One of my odd talents

I know I've blogged before about my love of antiques and that there are particular ones that spike my interest more than others. Andrew's mom and sister seem amazed sometimes that I've managed to memorize what the different types of glassware look like and that I can guesstimate their value as well. I get a rush from finding these treasures and paying low prices for them and I guess its better than most addictions like drinking or doing drugs.....but I digress. This is my strange talent and collection....my love of glass.

This stuff for example is Duncan-Miller and the pattern is called Cantebury - its my moms favorite. She started collecting this because her mom and her grandma both worked in this factory in Pennsylvania. Since my mom's mother died when she was 4, she doesn't have many memories of her so collecting this glass is sort of my moms way of connecting with her past. I only had one piece until about 3 months ago when I was at an auction that just so happened to have lots of Duncan-Miller pieces! I saw that vase and I just had to have it, I paid about $7 and I've never seen one like it!

Most of what you see here is Anchor Hocking made 30 mins away from where I live in Lancaster, OH. The top and middle shelf is called Bubble, its a clear glass with a slight blue tint. The two plates on the bottom are Early American Presscut and the glasses and pitcher are unknown....the glasses were Andrew's parents and the pitcher I got at a garage sale because it was so cute!

I know most people my age could care less about this stuff, but its something that's important to me. I think once a week now I'm going to blog about my new glassware treasures. I'm going to an auction tomorrow with Andrew's mom and sister so I'm sure I'll find some treasures there!

So what sort of things do you collect? Is there a particular item you have in that collection that you hold close to your heart?

Is it luck or something else?

I've always been a believer that everything happens for a reason, so I'd say I'm more of the divine intervention type....but part of me believes in luck too. I mean really, I don't think that God totally plans for people to win the lottery because sometimes it happens to large groups of people (like the Mega Millions) and I don't think we are all predestined to win contests and things of that nature. Some people are just lucky.

Take for example my brother, one Christmas he won $47 on scratch of tickets and I won $1. He also wins on bottle tops for pop and the non-scratch off tickets too, nothing more than $50 but still, its pure luck! Sure I've won a few things in my life, but nothing like Adam has over the years.

But there are times when I know for sure that God has intervened and luck no longer comes into play. Here are just a few things I can think of that have happened in my life.

• I remember when I was about 10 or 11 we were leaving church and running late getting out. My parents sing with a group at our church and everyone likes to sit around and talk after mass and for some reason things went long that day. We finally headed out and got up to the freeway overpass that we go under on the way home and noticed a horrible accident. A truck had come over the bridge and fallen onto the road below not even 15 minutes before we got to the intersection. Had we left church on time we could have been under that bridge and been smashed by that truck. For some reason that story has stuck with me for many years.
• I cooked lasagna for my high school boyfriend for valentines day one year. I planned this nice dinner with him and my parents even said they would leave so we could be alone! I was so nervous about it that I didn't cook the meat before I added it to the mix, but thankfully I didn't set the oven timer and the lasagna cooked a little longer making the meat cook as well and no one got sick. I would have been mortified at the time if I would have cooked something that made my boyfriend puke.
  
• I was supposed to be a personal assistant for a Realtor a few years back and after spending two months training for the job, he decided he could no longer afford an assistant. I had already quit my other job at the office to do this and I was angry. When his assistant came back from maternity leave he canned her too and he got in trouble for wrongful termination and moved to another brokerage....needless to say it was a good thing I didn't keep that job because I would have been wound up in his problems. Besides that I got a better job where I was able to put to use what I had done in school!

I had a hard time writing this post because it was hard for me to think of other reasons that I don't always believe in luck. I think there is a certain element that free will plays in all of our lives, but at the same time God has some kind of plan for all of us. Sure, we may not always think that what happens is fair, but its just the way things were destined to be.

So which do you believe in, luck or divine intervention?

I'm participating in Mama Kat's writers workshop today, so get on over there and do the same!

Weekend Recap

I look forward to weekends now probably more than I ever have in my whole life. Right now its just about the only time I get to spend with Andrew that lasts for more than 3 hours. He goes to bed at 7pm now and I'm not home from work till 4:30 most days.

Friday: I talked Andrew into taking me out to eat at Roosters, our favorite wing joint! The food was good but our waitress was lame. We headed home and by 9pm we were in bed. Both of us were so exhausted from the week!

Saturday: Andrew and my brother headed an hour north to a junkyard on the hunt for a 350 for my brothers '66 Chevy Truck (Rusty, as we call him). I stayed home and cleaned up the house and did about 5 loads of laundry (ick) and waited till my bestie Laura got off work so we could hang out. We went thrifting which was a total blast and got lots of stuff and grabbed some food on the way home (I decided on Chipotle....it was AMAZING). We had some sparkling wine and watched TV and carried on till 11pm, which anymore is super late for me!

Sunday: I made my typical big weekend breakfast of eggs, bacon and fried potatoes with cheese (yeah its not healthy but its so good on a weekend morning) and hung out with Andrew till we headed to the Scott Antique Market at the fairgrounds. There was so much stuff there that it was overwhelming and there was no way you could really see everything. Jewelery, furniture, decorations, glassware, toys and memorabilia - pretty much everything you could ever want! I got yet another vintage coat, knee length black wool for $12 and a case for my vintage jewelery too!

Goals for the week: Try cooking a new dish; workout in the morning at least twice; clean the bathroom; organize stuff for the summer garage sale.

Coming up next weekend: Auction on Saturday at the Fairfield Co. Fairgrounds with Andrew's mom and sister!

Home Sweet Home

I've been fortunate in my life to have not moved around too much once I started grade school. I was born in Dearborn, Michigan on a Thursday at 3:11am. My mom and dad at the time were living in a trailer as they were young and didn't have much money. When I turned two we moved to an apartment in Ypsilanti, MI and not too long after that my mom found out she was pregnant with my brother. We soon moved to a house in Livonia in a quaint neighborhood of what you could call Huber Homes not too far from one of the Ford Plants. The house was nice and the first place I really remember living. It had a fenced yard, a finished basement with a playroom for me (well I guess Adam too) and a pool table. My preschool was in our neighborhood and my mom would walk me to school. We lived there till I was four when my dad was given the opportunity to start a new job in Ohio.

My brother was only 6 months old when my parents decided to move back to my dad's home state. I'm sure it was not easy for my mom trying to move with two young kids. My dad went first and tried to find us a house but it wasn't as easy as he thought and we ended up living with my grandparents for a while. Soon my dad found a house for us, a nice fixer-upper ranch in New England Acres.

It was an adorable house too, a big yard and a garage, I even got a room with pink carpet and wild 70's wallpaper! There were lots of kids in the neighborhood and that is where I met my best friends Jessica and Melissa. My mom and dad spent a good part of the first year there fixing the house, tearing up carpet and putting down new floors, stripping 10 layers of wallpaper in one room, painting the outside and having the basement waterproofed. As Adam and I got older, my parents decided that we needed a bigger house with more room for teenagers and more than one bathroom. I was in 6th grade when they put our house up for sale and my parents knew they wanted to stay in the same general area so we wouldn't have to change schools. Prior to this, my 5th grade teacher had retired and was in the process of moving away and told me that my parents should buy her house. I laughed it off, but a few months later my mom and I drove past where they lived and noticed a For Sale by Owner sign in the yard. My mom walked in the door a few weeks later and instantly fell in love with the house.

We bought my former 5th grade teachers house and in the summer of 1997 we moved to Chevington Woods! It was there that I met two of my other best life long friends, Laura and Alex.

I lived here till I went off to college in 2003 and lived in the next 3 places on campus at Otterbein College.

In 2007 I moved back home and went to school part time. I couldn't afford to be on my own at the time since I only had a part time job. In 2008 I met Andrew and we started looking for a house not too long after in the area where he was living. He got a job on the total other side of town and we had to start looking in other areas, which worked out because it was the same side of Columbus where I grew up!

Then in the winter of 2009 Andrew bought a house and asked me to move in with him!!! On March 28th it will be one year since he close on the house. This is the listing photo, but trust me it looks much better now!

I really hope that we don't have to move again for at least 5 years!

Today I'm participating in Mama Kat's Writers Workshop and I chose prompt number 4 about how many homes you've had, but I kinda changed it up a little talking about all of the places I've lived! Get on over there and choose a prompt!

I've hit a wall

I've been trying since the fall to loose this 20lbs that I've managed to gain since Andrew and I got back together and I just can't seem to feel better about it. I have done nothing extreme to try to loose weight (I've done the Hydroxycut and the Green Tea pills before) and I've tried to workout a considerable amount during the week.

I buy healthy snacks.
I don't drink pop anymore.
I drink lots of water during the day and at home.
I don't eat fast food but maybe once a month.
I bring food from home and I avoid the vending machine.
I don't drink beer anymore (although I'm sure wine isn't much healthier)

Winter is killing me though....if I could just get outside to do things!! I love walking the dog but I have to take her to the field next to the house which is a total mud-hole right now (the pavement is too hard on her poor foot that was broken when she was a puppy). I can't afford to join a gym right now and I've got my Carmen Electra and 30 Day Shred DVD's in constant rotation, but I feel like its not enough.

My new plan is to work out in the morning before work (now that I go in around 7:30). If I get to bed by 10pm at the latest I can get up around 5:15ish and workout for 30 mins, shower and get ready for work. I also am going to try to eat breakfast as much as possible. I got some oatmeal at the store last week and yogurt so one of those would be fine as well - maybe even an egg and some cheese on an english muffin too!

I just don't know what else I can do to try and make myself healthier. I did decide though to be more vegetarian after we eat up some more of the beef we purchased in the fall. I'm looking for some suggestions here!!! Things I can do at home and eating habits that I can establish to make this weight come off before summer, and thanks in advance to anyone that wishes to comment!

love story

I was 15 the first time I fell in love, he was the first boy to ever pursue me. He was new at school, sat next to me in English class and asked me to come to the library with him one day. He had a big blue truck and eyes to match. A few weeks later we had a "date" at his house, we watched movies and he kissed me....I could have watched my heart float away on that couch. We went to Homecoming and I was so head over heels in love just 3 months into our relationship, but it was fleeting and he left me for one of my friends.

16 in love again, this time it was different. I pursued him, but he was so passionate about me and on a hot June afternoon, he became my everything and my first. By this time I was 17 and starting my senior year of high school, who knew that moment of passion would ruin our relationship. Soon he too was gone after 9 months and millions of notes, kisses, prom and homecoming together and quiet evenings together watching the stars on his back porch. He married the girl that he left me for about 3 years later. I had never felt so devastated by love.

Freshman year of college,18, living in the dorms with the worlds worst roommate. Her best friend from home came to visit, a 6'5" boy in tight jeans, boots and a cowboy shirt, he was NOTHING like anyone I ever dated before. We went dancing and I never left his side - I thought he might use me, but he turned out to be more than a fling. He drove for 2 hours every other week to see me, took me on fantastic dates and wooed me with Country music which I hated at the time. It was time for him to go to college, 23 hours away from Ohio but we stuck it out for 18 months. When he came back, he promised me forever, we even put a ring on lay-away. He got an apartment just 5 minutes away from my college, we were inseparable. Passion quickly turned to hatred. We spent too much time drinking and being wild and not enough time trying to love one another. Our breakup was an epic event of the exchange of things; we screamed at the top of our lungs and said horrible, hurtful things that still to this day cut me deep. We tried a few times to be friends and work it out. My longest relationship to date and the one that I can't ever seem to get out of my head. I went wild that summer after our breakup, partied and lived life like I never had before.....and maybe I never should have let myself get so carried away with my new freedom.

The following winter my first love came back into my life. Fresh off of a broken engagement (for both of us) and him home from a year overseas with the Navy. We went to dinner, no big deal, we had written emails back and forth while he was out at sea and became friends again after dating in high school. We came back to my apartment and suddenly there we were, tangled in a kiss and trying to make sense of the emotions we were both having. For the 3 weeks he was home I never left his side, this time it was forever.....this time we were going to do things right. He flew me to Virginia to visit him, we looked at rings and talked about what would happen when he shipped out again. By Valentines Day things weren't the same - I surprised him and came for a visit with his mom and dad, he didn't seem happy to see me. It was over and I was too blind to see that he was using me to get over his ex and I was using him just the same. He's married now too, I think he was seeing this girl for a few weeks before he dumped me and they're having a baby soon too.

I took a break from love after being so discouraged by what it had done to me. I moved back home, went on a few casual dates but I didn't want to put my heart out there. After some convincing from friends, I put myself out there in an unconventional way with a personal ad on a credited dating site and soon I was matched with many suitable guys. One of them pursued me and we started talking. I was 22 and he was 25, just home from college and starting his career. After nearly a month we decided to meet and go to dinner. That's how I met Andrew, at a mexican restaurant over Margaritas and Fajitas we talked for hours and we have been inseparable since then. I know he's the one because he's a combination in off all the qualities I have loved in men before. He works hard, he cares about me, he's quiet at first but quick to laugh, he's kind of a smart alec but in a cute way, he loves animals, he is silly and most of all he is respectful. Sure, we have had our times when things weren't perfect, but now I can see what all of the past loves have taught me and how they molded me into the woman I am today. I think we always think about and care for the loves of our lives, when we see them we feel a little ill and wonder what could have been.

I'm excited to start the rest of my life with Andrew, sure right now I feel like we are ready to be engaged and to be married but it will all happen in due time.

What has your love story been like? Did you fall in love more than once like me or save your heart for just the right person?

And this rose is for.....

Its that time again!! Its Thursday at that means writers workshop over at Mama Kat's and although I do not watch the Bachelor (anymore), I decided to do prompt 5: Award ten roses to people (or items) you'd like to continue a relationship with (I like these roses better than red). If you want to participate, head on over to the link above and choose a prompt!

1. Andrew - obviously he gets the first rose because he is my boyfriend and we are living together now. In less than a month we will celebrate our 2 year anniversary, although it seems like we've been together much longer. I know this is forever, so this first rose is for my dearest love.
2. Pantech Slate - My cell phone - yes it is almost as addicting as a crack berry! With a full keyboard I can text like a maniac! Its also nice to have a phone with internet access, I can check the weather, look at facebook and tweet on the go! I've had this phone for about 7 months now and I'd like to continue falling in love.
3. My Friends - Jessica, Melissa, Caitlyn, Sarah, Andrea, Megan, Erica, Jennifer, Laura - you all mean more to me than you will ever know! And all of my new friends that I have met via this blog *you know who you are* I'm so happy that you found me here and that we share a common interest! Beautiful roses for all of you!!!!!
   
4. 30 Day Shred DVD - Yes, we have a love/hate relationship, but in the long run you will only do me good if I can continue with your torture! Jillian Michaels might like to yell at tell me not to phone it in, but she deserves a rose for getting my booty moving again after being way to lax with my workout routine!
5. Bessie - Sure sometimes she might be an extra rotten variety of dog, but I love her with all my heart! She is my entertainment, snuggle bug and all around cutie pie (until Andrew lets me get my own pet). Maybe Bessie should get an edible rose made out of Beggin Strips!
6. My glassware collection - Our relationship continues to grow with every auction that I attend and garage sale where I rummage. But please know that I love each piece in a different way, some of you are more practical than others and some of you are just plain beautiful and need to be admired. A rose to all of my lovely pieces, those old and new.
7. Heated mattress pad - On those chilly Ohio nights (and we've had a lot this year) you keep me even more snug as a bug in a rug with your warmth. Sure sometimes you sweat me right out of my blankets, but you've been a lifesaver when I just can't seem to get warm.
8. Savagion Blanc - My new favorite wine discovery, you offer a different taste than the Pinot Grigio that I have loved for so long, sweet with citrus notes and oh so yummy. I especially applaud the brand Cupcake who made me fall in love with this new flavor - well worth the $12 a bottle when I am in the mood for something different.
9. My new crockpot - You offer me hours of wonderful foods, from Cornish Game Hens to a delicious pot of chili, what could be so wrong about that. You do all of the work so that I can get other things done - like cleaning and stalking people on Facebook!
10. Volvo 240 - Our relationship is brand new and blossoming. Although I can't drive you right now, soon we will share a special bond, as you will be the second car I've ever had in my driving life!!
    

My strange love of vintage

For a 24 year old I have a strange love of anything vintage. I've had this addiction since my early teens when I started antiquing and going to garage sales with my family. My grandma at this time had a healthy addiction to FireKing glass (made by Anchor Hocking right in Lancaster, OH) and Bake-lit utensils and jewelery. By age 15 I had a pretty good collection of glass and bake-lit utensils as well and even got a good deal of glassware for my 16th birthday.

I don't know many people who enjoy this hobby. Sure my friends like to go to garage sales but none of them are into flipping over dishes and cups to see if they are marked or digging through boxes looking for some treasure or another.

I also have a thing for vintage coats and jewelery, I have two beautiful coats that I purchased at 3 Belles Consignment (where I used to work on weekends a few years back). They also carry gently used women's clothing, designer handbags and shoes as well as jewelery and other accessories.

Recently Andrew's sister got me a vintage engagement ring at an auction, further fueling my love for vintage jewelery. Here is some of my addiction, just to give you an idea of what I mean.

This is just a small portion of my glassware collection. Most of what is in there is FireKing Bubble Glass, a pattern that my grandma just gave to me along with some of the Early American Presscut and some dessert glasses from Andrew's mom.

This is the ring that Andrew's sister Jennifer bought me at an auction. She said it was calling my name and I needed it desperately, I guess I agree with that statement ;)

One of my vintage winter coats, $30 at the consignment store about two years ago. I also have elbow length leather gloves in white and dark tan that I wear with it.

(Please don't report me to PETA) Yes, this coat has fur, but it is beautiful. Andrew calls it my old lady coat but I don't really care. I love the details of the buttons and the fine quality of the wool.

My mom got me this purse last year for Christmas, its another vintage fave, probably from the 60's or 70's and its in beautiful condition!

So do you share my love of anything vintage?

Our place

Its here at these beautiful falls
where we first started to fall in love
just a year before this.

Something about the beauty of this place
being alone, laughing, hiking through the woods
no distractions, no phones, no one else around.

This will always be our place
no matter how many others have walked there.
I let you in my heart at this spot just two years ago.

For those of you who don't live in Ohio, this is Old Man's Cave in the Hocking Hills State Park where Andrew and I took our very first trip together in March of 2008. This picture was taken in January of 2009 during our annual trip. We also went down for Andrew's birthday back in October and hiked around for the day. The first time we went we had just started dating and it was a great way to get to know one another, phones don't work down there, no TV either, its just you and nature and if your lucky a cabin with a hot tub. I cooked dinner for Andrew for the first time at the cabin, we cuddled up on the couch and talked all night. We played games and laughed and it was wonderful. We try to go down every year, even if its just for the day to relive all of the memories that we have and to make new ones. Hocking Hills is a wonderful get-a-way for couples and if you haven't been down there with your love and you live in Ohio, you should go. Trust me on this one it will be the best money you've spent in a long time - but check the weather before you make plans because on our first trip it rained the entire time we were there!

I'm participating in the writers workshop over at Mama Kat's today and I did prompt number 4, so get on over there and find some inspiration for your blog!

2010 Resolutions (just a little late)

I think that most people, myself included, are not all that great at keeping resolutions. Every year I say I'll do this or that and never really follow through. I kinda missed out on the Writers Workshop this past week because I was feeling a bit under the weather (turns out I'm allergic to Pepto Bismol) but I still wanted to post my 2010 Resolutions!

I really started setting goals for myself the middle of this year when I decided that I need to be healthier. I've posted before about considering a vegetarian or vegan diet and I've blogged about my diet and weight loss goals. I gave up eating fast food practically everyday for lunch about 6 months ago and I've noticed some change. I don't get as tired in the afternoon from eating lunch and I have more money at the end of the week if I pack or bring left overs.

So this brings me to my 2010 New Years resolutions! I'm going to attempt three this year!

1) Continue with my diet and weight loss plan. I've gotten off track a few times, but I'm trying to be better. I bought the 30 Day Shred a few weeks ago and I'm on day 5 now (thanks to my "acid reflux" or whatever is going on with my body I haven't done it in three days). I have still been avoiding fast food and pop as much as possible. I would like to loose 30lbs when all is said and done! For me this isn't about being skinny its about feeling good and I don't right now. My weight has gone up and down since I was 18 (thanks college) and I'm sick of being a different size every year or so. Once I'm back to my goal weight I'll maintain it because by then I'll be used to the lifestyle I am creating now.

2) Spend more time with family. Since I moved out I still talk to my mom/dad/brother on a daily basis but I only see them about once a week. I spent a good deal of time with them over the holidays but I feel like that's not enough. I always have the best of intentions but this year I really want to stick with it - have them over for dinner, take my mom shopping with me and write to my grandparents more often while they're in Florida. I would like to make more trips to PA this year to see my family there and at some point I want to make it down to Florida again to see my aunt and grandparents!

3) Make some 5 year goals. Okay I know this sounds strange, but in the long run it makes sense to me! There are so many things that I want to accomplish in my life, but why not make some of them things I want to happen in the next 5 years. I have to think about this one a little more, but I'm sure I'll get back to it soon!

So that's pretty much it for my 2010 Resolutions. Anyone have some as well? I'd also like to become more "green" this year but I didn't set it as a resolution because I want to do more research before I get started!

Happy 2010 Everyone!