Soy Chicken?

I was wondering if someone could maybe tell me why..

..I had soy chicken for dinner & there was a bone in it?

Sunrise

God knows me all too well.  I was in a serious state of depression Friday evening/Saturday morning.  It did not feel good to be home from vacation in the least bit.  Going to bed in my own bed and waking up to my alarm was awful.  The rest of my house was sleeping as I awoke to get ready for my work day Saturday and walked into the kitchen to start it off.  The sunrise was definitely not a Michigan sunrise.  Believe me, I have woken up every morning for the past 5 years in this house, walked into the kitchen around the same time most of those mornings and there has never been a sunrise over my backyard as spectacular as the one I saw Saturday morning.  Never.  No joke.  It was shades of pink and orange and took up the entire eastern sky.  I think it was a love note from God saying "Yo I know you're back to reality but life can still be beautiful even when you're not on vacation." <--- Ok so those words I just typed totally did not come from my mind.. I just kinda typed them out and then realized God spoke to me again.  Wow.

Bonita Springs - Second Half of Trip

Tuesday

Leaving Disney was depressing (if I didn't clarify that in my last two posts..). Why is a 19 year old complaining about having to go to a beach over Disney? Anyhow.. we drove to Bonita Springs and I got to go to my all-time favorite restaurant.  It's hard for me to pick favorites in just about anything but the 'restaurant' category is an exception because of this restaurant: Sweet Tomatoes. It's not in Michigan, but I am happy for that.  If it were, I'd abuse my right to eat there and it would probably dwindle down my list of "Top Restaurants".  For those of you who have not had the pleasure to eat at Sweet Tomatoes you should.  It's cheap: $9.49 per person. No excuses next time! It starts off with a (50-foot?) salad buffet. HUGE. Pre-made salads, create-your-own, dressings galore.  I faired with a Won-Ton Salad & an Asiago Caesar Salad adorned with my own special touch of hard-boiled eggs and garlic croutons (this is Day 1 remind yourselves!). It gets better.. then there's an infinite amount of soups you can choose from.. noodle soups, chilies, chowders, the list goes on.. and then the bread. Oh my! Foccacias, muffins, rolls, warm loaves.. the butters! Honey Spread is my #1 pick. Pastas! Then dessert.. Fat free frozen yogurt, a lavish toppings bar & right out of the oven cookie bars. The drinks.. Strawberry Lemonade & Mixed Berry Green Tea.  Throw in some shopping (eh, browsing..) and the night was complete. Did I mention $9.49 is all-you-can-eat?!

Wednesday

Woke up to clouds. Boo. Floridians were getting all geeked up because it was suppose to rain. They had had a drought.  I was less than thrilled.  Lucky for me, and not so much for them, it didn't rain!  The clouds broke up and we drove down to Naples to enjoy the beach.  The clouds came back in less than half an hour after arrival but that was alright because it made for perfect sea-shell hunting weather.  We walked the pier and even got some dolphin footage.  We ate at a great seafood restaurant right on the beach where I got Jamaican Jerk Grouper. Yum.

Thursday

Round 2 in Naples. This time we walked 5th Avenue and felt very underdressed.  I came quip with my swimsuit & coverup.  I should have known stilettos & Gucci gear were the norm for a morning coffee stole. Whatev, I flaunted my American Eagle freebie beach bag with stains.  Floridian hopes narrowed as mine soared as the storm clouds broke up & I fried like a tomato.  No fear, Sweet Tomatoes round 2 was in store! Fast forward to dinner (since it was obviously the highlight of my vacation).  Let me note here that Bonita Springs is also known as Seniorcitizenville.  No joke.  I've never seen that many elderly folk outside of a nursing home! The buffet line went stagnant before we even got inside the building.  Apparently the 60+ crowd moves a little slower than the rest of us.  As we were approaching the doors an old women walks out to her car & comes back in with bike helmets.  Another old women behind us nudged to her wheel-chair ridden "gal-pal" and says "It must be getting rough in there!"  I bursted out with laughter.

Friday

Last day.. packed up and drove back up to Tampa.  But before all that I had my last meal in Florida, a make-your-own belgium-waffle from the hotel's continental breakfast. Did I mention that I had a Mickey Mouse shaped Belgium waffle the last morning in Disney?  I looked up Mickey Mouse shaped waffle makers on Ebay already.  Going for no more than $51.99!  Nudge-nudge, my birthday is in 12 days (..Jesse..)

Disney Visa

I must add this.  I am so excited for this one!  I am officially signing up for a Disney Visa card in preparation for my next trip to Disney.  I figure its kinda dumb to have a credit card if it's not one of those that rack up points that you can put towards something.  For example, when my parents built the house we're in now (they were their own contractors) they put every expense they could onto their Hilton hotel credit card.  My parents would even have to wait on purchasing things to build the house with until the next billing cycle came around because they'd put the maximum amount on that credit card every month.  We ended up taking an entire weeks trip to Florida for free (besides food and airfare) because they racked up points towards staying at Hilton hotels.  If you honestly have a credit card that has no points system that racks up points towards something you are stupid.  I'm serious, you're stupid.  You can get them for anything.. hotels, airlines, etc.  I guess I just called myself stupid because I have a credit card that doesn't have any type of rewards program.  My mom made me get it to start building credit (I'm not sure why she didn't have me get a better one..)  Anyways, Disney's is kinda lame because you only get $1 towards Disney for every $100 you spend.  That means you have to spend $10,000 to get $100 towards Disney (about 1 nights stay at a Disney hotel).  Oh well, you can't go to Disney and stay at a Holiday Inn, that would totally wreck the experience!  It's going to take me a long time to rack up points considering I have like a $600 credit limit.  But hey, by the time I have kids maybe I'll have enough points to stay at Disney for a night LOL

Orlando - First Half of Trip

Sunday

We flew into Tampa super early in the morning (5:45 flight) which was even earlier considering I only got an hour and a half of sleep prior.  At our connector in Atlanta we ran into some family friends, the Bohms.  It was crazy that happened because three years ago we ran into them at an airport and ended up having the same flight as them.  I got so happy driving into Walt Disney World.  It reminded me of Easter vacations every year from the time I was 1 to 10 years old staying at Fort Wilderness (Disney's campground).  I was like a little kid in a candy store once we got there.  I must have taken a million pictures (realistically, 50ish) of everything.  I wanted to buy every tourist souvenir in the gift shop.  But then I realized that Disney is expensive.  That was the reason we weren't staying there all week.  I faired with a Minnie Mouse coffee to-go mug and two postcards to add to my collection (the only thing I collect religiously).  My mom & I laid by the pool and swam for about 2 hours then got ready to go to Downtown Disney.  We met up with Karen, my moms BFF from high school/maid of honor and her son Andrew, they live in Florida.  It was great to see them reunited after almost 10 years without getting together.  We ate at Rainforest Cafe and strolled through Downtown Disney.  Let me add, Legoland is impressive.  We also met up with my moms cousins Ralph & Trudy and chit-chatted again, they were on vacation, too.

Monday

Epcot!!  Since Disney theme parks are super expensive ($74/day to be exact) we decided to only do one.  I had a hard time picking.. Magic Kingdom is Disney's trademark quip with Cinderella's Castle, the Spinning Teacup ride & all of the characters walking around the park to take pictures with and get autographs.  But that seemed a bit too childish from what I could remember.  Animal Kingdom is practically a zoo with some rides thrown in.  I wasn't quite in the mood for Hollywood Studios & Universal Studios since most their attractions are shows not rides.  So, I decided Epcot would be the one!  We spent half the day in Futureworld riding the rides.  The later of the day we spent in The World Showcase, where 11 countries are represented around a lagoon.  Each country has its own area with a small village allowing guests to experience authentic stores and restaurants (the architecture is accurate, too!).  We ate dinner in Morocco, had dessert in France, a pretzel in Germany and Sangria.. somewhere.

Tuesday

It made me sad to think we were leaving Disney this day.  All I could think about was how I probably wouldn't be back until my kids were young.  I stopped and did some souvenir shopping in the gift shop for my men back home (Dad, Chris, Jesse).  Hopefully one day I can come back with my kids and enjoy all the theme parks again.  I remember when I was younger I'd have the official Disney autograph book and pen and get all the characters at the theme parks to sign my book.  We'd stay at the Disney campground where Chip & Dale would walk around greeting the campers.  My parents spent a week in Florida before a cruise on their honeymoon and went to Disney for a few days then.  Maybe I'll come back then since waiting until my kids are a few years old will be quite some time.  I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Jesse has never been to Walt Disney World.  Here is a boy that goes on vacation at least twice a year, whether that be Florida or a cruise.  He's been on about 10 cruises, if not more!  Why hasn't he gone to Disney?  He thought I was ridiculous talking about how much I love Disney when I called him while I was there.  He thinks it overrated and stupid.  I think he's wrong.  But he's like that.  He thinks everything is overrated.  But you'll never catch him saying that about anything he's done before, only things that he hasn't done.  I think he's jealous.  Bonita Springs/Last half of my week to come (soon!)

Why Do I Live By Murderers?

When I was describing the town I came from to my college roommate this past summer before we moved in, all I had to say was "Stephen Grant" and she knew.  Yup, just about 10 minutes east of that ordeal.

Last Saturday evening I heard sirens blaze by my house and also up on the main road in eyesight from my house.  The next morning my parents and I were on our way to church when my mom was complaining of all the trash in the ditches and on the side of our street.  It just looks awkward in such a rural area.  That's when my dad commented "Hey, there's a brand-new boot!  What's that doing out here?!"

As most typical college students can relate, the closest thing to "news" I get is an update entailing what my friend did last night via Facebook albums.  Jesse normally fills me in on the Obama administration and my brother lets me know about sports, but I rarely care enough to stay focused the entire conversation.  Beyond that, I'm clueless.  So, my mom filled me in this evening on what those sirens were all about..

Apparently, there was a truck on fire about a quarter mile down the road from my house Saturday night.  It belonged to an elderly women, about 85-87 years old.  The truck was parked near her home.  The woman hadn't been sited for the next few days.  Tuesday, she was found stabbed to death on a bike trail just minutes from her home.  Police report they found some of her belongings including a new boot not far from her home.

Sad.  Apparently the guy who killed her lived across the street from her.  Which is like, a quarter mile from my house.  Why on Earth would anyone want to kill someone that elderly with so much wisdom to share?  God rest her soul..

Another eerie factoid: I was driving home from school today and saw a dead dog on the side of I-94.  It was pretty sick.  This evening, I went to see Watchman with Jesse.  Besides the fact that I don't recommend the movie at all unless you're in to super-hero's and blood, there was a dead dog in that movie that looked exactly like the one I saw on the side of the road.  SICK.

Quote of the Week

"There's no recording feature on your iPhone?  The iPhone should be making breakfast by now!"

-Dr. Vecchiola

I Love Joyce

I don't know Joyce, yet, but I love her!  At the start of this semester I bought a digital voice recorder so I can record my larger lectures.  It wasn't super pricey, but I spent a pretty penny on such a little device.  On Thursday in my Anatomy lecture I left my recorder.  I felt so irresponsible when I realized it and by that time I had already come home for the weekend.  For one, I go to school in Detroit, anything worth more than a dime is going to be picked up if left unattended.  But, I love my dear roommate, Kierstin, she gladly grabbed some friends and trotted over to the auditorium to search for my recorder over the weekend.  No luck.  So, I thought I was out the money and I'd just have to buy a new one.  I figured I would send an e-mail to the class, first, asking if anyone picked it up, but I wasn't getting my hopes up.  I actually forgot I sent the e-mail until a few minutes ago. (Yes! I am so excited about this that I had to blog immediately!)  A precious women named Joyce e-mailed me back saying she saw the recorder and since no one took it she picked it up and planned to ask around in class the next week.  Thank you Joyce.

I feel it's a blessing for more than one reason.  First off, there's not many people willing to do such a good deed in this world today.  Second, I have never met anyone named Joyce since my grandma (who's name was Joyce) passed away eight years ago.  This name has got a good rep in my book! Perhaps it will debut again one day tucked between my daughter's first and last name =)

I Hate Drive-Thru's

I don't like complaining but I need to write these things down so they stop bothering me so much.  Things that people do (patients) at work make me hysterical, whether that emotion be anger or amusement.  Today, and unfortunately at the very beginning of my day, someone made me so angry I couldn't stop thinking about it.  So I'm going to write it down here to express my anger (since punching her in the face would have gotten me fired) and then end on a lighter note..

First off, if you're going to come get your prescription filled at ANY pharmacy, please don't use the drive-thru.  It is so annoying.  Get off your butt, walk in the store, have the opportunity to smile at others as you walk around.  It doesn't surprise me that most drive-thru regular's are menopausal women picking up their Estradiol's.  Anyways.. part of the reason I hate the drive-thru is because we use the "drop-box."  It's a box that slides in and out of the wall so we can transfer money, bags, etc.  So anyways.. this women comes through the drive-thru and I pass out the clip-board with the papers she must sign to verify she picked up her prescriptions.  Note here that I also get very frustrated with people who have no sense of sense (or balance).  I purposely clip the pen in the clip-board clip so it doesn't fall onto the ground outside.  Well, this women, like so many others, didn't clip it back in, just sets the pen on top.  She overturns the clip-board as she puts it back in the box and the pen goes flying.  Now, most people will apologize, open their door, step out and get the pen.  But no, this lady did not take the initiative.  So, with a smile on my face, I asked her nicely (I'm not exaggerating!) if she could get the pen for me.  She looked at me and said "Absolutely NOT! I'm sure you can come up with another one." in a less-than joyful tone. I was thinking to myself, "In fact, we CAN'T because there is only 2 left back here and now only one! Anyways, what's so hard to get out of your car and pick it up?"  Instead, stick her head way out her window like a panting dog (which probably took just as much energy as it would of to open the door), swings her arm down the side of her car out her window and makes a comment about how many pens are down there as if she was surprised.  "Well DUH!" I thought!  Ugh!  So instead of her using a fraction of the time and energy to pick up the pen I now had to run out into the front store, grab a pack of pens, document a mess of information, page the manager so he can document it and in the works I leave a line of customers inside while I do this.  But I had to, they needed something to sign their papers with, too.  Moral of the story: never use the drive-thru at any pharmacy (unless your nine months and one week pregnant or just gave birth within 24 hours) and if you're one of those exceptions pick up the pen.

On a lighter note, here's a funny tale of the pharmacy:

It's New Year's Eve and a guy calls up, I answer the phone.

Patient: "Hi, I'm wondering if it be possible if I could skip out on my seizure med tonight, I want to drink."

Me: "Do you get seizures frequently if you don't?"

Him: "Oh yea! If I don't take it I'll get one for sure!"

Me: "I heavily recommend you take your medication then and don't drink."

Him: "But I want to drink."

Me: ".. then you'll have a seizure."

Him: "But can I not take my medication so I can drink?"

Me: "Honestly, you can do whatever you want but I personally would take your medication today and not drink later."

Him: "So if I wanted to not take my medication and drink later, I could?"

Me: "Won't you get a seizure then?"

Him: "Yeah.."

Me: "Well, there's your answer."

Him: "Ok, I won't take the medication then."

Me: "Ok sir, you have a nice evening."

Why I Hate Spring

I hate Spring.  I don't care that summer is coming.  I don't care about the flowers that are blooming or the rabbits hopping around.  I hate it.  Hate is a harsh word, but it makes a cute couple with Spring!

Today is the reason I hate Spring.  When I check my "48096" forecast (Armada, Michigan), I notice it is 66 degrees out.  When I check the Indian Rock Beach, Florida forecast, I notice it is 68 degrees there.  I hit the "Back" button at the top of my screen to get a double take at what I just witnessed.  I scroll down the 48096 page and notice there is snow showers scheduled next weekend.  Ha. I hate Spring.

I went on a bikeride today and was happy it was warm enough to do so.  I heard the gravel being obturned beneath my spokes and the smell of the Spring air.  I hate that smell.  That smell of gravel.  It reminds me of my eleven Springs I spent on a softball diamond.  I liked softball.  But I hated Spring.  I hated how one day I was stripping down in the outfield and the next day I wore a headband and insulated mittens.

Today I hated Spring because I know it won't last.  Thanks Spring, for giving me high hopes of warmer days.  Thanks for letting me down every one of those days, too.  Spring is kind of like Jason Mesnick, the previous 'Bachelor' who picked one girl then dumped her to go back to the other.  Yea, Spring, take that.  Go be hot one day and then hale the next.  Go right ahead!

I love Fall.  I love it because it won't let you down.  I know the intolerable winter is on it's way.

So when Fall days are hot and then cold (kinda like Katie Perry, ha), I'm not let down.  I'm not anticipating anything better to come.  Fall does it's job, it keeps its promise.  Spring on the other hand..

I hate Spring.