Productivity

Today I was very productive. Among other things I built the bookshelf I bought at Target by myself, After carrying it up the stairs. Seeing as the box was mi height and possibly weighed as much as me I am very proud. After how miserable I was on New Years day unable to get myself to do anything but lay in bed staring blankly at the TV, it feels good to have made up for that day of nothingness. The little things, today those are what matter. The year just started. I must try and make the best of it.

Commence the shopping

I just spent a little over $330 on car maintenance the other day. It was awful. Because of this I've been slowly spreading out my Christmas shopping. Today i'm going by Joann's to get a few materials to make Christmas cards because regular cards are freaking expensive!! I've also been looking at gifts online for most people and instead of actually buying anything my wishlist on Etsy  & Amazon keeps growing O.o Luckily my depressing bank account keeps me from spending. I also have no idea what to get The best friend since she leaves to the Navy on Tuesday(seriously un-amused) She can't take anything boot camp so I might just get her a gift and when boot camp is over and they station her I'll just ship it with all her other things I'll be sending her. I made an appointment with a Psychologist... sort of.  Ugg too many other things I don't want to think about going on. Kathy needs wine.. or beer.

Thankful distractions.

Had a minor panic attack thanks to the whole 'big empty house, strange noises, and over protective dog that barks at any noise' thing so I'm going to distract myself from the possibility that someone might break in while I'm sleeping. Anyone who follows me on Twitter probably thinks I'm nuts with what I'm posting. Isn't that the point of Twitter? Post random ridiculous-ness?

My mother and stepfather came down from Philly and we had Thanksgiving dinner with the family at my uncle's new place in Hollywood beach. The house is amazing. It's an old house built in 1952 with a very Art Deco feel on the outside and cozy slightly updated bungalow vibe inside. Although the house is considered a historic home my uncle doesn't want to keep it registered as one because once you do  it is a HUGE hassle to get any work done on it (and the house is in major need of new windows and doors especially since the original ones are not hurricane proof) They live in walking distance from the beach in an amazing area. I will definitely need to visit them more often!!

Today was all about good food,  family, and being happy with what you have. So because it seems like the thing to do and I need to keep myself distracted I present to you a random list of things I am thankful for. In no specific order.

I am thankful for...

The delicious Banana bread my mother brought me from Key West

A dog who warns me when strange noises occur around the house & who can scare people away with his big loud bark.

The possibility to watch any TV series online in one night. (also a curse)

A comfy bed to sleep in

British TV shows

Writers with creative minds

The fact that real hard copy books are still available

My dysfunctional family.... most of it.

All the misfits in the world

The few friends who have stayed by my side through all the madness

Red velvet cake

Craft beers

The few good people left on this planet

and much much more. Life had been... eventful? over the years and sometime I felt/feel like it's all just too much but compared to many other my life problems are nothing. There is always someone who has it so much worse. Try to remember the little good things because if you dwell on the bad , trust me when I say it will destroy you from the inside out and dig you in to a deep dark hole.
Cheers to the misfits, silver ribbon warriors, and anyone fighting a very hard battle no matter what for. Chin up and keep fighting there is still good in this world.

I am still alive

I may have lost me marbles.. slightly

Elections are over

They're over but I'm still avoiding Fbook for a few days because now all the real stupidity starts. Although it is helping with the spring cleaning i'm doing on Fbook where i'm deleting "friends" who I don't even speak too or who just fill my news feed with stupidity.

 It was bad enough during election time people forcing their beliefs and views on you. Seriously on the way to work the other day there was a crowd in the middle of the street across from a voting location holding up signs declaring "vote Romney" and "Fire Obama". FIRST, It was traffic hour get off the roads and banging pots and pans together and waving your signs at our windows while were stuck at a red light will not make us vote for your guy! Second seriously get off the damn road this is Miami where people can't drive you're asking to get run over, just sayin'.

Now that elections are over though are people whining like children about Obama getting a second term and attacking those who supported him. It's never right to be rude and obnoxiousness or  to attack people who don't share your beliefs. If the tables had turned these people would have expected us to stay quiet and accept Romney. I do not like politics honestly and I understand if this isn't the president you wanted. You're entitled to your own opinion and beliefs but don't stomp your feet like a child and be hurtful to those who don't see it your way. We all need to pull together and remember to just be proud of our country not turn against each other.

Again I don't like talking about politics but I'm just getting annoyed of all the stupidity and dramatic ness. Someone actually said they hope the movie 2012 actually happens this year so we don't have to live in a world where Obama is president... Seriously just move out of the country don't wish death and destruction on the rest of us fool!  My ass is not down for  the end of the world. So everyone get the hell along and stop attacking each other or I will throw pineapples.

Dear Sandy go away

It's been dark, gloomy, and rainy all day here in Miami. The good news is it's been in the 70s all day but the humidity has been at 76% and cold rain plus high humidity is not fun.

I left the house earlier to drive The BestF to work and it felt awful outside also after entering my neighborhood through the back entrance, since traffic is always blocking the main entrance during rush hour, I came across a massive fallen tree blocking my pathway. I stopped to take a picture of it (from inside my car of course it was raining too much) and a security guard comes out and starts instructing me that I couldn't drive that way and needed to turn around... as if the giant tree in front of me wasn't obvious enough. Thank you security man if you hadn't pointed out I was just going to sit there baffled waiting for it to move.

Kind of far but you get the idea.

I want the rain to stop and the Miami version of cold weather to begin. Hopefully the weather is decent for Halloween. I can't afford going out and buying a costume so I'm experimenting with zombie makeup with whatever makeup I have at home. Wish I had the time to put more work in to my costume and money to spend but you've got to work with what you have.

I am debating between starting my new book or watching a movie. Maybe read for a while then pick a movie I haven't seen in a long time to watch?

This week hasn't been very eventful. I just drag myself out of bed everyday and get things done with the exception on the past two days I've just stayed curled up in bed being on slightly productive. But today's highlight is I finished The Kite Runner, got caught up with some of my shows and today I will be starting to read Divergent!!  Yes reading a new book is basically the highlight of my week.

A shared fascination with Steampunk!

There may or many not be a lot of incoherent rambling on this post but I'll go ahead and blame it on studying for midterms all day. Plus I'm not entirely no one reads this so I'm just rambling on to myself.. and Nia. NIA read this so I feel less pathetic!!!

A while back I became completely fascinated and with the world of Steampunk. I plan on dressing up in Steampunk attire whenever I finally get the chance to go to my first CON. If I had the time and/or money I would be spending all of it on awesome Steampunk related project especially  the ones over on Epbot. Did I ever mention how amazing and talented the creator of the site, Jen and her husband John are??!! Seriously they're both so talented I wish I was their neighbor so I could spend my nights cooking up super awesome projects with Jen. it's not like I go out at night anyway haha!! She inspires me just as much TheBloggess does. Here is where I sound like a crazy fangirl O.o. Oh and she lives here in Florida fools!!!

My boyfriend has also developed an interest for the Steaminess the past year or so. He wants to have a house with a slight Steampunk vibe someday. We always send each other random things over Facebook, Steampunk goodness, dog pictures and articles, Doctor Who goodness, etc. Today he sent me a link to this Amazing Steampunked House. The article on it was written back in March and I'm sure it's been traveling the web for a long time but this is the first I see of it. Yes I know I'm probably late on this discovery but that's nothing new. Either way the house is pretty sweet!

I also love how the owners of the home Bruce and Melanie Rosenbaum run a Victorian Home Restoration/Steampunk home design company.

I love the Victorian feel. I spent most my Childhood in North Carolina and my grandparents had me in and out of antique stores and old Victorian homes and buildings and I absolutely LOVED the history behind it all. Click on the article to see some nifty picture of the home and Modern Victorian style!

Keeping myself together

I've had a box of semi-permanent hair dye sitting in my room for MONTHS and finally decided to use it. I bought it planning on dyeing the bottom half of my hair but never got around to it till last week. I've never dyed my hair before so this was an amusing experience. I just really wanted a change in my hair since I'm trying to see how long I can go without cutting it so I can donate again. I donated 13 inches of hair a while back.

I didn't want to bleach my hair since I try to donate my hair whenever it gets long and bleached hair can't be donated. Plus I was aiming for a subtle purple tone and heard that some people dye over their natural hair with success, my hair is pretty light brown so I though it would work. I left the hair dye on for an hour (again I don't have much experience with dyeing hair other than dyeing my best friend's hair darker once.) Once all was done and I washed out the dye there was no real visible change unless my hair was in direct sunlight so I am very bummed about that. I want to try it again maybe with a different brand and leave it on for a lot longer. Maybe it'll work? I need someone who has experience in colorful hair dyeing hahah.

I like how dark it looks here but without good lighting you can't tell. Everyone at work didn't even notice since our restaurant is dimly lit. Plus by the first washing it already faded way more.

This is how it looks standing right in front of my window. It look so fucking awesome I wish it looked that was no matter what ugg. Oh well round 2 is coming soon!

Slipping deeper into the rabbit hole

and it feels like there's no way out

Because Nightmare Before Christmas is my favorite movie and it 's Halloween AND Amy Lee's voice will always give me chills.

Cleaning spree.

Although today consisted of laying in bed being useless and gloomy today I forced myself to get up early and stay productive I went on a cleaning spree scrubbing my bathroom and cleaning my room. I was going to try and clean out all my drawers and closet again but I just started getting so tired. My bathroom really needed a a good cleaning. 

 

I also made a donation for Breast Cancer Awareness month. I actually hate the color pink but when it's for such a good cause such as Breast Cancer I'll give pink a try. Plus these tumbler cups are great for coffee and smoothies. I always try to give every year even though I'm VERY tight on money right now which is scary since the holidays have started. Remember on top of it being one of the best months of the year October is also Breast Cancer Awareness so show your support for the cure.

Celebration cruise ship

This is the last of post about my weekend cruise that I'm reporting to no one in particular than myself probably but I just really wanted to write about the entertainment.

After getting back on to the ship we changed out of our beach clothes and watched as we sailed away from the dock. We had our dinner reservation at 8pm but also wanted to catch the beginning of the show at 9pm so BestF and I decided to catch a bit of the 7:15 show before dinner. Luckily we all ate with enough time to get to the 9pm show early so basically we saw two of the performers twice. 

It wasn't nice enough out to photograph the island as we sailed away so Best decided to test her camera out with me and lighting I don't have all those photos.

Now to the fun stuff. The first performer was Dario 'El Gaucho' a comedian born in Argentina and now based here in Miami. He is hilarious with his accent and facial expressions he also does some pretty crazy tricks with two boledoras rope with ball attached to the end. Between his comedic lines and just the expressions he made we were definitely laughing. I couldn't find an exact link to him just links to different agencies or casinos that feature him. But you can just Google him to find more information and one or two videos.

I would have knocked myself out with those things!

                                     

The guy on stage had a cigarette in his mouth and El Gaucho was trying to knock it out. I though this guy was going to pee himself.

The next performer is Russian acrobat Kirill Rebkovets. He performers with a giant cube and does a rolla bolla act that is crazy. The whole time we kept gasping I thought he was going to fall and break something. Apparently he's traveled all over the world including with Cirque du Soleil and is now based in Orlando Florida. I give this guy major props although I slightly hate him because he's more flexible and me and has major balance and coordination skills which I lack.

I haven't been able to raise my leg that high since high school.  ESPECIALLY on a rolling cylinder tube!!

                                       

I've always had a love for dancers and crazy performers so when I went to see Cirque de Soleil's Corteo a couple years ago when they came to Miami I was hooked. There was nothing like it to me. My goal is to see as many of their shows before I die.  Kirill made me feel like I was back at CdS show.

Oh come on man!

AT this point everyone in the audience was holding there breathe it was pretty amusing.

The other performers I didn't get pictures of but other performers included: Tom McTiernan a comedian who I believe has been on Comedy Central before. Kier a Comedian/Impressionist. Tricia Kelly whose is an actress/singer with a very talented voice.

Then the night was finished with a Caribbean Idol semi final contest in which the winner was placed in the finals this month where they'll come back to the cruise and compete for a $10,000 cash prize. This was followed by an adult scavenger hunt (funniest thing in the world to watch.) Then dancing and drinking for the rest of the night although I called it a night after the scavenger hunt because I was very tired. I kind of wish I was still on that cruise because being back to reality and bills already has me worn out.

So that happened...

Oh and that...

                                     

That feeling

I wanted to continue documenting my weekend vacation but I just don't want to write or do anything really right now. I started getting really tired when I got home from work and decided I did not want to go out tonight. Then again I never want to go out anymore. I've been fighting this weird feeling all day it's hard to put in words. I'm just so tired and just want to lay in bed and stare blankly at a movie or finish my book but I;m also too tired for that. Ugg nothing amusing to write today. I'm just so tired, all the time.

Weekend in the Bahmas

Cruise continued. All pictures were either taken with my  phone or my friend's camera. We got to Freeport at 7am and sadly the weather wasn't looking too lovely the whole bus ride to the resort was a bit gloomy and it was sprinkling but once we got to the market the rain let up a bit and by the time we went into the resort the rain stopped completely and some sun shined through the clouds the rest of the day.

View from our room on the ship. 7am

We did the city tour which includes stopping at a very small market near the port which had more than half it's stands closed on Sundays. The bus then drops you off at the Port Lucaya Market which is a pretty big market right outside the Lucaya hotel. Luckily the majority of these stores were open. After spending time at the market you can then walk over to the Grand Lucaya Resort and enjoy a free lunch then lay around their pools and enjoy the private beach.

Some of the stands at Port Lucaya Markey

My thoughts of the tour of Freeport... I didn't exactly love it. I felt like I was still In Florida. If you ever been to the Florida Keys, Miami, or various other parts of Florida, then you've been to Freeport. It looked so much like different parts of Miami. Same native trees and plants that I can find where I live. There is no wildlife other than curly tailed lizards. They also don't have any restrictions on building homes so they can take 6 years to build a house so you see a lot of flat empty land and half built houses. It kind of has an appearance of either being torn down or just being built.

There was a another tour option that was exactly like the one we did minus the tour of the city. The bus drives you straight to the market and Resort. It's also $20 cheaper and still includes the free lunch. So if you're from Florida or maybe already seen other islands in the Bahamas then the city tour isn't really vital. Also almost the whole island is closed on Sundays. But I still did enjoy the market and resort. Some fo the market items were very unique and some were they type you find at any tourist stop. shot glasses, wood carvings, handmade objects, T-shirts etc.

The awesome private beach and pool at the resort.

I really like the infinity pool looking over the beach it was very relaxing. Also not that many people since there were so many excursions to do on the island and summer break is over. We layed around the pool for a bit then went down on  to the beach and spent the rest of the day there until it was time to board the bus again and head back to the ship.

Starfish some of the locals were catching and selling.

This guy and his friend were walking around with Starfish so I asked to see on and my Best somehow managed to make friends with us and they ended up for a long time.. was kind of weird but amusing. Although the way the other guy was looking at me I suddenly wanted to wrap myself in a potato sack O.o

After the day on the beach it was back to the ship. this post is too long so installment number 2 comes later tonight.

Bahama Celebration weekend.

I spent Saturday till Monday on a cruise to Freeport in the Bahamas. Although the weather was mostly rainy with minimal sun it was still a very enjoyable mini vacation although I only wish it could have lasted longer.

Saturday we took the 1 1/2 hour drive to Port of West Palm Beach. We took this trip on Bahamas Celebration Cruise Lines. We discovered the cruise line when my best friend snagged a deal for the trip on Groupon. The ship was smaller than Royal Caribbean ( only other cruise I have even been on and have to compare to) but seeing as they mostly just specialize on short weekend cruise where other ships such as RC are meant for 4-6 day trips, it was still a good size and pretty comfortable.

Nia playing with her camera while we had lunch. We DEFINITELY overstuffed ourselves

We  got there around 12pm for the lunch but the ship did not leave port until about 6pm. So Saturday night we got all dressed up and had dinner at the Crystal room followed by going to see a show (all the performers were amazing) then went to the casino for drinks. 


The Crystal room is one of the nicer of the 3 restaurants included in your cruise package. The attire calls for a dress code of collared shirts, slacks and dresses, etc. (although they did not enforce it all. It was just recommended) I was not a 100% crazy over the food there. It wasn't bad but wasn't super great and the whole place seemed over whelmed. Although I really liked their soups and the appetizers and Tiramisu were pretty good. The drinks were pretty good although I didn't really have much the whole trip because they can get pretty pricey.

Awkward what do I do with my hands pose.

The trip to the island was pretty calm or I was just really really tired and we arrived at Freeport at 7am. To rainy cloudy weather.

View of the port in Bahamas from our window. Taken with my phone

I'm still trying to get all the pictures from my friends and the names of the performers so hopefully I will have that by tomorrow so I will end this post with a picture of me making my seductive face.

Attractive yes?

Back to reality

I just got back from my 2 day 2 night cruise on Bahama Celebration Cruise lines. Although the weather was rainy for the most part and we barely saw the sun we still had a great time and wished it could have been a longer trip but we all have real lives to get back to. So today I'm trying to get myself back to normal schedule. I will write all about the trip later once I get all the pictures and have a chance. 

Bahamas here I come

I can hardly contain my excitement. Leaving Miami to drive to Wast Palm at 10am then boarding the ship and disconnecting from the world until Monday. Then It's back to classes and working as much as possible to make up for the money that goes in to this trip.

Oh Pottermore

The next chapters of Pottermore have finally opened up! Although I hate how long it takes for new things to open it up I guess it's a good thing because if not I'd spend way too much time glued to my computer than I already do.

Okay time to explore.

Father of the year