Hello, Weekend!

Greetings!

I love Fridays. And not working. Good thing the weekend is almost here!

So I'm going back to my hometown tonight to support my dad. He's the high school principal and tonight will be his last graduation ceremony. He recently was hired as the Superintendent, so after nearly 15 years at the high school, tonight he will say goodbye. So, I wanted to be there.

Then tomorrow is the BF's mom's birthday. So . . .I still am figuring out what I can do special for her. I was thinking about making strawberry shortcake, but I would have to make the biscuits tonight. I might just do that. Then we have Jazz Fest to go to...Kenny G will be here! I actually have two VIP tickets and am bringing the BF. I am looking forward to it! I hope the weather cooperates!

That's really all of my plans at this point. I would like to get some sun and exercise, too.

***
Then on Monday, I have to pick up a rental car and drive to Kingston and Ottawa, Ontario for work. I actually have three live TV interviews scheduled at this point. I'm nervous. I don't mind being interviewed, I just get scared and my mind goes blank and I'm afraid I won't have all of the answers. I'm basically just promoting a destination - so I should chill out. But they always ask questions about international travel and currency exchange rates - and I never know what to say. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I don't do badly!

Then I'll be back to work on Wed. and we have Friday off for July 4th! So it really is summertime! Then the BF and I will soon be leaving for Cape May, NJ. Lots to look forward to.

Alrighty, well wishing everyone a wonderful weekend and TGIF!

-Dining Diva

{Best Birthday Ever!}

That's Sassy! told me that this year was my Champagne birthday! (I turned 24 on the 24th!) And maybe that's why it was such a fantastic birthday. It was just wonderful, I'm still smiling.
It started off with my beautiful flowers on Tuesday from the BF with a sweet card. Then his parents had such a nice birthday dinner for me. (So sweet!) With chicken kabobs, corn on the cob, rice, grilled peaches, and pink lemonade. We sat outside and it was so nice. Then they even had ice cream cake with the candles that act like sparklers and you have to keep blowing them out. And balloons and sweet cards! I was and still am just really touched. I thought that was so special of them - I haven't even known them for that long. Then the BF and I went for a long bike ride and it was just a nice, warm night. Loved it. THEN, the next day, my actual birthday, the BF kicked-off the day with my extra special birthday card and present! All I wanted for my birthday was a card from him, because he hasn't given me one before. Well he gave me the best card ever, which basically said he loved me. Which was SO EXCITING. I don't know when I turned into such a sappy person, but I have been dying to tell him I love him because I do and I just like to let the people I care about, know how I feel. So I was so thankful to hear that and that was the best birthday gift I could have ever wished for. He also gave me a gift certificate to get some sassed out sunglasses at the Sunglass Hut . . .so I'm looking forward to picking out a pair. THEN - we went golfing. It was a great morning to golf. I am horrible, but it was really fun. Then we went to my parents house on the lake and my friend and her boyfriend came over, too, and we spent the day on the boat. It was just an all around exceptional birthday. I am truly blessed with all of my friends and family in my life. I took some pictures, so hopefully I can post them soon.

One more day until the weekend - then I'm off to Ottawa for work! Then it's the 4th of July!

-Dining Diva

{Flowers @ Work}

Aww! I got back from lunch this afternoon and found the best surprise at my desk, ever! The prettiest bouquet of colorful Gerber daisies with a Happy Birthday balloon! (My favorite.) From my fantastic BF! All the girls in my office were waiting for me at my cubicle when I got back and where dying to see my face. :o) I was very happy and it was the sweetest card, too!

Tomorrow is my birthday but I think I am going to take the entire day off. Right now, I have the afternoon off. . .but the BF asked if I would like to go golfing in the morning, and I would! It's gorgeous weather today - and it's supposed to be tomorrow, too. I'm so happy.

-Dining Diva

Fun-Filled Friday

Hello there! TGIF!

Thank goodness it's Friday! It sure seems like this week kind of dragged on. I hope everyone had a great week. And here we go . . .

Last night the BF took me on a sassy date and it was fabulous. We haven't actually went on an official date in a while. Well, actually, that's not really true. But in any case, I had a great night. Thank you! So I came home from work and relaxed a bit, then BF picked me up and we grabbed dinner at UNO's which is right in the mall. That was an adventure in itself. First off, Miss Sassy was also there with her BF and they spotted me and said hello - which was exciting because I haven't seen her in so long! (We got the buffalo quesadillas btw, and they were great. Also, the raspberry lemonade beverage was fabulous. We also got other food, way too much, and we were full.) But to make our dining experience that much better, I witnessed some drama between a server and her manager. As she was walking out of the kitchen, she mouthed the word , "dickhead" or something like that. Anyways, the manger saw my reaction to her saying that and then he kept eyeing me. I was just telling the BF how funny the situation was that I was watching (because he had his back to all of the excitement) and then the manager walks over to our booth and says he's sorry we just saw that and she would be spoken to. We honestly didn't care, and told him not to worry about that. Then the server comes over and is like uncomfortably telling us that the manager threatened her job and blah blah blah. It was like she was pissed we told on her, but we didn't even say anything. Then the manager comes back over to apologize for the server's unprofessionalism of coming over t our table . Then our server comes over and says sorry. By this point, it was quite comical. After all of those apologies, you would think they would buy us a round of drinks or offer dessert. Nope. But it did make us laugh. Then we went to the SOLD OUT showing of "The Hangover". . . SO FUNNY! I haven't laughed that hard at a movie in a long time. I suggest you go see it ASAP! So I had a great night and am sooo happy and more that I really have such an amazing BF. Thank you. :O)

Next item: Pictures from Pittsburgh trip

dance party featuring my sassed out dance move with Faith & Kara.

Kara, rocking the HOT PINK cowgirl boots on the dance floor.

The boots. Really add a little Pizazz to the dance party!

The BF showing off his dance moves with me. . .(you can't see him. . .but be warned, he's on fire.) :o)

Kara surprised her bf from Pittsburgh, Faith, and I with a delicious birthday cake!! Thank you so much! And it was my favorite, buttercream frosting with a strawberry fillimg. Mmmm!! I'll be 24 on the 24th next week!

The cake!

Me & BF in front of cabin.

So, as you can see, I had tons of fun visiting Kara.

Back to work! Actually, the second half of the day won't be too bad because we have a group of people from Ithaca, NY delivering Ithaca ice cream, beer, and wine! Oh yea.

Dining Diva

{I love the sun!}

It's a gorgeous day today and I hate being inside at my desk. Not too much longer and I'll be outside and hopefully running and biking! We have the Iron Girl Triathlon coming to town in July, and I am supposed to be on a relay team. I'm the biker. That's happening next month.

Just some fun information:

1. Go to Victoria's Secret. Today started their semi-annual sale. On my lunch break I managed to spend just about $85 on a fabulous bathing suit, shorts, and lots of lotion, perfume, and hair products. Did I really need any of it? Not really, but I am excited about it all.

2. My trip to Pittsburgh was fantastic! The BF and I had a great time together and it was wonderful to see Kara again. It just happened to be the Stanely Cups championship game Friday night and it was very fun to be in Pitt during the game. Talk about community/team spirit! Those Yinzers (people who live in Pittsburgh) don't mess around when it comes to their teams. And the Penguins won! So that was exciting to be around all of the excitement. We had dinner on the river at Station Square and then walked over one of the big, yellow bridges back to our hotel. Which, btw, was a great hotel. I used Priceline.com to bid on a room in the city and ended up getting one for just under $90 with tax. (Note: You can't cancel a room if you bid on it with Priceline.com, which stinks if you're a dummy like me and bid on a room for the wrong month! So now I also have a room for July which I don't need or want.) So then we hand lunch with his Nana and great aunt Saturday morning at EatNPark. Never been to one before and it wasn't too shabby. I think the BF was happy to see him g'ma and she was happy to see him, too! Then it was off to Kara and Mickey's cabin about 1.5 hours away. We had a fun time, filled with cowboy boots and dancing. Hopefully, I'll have pictures to share soon. Then we drove back (a long drive for a girl with undiagnosed ADD) and grabbed dinner at Quaker Steak & Lube before being ready for bed. BF said it felt like our first date because I asked so many questions. What the heck does that mean?! But he assured me (because he knows I slightly worry about everything) that he meant that in a good way. I know I like to ask questions, and I think the lack of sleep might have had something to do with my curiosity.

So, for tonight, I plan on running and hopefully going for a bike ride with BF.

-Dining Diva

{Road Trip}

Happy Friday!!!

I have a half-day today and am heading home to pack a few more things quickly and then it's time for the BF to pick me up and head to Pittsburgh! I love road trips. Last night I picked up some Mountain Dews for him, water for me, bulk candy (my favorite), and some protein cereal. Trying to have some healthy snacks for the road. Then we should get to our hotel by 7 p.m. and then we can go to Station Square for dinner. I am excited. Then we'll go get his grandma around 10 a.m. tomorrow and take her and her sister out for brunch. I'm looking forward to it. Then it's another 2 hour drive to Kara's cabin for a fun-filled night of festivites! Then it's back home. So, hopefully I have some fabulous photos to post afterwards.


Have a great weekend!

-Dining Diva

{Time to Travel}

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

A few updates to my upcoming travel plans.

1. Taking a half-day on Friday to head to Pittsburgh with BF. I'm very excited for our road trip and can't wait to hit up Wegman's to grab some road trip essentials for our cooler I plan on packing (even though he doesn't want to and just wants to stop at McDonald's. No, thank you.)

Our trip has a two-fold purpose.

1. We are going to go and visit his grandmother Saturday morning for brunch and to visit. He hasn't seen her since last fall! So, I think it will be nice for him to see her and I'm happy to meet her, too. She has been feeling pretty ill lately as she was undergoing chemotherapy. Hopefully we can lift her spirits while we're there and not tire her out.

2. Afterwards, we'll drive just over an hour, I believe, to visit my friend's Kara and Mickey (they visited me Memorial Day weekend and are in the pictures in a post below.) I'm so excited to visit them at Mickey's cabin. Apparently it's their summer kick-off party and it's an annual fiesta that shouldn't be missed. I can't wait!

So it will be a jam-packed weekend and I'm looking forward to it. Then it will be back to Monday again and I'll be looking forward to the next weekend. Then it's my birthday! So there is lots of excitement and activity in June!

Next travel update:

The BF and I are planning a long weekend mini-vacation this July but have too many destination options to choose from. At this point I think Cape May, NJ is looking great. Has anyone ever been there before? I've never even heard of it, but it looks super cute and nice. It's an actual island at the southern tip of NJ. OR I'm still looking for cheap flights to the coast of the Carolina's. I would like to go to the Outerbanks or Charleston. So, I think Maine and Cape Cod are out.

Where are you going for a summer vacation? or where do you recommend?

Dining Diva

{Is it 5 p.m. yet?}

So sangria for lunch isn't the best idea if I planned on being productive this afternoon. So, I've been researching destinations for me and the bf's July mini-vacation. His ideas were Maine, Cape Cod, or Cape May. I have been looking at Bar Harbor, Maine and it does look gorgeous. My problem is that vacation to me is beach, sand, heat, ocean, etc. . .So I would like to go to the south. But July is too hot to go to the south. So Bar, Harbor is looking pretty good. . .but that's a long drive. Then I was thinking about somewhere right here in New York State. I do promote tourism in the state, that would seem like an appropriate decision. Any suggestions? I'm very open to any.


So, also, I'm listening to some fabulous music. I love this playlist!! It's actually off of Politics and Pearl's blog. And I have deceided that I love Adele!!! I love Right as Rain! So sassy! And Brad Paisley's song, 'Then' is my new favorite. What a sweet song. Love it.

Ok. . .it's almost 5 p.m. . . .Thanks for listening to me blab on for the afternoon. And Happy National Doughnut day, too! I heard Krispy Kreme is giving them out for free!

{New Pad & Food}

Hola Party People!

So, lots has been going on in my life lately and I'd love to update you. Well, I couldn't be happier in my new apartment with my new roommate. The actual apartment is large and very comfortable and I think I'll love the living room with the fire place when it gets cold in a few months. (Let's think about summer first!) But my roommate is so much nicer and I think we'll love living together. We already work together - so some may think that we will see each other too much, but I think it will be fine. She's much more like me and just a nice person. So I have lots of decorating to do, such as hanging stuff up on the walls. . .but hopefully I can tackle some of that this weekend. I did just buy a sassed out hot-pink king bedskirt for my bed, so I am looking forward to that pulling the colors together in my bedroom. Right now I have a giant orange and hot pink gerbera daisy duvet on my bed. . .so I thought the hot pink bed skirt would be a perfect match. The bf helped me hang up a few items the other day, but we have much more to do. I did put together a bathroom shelving unit (took 3 hours) but I did it. That felt good to accomplish. Also, my favorite thing to hang on the wall is the "apartment-warming" gift that bf gave me. That was so nice of him. It's this giant mirror from Pier 1 and it had a hot pink/orange hue of mixed colors around the border. It must weight about 35 pounds. . .so it needs to be hung will and strategically. The mirror below is basically what is looks like, but no blue. Just pinks and oranges . . .love it.Next, today at work, the Dining Diva had a fab. lunch break. Today at 11 a.m. kicked off a favorite local and downtown festival called, "The Taste of __________" (the name of my city fills in the blank but I'm just so-oh-mysterious that I thought I'd leave that blank.) Anyhow, it's a great event and it's a beautiful day. I'm going back after work too. Basically hundreds of restaurants set up a booth and offer food for $1. There is also a wine tent (had a sangria wine slushie already - oops!) and live music and entertainment. Today a group of us from work went and I had way too much, as usual. Let me tell you: strawberry shortcake (dessert first!), chicken gyro, sangria slushie, garlic pizza, twist with sprinkles. {Just so you don't think I'm a complete fatty, let me tell you that these are all small portions - they are a $1}

But I'm looking forward to this evening. Should be fun, however, I sometimes don't like being in crazy crowds of people. But I hope I like it. Last year I went at night and it was kind of trashy and disappointing. I also had my jerk of an x-bf with me so that could put a damper on any evening. So here's to tonight and this weekend.

Stay sassy!

-D