Let's Get Physical!

I joined a gym and have been utilizing it pretty well. It is in a great location only 2-3 blocks from our house :). I just need to learn how to use the weight machines a little better! Anyways my new favorite part of working out is watching MTV while I run on the treadmill and pedal the bikes! That's right, they play MTV there, the pain of being so out of shape is drowned out by the mindless epsiodes of MADE, True Life, My new BFF, and Next.
Also another motivation for me is my workout playlist which includes-Womanizer by Britney Spears-which is annoying at first but grows on you and is fun to work out to...
Which leads me to wonder what other people are listening to when they work. I try to guess, and it is kind of a fun game!

What is on your workout playlist??

UPDATE!!!

Thanksgiving was wonderful! Dan and I went to visit my sister Erin, Doug, Molly and Nora!! It was so much fun. I am glad I have family close to me. Sometimes it gets lonely out here! I am also happy to have gotten to spend time with my sister and her family. Thanks guys, I hope to see you soon!
While we wee there, Erin took a bunch of "engagement" pictures for us. THey turned out great!!
See for yourself!!








Oh, we also set a date: September 12, 2009 in Cedar Falls-put it on your calendar!

It happened in the Kitchen!

Alright, alright...I am finally posting about the engagement!

Monday,November 17, was our three year anniversary. I was at bible study until 9 and when I came home to Dan. When I got home there were a dozen roses on the counter and Dan was chopping away and getting supper ready. I felt bad because we already bought each other gifts a week ago and I didn't really get him anything for the actual day. Dinner was wonderful it was pasts with vodka cream sauce, wine, and tiramisu for desert. After supper we were standing in the kitchen and Dan got down on one knee and said will you marry me. And I said yes of course! It was sweet and perfect.
Was I surprised? A little but, as you may know I hate surprises and Dan doesn't really keep secrets all that well. I was surprised in the way it was done and that it was on a Monday night!
The ring is beautiful. Dan did a great job picking it out! It is an Emerald cut in a single setting. The band s white gold. Our camera is not good quality, good thing I asked for one for Christmas. So once I get my lovely sister to take a better picture I will post those :).

There really are no real plans yet, once there are I will let you all know!
Thanks for all the well wishes, I am truly blessed to have such great friends!

Raindrops On Roses and Whiskers on Kittens...

These are a few of my favorite things :)

(I know there is a lot of blogging going on tonight, but our Internet wireless router is not working right and this is the first time I have been on in awhile and I don't know when I will make it back again).

I love these American Apparel socks and shirts. I had to buy the socks for my Halloween Costume. And even though they were pricey..they were super comfortable. I guess I know, no small child made them...But their owner is a little creepy/sketchy...anyways I think the deep v shirts are my favorites :)





BOOTS!!! I never thought I would say that, but I love the new boots I have recently acquired! I recommend everyone get a pair! They keep my feet warm :)





Scarves!! They are perfect for my cold office space!

Tights! Target has them for cheap and some cute styles, they are also perfect for my cold office space. Maybe I will be brave enough to try leggings sometime. I said MAYBE.

Orange Tic Tacs- I ate a lot of them when I was Paulie Bleeker. Now I know why he can't get enough.

Panera-I can't get enough You Pick Two Combos. It isn't the best food I have ever eaten, but it is the perfect weather for A bowl of soup or salad or sandwich. It always hits the spot.

MGMT, The Killers, The Envy Corps, and The Black Kids, etc....Great music and when any of the songs play on my iPod,; it makes me HAPPY!!! If you want to know what songs I am digging on my ipod right now, ask me...Maybe I will blog about it later!

Dan's Wallpapers...I love them and the office ones crack me up!! They always brighten my day!

The 10...

Inspired by my friend's post. I have decided to make a list of boys as well. THis was hard for me to make...I don't really have "type" but I think we can gather I love good senses of humor and smart asses :). We all know I love my Dano, but he is exempt from this list...

1) Mark Ruffalo- He always plays, the sensitive, caring, funny boyfriend...He is from the Midwest, Wisconsin to be exact, so that in itself is appealing. Also he is Handsome, but not too hot. He also is scruffy and has a hairy chest :)



2) Ryan Gosling- After I saw the Notebook, he was on my list....


3) David Villa-Someone started making me watch soccer, I realized it wasn't so bad after all. Especially when the players for the team I like look like Orlando Bloom :)


4) Iker Casillas-see #3


5) James Franco- Ever since Freaks and Geeks...He was hilarious in Pineapple Express too :)


6) Andy Samberg- He is HILARIOUS


7) Paul Rudd- Also Hilarius and he plays jerks so well....I love his white man dance..





8)Conan O'Brien-Probably one of the funniest people EVER. Plus he graduated from Harvard so he has brains too!



9) Brandon Flowers- He is the lead singer from the Killers, he is a little odd, but it is kind of hot. Plus he is very talented.


10) Seth Rogen- In my defense I liked him on Freaks and Geeks. He was a smart ass and something about that was very appealing...

Halloween!

Well since my last couple of posts, my costume changed a little bit. I went as Paulie Bleeker from the movie Juno. My co-worker went as Juno. It was a great costume and we got a lot of compliments. A lot of people said I looked a lot like Bleeker, I am not sure how to take that...


It was a cheap costume and I think it turned out well.

Now Dan's costume is a little harder to explain, but I will try. There is a phenomenon on the internet called Rick Rolling . In short, it is a bait and switch prank. You click on a link expecting to see something and then the Rick Astley video "Never Going to Give You Up" starts playing. Last year for April Fool's You Tube 's prank was RickRolling everyone by having the featured videos all go to the Rick Astley video.
So Dan came to the party in a poorly made ghost costume.


After a half hour, he played the song and took of the sheet and became Rick Astley.



On the way to the party, he came up with the idea to buy Rolling Rock beer and change all the Os to Is (Rolling Rick). But it was too late...Maybe next year Dano!

Twins!

Ok, I know this is is a post right after another one, but my oldest sister told me to do it! And speaking of sisters...Mine are twins. Which got me to thinking the other day, is there anyone out there who looks like me? I have had people tell me I reminded them of so and so...Do you have a non-relative twin?? According to a lot of mine and Dan's friends, I remind them of Kristen Schaal. You may know her from The Daily Show and Flight of The Conchords. Do you see a resemblance?


In a previous post I talked about my Halloween costume. I think I am going to have two this year, which I will post about when I have pictures! But Dan and I will probably go with the theme, famous redheads of the 80s! I won't spoil Dan's costume, but I am going to be Molly Ringwald.



I am super excited put this costume together!

Besides looking like each other...I always thought my sisters looked like Melissa Joan Hart.



If you want to see who you look like you can go HERE.

Who do you look like??

Dream Job!

It is FRIDAY!!!! When I was younger, I could never really relate to Loverboy's song, "Working for the Weekend"-but it really resonated with me this week. I am very glad it was Friday!

Today I was thinking, what would I would my dream job be? What would I do if I could do any job? I thought a bit and came up with a few options...In the fashion world-I think it would be fun to source fabrics for designers to wear. So I would go around and pick out textiles/fabrics from different vendors. Also another job would be to be a stylist who picks out outfits for a cast of a show or movie.

Another job I think I would like is to pick out the music for movie soundtracks. I love music and I love making mixed cds (even though it isn't cool to make cds anymore. In college I wored on the radio and loved making play lists. I think it would be fun.

Obviously, these are probably careers I would never pursue but it is fun to think about when days are slow at my current job =)!

So if you could do anything what would you do???

OctoBRrrrr!!

Things have been going good lately, and as a result haven't been able to update as much as I would like. I cannot believe it is October already-even though it still feels like summer here. I remember when I was little and October was cold!!!

Dan's dad came and visited this weekend. It was a lot of fun we went out to eat adn to a festival in Grandview.We also love to have visitor's (wink).

Anyways I have been reading my friend's blogs and this ONE has inspired me to write a little bit about Halloween, which is also one of my favorite holidays.

The other day I was driving and I saw some decorations that put a chill down my spine...not because they were supposed to be scary. It was like a witch doll, but very cartoonish looking and a mummy and they were hanging lifelessly in the tree. It really creeped me out. So here is a tip when decorating...let's not hang bodies from the trees...
Also I love costumes! You may (or may not) remember past (recent) years as a fem-bot and a girl gone wild. In middle school I won contests for being a Ty beanie baby and a Hershey kiss. And this year work is doing a contest, but I am coming up with costume (?) block.
I thought I could be Meredith from the office...and put a bat on my head and carry around a big gulp. But not everyone watches the show...Any suggestions??
Our friends are also excited about having a party this year- so Dan and I need to come up with something good...we have a few ideas, but maybe you have more? Oh and Raggedy Ann and Andy is out of the question...

The Bomb.com

Well, it was another crazy week. It was really getting off to a great start, especially after a week of no power. On Wednesday, I was driving to work and for once was having a great day. I was going to get to work a little early and have a great day. I tried to pull into the driveway and there was a firetruck blocking the way so I had to turn around and go in the side drive. I got out of my car and walked to the building, only to meet my co-workers walking out. I didn't see or smell any smoke. So I thought, ok this is a gas leak or something. All of the surrounding buildings had emptied out as well. More and more people were beginning to show up and no one knew what was gong on. Then there was a buzz in the crowd and we discovered a patrolling officer found a suspicious package in the parking lot and we were waiting on the bomb squad to come. I guess they had a robot ad dogs and everything, but I missed it because I was standing on the right side of the building. Everyone was on the phone with someone trying to see if it was on the news or if the knew anything. After an hour of waiting we come to find out, some men in that work in another building are part of a band. They often practice after hours, and they forgot to pack their guitar pedals and left them in the parking lot...


It will be interesting to see what next week brings...


On a lighter note, Dan and I went to Swell Season on Monday night. It was a concert by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the people who one the Oscar for Best song for the movie Once. It was wonderful! I loved it!

I did, however, find myself becoming easily annoyed with people. People talking loud during the opening band, people wandering around and trying to find their seats in the dark because they couldn't get there on time...Shocking, right? I know I am picky when it comes to chewing, chomping, and whistling, etc. But I am finding myself to become more easily annoyed with people lately. I used to love most people I met, but now it isn't the case. Maybe I am less naive and more jaded?? Who knows...

I've got the power!

It all started a week ago when I was enjoy a lazy Sunday. I was doing laundry and watching the Office. Then the wind started blowing and my power was going on and off for about 3 hours in 10 minutes surges. Then at 5:20 it went out and did not turn on again...until Friday. It was a mess. Traffic lights were out, tree branches were all over the place, and people were running wild looking for open stores with candles, flashlights and batteries. Luckily I had batteries and flashlights on hand. My stove is gas so I was able to make pasta, soup and other things like that. I read a little before bed and then I hoped the power would be on in the morning...It wasn't and I drove to work to find out it was closed as well...Tuesday I went back to work and was able to charge my phone there. On Wednesday I had to throw my food out and clean the fridge. I was able to watch a little TV because my co-worker gave me a hand held TV. Thursday I picked Dan up from the airport and on the way home the traffic lights and businesses just blocks away from us had power. I was so excited until I saw your building and it was still dark. It was devastating. Finally when I came back home from work on Friday we had POWER!!! It was quite the experience but once I got into a routine it wasn't so bad. I guess now I can say I survived Hurricane Ike :)

Also I found this WEBSITE. Here are some results:

Sunday Funnies!

Also in case you cannot wait until September 25. Here is a teaser for the office!





You can see more previews and webisodes HERE!

In Case You Missed it...

I must say SNL was pretty funny last night!! Here are few highlights in case you didn't get to see it.

The first two make fun of commercials:








And this was the opening sketch. Tina Fey looks exactly like Palin!



My favorite sketch was during the weekend update when Andy Samberg made fun of Cathy form the comics. But unfortunately I couldn't find the clip!

Happy Sunday!

Make it Work!!

As you may know this last week was Fashion Week. Project Runway's show was today! You can go HERE to see the collections of the designers and read reviews. I won't say anything else because I don't want to spoil it for those who like the suspense of surprises. IF you want to see other collections go HERE. I love Zac Posen, Diane Von Furstenberg, Roberto Cavalli, and Anna Sui (I love the crazy color, pattern combos) just to name a few.

Speaking of Project Runway, this is it's last season on Bravo and next season it will be on Lifetime. This is an email between a co-worker and myself predicting what it would be like...

I wrote: I hope it isn't too Lifetime like...

Her response: you mean...only women designers and the challenges would be to create looks for the following: that your husband has left you for a younger woman, that your child has been abducted by your evil ex, that you are valiantly fighting cancer and win, that you are tragically fighting cancer and lose, and for a group collection that you are dressing characters from Nora Roberts, Daniele Steele, etc...

The first challenge will be to create a look that goes from dropping your kid off at school to visiting your sister at rehab/jail/hospital to the grocery store to after school soccer game and fine dining at the pizza shack.


Michael Kors will be replaced by whoever is in charge of Jones New York now and Nina Garcia by the editor of Womens Day or Redbook.I originally put Liz Claiborne but then I remembered that Tim Gunn is now the Chief Creative Officer so it should start to get better.

It made me smile!

This is most certainly true....

This is a post I have been working on for some time and I finally decided to post it...

As most of you know I grew up in small town Iowa and I raised in a small-town Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. I was very active in my church growing up and took all the church's teachings to heart. In this time, I also harbored a great appreciation for Martin Luther. This man, if anything, has taught me to question and to keep questioning the church and dedicate living my life for my faith in and the love of God.

I would be lying if I said I still agreed with ALL the things I learned in church growing up, however I feel this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I still agree with some things I learned.

My spiritual journey has been a crazy one, as I am sure most people's are. When I got to college I became a little less associated with the church. I began to think a lot, about why we are here and how does my faith apply to my life on Earth. For example, what should I study, how should I vote, and most importantly what would Jesus want me to do. Granted I did not go out and buy a WWJD bracelet.

I spent my summers in college at Camp EWALU, and I believe this where my eyes and heart were opened the most. I believe because I was opened to new experiences and different points of view. I learned from the campers that faith can be simple and should not be overly complex. My thinking is along the lines of, why make it more complicated than it should be? This just becomes more confusing and less easy for me to follow when every little thing is analyzed. There really is no need for it. I honestly believe Jesus wants us to love God and our neighbors and to love and take care of one another. I honestly believe it can be that simple, however mankind (me included) has a long way to go before that can happen. I m guessing that is why God has other rules and provisions for us. :)

I do believe there are times when our religion and faith can be used against us to manipulate or control our ways of thinking. There are people in this world that will sadly use whatever they can to stay in control and in power. This does not just happen with Christianity, it happens across the board.
I know liberals are often associated with being God-less and immoral. I however do not see it that way at all. I believe Jesus was probably more of a socialist than anything. He definitely was not republican and probably not a democrat either.
Why do I believe this?

Jesus' main message isn't to look out for yourself and just your family. It is to help those in need, that the meek will inherit the earth, to be humble and thankful, not to worry about money. These are things I worry about everyday. I am far from perfect, but I am working on it! I believe there is a huge group of people in this country and around the world that are at a huge disadvantage and I am failing at doing my part to help them.

Last year, while I was dong my year of service with LVC, I learned a lot from the people of the city. I had some clients with amazing faith. I couldn't believe how they clung to their faith. It would have been easier to turn their back on God and religion, but they didn't. They thanked God for what they still had. I also was amazed in how concerned they were with helping others, even while they were in the middle of their own tragedies. This is one of the most amazing things I have experienced. It helped me realize what is important and that I can help others.

I understand people work hard for what they have and want the best for their families. I understand it is important to conserve values and traditions. I understand that not everyone should have the same things and some people do not work as hard as others. I understand we all have gifts, talents and different life experiences. I just don't understand why we can't help each other out. How are we going to get anywhere if we keep watching our own backs. We are only as strong as the weakest person.

I recently joined a bible study, called BSF, and am looking forward to what will be revealed to me this year. I am very excited because we don't talk about denominations and talk about the bible and what God has revealed to us through his word.
My faith is ever growing and opinions are ever changing. Who knows this post could be irrelevant in week. But for now this what I know to be true, to me it is most certainly true.

I am Politic Vegetarian

It's true. I do not eat red meat when it comes to politics. I understand that is how the game is played and blah blah blah. But when your strategy is to mock and make fun of component, I really have no respect for you and am not going to listen to anything you have to say.

I am going to leave this one to the pro. Enjoy!

The Creepy Van Man

Ok, so in a previous entry I wrote about my experience running and said I would give more detail on that later...Well it is later...

I decided since I was done with school, I should start running again. I must admit I felt really good the first day back, but the next two days I was sore and not that excited. It is a lot like the New Balance Commercials, I am in a Love/Hate relationship with running. In High school running was my life. I loved it and I was pretty good at it. In college, I didn't have state meets to look forward to and I didn't want to make the time for running. I would start but the excitement didn't last long. I was once again excited about running, I felt good and had a lot more energy throughout the day and it was good time to just think and be by myself.

Two weeks ago I was in love with running. I had not looked forward to running in a long time, and for once I thought I finally got back into a healthy happy relationship with it.

That is until a very stupid ignorant man ruined it for me...
It was a Thursday and Dan was teaching a night class, so I thought I could run to the park and be done before he got back. The Park is about three blocks from my house. It has tennis courts, the library, trails, softball/baseball fields, and soccer fields, and much much more. It is a very busy place and I usually felt pretty safe. I would go a little way on on one of the trials but I was never really alone. There were bike riders and other runners and walkers that passed frequently. I never wear my ipod running outside and I am always aware of what is going on around me. I did not have my phone though.
Anyways I finish my run and I go to an open field to do strides. It is a cool down that involves a little speed work. Anyways it is about 70 meters from the road. There was a guy taking pictures of trees right by me and a baseball game starting about 200 meters from me.
I was wearing an over sized tshirt and shorts. I was resting between my strides and I hear someone yell HEY SEXY. I looked and saw a white van driving by. I was like ok it is just a nasty jerk. This, unfortunately was not the first time I have had this happen ( I am sure other girls can agree, it is not that unusual to have happen anymore). So I kept running across the field closer to the baseball game. This time I look over and see the van drive by the other way and slam on his brakes. This time I was like IS THIS FOR REAL? I started getting closer to where the people were and then I saw the van come back again and pull into the parking lot between me and the baseball game. He was driving very slowly and I could feel the creep staring at me...I could not see him, just the shadows that covered him and that is is what creeped me out the most. I didn't have my phone and I couldn't see his license plates. I honestly didn't know what to do. I didn't want to act afraid, because that is what creeps feed on and I did not want to lead him on in anyway. Luckily there were people getting folding chairs out of their car so I started walking towards them and the van drove away.
I was so angry because now I was afraid to walk home because what if I got followed. I stayed by the baseball game for few minutes and went home. I stopped about every 6 steps to make sure I was not followed.

When I got home and started to think about what just happened, I got pretty scared. Before I was really just angry.

I am still pretty mad, because now I do not want to run there or by myself. It took away my freedom to be comfortable of my surroundings and be able to exercise by myself. Maybe I am over reacting, but if that guy was weird enough to do that, what else was he capable of?

I know that if my son ever treated a woman like that he would not be happy about that decision.

I hope that he is not harassing other people there, because it really is a neat park. Hopefully I can find somewhere else to workout soon. I miss running! And as much as I love Dan, it is hard t run with him, because he have different paces and different styles of running. Also every time he runs with me I am reminded how my alone time was taken from me because of some stupid dickwad.

I know self defense and I know not to get into cars with strangers. But that doesn't mean I am prepared for every situation, and that is what scares me

La LA LA La Obama

Here is a little more Obama love-even if you aren't his biggest fan you should still check this out. It is pure Daily Show genius!




Also if you missed the speech: you can watch it or read the transcript HERE!

WOWzA

Obama gave a mighty good speech. I feel motivated, excited, and inspired.

All I can say is bye bye Georgie Boy, don't let the door hit you!

SHORTER and SHORTER!

I am talking about my hair. I got it cut again, and yes it is shorter than it was before. I think I like my hair better shorter. It is a lot easier for me to handle.


This is my hair a year ago

A side view

Behind the ear

The front view

Besides my haircut, life isn't too exciting here. My graduation is tomorrow and then I will officially be a certified paralegal, and let me remind you there are few in the country that are certified through the bar association. But sorry folks, I still cannot give out legal advice.

Dan has started his official break and will be going to Spain in a few weeks. Next weekend we will be traveling to Milwaukee to see Talitha and Darren. I will also get to help at the courthouse with restraining orders as well.

I am also trying to start new hobbies with my free time. Any suggestions? I am going to try sewing again. I did start running, but after a run in with a creepy man in a van am not to keen on going anywhere by myself for awhile. (I will write more about that later). Dan and I will hopefully think of a workout for the both of us to do soon. I also joined a soccer league and our team is called the Vampire Penguins, I am really excited and am hoping to meet some new people and learn a little more about soccer...But now that I have more free time I am looking for new things to try, so please let me know if there are any hobbies you enjoy doing that I could try.

Cat-fight

Are women socialized to compete with each other?
It is becoming a real problem ladies!
I am constantly flipping through TV shows in which there are a gaggle of women who are fighting each other to fight over some rich man. Sorry to break it to you honey, but there is probably a reason why he is trying to find "love" on a television show and still single....
Anyways, the show title my be different but the theme is the same across the board. One man, 13 desperate and catty women fighting with each other to win his approval. I think the thing that upsets me most is the women are not unattractive or unintelligent-for the most part- but they are dangerously desperate. A good friend of mine once told me desperation is like a bad perfume-everyone can smell it form miles away. How true and brilliant is that? Then those who are dangerously desperate wonder why no one wants to be around them or why they always end up with duds...it is a never ending vicious cycle.
My advice to putting an end to it- it raising our daughters to be confident, independent and smart. And our sons to respect women who display these qualities. It is not cute to be Paris Hilton or Jessica Simpson.
I guess I am just annoyed with watching women throw themselves at men, and sacrificing dignity. When did become acceptable to dis other women and our own integrity to fight over a man? This didn't just start yesterday- girls have been catty with each other for a long time. Anyone remember middle school? I just wish this wasn't acceptable behavior and that we as society would stop rewarding it by putting it on TV and continuing to encourage women who act this way. Let's be friends and not catty with one another. Let's help each other out and not compete. Let's encourage one another and not sabotage one- another.

So ladies- let's take off our gloves, stand tall and walk on by- he is not worth it.

Ooh Garfield!

Check this out it pretty funny! Garfield minus Garfield It makes me smile!

Funny Girl!

I don't know if many of you watch Last Comic standing, but I am pleased to announce a female finally won! Iliza Shlesinger a 25 year old woman is now the Last Comic Standing. I was so happy I think I literally had tears in my eyes. And why is this such a big deal you may ask?? Because I believe comedy is one of the toughest places for women to be taken seriously. I bet you you are thinking, taken seriously in comedy? Is this girl crazy? And the answer is yes I am, but comedy is unfortunately a hard row to tow for women.

Luckily when things like this happen, it starts a trend a hopefully soon women will be seen as funny and not as woman trying to be funny.

In college I was in an improv troupe and I loved it. That is until, we had a battle with the gender issue. The girls were constantly being put in roles they were not happy with and the guys continued to dominate the scenes. I don't think they were doing it purposefully but it was happening. It was frustrating because we could be more than a skank or a ditz, but never got a full opportunity to display it.

I have heard from other girls in comedy groups that the same sort of things happened. I find it very sad, but luckily there are more and more women breaking through and creating a path for all of us.

Luckily I do have some great comedic role models: Gilda Radner, Jane Curtain, Amy Pohler, Molly Shannon, Anna Gasteyer, Kristen Wiig, Tina Faye, Kelly Kaling, Angela Martin, Jenna Fischer and the list goes on and on. When I was younger one of my many aspirations was to be on SNL, because of these women. I believe without them I would not have had the funniness and inspiration to have dabbled in comedy and improv.
Unfortunately I have fallen out of the comedy scene, and there aren't a lot of opportunities in OHIO. Hopefully some day I can get back into the groove, like Stella. Until then I will continue to be inspired by the women who make me laugh!

Speaking of women who make me laugh, check out Dan's blog.

DONE!

That's right I am done with school. I got my grades and it is official I am a Certified Paralegal! Now I have nine more hours a week I get to decide what to do with. The year went quickly but I know for sure I won't be going back to school anytime soon. My graduation is officially Wed August 27th. Then I will be DONE!

Another thing I am DONE with is the ridiculous games politicians play. Please stop hitting each other under the belt and tell me what you are going to do for me and the rest of the people in this country. Yes, we all want change, but what are you going to do to make that change??? Also why are wasting your time and money slinging mud at your component?? We get it, you don't agree on topics and you think you would be a better president. Now set an example and put your money towards more important things and quit wasting my time...

And now I am DONE with this post!

IOWA: The Motherland

Well, this weekend Dan and I had the pleasure to drive to Iowa for one of my best friend's wedding in which I got to be a groomsmaid. It was a loooong drive, but luckily my dear sister Erin lives in Bloomington and lets us crash at her place.
We left Columbus later on Thursday night, ran into some construction delays. Long story short we arrived in Bloomington at 2:30 in the morning, which mind you, is 3:30 our time.
The next morning we got to hang out with Erin and Nora, it was a lot of fun and we hada great food and conversation. Then Dan and I left for Moline. We checked into the hotel and went to the rehearsal dinner. Which was followed by great food :).
Afterwords we hung out in the hotel. I just really wanted to sit in the hot tub and when we got down there, 15 teenage boys were occupying the tub. I did go in for a little bit but left when it got too awkward.
The next morning I got up and met the girls to get our hair and makeup done. We went to Capri (the hairschool). It was a good time, I was happy with my hair and make up.
We went to the church and got ready and then the wedding followed. We went to the reception which was at a vineyard in Colona, IL. It was so much fun. It was a great laid back wedding. I got to see people I sued to work with at camp and some I went to school with. I had a great time and am so thankful I got to be a part of it.
Sunday morning we left Moline and met my roommate from college, Sarah, at a McDonald's for a quick cup of coffee then off to Eldora. We hung out with my parents and my best friend from before preschool came to visit. It was good to be home again. Again Dan and I enjoyed good food and conversation.
Then we went to Ankeny and to Des Moines to see my other sister Steph and Dan's Mom and my best friend from high school Troy. We went to Steph's for food and again had great food and conversation with Jay, Steph and X. That little boy is too cute. Dan and I left to meet up with Troy. After that, we went to Dan's mom's house. It was really good to see everyone and hang out.

The next morning we went out for breakfast and spent the day hanging around Dan's moms and then we met Dan's dad for late lunch/early supper with his dad. We went to Mustard's, which is a really good restaurant. The day was filled with great food and conversation.
We drove to Erin's house that night and woke up the today and headed back to Ohio.

It was a great trip and I am glad I got to see everyone. We did miss a lot of people, but hopefully we will catch them soon. It made me realize how far away we really are from everyone! I hope someday to be a little closer to home. Thanks to everyone that made time for us-we are lucky to have such wonderful friends and family!
To see pics of the weekend click HERE and HERE!

World's Worst Blogger

Maybe I am being a little over dramatic-but I am horrible at blogging. The good news is, I will be done with school in two weeks and will FINALLY have more time/desire to blog it up!
Let's see not a whole lot has happened..story of my life...I am busy with work and school, just trying to keep my head above the water!
I got a car and glasses.
Dan graduated with a Masters from OSU. It was the HOTTEST graduation ever. 96 degrees in the hot sun from 11:30-3:30. I got a nice sun burn too. It was a good ceremony, just very hot. Dan's mom and dad came to visit, and we went out all over Columbus. I als got ot hear Brian Williams speak, it was really amazing. He mentioned about using blogs to discuss issues that are important to us. Something I think I will start dong very soon.
In the beginning of July Dan and I went to Bloomington to my sister Erin's for Nora's baptism and my dad's 60th birthday! It was a lot of fun to see everyone and hang out. I like that is is a shorter drive than going all the way to Iowa as well. All my nieces and nephew are growing up so fast. It is also a nice reminder that i may not be at the point in my life where it is time to have children. It was great time, great food, great company and GREAT fireworks....
Last weekend Dan and I went to King's Island, an amusement park in Cincinnati and had a blast! We went on some rollercoasters and rides and to the water park to the Wave Pool. It brought back pleasant memories of family vacations to Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun.
Well now that school is about done my goal is to have my blog updated frequently with rantings and ravings for you to enjoy!

Until then let these pictures satisify your hunger!