It's my blog and I'll party if I want to!

Tomorrow is my birthday. I will be turning 29! My last year in my twenties. I am actually looking forward to 29 and I am even kind of excited about what 30 might bring.

I had a birthday bash/house warming party, because along with my new age I also have a new house (well, new since August). I have been working on my backyard like a fiend trying to get it ready for the party.

First I had some pavers laid. They turned out so well. Even better than I expected.



After that I decided I wanted a flagstone patio…but I had spent all my money for hired help on the pavers. That meant I had to do the flagstone myself. And when I say myself I really mean, me, Mike (he was out there from beginning to end), Jen, my dad, and my brother Alex. They all helped me dig a giant hole, then lay gravel and sand and eventually the flagstone itself.




Look I even have some garden beds because I am going to try and be all 'urban farmery' (raised beds made by my brother Sam) Oh and P.S. The sand on the flagstone in this picture has been spread out more and not all piled up in several spots.

Since the majority of my backyard was now complete it was time to PARTAY! Except the weather decided to go all crappy on me. I fretted that it would rain the day of my party and that would have been terrible. I have way more yard than house and the whole point of the party was to have people hang out outside, not be squished together inside the house! Fortunately the day of the party came and the weather was beautiful!

I had a lot of fun. So much fun in fact that I didn’t take a single picture (and I call myself a blogger, sheesh!)

Speaking of fun, now that I have completed most of the outside work I have turned my attention to the inside. I am thinking paint colors and art pieces and possibly a new vanity for my bedroom or the spare room. There is just so much I want to do!

Also, in honor of my birthday…I am going to be doing a review/giveaway! My very first on this here little blog. Stay tuned!

P.S. As a birthday gift to me, you should all donate to my Relay for Life Team! Come one, cancer sucks so give me your bucks.

Camping, what's that all about?

I went camping over the Memorial Day weekend. I am not a camper. I don’t like bugs, I am terrified of spiders, I hate when my hands and nails are dirty, and I have trouble breathing well on normal days, let alone when I am huddle around a campfire trying to stay warm.

The plan was to head out Saturday morning, meet up with our friends who had staked out a site the night before and camp through Monday morning. We only made it to Sunday, early afternoon. It looked like it was going to rain either that evening, night or early the next morning. Now I already stated I am not a camper. I am REALLY not a camper when it involves me getting wet insert 12 y/o boy giggles and jokes here. I don’t want to have to try and figure out how to feed myself while battling the rain or have to pack up the tent and all the camping “stuff” in the rain and subsequent mud.

When those grey clouds started to move in, Mike opted for us to leave and head back into town. Smart, smart man.

I guess for me I don’t see the appeal in packing up all my worldly belongs (minus anything remotely electronic) and trekking out into the woods. I mean, I have a perfectly comfortable bed (that I don’t spend enough time with) at my house. I have a stove and indoor plumbing and refrigeration and insulated walls that keep the heat in. And I have internets and TV. Why do I need to leave…ever?

Camping is supposed to be relaxing? It stresses me out to the max.

Did I have fun? Yes. It was nice to spend time with friends and just hang out, tell jokes and eat s’mores (lub me some s’mores). It was nice to not really think about what was happening on FB or be tied to my computer and blackberry. But this little bit of fun does not outweigh my dislike. For me there are more cons than pros to camping.

Will I go camping again? Most likely. Mike enjoys camping and so do several of our friends. But I will not initiate any camping trip. It will not be my first choice in how I want to spend my time off. But I will and I won’t hate it and I will smile and do my best to be pleasant. I will be a good sport. And as I sit in a camp chair, trying to ignore the dirt under my fingernails while roasting a marshmallow and drinking a beer, I will imagine I am at a 5 star hotel with direct path to the beach and beautiful view of the ocean with a fruity drink complete with an umbrella in my hand.

P.S. You should donate to my Relay for Life Team! http://main.acsevents.org/goto/ehauk