Resolutions: July

My original 2013 resolution post. 

January
February
March
April
May
June

Read a new book - Delirium by Lauren Oliver - This is another dystopian love story BUT it's a lot different than the other ones I've read recently. 

Synopsis: In Lena's world, love is seen as a disease. Everyone is "cured" with a procedure around their 18th birthday. Lena is just a couple months away from receiving the cure when, well...I'm sure you can guess. 

Source

I really loved this world that was painted as so normal from the one we live in now yet vastly different. And what a neat concept! I always notice the very small things we all seem to take for granted in books like this. It really makes you think.  I was hooked from the first few chapters on. I'm now on the second (it's a trilogy). I somehow feel that the other two will not live up to the first one. I'd be fine with that because the first one stands just fine alone. 

Word on the street is the book was being turned into a TV show starring Emma Roberts but as of May 2013 FOX didn't pick it up. So I'm not sure if it will ever see the light of day. I kind of prefer it being turned into a movie though. Fingers crossed that will still happen eventually!

Fave quotes:

"You can't be really happy unless you're unhappy sometimes."

"It's so strange how life works: You want something and you wait and wait and feel like it's taking forever to come. Then it happens and it's over and all you want to do is curl back up in that moment before things changed."

"Everyone you trust, everyone you think you can count on, will eventually disappoint you."

"Sometimes I feel like if you just watch things, just sit still and let the world exist in front of you - sometimes I swear that just for a second time freeze and the world pauses in it's tilt. Just for a second. And if you somehow found a way to live in that second, then you would live forever."

"I know the past will drag you backward and down, have you snatching at whispers of wind and gibberish of trees rubbing together, trying to decipher some code, trying to piece together what was broken."

"It's hopeless. The past is nothing but a weight. It will build inside of you like a stone."

"We should be protected from the people who will leave us in the end, from all the people who will disappear or forget us."

"I guess that's just part of loving people: You have to give things up. Sometimes you have to give them up."

"Love, the deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't."

"One of the strangest things about life is that is will chug on, blind and obvious, even as your private world - your little carved-out sphere - is twisting and morphing, even breaking apart."

"Life isn't life if you just float through it. I know that the whole point - the only point - is to find the things that matter, and hold on to them, and fight for them, and refuse to let them go."

Give or help out in some way - I bought this tank from Target. That simple gesture helped provide approximately 12 meals for children and families across the US. Check out the complete FEED line here. I love the tank itself. It's actually turned into my go-to shirt while working out or just hanging around the house. I love it even more knowing that it helped someone. I will definitely be buying more stuff from the line.

Bake a new recipe - Fail. 

Go to yoga - Fail. I WANTED to but I just had other Saturday plans this month. 

Write a handwritten letter - I feel like this would be the hardest thing for most people but it feels so natural to me to write, with my hand. So yeah, going strong with this one. 

Save - Yes which makes me really happy!

Travel - We visited Titusville and Cocoa Beach this month. Not terribly far but far enough that I'm going to count them both. 

Outside - Other than the photo shoot we did out in nature a couple weeks ago, definitely not. It is miserably hot and icky and sticky and gross. It's summer in FL so it's all to be expected. I just feel like during the fall/winter, I want to be outside all of the time. I want to run around (like an animal or small child) because the cool air energizes me unlike this humid hotness. I think I'll just pick this resolution back up around October. 

Erin Zings

I have totally transformed into a wonderful human being.

Erin: Can you touch your foot to your head?
Me: Yeah...
Erin: Me too.

Why can't everyone be how I want them to be?

Being around kids is great birth control.

While on the topic of dating.
I don't want a booty chaser!

A Total Hoot

FRIDAY: I came home to a clean house. Dustin had done all of his chores plus some of mine. Score! I was surprised and oh so appreciative. Then we turned right around, out the door, and to our fave chinese place. Once again he surprised me. He had already called the order in. No wait time! We went home and enjoyed a lovely dinner while watching Pinkman and Heisenberg. Perfect!

SATURDAY: The only plan I had for the day was to attend Lindsey's baby shower. I had bought her little baby girl a few outfits months ago so I was excited to finally give them to her. Also, I was going to get to hang with some old co-workers. It was a win win all around.

The shower was held at a beautiful Italian restaurant. I drive past it all of the time but never have we eaten there. It's a super cute place with lots of charm. The party was held in this gorgeous sunroom that is separate from the rest of the restaurant. And then there were the wood beams on the ceiling! I was just so in awe of the place. They even have a garden in the back that sits on a lake. Apparently they host all kinds of events in and outdoors. So neat!

Michelle and I sat down and caught up on things. We talked about each other's baby gift. We talked about cleavage. You know, the usual. We wrote a wish for Lindsey and her family and hung it on a tree. Our eyes widened in excitement when we were told that the candy on the table were for us! Not just Michelle and I, but all of the guests, obviously. We took a little baggy and went to town. M&Ms - check. Chocolate covered pretzels - check. Sour worms - check. Carole arrived a little later and joined in all of the festivities, especially the candy bar. We played one game of 'Guess the Size of the Belly'. Michelle for the win! I went over. Womp womp. It was clearly not my strong suit.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal (salad, pasta, CAKE) and finally got to watch Lindsey open all of her presents. And she certainly had a lot! That's one lucky little baby!

It was such a nice time. I loved getting to hang out with all of the girls again. And I was so happy to see Lindsey for the first time since I left back in January. It felt like old times. It was probably the best baby shower I've ever been too. It was fun and creative and even a little fancy. Perfection!

  

Once I came home, I changed into my PJs and pretty much stayed that way until Monday morning. I caught up on Guiliana and Bill/Tia and Tamara. Lots of reality TV watching was had and I am not ashamed one bit. Later on, we ran to the grocery for the basics (and yeah I was pissed that I had to put pants on for 15 min!). While checking out, Dustin struck up a conversation with the teenage cashier and bagger. They were both clearly annoyed with the previous customer and her stupid coupons. Side note: Coupons are awesome. I'm all about them. BUT when you are making trouble for the cashier and other people in line, just pay the extra 50 cents and go on your way. Dustin made them laugh, gave them advice (because we are practically their elders), and discussed video games with them. I loved that he did that. He knows from his own teenage experiences how it is working at a grocery store and dealing with all of the crazies. I'm glad he could lift their spirits a bit. What a bud!

Later on, Dustin and I worked on our very first Vine together. It was Dustin's idea. Then I added one little suggestion. It took both of us 4 takes until we got it just right. I can't stop watching it! It's so ridiculously funny. Yes, I am totally patting us both on the back. 

Stayed tuned for more. We hope to be collaborating again soon.

SUNDAY:  We did nothing. Nothing except going to get milkshakes from Steak-n-Shake. I ordered a vanilla. Dustin ordered a side-by-side banana/vanilla. When the kid at the drive-thru gave them to me, I asked which was which. He didn't know. Then he said "I'm sure you guys can figure it out." THAT IS NOT THE POINT. We are trying to figure out whether or not you guys fucked up. He didn't really seem all that concerned either way so I ended up driving away. They gave us one vanilla and one banana. FAIL.

Family Photo Day

The minute I got our Christmas photos back from Kelly last December, I knew I wanted to have her take some photos of my brother eventually. He and I don't exactly have a traditional relationship and I'm fairly certain we have NEVER (in his 16 years of existence) had our photos taken together professionally. The tricky part was scheduling a time with him. Teenagers are just so damn busy and hard to track down! Ha! But we were finally able to all get together.

Cody and his girlfriend, Kaelin, came over at 8AM two Saturdays ago. I woke up a grumpy husband and the four of us were off to Wekiwa Springs for the shoot. I tried FB messaging Kelly when we arrived but it wouldn't go through. Cell service was pretty shitty there! Thankfully, it didn't take us too long to find one another.

I explained to her months prior that I wanted some regular, nice photos and also some fun ones.

We started with the nice ones. Normal clothes. Normal poses.

While walking to our first photo spot, Kaelin did some kind of funny kick/dance move. Dustin and Cody just kind of looked at her like she had lost her mind. It turned out she had some weird bug stuck to her shoe and her first reaction was to try and kick the air. Cody eventually flicked it off with a stick. I had missed it because I was further up with Kelly but Dustin and Cody witnessed it all. Dustin's recap of the whole thing had us all dying laughing the rest of the morning.

The springs were just as beautiful as they always are. The early morning sun, the blankets of greenery and the sparkling water. The only real problem were the bugs. And not just annoying bugs, but bugs that bite. Also, it was just a tad humid. I'm just glad we went early or we would have all had sweat pouring down our faces in every photo.

Again, I told Kelly to direct us however she thought best. Everyone was a good sport. I know these things can be kind of awkward even when it's with family but the fake laughing always turns into real laughing which turns into a great photo.

I love that there is so much variety. The three of us. Just the boys. Just Dustin and I. Just Cody and I. And Kelly even snuck in a couple of Cody and Kaelin! So cute!

Originally I told Kelly I wanted to do something with water (water balloons/water guns/jumping in). Just something fun and different from the traditional family photos. Kelly also offered doing some shots with the powder paint which I was totally on board with. We figured we could do those before we jumped into the springs. I told Dustin about it prior to the shoot and he was game. But then on the day of, he wasn't really feeling it. He didn't want to "ruin" his paints and didn't feel like getting "dirty". Basically, he was being a grump. And Cody forgot to bring a change of clothes so he was automatically out. I was feeling disappointed and pretty defeated but I changed into some jean shorts and a swimsuit anyway. Dustin reluctantly agreed to it knowing how much my heart was set on it. Also, I told him this is once in a lifetime kind of thing. Let's just go for it! He agreed. I brought some old white undershirts of Dustin's so the color would pop more (& we could just throw out after we were done). And then we threw color at each other and had a great time. Imagine that! I'll be the first to admit that stepping outside of your comfort zone and even your convenience zone can be hard, but I feel like most of the time it's worth it. It's always good to be open to new experiences. I know Dustin only did it for me (which I think speaks for itself) but I know he had a good time in the end. What a little shit. Ha!

Oh and every bit of color came out of his shorts. Just saying.

At this point, Dustin and I were covered in color and sweat, and itching our bug bites every few seconds. We couldn't wait to just jump into that freezing water for a bit of relief (even though there was a 'no jumping' sign just feet away). We gave our phones and my glasses to Cody to hold onto. Then we went over our countdown plan. One. Two. Three. JUMP. Neither of us hesitated and after we all shouted "THREE!", Dustin and I went for it. The jump was fun in itself. The freezing water woke up every inch of my body. It was such a rush. It's so cliche but it was one of those moments where I just felt alive. In the moment. Just plain happy. When I came up for air it was a little harder to breathe than I expected. The cold water took my breath away a little bit but that was kind of half of the fun. I can't remember the last time I jumped into a body of water without having already been swimming in it. I really can't remember the last time I jumped into a body of water with clothes on. The water was every bit as refreshing as we had hoped. It immediately soothed every bug bite. It felt good. I wish we could have just swam around for awhile! We'll be back. We've still got a couple months of summer left.

We got out, dried off and thanked Kelly for everything. 

I know there are probably a thousand other things that Dustin and Cody rather be doing on a Saturday morning, but in the end they were both there with me, for me. I can't express how grateful I am for that. I mean, I know it sounds silly but photos and memories and all of it just mean a lot to me. And that morning Kelly captured a lot of amazing photos all while making new memories. Sure, the photo shoot didn't go as perfectly as I had pictured it (no pun intended) but everyone was a good sport so it was definitely a success. And any time I get to spend with the two most important people in my life is a good time.

Photos by: Kelly Berringer Photography