Celebrations and Caverns

The past couple of weeks have been extremely exhausting, but certainly eventful. I've barely had anytime to breathe let alone put up a post so I'm sorry for the delay! Since a good 94% of the past two weeks has been crammed with 10 page research papers, midterms, and focus group mediating I'm going to focus on the weekend and all that it has taught me. Saturday consisted of the best birthday party ever and Sunday consisted of an awesome trip to Luray Caverns. Like I said, very eventful and seriously one of the best weekends that I've had in a long time. Now before I go into all the fun and interesting details of the party that I went to last Saturday I want to congratulate my best friends: Luis finally turned 21 and Denisse turned 22! That party was outrageous and I'm glad that I got the chance to see old friends from LHS that I hadn't seen in a while. I cannot stress enough what a good time I had and how many new things I learned! It was my first time playing Kings and first time I've seen a "waterfall" being done. Did you know that in Kings shuffling the cards right is essential? After having to do three waterfalls in a row I know that now. Survior Flipcup was a game that I've played before, but man did it get out of hand quickly. One thing about the guys that I know is that they don't take losing lightly. I'm not going to lie though, there were several instances where the cup was not flipped by game regulations so after a few penalties it was only right that the birthday boy flipped the whole table over. Who could blame him, right? At the bottom of the post I've included a recipe for Jungle Juice so that any of you reading this can have a party of your own!

After a long night of having fun and catching up with old friends there is nothing better than to wake up super early and have a relaxing day with the family. I'm being sarcastic about the waking up early part, but I do sincerely enjoy spending time with my family. It has sort of become a habit to plan something with my uncle so that he could come down from Maryland on Sundays. My sisters and I get to spend time with our cousins and our grandmother. Now let me tell you, if you haven't been to Luray Caverns then it's definitely something that you should put on your to-do list. It's an educational experience that's fun for the whole family. Not to mention tickets include a tour of the caverns, access to the Car and Carriage Caravan Museum, and access the Luray Cavern Museum. Plus for an extra 7 dollars you might as well give the giant maze a try! For more information you can go to their website if you click here: www.luraycaverns.com ; Thank me later. 

Now the long awaited recipe for the jungle juice at that crazy party last saturday:

Jungle Juice Ingredients

1. 1/2 bottle of Strawberry/Kiwi Pinnacle Vodka
2. 1/2 bottle of Whipped Cream Pinnacle Vodka
3. 1 bottle of Nuvo
4. 1/2 bottle of Patron
5. 2 bottles of Hawaiian Punch
6. 2-3 bottles of Srtawberry Orange Sunny Delight
7. 1/2 bottle of Sprite

Directions: 

     Mix all together and add more juice/soda to your taste.

Now just a side note, this is in fact one of the weaker recipes out there. There are many others online that contain more alcohol, but regardless, enjoy! 

Also, DON'T DRINK & DRIVE. 

Fun in the Sun

Left: Me on my 1st Birthday
Right: Me on my 21'st Birthday

You would not believe how amazing this past week and a half have been. It flew by incredibly fast, but it was well worth it. For those of you who don't know me, my birthday just passed and boy was it one to remember! Or is it one that's hard to remember? A little bit of both, but it was fun! I'm lucky enough to have had my family throw me a great casino-themed party -- and I was also lucky in the sense that I robbed everybody blind at the poker table. Beginner's luck, I guess. Seriously though, I am really thankful for all of my friends and family that came out to celebrate that day/night with me, it truly did make it a special day for me and for those who couldn't make it: I still sincerely appreciate you taking the time out of your day to wish me a happy birthday.

My beautiful cousins and I

Earlier that day I spent some time writing out 21 letters to 21 people in my life that have taught me something that's stuck with me and it was quite the emotional roller coaster, but still something I thought was worth doing because I feel like I don't tell people enough how much I truly appreciate them. If you're reading this and have never done anything like that, you should try it. It's kind of enlightening. I wrote to several people that have played a major role in my life since I was little and I wrote to some people who would never expect a letter like that from me. You'd be surprised what you end up with when you just sit back and think of all the life lessons that people have taught you. So for those of you who got a letter: thank you for all you do and all you've done, and just because you didn't get a letter doesn't mean that I don't value the role you play in my life.

Kicking off Spring

On another note, spring break kicked off very nicely and I now find myself to be at ease and stress-free! This break was much needed and I am so thankful that I got to spend it blissfully with family and it also gave me the time to catch up with my friends. I thought I would settle down and try some recipes or something, but I was too relaxed to care. Sorry! One of these days I'm gonna sit down pick a recipe and try it out so that I could show you guys what it really means to not be able to cook. On the upside, I have a boyfriend who's got a knack for fixing the recipes that I mess up. We just celebrated our 2 year anniversary and I couldn't be any happier. If anyone has any suggestions as to what I should try to make for the next post let me know! Keep in mind, I'm just a beginner with a knack for starting fires so nothing too extreme.

Spring Fever!

Time is flying! I can't believe it's seriously March already. It's going to be a busy month and I cannot wait for all the festivities to begin.
First, I will be turning 21. What else is there to say? That alone is a good enough reason for all my excitement. Following my 21st birthday is Spring Break! Not that I have any plans, but I don't have school for a whole week and that's what truly matters. On the 13th, Marco and I will celebrate our 2 year anniversary. I can't believe he's been putting up with my nonsense for two years now. If anyone has some good ideas on what I should do to surprise him, it would be greatly appreciated. Then of course, there's all my friends! So many birthdays so little time! Pamela, Luis, and Denisse are all celebrating their birthdays this month and I am beyond happy for them.
I am also going to take this opportunity to try and make some of the recipes from my "21& Over" board on Pinterest. Then once I sober up I'll be sure to post them up for you and let you know how awesome they are!