Trip to Florida!

One of my absolute favorite parts of this summer was my trip to Florida to visit my friend Kristin. My ten day trip had been planned for a few months, and we were both excited for our little vacation together. Just a little background information on our friendship: Prior to my trip, Kristin and I had only met in person one other time. We had talked for numerous hours on Facebook, texted frequently, and spoke on the phone a few times. We met online on Facebook via a Company support page for the Army. Kristin and I found that we had a lot in common and have become very close friends since then. Some people might find it weird that we met online and have gotten so close, and that's okay...but the things we find we have in common make us laugh sometimes. For example, our parents have the same rugs in their houses and we used to have the same shower curtains as well. Yes, weird and extremely random.

Anyway, when I went to visit Kristin, her husband was away at training for the Army and it was truly a girls vacation together. The weather was not extremely kind to us the first few days I was there, but we went to the beach anyway, despite the cloudy skies.

Kristin taught me many things while I was in Florida. The first of these was how to skim-board. I guess I should say she attempted to teach me to do many things. I made a fool out of myself every time I fell or completely missed the board, but it provided for a good laugh at least!

Pretending I know what I'm doing

Kristin, looking like a pro

Another thing Kristin taught me was how to find sand dollars in the ocean. I didn't even know these things were live creatures until my trip! I found a few and of course got some pictures holding them.

Sand dolla dolla bills!

A few other things that Kristin taught me that I sadly didn't document with pictures were how to cook spaghetti squash (one of my new favorite meals!) and that I need to be in much better shape to attempt a boot camp class again. I'd say I was sore for a few days after that one!

I sometimes struggle when I run and discovered that it mostly happens when I have not hydrated enough. Kristin got me in the habit of carrying around a gallon of water wherever I go. It has made a HUGE difference in my running. And people think I'm even stranger than they did before. Hey, you win some you lose some!

The weekend I was in Florida, we traveled from Fort Myers (where Kristin lived) and drove to Daytona Beach to visit my friend Becky from college. Saturday we drove to Orlando and I got to experience Disney World for the first time! I wish I could say it was everything I hoped it would be and more, but it stormed a lot while we were there and a lot of the rides were closed. Thankfully we still got to see one of the shows at the castle, ride a few of the really good rides, and I got to hang out with Dumbo. Even though it stormed and we got soaked, I really did have an awesome time with these ladies. I am hoping to go back sometime when it is not storming and experience all that "The Happiest Place on Earth" has to offer!

Trying on fun hats with Kristin

Me, Becky, and Kristin in front of the castle

Kristin, Becky, and I spent the rest of the weekend just relaxing and hanging out. We witnessed yet another storm on Sunday evening as we were cooking a delicious meal. Becky demonstrated her cooking skills which may lead to a cooking show of her very own, and Kristin showed us that she may have a future as a stunt double (I will have to figure out how to upload these videos!). Monday morning we sadly said goodbye to Becky and headed back to Fort Myers...but not before a stop at some AWESOME outlets!

Trying on clothes at the outlets

Back in Fort Myers it was fun getting dressed up and having some girls nights out and just hanging out with a good friend. I can honestly say that this wasn't one of those vacations where I had a good time but was ready to go home when the time came. Had I not already booked a round-trip flight, I probably would have stayed in Florida longer. This was truly one of the best vacations I've ever taken, because I was able to relax and have fun. I never really thought about what it would be like to live near the beach, but now that I've experienced ten days of it, I think I could get used to it ;) Kristin has since moved to North Carolina and I am hoping to visit her there sometime very soon! Oh, and Kristin and I recorded a cover together. You can watch it here!

Beach bar!

Before we went out one night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I'm a Runner Now?!

In order to catch you all up on everything that's happened this summer, I have to back up to May which seems like forever ago! Back on New Year's Eve I made the decision to run the Cleveland Half-Marathon. It was two days before my 25th birthday, I was in search of a goal to motivate me, and for some reason it seemed like a good idea at the time (the chocolate pudding shots I had been partaking in may have been one of those reasons!). Once I registered for the race, I was definitely more motivated to run. Keep in mind that up until I registered for the race I never would have considered myself a runner and could barely make it two miles on the treadmill at a 10-minute pace.

Fast-forward four and a half months. On Saturday, May 19th I headed up to Cleveland with my friend Haley from high school. Haley registered for the race shortly after I did and we ran together a couple times leading up to race day. Our first stop was the race expo at the IX Center. We picked up our racing packets, got LOTS of free tuna (no complaints from me...or Bella, for that matter!), and got some awesome matching sparkly headbands--because every runner needs one of those! After the expo we headed to Progressive Field to watch our beloved Tribe take on the Marlins. We had awesome seats in the outfield, but had to be super careful about staying hydrated in the brutal sun. Our other friend from high school, Heather (who was also running the half), met us at the game. It was Faith Night at the Indians' Game, and post-game we got to enjoy a concert by Christian singer Brandon Heath. It was nice to be around so many other people who love the Lord and who were singing along as he sang.

Haley and Me at the Expo

After the game it was time to head back to the hotel and sleep to prepare for the big day. I can honestly say I didn't sleep nearly as much as I thought I should have that night, and was a little concerned about my performance the next day. When I first registered for the race my goal was just to finish it without walking. In my mind, 13 miles was super far and I would have been proud of myself for just completing it. Well, my competitive side got the best of me and I came up with another goal to complete the race in under two hours. The morning of the race we woke up around 4:30 so we could eat, digest, and get to the starting line on time. I ended up starting the race by myself since I planned on running at a different pace than Haley and Heather. My friend from grad school, Katie, met up with me prior to the race but had her own group to run with, so I was again on my own. I knew that my parents would be somewhere along the course cheering me on, as would my aunt. As a runner, I've found that I can pretty much tell from the very beginning of a run whether it is going to be a "good" run day or a "not so good" run day. This was a "good" run day. I spent the first six miles watching the crowds in search of my parents. They were not exactly sure where they would be watching from so I just kept a lookout. When I finally spotted them around mile 6 I noticed their bright pink "GO JB" sign. I smiled and waved, then kept on running--I had a time to beat! My aunt had told me she would be somewhere around mile 6 or 7, so I kept looking for her. I spotted her less than a mile later and was so encouraged by her. My aunt runs regularly and has done her own share of half and full marathons. She ran with me for a minute, told me how great I looked, and I went on my way.

Heather, Haley, and Me before the race

I'll admit that I struggled a bit after that because the excitement of looking for people in the crowd had gone. Mile 10 provided us with a lovely hill and a lot of people started walking. I'll admit that seeing so many others walking up the hill was a huge temptation, but I knew that the hills of New Concord had trained me well for the challenge. So, with a little help from Kelly Clarkson I made it up that hill. I saw my parents again right around Mile 12 and that kept me going until I hit 13.1! The boys of One Direction serenaded me (through my headphones, sadly) as I crossed the finish line. As I collected my finisher's medal I was so overwhelmed by emotion, and I'll admit that I teared up a bit. I truly felt that all of the training I had put into the race had paid off and I was so proud of myself for achieving my goal. I found out later that I finished the race in two hours and eight minutes--a little above my goal time, but I was still proud. I met up with my parents, my aunt, and Katie for some pictures, then waited to cheer Haley and Heather on as they finished the race. The rest of the day included a very sweaty ride home and some ice on the knees (what retired gymnast decides to take up running as their new sport?!).

After the race, with a sign my parents made

After the race, with my Aunt Nanci

Prior to running the half I told everyone that it would be the furthest I ever run. Why in the world would I want to run a FULL marathon?! Good question...but I'm doing it :) October 21, 2012. Columbus, Ohio. Yet again, goal is to finish without walking. We'll see how long it takes for a goal time to be included! All joking aside though, these past seven months have taught me that I truly can do anything I set my mind to. I know that sounds cliche, but I never thought that within one calendar year I would a. Start running, b. Run a half marathon, and c. Run a FULL marathon. I never thought I'd run a full marathon in my lifetime! But for those of you who have thought about running and just don't think you'd be good at it or don't think you could finish a 5k...you are wrong! There are so many different training plans you can try. I know a lot of people who have tried the Couch to 5k training plan and were surprised with how well they did. So do me a favor and give it a shot...you truly have nothing to lose :)

Momma Extravaganza!

Every year around this time I struggle because I have to come up with both a birthday gift and Mother's Day gift for my wonderful mother. Sometimes, if I'm really lucky, it even falls on the same day (which also happened to be the same day as my college graduation). This year, since I took my dad to do something for his birthday (see previous post) I decided to do the same with my mom. Her birthday isn't until Thursday, so she doesn't get to find out until then (and since she reads my blog religiously, neither do you!). We will be spending the day Saturday doing something fun together and I'm looking forward to spending the day with her since I don't get to do that as often as I used to. I love my mom to death, and even though we drive each other crazy sometimes, I know she's always there for me. To say that the beginning of 2012 was rough would be an understatement, but my mom (and my dad, as well) was there for me through it all. I am blessed to have awesome parents and know that I wouldn't be where I am today without them.

Because my mom loves this song (and because she's a sap and I love to make her cry), I recorded one of her favorite songs in honor of her birthday/Mother's Day. So here it is! I love you, Mom!

Not sure why I can't put the video on here right now, but Click Here to see it. Will work on getting this fixed!

Happy [Belated] Birthday, Dad!

So I know that I am way late on this, but I wanted to dedicate a post to my wonderful father for his birthday (which was over a month ago...oops!). My dad has always been super supportive of me, whether it was coaching my softball teams growing up, sitting for countless hours waiting for my four minutes of fame at my gymnastics competitions, or encouraging me to play guitar or sing. I have many wonderful memories with my dad growing up, and many of those include going to Indians games or spending time on the softball field. This year the Cleveland Indians home opener was on my dad's birthday, and I thought it would be an excellent way to celebrate, so I took my parents to the game. The weather was a little chilly, but we had great seats in the sun that gave us an excellent view of the field. Though we didn't pull out a win and sat in front of some obnoxious fans from Toronto, we had a great time and I was happy to make more memories with my dad (and mom!).

The parents

 

Dad and me before the game

Me and Momma

Why I Will Never Fly Delta Again

Last night I had what I would probably consider my worst experience with Customer Service. Back in February I had to cancel a flight to Gerogia that I had booked through Orbitz on Delta Airlines. The airline refused to give me any sort of refund and instead credited my account so that I could use it towards another flight within a year. I decided to fly to Florida in June to visit a few friends that live there. While looking at flights yesterday the prices were pretty good so I decided it was the time to book. Orbitz's website told me that in order to book a flight with canceled flight credit I would need to call their Customer Service. I spoke to three Orbitz representatives before I was informed that I would need to talk directly to Delta. They gave me Delta's phone number and the record locator I would need. I called Delta with the expectation that booking my flight would be a breeze from there.

My call was answered very quickly, which I was pleasantly surprised by. However, that's where the pleasant part of my experience with Delta ended. The representative asked me for my airline ticket number and I began to give him the number that Orbitz had given me. He interrupted me part of the way through and told me that it was not the right number, that the number he asked for would start with "062." I had my confirmation email from Orbtiz pulled up on my computer and found a number that said "Airline Ticket Number" but it did not start with "062." I informed the representative that I had a number by that name but that it started with "767." The representative then became rude and told me that he needed the Airline Ticket Number, not the Record Locator because the date of the canceled flight had already passed. I informed him that the only numbers I had were the ones I had tried to give him. Again, the representative was rude and I asked to speak to his supervisor. Instead of passing me on, he asked me WHY I wanted to speak to his supervisor. I told him that I felt he was being extremely rude when I was trying to find the information that he was asking me for. The representative THEN told me that he needed this information in order to process my request and that I needed to stop telling him how to do his job. I informed the representative that I was not trying to tell him how to do his job, but that I don't work for an airline and therefore don't know what all of the codes mean and was looking through my email to try to find the number he was asking for. In the middle of that statement, the "customer service" representative hung up on me!

At this point, I'm pretty angry. Being assertive is not something I have always been good at, and in the past I probably would have started crying when being treated so terribly. I can be rude if I need to be, but I did my best to remain calm and try to explain to this representative what I was looking at. Apparently that warranted being hung up on. I called Delta back and was thankfully assisted by a different representative. I informed this representative that I had been hung up on during my last call and she apologized but asked no details about what happened. I did get my flight booked, thankfully, and it turns out the Airline Ticket Number I was trying to give the last representative was the correct one after all. Apparently they drop off the "062" on all the numbers since they all start with that. I wish there was a way to call back said representative and actually tell him how to do his job. Instead I wrote a complaint to Delta Airlines this morning and assured them that I would never fly through their airline again. The only reason I called back and booked through them after my experience with rude representative was because I already had $400 wrapped up in my canceled flight from February. I have to say that I was extremely disappointed with the service I was given and the way I was treated. When posting about my experience on my Facebook page I got comments from others saying they have also had negative experience with Delta. All of these reasons, my friends, are why I will never fly Delta again. Please feel free to pass this blog on to any of your family or friends and encourage them to do the same!

Big News!!

I never thought I would have a Cnidaria as a sibling. For all of you non-scientists (like myself), that's a jellyfish. I suppose it's kind of like having a dog sibling, like Scout...except that this one can inflict a lot of pain (Scout doesn't do that), and could potentially be deadly. I mean, look at poor Dory! She almost died!

All kidding aside, I am excited to say that I am finally going to have a brother! A real, live, human (I think) brother! As of yesterday afternoon, my lovely big sister Erin (she sometimes goes by the alias Eloise) is engaged! She and Bryan have been dating for close to nine years and they are finally going to tie the knot! I am super excited for my big sister because she is an awesome person who deserves the world. She has a guy who appreciates her for the amazing person that she is and I am looking forward to the day I call him my brother (although let's face it, he kind of is already)!

I visited my sister in DC a couple weeks ago over my Spring Break with a friend. While I was visiting, Bryan informed me that he would be traveling to Akron two weeks later to ask my parents' permission to marry my sister. I was not allowed to tell my parents and obviously couldn't tell my sister. It has been painful to hold it in, and I was thankful this past weekend when my parents finally found out. Keeping a secret from my mother while she is stressing out about things is not an easy thing to do. And for those who know my mother and are wondering, yes, she is already stressing out about the wedding. Within 24 hours of Bryan's visit she was already worrying about a mother-of-the-bride dress. Sorry to call you out, Mom, but it's kind of hilarious! Now that my sister is officially engaged, the wedding planning can commence! Thankfully I LOVE weddings and am already on the ball. Erin and Bryan met while working at Target, so I decided that, naturally, their colors should be red and khaki. Erin is obviously thrilled with the idea and can't wait to walk down the aisle to her groom who will be wearing khaki and a red polo while carrying her bouquet of plastic flowers from the $1 spot.

Okay, back to being serious again. I am ridiculously excited for my sister and can't wait to go through the wedding planning process and stand by her side as she says "I do" to the jelly-man! We will definitely make lots of memories and I look forward to keeping you all updated as the process continues.

As if helping to plan the wedding won't be stressful enough, I've got about 18 months to find myself a date! Applications are being accepted!

The future Mr. & Mrs. Arroyo

Note to Self

I saw this quote today and it really spoke to me and I thought others might be able to relate to it as well. Losing someone you value is hard. It's difficult to leave behind someone you care about, to recognize that a huge portion of your life is gone, to fill the hole that the person's departure left in your life. But what I've learned recently is that doing those things when you've lost yourself is even more difficult. How can you pick up the pieces and move forward when you don't even know how to put the pieces back together because you don't know what they are supposed to form? I am guilty of losing myself in some of my past relationships. I put the other person ahead of myself 100% of the time, and I recognize now that that is not the key to a healthy or successful relationship. Because if that is the type of relationship you're in, at some point it's going to end. And then you're left with only yourself--except you don't have a self because you've let this other person become your whole world.

Right now I'm living my life focusing on myself for the first time in a long time. I'm reminding myself that I am special and that any person of value in my life will value me, too. I'm finding myself again, learning who I am, and any person that wants to be a part of my life in the future will love me for exactly that. I challenge you all to expect the same from those you value.

And now I'll end with a quote from the wise Kid Cudi: "The three things a guy should want to change about his girl are her last name, address, and her outlook on men." Deep, Cudi, really deep. But true.

Happy Hump Day, everyone (and Pi Day, too)!