we'll get there fast and then we'll take it slow

I spent Saturday in Columbus with Ravi, Stephanie, Erik and his new girlfriend eating super yummy veggie hot dogs at Dirty Franks, shopping at F21, getting caught in the rain, drinking bubble tea smoothies and laughing a lot.
It has given me a bit of the traveling bug.
I would love a little weekend getaway.
Nothing fancy.
Just a couple days of fun exploring new places and feeling new things.

indianapolis

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ann arbor

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louisville

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chicago

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pittsburgh

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These may not seem like the most exciting places, but they're all a five hour drive or less which is perfect for a quick getaway. Unfortunately it probably won't happen (stupid money), but a girl can dream. 

never succumb to the war that you fight in your heart

I was just going to ingnore the fact that this time last year I was a mess but I feel like I have made a complete 360 since then and really want to address it.
June 20th last year was spent sitting on a curb, crying on Kyle's shoulder outside of Luke's birthday party at LaserWeb.
My heart was broken and I was completely absorbed by it.
Since then I have slowly found myself again and had the heartbreaker in and out of my life numerous times.
I finally realized I am better than what I was allowing to happen with he and I.
I told him anything but friends was 100% out of the question.
He didn't really get it and that caused me to pull away even more.
I know it was up to me to finally get over him and be done with all this but my friends have helped sooooo soooo much and have continued to up to now and will in the future.
It took them telling me I was good enough for a guy that I thought would never consider dating me, seeing that I do fit in with people I don't know that well and three days of smiling and laughing with the best people I know for me to realize I don't really even need to be friends with him.
I am now fine with him not being a big part or small part of my life.
We haven't talked in three days and I am a-ok with it.
This year I spent June 20th inside at Luke's birthday dinner smiling and laughing and just so happy that I have great friends, old and new.

I am ready for something new and exciting and want to continue feeling this way, which won't happen as long as he and I are in constant communication.
I feel like maybe I'm getting my hopes up thinking things are going to start happening for me, but I guess its better than feeling like I don't deserve to be happy.

three days of food and friends.

I had yet another lovely weekend with some of the best people I know.
Friday was a cookout filled with lots of laughter and lots and lots of yummy food...veggie burgers, pasta salad and strawberry shortcake to name a few!!
I kept my mind and heart open to a new possibility and it was no where near as scary as I thought it was going to be-I was a bit nervous to do so and still am because I don't know what to do about any of it or how to go about it but that is no reason to stop trying or keep me from continuing on with my fun filled weekend!!
Saturday I sat in the sun reading for hours and then ventured to Dayton to get Panera and Starbucks with Ravi and Stephanie, always a good time and good conversation.
Sunday I hung out in Troy with my family for Father's Day sitting in the sun, watching the dogs play in their pool, going to a dog show for a bit and eating yummy veggie pizza. The evening included sushi with friends for Luke's birthday, silly/inappropriate conversation, coconut cream pie, comedy central presents and falling asleep on Ravi and Stephanie's couch.
Today I have been super duper lazy watching lots of NatGeo, Comedy Central and Weeds...I need to get my butt of the couch and go to the gym and then on a run!!!

clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.

The words may not have come out when/in the way I wanted them to but they are out there now. He knows how I feel and respects it. I know how I feel and am ready for what comes next. 

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hogs and dogs

Yesterday ended up being pretty nice so I got outside a bit to do a little photo shoot that my dad asked for of him and his harley. Of course I couldn't pass up getting pictures of the corgis and their hair cuts they get every summer, soooo cute!!!

brucifer and his harley

after this picture he almost ran toby over.

 

toby!!

mom and moo

newbie being the cutest thing ever.

fresh cut grass.

free music sampler-npr/bonnaroo

NPR is offering up another FREE sampler of music from some of the bands playing at Bonnaroo, so do yourself a favor and download it because you just may love it!! My favorite song on it is "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'" by Mayer Hawthorne, it has such an upbeat summer feel to it.

i love my friends and flag day

I have had such a fun filled weekend and am sad that it is coming to an end!!
Erik came into town and it was so good to see him because it had been a couple months!!
I spent the past two days in Dayton with Stephanie, Ravi and Erik and the hang outs have consisted of coffee, good conversation, silly conversation, inappropriate conversation, a board game marathon, yummy food, wanting pie but not getting it, planning my move to chicago, late night drives, coffee cake, trying to watch movies illegally, now and then and lots and lots of laughing.

Despite the lovely weekend and my friends rooting for me and wanting the best for me, I woke up today feeling like I have backed myself into a corner when it comes to my silly guy situation. I have allowed myself to get comfortable hanging out with him without feelings and it pisses me off. It is not what I want and I know I do it because I keep thinking maybe something will change. It didn't last year and it won't this year. I want to move on. I want a new experience. I don't stand up to him enough and now I feel like it could hold me back in other situations. He hurt my feelings so much and for some reason I can't find the strength to tell him we have to be JUST FRIENDS and stick to it. We were suppose to hang out today but he made other plans, so tomorrow we're having lunch or a lunch date as he put it...I'm going to figure out what to say and hopefully get the words out of my mouth tomorrow.

Tomorrow is also Flag Day and for the past couple years my Dad has been putting on a flag burning ceremony along with the American Legion he is the commander of. The Troy Daily News put an interview with my Dad on the front page of the paper that will hopefully bring more people out for the service despite the fact they are calling for rain tomorrow. He is so proud of his service in the Air Force and it is nice to see his community take notice of the good he is doing. He asked me to take pictures of the ceremony, I am not expert in any way shape or form so hopefully I get good ones to post!

some questions

The darling Sam tagged me to answer some questions which I never got around to finishing the day I started, but better late than never so, here we go!

1) What super power do you wish you had?

I wish I had the super power of never growing old, oh how I fear getting old.


2) Who is your role model and why?
My mom for being so giving.
Stephanie for being such a wonderful listener and always being able to put a smile on my face when I am blue.
Ravi for always seeing the best in people and situations.
My GB and Poncho for never staying in one place for too long no matter the connections they have there and always doing what they want....perhaps they are why I can't commit to anything.

3)If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

I would own a cute little boutique or coffe/tea shop.

4)Zombies or Vampires?
Um, zombies. or vampires. I have no preference.

5)What is your favorite kind of food?

PIE!!! yaka soba. food from la fiesta. brussel sprouts. crazy bread. pickles. chips and salsa.

6)What did you want to be when you "grew up"?

Indiana Jones and a wildlife photographer for National Geographic.

7)Best place in the world?
The best places in the world that I haven't been to-Croatia and South Africa.
The best places in the world that I have been to-Misawa (what little I remember of it) and San Diego/La Jolla

8)If you could start a band, what would you name it?
blanket. I don't know...its the first thing I saw when I looked around the room.

troy strawberry festival pictures

strawberry festival 2010.

highlights-

.monty being the best dog ever during a 2 hr parade

.deep fried strawberries

.la fiesta with ravi and stephanie

.strawberry donuts and coffee in the morning with the family

npr diary sharing project

I saw this story on NPR and it reminded me of all of you lovely blogger ladies!
The Hidden Lives of Girls

I think it is a neat idea and am considering submitting some pages. What do you all think, would any of you submit pages?

bark park fun

Here are a few of the bark park pictures from the other day!!

Toby is ready to go home.

This little pit bull puppy was full of kisses...too bad his mom wanted to kill everyone there.

Monty two seconds after we got in the park

Newbie catching his breath in the shade under a picnic table.

yay for being done with moving and shopping trips!!

My my I have been slacking in the blogging department again. I've just had a lot going on the past week, with packing, moving and cleaning. It is all done now and I'm back in Troy...hopefully not for long.
I have emailed/called about a few more apartments but haven't heard back from them and have applied for a couple more jobs. I hope I hear from them all soon!!

Besides packing and moving, I spent some much needed friend time with the two best friends I have, Ravi and Stephanie. We had yummy cheesecake factory, lovely conversation and the essential iced coffee. Even though I'm only 25 minutes away, it feels like I might as well be in another state and it makes me have second thoughts about moving to Cincinnati or Columbus. Even though I'm ready for a change and to see if there is anyone out there for me, I can't really imagine not living close to them and being able to hang out whenever.

Saturday and Sunday were spent packing up more stuff, moving it to Troy and relaxing. Moving takes a lot of me and this time it has taken even more because of how it is making me feel. I want to make the best of my time here but I don't want to get comfortable.

Sunday I finished cleaning, thanks to Stephanie for letting me use her awesome vacuum. I left the place looking better than it did when I moved in, everything looked sooo bright and clean. Even though I'm sad to be gone, I'm glad I don't have to be around the crazy people who live in my building anymore. My next place has to be a house or double, no upstairs neighbors!!

After we finished cleaning, my mom and I headed to the Greene so I could do a little shopping since Troy lacks a mall anywhere near it. I got a super cute dress at F21 and returned a dress I got from a new store there that had a big rip in it. I was sad to return it because it was so sweet but I found one on their website to replace it. There are so many sales online and in stores, I wish I could shop them all!!

Yesterday was work and meeting up with Stephanie afterwards for a coffee date and taking the dogs to the Tipp City bark park once I got back home.  I took some cute pictures while we were there and will post some once I get them uploaded!!
Today I headed to Cincinnati to do a little summer/cheer me up shopping at H&M and Nordstrom, I had a coupon for H&M and Nordstrom was having a sale. I got a few cute dresses/skirts and a couple pairs of shoes. I had a nice drive there and back it took soooo long compared to how long it would have taken if I still lived in Dayton. Oh wells.

This weekend is the Strawberry Festival here in Troy, the school year in Troy is seriously planned around this festival...thats how big of a deal it is. They do have some yummy strawberry foods available but the population of Troy triples and it is a mess. I usually avoid it but I think this year I'm going to take Monty to the parade Saturday morning and venture onto the festival later on it in the day.

I hope you all have had a lovely day!!! I'm not feeling too well, so I'm going to make some tea and relax.