Walking in a winter wonderland.

Just a few pictures from our snow day here in NC! Ben had never seen snow before, other than a bit of flurrying, so it was lots of fun to watch him romp around and enjoy it! Thanks to my friend Paige for taking these for me, as my camera wasn't ordered until that afternoon.

In other picture news, my Mom has been going through all of the old family pictures. She's mailing some of them to me, I think, so we shall see what old relics she digs up. If it's anything funny, I'll consider sharing :)

Ok, here's the ones from Benny's first snow day. Enjoy!

What's all this white stuff?

Who cares?! I love it!!

White Fang and I.

Starting new....

God is doing mighty things in my heart and my life, and for that I praise him with all I have! All morning, "How can I keep from singing His praise? I know I am loved by the King, and it makes my heart want to sing," has been going through my head. Later on I'll fill you in on some of the details of how I have seen God working, but for now, just rejoice with me that he makes all things new.

Speaking of new, today is a new beginning for me - the beginning of a new year of life! That's right, yours truly hit "mid-20s" mark today at the ripe old age of 24. I'll be taking donations of gift cards, books, music, and free vacations. Thank you ;) I'm celebrating tonight with sweet friends at the Cheesecake Factory! Yum!!

Anyways - I just wanted to share that God is good....Really amazing, and I am infinitely blessed, both today and forever.

I would never make it in Hollywood.

I seem to be easily starstruck. By that, I don't mean I become a crazy rabid fan of some teeny-bopper idol, but I have this habit....When I am at a concert, and the opportunity presents itself to meet the musician, I usually try and take it, and I usually make a fool out of myself in the process.

Example A: Weekend Excursion
In high school my group of friends loved this song called "Moving On" by a little underground band named Weekend Excursion. At one of their concerts one night at Blue Cats in Knoxville, I got lucky enough to chat with the band before the show started. I was doing OK until I met the hot drummer, who had a completely normal name that I somehow massacred into "Cas," and then proceeded to call him - to his face - for the rest of the conversation. When he politely corrected me, I did some awkward hand motion and told him I was on a new name kick and was renaming everyone with unique names....Really?
EDIT: I just looked up his name and his name WAS Cas!! What on Earth was I calling him? Daggumit for forgetting and getting stories wrong...Eh, gimme a break - It was like 6 years ago.

Example B: Sister Hazel
At one of the Sister Hazel concerts I went to (yes, "one of" them...I've seen them quite a bit), my friends and I arrived slightly late to the stage area because we were riding one of the rides (the concert and rides were part of a summer festival). Every time they had a pause between songs, the 4 of us screamed out, "Champagne High!!" which was our favorite song...Much to our embarrassment, at the end of the show, one of the onlookers kindly informed us they actually opened the show with Champagne High, so we had been screaming/requesting the name of the first song they sang. When we met the lead singer after the show (duh...We had to get out t-shirts signed!) we apologized "for screaming for Champagne High between every song, but it's our favorite and would you mind to sing it for us now?"

So he did. We were personally serenaded by the lead singer of Sister Hazel with Champagne High. It was awesome.

Example C: Shane & Shane
Let me be clear from the outset here: I was not hitting on them, as BJ insinuated. While I think their music is amazing, they are a) married and b) not my type. Ok, moving on...

Last night, at the Phil Wickham, Bethany Dillon, Shane & Shane concert, I perfected the trifecta of embarresing meet and greets. As I was sitting waiting on the concert to start, I saw the Shanes chilling about 10 feet away and wanted to meet them/get my photo with them. I drug T along with me, even though she didn't want to go, and hovered near them until they weren't talking to any other fans. What proceeded out of my mouth was something like this.... "Um, by the way my name is Lauren. It's been kind of a rough month, and so I've been listening to Psalms constantly. So, I just wanted to thank you for that CD and thank you for writing it. I mean...Iknowyoudidn'twriteit - God did. But thanks for putting the words to music, because, as I'm sure you know, hearing the words in music helps me absorb them better. So thanks. Bytheway - Can I get a picture with you?"

Do I look flushed and embarressed? Because I was.
Hey - I never claimed to be a master at verbal communication!

That's all the stories I can muster up for now...I won't mention my almost-severely-awkward encounter with Dave Barnes...Stay classy, fellow starstruck fans :)

Giving Thanks

I am about to go destroy some turkey, dressing and mashed potatoes, so I'll make this quick :)

Things I am giving thanks for today:
-The One who is my Savior, Best Friend, Redeemer, Lord, King, Comforter, Provider, Great High Priest, and God.
He has given me so many good gifts, including:
-Himself
-Salvation
-Family, both blood-relations and my Church family
-Friends, both human and canine :)
-Love: What an incredible thing to give and recieve
-A great job in the midst of economic uncertainty
-Safety
-A roof over my head
-Provisions of food and sustenance
-Health
-Technology wich makes things easier
-Discipline, which makes things harder, but makes us holier
-Purpose in life
-Faith

That's all for now. Those things can be "unpacked" and expounded upon, but you get the idea. There is so much to be thankful for, and none of it apart from the incredible blessings and riches of Christ.

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." -Psalm 100

The little things...

God blesses me with so many good gifts.

Free steak dinners, late mornings in bed to the sound of rain, my darling dog, gorgeous fall weather, exciting excursions with precious friends, (early) Thanksgiving dinners with fun people....and laughter and the reminder of how sweet life is. Thank the Lord for the little things that point me back to Him and remind me of His great love.

So long, sweet Lucky

I lost a family member today. Our dog of 14 years was put to sleep this afternoon. Lucky was the best dog I could have grown up with - seriously.

There are so many things about him I'll miss: His black fur all over everything, his tail wagging in the morning when I come out into the hall, watching him scrounge the riverbed for rocks to dive for, taking him on long car trips and trying to force him to sit down so we could watch movies without him in the way, feeding him cat food these last couple of years, since he loved it so much, taking him to the Maryville College woods for walks, the way he'd walk expectantly around a room and lean into every person - giving them a "hug - until he found someone to pet him, taking him out to the barn when I would go see my horse Shadow, snuggling up on the floor with him, just because I needed a hug...

I am so thankful for pets. They teach us about how to love without reserve, to be jolly in all circumstances, to always look for the best in people, to ask expectantly, and to find joy in the simple things in life.

It may be simple to love an animal, but it's not easy to lose one. I am so thankful the Lord blessed my family with such an amazing dog for 14 years of my life. His life was truly a gift.

Sad day :(

It's our 2-month anniversary today.

Adrian and I had planned on spending the weekend together, complete with a Martina McBride concert Saturday and big church service on Sunday.

It's not happening now :(

Stupid sickness - destroying plans. Time to make new plans and enjoy this time the Lord has given me to myself, I suppose, right? Right.

Edit: My boyfriend is amazing, and whether he's here or there, I am blessed beyond belief by him. Thank you, God for such a gift.

Why today is a good day....

1) It's the first day of fall, which happens to be one of my favorite seasons
2) The weather is GORGEOUS, telling me -not only that it's fall- but that it's going to be a good fall!
3) I comfortably busted out a long-sleeved shirt today...Time to reverse the wardrobe again!
4) I ate Moe's for lunch
5) My incredible boyfriend was here for the weekend with me, and I'll see him again next week!
6) Bedtime came early the last 2 nights, praise the Lord! It felt so good.
7) I have been able to daydream about fun trips to take, which is always a nice mental vacay
8) My voice is back in a big way. No singing yet, but, boy, am I talking!
9) My Fantasy Football team whooped up on Jason's (my boss's) this week. Reminds me of the day I did my interview and beat everyone in the office at PIG...
10) Also, the gazing balls are back in full-force on the lawn. Not all of you will know what I am talking about, but some will. The world seems right again now that they have returned from a several week hiatus :)

Lastly, but certain not the least reason my day is good, is that I am being challenged today to love my Savior more. Seeing that he's the only certain good thing in my life, that's a pretty good place to be....

Weekend in Charleston

It feels like forever since I have updated, and I guess in "blog world," it has been a while!

I went to Charleston and Walterboro last weekend to see Adrian, spend time with him, and see what "real life" is for him. It was great to just be together and to see him interact with the kids in his youth group. Plus, I got to hear him speak on his trip to Thailand, and I really enjoyed being there with him for that.

All in all, it was a great weekend! He and Mom and Dad will all be coming into town tomorrow, so I am super excited for them to all meet and get to know one another. Until I update again about life and my thoughts and what God is doing in my mind and heart, enjoy looking at some of the pics from this past weekend!

Such a good boyfriend! He takes care of Benny for me :)


Benny boy loved the ocean! It was his first visit to the beach. Aside from a little bit of an upset tummy, it went pretty well for him!

This beach shot was our first official picture as a couple, I think.

Feeling refreshed and ready to head downtown for the afternoon/evening


Walking around downtown Charleston

After dinner, we walked along the waterfront and got eaten alive by mosquitoes, but stopped for a photo opp at the Pineapple Fountain.

Life is funny....

I have had so many thoughts over the last few days/week that I was like, "I should blog about this!"

I am seriously having trouble remembering hardly any of them at all right now.

Here are a few things I do remember wanting to share that I find funny....

-It's funny to come home at lunchtime to find your turtle and your dog playing together. On the floor of the foyer. Thank the Lord Ben didn't hurt Splash, and that she didn't hurt herself when she kamikaze-jumped out of her tank onto the floor. It was just a funny sight to see - My 50lb dog prancing excitedly around the 6 inch turtle.

-It's funny how when registering for classes as a staff member, taking classes for "spiritual enrichment" and taking classes for a degree program are mutually exclusive. If I want a degree from my spiritual enrichment, then I owe money....

-It's funny how last night I didn't go to watch the meteor shower because I wanted to go to bed early, but instead stayed up until 1:30 on the phone. Isn't it ironic ;)

-It's funny how God works. My mother always says "God is a God of 'suddenlys.'" How right she is, because God works suddenly and swiftly, with very little hint (to me!) of what He's doing. But, it's a beautiful and amazing thing when I look back at how He has been working and see - very clearly - his hand in my life...So maybe that isn't so much funny as just plain incredible.

That's all, folks :)

Back from the beach....

Had a wonderful time at Oak Island with friends from church. There were about 20 of us that spent Saturday-Wednesday in a house directly on the beach, just hanging out, relaxing and spending some time studying Scripture together.

We discussed the concept of righteousness, how to pursue it, the importance of being in the Word, and the importance of holding on another accountable, among other things. Through this retreat, spending time with Heather, and being in a discipleship group with some godly girls, the Lord is really showing me areas my heart needs work in - there are a lot. I am so grateful though that He is opening my eyes to some new concepts for me, and I pray I continue to grow deeper in my relationship with Him.

It was a great time of rejuvenation and fun too! I spent a lot of time laying on the beach, soaking up some rays, napping under the umbrella, playing in the waves, playing football, kayaking, boogie-boarding, trying to learn to surf, talking to friends, catching up with people on the phone, taking long walks and enjoying being with some great people. Although I didn't really get a lot of sleep caught up on, I was able to relax, for which I was quite thankful.

I am trying to remember how peaceful I felt, now that I am back and looking at my bank account. Where does the money go? I don't know. I only know that somehow I have over $100 in overdraft charges at the moment, and I have used my card 2 times since the last one came in....How on Earth do I get myself into these messes? Never mind that I most definitely need to pay off some bills of mine....CRAP is all I have to say to that.

Can I go back to the beach yet and forget about money? Please???

Tagged....And other things

My blogging buddy Julie tagged me with this little quiz, so I'm obligated to fill this out! Here's a brief insight into my life:

Where is your cell phone? Downstairs in my purse, hopefully. Both are MIA

Your significant other? Happy to say that yes, I have one :)

Your hair? Kinda nappy. Clean, but air-dried

Your mother? In California, getting ready to join up with the rest of my family for a family vacay

Your father? Getting ready to head to Cali (see above)

Your favorite thing? My relationship with the Lord

Your dream last night? Didn't get enough sleep for one of those!

Your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper and water

Your dream/goal? Be a missionary, adopt foreign babies, live on a cruise ship

The room you’re in? Bedroom at the beach house I'm at this week!

Your hobby? Walking Ben, reading, kayaking, movies, traveling, etc.

Your fear? Missing out on God's blessings b/c I do my own thing

Where do you want to be in 6 years? Overseas telling people about the grace of God

What you’re not? As compassionate as I ought to be

Muffins? Chocolate chocolate chip!

One of your wish list items? New iPod, new Mac laptop, new camera....

Where you grew up? St. Pete, FL and Maryville, TN

Last thing you did? Giggled with the girls

Favorite gadget? None of mine work consistently, so I have no idea

Your pets? Ben - my dog, Splash and Scooter - my turtles

Your computer? Old clunker

Your mood? Happy, blessed and thankful

Missing someone? Yeah, several people actually

Your car? At the shop, currently. Darn antifreeze leak

Favorite store? Target or Express

Like someone? Yeah....very much so!

Your favorite color? Blue probably, though green is growing on me!

Last time you laughed? About 20 minutes ago

Last time you cried? I don't remember, honestly

In other news....I'm at the beach this week and loving having time off that doesn't include someone getting married. Just a few days of sunshine, surf, hang-out time with dear friends, and some time to grow and go a lot deeper in my walk with the Lord.

Also in other exciting news - I'm a girlfriend now, and I like the sound of that. The Lord has somehow seen fit to bring an amazing man into my life, and for that, I am thankful.

Smiles

I have been involved in a small discipleship group the last few weeks. Last night was our last "official" meeting, until we decide where to go from here. I've really enjoyed learning from Heather, my minister's wife, and being able to share with the girls in a small group setting. Last night's discussion was really good and challenging, so I thought it was a great way to end the time together.

When I got home, then, after DGroup, imagine my surprise at finding fresh flowers on my doorstep, along with an unsigned note and a bracelet, which I am guessing, traveled here from Thailand. Wonder who all that could be from? What a sweet surprise! I thoroughly enjoy surprises like that :)

Tonight should be another good night of surprises, although of a less sweet and more ridiculous nature..... it's the TALENT SHOW!

I'll be participating in 2 amazing acts tonight at the BL Talent Show. This should be good.....I'll try and post some videos, as the guys in the office are sending me with a video camera so I can capture the craziness in all its glory. Stay tuned!

Whirlwind

Honestly, I had a great whirlwind weekend, and feel like I should recount what happened here.

However, I've typed it up twice, and neither version made the weekend sound like as much fun as I had. So, here's the weekend in a very small nutshell.

Definitely, Maybe. Good talk with new friend Katherine. Hornet-less night. Bagel. Dance practice with Teran. Lots of laughter. Visit with Allison, John and baby McKinley. Fun kayak excursion. Unexpected dip in the lake. Wonderful hot shower. Chinese food. Dark Knight. Making fun of Teran's reactions. Hearing stories from East Asia. Worship. $5 burger, fries and drink. Shopping spree at Express. Killer jeans at an even-more-killer price. "Serving" at the hot dog/ice cream social. Dinner at Moe's. Deep thoughts with my mentor. Early to bed.

Sounds good, doesn't it? I love weekends :) Next one will be as much fun, if not better as I head to the BEACH!!! Hurrah!! Cannot wait, although I have some fun things ahead of me this week to keep me occupied before Saturday rolls around :)

Happy Monday, friends.

Happy birthday, America!

*Warning, long post ahead!*

After Christmas and Thanksgiving, I think the 4th of July might be one of my top favorite holidays. Granted, I suppose that opinion changes depending on plans and activities, but this past weekend was a GREAT time of celebrating our country and celebrating friendships!

I went with some great people to the mountains of NC and TN this weekend. The crew consisted of Teran and Paige, our hostesses who call Western NC home, church friends Jeff, JJ and Adam, and new friend Ginny. The seven of us spent Thursday night-Sunday afternoon together sharing fun activities, tasty food and tons of laughs.

Here's some highlights of the trip, with no particular rhyme or reason!

-Highlight #1: Our dinner stop at Zaxby's in Statesville. It was my first ever Zaxby's visit, and though the food was decent, I was.....uh, how do I say, less than impressed with the employees. The girl behind the front counter (who I swear had 14 syllables to her name) "was kinda new." This meant she didn't know a lot of things. Here's how our conversation went.

Me: "How many chicken tenders are in the Zax Pak meal?"
Lashandawitarethalanda: "Uhh.....I'm not sure. I'm kinda new."
*Silence while I waited for her to figure it out. More silence as she stared at me waiting for me to order something anyway.*
Me: "Ok then, I guess I'll just get that and hope it's enough. Can I get onion rings instead of fries?"
Lashandawitarethalanda: "I don't know."
*Silence on my part. More staring on hers.*
Lashandawitarethalanda: "Do you need me to ask somebody?"
Me: "That would be great, thanks."
*Slight glance to the left. Eyes on me again.*
Lashandawitarethalanda: "She on the phone."
*Silence and staring*
Me: "Can you just go ahead and sub my fries for onion rings? The onion rings are cheaper, so I'm sure it wouldn't matter."
Lashandawitarethalanda: "I don't know how to do that."

Guess what I got with my chicken? French fries. I gave up, unlike Paige who held her ground. She asked 3 times while ordering for no pickle to be put on her plate. She hates them, and so when they put it on there anyway, she insisted they remove the pickle from her plate and give her a fresh meal, without pickle-juice contamination. Lashandawitarethalanda told her it was against their policy to remove pickles. Really, Lashandawitarethalanda? Are you sure there is a policy about pickles that you do know? She then proceeded to ask Paige if she was scared of pickles. Yes, yes she is. Just take the flippin' thing off.

-Highlight #2: We took a lovely little hike to Pickens Nose, a rock formation named after Andrew Pickens of Revolutionary War fame. Had a photo shoot up there, and all of us nearly busted it a time or two. The views were gorgeous and the weather was great, even including the rainstorm that moved in and out quickly.

-Highlight #3: July 4th night. I ate some killer ribs at Fat Buddy's Barbecue, and we had a great conversation about OCD, love of the spotlight (surprisingly, not in relation to me), and weird quirks/habits we have. After dinner, we enjoyed small-town USA as we strolled around the park in Franklin, people watching (saw a niiiice mullet) and listening to some great old songs. Of course, fireworks were included and they were pretty good. I love July 4th festivities. We then went back to Teran and Paige's place for some apple pie, sparklers (safe sparkler experience, don't worry!) and good conversation in the hot tub. How much more American can we get?

-Highlight #4: Saturday we went white-water rafting on the Pigeon River. It's a great little run, and thanks to my old boss, we got a good deal and a great guide! Supposedly we wanted "the craziest trip possible," so our guide Paul did his job - by taking us backwards through Class IV rapids. We survived (Jeff and I about bit it on one of the rapids. He grabbed me and kept me in the boat and I grabbed his paddle when he removed his thumb from the T-Grip and dropped it. Great teamwork!) After narrowly escaping death, Jeff, Teran and I jumped out of the boat for a little swim and some rock-jumping. I belly-flopped, which was slightly painful but fairly funny, but hopefully we got some cute pictures out of it! Also, apparently one of the river guides is named Ricky Bobby. No joke. As he was floating by we heard him yell, "Tell so-and-so Ricky Bobby is looking for her!" Oh boy. Welcome back to TN, huh?

-Highlight #5: Playing Balderdash (my first time. Seems like this is a recurring pattern this trip!) We were deliriously tired and throwing in every inside joke we had come up with to this point. "Hackmatack: A hotel chain in Kentucky." Good fun.

-Highlight #6: Meeting an Amish family and hearing Teran and Paige's grandpa (Giaddi) offer their 12 year old a Bud Light. Classic. They even offered to give us a ride in their buggy if we came to Amish country in Indiana. Next road-trip location, anyone?

Anyways, those were just a few of the laughs. We had a wonderful trip, a horrible time trying to get home through the storms, but a ton of fun hanging out with one another, eating, relaxing and cracking up at our weirdness. Gotta love road trips!

Bed-time gets earlier and earlier....

I wish someone had warned me to live up the days of staying up till 4 am and going to class at 8, with very little ill-effects. Now that I am not in college, I feel like my body has aged remarkably fast, at least in terms of bed-time! Midnight or so wrecks me now for a few days, if I have to get up for work the next day. Friday nights are still somewhat palatable, but any other night and oh boy, I need to be in bed early!

Monday I was treated to dinner here and a Durham Bulls game, where they played (and lost to!) this team. I had a great time, but it threw my bed-time out of whack. Thus, it is Wednesday and I am due for a nap! (That could also be attributed to the nachos from Moe's I just ate, which make me feel fat, lethargic and happy the rest of the day. Where's a DP when I need one?) Although I'm tired, I enjoyed myself, so thanks :)

Also, last night I got to watch part of an Indian movie, courtesy of my friend Madhava, who is from India. It was Bollywood at it's best, believe me. I had no idea it was a musical, nor that all Indian movies are - apparently - not complete without 5-6 songs and dancing. As I thoroughly enjoy musicals, I enjoyed it :) Plus, it was just entertaining. I didn't stay for all of it though. Again, bed time called. Nothing like a bubble bath and my pillow to make me happy!

Tonight will not be an early night though. I am meeting with my mentor after church, then have to come home and pack for my weekend at home. My best friend is getting married in what could prove to be one of the most unique weddings I've been to/in. Should be a fun, but also exhausting, weekend. Come on Saturday morning. I'll need to catch up on my sleep, for sure, by that point!

Hope all my faithful readers are having a good week ;)

You mean I'm not supposed to be in pain from this?

Here's a quick recap of what's going on:

I BOUGHT THE KAYAK! Yay! It's big, but fun. Ben and I went out last night on it with my mentor and her husband in their kayak. They have a hardshell tandem, and so were obviously moving quite a bit faster than I was, especially considering that when you have a 50 pound dog hanging over the side/falling into the lake, it makes steering and paddling a tad more difficult. My arm was scratched up from rescuing my frantic pup, my body was sore from paddling, and I was exhausted from the entire ordeal. But, I have been wanting it for so long, by golly I'll be sticking with it!

My neighbor Jennifer moved out today. She was the leasing agent who got me into my apartment, and she had a dog that was Ben's buddy. It was sad to see her go, especially since I never took the initiative to tell her about Christ, which I ought to have done. Me and 3 of my friends helped her move out of her apartment today, so she could hit the road earlier for LA. I pray somehow she could see the love of Christ in my life and that he puts someone in her path to share with her.

While moving, I tried to pick up a heavy box, forgetting "Heavy Lifting 101." I picked it up using my back and not my legs and now feel like an old woman, hunched over and aching. My back is absolutely hurting, and not in a "I'm-so-glad-I-got-a-workout" kind of way. I took a 3 hour nap this afternoon with my heating pad on and I'm not seeing much relief. Pain pills just occurred to me.

Shonica, Lindsey and I went to the Taste of Durham festival this afternoon and saw a fun little slice of life here. There were a bunch of vendors set up with food, which we took advantage of (yummy asparagus dip and arroz con pollo!). We also listened to this good little musician from Georgia, but I do not remember his name....Whoops. Also saw some Argentine tango, which I might have thought was better had I never been to Argentina and actually seen really good tango.

Finally, I just watched "Why Did I Get Married?" Decent, but I doubt any Tyler Perry movie will ever beat out "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" in my opinion. Love that one.

Sorry this is not witty or well-written. I am in pain and tired. Ciao.

T minus 2.5 hours.....

2 and 1/2 hours.

That's how long until I meet up with Kayak Man and test out the kayak. It's gorgeous weather. I am super excited.

I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out.

Thank You: To My Mom

I realize you might not see this for a while, and it didn't come to you for Mother's Day, as I am a slacker daughter who lives 6 hours away, but wanted to let you know some of the things that make me thankful for YOU!

1) Thank you for being a Godly woman and being the light of Christ in my life.
2) Thank you for always caring enough to have a hot, tasty meal on the table for our family...even after you've had a longer day than any of us.
3) Thanks for your sense of humor, enabling us to laugh at (I mean with) each other and get a kick out of life in general. I appreciate you teaching me not to take myself too seriously.
4) Thanks for teaching me to enjoy the simple pleasures of life: a good book, a sunny day for a picnic, a good movie, plants and making the earth prettier, bubble baths, hot cookies on a rainy day, and quality time spent with family.
5) Thank you for the opportunities you have afforded me so I can travel. Our vacations and experiences around the world have given me such an appreciation for other cultures and a love for the nations. I'll never forget Costa Rica with you....You made me see that country in an entirely different light ;)
6) Thank you for your listening ear. You have always been the one to soothe me when I am distraught and speak wise words to me when I am being melodramatic (or so you think).
7) Thank you for teaching me the value of hard work and earning what I want.
8) Thanks for your positive attitude. Even when I don't agree, your "Speak it, believe it" attitude makes me laugh and lightens the mood.
9) Thank you for setting an amazing example of being a Godly wife and mother. I hope to someday be half the woman you are to my own husband and kids.
10) Thanks for being my best friend. I value our "girl days" when we get massages, go shopping, eat Cinnabons or take a mini road-trip as some of our best memories.

Thanks, mama! Love you.

Kayak time?

This just in: I may be getting my kayak very soon!!

I posted a Craigslist ad looking for one (my specific one I want, which is here) and had a guy respond that he is looking to sell his, possibly. I quoted him a price, so we have entered the negotiation stage....That would be great if it worked out, then I could get it for much cheaper.

If it didn't work out with this one, REI is also having their annual sale, so it's almost $100 cheaper than normal, which would also be a great price!! I would be so excited if I could get it before I go home at the end of the month...

Oh boy, I am excited now and anxiously awaiting hearing back from this guy! Anyone know how long REI has their annual sale for? I'd need to jump on that fast if the used deal falls through...

Also, I don't know these men.
They just represent what a great time is to be had on the AE convertible!