Mallorca is an island off the coast of Barcelona.

Prepare yourself for a little bit of Mallorca overload. I have kept you waiting and you have been patient. And the people must not wait any longer. So in one post, I give you...

Mallorca.

For those of you five people out there who took my "How well do you know Stephanie?" quiz on facebook, only one person knew what my favorite food was. Yes, I enjoy tacos immensely, but nothing beats my mom's tuna casserole. Yep - that is weird, but it is the truth. Since my mom was the only one to get 100% on the quiz, my dad encouraged her to make my favorite food as my "Welcome to Mallorca" meal. Nothing quite like tuna casserole to make a girl feel like she's at home.

And then I went outside and took some pictures of the backyard. Yep, that is a pool.

And here are some of the sheep that roam around the front yard. And seriously - what is wrong with that sheep? Personally, I think it is a cow/sheep hybrid. Maybe rivals the ugly cat?

I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and Kristine got there a few hours after I did. The next morning once we were able to get a little rest, we headed towards Valdemossa. We took the scenic route, of course, and this was on our way.

So Kristine and I climbed to the top of the tower.

And the view did not disappoint.

Once we got to Valdemossa we just walked around and shopped a bit. Here are a few pictures of our walk around the town center.

...stopping to smell the roses.

Day 2 was spent doing things like:
Touring the Bellver Castle...

Enjoying the view from the roof of the castle...

And here is the only picture that I took of my parents on my trip.

Based on a friend's suggestion, we went to the Camper outlet and got some shoes, which are not pictured. For those of you who have been to my Mom's kitchen in Utah, you will understand why my dad wanted to buy her these. Too bad they didn't fit her well. Hilarious.

That evening we went to dinner with some British and German friends of my parents. We did meet a fair amount of British people in the five days that we were there, which surprised me more than it should have. They really are everywhere there. Here I am with Kristine in Alistair's backyard. I couldn't get over how quiet it was there. So peaceful everywhere you went.

On Saturday, Kristine and I requested some time at the beach. The one closest to my paren't house is St. Elm's. Only 20 minutes away - from walking out the front door to being on the beach. I can't even do that anymore here in San Francisco! Plus, Ocean Beach doesn't really look so much like St. Elm.

The water was just so crystal clear - quite unbelievable.

Kristine was swimming around in the ocean when she noticed a jellyfish about 10 feet away, swimming around. For some reason, it wasn't very scary being in the water right next to a jelly when you could see it so clearly. Also, it wasn't moving very fast. Please don't expect me to ever get so close to another jellyfish for the rest of my life. Just looking at the below picture makes me question my sanity.

On Sunday after church, my Dad took us up to the top of the mountains on his boss's property. The logo for the ranch we were in has a picture of the mountains with this one tree on the top. You might need to click on the below picture to see the lone tree better. When you are top of the mountain, the perspective changes and it doesn't look so strange, but driving into Andratx, you can see this one huge tree, all by itself.

And here is what it looks like from the top of the mountain.

At the top was this old Mallorcan house. The house seemed rather large for an old home, but this is only the entry way that I took a picture of. Tip for my next trip: bring a photographer.

After a quite bumpy ride back down the mountain, we were able to visit the horses. What is not to love about a horse?

And here is "the boss's" front yard. Seriously? Those aren't bushes there either - they are large trees. I'm trying to find out how my dad's boss can put me in his will so that I can inherit this place. Yikes.

The last day we were in Mallorca, my Mom, Kristine, and I decided to go into Palma and see what there is to see. Of course since we were in Europe there were some castles...

and some cathedrals...

Me and Mom.

And Me and Kristine. In front of another geyser. It only seemed appropriate, you know.

I am fairly convinced that if I take weekend trips every weekend this summer, I can keep my tan up. So far, so good. If only it didn't take about 24 hours to get to Mallorca or I would go again this summer when work stress slows down a bit. Then maybe I could get a more relaxing vacation. Still though, it was all wonderful. Incredibly peaceful and just nice. I love playing cards and dominoes with the family - and fighting off bugs while I am trying to go to sleep.


**Just as a note in case you don't know why I went to Mallorca. My parents live there for five(ish) months currently in the summer for my dad's job. My dad's boss lives there, so they live in one of his homes. My parents also met in Spain over 38 years ago and lived there for quite a while before I was born, so it is kind of not a big deal that they live in Spain right now. Also, Kristine was coming home from France around the time that I was planning my trip, so she met me there. Hearing Spanish with a French/American accent is quite hilarious if I do say so myself.

My Life Would Suck Without You - Part 1

Ok so I hope no one thought I was having a personal crisis or anything the other day with my semi-cryptic message. Just a little (haha) stressed out with work. I'm fine though - or at least I will be in the near future, and I think it will help my stress levels if I tell you about my awesome vacation that happened a few weeks ago.

I started off my travels in the Outer Banks, as I do most years over Memorial Day. This year I was really looking forward to spending quality time with good people - and when it comes to my friends, let's be honest; I was also looking forward to the food. Scott made some type of sauce for the corn on the cob. I think the main ingredients were mayonaise and parmesan cheese. Yep, seems right up my alley. And also - the caption to this photo is "Get that corn outta my face!"

And in no particular fun-ness order, we played pool Pit/spoons. If you don't know how to play Pit, click here. Rules for a slight variation on spoons are here. Our variation is that we put the spoons in the pool and then play Pit. Once someone has Pit, you have to go get a spoon. If you don't get one, you are out.

Playing Pit with wet cards gets a little tricky -

And they're off.

And here is more of me than I thought I'd ever post on my blog. I had some pretty awesome tan lines going on on my back, didn't I? My favorite part is the hand. Who hugged me with sunscreen on???!!

The last night that I was there, we went to a karaoke bar. Apparently Scott and I can't live if living is without you.

Scott, Me, Mauri, Brandon.

And I guess with pictures like the one below is how Duck Beach gets a bad reputation. Alicia, Steph, and I were having 'pillow talk' before bed and before we knew it, bam - 10 other people were on the bed with us. Can you even see my face? Kind of hard to make out, isn't it?

And these people - I love them. Too much to talk about in detail. The title of this post and my new favorite Kelly Clarkson song is dedicated to all of you.

And now, I will picture myself on the beach, holding hands with my dear friends before I go to bed. I had forgotten until I arrived there this year just how much I love being there. The scenery, the ocean, the laughs, the cheerwine. Ahh, bliss.

Until next year, my beloved Duck Beach.

i am alive.

this week has been rough. i'm ok, and i will be back to blogging soon. please excuse my absence.

in my mind, i'm going to carolina.

i am getting my pictures together from duck beach. i'm hoping to get our dance party video up here for you before the weekend. pictures from spain will be coming next week, so hold your horses. i just got chills thinking about how cold it is here in san francisco compared to the beaches of north carolina. please send me back as soon as possible.

bienvenidos a mi vida ocupada

Until I get myself back in line with work and other stuff, here is a minor update of what I did tonight. For the 3rd year in a row, I ran the Dusk Busters 5k in Golden Gate Park to benefit Multiple Sclerosis. Yes, I am a little jet lagged, but this was for a great cause - and for a great friend. So glad I got out there - and I am ready for my lungs to be back in full working order any day now. And oh yes- I am back from my double vacation. Pictures to come soon, so stay tuned.

And on to Mallorca.

Hola de Andratx, Mallorca. ¡Espero que cada uno esté bien!

Memorial Day 09

Happy Memorial Day from Duck.

Take Me Away

One of the reasons that Duck Beach time is my favorite time of year is that it is the perfect time to really unwind and reflect on my past year and where I am going in my life. Sitting in a hammock on the beach is hard to beat no matter where you are, but I am a bit biased in thinking that North Carolina is the best place for this.

This picture was taken a few years ago, but it is quite pertinent today as I leave for Duck later this evening. I can't wait for all the hammock time and vitamin D. This is only the first leg of my journey as I will be continuing on to Spain to spend a week with Kristine and my folks at their place in Mallorca. Sometimes, my life is pretty sweet. I will be on my computer a bit while I am gone, so you can expect a few updates along the way.

Who did you vote for?

Please discuss.

Orlando in Bloom

Guess who found their camera cord?

Time to fill you in on my trip to Orlando before I take off on my next adventure coming up this weekend. More details on that coming up. When I arrived in Orlando, I had the absolute pleasure of spending some time with my friends Scott and Annie. The man at the concierge desk told us that we'd know where to park when we saw the upside down building. We didn't question what he said; however, we did question what we saw.

In fact, it was an upside down building. Please don't ask. I have absolutely no idea.

Sometimes when I travel for work, the hotels I stay in want to put me in a nice room to make sure that I have a good stay. Since Scott and Annie were on a roadtrip and I had plenty of room in my hotel room, I was lucky enough to have them stay with me. They live in Brooklyn, so it isn't every day that we just happen to be in the same city at the same time.

On Wednesday, my coworker and I were able to take the afternoon off and go to Epcot. I have some good memories from the last time I was here and this trip did not disappoint.

We hit up every single attraction at Epcot in about 4 hours. I told my coworker how I stayed just a few miles away from the Germany border when I was in France in December and didn't get there. So here I am in Germany. Ok ok, I'm in Florida, but between this and staying in an old German town in France, can I count it?

And this is what it looks like when Dale tries to eat you head first, apparently.

oh, i'm back alright.

remember that one time that i went to orlando and when i got back i couldn't find my computer cord for my camera...and also at the same time, my shift key stopped working on my laptop///

those should be question marks, but life without a shift key will only get you a /.

this picture is courtesy of erica and it was taken at kfog kaboom over a week ago. we were right off the stage, which you can't really see in the picture, but believe me. we were there. the fireworks were great, which i could also show you if i only had my camera cord, but enough about that. in the meantime, i hope everyone had a great time while i was off in orlando galavanting around, as my dad would say. i had such a wonderful time while i was there - so many good times were had and i even made it back in time for some hootin' and hollerin' at the roller derby on saturday night. and target. and a nice run in the park.

i will show you. as soon as i find the camera cord. i promise.

Is Flo-Rida in Florida? Do you think?

I am off to Orlando for a few days for work. Also, I am still alive. Pretty sure that I had a case of pneumonia, which I wouldn't recommend anyone trying to contract. Thank you for all the sweet comments and warm thoughts that were sent my way last week. What would we do without our friends?

I haven't been to Orlando since I was a sophomore in high school. This should be interesting. Bring it, Florida.

Awesome.

In case you've been wondering where I've been, this picture might give you a pretty good idea of the way my last few days have been going. I've been hovering somewhere between a hypothetical case of the swine flu and a more probable case of pneumonia. Seriously - my life has been that awesome. Today was the first day that I got up and walked around voluntarily in about 5 days. Today was also the day when I decided that my life would be much more interesting if I started watching The Hills from season 1.