Not Alone Series: Friendship {freebie!}

Linking this "freebie" topic with Jen at Jumping in Puddles and Morgan at Follow and Believe!

"I'm so grateful for you two!" was a frequent refrain last weekend as my two best friends and I played by the sea. I love that my friends and I are able to express gratitude for each other to each other. We all live at least an hour from each other, but through group texts and phone calls and weekend getaways, we are able to stay connected, and I think through our physical separation, we are more aware of and grateful for our close friendship. {To read and see the highlights of our weekend, check out Samara's great post!}

In 8 days, I'll be back in the Bluegrass State with my bosom friend and the rest of the family in my Other Home. My friendship with AJ is another sweet, sweet gift. She and I text regularly and talk as often as the three-hour time difference allows. One of the best part of our relationship is that we tell each other that we're thinking of each other, missing the other, and grateful for our friendship - I love that!

Another grand adventure is about to start next month - my sister is moving in with me! I am beyond thrilled that the sister with whom I begrudgingly shared a room through our childhood and adolescence is now {voluntarily!} moving into a grown-up living situation with me. There is a point in time where you begin to hang out with your siblings because you enjoy their company, not just because they live with you, and then there's a point where you want to hang out with your siblings while not living with them, and now we are at the point where we want to hang out AND live together. Grown-up sibling relationships are so wonderful.

NAS Community, you add joy and color and encouragement to my day, and I'm glad that we are virtual friends. I'm grateful for you!

Finish This: Week Forty-nine

Happy Hump Day! Wednesday is Finish This Day, so let's join the link-up fun with Nicole at Three 31, Jen at The Arizona Russums, Becky at The Java Mama, and Lisa at Coastlined.

{Side note: if you've been following or participating in Finish This for a while, start looking forward to the Year in Review post happening on December 31st. This is a beast of a blog post - I've been working on it for several weeks! If you want to get in on the fun, email Nicole and she'll send you the prompts.}

My ideal winter weekend pretty much happened after Thanksgiving. The house was clean, the Christmas lights were twinkling, the pajamas were cozy, and "Gilmore Girls" was binged. Also, brunch with the bestie and her man happened, chai was consumed, and no cooking was required #leftovers. It was fantastic!

My favorite song lyric is too hard to choose! Augh! I make no long-term commitment to my favorite song, but currently my favorite song is by Amy Stroup and goes:

Hold onto Hope, Love

I've searched high and low

for you for you

Each day gets closer

So hold on stronger 

To me and you

Someday soon I'll find you

Someday soon I'll know you

Someday oh oh

I smile because a) it's easier than frowning, b) I have a great smile, and c) God is good and I am loved. 

Ta- da! Thanks for joining, and be sure to come back next week for more Finish This!

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!

7 Quick Takes: End of February

Joining Jen at Conversion Diary for today's 7 Quick Takes.

1. First things first: the reason I didn't join the link-up last week was because I was in Kentucky surprising my friend! :D Twas a glorious and too-short visit, and I chose to enjoy being with my bosom friend and her kids {who happen to be four of my favorite children in theee whooole world}. There is a post on this surprise visit forthcoming.

2. I really loved this post by Emily at Chatting at the Sky. Making your blog really truly your blog is supposed to have some flexibility perks, right? On that note, there are a few blog posts that I've promised {like the one above} that I haven't yet written and I do want to actually write those. Since today is the last day of Bailey Jean's Blog Every Day in February challenge, look for these promised posts in March.

3. Also in March, you'll be seeing this blogger at a couple different blogs. What! That freaks me out just a teensy bit. But yeah, I agreed to write a post for my lovely friend Victoria, and then my friends Catherine and Yvonne and I are doing a blog swap/hosting each other/guest post thing in the middle of March. So yeah, that's gonna happen and it's gonna be great. I'm speaking in faith, obviously, but let's all agree together and amen and amen.

4. Did you take part in END IT? Thursday, February 27th was the day that people all over the country and world decided to Shine A Light on Slavery. Check out END IT's website as well as other resources like Made In A Free World.

5. Ok, maybe my OCD is getting the better of me, but even when "blogging experts" tell me to promote la blog on ye ol' Facebook, I can't do it. When I go on Facebook, I want to see people; when I go on Bloglovin', I want to see blogs, and hopefully ne'er the two shall meet. Am I crazy? I am feeling slightly crazy because the line from "The Quiet Man" is running through my head: "When I drink whiskey, I drink whiskey, and when I drink water, I drink water." {If you have never seen "The Quiet Man" then please don't even bother finishing the last 2 Takes because that is a John Wayne-Maureen O'Hara classic and it will add to the quality of your life and maybe even affect your definition of masculinity because hello it's John Wayne...end rant.}

6. This morning I totally thought I had my life together {hair looked good, chai was made}, but when I got to work, I found that only one earring had survived the journey from my bedroom to the office. Sigh. I don't know if I forgot to put in one earring because I was also choosing my socks for the day or if I put it in and it wormed its way out. This is a question that will haunt me until at least 5:30 pm today when I get home to check my dresser.

7. Today is the last day of February which means it's the last day of Bailey's Blog Every Day in Feb challenge, which is both awesome and sad. It's awesome because hello, a bunch of people just blogged for 28 days in a row! And it's sad because it's over.... but it's also just a teensy bit awesome that it's over because all good things must come to an end and this was definitely a good thing :) But seriously, this was a fabulous challenge and it was so fun to link up with Bailey and the gang every day.

That's all, folks! Have a happy, happy weekend!

7 Quick Takes: Encouragement, Tom Baker, and Humility

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

One: The last paragraph of this post is amazing. She resolves the conflict I so often feel, that I need to go somewhere to help but I also am burdened to stay and bring positive change. She says it so simply: "I can choose both here and there - because I have enough and can share with others." Beautiful, peace-filled words. Thank you,  Emily.

Two: Just when you thought Pope Francis couldn't get any more awesome, he does. Bam.

Three: Wow. The articles you find at work but apply to life. This is really cool.

Four: This weekend, Samara and I are going on our Jesus retreat!!! I'm so excited to spend some quality time with my best Friend and my bff :) My goal for this weekend is to work on some of my life goals with Jesus, as well as get some specific answers to some things I've been mulling over {side note: isn't that a great expression? I feel like drinking some wonderful sangria while mulling over deep and intense thoughts}.

Five: For my birthday last month, my youngest sister ordered me a phone case. I know this because she asked me what I wanted and I told her...and then I sent her the links to my favorite cases...and then she told me that she ordered one of them. We're cool like that - the surprise is discovering which one she ordered :) All this is to say that it finally arrived in the mail! So I'll be swinging by my parents' house this evening and having an abridged and delayed birthday celebration - picture forthcoming!

Six: Since I finished my TARDIS purse and my sister's birthday scarf, I'm itching for my next crochet project. I'm thinking that I should make Tom Baker's Doctor's scarf, especially since I have half the colors already. If anyone wants to donate yarn to the Doctor Who cause, I'll make something for you!

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Seven: Next week is Valentine's Day, and since it's on a Friday {meaning 7QT Day}, I won't spill the details of what my gal-pals {oh, hey there, 90's expression, long time no see} and I are doing, but just know that it's awesome. And you should know that it was my idea. And you should also know that humility is my most prominent character trait. Others have told me that; I had no idea. But I did have the idea for Valentine's Day. Wow, full circle, looks like it's time for this post to end riiiiiiight now. 

Happy Friday and happy weekend!

Wind, IKEA, and Bookshelves

This weekend was really full and really great. I had two babysitting jobs scheduled, but both of them were cancelled due to family issues and power outages, so Friday night consisted of a nap and Doctor Who. That's the best way to start the weekend, in my opinion.

Saturday was IKEA day! Samara and I planned on going pretty close to opening time, and we did ok on this front. Car inspections sometimes take longer than planned, so no big. We were on the road at 11 AM, and that's when the real adventure started.

The wind had been blowing strongly all morning {a lovely sound to wake up to whilst still snuggled under blankets}, and so driving was pretty exciting by itself. There were leaves dancing all over the road - as Samara put it, "the artist in me is delighted, but the driving part of me is terrified!" So true!

Once we were on the freeway, the wind wasn't that bad; or rather, we couldn't feel the wind as much. But we were not the only ones on the road. There is construction in the left lane of the freeway, and the giant round traffic not-cones-more-like-barrels were left in between the lane and the concrete barrier. Well, in between is a generous expression. Some of them were actually on the yellow line. As we continued on our merry way, one of these traffic barrels was blown into our lane, directly in front of us! I swerved, but keep in mind we were going 60 mph and there was a car in the lane next to us. Right next to us.

Mercifully, the barrel stopped moving and I was able to avoid hitting it, the car next to us, or being hit by the car behind us. Phew! Our heart rates were definitely elevated. Samara called DOT to report the road hazard and I continued to drive carefully. Thankfully, the construction zone ended shortly after that incident so we didn't have any repeat occurrences.

We made it to IKEA and headed inside, joining the herds of couples, families, and friends winding their way through the store. Everything was wonderful until we came to the very end: the boxes of furniture. Samara was purchasing another bookshelf for her room and wanted one of the shelves to become a drawer. This is a simple process: buy the bookshelf and buy a drawer to go inside it. Assemble at home like a boss. Done.

However, the process of finding said bookshelf and drawer proved to be quite challenging.

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After locating the bookshelf, we went in search of the drawer accessory...and found the front of the drawer. Um, what? Non comprendo. So then we went in search of an associate. He found us a much smaller box that claimed to contain the rest of the drawer. Now, I know geometry and I didn't always cooperate in high school, but I do know that if something is going to fill the same space as something else, the box will probably be close to the same size. But this was not the case. Confusion abounded, including in the mind of the associate assisting us. 

After more venturing between the aisle and the computer and the associate's phone, Samara decided that a drawer is not worth all this trouble, so we headed to check-out. 5 hours later {almost} we exited the parking garage. 

It was after 1pm and lunch was on the forefront of our minds. Taco Del Mar struck our fancy, so we hopped off the freeway and up the hill to the closest one. Or so we thought. 

I don't know if you guys have heard Miley Cyrus's song "Wreaking Ball" but it describes our TDM saga quite well. We found the restaurant after much anticipation...and then we saw the darkened windows, the locked door, the deceitful operating hours that claimed to be open at that moment, and the realization hit us like a wreaking ball. TDM was closed without explanation, rhyme, or reason. 

Sadly, hangrily, defeated we got back on the freeway and made our way to the trusty, open TDM near home. Mexican food has never tasted so good!

Bellies full, we went home to assemble the bookshelf. I think a good summary of that experience is this: two of my blisters have popped already. Yep. {Side note: if anyone has a normal-sized screwdriver, Samara and I are in the market.}

After the cussing bookshelf was assembled, my sis came over and we finished Season Two of Sherlock. Augh, Reichenbach!!! Moving on, because January 19th is coming!

All in all, it was a good weekend. Full of goals that were accomplished, although not in the way we envisioned. We were not injured on the freeway; we didn't injure anyone {fellow shoppers or inadequate associate} at IKEA, and the Taco Del Mar near our house has gone up several notches on the "best things that have ever happened to us" list. 

Happy Monday, yo. 

Funny Friday & How Is It November Already?

Ok, guys, I know that I basically counted every single day of October via 31 Days of Writing, but still... I can't believe it's November already!?!? Because you know what happens in November? Christmas music. Which leads to Christmas, which leads to a new year....meaning November 2014 is like in 2 weeks, basically.

Speaking of 31 Days of Writing, I think I may have forgotten how to write a Funny Friday post. Does that count as its own deep twisted version of humor? No? I know, it's more sad than funny.

Well, while I scramble to think of something funny for Friday, allow me to entertain you with weekend plans. Samara and I are going to IKEA! Woot. We are fortunate to live within 30 minutes {weekend-only traffic times} from one of the blessed places, so tomorrow morning, bright and early, off we go! Just kidding. It'll be like bright and middling... after last night's adventures, there will be much sleep on the morrow.

Speaking of last night, wanna see some pictures?! Of course you do, and even if you don't, too bad, because I promised you pictures and I keep my promises...eventually. But today is the day after, so we're not gonna ruin a good thing, k?

The Fantastic Fox Family

Totes adorbs, right!? Yes I did ride the bus downtown looking like that. Yes I did walk over a mile to the theater dressed like that. Yes I did take off the mask to watch Frankenstein. Ain't nobody get time to let anything get in the way of seeing Benedict Cumberbatch!

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The show was even better than last time. {I guess I haven't formally reviewed Frankenstein yet, so add that to my list of promises to keep.} I found that since I knew what was going to happen, I could appreciate the parallels and contrasts better. Plus, the acting....always, always superb. Can't praise them enough.

Right. Funny Friday. Last night at the theater, I was sitting next to Samara's friend Sammy. There's a scene where the Creature reaches for a pot that's just been taken off the fire, so of course he burns his hand. 

Since we had just watched the film/play, Sammy whispered, "Don't touch it!" And of course the Creature touches it and burns himself. 

I whispered "They never listen, do they" and Sammy replied "He didn't hear me." 

And then they guy in front of us turns around and whispers, "I did." Oops! 

Sammy and I couldn't look at each other because we would have laughed too loudly. It was awful....ly funny. Such fun. 

Happy weekend, all!

Tuesday's Tasks

Whew! This weekend was awesome and busy and fun and full of laughs and relaxing and exhausting and rejuvenating and still more fun. Or as Miranda's mum would say, "Such fun!"

Laurie and I had a great time. We hit up the less tourist-y spots of the neighborhood, had the sistren {like brethren, right?} over, made mojitos {some of the best I've ever made, actually}, hit up Ikea, painted and hung picture frames {my room is closer to finished}, went to dinner with my parents, skipped over the mountains to tour Leavenworth and visit Dahlia, and generally had a great time. Oh, and we watched a couple more episodes of Miranda because we can. So great.

I'm thankful for such a great visit with a great friend. It was a busy weekend, but it was also really restful. Laurie and I are both task-oriented, so I think it is complimentary to say that we got a lot accomplished this weekend, but we were still able to rest and enjoy a mini-vacation.

Because I'm task-oriented, I feel like I have a never-ending to-do list in my head. The worst thing is to start a task and not be able to complete it; I wish I hadn't started it because I keep thinking about it and its incomplete status. Sigh.

That's how I feel right now with the pictures in my room. I've got most of the frames hanging, but there are two that still need a picture. Then there's a frame that Samara and I are going to swap {long story- wrong color, already opened, etc.}. And since I had to take Laurie to the airport in the wee hours of the morning, my bed is unmade and the deflated air mattress is occupying an ungodly amount of floor space. Sigh.

I love having guests and friends over to visit, but I dislike the messiness that sometimes comes with that. I know it's not anyone's fault; it's simply an inconvenience of living out of a suitcase in someone else's room. But mess drives me a tad batty, and add the incomplete task of picture frames, and here comes crazy.

The good news is, tonight will be a fun evening meeting AJ's s-i-l who happens to live in the neighborhood. I'm so excited to get to know another part of AJ's family. And after dinner, I'm going to clean my room and wash my sheets and exercise and shower and go to bed early. This evening will be great, and a lot of my to-do list will get crossed off, and sleep will be wonderful tonight.

Oh! Exciting! Speaking of my room, I bought a clock yesterday for yonder bedroom. I'm really excited, because I think this fits the feel of the room. Now I just have to hang it...you're welcome to come over and make suggestions :)

Ending with an update: the TARDIS purse I'm crocheting... 'member that? Well, I'm happy to announce that I'm almost done! I just have windows and top of the TARDIS to complete, so yay! I promise: as soon as it's done, you will see pictures.

Happy Tuesday, dear readers!

7 Quick Takes: Some Faves

1. Please allow me to point out that this is my fourth post this week. *pats self on back* Blogging is fun when you have such great readers! *pats readers computer monitor...awkwardly*
   
2. This is the song I've been falling asleep to every night. Get your tissues ready, Whovians!
   
3. Just found out about this kid named Toby and his goal to write a letter to every country in the world. Wow! Such a cool goal, and so awesome that he's close to accomplishing it!
   
4. Today is my volunteer day at Care Net. I'm really excited to go to the clinic and see who God brings through our door.
   
5. Last night I got the decorating bug and was inspired by my old dorm room:
   
   
   
   And so now a wall in my bedroom looks like this! {Pictures of my bedroom coming soon...} I think that notes and cards and words of encouragement are one of my love languages, because I keep almost every note that has ever been given to me!
   
6. Speaking of decorating, Pinterest has once again come to the rescue of gifted-not-artistically people like myself through inspiration from Martha Stewart.
   
7. My friend Laurie from the Frozen Tundra is coming to visit tomorrow! So excited! This means that Funny Friday may turn into Recap Monday, because we are going to be busy this weekend. We're going to be traipsing all over the western half of the state and playing tourists. Such fun! So in advance, happy Friday!

Grown-Up Weekend

Sometimes being a grown-up is fun, like when you get to move out with your bestie or go to shows that you appreciate more as an adult, or even go to Nicaragua! And then there are the average times of being a grown-up, like grocery shopping.

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Granted, half the times I've gone grocery shopping have been with my bestie, so it turns into an adventure {she's afraid that she's going to lose me in the store when I don't bring my cell phone}, but when push comes to shove, we're buying toilet cleaners and ladles and an iron... tad on the boring side.

same link...seriously the story of my life

But it's ok, because after our grocery shopping and writing times {beteedubs, I'm super proud that Samara and I were able to sit side-by-side on the couch and actually get some writing done...we've matured since high school, to say the least}, we decorated the condo!

As in, we put one thing on the wall. *pathetic surrendered defeated sigh inserted riiiiight here*

Oh well. We're getting there, slowly but surely. If you don't get invited over in the next month, it's because so far our track record of decorating has been one item per 7 day period. And it's partially the fault of our schedules {we be grown-ups, yo} and partially the fault of Doctor Who {can anyone resist? didn't think so} and partially the fault of getting the wrong sized curtain rods. But we are overcomers, so watch out, world!

That's not all the excitement we had this weekend.

No, Sunday nights are officially busy with foot....foot...foot game. Last night, our dear friend Cami hosted the watching-of-the-game; it was really fun! How can you go wrong with great people, yummy food, fantastic music, and a lightening storm!? Oh, yeah...the football game had to pause due to lightening. Sad day. But we still won... I heard. I didn't actually stay until the end of the game...and I didn't actually know what was going on during the game...in fact, I was playing pool for the first half. But it was still totes fun!

In case you need a laugh reminder, here's my vast experience with football...

via {thanks for sharing, Ash!}

Anyway, this weekend was totes fun and relaxing and productive... isn't it funny how being productive {up to a point} can be relaxing? The perks of being a grown-up :)

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7 Quick Takes: Hopefully It Counts as Funny Friday

Ok, peeps, here goes nothing. Hoping you get at least a chuckle out of these Quick Takes... if you don't think they're funny, then please scroll to the bottom of this post for some humor courtesy of Pinterest.

1. Thank you all for your kind comments on yesterday's post. I appreciate your encouragement! Now you tell me: where's your action? What are you doing to initiate change?
   
2. In case you live under a rock don't read my bestie's blog, be sure to check out her tale of our farewell to the Tenth Doctor. She went into more detail about our evening, whereas I stuck with the feels.
   
3. Next weekend my friend Laurie will be here! She's coming out to visit from the Frozen Tundra, and I am so excited to see her! We will be hitting up the downtown area and maybe head to the mountains to be tourists. She is one of my very good friends; ours is a friendship that we know is God because we clicked so well in such a short time. Thank You Jesus for Laurie!
   
4. Sorry, but I'm bringing up Doctor Who again. I've been thinking about bringing some fangirl to my bedroom {not like there's not enough inside my head already!} and am looking for a somewhat-sophisticated way to do that. I'm thinking of a picture in Gallifreyan, like this:
   
   Any other ideas, fellow Whovians?
   
5. Sorry, it seems that once my brain is on the Doctor Who train, it doesn't want to leave. I will try, though. Here are some links if you would like to enjoy:
   - a gender-neutral nursery- they're waiting to find out!
   - words from a three-year-old...too funny!
   - a cool story about babies
   - great effort from this guy!
   
6. Weekend plans! Who's got em? This girl! Going to the mall with my sis will be the highlight tonight, as well as potentially hanging pictures with the flat-mate tomorrow. Oooh, on Sunday my sis and parents and I are going to a glass-blowing factory to learn how to make glass. Be totes jealz. I know you are.
   
7. October...look at what is coming in October!
   
   Danny Boyle's 'Frankenstein'
   Don't remind me that I already saw this performance in July... that was in a different city, so there. Totes diff. 

Well, there are my 7 Quick Takes! Enjoy, and have a marvelous weekend!

Wonderful Weekend!!!

This weekend was awesome. Wonderful, if you read the post title. Magnificent, if you want to go with an alliteration for Monday.

What was so awesome, wonderful, and magnificent about it? Let me tell you!

It started with Friday {as most weekends usually do}. I got to work from home in the morning, thus allowing me to accomplish several tasks at once {yay, laundry = multi-tasking!}. Around noon, my dear friend Dahlia {whom you met in our blog switch thingy here} arrived and what a reunion we had! We went shopping, shoe shopping specifically, and though we went to 4 different shoe stores, we purchased no shoes. But we did find some yummy-smelling body wash at Bath & Body Works, and I got a cute shirt from another store.

Anyway. We finished our shopping adventures and came home to get ready for a wedding! Our friend got married Friday evening, and it was a lovely ceremony and reception time. Dahlia had to go home {sad!} but my friends Jess and Katie went out to a late dinner with me afterwards, and that was so good to hang with them.

Saturday morning, my bff arrived at my house, and she and I and another of her friends drove south. for 3 hours. in a drizzle. It was quite fun. I had my new camera to play with, and play I did! The backseat is so great for creeper shots. hehehe.

We arrived at our destination, and first stop: a book store! Of course. My friends are literary nerds {self-admitted!} and English majors and British fanatics and of course we would go to a bookstore before checking into our hotel!

We did in fact check into our hotel, after a little adventure with the rooms and keys. I’m saving that for a Funny Friday post, so you’ll get it in a few days. Then we had another adventure, which you will also get on Friday, because they are just too great when you consider they happened in the space of an hour!

Anyway.

The whole reason we went on this little journey was to see our favorite and beloved Benedict Cumberbatch {aka Sherlock} in “Frankenstein.” Now, I must explain, this was not live. No, that would make too much sense for these three recent college grads. We went on this trip to see a filmed stage production that he was in last year. Yes, I accept the fact that we are indeed hardcore nerds, fans, and other obsessive names that are appropriate here. Anywho.

Here is a trailer you can watch to see a bit of what we did. Because we did watch it twice, once for each role. Ahhh. So glorious.

And then we drove home for 3 hours and I went to bed and slept in and it was lovely.

So that was my wonderful weekend. Hope yours was just as nice!

Um, sorry I’ve been a slacker…

So my one and only excuse is that it’s midterms… haha, not like I’ve stopped doing anything fun! My weekend was AMAZINGLY LONG AND RELAXING, and it continues today and tomorrow, because of dear old Reading Period. Sigh of contentment.

My friend’s dad picked me up after work on Thursday, so I really had a 3 day weekend and I did NO homework. Ah, praise Jesus. It was delightful.

So this weekend I participated in the following activities {including but not limited to}:

• watching Disney princess movies
• working on a puzzle
• baking cookies while playing cards with dear friends
• attending a 4-H meeting {my first!}
• being my friend’s assistant during a photoshoot
• eating AUTHENTIC Southern chicken and dumplings
• introducing myself 93102938102984392483 times to my friend’s grandma- she has Alzheimer's
• quoting Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
• finishing a great new book by Kristen Heitzmann
• hanging out with lots of lovely friends
• ladies’ brunch while the men were camping

It was a truly lovely weekend. How was yours?

Whoa! Hello, two year anniversary!

This morning I logged into Blogger and read my BFF’s blog post from yesterday: it was her second anniversary of blogging! I thought, gee, I wonder when I started blogging, and lo and behold, it’s today! January 29th, 2009 saw my first post. Thanks, BFF, for inspiring me to start this!

I was cleaning my desk off a couple weeks ago, and I realized I have a ton of cards that people have sent me {I love mail, btw!} and all I was doing was keeping them in my drawer. I thought, that’s not how it should be!

So I took out my sticky tack {I love sticky tack, too!} and created a collage of sorts on my wall above my desk. It’s artsy and a bit chaotic, and I add to it whenever I get something in the mail. {author’s note: if you would like your letter on the wall, please send a letter to the author. If you do not know the author’s mailing address, please email her and she will remedy that situation. Thank you.}

I think it’s a better use for them, because I look at my beautiful collage thing and I know that I am loved and missed and making new friends.

I love lazy weekends! My roomie and I are catching up on Criminal Minds {I love Reid!} and doing homework in between… and we’re painting our nails during. Yup, it’s safe to say that this day is revolving around Criminal Minds. Woot!

So BibleGateway allows you to search different passages in the Bible, in basically any version, and I just connected some dots and realized that it will READ the passage to you if you so desire. I thought, well, listening to Scripture would allow me to (a) hear God’s Word, (b) accomplish the “read your Bible homework,” and (c) accomplish other mindless homework assignments {list-making really is mindless, Dad!}. So yesterday and today I have listened to Luke in chapter-size chunks. This nice gentleman reads the chapters; sometimes he sounds a bit robotic, and sometimes he gets really into it and sounds like he has a pretend British/American accent… it’s soothing, really!

Well, that’s my day in a nutshell. I’m about ready for one more episode of Criminal Minds!

Thoughts

The next 48 hours are going to be so jam packed, and then the 48 hours after that are going to be the most fun EVER, and then I’m pretty sure that next week is going to be sooooo busy I might fall over…so yeah.

Tomorrow I’ve got 3 classes, except I’m skipping one to go on a Business Dept. field trip to a distribution center. Then in the evening I’ve got a House Council meeting… those are always, um, interesting. Stressful, to say the least. My VP has been VP for the past 3 years, so she can bring “experience” to the table, but usually she’s a nay-sayer and it gets old really fast. Thankfully the other girls on Council are pretty good about saying “we’re gonna do it anyway and it will be different this year,” which I really appreciate. I’m not afraid to say it, but I want to be careful since I am president and she is VP because she lost the vote for presidency…thin ice.

Friday is going to be CRAZY!!!!! Swim test in the morning, work for 2 hours, a doctor appointment, class, RENTAL CAR, AND DRIVE TO FREEDOM!!!! WOOT! My friend and I are driving to her home town about 4 hours away, and we’ll be there in time for her brother’s football game that night, and then it’s her nephew’s first birthday the next day, and then church on Sunday and then drive home. And then STUDY my brains out for a marketing test the next day.

I’m really excited about this weekend, because I've been looking forward to it for so long. At the beginning of MC, Pastor Norm spoke to my class about anticipation and potential, and how events and experiences really rise or lower to meet our expectations. So I’m really looking forward to this weekend!

I found out yesterday that my 12 page paper on medieval history is NOT due at the end of the semester like I thought. No. It is due before Thanksgiving. Wonderful. Ugh.

Well, I need to study for that marketing test. I’ll let you know how this weekend goes!