Slacker Alert!

My last blog was on July 13th!  Almost 2 months ago!  What have I been doing since then?  Wow...  Where do I start?  And yes, I'm looking through my calendar to see what I've done. :)

I've gone to a family reunion, Black Eyed Peas concert, sang at church, Journey, Foreigner, & Night Ranger concert in Cincinnati, went to a bridal shower for my friend Sarah, Gravity Ziplining w/ Adventures on the Gorge, went to Atlantic Beach, NC w/ Seth, attended the WV State Fair, church picnic at Camp Cowen, went to a birthday party for my friend's son, Connor, numerous other events with my church and Seth, planning for Labor Day Camp, and Seth's birthday fun.  This is all on top of work, chores, visits w/ Seth and other daily events.

So I've been a very busy girl!  Things just seem to be steamrolling ahead too.  September will be busy with Labor Day Camp and traveling to DC for training.  Football season begins this weekend also with Marshall vs. WVU.  I will not be attending the game but I'll have my green on!  For the past few years, I've purchased season tickets for Marshall games.  This year I decided not to purchase them.  1. I didn't have a lot of fun last year.  2. It saves me money.  3. I hate to purchase the tickets and not be able to attend.  Some days I regret the decision.  Most days I know that it was for the best just because my life is crazy busy anyways.  If I have the time and am in town, I can always go tailgate and skip the game.

Regardless... Here are a few pictures to tickle your taste buds. :)

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Labor Day Weekend!!

Journaling

This is my journal.  It isn't anything fancy.  It has battle scars, bumps and bruises.  (The binding is broken.  There are a few burns from my flat iron and makeup splotches.  The ribbon that holds my place is significantly shorter than when I bought it.)  This is, by far, the largest journal I've purchased.  It has survived the past few years. I'm on a mission to write more frequently so that I can finish it and move on to another.

It may sound odd for a 20 something to be talking about journaling.  Go ahead and laugh.  I find it rather therapeutic.  I've been writing off and on since I was about 12.  I write about daily events, things I've seen, people in my life, thoughts or feelings about things I do not discuss with others, prayers.  So many things go into my journal.  As the years go by, sometimes I pull an old one out.  (Yes, I keep them all.)  I find it funny to look back at what I thought my life was like, the horrors I had experienced, things that made me giddy with laughter, boys I've "loved" and lost.  Everything that I have written is part of me.  It has molded and shaped me into the woman I am today.


This is a typical entry for me.  Date on top.  BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. Signature. :)

On a side note, I think it is super cool to watch your signature transform.  When I first started, it was cursive writing by the book.  As I've aged, it has become less by the book and more about me.  Sometimes it is a line w/ barely enough of a curve on the top and bottom to signify an S!  Sometimes it is very fluid and others it is sharp and rigid.  All of which denote moods.


I find the disadvantages of journaling are fewer than the advantages.  I'll start with those first.

Disadvantages
1. Worrying about people reading your most intimate thoughts.  I had a minor freak out when I thought I left my journal at Seth's.  Thankfully I found it in one of my bags.  The thought of Seth being able to read everything I've said about our relationship blew my mind.  I don't know if he would actually do something like that.  I wouldn't put it past him though.  I'm fairly open in our relationship so I'm not sure what else he would gain from it.
2. The randomness of writing.  I can go for months without writing.  When I finally sit down to put in an entry, I'm amazed at how much time has lapsed.  I hate that I'm not able to remember all the specific details that have occurred during that time.

Advantages
1. Writing through confusing/trying times where I can't seem to make sense of it.  Writing causes me to slow down; to control all the information flowing through my head so that it has to line up and take order.
2. I'm able to return to it and laugh about where I've been.
3. I'm also able to remember events to see what happened.  When you are in the moment or a few days after, memories are pouring out of your brain.  If you wait a few weeks, months, years, you don't remember all the nitty gritty details.
4. It is the one time where I can be me.  I am real and alive.  I can agree or disagree with my thoughts and feelings.  I can reprimand myself.  I can praise myself.  I can say all the things I've been dying to get off my chest throughout the day.  I can dream without anyone telling me no.
5. One day, I will be able to pass them on to my future-hypothetical-children.  We've all been through the same things.  The general topic, yes.  The specific details, maybe not so much.  All children have a difficult time thinking of their parents as anything other than parents.  They have never experienced heart break.  They have never experienced failing grades or not making a sports team.  They have no idea what it is like to have parents who won't let them hang out with certain friends.  Oh what little do they know...  I think by passing on journals, my future-hypothetical-children may understand me more as a person that has experienced the same struggles that they are experiencing and less like a controlling, nagging monster. :)  Of course, I will do some editing...  They don't need to know ALL of the details!


So who else keeps a journal?  Why do you choose to keep one?  What are the things you choose to write?


“There is a part of me that wants to write, a part that wants to theorize, a part that wants to sculpt, a part that wants to teach…. To force myself into a single role, to decide to be just one thing in life, would kill off large parts of me.” -H. Prather

Birthday Festivities!

Normally around this time of the year, I'm vacationing in some southern location that I've never been to.  This year I waited too late to plan.  Seth so graciously pointed out that my birthday happens to be at one of the most expensive times of the year.  The practical part of me decided to wait to take a vacation.  I still took my birthday off though!  I find it completely repulsive to work on your birthday.  Everyone should follow my lead and enjoy your day doing whatever you like.  It is good for your soul.

Festivities began on Thursday with a day at the lake and then dinner.  Seth let me sleep in and be lazy.  We finally got to the lake around 11 with very few people in sight.  It was a great day.  The sun was HOT but a breeze kept us cool.  Just so happened that we found a great spot by trees so I got some shade for a few hours.  The water was cold so I stayed out of it for the most part.  Seth is so insistent on me swimming out to the buoys.  I'm not so keen on it so I sat out using the excuse of "It's my birthday!"  We finally headed out around 5:30pm to get cleaned up and ready for dinner.  Seth wouldn't tell me where we were headed but that is part of the fun.  He took me to Smokies on the Gorge.  It is a open restaurant overlooking the New River Gorge.  The atmosphere was great and the food was even better.  I was stuffed like a sausage!!  I tried alligator ribs which were actually quite tasty.  We kind of watched the sunset.  I think we were both really fixated on the food though. :)  We briefly thought about catching a movie but I was exhausted from being on the lake.  So we went home to watch some tv and I fell asleep long before midnight!

Friday, I headed back home to go to the eye doctor.  Dum Dum Dum...  I finally gave in and got contacts.  I really don't know how long they will last though.  I know it takes a few days to get adjusted but they don't seem to be quite right. I go back in a week or so to see how they are doing.  The actual fitting was pure torture.  I HATE for things to be in my eyes.  Anytime I had to have eye drops, my mom all but had to put my head in a vice to keep me from squirming and then pry my eyelids open with a death grip.  This doctor put up a good fight and finally got them in.  Once he had me get up and move to another station, I felt like I was about to pass out.  It was hot.  I couldn't really hear anything.  My vision started to go black.  I sat back down and just chilled for a few.  I settled back down and was able to go with the standard "How To" session.  They only lasted a few hours that afternoon.  Gradually they are staying in longer.

Saturday, we went to a Reds game!!!  I love watching live action baseball.  I think it is one of the most boring sports to watch on television besides golf that is.  Game time was 4:10.  We arrived shortly after with just enough time to hear the national anthem, find our seats and settle in.  This is what we saw!! 

Yep, the boy did good!  Seats right behind home plate.  The sun was out in full force so I had to pay for a teeny tiny tube of sunscreen but it was worth it.  There was plenty of people watching.  A guy in front of us had one insane head of hair!!!  It was to the middle of his back and looked like he needed a straightener or serious conditioner.  Something!!  I also had a lady come up to me to ask if I was a Reds fan.  Sure.  Well she jinxed the Reds somehow the night before so she needed to rub the head of a redheaded Reds fan.  I went along with it and she got the thumbs up from her hubby.  Totally random but I was happy to oblige.

Oh you think the weekend is over??  Not even close!!!  Sunday, we headed to the homestead.  I asked my momma to make me a birthday cake.  It is SOOO good.  Lemon cake with a special lemon icing.  I'm not a fan of real icing but I'll eat this stuff!!  We hung out there for a bit.  I searched for some younger travel pictures but I couldn't seem to find any.  I'll look another time!  But by dark we headed back to Seth's.

Monday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! - They let me sleep in until 10am!!  I felt worthless the rest of the day!  We kind of just hung out at the house.  I forgot my dress shoes for work, so Seth took me shopping.  He went in search of a case for his phone.  I went looking for shoes.  I found a pretty cool looking pair for $15.  A steal!  We went to a cookout and then I made him take me to watch fireworks.  I'm such a kid about those kinds of things!

What a fantabulous weekend!!  So many friends called, texted, left messages on Facebook to wish me a happy birthday.  It just warms your heart that someone would take a few seconds/minutes out of their day to wish you the best!  Seth did an AWESOME job of celebrating my birthday.  I told him I need to have more birthdays, that way I get what I want.  Just kidding!  He's usually pretty good about that stuff.  I hope everyone else had a great Fourth of July weekend as well!!

"I was Born with a Suitcase in my Hand."

The title is from Little Big Town's song "I'm with the Band".  Lyrics about traveling around, chasing dreams of performing, never really knowing where you are but enjoying the ride.  I'm not trying to talk about being in a band.  I gave up the performer dream when I was like 12.  Okay maybe when I was 16.  I'm not really sure when but I know it was a long time ago!  I am here to talk about traveling though!!!

As many of you do know, I've got a serious case of the travel bug.  Basically every weekend is booked with travels to see the boyfriend, home, adventures with friends, vacations, etc.  I've become very good at packing all the essentials and doing it quickly.  Blame it on genetics!  My family, well part of my family, has a serious itch to see anything and everything.  My grandmother had been to every continent with the exception of South America.  (At least I can't remember her discussing any travels there.)  She traveled with her sister, her husband, children, mother, travel groups, basically anyone that would go.  It didn't really matter.  She just wanted to see it all.  I thank her for getting out to see the world.  It definitely opened her eyes and thus opened the eyes of the rest of her family.  I'm secretly wishing I were at home so I could find some photos and post for you to see.  Places, I can think of off the top of my head, she traveled to include: Israel, Australia, Egypt, Greece, Russia.  I know there are so many more!!

Maybe I'm a little biased... My grandmother was awesome!  Funny how I'm trying to tell you about my travels and I end up talking about my grandmother...  Her name was Dorcas and she said "Call me Dork."  She was Grama to me.  I would get to their house and if I didn't see her immediately sitting in her rocking chair, I'd start yelling for her.  She'd call out wherever she was and I'd wander around until a smile was on my face.  I kinda do that with my mom now.  Grama had a crazy sweet tooth and read constantly.  To say she was a book worm would be an understatement!  She used to take old boxes and put contact paper on them to us as her organization system.  And wow she left notes for everyone, everywhere!  Made the best pies and apple cake.

I digress.... Grama valued education.  It was instilled in her even during a time when money was tight and women were supposed to be homemakers.  She graduated high school and went off to college.  She passed on the importance of an education to her children and grandchildren.  She also made it a point to say that I could get married whenever I liked.  "Don't worry about boys." she said.  But to her, I think part of education was traveling and exploring.  You learn so much from seeing different things, tasting different foods, experiencing different cultures, trying to understand people with different accents and even different languages.  I remember reading an article that said if you travel with your young children, they are more likely to be open to new things when they are older.  I believe it!

I remember when she was in the hospital around September sometime.  It was a good day for her and things seemed to be going well at least for the time being.  There were all kinds of things wrong with her.  She had a tracheotomy and wasn't able to talk without some type of device.  She mouthed to me to ask if I had traveled anymore lately.  Shamefully I hadn't.  I mentioned going to Jamaica with my sister and friend.  She just grinned.  Previously over the summer, I had gone to concerts, visited different cities, talked about future plans with her.  Her eyes sparkled as I highlighted the food, sights and even misfortunes.

Right now, my sister is hopefully in her bed sleeping after a whirlwind European travel excursion for her birthday.  I won't tell her age but let's just say that it is one of those that really hits hard.  :P  She put something on Facebook about traveling to keep Grama close to her.  At first, I thought she had committed a gaffe.  I'm not one to declare emotions or feelings in public.  But here I am writing about them.  I suppose my sister is right though.  Traveling helps keep memories of people, places and things alive.  Maybe that is part of why I'm going to share my adventures with you.  To keep the memories of my Grama and my adventures alive.  So as another summer is in full force, I'm going to give you a series of blogs on my travels.  The good, the bad and the ugly.  My travel bucket list.  Travel traditions I have created along the way.  Keepsakes and mementos that I've collected too!  I will also try to grab some pictures of Grama in her travel adventures just to share with you. 


"What you've done becomes the judge of what you're going to do - especially in other people's minds.  When you're traveling, you are what you are right there and then.  People don't have your past to hold against you.  No yesterdays on the road."  ~William Least Heat Moon, Blue Highways

Where has June Gone??

Really is it already June 23?? My most favorite month is over half way gone. :(  So sad.  To brighten my day, I'll tell you what I've been doing as of late.

House projects

I mentioned a LONG time ago that I was working on painting my living room wall of paneling.  It is nearly completed.  I still need to paint the trim.  Other than that, it is well on its way.  I didn't take a finished photograph before I started putting everything back on my bookshelves.  I was WAY too anxious about being finished.  I will give you all the photographs on another blog.  The project was super easy.  It was just dedicating the time to get it done.  I've rearranged my furniture also.  This way it focuses on my newly painted wall!

I've also been planting some flowers and greenery around the house.  Trying to spruce it up.  I absolutely hate weeding flower beds.  I've procrastinated long enough on these tasks.  I guess I'll get cracking on that later tonight.

Couple weekends with the beau.

I spent a few weekends with Seth and his family.  I enjoy it because not only do I get to spend quality time with Seth but it is also so calm and peaceful.  When I stay at home, there is always a list of things to do, people to see, places to go.  There is no agenda at Seth's.  Just peace and quiet.

And well goofiness :)


Camping trip with the Youth Group

The kids headed out Thursday to stay at Beech Fork.  I unfortunately had to work so I didn't make it out there until Friday evening.  I'll tell on myself.  I totally drove out to Wayne to only find out that I had to drive back into town and go down Rt. 10 to get to the camping portion of the lake.  Thankfully there was a State Trooper there to guide me back.  I was only there for a night but it was wonderful.  I'm almost always at peace in nature.  The kids were great.  A little slow in the morning but great.  We wanted to go play on the lake but nature decided that it wanted to rain... So we called it a day.

Shoop's 4th Annual White Party

Some of my girlfriends and I hit up Shoop's for Shoop's White Party.  Yes I just did that.  He jokes that he has a bar just for the party.  I doubt that.  Regardless, I had a wonderful time.  I'm always game for dressing up!  I purchased the dress on the Internet for relatively cheap.  I found the shoes at Macys on clearance.  On another trip, I found the jewelry on clearance as well.  I used a gold Coach clutch (which I also got on massive discount!) that I've had for a while.

I also had some great conversations with friends.  I don't get out much anymore so it was nice to catch up with old friends and meet a few new people.  Of course, I hit up the dance floor for a while.  I'm a bit out of practice though so my feet and legs were hurting!  I finally called it a night around 1am and left the girls to keep the party going. ;)  And surprisingly I didn't take a ton of pictures like I normally would.  I only took a few and here is what I think is the best one of me.  Plus you can see part of the dress and jewelry!

So many more things have been going on but these are the main events.  I've been crazy busy at work trying to finish a report.  As always, I've been doing the normal household chores - dishes, laundry, cleaning, etc. 

Life is a crazy adventure.  It's nice to know you can take a few moments to sit back and enjoy it all.

One Day At a Time

People have said that I have the patience of a saint.  They must not know me then.  Well I take that back.  They must not see the real, nitty gritty, backed against the wall Sarah.  Few people actually get to see that side of me.  To be honest, I prefer no one see me like that.  It is scary.

Sure when I worked at Macys, I was the one that customers gravitated towards when they were looking for an item.  As long as they were willing to wait, I would track down an item for them at different stores.  As you continue to do this, you quickly learn the things to not do!!  I learned to not call Florida stores because I couldn't understand most of the associates nor could they understand me.  (I swear I do not have a typical West Virginia accent!)  I also remembered from my own shopping days that Pennsylvania is usually cheaper because they don't tax merchandise.  So the tax/shipping costs balance out.  It was all part of the job.  It just seemed to customers like I went above and beyond.  I didn't find it a hard task at all.  It was just a matter of how badly the customer wanted it.  Determination.

Now flash forward to today.  I'm struggling to find my way.  I have completely lost my patience.  I feel like I'm floundering trying to make every aspect of life work.  Correction - I don't have to make my relationship work thankfully.  It is going along swimmingly. :)  So every aspect except one.  (And again, I'm sure I'm exaggerating this.  You get my point though.)  I would almost venture to say that I have lost my faith.  I really haven't though.  I've just lost touch with reality and God.  I'm struggling to follow his will instead of my own.  I know he's there.  I pray and read my Bible.  I'm just kind of ignoring him.  And as the collective gasps and sucks the Earth out of its rotation, even the strongest of Christians struggles with doing God's will.  I'm not claiming to be anywhere close to the strongest.  Again, trying to be honest here.

I think everyone struggles at some point in their life thinking about if they are doing what they are supposed to be doing.  Maybe it is the money, the enjoyment, the time, the non-monetary reward, etc.  I don't know.  I would venture to guess that it all boils down to happiness.  They say money can't buy happiness.  I'm not looking for money here.  I'm not happy and I just want to be happy.    Am I blessed, YES!  I'm very lucky to have a job and benefits in this time of recession.  I don't care what people say.  We aren't out of it and won't be for a long time.  That is off the subject though...

I feel like God is calling me to something.  He's whispered things for a few months.  A few weeks ago, he was squeezing my heart.  Trying to get my attention.  I heard what he had to say and cried.  I've never felt so uneasy in my life.  Then of course, I let life take over.  Consuming me with busyness and ignorance.  Surprise... He hasn't gone away.  Still patiently waiting for me to respond.  I asked my pastor on Sunday.  I didn't give details - just like I'm not giving you any details.  He said that he's struggled with the same thing before.  I just have to surrender one day at a time.  Really?  There is no quick fix?  Well crap.  I knew that though...  I was looking for a way out.

So how do I go against everything that I've been taught and/or believed?  I don't know.  Somehow I just give up every day though.  I suppose I should become more open to the thought.  Maybe research the subject.  Those may be good starting points.  To be perfectly honest, God hasn't given specifics.  Just said I want you to do this.  It is such a broad area.  I don't know how or when or why or where or anything.  Just that it is what he wants me to do.  I have a sneaky suspicion on where he is leading me.  I don't exactly know how I'm going to do that with my current education and work background.  So here I go into the world of the unknown.  Say a little prayer for me that God will direct me slowly and steadily (and that he gives me the peace and assurance I need along the way!)



"So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up." ~ Galatians 6:9

Cable. What cable??

Goodbye Comcast!!  I feel like I should celebrate.  This evil company is out of my life.  Since June 1, my life has been quieter.  I've had a little more money in my pocket though!

Here is the back story...  I've had cable for I don't know how long.  They bait you in the promotions price and then once you've been with the company for so long, they jack the prices back up.  In addition to receiving a new flyer with price increases every May.  I just got sick of calling in to complain about the price of cable and internet services.  I would complain and they would do a promo price again for me.  Without any promotions, discounts, etc. Comcast wanted me to pay $120 and some change for BASIC digital cable and ECONOMY internet.  REALLY???  When you break it down to a daily cost, it is roughly $4.  A little more reasonable.  With promotions, my cost was around $85 which equated to a little less than $3 a day.  Even better. 

But wait.... who is actually home 24 hours a day for every single month.  Definitely not this girl!!  If you think about it, most people are away from their homes at least 8 hours a day.  (That is if they have a normal 9 to 5 type of job.)  So that leaves 16 hours.  Don't forget about sleep.  We all wish to get 8 hours a day but it is usually 6 or 7.  Let's go with the larger amount though.  Now we have 8 hours left of our day spent at home.  Then think about the time spent doing extracurricular activities such as dinner with friends, family visits, church, shopping, running errands.  We'll say that takes another 1.5 hour a day away from home.  6.5 hours.  What about household chores??  Some things you can do while watching television such as laundry or doing dishes.  You just do it during the commercials. :)  But what about mowing, bills, etc?  So we're down to 5.5 hours a day. 

Final tally 5.5 hours to use the internet and/or television a day.  Definitely more time than what I was getting but I digress.  What about weekends??  There are some weekends where I'm not home.  There are some weekends where I am home but I'm running around like crazy and don't even turn it on.  So I'll give you two weekends of 6 hours a day.

That isn't a whole lot of time.  I simply could not justify paying that much money for so little time to use it.  I'll admit that I'm craving my internet usage.  The television isn't a big deal.  I've got my iPhone.  I look up the weather there.  I watch movies to fill in time and for noise.  I'll get used to it eventually.  But now I have the time to do the things I need to do around the house.  No more distractions.  I've already read two books in the past few weeks.  It has been forever since I've done that!

Anyone else seriously considered it?  (And I apologize, I'm a numbers person.)

"Television has proved that people will look at anything rather than each other."  ~Ann Landers