Catsup?!

Whew have I been busy. 

I left Ft. Lauderdale Sunday with every intention of heading to Tampa so I could start bright and early Monday morning getting paper work chores done. But when I have the luxury to skip a Monday why not seize it? 

So glad I sparked up and headed out for an adventure! 

So... I drove north to St. Augustine instead to hide out from Monday. Best. Idea. Ever. 

I had heard of St. Augustine, but didn't really know anything about it. The town is crazy pretty. It is considered the oldest town in America, since it was the first town established by the Spanish when they colonized Florida. The architecture was stunning and it was fun to walk around reading all the plaques the town has set out about the different buildings. 

Juan Ponce de Leon statue in St. Augustine 

Close... but no cigar 

When I got into town Sunday I was starving. One of the guys working at the hostel suggested a place called No Name Bar. I thought it was a cute name until I struggled to find it. There is no sign saying "No Name Bar and Grille." It literally is a bar that doesn't have a name up on the sign. Fortunately I didn't let my annoyance detour me and I headed in. I had a great time meeting some locals, listening to live music and living up the Florida lifestyle. If you are ever in St. Augustine go to No Name Bar and Grill -- it's by the Fort and a guaranteed good time! 

Monday was a nerdy morning of sight seeing before the clouds rolled in. 

Oldest School House in America 

Cathedral of St. Augustine 

Morning at the Fort! 

Sunrise 

Tuesday morning I hightailed it to Tampa, skipping Monday meant I had some serious biznass to do! 

After tearing apart finding the title to the PriPri in the storage unit, I was off to get the registration changed. Fortunately there is a tax collectors across the way. When researching on the interwebs how to go about changing the registration I knew I needed to go to the tax collectors to have the VIN verified, but I was so confused about what the tax collectors even was. Well... it turns out it no longer even is the tax collectors office. I'm sure that is still a part of it, but do to budget cuts in Florida they have moved most of the DMV/DOL responsibilities over to the tax collector's offices. 

WHY YOU NO SAY THAT ON YOUR WEBSITE???!!!!  

Well once I had that figured out everything went smoothly and quickly. And now the PriPri is only rocking one plate, but we are both supporting the turtles. A little bit of me wishes I had gone for the "Share the Road" plate to support bicycle rights, sigh, can't win 'em all! 

By the time that was figured out, I had just enough time to figure out some lunch before it was time to head to graduate school orientation. When I visited in April I remembered someone saying I should try out the Taco Bus. Missing my Portlandia food carts I thought the Taco Bus sounded fantastic. 

The bus did not disappoint. I was too hungry to even think about taking a picture for the blog, but no worries, I'll be back and ready to attack some Taco Bus food again. 

The orientation was generic, for all the various programs. Though the talks were boring, it was nice to meet some ladies ahead of time so that there will be some familiar faces next week at our program specific orientation. 

Shwag! 

I chose not to stay for all of the break out sessions, instead I headed over to the hostel to get checked in. 

I love Gram's Place. 

When I visited in April I stayed at Gram's, it was so much fun I knew I needed to stay here again. Instantly the guys who run the place recognized me and it was fun to catch up about my plans and changes they have made to the hostel. Let me say it is looking spiffy -- I can go around snapping pictures later! 

On my way to the grocery store to stock up for my stay I may have accidentally stumbled upon a Nordstroms Rack. Whoops. 

These would look good with scrubs, right?! 

I maintained some self control and left the store empty handed. For the next few years I am just going to have to have fun trying things on rather than impulse buying! 

The rest of the night was spent chatting out on the patio, getting to know the other people staying at the hostel. A few of us have education backgrounds and are all moving here to try something new! I am so glad I decided to come here, I love how easy it is to meet people at hostels and how friendly everyone is. This gives me confidence in my ability to make friends and meet new people. I know that I am outgoing, fun and adventurous -- but sometimes I let a lack of confidence get in my way of going after friendships. Heading into this move and new phase of my life I am not going to let fear get in the way! 

This morning was a symphony of phone alarms! All four of us had our alarms set around 7am and it was quite the good morning. It is nice to have other people around to eat breakfast with and watch the news. My only real plan for the day was to get my school ID card and once I did I spent the rest of the morning driving around. I have no sense of direction down here and it really bothers me. I can't even always figure out North, South, East or West. And I have a great sense of direction, but the flatness means there are no landmarks and so I never know where I am in relation to anything else! I'm sure it won't take long to figure out, but for now it's a source of frustration. 

Now I am just hiding from the heat, blogging, painting my nails and watching Extreme Make-Over: Weight Loss Edition. Probably my favorite show ever.  Have to share this quote with you. One of the women the show focused on had a four year old son. He told her:

 "Mommy you look like a princess. You are pretty and strong."

Ummm... why aren't all boys taught that princesses are pretty and strong?! Best little boy quote ever. 

Did you catch that bit where I said is was painting my nails? In case you didn't hear me the first time: I AM PAINTING MY NAILS.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am a nail biter in the worst way. It is my biggest vice and one of my biggest sources of shame. I feel gross when I look at them and my goal was to get it under control before I have to start my first clinical practicum. I want to look professional from my head to my toes, even to my finger nails! 

Those almost look like a real person's nails - holler! 

I had to check out Run Pretty Far again because I can't get these sweet tanks out of my mind!

"You've gotta burn if you wanna shine" - Amen! 

I think I am going to have to order that tank, I did go ahead and order some bling for the PriPri: 

Cutest 26.2 sticker I have ever seen! Can't wait for that baby to represent to the world all the hard work my body did this summer. I absolutely love the graphics on their website and facebook page. Stole this puppy for my desktop. 

I haven't been on a run in Florida yet and I am feeling like a slug face! Found a meet up group to run 5k tomorrow, I'm ready to lace up and meet some folks. Tonight I am going to try out CrossFit Jaguar . Based on their website I think I am going to like their programming. I asked about dropping in via e-mail, and their owner responded very quickly. She informed me that I can drop in for a week for free, because she understands the importance of seeing a variety of programming before choosing a box. 

Now that is what I am talking about. 

I love that they are concerned about me and whether or not their community is a good fit for me. Their concern is enough to make me confident that I am going to love this CrossFit box! I'm dropping in at 6:30, so I'll let you all know how it goes! 

Ok time to stop hiding in my room and see what all is going on out in the hostel. 

xoxo Sweat&Sparkle