I'm sorry for being a girl but....
Mike
Mike
Is
Coming
Home
In
8
Hours.
I've been waiting 11 months for this.
FINALLY!!!!!!!!!
:-D
Saturday, June 30, 2007
The Best Part about Long Distance Relationships
Coming
Home
In
8
Hours.
I've been waiting 11 months for this.
FINALLY!!!!!!!!!
:-D
Monday, June 25, 2007
Since I Can't Sleep Or Anything. I'll Lamely Attempt Serious.
Yeah, so I've sucked a little at blogging regularly. But it's because I've found and been obsessively reading freakin' awesome weblogs like this, this, this, and this. Oh yeah. And this. Whew. It's been busy and fascinating. How in the world can other people read so many blogs AND write on their own? Annnnnd have a life? I'm pretty much amazed.
I've been spending lots of time with the family lately. Since this is pretty much the last time I'll ever be living at home. (!!)
So, we live in the suburbs. There are no real sidewalks outside of neighborhoods, hardly any crosswalks, and public transportation sucks (does it even exist here?). Tonight three of my siblings and I decided to walk a few miles to Subway (and Handels!) for dinner. On the way there, Anthony asked me if I thought our family is "greener" than the average family. Seriously, where does he get these questions? :) We got into a discussion about it and how we could be more "green." At Subway he told the sandwich guy he didn't want a plastic bag for his kids' meal, because he's "green." The teenage boy looked confused. Probably since the suburb we live in? Is called Green.
It's a little strange how "green" is becoming such a marketable word, though. Everything from TLC's "I've Got Nothing to Wear" to Oprah is touting the trendy "green" label. Glamour magazine even did a special for Earth Day. It's so odd. I'm kind of torn as to whether I think it's a great thing that more people are starting to care about conscientious living or if I'm totally skeptical of their insincerity. Fair weather fans, you know? It's probably a bit of both. Because I can't claim to be some hard and sturdy environmentalist who's living her life completely free of consumerism. But at the same time, I constantly find myself slightly sickened by all of this sugar coating of environmental concerns so as to make it more palatable to those who might not want to risk their comfort. I can't resolve how I feel. I vacillate between wanting to reprimand others and guiltily wishing to be blissfully ignorant. :)
Also? Can we talk about how worried I am about kids and technology? Because. Oh. My. Gosh. I don't think kids play outside much anymore. Honestly, in my day (ha! can't wait to say that to my kids...) we played flashlight tag, ghost in the graveyard, football, kickball...anything and everything outside! We knew all of the kids in the neighborhood and somehow we'd always know what was going on. My mom would let us play for hours at a time without really knowing where we were. (I fear I might be slightly more neurotic as a mother...)
Where have all the kids gone? Is it just my neighborhood or does there seem to be less kids outside in general?! Now they've got computers, AIM, video games cell phones, ipods, Netflix and DVR to entertain them for hours. It's so depressing. My little brother and sister aren't even sure how to go about meeting the kids in the neighborhood. So they stay holed up inside, all plugged in to computer and the TV. So the only way they meet friends is through church groups, school, or camps. Which means someone has to drive them to their friends' house - which means more gas money and carbon emissions. :-) Oh dear. I better stop or I'll completely depress myself. I think that people are forgetting how to interact in person - our companionship is being reduced to emails, Facebook, AIM, blogging (!), and don't get me wrong - I think technology is extremely useful. Dude, I am the Google Queen! I have lived in 3 different countries - the internet keeps me in touch with very mobile friends! My fiance lived out West - without our cell phones and Google chat, it would have sucked even more! : ) But I still think that technology can give another way out from true intimacy. Not just with kids, but with adults, too. We don't need to go out and meet the neighbors, let's just stay inside and watch our 1,000 channels on digital cable. But the difference with kids is that they won't know another way.
If I have kids, there's no way they're gonna have cable or video games. I'll kick them out the door, even if they'll be the ONLY kids playing outside by then. :)
I've been spending lots of time with the family lately. Since this is pretty much the last time I'll ever be living at home. (!!)
So, we live in the suburbs. There are no real sidewalks outside of neighborhoods, hardly any crosswalks, and public transportation sucks (does it even exist here?). Tonight three of my siblings and I decided to walk a few miles to Subway (and Handels!) for dinner. On the way there, Anthony asked me if I thought our family is "greener" than the average family. Seriously, where does he get these questions? :) We got into a discussion about it and how we could be more "green." At Subway he told the sandwich guy he didn't want a plastic bag for his kids' meal, because he's "green." The teenage boy looked confused. Probably since the suburb we live in? Is called Green.
It's a little strange how "green" is becoming such a marketable word, though. Everything from TLC's "I've Got Nothing to Wear" to Oprah is touting the trendy "green" label. Glamour magazine even did a special for Earth Day. It's so odd. I'm kind of torn as to whether I think it's a great thing that more people are starting to care about conscientious living or if I'm totally skeptical of their insincerity. Fair weather fans, you know? It's probably a bit of both. Because I can't claim to be some hard and sturdy environmentalist who's living her life completely free of consumerism. But at the same time, I constantly find myself slightly sickened by all of this sugar coating of environmental concerns so as to make it more palatable to those who might not want to risk their comfort. I can't resolve how I feel. I vacillate between wanting to reprimand others and guiltily wishing to be blissfully ignorant. :)
Also? Can we talk about how worried I am about kids and technology? Because. Oh. My. Gosh. I don't think kids play outside much anymore. Honestly, in my day (ha! can't wait to say that to my kids...) we played flashlight tag, ghost in the graveyard, football, kickball...anything and everything outside! We knew all of the kids in the neighborhood and somehow we'd always know what was going on. My mom would let us play for hours at a time without really knowing where we were. (I fear I might be slightly more neurotic as a mother...)
Where have all the kids gone? Is it just my neighborhood or does there seem to be less kids outside in general?! Now they've got computers, AIM, video games cell phones, ipods, Netflix and DVR to entertain them for hours. It's so depressing. My little brother and sister aren't even sure how to go about meeting the kids in the neighborhood. So they stay holed up inside, all plugged in to computer and the TV. So the only way they meet friends is through church groups, school, or camps. Which means someone has to drive them to their friends' house - which means more gas money and carbon emissions. :-) Oh dear. I better stop or I'll completely depress myself. I think that people are forgetting how to interact in person - our companionship is being reduced to emails, Facebook, AIM, blogging (!), and don't get me wrong - I think technology is extremely useful. Dude, I am the Google Queen! I have lived in 3 different countries - the internet keeps me in touch with very mobile friends! My fiance lived out West - without our cell phones and Google chat, it would have sucked even more! : ) But I still think that technology can give another way out from true intimacy. Not just with kids, but with adults, too. We don't need to go out and meet the neighbors, let's just stay inside and watch our 1,000 channels on digital cable. But the difference with kids is that they won't know another way.
If I have kids, there's no way they're gonna have cable or video games. I'll kick them out the door, even if they'll be the ONLY kids playing outside by then. :)
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Walk This Way
Much has been going on!
Leany is off and married in Houston, my wedding is increasingly closer (invites almost all sent! tuxedos picked! shower in 2 weeks! registry finished! etc!) and I am surprisingly getting into all of this planning stuff. Black and white, calla lilies and a little burgundy/red wine-ish are the themes of the wedding. Along with love, sustainability and all things FUN!! :) Being at Eileen's wedding actually made me super excited for me and Mike's wedding. (side note: There is no really great way to word that. Let's review our options, shall we? Mike and I's, Me and Mike's, I and Mike's, Mike and Me's....it's been a problem when trying to word this. I generally stick with Our Wedding or My Wedding but that just sounds selfish. Anyway...I just had to vent. It's been bugging me.)
Tomorrow marks my first task as the newly appointed Americorps VISTA for Ohio Campus Compact. A conference call at 11:30 am. I'm so so sooo excited to be a part of such a wonderful organization. Idealistic organizations RULE! Plus, I'll get to hang out with kids. :)
Guess what?! Mike is arriving Saturday, June 30th at 9 am. AHHH!!! The 11 month long distance relationship is almost over... It's about freaking time! : ) Can I just say - I am so excited for the future! This month will be full of family and fun, then Mike comes, then family trip to San Francisco, then job training in Chicago, then moving into the apartment in Dayton, then starting my job! Then getting married, then a wonderful honeymoon in New England (full of bed and breakfasts, farms, Ben and Jerrys, and so much more...) *sigh* :)
amy, jamie, me, and craig rocking out at leany's wedding. so. much. fun!
aren't my friends beautiful? i love them
Leany is off and married in Houston, my wedding is increasingly closer (invites almost all sent! tuxedos picked! shower in 2 weeks! registry finished! etc!) and I am surprisingly getting into all of this planning stuff. Black and white, calla lilies and a little burgundy/red wine-ish are the themes of the wedding. Along with love, sustainability and all things FUN!! :) Being at Eileen's wedding actually made me super excited for me and Mike's wedding. (side note: There is no really great way to word that. Let's review our options, shall we? Mike and I's, Me and Mike's, I and Mike's, Mike and Me's....it's been a problem when trying to word this. I generally stick with Our Wedding or My Wedding but that just sounds selfish. Anyway...I just had to vent. It's been bugging me.)
Tomorrow marks my first task as the newly appointed Americorps VISTA for Ohio Campus Compact. A conference call at 11:30 am. I'm so so sooo excited to be a part of such a wonderful organization. Idealistic organizations RULE! Plus, I'll get to hang out with kids. :)
Guess what?! Mike is arriving Saturday, June 30th at 9 am. AHHH!!! The 11 month long distance relationship is almost over... It's about freaking time! : ) Can I just say - I am so excited for the future! This month will be full of family and fun, then Mike comes, then family trip to San Francisco, then job training in Chicago, then moving into the apartment in Dayton, then starting my job! Then getting married, then a wonderful honeymoon in New England (full of bed and breakfasts, farms, Ben and Jerrys, and so much more...) *sigh* :)
amy, jamie, me, and craig rocking out at leany's wedding. so. much. fun!
aren't my friends beautiful? i love them
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