Day 7 of Vacation - THE BLOG MEET!!!

I've been thinking about what I wanted to say about the blog meet all day long. My ride home from Tammi's, I was reviewing the previous night's/morning's events, trying to plan how I was going to report it back.

It's hard. It's hard to write about something so different and bizarre. It's something that has to be experienced.

Tammi was a doll and hosted the event. Everyone had told me what a great hostess she was. I didn't care, I just really wanted to meet her! Tammi's World is the ultimate vacation spot; full of laughs, friends, good food, and worry free.

Tammi had a menu of mild and spicy BBQ pork. All I can say is YUM! And I'm a picky eater! She had baked beans, corn, a fruit salad and a bar full of alcohol. She's know what makes people happy!

As I walk in, I am determined to help her get ready as some of us surprised her a little early. I was actually working in the kitchen! I know, gasp! I'm surprised no one got a picture, as that it something that is not seen very often.

I made the mistake of asking, "What else can I do?" Tammi had a plan! She put a recipe in front of me for Chocolate Turtle Cake. I think I probably stared at it like I was reading Chinese. She had faith in me, for whatever reason.

I had also brought burritos and pico de gallo (some of the few things I can make). I was worried that the pico, the burritos and the cake would not get eaten if everyone knew I made them after all the kitchen fiascos I've posted. But Tammi was hell-bent on teaching me some stuff in the kitchen!

The rest of the evening was full of great food (only 3 out of 20 of my burritos were left! :-) ), great drinks (and shots!) and great company! I observed a lot. I was soaking everything in! There were so many great conversations going on and so many new and great personalities to know, I was almost overwhelmed.

After eating, we started a fire in Tammi's fire pit, and all sat around playing with Cody and Kiki, joking, talking and just enjoying the company. Cody got drunk, Little Joe and Grau entertained us by keeping the fire doing. We were desperate to keep the fire going, begging Tammi to give us more stuff to throw in the fire. Her landlord is now missing some pallets, she's missing a blanket and a bookcase. BTW, when you burn a bookcase, you get green flames and a really weird smell ;-)

So let me break it down now. Here's a little inside look into each blogger:

Harvey was a lot different then I thought he would be. He didn't come in wearing a crown and cape. He wasn't carried in on a blogging thrown and he didn't have a computer tied to him (which I thought he might since he seems to have time to comment and post EVERYWHERE!) :-) He observed a lot also, getting in his zingers when he knew he could. Harvey even did a tequila shot with me. That's a good way to earn my admiration. As we said our goodbye's for the evening, he gave me a big hug and said I was "cuddly". Damn, I hope that's a good thing. Or should I look that word up in the thesauraus?

TNT was a take charge kind of gal! Luckily, I had her on my side most of the night! We won the fight to not include pecans on half of the Chocolate Turtle Cake and she got to burn the blanket she wanted to burn. She did a lot of note taking with the legendary Quote Pen. I imagined this huge, gold, shimmering pen...no, not so much. I think it's a pen they swiped from a gas station on the way there :-) But she was a busy gal. I told her that we needed to just get her a recorder, as there were a lot of great quotes being said all night!

That 1 Guy was pretty close to how I pictured him. I've been around the Marine Corps so much, I knew some of the personality attributes to expect. I had the privelage of sitting by him for the majority of the night. Man is this guy funny! People would be having their own conversations, and he'd say something that unfortunately not everyone else could here, and it would just crack me up! And he had my back whenever I tried to throw something in there slightly amusing, being sure to be the gentleman and laugh at my corny jokes. He really just reminded me of some of the cool guys my dad would bring home from work every once in a while. Kiki loved him and would not leave him alone. I think she was jealous that he shared his beverage with Cody and not her. :-) You can read his review of the night HERE!

Teresa was a doll. I had heard so much about her through Tammi. She saved the day with her fruit salad and tried to save us from the chemical release from the burning of the bookcase. Unfortunately, she had to leave early so we didn't get as much time with her as we would have liked. And what did you expect to happen after she left? Yes, of course, the bookcase went straight into the fire.

Grau was probably one of my biggest surprises and he might hunt me down, hack into my blog or something for me saying this...but his bark is worse than his bite ;-) He was a lot of fun also. It was fun to watch him, Little Joe and Anathematized1 go back and forth; since that's his re-enactment crew. He told stories of his younger computer hacking days that remind me to be very very nice to him!

We owe Little Joe for keeping the fire going for us. That thing was going until 2:00 am. He did a great job. I had a great time picking on Little Joe. He's like the little brother I've never had that I can just make cracks on and he automatically knows it's all in fun. He took it well and even got a few good ones in there. I think he's just an all around fun guy that makes company even more fun by just being there. Upon his departure, he gave me a big hug and insisted on picking me up and turning around in a circle with me feet dangling. He should be out of the hospital soon, please send your get well wishes over to him :-)

Anathematized1 was full of zingers herself; sitting back and getting a few good ones in on her fellow re-enactors. I didn't have any expectations of her as I unfortunately had only read her comments before and not her blog. I can now say I have another place to go read whenever I need a good laugh.

And I had to save the best for last! Tammi was what I have read, what everyone has said and more. She was the ultimate hostess despite any obstacle, was able to cater to everyone, make everyone feel at home and she may even be able to stop a speeding bullet! She was so easy to talk to and I loved listening to her stories. Throughout the night, every so often she would say, "What can I get you Sissy?" Damnit woman! You worked all day and then prepared this whole meal and event for us, will you sit your ass down and enjoy it! :-) After a couple of appletinis, she was a happy girl! Oh trust me, I couldn't let her drink alone. We enjoyed a couple of shots around the fire along with our margaritas and appletinis and just enjoyed the company. After everyone left at about 2:00am, her and I stayed up until about 3:30am just chatting. Then the next morning, I had planned on leaving early as I had family waiting at home, but I just couldn't leave. I didn't leave until about 1pm and didn't want to leave - I was having such a great time just chatting with her. And Kiki absolutely loved her, hopping into her lap and giving tons of kisses. Tammi tried to switch her out with Cody, but I noticed :-)

All I can say to Tammi is a huge THANK YOU for putting this all together, inviting us all into your home and making this such a wonderful time. You are wonderful!

And to everyone else, thank you for making the trip to Tammi's to make it such a fun first blog meet for me. I loved getting to meet you all and spend such a wonderful evening with everyone. I look forward to the next time!