Castles, Concerts, Classes, Clematis, and Craziness... Oh My!

I've been too busy to re-cap everything in one little posting. Hence, the reason it's been over two weeks since I've posted. The sad news, is I'm only looking towards the summer being even busier than I am now. Here's a brief re-cap of the highlights:

Two weeks ago - I got to work a normally-paced work week and enjoyed a break away from my desk on Thursday for the college's annual "Spring Fling." Advising had a table (stocked with DELICIOUS candy) that my co-worker and I stood watch over for an hour. I also got my annual free CSCC t-shirt (which will certainly get worn a ton!).

Two weekends ago - was quite productive and filled with (almost too much) photography. I met with my friend Shayla for brunch to brainstorm for her engagement photo shoot the next day. And, Friday evening, I met with a co-worker and his wife and baby for a photo shoot. And, Saturday night, I shot photos for the paper at the Destroyers game. Monday, Shayla and I met at my house to work on creating her Save the Date card. That was all just too much for me. I was whooped!

On Sunday, Adam and I had our first real adventure with our ghost-hunting club. We drove to Cincy for a volunteer roadside cleanup. The best roadside find - the "adult" DVD "Black B#ll-Bustin' B*%ches," still in its case. Hopefully you can fill in the blanks there... Other good finds - a prom corsage, used pregnancy test (try to guess - positive or negative?), hypodermic needles, and a Brad Paisley CD.




After our hard work we stopped by the Loveland Castle to visit. Yes, a REAL castle in Ohio, built by one man by hand over about 60 years.



CREEE-PY!!
Last week - This was quite a hectic week. I had my first trip to the new dentist, recommended by my friend Sharr. It was finally a great experience! I don't need: 13 cavities filled, a tooth pulled and my whole bottom jaw reconstructed, my teeth whitened, a deep cleaning, or adult braces... ALL of which was strongly recommended by my last "shopping center" dentist. Thanks Delta Dental!

I did make a trip to Kee-tucky last week for diversity training. I got to visit Vicki and have our usual Cheddar's dinner (Okay, so I only like it for the chips and salsa and cheesy potato soup, I've decided. That's really ALL I'm ordering next time!). We spent a lot of time chatting and catching up - girl-talk stuff, sans the boys. :) Oh, and how can I forget ice cream sundaes in a mug! That really hit the spot. Now here I am, back in Delaware.

This weekend - was supposed to be laid-back, but turned out to be nothing of the sort. I didn't sit down for a minute. I officially killed my clematis plant. :( It wilted out of nowhere and there was nothing I could do for it. However, Oakland Nursery has an awesome exchange policy - for up to a year. I was able to get a new clematis by bringing back the dead one. Yay! We planted that one and it's struggling, but still alive!

Saturday night Adam and I tried a little diner that's within walking distance of our house (of course we drove though!). It always had the appeal of a greasy-spoon truckers' stop. So, we thought we'd give it a shot. And, wow! It was good. It was nothing like what I thought. It was in fact, more of a Greek mom-and-pop restaurant. I had the best gyro sandwich that I've had in years! I will be going back. We topped off the night by going to the Ice Cream Nazi's (think: Seinfeld's Soup Nazi) for dessert and strolling around OWU's campus while we ate it. On Sunday, we had a ghostly meeting to plan for our trip to Mansfield this month - whooppeee! Can't wait! I am starting to feel more confident in myself that I'm not going to pee my pants, let alone even really be too spooked. However, if I were to witness a ghostly prisoner apparition... well, then the peeing of the pants and the running out of the building screaming would likely occur (possibly even a little sucking of my own thumb...). But, that'll never happen, so I'm not concerned. Oh, and P.S. we will be served prison pizza for dinner, made by the non-violent offenders on good behavior from the current working prison next door. Note: I will be checking my pizza for razor blades, etc.

This week is returning to normal, for a minute. I heard the best news of the year on Monday morning... my friend/former ODU co-worker, Sharr got the advisor job at CSCC!!!! She will be working with me again, and most of all, her two years of misery, stress, and depression will end! I could not be more happy for her. I can't wait until she starts.

I guess I will mention that I'm also excited about some upcoming events - just got tickets to see the scummy/mangy Ryan Cabrera in two weeks. I (and especially Adam) am a huge fan. Then in July we'll see the womanizing John Mayer. Looking forward to that as well. I'm hoping Jen Aniston is out of the picture by then. :) And also in July, we will see the glorious David Cook and the other American Idols on tour. So, if JM doesn't sneak me away on his tour bus, at least DC will be able to. :)

In other news, I'm finishing up my photo class. I'm about 5 weeks behind on the lectures and the reading. Gotta take a final exam next week - yikes! I'm starting my business of photography class at the end of this month. I also made the decision that the doggies will stop their private agility lessons and starting Tyson in a Beginner Agility group class and Brutus in a Flyball class. That should be interesting!

And, finally, I have worked out a 2-month plan to get out of PetSmart. (Don't tell them, though!) I want to be done working there by the beginning of August so I can free up some time to do more diversity training and more personal stuff. I was "promoted" to a Senior Consultant just now and will be making more money and have many more opportunities to train. So, therefore, something's got to give. That's the plan, we'll see what happens. I am also crossing my fingers that I get a raise at CSCC. My review is tomorrow, so I will keep my fingers crossed!

My Asian Lillies finally opened their first bloom after the rain today! Happy Spring!