I haven't had much to say in a while. It's been a lot of the same for me. Busy busy busy. The summer is just flying by with activities, but all good so far. I've been spending a lot of time up at the ball park to watch baseball games, which has me reminiscing a lot about when I was a kid and playing up there myself. I really miss those days. Life was so much simpler then. I miss having a summer that consisted of riding my bike around town, swimming at the pool, and playing softball. I really miss those times. With that being said, I am going to try my hardest to win the lottery and retire early so I can re-live my childhood, because here are the things I miss most about it:

1. Swimming at the pool uptown from 1-5 and 7-9 every single day all summer long (and if I win the lottery I can pay to restore it and do it again).

2. The house we lived in on Fayette street that is next door to my mom's house now (and if I win the lottery I will buy it back just so I can go hang out in it whenever I want to and remember how much I loved it).

3. Sleeping in.

4. Walking to the Frosty Haus (Cruiser's now) and getting ice cream at random times during the day.

5. Riding my bike all around town.

6. Actually having time to read books and magazines.

7. Sitting on the front porch in the evening watching traffic go by without a care in the world.

8. Climbing trees.

9. Going out to my Grandma Ziegler's house and doing all kinds of awesome activities.

10. NOT having to work.

Puppies

Well it's been awhile. Life's been pretty crazy, but I wouldn't change it. Well, I'd change the working part for an early retirement, but other than that, no I wouldn't change anything. Work has had it's fair share of challenges lately. Let's just say that if I could go to work and just do my regular job every day without other people stepping in and trying to alter/change things without my knowledge/consent, then I would have nothing to complain about. But since I don't live in a perfect world, I spend a lot of time whining when things that are out of my control go wrong/get blamed on me/make my work day miserable. Oh well. I guess that's life.

On the plus side, I have a great group of friends and family. And I just found out that my brother and his family are coming home for the weekend so that gives me something pretty fun to look forward to. Plus, Ryan's oldest son graduates high school this weekend and there are a TON of graduation parties to attend. It's going to be busy, but fun.

The only other news in my life is that I am currently contemplating getting a puppy (again). I haven't made my mind up yet, especially since this particular puppy is very expensive, but I am really seriously considering getting it. It is so cute. It's a Padderdale (if I am spelling that right) and so adorable. Ryan's youngest son and I have already named it. I think I might just have to splurge on it and get it, just so Ramona can have a friend to play with and I can finally get another dog after not having one for so long. But we'll see. This puppy is going to cost $500 and I have a trip to Mexico planned for January. Those two items would pretty much use up my entire tax return from this year, so I have some serious decision making to do, because the Mexico trip has already been paid for and is happening no matter what :)

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there and especially mine who is truly amazing. My mom is the greatest mother a person could ever ask for and I love her very much. I appreciate her more than words can say. She has done so much for me in my lifetime and made so many sacrifices for me. She is the strongest person I know and I am so thankful for her.

Counting blessings

I've been in a weird mood lately. I've had a lot of things on my mind. I can't really explain it (nor do I really want to on a public website), but I just can't stop thinking about so many different unresolved things. It's very emotionally draining. However, I am a firm believer that God puts certain people in your life and the exact right time and for specific reasons, and I have to thank Him for my best friend who always listens to me and lets me vent about anything and everything. I have grown wiser over the years when it comes to opening up and talking about things. I am really careful these days to think before I speak. I am so glad though to be able to vent things out to someone who actually listens without interrupting me. I don't know what I would do without her. She is truly my mentor in pretty much everything.

In other news, all I really do these days is work. I have worked 2 weekends in a row now. But on the plus side, I don't work another weekend until June 25. I normally don't work 2 in a row, but another therapist couldn't work today and needed to switch. I was scheduled to work Memorial Day weekend, so I switched with her for that weekend so now I will get a long weekend at the end of this month. I'm pretty happy about that. If my vacation days that I've requested actually work out, then I will be getting a few other days off this summer which will be very much needed. I also got asked to go to Mexico in January next year, which I am SUPER excited about! My one friend at work has a timeshare in the resort part of Mexico and her husband didn't want to go and said she should just take a bunch of friends, so a bunch of us girls are going and it is going to be a blast. I can't wait. I have been needing a vacation so bad.

Things with me and Ryan are still going good. We are both just so busy that I feel like we have hardly seen each other in the past week. He was gone with the senior class on their senior trip as the advisor and I have been working a ton so maybe we will actually get to spend time together sometime soon. I am working in Archbold all next week to cover for their therapist who is on vacation. Even though they work longer hours, my commute won't be as long, so maybe it won't be such a stressful week. We'll see. Wish me luck.

Happenings

I have been really really lazy about updating this... I feel like life has been a bit of a whirl-wind lately. Not a whole lot new has been happening, I'm just staying super busy with work and everything else that life has to offer. I can give you a quick rundown on what's been happening with me since I last posted.

1. I've taken the diet and exercise plan that I keep writing about and actually applied it. I saw some pictures of myself from a few weeks ago and could not believe what I saw. I had to make a change. So I finally did and I'm starting to see a few results. There are times when it's really hard, like when everyone else is ordering the good food at work and I'm stuck eating a salad or the diet food I've packed, but the results are worth it.

2. I am currently playing the lottery like it's going out of style. Not that I hate my job, but it's getting a little stressful lately. I hate to say that, because I truly am blessed to have the job that I have, but there are many days (more here lately) that certain things are really starting to get to me. I can honestly say that I would have no trouble retiring today if I really could.

3. My house is infested with mice. I woke up in the middle of the night last night to the sound of an animal crawling around. My cat started going crazy and ran into the bathroom. I followed her and found her staring at something up in my shower curtain. It was a mouse. I caught it with a plastic walmart bag and threw it out. I went to Dollar General today and bought $20 worth of mouse traps (both live traps for in the house and poison traps for in the garage) and have caught one more mouse in one of the live traps and threw it outside too. Ugh... It is so gross to have rodents in the house. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my cat is a good mouse-catcher.

4. My best friend's mother passed away unexpectedly over the weekend. My friend's name is Renee. Please keep her and her family in your prayers. She's going through a really tough time right now. Her mom was older, but it is still sad when someone passes away, especially when it's so unexpected. Renee has been such a good friend to me through so many things, not just at work, but with everything. I can only hope that I can be there for her like she has been for me.

5. I am in need of a vacation very bad. I really really wish I had the vacation time to take off work for another week long vacation in addition to the time that I have already requested off. I am taking the week of fair (Labor day week) off work and taking the day of Relay for Life off work. But other than that, I haven't decided what vacation days I am going to take this year. I don't have another full week of time built up yet, but I am thinking that I need to get away for a while. I think I've earned it.

the queen of hearts is always your best bet..

It's almost that time of year, when the weather warms up and the sun comes out. I am looking forward to it! It's supposed to be almost 80 degrees tomorrow. I am very excited! I went to get the mustang out today and it turns out the battery is dead. I ran to Napa really quick and bought a new battery and am currently waiting for Ryan to come over and put the new battery in so I can get it out and drive around tomorrow! Plus I have to get it ready to go by next weekend so Hunter and Katie can take it to prom. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone all dressed up next weekend. I have no idea what I'm doing with my hair, but I think I have the rest of my "look" figured out. It should be a fun time.

Things have been going great for me, other than work. Work has been stressful and busy, but everything else is going great. I need to find a way to get more caffeine in my system so I can stay awake most days, but other than being tired, I am super happy. I never thought I deserved such a great life, but I truly have everything I could have ever asked for and more. I am so blessed. I don't say it enough. I have so many good things going for me right now. Everything in life has it's ups and downs, but it just seems like no matter what, I have a reason to smile these days :)

The clock's ticking, I just count the hours.

It's been a while, but I haven't had anything too exciting to post. I've been busy with work and everything else that I don't have a whole lot of free time these days. The end of March was ridiculously busy and I'm glad it's over. I had the conference one weekend and then Ryan was gone in Columbus the next weekend and in between it seemed like we were really busy at work and there were so many other things going on. It's nice to be back to a somewhat normal pace. This month is busy, but not too crazy. This weekend is the reverse drawing. Next weekend I am on call for work. The weekend after that is prom. The weekend after that is Easter (I think) and the weekend after that I work. But it's getting closer and closer to summer and warmer weather :) And I am very excited about that. I'm sick and tired of this nasty cold and rainy weather. Literally. I have a cold. I'm ready to lay out and get a tan and do things outside. I'm contemplating planting a garden this year. I had one a few years ago and it was somewhat successful. It would be nice to have free vegetables again. We'll see how motivated I get this year (or how much time I have). All in all, life is going good. I'm really happy and I wouldn't change a thing. I am really blessed. I don't know what I did to deserve to be this happy, but I am sure thankful.