Nice

My first trip by myself to Indianapolis I get stuck in Colts traffic downtown. Go figure!

And, turns out, the trip to Indy is worse than that dreaded trip to Topeka I used to have to drive all the time. The highway to Indy is four-lane, but 60 mph the entire time and there are a few towns you have to go through and they have a hundred freakin' stoplights. At least in Kansas most of the towns we went through just had one flashing red light. lol. Once in Indy it takes forever to get downtown. AARRGGHHH. Consider yourself lucky Misty. :)

I am in Indy until Wednesday for the annual National Prevention Network conference. The last NPN I went to was in 2005 in New York when I worked with Marla and Misty, *sigh*, those were good times at Greenbush. This conference should be pretty good and it was nice that it worked out to be so close this year.

Anyhow (this blog might be a little random so bear with me), Adam was here this weekend to visit and we had a pretty good time. Crazy, as it always is with Adam, but fun :). Julie joined us most of the weekend and we got some good old fashioned Nintendo playing going on. Hicks scored Paperboy for me from one of his friends back in P-burg. Thanks Hicks!!!! I have been wanting to play that game forever and I still haven't played it, haha. I still have a hard time with our retarded controller, so I refuse to play until I have a good controller that I can actually use :) But don't worry, I plan to totally rock at that game.

It was nice to see Adam and hang out with him. Him and Jared are such great friends and it is so nice that they got to spend some time together.

Once I get home from Indy, its go-time again for the Birks. I am sure, since the boys are home by themselves this week, that the house will need a good cleaning and I will need to get things ready for Marla and Jeremy on Friday night. Oh, busy busy! Then we will head to Chicago on Saturday and Sunday with Marla and Jeremy. We aren't sure if Jared and I are staying both nights or not, but either way we will get to hang out with our friends and have some fun in Chicago.

Well, I guess that's about all for now. Hopefully I will have a more profound post later this week. :)

Band Tag Time

Come on, this is fun. I was tagged and now you are....

Band Tag
The rules of the tag:
1. Choose a singer/band
2. Answer using ONLY titles of songs by THAT singer/band

I'm going to use the the band Rascal Flatts:

1. Are you male or female?
She Goes All the Way

2. Describe yourself…
Fast Cars and Freedom

3. What do people feel when they're around you?
Me and My Gang

4. Where would you want to be right now?
Ellsworth

5. How would you describe your previous relationship?
What Hurts the Most

6. Describe your current relationship?
Bless the Broken Road

7. How do you feel about love?
Long Slow Beautiful Dance

8. What would you ask for if you only had one wish?
My Wish

9. What's your life like?
Still Feels Good

10. Say something wise…
Words I Couldn't Say

Are my eyes deceiving me?

Or did I just see a Sonic being built in Mishawaka

A while back, I wrote a blog about the lack of America's Favorite Drive-Ins in South Bend. Well, one has been opened on the west side of town (way too far away from where we live) and yesterday as I pulled out of Chipotle in Mishawaka I saw it! The silver frames glistened in the sun as the overhead car bays were being erected. Aaaahhhhh, finally I can have my Route 44 Ice Tea with lemon and sweet 'n low and my Route 44 Diet Cherry Limeade, YUM YUM!

It's a good day my friends. A good day. :)

The Challenge

What "makes us proud"

A fellow blogger challenged her friends and readers to write about things and people they are proud of. I happily took this challenge and I challenge all my friends and bloggers to do the same. :)

I feel a great sense of pride when I think about my husband. He has faced incredible odds, bad luck and poor choices in his life. He has been through very painful and life-changing surgeries on his leg and his hip that have left him unable to do many of the physical activities that he loves. He has battled alcohol abuse and bravely faced the consequences associated with this abuse.

Even with some of these challenges, and the challenges in our relationship, Jared has grown and blossomed into a wonderful man. I am proud of him for turning his life around and for believing in himself and in us, even when it took every ounce of life he had. I am proud of Jared for completing school and for his willingness to learn new things. I am proud of Jared for being a hard worker and becoming a manager at his job. I am proud of Jared for being brave enough to move his new wife to Indiana and start a new life. And, finally, I proud to be his wife and be with him for the rest of my life.

I am proud of my mom, dad and my sister. I have said it time and time again, but I had the best childhood.

My dad worked hard to provide for his family and he always knew how to have fun with us and make us laugh. I am proud of him for giving me wonderful childhood memories. I am proud of him for working so incredibly hard to become successful and provide for us. I am proud of him for having the courage to move his young family to Kansas and then to move my mom back to Oklahoma a few years ago. I am proud of him because there is no one quite like him and that is just the way I like it.

I am so proud of my mother for fighting her leukemia! When my mom was diagnosed with cancer 2002, it was scariest time for our entire family. The questions, the unknown, the fear was almost too much for all of us. It took every ounce of my body to fight back tears and stand brave for my mom. All my sister and I wanted to do was curl up in a ball, fall asleep and hope when we woke up it would all have been a horrible dream. But, we quickly learned that it takes bravery, love and laughter to get through these hard times. And it has been working so far. Mom has been in a form of remission for over 5 years now. We are elated with the amazing results of her medicine, even though the side effects are an everyday fight for her. Mom, I love you and I am so proud of you for being so brave and for fighting this horrible villain with everything you have. Just remember, when you feel like you are having a bad day and can't fight as hard, just know we are all fighting for you, even if we are far away from you.

I am proud of my sister Alicia. Even though our relationship is not as close as it used to be, I am still proud of her and love her like crazy. I am proud of her for finishing a college degree program that I can only dream about. I am proud of her for being strong and independent through some tough times in her life. I am proud of her ability to make people laugh and her caring attitude and commitment to others.

And, finally, I am proud of my friend Shawna. Her family has faced many challenges in the last few years and Shawna has always stayed strong, kept her wits about her and kept making people smile. She always puts others in front of herself and will do anything and everything to help her family and friends. I am so lucky to have met her during those terrible days at The Morning Sun (we hated that job). We've had a lot of great times together, I miss her like crazy, and I am proud of everything she has accomplished. She has beaten the odds and succeeded in life.


There are so many people I am proud of, so if you weren't listed in this blog I apologize. But please know that I am proud of each and every person in my life for one thing or another.

Whew, we made it one year

our anniversary in Chicago

Jared and I had a great time visiting Chicago this weekend for our anniversary. Our plan was to take the South Shore Train from South Bend to Chicago, but decided at the last minute to drive. Good thing Jared does well in city traffic cause I would have had a complete panic attack. But, overall, the traffic really wasn't bad and it was really easy to get to our hotel. Good job Jared!!!

After we checked into our hotel we decided to walk around a little. Our original plan was to head to the Navy Pier, but we didn't think we had enough time to check it out, eat dinner and get to our comedy show in time. So, we opted to walk around Grant and Millennium Parks, which were very close to our hotel, nestles between Michigan Ave. and Lake Michigan. We could not have asked for a better day, it was beautiful and people were walking around everywhere enjoying the the scenery and the Water and Air show that was going on. It was relaxing to walk through the luscious green park and see the skyline on one side and the bright blue water of Lake Michigan on another side. I love Chicago!

After dinner at the Park Grille in Millennium Park, we headed to our comedy show at the Apollo Theater in the Lincoln Park area of town. Anyone who watches House Hunters as faithfully as I do has probably seen the billions of episodes where young couples are looking for a home in Lincoln Park. Well, I can see why. It was such a quaint and quiet, but also energetic neighborhood. Town homes and condos lined the small streets and couples and families biking and walking throughout the neighborhood. The little shops, pubs, delis and restaurants added to its charm. I was impressed. At the Apollo we watched the Second City Improv All Stars show. The entire show is completely improvised (just think Who's Line is It Anyway?). It was a really good time and I was shocked to learn just how many comedians got their start with Second City like Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Martin Short and Chris Farley. Hopefully we saw some up-in-coming talent. :)

After the show we went to the Howl at the Moon Dueling Piano Bar. Have I mentioned how much I love Piano Bars, cause I do! :)

Well, I can say our first anniversary celebration was a huge success! Can't wait to go visit Chicago again in two weeks with Marla and Jeremy! :)

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it

So, don't have much to say except that I am super excited to spend my first wedding anniversary with my amazingly wonderful hubby in the great city of Chicago!!!! YAY!!! Only 3 more days!!!!

Rollin' Rollin' for Rollercoasters

whew, what a day

We finally made it to Cedar Point Amusement Park on Saturday and we had a fun, but exhausting day. And, sorry folks, I have no photos. :( I was going to take my camera in but then the guys kept saying, "well, don't get mad at us when it breaks or you lose it". They had a good point. So I opted to leave it in the car.

It was a beautiful day in Sandusky, OH. It was probably about 80 degrees, sunny and a slight breeze. The park is situated on a peninsula on Lake Erie so as you are ascending up the rollercoasters you could see water on both sides of the park that seemed to go on forever like an ocean. It was breathtaking!

We rode about 3 really cool coasters and then I talked the boys into riding the "Thunder Canyon" ride. For you Kansans, just think "Fury of the Nile". I LOVE water rides and I don't care about being wet and walking around the park. Well, even on the Fury, you know that some people get wet and others don't, so I figured we could count on at least one of us leaving the ride virtually unscathed by the big waves and pouring waterfalls.

Well, I was wrong. This ride showed no mercy.

As we approached the line we noticed there was almost no one in line. "Great" we thought, at least there is not a wait. Little did we know that this should have been a sign to turn around and go on a different ride instead. There were signs on the path warning "you WILL get wet on this ride" and "Ponchos and rain jackets for sale". We thought "Duh, you will get wet, that's the point and who in their right mind would buy a poncho to go on a water ride."

As we wait to get on the next boat we see people getting off their raft DRIPPING wet from head to toe. Not a dry spot on them. WOW... that can't happen every time. Can it?

I am here to tell you folks that it does in fact happen EVERY time. We managed to miss a few big waves and scraped by the first waterfall and thought maybe we were home free with just a little wetness. Oh, but we were wrong. At the very end we see what seemed like 5 waterfalls (3 on one side and 2 on the other) and these weren't trickling, slow moving waterfalls folks. These were gushing, pouring waterfalls and when I say we got wet, I mean we were soaked from head to toe... all three of us. I thought it was fun so I didn't care too much. I had on capris that had a great material that dried real fast, a tank top and flip flops. Well, Jared had on jean shorts and Hicks had on khaki cargoes and they both had t-shirts. At least Hicks wore flip flops, but poor Jared had on his usual tennis shoes and socks. YUCK! They pretty much cursed me for taking them on the ride the rest of the day :) I apologized, but then laughed secretly. :)

Here's a few photos from the Cedar Point website of a few rollercoasters we rode.

There were many more rides that we didn't get a chance to ride because they were so busy. We hope to go back soon and ride some more! :)

A week without the Jareds....

what will i do

Next week Jared and Hicks are going to the PGI Convention in Gillette, Wyoming. Who knew they had firework conventions? Oh well, I'm sure they will have fun but I will sure be bored. :(

Hurry back fellas!

Random Acts of Kindness

GBE topic #48

I thought this week's topic was kinda fun so I figured I would give it a whirl.

"Treat others as you want to be treated"

"Giving is better than receiving"

"Waste not, want not"

These are all phrases we have heard time and time again as our society strives to be giving towards the less fortunate, disabled, elderly, or just unlucky people. I try to practice "Random Acts of Kindness" as often as I can, but I often find that my perception of others hinders my giving ability.

For example, stopping to help someone on the side of the road, I would never do.

1. I am a girl and I am weak.

2. I know NOTHING about cars.

3. How do I know this person is not a serial killer, a rapist or a thief?

Now, I know that is not a great way to think, but in the world these days you can never be too careful.

Another example... if someone comes to my door and I look out the peephole and it is someone I do not know and is not wearing a UPS, Police Department, or or apartment maintenance uniform (or other recognizable uniform), I usually don't answer the door. Do they need help? Maybe, but I am too chicken to open the door and find out. Is this a logical way to be? No, but it kinda scares me and people can get into your house that way.

Now, with that said, I am lot braver and more giving in these types of situations if Jared is there. I remember January 2007, Jared and I were heading back to Pitt from Wichita in a HUGE snow storm. He was driving and I was tensing and closing my eyes every 5 seconds. I was scared. Jared, however, maintained his cool and kept the car on the road. We were about 20 miles west of Fort Scott when we see an older woman on the side of the road trying to shovel her SUV out of the snow to get back up to the road. Cars were wizzing by and no one was stopping. Jared pulls over to the side of the road and says, "I know you wanna get home, but this poor woman needs some help and no one else is stopping". I agreed that she did need help. So, Jared tried and tried to get her SUV back up out of the ditch and onto the road and each time it got harder and harder. Eventually, he gave up (fearing he would tip the truck over) and told her to call a tow truck. She approached our vehicle and sat in the drivers seat to make the call. I did feel bad for her, she was an older woman, but I was still a little leery of a strange woman sitting in the car with me. She was pleasant and thanked us profusely, and I know if that would have been me, I would have been grateful that someone was there to help me too.

Jared helps a lot of people in situations like this. I can't even begin to tell you the number of times we have jumped random cars for people, of helped people change their tires.

My acts of kindness come in other ways than the emergency car repair arena. I try to send random e-mails or cards to friends once in a while just to tell them hi and that I hope they have a great day. I always hold doors open for people and I have been known to help the elderly load groceries into their cars at the grocery store or help them get something off the top shelf. I rarely give money to beggars on the street, but will often give money at the grocery store for the various fundraisers that may be going on. I always wave to road construction workers when they wave me through the orange cones and I smile at people in passing.

They are pretty simple things, but I like to think they make a difference in someone's life. It is hard to get passed those perceptions sometimes, but I try to focus on little things. I'll leave the big ones to Jared :)

I'm booked this whole month folks

busy, busy, busy days ahead

I FINALLY got a little trip to Chicago figured out for our first wedding anniversary (thanks for the help Marla) and I am really excited. We "Hotwired" a hotel (I was a Hotwire virgin until yesterday and now I think I am hooked). We put in for a four-star hotel in the Magnificent Mile area. Well, most of those were pretty pricey, so we looked a little south to the Loop and found one for $94 a night! It ended up being the Hilton (can't go wrong there) and the normal price through normal booking would have been $172 a night (thanks for Marla, again, for showing me how good of a deal I got). So, needless to say I was happy about this little Hotwire experiment.

Then I decided to book us tickets to the Second City Improv Comedy Show at the Apollo. The tickets were $25 a person, which can't be beat and it looked like a lot of fun. Other than that, I figured we would do some sight seeing, visit the Navy Pier and just take in Chicago. Neither one of us has really had a chance to visit and get to know the city. I think we will have a good time! Just wish us luck on the South Shore Train line and the L Trains... I'm a little rusty on subway riding. I'm thinking I'm gonna need to print some maps. :)

So, this is one of our weekends in August that is planned, but we have a busy month ahead of us folks.

Here's the lowdown:

August 6-8 - Hitting a few Silverhawks baseball games. They are giving out free hats tonight and we are determined to get one! :)
August 9 - FINALLY using our tickets to Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, OH
August 11 - Going to the Indiana State Fair to help with our booth for work
August 16 - Heading to Chicago for our anniversary adventure
August 21-24? - Jared's very good friend Adam is coming to visit.
August 24-27 - I am in Indianapolis for the National Prevention Network Conference for work
August 29-Sept. 1 - Marla and Jeremy are flying into Chicago and are spending a day with us in South Bend and then we are all spending a few days in Chicago.

BUSY BUSY... but we love it!

Oh what to do, what to do

need your help

I have been struggling with what to do for our first wedding anniversary for some time now. But, now, the day is approaching fast and I still have no plan. We'd like to do a day and night in Chicago or somewhere on Lake Michigan. Anyone have any ideas for cheap and fun entertainment in those parts? I have found a few things (lunch/dinner cruise out of the Navy Pier, Chicago Comedy Series at the Apollo and the Jersey Boys musical) but I'd like more input before I go full out and start booking things! HELP! :)

Just had to share!

mo' money, mo' money, mo' money

I was just given 20 more hours a week for the tobacco grant to add to my current 20 hours! I am still a contract employee, but the hourly pay is sooo awesome. AND... we got a little tip from someone at the federal level that we have received our federal Drug Free Communities grant, which means I will soon become a full time employee with benefits. YAY! I knew taking the part-time gig would pay off eventually. I just hope I can get back into working full time hours, I got a little spoiled :)

Now if we can just sell our house that would be icing on the cake and then we can start the baby train a rollin'. :)

Have a wonderful Monday everyone!!!! I know I will!!!!