It's been too long...

Sorry for my unplanned absence, things at work and home got a little more hectic than usual for the past couple of weeks. But I have lots of recent fun things to report and a few awesome upcoming things to fill you in on too!

First off, if you know me, you know that I never went on rides as a kid. Being from New Jersey, that's almost a sin. Between our legendary boardwalks, the proximity to Dorney Park, Hersheypark, and the fact that there's a Six Flags in South Jersey, there's pretty much no excuse not to give it a shot. Now go forward 20 years and now I'm an adult in NJ that's never been on a ride...married to a man that loves them. So after a few years of making excuses and finding ways around it, I finally bit the bullet two weeks ago and went on my very first ride! Not a big deal to most people, I'm sure, but it was a HUGE deal for me. And I loved it so much that we went back down to the boardwalk this past weekend to ride some more!

For those of you that aren't familiar with the Jersey shore and our boardwalks and amusement piers, here's a shot taken from the top of the ferris wheel, overlooking a few rides and the beach in Seaside Park. No, I will not ride that roller coaster...no matter how fearless I get. People have a lot of bad things to say about Seaside Heights and while some of them have merit, they have done quite a bit to make it nicer and safer over the past few years and I really have a good time when we visit for the day.

If you don't already know, I'm somewhat addicted to the beach...it's actually the scariest part about possibly moving to Tennessee for me, I've never been that far from the ocean. We take several day trips to the shore every year and one big vacation in August to Wildwood Crest. This year Rob and I are going for ten days in the beginning of August and I cannot wait! My mom is even coming down for a few days too! We'll spend most of our days on the beach and our nights on the boardwalk or in Atlantic City. We also spend a day or two in my beloved Cape May, walking the mall, going to Sunset Beach, and going to their awesome (and free) zoo.

And if that ten day trip weren't enough, I'm also going to Wildwood for a weekend with a friend that I met on Etsy! Krystan has never been to the Jersey shore and I'm so psyched to show her around and just get a great little vacation to have fun and relax.

If anyone is considering travelling to Wildwood or Cape May or has never been there and has questions, please let me know...I'm a vacation veteran in that area and would love to make some recommendations!!!

For any of you that I've now got craving the beach, but for whatever reason it's not an option right now, I may have a solution for you.... This is the most authentic 'beach' scented product I've ever used and I'm absolutely in love with it. It's just all-around awesome and you can get it in HelloCrafty's Etsy shop. In fact, all her products are incredible and if you're not a beach kind of person, try the Satsuma lotion :) It smells good enough to eat.

Did you ever do something even though it was against a rule that you yourself created? I did yesterday. I've been telling myself and my husband for months now - no more pets! The majority of our fancy rats are older now and it will be easier to move the fewer we have. But then I walked into the pet store yesterday, looking for a simple container of dried plankton and came home with this.

Meet Coriander. Cori, for short. I apologize for the crummy picture, I took it with my phone as soon as we got home (which is why he's still in his pet store box) to send to his new dad who was still at work. I normally don't even buy my ratties at pet stores but he is quite the exceptional boy. He was marked 'for pet only' and has obviously been adored by the pet store staff - they were so excited that he was coming home with me! Normally when I get a new rat, they're cautious, a little skittish, and generally fearful for at least a couple of days. Not Cori! He's just all love, he gives kisses and snuggles and took treats from my hand as soon as I got him home. He's living on his own for just a few days as a precaution and then will be moving in with Jake, Louie, and Killer as long as they all get along well.

And in my true childlike nature, I am way too excited that my birthday is now within a month's time. I normally don't make gift requests from him but this year I've asked (ok, begged) my husband for a Nintendo Wii...we'll see later this month if he comes through!

My Etsy shop should be updated this weekend with some new cards and other paper goodies...be sure to take a look!