Fully Alive…Ready to Smile

posted by erin on Jul 2

I was tagged a while back (and no doubt other times from other people, too) by Alexis to do the “Six Random Things About Me” Meme and I just haven’t had the time. But as I was sitting in the car for hours on end with nothing better to do than think of 6 things about myself I came up with these. The little spin I’m putting on it is that both Val and I share these items. A wee bit strange, no? Perhaps we were separated at birth. One lady at a store even asked if we were sisters. Of the heart always and forever!

1. I ALWAYS put my feet up on the dashboard when we are driving (not when I am driving…when I’m in the passenger seat. Just wanted to get that straight). Jer HATES it because it leaves sweaty little toe prints on the inside of the window. Apparently that’s the exact reason Neil hates it when Val does the same thing. How funny.

2. I’m a little OCD when it comes to the time. Not the time in general, but specifically I have to look at the clock when it’s 11:11. Doesn’t matter if it’s a.m. or p.m. but if I see the clock says 11:09, I will sit and stare at the clock until it turns to 11:11. I won’t even go to bed before then (usually). If I see that the clock says 11:12, I feel a slight sense of disappointment that I missed it and when I look and it’s 11:11 I feel a little flutter in my stomach. When I was growing up the magic time was 4:44. So I’m telling Val about this the other day and she exclaims that she does the same thing and that hers is 4:44 or 11:11. WEIRD!!! Even Jer thought that was just beyond crazy. I was told once by someone that if you see the time when it’s all the same number it means someone is thinking about you. Val was told to make a wish. So the reasons are different, but the compulsion is the same.

3. We are both (Val and I) eight months older than our husbands.

4. Our husbands look eerily alike. That’s not really about me or about Val, but it’s quirky.

5. We both are very creative people which means beauty and aesthetics are very important to us, yet neither of us can really keep our houses organized. Much to our dismay.

6. We both have a thing for nice hotels. I LOVE staying in hotels and so does she. In fact, on our way home we stopped in at her house again overnight and we sat by the computer looking for the perfect hotel for mine and Jer’s final night on the road in Minneapolis. We found it and it was the coolest little chic hotel. I think she was just as excited as me about it : ) When Jer came in the room I say, “We found the coolest hotel for tomorrow night!” And he and Neil laugh because the “we” was Val and I. Oh and on that note, both our husbands shake their heads in EXACTLY the same way when we say something crazy or talk too much or are just our crazy old selves.

Here’s some pictures of the hotel that Val and I found in Minneapolis. Sorry if they are kind of blurry, I couldn’t use my flash because then it was just too bright, but they get kind of fuzzy without the flash. Val and Jer both told me I need a nicer camera. That’ll be my next big purchase.

The entrance. Screams “I’m nicer than a Holiday Inn” don’t you think?

The lobby and reception desk.

The ceiling in the entry and sitting area had oval trays with lovely glass covering the lights.  This glass was also around the hotel in other areas like the bar and at the reception desk.

A cute little vignette in the fitness room.

The sitting area off the lobby. They had these beautiful big mirrors everywhere, including in our room. Good thing they were bolted to the room or I might have taken it along with the little shampoo and lotion bottles ; )

The walls had this beautiful textured paper on it and all the numbers for floors and rooms were on these silver fleur de lise plaques.

More about our trip to come.