Some Dance to Remember.. Some Dance to Forget...

I got to dance today!!

For anyone who doesn't know, I was a dance major. I've been taking a lot of time off of dance so I can work, because money has to take precedence right now. I had enough free time today to actually dance and It made me so happy.

I started my day by going to my school (technically my old school I guess) and helping out with the dance club meeting because I was the last president, so I'm going to be helping the new officers out for a little while. The meeting went really well, we had more people interested than ever before so that was awesome.

After the meeting I took Jesse home because he had to work and I sped back to school to get to ballet in time. I barely made it, I was running up the stairs stripping down to my dance clothes. I was really glad nobody was watching me. I got into class just as it was starting and it felt so so so good to dance.

After class, Alex (one of my best friends) took me hostage and we went to Worm's Way (not that he told me that was where we were going.). It's a garden supply store I guess, I never knew it existed. Anyway, that was fun because it killed extra time that I had and I haden't seen him in awhile.

We got back from Worm's way and we went back to the dance studio for a little bit. Then I offered to drive him back to his car because my car was closer. On the way back to my car I realized my windshield was white. As I got closer I realized there was writing on it. It was a sign that was literally taking up half of my windshield. I didn't have a camera to get a picture of it on the car, but I brought it home and took a picture of it taped to my door. This is it:

I'm pretty sure that Jesse left it there. Not my Jesse, a friend that I haven't seen in forever. It's funny because on te way to Worm's Way I was telling Alex that I saw Jesse's car and wanted to leave a note on it. That thing pretty much made my day. Now, usually, I would hate it if there was something on my windshield, but that's usually just if it's ads or flyers. Nice things from friends are ok.

After I got the sign off my window and dropped Alex off, I headed to St. Pete to run spotlight for Into The Woods, which is being put on by the St. Pete Opera. It's really a fantastic show. It runs this weekend at 7:30 all 3 nights and a matinee on Sunday at 2pm I believe. They're holding it at Shorecrest Prep which is actually a pretty cool theatre. The most exciting part of the night was when a scenic flat fell and almost landed on the bassist in the pit. Other than that, it was pretty uneventful.

Now I'm glad to be home and definitely ready to sleep. I'm not looking forward to how sore my muscles are gonna be tomorrow from ballet, but I'm so glad I got to take class!

"Once a Week, Go Greek"

Yesterday was my greek day. It's nice to have a greek day every now and then, especially when you're greek. :)

It started out kinda bad, I was supposed to get a free engagement photo session, but the lady never gave me her address so I didn't get to go for my appointment. The plus side of that was getting to sleep in!

I woke up and got ready and headed to the good old NPR (New Port Richey) to go tour the Spartan Manor. It's not like I haven't been there 8 million times, but I needed a refresher, plus I needed to find out pricing for the wedding. The woman there, Daphne, was so easy to get along with and so so nice. My mother was running on mom time (late), and Daphne totally understood. She went over basic stuff with Jesse and I while we waited and showed us the room. When my mom got there, she showed her the room again and talked pricing with all of us. It's definitely the best deal so far and includes so much more than everyone else does.

Of course when my father got there, he informed them that we are greek and expect a good deal, and that since our family is from Sparta, we're probably related, so we should get a family discount. Daphne said she knew that was coming as soon as he said we were greek and she would see what she could do lol.

When we were done there it was time for our next appointment at Riverside Venue in Tarpon. The lady never showed up for the appointment, I called her twice and left messages and everything. The place looked kinda nice too. Too bad though, I have a rule that says if I'm stood up, I don't try again and I stick to it. So now my list says Riverside Venue. :-)

After being stood up, I was starving, so (against Jesse's will) I begged my parents to take us to Mr. Souvlaki. I practically grew up there and haven't had it in so long. There is no greek restaurant better than them. The waitress we had remembered me from when I was a little girl and couldn't believe I was engaged. Jesse complained a lot after we left that he didn't like the food, but really it was just the tzatziki that he didn't like, so I told him next time he needs to get an open faced souvlaki like me.

I felt so good after my greek day.. I'm so glad that I had it :)

Today I went to IKEA with my sister and niece for 4 hours. I love that store so much.. My sister remembered that she owed me a birthday present and bought me a magnetic spice rack, which I love! I'm a little bummed because IKEA doesn't have a gift registry and I really wanted to register for my wedding there. Now I have to figure out a polite way to ask for IKEA gift cards.

I'm thinking my labor day weekend was a success. :)

Disclaimer: "Once a Week, Go Greek!" is the Mr Souvlaki Slogan

My car is back...

Today was not a very fun day, but it had its up-sides...

First, I woke up and realized I had 5 minutes before I had to leave for work, so I had to get Jesse to wake up (which was no fun) and get out the door.

We stopped at Dunkin Donuts and couldn't afford lattes, so we got regular coffee instead (which shows how tired Jesse was, because he hates regular coffee).

I got to work and ended up training people on using the projector, which I didn't really anticipate. I kinda hate training people when I'm not prepared, but it was fine. Jesse talked to my boss (Tom) about the possibility of him coming in and teaching a rigging workshop, which I think is very cool.

We left my work and realized that the people still hadn't called about my car. We tried to call them, but realized that something must have been going on with T-mobile because neither of our phones would call out for a good hour.

Once we finally got through, they said my car MIGHT be ready at 4. I told Jesse I didn't want to go all the way out to Clearwater for a might, but he said we had to hope for the best, so we went to Countryside Mall. They are tearing that place apart! I couldn't even remember what the floor used to look like and it made me sad.

Just as we were giving up hope and heading back to Tampa, we got a call saying my car was ready, so we went to pick it up. So much for the discounts I was supposed to get, I'm pretty sure I didn't get any, but I was just happy to have my car and didn't care too much.

Now I care! As I was driving, my car started making a little bit of noise. I didn't panic, I decided it was probably just because there were new bearings on it and they had to be broken in. But then I realized it was getting a little louder instead of a little quieter. I, being the diagnoser (is that even a word?) that I am, figured out that my car started shaking if I got above 45 and it started shaking if I got below 20. I have no clue what that means. Also, a car stopped short in front of me and I had to swerve off the road because my car wouldn't stop.

I let Jesse take it to work and he says that he thinks they forgot to bleed the brakes because he tried to stop once and the pedal went straight to the floor and it didn't even slow down. I am not happy with this.

Moral of the story: Find a mechanic you trust and NEVER let them go!!!

I just want my car...

I couldn't get an internet connection for more than 5 minutes at a time for some reason yesterday, so I'll post about yesterday and today.

Yesterday morning, Jesse and I woke up early so that he could bring his tire to Tires Plus down the street and get it repaired. We went in and spent an hour and a half there (which I thought was ridiculous), and then they told us that they couldn't repair it because there was fix-a-flat in it, which isn't true because Jesse used to be a genereal service tech and did it all the time. So all they did was put some air in it for him and try to sell him a new tire, which we can't afford.

Jesse decided that he could make it to New Port Richey and drop me off for work and then put air in it and take it to Advantage Tire and Auto (where he used to work) to get it done.

On the way to work, Jesse got a call saying my car may not be done because the wheel bearing welded itself to the axle, so I needed new bearings and axles. I was not pleased with this call.

After my Management Meeting at work (doesn't that make me sound important?), Jesse picked me up and we went to my parent's house to get their Eclipse. It's a very nice alternative to his truck, which cost us over 90 dollars in gas just over the weekend.

I dropped Jesse off at work, went home to do some virtual farming (it's so addicting) and fell asleep while I was trying to sigh onto it. I almost didn't wake up to meet Jesse for his dinner break, but I did and we went to Steak n Shake, which I'm pretty sure is a heart attack in a restaurant. I went back home and slept some more and then went to pick Jesse up at 3am (since we only have one car).

This morning I was all excited when I woke up because I was getting my car back. We went to the Mahaffey Theatre to look at their Grand Ballroom for the wedding, which was really nice, and is in our top four choices, along with The Italian Club, The Lange Farm, and Hunter's Green Country Club

Then, we got a call saying that they had to wait another day to get my axle in. I was NOT happy at all.
I was supposed to have my car back on Monday. It is now Wednesday and they say it MIGHT be done tomorrow. This is coming from a mechanic I'm supposed to trust, I can't imagine if it was a mechanic that I didn't know in any way. It's also costing around $600, which is kind of insane to me, considering we could have bought all the parts for 400 and we're supposed to be getting a deal, but whatever.

Now Jesse is going to have to wake up ridiculously early again to come with me to work so that hopefully we can pick up my car on the way home. I feel so bad because he works til 3am and then has to wake up at 6am to go to work with me.

I can't wait to have my car back!

I have neglected this blog...

So I just realized today that I have been totally ignoring/neglecting this blog and I should probably write something...

Today was a terrible day..

It started with me missing my appointment that I made for me and Jesse (my fiance) to find out about joining a gym. We had vowed that we were gonna start eating healthy and join a gym (his idea, not mine), so I made appointments to find out pricing and such, and we totally blew it off because he wouldn't wake up!

After he finally woke up (literally minutes before our appointment) we went to our appointment at Hilton Garden Inn to look at it for our wedding reception. It was nice, nothing spectacular, but I really liked the coordinator and she seemed to have all the same views I had, so that was a plus. Plus it was the lowest price I've seen so far at a hotel.

Then I went to school to pick up a parking tag and switch to audit status for my dance classes, I felt super productive after that.

After school, Jesse and I decided that we were gonna see where 7th Ave would take us, so we drove and found out it went to MLK right before 75, so then we went back to the apartment and rested a while.

This is when all hell broke loose...

We left to go pick up my car from the shop (I was very excited, it's been gone for 3 days), we got about ten minutes from the apartment and I realized I didn't have the check to pay for it. We drove back to the apartment and searched everywhere when I realized it was in the truck the whole time.

So we started on our way to Clearwater (a good hour away) with just enough time to go pick up my car and for Jesse to go straight to work. We got there and Jesse's dad sayid that the guy at the service department said that it wasn't ready yet, to give them a few minutes. So we waited half an hour, drove to the service department and the guy told us to come back tomorrow!

Jesse was freaking out at this point because he had to be at work, so we started driving and he realized he needed gas. So we stopped and the first pump he tried wouldn't work, so he had to go inside and talk to the guy who told him only pump 7 works. So we wait for pump 7 and finally get gas.

As we were driving (about halfway home), the truck started overheating. We pulled into Bravo Supermarkets (which is actually really nice even though it seemed ghetto outside) and bought water to put in the truck. Jesse pops the hood and finds out he doesn't need water, he needs oil. So we went across to the gas station and got oil. We came back out with the oil and he had a flat tire and no spare. I went back in and bought fix-a-flat (which he hates) and it fixed it. I dropped him off at work and drove his truck back to the apartment (because he was already 30 minutes late).

Around his lunch break, I texted Jesse and told him I was starving, he called me back and said to meet him and his friend for dinner. I went outside and the tire was flat AGAIN! So I called him back and told him I would be starving for the night and he would need to find a way home.

So now I have no idea how I will be picking my car up tomorrow or getting to work.. it should be a very interesting day.

Some Things Make you so Thankful

I'm so incredibly affected by this, it's almost ridiculous, and some people may think I'm crazy, but it really hit me hard...

I got a call this morning from my mother saying that Kylen (my nephew) was being transported to All Children's Hospital. He has been sick with a fever for a week, and was in another hospital, but they couldn't figure out what was going on, so they sent him to All Children's. I went straight there to see him after work, and seeing him there broke my heart, but I was affected by more than just my own nephew. I realized by looking at the walls that there are children who literally, practically live there. They had signs for cooking classes, they have a school, and all sorts of other activities. This would seem like something that is good, and it is, but it made me so sad, because I realized that the reason they have those things is that there are kids who are there all the time. Then I saw two kids, maybe twelve years old walking around downstairs holding hands with hospital bracelets, and I realized that they are probably together because of their illnesses. I wonder if they see their illnesses as such a curse, or if things like that make them able to bear it a little more because they know they wouldn't have met otherwise. I wish they would have never had to figure that out and that they could lead strong, healthy lives. It makes me so grateful for the fact that I've never had to have that experience, and that I know that my nephew will leave as soon as they figure out what's going on and make him better. It also makes me realize that you can never take anything for granted. We should be glad that we are able to live life without having to worry about doing something that's going to land us in the hospital because we don't have the immunities that other people have to fight off germs. We should be glad that we're able to go out and have fun and not worry about being sick from our medications, or being ashamed because we are missing our hair and people don't understand that it isn't because we chose to get rid of it.

It really made me look at my life and re-evalute everything that I take for granted.

So I decided I'd start a Blog

I've been a little bit wary of blogging, because when I as younger I had one and wrote every single detail of my life on it. There was a lot of drama involved with that blog. I'm over drama and I feel as though now I am much more mature and might actually have some insightful things to say in a blog. I'm kind of excited about this.