Lifestill

8.19.2009

Haha...at least that's how I describe the amazing, crazy changes in my life in the last two weeks.

First major change:

I got a job!!

I am officially the new Marketing Communications Coordinator at RTI Biologics in Alachua, FL. Yes, that's where I've been interning for the last nine months, and no, it's NOT in Chicago...surprise!!

As you know, I've been looking and looking for a job in Chicago, with the intention of moving there as soon as I found one. Well, God apparently was laughing in amusement at my plans, because I think all along I must have been supposed to stay in Gainesville. I got offered the job at RTI a couple of weeks ago, the day before my last day in the office as an intern. I thought that was going to make my life complicated, wondering whether I should stay, but it ended up being a pretty easy decision! The opportunity is amazing, I LOVE my job, I have an unbelievable boss, and RTI has just been a great place in general. So, I accepted the position, and today was my first official day in my new position!

Second major change:

Now, you may be wondering...what about Todd??? He's up there in cold Chicago, and Wendy's staying in sunny Florida. Well, that's another exciting change...Todd is moving to Florida! As soon as he finds a job, he's moving, and I couldn't be more excited! Finally, we will be in the same city, getting to live life as a "normal" couple. YAY!

Third major change:

And speaking of living life...

I will be living life in a great new apartment starting this Saturday! I signed a lease on a one-bedroom, one bath apartment in NW Gainesville. It's the same complex some of me and Todd's friends live in, and I will be living in a building next to them! We already are having visions of us all being like the characters in "Friends," popping in and out of each other's apartments and having fantastic fun times. :) Todd is going to look into getting and apartment there too, which would be amazing. To go from 1000 miles apart to a matter of yards apart is more than I could have hoped for.

So, I am a VERY happy girl, and now that things are settling down in my life, I will probably get to update this blog more often! I'll try to post some pics of the new apartment (once I buy furnitute!) soon.

I also want to thank everyone who was so supportive of me through this crazy transitional time in my life. You are all WONDERFUL, and I couldn't have made it to this point without you. THANK YOU! :)

Oh, and one more thing to say...I could be in Gainesville for the 5th, that's right...5th Florida Gator National Championship in 5 years. Yeah, I must be the reason they keep winning. ;) Can't wait for the football season to start!

8.17.2009

Malabar Storm Day

8.13.2009

Self-Sabotage

I self-sabotage. At least I think I do. Every time something really amazing is about to happen to me, I freak out and throw walls up and run from it. Who in their right mind would do that? Why would I not want something amazing to happen to me? Maybe because I know that with the potential for good always comes the potential for bad, and I am terrified of the bad. So scared in fact, that I run from the good, just to avoid any chance of the bad. That is a terrible way to live, and it's only been recently that I realized how often I do that, and I wonder what I've missed out on in my life because I was running from the potential of bad.

I also overthink everything, which is probably why I manage to see bad in something good. I can weigh decisions for months if you'll let me, whereas Todd can make a huge decision in one night. I envy that ability, because he probably ends up making better decisions as a result. He goes with his gut, combines it with a reasonable thought, and makes a decision. I weigh the pros and the cons until I forget what I'm even trying to decide, probably because I discovered something else I was unsure of along the way.

Is there a way to embrace these things about myself and learn to use them to my advantage? Or are they things I need to change, and fast, before I lose the best thing that's ever happened to me?

Again, I have no answers. I see in black in white in a world that's shades of gray, and that somehow leaves me hiding in the dark.

8.12.2009

Abstract Ambiguity

Lately I've been taking pictures that are only of part of an object, really close up, and therefore ambiguous. I wonder if the photo phases you enter could tell you something about your life, kind of like how a dream can expose how you are feeling about something you are experiencing. Or, maybe I just like abstract, ambiguous photography.

Clay Head

Clay head made by Galan Norman.

8.10.2009

Sunflower

Liam Steen & Allen and Alexa March

7.28.2009

Keep in the Sunlight

"Do not anticipate trouble,

or worry about what may not happen.

Keep in the sunlight."

Benjamin Franklin

7.27.2009

Water Wings

7.21.2009

Make Love Last

I was reading the July issue of Glamour magazine last night, and I stumbled across one of the best articles I've read in awhile. It gave hints for how to make love last, and as much as I enjoy a good girly magazine, I don't usually take their advice all that seriously. However, this article was spot on, so I decided to share a few of my favorite hints!

What you should do together...

Once a week:

Fight (a little). Getting your grrs out keeps small annoyances from snowballing. Britain's longest-married couple proves it: together 81 years, Frank and Anita Milford say their secret is "a little argument every day."

Compliment each other . This one's a daily to-do, if you can. There's no nice thing that's too small to mention his excellent taste in music, the way he opens the door for you - it's all worth a verbal love tap. And he will swoon.

Let something go. Argue over the stuff that matters, but once a week let him (and yourself) off the hook for things that don't: yes, he chews his popcorn loud. No, it won't kill you.

Laugh so hard. Laughter is a relationships krazy glue: it bonds you. uninspired? Fast foward to the chest-waxing scene in The 40-year-old Virgin or send him something snortworthy from funnyordie.com.

Once a month:

Be do-gooders. Volunteering together (even just helping a friend move) bonds you because you're ID-ing "common values," says Elizabeth Lombardo, a psychologist in Wexford, Pennsylvania.

Do something scary. Been together awhile? A pounding heart mimics the rush of brand new love, says Patti Wood, an expert on nonverbal communication in Atlanta. Fly in a Balloon or order the sweet-breads for two!

Brag publicly about him: his fearless pursuit of the mouse in your kitchen, the armful of hydrangeas he surprised you with, the raise he landed even in this economy. Surely once a month you can think of something that'll make him blush in front of your friends . He'll probably get you back too .

Declare something "this stays in vegas." A silly nickname, or a crazy mishap. Share something intimate, then pull the couple bubble around you tightly .

Disappear together . Hike somewhere AT&T can't find you (and thus your mother, your boss and his needy friend Bob can't find you either). No woods ? Any time spent totally alone together - a long drive, even - will do the trick .

Disappear alone. We're not advocating game-playing exactly. But in this world of 24/7 availability, it can be good for your relationship to each have some solo time. Afterward, you'll feel recharged, like the free-spirited single girl he fell for once upon a time.

Go to a party! And mingle seperately. It screams confidence and makes the after-party rehash even sweeter.

Once a year:

Get a dog. Or at least a plant. Anything that'll grow with your love.

Say the tough thing. The dark family secret. The crazy career dream. If you can't confess to your significant other, then who? (Hey, you think Barack never said to Michelle way back when, "This may sound nuts, but I think I want to be president someday?"

Cancel valentines day and invent your own lovey-dovey holiday. Lobsterfest 2009 anyone ?

Fall apart. You can't schedule this. But it's important that you each know, via experience, that you can completely, utterly lose your grip - weep over a bad haircut, threaten to leave your job after a nutso day, have a wrenching fight with your mom - and not lose each other .

Don't. Get. Up. At least once a year, break open some bubbly, disable the Wi-Fi and don't get out of bed for the weekend.

Write each other. New Orleans newly wed Rebecca, 32 was inspired by her husbands uncle who writes his wife every Christmas. "One letter maynot seem like much, but after 30 years it's a wonderful record of their lives."

Think back on all the reasons you fell for him. whether you've dated for a year or a decade. Some will be big (his extra-dry sense of humor); some will be small (his love of argyle). Make sure you tell him, and remind yourself. Hello, butterflies! There you are again.

And once a lifetime.

Get lost together in a foreign country.

Damn the cost and go do the dream.

Come back from the bring of a breakup even stronger.

Together, convince a skeptic pall to believe in love.

Have a poor phase. Maybe a rich phase too.

Count the stars. Know your love is one in a billion.

7.15.2009

Florida Love

The first three posts of this new blog ended up being somewhat more pensive and ponderous then I originally intended. While yes, I would like this blog to document what it feels like to be a twentysomething, I would like to do that by just writing about my life.

Last weekend, Todd finally got to visit my parents' house in Malabar and get the grand tour of Melbourne. My parents are moving soon, so it was important to me that he see where I spent my high school years. We had a little less than 24 hours there, but we fit alot in! We looked for manatees in Turkey Creek, but alas, they stayed hidden. We enjoyed sweating in the hot Florida sun though!

Then we headed to Bizarro's on the beach for some delicious pizza with my parents. Todd and my parents get along SO well, so it was so much fun to just relax and chat. The best part of lunch was when my dad and I started talking about punctuation. That's right, put two English majors at one table and you get a thrilling conversation about whether or not a comma should be used before the "and" in a series. For example: We looked for manatees, ate pizza, and walked on the beach.

Do you put the comma in after pizza or leave it out? My dad and I voted to put it in, but I see sentences published all the time without the comma. Are you laughing at me yet? My mom and Todd were cracking up throughout the convo, but later Todd said that was his favorite part of the meal for two reasons--one because that's the first casual convo about punctuation he's ever been a part of, and two because I was so enthusiastic about the subject. Later that night he got a chance to chat with my aunt about art things, like wood burning kilns and such, and I had no idea what he was talking about, but I enjoyed watching him talk about something he is passionate about too.

To wrap up our day tour of Melbourne, we walked around downtown Melbourne for awhile, rummaging through thrift stores, exploring my favorite used book store, and buying Todd some sandals. Being a midwesterner, he apparently has had no need for sandals until now. Being a Florida girl through and through, I can't imagine not wearing sandals daily. Todd only brought these shoes down with him:

Cute, but no good for a beach town. So, he found the perfect compromise, an invention I will call the Shoedal. Sandal on the bottom, shoe on the top. I suppose it's a good compromise, and he's in love with them, so what can I say. My midwestern boy just isn't a sandal guy.