What Happens in Vegas...

anyone else noticing the trend where my blog is miraculously updated on the last day of the month because I so badly want to blog at least once a month? I'm officially making a half-year resolution: BLOG MORE. at least twice a month. Sweet Moses! 

As per usual, there's much to blog about, but now that my timeline is almost up to accomplish 30 things before I'm 30, I want to make excuses update: it is completely impossible to cross everything off my list in the next forty days before the big 3-0. In my defense, when I wrote the list I assumed we'd move to Colorado so things like climbing a 14er, start a company with my sister or learn Portuguese from my brother-in-law weren't completely feasible. (cue the failure "whoomp whoomp" music from cartoons).

It wasn't all for naught, however, I did manage some pretty awesome things that probably wouldn't have happened - at least not for years - if I didn't make the list. I got a tattoo, a girls weekend in Las Vegas, run a half marathon - more on this later - and I applied for grad school (and am halfway done with my first semester, YAY! It's so much work though and is totally kicking my ass. Note: my goal to stop cussing for sure didn't happen.)

In May I took a much needed vacation sans children to Las Vegas to meet three of my girlfriends from high school. I had two groups of friends from high school I spent all my time with - my friends from youth group and my friends I actually attended school with. Most girls from youth group quickly spread out over the country so it's difficult to see each other all together, except on holidays, but my friends from school mostly stayed in the area so I'm extremely lucky to meet up with them each time I'm home. I've come to value and appreciate these relationships more and more over the years, even more so than when we were teenagers. Mandy and I talked about going to Vegas when we turned 30 for years, so when we were knocking on the door of old, we decided to enlist our other girlfriends and make it actually happen. I was shocked that it actually worked out for four of the five of us. I don't have many pictures, mostly because I don't trust myself with a beer and a camera (Mrs. One&Done here) but it was such a fun and relaxing time spent with some of my favorites! Hopefully I'll update this post soon and add more pictures when I get them from Emily. Thank you for being responsible Em! 

Emily, Erin and I sightseeing on the first night

does this seem inappropriate to anyone else?
does it matter that it was 10:00a? It was a mixer for later, promise. 

Second night in Vegas - dinner, a show and some dancing if it weren't for those pesky velvet ropes.

Emily, Erin and I made it to Vegas the first night and decided to do some sightseeing and walk around before meeting Mandy the next day. I was visibly annoyed when it was warmer in Cleveland than it was in Vegas that first night. Kind of restricted how much we walked around since I didn't bring a single long-sleeved article of clothing. such a bust. The next day was cooler too but Erin and I had the chance to lay by a pool without applying sunscreen to small children or keep after them to make smart choices, so we were committed to hours of pool time regardless of the weather. The clouds parted and showed us favor just as we laid our towels poolside - four hours of sunshine and pretty drinks ensued (a bonus half hour for Erin and I when Mandy and Emily weren't looking and we snuck back to the pool when we were supposed to be headed up to change for dinner).

A collective decision was made to go see Cirque's Zumanity show that night, and we were all excited to go out together and see a show... the gasps were collective as well when we saw *all* the show had to offer as we somehow didn't realize there was partial nudity. not so much ready for that. Other than the exceptional crude parts, and those weren't lost on this show, it was still incredibly impressive all the skill and talent these performers have. Plus, it's a story and I'll always have that shocking scream from Emily to keep with me from those seriously unexpected acts. SO funny! 

I added the half marathon on my list, and will miss it by one month exactly. I've got one picked out for September 9th, which is pretty cool because it will be one year to the day after Layla was born. The big difference between this race and ones I've looked at doing before: I'm actually training, which I can only imagine will be helpful in finishing a 13.1 mile race.

Sharpen Those #2s

My blog haunts me. I have so many half-written entries and countless stories whirling around in my head that I always want to dedicate keystrokes to - and yet here I am with a last ditch quick update to keep with my one-a-month average entry and less than an hour to spare before I miss the month of May. *sigh*

This is a post I've been putting off because I wanted to dedicate more time to share details, and I will eventually. I hope. It's best explained with a photo and since that's all I'm capable of right now since I was nearly asleep when I realized it's basically June and I've yet to blog. SO, here's my tease of an update:

.I'm upgrading from a  Golden Tornado to a Golden Flash.

Since I clearly have all the time in the world (pretty please catch the sarcasm), I'm starting grad school on Monday at Kent State University for a Masters in School Counseling. It's time to add "student" on my About Me page, and update my list of 30 Things. That list, unfortunately, is for sure not going to be complete by my birthday, but I have made some decent progress and will have to be yet another post for another day. I hope.

SOS! A Trip Down Memory Lane

Thinking that I saw Titanic for the first time FOURTEEN years ago makes me feel incredibly old. However, remembering so many details surrounding it at the very least encourages me that I may have a good memory in my old age.  Fingers crossed.

I went with a couple of my girlfriends to go see Titanic in 3D tonight. On the drive to dinner to meet them I was reminiscing about how my girlfriend Erin and I loved the movie when it was first released. While I was never as insane as most 15 year-olds (I only saw it in the theaters twice and never had a poster of Leonardo DiCaprio in my room – although I may get one now) I was caught up in the romance of Jack and Rose and was really excited to go see it… especially since I went on my first date [ever] with a brand new boyfriend.

After all the hype of figuring out what to wear I remember sitting with Erin on my bed in the room I shared with my sister waiting for him to pick me up (I think, my parents may have dropped me off, but regardless I was sitting and waiting). I was nervously trying to figure out how this was all going to play out with holding hands for the first time: make sure to keep my hand available on my knee just in case his hand was on his knee and our pinkies would brush *gasp* …when someone brought up the boobie scene. I’d forgotten all about it. 14 years ago it was a big deal for an entire breast to be shown on a movie screen, especially for it to only be rated PG13, and I’d certainly never seen it before. I was such a prude I quickly became completely panicked about looking at a boob with a boy next to me. After all, how incredibly inappropriate and awkward!

True story: together, Erin, Andrea and I devised a plan of attack so I wouldn’t have to look at the screen when Rose disrobed. Leaving to go to the bathroom, while understandable in a three-hour movie, would be too obvious so we settled on a drink. I would buy a drink at concessions and leave it be until that scene where I would casually become incredibly preoccupied with how thirsty I was and drink my pop for the next three minutes. Disaster averted.

Or my plan had the same destiny as the ship itself because at the movies you buy a drink in a cup with a straw and not a can where you have the object in front of your face when you’re drinking so not only did I see everything, but I must have looked even more nervous and uncomfortable than I actually was when I frantically realized it wasn’t going to work. I don’t remember anything after that - I’m not sure if we held hands, I don’t know if he drove me home, I don’t even remember if we had our first kiss, I just remember feeling super awkward and slurping my Sprite incredibly quickly and having to pee the remainder of the ridiculously long movie. This was the stuff dreams are made of.

The second time I saw it in the theaters was actually a lot better because I went with my church youth group (stay with me… it wasn’t scandalous). The leaders were trying to teach the guys the importance of creative dating so they decked out a school bus to look like a boat, complete with life preservers hanging in some of the windows, rented out a screen at the $2 theater and served us McDonalds hamburgers while we watched the movie and the youth pastor threw a hand up over the projector during all the questionable parts. My kind of movie. HA! It was though one of my favorite events with that youth group, I felt so special and it wasn’t lost on me that a different boy was going out of his way to make sure I knew I was thought of, but that’s another story for another day. but maybe not.

Anyway, in neither of those trips to the movies do I remember leaving feeling so depressed! Sweet Moses that’s a sad movie! Apparently in my old age the image of Jack turning around at the staircase and taking Rose’s hand was no longer enough to carry me through the final 90 minutes of the movie with all the death and destruction and drowning. and death. with drowning.

When the credits were rolling at the end of the movie and Celine Dion was bringing more tears to the lady behind us with her ballad, my friends and I looked at each other and felt like we finally exhaled from holding our breath through the sadness! The old people in their bed, the mom putting her kids to sleep, the floating girl, and I literally threw up in my mouth a little when they showed a mother bobbing in the ocean with her baby clutched tightly in her arms. It was too much! Geez James Cameron you laid it on thick! Well played, great story-telling, but Sweet Moses.

As oddly awake as I am right now from being so sad for so long, I am at the very least really happy to remember the ridiculousness of my friendship with Erin and how she was, and still is, a kindred spirit and as much of a soul-mate as I think you can have with a friend. We spent every waking moment together that year, and I absolutely wouldn’t have survived 15 without her.  To this day I can call her to share a struggle or a celebration and I know that she’s going to not only relate to what I’m talking about, but laugh with me through it and provide an amazing support that I’ve come to depend on. So, to you, Mrs. Green, I will never let go.

a humble little home

Wordless Wednesday

- the ultimate gated community -

a Permanent Change. Forever.

For much of my life the number two has been my lucky number, so it would go to say that the second item on my list of 30 things to do before I'm 30 would be the one I was most looking forward to... and it was! I never figured it would be the one that made me the most anxious (and my guess is the half marathon or climbing a 14er will eventually exceed it at some point) but currently it's the winner.

I got a tattoo. It's still surreal saying it - in part because I haven't really seen it since I got it so the reality hasn't quite sunk in. Justin had a good point too referring to my hesitance about my tattoodole - it usually takes a couple weeks just to like a new haircut so of course this one is going to take a minute to adjust to. I went with one of my best friends so we could get inked on her 30th birthday... I met Tora in my days with the Cavaliers and by far and away has been my closest confidant in Ohio since I moved here. She already had two tattoos and for years we've talked about going together to get one. We've also talked about trips to New York, Chicago and Las Vegas but up until a couple weeks ago, none of it ever happened. We were determined to see at least one of our ideas through!

I've had a plan in my head to get a tattoo behind my ear ever since I saw Rihanna sporting one years ago - it's an awesome combination of badass and sexy and I immediately knew that was where I was going to do it. Until I thought about how I just signed up to get a tattoo basically straight on the bone. no bueno.

If I was going to have something permanently inked on me I obviously wanted it to have significance. There's an old gospel song I've always loved His Eye is on the Sparrow from the verse in Matthew 10:29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care." I love the reminder of my significance from Christ in Christ - as always, there's more behind it but that's a longer story for a different day. Originally I hoped to have three sparrows to represent my three Littles, but clearly there's not a lot of space behind your ear so I was only able to get one. Justin wasn't left out from my tattoo experience, he drew it for me and seriously makes me love it even more.

I can't even explain how anxious I was when we walked in and Mr. Tattoo started getting the ink gun ready - I was just hoping I'd be able to find that happy place and remain there since I wasn't about to go against the big grizzly man when he told me I could in fact NOT have a little liquid encouragement at the bar next door. At first it really wasn't that bad, other than the horrible buzz right in my ear, I was even able to relax a little and shockingly breathe - but that only lasted for a little bit. a small tiny little bit - and then it began to hurt a lot more, and that of course lasted a lot longer. I grinned and bared it (read: clenched teeth and white knuckles) and I survived! Like I said, I'm anxious about it still, but I think that's because I've only seen it twice. I certainly love the idea of it and was super stoked to get it and knock something else off the list. YAY!

Bella doesn't quite get it yet - nor am I in any hurry to explain it since she's obviously never allowed to get one - because the other day she was brushing my hair and asked if she could color the pretty picture on my head. haha! NO.