I will write all about this terrifying, near-drowning experience later. For now, here are pictures. Keep in mind that this all happened in like, 30 seconds. Nina is in the front on the left. I am behind her. Sarah is behind me, and Nancy is on the other side of the raft, next to Sarah.

Let's talk about the things that are making this the best week ever! (I'm thinking of that show on VH1.)

1. Brian texted again today. We are hanging out next week and possibly going to a Cubs game.

2. Sarah called, and we are on good terms again.

3. Today I went to the beach, ate guacamole, and played skee ball.

4. Tomorrow I am going whitewater rafting in northern Wisconsin.

5. Thursday I am doing one of the following: Hiking/Seeing waterfalls, 4-wheeling, or tubing.

6. I may be getting my tattoo on Friday.

7. Breaking Dawn midnight release party Friday night! I have my "La Push Cliff Diving Team" tee shirt ready to wear. I fully plan on staying up all night to read.

8. I ordered my cowboy boots, and they should be here in the next few days!

I have some seriously good karma right now. What did I do to deserve all this goodness? Something bad needs to happen to even things out. Every time in my life when I have thought to myself, "Wow, life is so good. I am perfectly content." something goes horribly wrong. So I'm just waiting for the pie in my face.

1. I finally decided what tattoo I want, and I want it NOW. I have to wait till I get paid on August 8, and the waiting is killing me.

2. Brian texted me last night. I almost had a heart attack. I'd had a lot to drink (I was at a neighborhood block party), and I thought that when I sobered up, it wouldn't have happened. But no, the texts are still there to prove it. It's been over a year, and he misses me and wants to see me. I'm so excited.

Go there. It's delicious.

It's a vegetarian restaurant that opened yesterday on Division. I just love vegetarian restaurants because it's so nice to have options. Sadly, I had dinner before we went (there was a mix-up and I thought we weren't going), so I couldn't eat that much. But I recommend: the asparagus with roasted pepper salsa, the baked goat cheese, the watermelon salad, and the chocolate dessert. It's kind of like tapas; you can get small plates or big plates. So if you get the small plates, you can share and try a bunch of stuff. I can't wait to go back and try more things.

So I've been wanting to write about my fabulous weekend, but now every time I want to write about something fun, I'm afraid I sound like this girl. I don't want to sound disgustingly happy because it's obnoxious, but I kinda am. (Disgustingly happy, that is. Hopefully I'm not too obnoxious.) So I'm going to write about how fun my weekend was, because, as I've said before, I don't blog because I think I'm a great writer; this is just my journal.

My friend Sarah LOVES this 80's cover band, Sixteen Candles, and invited me and Nancy to go see them on Friday. They were playing up in Palatine, so I met my birthmom (Kathy) and her husband (Greg) for dinner before the show.



I knew I was in trouble the minute I sat down because Greg was doing shots. So then I ordered a shot of Patron, and yes, I ended up getting very drunk. I had soooo much fun hanging out with them. Once again, I realized how eerily alike my birthmom and I are. Nancy hung out with us for a while before the show and said she noticed the similarities right away. I am so, so thankful for this relationship. I wonder if other moms and daughters are lucky enough to have what we do. My guess is that most people don't. I mean, there are probably moms and daughters who are just as alike, but they probably don't appreciate it because they've known each other their whole lives, so they probably just get on each other's nerves. Sometimes I wonder what things would have been like if I had grown up with my birthmom. Would we have been like Gilmore Girls? We are close enough in age and joke around the same way they do. Or would we have made each other crazy, because we're so alike and I was a punk when I was a teenager? I'm leaning towards the latter. I think we appreciate each other more because we didn't know each other for 19 years.



Anyway, the concert was super fun. Since I was really drunk, I danced a lot and probably made a complete fool of myself. But, whatever. It was a good time. And Sarah and Nancy were drunk, too.



I would just like to say that I am so grateful for my recent frienship with these two girls. I have such a great time with them. They crack me up, and they are always up for adventure. Most of my friends are high school or college friends; I feel like Sarah and Nancy are the friends of my adulthood. We became friends based on what we have in common now, not what we had in common when we were younger.



I didn't get to bed till like, 4:30 Saturday morning. I spent Saturday afternoon in baby shower hell. Jen, I love you dearly, but I hate showers of any kind. I'm sure I will hate my own showers someday. I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to bypass all that and just get the gifts. At least there was only one game and Jen's shower, and it was relatively harmless- guess the size of Jen's stomach. And I got to hang out with Jen's grandma, which was cool. So it really wasn't as bad as it could have been; just loooong. When I left at 5:30, the party was still going strong. But it's nice to see how many people love and support Jen.

Saturday night was the usual dancing at DC's. Faye and I had a blast, as usual. Not much else to say about that.

Sunday I woke up feeling guilty about not going to church. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've been in the past year. I feel awful about this, but I just can't find the right church for me in the city. I know, I should probably look harder. But on Sunday, I decided to drive up to Mars Hill (Rob Bell's church in Grand Rapids). Nancy was nice enough to come along and keep me company, so the three hour drive just flew by. And the service was great. Rob Bell has the summer off, but Ed and Kent Dobson were there, and they preached about illness and examples in the Gospels of Jesus healing the sick. Ed Dobson is really credible since he's had ALS for almost 9 years. So it was pretty powerful to hear him talk about his faith throughout his illness. He made some really great points. I think that anyone who is suffering from an illness or is close to someone who is suffering should hear his talk. The podcast is on iTunes, or you can get it here: http://www.marshill.org/teaching/index.php. The talk was called "Jesus, the wonder-working sideshow."

So that's about it for my weekend. Things have been pretty quiet now so far this week. Yesterday I did laundry and ran errands. (I had to go to 6 places before I found the issue of Entertainment Weekly with Twilight on the cover!) Nina came over last night and we watched My Boys and Pride and Prejudice and attempted (unsuccessfully) to contact my birthfather. She didn't go home till like, 3, and I didn't go to bed until 6 (I wanted to finish the book I was reading), so I slept until noon and now I'm still tired and feel yucky from staying up so late and it's 1:30 and I'm still in my pajamas and I'm not really sure what I should do with myself today. Hmm, maybe the beach...

My cousin Katie posted this on Facebook.

Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search:
"Erin needs a drink."

Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search:
"Erin looks like Harry Potter on drugs."

Type in "[your name] says" in Google search:
"Erin says...sit happens." (This was a site for dog obedience school!)

Type in "[your name] wants" in Google search:
"Erin wants a story." (Like I want to "wake up in the morning with a story to tell? Sorry, I've been listening to Ludacris.)

Type in "[your name] does" in Google search:
"Erin does the cha-cha-cha slide." (No, I certainly do not.)

Type in "[your name] hates" in Google search:
"Erin hates whores (named Chad)." (Oh dear...)

Type in "[your name] asks" in Google search:
"Erin asks, How does THE MAN keep you down?" (Damn the man! Save the empire!)

Type in "[your name] goes" in Google search:
"Erin goes blue." (This is in reference to Michigan. Sorry, that will never happen. My baby's going to play for the Hawkeyes.)

Type in "[your name] likes " in Google search:
"Erin likes the cuddles." (Actually, no I don't. Nancy and I just discussed this tonight.)

Type in "[your name] eats " in Google search:
"Erin eats banana cookies with chocolate chips." (Eew, I hate anything banana-flavored. But I love bananas.)

Type in "[your name] wears " in Google search:
"Erin wears Prada." (Why yes, yes I do. Perhaps not as much as I'd like, though.)

Type in "[your name] was arrested for" in Google Search:
"Erin was arrested for public intoxication and third-degree burglary." (No comment.)

I spend a lot of time feeling un-trendy. This is partly due to where I live. (Seriously, what am I doing in the Arts District?) But lately I have come to realize a few ways in which I was oh-so-close to being trendy.

1. I've been a vegetarian since I was 2. Now, a lot of my friends are becoming vegetarian as well. And now I'm not trendy anymore, because when people ask why I became a vegetarian, I can't say, "Well, I started considering the environmental aspect of eating meat and realized it was better for the Earth..."

2. When I was pregnant, Ross and Marilyn asked what I would name the baby. I told them he wouldn't be mine, so it was entirely up to them. But they persisted until I told them I loved the name Jacob. I didn't know it was a popular name; I just loved it. After they named him that, I discovered it was like, the most popular name that year. Sorry, Jacob.

3. Over the past few years, I've thought of other baby names I like. It's not like I sit around agonizing over what I will name my child; I just kind of think of things. I fell in love with the name Ella a long time ago. I think Jacob might have been an Ella if he was a girl. Then I thought of Ethan for a boy, and I thought how cute it was to have "E" names. (I know, it makes most people want to throw up.) Then I saw/read Pride and Prejudice and thought that Elizabeth Bennett was one of the coolest fictional characters ever. So I decided I would have Ella, Ethan, and Elizabeth. Then I started meeting lots of toddlers named Ethan and Ella and realized how popular those names have become. Darn. I should have started having kids sooner; now I will look like a copycat if I use those names.

4. For several years now, I've wanted to have a really cool first dance at my wedding reception. I found those videos on YouTube, and while I knew it wasn't original, I knew it wasn't widely done. Now, TLC has that show called "Rock the Reception." (Did anyone see the episode the other night with the Marine and the girl with breast cancer? Made me want to cry. That's true love.) So now everyone will be doing the crazy first dance, and if I do it, it will be totally un-orginal.

I come so close to being trendy, but never attain it. Good thing it's not really that important to me.

Today was day 4 of extreme foot pain (I had a procedure done on Friday), and I was ready to go crazy. I am soooo tired of canceling plans and missing out on fun and sitting on my couch instead. My fabulous friend Sarah came and kept me company on Saturday night, which helped a lot. And my parents took me to lunch yesterday (to Adobo Grill, where they have valet), and that was nice as well. But today was so beautiful, I wanted to go out and DO something.

Nina came to the rescue and invited me over to lay out on her deck, which is on top of a high rise. She even offered to park my car for me since I can't walk very far. We laid out, made fajitas, ate sorbet, and watched Sex and the City. Best of all, I even procured some Vicodin, so now my foot is not throbbing in pain; it's just a dull ache.

I decided to go home a little after 11, and Nina said she'd walk me to my car since she'd parked it pretty close. And when we got there, it was gone. She'd unknowingly parked in a tow zone. This time, she did not fall on the ground laughing as she usually does in situations like this. But we still laughed about the fact that we had to make an expedition to Super Lower Wacker late at night. It sucked because it's hard for me to get around with my foot, but at least I didn't have to pay. I feel so bad for Nina. It sucks how a simple mistake can cost you $250. But the car is back, and the whole ordeal was relatively hassle-free. There was a couple there whose car had been towed, and they needed to have it towed somewhere else. That ordeal was costing them almost $400. So it could have been a lot worse.

I am slowly checking off things on my list of things to do this summer, but I still have much to accomplish. Right now, I am working on my goal of joining the DAR. I just emailed the Chicago chapter to see if they will help me prove the relationships in my genealogy. I kind of thought of it as a joke at first, but now I'm actually excited. After being in places where George Washington hung out and hearing Obama's awesome speech on patriotism, I will be honored to claim this relationship to a Patriot.

I think I'm also in the mood to cause a little trouble, so I'm going to get Rachel going on the "find my birthfather" thing. They both live in Phoenix, so she's going to do a little recon for me. I think he still lives with his mom. Ha ha.

Soon, I will have another BFF. Hopefully. Sometimes I get too excited about new friends, and then it doesn't work out. Like that girl who lived behind me. I thought she was too cool for me and was way excited when it seemed like she wanted to be friends. I pictured it being like college again; having all your friends in the same building. Then we went out to dinner one night, and the crazy in her was revealed. She talked about getting hit on while buying cigarettes when she was 8 months pregnant, mentioned that the baby lives in Wisconsin with no further explanation, and then gave a detailed description of her digestive problems. My hope of us becoming BFFs turned into dread of running into her.

Anyway, I digress. So I saw this foreign news correspondent on The Daily Show:



and I thought, I need to support our troops. That's not just for Republicans. I disagree with the war in Iraq, but I still have the utmost respect and admiration for our soldiers and what they do for our country. That's one reason I oppose the war; I don't want them to die needlessly.

So I found this program called My Soldier and signed up to get a soldier as a pen pal. All I know about him is that his name is Leonardo. I sent him a letter, and hopefully we can be friends and I can send him letters and care packages and many words of encouragement and support. I'm really excited about this. I hope he wants to be pen pals, too!

After spending only an afternoon there, I want to make it my new home. Possibly even more than Charleston. Charleston has the beach and the history and the cute preppy boys and the southern accents, but Asheville has even more pro's. And I bet people in Asheville have southern accents, too; I just didn't notice any.

I read somewhere that Asheville is one of the most vegetarian friendly cities in the country, and I would agree with this. Rosetta's Kitchen is vegetarian and organic and one of the best restaurants I'd ever eaten at. There were fliers for events posted all over, most of which I would have liked to attend. After lunch, we shopped at the unique stores downtown, many of which were eco-friendly. I bought some really cute apparel, including this Organic Rocks tee shirt:
So, in summary, Asheville has lots of vegetarian food, boutiques with gorgeous, unique, and environmentally friendly products, cool people (some of whom have southern accents), and a Dillards. Oh, and did I mention it's in the mountains, so there is a plethora of outdoor activity options?

I think I've found the perfect place to live.

I thought this was one of the most beautiful cities I'd ever seen when I visited last spring, so I was eager to go back. Our first stop was Magnolia Plantation, which was full of views like these (taken from their website, since I forgot to take pictures):














I was a little disappointed though, because most of the flowers weren't blooming, so it wasn't as beautiful as it was last spring. But we went on a boat tour that was really cool- we saw alligators!

Then we went downtown to find a nice place for dinner. There are sooo many nice places there, but it was a challenge since I'm a vegetarian and Nina's allergic to gluten. We ended up at this Irish place called Tommy Condon's. It was some of the most disgusting food we've ever had. I guess we should have known better than to go to an Irish place in a town that's known for its seafood. We had to somehow make up for this awfulness, so we went back to a place that had a delicious-looking dessert menu. McCrady's was amazing! I wish we'd eaten dinner there, too. I had the berry cobbler, and Nina had a sampling of sorbets. I wish I was a food critic so I knew how to properly describe the amazingness of these desserts. And what's really cool is that the restaurant is 220 years old. George Washington ate there! Definitely a highlight of the trip.

After dinner we went on a ghost tour, which was highly disappointing after the one in Alton. But the guide did tell really interesting stories. I learned that the original Jack Sparrow was a very very bad man who did terrible things to Charleston and was hung there. This is the dungeon they kept him in.

This is the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon from the outside. George Washington attended balls in this building, and South Carolina ratified the Constitution in this building.

The next day was the 4th of July, and we spent the day at Folly Beach. Then we attended that Patriot's Point 4th of July Celebration in Mount Pleasant. The fireworks were shot off this giant ship.
It was a fun time, and actually kind of quaint. It was definitely crowded, but not as big as Naperville's RibFest. But people there seemed a lot more patriotic than in Chicago, which was refreshing, especially after hearing Obama's speech on patriotism a few days earlier. (That man is such a powerful speaker! He made me feel patriotic, which is something I've had trouble feeling with Bush in office.) The only downside to this patriotism is that there was lots of Obama bashing accompanying it. I get really tired of Republicans thinking they have a monopoly on patriotism. And Christianity. But that's another story.

So I still love Charleston and am longing to live there. But until they give their teachers a raise, I don't think it's possible. Also, I don't think I'm trendy or thin enough to live there.

We went to the beach or springs almost every day. We hung out with my fabulous cousin Amber a few times and met one of her more interesting friends. My uncle cooked delicious food for us.

Probably the most interesting part of Florida was Saturday night. We went out to a bar with Amber and her boyfriend. When we got home we weren't drunk, but we didn't feel like going to bed. So we decided to make guacamole from the ingredients we'd gotten that morning at the farmer's market.

It was delicious. We then stepped out onto the screened-in porch to have a cigarette. (Yes, I smoked on vacation, but don't worry, I'm not buying another pack.) By the this time, it was a little after 3 a.m. When we finished, Nina went to pull open the sliding door, and nothing happened. We were locked out, through no fault of our own. Apparently that door has a tricky lock that will sometimes lock by itself when you close it. Nina immediately collapsed on the floor, laughing hysterically. We weren't sure what to do. The locksmith we called sounded super creepy, and we didn't want to pay $45. My cousin goes running really early on Sunday mornings near my grandma's house (where we were staying), so my uncle drops him off, then hangs out there till he has to pick him up. So we decided to just wait it out for 3 hours.

So we were stuck outside with nothing but Nina's purse. I was wearing the kind-of-dressy top I'd worn out that night, capri sweatpants, and heels. Nina was wearing a t-shirt and boxers with no bra. Despite our attire, we decided to walk to Krispy Kreme. What else were we going to do for 3 hours? As soon as we got near the main road, cars started honking at us. Then the guy at Krispy Kreme was hitting on Nina, so we couldn't stay there. We decided to go to Steak and Shake across the street, but some of their male employees were standing out in the parking lot yelling at us, so we headed home. As we walked, a someone from a car yelled, "F-ing whores!" Another person threw a lit cigarette at us that almost hit Nina. It was quite a traumatic experience. And we just can't figure out what we did to warrant those comments. Did we really look like whores? Then I thought of this post from Stuff White People Like and decided this was a good experience for me because I could empathize with refugees in the future.

When we got back to the house, I remembered that I have OnStar, so we could at least get into the car. And it's there that we fell asleep, not even noticing when my uncle arrived. He must have thought we were such crackheads; he didn't wake us up because he thought it was intentional. He said, "You were sleeping so peacefully; I didn't want to wake you." Anyway, we got back into the house at 7:15 that morning.

And that's about all there is to say about Florida.