LDN

Several months ago I started having a date night with my friend, Katie. We use to go every Sunday, but the last couple months life has gotten in the way and we go about every other week. On February 13, after several weeks which was the longest stretch without date night, we finally made it out! We switched it up a bit, and instead of our usual, The Top, we went to the downtown Ichiban.

Drink and sushi in hand.

Spicy sauce!!!

I found my favorite roll at Ichiban!!!

Not sure why I am posing with the centerpiece...

We started getting really goofy...

Why am I still taking pictures with the candle?

It looks like our waiter was a giant.

We had a blast, but the night had to come to an end. At one point we were told by the waiter that other patrons were complaining about our loud laughter. Not sure how true that is, but I like to believe we enjoyed ourselves so much that everyone was jealous of our LDN!

Smoothies and Zumba!

I had Zumba class tonight, which is always a blast. It has fun music while you dance off calories with friends! Before class I met up with Katie and we tried a new place, Simply Nutrition, off of Tower Road. They had delicious, healthy smoothies with a wide selection. There were plenty of flavors that did not have some type of citrus, which meant I was left with many more options than I usually get when grabbing a smoothie. Loved this place!

Turkish Delight

I will start by apologizing for not posting this one sooner, I was slow at uploading the pictures.

A few weeks ago I got a message from my friend, Borden, that she and her husband wanted to have dinner with us in Orlando at a Turkish restaurant by their house. Nuri and I jumped at the chance to see these two, and I was really excited to try a new restaurant.

We decided to go down on a Friday, making it nearly impossible to concentrate the last hour or so at work. Luckily that last hour is our sales meeting only requiring me to remember my success story for the week.

Out of work, out of Gainesville, down to Orlando! Upon our arrival, Colin had a White Russian ready for Nuri just the way he likes it, light brown (more Kaluha than half and half).

Once at this restaurant called Steaks and Salads, Nuri ordered for us and we ate family style. We all had a taste of the shepard salad, stuffed grape leaves, Kofte, kebabs, Bulgur Pilavi, Eggplant Salad. It was all delicious, and I don't know about everyone else, but I ate way too much!

Borden with her kebab!

She was the only one willing to pose with her food. Everyone I had to force.

I had to have some Turkish coffee being a coffee drinker.

It was yummy, but in my opinion Nuri's grandmother makes it better and she reads the grinds. Maybe this place would've as well, if we asked. There was a woman who fit the profile of that old woman on the corner reading your cards, tea leaves, and probably turkish coffee grinds.

The evening concluded with us back at Borden and Colin's cute apartment in their hipster neighborhood, where Borden and I chatted and made guacamole and cookies while Colin and Nuri played Magic. Insert "women belong in the kitchen" jokes here. It was an all around good time until I started to fall asleep mid-sentence talking to Borden.

The next morning, Borden and I made a trip to Ikea (wow I love that place)! We got back and I was starving. Don't mess with a starving Melissa, I am grouchy!!!! We went to Burrito Kitchen, which everyone, except me, assumed would be a hole in the wall burrito place. Nope, it was below Moe's on the Burrito place scale. We immediately vacated the premises and headed to "Little Saigon" and had Vietnamese food. Borden and Colin do live a couple blocks from the Vietnamese area of Orlando. It was delicious, I got food and my grouchiness soon became a distant memory.

Unfortunately, our time in Orlando had to come to an end. We had to get home to the puppy. Poor Zelda, she misses us when we are gone. Plus, I had Ikea stuff to install and a visit from my Mom and Uncle Cleon to prepare for. I was glad to be home for another week, but we weren't here long before taking off to Jacksonville to visit some other friends!

Puppy Love

It is easy to forget the things that happen in the middle of the night between being suddenly woken up and falling back to sleep. Last night is one of those times that would be easy to forget, but I am determined not to because it reminded me of how sweet Zelda is and how lucky I am to have the life I have.

Nuri went to Trivia night and then to hang out with a friend. I was working hard at being productive and getting things done up until bedtime, approximately 12 am. Nuri still wasn't home, and to be honest, I didn't expect him to be.

I walked into the bedroom and Zelda had already decided where she was going to sleep for the night and of course it was my spot. It took everything I had to get her to move enough so I could lay down and quickly pass out. At 2:30 I get nudged by a cold, wet nose. When I open my eyes there is Zelda sitting over me staring, she then turns to Nuri's spot and paws at his side of the bed as to say, "where is he? why isn't he home?" Of course, I am a a bit dazed since it is the middle of the night and I panic slightly. To calm myself, I text him to make sure he is alive. He is fine, just enjoying Steak and Shake with his friend.

As I am falling back to sleep, puppy as cute as can be, curls up as close to me as she can and rests her head on my stomach. Then she moves just enough to somehow manage to cuddle, with my arm under her and her head resting on my shoulder. How sweet is that!!!! When Nuri finally came home an hour later he couldn't get the pup to move either. His reaction was basically, "to hell with this" and just cuddled up on the other side of her.

How lucky to have a guy who is okay with the fact that sometimes his girlfriend likes to cuddle with the dog. But, she's not just any dog, she's Zelda.

A few minutes can go a long way...

It is easy to take for granted those friends you know will always be around to share life's moments. But, as I learned yesterday afternoon that one little message from an old friend can improve your day. My dear friend who lives too far away up in beautiful Vermont, sent me a message just to say hi and that she loved and missed me. It was a wonderful surprise! She is a very busy wife and working mom of two adorable children, but taking the time to send a quick text message made my day even better!

I need to remember this so when I'm thinking of a friend or family member, especially those I don't see often enough, I will hopefully let them know. I shouldn't put off calling them, or sending a quick email or text for another two weeks (or longer).

A Deal is a Deal!

Last Sunday I watched the puppy bowl for the first time ever! It was happiness wrapped in two hours of furry friends playing. It got me thinking about how I would love to have a second dog to keep Zelda Belda company and about the sadness I would feel when she passes. I know myself and I know I will get another dog eventually after she is gone, but not for at least a year or two. But I don't want to think about that any longer. It would be great to have a second dog to keep my sweet puppy company when Nuri and I go to work, campus, or on little trips.

So, I brought the subject up to Nuri and he was concerned with the house smelling like dog. I understand that, I have seen that happen too many times to friends who have multiple dogs. As it is now, Zelda needs a bath maybe once a month, but she does shed quite a bit, which can create that dog smell. I made Nuri a deal, I would start bathing Zelda once every two weeks and of course make sure Zelda's hair is kept picked up. Unfortunately, keeping the dog hair picked up is the difficult one, because I don't have time to vacuum every night haha, but I am determined. If in a year Nuri feels I have held up my end of the bargain we will begin looking for a second puppy.

February 14, 2012 is the date to determine if we will or won't get a new dog. We agreed to go to the shelter together and look for one and must both pick out the dog. That being said, today I bathed Zelda. I am going to use this blog to keep track of whether or not I keep up my end of the bargain with the bathing situation.

We shall see if next Valentine's Day we decide to turn 3 into 4...

Pictures from Super Bowl Sunday!

I got my camera back and now pictures from Super Bowl Sunday!

Yes, that happened!

Let's try it one more time...

The Buffet:

Good Food, Good Fun, Good Friends:

Puppies, Packers, Pittsburgh!

Sorry, it is about to be a long one...

Super Bowl Sunday, it is tradition! No matter what team is playing, no matter how much I don't like either team, I feel compelled to watch it every year. I'm not even a pro football fan really - I like the Dolphins, I like watching a good game, and I cheer on other teams if friends are fans or I like a player (except the Patriots), but you are WAY more likely to see me watching football on a Saturday.

This year, I started my Super Bowl Sunday still in St. Aug from my visit with Vanessa and Funty. Thanks to my friend's musical selection we had a little party in the living room - I must admit I was happy to see Vanessa still shaking it with a smile! Nuri came and picked me up and even joined in the fun for a few minutes before we headed home. Side note: Nuri rarely dances, but I definitely enjoy it when he does.

I was home long enough to shower, put my stuff down (still not unpacked), and say hi to Zelda before leaving for a visit with friends. When we arrived the TV was tuned to the most wonderful show ever, the Puppy Bowl!!! Oh my! Had I known I could watch puppies play for 2 hours I would've been watching this for years. I would point out cute puppies that Nuri could get me if he ever wanted to surprise me with one. I don't think he appreciated that very much. 1. I don't think he wants a second dog, and 2. If we got a second one I think he would want a say in what we got.

Puppy Bowl ended and the time came to leave for a tradition started 3 years ago. Soon after Nuri and I started dating I went with him and some of his friends to watch the Super Bowl at Ale House for all you can eat and all you can drink. It is always fun and the food is pretty good. A few hours later after Lea Michele beautifully sang America the Beautiful, Christina Aguilera messed up the words to the national anthem, Usher stole the halftime show, and the Packers beat the Steelers we headed home. I was torn, I wanted Pouncey to bring another Super Bowl ring to Lakeland, Florida as Ray Lewis is also from Lakeland, but I didn't really want the Steelers to win with all the quarterback controversy, but I also didn't want the Packers to win. The first half was pretty bad in my opinion, but at least at the end of the day it was a closer game than some. As my friends pointed out, the chances of my beloved Dolphins making it to the Super Bowl are slim (they say non-exisistent but I hold out hope).

As I prepared to write this post, I realized I left my camera in a friend's car. I delayed publishing it for a while because I wanted to do so with pictures. I am getting my camera back tonight, but as I head out of town, and decided I would go ahead and write this with pictures of the night in a later post along with details of a deal that was struck!

Baby, Baby, Baby

This past weekend I went back to St. Augustine and visited with my friends, Vanessa and Funty. That's twice in two weeks! Thankfully, Nuri drove me to St. Aug with our friend Diego along for the ride. I hate driving at night, but add fog and rain and I would've probably made a 1.5 hour drive become a 3 hour drive. Once we got there the house was dark and quiet. Now, with a woman who is 9 months pregnant this could mean it was bedtime and we were intruding, but nope, it meant that Funty had blown a fuse (literally) and Vanessa didn't know how to fix it. After trying for a bit to get the lights back on, Nuri and Diego left, Funty went to bed, and Vanessa and I sat up for the next couple hours talking in the dark. It is lovely having friends you can do that with even when you know they are exhausted and probably want to be sleeping in their bed of pillows.

On Saturday, I was woken up by the voices of Funty and the electrician. Luckily, the power came back on before we had to get ready for the great baby shower Cindy threw for Vanessa and Baby Boy Ajayi. After receiving a high five from Megan for getting the notoriously late guest of honor there on time, everyone talked for 2 hours before the games began or Vanessa got to open presents. It was great to see some faces I hadn't seen in a while. But, the day was mostly filled with a lot of love, joy, and anticipation. I am sure it was a long day for Vanessa, but that girl is a trooper.

This baby is sure to be long and handsome, the best parts of his parents, and undoubtedly loved. I can't wait for the day I can blog about his arrival, finally tell everyone his name (nobody knows), and of course get to meet him face-to-face.

A busy week, but soon some R&R

This has been a busy week to say the least. I started my Personal Training sessions once again. I am enjoying them so far, well, as much as one can enjoy being pushed to your pysical limits for an hour. Ok, it hasn't been that bad, yet. 

Last weekend, while Joon made cookies from leftover beer brewing grains (not sure if they have an official name) I put together a pantry cabinet. Then, last night Nuri and I finished putting up shelves in the living room for all our DVDs, Xbox and other such stuff. In the process we moved around lots of furniture (pictures to come later) and I was up until about 1:30. Hard to believe it is already 7 and I am up and going again! No matter how tired I am at work today it is all worth it, this new set up is great and so much better than before.

Once today and this crazy work week are over I am off to St. Augustine for Vanessa's baby shower. I get to hang out with her and her hubby for a couple days. When I return from St. Aug it will be just about time to watch the Super Bowl at Ale House. This will be a great weekend! 

I must remember to bring camera battery charger....