September 29th, 2011 (Day 272)

Today was an interesting day. I was supposed to go to court for a few hours for my internship, but Mallory and I got there and found out the case we were supposed to be sitting in on got rescheduled and no one told us! We were upset for a few seconds and then we coincidentally ran into one of the foster care case managers at our internship waiting outside the courtroom next door! We asked her if we could join her and she said yes! It was very brief-maybe 10 minutes total. It was for a group of 4 siblings who have been in the same foster home for years. For some reason there have been complications and delays with the adoption process. Their meeting today was just a three month check up with the foster parents, Childhelp foster care caseworker, adoption counselor, DHS worker, etc. It was really exciting though, because the judge FINALLY gave them a date for their adoption to be finalized! October 14th. We are hoping to be able to attend. I almost cried when they said the date, the foster parents were SO excited it was awesome!

Since we had a really short day, unexpectedly, I was happy to go home and take a nap! After my nap I had a meeting down at WSU for a couple hours. Driving home in rush hour was not fun. I met up with my mom and Lauren and Annmarie and we went to Jenny's house for a couple hours for a 31 Bags party. I got to pick out some stuff my mom will be stashing away for me until Christmas. I can't wait. :P


I wore my new shirt today (after court, of course!) that I got on clearance from Target for $6. It makes me happy!

September 28th, 2011 (Day 271)

Busy day! I worked 6:30am to 1pm. Too early to start work! After work I was basically not functioning so I needed a nap. :P I got up and got ready for Mina's surprise birthday dinner. It was so cute, she was so happy she cried! The food was so yummy, at the Brewery. I had to do homework when I got home tonight, blah. Now I'm trying to go to bed (semi) early. Tomorrow I have court for my internship and I'm excited for that.


Surprise!


Birthday Mina!


Blowing out her candle.

September 27th, 2011 (Day 270)

Today I worked at the AAC again. My shift was supposed to be 2-9 in boarding but I ended up 2-7 in daycare and 7-9 in boarding. It was a pretty busy day, I'm getting used to a physically demanding job again! Safehaus has spoiled me in that department!


I wonder how many hours of my life I have spent locked inside these 4 walls of the doggy daycare room. Probably a million. :P

It was strange being back in daycare and running all the dogs...but it was kind of nice. Especially because my favorite dog, Emily, was there!

September 26th, 2011 (Day 269)

Interned all day on this rainy day! Here is another sneak peak at the life of an intern.

The desk that I share with Mallory (the other two Monday interns share the one right next to it, and Thursday we switch off with the other intern).

It wasn't a bad day! We did some paperwork, research on abortion/birth control policies in the state for minors (the foster care dept. supervisor was putting together a policy for teen girls in foster care), and started switching over old charts and files to the new system.

September 25th, 2011 (Day 268)

Well, today was bizarre! I had to get up at 5:30am, which was just very unfortunate. I worked 6am-2pm at the ANIMAL ACTIVITY CENTER! I hadn't worked there in over a year. If I never quit I would have been there for 4.5 years. How nuts is that? It is so different from when I first started, yet so the same. I got sad thinking about all the awesome coworkers I have had there in the past that have come and gone. I barely know anyone who works there currently.

Anyway, after work I had to take a shower and then a nap (from 3-6pm!). Now I'm just hanging out this evening, this upcoming week is going to be a busy one!


My baby Fern at the AAC. I missed her!

September 24th, 2011 (Day 267)

Today started off a little rough. I was feeling kind of hung over, which usually doesn't happen to me!

Lauren and I did some shopping. We had to get baby Jake his birthday presents and Mina some birthday presents. Jake turns 1 on Oct. 1st and Mina is turning 65 on Sept. 27. We got Mina a nice picture frame with a family picture in it we took last time Katie and Jake visited. We also got her an engraved bracelet (it says "Mina" on it which is what we call her). Jake we got a fun little bath two, two little baby books, and then a nice picture book about Michigan so he will be able to read it growing up and know where part of his family is from!

Annmarie and baby Fi came over after shopping to hang out.


Pups had a rough day, apparently. :P Haha, love them!

September 23rd, 2011 (Day 266)

Happy birthday Annmarie!

Today Annmarie finally turned 21. We heard about this local bar doing this cool special on Friday nights, so that is what Annmarie planned for her birthday. If you have a party of 8 or more and arrive at 8 pm, everyone in the party gets wristbands and gets free drinks from 8-10 pm and free pizza! I took advantage of the free drinks and got pretty silly.





I enjoyed a night spent with my favorite people! Good friends + free drinks = inevitably fun night!

September 22nd, 2011 (Day 265)

I got in over 10 hours of interning today, working at a fundraiser event. It was a the Detroit Gun Club in Walled Lake. So many rich old men! At first I was working right next to the registration table taking down people's credit card info if they didn't have cash. Let me tell you, most of these people definitely had cash. :P Then I moved on to inside the gun club, behind the bar! There were probably 15 different bottles of scotch and bourbon donated. I had my own portion of the bar pour "shots" for a donation of $5 each going directly to Childhelp. I had never "bar-tended" before so it was kind of cool! The interns got to take a break to eat dinner and then after that I cut pictures from the day and unwrapped and put together little plaques all the members go to take home with them.


It was a cool day. I liked feeling apart of something and coming together for a good cause! When I got home that night the office manager sent the interns the nicest text thanking us for our help and saying they couldn't have done it without us. It was just so nice to be thanked and appreciated! Everyone at my internship is so nice!

September 21st, 2011 (Day 264)

I proclaim today as a very productive day! I ran errands, made a healthy dinner (skinny chicken pot pie soup), and went to my seminar class downtown. After class I even finished a quiz for one of my classes that isn't due until next week.


My "lol" for the day. I got up to get a text book and when I came back to the kitchen Bella was sitting on my seat. I think she wanted to text my friends, take my quiz, possibly surf Facebook, and eat my dinner for me. Silly girl. :P

September 20th, 2011 (Day 263)

Today was a nice day. Annmarie came over with Fiona in the afternoon and we hung out and took the dogs for a long walk. This is what happens when the two of us try to walk our 3 dogs...big clusterfuck. Haha. In the evening I went to a foster parent support group meeting for my internship. It was interesting to talk to and interact with the foster parents! Next Thursday I get to go to court to experience a case in which parental rights are probably going to be lost for a little girl in foster care. I am looking forward to seeing the legal aspect of this all.


Puppy party!

September 19th, 2011 (Day 262)

Today was another long day of interning 9-5. It was one of those rainy dreary days when you do not want to get out of bed! It rained all day long. I took a little siesta once I got home. After the nap I went out to dinner with Lauren and Ross to Friar's. They have a really yummy section on their menu that is low-cal, so it is nice to go there while dieting. We also ran to Kroger's to get healthy groceries for the week. Typical day.




The one good thing about today was catching a pretty sunset! The simple things in life!

September 18th, 2011 (Day 261)

I had a nice day spent mostly in solitude. Sometimes I think I'm an abnormal person. I really enjoy the company of other people and often times think the people in my life are seriously the best company in the world! But there are days/times when I really just enjoy being by myself. That was today.

I took a bike ride around my neighborhood by myself this evening. It really left me feeling enlightened. I've been feeling so inspired and happy and completely content lately. It is an awesome feeling. As I rode around the neighborhood in which I've lived for the past 16 years, I had so many happy memories occupy my mind. I passed so many houses of friends (both old and current) who have once lived here but moved away at some point. It is kind of sad in a way, but I try to look at it as everyone has moved on with their lives. I know I am moving forward with my life and I am happy with my direction, even if my physical location has been the same (except for a 9 month hiatus to Detroit which I enjoyed so much!).



I'd like to caption this picture with the lyrics, "the sky is yours."

This has been my mantra lately-We are young, we have so much to look forward to, so much life left to live. I truly believe that. The future inspires me and that is an amazingly priceless feeling. The sky and the world are ours, my friends.

September 17th, 2011 (Day 260)

Crafty day! Lauren and I spent way too much time at Hobby Lobby today.



Evidence: we walked down every single aisle and pondered, including the overwhelming floral aisle.



I ended up buying little jars on sale to make lemon sea salt body scrub! I'm in love. I think I am going to make more and give them out as Christmas presents. It is so awesome and fresh and makes your skin feel amazing.

On the agenda tonight: bonfire with Corinne! And possibly others. Very excited, this fall weather we've been having is perfect for a bonfire night!

September 16th, 2011 (Day 259)

I love weekends and days off!

Today I spent the day with my family during the day. We hung out and went out to dinner. I got fajitas (which I decide was half cheating, half following my diet since I used very little cheese and sour cream and it was mostly just the chicken and veggies and salsa!).





Me and mom at dinner!


Later on I saw a few various friends in one on one settings. It was nice to have conversations with each of them. My middle "stop" of the evening was to the Haddad household. Nina had made a ridiculous amount of fresh hummus. Of course I could not help myself, and I'm glad I had some because it was SOOO good fresh!

Her hummus is always good, but it was a nice treat to have it warm for the first time ever.

September 15th, 2011 (Day 258)

Long day at the office interning! I'm still waiting to get used to waking up early and doing 9-5 shifts. :P


Making low calorie pumpkin muffins and some coffee was a delicious and comforting way to end a long day! Nom nom nom.

September 14th, 2011 (Day 257)

I was on a mission today! I sold some old gold jewelry that wasn't my style for money. I made $600 on 5 ring settings (I kept the diamonds/stones to make into something I actually like in the future), a bracelet, a pendant, and a couple silver items. It was pretty awesome.

Later on was Gabi's last night in Michigan. We had a really nice gathering with friends! Me, Lauren, Gabi, Rachel, Britt, and Annie all came over. We played Cranium and just acted silly. I had a blast, I love my friends!




My gorgeous friends who love being photographed for the blog :P

September 13th, 2011 (Day 256)

Average day today. I had a counseling appointment, cleaned out my car completely (and shop-vacc'ed), and went shopping with my parents for a new fridge! It was a gorgeous day and I enjoyed being off and semi-productive with my life.


Waiting room at counseling.


Brand new fridge! (When ours is delivered it will be white to match the rest of our appliances though.)

September 12th, 2011 (Day 255)

Monday morning at the office, bright and early! Day #2 at the internship consisted of:

Hours 1 & 2- Orientation (learning their computer system and signing papers)
Hour 3- Lunch
Hours 4 & 5- Bitch work (see picture bellow...putting together packets of information for future foster parents...they had a bunch of folders, some had half the papers that were needed, some were missing most of the papers, and we had to go through each one and make sure it had an entire laundry list of papers in the correct order).
Hours 6 & 7- Orientation (watching a movie, which was actually a Lifetime movie made about the agency! Kind of cool!)



Mallory and I peaced out at 4 (instead of 5) because our supervisor left then too. Of course I had to come home and take a little nap. Still can't function waking up at 7:45 am. Hoping that will change one day....soon!

September 11th, 2011 (Day 254)

I guess I should mention something about September 11th. After all, it has been 10 whole years since the tragic event took place. I don't need to rehash my memories of that day. I know that is something I'll always be able to remember and instantly go back to being a naive 11 year old sitting in Mrs. Hazelroth's classroom when first hearing the tragedy that was our country at the time. So sad. I just hope the US can stay a safe and productive country for as long as possible. I know this country has its flaws, but I just don't want to take anything for granted. I'm happy and grateful to live where I live. I know I'm lucky.

Ok, enough of that. Today was Sunday. No work, school, or internship. I hung out with Annmarie for a bit, putzed around, made dinner, did my nails, did a whole lot of nothing. Which was perfect because this upcoming week is going to be quite busy!



Newspaper nails! They still make me happy to do on my nails.


A slice of the asparagus, onion, and (fat free) cream cheese frittata I made for dinner. Very low on calories! (Which is what I need after my Red Robin slip up meal that I ate yesterday, woops!)

September 10th, 2011 (Day 253)

Dally in the Alley! I went down with Corinne and her mom in the afternoon and we did our fair share of Dallying for a few hours. We ran into various friends (Jess, Cody, Joe, Lauren, Ross) downtown. It was so good to be in Detroit where something amazing was taking place. People from the city as well as the suburbs coming together to celebrate and be proud of the area we're from! I love it.


It was a fun night! We hung out at Third Street bar for a while and then on the way back home we stopped at Dolley's to visit Corinne's friend Steph, who was bartending.

We later on met up with Annie and went to Red Robin for a very late dinner.


What I brought home from Dally. I like the eclectic collage feel of it, plus you can't beat the message!

September 9th, 2011 (Day 252)

Today was sister day! Lauren and I did some shopping, went out to dinner, checked out the bulk food store for the first time, got a movie to watch, and then went for a bike ride.


Sister time!

She ditched me for the movie, but I ended up watching it anyway. We got It's Kind of a Funny Story. I liked it!


After our bike ride I had to run to the drug store. We decided to bring the dogs with us because they like riding in the car (like all dogs do)! When I went in the store Oliver was crying for me and was being silly. He kept honking the horn, which was pretty hilarious. Lauren got some funny pictures on her phone of him tripping out.

September 8th, 2011 (Day 251)

Today I had my new internship all day, from 9-5. I will be there twice a week until May! I am actually really looking forward to my time there. It is a foster care and adoption agency but they have so many programs they run! It looks like I will have a lot of opportunities there.

Everyone is really nice so far. We had someone from every department come talk to us about what their specific department does. (We had in-take, independent living skill classes, peer mentors, foster care, adoption, therapy, licensing, etc.)


My brief notes trying to keep everyone's name/position straight and the agency's brochure.


My supervisor also gave me a cool booklet they give all the foster kids, and this is just one of the pages inside of it. I am so excited for this opportunity I have to intern at this agency!

September 7th, 2011 (Day 250)

First actual day of class on campus for the semester! I was looking forward to being downtown again, but today was SO rainy. There was an annoying fiasco with tuition paying and the main building being closed and then having to run in the rain for a half a mile with no umbrella, all before class started. It was kind of miserable. I definitely need to get an umbrella to keep in my car for times like this.


Rainy campus.


Old Main, where my class is again this semester!

September 6th, 2011 (Day 249)

Today was my last day before my actual class (Wednesday night) and my internship (all day Thursday) start!

I went and saw Our Idiot Brother, which was pretty funny.

I also took a long walk, just me and Oliver. It was surprisingly chilly and made me really excited for fall. It was just nice to spend time alone outside in the cool breezy weather with my baby boy. It gave me a lot of clarity and peaceful feeling.



Oliver was too busy enjoying his walk to look at the camera :P

September 5th, 2011 (Day 248)

Happy Labor Day! I went grocery shopping with Lauren to get healthy food to start a new healthier eating routine. Hopefully it'll stick with only nutritious foods in the house! We also went shopping for clothes and I got a new outfit for my internship, which starts in just a few days! I'm a little nervous but excited.

Also, Pintrest is addictive. I have been searching DIY projects and been very inspired to finish up my room!


Empty frame wall collage...I spray painted them all white and then added some green accents!


Close up.

I'm so happy with how it turned out!

September 4th, 2011 (Day 247)

Today I spent most the day out in Oxford with my family. My grandma recently moved in with her boyfriend to a really nice lake house. We spent the day outside on deck. It has cooled down a lot and the breeze from the lake was amazing!


Lake at sunset.


Finished product of my teaser from yesterday! I painted the frames and used a free 8x8 swatch I got of a fabric that I really liked. I'm very happy with the end result!


And more craftiness! I got the idea to put a wall decal on the front glass piece of a picture frame and take the back of the frame out. That way, it looks like the decal is framed on the actual wall..but I can move it around as I please. I was quite happy with my idea!

September 3rd, 2011 (Day 246)

I should mention that we have a house guest this weekend. Little miss Fiona is staying with us while Annmarie and her family members are all out of town in various states/cities. :P


Ollie and his best friend Fi.


Also, this evening I started a fun re-purposing project using these 4 frames that were originally purchased at the Dollar Store many years ago. You will have to wait until tomorrow's post to see the finished product. ;)

September 2nd, 2011 (Day 245)

I've been feeling very crafty lately.



I made a few scrapbook pages. I haven't scrapbooked in forever, so this was fun to get back into it a bit!


Annie had most of the friends over tonight. It was a nice last summer gathering for everyone. We got really drunk and acted silly. (Not pictured: Corinne, Joe, ME, and Christina.)


We even broke out the Apples to Apples game, which is even more fun and hilarious when playing while drunk!