Some Girl Time and a Bounce House

If it's one thing I've come to realize since Eric stopped travelling, it's that I actually need to plan 'me time', and especially my 'girl time' with friends. I didn't have to plan all of that so much before... I would just go with the girls when he was out of town and I felt the need, and his time away always turned into 'me time' at nights.

Anyway, I got a little girls' night in last night. It was a low key one, at Jen's house, with Jen and Karla (my cruisemates). We spent the even having some wine, chatting, and preparing for Jen's party. Zac (her 3yr-old) was there, so we couldn't get too carried away. But time in the kitchen with these girls, plus some wine, is always fun! In other words, this isn't the first time we spent an evening like this. There was a lot of laughing and catching up done... it was a good night.

It was back up to Jen's this evening for her Fishers Freedom Fest party. Eric was along this time, as were many others for the event. This year, she did a shrimp boil (obviously more for the adults) and had a bounce house for the kids (or the kids at heart... or the tipsy adults). She lives close enough to all the action of Fishers Freedom Fest that this has become an annual event for her and Tony... and it seems to grow every year, which is understandable. You can walk to the parade and you don't have to go far to see the fireworks over the tree tops (didn't use to have to even leave her driveway!).

So, all in all, it was a good weekend. Still kind of boggling my mind to know that the year is half over... but I guess time flies when you're as busy as I've been!

Headlines

If you've ever watched Jay Leno, you've probably seen one of his bits, Headlines, where he reads various headlines, ads, etc. from newspapers all over. I assume these are all sent into him, though I'm sure he searches some of them out himself (or his people do, anyway). I always find myself cracking up at most of these... you have to wonder how these things slips by the editors.

Well, there was a good one in the IndyStar today. And while it wasn't on THE front page, it was on the front page of the local section. And I admit, I didn't see it right off. I don't think a lot of people did, which kind of shows how much attention we pay to newsprint nowadays - kind of sad.

Anyway... look at this. There was an article about bridges along the I-65/I-70 connector that are too low through downtown, and that they finally have a plan to increase the clearance. This large, full color, graphic map/chart was front and center of the page, so it wasn't something small and off to the side. Yet somehow...

Do you see it yet? I didn't want to highlight it and make it too obvious... you can click on the image to make it larger...


Find it? Give up?


Okay, if you didn't find it, look on the bottom right corner... you'll see the silhouette of a cat... look at the caption with it.

I don't know about you, but I've never see any 14.5' housecats... or any cat, for that matter!

Dave Matthews Concerts!

Anyone who knows me, know that I love my Dave Matthews Band. While I can't say I haven't missed a concert, I can say I've been GOING to concerts since 1995. Not quite the beginning, but before he hit his peak, at least. I absolutely love Dave Matthews Band concerts... the live jams are just awesome!

Anyway... this weekend was his concert weekend here in Indy and I went to both shows, as usual. I have to drag Eric to shows, but he tolerates it well. It'd be more fun if he was a fan, but at least he goes and doesn't complain... too much. I'm compromised with him in that we miss the opening act so we're not hanging and waiting too long for the real reason we're there... DMB.

So this year, I feel like Saturday was the better show. I enjoyed Saturday more, anyway. But I'm already seeing contradictory feelings from some things I've read from other people. But hey, to each is his own. He played more songs I liked on Saturday, plus his duet of 'Spoon' with Brandy Carlile (the opening act) was awesome!

I will say this... going to DMB concerts is not the same as it used to be. I have some crazy memories of concerts dating back to college and going with college friends - even going to some post-college concerts with college friends! And it's not just because I've grown older (though that's a big part of it)... but his whole fan base has gotten older. He's not really gaining any younger fans (not that he needs them). It's just interesting, I guess. I still love DMB, and I likely always will.

Summer Solstice and the Moon

Summer Solstice. The 'real' start to summer? Kind of hard to accept that when it gets as hot as it does in May now. But it still has it's merit as being that... to me, anyway. Besides... it's the longest day of the year!

Okay... so the Summer Solstice doesn't get the love it used to century's ago... it used to really mean something and 'speak' to farmers and villagers, the like. Or so says the books we had to read at some point in our educational careers. But when you throw in a so called "Super Moon" on the same weekend, that's something to talk about!

I thought the super moon was actually the same day (night) at the Summer Solstice, especially when I saw the spectacular moon that came out last night. But then I learned that WASN'T the super moon! It's actually overnight tonight, as tonight is the full moon. Could've fooled me... actually, it DID fool me! Hopefully, tonight's is just as spectacular... which, according to everyone on the internet, it will be.

So it may not quite be a Summer Solstice Super Moon, but it was still quite the sight to see (and snap a photo or two of!). And now, with the Summer Solstice past, the days, once again, grow shorter. Which I'm quite excited about, because I can't quite get into the sun setting after 9pm. Too me, that just throws all your senses off. But I digress.

Hope everyone else out there enjoyed their Summer Solstice!

Italian Fest

So after some church politics that caused it's cancellation last year, Italian Fest was back this year! And it was welcome back by all, both in the fact that it had spectacular weather both nights, as well as a huge turnout of people!

Of course, Eric and I went by both nights... that's one huge advantage to being just blocks away from the street festival.

On Friday night, we walked over and ran into some of our neighbors on the way. So we chatted with them for a bit as we walked over and then met up with some friends once we were there. While you could tell there was new 'management' running the festival, it wasn't anything that took away from the fun. For the most part, everything was setup and ran the same way as it had been before. Actually, it may have even grown a little - there wan an additional band stage and guest tent/tables in the park. There's just something about Italian Fest that has a calming and relaxing effect on everyone who comes... it's like it's own little world where nothing else matters. Maybe it's the cannolis...

We ended up having some post-festival cocktails with some friends at their condo, with overlooks Holy Rosary, so we watched the festivities wind down from their 8th floor balcony. We got a good laugh at the end of it all as they herd people out with a slow moving police car, lights flashing and dull siren on and all. But whatever works, I guess.

Last night we just wandered over with the intention of just grabbing dinner. It was actually busier than the night before, which was actually great to see! Though I guess it was to be expected on the second night. We proceeded to get our tickets and start picking out what food to eat. After we felt we had enough, we decided to stroll through the rest of the festival - we only got as far as the bocce ball courts in the park the night before. So we ventured over to the carnival portion. There's only a few rides and games, as it's a small area they have to work with. It's still enough to entertain, though. As we walked over, we had a fun sight, as we saw a bunch of nuns getting onto one of the rides. It was like the beginning of a joke - everyone was entertained by this sight.

After that laugh, we headed home. And another Italian Fest was in the books for us and the neighborhood. It was good to have it back.

Three Years

Hard to believe, but today is three years for Eric and I! My, how time flies! I find it interesting how all the job changes are occurring right around this milestone... maybe a sign of what's to come?? Who knows...

Ironically, Eric had to go out of town today... to Florida. His last trip to Florida for Kite, though. Never thought we'd see that day! I think it's kind of bittersweet for him, though... he's made a lot of friends a built a lot of good relationships with people down there. But everyone he's told of the job change and what his new job entails has be super supportive and excited for him. Even the people with Kite, which was a bit of a surprise to both of us.

Looking back at the last three years, though, shows a lot of tough hurdles for us to get over, which we did. There was job loss, home sale, lots of work travel, just to name a few. Honestly, this seemingly 'normal life' we're about to embark on will be a new hurdle for us - we've never had normalcy in our lives together! He's been traveling since we've been together and his daily job stress had become our normalcy... what's it going to be like when he's actually home every night? In the meantime, my job stress is going to go us with my new responsibilities, though more to a normal level in my industry, I guess. The question that comes to mind is, can we be normal?

Well, here's to three years passed and, hopefully, many more to come in this new normalcy of life. And don't worry... we're celebrating our anniversary tomorrow night with a nice dinner out. If it's one thing we're learned over the past three years, it's how to adjust to make things work.

Facebook - Blah

Maybe it's just me, but I have grown quite bored with Facebook.

Maybe it was my 40 days off during Lent that gave me perspective on things, making me see the light, if you will. But ever since then, I'm just not excited about what I see on there. A lot of agendas are there, whether is be religious, political, or other personal missions. I mainly use is as a way to just post from other sites... sites that give me rewards for posting stuff. Silly, I know. But at least those other sites give me things, like gift cards.

Bottom line is that I just don't want to know that much about people and see that much of their lives. I don't need to know or witness your child's growth by the minute. I don't need to know when you have a friend or relative in the hospital, unless I personally know them as well. I don't want to know about every crappy day you have. And I really don't care about what you ate for dinner.

While I'm just short of saying that I'm completely done with it, there is still one thing I find kind of cool and interesting. I kind of like watching relationships blossom and grow. I've seen so many people get into a relationship, all excited, literally get to see the relation grow into love, and then so many engagements, and even marriages. It's kind of cool. No, it's not Facebook's doing, but it's still cool to witness.

Now, unfortunately, for every relationship flourishing, there's one falling apart. I don't like watching that happen... all the angry words spewed onto Facebook. That's not cool to see. If only there was a way to block the negative crap and only see the positive stuff. But I guess that's just real life. It's not always a happy ending.

So no... I'm not deleting my Facebook account. Not yet, anyway. Probably not ever. But like many already have, the account may go quiet sometime in the future, with the very rare occurrence of a post that's not 'automatic' because of another website. Facebook has just lost it's appeal to me. There so much more 'real life' going on out there that is way more interesting.

It's Sinking In...

So I've had a week or so for last week's bomb to sink in. I've gone through a few stages... anticipation, denial, panic, anger... but at the end of it all, I'm just trying to stay positive about it all.

And I mean all of it. I think I've been downplaying, in my own mind, everything that just happened to me. And no, I'm not trying to make it all about me... I'm thrilled for both Eric and Rich with their new quests and career directions. But I'm the only person that has been affected by both sides in a great way. And anyone who knows me know that I am the queen of keeping it together. To a point. That's probably my biggest flaw... I push things down deep and put up a fantastic façade that I've got it all together. Then one small thing will just set all that buried emotion off in a volcanic eruption that no one understands.

I guess at the end of the day, I still have things under control. Somewhere along the way, though, I picked up this habit of not letting people see everything going on inside my head (and heart, I guess). And why I'm spilling this all out in a blog right now is a beyond me... maybe I subconsciously see this as a pressure release to avoid a meltdown later.

Please don't take this as an invitation to 'talk about things' with me. If I want to talk, I will. But obviously, I'm not an open book, nor do I want to be. Just know that there's a lot more going on with me than you know, and leave it at that.

Next week will be my first 'official' week in my new gig. Should be interesting. I know my counterpart in the office is completely freaked out, so I know I'll be the epitome of calmness to keep him from freaking out more. Now the question is, will I actually be as calm as I appear to be on the outside?