A New Year

Here we are again, on the eve of a new year. It’s really just another day, but symbolically it can signal change for so many people. Working with the media, it always makes me laugh about the silly stories that come out this year about New Year’s resolutions. How many people stick to them anyway? Real change requires commitment … and we all know humans are slow to change. We are creatures of habit!

For me, 2009 will be a year of refocusing on home and local activities. We’re going Maui in February, but after that Brandon and I plan on completely cleaning out our basement so it is useful for more than a junk room and buying that furnace we’ve said we would buy for the past few years but put off in lieu of vacation. (I don’t regret it—life’s too short not to travel!) We also want to get a new refrigerator so all that great local produce from the CSA won’t spoil!

So … as I reflect back on the great experiences I’ve had in 2008 and look ahead to 2009, I feel thankful. Thankful for my family’s good health, a secure job, supportive friends and a devoted life partner—corn and all!

We’re headed to Columbus for our annual New Year’s eve celebration with Anna and Andrew tonight. It will be good to catch up!

In other updates, Christmas in Kentucky was nice despite my being sick. (Who likes puking on Christmas…or ever, for that matter?) Mom got Brandon and I a Wii game system—which was totally unexpected—so we had fun playing it with Justin and Becca. (Mom also got them a Wii.) We went hiking later that weekend at Caesar’s Creek once I felt better. It was unseasonable warm, so I probably would have insisted we go anyway even if I had still been sick. This week, I caught up with Sara. It was great to see her!

Well, lunch break is over. Have a safe and happy new year everyone!

Christmas at Home

This weekend was our time to have Christmas at home. It was a long work week and we were both really tired, so the down time was very needed.

Friday night we splurged and went to Arthur's for some good burgers and potato skins. YUM.

Saturday we prepped cookie dough then did our own thing in the afternoon. I went to the West Chester Farmer's Market and bough meat from an Amish family from Greenville, then braved the grocery crowds to stock up on food. That night, Brandon and I watched It's A Wonderful Life--a classic and must for the holiday season. It's so easy to lose sight of what is important in life. Overall, it is a wonderful life -- and it's good to be reminded of such.

Sunday we baked all three batches of cookie dough--spice and sugar cookies--then ran errands. I tried to convince Brandon to buy a new refridgerator, but he didn't cave. Sunday night my volunteers at STAF threw me a surprise birthday party. It was really nice and they totally surprised me.

Now I must go ice the cookies we baked yesterday...

Merry Christmas everyone!

Thank Goodness It's Friday

It’s been a long work week. I’m ready for a relaxing weekend at home just me, Brandon and the pets. We’re going to make Christmas cookies. YUM.

Last weekend, we had a great dinner with Bess and Kevin at the Precinct for our 30th birthdays. The food was excellent and it was great to spend time with the parents. Unfortunately, Anna and Andrew couldn’t make it because Andrew was very ill. We’re looking forward to a New Year’s Eve celebration with them in Columbus.

Oh—and, yes, I did survive 30. Definitely got a few new creaky bones and wrinkles overnight, but I can deal.

Less than 60 days to Hawaii! Whoo hoo!

Dec. 13

Well, this is it—the end of a decade. Tomorrow, I turn 30.

I guess this means I’m officially an adult. I feel like I should have some grand revelation about life or accomplished a certain number of things by this landmark. Not sure what those “things” are, but maybe I’ll figure that out in the next decade.

Otherwise, I’m looking forward to a weekend at home with my soon-to-be 30-year-old husband. We’ve been going 100 miles an hour the past few weeks and I’ve had a lot of time to just relax. I’m also looking forward to a fabulous dinner at the Precinct with Bess, Kevin, Anna and Andrew Saturday night. Shouldbe fun!

It's the Holiday Season!

We've been busy with holiday activities the past few weeks.

We enjoyed a nice weekend down in Kentucky the week prior to Thanksgiving. Brandon spent the Saturday watching football while I spent time shopping and hanging out with mom. We ate one of our favorite country meals (chicken and dumplings--YUM) and then Brandon went backto football and Becca and I went to see Twilight. The movie wasn't the best, though it wasn't awful. It was great to spend time with Becca just us. Sunday we dragged out all the Christmas decorations and put up Mom's Christmas tree with Becca and Justin.

We spent Thanksgiving in Columbus with Brandon's family. We had a great time micro-managing each other, eating, playing games and watching Christmas movies. I made pumpkin spice cake and a chocolate pistachio torte.

Here is a picture of Brandon with Anna...


And one of Brandon and me being silly...



Saturday we headed to Dirr Nurseries in Goshen to cut a Christmas tree. Brandon and his family did this every year growing up, so it seemed like a fun tradition to start in our house.

We got an awesome white pine tree. Brandon did most of the cutting, but I took a few swipes. In addition to cutting a tree, we also bought two nice, handmade wreaths and enjoyed some hot chocolate while feeding the family goats. Here are a few pictures:









We spent the afternoon decorating the tree and the house, which turned out great! Sunday I cooked dinner for Dad, Brandon and I then we set up the old Lionel train Dad gave us a few years ago. The train is absolutely wonderful! I'm so glad Dad refurbished it and gave it to us.

Here are a few pictures of Brandon and Dad working on the train and one of our family (minus the cats) in front of the tree:

Wedded Bliss

Brandon and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary this weekend. I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful husband and life partner. He keeps me grounded when I act crazy, makes me laugh when I am sad and loves me no matter what.

I feel fortunate to be in such a solid relationship and look forward to many years to come. No, we're not the Cleavers, but we're probably closer than most.

The Human Condition

Last Friday, I had one those moments that makes everything seem to slow down in your mind. I had three virtually simultaneous thoughts pop into my head:

• Geez, it’s so easy for us to take for granted just how fortunate I am.
• I should have been in the Peace Corps. Perhaps I could be doing something right now to lessen someone else’s suffering.
• How could anyone not want to adopt after seeing these suffering children?

The human condition can be staggering, especially when you are looking at photos like those in this MSBC slide show — http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27435600/displaymode/1107/s/2/ - which I was.

When I see images like these – both abroad and in our own country – I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the injustice of the world. It makes all the stupid little things people (myself included) worry about seem so unimportant and silly. It also makes me incredibly thankful to be born into the country and family I am in. It always amazes me how shortsighted and arrogant some people are about their lives. Don’t they realize fate (or faith) could have dealt them a much more sour life.

Halloween, Neighbors, Animals and Other Updates

I'm late to post about it, but we had a great weekend at home again. Friday night was trick-or-treat. Brandon wasn't so hot on dressing up for Halloween, but I decide to overrule him and stopped on the way home to get impromptu costumes.

I was a pirate and Brandon was a pimp/rockstar type. It turned out GREAT--especially considering we had no official costumes, just accessories. (Pictures to come later.)

On Saturday night we had our first--to be annual, I believe--block party. It was far more fun than I expected and we got to meet lots of people. We ate food and drink spiked spiced cider (mulled by Brandon) while enjoying the excellent fall weather. After we were socialized out, we retreated to the backyard and burned a fire in our firepit.

Sunday we went to East Fork Lake to hike and enjoy the fall leaves. We really wanted to go to the Barack Obama rally at UC, but it was just too much time to give up. People were in line by 1:30 p.m., and I have shelter duty of Sunday nights.

Speaking of shelter animals, I'm so excited to hear that the Obamas are going to get a dog for their little girls. I'm even more excited to hear that hear they plan to get a rescue dog. Whoo hoo! There are a lot of irresponsible breeders out there are far too many furry friends in shelters who would love a good, permenant home.

Volunteering at Save the Animals Foundation is one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. I'm selling raffle tickets for the HOLIDAY BIG BUCKS RAFFLE right now, if anyone is interested. Tickets are $5/each and they give away $8,000 total.

Here are some of my favorite cats:

CLARK--he was abandoned


WILL FERAL--he came to us with a broken hip


BUBBA--he came to us with severe chest trauma after some idiot shot him with a BB gun

Ba-ROCK the Vote!

Democracy is in progress! Get out and vote!

Happy Halloween!

For your amusement, I'm posting a photo from last year's Halloween night. I dressed up as a vampire to scare the kids. it worked well. They were distracted by me and the make up, then Brandon showed his fangs as they got close!

Barack Obama

I feel hopeful for the future of America tonight after watching Barack Obama's special message to America tonight.

I believe Barack Obama is an exceptional man who can unify in lead our country to a better future. If missed the address tonight, I encourage you to watch it.

Facebook, Weaknesses and Weekends at Home

I've had lots of things pop into my mind lately, but haven't taken the time to blog about them...so, this is going to be a bit unfocused. Betty King would not approve.

I'll start with the latest: Facebook. It's a curse. It's addictive. I'm a very social person, so I am naturally curious about where old old friends from high school and college ended up. At the same time, it is easy to become completely obsessed with finding and contacting people. I especially enjoy looking at pictures. It's a slippery slope, though, because like most things in my life I instantly start comparing myself to the people I used to hang out with. It's like living vicariously through a TV show...but through really people. It's crazy!

I'm also glad Election Day is almost here. I believe Barack Obama will be our next president, and that makes me feel good about the future. The pessimist in me is worried though. So...ROCK THE VOTE ya'll! Unless you're going to vote for McCain. :)

I've also been thinking about my biggest weakness. I seem to never be satisfied with anything. Why is that? It's a bit neurotic and it seems to cross into every aspect of my life. It makes me too competitive for my own good sometimes and far too critical of other people as well as myself. At least I am much more aware of it than in the past!

Last Wednesday, we went to a OU alumni wine tasting at a local winery called Tino Vino with our friend DuWayne. It was a lot of fun and good to catch up with DuWayne. I also got to meet one of his co-workers (and a fellow OU alum) who was really nice.

Brandon and I have spent the last two weekends in Cincinnati. It has given us a nice break from all the hussle bussle. This weekend we went to the Jim Beam Bourbon tasting with our friends Paula and Kirk on Friday. (Kirk works for Jim Beam and this is a fundraiser they do for Sky Ranch and Kid's Cafe.) I sat next to this girl named Kelly and her husband, Don. For some reason, Kelly and I totally hit it off. On

Saturday, we slept in and then went hiking at East Fork Lake State Park with Ginger. That night, we headed to Paula and Kirk's house to watch the OSU game. We really enjoy hanging out with Paula and Kirk, so it was a good time!

Sunday I took Ginger to Waynesville to visit dad and his dog. It's been a long time since I've been up to see him, so it was nice to visit. I made him a pot of chili (his favorite) and we let the dogs run around the dog park. It's a great way to spend a fall afternoon. That night, it was off the shelter as usual then back to the grind Sunday morning...

The weekend before last Brandon and I had a great time just hanging out at home and relaxing. We burned all the wood that fell out of our tree and made smores in the chiminea and had an impromptu Saturday night dance party. It was awesome. Brandon has a way of always deflating my stress, making me laugh and keeping me grounded. What can I say? He's the ying to my yang.

Fall and Key West

It's official: winter is on it's way. Yesterday was the first day I would truly call "cold" in Cincinati. It alwasy amazes me just how cold that first cold day feels. In the fall, everyone breaks out the wool coats on 60 degree days. In the spring, Ohioans are practically ready to jump in the pool. Ah, bye bye summer. Now we can look forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!

I spent the first week of October in Key West with Jane. (I had my entire blog entry--minus a few pictures-written earlier this week and I accidently erased it. I'll try to recreate.)

It's always good to catch up with Jane in person; it's just never the same on the phone. I'll never forget the first time we spoke. We hit it off right away, talking a mile a minute on the phone without ever having met each other in person. I came out of my bedroom and my parents were trying not to laugh. I said, "what?" They said: "Gee, did you hit it off?" Yes, we did. She's the closest friend I've ever had, and I'm very thankful for our friendship. I wish she lived closer!

Anyway...

Brandon and I fell in love with Key West during a spring break trip in college. We made the 24-hour drive with two friends from the band. It was the first real beach vacation I'd ever had and I was hooked. We returned for a day during our honeymoon and again a year later with Ben and Carrie Feldmeyer.

This, however, was Jane's first trip. As far as I could tell, she loved it, too--except for the walk to Ft. Zachary Taylor beach. (I should have told her to bring a backpack vs. a beach bag.)

We did all the things you must do in Key West except eat at Blue Heaven, a well-known and wonderful restaurant. It was closed for the off season. We did try another historic place--Pepe's Cafe--and it was fabulous. It looked pretty dingy from the outside, but they had a great outdoor patio and wonderful, homemade food. Here's a picture:


THINGS YOU MUST DO IN KEY WEST:

1. Enjoy the local attractions, including the Custom House Museum, Key West Aquarium and the newly opened Butterfly Conservatory. The Custom House in particular is incredible--it is a beautiful historic, renovated building. It has a permenant exhibit of Cuban art my Mario Sanchez, which I always enjoy, and a rotating display. This time it was "Icons Revisited," an exhibit of American icons created in 3D. To promote the exhibit they had a massive statue of American Gothic outside. It was crazy! The first time we noticed it was at night when it was underlit...pretty creepy.

Here are a few pictures from the museum and the butterfly show:













2) Visit Mallory Square to see the street performers. This is also a great place to meet some of the local cat population. I told Jane I needed to move to Key West and start a trap-and-release program to slow the pet population. They all look so skinny! I fed a cats my leftover cuban food, including the cute guy below.





3) Walk all over Old Town enjoying the quaint houses, beautiful flowers and touristy things, like the Southernmost Point:



4)You must also watch the sunset from many places. That meant a sunset sail, the beach and the top of our hotel.

5) You must also spend lots of time at the beach, preferably in a noodle chair.

My laptop battery is about to die, so I'll have to post those photos later.

Pondering Changes

This past weekend, we went to Knoxville to visit Ben, Carrie and baby Luke. It wasn't as odd I thought it might be to see them with a baby. They seemed to be settled into a pattern of existence. Both seem a bit stressed and growing into their new roles: Ben as sole provider and Carrie as a full-time mom.

Watching them has escalated the already mixed emotions into my head. I'm happy for them, but I also feel somewhat angry and somewhat jealous at the same time. Welcome to my screwed up head.

I think I feel this way because them having a baby symbolizes another decade in our lives: the decade of building a family.

I'll be 30 in December. Ugh. How scary is that. Are kids the next step in my life? What if it isn't? When is the right time? What if I wait too long and can't have kids? What if kids ruin my relationship with Brandon? What if kids aren't what I want, but what I think I want or what other people think I want?

I'm driving myself crazy with these questions and thoughts. I need a new fixation. Perhaps I'll go back to politics...

On a happier note, Jane and I are headed to Key West on Sunday for a week of girl time. I can't wait!

The Land of the Sun

Brandon and I spent Thursday through Monday in sunny Arizona. It was a great trip, but a bit of a whirlwind. (We're saving the bulk of Brandon's vacation for Hawaii in February, so we only had a few days for him to burn.)

Thursday night we got settled into the family condo in Phoenix (it is awesome!) and then went out with Steve and Roy. We met up with some of their friends at local Mexican restaurant and noshed on Margaritas and nachos then went to Corbin's for a tasty dinner.

Friday we slept in then took advantage of Steve and Roy's cabana...aka backyard. They have a pool and hot tub, so we laid out until we were hot, got in the pool, hot tub, repeat. You get the idea.



That night we road the bus to downtown Phoenix to watch the Reds take on the Diamondbacks. Unfortunately, we lost but it was still fun to see a ballpark other than our own. I enjoyed watched the DONKEY (Adam Dunn)strike out. HA!

Here are a few photos:



Saturday we headed north to Flagstaff for a 6.7 mile hike in the Coconino National Forrest: the Bear Jaw/Abineau Loop. The trail goes to the base of the Humphrey's Peak, the highest point in Arizona. When you turn your back on the peak, you can see the Grand Canyon 90 miles away. Pretty amazing. We saw large alpine tree groves, avalanche damage and beautiful wildflowers. Here are a few pics:







That night, we stayed in Williams at the Holiday Inn so Brandon could watch the OSU game. We ate Mexican--again--at a local joint then headed to bed early.

Sunday we got up early and drove to the Grand Canyon. This was the first time we hiked down into the canyon. We didn't have a whole lot of time, so we did the six miles round trip on South Kaibab to Skeleton Point and three miles on the Bright Angel trail. Both were amazing. Next time we're definitely going to build in time to hike all the way to the canyon bottom.

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the hikes:













There was a huge storm that left most of Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati without power while we were gone. Fortunately, our power was back on by the time we got back. we spent our first night back cleaning up sticks from our yard. Fortunately. our trees and roof weren't damaged.

Bleary Friday

Well, I'm blogging at lunch because my co-worker bailed on going out. We were supposed to go to Sitwell's for BLTs, so I didn't bring my lunch or my gym bag. Oh well. I got 1/2 a panini and am now captive in my office.

It's rainy and yucky out today, but we need the rain so I won't complain too much. Hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow because it's time for the annual Weenie Roast at Shauna and Joe's. That should be fun!

In other news, I finished the Twilight series again and devoured the fourth book, Breaking Dawn. I'm happy with the ending, though it was a bit too "happily ever after" to be realistic. Then again, we are talking about vampires and werewolves, so how "realistic" can you be? I now eagerly await the first movie, which is slated for later this year.

I also enjoyed this political ad from the Barack Obama Campaign thoroughly. It's clever:



For those of you who are sick of the political jabbing already, check out the Republicrats on MSNBC.com. It's amusing:

http://originals.msn.com/republicrats/

The Next President: Barack Obama

I didn't have a chance to blog about the Democratic National Convention this week. I think Hillary Clinton did just about everything she could to rally her more die-hard supporters to get behind Barack. She summed it up when she asked people to think about whether they were voting simply for her or for the beliefs of the party.

McCain is more of the same: tax cuts for big businesses and the excessively rich and higher taxes for the average folks like all of us. Failed economic policies, more jobs shipped abroad...the list goes on.

No way. No how. No McCain. Barack Obama not only presents the hope, unity and change we need in America--he and his team can make it happen.

Tax cuts for middle class Americans. Governmental support to help people send their kids to college. Incentives for companies to keep their jobs in America. Universal health care. Better public schools...the list goes on.

Off my political soapbox...

We spent the Saturday with Anna, Andrew, Ann and Willard. I made homemade mac-n-cheese, BBQ and bean salad for a hearty lunch and then we headed to the Newport Aquarium. After we dropped the GPs off at the hotel, Anna, Andrew, Brandon and I sat around drinking wine, looking at old pictures and playing games. This morning we slept in a little then had a breakfast at Daybreak before they hit the road.

I'm insanely short at the shelter tonight, so I'm going t spent about an hour reading then go in to to take care of my 600 kitty friends.

Freaky Allergic Reactions

I had a freakish allergic reaction--not sure to what--over the weekend, which has left my upper lip and nose swollen. It's ridiculous. I look like a cross between the elephant man and a platapus.

It's happened in the past, but never lasted this long so I'm going in this afternoon to see my doctor. I need to solve the mystery.

In the meantime, I'm hiding my face at home with a sick day. The positive side to this is that I finally get to start my 4th vampire novel: Breaking Dawn. Whoo hoo!

Thank Goodness It's Friday!

I’ve decided I’m a bit obsessed with working out. I look forward to it every day—especially my spinning classes, which unfortunately will end soon. Our small medical campus fitness center is being taken over by the main Campus Recreation Center. Unfortunately, that means all the fitness instructors got fired and—big surprise—the new management will be much more corporate. I get grandfathered in at my low rate ($29/mo.) but it will go up after one year to $36. The will also have students and contracted instructors teaching…blah.

Thank goodness it’s Friday! I’m pooped—and I’m sick of writing this week, but still have a ton to complete, including a 1,500 word feature on lead research. I have to work on a news release about a basic science paper tying bisphenol A to obesity today, too. I think I’ll have to hit the elliptical machine at lunch time to get reenergized after that.

We’re headed to Ft. Fun (otherwise known as Ft. Wayne, Ind.) for Ben Pearson-Nelson’s 30th birthday. It should be fun—they are having “Olympic” games. Ben’s already talking trash about beating us at cornhole. Less than four more months until D-day for Brandon and I, too. Ugh. 30. I think I’ll stay 29.

Caesar Creek State Park

Brandon and I spent Sunday afternoon exploring the trails at Caesar Creek State Park again. We went back specifically to get some photos of the amazing water lilies we discovered on our last hiking trip.

We were rewarded greatly because not only were they in much fuller bloom, but we now have the benefit of owning a DIGITAL version of our old Canon Rebel. Jane sold us her old camera--which isn't old at all--so now we can enjoy taking photos even more!

Here is the amazing close-up shot Brandon got of the water lily flower:



Unfortunately, he had to walk through mud to get that close, so his feet looked like this afterward:


On Friday and Saturday night we went to Great American Ballpark to watch the Reds lose. That's OK though--it was good to catch up with friends (Sara and Steve on Friday, Paula and Kirk on Saturday) and enjoy a cool August night outside!

Busy Weekends

We have a fun weekend up at Cedar Point with DuWayne and Danielle, but it sure was a whirlwind.

We left Friday night and drove up to Cleveland to take advantage of a discounted hotel room before hitting the park Saturday morning. We got to the park--after eating breakfast at Bob Evans--at 11 a.m. and went full force until about 8 p.m. We would have stayed later, but it started storming like crazy and we had to make a run for it.

My favorite ride was by far the Maverick. If you've haven't been on it, you have to try it. My second favorite was Dragster. It's only 17 seconds long, but you literally go 125 miles per hour. Nuts!

The bottom line, though, is I'm worn out. Work seems uninteresting to me and the gorgeous weather isn't helping me focus. Hopefully the rest of the work week will go by quickly so I can get some rest this weekend. We're going two see the Reds play on Friday and Saturday, but that will be pretty low key.

In other exciting news, Jane and I booked our girl's trip. I can't wait to show her Key West--I love that place!

Relaxing at Home

Brandon and I had this past weekend unexpectedly open up, so we were able to relax. It was nice to not be on a schedule for the first time in quite a while!

Saturday we slept in as much as the cats would allow and then went hiking at Caesar Creek State Park in Waynesville where I grew up. It always amazes me just how little of the park I explored while living there. We started at our normal spot--Flat Fork--but continued on to Fifty Springs. (We estimate the hike was about 9 or 10 miles round trip.) It was fabulous! We found an off-shoot of the lake that was covered for about 300 yards with giant lilypads. They had gorgeous yellow flowers on them that looked like a cross between a dahlia and a mum. I didn't take my camera though (DOH!), so hopefully we'll get to go back soon so I can snap a few shots.

Sunday went spent most of the day in our backyard taming the beast that is the hedge around our back patio. Brandon slept on him shoulder funny so--for once--he reliquished a bit of control and let me us the hedge trimmer for the ground work. Whoo hoo! All appendages are still accounted for, so I'd say I didn't do half bad. It does give me a renewed respect for the work. My arm is sore today!

Today I got home to find my copy of the fourth vampire book--Breaking Dawn--had arrived. I decided to reread the first three books to get fully back into the story, but I am VERY tempted to crack open the last book. Patience is a virtue I have never fully mastered.

ALOOOOHA!

After much debate, Brandon and I finally broke down and purchased our plane tickets to Hawaii this week. Airfare prices have continued to climb and the flight schedules are getting less desirable. We found a good flight schedule at a decent price, given the current market, so we scooped it up. Although the flight isn't perfect (we're headed though Chicago, which can be a gamble), we are flying out of Cincinnati which is a major perk!

In less than seven months, we'll be celebrating Valentine's Day on Napili Bay in Maui. Ah, Hawaii. Here is a photo from our condo lanai:



It's not the Big Island cottage we rented this past December, but the location is great.

Maui was where my addiction to Hawaii began in 2004 when Brandon and I made our first trip to the islands together. Here a few of my favorite photos from the trip:

Sunrise from Haleakala Crater:


Sunset from our lanai:


The one and only authentic Hawaiian luau, Old Lahaina:


The smooth, clicking black rocks of Waianapana State Park beach on the Hana Highway:

I have many other favorites, but they aren't all loaded on this computer.

In other news, last weekend we spent Saturday doing a psycho-clean of the house and had a nice relaxing evening, enjoying a bottle of summery chardonnay on the back patio and a practically free dinner at Bonefish Grill. (We had a gift certificate.) Sunday I spent a leisurely afternoon with Dad at the dog park while Brandon chipped away on the golf course with Kevin.

The weekend before that we hosted Anna and Andrew at our house. It's always great to have them in town--we played Cranium, went to Ikea and to a Reds game.

This weekend we were supposed to host Anna, Andrew, Willard and Ann but our plans have been postponed due to a death in Andrew's family.

Football is Almost Here!

Well, it's almost time for my favorite season of the year - FOOTBALL season! I am looking forward to spending crisp fall Saturdays drinking beer and cheering on my favorite team, THE Ohio State Buckeyes.

I have been following numerous preseasons publications - most seem to have the Bucks ranked in the top 3. Personally, I think it is a three game season (all road games: at USC, at Wisconsin, at Illinois. I hope the Buckeyes can win their third consecutive outright Big Ten title and return to their third consecutive BCS Championship appearance. Hopefully third time's a charm all the way around.

Anybody want to go over/under with me on Beanie Wells's rushing yards this year? I'll bet anyone $10 who says it will be under 1,700.

Well, gotta go - Rivals, CFN, Sporting News, and others should all be posting their Buckeyes preview soon. Until then, Beanie Wells forever, Dirty Sanchez NEVER!

P.S. Carson Palmer is a pretty-boy bitch who is going to enjoy the Bengals 9999th losing season in a row!

P.P.S. For any of you who even REMOTELY know me, you'll know that something is up when you read this. Yes, as you can probably guess I forgot to log out of my blog and a dirty pirate named Brandon stealthy jumped in to write.

Memories

Last week, my aunt Brenda's battle with Alzheimer's ended. She was only 60 years old.

We will all miss her dearly--she was a kind, gentle and funny person. I'm glad her suffering is over, though, and will choose to remember the happy times rather than the sad.

Two of my favorite memories involve Brenda and my mom. One is of then sitting in Brenda's kitchen talking nonstop and laughing. They lived 3 1/2 hours away from us, so when mom and Brenda did get together they always seems to enjoy their time together even more. The other memory is of mom, Aunt Brenda, Aunt Gail and Grandma Jo shoved into the tiny kitchen of Grandma's house cooking for our biannual family get togethers. Being the pushy country women they are, they ALL had to be in the kitchen helping. I loved those family parties.

When my mom moved downt to Kentucky seven years ago, I think it was meant to be because Brenda began showing signs of illness around that time. She was able to be their to help her sister when she needed her most. I can only imagine how hard it was for mom to lose her big sister. I took the entire week off last week to spend with mom and my family down in Kentucky. Although the circumstances for being together were bad and sad, it was still nice to have everyone together.

Mom and I made matching wreaths for our front doors during the week, which I think turned out pretty nice:



My mom is very creative and crafty. Perhaps I get it from her?

WWWWWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGIIIIIIIIIINNNNNN!!!!!!!!!! (Brandon invasion--sorry about that)

Tuesday night we went to see Tom Petty and the HeartBreakers at Riverbend with Paula and Kirk. What an awesome concert! Although it's rough going to a concert on a weeknight, it was well worth it to see a rock legend!

Tomorrow night we've made a pact to finish the trim painting in the kitchen so we can be done with it once and for all. We also need to hang the new curtains and signs I bought. Here is a picture of the curtains and one of the signs:

Sara's Wedding

This past weekend was spent celebrating my good friend Sara's marriage. Friday night, of course, was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Saturday our day started at 9 a.m. with a much needed (at least on my part!)manicure and pedicure. We then helped Sara finish setting up the reception hall and had a nice, leisurely afternoon of girl time that afternoon at her sister Gina's house.

We had pre-wedding photos taken at Ault Park, which is beautiful. The wedding went off without a hitch and now Sara Brausch is Sara Mason. Whoo hoo!

Sara wasn't a bridezilla at all. In fact, I'd classify her as a giddy bride. She was so happy all day that it was a bit infectious.

The reception was fun, and we saw a few old band mates from OU at the wedding. Brandon even line danced for the first time. I never though I'd see that day.

Here are a few pictures from the big day--these are from my digital camera. The others are on film.

Sara and I, pre-wedding waiting for the limo...



Sara, stuffed into the back of the limo on the way to Ault Park...



Sara's dad with her neice, Jolie...



Sara's beautiful flowers...



I love weddings. They always make me think about my own marriage and remember all the wonderful things about it. It also makes you think about what it means to married and the vows you take to always forgive and love unconditionally. It's good stuff.

A Bad Start

I'm convinced a bad start to the day can sometimes be an indicator for the rest of day.

This morning it started when I didn't have enough milk for my cereal. I usually eat it at my desk first thing while I'm checking email. This morning, my raisin bran was mostly dry. YUM...or not.

I'm blogging right now, though, because I forgot my darn tennis shoes for spinning class. I HATE MISSING MY WORKOUTS! It's my stress relief and energy boost. Unfortunately, no one wheres the same shoes size as me so I had to skip. BOO! My dress shoes aren't really condusive to a walk. Instead, I'm stuck at my desk for lunch. Oh well!

Last night I was marveling on how different the kitchen looks, so I'm posting some before and after shots.

BEFORE



AFTER



BEFORE



AFTER



Obviously we still have a good deal of touchup and trim work to do, but we're taking a break.