Ocean State Pet Peeves

Disclaimer: To anyone reading who just so happens to be from Rhode Island..I apologize now. This post is written to describe my love/hate relationship with this little state. And let's be honest, this is coming from someone who is from a place that is purely known for: Oz, disastrous tornadoes, the flattest land in the world, and serial killers. 

Dearest Little Rhody, 

It's been a long time coming. I must vent and release my excruciatingly painful pet peeves that you have introduced me to. 

1). Seriously the worst drivers on the entire planet. This is not a lie. In fact, I have almost gotten in multiple accidents due to the "Rhode Island Pull-Out" where drivers have the brilliant idea of forcing oncoming traffic to slam on their breaks by pulling out in the middle of heavy traffic. Not to mention backing up on the highway, going 35 mph in the rain, and having no clue what "right-of-way" means. Don't believe me? Read here - RI has been ranked several times as having the worst drivers in the U.S. 

2). An accent I simply cannot understand. Luckily, our friends and co-workers seem to have learned proper grammar in elementary school. However, the majority of individuals in R.I. are nearly impossible to understand. I often find myself asking, "How do you spell that?" They add the letter "r" to the end of almost every word...yet they remove "r" when it's supposed to be there. For example: "I have an idea-r" or "Under my umbrella-r" and "I'm driving my cah" or "I'm having a haht attack". 

3). No one leaves. Ever. I guess this shouldn't really be a pet peeve. I mean, we can all learn a little something from Rhode Islanders in regards to loyalty and love for one's state. However, no one ever leaves. And I don't just mean permanently. Many have never even been to Boston...and it's 45 minutes away. And driving over 15 minutes is considered a roadtrip - one must pack a suitcase for a venture that far. 

4). No one thinks there is anything outside of Rhode Island. This coincides with #3. I think Rhode Islanders forget that there is another part of the United States...or the world for that matter. I can't tell you how many times I've run into people who have no clue where Kansas is. I have been called "Southern" and a "West Coast Girl" multiple times. Oh, and biggest pet peeve of all? When people say, "Oh, I bet moving here was such a culture shock b/c it's so fast-paced." Umm. No. 

5). Everyone knows everyone. I guess this goes along with being the smallest state. I have never felt so claustrophobic. It is like an incredibly small town where everyone knows everyone else's business. And people think I'm from a small town. 

6). Not as much smiling and waving as I'm used to. So, being from the midwest, I am used to happy, polite, friendly people. When I first moved here, I got a LOT of stares because I would randomly smile or say hello to people in the grocery store/mall/restaurant/anywhere. I got over that very quickly. I was actually not shocked at all to read that Rhode Islanders got ranked 2nd for most neurotic and 6th for most disagreeable. 

7). Weird obsession with license plates. This is one I've simply stopped trying to understand. Low numbered license plates are such a hot commodity, people pay thousands of dollars, spend hours begging the governor, and even commit crimes simply to get certain license plates. And no, I don't mean vanity plates. The stinking plates that are handed out at the DMV. It is the most absurd thing ever. Don't believe me again? Read here. 

Alright, alright. Enough bashing my current residence. Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I feel that it is my duty to identify some of the Ocean State's redeeming qualities. 

1). First and foremost, we have made some of the best friends ever! 

2). Seriously the best seafood and Italian food that you will ever try. 

3). SO much to do: kayaking, beaching, hiking, biking, camping...you name it!

4). Amazing beaches.

5). The prettiest fall foliage. People come from all over the world to witness the beauty.

So, Rhode Island. I guess you're not so bad after all. Thanks for putting up with my impulsive lashing. Please note that this post was all in good fun, and Mr. Ruby and I really are so happy here! :)

Love, Mrs. Ruby

So Sleepy

Hi All!

I apologize for my lack of bloggage.

I have been SUPER busy...and I'm quite exhausted. I definitely have a topic that I am desperately wanting to blog about, but to be honest, I'm so darn sleepy this evening. 

I promise to blog soon. I hope all is going well for everyone. Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!

I'm taking a half day and going to the BEACH! :) Stay tuned...

P.S. Is it pathetic that it's 8:11 pm, and I plan to be asleep in 15 minutes????

Bachelorette Weekend = Success

I had a BLAST this weekend! It was all it lived up to be. 

Lots of good food. Lots of dance music. Plenty of cocktails. Super fun girls. Oh, and of course there was the party bus. 

In fact, I had such a good time, I went to bed at 8:00 p.m. last night. No lie. 

Now, I'm just counting down the days until next weekend...nothing new there.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week!

You know it's a good night when it ends in an authentic Philly Cheesesteak.

 Pure amazingness.

I'm Off!

Well, I'll be MIA for the next few days. 

I'm off to a bachelorette party in PHILLY!!! I seriously cannot wait.

The gals I'm going with are too much fun!

We're going to be renting one of these:

Drinking plenty of:

and:

and we'll be going to dinner here:

And it's all for this girl:

Soon to be NEWLYWEDS!!! :)

Anyone surprised? Didn't think so.

Just another quirky thing about me: I pass out on a somewhat regular basis. 

Ok, maybe not regular...but more frequently than what is considered "normal". I simply have low blood pressure/sugar.

So, this story is really not that surprising. 

I had to get blood taken today. I pass out almost every. single. time. I am near needles. But today, I was feeling good. The last time I got blood drawn...I got woozy, but didn't pass out. 

So, I warned the technician that I pass out quite easily and should probably recline while she's taking my blood. I told her it wasn't a big deal, but not to be alarmed if it happened. 

So, she takes my blood. And to my surprise - I'm FINE! I look up at her and say "You did it! I feel great!" I start to get up and she says "Why don't you stay seated for a couple of minutes...just to be safe."

So I sit. I'm still fine. I listen to her telling me stories from her childhood...something about how her and her brother used to play Tarzan on their old swingset. Suddenly (as I was told), I look up at her and say, "Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt your story, but I am going to pass out." That was it. I was out cold. 

Apparently, the others came rushing in with an ice pack, a cold wash cloth, and they reclined my chair back and put my feet over my head. After a minute (most people generally only pass out for about 20 seconds or so), they got worried. They ran next door to get a doctor. After a minute and a half, they started shaking me. Nothing. 

After about 2 minutes - I finally woke up. VERY disoriented. In a puddle of sweat. And tears. I'm always crying when I wake up from these silly episodes. They're quite scary! I guess I kept apologizing over and over. I don't really remember. 

Needless to say...I was quite drained (literally) when I got back to work. 

Just another day in the life, I guess.

Clumsy is a huge understatement

Badunk.

Badunk. 

Badunk...unk...unk...unk...unk...CRASH!

Yep. That was me last night. 

Falling down the stairs. 

Again.

No lie, I have become a Falling-down-the-stairs Aficionado. 

We were at a friend's, and they have wooden stairs. My silly shoes have absolutely no traction, and I just slipped and fell all the way down. People from outside heard it and came running in. The wind was completely knocked out of me. I seriously thought I broke my tailbone. 

I didn't know which hurt worse - my tailbone or my pride. I was so embarrassed. 

Mr. Ruby just sat with me until I mustered up the strength to get up. Then, I passed out in the bathroom. 

Haha. If you know me...this doesn't surprise you at all. I fall all the time, and I actually just fell down our stairs about a year ago. I woke up the next morning and felt like I had been in a back alley fight. So this is no new thing.

Just to show you how hard I hit...take a little looksie below. (I swear you can't see my rear in these pics...although my entire left cheek is black and blue also). 

I say it about 6 times a day

I LIVE for the weekends!

My friends all tease me because every Sunday I get so mopey...and then the week is over...and it's time for another fun weekend!

Vicious cycle. 

Well, despite quite a few sad, annoying and stressful situations this week - it wasn't a bad one. I actually slept well ALL week AND I didn't even get frustrated with my boss one time. It was a miracle I tell you!

I absolutely want to share with you some of the sad things I encountered this week. I'm so surprised I wasn't in a bad mood at all.

• I started off my week by waking up before the sun came out (which is never a fun time), and frantically rushing to the train station to head to Boston for a career fair. I had to pick up a co-worker first, and we completely miscommunicated I drove around our headquarters for about 20 minutes looking for her. Well, of course we ended up missing our train. We simply sat down in our sweat-infested, hot, frumpy business suits and waited for the next train

• Standing for over 8 hours in heels at a career fair caused some major blisters

• Mr. Ruby was out of town all week

• I had a business dinner and function Wednesday night and didn't get home until 10 pm. This doesn't sound that bad...except my poor pups were waiting for me to come home and let them out. I came home to a puddle on the bathroom floor and two terrified dogs. They thought they'd be in trouble! :(

• Temperatures reached the high 90's this week - good and all, except when you don't have central air. Our apartment was a scorching 91 degrees for 4 days straight...I kid you not

• I ate like a beast this week. Oh, and I didn't work out once. Ew.

If that's as bad as my life gets...I'll take it! I actually had a really nice time because we flew in all of our remote recruiters and conducted a two-day training. It was so fun for me to get back in the classroom and train again! 

Well, I'm off to go enjoy every moment of my weekend. Hope you all have a fantastic Saturday!!!

Permanent Vacationer

That's what I've decided is my calling. 

No, really. 

I think I have a calling to be a Permanent Vacationer. 

So...Mr. Ruby and I got home last night from one of the best vacations I've ever been on. It was the perfect mix of outdoors, beach, relaxation, and FOOD! 

We had a few minor setbacks, one of which was me somehow not realizing that it is CHILLY in Maine...even in August. I didn't have one sweater or one pair of leggings. In fact, all I brought was little cotton summer dresses. Stupid. Stupid. It DID however give me the chance to buy the Northface jacket I've had my eye on for awhile now. :)

The first day we went white water rafting. It was seriously one of the best experiences I've ever had. Rapids give quite the adrenaline rush. Our raft guide dubbed me and the 11 year old sitting next to me as "The Screamers". Apparently I'm 5 years old, and waves make me scream...just like roller coasters. 

The next day, we went on a guided ATV tour of the mountains. Amazing? Yes. Fun? Yes. Did I curse myself for not bringing any warm/water resistant gear? YES! The first 2 hours were unbelievably fun...I just ignored the fact that I was quite chilly. However, once we were out in the middle of nowhere, it started to pour. Now, a rainy ATV ride doesn't sound so bad, right? Well, when it's 50 degrees and pouring rain...things get quite miserable. I was wearing jeans and a tank top, but luckily Mr. Ruby gave me his rain jacket. It didn't stop my jeans, undies, socks, and everything I was wearing from getting drenched. Now picture the most miserable you've ever been. That was me...only about 10 times worse. Not even kidding. I can honestly say that at some points, I was hoping I would get struck by lightening, or that I'd crash my ATV so that someone had to come rescue me. It was unbearable. (You know it's bad when Mr. Ruby is on the verge of tears...) Believe it or not, we still had a great time. And it's a story for the kids. 

The next few days included a lot of relaxation, lobster, and a beautiful resort! We spent the entire time laughing, eating, and taking in the beautiful scenery. I hope to go back someday!!!

Well, now I'm back to the real world yet again. This is going to be one heck of a week...so you might not hear too much from me. 

Gearing up for our white water rafting adventure

Just a couple of hikers

Just about 15 seconds before the blizzard

Toasting with Maine's blueberry ale

The best dinner I've EVER had. Hands down (Not to mention the scenery...)

Loving God's Creation

The beautiful coast

Appetizing on some steamed mussels and clams

Another one of the most amazing meals ever...LOBSTER

Beautiful (but chilly) Sunset Cruise

Cheesy...but gotta have a sunset pic

Wouldn't be a vaca without Mexican food & Sangria

Scenic view at breakfast

Professional hikers...who forgot bug spray

ROAD TRIP

Being from Kansas, I love me a good road trip!

Mr. Ruby and I both left work at lunchtime today and hit the road to head to middle-of-nowhere, Maine. We grabbed iced coffees, pumped up the tunes and hit the road. 

I've been anticipating this much-needed trip with my cute hubs for months now. It's finally here! After this evening, I plan to go on a few-day cell phone/laptop hiatus. We are on vacation and want to enjoy each other and God's beautiful creation!

I'm so excited for the next few days...

Stay tuned for stories and photos after our trip. Everyone have a fabulous rest of the week and weekend!!! :)