June 26th, 2011 (Day 177)

I thought today was going to be a bad day, but it ended up being pretty good! I was supposed to work 7am-3pm, which meant I had to wake up at 6. Which is rough for me. I got to work and ended up only staying a half day. I got off work early and came home and napped. Then, I hung out with Sarah. We did a little shopping, got sushi for dinner, took the dogs for a walk, and went to Annie's to hang out (and make lemon bars). I actually had a pretty ideal Sunday!


Nom nom nom, sushi!

June 25th, 2011 (Day 176)

This popular "how I'm feeling today" poster hangs up at work. We like the kids to get talking about their thoughts and feelings for the day. This poster hangs in the main living space (dining/hang out room) and does prompt a lot of conversation from the kids as well as staff. It is a good ice breaker, you could say.

I remember my grandma having a large magnet of this at her old house. There was a little square magnet to go on top of it, and I used to love picking out my one "feeling" of the day when I'd visit my grandma. I never realized it as a kid, but only having one box makes you put all of your emotions into one identified feeling. At work, we encourage the kids to have as many "feelings" of the day as they want. I like that option better. It is less limiting to just be able to be free in your feelings, instead of stuffing it all into one little box.

June 24th, 2011 (Day 175)

Today I worked a 10 hour shift. It was a long day! It was a calm and relaxing atmosphere though, at least. The group of kids at work is a nice group. I read the majority of a novel in the past two days. It is the first book I've read in forever, to be honest. Whenever I have to read now it seems to be textbooks for school and then I get so burnt out from reading, I don't want to read for pleasure.


It was so nice to read for pleasure for once! In 4 days at work I ended up reading over 550 pages of (two) novels. Hopefully I can get back into reading for fun!

June 23rd, 2011 (Day 174)

Today began a 4 day streak of basically living at work. I don't mind being at work. I kind of enjoy it. The group of kids we had this weekend was really calm and quiet. I spent a lot of time just sitting and reading while they played on the laptops, watched tv, or played Wii.



As I left for work, Oliver looked so cute and comfy on the couch. When life gets busy and is constantly go-go-go-go, I wish I had the life of a dog sometimes!

June 22nd, 2011 (Day 173)

I had a good day today. I mostly just hung out with Sarah. We went to KMart and bought canvas shoes that we painted.


KMart sells Justin Beiber bathing suits for little girls, which I thought was kind of ridiculous, so I took a picture of Sarah modeling it.


The shoes that I painted. I am so not an artist.


Aligataaaaa!

June 21st, 2011 (Day 172)

So, today I finished all of my weekly homework. I swear I will be so glad when these classes are over. I feel like I put so many hours in each week just to get this stuff done, I want to be completely freeeee!

Mina came over for dinner and we made a nice little summer meal for everyone.

After dinner I went to Corinne's and we sat on her patio and played Words with Friends.



We met up with Annmarie and Annie at Annie's house eventually. The four of us sat around Annie's dinning room table and all Played Words with Friends. We are huge dorks. We also made yummy popcorn on the stove ... which was kind of fun because there was so much rain and thunder and lightening outside. We got to listen to the storm through the screen door and just hang out. It was a nice evening with friends!



Words with Friends dorks.



Delicious popcorn made on the stove. :)

June 20th, 2011 (Day 171)

Lets see...today was semi-productive. Annmarie came over in the early afternoon and we worked on homework for a few hours. After she left for work I drove out to Rochester to hang out with Britty. We chatted and she took me up to her work (Best Buy) to look at cameras. I think I am going to buy a new one before I leave for my road trip in a few weeks. My old Canon is 3.5 years old and the picture quality is just going downhill, which is a bummer because I really like the camera!


I'm going to do a little bit more research on this Canon but it might be my new camera!

So, that was my day. Sarah came over to hang out for a bit at night and it was good to see her. :)

June 19th, 2011 (Day 170)

Today was Father's Day! I went with my dad and Lauren to Grandpa Jack and Carol's house for a BBQ. We met their new dog, Maddie, who they adopted a couple months ago. She is such a sweetie! After we went to Mina and Papa's to see Papa. :)


My dad and his dad. :)


Cody had people over later on that night. It was fun. I got a little too drunk and instigated a skinny dipping session, which was very liberating!



Me and Jesska


Oops my whole drink spilled.

June 18th, 2011 (Day 169)

Today we had a few hours to spend in Toronto before our departure. We walked to the Eaton Centre (big mall mostly on Yonge Street in the crazy crowded shopping area of Toronto) and did a little shopping. After we shopped we went to an Indian restaurant for lunch. It was my first time having Indian food and I really enjoyed it! After we left Toronto we headed to Niagara Falls. Neither of us had ever been, so it was really cool to have that life experience!





It was a gorgeous day!

June 17th, 2011 (Day 168)

The entire day was spent in the lovely city of Toronto with my best friend Annie! I had such a good day. :)

We started off on foot and went to explore Chinatown. We walked down the streets, went into a cool fruit market, went in a few shops, and asked a local for a restaurant recommendation. So glad we did because we ate the most delicious Chinese food in the world! After that we walked north up to the University of Toronto/Queen's Park area and putzed around there. Then we walked over to the Church/Wellesley neighborhood which is the gay neighborhood. I really liked that area! Then we walked back down through Yonge Street (the crazy busy main street with tons of shops and PEOPLE). We went back to the hotel to freshen up and then met my friend Dani for dinner. We got delicious sushi and then walked around some more. We stumbled upon an Avril Lavigne concert on a random street, it was pretty funny. And then Dani lead us on a walk to the water and we sat and chatted. Overall it was a really good day!


Chinatown.


Gorgeous graffiti in Chinatown.


Queen's Park.


Rainbow pride street signs in the Church/Wellesley neighborhood!


Me and Dani in front of the CN Tower.

June 16th, 2011 (Day 167)

I had a nice and accomplished day today. I got some homework done, went and got my oil changed (I was way overdue with this), had dinner with my grandma, and then spent some time with Sarah.


Sarah's dog, Spencer, is so cute he had to be featured as my picture of the day. :)

Tomorrow Annie and I leave for Toronto! I'm super excited!

June 15th, 2011 (Day 166)

I didn't do much all day besides work 3-11. At work I got lots of games of Solitaire in and also my new obsession, Words with Friends!



It was a pretty average day, so the screen shots of these games on my phone will have to do!

June 14th, 2011 (Day 165)

Today Annie and I ventured downtown to see Cody and Joe's new apartment in the Cass Park neighborhood of Detroit. I love it and am so happy for the boys!


The boys with their new Ikea chairs!



They have the best views of the city!

I am so happy for them and so glad we got to go down and see their place on the first official day it was theirs. I can't wait to see the progress as they get moved in and plaint the rooms and stuff. :)

June 13th, 2011 (Day 164)

I had intended for this day to be a homework day. I would say I got about 2/3 of my weekly homework done today. I also went out to lunch with my mom and Lauren. Later on I went on a bike ride with Jess, Annie, and Annmarie. After our bike ride Cody and Rachel came over and we all hung out and chatted and drank a little bit. I love summer with my friends. :)


I wanted to see what I looked like riding my bike. I think I look kind of weird. Oh well. :P


We went to my old elementary school on our bike ride and stopped and swung on the swings for a while.


I got really nostalgic at the playground. I spent SO much time there since I went to Mohawk from Kindergarten until 5th grade. So many recesses spent out there. Every piece of playground equipment brought back memories. The jungle gym houses, the spider's web, the swings, the twirly bar, the wagon slide. It was pretty cool to go back there though, it had been so long since I was last there. :)

June 12th, 2011 (Day 163)

I worked the morning shift at work today for the first time ever. 7am to 3pm. It actually went by pretty quick. It was fairly relaxed, I'm not sure if it was the shift or the fact that it was also a Sunday. It seems like I'm being scheduled to work the morning shift every other Sunday to give the woman who normally works it a bit of a break. I definitely needed a little nap after I got home from work. Then I went and hung out with Sarah.


She is painting her room, so we got to stare at this wall of samples at Home Depot for a while. I actually really love looking at paint colors. It is fun to think about what colors I'll paint each room in my future house! That probably makes me a huge dork.

June 11th, 2011 (Day 162)

I babysat my neighbors across the street today. Their oldest daughter Natalie, who is 5, had her dance recital, so I watched the two younger girls. Nicole is 2 and Claire is 13 months old. They are both adorable and a lot of fun


I love these girls!


Seriously, how cute is baby Claire?!

June 10th, 2011 (Day 161)

Today's post is all about animals! Haha.


First, my baby boy was being so super cute, so I had to take a picture of him!


Later on I drove out to Rochester to see Britt's mom's new house. I love it! It is an hold historic home that has been renovated. Here is her mom's 8 month old Great Dane puppy, Luca. He is a cutie for sure.


Later on that night I went back to Britt's place and hung out with her and Buddha (her Bengal kitty). We had a sleepover. It made me feel 12 again. I love my oldest best friend!

June 9th, 2011 (Day 160)

I had a really amazing day today. First, Annie and I went on a really long bike ride through the Macomb-Orchard Trails. We did a good hour ride and probably at least 6 miles. Annie packed us a delicious lunch that we enjoyed while hanging out with nature! After that I hung out with my crazy cousin Lauren for a couple hours. Then, Sarah came over and we talked and hung out for a while. After she left I went to Laura's and hung out with Laura, Cody, and Rachel. I saw lots of awesome people packed into one day!


Biking with Annie through the trails.


My cousin Lauren legit drives with her foot. She is a hilarious person! I love her.

June 8th, 2011 (Day 159)

Today I had an extremely average day. I slept in, putzed around at home, worked 3-11, and came home.

I got my work schedule for the rest of June today and realized I have a week off, just randomly. I really need a change of scenery, so depending on Annie's work schedule (she finds out tomorrow what it will be) we are definitely going to spend some time in Canada. Either a night in Windsor or hopefully a couple nights in Toronto!


My June calendar with a glorious week off!

Hopefully a Canadian getaway will work out!

June 7th, 2011 (Day 158)

Today started off pretty awesome. Another pool day with friends. It was so hot but laying in the pool felt so good!

A really good day turned really really rough.

Luckily I have amazing friends who are there for me and help me get through the hard times.


Annmarie and Corinne were happy to be featured in my blog.


Britt, Annie, Rachel and Jess (not pictured) were not so happy to be photographed. Oh well!

June 6th, 2011 (Day 157)

Another amazing summer day! I had set out to spend a day working on homework. I accomplished almost all of my weekly homework by 3pm when Jess invited me over for a pool day. I went over there and laid by the pool (and then in the pool) with Jess and Rachel for a few hours. Lauren and Annie met us up over there later and we enjoyed the sun and each others company! We departed and reconvened later on and had a little BBQ outside. We grilled hot dogs, had chips and salsa, potato salad, and I made a yummy fruit salad! It was nice to sit outside next to the chiminea and drink beers (Bacardi limon and diet coke for me!) and chat with old friends. We had about 10 people over there and it was another good way to spend a summer night. I'm enjoying my life a lot lately. It seems like my friends are less busy and have more time to just relax and hang out, which is super awesome!


Delicious pool day!



Fun with friends ;)

June 5th, 2011 (Day 156)

I had such a good day today! Annie and Annmarie and I went on a nice bike ride around the subdivision. We then got frozen lemonades from McDonalds which just hit the spot. We went to Annie's for dinner and grilled burgers and made the most amazing salad! Spinach, homegrown lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, olives, and avocado with a homemade vinaigrette dressing. Yum! We met up with Cody later and watched Black Swan. I love that movie!



The tastes of summer right here!

June 4th, 2011 (Day 155)

Today I went to my first ever gay pride event! It was Motor City Pride at Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit. I had such a good time!


"Live and love free"


Pride


I had lots of fun with Cody and Rachel and Christina!