Thursday, July 28, 2011

it's just like college

After a (not so) busy day at work, I got home and was expecting Ben to be getting ready to leave for his night at work.  I had plans to clean the house a little, maybe catch up on some dvr, but most likely sit on the back patio with Breckyn and dig into my newest summer read.

To my surprise, Ben got the night off because of the weather!  Which means we grabbed a pizza for dinner (thanks Hungry Howie's for the free birthday pizza coupon!!) and now we are headed out for the night.

Yep, going out on a Thursday.  This should be a regular occurrence for me especially in the summer but in my old age, (26 in 3 days yikes!) I usually end up taking it easy because there's lots of work ahead of me during the weekend.

But not tonight!  Cheers to drinking on week nights :)

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

we need more party rock anthem!

This past weekend I took Saturday night off to celebrate my friend Mary's bachelorette party.

I have known Mary since my freshman year of college but we did not become close friends until our junior year.  She is part of what we call the 'fab four.'  She is part of my monthly dinner group, that would not be possible without Katie our organizer.  She is the second of the four to become engaged, and in two weeks be married.

We are all so excited for her and of course needed to celebrate bachelorette style.  You know, go out, drink and party as if once she gets married she will never be allowed out of the house again.  Buy lots of lingerie, as if most girls don't just sleep in boxers and tank tops 6-7 days a week.  And of course, dress up with crowns, sashes, and some type of penis on you in order to distinguish yourself as the soon to be bride.

Yes, I do think some of these things are a little silly but it is all part of tradition and all a good reason for a bunch of friends to get together.

I made my first trip out to Madison where we had dinner at a winery, and then we headed back to the eastside and went out in Willoughby.  I of course did not do the best job at taking pictures, but I did get two pretty cute pics to share.


the beautiful bride to be

myself, kristen, and katie
A good time was had by all and Mary did not stop smiling.  I cannot wait for the wedding and all the fun celebrating we will do!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

goodbye Borders

I love bookstores.  So much so, that I worked for Borders Books and Music for a little over a year while I was in college.  Yes, some may say that I'm a nerd, or a geek, or a bookworm, but that's okay.  I embrace it and even talk about it pretty often.

This week it was announced that all Borders stores will be closing by the end of September.  I honestly almost shed a tear when I read this in the paper.

Books to me are something that I cannot get enough of.  There was a time when I was trying to figure out if I could read books and get paid for it I like them so much.  I then realized that there are very few jobs like this and with a nice teaching job like I am lucky enough to have it would be a little crazy to make an attempt at something that might not end so well.

I love a good book.  When I read one I can't help but tell others about it and I love getting recommendations from friends.  I like fun beach reads, serious family stories, Harry Potter, historical fiction and non-fiction, and young adult novels that I get to read with my class.

Thinking about the idea that bookstores might someday not be necessary makes me so sad.  I love technology, don't get me wrong, but I need to have a book in my hands.  I love to smell the pages. 

Confession:  I go into bookstores and smell pages of books.  I almost always buy some books too, but sometimes I just smell them.

Borders, you will be missed and I am so sad to see you go.  Buy books and read them!  I don't want to have to read stories to my children someday only from a computer.  I want them to love the smell and feel of books just as much as I do.  I will most definitely be making as many trips as I can to my local Borders before it closes just so I can say goodbye and support the printed word.

Buy a book and read and tell all your friends to do the same!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

the end of our midnight movies

  

It all started my freshman year of high school.  Yep, you would think it would have been earlier than that when I was actually a little kid,  but the honest truth is I read the first four Harry Potter books in just a few months during my freshman year.

It was perfect.  The first four books were out so when I finished one I was able to move right on to the next.  Until I finished the fourth and I was like, what do I do now??

Then the movies started coming out.  My sister and I started going to all the midnight movies.  I'm pretty sure there was only one or two movies we did not see at midnight.  When we went to see the sixth movie, my sister went right from the movie to work because she was working the 3:30-10 am shift.  

Some people think we are crazy, but we had so much fun doing it.  Last Friday at 12:01 am we saw the last Harry Potter movie.  It was sad to think that we won't get to do that again.  The movie was great and I will probably go to the theater to see it again but nothing beats the midnight movie with my little sister.


Monday, July 18, 2011

Taste of Tremont

Yesterday we rounded out a very busy working weekend with the annual Taste of Tremont.  It was the first time we've ever gone and it was awesome!

Besides the fact that it was 90 degrees and I was sweating the minute I stepped out of the shower and did not stop until this morning when I broke down and turned on the air conditioning, we had a great time.

There was a ton of great food and even more tasty beers had by all.  We were lucky enough to snag two seats at Flying Monkey where we ended up sitting for over 2 hours thanks to the great bartender we had who kept feeding up lots of delicious drinks.  Jenna ended up joining us there and as we were leaving we met up with Tony who we don't get to see very often. 

So we continued to eat and drink, ran into a few people from work, ran into old friends, and ended the night hanging out and tossing some bags at Tommy and Joe's new place.

All in all it was a great weekend.  I did however fail to take any pictures that are even close to being worth sharing.  I know, I know, I'm failing at my goal but oh well.  We all had fun and are looking forward to the next summer festival to attend!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

decisions

Unlike some people, I have a hard time making a decision.

It takes me forever to decide on anything that is big or important.  A new car, furniture, computer, paint color for a room, and I'm sure plenty other things that should be quick easy decisions have all been tough, long drawn out choices for me to make.

The newest decision is what new phone should I choose.  I have the chance to upgrade from the slowest phone that ever existed to anything I want.  Now, when first got this Blackberry I will say that I was in love with it and it was pretty darn great, at the time.  It no longer lives up to the hype and I am beyond frustrated with it.

I've been looking at the iPhone and the Droid Incredible 2.  I went to Verizon with my mom for about an hour and a half and talked to a super nice sales rep who told me everything there was to know about both phones.  I proceeded to tell her I needed some time but thanks for all the help.  I spent the week checking reviews out on the internet and asking anyone I knew what they thought.

The basic feedback was "I love my Droid!" or "I love my iPhone!"  Depending on what everyone had determined what they like.  And both are well liked.  This did not help me at all.

Today I went back to the store with Ben and spent another hour talking to the same sales lady and another guy that was there to help out and I still was not sure which to choose.  I finally decided that the Droid was the way to go.  It had all the talking features that sounded so cool and free music to download.  The Incredible 2 even had the same front facing camera. 

We were all excited because the decision had finally been made.  She went into the back to grab the phone and accessories to get me checked out and...yep, they were completely out of stock!  Are you kidding me?  Is this a sign???

I decided that I was not going to change my decision so I went home and have every intention to go back up on Wednesday to pick up my new phone.  Let's hope nothing changes before then!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

a jam packed weekend of fun

It's already Wednesday and I have had no time to even recap my weekend.  I thought summer was about relaxing, catching up on all the stuff around the house that I didn't do during the school year but have time for now, for reading all the books on my list, and spending time with my puppy who is not a huge fan of this heat.

I wish that was what summer was about.  But instead I got a job, taught Safety Town, decided to teach summer school and am babysitting two days a week.  Yep, that doesn't leave much time for all of that other good stuff.

This past weekend was the 4th of July holiday weekend and it was a great time.  Here is a little recap:

Friday: work at Market Garden Brewery where we were completely packed which is awesome since we've only been open a week!

Saturday: Jillian and Tim's wedding!  Ben and I drove down to Akron to share in this special day and it was so much fun.  The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a blast!

Sunday:  Family party all the way out in Aurora with lots of good food and good drinks, then back to the westside for fireworks with my mom at Crocker Park

Monday (the 4th!): a little shopping with my mom in the morning, then out to Ben's moms with the dog for the day to cookout and swim

Wonderful weekend, wonderful family, and wonderful friends.  I am one lucky girl!