I survived Gasparilla 2008

I took Sadie to the dog park after work today. She laid down for me just so I could snap this beautiful picture of her! They have a pet photo contest at Bissell.com for their special pet vacuum. I am going to send a pic of her to enter (that is why I asked you mom if you could send me that pic of her).

Gasparilla 2007

HERE IS A VIDEO. ENJOY!

PIRATE TIME!!!!

One of the biggest festivals going on right now in Tampa, FL is the Gasparilla Pirate Fest...yes you heard correct"PIRATE FEST". I am supposedly going this weekend (we will see). It is suppose to be a lot of fun. They have a water invasion in the morning were thousands of boats flood the Hillsborough Bay, including the pirate ship of Joe Gaspar and his buccaneers (whoever he is...).
Then they have lots of rides, food, drinks, live bands, and drunk people (hehe). It started last weekend with a "kids" festival, which = no alcohol. Then they have the festival this weekend for big people...and then they have something next weekend which is suppose to be like the "mardi gra" of Florida. However, I heard to stay away from that because it is in Ybor City (which is sketchy) and lots of crazy stuff goes on.
So that is my adventure for this weekend. Marc and his friend may be coming down to join in the fun. He also has a friend from the area, so I will probably go with them. I am sure I will blog about it on Sunday.
Here is a video to enjoy.

Nicole's Pics

A life taken too soon

I cannot believe that Heath Ledger is dead! Erin sent me a text message on my phone and I thought she was kidding. Not that I follow celebrities...but this is sad because he was such a good actor (gorgeous too) and only 28 years old.
It seemed he was just getting started in becoming a well known and respected actor. Who knows what problems he had that would lead to a drug overdose. I just wish this was not true. May he be happier where he is now.
Ok, enough about that.

p.s. I liked him best in "10 Things I hate about You" and "A Knight's Tale"

p.s.s. WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW :)

All Around Me

MY FAVORITE BAND RIGHT NOW!!!! CHECK THIS VIDEO OUT. THIS BAND IS CALLED FLYLEAF. ERIN AND I FIRST HEARD OF THEM A WHILE BACK...BEFORE THEIR SONG "I'M SO SICK" WAS ON THE RADIO. THIS WAS THE FIRST FEMALE LEAD SINGER THAT I HEARD WHO SCREAMED IN HER SONGS! PRETTY SWEET STUFF! ENJOY :) (ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO SCREAMING IN THIS SONG)

Thanks everybody for being supportive on the tattoo idea (do you hear the sarcasm?) :)

Possible Tattoo Ideas

Damask...a word used to describe this type of style/pattern. Thanks to my interior design sister, she was able to tell me what it was called. All I asked her was "what is that design called...like on my bed spread?" I think they are beautiful and simple. What do you think?

Speaking of photography

I have an obsession with taking pictures. I think it stems from the idea that I can capture a single moment in time and it will last forever. Nothing can change it. Sometimes I wish certain times in my life I can just keep the same and live in that moment forever. But, as we are all not immortal...this does not happen. So the closest thing I have to it is photography. Maybe one day I can be known as a famous photographer and my pictures will matter :) We will see, this is just how I am feeling right now. I have big dreams that I do not do anything about (but hopefully this class will start something...)
I took this picture when I was in Germany.

Photography

So, I just signed up for a continuing education class at the University of South Florida. Introduction to Photography. I think if I could go back I would have got my degree in the arts. I really enjoy taking pictures, so I am very excited. I am also excited because I am hoping to meet some cool people and make friends! This is one of the challenges I face living here by myself and not being in school. I do not get to see people my age every day and it is not easy being a single female and meeting decent people.

It sucks having moved from a place where I had a boyfriend who I saw every day and had friends just two steps out of my apartment door. However, this is a challenge I have been facing my whole life with moving around a lot. And I know I can get through it...it just seems to be a lot harder at this point in my life.

I said when I moved here I needed to get involved. I was on the right track when I first got here...but I fell off! So now I am trying again and will hopefully stick with it.

P.S. making friends is expensive.

NICOLE'S SOON TO BE NEW CAR

Oh and this will be my new car come Fall 2008. Me and G-pop's already have it figured out. Next week we are going to the dealership and ordering 2! I want to be one of the first in the area to have one...and it will happen! Isn't she a beauty.

Pictures from places around the Tampa area. The first two pictures were taken at Honey Moon Island Beach. They have a beach there just for dogs! The second two are from Clearwater Beach. If you look at the last pic you can see that they were setting up for a wedding.

Crab Legs = Heaven

Today I went to dinner at Red Lobster with my grandparents. I was craving crab legs...so I ate an entire 1.5 lbs of crab legs all by myself and oooh was it wonderous. I do not think I said one word to grandma or grandpa and maybe took 2 sips of my diet coke. I was in the zone! Once I started it was just me and the crab legs. All the people around me disappeared and everything was quiet. I think I may have had some meat in my hair and all over my shirt (haha j/k) but I was happy!

MEET MY CHILDREN

Meet my children. Sadie(the dog) and Toby(the cat). As you can see they have a loving relationship. Sadie is the newest addition to the family. I adopted her from the Tampa Bay Humane Society back in November (after only being in Tampa for a little over a month). It was love at first sight! I had looked around at several humane society's for a dog. I was not too sure what I was looking for. All I knew was that I wanted an older dog that was medium size. Once I saw Sadie I knew she was the one I was looking for.
I always thought I wanted a small dog (like a minature poodle...love you Max!). However once I moved down here I wanted a dog that I could take to the beach, throw a frisbee to, take on a run or walk, etc. I love these two and they keep me very busy!