...new obsession...

I can't write much. My project is due friday and it's been my life for the past 2 weeks...BUT i have to show you this. When I need a break from school, this is where I go and so do 7,000 other people, according to the viewer count...

PUPPIES

I want one!!!!!!!

...wild cats....

Okay. I knew that living out in the boonies meant we would always have weird random wildlife...like the coyote pack that has taken it upon themselves to make our yard their home...seriously, did I tell you about this?! My mom and I like to take walks around the property(it's 10 acres, don't worry, we're not roaming around in circles) and we find coyote "waste" ALL over. I found some right by the garage one day. Honestly, they're gonna get that close to the house?! We can also hear them howling just about every night. We've seen them roaming the property during the day. It's scary. Well, if it wasn't enough to be freaked out by coyotes, I now have to be scared of cougars. Yes, cougars. A family friend works at a restaurant bar about 2 miles from our house. He went to take the trash out one day and there it was digging through the trash. He said it was taller than him!!!!! I'm guessing that's over 6 feet. The cops didn't believe him when he called...but someone else found a mauled deer way up in a tree and no other animal could do that. Needless to say, when I come home and it's dark out..I'm running to the door so I don't get attacked by the wild cat....

...love...

I love being around little kids because there's always so much love! Today, the littlest...you know the 4 year old that "rules the roost" according to her 10 year old sister was sitting on my lap and said "I think I'm going to keep you." Could my heart melt any more?!?! All in all, the day went well and all the warnings that I received were not true. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

...done...

I've been MIA the past 2 weeks.

This is why.........









Yep, that's my model!! And it's DONE!!!! The best part? It's not due until Wednesday...This is the first time I've had more than 48 hours to spare before something was due. I'm loving life right now!!!

So, that's my building..it's a firehouse, built in 1910. I didn't have any scaled plans...just a couple of pictures and an old set of unscaled drawings. I had to load them into CAD, the drafting program, and draft away!! Luckily, CAD and I are good friends and I was able to produce the plans..there was a lot of guesstimating though. I had taken a lot of pictures on my field visit, so I could count bricks, rafters, etc.. Anyways, plans turned into a model and there it is..a TON of cardboard, glue, and pins later.....

I also got my headboard put up....buuuut I don't feel like making my bed OR taking pictures so you'll just have to wait.

I'm babysitting for the next 3 days, staying at the house with the girls..4, 7, and 10...getting them up for school, packing lunches, making sure they get on the bus....I will have stories. The 4 year old is the boss of the house. I nannied for them for 2 summers and absolutely love the family...but the little one was much younger and was a pretty big sweetheart. I guess it's not the case anymore. The oldest did say that she loves when I come to babysit for them because the little one doesn't rule the roost. We'll see if that's still the case!!!

...a new me...

Yes, it's 2 am and this girl cannot sleep. Might as well blog..

L, this post is all for you, since you need to see my hair :)

I got it done this week. My friend B was going to get hers done and wanted me to go with, so I decided I might as well do mine as well. And it was getting pretty gross..the box color(I know..shame on me. But, in my defense, I was living in MD at the time and didn't want to spend $150) wasn't looking so good. We went to a chain, which I'm usually skeptical about...I've always had better luck with privately owned. I proved to myself that it was just coincidence. My stylist was amazing! She gave me exactly what I wanted..and I didn't even know what that was when I walked in there. I told her I wasn't sure if I wanted to go lighter or darker..so she suggested we do both. She put lowlights and highlights in. The lowlights were a pretty dark brown, with lots of warm tones in them. She made it a little funky, but kept it to a minimum so I didn't look like a skunk. I didn't know what I wanted for the cut either, so she made some suggestions and off it came!! She did the angle cut(don't worry, it's not very drastic) with the pieces in front long and then the back is a little shorter, with lots of choppy layers. It's so easy to style now. I love it. Anyways, here's some pics..you can't see the cut too well, but the color definitely shows up :)






We're at the new bar downtown. Half off martinis on Fridays! They have a GREAT selection too. I think it'll be my new favorite :)

...i am in love...

I've discovered a new cereal. Special K now has a "Chocolatey Delight." A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. It's basically the regular Special K with little chocolate bars floating around. I know..chocolate for breakfast?! No, it's great. Don't knock it, until you try it. I had a bowl for breakfast and a bowl for lunch. I cannot get enough of it. And the great part is that it has the same amount of calories as the original. How amazing is that?!

...is your mama a llama...

Today it was off to the fair with the rents(the only way to do it..since they pay). It's been a tradition for years. We stuff our faces full of fair food and wander around the animal barns. You know you live in the country when...
Mom and I always get dragged over to the tractor section, where we have to "take a peak" at the inventory. This year they had a guy carving wooden statues with a chainsaw. Interesting.

The fair always brings back a lot of memories. There weren't any rides involved this time...usually when I go with G that's a must(and yes L, I actually ride them). She used to make me go into the fun house....but that ended in high school after I broke my foot going through the stinking thing. Who breaks their foot at the fair? Ding, ding, ding..you are correct. This girl!!! I was with three other girls, so of course the fun house sounded like a GREAT idea!! I was second to last to go down the slide at the end and one of the girls was right behind me. Naturally, I hurried to get out of her way so I wouldn't get knocked out. I got knocked out anyways, because my foot got caught on the stupid rubber mat they had on the ground..foot went one way. body went the other. pop. the sound was so clearly audible. Of course, the girls didn't think it was broken and I can still hear G saying "Just get up and walk it off." Walking it off didn't help...I started going into shock and was about to pass out. They finally figured it was a bigger deal than they thought. I found a bench and someone found first-aid. The woman was a whacko. Apparently, she had found some new miracle-cure-all magnetic apparatus. It had about 6 metal balls that rolled and created a magnetic "force" when smacked. So, here I was, sitting in the middle of the fair, a goose egg on my foot, in pain, and crazy lady whacking her magnetic balls over my foot...hitting the broken bone every once in a while. She was very helpful. Of course, I had to wait for, what seemed like a lifetime, for the girls to go grab the car and bring it around to the nearest gate. They were very nice in accommodating me though. They took me on a golf cart to my car and helped me get in and out. What a crazy experience. Needless to say, every time I'm at the fair, I can still remember that joyful time.

Anyways, fast forward back to today. This year, there was a larger than normal petting zoo...complete with kangaroos, llamas, buffalo, longhorn(or some type of cow-ish animal with horns), and a camel. Of course, they had goats and sheep too..which I fed along with the llama and the longhorn/cow. They also had a traveling "zoo." It had monkeys, a sloth(which is my absolute favorite animal), panthers, an armadillo, and some big eared fox. It was a little weird to see that mix of animals in a trailer...a little sad too. We were saying that it's odd that in this day and age, they can get away with something like that since the animals just sit in their cages all day and don't get to move...especially the panthers.

I walked around in flip-flops..because aren't they the best option for walking around dirty animal barns, stepping in dung, sawdust, and hay?! My feet are filthy and tired....but not broken this year!!!

...slacker blogger...

Yes, yes I know. I am slow at updating this thing. I was reminded by L today..she even came up with my title. I think I have about two readers, so it doesn't really matter, does it?!

The biggest news of the week is my DIY project I've been working on.

I have been wanting a headboard for about 2 years now. I've looked high and low for this thing..but they're either too expensive or just not what I'm looking for. I'm pretty picky when it comes to putting something into my living space...can you tell I'm a designer? Anyways, I decided the cheapest and best option would be to make my own. Then, I was at IKEA a few weekends ago and found amazingly beautiful fabric..well, it's really the unfinished curtain panels they sell..but it's perfect. It's exactly what I pictured in my mind and I knew I wouldn't find it anywhere else.

It was VERY easy to make, anyone could do it. It was also only about $20, since I used cheap materials and stuff we had around the house. I wanted to keep it light, so it would be easy to move and hang. So, I decided to use foam core board...you know, the thick presentation boards. I also knew they would be the perfect height and width(with two glued together). So, that's just what I did...overlapped them, glued, and let it dry. Don't mind the alcohol bottles..they're heavy and I use them for all of my gluing projects.



Next, I used an old fleece blanket as batting. I folded it three times to fit the boards and to get the desired thickness, with overlap on the back so I could staple it. I used a staple gun...which, by the way, is the best tool ever invented. I've always loved it and this project proved how excellent that thing really is! I did however, have to make sure I had the right staple sizes to go through the blanket and into the foam core, but not come through the front, since the foam core is really thin...9/16" worked for me.


After the blue blanket, I had to cover it with white fabric, since the fabric I picked is a little sheer. I could have skipped this step if I had chosen a white batting, but since I was being resourceful and went with the blue blanket, I added a step. We had stock in the white, so it was one more thing we could get out of our huge fabric pile.


Finally, the last layer went on and I was done!


Now, it's on to installing the thing. I'm still trying to figure out how I want to attach it to the wall. I have a couple of ideas, but still haven't made a decision. Don't worry, I'll post pictures as soon as I get it up!

...strike...

So, the professors at my school may go on strike. Tuition just went up and nobody knows where all of the money is going. Our studio prof so kindly informed us today that if it does happen, she won't be around. Remember, this is the class that has a humongous project?! Not to mention, we meet with her almost every class for one-on-one time. Sucks. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I'll keep you informed!!

...time for a change...

I decided it was time to change the background. L sent me a great link with lots of backgrounds. I said I would never get into that...but here I am, trying to figure out what looks best. Oh well, hope you enjoy the change.

Check it out..

...birthday parties and old friends...

The first week of school is officially over. And the first weekend? Gone. I now have 14 weeks of school left.

The art hop was Friday and as it fits right along with my project, I decided to head on out there with one of the girls from school. It was nice..nothing like I expected, but nice none the less. We saw three of the galleries downtown and then went to the trade center, where they have several artist's studios. I always forget how nice downtown is..there's so many little shops and restaurants that everyone forgets about...and of course the art galleries are always forgotten. It's surprising they can all stay open, but I guess each one has their own little specialty catering to their own market. So, I realize my project will be perfect for the area. Glad my "research" was so helpful.

After the art hop, it was on to a birthday party...which was the most sophisticated and well done thing I've been to in a long time..maybe ever. The backyard to this house was beautiful...there was absolutely no grass, it was all mulch and stone paths, with little garden islands all over. They put up white lights, chinese luminaries, and tea light candles everywhere...it could have been the site for a wedding reception. Take note, I want that for my next birthday...but I guess I need a small downtown backyard with a lot of character and charm first....

With the start of school, brings the start of homework. Saturday was filled with the thought of getting it all done...it didn't happen. Aren't the gossip sites, facebook, and a movie more important? Guess not, but I'm still ahead of the game. This not having a job thing gives me plenty of time to work on stuff during the week. Don't worry, I won't get used to it for long...my wallet will be telling me not to. After a lazy day, it was off to my favorite bar/restaurant to meet up with old friends in town for the weekend. Nothing eventful here, just good to see everyone.

Today brings homework, cleaning my room, and possibly a trip out to see and say goodbye to the friends....and of course preparing myself for another week...

Week 2, here I come!!

...it has begun...

The past two weeks have flown by and no posts have been made. Let's catch you up....

I was in my cousins wedding the weekend before labor day. It was a wonderful ceremony and reception...it's always great when the family can get together for events other than holidays. Wedding receptions with the fam are my favorite, since everyone likes to break out their best dance moves(many may be a result of the high doses of adult beverages consumed) and it makes for a GREAT show!

After returning from the wedding, middle brother came to town. It's no surprise that I love any time spent with family, so of course it was a great time. There seems to be some little adventure our family always partakes in when we're all together..it's not just sitting around watching tv all day...which must be why I love it so much. Although, there was no big adventure or hilarious story this time, it was still fun. A trip in the little convertible is always a must, so it was down to the craft to visit one of the local shops for coffee, a visit to the friend's farm to see the hens and goats again(i know, i know...what rednecks we are but they're hilarious to watch), and then it was on to the burg for some drive-in lunch. There's just something fun about doing that kind of stuff with family...

Brother left Friday and it was on to the next family member! Auntie, D, and I headed to detroit to pick up L. It's always a fab time when the four of us are together, as we can never stop laughing.

I had my first large gardening experience on Saturday(watching Mom pull weeds or helping L plant wildflowers doesn't really count, since I barely got my hands dirty). L went off to visit some friends and I stayed to help Auntie and D with the rock garden. It was intense!! We had to pull the weeds out and then dig a trench to put in the edging. It took us quite a few tries and lots of laughs to get it right, but we finally figured it out. Of course, at this point, it was the middle of the day, the flies were starting to bite, and it was scorchingly hot and sticky. We gave up after putting in two lengths of edging and headed to the pool! The night was finished with a visit from my parents, a bonfire, and of course a ride on the gulf cart with the gals...mom included of course. It's really a bowl of laughter when the five of us are together, as the mom adds all of her hilarity to the mix!

Sunday included shopping, a pool visit, pretzel making, and another ride on the golf cart. It was a little more interesting with just L and I. We went under the running irrigation system several times, as it was directly over the path we wanted to take...only to find out later, we could take the path behind it and not get one drop of water on us...you live, you learn though, right?! The irrigation systems don't always work to our advantage as they leave mud puddles all over the field. We somehow always think the golf cart is invincible and that it will make it through them all. We were wrong. I got us stuck in a mucky mess and volunteered L to push for us. I was nice and told her I'd put the cart in reverse and she could push from the front, so she wouldn't get too muddy. Didn't work. She had to move to the back end and use all her strength to get us out while I was rocking with the cart to help it along. We finally got it out, with the addition of many spatterings of mud all over the back of the cart and L. At least I could laugh about it....

Unfortunately, the weekend came to an end and it was back to school for this girl. I said goodbye to freedom and hello to a stressful 7 months of hell. I have two design classes and two business classes. I now remember why I got out of the business school too....the bore factor was very high! Not to mention, everyone and their mother takes business classes so I get to see 75% of the school twice a week! It should make for an interesting semester. I'll try to keep you as updated as possible when I have free time and/or when I don't forget I have a blog and need to update every now and then....

...domesticity...

It's been a while. This blog thing is starting to turn into a weekly wrap up. I can't imagine what it'll be like when I start school.

Not too much has happened in the last week..I've been working on my project for school a lot(more on this later) and cooking. I'm feeling pretty domestic lately. This week's great make was fresh salsa. Seriously, could it be any easier and amazingly good?


I diced tomatoes, green pepper, onion, and corn. Then threw in some garlic, lime juice, dill weed(of course...it's my favorite spice), and salt. So easy! It did however make a lot of salsa, but because of the lime juice it's lasted for quite some time.

...a mother's intuition...

Okay, so you always hear about mother's having great intuition on things with their children..you know about their safety, health, this, that, and the other thing. Well, my Mom has it down to a science. I think she got a lot of practice, having three kids. Today, she went grocery shopping and much later after she had been back for hours, of course I was annoying and said that I wanted stuffed french toast for my birthday breakfast. She(being the horrible liar that she is) asked why I wouldn't have told her earlier when she was shopping, but I could tell she was scheming. She bought all of the stuff for it! How is this woman that awesome?! I mean, I had not even mentioned having that for breakfast AND i didn't even know I wanted that until today. She also bought the stuff for my cake and picked up my favorite frosting..cream cheese of course. Again, never mentioned anything about that. I don't think I would have known what to pick if I went to the store. She just knows, I guess.

Dad, I know you're reading this. YOU too are amazing...but you don't have a mother's intuition. I'm glad you don't because it wouldn't be a good mix if both of you had it :)

Love you both!!

...dirty...

Mom and I went to the library today to research my building for the senior project. We had to go here and then there and then back here...it's such a mess! It's been hard to find anything on this place, but I think I'm finally getting somewhere! The librarians at the Kzoo Public Library weren't so helpful. The first guy could barely tell me anything and then finally he told me to go to the Local History room. The librarian there printed something off quickly, but then just pointed in the direction we needed to go. Not so helpful when there are tons of bookshelves and 8,000 books on each shelf with similar titles!! Finally, after Mom and I must have looked like lost puppies, she came over and found the book. Of course, it was right in front of our face and she found it in .3 seconds. Whoops. Anyways, I found a tiny little blurb about the building and wanted to make copies...found printer..added my 10 cents..hit start..nothing. I definitely broke the copier. I don't think I actually broke it, because it was a paper jam, buuuut it happened while I was using it. I called the librarian over to fix it, which annoyed her even more. She worked on it for a few minutes and then she had to call someone else over to figure it out. After 10 minutes of her trying to be a handyman she told me to just go over to the other room. Thanks, I could have been doing this 15 minutes ago and I just lost my 10 cents. So, I trot over to the other room, find a printer that works and make copies. I went back and forth several times after finding some articles and whatnot, and started to notice a strange man. The copier was in the "tech room" with all of the computers that anyone can have access too...remember, it's a public library and for researching purposes they don't have filters on the internet? They may want to think that one over again. Dirty twenty-something strange man was looking at pictures of girls in underwear. I saw him saving the pictures to another file, too. Really? In a public library? Right in front of the copiers and main path between about three different rooms? At least go to a computer with some privacy...maybe one at your house? He didn't find it odd that people were walking by, making copies 2 feet behind him, or sitting RIGHT next to him at the other computers. People are strange...

...country bumpkin...

You would think a girl that is not working or going to school could keep up with her blog, right? Well, sometimes I forget or just get lazy.

I guess I should fill you in. Brother came for the weekend...brother #2..the middle child. Anyways, he got into town friday. It's always a blast when either brother is home. We hang out, eat, drink, etc. Saturday he had a wedding, but Sunday we spent all day together. Highlight of the day was the trip over to a family friend's house. She has new guinea hens and pygmy goats. The hens were interesting...she got them to eat bugs out of her garden. These things are little scavengers! They can find ticks, crickets, beetles...you name it, they're eating it! They aren't the cutest things though..small heads, little bodies..but they are still growing, so we'll see if they get any cuter. I think we have to go over and help heard them into their new cage tomorrow. THAT will be an adventure for us. You know you live in the country when....

The pygmy goats were a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. We used to have goats at my house(I know, country bumpkins for sure), so they were bringing back memories for all of us. They're tiny little things. I mean, they could sit in your lap...if you wanted them to AND if they wanted to. I think I could have taken one home but parents wouldn't be too happy, since they would get to take care of it in a year when I move! Oh well..

Monday rolled around and we stopped at the coffee shop in scraft. We all got blended lattes...amazing!! But, we were sure we were taking in about 400 calories with one of those things. Guess we don't want to get into that habit!

Aunt and Uncle had everyone over for dinner Monday night, because Uncle from Chicago was in town for business. The field directly behind their house has potatoes this year and the owners said they could pick as many as they want. Brother and I definitely took them up on it. It was a lot of work...for brother. I stood there with a bag while he dug. No digging for this girl!! We could not believe how many huge potatoes we walked away with in that short amount of time...yes, it is a field..but we thought for sure it would take a long time to get that many. Anyways, we'll be eating potatoes for the next year...

After farm picking, we of course rode the golf cart. It's always fun going over there because I drag everyone on that thing. The field behind the house has a service road/trail following it's perimeter. We see 346 deer every time we're out there! Brother has gotten some amazing pictures from past trips. This time, the girl's went out. I was driving(of course) and following the usual trail. Halfway around the field, said trail vanished and we were stuck going through weeds. The cart is pretty low to the ground and the weeds were probably knee height...they were definitely getting stuck to the bottom. The ground was really soft from the irrigation, so at one point, we almost tipped. I think I scared everyone a little. Weeds went on for quite some time and I was desperately hoping to get out alive..of course, nobody had a cell phone. We finally found the old trail, looked back, only to see a new trail that we could have been following the entire time. Whoops! Oh well, it was an adventure!

...adventures with that crazy mom of mine...

The Mom and I had a GREAT week touring around the east coast.

Remember all of the stuff we did? I have pictures!!!



This is the first house we toured. The Hampton house...the original owner was a big influence on the Baltimore area(don't really remember what he did...there were so many family stories we heard that they all mix together). I do remember that the guy owned about 350 slaves at one point. It was also the biggest house in the U.S. when it was built in the 1700's. Crazy. It was one of our favorites from the week!!




I don't want to bore you with all of the houses..so I'm putting up our favorites. This is the last house in Baltimore we toured...the Evergreen House. This house is a little newer(meaning it was built in the 1800's). These people were filthy rich. The house was complete with an art gallery, about 3 libraries(one of which had a glass floor), a theater(not for movies, but for plays), and a bowling alley. Oh and don't forget all of the art they had from Picasso, Degas, and Tiffany(as in Louis Comfort Tiffany, the glass artist). I absolutely loved that place!

On our way back to MI we stopped in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. It's a little war town that sits on the Potomac River...it reminded me of Mackinac Island with the little shops and people dressed in costume. Mom suggested we head on up to the next town by following a small road that runs parallel to the river. Well, we thought we had found the road, but it turned into a gravel mess, so we went back to a shop and asked if it would take us there. The man said it would, but that it was horribly bumpy. Mom said that we should take it anyways, as she was sure it was the same one her and Dad had taken a few years back, in their little convertible. I knew if Dad had taken his pride and joy down that little road, we could do it in my car. I drive a little four door miniature car as well...off roading is not on it's list of things it likes to do. So did it get better? NOPE! The road was made up of the big stones that line the railroad beds. There were potholes about every foot. I mean we're talking BIG holes in the road...some the size of the road. It was rainy that day too, so they were all filled with about 2 inches of water. At one point, there was a small drainage pipe draining onto the road. We had to drive over part of the pipe that was helping the water over..of course, with running water moving through it. So, it couldn't get any worse right?! Wrong! The potholes kept getting bigger. The water in them was reflecting everything so you couldn't even really see how deep they were, which is really amazing when you have to drive over that. There was one point when we had to drive over a "pothole," which should officially be put on the map as a crater, Mom said "don't get too close to the edge or you'll scrape the car with that huge boulder over there." My choices were: drive through crater and fall into the center of the earth, drive to the left and hit boulder, or drive to the right..fall into river..start white water rafting/automobiling. I chose the boulder. We thought we were just about through the jungle o' potholes, craters, and boulders when we came to yet again another drainage outlet. This time it was about 30 times the size of the first one...so big that the water coming out of it was creating a very large stream. Literally, we could have opened our doors and waded in the water...maybe even fished. It did make for some amazing pictures though....



Here's the very beginning of the road. Pretty, right?




Not so pretty when the potholes became more frequent and much larger...remember..some of them were the size of the road.




The drainage outlet and the stream.




Makes for a cool pic though, right? And remember, I didn't even have to get out of my car for this pic!!




Same, just trying it in sepia! ...After crossing the river and hopping a few more craters, we finally came to the end. Although, the spot looked very familiar. Mom pointed out a nasty camping trailer and then soon enough there was another one! There were a few people standing around and a bunch of junk piled up. L, can you guess the spot? Yep, it was definitely the inlet to our tubing extravaganza!! Funny that I had come full circle in about 10 days! I showed Mom the dam we had to cross, so at least one person didn't think I was crazy. I wanted to get pics but the hippies didn't look like they would be too happy if I stopped..looked like they were waiting for a bus to come around the corner!


After Harper's Ferry we drove on to Kentuck Knob...the Frank Lloyd Wright house close to Fallingwater(the cuz and I did that one last summer). The house was amazing!! I actually liked it more than Fallingwater. Don't get me wrong, the site for Fallingwater is amazing and I would take that house in a heartbeat...but this house was pretty damn amazing itself. It wasn't overly done or huge by any means...just a reasonably sized house, sitting on a mountain, in the woods. Frank is all about fitting the house to the site..so the details are what won me over. The picture windows, sky lights in the kitchen, field stone floors, etc. I won't bore you with more, but if you're ever out that way..you've got to see it. It's completely worth every second! Here are some pics...



Frank started adding this signed tile to all of his buildings...didn't come until later in his life, which is why we didn't see it at Fallingwater, L.




The house and waterfall.




The terrace.




The view. The current owners live in that huge farm house in the valley. They still entertain at The Knob on weekends..sucks to be their friends, huh?




Thought I'd add this one in...we had lots of fun being silly! It was rainy, hence the hood...


So, that was my big adventure with the Mom. We saw a ton and had lots of Maryland crab cakes(which we thoroughly miss)!

...goodbye...

The internship came to an end last week. They had 2 going away lunches for me. On Friday, I was introduced to my new favorite food...crab cakes!!! They are pretty amazing! Anyways, I had to say goodbye to everyone..which was sad, but I'm ready to get back home and finish my last year. I walked away with a better knowledge of things(of course), but most importantly, a mentor for my senior project!! We have to have several, and I didn't know if I would be able to rely on anyone there when I first got the job...but, i'll be able to definitely rely on her...she's amazing and I know she'll help a lot! She and I are both very excited! Sooo, my day came to and end, which was sad and exciting at the same time....mostly exciting though because I had to run to the airport to pick up the mom right after! The minutes of the day seemed to go by so slowly, but 5:20 finally rolled around and there she came walking around the corner. I was so happy to see her I bawled...it's very out of the ordinary for me to cry(sometimes I think my tear ducts are dried up)...so there I was in the middle of the airport wailing away! My mom said that I must have been pretty happy to see her....she was right about that one!!

Dad couldn't come due to health reasons(he's fine...just needing to recover)...so Mom and I have been enjoying some girl time. We really like touring old houses...I know, I know..nerds right?! Mom has no excuse except for being a big history buff...But, I'd eventually like to get into historical restoration and preservation....so I love to see projects already done. We've done 7 houses in 4 days...soon to be 8 in 5 days. We're leaving here tomorrow to go see Kentuck Knob, a Frank Lloyd Wright house, and then stay in a Bed & Breakfast near Washington, PA. Thursday, it will be on to Ohio to see one of the bros.

It's time to finish the laundry and packing of the car. Every thing's almost in there! It's packed a little nicer than the first time, as Mom helped this time. I'll actually be able to see out the back window! More to come in a few days when I'm back in MI(sorry Aunt Sue, you'll have to wait a little bit until I get home!).

...time flies when you're having fun...

I can't believe I have two days left! These 9 weeks have flown by! The saying is true..time does fly when you're having fun. I can't really imagine not seeing L everyday, hanging out, making dinner together, playing wii for hours on end... It'll be tough the first couple of weeks...Good news is that we get to see each other two weekends in a row at the end of August!! Then school starts..not looking forward to that..

I am looking forward to Friday though..the Mom is coming to visit for the week and then she's driving back with me. She just called a little bit ago. I think she may be more excited than I am. Sounds like she's packed, ready, and waiting by the door to leave!

Should be a good weekend! I'm sure stories and pictures will soon follow!

...the weekend...

I suppose I should fill you in. G came to visit. She arrived on Thursday night...I was pretty happy to see someone from home! It was definitely a weekend of firsts..

That night L had class, so P, G, and I went to Rocky Run and met up with some neighbors. I finally had the crab pretzel I had been told was a must while I was here. They said it wasn't a good one..but I didn't think it was too bad(as good as crab pretzels can get). After dinner, G and I hopped over to Ellicott City for some drinks. We went to a couple of bars...one was having cha cha lessons and the other was a karaoke bar. You can imagine how many times we got up to perform for everyone(although, G kept threatening she would). Needless to say, we had some good entertainment with all of the drunkards thinking they should win on the next round of America's Got Talent.

Friday we got up and headed to D.C. G had never been, so it was fun to introduce her to something new. If you don't know G, she's got quite a passion for life..if you put anything new and exciting in front of her face she goes nuts. We took the hop on, hop off bus tour...let me tell you, that's the way to do that city! We saw a lot of the city without even having to get off the bus. We did get off at the White House, the National Cathedral, and the Lincoln Memorial. The cathedral was beautiful! I think G was getting annoyed because I kept telling her I had learned about all of the architecture in school. It was nice to see my education put to work! Here are some of my favorite pics of the cathedral...






Saturday L, G, and I decided to go on a little adventure. We went whitewater tubing. Basically, we were white water rafting, except in tubes and without paddles. I have been wanting to take a lazy controllable stroll down the river all summer. That lazy stroll is still on my list of things to do. Whitewater tubing is far from relaxing....I was a nervous wreck! I was thrown in a pool when I was 3, so water and S do not mix! And of course, guess who capsized over a rapid? This girl! And then I couldn't get back on the tube...we were in a current, my shorts were falling off, and the life jacket kept me from doing anything. Finally, I was able to partially get up but not turn over b/c again the current, shorts, life jacket, and this time laughter and the fear of falling back off kept me from turning over. We made it over to the river bank and I was able to situate myself. At the time I was ready to leave and was not a very happy camper. Looking back, I just have to laugh at myself. I'm sure the other two were pretty entertained!!

Needless to say, it was a good weekend! It always is when G is around!!

...whoops...

Okay, it's been a long time. My loving aunt has reminded me that I have not posted anything in quite some time! Glad to know she's checking it!

This past week has been a little crazy..my friend G came to visit so computer time was few and far between. And now, my alarm is going off. Today? I'm going to the Washington D.C. Design Center(it's like the Merchandise Mart in Chicago..a bunch of designer show rooms). I'm sure I'll have stories for you, as the other intern and I are the only two going...should be interesting. I can't really believe our boss is letting us go by ourselves.

More to come later today!

...scarves...

L and I went shopping today. I don't like that the new trend is to wear a scarf during the summer. Isn't that a little odd? The store had placed them right next to the sandals too. Here's my outfit...sandals, shorts, a tee, and my new summer scarf to keep me warm!!!!

Guess I'm not that trendy....

...independence day...

This fourth will be a little different from all of the year's I spent in the craft. Normally, the fam(or in recent years, the friends) and I would get up early and go to craft's parade. As dumb as it sounds, it was fun..but mostly because it was tradition. L was reminding me of the pancake breakfast served downtown. I never went..mainly because I would have had to get up that much earlier and my parents knew that wasn't happening. The parade was actually pretty good for a little town...complete with horse riders, firetrucks, and tractors!! You can only see the tractors in Southwest Michigan. My boss was telling me about the parade in Severna Park..sounded a little different from what I'm used to..a little more "professional." She said each town makes their own float. I didn't want to ask if there were tractors. Thought she might look at me quizzically...

In recent years, after the parade the friends would go over to the T party...an all day event consisting of good food, friends, pool, and alcohol. After frying all day in the sun, we'd get cleaned up and head back in to the craft to watch the fireworks! Sad I won't be there to see them this year. They are amazing...they don't really compare to any other show I've seen. The town does pride themselves on having the best show...all of kzoo comes to see them. A few years back, the aunt and uncle owned a house that had front row seats. I bet you can guess that was yet another tradition. They'd have food and alcohol(yet I was far too young to enjoy). All of the family would go..this was way back when my bro's were still living at home...

So this fourth, L is making a pancake breakfast for us! I'm sure grilling is in the works..if we get the mouse guts cleaned out from the grill. We're hoping the rain holds off so we can see fireworks. We'll see...

...work...

Alright, the company...it's nice..it has it's quirks. Most of the projects are residential, but they like to throw in a few commercial spaces here and there. I can't believe how some of these people live. One project I'm working on is 10,000 square feet. The family owns a line of hotels..so you can imagine what's included in this place..prayer room, theater, elevator..the list goes on. The designers working on the project are by far my favorite. Their ideas are beyond anything I could ever do..but I'm learning a lot. They tell me what they want and I put the plans on the computer. We make a good team.

The other projects aren't so exciting, except for today. I went on an installation(basically we had to be there for the furniture delivery to make sure nothing gets screwed up). It was all I expected..with a few differences. First off, the house was immaculate. It's the type of house that has rooms only for the good company..the type of house where you don't want to sit on the furniture because you're afraid you'll screw up the cushions, or worse, the stain you didn't know you had on your pants will rub off and stain the sofa. Funny thing is, the couple has two young kids and they let them crawl over everything. I'd love to see that place in a year. Anyways, the master suite had a wet bar, complete with bar fridge and microwave....because aren't we all sitting in bed yearning for last night's leftovers at 2 in the morning?! I mean, come on, would it really be inconvenient to walk down the stairs to the kitchen that was literally right underneath their bedroom? Although, if I had the money and the option..I'd probably do the same thing. Needless to say, it was great to see something other than plans and drawings.

And now I have three days off. I'm waiting for L to get home so we can play Wii and start the weekend!!! More to come soon...

...hello to all...

I never thought I would do this, but, here I am blogging. The cuz, L, just created one and after commenting on just about all of her posts, I decided I might as well..and she'll be happy..one more for her to add to her "to read" list! I've never done this before though..some blogs may be boring, they may be my ramblings, they may be emotional, or they may be totally pointless...but they'll all be me. I'm not going to use perfect English and I won't always be grammatically correct(guess that would be under the perfect English category, wouldn't it?)...but you'll get a glimpse into what's running through my head.

...That said, welcome to my world. Summer of 2008. It's been a crazy one..lots of changes. I'm living in Maryland, interning at a design firm(completely loving it..but that will be another story for you). It all comes to an end in about three weeks. L and her hubs took me in for the few months I'm here and it's been fantastic on my end..I can't speak for them..for all I know, they have a countdown going!! I am loving this area, too! We'll see where life takes me in a year..who knows..maybe I'll be back....

More on my life later(20 minutes until the weekend starts)!!!!