Travel Junkie

Today is the last day to enter my Christmas in July Giveaway so if you haven't done so please go here. It ends tonight at 12:00pm est. The winner will be randomly selected from random.org this weekend and announced on Sunday or Monday. 

I am so thankful today is Friday. Even though I'm still in the middle of my work week (I work Thursday-Sunday), I'm so happy to see today. It brings me another day closer to getting out of town and being in Florida. To say that I cannot wait would be an understatement, I need to escape! 

Ever since I came back from my glorious 16 days in Los Angeles and New Mexico. I have been craving more travel. AND yes I know I went to Tennessee a couple of weeks ago but it was only an overnight visit. This time it's a different feeling. I came back wanting to travel forever. Hello! My name is Jennifer and I am a travel junkie. Hi Jennifer!

I wish I could get paid to travel the world. I'd be willing to do that. Actually, I'd be ecstatic to do that. I would take silly pictures (some serious of course), eat at all the local restaurants, shop in the markets, do everything tourist style and talk to anyone who would listen about my experiences. How did Samantha Brown get so lucky? 

There's gotta be a way...

Theater Thursday

Guess what today is...

This week's featured movie is a true classic. Pretty Woman! 

Pretty Woman follows the life of Vivian (Julia Roberts), a prostitute and Edward (Richard Gere) a rich and powerful businessman. When Edward comes to Los Angeles on business he finds himself needing a date to take to business functions. Not wanting to deal with emotions or his soon to be ex-girlfriend he stumbles upon Vivian while trying to find his hotel, The Beverly Wilshire. Vivian agrees to show him the way to his hotel for 20 bucks and along the way they strike up a conversation. 

Once they get to the Beverly Wilshire, Edward finds himself not wanting to part ways with her. He's intrigued by her and invites her up for the evening. The next morning he realizes that he would like to hire her to be his escort for the entire week. Vivian is more than happy to oblige. Over the week they begin to grow fond of each other and things become more difficult each of them knowing that they'll eventually part. 

During the course of the week they attend multiple functions and encounter some very funny situations that have now become classic movie scenes. They also have some very touching and cry worthy scenes. If you've never seen Pretty Woman, then you are surely missing out. 

Have a movie you love? Great! Post about it then come back here and link up, that way everyone can see great movies to check out. 

Don't forget my Christmas in July Giveaway! If you haven't entered you still have time and can do so here. Also if you link up for Theater Thursday, you get an extra entry! 

5 Things Going on Right Now

First of all, who is watching this show? 

I caught the recap of season 1 right as it was finishing last season and now that season 2 has started I'm glued to the television. Is it just me or has the episodes so far been super sad?!? 

Second: On Monday the boy and I went and saw Salt. 

Well let me save you an hour and a half and 8 dollars...pass on the Salt (pun intended). It was not good. Maybe it's because I think Angelina Jolie is a home wrecker and can't get past that or maybe it's the fact that her lips are abnormally huge and I just stare at them but I didn't think the movie was good. At all. 

Third: Apparently I do have a green thumb! When the garden got planted a few months ago, I didn't know if it would actually do anything and now there's peppers and the beginnings of tomatoes. Exciting times!

Fourth: I placed an order with Laughing out Loud Designs, ran by Jen over at WestSacHoney for some headbands and they arrived yesterday in the mail! They're great and I can't wait to wear them! I tried them all on and they are so comfortable! And the best part... they're reversible! 

the flip side of them

Fifth: My Christmas in July Giveaway! It's still going on, if you haven't entered yet go here to do so! Trust me, you really want to win the awesome surprise! 

So there you have it! That's what's been going on in my life. 

Sunshine Funshine!

In less than two weeks, the boy and I will be here...

We've definitely decided on going to Sea World, Islands of Adventure, The WW of Harry Potter and Cocoa Beach BUT the real question is what Disney Park is the best to visit? I haven't been to Disney since I was a kid so I really can't decide which park is the best to visit for a day. Any suggestions? If you know any other attractions, restaurants, etc that are great please let me know! 

Not One of My Finest Moments

Have you entered my Christmas in July Surprise Giveaway? If not go here to enter!

This past weekend, I did something that wasn't one of my better moments. Let me start at the beginning....

It all started last week, when I was shopping in Target, I found this green dress:

While I was there and choosing the green one, I noticed that they had it in several other colors. I had debating getting a second one because it was so comfortable but I bought the green one and left the store. Flash forward to this past Saturday. Once I got off work, I decided that I wanted to go back to Target and get the same dress but in cobalt blue. I usually look nice in that color and I knew that I wanted to take it on my upcoming vacation (more on that later), so off I went to Target. 

During the week, the dress had been on sale so their stock of probably about 10 in each color went to about 3 in each color and the obscure sizes that never fit anyone. As I started looking at the dresses another girl comes up to the rack as well. I can see that there's only one dress left in the color that I want. I can't even see what size it is but it looks smaller. Right as I reached for the loner blue, it happened. 

The girl became a complete wench, she could tell I was eyeing that blue dress so she did something completely catty. She literally put her hand inside of the hangers and scooted down about 20 dresses so they were all in front of her. Really?!? Wow! So I did the only thing I could think of to let her know that she didn't get to me. I took one of the lone color she left in front of me and said, "Oh my gosh! These dresses are so adorable! I'm glad they still have it in my size and in red!" and walked away to another section of the clothing. Well... it backfired. She gave me the stink eye and put her grubby little paws all over the lone blue dress and stalked off with it. 

At this point, I knew now that, the blue dress was not going to fit her. I got a good look at it and I knew that it was a small (which I wasn't even a 100% would fit me) and this girl was clearly a large. AND before anyone starts saying I'm mean, I'm sorry but it was a fact. The girl probably couldn't get it over her gianormous fake boobs. So as I was shopping around in the clothing section, I kept an eye on her. She kept shopping around and then finally walked into the dressing rooms. Well I needed to go in there as well to try on the stuff that I was holding. 

Once in the dressing room, I realized we were side by side. I honestly didn't plan to be right beside her because when I when in there was only one other open room. I got done before her and ended up going out. This is where the not proud moment came in.... I hung out in the shoe section (that's right beside the fitting room) until I saw her come out. She stuck the blue dress on the return rack and walked away. 

I walked over, picked up the dress and proceeded to the checkout. 

I am the proud owner of the now infamous cobalt blue dress and I think it looks great! Tomorrow I promise about my fabulous vacation coming up in 2 weeks! For those of you who follow me on twitter probably already saw though!

Christmas In July Giveaway!

On Tuesday I attended a Christmas in July theme party, found here incase you missed that post. Well that got me into a pretty festive spirit and I've decided to host a giveaway!!! 

That's right, welcome to my Christmas in July giveaway! 

One lucky winner will receive a surprise item/items. What did you think I was going to tell you what's in the bag? It's Christmas people, surprise is a major element to presents! I will tell you it's size does allow it to find inside a paper lunch bag. (And no this isn't a sponsored giveaway, I just decided to do something fun!)

How do you win this great Christmas in July giveaway? Well there's a few ways:

1. Follow my blog

2. Follow me on twitter jmomiller

3. "Like" me on facebook

4. Tweet about this giveaway 

5. Participate in next week's Theater Thursday (July 29th)

Remember to leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry (5 max) because I will be using random.org to decide the winner. If separate comments are not left, then only one entry will be used. This giveaway will end next Friday (July 30th) night at 12:00pm est. The winner will be announced on July 31st. That's also when the actual gift will be revealed as well.

Theater Thursday

That's right, it's Thursday and that can only mean one thing around these parts. It's time for Theater Thursday! This week's featured movie is none other than Nuns on the Run!

Nuns on the Run follows the lives of Brian (Eric Idle) and Charlie (Robbie Coltrane) who work for a local gangster. When their boss learns of them wanting to get out of the business, he decides to set them up to be killed. Brian and Charlie learn of their fate and decide on their last deal to steal the rival drug dealers money and escape town. 

However, their escape does not go as they planned. The only way for them to not get killed is to seek refuge in a nuns teacher training school disguised as nuns. While there trying to plot out an escape they have to try to avoid their boss who wants them dead, the rival gangsters who want their money, the police and even Brian's girlfriend who's one of the most accident prone people on the planet. 

If you've never seen or even heard of this movie, it's definitely worth checking out. 

Now here's the best part. Have a movie that you love? Great! Post about it and then come here and link up. That way everyone can hear about it and have something new to watch. There's just one rule...it must be out on dvd and not in the theater. There's even a button you can grab, located on my left sidebar. Have fun!

Christmas In July!

Last night one of my good friends was hosting a party and the theme was, Christmas in July. 

Well it's no secret, I love Christmas so I was really excited about going! It wasn't really festive but we still had a great time! I thought it was a really cute theme and since I'm obsessed with Christmas, I'll probably steal his idea and go all out on it next July. Haha!

A Host of the party! (Notice, I'm sporting that green dress I mentioned yesterday? Well it was a hit! It was so comfortable too!)

At their town home, they have a really great set up and their backyard literally falls out into the mountains. I love it. I tried to take a few pictures but it started pouring the rain. They've made it so serene out there. They even have a fountain!

It was definitely a really great evening spent with friends and of course I brought along someone cute...

So all I have left to say is, Merry Christmas in July!

My New Favorite Thing!

I had a great discovery this past weekend. I had been hearing about an iphone application called iheartradio but never really gave it much though. Friday, I finally gave in and downloaded it. Um, hello! I fell in love! It's amazing! 

It allows you to basically listen to any radio station within the United States. Since Friday, that's all I've been listening to in the car. I also discovered that there's a Christmas in July station and since all of you know how much I love Christmas... guess what I've been listening to! It's totally got me wanting to go Christmas shopping and stringing up lights. I'm attending a Christmas in July party tonight so that should help hold me over! 

What I also love about it, is that I can listen to L.A's 102.7 KISS FM. It's no secret that when I went to California earlier in the summer that I loved it and had a great time. I've also made it no secret that I want to live there. So when I realized I can listen to my favorite L.A. radio station I was very excited! I also get to hear the local commercials (which I usually hate) and hear their local news. It's amazing and it makes me wish I was driving on the 101 instead of my local highway. 

If you don't already have the application on your phone.... get it, you'll love it! 

The Workend

I hope everyone had a good weekend. The weekends are actually my work week. I work Thursday-Sunday, so if I want to have a weekend with friends and family, I usually have to squeeze it in between work. Luckily, I've been doing this for awhile now so I have a good hang of it. I like to call them my Workends. 

Friday night after work, I went and saw Inception.

We got really lucky and scored the last 2 tickets making it sold out. Since it was sold out, the theater even had to have an usher to show people to seats. I was pretty impressed because I haven't seen a packed out crowd like that in awhile (unless it was a midnight showing aka...Twilight Saga). I was leery about seeing this but ended up loving it! It was such a great movie that I want to go and see it again. 

Saturday after work, I did a little shopping and ended up buying this dress. 

I found it at Target and they had it in about 6 color options. I might go back and get it in pink because for $15 bucks that's too good of a deal. It's also really comfortable! After getting my shopping done, I was really craving breakfast food for dinner. And what better place to find breakfast food for dinner? Bob Evans! 

I stuffed myself full with hash browns, pancakes, bacon and eggs. It was AMAZING!

Sunday night, after I got off work, we ended up eating dinner at one of my favorite places: The Olive Garden! I'm a huge fan of their fettucini alfredo. 

I get it almost every single time I go there. It never gets old, I love it! After the OG, I decided to come home and crash. It was a very long work week for me and now I'm so excited to be on my weekend. 

Get to Know Me!

This is my very first time participating in Getting to Know You Sunday! I really liked the questions so I thought I would join in! 

1. If you had to choose a country to live in besides the USA (or the country you live in) which would it be? Hands down.... England. I did a study abroad program there while I was in college and loved it. I traveled all around England and just fell in love with it! My favorite places were London, York and Brighton. It was Amazing! 

2. Which would be worse, wearing flip flops in the snow or wearing gloves in the summer? For me it would be flip flops in the snow. Once my feet get cold they take FOREVER (think Sandlot) to thaw out. 

3. Fried or Baked and why? It depends on the food. I love fried potatoes but I love baked chicken. 

4. If you were an entertainment reporter, which celeb would you love to interview and why? I have a huge love for Keanu Reeves but I don't know if I would have enough stuff to ask him. So I'd have to say probably go with Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

5. What was your favorite book as a preteen/teenager? Choke by Stuart Woods. I read it when I was in the 9th grade and loved it. That's how I got addicted to Stuart Woods' books.

6. List your top 3 guilty pleasure television shows: Big Brother, Real Housewives, The Bachelor/Bachelorette. 

7. What bumper sticker slogan best describes you/your attitude/your life? This one is really hard because I honestly hate bumper stickers. I think their giant eye sores. I do like the one that says Coexist with all the symbols. 

8.If you were to join a circus- What performer would you be? That's easy, the ring leader! 

Dear So & So: There Must Be Something in the Water Edition

Dear Celebrities,

Has someone put something in the water? I repeat, STOP drinking the kool aid. We've got crazy Mel Gibson with his rants (again), hottie Levi Johnston getting engaged (again) and Lindsay Lohan going to jail. Who's next?  Sincerely, let's clean up the water & our acts. 

Dear News Channels, 

I remember why I stopped watching real news. It's never anything good. You only focus on the negative. I'm sure somewhere, some kid fell into a well and got rescued. Why not talk about that? Sincerely, spice it up with a little positivity. 

Dear Summer Heat, 

I blame you. I think it's a proven fact that you bring out the crazies. Seeing a pant-less adult walking around in the shopping complex parking lot, is not a good show. So summer heat I'm going to need you to either cool down or become the pants fairy. Sincerely, not wanting to catch his second act. 

Dear Summer Travelers, 

I get that the lines are long. I get that everyone's in a rush to get to their destination. Remember though, that yelling, tapping your foot, taking deep sighs of angst and giving me the stink eye, isn't going to get you going any faster. We're doing the best that we can. Sincerely, a very busy worker bee. 

Theater Thursday

It's Thursday! That can only mean one thing at Crazy Shenanigans, it's Theater Thursday! Every week I pick one movie that's out on dvd to review and suggest to others. This week's featured movie is Vantage Point. 

In Vantage Point, world leaders including the US President have converged in Spain for a landmark agreement on terrorism. Just as the President is about to make his speech in the crowded town square, an assassin shoots him. Two of his secret service officers, Barnes (Dennis Quaid) and Taylor (Matthew Fox) immediately begin the search for the shooter. Before they can make progress, a bomb explodes in the square. 

Then everything stops and the day begins to rewinds. We get to see 8 people's different view points of the incidents. Each beginning 30 minutes prior to the assassination. We see it from a view point from an American Tourist (Forest Whitaker), a news correspondent (Sigourney Weaver), a Spanish police officer, a secret service agent, an assassin and even the President. 

This movie completely sucked me in. I was a little leery of watching it because I figured it would be just like any other thriller movie involving a President but it wasn't. I didn't even realize that it had been over an hour and a half when it was finished. It kept me wondering how it was going to end. If you've never seen it, then I really recommend it. 

As always, have a movie you love? Great! Post about it then come back here and link up. You can also grab the Theater Thursday blog button located in my sidebar. Just remember, the movie must be out on dvd and not in Theaters. 

Wordless Wednesday

Drum roll please.....

Ryan & I

(I had to watermark the photo because apparently crazies are stealing people's photos and making blogs as if it's their life)

On the Wagon!

I usually don't jump on the bandwagon but this time I just couldn't pass it up. It looks like so much fun! So without further ado, I've joined in for the Blog Bash! 

First, I need to introduce myself to new readers: 

I'm Jennifer, I'm in my mid-20's, born and raised in West Virginia and graduated from Marshall University. I'm a big fan of traveling and do it as often as possible. I love to watch reality television, take ridiculous photos of me with food, blog and in the winter you can usually find me knitting and eating popcorn. I usually can be found on the go. If I have at least 2 days off in a row, I'm usually trying to go on a road trip. I hate being tied down and hope to one day have enough money to just travel non stop. 

Since graduating college (4 years ago...ekk!), I have moved several times. For awhile, I lived in the deep south, working for a government program. It was a great learning experience. Since then, after many different factors, I now reside back in my hometown and am planning a cross country move (which gets closer every day thank goodness). I also have an amazing family, a great circle of friends and someone special in my life. I feel very blessed and hope that life will continue to be filled with happiness and success. 

And now for the Blog Bash questions:

Why do you blog? 

I originally decided to start blogging with a friend for fun. If you go back to my very first post at the end of 2008 you'll see that it's not an "I" post. My best friend and I started blogging but after about 3 weeks, I decided to take it over and it be my space. Now I blog because I want to. It makes me happy and it lets me talk about things that I may or may not get to bring up other times. 

What do you blog about?

Basically anything! I talk about my crazy travel adventures, my neighbors, my daily life, sometimes work but never my relationship. I use to talk about my relationship but then stopped altogether. Slowly, I've been hinting back at it and I'm actually thinking of just revealing us with a photo on here. Good idea or bad idea? I can't decide Haha!

What do you find to be the biggest award you get from blogging?

Hands down, the people. Everyone (excluding one) that I've came into contact with have been nothing but supportive, caring, loving and all around awesome. I love getting to "meet" new people and share in their lives. 

How long have you been blogging?

I started blogging at the end of 2008 and haven't looked back. I love it and as far as I can see, I'm going to keep doing it.

Let's hear the story behind your blog title!

It's me! I'm always getting into Crazy Shenanigans. Live is never boring and it's never predictable. I live and work through it all one crazy adventure at a time and I wouldn't have it any other way. This is my life and I'm living it to the fullest. 

Dear Weekend

Where did you go? You went by way too fast. I needed about an 8 day weekend. That would have been nice. So where did the time go? Well...the boy (that's right I mentioned him) and I went and saw, Grown Ups. 

If you haven't seen it then get in your car right now and go. I loved it. I thought it was funny, touching and all around a great movie. I'll definitely be adding it to my dvd collection. Adam Sandler and the group did not disappoint. 

Saturday, we got a group together and went to Shogun. 

I don't know how many of these are out there but it's a Japanese steakhouse. They fix the food right in front of you. Throw shrimp in your mouth for fun, give you saki shots, etc. It was so good, I loved it! There was only one problem....they gave me way too much food. So in true Jennifer style, I had to get a to-go box. 

Then Sunday was my Mother's Birthday. She wanted me to tell you all, "Thank you, for the sweet messages." She had a really great day. Here's a few pictures from her special day. 

I had blown up about what felt like 100 balloons. I thought I was gonna need an iron lung for sure afterwards. PS: Sorry for the craptastic photos, they were all taken with my iphone. 

Who doesn't love a good cupcake on their birthday?!?

Now that it's Monday, it's off to get my car's new inspection sticker... considering that it expired in May. Ooppsies!

A Very Special Birthday

Today is a very special day. It is my Mother's Birthday! 

My Mom is my best friend. I love her more than anyone or anything. She always says her birthday is lucky because of the date 7-11. I say,"I'm lucky because she's my Mom." Meet her...

My mom enjoying a foot long corn dog in Gaitlinburg, TN

She loves old movies and movie stars, especially Dean Martin

She climbs mountains in New Mexico

She makes funny poses for my sake

She west coast travels in LA

She visits obscure museums

She knows what's good to eat

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you!