High Five For Friday!!!! What made this week awesome?

This was a random week! I'm getting ready to run a kids camp next week and will be on my way later today to get settled in.  I am very much looking forward to it!  Even though I've been a little busy, I have found time for awesomeness...

1) Sunday night was the first Music Under the Stars performance.  It threatened rain, but turned out to be a wonderful evening.  I very much enjoyed the music, but my night was made when I glanced over and saw a doppelganger! Not sure what a dopplegnager is? Then you need to watch this:

I found Barney Stinson from the CBS TV show How I Met Your Mother.

Credit: CBS

The real Barney when he worked at the coffee shop.

The Barney Doppleganger. I find it ironic that he has a cup of coffee.

The picture isn't amazing, had to be sneaky about it.  Believe me....it is him.  

It was legen....wait for it....dary.

2) I am attempting to be legendary in my own rights by learning the dance to Thriller.

Challenge accepted.  My friend Julie is learning it too and she came across some great videos and the dance "script" on the Thrill the World website. These videos are AWESOME.  The instructor breaks the dance down so it makes sense to dancers and non-dancers alike.  Super fun so far.  And man what a workout!! 

3) I get my hair done today!  I'm helping a friend who is going to beauty school right now.  She needs a hair model.  So of course I said yes.  Getting a new cut and color right before leaving for camp.  Can't wait to see how it turns out!

4) Last evening I participated in an Epic scanvenger hunt. Myself and about 60 other "young professionals" met downtown at the Mud Hens Stadium where we would begin our quest for 5 clues that would take us to the final destination.  We walked all around downtown Toledo looking for our next location.  Supper fun, but my feet were ready to fall off.  You could also get bonus points for other random tasks....

Here is an example of one of the clues...

 

And it took us to....

My team got third place! And we got a prize!  Gift cards to Biggby coffee, which ironically was one of our stops. 

5) I went to the zoo!  It has been a long time since I went there during normal hours.  (The Music Under the Starts is after they are closed.)  They recently opened a new Australian exhibit.  We have like 5 or 6 wallabies.  They are so cute!  I might need one.

Another cool thing I LOVE about the Toledo Zoo is the history behind the buildings.

 

A lot of them were built during the depression era and through the Public Works Administration.  This history nerd was on cloud nine.

See you next week at camp!

Why Can't We be Friends???

Are you singing the song?  I sure am.

I love making new friends.  I like to think that making new friends is an easy task for me {after all I am a sanguine}.

But for the life of me I have the worst time trying to have more guy friends.  I'm pretty sure the amount I currently have would be around 10 and most of them are married.  The last couple nights my roomie (hi roomie) and I have had some discussions about this revelation. This isn't the first time this subject has come up here.

Where are all the guys at?

Youuuuwhoooo.....hello....males, where are you??????

(pretend I said that all southern and adorable like, thanks)

And why is it, if a guy somehow stumbles into my circle, keeping him in the circle and being friends is more difficult than climbing Mt. Everest.  {Not that I would have any idea how difficult that would actually be.}

One of my few male friends had this to say about the subject....

It's impossible for single guys and single girls to be friends. 

WHAT!!!  Not cool Robert Frost.
(P.S. If you haven't seen Kid President's video, you need to.  That is my favorite line.)

His argument is that guys only want to be friends with girls because they like them, and once they get into the "only friends" category they pretty much disappear.

I said he was wrong.  But that was at least a year or so ago, and there might be more truth to that argument than I care to admit. After going out with my "Bold moment" fellow a couple times, I haven't heard from him once. Sure I don't think I want to date him, but I wouldn't mind hanging out with him and getting to know him more.  He is a nice guy.  But nothing.  So was he an instance that he wasn't in to me either and decided he didn't need another friend?  Quite possible.

Please tell me I'm not the only one.  Were are the guys by you? Do you have lots of guy friends?

High Five for Friday! Snakes, fireworks and a prize...

What a week!  The first week of my summer vacation has been an eventful one...just to my liking.

I found many adventures this week and if this is an indication of what my July will be like, I will be super happy.

5 awesome things that happened this week

1.  Sort of went camping a couple days at the Heartland Conference Retreat Center in Marengo, Oh.  I have a rough time with camping.  I very much enjoy the campfire, the campfire food, the company of friends and the fun adventures one can find.  

 

{Campfire breakfast, bacon, sausage, steaks and eggs...yummy}

One thing I don't enjoy....the bugs.  6 bites on my legs and counting.  If I can go camping without all of them joining me, I think I would go a lot more.  {As long as I sleep in a camper... with heat or air conditioning.... and have a real bathroom and shower.  My demands are small.}  I had a fabulous time, despite the creepy crawlies....

2. Speaking of creepy crawlies...I'm a little weird when it comes to that.  Bugs, spiders and the such creep.me.out.  As witnessed by my friends when a beetle was flying around the car, dive-bombing at my face on the way home from fireworks the other night.  To quote my friend Rachel "Jenny, I wish I could get my voice up that high."  I apparently go up a few octaves when I am having a freak out session.  Now you might be saying, I don't see how this is weird. 
Wait for it...

Snakes, lizards, frogs, basically reptiles and amphibians....LOVE them!!

At the campground I went to they have a nature center with all sorts of animals.  Well, mostly reptiles and amphibians.  They also have a couple possums, a skunk and 2 chinchillas, but everything else is scaly and possibly slimy.  Does that bother me?  Not at all.  I'm so mad I didn't get a picture.  {We go to the same place for kids camp, so maybe I can get some then.}  I held 3 different kinds of snakes, a salamander, a gecko and a frog.  If I ever have a pet, it will probably be some type of turtle...or frog...or lizard.

Now do you see how I'm a little weird. Bugs- no way, even though they are usually small and can be sqquished.  Snakes and frogs- yes...they are so cute. 

3. Remember how much I love the 4th of July? So far I have seen 3 nights of fireworks.  Hoping to find at least one more.  Went to the Mud Hens game again this year for the 4th and saw two fireworks shows in the same night.  Double score!   P.S. Mudhens people....you did an awesome job with the new fireworks show.  Really enjoyed the new types of fireworks.

If you are in the Toledo Area and are looking for some family fun tonight, the Mud Hens play at home and will have fireworks again.  As an added awesome bonus they are showing The Sandlot movie after the game.  How AWESOME is that!!!!  We are so cool.  Here is the link to get tickets.

4. Besides enjoying America's favorite pastime, I won a prize!

I don't know about your local ball team, but we have little games and such between innings.  Every game I go to I sign up.  It totally pays off.  I have fun and win something....heck yeah I'm signing up. And because of my "being bold" post the other day I talked my roomie to sign up too.    We played a base shuffle game.  On the giant screen they show 3 bases with a logo under one, then switch them all around and you have to know which one had the logo.  We have gone to so many Mud Hens and Walleye games (there it's the puck shuffle), we knew we had this.

$25 gift card and our new friend Anthony

5.  You can now call me Katnis Everdeen.  Heartland also has a little archery range.  {How cool are they.}

Ok, maybe not quite Katnis just yet, but not bad for my first time.  I really liked it, and think I would like to do more.  Wait!!!! I think that is on my bucket list!  I need to go a few more times before I can justify crossing that off.  

Well there you have it, my week.  What adventures did your week include?  

Hockey with a side of being bold.

Hockey season just ended. (Is it bad that I miss it already. Sigh.)
P.S. Congrats Chicago Blackhawks.  I can't be too excited to say that since I am a Wings fan, but well played.  (grrrr)  And what a final game!!!  2 goals in the last minute.  Wow.

Back to the point. This is a story of me being bold.  Once upon a week, when the Wings were still in the playoffs, my friend and I went to the local Buffalo Wild Wings establishment to watch our boys play.  One such evening I arrived before my friend and found a seat.  There I am half watching the game and half listening to this conversation going on next to me. And I hear a plea for help...

"Business casual.  What exactly is business casual."

Never fear!  I will save you!  {Yeah, I wasn't that dramatic, don't worry.} I turn and ask if they would like some input.  Yes.  I soon make friends with the 3 guys sitting there.  They of course are also Wings fans, and we just start chatting and continue to watch the game.  Now comes the fun part.

One of the guys, let's call him Jack, was texting a girl making small talk with the hopes of going on a date.  He asked for my advice on what to say and I gave it to him straight.  Have you gone out with her before. Yes.  Then just ask her out.  Don't beat around the bush, just ask her out.  His friend, let's call him Sam, said that is exactly what he thought.  "In fact, see how easy it is."  He turns to me and asked me out.

True Story.

Maybe this happens to you all the time, but I wasn't expecting that at all.  "Ummm sure, " I said, that sounds fun." 

With my past experience, when things like this happen the guy is usually throwing some strong creeper vibes.  Seriously.  I find some of the weird ones.  Remember Mr. Collins?

This guy didn't seem that way, so we went on a date.  I had a fun time.  And he isn't a creeper at all.  He is a really nice guy.  We ended up going out another time for some geocaching.  A good experience, and I'm glad I said yes and didn't dismiss him right away. 

It was a bold moment.  I am proud of myself. 

This year is the year to be bold.  To stretch myself just a little, meet new people and maybe do some things that are outside of my norm.  I hope this is just the first of many posts that I share with you about my boldness.

The only way things are going to change is if I do something different.  Right. 

And that's it.  He hasn't text me again, so I'm thinking he's not that in to me.  And that's ok.  Like I said it was fun. 

P.S. GO WINGS!!!!!!!

Some books to add to your summer reading list

Oh friends!  Have I some treats for you.  A few weeks ago I spent a whole weekend reading.  I know doesn't that sound just wonderful!  I can't remember the last time I just got to read and read...ahhhhhh.  Anyway! Now you get to hear about what I read that glorious weekend!

I've Got Your Number: A Novel by Sophie Kinsella

Poor Poppy Wyatt.  The party was going quite wonderful...until the fire. In the mass exodus she lost her engagement ring.  The family heirloom. Giant expensive stone. Engagement ring.  Unfortunately, that is just the beginning.  Of course things get worse because next goes the cell phone.  How will she live without her cell?  But perhaps things won't be so bad after all...she finds a cell in the trash.  But who should call??? The owner of course, Mr. Sam Roxton who surprisingly wants his company cell back and would like it if Poppy would stop answering emails and going through his messages.  The adventure begins.  Trouble and many surprises are on the horizon as these two lives cross paths.  More than one lesson is learned and it might be a coin toss as to who learned more.

Sophie Kinsella is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, and this book is a great example of her wit and humor.  Take a moment to check out Sophie's website www.sophiekinsella.co.uk and let me know if you have read her new book The Wedding.

Waterfall {River of Time Series} by Lisa T. Bergren

A romantic/adventurous young adult novel set in the beautiful countryside of Italy.  Lia and Gabby Bentarrini, two American teenagers spend their summers in Italy with their mother on archeological grave sites.  Boring city.  When the girls decide to explore the site on their own, they find some mysterious hand prints that when touched transports them to medieval Italy complete with knights and castles and danger...lots and lots of danger.  And Gabi landed right in the middle of it, somehow separated from Lia.  With the help of Marcello Falassi and his knights Gabi is on the mission to save her sister and hopefully stay alive long enough to do so.  Gabi isn't the usual damsel in distress that Marcello is used to.

Be prepared to read for big chunks of time with this book, not because it is long or tough to get through, but because it is adventure after adventure and I found it hard to put down.  You also might want to have the second one close at hand, because the ending will have you wanting more. 
See more about Lisa T. Bergren and her other amazing titles at lisatawnbergren.com

Be sure to check out my Book Reviews Page for more reviews!

Pictures from Amazon.com