My life as I know it

So I think God, Mother Earth, the Universe, or whatever you believe in, was trying to talk to me today. Tell me how weird this is: I was leaving work today and was taking my time walking to my car. I stopped to read a bumper sticker that said, "The best things in life aren't things." I was repeating that quote to myself as I walked the rest of the way to my car. Then, I get into my car and turn it on. The radio comes on automatically and, I kid you not, the first words I heard on the radio were, "The best things in life aren't things." It was a song called, I'll Be Waiting , by Michael Franti & SpearHead. I've never heard the song before and of all times for me to hear it, seconds after reading the exact same message on a bumper sticker! Seriously, someone or something was sending me a message! The message was received... I feel like there is so much in my life that I have been taking for granted lately and this was my wake up call. I get u

So last week, Pat called to tell me that his friend from college would be coming to Cleveland for work and would be staying with us for a night. I was really excited because I love visitors! Pat went on to say that he thought it would be fun if we went to Great Lakes Brewing Company for dinner when he's there. I got even more excited because I love going out to eat and we hardly ever go out to eat during the week! Somehow, though, the communication major misinterpreted the intention of the word "we." "What time are we going out to eat?" I asked Pat. "Well," he replied with hesitation, "when I said 'we,' I actually meant just us guys. You know, a guy's thing." I tried to play it off like I was totally okay with that, "Oh, it's just a guys thing? Okay. No big deal." But deep down, it was a big deal. I felt an overwhelming sense of rejection. So right now, they are out to eat and drinking Great Lakes beer while I a

There has been a lot of speculation lately about whether or not my dog, Grady, has grown out of his "consumption phase" in which he swallows socks, underwear and all paper products. My response to this question is a very diplomatic one in which I just state facts: To the best of my knowledge, Grady has not consumed anything other than his dog food in X months. Prior to today, X meant about eight months. I have been really careful with my response to this question because it has been too hard to tell if his eight month "remission," if you will, was a result of the fact that he has actually outgrown this bad habit or rather if it was a result of his owners doing a better job of keeping all temptations out of sight (and therefore, out of his stomach). I wanted to believe it was because he had outgrown it, but secretly, I think I knew he hadn't. Tonight, unfortunately, Grady proved that my suspicion was correct; he has yet to outgrow this awful habit. When given

Since the day I turned 28 (on July 24), the topic of me having a baby has been quite popular among those I know, and even those I've never met before. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but something changed when I turned 28 and suddenly people seem very concerned about when I will start to make babies. Have you seen those Arby's commercials where they have the big logo over their head with the caption, "I'm thinking Arbys"? I can't help but feel like I've been walking around with one of those over my head except it's a big egg with a caption that says "egg supply depleting rapidly" and some warning siren that goes along with it when I walk by. Today, one of our faculty members came to visit at work with her one month old baby. I'm not going to lie, I do LOVE holding babies. I love the way the snuggle up to you, I love the way they smell and I love watching their facial expressions, trying to imagine what this world must look

I'm laying in bed feeling sorry for myself because I'm all alone while my husband is traveling for work. I've been on the verge of tears since I dropped him off at the airport tonight. Actually, given today being the 10th anniversary of the tragedies of September 11, 2001, I have been on the verge of tears all day. I have cried during every 9/11 commercial, during the national anthem before the football game and every time I heard a tribute song played on the radio this weekend. It has been ten years but yet the sadness of that day is still so fresh. I keep thinking about all of the women who lost their husbands that day. How absolutely devastating it must be to find your soul mate, marry them and then lose them in such a tragic way. When I put today into context, it's impossible to continue feeling sorry for myself when I know how truly blessed I really am. I am so very lucky to have found Pat, someone who completes me and makes me happier than I ever thought I

I can't believe it is September already. Where oh where did the summer go? Given falls imminent arrival, I was very disheartened to go out to my "garden" tonight only to find that I still don't have any vegetables in my first attempt as a farmer. Can someone please explain to me how I could grow up in a farm town and go to a high school with classes titled, "Future Farmers of America" and "drive your tractor to school day," and not be able to grow ONE tomato? Granted, I didn't ever take an FFA class or own a tractor, but I thought maybe by way of osmosis I would have inherited some of those farming skills. Hypothesis incorrect. It all started when I decided to join up with Erica @ The Gritty Girl Blog for a zucchini growing contest. I thought it sounded like fun. It also sparked an interest in me to grow tomatoes, too. Unfortunately, I waited until the end of May to plant both my zucchini and tomato seeds. Pat (and many others) told me o