I'm Back...

Well don't quote me on that. 

I've been away for awhile. For awhile I didn't have anything to write about and I didn't want to bore you. Then the opposite happened. I started doing things, things that you would love to hear about, but then I was too busy to write. Ah, what a vicious circle.

But I'm at the point where now I want to share those things with you. Since I'm back to doing things that aren't blog-worthy. Like for instance - yesterday, I ate three pieces of birthday cake. I mean, I also watched my high school football team win the semi-final game that allows them to advance to the state championship, which is blog-worthy. But you get my point -- some things you just don't want to hear about. 

But for the things you do want to hear about:

• I should fill you in on my first 6 months of living in Richmond. Country girl in the city.
• The four weddings I went to between August and November -- My junior year roommate, my high school best friend, my freshman year hall mate, and my best friend. Also the effect of going to 4 weddings on a serially single girl. 
• JMU Homcoming 2

And whatever else, I can think of. 

So stay tuned. And I'll try to stay here. I mean it.

Sports in the City

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend some sporting events in my new city! 

First, I finally made it out to The Diamond to see the Richmond Flying Squirrels play. I attended the game with the Richmond chapter of the JMU Alumni Association. As much as I love baseball players, I had never been stepped foot in The Diamond. Luckily I now live really close to there so hopefully I will take in some more games! The best part is that general admission is only $7.00 (+ $3.00 to park). You can't beat that.

Tori & I

Anyway, I was decked out in my purple since it was a JMU event. The Flying Squirrels were playing the Portland Sea Dogs. I may or may not have but definitely did bring and wear my Portland, Maine hoodie, since I had been in Maine the week before. I am such a bad Richmond fan. I own nothing that says Richmond on it. (Wouldn't want anyone to think I meant U of R. Eek.)

Attempting to stay dry in my over-sized Portland, Maine hoodie

The game was super fun. Except after a couple of innings it starting raining and since there was a bit of a breeze, the rain was kinda coming at us sideways. And even my over-sized Portland hoodie couldn't make me dry and warm enough to stick it out through the weather.

My next Richmond sporting event came the Friday after the Flying Squirrels. I got off work at 3 p.m. on a Friday and headed out to meet my mom, her boyfriend, and my youngest sister at the Redskins Training Camp. In case you haven't heard (and that could only be possible if you live under a rock), the Washington Redskins are holding their training camp here in Richmond. They had about two and a half weeks of open practices that the public could attend for free (well, plus the $5.00 to park and the $2.00 trolley ride to the camp).

 

Redskins Quarterbacks

It was super crowded the day we went and none of the well-known players came over to see us. It was still pretty cool to see them practice though. I tried to get RGIII to wave at me as we stuck way after practice hoping he would realize he was in love with me or my sister come over. But no luck. Maybe next year!

What sporting events does your city boast? Do you attend any?

My First Pinterest Project

Hi all, 

You know how whenever you try recipes or projects off the internet, the pictures they show you always look waaaaaaaaay better than what your finished product looks like?

Well I (with some help) attempted my first Pinterest project and it was fairly successful! As most of you know, I recently moved to Richmond! In the process of attempting to organize my room, I decided I needed to do more in terms of organizing my jewelry. I have allowed my necklaces to get tangled and knotted way too many times. 

So to Pinterest I went. And I found this project here.

And this was created!

I love it and it's so simple and expensive to make. Just go to Walmart and buy a $10 thread rack and a $4 bottle of spray paint. The hardest part was putting it on the wall because I am not a talented Command strip user.

Here are my photos of the process, taken by my little sister who supervised the project. My mom's boyfriend had a lot of fun setting up the spray painting area and did most of the painting. 

Have you ever done a Pinterest project that turned out great? What did you make?

Island Livin'

Now back to where we left off. As I was gathering my things to leave my weekend in the 'burg, I received another invitation for another trip away. 

This trip I was invited to would take me back to Maine. 

And that's how I ended up in a car on a Friday, with my best friend, Patti; her fiancee, Ben; and his little sister, Hannah. If you remember, this would be my second trip up to Maine as I spent time on the island with Patti back in 2011. I couldn't wait to go back!

Meanwhile, it was Ben and Hannah's first trip to Maine. But don't you worry, I had my fair share of Maine first times. 

For instance, my first Fluffernutter. For my friends who are from the Southern regions of the United States and aren't quite sure what a Fluffernutter is, let me fill you in. It's a sandwich with peanut and marshmallow fluff. Yeah, I was skeptical at first. But it's actually not that bad. Not sure it actually should constitute as a lunch sandwich though. 

Also, my first lobster roll. There are actually no words to describe this.

But while there were many firsts, I also revisited a few of my favorite spots!

For instance, the popcorn store! We also ate at Dry Dock again, which I think is a must-eat place in Maine. 

Anyway it was a great time! I can't wait to be back on the island again!

Back in the 'Burg

Hello all,

So in my last post, I talked about finally taking a day off. I refused to take a day off until I had actual plans because sitting around my house, trying not to check my work email wasn't going to do it for me. So where did I end up, you ask?

Harrisonburg, of course. (You can take the girl out of JMU, but you can't take the JMU out of the girl).

On Friday after the Fourth of July, I packed my bags and headed up to the 'burg. Because Jeremy had to work until late afternoon, I decided to burn sometime at the Book Fair. 

Never been to the Book Fair? You are missing out. The Green Valley Book Fair comes to down for three weeks at a time about 6 times a year. I've been visiting the book fair since my sophomore year of college back in 2007. They sell books of all subjects for 60 to 90 percent off retail prices. I could seriously spend hours there. I left there with a novel, a cookbook, and two books for my niece. 

Another major highlight of the weekend was helping Jeremy with a website for Packsaddle Ridge Golf Club by playing photographer. It was so great to have a reason to get back behind my camera. I got some awesome photos and tons of compliments. I'll post the link the website once it is finished.

iPhone shot

The other highlight was the feast we prepared on Saturday after being at the golf course all day. Jeremy and I came home and got to cooking! We had shrimp and chicken kabobs with green and red peppers, rice, pasta salad, and fried squash. A couple of friends joined us and we ate until we were stuffed and then we sat around the nice, warm bonfire, listening to some 90's music.

Dinner by the citronella light!

All in all, it was an amazing weekend! But hey, that was only the start to my travels this summer. Keep up!

Happy Birthday, America!

Hi friends and fellow Americans!

If you've been a loyal reader, you know my obsession with the 4th of July. It's one of my five favorite holidays (My Birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Groundhogs Day are the other 4 in case you were wondering). If you didn't know, please see past posts here and here.

Two days prior to Independence Day, I celebrated one year at my job! It's crazy how long ago that seems and how it also seems like it was just yesterday. In celebration of Independence Day, my one year anniversary with my job and because I've been just so darn stressed, I turned this past week into a 3 day work week.

The Outfit

On the 4th, I headed down to Colonial Heights to spend the holiday with the family, which turned out to be the best idea ever. Instead of the typical hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, we had steak and salmon -- yum!

The Food

After letting all that good food settle, watching (and playing) Jeopardy with the family, and introducing one of my uncles to Duck Dynasty, we headed out to Target to shop and watch the fireworks! Just like last year, my niece who is now 21 months old loved the fireworks. In fact, she mentioned that a couple of times. 

The Fireworks

All in all, it was a great start to my long weekend, which you'll hear about soon! Stay tuned!

How do you celebrate the 4th of July?

Off Balance

I'm going to write about something that has been weighing on my mind for quite some time. In fact, I thought I had already written this post months ago, due to the fact that it's been a struggle for me for that long. What is it?, you ask. 

Work/Life Balance.

Source

And the simple fact that I have no balance. I have been in an awful mood lately. I've been letting the stress of work get to me and not leaving it in the office. That makes it hard for me to be myself outside of work when I'm always pissed off at work things. 

I've decided to make a list of all the things that I can do to improve my work/life balance. I'm open to any suggestions you may have as well.

• Exercise --Exercise produces endorphins, endorphins make you happy and happy people don't hate their jobs. 
• One of my coworkers and I decide to go to the body combat class every Monday. So far, it's been great. Mondays are one of the worst days of the week for me (who does like Mondays?!?) so getting to sweat it out at the gym after work totally makes me feel better after a long day of work.
• Also, I recently relocated to the city (yay -- more on that later!) and everyone here is so active. At all times of the day, there are people of every shape, age and size running the streets of Richmond. I put my shoes to the pavement and ran 1.25 very flat (my favorite) miles down the road to see my sister at the gym on Saturday morning. I felt so great after that.
• Relaxation -- This weekend, I decided I was going to really focus on myself and get myself back to me center. I spent time just being alone, listening to music and reading. There really is nothing else like getting lost in a book. 
• Get your zzz's -- Being in a new place was not conducive to my sleep. Trust me, I was much more irritable when I hadn't been getting in sleep, which made the stress of work a lot worse. 
• Friends -- Sometimes you really just need to vent to a good friend who won't judge you. I hadn't talked to my best friend in awhile and talking to her on the phone about how stressed work was making me made me feel a lot or better.
• Leave work at work -- Or on the other hand, don't vent. I have tried to stop talking about work when I'm not there. I had this really bad habit of checking my work email when I was at home. Then I would stress all evening about things I couldn't take care of until the next day. 
• Hobbies -- Work has been draining me; however, sometimes you just need to remember to do the things you love. I'm excited about the warmer weather because I want to take my camera out and get some good photos of my new surroundings!
• And when all else fails -- use those vacations days you've got saved up. 

How do you balance your work life with your personal life?