This was my first time to FTL and Lucas' first time in Florida. I've been to Orlando several times and Cocoa Beach. My family is a big fan of Disney World in Orlando. Then again, who isn't?
Welcome to Ft. Lauderdale! Breathe it in folks. This is where Lucas and I stayed for a week: top floor suite on the beach. Jealous? I would be too if I were you. The resort is the Marriott BeachPlace Towers. It was a very nice resort in a great location. Ft. Lauderdale is a quick 45 minutes north of Miami on the Atlantic Ocean. We checked in on Sunday, grabbed a beer and a sandwich on the pool deck, unpacked, and got ready to enjoy the next 7 days.
This was my first time to FTL and Lucas' first time in Florida. I've been to Orlando several times and Cocoa Beach. My family is a big fan of Disney World in Orlando. Then again, who isn't?
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A chocolate moose! Here I'd thought the Butter Cow was the most ridiculous thing ever. Nope, it could only be topped by a chocolate moose.
I'm proud/ashamed to admit this was my first trip to the Iowa State Fair that *wasn't for work. Over the past three summers, I've been there a handful of times on business. Saturday I headed up there with Lucas and his family for a fun evening of food, beer, music and... rain. Of course, that's my luck. It hasn't rained all summer, and it practically ruined my first free day at the fair. It was also my first time on the sky glider, eating a deep-fried snickers, and having a beer there. I was disappointed with the blooming onion, the cheese curds were way too greasy (just because it's the fair doesn't mean you have to add a side of grease for no good reason), and the pork chop dinner was amazing. My first time at Axis Salon and Day Spa on Ingersoll was a painful one. Needles don't bother me, the home waxing my sister and friends did in high school didn't really bother me, piercing my ears was fine, getting my tattoo stung a bit, but this... this was on another level. At one point the aesthetician, Claire, told me the worst was over. Boy, was she wrong! After several yelps, gasps, and squeals it was all over. Claire told me next time, if there was a next time, to take a Tylenol or two before coming in. Had I told the lady on the phone when I booked the appointment this was my first time, she probably would have told me that then. I also learned there are two types of waxes. The soft wax gets ripped off with a cloth strip. The hard wax, which I'd never heard of, dries and becomes so hard they just pick up a corner of it and rip it off. That stuff hurt. Claire said no one likes the hard wax.
On the plus side, Claire made me feel very comfortable, and Axis had the lowest price of about 10 salons I looked at. Where to go to lunch? That's a question I ask myself about once a week when I set up a lunch date with some ravishing vixen. Today we needed to stay in the downtown/Ingersoll/East Village area so I through out Sakari, South Union Bread Co, Gateway Market, and Palmers. When the vixen tossed back Keller's Deli, I said sure but asked where it is. She told me on the northeast corner of Grand and 7th in downtown Des Moines. Oooh, I thought, I vaguely recall seeing the sign once when I visited the Bicycle Collective next door.
I've done a really great job of eating at different restaurants around town so I was very excited to try a new place. It was the vixen's first time there too. The deli/bakery/cafe had a couple dozen options between your hot and cold sandwiches, salads, soups, and sides. I had the hot ham and cheese with lettuce, tomato and garlic aioli. It was a great sandwich. The side of mac and cheese was good as well. My broccoli cheddar soup fell flat though. Instead of broccoli chunks, it was like a puree. The flavor was nothing outta this world either. Those three things plus a drink came to about $8.50, which is a great deal. I walked away stuffed even leaving some of my mac and cheese behind. Mix up your weekly eating routine and give this place a try! Be inspired. As a meat and potatoes girl, I love the other white meat. So when I (and everyone else I work with) received an invitation to be an honorary chef for a day at the Iowa Pork Tent at the Iowa State, I jumped at it.
It was a beautiful day at the fair, sunny with a breeze. Luckily, I was not the honorary head chef. In fact, I wasn't responsible for any of the food anyone ate. I did flip a chop one and a half times and catch it on the spatula. Most of the time I was taking orders and talking to pork lovers. I wore my ABC5 polo, since I was there in that capacity. I like being able to do things in the community. One guy saw right through me, "Doing some PR work?" Thanks to everyone who came out to our engagement party! Thanks for all the cards too. I had no idea there were so many sweet engagement cards out there. Thanks for everyone who brought food and who ate a lot of food! We just kind of guessed at how much to make, so I'm glad most of it was eaten.
We are really blessed to have such amazing people and support system in our lives. Lucas' family outnumbered mine by about 4-1, but that's ok. They are all great; my family's great too of course. We really appreciate our friends stopping by too. Lesson learned: it's hard to talk to everyone. So if anyone feels like they didn't get enough bride and groom time, I'm so sorry! Don't feel too bad though, the only time I saw and talked to Lucas was when we were taking pictures. Say what you want about Taylor Swift, I personally actually really like her lyrics. I believe she writes her own stuff and she, for the most part, tells great stories without being cliche. In so many songs anymore, I can guess the next line and what it will rhyme with. In her song Love Story, at the end she says "I talked to your dad. You'll pick out a white dress. It's a love story. Baby just say yes."
Well, I didn't actually pick a white dress but I tried a bunch on. I went to David's Bridal and then to Weddings By Design. The ladies at both place were helpful and kind. I've heard horror stories and luckily I don't have one to report. After trying on a dozen dresses, I've narrowed it down to three. There's no doubt I would have purchased one of them if it hadn't been the most expensive one. I even teared up just a bit once I saw it on me. I'm not a crier though, so I turned quickly before anyone saw me, I really don't want to spend $1600 on a dress, plus tax and alterations which will bring it to about $2000. I mean, I'm only wearing the dress once. I'm so frugal in my daily life, shopping at Aldi and all, that I can't wrap my mind around spending that much money on something I'll use once. It's also hard to spend that much when Lucas says I could wear a potato sack and he'd still think I'm gorgeous. How much does a potato sack cost? My sister, mom, and grandma came with me. They were good sports as I stood on a pedestal and watched each dress swish back and forth. They each had their favorites, but agreed I couldn't go wrong with any of them. I think I'll go to a few more stores to see what else is out there. Wish me luck! I was never a big watcher of Friends. I didn't dislike it by any means. I just never HAD to watch it every week. Well, it seems to be slimmer and slimmer pickin's at the library so I picked up season 1 of the series. I started watching it and got in 3 episodes in one day. It's a lot easier to watch than some of the other series I've committed myself too like The Tudors, CSI: Miami, True Blood. Even though the show first aired in 1994, many of the conversations they have are still relevant today. The dating scene hasn't changed all that much, with the exception of online dating. On a separate note, I think Phoebe's ridiculous. I'll probably get annoyed of her real quick.
Seriously? A book called the Assassin ends in a love story? I started listening to this book on CD on 7/10. It's sad that's it took me nearly a month to finish it. It had nine CD's, which is probably about nine hours worth of pages. The last two CD's were the best; that's when it really started to pick up.
So I won't go into tremendous detail, but here are my thoughts on the book. I liked the plot of a privately-funded small army of assassins goes out to hunt down terrorists from Al-Qaeda. I liked how all the small details came together in the end. The hero, Jake Grafton, is very similar to Horation Caine in CSI: Miami. He works off his gut feeling and a hunch; it always works out. Are there people like that in real life? I figure they have to get it wrong at some point. I did not like the end of the book ending with a new romance. It's an unlikely romance which I guess is possible but a bit too far fetched for me. If you drive a lot and like terrorist-based plots, I would recommend this book. Tuesday was the first time I ate at On the Border in Jordan Creek Town Center. I ordered La Bandera, which is three times of enchiladas with refried beans and rice. I love enchiladas and have had better ones. These weren't bad; I just won't be recommending it to everyone. What I would recommend is their chips. I don't know if they are made in-house, but they were delicious.
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