pure genius. The fourth CD released was Minutes to Midnight with the hit "New Divide" featuring in the Transformers movie. It was a great CD where they also experimented with some slower beats and new topics. The fifth CD, A Thousand Suns, was released in September 2010, and I remembering counting down the days to its release. The overall theme of the newest CD was very different from the previous ones. The first CD contained songs about built up pressures, expectations, and anger surrounding these issues. This newest released CD is politically and historically based. Just as I have grown and matured, so have Linkin Park and their choice of lyrical topics. I love them more than any band on the planet. So, when the 2011 tour dates were released I jumped on the chance to finally see them in concert. See, when I started liking Linkin Park they had already toured for Hybrid Theory. When Meteora came out, I couldn't get off work to go see them in Nashville because all my other coworkers had asked off. When Minutes to Midnight was released, I was dirt poor. I couldn't afford a slushy at sonic. So, I missed my chance yet again. Now, there were no excuses and nothing was holding me back. Rob bought us tickets to the Atlanta concert on January 23rd for my birthday. I was ESTATIC, and that's an understatement. The concert was everything I had hoped it would be. I had wanted to see Linkin Park in concert so bad that I thought I might cry at the concert (which would be hilarious while watching a rock show). Rob said he'd leave me if I cried ;-) So, I kept it together, sang my heart out, cheered till my teeth hurt (seriously!), and had the time of my life. I'm taking that memory to the grave. Last night was one of the greatest nights of my life, and I don't care if that makes me a dork. Mark it off the bucket list.

Moving On Up...or In

For the last several months I had been pondering my living situation. I slept at Rob's condo six nights a week, but I didn't officially "live" there. All the necessities were present: hair products, flat iron, makeup, and some clothes, and on occasion I caught myself calling his place my "home," but I still didn't technically live there. So, after much discussion with Rob I have finally moved in!! Yippie! Hooray! And as some others had said, "Finally!"

The best part is not having to carry around an overnight bag every day. I used to have to prepack my clothes for the next day and then after work would repack it again for the following day. It was the most annoying thing in the world and I practically lived out of that bag for two years. I think Rob wanted me to move in because he hates doing laundry, and he knows I don't mind doing it. Anyways, now I have easy access to my stuff and don't have to make so many trips around town. I consider this a big step for Rob and I, and I know he thought I would just come in and redecorate his bachelor pad. I've been good though, I've only got new bedding...and curtains...so far ;-)

The Duvet set (I knew we'd both agree on this neutral one)

It's Just Allergies...

Since Rob and I have returned from paradise, I've had some kind of a mystery sickness. I knew it was allergy related because I had congestion, headache, sore throat, and occasional cough. How did I know it was allergies and not some deadly disease I caught while cruising the islands?? Well, simple. I didn't have a fever, body aches, or chills. I felt completely fine, if you excluded my entire head. See, whenever I return from a vacation in a very different environment from Knoxville's current state I get sick. I always have. I should just start taking off a week for vacay and the subsequent week for recovery of the vacay. It's like clockwork, very predictable. Anyways, something I didn't know was that I've had this "sickness" since before I left on vacation. That's different. I starting getting the sore throat 3 days BEFORE we starting heading back to the U.S. Once I got home, the headaches starting getting pretty bad, the sore throat was horrible (because of my nose draining), my face felt like someone ran it over and then dropped it from a 10-story building, and the cough started. During all this, my teeth were sore to the touch, and I was so worried I had cavities that I made an appointment with my dentist. Long story short (too late, HAHA!), turns out I have a severe sinus infection. The tooth soreness is from drainage of the maxillary sinuses behind the molars (I never knew this). Anyways, so I've had this infection for over 10 days by this point, and it's gotten so bad that I have developed a cough. Many people don't know that if you have a sinus infection you need antibiotics. It's not just something that goes away on it's own, it'll just get worse if you don't treat it. So, I'm on antibiotics and some severe sinus congestion pain meds, and I'm definitely starting to feel better. If you run into me on the street, you'll see that I am blowing my nose every two seconds, coughing a lot, and look like I've been to Hell and back. But, don't be afraid, I'm not sick or contagious. It's just allergies.

A New Beginning....

Happy belated-New Year! I know I’m a bit late, but this year has already been extremely busy. Rob and I went to Lauren and TJ’s New Years party, and actually were awake to watch the ball drop. This was a first for us. I know that’s sad… ;-)

Sunday, we left for our cruise and had an absolute blast!! Here’s the quick run-down of our trip.

Itinerary: seven day cruise to the Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maartan.

Cruise Specifics: Freedom of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International

Weather: low 80s during the day, high-60s at night ;-)

Planned Excursions: Snorkeling and Ziplining

Most Anticipated Activity: the couples massage

Cruise Highlight: bringing $100 to the craps table and a couple hours later leaving with over $500! Boo-Yah! I walked away!

Cruise Downer: post-Zipline muscle aches and pain (I couldn’t walk for 2 days!)

Best Souvenir Bought: Nikon D3100 kit (and saved over $100!)

Scariest Moment: Hmmm, probably the taxi ride in St. Maartan to Loterie Farms Zipline

Best Moment: Spending seven days with Rob (and his cell phone was off!)

Worst Moment(s): Missing our kitties at home

Funniest Moment: a Q&A session with the captain of the ship

Best show onboard: Drew Thomas’s Magic Show (the guy from America’s Got Talent!)

Best Money Spent: the massage ;-)

Worst Money Spent: a $120 Bingo T-Shirt (hope you like it, Dad).

I only included a few photos from the cruise, because most are posted on Facebook. Enjoy!

St. Thomas

St. John

Enjoying our formal dinner

St. Maartan sunset

Cococay, Bahamas

Snorkeling off the coast of St. James and St. John

Dressed up for dinner and a show

Rob, the master zipliner

End of the Line...

I had an awesome Christmas and am very much looking forward to my New Years cruise next week. But, I figured I needed to squeeze in one last blog before the end of the year, so here it is.

2010 has been a very rewarding year for me, and I am so grateful and blessed to have had such wonderful experiences. A short recap of this past year: Rob and I celebrated the new year weekend by going skiing at Winterplace in West Virginia. With the wind chill, the temps were in the negatives making the trip ridiculous and memorable. In February, Jamie and Jessica (our favorite double date couple) accompanied us to Las Vegas, where we lodged at Paris Hotel & Casino, toured the Hoover Dam, attended the Ka Cirque du Soleil show, and rolled in our gambling winnings (or lack thereof). In March, Rob and I traveled to Orlando for a last minute trip to enjoy Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. It rained the entire time during our stay, and we wore ponchos to all the theme parks. In April, Rob and I officially commemorated our one year anniversary at our favorite restaurant, the Melting Pot. In May, we attended the country wedding of Lauren and TJ (our favorite triple date couple) in the beautiful setting of the Tennessee mountains. In June, I went on a Carnival cruise with my entire extended family to the Western Caribbean. It was the best reunion we've ever had, even if we all melted at the Tulum ruins in Cozumel. In July, Rob and I stayed at an oceanfront condo in Hilton Head for the Fourth of July holiday. It was the best, most memorable, most awesome and relaxing weeklong vacation we've ever had. We slept in every morning, watched Maury (HAHA!), lounged at the beach all day, ate seafood, went on a shark fishing expedition one evening, and summed it up with a fireworks extravaganza. In August, I sat for my ASCP exam and earned my Cytogenetic Certification and State Licensure. All my hard work studying and taking additional college courses paid off in the end. In September, I attended Jessica’s bachelorette party in a Gatlinburg cabin with ten other girls. In early October, Rob and I attended her wedding to Jamie, and they are now expecting a baby boy next year. In November, I went with a girlfriend to Asheville and Hot Springs for shopping and spa treatments. For Thanksgiving, all the family members who went on the reunion cruise earlier this year traveled to Knoxville to celebrate. The best part was getting all the cousins together to play Rock Band. December was summed up with my unforgettable 26th birthday (actually it was forgettable because I partied too hard), starting this blog, and a fantastic Christmas. Again, I've had quite an eventful and mind-blowing 2010 and can only hope next year is half as impressive. See ya’ll in 2011.

Queen of Random

I wanted to dedicate this short blog post to a coworker of mine. She’s beautiful, intelligent, comical, savvy, and above all, the Queen of Random. Her name is Pam. When someone is debating the war in Afghanistan or the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Pam intercedes with a one-liner like, “Oh yeah, that reminds me, I need to take the cat to the vet.” WHAT?! Where on Earth did such a random comment come from? Its times like these that I wish I could hear Pam’s thoughts, because if her thoughts are half as erratic as her actions then her mind is in utter turmoil. It isn’t even like this happens once every so often, no, it happens several times a day. And the funniest part about the situation is that she tries to correct herself when she sees the look on my face. For example:

Myself: “I need a back massage. My muscles are so sore from skiing this weekend.”

Pam: “I know. I was decorating the Christmas tree this weekend and it took forever too!”

Myself: “What?! What does decorating a tree have anything to do with a back massage??”

Pam: “Um, well, putting up a Christmas tree is hard work too.”

YEEEEAAAAHHH. Good Ole’ Pam. Always keeps me on my toes J Anyway, not to make my story completely random (HAHA!), I saw this online and thought of her. Thanks Pam for all you do and for keeping my abs toned from laughing so hard at you, or with you, or all of the above. I love you! Merry Christmas! And I’m very excited to see what randomness you can bring to our “Office of Sparkly Goodness” in the coming year.

I need a vacation...

I know I say this too much, but I need a vacation. Yes, Rob and I take a vacation at least once a quarter, sometimes twice, but I really need a vacation. My last real vacation was in early July. Rob and I headed over to Hilton Head to celebrate Independence Day in an oceanfront condo. The best part was there wasn't a ton of stuff to do besides lounge at the beach, which is contrary to many of the vacations that Rob and I have taken together. With Rob it's usually "Go! Go! Go!", whereas I prefer to catch up on my sleep, sunbathe, and drink several bottles of wine. Not all at once of course, because that behavior would probably designate me as an alcoholic, but I like to relax. Several times I've come home from one of Rob and my vacations and needed another vacation from the vacation. It's fun, but exhausting. Anyways, our next real vacation is to get away from the hustle and bustle of Knoxville and travel to the Eastern Caribbean for New Years. In sixteen days, I can finally board our Royal Caribbean ship, walk out on our private balcony with a rum runner, and say "Bon Voyage! See you in a week!" This particular cruise only has three stops, so I'm probably going to be topside or beach bound with a fruity drink most of the time. Or perhaps I will be at the spa getting a full-body massage (*Michele begins drooling profusely*). I might even get lucky at the casino again (last year I won $250 on a slot machine)! Either way, nothing is getting between me and my impending trip. By the way, I've included some photos for your viewing pleasure, so feel free to leave comments about how jealous you are ;-)

The gorgeous beaches

Our Freedom of the Seas boat

The beautiful island of St. Thomas

Rob and I love to snorkle

I can't wait for the massage ;-)