Where have you been???

Put an X by the states you have been to. The average is 8; how do you match up?
Should you chose to play, here's what you do: Paste the copy in the body of the note. Delete my Xs and add your own. Tag the same # of people as the # of states you've been to (I think you're limited to 30!).Just for fun, put an O beside the states where you have lived. Airports don't count!
Alabama -X
Alaska -X
Arizona -
Arkansas -X
California -
Colorado -X
Connecticut -
Delaware -
Florida -X
Georgia -X
Hawaii -X
Idaho -
Illinois -
Indiana -
Iowa -
Kansas -X
Kentucky -
Louisiana -X
Maine -
Maryland -
Massachusetts -
Michigan -
Minnesota -
Mississippi -X
Missouri -
Montana -
Nebraska -
Nevada -
New Hampshire -
New Jersey -
New Mexico -X
New York - X
North Carolina-X
North Dakota -
Ohio -
Oklahoma -X
Oregon -
Pennsylvania -
Rhode Island -
South Carolina -X
South Dakota -
Tennessee -X
Texas -O
Utah -
Vermont -
Virginia -
West Virginia -
Wisconsin -
Wyoming -
Washington -

I got 16. WOW I need to get out more! Please note the only reason I have been to 3 of the states is because of the RACK! Also, can I nominate myself to be official cheerleader/babysitter during the 50 states marathons? That way I can see all the states too! :)

This picture says it all...literally, it says it.

R.A.C.K. Love,
Carebear*

Best Italy Trip Ever!

Austin is amazing. I went to see the sunset off the lake at this restaurant, and the view is amazing! The important part of that is driving up there is winding roads and cliffs and whatnot. It looks exactly like Sardinia!
Which is of course the point of this blog.
The CRACK (The RACK plus Crystal) Sardinia trip was very interesting, but I think it basically sums up how we travelled around Europe that semester. It is quite ironic that it became my favorite trip we ever took together. It is ironic because the girls had to literally MAKE me go. I was hungover and really didn’t want to get out of my nice warm bed after an hour of sleep to go on a boat. Seriously didn’t sound fun at all, not even a little bit.
But, I did. And I am so glad that I did! For those of you who don’t remember or didn’t have the pleasure of being there here is a recap, I am however, fuzzy on some of the details, like how long did we wait for the boat, and how long did it take to drive up the island so a little help please.
First, we got on the train to go to the port to catch the boat to take us across to the island. Sounds easy right. Turns out when we got there the next boat was not scheduled to leave for several hours (you know, like12) and the next boat was going to Cagliari, not Olba which was our original destination. No biggie. We are nothing if not flexible.
We decide to lay out being as there was nothing else to do. This was not a so much of a problem except for Rachel and Kat and the fairest skin ever. And we had been out all night the night before, so we were all operating on little to no sleep and promptly feel asleep in the sun. With no sunscreen. It was painful.
Finally the boat came. It was a nice boat. Pretty big, amenities, etc. We were poor college students so we had to get the cheap seats. We were, to quote Crystal, “the first people who died on the Titanic.” We basically sat in the belly of the boat. It was set up kind of like a lounge/living room. Of course we also wanted pictures of ourselves on this amazing boat. We decided to ask a cute old man to take the picture. That conversation went like this.
Us: Hi, would you please take our picture?
Old Man: No. (walked briskly away)
WTH? Seriously, who does that?
Anyways, sunburn is starting to kick in, so we chill for a little bit, sleep some, drink with some Navy boys we met, play poker all night, you know the normal stuff one does on a long ass boat ride.
We FINALLY get to Cagliari, Sardinia. YAH!!
Our master plan is to rent a car and drive up the island to Olba, which is where we initially wanted to go. It’s a small island, how long could it really take??
Turns out, much longer than anticipated.
We went to rent a car and got a tiny Ford Focus, in Italy, we drove a Ford. What is that? The guy at the rental place was like, you should take the main highway it will only take a few hours. But why would we do that, when there is this awesome looking road that goes along the coast? It is way more scenic. It also takes significantly longer, which we failed to ask before embarking on this little adventure.
The road trip was great though! We hooked some Walkman speakers up in the backset, and rocked out. Along the way we also managed to have some fun. There was the running of the pigs, where we got chased, or we chased, some wild pigs. Why were we out of the car you might ask, well there was an inviting sprinkler that just looked too much like a shower to pass up. We had the brilliant idea to shower in the sprinkler. Yes, we were wearing our street clothes, and yes the sprinklers were about 500 yards away from the road. Bummer though we were on our way when the sprinklers turned off.
It was a beautiful and scenic drive, and we took some great pictures, climbed a tree, and danced in the street.
We finally arrive in Olba pretty late at night, I at least remember it was dark. We needed to find a place to stay for the night and we were low on funds. So we just drove around until we found a hotel that looked good, and checked it. The thing with that is we really wanted to save some money, so we just got one room with a king sized bed. There are only 5 girls, SURELY we can all fit. So 2 girls checked in and the other 3 snuk around back and went in. No biggie, people do that all the time, right?
Yeah we got busted.
The next morning, after the most glorious shower ever (It had been about 2 and half days at this point), and sleeping in a bed for the first time in several days, we attempted to sneak the 3 girls out the back. It didn’t really work. Something about needing to register with passports....
It is now Easter Sunday! What better way to spend Easter than on the beach….topless.
My sunburn was so ridiculous and hurt so badly, I just had it with a bra and shirt. I couldn’t do it. Moreover, the sun and sand hurt my legs very badly. The obvious answer to that delimma was flannel pj pants, no shirt, and juice box wine. It was very comfy on the sunburn. Thus the RACK’s RACK was born. Pictures to document the toplessness were necessary.
Sadly, we had to leave that evening. Taxis of course cost money, we didn’t have any of that so we needed a ride to the port. Why not ask the nice boys on the beach. It was weird they totally were stoked to take us. I wonder if it had anything to do with the toplessness……hmmm…..
Things get a little fuzzy for me here, I was delirious with pain from the sunburn (and maybe juice box wine had something to do with it). The boat back was super sketchy. There were airplane seats, and it was about five degrees below zero in there.
But, we thankfully made it back safely to Roma. Oh Roma……..
(I wanted to put some pictures on here too, but I don’t have any on the computer and I am too tired tonight to scan some. They will come later, and if you have any please attach!)

Po-Po Pet Peeve

So, there's a chance that me being preggers and 6 weeks away from my due date that I am a bit "hormonal". (I think Kirk would add the adjective "raging" to that description.) Hey, I can't help it! I'm carrying estrogen for two over here. It's like being on your period times two, 24/7!! I'm usually pretty calm and even-tempered; however, as my weeks have progressed I have succumbed to bawling while watching birthing videos at the library, raging on any car that even dares to think about cutting me off in traffic, and not giving Kirk any slack (poor guy can't do anything right). What's worse is I recognize that I am moody and there's nothing I can do about it!! Trust me, I've tried to shut it off. There's no stopping this barrage of emotions ... the floodgates have opened, the levies have broken and we are on our way to a FEMA disaster. What do I have to say for myself? 

"Boh?" 

(For those not familiar with the Italian slang, it basically means "eh? forget about it!" One must shrug their shoulders and plaster a confused look on her face to get the real meaning across.)

I digress. So back to my pet peeve. On three separate occasions in the past month I have had the experience of a cop pulling out behind me in traffic, riding my arse for a few miles and then speeding around me while giving me a dirty look that is equivalent to flipping me the bird. What the heck? Just because they have the "power of the law" and carry a gun doesn't give them a right to bully me because I am obeying the law and going the speed limit (well, by the time they found me I was going the speed limit :) Just because they have pretty lights on top of their car doesn't make them immune to the target of my raging hormones. No friends, they are no exception. How dare they stare me down as if my obeying the law is getting in their way. If they are in such a hurry, turn on your lights!! Otherwise, I'm not getting out of your way ... in fact, I'll slow down just to be a nuisance. 

I swear, if one more cop even tries to ride my butt or cuts me off in a fit of rage, CITIZEN'S ARREST!! I ain't scared, people ...

NYC RR NUMBERO DUE

First, I would like to apologize to Rachelle for encouraging another cold Northeast in winter RR, however this was just too too good to pass up.

NYC, here we come! Sara, Anne's awesome sister, was incredible enough to pull off getting Anne, me and Andrew into the much lusted after NYC marathon in November!

Perfect timing because Carrie will be back in the city that never sleeps (except for the last RR where we did a lot of sleeping...not this time girls!).

Rachelle promised to come! No quitsies!

This will be complete awesomeness for many reasons. I will list them below.

1. RACK reunion!!!!

2. Meeting Evie!!!!!

3. NYC MARATHON!!!!

4. Anne gets to finally meet RyANNE!!!

5. RACK reunion!!!

6. Andrew's first full marathon!!!!

7. NYC is the best!!!!

8. Anne and Kat get to dress up in freakishly weird outfits and run a marathon in front of hundreds of thousands of adoring fans!!!!

9. RACK REUNION!!!!

10. Halloween spent with the RACK, I do believe this will be a first. What do we dress up as?? Decisions decisions.... I've already decided that the Griffster will be the Naked Cowboy. I'm going to start figuring out that costume now :)

I'm so excited girls! Bring it on!!!

Non-C

I met a boy! His name is Skie, and he is so amazing! We technically met in October at a friend’s house, and we hit if off then. (Actually we made out, he asked me on a date, and I cancelled the day before.) He was invited by a friend to our cookout get together over Memorial Day weekend. We started talking, flirting etc. Then I invited him to a baseball game the next day. He came, we talked more, and I really started to like him. We had our first date last Friday. It was fun, we get along really well and have lots of things to talk about. He is such an interesting person! He was born and lived in Venezuela until he was 3. He speaks fluent Spanish (it’s even on his business card). He loves to travel. He just got back from a week in Florida, and he went to Belize recently. I asked him if he ever wanted to leave Austin/Texas (he has been here most of his life) and he said, yes probably to North or South Carolina because it is so beautiful there. (weird, only place the RAK has agreed to thus far)
He is a vice president and manager of a bank. Read: responsible and good with money.
He is so NICE, and considerate! Last Saturday I invited him out with my friends to see this band. Most of them work at this place that has a branch in Hungry, and there was a guy there visiting from Hungry. So the night goes on, and Skie notices the Hungarian guy sitting by himself, he goes over and starts talking to him and got several of my friends to talk to him too. When I asked him about it later, he was like well, I was talking to some people and I saw him sitting alone. I think if I was ever sitting along like that, especially in a foreign country I would like someone to talk to me. He invited the guy to hang out after the bar, and to brunch on Sunday. He was so grateful to Skie. It was just so sweet!
Then, we were driving and both were admiring this really pretty flowering tree. We pulled up next to it, and I was like pick a flower off it. He goes, No because I wouldn’t want to take the beauty away from someone else. Other people should get to see the beauty too. How cute!
One more, though I could go on forever! We were talking one day, just casually and he asked me about my best friend. I told him about the RACK. So we just chatted whatever didn’t really say much but that you guys are awesome, live far away, etc.
About three days later, he asked about each one of you by name. And, something he remembered about you. He was like oh how’s Carrie, and Ryan doing. How is Anne and the baby, How is Kat and her little guy. Really! Who does that! I only briefly talked about you once. He has since asked about each of you again, remembers husbands/ -boyfriends, kids, funny stories, everything. This is made more amazing by the fact that Billy could not remember who was who and married to who and lived where in 2 years. Seriously, WTF?
So yeah its true he is a pretty cool guy. Drawbacks: he dated a friend of mine 8 years ago for a year, he is 34, and his name does not have a C in it. That is all I can think of.
And my roommate just told me, she also thinks he is awesome, and is a keeper. J
P.S. As I am writing this I can’t help but think, “I wonder what I will think of this when we break up…….”
(Pessimist much?)