Back to the grind....

Sheesh, it's been too long since I've written a new post about what's been going on lately!! I have a lot to catch up on, so this will probably be a long one! :)

In the last couple of weeks Adam and I had been getting ready to our trip to Largo and Orlando, so we've been really busy, and I haven't had a lot of time to do much else than pack and get ready to leave. We left Tuesday morning (1/25) and got back late Saturday (1/29) night, and we're still trying to recover from our "vacation". Why is it that after vacations, I always feel like I need another one just to recover before heading back to work and our normal lives. I still feel unfocused and not back to "normal" yet. It's so nice to go on vacation and forget about all the little daily things for awhile! :)

I was in a cleaning frenzy the day/night before we left, and thankfully I got a lot done. We went to bed at about 12:30am, and woke up at 5:30am, so we didn't get much sleep the night before we left but at least we came home to a clean house. I can't stand leaving a mess at home, and having it there when I get back! I think about it all during vacation, so I knew I wanted the house in order before we left.

Thankfully, my mom takes care of our cats while we are gone, so we don't have to board them or have anyone else watch them. Truthfully, they are so sneaky, I don't really trust anyone else to take care of them. Pixee of course got out twice, but I know I can rely on my mom to run after her and catch her. haha :) At least she didn't go up a tree this time, which she has done to me once in the past. There was only one fiasco while we were gone. Mom got there to check in on them, and they had knocked our very heavy bar stools over once again. I'm sure they were fighting, and they do this often. I'm surprised I haven't found one of them squished yet. haha :)

We of course left later than we wanted to. We rented a smaller SUV that last time (an eqiunox instead of a suburban), so we had to stop by Target on our way out to grab a smaller cooler, since our big one took up most of the back. (Adam and I have been shopping around for an SUV for me, and this trip made my decision that I want something Tahoe sized or larger, because those smaller SUVs aren't much bigger than my mustang, and I need lots more room that that.) :)

On our way down, we drove through lovely weather that included severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado warnings, and flooding to name a few. :) ha We finally made it to Largo (after going through Tampa rush hour traffic UGH) and got checked into our hotel. And thankfully Adam's parent's came and picked us up at the hotel so we could go to dinner! We were both hungry and tired, so it was nice not to have to drive anymore. :) (And the hotel had fresh chocolate chip cookies in the lobby, YUM!!) The place we went to eat is called the Farmer's Kitchen, which is a ratty little place but has the yummiest food. Adam's Pa Pa liked to eat there, so it's a tradition to eat there when we are in Largo. :) I love family traditions, so I was excited to try it out! After dinner Adam and I crashed at the hotel. And of course, after crawling into bed, turning out the lights, and laying there for a good 20 minutes, I suddenly realize my computer is in the car. So I tromp down to the car in my pjs, in the rain, and grab my computer. :)

Wednesday morning we got up and headed to Adam's Grandma's house to get started going through stuff and cleaning. His Grandma was a collector of many things, and she had some really cool things in the house, including a taser. haha :) I got lots of sewing notions, a sewing machine (YES!) :), a cute coat of hers, and lots of other stuff. His parents brought back a little chest and a chair for me too. Can't wait to stop by and pick those up! There is still lots more to go through, so I'm sure there's most treasures to find. :) And I of course took no pictures of the house, ugh. Her neighborhood is so cute, and there is a beautiful little inlet behind her house with ducks, fish, and some kind of big white stork looking birds. I can't remember their name. :)

That afternoon we went to Taylor Lake (about 2 minutes away from Adam's Grandma's house), which has a park around it. We walked around the whole lake hunting for alligators, but of course didn't find any. :( We're going back when it's warmer, so maybe I'll see one then!! I of course played in the 5-12 year old playground. haha :) Here's a pic of the lake and then me on the purple dinosaur. lol

Taylor Lake :)

Me in motion! haha :) It was so freakin' cold!!

After that, it was back to the house to do some more work, then we went to Bonefish for dinner that night. I'm so excited that Largo has a Bonefish now. I love that bang bang shrimp! YUM! :)Now that I'm thinking about dinner, there was a really cool yarn/quilt store next door that I completely forgot to go into. And Adam didn't remind me about it either. Hmmm, I'm thinking he did that on purpose. haha Oh well, another excuse to go back down there! :)

The next morning we got ready (without my face scrubby that the maid threw away, UGH), checked out and headed across the street to the Largo Central Park where they have a Military Court of Honor. We found Adam's Pa Pa's stone, and of course took a picture of it, then we headed down the street a little ways to tiny Ulmer Park where they have a market every Thursday. I met the coolest lady who makes scarves/shawls out of tons of different yarns. I LOVED her! :) However, I didn't take any pictures. :( I know, sad right? I'm hoping she'll be there when we go back though.

After that, we made a quick pitstop at Adam's grandma's house to pick out some more things to take with us, then we headed to Orlando!! Harry Potter here we come! :) haha Yeah, we were just there in September last year, but I couldn't pass up a chance to go back since we were so close again!! :) That night we went to Islands of Adventure (and rode Jurassic Park thinking we wouldn't get soaked since it was winter and COLD outside, um no, we got drenched lol), and had dinner at the Hard Rock. YU MMY fajitas and mac n cheese. I'm so glad we have a Hard Rock close to us in Destin so I can get those fajitas again soon! :)

Us at Hagrid's Hut :)

The next day we spent the whole day at Islands of Adventure again, and I of course took more pictures at Harry Potter. The whole time, Adam was like don't you have that picture already, your computer is going to choke thinking you're uploading duplicate pictures. haha :) I just can't help it, they did such a great job duplicating everything there. We ate at 3 Broomsticks, and it was YUM! And of course I got candy at Honeydukes (Adam got this YUMMY Chocolate Cauldron Cake), then some HP sleep pants, a Dobby pin (which is the only thing with Dobby on it that they sell), and a new Gryffindor lanyard at Filch's Emporium. We rode all the rides again and had a great day! :) That night I coerced Adam to go to H&M and Zara so I could shop, then we waited years to eat at Cheesecake Factory, but it was worth it since their food is so good. Basically we like to eat on vacation, I think. haha :) It's sad that Pensacola doesn't have as many good restaurants as all these places do.

Us at Sneech Beach :)

Adam's YUMMY Cauldron Cake. It's chocolate cupcake with chocolate mousse pudding inside, with chocolate icing and the little chocolate handle. YUM-O! :)

Saturday, we got up and headed to Universal Studios and spent most of the day there. We finally got the ride the newest roller coaster, Rip Ride Rocket, and it was SO FUN! :) I think it gave me whiplash, but that's the point right? If the lines hadn't been so long, we'd have ridden it again, but we had to leave around 4pm so we could get home at a decent hour! After heading out, we of course stopped at Bob Evans to eat (see, I told you, more food :)). And we stopped in Tallahassee to pick up California Chicken Grill to take home. hehe I love that place and have missed it every since I moved back home.

Us with a minion! They kept calling him Gary, but I'm not sure if that was his real name or his minion name! :) haha

We made it home around 10:30 that night, and crashed in bed! Sunday we did nothing. Well, we played Call of Duty on the PS3 and returned the rental car, but other than that, NOTHING. I think we were both trying to prepare ourselves for the work week ahead. I was so not ready to be back at work, but Adam likes to tell me that we go to work to pay for our vacations. :) I like to reply with, I think vacations should be free, but he just rolls his eyes at me.

So that pretty much brings us up to date. Mom and I need to start getting ready for Ladies' Night Out Event at a local antique place which is at the end of this month, so we're going to be busy, busy making scarves for that. My CD player is broken in my car, oh yay, so I've got to get it replaced a figure out how to get my CDs out of it. My ipod only works when it's plugged in, LOL, so I need to transfer all of my stuff to my new iphone 4 that Adam got me!! I was so excited to get a new phone before the trip. It came in really handy several times during the trip!! :) Now I just need to figure out how to blog from it!!

Next month is my 28th birthday. Woo hoo! LOL :) Time for me to get a new license too, since the photo on mine is from when I was 16. hehe :) That reminds me, I need to get my new car tags too. Lots of errands to do, see why I like vacation? Nothing to worry about, except what fun thing there is to do next. :)