Welcome to Reality

Knowing how out of hand my baby fever has become, my friend Sarah thought she would help give me a dose of reality. (Check out her blog!) I love it when friends know what we need better than we do! She invited me over to help baby-sit her 18-month-old nephew.

Sidenote: Sarah lives on a huge dairy farm, so it was fun to spend the evening there! I wish I had brought my camera, because it was so beautiful!

Anyway, I hung out with Sarah and her adorable little nephew for about four hours. She warned me beforehand how tiring it would be, but I guess I didn't get it until I really experienced it. I'm just not around toddlers, so I don't know how much energy they have, I guess!

Anyway, It was a busy few hours chasing Nicholas around, keeping him entertained, playing peek-a-boo, pushing him around in the wagon, and walking with him on top of the hay bales (which was surprisingly such a cool thing to do! I had never done it before as I have not spent much time around farms, but it was just fun. Except that I somehow very ungracefully fell as I was getting down from them. Luckily I don't think Sarah or Nick saw me!! haha).

Nick went from one thing to another very quickly, as all toddlers do. I had trouble keeping up. We had to constantly keep him entertained to keep him happy. It was physically tiring just holding him and chasing him around the yard. And it really was a big job! And Sarah's mom was there too, which made it a little easier. But wow, we were going, going, going, for four hours. And apparently Nick was in a better mood than normal, so it was actually a lot easier than normal.

I think it actually helped my baby fever a lot. Nick is sooo cute, but he really is a lot of work! Sometimes when I imagine myself with a baby, I don't see past the sweet little infant sleeping in my arms. I forget that they get bigger, and that it is NOT easy! So thanks so much, Sarah, for giving me a dose of reality last night! It made me a little more thankful for where I am in my life right now.

That being said, I still think the trade off will be totally worth it, and I don't think I'll ever wish to be back here once I do have that sleeping infant in my arms. Or even once I'm chasing around a rambunctious two-year-old! It's just something I want more than anything. But last night did make the waiting a whole lot easier. So thanks, Sarah!

Weekend Happenings

We had a pretty great weekend this past weekend. Here are 4 highlights:

1. Friday night Luke and I had a date night. We went out to dinner at Grinders because his parents had gotten us a gift card there for our anniversary. Then we went to the mall so Luke could buy some new shorts. In the whole Lebron debacle, Luke has been forced to burn and/or sell a lot of his wardrobe :-P When we were at a sports apparel store at the mall, they had these signs hanging around:

It says "Clearance LeGone apparel." Ha! We thought that was funny. And everything was around $4 or $5. I bet they are STILL having a terrible time selling it. I don't know anybody in the state of Ohio who would buy that! They better just ship that all down to Miami!

Anyway, on the way home from our date, the sky looked absolutely beautiful. It was full of pink, puffy clouds.
2. Saturday I spent most of the day at my parents' pool after a baby shower. It is always so relaxing. I think I've spent more time at the pool this year than in the past three years combined.

3. Saturday night at our church, we had a Princess Party for little girls 8 and under and their moms. There were crafts and snacks and each girl got to get her picture taken sitting on a little throne. And the main purpose of the evening was to show a new Veggie Tales movie geared toward little girls. (It will be released to the public on July 31, I believe!) I got to take pictures of the night, and it was so much fun! I think everyone had a great time, and I believe there were somewhere around 70 ladies there combined. I have to share a few pictures :-)

There were lots of sweet snacks there, most of them made by my my mother-in-law and sister-in-law...they did such a great job! I love the chocolate crowns in the cupcakes
More cute treats
We got all the little girls in their princess dresses to come on stage for a picture...so cute
And here is my cousin on stage...she pretty much headed it all up and put it all together

4. Yesterday, Sunday, was such a wonderful, relaxing day! After church I went over to my parents' for lunch. We sat around, ate, and talked for a long time. My aunt and grandma came over to spend the day with us, too. After lunch, some of us hung out in/around the pool for hours, eating melted M&Ms that had been sitting in the sun (Aunt Viv's favorite!) It was such a relaxing day, and I loved it! I think every Sunday should be spent like this, fellowshipping with friends and family.

I hope your weekend was blessed as well!

The Food Network

Lately I have been unable to pull myself away from The Food Network in my spare time. I go through phases where The Food Network is like my drug. Right now is one of those times.

I don't care what's on that channel. I could turn it on any hour of the day or night and be completely mesmerized by what I see. (Well, except for those few hours every night when they show infomercials, but you know what I mean!)

I don't know if I just like watching people make such beautiful dishes in such a short amount of time. It is rather amazing. Or maybe it's because I feel like if I watch it enough, I will inevitably become a better cook. I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?

Either way, I can't stop watching. This will probably last for a few days until I've gotten my fix.

Anyway, I have to sign off now. I have to get back to watching Rachael Ray make a meal in 30 minutes. (Although if I were on speed like she seems to be, I could probably do what she does in 30 minutes too :-P)

Thankful Thursday with a Dose of Honesty

I have never participated in Thankful Thursday before, but today I feel like I need to. I'm just going to be real here and say that I've really been struggling with envy A LOT lately. It seems like we go through different struggles based on where we are in our lives, and right now I seem to be in the season of envy. How ugly is that? I spend a lot of my time feeling resentful and wondering why God seems to be blessing everyone around me so abundantly and it feels like he is holding out on me. So I'm two years old then, right? :-P That's how I feel. As I wrote last week sometime, God is probably just working in me to teach me to trust Him. But it's hard to be in the midst of that sometimes.

So how do I combat this ever-encroaching envy? I dwell on things that are good. Hence my first ever thankful Thursday post. Here goes nothin':

1. I am thankful for long talks and text sessions with a somewhat new, but great friend. We are in different places in our lives, but feeling some of the same feelings, and it's nice to have someone who totally understands. You know who you are :-)

2. I am thankful for such a supportive family. And especially a mom who lately seems to be able to read my mind and has the perfect things to say at the perfect times.

3. I am thankful for my husband, and that we celebrated two years of marriage on Monday. I don't have enough great things to say about him.

4. I am thankful for Luke's family. As far as in-laws go, I pretty much hit the jackpot. It's been fun this week because he has family visiting from NC, so we've gotten to hang out with them a lot.

5. I am thankful for summer vacation. But also thankful that school starts in a month-and-a-half. I'm ready to be on a schedule again.

6. I'm thankful for a sunny day today so I can go weed my flower beds and lay out in the sun later.

7. I'm thankful that my little sister beat 6 other people out of the spot to an interior design internship which may turn into a job. (had to get that little brag in there! haha)

8. I'm thankful for fun plans this weekend, including photographing a princess party for little girls and their moms at our church. Seriously can't wait ;-)

9. I'm thankful for dinners made out on the grill, and delicious veggies to go with it.

10. I'm thankful for all of my blog friends. I love having friends scattered all around the US and beyond. Anyone who says you can't be friends with someone you haven't met face-to-face does not understand us ;-)

I feel more content already :-) Happy Thursday!

A Silly Dream

Lately I have had such a silly urge to travel. And not somewhere extravagant and out of the country. Although I certainly wouldn't mind going out of the country! No, instead I have been wanting to travel around the US, finding hidden gems in every city and town, and experiencing all the different subcultures and temperatures of each place.

If I could, I would love to buy a nice, big RV, pack up the bare necessities, and just hit the road. We could go wherever we feel like going, experiencing small towns, beautiful beaches, majestic landmarks, and big cities. It just sounds like so much fun to me!

I think there are so many places to see and things to do no matter where you go. In just the past couple months, we've experienced a lot of fun things just in Ohio and Western PA. We have gone to Cedar Point twice, and ridden some of the biggest, fastest rides in the world:

We traveled to Kelley's Island and saw a beautiful, breathtaking sunset.
We visited Cleveland for a fun baseball game with the city as the backdrop
And the other day we spent exactly 1 hour in Pittsburgh visiting IKEA. And bringing home these delicious Swedish Cookies that I showed yesterday

Traveling awakens all of your senses, and I never feel more alive than when I'm in a new or different place. And there are new things to experience right around the corner, very near home, wherever home might be for you. So I have decided I want to experience as many of them as I can!

There is a small chance that this urge to travel is a result of the fact that I can't keep my mind off of my problems right now. Getting out and trying new things is not just a good distraction, but it helps my problems seem so much smaller.

Hopefully I will be lining up a few more traveling adventures before the summer is over. I have one or two in the works right now.

Where is your favorite place to visit that is close to your home?

Anniversary Date

Luke and I celebrated our two-year wedding anniversary yesterday. We originally planned to celebrate on Sunday, but instead we ended up going to Cedar Point that day again since Luke has family visiting from out of state. A group of ten of us went, ant it ended up being sooo much fun, but sooo exhausting!

Anyway, back to our anniversary. Luke used his comp. time to take the day off on Monday. So we got to relax and sleep in. We got up late and headed out to see Toy Story 3 in 3D. Oh my goodness, it was such a great movie! We laughed so hard, and thought it was fun to see so many old toys we remember from childhood. And to be honest, I almost cried at the end! It was just great. I thought it was funny that when the first Toy Story came out, I think Luke and I were about the same age as Andy. And now we are 25/26 and Andy is 18. I told Luke I guess he aged much slower than we did. Ha!

After the movie, we headed to Chili's for lunch. I had a delicious Santa Fe chicken wrap, and we got free chips and salsa. I had not been to Chili's in a long time (years), and it seems like the menu has changed a lot. But it was still very good! It was our one and only meal of the day. I guess it really filled us up!

After Chili's was my favorite part of the day: a trip to Pittsburgh to visit IKEA! I love IKEA. I hadn't been there in a couple of years, so I felt like I was long overdue for a trip. Luke had never been there before, so I had fun bringing him for the first time :-) I don't think he enjoyed it quite as much as I did, but I think he still liked it! My favorite part was looking at the cute baby/kids stuff. I cannot wait until I have a nursery to decorate someday! Or rather, a reason to decorate a nursery someday. We also really enjoyed looking through the kitchens...I think that was Luke's favorite part. Which is funny, because he really doesn't spend very much time in that room. We found a few things we might keep in mind for later when we have a little more money saved up ;-)

In the end, we only ended up buying an egg slicer (I've wanted one for so long because of the insane amounts of egg salad I make. Egg salad sandwiches are my favorite thing to eat for lunch!) And these delicious Swedish cookies which cost way too much money. My mom always buys them every time we go, so I thought I'd keep the tradition going. Have you had them? I'm not even really sure what they are, but I LOOOVE them. They're very crispy and crunchy and chocolatey. Delicious!We would have probably spent a lot more time at IKEA, but Luke had to get back for softball games. So we hurried back, and Luke's team annihilated the other team in 5 innings both games. So it was a good evening!

Our anniversary was fun! I can't believe we've been married for two years already! But I can honestly say that it just keeps getting better and better, every single day. I feel so blessed that God brought Luke into my life six years ago, and even more blessed that I became his wife two year ago.

But the Best is Yet to Come

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Camera Talk

Yesterday I saw a commercial for the Olympus PEN camera. As much as I love taking pictures, I know absolutely nothing about cameras. I have a simple point and shoot camera, and for the most part, it serves me well. But I have been itching for a new, nicer camera.

About a month ago, I borrowed a Nikon D90 from a friend. It was my first experience with an SLR. I loved the pictures it took!

This one was taken with my p&s
And this one on the SLR

See? Huge difference! I know the lighting is different, but I think it still gives a good idea of the differences. Some people wonder why I want a nice camera, but when they see the difference in picture quality, they usually understand.

Now, I am not looking into becoming a pro photographer or anything like that. I don't have the knowledge or expertise for that. I just want to be able to take pictures of my children someday that look like the latter and not like the former picture. I mean, I hope my children don't look like animals, but you know what I mean ;-)

Anyway, the commercial about the Olympus PEN yesterday made me really interested. Apparently it is as simple as a p&s, but the quality of an slr. Simplicity is important to me, because like I said, I want to use it purely for my own personal use. I don't need anything too fancy. It also looks somewhat small to me, which is also something I want. It has to be easy to carry around, because I literally bring my camera everywhere with me. And the last thing I really like about it is that it is also a video camera. I've been wanting to buy a small video camera too before we have kids, and this way, I'd be killing two birds with one stone. Because I think the video camera is pretty good-quality on this thing. I'm not sure I buy that they shot the commercial with it, though...what do you think?

I don't know if this commercial is just sucking me in with it's pretty colors and scenery, or if this is really a good camera! Haha...I looked up the prices, and it is about in my price range. So it seems perfect.

I guess my question is, do any of you own this camera or know anything about it? If you were me, would you buy this? And do you know of any other dslr cameras that are more for amateurs and that aren't super fancy or huge?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice you can give me! Have a great Saturday! I will not be back until Tuesday, because we will be traveling all over the state this weekend :-D