Wine Down Saturday!

I heart wine. I think I am more of an avid "collector" than "drinker" but I like it anyways.

Heather & I went to the Lake ridge Winery two weekends ago. They were having a blues festival and it gave us a chance to spend some girl time and take a ride in her Mustang Convertible. Which I must admit I love, I have never been a vert girl, still unsure if I want to own one, but I enjoy the hell out of hers when I can.

The trip took about an hour and we had a blast singing loud and laughing our asses off on the way there.

We get there, do some tastings and their wine was pretty good. I am a strictly sweet-wine lover I don't care for dry or even semi-dry uck! My friend Chelsea back home says I drink grape juice since I like it so sweet, she's right I do.

Heather had never been to a wine tasting, so it was a fun experience to be there with her. We tried 9 wines out of those I like I liked 4. They had a "Buy one case, get one FREE" deal going on, which really is a STEAL. 2 cases of wine for the price of 1! I of course bought 2 cases, one strictly of the sweet white, then the other one I split up, 6 bottles of sparkling white wine, and 6 bottles of red. The red you can turn into Sangria, and since I LOVE Sangria I had to get some red 

They use the Muscat grape for their wines, I am a big fan of the Moscatto grape, but I enjoy the Muscat grape it’s just not as sweet. They also had actual Muscat grape juice; I bought a few cases of that. Tried it last night again, whoa, its sweet!

Heather really seemed to enjoy herself, and it’s always nice to spend time with someone you can laugh with. Thanks for going Heather!

Wild, Wild Key West!

I took a trip down to Key West this past weekend to get out and see more of Sunny Florida and just experience what it had to offer. Like most of my recent vacations the company was the downfall of the vacation but I didn't let that stop me from relaxing, enjoying myself, and turning off my mind to just take it all in!

The drive is about seven hours from where I live in Florida. Once you get to the "Keys" part of it, it is beautiful. It is so tropical and the water is so green/blue I fell in love with it. Key West is of course the last Key and the Southern Most Point in the US.

All I could do was say "It's SO Pretty" because it really is! There is a ton of fun to be had there. Duvall Street is where all of the bars, clubs & shops are. Key West is a very open place, very gay-lesbian friendly which I didn't mind, I am open to that (for others, not for myself) The biggest thing I noticed while walking Duvall Street is there is so much Love there. I know it is paradise, what's not to love there? People are in love, they are in vacation; they are all so friendly and laid back. You can talk to anyone with ease. The view from any part of the island is just breath taking.

We got in Saturday about 7, met up with a "friend" (hind side, should have skipped this part) went to dinner alongside the dock. I love sea food so I try to eat it as much as I can. I had a sea bass with a key lime sauce over it. It was excellent :) From there we hit up a few bars, everything from a strip-club to an Irish pub, which has to be my favorite. They had live music, and it was Irish, how do you not love that? On top of that I did a few key lime shots; they rocked & stumbled onto my new drink. Absolute Berryaci & 7-up it was delicious!

The bars close about 3, some seem to stay open later. I wanted to go to the beach, the company I was with didn't. So I left them, headed to the pier laid on the pier looking up at the stars with a warm wind breezing across the water & of course listening to the wave’s crash. It was beautiful, I got lost in the moment for some time. This is what life is about, taking a moment out to reflect and just enjoy the serenity of this. I made a phone call to someone back home and had a great conversation, I couldn't have asked for the night to end any better than it did <3

Sunday I needed to get out and be on the water, I am a water person anyways. I signed up for a Jet-ski tour. I was a little worried this was going to be slow and boring and in a tow-rope sort of fashion. WOW! I was wrong. I was the first one there for the tour, so I was ready to go; of course we waited on the rest of the people.

Leaving the dock you enter into a channel and you have to gun it or your ski will hit the bottom, its maybe two feet deep if that. As soon as I did I saw all of the water and some of the island, and fell in love I loved life that day, that feeling if "awe" is just amazing. We got to tour the island, 30 miles of it. It was great. I went full speed all the time, kept up, never fell off. We stopped by the Navy base in the sand bar to walk around, got back on the skis. Stopped again in the middle of the ocean and we all jumped off the skis and went for a swim. The water was amazing, so warm and beautiful.

The adventure continued on, we went to a cove they call Dolphin Cove and sure enough there were dolphins along side of us, right by my Jet ski, I could just about reach out and touch them, they were about a foot away, it was so amazing, our ski's were just on idle not to scare them, but they were beautiful. I've seen dolphins from a beach, but never that close.

We toured this bay that the military used to sink helicopters and submarines back in the 60's to hide them. They are now being used as reefs. It’s a local spot where people go to Jet Ski and have parties, it’s beautiful. About this time I was convinced I am moving to Key West!

The water got really rough between 3-4 foot waves, and it was fun as hell, slippery and rough but FUN! I was still full speed. The Tour guide called me Speedy the entire time. I can't help it, I like anything fast; cars, trucks, bikes, jet-skis, whatever it is!

The tour of course had to come to an end, and I was crushed, I will always do that tour when I come back, it was well worth the money and I had a blast.

Last night in Key West, I went out to the docks and was looking at Christmas Tree Island and Sunset Island. It was pretty, but cloudy. Nice to see regardless. From there I walked Duvall Street again, went shopping. They have the ORIGINAL Margaritaville there, I love original stuff! They had a few bars playing live music so I stopped into one called "Big Uns" haha! Met the bartender who was Irish and super nice & just enjoyed the evening solo.

Poured myself into bed about 6 am and was up at 10 to get ready to head out, stopped by the Southern Most Point & the AIDS Pier just to take one last look at the water. Key West I will miss you, but I promise I will return very very soon.

I fell in love with Key West, I can't wait to go back, I think it’s one of my favorite places, it’s a 7 hour drive, but well worth it! I can take a ferry there but I have to leave my car at the dock, which might be the option for the next trip. Aside from the drama that the company caused, I had a fantastic time. I've learned not to let others ruin a good thing for you, I did what I would have done anyways, enjoyed my time!

Stamps...The NEW way to express yourself!

I have a strong Love/Hate relationship with the post office. I love to get mail (not bills of course) and packages. I HATE going to the post office to mail anything or pick up anything. It always takes forever, people are so indecisive on when they want to send whatever they're sending and how long it will take. Ugh!

Oh and if that wasn't bad enough, you wait FOREVER sometimes!

Anyways, I had to venture off to pick up a package and to send one out. I killed two birds with one stone! Yay!

While waiting in line to both pick up/drop off packages I saw an advertisement..If you will, for stamps. Shocking right? Well it was! Now you can get your stamps with your pet’s pictures on them. I laughed to myself, Really? Pets on stamps? I know people love their pets, I know I love mine, I even have photos in my house of them, hell, I talk to them like they're people (they are dogs, I am not the cat lady) BUT...on a stamp?

So I got to thinking, I don't care about stamps when I get a letter. I like the Christmas ones because that is fun, its Christmas after all. But other than that I don't care if they're hearts, flowers, trees, flags, celebrities, I am just excited to get the letter or card that was sent. I have to admit I almost never look at the postage anyways, that part gets filed in the trash can and I enjoy whatever was put in the envelope.

I know this will sound like a slight contradiction-but hell it’s my blog! I love the personalized picture stamps, I find it adorable when couples send out wedding announcements & invitations and the stamp is a beautiful picture of them in love & happy <3 That is the only time I think it is cute. The rest of the time I don't pay much attention. Seems like if I buy the "cute" or "fashionable" stamps that the rates change, and now I have to buy another stamp to travel alongside that one. Ugh!

I am a big fan of the "forever" stamp. No matter what postage is, that little bad boy will take care of it and get my letter to its destination!

The post office wasn't bad today. Got to pick up my package which made my day, someone spent a lot of time to send me a "happy thoughts" book to cheer me up since life hasn't been so peachy lately. I cried from the sentiment. I love hand made things. I have amazing friends, I feel blessed to live so far away and feel so cared about!

I sent off a "surprise" package since I think those are the best to someone special in my life. We'll see how they like it :)

Can't Believe it!

I walked into Kohl’s today which is one of my favorite stores to shop in. I needed to pick up a few things before my trip to Houston.

I was on my way to get socks when I saw something that made me laugh so hard, I couldn’t hold it in. So, there I was busting up laughing to myself in the middle of the isle.

I live in Florida, right? I would expect to see this shit in Colorado, but Florida? Really?
They had snowgear! Can you believe that? What the hell do you need mittens, hats and scarves in Florida?

I can see if you are going on vacation somewhere cold, but hell, they sell that shit there!
Now you can see why I was so amused!!

I Broke The Truck….For Real This Time :(

Took the L out last night to a meet since its been forever that I’ve actually gone to a meet (since June at least)

Took TheFriend with me since its been forever since he’s been to a meet too. Took the L out to meet Maro (Mark with a Camaro) cool guy, always a good time when he is around. So I hit the gas pretty hard while getting on the on ramp, the truck is just SCREAMING getting into boost. Just as the lanes merge there is a Mustang to my left, they pull off to the side and stop. I have to admit, I might do the same, the L sounds sofa king mean! You’ll know its comin from a few miles away!

We get to the meet, I pull in and see another Silver L, I told TheFriend “I’ve got to know that truck, there aren’t many L’s around the area who aren’t on Lightning Rodder” I couldn’t place the truck since it was a little farther away. I pull next to Maro’s car, turn off the beast, open the door, and as I put one foot on the ground I hear a guy running over and saying “Queen Bee, Queen Bee, I knew it was you, so this is the beast huh?” I was shocked, I haven’t been to a meet in months I pull in and someone already knows who I am! Haha! It was EatinLightning (Alex) from LR, We bullshitted a bit about the L and he asked me to pop the hood, I did, and that second that I lifted the hood everyone rushed over with “ooooooh’s and Ahhhhh’s” it was straight out of some part of a race movie. Cool though, so we head over to his truck to check it out, he pops the hood, I said “Aww how cute, little Eaton” jokingly of course, he said “it is cute compared to yours” haha.

Very cool guy, talked to a few more fbody guys and whoever else was around. Nice to know EatinLightning lives closer than the other guys so when I wanna do a Silver Shoot or something he’s right there.

We bullshitted for a while and then TheFriend, Maro, and I decided to get some food at Applebee’s. I pulled on the L pretty hard and it kicked into boost with a quickness (will be quicker once I am tuned woo) got there parked and headed inside for some food and drinks.
Came out, started the truck and heard a “Hisssssssssss” I couldn’t figure out what it was, truck died, started it up, died, repeat, got it running, got fuel in her. I can hear the hisssssssssssss some more, coming through the cab and realize I am not building any boost, or have any vacuum for that matter. AH! I broke it, I broke the truck once I got on it, GOD DAMNIT!

I limp it all the way home on just the motor, keeping the rpms low so its not spinning the blower much if any and hoping the belt stays on. At this point I have NO fucking idea what it is. Hoping that I blew a line off on that pass, we will see.
Tucked her into the garage @ 2 am. :(

I think I Broke the Truck!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Most traumatic experience in the last week, by far! I went to wash the L today and get it all detailed for the “mini-meet” this afternoon in Orlando.
I am used to the Mustang and how I care for it, I always power wash the engine bay. I spray it down with degreaser and power wash it and VIOLA-magically it’s pretty and shiny and ready to go.
With the L having a build engine I consulted a few sources about it, said I would be good to go as long as I didn’t’ get the cops wet (where the plugs are, apparently? Who knew?) I let the engine cool down, rand the Inter-cooler fan & the radiator fan. Which are wired to run if I want them to once the truck is off, but the key is still engaged. I let the fans run while I washed the truck at the car wash. I degreased it and carefully covered the air filter. Let it sit for the recommended fifteen minutes.
I power wash the bay of the engine down, finish drying the truck, close the hood, jump into the truck and start it….well attempt to start it. No Go. Truck won’t crank over! Ah! First thought was immediate panic attack, I thought “Oh shit, I fucked up the Built Motor…NOOOOOOOOOOO” and then I began to scold myself “I knew not to wash the fucking motor, it’s nothing like the mustang, I am fucking stupid, I’ve had this thing for a week and already fucking broke it? REALLY? Glad I just threw thousands of dollars down the drain” I am just beside myself, on top of this, who the hell am I going to call to rescue my ass?
I called “ShesGotIt” and told her what’s up and she pretty much put my mind to ease saying it’s the battery. I wasn’t completely convinced but I was turning on the radio and it was a no-go. So eventually I came to that conclusion too!
Now, time to get a jump, I asked everyone at the car wash, no one had cables, I am about a mile or so away from home on a hot day, don’t want to walk back to get another car and cables, then I am stuck with two cars and one driver. I looked around all office buildings, crap! I texted “CarpetCleaner” whom I don’t speak to much anymore due to an incident involving the “missing” of my carpet cleaner (hence the name) and she wasn’t home either, thank god, I didn’t want her to have to rescue me, or explain I had an L now.
I sat in the truck thinking what to do, how can I get myself out of this situation without having anyone to have to “rescue me” this is about the time I thought it would be nice to have a boyfriend to come save the day. Single life sometimes sucks, this is that time it does.
I walk around the car wash again, for what feels like the twentieth time. Again thinking I should have AAA since boyfriend doesn’t exist in my life. Ugh. Life would be too simple if I actually signed up with AAA when I thought about it BEFORE this happened.

Then I see it, a Brakes Plus in the same parking lot, it’s in a new building and off to the far side (away from where I was, easy to miss) Finally! I went inside told the guys I needed a jump and they came right over.

Jumped me with a civic, the L started right up and then died. Needed more power, let the L run while still having the civic run. Success. I am feeling so much better and less stupid at this point. Talk to the guy about my truck for a little bit while its charging, and I am off, back home to change and head to the meet.

Glad it was something simple. I am never washing the bay ever again, even though it wasn’t the water that hurt anything. Lesson learned!

The Lighting is Home!

Welcome home to #5679-still name less, although I am liking "Roxii" more and more. I flew in Saturday afternoon and Matt picked me up. I was nervous the entire flight, butterflies in my tummy. Scared I wouldn't love it, its a big purchase, did I make the right choice? All of that.

He pulled up I heard her and I was inlove. Went back to his house, signed the title and paperwork and off I went! Met up with "TheCop" for a few hours hung out, went for a spin in his Cobra, took him for a spin in the L and talked a while and what not. It's been a long time coming (us meeting up) and it was good to FINALLY hang out!

Left Atlanta about 10, got the truck about 5. Headed back to Florida, stopped about 4 am just exhausted. Had just over an hour left, I couldn't do it. I was beat. Got in to my house around 8:30 and crashed.

The truck is LOUD, FAST and INSANE! Lots and LOTS of attention. Took pics today, Will be taking more this weekend. Welcome home new baby!