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!

Is it June already??

Busy. That about sums up my life since the last post. I guess I could say a lot of new things have been popping up my way too!

Two weeks ago I got a new car- a 2009 Toyota Corolla and it is silver. I must say it is a new found freedom. No more relying on my b/f to tote me around Columbus. I have not taken any pictures, but here is on off the internet-it looks the same!

Pretty Impressive huh!


Also-I have a new niece-she is adorable and her name is Nora Nicole! I cannot wait to meet her. I am so looking forward to seeing my family in a month!

The Sex and they City movie finally came out, and I was not disappointed by any means. I went to the midnight show, and saw it again on Saturday. It was really cute, makes you want to shop and really makes you miss your friends.

I got a good review at work the other day- so I guess work is gong well. I cannot wait to be done with school. Speaking of which Dan finally graduates this weekend and I am so excited!

I'll update more later!

My struggle....

"...And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

This is probably one of my favorite verses. And Today I felt inspired to write about my eternal/internal struggle.

I have been writing light, airy, fun entries lately, but not today. Everyday I wake up and I begin to struggle. I always want to do what is right-what is best for everyone. I try to watch where I shop, support those who are need, and think of ways to better the environment and world so we can all enjoy it. This is something important to me because I believe everyone deserves to be treated with kindness, dignity and respect. Though I may never know what it really is like to struggle and suffer- I do know no one deserves to live this way.

What am I talking about??? I am talking about everything- from Sweatshops to Racism, from Global Warming to Domestic Violence, from Homelessness to War.

There is so much going on in our world every day, it makes reading the news hard. Playing off my previous post, the world is need of a makeover!

We all know my hate for Wal-Mart, but lately I found out Target may not be much better. The website knowmore.org gives information on different corporations who really don't care about much except making a profit. This really upsets me because, I think I am doing something good and find out I am doing just as much harm. So why does this continue to happen? Because we allow it to. Sometimes it is easier to pretend it doesn't go on, or to ignore it. I think if we DEMAND a change and settle for nothing less-there can be a change. I could write for years about how evil Corporate America etc. is but I think we all know that.

My challenge is to fight ignorance and learn about where you are getting stuff or how it is made. I bet you will be surprised.

I know you are thinking I am fighting something that is much bigger than me, but I am sick of what is going on. I need a change and I hope you do too!

This is how I will act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with my God. I know there are different plans for all of us, what are yours? Or more importantly,What does the Lord require of you?

Makeover!

That's right, I need(ed) a change. The snow and cold are gone, and it is warm and sunny now. The end of the school year is getting closer and closer. Everything is changing around me in my environment, so I decided to follow suit and give my blog a makeover. I also got a new email address.

Speaking of makeovers, I watch a lot of TLC's What Not to Wear, and I always wonder how they would make me over and how much fun that would be to get fashion tips and money to shop. Though I wonder if I would agree with the hosts or just go and do my own thing...I did get my hair cut last weekend and am pretty pleased with it, considering all I did was tell her I wanted it off my neck this summer and she could do whatever she wanted.

Here are some pics:












I am excited Winter's makeover Spring is here! I cannot help but wonder what summer has in store for me.

Buckle up!

Alright boys and girls time for another fun and crazy ride of catch up in my fantastically mundane life- you better buckle up!

Dan's dad came to visit last weekend and it was really good time, except I was sick for most of it. On Saturday I could barely talk or swallow, my throat was really sore and swollen from sinus drainage-yummy! I am much better now though. It was good to have a visitor and it looks we may have some more for Dano's graduation.

Dan passed his masters exams and was accepted onto the PHD program. He is still deciding if this what he wants to do or not. He found a job at a univeristy he was really excited about, but it is in Bloomington, Indiana...Other than that it is just the same old with him-busy busy busy with school.

I am good, work is good and school is almost done. I start my new and final quarter in two weeks!! I have a professor right now that I highly detest and cannot wait to never see him again. We all know how it goes when I don't get along with teachers....

I am also very highly disappointed in the election fiasco that is consuming our nation. I am hoping it doesn't drag on much longer it is pretty ridiculous! In fact it is very disheartening....but don't get me started-because I could talk for hours about it....maybe I will write more on it soon.

I hope everyone celebrated Earth Day!

What's Up?

Well, this is my little update! Last weekend Dan and I went to Illinois to see Erin, Doug, and Molly. It was wonderful to see them and we had a really good time. Molly is quite the character and really loves Ariel! Hopefully we can get back soon to see them.

Dan had his exams this week, so things were pretty low key and not too exciting. He is done with one part and has two more to go! He will be done this Friday! I am pretty excited about that.

The weather here has been wonderful and I have started exercising again and learning how to play soccer. This weekend has been nasty weather-wise though...

This week in class I had to act like I was a jury member for voir dire. It was a lot of fun, and my class really enjoyed it too. It really made me miss doing improv, maybe I will get back to that someday.

I have been a little homesick lately too. I really miss my friends from school and Milwaukee. Hopefully I will get to see them soon. I don't mind the people here I have met, I just miss my old friends and close relationships.

Other than that, nothing worth noting here!