Almost Done

Wow, I cannot believe that it is already dead week at school. I actually think that I had more of a dead month that will last until I take my last final, which will be next week. At least I have the weekends to help me get through this.

This last weekend was my organization's large fundraiser called Sing-A-Thon. It is 24 hours long and other organizations sign up for times to sing either Christmas songs, Disney songs, or other clean songs. It is a great time to be with my fellow sisters and just be crazy at 3 in the morning together. Well, this year I only stayed until 1 in the morning because the next day, I was helping my fiance move into his new apartment.

First fire of many in the apartment. 

His new apartment is amazing! It is two stories with a wood burning fireplace and a jacuzzi bathtub. The place is also modern and in a great location. You go just a mile down the road and you are in this huge area with all the stores you need and many restaurants to choose from.

Next weekend will just be as nice. I am going to a company Christmas party at his new work and then the next day we are going to the Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo. I have never been to the lights there and cannot wait!

It is going to be hard to focus on my school work this week with the exciting weekend that is going to come.

Thankful for Thanksgiving Break!

Thanksgiving Break was a nice break from everything. It was nice to be with family and friends that I have not seen or talked to since the last time I was home.

My break was filled with love, laughs, and so much fun that I could possibly write a book. My dad got the whole week off from work because he had hernia surgery. It was nice to spend the whole week with my dad. Whenever something "heavy" had to be lifted or moved, I helped. As my mom and I always joke, we are strong polish women. One thing my dad needed help with was bringing our Christmas tree up and help put it together.

We decided to put our Christmas tree up because I am the one in your family that does all the lights on the tree. Somehow every year we need to go and buy more lights. This year, we had to go to the store and buy six more boxes. We do not know how that happened. We had the tree up with lights and ornaments the day before Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was held at our house this year and it was me, my parents and grandparents. It was small but nice. Me, my mom, my aunt, and a family friend decided to go out on Black Friday, but not until after 10 a.m. We had fun just going to a few stores and looking around. Got a little bit of some Christmas shopping done, but still have a ton more to do.

One of the last things I did before break ended was one of my favorite Christmas traditions. I went to my grandparent's house and sent up the train and village. This is the same train that my grandma would set up with her dad. I love setting it up because it is amazing that it still works and is just a fun tradition that my family has.

The Start of Break

Finally, it is now Thanksgiving Break! That means it is a break from school and homework.

I started off the break with my fiance coming down for the weekend and visiting me and my family. It felt like it went by really quick, but it was fun. We did our typical thing of going to different pet/fish stores and just looked around and have fun. Well while we were at one of the pet stores he yells at me to take a picture of him in a dog cone. Now you probably think that is a very weird thing to ask for but it is normal in our relationship.

The rest of the weekend was relaxing and just a nice time to be with family after the crazy weeks leading up to break.

Cannot wait for the rest of Thanksgiving Break to happen!

The Stretch Before Thanksgiving Break

Well, Thanksgiving break is coming up and it cannot come soon enough.

This past weekend was nice and relaxing, which was much needed. I wish though that feeling could have lasting during this week. Over the weekend, my fiance, of course, came down and visit with me. We went shopping, got food, and just watched movies all weekend.

Earlier in the week, my housemates got two new guinea pigs. Gizmo, the other one, recently died. The two new guinea pigs are sisters and are less than three months old. Their names are Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw. My housemates love Harry Potter so that is where their names came from. They are still getting used to us and their new environment, but soon they will be two bundles of fuzzy entertainment.

Also during the weekend, my fiance decided to buy a fish for his fish tank, which was an hour away from the store. Also, he bought it on Friday and was not planning on leaving till Sunday. So, we had to put him in my take in a breeders net so he would not get eaten by my fish. For those of you who do not know, I own two Dwarf Pufferfish and they eat other fish. I also bought a fiddler crab for them to eat. So far, they have not eaten him, so it looks like I now have a pet fiddler crab.

I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving Break. I get to be with my family, eat a ton of food, and have no school work to worry about.

I hope I can last till this weekend.

Christmas Weekend!

Over the weekend, I was able to go home. It was pleasant to have a break from school and the Village of Ada. My fiance came with me for the weekend and enjoyed his break from work.

On Saturday, we decided to have a shopping day. As usual, we started by going to a fish store called R.M.S. Aquaculture. It is known as Cleveland's Aquarium Super Store. They have rows upon rows of fish, ranging from saltwater fish to brackish fish, to freshwater fish. They do sell other pets like bird's, rabbits, and hamsters, but they are more known for the fish. They have anything and everything for fish and for their aquariums. I could spend hours there making a wish list of future tanks that I would want to own.

Next, we went to an outdoor mall in Crocker Park. They were starting to put up all their Christmas decorations and it was beautiful. We mainly went there because they have one of the last remaining Barnes & Noble in the area. Before we went to the bookstore, we decided to get a quick "snack". We went to Mikey's Pizza and both got huge slices of pizza. My fiance loves spicy food and they had a pizza called the Demon Pizza. It had tons of peppers and a spicy sauce. For me, I got a Loaded Potato Pizza. If anyone knows me, they know that I have a deep love for potatoes. I as overjoyed when my fiance pointed it out to me. It had a thick layer of mashed potatoes with some small chunks, tons of cheese, bacon, sour cream, and scallions. It was delicious. I would order a whole pizza of this and eat it all by myself!

On Sunday, we spent the day in Medina and went to Castle Noel. This is a museum to everything Christmas. The owner is named Mark Klause and looks like Santa Clause. He collects Christmas movie props, costumes, and much much more. It is Christmas there every day and you do feel like a kid again when you go in there. The place also puts you into the Christmas Spirit.

That was pretty much my weekend. Wish it did not end because then that means it is back to school. With the semester ending soon, the workload has definitely doubled.

Here is to hoping that I am able to keep up with everything.

Weekend with Kilts

What a crazy week but this weekend was a much-needed break. I went up to my fiance's house in Marion and had a nice relaxing weekend with him and his family. 

Our Saturday was filled with going to a couple of fish stores. One of the stores had a kitten that would walk around and would want all of your attention. She allowed us to pick her up and pet her. She decided my shoulders was a good place to cuddle, so she wrapped her little body around my neck. When I would put my hand up to her head to pet her, she would grab it and start to suck on my thumb. It was the cutest thing ever. I wish I could have taken her home. When my fiance held her, she wanted to be held like a baby and suck on his thumb. Again, the cutest thing ever. 

Later on in the day, we went to his aunt's house for a taco bar and bonfire. While we were inside, their dog discovered a forbidden love. It was between him and a kitten and the only thing that was keeping their love for each other apart was the screen from a window. Maybe one day in another life their love for each other will be met.

Sunday was a day filled with men in kilts! At my fiance's church, they have the annual celebration of Kirkin' O' the Tartan. It is this really cool celebration of families past and presenting their pattern of plaid. Lots, of bagpipes, food and sword dancing happens.

After the service was completed, we went home and rested until dinner time. I and my Fiance went out and had a great time and this pub pizza place. I cannot remember the name of the place right now, but they had delicious pub mac-n-cheese. I was able to add buffalo chicken to it, which made it even better. We are definitely going to have to go there again just so I can get the mac-n-cheese again.

Beautiful Weekend

This weekend was busy but beautiful. It started out as on Saturday, October 22 at 8 a.m. was my engagement photo session. That is right, 8 a.m. where the temperature outside was a nice 38 degrees. I even started off by wearing a nice light, thin dress. We started off taking photos at the train depot in the Village of Ada because that is where I was asked to be his girlfriend and two years later where he proposed to me. We then moved to a few different spots on campus then went to Kenton to places where we hike when we have the time.

Our wonderful photographer was my fiance's cousin. She is so talented and we were so excited she was able to squeeze us in with October being one of her busier months. I cannot wait till the photos come in, let's just hope I can wait the three weeks.

If you are curious, this is what the car looked like after we were finished. It looks like we now live in the car. 

Later on in the day was a tailgate party hosted by Kappa Phi and Sigma Theta Epsilon, which are the Christian sorority and fraternity on campus. It was a blast to hang out with my fellow sisters and brothers. We barbeque hotdogs and hamburgers and played corn hole all before the homecoming football game. I can now cross out going to a college tailgate party off my bucket list.

However, late on I started to not feel well. I guess being in a dress in 38 degrees weather did not help the hidden cold germ that was just waiting to come out and get me.

My fiance being the true gentleman, took care of me. He got me soup, tea, medicine, and movies. He took care of until he had to head back home, but he continued to call and text me to make sure I was doing better. I may still have a little bit of the cold, but he definitely helped get rid of it.

Here is to hoping this cold doesn't ruin the rest of my week and will let me get all of my school work done.

Hanging out with a Three-year-old

Sunday and yesterday, I got the honor to hang out with this awesome three-year-old. This three-year-old is my housemate's niece. She is sassy, funny, and just plain awesome!

Together, we colored, played with blocks, sing and danced, and watched Disney Jr. Even though both days I was with her was just for a couple hours, I was exhausted when she left. I think she has an Energizer-Bunny in her because she does not stop moving. 

Hanging out with an awesome three-year-old was not the only thing I did this weekend. Once again, I found myself at Waffle House with a great group of friends. While we were enjoying our delicious, we discovered Waffle House has an online store! Let's just say, we all now have wish lists of what we want from their online store. I mean, who does not want Waffle House apparel? 

I am looking forward to next weekend even more, though. Next weekend, I will be getting my engagement photos done! I am really excited and especially since my fiance's cousin is doing them. She is very talented and cannot wait. 

Also, this next weekend is homecoming at Ohio Northern University. This will be an exciting time for tailgating, football games, seeing alumni, and fun activities planned throughout campus. 

Here is to finishing this week strong so I can enjoy this weekend!

Social Media Policy for Best Buy

Social media is a blessing and a curse. It is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, but also can get us into "deep" trouble. Now the "deep" trouble varies. You could get in trouble by your parents if you post something inappropriate or you can get into trouble by your boss and company if you post something that you should not.

One way many companies solve this problem is they create social media policies for their employees to follow. Best Buy is one of those companies. Best Buy knows that many of their employees have social media accounts. According to their website, their social media policy is, "Guidelines for functioning in an electronic world are the same as the values, ethics and confidentiality policies employees are expected to live every day, whether you’re Tweeting, talking with customers or chatting over the neighbor’s fence. Remember, your responsibility to Best Buy doesn’t end when you are off the clock. For that reason, this policy applies to both company sponsored social media and personal use as it relates to Best Buy." 

Their social media policy has a simple layout. First, it tells you what you should do, second of what you should not do, and then the consequences could be if you do not follow the guidelines. They describe everything in a way that any age level that is able to work for Best Buy would understand. 

Best Buy even mentions that if you are wondering if you can post something that you learned at work - don't. 

The one thing they believe to be important to remember is to protect the brand, protect yourself.

You would think that many people would not have to create a social media policy for their employees, but people are people and we all make mistakes. Having the policy just helps us to have some common sense when posting on social media.

Fall Routine is Back

I believe ever since I came to Ohio Northern University, when it hits fall season, my routine is the same. I start wearing hoodies nonstop, even if the weather is till a little warm for them. I want to stay in bed and read a good book with an endless supply of hot tea, and many other fall habits.

One of my favorites is going to Suter's, getting a gallon of apple cider, going through the corn maze, and picking pumpkins. This year is special because they are celebrating 128 years. Now that is a long time to be using the cider press to make the best apple cider I have ever had.

Another fall routine that is always fun is late-night Waffel House runs. There is something about going to Waffel House around 9 p.m. that makes the food taste better and the atmosphere so much fun. This late-night run was after seeing the movie, The Magnificent Seven, which was an awesome movie! I was feeling a little cold so I ordered some hot chocolate to warm myself up. The waitress knew exactly how to make a perfect  cup of hot chocolate.

This weekend, I was also able to pick up a new read and was addicted to it within the first three pages. The new book I picked up is The Girl on the Train. 

It is really good and cannot wait to see how the movie is compared to the book. 

Fall is Here

Fall has finally arrived. For a second there, I thought it was going to go from summer to winter and skip fall. Fall is my favorite season, I mean I like them all but fall is by far my favorite. It is the perfect season to wear all my hoodies. If you ever look into my closet, it is 20 percent clothes and 80 percent hoodies. My parents yell at me all the time because I do not get rid of them even when I probably should.

What is also great about fall is that it is the perfect season to go hiking. It is not too cold or hot and the leaves are changing, which is always nice to hike through. This weekend I was able to hike at Tallgrass Trail in Marion with my fiancé and his family. It is beautiful there and it turns out I have hiked part of the same trail in Kenton. Although the trail in Kenton is not paved and not really known by many people.

Here are some pictures that I took while hiking the trail in Marion.

After we were finished hiking, I and my fiancé went putt-putting. It was actually the places last night of the season! We had a blast and I got two hole-in-ones! That has never happened to me before.





It was a great weekend to the official start of fall.

Shopping Weekend

I would have to say that this past week was all shopping. I mean, I think I went shopping almost every single day. The shopping that I did, however, was not what you think. I went shopping for birthday cards, cleaning products and other random things. No clothes, shoes or anything else that a young woman would love to go shopping for.

Over the weekend, though, I was able to go to two stores that were fun and exciting. One was on the way back to campus after visiting the Honda Heritage Center. Now I really do not understand that much about cars but it was fun to go there. Well on the way back to campus, there is this store that is run by an Amish family. It is all homemade goods with some other things. I like going there because I can always find fun and unique new treats to try. Another store I went to is called Cider House Farms and it is located in Marion, Ohio. It is an old house that was turned into a store that sells local goods made by people in surrounding areas. It is a little unique store that you can easily spend all your money at.

I also got to see my fiancé this weekend. He took me out for a wonderful dinner and grilled an awesome meal the next day. I know who will be doing all the cooking in the future. It is always nice seeing him on the weekends since I am still in school and he graduated last year.

One little funny thing is I found a new little friend outside my house when I got home from Marion. Here he is, I call him Leopard Slug.

As always, let's hope that next weekend is fun and relaxing!

Fair Time!

This past week at school has been crazy. It felt like it was nonstop and go. Wanting a nap around every corner or just to sit outside and do nothing but stare at the clouds. Plus it was only the third week of school and there is still 11 more weeks of this semester.

Some good things did come from the crazy week. For one thing, my communication capstone was approved and I am very excited to start. I will be doing my capstone on the Columbus Zoo and Jack Hanna! I am also having the hope in the back of my mind that I could possibly get a job from doing this capstone. I mean, I will have to be doing research on the zoo and Jack Hanna and interview people who work there. If I could get a job doing Public Relations, Communications, or Social Media, I would be jumping over the moon.

Enough about school, how about the weekend. Besides the weird weather on Saturday, it was a beautiful weekend. I got to hang out with some friends and my fiancé. It was a relaxing weekend with still some fun. Friday and Saturday were actually the two days that were relaxing, but Sunday we went to the Hardin County Fair! 

As always we went on the day to watch the demolition derby. There is just something about watching cars crashing into each other and the possibility of fire is exciting and thrilling. The only sad thing, though, is that this year was not like the others. There were not as many heats as there have been in the past and it felt like the drivers were not trying to hit each other that hard. I know they were probably trying to be safe but the whole point of the demolition derby is to crash into each other as hard as possible to make your opponents car stall or inoperable. This year they just were not. It was sort of a letdown. It was still fun to go to the fair and eat much fair food.

What a Weekend!

What a weekend indeed! This weekend was a three day weekend since Monday was Labor Day. That meant no classes! Woohoo!

Friday after classes I quickly packed up some things that I needed for the weekend. After packing I drove an hour to my fiancé’s house and picked him up and then drove the two hours to my house. On the way to my house, we stopped in Waldo and ate at the famous G & R Tavern. This is the house of the famous bologna sandwich. They were not kidding about have an awesome sandwich. Also, some very large pieces of pies.

The one slice was almost the size of my head!

Once we finished eating and arrived at my house, it was time to go to bed and get our beauty sleep for the next day. Saturday was a fun and beautiful day. It was perfect weather for a wedding. A family friend of my family was getting married. It was a beautiful ceremony and fun reception. It was also a great time because I had a date to a wedding for the first time. I would say me and my fiancé clean up nicely. 

Sunday was just as busy. My dad, my grandpa, fiancé, and I all went to the Cleveland Indian's game. It was an exciting game. We got to the stadium an hour early because right around that time, the Blue Angels Air Show was happening. We were able to see some of the show from the stadium. At one point, four of the jets flew over the stadium in formation. It happened so fast that I was not able to get a picture of it. I was able to, however, get some other pictures.

The game was also exciting because we won! The last three innings are where all the excitement happened. We did our best cheering with little foam fingers. 

Monday we all slept in a little then drove back to my fiance's house to drop him off then back to school where homework was waiting for me. 

Hope to many more awesome weekends like this one!

SENIOR YEAR!

Hello, everyone! I am back at it, blogging for a class, but I do not mind because I have learned that blogging is a fun break. Especially since this year is my last year at Ohio Northern University.

That's right, I am a SENIOR!

When did that happen? I am excited but also nervous to be a senior. I am excited because that means no more school and I will get to be an adult. I am nervous because I will have to become an adult and face the real world. However, I will face that chapter when it gets closer to graduation.

I had an awesome summer! I was an intern at National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Specifically the Greater Cleveland location. It was a great internship filled with lots of experience and meeting a ton of great people.

This summer was also filled with some adventures. For example, I got to go to the Columbus Zoo and got to feed a giraffe!

The last time I was at the Columbus Zoo I was around the age of 8. Going back during this summer was a great blast! I also was able to go with someone special, my Fiance! We had a blast a geeked out over all the animals and just having fun together.

Enough about this summer, let's get back to being a senior. This year at school I also get to live off campus. I have two awesome housemates! Plus the house is filled with animals. There are two cats, Luna and Boo, a dog, Mazey, a guinea pig, Gizmo and two African Dwarf puffer fish, Harley and Davidson. That means, if I get overly stressed, there are plenty of animals to cuddle or watch them being weird.

Well the first of classes over so that means things are about to get crazy with projects, events, and making sure I get everything done to graduate.

Here is to the start of senior year!