The Pirates Are Coming!

But first…..here’s a recap from last night!

Hi guys! I got home around 11:30 from dinner last night because there actually ended up being 12 of us eating! Ryan’s cousin is a pirate in the parade today (a HUGE honor) so he and his wife were down here and then we met a bunch of their friends that were also down here for gasparilla. It was pretty crazy!

All the girls were drinking fancy drinks so I decided to go with the flow and order Bonefish’s signature cosmo. It had lime juice and cranberry vodka in it and was topped with fresh cranberries!

Isn’t it perdy? It was pretty good but my old problem arose, which is why I rarely order fancy shmancy drinks anymore—-I liked it initially but then didn’t want it anymore. It’s like I can only handle three sips and then I put it down! Regardless, I did drink half of this but then stuck to water for the remainder of the meal.

Ryan and I ordered our favorite, the saucy shrimp, as an appetizer:

Oh my goodness, this dish is like heaven. I’m sure its full of BUTTAH because its sooooooooo good. I had about a fourth of it and then dipped a large chunk of hot bread in the sauce. Amazing.

I also ordered the house salad with added feta, which I adore:

And, for my entree, I chose my favorite salmon in pan asian sauce with steamed veggies on the side. I ordered the “small version”, which was actually still HUGE! I ate all the corn and all of the veggies but could only manage a little less than half of the salmon. I was so full at this point after the shrimp and the salad and the bread! No worries, we definitely got a doggy bag!

All in all, it was a great night with great company! I crashed as soon as we got home and slept like a rock. Work will be murder on Monday morning for sure after this nice break!!!!!

This morning I woke up and had more oat bran—

Mmmmmmmm a heavenly combo of 1/2 cup oat bran, 1 cup skim milk, 1 spoonful pb, 1 banana, big handful of blueberries, cinnamon and maple syrup drizzled over the top.

And, yes, beads are definitely involved. Basically, it is Tampa’s form of Mardi Gras and, as I just learned yesterday, it is the third largest parade in the nation! I know its going to sound very corny and crazy but here is a brief description of the day:

In the morning, the pirates “invade” tampa. Boats come in down the channel in the form of a parade and the last boat in is the huge pirate ship that is filled with pirates, aka affluent men dressed up like pirates that are drinking copious amounts of rum. Its a huge honor to be asked to be a pirate and they even have their own special ball and everything. Crazy! There are explosions and the such and then we all walk downtown and watch the parade and go to parties for the rest of the day. Ryan and I are going to a party that is right on the street that the condo is on, so I’m thankful for that!

All the streets are shut down today and everyone walks everywhere—street names take on party names and it goes on all.day.long. I’ve actually never experienced Gasparilla since last year I had to leave first thing in the morning to get back to Orlando to work! Around 8:45 we are going to our friend’s parent’s house right on the water to eat cuban sandwiches and watch the invasion firsthand. I have a feeling that will be the BEST part of the day for me because all our friends will be there and I’m not one for huge crowds of drunk people, as the rest of the day will be FILLED with. I’m going to really try to keep my patience and pace myself with drinks so I don’t fall asleep or pass out by noon. I don’t like not feeling in control in huge events like this so I’m pretttyyyyyyy sure I will be drinking good ol’ h20 all day long. As for Ryan, who knows. I will watch over him–this is his favorite holiday!

I won’t be able to get back on until tonight just because once we leave, we leave, and are walking ALL DAY. I will definitely get my exercise and break in those new shoes of mine (thank you all for the kind comments!)! Don’t fret, I will take a TON of pictures and you will get a first hand report later!

Have a great Saturday!