I Do! {Kind of}

Before the rumor mill starts churning let me just say that NO I am not engaged. Great, now that that's over, please keep reading.

While eating a little {healthy} dinner last night, I received a call from LA - one of my wonderful friends that I sadly had to leave behind in Cincinnati when I made the leap to The Pitts. Tear.

I can always count on her to have fabulous stories, and to thoroughly appreciate any and all of mine, so I pushed the veggies aside and answered away. Conversation went as follows:

SJ: "Blah blah blah, I'm hilarious, blah blah blah."
LA: "Blah blah blah, hahaha, blah blah blah... oh, and will you be a bridesmaid in my wedding?"

WHAT?

Cue tears and excitement and joy... it was like New Years Eve all over again, but without the cocktails. Needless to say I was (and am) thrilled, and am already counting down the days until the bachelorette party.. oh, and the wedding of course!

I wanted to write a little something explaining our friendship, what she has meant to me since we met practically two years ago, and how excited I am to share her special day...

...But I figured that this would be more fitting.

St. Patrick's Day {2011}... where all good friendships blossom

Themed bar crawl for your birthday? Absolutely!

But only if you bring the alligator hats!

Dance parties. Lots and lots of dance parties. (Hey Boergs)

Only "single" gal in the picture... weird!

We love us some happy hour. Especially if it's at the four-star Plum Street Cafe.

Fireworks in the rain? Sure.

Ladies in black.

Ok, we have a thing for festive hats.

So congrats to LA, and hooray for me! Now bring on the bridesmaid dresses!

SJ

Welcome Back

Oh hey! Yes, I am still alive, and yes, I still plan on blogging in 2013 - so please don't take my prolonged absence as a sign of an unfortunate present-opening accident or a New Years Resolution to no longer blog.

HA!

No, no - I've been running around doing a million and one things, and sometimes nothing at all, but all of it was part of a prolonged period of quiet time. No, I certainly wasn't always quiet (really??), but it was more of an inner quiet that I was oh-so desperately in need of. No stress, no deadlines, no hustle-and-bustle other than my nightmarish travel experiences and overdose of shopping. Quiet time.

Quiet time also meant unplugging for a little bit - going as far off the grid as I realistically will ever go. I rarely was on my phone, my laptop is in the same place that it has been since last week, hell, I don't even know where 3 of my 4 phone chargers are right now. But it was nice, oh so nice.

What did I do? Let me break it down...

• Eat, eat, and eat some more. Guess who can seriously put away food? This girl. Yep, I've still got it despite years of watching what I eat. But, unlike previous years, I am in no way remorseful. I ate well, but rarely over-indulged, and found a strange peace in just letting go of the calorie-counting for a brief moment in time.
• Exerci.... Ok, I did do some of this, but not enough that I should even give it a bullet point. Sorry I'm not sorry.
• I rediscovered the beauty of sleeping til noon. I didn't think I had it in me - the latest I have slept in recent memory was about 10:30a after a particularly brutal night - but I did it. Three times! And why not? No children, no pets, no work meant see you in the afternoon for me!
• Spent some much-needed time with family and friends. Weekends just aren't enough sometimes, so the holidays always provide the chance to spend some quality time with the ones I love.
• Ran in airports. And I mean ran. If you were lucky enough to see me haul across the Houston and/or Atlanta airport in my UGGs (woof) like a bat out of hell, well, you're welcome for the laugh. Don't worry, I only went 1-for-2, so 50% of the time it was all for naught.
• Quality time with the roommate. After a particularly brutal, but great weekend with one of PG's best friends, we were down for the count come this past Sunday. The cure? Alternating between sleep and zombie states for a solid 12 hours on the new couch. Not only did we re-energize, but we got to spend some quality one-on-one time together, which will get increasingly rare as work picks up.
• Ran into walls. Laugh away, but this was seriously a vacation filled with bumping into things. Maybe it was because I was partially asleep more often than not, or maybe it was because I love Christmas wine. Who knows. But it happened, so there it is.
• Did some apartment redecoration. Hooray! We got new slip covers for our old couch, added an ottoman with serious loungability, got another end table, and did little things here and there. Washed down with a massive dinner at PF Changs thanks to a lovely gift from my parents.

Ok, that's it for now. You get the gist. I did a lot - a lot of something, and a lot of nothing. I even managed to get sick and survive a snowstorm. But the moral of the story is that it was a wonderful vacation, and I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store!

How did you spend your holidays? I'd love to hear!

Doing a blog hop woohoo! Check out all of the fun by clicking the button below!

SJ

Home for the Holidays

Being a twenty-something, the word "home" has come to mean something beyond where my parents raised my brother and I. From an early age, having moved several times, I realized that home wasn't a physical location (ok, well not entirely a physical location) - it was where my family was. Where I felt the most loved, and the place where I could most be myself.

Even in college, the word "home" started to evolve as I found my place at school, and in my fabulous sorority. Now I had two families - my Zeta family, and my real family. But wait, then came the amazingly close friendships I formed with several people during my time at MU - so close, that I began to consider them a part of my family. Slowly home evolved into the groups with which I felt truly in my element, as I did with my own family.

Now that I'm out in the real world, I don't go home every day to my parents, or to the same friends from high school and college that I still identify as parts of who I am - I come home to PG and our little one-bedroom apartment. Now that's home. We have a couch that we hate, cooking skills that seriously need improving, and a mound of things to sort through and find places for... and it is absolutely perfect.

Pondering this idea of "home" earlier (as I watch the white death creep into PA), I realized that having multiple homes shouldn't be confusing, rather, it's a blessing. I'm lucky enough to have places and people across the country that I can go home too. Whether it is my apartment in the Pitts, my parent's house in Kansas, or with friends in a variety of locations, I am never far from home.

A few of the many "homes" that will be on my mind this Holiday Season - set to the tune of "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

Home,

Let me come home.

Home is...

...wherever I'm...

...with you.

Oh, home.

So even though I can't celebrate the Holidays in all these wonderful corners of the country, they will all be on my mind during this special time of year.

Oh, and I'll be planning lots of visits for 2013!

SJ

Random Musings of a Sick Girl

You know that terrible feeling of being sick, when your head is filled with fog and putting together a sentence just seems... difficult. Welcome to my life, at present. My typically-coherent mind is, instead, currently filled with random phrases and streams of words that usually mesh, but just aren't coming together at present. Sigh.

So, I decided that today, I wouldn't push myself. Wouldn't think too hard about this post - I do have to get some things accomplished at work today, after all.

Enjoy my stream of consciousness..

Why don't I feel well? So not a fan.

Instagram - really?! If you sell pictures of my precious puppy or semi-pathetic DIY crafts without my consent, I will destroy you.

How do I get a grumpy pet? If Grumpy Cat has taught me one thing, it's that sour-hearted pets can be especially lucrative.

No matter how little you've eaten in the past day or two, a large lunch at work is a horrific idea. Unless you are permitted a mid-work nap. In which case, where is this heaven that you work?

Why is the ice and water machine so far away?

Am I REALLY done with my Christmas shopping? If so, why do I keep adding things to virtual carts every two seconds?

I have the TV to myself tonight for a solid few hours. What do I watch first? Glee? Nashville? Cue confusion.

What are the odds that I can get PG to come 30 minutes home, make me dinner, rub my back, and listen to me cough and complain, then drive 30 minutes back out for guys night? Slim? Too soon to abuse the living situation? Ok, moving on.

Why do I morph into Grumpy Cat when I don't feel well? Smile, dangit!

Facebook - you addicting, addicting fiend, you.

What's on my to-do list?.... Nope, not doing any of that.

I NEED MY SWEATPANTS

Alright, everyone. That's all I have today. Stay warm, and take lots of Vitamin C!

SJ

No Words

"What do you say?"

Since the tragic slaying of 20 children and six teachers in Newtown, Connecticut, I have heard that phrase in a variety of settings, all equally challenging.

What do you say?... To the loved ones of those who lost their lives.
What do you say?... To a grieving town.
What do you say?... To a nation left stunned in the wake of yet another act of mass murder.
What do you say?... To parents who have to send their kids off to school this week.
What do you say?... To teachers who have to face their kids in a place that they used to see as a safe-haven.
What do you say?... To politicians when the issue of gun control is brought into the spotlight yet again.

And what I have found after a few days of reflection is this - there are no words.

There is no explanation, no rhyme or reason, no wisdom that can mend a nation of broken hearts. Try as we may, our words, no matter how well-crafted or thoughtful, can only fall short of bringing back the lives that were lost on Friday.

But that doesn't mean that words can't be found, or that they are powerless in a time of crisis.

Political views aside, watching President Obama address a grieving town, reading the names one by one, his face riddled with emotion, made a statement - he's only human. He's a father too. He is grieving alongside those who put him into office. He left all that is going on in DC to offer what comfort he could. His words made a difference.

Thousands of letters have been sent to Newtown. Outside of the U.S., the world is grieving with us, and memorials are popping up across the globe. They cry for us, and speak of their own experiences of tragedy, explaining how they grew from loss. Their words make a difference.

In the shadow of tragedy, the NFL maintained its regularly-scheduled games on Sunday, with each team and player making their own statement about what occurred. Perhaps the most moving of these tributes was that of Victor Cruz, who called the family of a young victim and unwavering fan, Jack Pinto, to offer his condolences, and to show them that no one is unaffected by this loss. His words made a difference.

And now here I am - a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend, a granddaughter, an American, a blogger, a human being - and I must ask myself, what do I say?

I say I'm sorry. I say I'm devastated. I say that I wish the tears I've shed over this tragedy since it occurred could, in any way, ease your pain. I say that I, too, am left questioning this society in which I live.

But I also say that there is hope. I say that we have a responsibility as human beings, and as citizens of this country to act. To do something, anything that will prevent this senseless act from happening again. I say that we must protect our children. I say that I believe they are in a better place. And I say that I am with you, Newtown.

In a time when they are hard to find, there are words.

SJ

Dave and Busters @ The Waterfront {a review}

What do my Sundays consist of? Watching football, checking my Fantasy Football lineup, and watching more football. And that's a wrap. So when I was invited to check out the new Sports Lounge at Dave and Busters at The Waterfront, I was all over it!

The last time I was at D&B was for our corporate outing a few months ago, and the facility was undergoing some serious construction. Having been to my fair share of D&B locations (Chicago, Cincinnati, etc.), I had developed a general idea of what to expect during a standard outing - old-fashioned dining room, plenty of children, and games.. lots of games. So when I found out that the renovations revolved around the creation of a sports bar, I was intrigued, to say the least.

And let me just say, when you walk in to the front door of the new-and-improved Dave & Busters, feel free to leave any preconceived notions at the door. I almost did a serious double-take - am I in the wrong place?? You're immediately greeted by an enormous TV screen and trendy-looking reception area, and it is instantly clear that they weren't just renovating - they were out to change their brand.

Whoa, where am I??

So let me break it down for you...

DECOR. Don't get me wrong, the old dining room reminiscent of Cheers is still fully intact, as are some of the older sections of the facility that feature games such as billiards and shuffle board. While D&B wanted to change their image, they wanted to make sure that they lost zero existing clientele in the process. Kudos.

The renovations focused primarily on the creation of an upscale-looking bar, along with a massive sports lounge...

On a raised platform just past the hostess desk is a raised bar and sitting area. Complete with white leather chairs and bright lighting, it's like a mini, trendy urban bar at the heart of The Waterfront. While the manager pointed out that this area draws lots of women (bright lights and pretty bottles ooooh), the Beer Tubes and big screens keep the men coming in droves.

Right across the football field-themed hall is the expansive sports lounge. I don't think that our group spoke for a solid 10 minutes after first being seated at our high-top booth because we were too busy trying to see what was happening on ALL of the TVs. And there were loads of them. Gone are the crunchy plastic booths, having been replaced by over-sized (and super comfortable) leather booths and chairs. And don't worry, I'm pretty sure there isn't a bad seat in the house, especially on Sundays! While the atmosphere was still family-friendly, I felt like I was out at a bar, as opposed to Chuck E. Cheese. Thankfully.

Moving back through the lounge you arrive in a room boasting plenty more TVs, plus leather couches, chairs, and party space - complete with free Wi Fi. The Pittsburgh-themed decor makes you feel like you're in a typical Pitts bar, as opposed to a chain restaurant, and the lounge feel is super inviting. I can absolutely see myself grabbing a drink and watching a game back there, and am planning on it!

FOOD. Standard bar food, for shame! The massive menu features any, and everything you could possibly want - whether you are out with the family, or catching a game with some friends.

Cue drool

How do you decide what to get when you're staring blankly at a menu, with no idea where to begin? Ask the waitress, of course! It's a good thing she was friendly and super knowledgeable, because a less patient person would have had a difficult time dealing with our indecisive table! For starters? Pretzel bites, and spinach and artichoke dip. In both cases, the portions were large, and the quality was high, so we were all happy campers. Wanting to sample something unique to the D&B menu for my entree, I had the Philly Steak Burger... pretty self-explanatory, but it was a cheeseburger with steak, onions, mushrooms and peppers on top. MMM!

Oh, and that thing in the top right photo? A skinny long island. I dare those of your 21+ to not find something delicious on the drink menu. Dare you.

GAMES. Fine, I'm competitive. By the time we got our game cards and left the booth, the tension between the two couples in attendance was palpable. It was going to be a quiet car ride home, that's for sure.

Walking into Dave's Arcade made everyone feel like a little kid again. You want to play. You want to win. You want to buy something ridiculous with your tickets. As an adult, it also brings a seriously competitive spirit, aided by the bar in the middle, but it's all in good fun! Right PG???

Anyway, the arcade boasts an enormous assortment of games, from staples such as Pac Man, to newer gems like Fruit Ninja. While we mostly stuck to our classic favorites (basketball, skeeball, and racing), I'd be lying if I didn't say we were absolutely drawn in to the massive Connect Four board, or the trivia game. At the end of the day it doesn't matter who wins or loses... because I just say I win everything either way!

Overall, a great, great afternoon! The staff was super friendly, and clearly had that place figured out, from the dining room, to crowd control, they were on it! The food was delicious, the drinks were even more delicious, and the variety of games ensured that I worked off my massive lunch in no time (seriously, sweating).

Thanks to D&B for a great day. Now go check it out!!

SJ

That Just Happened Thursday {v3}

I don't embarrass easily, I just don't. But this week's version of That Just Happened definitely brought a little extra red to my cheeks.

When I have single friends, I looove to try and set them up. No, I'm not obnoxious about it, but if I find a great guy, I'll definitely do my best (and then let them take it from there).

Cut to Tuesday.

I ventured out to dinner with a good girlfriend of mine to hear about her recent adventures in a far away land (from me) known as The World of Single Girls. Geared up to hear her latest gossip, I instead found myself in a very different situation in which she vented to me about being lonely, worries over never being able to find anyone, and so on. De-pressing.

In an effort to cheer her up (and make her laugh a little), I start going on and on about this great guy I know, how they'd be perfect together, and sharing some uhhh less than flattering details about one night during which he was absolutely slammed. We were laughing, she seemed interested, and the night took a turn for the better.

Until I hear some poorly held-in laughs coming from the table behind me. The kind of laugh where you are clearly laughing at someone or something in particular, but do not want to be heard. I looked around, and no one had fallen, no one was wearing anything they shouldn't be, and nothing embarrassing had happened during the basketball game that was being aired. Hmm.

I was confused until I stood up to visit the ladies room and realized that two of his friends were at the table behind me. The same friends who had been out was us during his infamous romp that I had just shared in great detail, and who had just heard me go on and on about their friend for, oh, about a half hour.

All they said - "Hey, she does look like his type." Cue laughter. Cue embarrassment.

Oh well, maybe one day at their wedding we can all look back on this and laugh!

Check out other "That Just Happened" moments through this Thursday Link Up hosted by Samantha @ Hooah and Hiccups, and Kaitlyn @ Wifessionals.

Oh, and while you're checking out Hooah and Hiccups, make sure to enter the Holiday Giveaway for a chance to win oh-so-fabulous prizes, including a month as the premier sponsor of The Pitts! GO!

SJ