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!!! :)