Without a doubt, I’ve been a highly blessed and favored woman wallowing in the joys of sweet, sweet happiness throughout 2010. It is as if the universe positioned all the key ingredients for an awesome year right in the palm of my hand. Before I take my annual stroll down the year that was, I should provide some disclaimers to the secrets of my abundant joy. First one being, I’m broker than a church mouse. (That’s something my mama might say.) Yep! I did NOT expand my bank account with $$$. I did NOT tuck a little extra into my 401k or increase my stock options. I have neither. (But I do have Jesus!) I can’t even say I made any major career advancements. (Nada – Although you said it would happen Ms. Susan Miller. It didn’t.) Another side note: My children’s book “Isaac and the Bah Tree” didn’t soar the top-sellers lists, but ya’ll can still support a sister and get your copy here.

On the flip-side, I managed to suck dry every mile in every frequent flier program I’m enrolled with which lead me to some fairly exotic destinations. And don’t let me fool you into thinking my very merry matrimony to the most amazing man in my life took a back seat to my usual globe gallivanting highlights. (P.S. I got married this year in case I missed getting the memo to everyone. Click here if: A. You missed the memo. B. Are seriously nosy. -OR- C. Wish to know about our forces combined.) Aside from my husband’s love and affection, I was able to be surrounded by the good company of friends near and far.

So that’s the summary. Just beyond these type-written words is the 2010 full-shebang accompanied by pictures, links and more. (I did my best to keep it flowing in chronological order.)

Let’s hit it!

January, February and March were pretty dull. Can’t recall anything spectacular that occurred. Those cold Florida wintry days were consumed with the following: A. Working 40 hour weeks on a temporary assignment. B. Planning my elopement ceremony. AND C. Crafting up ways to visit places outside of Tampa.

In sticking to my usual theme of par-taking in activities, events and social-networks that the average Black American chick usually does NOT par take in, I did recite a poem in Farsi during Norooz this year. My most awesome tutor at the Infinite Edge Learning Center here in Tampa put me up to the challenge during a local Norooz celebration. No footage/pictures exist of my moment there, but you are welcome to hear me recite the poem here. Strange cookie – midoonam.

Flash forward to April. After fulfilling my commitment with the temp agency, it was time to have some fun. How so? By going to Kaua’i (a small tropical island mass belonging to the state of Hawai’i) with my then-fiancee. You might recall at the end of 2009 my being victorious in a Trazzler ‘Island’ Writing Contest, which landed me and my lucky dude an opportunity to va-cay in the Aloha State. (Sumo size Mahalo to everyone who voted once more!) Safe to say we had an incredible time.

Revisit my 2010 Kaua’i experience here.

Upon my return from Kaua’i, I was summoned by the U.S. Census Bureau. On I went for another stint as an office clerk at a new local LCO. If you’ve ever seen an episode of ‘The Office’ or better, worked at a government office – you can imagine what the environment was like. I have to say that I met some really unique individuals during my short employment there. Because they made the job so enjoyable I am going to give them a round of sound right here and right now. (Jhessye, James, Sandra, Michelle, Tracy, Ray, Flor, Lyon, Patricia, Dan, Linley, Elaine, Eric, Carol, Trish, Jonathan, McPhail, Chris and even Mr. Dixon — it was a tremendous pleasure being your colleague from April to August. Thank you for the song, cakes, laughs, flexibility, energy, patience and more. Thank you.)

Moving onward into May, my elopement planning was pretty much complete which only meant one thing: party time! I opted to mix and mash my birthday and bachelorette fiesta into one so twice the amount of fun could be had. I was fortunate enough to have most of my best gal-pals come from out-of-town to celebrate with me. As one can imagine, we did the manicure / pedicure thing, visit to the bridal shop, beach, club, dinner and made a trip to Orlando. Thank you to all my gorgeous girlfriends for being part of this.

Revisit my 2010 Birthday/Bachelorette weekend experience here.

June was all about wedding bells. It was about counting down the final days of being a semi-unclaimed and unhonest woman. It was also about answering the question: Why Montana? On Thursday, June 17th, 2010 – I proudly became Mrs. Abiodun. With that being said, don’t let me forget the amount of time I spent in June getting people to say the new surname right. Still in need of a how-to yourself? Reference the July video blog.

Revisit my 2010 Marriage in Montana experience here.

July was snoring boring so I’ll bypass the details of cleaning house and clipping my toenails since those are fairly uneventful happenings. August stood for Argentina. This is the trip I did not truly plan for, did not budget for or probably should not have even gone on, but I am glad I went. Natalie and I always have a good time when traveling together, so I’m pleased she made the suggestion of going somewhere before children appear in our freshly married lives. We ate well, met some awesome people (Celina, Pablo, Nazeli and Solana) and did what tourists do when in Argentina. What we did not do well was speak Spanish. We should really get better at that.

Revisit my 2010 Buenos Aires & Salta, Argentina experience here.

Enter September where I spent a few days in my favorite U.S. state – California. This trip was purely pleasure (for the majority) and consisted of going out with friends, visiting family and the tour of babies! Very many thanks to my amigo Quar Brown for taking these deliciously vibrant photographs of me in the Artists District in downtown L.A.

Revisit my 2010 California experience here.

Later in the month I ran a full 26.2 marathon in Toronto, Canada. You’ll notice I didn’t seem very happy after crossing the finish line. I wasn’t. Let’s just say disappointed THEN and thankful for the good health and experience NOW. I’m also very thankful when moments like this are captured in photos. Not everything I do or go through ends with a big cheesy smile. This was one of those moments.

Revisit my 2010 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon experience here.

Come October I was back in Ethiopia leading my third Habitat for Humanity GV project. I spent ten days in Debre Markos working on the last seven plots of houses and a few days relaxing in Addis. From Ethiopia I went on to Zanzibar, an island situated off the coast of Tanzania. Visiting an island in the Indian Ocean was something I’d been hoping for forever. If you’ve got this on a bucket-list some place, get to it! Allow me to suggest Zanzibar. The place is simply stunning. The people are friendly and the food is delicious. The air always carries the smell of fragrant spices.

Revisit my 2010 Global Village Ethiopia experience here and my Zanzibar photo gallery here.

Last month I started temping again, so life took a slight turn for the unexciting. (You know I’m just being a brat.) Aside from finding my 40 hour 9-5 work groove again, I made some successful efforts at just cooling it around the house. Hung with the fam-bam, my friends and so-on. EJ and I scoped out the larger than life sand castles and carvings at Siesta Key. FUN! I celebrated my friend’s last fling the weekend before her wedding. Both were bucket loads of fun. I always love hanging out with a group of drama-free, fun and intelligent ladies. Two cheers for girl power. They were also great sharing the camaraderie of being a bridesmaid or simply part of the party. My friend married during Thanksgiving weekend and it was quite an event. I am thankful to have been invited and I wish the happily shackled couple an eternity of love. The photos below were taken by Akada Studios out of Atlanta.

Revisit my 2010 Naija Wedding Bridesmaid Experience here.

This final month of the year was/is much like the rest of the year in theme. A little hard work, a lot more play and 12 times the laughter. Although the winter solstice was greeted by an amazing lunar eclipse, I’m still hating the weather these days. It slows me down almost to sloth like speeds. I only wish to stay indoors and hibernate like all the smarter species do during times of coldness. Because I am a lowly human being I am forced to be productive and make the most of every breathing moment. Huzzah & Hooray! If you are a regular reader here you probably just read about the quick weekend warrior trip to Troy, Alabama where I went with my mom and hubby to surprise my bestie during her 3rd decade born day celebration. She’s actually a Christmas baby so I suspect she’ll be celebrating more this weekend.

Aside from that I’ll be spending these last dog days of 2010 gearing up for 2011. More on that to come.

Other noteworthy moments:

Previously I dedicated August to Argentina. Well, I should also dedicate it to African Ancestry and the anticipation of my paternal ancestry test results compliments of my father. I now see Cameroon and the Tikar people as a future journey worth taking. I cannot thank my father enough for this wedding gift. There is so much research to be done though before trip to the country can occur.

Hmmm… I went kayaking for the first time in Kaua’i this year, but my swimming skills have not improved. Perhaps I’ll toss it on my list of resolutions once more.

My analogue cameras got more play than ever this year since I started with my Lomography addiction in 2003. They challenge me in more ways than others and I’m just starting to pick up speed. I just wish film and photography wasn’t such an expensive hobby like traveling. To conclude this year end journey, I leave you with a gallery of some shots taken with my toy cameras across the globe.

Enjoy and have the happiest of holidays. Here’s to many good years to come and the ability to be strong in the years that test our spirits the most. (Trust me, I’ve had my share of those.)

Cheers,
Adrienne

There are times in life where I feel very much like I’m embracing the “kid at heart.” Today was one of them. I made what will probably be my last trip to the beach for the rest of 2010. Siesta Key (home to one of Florida’s best beaches) played host to the 1st Annual Siesta Key Crystal Classic where master sand sculptors from across the country are invited to turn the soft white beach sand into beautiful works of art. You’ll notice from my photos below that the words I am writing are no tall-tale.

Every single sculpture was dynamic. Some were playful and full of fantasy. Others were incredibly thought-provoking. Each one was worthy of prize and applause. If you were not lucky enough to attend I urge you to at least visit their website and read the artists profiles and see their past works in additions to the few snapshots I’ve taken below and poorly captioned. I do hope that Siesta Key will continue to host this wonderful event so I can continue to unleash my inner child over-and-over again. xo

So… Saturday night. Let’s say I had a pretty awesome time celebrating my good friend’s final hooray as an unmarried woman. Disappointed that I had missed her bridal shower while in Ethiopia this year, I wanted to be sure to contribute in FUN to the highest degree possible. But get your head out the gutter. Being the beautiful, classy and oh-so sophisticated ladies we are — there wasn’t anything too risque at this bachelorette party. Or was there? I am not to be held responsible for the cake. I did eat a slice.

We started the night with dinner at Ceviche’s, then moved onto Cepha’s in Ybor before wrapping it up on the dance floor at Aja in Channelside. It was a fairly diverse mix of locations and none of which I’d been to before. (I’ve dined at Ceviche’s in St. Pete, but never Tampa.) The food at Ceviche’s TPA was consistent with what I’ve had in the past, but I prefer the atmosphere of the St. Pete spot. Open-air island / reggae spots are a winner no matter what — so Cepha’s was cool. It was only a pinch strange that there was no one there when we arrived, but who cares? The night was about us ladies having a good time with the beautiful bride-to-be. Aja isn’t a club I plan on visiting again. The DJ downstairs on that particular Saturday night was garbage if you ask me and the crowd, eh-eh. I danced regardless.

No more talking though. Good times and photos below to prove it. Looking forward to the wedding next weekend.

This evening I went out for some free Argentine Tango lessons in the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park up in downtown TPA. I refreshed my memory of the basic “ocho” and took off for home shortly after. I do believe I could be fairly good at Tango if only I enrolled in a few classes and dance is always a better alternative to running. I’ll have to do something soon. I’ll just have to see if I can get the husband involved. What a bonus that would be and we could stay right here in Tampa. No exotic trips to Buenos Aries necessary, but it would be nice to taste some of the delicious ice cream again. :/

Exit daydream.

Anyhow, my plate will be pretty full as 2010 starts to come to a close, but I’m looking forward to it all right here on the home front. Saying that makes me feel odd for some strange reason. Can’t place my finger on it, but now may be the right time to switch gears. We’ll see.

Turn your speakers up folks. What can I say about this past weekend that can’t be seen in the lickle photo gallery above? Friends? Check! Sun, sand and surf? This is Florida. Fun times? For certain!

I was lucky enough to finagle myself into a three day weekend from work, so my celebration started on Thursday. One of my most awesome co-workers popped into the office on her day off to surprise me with a white cake. Mmm. It was mighty thoughtful of her and totally made my pre-celebration all the better.

Fast forward to Friday, my birthday!!! Kristen and Annette had made it in the previous night so we were only waiting on Latofia to make it in from Bama. We spent the morning killing time with the likes of brow threading, shoe shopping, laser hair removal (uh yeah – for my chin) and you get the picture. I had a few calls and appointments I had to attend to and by the time Latofia made it in I was out for a moment. My mom managed to entertain the women with some of her infamous quotes.

That night we dined at Cheap in SoHo, breezed through Hyde Park Cafe and unexpectedly got in a little live hip-hop at the Orpheum. My first night out at Cheap was superb. I nabbed some of the tapas, sipped sangria and feasted on a delectable tres leches cake for dessert. Felica gifted me with pretty flowers and Chinyere was awesome enough to gift me with beautiful blue Nigerian style lace material. The presence and good company of my friends was the greatest present of all. Glad my bro and Marci made it. Sorry that my boo couldn’t have made it sooner, but we’ve got the rest of our lives to hang.

Cut to Saturday morning. Woke up and headed out for mani/pedi time after a big breakfast from the mothership. From there we jetted over to Olga’s to pick up my wedding gown and had lunch at the Queen of Sheba, all in South Tampa. I suspect that the Queen of Sheba wasn’t as big of a hit with my friends as I would have liked for it to have been, but a woman can’t win them all. Another mall stop before the core four finally made it back to the house to prep for O-Town. We’d be joined by Latasha and Chinyere later that night for dinner and dancing at Bob Marley’s at Universal City Walk.

For Sunday’s finale we started with breakfast at First Watch and proceeded to the outlets. I discovered Marni and quickly had to get out that store before retail stupidity kicked in. From the outlets it was back to the west side of I-4 and over to Siesta Key Beach for sunset and dinner.

This morning I was greeted with complete exhaustion causing me to ponder whether I’m too old for all this fun.

Nope. Don’t think so.

P.S. Nothing was too wild either. I did see a lot of brides-to-be out on the streets Saturday and Friday nights. How did I know this? They had the blow-up man and tiny penis ornaments in their hair and everywhere. Not my style!

Funny how some free attractions can offer far more to the visitor than those which charge a fee. TECO’s (Tampa Electric Company) Manatee Viewing Center is certainly worth getting off I-75 at Big Bend Rd to check out. Now that I’m practically in the neighborhood and with temperatures being a cool 41 or so degrees outside this morning, it all made perfect sense: go see the sea cows! Oh, and did I mention the attraction is free?

It’s hard to imagine why any creature would spend the winter soaking in waters beside industrial smoke stacks, but apparently the manatees like warm water. (And apparently the water temperature today was in the 60′s.) There are plenty of manatees floating around and unless they pop their heads up for air, their backs resemble large stones in the water. The best place to spot them is from the large observation deck where other marine life can also be seen.

Smoke stacks, smoke stacks, manatees, manatees, smoke stacks, manatees. Photos: Adrienne C. Wilson

If you watch them long enough they do back flips in the water just like whales do. I kid. A manatee will not be twirling in air, but there are some fish springing from the water. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

Yup, that’s me. I practically rolled out of bed, strapped on my camera bags and ran out the house. It was sort of a now or never situation in joining my mother. Please donate to the sea cows. Photo: The Mothership

When you can’t feel your hands anymore and it gets too cold, go inside to the museum to warm up and read up not only on the manatees, but on TECO as well. The museum isn’t huge, but it has enough information for adults and enough entertainment for children to keep everyone please for at least a good 20 minutes or less. Inside the museum, I learned that genetically, a manatees is closely related to an elephant, ardvark, and hyrax. That’s super crazy considering they all looking almost nothing alike.

Manatee bones in the museum. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

If you’ve got the time to kill continue outside of the museum and down the trail to see more of nature’s splendor like red mangroves, coastal berm, and various bird life. My mother and I took to the tidal trail, but my battery didn’t have much more go and so it died. Next time, Gadget, next time.

Wat Mongkolratanaram, Tampa’s Thai Temple sits, off of State Road 41 just over the railroad tracks and along the Palm River. I’d heard over and over about the the wonderful Sunday Thai brunch, but never had the opportunity to go until yesterday. I took a few pictures, but mostly chilled with the fam and got down on a really delicious Thai crepe. (I was too busy eating to take a picture. Sorry.) This will definitely be a place I return to in the future. There was soo much food to choose from and I rally wanted a soup. I would have been over doing it to have had it with the crepe. Next time for sure!

Fried bananas. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

Dining by the river. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

You are invited to my book signing event in the Clearwater, FL area!

Please join me for one or all of these special events. Bring a friend, a family member and warm smiles. I will be signing copies of my children’s book titled, Isaac and the Bah Family Tree. The event details are as follows:

When: Saturday, November 14th from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Where: Barnes & Noble Booksellers
23654 US 19 North
Clearwater, FL 33765
727.669.1688

If you already have a copy of Isaac and the Bah Family Tree, please spread the word or pick up a copy for a friend.

Check it out and see you there! Thank you soo much for all your support so far!

Veer left off exit 17 from Interstate 4 and you’ll discover a land where dinosaurs are very much alive. I’d been trying to get someone to tag-a-long for a quick trip to Dinosaur World for as long as the Mesozoic Era. Without having ever visited the roadside attraction myself, I just couldn’t shake the notion that something magical was hiding behind the walls. Dinosaur World doesn’t disappoint.

The Stegosaurus (STEG-oh-SAW-rus), having always been my favorite dinosaur, was a real treat to see in the flesh. Okay, wait! If you haven’t already guessed by now, none of the dinosaurs were truly alive, but in my imagination they were. So, the Stegosaurus was amazing! The T-Rex was way overrated and the Triceratops always gets props from me.

It is easy to get lost on the grounds. By lost, I mean in a land before time when “terrible lizards” covered every inch of the Earth. The Florida fall temperatures also make for a pleasant past noon activity for family, couples, or the kid at heart. The displays aren’t cheesy either and the grounds are well manicured. Every turn proved surprising and just when I thought we were almost through touring Dinosaur World a new path presented itself.

I spent close to two hours at Dinosaur World with Dayo and we didn’t even have a picnic, watch the video or check out the Fossil Dig and Bone yard. Honestly, I think we may have been too big for the later two, but I highly recommend the road side attraction for any one in the area or passing by. It was a real nice Sunday treat to say the least. The dinosaurs still live!

Friday morning was plagued by responsibilities, but the evening was deliciously fun even having not had dinner. Rebecca, my mummy and I went out to the St. Pete Times Forum where we caught the season five dancers from So You Think You Can Dance live. Becky drooled for young Phillip and I screamed like a little pre-teen for Kupono, Jason, Ade and Brandon. (Note: I was never really boy-crazy when I was younger, but if I was a pre-teen today I might be.) After the show, we waited for an hour with high hopes of nabbing some autographs on my program, but the pre-teen spirit which lived inside the forum had died outside and we retreated without a single signature.

My original plan for Saturday was to check out the Reading Festival. It would have been a great opportunity to connect with other local and national authors and to see what’s shaking in the book world in general. This didn’t happen. My boyfriend had kindly requested my attendance at his water baptism and in knowing how important it was for him, I happily changed my plans to support him. Following the baptism we took for to grab groceries from Whole Foods and Parksdale Farms.

Later that night after my boyfriend made a very tasty seafood pasta dinner with wine and the works, he proposed and I accepted. That being said, don’t expect much wedding chatter from me here or anywhere for that matter. I may occasionally post something on twitter, but that is ALL! I’m happy, excited and can’t even begin to think of what I really want or what will really work out for me in terms of a wedding. I will tell you this much: I’d really love to wear the Petra gown in this bridal collection, I’d love to tie the knot some where here and I will probably do something very, very small and semi-practical. P.S. The ring is very pretty. Smile

Sunday was as pleasant as the days before. A fruit smoothie to start the day for breakfast and off we went to church. From church we popped into Jasmine Thai for a nice light Thai lunch and then, get ready for this…DINOSAUR WORLD. I finally got to go!!! (I think Dayo was secretly afraid that I would renege on the engagement thingie if he didn’t go with me.) We thought about heading to the beach after Dinosaur World, but decided to visit a friend of his in Bradenton who had just had surgery. We ended up having Thai for dinner and left for Tampa an hour after dinner.

Simply magnifique from start to finish! Hoping to do it again and again and again.