No One Likes Grumpy

My Girls down South, reuniting is fun!
Go Buffs!!
(Special thanks to Pam in helping name this Blog Post)

Hi y'all!  I have just come back from 10 days back in the good ole 'US of A,' spending time down South, so I am feeling the y'all is just the greeting I need.  So...I have been a way for sometime, but with some prompting hoping to find my way back to A Hollywood Ending.  Not that I have not been living one, but back to writing about it.

My mom once told me that life is like a circle and during your life you might be on top, maybe on the side, or possibly on the bottom but it will always swing back around.  Now do not go and get your smallest violin out, I certainly have not, but I have just been waiting for things to swing just a tich back up and they have in a really good way.  So sorry for not posting, but no one likes grumpy.

So what's new?  Well, I have left the world of recruitment.  I tip my hats to those that recruit, especially in an agency setting.  It was a tough day-in and day-out for little old me.  And when I told my boss it was time for me to go my simple explanation was, "I just do not feel needed."  I did not feel like I was accomplishing anything or truly helping anyone, and besides that my ass began to double from sitting so much!  So, I have gone out and got myself a brand new j-o-b.

Just another lil snapshot, unrelated to the post but
everyone likes pictures!

My future mother-in-law always says, "Do what you love and money will follow."  I know I have rambled on several times about looking for my passion and I always go back to cooking and most of all EATING (and that does not help my rear end either :) and so I have found a job in food.  I saw a positions posted looking for a Sales Manager for a company that runs farmers markets out here in the Middle East, providing patrons with organic and local veggies.  I was shocked that they had a position open as I had randomly sent my CV months before on a speculative basis to get no response, but all be darned I sent it again and got a response.  I went through several interviews and Viola...A job I am so excited about a company I am so proud to be apart of.  I really could see myself in this industry, we all know how trendy "Local & Organic" is at the moment and I am banking that it lasts.

Before this brilliant job starts I get to go see Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, oh my!!  Maybe not Bear or Tigers, but Zebras and Giraffes!  Maybe Elephants too?  We were going over some trip details last night and there are some very specific wardrobe requirements for this lil safari.  Apparently white or bright colors are not allowed, also it suggests not to wear camouflage as you might get shot at?  By hunters?  HUH, so confused?   I am thinking the boys were teasing but you can trust I will not be wearing any of that.  Actually I never thought I would say this but I am actually going shopping tonight for those pants that zip off into shorts.  Yep, I am totally going to rock that look with a wide brimmed hat and maybe some zinc on my nose (not the white color though).  Sexy!

So trip details to follow!  I am back, be excited :)  I am.

A Hollywood Ending

Paradise

So with a little prompting I am back in the blogosphere.  What happened while I was away?  A lot.  Number One and really the only thing that matters is that E created the most perfect Hollywood Ending on our holiday in the Maldives.  I mean with a setting like that how can it not be romantic? So let's start from the beginning....

On our third day in the Maldives E did a great job getting me, a classically trained pool girl, into the big bad ocean.  He knew he would have to ease me into it as I am a wader, I have never fully believed in jumping straight off of the edge into the water.

We started out the morning on an incredibly rocky boat.  There were about 10 other people suiting up and eagerly awaiting their impending dive.  Once everyone suited up, shipped off, and properly submerged, I found myself on the boat reading and answering to the boat hands why I am not diving.  I have found myself in this position several times and without fail I always get grilled on why I am not diving.  Yes I realize it is very safe (until you get trapped 90 feet under water or eaten by a shark).  Yes, I realize it is not scary, but really very peaceful (maybe to you but I freak out when a ladybug lands on me).  I am not a priss, I really am not but I just really do not want to dive...Okay?  So I happily bobbed along on the boat...for an hour...until complete sea sickness set it.  The boat was going from side to side and I honestly thought we were going to flip over at one point and when you are on a boat in the middle of the ocean, there is no place to go, so you just have to grin and bare it.

After about an hour, or is it 50 bar?  The divers started to surface.  E happily hopped on the boat, saw my green face and just told me we would be home soon.  Thank goodness it was only about a 15 minute ride back to shore, I was more than ready to get back pool side.

Earlier in the week we had checked out some snorkel gear.  We attempted to go the day before but my nerves just were not up to it, the entry point was far too intense and I saw way too many fish from the surface, which I realize for most of you, that is the point but for me, that is my fear!  So we decided that we would wade out into the crystal blue water and there were little pockets of the sea that were deeper and we could safely snorkel and I could easily swim back to safety in the shallow water if I felt a meltdown coming on.

It was beautiful, I must admit.  We saw all sorts of neon fish and later in the day even came across three massive sting rays.  E did a good job protecting me and not rushing me into it.


It was always planned that we would have a quiet night in.  Maybe order some room service and watch a movie, but E had mentioned that he wanted to go across the way for Sun downers, on this island that he had gone off to explore the day before.  E is so good about planning around the sunset, and to be truthful by that point in the day I was so burnt from having my backside up in the water I just wanted to soothe my sunburn, but I said to myself, "no, E wants to watch the sunset, get it together and let's go."  He suggested that I wear something nice because the bar on the private island was a bit more upscale.  I threw on a maxi dress and away we went.

We took the boat to the island across the way and then walked across this open wooden bridge until we came to two massive double doors that read, "Residents Only."  I looked at him, back at the door and tried to turn the handle.  "Babe, it's locked, I guess we cannot go in?  We aren't residents."

"It's fine," he said as he hopped down to the beach 4 feet below.  This seemed like a lot of effort for sundowners, but whateves.  So he lifted me down to the beach and we walked hand in hand.  The whole time I am looking out for staff, and residents to spot us and tell us that we are not allowed in here.  I tell E again, "babe, we are breaking and entering...breaking the rules, I think we should leave!"  He squeezed my hand tighter as we passed the bar.  "Come on there is a coconut grove back here I want to show you."  Staff came out from the coconut groves and gave us the weirdest look, and again I thought, we are caught, they know we are imposters!  I followed E closer for protection and he began squeezing my hand harder and harder.

We are now mid grove when E randomly says, "There is a pot up here with crabs in it."

"Why would I want to see crabs?"

We approached the said pot and E immediately points out again, "yeah there are crabs in here let me show you."

Now I do not know why but I really did believe him that there were crabs in there and that he wanted to show them to me and that I for some reason wanted to see him.  For the next 90 seconds E faked like he was wrestling crabs in the bottom of this pot and I was sitting back jumping and yelling, "watch out babe, don't let them bite you!"

Then after her proclaimed that he had caught the illusive crab he turned.  Got down on one knee.  And I gulped thinking to myself.  Oh yes!  This is happening!  Pay attention Laura.  This will only happened once.

Tears welled a diamond, a gorgeous beautiful diamond, was presented and I of course said yes!!  From behind me traditional Maldivian drummers came out of the bushes rogue style, and a man approached with champagne.  We did our celebration dance (and if you have seen E dance you know that it is fingers pointed and very bouncy dance). We kissed (thankfully he didn't propose in Dubai!) and took pictures and drank our champagne by sunset.  E revealed that champagne was all set to be had on a boat but after that morning dive he called the front desk and said, "Sara, call off the boat!  She got sea sick this morning!  Call off the boat!"

After about 15 minutes a man appeared and asked if we were ready.  Ready?  For what?  We are done.  We are perfect!  But my amazing E had the night all planned.  We took a boat to our own private island were we toasted some more, feasted on an amazing dinner under a beautiful white tent, gorgeous flowers, with our own chef and waiter.  And we just loved each other and celebrated.  The boy didgood.  My phenomenal fiance...He did amazing!  

I can truly say I am the luckiest.  And I really did get A Hollywood Ending.

Jumping up and down with excitement!

This one is for the girls

So I know E and I are quasi new at this relationship thing, not in being in one but in the being together all the time kind of one.  We are used to being literally 8,312.7 miles apart, yepp googled that one in the past.  And so we are still nailing down some perimeters to our little relationship life.  In the past we did not talk everyday, check in, call before bed, but now to me, that is one of those things that needed to change since I took that big leap, not to mention a 15 hour flight with poor in-flight entertainment.

Boys will be boys and E did not really understand that this was something that needed to happen.  One night last week when he was on the island (as he typically is two nights a week), we got in a spat, and he wanted to avoid me grumbling at him at all costs, thus he attempted to make it a no call night.  As you can imagine, that was just not going to happen.  So girls will be girls and I called him, like a stalker, for about an hour while simultaneously and rapidly texting my girlfriends my frustration.  Finally after about 11 missed phone calls and one text to E's number my phone rings.  There was a flash of relief and then the grumblings were just intensified on my end.  We mumbled a few words back and forth, fake apologizing, attempting at the whole, "do not go to bed angry," mantra and hung up angry.

With the morning brought new light, I was not as mad, although still annoyed that he just did not get
"it" and on his end I am going to guess that he was a bit confused because he indeed did not get "it" (meaning why was his gf acting a little bit bananas over a phone call).  I went about my normal day we had a few sparse g-chats going back and forth, they were a little bit tense but fakingly lovey, both of us pretending not to be mad.  He was on the island another night, which was fine with me, a little space, some vino, and downloaded reality TV on my computer sounded like a blissful night.  I had received a call earlier in the day from J our other roommate informing me that he had forgotten his house key and would I be home around 7:30 to let him in the door?  Although, I will be right in the middle of Real Housewives of New York, I could, yes, get up and open the door for him.

So at 7:40 the doorbell rang.  I sauntered over to the door, in pj shorts (and no make-up its my off day from the bf!) and opened it up.  Just for the record this is the heaviest door know to man so I did not fling it open but opened it about a quarter of the way to let J handle the rest.  I struggled with the door for about 20 seconds waiting for J to pop in.  When he did not, I poked my un-mascaraed eyes out and low and behold....E was waiting right outside the door smiling.  The first romantic words out of his mouth, "You got punked."  Blissful, I have been waiting our whole relationship to hear these three precious words strung together.  I look at him shocked and say, "what the heck are you doing here, I look terrible."  And he responded, "I am here to take my pretty girl on a date..."  And that he did, he drove three hours to take me out, make me happy, what an incredible night, with an incredible guy.

This my friends is a little taste of A Hollywood Ending.  It is a little bit funny, a little bit off from reality, and it just sweeps you off your feet.