(Birthday and Holiday) Weekend Recap! :)

This is long. Sorry about that.

First things first, thanks so much for all the wonderful bday wishes-on the blog, on fbook, text, etc! I'm lucky to have amazing friends who made my birthday week/weekend very special. :)

Okay, Thursday, we had a little happy hr at Oscars. It was really impromtu and casual for whoever could make it at the time, so if you couldn't or didn't hear about it, no worries. I didn't want anything huge or super planned b/c it would have stressed me out. lol!

Eric brought Kupcakz!

Dont ask. haha!

Eric, me, Sarah :)
Lee, Ashley, Megan, Kelli

I was really flattered that everyone came-esp these two hot beasts. Both Jenny bug and Sarah have adorablfabulous (new word) baby boys at home waiting on them so it meant a lot that they came and played. :)
Marla, Kristy, Sara, me, Beth
Sarah and Jenny bug in deep discussion. ;)
Sara, Megan, me, Sarah.
Went home very happy from a low key night with some friends!! Friday (my actual bday), chillaxed and ran errands before bday dinner with Eric!

Opened my gift before dinner at his place-HE GOT ME THE BAG I WANTED!!! You remember me mentioning it here? Well, since that time, I couldn't decide whether to get it or not.. When I'd finally decided, they'd stopped.making.it. OMG! Who stops making a pink coral handbag in the spring?! Lordy. I looked at the Plaza, Vegas, Tulsa...and any other work travel locations...and nada. Someone (my awesome boyfriend) has mad skills apparently. :) I lurve it! *I just clapped excitedly all alone. wow*
We ate at Ciao..which I didn't know had a jazz night! Eric kept saying "let's go to the room next door and listen for a minute..." after dinner. I was like "Okay.. whatev..." We listened and I'd been texting Audra who was at the riverwalk. I set up that we'd just come meet them for some quick gelato. We had to leave Ciao to meet them b/c it was getting late (I'm a dumba** and you'll see why in 5...4...3..2...) and I saw Eric talking to the singer as though they were old friends. Apparently they were. He'd talked to her the day before to ask her to sing a song for me and here I had us leaving before she could. Good Gawd, Jackie. *shaking head at self* haha... Anyway, the gesture was super sweet, though! :) (And you should totally do jazz night at Ciao...it's in the attached room so you don't have to order food since it's not in the restaurant part...I want to go back! ) :)

Met Audra and Mike at the riverwalk....
We heart gelato.
The actual bday was chilltastic-just how I wanted. :) Perfect. :) (you're noticing lotsa smiley faces. I'm in a good mood..haha).

Got up and got to running errands for the bbq that day (we're on the 4th now). Eric opted to take some beer leftover from tailgates. One question.. when does Corona expire? Hmm? Yeah, we didnt know either. Sooo.. we poured one bottled in Dec with one bottled very recently and had our own mini taste test. *see two beer glasses and Eric examining bottling dates* Things that make me laugh: smelling and sipping beer at 10am. Gawd.

Ran out to Eric's parents' house to get the grill and some stuff. In case I havent told you before, their dog, Sophie, is awesomesauce. She gets the groceries, people! She gets her toys and puts them back on command, chases her tail on command... that's not even half of it! I'm very impressed. She also throws away trash. See below.
Grillmaster. We were at a friend's apt just off riverside.
This was Eric's "there was a firework explosion" face.
In case you didn't hear on the news, our fireworks display turned into a fire. On the bridge. Thankfully no one was hurt, but the 30-45 min of fireworks turned into like 8-10 min-max. They didn't wanna risk shooting off the other two trailers full. *sigh* (See smoke in low right as it happened)
Sunday, Mike and Sydney (far left in black) were in town driving through on the way from visiting her fam to visit his fam!!! I miss them so much! Along with Andrew (green shirt, his wife Lara is in white), we all went to law school together and were friends from the very first part of our 1L year all the way through. One of my fav Sydney memories is studying over candlelight at the Waterford apts b/c we'd had a final that day and had another the next day. No time during finals for lightning causing power outages, that's for sure. On the list of people who kept me grounded, sane, and laughing in law school, Syd is definitely at the top. They moved to Minnesota after law school-too far away. :( I'm crossing my fingers for their relocation back to the midwest.
Finally, Eric's family got me a new little Canon!! How freaking sweet is that?! I about died. I'm horrible with surprises b/c I get this awkward weirdo face. I got the face. But I absolutely love the camera and can't wait to play around more with it! It's no secret my old one looks a little battered and bruised. And the lens makes a clicking sound when it goes in and out. It's been loved. A lot.

I played a little today. Gracie wasn't being super cooperative but you can still tell a nice difference in quality of photo. :)

Here's Gracie with my old camera on "auto"

...and with the new one -a big difference, right?!

It was prolly one of the best bday celebrations I've had-starting with dinner with Blaze last week, happy hour with some friends, relaxed time with Eric, 4th of July bbq-ing... Just a great time all around to ring in 28. :) Major kudos to Eric....from kupcakz on, he went out of his way to make sure I had a great weekend and b/c of it, I'm still smiling at midnight when I should be sleeping...haha... Anyway, it just feels nice.

Oh and if you're wondering, my mamma is outta town visiting our fam in VA. I couldn't go b/c it was planned after the St. Lucia trip and therefore vacay time is semi limited for a bit... And I may have asked for a vacuum. How do you know you're growing up? When you want a nicer vacuum for your bday. Wow. haha!

Hope you had a great weekend! So many of you have adorable babies experiencing America's bday for the first (or second-xoxo Nate) time! I'm not sure I'd heart exploding things as a baby, but in my fairy tale land, babies love fireworks. haha... :)

St. Lucia Day Six - Part Deux

Okay, let's see...where did I leave you last? We arrived at our villa! We made jokes about the number...til we saw it. Yeah.  I feel so lucky about this villa. We really had an amazing trip and ending it with such an outstanding upgrade made things even better, which I didn't think was possible. :) 
Once we did an crazy excited run through exclaiming "Look at this! No way!" we started exploring in a little more detail... 

These were doors in front of our bed....

And opened up to this....:)

and this... 
Heading back in, here's the main room! Bathroom to back left...
The bathroom may have had a clawfoot tub.. Not like I noticed...or played in it...or anything. Whatever. ;) And I've fully decided I want a chandelier in my bathroom. Yeah. 
After my bathtub modeling, I heard Eric exclaim  "Outdoor shower!" Within seconds, it became part of the photoshoot.. haha..
So really we could take our pick between the outdoor one...or the indoor one with SIX SHOWER HEADS.  (wowowowow)
Okay, I wanted a sarong. BAD. I finally found one and then forgot to wear it half the week! Lol! So of course, I was like "I need a picture in my sarong!!!!" Wow. I need help. Anyway, we (Eric) figured out how to set the timer and have it take not just one...but multiple pics in a row..thereby enabling us to pose hilariously. This totally captures how excited we were and I love it!!
We can't leave the plunge pool out of the photoshoot. Duh. 

This whole thing is taking place while we're "getting ready to go to the beach." haha... So, once Eric grabbed the knife that may have intimidated the shark, I was like "omg! let's re-enact!!" After a few "no.. I didnt get it.. Jump again.. nope.. do it again..." we got this! Hello, Jackie and Eric date b/c they're easily entertained by each other. hahaha! (and his shark fighting skills are superior).
Finally! We went to the beach! Where those boats are is where Mr. Sharky was. If you look in the distance, you can see little heads in the background snorkeling. Yup. That's.where.we.were. We escaped death, people. 
Conversation:

Me: Hi, would you take our photo and try to get the...the...

Guy: That great big mountain? Yeah,  I got it. 

We both laughed. Guess that's kinda a given backdrop I suppose... *shrug*
I am so.freaking.brave. This is me very proud of myself post snorkeling after seeing the shark the day before. I look as ridiculous as I felt I looked. Whatever. 
Then...I was kinda over it...lol! I think Eric seriously wanted to see a shark. He kept saying "Let's swim across to the swim beach!" (which would have meant FROM the snorkeling area, ACROSS the murky waters and into the swim beach). 
*I just sighed deeply* Ah, to be back there....
Eric vs. The Piton. 
Headed back up and got ready for our last dinner. Took a few photos in the process. This one makes me smile. :)

White men CAN jump. Thanks. 
Since the rooms were up the mountains, we had to take a shuttle down.. which arrived about 45 seconds after we called. Nice. 
I would like another vacation now. 
We got to Martha's and she'd set up a little table just for us b/c our cab driver, Super Dave, had told her we were coming! We were the only ones there and it was a little house they'd also made into a restaurant. The owner and her daughter came out and talked with us, etc.. Such great people!
Our view. :) They made us so much food to be the only customers there that night! I mean.. it's low season, so that's understandable, but they made us feel like they had tons of food back there and couldn't be happier for us to try it all. So wonderful. 
Eric had a convo with this guy while taking the picture... :)
Sooo.. I love names in the sand pics.. and we totally forgot til nighttime! We decided to grab a couple beers and go for a walk on the beach. Sat in some chairs and chatted, looking up at the blanket of stars stretching piton to piton... gorgeous. 
Okay, so we may have headed back to the room and chilled out in our hotel robes. Eric was like "you're not really going to post that anywhere anyway" after we took the below photo. I said "Um.. have we met?" I can't even explain how this happened, but there was laughter before and after it and that's all that matters.. and I love it... hahaha.. 
Eric was over photo-ing and ready for bed.... Soo I gave in. Last photo of day 6. What a fabulous last full day on the island. Couldn't have asked for more. :)
Next round, our last half day.. So sad. I feel like we're leaving all over again.. haha... 

WBW!

Making an effort to get back in the game here... haha.. Hooray WBW!!!

What is this? Oh it's my camp fire gown. Oh yeah. I said gown, not vest...which means I was in middle school, not some cute little 2nd grader. And I had a ton of beads which you cant really see (hear that? it's the sound of my own horn). I was in the process of lining the bottom and top and sleeves with badges...until I decided I didn't like camp fire anymore. haha! I met so many friends in Camp Fire Bluebirds!! Blaze, Andrea, Tammy...just to name a few! 

Can you tell I was bored at my mom's one day? Dug out the old camp fire stuff...and my 1st grade yearbook.. haha.. I couldnt get it to turn b/c I sent it in from my phone (and I didnt have patience) but here I am in 1st grade!! :)

Blaze and I went to dinner tonight for my bday at Sonoma! As I was looking at the wine menu, I noticed the statement under Beringer. You can barely read it, but it says "What can I say, we're just glad you're drinking wine!" Comical. 

Dinner was awesomesauce-haven't seen Blaze in way too long. :) We chatted well past dark and well past our 4th water refill post-meal...haha...

My apt looks like it's vomiting dog hair and clothes. It's not pretty. Yet I sit here and blog. Today was INSANE at work. IN.SANE. There was part of the day where I literally had to be in two places at once (and I'm telling the truth b/c my pet peeve is when people use 'literally' incorrectly). It was nuts! Short weeks are always a little chaotic, right? I think so... 

This time 28 years ago, my mother was waddling around and had no idea if I was a boy or a girl. That's totally weird to think about. *furrowed brow* 

Happy WBW everyone!!!

The Killer Inside Me in Oklahoma

I tried to come up with a clever subject til I realized the title of the movie was clever enough b/c if you dont know what I'm talking about, you saw your blog feed and thought I was a psycho-well, more than you already did. Awesome. :)

I stole these from my friend's fb album b/c I don't work downtown. Duh. I guess Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba were in makeup.. whatever. But, Casey Affleck wasn't (see third photo). :) If you're familiar with Tulsa, you'll get a kick out of these... 

And, I may have cried at Here Come the Newlyweds tonight. Wow. 

I went in for practical, black sandals on my lunch break...

...and came out with these amazing yellow pieces of art! What the hell is my problem?! haha! I used to never like shoes...but...How cute will they look with that pink coral dress at the wedding next week?!

Mind you, I really dont have any summer shoes other than flip flops so it's not like I went overboard here. But, is yellow as practical as the black ones I went in for? My mental argument says yes, yes they are. *smiles*

Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! I love my mastercard! Happy birthday to me.

(In my best parental voice...)

Jax,

Stay away from the mall until after you've come to terms with your 28th birthday. Thanks.

Much love,

Yourself.

PS. You should totally wear these shoes to your high school reunion. Duh.

On another note...have you ever had a day.. or a week..where you feel like the "Why the hell did you say that?" bug attacked you? Yeah. That was me last week and this weekend. I mean.. I didn't say anything bad really.. but just had many "stop talking, Jackie. Stopit. NOW." moments. For example, I told one of Eric's friends about how I ran into him on a date with someone else once when we'd just started dating and weren't serious yet (aka it didn't at all matter..and it was in context with the convo, people.) It was hilarious!! I still think it's hilarious. However, I'm fairly certain I made the conversation go from zero to awkward in about 5 seconds. Jeezus. And that's not a move I typically make. That's just one example of my brain detaching from my mouth. But then, if this bug attacks you, you totally understand... you can't just stop b/c then it's worse! You have to just finish it out and act oblivious that you're apparently a complete conversational idiot for those 2 minutes of your life. Wow.

Weekend Recap!!!

Weekendtastic! 

Friday, Eric and I went to a bbq for his work. I didn't take any pics b/c it was at his coworkers house and well...I didn't need the "Eric's girlf is a creeper with a camera" rep. But, it was fun!(I wore something I already had and am taking back the red dress). Then, we headed out to a bday party for a bit before passing out from a long week...

Saturday, up bright and early to float the river with some of Eric's new coworkers! I know I know... it was over 100, but it honestly didn't feel like it since we could get in the water. However, it was easily the most crowded I've ever seen it out there...so much so the guy cancelled our reservation. Yeah. The genius at the place thought canceling our reso (for 30 ppl) plus tons of other groups was a great idea to make room for the people who weren't smart enough to make a reservation. *eye roll* 

But, we finally convinced them to give us 4 boats + a slightly leaky one. Woo hoo floating!

And did you know they make Corona in CANS?! Hello awesome! I hate to even post beer pictures b/c it was so hot, we mostly stuck to water (seriously), but the canned Corona was too fab. :)

Oh and these are all with a disposable...

Ahhh the "river racer." Story: Eric had a nascar raft on one float trip. His friend stole it and punctured it. Eric wrote the company an email and they sent.him.a.new one. hahaha! Meet the new nascar river racer. You can imagine his popularity on the river with a raft like that...

The river racer almost gets stuck but won't be defeated!

Gina and I took over the racer... 

Told ya it was busy!
Group shot! Eric and I are fairly dead center. 
Carrie and Chris had  a housewarming party for their new house in Owasso. We headed out there, took a tour of the fabulous new casa, played a little wii and were home by 11:00. River-1. Jax and Eric-0. 

Eric loves losing at Wii mario cart. See how much? 

Sunday Funday! Gracie was neglected with the float trip n all, sooo we played...and played...and cuddled...and then headed to the bark park when it was cool enough! Ps.. I had no idea the dog park was next to....the prison. *nervous* Bizarre. lol! 
My dog is antisocial.. and I love it b/c it amuses me. The other four pups were playing with each other and barking, etc. Gracie opted to go run by herself or with me...or just sniff things- perfectly content. She also hates huge bowls so I brought water and a little bowl for her. With her loner behavior and private water, fairly certain we got labeled the snooty dog parkers. lol!
But she was happy!! :)

Annnnnd I went to Francesca's Collections at Woodland!! It just opened yesterday! Here's the thing... I know I didn't need anything really but I've been kinda weird lately. Maybe it's the post vacation blahs... Maybe it's that I'm turning 28...Maybe it's b/c my high school reunion is this year and I don't even own a home yet. *sigh*... I think it's a combo. Anyway, whatever the case, I needed a boost so Francesca's summer dresses somewhat did the trick...at least for a temporary fix. :) (cheaper than randomly purchasing a house, right? haha).  I LOVE this store! So glad Lauren intro-ed me to it in Chicago...and that we now have one! Affordable, but not cheaply made dresses and fun stuff! Thinking I'm going to wear the bright yellow one on my bday and the pink coral one to  wedding next week!!! :) (see how I justified when purchasing). Buying yourself bday presents can be fun... lol!

Hope you had a great weekend, everyone!!