Back from obscurity

I had perused my blog a few times over the last six months or so, and really didn't feel like I had anything particularly monumental to say. I've kind of returned to the belief that it's rather narcissistic of me to think anyone wants to read my thoughts, but I suppose it's more personal than FB, right? I completely forgot to read others' posts, so I'm sorry if there was a major life event that occurred and I didn't ask you about it--again, unawareness of others' lives due to my not posting. But on the flip side, hopefully I've seen you during this interim and the power of our personal conversations have far exceeded technological communication!

A few weeks ago, I was approached to be one of the faculty/staff/students to be profiled in a new ad campaign, which will include a weekly blog post from yours truly. I mentioned to the account manager from the ad company that I blogged personally (which was a quick note to self that I should make this site private) and she wanted to not only know my url but also my blog mantra. I suppose my title should allude something about the "message" I'm trying to portray (whether or not anyone's reading, right?) and honestly, I wasn't sure I'd really live up to that. Okay, enough ranting about quality. Quantity works, too.

Since my last post the greatest shift has been moving to a new job. I am busier than ever and professionally happier than ever. I'm challenged and energized every day by meeting and collaborating with new people outside of my comfort zone, by working in a field that I didn't have a lot of experience in, and by sharing my time and ideas with very supportive colleagues. It's challenging, busy and lots of fun. I'm thankful for all of it. And although this time of year is draining for teachers, I'm glad I'm sticking with it. My students make me laugh and challenge me to keep my lectures minimally boring. It keeps me on my toes.

Highlights: suddenly, my world is a little less boring (and grey hairs are suddenly undetectable). I learned (at 31) how to curl my hair. And it stays. Amazing.


Reveling and embracing the following:

Traveling: Booked two trips with my husband. One large and one small. I'm happy that we're planning ahead this year! Usually most of my travel is away from him, but every year for our anniversary we try to plan time away together. It's gonna be good...I passed on a last-minute trip during this (extended) winter, so I'm really looking forward to this.

Wine: Love it. A lot. Planning a tasting with a friend. Accompanied her to a massive wine sale and all of the staff knew her. The sommelier was giddy to help us find bottles.

Running: Shockingly, yes. I told someone yesterday I didn't like running, but I liked goal setting. I certainly don't live and die by it (I bailed on a 5K today because of the wind and the snow) but it does make me feel good. It's really cheap therapy: it only costs you a pair of shoes! I've never considered myself a competitive person, but I've surprised myself and want to continue to build up some distance before the half. I'm sure my typical habit of inconsistency will allow me to forget about this come June 19. Corey wants to get a road bike (even though he informed me that he'll be going at his own [much faster] pace), so yay for outdoor activities.

Decorating: As I write this, I'm waiting for the spackle to dry so I can paint our bedroom this lovely periwinkle blue. My husband picked it out. I've had my idea for this room in my head for about two years and I'm finally getting it done. I'm sick of walking in there and thinking how sad the lack of decor is. I'm going for a serene, hotel-ish type of space. I found a very cool faux leather headboard

spied this modern duvet cover

and have some wall-mounted lights for reading. We painted our living/dining/entryway this summer and hung some shelves


but I have no idea what color or layout I want for the last room, the office. Any recommendations?

I'm working toward the following:

Remaining grateful: We are lucky. I try to remind myself of that every day.

Consciously picking the positive: Life is short. Surround yourself with supportive individuals. Thank them for their gifts.

Expanding my comfort zone with music: I didn't like Cee-Lo's song until I heard it with explicatives. Liz gently reminded me that my singing tastes matched her parents'.

A good thing for the long haul but I need to broaden my horizons. My current faves are this little ditty (for running) and the more mellow genre (for working).

How's that for long-windedness?

The ladies

After much planning and date arranging, several of the ladies were able to make the trek north for a weekend getaway to this lovely townhouse in Beaver Bay. Despite the rainy conditions, we managed a walk and a chat down on the Lake Superior shore and a dinner out here. Most of our time, however, was spent chatting, eating, and just catching up on each other's lives. The newest member of the clan, Reagan, was unbelievably willing to snuggle with her mama, lulled to sleep by the crazy chatter. Thanks for a wonderful weekend, ladies! It was very rejuvenating to be around all of you. It makes me miss you a whole lot more.

Our attempt at the chic, windblown look.

The cupcakes spelled out "Happy Birthday Liz and Kat." That's a lot of cupcakes.

One of the many delicious items that we ate during the weekend. Of course there was no shortage of food, candy, drinks, etc.

Away

I drove down to see my sister and the kiddos this past weekend, yes, for a visit, but for more than that. Things have been rather heavy of late and I have been taking opportunities to leave my to-do lists and other domestic responsibilities behind. Literally and figuratively, I needed to get away. There was some soccer game watching, pool time, play time and game time. I am switching jobs and am very excited for this change. I'm ready for a new set of challenges and want to work towards putting my mark on something different and quasi yet-to-be-determined. I won't be taking my traditional time off in August, but I'll settle for some additional weekend getaways. Breathe deeply, be excited for what's to come, and enjoy the fleeting days of summer.

J's visit home

Good luck with your new job, Mrs. Doudrick!

Summer fare

I ate this for three days in a row. It doesn't get much better than this.

Another take on outdoor activity.

Number of insect bites endured on recent camping trip: 57. For real. Which is amusing since my last post so confidently poo-pooed the bugs. Damn hubris. I had been looking forward to our camping weekend for weeks; an opportunity for us to be alone, outside, with limited cell phone reception. I put bug spray on (the semi-non-toxic kind), and by 7:00pm I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants, but hell hath no fury when the mosquitoes and flies were biting me through my pants (many butt lesions to prove it). I surrounded myself with the citronella candles to kick the hub's bum in Poker Yahtzee (which is really fun). I felt bad because I was whining about it; I've been camping my whole life, so it's not like I haven't been bitten before. My sister thinks I might have a more serious allergic reaction (my ankles were kind of swollen, there were clusters of bites). It was not pretty. I'll save the pictures for those in the medical field.

Another thing I'm possibly allergic to--shocking. I'll post some pictures of the happy moments.

I heart summer

Monday evening, assessing the end of the weekend: I'm full of welted bug bites but it's worth it; I'll wear them like a badge of seasonal honor. There's an obvious sense of revelry that northerners have when the weather gets warm, even downright hot. But beyond that, I'll complain little about the heat, I'll silence my grumbles about the bugs and I'll take naps after a long day outside because we earn these glorious days. (I am glad, however, that I have AC.)
Friday, after my nap on the lawn chair (again, I heart summer) the hubs and I bought paint for the living room, dining room, entryway and hallways, which comes to five gallons. Despite my love for decorating, the last few color choices in this house haven't been exactly what I envisioned; maybe I'm become less of a hue risk-taker. I want the color to maintain the warm, sunny feeling of the space. Then we went and ate chicken wings and I drank cider. That was our dinner. Later that night we hot tubbed it at the Berrisfords and spied a few lightening bugs--so cool.

The Gina sandwich--all from the old hood


Saturday we went to the Geneoveses' cabin, old family friends who live across the street from my parents. There were friends and families from many different connections, but we talked about how the cabin is really a nucleus for so many of our summer stories.

Sunday we headed north and attended another family/friend gathering where we got to try out our new custom-made beanbag boards (this is serious business) and I proceeded to not win my matches. Fireworks and parade-watching summed up a great weekend.