Sweet Caroline followed by C'Mon Irene

This past weekend we visited our besties, Stacey and Ryan in Boston, Irene may have interfered with some of our plans but it certainly didn't ruin our good time!

We made the best of the situation

We went out to eat

Hung out by the pool
{yes the kiddie pool!}

We lived it up at the Bo Sox game

we drank several renditions of hurricanes
we hung out at the local bars

we prepared for the nasty weather by watching LOTS of the weather channel and looking at the radar

as well as stocking up on water and other essentials

and just hung out and relaxed on Sunday, waiting for Irene to arrive.

Luckily for us the weather was much further west of us
but I'm fully aware of the damage that was done to the East coast and inland.
I hope you and your families were not affected by this nasty storm, and if you were, I hope that things get back to normal soon for you and your family!

Although the weekend didn't go as we originally hoped it to, we still had a blast!
Sometimes its not all in the planning but who you are with, and I can truly say we had a blast regardless of Irene!

Quick Recap of the last 2 weeks...

Hello there blog world!

I thought I would catch you up on what has been going on in my life over the past 2 weeks
My family went on an impromptu vacation to Lake Cumberland.

Cumberland to me is the epitome of our family vacations. Sure, we have been a lot of fun places skiing, tropical, ect, but to me this is heaven on earth! You are on a lake, surrounded by family and friends, and your biggest care in the world is when its appropriate to pour your first drink of the day! There is no concerns about what to pack [a few bathing suits, a towel, and tee shirts and shorts are just fine], what you look like [make up is pretty much forbidden], and its just chill!

We found a nice quite little cove to tie our houseboat up the first night we got there
The next day we woke up and went to the new party cove, Harmon Creek
And these pictures really don't do it justice
We parked just outside of party cove central.
It was what my family calls a "Cumby Day", 95*+, and the only place you want to be is in the water with a cold one in your hand!
Well, I may have had 1 too many cold ones that day
I may or may not have fallen 2 times trying to get into the boat when we called it quits for the day [i.e. we ran out of beer]... whoops.
If you follow me on twitter you have seen some of the consequences that I reaped from the fall
Its feeling much better now on Day 10 - but I have a funny feeling it may be a while until its completely gone!

Here are some other pictures from our trip

[we called J "coach" in this visor, i felt like he needed a clip board and a whistle]
This houseboat was at the dock where we rented ours... I joked that I thought it must be Pauly D's boat
We also took a trip to visit Jimmy and Jess in Dayton
We always have such a good time when the 4 of us get together.
Jimmy and Justin went golfing, while Jess and I stimulated the economy at the outlet malls, and then the 4 of us went to dinner
Jess and I at dinner
Justin and I on their patio after dinner
Yesterday we had Sunday dinner combined with my parent's next door neighbor. Mike is in town from SF and brought his daughter Leila. She is such a good baby, and she is SO smart!

My dad has never really been a "baby/kid" person, but she certainly has him wrapped around his finger. She even calls him Bad Brad. Its too cute! I don't know who will be more sad when she heads home on Wednesday, the grandparents or Bad Brad!

So thats a quick recap.

I had a delicious appetizer to share with you for Make Me a Meal Monday, however I'm having issues uploading my pictures, so as soon as J gets home from work [my own personal Geek Squad] I will have him take a look and it may just be a day late! I'm going to try to get back in the swing of having a more regular MMaMM post!

Happy Monday Lovelies!

So What! Wednesday....

...If I only use shazam on my phone to then link immediately to iTunes to download the song. I'm lazy, and I'm going to use technology to my full advantage



...If I went into XXI having a "skinny day" and came out feeling as if I had hit rock bottom again! Seriously... someone needs to talk to them about there sizing.. its just not right!



...If I have sent a text message to one of my best guy friends [I blame him for getting me hooked to this darn show!] about Teen Mom starting back up, with a count down... I love these girls! July 5th is just around the corner



...If I'm equally excited for Big Brother to start on the 7th



...If I realized on my way to work that I forgot to shave my armpits and I had a capped sleeved dress on, you better believe that I drove out of my way to head back home and fix that mistake IMMEDIATELY!



...If I gave death glares to some mother shopping yesterday, she left her 9ish month old sitting in the cart as she was perusing the isles looking for hand bags and the kid was screaming, and then she proceeded to continue to shop while he was whaling. Perhaps I was so annoyed b/c I'm not a mom and I don't know what its like to have an upset child while shopping... however there are times to be a parent, and there are times to be a shopper... and in my mind, she should have been a parent

...If I'm beyond geeked to be spending this weekend on the lake! we are going to our normal summer vacation spot in Kentucky, where there is not a care in the world. The forecast is calling for PERFECT weather :)




What are you saying "So What" to?

Head on over to Mama Dew's and let us know

These are a few of my favorite things....

Last week Kelly from Keeping up with Kelly tagged me to do a little survey about my favorite things!

I thought this was a great way for some of my newer followers to get to know me [if your new, please let me know by leaving a comment and tell me something about you, or something that you love!! I love to getting to know my followers :)]

[1.] My family

I think its safe to say that even though my family is not a "thing" they mean the world to me! I think your family gives you a foundation of who you are, and you make yourself out of the foundation. I have come to realize that over the years, I am VERY fortunate to have such a strong relationship with my family. I look forward to getting together every Sunday, its a way for us all to stay connected, and I thoroughly enjoy the company.

Although Alli and I have not always had the most "my sister is my best friend" type of a relationship, I believe through the past few years we have become much closer, and I can think we can attribute this to the boys! Somehow Justin and Doug, make us appreciate each other more! ha! and to that i'm very thankful to as well. The boys have come into our family and have pretty much made our family of 4 now 6 and I LOVE it!!


[2.] My phone

I hate that this is my 2nd most favorite item, but honestly it is my lifeline! I have an iPhone - and I would be lost without it. I obviously use it for a phone, text, and email, but it seriously keeps me connected with the world. Between a game of Words With Friends, Twitter, Angry Birds, Sky Burger, updates on the latest sports scores, keeping track of my runs, an ipod... seriously - what is not to love about her??? And yes, it is a her, and her name is Bella, which is short of Isabella the iPhone. [I'm still a little jealous of a co-worker who came up with the name Fiona, as in Fiona Apple, for her phone! 10 pts for creativity goes to MaryBeth!]

[3.] My T-Shirt Quilt

My great grandma and grandma make amazing quilts. I had always wanted to make a quilt with them but never really needed one. However, when i graduated college, rather than making a t-shirt blanket with all of my sorority shirts, I thought I would make a quilt, and ask my great grandma to help me. I thoroughly enjoyed going over every Tuesday evening one summer and quilting with her. Every time I look at the quilt it brings back both college memories and the time we spent together during the summer making this masterpiece.

[4.] Hint of Lime Tositos and Sour Patch Watermelons
It is a good trip to the grocery store if I can get out of there without treating myself to 1 of these two items. I honestly eat very healthy, however these 2 items are seriously my weakness! its horrible!

via

via
[5.] The Ohio State Buckeyes

I think its more of a religion than a team here in Columbus, Ohio, to love the buckeyes. I'm a little anxious about this season, however, I'm still looking forward to fall, and the anticipation of another great season from our beloved buckeyes!

[6.] Restaurant Ranch Dressing

I don't know what it is about restaurant ranch dressing, but its SO much better than anything you can buy at the grocery store. My friend Jaci and I will debate where we go to dinner at times based off of the salad dressings. Its a toss up between Red Robin and Texas Roadhouse for the best ranch dressing. Do you have a favorite?!?

[7.] Snowboarding

I love snowboarding, it is something that we can do as a family and its something I hope to do one day with my family as well.

Dropping into the half pipe at Buttermilk in Aspen last year
[this is the one used for the XGames]
[and no, i'm not that good, I just went down the middle of it and screamed like a little girl with excitement!]

[8.] Diet Coke

I would be lost without diet coke. But I'll lay it all out there for you, a fountain diet coke, in a Styrofoam cup with chipped ice, is my ABSOLUTE favorite! its honestly heaven in a cup to me! It is a special treat when I drive by a Sonic and pick myself up a Route 44 Diet Coke with EZ ice.

[9.] Christmas

There is just something about Christmas that just makes me absolutely giddy 24/7. I love the season. People are filled with cheer, there is music on specifically for this holiday, houses are decorated to look more like homes, families gather together, and you get to give lots of presents. I just LOVE it! I wish it could be Christmas ALL year round!

[10.] Baby Names

I love thinking up baby names. I love unique names, however I don't want them to be so far out in left field that my child will be looked at funny when his name is called on the first day of school, however I want them to be a one of a kind in their classroom! My list is constantly changing, but I have names right now that I'm pretty much OVER the moon excited about!

[11.] Vacations

After getting back from our cruise, I think Justin and I both realized that we may need to plan more vacations. it was SO nice to just be the two of us, and not have a care in the world, just relaxing. I'm ready to go back!? Who's coming with us!
[12.] Running

Although I mainly dread going to the gym, or hitting the pavement, and I really hate going for a run when I'm out there, the sense of accomplishment once I finish a long run/race is totally worth it all. We are signed up for the 1/2 marathon on Saturday and I'm so ready to start the race and more importantly ready to finish it. I just want to beat my time from last year!
[13.] Blogging Friends

I LOVE my blogging friends. Its amazing how supportive everyone is to one another. I think its amazing that here we are, all over the US, and we have gotten to know one another through our daily chronicles that we share via an electronic diary. I think there is a sense of community that we get as a blogger, that others don't understand unless they are into blogging as well. I appreciate the friendships that I have made/built over the last year and a half more than I ever thought I would. I originally started blogging just to link up to Kelly's Korner SUYL series, and it has become so much more! and for that I am forever thankful!


So now that you know a few things that I love, I want to hear what you LOVE!

Jess First Comes Love
Anna A Pair of Kings
Caroline Simply Smithwick
Shannon Life After I "Dew"
Brittany Sweet and Sassy and Oh So Classy
Sonja For the Love of Stilettos
Emily The Simple Frills
Stephanie The Professors Wife
Jenny Life, Love and Marathons
Holly Running in Stilettos

Happy Thursday Blog Friends!!!