Bachelorette Weekend Getaway

This past weekend, I traveled with some girlfriends (Lauren, Nicki, Emily, Caitlyn, and the Bride to Be, Hannah) to Nashville for the Keith Urban concert and a subsequent Bachelorette party. To be completely honest, I was looking forward to the shopping, drinking, dancing, and party festivities. I was not, however, looking forward to the Keith Urban concert, because I do not like country music. Fast forward to Saturday night, and you wouldn't have been able to tell I was anything BUT a Keith Urban fan. The man is quite the performer; singing, dancing, sweating his butt off, and switching out his guitar every song. I would more accurately describe him as a rock/country musician, and therefore thoroughly enjoyed myself for the 2+ hours he spent entertaining us. All in all, it was a great show and completely unexpected. The remainder of the night was spent at the Big Bang Dueling Piano Bar, which is always a favorite of mine. We must've spent several hours there, just drinking, enjoying the karaoke style music accompanied by two grand pianos. Then, we all headed to Cadillac Ranch for a change of scenery and to get our dance on. Long story short, Lauren got bit on the shoulder, I got molested, and we saw a couple having sex on the dance floor. It was the perfect sum up to a wonderful evening ;-) In the end, the weekend was an unforgettable blast and I can't wait for her second bachelorette party in Knoxville!

An End to Traveling

Well, the beach trip I've just returned from is my final vacation of the year, which makes me kinda sad ;-((((  I've definitely had my fair share of traveling this year, beginning with an eastern Caribbean cruise, Paris & Rome in the spring, California and Vegas in May, Minneapolis for a genetics convention, and a beach trip to Seaside, FL. LOL, yeah, several people have made comments as to my almost routine absence from work. Well fret no more, my coworkers! I shall not have another break for quite awhile! Last week, I also celebrated my two year work anniversary, and I have a new drive to excel in other avenues of my position. I want to become well-rounded in all aspects of Cytogenetics, and it's nice I have the opportunity to learn new things on a daily basis. One could never get bored working in a science field because it's always every-changing! So, it's back to the daily grind for me. Au revoir!

Beach Time!

I know I haven't updated my blog in a month, but it's because I've been having a blast ;-) I've been spending alot of time traveling and on the boat, and I've got to admit...I'VE GOT SOME PRETTY AMAZING FRIENDS! Seriously! There's nothing more fun then spending some quality time with friends over some beers (or wine, or whatev!). I've been feeling really blessed to have my friends and family members in my life, and so here's a quick shout-out to y'all! MWAH! Love you guys!


As for an update, I'm heading out tonight on summer vacation. I'm going with Rob and his family to Seaside, FL (near Destin), and I'm extremely excited about it because I haven't been on a family vacation with them yet. AWESOME! Seafood dinner, deep sea fishing, lounging on the beach, naps, and spa massages await me while staying at an oceanfront house.... :-D  See y'all in a week! Hope everyone has a great Independence Day!

My New Car

Many people have been asking me a bunch of questions about my new car, so I figured I would answer them here and show some pictures. Yes, I finally upgraded my vehicle from a 1999 Acura CL coupe to a 2007 Acura TL sedan. And I like it I'm madly in love! I seriously love my new car to death. When Rob isn't looking, I sneak outside and stroke the smooth royal blue exterior ;-) Not really, but I have been trying to think of excuses to run more errands. I love being in my new car with its new car scent. I've never actually owned a car that smelled new, not that they smelled bad at all, just not like a new car. My new car has taupe and black interior with bucket leather seats, bluetooth handsfree communication, a 6-disc CD player, sunroof, Xenon headlights, AUX input, XM satellite radio, memory seats, all power, all gorgeousness. It is a HOT car. Everyday I catch myself dreaming of the next moment my car and I will be together again, I start humming Madonna's "Material Girl." Yes, that's my theme song right now. I have a friend, who will remain nameless, that already looks like she might "off" me to gain access to my car. It's very flattering to know I have good taste ;-) My older sister, Christine, and I are Valkyries....we like sparkly, expensive materialistic things. So, for now, my car is my baby and I'm gonna show off my baby...Enjoy!

Los Angeles & Vegas 2011

Wow! I haven't update my blog in a month. Ok, so here's the rundown. Rob and I went on a trip to California and Vegas in mid-May. We stayed in Westlake Village, CA for five days and I got to meet his old friends and hang at the beach. Long story short...

Itinerary: five days in Westlake and three days in Las Vegas (8 Days)

Accommodations: Westlake Village Inn while in CA, and Caesar's Palace in Vegas

Weather: low 70s during the day in CA, mid-80s in Vegas

Planned Events: Disneyland, Warner Brother's Lot Tour, Conan O'Brien taping, Blue Man Group in Vegas, Mystere Cirque du Soliel show in Vegas

Most Anticipated Activity: meeting Rob's old Cali friends

Trip Highlight: going to Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood and seeing Marilyn Monroe's handprints!!

Trip Downer: There wasn't one ;-)

Best Souvenir Bought: I got a really cute top at a place called Pink Ice

Best Moment: The entire trip was awesome!! But...Rob did AWESOME at the tables. Clickity Clack!!

Worst Moment(s): Missing our kitties at home

Funniest Moment: probably me getting alittle tipsy off the Saki

Best Money Spent: we got fresh crab for lunch at Neptune's Net

Rob and his Cali friends

Marilyn!

Santa Monica Pier

Confessions of a Shopaholic

I'm in a shopping frenzy, and there seems to be no end it sight! <Dun dun duunn>

I can't seem to stop consuming materialistic goods at an alarming rate. I need an intervention. There's absolutely no buyer's remorse, I really just want to shop all the time. I already bought three new bathing suits this year (I bought one last night...haha) and this normally wouldn't be such a horrible thing, except that they aren't the typical Target run-of-the-mill swimsuits. I'm talking high quality, expensive suits made to look custom fit. Then, I bought a new Fossil purse last week. In my defense I've really wanted a new handbag for awhile now, so I didn't consider this purchase too impulsive. I get urges everyday to visit Plato's Closet and find some cute sun dresses for my upcoming trip to Los Angeles and Vegas. And here's wherein the problem lies. I am going on a trip in 9 days and I need to be saving as much money as possible at this point. I've even started working overtime hours to fund my current, and hopefully temporary, shopping spree. In just the last hour, I've been trying to decide on a new case for my iPhone. Why might you ask? Well, its old, and starting to break, and I need a change. UGH lame excuse! I haven't felt this compelled to shop since college. A little background information on Michele, I got into some serious credit card debt in high school and college buying just whatever I wanted all the time. Two years ago, I lost my job and I was so worried about how I was gonna pay all my bills I couldn't sleep. Not alot of people know this, but at the time I had over $3300 in rolling credit charges, a car payment, a cell phone bill, monthly gas bill, furniture bill, hospital bills, gym membership fee (HAHA), and I owed my parents over a thousand dollars for carrying me while I was unemployed. I was at an all-time low, and I decided then and there I was gonna pay off all my debt when I got a new job. Fast forward to now, and I basically just have a cell phone payment, gas bill, and car insurance. I've come quite a long way from where I was, and it's still to this date my greatest accomplishment. It took some serious cutting back of expenses to do what I did in 15 months, and I was still able to take three really big trips during that time. Long story short (too late!), I can feel the temptation creeping back in the form of an angelic voice saying, "Oooo, those shoes are just too cute to pass up!" UGH. I'm not in any immediate danger of crumbling, but I have been slipping a tad this week. I decided to blame it all on Rob :-) See, Rob bought a new car earlier this week, and since I'm not getting a new car anytime soon I have to keep up by buying useless materialistic goods. Yep, all Rob's fault.

No, but seriously, the spending stops today....because I just realized I have some gift cards ;)

Next Trip?

With my big Europe trip over many of you might be asking yourselves, "when is Michele's next big trip?" Well, it just so happens it's in 19 days! Your reply might be, "Wow, where are you going this time?" Well,  Rob and I are headed out to Los Angeles and Las Vegas for a week. Yippie! We've planned to meet up with some of his old friends, go to Disneyland, attend a Conan O'Brien show, tour Warner Brothers lot, lodge at Caesars Palace, see Blue Man Group, and many other activities. I am especially excited about this trip because:


A.) I've never been to California
B.) which also means I've never done any of the activities that would take place there (ie. Disneyland)
C.) I've never stayed at Caesars Palace
D.) I've never been to Vegas when it's warm and I can lounge by the pools
E.) I have 2 new swimsuits just for the occasion
and F.) I get another week-long vacation ;-)


I feel I am particularly blessed to have a career and lifestyle that allows me to travel and enjoy myself. I am also very blessed to have a boyfriend with such great connections (ie. tickets to Disneyland and Warner Brothers). Ahh, life is good!