July:
July started off amazing as Sam and I had put a lot of work into planning a 4th of July camping/rafting trip. We had about 15 people join us for camping in the Withlacoochie State Park, arriving late Saturday morning and realizing after setting up that we had nothing to do that day but drink! And drink we did. It was so bad that I hardly have any pictures from the trip. I know that I ended that first night by playing wine pong by myself and going off with some boys that I had just met and exploring the woods with beers but no flashlights. Priorities.
Sam and I with the Pattie mask.
Summer, me, Sammy
About to go play some Wine Pong!
The next morning we all drove over to the Rainbow River to go rafting. Sam and I were pretty genius, we tied our rafts together and then also brought and extra inflatable boat with us which we filled up with food and drinks and pretty much everyone was envious of us because it was a four hour float and you can get hungry! But it was so much fun, the water is crystal clear and we saw otters swimming. I floated for about 2 hours and swam for about two hours.
A view down the river.
By the time we were done and made it back to our camp everyone was beat! We grilled burgers and hot dogs for dinner and once it got dark we all sat around our friends laptop and watched the Shining. watching The Shining in the woods at night is a whole different experience!
The only other major occurance in July was the first annual National Water Gun Fight Day! I'm still not sure if this was a real event of if my friends Allie and Gregg made it up and bought a website for it, but we had BIG plans for it. Sam and I decided to be on the red team and we made shirts and hair bows and bought guns and went all out.
Sam and I fueling up for the fight with original, pre-recalled Four Loko!
Guns on the table at our post-battle dinner at Hooters.
Our fight took place in Channelside and it seemed like there was a lot of buzz for the event, but there ended up only being about 10 of us and we ALL were the red team, so we ended up having a couple battles and dividing ourselves into teams differently each time. Even though it was a small group we ended up having a blast and I hope we do it again soon!
Everyone that participated in the fight.
Despite those two fun events, July was a pretty rough month for me, leading into August which wasn't much better.
August:
August started out with me getting laid off from Misener Marine. We found out that they were doing a bunch of lay offs, but I felt like I was safe since my salary was a tiny fraction of their budget and my position was pretty necessary. But sure enough, I got word that the 5th was going to be my last day. It was sad because I was losing a job that I really needed, but also because I wasn't going to be working with Sam anymore, who had become such a fixture in my daily life.
I made sure to go out in shoes that everyone would remember me by!
But that weekend things looked up for me, we got a new puppy, a Piebald Daschund name Schnitzel Von Snap! It's amazing how you don't realize that something is missing from your life until you have it! She was the perfect addition to our family.
I spent most of August looking for jobs, but also enjoying being unemployed. I laid in bed watching the shows I normally didn't get to watch because I was at work, like Saved
by the Bell and Regis and Kelly. I also tried to cook more.
I also did my nails a lot.
And I went to the beach with Layla quite a bit.
September:
On the first I accepted a temporary job at this very boring and conservative tax attorney's office downtown. I wasn't happy with it, but the girl that was training me was nice enough (even though she was only 19!) and I figured I could try to get used to it. Well, during my lunch break I got a call from Office Team saying that another company really wanted me and was willing to pay me more and guaranteed that I will eventually be hired on as a permanent employee, so I was poached and it felt great! So on the 2nd I started my new job at Aspire.
I attended another Rays baseball game with my family.
I also house/dog sat for Margot one weekend. She has a pool at her house and I was hoping to hang in the pool all day and drink and get tan, but it was a rainy weekend so I spent it eating way too much junk food, drinking wine, and watching movies. Oh and playing with Dante, the cutest dog outside my family!
On the 17th Sam and I had a girls' night at the casino. Unfortunately I don't have pics from that night, but we both got dressed up and wandered and drank and played slots, and Sam won $300 which she split with me! I honestly feel like that was the most generous thing that anyone has ever done for me and it was then that I realized what I good friend and person she really is.
October:
October started out with my making some delicious crockpot French onion soup!
I also drank some champagne and read a good book.
The night of the 8th, my mom and I went to a murder mystery at my friend Margot's house. It was rock star themed and I was assigned the role of a publicist. I was kind of bummed about it because I really wanted to dress up crazy. I wracked my brain trying to figure out how to dress up like a publicist. I finally gave up and just wore something I might wear to work!
Me, Margot, my mom
Facebook is being a jerk right now, so I am going to have to update this from memory!
Earlier in the month Sam and I purchased tickets to go on a haunted hay ride where we would also supposed to be able to shoot zombies with paintball guns. Sounds like heaven, right?! We headed out there with her boyfriend, Kyle, but ended up not getting to do it because the wait was over two hours long and I do not have the patience to wait!
Even though it is my favorite holiday, I wasn't planning on doing anything for Halloween. I couldn't think of a clever costume and I didn't know what anyone else is doing. But at the last minute Allie convinced me that I HAD to go to the Freaker's Ball at Skipper's Smokehouse and we came up with the best last-minute costume, Rosie the Riveter! I am kicking myself because I don't have many pictures of me in my costume and the few that do exist aren't the least bit flattering. But I went to Skipper's and the next night I went to Guavaween and had a blast both nights
November:
I started November out on a fun note by attending Rock the Park for the first time. It's a monthly concert series that takes place downtown at Curtis Hixon Park. Layla and I went and met up with Allie and her friends. We brought blankets and beers so we could spread out and drink. I really want to start going every month, but so far I have only been this once.
Oh and here is a picture of me from November that isn't bad. Yay vanity!
On the 12th Sam and I went to the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. I have wanted to go for years and soon after I met Sam, I knew that she would finally be the friend willing to go with me and actually enjoy it! We set out with the ambition to buy mouse ears and drink lots, with maybe a few bites of food along the way.
Mission: Ears was achieved right away!
Shrimp tacos in Mexico.
Feijoada in Brazil.
My special nails I did just for the occassion.
Heavenly fondue.
Wine, dumplings, and some chicken nonsense in China.
I love the ridonkulousness of this pic from Norway.
Louise brought my some cheese curds from Wisconsin and I was so excited, I nibbled on them for like 12 straight hours and ended that day by deep frying the ones that were left over.
I also went to the airshow with my mom, but I don't seem to have any actual airshow pictures, just another picture of my vanity, ha!
The only other major event in November was Thanksgiving. My mom, Layla and I cooked the meal. By the time it was actually time to eat everyone was being all weird and involved in other things, so Layla and I ended up eating alone and it was much more enjoyable that it would have been with the family.
After we ate we decided to go to the beach because the weather was so nice, and we ended up having an impromptu photo shoot.
December:
December brings my birthday! The actualy day, the 2nd, was a bummer because I was at work and no one really did anything for it, but that evening was great! I got my amazing presents, we ordered food, and I just chilled, which was exactly what I wanted to do. Oh! and the main most important thing was that Taylor, my brother, came to visit from Hawaii!
The 3rd was my actual birthday "party", which was a group of friends going to the Hard Rock Casino. Everyone came over to pre-game first, then we took a cab to the casino where we mostly wandered around and drank. I seriously only gambled like $4! By the end of the night were were trashed. We ate pizza and Chinese food in the food court and then piled ourselves into a cab. It was such a fun night!
My fun, casino-themed dice nails!
In December I taught myself how to French braid and ordered a new skin for my phone:
Christmas came and went way too fast, but I was proud of myself for actually being able to get everyone nice presents and getting them all on time! I don't seem to have any pictures from Christmas (notice a pattern here?) but it was a great day.
The next weekend was New Years and I knew that I wasn't planning on doing anything exciting. I didn't want to party and go crazy. I wanted to start the year off on a calm and focused note because I have so many goals and plans for 2012. On New Year's Eve my mom and I went to Village Inn for lunch, then wandered around the mall a bit, then went to see Young Adult. I loved the movie, but it hit a little too close to home for me.
I'm so proud of myself, I successfully re-capped the year! Hopefully I can stick to this blog because I think it is so important to be able to look back on your life and see your progression but also be able to see that not everything was as bad as you thought it was. I started out with this blog post thinking that 2011 was a pretty crappy year, but not that I have gone through it it really had a lot of good times. I am looking forward to pushing myself to enjoy life even more in 2012!
