Life

Currently…

Audrey44 Comments

For Kristen‘s link-up I’m reverting back to a good ol’ fashioned “currently” post.

Reading… all the books for Erin’s 9.0 Book Challenge! I’m currently working on The Wall of Winnipeg and Me and the Prisoner of Azkaban!

Listening to… You Must Remember This podcast. I know I’ve mentioned it once this week already, but Lindsay got me hooked! I’ve listened to all the Charles Manson’s Hollywood episodes as well as the ones about Lauren Bacall, Audrey Hepburn, and Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. I’ve also been listening to the new albums from Dave Matthews and Ben Rector!

Watching… The Bachelorette. My friends and I text-party watch and I look forward to it every week. We’re usually snarky about the guys and supportive of Becca so I don’t feel the least bit bad about my not-so-guilty pleasure. Anyone else watching this season? Let’s discuss 🙂

Pouting about… Lebron James heading west. Sigh. I’m not mad at him and I still hate basketball, but it’s a bummer he’s not ours anymore.

Celebrating… this week’s intermission. America has her faults (many of which are occurring right now) but yesterday was her birthday and everyone almost everyone deserves a celebration. I’m grateful for the day off and I’m grateful to live in a country where we have the freedom to do the right thing, help others, and vote in people who will actually put the needs of humans first.

Eating… lots of grilled stuff and summer foods. Watermelon, corn, steak, hotdogs and burgers, ice cream.

Drinking… wine. My in-laws have been working on opening a wine company for the last year and a half, and they’re finally up and running! Our house may or may not be stocked with the best wine around right now… 😉

Working on… getting all the left over garage sale stuff packed up and shipped off to charities. We had a pretty successful sale but dang it was hot outside all weekend!

Playing… softball! I joined a co-ed team that plays every Sunday afternoon. I played for eight years nearly 15 years ago, so this is slightly out of my comfort zone. I really like it, though!

Planning… a fall vacation. I’m not sure what or where yet, but I presented a 2 week out west trip to K and he shot me down. (I knew he would.) Now that I’ve softened the travel-blow with an extravagant idea, it’ll be much easier to talk him into a 5-7 day stretch of relaxation. 😉

Praying for… so many. Families who have been separated, the safe journey of refugees escaping violence and persecution, my sweet friend Rebecca Jo and her family, the health and well-being of family members and pets, neglected dogs who suffer when the heat index bursts.
**Definitely doing something additional about these things, too.

Recovering from… pleurisy. Two weeks ago I went to the ER with some chest pain, thinking it was just a stubborn gas bubble in my abdomen. Turns out it was/is pleurisy left over from untreated bronchitis. I’m much better now but the pain and immobility was a nuisance.

Relaxing… with my new video game! I found Mario Kart on https://wikibuy.com/ for a great price and finally pulled the trigger. It’s the only video game K will play and I’m really proud that I held off on getting it until I could find it for a low price!

Wishing for… colder weather (sue me), a long vacation, peace on Earth, and a pina colada.

Thanks for hosting What’s New With You?, Kristen!

*Thank you so much, Wikibuy, for reaching out!

What's New With You

What’s Up

Audrey42 Comments

Typically I do a coffee break or currently post for Kristen & Gretch‘s link-up, but I’ve already shared posts like that recently. Today I’m just recapping what we’ve been up to since the start of 2018.

J A N U A R Y

We didn’t do a whole lot in January (which I love). We had some health-stress but most of the month was filled with dog cuddles & lazy weekends.

Ly & E both had clean bills of health from the vet. We got their DNA tests back. And Buckeye fought off befriended a coyote.

Lots of snow meant lots of cozy reading time.

My mom had a pretty stressful month so I treated her (and me) to pedicures. That night K tried out his Christmas gift (a new smoker!) & we had my parents and his mom over. (His dad was out of town.)

The next day my brother and sister-in-law came home to surprise and cheer up my mom. We played Mario Kart on the Switch all afternoon.

Lylee loves her grandpa.

I ended the month with a 24in48 reading challenge. I read +6 hours total and squeezed in an intermission because my favorite 3 year old and 1 year old were celebrating their birthdays!

F E B R U A R Y

I had a (beat the) Winter Blues party at the beginning of the month. It was super small. Best friends & parents came over for drinks and games and camaraderie.

The next two weeks were filled with business travel. We spent four days in Columbus, OH, then came home for two, then flew to San Antonio, TX for six days.

The dogs were very happy to finally have us home.

My mom and I had a little date night in town between my Texas trip and Cleveland overnight. We got coffee at the local cafe, then popped across the street to the small theater to see Peter Rabbit. Guys… it was SO cute and comical. I loved it.

This past weekend I spent the night in Cleveland with my two best friends…

And that’s what’s new with me 🙂 What’s New With You?

Happy Birthday to my Grandma Peggy!

What's New With You

First and Foremost

Audrey37 Comments

Hi! I missed y’all 🙂 Coming back strong with a fun little “firsts” tag that I borrowed from Stephanie! I was driving my parents nuts with all these, “What was my first xyz…?” questions.

What was your first word? My mom thinks it was “Nan.” My dad and his siblings called their grandma (my great-grandma) Nan. According to the story I was told, I tried to call my dad’s mom Nan. Since that was bound to get confusing, I was forced to figure out a different name. Some how the term “Numna” (num-nuh) came about. And that’s what everyone has called my grandma since I could talk. Yay for being grandkid #1!
Do you still talk to your first love?  Not really. We’re Facebook friends and I see him around maybe once a year, but I don’t go out of my way to talk to him.
…
What was your first alcoholic drink?  Wine coolers. I’d tasted my parents’ beer/wine before, but my first intentional just-for-me drink was a wine cooler.
…
What was your first job?  My first real collect-a-paycheck job was at Quiznos. And after a month I got fired. Lol
…
First pet?  Bruno, who was a very good boy.
…
What was your first car? My darling yellow Volkswagen Beetle. His name was Lenny and I totaled him four years and three days after I got him.
…
Who was the first person to text you today?  Aubrey! Saying how excited she was for Kayla and I to come hangout in Cleveland with her. (I answered this question last Thurs.)
…
Who was the first person you thought of this morning? Enzo, because he kicked me in the throat at 2 am.
…
Who was your first grade teacher?  Mrs. Turner.
…
Where did you go on your first airplane ride?  My dad’s pretty sure my first plane ride was to Boston. My aunt & uncle lived there at the time and they took me there to meet them.
…
Who was your first best friend and do you still talk?  I had two best friends growing up, but we were friends because our moms were friends. The first bff I picked for myself was a girl named Lindsey. We still talk. We went to a country superfest last year together.
Lindsey is on the right.

Where was your first sleep over?  Ever? Probably my grandparents’ house. I also remember staying with my aunt and uncle (not the ones in Boston) when I was a kid. They were in their twenties and we’d play Nintendo and Sega way past my bedtime.
…
What was the first concert you ever went to? A Fallout Boy, Hawthorne Heights, From First to Last, and All American Rejects concert. I was a freshman in high school.
…
What was your first broken bone?  I snapped my tibia and fibula when I was 7. That hurt a bit.
…
What was your first piercing?  I’ve never had anything pierced.
…
What was the first foreign country you’ve gone to?  Switzerland when I was six.
…
What was the first movie you remember seeing?  I think my parents took me to see The Little Mermaid in theaters, but I looked it up and it came out in ’89… so I don’t know. Air Bud was the first movie I ever cried during.
…
When was your first detention?  Six grade, I think. I was a good student, but I forgot to do my homework sometimes. I remember getting at least two detentions in middle school for incomplete work. In high school I got caught skipping class and got in-school suspension for two days. Lol. I was a good student, just defiant.
…
Who was your first roommate?  Kristene. We went to hs together (and elementary & middle school) so when we picked the same college we decided to room together our freshman year.

Kristene is in black. I’m the moron with ORANGE hair. Woof.

What was the first sport you were involved in?  Frickin’ T-ball. Then I went on to do baseball/softball for 8 more years. Woof.
…
What is the first thing you do when you get home?  Let the pups out, comb through the mail, and then sit on the ground with Ly and E to play with them and snuggle them.
…
When was your first kiss?  My freshman year of high school, toward the end of the year. It was actually a pretty good one (although K is my favorite person to kiss 😉 lol).

I love that pig picture so much, lol. I think someone in my family made me that costume.

Ok, now you answer some of these! What was your first plane ride or concert? Does anyone get anything other than their ears pierced first?! (Besides nothing at all, lol.)

Random December Thoughts

Audrey30 Comments

I haven’t post a collection of random thoughts in a quick minute so …

Well let’s kick this off with a weird one.
Sometimes, while sitting in the bathroom, I think to myself how fortunate females are because we sit down to do our business. I mean, anything we go to the bathroom to accomplish (besides throwing up), can be done in the same position. Meanwhile, if a guy steps into the bathroom to go #1 and he finds that his bowels have other plans, he has to turn around and sit quickly OR shuffle from the urinal to the toilet.
*I asked K if he’s ever had a bathroom experience were a guy at the neighboring urinal quickly changed his mind and stepped into a stall. He says never in his life. I’m skeptical.

I’m unnaturally happy about the newest royal engagement. I feel warm and fuzzy when I think about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. I don’t know them, I don’t keep close tabs on the family, I don’t have a crazy crush on the prince- I just love that they look so happy and healthy.

Do you say “bless me” when you sneeze? Because I do and it makes K crazy. He says you can say excuse me (for yourself) or bless you (for others), but bless me is just self-centered. We had a drawn out argument over this at work a few weeks ago… Looking for real feedback here.

A few weekends ago I went to Hocking Hills in southern Ohio with two of my best friends, Enzo, and Kayla’s dog Ernie. We hot tub-ed, hiked, drank too much wine, and just had a really fun time. If you can, take a girls’ trip 🙂 The cabin was only 2 or 3 hours from all of us (we all live in different cities in OH) and we found a weekend to just go. Your trip doesn’t have to be miles and miles away!

My brother and sister-in-law pay attention to my blog and they asked for a Christmas list. So I’m randomly throwing in some things that fall under the “want” category this Christmas…

  • Chunky knit blanket (example)… I don’t care where it comes from. I just like ’em.
  • This book preordered. It doesn’t release until the end of January.
  • A make-up holder and a brush cleaner.
  • A watch. (I don’t know what I want… smallish and minimalist, but quirky.)
  • This mug. This sweatshirt and this sweatshirt. And either this doormat or this one.
  • This poster. I really want the artwork with Leo’s story from TWW, but I can’t find one I like on etsy 😦

Is that enough stuff, Fred? 😉

Share a random thought with me. (Also, do you say “bless me”???)

Currently…

Audrey35 Comments

Hello, November 🍂

My blog has been very surface level lately so I wanted to link-up with Kristen and Gretch today to go a little deeper with a currently/What’s New With You? post.

Right now I’m R E A D I N G so many books simultaneously. K got me a Kindle Paperwhite for my birthday last month and I went a little crazy on NetGalley… Physical-book-wise, I’m finishing up The Moon-Spinners and Circling the Sun. I just finished Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Style. On Kindle I dove into Fairest of All. (K got me Kindle Unlimited and I found it on there.) After I finish some of those I’ll crack into my NetGalley reads! I didn’t end up finishing Erin’s book challenge but that’s ok.

We’re done moving and the old house is officially turned over to the new owners, but I’m still S T R E S S I N G – O U T – O V E R the settling part of new homeownership. I completely broke down to K a few weeks ago and told him that our constant chaos in the house is killing me on the inside and making my anxiety a raging beast. I feel like a failure in my home which makes me feel like a failure in all aspects of life (as a wife, as an employee, as a daughter, as a fall-lover, as a dog momma). I know that’s silly and unhealthy, but I crave balance and order. I promise I’m trying to slow down and focus and relax this month.

I’m also P R E P A R I N G for the holidays (i.e. Christmas gifts, Christmas decorations). I think getting some of that stuff done will reset my brain and give me peace.

The kitchen is finally in order so we will be E A T I N G some yummy home-cooked meals soon. FINALLY, guys. I think one of the worst parts of moving was all the takeout and fast food and sodium-filled dinners during the process. UGH. The last few nights we’ve been snacking on the dips we had at the party (spinach & artichoke, taco, etc.).

We moved all our furniture into the new house and don’t plan to change anything, but we’ve definitely had to add. We are B U Y I N G allll the things right now. Lol. We just got new bookshelves and reading chairs for my library area, I got a new hamper for my itty-bitty laundry room, and we’re currently trying to decide on some end tables and a coffee table… Home tour soon. Promise.

My brain is overwhelmed like an accountant in April, but I am very T H A N K F U L – F O R all our friends and family. Between helping us move, letting me vent on the phone/through text, and celebrating with us at birthday and Halloween parties, I just can’t get over the love and support we’ve been given. Thanks, everyone 🖤 I love going into the holiday season feeling so loved.

We have a business trip in Indianapolis coming up, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t P L A N N I N G a potential winter trip for K and myself. I’ve only mentioned it to him, but I feel like I need to mentally and physically get away for a long weekend. We’ll see if it happens. I’d settle for a girls’ trip instead, but my bff is laid up after knee surgery. We’ll see…

In the interest of full disclosure, I have been R A G I N G – A B O U T the state of our country. The current administration, the Hollywood assault stories, the preference of policy and politics over people. It’s embarrassing and heartbreaking.

Let’s end on a good note, yes?

I am P A R T I C I P A T I N G – I N Alexandra and Shea‘s Live Your Best (Holiday) Life or LYBHolidayL in November. I’m pretty excited about it, actually. Taking the time to be grateful and intentional without spending hundred of dollars 🙂

(I don’t care if Halloween is over.) L A U G H I N G – A B O U T :

This is us trying to get the dogs to adjust to the new neighborhood. LOL

So what’s new with you?

What's New With You

Live Loudly.

Audrey

I posted this on FB Monday but I wanted to share it here, too.

Monday morning I woke up to news of the tragedy in Las Vegas & all I could honestly think was, ‘Goddamn it.’ It’s the same reaction I had after the theater shooting during the Batman release in 2012. My brother was at the midnight premier in a different state, but he could’ve been at the target theater. I attend so many concerts- I could’ve been in that courtyard in Vegas. Any one could’ve been there- so many people were there. GODDAMN IT, why can’t we just live?

I get so mad when this stuff happens. Then I stumble across pictures and descriptions of those who lost their lives and my anger morphs to devastation. When I learned about the folks that died in the Pulse Night Club shooting I felt so broken. The stories of lost friends pushing their surviving friends into a safe closet or boyfriends pulling their girlfriends to safety while taking a fatal bullet to the back. It just sucks so so much. And there’s absolutely no explanation for our logic-seeking broken hearts.

What the hell can we do about it?

Without launching into a gun control debate or mental health talk or terrorist rant, I feel like the very best thing we can do is live. Go to the movies, rock out at the concerts, board the plane and travel the world. It’s all you can do.

At the risk of sounding morbid and unsympathetic (which I’m not ❤︎), we’re all going to die. It’s 100% guaranteed. And while it makes me so mad when someone’s life is snuffed out unexpectedly or violently, we’re all guaranteed to lose our lives one way or another. I’ll be damned if someone steals the joy of living away from me with fear and terror.

I’m a Christian and I honestly believe that once we’re done here, if we’ve lived a life of love and compassion and kindness, we go to Heaven. And Heaven doesn’t have mass shootings. I’m praying that my version of Heaven has a boat-load of dogs. But I can 100% guarantee that there are NO mass shootings in Heaven.

But I’m not there yet and, if you’re reading this, neither are you. We’re here and “here” could use a whole bunch of fearless, life-loving people to alter its current state. Be sad and grieve the loss of lives in Las Vegas and Puerto Rico and Mexico and other sites of tragedy, but don’t be discouraged. Don’t give in to fear. Don’t let hate and violence and sadness corner you into a dark space. Grab your closest friend’s hand, tell them you love them, and turn on some music. Drop off some kibble at a local shelter or bake some cookies for your local police department. Volunteer at the soup kitchen or donate some coats and blankets to a shelter. We can’t always do anything about the bad, but we can ALWAYS add more good.

You are important and your life matters and you have the ability to affect many- don’t let anyone make you feel any differently. We’re all going to die; we don’t get a choice. You 100% get to choose how you live, though.

My heart is broken for the friends and family of those who were killed in Las Vegas. It’s really not fair and so frustrating. Please live loudly, friends. We only have one go at this ❤︎

Currently…

Audrey46 Comments

Reading… The Moon-Spinners for Erin’s Challenge. I’m having a hard time with this book even though I find the story interesting. Fortunately I’m also reading HP & the SS which is sucking me in just like it did nearly 20 years ago ❤︎

Eating… terribly. I haven’t wanted to dirty the kitchen because of all the showings/inspections happening so we’ve been doing a LOT of external dining (or take out). The few meals I have made at home were busts. I need to work on this.

Feeling… sick. My mother had a head cold (#FirstGradeTeacherProbz) and I think she passed it on to me last weekend. Grr.

Planning… a house warming / Halloween / fall party in the new crib 🙂

Pinning… alllll the home decor. When we moved into our current house we were newlyweds carting around everyone’s generous hand-me-downs. Since then we’ve been intentional about design and I’m excited to decorate the new space with pieces that are important and unique to us.

Recovering from… last weekend’s bachelorette party in Cleveland. We took a party bus to the city, dined at Margaritaville, & had some dessert at The Chocolate Bar. The bride was on antibiotics and crutches (different incidents) so it was a slightly tame evening, though still exhausting!

Looking forward to… a slower season at work, moving into a new neighborhood, cool temperatures.

Here are some pictures from the last month or so of life 🙂

Kyle and our PI banner on the field at DCI World Championships
Lylee channeling how I hope to be this fall…
A bridal shower I helped with… K and I are both in the wedding next month!

*To my blogger friends in the south/east: If you need anything please let me know! Stay safe this weekend ❤︎

So what’s new with you? (Linking up with Kristen & Gretch!)

What's New With You