Why not?

How is it already almost July? This summer is flying by and I want it to stop and SLOW DOWN! 

I've been working to embrace my city dwelling more because this city really has so much to offer and I have been taking it for granted way to long. So a few weeks ago I didn't have anything to do on a Friday night, so I went to the Columbus Arts Festival. I had never been, really had no idea what it was, but it'd been on the news a billion times, so I thought "why not?" Well, I realized I am not an art person. Like at all. If you are someone who is into art history and different media and museums, that is wonderful. I am a vintage/antique store, flea market and crafty kind of girl. However, there were two artist booths that I spent quite a bit of time in - here and here. Of course, they both have college football stuff. :) (Also....sports girl.)

View of downtown from the bridge.

Even though I don't love art, I did enjoy walking around at the festival. It was a nice little Friday night date night (with myself) to explore something that was on my Columbus bucket list.

This most recent Friday night, we celebrated Amber's birthday. We went to the Short North area and had a great time. Her BFF from home also joined in on the crazy.

I wish I could get this sideways, but it'll have to do for now.

We did drinks at a few places and then got Jeni's ice cream to kind of cap off the night. There were no empty chairs inside and I was in a dress so I couldn't sit on the curb, so Amber and I ended up on the bikes that you can rent. And while I had drank about a 1/3 of an Angry Orchard, I was NOT intoxicated like this snapchat caption might make one think. Or you would think if you saw the videos of us acting like we were in a spin class while eating our ice cream.

Happy Birthday Amber!

Why not take a selfie with the pretty parking garage wall!

Saturday and Sunday I went home to celebrate my favorite men - my dad and Papaw. Saturday I spent most of the afternoon and evening working on a project, which I'll blog about when I get it done, which is hopefully this weekend!

On Sunday we went to my grandma and grandpa's for our Father's Day cookout. Everyone was there except Molly, who was in SC. Uncle Bill manned the grill this year. Papaw has given up that job now.  :( Sometimes Tyler does it, sometimes my dad does it. I did it last year when we made turkey burgers - and I've never been asked to do it again! ha! We mostly just sat outside in the sun and talked. It was great.

I really wanted to get a picture with my grandpa and my dad, but when I asked Papaw what the odds were of him getting in the picture he said "Slim". So there you have it. And I have no picture. ha.

When we got home from Mam and Papaw's Tyler had Dad's gift ready. I wanted to get him a Yeti cooler, but instead we went for the Ozark Trail version from Walmart, that is pretty comparable and a whole lot cheaper! Tyler had gotten home before I did and filled the cooler with ice and beer for Dad. He was a happy camper! :)

Later that evening Erica and Charlie came over and we went for a little walk. We showed Charlie the post office and where Time Out Pizza was, as well as a trip around the track before it became time for her to eat and she got a little crabby. Erica says she's in a phase where she wants her mom all the time, so I was happy with the little bit of snuggles I got with her while we visited on the porch.

My Florida baby.

both of my Florida girls. LOVE THEM SO.

Another group shot - Charlotte does have two arms! :)

Then even later that night, history was made because CLEVELAND WON THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP! Now I am not what you would call a Cavs fan. I have never been to an NBA game in my life, but I do like Lebron and I'm really happy for him and mostly for the city of Cleveland and all those Cleveland sports fans, cause man, they've had some sucky teams in the past! haha. I watched the game at home and took some snapshots to remember the occasion.

Just 10 secs left and "we're" up by 3!

Whoo hoo!

Lebron - only 4 months older than me, but so much more money! 

On Monday afternoon I got a text from Alicia asking if I was interested in a free ticket to the Indians game that night. I'd never been to an Indians game before and I didn't have anything on my calendar for that evening, so again thought "why not?" I left work just a teensy bit early and got to the ballpark about a half hour before the game started. (Side note, parking in Cleveland is awful!) Alicia's family was haven't a week long vacation, reunion, graduation party sort of thing, so I got to join in on that fun.  I was hoping that maybe they'd do something big for the Cavs, but they played the video from the last few seconds and then once during the game they were showing everyone's selfies on the big screen and they showed a picture of Lebron kissing the trophy!

Me and Alicia

Our seats were very close to first base and I had my mom and friends texting me throughout the game saying they saw me on tv. Uhhhh.....yikes! The Indians ended up winning the game over the Tampa Bay Rays. Apparently they're doing good this season. If I follow a baseball team, it's the Reds, but the Indians are a close second. #gotribe

After the game was over I walked to my car and took the long route to go see the Q and the former "Witness"-now-it's-just-a-pic-of-Lebron banner.

These were painted all over the sidewalks in Cleveland.

The casino celebrating the Championship.

Hey Lebron!

I've had a lot of fun activities going on, but I'm looking forward to a handful of days to just be at home in the evenings. Last night I got my kitchen all cleaned up, and my living room as well. Tonight I'm going to focus on my bedroom and bathroom and then hopefully make some headway on a few quilts I've got in progress. I'm such an old lady! ;)

So this month (so far) I've noticed the pattern of just saying "Why not?" to a few things and am going to try to adapt that motto for more things in the future! Now there are a lot of things that I will say NO to, so it's not a complete pass for anything. I do have boundaries, limits and morals, but I'm hoping to just embrace life more and do things I wouldn't normally do!

Late Spring

Since we just have a few official days of spring left, I figure I might as well update what I've been doing in these last few weeks of Spring. Most of the stuff is from the few days before I left for Honduras, and the few weeks I've been back.

At the end of April Molly officially moved out of my apartment. She is now a resident of Charleston, South Carolina. So anyone that lives there, let me know and I'll hook you up with a friend. It was sad for her to leave. We both cried a little before she finally pulled out of my driveway, but I know living on her own will be good for her!

Selfie of us being sad when she moved out.

Unfortunately she did not move all of her things to SC, so I have spent a few weeks boxing those up and putting them in storage - aka, my basement!

Also the last weekend of April was my half-marathon and that evening was Piketon's PROM! I love prom. One day I want to be in charge of it. Maybe in my next life where I teach high school English and advise all the things.

Payton and Avery were both going to prom this year. Molly and I had gone dress shopping with them back in January, so it was fun to see them all dressed up in their beautiful dresses.

Payton, Me, Molly, Avery

Me and little Avery, who's not so little anymore. 

Me and Payton

And for fun, here is a picture of me with them at my junior prom about 14 years ago. They grew up so fast! Payton had a dance recital or competition the next day, so she was sleeping in sponge rollers that night! :)

It's a picture of a picture in my high school scrapbook!

The day after prom is when Molly and my Mom made the official trip to Charleston. I stayed home with dad and we did a project where we stripped all of the paint off of our front porch banisters. It wasn't nearly has hard as we thought it was going to be. One of use scrapped while another sanded, then we'd switch. There were so many layers of paint on here and bare would probably hasn't been seen since the banisters were put on many years ago, and the layers of painted needed to come off. Those suckers are solid too!!

Before we got started

About halfway done with this side.

I think when I'm home for Father's Day this weekend we're going to do a lot more projects, including painting these banisters. Meanwhile, back at my apartment, Bowie has claimed Molly's bed leaning up against the wall as her new lookout point.

This cat.....

My friend Jill had her baby boy in early May. I was able to go to the hospital to see him before I left the country. He was so tiny and cuddly and made me want all the babies. I've visiting him again last week and he still has all that hair!

Me and Baby

My last few days before Honduras were spent at Ohio FFA Convention, catching up with alumni and friends who had their chapters there. I love going to conventions for those reasons.

That same weekend I was able to catch up with a few alumni/friends who weren't at convention but were in town. We got together for a lot of laughs (NOLA and Molly's love for Cane's) over pizza and a few drinks and had a great time. I'm so thankful for the many, many friends I've made through my job and for the friends that I've been able to stay in touch with as they've moved all over the country.

Sicilia's with the boys.

Then I went to Honduras. And when I came home, I was cussing my brother in my head because he had stayed there a few nights while I was gone and my couches weren't straightened up, there was mud on my floor, and multiple beer cans on my counter. I was so mad. Then I opened my fridge to this Mountain Dew and note. All the happy tears. I drink a Mountain Dew once in a blue moon. I used to drink it all the time. For some reason when I was in Honduras, it's all I wanted to drink and they didn't have it anywhere!! Pepsi was everywhere, but never Mountain Dew! WHY? So of course, that made me just want it more! Cravings galore. So when I got home and I found this in the fridge, I was so excited. I hadn't told him that I wanted it, so that made it even better because he just knew!

Thanks bro.

Memorial Day weekend was kind of busy. I wasn't feeling so hot when I got back to the states. I think it was a combination of adjusting to a new diet again (one where I didn't eat nearly as much as I did when I was in Honduras) and not drinking nearly as much water as I did when I was in Honduras. So I left work early and missed another day. I went home to my parents just to hang out and relax and got to my cousins' graduation party. On Saturday I was feeling better so I came back to Columbus and had lunch at the Morgan House with Brittany and Jenny. We used it as a little 'sprinke' for Jenny since she has baby #2 due in July. 

She's about 7 months pregnant in this picture and you'd never know! She's so cute!

Leaving lunch.

I decided to stay in Columbus Saturday evening and go to to church on Sunday. It was my first non-Spanish speaking church service in a few weeks. I visiting with Marcey quickly, then got a few things together at home and headed to Piketon for Payton's graduation!

When I moved to Columbus to start school at OSU in 2003, Payton had just started Kindergarten a few weeks prior to that. Here she is graduating high school and will be heading off to college next year herself. I remember crying as an 18 year old when I realized she was going to be starting kindergarten in a few days, but I did not cry about this. I'm as shocked as anyone at this. :)

Payton has grown into a lovely young woman and I'm so excited to see what the next four years brings to her!

Ty, Avy, Payton and Me

On Memorial Day, I went with my brother, Dad, Aunt Robin and Uncle Wick to the cemetery. On the Friday before I'd gone with my dad to put firemen flags at the graves of the Piketon firemen. It was a really cool thing that I was happy to do with my pops. I saved the flag that had flown above my grandpa's grave for the past year and am going to frame it and put it on my living room wall.

It was nice to go to the cemetery on Memorial Day with my dad and his siblings. 3 of the 4 living children were there and I bet there hasn't been that many of them there together since my grandpa passed away in 1989.

My grandpa retired from the United States Navy. He was in three wars - WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. There aren't that many people who can say they've done that. So I am very proud of him and my Papaw for being a part of the military.

And while we were out in the Duck Run area, my aunt showed us where Grandpa Wickham went to school and where some of my aunts and uncles lived (or still live). This is the same "hood" that Roy Rogers is from, as well as Governor Ted Strickland. #funfact

Grandpa's school.

On Memorial Day, we grilled out at Mam and Papaw's. We also spent some time watching TV. No complaints. It was a very relaxing day.

No place I'd rather be! :)

I also did a little project that afternoon. This wooden shelf had been set out for the trash by my apartment so being the hoarder thrifter that I am, I snagged it. I sanded the glossy finish of and added a coat of antique white paint (got a mini can at Walmart for $2). I also had to get four new little resting hooks for the  shelves to set on when they're folded out. I sat it on my back porch and put my flower pots on it! I think it looks great!

Before - broken and ugly.

After - fixed and pretty!

The week after Memorial Day, I was invited to go to the Memorial Tournament! I always enjoy going and getting some sun, catching up with friends and seeing a few famous golfers. This  year Tiger was not there, but I'm ok with that. I did get to see Jordan Speith from a distance and Phil McGirt was about 10 feet from us and I had not a clue in the world who he was, but then he won the whole thing!

Thanks for taking me Callie!

Chilling and watching golf. 

That Friday evening, Cara came to town and we did a little dinner at Matt the Miller's, followed by some Jeni's ice cream. I also got to FaceTime my littles in Honduras. We all wore our Ohio State sunglasses. I love their precious hearts!

And then on Saturday, I celebrated Erin's 30th birthday with dinner at Buca di Beppo and a few drinks on Park Street! Erin and I have been best friends since we were in the 7th and 8th grades, and friends since we were in Daisy's in the early 90's. Welcome to the 30's Erin!

Turning 30!

At the junior high honors banquet in 1999 - 7th and 8th grades.

At Girl Scout Camp in the early 90's. I'm on the far right and Erin is 4th from the right.

So that about wraps up late April thru mid June. I have a lot of work things coming up - conferences on campus, trips to FFA camp and then finally a few days on the beach in early July!! I am so thankful for the many friends in my life, who make my life so full of joy!

Two are better than one: because they have a good reward for their labor. For if the fall, the one will lift the other up, but pity the one who falls and has no one to help them up.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.

2016 Cap City Half-Marathon

I'm a little behind on my blogging and one thing I want to record and I didn't get posted before I left for Honduras was the half-marathon I ran in late April. 

All ready for the night before!

It was my second time running the Cap City Half-Marathon and I ran it with my friend Stacie. (She and I had started out together last year and then ended up finishing near each other too.) This time we ran together. Neither one of us had done a ton of prepping. My longest run was 5 or 6 miles, but I felt pretty comfortable going into it. 

All lined up!

We were not really that nervous, but also not fully prepared!

The race actually went really good. We ran a comfortable pace and didn't stop for a quick rest until we hit campus, so it was after 4 miles. We got a drink and walked a few minutes and then we were off again. We pretty much stayed with the 2:30 pacers - sometimes a little behind them, sometimes a little in front of them - and we were feeling good about finishing in less than 2 hours and 30 minutes because we actually started way after them. 

My mom was waiting for us around mile 10, so I briefly stopped to give her the jacket that I thought I needed earlier that morning (it was really cold when we got there, but I tied it around my waist around mile 4.5). I also took a swig of her McDonald's Sweet Tea. :)

The last 3 miles were kind of a challenge. I was getting tired. My hips were hurting. My hips!? That's never happened before, but maybe it's just another pain of growing older. :( 

My final time ended up being faster than my personal best, but it was less than two minutes less than last time I ran two years ago. I felt like I walked more last time, but I must have ran faster, where this time I just had a consistent pace the whole time. 

All done and ready for pizza!!

I'm so happy to have completed another race, especially a half-marathon. Some day I'd like to do a full marathon, I just don't know when, or if I have the motivation to train for it. I'm sure once I paid for the registration fee, I would be motivated to train and run every evening. I think I slacked on this race because I'd done two before I knew I could do it. The first one I ran back in 2013 I trained for every single day! If I do one, it will definitely be at Disney World, or another cool place and not Columbus!

For my birthday, Molly got me a plaque hanger thing for my race bibs and medals. For now it's hanging in my living room, but eventually this summer I'm going to redo my dining room/office and hang it in there. I added two medals to it the two weekends after I got it - a 2nd place medal from my finish in the Dogwood 5K and the participant medal from the half. 

It has the bible verse Hebrews 12:1 that says "Keep running the race that is set before you with endurance." I loved that because it's the perfect quote for how you should look going into a race and many other things in life!

A picture of a picture, but this is what's on my wall now.