Sometimes I find things on the internet.. O.K. I find a lot of things on the internet, thanks to StumbleUpon. Seriously, click the link and try if out for yourself! It gets me through class on a boring day, and most of the websites I find and share with you guys are because of this program. Anyways, I found 2 awesome videos today that are totally worth the share. O.K. I'll admit it, I cried watching this clip. I have a special connection with music and, of course, making people smile, what better way to combine the two except in this awesome video?! Yeah, it is a commercial and I'm not sure if the 'innocent bystanders' are actors or not but I don't care, this is stinkin' beautiful. And just so you don't leave my blog wailing and someone asks you why you're
crying and you tell them because of my website (that would take a toll on my viewers), here is a video to get you smiling again. Kids never cease to amaze me with their priceless humor and funny little quirks. What this kid does is not a quirk at all, this is talent. Just appreciating the little things in life, I hope you're learning to as well. We can enjoy this little journey together. xo
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Today I did it, I went cliff jumping. It was my very first time and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I have very few words to express the time that was spent in Bloomington Indiana at the quarries. I'll post some pictures and videos to help out with the story telling. We first arrived at the 'spot' which was a church parking lot where we parked the car and discretely got our stuff together to make the forbidden trek out to Rooftop. These quarries are owned by a limestone company and are completely off limits to the public, except those rebels without a cause like us. I was doing some reading about the limestone quarries and apparently the limestone used to build the Empire State Building was taken from right where we were headed. There are also no directions online to the quarry, since it is 'illegal' to go there all the information is spread by word of mouth as to how to reach Rooftop. Luckily, I was going there with a friend of mine who had been before. The winding abandon paths to the quarries were breathtaking, trees shading the gravel walk with the sun peeking through was surreal. Right as your legs start to wonder when you'll ever reach your off-limits destination, you round the bend to the 'beach'. The beach is an area where you can go to chill and swim around, think of it as your first quarry experience. You get a feel for the aqua blue water as well as the nasty sludge at the bottom. Shoes are a must so it's good to practice swimming while lugging around some tennis shoes attached to your tootsies. DB and I didn't spend much time at the beach, we were craving the rush of the jump. He took my back to Rooftop and I went nuts. This place was so amazing. Again, the water was the perfect blue you'd see in a travel magazine, not to mention the beyond fabulous temperature once you finally took the plunge in. One thing that I thought was bizarre was the the place was deserted! Yeah, it's trespassing to go there but it's right next to IU's campus, tons of college kids should be out there! I guess it is summer so most of the hooligans are gone for the next month. I had to admit it was a tad creepy with no one there. There were 4 jumps to choose from in this particular quarry. Jump I: 20ish feet Jump II: 23ish feet Jump III: 30ish feet and Jump IV (Rooftop): at a soaring 65 feet. Not much of an in between, eh? I started with the 20-footer and never looked back. DB and I had a blast jumping and flipping from the limestone cliffs. We had even more fun when random groups of people showed up to join! Everyone went straight to Rooftop and kind of freaked out, we convinced them to come down with us and jump a few times before heading up to the big guy. Sadly I never made it up to Rooftop, I hiked up and looked over the edge with no intentions of jumping, it didn't actually seem that scary. I think I'll try it next time, you only live once! This is already quite a long post so I'll sum up the people we met quickly. First group: 3 random dudes from Boston (?!) who were on their way back from a road trip to Utah. These guys were crazy, like probably medically unstable or something. So fun to hang out with them, such a motley crew. Second group: 2 guys and a girl. Really nice people, did a group jump with us! They were from Indy, just lookin for some fun. I'd say they chose the right place. Last Group: 2 gangly lads. One of them was there for the first time and the other was a vet to the area, showing him around. Jumping off a cliff with 5 people you just met is probably the greatest way to start a friendship. I don't know if I'll ever see those people again; but for now, I can say that they're the only people I've jumped off a cliff with. I don't think I'll be able to say that again come next weekend, I've got an itch for some more cliff jumping. I think I have finally come to accept my internship and all the things that come with it.
Yes, the hours are sucky. Yes, I do not get paid, at all. Yes, it is physically tiring day in and day out. But the reward for helping people who genuinely need help is priceless. Lately, my boss and I have been working side by side with the clients instead of setting up their apartments before they get to America. Knocking on the apartment door and seeing their apartment furnished with a few folding chairs and a blanket on the ground is heart-breaking. It never lasts though because as soon as we start hauling in loads of goodies the party starts. When we first meet the clients they are usually timid and doe-eyed, watching from a distance as we carry in boxes of food and necessities. As time goes on and more furniture gets brought in they seem to loosen up and enjoy our presence. The language barrier is pretty thick but we seem to manage with hand signals and, of course, smiles. It can be exhausting carrying in furniture to 4 different apartments in one day, but I always sleep easier knowing that a family now has their own beds and food in their bellies because of something I contributed to. Although, I'm more than ready to get this internship finished with, I'll soak up all the smiles while I'm here. My weekends have continuously been amazing and always too short. I'm in Muncie currently enjoying the 4th of July festivities with the boys. August 1st can't get here soon enough, I miss it up here! I also got a job! My friend HVM hooked me up with a secretarial job at the international office starting August 1st. It's humbling pay and not many hours but it's better than nothing. I am so thankful that she found me a job, I was really starting to stress out about it. I should know by now to stop worrying because if it's supposed to happen, it will, somehow. BHW, my boyfriend, has also applied to work for AmeriCorps in Muncie starting in September. 150 people applied for the position, and there is only one spot to fill. Fingers crossed that he gets the job. If he does, he will be able to live in Muncie while they provide him with a monthly stipend of $1000. He is very excited about the position, and he deserves it so much, I'm praying that he will get accepted. I'll let you know how that turns out when we find out. That's all for today, I'm going to go enjoy the beautiful weather and wait for the sun to set so I can see some fantastic fireworks! I hope you all have been enjoying this long weekend with your family, cherish this time that you have with them. Laugh often, Me Hey everyone! Again, it's been ages since I've done some serious updating, I'm am so sorry.
This blog is going to be a little slow until I move back up to Muncie the 1st of August. I know I keep saying this but I am SO busy! Some of the questions I post take some deep thought to answer, right now I hardly have time to eat! But, I promise as soon as I get back up to Muncie you'll be able to check back weekly, if not daily, and peek into my brain. Ok, now for the real reason I'm writing this blog. WARREN'S RIDE! Warren's Ride was this past Saturday (06/25) and we had a smashing turn out! We raised just a hair under $3,000 for Melanoma cancer research! So far, over the past 4 years, we've raised almost $17,000! I am so thankful for all the riders and STOMPers that came out to support cancer research as well as my family and most importantly my father. He would have been so happy to see all of your smiling faces. And he did see them, trust me. The weather was absolutely perfect on Saturday and I know he had a hand in that. Again, thank you thank you thank you for coming out and showing your support, it really means the world to my family and I. I plan on going cliff diving next weekend so be prepared for an update on that one! :D What are you guys doing for the 4th of July? I'm headed up to Muncie for a weekend of fun and hopefully sunshine! Thanks for keeping up with my 'oh-so-boring' as of late, blog! It will get better, after this dang internship gets over with! Much love, xo It's that time of year again!
SUMMER! That means it's time for the 4th annual Warren's Ride! In honor of my dad, we will ride/walk to raise money for melanoma cancer research, in hopes that one day we'll find a cure. Please watch the video above and share it with all the friends and family you can! It is so incredibly important to know the skin you're in and be aware when any changes occur. Skin cancer is deadly, it took my dad from me, I was barely 18. Don't let this awful cancer take away the ones you love too, be aware, always check, and be safe in the sun. Please register at www.warensride.org for the ride/neighborhood stomp coming up next Saturday the 25th. I really hope to see you all there. Lunch, music, and fun will be provided! Don't forget to wear your sunscreen! :) And the adventures continue, just like I promised.
This past weekend I made my way to Poultry Days with the crew. Poultry Days is this huge chicken festival in Versailles, Ohio. It's apparently the only thing that these people look forward to all year because the place was SHUT DOWN in order to let the party continue. I have to give it to them though, they served 5500 chicken dinners before they ran out for the day at 730PM. Aside from all of the bones I had to dig through, the chicken was pretty darn tasty. Poultry Days also hosts a massive ultimate tournament. People bring their tents and camp around the fields all weekend in hopes of catching someone lay out for a game winning score. There were hundreds of tents scattered around the fields and lake. It was surely a sight to see, I'm so happy I went. The night started out with drinking, and then a storm, which allowed for more drinking. If you can't tell, Poultry Days is all about drinking. Once the storm let up we set up our tents. Brian and I had a 1 person tent for both of us to sleep in, it was a tight squeeze. After the tents were set up we threw around for a while and decided we better wander around and find people we knew, which wasn't hard to do, with all of us being ultimate players, we had seen each other on numerous occasions. We had to go grab some ice from the drive through liquor store (yes, you read that correctly), and on our way home we saw this barn with a gagillion neon lights hanging on the walls and the ceiling. We made sure to park the car and walk straight over there to see what was going on. It looked like a hillbilly on acid decorated the place! We walked up and asked the older man what was going on here and we didn't get the most welcoming information. He rudely informed us that 'this was private property and we needed to get the hell off'. Ouch. Once my friends said a few choice words under their breath, we walked away looking for somewhere else to have some fun. The night turned into us searching for some people that one of my friends thought was at a bar but had no conformation that they were actually there. An hour and forty minutes later of walking (AKA wandering around lost and finally finding the bar) we realized our friends we were searching for were no where to be found. We headed back to the fields just as the shelter house parties were in full swing. We were all kind of tired to we retired to our tents for the night after stopping by a few of the parties to say our 'good lucks' to the teams playing tomorrow. At around 2AM a massive storm took over Versailles. It was awesome to be curled up in a tent with the wind and rain swirling around outside and the booming thunder rocking the Earth. We didn't get wet either, always a bonus. The storm lasted all night and didn't allow me to get a wink of sleep. The next morning the games started at 9AM and the crew was ready to watch some ultimate, although, I was itching to play! We watched a few hungover teams play until the afternoon when we had to head to Valpo, Indiana for our friends 21st birthday get together. We arrived at MK's house and chowed down on some home-made sloppy joes. Afterwards we unloaded the cooler with our drinks of choice and hopped in the hot tub to start the night off right. We eventually made it to the bar where a wedding reception was going on? Be confused, we were. You know that feeling where you walk into a place and everyone knows you're not supposed to be there? They all look at you with a glassy stare and don't ever crack a smile on their face, that's what happened when we walked in. But not for long, not to brag, but my friends and I bring a little more life to any party we come across. We all had a smashing good time dancing around like fools and jumping around the stage while the people at Karaoke night were singing 'I like big butts'. No, we didn't know a soul there but it didn't matter. I talked to the bride and she introduced me to her cousin Nick, he was singing Walk the Line. I was dying to sing her and her lover a song but the wait for karaoke was never ending and the smoke in the air was really getting to my eyes, and lungs. The group left slightly more intoxicated than when we came and much more tired. It was one heck of a night and I'll never forget that little po-dunk bar. Oh, and congratulations to the newlyweds, whoever you are. I know, I know, I haven't updated in ages, I apologize. So far this summer I have realized one thing: I don't have any free time. I always thought that the summer was for relaxing and getting your mind off of school but this summer I have been sorely mistaken. My weekdays are filled with long hours of working or being bored out of my mind at the office with nowhere to turn for entertainment. My computer faces outward so everyone can see what I'm up to, which means I can't play online games, or update my blog, or anything other than stare blankly at work documents. Granted, some days are more fun with others but that doesn't mean they aren't filled with heavy lifting and sweating in the scorching summer temperatures. When I get home from work, after the already lengthy drive topped with some minor traffic, I'm too tired to think. Aside from all the complaining I'm doing I have had some things go well this summer; my weekends. Weekends are the only time that I get to do the things I want, when I want. You may be thinking 'Welcome to the real world' or 'just wait til' you have kids'. As a college student, I wasn't ready for the time commitment that my internship required from me, but I don't have an option so I better buckle down and deal with it. So, back to my weekend adventures. Brian and I have been doing a lot of visiting each other in our home towns. I've also done a lot of other stomping around with friends and family. The beginning of the summer started with my little sisters graduation and open house. Squid (as we call her) had an outpouring of love at her open house and it was awesome to see old friends greet us with the same hug and smile that they have for the past several years. A few weekends later my nephew was baptized. He is such a little blessing from God and I am so honored to be his godmother. I bought him some cute little white leather Chuck Taylors, a few sizes too big, for him to wear on his big day. Of course, he looked adorable. One of my friends, HVM, just got back from studying abroad in Africa and we went on a little road trip to Yellow Springs, Ohio. Yellow Springs is one of my favorite towns that I've visited in my short life. Let's be honest, I cried the first time I went there because I was so at peace with myself. I knew from that moment I would live there, at least for some point of my life. It's a small artsy town with strips of shops full of local handmade goods along with the ever beautiful art gallery. Trails and paths leak from the sidewalks and take you on an adventure of their own if you dare leave the comfort of the busy street. We had fun window shopping and listening to the little boy play his mandolin on the sidewalk until his hat was filled to the brim with dollar bills and loose pocket change. HVM and I stopped for ice cream at the only parlor in town. I told her we would be getting ice cream, no questions asked. I've been to YS many times but had yet to eat the ice cream. It was as delicious as I had imagined, minus the chaos of ordering. Needless to say, they were so fast at making the ice cream that HVM changed her order right after she had placed the first one and the lady said she couldn't change it because the original order had already been made. Talk about fast service! We wandered the streets until we worked up an appetite, but were let down when we realized that every single food joint in town was packed to the max. A little bummed, we walked to the car and headed back to Muncie. I remembered I had an Olive Garden gift card and figured that HVM and I were not making a single cent this summer so the card would best be used on us. Keeping it cheap we ordered the refillable salad which came with free bread sticks and an appetizer to split. Our server apparently noticed our need for wine and gave us each 2 free samples, she also must have realized how poor we were and didn't charge us for one of the salads. :) Since we saved a little money there were decided to spend the rest on bottles of wine for the rest of the night. We were standing in line and the lady in front of us said we looked like we were headed somewhere important and let us get in front of her to check out. She started talking to us and was convinced that we were headed to some raging party. I guess carrying 2 bottles of wine and a 6 pack would make it seem that way. We tried over and over to convince her that we were just going to go home and drink by ourselves, she wasn't buying it. She told us about a million of her own 'raging party' stories before we checked out and got the heck outta there. We actually did go home and drink alone for those of you who were wondering. Needless to say, it was a fun day for the both of us. Glad I got to catch up with her. This post is getting a little ( a lot) lengthy so I'll finish up tomorrow about the rest of my summer adventures, so be sure to check back! Hey everyone!
Sorry it's been so long since I've updated, I've been really busy since summer has started, surprising huh? I started my internship the day after I got back from Charlotte, NC. You can read about that trip here. It was a ton of fun and I was sad to go and enter the 'real world' again. My summer ended abruptly as I now work 40 plus hours a week at my internship. It has been fairly interesting so far but it has also been tiring, and I'm only in my first week! 9 more weeks to go after today, is it bad that I'm already counting down? It's not that I don't love it here, I just miss my summer AKA relaxing and being lazy. This week at my internship we did a ton of donation pick-ups and had 1 apartment move-in. It was my first move-in so I was really excited about that! The client comes in tomorrow, I wish I could see his face when he sees his new place! I'm sure he'll enjoy it. Other than my internship I really haven't done much of anything. Once I get home I'm pretty drained. I was supposed to have an ultimate game yesterday but it was canceled due to the mass amounts of rain in the Indy area. Sigh, I was looking forward to playing! I've got another game Tuesday so I won't have to wait too long to play. The race is this weekend! Who all is going?! Not me, I've actually never been to the race before, one day I'll make it there. My little sister graduates from high school tonight. It's seriously scary! It's not only scary because she's now off to college and will cause trouble, but it's also scary because of how fast time flies! I mean really, don't you remember like yesterday when you graduated high school?! Sorry this blog is not very orderly or making much sense, I just had some stuff I wanted to share with you all. Also, if you haven't noticed, I've changed the site a little bit and hopefully made it a little more 'user friendly'. I would appreciate it if you leave me a comment letting me know if the changes are more helpful and whatnot. I'm trying to make this site as simple as possible for all of you to use. I hope you all have a fantastic 4-day weekend! I'll get back on the daily questions starting tomorrow. xo This is my friend Mikesville (Michael Mason)
Things we (1709 Milton Street) love about Sville:
Welcome baby Ethan! Ethan made his grand entrance at 4:59PM May 3rd, 2011. 8 pounds 6 oz. and 21 inches long. Before he decided to enter the world here's what happened. 9:30AM I get the call from my mom that they broke my sister-in-laws water. Brian and I headed to the hospital in a rush (for some reason). Hours go by and more hours go by and still no baby. I was beginning to think I should have stayed home and taken a shower before I came to the hospital. At around 2PM we got the info that it would still be a couple more hours. I took Brian to get his hair cut and we got some KFC to eat for lunch, bringing some back for my little sister. Now, during all this nothing is going wrong things are just taking time, no big deal. :) When we got back to the hospital it was around 3:30 and the doctors said that they were still waiting for Ethan's head to drop. I forgot to add that by this time there were at least 15 people in the waiting room. The nurses were making a joke about it all day, 'oh, you're with the Ardizzone's? ALL of them are upstairs.' Apparently he wasn't ready to leave momma's warm tummy! 30 more minutes passed and the doctor realized that Ethan's head just wasn't going to fit and that they were going to have to do a C-section (not the original plan), but not unusual. The C-section didn't take long and we had the baby by 5:00PM! He was having a little trouble with his lungs, there was some mucus left over that we has trying to get out (he's fine now). I actually haven't got to hold my little nephew yet! I left Michael and Amanda to have some quality time with their new addition to the family. I came back a few hours later with Brian so I could get to hold baby Ethan! We showed up and the nurse was giving him his first bath! We then got to witness Michael changing his first diaper! It was a good time to walk into the room! :) Another nurse came in the room to check Ethan's breathing and decided it would be best to leave him be and not touch or bother him for another hour. Dang it! I still haven't got to hold him yet! I'll hopefully get to hold him on Sunday (WHICH IS FOREVER AWAY!) Anyways, so, that's how I spent my last 4 days. I hope your weekend was just as eventful! HEY! It's finals week! Lets do this! |
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February 2013
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