Piper's Blog
Just One More Person's Thoughts Cluttering Up the NetPost-Graduation Post
I did it.
I’m actually done.
I’ve come full circle with my posts. I started blogging before college and now I have graduated. Graduation is more than just being done with school. It encompasses friendships gained and lost, love gained and lost, my wedding, my friends’ weddings, my new family with my husband, and heralding a new era.
This past month I did NOT receive a job offer. But I DID manage to do an extra credit DES project that I thought I wouldn’t be able to do. I got 100% on it! It felt good working in Java again after three years. Ben helped a little but when it was all said and done we realized we pretty much only used my code! I did it myself! *Ben still was super supportive and helpful*
The goal of the semester was reached. I graduated college! The ceremony was long and boring as most graduations are. I pasted the time with a kid I was sitting next to, Wes. He was really nice and co-oped at Marathon. My name was not in the program and they neglected to mention that I graduated with honors. But, my family knows I did and I still have my diploma with honors. So it’s ok! I’m just happy to be done.
The highlight of this weekend was seeing my little sister Ali. We are connected like we really grew up together and it is such a wonderful feeling. She got accepted into the college of her dreams and is on cloud nine. She even got a hefty scholarship! I’m so so so proud of her and look forward to her high school graduation and even college graduation LOL!
My energies are now focused on getting through the holidays. Ben and I are leaving for Arkansas this Thursday. We have chosen the audio book Eragon to listen to on the car trip down. I have read and loved the books but this will be Ben’s first time. I know he will love it! We look forward to being with my family. I haven’t been there since Gpa Van Scyoc’s funeral and Gpa Reed isn’t doing super great after a stroke. I think I will be okay but random crying may occur… 
Ben bought me a beautiful necklace for graduation! I really need to buy some more V-neck shirts so that I can wear it more often. Also, starting soon I will be beginning a workout regimen with the Kinect. Maybe I should post results weekly to track my progress…
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2010 Thanksgiving Fun
Before I get into the funness of Thanksgiving I wanted to quickly write down some other interesting things that have happened since my last post. I went paint-balling for my first time and wrote my name on a wall! It was super fun but Ben and I had a ton of bruises afterwards. I felt tough. I’ve been job hunting and at the moment everything is dependent on Rosetta. If I don’t get a job with them I will have to start all over with interviewing and what not!
On Wednesday Ben and I drove to Rockford. We got there around 9:30 PM central time. I was wiped out but managed to stay up until 1 AM with my lil sis. 
On Thanksgiving day I helped make the mashed potatoes and Ben made his yummy beer bread. It was a big hit! Ali and I went to see Tangled after everyone left. We expected to enjoy it but we didn’t expect to completely LOVE it! Fun music, beautiful animation, and it was quirky! On Friday, Ali and I got our sister piercings. It’s a double piercing on one side and a cartilage piercing on the other. We liked the asymmetricalness. Ali is doing so great in school and is already getting accepted into some of her favorite schools! I’m so proud of her.
Ben and I headed back to Findlay to sleep for Friday night. On Saturday we went to see his mom and sisters for Thanksgiving Part 2. Then, we went to visit my parents and spend the night. Currently, I am just trying to finish homework and get out of this semester. I graduate in a few short weeks. I need to try to write a little more this coming month because lots of exciting things are afoot.
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Day 1 Round 2
Ben and I had our first anniversary weekend! It was perfect. We saw the movie Legend of the Guardians, went to the restaurant Red Pig Inn, went to a wine shop, made dinner, had some fancy wine, and had an Ultimate Gaming marathon. It all boils down to we spent time together and had a quiet weekend. We haven’t had time like that in months. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
In fact, I was really worried about what to do or what to get hubby for our first anniversary. But, I brought up my worries to Ben and he said that we shouldn’t worry about it and stress out. We decided not to get anything and just have a nice day.
I am so blessed to have him. I am able to talk to him about anything! As a result we didn’t just have a nice day…we had a great weekend! I can’t wait for all the anniversaries to come.
I love you Ben!
Tags: anniversary
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Well I suppose it is time to wake up Greenday because September is almost over!
I have been trying to get at least one entry written every month and today is the last day, so this is it!
School is in full force. I really enjoy my Security class and wish I could have had the class sooner and then have more cryptology stuff. My database class is a joke and lets me hone my Starcraft 2 skills.
I’m greatly looking forward to the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops! I really wanna play it a lot so that I can get really good at it. I don’t know how much of that will happen but I can dream. I am finishing up the game Borderlands currently and want to start Bioshock soon.
I had an interview with Rosetta today and I think it went well. I really want to work there and start looking for apartments in Northeast Ohio. I pray that it all works out. I do have another opportunity with a company called Software Answers. They sound interesting too but i think Rosetta would be the best fit. Even better than Hyland!
I helped design a new t-shirt for ACM. People seem to like it and think it will be cool to see something I made on other people.
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The Hocking Hills Chronicles
~*~*~Sunday~*~*~
Ben, Revan, and I arrived at our Getaway Cabin in Hocking Hills. After completely moving all of our stuff into the cabin and finally sitting down to catch our breath, we were able to explore our new BEAUTIFUL home for the next 5 nights and days. The cabin is called “The Shawnee” and is set back into the woods. It isn’t far from other cabins but we can’t see any of them so it does create the feeling of being totally secluded. Probably my favorite discovery at the cabin was finding the the game and puzzle stash in the coffee table. There is a lit “feeding station” outside where one can put food out to see if deer come to eat at night and food is sold at the front office. Ben and I definitely bought enough food for us to enjoy the wildlife for the rest of the week. I feel as though there will be fat animals loafing around in the forest…
For our first night in we are having Mexican Hamburger Helper. Hopefully, there will be enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
I set up the XBox and of course the TV is a little too out of focus for us to truly enjoy it. I managed to make it a little better if we want to play single player games but there will be no movie watching or killing marathons.
Tonight, we are going to plan some of our activities for the next week whilst soaking in the hot tub!!!!
~*~*~Monday~*~*~
Ben and I woke up excited to go kayaking. But, we knew we needed to run to Wal-mart for water shoes and a swimsuit (because I forgot mine). We couldn’t find water shoes at Wally World so we went next door to a Shoe Show and both ended up getting Tevas. LOL Now we are shoe buddies!
Sadly, when we got to the kayak place it was closed and won’t be open until Wednesday. Oh well…it gives us something to look forward to later.
We went home for a quick lunch (we did have those leftovers) and to pick up Revan. We traveled to Cedar Falls, Old Man Cave, and Lower Falls. There were lots of stairs and Revan kept running ahead and looking back at us like we were slowpokes. Of course, all the little girls we passed LOVED Revan and called him a baby puppy. He is sort of a Hocking Hills rockstar!
After a quick dip in the hot tub, Ben made hummingbird nectar to put in a feeder that was here. Then we had delicious brats we brought here from Miller’s Meats in Findlay. I took a nap and then woke up to bake some cookies.
Going to go read some before bed. Couldn’t ask for a better first full vacation! Ben has been so sweet and I’m so happy we finally took the time to honeymoon together.
~*~*~Tuesday~*~*~
We tried to get an early start to beat the heat and people at Ash Cave and Rock House. It definitely worked! Ash Cave is absolutely staggering in sheer size and stillness. It felt like you had stepped into a time machine and were discovering the perfect location to house your tribe. On the way to Rock House, we stopped by the Ash Cave Fire Tower. Ben was brave and climbed almost to the top, while I decided to stay on the ground. There was a small field full of butterflies next to the fire tower. Ben claimed that the butterflies were taunting him because they kept flying close and landing, but then running away right when he tried to take a picture. He managed to capture some…just barely.
Rock House was the trickiest spot to get to. It was all steep switchbacks down hill and then an open staircase carved into the rock. It was rather daunting but worth it! The cave wasn’t big (*granted we didn’t continue on the path, there could have been more*) but it was easy to stand in and move around. A flock of pigeons decided to make it their home. When a bunch of pigeons coo at once it sorta sounds like a large animal is growling.
We decided to have lunch at a local favorite tourist spot called Grandma Faye’s. It was a small deli, general store, and souvenir shop. We bought some local wine and will try it with dinner tomorrow.
For lunch dessert, we went to another tourist spot for ice cream. It was much smaller than Faye’s, but you could order soft serve ice cream and have flavor syrups blended into it. I had white cake batter and Ben had cheesecake!
We went back to the cabin for a dip in the hot tub followed by a nap.
Ben then grilled some scrumptious chicken for dinner which we ate on our deck. Dinner was followed by a nice walk around our cabin area. A black cat, named Misty, that lives in the area and is a bit of a celebrity RAN to us when we were about to start the trail. Ben and I said hi to her and petted her and then preceded to walk on. Well, she followed us! She kept pace with us for a while then began to slow down. We called to her and she ran ahead of us and promptly threw herself on the ground for us to pet her some more! We did….then moved on again. She kept following until we could tell she was a little unsure. Then I picked her up and carried her for a long time. Ben spotted a deer and the three of us were still. Ben with his arm around me and me holding Misty. LOL! It was too cute. The deer ran away and we continued on our journey. Misty got tired of being held when we were close to the end of our trip but she did stay with us to the end. One sad thing though was that she did sort of try to follow us towards our cabin but she didn’t cry or try to come in or anything.
Ben and I ended the day back in the hot tub because it was such a gorgeous night! This has been my favorite day thus far!
~*~*~Wednesday~*~*~
Today was all about the kayaking. Due to the trip to Wal-mart earlier in the week for all our kayaking stuff, we were already prepared for leaving! We woke up, got dressed, and left! (*After morning bagels of course.*) I also think the cat Misty slept on top of our truck because there were little paw prints on the windshield. We received a discount at the kayak place, Hocking Hills Canoe Livery, because it had been closed the past two days. So YAY! It was nice getting there right when the place opened because there was no waiting. We got our paddles/lifevests and then immediately went to the vans that take you to the launch site. We were the first group launched that day! Ben and I quickly paddled ahead of the group and lost them.
We got to be alone on the river almost the entire time. It was so pleasant! The river is a little shallow though and you tend to get stuck on the bottom a lot. Also, because the current isn’t very strong you end up paddling the whole way and use a lot of energy. Sometimes you just wanna coast ya know? We stopped once along the way for a local photo op called the Rock Bridge. You have to hike a little from the river but it was well worth it. It looked like something in Lord of the Rings.
When we walked back to the river, a family that had launched with us but was in a canoe arrived. Ben helped them get to shore because they were having trouble getting onto the bank. Isn’t Ben dreamy?
Anywho, the only other notable thing about the kayak trip was that we accidentally stopped at a different canoe/kayak livery. We thought it was the end of our trip. Well, I fell getting out of the kayak. Ben and I were sort of annoyed because the “dock” was extraordinarily difficult to get to, it was hard to get out of the river, and no one was around to help. It was asking for someone to fall. It wasn’t serious and all I have are bruises but it was still frustrating. Once we confirmed that this was the wrong place, we got back in our kayaks and paddled the 1/3 of a mile to our place. It was a night and day difference! You can easily paddle right onto the FLAT bank and there was a man to help everyone. So if anyone reads this and goes to Hocking Hills, you need to use the Hocking Hills Canoe Livery and NOT the Hocking Valley Canoe Livery.
We stopped by a Christmas store, Candle store, and Wind Chime store on the way back to the cabin. Of the three, the wind chime store was the most interesting and fun. They was a wind chime set the size of me!
We got to the cabin and had a dip in the hot tub (*as usual*). We ran to the office to get some DVD’s for the coming nights and returned to the cabin for a nap. Now, we are getting ready to have our dinner of crackers, meat, cheese, and the local wine (Raven’s Glenn) we bought yesterday.
Tomorrow, we were going to do more exciting things! BUT, seeing as it’s our last day, we kinda just wanna sit and do nothing. So we are going to hang out at the cabin and enjoy each others company.
~*~*~Thursday~*~*~
We did exactly what we said we would. We had a nice time staying in the cabin. Ben played Starcraft II and I read my book. Ben grilled some delicious steak (*again from Miller’s Meats*) for dinner. We watched a movie, Evan Almighty, then soaked in the hot tub under the stars. We talked about our favorite parts of the trip and had the perfect ending to a perfect vacation.
~*~*~Friday~*~*~
Got up! Cleaned up! Left!
Tags: Cabin, Canoe, HHCL, Hocking Hills, Hocking Hills Canoe Livery, Hocking Valley Canoe Livery, HVCL, Kayak, Raven's Glenn Wine, Vacation
Somehow I Missed July
To continue the last post, my cupcakes were a big hit and came out beautifully. I did make way too many of them though.
My favorite part of the fourth of July weekend was prolly the UFC fight with Feydor! I love how stoic he is. His quote after losing the match was “If you don’t fall down, you cannot stand up.” Awesome, right!?
I went to Splash Zone in Oberlin with my sister-in-law Tammy and my neice Micaela. It was a gorgeous day and I enjoyed spending time with them. I also got to have one ofmy favorite burgers for dinner. It’s called The Antique Burger; all it has on it is bacon, cream cheese, and A1 sauce. I know it sounds weird but it is surprizingly delicious.
Ben, Tyler, and I traveled out to Rockford this past weekend to deliver a tractor and go to the airshow. The tractor delivery wasn’t super smooth but we made it in one piece. Sadly, I didn’t spend much time at the airshow because it was stupid hot and I was beginning to burn (*even with loads of sunscreen*). I did get to spend some much needed time with my lil sis Ali. That couldn’t have been more perfect! I’m only sad that we didn’t get to do everything we wanted…ran outta time.
The rest of this week is dedicated to getting the apartment ready for the LAN party. It should be a blast! And yes…I plan on making more cupcakes…
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A June to Remember
The first three weekends of this month have been dedicated to getting Brad and Kolina happily married.
The first weekend was Brad’s bachelor party hosted by my hubby. Brad and Ben went to Elyria to party with the usual crew while Kolina and I stayed in Findlay. On Saturday, Kolina and I drove up to Toledo to a huge mall for shopping. We were mainly browsing but also had some wedding things to look for. There were some AMAZING sales going on and I definitely bought more than I meant to. But, I definitely love the Pink Sugar hair perfume and Urban Decay Eye Primer I bought from Sephora. I don’t know how I managed before! My eyeshadow is always fresh looking and my hair always smells great! We also did some craft projects like making signs for the ceremony and reception and putting ribbons on bubble bottles.
The second weekend was Kolina’s bachelorette party up in Michigan. Let’s just say the night of the party was interesting and I was dumped head-first into Brad’s family. The rest of the weekend went smoothly though and I got to know the other bridesmaids. More wedding things were checked off the checklist. All that remained was the wedding!!!!
The third weekend was the wedding. Ben and I had a fantastic suite with a king sized bed and a jacuzzi. After a long day of pictures and talking, Ben and I REALLY loved relaxing in the hot water of the jacuzzi. We definitely almost fell asleep…
The day was beautiful and everything went smoothly. Plus, we got to take home a lot of leftover cupcakes from the reception. Score!
As soon as Ben and I got back to Findlay from Michigan, I repacked and went to Bay Village to help mom with VBS. The theme was about bees so my name was Honey Bee. Of course, I became a rockstar to the kids and one of the girls gave me my first silly band! It was a lot of fun and took a lot of energy.
This past weekend was spent helping spruce up my mom-in-law’s house. Ben and I have been working there every spare weekend (*which obviously hasn’t been for a month*). I’ve been painting and developed a knack for staining. I sort of enjoy it and think it is therapeutic.
This coming weekend is the Fourth of July!!!! Ben and I are booked solid all weekend. I can’t wait! Also, I get to see Emma in the first time in a year or so!
I plan on making some red, white, and blue cupcakes and will post pictures if they come out pretty.
Currently, my loves include baking and making pixel portraits. (*I am working on one for my sis-in-law at the moment*) Perhaps I should post some pixel pix too…
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Graduation (sort of)
So many exciting things have happened since I’ve last posted and I’m mad at myself for not keeping up with it. I went to an Eluveitie concert with Trevor and Chip, drove up to Michigan for Kolina’s bridal shower, finished this semester, and finally got my Associates of Science degree.
The concert was a bit more violent than the last concert we went to and there weren’t as many fun people to talk about. A new band we discovered and liked was called Holy Grail and they are from California. They definitely have some old school glam rock going on. They reminded me a little of Queen so naturally I loved them! The other notable thing was that the lead singer of one of the other bands was huge (not fat just tall and beefy) and had a Thor’s hammer necklace on. Of course I refer to him as Thor now. Anywho, when people were moshing, if Thor got knocked down I swear the earth moved!
The Michigan trip was a fun roadtrip for Ben and myself. We had so much fun hanging out with Brad and Kolina and not doing much at all! We just got to talk and I got to know Kolina a lot better. Brad and Kolina are coming down this weekend so that Ben can throw Brad his bachelor party. I can’t believe how fast their wedding is approaching.
Got two A’s and two A-’s this semester so I am calling it a success! I’m just excited that I only have two more classes to take before I’m done forever.
This past Saturday I walked in LCCC’s graduation ceremony. The lady that was supposed to check us in was incredibly mean and unhelpful. She didn’t give us the correct tassel and didn’t tell us what to do. So, Trevor and I made up our own rules and got it all figured out in time. We did almost walk with the LPN degrees though…
Go Piper!
Here is a bonus picture of me driving in my first autocross. http://racerslane.com/clubs/NORA%20-%20ASCC/seasons/1/events/7#runs
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DROID does…lots
First post from a mobile device! Prolly won’t use this much because I like to say a lot.
Most exciting things at the moment are waiting to hear from Sherwin Williams about a summer job and I did rather well in my first autocross event yesterday. W00t!!
I’m sure I have more to share but I’m going to bed. Kthxbai!
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Race to Finish Semester
Been busy working on Senior Design and Software Engineering. Both fun and unfun in their own ways.
~~Senior Design~~
Fun: For Senior Design, I get to work closely with two good friends of mine. I’m learning about hardware, prototypes, and autocrossing. I drive in my first autocross event this Sunday to test our system! For as silly as it sounds I’m glad that Bret and Chip aren’t big on writing documents because I get to practice my technical writing skills. Granted, lately I just create a skeleton for them to dump information into and I clean it up.
Unfun: I feel like I don’t have enough to contribute and have let them down. It is scary knowing that we present our project in 19 days.
~~Software Engineering~~
Fun: I have discovered I have a knack for creating 8-bit images and I really enjoy making them. I may have found a new hobby! Trevor and I have had a blast figuring out sound effects and background music for various things.
Unfun: Development is a mess due to unclear project guidelines in the beginning. It’s a group of eleven people all trying do stuff at once. So, sometimes it’s two steps forward and one back.
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