February Blues

1. I fail at my drawing a day.  I got through January but once February hit I just haven't picked it back up.  There's something about the month of February that always puts me in a funk.  Most likely because it's normally the harshest winter month around here.  Ohio doesn't offer much to do in the winter months which is probably a contributing factor as to why there are so many bars.

2.  I am 37 books into my 150 book reading goal for this year so far.  I've even conquered some pretty thick ones which has helped me clear them off of my shelves.  I used to love hoarding books but now I want rid of most of them.  It's clutter.  I only want the ones that I absolutely love so I'm in the process of weeding out the losers.

3. During these boring winter months, I have made a big dent on catching up on my scrapbooking this year.  I have now started and completed my trip to Washington DC from 2014 which was an absolute doozy to finish since I believe it's around 50 pages long.  I also have started and completed the road trip Megan and I went on in early April of last year.  I still have my whole 2010/2011 scrapbook to work on.  Luckily it is currently all planned out and I just printed more pictures for it last week so I can jump on that soon.  Then all I have left is the rest of the 2014/2015 scrapbook which is currently my largest scrapbook but that one is all planned out too.  Since I picked scrapbooking back up this year, I always do it with Big Bang Theory on the tv screen.  I've been making my way through the seasons again and today I just started the 5th season.  After I get through the rest of these I'm not sure if I want to re-watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch or Parks and Recreation.

4.  Evan and I had a nice Valentines Day even though he was sick and I had to work earlier that day.  For the first time since we started dating we actually went to a restaurant on Valentines Day.  Normally we would either eat out at another time to "celebrate" or cook something at home.  We went to Sorrentos which is an Italian place in Sheffield.  I had bruschetta and ziti, both of which were very good and gave me plenty of leftovers.  We then had Suzin L chocolate covered strawberries for dessert like we always do.  We always say that if we move out of state we will need to have them shipped to us.  No other chocolate compares.

Pre-Sleep Thoughts: Take One

Like many people, or I assume like many people, I do my deepest thinking when I'm trying to fall asleep.  Which is what I had been trying to do for the past twenty minutes, yet here we are.

Since coming home from work I had been thinking about traveling.  I've been watching videos of someone on YouTube and their current trip to Hawaii which has made me think about my own past and hopefully future travels.  This led me to think about my trip to Washington DC two years ago which led me to think about when I went into the National Cathedral.  I almost didn't end up going to the cathedral because it was bloody cold after hoofing it around the Basin and the National Zoo in the morning and afternoon but it was a stop on our trolley tour and I figured if I don't check it out now I might never get the chance to.  This led me to think about that particular feeling you get when you enter churches.  Maybe it's just me but there's just a certain feeling about walking into a place that is deemed holy.  It's honestly really hard to describe.  I suppose it's like you're suddenly being held to certain standards.  For example, it's probably not the best idea to scream "GODDAMMIT" when you drop your camera on the ground.  Or maybe it's the idea that the whole formation of the place was brought on by years and years of passed down stories.  It could also be all the eyes from the statues, paintings, and tapestries just staring at you.  Is it the collective souls of those who have visited the very place as a last resort at a time in need?   Something lives in those walls that even a non-religious person like myself feels.

Where's My Hoverboard?

1.  Two weeks into 2016 and I still can't believe it's 2016.  I didn't make a New Years resolution but I did challenge myself to complete a little drawing everyday.  So far it's been successful.  I'm not sure exactly why I chose to do this but it's actually been pretty rewarding.  They aren't perfect but I love them because they are mine.  It's also been a reminder to finish what I've started.  It's been fun to come up with different things to draw everyday and I'm finally using my lego box of colored pencils so double win.

2.  Another goal of this year was to read 150 books.  This shouldn't be a problem because I set the same goal last year and finished over 260.  I've also been picking up more books that I own that I need to read to clear some out for a hopeful move this year.  Like really REALLY hopeful.

3.  To go along with the following topic, I have also gotten back into cleaning and organizing.  There's just something way more relaxing about an organized space and I'm much more likely to put things back where they belong when everything has a place.  This is always a work in progress but it feels great to get rid of the clutter.  It has also made me a lot more careful to any purchases I make because there is so much stuff I may like but I really don't need and don't have a place for.  So it saves money too!

4.  Other activity/travel goals for 2016 include:

• Kayak anywhere.  After last summer with my first time in a kayak I really want to do this again.  It was so much fun.
• See a new state.  If everything works out as planned I'll actually see four new states so here's hoping!
• Get back to the Lake Erie Islands
• Go on a wine tasting.  I did this last year but I couldn't taste the flavor, I could only tell where it hit my tongue.  Thanks, sinus infection...
• Hike around the Holden Arboretum in the spring/summer.

Farewell, 2015

Normally I do this post around the last three days of the year but shit happens and I'm allowed to be lazy on this.  So now while I'm procrastinating on things, I feel the urge to finally do my usual summary of the year.

January: Honestly the year started off pretty shitty.  After having an awesome NYE party with friends, Evan had to put his dog down on New Years day.  Then two days later he got the most frustrating beagle which is still with him now.  This dog is a freakin' dumbass.  HE EATS ROCKS and EVERYTHING ELSE.  The little shit.
Moving on, Steph and Matt came up for a weekend and we went on some adventures which was fun.  However, it was the same weekend as Evan's uncles funeral so as you can see January had its ups and downs.

February: The only thing I really remember about February is being the only one in my department working on Valentine's Day during a blizzard and two people walked in my room the whole day.  I cleaned play-food the whole time.

March: This month was spent frantically looking for items for a vacation in April.  I also saw the live-action Cinderella in theaters and Insurgent.  Evan and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary by going to the Cheesecake Factory.

April: Post-Easter Monday was spent haulin' ass all the way to Hershey, PA for the start of a road trip with Megan for Spring Break.  More her spring break since I just don't get breaks anymore because adulting, but spring break nonetheless.  One day was spent at Hershey Chocolate World where we took a cool trolley around town that talked about the history and everything.  We ate at a cute little Italian place called Fennicis for dinner that night.  The next day we headed out to Yorktown, Virginia.  On the way we passed through Maryland which then became the 12th state I've ever been to.  We also went to Virginia Beach, Jamestown, and Williamsburg.  Unfortunately, the first day of the whole trip I got a sore throat and progressively got sicker as the vacation went on.  We cut the trip a day early, skipping a visit to Mount Vernon, and headed straight home.  I then get my first sinus infection!

May: Evan and I went to the Disney Store for Star Wars day so I could get a pin again.  We then discovered the amazingness of The Rail which due to recent changing of the menu they have removed my favorite burger and are now not as amazing but still good.  We go to the Cleveland Zoo which has really gone downhill sadly and I visit the West Side Market for the first time where I fall in love with Monks.  Jess graduated with her bachelors degree.  I went to our local Memorial Day parade and got goodies at Grandpas Cheesebarn.  Evan and I saw 'Tomorrowland' in theaters.  Grandma is sent to the hospital which leads to a big issue in an upcoming planned vacation.  Vacations just aren't going well for me.

June:  I attend my fist Indians game of 2015, they lost.  Our vacation to Upstate New York becomes heavy hearted and cut short but was still a good time.  I kayaked for the first time, snarfed a really good amount of an extra large pizza at Arts Jug, and returned to my favorite custard stand, Lickety Split.  I finally did something I always wanted to do which was play Bingo with my grandma and other senior citizens.  Evan and I saw 'Inside Out' in theaters.  Gay marriage became legal!!!  Steph and Matt come back up for a few days where we thrift and played mini golf.  Evan and I tied.

July: Evan and I play mini golf rematch, we tied.  AGAIN.  We still have yet to have the rematch of all rematches as I write this in January of 2016.  IT'S COMING.  Megan and I went to the Ashland Balloon Festival where only a few balloons flew due to fog.  We also spontaneously ended up watching the Ashland Fourth of July-Bicentennial parade which was pretty neat, except we didn't plan food into this and were starving.  I explored Cascade Park with friends after a looong time.  Megan and I explored a small part of Cuyahoga Valley National Park in which we follow a trail we can't tell if it's really the trail we want and semi-freak out that we are lost and will die.  It was the right trail, it was marked as strenuous.  We made it to the waterfall.  We rewarded ourselves with smoothies.  In one weekend my mom and I went shopping in Columbus and then I went to the Detroit Zoo aka my favorite zoo.  I finally got to the beach, but not my usual beach which was under construction, but Huntington Beach which was pretty nice too.  I went to my second Indians game of 2015 for work, they won.  I went on my second visit to the National First Ladies Museum and also on that day, my best friend got engaged!

August:  I turned 25 which feels like a scary number and now I just don't care.  I still feel like I'm 16 except I'm not restricted from any purchases.  A majority of August was spent outside soaking up some rays in my kiddie pool and/or this weird campground pool in Brunswick.  I got back to the county fair after two or three years.  Megan and I saw One Direction in concert.

September:  I saw the Cleveland Pops concert in the square.  Staff day happened.  Amish Country happened.  I don't remember too much about September.

October:  Ah, the month of exploring the outdoors.  We had an unseasonably warm October which made for a really long and beautiful fall season.  In fact, it's still unseasonably warm.  It's almost mid-January and the grass is still green, no part of Lake Erie is frozen, and I have yet to have measurable snowfall on the lawn.  It's pretty flippin' fantastic.  Anyways, Evan decides he likes going on walks so we start visiting a bunch of the metroparks, especially Sandy Ridge.  Megan and I explore the Holden Arboretum which is amazeballs omg go here.  NATURE people, yes.  We also went to the Columbus Zoo which I hadn't been to in over three years.  Freakin' baby lions.  Then a polar bear was born a week after we were there.  My mom and I went to Pittsburgh.

November:  I get tossed to a different building at work.  Megan and I start walking around some metroparks where we get pretty lost and think we're gonna die but I'm writing this now so all is well.  Evan and I see 'The Good Dinosaur' in theaters.

December:  I return to Walt Disney World for the fifth time.  We stayed at Pop Century and Port Orleans French Quarter.  It was amazing as usual.  We also had a few off days where we went to Cocoa Beach and had a blast.  Went with Steph as she tried on wedding dresses, and just had a bunch of good times.  I saw 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' in theaters, twice.  I'm now up to three times because I also saw it yesterday but yesterday wasn't in 2015.

For having a fairly shitty first half the year was actually pretty great.  I would say it was better than 2014.

October Thoughts and May Dreams

1.  Every time fall comes I dread the food choices.  I hate pumpkin everything.  Why can't we have raspberry season where everyone goes crazy with different kinds of raspberry items?  Raspberry cheesecake, raspberry spice lattes, raspberry cookies, raspberry pie shakes.
In other food: I also don't like bones in my meat so I don't eat turkey come Thanksgiving.  I don't like ham, stuffing, or gravy.  For me, fall is just the season of bad food.

2. I had a four year old in at work this week who wanted to get on the computer.  At my workplace in order to get on the computer you need a library card or some form of ID.  Since he had neither and his mother wasn't with him to show her ID he asked if he could make a library card.  I said of course, gave him crayons and some scrap paper and he made his own library card.  Of course he expected to get on the computer with it.  There is some hope for the younger generations.

3. We had a staff pumpkin decorating contest at work which is currently going on.  I made my pumpkin into an elephant which I'm actually quite proud of.  Go vote on it so I can win some pizza.

4. My mom and I went to Pittsburgh yesterday to do some shopping.  I'm very disappointed in the fashions this season.  Everything is bulky, thick, insanely patterned, and is the same from store to store.  There is also no color.  This is coming from someone who had an entire black closet in the 8th grade.

5. The Browns lost today.  lol.  Honestly, I really like football but I think the NFL is a shitty organization so I don't support any of their teams.  A lot of players have issues, are overpaid and just don't have anywhere near as much heart in the game as high school football players do.

6.  Does anyone actually get salmonella from eating raw cookie dough?  I'm thinking it's all just lies.

7. I refuse to believe I fall the first snow flakes of the season yesterday.  Absolutely refuse.

Killer BLT's

Fall has arrived in Northeast Ohio.  With that comes indecisive weather, my first cold of the season, and an unsurprising influx of bad drivers.  At least there's still apple cider.

1. Evan and I have been making our rounds to places we wanted to visit again before a very hopeful move next year.  This past September we went to Amish Country which I have never been that big of a fan of but it's just one of those Ohio things.  As usual, the food was fabulous at Der Dutchman and I was able to find a few art pieces for myself and an item for my mom.  One thing that I absolutely love about Amish County is the scenery and just overall happiness of the people visiting.  It's hard to be pissed off on a Monday when you are surrounded by the simplicity of the rolling hills of nature and tiny shops of random oddities.

2.  Going along with a very hopeful move next year, I have been reading the books I own that I haven't read yet and deciding which ones I really want to keep.  My goal is to lug as little as possible because that would just make sense.  You don't want a lot of baggage in a new relationship so why would you want it in new living quarters?  I have been constantly getting rid of clutter and really trying to narrow down my material goods.

3. I have discovered that I am HORRIBLE with candles.  I recently finished off a candle that I started burning in May.  First of all, I didn't burn it long enough during the first light so the "life line" of the candle didn't take up the whole diameter so every time it burned, it would stop in the same circle it was first lit instead of going to the edges.  I was determined not to make the same mistake with this new candle.  Well...I accidentally cut the wick too short and after two and a half hours of burning it still had a tiny pool.  So now this one has an even smaller life line.  Like many Browns fans, there's always next time.

4.  I made fastpasses for our upcoming WDW trip at midnight and we had no problems at all getting what we wanted.  We are so excited for our already fifth trip to the Happiest Place on Earth.  Each trip just keeps getting better and better.  This year will be our longest trip with six park days and two and a half days off.

5.  Besides planning Disney we have also been discussing what we want to do on our spring trip to NYC.  We have NEVER been and oh damn there is so much to choose from.  All the food, sights, sounds, smells, gah!  This has been on hold planning-wise at least until after Christmas.  It's still so much fun to think about though.

Midnight Memories

Yesterday, I attended the One Direction concert here in Cleveland and I learned many things.

First, let's rewind to last September when tickets first went on sale.

Actually, let's go back even further to summer of 2012 when 'What Makes You Beautiful' was one of the biggest songs.  At first, I was annoyed with the song.  It was always on the radio, people were always singing it in public, and it was just in my face EVERYWHERE.  I was sick of it and would piss and moan every time I heard it.  Then, one of my best friends and I would hear it while heading to or home from the beach that summer and ironically I would sing along.  LeakyCon Chicago came around near the end of that summer and the song was still in full force.  People were jamming to it around the hotel and of course it was played at the Ester Earl Charity Ball where hundreds of us were jamming.  I had started to grow an appreciation for the song.

Time went by and I never paid the band much attention.  I did like 'One Thing' but that was about as far as I got.  Now, back to last September.  One of my other best friends had NEVER been to a concert before and she really enjoyed 1D's music and stated that she would love to see them in concert.  So when she found out they were coming to Cleveland on their tour next year I knew we would go so tickets were purchased.

The year leading up to the concert I again didn't pay them much mind.  I was going for a friend and I was okay with that.  Most of our time in the car consisted on listening to at least one of their CD's and while I caught on to a few of the songs, I never exclusive sought time to listen to their music.

Yesterday, the day came.  I was going to a concert where thousands of screaming girls,  most likely at least a few years younger than myself, would go absolutely bonkers for these guys on stage.  Oh joy.  However, the way the boys were on stage impressed me.  They were very thankful of their fans and you can tell that they know they wouldn't be where they are now if it weren't for the fans.  They were constantly thanking everyone and showing such an appreciative-ness that I have never seen at any of the several concerts I've been to.  In fact they even solidified that the lead singer of Papa Roach is an asshole because instead of thanking everyone he just called everyone fuckers.  The boys were also very mature but also had tasteful fun on stage.  They weren't trying to get with any girls and instead spoke to an older couple that were celebrating their anniversary.

In summary, these are the things I learned:

1. These thousands of screaming girls have passion and it's contagious.  They care so much for these gentlemen it's really quite astonishing.  Not all of them just want to bang them, they care about their life and are supportive through everything the band has been through this year.  It's really great to see something so positive in such a negative world.  I was given hearts and glow sticks by some of the fans that I didn't even know to hold up during certain songs to show support.

2. The UK raise their men right and the US has a looooong way to go to catch up.

3. The Rapid is full of thirsty dudes.  To the point of being ridiculous.

4. Take a chance on things.  You may learn something. ;)

Tomorrow's Just Another Day and I Don't Believe in Time

Time goes by and I have celebrated yet another birthday.  I am now 25 and many people have reminded me that this also equals a quarter of a century.  Yippee?

Over the past few days or so I have mostly been thinking about places I have been and how a part of me will always be at some of those places that I have grown special attachments to.  Here are some examples:

1. The western side of Upstate New York on and around Lake Ontario.  These are where my very few family vacations have taken place.  It was here that I saw my immediate family in a different way other than just getting together to eat for holidays.  I also met and see my extended family here.  I've enjoyed staying at cottages right on the lake here.  It will always be one of my favorite places to go and will continue to be like another home to me.

2. Robertson Lake in Ontario, Canada.  This was my first real vacation and ultimate camping experience.  Part of me will always be at this little lake of wonder.  It's where I first gained confidence in swimming.  It's where I first really discovered my appreciation of nature.

3.  Pine Island beach/Inverness/Orlando, Florida.  As an Ohioan you are taught that Florida is paradise.  When I finally made it there in 2009 at 19 I was amazed by how different (yet strangely similar) Florida is to everything that I'm used to in Ohio.  I still get extremely excited every time I see palm trees and geckos everywhere.  I had the opportunity to discover more of Florida than just Disney World in the summer of 2012 during a roadtrip that just made me love the state even more.

4.  Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois.  Whenever I think about Chicago I think about the canal in Lurie Gardens in Millennium Park.  I loved the peace that soaking my feet in the canal gave in the middle of the city.

Millennium Park is the only place in this list that I have been to just once.  All of the others have been twice with the exception of the Orlando area of Florida which is now around five times and soon to be six.

Each of these places are very special to me and I always look forward to visiting new places to add to the list.

Month 1 of 12

1.  January ends this week which has given me my first taste of what 2015 has to offer so far.  Let's take a look:

• a) Karma has been working so far.  Bravo.
• b) Less worrying.  I've learned to trust myself more.
• c) Giving less shits.  This has proven to be one of the best things so far.  I narrowed down what I see on Facebook to a select few people that I actually would care to see updates from.  Everyone else I see when I didn't click on the "Close Friends" column fast enough.  I spent too much time looking at everyone's updates.  Now that time is better spent watching The Simpsons.
• d) Taking on new things at work which has been very exciting.
• e) Losing some loved ones.  This mostly effects Evan but what effects Evan also effects to me.  RIP Casey Joe and Uncle Rick.

2.  Life Planning.  This has suddenly become more exciting than scary as fuck.  Disclaimer: this has nothing to do with children, getting married, or any of that other "gender norm wants" crap.  

3.  Snow still sucks.  Unless it does it when I don't have to go anywhere.  In that case, it still sucks, just significantly less.

4.  Vacation planning.  I've never planned a vacation on my own.  As in booking hotels, planning where to go on what day to make everything go smoothly and experience as many things as possible.  Which is especially hard when it's places I have never been at all.  Or even know anything about.  

5. Trying to organize and let go of things I don't need.  This actually goes along with the life planning.  When the time comes, I would like to transition the smallest amount of things I can.  The problem is, getting myself motivated to do this.  I had a lot of motivation at the end of 2014 and it has since subsided.  Unfortunately.

6.  I only have 4 pages left of my final Disney World scrapbook.  I said it would be finished before the end of February and it most definitely will be.  Woot!

2015 Bookish Resolutions

1. Read more series.  Including:

• Percy Jackson and if I fall in love with it then Heroes of Olympus so I can have debates with my co-workers.
• Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness
• Finish the Shatter Me series (I'm planning on doing this in January IF UNRAVEL ME WILL EVER COME IN AT THE LIBRARY *ahem*)
• Infernal Devices trilogy.  Even though I didn't like City of Bones, I would like to give her other series a shot.
• Actually finish the Twilight series because I never read Breaking Dawn.  I'll probably have to re-read the series because it's been a loooong time.
• Throne of Glass, Falling Kingdoms, Shadow and Bone, Mara Dyer, Lunar Chronicles, gah so many.

2. Read more books that I own.  I have too many un-read books on my shelves.  At least if I come across some I don't want to keep I can donate them and clear off room for books that I actually want there.