Current Obsession: Sonic

I go through phases where all I want is one thing. And right now, that one thing is Sonic. Ben brought home Sonic last night and we watched Law & Order. I was pretty much the happiest I could get at that very moment, and I wanted to make sure you all know about how amazing Sonic is.

I was also unconditionally devoted to Sonic three years ago when we got engaged. But then I was in love with mozzarella sticks. Now my devotion has changed. My absolute favorite thing to get is a junior hamburger with nothing but chili on it. It's a local dupe for Cookout burgers (found only in the south), and I am SO HAPPY. (So is my sister, because now I'm not going to drive her nuts every time I visit North Carolina until we get a burger with chili.)


Every day from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m., Sonic has "Happy Hour" where their beverages are 50% off - no matter how fancy you get or how huge your drink is. My pick for by the pool is a Route 44 Ocean Water - it's blue coconut and sprite and it's the size of a small child's wading pool.

Swing by Sonic this afternoon to cool off a little! I'll be there by 2:02 p.m.

It's hot and that's okay.

This heat wave that is taking over practically the entire United States is out of CONTROL. Yesterday at the barn, the heat index was 107. If I wanted it to be that hot, I would have moved to Arizona. Okay, actually, I probably wouldn't have but STILL. And the AC is supposed to be out at work for an entire week so that should be interesting.

I'm trying to make the most out of this, so let's look at the bright side.

- I have an excuse to eat dozens of those freezer pops.

- I have a pool that I can float in whenever I want. Which is pretty much every day.

- I got to leave work early on Tuesday because the power was out in the office. Kelly and I shopped, worked out and lounged around.

- I feel like painting my nails orange and coral and red (not all at the same time - but maybe I should) to match the heat.

- No one thinks I'm trashy when I walk around Meijer in my running shorts, bathing suit top, ratty boys' white tank top and flip flops. They're just jealous I'm headed to the pool.

- I lose two pounds every time I walk into the backyard to walk the dogs. Granted, it's just water weight and I'm sweating it all out. But still - at this rate, I'll be down to the size of an Olsen twin by August.

- I don't feel bad about running on the treadmill because it's impossibly hot outside.

- I'm so thirsty that I'm drinking all of the water I'm supposed to - times two.

Silver linings rock.

Weekend

A little weekend overview. I spent some time with that little floof above. Her name is Pippa! And I wanted to take her home.


Grace and I went to Sonic for happy hour! I got a junior burger and this huge lemonberry slushie. Yummm.

Ben came over to Grace's to play Call of Duty on their awesomely big TV. Please forgive the blurriness. I just love this picture.


In case you missed it, the US Women's National Team lost in the World Cup finals. Luckily, Jordan still likes America.

Kelly! We were so domestic. And by we, I really mean she. I was more like a sous chef, cutting and chopping and peeling. But I love this picture, too!

Weekend plans = WORLD CUP

This weekend's plans include:

- A birthday celebration for Kathryn Ford!!
- Pool laying. DUHTOWN.
- A girls' day on Saturday with brunch, shopping, pool and a sleepover.
- The Women's World Cup *hollllaaa* with Rachel (via phone)


I won't be able to be with Rachel for this momentous occasion. But if I were, this is what we would look like:

And if we were getting a little more crazy.. this:


We like being married/engaged to futbol playas

Pictures on Monday! Have a wonderful weekend and remember who you are and Whose you are. xoxo

A day at the office.

Obviously, my office is one of the places where I spend a ton of my time. Luckily for me, I am blessed to love what I do AND I have some great co-workers and students. I thought I'd take you through a little trip through my office.

This is what the front desk looks like when we're getting ready for the visitors who are coming to check us out tomorrow!
Here's Charity! She was an event intern for me, coordinated our housing for guests for two years, served as a student receptionist AND has given tours. PHEW. I'm so blessed that she stayed to help me this summer! She takes care of the front desk - and keeps an eye out for me!


A little mid-afternoon snack is a necessity. Meijer had cherries on sale. So.. I was all about that. Note doodling from a long phone call on the paper behind it.

I am legendary for having empty and half empty cups sitting around my office. Here's my water cup (Go Gators!) AND our campus coffee shop was open today so I had to grab an iced drink to stay energized this afternoon.


In the corner of my office are beverages that we offer our visitors. We've run out of room in the fridge and in our storage room. So my corner is holding them for the next week or so.


This is my fave jacket. I found to use for our Christmas admissions video last year.. and it's still hanging on the back of my office door. I wear it in the summer when I'm too cold from the AC. Also, check out that poster of JFK and Jackie O. behind me. It's one of my favorite photo series.


What's that? You want a closeup of my bulletin board? Okay. I have homecoming pictures, cards from my mom & dad, pictures of family and encouraging notes. And a ribbon from a horse show last year. Because it's pink and I like it. Some dogs at the shelter where Stella's from did that painting. Talented canines.


At the end of the day, there's always more to do. At least I have cute office supplies!

Peace Out, Insecurity.

Two of my dearly beloveds and I are going through Beth Moore's book "So Long, Insecurity" each Monday night. Reading the book and answering the questions on Beth's blog has given us a lot to think and talk about. I'm starting to notice more and more not only how my insecurities affect and shape my thought patterns, but about how this epidemic has infected America.

I see it at the pool, when I hear men bragging about the DUIs they've gotten away with, the girls talking about how much unseen weight they've gained that week and the people who are obsessed with making others look less than themselves by acting immature.

I see it in people who crave attention so much that they force other people to give it to them by their selfish or demanding behavior, instead of waiting for others to love on them.

I see it in the soccer players and basketball stars who come for athletic camps, pushing, jostling in the cafeteria, desperately wanting to be liked and accepted - not just for how they perform on the field or the court, but for who they ARE.

I see it in those who close their eyes to Truth, who won't let others speak to them about it, who are both miserable with their lives but refuse to let God do anything to change them or their situation.

I see it in the people who are constantly sure that someone is talking about them behind their back. I think of the quote my mom shared with me years ago - "If you knew how little people talk about you, you wouldn't worry what they say". Humbling, but true - and something I long to share with these people that I encounter.

I hear it in the voices of the students who call me at work, preparing to come for their freshman year. I hear it in their parents, who want to be able to stay cool in the middle of preparing to send their most precious possession into the world. I want to tell them - and sometimes do - that they are going to love it, that God is going to change them in the next four years, that there are people here who will invest in them in ways that they can't even imagine.

Lately in the mornings on the way to work, I have been praying for these people as they come to mind - so that their insecurity won't be anything that will keep them back from seeing and serving Him. I am more patient through the day, seeing through the bravado that people display a little bit, hurting for them a little more. I'm praying that He continues to reveal both the insecurities in me and equips me to meet the needs of others in this area.

Energy Vampires

A phrase I heard at a work conference last year that has stuck with me is "energy vampire". Energy vampires are things that drain you automatically just by being near them or dealing with them. They can be situations, tasks or even people.

Figuring out what my energy vampires are has been invaluable to me. It has helped me figure out why some days are so much worse - or better! - for me than others. There's a flip side to them, too - "sunshine sources". When I interact with more "sunshine sources" than "energy vampires", it's easier to have a great day.

Some of my energy vampires are...

- Drinking too much soda

- Manipulative people

- False guilt/guilt tripping

- Overscheduling myself

- Inflexibility from others

- Feeling controlled or micromanaged

- Negative people

- Burger King

- Feeling like my house/laundry/car is OOC

- Surprises (I know, I know.. I just like to plan ahead).

Sunshine sources include...

- Getting sleep and drinking a TON of water

- My dogs & pony - including walking them and cleaning stalls

- Exercising
- Music that fits my mood

- Sonic, Starbucks, Oreos - all my favorite food groups

- Time on the phone or in person with my closest friends and my family

- Vacuuming and doing laundry (but NOT folding it)

- Being able to spend lots of time getting ready in the morning

- Checking things off of my to do list

- Laying around - by the pool, watching a movie with my college roommate, in the grass with my nephew, in front of the fire in the winter.

As Dr. Brown likes to say "One day, I woke up and decided that I would never have another bad day. And I haven't." I love that attitude! But avoiding those energy vampires certainly helps, too!

Dear Photograph

I stumbled across this gem of a website yesterday. The premise is that you take an old photograph and hold it up in the same location today to see how it's changed. Their tagline is "take a picture of a picture from the past in the present". It's only been going on a month or so, but I LOVE it. It has quickly become one of my favorite stops in my journeys around the world wide web.

I'm thinking about doing this at my parents' house in Connecticut when I'm home for Christmas. Now I just have to find the right embarrassing photo...

Some favorites:

Dear Photograph, Thank you for everything we had.

Dear Photograph, Thank you for reminding me of how lucky I am to have my Dad.


Dear Photograph, Her love was my chemo. I beat cancer.

Dear Photograph, When will I have this much swag again?

Quiet Streetlights & Loud Fireworks

Every few nights, Ben & I will put on real shoes (we live barefoot and in sandals all summer long) and make the 3.5 mile walk to our local Starbucks. I'm usually the one that wants to go, but he's never turned me down. We leash up the dogs - red for Snow, turquoise for Stella - and set out. When it's hot out and 92% humidity, we wait until the sun has dipped below the horizon until tomorrow. Rarely, inspiration strikes early in the morning and we make the trek before I go to work.

There are so many reasons why I love these walks, but the biggest one is nostalgia. They remind me of when I first got Snow, and he had to live outside. To spend quality time with him, I was either sunbathing on the back deck or taking him for long walks in my sleepy college town. We had a 1 mile loop for the early, fog-filled mornings and a 4 mile journey for after I got out of school or work. When we got on campus, I would take him off his leash and let him run to his heart's content. I hated seeing him live in that kennel, and it did both of us good to get him out and stretch his legs.

When I got up in the morning for work, I would peek out the window of the Big Nasty (a tiny house I shared with three other girls with a landlord we called the Warlord). Without fail, Snow was standing outside his Igloo filled with cedar chips, staring intently at the house. His alarm clock went off a few minutes before mine, and he was always ready first. He repeated the process at 5:03 every evening, waiting to greet me when I got home from work.

Those times with Snow filled me with purpose. In the midst of an unhappy relationship, he was ecstatic to see me without fail. He loved me unconditionally. He made me commit to something that was hard and he held me accountable. When baby opposums made their way into his kennel and died of heart failure, he watched with interest when I suited up in gardening gloves and had to toss it out of his cage. Every time I dropped it and squealed, he looked at me inquisitively, like "What's the big deal?" He did the same thing when I would let him run through the cornfields and he would come back with groundhogs. I would scream bloody murder at him and he would drop them at my feet as gifts. He never understood why I wasn't as excited as he was.

When someone let him out of his cage at night as a prank, my roommates let me bring him inside because I was so upset. He was uncomfortable being inside and kept us up all night with his nervous antics. A few weeks later, he was shipped off for five months of R & R in Connecticut with my mom and dad, where they did the majority of his housebreaking and all of his spoiling. When he came back to live with me in Ohio four and a half years ago, there was no more separating us.

He's getting older now, and I don't know how many more summers I will have with him. But when we wander up to Starbucks and get iced coffee and a venti cup of water for him - and Stella - Ben lets me walk quietly. The streetlights flicker and sometimes go out, which startles all of us. Tonight, and other times throughout the summer, fireworks boom from behind the air force base and on the other side of a hill. None of us notice. Stella is watching Snow intently, Snow is watching me, and I am lost in my own thoughts. Sometimes Ben will grab my hand and I know he is saying to enjoy tonight because we don't know what tomorrow holds. And I grab back and he knows I am saying that I wish this could go on forever.

Trip to Michigan

Oh my. We went to Michigan last weekend and had the. best. time.

We left in the afternoon on Friday and were welcomed to Michigan with strawberry rhubarb pie (right out of the oven!) and hugs from our niece and nephew. We stayed up late chatting with Rachel and Rebecca about everything and nothing.

On Saturday, we picked strawberries in Becca's garden and got ready for the beach. I wasn't totally convinced about Michigan beaches until we got there on Saturday. It was beautiful! The sand was soft and it "squeaked" under our feet. Some of our group were even brave enough to climb the sand dunes. It looked like a lot of work so I supervised while reading a magazine.

On Sunday, we went to church with Rachel and heard a great message from a pastor in Egypt. It was inspiring to hear from him what the Lord is doing in Egypt and how we can pray with the Egyptians. After church, we had a cookout, game of hillbilly golf and mini photo shoot. How adorable are these kids?!


Being in Michigan was so special. It's rare that we get to spend hours and hours with just Ben's sisters and it was so good sharing what's on our hearts, planning the family reunion in August and just having fun together. We are so blessed to have fantastic sisters on BOTH sides of our family (although I sometimes think Ben is more grateful for the awesome brother-in-laws we have).

What I Wear on Road Trips

road trip summer 11 by sclift featuring wayfarer sunglasses

Victoria s Secret victoria secret legging
$18 - victoriassecret.com

Victoria s Secret victoria secret legging
$25 - victoriassecret.com

Rainbow shoes
$46 - tillys.com

Rayban wayfarer sunglasses
£123 - houseoffraser.co.uk

Wesc X Stash "Dark Shadow" Bongo Headphones
€80 - colette.fr



Today, BA and I are leaving for Michigan to see his sisters who live near Grand Rapids. Michigan, while not my favorite state, is well-liked by many people I love, including my BFF Dayna. So venturing north is okay every once in a while.

There are a few supplies that I always wear in the summer: comfortable vintage style sweatpants and soft shirts from Victoria's Secret, Raybans, my Rainbow flip flops.. and headphones to block out August Burns Red when BA really needs it in his life. I am a fan of traveling in anything that's comfortable (and warm) enough to sleep in, decent enough to get out and buy peach rings at a gas station and bright enough that you can see it coming a mile away. This outfit meets all of those criteria.

Have a lovely weekend, dear ones!

Your Netflix Instant Guide

Some (or all) of you may know of my attachment to my beloved Netflix. While I love opening the mailbox and seeing the bright red envelope, I am much more twitterpated with the instant queue. Here I have compiled the best times to watch some of my favorite genres/shows.

- Law & Order: All the time.

- Veronica Mars/Lost/30 Rock: These shows are long series that have some type of interest to men (or at least, my man). These series are a good compromise between "his" shows and "my" shows and are good for some late night TV together time.

- Hoarders: I watch this when I need motivation to clean. See also: Clean House or Dress My Nest.

- The Hills/The City/Jersey Shore: These MTV staples come into play when I am getting ready to go out. These shows are also good when I know I have to do something in twenty minutes because they're such short episodes. I have been known to rock some LC waves or some Snooki poof thanks to the inspiration from these shows.

- Jockeys/Wildfire: All animal-related shows help with my desire to quit my job and live on a giant farm with abused horses, unwanted dogs and neglected children - preferably by the dozens.

- Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: This show isn't available on instant yet. It should be. I would watch it in a party with my sister and parents every night. In the meantime, I make do with movies from my growing up (Meet Me in St. Louis and Notting Hill are on repeat).

- Comedy shows: These are perfect for listening to while making dinner. Second use: watch with large groups of friends.

- National Geographic/nature shows: I put these on when I have insomnia. Usually, it's instantly cured.

All movies are enhanced by a healthy dose of Oreos. Duhtown.

It's my birfday!!

For my birthday, I got lucky and Ben bought tickets for us to spend time with these little guys! They are African penguins and I was thrilled to spend some time with my favorite arctic animal.

Family picture! I wanted to take her home so bad. Her name was Paula, as in Simon, Paula and Randy.

They just gather around your feet and let you pet them as much as you want! All of them were hand raised, so their keepers said that they just think of us as big penguins. They are so, so soft, thanks to all of those feathers. The only exception is their wings. Those are more leathery, to help propel them through the water.

This little lady loved Ben. She kept coming up to him and just staring at him, trying to get him to pet her.

Here they are! I seriously could have taken one home with me.. until I learned that they go to the bathroom every twenty minutes. Gross. BUT only because they eat up to 40 big fish each day - pretty much their entire weight in fish. That's a lot of food! They are responsible for eating more food than any other group at the aquarium, including the sharks.

After we left the aquarium, we went over to Tom + Chee, a restaurant that specializes in only grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was incredible. I had the turkey and pesto grilled cheese, which I could totally go for right now.

We went by the Kenwood mall on the way home, where I picked up a couple of new MAC eye shadows, some supplies from the Container Store, and my birthday gift from Sephora. We came across this window decal in the parking lot and it's the perfect way to describe my driving.

It was the perfect birthday! We came home, ate lots of junk food and spent Sunday with some of our closest friends. I love birthday weekends.

Well hello there, Akron.

I'm spending the night at the Hampton Inn in Akron. I have a newfound appreciation for this city. It's easy to get to, there are horse farms and it's the home of one of my favorite friends/students who happens to be getting married TOMORROW.

I am excited to be coordinating the wedding and so blessed that Stacie and her family reserved a hotel room for me! It feels like a mini vacation, which is just what I need before I pull an all nighter to hop on a plane to San Diego bright and wicked early on Sunday morning. I LOVE hotels. I feel like a little kid again. I’ve already hit up the hot chocolate in the lobby and can’t wait for a good continental breakfast.

So what to do with myself? I did a light run - my legs are really tight tonight and my knees are starting to ache - and then took a bath with my LUSH bath bomb that I got in Cincinnati yesterday. It was Twilight, one of their bedtime bath bombs. It was so pretty that I almost didn’t want to use it!

See the stars? It smelled like lavender. DIVINE. Then I threw it in the tub and it started fizzing away.

My favorite thing about the bath bombs is the inside of them! I love seeing what color and scents they use for each one. This one had a bright blue stripe running through the center of it.

The bath bomb did its job! I'm all ready for a good night's sleep on one of the most comfortable mattresses in the world. Side note: did you know you can purchase Hampton Inn's bedding online? You can! Check it out. They even sell their remarkable mattresses.

And while you're at it, check out my friends at Lush as well. You'll be so glad that you did!

Happy (belated) Memorial Day!

Memorial Day weekend was a GREAT break from the norm around here. First of all, Ben & I got our first day off together in over 4 weeks - which is reason to celebrate enough! I feel bad when people we don't get a chance to see other people as much as we'd like...but we never get a chance to see us, either. When it comes around, we definitely take advantage of it!

We spent Saturday morning/afternoon with my beloved Kate McKallagat!! She was in town for an anniversary party and I was blessed with four whole hours with her and some of my other favorites - Kate Martin, Steph, and Jess!

Hands down, my favorite fast food is McDonald's. So I got a little bit of that action. But the BEST part - besides the chicken nuggets - was the old school box. Lovin' that! (Excuse the fuzzy photos - all of these were taken from my beloved phone. That winner above was from Kate, our resident professional photog.)

After McDonald's, we went over to Mike & Grace's house. Michael's mom just bought a new Pomeranian puppy. Oh. My. Word. So much flooferness happening in this picture. UPDATE: this little nugget has officially been named Pippa. You can imagine how much my Kate Middleton-lovin' self is thrilled about this!

Ben and I went down to Newport in Cincinnati. We had all the plans in the world to go to the aquarium, but showed up exactly 2 minutes late for the penguin show we wanted to see. And yes, I mean that's why we went. There's nothing wrong with driving an hour just to touch a penguin! We made an appointment with them to come back on my birthday in two weeks to play with the penguins again.

In the meantime, we found a candy store and loaded up on fudge and gummy sharks. Which explains the huge smiles in the pictures above. We walked around Newport for a while longer and then wandered up to the movie theater to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

On Sunday after church, Kelly, Jordan and I just laid by the pool until the sun set. Then we headed off to the Greene, where we had a not-so-great encounter with a bunch of women who couldn't mind their own business and grossly inept security guards. It made me sad that one of my favorite places had such poor customer service and bad staff.

Monday was breakfast with Ben's parents, thriting with Grace and a BBQ. Then we just hung around the house with the furbabies. I took a nap on the couch and wouldn't let Stella join me which led to this:

Babygirl was pouting and NOT happy about it. But a nap was the perfect way to end a busy weekend - one where I actually got to see Ben a little!

Kate Middleton, my BFF FTW

If you have spent any time at all around me in the last few months, you may have heard that I have a new partner in crime - and her name is Kate Middleton. I think she's classy, charming and the perfect person to include in my group of nearest and dearest. Luckily, those in my posse agree - Kate is more than welcome to join us on our adventures. We have started with "William & Kate: The Movie" and believe that we will be spending the holidays and watching the ball drop with royalty by December.

One of my favorite Kate Middleton sites is the tumblr "Kate Middleton For the Win". It seems to have ended since the royal nuptials, but the 2.5 months worth of archives are well worth the look. Let me know what you think!

I'll be sure to send a postcard from Balmoral. xoxo