Aches & Pains

My 28th year of life has been going on for two and a half weeks now, and signs of aging keep popping up. ;) Three of the pictures below relate to recent ailments; in addition to those I have a fun collection of chigger bites. Good times!

Honestly, nothing to complain about. :) It's been a great week.

Enjoy the pictures!

July 24: These are the stairs I fell down last Saturday. It was a rather dramatic fall since I was holding a glass of water, which flew into the air and watered the carpet. Not the best fall I've experienced since I only fell down four steps (in college I fell down an entire flight - head over heels) but a good fall nonetheless! Soreness followed shortly after...

July 25: These people make me smile. :) My home group. I'm so grateful for this fellowship of believers. What an encouragement they are!

July 26: A sweet student of mine, who joined me on a frozen yogurt date earlier this week. We had a great chat and some tasty treats!

July 27: FACT: Getting a filling means you have a cavity EVEN if you don't have to get a shot. I discovered this devastating news after a trip to the dentist this week. I went in to get a "groove" filled (no shot necessary!), and Dr. Nolley told me it still counted as a cavity. Maybe I was foolish to ask! This was sad news to me since I thought I had never had a cavity before. Now it turns out I've had two! :)

July 28: Cary and Kim took me out for a birthday dinner Wednesday night. We went to Blue Goose - mexican, my favorite!

July 29: Cancelled my Thursday plans and came home from work with a stomachache, which actually hasn't completely gone away. After some 7Up, Chick-fil-a soup, a nap, a movie, and an early bedtime, I felt a bit better.

July 30: Joined my home group for some Friday night tapas! Delicious!

Ma'am?!

My 28th year of life has been going on for about a week and a half now. Since then I've been addressed as ma'am by two different young men. One was on an airplane, where I was sitting next to a college sophomore. He and I had a nice chat, but he answered every question with a "yes, ma'am" or "no, ma'am". A college sophomore. Am I so advanced in years that he felt like he needed to do that?

Tonight at Barnes and Noble, I asked two young men if they were using a third chair at their table. The answer? "No, ma'am".

Really?

This week I kind of dropped the ball as far as pictures go. The first one was provided by my friend Dani, who graciously shared her pictures with me.

Enjoy! :)

July 17: My small group enjoyed fondue and games on Saturday night. One pot of cheese fondue, one pot of chocolate. Throw in good friends and a game of Balderdash, and it's the perfect combination!

July 18: Frozen yogurt with Kim. We went to a place called Fresh Berry, which is owned by a former coworker of hers. I love this picture. :)

July 19: No picture today.

July 20: Finally got pictures hung up on the wall! I think that means I'm officially unpacked!

July 21: Iced coffee whilst reading on a hot day in July? Yes, please.

July 22: This is my walking buddy, Precious. She belongs to my roommate, and she's been a great dog to have around! She and I have bonded on some recent walks around the neighborhood.

July 23: Dinner with Cary. :)

Me: I need to take your picture before we lose the light.

Cary: What should I pose with?

Me: [Looking around, pondering]

Cary: I could stick my finger in this jam.

Me: Of course!

And that's why we're friends. Love you, Cary!

Adventures in North Carolina

Last week I spent time with Julie, Flynn, and Lara in the beautiful state of North Carolina. It was such an encouragement to get a glimpse of their life for a week; it's clear their heart's desire is to honor the Lord in all they do. I LOVED watching Julie be a mother - she is a wonderful one, and God has blessed her with a beautiful daughter!

Enjoy this week's pictures!

July 8: No picture today. :(

July 9: There is a science/nature museum near Julie's house, and she and Lara frequent it often. It is a great place to visit, complete with science exhibits and live animals. This little guy was pretty cute...and a little creepy up close, I won't lie.

July 10: Blueberry picking with Lara! She did a great job picking blueberries, but she then tried to put them down the back of her dress. She hasn't quite mastered the art of placing them in the basket. She will, though, I'm confident of that! :)

Another from the 10th: Mom and daughter enjoying the swing.

July 11: Before the evening service at church, we stopped for a treat at Local Yogurt. Peanut butter and banana - delicious!

July 12: Another shot from the science museum, where they have a butterfly house. This was one of my favorite things we saw there!

July 13: Sewing project. Julie is quite the seamstress, and we decided to try a new project while I was there! It went smoothly until the very last step. We had a hiccup at that point, which we attempted to correct for the next several hours. Sewing is hard work!

July 14: My birthday breakfast. :) Below is a picture of the beautiful meal Julie prepared.

July 15: The finished product, hanging in my room at home. This was the first day I carried it to work, and I love it!

July 16: Melissa, a coworker of mine, and her daughter Riley had me over for a birthday lunch today. Riley was in my class a couple years ago, and I love her! Her brother is taking this picture. He loved the sound my camera makes when it takes a picture, so he kept clicking...and clicking...and clicking...

This is about the 40th picture. :)

Happy Dress Like a Cow Day!

Cowningham, the One-Eared Wonder!

FREE FOOD!!!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

This week I received one of the world's greatest souvenirs from my friends Kc and Megan. They recently returned from a three week trip to England. While they were there, they saw something flying through the air that intrigued them. So of course, they investigated and discovered the World's Smallest Kite. It's adorable. Why is it that most things seem cute when they're small? Babies, puppies, kites...

Enjoy the pictures! :)

July 3: Boring picture, I know, but not a boring concept! Renting a movie for $1/day is genius...

July 4: Spent the day with my aunt, uncle, and cousins and forgot my camera. I took a picture with Becca's camera, which I'll post soon. :)

July 5: My friend Araenae came to help me unpack the other day, and we went out for frozen yogurt when we finished. I love this shot...she did not want me to take her picture!

July 6: There it is! The World's Smallest Kite! Actually, the WORLD Smallest Kite. It's cute enough to look past the missing "apostrophe s". :) When Kc and Megan gave it to me I was itching to give it a try, so we all went out for some kite flying fun. With no breeze, we were a sight to see running down the middle of the street trying to make it fly.

So excited!

Kc giving it a try...

Kc untangling the large knot that formed in the string...:)

July 7: My roommate made cheese enchiladas for lunch today. Delicious!

And So Begins July...

Enjoy this week's pictures!

June 26: No picture. Whoops.

June 27: Began this morning with exploding oatmeal. Whoops! :)

June 28: Rainstorm on Monday evening - evidence of God's mercy in the middle of the summer heat. Grateful that my move was changed to the next evening! Summer thunderstorms are one of my favorite things!

June 29: I went to see Toy Story 3 for the second time this week (which, by the way, if you haven't seen it - GO SEE IT. I've cried at the end both times). I saw this little guy in the parking lot after the movie, and it stopped me in my tracks. If you can't tell, it's the imprint of a sprawled-out frog. Needless to say, it raised a few questions in my mind! How did this poor, unfortunate frog get caught in the middle of the cement while it was drying? I wonder if he knew he was forever making his mark in history. Poor guy.

This was also moving day - you can see those pictures here.

June 30: One of the first things I organized at the new place. I have much less closet space, so I had to be creative in how I used it. I love the feeling of being organized. Is that a nerdy thing to say? Don't answer that.

July 1: Turns out one of my walls was blue in the new room. Obviously I couldn't leave it that way. :) I have every other color in my bedspread, but not baby blue. Kari came over to help me paint on Thursday, and I love the way it turned out!

July 2: My dad was in town for a day, and I was glad to spend a couple hours with him. He suggested ice cream, so we went to Marble Slab, where he then ordered a banana split for us to share! So many flavors - in the words of Cousin Becca, it was like a "party in my mouth"!

Do-It-Yourself Moving

My small group from church helped me move this week, and things went so smoothly. I'm thankful for their willingness to spend an evening helping...

Driving a U-Haul and NOT happy about it. The Lord kept me safe on the way home, and thankfully, my friend Mark drove it the rest of the evening.

Caleb, Garrett, and Elizabeth enjoy some Domino's pizza. Yum...

Popsicles! Cousin Deborah even came to help on her only night off from camp...

My stuff...I have too much of it!

Garrett, the master packer, carefully arranging things in the U-Haul.

The crew. My friend Mica (in bright blue) suggested a "gangsta" picture, and this is everyone's interpretation of that. Hilarious.