Jillapalooza — Page 20 — IM IN UR OCEAN. EATIN UR CARDZ.

Gel Polish, Part Deux

January 2, 2013

For the record, gel polish = awesome.

As you may remember, I had gel polish applied for my vacation way back in 2012. It was on for a little over two weeks, with minimal wear and tear.

Before:

After:

Pangie was super gentle when she removed the polish, so any damage done was minimal. Nothing that couldn’t be buffed out.

Gel is wonderful for vacations or other special events, but I wouldn’t use it long term. First of all, two weeks is a long time to commit to a color. Second, I think it would be too harsh on the nails over an extended period of time.

I will definitely be using Pangie’s services the next time I long vacation is in store.

Devine Intervention

December 12, 2012

Eep! I haven’t done a book review in what feels like forever. I read Devine Intervention back in July. At the time I knew exactly what I wanted to write about it, but it’s been so long I forgot most of it. I feel bad too, because I’m friends with authors, and I know how important reviews on sites like GoodReads and Amazon are to them. Let this be a lesson learned.

Devine Intervention by Martha Brockenbrough

My experience with YA books is basically limited to love stories with either vampiric or dystopian themes. Devine Intervention . . . is absolutely nothing like that at all. Brockenbrough had me at the summary, but Devine Intervention was nothing like I expected.

The chapters alternate between Jerome’s and Heidi’s points of view. Jerome never failed to crack me up. Oh, to be in the mind of a good intentioned yet trouble making 17-year-old boy. I found myself giggling more than once. Especially because of that damn arrow. Although I couldn’t really relate to Heidi on a personal level, I felt the awkwardness of being a teenage girl all over again. Yikes.

Devine Intervention was full of twists and turns, and just when I thought it was turning predictable and I had it all figured out, it threw me for a loop I couldn’t believe. The plot was so unlike anything I could have imagined. I could not put the book down until I knew how it ended.

One of the things I loved the most about this story (other than Jerome’s interpretations of the Ten Commandments for the Dead, the hidden adult humor, Vincent Lionheart, etc. I could go on forever.) was watching the characters really grow and develop and blah blah blah—I know it sounds lame, but that’s something I don’t get to see much in YA novels. Sure there’s a lesson to be learned and the main characters usually become more self-aware. But in Devine Intervention, you actually get to see the progression as the characters make the transition from teenager to young adult.

I absolutely love the way Brockenbrough wrote the ending. It fit the story perfectly. With that being said, it did hurt my heart a little bit. Okay, a lot a bit. It was bittersweet, but I think that’s what made it so powerful.

I heard rumors that there’s a sequel in the future. Sign me up!

Belize – Sunday 12/9

December 10, 2012

There’s nothing worse than that moment before you have to leave, where you’re surrounded by paradise, but you’re wearing pants and waiting for the cab to pick you up.

No wait, that’s a lie.

There’s nothing worse than having over a foot of snow waiting for you at home, so you get delayed in the airport, then once you land you have to wait an hour before getting off the plane, all while developing a nasty cold.

I really shouldn’t complain that much. The Phoenix made all our arrangements, from having our luggage picked up from our room, to calling a cab, to booking our Tropic Air flight to Belize City. All we had to do was be packed on time.

Kristen ventured out for breakfast before the taxi arrived. She was kind enough to provide enough food for all of us. I ate my breakfast sandwich in the San Pedro airport. Our boarding passes were green, but it seemed they had an upgrade since previous years.


2007	2012

Our short layover in Belize City went smoothly. And look! Our old friend is still there, still for sale. This is getting tempting.


2007	2010	2012

I filled up on a couple jalapeno Johnnycakes before leaving, because who knew how long it would be before we’d get food again? We flew through customs in Atlanta. It took exactly one hour from the time we landed until we were seated at Chili’s Too. I felt shitty immediately after we ate. I think my body was rejecting home food.

Like I said earlier, we were delayed because of the weather at home, but not by much. We were scheduled to land 9 minutes later than expected. Unfortunately once on the ground, we had to wait for a plane getting de-iced. Then we had to wait for an international flight to be let off and ushered through customs. During the flight I developed a cold, and all I wanted to do was blow my nose.

The drive home was slow due to ice. Nick had to snow blow the driveway at 12:30 so cklahr could get their car out of the garage. I bet our neighbors loved us. This is what I woke up to today:

Wow, this is the fist time I’ve actually completed all my travel blog posts relatively on time. Usually the last day gets added weeks later, if at all. And the dive posts? Sheesh, let’s not even talk about those.

View all of the final day’s photos below.

Belize – Saturday 12/8

December 8, 2012

Since Saturday was our last full day, I needed to get some srsbsns poolside relaxation in. I got out to the pool a little after 9AM and claimed a chair in the water. It was a nice spot, but I was paranoid about having my Kindle, iPhone, and iPod over the water.

There were a few people by the pool, but at around 10AM it cleared out and I was all alone for a while. Nick, Curtis, and Kristen joined me a bit later. It was hot. Eventually the heat became too much and I retreated to the pool permanently. We had drinks and lunch poolside. Kristen and I stayed out longer than the boys. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer day to soak up rays.

Rudy was having another beach BBQ like last time, so we moseyed to the dive shop for dinner. There was a Christmas boat parade, which was fun to watch, though really, really slow moving. We hung on the dock and chit chatted for a few hours before squeezing in some last minute souvenir shopping.

Because packing means leaving and I didn’t want to leave, and going to bed meant it would be that much sooner to departure day, I stayed up late and watched TV with the clicky-click sounds of Nick computing in the background. I also enjoyed a last glass-bottled made-with-sugar Coke before going to bed.

View all of today’s photos below.

Belize – Friday 12/7

December 7, 2012

This morning was sad, because we woke up to our last day of diving. I only intended on doing one dive, but Rudy talked me into two. During the surface interval I was starving. Kristen wanted to go to Latitudes Cafe and get smoothies, so I went with her. It turned out they served breakfast too. I ordered the Original Belizean wrap to tide me over, which consisted of eggs, ham, sweet peppers, cheese, and a secret sauce. Omg, best breakfast wrap ever. If Perkins served stuff like this all day, I would definitely indulge in breakfast more often.

Kristen decided she wanted to eat there for lunch, so after diving, we headed back down the beach. This time I had a roast beef and pepper wrap. I’m pretty sure it had the same sauce. Excellent.

After lunch I escaped to the pool for a little reading. For dinner we went to Hurricane’s Ceviche Bar and Grill. Apparently they have great ceviche. We wouldn’t know because we never received the ceviche we ordered. The service was slooooooowwwwww, but the food was good and there was a live musician to boot! I ordered the special, which was shrimp, cheese, and spinach stuffed grouper.

View all of today’s photos below.

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