Musings from the Middle of Nowhere

Wedding Blog!

2011-01-16T17:58:00.000-05:00

If you're still reading this blog, you deserve a medal. I've been horrible at keeping up with my blogging here... Instead, I've been blogging on a word document when I have downtime during teaching. I'll be sure to copy and paste some of those entries here eventually. As it turns out, Blogger isn't blocked at the school where I'm interning right now! YAY! But, I'm not sure blog entries are looked fondly upon by the tech department. BOO. Oh well...

Anyway, I've been working on a wedding blog! This is exciting to me for two reasons: a) I can have an audience (no matter now small) to listen to me talk about wedding stuff, and b) I'm desperately trying to be a blogger for Weddingbee and having my own wedding blog is the first step!

So, check out what I've been working on. To keep with the same style as this blog, I've named it Married in the Middle of Nowhere (there's a link on the top of the right column). I've got the first few posts ready, but they won't be published until sometime next week. Let me know what you think! I love talking wedding :)

I'm on BREAK!

2010-12-21T17:36:00.001-05:00

Well, it's been a whirlwind month (ok - 23 days - but who's counting?), but I've got SO MUCH accomplished! Our Big Day will be on:

Dress? Check! (Day 6)
Reception Venue? Check! (Day 13)
Caterer? Check! (Day 13)
Photographer? Check! (Day 16)
Bridesmaid Dresses? Pretty much decided on... about Day 2

Now that I'm on break from school and my other school I've got much more time on my hands! I plan on sharing allll of my fun finds and ideas and inspirations with you! But first, I have to warn Josh that he's not allowed to read my blog anymore for fear that he may stumble upon pictures of my dress (which I will be posting in the near future).

Side Note: I'm thinking about switching over to Wordpress... any advice/comments/preferences? I've heard that it's a lot more user friendly, and I've got a little html coding knowledge tucked away, so I'm thinking it might be more my style. Plus, I'm anticipating uploading a lot of pictures soon, and I've heard their photo uploading software is SO much better than Blogger... Let me know what you think!

7 Months and 30 days to go! (EEEK!)

A new look for my blog... and my hand :)

2010-11-28T10:14:00.000-05:00

Please excuse my looks... I had been crying happy tears :)

I'm planning on changing over to a more wedding-centric blog, and I'm planning on posting MUCH MUCH more (I know I've said it before, but I have so much to post about now!).

What a perfect Thanksgiving weekend, reminding me of everything I have to be thankful for!

Rock Stars

2010-09-27T20:41:00.000-04:00

My mentor teacher's classroom revolves around the idea of "Rocking Out." Her rules are all about rock shows and how it applies to the classroom, and she has a Rock Star Wall of Fame which is littered with awesome things our students have done. I'd like to incorporate this into my blog in some way... and I'm drawing some inspiration from a teacher-friend who did something similar last year. She would blog daily about good things that happened to her throughout the school day. I love this idea as a way to reflect and also to share some of the amazing things my students are doing! (Now, I doubt this will happen daily, but hopefully I can post more frequently about the good things that are happening in my classroom!)

Star 1: Friday, I taught my first original lesson from start to finish and it went well. Seriously, I was on an adrenaline high when I got done. With the exception of one kid who nodded off a few times, those kids were engaged with my lesson and participated more than I expected. I even got participation out of students I didn't expect! What an awesome feeling...

Star 2: Friday, one of my students came up with a sweet idea for a writing project, and she was genuinely excited about it. I loved seeing her so inspired to write!
Star 3: One of my Emotionally Impaired students opened up to me Friday. Not only was she participating like crazy during my lesson, she also came up to me after class and told me about her exciting weekend plans. She's never spoken to me before, other than to grumble a greeting to me at the door, so this was a big step!

What was your Rock Star Moment of the Day?

And it begins...

2010-09-23T19:41:00.000-04:00

I'm finishing up my 3rd week at my Teacher Assisting placement. Woah! How did that happen? Time flies.... and my blog suffers, unfortunately.

Can I just talk for 3 seconds about how much I freaking love school right now? Seriously. It's completely wearing me out (I'm recovering from a nasty cold; damn kids and their germs), I've got no free time, I wake up at 5 am, but I'm not being one drop sarcastic when I say that I love it. I absolutely adore what I'm doing and I've got no doubts that I made the right decision about leaving that horrid, horrid world of banking. (Sorry... I just threw up in my mouth a little at the thought of going back. ughhhhh scary!) Did you hear the part about getting up at 5am? Yeah. I never would have done that for my other job. I would have slept in as late as I could and rolled into work looking like hell with a scowl on my face. Now, I'm up, eating decent breakfasts, straightening my hair, and picking out cute clothes. It's happiness. It's changing my life. Looooove it.
So, what's so fab about it? Well, let me explain:

Even though some of them are downright asshole-ish, most of my students are great kids. They're funny, motivated, honest (which can be humbling at times), and so far, they've been really nice to me. Let's hope I'm singing the same tune after I present my very first original lesson plan tomorrow. (It's about sentence combining using conjunctions and punctuation. Don't act like you're not jealous that you can't experience it... It's going to be mind-blowing. Ok, yeah that might be a little sarcasm creeping in there..)
The staff at my school is freaking hilarious. Never have I ever heard so many F-Bombs dropped at lunchtime, during some of the most inappropriate conversations a teacher's lounge has ever seen. And I had some pretty intense lunchtimes at the bank... The other teachers have been so welcoming and friendly. They're such fun people!
I absolutely love when kids ask me if they can go to the bathroom, go to their locker, etc, because they realize that I have the same authority in the class as the teacher. It's kind of a power trip... haha kidding. kind of.
Tomorrow is homecoming, and I'm chaperoning the dance. I'm helping out with advising Student Council this year and it's been so much fun so far. For Spirit Week, they did a limbo contest at lunch Wednesday. I was in charge of recruiting people to come out to the lobby and participate. And guess what? There were a TON of kids there, either participating or watching. More kids than they had the previous day, and more than they had today. I'd like to think it was because I personally went to each table and called students out by name and told them they needed to participate. I could be totally off, but this is my blog so we're going to go with that...

So, even though I'm bogged down with homework and no longer have time for my precious little bloggy, I'm a very happy teacher... Hopefully I'll have more time to share about what the coming year brings, but don't hold your breath!!

Goin' to the Chapel... But first, we party!

2010-09-17T11:33:00.035-04:00

Note: I thought I published this last week, but apparently it just saved. Bummer... Anyways, the wedding was Saturday and it was beautiful! I'll share pictures of that later. For now, enjoy bachelorette party pics!

My bestest friend Erin is getting married tomorrow! We've known each other since we were three years old. Last month, we had a bachelorette party at Station Square in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, complete with vodka, a limo, and a mechanical bull. What more could a bunch of girls ask for!?


The beautiful bride before the partay started!

Jenna and I, two of the bridesmaids!

Me with the ~~Matron~~ Maid of Honor (this amazing chef) and another bridesmaid. (we were a few drinks in. no judgment)

The bride riding the mechanical bull! She was pretty good, too : )

Stage dancing at Barroom! Tons of fun, and only one fall-off (no, it wasn't me!)

Late night/Early morning lounging on the patio at the last stop. They had a grill on the patio where you can get a meal at the end of the night. Amazing idea!

This was SUCH a fun time and I'm super excited for the wedding this weekend!!

Sidewalk Sales!

2010-09-15T11:09:00.000-04:00

While Josh and I were in Holland, there were sidewalk sales going on! Downtown Holland has some amazing little stores, so I was thrilled at the opportunity to buy stuff on sale : )

The first place we went was the Peanut Store, which was a delicious place to start! It has bins of candy throughout the entire store, along with salt-water taffy, roasted nuts, and homemade fudge! We picked up a pound of taffy for Josh's parents because they watched Diesel for us : )

Our next stop was for dinner, and we chose to eat at Butch's. They had an amazing wine selection (one of my favorites from Traverse City!!) and delicious food! Of course, I forgot to take pictures...

We tasted more than just wines while we were in Holland. We also tasted balsamic vinegar and olive oil! Fustini's is a store that doubles as a tasting room for their oils and vinegar. I never knew that there were so many flavors so it was a lot of fun trying and tasting everything... that is, it was a bunch of fun until Josh spilled some vinegar all over the floor! It was pretty funny... but we left quickly after that.

This is just a SMALL sample of all of the amazing stores around Holland. I'm thinking this would be the perfect place to buy Christmas presents ; )

Mini In-state Vacay

2010-09-14T11:09:00.000-04:00

The day after I finished my summer classes, Josh and I headed off for a little over night trip to Holland, MI. Neither one of us had been there before, and there are lots of touristy things to do, as you can see. It was HOTTT outside but beautiful and I had a lot of fun... I think Josh did, too.


Our first touristy stop was Windmill Island Gardens, which has, well, a lot of gardens and a windmill. Surprising, huh?

The windmill is completely legit and came over from the Netherlands to be rebuilt in Michigan. They actually still use it to grind flour, and we were given a tour (a very, very hot tour in an old windmill with no air flow) to see how the grinding is done.


This is a view from the deck of the windmill. The white tent you see is where they have wedding receptions. The gardens are absolutely gorgeous in spring when the tulips are blooming! I'll actually be attending a wedding here next Memorial Day : )

There's a replica of a dutch village on the island, too. Inside are little shops, exhibits of Dutch clothing and historical items, and the bridal room for weddings.

The windmill is over 7 stories tall! This was taken from the deck of the windmill - the same place where I took the picture of the entire island.

After leaving the gardens, Josh and I stopped for lunch at New Holland Brewery I had the baked potato pizza and Josh had a Caesar salad.

Mmmm delicious! It had goat cheese which I adore.

Yummy microbrews - So refreshing after being out in the hot sun!

I found a tasting room for a local winery in downtown Holland, and Josh humored me by tasting a few wines. Surprisingly, he actually liked some, and we ended up buying 3 bottles! We purchased Warner Vineyard's Traminette (similar to a gewurztraminer), Sangria (always a favorite), and Blueberry Wine (mmmm tasty). After our little buzz wore off, we headed for Dutch Village, which is a small theme park set up as if it were a village in the Netherlands. It was kind of cheesy, but we went all-in and acted like tourists!


Josh got weighed to make sure he wasn't a witch/wizard. Luckily he wasn't! He even got a certificate to prove it : )

Not a witch!

They did a demonstration of how to make wooden shoes by hand...

But this is the machinery they use to make the wooden shoes sold at Dutch Village.

I never realized the shoes could be so beautiful! I actually tried a pair on and they are surprisingly comfortable! A little clunky and hard to walk in, but kind of cool.


Josh tried on a pair, too!


They had huuuuuuge street organs (this is one of the small ones) that were still working! Josh is doing a great job as Vanna : )

You can see the large street organ in the background here. Every hour they have demonstrations of traditional Dutch dances, wearing clothing similar to the period. I think 3 wooden shoes flew off the feet of the dancers as they were dancing! These girls can really kick their feet...

There also was a petting zoo... and Josh scooped up this sweet little baby bunny. It was for sale, but he said we couldn't have it : (

I'll have to do a separate post on all of the amazing stores in downtown Holland... there are just too many to talk about in one post!

Wow...

2010-09-12T19:52:00.000-04:00

So... yeah. It's been awhile. I've heard from many readers (or like 3) that I need to post more. And I honestly wish I could because I have about 498 posts going on in my head, and nowhere to put them! Here's just a random sampling of what's going on in my noggin...

I started my teacher assisting (24+ hours each week of being in a real live high school classroom) plus 3 graduate classes plus a seminar, so needless to say, I'm a busy girl! I'm hoping to post a bunch more on Tuesday because I have a morning off from classes and teaching. I have a feeling I'll come to treasure those Tuesday mornings!
Josh and I took a trip to Holland, MI and I have some hilarious pics to share...
There's a rumor that a Verizon tower is being built really super close to my house... YAY!! That might mean that I can actually have decent speed of internet at my house for a decent price! I am beyond excited about it.
My bestest friend is getting married next weekend... crazy!
College football season is upon us, and that means Pick 4 every weekend! I came THISCLOSE to winning the first weekend, but I lost and I'll explain that later.
My other bestest friend has a super amazing new boyfriend and I couldn't be more excited for her! Plus, he and Josh get along rather well (they bonded over a game of beer pong) so that's always a plus.
I've become obsessed with watching reruns of Grey's Anatomy on Lifetime and Ally McBeal on Reelz... and WOAH I never knew Robert Downey Jr. was such a hottie!
The first novel I'm/we're teaching is The Lord of the Rings. Which I've never read. And I have no interest in reading. Teacher fail.

Student Quote of the Week: (in response to my purple suede pumps) "Ms. Leak, are you going to wear fabulous shoes every day?" It kind of pretty much made my day.

The Redneck Days of Summer: Part 6

2010-08-29T07:34:00.002-04:00

This post will wrap up my recaps of the Fair. (Was that cheering I heard?? No... couldn't be!)

Like I mentioned before, I spend as much time at the Fair as possible. I didn't take pictures everyday, and so I'm really only scratching the surface of all the things that the Fair has to offer. A new development at the Fair is Antique Village, which my grandpa and grandma help out with many times during the week. There are exhibits with antiques (duh) and old pictures from my hometown and surrounding areas. I find it fascinating, and for the last 5 or so years, I've actually learned a lot about this area. I've even felt a little old as my grandpa brings in antiques that I distinctly remember playing with or seeing him use on the farm when I was younger. I really had no idea how old some of his things are!

Now, since I'm there so frequently, I often don't play the "tourist" part; I prefer just walking around and seeing people I haven't seen since the previous year's fair. This year, Jenna joined Josh, my sister, and I and we had a lot of fun being kind of touristy (read: dorky) as we took in the Fair on the last night.


Bingo! Jenna's grandma got us hooked on bingo the second we turned 18. At the fair, it's a whopping $.50 a card to play!

Lindsey (my sister) was SUPER excited to play! (Sorry Linds, I had to!)

Jenna Bingo'd twice, and I didn't win anything, hence the sadface.

Posing in front of the Corn Dog stand... with a creeper in the background. Honestly, my sister isn't always making that face...

The best Fair game in the world. Seriously. Put a quarter down on a square that is painted to look like a specific type of candy. Lindsey picked Hershey Kisses and I think Jenna picked Cotton Candy (?).

Then, a ball gets thrown onto this table, and if it lands on the candy that corresponds to where you put your quarter, you win any candy of your choice! Lots of fun, and a cheap way to entertain yourself.

The obligatory picture in front of the Ferris Wheel to bring our time at the Fair to a close. This year we were all enamored with the Ferris Wheel because the lights were replaced with LED lights and were super bright and pretty... it doesn't take much to entertain us!

I hope you enjoyed my recaps of Fair Week! I had a lot of fun, like every year, and I'm looking forward to next summer!

The Redneck Days of Summer: Part 5

2010-08-28T08:14:00.000-04:00

This is what many people consider the best part of the Fair: The FOOD!

Disclaimer: If looking at lots of greasy, deep fried food makes you queasy, you may want to skip this post : )


One of my favorites is the bloomin' onion. Now, you can get these at some chain restaurants, but nothing beats the one at the Fair, split with your 3 favorite people. There's just something about the smell and feel of grease running down your fingers that just makes you feel at place at the Fair. (That sounds really gross as I reread it. But it's true. Don't judge)

Now, I'm not a fan of corndogs, but Jenna is. This was her, and many other people's, must-have dinner at the fair.

Josh's food of choice is Old Tex barbecue. They cook it in a huge iron roaster and the smell is amazing! He loves the chopped pork sandwich, topped with their spicy barbecue sauce and lots of jalapeno peppers and pickles! I admit, I've become a huge fan of this place too, thanks to Josh.

The classic funnel cake. Even after years and years of going to the fair, my first funnel cake was actually just 3 years ago (it was my first first date with Josh, which I'll explain later, if you want to know what that's all about). These are SO much better than elephant ears. They're like fresh fried donut batter all tangled together. DELICIOUS! I think we split this one between 4 people.


One of the new vendors at the fair had fresh fried potato chips on a stick. They were really good and had a lot of different seasonings to pick from. Jenna is modeling hers, fresh from the beaches of Lake Michigan!

I didn't take pictures of everything we ate, and believe me, there was much more. An absolute must is Frazee French Fries. They are amazing, and I really can't even begin to explain why. There's just something about them that are so delicious, especially with a little malt vinegar on top. They are my Fair tradition, and have been since I was young.

There is also a gyro wagon with possibly the best gyros I've ever had. This guy is authentic Greek, and speaks very broken English. He also takes his time making the gyros, regardless of the size of the line of people outside his wagon. At any time, there is at least a 30 minute wait for his food, and believe me, the wait is definitely worth it!

What's your favorite fair food?

The Redneck Days of Summer: Part 4

2010-08-27T08:37:00.000-04:00

How are you liking my recaps of the Redneck side of my town? Hopefully you're enjoying it because there are 3 posts left! Today I bring you the cutest parts, seriously. This is a huge contrast from our friend with the lovely cartoon cows on his shirt.

4-H is a major part of the fair. When I was in 4-H, there was hardly room enough for all of the animals, food, and crafts that us kids made. Sadly, participation is dwindling, so this year saw a decline in the number of 4-H entries. To this day, my favorite part of the fair is watching the kids show their animals. Showing animals is so much more than just walking them around in a circle or putting them on a table for judges to look at; there are specific rules and procedures that need to be followed to the utmost perfection in order to be a good showman (showperson?). I used to show dairy cattle, and it was a big deal. Not only did my cow need to be cleaned and gleaming, I needed to know her lineage, anatomy, and other important facts about her production (most of this can be BSed and the judges don't know, but that's just not the way I roll!).

Now, if you've never been in Michigan in July, let me tell you it is HOT! Shorts are not allowed in the show ring, and neither are sandals. It's long pants and boots! Not only is it extremely hot for the showman, but it's also hot for the cow. And sometimes they get a little stubborn... or wild. My very first year included being dragged in the dirt by a cow that just had no interest in being shown. Since I was all of 9 years old, I just cried and let her drag me. BUT - the next year I came back and scored 1st place in my division!

Although 4-H showing starts at age 9, they do a PeeWee show for kids under 9. This year it took place outside on the walkway in front of the barns, and Josh's 2 younger cousins showed their calves. Now, this is what I'm talking about when I say it's the CUTEST part of the fair!


First they walk them in a circle around the judges. Five of Josh's cousins are actually in this picture, all of the people except the girl on the left side. The boy in yellow and the girl in red behind the calf are the showmen and are being helped by the group leader (in black) and their mom (in pink).


After walking around the judges, the judges pull the calves in and line them up according to placing. In this case, everyone is a winner, so the calves are just lined up.


Don't you just love his boots! I don't know who is cuter - the calf or the kid! His calf is all of 10 days old in this picture, and he's handling it all by himself.


Everyone gets a big pretty ribbon! Her calf is about 2 weeks old I think... The calf was being pretty stubborn and didn't want to walk, but once ribbons were handed out, Josh's cousin was all smiles!

As you can see, some parts of the fair are down right adorable! The fair is about so much more than rides, food, and carnies!

The Redneck Days of Summer: Part 3

2010-08-26T10:04:00.002-04:00

So, what else is at the fair besides crashing combines and inappropriate shirts? Well... A lot! Josh and I went to the tractor pulls, which I had never been to. It was HOT outside, and the pulls are LOUD! So loud that they sell earplugs so people don't damage their hearing.


This is actually an antique tractor, probably from the 1950's. I loved the antique tractor pulls. There were quite a few models that my grandpa once owned, so it was a little bit of nostalgia.


Definitely not an antique! This one was SO loud and, as you can kind of see, produced TONS of smoke.


All of the trucks had tons of smoke and soot coming from the stacks. You can't really see, but the trucks and tractors were painted really nicely with different graphics and stuff.


These tractors FLY down the track!


Ok, just keepin' it real, once again. It was HOT outside, and after a few beers, I was definitely not looking the greatest. Oh, and I've taken care of that mess of dark roots already. yuck.

This was the first time I've attended tractor pulls, but I'm sure it won't be the last. Josh absolutely loves them, and it's kind of fun to watch how fast these huge machines can go when they're hauling tons of weight behind them.

Coming up next: the cutest parts of the fair, and the best tasting parts of the fair :) Stay tuned!

Redneck Days of Summer: Part 2

2010-08-25T10:33:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I promised you the best part of the Combine Derby: The people. Specifically, one man who was sitting in front of us provided us with much entertainment.

Add caption

When I first saw him, I noticed the cows on his shirt, but didn't think much of it. People in this area, especially at the Fair, wear cows on their clothing sometimes. It's not really that odd of a sighting, sadly. However, upon further examination, I realized exactly what was on his shirt. Let's zoom in a little, shall we?

Yes folks, that is the Kama Sutra, illustrated by cows. Only at the Fair...

But how 'bout those suspenders??

Redneck Days of Summer: Part 1

2010-08-24T10:33:00.000-04:00

Mid-July in Mid-Michigan can only mean one thing: The Fair. People know my hometown for two reasons: The Fair and Prisons (more about the prisons later...). When I was younger, my summer revolved around the fair. I spent weeks perfecting my crafts to exhibit, went to countless meetings where I learned how to bake and cook and serve food, and worked with my dairy cows for the 4-H show (yes, I used to show Jersey cows... I've got pictures but I haven't taken the time to scan them in yet. Some other time). I lived at the fair for 10 days, but rarely spent time on the midway riding rides and eating horrible *cough*delicious*cough* fried food. Fair week usually involved some sort of "Fair Fling," or a boy that I sought out to pretty much be in love with for a week. In short, I love the fair.

Fair week always brings out the "best" in my town and surrounding areas. This year, I embraced exactly how redneck the fair can be, just so I could share it with all of you. Some of you already know and love/hate the fair (people either love it or hate it, most of them hate it), but I doubt you saw the sites I saw this year.

And so, I bring to you, The Fair AKA The Best 10 Redneck Days of Summer


This is a combine. It's used to shell corn that is grown in the fields. Or, at the Fair, it's put in a Demolition Derby.

If you don't know what a Demolition Derby is, check out Wikipedia's definition. In this case, combines are used instead of cars, and the last one running wins. This was the first year that the Fair had a combine derby, so it drew in LOTS of people. Seriously more people than I've EVER seen in the stands in the 25 years I've been going to the fair. (Although the Nelly concert in 2001 may have drawn more people... I wasn't there.)


This combine was my favorite! It was decorated like a cow, and driven by a kid I used to be in 4-H with. He won People's Choice!


The combines are crashing into each other... it's really a lot more fun than it looks. These things are massive!


All of the combines lined up for the crowd

And the best part of the derby was the people... But I'm saving one priceless picture for tomorrow. Does your hometown have any strange but wonderful traditions that nobody understands but you just adore?

Oh Blogosphere...

2010-08-18T11:26:00.000-04:00

...how I've missed you!

I'll admit, I didn't jump right on Blogger the minute I finished my last final exam (final final?) of the summer. I was overwhelmed with the sheer amount of things I wanted to blog about. My solution? Just don't blog yet. Make sense? Absolutely not. Blogging fail.

Anyways, I've decided to put on my big girl panties and just get started with it! So on with the show...er, blogs!

I'm just going to do a few posts to recap what happened in July: We bought a camper, which I posted about but never showed a pic. Well, here it is in all its glory! The perfect size for two people and a dog (who, coincidentally, thinks he's a person).

We learned the hard way that all of the supports need to be in place before we test the strength of the bed... yeah. We almost ended up on the ground. Oops! One metal bar makes a world of difference!

We also had a wedding in July at the fabulous Soaring Eagle Casino Resort. Josh's cousin Tony married the lovely Juliane and they threw a fabulous party! Josh's parents got a hotel room for Josh, me, his sister Ashley, and her boyfriend, Jason. Here are just a few pics from that night!

If you like that necklace, I know where you can find it :)

The four of us on a search for ice cream after the reception wrapped up (or maybe that was just me...)

Ashley and Jason (who just celebrated their 1 year dating anniversary Sunday :) )

Open bar with beer and wine = these ridiculous pictures

hahahaha I just love him

They weren't clearing away my empty glasses... I think it was on purpose


Yeah I just couldn't resist

Stay tuned for the Best 10 Redneck Days of Summer...You won't want to miss it!!

Please Forgive Me...

2010-07-10T11:40:00.000-04:00

... for my lack of posting lately.

I mentioned it last week, but WOW, I'm really having a hard time balancing 3 summer grad classes with everything else going on in my life, and unfortunately, my blog has fallen to the back burner. It sucks because I have like a bazillion things I want to share with you, but I just don't have the time. I have a feeling it's only going to get better when a) my professors allow me to blog in class, b) Verizon decides that yes, in fact, I am important enough for them to build/fix a tower that will allow me wireless internet access, c) my body stops requiring sleep, or d) I quit school and spend all of my time blogging (probably the most feasible option, but nonetheless, not going to happen).

But!! I do have a few pics from our Cedar Point trip a few weeks ago:

The view from our hotel's parking lot. Staying in the park was the best idea ever - I got semi-dehydrated at one point and it was awesome to go back and rest for a little bit in the air conditioned bliss of the hotel room. Plus, um, roller coaster fun when you look out the window? Yes, please!!

I took more pictures of the hotel than anything else... I was sort of in love. This is the rotunda in the hotel and it reminded me of having tea in the 1920's or something... not that I've ever done it, but if I had, this is what it would be like

Perfection in the rotunda... so bright and cheerful!

Outside of the hotel

History of the hotel.... Yeah, I told you I was sort of obsessed. For whatever reason, I was wayyy into the history of Cedar Point this visit. The hotel has a really interesting background - it's been around longer than the park, which is like close to 100 years old. The hotel used to house soldiers when they were in training and it has a really authentic feel to it.

Yikes. Because I'm keepin' it real over here, I couldn't leave out this horrible pic of me with no makeup and flat hair : )

Also because I'm keepin' it real, I had to show the nasty bruise (the next day!) from riding the new Maverick roller coaster. I rarely get bruises, so when I do, you know that I got roughed up! Yes, those are my sorry excuses for biceps (just for the record, I'm not flexing. Although I'm sure that's obvious).

On the way home, we stopped at Cabella's in Dundee, Michigan because it's like a heaven for hunters or anyone who likes to do anything outside. They have these huge bears in front of the place, so we couldn't resist a photo op! (Well, I couldn't resist... Josh had to be prodded a little bit)

I actually don't have any pictures of our camper or our 4th of July weekend, although I realllllly want to blog about it, and probably will have a post out soon (whatever 'soon' means...)

For those of you who I regularly read/comment on - I'm not ignoring you, I promise! I'm still reading (usually during class, very quietly) but I just can't comment while I'm in class and feel a little silly commenting on posts from days ago... but I'm still reading! I haven't left you!!

Miss you all : )

Popping in...

2010-06-30T11:25:00.000-04:00

...to say just a few things:

1: I have SEVERELY less free time on my hands than I expected I would when I quit my job. I haven't been able to sleep in, blog, or do anything other than school and homey-stuff yet this week. Oh well... it will get better. I have absolutely nothing planned for Friday except hanging out with Jenna!!

2: Josh and I bought a camper last night. A family friend had a small pop-up for sale, and everything just kind of fell into our laps. It was the right size for Josh's truck, the right price, and was immaculately clean. We picked it up last night and will be packing it up for camping this weekend with Josh's entire extended family. So much fun!

3: On the way to pick up said camper, there was a pig in the middle of the road. A. Freaking. Pig. Although I live in the middle of nowhere, it's not some backwoods mountain town where people let their animals roam free on the dirt roads and drink moonshine on their porch. Farm animals, while not an uncommon site, are usually kept in fields or pens with fences. I couldn't believe it. A pig was running around in the road, and really seemed upset that I would have the gall to drive down the road where it was playing. It begrudgingly stepped off to the side and allowed me to pass, but I swear it gave me the stink-eye as I went by.

You just never know what life is going to throw in front of you on any given day...

Get to the Point

2010-06-26T13:26:00.001-04:00

Today I'm in Sandusky, Ohio, enjoying some quality relaxation time with Josh's family. His parents, being the extremely generous people that they are, took Josh and I along with Josh's sister and her boyfriend, to Cedar Point for the weekend. We are staying for 2 nights, last night and tonight. It's a 4 hour drive from home, so it's so nice to have a hotel for both nights. I've only ever visited when we either get up really early and visit the park all day and then stay the night and drive home, or leave home during the middle of the day and stay the night and then go to the park the next day. I'm sure that having both nights in Sandusky will be a welcome, relaxing mini-vacation.

Here are a few of my favorite rides at Cedar Point: (click the links for more pics and info)

Iron Dragon - the first coaster I've ever ridden. It's a classic ride - nice and slow, no super high hills, but lots of fun!

Millennium Force - SO MUCH FUN! A 300 ft hill with a super steep drop and fast speeds. This one is my favorite, especially with my hands raised high riding in the front seat!

Raptor - This is another classic Cedar Point ride. I remember when it was built, and I was terrified of it. But now, it's a good warm up for some of the taller, faster rides. I love this one because my feet dangle and you "Kick the Sky"

Have you ever been to Cedar Point? What are your favorite rides? Know of any other great rides at other amusement parks? I'd love to go!

This is IT!

2010-06-25T13:24:00.000-04:00

No, this isn't going to be a post about the one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death... although I did hear Thriller this morning on my way to work and it just made me smile. Love that song...

However, the IT I'm referring to is my LAST DAY OF WORK! If you've been ~~relentlessly stalking every day even though you already know the number is only going to be one less than the previous day~~ following my countdown in the margin like I have, you have probably noticed that it has finally reached zero! I've turned in my exit survey, turned in my keys (actually, they turned my pass card off already, which meant I had to pound furiously on the door this morning so I could get in), and said most of my goodbyes.

I cried about it last night.

I don't think I was sad... it was more of a huge rush of all types of emotions that just flooded me at once. It's hard to describe, but I'll try. First of all, this company has been a part of my life for much longer than the 8 years I've worked here. Yeah - Eight. Years. I'm 25. Eight years at one company when you're 25 is a huge deal. I started here when I was 17 and it's pretty much the only company I've ever worked for (unless you count the year I worked as a cashier for Goodwill. I try to block those memories from my mind. ugh...). But my mom, stepdad, aunt, and stepsister have also worked for the same company. My stepdad has worked here for 30+ years! (No, that's not how I got the job) So I've felt like I was part of the extended company family since I was a child.

I've come full circle here - ending in a cubicle that's not too far from where it all started. This journey has taken me from a co-op high school position that I used only because I wanted a job, to changing my college major from graphic design to finance, to working as a part time teller, mortgage sales assistant, and credit analyst, to being able to work in all areas of the state, and finally, back here in my hometown where it all started. It's funny to think that I wasn't even slightly interested in keeping this job after I left for college. Eight years later, I'm finally saying goodbye.

I think the emotions I'm feeling are excitement, anxiety, nostalgia, fear, and ok, maybe a little bit of sadness. I told Josh last night that as much as I dislike my job, I'm going to miss coming to work every day. I can honestly say that I love the people I work with and those who have already moved on to bigger and better things. I would never have lasted this long in a career I'm not meant to be in if I hated my coworkers. Sure, I have my moments when I want to strangle some of them, but overall I have met some amazing people here. I'm still friends with people I worked with years ago in a different city and position, and I'm even friends with customers I met when I was a teller. One of my very best friends is someone who I worked with face-to-face for only 6 months over 2 years ago, and I have a very dear friend/former coworker who is 30+ years older than me. It's so strange how you never know how the smallest interaction with someone will affect your life and grow into so much more.

So, this is officially my last post as a Banker By Day... I'm now a grad student and soon-to-be Teacher Assistant. I'm excited, nervous, scared... but I'm ready.

I Feel the Earth Move...

2010-06-23T14:32:00.000-04:00

So, about half an hour ago, I was sitting here in my cubicle, counting down the days until I'm done, and trying to avoid work as much as possible. Then, I thought I felt our building move... It was really strange. It almost felt like a bad dizzy spell, or like someone on the floor above me was moving some heavy stuff around. However, there isn't a floor above me. Hmmmm, odd.

So, I asked if anyone else felt it. Nope. And they pretty much looked at me like I was crazy. I chalked it up to a temporary dizzy spell, or the onset of vertigo, or my mind going crazy on me.

Then one of my coworkers got a call from her daughter, who works in Grand Rapids, who also felt it. And then people started getting texts from other people who felt it (not me though, I'm still the crazy one here).

It turns out, there was a 5.5 earthquake in Quebec and it was felt in Grand Rapids (and little ole Ionia, too, apparently)! I'm not crazy, dizzy, or losing my mind (at least not according to this episode).

Whew... I survived my first earthquake. It was touch-and-go there for a moment.

How much awkward can you pack into 20 minutes?

2010-06-22T10:52:00.000-04:00

So yesterday I decide to hit up the mall after work. I am in desperate need of shorts for our upcoming mini-vacay to Cedar Point (America's Roller Coast... yay!) so I thought I could run into the mall super quick-like, buy a pair or two, and then jet on back home.

Of course, I see that Victoria's Secret still has their Semi-Annual Sale going on... so, naturally, because I'm a girl who can't resist a sale, I "quickly" pop in to peruse the pink table-bins. I make my way over to the large-chested section and find that they have the VS version of Spanx on sale! Super score for me and my upcoming date with a bridesmaid's dress! So, after much deliberation (like, seriously, about 15 minutes longer than it should have taken me to make a selection), I decide on the pair that will hopefully make it look like the calorie-laden bagels I inhale 2-3 times a week never existed.

And then I see the lady who usually makes said bagels 2-3 times a week for me.

Now, let me reiterate how unlikely it is for me to see people I know from my hometown when I'm at the mall in Grand Rapids. I live about 45 minutes away from the mall, and most people from my hometown only venture to the bigger cities on the weekends. This was a Monday night, so I figured I wouldn't see a single familiar face. Wrong.

And she recognized me and my bagel-induced need for some Spanx.

We had a friendly chat, and I found out that she no longer works at my favorite coffee/bagel place. So maybe I can show my face around there now that nobody who makes my food knows I'm trying to cover up the evidence... And I thought that would be the last of my awkward encounters.

Nope.

As I'm checking out, I see one of the interns I work with. Now, he works in a town that's an additional 45 minutes away from Grand Rapids, so even though I talk to him on the phone when he's working, I haven't actually seen him since my birthday, over a month ago. (Actually, he came out to lunch with us yesterday, so that was the first time since my birthday that I had seen him... but whatever, it's practically the same thing.)

Here I am, checking out with my pseudo-spanx approximately 4 hours after he watched me wolf down some sushi. Awesome. At least I wasn't holding up a gigantic ugly bra*... because that would have been awkward.

*PS: Can I just vent for 3 seconds about how Victoria's Secret never has cute bras on sale in my size? Seriously, I'm sick of all of the D and DDs being made in white, nude, and black. Blah, gross, boring. Spice it up a little bit! And don't charge me extra because my boobs are bigger. I realize it might use a little more fabric, but doesn't it average out when you make the A sizes?

Birthdays and holidays and cakes, oh my!

2010-06-21T16:03:00.000-04:00

First off, I have to wish Josh's sister, Ashley, a happy 21st birthday!!!

yay

Unfortunately, Josh and I aren't going to be able to make it up to Central Michigan University to celebrate with Ashley and all of her friends. However, we are all going on a weekend trip to Cedar Point Friday, courtesy of Josh's parents (thanks!!), so I'm sure we'll have a drink or two to celebrate in Sandusky!

Since yesterday was Father's Day, Josh and I hosted a small get together with my dad, stepmom, sister, and brother. Friday was my stepmom's birthday, so we thought we'd grill some steaks and enjoy our often overlooked picnic table. Lunch was really good! Josh is an amazing steak griller and seasoner, and he knocked it out of the park yesterday, grilling and seasoning his way through a migraine headache! Poor thing - I felt so bad for him, especially because my family has a tendency to get a little... shall we say... ridiculously loud... when we all get together. For dessert we had angel food cake with ice cream, fresh strawberries, pineapple, and whipped cream for a Create-Your-Own whatever you want for dessert. Mmmm... I love angel food cake with fresh strawberries.

After my family left, Josh and I went to his parents' house to celebrate Father's Day, his sister's birthday, and welcome his parents back from their Alaskan cruise vacation (!!!). We got to have birthday cake (YUM) and Cookies n Cream ice cream (ok, it's been years since I've had a bowl of Cookies n Cream, and I have no idea why I've stayed away... it's probably my favorite! It definitely hit the spot yesterday afternoon).

Then, since this day marks the beginning of the end for me, in a completely amazingly wonderful way of course, I had a sushi lunch with some of my Grand Rapids coworkers at a brand new place that opened up a few months ago. Delicious - although it's no Red Ginger. Unbeknownst to me, today was also my coworker's birthday, so his wife brought in a Cheesecake Named Desire ice cream cake from Coldstone. mmmm... Raspberries and cheesecake ice cream layered with graham crackers and yellow cake. Soooo good.

So that means I've had three different pieces of cake with various amounts of ice cream over the last 24 hours. Plus, my sister made a Snicker-Apple salad yesterday.... which means my sweet tooth has been very, very happy :)

How was everyone's weekend?

Whirlwind Weekend - Part 4

2010-06-20T20:22:00.000-04:00

Brys Estate was the third winery of our tour and I thought it was beautiful! The outside was really understated; it was next to a farm. Then there was the inside... holy wine bar! It was so pretty - there's a pic below. This was the only winery that charged us to taste any wine, but then they credited that $3 back when we purchased our bottles. At this point, Lindsey wasn't feeling that well, but she quickly snapped out of it! Our pourer was really nice and knowledgeable, and I made quite a delicious purchase of Pinot Grigio!

Jenna and I outside of the tasting room

Isn't the outside so pretty? It looks so quaint.

But the inside is beautiful! It really surprised me that something this pretty was inside of such a sort of plain building!

Linds and I inside waiting for the tasting to start!

This was the last winery Jenna and I needed to complete our tour of every winery on the peninsula! But that didn't stop us that day! We continued on and visited the wineries from last year... Coming up next - the rest of the wineries, the food, and more fun!

Friday Question

2010-06-18T13:52:00.000-04:00

Almost every Friday my boss poses a "Friday Question" to the credit analysts in our department and throughout the state, along with a few other people he throws in for good measure. The questions are usually a little off the wall, but they make us think, and they allow us to get to know one another (at least, we get to know those who choose to participate. There are quite a few stick in the mud boring people who stay silent every week). Since I'm not creative enough to put these type of questions together, I think I'm going to post my boss's Friday Question on my blog each week, in hopes that it will make my readers respond, think, and hopefully allow me to get to know some of you a little better!

Each week's question has a theme. Sometimes it's blatantly obvious, other times it's obscure. Bonus points if you can figure out the theme each week (points really mean nothing, just so you know, but it's always fun to get bonus points, right?)

Here's this week's question:
Johnny Cash, as a “gift” to his daughter one day, gave her a list of the essential 100 country songs. What is the essential list you would want to pass down to your child? As an side, Rosanne took the list and created a pretty cool cover album of classic old country songs.

Sometimes they’re hokey, and sometimes they’re pretty cool; and every once in a while there is a compilation or duet of unlikely partners that really hits the mark. The Highwaymen – Cool, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder – a little hokey. Under Pressure was cool by Bowie and Queen and also by The Cure and My Chemical Romance. What would be your dream compilation or duet?

Clarence Thomas, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Player

(Oh- just to explain, usually the last part of the question is three people, places, events, etc... there's no 'right' way to answer the last one, just give your thoughts or preference, with reason of course!)

So, what do you think? I'm really excited to see who answers and what your answers are!

Whirlwind Weekend Recaps: Part 3

2010-06-18T09:33:00.001-04:00

Yeah... it's been awhile since I've been able to get some pics from Memorial Day up, but here are a few more! The second winery we went to was Chateau Chantal (and I wish I could post a bajillion more links to their wine, but for whatever reason, my place of employment has blocked their website. If someone could explain this to me I would be much obliged) and it was fantastic!!

This is the sign that greeted us in the parking lot... I thought it was funny.

Lindsey and Jenna at the winery sign. How amazing is that view behind them? I can't get enough of it

Amen to that!

We only bought 4 bottles, but they packaged them in a case! We felt like lushes when we walked out

The door to the winery part. Chateau Chantal also has a bed and breakfast-like hotel. This is where I want to stay next time. This winery definitely had an amazing view! It's situated up on a hill so you can see both the West Bay and East Bay from the parking lot. They're even expanding to make more room for me :)

Jenna and I in front of the sign

I bought their Celebration sparkling wine without even tasting it. And, don't hate me for this, but I kinda-sorta bought it because the label was really pretty. It's like a shimmery pink color and it just makes me want to pop the cork and enjoy some delicious bubbly.

The lady in charge of our tasting was from France! She had such an amazing knowledge of the wine and even helped my sister, who had never had any wine other than Arbor Mist, choose a wine she liked! Chateau Chantal was fantastic and I can't wait to visit again. I highly recommend this winery and hotel to anyone who is going to Traverse City.

Camping is exhausting...

2010-06-17T17:18:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day weekend, Diesel went on his first overnight camping trip. From the looks of him on the ride home, it was pretty tiring. Keep in mind, the ride home was less than 10 minutes long... At least he had his favorite sleeping pillow to conk out on!

Jumping on the Bandwagon... again

2010-06-15T16:03:00.000-04:00

This time it's the Emily Giffen bandwagon. Um, ok. Why am I just NOW reading my first of her novels? I find this to be a tad ridiculous on my part because a) I've seen her books at Barnes & Noble for years now and have not even attempted to pick one up, b) I've heard raving reviews of her books for a few years now and have not even attempted to pick one up, and c) I've read raving reviews of her books on various blogs and have not even attempted to pick one up. To sum it up, I'm pathetic.

I had no idea what I was missing, even though every time I've heard of Emily Giffen, it was in praise of her amazing books. I'll be honest, the reason I shyed away from her books was because I thought it was just going to be average, formulaic chick-lit, with static characters and a predictible plot. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but lately I've been trying to read some 'deeper' stuff (whatever that means). Last week, for whatever reason, I felt compelled to read one of her books.

Luckily for me, our library's lack of selection made my choice easy: Something Blue it was!

find it here

I'm not going to go into a detailed plot summary, but before you read this, just know that it also has a prequel. Had I done my homework, I would have realized that myself. Oh well... I don't think it's necessary to read the first book, Something Borrowed, to understand this book. I'm planning on reading Something Borrowed soon, but I'm not sure if I've ruined it for myself, having read Something Blue first (Opinions... anyone?).

Giffen is a great storyteller, and I didn't find her characters static at all. On the contrary, I actually loved this book because the characters are so relatable and flawed; it made them seem realistic. I highly recommend this book to anyone out there! Don't turn your nose up at it like I did - you'll be missing out on a great author.

I've got Something Borrowed on hold at the library, and I'm going to pick up Love the One You're With tonight. Add Emily Giffen to my ever-growing lists of obsessions!

Ok, yeah, I'm a total gleek and I'm OK with it.

2010-06-09T13:42:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I've confessed before about my love of Young Adult Literature. Normally, it's just because I want to know what's going on in the world of YA Lit so I can make recommendations to my future students. However, today I saw a YA Lit post on my google reader that I will be reading only for myself!

A Glee NOVEL that tells about life for the characters before the Glee Club.

I found this on Alea's blog, Pop Culture Junkie. On Wednesdays she posts books that will be coming out in the future and titles her posts "Waiting On Wednesdays." However, her taste is not limited to YA lit. She posts about all genres and has cool features like Lookalikes, where she compares two different books that have very similar looking covers, and Hardcover vs. Paperback, where she compares the covers of the same book. I've very much enjoyed her blog and found lots of good reads there, so take a minute and check it out if you're looking for some reading inspiration. (Plus, she's totally into Glee, too, so that makes her cool in my book)

While we're on the subject of Glee, can we just talk for a minute about the amazingness that was the finale last night? I felt like they tapped into my mind and asked me what songs I would like to hear. I loved every minute of it : ) I was watching in the bedroom, and Diesel was in there, too. I started singing and being my dorky self when a few of my favorite songs came on, and Diesel whined and sat in front of the closed door until I let him out. I think he thinks I'm crazy : )

Anyone else have thoughts about Glee, either the upcoming novel(s) or the finale? OH- and if you've never seen an episode, Fox is reairing them this summer on Thursday nights, so you MUST watch!

Pass-Along

2010-06-08T10:19:00.000-04:00

*gets on soapbox*

I don't do this a lot (or ever?) but when I saw Jenna's post on That Wife today, I felt compelled to post a link. Jenna, who bravely posts about controversial issues, took a stand today to persuade people to stop using the words 'retard' and 'gay' in a negative way. This means, no more saying, "That's so gay" or "that's so retarded" or any other form of using that word.

I stopped using these words in high school after having teachers explain why they are so hurtful. It's something I never considered, and I urge you to read Jenna's post because she explains it so much more eloquently than I could.

Also, she references last week's Glee episode, in which Kurt's dad (the AMAZING Mike O'Malley - seriously though, I love him in this show) comes down hard, and I mean HARD, on Finn for using the word 'fag/faggy' when describing the redecorating Kurt did. That scene was powerful, absolutely powerful. I applaud Glee writers for portraying such a great message in a way that didn't feel preachy.

I'll admit, I've slipped and used 'gay' or 'retard' when I shouldn't have, and I feel awful about it. But, I think that making a conscious effort to eliminate the use of these words is necessary, and is the first step. Please go read Jenna's post and let me (and her!) know what you think.

Ok, I'm stepping down from my soap box now...

Confessions/Obsessions - A Copycat Post

2010-06-07T16:37:00.000-04:00

Amanda recently posted a list of confessions and obsessions, and since Photobucket hates me and doesn't want me to share the rest of my winery pictures, I'm going to share a list of my confessions and obsessions!

Confession: I do Josh’s homework. Ok, not really, but I do type his papers for him. He writes much better when he can scrawl and cross out and draw arrows to unify his thoughts. I’m the lucky one who gets to decipher and put the pages in order… It saves so much time because he’s not the fastest typist. Plus, I can proofread at the same time, killing 2 birds with one stone. I’m pretty sure this isn’t cheating because it’s all his thoughts, I’m just the transcriber.... right? It's totally legit... right?

Obsession: Young Adult Literature – when I want a book to make me think, I always head to the YA blogs and then to that part of the library. Rarely predictable, sometimes haunting - where was this stuff when I was a kid? This weekend I read two books: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher and Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Andersen. Both were phenomenal, if a little dark.

Wintergirls chronicles the life of an anorexic teen who had just discovered that the girl who she made a 'skinny pact' with has committed suicide. It's an interesting look into the mind of someone facing such a disease. She tells how her goal weight is to be uner 100 lbs, then continues to 95lbs, then 90lbs, and so on. Anderson, who also wrote Speak and Catalyst, is known as quite a controversial author in the YA world due to the truthful nature of her books and their hard to stomach (wow, no pun intended) topics. I loved this book and I can't wait to see what she does next!

Thirteen Reasons Why is a truly unique book. It's a little morbid, so bear with me. The story is told over one night. The main character receives a package of audio tapes, sent from a girl from his school who recently committed suicide. The tapes tell the story of how various people contributed to the reason she killed herself - there are 13 people total, and the tapes make their way to each person. The book jumps between the voice of the main character, and the voice from the tapes. It's haunting to realize how small actions and words can have such a huge impact on the lives of others - often resulting in unintentional hurt. This book is powerful, even for an adult.

Confession: I hate reality TV. With the exception of Chopped, Project Runway, and Design Star, I hate all of the contrived, scripted, fakeness that comes about with reality TV (And I’m sure that the 3 I’ve listed here have elements of all of that crap too). I also hate watching anything with celebrities who will do anything for more time in the spotlight (Dancing with the Stars and Celebrity Apprentice, anyone?). I'm so completely over American Idol and I've never watched an episode of So You Think You Can Dance... I hate how these shows dominate TV! I like shows where people create things… I hate shows that people watch only for the fake drama. I once loved The Hills, but one day, realized that I was actually stressed out about Heidi/Spencer. So I quit watching. Cold Turkey. And I haven’t looked back.

(ok, I realize that I used the word 'hate' quite a bit in that paragraph. So sorry, I'm really not a raging maniac, especially when it comes to TV)

On the other hand, I love (nerd alert!!) the History Channel's miniseries America: The Story of US (it's over now, but I seriously was obsessed and have all of the episodes on the DVR still), Glee, The Big Bang Theory, reruns of Gilmore Girls, The Office, and Parenthood. Yes, I realize these are fake and scripted, too, (with the exception of the History Channel) but they're not pretending to be real!

Obsession: Phantom of the Opera

OMG to die for. Josh's parents got me a ticket for part of my birthday present, and yesterday was the day! Josh's mom, Adeline, and sister, Ashley, and I, had a delicious lunch at Mitchell's Fish Market before we headed to the Wharton Center in East Lansing to watch the play. It was phenomenal! Why had I never seen this before? I'm dying for the soundtrack because it's seriously amazing. I adore any type of live play, especially musicals, so this was the perfect gift. We have made tentative plans to go see Chicago and Mary Poppins when they come to the Wharton Center next season!

Confession: I’m addicted to shopping – actually, make that bargain shopping. I cannot pass by a store if they are having a sale. Case in point- although I need a new bra, I left VS without buying because they didn’t have any sales. Then, although I do not need any new clothes, I went into Ann Taylor Loft and purchased 4 tops and a skirt. For $43 dollars, total. The skirt was on final clearance for whatever reason for only $4.88. Yes, the decimal is in the right place. Four. Dollars. and. Change. Of course I can’t find a pic of it online…. I also got two tanks and two t-shirts that were BOGO 50% off. They're the perfect solid colors to coordinate with all of my jewelry (yes, I realize it's sad that I buy clothes to match my jewelry). Then I went to DSW for some new black shoes (because Diesel adores black shoes just as much as I do, although he loves eating, not wearing, my shoes) and scored my new faves, which I also could not find a picture of. Suffice it to say they are black slingback heels, with a peep toe and bow on the front! Adorable!

Obsession: Dowloading fonts. I absolutely love downloading new fonts! There are so many out there, and I love typography anyway, so to me, downloading fonts is like… duh… a fave. My favorite place to get fonts is DaFont (check out peach sundress, Ashley, Riesling, Delikatessen, and Honey Script for starters). I also like Kevin and Amanda's site for lots of free fonts created from actual handwriting! Download a few and tell me what you think, or give me your favorites to check out!!

Ok, so that was kind of a long list.... Tell me, what are your confessions and obsessions at the moment?

Blogger is finally working again!

2010-06-07T15:55:00.000-04:00

How pathetic is it that I was freaking out because I couldn't post to my blog or leave comments for other people?! I think I'm officially addicted...

*testing out the new signature*

200!!

2010-06-05T09:28:00.000-04:00

Well... here it is! The 200th post and the debut of the new blog! (If I was more computer savvy I would have kept the new look under wraps and then did a big debut... but you got it a little bit at a time. It should be finished now!)

Personally, I'm loving the new look, although I may be a little biased : )

If you're wondering where I got my page elements, here ya go:
The background and majority of the look came from A Blog to Brag About, and I used her Savvy Student template with dark hair and green eyes (for obvious reasons...). She also has a really adorable Domestic Diva and Baking Beauty template that would look adorable on a few blogs I know...
The font for the blog posts and side bar came from Kevin and Amanda's Fonts for Peas. It's Pea Faith and I worked my butt off to get it to work! I've actually learned a little bit about HTML coding which has helped me a lot because I've made little tweaks to my template and layout through HTML instead of blogger.
The main font for the header also came from Fonts for Peas. It's Pea Smashtastic in a Hurry (what a great name!). The smaller font ('from the' and 'of') is Sketch Block, which I downloaded from DaFont. I combined the two in Photoshop and made an image that I then uploaded into blogger.

It was quite a time consuming process, especially because it was also a learning process at the same time!

With the new look comes a new name for my blog. I've decided that Musings from the Middle of Nowhere really fits the 'direction' in which my blog is headed. I toyed with naming it something about teaching, or reading, or blogging... but in actuality, this is a lifestyle blog. I pretty much blog about anything and everything, from trips, to family, to random thoughts I'm having, and since I'm living about as far removed from a big city as a girl can get, Musings from the Middle of Nowhere just seemed to fit!

If it's not already obvious, I'm pretty excited about my new design and the new chapter of my life that's unfolding in a few short weeks!! I would love for all of you to join me on my journey as I transition from a banker to a teacher, and chronicle all the happenings of my life in a little town in the middle of the mitten!

Approaching...

2010-06-04T11:26:00.001-04:00

...200 posts! Holy crap.

In celebration of my 200th post (which is the post after this one), I'll be changing the blog - a lot! You'll probably notice some new changes right now, but I've got some more tweaks in store!

One of the biggest tweaks will be a name change. Since I'm going to be leaving the banking industry in a quickly approaching 21 days, I need a new name! I'm no longer going to be a Banker by Day...

So- PLEASE leave some idea of what I can call myself now. A few things to inspire you:

I'm going to be a high school English teacher
I like to read
I like to blog (duh)
My blog is random (which you already know if you've read the last three entries)
I'm a budding wine enthusiast

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! (I know I asked before, but I had a rather lackluster response... so HELP!)

Whirlwind Weekend Recaps: Part 2

2010-06-04T09:08:00.001-04:00

...in which I discuss 2 Lads winery

Last year Jenna and I drove out to 2 Lads winery just in time for their last hour of business... or so we thought. They actually closed at least an hour earlier than what their posted hours stated. We were super sad because 2 Lads is by far the most modern and cool looking out of all of the wineries on the peninsula.

This year, it was our first stop! It happens to be the northern-most winery, so it was a logical choice to start here and work our way down the peninsula, stopping at wineries along the way!

The sign welcoming you to 2 Lads!

Nice long drive to the tasting room, which is situated up on a hill...

...where this beautiful view comes from!

Their tasting room has a beautiful view of the West Bay. It's all very modern and minimalistic, with nice tables at which you can enjoy your wine.

Since they have such a limited production (7 wines compared to the 20+ at other wineries), they allow you 3 complimentary wine tastings of their choice. After that, you are free to pay to taste any other wines you like. I paired my 09 Pinot Grigio (on the right) with cheese and crackers and it was delicious! Jenna chose the sparkling 08 Pinot Grigio (I think...?) on the right

Jenna enjoying her sparkling wine

Linds and I inside the tasting room!

2 Lads is definitely different than all the other wineries on the peninsula. From their modern atmosphere to hand selected tastings, the vibe of 2 Lads stood out from all of the other wineries we visited. I loved it!

Pardon the Interruption...

2010-06-03T14:22:00.000-04:00

...of my winery weekend recaps.

Yesterday I went to an all day meeting about PI. If you've never heard of PI, it stands for Predictive Index, and it's a way to measure the way a person makes decisions, is motivated, processes information, etc... Our company requires all employees to take the PI survey in order to gain a little information about how to best work with that person. Until yesterday, these reports were kept secretively hidden because nobody knew how to interpret the results. At the meeting yesterday, I was given a copy of my PI results, along with indices for all of the lenders I work with. It was SO MUCH FUN to figure out what drives and motivates me, and to understand why I get along with certain lenders as opposed to others.

So, what did I find out:
I am a Lowest A, High B, Highest, C, and High D.

It looks a little bit like this

The B and D drives are right on my "norm" line, but tend to pull to the high side

What does that mean? (this is the super quick summary version)
Lowest A: I'm team oriented, accommodatng to others, and minimize conflict

High B: I need external responses to my ideas and talking, I need a heads up on things, and I verbalize ideas. This means that I need a lot of people interaction, positive encouragement, and personal recognition in order to be motivated (I sound a little high maintenance...)

Highest C: I am sequential, focused, patient, and like minimal pressure (I found this interesting since I'm a huge procrastinator and tend to take on multiple tasks at once. But I did just begin making lists and feel much more calm when I complete the list in order... I took this survey in 2004 and it's telling me things I just realized about myself within the last year!) I am motivated by knowing the 'plan' and the steps that need to be taken to complete the plan. I am also motivated by affiliation, which means that I work best when people acknowledge me as a person. This is SO true and explains why I get along with lenders who chat with me better than the ones who just slap shit on my desk for me to do!

High D: I like details and proof, structure, and I'm 'black and white' when it comes to rules. While I'm not very detail-oriented in my own work, I do like having all the details about certain things I'm working on. I need clear expectations of work, peformance feedback, and fairness across the board to motivate me.

I thought this meeting was SO informative and fun - I'm even having Josh take it so we can compare results and hopefully understand each other better!

Whirlwind Weekend Recaps: Part 1

2010-06-01T15:46:00.000-04:00

Ok, so you saw a few teasers from my weekend... Well, thanks to Jenna and the wonders of Photobucket (which is super slow at uploading photos and continues to freeze Internet Explorer here at work [possibly because I'm still working from IE6(!!!) because we're a little behind the times here in Podunkville, USA]), I have the first of my recap posts! In this recap I will cover the ride up to Traverse City - which was almost as fun as the wine tastings!

One thing that Jenna and Lindsey did was help me document the trip in pictures. My camera's charger is a bit of a loose cannon and although my camera says it's fully charged, it rarely is. So, these two crazy girls stepped up to the plate and took lotsa pics for me to show all of you!

Oh, a bit of a side story: We had planned on leaving at 9:00am SHARP, which, for those of you who know my darling friend, Jenna, know that 9:00am SHARP usually means around 9:15 or 9:20... So, we decided that I would drive, and my sister met me at Josh's (our?) house while we waited for Jenna. At about 9:10 I texted Jenna to let her know that we were ready...(my nice way to say WhereTF are you?) To which she replied: I'm ready, too! Are you here?

cue the confused look on my face...

In all of the traumatic suspense from the day before, we neglected to set up plans on who was meeting where and at what time. Jenna thought I was picking her up, and I thought she was meeting us at my house! Oops! So... we got a bit of a delayed start after meeting at a gas station half way between our houses. However, that little turn of fate put us kinda on track to pass by Sozo Coffee... which is practically my home away from home. Mmmm delicious bagels made from scratch? Yes, please!. So... after a breakfast stop we were finally on our way!!

See our happy faces at the prospect of being on the road:

Me! The Driver (looking ever-so-cheesey)

My sister Lindsey, holding down the fort in the back seat

and Jenna, the self-portrait queen

On the way there and back, we treated ourselves to the hilarious Chelsea Handler, as she read her book (on CD) Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea

So funny, yet so inappropriate at the same time. It seemed like every time there was a lull in our conversation, Chelsea would be there, filling it with vulgarities. So much fun!

Next stop: Wine Country!

One more teaser...

2010-05-29T08:40:00.000-04:00

This was our view at dinner...

And I promise, I haven't Photoshopped it one bit! Beautiful : )

All Was Not Lost!

2010-05-28T18:46:00.000-04:00

Jenna left me a voicemail around 8:00 last night stating that she had just left work and was heading HOME! So here I sit, getting ready for our relaxing dinner at a yet to be determined restaurant, and leaving my lovely blog readers with a teaser pic of the weekend so far...

The weather in Northern Michigan has proven to be BEAUTIFUL! We ended up hitting all seven wineries this time, and I've purchased 6 bottles of wine and 2 dip mixes so far... I feel like I practiced a wealth of self control!

So, for now dear readers, I leave you with a few pictures... with many more to come!

How can you not fall in love with that beautiful Northern Michigan scenery?

Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone - hope you're having as much fun as we are : )

Just as intense as a season finale cliffhanger...

2010-05-27T16:21:00.000-04:00

...is my life at the moment.

This was intended to be a preview of the glorious weekend that is in store for me. However, earlier this afternoon I got an email from BFF Jenna with "DEEP BREATH" as the subject line. So, I took a deep breath, opened it, and read this:

I might have to work tomorrow.....

WHAT!!!

Tomorrow is the 2nd Annual Jenna & Ashley wine tasting trip to Traverse City! (Accompanied by my sister, Lindsey, this year). This has been planned for approximately 365 days, since the minute we got back into town last year, we vowed to replicate the trip this year. We have grand plans! Reservations have been made at Grand Beach Resort and plans have been made for ~~copious amounts~~ teeny tiny tastings of wine to be had!

So, for now, it's up in the air... cross your fingers with me! I'll be sure to report back with what happens because I'm sure you're all on pins and needles waiting with trepidation just like me. Ok, kidding, but still, I'll let you know what happens.

PS: I was going to post pics of all the fun times we had last year, but photobucket is being extremely difficult to work with, so this is all you get. Cue the Debbie Downer sad trombone music.

Vera Vera Everywhere, Part Deux - sorry so delayed!

2010-05-25T12:00:00.001-04:00

So last night I finally got a chance to upload all of my Vera Bradley pictures to the blog!! Only a month late, but who's counting, right?

As promised, here are pics from my Vera Bradley excursion!

We left promptly at 3:00am

Jenna looks way better at 3:00am than I do. Not fair

And here's what I came home with (minus my Peacock pajama pants and the Purple Punch hanging organizer, large cosmetic bag, and measuring tape that I got for my sister) (and yes, I did spread my black tablecloth that I use for my jewelry shows onto my couch for a faux photoshoot for my Vera stuff. Is that weird?)

Clockwise from top (only the items fully pictured, not the ones partially cut off): Organizer in Carnaby, Large Cosmetic Bag in Peacock, ID Zip case (or whatever its called) in Daisy Daisy, Unscented Candle in Hope Garden (for Carrie!), and Millie clutch

Close up of the candle I got Carrie!

Inside of my organizer - I take this to jewelry parties with me and I LOVE it! The left side is an accordion folder so I can store extra catalogs and order forms in it!

Clockwise from top left (again, only the fully pictured items): Lunch bag in Daisy Daisy, Tote in Daisy Daisy, Binder clips in Hope Garden, Purple Punch, Cupcakes Green, and Cupcakes Pink, and Curling Iron Case in Daisy Daisy.

These are adorable and have worked perfectly for keeping my various jewelry forms in order!

I had such a good time on this trip! Even though I'm not a die-hard Vera fan who needs everything she owns to have a Vera pattern, I like some of their patterns and styles and I'm looking forward to next year!!

Stay tuned for more birthday present pictures and a preview of where I'm headed on FRIDAY!

Is It Christmas Yet?

2010-05-20T12:48:00.004-04:00

No... I'm not looking forward to the snowy Christmas season, but since my birthday just passed, I think Christmas is the only reason why someone would gift me this gem I discovered yesterday:

NEED

Ok, the complete series for $45!? Seriously... Why did this have to come out the day AFTER my birthday! I absolutely adored this show when I was probably much to young to be watching it, so I definitely want it now. It's got all 65 episodes, plus both MTV movies (Is it Fall Yet? and Is it College Yet?) and some bonus stuff on 8 discs. This just jumped to the top of my useless-but-still-really-really-want-it wish list.

Anyone else remember/love Daria?

Something I Forgot to Share...

2010-05-19T21:46:00.000-04:00

I ordered these adorable address labels from vistaprint about a month ago. I don't think I ever showed you all! Please excuse the grainy picture and the spraypaint-for-privacy-purposes, but I had to paste it into paint so I could save it as an image...

I made little cartoon images of Josh, Diesel, and I right on the vistaprint site and shipped these to our house. They are so adorable! I got them for free, with $3 shipping. I know I can get free address labels just about anywhere, but I just fell in love with our little faces! And although Josh loves that his cartoon is wearing a red hat (which actually exists in real life in a much, much dirtier state), he sweetly asked me not to put these labels on anything we send to his friends. : )

Caps, Gowns, and... Hotdogs?

2010-05-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

My little sister walked across the stage at the Van Andel Arena on Saturday, May 1st. At the end of this little walk, she received her diploma for four years of hard work at Grand Valley State University, and now holds a bachelor's degree in psychology. I'm so proud! Here are a couple of pics from the day:

Standing in the sea of people waiting outside for the ceremony to start

Super blurry- but she's there! See the blur of pink on the one hat? She's exactly 2 people to the left...

And, as requested, we had a post-ceremony dinner at Yesterdog in East Grand Rapids. I absolutely pink puffy heart this place. I think it has something to do with the shredded pickles on each hot dog. YUM! It's delicious and old-school (as in no checks or debit cards accepted - cash only!) and an all around fun place. I'm pretty sure I've talked about this place before. Plus, where else can 5 people eat for $20 other than Taco Bell?

Check out the graffiti-style writing/carving on the booth!

Lindsey being awkward under the Yesterdog sign. To her credit, I didn't give her a countdown for the pic, and it was starting to rain.

Attitude Check (kind of long and rambling...)

2010-05-18T11:15:00.000-04:00

I've mentioned before that I've now become an independent distributor for a direct sales jewelry company (I'm still a little unsure what their internet policy is and how to interpret it, so I apologize if this comes across a little vague). Up until last night I had a semi-skeptical attitude towards my new role. Honestly, I was a little embarrassed to tell people that I'm going to go into people's houses to hock my jewelry to them. But last night I had an attitude check - a much needed one, at that. I've decided I need to have a more positive outlook on my jewelry business.

I think my skepticism stemmed from the fact that I was afraid I wouldn't be any good. My mindset was that if I was sarcastic and snarky when I talked about my business, and I fail, it's not as hard to bear. Truth be told, I'm still afraid I won't be any good, but I'm not doing myself any favors by defeating myself before I even start. From now on I'm trying to have a vastly different, more positive attitude about what I'm doing.

Last night I had a new jeweler orientation and I left feeling SO encouraged. My biggest weakness is asking people if they want to have parties. I'm SO afraid of being that-pushy-jewelry-lady-who-people-avoid-and-hate that I didn't ask anyone if they want to have parties. My trainer pointed out that not only is it hurting my business, it's unfair to the guests at the party. Yes, I benefit when someone holds a party, but so does the hostess. Our Hostess Plan is AMAZING! The amount of free and discounted jewelry is unbelievable, and holding a party is so simple, that I really should be sharing it with everyone (in a non-threatening, non-pushy way).

For example, my aunt held a party last week that was below average in sales. To be exact, she had $338 in sales, when an average party is between $400 and $500. However, she was surprised at how much jewelry she received as hostess! First, she received 30% of her sales in free jewelry, so $101. Then, she earned 3 out of the 4 hostess bonuses, which are $25 in free jewelry each. So that brought her free jewelry total to $176. She also earned 6 half-off items because her party was over $300 in sales. She chose to purchase four items half off, which totaled roughly $70. The $70 that she spent was added back to her sales total, and she was given an additional 30% in free jewelry from the $70, so another $21, bringing the grand total to $197 FREE! When all was said and done, after tax and shipping, she paid about $96, and received over $340 in free jewelry, which was 10 pieces. And that was for a BELOW AVERAGE party! She was surprised, and honestly, so was I. It just goes to show that not every party has to rake in tons of sales for it to be beneficial to the hostess and to me.

I didn't mean for this to sound like a sales pitch, but I guess it kind of does. My apologies. I guess I just wanted to share my newfound enthusiasm for my new business development. I would LOVE to do a party with you and help you get lots of free jewlery for yourself or as gifts for others, so please contact me if this is something you'd like! I promise not to go psycho on you - but I'm definitely open to bringing/mailing you a catalog and chatting : )

I think I'm permitted to post pictures, so keep an eye out for some pics of my favorite pieces once I figure out a way to get them uploaded!

Survey Fun! (AKA I don't have new pictures uploaded yet, so this is a cop-out)

2010-05-14T15:47:00.000-04:00

Melissa over at Duoly Noted posted this on Tuesday, and since I (still) haven't been able to get my pictures uploaded, I figured this Q&A fit in perfectly to close out the week! I won't tag anyone, but PLEASE feel free to fill this out on your own blog and post a link in my comments : )

1) Who is your style icon?
Well, I don't really have someone who I model my style after, but I always love how Reese Witherspoon looks. Completely put together and fun.

Source

And I read this for daily fashion inspiration. If I could completely copy anyone's style, it would be Kate's!

2) What is your favorite Socialite Lit book?

Source

I don't know if it qualifies as Socialite Lit, but I LOVE the Shopaholic series! Each one is full of fun and lots of designer labels. It would only be better if there were pictures of the purchases, but the version in my mind does just fine :)

3) Favorite party theme?
I love all things 80s, so if I have an excuse to rat my hair and rip the collar out of a sweatshirt, I'm a happy girl. Plus, who doesn't love legwarmers and the Bangles (both the bracelets and the band)?

4) Go-to Halloween costume?
See Above... I've defaulted to the 80s costume on more than one occasion. However, I had a lot of fun when I draped some silky white satin sheets around my body and covered myself in gold glitter as a Greek Goddess.

5) Extravagance you can't live without?
Victoria's Secret underthings. I refuse to buy bras or underwear anywhere else. Sorry to be snobbish, VS has never let me down. They're not as cheap as some stores, but I think the quality is far superior. I've got a decent pair of twins (sorry, that's probably TMI as well as extremely cheeeesy) and I've never been let down by anything that comes in a Pink bag.

6) Living person you admire?
This was a tough one for me... I'm not sure who I admire, really. Over the past month or so, I've read more about Harper Lee and I find her a fascinating person. She shyed away from the stream of recognition that came her way after she published To Kill A Mockingird when most people would milk it for all it's worth.

7) Greatest fear?
Well, this is a little personal, but I would have to say that divorce is my greatest fear. I'm a product of a broken marriage and I would never want to put anyone through that hell or live through it again.

8) Trait you deplore in yourself?
There are two that I am actively trying to rid myself of: Procrastination and Interrupting people. The first one is self explanatory. I always wait until the last minute to do things and it's kicked my ass on multiple occasions. The second one is horrible. I often find myself interrupting people in conversations because I'm so excited about something they've said or feel like I need to interject my thoughts. It's really a horrible habit and I'm trying SO hard to have more self-control!

9) Which talent would you most like to have?
Since I've developed a love of Glee, I wish I could sing half as good as Rachel Berry/Lea Michelle. Seriously, if you don't watch Glee, at least YouTube some of her songs. Her voice is A-Mazing. I also wish I could draw/paint/photograph... anything artistic.

10) Greatest achievement?
I have no idea... I used to be pretty proud of the fact that I finished college on a full ride scholarship in 3 and a half years, but all that got me was a career I'm now leaving. So... I guess I'm proud of myself for going back and getting my teacher certification. I'm almost there! Less than a year to go : )

Random Ramblings

2010-05-13T10:21:00.000-04:00

Just a few things on my mind today:

I got my teacher assisting/student teaching placement on Monday! It was an awesome birthday present, especially because the school I'll be in was my very first choice. It's close to home but still big enough that I think I'll gain a lot of really valuable experience. For privacy reasons I won't disclose it on the blog, but for those of you who know my high school, suffice it to say that it's one of our biggest sports rivals. I'm meeting with my mentor teacher today, and I've heard wonderful things about her. I'm so excited for this next part of my life to start!
How did I live without DVR? And for that matter, how did I live without Glee in my life for it's first season? My darling Jenna got me the first 13 epidodes, "The Road to Sectionals" for my fellow Gleeks, and I've been loving every minute that I've been able to catch up on what I was missing. I think I got Josh's sister hooked, too, because we watched 4 episodes together Tuesday night. So fun!
I'm getting a little nervous about the whole jewelry business... I had an amazing party last night, but no future bookings. I'm really not good about pushing people to have a party - I don't want to come across as desperate, crazy, pushy, etc... and damage my reputation. Any ideas on how I can ask people to have a party but not come across like a total psycho?
I thought I would have more time on my hands once school was over, but that has proven not to be the case. Hopefully this weekend I'll have time to clean out the spare bedroom, bathroom cabinets, and kitchen cupboards. Maybe even move some of my stuff in from the garage?? A girl can dream, right?
I just read Capote in Kansas by Kim Powers and it was a let down. I bought it off Barnes & Noble's bargain shelf, which is always kind of iffy, but this really sucked. To Kill A Mockingbird is one of my favorite books, and Harper Lee has always intrigued me, but I felt like Powers took a lot of liberties with the characters, blending real people with his idealized version of them. It was boring and anticlimactic and I wish I would have saved my $4.95 for something better.

What's on your mind today?

Early Birthday Party

2010-05-10T16:21:00.001-04:00

On May 6th, a group of 11 joined me at The BOB in Grand Rapids. If you've never been, The BOB (which stands for Big Old Building, and it is just that) is a TON of fun. There are 5 levels with bars, lounge areas, full restaurants, and a comedy club. On Thursdays, their comedy club is only $5 a ticket, with $5 pitchers of beer and happy hour specials afterward. The 12 of us gathered at Dr. Grins and had a great time, as you will see below. (I didn't take pics of any of the comedians, because, let's face it, I would have been completely ridiculed)

Me with Josh's sister, Ashley (yes, two Ashleys. What could be better!?)

My cousin Stephanie and my sister Lindsey

Lindsey, sporting her Purple Punch tape measure (apparently a must have for a comedy show)

Jenna (looking lovely in her Premier Jewelry!) and myself

My Millie clutch and Jenna's Blue Rhapsody Holiday Tote

My banker friends and their girlfriends! From left: Caitlin and Matt, Craig the intern and Karen. Caitlin did me a huge favor and picked up all the tickets early, plus she reserved us a table! I was SO glad she did that - it helped out so much :) I was glad that Craig and Karen came out. Craig just started working as an intern for us about 6 weeks ago and he's proven to be a lot of fun. He fits in well with our work crowd, and his girlfriend, Karen, is so nice!

Josh and I at the end of the night... please excuse the ~~drunk~~ sleepy look in my eyes

And as an added bonus, I got birthday presents! I wasn't expecting these at all, so it made the night even better.

From Brandon and Jenna: A new picture frame that I'm thinking will make its way into the bathroom, plastic wine glasses for outside (or, as Brandon said, so I don't break them if I happen to fall), and a wine toy for Diesel so he can be a wino too!

From Jenna L: The first season of Glee wrapped in beautiful Blue Rhapsody Vera paper!

I love my friends! (and I still love those of you who weren't able to make it out to celebrate!)

Quarter-Century

2010-05-10T10:13:00.000-04:00

Well... today is the day I become a quarter of a century old. I have now reached the age that I thought was "like, so totally old" when I was younger (and stupider). Later today I'll post some pics from my birthday get together last Thursday. It was a TON of fun!

Today, I took the day off of work so I could do adult things. I'm having breakfast at my favorite coffee shop, Sozo, in Ionia. Then, I'm going to the beloved Secretary of State to get a new driver's license (and new picture, which will be extra lovely since I woke up with a cold sore on my lip.) and change my address. My sister is joining me for some antiquing afterward. Finally, I get to hang out at home for 5 hours while I wait for our new TV (and DVR!!!) to be installed. My day will wrap up at Josh's parents' house where we will celebrate Josh's dad's and my birthday. We have the same birthday - how coincidental is that!?

I'm super excited to just relax and get some stuff done today : ) I've already been blessed by countless texts and facebook posts wishing me a happy birthday, and so far, it's been just that!

I'll let you in on a little secret...

2010-05-09T15:58:00.001-04:00

I'm a Pioneer Woman freak. As in, I'm obsessed with every little thing she has to say, and enter to win her contests even though I'm one out of like 40,000 (not exaggerating) and I'll never win. I also just discovered her about 3 months ago, so I'm about 4 years behind....

One of the things that I've picked up from her site is these Actions that she's created for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. (This is my little post-processing secret mentioned earlier) I've downloaded these for my computer and I have to admit that I've ~~wasted~~ spent countless hours editing and "actioning" my photos. I LOVE it. I love combining multiple actions and then changing saturations and hues. (Confession: I did have a computer graphic design class in my first year of college the first time through. However, that was a long time ago and I'm pretty sure that you don't need any experience in Photoshop to run these actions.) I wish I could remember the combination of actions I used for these pics, but I don't. Sorry :(

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

If you're a photography junkie like me, I highly recommend Photoshop if you can afford it. I received Photoshop Elements as a gift a few years ago and I. Love. It. All these were modified in Photoshop Elements. The super expensive version is definitely not a necessity; you can produce amazing quality pictures with the cheaper Elements version.

Check out PW's Actions:
Photoshop
Photoshop Elements

*Note: Blogger is giving me HELL right now, so if these don't look properly formatted, that would be why!

One year down, a lifetime to go :)

2010-05-09T06:52:00.001-04:00

Josh and I celebrated our first dating anniversary on April 30th. We decided not to buy gifts because we want to go away somewhere nice for a night, eventually, when our schedules are a little less full. So, I thought I was being nice with picking up a card, until I stopped by the farm to give said card to Josh. He totally one-upped me. He was waiting with this gorgeous basket of flowers! Now, I've said before that I'm not a big fan of flowers, which Josh was well aware of. He even said, "I know they're flowers, but at least they're not roses!" These flowers are so pretty - I love the colors of the spring arrangement. I decided to follow in Carrie's footsteps and take a few artsy pics:

Not artsy, but I wanted to show the full basket!

(I'll share my post-processing secret later - it's a good one, I promise :) )

I'm so glad to be with Josh. Not to get all mushy, but he's honestly the best thing that's happened to me. I love (almost) every minute I spend with him and I'm looking forward to a lot of wonderful things in our future!

Bathroom Pics (finally)

2010-05-08T18:14:00.000-04:00

The weekend of April 10th was spent finishing our bathroom renovations (for Josh) and writing papers (for me). I felt really bad that I couldn't help out with any of the work, but it seemed like Josh and his dad had it under control, so I begrudgingly set up shop on the couch and hammered out a few papers. Click for before pictures.

And the after pictures:

I am in love with our shower curtain! I was a little worried that it would be too "theme-y" but I think it's working out quite nicely.

We were planning on using a pedestal sink that my grandpa gave us, but after Josh tore out the old vanity, he realized that the existing plumbing wasn't going to work. (This, combined with the stress from the end of semester assignments, caused me to have a bit of an emotionial break-down. Then I put on my big girl pants and got over it... pretty much.) We ended up making a trip to Lowe's and purchasing a new vanity. I think it looks great, plus I have much more room for my hair stuff and make-up when I'm getting ready than I would have had on the pedestal sink.

Old flooring on top, new flooring on bottom. A clear improvement.

I LOVE our paint colors. I think they're neutral enough that we can change out the accessories easily, but it's still modern and has a nice non-feminine atmosphere.

Oh, I'm in love with these sconces, also, from Lowe's. The mirror is just the old mirror + a new coat of spray paint. I was amazed at how much that paint improved the look of the frame!

I'm so ready to get our accessories hung up! I'm still looking for the perfect mat and frame for some artwork I picked up, sifting through pics on my computer to frame, and looking for the perfect tan or white pillar candles for my holder.

It was a stressful process, but I'm so happy with the results!

Not Having Internet at Home SUCKS!

2010-05-06T11:59:00.000-04:00

So yeah, I've got like 24 blog posts in the works, all in various forms of completion. Where are they, you ask? On my laptop. In Microsoft WORD. Why, you ask? Because there's no other way for me to write them. My hope is that I can type them up at home and then copy/paste into Blogger when I have an internet connection. So far, no internet connection. Fail. (Also, I've been sick this week so I haven't ventured out of the house that much to find an internet connection.)

On the plus side, we are getting TV!! Josh and I decided we are completely fed up with our digital converter box and have taken the plunge to get satellite TV. I'm beyond excited! We got a really good deal: $30 (after taxes and fees) for 2 rooms, both with DVRs. YES- I'm finally going to have one of those new-fangled DVR thingies : ) And, the best thing - it's getting installed on my birthday! Happy birthday to ME!!!

On a more serious note, I absolutely could not let the week pass without saying a small tribute to Ernie Harwell, who was the voice of the Detroit Tigers until his retirement in 2002. He lost his battle to cancer on Tuesday. To me, his voice is unmistakable - hearing him speak reminds me of overhearing the Tigers games on my stepdad's radio which usually sat on the front porch as he did yard work or drank a beer as the sun set. He is truly one of Michigan's gems, and he will be missed.

Source

Vera Vera Everywhere!

2010-04-30T09:28:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Jenna and I, along with 8 other people, embarked on a journey to Fort Wayne, Indiana to score us some discounted Vera Bradley stuff! It was a blast! The 2.5 hour drive flew by, and even though we got up at 2:00 am, none of us slept on the way down. After a quick stop at Panera we were on our way to the sale!

I'll post pictures of what I bought, but not until later this weekend. My sister graduates tomorrow and I picked up a few graduation presents for her, so I don't want to spoil the surprise :)

Here's a teaser of what I got for myself:

The AML bag - I thought the bag was adorable, especially with the big fat patent leather bow, but then I realized the name is also my initials- SOLD!

I also scored a lot of Daisy Daisy, which is my favorite print and was retired in May last year. I'm SO glad that I could find just about everything I wanted : ) I also have a sneaking suspicion that Josh and Jenna are in cahoots against me - there was a lot of secretive texting and discussion! But I have a feeling I'll have to wait until May 10th (my birthday) to see what it was all about : )

Unfortunately, I've also come down with a horrible head cold. Josh has had it for about a week, so I guess my time has come. I'm just glad my body was able to fight it off until I was done with school and Vera! I'm still in a little bit of a Nyquil induced stupor. I swear, that stuff just does not wear off. No matter how many hours I take it before I go to sleep, I never want to get out of bed the morning after.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

And I'm Back in the Game!

2010-04-28T09:48:00.000-04:00

(Bonus points to anyone who knows what movie I'm referring to in the title of this post. Linds, I know you know!)

Whew! Last night I took my final final of the semester and I'm now done with classes for Two. Full. Months. *Cue choir of angels singing* And ya know what? It feels damn good. Now, this post will be relatively short, but fear not dear readers, because I have a TON of posts coming up. I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget about me.

I was telling Josh last night that I needed to blog again. It was killing me to have to put my schoolwork first! I sincerely missed spouting off my every day ramblings to you all!! So, what all has happened in the last few months while I was on hiatus? (Ok, I've posted since some of this stuff happened, but not diligently, and not in detail)

We finished the bathroom!! *cue second choir of angels*
I started selling jewelry and I've got a bunch of parties in the works
I moved in with Josh : )
I wrote over 50 pages of papers and projects for various school assignments
I was officially accepted into the Graduate Teacher Certificate program at GVSU and I start June 28th
Diesel has grown like a weed!!!
Tiger baseball has started! Although my boy Justin is not off to a great start, I still love him and will watch him anyday : )

And what's to come?

Vera Bradley Outlet Sale in Fort Wayne, IN tomorrow! I'm super excited about this because I desperately want a large duffle bag as well as a weekender bag to cart all of my school stuff around
I get my placement for student teaching (hopefully within a week)
My birthday! (The big 2-5 with a comedy club celebration in the works)
I get to READ FOR FUN! (I even stocked up on a few books Monday while I was at Barnes & Noble... I'll tell you all about it!)
I have less than 40 working days left at my job!!! Which brings me to an all-important question that was posed to me by Melissa a while ago: What am I going to call my blog once I'm not a banker anymore? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I like the idea of keeping with the ____ by Day, or ____ by Night title I've already got going on.. but any thoughts would be appreciated!
Wine Tasting Memorial Day weekend with my darling Jenna! SO excited for this and it's still a month away!
One Year Anniversary with Josh on April 30th : ) Actually, I should post about our whole history because it's somewhat funny/coincidental
My sister graduates from GVSU with a bachelor's degree in Psychology and she's home for the summer. YAY!
Cedar Point weekend with Josh's family! I haven't been there since I graduated from high school (a full 7 years ago... wow. I'm old) and I'm really excited to go back!

So, stay tuned as I finally start posting again like a good little blogger. I've missed it and I've missed my readers (like the three of you who actually read) so I'm desperately looking forward to blogging again!

What is something you're looking forward to? And what would you rename my blog if you could?

Oh yeah, and YAY for spring!

Where Have I Been?

2010-04-06T08:30:00.000-04:00

Have you been asking yourself that question: Where is Ashley? No? Ok then... *awkward*

Anyways, there is a really super good explanation for why I've been MIA. Actually, there are a lot of really good explanations, but I won't bore you with all the details. Wait a minute... yeah, I probably will. Here's a snippet of what's been going on in my life (that has made it SO hard for me to post):

The bathroom isn't finished: Not that this really has anything to do with blog posts, but it is taking up a lot of time. The good news is that the tub, toilet, flooring, and painting are all finished. All that's left to do now is paint and put up the trim and doors. Easy Peasy.... right? Oh- and a BIG thank you to Josh's mom, Adeline, for her help with painting! We would be WAY behind if it wasn't for her help.

Oh, yeah, and I moved in with Josh last week. As in, I NOW LIVE WITH A BOY! Kind of strange to think about, but it feels pretty natural. I moved all of my stuff to his garage last week, hence why I couldn't post at all. I was exhausted from moving everything pretty much with no help from anyone except Josh when he got out of work. Not Fun.

The semester is winding down, actually, it's more like ramping up at the end. I've got no less than 40 pages to write by April 22nd for various papers and projects. I would list them all but 1) that's boring to you, and 2) it gives me a panic attack when I think about all I have to do. I'm getting a little sweaty just typing about it. Ahhhhh!!

Josh's birthday was Saturday and we had a little get-together at his (our?) house. It was pretty fun. We just grilled some food, drank, played a round of beer pong (which Josh and I LOST by only ONE cup!!), and hung out in the Man Cave after watching a devastating MSU loss. : ( I hit some major sales and got Josh some new clothes for his birthday, which included a pair of American Eagle jeans. This may seem minor, but for a guy who only will wear Levi's 527 dark wash low rise bootcut jeans (and owns no less than 6 pairs of the same identical jeans), getting him into a different pair was a small victory. Plus, they were on sale for about $25, so WIN!

We had a great Easter. Ya know, your typical head to grandma's house, deliver a baby calf, eat lunch, play dominoes... What? You didn't deliver a baby calf this Easter? Well, honestly, I didn't either, but Josh did. We took a walk around the farm only to discover that a cow had started giving birth. So, while I was all giddy with excitement, Josh went and got his dad, changed his shirt (not his pants, mind you, because naturally, delivering a calf while wearing brand spankin' new birthday jeans is completely normal), and helped the cow give birth. It's been probably a good 18 years since I watched a cow give birth. It's kind of gross but still really cool.

Oh, and on a side note: The Easter Bunny left an assortment of Ferrero candy in my basket (along with Almond Joy eggs. YUM!) which included the traditional Rocher along with some Rondnoir (all chocolate) and Garden (coconut and white chocolate). The Garden variety is so yummy! It was the first time I've tried it and, unfortunately for my waistline, I loved them. I encourage you to try one - so delicious!

So, I hope you can understand my lack of posting over the last two weeks. My internet availabiltyis sporadic at best, and coupled with the bathroom project and the end of the semester, I just haven't had time to blog. But I promise bathroom before and after pictures are forthcoming, along with some pictures of Diesel (because it's just been way too long since I've posted pictures of him!), and hopefully some more frequest posting.

Let There Be Light!

2010-03-24T09:35:00.000-04:00

Like Melissa, I made some lighting purchases over the weekend! However, my purchases were for the bathroom, not the bedroom, and sadly, no damask was involved. But, take a look at our upgrade! (all pictures from Lowes)

This isn't exactly what was in the bathroom, but it's pretty darn close.

I saw these beauties and thought they would look perfect in the bathroom. I love their shape and lines, plus they were less than $20 each! I've learned that's a complete steal when it comes to modern lighting.

I love them! I think they're going to look great next to the mirror with its newly painted black frame!

The bathroom is slowly taking shape. Last weekend, Josh, his dad, and his friend Brandon got the shower up and running, almost. There was a minor leak but Josh managed to fix it last night. I used the shower this morning and I have to recommend the curved shower rods! I feel like I can do jumping jacks and cartwheels in the shower! So. Much. Freaking. Room.

Josh's parents bought him an early birthday present, and I can safely say I've never been so excited for a power tool! Josh is now the proud owner of a table saw! This means that he can cut his own trim and make the new cabinet doors at his house instead of having to borrow someone else's saw. Plus, I have a feeling this table saw is going to come in handy as we redo the exterior of the house this summer.

I PROMISE I'll post some pictures soon of how the bathroom is progressing! It looks so big now that the vanity is ripped out. Hopefully, this weekend the pedestal sink will be installed and we'll be ready to get the painting done!

To Theme or Not to Theme...

2010-03-19T12:36:00.000-04:00

...that is the question.

I'm not really into 'themes' for decorating; I'm more of a style/color palette/overall 'feel' girl (which I guess, you could argue, is kind of a theme in and of itself, but whatev). Apple-ish stuff all over the kitchen? Rubber duckies in the bathroom? Not my cuppa tea. At all. So... why is it that I feel like Josh and I are falling into a theme for the newly renovated bathroom? And why am I ok with it?

Let me back up for a minute and just say: I love letters in all forms, and I love combining all different types. I was that girl who practiced her different types of handwriting, drew bubble letters, and pretty much tried to invent new, fun ways to write things.

When I saw this shower curtain at Target my heart rate increased and I fell a little bit in love:

Love this.

But... then I figured Josh would be less-than-thrilled about all of these letters and numbers, so I didn't even show him my little find. Much to my surprise, last week, as we were emailing pictures of potential shower curtains to one another, he said he was surprised I didn't send him a picture of this one. I told him that I loved it but didn't think he'd be all that impressed, to which he replied, I was wrong. WHAT? Yeah. Josh likes this shower curtain! Cue the surprised look on my face!

So I bought it. (for only $17 at that!! HA! Take that Bed Bath & Beyond!)

Now, all the decorating ideas that are filling my mind are letter/typography related, and I continue to scour etsy for more inspiration. Is this too theme-y? Or, do you have any cheap-but-stylish DIY projects? I'm already considering some fun with canvases and Modge Podge a la Michelle but I'm open to new ideas!

In Honor of St. Patrick's Day...

2010-03-17T16:35:00.000-04:00

... let me share with you two of my favorite Irish songs from my elementary days. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but my elementary school was a two-room rural school house that was built in the 1860s. It's tiny (but still up and running, and probably one of the best schools you could send your kids, in my not-biased-at-all opinion!). There were 6 kids in my grade, and about 40ish kids in the entire school in any given year. The grades were divided so that K-2 was in one room and 3-5 was in another. But, on Tuesdays, both rooms would come together, the little kids would pull a folding chair up to a big kid's desk, and we would have Music with Mrs. Ranger. Mrs. Ranger had songs for every season, holiday, and event you could think of. No, really. Wanna know when William Henry Harrison's birthday is? February 9th. How do I know? Because of a President's Day/Birthday song. Seriously. Sadly, Mrs. Ranger passed away last year, but her songs will never die. And that sounds corny, but really, my sister and I still remember way too many of her songs. So, I thought I would share some of them with you, enhanced with a little 'research' I've done on the 'net. (Amanda, feel free to interject anything I've forgotten!)

One of my favorites was Molly Malone. Wikipedia a statue of her that sits in Dublin. Apparently she was quite the buxom fishmonger! You can find the 2nd and 3rd verses of her song on Wikipedia, too.

In Dublin's fair city,

where the girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"

"Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh",
Crying "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh".

Then there was the Irish conductor McNamara and his band. I just learned via Wikipedia (I KNOW it's not that legit of a place to learn things, but this is pretty stupid basic stuff, so cut me some slack, ok?) that this song was actually written by the one and only Bing Crosby. Huh. Who knew.

This was like, the BEST, song because we got to use musical instruments. Not like flutes and clarinets (we were not that talented) but more like triangles, rhythm sticks, tambourines, and the occasional drum (that only the 5th graders got because it was such a big deal. But then when I was in 5th grade I didn't get a drum, I got a stupid triangle. But I'm not bitter about it at all, really.)

The lyrics on Wikipedia are a little different than I remember, but I've copied the ones that sound the most right (how's that for some good grammar?). The best part was the Tra La La's that came after each verse because everyone got to go crazy with their instrument.

My name is McNamara, I'm the Leader of the Band,
And tho' we're small in number we're the best in all the land.
Oh! I am the Conductor, and we often have to play
With all the best musicianers you hear about to-day.

Tra La La free for all...

Oh! the drums go bang, and the cymbals clang, and the horns they blaze away,
McCarthy pumps the old bazoon while I the pipes do play;
And, Hennessey Tennessey tootles the flute, and the music 'tis somethin' grand,
A credit to old Ireland is McNamara's Band!

Another Tra La La free for all

So... does anyone else out there in the blog world have fun, crazy songs for holidays? No? I'm the only one? Hmmm...

My First Purchase and Some Discoveries

2010-03-17T11:46:00.005-04:00

On etsy!

I just purchased this print that I've had my eye on for AGES! I talked to Josh and we think it's going to match the new bathroom perfectly, plus add a bit of color! (I didn't tell him it's lyrics from an Elton John song; I'm pretty sure that would be a deal breaker) I could not be more thrilled and I can't wait to have it matted and framed!

purchased from seller SuZanna Anna

Some things I discovered last weekend:

While at my friend Amanda's ~~going away~~ See You Later party, I found out that I have some blog-lurkers! I'm lookin' at you Terri and Adeline!! It's always fun to find out that someone reads your blog, but it's kind of terrifying at the same time...
Renovating a bathroom can be a very messy and wet job. Tubs can be crooked and pipe valves can break (drenching a bathroom in super powerful water spray). Oh - and puppies like to chew on drywall scraps which powders their little puppy noses with gypsum. How I WISH Josh had taken a picture when he discovered Diesel and the drywall scraps!
There is a whole other world of blogs out there that I have yet to immerself myself within - Craft Blogs! Thanks to Michelle at blissful musings, I have even more things to add to my list of Things I Want to Try but will Probably Never Have the Time or Patience to Do. But I'm still excited to read all of these new blogs I've found!

Oh- and Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all! Top O' the Mornin' to Ya!

source

Getting a little ahead of myself...

2010-03-16T11:20:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of attending GRunveiled - a wedding show for the modern bride. This fantastic event was the brainchild of Aletha from Pearls Events and Joy'l from Paper Nest Designs. Held in St. Cecelia Music Center in downtown Grand Rapids, the event was a feast for eyes, ears, and even lips! Check out the Pearls Events blog for some great photos of the night.

Ok, I know what you're all thinking: I don't even have a ring on that all important finger, yet! Well... I don't care! It's not like I was booking vendors and making wedding decisions - I merely wanted to get out and experience what I knew was going to be a fabulous event. And, truth be told, I was right! It was a delight to meet Aletha and chat with her for a few minutes; she is just as sweet and genuine in person as she is on her blog. The tablescape, invitation suite, and overall atmosphere she created in her booth were spectacular!

My sister, Lindsey, accompanied me, and we oooh-ed and ahhhh-ed over what seemed like every. single. vendor. From the bakeries to the photographers to the handmade accessories, each booth had something we liked. I was especially a fan of Crumbles Cupcakery's red velvet mini cupcake. Delish!! And Daisy at pixel & hank had me swooning over her goregous hair pins and shoe clips! I even made a little purchase - which I'll be blogging about shortly :)

Since I'm a wedding freak and purchased my tickets about a month in advance, I received a swag bag full of goodies from the vendors. Inside were two bridal magazines (I have proceeded to flip through and dog-ear just about every single page), a tote from Spark Creative Photography, countless business cards and special offers, a cute honeymoon-ready package with sunscreen, band-aids, and an emery board from Pearls Events, the cutest little gift tags from Paper Nest Designs, and loads of other fun items from the vendors.

Overall, I had a great time, and I think Lindsey did, as well. Actually, I know she did - she got her hands on those wedding magazines before I did and was already pointing things out to me that she thinks I need to do when I get married. Too funny! Thanks again, Aletha and Joy'l for such a fun event!

Pixel&Hank

2010-03-13T17:24:00.001-05:00

Edited to Add: Ok, this was supposed to post after the post about GRunveiled, but because I'm not detail oriented, I didn't remember to change the posting date. I changed the time, but not the date. Oops!

As promised, here are a few pics of my purchases from Daisy at pixel & hank, who I met at GRunveiled. Aren't these hair clips so adorable?! I'm becoming a little more daring with my hair accessories, (read: I've barely managed how to make a headband look age appropriate and not make me look like I'm in the fourth grade) and I thought these little cuties would be a welcome addition to my ever expanding accessory arsenal!

If you can't tell, one is purple and one is silver, and they're attached to silver bobby pins. They're just the right size for me to pin back my bangs. (and yes, because I'm such a classy photographer, these are sitting on a barstool right in front of a sliding glass door. I have a crappy camera so I have to make do with what I've got)

(please excuse the: horrible blurriness, awful hair color, and uncontrollable waves in my hair. k thanks)

Check out some of pixel & hank's other items:

KristenLee shoe clips - what a fantastic idea to give a facelift to a pair of shoes! $14.00

Zenna hair clip - $8.00

Leon boutonniere - I love this idea for bouts. No worries about a wilting flower pinned to the groomsmen by the time the reception rolls around! Plus, it can be saved forever! $8.00

Winner winner!

2010-03-10T13:27:00.000-05:00

Last Valentine's Day, Aletha at Pearls Events hosted a contest, and I won! Aletha has an amazing blog to accompany her successful West Michigan wedding planning business. The contest was a giveaway of an 18x24 portrait print by Kristine at Figment Studio. Check out Kristine's site - she lives in New York and does amazing pop-art portraits that are right up my alley. Here's the beauty she sent to me a few weeks ago:

My sister, Lindsey, is on the left, and I'm on the right. I think the colors are amazing and I'm SO excited to have it matted and framed!

Weekend Recap (minus pictures)

2010-03-09T14:03:00.001-05:00

Friday:
Josh and I went to a fish fry in Hubbardston, MI. Because it's Lent and Hubbardston is an Irish Catholic town, it was PACKED. Just to put it into perspective: The population of Hubbardston is 394 (yes, I'm a nerd and Wikipediaed it) and there were twice as many people there. We waited OUTSIDE for half an hour just to get in. Seriously. And the fish? Yeah, it was good. Was it worth waiting forever in front of half-drunk winos (clearly I'm jealous because I did not have any wine) for half an hour? Probably not. Oh well.

Then we went to Josh's parents' house so I could watch The Office - Jim and Pam had their baby and it was probably one of THE BEST episodes I've seen. I laughed out loud and even shed a small tear (Jim Halpert is my ideal. That's all...). It was great.

Saturday:
Josh and I went ring browsing again. This time it was in St. Johns at Harr's Jewelry, and we were much more impressed with them than Jared. They were so helpful and explained everything without any pressure to buy. It's a 3rd generation jewelry store and they had a great selection. I found 2 settings that I'm in love with :) so we'll see what happens...

Josh and I got groceries together and then his dad came over to help solve the toilet situation. Ugh. The Toilet. It has been giving us fits for the past month or so with no indication of what's wrong. About a month ago, Josh and his dad and some family friends dug a new septic tank, hoping that would solve the problem. Nope. Saturday, after a bunch of digging and dead ends, Josh and his dad decided to completely dig up the pipe leading from the house to the septic tank.What they found was a pipe that was crushed in 2 places and had a root growing up it. Lovely. So about $100 and 7 hours later, Josh has a working toilet. YAY! It's the simple things in life. Then I made dinner for Josh's parents and we had a nice little visit.

Sunday:
Josh and I went over to my mom's house for a hot second so I could check my email (remember, no internet at Josh's yet) and get my grade for my first English Theory paper. I wasn't expecting anything above a C based on my professor's comments on the grades as a whole. Tuesday, he was halfway done grading and said the best paper was a B-. Needless to say, I didn't expect to be the best in the class. Fast forward to Sunday when I open my email to see a big fat B staring me in the face. I literally squealed and did a little jump because I was so freaking happy/in shock. After an extensive rewrite I think I'll pull an A (which is very rare, according to my prof. Ha. I'll show him).

We had lunch at the Middleton Diner - a small restaurant in the middle of BFE run by Mennonites. They have a Sunday buffet with broasted chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits... mmm pretty much all the fixins. Then Josh and I took in a matinee of Alice in Wonderland. We just watched in Ionia, so no 3-D or Imax or anything. I kind of wanted to see it since it was getting a lot of hype; I loved the 50's Disney version, and I wanted to see what they were going to do with it. Well... first of all, it wasn't what I expected at all. I was expecting a revision of the Disney cartoon version, and this isn't that at all. But in a good way. Second of all, it wasn't as weird as I expected. It was pretty tame, in my opinion, for a Tim Burton movie. I actually thought it had a good message. The costuming and set design was exquisite! It was bright at times, but dark and moody at others. Oh- and Alice wears a killer dress in the palace of the Queen of Hearts. I've looked for a picture of it but I can't find one. Oh well. You'll just have to go watch the movie!

The Oscars:

My favorite dress of the night was Elizabeth Bank's Versace. I love this color and the ruffles are beautiful! (followed closely by Vera Farminga and Penelope Cruz- I loved the deep red colors of their dresses)

Source

Least favorite: Zoe Saldana. Wow... there is a lot of somethin goin' on down there. I loved the top, but unfortunately the camera panned out and revealed the rest...

source

More Oscar honesty: Sandra Bullock? Really? Don't get me wrong - I love her. But I didn't think her performance in The Blind Side was Oscar-worthy. Great movie, great actress, but I think one of the other ladies was more deserving. I loved Mo'nique's shout-out to Hattie McDaniels and the gardenia in her hair. I thought Kate Winslet's dress was boring. I hope now that people will stop referring to Kathryn Bigelow as James Cameron's ex-wife. I felt bad that everyone brought that up - hasn't she proven to the world that she's more than just his ex-wife? I LOVED Doogie's (ok, ok, Neil Patrick Harris) opening number, and I even loved Alec and Steve as hosts. I loved the John Hughes tribute, but Molly Ringwald... WTF with that hair and dress? I wish Meryl would have worn something a little more daring, but I thought she looked stellar. And Helen Mirren is pure class, in my opinion.

I'm now on "Spring Break" which consists of me working all day, every day for a week. Oh- and doing a ton of homework! Because everyone knows that Spring Break is the best time to pile on a bunch of work since students don't have to go to class. Naturally.

Josh and I are hoping to completely paint the bathroom this week, and hope to replace the tub and toilet by the weekend. I'll keep you posted (with pictures, of course) as we progress through our first renovation project!

National Grammar Day!

2010-03-04T08:37:00.000-05:00

This morning I woke up at 5:00 am, ended up leaving late, got stuck behind 3 different school buses, and forgot my oranges at home. Sounds like a bad day so far, right? Yeah... I thought so, too. That is, until I discovered that today is National Grammar Day! Seriously, I know you're just as excited as I am.

In honor of the holiday, here are a few refreshers of my favorite grammar mistakes. And by 'favorite' I mean most-hated-make-my-skin-crawl-OMG-why-are-people-stupid errors:

AHHHH!! If I had a dollar for every time I see these two words use incorrectly AT MY JOB I would be a millionaire. I don't understand why highly educated people still struggle with this concept.

YOUR = possessive, YOU'RE = you+are

Similarly, this mistake drives me just as crazy. (I am guilty of being lazy and omitting the apostrophe sometimes though, so don't hate me. I KNOW the difference)

ITS = possessive, IT'S = it is

I love Grammar Lady. She's the smartest person I know.

THERE = a place, THEIR = possessive, THEY'RE = they+are

You can find these posters and many more at Zazzle. I think they're delightful and just a tad bit snarky, which I love :)

The Boondocks... or, Save Me From a Life of Dial-Up

2010-03-03T11:46:00.000-05:00

Josh lives in a black hole more affectionately known as The Boondocks. His address doesn't even show up on Google Maps correctly. I'm convinced that there is an invisible wall of something that prevents us from communicating with the rest of the world.

Exhibit A: My Verizon phone only gets service if it's propped up in a specific window in Josh's kitchen. Sometimes I'll get a text message to send if I'm in the bedroom, but that's a rare occurrance. It's obnoxious. Verizon said that when the Alltel merger went through our service would improve. Well, to their credit, it did. Now I can get a full bar of a signal in the window as opposed to a half-bar. Wooot.

Exhibit B: We cannot get cable TV at Josh's house. The hicktown less than 3 miles down the road has a cable line running through it, but 'they' refuse to extend it to Josh's house. Honestly, we really don't care about TV. Neither one of us has that much time to sit down and watch something on a regular basis. But I have developed a love affair with PBS and Create. I'm convinced that I, too, can knit and crochet like a pro, tend a garden, cook with an Asian flair, and paint a kick-ass landscape. PBS is nothing if not inspiring. Josh just doesn't see it...

A simple solution to this problem would be to get satellite TV, right? Well, yes, that's true. However, like I said before, we don't really watch enough TV to justify paying for it. But I definitely would use the DVR if we had one... So, why am I bitching about not being able to have cable TV if we won't even watch it? That brings me to my next point.

Exhibit C: While the lack of cable TV is not a big deal, the lack of high speed cable internet is. We are completely disconnected from the rest of the world. I don't really mind that much at this point because I take advantage of the internet at work or at my parents' house, but when I move in with Josh I think it's going to become an issue. I've got needs that only the internet can fulfill: blogging, reading other people's blogs, looking at weddings... oh, and school related stuff, too. Plus, Josh has 2 online classes next semester (don't EVEN ask me why he scheduled himself 2 online classes when he knows he has no access to the internet... I got nothin'). But seriously, with both of us being in school, we kinda sorta need access to the internet.

Now, I'm sure you're saying to yourself, "Why, Ashley, if you get satellite TV you can get internet, too! Problem solved!" And I'm saying to you, "Thank you, my friend, for your wonderful suggestion that I thought of eons ago. If it were only that simple I wouldn't have a purpose for this here little post." Both Direct TV and Dish Network use internet providers that don't have availability in our area. So I just want to tell them both to kiss my ass and stop sending me promotional flyers in the mail. Also, because of the limited Verizon signal, we can't get a wireless card. We can't even get FiOS from Verizon! So, I'm beginning to think that I've exhausted my options. Please please please someone tell me something I've overlooked that will work in the Boondocks!! (and please don't suggest dial-up. I will shoot myself in the face if I have to listen to that awful high-pitched squeal and be transported back to 1996 every time I want to 'connect'.)

Renovations!

2010-03-02T06:12:00.002-05:00

Josh and I decided together (well... it was more like I convinced him) that we need to paint his bathroom. Just a quick coat of paint, in my opinion, will do wonders to that room! Josh bought a fixer-upper in the sense that everything is very outdated, even though it works just fine. What this means is that all of the cosmetic elements need to be updated. I took pictures of his bathroom so you can see what I mean. We're talking avocado green bathtub and toilet with green paneling on the walls! We decided that a quick coat of paint over the paneling would be just the trick to update this room! I'm very fortunate to have a boyfriend that is so handy around the house! I swear he can do anything, which I love. He can fix a washer, install drywall, update electric wiring, and that's just the beginning! He's already talking about adding on and putting on a second story in the future so we can expand :)

We went to Lowe's and picked out 3 sample shades so we could see how they looked in the lighting of the room, and against the wood and toilet. (We may be getting a new, white toilet soon, along with a new shower surround and tub! YAY!)

After careful consideration, we've decided on the 1st shade. The 2nd one was too reddish, and the 3rd wasn't quite as warm as we wanted. The dark shade on the end is the color we're going to paint the mirror frame and sconces on the wall. Eventually we're going to install a dark chair rail and wainscotting along the bottom half of the room. Here are a few pics so you can see what I'm working with here...

Lovely green toilet, green paneling, and green linoleum. The radiator is green, too, but it doesn't really show. Sensing a theme here?

Oh look! It's a green bath tub too!

The mirror is amazing but I think I looove the frame in a darker shade :)

OH! And probably the best quote from Josh: "But the green paneling is the best out of all the paneling in the house!" (he's already tackled dark paneling in the living room, he's got blue paneling in his bedroom, and the spare room we're renovating has light brown paneling)

My reply: "The best of the ugly doesn't make it pretty..."

Diesel Update!

2010-03-01T07:22:00.003-05:00

He is getting HUGE! See for yourself:

My mom and Jim's dog isn't too fond of Diesel because he's a little too hyper for her. But he really wants to be her friend anyway!

And then there's Frank the Pug, who is such a ham!

He fell asleep on my feet and I just thought it was adorable!! (pay no attention to my unpainted toes!!)

Long time a-comin'

2010-02-28T07:27:00.000-05:00

So I was going through my camera and realized how many things I haven't blogged about! Big surprise, right? Anyways, here are a few pics off of my camera from the night Josh and I went to the RV show in Grand Rapids. I was not that thrilled to go to the RV show since I'm not really in the market to buy a camper or motorhome, but I ended up having a lot of fun! I couldn't believe the size of some of the motorhomes that were priced at $250M - I'm sure they were bigger than my first apartment! They had 3 LCD TVs and a washer and dryer! Then, they had a few antique campers, too, which I enjoyed looking at. I snapped some pictures of some of the ones I liked:

This camper was made in the 1930's and had a wood burning stove. Josh's great grand parents had a similar one!

One of the first motorhomes ever made. It doesn't look anything like some of the diesel pushers we saw that night, but for the early 1900's it was luxurious!

For dinner, we decided to go to Yesterdog in Eastown. Josh and I had heard SO many good things, but never had been... They have an OLD cash register, so they only take cash, no checks or credit cards. Luckily, we were able to scrounge around for $8 and got 2 hot dogs each. Their saurkraut is DELICIOUS and the whole atmosphere is really fun. It's a really long, narrow store and it's retained much of the turn of the century charm that is unique to East Grand Rapids. Next time, we will definitely bring more cash so we can taste some of their other food!

Josh was checking out how far back it went. I LOVED the original barstools and long wooden bar!

Old advertisements have some of the best artwork and are such a snapshot of ideals of the time (haha that sounds like something a feminist or sociologist would say...)

They enourage you to write on the tables and seats, so I did!!

Empty Bowls

2010-02-27T07:35:00.001-05:00

For the past 4 or 5 years (I think) the Ionia Middle School has put on a fundraiser for local area food pantries called Empty Bowls. This fundraiser also raises awareness of starvation and malnutrition around the world. For a $5 donation, you get to eat a bowl of soup, a roll, and a dessert. You also get to pick a clay bowl that is created by a middle or high school student. Throughout the night they have a live auction, silent auction, and a raffle. The event is largely student-run and organized by middle school students in the Brodcasting and Visual Arts classes. You can read more about their fundraising success here, in Ionia's newspaper. They had a banner year, raising over $2000 in cash! It might sound silly, but I'm very proud of what our community can do when it comes together, and I'm especially proud of the students that made it happen.

Here is the bowl that my brother picked for me. On the outside it looks like your average, everyday, handcrafted clay bowl...

...but SURPRISE! This little guy greets you when you look inside!

"workin' for the weekend..."

2010-02-26T11:57:00.000-05:00

I am SO excited about my weekend!! In about 20 minutes, I'm meeting Josh for a quick lunch and then I have the rest of the day off! I have a hair appointment scheduled (bangs or no bangs, that is the question...), I'm cleaning out my car, and then I'm headed to Royal Oak to see Jenna! We're having a nice sushi and wine dinner, getting dressed up (I scored a major deal at Target last night - $10 dress on clearance! It's kind of a bold print so we'll see if it looks ok according to Jenna), and then meeting Garrett for his birthday celebrations at Commune. I'm SO excited because I haven't seen Jenna since January 1st and I always have so much fun with her. She's my only sushi-loving friend! And I usually have fun with Garrett, too.

My $10 dolla steal from Target

Unfortunately, Josh will not be joining me because tomorrow he begins 12 hour shifts at work. He has to be in Grand Rapids at 6am, which means he must leave his house before 5am. YUCK! So I'll be staying at his house all week until the 12 hour shifts are done. That way I can take care of Diesel : )

Sunday I'm heading to Bay City for the day. One of the girls I used to work with just found out her husband has a stage 4 brain tumor. There is a spaghetti dinner benefit at one of the local bars and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. Obviously, it's for a somber cause, but it's always great to raise money for people in need!

Anyways, I've scheduled a few posts to keep you entertained over the weekend and into next week. But my Sunday one already posted - oops! I hope you all have a weekend that is just as fabulous as mine!

Buy MY Stuff!

2010-02-19T10:37:00.000-05:00

So... in light of me quitting my cushy bank job in about 4 months, I've decided to do something I never thought I'd agree to: I'm going to be one of those crazy jewelry ladies that hocks her stuff at your home parties. Yeah. I'm a little ashamed, but at the same time I'm pretty excited because I LOVE jewelry, especially big, bold, clunky, bright, fun jewelry.

Originally, I thought I'd go the Lia Sophia route, but after evaluating their marketing plans (at least that business degree was good for something) I've decided that's probably not the best company for me. So, I've decided to sell Premier Designs. Why? Well, there are a few reasons:

There are absolutely no sales quotas. This was extremely important to me because I don't want to have to reach an unattainable goal while I'm doing my teacher assisting and student teaching. I'm afraid I'm going to be realllllly busy as it is!
Premier jewelry is less expensive than Lia Sophia or Silpada. That was important to me because a lot of the people I know (family, cousins, school friends, etc..) don't want to spend an ungodly amount of money on jewelry, but they still want to look good. And they will!
Their designs are the shit. Right now I think I'd wear about 75% of the catalog (the stuff I probably wouldn't wear is mostly gold, bracelets, or not chunky enough for me). They have an amazing turquoise necklace that I. Want. NOW. I'm hoping I can style myself in a way that will show people fun ways to wear the jewelry. Just call me Rachel Zoe. (Ha. Completely kidding!).

So, if you're in the market for some new jewelry at a fairly inexpensive cost (the average piece is priced is under $40) just let me know! My first party is in April and I can start booking shows immediately for any date after April 12th. Periodically, I may post some pics of pieces that I love. Wish me luck on this new business venture :)

Unfortunately, they don't have an online catalog so I can't direct you there to see some of their fun stuff. Here's the only picture I can get from their website:

Brain Dump!

2010-02-16T11:25:00.000-05:00

Let me dig out from the mountains of homework I've been suffering under for the past week.... OK I'm out. Whew that was tough... and I see a 6 page paper looming in the not-so-distant future (AKA today and next week!). But I missed my lil blog- so here's a rundown of what I've been doing over the last week or so; a Brain Dump, if you will, of all of the little things I've wanted to blog about but haven't had a chance to:

Josh and I had a lot going on during the weekend of Feb 5-7:
I got stuck on a back country road by Josh's house when I was on my way to my grandma's house to visit. It was a horrible drifting mess and I shouldn't have even gone down that road. Does that make me scared to drive in winter? NOPE! Just makes me grateful for a boyfriend that will leave work to shovel my ass out (and only mention twice that I had on flats, not boots)

We went to the Auto Show in Grand Rapids. Yeah, it's a knock off of the big one in Detroit, but we didn't have a chance to make it down there. Josh is a car guy, I'm not so much a car girl. I did like looking at some of the Mercedes cars that I will never own, and spent some time drooling over the Dodge Journey. Josh actually may have convinced me that we need a 4-door Jeep Wrangler in the future. (I think I'm becoming more and more country as the days go by... I guess all I can do now is own up to it!)

We met up with some of my former and current coworkers at Hooters, because we're all very classy people. Sadly, I was the only girl drinking :( When I ordered my tall Blue Moon I was hoping that some others would follow suit, but I was left chugging that glorious mug of beer all alone. The wings were good and Josh and I discovered that we like deep fried pickle slices better than deep fried pickle spears. (OMG I was half-joking about becoming more country, but I think that last paragraph has enough 'country' in it to convert a sorority girl!)

Before we went to Hooters, we killed some time by doing some engagement ring looking. Since the only places open were chain stores, we looked at Jared and I found some designs I like. I'm pretty sure we're not going to go with them for the final bling, but it was nice to spend a little time looking at what was out there. So... I guess we're in the pre-engagement stage? This probably deserves a post dedicated completely to the visit, but I'm just not in the mood today. Here's a sneak peek at a top contender, although I think I'll have trouble finding it at an independent retailer

We had a lot of fun at Josh's friend's house for the Superbowl. Josh and I LOVED (read: completely devoured) the Buffalo Chicken Dip I made. Nobody else seemed to be as smitten with it, but that was fine with me because it just meant that Josh and I got to enjoy leftovers!

Diesel deserves, and will be getting, his own post soon - Once I get some new pictures taken and put on my computer. He's growing like a weed!! At his last vet visit 2 weeks ago he was over 23 pounds. One thing we've learned, and please don't call PETA on me, but my dog cannot hold his alcohol. How did we find out about this little gem of information? My sister gave him a drink of her Smirnoff a few weeks ago. He proceeded, a few minutes later, to leave a trail of pee alllll throughout Josh's friend's house. He was peeing like every five minutes. It was embarassing and I felt bad for my puppy. My sister is not a good Auntie. Then, this past Sunday, one of Josh's friends gave Diesel a drink of beer at the farm, even though I warned him of the consequence. Sure enough, history repeated itself. I wasn't the happiest, especially because I had to clean it up!

I passed my teacher certification tests!!! It was actually a relief. I was pretty confident about the English content area test, but the economics test made me want to strangle myself with a supply and demand graph. (is that even possible... ?) On the 5th I found out that I passed both! Luckily, they don't report scores, just a pass/fail grade. Regardless, I was beyond excited.

Mansfield Park - AKA The Book that is the Bane of My Existence. I don't know if it's the slow pace that we're taking while reading or if it's the subject matter or what, but GAH! I just want to skip to the end, fast forward through the life of Fanny Brice, and just find out whether or not she marries her damn cousin. (Spoiler alert: She does) I'm not impressed with Fanny as a character; I find her boring and judgmental. I like Mary Crawford because she's conniving and a little stuck up. She makes for a fun read. I'd much rather read 300 pages about her. Thank God we're done with this book now - next week we start Dubliners.

Along the lines of not likeing Mansfield Park, I'm still not getting to read any books I want!! GRRRR! I have yet to crack the spines on any of the books from the post I wrote a few weeks ago. It's frustrating to see interesting, new books sitting neglected on a shelf. I feel bad for them. I just want to scoop them up, hold them in my hands, and completely devour them (in a non-violent way, of course).

I discovered a rather pleasing little tidbit of info yesterday: One of my faves from my first year through college now has a blog! She's an English teacher in Virginia (a fabulous one, at that) and she writes daily about the 'roses' of her day. It's pretty encouraging for someone like me, who is getting ready to go into the teaching field, to hear about the good things in store for me. So many times I hear all about the unfun things - Tori's blog is a little bright spot for me! Go check it out: http://www.forgetapples.blogspot.com/

OK- So I guess you're all caught up with what's been going on with me!

Hallmark Holiday Weekend

2010-02-15T19:50:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I have a whole "Brain Dump" post in the works, but I'm also trying to eek out a draft of a paper before tomorrow, so this quick little mushy post will have to do for now. So sorry, I don't have any pictures either, because lately I have been much too busy to snap pics around the house. UGH! I only have 3 weeks of class til Spring Break and I am DEFINITELY looking forward to a quick break in the action!

Anyways... I'm NOT a Valentine's Day person. Yes, I tend to be a girly-girl, but I also tend to want to be 'different,' especially when it comes to mass-commercialized things including, but not limited to, Valentine's Day. I've been known to spend my single V-Days by myself at a movie, or treating myself to a pedicure. And I was completely fine with that. So, now that I'm in a relationship, I made sure Josh knew that I expected and wanted NOTHING for the pink-red-purple festival of loooove. (I'm not really as cynical as this sounds, but honestly, I'd much rather celebrate a day that actually means something to us as a couple, not just a day that was selected years and years ago for reasons that have been forgotten.) I made it clear to Josh that I did not want flowers of ANY KIND (I'm not a fan of roses - yes, they're pretty, but again, I like to be different. I want something that is unique. If I were to get flowers, I would want peonies or ranunculus or hydrangeas.) and I'm SO glad he listened to me :)

So, last week, I told Josh that we had a $5 budget for Valentine's Day. I told him all I really wanted was a card with something nice written inside by him. I chose a nicely worded card and wrote a sweet note to him as well. But, the little sneak that he is, bought me something anyways. He thought he was supposed to, which was very sweet, but I honestly didn't want anything! So, what did he get me you ask? Only the MOST THOUGHTFUL GIFT EVER! I was almost moved to tears by the thoughtfulness of his gift. He filled in the gaps of the wine rack he got me for Christmas! And not only did he get me 4 new bottles of wine, he selected wine that actually had meaning! One bottle was my favorite Late Harvest Riesling from Chateau Grand Traverse, along with their Late Harvest Chardonnay, which he chose because it won the same award as the riesling. Josh knew how much I love that winery and wine and every time I see it at Meijer I swoon over how badly I want to go back! The other two bottles were from St. Julian's winery, which we visited last fall! It was our first and probably our only visit to a winery together and he chose a white, Niagara, and their Cherry Wine. He said he chose the cherry wine because it was made from Traverse City cherries, and he knows how much I love that town. I'm constantly campaigning for Josh to accompany me on a visit!

We planned on going to Soaring Eagle Casino for dinner with Josh's sister and her boyfriend on Friday night, which I said I would pay for. Then we were going to see a movie, which he would pay for. Well, we ended up scrapping the movie plan because of how late the show times were. It would put us back in Ionia wayyyy too late for Josh, who had to get up and work at 7am the next day. We all ate some YUMMY dinner and played some slots and had a good time. Saturday, Josh made me some filet mignon for lunch - one of the many perks of dating a farmer is that you have amazing cuts of meat stocking the freezer at all times! It was so nice to have a quiet afternoon together, even though all we did was homework. Saturday night we hung out with my mom and step-dad for a little bit and watched the Olympics. Sunday we went with Josh's parents to take his grandma out to lunch at Lamplight Grill in Ionia. They had a prime rib smorgasboard which was good, but not nearly as good as Josh's filet the day before :)

All in all, I'd have to say that my non-traditional Valentine's Day-Weekend was one of the best I've had. I cannot wait to drink my wine that was so thoughtfully selected, although I know Josh won't drink it with me!

(Oh- PS: After I saw that Josh got me something, I ran out to Wal-Mart and got him Couples Retreat because he had been talking about how he wanted that movie when it came out. So, I'm not a completely selfish girlfriend!)

I hope everyone celebrated (or didn't celebrate) in whatever way they wanted - that's what it's all about!

Superbowl Snack!!

2010-02-05T07:02:00.000-05:00

I FINALLY found a recipe for what I'm going to take to Josh's friend's Superbowl party! I originally wanted to make Cake Balls in the shape of little footballs, but sadly I'm afraid I have a super busy weekend and don't have enough time to devote to these oh-so-cute little bite sized beauties. Especially since it's my first time making them, I wanted to make sure I had enough time to account for mistakes so I don't end up with a footblob:

Bakerella - the genius

But last night as I was searching through my saved online recipes, a new blog that I've been following posted a recipe that made me exclaim with delight!! My mom told me about all of the yummy recipes she found at Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes and I have to say that the three things I've made/eaten were delicious! So, are you all dying to know what I'm making Sunday?? No? Well, too bad, because you're about to find out anyways!

Lighter Buffalo Chicken Dip

Doesn't that look so yummy!! I'm excited for the low-cal option amongst all of the nacho-cheesy/meatball/bean dip calorie laden buffet, plus the easy recipe is SO easy I don't think I can screw it up! I'll share it below, but you should check out Gina's for some other delicious meals!

Lighter Buffalo Chicken Dip
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 11 • Serving Size: 1/2 cup • Calories: 111 • Points: 2.75 ww points

4 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup fat free sour cream
1/2 cup Franks hot sauce (or whatever hot sauce you like)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 tsp white wine vinegar
2 cups cooked shredded chicken

Mix the first 4 ingredients together until smooth. Add the chicken and put this in the crock pot on low for 3-4 hours. Serve warm. Makes 5 1/2 cups.

Yeah, it's THAT simple! Which makes it all the more delicious!! Is anyone else making special snack to watch the game?

Bookworm.. (I wish!)

2010-02-02T10:10:00.000-05:00

The past few days (weeks, months) in Michigan have been so dreary! We've barely seen the sun and the temperature hasn't risen over 32 degrees for more than about two days. It's days like these that make me wish that all I had to do in a day was curl up with a nice blanket (maybe a Snuggie? bahaha) next to a fireplace and read. What's on my reading list, you ask? Well.... a lot, actually. (My images are all from Amazon, so disregard that 'click to look inside' along the top of the books... if you want to look inside, go to Amazon.)

I bought this book and started reading it, but something about the way the first few chapters are written has left me unimpressed... so it's now sitting next to my bed, untouched.

I'm hoping to give it another chance when my class-require reading dies down, but for now, it's just not doing it for me.

I got the entire Ruby Oliver trilogy from the library, but I only had time to read one. I read the first installment this weekend and thought it was great! It's a young adult book so I breezed through it pretty quickly, and I could see how any teenage girl would like the character of Ruby and relate to her problems. I'm excited to start reading the rest of the series by E. Lockhart.

Sunday I went to Barnes & Noble in Holland as I was waiting for my brother's Honor's All Star band concert to start. I picked up three books from the "Buy 2 get 1 free" table, and another from the $2 clearance rack! 4 books for under $30 isn't too bad, if you ask me! I can't wait to get my hands on each of them!

I've already read this book, but it's the only book my little brother will read, so I think it'll be good to have in my 'teacher collection' for those male reluctant readers I'm sure to encounter.

For some reason (maybe because I have an odd mind) I like reading about the Mormom faith and their accounts of polygamy. I find it fascinating because it's so foreign to me. This is based on a real account of one of Brigham Young's wives, intertwined with a modern day murder plot. I think it's going to be really interesting.

I loved Allen's first novel, Garden Spells, so when I saw her second novel on the table I HAD to have it. She writes with such imagery and inventive and whimsical storylines. The first book was a fun read and I have no doubts that this will be anything less.

(Carrie- I think you have this book?) Anita Shreve is a great author and when I saw her book on the $2 shelf I figured I might as well grab it. From what I've read, the book isn't getting great reviews, but I kind of don't care. I think it will be a good read regardless of what the critics say.

So, have you read any of these books? Do you have any other recommendations for me?

Wedding Stuff! (not mine, silly!)

2010-01-29T10:53:00.000-05:00

I have a friend getting married this fall and she's decided on a bridesmaid's dress for us! It's this beauty by Bill Levkoff and I think it's goregous!

The other day when I was helping her out with some wedding 'research' (read: stalking wedding blogs/websites) I found this picture below:

http://www.jenkrollphotography.com/

It's our dress and I THINK it's even in the same color we'll be wearing! I haven't seen the swatch yet, but I'm told our color is called European Lilac... so it might be lighter than this but I'm not sure. Either way, I think it's going to be very elegant! She's pairing the lilac with a sage green to compliment the dried hydrangea flowers that will be used. We've already been discussing DIY projects for decorations and I think we're going to attempt some fabric or tulle pomanders to decorate the ceremony space. I'm SO excited and I think it's going to be a beautiful wedding!

What is...?

2010-01-28T23:02:00.001-05:00

The JEOPARDY test!!!

I am waiting to take it AS WE SPEAK! Wish me luck - maybe you'll see me on an upcoming episode with Alex :)

ETA: Ok... that was tough. You probably won't be seeing me on TV any time soon. But some of the answers were pretty easy... so cross your fingers. and toes... and anything else you can!

Self Assessment 2009 - AKA: My Mad Skillz

2010-01-25T11:44:00.000-05:00

Each year before our annual reviews, my company asks its employees to fill out a "Talent Survey" to assess our individual talents and weaknesses. After filling mine out this morning, I noticed there was a VAST disparity between what I wanted to say and what I actually said. See for yourself: [What I should have said will be in brackets with italics. What I actually said is in bold print]

Sales and Negotiation Skills

I have minimal sales and negotiating skills [because you have me shoved upstairs in a cubicle that doesn't have a window, much less, access to an actual living, breathing customer] . I’ve never had to negotiate a deal with a customer or try and sell a product [and I'm completely fine with that because I have no desire to further my career at this institution.]

Credit Skills

After three [hateful, painful, deplorable, miserable, etc...] years in the credit department, I’m finally comfortable with my credit skills. I think I sometimes miss ‘big picture’ problems [because I don't care] but I have improved in knowing what kinds of questions to ask myself [such as: why am I still working here? What is the quickest way out of this hell hole? How can I minimize my efforts without being noticed?]as well as the lender [not that it matters because they don't answer the questions I ask anyways]. Analyzing the balance sheet is probably my biggest weakness [again, because I don't care].

Administrative Skills

I am comfortable with a variety of administrative tasks [because my IQ is higher than 50] including but not limited to filing [booooorrrrring], file review [when lenders are too lazy to do it themselves], ordering UCCs and credit reports, and cooperating with assistants and documentation specialists when necessary, [and showing up to work even when it makes me physically sick to think about sitting in an office for 8 hours, and dealing with asshole lenders, and showing up on time which is more than I can say for my coworkers].

Network Skills (side note: I had to ask my supervisor what was meant by 'network.' Was it 'networking' or like our actual computer network? He laughed and said just answer both. He obviously cares about this survey just as much, if not less, than I do.)

I am able to use our system to its full potential [again, because my IQ is higher than 50], and I have mastered the art [and yes, it is an art] of creating a proposal, spreading financial statements, and incorporating other Microsoft Office applications [even though it doesn't matter because the people who turn in the most hacked-up shitty proposal copies are praised up and down for their good work]. I enjoy networking with other lenders [only the non-douchebag ones, which severely limits my choices] and clients whenever possible [preferably at a bar where someone else is picking up the tab, although that never happens because our bank is poor now] although my experience with business networking is limited [because I don't care. However, I am pretty adept at social networking even though you choose to block facebook from me].

Other Skills

[Compared to the other idiots in my department] I have a firm grasp on the English language and I am able to review my colleagues’ work for misspellings and improper grammar usage. Although this may seem unnecessary [and everyone bitches about it], it makes our work appear more polished and professional [and saves our bank from looking like it's run by a bunch of incompetent rednecks. And it makes me feel smarter than my co-workers.].

I have a very very strong desire to replace the 's' for a 'z' at the end of Skills (skillz)... too much? Or just right?

Puppy pics!

2010-01-22T19:39:00.000-05:00

Just a few new pics of my baby! I promise I'll do a real post soon!

Disappearances, Fast-Food Fails, and Sleeptalking

2010-01-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

Wow! Where have I been!? Holy crap I've been busy since I last posted. I'll catch you all up with some pics shortly. I'm already becoming a slave to homework and it's been all of 6 days since the semester began! I've never read so much in my entire life - 90+ pages of Jane Austen (equivalent to an entire chick lit book as far as complexity and content go), 12 pages from an economic article (which doesn't seem like a lot, but come ON! Econ is a ridiculously boring topic about which to read), 27 pages on secondary language writers (still finishing this one up tonight), and about 50 pages on psychoanalytic literary criticism a la Mr. Freud (just reading about his theory and examples gave me some weird ass dreams last night!!). Whew! Needless to say, I haven't just been sitting around ignoring my blog on purpose!

But I did want to share a few tales from my escapades Saturday night. It was nothing special; Josh's friend was celebrating a birthday at Olivera's in Ionia so we went down for a few drinks and some Buzztime trivia (I'm like a trivia master when it comes to those things!). On the way home, Josh and I both wanted a chocolate shake. We pulled into the Burger King parking lot and ordered, only to be told (quite rudely, might I add) that they were cleaning the shake machine and it would be a 30 minute wait. I was immediately pissed. I knew they just didn't want to make the shakes! Who cleans a shake machine at 11:30 pm? Seriously! So, we headed up the hill to Wendy's for some late night Frosty action. Of course, our hopes and dreams of creamy chocolatey goodness were smashed when Wendy's was closed. WTF! So much for being open 'Late-Night'... apparently late night in Ionia is 11:00. Bastards. (I get pretty fiesty when someone is preventing me from my shakes!) We finally settled at Arby's and got Jamocha shakes - which actually was probably wayyyy better than the Burger King shake and Wendy's frosty, in retrospect.

Probably the most hilarious/obnoxious part of the night came from the ride home. Josh and I were just chatting on the way back to his house; I don't even remember what we were talking about. I asked him a question, I think it was in regards to when and where he saw Sugarland in concert. To which he replies, "The Senior Janitor Closet." I paused for a second... I had NO CLUE what he was talking about. So I tell him he's insane and I have no idea what he just said. Then, I look over at him, and he's sleep-talking to me! He snapped out of it with no recollection of our entire conversation. Later that night he started sleeptalking again, and woke me up out of a dead sleep! It scared me because he yelled or something, and I screamed and sat straight up. He, of course, didn't even remember it in the morning. He did it again last night - I was reading in bed and when I was done, I handed him my book so he could set it on his nightstand. Then he asked me where I wanted him "to put the boards". After seeing he was sleeping, I rolled my eyes, turned over, and told him to put them in the Senior Janitor Closet from the night before. This is getting ridiculous. How am I supposed to get any sleep with Chatty Cathy next to me mumbling up a storm?

Anywas, I'll be back later this week (hopefully tomorrow, thanks to the delayed-post gods!) with some pics of the weekend! Have a good Monday : )

Best. Decision. Ever.

2010-01-13T09:28:00.002-05:00

Ok, that may be a little dramatic, but still, I'm pretty pleased with myself. Remember when I posted about my schedule? Well.... I took the liberty of switching it up a bit yesterday. After sitting through my Monday night class I was feeling a little uneasy about the professor and the class in general. Unfortunately, the class is required for my English degree (Brit Lit II), so I knew I was probably going to have to suck it up and just deal with it. That is, until I started talking to people in one of my classes yesterday. I was advised to avoid that prof like the plague! Which immediately freaked me out even more than I already was. As luck would have it, there were 2 openings in another section of the same class with a different prof, and it actually worked out in my schedule!! I talked to one of my friends in my Monday night class, and he ended up switching, too. So, instead of driving into Allendale on Mondays, I'll have class from 1:00 - 9:00 on Tuesdays with about an hour and 15 minutes of downtime. Hopefully I can manage...

The professor whose class I switched into is about 134% better than the prof out of which I switched. THANK GOD! Instead of skimming over pieces in an anthology, I'll be reading 5 novels in depth and writing about them. I like this style of teaching SO MUCH BETTER! Plus, my new prof is actually new to GVSU, too. This is only his second semester of teaching and he has a refreshing philosophy about teaching literature. He's a realist and I don't think I'm going to be overwhelmed with material in his class. So, our first book? None other than Ms. Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. I'm delighted to read more Austen; I haven't read her since my senior year in high school (Pride and Prejudice, and I co-authored a ridiculously long book report with Jenna) so I'm looking forward to this. We're also reading Dubliners by James Joyce, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe, and... one other one that I can't think of right now.

Needless to say, Tuesdays will probably not be very active on this little blog - I'm pretty sure I'm going to crash once I get home in my bed, so I won't be updating.

Oh- and my AC adapter for my computer (it's the thing that you plug into the wall to charge your laptop) crashed and burned. Yeah, I was not happy about it and spent a lot of time hitting it and using other various methods to make it work. It didn't. But, fear not! I have a new adapter en route to my house as we speak! I should be able to ~~blog-stalk~~ do research for school long into the wee hours of the night, now. YAY!

A New Semester is Dawning...

2010-01-11T10:14:00.000-05:00

...and I'm SO not ready. I don't even have a notebook so I have to make a quick trip to Meijer on my lunch. I have classes three days a week this semester and I'm not looking forward to driving to Allendale that much. Neither is my gas tank or checking account. So, what does this semester look like:

Mondays 6:00-9:00: British Literature II (from 1700-present) - Not really looking forward to this, but it will definitely beat colonial literature any day. Plus, I already know one of my classmates and I'm excited to have him in another class this semester.
Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00-2:15: Second Language Writing (teaching students who do not speak English as their first language how to write in English) - I'm actually really excited about this class. It was a last minute change of schedule and I did it primarily because I love the prof and know a lot of people who are already taking it. Plus, it will benefit me MUCH more than Language and Gender, which I was going to take.
Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:00-5:15: Applied Macroeconomics - YUCK. Cannot wait for this class to be over before it even begins. On the plus side, my prof has good reviews on ratemyprofessor.com (Is it bad that I use that site to influence my scheduling decisions?)
Tuesdays 6:00-9:00: Language and Literature Capstone - I like this prof but I'm a little afraid of the course content. There is going to be a lot of reading and writing so hopefully I can keep my head above water!

So today I'll head to Meijer to pick up a new Trapper Keeper and Lisa Frank folders. I'll probably pick up a pen that I can switch the ink colors, too, because I definitely want a spot at the cool kid's table.

source

Such a Follower...

2010-01-09T12:30:00.001-05:00

...but I love Glee. Unfortunately, due to my hectic class schedule last semester, I haven't seen that many episodes. I know there are a ton online, but I just haven't had time to sit down for an uninterrupted hour and watch TV online... it's sad, I know. Anyways, if there are any of you out there who have not yet watched, I encourage you to do so!! As Amanda of Martinis or Diaper Genies? puts it, it's a "singing Saved By the Bell." And anyone who knows me knows I heart me some Bayside High. Plus, the Glee Club teacher, played by Matthew Morrison, is super cute!

Just love that adorable curly hair!

Here are a few reasons why you should be watching Glee:

Like I said before, it has all of the stupid cliche cliques as Saved By The Bell, but with MUSIC! (And not like High School Musical random bursts of song in the middle of a conversation... it's much more realistic than that)
Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester is the best villain on TV today - hands down
It's got a decent plot line too - and by decent, I mean completely ridiculous and fun to watch: pregnant cheerleader, another faked pregnancy, love triangles, political struggles between a gym teacher and glee club advisor/Spanish teacher

See for yourself-(I can't post the actual videos, but you can find them at Fox or Hulu)

The Glee cast doing Don't Stop Believin'. I LOVE me some Journey!

Queen's Somebody to Love - another one of my all time favorite songs!

Imagine by John Lennon - had to throw in some Beatles love :)

There are SOOO many songs out there, from Kanye to Heart, to Broadway songs, to classics from the 60's. Enjoy!!

"Boring" Weekend Plans

2010-01-08T15:44:00.000-05:00

Just a few minutes ago I got a call from Garrett, complaining about how I never ever ever ever write about him on my blog and how my weekend plans are boring and I'm getting old and stuffy and never have any fun anymore. (I know, everyone should have such an uplifting friend like him. It's great...)

I immediately had to defend myself. I have to take my content area tests to prove I'm competent enough to teach students English and economics. I'm. Freaking. Out. Seriously. I haven't had an econ class in well over a year, and I didn't do that well in it (Well... I got a B. But I should probably do better since I'm going to be teaching that subject someday...). I told Garrett that I had to study or else I'll never become a teacher and I'll be stuck at this hellhole of a bank for the rest of my damn life. It's already been 7 years, which is about 6 years too long. So it's not my fault that I'm boring and old and have boring and old weekend plans! My entire future depends on my performance on these tests tomorrow! (Not that I'm being dramatic or anything... but yeah, they are kind of a big deal). So basically, Garrett, you can kiss my ass. Have fun getting shit-faced in Royal Oak with your new-girl-who-you're-too-afraid-to-call-your-girlfriend-because-it-might-mean-you-have-to-show-some-sort-of-emotion-and-that-your-heart-of-stone-has-softened. I'll be curled up with my laptop (reading through Sparknotes tips for economics... that's how desperate and scared I am) and my puppy doing something that will benefit me for the rest of my life. Or at least for tomorrow afternoon...

Resolutions! (Only a Few Days Late)

2010-01-06T14:05:00.000-05:00

Ok ok ok... so I finally decided on a few resolutions I want to hit this year:

Blog more & blog better- This includes a multitude of mini-resolutions such as blogging at least 5 times a week, tagging my blogs so I (and other people) can easily go through my archives and see subject matter, and taking more pictures of the everyday, mundane things in my life so my blog posts are a little more festive, and commenting on at least 2 blogs daily (I'm thinking one new blog a week?) I'm toying with the idea of setting a 'schedule' of sorts, so that each day I'll have a topic to blog about. Part of me doesn't want to be confined to a schedule, but the other part of me wants the accountability that a schedule brings.... thoughts?
Read more - I alluded to this in my previous post, but I want to read at least 40 books that I choose for myself with no ulterior motive behind them (such as class requirements) and then blog about the books. I'm allowing myself to read Young Adult Lit because as a future English teacher I want to stay relevant; that doesn't mean I'm eliminating classics and adult literature from my reading list, though.
SAVE MORE MONEY! That means stop shopping online at work or going to the mall on my lunch breaks (actually that shouldn't be a problem once I start class because I won't get lunch breaks - I'll be going to school).
Be more health conscious. This should include a bunch of mini-resolutions, too, but I'm not sure I want to commit to them yet... What I was thinking was resolving to cook something healthy at Josh's house at least once a week (I don't cook at all at my parents' house where I live), exercising more frequently (or at all), and posting my progress here (that makes me super accountable which is something I definitely need in this area of my life). The mini-resolutions will probably begin in a few weeks, not right away.
Staying in touch with my friends - This shouldn't really have to be a resolution, but sadly, it is. I have a core group of about 5 friends that I talk to all the time. However, I've also got a lot of very good friends that I know from various aspects of my life that I go for months without talking to. I'd like to start by sending hand written, homemade cards weekly or monthly, but I'm afraid that's too ambitious. I'm still toying with this resolution, too...

Anyways, that's what I've been thinking about for the last couple of days. I'm only about a week late, so it still counts, right??

Resolution Recap

2010-01-05T15:39:00.000-05:00

My 2009 resolutions were somewhat vague: read more and lose weight. Pretty simple, right? I tried to keep them easily attainable so I would feel better when I actually achieved the goal. How ridiculous is that? Anyways, I figured I'd post about how I did on my 2009 resolutions since I haven't really made any resolutions for 2010 yet.

I lost over 30 pounds in 2009 and it was fantastic! I was so proud of myself, and I really wanted to keep going. Then I met Josh. Now, nothing about Josh made me stop trying to lose weight, but it was just the combination of a new relationship, eating out more, a more sporadic school/work/eating schedule, and less free time that led me into a slump. And unfortunately I've gained about half of it back... oops! But Josh and I are both on the same page - we're not really horrible eaters (he's lost a lot of weight himself), we know what we should be doing, but sometimes laziness and convenience get the best of us. Plus I have an insatiable sweet-tooth... and carb-tooth, too, if there is such a thing.We're really trying to eat better and work out more in the coming year. I also want to run a 5K this year. I hate running but I think setting a goal for myself like that is a good idea. I've got 6 weeks in the summer with no classes at all and I think that will be the perfect time to run a race. Of course, I'll start training wayyy before hand.

Side note - apparently the night Josh and I reconnected, I told him I was training for a marathon. HAHA! He told me this the other night and I assumed he was mistaken, but apparently after a few glasses of wine I'm quite the storyteller. What I had really done was bought running shoes, so technically, I guess that's the first step in training, right?

My other goal was to read more. After some thinking I decided that that goal needed to be more defined, so I made a resolution to read 40 books in a year. It sounded daunting at the time, and I think it would have been if I had limited myself to 40 leisure books in a year. However, I had a few literature classes that helped add to my 40 book total. I actually read 43 books this year, and listened to 7 books on tape, (which I'm counting, since the purpose of this goal was to expose myself to more literature, even though I technically didn't hold the books in my hand). Only 23 of the 50 books were leisure reading; the rest were all for a class in some way, shape, or form. I hope to increase the number of leisure books I read this year. The breakdown of my books fits into 5 categories (which I've put together on a spreadsheet to keep track, just because I'm that big of a dork): Young Adult, Shakespeare, Books on Tape, Just for Fun, and Education Based. Here they are, in no particular order -

Young Adult Books
Chocolate War - Cormier
Go Ask Alice - Anonymous
Stargirl - Spinelli
Monster - Myers
Esperanza Rising - Ryan
Athletic Shorts - Crutcher
Devil's Arithmetic - Yolen
Giver - Lowry
The Winter People - Bruchac
Luna - Peters
Stolen Voices - Filipovic
Candor - Bachorz
Hero Type - Lyga
Speak - Anderson
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Alexie

Shakespeare
The Taming of the Shrew
Much Ado About Nothing
Twelfth Night
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Hamlet
King Henry IV
King Lear
A Winter's Tale
The Tempest

Just for Fun
Garden Spells - Allen
Remember Me? - Kinsella
The Un-Domestic Goddess - Kinsella
Her Fearful Symmetry - Niffenegger
The Abstinence Teacher - Perotta
The Lost Symbol - Brown
American Wife - Sittenfeld
The Necklace: Thirteen Women and the Experiment That Transformed Their Lives - Jarvis
Look Me In the Eye - Robison
Twenties Girl - Kinsella
Twilight -Meyer
New Moon - Meyer
Eclipse - Meyer
Breaking Dawn - Meyer

Education Based
Naked Reading - Lesesne
Blending Genre, Altering Style - Romano
Writing Without Teachers - Elbow
Bird By Bird - Lamott

Books on Tape
Are You There Vodka, it's Me, Chelsea - Handler*
My Horizontal Life - Handler
The Earth, My Butt, and Other big Round things - Mackler
Alt Ed - Atkins
Prom - Andersen
In Search of Mockinbird - Ellsworth
I Feel Bad About My Neck - Ephron*

*I highly recommend these as books on tape. They're read by the authors (Chelsea Handler and Nora Ephron, respectively, and they are hilarious! I don't think they'd be as funny to read because the comedic timing and voice of the authors is truly impeccable. My Horizontal Life is also written by Chelsea Handler, but read by someone else and it was definitely not as funny to listen to as the first one.)

If you want my opinion on a particular book, just ask! I don't want to write out reviews for each and every book (but that's something I'm going to work on for 2010). I'll try to keep you all posted as I try to tackle reading 40 MORE books this year (I've already finished 1!)- all of them will be books in print, and not class related.

New Puppy Pics!

2010-01-05T09:51:00.008-05:00

Over the last week, I took the liberty of taking more pictures of my precious puppy to share with you all! Have a little looksie:

First bath!

He liked to drink the water and didn't like the bath after he got his thirst quenched

"Please let me out, dad. I don't like this anymore :( "

Squeaky clean puppy lounging with his pug on the couch - look how big he's getting!

Laying down - the trick we're working on right now. So far he's mastered sitting and shaking!

Big puppy yawn! Awww : )

New Year's Eve!

2010-01-04T21:19:00.000-05:00

So, as I posted about last week, Josh and my NYE plans didn't go as I had hoped. But, I had accepted the fact that we were going to have a good time whether we were in Royal Oak or not, so I set out to primp and prepare for a fabulous night. I decided, sort of last minute, that my hair needed to be trimmed. It's been awhile since I had a trim (my usual every 6 week appointments went out the window when I decided I needed to start saving more money) so I thought it would be a nice touch for New Year's. Plus, I figured it was a good way to get someone else to blow out my hair so I wouldn't have to worry about it :)

Of course, every salon in Ionia was booked or closed, so I was left with two options: the Wal-Mart Salon or nothing (now, if you're smart, you're probably thinking to yourself, "Ashley, that sounds like only one option, since a Wal-mart salon is never a good idea"). I debated for a while (actually about 3 seconds) before my vain and impulsive side kicked in and I decided that I could trust Wal-Mart with a quick trim. How hard can it be, after all? Well...

I walked in and asked for a trim. A ONE INCH trim. Sounds pretty clear, right? Well... after chatting with the girl a bit, and reiterating that I only wanted ONE INCH trimmed off, I thought we were on the same page. She turned me away from the mirror (something I hate) and started snipping. She asked me questions about my last cut: Was it cut on an angle? Do I want it evened out? Did I have layers? (Um, first of all, shouldn't she be able to figure out the first and third questions on her own? She's the hairdresser here!) and more and more questions like that. When she flipped me around and started blow drying my hair, I realized she had "trimmed" about 4-5 inches off of my hair! THAT IS MORE THAN ONE INCH! I was not happy. I made it work for the night, with the help of my super cute flowered J. Crew headband, but I was NOT happy about it.

But I made the most of my hair plight and got dressed in one of my favorite summer dresses. Paired with tights, knee boots, and a cardigan, it made the perfect NYE dress for dinner! Speaking of dinner, Josh and I ate at Flat River Grill in Lowell and it was fantastic! We started with drinks: a pink grapefruit margarita for me and Johnnie Walker Black Label for Josh (yeah... he splurged) and their amazing wild mushroom bruschetta for an appetizer. Then for the entrees, Josh had the honey black pepper brisket with sweet corn and bacon hash and I had filet mignon with blue crab crumbles and a bearnaise sause, with white cheddar chive mashed potatoes and asparagus. It was delicious! Dessert was creme brulee for me, of course, and a sky high brownie sundae for Josh. It was a scrumptious way to ring in the new year. Plus, Josh wore the new blazer I got him for Christmas and looked oh-so-handsome! But I didn't get any pictures :(

Then we went to one of Josh's friend's houses and chatted and let the puppies run around. Two of his friends got puppies from the same litter as Diesel so they played well into the wee hours of the night. After a few glasses of pink champagne I was ready to call it a night, and we headed back to Josh's house.

Although it didn't turn out like I wanted, it was still an exceptional way to spend my first New Year's with Josh. And... being cryptic like he is, Josh said that in 2010, "maybe we'll give everyone something to talk about"... whatever that means!

Where has the time gone!?

2010-01-04T20:31:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't blogged much during the past week - I've been blissfully disconnected from the blogosphere while I was at Josh's during my "vacation." Don't get me wrong, I love love love blogging and reading other people's blogs, but it was really nice to just relax for a few days with no distractions. I read a few books and taught Diesel some new tricks! I hope everyone enjoyed their New Year's Eve/Day and is ready to welcome 2010 with open arms!

I realized I never posted pics of our Christmas decorations - which were pretty minimal. Anyways, here they are:

Stockings: Diesel's, Josh's, and mine (hung by the passthrough with care - no fireplace!)

The ceramic Christmas tree that my Great Grandma made in 1972. She passed away in August so this was our first Christmas without her here in person. She was definitely present in spirit, especially with this tree greeting me each time I was at Josh's house. It's one of the things I remember most about her house at Christmas and I was so glad to get it after she passed away :)

Kind of a blurry picture of the tree - I love how lit up it is!!

This is the only picture that shows the 'beautiful' John Deere tree skirt

Another tree shot

Side view - before the view was obstructed by wrapped presents! (and yes, those three Bed Bath and Beyond packages were for ME from Josh. They held the most awesome thick copper wire wine rack and a set of crystal wine glasses! I'm spoiled :) )