Beach Etiquette

The locals or in my case, scha-local (a former shoobie that now pays taxes in NJ) usually avoid the popular touristy beaches. Why? Because many of the shoobies (tourists) do not have the best beach etiquette.

For some reason at the touristy beaches, everyone enjoys sitting right on top of one another. Kids are kicking sand at strangers. You can’t hear the music because too many portable stereos are playing at the same time. I can repeat Sally’s life story, and I don’t even know Sally… It’s awful.

So please allow this beach bum to enlighten you.

Proper Beach Etiquette 101:

1. Bring headphones, or sit far enough away from other people so they don’t have to listen to ‘your’ music. I am sure you have awesome taste in beach tunes, but so does everyone else on the beach. Most of us don’t go there for the DJ competition. Sometimes I like to read a book, or listen to the waves. I’m not a fan of Ja Rule interrupting my peaceful time.
2. Don’t shake your towel near other people. I mean come on. Common sense. Know which way the wind is blowing. Excuse yourself, and go to an area where you’re not surrounded by people before you shake your towel. Shaking downwind from others is always the way to go! The same goes for your clothes, blankets, shoes, etc.
3. I’m not Marsha. Throw your football somewhere else. Sorry, but not sorry. The beach is HUGE. Find an open space to toss your football or frisbee around. You want to play soccer or wiffle ball instead? I love them both, but I don’t love getting smacked by a ball I didn’t see coming, or getting sand kicked up on me as you run by. Play nice or go home.
4. Don’t feed the seagulls, they’re vultures. They are ruthless and if you feed them they think I am going to feed them, and I know better. The last thing I want on a beautiful beach day is to be stalked by those maniacs. I don’t even like sharing my food with my fiance let alone a bird. PLEASE, you’re not doing anyone any favors. They eat PLENTY. The seagulls in New Jersey are obese, they don’t need anymore ‘people’ food. Besides, If they want it bad enough they will take it from you, trust me. Don’t invite them into our zone.
5. Throw your trash out. This is huge! The beach is one of the best places on earth to visit. Don’t ruin it by being lazy. You pass about 15 trash cans on your way out, take your trash with you. Make it easy on yourself and bring a plastic bag or two with you to the beach. That way you can load up the trash and easily get rid of it all at the end of the day.
6. If you dig a big hole with the kids, it would be really cool if you filled it back up before you left. It’s just called being courteous.
7. Spacing… This is almost as big as throwing out your own trash. Please leave enough space between you and your neighbors. If we can hear each others conversations, and we are strangers, we are sitting too close. Again, there is SO much beach for you, your friends, and/or your family to take advantage of. Setting up your umbrella in my direct sunlight = NOT cool. Usually our group sits near the beach exit, far in the back so we don’t have to worry about people sitting right on top of us. Just use your best judgement.
8. Smoking. I’m not particularly a fan, but if you are, just know where to do it. Again take note where the wind is blowing and try to avoid blowing your smoke in other people’s faces.

How about you? What are your beach etiquette rules?

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

Serving Size: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

Chocolate Fudge Cupcake

1 Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix

3 Large Eggs

1/2 cup melted butter (butter not margarine)

1 cup water

Strawberry Whipped Cream (filling)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

5-6 T. chopped/processed strawberries

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (from Glorious Treats)

½ cup butter, at room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup unsweetened cocoa

4 cups powdered confectioners sugar

1-4 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Instructions:

Chocolate Fudge Cupcake

Preheat oven to 350

Mix on low until blended, then mix on high for 2 mins.

Pour into paper lined cupcake pans.

Bake for 20 min.

Strawberry Whipped Cream (filling)

Chop strawberries in blender (I used my Nutri-Bullet) just until they look thick and “liquidy”. I used really large strawberries and it took 4 to make 5-6 Tablespoons.

Beat whipping cream, and vanilla until it starts to thicken.

Mix in sugar.

Fold in strawberries.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (from Glorious Treats)

Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend slightly. Add cream cheese and blend until combined, about 30 seconds.

Add the cocoa powder( before adding the sugar, so it gets fully incorporated into the butter and cream cheese.)

Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.

Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met. (Don’t add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cupcakes.)

Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.

Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)

Directions for Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes with Strawberries & Cream filling topped with Chocolate Frosting:

Bake cupcakes and cool completely

Cut out a small section in the center of the cupcake (save in bowl)

Add strawberry whipped cream to the hole

Replace the tops (just do the best you can – or you could just leave them off)

Pipe chocolate frosting on top of cupcake with 1M tip.

The strawberry whipped cream was delicious on top as well, if you want to skip the chocolate cream cheese frosting.

It’s NOT Pizza.

Have you heard of tomato pie?! I am learning a lot of people in this area have never heard of it or tried it. There’s only a couple of places that I know of in the area that makes it. Perreca’s is a PERFECT example.

Tomato pie is perfect for afternoon parties, ESPECIALLY this time of year. I had a bunch of people over to enjoy the sunshine on Saturday and we inhaled an entire box. It’s room temperature bread with delicious tomato sauce and grated parmesan cheese on top. So I guess it is very similar to a cold sicilian pizza with no cheese, but it is so much cooler to say tomato pie.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Be Present!

Words of Encouragement

If you seek guidance:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your way acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. -Proverbs 2:5-6

For those of you seeking assurance:

Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. -Hebrews 11:1

For those of you that need an extra boost of confidence:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. -Psalm 23:4

If you have a decision to make, remember what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” -Jeremiah 6:16

As explained in Jeremiah 29:11 God has a plan for us. He’s not here to harm us. His plans give us hope. His plans give us a future.

I SAY WATER ICE YOU SAY…

Water ice exist. Google it.

My Celebrity Twin?

On so many occasions I have been told I look like Spencer Hastings from Pretty Little Liars. Honestly I never heard of her until I started getting compared to her. Recently I was stopped in New York City to take a picture with one of her fans. She was disappointed when I assured her I was not Spencer.

Now you vote.

Do I like look her? I say… No.

Rajah is M.I.A.

Have you ever lost your pet? If you answered yes, I have nothing but hope that you found him or her.

Rajah is the first pet I have ever had on my own. I have had family pets before, but Rajah is all mine, and well… I lost her. SPOILER ALERT: She has been located… DUH… I wouldn’t have the strength to tell this story if she were still missing, but boy was it awful.

It happened last weekend. You see, once a month I go home to visit my fiance. Depending on how long I am there, Rajah comes with. This last trip I was there for four days, and I have been traveling a lot recently so I decided against the train and bus, and took Raj for a road trip. Rajah does really well in the car believe it or not. The only thing that upsets her is the cage. I guess I wouldn’t want to be locked up in that thing for four hours either, but in all fairness I did get her a gigantic cage with pillows, and toys. She could throw a party in that thing.

Anyways, we made it to Jersey just fine. The trip was fantastic. We saw some friends get hitched, we caught up with family, it was just about perfect, until Sunday night rolled around. I started to pack up the car with Mike. Rajah clearly got the hint, we were heading back to Albany. She saw her cage and that’s when she must of skedaddled. She was the last thing I had to pack, so I went inside, I called her name, and she was gone. I shook her treats, I looked under beds, I checked every corner of the house, and she was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t just me… Mike couldn’t find her either. We searched high and low, under covers, you name it. We even looked in the washer machine, but no Rajah.

After about 15-20 minutes of searching I started to get upset. We were second guessing ourselves, thinking maybe one of us (me) left the door open and she snuck out. The thought made me panic even more. Rajah is an indoor cat, and wouldn’t make it out in the “real world.” She is spoiled rotten. She wouldn’t be able to adjust, and if she did, well then what about all of the crazies on the road?? We live near a busy street! It was awful. I called the police, I called my parents, I called Mike’s parents… 30 minutes goes by… Still no Rajah.

My head was spinning and I was losing hope. I wasn’t going back to New York without her.

SIDE NOTE: Rajah is a little on the heavy side so she’s been on a diet program. I don’t let her eat wet food anymore.

How was she found?

I went back into the house with her bag of travel stuff. I just so happened to have a can of wet food in there, and I had this sudden urge to open it up. When I did… Out she came. She was downstairs somewhere, but to this day we still have NO idea where.

I had to call everyone back to let them know she was safe, and then I hugged her like any crazy cat woman would.

I knew I loved the little tiger, but I didn’t know it was THAT much. What the heck am I going to do when it’s my children??? How do you people do this?!

P.S. Rajah better live FOREVER.

YES!

When I was in Maryland I helped out at a local bridal store and occasionally modeled wedding dresses. It was so much fun because I had the opportunity to wear dresses I would have probably never picked out for myself.  This experience also helped give me a better idea of what I would be interested in when my time came.

The time is here now, and the hunt for MY wedding dress was on.

I went to some shops in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and I tried dozens of dresses. They were all beautiful, some even took my breath away, but I was starting to get nervous because I didn’t have that “bride moment” I hear so many people talk about.

The first shop was really special because my Dad was there with Mom to see some of the dresses. (Never in a million years did I think Dad would partake in wedding dress shopping, Dad is not a shopper). His face when he saw the very first dress I had on was priceless. I knew right away it wasn’t “the dress,” but that didn’t take away from the significance of that moment. It was so incredible and unforgettable, and made finding the right dress more exciting.

When I got home that night, one of Michael’s family members shared a bridal shop’s Facebook page with me. She wanted me to check it out. The shop’s latest Facebook post is what popped up on my page. The dress was unbelievable. I called the designer, and then called all of the retailers on the east coast that carry the designer’s dresses. Only two were expecting the 2015 dress: A shop right around the corner from my house, and a shop in New York City.

The bridal shop in New Jersey told me they weren’t getting the dress until January-February 2015. The dress wasn’t out in shops yet, only trunk shows. I wanted to continue taking advantage of my time at home, so I tried on other dresses for Mom and my future mother-in-law. Again, they were all beautiful, but none of them were the one.

Every night I stared at the saved picture on my phone. Every night for one month I grew more in love with the dress. I called the shop in New York City, and I begged them to get in touch with the designer. I couldn’t wait until January, I had to know if my instinct was right.

A few days passed and I was on my way home for another visit. Mom and I decided to go to a shop in Pennsylvania. Every dress they pulled was similar to the one I fell in love with. Every dress they pulled was magnificent, but something was missing.

New York City called me two days later. They told me they were getting the dress in December 3rd. Mom and I went December 4th.

I was filled with anxiety and nerves trying on the dress… When I opened my eyes, they were instantly filled with tears. There’s no denying it. It’s my dress. The dress I will marry the most remarkable man in, and I CANNOT WAIT for him to see it.

Pictures coming soon – June 2016<3

Cross it off!

Skydive, CHECK!

Run a half marathon, CHECK!

Run a full marathon, CHECK!

Cliff jump, CHECK!

It is so surreal looking back at the last couple months of my life. I am doing it. Everything I said I wanted to do, will do, I am actually going through with it and doing it. I am starting to get really serious with yoga now that my race training has slowed down, and everything my instructors have been saying fits my current storyline: “Live with focus and purpose. Set your intentions and see it through for yourself, no one else.” I cannot stress this enough to you, my readers. It is not too late. Have dreams, set goals, and as Nike says it best, JUST DO IT! Why? Because you can. Where there is a will, there is a way. Cliche, I know, but the message holds true.

Let’s be clear: I am not telling you to go jump out of an airplane, or jump off of 35-40 foot cliffs like my crazy self, but maybe there’s something you’ve wanted to learn for a while, or somewhere you’ve wanted to visit? Maybe you’ve wanted to run a 5k (3mile race). Dig deep and find a way to make it happen. There is nothing more rewarding than saying, “I did it!” I promise you that. I said I would never run a marathon ever again. I wanted to run one and be done because the training took up too much time, it was really challenging, and honestly training/running for that long, it hurt! But now I see why people continue to sign up. You get addicted to that determination to never quit, the motivation to keep on keeping on, and pushing your body another step further. You surprise yourself and realize what you’re capable of, and then when it all finally registers you think, okay – what’s next?!

I have never been a fan of odd numbers, but 25… Man. This has truly been the best year of my life, and it’s because I really feel like I am living. I am so blessed and thankful to be surrounded by so much love and life. This is what it is about my friends, realizing what you have, and making the best of every opportunity that comes your way. It doesn’t matter how high or low you set the bar, just set the bar, and day by day watch yourself grow.

Don’t just make a list, check it off!

“Don’t miss out. Seize the day. What’s important to you? What do you care about? What matters? Pursue that. Forget the rest.”

-Brittany Crowley