Coming home today! And, meet Breanna!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope everyone has had a fantastic week, and I can't wait to get home and catch up on all of your blogs! We leave for Connecticut at around 3, and should be in around 6:10pm. I can't wait to share all the week's details with you guys! Until then, have a read about one of my newer blog friends, Breanna, who is also a nursing major- though she is a bit closer to graduation than me, hehe. Be jealous, I know I am!

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Hello Once is Enough readers!

I'm Breanna and I blog over at Sweet Silver Lining!

This is my first guest post & I'm already loving it. I love meeting new bloggers online so I'm looking forward to finding some more new blogs to read.

First a little bit about me: I'm 23 and in nursing school. I have one semester left before I become an RN and couldn't be more excited! I'm from Rochester, MN and am not loving the 100 degree weather we've been having the last couple of weeks. I love country music and would move to Nashville in a heartbeat (more on that in a minute!). I haven't found my prince charming yet, but I still fiercely believe in love & can't wait until I do.

While Sam is enjoying a lovely vacation, I thought I would write about my own awesome vacation I took for Spring Break 2011 with a couple of my college roommates.

We went to Nashville, TN to visit a friend and thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. My favorite was definitely the tour we took of the Grand Ole Opry - we got to stand on the infamous circle!

We also toured Ryman Auditorium, which is absolutely gorgeous! It also has the second best sound with only the Mormon Tabernacle surpassing it.

Being that this was my first trip without my family and the farthest I had ever been away from home, it's definitely a trip I will cherish forever. Who knows? Maybe you'll see me one day working at a hospital down in Nashville! (Although, I hope you don't because then you're probably at the hospital for a reason...)

If you've ever visited or lived in Nashville, come chat with me about it over on my blog! I'm also on Twitter and Pinterest as well! Hope to see y'all soon!

 

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Thanks again Breanna and everyone else who guest blogged for me while I'm away. I hope everyone checks out every single one of their blogs, because they are all fantastic writers, sure to enhance your reading list!

Six days down, one to go!

Goooodmorning everyone! I hope this week has been a great one for you! Today is my last full day in Florida with Anthony and his family. We leave for home tomorrow, and I'm sure it will be phenom. to sleep in my own bed again. Man have I missed that.

Another thing I've missed? This face.

I remember before I left wondering if she would miss me, or if she would remember me when I got back. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but of course she will remember me. It has only been a week! I hope, though, that she doesn't feel bitter and ignored now that I've been away a few days.

Don't worry, I'll make it up to her on Monday when we head to the vet to get her stitches removed. We know she loves going there! She'll be sure to welcome me back with open arms after that trip. ;)

Anyway, I digress. The point of this post is not for me to drone on about how I am a terrible pet owner for ditching the Mad-dog for sunny, tropical Florida, but for one of my newer blog buds Alyse to showcase a little peek of what her posting style is like!

I found Alyse's blog (How the Gears of my Mind Turn) through 20-Something Bloggers. She posted a discussion about button swapping. After my blog makeover, her's was the first one up there! (Want your button on my sidebar? Shoot me an e-mail or comment!)

Without further ado, meet Alyse, who, keeping with the travel theme of this week, posted about flying!

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"Birds of a feather flock together."

Unless, of course, you're talking about actually flying, in which case my mother would opt out.

It's pretty funny, really.

Personally, I love flying. Love it. Haven't flown in about eleven years or so, but I'd jump at the chance to fly somewhere. I almost bought a round-trip ticket just to drop off my brother and his friend at camp with my dad (a ticket was actually cheaper than a chaperon), but my dad wouldn't let me. I was disappointed, but now I'm saving up for a trip to Europe for when I graduate. Got $10 squirreled away so far.

Oh yeah!

But my love of flying really isn't anything new. 

See, my dad was in the Marine Corps and when he retired, he took flying lessons for a few years. I used to go up with him when I was about seven or eight. I don't really remember much because it was over a decade ago, but I remember I liked it.

My younger sister has gone on a few mission trips with my mom, and she liked flying.

My mom did not.

My younger brother is a senior in high school, and he's actually working on getting his pilot's licence now. He's in the Civil Air Patrol, and he wants to be a fighter pilot in the Marine Corps.

My mom was grilling him the other day about what he was learning, and what it was like, and what he thought about it all.

It.

Was.

HILARIOUS.

She asked if he knew what all the buttons did.

He said he knew what most of them were for.

She's all like "WOW!!"

She asked what he had to do to take off.

I won't explain the whole thing here, but he did.

Her eyes were the size of saucers.

"Were you scared?"

Such a mommy question.

He kind of turned his head and goes, "Yeah, mom. I almost cried. I decided I don't want to do it anymore. I was really afraid."

"Really?"

"No!"

"Oh."

Ahhhhh . . .

Flying.

Either ya like it.

Or ya don't . . .

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Thanks again, Alyse! Loved your brother's response. Too funny! Everyone go check out her blog, and come back tomorrow for Breanna's guest post!

Missing everyone's blog posts... can't wait to play some serious catchup when I get back!

xoxo

Happy Monday, and meet my best friend!

Hey all, happy Monday! How were everyone's weekends? I'm sure we are all glad that the humidity that plagued us for a couple weeks seems to have dissipated at least a little bit. Now all we needs is a good downpour to end this pain in the ass drought! I'm still in Florida, but I can only imagine what my lawn is looking like up in Connecticut.

Since I'm still out of commission (not that I'd have anything of substance to talk about anyway :p), my best friend (online and off!) is filling in for me today! I'm so excited to have her posting at my blog! If you haven't already, head on over to check her's out!

Without further ado, meet my genius, hilarious, gorgeous bestie, Sierra from her fab blog The Pacific Northwest Pensieve! (Can you tell she's a Harry Potter buff? Biggest fan I've ever met :p)

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Hi everybody! I am so flattered that Sam asked me to do a guest post here today - it's my first one ever, and what better place to start than here at her awesome blog?

My name is Sierra, and I blog over at The Pacific Northwest Pensieve. Feel free to visit if you like. :)

A little about me:

- I am (almost) twenty-one years old and currently attending university to get my Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies. Only one year to go!

- I am recently married (January 2012)

- Sam has been my best friend since I was thirteen years old. Can you believe it?

- A picture of my husband and me:

 U2 concert, woop woop!

And now, onto the questions that Sam has thankfully provided - without them as a guide I would most likely ramble aimlessly for way too long. I'm a long-winded gal and it's good for me to have structure. ;)

1. Have you ever been on a plane? How do you feel about flying? What do you love or hate about it?

I have! Several times...around twenty-four times if you count flights both away and back home, twelve if you've counting round trips as one. I don't mind it in the slightest. I've been flying since I was four years old, and my dad was always so fascinated with planes that they're just a part of life to me. I've never been nervous on a plane, fortunately, which is interesting since I have the most horrific fear of heights. What I love about it? The excitement of boarding because I know I'm going somewhere awesome, looking down at the ground and seeing how it looks, moving through the clouds...hasn't mankind always dreamed of flying?

Truth be told, I love pretty much everything about it. The whole trip, even arriving at the airport and going through pain-in-the-ass security, is all wrapped up in the travel experience for me, and since I love to travel, the whole thing just gets me excited. I really don't hate anything about it.

2. What was your favorite vacation?

This is tough, as I visit Disneyland relatively regularly (for someone who lives over 1000 miles away) and I enjoy that so much each and every time. However, I'm going to have to go with my trip to London in 2009, about a month and a half after graduating high school. I had wanted to go to London my whole entire life and I had been saving for years for it. I finally got to go, just my husband (then boyfriend) and I, and I have to say, after having such high expectations you'd think I would've been disappointed. Nope. Not at all. In fact, it surpassed my every expectation, I adored every exquisite inch of it, and I would love to live there someday. 

Blurry picture of me in front of Big Ben, although the angle is so perfect this picture always looks fake to me. Love the shot.

3. Do you have any getaway plans for the summer? If so, where are you going? What will you be doing? Who are you taking with you?

Yes! In about a month, my husband and I are taking a road trip down the coast to Los Angeles to visit his family. Rather than flying we decided we wanted to take the scenic beachy drive, especially since we've never taken a road trip together. Then, about a week and a half after we get back from LA, we are leaving for our honeymoon (part one)! We're going to the north shore of Oahu after Labor Day when it should be pretty uncrowded. The reason we waited so long is so that I could be 21 when we went. ;) Also exciting? We're flying first-class for the first time ever!

Yeek, I think that went on long enough! Sorry about that - warned you, I'm long-winded. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my answers and that I was an acceptable substitute. :p

Thanks for letting me take over your blog for the day, Sam! Hope you're having an amazing time in Florida. :)

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Thank you again so much for posting Sierra! Can't wait to get back and catch up on your blog, though I'm sure I'll be blowing up your inbox from Tampa anyway. ;)

What does YOUR town have to offer?

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope the weekend is treating you well!

On today's agenda is my second guest blogger subbing for me while I'm away.

Everyone, meet Abbie who did a great little piece of finding the entertaining side of your own town! Sheesh, I oughta take a page out of her book... I don't even know how many times a day Anthony and I are left sitting around asking each other, What do you want to do?

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Daycations: Being a Tourist in Your Own Town

Hi there! My name is Abbie, and I'm today's guest blogger. I post (fairly regularly) over at Dames Who Dish with four of my closest lady friends from college. I love to write movie, album, and book reviews, as well as DIY tutorials and tips. In keeping with the travel theme while Sam is away on vacation, I thought I would write about daycationing and being a tourist in your own home town. While working on both my bachelor's degree and my master's degree, I rarely had the time to take a nice long-ish vacation, and my college student budget never really allowed for that kind of travel. Well, except for the time I went on Spring Break to Las Vegas with my mom and sister, which was a lot of fun. Growing up, we were never ones for Disney World. Christopher Elliot, an author and consumer, wrote an article outlining these six tips for a successful summer daycation. I've used several of these suggestions when planning day trips with my family or my boyfriend to explore Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

1. Not too far.

Can I get there on one tank of gas? This is always one of the biggest factors I take into consideration when planning a trip. If I can get there in about 1-1.5hrs, then I won't have to pay for a hotel room. However, if it's going to be a weekend trip, I usually opt for a Holiday Inn Express since I think they're the nicest of the hotel chains, and I can normally get a pretty good discount with AAA membership.

2. Think like a tourist.

What does your town have to offer that you can't do/see/eat/etc. anywhere else? Look at local advertisements for events from a different perspective. Imagine you had a relative or friend coming to visit... where would you take them to get a sense of your town?

3. Check out your Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Most states have an online database listing all CVBs, which you can search by zip code. These can normally point to local resources for activities, events, and sights not to be missed during your visit.

4. Visit a park.

This is one of the easiest ways to save money while daycationing. Pack your own lunch and spend a day in your local park. Make sure to bring a good pair of sneakers to explore the trails, a book for relaxing, frisbees, and other fun items to help you enjoy your daycation! (If you're heading to my favorite state park, don't forget your sun screen and a towel!)

5. Crank up the culture.

Don't forget to check out the local arts scene during your daycation. Many museums offer free or discounted admission to students with your ID. This also goes for getting tickets to plays, concerts, or other shows. This is a great chance to get out of your comfort zone and discover something you may have otherwise overlooked.

6. Don't blow your budget.

If you plan ahead, you should have a pretty good idea of how much you'll spend on your tourist day. Try to stay around this number, but bring a few extra dollars. You never know what you'll see along the way that you'll want to try!

Elliot suggests that travelers bring their phone along to check into Foursquare, a smart phone app that allows you to share location-based exploration tips with others. I would add using Instagram, an app that allows you to tag your location when you add an "artistically" filtered photo to your stream. I hope you find these daycationing hints helpful. Have you even spent the day as a tourist in your own town? What would you recommend I do if I visited your town? Head over to Dames Who Dish to read about four great daycations in Northeast Ohio! 

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Thank you again for posting Abbie! This sure was interesting, and gave me a few pointers on how to make my own area more interesting (well, hopefully! My town needs all the help it can get)!

Bon Voyage! (and a special guest!)

Credit. And for real, how cute is this? All I did was google "Bon Voyage plane" and this little gem popped up. Before you know it, I found this cute blog! Check her out!

 Happy Friday lovelies!

At this very moment, I am soaring high above the United States in a plane on my way to Tampa! If all is going well, I'm not stressed or freaking out, and definitely won't be kissing the palm trees as I step off the plane in sunny Florida (okay, well I might, but only because I love tropical areas, and not because I was scared to death the entire flight. Hoping it's all in my head!).

I will try to pop on once or twice via iPhone to update everyone, but if I can't I will definitely be blowing up The Twit and Instagram, so be sure to stop on by those haunts if you need a fix. ;)

While I'm away I have five lovely ladies standing in for me here at the ole blog!

First up is Lex from The Lexical Gap. I don't even know where to start. Her posts are hilarious. Her vlogs are made of epic, and she is just all around a fantastic blogger that is sure to add a little pop to your reading lists. After reading her awesome post, please go check her out! Not that I need to tell you. I'm sure her post will convince you! After all, who can take a story about shop lifting and craft it so uniquely that you end up laughing your ass of at the end? Lex. That's who. Don't believe me? Keep reading. ;)

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Greetings and Rantings from across the Blogosphere

Believe it or not, I've never done one of these... I've had people write guests posts for my blog, but never have I actually written one for someone else. So this is exciting! Almost as exciting as this summer is not. I mean, are you enjoying this summer? Because… for me… I can't remember a hotter, more boring, more soul-sucking three months in all my life. I cannot wait until school starts. I'd rather be studying than counting zolpidem tartrate for eight hours straight. Which is a very tiny pill to count, mind you. And the stupid Vitamin D2 capsules wobble all over the place, and then you drop the entire bottle, and hell ensues...

Right. I should probably introduce myself because I'm certain you probably don't know me and may be wondering why this strange person is unloading her crazy stream of consciousness on you without any certain context. 

The name's Lex. Hi. I'm insane. And I'm going to be talking writing at you for the next few paragraphs because your friend and mine, Sam, is off in Florida having the most splendiferous of times. Or at least I think so. Because the beach is the best place (with the obvious exceptions of Hogwarts and my grandma's house). 

So anyway. I am female. I am twenty. And I am short. I go to pharmacy school, which is why I spend my days counting pills and cursing under my breath. I reside on the more nerdy end of the People Spectrum, and I'm really quite okay with that. Some things I am fond of include: doughnuts, procrastinating, freaking out about procrastinating, Ryan Gosling, complaining, books, Band Aids, glitter, Harry Potter, movie theaters, writing, British things, crafting, Emma Stone, The Die Hard movies, musicals, dancing, Robert Pattinson, buying makeup I don't use, Barnes and Noble, and owls.

But enough about me. It's time to complain about the world.

Every once in a while, because I'm the low man on the totem pole, and not quite a fully-fledged pharmacy intern at CVS, I get chosen to work the front cash register in one of those awful navy blue shirts. I know. My life is truly terrible... #firstworldproblems

Along with the general agony of being a slave to the retail world, there have been a few unique instances accompanying this pain-in-the-neck job that have really stood out. True enlightenment when I least expected it. The one I want to talk about today happens to be The Evil Child Conundrum.

I love kids. Seriously. And I'm usually really good with them. I talk to them almost like they're adults so they feel important. And that usually makes them feel like they can say whatever they want to me. And those things are usually of the "extremely cute" variety.  I'm a sucker for adorable. But I have to tell you, the little girl who was shopping with her mom and little sisters last Saturday, was not your average charming six-year-old. Let's just say that a little man in red was sitting on her shoulder, holding a pitchfork and whispering into her ear.

I'm a cynic on the best of days, but catch me on a bad day at work, and I'm nothing short of contemptuous. This may be cause for bias, but I can assure you that I'm really trying to be objective here. She was evil. I could tell that her mom was frazzled. It's hard to shop with your four children who think it's appropriate to run around and scream while you're just trying to find the right box of Corn Flakes. But she was dealing quite well, considering. 

They finally made it up to the cash register and I started to ring up their purchases. The two youngest girls were arguing about something, and the mom was hurriedly looking through her wallet. During all of this confusion, the oldest daughter stared at me with this creepily blank face. She didn't smile, or frown, or raise her eyebrows. Nothing. All of the sudden she raised her hand to the counter. It was clenched around something pink. She put her hand into the bag that I had just put all of their items in, and dropped whatever she was holding into the bag. Through all this, she continued to stare at me.

My mind was running fast. "What is happening? Is that little girl stealing something right in front of me? Maybe it was a toy she had when she came in. I can't ask her… what would I even say? 'Did you steal that, Darling? Give it here.'? No! I can't say that. I'm not going to be that person. I can't be the one to ruin her mother's perception of her, because she probably thinks her kid's a little angel (little does she know, her daughter is actually taking orders from the other shoulder). You know what? The way she's staring at me… it's almost like she's testing me. Daring me to say something. I bet she's just loving this. She knows I won't say anything. She knows. 

This scares me. You may think I'm overreacting, but if you could have seen her face, you would know that I'm not. Is this what the world is coming to? She isn't the only child who I've seen act this way. What's more is that parents haven't a clue. These manipulative children are going to take over the world and destroy your happiness.

I, for one, am frightened. Lock your doors, folks. The little girl is coming for you.

~Lex

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Dying.

Your posts make me jealous. Only real writers can take every day happenings and turn them into fantastically entertaining stories. If I wasn't already addicted to your blog like a fat kid to cake, I would be hooked after this!

Thank you so much Lex again for contributing and keeping my blog from collecting dust while I'm away! Loved this post as always, and can't wait to catch up on your blog when I get back!