September 1

This girl is turning 26 on the 18th. I'm not necessarily excited - I thought my life would be much different at this age than it is. I thought I'd be married planning on having a couple of kids the next couple of years. Am I upset that it has panned out to how I imagined? Honestly, it depends on the day of the week or the time of the day. I want that, yes, but I do have a loving boyfriend. It could definitely be worse. This is my year. I finally have a full time job - and they like me! Like I ever doubted that. Okay, I'll be more modest, I really was not sure. I just like to think I'm easy to get along with and a hard worker.

So, in honor of turning 26, I am going list 26 things that I want to do in my upcoming year of life!

1. Spend as much time as possible with my Oma.
2. Bring as many smiles to my mom's face as I can as she struggles with what's going on with her mom. Reminding myself daily that even though my heart breaks a little every day, she needs a light in her life right now.
3. Go to church more, I have a hard time with church. I loved it when I was in High School, but then drama, politics, and too much hypocrisy happened. I love The Lord, and I know He knows this... I do like the comfort of a church family - I just want to find one that doesn't come along with the drama that my last church did.
4. Pay off all of my credit cards.
5. Read MORE.
6. Watch every episode of my favorite show again - Gilmore Girls...
7. Get engaged... Be happy with where I am in life instead of comparing it to people who have what I thought I'd have.
8. Blog - Blog - Blog. I love reading blogs and I want to build the following I see on others... But I can't do that if I'm flaky.
9. Smile more.
10. Love more.
11. Socialize more.
12. Gossip less.
13. Do morel logic puzzles - may sound nerdy, but I love how much thought goes into them.
14. Commit myself to working out AT LEAST 3 days a week.
15. Compliment people more.
16. Learn to take compliments.
17. Be the person I'd want to be friends with.
18. Build my savings account, so I have emergency $.
19. Sing my heart out.
20. Learn how to really use my beautiful Canon T3i.
21. Eat clean.
22. Make blog friends.
23. Be less selfish.
24. Grow out my hair - I always cut it when I really want it to be longer!
25. Start a journal.
26. Be less shy - or well less socially awkward.

I know that's a long list.. old lady over here.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend. I plan to lounge around the house and work on some crafts. Everyone else here in GA is watching college football - sorry, it's not really for me.

WWTK Wednesday–Would you rather…

I’m linking up with Mamarazzi and Crazymama.

{one} WYR...have your own private jet or your own private island?
Have my own private jet. It can take me anywhere in the world – so I could go to remote islands without owning them.

{two} WYR...be very good looking or very smart?
Smart – looks can only get you so far. Not that I’d want to scare people away with my looks!

{three}WYR...have the ability to be invisible or the ability to fly?
The ability to be invisible.. I have my own private jet, hello… it can fly me. It has nothing to do with the fact that I’m scared of heights and if something isn’t around me – I panic!

{four} WYR...have the ability to read minds or control the weather?
Control the weather. I don’t want to know what people are thinking. I don’t want to hear people’s negative. That would be exhausting. If it were always positive, then maybe! Also, I’d be all for perfect weather, with occasional showers.

{five} WYR...be able to hear any conversation or take back anything you say?
Take back anything I say. Sometimes things come out that can really hurt people without even having the chance to think about how they’d react or how it sounds. So – I want to be able to do that. I don’t want to hear people’s conversations – there is too much gossip in this world, I’d never know what was true and what was not.. I’m better off not knowing!

WWTK Wednesday - Olympics edition :)

Happy Wednesday, ALL! How is everyone loving the Olympics?! Mamarazzi and Crazymama are asking all kinds of questions about the Olympics - let's see what I had to say!




(1) What was your favorite part of the Opening Ceremonies?

When the countries walk in. It's so interesting to see them all. Just the outfits alone make for some entertainment. Also, I always forget how many countries participate and I love when you see how proud the countries with only 2 or so competing are :)


(2) Which country are you rooting for? ( I realize we aren't all Americans)

I'm half German and half American, so I root for both. Depends on the sport. If Germany had actually made it with their soccer team, I would've rooted for them all the way. Swimming, I root for the USA - love me some Phelps, and also some Lochte.

(3) Which is your favorite event to watch and why?

Swimming - it's just so fast paced and you can see them all competing at the same time. It just keeps you on the edge of your seats. I also love gymnastics (Go USA girls :) ). I'm just a fan of it all - ask my boss, it's been on my computer all day Monday and Tuesday - I'm still working, sort of ;P

(4) Have you found a new sport that is surprisingly delightful?

Not necessarily new, but I've gotten into the beach volleyball and the synchronized diving. That synchronized diving is no joke, and very hardcore!

(5) Have you always been a fan of the Olympics? what is your earliest Olympic Memory?
 
The time I really remember is the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. Living here, I had the opportunity to attend baseball while it was still part of the Olympics. I also got to walk around Centennial Olympic Park and also partake in numerous festivities for the public. There were pins to collect, and just so much excitement :) After that they've kind of been a blur until 2008 - I really started paying more attention. This year I've been even more into it than I was then. I just LOVE competition. I get so invested.
 
Congrats to Michael Phelps for winning his 19th medal, making him the most decorated Olympian of all time.
 
GO USA!!! and GERMANY!!!

Fill in the Blank Friday

1.  I am a Jesus follower, an optimist, a daughter, a girlfriend, a caring heart, a comedian (I wish), a listener.

2.  I have always gotten excited about the littlest things, and get my hopes up easily.

3. I hope to get married and have a kid before I am 30… I turn 26 in September… boyfriend, get on it.

4. I can form my tongue into a clover… that’s what you wanted to know, right?

5. I dream of my future life, how it will be, who will be a part of it. Oh and of better times with money – where my student loans are paid off.

6. The way to my heart is by caring, and showing me that you listen to me and to what makes me happy.

7. I am passionate about most things that I do. I take pride in what I do, and I want it to be 100%, not half done.

Life–and How Cancer Consumes It.

I'm not one to write about negative things in my life. However, I think that in order to better know me, I should not sugar coat my blog - because, honestly life isn't sugar coated. I do wish it was, and not just because I have a sweet tooth...

My life, as of late, has been somewhat stressful/emotional. It's been a roller coaster. About two and a half years ago, my Oma (grandmother) was diagnosed with cancer. We were scared, but ready to fight right along with her. Taking her to doctor’s appointments, sending her encouraging pictures and cards, going wig shopping when the chemo made her lose her hair, all of it.

After her first round of chemo and radiation, it looked to be gone. They were hopeful. Then about 4 or so months later she went for a check up just to make sure things were still good, and they found a tumor in the same spot. They couldn’t do as much radiation, because she had reached her limit, so chemotherapy was her only option. They did an intense one – one of the strongest ones there are, I believe. It was looking better – but never went away. Two months ago (May 30) my Oma was told that she had 2 more months to live. To say that my heart broke into a million pieces is an understatement. I didn’t know what to think, feel, say… all I could do was cry. This woman is the most important person in my life other than my mom.

They did an MRI of her brain to see if the cancer had spread to it, if not they could prescribe her a pill that would slow down the progression of the cancer. It would not, however, cure it. Good news – the cancer had not spread, so she could take it. Today is 7/26/2012 and while you can tell she is in pain and has her bad days – she is still able to do everything for herself. She has good days occasionally. I know that the day will come, but even though it took me a while to wrap my mind around it, nobody can put a date on when someone will pass on, except for God. He knows, and I put my trust in Him.

Sorry for the downer – it’s just something that’s been on my mind constantly for the last two months.

We’ve been spending every weekend with her that we can. Her favorite things in the world are soccer and elephants. We went to her house for all of the Germany matches during the Euro championships. My mom took time off from work to go to all the games during the week. We just want to do things with her that she enjoys. Time with her is precious and I want there to be as much as possible. Now dates in the future make me sad. Like my birthday is in September, or Thanksgiving, or Christmas… I know you can’t think like that, but I have anxiety issues that I can’t get past.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read what my last couple of years/months have consisted of and if you want to throw in a prayer, my family would be forever grateful.

WWTK week 64

I am here linking up to one of my favorite link ups - We Want to Know Wednesday with Mamarazzi and Crazymama.

 
The Lovely one http://looklucklove.blogspot.com wants to know:
{one} What Disney character do you most resemble and why?

I'd say Belle, based on looks. I have the brown hair and brown eyes.

Also - I like to see the beauty in everyone. I always believe that no matter how someone looks - although, bad teeth are a pet peeve - they have to have SOME good in them.

And it got me, Mamarazzi, wanting to know...
{two} Who was your teenage celebrity crush?

Um let's see - there were plenty! JTT, Nick Carter, Leo Dicaprio (Growing Pains era)... There were plenty more!

{three} What celebrity would you love to be BFF with?

Very good question. I would love to BFFs with Candace Cameron Bure. She’s such a grounded, inspirational person… um and she was on Full House!

{four} Who is your celebrity look a like?

I've heard a lot of different ones over the years - that doesn't mean I think I'm hot stuff or anything. I take it as a great compliment and then shake it off as an I don't know what you're talking about. The one I have heard the most is Beverly Mitchell – I don’t really see it… Maybe more when I was a teenage and she was on 7th Heaven – I had blonde highlights back then.

The next is Sophia Bush.

And lastely, Briana Evigan, from Step Up 2: The Streets.

They're all pretty ladies, so I'll take the comparisons.

{five} Which celebrity/celebrity couple would you want to portray you/your honey in a movie about your life?

A movie about my life... Hm. Do they have to be a couple, or can it just be 2 celebrities that would play us as a couple? Me - I'll have to go with Sophia Bush. Loved her on One Tree Hill. And for my honey… either Zach Braff, Adam Brody, or James Roday. They are all comical, but can play serious roles. They honey sure loves to crack jokes, but he’s pretty serious at times.

Key West

So a thousand days ago – Memorial Day, to be exact – when I last posted, I said I was going to Key West for a few days for vacation. Well I went and it was good. There was plenty of drama on the drive home that I will not rehash, but the trip itself was fun. The weather was not as amazing as we would have hoped, since a tropical storm decided it wanted to join us on the trip. However, we’re getting wet anyway, so come on rain. The sun actually fully came out for a while the last day we were there, with little sightings of it throughout the trip. It actually probably made the temperatures much more bearable.

The first day we just kind of bummed around before hitting the beach and pool, because we drove 12 hours overnight to get there. I don’t sleep well in cars and only got about 2 hours of sleep, so that night we went to bed early. Here’s the view from our hotel:

We stayed at the Ibis Bay Resort. When we got there and saw the outside we were kind of like, wow – what were we thinking. However, once we checked in and got in our room, it was great! We paid for a courtyard room, and had the view above. It was spacious. We had a washer and dryer. No complaints. These were some of our friends:

The second day we went to a different beach to check it out and camped out there for the day – it was nice, except the rocks were bad. We ended up leaving to go and get some water shoes. They made ALL of the difference in the world. Thank you water shoes that I forgot in the rental car, you will be missed. It was fun to sit on the rocks, which we did for a while after the water decided it wanted to calm down a bit. John did some seashell hunting – he had some good finds, especially some awesome rocks. There weren’t a lot of seashells there.

The third day we decided to go to the beach for a little bit, a different, free one. It was nicer, but had A LOT of seaweed. But it actually had sand and was pretty. After a few hours of swimming there, we decided to go to Duval Street to check out the tourist shops. Can’t go on vacation without souvenirs. We also had lunch at an amazing Cuban restaurant. Honestly, John and I wanted to go somewhere else, but they were closed so we went back and joined them. It was worth it. This little guy and his ladies came by:

The fourth and last full day there, we went to a beach on a different island. It was the best by far. It was the most like what you see in the pictures. The water was beautiful everywhere, and would have most likely been even more beautiful if the sun were out. We spent most of the day there and then headed back to the hotel to get ready and both couples did their own thing. We went to dinner at a place we really wanted to go the whole time. It was fabulous. This is what we had:

At mile 0

Truth be told – these are just pictures I had on my phone. I have more on my camera that I have not even uploaded to my computer – I really need to do that.

It was definitely a fun trip.