A Tiny Mid-Air Freakout

It's not a big surprise to anyone who knows me and/or reads this blog that I hate flying.  It makes me more anxious than anything in the world.  If I have a few adult beverages, I'm usually ok.  However, the most dreaded words to me, are "Flight attendants, please be seated."  

A.  This means that he doesn't even have time to get on his little "ding" intercom thing to tell them to sit down.

&

B.  There is going to be some turbulence ahead.  

So, we're on our second leg back from Key West, the Tampa to Birmingham leg, and the captain gets on the intercom and says that hey folks, the weather in Birmingham is bad, so we're gonna fly in some circles and see if it clears the area.

It didn't.

So, then he comes on again, and says that oh, we're diverting to Jackson, Mississippi.  That's right folks.  We're diverting to Jackson, MS to "fill up."  So not only do I have to worry about the evil clouds lurking out of every window, now I have to worry about us running out of fuel . (I mean, not really, these are all delusions that I make up in my head).  But if you are that scared of flights, these are thoughts that go through your mind...and then your face looks like this.

These were actually the faces we made when we found out that we were not going to be in Birmingham at 6pm, but instead head to Jackson!

So we land in Jackson.  And then there's a line a million people long to use the bathroom.  I really try not to use the front bathroom, because I'm a million percent convinced that it's smaller than the back one, BUT we were only seven rows from the front, so it didn't make much sense to walk all the way to the back.

But then some one got baby powder everywhere in the cramped little space, so I came out with baby powder all of my shorts.  The lady in front of us was also acting like this was the end of the world, and being quite loud about it, while leaving doom and gloom messages about not being able to make it to Birmingham and having to spend the night in Jackson.

Anyway, we finally take off.  And guess what guys?!  There's a storm in Birmingham still.  So cut to us landing, I mean almost crashing into the ground.  Ever see lightning on either side of the airplane out the windows?  Yeah, I did.  While bouncing like a ball through the clouds.  I don't think my heart stopped beating at 190 bpm until we hit the car.

People clapped when we landed.

That has never happened to me.  And although I was quite grateful for the man landing us without killing us, nobody claps at me for doing my job.  Also my hands were shaking like crazy, so applause was out of the question.

Oh, and seeing the pilot handing out peanuts?

Can also cause a mini-freakout.  

(just kidding, I'm sure there were two other ones in the cockpit)

Our Drive to Key West

It was a pretty miserable one.

Not gonna lie.

It rained pretty much the whole time.  Well, except for the twenty minutes or so we decided to stop, because it was just time for a cocktail.  

The drive from Miami to Key West is supposed to be one of the prettiest drives ever, but ours was ruined by rain.  And when I say ruined, I mean destroyed.  There was even a point during the drive where several people pulled over and threw their hazards on.  A practice I don't necessarily believe in, but I won't get on my soap box about that right now.

So B had heard of a place that was pretty popular for their drinks on the drive down, on the key of Islamorada.  So it was right about noon, so right about that time.

We pulled on in ( I saw a poster with Aaron Rodgers on it, and did a little happy dance.  Football coming soon!), parked, and sat our booties at the bar of the Postcard Inn.  They had multiple bars on their cute little boardwalk looking thing, but this one was the only one open at the moment.  They were famous for their Rum Runners, but I had visions of Key Lime dancing in my head.  So I got the Key Lime daiquiri.  Good, choice y'all.  With a floater of course.  Vacation!  

  

 B actually did get the Rum Runner, but my drink was by far the winner.  Which never really happens; B usually gets the better drink/food, and I usually end up drinking/eating his, but not this time, folks.

Laura makes a good decision every once in a while.

We were going to stop here again on the way back to Miami, but decided to just grab a pizza and hit up the hotel room.  Sometimes, you just have too much fun on vacation.

Miami Sights

We learned very quickly that we weren't big Miami fans.  There were so many people, and so little parking, and so many people in very little clothing, or no clothing.  We just felt like if that there any city on earth that could make us feel more like we don't fit in, it would be super hard to find.

Also, it was hot.

And people bug you to eat at their restaurants --- where they have the fake food and stuff glued to a tray, and where all the menus have a $9.50 special for seafood that didn't look that great.

I don't know, maybe I'm just biased against the Atlantic Ocean all together.  You get pretty spoiled getting gulf seafood and the pretty sand of the beaches.

And to top it all off, we accidentally booked the hotel room for Saturday night for the wrong day, and this place was incredibly unhelpful and rude.  So we ended up driving to Fort Lauderdale and staying in an unbelievable hotel 2 blocks from the beach for $60 less.  More on that place later.

One thing we did love about Miami?  Okay, two.  The clear blue water and the art deco buildings.

Almost all of these hotels are home to restaurants on the bottom floor..the annoying aforementioned kind.

As pretty as those hotels are, I'm not sure that I would want to stay in one.  I know those windows, because we have them in our house and yes, they are pretty, but they pretty much let all the heat come in from the outside.  I would much rather cross the street and sleep on the beach.

So while the Cuban food we had for lunch was fantastic, that was pretty much it.  

Sorry, Miami, you were definitely not our favorite.

New Stuff for Sunday

You may notice that things have changed a little bit around here.  Thanks to Sophie & Rory for putting this together.  She did a fantastic job, and I couldn't have asked for more.

Couple of other new things for the weekend.

New hair!  Red!  And Bangs!!  Nose job next on the list.  Ugh, I hate that thing.  Self-deprecation is kind of my thing, so don't steal it from me.

Aaaand, B finally hung up his anniversary present!!  It looks so great on our wall in our dining room!  Now all we need is more wine.  Hmm, that doesn't really sound like a problem at all.

I hope y'all have had a good weekend!

Some Random Ramblings.

• I hate my toes.  There's something seriously wrong with them.  And this picture makes me look like I have cankles.  Honestly, I don't.  Or at least I don't think I do.   But this was our first morning in Key West before the sun came out and made me happy.
•  I love New Orleans more than anything.  We've even made ourselves watch Treme from the very beginning.  Not a fan of the show?  Maybe you should be.
•  Since we had crazy man at work get fired for doing some illegal activity (said ac-ti-va-tay), I've been taking over for his job.  Happy I am not about it.  I don't want this black mark of failure over my record at the place.
• I plan on going to PA in August to see my sister and my mom.  I'm so overwhelmed at work, and it feels like I just need a break.  And Juney-boo is going to come with me to get my tattoo.
• I love wine . Is that a revelation?  I'm not sure.  I may have mentioned that once or twice on here before.
• Treme really makes me wish even more and more that I lived in New Orleans.  I think that is pretty much the only city I could live in and not be disappointed.  I'm ready for a change in my life, and New Orleans?  I think you're it.
•  I've got a hair appointment on Saturday.  I can't figure out if I want to just cut all of my hair off and be done with it or just let it grow.  I really think that I look better with shorter hair.  It could be because I've gone through most of my life with shorter hair, but I don't really know.
•  oh.  And I also heart John Goodman.  I mean, who doesn't?

I hope y'all had a better Thursday than I did.  For now?  I'm pretty happy with my bottle of Pinot Noir that the hubs got for me.  He must have sensed that it was going to be a crappy night.

My First Cuban Coffee

Last week we took a vacation to Miami/Key West.  I will tell you that I have no desire to go to Miami ever again.

Too many people.

And I enjoy being a hermit way too much to enjoy anything that involves lots of people, clubs, jerky people at a hotel, and fifty-year old women with their boobs.  Again that confidence thing.  Where do they get it?  Foreign country women, and their body comfortableness.  Makes me all sad face.

The first day after our rainy night in Miami, before we drove down through the Keys, we just had to have some Cuban coffee.  So we went to Roho Coffee House in Miami.  B got two little coffees, and I got a cafe con leche.  

 

I will tell you after that coffee, I was pretty much buzzing through Key Largo.  It was super awesome.  Any sort of coffee definitely makes my day.  I can't go through the day without out.  I should have taken some of this awesomeness with me.  Do they check for that on airplanes?  Who knows. Maybe it was good idea that I decided not to get some.  Seeing as how they thought my tanning lotion was a humongous threat to the entire nation.

I sure hate when they find secret stashes of liquid over 3 ounces . Those TSA agents sure know what they're doing.

I do that thing they call a Long Haul.

(South Beach, Miami)

I'm sitting here watching The Newsroom, enjoying a margarita and a bag of now almost empty Cape Cod Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper kettle chips, and all I can think about is work tomorrow.

Not even the margarita is helping to drown out the horribleness.  There is nothing I hate more than taking work home with me.  Especially when I don't need to, and all I can think in my head over and over, WTF Laura, breathe.  But that never happens.  If you've ever worked in transportation (and I like to think that I'm the only lifestyle blogger that works in this sort of profession....makes me feel special, so I know you haven't worked in transportation...ahh, hell, let's call it what it is, "trucking"), you know that it is no glamorous position in life.

So I think about, hey, what else can I do with my life?  And then get sad when the answer is, "umm, probably nothing."  I've pretty much worked in transportation since I graduated college, and really don't know much else.  So what else is out there for Laura?  Umm, not much.  I do want to share some tweets with you from an actual person that I work with.  Follow @dispatchskippy.  These are no joke real life; these came out of someone's mouth.  That I work with...

"Our system is going down like a White House Intern"

"Lets get you in the belly of the beast and out"

"We are responsible for everything you do.  You take a shit the wrong way, they are going to ask us about it."

"I already know I'm short, fat and ugly.  What else can they say?  Something bad about my momma?"

"Call me Helen Keller because I'm a miracle worker"

Sometimes, okay most of the time, I get a little down about what I do for a living . It's not quite the journalistic fantasy life I thought I would have when I was in high school.  But.... it's honestly a good profession...I can't say trucks will be disappearing any time soon, so hooray job security!  When people can bring some humor to the day when all of us are completely stressed out?  Makes for a much better day.

Auburn Eats - Zazu Gastropub

The downtown eats of Auburn, AL have changed so much since I went to school there.  They have gotten rid of Wings (which was the best wing place in Auburn), put up a Moe's BBQ and some other restaurant.

So before Jessica and Olaf's wedding, we were starvin marvin and decided that we wanted food, and maybe just a few cocktails.

I mean, we were in Auburn.  What's the fun in going back to your school town if you can't drink a little?

Anyway, tucked into the place where our beloved Wings used to be, they put up a new Zasu Gastropub.  I had never even heard of this, but they were open and serving, and that was enough for us to try it out.  We walk in and there is hardly anyone in there, except for a couple of incredibly loud college students.

Ahh, I miss those days.

So we ordered a couple beers and appetizers just to tide us over until the reception.  And I'm sure glad we did.

We ordered the duck fat fries and some BBQ nachos that were divine.  Like we're talking heaven here people.  We weren't that impressed with the fries, since they tasted like every other french fry on earth, but the sauce they served with them?  Yums!

Some pictures from our wedding pre-party.

 If you're ever in Auburn, I'd try it out, but honestly, there's better places for you to go.  Like Laredo's Mexican, which is my absolute favorite.  Or you could even go and get a hot dog from Toomer's Drugstore.  We didn't actually eat the meal there, so of course, keep that in mind. 

Their main food could actually be really good.  Maybe one day, we'll try that out.

Late Night Fairhope Eats

Naturally after an entire night of wedding drinking, you need something to eat.  You definitely put yourself in a bad spot being in Alabama after midnight on a Saturday night, because nothing and I mean nothing is open on a Sunday in Alabama.

 

Unless you're lucky to find a Waffle House or a McDonalds.  But we were hungry!  So we were determined.  We weren't being too picky on what we wanted, and I was willing to give up my diet for a damn Swedish Fish, so we drove around looking for anything that was open. 

 

And then we stumbled upon heaven.

 

A pizza place with a question mark for closing hours!  Hallelujah!  We were saved!  We walk into a semi-questionable little divey place, but sweet Lord it smelled of amazing pizza heaven.  Name of said heaven?  The Ravenite Pizza.

 

So we order a ginormous Diet Coke and a cheese pizza to go.  And it was super great for late night food.  Props to them for being open so late in a city that didn't appear to believe in it.

 

 

 

I hope y'all have a great weekend. 

 

Filled with cheese pizza, of course.

 

 



Gulf Love

By the time this posts, I'll be in Key West.  Can I just tell you that that is pretty much the only reason why I've made it through this horrific work week? 

 

We spent our Sunday on the beach; the weather was beautiful, and we thought, why the heck not?  So we drove down to Gulf Coast, got ourselves some cheap ass little margarita drinks, and parked our booties on our towels in the sand.  The yellow flag was up, so that pretty much nullified me going more than two feet out.  My crazy hubs went way far out, and said the cross current was pretty strong, but then proceeded to go out onto the sand bar anyway.

 

He's a total water baby. 

 

But the beach tends to make everything better.  As do those little margarita drinks, some happy Jack Johnson and a soft beach towel. 

 

 

I was thinking that I was brave enough to post a full body in a swimsuit, but hell no.  I'm not.  You always see those girls that are full of body confidence walking on the beach, and damn it I want some of it.  Maybe I'll have some courage later on. 

 

In the meantime, just as another FYI, a day (or even 3 hours) on a beach can cure pretty much any ailment.  Trust me on this one.

 



Another Wedding in Mobile

This past weekend was spent yet again at another wedding.  Third one this year.  All these girls wanting to be summer brides.  And trying to get their weddings out of the way before football season.  Getting married during football season means one of two things:  A . You don't care about college football (um, which is weird) or B.  You don't want anyone to show up at your wedding.

 

This time it was B's cousin, Julia getting married.  It was a little church wedding at a beautiful church, and then to the Fairhope Yacht Club for the reception.  It was really nice getting to talk to B's extended family, and to have a nice weekend away.

 

Julia most certainly did it up for her wedding; she's one of those girls that's just naturally tiny, and her wedding gown was gorgeous!  And the one thing that I admire about her wedding was that she just wanted people to have a good time.  I'd never seen sunglasses or glow necklaces distributed, but she sure did both.  Even the older crew was getting into it.

 

 

 I don't know the couple that well, but I wish them only the best. 

 

Now that's out of the way; I'm done with weddings.  I feel like I've done my duty this year with all the weddings, so you're welcome everybody.

 

Please.  No more.