May 29th, 2011 (Day 149)

I'm still dog sitting in Grosse Pointe. Today I had nothing to do. I slept in, ate lunch, took a shower, watched a movie, and did a lot of homework. I actually did all of my homework for this coming up week in my human sexuality class. 4 assignments done and now I don't have to worry about them next week! Wahoo!


My picture of the day...Blondie-one of the three foster kittens that are staying at this house. They're all very small but rambunctious kittens!

May 28th, 2011 (Day 148)

I started dog/house sitting in GP again yesterday and Sarah came to visit!


It's only 11:30am but I can already predict the best part of my day will be waking up and spending time with Sarah and having her cook me breakfast. :D

May 27th, 2011 (Day 147)

I got accepted for an awesome internship today! At 9am I had an interview at a foster care and adoption agency. I was a little nervous about it, just because I wanted it so badly! I was accepted on the spot. I am really excited for it to start, even though that isn't until the beginning of September.



They do so many things! Home visits, training and certification for foster parents, counseling with kids in foster care, counseling for birth parents, counseling for foster parents, adoptions, adoption counseling, events for the kids in foster care, policy advocacy/change meetings with the state, court for actual adoptions, etc. The woman told me I would basically be exposed to all of the above initially and as my internship progresses I can choose which area interests me the most and work there. :)

May 26th, 2011 (Day 146)

Just a normal day today. Had my yearly pap smear/gyno appointment in the morning and then worked 3-11.



I took this picture in the exam room while I was waiting for my doctor. I went to a new gyno referred to me by my new (ish) primary care physician that I love. I think they were friends in med school. I really like my new doctor too!

May 25th, 2011 (Day 145)

After 3 years of having this Macbook, I recently just discovered how to use the calendar on it. It helps me feel organized. I've actually been feeling a bit busy this month!

May 24th, 2011 (Day 144)

I had fun today! Annie came over and we went on a bike ride with Lauren too. Then we went to The Road Show which I have NEVER been to. It was pretty cool.


Oh, and I got to hang out with my oldest friend Britty tonight too. Overall it was a good day!

May 23rd, 2011 (Day 143)

Happy 21st birthday Corinne!




The birthday girl had a fun night! Success!

May 22nd, 2011 (Day 142)

Today the healthy eating and working out regime started again. I've been on a break for birthday/vacation festivities and have gained weight back. I'm bummed about it but not going to dwell on it. Just need to get the weight off again!


Healthy salad I had for lunch representing (another) new beginning!


I went shopping with Lauren for healthy groceries. Then, we went on a nice bike ride around the neighborhood. We got all nostalgic passing by the houses all of our friends used to live in. We even went through both catwalks to Mohawk and Iroquois and rode on the path around there. I haven't been there in SO long!

Later on I went to Sarah's and we took Spencer for a walk and then hung out.

Even later on I went with Chris, Candice, and Kseniya up to Snooker's to meet Corinne and Jordan at midnight to celebrate Corinne's 21st. I had way too much to drink but it was pretty fun!

May 21st, 2011 (Day 141)

Today was the most gorgeous day EVER! I had no real plans, so I just kind of putzed around. I decided to FINALLY paint this wooden table my dad made for me. I sat outside and enjoyed the gorgeous weather while painting this bad boy. The neighbors came by to chat and see what I was up to and it was just a good day. :)

Ignore the weird shadows and the pieces of wood it is drying on. I'm happy with how it turned out!

Then I went on my first bike ride ever (since I was seriously about 12 years old) with Lauren. We got new bikes for our 21st birthday. I need to get a picture of mine. It is that frosty mint green. I love it!

Later on, I sat outside with a bunch of my neighbors. The kids played and the adults chatted and drank beers (or in my case, diet coke and Bacardi Limon). It is a funny realization that I am now an official adult. My neighbors wanted to get me drunk because I was their favorite babysitter (for their kids). I had fun! It officially is feeling like summertime.

May 20th, 2011 (Day 140)

Tonight was Girls Night in Hamtramck!





I had a lot of fun at Ice!

May 19th, 2011 (Day 139)

I love my friends. We've all been friends for so long that it is just easy to effortlessly coexist in eachother's presence and have a good time!

May 18th, 2011 (Day 138)

I am actually a Safehaus employee as of today and no longer an intern! I am actually getting paid now to do the same thing I basically have been doing all along. It is really cool. I enjoy the job a lot. It has its moments where it can be really tough and challenging but it is also really fun.


Today I totally kicked ass and owned at Monopoly. I know I have a similar picture somewhere else in my blog, but I just had to post this. I had Park Place AND BOARDWALK! And I all the pinks and all the yellows and had four houses on each of those cards! It was amazing.


Here is a second picture since I feel guilty about the first picture being repetitive of another blog post. This is a tree in my backyard that is so gorgeous in the spring when it blooms!

May 17th, 2011 (Day 137)

No words needed!

May 16th, 2011 (Day 136)

Happy 1 month Sarah :) I'm bummed I didn't get a picture relating to this occasion for my blog. You make me super happy though!



Oliver had a bad night. My poor baby in his bed with his favorite kong wubba will have to do, picture wise! Hopefully he never accidentally eats THC again. He wasn't a fan.

May 15th, 2011 (Day 135)

Today was my aunt Kristi and her fiancee Kori's bridal shower! Lauren wasn't feeling well, so we didn't stay the whole time, but they had the cutest decorations and it was good to see everyone!

After the shower I went to Sarah's house and had a good night spending time with her. :)

May 14th, 2011 (Day 134)

I went to the wedding of an old friend from work today, Sandy. She and her (now) husband Brandon make the greatest couple. They are both so sweet, down to earth, and hilarious! Sandy and I both started working at The Animal Activity Center in the springtime in 2007. After all this time, I'm so glad she invited me to her wedding and I got to spend the evening with old friends from work! It was really nice. :)


The old work crew with the gorgeous bride!

May 13th, 2011 (Day 133)

I spent the day with Rachel and Christina. We got smoothies (love Tropical Smoothie Cafe!), went to visit the dogs at my old work, saw Bridesmaids (pretty funny) at the movies, got Five Guys for dinner, and then met up with Annie before going to pick up Lauren from the airport at night.


We had fun jamming to old music we used to love. This picture represents the lyric, "I've got one hand in my pocket and the other is giving a peace sign!"

It made me excited for our upcoming road trip! I love listening to music that brings back lots of memories from the past. :)

May 12th, 2011 (Day 132)

Today was another gorgeous day. I went out to lunch with Annmarie and Corinne. Two of my oldest friends. We've been friends for 10 years! It's crazy to think about that. We went to Osaka and had a delicious lunch. Afterwards, we decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather and had a dog day! We got Fiona, Annmarie's dog, and Bruno, Corinne's dog, and took them for a walk with Bella and Ollie as well.



Dog party!

May 11th, 2011 (Day 131)

Today it was an absolutely gorgeous day. I spent part of the day over at Annie's house with her and her mom. We did a bit of gardening and then sat out on the patio. Annie's mom is an avid gardener and their backyard is always really peaceful and full of nature!


Trees!

May 10th, 2011 (Day 130)

Today was kind of an odd day. We arrived in Detroit at 6:30am, which is approximately 3:30 Vegas time. This was after barely any sleep on the red-eye flight home. I got back to my house around 8am and slept until nearly 2pm. I have a feeling my sleep schedule is going to be all off now. I'm trying to stay awake and not nap anymore today, but I feel exhausted and so drained from this weekend. Coming home from vacations always suck!


Watching the sun rise from way up in the sky this morning from the airplane was kind of peaceful and nice though.

May 9th, 2011 (Day 129)

Our last day in Vegas! So sad!

Gwen, Katie, Clay, and Jake all had early flights out of Vegas so we said our goodbyes the night before. Lauren left around 3pm to take a bus from Vegas to California to visit Ross. It was just me and Mupa for the majority of the day! We gambled and hung out at the hotel. We had a red-eye flight out of Vegas at midnight (3am eastern time) and arrived back home around 6:30am (EST time).


The most exciting thing that happened to me all weekend, gambling wise, was getting four aces in video poker. As you can see, that won me 400 quarters ($100) and is the third best "win" you can have in video poker. Score! Also, I'm slightly addicted to video poker.

May 8th, 2011 (Day 128)

We rented an outdoor cabana/villa by the pool for the day. It was nice to spend the majority of the day outside by the pool and in the sun with the entire family!


Hanging out with Jake in the villa!

Me, Lauren, and Katie went and got mani/pedis done in the afternoon. I love being pampered! No pics of that. My fingers and toes are OPI California Raspberry which is fun and summery!

Later on we went to the Palm Restaurant, which everyone seems to love, for dinner. It's in Caeser's so we got to walk through there to get to the restaurant.


Lauren and me at dinner!


Even later on (at 10pm) Lauren, Matt, Kim, and myself went to see a Cirque du Soleil show called Zumanity.


More of The Strip at night.


They all this show the "sensual" side of Cirque du Soleil. The cast was really interactive with the crowd. It was really fun and funny. The stunts were amazing! I really enjoyed it. It isn't for the prude though, that is for sure! Lots of naked people and raunchy acts/humor.

May 7th, 2011 (Day 127)

Another awesome day in Vegas.

Lauren and I went by the pool and laid out for a few hours in the morning. We had massage appointments as a birthday present from Katie and Clay, so we just took it easy all morning/afternoon laying poolside and then getting our massages.


Gwen had these shirts made for us so I wore mine to the spa!


I also got to spend a little time loving on the Jakester!


The Eiffel Tower at night.


Part of The Strip.


The Bellagio water fountain show!

We had a nice dinner at a steakhouse and then Katie took Lauren and I around to see some of the other hotels/casinos and we got to experience the Strip at night and see the infamous Bellagio water show! It was really cool.

May 6th, 2011 (Day 126)

Our first full day in Vegas! Katie, Clay, and Jake flew in today and it was so good to see them and have them there to celebrate with us! Jake is getting so big. He is 7 months old now and can sit up by himself and feed himself his bottle. He is such a cutie!


We stayed at the Paris Hotel, so this is us standing in front of the Eiffel Tower ...which is ridiculously huge for a replica! I think they said it was actually half the size of the real Eiffel Tower.


View of part of the strip (mostly the Bellagio) from the restaurant.


The entire family celebrated our birthday dinner at the Eiffel Tower restaurant. The food was delicious. We tried caviar for the first time ever. It actually was pretty good! It was so nice to have the family together for a delicious dinner!


Gwen ordered us a special 21st birthday cake. It was so yummy!

Overall, it was a really good day!

May 5th, 2011 (Day 125)

Today we arrived in Las Vegas!


The view of the mountains from the plane was gorgeous.


Today was Cinco de Mayo, so of course we celebrated by drinking mojitos.


Let the rest of the 21st birthday festivities begin. :)

After we checked into the hotel, we sat in one of the bars and got acclimated to the craziness. We played a couple slot machines to learn the ropes! It was an early night because of the time difference and the long day of traveling.

May 4th, 2011 (Day 124)

We went to "Girls Night" at Rosie O'Grady's in Fashionable Ferndale tonight and had a really fun time!

May 3rd, 2011 (Day 123)

Today I celebrated my birthday with Sarah! We went to Shogun which had amazing food. The guy working the hibachi grill produced some delicious food!





Super yummy! Lunch was the best part of my day, by far. :)

May 2nd, 2011 (Day 122)

21st birthday! Wahoo! At midnight we went to the bar and celebrated with good friends.




Before the bar!


Drinks/shots at exactly midnight.






In general there was lots of good company during the 24 hours of my 21st birthday and I had a really good time celebrating!