Where did the summer go!?

So more than a few people have informed me that I suck at keeping up with my blog...and they're correct.  I absolutely cannot believe that it will be August in a few days!  I feel like summer was just beginning and now they're putting out back-to-school stuff!?  What??  At any rate, it has been an interesting time this summer!  I have literally gone non-stop since the end of June! 

In June, Jason and I had the pleasure a true Chicago experience!  Neither of us had ever been to a Cubs game at Wrigley field, so he and a bunch of his work friends arranged awesome tickets for everyone!  It involved drinking before noon, spending way too much money on souvineers, a really hot summer day and a lot of laughs!  We had such a great time and even though we were literally in the highest seats in the stadium, I think they were the best!

Then in July, I decided it was a good time to become a total blonde again.  More importantly, we were able to spend Fourth of July weekend at Jason's lake house in Southern Indiana with Brett & Megan!  It was so good to catch up with them and spend the weekend just relaxing and hanging out in the boat with Jason's family and our friends.  I may have pushed it a little too hard while tubing and couldn't put on jackets for about four days.  No one tells you how much it sucks getting older!  I don't have many pictures from the Fourth becuase my camera sucks and we may have broken Jase's while in Miami, but a few were taken!

Then the weekend after the Fourth, I finally got to move into my new place!!!  Holy crap did it take a lot of work to get it ready to be lived in, but I couldn't be happier with it!  I'll do a separate post with the total tour at some point, but this is a picture of the outside.  Amanda (my roommate) and I have the third and fourth floor.  It's absolutely adorable!  I must say that Jason was absolutely an amazing help.  He stayed up half the night painting with me for the entire weekend.  Seriously.  It looks a million times better and I'm so thankful for all of his help!

So then the weekend after I moved in, my friends from Nashville came to visit!!  We'd been planning that trip for a while and I was about to jump out of my skin I was so excited to see them!  Stacia, Charlie, Jen and Matt made the 8 hour drive all the way from Tennessee to spend a semi-long weekend trucking around in Chicago!  It was super interesting with the Transformers 3 movie closing down Michigan Avenue, me having to work and them staying out by the airport (boo suburbs), but it didn't matter!  I was just glad I got to see them!  They were my life in Nashville and my life here just doesn't feel complete without them! 

We ate at some of the best restaurants EVER.  Fronterra and Table Fifty-Two come HIGHLY reccomended by this crowd of foodies!  After dinner on Sunday, before they all left, we went to the beach to take some pictures of all of us (STACIA - Put your dang pictures on FACEBOOK!!!)

Jase&Matt bonding over espresso machines.

My favorite people and my favorite city!  (Only missing my favorite Babykins!)

Jase and I in our city!

 

Then this past weekend, Ann had her first shower for her wedding coming up in October!  It was absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't be happier for her!  I am SO blessed to have her in my life...especially given the way we met!  Who would have thought my pot-luck freshman year roommate would be one of my best friends more than 8 years later!  I'm super excited for her October wedding, especially after seeing her in her dress!  I'm still in shock that we're old enough to be getting married!  What happened to college??

Ann and her Bridesmaids!

Finally, after all the dust settled from the craziness, my mom brought my puppy back up to me (after almost a month) and also put together my entire apartment in one week.  She also decorated Jason's as well...because, why not!?  Both places look about a million times better than before.  I really don't know what I'd do without my momma :)  It was sad to have her leave, but I'll see her this weekend!  We're headed back to Indy tomorrow!  It seriously just never stops.  My little brother's best friend (and my secondary little brother) Zacky, will be getting married to a wonderful girl - Jessica - tomorrow night!  Then Saturday night, Jason's friends from B-School are getting married at IU.  So we'll be down there to celebrate that!  It's such a crazy life, but right now, I'm just glad that I get to live in my city, see my friends & family and have my puppy around!  I promise to put more pictures of the apartment up once I get them!  Hopefully I'll average more than once a month for this thing! :)  But for now, check out this cuteness:

Through the Looking Glass

Some days, it's really easy to look back at the past and wish you had done things differently or that things had gone the other way.  Today is not one of those days. 

While working goofing around at work when I should have been working, I was on Facebook.  I got the stupid idea to look up Jerk.  So I did.  I've done this before (almost a year ago) and it just absolutely sent me into a depression of "what ifs."  What if he and I had been able to work things out?  What if I'd stayed with him despite how crappy he was?  What would my life be like?  And worse than the "what ifs", is that part of me still wanted to be with him...despite the crappiness.  Stupid, right?

But today, I looked at the picture of him and honestly thought "What in the hell did I see in him!?"  I thought about how awful I felt when I was with him and how truly selfish he was.  I even looked at his picture and said "huh...he's not even that cute!"  Needless to say, this is a huge improvement.  Because that time in my life was awful, it makes me appreciate just how good I've got it now and how far I've come. 

For example, I've always known I have a great family.  But living in Tennessee, it was hard to see them because they were all at least 5 hours away.  But, because I'm in Chicago, I got to love on all of my cousins and play in the water at my favorite place on earth.  We jumped and swam and ran and played charades and just enjoyed each other's company.  It's so much fun to see the world through the kids eyes and scary how fast they're becoming little adults.

Secondly, had I not gone through everything a few years ago, I wouldn't have some of my best friends: Jen, Matt, Stacia & Charlie.  They all came into my life at the exact right time and I really wouldn't trade the memories made with them for anything.  God definitely knew what he was doing with that situation.  I could go on and on about these people and how much I miss them, but I won't.

Lastly, being in such a crappy relationship has made me excited to find a good and right one.  Not trying to jump any guns here, but I'll just say that for now, I'm really happy.  Someone is here for me to bounce ideas off of, to challenge me in my thinking and most importantly, to make me laugh.  I'm not sure I've laughed so much in a long time.  Even when I'm being an insane girl and claiming he chose an apartment over me and my dog (seriously...stupid), he just hugs me and lets me know that he actually cares about me and he would never chose anything over Lex & I.  What's more, is I actually trust him.  I didn't trust Jerk - and for good reason.  Now, it's not even a thought in my head because I know Jase wouldn't do a thing to intentionally hurt me.  It's refreshing to be able to say that.  I'm still proceeding with caution because I always do, but it's fair to say that I'm happy with where I am.

In all, it's such a relief to see how far I've come and to know that I've learned from my mistakes and also been blessed from my mistakes.  I may not always know what I'm doing, but I'm so glad that God does.

...Still Alive...

Stop worrying Stacia...I'm still alive and I haven't forgotten about you! 

I got home Thursday (the afternoonof the 11th) to my parents new house in Carmel.  I ended up not going to Chile because of work and the move...so sad, but Sarah's married and the pictures are BEAUTIFUL!!

Since I got home, Mom & I have been on the couch...neither of us have felt good at all.  Things started turning around last night and Mom went back to work and I made it out of bed before 11am.  A HUGE feat if you have no job and no real reason to get out of bed. 

We were supposed to haul all my crap to Chicago this evening, but Mom has to work a little so I'm going to go love on some more of my cousins!  Can't wait to see them.

I'm fully aware that I'm not going back to Nashville, but I don't really know it yet.  I'm sure I'll have a breakdown eventually.  I miss my friends like crazy, but know that I'll see them in less than a month for Babykins First Birthday!!

Any any rate, that's all that going on and I was threatened within an inch of my life to update this because apparently SOMEONE reads it :)  (MUAH!!!  Love you Stacia!  - Please post the pictures of the other night on Facebook...you have nothing better to do!)