{6} Lately…

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Lately I’ve been…

reading  Still reading Book 5 in the Harry Potter series…I can’t seem to stop falling asleep on the subway lately, which is cutting into my reading time.

writing  Been taking lots of notes in my photography class.  Weird to be using a notebook and a pen again.

listening  Of course the Maryland girl has to listen to a little country every now and then.  This song is a bit of a morbid love ballad by The Band Perry, and I can’t get enough of it.  Check out “Better Dig Two.”

thinking  About my spiritual self.  It seems this is the time of year that I tend to look inside my soul.  Today is Ash Wednesday (if you didn’t already notice from the photo above), which is the start of the Lenten season.  It makes me think about what I can do to be a better person, and what I can do to help others.

smelling  Citrus tea that my boss has been brewing daily in the office.

watching  Still on my “Race to the Oscars,” and I have seen all but two films now that have been nominated for Best Picture!  I have to say, there has not been one that I have disliked so far.  Last night was Lincoln to celebrate Lincoln’s Birthday.  It was a fantastic film, and I have a feeling it just might take gold at the Oscar’s.

wishing  My butt buddie, Erin, a speedy recovery as she is undergoing Lasik eye surgery today.  Love you Munchkin!

hoping  For warmer weather on the horizon.  I’m pretty much done with cold and snow.  Unfortunately, I do not think I am going to get my wish just yet…

wearing  My “Hi” “Bye” heart sweater with leggings and combat boots.

loving  The genius behind Oreo during the Super Bowl a couple weeks ago.  Did anyone see that Twitter ad during the blackout?  Pure genius.

laughing  At my husband and neighbors this past weekend as they attempted to invent a live version of “Frogger” with this Makey Makey invention kit.  Just picture a grown man with 4 children jumping up and down around the room Dance Dance Revolution style while listening to techno music.

wanting  The doctors to come to a diagnosis for my Uncle, so he can start getting the treatment he probably needs.  He has been at Hopkins for awhile now undergoing tons of tests.  Love you Uncle Johnny.

needing  Rest.  It’s been a busy couple of weeks.  While I love keeping myself busy most of the time, I am looking forward to a little downtime at some point.

feeling  Optimistic.  I will leave it at that.

craving  This shade of MAC lipstick – Rebel – Did you know MAC recycles?  If you return 6 empty MAC products, you can get a free lipstick!  I think I just may…yay!

clicking  I have been click click clicking away on my camera since I started my photography class a couple weeks ago.  So far, I have already learned a lot, and I am looking forward to learning even more.

What have you been up to lately?

Love,

Gina

***I was inspired by Tina of Like Ordinary Life to create this post, and she was inspired by Lauren of siddathornton, who started The Sunday Currently.

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2012: A Year in Review

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Ringing in the New Year in Playas del Coco, Costa Rica!
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Hiking in the Cloud Forest in Monteverde, Costa Rica
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Three Italianos Reunited in Brooklyn!
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Valentine’s Day Surprise at the Mary Poppins Show! I dressed just like her without even knowing.
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Celebrating Zack’s 31st at crazy Mehenata Bulgarian Bar
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OAR Concert with Jack and Sammy
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14 inch hair chop! Bye Bye. Thanks Nikki!
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Sweetlife Festival at Merriweather in MD featuring Avicii…AMAZING.
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Seeing Emily Blunt and Jason Segal at the premiere of 5 Year Engagement at the Tribeca Film Festival
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SKYDIVING!!! Thanks to my amazing husband – he surprised me on our one year anniversary with this bucket list item.
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Dad FINALLY visits us in NY. With Zack, Mom, and cousins at their pasta shop in Brooklyn
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DMB Concert and Upstate NY trip
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Virginia Beach trip with friends for Shirin and Shahrum’s wedding
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Testudo came to Zach and Jessica’s wedding! Go Terps!
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Happy Birthday to ME! Love my new camera!
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Girl’s Weekend in OC for Katie’s Bachelorette – Seacrets is crazy!
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Family vacation in the Outer Banks, NC
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Surfing Competition in the Rockaways
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Dewey Summer Send off on Labor Day Weekend
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A Naval Academy Wedding for Megan and JoJo
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Visionary Art Museum Wedding for MaryBeth and James
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Trip to Montauk for Mike and Abby’s Big Day
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Katie & Adam tie the knot at Sagamore Farms
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Running with Patrick and Melissa for my late dear friend John Petrovick. “Inside all of us is HOPE.”
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Thanks to Gabbi for helping to raise money for John’s cause.
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Camping trip with Erin and Rai to French Creek
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End of the season pic with my JV High School Girls Soccer Team
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ASHS 10 Year High School Reunion – man time flies
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AC trip for Alex’s Bachelorette!
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All my girls at the 5th Annual Pollard Potluck
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Christmas Morning at Mom and Dad’s
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Alex and Seamus get married to end the year!

It may seem like a lot of photos, but this is just a small snippet of what took place in 2012.  There were so many more fun memories of this past year.  There were also some sad moments as well.  I have learned a lot this past year, and I know that I am truly thankful for the family and friends that I have.  I am incredibly lucky for the support and love that I have received this past year, and I hope I was able to return the favor to all of you as well.

I wish you all a Happy New Year’s Eve.  Please stay safe tonight.

Bring on 2013!

XO,

Gina

Inside All of Us is Hope

In 2 days, I will be partaking in yet another adventure.  I will be running the Rock N Roll NY 10K in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.  Now, the fact that I am running this race is not so much the adventure.  I have done plenty of races in the past.  The adventure is more in the reason I am running this race.  I am running for my friend John Petrovick who you see pictured above.

John was a friend of mine for 14 years.  We met in high school in biology class and hung out after school on the soccer fields.  John was hilariously funny and while making everyone laugh, he is also the most amazing, inspiration person that I knew.  He battled through 4 years of brain cancer all while continuing to run marathons, finish law school, and remain the funny, friendly, caring person that he was.

We unfortunately lost John on April 28, 2012, but we did not lose the legacy and inspiration he left behind.  John played a huge role in his doctor’s (Dr. Q) quest to cure brain cancer.  He encouraged his doctor/surgeon to join him for the Baltimore Half Marathon, and they raised thousands of dollars to help Johns Hopkins departments of neurology and neurosurgery.  These past few months, I have tried to continue with John’s efforts to raise money for this cause, and so far I have raised over $3,600 in his memory.  My goal is to get to $5,000, so I still have a bit to go, and not much time left!  I’m at 72% of my goal, and I would really appreciate your help in achieving this for John.

To donate please click here:  http://www.active.com/donate/qquest/ginanotesforjohn

Also, for those of you who didn’t know John, this is how amazing he was: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=CDrEIYyyIds&NR=1

For those of you who did know John…you already know he was “superman.”  Please join me in the fight against brain cancer.  As John would say, “Inside all of us is HOPE.”

Thanks for your support, and I will update you after the race!

XO,

Gina