Thunderstorms are NOT good for TOMS.

What an awesome Sunday.

Mokka for breakfast with some awesome people (Annie, Alex, Christina, Derek, and baby Nala)... Amazing french toast. Goetta. Potatoes. Mokkaccino... Enough said.

After breakfast, Alex went off to work... He is one of the hardest-working little waiters I've ever known... Busts his butt all day every day to make sure that he is staying on top of things, staying fit, and making bacon. Love him for that. Love him for his persistence and devotion to everything he is a part of.

Annie and I decided we'd stop by Momma Lonn's work on our way home from breakfast and pay her a little visit. That little visit turned into a paint shopping visit, which was fine by me! I am going to be repainting what will be mine and Alex's room at my parent's come May because the current color scheme just isn't totally working for me. But the real paint choosing was truly surrounded around our choice to remodel Joey's bedroom.

This upcoming week marks the 3 year anniversary of his accident and lately my mother has been in the mood to start making improvements on his room. Joey's friends came a few weeks ago and went through some of his things and took what they wanted or what was memorable for them... in addition, we went through a lot of the things in his room and threw out a lot of trash or unimportant things. Slowly but surely his room is getting cleaned... It is so very saddening, but also very cleansing for the soul. It must be done, and so we are doing the best we can as a family to take the steps needed to get to that point. After his room is cleaned out, we are going to change the paint, carpet, etc. and move our other furniture in there and turn it into a guest room. Even this week we finally moved his urn down into the family room instead of being in his bedroom. A lot of changes, but like I said, cleansing for the soul. I think Joey would rather his room get use vs. sit there empty... yea, he'd like that.

So this afternoon/evening it has been raining and stormy in Louisville... and accoring to my Weather Channel ap on the iPhone, it is supposed to be stormy all night and all day tomorrow. Yay... I love storms. It shows that spring is finally coming... which means that summer is finally coming... which means grad school is almost over! Yay! lol The only downside to thunderstorms coming... I can't wear my TOMS! Thunderstorms do not bode well for cloth shoes. Not... at... all. And I have new cute TOMS, too. Cream colored ones and red ones. I think I love them both... (And still love my grays!) Even though Alex and Annie thought it'd be nice to make fun of the red TOMS... and make some Wizard of Oz/Dorothy references... har har har. lol So, it looks like for at least the next day or two, no TOMS for me. Very saddening.

Tonight Katie is having a sleepover with us in Louisville... she has some business to conduct in Louisville tomorrow morning, so she's camping out here... and by here I mean she will most likely take up over half of my bed tonight. As usual... ;-)  I can't complain though, because it's always nice to have a little QT with Katie! Although it does mean that leaves Alex home alone... He's probably dancing around naked though, so I'm sure he is just fine! ;-) Katie and I had a nice little late dinner at Olive Garden (since Cara had already eaten and Annie ate dinner with my parents in NKY before she came back to Louisville tonight)... We are stuffed! So, this blog is about over with so that I can rest on the couch in a food coma.

Enjoy the storms tonight, they are one of the many beautiful scenes of nature. :)

P.S. I hope you are watching the Oscars! And best score (or whatever that award was called) should've gone to Inception, not Social Network!


Untrustworthy #10:
People who dislike RED TOMS!

Oh, it IS love... Lucky!

I've spent the last few days enjoying some quality time with mister Alexander in Louisville. Thursday I came up to Cincinnati to do some work and afterwards I picked up Alex and brought him back to Louisville with me since he didn't have to work Thurs/Fri.

Since Thursdays are our dinner/shows nights with the girls, Alex got to join in on that. We had fajitas (compliments of Cara) which were awesome... and then afterwards we went to 32*(Yogurt Bar) for dessert. This has become quite the little tradition among our friends and Alex got to join in, for once :) You can choose your frozen yogurt flavor (10 different flavors!) and then there's an entire bar of different toppings. You pay by the ounce. Alex, of course, had the most expensive yogurt with over $8.00 in ounces! How many is that? lol A lot.. that is all I know.  The only pictures I have for this afternoon's blog are photos of us with our yogurts... lol fun and yum times.

My 32* - Topped with Fruity Pebbles, Blueberries, and chocolate chips

Yesterday Alex came to school with me - and while I was in class, he just watched videos on his laptop (and mine after his battery died, of course)... We had lunch at The Cafe (best chicken salad everrrrrr!) and then went back to the apartment aftewards. A part of us wanted to come home to nky for the evening, hoping to maybe get together with Brew and Lauren... but by the time we heard back from Brew, we were already lazy on the couch and didn't want to move a muscle at that point in time - especially to be in the car for an hour. Yuck.. so instead we stayed in Louisville for the night and went out with Annie and Cara. We went to dinner and a movie.. boring, nah. In fact, we had quite the lucky night. First, we went to dinner - where we were told it was an hour wait... and while waiting, a young couple gave us their pager as it was going off since they were eating at the bar instead... so our waiting went from 60 minutes down to 5. It was awesome! We offered to buy them drinks or an appetizer to show our gratitude, but they insisted they didn't want anything. Next, when we went to pay, we found that our waiter had given us a free appetizer... Awesome... And then at the movies, where there is almost NEVER any parking, we were lucky enough to get a practically front row parking spot. It's the little things that count, but boy were we so very lucky... Made for a good atmosphere for the evening. I'm pretty sure my FB profile picture fits very well!

Today, although it is only noon, I am having a great day. Woke up to my love, drove home with my love, and am now cozy at my mom's house with my puppies doing work and relaxing. It's a dreary day out, but for some reason, I have this notion of happiness. I'm not quite sure if its because I am in the comfort of "mom's house" or if its because I know I get to see Alex again later today, or if its just simply because it is Saturday and I have no school to attend... who knows. Regardless, its a good day and I am happy.

Oh our way up from Louisville this morning, Alex and I were listening to music, of course... and I threw some good "throwbacks" on.. like HelloGoodbye.. "Oh, it is love..." and I can't help but just love that song.

"Oh,it is love from the first time I set my eyes upon yours thinking "Oh, is it love?"

Oh, dear
It's been hardly a moment
And you are already missed
There is still a bit of your skin
That I've yet to have kissed

Oh say please do not go
But you know, oh, you know that I must
Oh say I love you so
But you know, oh, you know you can trust

We'll be holding hands once again
All our broken plans I will mend
I will hold you tight so you know

It is love from the first
Time I pressed my hand to yours
Thinking, "Oh, is it love?"

Oh, dear,
It's been hardly three days
And I'm longing to feel your embrace.
There are several days
Until I can see your sweet face.

Oh say,
wouldn't you like to be older and married with me?
Oh say,
wouldn't it be nice to know right now that we'll be

Someday holding hands in the end
All our broken plans will have been
I will kiss you soft so you know

It is love from the first
Time I pressed my lips against yours
Thinking, "Oh, is it love?"

I hope...

Your heart may long for love that is more near
So when I'm gone these words will be here
To ease every fear
And dry up every tear
And make it very clear
I kiss you and I know

It is love from the first
Time I pressed my lips against yours
Thinking, "Oh, is it love?"

Oh, it is love from the first
Time I pressed my lips against yours
Thinking, "Oh, is it love?"

I kiss you and I know
It is love from the first
Time I pressed my lips onto yours
Thinking, "Oh, is it love?" "

Not only does it have a good meaning, but its fun and bouncy and just so happy-go-lucky... I, personally, can't get it out of my head. "Oh... it is love... "  I don't generally brag to the world about how happy I am, because honestly, those types of people just irritate the heck out of me. I don't put on my status every single day how I miss and love my boyfriend, and how happy I am, and how he is my 'everything' etc... Because that is just tacky. Sure, is it nice that people are happy, absolutely... but to constantly tell the world, I just think that it is annoying. So, like I said, I try hard not to. But, honestly, I am so very happy. And since people CHOOSE to read my blog, and don't have to view it (like you HAVE to get stuck reading people's statuses on your facebook home page...) I figure I'll tell the world here. That way, I don't annoy people. And that way, the people who are reading this are doing so because they choose to.

I couldn't have asked for a better partner/boyfriend. I have been through the ringer with guys, so its wonderful to finally have a solid respectable loving man in my life, who actually cares about more than just himself. Alex cares about me - he's concerned about us, and our happiness as a couple and as individuals. And I love that about him. It's not just all about him, or all about me... its an actual true group effort. Sure we have our small issues, our ups and downs, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. For the world. And one of the best aspects about having Alex in my life, is not only my personal happiness and enjoyment with him, but the fact that my friends and family love him just as much. In fact, I adore it when I hear he has spent time with my family when I'm not around. Or with my friends. It's great. Tonight, I am babysitting, and the kids are super pumped Alex is going to be there with me... why? Because even they love having Alex around. So on the notion of lucky, I sure have won the jackpot :)

-end lovey dovey rant-

I hope everyone has a wonderful and rewarding Saturday...!


Untrustworthy #9
People who turn down 32*.

Suit and Dress Night

Saturday was quite an enjoyable and busy day for me... It started off with a few photography consults with Derek, followed by lunch with Christina and baby Nala. It was nice to see them considering I am always down in Louisville and never get to see Christina at work. She is close to her due date, so before we know it another little baby girl will be added to the Britton family. How fun! I will be seeing Christina on Thursday, though because I am going up north to work for the day, from GE. Things are pretty busy and it'd be easier for me to work from the office where I can talk to people in person, versus trying to get ahold of them in the evenings when I'm working from home.

After lunch, Derek and I walked around Covington taking random photos - we stopped at the Madison where one of our future weddings is going to be. After that, we went to the Cincinnati Art Museum to practice some low light shooting... but we wound up just venturing around looking at the new awesome 21C exhibit at the museum. For those of you who aren't familiar with 21C, it is a modern art museum/hotel in Louisville. Very very chic and fun. If you ever get the chance, you should stop by the actual 21C in Louisville. One is supposedly coming to Cincinnati in 2012. It will be awesome! The museum part of the hotel is free to look around at... so even if you don't plan to stay at the hotel, you should still definitely check it out! :) I didn't take many photos while we were out - but Derek did. He sent some to me, so I'm going to post a few of his that he took of me... and the post a few random ones that I did take while out with him. It's always nice to spend some time taking photos and talking photography... I enjoy that time.

Saturday evening was quite an eventful night. It was Suit and Dress Night #3. Suit and Dress night is simply when our friends get together, girls wear dresses, boys wear suits, and we go to dinner and then out to the bars. Just a fun night with friends, nothing more, nothing less. All in all its a good time. We had dinner reservations for like 30 at 7:30pm at Buca di Beppo in Rookwood. Unfortunately, we weren't able to actually sit down to eat until after 9pm due to an inconsiderate party at our table before us that thought it'd be awesome to take up 3-4hours of time instead of two! What the heck! We were starving by the time we got to sit down, but luckily the manager had appetizers of garlic cheesy bread ready for us right after we sat down. Dinner was a success and a lot of fun with our friends. Aimee and Danny boy came :) Annie came :) Brew and Lauren were there :) and David and Jenn :) (Among many many others... but they are of course my favorites!)

After dinner, Alex, Aimee, Dan, and myself made a trip out to Hollywood Casino to see Amber and Deb :) They were at the casino to celebrate Amby's momma's 50th birthday! Happy Birthday to Momma Knochelman! Unfortunately, by the time we got there, they were ready to leave :(   But we did manage to snag a few group pics of the girls! I miss those ladies!

After Hollywood, Alex and I parted ways with Aimee and Dan, who claimed they were tired... psh! Oldies! Instead of heading home, Alex and I went to Covington and met up with the Suit and Dress gang at Dubbs. We spent another hour or 2 there with everyone and had a great time. It's so fun to see Alex hanging out with the boys, taking car bombs, laughing and having fun. :) He loves those people, or so he told me that night on the way home... and that makes me super happy! I only took two pics while at Dubbs... Damn!

Yesterday Annie and I went to visit our grandma who just had stomach surgery last week. She is doing exceptionally well - is in good spirits, feeling much better, etc. I am glad to see her feeling well, as she is often sick. We took baby Jazzy with us to see her. It was so cute... our grandpa got his secret stash of treats out for her as soon as we walked in the door. I think he needs a puppy... :)
This is going to be one hectic week coming up... a lot of projects/homework as well as a lot of GE work. I am excited to get it over with though because on Friday, we are having a bonfire at the cabin. First one of 2011! Should be a blast! They always are... Having spent time this weekend with some extremely awesome and important people in my life, it once again reaffirms to me how much I truly do appreciate and love my close friends and family. Without them, I'm pretty sure I'd have very little happiness. I find it exceptionally awesome to know that all of my different groups of friends can seem to get along so very well. I've done my best to introduce everyone to each other and to incorporate some events where we can all spend time together... aka bonfires :)  So I really hope that all of my friendlies come out Friday night and enjoy some time with me!

Well, now that I've flooded this little post with lots of photos... I better get back to work. Big test tomorrow evening too, so I have a lot of studying to catch up on...



Untrustworthy #8
People who are still in "love" with their Ex's.

Beautiful Day for Black and Whites

As most of you know, yesterday (and today at that) have been abnormally warm for this time of the year... But you won't be getting any complaints from this girl! I am super pumped for this weather... because as I've mentioned more than once, if it's not going to snow and be beautiful in that sense, bring on summer weather.

Since it was so gorgeous out yesterday, partly cloudy, approx 70 degrees... I got an itch to go out adventuring the city to take some photos. Unfortunately, as pretty of a day as it was yesterday, the trees and grass are still hideous. I didn't take that many photos after all, but I did take some. I decided to edit them all as black and white, to take the hideous coloring of the environment out of the photos ;) I walked along the waterfront area close to downtown, but not quite at downtown... Near some parks where I could get some fun shots of one of the bridges. So, most of my few shots are of the bridge, some random railings, signs, swings, etc.  Nothing too crazy... but I'll be sure to post them to the blog. It might not have been beautiful green leaves/grass, but it sure was beautiful for black and whites.

I cannot wait until I can just be done with school, be working full time with a normal schedule (with no homework)... so that I can devote my weekends and evenings during the week to photography, among other fun things. Derek and I have two more wedding meetings this Saturday morning, and plan to spend part of the day photographing different areas in Cincinnati. Should be fun, I'd think. I'm hoping to be done with my GE work and homework by then so that I might actually get to enjoy myself... Wish me luck on that.

So for the late spring/summer/fall seasons, Alex and I have began coming up with a bucket list of fun activities we'd like to do. This list includes anything from kayaking and rock climbing, to camping out at the Gorge and going to Mammoth Cave... We hope to keep physically active during the week by jogging/walking/rollerblading in the evenings after I am off work, etc. Our bucket list is getting pretty big but it looks like it's going to be such an awesome time and I can't wait for the weather to permit us to start acting on it! :) Fun, active, enjoyable summer... here we come.

I should really be doing homework... or work work... Sigh. Guess I will get back to that so that when the girls get here later I can have dinner and Zumba time... By the way, Rupal, Annie, and I did Zumba last night.. a 50 minute session. A lot of fun, sweat, and yea... :)

Photos from the day:

Like I said, nothing fancy... just a few random fun shots...

Untrustworthy #7:
People who wear socks with flip flops.

Valentine's Weekend...

Finally, for once in my damn crazy busy life, I might have some down time. Don't get too excited, its only momentarily... until I start working on GE stuff later on today. But I figured since I had these few moments of freedom, I would write a little blog. I say little, but who really knows the extent to which the length may turn out to be.

Today is Valentine's Day. And yes, I know, there are many of you out there who despise the so-called "holiday", but for the sake of my blog entry today, suck it up and pretend to enjoy the holiday. At least a little.

I spent this entire weekend in a sort of Valentine's Day celebration, starting with Friday evening. After a crazy busy week at school, I finally got to enjoy a little down time Friday evening with Alex for Valentine's Day. We had purchased tickets to the Cincinnati Ballet's performance of "Midsummer Night's Dream" by Shakespeare a month or so ago, with plans to use it as our little date night for Valentine's Day. We started the evening off with a lovely dinner at Palominos downtown. I had an absolutely spectacular mojito with my pasta bolognese for dinner. Extremely good food. I was a little disappointed I wouldn't be able to take my leftovers home with me (ballet's fault!)   After Palominos, Alex and I walked a few blocks away to the Aronoff where we saw the ballet. This was Alex's very first ever ballet, so I'm not sure how thrilled he was... But he was an excellent sport about the whole thing. There was very  little commentary to the show, but the dancing and music were superb, in my opinion.

After the ballet, Alex and I weren't ready to go home yet, but didn't feel like spending more money, so we just drove around for a while and talked. Just spent quality time together. I showed him some really pretty historic houses in Covington, and we walked around for a few minutes along the water. I wish I had my camera with me this weekend, because I would have totally taken pictures on our adventures. The skyline was gorgeous that night. Crystal clear skies, beautifully lit buildings, the works. At the end of the night, we went back to his place (and Katie's!) and snuggled in for the night. It felt so insanely relieving to finally be done with my stressful week and to be in the arms of the man I love. Cheesy, I know. But whatever!

Saturday I spent some quality time meeting up with Derek and some potential wedding photography clients. We spent a few hours discussing our current/past photography work and our ideas for the future, improvements, etc. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure we snagged those clients right up. If so, that will make 4 confirmed weddings for the 2011 year. We have a few more potentials though, so that would be nice for sure. I just can't wait until I don't have school getting in the way of my photography anymore. It makes it hard when you have school all day, and homework all night... there's no time to photograph OR edit photographs with that kind of schedule. I am looking forward to just having GE work (normal M-F hours...) so that way I can devote my nights and weekends back to photography. My real love, not engineering homework.

Yesterday Alex came over to my parents with a beautiful bouquet of roses for me for Valentine's Day... They are on my counter now in Louisville and blooming wonderfully. He and I went out to lunch and to see a movie after he got to my parents, since he didn't wind up getting called into work. For Christmas Alex had bought my parents a Belterra gift card, and as a result, Belterra sent him two free night vouchers to use on hotel rooms. So we used one last night for a little Valentine's Day part II... We had a very nice cozy room with an amazing bathroom (shower, jacuzzi tub, marble countertops... etc). We have stayed at Belterra before, so we knew what to expect. We had dinner and then had some dessert and drinks at Jeff Ruby's... A very relaxing but intimate evening just talking and catching up. Much needed since our lives have been very busy lately. I definitely must admit that it is amazing to finally have him living near me... We finally get to do all the things that we've been wanting to do for two years... Spend weekends together and nights together and holidays together... etc. I have no complaints right now :)

Our dessert from Jeff Ruby's - Cup was 100% chocolate :)

Bathroom at Belterra - With my Roses on the sink :)

This morning we ate some awesome breakfast, compliments of room service, and then headed our separate ways... Alex back north to work today, and me down to Louisville for class. So far, even though it is only Monday, this week doesn't appear to be near as terrible as my last two, but is definitely still going to be busy. In fact, I should definitely hop off of this blog and start getting some GE time under my belt so that I am not stuck trying to work 8-12 hours in on a Saturday, for the third week in a row. Yuck.

Hopefully now that things appear a little slower, I will be able to post a bit more frequently, but don't hold me to it.

I hope your Valentine's Day is as special and romantic as possible...


Untrustworthy #6
People who think it is acceptable to belch, out loud, in public.

I've Been MIA...

Sorry - I've been busy! Between school/class/hw/GE work... and attempting to have somewhat of a life, I've had zero time to blog! But hopefully that will change soon...



Untrustworthy #5:
People who don't snooze their alarms, at least once.