Turning 30...

A few weeks ago marked my 30th birthday. Now, when I was a teenager, 30 seems like really, really old. Like by the time you turned 30, you should have a full head of grey hair and you should have it all figured out with your life "in place".

While I certainly have a few (okay, maybe more than a few) grey hairs, I'm feeling pretty good about my 30's. Life in my 20's treated me to a few unexpected twists and turns, some good - some bad, but still, all guiding me to the place I am right now in my life. Throughout my 20's, I managed to check several things off my life's "to do list".

Finish college with a bachelors degree - Check.
Start my career, in a new city - Check.
Purchase my first house -Check.

All in all, not so bad if you ask me. One delightful thing that happen in my 20's was meeting Jeremy. Many people search their entire life for someone to share it with and I feel completely blessed knowing that I've found that special someone. It is really exciting knowing that my first year in my 30's will be celebrated in a big way - our wedding!

I'm not someone who has always dreamed about what her wedding will look like. This has been good because it has helped me to be flexible in the planning process. I've enjoyed the decision making that goes along when planning the details of a wedding. I am totally excited and thrilled to be getting married this fall. The details are fun, things like picking out my dress, choosing the flowers, and tasting lots of yummy cake!

Having said all that, the thing that excites me more than any of these details is my marriage. That's the part I'm looking forward to the most! Our marriage. I believe that marriages do work and I've witnessed it in my own family. I know that God has guided me through all those experiences in my 20's, leading me to this wonderful moment as I start my 30's, to let me know that I am ready to be married.

So while I spend time making lists of things that still need get done, and I fret over things like the font on our invitations, I know I'm making the best decision of my life. To share it with the person I love, for the rest of my life. It doesn't get much better than that.

Cheers to my 30's, I believe the best is yet to come!

Spreading the word...

I was checking out a great blog I read from time to time called get in mah belly, the author of the blog, Liz, was giving a huge shout out to a blog she has recently become "obsessed with" (her words, not mine). So after reading her post, I also wanted to let people know about the Queen City Discovery blog.

The cool thing this blog does is tell the stories of the old, often forgotten about, buildings throughout Cincinnati . The photography is absolutely beautiful. Check out their photo gallery.

I'm probably breaking some "blogger" rules with this post, but I do fully disclaim that I'm pretty much "copying" right off Liz for this one, but I found these pictures of Cincinnati to be sooo great, that I also wanted to share & spread the word about the Queen City Discovery blog.

Update on Projects

Awhile back, I laid out 3 goals for this summer for house projects:

*Fix garage ceiling
*Give the windows a good "spring" cleaning
*Plant new grass in back yard

So far, we've worked on project #3, getting some grass to grow in the backyard. If you'll recall from my previous post, our yard was torn apart by our loving and playful pup, Ella. Given the energy and rambunctiousness of a 2 year old lab mix, you can imagine how much she loves to run around the yard, chasing everything from toys, sticks and even her tail. With all this darting back and forth over the already not so green grass, Miss Ella managed to turn our back yard into an area filled with dirt and mud, leaving no grass to be seen.

As the weather warmed up here in the 'Nati and spring sprung, we headed out to Lowes to have a chat with a garden expert about a durable grass seed that might have a better shot up against Ella playful ways. (Because even though people say Lab mix dogs call down when they turn 2, I don't see that happening for us anytime soon with her!) We ended up buying some "Smart Seed" and got started by raking up the dirt lawn and preparing the area for seeding.

We sectioned off half of the backyard with a temporary fence, and got to spreading the seed with our new handy walk behind Scott's spreader. We also planted a nice Azalea bush in the corner to try to deter Ella from barking when she sees the neighbors. (Though I doubt this will really make much of a difference in that area, but it will be a nice pop of color in the backyard!)

So far, the new grass is growing great! It's actually time for a cut and we're going to work on sectioning off the other half of the yard next week. Miss Ella is one smart dog, because she managed to jump our temporary fence last week and has now made it a fun backyard game of jumping to the newly seeded side, and then barking at us because she can't get back over the fence! (We'll have to get some taller yard stakes this time for the second half of the project to try to keep her from hopping into the newer seed.)

Nothing like watching grass grow to get you excited for summer time! I'll leave you with a fun picture of my girl Ella. Here she is back in February, running and jumping across the backyard. You can see that she truly enjoys playing and not even snow can stop her from "flying" in the yard. I wish the new grass seed luck, I think it's going to need it! (HaHa)

Have a fabulous weekend my "blog checking friends"!

Happy Mother's Day!

This coming Sunday is Mother's Day. I want to take a moment to wish my Mom, Carole, and all my "mom" friends a Happy Mother's Day. I hope you're all able to take a moment to relax and do something fun for yourself. Enjoy the Day!

Clean House

The Style network show was in Cincinnati recently taping an episode of the show Clean House. This is a guilty pleasure show of mine that I enjoy watching and I usually get sucked into watch many marathon hours of this show!

The premise of the show is a group of designers & organizers go into people homes and help them clear out clutter, and we're talking major clutter. Once the people go through their items, they have a yard sale to make some money to go towards organizing & redesigning their new "clean house".

I jumped on the chance to join some of my co-workers and head out to the "yard sale day" for the house in Cincinnati. (Plus, if you're a fan of the show, who doesn't want to seem some cast members in person!) The line was very long, we waited around 1 1/2 hours to get in the doors of the building where they had the sale.
The host of the show is Miss Niecy Nash, I think she's fun and sassy and everyone in line was hoping for a glance at her in person. Below is a picture of the real Niecy, and another shot of one of the many gals dressed up like her. (Now that is what I call some mayhem and foolishness!)I didn't get to see Miss Niecy in person, but I did score some other cast member sightings. I happened to be in the right place at the right time to watch a segment being taped with interior designer, Mark Brunetz, who is super hip & cool.
I also scored a pretty decent spot when the shows "go to guy", Matt Iseman signed some autographs on his way to film another segment. The 2 hour episode with the house from Cincinnati will air on July 1st on the Style network. I'm gonna check it out, maybe I'll show up in a wide shot of the crowd, you never know!!

Enjoy the upcoming weekend.

Daily Struggle

Today I decided to write about something that is a daily struggle for me.

Motivation. (Have you seen it lately, because I sure haven't!)

I'm feeling a lack of it in some aspects of my life. Mostly in the area where exercise and healthier eating are concerned. When I am honest with myself, this struggle worries me a bit. I say "worries me" because I know how I respond to things and the minute I let myself slip on something it becomes a snowball effect.

I'm not someone who goes to the gym 7 days a week, but I do make an effort to go at least 3-4 times a week and do some type of activity on the weekend. Lately, I've been having days where I don't feel like exercising, then before I know it, a whole week has gone by and I haven't made it to the gym once. So, the question I pose to myself is: If you know this is your pattern, then why do you do it? (I'm not looking for answers, just venting about some things going on in my head!)

The other area where motivation lacks lately for me is on the healthy eating front. It is so easy to fall off the wagon where this is concerned and I am well aware of that fact. Right after college, I let some things get out of control in my life and my weight was one of them. Thankfully with hard work, I was able to regain control of my weight and also start a fitness routine.

Weight has never been about the number on the scale for me. It is about my health. About 7 years ago, I visited the doctor and got a real wake up call. She told me that I really need to start exercising or my overall health *would* be affected by my "sedentary lifestyle". It wasn't until this doctor had the guts to tell me she was concerned about my health that I actually looked at myself and saw who I had become, physically. (I say physically, because I whole heartily believe that I have always been the same on the inside. Weight doesn't change my feelings, nor does it change my hopes, dreams or fears. It does change my health and therefore my future.)

What I started noticing about myself was hard to see, even more hard to feel. I didn't recognize myself in photos, I wasn't able to do daily activities with out being winded or out of breath. I had that major wake up call that people talk about and I vowed to change my life, for my health.

I changed things like instead of eating a cheeseburger & fries, I ate grilled chicken sandwiches & baked potatoes. I stopped keeping 2-liters of soda in the fridge, limiting myself to 1 can a day & carried bottled water with me everywhere. I stopped buying things at the grocery store that I knew I would eat all in one night, like a bag of Doritos!

I started walking. Simply walking. I would go the mall, before it opened, and walk with a friend. She helped me learn how to use fitness equipment at her apartment's gym, and as time went by, I saw small changes in my life, like way my clothes fit & how I felt in them.

Overtime, my hard work paid off. I lost quite a few pounds and felt so much better, physically and emotionally. When I went to see that same doctor a year later, she looked at my chart and asked me "how did you do it"? My answer was simple. I changed my life.

I write all this background information to help myself remember about the struggles I've face with weight and motivation to work out. I've tackled it before, the ups & downs, and it will be something I struggle with every day. I'm writing all about this to remind myself that it's okay to have a "off" day or even an "off" week, the point is not to give up. It's about following through on the long term goal of living healthier.

As I finish this post, it feels really good to write about this part of my life. I've told several people "my story", but sometimes it's good to re-tell it to myself also. I know I have the motivation to live & eat healthier, now it's just digging down deep and picking myself up to get back on track! Thanks for listening.

Happy Birthday Big Girl!

Shout out to Miss Lexi...she's turning 2 today and she is full of spunk and attitude, which I love!! Readers of the blog may remember previous posts about Lexi and a special walk last summer that was held in her honor. If you would like to learn more about Lexi, check out this link. Happy Birthday big girl - lots of love to you today on your special day!