I have gratitude today for...
* deciding to sleep in this morning instead of getting up extra early to go out to breakfast. We just had granola bars on the balcony before it was time to go to the lobby to wait for the jeep to pick us up. 
* finally doing a jeep tour of Aruba! I've wanted to do it since our honeymoon but we blew it off in 2011 and 2012. I found this great family owned company that does their own tours. They have good reviews and it sounded more personal than the big jeep tours that have 20 people each on them. Today ended up just being Andy & I. It was cool that it was just us. Gio did pick up a few of his friends after the natural pool who came along for the ride. They live in Aruba and had never seen some of the most popular tourist spots. It's funny how no matter where you live, you tend to skip over what your hometown/city has to offer. 
* our tour guide, driver and new friend Gio. At first I was a little disappointed it wasn't Maddie because she sounds like a blast. Gio ended up being awesome. He's her son and has been driving the jeeps since he was 14 (he's now 30.) That made me feel better when I was wondering if we'd be going down the side of the mountain and into the ocean, on our way to the natural pool! 
* our drive to the natural pool. All I can say is "holy shit!" Even driving on the normal streets was crazy- they drive so fast in Aruba. I don't get scared easily, but in my head I was freaking out a bit. You're in this jeep with no protection should an accident happen. It was definitely a fun adventure though. Once we paid to get inside the national park it was about a 20 min drive to the natural pool. Oh. My. God. It was so bumpy, rocky, hilly---I don't know how else to describe it. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. You could see the ocean and so many animals- goats, donkeys and I don't even know what else. After holding my breath a few times and praying to God we didn't tumble down the side of the mountain we arrived at the natural "pool" area. Gio dropped us off and we had about 45 minutes there to hang out and explore. At first we couldn't even find the "pool" because it looked nothing like it does in the pictures. It turns out the wind was so strong that the water was much more rough than normal. The pool really looked like it was just a part of the ocean. We finally figured out where it was after talking to a couple of other people who had arrived. We were told typically 30-40 people will be there and that it's a great snorkeling spot. I was disappointed we couldn't snorkel there but it didn't look safe. Huge waves were crashing over the rocks causing a strong current and surges. I did go in to say I went in. I was glad I had my water shoes! The water was beautiful and I could see how it was pool-like when the water is calmer as it usually is. I've wanted to see it for so long  was happy we finally went. Now we know we'd like to go back and hopefully next time we can snorkel. 
* going to the Three Bridges and to see the holes in the ground. We've been to the bridge on the other side before but not to this spot. It was absolutely gorgeous. We only stayed for a few minutes because we wanted to save time for snorkeling. We did have Gio take a few pictures. One was a redo of a favorite of mine from our first trip to Aruba in 2009. 
* finally...snorkeling! We went to a new spot (for us) called Mangel Halto Beach. We put on our snorkel gear (I forgot how hard it is to walk in flippers!) and went in. At first we didn't see much. It was very shallow and coral was everywhere. Sometimes it's hard to tell how shallow it is when you're floating on top of the water. I scraped my legs pretty bad but was determined to see fish. We almost gave up but decided to try one more spot. The water was very rough (just like it was at the natural pool.) Usually there is hardly any current--it's basically like swimming in a pool. Not today...we were warned by other people you needed to be a strong swimmer. I consider myself a strong swimmer, but this was tough water. We did finally find a lot of really great fish. All different species, colors, sizes, etc. I thought they were so cool I lost track of how far out I actually was. At one point I realized Andy was a lot closer to shore and I knew I had to start heading in. It. Was. Hard. It was very hard to swim to shore. I was trying but it felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. The current was strong and I was in water I couldn't stand in. My mask was leaking so I was trying to tread water and tighten it. I swallowed water a few times and realized I was starting to panic. We all know you can't panic in water. I tried to breathe and told myself to just take it slow, focus on breathing and start swimming. Obviously I eventually made it, but it was certainly a lesson for me. I've never really understood how people drown. You always hear the water doesn't have to be deep, that it comes down to people panicking, and so on. I believe all of that now. I am not saying I was any where near drowning, but I can relate now, to how it does happen to people when you wouldn't think it's possible. Even with the scare and my battle wound (a gash near my ankle that was bleeding everywhere when I got out of the water), this was my favorite part of the day. I just loved being with all of the fish, watching them swim around and eat and not even paying attention to these big blobs floating above them. 
* Gio taking us by the rock formations before heading back to the hotel. They are natural formations and they are the biggest rocks I've ever seen. They are beautiful (like everything in Aruba), and when you get to the top you have an incredible view of the area!
*getting a few cute picture's with the Madi's Magical Tour jeep, including one with Gio. He had me sign the jeep too, I chose to write on the front of the hood. Gave some love from Philly. 
* going to Bugalo and sharing the chicken satay platter since we didn't eat anything all day. Love the views from that pier!
* hanging at the pool for about an hour after Bugalo. They had a DJ playing and I laid down and closed my eyes for a while. 
* going to Amazonia for an early dinner. Their food is amazing. They had the best roasted peppers (red and yellow) I've ever had at the salad bar. We loved everything just like last time we went (during our honeymoon.) Our favorites were the house specialty top sirloin, the garlic filet mignon, the sausage and the grilled pineapples. We both ate way too much but knew we would. I wish I could have kept eating because they'll bring you endless amounts of food but I reached my limit pretty quickly and couldn't look at anymore food at that point. Like I've said over and over this past week, a detox is coming after the holidays. Juicing and healthy meals for a few weeks will be a must! We've definitely eaten well this vacation!
* going to bed early tonight. And I mean early. We got back to the hotel from dinner and walking around town for a bit around 8pm. Our plan was to rest for a bit, get through the food coma and then have drinks and go to the Hyatt casino. Nope...I watched Jeopardy and tried to feel less full and ended up falling asleep. I woke up around 1am and couldn't believe we wasted our whole night sleeping. Andy woke up too and was wide awake so he went to the casino at our hotel. He won $10, woohoo. It was a weird night because I got up in the middle of the night and finally changed out of my dress from dinner, brushed my teeth, etc. (around 3am.) We had a long day so I was ok with taking it easy for a night. This trip is going by so fast. I can't believe we only have 3 full days left!

I have gratitude today for...
* getting up early to get a palapa. I got one in the front row right on the water. Becky & Chris hung out with us until it was time for them to leave. 
* getting something different from Scott's Brats today. I went with the Italian Beef- it was very good!
* the move from the Hyatt to the Westin going smoothly. We packed up and got a cab because we have so much stuff. We basically have our own liquor store after everything that was given to us as people were leaving. 
* spending the rest of the day on the beach at the Hyatt relaxing. It was another gorgeous day. I took some time and walked around the stores this afternoon. I'm in love with a David Yurman ring at the Hyatt and I was trying to find a cheaper version.  No luck. I'm usually not a big jewelry person but there's something about this ring, I just love it. 
* having drinks on our balcony and then trying out the Italian restaurant in the Westin. Our balcony has the most gorgeous view! 
* walking down to the Hyatt to play roulette.  I've become quite the gambler here (j/k)! The table we like wasn't open so we tried the other one. I won the first spin but then gave it all back. Oh well. We had a good time watching other people play. We ended up hanging around for about 2 hours. 
* Andy winning $50 at our casino when we got back to the Westin. I went to bed but he went down to play for a bit and did ok. I'm glad he's having fun at the casinos while we're here. We never gamble and I know it's been fun for him.

I have gratitude today for...
* going to the lounge for breakfast this morning. It's been nice having the lounge to grab cereal in the morning as well as drinks for the day. 
* spending the morning on the beach with everyone. It was sad when everyone had to get ready to leave,  especially Grandma. 
* Scott's Brats for lunch...yes, again.
* the tasty Bloody Mary Bobby bought me this morning. 
* going down the slide and in the hot tub with Andy, Chris & Becky.  We had poolside drinks in the late afternoon until it was time to get ready for dinner.
* dinner at Scala. The broccoli cheese soup was as good as I remember it! Andy had the chicken picata which we didn't love as much as last time. I do love how it's in the 2nd floor and overlooks the street.
* drinking the bottle of champagne that was delivered to us on the first day in the lobby. It's so beautiful there with everything being open air. We listened to the guys playing music in the upstairs bar and waited for everyone to get back from dinner. 
* hanging out in the lobby for a bit with everyone and then hitting the roulette table with Chris & Becky. I did well but Andy didn't so all in all we left up $30 for the night. It was fun to play though!

I have gratitude today for...
* having breakfast with A. Kathy & Grandma at The Palms. A. Colleen & U. John joined us towards the end. It was nice to have a real breakfast and fun seeing everyone from the wedding at the restaurant. 
* meeting up with A. Colleen & U. John at Carlito's Sports Bar while they ate their pizza.
* spending most of the day at Althea & Lori's palapa. Grandma came to the beach all day with us and even went in the ocean on a raft. I hope I have her zest for life when I'm 83! Love her! We listened to stories and had vodka & tonics with the fruit punch vodka she bought at the airport while the guys watched football at the bar.
* meeting up with the guys to watch the second half of the Eagles game. Both the Giants and Eagles played like crap but we still had a good time. I had a couple tasty margaritas and wings. Serious detox coming after the holidays.
* meeting up with Chris & Becky and Jim & Mike at Bugalo for Happy Hour. We had the perfect spot in the corner with a view of the water from every seat. I had the chicken satay for dinner. I forgot how good it is there. Later A. Kathy, U. Tony, A. Colleen, U. John, Bobby,  Carol, Althea, Lori and Grandma met us there. We had so much fun listening to the band from Friday night. You could tell everyone was a little less energetic from the last several nights but we still had a blast. We even got up and danced a few times. Aunt Kathy wore the "energy belt" to help her make it through the night. Too funny!
* the buckets of beer Grandma bought us for the night I've dubbed "last night fun".
* goings back to Sopranos one last time with everyone. Uncle Tony's favorite spot!
* meeting up with Lindsay and some of her friends before going to bed for a slice of pizza at the outside bar.

I have gratitude today for...
* Andy getting up super early (around 4:30am) to get in line for the palapas. It paid off and he got the one right next to the Boytano's.
* another great day on the beach with the same crew. 
* walking around town at lunchtime. We were trying to find somewhere different to eat but there was hardly anything open. We ended up at Scott's Brats, again...I'm going to need to eat a veggie diet for a while after the holidays.
* Facetiming Mom & Dad on the beach. It was pretty cool being able to call them from the beach in Aruba! Everyone got to say hi.
* Brian & Mary's gorgeous beach wedding ceremony. Everyone looked amazing. Her nephew Tommy was the star of the show. He was adorable walking down the aisle in his little suit. 
* a great time at the cocktail hour and reception. Everything was so beautiful. Christopher's and both of Mary's sister's speeches were fantastic. The food was excellent and so were the DJ's. It was one of the most fun weddings we've been to.
* Brian deciding to extend the party and getting the Hyatt to open up one of the ballrooms. The DJs set up and we had another hour of drinks and dancing. So much fun!!
* going to the casino for a little while, and then leaving. I was not doing well watching Andy playing. I hate to see money being lost and I knew it wasn't fun for him having me sit there. So around 1am I decided to go to bed. After a long night of dancing and drinking I was tired. Around 3:30am Andy came up, turned on the lights, and threw money on the bed, saying "I won $700!". It was pretty awesome. I'm glad I decided to leave him alone and have fun with the guys in the casino. :-)

I have gratitude today for...
* sleeping in this morning- we didn't get up until 10:15!
* Scott's Brats for an easy lunch.
* the Boytano's sharing their palapa with us. We spent the day on the beach with Althea, Lori, A. Kathy, A. Colleen, U. John and U. Tony. It was a beautiful day as always. We had a great time talking, laughing and floating in the water. Bobby had a mini bar set up and we had drinks on the beach. 
* going to the restaurant on Pelican Pier for a snack and drink with Jimmy and Mike. Andy & I shared the wings, they were very good. 
* an awesome time on the Kukoo Kunuku. It picked us up from the hotel and drove around for about 15 minutes before dropping us off at Bugalo.
* Brian and Mary's party at Bugalo tonight. It was so beautiful and lots of fun. They brought out food and drinks the whole time. There was a great band playing and all 80+ of us were dancing and singing on the dance floor. It felt like a wedding before the wedding. Most people left when the party officially ended around 8. A. Kathy, U. Tony, Althea & I stayed until closer to 10.
* hanging at the bad after we got back to the Hyatt. While I was doing that Andy won $100 in the casino playing roulette, woohoo.

Where I am Right Now...(2/21)

I sent out the email below to some of my girlfriends last week. I was trying to alleviate some of the guilt I have been feeling by not being in touch. I think I was also trying to teach myself everyone is the same boat. It wasn't that I thought people wouldn't understand, but I still wanted them to know where I've been and what the last few months have been like for me.

I'm posting it here too---so I can remind myself of how I was feeling during this time, and that it's ok to not be everything to everyone when you simply can't be, whatever the reason.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hate sending out mass emails, I really do. But, I've been wanting to
send a message like this for quite some time and this was the easiest
way to tell each of you the same thing at the same time.

Some of you know back in August I was presented with a difficult work
situation---they were basically telling me I was going to lose my job
or I had to commit to moving to Chicago this spring. Andy & I
discussed the options and decided we would agree to relocating within
6-9 months. In the meantime, I took over our Mid-America territory
(covering IL, WI, MN, NE, IA, CO, TX, ND, SD, OK, MO & KS---yes,
INSANE)

Since then, I have been traveling non-stop. Thank God we were able to
fit in a great Aruba vacation in November and a trip to FL in January.
Without those trips I think I'd officially be going crazy. Aside from
being home for a few weeks in December around the holidays, I've only
spent a few days here and there at home. I try to laugh and say I have
a beautiful storage unit---because that's more or less what my house
feels like these days.

Currently I'm at a crossroads. In the beginning I thought moving to
Chicago sounded like a fun adventure. As time goes by and the 'must
move by date' approaches we have been reconsidering. At this time in
our lives it doesn't feel right. We are obviously both very close to
our families, and of course our friends that live in the area as well.
We talk about having children and I can't imagine going through my
first pregnancy living so far from my mom, sister and closest friends.
There have also been changes at my company that have caused me to have
some concern about moving as well. So, we have all of that to figure
out.

The reason I'm writing is because I've been carrying around a lot of
guilt. You guys are the friends that know me best, so you probably
aren't surprised. I try to be everything I can for everyone that needs
me. I genuinely miss my friends when months go by and I don't get to
see them. I've been feeling bad about not sending Christmas cards or
sending birthday cards late. I know I've texted some of you at
midnight, 30 seconds before your birthday was over, to prove I didn't
forget. Some of you didn't even get that from me this year.

I don't call as much and read emails while in airports,
hotels, in traffic, or multi-tasking and then forget I even read the
email and never reply. I feel like I'm all over the place, all of the
time. I'm home so rarely that when I am home I want to spend time with
Andy, for whom I know all of this has not been easy (but he's been
great and knows it will all work out in the end). I'm trying to make
sure I see my Mom & Dad when I can and I'm also the Maid of Honor in
my sister Kelly's wedding. I don't know if I could be stretched any
thinner.

I know we're all busy, it's hard to make time for everyone. Some of us
have kids, some have crazy jobs, etc. I've always been able to handle
it all, while (usually) still smiling. I love planning get togethers
and cooking for friends. I miss doing those things. These days I spend
my time at home doing 11 days worth of laundry and then packing a
suitcase, then repeating the process all over again.

I don't want this to come across as me complaining---really, I just
wanted to let you all know I think of you way more often than you hear
from me. I miss seeing you and catching up. I have a great life, and
realize I made the choice to try and make this work. I didn't know
traveling this much would take such a toll on me. And the guilt just
adds to the pressure I constantly already feel.

I'm trying to figure things out, and hope there is a way to find a
better balance. My goal is to keep my position at GlobalOptions if
they would let me continue working based in Philly. We'll see what
happens.

I am grateful for Facebook because it helps me feel connected to those
of you that have an account. Facebook is something I can look at for 2
minutes and learn a little bit about what's happening with you. Email
is second best, I can return emails at 1am---I don't think most of you
would appreciate me calling at 1am. :-) Changing time zones a couple

times a week makes it even more fun!

If you're interesting in keeping up with my travels you can check out my blog, www.amilliongoodintentions.blogspot.com.

I'm behind on that too but should be caught up by this weekend. Let me know what's happening with you too!

When things slow down next month I am hoping to have a "I never get to
see my friends" party--maybe for St. Patty's Day or something? In the
meantime, know I'm thinking about you.

Love,
Christine

Don't Judge...

Disclaimer: This post is in no way meant to offend the wonderful friends of mine who are servers/bartenders. I know they would never treat people this way. Also, I was a server once too. :-)

Observations of a Traveling Nomad

10/28-11/2: Dallas, TX ~ Austin, TX
~ don't get too excited when your flight is miraculously on time even though there is a hurricane scheduled to pummel your city. Inevitably there will be an engine problem, you will have to deplane, wait 45 minutes, board a new plane and sit on the runway for another 45 minutes before you take off. 

~ it will take the counter attendant a minimum of 10 minutes to decide it will be ok to let the passengers go through gate A6 because the door to gate A8 is locked, and for some reason will not unlock. Your flight may already be running 2+ hours late and you will receive an apology saying "We apologize for the inconvenience and we are sorry you have to go out of the way" (by  a whopping 2 feet). Probably not the inconvenience they should be apologizing for. 

~ you may sit next to someone in the first row, in first class (AKA closest to the cockpit) that starts to creep you out because they keep staring at people but they don't say a word. Not even when everyone around them is talking about the pending hurricane, delay, lack of in-flight internet service, etc. You may start telling yourself your seat partner is the freak that's going to try to take down the plane or something like that. Then you may hear him on his cell phone speaking another language and realize he does not speak English.

~ getting your rental car can be an hour+ process on a Sunday night after 9pm, who woulda thought? Between waiting for the rental car shuttle, driving to rental car building, waiting in line forever (ok, probably more like 30 minutes but it felt like forever), inspecting the car with rental car agent and finding your way the hell out of Dallas airport. Dallas needs to figure out a way to have on-sight car rentals, just sayin. 

~ you may find your sense of direction just when you're about to lose any patience that may still be lingering within you. Your cell phone will be dead, your car charger won't work and you will have to figure out how to get to the highway and then the hotel without GPS. You always thought you born with no sense of direction, but now there is a teeny, tiny glimmer of hope. You will be thankful you have a 5% charge when you get off downtown, just enough to tell you you're only .4 miles away, yippie!

~  when in Texas, you will likely pass a huge billboard with bright while letters against a black background that say "GUN SHOW- GET YOUR GUNS BEFORE THE ELECTION" and pictures of guns. Now this just made me laugh, and I wish taking a picture wouldn't have put my life at risk (I was, in fact, driving) because evidently Texans don't know Obama's lenient (much too lenient in my opinion) stance on gun control. There goes that Obama guy again, taking all your rights away. 

~ after a trip like this you will arrive to your hotel hungry, but you will have no idea if you're in a "good" or "not so good" part of town, and either way, you probably aren't going to walk around alone looking for food. So...you will order chips & salsa with guacamole to hold you over until tomorrow. While waiting for your order you will see the "chef" squeeze the 'fresh' guacamole out of a huge plastic bag. You are now convinced the majority of restaurants do the same thing (except for the authentic Mexican places that make it right in front of you.) Those Wholly Guacamole packets have always seemed "familiar" and now you know why! 

~ driving here is horrible, we'll just leave it at that. 
~ if you tend to have a lead foot you will surely enjoy the 75 mph speed limit along a good portion of highway. However, TX and VA both seem to think it's fun to change the speed limits (what feels like) every 4 minutes. It goes kinda like 75-->65--->70--->60--->75 and so one. So unless you are really focusing on speed limit signs, you never know if you're doing the correct speed limit. Also, you may want to use cruise control, I found it handy on my 6+ hours of driving in the last day. 
~ you will find it hard to tell if downtown is safe or not. Sadly there are a lot of homeless people, and I strongly feel everyone has a story and hate to see people so down on their luck. However, you will also see several crazies yelling out loud and dumping over garbage cans. This doesn't make anyone, especially a female, very comfortable. There are not a lot of people around so it's very different from NYC or Center City, Phila. So you will spend too much time trying to decide where to go to dinner while considering how close the restaurant is to the hotel, if there's parking nearby, if it's safe to walk and if there's something on the menu you actually want. So.....
~ you will go somewhere .8 miles from the hotel, but it's not safe to walk at night, so you drive, and it takes 45 freaking minutes to get back because all of the streets are one ways and merging getting on/off main road is a nightmare in this city!!!!
~ you learn dining at the Spaghetti Warehouse one time is more than enough and will actually take Yelp's review more seriously next time. I had to go for "the experience" since it sounded fun and it's the original location.
~ 5 days in Dallas is more than enough for a lifetime. Its best assets (for me) was Dealy Plaza and Sonny Bryan's BBQ.
~ your love affair with the ALoft will probably subside after being in one with a poorly lit parking lot in an unsafe area & broken elevators and another with no hot water. In light of everything that happened this week I didn't really even care that much but I don't know how long the fun decor will keep me coming back.
~ you will appreciate the extra room in first class, but will wonder how anyone can possibly eat the "meals" they serve on-board. The smell is nauseating and they look less appetizing than a TV dinner.