Overdue

Oh, how the time does fly.

The only reason I have time to write today is because I'm coughing up a storm with a massive head cold. I'm actually feeling a little productive other than the cold. I wish I had a voice and that my nose wasn't constantly dripping but at least I'm not behind on school work. Plus, Noah gets to take care of me with slushies and soup.

I can't believe that I have not made a blog post since the beginning of July. It's daunting to me that so much time has gone by and I barely noticed. 

Ok, I did notice but I was too busy with so many other things happening at once.

So let me try to start from the beginning.

I honestly don't remember much of July and what I do remember is posted here already.

August came with a wave of new responsibilities. 

I was accepted at New York University for their Masters of Science in Translation program and started classes the first week of September.

I received a promotion at work and can now say that I am officially the night manager of the store.

I even got some good time with my grandparents and Aunt Deb and cousin Abbi when we went to Sauder Village. We had a great time.

September had me fighting an upstream battle against the new responsibilities, my class work, and my boss "forgetting" to put my raise into effect. My cousin Andrew got married to a beautiful lady and their wedding brought together the family so it was great to not only welcome Megan into the family but also spend time with family that I don't get to see very often.

October flew by too. I just realized that I worked straight through it and didn't even think about it. I even worked the night of Halloween and didn't get to hand out candy. I was actually kind of hoping that I would get to because of all the kids dressed up in their adorable costumes.

Sigh, I guess that there is always next year.

Now it's November and I've been in Lima for almost a year. I feel like I have become part of the community in a way also because of the regular customers and also my coworkers. The regulars seem to really respect me and I feel great knowing them by name and knowing what they like and making suggestions that they then love. I even had a man give me a ten dollar bill because I found a fifty dollar bill that he had dropped and saved it for him when he came back. It felt like an awesome Karma day.

I'm really excited for Thanksgiving and being with my family. I even get to see Cassi (hopefully). I'm having the bakers where I work make bread for Thanksgiving dinner. They did a test run of it for me and it was sooooooo good. I'm excited for everyone to try it.

Then, Christmas?

Holy Cow.

I can barely even think that far ahead, especially with sick brain. So unfortunately I think I'm going to be done here and see if I can get something else done today.

"Cuz there ain't no rest for the wicked, money don't grow on trees, I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed, ain't nothing in this world for free."

As always,

Blessed be.

!!!POST # 150!!!

Ladies and gentlemen of the internet, today marks a very special occasion.

Today we mark our 150th post!

And to celebrate...

...hmmm....

...I didn't think that far ahead....

...darn...

...Ummm... okay, I guess I'll have to get back to you on that one....

Don't put away your confetti and streamers yet, I'll figure this out.

In the meantime, let me tell you about my fourth of July weekend, because I know that Heather Loyola is dying to hear the whole story...

Wish I had a cookie...

So ummm... yeah... I worked all week and I really didn't think that I wanted to go home and fight the traffic to get there, etc. etc. so that is what I told my mom when she sent me an email to find out what my plans were for the weekend. I honestly had thought that I would just veg out with television marathons while Noah was at work and get some well deserved R & R.

I didn't tell her that after her second email, which explained how much she missed me, that I had decided to brave the traffic and arrive on their doorstep Friday afternoon.

I should have made a video of the expressions on their faces when I got there.

Priceless.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I got in touch with Sara and we made up some plans to meet in Lansing for breakfast. I arrived in Lansing about 10:30 in the morning and we met at a Cracker Barrel. I even got to meet her new boyfriend!! He seems like a good guy and he has my approval.

I saw some pretty interesting things on my way north by the way and I'm not just talking about the police officers or the lines on the road.

I made a Facebook post so that I wouldn't forget them all...

"Let's see, Bowling Green, car with mattress on top, that massive store with the bears, more mc donalds trucks than I care to count, Sean Cline with a beard, and now my friend Sara Lynn Wilkins! Less than two hours to go! — at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store."

So yeah, I drove past Bowling Green and it was weird not stopping there. I felt like I was coming back after being away for the weekend or the summer and that classes would start soon. I felt like a piece of me was left there and I also had a mini panic because I didn't have my books.

How could I possibly go to class without my books?

Closer to Toledo, I passed a very small car with a mattress on top and I thought that if the wind hit it just right the whole car would just flop over backward. They were probably having a rough time just steering in the first place but I got a kick out of watching them as I drove by. Poor people.

When I said "that massive store with the bears," I meant Cabela's and you can check out their website if you want. I will not provide a link because of their mountain of death that they call trophies...

I think that McDonald's decided to put a bunch of empty semi trucks on the roads just for the advertising. I mean it would be a waste of fuel but also it would be a cheap means of advertising. Then again, maybe it wouldn't be as cheap as I think it would be. There had to be like 1 truck for every 5 cars or something close to that. It made my stomach a little upset just seeing all of them....

Just before I went to exit to meet Sara, a man took a very long time to pass me, which caused me to look over at him. I had to do a double take because I swore that it was Uncle Sean, but he had a beard like Uncle Thom. I didn't stop laughing until I got to the restaurant.

So after breakfast, I hugged Sara and continued my drive North, singing at the top of my lungs....

I pulled into my parents' driveway around 1 in the afternoon, honking my horn and watching for someone to come out of the front door...

As I said before, their expressions were priceless...

We went to Mt. Pleasant for fireworks that night, hauling their new camper so that we could pre-show tailgate with pizza and our own toilet. Hooray for not needing to use the port-o-potty!!!

The fireworks were pretty good... I mean I liked them. Poor Jenny dog was shivering and panting in terror on my lap, but she didn't ruin the show for me.I guess that I was a little disappointed in the array of fireworks used for the show. There wasn't a great variety and I expected more of the fourth largest fireworks show in the state...

We didn't leave until well after midnight, all of us huddled around a citronella candle to keep the mosquitoes away, the boys telling nasty jokes...

There were burgers on the grill Saturday evening. Both Zac and Zeke had to work at the little ice cream shop that hired them both for some reason... just kidding, I'm glad they have jobs.

Then we built a campfire and toasted marshmallows and ate chocolate.... because we had cinnamon gram-crackers so I wasn't going to make a cinnamon smore... that would be like treason against smores or something...

I got up Sunday morning and packed up my car and said my good byes... I even had to wake up Zac who didn't even get out of bed to give me a hug or anything.

Two hours later, I arrived in Coldwater, Michigan to visit with my grandparents and extended family members that I haven't seen in a long while. I had lunch with them and visited for a little while before hitting the road again, back to Lima.

That in a nutshell, was my weekend...

It was way too short and I felt strange being back in Farwell. It was comforting to be back in my apartment when I got back. Something about being in my own space again... but it's just weird and hard to explain....

So I won't even try. Instead, I'll give you a video of a puppy who is afraid of a spoon.

ISN'T THIS ADORABLE?!

Now for the celebration part....

I've decided to post some pictures from all the things that have happened in 150 posts and the 5 years worth of blogging that I've done, in no particular order.

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It's hard to believe that so much has happened in five years. I count myself blessed for the adventures I've had and the friends that I have made. I hope that the next five years bring more adventures and more friends.

Thank you all for reading my ramblings and sticking with me for five whole years.

I love you all!

Blessed Be.