Yay for Friday!

If someone could let me in on how it's already the end of this week, and at the same time how it's already May, I would greatly appreciate it.
I mean it's been a crazy one friends. Good, but fast forward mode the entire time.

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I have comments to reply to, a post for a little award I was nominated for,  some coaching stuff,  and 2397893845238 things for school to do. Maybe I'll fit in some family time before I start my summer job in two weeks.

OY VEY.

But, for today, I just want to start my Friday morning with some good feelings. This morning I'm just going to share some songs that I've been listening to on repeat, and you should be too.


Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton- Can't Hold Us

I loved Macklemore's thrift shop, this was a definite great second single to get keep him in the public eye. It is catchy and Ray Dalton (the guy who sings the chorus) just has the most adorable voice.
If this song doesn't make you want to go work-out or go dancing then please go home.

Tegan and Sara- Closer

Not to get all hipster on you, but I've been listening to Tegan and Sara since I was in college. I love these twin ladies who rock. Their new single, "Closer" is one of those dance-around-in-your-bra-and-workout-shorts-while-singing-into-your-hairbrush kind of song.
Not that I have...

Robyn- Call Your Girlfriend

I'm sure I've already posted this here but I don't care. This song has been around for a while and A LOT of people have covered it. But I don't care, this has been that song that when I'm at home alone I turn up, spaz out and dance to, mouth the words to my dog, and just enjoy. You can too.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Mary Lambert

Another Macklemore song. Not as catchy or trendy as "Thriftshop" or "Can't Hold Us". This one isn't one that I like to dance to, but it has a really nice sound to it and I love the message.
Worth a listen.

Emeli Sande- Next to Me

This song is not that new. I've been listening to it on the radio, humming along, and not really paying attention to the lyrics. So when I actually payed attention to them today on the radio, I realized that this song is essentially about my husband. Not to get all sappy on you, but this guy is literally the most loyal person I know, and I have no clue how he puts up with my sassy-pants.
And believe me, my sassy-pants have been on quite regularly lately. 
So, I'm belting this song out in my car, with the windows down as a shout-out to the mister.

What songs do you have playing on repeat this week? Let me know with a comment.

Stay Awkward, 
Tricia

Inspiration for "The Speech".

My older sister, and Irish Twin, is getting married this weekend.

 *For those of you not familiar with the phrase, an Irish Twin refers to two siblings born about a year apart. Because  I guess apparently the Irish couldn't keep their hands off of each other? Either way,  my older sister and I fit into this category.*

It felt weird picking out a card to go with her gifts. Hallmark couldn't possibly fit the enormity of what I was feeling for my sister as she gets married onto a card with a photo of dresses.

And again it felt weird as I sat down to a blank screen and tried to type out the perfect Maid of Honor Toast for the reception.
There's just no way I can explain to all of those people in a 2-3 minute toast that is not only witty and humorous but also heartfelt, how unbelievably happy I am for her and new husband. It's just not humanly possible.

I started and stopped. Created, edited and deleted. I knew how I wanted to begin, I knew how I wanted it to end, I just had a hard time figuring out that pesky little thing that is the body of the speech.

I wanted to shut my computer and hire Jennifer Lopez to talk into my ear with one of those little blue tooth things one of the most beautiful speeches of all time.

Buuuuut that's not a solid plan because I hear J.Lo is pretty expensive these days, and probably not all that willing to travel all the way here.
Oh shucks.

So, like most women with something that they're avoiding, I turned to Pinterest to get inspired.

After looking at a few hairstyles and more than a few ecards I turned to quotes on love and marriage.

And voila! Like that I was inspired.
I wrote, and edited, and didn't do that much deleting.
I finally finished my speech and finally feel good about it.
While I won't post it here because my sister does occasionally read my blog, I wanted to share some of the pins that I liked the best. These are the pins that inspired me to go in the direction I wanted to in my speech and also got me thinking about my own marriage a little.

Actually, one of the quotes featured below I decided to actually use in my speech!
Can you guess which one???

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Have you ever had to write a MOH speech? Did you feel like you could come up with exactly the right words to say? How did it end up going?

Do you have any passages or quotes that you love about marriage or love? Please share the quote or even better a link to a pin below! Even though the speech has been written, I'm still married and always love me some new quotes.

And of course, if you like my pins then feel free and follow me on Pinterest.

I hope you guys have a great Thursday, Friday, and weekend! I  probably won't touch base until after the wedding. But then there will be more photos than you'll all care to see, so get ready!

What I'm Loving Wednesday/Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday

It's Wednesday...

You can find these link ups here and here.

 Here's What I'm Loving This Wednesday...

I'm loving... that I've officially made it to the beach more times than I did last year...and counting! I'm feeling relaxed and fairly tan!

I'm loving... that I'm working a double today. Okay, not the fact that I'm working a double. But whenever I start to feel bad for myself about working a double I try and remember that I'm doing it to make some extra money. For extra expenses this summer, bills, and all of that shopping I've been doing lately. I do like the extra money. So yeah, let me sugar coat it for myself and say that I'm loving it as a remind that if I wasn't working I would not be ready for the end of the summer!

I'm loving... that the olympics start this weekend. When those start up I am a serious couch potato, cheering on the good old USA in sports that I otherwise probably wouldn't be super interested watching on TV. Can not wait!

I'm loving...how sweet and thoughtful my husband is. Yesterday after he left for work I woke up these.

Nothing special. Just a note and some fresh cut flowers from the back yard. But it's the little things that remind me why I decided to hang out with this guy for a really long time. It's the little things that make our marriage go round.

I'm loving... that I've been finding some awesome deals on clothing. My back to school shopping is almost finished. (Just need to find a nice pair of casual khakis that come in long. Leave a comment if you have a pair you can't live without.) Here are my most recent deals and steals.

At a Van Huesen outlet I got this sweater whose original price was $82. I got it for $25!

And this scarf whose original price was $30. I got it for $8!

Add a comment

There's no photo, but yesterday I got another cardigan from Maurices.
Now they're having this super awesome sale where if you just try on a pair of jeans you get $5 off.  So, the sweater was already in clearance, and I tried on a pair of jeans because this girl ain't stupid. What did I end up paying?
Original price was: $35. I paid $2.50. 
I walked out feeling like I stole the sweater from them!


I'm also loving the shirts I have arriving in the mail today from American Eagle!

I'm loving... leftovers. Healthy leftovers that is.
When you work at a frozen custard stand all summer it's hard not to snack on junk food and the frozen custard itself ALL THE TIME. Unfortunately, I've gained the 5 pounds  I lost at the end of the school year back. Maybe even plus some. BLERG!
On the other hand,  the hubby and I have been trying to make healthy dinners all summer that are filling and low fat. So how do I solve my insane munching problem at work to match up my goals at home? Yummy leftovers of course! Today for lunch I'm having some delicious Taboulleh that we made last night! Thanks pinterest for the idea!

Speaking of Pinterest...

Oh, How Pinteresting...

Before I share my favorite pins, yesterday I wrote a post that is the first in a series of a few called "Pins Awkwardly In Real Life".  All of the posts are going to be about me trying out pins that I have done in real life, for better or for worse! My first post in the series is on a recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna. Check out the post here!

Okay onto my recent favorite pins!

Some food:

A recipe for breakfast cookies. I've made them twice, they are both yummy and hearty.

Stuffed pork loin. Have not tried, but just looking at the photo makes my mouth water!

Some teaching pins since the school year is indeed just around the corner

This teacher has classroom decoration tips and organization ideas. I could sift through this for ages because my classroom needs to get itself organized this fall!

Rubric ideas for journaling.

And a few words that inspired me to move on and be positive about what could be ahead at a time last week that I was feeling a little down.

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Thanks for stopping by today. If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest you can find me right here.

Happy Wednesday, and stay fabulous!

Friday's Letters 7/20/2012

I'm linking up to write some Friday Letters with Ashley.

Dear summer-cable-television-programming,
Will and Grace marathons.
The Hills marathons.
Monk marathons.
Golden Girls marathons.
30 Rock marathons.
How I Met Your Mother marathons.
Law and Order SVU marathons.
Big Bang theory marathons.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I call sabatoge. You are blantantly trying to sabatoge my life and trap me inside.
I will resist.
Well, riiiiiight after I finish just one more episode.
Just one more.

Dear Humidity,
Thank you for leaving. I can finally breathe and spend time outside without melting.


Dear Kindle, 
Man oh man are you tricky! I have already purchsed and almost read 3 books. 3 BOOKS!
It's beeeeeeeen a week.
One push, and boom, you're in my hands. No driving to a bookstore, no ordering online and waiting. Just one push and like a magical book fairy I have another novel to gobble down.
And I can't stop.
I feel like a drug addict. Need more. NEVER ENOUGH.

Except for all of those pesky side effects of a drug addiction like ruining relationships, losing my job, deteriorating my body, etc. Books aren't ruining my life.

Either way, I'm catching on. And once school starts I am not going to be around as much to enjoy all of this free time to read.

Dear life,
There have been quite a few ups and downs this summer.
Don't get me wrong. They weren't huge. All of these ups and downs are in the long run pretty significant but enough to rock my proverbial boat and make me a little  sea sick (metaphorically) for some time. Some were bigger than others, but none were anything that I should actually have spent much time dwelling on at all.
And guess what life? You and I are pretty much where we started at the beginning of the summer now that this metaphorical sea has started to calm.
I thought I wanted some things and didn't want some other things. There has been conflict and resolution. But guess what? I'm okay. Things are okay. And things will continue to be okay. It's nice to finally be in a place where I realize that everything I think I want and need are not always what I want and need. Thank you, for keeping me on my toes and letting the universe that is exponentially bigger than I am do what it does.


Dear gym, 
Yeah I totally used you for your air conditioning last week. I personally see nothing wrong with it. Hey, at least I made it.

Dear Brain, 
Now that I've been busy these past few weeks you're coming up with all of these things that I JUST HAVE TO WRITE ABOUT. Slow it down.
Also, those dreams have been quite vivid and memorable lately. And at times, kind of out of place and odd. Should I be bringing these to a therapist? A doctor? A dream interpreter? A psychic? My dog? Send some sort of sign tonight in my next dream. Or else Bruin is going to continue to get an earful.
 
Dear this upcoming year's curriculum,
Now you're not going to write yourself now are you?
To quote Liz Lemon, blerg.
I'll be getting to you soon I guess.

Dear readers, 
While sparse this week, I did get around to posting a few things.
I posted an easy, and hopefully enlightening tutorial on how to get that "Beachy Hair" you've been trying to perfect all summer. Promise it won't disappoint.
I gave a little recap of my birthday.

And then there's my short post on this high school boy who is more talented in a snuggie than you will ever be. For realisies.

Happy Friday, and stay fabulous!

Friday's Letters (7/6/12)

Dear Bachelorette party invitations,
You're not going to sit down and make and send yourselves now are you? I guess you'll be one of my projects today before my 4:30-9:30 shift at the stand. Please be easy on me.

Dear Maine weather,
as I sit down and watch the national news about the weather across the country, I just wanted to thank you for being pretty awesome this summer. (so far...) I'd like to continue to hang out on the porch with my dog without getting heatstroke and getting a little bit of a tan. Keep making it happen.

Bruin and I tanning our bums.

Dear babies/adorable young children,
DEAR GOD YOU'RE EVERYWHERE. For me, this is usually fine. I oodle over how cute you are, make some faces, and compliment your parents on making a beautiful baby.
Now here's the problem, when I turn to compliment your parents I quickly realize that they're my age. "Holy Crapoly that could be me!" I think.
This seems to be happening all the time lately. Not just strangers on the street or work either. Many of the blogs I read are having babies all over the place. Not to mention people I work with, and family members too! Now, coming from a big family, again, I'm used to this. But recently my husband's cousin (he's only one of 8, opposed to my 45 or so first cousins) just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. AND SHE'S OUR AGE!
Babies you then have to go and put the nail in the coffin by being out of control cute, smiling back at the faces I make, and having seemingly happy parents. Adorable young children, lately you've all been super polite, again too cute for your own good, ask hilarious and endearing questions, and reading my signs at the custard stand way earlier than developmentally normal.

MY UTERUS CAN'T HANDLE MUCH MORE OF THIS.

Babies, you might be wondering why this is all such a problem (or maybe that face you're making is because you have gas, I don't know.) I'm not quite ready to have a kid. My career. My hubby's career. Our living space. Our finances. And vacations, I want to go on more vacations. All of these things= I am not ready to have one of you. I'm just not.
So, babies and young children, if you could, just for the next few years, be a little uglier. Be less polite. Start talking back to your parents. Cry when you look at me. Start pooping when I'm holding you. And really terrorize your parents before I see them so they look like zombies.
Oh and fight your parents when they put your chubby little arms into nautical outfits and preppy clothing. There's nothing that makes me want to have a baby more than when I see one dressed up looking like they're about to get onto a fancy boat.

This is a pinterest find. Follow me here.

Dear next week,
You're a pretty big deal. Not only do you start off with my birthday on Sunday, but some other stuff is happening that I can't really talk about here. I've been gearing up for it for a little while, and now my nerves and excitement are pretty high up there. Please happen swiftly, and please turn out exactly the way that I hope you will. Or else I'll be real upset and never speak to you again, next week!


Dear city I live in,
One of your volunteers called my phone and told me I would be facing a fine because Bruin wasn't registered at all and it's June. UH HELLO HE'S SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO ME AND HIS TAG IS TOTALLY FOR THIS YEAR! Oh, and I have the paperwork too. I'll be storming into your office today with my paperwork and an attitude.
Also, I'm getting tired of the trash guys just chucking my trash can into the middle of the road for it to roll away when they're done emptying it in the truck. I've already lost the cover because of this and am not in the mood for it getting broken because it's run over or thrown too hard I'd rather have to bring my trash to a dump than deal with that!

Yes, this is baby Virginia from "Queen of Jordan" on "30 Rock".

Dear Victoria's Secret Yoga Cropped-Leggings,
You came in the mail yesterday when I didn't expect them to come until next Wednesday.
You are heaven. Thank you.

Here

Dear followers, readers, stalkers, and even new visitors,
I have been loving all of the comments, the visitors, and the loving all of the lovin'!
Now there are a few things that I'd like to just through out there that have been getting to me a little bit.
If you follow me because you genuinely like to read what I have to say, then awesome. Super cool.  On the other hand if you are following me strictly to get a follow back then you might end up disappointed. I will probably at some point check out your blog if you are on my google friend connect. But that does not guarantee that I will follow your blog as well. I follow the blogs that I will want to read on a semi-daily basis. I'm sorry if your blog is not one of those. But do you honestly want people following you who do not want to read your content? Who have no interest in what you have to say? It's something to think about.
 Similarly, if you comment on my blog I will try to email you (if your email is enabled! So please enable it!) in a reasonable amount of time in response. Please bare with me! I want to get back to you, I promise!
I will also probably check out your blog if you comment here. I might even follow it's something that I'm interested in or might be interested in the future.
But please do not comment here simply because you want me to check out your blog.
 If you're commenting  on my post I would like it to be because you'd like to comment on my post, not because you just want me to check out your blog. Ex: "Hey I'm new here and am commenting so, please check my blog out!" or "I'm now following you so please check my blog out to follow me too!"
Because guess what? That will make me not want to check out your blog.
I like getting feedback on my actual content, not feedback on how desperate you are for followers.
I wrote a little while ago about this here. Please indulge. Here's another that I wrote last year about struggling with "follow-backs" myself.   Here's the semi-follow-up post to that.
And if you've been one of these people before (LET'S BE HONEST. I feel like  at some point all of us have gone through a stage where we were worried about our followers or following the right people before. Whether leaving desperate comments or trying to get follow backs. We were all new and once.) then no hard feelings. I won't hold it against you.
Phew, rant over.

Dear customers at the stand,
Please tip freely tonight when I go to work and you're getting your custard. Mama wants some spending money for the end of the summer!

Alright, that's it for today's long-winded letters! Stay cool and stay fabulous!

A Post In Honor of My Grandmother: Mary J.

*It took me a while to write this post. Lots of little notes for myself, lots of starting and stopping. But I think I'm done with it. 
It will never be perfect, but it's what I have as I sit looking back on a wonderful life that was fully lived.*

A person's life is a funny thing.

It's made up of choices, experiences, places you've been, and the relationships that you've had with other people.

Some people know you from the beginning of your life. Others that you'll meet won't grace you with their presence until the end.  Others may trickle in and out throughout your life, some for only a short while, others embedding themselves to stay for the long-haul.

And when reflecting on someone's life that has touched you, whether for 5 minutes or the entire time that you've been alive, you'll often come away with one thing: stories.

Some stories you have about your time with that person.
Some stories you use as an analogy for who that person was.
And some stories are ones that you heard from that same person that you decided, or maybe accidentally, took with you. They aren't your stories to tell,  but you carry them with you . They serve as an imprint of that person and a way to keep them close.

If one were to take all of these stories of a person and their life and put them all together, they might find an image or outline of who that person was.

Like an incomplete puzzle, there it would lay. With holes, and overlapping pieces. You wouldn't have the whole thing, but you'd be able to get the general idea of what that life was all about and what it cherished the most.

My Grandmother passed away 9 days ago. On a quiet Friday morning in September. The last day of September to be exact.

She was 86.

She was Survived by 10 children, 33 Grandchildren, and 26 Great-Grandchildren.

While we all knew that her health was not the best these days, we expected her to be around for maybe another few years. She needed extra care, but could travel, live with a relative, and do many things for herself. 

She fell and hit her head on a Monday. Her brain started to swell sometime during the week, and she passed away from complications by the end of the week.

I was able to visit her in the hospital to say my goodbye's.
At that point she wasn't fully conscious.
With my husband by my side, I held her hand and spoke to her.
I whispered private whispers, told her of my love for her,  and made a few jokes with her as I would if she were awake.

I will never know if she could hear me. I'd like to think that she could. For me, whether she could or not is not important.

The details of exactly what I said, for you my readers, are not important either.

But I will tell you, that I never said goodbye. I left her with a, "See you later, Gram."

Of course, like anyone who loses someone that they're close to in their life, I was sad when I heard the news. I teared up when I told my husband that she was gone. I cried when we sang the songs that she had once played on the piano and sang to us.


But, now that it's said and done, I take great comfort in the time that I had with her.

It's never easy to lose someone, but a person, through their actions during their life, can make it easier for you to let them move on to their next one.

Gram, well Gram did this by giving us stories.

Among the stories that I carry with me about my grandmother is that every time I saw her, she would hug me, kiss me on the cheek, and then take my face into her hands and tell me  that she loved me so much. When I sat next to her she would hold my hand, and ask me how my life was, ask about Dave, and tell me how beautiful of a person I was, inside and out.

I have stories about going "poking" in her attic for scented soaps, old seashells, and outdated National Geographics.

I have stories about her playing piano, singing louder than everyone else in the room.

I have stories of her sitting and watching others at family get-togethers.

I have stories of her and I switching wise-cracks back and forth.

I have stories of her being at my wedding this February. Of tearing up when I saw her face and the face of my other wonderful Grandmother when they saw me for the first time. Of her telling me how happy she was that I found such a wonderful man, because he was just the kind of man that I deserved.

I have stories of watching her with my grandfather and knowing that what they shared was true love.
(I mean, if you can raise 10 kids and stay married for as long as they did, it's got to be true love right?)

I have stories of eavesdropping on her as she sat and spoke with my mother and one of my countless Uncles.

I have stories that exemplify her great humor. Like that time that she came up to visit me one early Saturday morning at College with my father, found out that my cousin lived in the same hallway of my dorm as I did, and decided to knock on his door. You should've seen the look on his face. You also should've seen the look on hers. 

I have stories of the times that she made me feel better about myself when I couldn't feel good about myself. She'd tell me I was tall and beautiful and bold like an Amazon woman and I shouldn't let anyone else tell me any different.

I have stories about sitting down with her on the back porch so she could, "have a smoke" and telling me about my father when he was a child, myself as a child, or herself as a child.

I have stories about her telling me about wildlife, and family, and Jesus. Stories that she told me about meeting my grandfather, about going swimming in the brook, stories about becoming a born-again Christian. Stories that she told me about what she thought about me, what I could become, and how proud she was of who I was.

I have stories that others told me about her. How she was as a mother. How she was as a grand-mother to others. How she was as a great-grandmother.

The crazy thing about all of these stories?

Whenever someone told a story about her, they always mentioned how special she made them feel. Whether they were her son, daughter, grandchild, great-grandchild, or friend, she had this special ability.

Whether it was just you and her a crowd full of people in the room, (which with my family, is a strong possibility) she could always make you feel special.

With Gram, I always felt like one of a kind. And from what I've gathered from others, so did everyone else.

While gathering all of these stories and sharing my own over the weekend, I also noticed that with all of the stories you could find a theme that was strung throughout all of them.

The themes were these: Love and Faith.

Whether it was told by her or about her, her stories always exemplified:
1. Her enduring love for  all others and God.
2. Her infinite Faith in other people and God.


These two messages hold true in every memory that I have of her, and will shape the memory that I hope to pass onto my own children and grand-children someday.

I mentioned that she made her passing as easy as she could have for all of us. Well, her stories weren't just what made letting go easy. These two themes did as well.

I heard, from someone, I forget whom, that earlier in the same week that she passed, she was told by a doctor she might not make it much longer.  And in that moment she was not worried or upset. She was ready. She was eager to see her late husband, and to meet Jesus.

Or at least that's how the story goes.

Now that my vision is cloudy, I think it's time to end this small and meek remembrance of a larger than life woman whom  many will miss.


But before I end, I'll share some of my favorite pictures of her from her 85th birthday and from my wedding. Some that I've taken, and some that were taken for me. Because I may have plenty of stories, but a picture is worth a thousand words.

Just smiling for the camera.

Good for a wink.

Sashaying her way down the aisle after my ceremony

Private talk at the reception.

Formals at the church.

Showing her how to take a self portrait.

And how could I forget my all time favorite picture of her?

That lady could really pull off the classic black one-piece.

Finally, I'll  polish off this post with two quotes from my grandmother's favorite book and two quotes from one of my favorite books.

As she was someone that appreciated the written word, it's just the way that I think she'd like it.

So Gram, have fun on your next great adventure. You deserve everything you've had and everything that I'm sure you have now.

I'll be seeing you later.

Sunny Days By the Water With Good People

So I had a wonderful weekend.

My family is old friends with another family whom we visit on their beautiful property on a lake every year. We've been cut short to only a long weekend with them since we're all getting older, but the time is still well worth it.

I never got to ask for permission to post pictures of the other family so any pictures you will see of them will be of the back of their heads or feet  or whatever.

And if you still figure out who they are, then, well stop being such a creep.

My mom told me she was sick of seeing pictures of the dog and Dave. So I only took a couple pictures of Dave. I accidentally on purpose took a lot more of the dog. Whoops.

Sister N often has a hard time composing herself

The men played manly games, like tossing strings and balls onto poles.

Sister S and her BF having fun on the beach.

Oh gosh.

Sister N is not helping Sister S. It's called tickling.

Bruin clearly hates attention.

Dear L.L. Bean and Dog Fancy, I am my dog's acting modeling agent. You can contact me via my email. We accept payment in cash, dog treats, and goldfish. Love, ME.

Waiting.

Use those webbed feet.

Polar bear.

Yes, I only blew up the pictures of my dog playing fetch. SO SUE ME.

Hand stand competitions.

Don't fall.

Kerplunk

 

 

 

 

Soooo this is my sister's dog.

She never stands still enough for me to take a picture.

Ever

Ladies

We also went tubing.

They had something to prove.

And they did.

Until one of them fell off.

Nothing in this photo other than pure lovelyness.

 Warning: A few of the following photos are my attempt at being artistic.

Spiderwebish

Can you find the content bear?

There he is!

Probably my favorite type of chair ever.

Especially during sunset.

The two newly betrothed individuals going for a romantic paddle.

I'm not going to sit here and lie to you by telling you that this isn't one of my favorite photos from the weekend. This also explains why it's bigger than all of the other ones. Well, other than those ones of Bruin of course.

Lounging at it's best.

 So the most wonderful hostest with the mostest set up some games for us on Saturday. It was Minute to Win it: Camp style.

I now know interesting information about my family members.

 

 Sister N can balance 4 dice on a Popsicle stick.

And Sister E can knock over 6 waterbottles with pantyhose on her head.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

The Sarge I insisted getting a picture of the dogs begging.

I mean they're all cute I guess.

When the dogs weren't out frolicking they had their own little room in the front of the cabin.

The grass is always greener.

So that's it. Non-suprisingly it was a blast.

The bittersweet part about this trip was that as it was at the end of July, it in a way signified the "beginning of the end". Granted my family has rented a week at a cabin on another lake which we will be enjoying the week right before I go back to school, but I'll be doing work here, there and everywhere for the beginning of school.

So get ready for a little less talk about running around in the grass barefoot and a little more talk about classrooms and shopping for grown-up "SLACKS" to head back to school in.

Until then, I think I'm going to head to the gym, come home and pretend the fan is a little bit of a lake breeze.