And I ran, I ran so far away...

So my birthday was pretty darn great. Caleb suprised me with lunch at Gypsy Cab Company (they have the most incredible chicken ever!), since I've been wanting to eat there since, well, forever. Then he gave me a book I really like a lot, and took me shopping at Anthropologie. My boyfriend is the best ever.

To top it off, we went swimming and watched "The Jerk" with Steve Martin, and I got a free ice cream from Coldstone. AND we got to see fireworks on Sunday night. Oh, and then last night his family took me out to eat at Johnny Carino's. Yup. It was great.

Caleb is leaving for kid's camp next week, and his family is going to be gone on a church choir tour, so it will just be me.

Finally, pray for my brother, he left for Thailand today on a mission trip.

Happy Birthday to...

Me!

(I'm 22. Crazy, huh?)

Birthdays and beautiful things

Recently I've stumbled on a whole crop of new design blogs that I am utterly in love with. There are too many to list, but most of them are ladies a few years older than me, in cities bigger than St. Augustine, and they post oodles (yes, oodles) of photos and links of design trends. Frankly, it's quite inspiring. Overwhelming, even.

And.

It really makes me rethink a lot of my design goals, becuase I've kind of shyed away from things that are "girly." Not that this stuff is only that, because it is beautiful design, but lately I've just come to like more and more things that are pretty. I guess I've just been inspired in a different way than before.

I went to the beach today with Caleb. Finally! (I've had to work every time it's ben really nice.) Tomorrow I work a double shift (7am to 9pm, yuck). But my birthday is almost here, and I'm really excited about being 22. The sad thing about getting older is that most of your friends get scattered around, so having a birthday party becomes less and less doable. I've always wanted a suprise party, but it's just never happened and it's one of those things I've kind of accepted never will. It would be cool, sure, just not extremely possible. Maybe when I'm 40 I can have a giant party and invite all of my friends from everywhere, and their families. Now that would be fun.

It's raining, so I am off to sleep and enjoy the sound of rain on the roof. Lovely.

Sayonara!

Time after Time

My muscles basiclly hate me right now. I started working out at the gym with Caleb on Monday, and today was killer. He makes me meet him at 7am (he has to work at 9). Meanie. I'm glad that I'm doing this, though, it's about time I got into shape.

I just heard the song "Say After Me" by Bic Runga (click for a music video) the other day, and I really like her. Definitely some Bjork undertones, but a little more accessible.

I need to get started on Wedding presents. Shannon and Cameron's wedding is in 2 or so weeks, and Eb and Allison's is not far behind. Time to get crackin'.

P.S. My birthday is Monday! (I'll be 22)

And we're back

For some reason, our trip to Michigan went by extremely fast. It was a lot of fun. I got to fly with Caleb, which I've never done before, so that was cool. We flew from Orlando to Detroit, looking at the silly inflight catalogue and eating pretzels. I love flying. It was clear, too, so we had a great view of all the tiny cars and tiny houses.

Our trip mostly consisted of good food, hanging out with my family, seeing old friends, and riding this awesome '80s scooter that my dad fixed. I'll post some pictures whenever my brother emails them to me.

Friday we went to Cedar Point, and had a blast. It was just me, Phil, and Caleb, and it was kinda yucky and cold for the first part of the day. But the sun came out, and we rode every single ride (some of them twice!). The lines were super short. By the end of the day, I'm pretty sure I would have passed out if I tried to ride anything else.

Saturday was Jay and Kim's wedding. Crazy. Jay is now married, and I'm really happy for both of them. It was a beautiful ceremony and they are so perfect for each other. The reception was fun--got to talk to Andy and Nino and other varous folks, plus we helped "decorate" the car.

I really loved hanging out with my family. They like Caleb a lot, which makes me happy. I'm so glad that both of our families like each other (and us). It just makes things so much easier and so much more enjoyable.

So now we're back. This morning I joined Alpha Fitness (the gym Caleb is a member of), and worked out for the first time in, well, forever. I'm sore, that's for sure. But I'm looking forward to getting in shape and being more active.

These are the days...

Caleb is back for a good long while. We saw Jamie Cullum at the Florida Theatre and he was absolutely amazing. Tomorrow we leave for Michigan: family, friends, Cedar Point, and a wedding. See you in a bit!

Yee-Haw!

I just finished crocheting this adorable pair of cowboy baby booties for Kate's baby Aiden. I'm pretty proud of them, I have to admit.

Also, I'll be posting some new photos on Flickr from my parents visit and from my trip to Lake City. Later!

Fresh Produce Rocks my Socks

Yesterday I went to the wonderful produce place on US-1 that I found a few weeks back, and for $12, I got:

two ears of corn
three potatoes
four apples
a Plantain
a head of Lettuce
a bag of Mixed Greens
a Tomato
a Bell Pepper
a lemon
a bunch of bananas

Basically, my produce place rocks. AND all the produce is fresh from local farmers. I plan on having corn on the cob with baked Tilapia on Friday before Caleb and I go to see Jamie Cullum (which I am super excited about).

I currently have two Weather Watches open on my Widgets right now (that's a lot of W's). One for St. Aug, and one for Sandusky, Ohio. Becuase on Friday, the 19th, Caleb and my brother and Courtney and myself are planning on going to Cedar Point. And I don't want it to rain. Therefore, by watching the weather, I feel like I have some small, minute control in the situation (or maybe I can just focus my prayers better?).

Finally, I got the new Yeah Yeah Yeah's album, Show Your Bones. It's good. Karen O does not disappoint.

Surely would be you

So yesterday I drove home from Graceville. Yes, I ended up making my way over there after hanging in Lake City for a day or two with Eb and Allison. It was fun, I really like those two. We watched Arrested Development, ate salmon patties, slept in, went to look at a house, got snow cones, and other fun things. I wish I could have stayed for their BBQ with the Dizmas guys, but I decided at the last minute to make the two and a half hour drive over to Graceville. I'm glad I did, it was definitely worth it, even if I only got to see Caleb for a short time (I had to leave at 10am the next day to make it back for work). I stayed with Mike and Katrina and their beyond cute little boy Eathan. He looks like Mike, it's awesome.

Now I am back home, working. But Caleb will be here next week, and we will see Jamie Cullum. Yay!