Cabin Weekend, 2008

Mike and I have returned from our annual vacation to his family's cabin in the great Up North! We left right after work on Thursday, and made it home late today. With a weekend full of nothing but beautiful weather and lots of relaxing, it was very, very hard to come back to reality. Tomorrow it will be back to work, but what a fantastic break we had!

***More Pictures!***

Friday was our first full day at the cabin, so we slept in and spent a lazy day sunning on the beach. Sandy arrived late in the afternoon, just in time for dinner, and later we went to Rogers City for a live show and some ice cream! We finished the day up with some margaritas and our favorite game of all time--Blokus!

Saturday was a picture-perfect day, so Mike and I chose it to be the day we visited Mackinac Island! We first did some shopping in the city, then took a mid-afternoon ferry over to the Island. We met up with our good friends Nick and Colleen, who were also in northern Michigan for the weekend, and went biking around the whole island! Mike and I rented a tandem bike for the very first time, and we discovered it was not as easy to ride as it looks! I had a blast though, and after an eight mile round trip, we were hungry for dinner! We ate at our favorite restaurant, the Irish Pub, and then spent the next few hours shopping main street. Finally we bought fudge and ice cream, and took the last ferry back to the mainland at 10 pm. It was already dark outside, so we got to see the Mackinac Bridge lit up! There were also some fireworks being shot off near the Upper Peninsula end, which made the view all the more beautiful.

Sunday was a beach day! Sandy, Debbie, Mike and I got our beach chairs out and took in some sun all day. Their cabin sits on Lake Huron, and they get to enjoy a beautiful shallow, sandy stretch of beach. I went swimming several times, and then we decided to try our hands at sailing! Sandy got out a cute two-person sailboat for us to try. None of us knew how to sail (or how to put the boat together!), but after much trial and error, we finally got our vessel in the water! Mike took her out for almost two hours, and did an awesome job! I took many pictures/videos of his adventure.

Today (Monday) was our last day, and we had to leave about mid-afternoon to make it home at a decent time. We got up in the morning and drove to Ocqueoc Falls near the cabin, where we enjoyed several beautiful waterfalls and some swimming! Afterwards I took a dip in Lake Huron, before finally coming back to shower and pack up to leave. Hours later, I was back home with a little sunburn, a little fudge, and a ton of great stories!

As usual, I was super sad to leave it all behind to come back to work, but even so, I had a great time. We're hoping to go back Labor Day weekend, and maybe even go into the Upper Peninsula a little bit! That would be a fun way to kick off my third year of grad school. :) *whew!* For now though, it's back to work!

Marble-sized Hail?

Nothing too exciting has been happening lately, but I've been pretty busy. Mom and I are remodeling again (master bedroom), I worked last weekend, and I've been juggled between three different pharmacies for the past two weeks. Life is good, but it's settled into a lazy sort of routine I find refreshing. It's mid-July, which means Cabin Weekend is right around the corner, and just beyond that is school.

Part of me is excited for school--the pharmacist I work with, Nadia, recently graduated from Ferris, and says that I'll enjoy my last two years quite a bit. But another part of me dreads going back; wary that this year will be no less stressful than the last two, despite what I've heard to the contrary. It's hard for anyone else to understand how much I look forward to being done, not just because it has been a long road, but because I've put a hold on so many other parts of life to finish this one. I'm ready to live in one place, work a steady job and receive steady pay, and finally be with Mike everyday. So I suppose in a way, going back to school is one step closer to the finish line. It's thinking about that which makes me eager to go back.

The rest of me, on the other hand, would very much like the rest of the summer to crawl by slowly, as if it will never end. I love my bed. I love the sound of rain in my yard. I love kisses from my dog. I love working out with Mom, and joking around with Dad and Chris. There's no place like home (ha, and without homework).

The aforementioned Cabin Weekend is coming up next weekend, and I'm SO excited! It's one of my favorite summertime events, and I've yet to wear my bathing suite this year, so I'm overdue for a hot tan. I also got a Henna tattoo last weekend! :D I'd never had one done before, so that was pretty sweet. I'm considering getting a (real) tattoo after pharmacy school is over, and I mentioned it to Mom this weekend.

Me: So, I'm thinking I'm going to get a tattoo when I graduate. Sort of a gift to myself for making it happen, I guess.
Mom: If you still want to in two years, I guess it's something you could do. But just remember, do it and then tell your dad.
Me: Huh?
Mom: It's better to ask forgiveness than permission.

Lols. I love you Mom.

The Weekend of Awesomeness

Well, I'm another year older, and according to various sources, going from 22 to 23 somehow crosses the threshold of young to old. But as I'd like to say, you're only as old as you feel, so you can't bring me down with you! :P I seriously have awesome birthdays every year, especially with it being the day after Independence Day, and this year was no exception!

My newlywed friends Beth and Matt were out of town for the week, so they asked me to house/kitty sit for them. I got to stay at their house in Grand Blanc with Mike (once he got here) for Thursday and Friday nights, and it was great to just lounge around and finish season 4 of LOST. Now that we've done that, we're caught up with the rest of the world, and have been reduced to waiting impatiently for the new season to arrive and (gasp!) at a pace of one episode per week (instead of my usual 6 episode marathons). Oh what a world!

Aside from house-sitting, I got to see two rounds of fireworks! The first was on the 4th of July in Clio. Mike and I went to Clio Cinema parking lot, which was a zoo, to watch the display. It was an okay show, but getting out of the parking lot and back home was nearly as entertaining. On Saturday, which was my birthday (yay!), we finished LOST and exchanged gifts, because it is also our anniversary!! WOO!

This time around we celebrated FOUR great years together! We sure have grown and matured a lot in those four years, but I still love him more every single day. We've gone through over half of our relationship living apart, a year of living together, two brutal years of me in grad school, and his first year of teaching. Life has thrown us a whole lot of curves, but each has been a test to strengthen us. There's been a whole lot of memories, a whole lot of pictures to capture it all, good and bad, laughter and tears, and I'd do it all again. Being with Mike, having that love, is what makes all the other parts of my life so worth it. It has become that which fuels my motivation. With four years behind us, I look forward to many, many more ahead. :)

I received many wonderful gifts from Mike and my family, and I love all of them so much! Either I'm very spoiled or very lucky (or both!)! After cleaning up at Beth and Matt's place, we headed back to my parents' for my birthday dinner of BBQ hot dogs, hamburgers, and pasta salad! After that it was gifting with the family, and followed by a spectacular fireworks show in Bay City! I had never been to Bay City's fireworks, but it was well worth the drive. :)

Today was a lazier day, spent lunching in Frankenmuth and browsing around, and then eating sloppy joes with the family. After watching Mike kill some hookers in Grand Theft Auto, he had to go back to Lansing for work tomorrow. :( I was sad to see him go, but very happy to have spent the long holiday weekend with him. I also bought myself a new jewelry box with the birthday money my grandparents sent me! It's so huge, OMG. My little box was overflowing, but now I have so much space to fill up! :D

*Whew!* What an awesome weekend, awesome birthday, and awesome anniversary. Thanks to everyone who made it special!! <3

July

Well, it's July, which is by far my favorite month of the year. Here are some reasons why:

• My birthday!! :D
• My anniversary with Mike :-*
• Summer blockbusters
• Cabin weekend
  
• 4th of July (and fireworks!)

These are a few of my favorite things! However, July also makes me realize that summer is slipping by quickly, which means pharm school year #3 is fast approaching, and I've saved less than a quarter of the moolah I'd like to by September. Oooooooh boy. That's okay though. There's still more than half of summer left, and lots more to enjoy! :D

Mom and I did the 30-minute pilates video tonight, and I thought my legs would burn off. I like work-out pain though, because it must be by far the most productive pain there is. I mean, aside from like... childbirth or something. >_<

Also, I'm house-sitting for Beth and Matt this week/weekend, and they have kitties! OMG YAY.