Another update?!

It's getting crazy here--3 posts in less than a week :-)

My herbs are doing fine, considering they're still alive after a fierce beating by the wind last week. They're inside for now recovering from windlash. My tiny pot of chives has sprouted quite nicely. My lavender is looking a little more perky--but still growing sideways instead of UP. Looks like I'll have to try staking them. I also restarted my AeroGarden. The remaining basil had died because of being bound up with the roots of other dead plants, the parsley looked said after its fellow plant died of rot, and the other two I planted weren't growing. I cleaned everything out, changed the lightbulb, and now Red Heirloom and Golden Harvest cherry tomatoes are taking their turn at growing. Fingers crossed that they grow!

We've been on a sort of manager rollercoaster at work lately. We got a 4th manager, then shortly afterwards the "staff favorite" manager was transferred to another store. Then an "assistant general manager" was assigned to our store, giving us 4 managers again. Now he's left and we are back to three. This is EXCELLENT news for me because it means I get to supervise more frequently. Right now I'm doing it Monday and Tuesday nights, which is fine because they are the typically slow nights. Monday was particularly bad so I was glad to be in charge rather than serving. Now I'm down to serving only twice a week--Saturday nights and Sunday mornings. Quite a change from serving 5 days a week earlier this year. I still work 5 days a week, but one shift is bartending and the other two are the super shifts. I'm really looking forward to fall not only to start school, but also to not work as much (hopefully I'll be able to keep bartending Friday nights).

Well, I'm off to shower and pack. The FIANCE and I are headed down to see his family for a couple of days. I'm excited because I haven't seen them since Christmas!

Big News!

My lovely boyfriend proposed to me last night! I got home from work at 11:30pm and as I approached our apartment door, I realized I smelled candle wax. I knew the proposal was coming, so immediately I wondered what was happening. I expected one or two candles but instead was greeted by this


all over every flat surface in our apartment. All those little candles sure gave off a lot of heat! He simply asked me to marry him, I said yes, slipped the ring on, and quickly got to work blowing out the candles. We then went to Steak n Shake to allow the apartment time to air out and cool off!

It was certainly memorable, but also simple which I appreciated. There are no wedding plans whatsoever yet.

I had taken the night off work to hang out with friends, but that fell through. Instead we spent the day at a local outdoor supermall and then walked up to a local ice cream parlor. It was a lovely way to spend the day :-)

I love my neighborhood.

I love where I'm living in Columbus this year. Within walking distance, there is virtually everything I could possibly need. If only my restaurant were a lot closer, I might never have to drive this summer!

Today I walked to the post office and library, with a stop at Panera for a patio lunch and at the garden center to check out the veggie plants. My friend and I have discussed planting a garden in her backyard, and I'm really hoping we follow through with it! She also lives within walking distance. I planted my herb garden this week. I opted for starter plants rather than seeds so that I don't have to wait as long for results. Basil, cilantro, dill, and parsley are hanging out on my windowsill (on the outside).

I also just learned that my FAVORITE ice cream flavor at a local "gourmet" ice cream place has made its return. I learned of it a little too late today or else I could have had some for lunch since the ice cream shop is along the way to the library.

I hope to make walking virtually everywhere a habit this summer. If I can condition myself over the summer, I hope I can continue when I start back to school. It's only a 1.7 mile walk according to Google so really, it shouldn't be too difficult until the weather gets nasty. Even then, I could probably walk all but the worst of days, and on those days I could take a bus part of the way. I just don't want to buy a parking pass for a tiny drive!

So that's what's up with my world right now. I'm adoring this taste of summer, and I can't wait for it the weather to actually stick around!

Still Around...

Just don't have much to write about! My days are pretty mundane right now--working or hanging out at home. I'll be bartending in the near future, so perhaps I will have some interesting stories then.

With spring and summer around the corner, I might try to chronicle my attempts at gardening. With pictures!

I just can't think of anything to write about!

Depressing...

It's absolutely depressing to hear at least a few times a month of a murder-suicide or just a suicide, committed by a sad soul who has fallen on hard financial times with no light ahead of them. I can't imagine the place you must be in if you feel that the death of yourself (and your family) is better than fighting back from poverty. :-(

So far we've been lucky--my mom hasn't lost her job, my brother and I still have our jobs, and my boyfriend has only lost cost of living raises at his job.

C'mon economy! Buck up!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Today was my interview at OSU for admission to the College of Optometry and...

I AM THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE CLASS OF 2013!

Yay.

New Year's Resolutions?

I didn't consciously make any real resolutions this year. However, there were a bunch of "chores" I wanted to get done, so maybe I can consider those resolutions? We finally arranged the furniture the way we wanted and hung pictures on the walls, which I'm very happy about! The top of my dresser is finally visible, and I was able to put the up fountain I got for Christmas.

I'm also getting around to organizing my recipes--writing up the keepers and putting them in my cookbook and sorting through my Rachael Ray mags for the recipes I want to try. I don't want to keep the old issues, especially when I'm getting new issues again (and issues of Cooking Light).

I've also done some "cooking to freeze". I've made soup and chili and frozen portions so that I have stuff to eat for lunch and won't be tempted to run out to fast food or the grocery. We're trying to save money around here and food is one of our biggest spending sprees. Oops.

Of course there's also the general stuff that I always want to do: drink more water, eat healthier, exercise, spend less, blah blah. I might make my boyfriend join a gym with me--it's 24 hours and really close to where we live. I want to get more fit, not necessarily lose any weight. Hopefully when the weather gets warmer I can get out and walk around the neighborhood.

Oh. Hey, I'm back!

I've been terribly MIA around here. Oops! I just returned from Christmas Vacation 2--Gatlinburg (with my boyfriend's family). It was fun and relaxing, but I hope that next year we don't go anywhere other than his grandma's farm. Just too much pressure. I would like to go back to Gatlinburg when it is warmer and do some more hiking, perhaps a horseback ride, and one or two of the fun commercial places (most likely Ripley's Believe It Or Not! museum). We went to Tanger outlet mall, and it was a real letdown. There weren't many "factory" stores so everything was basically the same thing you'd get back home--except with a 9.5% sales tax. Yikes!

My favorite souvenir would be my newest spoon for my collection--a porcelain spoon with a sea turtle from the Aquarium of the Smokies. I'm also excited about my cherry pit pack and flax seed eye pillow.

I have to get back to cleaning now. And making a grocery list. We have no food!

I DID IT!

I took my OAT today! My unofficial score overall is a 360/400! That's above the average for all three of the schools I applied to, so I'm not going to worry about retaking the test.

I'm so relieved!!

Change for America

It gives me chills to hear "the First Black President". It seems unreal!

Congratulations Barack Obama and Joe Biden!

I'm happy to live in a blue state (even though it sure doesn't look like one!) and I'm happy that both Ohio counties I call home are blue :-)