Lazy Sunday

This is the first weekend that I haven't brought work home in so long. I have to be perfectly honest, with my boyfriend out of town, and Thanksgiving (aka Christmas shopping right around the corner and money being tight because of holiday travel) I didn't really know what to do with myself. 

I called or texted most of my girlfriends to see what everyone was up to and none of it sounded appealing... Tailgating, Sunday funday, bar hopping... Le sigh.  I'm tired. 24/7. I also had a rough week at school and I needed to have some fun or just get some rest. Enter: my sister. Carolyn. 

We went to the Hollywood Casino with our men Friday night. It was so fun!! Just what the Doctor ordered :) 

My soon-to-be sister, Anissa, called and told me her and my brother were going to Bob Evans for a late breakfast Saturday and wanted to know if Andrew and I wanted to meet them. Who doesn't love copious amounts of coffee, sausage, eggs and biscuits!?!? Oh and the company of Anissa and Heffe?!? Done deal. Except traffic on 23 was so terrible that we got there as they were finishing their breakfast... Fashionably too late. Truth: I asked Andrew to look up directions and he was guiding me very patiently and I got frustrated with traffic and lost my temper with him. :( That's only happened once or twice in the time we've been together. He was just as frustrated as me and I admire his ability to stay calm, and just hold my hand and tell me that everything was fine. He's such a good one 😊☺️❤️

So we get to breakfast, eat and drink everything in sight and then Andrew left to head up to the Browns Game in Cleveland. He went up early to catch up with old friends since he went to school up there. Heffe went home to do school work and then Anissa and I went shopping :) I got some Christmas shopping done and also a few things for myself ... 

What do you think?!? Confession: I hate selfies and think they are awkward but didn't know how else to share my new purchases?!?

Last night Anissa and Heffe and then Carolyn Michael and Maddy and I all went to see "The Hunger Games" (second time for me) and it was AWESOME!! 

After 10 hours of sleep, no stress, no Sunday anxiety, the browns, a soft blanket, and a fountain coke, I'm ready to take on these last two days before Thanksgiving break! 👍😉

This weekend was just what I needed. What have you done for yourself lately?!?

Christmas

Greetings!! 

So, we finally had our first snowfall of the year and I have finally gotten into the Christmas Spirit.  Something you may not know about me is that I LOVE CHRISTMAS!! Actually to a disgusting point.  I usually start listening to Christmas music around Halloween time.  Not only do I love snow, I don't mind the cold, I LOVE Christmas decorations, but mostly I love the feeling around the Holidays.  

I love watching Christmas movies. My favorite is "Home Alone" 

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK2Btk6Ybm0) 
Just in case you haven't seen this classic...  I could seriously watch it over and over again.  Who doesn't love when Kevin McCallister's mom tells him to go upstairs and he churlishly responds, "I AM upstairs DUMMY!"  

Or my personal favorite, "Buzz, your girlfriend... WOOF!"

 Speaking of over and over again, I also love how TBS plays "A Christmas Story" for 24 straight hours.  This way, I can watch the first 25 minutes, take a nap, wake up to Ralphe's brother screaming his head off coming down the slide when they go see Santa, and then take another nap, and catch the gaps in the next showing of this Christmas Glory of a movie.  

I also love Christmas Music!! My all-time favorite song is "When Love Came Down" by Point of Grace. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Smtxx3CQgA

I love this song because it is fun to sing to and sounds like a standard Christmas song, but mostly because, if this doesn't put you in the Christmas Spirit, I'm not sure even a kiss from Santa himself could.  

Happy Holidays and Cheers to Christmas!! 

Back in action...

Greetings: it has been a long time since I last wrote. A lot has happened. Do I want to talk about it? Not really... Not in great detail at least. My 25th birthday is a month away, and there are many things that are coming to fruition in my memory as this year comes to a close. 

This has been a big year for me. I moved to a new position at my school this year, made some new friends, strengthened some other friendships, helped my parents move to their beautiful new house in Texas, saw every single family member (extended family included) on my mom's side of the family, and said goodbye to my other grandpa this summer.  It was a crazy rollercoaster ride, but if you know me at all (or my family for that matter) you know I'm a woman of faith. 

Everyone always wants to know why?? 

Why is it already time to wake up? 

Why is there not more time in the day? 

Why didn't I go to the gym when I had the chance to? 

Case and point? Life is tough. Something my faith has taught me is that we are all here for a reason and when it's our time to go or we have served our purpose here on earth, it is time to go live eternally with our Heavenly Father. I take great peace in this because even though my grandpa's are no longer here, I like to think they have a hand in the beautiful things in life that I get to experience. I.e., this sunrise Monday morning (which was the year anniversary of my grandpa Tink passing away) 

(Switching grandpas) My grandpa Pete used to write me birthday cards and they always had some typical grandparent message like "Happy Birthday Ame, can't believe another has gone by and how grown up you are". Loved it! Then, as I got older, my grandpa started writing a post-scripts. He would say, "ps: have you run off and gotten married yet?!?" - this was mostly due to the fact that I hardly ever wrote him back (major sigh, I should have written to him more). These cards always made me laugh. I always thought he was crazy to ask me this kind of question! My response: "umm hello grandpa don't you think you'd know if I got married?!? You would be there!!" I can honestly say that there hasn't been I man I've dated while my grandpa Pete was living that I would be proud to introduce him to. Until now... 

Enter: Andrew Kelley. We have been dating for 5 months and he is everything (and more) I could ask for. He's supportive, he is easy to talk to, he keeps me grounded, he celebrates the good things, he's thoughtful, and he's hilarious. Things are funnier when he's around. I worry less when he's around. I don't bring work home from school because my time with him is important so I stay at school to get what I can done, and then we meet for dinner or a drink. The thing I like most about him is that he's catholic. We have spent most of our Sunday afternoons at church. He and I's relationship is strong because it's rooted in our faith and that is the most special thing in the world. Here's us :) 

So like I said: a lot has changed. Be willing to learn and grow. You never know what card God will play next. ;)