An Accidental Blog Haitus

Miss me?

Thanks to a dead car last week, my move out date from Ames was pushed up a week and I spent Thursday and Friday frantically packing, (breaking),  and moving things out of my house in Ames to bring back to my parent's house.

 Poor Coffeepot....

Add onto that a weekend home with one of my best friends helping Mom, dining with one of our favorite boys, and being generally silly.

 dinner with cousin Jonathon was perfect!

 We're special...

Then a quick trip back to Ames to finish out my last two days of work and to pack up the rest of my belongings....

and now I'm here.

...living at home as a college graduate. I've got mixed feelings about it, especially since I like my independence and am ready to be in my own place (interview Monday could change things a bit!) But, for the time being, home is the smartest place to be. More on that another post...


June was a good month for blogging - I didn't quite reach my 30 in 30 goal, but I definitely learned a lot about blogging posted more than I ever have before! I hope to take some of this momentum, as well as new understandings, with me into July as my packed schedule keeps me from constant internet access.

Nobody melt out there today  - it's a hot day to be celebrating our nation's birthday! Happy fourth of July readers!

Grilling does NOT defeat me!

Despite my inexperience to grilling, after the success I had with grilling for father's day, I gave it a shot here in Ames. Everything turned out delicious! (So delicious, I almost didn't use a fork!)

Onions, Stew Meat, and Mushrooms covered with some soy sauce and salt and cooked over hot coals are scrumptious. Add to that fresh strawberries and a cool summer brew and my evening outside was thoroughly relaxing. 

After spending the afternoon weeding around the house and cleaning out the garage, the break was definitely appreciated.

Tomorrow looks to be a scorcher, so I'm planning to cool off with a little floating. Better than paying for air conditioning, right?

Expand Your Vocabulary

I found this little gem earlier today while taking a break from applications and internship work - I am making it my goal to use each of these words at least once this week! Any words your favorite?

In other news, the week is flying by. Now that I have more plans in place, time is disappearing at an alarming pace. Both a good thing and a bad thing, I suppose. This week looks to be fun, including a Wednesday tubing trip, drive-in movie night on Thursday, and a weekend trip home to begin moving things home, but most importantly, to hang out with this lovely ALL WEEKEND.

Can you say EXCITED?!

Have to finish out June with a little style (and maybe a bonfire at home...) 

Now, I just need to be super productive the rest of the week.

I'm looking at
packing
cleaning out the fridge
organizing the garage
finishing a few more job applications
figuring out a mapping system for PI projects
background reading and notes for Tax Credit document
planning a potential fourth of July float (what can I say, I'm addicted!)
booking a plane ticket
and anything else that's sure to come up.

Here's to a productive week! 

Singing, er...Dancing, in the Rain

I was sitting in my basement bedroom (country song anyone? brownie points if you get it right!) working on some job applications, when I heard something outside in the backyard.

I listened quietly for a little bit, until I figured out the sounds were rain!
And, like the child I really am, I immediately jumped up and ran outside to play in the rain.

Splashing in the puddles, lifting my hands to the sky, laughing and giggling. I'd love to hear what my neighbors thought of my little dance in the driveway.

It was so refreshing though, both because the rain was much needed and because I'd been sitting too long filling out job applications and working on some internship projects. 

There are a million other reasons why I love rain. Granted, I don't appreciate a lot of gloomy, dreary days in a row, but the occasional cloudy and rainy days are appreciated. I love the way rain smells, before, during and after it actually rains. I love the way the world quiets while it's raining, and in the few precious moments after, when the last remaining raindrops fall from tree leaves and are the only discernible noises. I love the way plants shoot up in the next few hours and days after a good rainfall, how even humans seem to emerge a little taller and more refreshed just by stepping into a rain dampened world. I love being able to hunker down inside with a tall cup of coffee and a book or movie when the rain comes down a little harder than I like.

Why isn't it raining now? I think I need to go play in it some more! 

What do you like about rain?

Go Follow Fish!

Tonight's post is incredibly brief, and includes a shameless plug for this girl:

She's getting to do some travel in Europe and is currently is Belgium with some of our extended family. Follow her adventures with me at her blog, Following Fish. She's got some really fun pictures of her travels, and a great quirky style of writing.

And, in the spirit of her travels in Belgium, I'm reliving some of my own travels in Belgium from last summer.... pictorially. These particular pictures are from the beautiful city of Brugge, which is one of the first places she visited upon arriving in Belgium.

I still hope to go back someday...someday...
That's why I've been filling out all of these job applications, right?


Right.


P.S. Someday {soon} I want to do a few flashback posts on my European Trip - so many great photos and stories that I want to remember and share!