Quotable Tuesdays

Somebody Has Been Slacking

It's been three months since I published a monthly recap - don't know what the heck is wrong with me!  This is going to be long, but full of lots of pictures - enjoy a recap of the last three months of my life!

In May...

We had a long overdue meeting of the Taco Tuesday Club, and got to spend some time with Cute Apartment's new (at the time) beau!

I had jury duty for the first-ever time in my life...I haven't been missing out on anything exciting.

We watched Sister Singer sing her little heart out in her last high school musical.

Handsome Husband and I were joined for breakfast by Mr. Defense and some of his family.  His sister-in-law and mother own the most fantastic baking company, Sweet Offerings, and she was sweet enough to bring us the cutest cake pops:

If you're in the Orange County area, be sure to check out their Facebook page!

We took our mommas out to brunch, which was followed by a wonderful potluck at Grandma Beach Bum's house for dinner.

This happy couple celebrated their third wedding anniversary:

Aunt and Uncle Reno

I bit the bullet and did what I said I'd do for years, and chopped my hair!

I helped my little sisters get all dolled up for their very last high school dance, Prom 2012.

On left: Sister Swimmer and her boyfriend, BF YOLO

and right: Sister Singer posing outside the exclusive Club 33 in Disneyland

Sister Swimmer was honored for all her hard work and her humanitarian trip (with Gardening Mom!) to Haiti, when she received her Girl Scout Gold Award.

SS and her BF YOYO after her award ceremony

We spent Memorial Day Weekend soaking up the sun in Palm Springs with some of our very best friends.

In June...

Sister Singer did her thing for almost the last time on her high school stage, at her last choir Spotlight concert.

Sisters Singer and Swimmer turned the BIG 1-8, and to celebrate their newly legally-granted freedom, the fam went to lunch in Downtown Disney.

We celebrated the college graduation of one Husband's dearest friends, Mr. Boot Camp, with margaritas and Coronas.

Gardening Mom had a birthday, and we went to a craft fair a few days later to celebrate with her.

We watched as Sisters Swimmer and Singer got their high school diplomas, and then headed out to the river for the weekend to celebrate their graduation, Father's Day, and a visit from Best Cousin!

HH's family got together for another quarterly Family Poker Night, where I narrowly missed out on winning again.

We headed down to San Diego, hippie juice in the trunk, to bid adieu to our very good friend, Twin Navy, as he was about to start his journey in the military by heading off to boot camp.

I pulled off a double surprise when we surprised Sisters Singer and Swimmer for their high school graduation, with a big ole party at my parents house!

Sisters Swimmer and Singer, HH and myself headed off for our graduation/summer vacation at a very magical place: Disneyworld!

In July...

The 4th of July was filled with lunch and dinner barbeques, ending with some lackluster fireworks that were made up by the fantastic friends surrounding us while we watched them.
Twin Unicorn hosted a fun in the sun summer barbeque and pool day - hippie juice made another appearance.

We were invited over to Cute Apartment's boyfriend's pad for a Breaking Bad premier party - including El Pollo Loco catering and a homemade meth cake (cheesecake with blue sprinkles), which you'll only really get if you're a BB watcher.

I finally bit the bullet and took an exam I needed to get done with to further my nursing degree.  I was uuber nervous, but passed, and with a pretty high score if I do say so myself!

While I was in San Diego to take the aforementioned exam, I had a chance to grab lunch with my darling friend, Future Dr. Babies.

Future Dr. and I back in June for Twin Navy's Going Away Party

Gardening Mom, Sister Swimmer and her boyfriend, and myself headed to Laguna Beach for the annual Summer Sawdust Festival.  If you're visitng the area, or are local but have never been - this is a fun outing in South Orange County!

{Sawdust Art Festival}

We spent a fabulous and very much needed day with our friends, BBQ-ing in the sun, throwing back Bud Lights, and heading to my favorite, The OC Fair.

The month is ending on a sweet note tonight when we head out for a Family Ladies Night Out at The Melting Pot - fondue and cocktails is my kinda mid-week night out!

Here's to hoping I can keep up with these monthly recaps,

and it's not November before you see another one!

On Anonymous Comments

If you are a creepy anonymous commenter, you may have noticed that recently I disallowed anonymous comments from this here lil blog.

You might be thinking it's because of AnonyDouche who had a little somethin' somethin' to say about my views on celebrities and their private time...

Well, you'd be WRONG!

I blocked anonymous comments because for some unbeknownst reason I was receiving hundreds of spam comments a week!  And because I refuse to be one of those bloggers who has word verification on their blog (please remove this if you have it!), the only option was the remove the option for anonymous comments.  And, like I suspected, I haven't gotten a single spam comment since!  Praise the Blogger Lord!

So, if you have something douch-y to say about me or this blog, you're just going to have to stand behind it!  (Or make a fake account...always a mature option.)  Truth is, I'd respect you a lot more if you disagree with me and own it than hiding behind an anonymous comment!

Stress Casey out.

The Nail Files

Remember a few weeks ago, when I was lookin' for a good summer neon color?

Well a girl can always depend on Twin Beauty School, because just a day later girlfriend brought me not one, but three China Glaze neons to try out!

The first one I rocked?

This color was fun, and fabulous and super easy to apply.

I got quite a few compliments on my "highlighter nails" from patients and parents alike over the week.

Stay tuned for more summer neons, c/o the fantastic Twin Beauty School!

Lots of Link Love

 

Like Tara, I think it's important to emphasize the importance of community in the blog world and not only focusing on ourselves and our own blogs, but to spread lots of blog love to those who deserve it.  Every other Thursday, I will highlight the posts over the last two weeks that touched me, made me laugh, pulled at my heartstrings, and inspired me. 

What a great couple weeks in blogland - LOTS of link love for lots of ladies today!

• Meg shared about a "birth defect" her baby girl has, and pondered how we are all a little unfinished.

• Beth stood up as Pro-Mike, Magic Mike the movie that is, and said that women are oogled all the time - why can't it be the other way around for a change?

• Jade got totally real and opened up about being regretful for choices she's made in the past, including one she's still feeling the repercussions of.

• Kim is afraid of an inanimate object, the very widely feared bikini.

• Kathy had me and my husband cracking up when she shared videos from "The Ramsey Brothers".

• Molly shared a list of fantastic Pinterest users with drool-worthy boards in food, fashion and home decor!

• Neely talked about not wanting children, and what selfish really means.

• Ashleigh gave us a Vegas-native's perspective and a list of things to do at Vegas pools.

• Leah wrote the sweeted post about her soon-to-be-born daughter and how she wants to be just like her mom.

• Kristen asked questions about the recent Colorado shooting that many of us are thinking, with the main one being: why?

The Hunt to Homeownership: A Non-Update Update

It's been a while since I've written about our hunt, and that has been for a few reasons:

1. All I had to say were complaints, and who wants to be the Debbie Downer of the blog world?

2. We almost went into escrow about three times, and I didn't want to share everything and then have it come crashing down around me which it did.

and

3. I was honestly sick of even talking about the whole situation, as I'm pretty sure everyone around me was also.

But, in the sake of commemoration, I thought I would check in with a non-update update.

Since our last update, my life has been one big emotinal roller coaster.

{Source}

To make a long story short, I've chosen to include a visual aide:



Yes, we went on this super fun emotional ride a couple times and where are we now?

We've clicked ourselves right up to a peak again,

hopefully by the next time you hear from me regarding this little disaster,

we've gotten off the ride and started our real lives.

Or we get the thrill of another drop.

Quotable Tuesdays

Disneyworld Recap: Day 3

You've heard about travel day, day 1, and day 2 of our Disneyworld Trip.  Today?  Day 3 at Hollywood Studios and a special dinner with the Disney Princesses!

Day 3: Disney's Hollywood Studios

and dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table

Day three called for an even later wake-up call, due to the serious lack of sleep and crazy amount of walking we had already committed on days 1 and 2.  After a little bit of sleeping in, we were off and made it to Hollywood Studios by around 10am.

First order of business?  Fast pass for the roller coaster (for everyone except Sis Swimmer, girl does not do upside-down rides) and then hop in line for the original Tower of Terror!  (There is a Tower of Terror ride at California Adventure, part of Disneyland in California but the original in Florida is so. much. better.)

While in Hollywood Studios, we watched two short musicals based on Disney movies: The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast.  The Little Mermaid one was so neat - it even rained into the audience for part of it.  The Beauty and the Beast one, however?  In an outdoor arena - whoever thought that was a good idea for Florida is a genius.

After getting our culture on with the musicals, we hit the Star Tours ride, which by the way was way cooler than I remembered it being!

Before heading out from Hollywood Studios, we attended The Americal Idol Experience, which I highly recommend for anyone going to Disneyworld/Hollywood Studios!  It was very fun, and a great break to be inside with AC for an hour or so midday.

After we got our fill at H.Studios, we were off to the hotel for another necessary nap before we were back to The Magic Kingdom for dinner.

Post nap, on one of many waits for a bus ride to The Magic Kingdom

We headed to The Magic Kingdom, abuzz with excitment for our big dinner!  Sister Singer had insisted that we have one nice dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table, and Night 3 was the night!

While we waited for our reservation time, we checked out scenes around the castle.

The clock struck 9:15 (late dinner, I know!) and it was time for us to enter the castle for dinner!  Before getting escorted to our table, we got to meet Cinderella herself, it is her royal table afterall.

If it looks like we are hot, sweaty and tired - it's because we were!

After our lil meet and greet we headed up to the dining room, where we all had fantastic dinners and desserts and met up with some other Disney princesses!

Even Handsome Husband got in on the fun with some ging-on-ging photo action:

After dinner we continued the fun by going on Big Thunder (a favorite of Sister Swimmers), Space Mountain again, and watching Disney's Electrical Parade.  This night was very fun, because we got to stay late in the park due to "Extra Magic Hours" - hours the park stays open only for guests of the Disney resorts.

Sisters Swimmer and Singer on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Scenes from the parade

With our feet yelling us to stop walking around, we left The Magic Kingdom for the second to last time.  Back to the hotel we went, with dreams of Epcot in our heads.

Next?

Our last day in Disneyworld spent in Epcot and The Magic Kingdom, and our travel home

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If You Really Knew Me...

This has been all over the blog world, so I have no idea who to credit with the original idea, but I loved it, so I'm blatantly stealing.  (To get to know me even more, you can check out The 411 from earlier this week.)

If you really knew me...

• You'd know that I have a nasty little temper, but that I've calmed down a lot in the past few years.


• You'd know that I never take shots, unless I am really drunk or they are very sweet.


• You'd know I am terrified of being unable to have a child, to the point where I've cried about it before (keep in mind, I have never in my life tried to get pregnant).


• You'd know that I didn't always want to be a nurse, and changed my career path after one scary night at a party.


• You'd know that I am an extremely weird eater - I don't like crusts, crunchy foods, and can't eat my foods if they are touching one another.


• You would know I am loyal to a fault, and will always miss people who leave my life.


• You'd know I laugh a lot, especially at my husband.


• You'd know I have an unhealthy obsession with Big Brother, and managed to suck the majority of my family into the show due to it.


• You would know that I love the plan things in advance, and have anxiety over last-minute events.


• You'd know I would eat sushi every day for the rest of my life if I wouldn't go broke doing so.


• You would know that I hold a grudge, but not forever, and will always welcome people back into my life.


• You'd know I have a sense of humor that can sting if you take me seriously, and a mouth that probably needs a censor.


• You'd know I will not spend more than $30 on a top for myself, but $200 on a birthday present for someone else.


• You'd know that I don't shower or wash my hair nearly as often as the average gal, but I promise I don't smell!


• You would know I had a mild obsession with pigs when I was a pre-teen, and even gave up eating pork for a few years because of it.


• You'd know that everytime I get the slightest bit of constructive criticism at work, I want to curl up and cry - but usually manage to hold it together.

What would I know about you, if I really knew you?

Things Thursday: Things Not to Say to People Trying to Buy a Home

1. "What's taking so long?" I honestly couldn't tell you, you'd think snails are running the banks at the pace they move.

2. "Isn't it funny how they call it a short sale, but it takes so long?" Freaking hysterical.

3. "You're so lucky - it's such a great time to buy!" Totally!  Prices are going up, and inventory is at an all-time low - it's like we hit the jackpot!

4. "You'll hear any day now." Right, that's what I thought two months ago.

5. "You've waited this long - what's a few more days/weeks/months?" You're right, why not just push this whole thing into 2013 and then call it a day?

6. "But it's so exciting!" No, it was exciting before I caught the Home Buying Blues, became jaded, and stopped trusting any and all people associated with Real Estate. 

7. "You're so young to be buying a home - you should be proud of yourselves." I will be, once we actually do it.  For now, we're just young to be looking at homes, and old to be living with my parents.

8. "How can you guys even afford to buy a house?" Well, we practiced this little thing called sacrifice over the past year and a half - we sacrificed going fun places, doing fun things, money, and privacy all to better our future.

9. "So, what's new with the condo?" Nothing.  I promise, when we have news, we will shout it from the rooftops.

10. "Everything happens for a reason - you'll end up in the right place for you." This?  I cannot argue with.  We will end up in the right place for us.

Disclaimer: All of these are meant in good fun.  We appreciate anyone invested enough in our life to even care about what's going on with our homebuying process!

Disneyworld Recap: Day 2

Last time, I told y'all about our hellish travel day, and Day 1 at The Magic Kingdom!

Today? Day 2!

Day 2: The Animal Kingdom

and Dinner at Epcot

Day 2 started our with a slightly later wake-up call, as we headed to The Animal Kingdom around 9am.  This is when we realized the bus transportation would not always be as simple as it was the first day, but it wasn't too horrific.  The rainy weather had also completely cleared by Day 2, leaving behind some extra humidity (or maybe that's just Florida) for us to enjoy while waltzing around The AK (Animal Kingdom, duh).

L-R: Sister Swimmer, Sister Singer, Me and Handsome Husband - in front of the "Tree of Life" at Disney's Animal Kingdom

The Animal Kingdom had lots of things to look at, but we were pretty efficient with our time.  We hit the popular rollercoaster, Expedition Everest (shown in the collage above, with people stuck on it ...thank God that didn't happen to us), and we couldn't miss the opportunity to check out the Safari with real live animals!

Not even kidding you, no zoom on that photo of the giraffe - so cool to be so close to the animals!

While at The Animal Kingdom, we checked out a fabulous musical based off the the movie, The Lion King.  Either I have gotten overly emotional in my elderly age, or this musical was amazing (most likely both) because I felt tears coming on, especially when they started singing The Circle of Life.  (This could also be due to the fact that I had a mild obsession with The Lion King when it first came out.  [I also had an obsession with bike shorts, and had a propencity to wear only Lion King t-shirts with brightly-colored bike shorts.  I.  Was.  Cool.]) 

After a quick ride on the rapids ride (you know the one, you get soaked and half your shit stuff [can't get all curse-y on a DWorld post] gets ruined in the process), and a looksie through the souvenier shops, we were done at The Animal Kingdom for the day.

We waited a while in our soaked clothes (post Rapids ride) for a bus, and headed back to our resort.  We had grand plans for a dip in the pool, but our exhaustion won, and we took some mid-day naps instead.

After our re-charge, we headed to Epcot for the first time on our trip, as we had reservations in the Japan Pavillion for a Teppan dinner!  In other exciting news, I wore hot pink pants!

Excited for Epcot, and for hot pink pants.

Do not be fooled by the artsy angle on this photo, it was taken by none other than yours truly.

Before doing some "sightseeing" in the World Showcase, we headed to the Finding Nemo ride, which was cool in and of itself, but what made it super cool was the aquarium you got to check out post-ride, which hidden Mickeys, people scuba diving right in front of you, and prime make-out spots (even Disney loves a good smooch).

After suffienctly getting our fill our fishes and kisses, we were off the World Showcase to, well, see the world. 

If you're never been to Epcot, you are missing out on a super cool place!  The World Showcase is an area of Epcot that contains "pavillions" representing the following 11 countries: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, Morocco, France, UK, and Canada.  It is incredible, and each pavillion is modeled entirely after it's representative country.  The architecture, souveniers, food and employees are truly indicative of that specific country - that's right, the employees that work in each pavillion are from that respective country!  It was super fun to walk through the countries and hear the native languages being spoken between employees.

The UK Pavillion at Epcot

The France Pavillion at Epcot, and my budding artist Husband

The Japan Pavillion at Epcot

A look inside Teppan Edo, the restaurant we ate at.

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After our fabulous dinner, we did some more walking around Epcot, although the Pavillions were closed.  We knew we were coming back later in our trip, so we headed back to the Hotel Room to end Day 2 of our Disneyworld vacay.

The Epcot "golf ball" from across The World Showcase at night.

Next? Day 3 at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and a fancy dinner with the Disney Princesses!