Attention: I’m interrupting this important blog post to inform you that–I’M GOING TO JAMAICA IN LESS THAN A MONTH. Nothing like spur-of-the-moment-why-the-heck-not travel planning, right? I did say I wanted to experience more this year!
That’s me, on the beach, with a fruity-drink-in-a-coconut. I’ve never had a fruity-drink-in-a-coconut. Darn right that’s going to change.
Back to your regularly scheduled post:
You know what else is awesome? Getting some love (and awards) from some of my favorite bloggers! I somehow got three nominations for the Liebster award and one for the super sweet blogger award! So thank you Kat, Alex, Nadiya and Jessie–You girls ROCK. To avoid posting ten million questions, I’ll do my usual and break the rules, grabbing tidbits from each.
Snagged from Kat:
Give me a random fact about yourself. I use a ludicrous number of forks on a daily basis. This would be less of a problem if I owned a dishwasher and didn’t have to hand-wash ten forks a day. I’m only one gal (who is at work for half the day), how do they all get dirty??
What’s your favorite thing to read on blogs? I absolutely love glimpsing such a variety of lives–single, dating, married, kids; sitting, walking, lifting, running; cooking, baking, dining out. Blogging gives me a view of people (and food) I’d otherwise never meet/experience! Plus it helps me feel less weird about my own quirks/obsessions/interests…
Snatched from Alex:
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Oh, I’d love to say Florence, New York City or a hundred other places. But really? I love my house and my city and am a-okay living right where I am–as long as I can travel regularly to all those other fantastic places!
What was the best advice you were given? “It’s not wrong if no one sees you do it.” –My Dad. Wisdom. Pure wisdom.
Snuck from Nadiya:
What’s your dream vacation destination? All of them. But also, Jamaica. In case, you know, you missed the top half of this post.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done? Um, I have a lot of these, but let’s go with a high school favorite: Got “arrested” by the neighborhood watch for digging holes in a golf course sand trap and setting them on fire while wearing a cloak and nothing else. Yes, you can mostly-nakedly set holes on fire. With enough gasoline.
Snaked from Jessie:
Cookies or Cake? Cookie Cookie Cookie starts with C. Sesame Street, anyone? I am one giant, blue, fuzzy, cookie-loving monster. Okay, I’m a cookie lover. The rest may not be so applicable.
If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be? “Al” isn’t much of a nickname, but it’s really the only way to shorten my name. Unless my parents accidentally (and repeatedly) calling me by the dog’s name counts…
Whaaaat???? I’m so jealous. Have an amazing trip!!!
Too funny!! I always got called by my sister’s name, sort of…Her name is Eleanor, mine Frances though as a child I was called Francie. My mother ended up most of the time calling me El Francie. Until I was 14, I thought I was Spanish!
Haha, that’s so cute! No wonder you’re moving to New Mexico, you need to be closer to your cultural roots
Much deserved trip! I can’t wait to see photos of all the food you eat out there! Love and Shine C
oh please sneak me in your suitcase!
I use a ton of forks and spoons too. With two kids, I am always trying to avoid cross-contamination. We easily use 6 or 7 forks and spoons per meal.
Jamaica is so much fun. You’ll have to tell us where you stayed. I’ve been a couple of times and it’s one of my favorite places. It’s also one of those bizarre places where you (or at least I) stay in the resort most of the time because it’s not too safe to wander about. That’s kind of a bummer. But it’s beautiful and the people are lovely.
Yeah, we’re definitely plan to just hang out at our resort/do resort-sponsored activities. I love an adventurous vacation usually, but I’m really looking forward to just chilling for this one! Sun and drinks, please!
Make sure you get a coconut bra too.
This resort has a topless AND a nudie beach option–no bra required, coconuts can swing free…
Jamaica is going to be SO fun!! Also, I can’t even breathe after reading your crazy moment in hs. Laughing. so. hard. Was it a dare or something?? hahahahaha
Haha, nope, not even a dare–I don’t even know how to begin putting it in context, but I think it’s all the more amazing of a story for that
hahahahahahaha holy shite, that is freakin hilarious.
I’m with you on COOKIES! Exciting news about traveling to Jamaica. I’ve never been, but I’ve only heard fantastic things!
You use fork, and I use a scary amount of spoons – luckily I have a dishwasher! I use a new spoon for every cup of coffee I drink (I am not getting the old spoon out of the sink or dishwasher). Silverware is meant to be used!
Good point! And I think that’s part of my problem–I use forks to mix/stir everything, then immediately toss ‘em in the sink, and no way they’re coming back out to be re-used after that!
hold up that craziest thing you have ever done story makes me love you even more. I couldn’t stop laughing. Jealous to the max with that trip, sunlight would be beautiful
Oh man, that’s what I’m dreaming of, days of SUN! This is going to be the longest three week wait for a vacation ever
Woooo I’m loving the spontaneity! Screw friends are actually in Jamaica right now and the pictures they keep instagramming are just insane- crystal blue waters & white sand! Are you going with anyone? And cookies trump cake all the way! In the words of the Cookie Monster: nom nom nom!!
LOL oh girl, I use soooo many forks too! I don’t understand why?!?!
I’m gonna need to incorporate your dads wisdom in my everyday life now – that’s genius right there.
what an aaaaamazing spur of the moment trip! Lucky, lucky!! I hope you recreate that brilliant drawing in real life
Right? I see the sink full of forks, and I just don’t remember them getting there! A mystery.
Hahaha I love the craziest thing you’ve done! I think you need to do a post in that…
Yay for more traveling!
Oh.my.goodness. Haha, you’re hilarious
I love your dads wisdom [parents are the smartest, obviously] and your arrest story! Have a blast in Jamaica ‘mon- we’ll be cruising around the eastern Caribbean at the end of the month, I’ll be sure to wave to you when I see you on shore with your coconut drink in hand 
Haha, turns out that after all those teenage years where you don’t want to admit it, parents ARE always right and DO have all the answers! Ooo, I’ll keep an eye out on the horizon for your boat
OK, so I was at the gym reading twitter while doing my plank and your tweet came up for this post……I opened it and saw the above picture! You seriously are A) very talented and B) hysterical!! Hahaha! I am so excited you’re going on another trip! I am always one for traveling! Especially away from the cold! And you’re Dad seems like a VERY wise man in my opinion!
Have a great day Allie!
Haha, me and MS paint are best friends. I refuse to acknowledge that better technology exists these days. Glad i could entertain you during your plank
I love Jamaica! I went there for spring break last year and we stayed in Negril. It was awesome! Enjoy it mon’!
Hey, that’s where I’m going to be staying! A coworker recommended it as the best area of Jamaica to stay in–although I have to admit, I went ahead and booked for the end of the month specifically to avoid you spring-breakin’ kids
Okay, okay, and so that I could go on vacation NOW rather than later…
Have a blast in Jamaica and happy new year! I’m finally back to blog reading after taking a little over a week off
It may be a little early for this but I suggest we dress up as the cookie monster together for halloween this year. I love cookies too!
I’m jealous of your Jamaica plans! I wish I had more gumption and would go on trips alone!
Deal! And only accept fresh-baked cookies as trick-or-treating giveouts!
And I’m doing this one with a friend, but my San Antonio trip was solo and all the more awesome for it–You’ve gotta try it just once!
Jamaica sounds like so much fun! Enjoy your time there and drink one of those awesome drinks in a coconuts for me
We didn’t have those in Mexico 
Woaa! Do you mind if I ask why you tried to set those holes on fire lol!
No fruity drinks in Mexico? Oh man, you’ll have to go to Jamaica next
And I really, really wish I remind exactly why and how the idea to set hole-fires came to be…
C is for cookie; that’s god enough for me.
J’amacin me crazy! Irie. You’re going to have so much fun in Jamaica. You must get a pineapple from the people selling them on the beach. Seriously, they are the sweetest, juiciest pineapple ever. And the folks selling them whip out a machete (it’s not scary at all) and carve it in like 4.2 seconds. It’s amazing. Yeah for you!!
Oh man, I’m already dreaming of the fruit! That was the highlight of last year’s trip to CR–YES, the pineapples! And papayas–thought I hated them before I had a real, fresh tropical one.
Congrats on the awards!
That’s my girl!! Spontaneous traveling for the win! Have you signed up for Travel Zoo and Vayama? Two very cool ways to encourage the random trip.
And your craziest thing ever is quite possibly the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard. I can only imagine what your neighborhood watch people contemplated while they were debating on busting the nearly naked caper [comic book deal!].
Oh man, after this, I need to stay FAR away from anything that encourages me to travel. I believe PTO and $$ will be maxed out…so I’ll have to take a couple months to start planning Thailand
Need a third wheel?
I would totally read a comic book about my high school life…It would be the weirdest, emo-ist, fire-filled-est thing ever.
Flying to you right now… and than coming along (yup im inviting myself) with you to Jamaica… and don’t you worry, I have the cribbage board packed
Cribbage on the beach? You better tag along!
Cribbage, and a drink in our hand.. could it get much better??
I’m so jealous of your trip!! My favorite part about travelling way south is the amazing fruits!
What a great time of the year for a vacation
Wheeeee! Oh, Jamaica. My dad won a trip there through a charity auction many moons ago, and we went as a family. We stayed in a villa and had an amazing time. No drinks in coconuts, but I did have a pina colada on the beach on my 21st birthday. We climbed up a waterfall, ate way too much guava jelly, and I bought lots of rum just because I could.