Good Ole' Lake Okoboji

A few weeks ago, my parents, Ellie and I met up at our place at Lake Okoboji in Iowa. It was a bittersweet vacation, as Troy was missing, but we still managed to have a great time! Mom, Ellie and I tested out a few board games (deciding to stick with ones that worked better with only 3 players, right Ellie? LOL), Dad took us cruising out on the boat a few times, Ellie and I had a chance to slightly work on our tans, we all did some cooking – which always is tasting because it means grilling – and Mom, Ellie and I each took the good ole waverunners out for a spin at least once. I have to be careful when I take them out – usually try to pick early in the morning when the water is smooth because the jolting (or lack of) is much easier on my back. I went out the last morning by myself – sun was sparkling on the water, there was a nice breeze and it was a comfortable temperature. What a great time of personal relaxation and also reflection! It was very refreshing to me both physically and emotionally…definitely awakes all of yours senses! Besides Troy not being there, there were 2 things lacking that we are used to having: 1) Water Sports. With the exception of the waverunners, there was no tubing, wakeboarding, or skiing. 2) My mom’s family is usually there at the same time staying in various places – however this time we were all alone. However, I must say it was pretty cool when my dad agreed to go Biking with us one morning. My mom had brought my sister’s, her’s and dad’s bikes from home for the trip and we keep 2 spare bikes at the place anyways – mind you the spare bikes are my parents Grand Prix ten-speeds from the 70s – but with a new set of tires and tuned up, they are “just like new”…well…kind of. So I braved the Grand Prix and we hit a nice trail that goes around the lake – very pretty riding and a decent workout I suppose – can’t complain! :)

I had flown into Sioux Falls, SD which is actually only 1.5 hours away. The next 2 closest airports are Omaha or Minneapolis, about 2.5 to 3 hours away. The plan on the way home, however, was to fly out of Waterloo (Tuesday). Long story, but my mom thought she was going to have to take Ellie home afterward before my mom had to head to Des Moines that evening. And although it would make more sense to fly out of Des Moines if my mom had to go there anyway, if she had to go to Waterloo first, it would’ve been a lot of driving and a mad dash to see if we could make it to Waterloo (at least hours from Okoboji) and then to Des Moines (2.5 to 3 hours from Waterloo) for me to catch a flight.

However, contrary to the original plan, Ellie drove herself to Waterloo. Her plan was to spend the next few days after our family time with her college roommate who lived near Lake Okoboji. Which NOW meant that my mom was driving me all the way to Waterloo to fly home for no reason – adding a lot of time to her trip – when she should just be driving straight to Des Moines. I gave my sister a rough time about it (love ya Ellie!) lol…but in the end, Ellie found out she had to work on Wednesday – so was forced to abort her visit with her roommate and wound up driving me back to Waterloo. That was kind of neat – I got to spend some time with Ellie and see her new apartment because she dropped me off at the world’s smallest airport. No, I am not joking (well, not sure it is really called that, lol). But it has 2 gates – Gate 1A and Gate 1B. The whole airport is just one big room with dividers. The airline ticket counter has a bell on it that you ring if no one is there to help you. In addition, you do not immediately pass through security because employees of the airport have multiple duties. So, you wait in a little waiting room area (again, this was not a separate room – just some seats by the security line) until closer to boarding time. At that point, they then summon you to pass through security and wait in more chairs near the gate until it was time to board. I felt like I was at the doctor’s office – going through all the different steps and rooms before it is FINALLY time to see the doctor.

Upon boarding the tiny plane, I discovered it had propellers – I was terrified and of course the ride was quite noisy – but I made it home safely… missing my family already! :(

What Happens in Vegas....

As you all know, “What Happens in Vegas” is supposed to “Stay in Vegas.” However, I believe there are a few amendments to this saying. Lauren would tell you “What Happens in Vegas, Gets Tagged on Facebook”…and for the purposes of this blog, it will be “What Happens in Vegas, MOSTLY Stays in Vegas…Except for the PG-13 stuff.” So – for all you kids 17 and under – here you go :)

“Vegas 2009” – Rated PG-13

Warning: This blog is LONNNNNNNNNNG. I’ve broken it up into sections, labeled per day, in case you may need a restroom break. :)

DAY 0:

I wasn’t going to order a new swimsuit this summer. I don’t really need one. I have enough to take on a 7-day vacation and be able to wear a different one each day…and then some. However, who wants to wear a 3-year old swimsuit in Sin City? So…I ordered new suit on sale a few weeks ago...and 2 days prior to my trip panicked. I need another. So, I convinced 2 of my friends in Maryland that ordering a new suit was a good idea too – we agreed to split the shipping 3 ways…and after a click of a button, Victoria’s Secret had BrandNewSuit#2 headed to Comcast Center via UPS 2-Day Service. Date of Delivery? Thursday. Date of departure from work to the airport? Thursday. Man I hoped and prayed that it would make it in time.

My ride (Katie, also one of the 2 friends who ordered a suit with me) arrived to take me to the airport at 4:15pm…just in time for the UPS guy to FINALLY deliver the suit. I had already warned the person sitting at the front desk in the operations office that Yes Indeed, I was expecting a personal package at work stamped with “Victoria’s Secret” on it…but also explained my timing dilemma in terms of heading off to the West Coast – promising the package was not a lace thong…but an innocent swimsuit. Not convinced she believed me...

Scooping the swimsuits up, we headed to the airport and although we excepted dreadful holiday traffic, we made pretty good time. In fact, I was early enough to technically catch the nonstop flight that left at 5:50pm and found myself wishing I had selected that one vs. the 7:00pm flight that connected through Denver. But, of course the earlier flight was full (yes, I checked, lol) so I sat and waited a bit longer – and snagged my flight to Phoenix. (Don’t get confused…yes I DID say Phoenix.).

After take-off our flight was about 15 minutes ahead of schedule which was actually a good thing for me because my connection time in Denver was a mere 25 minutes. Have you been to the Denver airport? I’ve ran 60 gates in the SAME TERMINAL before - wearing a business skirt and heels to catch a flight…so a tiny 25-minute layover terrified me. Of course, midair the pilot informs us there is weather in Denver, that we had been re-routed and were now about 15 minutes BEHIND schedule. Awesome. All I had going for me was that I only carried 1 backpack and was also wearing a pair of flip flops…oh and the fact that I was smart enough to sit in the front of the airplane.

Upon landing, I checked my phone and discovered it was 9:29pm (this is when we touched down)…and realized making that 9:35pm connection just may not happen. Any other vacation, this wouldn’t be as bad…however this was the last flight of the night out of Denver…and my friends and I had a departure plan of 5:00am the next morning…and last I checked there were no 4:00am flights from Denver to Phx.

However, knowing Denver had had a bit of weather…I checked my connecting flight’s status on my blackberry and discovered it was delayed until 10:00pm. WHEW. Better yet, when we deboarded, I was still set, ready to lightly jog to my next gate…only to discover it was the gate right next door. (Maybe my trip was looking up after all?)

I made my flight…and arrived in Phoenix around 11pm. For the first time ever I think my bag was circling the baggage claim machine before I even got there and within 5 minutes Sarah and my friend Lauren (Mentioned previously) pulled up to the curb, horn honking, ready for action.

We tried to minimize our excited chatter back at Sarah’s apartment as we knew that we needed to get up at 4:15am. Why you ask? Because we were ROADTRIPPING to Vegas…and with high hopes of maximizing the day there at the pool, we wanted to arrive in the morning.

DAY ONE:

Friday morning we packed the car full of our stuff, grabbed Starbucks (opens at 5:30am) and hit the road. I had brought my GPS with me which proved to be a smart move…and also an ipod hookup as both Sarah and my cars seem to be blessed with broken CD players right now.

During all of our pre-trip discussion, Lauren had teased Sarah and I about our packing list. Blow up mattress (5 of us in a room to save $$$), cooler, liquor and mixers, a pack of water bottles, wheat thins, Cheese-Its, peanut butter, bananas, apples, bagels and cream cheese. She said, "What is this, a camping trip?"

Yet, not more than 30 minutes into our drive, Sarah and I (sitting in the front) hear the cooler crack open and the next thing you know, Lauren is nibbling away on a banana. Soon after? An apple. “Oh Lauren,” we jeered, “you like that food we brought?” Later, after she had a water…she admitted defeat and that we were actually pretty smart to bring those snacks.

We approached the Hoover Dam about 30 minutes from Las Vegas and neither Sarah, nor Lauren, had seen it before. I had once before because when I took a trip to Vegas with Erin, JD and Raphael, we went that way. However, the last trip Sarah and I took to Vegas for Kaitlin’s bachelorette party steered us a different route due to construction. So…Sarah because eager to “see the Hoover Dam”. It became a lot of “Is that it? Is this it? Is that it over there?” For those of you who have seen the Hoover Dam, this is actually a quite comical question because the Hoover Dam is HUGE and UNMISTAKABLE on that route. Sarah learned this when she finally saw it…however I can’t blame her for not knowing…the things she was pointing at WERE pretty impressive canyons.

Our hotel of choice was the Rio Hotel. We selected this for two reasons: 1) we originally were going to Vegas to spend time at an event my friend LeRon had put together for the weekend – it would include for us a “Cheap” hotel room at the Palms, free drinks and cool events all weekend such as a Penthouse party, pool cabanas and more. However, Jay-Z booked 200 rooms at the Palms unexpectedly (he was performing at the Palms) and our room was now gone. 2) SO…Sarah was able to get us a deeply discounted room at the Rio (across the street) by using her boss’ reward points and we were good to go.

When we arrived at the hotel, it was about 10:30am. Our planning was almost perfect as our other 2 Vegas-Mates – Jessica and Jackie, who were driving from Los Angeles – arrived MINUTES later. Our hotel room wasn’t ready yet, so we parked, grabbed our swimsuits, changed in the casino bathroom (we looked homeless, lol) and headed to the pool.

Lauren thought it would be a good idea to select the beach chairs that were on the sand…which later proved to be a bad idea as the sand was over 100 degrees and getting up involved some scalding of the feet and delicate placement of our flip flops to remain nearby to slip on. Soon after arriving at the pool, our room was ready so Sarah and Lauren took the first shift of moving our stuff into the room – with myself, Jackie and Jessica following suit later.

Around 3pm, I had had enough of the heat and we decided to go to the Palms pool to check out the infamous “Ditch Fridays”. We all packed into Jackie’s convertible and headed to the Palms. I’m not sure what I was expecting…however what I saw definitely did not qualify. There were people EVERYWHERE…and most girls wore skimpy swimsuits with high heels. I felt like I was in a music video… There was absolutely no room to set anything down so we just walked around for awhile until Sarah spotted LeRon (mentioned earlier). I had told him we were heading there and he had grabbed a cab from his hotel to come meet up with us and say hi. About 4 days prior to our trip, LeRon’s event was cancelled due to a major sponsor backing out. However, he and some of his friends and intended guests were still planning on having a great weekend and our group of 5 developed the same mentality. How can you not have a good time in Las Vegas?

We hung out for awhile at the pool and then decided it was time to grab some food and go back to our room and start the process of getting ready for the night. We agreed to meet up with LeRon and Co. later and headed to a Mexican restaurant in the Palms. This idea proved to be a great one. We had unlimited water (I think Sarah had about 6), unlimited basket of chips and salsa (very filling) and ordered 2 appetizers to split. Total bill each? $7 – including tip. Holler.

After resting a bit in the hotel room, and getting 5 ladies through the shower, we put together our outfits for night #1. I wound up borrowing a tangerine colored dress from Jessica that helped my tan and allowed me to wear the white shoes that I wanted to...only problem is Jessica is about 2 sizes smaller than me so the dress’ length was more so that of a shirt. But, who cares, right? This was Las Vegas. We grabbed some drinks before heading out. Jessica had a friend in DC who knew someone in Las Vegas that Jessica had spoken to. They agreed to pick us up and drive us to stop #1 of the night for us: XS at the Encore Hotel…a new hotspot in Vegas. We walked downstairs, thinking we would be squeezing into a Range Rover somehow and instead a 3-car entourage pulled up complete with a Mercedes truck, Range Rover and a Mazerati. Jessica and Jackie headed into the Range and Lauren, Sarah and I were directed to the Mazerati. I believe this was the point I invented the phrase “LML” – standing for “Love my Life”. It would stick the rest of the weekend.

We hung out at XS for awhile at the guys’ table, complete with free drinks, until we decided to head out to meet up with LeRon and his friends. Originally, we met them at Jet at the Mirage, however Jet didn’t have any tables left so we took off and went to Pure instead (Caesar’s Palace). LeSean (Otherwise known as “Shady”, a nickname he’s held since he was a little kid), LeRon’s brother, was celebrating his first weekend in Vegas. He recently was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles so was able to afford nicer arrangements in Vegas than I would have, let me tell you. Also along were many of LeRon’s friends who I have gotten to know over the past 5 years so it really was a fun group to be with. Jessica and Jackie wound up meeting up with other friends at that point in the night, but Sarah, Lauren and I stayed with Shady’s group and danced the night away at a table in the main room at Pure. There were a few wipeouts, dancing-wise and at one point Sarah thought a man on the microphone was rap-singer Fabulos, when instead it wound up being Larry Johnson (NFL running back). However, I can’t blame her. I had no idea either…AND she had gotten all 5 girls in the club for free, bypassing the line in the process.

We all skipped the “after hours” spot called Dre’s that everyone else seemed to be headed to and all wound up at home by 5-6am…Jessica and Jackie included.

DAY 2:

Miraculously, no one felt any negative effects of the alcohol the morning of Day 2…so we grabbed some bagels and water and decided to go to Tao Beach at the Venetian Hotel. LeBron James was set to be at this particular pool party, although I think we arrived a bit too late for his grand entrance. However, this proved to be another packed pool party with a live DJ and lots of dancing. I mean, it isn’t like we had been dancing all night (haha)…why not dance more? We quickly befriended 3 guys who had rented a “bed” (a wicker platform with a table full of drinks), stuffed our belongings under the bed, grabbed a raspberry mojito from them and got our dancing exercise.

The guys actually turned out to be super cool. 2 of them played for the Jets (Ahmad Carroll and James Ihedigbo) with the other being a close acquaintance. The 3^rd guy was a little wacky, not gonna lie, and had his arm in a sling. But the best part was he didn’t have any ordinary sling. It was a GUCCI sling. Too funny. They were all about involving the crowd in dancing, playfully dumping water on people (it was hot!) and buying freeze-pops from the waitresses and handing them out.

A bit later Shady and crew arrived and rented a Cabana which was pretty awesome. Not only was it stocked with drinks, but it had food, a flat screen TV, chairs and a chaise lounge bed. We hung out with the crew the rest of the afternoon because deciding it was probably time to head in, grab some food and get ready for Night #2.

We ate dinner at a place that is in the Cheesecake Factory family (one step up I believe) located in the Venetian. Once again, a brilliant choice. Free water, free bread and butter to fill up on and then ordered a gigantic $30 appetizer and a large salad to split. Total cost each person: $12 – including tip. Man, we’re good.

Back at the Rio, we got ready for the evening, grabbed some drinks and then headed off to XS (where we had been the night before). However, the line was ridiculously long and we had no one to help us get in. So…we wound up heading to Jet where Shady and friends were. Also, Sarah and I had been to Jet a few years ago and had a complete blast so we knew it would be a great place.

Once we bypassed the lines (thanks again Sarah) for a second night in a row, we headed inside and walked around a bit. We wound up running into Shady, who insisted we come up to his VIP table. It’s location was up on an elevated platform (above the rest of the club), on the left side of about 3 VIP table areas. Right after getting up there, we discovered that The Dream (songwriter, artist, producer, etc.) was about to enter the club and would be performing. Where would he sit and perform? At the VIP table immediately next to us on that platform. Could our luck have been any better? He came in, (Green Hat in Photo) with fiancé Christina Milian on his arm, and the place went nuts. He hung out for a bit and then put on an awesome performance, not only performing songs he is known for singing…but songs he has written for other artists as well. To describe it as “awesome” is a bit of an understatement.

By the end of the night, we realized we had been dancing for over 24 hours straight. Personally, my feet were killing me and I think we were pretty worn out. We were told to come to after hours at “Dre’s” again…however, I decided not to go and the rest of us girls decided the same.

DAY 3:

Checkout was at noon – so we slept in a bit and then packed our belongings and checked out. However, instead of taking off back to Phoenix and LA (about a 4.5 hour drive), we decided to spend the afternoon at the infamous “Rehab Sundays” pool party at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. After working some magic at the door (2 hour general admission wait) we set foot inside the pool area and who is the first person we run into? Ahmad Carroll, our friend from the Tao Beach pool. He immediately informed us of their table at the rear of the pool and we agreed to head over there in a bit.

We checked out the scene (this place was HUGE with casino tables IN the water, a DJ and over a thousand people at least I bet) and headed over to their table. We but our stuff down at their VIP spot, grabbed a drink and started….dancing. Of course, right? Lol. We didn’t really have too much to drink (although lots of water) because at the end of all of it we had to drive home. But we made friends with the guys surrounding us too and had plenty of food to eat…good stuff of course like soft tacos and sliders. YUM! We ran into some people some of us knew like Ryan Torain (former ASU Football player), Stephon Heyer (former Maryland football player, now with the Redskins) and this guy named Tony who I have known through a friend for a while (never met him though – I know, weird…so cool to finally run into him) who is a model and dancer in Vegas.

Around 5:00pm, kicking and screaming…but tired…we decided our Vegas stay needed to come to an end so we said goodbye and thanks to our new friends and headed out of town. The drive wasn’t that bad – there was much more traffic than the way there so we didn’t get home until 11pm or so (with a few stops built in). After sharing our stories with our friend (and Sarah’s roommate) Heidi, who couldn’t make the trip at the last minute…we headed to bed - after all, Lauren had to be at the airport at 5:00am to fly back to NYC.

DAY 4 and beyond:

Lauren made her flight and I slept until probably ten or so. I was a zombie most of the day, meeting up with my friend Heather for lunch at RA on Mill Ave…and then left Sarah around dinnertime when Erin came to pick me up and take me out to the Westside of town where I would stay with her, JD and little Brayden until my flight left the next day.

Overall the trip was awesome – although it should come as no surprise. I don’t think it is possible for Sarah and I to have a bad trip (ask Troy – he’ll vouch for the ones he’s been a part of)…fun friends, fun times and most definitely a future trip to Vegas on the schedule...although perhaps the next stop might be Miami?

:) The End

Disclaimer: Although you just read the PG-13 version…please no worries. While there WAS events excluded to protect the innocent (and guilty) - There were no arrests; no inappropriate behavior (for the most part, lol); and no waking up with a Tiger in our room, baby in the closet, a missing tooth and a missing groom (“The Hangover”). You can rest easy Mom ;)

Bachelorette Fiesto Numero Dos En Mayo!

It was the month for bachelorette parties apparently, as I headed back to my hometown last weekend to celebrate my best friend Meghan's bachelorette-ness. The plan was to fly in Friday night and leave Sunday morning. However, due to some lovely visibility/weather issues at BWI, my flight was delayed. Honestly, the most disturbing part to me was that had I not realized that I was going to miss my connection, the airline certainly wasn't going to warn anyone about it. If you could please help me understand how a flight scheduled to depart at 6:59pm that only began boarding at 7:00pm AND was going to be in line between 30 other planes already stalled on the runway was still listed as ON TIME - that would be fabulous. lol. I changed my flight to the first flight out Saturday morning instead.

This meant I, of course, needed a ride now FROM the airport (thanks Katie). Katie, just so happened to be scooping up Reza and his girlfriend who were arriving home after a trip to Puerto Rico...so I just hopped in the car with them. We all decided to intrude on Katie's scheduled dinner with Tommy...and the 5 of us chowed down at the Olive Garden across the street from my place.

I will give Shawn credit - he offered to take me to the airport Saturday morning (4:30am departure from my house)...however I thought this was silly. I decided to just drive...until Reza kindly insisted. So hey - I'm not going to turn down 2 rides. He was early (4:15am) and I made my flight with plenty of time to spare.

The best part was of course when I boarded my connecting flight in Chicago - many of the passengers had been on my flight the night before and were stranded in the airport overnight. Not the best case scenario for them - but made me glad of my decision.

At home, after lounging on the deck a bit and enjoying the sun, my mom, dad and I all had lunch together before we raced off our separate ways for the day. I had a few last minute items to pick up for my costume (her bachelorette party was themed 80s - which if you know Meghan - is pefect) and also managed to poke my head into Von Maur and not buy a thing! (This might be a record for me! :) ) When I got home, my mom was able to help me (thank goodness) with the final touches of my costume and I was ready to go.

"Field of Dreams" (1989 baby!): The back of the costume said "If you Build it..."

We met up at DC's in downtown CR for some dinner and a few drinks first. The crowd was pretty funny. It was "Girls and Gays" as there were about 20 women (friends, family, etc, including mother-of-the-bride AND the mother-in-law) and 2 gay friends who were invited along. From there, we departed on a party bus (2 in 3 weekends - cripes!) around CR and the surrounding towns. I won't get into too much detail but there were many drinks and karoke rounds involved.

Penis Cakes. lol. Jenny, the party organizer,
made these for Meghan. She didn't want to discriminate
so she included a few options ;)

Meghan called "Mitch" a few times during the night.
Guess what? He answered.
Guess what else? His sister called back - very upset. LOL.

At 2:00am, when the party bus came to a stop, I de-boarded and my awesome mom picked me up. I'm sure she was entertained by a few of the costumes but I'm sure she was pretty tired too. (Thanks again mom!) I headed home and went to bed while a few of the others weren't ready to call it a night yet and ventured off to the only place still open - the Strip Club. :)

The next morning I had to get up pretty early. Had to be at the airport around 10am. So...all-in-all it was about a 24-hour trip home. But definitely worth it - any excuse to see a great friend and your family, right?

~THE END~

P.S. I don't typically go out during the week, but a few weeks ago Shawn and I headed out on a Wednesday night to meet up with one of his friends to celebrate her birthday. Took a few pics so I figured I'd share:

Gypsy Rose Dancing

A few weekends ago I traveled "up" to Boston for my good friend Kirsten's bachelorette party. Kirsten was my partner in crime here at Maryland for my first 2 years (we held the same position and nearly the same desk). Her wedding also unfortunately happens to fall on the same weekend as Meghan's...so I'll be unable to attend. Therefore I didn't want to miss the party.

As a bonus, my uncle (mom's bro) Kevin, aunt Jill and 3 cousins (Alivia, Mitchell and Grace) live in the Boston area and I have yet to visit them there since I've become a resident of the East Coast so it was a good opportunity to pop in. Contrary to Kevin and Jill's story about accidentally showing up to Erin and Shane's place in NYC a week earlier for a graduation (could you imagine the surprise on their faces when they opened the door to see their relatives on their doorstep saying "We're here! Congratulations!") - I communicated the correct weekend.

The fam picked me up from slightly delayed flight at the Boston airport Friday evening around 9:00pm and we headed to Harvard Square to eat dinner. A 30-minute wait at the restaurant flew by pretty fast as we chatted and Kevin and I shared a brew. After dinner we toured the area on foot for a bit (while our food digested and Alivia froze to death) before heading home.

Before bed, Mitchell showed me his artwork (he's really good!!!!) for school and Grace "graced" me with a piano concert. She then let me sit down with her and attempt to be her partner in a duet her teacher and her will be playing for an upcoming recital. Needless to say, I need work. But it was still a lot of fun...and Kevin's trusty camera skills captured most of it.

The next morning Jill and I headed to Grace's baseball game (shown on left at first base - number 8). Her team was far better than the opponent in my opinion and wound up winning although we did not stay until the end. Grace had to leave early for a soccer game (Man, this girl is BUSY!) and Jill kindly drove me to downtown Boston where I was meeting up with the bachelorette party. We said our goodbyes and I tromped up the stairs to the Gypsy Rose Studios above (see www.GypsyRoseDancing.com).

The bachelorette party actually started the night before with the ladies getting together and decorating shirts to wear Saturday evening. I entrusted another girl to make mine, however, because I was with my family. Saturday's agenda, which I met up with them to participate in, started with Exotic Dancing Lessons (floor, chair and pole routines). I was actually really excited for this and it wound up being AWESOME. When I arrived there was a costume room I was ushered into and encouraged to "pick out my outfit" and get changed. I went all out, selecting some boots, a ripped up strapless tanktop/short-short-short-dress(?) and a pair of "booty shorts" (who are we kidding. This was like underwear).

I walked into the room and instantly made a first impression on about 8 ladies (I only knew Kirsten and her friend Kathy). I laughed at the thought of what I must look like. Then, jumped right into the routine (I was a bit late). We learned a floor routine, pole routine and chair routine and it was an absolute blast. Great way to bond with strangers let me tell you.

Afterwards we grabbed some lunch and then headed to Kirsten's to hang out until dinner. Later on, as we walked to dinner and Kirsten had her "tasks" in hand (obtain 10 business cards from men that have to write "good luck" on the back of them, get a picture of a guy's wife, etc.) we happened to pass by a fire station. If you know Kirsten, I'm pretty sure you know what came next. Yup. She asked permission to practice her new pole routine on their fire pole...and they LET HER! It was a riot! I managed to snap a picture on my phone...not the best quality but glad to have captured the moment.


Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant and then we headed outside where our party bus awaited us. One thing to note, is that Kirsten had no idea of ANY of the activities of the weekend until each happened. Thus, when they were walking to the pole dancing class, she had no idea where they were going...and after dinner she DEFINITELY had no idea that we were headed to a brand new limousine party bus (only its 2nd night of use!). We had rented it for 6 hours...which with it picked us up at 8:30pm, gave us until 2:30am to have a blast...and we did. We made a few stops along the way at various bars...and not only danced the night away at the bars but on the bus as well.

Sunday was just a lot of laying around and relaxing until my flight left and headed back to good old Baltimore. Overall it was great to see family and a dear friend...but it is always great to slip into your own bed too :)

"Marco!..."

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to witness my first polo match. And while the University of Maryland was hosting the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships...this is NOT the polo I am referring to. Oh yes. I am referring to the game that dates back to 6th century BC (some argue even earlier) to Persia/Iran. The game that is played on a field 300 yards in length and at least 160 yards in width. The game in which 4 players on each team compete riding horses and holding a stick - swatting a round plastic ball (this used to be wooden back in the day) into a goal on either end. There are 4, 6 or 8 periods (or Chukkas) in each game - and unlike most other sports - each time a team scores - they switch sides. Interesting...

I acquired a pair of tickets to "America's Polo Cup" - a game between the United State polo team and Australia - from a work contact of mine at the Washington Times (an official sponsor) and Shawn agreed to go with me. He is really into horseracing, and while this is nothing of the sort, it still involves throughbreds and competition, so he was game.

The event was hosted at a field in Poolesville, MD, about an hour drive from my place. The weather forecast threatened rain - but the day turned out to be absolutely gorgeous. The drive there was so pretty - most of it spent on a 2-lane country road with homes along the way that you can't even imagine. We kept asking ourselves what these people possibily do for a living. Personally, I felt like I was in the movie Annie - moving into Daddy Warbucks' house. To give you an idea, I found a listing online for the house on the right here with the red roof...asking price is over $3M. Mind you, this is NOTHING compared to some of the compounds we witnessed.

I kept saying to Shawn, OMG look at that one?! And he would respond, "I'm trying to get us there alive, dear. Gotta keep my eyes on the road...". Ha. I guess that is slightly important.

When we got there we parked in a huge field and had to walk to the will call tent. Shawn wore some nice khaki slacks and a button up. I wasn't sure what to wear - so I tried to play it safe with jeans and a nice shirt with heels. Apparently 95% of the women there decided to wear dresses, so I felt a little underdressed - but the funniest thing was that they all wore rainboots with their dresses. Why? Well - probably because they knew it was going to be SUPER muddy. Smart girls ;). I, on the other hand, lost my shoe once in the mud - it got stuck and I just kept right on walking. {Troy, it reminded me of the Colorado Blizzard when you lost your shoe in the snow and stepped right into the water in the parking lot, remember?!}.

With all the mud, we did one loop around the venue and then nestled into a table and chairs near midfield where we didn't move much from that point on. There was a bunch of Chukkas (periods of play) prior to the main event with various U.S. Polo teams (DC, Chicago, etc.). They were played on one end of the field, width-wise (due to the field conditions). Then they had some air entertainment such as a Coast Guard helicopter that took a few laps and even dropped/then picked up a guy via zip line. There was also a parachute drop - with 2 guys who delivered the game ball (slightly bigger than a softball).


The "real game" started about an hour and a half late. We were actually about ready to leave, but we kept waiting for "one more Chukka" because we were hoping the main game would be played lengthwise on the full playing field. I'm glad we stayed :) It was amazing to me the training that must take place for these horses to be as agile as they were. What was ALSO amazing was how brave some people were by sitting pretty close to the field. There is only a 6" tall base board that lines the sides of the field (note, that is 6 INCHES). Many people had lawn chairs and blankets lined up only a few feet behind this board. Apparently the threat of a horse weighing over a ton, chasing after a ball and not being able to stop before reaching the sideline, didn't scare anyone. What idiots. The announcer even called them "Stupid Americans" as he constantly warned the spectators sitting, and walking by, to get back.

At halftime (is this what they call it?), they had a divet stomp. They played "Pretty Woman" during this - as it was portrayed in that movie...where all spectators get to go out onto the field and "stomp" the grass divets into the ground. In the picture to the right you can see a few people heading out to do so, although there were a lot that wound up going out after this picture was taken. Yes, dogs were apparently allowed and also note the red base board at the bottom of the picture. This is what I was referring to above. Note how close everyone is to it! Another thing the announcer had everyone do at halftime was mimick Julia Roberts' fist pump (Click here for youtube :07 link). For those of you that haven't seen the movie - or been to a polo match....they are quite "uppity" and high-class. Therefore, a grunting fist pump is probably not something to be expected. The announcer made it quite fun though as he had everyone in the crowd pumping their fists into the air and yelling.

After halftime we devoured a basket of fries each. Shawn originally asked if I wanted to share some - but I reminded him how fast I tend to inhale things - and we opted for 2 baskets, 1 for each of us, just to make sure he got his fair share ;) Please note - he is a pretty fast eater too, but as most of you know, I usually bring home the blue ribbon. Bellies full, we had had enough (remember it started an hour and a half late...and we were early to begin with)...so we tromped back across the muddy field to the car, wiped our feet and shoes off with ArmourAll Leather wet wipes and drove off into the sunset of million dollar homes!

Final verdict: we both said we would go again. Very different - but fun. A great "first" with good times. Who knows - maybe next time I'll bring my rain boots and actually participate in the divet stomp!

{Breathes In...and Exhales}

It has been awhile since I blogged. I know, I know, KWoods is ready to kill me - and may have deactivated his subscription to my blog...sorry bro. Anyway, I need to get away from the whole "gotta have something super interesting to write about" mindset...because quite frankly as you can see that isn't really working out for me.

This past weekend was a breath of fresh air for me. My brother, Sarah and Sarah's best friend from college--Lauren came into town. Lauren was a bit of a surprise - she and I traveled to Arizona a month ago and talked of her trying to come down from NYC for Sarah and Troy's visit - but she was going to be vacationing in Mexico until the Thursday prior and had to come back into work Friday (the day which she would really need to spend traveling to see me). lol. No, Lauren didn't contract the Swine Flu. However, the "Powers That Be" at her firm, decided they didn't want her to come into the office until the following Tuesday, just to be sure.

So...Lauren jumped on Amtrak (shout out to ST) and made her way to the BWI airport where she surprised the crap out of Troy in baggage claim and then hid when Sarah announced via cell phone to me that she had just touched down. It was a great sight to see when Troy and Sarah rolled their suitcases out to the car...got in...and I started to drive away, only to swerve back over to the curb two doors later to a woman dressed in pink racing to the car - LAUREN! Sarah was so surprised...and the trip was off to a good start!

Friday night we got all dressed up, my friend Katie joined us, and we headed to Arlington, VA to eat at the restaurant/Latin Lounge Shawn works at: Guarapo. Yes...a little trouble getting there as the GPS on my phone didn't necessarily take us the fastest way and Katie's irritation, stemming from her starvation, was apparent. But...when we finally DID get there, the food was excellent and had a few nice tasting drinks as well ;)

At this point, Katie dropped the 4 of us off at a nightclub called "The Park" where we headed up to the fourth floor to celebrate my friend/coworker Jessica's birthday. "The Park" is a nice place where celebrities frequent and the DJ always plays good music. We took advantage of the good tunes - and wound up dancing the night away.


My roommate Danielle met us there as well. Funny story: my friend Marcus, who works for the NCAA and was in town for Lacrosse National Championship meetings, was going to meet us there also. He arrived at The Park at the same time as Danielle - we were a bit behind so while on the phone with Marcus, I described Danielle and he then located her outside, and started calling for her. She looked at him, like, "is this guy talking to ME? I have no idea who he is!" haha. And...that is how they met. By the time we got there they were old pals.

Saturday we laid low during the day, headed to the mall to make some returns and for Troy to visit his beloved H&M store. We then headed to Comcast Center (home of the Terrapins!) where there was an event called the "Catwalk Classic" taking place, hosted by a local radio station. Apparently it is a high school fashion show that runs from 5pm - 10pm. However, we were only interested in the first hour or so which was full of performances by the GS Boys, Yung LA and Keri Hilson. Sarah LOVES Keri Hilson so she was really excited for that part. The funny thing is, the event is mainly attended by urban high school kids - so there was a million 14-16 year olds strutting around in outfits they had probably been planning for weeks. I'm talking dresses, suits and hair all piled on top of their heads with feathers and yard sticking out. Meanwhile we threw on whatever we could find. The nice part was that we sat in one of our suites - so we had a comfy seat, good view and were a bit separated from the Mayhem.

After so much fun Friday night, we did briefly discuss if it were possible to have even CLOSE to the same amount of fun on Saturday night. With a different cast of characters, including our dear friend Greg - we decided it could happen. Greg used to work with me at Maryland but moved away last summer after he took a job with the University of Mississippi. We had been begging him for weeks to try to make it up for this weekend - but it just wasn't going to work for him since he came a few weeks prior and would be coming a few weeks later as well. As the stars would align, Greg was selected for an interview at Georgetown the Thursday prior and they agreed to fly him home Sunday (same cost to them!) - so he was here after all! We were so excited. (Better news on Monday was they offered him the job and he's moving back!!!) In addition to Greg, others such as my old boss ("best boss ever") Brett and Shawn and his friends joined us. Destination of choice was the Shadow Room.

Turned out to be another awesome night. Highlights included the DJ randomly playing an older song Troy had been talking about all day, Lauren dancing 3 inches from the ground AND me sweating so much that it started to soak through my dress. I felt gross but was trying not to draw too much attention to myself, so I made a graceful exit to the restroom where I proceeded to hang out and try to let my dress dry. Needless to say, as time was ticking and I was missing out, I wound up going into the stall, removing my dress and cooling off. The whole time I was hoping everyone would be having so much fun they wouldn't notice I was missing...which I think I achieved...UNTIL the DJ started playing Zombie Nation. Note, this is the song we play 23092039 times at our MBB games that anyone who knows me (especially all my friends that were there from work), knows I would be running to the middle of the dance floor upon first hearing. Anyway, as my friends quickly noticed...I was nowhere to be found...as I sat in the bathroom...waiting for the final pieces of my dress to dry. Probably less than a minute later I hear Sarah's voice in the bathroom, "Carrie? Are you in here?"

Busted.

Totally worth it though - as I reappeared a new woman with a brand new dress! lol!

A late night visit to IHOP with the 4 of us, Shawn, and his friend Asanti proved to hit the spot and then it was off to bed. Troy and Lauren headed out of town on Sunday and then Sarah left Monday. I was sad to seem them all go - but happy we had such a great time.

You know, Lauren and I were talking the other day...it is sometimes frustrating that I do not have my closest friends near me here in Maryland. However, sometimes I need to stop and remember that the value of a friend isn't necessarily tied to their zipcode. I am so fortunate to have some really great relationships with such awesome people and while I may not be able to see them every weekend - I know they are always there for me and it just makes me appreciate the time we DO get to spend together that much more :)

"Chirpy Terp"

It's here. March Magic. March Mayhem. March Madness. How do I know? Because ESPN is spending 80% of Sportscenter covering Cinderella-hopeful games and dunks by players in jerseys that from far away look like they belong to a power conference (Green/White - must be Michigan State!?) when instead they come from an unheard-of 13th-seeded Cleveland State. Thank god - because my 3 mile run on the treadmill this morning seemed so much easier with exciting highlights/upset-alerts to tune into, instead of seemingly meaningless NBA games or baseball spring training bouts that don't even count toward the season.

It's the time of year when people complain about things being unfair. Bubble teams that didn't "deserve to get a bid" (Arizona - who proved their worth last night by upending 5th seeded Utah in a typical 12/5 upset). I will admit - I was on the Arizona-doesn't-deserve-to-get-in bandwagon. I was convinced Saint Mary's (plays Monday night against Davidson - still alive in the NIT) deserved that "last spot". But let's be honest - it was more so just the Sun Devil in me lashing out.

People also complain about the placement of teams in the various regions - stating, for example, that it is unfair Villanova was placed in the Philly Regional. I am curious, how this is any more "unfair" than 12,000 fans in attendance at the second day of the first round in the East Regional - cheering with all their might for East Tennessee State, who was inches from becoming the first 16th seed in tournament history to upset a #1 seed (PITT). I mean - isn't that unfair to PITT? It is hard enough for the committee to seed/place 64 teams from ump-teen different conferences in four various regions - let alone worry about whether or not any of those groups of 16 happen to be from that area. And when does it NOT become a home game? Cripes - in the Women's Tournament - you are purposely placed near home in the first 2 rounds. At Maryland, we have hosted the first and second rounds the past 2 years now - knowing if we advanced to the tourney we would play on our home court. I guess I should wait for the complaining to start - although if you ask me - Dartmouth, Utah and Villanova don't stand a chance against the #1-seeded Terps anyway - we could play in Alaska for all I care.

Back to Men's Basketball though. So the 10th-seeded Terps handled Cal on Thursday and as my friend Joe, Director of Annual Giving for the Bears, humbly pointed out to me - we've now officially beat them twice this year. (Who could forget our football victory - shocking the Bears in a game that kicked off at 9 a.m. their time on that lovely Saturday morning back in September). Honestly, however, I do not feel like a 10-seed over a 7-seed victory is really an "upset". In fact, an 11-seed over 6-seed is even pushing it for me. But hey - I'm going to take Thursday's win. Because today's game for the Terps vs. the 2nd-seeded mighty Memphis Tigers would most DEFINITELY be an upset should the Terps somehow manage to pull off a victory...and the sparring has already began.

Contrary to the Maryland team - who knows each Tiger by name and what his tendencies are - None of the Memphis players have been able to name a Maryland player. Instead, they've noted "good guards" and "lack of size" regarding the Terrapin team. One of their players tried to recall the name of Maryland's mouthy Venezuelan guard, referring to him as "some guy named Sanchez." Um...It's Vasquez buddy. Close though - close. And when Mr. Greivis Vasquez was informed of the lack of name-recognition for him - he spouted back, proclaiming Memphis would have a losing record if they competed in the ACC Conference (#1 Ranked conference) instead of Conference USA (Ranked 10th). Awesome. And the fire on both sides has been topped off with plenty of fuel.

Thus...the inferno that has been ignited can now be put out the only way possible - the reason why this time of year is the best time of year. On the court at 3:20 EST.

I just wish Memphis didn't have such an unfair advantage - being that their fans only had to drive 452.13 miles versus the 1074.92 miles that Maryland fans had to travel ;)