Wordless Wednesday... The Jacksonville Zoo

A few posts back I said that I'd get around to updating you all with our trip to the Jacksonville Zoo.  What better day to do that than on a Wordless Wednesday.  MD and I had an amazing time at the Jacksonville Zoo... we saw tons of animals... my favorite of course being the giraffes!  Enjoy some photos of the animals we saw at the zoo :)

These are just a few of the pics... I think we took almost 200!  I left out all the pics of the bugs, snakes, etc. because well I just don't like them.  

Also, because I love you guys, here is a video of me getting to feed a giraffe... note the HUGE smile on my face when all is said and done... don't think there is much in the world that could make me happier than feeding a giraffe! :) 

Ok... well maybe there is one thing that might make me happier... and that would be a ring on my finger ;)

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July all!! Many thanks go out to all of of those who have made this country what it is today.  Without those who have fought for our country we would not be the land of the free and the home of the brave.  So many thanks go out to all of our troops who have fought for our country and who continue to fight for us.  There are not enough words to express my gratitude.

I am going to keep this short and sweet because it's been a long weekend, but wanted to leave you with a song that makes me cry almost every time I hear it because well it just touches my heart.

Enjoy!

A special thanks goes out to my G-big (LS) who is in the Navy; EC and JKD who are friends of my g-big who are also in the Navy; DK (the fiance of one of my besties SS) who is in the Army; TL who is in the National Guard...I really can't thank you guys enough for all that you have done for our country.  Love you all <3

Mini Vaca to Jacksonville, FL for my G-big's Wedding

So in my last post I talked about my very first Indian wedding.  Well right after my very first Indian wedding I took my first plane ride to a wedding all the way down in Jacksonville, FL where my G-big (a.k.a. grand big, a.k.a. my big sister's big sister, a.k.a. a sorority thing, so if you don't get it, don't worry).  MD and I took an early flight out on Friday morning because well, we were GOING to make the most of this mini vacation to Florida.

We arrived in warm, sunny Florida with no problems, complications, etc.  We flew US Airways which when I was a kid I had nicknamed US Disaster because of all of the problems that we had previously had with them.  I must say that I was pleasantly surprised that things went as well as they did.  Upon our arrival in Jacksonville we met up with some of my favorite older sorority sisters... LW, AK, RG... for some breakfast at this cute little cafe by the hotel.  After a delicious breakfast we decided to head off to the beach!

Yes it was the end of March and yes I was at the beach... be jealous, be very jealous ;)

While at the beach we sorority sisters (plus one of the other bridesmaids) had a great time playing catch up and talking about all sorts of different things.  It was great to reminisce about the good old days at Bucknell and how much fun we had in Chi Omega.  During all of this MD was laying out in the sun (without sun screen might I add) and sleeping while ignoring us and all our girly "drama"

Soaking up the sun

Of course we all got FRIED at the beach... definitely had some interesting tan lines... I think I may have won the prize for worst tan lines ever as I had a nice little hand print on my leg.  That night in true Bucknell fashion we all met up at the bar for some drinking...and some fun before the wedding. It was AWESOME that there was a bar attached to the hotel... meant lots of drinking then stumbling back upstairs to our room.

Love of my Life and me at the bar

Chi Omega ladies at the bar

The vase was attached to the table, but the leaves weren't attached to the vase!

Saturday during the day was a bust because well my lovely boyfriend decided to be sick with sun poisoning so I missed going to see the Albino Alligator!  Although he kept me from seeing the Albino Gator, MD made up for it when we decided to go on a tour of the Budweiser Brewery in Jacksonville.  For those of you who don't already know, MD and I have been on a kick where we have been touring breweries, tasting various beers, etc.  He has been trying for YEARS to turn me into a beer drinker, and I think he might have finally succeeded. 

The horses aren't so scary when they aren't real ;)

Thought this was really cool with all their support for the armed forces

After the Budweiser brewery we went to play some mini golf and I kicked Mark's bootay!  I may not be able to beat him at many things, but mini golf definitely is one of those things.

The happy couple before I was kicking his butt at golf

Concentrating really hard on his game

After mini golf it was time to go back to the hotel to get ready for Liz and Jeff's fabulous wedding.  All I can say about the wedding was that it was GORGEOUS.  Liz looked amazing, the ceremony was perfect, and overall it really was just an amazing time. Rather than bore you with the details of everything, I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves...

Beautiful Setting for the Ceremony

The Groom and his Groomsmen "patiently" awaiting the bride

My "other" G-big

Here Comes the Bride

You May Kiss the Bride

Bucknellians at the Cocktail Hour

Love this Guy with ALL my Heart <3 

Love my Chi Omega Ladies

Pretty Centerpieces designed by LS

Definitely one of my top 2 most favorite wedding cakes I've ever had!

Fun with Party Hats at the Reception

More Fun with Party Hats

After an awesome time at the wedding on Saturday it was time to head home to Philly on Sunday.  BUT not before heading to the Pirate Museum, Castillo de San Marco, and the Jacksonville Zoo.  More on that later cause I am still exhausted from our recent move (more on that later too) plus working full time, plus studying for the bar exam....

My Very First Indian Wedding

So back in March (yes I know that was eons ago, but as you read here, I have been a bit busy recently) I went to my first Indian (Indian as in from India Indian, not Native American Indian... just to clarify) wedding. Let me tell you, it was like NOTHING I have ever experienced before in my entire life.  I can't even begin to explain what it was like... but I sure am going to try.

The wedding was at the Sheridan Crossroads in Parsippany, NJ... the hotel seriously looked like it was a castle.

The place was HUGE and I was nervous that we weren't going to be able to figure out where the wedding was.  But don't worry, we managed.  

The bride and groom had a traditional Indian ceremony which was beautiful.  N is Indian while her husband M is not, but they still decided to go with the traditional Indian ceremony which I thought was awesome.  The ceremony started with the groom and all of his family/friends outside dancing to music and having a grand old time.  Eventually the rest of us followed outside to clap, dance, get really excited, etc.

Getting excited for the ceremony

N the beautiful bride watching everything from inside

Yes that is the groom M and yes they have lifted him up into the air... I tell you, these people really know how to celebrate

Things eventually moved in side where there was something between the groom and the bride's family... I didn't really understand much of it since it wasn't in English.  But it looked as though there was a lot of symbolism and like it was almost welcoming the groom into the bride's family.  I could be wrong about that, but it's what it looked like to me. 

Finally we all made it into the room where the ceremony was going to take place.  The ceremony was not at all what I expected it to be like.  First off I realized that for the Indian culture the wedding ceremony really is a time of celebration and a time for family, friends, etc. to be together and to really honor the couple getting married.  There was lots of clapping and smiles, and everyone truly seemed to be elated for N and M.  The ceremony also contained lots of symbolism... my favorite part being when the couple walked around the fire 4 times... with the groom leading for the first 3, and then the bride leading for the last time.  I also enjoyed the part where the bride and groom had to sit down quickly and whoever sat down first was supposed to be the dominant one in the relationship... of course N sat down first.  The ceremony was long, but it really was beautiful and I was so happy to have been able to witness it.

After the ceremony there was a luncheon for all the guests while the bridal party took pictures, etc.  Then MD and I were off to see my parents for a while during the break before the reception.  Cocktail hour before the reception was a lot of fun, but I was really looking forward to the reception and getting to see the bride and groom for the first time after the wedding.  The reception was gorgeous!  N and M looked fantastic.  I have never been to such an upbeat wedding reception where everyone was just so genuinely happy, excited, and ready to party.  We danced the night away (yes even the love of my life danced) and had a fabulous time all around.

Sweetheart table and cake

Disney Castle sculpture... they got engaged during a trip to Disney

Love of my Life and me at the reception

M, N, and Me... what a gorgeous couple

Dancing the night away

Congrats to M and N on a beautiful wedding!! I wish you all the happiness in the world! XOXO