Catching up with Cayman

I have so much to catch up on.  I know Kim was excited to read my Cayman Islands blog post…but I failed to deliver back in April when I visited.  To be brief, I had the most amazing time visiting Kim. (We worked together at Draftfcb in Chicago).  I got to be a tourist and a local all in one trip.  We went to Starfish Point where we found a live starfish which was amazingly beautiful and slightly scary to touch all at the same time.  Kim was an adventurer and picked it right up out of the water.  She’s done this before though.

Unfortunately, the one thing we didn’t get to do was to go to Stingray City and swim with the stingray.  Next time though!  I did get to see some of Kim’s friends go kitesurfing.  She’s becoming a professional kite surfer too, but she opted to stay out of the water on this day.  haha.  It was so beautiful and I hope that I can learn how next time I visit.  I’ll need to start on day 1 though since it’s really tough to do and I’d like to be able to at least stand up by the last day of my trip. This guy in the photo below got some air and he literally floated back down to the water.  It has to be such a cool feeling to be flying over the ocean.

The 5 days I was there went by so incredibly fast and Kim was such a wonderful hostess!  She knew exactly what to do to make a person fall in love with Grand Cayman.  And her and Saagar live in the cutest Cayman cottage right off of the beach off of a street called Boggy Sand Road.  We went snorkeling right outside their house.  I could barely comprehend it!  Here’s their humble abode.

Thank you so much to Kim and Saagar for being such wonderful hosts.  I had an incredible time and I cannot wait to come visit again!!

Cayman Islands Here I Come

I recently realized that the last time I went on a tropical vacation was in 1998 (9th grade). I can’t believe it’s been so long! Since then, the only trips I’ve taken outside of the U.S. have been to Canada. Needless to say, I am REALLY excited!!!

I’m going to visit Kim, one of my friends/co-workers from Chicago, who actually lives in the Cayman Islands now. I remember when I found out she was moving there I was like “I’m definitely coming to visit!”, but we all know how things happen and sometimes taking an international trip isn’t always possible. But, I cashed in some frequent flyer miles and my plane takes off tomorrow AM!

I’m really really excited, if you can’t already tell. School + Studying for the Praxis II + Work + Mini Marathon Training = I need a break. I’ll probably be doing school work and training for the Mini while I’m there, but not having to go into work will be such a relief.

Kim sent me an itinerary for my 5 days there, which includes snorkeling, salsa dancing or possibly salsa eating (just says “salsa”) haha, running an Irish 5k, St. Patrick’s day celebrations, lots of beach time, and running around the island to get in my miles for the week. I also plan to do a lot of reading on the beach and being a bum.

When I was looking into getting a Kindle (which Ricky ended up getting me for Xmas. yay.)  I saw this photo on their website and I was like, “that’s gonna be me someday”. So, this is what you’ll see me doing while Kim is at work during the week.

I am so excited for this vacation and it couldn’t come at a better time.  I’m also really excited to see Kim and find out what “Island life” is all about.  And one more thing, I’m really pumped to try out my new camera on vacation and take a TON of photos.  There will definitely be more pretty things to photograph there than in wintry Indiana.

Bon voyage!

Icicles

I can’t believe how long it’s been since my last post.  Things have really been a whirlwind lately and I have been putting off most everything except work and school.  Big thanks to Lanie for inspiring me to get out another post!

Chicago may have gotten hit with snow this past week, but Indianapolis got ice.  The driveway is about 3 inches thick in solid ice right now.  Needless to say, I had a tough time getting my car out of the driveway and needed Ricky and Blake to help push me out.  I’ve never seen a storm like this before.  I’m used to getting dumped on with snow, but never so much ice.  My windshield was completely covered in ice on Tuesday morning.  I got it cleared off after chiseling away for about 45 minutes, but then I woke up on Wednesday morning to the same thing again!  Here are my Tuesday morning pics.

Ice cube wiper blades

You have no idea how long that little bit took

Compared to the pics of Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, this seems mild. But it definitely added some excitement to the week.  I stayed home from work on Tuesday because of the road conditions and the fact that my car was covered in ice.  On Wednesday, the office was closed, so I didn’t have to work.  It was nice to have a day off to do nothing at all.  This storm was a wonderful gift in an icy package!

Michigan Football

And so another football season has begun!  I have been a Michigan football fan since I was a kid.  I remember being the only one of all my friends who was a Michigan fan and not a Michigan State fan.  During Spirit Week in middle school we had to dress wearing colors of our favorite college team; I was the only one wearing maize and blue out of my friend group.

My first Michigan football game wasn’t until my freshman year of college.  I was completely blown away when I entered The Big House.  I had never seen a football stadium so big (and I haven’t seen one bigger as of yet!).  Maize and blue were everywhere and I could really feel the Michigan pride.  One of my favorite things about Michigan football, aside from the actual game, is the sense of community I have with other U of M fans.  There is so much passion and spirit that comes with being a Michigan football fan, and it lasts a lifetime.  I get so excited when I see people wearing Michigan gear and I realize how lucky I am to have so much pride in my school.

A couple of weeks ago I was at Notre Dame for the U of M vs. ND football game.  I went to the same game two years ago with Diane and Dan and I was lucky to be able to go again this year.  They flew all the way from Seattle, which is quite the distance for a football game!  It was wonderful to see both of them again and this time I even brought a guest (Ricky) so I didn’t have to sit alone!  We had seats by the Michigan band so I didn’t feel awkward screaming the fight song in a group of Notre Dame fans.  The game was a little slow at the beginning but the last quarter was filled with excitement.  The sun even decided to come out during the 4th quarter, which was a nice surprise.  Contrary to the game 2 years ago, Michigan beat Notre Dame, and right now we’re 3-0 for the season.  I can’t wait for the upcoming games this year and I hope that I can get to Ann Arbor before the end of the season.

Let’s Go Blue!

Final score: Michigan 28, Notre Dame 24

Dan and Diane (& Kermit) heading into the game

Ricky and Me at the game

#16 Denard Robinson

Go Blue!

Notre Dame Marching Band on a dreary Saturday

It’s Puppy Time!

Two weeks ago today Ricky and I brought home our newest addition, little Kerby.  We picked him up north of Chicago in a little itty-bitty town called Caledonia (northeast of Rockford, IL).  We were just under 15 miles from Wisconsin, so you can see that it was quite the drive from Indianapolis.

Now, I’ve never had a “real” pet before.  Aside from a few hermit crabs and my betta fish that has surprisingly lasted a full year now, I have never had a pet that I had to feed multiple times a day, potty train, or make sure he gets enough exercise.  Needless to say, I was terrified the day before we got him.  I was starting to question whether or not I could do it, but I have always wanted a dog and a boston terrier at that.  So, I sucked up my worries and decided that it was definitely time.  Like they say, “no time like the present.”

Kerby is a purebred boston terrier with an uncle named Wyatt.  Wyatt is my little sister Lindsey’s “adopted” pet.  I say that because it’s actually her boyfriend Jack’s dog, but I am confident that she loves him just as much as Jack does.  Kerby and Wyatt got to meet each other this past Labor Day weekend and hang out for a few days.  I dropped off little Kerby in Grand Rapids for Lindsey and Jack to dog sit while I continued up north to Charlevoix.  He and Wyatt were instant buddies and played together non-stop, until they both would pass out from exhaustion. Jack gave me a lot of great advice for raising a boston pup and even gave me a sweater for Kerby to wear in the winter.  Although… it’s Michigan State green, so we may have to do some altering to give it a little more Michigan pride.

I have definitely learned A LOT over the past two weeks and I have no doubt that having a dog for the first time is a huge learning process.  Ricky got me “Boston Terrier” magazine to ease my worries, since I am definitely more “by the book” than he is.  Considering how cautious I am with a little puppy, I cannot imagine how I will be when I actually have kids.  Uh oh!  I guess I’m a little overprotective right now but I’m easing up.

It has been so wonderful to have someone to come home to every night.  Although it’s a lot of work, it’s worth every minute of my time (and money) when I get to come home and my lil guy is there waiting for me.

Note: On 8/27 he was 5 lbs. but I expect that he’s a pound or two bigger now.

Melissa and Josh’s Wedding

It’s been far too long since my last post.  I wanted to share some pics from Melissa and Josh’s wedding on June 19th.  It was such a great time and everyone looked so beautiful! (and handsome for the guys).  The wedding took place in Northern Michigan, so I took off Friday and headed home to spend some time with my family and enjoy the wedding festivities.

The wedding was in Boyne City and the reception at Castle Farms in Charlevoix.  It was so great to see so many old friends.  I hadn’t seen some people for over five years, so there was a lot to catch up about.  Here are some pics from the day!

About to take the Ironton Ferry to the Landing’s for a post-wedding snack!

Congratulations Melissa and Josh! I couldn’t be happier for the two of you!!

Melissa’s Bachelorette Festivities in Chicago

This past weekend I went to Chicago for Melissa’s bachelorette party.  I got in on Friday night and hung out w/my older sister at her new condo.  It’s super cute and has a wonderful view of the west side of the city.  I knew Saturday was going to be a busy day so we laid low that night.

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early to bake a hot pink cake for Melissa’s party.  Unfortunately, the frosting I brought had expired in January of this year and was donezo.  I thought I’d pick up a new one at the White Hen corner store.  No luck there, they didn’t have much for baking supplies.  I knew there was a Walgreen’s across the freeway so I trekked over I-90/94 in search of vanilla frosting.  I got there and they had frosting, but only chocolate, and that wouldn’t suffice.  I wanted bright pink and needed white frosting for this.  Next stop was the Dominick’s one block north and knowing it was a major grocery chain I wasn’t too surprised to find my frosting there.  I think I ended up walking a little over a mile in search of it but the final outcome of the hot pink frosting was well worth the extra effort!

After my morning baking session, I met up with Mark and Rachel for breakfast.  I should also note that it started to downpour right after I got back from the store, which made for a soggy morning.  We met up at Sarks in Lincoln Park.  Mark has raved about Sark’s for as long as I have known him, so I was definitely up for giving it a try.  It was pretty good, but I think it would be better served as a hangover food, not a “I went to bed early so I could get up at 8AM and bake a pink cake” type of food. Haha.

It was so great to catch up and hear about the latest at Draftfcb.  Their volleyball team started last week and although they lost they put up a good fight!  I definitely miss Thursday night volleyball at North Ave. Beach with my Dfcb friends.   They have beach volleyball here in Indy, but it just isn’t the same when you’re not with your crazy co-workers and on Lake Michigan.

After breakfast we picked up Rachel’s lovely lavender bridesmaid dress from the tailor and said our good-byes.  It was soooooooo great to see them both and it really felt like no time had passed since we all talked.

I headed over to Melissa and Karlee’s after dropping off Marky-Mark.  The rain had stopped so we ventured up to Lincoln/Damen (I’m generalizing, b/c I’m not 100% sure where we were, haha) where there were a ton of garage sales around the neighborhood.  The majority of items were baby-related which wasn’t quite what any of us were looking for, but we were able to find a lot of used books at fraction of the retail cost.

I’m currently reading The Kite Runner and Melissa suggested to read A Thousand Splendid Suns, by the same author.   Melissa actually spotted the hardcover version at one of the sales so I bought it.  It was $3 and I was hoping to negotiate down to $2 (I’ve never really garage-saled before so I was curious if they would negotiate).  But, they had a sign saying that all of the proceeds would go to the Audubon Society for the oil spill relief.  It was just a dollar more, and I wouldn’t feel right negotiating when the money was going to a great cause.  Either way, I walked away with a $3 hardcover book in fantastic condition!

One of the highlights of the garage sale adventure was a man with two parrots who was sitting out on his lawn.  We stopped for a photo op. with the blue parrot which Mel happened to match perfectly. The guy said the parrot would swear but I couldn’t even get him to say “hello”.

Melissa, the blue parrot, and Me

We headed back to Mel and Karlee’s place in Lincoln Park after the garage sales and relaxed until dinner.  We ate at Fresh, which is a BYOB, which is always great for those of us on a budget!  Dinner was fantastic and right after we finished we went to an improv comedy show, which also happened to be a musical.  The show was also BYOB, which was weird since I’d never heard of that before.  After an hour or so of laughing hysterically we popped over to Matilda for a drink.  Although it’s one of my favorite bars in Chicago, the dim mood lighting made all of us sleepy.  Our last and final stop was at Shoes on Armitage.  It was more of a local hot spot and we perked up once we got there and realized they also had an endless supply of cheese puffs and laffy taffy!  After finishing a massive bowl of cheese puffs we called it a night and headed home for some Dawson’s Creek and sleep.

Melissa, Mel, Me, Brie, and Diane

Diane & Me

It was so much fun and absolutely wonderful to see everyone again.  I realize how much I miss everyone and I can’t wait for the wedding when we can all hang out again.  Sadly (for me), Diane will be at the World Cup in South Africa.  Obviously a trip of a lifetime, I’m still bummed she won’t be able to attend.

Thanks to Karlee and Brie for putting together a fantastic party for Melissa and congratulations to Melissa and Josh!

Next up for travels…Charlevoix in 2 weeks!

Jesse Owens Classic 2010

The past few weekends I have been very busy with traveling.  Two weekends ago we went to a track meet in Columbus, OH at Ohio State University.  It was my first time in Columbus and I was pleasantly surprised by the city.  As most of you know, U of M’s biggest rival is OSU so I was very curious to see what the city and campus were like.  The campus was really nice and the downtown area of Columbus had some really cute areas too.  I might have even liked it!

The Invaders ran on Friday night and Saturday during the day at the Jesse Owens Classic.  We left Friday afternoon and spent the night in Columbus.  We headed back to Indianapolis the next day after the meet.  The weather was a bit uncooperative on Saturday.  There was a huge storm rolling in and the wind gusts were really strong.  We set up the Invaders camp in a really windy spot and our tent practically blew away.  After all the hard work setting it up, we took it down about 30 minutes later.    Luckily, the storm ended up blowing over and the rain never really hit.

Here are some pics from Ricky running in the Men’s 800m race on Saturday, May 1st at Ohio State University.  The meet was aired on the Big Ten Network and you can see me taking photos during the meet.  Yay.

Stan Lyons Invitational 2010

Two weekends ago weekend we were here in Indy for the Stan Lyons Invitational hosted by Butler University, Go Bulldogs! (That’s for you Lanes!). The day started out wonderful and I actually thought I was overdressed, but was I ever wrong.  I knew there was supposed to be a storm coming and the weatherman was not wrong this time.  Ricky ran his race mid-afternoon and luckily he got to go before the rain.  It was really tough taking photos while trying to balance an umbrella in order to keep the camera dry.  But, Ricky came and held my umbrella for the last few races. What a sweet boy.

Unfortunately, my favorite University of Michigan umbrella got flipped inside out.  I loved that umbrella, and sadly, it’s on its way to the landfill now.  All of us using umbrellas had ours flipped inside out.  The rain was coming down pretty steadily but it was the wind gusts that really got us.  After the race Ricky’s coach commented on how they should’ve used the tent.  Tent?? Where was that when we needed it?  It was definitely a lesson learned and I offered my labor to help put together the tent at all future home meets. Overall it was a lot of fun and I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoy home meets.  Here are some pics from the meet.  Ricky ran the 400m and rabbited the 800m.  Next up is the Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State University.  Uh ohhhhh!

Sea Ray Relays 2010

Our trip to Knoxville, Tennessee for the Sea Ray Relays was a lot of fun!  Ricky ran in the Men’s 800M leg of the Distance Medley Relay and the guys came in third overall.

We left Friday night (April 9th) and spent the night in Corbin, Kentucky which is a little over an hour from Knoxville.  The next morning (April 10th) we woke up and drove through the mountains to Knoxville.  University of Tennessee is such a beautiful campus.  And they have a giant rock just like University of Michigan that the students can paint.  The Masters Golf Tournament was finishing up that weekend and the rock said: “TIGER PUT IN THE HO” ”.  We got our pics next to the rock.

One of my favorite parts about Ricky being on the Indiana Invaders is that I have gotten to travel to so many different colleges/universities that I had never been to before.  This past winter we were at Indiana University, University of Kentucky, and Grand Valley State University.  Next up on the list of travels is Ohio State University (boo), which we’ll head to in a few weeks.  Plus, this summer the team will be heading up to my home town, Charlevoix, MI for the Venetian “Ryan Shay Mile” race.  I’ll probably leave for home a few days before the team so I can have a mini-vacation.

This weekend we’re home in Indianapolis for a meet and the same is for next weekend.  This is the first time I’ll see Ricky race in Indianapolis, so I’m not really sure what it will be like to not get up super early to drive to the meet.  I assume it will be much less hectic.

Here are some pics I took of Ricky at the Sea Ray Relays: