"Simply The Best"

I took Thursday and Friday off this week. Why? Autumn, her mom and I drove to Michigan, right outside of Detroit, to see TINA TURNER! Man, it was TOTALLY worth it. She is turning 70 on the 26th of this month and I can only hope I look half as good as she does. It may be a challenge considering she looks better than I do currently.... hmmm. She danced around and wore great outfits. Half of what she wore I wouldn't be caught dead in now let alone when I am 70! It was a great concert, she sang her old stuff. I about had a fit when she sang "Proud Mary" and yes she still can do the dance. While not as good as it once was in her younger years, man she can still shake it and look great. We had a great time and I am so happy we decided to go. It was totally worth the two vacation days!

Nothing really

Not a whole lot going on these days. Next weekend my friend Autumn, her mom and I are going to Michigan to see Tina Turner. Then going to Kyle's for Thanksgiving. I bought a new iPod Nano yesterday, purple if you care, as my old one died. The weather is gray and it makes me sad. That's about all I got for ya.... Thrilling I know. You just wasted a few minutes of your life that you now can't get back. :)

Pictures

Chicago Pics and others - now all in once place. Enjoy!

http://daniellefordspictures1.shutterfly.com

OBAMA 2008!

I have never been more excited about an election. Watching what happened last night as American's chose a new direction and a new leader for the United States. The election of Obama is exciting on so many levels. I am excited to see what he can do both here and abroad. I have faith again that we can become greater than before under his leadership. I'm thankful that the majority of Americans realize that we needed a major shift in this country. Now the count down begins to get rid of Bush, I just hope he doesn't screw too much more up before Obama gets in.

Yo!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Not going to any halloween party or doing anything exciting. I'm actually looking forward to doing nothing for a weekend. At my one workout class on Weds we all dressed up and worked out. It didn't last long because people got hot and took off their outfits.

Pictures of Chicago are coming. It was a good weekend. Weather was great on Sunday, rained a little on Saturday morning but overall the weather held up. Flying in and out was an adventure due to the wind. Mom didn't like it too much. We went to a play on Saturday night and we had a good time. It was a one woman show called "Put The Nuns In Charge." We all got called out by the woman who was the nun, it was pretty funny. We walked a TON. My legs were soooo sore on Monday. It was great to get away and see Kyle and Ashley.

Have a safe and happy halloween weekend! Holy cow... it's November tomorrow.....

I'm Off!

To Chicago this weekend for my birthday! Figured you only turn 30 once so I should do something fun. Kyle and Ashley are meeting Mom and I there. Should be fun!


Side note - Facebook has taken over my email inbox with notifcations. I had no idea people would find me so fast.... The whole thing is kinda weird and a few people are obsessed with sending me flair and writing to me.

Peer Pressure

Apparently I don't do well with peer presure. As you may recall, it was my friend Micah who told me I needed to have a blog. After all, it was the way I kept track of him and his brother Adrian. So I did a blog.

Now I have friends telling me to do Facebook. So I finally did. I really have no clue what I am doing or how the thing works, but I have it. So now you can find me there. So do it! :)

I think I need to stop listening to the peer pressure I'm getting!

Today...

I turn 30.

How I really feel about it? Not sure. Hasn't really hit me beacuse this weekend is our Columbus Light The Night walk and so work has been really busy.

Will I really think or act differently like some people say?
Will I become more focused on my future?
Will I still act like a goofy 12-year-old?
Will I have different priorities?

My vote is for the third one.... Who knows what this year of 30 will bring or what the next 30 will bring. I'm up for just about anything.

Oh Man.... 30.....

So my friend Autumn decided to start the week of my 30th birthday off with quite a bang. She convinced me we were going bowling for her birthday (Oct 7th). About half way through the one game she left to take a phone call on her cell phone which I thought was really odd. A few minutes later she came in with....... wait for it.......a SINGING ELVIS. He had balloons and sang. I was laughing so hard I was crying. Totally embarassing, let me tell you. I could hardly hear what he was saying because we were all laughing so hard. He sang Happy Birthday and You Are My Sunshine, I think. The whole thing was priceless and I have never laughed so hard in my life. The best is going to be getting her back....

Exciting News!

Fatty & Ashley are officially engaged! He proposed yesterday morning before they went away for the weekend to San Antonio. The best part is she was totally taken off guard. Even that morning Kyle had lied to get her out of the house to run errands. When she came back she got mad at him because she had stuff in her hands and he wouldn't open the front door for her. Ha! As soon as she got in the house, saw the flowers she dropped it all anyway and went looking for Kyle who was out in the backyard waiting. :)

A few months ago, maybe August, I helped Kyle pick out a ring over the internet. We talked for a few hours about it and later that weekend when he was at the store he called me again to talk about buying it. Originally he wasn't looking to buy one but a few things fell into place and it just made sense. When I went down over the summer we went and got it, Ash was out of town at the time. We, mostly Kyle, had her totally convinced that he did not have the money with the down economy, Hurricane Ike and other stuff. We really laid it on the weekend I was there. Kyle had even brought the ring home to show mom and dad and took it to her parents the weekend they went to the Notre Dame game. She had no idea.

I'm happy Kyle has found someone he can click so well with. Ashley is great and I get along really well with her. She makes Fatty happy and they fit so it's a great thing. Poor Ashley, now she's stuck forever. :)

So It's October....

That means on the 17th I turn 30. I'm not sure how I feel about it or how I should feel. It's not that I have a problem hitting this milestone, I guess I'm just wondering what it should mean if anything and how my life should, will or won't change. 30...... hm......

I have seen the light!

Yes folks, over a week later the rumor is that I finally have power. I was getting tired of going from mom's to my apartment to see what the deal was. I felt really bad for the few folks who were there all week. I called a board member at AEP this morning as I had about had it. It checked into it for me and said they were sending folks to look into it. I'm just happy it's over and I can be in once place again. Of course this week is the Zanesville Walk so I'm out of town most of the rest of this week, but it is the principle behind the whole thing.

Interesting

Kyle & Ashley went through a Hurricane that about took a direct hit on Houston. They got power and water back after 5 days. Danielle gets winds from a hurricane that hit no where near Dublin, is now going on 6 days without power and has been staying at Hotel Mom's House.

Anyone else find this interesting?

Hurricane Update

So.... the reason it has taken awhile for me to post any updates is that Ike came and hit Ohio with Category One Hurricane Force winds. I have had no power myself since Sunday afternoon. Thank goodness mom has as I have been camping out there. :) Here is an email from Kyle. He and Ashley are fine given what could have happened and now it's just more of a pain in the butt. Locally they are saying it may be Sunday before everyone here in Ohio gets power. Nice thing is I haven't had to go to work, just check email from home. It has been a totall bizzare few days.....

"I'm emailing from ashley's cousins house because we still do not have power or water. We are both fine, the house is essentially fine also. We lost power before the storm on Friday because they wanted to bring down the power in an orderly manner because they knew they were going to lose power. We lost the entire fence, part of it hit the house and smashed up the gutter. Lost a few shingles but not too bad of damage of the roof. We basically had all of our landscaping uprooted a little but I think we can replant it decently enough. We got a generator from a coworker of mine that evacuated to Arkansas and he brought one back for us. We have enough water for
probably 3-4 more days and have turned into the neighborhood refrigerator freezer because we have the generator. The storm itself was incredibly loud. People say it sounds like a freight train but I think they say that because they don't know what else to say. It basically was the loudest thing i've ever heard. The wind would gust and you could feel the house shift and creak, I was convinced the roof was gone but the house was rated for a Cat 3 so it held together nicely. We boarded up all the windows but the storm ripped one of them off even though we fastened them with 2" woodscrews. We're both going to work tomorrow and the plant is still shutdown because a nitrogen plant was damaged and none of the plants around here can come up fully without the nitrogen supply. Cell service is terrible and comes in and out. Even though we have the generator our e-mail isn't working. They say we should have water this week but power could be 3-4 weeks but I can't believe that. We have a lot of gas for the generator and we're more or less just camping in the house which really isn't too bad. It sounds like a lot of you ha more damage than we did. A lot of our neighbors lost roofs and the coast line is essentially gone as I'm sure you've seen on tv. I appreciate all the phone calls and e-mails but I just couldn't respond to any of them, and some of them I answered with incredibly brief txt messages to try to get them out. Pretty nuts but the bottom line is we are fine and our lifestyle is
fine too. Just kinda a hassle at this point. I'll try to call and keep touch with everyone but I can't make any promises."

Hurricanes

ARE NOT MY FRIEND. I HATE THEM. As Ike gets closer I am more and more worried about Kyle and Ashley. Talking to them about their plans and what they are doing to get ready make me a nervous wreck. I don't live there, it's not my house or stuff but I am so worried and stressed for them. I told Ashley I needed them to move to South Dakota.

Please pray for the best.......

Random Thoughts...

(Yes I should be working. I had a 7:30 morning meeting and rather than falling asleep right now I thought I would look like I am working - cut me a break)

I'm worried about Hurricane Ike hitting Kyle this weekend. This time he's definately getting it. They are on the wrong side of the hurricane also. It's just going to be a matter of how close the eye is to Houston. I would rather it hit further down in Mexico myself. I hate this Hurricane season thing.

This weekend should prove interesting with the OSU vs. USC game. Last weekend OSU played OU (I went!) and man did OSU look like crap. If they play that bad they are going to be EATEN! I hope for Kyle's sake (mostly his blood pressure) they don't tank, but OSU is NOTORIOUS for that.

I miss Grandmom. She would have been beside herself last weekend not knowing what football team to root for. (Incidentally Mom was pretty much rooting for OSU, I see how it is.....) Grandmom used to love to watch the OSU games and would yell at the TV and get so stressed because she knew how much it would mean to Kyle. There have been many times when I've wanted to call her to tell her something or simply hear her tell me she loved me and it would be ok. She was the one person, regardless of what I called to talk to her about would try and make it better. I miss that. I miss that love of a grandparent and I miss telling her stuff and making her happy.

Those are my random thoughts for today. Now back to work, hopefully I won't fall asleep!

Workout Advice Needed

So I need your suggestions. I have A.D.D when it comes to music during my workout. When I listen to something on my computer I think, "Hey this would be a good song to put on my iPod to have when I workout." Then when I'm working out I seem to flip through songs all the time, listen to only part of them or skip them all together.

So what songs do you listen to when you workout? I need some new ones because I'm starting to falter during workouts due to crappy or old music.

Last Summer Harrah

Kyle was home for the weekend although for shorter than planned due to Hurricane Gustav. (Stupid hurricanes....) We went to the OSU game on Saturday and it was fun. My friend Amy and I got to sit with the "token" grandparents in President Club seats so we actually sat in a seat and they were good ones. We weren't in the blazing sun which come to find out was really nice. When we got home we, Mom, Kyle and I went over the High School to stand in line to go to an Obama rally. It was neat and an experience. John Glenn spoke, what an amazing man. Some of the people were a little scary and some of the speakers were playing right to the crowd, not shocking. It was neat to see / hear him. We also got to see his motorcade leave and he waved from his bus. This is probably the closest I will ever get to a president. Other than that I've been to the pool to relax and grab the last few seconds of summer and amazing weather. The weather here is awesome although no rain due for another week which is not so good. I need it to rain for my allergies and I know the plants and grass need it too.

I hope everyone had nice long weekends. I'm glad Kyle's pretty much out of the picture for the hurricane other than getting some rain and wind. Earlier in the week the picture for him looked much worse. Enjoy the last days of summer!

The Olympics

I have to admit, I am torn with emotion about the Olympics being over. On one hand, I am glad that I will actually get to bed at a reasonable time this week compared to the last two weeks. I don't know about you, but I would get to watching them on the couch, move into my room and watch them in bed until WAY too late. I couldn't turn them off. They were addicting and there was always something else I just had to see.

On the other hand I am sad. For two weeks I only watched good things on TV. The negative portion of the news seemed to be overshadowed which was a great thing. Watching these athletes was totally amazing. What they have accomplished, regardless of how they finished or competed is unbelievable. It is inspiring and jaw dropping. I mean come on, Michael Phelps? Holy crap. What is even more exciting is realizing how amazing the Olympics are for everyone participating. It is one venue where people come from all countries and actually get along and appreciate one another. Shocking concept eh? It makes me very proud and grateful to live in a country like the US. It makes it even better when you win the most medals. :)

So who knows what I'll do this week for TV, I'm sure it won't compare.

Greatest Story Ever

So take a moment to think about this one....

Autumn teaches at The Ohio School for the Deaf. Today at a meeting with staff, she was told that on their deaf football team there would be a blind kid from The Ohio School for the Blind as they don't have a football team. (Duh?) So this is going to interesting, a blind kid on a football team where they communicate with their hands and sight. In addition, Autumn said there is a marching band from The Ohio School for the Blind.

I'm just saying.... think about this one....

We're totally going to a game.

Whew!

So I'm off to visit Kyle and Ashley this weekend. Then I've got nothing! Kyle will be home Labor Day weekend, but the next trip I have isn't till October. No, I take that back, I'm going to visit friends at the end of September. I'm glad. I'm looking forward to being at home on the weekends and more importantly, OSU football! It will be nice to be a home body for awhile. I just wish I had been able to do it more during the summer when it was so amazing out.

My Weekend

(Yes, I should be working... but it is a Monday morning, it is really nice outside and motivation did not come with me to work today...)

So Cedar Point was great. We had awesome weather, nice and sunny with a breeze, I would say upper 70's lower 80's. We went up Friday night and stayed in a hotel. Got up Saturday morning, went to Bob's for breakfast and then got to the park around 11. Let me just share with you that there is no easy way in or out of the park. We walked right on the Magnum and then did some other little rides. The longest we waited was for Maverick and Top Thrill Dragster @ 2 hours. WELL WORTH IT. Maverick actually drops you down about a 95 degree angle and it a great ride. Fast take off and a surprise in the middle, all due to the magic of magnets. Great ride. Top Thrill Dragster about gave me a heart attack. I was really nervous waiting in line for it. We had to wait even longer due to rain coming in and wind - that made it even more nerve racking. The height of 400+ feet didn't bother me, it was the 120 mph that they shoot you off at that did. (From anywhere in the park you can hear the magnets for the ride.) My friends were making fun of me saying I could go skydiving but not go on a ride where I was stapped in on a track that was anchored to the ground. (I'm not saying it was logical to be as scared as I was.) When we got on the ride I was shaking. I made my friends nervous. The worst part was waiting as they counted down and then the inital jolt of the 0-120 in no time flat. The ride was amazing, I LOVED it and would do it again in a second. :)

The only thing that was a bummer is Millinium Force was closed until the end of the day. We were waiting in line when the sky decided to open up and POUR on us. We figured forget it and ran to the car. We were on the other side of the park so we were drenched when we finally got there. It took forever to get out of the park, we had been directed to park in the back and I would say it was an hour before we were finally out. I'm not sure they are the best at directing traffic out of that place. We went to a Wendy's to change and the manager was a WITCH. She wouldn't let us back in after we went to the car to put our wet clothes and bags back into the trunk. We left and went to a Taco Bell. Best food I have ever had. It was like 10pm at this point and the last time we ate had been 2pm.

Overall the weekend was great, we're going to go back next year and maybe stay longer or go during the week. I haven't been to Cedar Point in awhile so all and all it was a great weekend, weather and bitcy Wendy's lady included.

Cedar Point

This weekend I am going to Cedar Point with three friends from OU. I'm excited. The weather is supposed to be great and I haven't seen these friends in awhile. It's also been years since I have been to Cedar Point. Should be a good weekend but I imagine I'll be tired once I get home. Oh well! :)

The First One

So today the first tropical storm hit Houston, or close to it. We'll see how mom ends up reacting, I think she is totally freaked for Kyle. Personally Kyle would be one of the first people I would want to go through a storm / hurricane with as he has all the camping supplies and stuff needed. All I care about is that his house isn't really damanged.

He put up boards over his windows and such, he had bought it a long time ago so he wouldn't have to worry. Ashley wasn't home to help him put it up (I'm not going there) so I hope he got his neighbor to help.

Anyway, we'll see what happens.

Harsh Words

While it is going to sound harsh, you may end up agreeing with me in the end. I hate people, the general public. Why? People are rude and live in their own little worlds with no compassion or consideration for those around them. You've been effected by it a zillion times. Just think about it.... The person in front of you at the store who takes forever to unpack their cart because they are on their cell phone, the person at the coffee shop who orders things for 8 people separately and then has three coupons, people who are walking in the middle of an isle or mall and stop to pull something out of their purse, someone who cuts in front of a huge line of traffic because they decided to stay in the closed lane till the last second, someone who comes and stands right in front of you when you are trying to watch a band at the Irish Festival.... I could go on. People often have no recollection of how what they do impacts others. I'm not saying people do stuff on purpose, and I'm not saying I'm perfect. What I am saying is I am appalled at how people really think they have no impact on those around them. Regardless of what you are doing, going or saying, you have an impact on others. No one seems to be awake anymore, just going about life as if they are the only ones in it. I realize no one is perfect, we all have our days, not everyone fits into this generality but more and more it seems to me that people are only worried about themselves and could care less who it impacts. I just wish at times that people would wake up a little bit and realize we're all here together and should try and take that into consideration. I'm done. My ranting and raving are over for now....

Irish Festival Time

This time last year Lizzie & Micah were here visiting and we all went to the Irish Festival on Friday night. This year, no Lizzie & Micah. :( I'm still going to the Irish Festival though. I am volunteering Friday night which means I get in free all weekend. They give you a ticket for volunteering and if you go to one of the Sunday masses you get in free. (Yes, I am a nerd). So I plan on going Saturday and Sunday to see some of the entertainment, mostly Gaelic Storm the band. It is going to be hot which will make the whole place stank and be super sticky. Awesome.

I like the entertainment and that is about it. After being in Ireland I am now a snot. (Well more than I was before). The only thing that even comes close is the entertainment and some of the Irish clothing and crafts. Food sucks and some of it is really Americanized. The only thing I found last year that was worth it was Irish baked goods. I guess I will just got back to Ireland so I can get the real thing.

Responsible Adult?!

Me?! Yes, I suppose so.

I had tickets with Aaron and two people from work to go to the Dave Matthews Band concert on the 29th. Well, I'm not going now. I have a meeting with a group of folks I directly work with that evening and while my boss didn't care if I wasn't there I felt it was not the responsible thing to go to the concert. I missed the first meeting because of Grandmom's funeral and that can be understood. Missing the second for a concert, maybe not. If I am supposed to be helping with Donor Development and getting a plan together along with my boss and this group of folks, I think it is only right that I go.

A guy at work is buying them from me so I'm not out all the money. He's been seeing Dave for 11 summers now (jealous). Makes me sad though because the last time I went to DMB was with Kyle and I haven't been since. I am going to be sad to miss the concert, but I would have really missed Kyle. I guess at some point you have to be a responsible adult. Let me tell you, it blows.....

Finally....

Pictures from Memorial Day trip to Zion & Bryce. Because I am too lazy and there are too many I simply have you going to the WalMart site where I ordered them from. Can you view them?

Grandmom

I know everyone told me she would be with me, but this weekend was hard. Mom and I went to Lakeside up on Lake Erie. I cannot tell you the number of times I wanted to call Grandmom to tell her something, laugh with her about something we saw or to have her hear something. The feeling of not being able to do so completely and totally sucks. A LOT.

Side note - if I'm not careful I'm going to end up like her. I still have bronchitis. I went to Urgent Care today and they said it was viral so the two doses of antibiotic that lasted me all of June did nothing other than kill a whole lot of stuff. I was given a cough syrup and an inhaler like they give for people with asthma. I guess I should watch it. Mom is really worried about me. I am too but there is only so much I can do. I can't lay in bed for weeks on end. I'm trying. I'm almost 30 and don't want this to go on for a long time or be a recurring trend. That would make Grandmom and I a little too close.....

Wii Suggestions?

If you own a Wii or have ever played one, I want to know what games you liked and why. Some games are better if you have more people to play, which in my case happens once in awhile. Most of the games that take a few people I wait for my friend Autumn and her husband to get and we play them. We, meaning they, have Super Mario Party (or whatever it is called) and guitar hero (love it!). They also have Super Mario Paperboy, which I could get but haven't tried out yet.

So what do you suggest I get and why? And if you haven't played Wii, you SO need to.

PS - Yes I am a loser. No I have nothing else special to tell you about. Life is borning. Sorry...

When It Rains.....

It Pours...

So it started with Grandmom passing away. Then I get back from Houston and Autumn tells me Dan had been in the ER with what they thought was viral meningitis (it's just vertigo). I get to work on Monday and my boss's father passed away. Later that day I learn of another co-worker who's sister has had cancer is not doing well and will probably pass away soon.

I've about had it... So if you have bad news I really don't want to hear it as I'm not sure I can handle it at this point.

HOT

Dad, Grandma and I are going this weekend to visit Kyle in Texas. I'm sure it will be 1,000 degrees. Today and tomorrow Kyle is learning to fight fires in the event he ever needs to.... I'm not sure about that.... Sure it is controlled but hey it's chemicals on fire and it's already a zillion degrees out.... I think I am going to buy him a badge.

It will be good for all of us to be together. If anything, I've learned how short life is and I may not have many more times of all four of us together....

Thanks

I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words and thoughs since my last post. What I always find amazing is that you may hardly ever talk to someone or see them but when you need friends they are there. It is one of the coolest things in life I think. Thank you for being there even if I hardly ever talk to you or see you. I apprecaite you being there for me when I need people the most.


Side note - I am sick again. Too much stress and stuff going on these past two weeks with family, work and personal life. My plan for the weekend is nothing. I am tired of getting sick. I need to get back into eating better and working out.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Is the day my grandmother died. From this day forward this weekend will be one of remembering the memories and all the fun and laughs we had together. I loved this woman more than any of you or she will ever know. She was so much a part of my life and I have realized this even more after her passing. I have a huge hole in my life now, one I know will heal with time but to be honest that doesn't matter to me right now...

To back up.... My mom went to see my grandmother, her mother, in Maryland over Memorial Day weekend. Kyle, Ashley, Aaron and I went to Zion and Bryce. Mom called us on Monday very upset saying Grandmom was dying. We thought it was going to be that day or the next. She had congestive heart failure and her kidneys were also failing. Mom had just seen her Sunday and she was doing ok. The weekend had been fine. The nursing home called her early Monday morning to tell her things were going downhill. Grandmom lasted until Friday, but not long enough for me to see her one last time. Mom said it was better off as she was really swollen due to the fluid and breathing really weird. From Tuesday afternoon on she was mostly out of it because she was given morphine and an anti-anxiety medicine to help her out. One of the last times Grandmom was coherent, Mom told her that Kyle and I loved her. She took her oxygen mask off and said to her, "I know, I know". (Typing this makes me cry) I had planned to go earlier but there had appeared to be no change really from day to day. I was arriving at 4pm on Friday and Grandmom didn't wait. I guess God knows what he is doing and had it planned. Kyle arrived on Saturday so at least we all got to spend time together. He figures Grandmom planned this because otherwise Mom wasn't going to see him until July and hadn't seen him for a few months. It was so hard being in her house. I was waiting for her to walk around the corner or call my name. All I wanted is to see her and hear her voice.

Monday was the viewing and I finally got to see her and touch her. I've been lucky and I have never had anyone in my family pass away and have to go to the funeral. I was worried about being around a dead body and if it would creep me out. I walked into the room and went right up to her. I was crying so hard I'm not sure really how I made it. I simply laid my head by her and hugged her while crying and talking to her. I was ok. I could see her and be with her. The whole viewing I simply stood by her with my hand on her arm. She was there, I was there, it was ok. We put a ton of stuff in with her I can't tell you what we put in it's just too hard right now.... I met a lot of cousins and family I haven't seen in a long time or ever so that was a plus. I'm sure Grandmom loved everyone being together and talking about funny things and laughing.

Tuesday was the hardest day of my life. The funeral went so fast and everything was a blur. Saying goodbye to her before they closed the coffin was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. It was just so final. Up to that point I had been ok as I mentioned before, I could see her and touch her so it wasn't as final. I helped carry her coffin despite all the protests from family members. There was no way I wasn't going to be there for her until the end. I made sure the people carrying the coffin knew her so strangers weren't carrying her. I said my final good bye to her and cried my eyes out.

I miss her. So much. She was so key in getting me through my MBA. She's going to be mad at me that I got so upset and that I put pictures out of her when she was in a bathing suit. She's also going to be mad Kyle and I laid on her pink pillows on the couch. I know she will always be with me, I asked her to somehow let me know she was. I miss talking to her and hearing her voice. I want her to tell me to be careful driving like she did every time I talked to her. I want to talk to her during award shows and make fun of dresses and people. I want to hear her laugh and see her smile. I want her here.

I know she is better off, not in pain, not worrying about Grandad, can walk easier and is with family but I am selfish. Life was too short. She had a great one but I only knew her for 29 years, not long enough. In time I know things will get better and that God had / has a plan. Right now I simply can't handle all the logic that people have to share. I know they have good intentions but I just want to be sad, cry when I want and miss her. She was an amazing lady, funny, everyone loved her and so many people I met said I was like her. To me that is the best thing anyone could ever tell me.

I love you Grandmom and I promise I will be careful driving.

Zion & Bryce

So this past weekend I went to Zion and Bryce with one purpose in mind. Do the Angel's Landing hike at Zion. It is a hike that the last .5 miles is on the top of a cliff fin. You pull yourself up and along with chains and at times there is a drop off on both sides of you. The height part was scary for Kyle, but I loved it and so did Ashley. Aaron really didn't seem to mind the height, at least he didn't say so. I felt bad for him and Kyle as they were the ones who had to carry the day packs. The views were amazing! When we got to the top we ate lunch (it was like 11am) and just hung out. Coming back down was more interesting to say the least as at many time we had to pass other people coming up. There were other parts that were switchbacks at at least a 30% angle. That was before the famous Walter's Wiggles switchbacks that we all commented on. Needless to say I hate Walter.

Let me tell you we also witnessed the best of people. One girl was doing the hike with no shoes, several people had their children on their back, were carrying them or had them in a carrier on the front, others had no water, some were way too out of shape. I don't mean to sound evil but at times we were on all fours going up or down to make sure we kept our balance and didn't slide off. We had gloves to handle the chains and they ended up being totally cluch. At the top there were also people going over to the edge to act as if they were falling off or to get a picture. Would have been real funny when they actually started falling eh? No one did.

These pictures are not mine but ones from Google. I thought some of them were good showing the chains and the trail. I was not allowed to have my camera out during the chain portion until we came to a place where we could easily rest. I will post highlights of my pictures in a few days. My camera dropped, in the case on the last day and the view screen broke. Irritating, but at least the pictures are fine. More from the trip later.

Boring Post

So I know I haven't updated this in awhile but the reason is there isn't really anything to share. I'm tired of rain. All it seems to do here recently is rain. Better yet, it rains on the weekends. Sure during the week when I have to go to work it is awesome outside. Go figure. Other than that I have found a new favoirte Wii game, well two of them. Mario Cart and Guitar Hero. My friend Autumn and her husband Dan have it and I go over unnaounced all the time to play. I'm not that great but man is it fun. I already beat one round on Mario Cart in the event you are wondering. Life is pretty normal I suppose, nothing fun going on. Going to my grandmothers in Kentucky this weekend and next is Zion and Bryce! :-) I know, this post was the most informative, thrilling thing you have ever read, no need to tell me. Basically I wanted to let you know I'm still alive and nothing really new is going on. Aren't you glad you know?

Travel Freak

Many of you know that for the past several years I have been obsessed with traveling. School put a damper on it a little, but now I'm free again! You probably know the song "Superfreak" just insert Travel for Super and it's me.

So I only have a trip planned to Zion and Bryce in May and that's it. So I need your help. Where have you been that you have loved? Tell me about it! I'm looking to plan more trips!

Finally Sun!

I just wanted to share that these past few weeks while the sun has been out, life has been 10,000 times better. I do so much better with longer days and sun. I work out outside, feel better and simply have more energy. I cannot wait for full blown summer to arrive. The hotter the better. I'm just a happier person when the sun is out. I know, you're thrilled to know this.

Reflection

At the risk of sounding like my friend Amanda's blog (which I do love), I'm having a reflective type of day. My high school is doing Fiddler on the Roof this weekend. My mom asked me if I wanted to go and I told her I couldn't. The memories and emotions I have tied to that show from when I did it in HS were just too much. It got me to thinking....

What happened to all those friends you swore you would keep in touch with? Regardless of it was in HS or college, there were people who you were always with that are no longer in your life. What are they doing now? Would you still be friends if you had done ___ or tried ___? If you reconnected would you still want to be their friend or just let it go? Who's fault was it that you are not in contact anymore? Sure, everyone gets busy, life happens and people go their own ways.

In addition, what decisions have you made or wish you would have made if you could do it over again? What did you do right? What did you wish you could have done or should have done? There are many things I regret doing or not doing. They all make me think what if? I know you can't live that way, but don't you have those days when you just wonder what could have be different? Wonder why things ended up the way they did? Well, I'm having one of those days....

England

Finally I will tell you about our trip to England. Of course the flights over and back sucked, no matter what you did. Virgin Atlantic has little TV's in the back of the seat in front of you and you can choose what movie, tv show or video game you can play. On the 8 hour flight back, none of that mattered. I just wanted to be done traveling.

So I LOVED ENGLAND!!! The best thing we did was take a personal tour of Westminster Abbey. It was amazing. The history, the graves, the massiveness.... Unbelievable! Overall the history, pomp and circumstance and extravagance of it all was amazing. It was awesome to see stuff that the monarchy has used for centuries and will continue to do so. It's hard to imagine you are standing and looking at things that some of the most influential people in England's history were a part of. I could go on for ever about the trip but here are some of the highlights...

1. Seeing the Tower of London where so many people were imprisoned, beheaded and lived. Beefeaters still live there today with their families.
   
2. Seeing the Royal Mews with the coaches used for coronations, Princess Di's wedding, state affairs and other occasions. One of the coaches and some of the cars we saw were used a few days before for the state visit of the French President.
   
3. Westminster Abbey graves of kings and queens that were the size of an entire room. Only the informational book that I got can really show you.
4. Shakespeare's house and Globe Theater.
   
5. Going into watch the House of Commons and House of Lords. The elaborate interiors cannot be described.
   
6. Oxford University. Their colleges (what we call dorms) are about 1000 times more impressive. I should have studied abroad....
7. Stonehenge. I personally do not care who or how it got there, it is intriguing.
   
8. Going to the castles and seeing how people live. Personally I'm not too sure they are that warm and inviting.... I don't know how I would feel about living in one.
   
9. Seeing Les Mis and Jersey Boys.
   

Honestly the trip was amazing. There was nothing I would have changed. If anything I wanted more time to be in Bath and Oxford. It was humbling to be there in many ways. I am so happy we went. I would be more than happy to share more with you if you wish, but I will not continue to bore you here.... I would HIGHLY suggest you go if you get a chance. After all, it's where we came from.....

HUGE Dork!

So I will be the first to admit that I can be a total dork. Example you ask? Well, last night on TV I ran into a dilemma. Star Wars Revenge of the Sith and the Lord of the Rings Return of the King were on. Had you added Harry Potter to the mix and I may have gone batty. Needless to say it was a very hard decision to decide what movie to watch. I flipped back and forth, finally staying on Return of the King.

So here is my question to you? How would you rank the following (that is if they are your type of movies)?
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Harry Potter Movies
Star Wars IV, V and VI
Star Wars I, II and III

Here's my ranking:
LOTR
Star Wars IV, V and VI (Darth Vader rocks)
Harry Potter
Star Wars I, II and III (Aniken was TOO whiny, but (computer) Yoda kicks butt.....)


PS - I have not forgotten about England. Still processing it all and getting pictures organized. They'll be up by the weekend, in case you are just dying to see them. :-)

Boo... I'm Back

So give me a day or two and I will give you my thoughts on England and post pictures. It's been a hard adjustment back with getting back to work and getting my body back on this time zone. I love big cities and I ADORED London! The pictures are awesome and the trip was amazing. I'll have more up by the weekend.

We're Off!

Tomorrow Mom and I leave for England! Hope you all have wonderful Easter's, we'll be in London for ours. :-) I'm pumped and cannot wait to go. I love that you totally disconnect and that no one can reach you. You really get a chance to go live in another world for awhile. I'm sure there will be a zillion pictures once we get back. You know you'll want to see them.....

As a side note - I'm worried about future trips, even if just here in the states with the cost of airline tickets going up. Boo....

Anyway, I'll see ya in a little over a week!

Going Over The Pond

One week from today, at precisely this hour, Mom and I will be at JFK airport waiting to leave for ENGLAND! Everything seems to be set although we had a flight scare last night. In the event you cared, here is what we gots going on!

Friday 21^st: Arrive @ 9:30 - Westminster Bridge - The London Eye
Saturday 22^nd: Magic of London Tour = Tower of London - Changing of the guard - Thames River cruise & pub lunch - Westminster Abbey - Afternoon tea at Harrods
Sunday 23^rd: Hop On / Hop Off Tour – Original Tour = Buckingham Palace - Piccadilly Circus - National Gallery - Downing Street - Big Ben - London Bridge - St. Paul’s Cathedral - Tower Bridge
Monday 24^th: Houses of Lords & Commons (hopefully!) - Kensington Palace
Tuesday 25^th: Tour to Winchester, Stonehenge & Bath
Wednesday 26^th: Tour to Oxford, Stratford Upon Avon & Warwick Castle
Thursday 27^th: British Museum - Royal Mews - Les Miserables @ Queen’s Theatre
Friday 28^th: Tour to Windsor, Runnymeade & Hampton Court Palace
Saturday 29^th: Leave @ 11am

I am totally pumped and ready to go! I'm going to delay thinking about an overnight flight as long as possible. I love traveling!

Blizzard of '08!

To qualify as a blizzard we have to have winds of 35 mph and 1/4 mile visibility for three hours or more. I'm not sure we'll get that but here are some pictures of what we have so far.... Now I realize there may be some drifting and blowing, but I would say my porch is protected from the wind in some regards.

Plants out front Friday afternoon / evening...

Plants out front Saturday morning...

Plants out front Saturday evening...
????

Update - around 5 on Saturday it finally stopped snowing. Took me an hour to dig my car out Saturday. I would say there is anywhere from 15-20 inches outside. I had to create a path to get to my car because the snow was so deep.

White Death

IS COMING! Again..... Grrrr..... More snow. Who really knows how much but they are acting like it is going to be the end of the world. So, in the event that is it, been nice knowing ya! :-P

Irritating

So today I'm irritated and I just thought I should share. I'm tired of winter, get it over with already. Snow coming in little bits over and over is annoying now. I'm also currently embarrassed to be a voting person in the state of Ohio. For some reason we can't EVER get our acts together to make the voting process easy or accurate. I'm also irritated at the results but won't get into that here. I'm also tired of always being the one in my department at work to know what to do even when I really don't. Why can't others figure it our or make it up? Why do I need to be asked every freaking question even the most basic?

Thank goodness I leave for England on the 20th. Peace out all, disconnecting from the world for a week is gonna be AWESOME!

SPRING?!

Where is it?! How many days?! I am so tired of snow, single digit temps and ice. Then comes a day that hints of Spring. Of course it's only a tease and then Winter comes flying back. I'm tired of my car being white from salt and dirty from the weather. I ran out of windshield wiper fluid for the first time for crying out loud! I've had it. Either get it out of your system Winter all at once or be done. This in between nonsense is annoying.

I'm waiting for Spring and hot weather.... I cannot wait!!!!

Getting Old

I just got back from a weekend visit to my grandparents in Maryland. It wasn't fun. My grandfather has Parkinson's and is now a permanent resident of a nursing home. He really has no idea of what is going on. You can't tell if an answer you get from him just happens to be the right one, or if he understands. He has good days and bad days. It sucks to see him like this. At least he is safe, but the process of him going down hill is unbelievably hard to see.

My grandmother just got out of the hospital on Friday after being there for a month. She had to go to rehab (the same place my grandfather is) because she was so weak she could hardly walk 20 feet. She was upset about going, saying the people there would wonder what was wrong with her and she was embarrassed to have to go back. Somehow I convinced her it was what she needed to do so she could eventually go home.

So I spent my whole weekend in a hospital or nursing home. It was completely depressing and not a good advertisement for what is to come. At times the things my grandmother said to me made my heart break. "I never wanted to be alone", "I'm tired of doing this", "I don't want to be a burden", "I missed out on so much of your and Kyle's life"... and the list goes on. At no point could I tell her it was her fault she ended up like this as we tried many times to get them to move to Ohio but she didn't want to leave her family and friends, most of whom are now dead. I wish there could have been something more I could have done earlier to convince them to make different decisions so the situation now would not be as bad as it is. Going to visit is hard and unpleasant, something I never thought would happen when I referred to my grandparents.

Getting old looks like it sucks. You also do not realize the burden and stress you put on those around you. More and more I realize my step mom is right in that you need to plan to take care of yourself when you are old so you don't have to deal with what my mom has had to. Whoever came up with the body not going with the mind and money at the same time wasn't really thinking.... Trust me I just got a good picture of old age this weekend and it's not pretty.

Wii !!!!!

So right after I said nothing exciting going on, I change that. I bought a Nintendo Wii today!! Ever since Kyle had his home at Christmas and I played it I have been looking for one. Every time a Wii commercial came on and they said "Wii would like to play" I yelled at the TV, "I want to play Wii!". Finally I called a WalMart today and they had six! I was shocked. It seems like Nintendo would rather produce a total of ten for the entire country and only send one per store rather than making them easy to get, but I suppose I need to quit bitching since I have one. I am thrilled and cannot wait to play it! Wanna play?!

Nothing Thrilling

So I hate to tell you, but I've got nothing fun to share. Life consists of work, which is crazy busy and travel. I have been trying to work out more and eat better. Really nothing exciting going on, sorry for the unbelievably thrilling post. I'm still alive and life is good so that's a plus right!?

Texas...

So I had to come to San Antonio for work and figured I could go early and have Kyle and Ashley come from Houston. It is only about a 3 hour drive. So Texas is interesting. A lot of cowboy hats, Texan flags and Mexican "stuff". Our hotel was on the Riverwalk. We spent Saturday walking about on Riverwalk and took a boat tour. The day started with longhorn cattle walking down the street in front of our hotel. The rodeo is in town this week I guess and they had them walking down the street, who knows why. It's Texas, I really didn't ask questions..... We walked to the mall and went in a lot of stores. It was easier to figure out where we were by being down on the Riverwalk, not up on the streets. We also went to the Alamo. Personally, I don't get it, maybe that makes me insensitive, who knows. Sunday we went to a Mexican market and went in a bunch of stores. We had breakfast of Mexican Pastries, I think the three of us got 3 things each. We then went on what they call the Mission Trail and saw four old missions. All of them still had services, most of the people looked like they were locals and were Mexican. One of the services we heard was all in Spanish.

My verdict on Texas, when I am with Kyle and Ashely, it appears normal. As soon as I talk to someone local, go into a store, or turn on the TV, I realize I am in a different world. Texans are very proud of themselves, their "hillbillyness" and state pride. I have no real idea why, my only conclusion is that it is Texas. No real reason is needed for the absurd pride and "hickness" it's Texas and it is what they do. I've done San Antonio, it was nice and pretty, but Texas is still, well interesting.....

Finally Adjusting?

So this weekend was the first weekend I had free and nothing to do for school. Since school got out, things were crazy with the Holidays and then Antigua. Finally this weekend, nothing planned and an extra day! (Thanks MLK!) So yesterday I was in bed watching TV till noon and it was awesome. Today I plan on watching a movie and doing some reading. I saw some friends in Cincy on Saturday and it was great. I haven't seen them in forever. I'm also getting used to being able to work out at night. Last week I even took a few work out classes one after the other. Sure, nothing that thrilling I will admit, but exciting anyway since the past two years were so structured and set. Now comes the traveling and I'm ready. So maybe after all I will start to get used to this thing called life outside of school!

Antigua!!!

Was totally amazing and wonderful. I just got back last night from a week long trip to Antigua in the Caribbean with my friend Autumn. She was getting married there and I went along so her Mom could go and we were both witnesses for their ceremony. They got married on the beach and it was wonderful. I have never been to the Caribbean and am now hooked. It was amazing. Pictures will follow. Now, back in Ohio with the cold and no sun is a little hard. I am used to being on the beach by 9am in the bright sun and looking at amazing colored waters. Living in your bathing suit is awesome and the week was full of memories, laughs and fun. Together we probably have 800 pictures. I have almost 300 myself. I'll post a few once I get them together.