7 Quick Takes: Friday's Favorites

Today I'm sharing 7 Quick Takes Favorites and linking up with Kelly at This Ain't The Lyceum.

1. Cara Strickland  guest posted on The Junia Project this wonderful post about what she learned whilst dating. I read this and cried tears of both sadness and joy to have someone articulate some of my experiences.

2. This post about getting to know a person instead of a potential future spouse made me rethink the way I think about meeting Mr. TDH.

3. Sarah Bessey wrote this post called "Damaged Goods" - yes yes yes.

4. Jayson Bradley nailed it in this post about "Christian cleavage." Thank you, thank you, thank you.

5. "To the Christian Men and Women Debating Yoga Pants" in Christianity Today - thank God someone wrote this. For the love, people.

6. Since we're finishing up the month dedicated to love and relationship-status-awareness, "Things It's OK to Feel When You're Single" and "I'm Single. Stop Pitying Me on Valentine's Day"  were especially appreciated. My Valentine's Day was fantastic, thanks, and while someday it will be a romantic day, this year it was a crepes-with-my-sister-and-friend day, and I had a great time. For real, no pity.

7. Finally, to end with some laughs, Mallory Ortberg's post on "If Stanley Tucci Were Your Boyfriend" is beautiful and perfect and true.

Enjoy your weekend, friends!

7 Quick Takes: Avoiding the Awkward

Linking up with Kelly at This Ain't The Lyceum for today's edition of 7 Quick Takes!

1. This week has felt both reallyreally long and reallyreally short. It felt long because this weekend is going to be exciting and waiting is hard. It felt short because there were a lot of items on my to-do list. Life is crazy sometimes, isn't it?

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2. My friend Laurie was in town last weekend, and my sister Jayna joined us on a fun little adventure to Bellingham. It was so pretty there, and we had crepes for dinner and dessert, and then we shopped at a cute little shop. The weather was fantastic and we had a great time. 

3. That monkey is making me dizzy. Including him was a mistake. 

4. Lent has begun! I went to a neighborhood church's Ash Wednesday service, and it was really, really good. They had set up four stations, with oil, water, clay, and ash, and there were Scripture readings and thoughts to meditate on throughout the service. I'm really excited about this Lent season.

5. The only downside of the Ash Wednesday service was a bit of shock I experienced. There was an older gentleman greeting people and welcoming them into the sanctuary, and so I went over and introduced myself. His name was Carl, and he was so sweet! But then... out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of another man. In disbelief, I ducked behind Carl and peeked out to confirm my suspicion. 

My manager from LifeWay, my job as a senior in high school, stood just a few feet from Carl. And while I successfully avoided any awkward conversations {namely the, um, name issue}, I sat low in my chair as my former manager led the congregation in song not once, not twice, but three times. Oi.

6. You're right - it totally was not as awkward as it could have been, but lezbihonest - who really wants to go up to a person and say, "Remember me? You told me to not read books on the job 9 years ago at LifeWay! Happy Lent!" I think I made the right decision by hiding avoiding averting a disaster. 

7. Speaking of avoiding awkwardness, I think I did that successfully when I met with a couple different ladies and interviewed them about their pregnancies and deliveries. There's always the potential for awkwardness in situations like those, and I'm proud of myself for not inducing {pun intended} any cringes. 

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Happy weekend, y'all!

7 Quick Takes: Focus on the Awesome

Thank God it's Friday.

This week has not been the most fun ever, so I'm choosing to focus my 7 Quick Takes on ways this week has been good and why this weekend is going to be awesome. Check out Kelly {our wonderful guest host} at This Ain't the Lyceum for all the link-up fun.

1. Haters gonna hate, but the soundtrack of my week has been Christmas music. Kelly Clarkson, Michael Buble, Frank Sinatra, even Andrea Botticelli have made this rough week a bit more bearable. Thank you, musical geniuses, for singing happy songs so beautifully.

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2. My sister Jayna came over on Monday night, which is always fun. When we were at the grocery store getting hard cider, she introduced me to Strongbow Gold, which may or may not have bumped Angry Orchard into Third Place in My Heart. If hard cider is your thing, I recommend you give Strongbow at least one try. It's super yummy.

3. On Tuesday, I had a mole removed {side note: I love my dermatologist. She made the whole needles/surgery/stitches thing so painless and pleasant, and her staff checked on us like 4 times after I said I was feeling a little lightheaded. If you're in the area, I highly recommend her!}, so now I have stitches and a huge bandaid on my left forearm.
I was feeling good last night, so I ventured out to Zumba. Just to be safe, though, I didn't really use my left arm, because stitches breaking open and blood gushing was something I avoid AT ALL COSTS.
So I one-armed Zumba, and afterwards my instructor told me that she would have me teach sometime, because if I can one-arm class, then no one else has any excuse. Ha! Good one.

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4. After work today, I am heading east over the mountains to visit Dahlia. Hooray! She is just lovely to be around. We can fly across the continent or sit on the couch all day, and either way we will have fun together.

This weekend, we are planning on scrapbooking and crafting. AJ, your Christmas present will hopefully take shape this weekend!

5. Speaking of Christmas presents, I'm feeling really on top of it this year. I have gifts for 2 out of 3 sisters already, and several yarn-related gifts are already finished. The gift I'm most proud of, though, is for my grandparents {trusting that they a) do not know this blog exists and therefore b) will not be reading this post}.
My sisters and I are using Shutterfly to create a photo book of the four of us. I only need two-three more pictures {ahem, sisters} and this album will be complete! My goal is to order it by Thanksgiving, so we are rocking it out.

6. The best part of my grandparents' gift is that we'll be able to give it to them in person. My family is traveling to the Frozen Tundra on the 26th to spend a few days with my mom's family! I'm really excited about this, and I'm already worrying praying for good traveling weather. Because of some health issues, my grandparents haven't been able to come out and visit us since I graduated from high school, so this is quite the exciting visit. Any upcoming holiday trips for you, dear readers?

7. Finally, coming back full circle to the week/weekend/awesomeness thing, I am spending Sunday afternoon with a friend looking at apartments for her and her new job! It's very exciting - this is a fabulous new job and totally in line with her passions and calling, and the apartments we're looking at are really cute.

This week hasn't been the best thing in life, but there have been some light spots and this weekend is going to be fantastic. Happy Friday!

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7 Quick Takes: Theme of "New"

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary for this week's edition of 7 Quick Takes.

The theme of today is "new," so here goes:

1. Yesterday I bought a new table. Well, new to me. Praise be unto the Lord for Craig's List, yo! I'd been hunting for a new dining table and chairs for the whole summer, it feels like, but nothing turned up. I even spent Father's Day dragging my dad up north to look at a table, just to be disappointed and come home empty handed. But yesterday proved fruitful, and this nice couple even delivered the table and 4 of the chairs to my house last night! Pictures coming soon :)

2. Where are you going to put this dining table, Bek? You are wise to wonder. Well, when Samara moves out next week {not thinking about it not thinking about it notthinkingaboutit!!!}, she will take her dining table, and I will assemble my new table in its place. They're actually really similar - I'll have to do "hers and hers" pictures before she leaves.

3. Know what else is new in my flat? A flatmate! My future flatmate moves in the same day Samara moves out {yes, I will be a complete and total wreck next Friday, don't even judge}, so that's pretty awesome. I will tell you this much about her: she loves Doctor Who and Sherlock.

Apparently I wasn't too creepy because she agreed to live with me.

4. You know what else has started living with me? ANTS. They didn't ask, they didn't sign a flatmate agreement, and they certainly aren't Doctor Who fans. So I've been killing them.

So far the killing methods have consisted of:

• diffusing peppermint oil
• setting out cotton balls that were soaked in sugar and borax 
• spraying a mixture of water, vinegar, peppermint oil and lemon oil
• stomping
• vacuuming

None of this was completely effective. So yesterday I brought home the big guns: ant poison. Samara and I placed probably a dozen pieces of foil with poison around the kitchen and slider door, and the ant population has drastically decreased. If you have any other suggestions, please share!

5. Remember a couple QTs ago when I mentioned reviewing Jen Hatmaker's book Interrupted? I am almost done with it and will be posting my response {and joining her link-up} sometime this weekend. The theme of her book could be summed up with the word "new," so that's how this Take fits into this week's theme.

6. My new favorite show is "The Mindy Project." {I have only watched 3 episodes total, but I'm already in love.} Holy cow, can Mindy Kaling and I be best friends? Please? Maybe just for a week?

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7. Saving the best "new" for last: tomorrow is the premiere of Doctor Who: Season Eight with our new Twelfth Doctor!!!! The trailer looks so intense... excited-nervous over here. Anyone else anxiously anticipating tomorrow with a "deep breath"?

Happy Friday!

7 Quick Takes: Hydration, Publishing, and Glamping

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes:

1. Hydration is important. You may know this from your own life experiences, or you may know from my passion for my Wat Bot. I know this because yesterday I almost passed out from dehydration. I was job shadowing in an automotive shop, and the place had no air conditioning and no sink for me to fill up my Wat Bot. I. Was. Dying.

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I went straight from the shop to my parents' house, and I drank 4 huge glasses of water and then 2 pitchers. Literally, I drank out of the pitcher. Water is a serious business.

2. My roomie is now a published author! Catherine wrote a book of poems, and Amazon just listed her book yesterday! Her poems are all about the relationship between mothers and daughters, and I am so excited to read it. Click here to view and purchase the book, and check out her story here.

3. Samara and I are dividing the kitchen Sunday. Not literally, of course, but in terms of pots and pans. It's going to be awful. I'm so excited for my bestie as she begins her new adventure in Oregon, but I am so so sad that she's leaving me. Granted, I left her for 2.5 years, but then we lived together for a year and I thought she forgave me. Sigh. Guess not.

4. Because I am so proud of it, and because you, fair reader, may have missed it, I finished my Doctor Who scarf!!! Check out the post with all the pictures, and feel free to compliment, critique, and make a request!

5. This time next week, I will have half an inch of dirt layered on my skin, my hair will smell suspiciously like evergreens, and my home will be a tent. That's right, folks, I'm going camping!

Unfortunately, there is no spa at this camp. Fortunately, there is power, and by power, I mean electricity for the microwave, air mattress pump, skillet, and hair straightener. There are bathrooms and showers in an actual building, and most people bring a refrigerator at least. Basically what we do is glamping, not camping. Loud and proud, playas.

6.  For our glamping adventure, my sister Ellen and I are sharing a campsite with 4 other girls. Cue "All the Single Ladies" please. We've decided on a menu, but I'm open to suggestions for a couple more days. Shopping is happening on Monday afternoon, though, and then we're sticking with whatever was purchased. I'm looking for make or prep ahead of time recipes, preferably something that is not too advanced. Any experienced campers/glampers out there with suggestions?

7. Jen Hatmaker just re-released her book Interrupted and I am so excited. As I mentioned earlier, I have the privilege of reviewing her book. Jen is hosting a link-up for the book discussion on August 18th, so be sure to come check it out! Now I just have to finish the book.... 

Thanks for joining! Happy Friday!

7 Quick Takes: Spiders, Sisters, and Craftiness

Linking up with Jen's friend Carolyn for this edition of 7QT - yay, new friends!

1. Biggest and most exciting news first: I finished my Doctor Who scarf yesterday!!!! Woot! A more complete blog post on that is coming soon, don't you worry. This fangirl cannot limit her excitement to one little Take; a full post is definitely required. I mean, I crocheted the full scarf... I owe it to the scarf to write a full post about it. Here, I've already 'grammed it :) And here's a Flashback Friday to when two of my friends and I wrapped the first half around ourselves.

2. Speaking of crafty things, tomorrow night is officially Craft Night. A few friends and I are getting together to make Moscow Mules, do crafty things, talk, laugh, and perhaps watch a movie {if we can remember the three we said we would remember for such a time as this}. My craft is putting ribbons on cookie holders for a friend's wedding - wish me luck. It's going to be a blast, and it has been the happy thought getting me through this week.

3. My happy thought for next week is a person! My good friend Laurie {from the Frozen Tundra} is coming out for a business meetings our fathers have, and she is spending the week at my house! I will try and remember to take some pictures of us together - promise!

4. Alright, deep dark confession time: I don't get Twitter. Conceptually I understand it involves short notes and links and following and tweeting and retweets and favorites and hashtags... but I don't love it or use it frequently. Am I missing a crucial piece of knowledge that makes Twitter cooler than fro yo? Am I doing it wrong? Twitter Jedis, teach me your ways, for I am only a baby Twitter-bird.

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5. I get to hang out with my sister Jayna today! She came down for my dad's birthday dinner yesterday, and today we are going to coffee before she has to go back to work. I love spending time with my sister!

6. Just this week, I've killed three spiders. THREE! This. Week.
I don't care if the weather goes from 90* to 20* - spiders need to stay out of my house! Anybody have some good recipes for spider repellent? I'm frantically searching Pinterest as I type, because y'all know me and spiders do not get along.
The plus side of this story is that 2 of the 3 spiders were encountered before I left for work, so I couldn't just yell for Samara to come kill them. So I killed them. And then I killed them again, just for good measure. This picture sums up my life pretty well this week:

7. To end with a Funny Friday, here is Yzma as a Disney Princess:

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Happy Friday, friends! Enjoy your weekend :)

7 Quick Takes: Oils and Anniversaries

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary for this week's Takes!

1.  First of all, our hostess Jen has an amazingly crazy schedule, yet she still makes time to host this link-up every week. Thanks, Jen!

In case you didn't know, Jen has written an awesome book {that adjective comes from countless blogging friends who have read it and loved it} and I'm excited to get my hands on it {come on, library!} and share my thoughts on it. Stay tuned!

2. Okey dokey, what's up with the oil? A couple months ago, Samara and I purchased Young Living's Premium Starter Kit {it's the best value, peeps, for realz!}, because we'd been reading about essentials oils from Emily and Jami and Natalie {oh, and Heather just started a series, too!} and we wanted to try it. It's been awesome. So awesome that these oils are the subject of the next few Takes.

3. The premium kit comes with a diffuser and oh. my. gosh. I am in love with this thing! It's so easy to use and it smells wonderful and makes me feel like I'm in a spa and hello, it's also adorable!

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People come over to my house and say, "What's that egg thing?" and I usually respond with, "It's my baby stop judging I'm in love here let me show you," and then there's no jumping off this hippie train {right, Natalie? ;) }.

4. Golly, Bek, that sounds cool and all, but what do these oils do?!? Oh, my friend... essential oils are awesome! So I may have mentioned a while ago that I had some health yuckiness {and some super horrid bills to pay}, and on Tuesday, I went to the hospital and had a minor surgery and got everything taken care of. I think the side effect of sedation, though, was a head cold, because a) who gets head colds in July?? and b) I started having symptoms only after the procedure. But I will take a head cold over puking aaannnnyyyy day, so glory be.

I woke up Wednesday feeling super congested, and thought, maybe I should try some oils and stuff. Thieves is the mother of all immune support, and since I didn't have time before work to diffuse it, I just unscrewed the bottle and inhaled a whiff. Just one breath. And then I got dressed. And by the time I was completely dressed, my nose was completely cleared up. It's true. It's magical.

5. Later Wednesday evening, I was showing our oils to some dinner guests, and I read that peppermint can help with sinuses and headaches, so I put a drop on my finger and rubbed it onto my temples and sinuses. Ohhhh my goodness, people. Peppermint is a cool oil, and my face started tingling where I had applied the oil. My headache disappeared. 

And when the directions say to "avoid eye area," I suggest doubling the size of whatever you consider the "eye area" because peppermint is strong and your eyes will sting a bit. But that was a small price to pay for no more headache! I slept like a baby that night. 

6. On a non-oily note, yesterday was my bosom friend's parents' anniversary, and she wrote a beautiful post about them! They are my pastors in Kentucky as well a part of my "Kentucky family" and I think they're super cute!

7. Speaking of anniversaries, today is my parents'! They've been married for 27 years, and aren't they adorable!?

with my sister Jayna

the whole fam!

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad! Thank you for the awesome example of a fun and dedicated marriage. You're the best!

7 Quick Takes: Happy Independence Day! Here Are British Shows

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary for the 4th of July's 7 Quick Takes!

1. Monday morning... oi. Hair done, makeup done, clothes on, earrings in, and ready to grab my lunch and go. I made it to the kitchen {6 steps from the front door} and realized that I was still wearing my slippers. Sigh. 

2. Jen from The Arizona Russums shared this article about raising daughters- really good! Thoughts?

3. This article from Shauna Niequist is amazing - "You are significant whether or not you have a significant other."

4. BBC ANNOUNCED SHERLOCK SEASON 4 FILM DATE!! Augh!!!!!

I really don't know how to do 4 more Takes with information like that staring me in the face... but I shall try and muddle on.

5. Oh wait, yes I do. Because BBC also announced an AIR DATE for Doctor Who!!!

6.  Seriously, this is the story of my life.

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7. Not related to the 4th of July or BBC shows at all - check out Laura and my interviews! She's a guest here, and I'm over there. Enjoy!

Goals Update {Sneaking in 7QT}

I read this wonderful post by Chelsea about making goals, and I realized that it is almost the end of June, which is a perfect time for a goals update! And since I had 5 goals for 2014, I figured I will expand just a bit and link up with Jen at Conversion Diary - two birds, one stone.

1. First of all, let us applaud the fact that I'm doing a goal update at almost exactly the halfway point of the year. Maybe I'm a few weeks days early, but at least I'm doing it in June. Be happy with what you get, people.

2. Goal 1: Invest time in new friendships. Status: successful thus far. Rebecca and I have become so close {we're planning on buying a cake - she loves cake - for our friend-versary in August} and we regularly make jokes about double dates and maybe even a double wedding, but could all of this happen without actually talking to boys, please? Thank you.
I've also grown relationships with several other people, most notably Notion friends. Also, Laura from A Single Drop in the Ocean and I have been getting to know one another via email {and we've both assured the other that we are not creepy stalker people!}, and that has been so fun. Actually, tune in for a blog swap/interview coming up!

3. Goal 2: Get into a real exercise routine. Status: pretty successful. I've been doing Zumba 2-3 times a week this month {Bradley class cut one from my schedule} and have been actually good at exercising at home when class isn't a possibility. Sugar intake has been down and water intake has been improved. Also, I've started using the MyFitness Pal app {shoutout to AJ who got me started!}, and since starting on May 29th, I've lost 5 pounds. Bam!

4. Goal 3: Continue to blog twice weekly. Status: rocking. I've already posted more in 2014 than I did in 2013, total. So that's cool. Any suggestions for posts can be made in the comments - I'm open to your ideas!

5. Goal 4: Try one new recipe bi-monthly. Status: I mastered one and made it three times - does that count? Ha! I will pick a new recipe for July and give it a whirl. And maybe even a blog post.

6. Goal 5: Goodreads goal of 40 books this year. Status: I updated my challenge to 50 books, and I've read 29 so far. The perfectionist-Type-A part of me would loooove to point out that I'm 5 books ahead of schedule, according to Goodreads, and the overachiever part of me wants to up my challenge again, and the stressed-out-making-life-decisions part of me wants to take a chill pill and just enjoy reading.

7. Just for laughs {and Funny Friday points}:

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Happy weekend!

My Life is a Romantic Comedy...

The theme of this post:

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This is also the theme of my life, but that is depressing and beside the point. 

Example One of Bek's Rom Com: on Wednesday night, Samara and I went to a friend's college's portfolio showing. Actually, it was a called a "port-show-lio" which automatically means that we're in a rom-com, right? Renaming things to be cutesy and rhyming? Anyway, we were having a great time, appreciating students' amazing skills and hanging with a couple friends. 

We decide for our last few minutes, we would go and watch a video one of the students created. We stand in the back and are commenting on the soundtrack {kind of a cross between Sleeping At Last and Josh Garrels, in case you were wondering} and then it hit me: we forgot to pay for parking. We had parked in a lot that said "$5 Parking" and we pulled in thinking that five bucks was not bad, and we got out of the car and walked straight into the building. Without paying. And now the $5 that we would have and should have paid could look more like $60 from a parking ticket. 

Wide-eyed, I turned to Samara and panic-whispered, "We didn't pay for parking." Her eyes got as wide as mine and she asked, "Do you think we should leave now?" Still slightly stunned, I nodded, and we both turned and gave our farewells to our friends, and then we power-walked down the street to find....

no parking ticket! Praise be unto the Lord! And Nora Ephron, who is kind to her rom-com heroines.

Example Two of Bek's Rom-Com: Thursday was a second-day-hair day for me, so I got up and grabbed my hairbrush and dry shampoo, intending to hit the trouble spots and call it good. Except that I grabbed hair spray instead of dry shampoo. And I didn't notice until after I had sprayed quite a lot onto the crown of my head. 

I figured that maybe dry shampoo would remove hair spray, so I switched bottles and sprayed again. And then I brushed my hair and braided it and spent the rest of the day hoping no one would look at the crown of my head. And while no one dropped down on one knee like Nora Ephron would have dictated, no one pointed and exclaimed, "What happened to your hair!?" so I'm calling the day a win. 

Example Two reminds me of this:

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And on this note, I bid you a happy Friday and wonderful weekend. Peace to the out!

7 Quick Takes: Graduation, TFIOS, and Doula Homework

Linking up with Jen's friend Kathryn at Team Whitaker for today's 7 Quick Takes.

1. My sister graduates from college tomorrow!! Woot! She's worked really hard on her degree {creative writing major, Spanish minor}, and I'm so proud of her. Also, did I mention that she's earned her blue belt since starting karate less than 2 years ago? Watch out, world! She's smart, cute, and can kill you 5 different ways.

2. Anyone see "The Fault In Our Stars" last weekend? My friend Rebecca and I went to see it Sunday night, and I used up 1/4 of a box of tissues by myself. Rebecca didn't cry until the end {she hasn't read the book yet, so don't judge!}, but I wept basically the whole time. If you haven't already, go read the book and then go see the movie, and then you can read the book again. Isn't that always the right order for these things? Book first, then the movie, then the book again. Story of my life.

3. The soundtrack to TFIOS is perfection. I generally dislike Ed Sheeran, but his song for the movie was great and I can tolerate listening to it in the soundtrack loop. Anyone else listen to the soundtrack repetitively in an attempt to recreate the movie feels? *raises one hand, wipes eyes with other hand* My three fave songs from the soundtrack are...

4. Birdy, "Not About Angels"



5. M83, "Wait"



6.  {gotta have one happy song, right?} GroupLove, "Let Me In"



7. Finally, my Bradley birth book came in at the library! Perfect timing, too, because my homework from Monday's class was to Get The Book. Check!

Happy Friday, happy weekend, and happy Fathers' Day!

7 Quick Takes: Here and There

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diaries for 7 Quick Takes!

1. First of all, if you didn't catch the announcement of my new adventure, or the first step that starts on Tuesday, you'll be really confused by the rest of this Take. Thank you, thank you, thank you, dear friends, for all your well-wishes and encouragement! I'm very excited to begin this journey to becoming a doula, and I'll definitely be keeping y'all posted along the way.

2. So I guess Grace Patton created a 7QT of blogging tips, and I'd like to share one here. It's more for blog readers, but since most readers are also blog writers, I'm just going to say it applies and to check it out. Here is her tutorial for making sure you're not one of those "no-reply" address commenters. Just say no!

3. Earlier this week I started listening to/reading Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity. Oh. My. Word. Especially with today being D-Day. Oi. It's the story of a captured Allied {spy? solider? not really sure yet, and I don't want to give away spoilers} person in the hands of the Gestapo, and she has two weeks to write down all the crucial information she can. So she writes. And I listen/read. And it's incredible. Still in the first third of the book {don't you love that cds give you easy math!?} and I find myself wondering what's happening to her, even as I sit here at my desk and call people to set up appointments. Sigh.

4. Last night, I was in bed at 8:30pm. I read and texted a bit, and then decided that a) sleep sounded amazing and b) my arms were getting tired of holding up my book. So I texted my friend...

...and that is why we're friends :)

5. Tomorrow I'm going over the mountains to visit Dahlia! Hooray! Since she lives in a rain pocket {she taught me all about it, because she taught her 4th graders}, so she is bound to have lovely weather. Bringing my swimsuit? Why, yes, yes I am!

6. I'm almost halfway done with the second half of my Doctor Who scarf! It's coming along quite nicely. Don't worry; I'll be posting pictures as soon as I can, and when it's done, you can count on a photo shoot with Samara and me modeling both halves.

7. And now to end with Funny Friday, courtesy of Pinterest:

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Happy weekend, y'all!

7 Quick Takes: Jealousy, Weekend Plans, and Rwanda

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes!

1. In case you missed it, my neighbor got mad that he wasn't invited to Book Club, so he set his car on fire. Ok, that may not have been his exact motivation, but it certainly seemed accurate since the flames started approximately 40 minutes before Book Club started. #jealous?

2. Speaking of Book Club, I've barely started a post about Sarah Bessey's Jesus Feminist. But it is coming, I promise. And while you wait for my thoughts, you could read the book yourself. It really is awesome.

3. So it's a three-day weekend! Woot! I have grand plans of...cleaning my washing machine. The idea of cleaning my oven crossed my mind, but then I realized that I have nail polish on and it looks good and I'm going to keep my nails looking good for as long as possible, so I absolutely cannot do any scrubbing of ovens this weekend. Another time, maybe. But these directions for cleaning a washing machine do not involve any scrubbing {unless you want the outside to look clean, too, but I think that's overrated} so I will be partaking in this fun activity.

4. Since cleaning a washing machine is just so much fun, I decided to make my three-day weekend a four-day weekend and head down the coast with a couple friends. We are going to the beach!!!! Our days will look like this:

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5. Since we are wise women and don't want to spend allllll our weekend moolah on eating out, I'm going to be making Mexican lasagna for us. This will be the third time I've made it, and you know that the third time is the charm. Excitement abounds. 

6. In case you missed it, Natalie and I "interviewed" each other yesterday! It was totes fun, and if this is something you want to try, let me know! 

7. Finally, Rwanda. Noonday Collection and International Justice Mission are teaming up for a trip to Rwanda with a bunch of amazing women, and they've saved a spot on this trip for me. Well, almost. There is an extra spot on this trip and the person filling it will be determined by vote. I applied and you can read my entry here when you vote or here in my initial post. 

Voting is only open until Wednesday, May 29th, and you can vote every day from your device{S!}. If you would take just a moment and vote for me, I'd be so grateful. This is a blogging trip, so I'm asking for you, fellow bloggers, to vote, pray, and vote again for me and this trip. 

As of the halfway point, I was in the top third of votes, and things have changed even in the past two days. To be considered, I need to be one of seven entries with the most votes, and it's going to be close. Thank you in advance for your votes!

7QT: Make 'Em Laugh

Linking up with the super talented but handwriting challenged Jen at Conversion Diary! {I'm not insulting her; I'm encouraging you to read her post!}

1. This week is unusual in that I'm starting my QT from scratch today. The past few weeks I've started a draft on Wednesday or Thursday, so by Friday I only have to come up with 4-5 Takes. This week is all from the same morning. And for that, I apologize. Here, laugh at this before you read any more.

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2. My baby sister turned 20 {TWENTY!!!??} earlier this month, and like any good nerdy sister would do, I bought her a good nerdy present: The Star Wars Cookbook with Cookie Cutters {it's on sale!} is now in the hands of a twenty-year-old. She came over Tuesday night and we baked Wookie Cookies {wow, did I actually just type that?!}. They are quite yummy, although I was sad because they did not require the use of the cookie cutters. Another day, another destiny.

3. In less than three weeks, my college roomie Catherine is coming to visit! We {ok, I - Catherine doesn't know about them yet} have grand plans, and you can bet your bonnet {if you have one} that there will be pictures and a blog post to document this momentous occasion. Please pray for good weather! Spring time in the Pacific Northwest can be so fickle, and I'd love love love to have some sunshine for Catherine!

4. Last week, I think I listened to the "Man of Steel" soundtrack two dozen times. This week, Bastille's "Bad Blood" album has been on repeat. Their acoustic versions {"Flaws" and "Pompeii" and "Oblivion"} are seriously incredible.

5. Saturday is my grandma's 90th birthday party. We have cousins coming in from all over, and my grandma's room-mate from college is going to be there. {No pressure, Catherine, but I expect that you will be at my 90th birthday party and vice-versa.} My mom has done the lion's share of the preparation, and my small contribution is making the slideshow of allllllll the pictures from the past 90 years. I found some gems of my father in his younger days; please enjoy, and for those who don't know my dad IRL, know that he still makes the same mischievous face:

6. Since becoming a regular part of Notions Club, I've branched out a bit more in my writing. A few poems have come to fruition, and my guest post for Victoria was originally read at a Notions meeting. That being said, I've been thinking about sharing these pieces on ye old blog here. And I'm thinking, what the hey. I'm gonna click "Publish" and let readers see everything, not just the fun link-ups and the "how's life?" posts. Some pieces may require an explanation, some are really deep, some are rather silly, and that's the way the {Wookie} cookie crumbles. :)

7. Because it wouldn't be Friday without some fangirl memes... Today's fangirl Take is brought to you by Ben and Martin:

Smaug's Daily Affirmations

Happy Friday and happy weekend!

7QT: Mail, Guest Posts, and Waiting for BBC

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick {and unusually short} Takes!

1. Relevant has nailed it! This article about pursuing a calling without killing a career is spot on.

2. Jamie the Very Worst Missionary wrote this post and I love love love it.

3. Just got a lovely note from Laura at A Single Drop in the Ocean. Laura, you are so sweet! And your handwriting is gorgeous... I'm kicking myself for skimping on cursive lessons back in 3rd grade. Um, don't be creeped out if I consider you my pen-pal foreverandalways.

4. In case you missed it {Blogger rejected God's gifts of "copy" and "paste" so there were some technical challenges}, here is Victoria's guest post! Read it. She's hysterical.

5. Yesterday I got to have lunch with the wonderful Dahlia! She came over to visit her sis {yay for Spring Break!}, and then she and I went to the best Chinese restaurant in the state. We also went on a Craig's List adventure and got fro yo at Red Mango. So much fun! Of course this quick visit makes me want to go see her, so I'm thinking a weekend in May will compel me to her side of the mountains.

6. Tomorrow morning I have an interview at the hospital near my house. The position is for a volunteer baby cuddler. Yes, that is an actual thing! I'm really excited, and hopefully I will start soon.

7. Because it's 7QT and Friday and I miss British television {currently taking recommendations for new shows!}:

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Happiest of weekends to you, dear readers!