A small, well kept secret.

UIndy. Before going on campus for the first time a week and a half ago, I assumed the University of Indianapolis was a small, private and perhaps even a commuter school. I had no idea that 80 some percent of freshmen lived on campus, or that they even have the opportunity to! They currently have six dorms and are building a seventh. I must not have high expectations for universities in the Indy area because I also thought IUPUI did not have a campus life. This is untrue for both IUPUI and UIndy. UIndy has a new dining facility along with dining meals as an option for students. Maybe it is because I went to a large university and thought that these were just features of them, but I am extremely impressed with what UIndy has to offer its students (and employees)! Also, I like how I knew refer to it was UIndy instead of U of I. It was too confusing since there are multiple U of I’s. Yay for UIndy!

Brown County.

Sometimes I forget how great Indiana really can be. Although the last time I was hiking it was a mountain in Colorado, Brown County State Park may be the closest, best thing. Over the long weekend, I went to see my sister and Alex and I decided to go hiking the next day. We slept in (which was amazing and extremely needed), drove toward the park and stopped at a grocery store for some snacks to stop and eat during our hike. The weather was amazing. We couldn’t ask for a better day. Occasionally it would start raining by the drops would never even reach us thanks to the trees. We went on three different trails and enjoyed this relaxing time that we both needed more than we even knew. I took multiple pictures, but won’t be able to post them until I find my camera. And I am going to be optimistic and leave it at that. I have not seen my camera since the hike, but I like to think it is somewhere in my house, car or lost and found at the park. Wish me luck. All and all, for my birthday I am wanting to go back, spend some more time there and go horseback riding! It is too close not to take advantage of.

The lost camera wasn’t so lost after all!

A simple walk.

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I have been to the canal downtown multiple times, but never just to go on a walk. On Tuesday I decided to get out of my office and go on a walk so I could get my second burst of energy. It was probably more relaxing than motivating, but it was perfect. It dawned on me that I am so close to not only the canal, but other things downtown when I am on campus two days a week that I should really learn to take advantage of them. I already have plans to go on another walk next week and I am excited just thinking about it. Small things like this can be the most meaningful part of my day, and I am so grateful.

No cereal.

As most of you know, I am an addict. Cookies and cereal are my weaknesses. I recently got my wisdom tooth out, and if that wasn’t enough, I got a dry socket. It has been over a week now since I have had cereal, and I may be going through withdraws. I am constantly craving it and have to talk myself out of it every morning knowing that I will regret my decision if I even attempt to eat some Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Oops. Thankfully, cookies are soft enough that my dry socket has not stopped my from munching on them. I am counting down the days until I will be able to eat a bowl of cereal without the threat of pain. I never knew how painful dry sockets could be, but now I envy anyone who has had a smooth recovery!

Birthdays.

My birthday isn’t for another month and 11 days, but that does not stop me from counting down obviously. Birthdays to me should be something special for everyone. It is your own special day. I usually ask for a couple of things and then love surprises of course. My Mom and I are about to go shopping for a necklace tree for me. I have wanted one since I saw Sarah Perrott’s! She was lucky and was able to find one at Goodwill. I have not been so lucky. I went to a local flea market and did find one I liked, but of course found the one thing in the place that was NFS (not for sale). I have found ones I liked online, but am going to continue to look in stores.

I also am wanting an iPhone. I have never spent half as much money on a phone as I would this iPhone, but I have never wanted a smart phone before either! Kylie having an iPhone and with me being in the PR world, I feel like it is something I am going to have to get someday anyway, so why not Sept 21st 🙂

So, as excited as I get for my birthday, I hope everyone gets that excited for their own birthday! If not, and we are close friends, I will probably get that excited for your birthday for you! I am already planning what to get Kylie and Alex and their birthdays aren’t until November! I go a little overboard…

Blogging.

The thing about blogging is, people get busy. Things change. Things don’t change. Things are too normal. Things don’t seem important. Well I am going to blog anyway. My life may or may not be a typical life, but writing is something I enjoy. So I will write and whoever wants to read, keep reading. I thought today that my friends are amazing and are doing some awesome things. I want to write about them/what they are doing, but will leave names out because that may be a little too much. First, my friend who has moved to New York has been texting me tonight about how the city is amazing. Her life is great. But her friends are not there. Different places can be amazing, but without family and friends, will you ever feel at home?

Being a very family/friend oriented person, I wish I could move everyone that I am close to with me where ever I go. This is impossible, but something that would make life that much easier. As I finished my summer classes I was thinking, I am going to graduate in one year. I still feel like I haven’t graduated from undergrad, and here I am almost half way done with grad school. As excited I am to start a life of my own, I reorganized my room and closet today thinking, I will enjoy the time I have in MY house, in MY room, with MY parents. Because although I may think I am ready to leave, nothing will feel as comfortable and care free again.

It’s life. And I love it.

Habits.

Have you ever thought of how many things you do just out of habit? Although this may be slightly inappropriate, I thought of this while walking to the bathroom last night at work. I realized that I always go in the same stall. Why? Because it is a habit. I started to think of everything I do out of habit alone. One thing I thought of is eating breakfast. As soon as I wake up, I go and pour myself a bowl of Oops. I don’t even give myself time to realize if I am hungry or not, I just do it. I also grab cookies after dinner every night. Again, I don’t even give myself a chance to see if I am in the mood, it is just a habit I have formed. Although not all habits are bad, I am going to make myself think things through more so I can see if I do them out of habit, or if I am actually hungry or tired or whatever else that may lead me to what I am doing instead of it merely being a habit. Think about things you do in a day, are they habit forming?

Freezing moments.

Sometimes pictures just don’t capture a moment perfect. Instead, I am blogging during, instead of after, what I am doing. I want to freeze this moment in time because it is perfect. I don’t know if other people have these small moments in time, but I sure do. And I feel so lucky each time.

Instead of taking a picture of what is going on, I will just write about it.

Alex just cooked my family dinner. If that wasn’t sweet enough, he asked me if I wanted him to build us a fire tonight. He went and got the wood from our barn after picking me up although it would have only been a small walk. Then he suggested the hot tub and I turned it up so it would be all ready for us. We took a second to stop doing what we were doing and watched the sunset. My house is perfect for sunsets. They can be seen perfectly from my background. The sunset was pink and blues, it is gorgeous, just like usual. He also brought him laptop out so we could listen to music while we watch the fire and sit in the hot tub. Some nights like this cannot be planned. How timing works out and how everything fits in perfectly with one another, it just happens.

Moments like this make me thankful for everything I have. Sometimes life goes by so fast, we forget about the small things that once use to make us happy. I hope I never forget these small moments I have.

No summer night is complete without a…

This was earlier this week when Alex and I just needed to step out of the house and enjoy each other’s company. He was bound and determined to build a fire, and that is exactly what he did. We were even using our phones to walk around the yard to find sticks- dedication. As we sat there though, I realized that summer nights are unlike any other season. It is still warm enough to sit outside. It is cool enough to enjoy fires and hot tubs. They are just perfect all around. My goal this summer is to find another way to set up my hammock since my dad cut down one of the trees it use to connect to, go to the drive in, and have a big bonfire out in our pit.

Mr. Brett Dennen

Alex and I went to one of the best concerts either of us have ever been to last night, Brett Dennen. It was at the Vogue in Broad Ripple and that was also our first time being there. We would both highly recommend concerts at the Vogue. Especially if you are tall, haha. It was awesome. We were so close to the stage and it is so much more personable experience. Neither of us had seen Brett perform before but from him getting the audience to sing happy birthday to one of the band members (Eric!) to his little dance moves, we loved every minute of it. I am trying to get WordPress to upload the videos we took but I think it is currently have some difficulties. I will try back. Until then, go play a song of Brett’s.