Not Your Average Gal

Copywriter. Content Creator. Constant Sassypants.

Funny

Sobertober

By

sobertober

After my recent trip to Spain and Portugal, I knew I needed to give my good ol’ body a break. A detox, if you will.

There was lots of chatting over sangria.

IMG_2002

And tapas.

tapas

And wine.

IMG_2269

And paella.

paella

And sangria.

sobertober

…and wine.

sobertober wine

One of my friends asked on Facebook if anyone wanted to join her for Sober October. And while the responses were quite entertaining, it got me thinking…

I can do that. I want to do that.

Well you know what happens when Caroline sets her mind to something, right?

Oh? You don’t know?

I decide to train for a half-marathon in 3 months.

Or go vegan for about a year.

It was delicious, I swear.

Or find an obscure bar in Bangkok I heard about even if it takes us over an hour and half to find.

2013 - 10330

Or jump in the water with elephants because I. want. to.

IMG_2078

Or learn Spanish again.

Loading

#Mexcellent #Epcot #latergram

View on Instagram

Or complete an olympic-distance triathlon.

IMG_1418

No wonder I needed to drink…

I’ll be honest, I hesitated posting this because of the stigma around the word “sober.” I could carefully craft a blog about how I’m doing it to raise money for charity (I know there is a great cause) or to help me lose those last 10 pounds.

But the truth of the matter is, I want to be healthier and I want to see what not having that glass of bless-your-heart wine after work will be like. I want to take myself out of my comfort zone and find another outlet rather than kicking my feet up and having a beer when I’m stressed. I like waking up early and refreshed on the weekends and going for a run. With my half-marathon training just starting, there’s no better time than right now! I’ve been trying to lose weight and this should help a bit, so added bonus!

I got an emergency project that I worked on through last weekend and this past week hasn’t exactly been relaxing. I thrive on busy weeks at work, it’s when I feel I do my best writing. But that means I’ve desperately wanted a nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon when I get home just to…chill.

But I didn’t.

handsgif

Next week, I’m going to the USA vs. HON men’s soccer game and you know what? I’ll want a good ol’ american beer.

But I won’t.

Because it’s SOBERTOBER, y’all.

Care to join me? Even if you have had alcohol during the first 10 days, why not join me now? Try it out. Everyone is doing it…

Yeah.

I just peer-pressured you into not drinking.

That just happened.

So…whatdoyasay?

 

Find out how I did:
Sobertober Update
Sobertober Conclusion

Halloween Decorations Bust

By

I went to pull out the giant bin of holiday decorations and…

Halloween decorations

No.

Just no.

I have no interest in it this year. I can’t entirely put my finger on why other than it doesn’t add much to my life…and only adds something more to dust. It just seems like fluffy shit to me now. Maybe it was something I used to feel the need to put up to fill some void. I don’t know.

The hubster is doing is psychiatry rotations this month. Perhaps he can offer some insight.

You guys, this is weird! I LOVE October. Halloween is my favorite. Shit man, I even wrote 2 blogs, 2 years ago that are STILL getting hits today.

I still love October, I still love Halloween.

I’m a pretty insightful person and if I were to narrow it down to a reason, it probably is that I don’t give a fuck anymore about how cute my decorations look to other people. At least right now. Prior to moving to Florida I spent a lot of time looking for more work and filling the time in-between with projects. Some of those projects were crafts.

Have I ever shown you my dream craft room?

Union Jack dresser

Oh wait. That’s not it. That’s my dream dresser.

Moving on…

I still love whipping out the craft drawer from time to time, but I just don’t feel the need to put things up for show. Is it a show? Who would it be for other than me and guests? Perhaps traveling to impoverished areas of the world reminded me that having perfectly arranged autumn leaves will no more contribute to my life than another Starbucks Grande Ice Coffee with soy milk (no sweetener). Maybe I’ve been Pinterest-ed out. Sure, you have lots of cool things pinned that you put up for the holidays, but that still doesn’t cover up what an empty, mind-numbing person you can be.

Yeah, I said it. You’ve thought it, too!

I can still feel the Halloween spirit without my sparkly skeleton hanging on the wall. I’ll still watch The Great Pumpkin on ABC and force the hubster to join me regardless of whatever game is on where they grunt and bash their heads together in helmets.

hfunny

Last year, we were in Thailand and Cambodia for 2 weeks during December. I put up one lone, small, white, bomb-diggity Christmas tree in the middle of our dining room table and you know what? It felt so relieving!

Perhaps living in Florida contributes to it. It’s October and was 93 degrees today. It still doesn’t register in my grew-up-in-Michigan-and-wore-a-snowsuit-under-my-Halloween-costume mind.

I felt a bit guilty as I put away the decoration bin today. So one thing survived:

Halloween decorations

See. I’ve still got the Halloween spirit.

Just make sure to keep them straight as you dry your hands after pooping.

Oooohhh, a shiny object!

By

I write for a living. Sometimes the last thing I want to do when I get home is write some more. I mean, I write some kick-ass marketing copy during the day. That takes brain power, people.

I say sometimes it’s the last thing I want to do, because almost 100% of the time, I have all of these crazy, weird ideas in my head of what I want to write about.

But, I get distracted.

writing

OR

I put my copywriter hat on

and re-read the post 17 times before I decide to change three words that were CRITICAL to the blog being understood.

copywriter2

Both options suck.

Distractions are the worst. I’ll sit down to write what I know may be a more time-consuming post, like this one on My Travel Essentials, and I’ll easily get distracted. Distracting things include: my cat, a commercial, “Did I get the mail?”, Facebook, the news, a golfer missing his shot so I can run to the window to make fun of him (we live on the 13th hole) or needing to pee and then forgetting to come back to the post.

I’ve also had to make a concerted effort to not be so hard on my writing in this here blog. It’s fun writing. I can relax more. You people are my lovely clients and you’re a blasty-blast! So if I miss a comma, just know I did it on purpose.

Like the gangsta’ I am.

If I know it takes some time, instead of breaking it down into smaller writing sessions, I’ll just actively avoid it. Since that’s what mature adults do.

Like the gangsta’ I am.

How do you avoid distractions or blogger’s block?

I’d love to hear your input or ooooohhh shiny object!

Travel Woes: Delayed Baggage & Stolen Goods

By

“Your bag isn’t here.”

No shit. “Let me take a guess, it’s at LAX?”

“Yes, how did you know?”

“Because I saw on the app to track my baggage that it was on the wrong flight during my layover. The agent at JFK was less than helpful about it.”

“I’m so sorry.”

And thus began 2 weeks of a delayed baggage and stolen goods headache.

I was a pretty good sport about it at first. Aside from the delayed baggage, I had just finished a great day of travel. 20 hours of traveling for me is fun. Maybe it will wear off for me someday, but for now, I’m a special kind of crazy that enjoys it. My flights from Lisbon to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to New York JFK were uneventful. I actually got some sleep, watched some movies, drank wine and chatted with my hilarious seat mate.

I breezed through customs at JFK because of Global Entry and picked up my luggage to be rechecked for my last flight to FLL (Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport). When you arrive on an international flight and still have another domestic flight, you usually have to recheck your bag — it’s a simple procedure, just pick it up and take it to the baggage drop off point after you’ve cleared customs and as long as it’s been tagged all the way through to your final destination, you’re set. Easy peasy.

My bag looked fine. I re-checked it had been tagged correctly. Gave it to the Delta agent and I was on my way to my gate for my last flight.

IMG_6030 IMG_6117

I was enjoying a beer and being back on American soil (No more seeking out free Wi-fi!).

While sitting back enjoying a brewski, I checked the Delta app to track my bag and I saw that my bag was on a flight to LAX, not FLL.

Image-1

Shit.

I’ll give you the cliff notes version:

The friendly agent on the Delta Medallion 800 line and the Delta app told me what I was seeing was correct, that my bag was on the wrong flight and could be pulled off. I was told to speak directly with an agent at JFK…an agent that told me I was wrong and she couldn’t (wouldn’t) help. She told me my bag was on my flight to FLL. I asked her to print that confirmation. She couldn’t (wouldn’t).

You know what happens next, my bag was indeed on it’s way to LAX. I took it in stride because, whatever, there was nothing I could do once I was home and my bag wasn’t. I was happy to see the hubster and I travel in a way that anything I check, I know I have to be willing to “lose.” So there was nothing in there like my expensive camera, photos, money, etc.

Except everyone’s souvenirs, including an earring and necklace set I bought myself in Barcelona and cufflinks I got the hubster in Lisbon were in that bag.

…and those did not arrive with my bag when it was finally returned over 24 hours later.

My bag had obviously been rummage through. If you know me, you know I’m an anal packer. Everything, I mean, everything has a place.

Before
Before, not my best game of Tetris.

My bag was opened, my TSA lock was torn off and not given back, either by TSA (no notice was left in my bag though), an airport employee or the company that delivered my luggage to my house.

After
After

Oh yeah and they stole my shit.

The jewelry set and cufflinks were in the same portion of one of my eBags packing cubes. It would have been a relatively easy “grab” once you opened it to see what was in it.

That’s when the bitterness set in. This stuff can be replaced. It simply is materialistic crap. But the feeling of being taken advantage of is what sucks. This ONE agent set the whole thing in motion that I tried to prevent. Not to mention the ahole who took stuff.

I really adored that necklace and earring set. I rarely buy “nice” stuff like that for myself. When I travel, I usually find myself looking a fun jewelry and scarves. I don’t buy a lot of the touristy souvenirs. Except for cheesy shot glasses. That’s our “thing.” I have no idea where we’ll display them when we grow up. In fact, I’m not sure I want to. We look like world-traveling alcoholics. Wait a minute…

I absolutely will not let this situation ruin my opinion about an airline. You have one bad apple in a bunch. Shit happens. I have always had great customer service with Delta. Say what you want about airlines, but the people who serve you food and answer your dumb questions are people too, and more often than not, I’m met with a friendly smile and helpful answer. Everyone at Delta I had to go through, except the one lovely diva at JFK, was apologetic and helpful.

I filed a claim, heard back about 10 days later and will be reimbursed for everything. I should expect a check in about 14 business day. I’m very thankful for that. The frustration in most of this was that it took quite a few calls to get a status and a few too many emails explaining the situation, but it got resolved. It was too time consuming for my liking, but it’s finally all figured out.

Everyone I bought gifts for got their things, too. (Except the hubster and his cufflinks. I bought him other stuff too and he’s got me…GRAND PRIZE!) But the one bottle I bought myself of cherry liqueur from an area in Sintra, Portugal world renowned for it…smashed into a million pieces on the floor this past weekend when I dropped the bag it was in.

Son

of

a

I wasn’t meant to have gifts from this past trip. Just freakin’ awesome memories. And I’m pretty sure I’m okay with that. You can’t take any of this crap with you when you’re gone.

I also may or may not have busted out some straws and started sucking the cherry liqueur off the floor…

Worth it.

Follow Me

By

cup of tea

One of my favorite bloggers posted a picture on Instagram of her wearing a shirt with this saying on it and well, you know, that shit is right up my alley.  (You can also buy the sign here if you so desire.)

Speaking of bloggers, I tend to find most of the blogs I follow through social media. I’m a big fan of Instagram right now. It’s been a huge motivation while losing weight.

I promised myself I would gradually work on the backend and design of this site while I was posting. If I waited until I thought it was designed perfectly…menopause would be knocking at my door. (Note to self: this isn’t a time to jinx yourself…)  So, while I’m working on getting a line up of posts written and painstakingly choosing fonts and colors designing the site, take a look at all my pages. You’ll often find a more unfiltered version there.

I know! It IS possible.

Facebook <—- this is the newest baby! So excited.

Instagram

Twitter

 

Coming Soon…

By

 

…to a blog near you.

I’m working on re-vamping this site and maybe new branding for a blog name and URL!

I know. I know. I’m such a rebel.

Thanks for checking in.

Unfortunately, my blog was hacked last year and I had to change to a bare-bones design while we worked out getting the virus wiped. THAT SUCKER IS NOW DEAD. But because of that issue, I didn’t get a chance to go back and work on the design and layout again.

Getting married, working long hours as a copywriter and traveling over 50,000 miles in this past year has put a bit of a kink in blogging…

UNTIL NOW.

I’m devoted to upping my blogging game with some exciting seminars and classes.

In the meantime, while all that boring stuff is being worked out in the background, enjoy this lovely picture from our wedding across the pond this past year. Yup. We headed to England.

I know. I know. We’re such rebels.

Old Wardour Castle Wedding

Miss your faces.

Caroline