Because ‘80’s Dan Aykroyd is Love.

Oh, Danny. My hero, always & forever.

The Vacation Rundown.

We love Canada.  We love it.  I would live there.  That, essentially, sums up the awesome that was our vacation.  We spent almost as much time in transit as we did vacationing, but I supposed that’s okay.  We got to see a lot.

Our first stop was Montreal, where we did a significant amount of shopping.  THERE WAS A TRI-LEVEL GAP STORE.  THAT WAS SELLING BRAS FOR $8 EACH.  That alone was worth the whole vacation.  I was in heaven.  We went into three different Roots stores about five times over the course of the vacation just because I knew I needed some Roots-y goodness, I just couldn’t throw down $70 on a hoodie.  I relented when the price fell to $45.  Still a little guilty about it, though.  Anyway, this is us on Mont Royal:

After a few days in Montreal, we headed to Quebec City.  Quebec City was beautiful.  It was a big city that has small town charm.  There is a large section of QC “inside the wall,” a former military fort.  Everything in that area has a lovely old European feel to it.  The food was pretty good and Matt got his second taste of his new favorite desert, sugar pie.  On our walk around town, I took this picture especially for Annie:

Because you should not use Comic Sans if you expect anyone to take you seriously.

We had planned on two full days in QC before heading to Boston to see Evan, but the nor’easter had other plans.  So, we left Quebec City after a day around 1630 (when it was pitch black) and got to Evan’s place about 0100.  And then Evan passed out the Zimas we really started having fun.  Oh, Evan.

If you don’t remember Evan, he was practically Matt’s live-in boyfriend during the World Cup last summer.  He’s also pretty lucky because there are two, maybe three of Matt’s friends that I like enough that I would interrupt our vacation to spend a few days with.

Since most of Boston was snowed in that first day, we pretty much had the city to ourselves.  We tromped around in the snow, learning Boston facts and trying not to lose feeling in our extremities.  After a lovely progressive dinner of clam chowder (omg, the waiter said “chow-dah”) and oysters (and a shrimp burger for me), we tra-la-la’d off to TD Garden to watch the Celtics beat the Kings.  I think it was the Kings.  Is there a Kings in the NBA?

Our second day in Boston was awesome because Evan gave us a sweet tour of his alma mater, Harvard University.  He even kindly endured my questions, such as “So, did they sort you into houses (dorms) by random, or did they have a sorting hat?” and “Would Professor Snape put a spell on you if you didn’t finish your homework?”  But seriously, look at these pictures – Harvard is the closest thing the U.S. has to Hogwarts.

Finally, we returned to Montreal for some hardcore shopping and the Biodome.  All in all, a spectacular vacation.  Matt says his favorite thus far, although my vote still falls with Buenos Aires.

Quickly.

Canada is my new favorite place.

This is Matt's new favorite song.


And some GSP eye candy (ins a Habs jersey, no less) just because I didn't see him, only his hometown.  Oh well.

Pre-Birthday Ball Pictures.

The shoes add quite a bit of glamour, right?

Just another day.

U is for UFOs and whatnot.

I love UFOs and conspiracy theories.  One of my favorite books is UFOs, JFK and Elvis by Richard Belzer.  It's so silly, but I'm sure the government is out there controlling exactly what we see and what we don't see and all that.  I'm fascinated by it all.  I loved The Lone Gunmen and taped every episode.  I am also fully aware that this brings me dangerously close to the world of the Super-Nerd.  Dangerously close.

But, of course, that has never stopped me.  Which brings me to a website I found probably ten years ago, way back when I was in high school (sick - I can't believe it's been that long).  Please enjoy - I really think Metric Time could catch on.

I support the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus.

Vacation Part 3: Florida

I am working my way through vacation, but we still have at least two more chapters.  Please bear with me.

Let me start off by saying the weather in Tampa was so much more pleasant than I was expecting.  We got to spend lots of time at the pool without feeling all sweaty by the time we got back home. 

One of the first things I did when I got home was to go to the ladies meeting at church with my mom.  I go with my mom to the ladies meetings every time I'm home and it's like going to visit with 10 awesome grandmas.  I got so many hugs.  You have no idea.  It was awesome.

On Friday, Matt and I took Mom on a road trip to Gainesville to check out the University of Florida.  It was nice to just walk around campus with Mom while Matt did his research.

We went to our second baseball game in a week at Tropicana Park.  We picked blueberries and we go to see my grandparents.  We spent lots of time at the pool.  It was wonderful and relaxing to just be with my family.  I can't wait to get back :)

You Have Got to Be Kidding Me.

Well, it is the best film ever made.

Vacation, Part 2: Arizona.

Returning to Arizona always brings me a feeling that I never really thought would be possible. It brings me a feeling of coming Home. I always feel like I'm telling a bit of a fib when people ask where I'm from and I say "Arizona," but I suppose that's a story for another time.

We spent about a week in Tucson - hitting up The Gap (I went at least twice and touched absolutely everything in the store), relaxing at home, seeing old friends and making new ones. Mom and Dad-in-law took us to Tubac, AZ one morning for some Arizona centric shopping. It was like the Sedona area without the red rocks and the vortex-kitsch. It made me wish I had more spending money and more luggage space. And more spending money.

We spent Mother's Day in Phoenix doing something all mothers would love - going to a Diamondbacks game. Matt scored a sweet "Los D-backs Beisbol" tee shirt to support our Mexican brothers. Or maybe just to piss people off.

From there, Matt and I drove up to Flagstaff, probably my most favorite place ever. After a morning of Brandy's amazing Eggs Benedict, we decided to if anyone remembered us at church. We were excitedly welcomed home by Pastor Paul and made plans to meet for breakfast the next morning to catch up. I love our church family.

Crystal met us for dinner at Fratelli Pizza (a.k.a. the best pizza in the world, ever) and we spent the night at a casa grande she scored for the night. Hot tubbed it up in the cool, dark Flagstaff night. Amazing. Perfect. Best ever. (E-mail me those pictures, pls, Crystal? You know the ones I'm talking about... :D)

We bummed around the hometown for a while that day then early the next a.m., we hit the road to catch our flight to Tampa.

DiaBirthday #6.

Every year, I try to celebrate the anniversary of my diagnosis in a special way. Diabetes themed parties in college, theme park visits, special dinners, etc. This year, with all of the excitement of my impending reunion, I completely forgot about my Diabetes Day until about 6 days before... I didn't make any plans and pretty much expected it to pass without much notice.

Enter the best co-workers in the world. I mentioned my special day to The Best Co-Worker Ever this morning as I was reading the e-mail Mom sent me about it. When she returned from lunch (after a few strange calls for our other co), she carried cupcakes and a bag full of Twizzlers, Good & Plenty's (the Official Candy of DiaBirthdays), other candies and a box of Truvia - quite possibly my new favorite sweetener. They both wrote wonderful things (I'm assuming, half was written in Japanese) in a fantastic card addressed to Adrenaline Andrea.

The first few years, I celebrated my DiaBirthday so that I had something to look forward to, so I didn't spend the day crying and lamenting my bad pancreas. Now it is a reason to be silly and over indulge and maybe even to remind people that I'm a little different, but that's okay. I'm still really cool.

Buenos Aires.

And now the post you've all been waiting for - Mid-Deployment Leave! WHAT UP! (Yeah, I've been watching too much How I Met Your Mother. I love you, Barney Stinson).

Well, this vacation started out in the worst possible way: with an e-mail from Orbitz telling me that the longest flight of my incredibly long trip was canceled. After over an hour on the phone and many tearful explanations, I was rerouted and an extra connecting flight was thrown in there. I ended up getting there closer to when Matt got there than had been planned. Be still and know.

We spent our first week in the Recoleta area of BsAs at the Park Plaza Unique Hotel. We ate steak. Lots of steak. On one of our first days we took a short bus tour that gave us ideas for the sight seeing we did. We went to the Museo de Belles Artes, featuring both international artists and Argentine artists. We spent some time at the Recoleta Cemetery, where Eva Peron is buried. We spent a heck of a lot of time talking about food and looking for places to eat and eating. On Saturday we went to the art fair and bought our first piece of artwork from Don Roberto Solima.


[Click here for more pictures that I am too lazy to re-upload]

Our second week we stayed at a fantastic Bed & Breakfast in another part of Buenos Aires (I don't remember which part because I have been home for so long - I know I should have made this post right she I got home). We spent a lot of time watching movies (Sherlock Holmes, Valentines Day and Avatar) and a lot of time window shopping and probably should have spent more time sight seeing. We're such home bodies, even on vacation we just want to chillax and not do anything.

We had an amazing time; it was so great to be together again. Knowing he'll be home soon was a good feeling too. Keep his group in your prayers big time and I'll let you know when he's home safely.

So, listen up, all right?

Here's whats going down:

I love my job. More accurately: I love the people I work with now. Wow. My co-clerk says at least once a week how happy she is that I'm there. She tells me she can't understand why anyone (old bosses!) would dislike me or be mean to me. On Thursday she said "You're so weird!" And I love it. Like the Backstreet Boys, I'm back. Back again. Or wait... maybe that was Eminem? Whatevs.

It is currently Friday night. On Sunday morning, I am making that drive (actually, co-clerk is doing the driving!) down to the airport in Naha. The plane is flying to Tokyo then to D.C. and then to the final destination of... BUENOS AIRES! EEEEEEE!!!! I bought a iPod plug in thingie and a new iPod cover for the Baronness. She is pleased. I am pleased. We are all pleased.

Oh right, and I am going to see my husband after X months apart, we will finally be together again. And we will be buying lots and lots of leather and beef. Woot!

Also, please watch Inglourious Basterds, because it rocks. And the Olympics - starting February 12th in Vancouver. That is all. Will post pictures in three weeks.

Relocation.

I have a new job. Well, really, it's the old job, just at a new location. A new, happier, less stressful location. Cheers!

Vacation!

Wow. Vacation is awesome. Matt and I just got back got back a week or so ago from a lovely week in Phuket, Thailand.

We left super early Saturday morning and arrive at the Okinawa Airport before it even opened. That's so Okinawa. Seriously, what other international airport doesn't open its doors until 6 am? We flew from our home-island to mainland ("Fantatic Fukuoka") to Bangkok to Phuket. Tiny layovers, just enough time to grab our bags and find our seats (when we knew we needed to grab our bags - they almost stayed in Fukuoka... oops!).

When we got to Phuket, we hired a cab to take us to our hotel... Oh.my.goodness. Driving in Phuket is NOT like driving in Okinawa. Drivers go twice as fast. Every other vehicle was a motorcycle. And pick up trucks! I hadn't realized that there really aren't any in Oki until I saw so many of them in Phuket. We also saw a bevy of 7-11's and quite a few Family Marts. I love you, Family Mart!

We stayed at Amari Coral Beach Resort, just south of the Patong Beach city limits. The view from our room was spectacular and the resort was just a short walk to the shopping and eating available in Patong. The room was small, but had a nice little balcony that we spent a lot of time on. Here is our breath-taking view:


We used a lot of our time to just relax and enjoy our time together. We did a ton of shopping (although a minimal amount of buying). We ate such amazing food I can hardly believe it. One night we took cooking lessons at the hotel - invite me over and I'll make you some Pad Thai or Red Chicken Curry. We even ate at Molly Malone's Irish Pub TWICE. After my amazing pastie the first time, Matt had to go again to have his own pastie. He gets food envy pretty easily.

Thai people are very good at sales. Or at least wearing you down so you eventually buy something. As we walked through Patong, we were be inundated with calls for "Taxi? Taxi?" "Tuk-Tuk?" "DVDs?" Several reached out to shake Matt's hand which is just shady. There were tons and tons of illegal/bootleg/knock-off products. Shoes, clothes, CDs, and a shocking amount of faux-Tiffany's jewelry. I'll admit, I was tempted. But my annoyance at the Thai sales tactics overshadowed my need for some Tiffany's Wannabes. Most places I didn't even want to look.

We visited a store that called itself "The World's Biggest Jewelry Store." The Thai selling technique was in full effect here and I just felt uncomfortable the whole time. I knew we wouldn't be buying anything too expensive and I didn't want to waste the lady's time. I got a small sapphire ring after being forced to try on most of the jewelry in the sterling silver collection. It is quite lovely and I am sure I will get a lot of use out of it.

I did a lot of poolside reading while Matt spent hours swimming to his hearts content. I read Freakonomics and got a start on The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Matt read one of Gladwell's other book, Outliers, between the hotel and Japan Immigration. He really enjoyed it. We actually bought a lot of books and I snagged a copy of The Prisoner of Azkaban - WITH THE BRITISH COVER! Yeah, I rock.

We also spent a lot of time in the hotel lobby, looking out over the ocean drinking fruity drinks. Every morning we ate the continental breakfast that was AMAZING. Great foods from all over the world... We gorged ourselves there daily.

What else, what else? I can't think of anything... I'll answer and questions I can... Maybe I'll post more later... I have been a terrible blogger lately. Anyway, I will leave you with this:

Things I've Been Reading Lately.

A Year in the Book of Psalms.
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynn Truss.
Mental_floss magazine.
The Happiness Project.
The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson.
Freakonomics by Stephen Dubner and Stephen Levitt.

Um... yes, please!

Yes, yes.

I'm Amazing, I Know.

Guess who's getting a Kindle for Christmas (or possibly early birthday/Christmas so she can have for the plane ride back to the States)?

That'd be me.

A is for About Andrea.

So this little idea piece is stolen quite shamelessly from Hootenannie, Annie Parsons, probably my most favorite blog to read, ever, ever, ever. I think the reason I don't blog as much as I should (or as much as people want for me to blog) is because I don't have the parameters I need. So from here on out, every Wednesday I will post an entry inspired by the next letter of the alphabet. It gives me the direction I crave and the time table I need.

What can I say ABOUT ANDREA?

I have always considered myself to be ARTISTIC, and I thrive on creative endeavors. I never really know what to say around people and even when I think through what I am talking about I still come off incredibly AWKWARD. Although I've always considered myself quite AFFABLE, it seems as though a lot of times my quiet demeanor causes people to think I am cold or stuck up. I promise I'm not! An ATTENTION to detail is something that I pride myself on, be it with my friends and family, my job or just in every day trivial life. It's also the reason why I kick butt at Cash Cab. And I would be remiss to forget the one word I use to describe myself most often: AWESOME. I think that says it all.