Mackinaw Island, MI

Hello all,

Yesterday my mom, Madi, and I traveled north to Mackinaw Island while on our vacation in Michigan. I will be doing a whole post on our entire trip, but this deserved its own post for sure! We left at about 8AM and drove the two hours to the Shepler's ferry dock. Because of the wind, the ride was rough and I actually felt a little nauseous. Once we got to the island we browsed a few shops on the main street and bought our tickets to the butterfly garden. On our walk to the garden, we went into a couple of churches and took some pictures by the harbor.

I remembered the butterfly garden from when I was little, and honestly the garden, Kilwins, and bike riding were my main memories from going to Mackinaw. The butterfly garden was beautiful. We got a lot of cool pictures and learned about how to distinguish male monarch butterflies from females.

Afterwards we headed onto the trail. Since my mom recently had surgery, we couldn't bike around the island, so we decided to walk. My mom had us convinced that the whole trail around the island was only 5 miles. Well, we realized at mile 3 that it was way more than 5 miles. Madi decided to google it, and figured out that it was actually 8 miles. Needless to say, we decided to cut back through the woods, which meant going uphill. On the way through we got to see the airport, the cemetery, and the infamous fort. The fort had the most incredible views! It was gorgeous, and after walking close to seven miles we were happy to sit for a little while and take in the scenery. Unfortunately, this point was when I felt like I was going to pass out or throw up (which is typically how I feel before I do pass out) so we skipped Kilwins and the Grand Hotel and headed back to Shepler's dock. Overall we had a great day and got to see some beautiful sights that I hadn't seen since I was about six years old. I am looking forward to going back one day and having some Superman at Kilwin's and seeing the Grand Hotel again. Hopefully taking a bike ride around the whole island as well!

Thanks for keeping up with me :)
-Olivia

My Random Addictions: Summertime Michigan Sweets

Hey readers,

This week while on vacation I went to the grocery store with my Grandma. I re-discovered that this time of year while I am in Michigan is when I want to many different sweet things! It's a problem. There are so many great things about Michigan, but high on the list is that they sell two of the best foods in grocery stores here that they don't in Florida, or at least no where near where I live. I decided to see if anyone else has discovered the two delicious northern treats or the others and love them as much as I do!

1. Superman Ice Cream
Of course you CAN find this in Florida, but for about $3-4 for a scoop. Ridiculous. Kilwin's  has the BEST (the closest to me is in SRQ on St. Armand's Circle), but you pay for it. In Michigan they sell it at the store! Not only in a quart size, but in a TUB. My mouth is watering just thinking about it lol. I'm not sure if they do in other northern states, but when I discovered about three years ago that they sell it here I was so happy. It's my favorite ice cream of all time. People tell me "it's nothing but food colored vanilla" but I swear there's a difference. If you haven't tried Superman ice cream, TRY IT. But make sure you aren't going anywhere important afterwards because it does turn your mouth and teeth completely blue :P

2. Rock and Rye Soda Pop by Faygo
Nothing beats when you are working hard in the yard or garden underneath the hot sun and come inside to an ice cold Rock and Rye. This soda is the BOMB. It's bright red and has way too much sugar, but it tastes heavenly. They used to sell it at Albertson's in Florida, but I haven't been able to find it in the past two years there (not to mention most of the Albertson's closed). Has anyone else ever heard of it? I know most people have had orange, lemon lime, or grape flavored Faygo but this is by far the top. Another treat that I get to enjoy while I am here in Michigan, and usually I buy I twelve pack to bring back with me :)


3. Ice Pops
I know they sell these sugar colored water sticks everywhere. You know that you put into the freezer and cut off the top? The plastic typically rips open your mouth while you eat it? Well they're delish. I have no idea why I find them so enticing, but I do. I always find the need to buy a bag while I'm here, yet no one else eats them and I can end up not eating half of them. These are everywhere, and if you've never had one, you need to.

So these are my favorite summertime treats when I'm on vacation! I always find a way to have at least one each day (which is bad but hey everyone needs a break). Now I'm going to go decide which one I'd like for dessert tonight!

Thanks for reading.
-Olivia :)

Manatee Excursion

Hello bloggers :)

This weekend our friends from TN are down to visit us in Tampa! While they were here Madi's mom decided to treat us to a visit with the Manatees up in Crystal River. It was such a fun an memorable experience! We set sail with the American Pro Diving shop, and our tour guide Zach was great! We headed out around 8:30AM, which meant that we left Tampa at 6:30AM. Not the most enjoyable time, but it was worth it! It took us a little while to find a social manatee to play with, around 45 minutes, but of course I used this time to take 45774377328 pictures ;). 

Once we did find a social guy, our tour guide dived in and made sure he was a social guy before letting all of us jump in and join. He led us up to the manatee in pairs, and the water was sort of murky, so we couldn't really tell how close we were to the bottom or to the manatee. Once in the water we realized it was only about 3 feet deep, and the highest was around 6 feet, which made us feel way more comfortable! The manatee was super social and had some scarring on his body, which is unfortunate, but with the murky water it made it easier to see him.

 I bought a lifeproof case for my iPhone to take pictures in the water. I was SUPER nervous about this, because I don't have great luck with phones, but it worked wonders and I got so many good clear pictures that I wouldn't have been able to get with a disposable camera! The experience was awesome, and it made me want to do this again with more animals! 

Well that's it for now! I am starting up a new blog series called My Random Addictions that I'll start posting soon! 

Thanks for reading!

- Olivia :)

Pantene's Beautiful Lengths

Hey everyone!

I know in the past I have been a HUGE advocate for donating hair, and I have talked about it many times and how meaningful it really is to people who aren't able to have hair because of chemotherapy. Working with Moffitt and watching my mom go through chemotherapy has made me want to do it again. I want people to see how much it means. I want people to understand how amazing it makes those patients feel when they get to have some type of normalcy back through wearing a wig made out of REAL hair. Not fake noticeable animal hair. Fighting cancer is obviously something that I am so passionate about, and this is an easy way to help! This was my second time donating, and before I gave my 11" of hair to Locks of Love. This time I decided to give it to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths, because I'd heard more positive things about it and they accept 8" instead of 10". I ended up giving right around 10" anyways, and after the trim I lost a whopping 12" off my head today.

Let me just say that I was super hesitant about doing this a second time. The first time, I was ready. I had finished cheer, which had required a bow and pony tail for most of my life, and I was about to head off to college so I thought why not? Problem: it was NOT what I expected. While the first hair cut didn't look bad, it honestly was a HUGE shock watching that fall off of your head. Especially since I hadn't had hair shorter than my chest since I was in elementary school. After watching patients receive wigs, their faces lighting up like I have never seen. After watching my mom lose all of her hair in a matter of days, her demeanor changing forever. How could I have been so selfish? It's hair. It WILL grow back. You won't die, your world won't end. You will be fine. And you will be making a huge impact on other people! These experiences made me want to do it again. So I planned to during spring break this year. But after literally having nightmares from the last time I chopped off my locks, I decided to post pone til April, then May, then June. At my birthday I decided I needed to grow a pair and just do it already. I was being ridiculous. ITS JUST HAIR. Let me just remind you that the last time I got my hair cut was literally three years ago. THREE years. I have a small case of tonsurephobia, fear of getting your hair cut (yes that is a real thing lol), I sucked it up and went in. I'm not going to lie, afterwards I was impressed. Not as bad as I thought! I did end up with a total of 12" off when I had assumed I'd have around 9" off, but hey I was happy with the end result. And it will grow back.

Some of you may have read this post and thought, sheesh drama over a hair cut you are ridiculous Olivia, but maybe some of you have had this same fear when considering donating your hair. I'm telling you: its worth it. 100%. So hopefully I persuaded some of you who have been on the fence about doing it. Set yourself a timeline and stick to it.

First cut, 2010:

Today. 2013:

So that's all for today! I hope you like my new do ;)

-Olivia <3