Happy New Year 2014

So yeah, I'll eventually get into this whole "writing a blog post" thing. It's been forever since I've posted something... but one of my New Years resolutions is to start posting more stuff. I continue to read and enjoy other peoples blogs, so why I can't get into it myself is beyond me. But maybe this will inspire me! Not even sure where to begin since it has been so long since my last post. Things are going pretty well and overall I am happy but have some big plans for 2014 and the year is getting off to an "ok" start. It's only January 10th, so am not getting discouraged but I can be impatient at times so am anxious to how the next few months pan out. So will save more for another post... In closing:

I'm back!!

Ok—so I did promise another post to my blog (I think I said the end of last week but hey, close enough!)… 

So now what to write about?????

Seeing as my last “official” post was over a year ago, I guess I could give some updates on what the heck I’ve done since then.  So here goes…

1.       I GOT A JOB!!!!  FYI that I was laid off from my previous employer in October of 2010 due to company downsizing and remained unemployed for 17 months!! Not by choice!! But when they say the economy sucks and jobs are tight, believe them!!  Luckily I secured a new job this past February in my field (HR) and doing what I wanted (Benefits/Compensation), instead of having to settle for something I was not excited about.  It has been almost 9 months and going well.  The commute… well that is another story. Let’s just say I work in McLean/Tysons and leave the rest of your imagination (at least for anyone local to NoVa who can relate/sympathize).

2.       I’ve lost 40lbs!  As a kid and teenager I was always very skinny and didn’t weigh much over 100lbs til my mid-20s and then it was all downhill from there.  I’d been wanting/trying to lose weight for many years and had tried before but just didn’t stick to it or lost interest or whatever.  But during my time of unemployment, I decided to work on “me” and make my down time useful, so joined Weight Watchers and the rest is history!!!  I still have another 15-20lbs I want to lose to get to my goal but they aren’t kidding when they say those are the hardest to go!  The summer has not helped but at least I’ve maintained my weight and haven’t put any back on!  So after this Labor Day weekend, I’ll ramp it up again to hopefully get the rest off in the next 6 months.  It took me 18 to lose the 40, so the slower the better for me and better chances of keeping it off going forward.  I’ll try to post some before and after pictures sometime! 

3.       Travel!  I have managed some trips in the last year.  Let’s see… Florida last October; NYC in January; Atlanta in May; Houston in August plus some local travel in other parts of VA to visit some friends/family.  No other travel plans on the horizon except a possible trip to Buffalo in November for my bosses wedding.  But Buffalo in November?!?!?!?!

4.       I participated in my first Relay For Life event this past May and walked 4.5 miles in Honor Of/Memory Of those friends and family who have battled cancer.  It was an amazing and moving experience and one I plan to continue annually.  This next year will be more personal as cancer has hit much closer to home to me in the last few months… will share that another time. I will also be participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s event in DC the end of October. I have done this event a couple of times in the past and always walk in Memory of my “Granma Florida” who suffered with Alzheimer’s for 11 years!   This is a work sponsored event as well, so will be nice to bond with some of my co-workers that day. 

So I feel like there is other stuff but my mind is blank right now, or it is stuff I am sure is not interesting to anyone!

I am looking forward to the upcoming holiday weekend and the extra day off next week!  Making some plans for the weekend, just hope the weather cooperates and isn’t rainy like it has been the last few weekends. 

Until next time!!

Worlds worst blogger!!

Well, it is official.... I SUCK at blogging!!  I had these great intentions of blogging a lot more and getting into it but well, that just didn't happen.  Which is funny cause I read blogs daily but for some reason, just have not gotten into posting stuff on my own blog.  Maybe cause I don't think there is anything really cool or exciting or interesting to others BUT I am going to make a better effort at this going forward.... I pinkie-promise!

There is probably TONS of stuff to report since I haven't posted anything in over a year... WTH!?  Anyway, I will post something again by the end of this week what a "Year in the Life..." or something like that. 

Heck, not even sure if anyone reads this thing but maybe I'll just start "advertising" it more with friends and family, or the other blogs I creep on read.

Hope everyone has had an awesome summer and is looking forward to the autumn weather and the holidays!  Where does the time go? 

More soon...

Odds and Ends

So how do you like my new blog design?  Classy, huh?! I decided that if I was truly going to give this blogging thing the due it deserves, I needed something that made my blog interesting and fabulous.  The ones you can create on Blogger just weren't cutting it.  Thanks for Marina at Penny Lane Designs for my awesome new blog design!!!!  :)
I can not believe it is almost July! Where does the time go?  Geesh!  Am excited for the weekend as I am going to see Wicked at the Kennedy Center on Saturday night.  Will be my 3rd time seeing it and can.not.wait!!  I think Wicked is going to give my all time favorite, Cats, a run for it's money!! 

Then Sunday I am headed down to Tennessee with my folks to visit my Aunt and cousin Brad and his family at their cabin in Spencer, TN.  We will be there for about 4 days, so a quick trip but looking forward to it. 

I'm still looking for a job but it is slow going.  Starting to get a little stressed about it as I have not worked since last October!!  But keeping my fingers crossed the perfect job comes along soon. 

SUPER EXCITED as my favorite TV show premiered this past Sunday night... TRUE BLOOD!  I.Love.True Blood!!!!  It's on HBO.  I only hate that it is only on during the summer months.  My other summer TV schedule includes "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Pretty Little Liars", oh and lets not forget the annual installment of "Big Brother".  That is totally my guilty pleasure...sorta like a train wreck that you know you shouldn't look at but you just can not help it!  Oh and another new favorite I accidentally happened upon is "Nails Files" which is on The TV Guide Channel on Tuesday nights.  About a nail salon in LA called "The Painted Nail".  Katie (the owner and star of the show) is hysterical! I so want to go to LA just to get my nails done there!

Well, don't want to bore you any longer so will end here.

My plan is to start blogging at least once a week and will try to make them more exciting and interesting going forward.

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July!!!  DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!!!!! And wear your sunscreen!!!!! 

Summertime!!

Ok--so I need to improve on my blogging updates.  I still am reading other blogs weekly or daily sometimes but am slacking on my own. 

I need to jazz up the look of my blog as it is just kinda "blah".  I've seen some really neat and creative ones out there, so going to take a look and make mine look pretty too! :)

Not too much has been going on... staying busy and enjoying my time off (did I say I've been unemployed since Oct 2010?)... time to return to the real world and get a job!  But taking advantage of having some free time so getting projects done around home, traveling, spending more time with friends and family.  Plus my stress level is way down since I have not had to deal with a daily commute in Northern VA traffic or spending way to much filling my car up with gas twice a week and so on.    So stay tuned for a post soon on hopefully a new job. 

Since my last post I did spend 7 awesome days in Key West Florida!! I'll have to post more on that later along with some pictures.  Plus my involvement with HOBY (a non profit leadership program for high school sophomores) has helped fill my time.

Am sad today as my 2nd cousin passed away yesterday.  She was my Moms first cousin, so does that make her my 2nd cousin or a 1st cousin once removed, or what?  Anyway, she would have turned 87 this August.  She lived in NYC most of her life and never married or had kids but was a very independent lady living on a 3rd floor walk up apartment in Manhattan until last June.  Unfortunately she suffered a stroke last September and had to remain in a nursing home since then.  She was actually doing pretty well and had made great progress.  I had been up to NYC a few times since last fall to visit her and help my Mom take care of some of her affairs (including moving her out of her apt).  But last Monday she suffered another stroke and never really recovered and slipped away quietly on Saturday afternoon.  We are planning a Celebration of Life for her later this summer in NYC!

So this is basically been a hodge-podgh of stuff... I promise to get better about keeping this more up to date.  I also need to get some followers!!! I need to feel the love people!! ;)

Have a great summer (and don't forget to wear your sunscreen!!!!!)
Caryll

Hey ya'll!!

Sweet tea, cheese grits and fried green tomatoes.... 1 guess where I was recently...  Yep, Savannah!!!  Well actually, I was staying on Edisto Island, South Carolina but spent one awesome say in Savannah and a second in Charleston.

My parents own a timeshare and each year get 4 weeks to use at a variety of locations around the US.  They choose Edisto Island for this spring since it was someplace they had never been, was near the water and not too far from other cities.  The condo they reserved had 2 bedrooms (and a loft) and 2 baths, a full kitchen and living room etc... since I am not working right now, they invited me down for the week.  I decided to go for just part of the week and drove the 8 hrs on Sunday...

Edisto Island is a very small beach town with just a few restaurants, some shops and a Piggly Wiggly.  Think there was one stop light.  However, is directly off the Atlantic Ocean and is very quiet and relaxing.  Since we were there in the "off season" it was pretty dead but I am not sure what it is like in the dead of summer.  Once I got off of 95-South, it took almost a full hour to get out there.  For awhile I wondered where the heck my GPS was taking me as you drive along 2 lane roads winding through small towns here and there.  I bet I passed at least 30 churches in that hour long car ride!

Though the resort was not one of the nicer ones, it was good enough for a relaxing few days.  On Monday morning the 3 of us headed out at 7:30AM to drive into Savannah, which was just under 2 hours away.  We had booked a "Paula Deen" tour that morning at 10.  The tour was kinda fun... it drove us around Savannah basically stalking many of the places Paula had worked, or lived or shopped at, etc... Included a stop at Byrd Cookie Company, which had some amazing cookies and adorable gifts.  I bought a cute dip bowl and spreader and a few other little items. 

Next on the tour was a visit to the Savannah Bee Company where we were able to sample some of their honey.  Then lunch at Uncle Bubbas (Paulas little brother) located on Wilmington Island. Lunch was part of our tour price, so we did not get to order off the main menu and instead had a lunch buffet which was full of southern treats... low country boil, green beans, red rice, corn on the code, spare ribs and much more. Plus lets not forget the sweet tea.  It was all delish!  Then banana pudding for dessert--totally blew my diet on this trip.  After lunch we headed back into Savannah and the tour ended around 2pm. 

We had a few hours to kill, so decided to do a more formal tour of Savannah which included a 3 hour bus tour with a great tour guide who gave us so much history.  It was pretty great. Included one stop down on River Street where there were some cute shops and an awesome candy/ice cream shop we were able to get a refreshing treat.


Church steeple in Savannah--this is the steeple the feather floats by in the opening of Forrest Gump



House from "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"

 
Once that tour ended we headed over to Lady and Sons for our dinner reservation.  This is the restaurant owned by Paula and her 2 sons.  Luckily we had a "reservation" as part of the tour we did earlier in the day but it was crowded.  There was a large, 2 story gift shop and the restaurant was (I believe) 3 or 4 stories.  So, I will give her restaurant 3 stars, out of 5.  I think it was basically because of what I ordered I did not like but was kinda disappointed in that.  I guess I had just worked myself up that it would be so wonderful plus it was some place I'd always wanted to go.  My Dad and I ordered the crab stew to start, which was wonderful and my Mom got the fried green tomatoes, which were equally as good.  But I ordered the crab cakes and did not like them!!  It was something about the seasoning that just didn't work for me. It came with red beans and rice, which were just ok and then fried collard greens--which were interesting and actually what I liked the best.  It was also freezing at our table and I think kinda added to the bad experience.  I would definitely recommend it for a first timer and there are tons of other items to order (my Mom loved her Grouper meal). 

After dinner, we headed back the 2 hours to Edisto Island for the night.

Tuesday morning we took our time getting up and milling around and then decided to head into Charleston, which was only about an hour away.  My Dad is "king of the tour", so we took another tour which again was very interesting.  I liked this one better than the one in Savannah as it was able to stop at times so we could get a better look, take pictures, etc... 

One of the beautiful homes in Charleston

The tour lasted about 3 hrs and then we took the local trolley back around to the Charleston Marketplace, which we had seen on the tour.  It was 4 or 5 long buildings full of all kinds of vendors selling tons of different items.  Some really interesting items.  I bought a small bouquet of "roses" made out of palm fronds that someone handmade.  We then strolled around a few of the streets and little shops and then had dinner at Hymans Seafood, a popular place and very good.   Enjoyed this place so much better than the night before. 

Originally, I was planning to drive home on Wednesday but decided on our drive home from Charleston that I would stay an additional day to get some R&R especially since the previous 2 days had been so full.  On Wednesday, we did go out and explore Edisto Island some--checked out the beach, had lunch in a little place on the water, checked out the few little shops and visited a local plantation.  That night we had dinner at the Old Post Office, which was about 15 minutes away.  It was pricey but pretty good. 



Atlantic Ocean at Edisto Island



Fountain in front of the Old Post Office restaurant

Thursday I started my journey back north around 9AM with a few stops at an outlet along the way.  It was a fun few days and a nice get away. Oh, I shouldn't forget to mention that it was sunny and in the 80s the entire time... loved it and hated returning to the cold weather in NoVA.  

I had never been to either Savannah or Charleston before, so really enjoyed visiting both and would love to go back when I had more time to see and do other things.  I'd have to say that I liked Savannah the best but both are equally as nice and so much history.

Up next... Key West (April 16-23)... :)

25 things

So about 2 years ago, Facebook was overwhelmed with everyone doing their "25 things". I actually kinda liked it as I learned some new things about my friends and family.  So I thought, I'd do it again for my brand spanking new blog... might give my future followers a little more details about who I am... so here are my 25 Things, 2011 edition:

1. I was born in Alexandria, Virginia in the same hospital as my Dad.
2. I love my name... well the spelling that is.  CARYLL (pronounced Carol)
3. My 3 best friends I've known for 25+ years... we've been through a lot of highs and lows together over the time span.  I love them like they are sisters.

Me and 2 of my BFFs at my 40th birthday celebration.

4. I have one sister, Stacy, who is 7 years younger than me.  She is also one of my BFFs.

Me and Stacy

5. I can blow bubbles off my tongue. 
6. I severed 80% of my Achilles tendon when I was 13 in a freak accident at my church. 
7. I was in the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade once. I helped carry a balloon.



That's me in the front... blond, younger, skinnier!

8. I love Broadway musicals.  My all time favorite is Cats, which I've seen 6-7 times.  9. I LOVE OPRAH and anything to do with her.  My goal was to see one of her final shows, but isn't looking so good since it takes an act of congress to get tickets... believe me, I've tried!!
10. I am addicted to reality TV--well most of it.  Current favorite is Bethany Ever After.  I love her... she is so freakin' funny!!
11. I have never lived anywhere but in Northern Virginia. 
12. I love HOBY (www.hoby.org)... will do another post on that sometime.
13. I plan to marry Justin Timberlake one day... he just doesn't know it yet. ;)
14. My parents have been married for almost 45 years!!!


My parents with me at my cousins wedding.

15. Most people think, when guessing my age, that I am in my late 20s/early 30s when in reality, I am 41 (and proud of it).  It can be a blessing and a curse to look so young.
16. I was hired by Delta to be a flight attendant when I was 21... long story why that didn't work out for me.
17. Some of my current and past nicknames are: Blondy, Legs, LuLu, Carrot, Carol-Ann, C-Note.
18. I love handbags and shoes.
19. My Mom has 2 brothers named Bob (my grandma gave a baby up for adoption when she was younger and his adopted parents named him Bob, then my grandma had another baby boy later on who she named Bob and when they all found each other in their 50's there were 2 "Uncle Bobs"!).
20. I am a major neat freak and extremely organized... in every aspect of my life.
21. I have a weird obsession with Britney Spears...
22. I was diagnosed with a learning disability when I was 9 that stayed with me through out all 12 grades. 
23. I am very good with directions but always get lost in DC.  Who knows??!!
24. I have never NOT had a car payment since I was 21! I always seem to buy a new car every 2-4 years.
25. I have some of the best friends and family in the world!!
26. BONUS:  I purchased an awesome new camera today (Nikon Coolpix S8100)...can't wait to start using it!!
Ok--well there you go.  Exciting, right??  So maybe more information than you cared to know... but hey, what else did you have going on??  :)