So I am finally catching up on photos and such. Last weekend Mr. SB came to Madison and we went to the Mallards game again. As usual we didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the game and in the middle Mr. SB and I walked over to the store. It was still fun. Afterwards we drove back to base and we spent the weekend around base and such. I failed at taking photos that weekend. I only caught these few.

This past weekend I drove down to Chicago on Saturday for 'just the day'. So I met up with Mr. Scottie B. and friends. We headed to Thai Uptown for food. It was a BYOB restaurant. I had never been to one before, it was awesome. So when we finished eating Mr. Scottie B. had a surprise for me. Now let me tell you, I hate surprises. So we jumped in a cab (which we never do) and we ended up at this little store. So we walk in and I'm still confused at why we're here and we walk over to this cuff bracelet. AHHH. A while back I tweeted that someone should buy it for me (found via this blog) and...sigh. Look blogreaders, my bf is so awesome. The cuff has an old map of Chicago on it. If you didn't know already, I love Chicago. And this city means a lot to me and it's where Mr. SB and I have spent a lot of time together. AMAZING.

So we met everyone back at the Tattoo Factory. Marissa got her belly button pierced and John got tattooed (sorry John, none of the photos I took came out well). We left John since it was going to be a while. We bought some more wine and the boys got cigars. Then we sat at the Navy Pier. I taught Marissa how to do a cartwheel and the day was also filled with lots of dancing. As usual, it was wonderful.

As expected I stayed on base and did not drive home. The next day Mr. Scottie B. and I went to church in the morning. We grabbed some lunch and went to Lake County Forest Preserve. So here's another confession, I HATE BUGS. I'm sure Mr. SB was so annoyed with me because I pretty much just complained the whole time that I was being eaten alive my bugs. I was right, I have like a million mosquito bites. But I was semi-tough and stuck around longer than I expected myself to.

We saw Crazy Stupid Love after our picnic. And then...I went home. I don't think either of us anticipated spending all weekend together, but I'm glad I did (I'm going to assume he was too). And I'm glad I got to see his mustache one last time because as of today, it's gone (for now). So here are photos from this weekend!

Thoughts on Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!

I've fallen behind on my running in the last week or so. We went to Boston and I hadn't been to the gym in a few days. And I decided I'd get back to it OUTSIDE. I haven't ran outside since HS (for cheer). Is that strange? Well I need to get into the habit of running outside vs. the treadmill since I'll be running in September.

So I laced up and took my parents dog Molly with me. I'd never run with her before but she's getting fat (kidding...kind of) and I felt safer taking her with me. So we ran around two miles (a little less) as a trial run. She did so great. My parents did a great job with training her. She stayed on my left and pushed me to run faster. She's worn out now.



I've also been chatting with my brother Adam a lot more lately. I think Adam and I had a few ups and downs. Mostly when Mom and Dad moved to Madison and I was feeling abandoned. But now that I'm here we've gotten closer, closer than we probably would have been if I hadn't come here. Adam is a cool dude and we always laugh when we chat and hang out. So... yay for having awesome brother(s).




After reactivating my Facebook I still haven't gotten too involved or active. The first few days I looked at quite a few friends pages to catch up on their lives. I've deleted over 50 people and am thinking about deleting a few more. I haven't been on daily and it's honestly because I'm still struggling with being positive/caring/friendly. When I find myself saying negative things to myself while I'm looking, I've just gotten offline. I'm working at it still! How do you stay positive about your Facebook friends?



Today I was driving home from work and then I remembered... I'm dating Mr. Scottie B. Sometimes it hits me how crazy that is. For those who don't know the story, Mr. Scottie B. and I first met when we were 12 and 13. We both lived in California and did musical theater together. I had a crush on him and I was living an hour and a half away from him. When the musical we were doing ended, we continued to talk and write letters to each other. His letters included poems and sweet loving 8th grade words (I still have the letters). We drifted apart and I thought of him on occasion. I found him on Facebook a while ago (like over a year ago) and then saw his posts about Chicago. We got in touch and I found out he was living there. That was only a few hours away. So one Saturday we met up in the city and had what we are calling our 'first' date. Many weekends later, here we are. Mr. Scottie B. is handsome, kind, hilarious, and extremely sweet. I feel pretty lucky. I can't wait to see his face on Saturday (it's been two weeks)!



Thanks for letting me share a few thoughts from today! I feel so blessed today! I've got a new running partner, feeling close to my brother, and I've got an awesome boyfriend. AWESOME!

She said I think I'll go to Boston

Well folks I fell in love with another American city, Boston. On Friday, I tagged alone with Dad and Mom to Boston. We drove to New Hampshire so Dad could pick up the stuff for his work and stayed the night there. We stayed in Concord and it was an adorable little town. On Saturday morning we all got up and ate at Dunkin Donuts (mom's fave). Then Dad drove to his work. Mom and I walked around downtown Concord. There was a small farmer's market, a few thrift stores, and a few little stores. It was awesome.
















After our morning in Concord we drove to Boston. On Saturday we worked. Dad's company at a booth set up and we gave out samples. It was really hot but was in this great park. I'm kind of tired tonight so I'll give you the short version of the rest of the trip. On Sunday we went downtown and we... got coffee, went to the Cheer's bar, walked through the Commons, rode the T, shopped (including visiting Johnny Cupcakes), put our feet in the Atlantic ocean, walked through a very old graveyard, drove through tons of different neighborhoods, got cupcakes, and drank beer at an Irish pub in Cambridge.

The trip was so amazing. We didn't want to try to fit too much into one day and we didn't. We went with the flow with not much of a plan in mind, but did a ton of exploring. It was so much fun! I'm terribly in love with the city of Boston and would love to live there. The city is clean and so historic. I say all this but get me back in Chicago and I'll say the same thing. Mr. Scottie B. told me I'm ridiculous for wanting to live in all these different cities :)

Here are a ton of photos from our trip. Sorry I didn't link any of the stores, shops, or info. I'm tired and sick of being on the computer (edited photos for a while).



















How was everyone else's weekend? What did you do?

Momma's Birthday

Today is my mom's birthday. She's my best friend and my biggest supporter of everything I do. She's an amazing lady and such a great example of what a strong women looks like. Happy Birthday to her!

Last night The Wilcox's and Ben & Courtney came over as a surprise. Mom was so confused when Rachel pulled up with the boys and then Adam followed with a birthday cake. She went to lunch with her friend yesterday and my aunt today. We all went to dinner (that's a whole other story, you can see my review via Yelp).

Tomorrow mom, dad, and I are off to Boston for a short visit. I'm SO excited! Will keep you all updated through Twitter and will take tons of photos!

Warped Tour 2011

A while back I had talked via Twitter to an old high school friend John about possibly getting me into Vans Warped Tour. John is now part of the band Shut Up And Deal. I hadn't talked with him since and then the day before I had tweeted at him again and he totally came through. SO Ben and I drove down to Milwaukee to the Summerfest grounds and met up with John.

It was quite hot outside and muggy. But totally worth the heat for all the awesomeness. The first band we saw was Set Your Goals. They were great and such an energetic way to start our day. We quickly found the refill station for water and that saved us tons of money. I'm so glad I brought a reusable water bottle!

A few of the other bands we saw perform were August Burns Red, 3OH!3, The Wonder Years, Relient K, Bad Rabbits, and Shut Up And Deal.

All the bands we saw were SO AWESOME. John told us to check out Bad Rabbits and I'm so glad he told us to. They were awesome performers and everyone needs to check them out. And of course check out Shut Up And Deal. John and his band mates are so talented. I'm stoked to have been able to meet them all and watch them do their thing.

Here are quite a few photos from our day: