Columbus Photos: Randoms

Here are some random photos I took while we were in Columbus.

[Click on image to enlarge.]

Brutus in cammies right outside the ROTC doors.


Brutus in band uniform, dotting the "i". Also, we went to that store, College Traditions. We spent so much time in there, looking at everything!! We found so much stuff that we really want to get!!


Just a shot of some flowers.

I just had my camera hanging down and took some random "street photography" shots.




This is a tree that was under the bridge.


A set of stairs that allow you to walk under the bridge and on a different walkway to places.

Buckeye All-America Grove
For every All-American athlete at Ohio State, a tree is planted in their honor. Such a cool idea!!










Mark and I ate at this place. OMG it was so good!!!!

Columbus Photos: Jesse Owens Memorial

Here are a few photos I took of the Jesse Owens memorial right in front of The Shoe. It was really cool!!

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On the inside of the memorial, there's something written on each "wall". I took photos of them, but when I got home, I saw that I was missing one of the walls from an angle. That's why I'm not posting any of those photos. Sorry. I thought I got every wall at every angle to show everyone what the walls said, but I missed one. I'm pretty upset with myself about that!!

If you know nothing about Jesse Owens, then GO HERE.

Columbus Photos: The Shoe

Here are photos I took of The Shoe while Mark and I were in Columbus on Wednesday.

[Click on image to enlarge.]





My husband standing in front of The Shoe.






My husband sitting at the 50-yard line. He sat there for 5-10 minutes, just enjoying the view of the field.












I was very excited about my first time at The Shoe. HA.

Columbus

Yesterday was the day that Mark and I went to Columbus. We left my parents' house around 7:00-7:15 AM. It only takes about an hour and a half to get there, but we didn't know what kind of traffic we'd be in and how long it'd take to find a place to park once we got to Ohio State [University]. Well, we got there about an hour early! [The meeting with Capt Rosenthal was scheduled for 10:30, we got there around 9:30.] It was okay though because Capt Rosenthal told us that he had blocked out his whole morning, and he let us have the meeting then. He was very nice and he really informed us about MECEP and other stuff. He was honest, and he said that Mark was a good candidate, but he wouldn't go in that "Definite" pile of applicants right away for MECEP. He said that Mark would be put in the "Maybe" pile, and that there's a slight chance he'd get accepted for MECEP this fall. Mark has a great ACT score and ASVAB score [or whatever it's called], but his PFT is lacking a little bit. Mark can do all of the pull-ups and sit-ups/crunches, but his run isn't as fast as they'd like it. His run isn't that bad, but it's "bad enough" to have him sit in that "Maybe" pile. So after the meeting, Mark and I were talking about MECEP, and we've decided that he'll still try to put in the application this year, and we'll just kind of expect him to not get in. So if he doesn't get in this time around, he'll just apply next year because then they'll know he's serious about going the Officer route, he'll have more time to knock down his run time, he can take some college courses so they'll see he has some continued education, and we'll both know what to expect next year when it comes time to get things in order to turn in the application. If Mark would happen to get accepted this year, we'll be thrilled!! We just wanted to go ahead and come up with a plan in case he doesn't get accepted. I think our plan is a good one.

After the meeting, we walked around Columbus for a few hours. It was AWESOME!! We went to The Shoe first. [That's where the football games are played, in case you didn't know.] We were walking around and I was taking photos, and when we got right by the front gate, a guy that worked there told us that if we wanted, we could around to Gate 23 and come in the stadium and walk around, but we couldn't go on the field!!!! Umm...AWESOME!! So Mark and I had the whole place to ourselves [outside of the people that were working there]!! We spent some time there walking around, looking at stuff, and it was just amazing!! I took so many photos!! It was my first time there, and I just loved every second of it!! Plus, when we were there, I was thinking about Mark's Uncle Chuck who played for Ohio State back in the day. I think it's so cool that my husband has a connection with Ohio State football, because Ohio State football means so much to him!! [I, also, believe that Uncle Chuck had his ashes spread out in the stadium. I'm not 100% positive on that, but I think his ashes were spread there.]

After our time at The Shoe, we had lunch at a place called Varsity Club, went to a store called College Traditions, and walked around Columbus/Ohio State for a while. It was a fun day!! I really enjoyed it!! I will put some photos up either later today or tomorrow. I have to sort through which ones I like the most and want to put on here because I took over 200 photos!! So be on the look-out for those photos - some are pretty cool!!

Going Home & Drive-by Photography

That is what I will be doing tomorrow...12 long hours in the car!! HA. And I am hoping that with my wonderful Sony a300, I'll be able to get some amazing shots that I could never get with my old Canon Powershot piece of poop. HA. [Actually, the Powershot was good for that kind of camera. I just don't like it now because it's so two-thousand-eightlate!! LOL.]

I know I'll probably get the usual shot of "Mount Boob". LMAO. [Ashleigh, I think it's you that knows what I'm talking about. HAHA.] I'm looking forward to this one area in either Virginia or West Virginia...the scenery is beautiful!! I love it a whole lot more at night time, but we'll be driving through it during the day. BOO! I'm going to be lame and try to get a photo of every sign "welcoming" us into the state. HA. I know that once we get into Ohio, I definitely want to get photos of certain areas we'll be driving through. I'm going to try to get a lot of photos of my hometown. I think it'd be cool to show you all where I'm from. You'll get to see the one place I love to leave, but hate to be away from. [Am I the only person that has that weird feeling about where they're from?!] I love drive-by photography!! It's amazing!!

Maybe while we're home, I'll go around to places and take photos. I'll try to go to the center of town, the schools I attended, places that have some meaning to me, and just some other places in town that I like. I'd like to show you all where I grew up...Brunswick, OH.

I can't wait to go to Columbus!! I hope that we get to spend some time there after meeting with the ROTC Instructor. I want to go see The Shoe [the football stadium where The Ohio State University plays]. It may come as a surprise to some, maybe most, of you, but I have never seen/been to The Shoe in my life!! Gasp! So I am really hoping that I get to go see it while we're home. That'd be so cool if I got to!! I, also, am hoping that we'll just get to walk around the school and Columbus for a little bit. I want to get some photos of the city - the state's capital.

I can't wait to go to Cleveland to walk around the city and to go to the Indians game!! The Indians have been eh lately, but I love going to watch them play!! I want to go to Cleveland a good while before the game, walk around the city, photograph some of the amazing things there, hopefully get to the field/stadium early so I can photograph the guys warming up, then go to our seats, watch the game, take photographs throughout the game, and enjoy and photograph the fireworks once the game is over!! I ♥ Cleveland!! I really do!! It's such a fun city!!

I am definitely looking forward to going home. In less than 24 hours, we'll be home!! It's going to be so nice being home and being around my family!! I miss my family so much!! And I do miss that little shit hole town I grew up in!! HA.

School Update & More

I got a call from my advisor dude at AiP last night, and things are going well. Actually, he said things are looking really great for me!! YAY! All of the stuff that needed to be done on my end is complete!! WOOHOO! Next is just the financial aid stuff has to be taken care of on the school's end. I don't know how long that'll take them, but I do have a while before it needs to be done since I'm suppose to start on July 13th. I just can't believe that I'm wanting to go back to school, especially as much as I do - let alone actually trying to make it happen!! HA. I swore up and down I'd never go back to school for anything, especially if I had to take "core classes". Guess I was way wrong!! HA. But it does feel really good to actually be able to go to school for something that means a lot to me and something that I really want to push myself and succeed in.

So yesterday was pay day. I woke up early, got ready, got the boys ready, and we were out the door by about 6:45 to go grocery shopping. Since we're leaving Monday morning, I only needed to by things for 5 days. I know I shouldn't have done this, but I did anyway...I went to the makeup aisles and bought some makeup. And only one of those things is something that I'll use every time I put makeup on. HA. The other things I bought were 3 Cover Girl eyeshadows [that are brand new colors from CG], 6 Maybelline eyeshadows [most of which are brand new colors], and Maybelline's new Lash Stiletto mascara. The CG eyeshadows I got are INSANE!!! They are bright, metallic colors and I just love them!! I actually really want to go get some more!! Some of the Maybelline eyeshadows I got are pretty awesome, too - while 1-2 are just okay!! I have yet to use the Lash Stiletto mascara. I seriously didn't even need to buy the mascara. I already had 6-7 tubes of mascara before buying the new one yesterday. [And all but two of the mascaras I had before were ones I've bought within the last month or two. I love mascara and have to have different mascaras for different looks.] But the makeup I bought yesterday is to maybe test out and use for when I go home and maybe test the waters and do the extreme beauty shots on people. I know my sister is willing to let me try any kind of hair and make up stuff on her whenever I'm in the creative mood. She's such a good sport!! HA. I'm thinking about buying some fake eyelashes, too, for whenever I do extreme beauty shots. Fake eyelashes are amazing...it just sucks that I can't put them on myself!! If I could put them on myself, I'd be rockin' them almost every time I walked out of the house!!

I've decided that next time we move back down here, I'm not going to paint walls because we hopefully won't be here for long. We'll either go to Columbus, Ohio, because Mark got accepted into MECEP and Ohio State, or we'll be stationed elsewhere. So instead of painting walls, I'm just going to probably get a bunch of new picture frames and hang up some of my photographs on the walls. I don't want plain, boring walls, and photos will definitely "spruce things up a bit". I've already gone through some of my photos and picked out the ones that have to be hanging up on the walls. I'm not going to lie, I am very proud of a lot of the photos I've taken, especially recently, and I think that they should be on display wherever I may live. Plus, I think photos are more personal than just any type of decor. Don't get me wrong, I do love those little things you can find places, but photos are more personal and when I see lots of photos in someone's house, I feel like they are letting me be more into their life than someone who only has a few photos up. Do you know what I mean? But I just want people to be able to walk into my home and look at my photos, and feel like I'm welcoming them into my own little world. And you just never know, maybe someone will really love a photo I have up and be moved by it, even if it's just a little bit of that feeling. I know that I am often moved by photos. Some photos just have that ability to touch ones soul instantly, and those are my favorites.

Looking forward to the game.

The Cleveland Indians game, that is!!

Last night, Mark and I decided to go ahead and change the day we're going to go see the Indians play in Cleveland when we're home on leave. We were originally going to go to the game on the 20th [a night game], but since we're heading to Columbus on Wednesday morning [all bright and early], we decided it'd be best for us to switch to Thursday's game in the afternoon. It just would've sucked getting home late Tuesday night from the game, then barely getting any sleep before we woke up early on Wedesday to head to Columbus to meet with an ROTC Instructor at Ohio State. Plus, with driving for 12 hours on Monday, we probably would've been zombies come Wednesday morning for the meeting with the ROTC Instructor. HA. So we changed our schedule a little bit, and that's a good thing.

I mean, sure, I would've like to have taken some night shots of the Indians game, but now I'll have natural light over the field to take pictures, granted the weather isn't shiteous. [Keep your fingers and toes crossed that the weather is BEAUTIFUL on the 23rd in Cleveland, Ohio!! PLEASE do that for me!! HA.] And since we'll be going to an afternoon game, we'll be able to walk around Cleveland for a little bit after the game, and I can possibly get both day and night shots of the city!! I just know of a few places that I really want to take photos of!! But the bad thing about the afternoon game is that we may not be able to go IN the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum!! BOOOOOO!! Maybe we'll just have to go another day while we're home. We'll see what happens. I'm just really looking forward to going home!! It'll be nice!!

Do you ever get like this?!

So, you're getting closer and closer to taking a trip/vacation somewhere, and the one thing you think about so often [or maybe the most] is about what you want to do and where you want to go simply because of the photo opportunities you'll have there?!

Mark's pre-deployment leave is fast approaching [yuck!], and all I keep thinking about is how we're going to Cleveland one day because we're going to a Cleveland Indians baseball game; going to Columbus one day so that Mark can talk to an ROTC Instructor and get help with the MECEP stuff, even though it isn't necessary for us to go there, but I look forward to [hopefully] walking around Columbus and seeing The Ohio State University; a birthday party that's for Mark [my idea] because it'll be his fifth year not being home on his birthday [I've never seen him on his birthday - ever]. Those are just things we're definitely doing while we're home, and those are great photo opportunities!!

Mark and I have been thinking about maybe taking the boys to the zoo while we're home [as long as the weather's nice] because we think they'll love it and have fun. So if we go to the zoo, I'll have another photo opportunity!! I just know that if Michael gets to see so many animals, he'll lose his mind!! That boy loves animals and gets so excited over seeing them just on TV. HA.

I think I am most looking forward to going to Cleveland and the baseball game though. The seats we have are behind home plate, a few levels up. They are GREAT seats!! We've had a few foul balls come up our way before. I always got good shots of the games we've been to with just the dinky cameras I've had, so I should get some really good ones with the camera I now have!! I hope that they do fireworks at the end of the game - I always love that!! Of course they'll do fireworks if someone from the Indians hits a homerun, but I love it when they do a huge fireworks show at the end of the game. One year, Mark and I went to a game with my dad and Uncle Kevin, and they did fireworks after the game, but they had the show set up with music and stuff. It was so cool!!

But please, tell me I am not the only one like this. Of course I think about seeing family and stuff, but I do tend to focus a lot on all of the things we'll be doing that present a great photo opportunity.