My name is Caitlin and this is my blog. I’m 22 years old and live in Grand Rapids, Michigan with my boyfriend Pete. I am originally from Brighton, Michigan. I am currently enrolled at Grand Valley State University as a Sociology major. I’ll be graduating in December… WOOT! I have an internship at an organization where I help at-risk teens get a leg up in society. It’s a lot of fun and very fulfilling. I love hanging out with my friends, especially at the beach or anywhere outdoors. I’m really good at disc golf and love playing new courses when I have the time.  When the sun goes down you can find me downtown sipping a mojito, trying out new craft beers or curled up on the couch watching a movie with Pete. More later.

Pete and I have been talking seriously today about moving abroad to teach English. We do not have an aching need to teach English but rather we have a friend that found a way out of the U.S. by doing this. He is having a ball in Thailand while we are stuck in Grand Rapids, MI twiddling our thumbs unhappy with our environment. So today my fantasy-side really came out. I have been daydreaming, since Pete came home and we spoke more seriously about this adventure, about what would happen if I say yes to taking the leap. It is a serious endeavor but at the same time we have nothing to lose literally.

There are pros and cons, and the logical side of me only sees these as hurdles to overcome. My fantasy side or lacksidazical side is laying on my back stairing at the ceiling with joy and amazement. I cannot seem to get up for fear that I will snap out of this coming to life fantasy that Pete and I are planning. Right this second he is sitting next to me looking at teaching programs abroad. My best friend Shari is at the same place we are at in our lives right now. Feeling stuck. I do not want to obsess about education, jobs and family planning at 22. Pete is 26 and he is in no rush. We may get married and wisk away to our new life together abroad and find fantastic places to explore. These are all great plans but really plans are meant to be warped and changed! This is the fun of life. I have been bored on the couch awaiting my 2-day-a-week nanny job to begin and my last 8 credits of school to start so they can swiftly be done! I want to be going places and so we will. Together. Yet independently grow because this is also something that I am very much in need of. We must change to grow. Oh the places we will go…

After finally utilizing the gym in our building for pete’s first time and my third-ish I was thinking that grocery shopping should consist of cost- effectiveness and healthy choices. This would naturally lead us to look online. I found this incredible experiment of recipes. You take a giant chicken, roast it, then use the leftovers from this first meal to create around 7 more meals. Basically you are given a long ingredient list that will be used to make all your meals. I bought all the ingredients and do not know how they are to be used because I did not take the specific meals with me to the store. It was like shopping blindly but knowing that all the random things you are buying will somehow miraculously add up to a week of meals. The experiment begins tomorrow and I cannot wait. Some of the meals include: Chicken Picadillo and Rice and Beans, White Chicken Chili (one of my personal faves), Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Chicken Curry. I am so excited and I will report back on how this one delicious chicken fed my boyfriend and I for an entire week or more. We are going to really stretch this thing out.

Pete and I are going to “Dude Where’s My Tent” July 17th, 18th, & 19th. Camping is free and it’s only $25 for a ticket. We missed out on DEMF again and this is our consolation. It’ll be a blast though. Check out the Vid

After waking up in the afternoon and realizing it is freakin hot outside and freakin sunny too there’s only one thing to do today! Beach Day! The beach is the best place to A. swim and B. people watch. I look forward to live entertainment from those that haven’t a clue they are entertaining everyone.

This is the only thing on this blog I have done thus far. Everything else including the about me was done by my dashing boyfriend Pete. I had no clue he was working on this blog for our 3 year anniversary. How sweet is he? I love him.